Chapter Text
Prism Tower looked much different at night than during the day.
In the light of the sun, it was a beautiful monument, a testament to Lumiose’s position both as the largest city in Kalos and as an up-and-coming hotspot of culture and harmony after the disaster five years ago. However, with the pale glow of the moon shrouded by clouds, the Tower was a cold spire over the city. Simply looking up at it was enough to make even the strongest trainer tremble.
Normally this would be something to be brushed off, a silly little irrational paranoia to laugh away. But this night nobody at the Tower would have blamed you for being unsettled.
Two people stood in Centrico Plaza, gazes transfixed upon the Tower. Nothing had happened yet, but there was a tension in the air by the mutual knowledge that something would.
“Something’s going down at Prism Tower,” the larger figure spoke into his Rotom Phone. “Dispatch a team from the company to investigate.” His voice was deep and serious, his frame bulky and intimidating. Contrasting his appearance was the woman standing next to him. She wore a tight, knee-length dress with a crescent-shaped ruff, her hair matching it and her tone just as sharp as her attire. “We cannot allow more disturbances in Lumiose City on our watch.”
Suddenly, with a loud hum that echoed through the pavement, a magenta light exploded from the base of the tower, emanating in wisps around the center of the plaza. The two turned in shock, and their eyes widened in fear and awe at the unnatural spectacle. The man’s arm slowly dropped to his side.
Behind them, a lanky figure approached, his cane tap-tap-tapping on the ground with him. A Floette with a unique-looking flower floated beside him. The pair seemed strangely unfazed for this incredibly fazing situation. The Floette looked up at him, to which he simply raised his hand in an attempt to soothe her. “The strongest Mega Evolution user must be found,” he whispered.
Just as quickly and suddenly as the first time, the Tower flashed again, its eerie pink glow growing brighter as the strands of light flew higher, reaching to the heavens like steel filings drawn to a magnet.
Zygarde took in the scene from the eye of its small cell behind them, before slowly closing it.
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Not too far away in space and time, another Zygarde cell opened its eye to a relatively empty train. It scanned the passengers before its sight directed to the person sitting almost right below it, a person who couldn’t have been older than 16. They were preoccupied with looking out the window. Zygarde, following their eyes, took in the nature’s view… and Prism Tower emerged in the distance from behind a tree. Looking back down at the traveler, they were scrolling on their Rotom Phone on posts that were undoubtedly of Lumiose.
As if that wasn’t enough, Zygarde sensed immense potential from them.
Bingo.
“Arriving at the Gare de Lumiose momentarily,” a robotic voice broadcasted through the train. The little worm-like cell tensed up, looking around. If it was gonna do something, it had to act now. With a wiggle of anticipation, it leaped into their bag the second they weren’t looking.
Almost as soon as it had settled itself, the train slowed as it pulled into its destination.
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’Your train has arrived in Lumiose City!’
Your Rotom Phone chirped with the notification as you stepped off the train, travel bag in hand. You stretched, taking in the station— less populous than you’d expected, although you supposed you shouldn’t have been surprised, given the amount of people who moved away after the incident five years ago.
Excitement bubbled in your chest as you pushed through the green security gates into the almost blinding light of the main city. You had come to start a new life in Lumiose.
Ever since you were little, your father had emphasized power of Pokémon and their trainer above all else. Your older sibling was deemed to be a much more suitable investment for your father, and he spent all his time doting on them and training them and their Pokémon to be the most powerful trainer they could be.
Your mother had always been the parent who cared for you. You hardly ever saw your father when you were growing up. One of the only interactions you could remember with him… wasn’t the most pleasant.
”Daddy!” You exclaimed, running up to him excitedly. He turned, looking down at you with an expression of mild disinterest. Your mood dampened a little, but you still held a piece of paper up to him. “I drew us!”
He barely glanced at the paper before sighing. “Go show your mother. I’m busy right now.” He had then walked away, leaving your little hands to fall to your side in disappointment.
When you had cried to your mother about this, asking why your father didn’t love you, she had explained as kindly as she could that he had only wanted one child. She insisted that it wasn’t that he didn’t love you, but that he just wasn’t prepared for a second child and didn’t know what to do with you.
In other words, you were never supposed to be here.
Despite the pain of the obvious detachment of your father and sibling, you managed to live a relatively normal life. That is, until your mother fell ill. The sickness was quick and devastating, and in a month she was gone.
Instead of your father taking care of you like your mother did, he poured all his energy into your sibling after she died. You were left having to nearly fend for yourself. One day, you got fed up with the excuse for a life you were living. You picked the lock to the family’s safe, stole some cash, and quickly piled everything you’d need into your father’s travel bag.
You rushed to the nearest store, buying a Rotom Phone. You knew you’d need one if you were going to truly be independent. After you bought your new phone, you hurried to the train station. You had run up to the ticket booth, out of breath.
“One ticket to Lumiose City, please.”
You knew that Lumiose was the perfect place to start a life, with so many opportunities and so much culture. You could already smell the Galettes you would eat…
You shook your head, grounding yourself again. Now was no time to fantasize about food. You were standing in the middle of a terminal, for Arceus’s sake.
Bracing yourself, you shielded your eyes from the glare of the sun before stepping out into Lumiose City.
A Fletchling flew above you as a passerby walked by the nearby Pokémon Center with their neatly trimmed Furfrou. On your other side, a construction worker was strolling with his Machamp, a jogger ran by with his Litleo in tail, and a little boy played with a happily jumping Skiddo as a Dedenne scurried by.
As you walked down the ramp, you couldn’t help but admire how harmonious the people of Lumiose were with the Pokémon here. A wild Bunnelby was just hopping around, and trainers with their own Pokémon seemed happy as could be.
Taking a breath of the distinct Lumiose air, you looked up to see its most discerning landmark: Prism Tower. One of the first things you wanted to do here was take in the scenery from the top of it. You’d heard it was sublime.
“OK, ready to record!” You jumped, glancing to your right. The voice came from a boy standing there who looked about your age. His hair was swept to the left, platinum blond with a fade to pink. It reminded you somewhat of strawberry lemonade. “Now all we need is a tourist fresh off the train.”
In front of him stood a Totodile, Chikorita, and Tepig. He grinned at them enthusiastically. “Hope you three are ready for the spotlight again!” The three let out cries of confirmation. You smiled. Just another example of the bond between trainers and their Pokémon. Now, you should probably find a good place to stay—
“If we’re gonna protect Lumiose, we’ll need a bigger team.”
Wait, what? Protect Lumiose? What did it need protecting from?? Did you miss something in your research???
You stepped the tiniest bit closer to the boy and his Pokémon. You felt a little bit bad for eavesdropping, but hey, this was a public space and he wasn’t talking quietly at all.
“So let’s keep spreading the word about how great Hotel Z is. And once we get a guest who has what it takes, we’ll recruit ‘em to the cause!”
You relaxed a bit. Oh, thank Arceus. He was just talking about some little hotel slogan or something.
“Now, we just need someone with a real “I’m-a-tourist” look…” You tensed up again, looking away from him and praying he wouldn’t notice your listening in on him.
“Hey, you there!”
Daring to glance in his direction, he— sure enough— was talking to you. Great. You put on your most amiable expression, but to your relief, he seemed to be oblivious to your prior spying. Probably too focused on whatever ad he was making to care.
“Just pulled into the Gare de Lumiose, am I right?” You nodded. He seemed nice enough, even if he did seem to have a weird savior complex about whatever hotel he worked for. He glanced down at your bag. “And judging by that big old travel bag… I’ve got a hunch you’re here to see some sights!”
You nodded again. You might as well go along with it. Nobody needed to know your dramatic stereotypical ‘my parents didn’t love me’ main character backstory. “You got it!” You said. He grinned, clasping his hands together in excitement. “You’re just the type I’m looking for! And you’re about my height. We’ll look natural standing side by side.”
You couldn’t help but wonder if making an advertisement was really all that complicated, but you decided to keep your mouth shut. You weren’t the expert here.
“Listen, could you do me a small favor? For real, it’ll be so small.” He gave you a ‘please-say-yes’ look. “I need you to look into my camera and say “Hotel Z’s the best stay in Lumiose!” Easy, right?”
You sighed. You couldn’t exactly say no… “Yeah, I’ll do it,” you replied, only to almost fall over in shock as he nearly jumped you with a hug in excitement, seemingly barely restraining himself. “Oh, thank you so much! I, ah… I haven’t gotten anyone to actually be in my advertisements! You won’t regret this, I promise!”
You were starting to regret saying yes.
Evidently sensing your apprehension, he smiled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. “No worries if you’re staying somewhere else! I just need a hand advertising the hotel.”
Before you got a chance to respond, he’d already got his Rotom Phone out and pointed towards you. Great. Well, might as well make a splash on your first day in Lumiose. You tried to look as photogenic as possible. “Sound good? Good! OK, lights, camera…”
Suddenly, loud music began to fill the square. The boy cringed, turning to look at the screen adorning the side of the nearby building, which seemed to be the source of the noise. “Ah, shoot. We can’t film with that ad blaring in the background!”
The screen displayed a logo of a star with a crescent around it, with the name ’Quasartico’ inscribed underneath it. The logo faded to a woman with a sweeping blonde crescent of hair, crescent earrings, and a collar that positioned her head like the star on the logo. On her collar was a pin of the same logo, and her dress was patterned with it as well. It would appear that she was a representative of this “Quasartico” company.
“Welcome to Lumiose City, where people and Pokémon flourish together,” she said, her voice echoing through the square. “My name is Jett, and I am the CEO of Quasartico Inc.” She pulled a Poké Ball out from behind her and dropped it to the ground, out of which a Skiddo sprang out, its innocent eyes pointed up at her. “Pokémon are mysterious and wholly magnificent creatures.”
She gestured outwards, and the background turned into a scene of a café with people and Pokémon alike having what looked like the time of their lives. “They thrive abundantly, right here in our midst.”
You didn’t know what it was, but you could already tell you didn’t like this CEO much.
She continued to speak, using her hands to enunciate as the Skiddo clopped around her. “In fact, so many Pokémon now grace us with their presence…”
The background shifted once again, into a small park with a child playing with a Bunnelby, as other Pokémon meandered nearby. “…that we’ve begun setting up wild zones where they can live comfortably alongside us.”
You frowned. That… didn’t sound like a very good idea to you. If you weren’t mistaken, wild Pokémon could be very dangerous… but again, you weren’t the expert here.
She brought her hands in front of her into fists, a go-getting pose as the Skiddo traipsed back to her side, looking directly into the camera. “These diverse creatures wield many marvelous powers.” The background now depicted construction workers building some elaborate-looking scaffolding with the help of their Pokémon. “It’s up to all of us to work with them so we can live in harmony.”
She reached a hand down, petting the Skiddo, who eagerly leaned into her touch. Maybe you were just too on guard about corporations… but something about her still didn’t sit right with you.
She clasped her hands in front of her as the Skiddo pranced in a circle. “In hopes of strengthening the bonds between people and Pokémon, we’re imagining a new future for this city through our urban redevelopment plan.”
You had seen mentions of this plan during your research, but you hadn’t seen any mention of this ‘Quasartico’. Maybe they were just now sponsoring it.
“We’ve now employed our patented holo-tech in all corners of Lumiose…” she waved her hand, and behind her arose an incredible holographic 3D model of Lumiose. Your eyes widened in awe. “…so our interactive guides can teach you more about your surroundings,” she finished. “A city even more beautiful than before awaits all of us,” she said, making another gesture and with it adding plants and bird Pokémon to the holographic scene. This lady was impressive… maybe she was alright after all.
The camera zoomed back in on her face. “We hope you’ll bear that in mind and pardon our construction work.”
You blinked. Was all that really just to say ‘pardon our mess’?
The logo from the beginning of the video appeared again, the lady’s voice still able to be heard over it. “The Mega Evolution of Lumiose City is coming, brought to you by Quasartico Inc.”
With a ding, the broadcast shut off. “I like how that CEO thinks,” the boy next to you said. You jumped. You had forgotten about him. “Even if her ad did keep us from filming.”
He turned back to you. “This city and its Pokémon are a wonder. To know ‘em is to love ‘em!” He pumped both his fists. “Anyone who visits gets it.” You couldn’t help but agree with that. “Yeah,” you admitted, “I’ve only been here a couple minutes and I’m already amazed.”
His smile widened at your words. “That’s the spirit! Now, speaking of people who visit Lumiose, let’s get filming!”
He paused. “Hold up— where’d your bag go? You don’t look as touristy without it.” Looking down at your side, you realized he was right. You were decidedly bagless. You both looked around, trying to find the thief or pickpocket, when you noticed a small chirping sound behind you. Turning around, you, the boy, and his three Pokémon saw a Pancham hopping from foot to foot— with your bag held above its head.
“Give that back!” You yelled. This seemed to be the wrong thing to say, as the Pancham immediately dashed off. The boy looked at you obliviously. “Did you hire a Pokémon courier service or something?” You crossed your arms, giving him a blank stare. “What do you think?”
His eyes widened as he recoiled in surprise. “Wait… so your bag got bagnapped?!” You shrugged. “Interesting word choice, but yeah.”
He looked to the side guiltily, scratching the side of his head in shame. “I shouldn’t have bugged you with my video stuff… My bad! Come on, I’ll help you get your bag back!”
You felt a small jab in your chest at the thought that this random kid was apologizing to you, but before you could assure him that you weren’t mad at him, he was already running off towards the direction of the Pancham. You quickly started chasing after him. Something gave you the feeling this boy was gonna cause you a lot of trouble…