Archive of Our Own

The way forward was dark but clear.

There was a light skittering sound in the cave; nothing unusual, by far, but it still got the Scolipede to stiffen up. It did not usually venture into the cave. A nest of Noivern and their young made their home there, and from there they ruled the forest.

And yet, caution must be upheld at all times.

The Scolipede continued its path, one eye trained on the cave, its horns ready for an ambush. It could perhaps fight off a few enemies if they decided to rush it, and with the potent poison it held it would be able to disfigure them even more so, but it would like to not battle if it could. Battling took energy. Battling took time. Battling may result in injuries.

A creak. Scolipede does not falter, but then a flash of light followed afterwards and suddenly all of its wariness started to… melt away.

Problems, issues, worries… it didn’t matter now… it didn’t need to do anything else but follow the light. Yes, the light is warm. It is fuzzy. It will keep everything else at bay.

The Scolipede turned towards the mouth of the cave and walked into the light, not a single trace of its former personality lingering with its confident steps.

The way forward was bright but murky, but it was undeniably a step towards something greater. Something hungrier too.

Something a part of a better design.

“Man, that was some tasty food!”

“We have to pack up now!”

“Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go!”

Clemont smiled as he pushed down the remnants of the table into his bag, snapping the cover over it afterwards before hauling it over his back. Ash was posing in front of Serena and Bonnie— the latter egging him on into more ludicrous ones as the former paused her own work to watch. It was harmless fun, and he couldn’t help but soften at the display.

Especially at where they were heading to next. “If you’re all ready, I’d like to get moving soon.”

“For the radio thingy, right?” Ash called, straightening himself up before walking his way. Clemont tilted his head for a bit before nodding, finding it to be an astute enough observation.

It wasn’t every day that one was able to visit a radio observatory, after all. Clemont was completely content with just making his way through the journey— don’t give him that face!— but looking at the map for nearby towns had given him something to actually look forward to, an area brimming with potential and inspiration. Such advanced machinery could be the force he needed regarding inventing, giving him a direction to follow in his life, one that wouldn’t be harmful at all and helpful to a fault.

The universe was always expanding. And while astronomy wasn’t the scientific study he had started out with, Clemont couldn’t hold himself back from the discovery of something new. From learning something new, too. Especially since he could see the sky so much clearly on this journey.

Still, it was discomforting wrangling his emotions long enough to posit such an idea. To someone as naturally avoidant as he was, discouraging the others from following a particular plan of location was a lot easier than persuading them to continue or change their plans. It took days to muster up the courage to even point it out on the map, and the boisterous encouragement he got almost shocked him into rejecting everything and adopting a vow of lifelong silence.

As usual, Bonnie was dismissive of his claims, tossing it aside as easily as air. It was calming in a way to have that constant in his life, so much so that Clemont didn’t really have the heart to fight back against her accusations of being a boring place with a bunch of numbers on screens. Serena had taken it with a lot more poise, looking it up on her device and mumbling about the intrigue of space.

And Ash?

Well, let’s just say he took it very seriously. So much so that every subsequent talks have completely devolved into the matter, the Kantonian rummaging out every bit of interest from Clemont and turning it into so much more, every waking moment dedicated to making the trek as worthwhile as it could be.

It was overwhelming. It was a lot to deal with. Everyone’s focus was on him for once, and he didn’t know if he liked revealing this small interest of his with so many eyes digging into every detail. This was just something to keep him interested on the walk. A box ticked off. Showing some initiative for once. Doing something with this journey that isn’t tinkering with machines or biting nails over the state of the Gym (he’s yet to call them, and that might be due to a mixture of fear and trying to pretend that everythings fine) (well, it was fine, relatively so; if the question was about him, though, then he’ll probably break down and never move from this one spot on the road due to shame, which is a normal reaction to have when someone questions your mental stability).

Serena tried to brush it off as a good place for some PokéVision content. Clemont wisely did not try to reject that, still remembering how easily she could turn the tables and the lens on him with a quick flick of her wrist. But still…

Was baring himself like this always so frightening?

Was having fun worth exposing yourself in the first place?

Was this road as long on the map as it was in reality?

“Oh, that’s a nice stone.”

Clemont glanced at it sparingly, finding it to look like any sort of rock on their path. To be fair, though, the rocks have been showing a little luster around these parts. “That’s nice?”

“You can really tell if it’s a good one if it balances well in your hand,” Ash said matter-of-factly, picking up one himself (this one was completely average) and tossing it in its hand. His grin was playful when he walked right beside Serena and crooned, “Bet I can throw this one further than you can!”

She yelped as she shielded the rock close to herself. “No! I’m not throwing this one.” Her voice dropped into a reverent whisper, “It’s precious, I’m sure of it.”

“It looks like a rock to me.”

“Bonnie!” Clemont admonished, glancing over at the affronted Serena ahead of him.

His sister shook her head, squeezing her hands into a fist for a brief moment before flinging them forward to gesture at said rock anyways. “You can’t tell me that it’s not a rock!”

He couldn’t, that’s true. “Still…”

{You have no room to decide what’s important, not after what you’ve done.}

“Eh?”

“Wow, so that’s like, three to one, huh?”

“Who’s three?” Serena’s steely gaze quickly quietened everyone, which was a boon to Clemont considering… that voice. It was a voice, right? His thoughts were never that loud or scathing.

At least not when surrounded by company.

He kept a wary eye out as they continued walking, the disputable rock tucked into Serena’s pocket and Ash having thrown his own one far, far ahead of them. There was a tiny clink at that which heralded the beginning of that charming grin on the Kantonian’s face staying on for the rest of the way. It wasn’t like anyone had the heart to fight the topic against him when he was like that, even if Bonnie did make a half-hearted attempt to break his record with one she picked up a few minutes afterwards.

Luckily, his good mood carried him over such petty arguments and the two of them got to display the stones on the path they were on, causing Serena to roll her eyes and giving Clemont a tether to the real world. After all, calculating distance and velocity was much more preferable to what had suddenly snuck into his head. 

So of course he would immediately catch onto the slowing pace of those in front of him when Ash said, “Is that the place you were talking about?

Clemont squinted forward, having only caught the tip of the domed heads of the buildings. Their brief climb up the hill, however, had painted a clearer picture— cracked glass, overgrown grass, no presence to be found.

{Just leave them behind. You’re stronger on your own. They’re holding you back.}

He shook his head, freeing himself of the thoughts. “It said it was still functional. I don’t understand.” He turned his attention to the satellite dishes, finding them shimmering in the sun, in shape and in its rightful place. Clemont’s eyes narrowed, his brain trying to fit the warring images in his head.

“Do you think there was a problem there before? Like something blowing up?” Bonnie’s voice was contemplative and completely serious as she gazed at the same sight, shifting from foot to foot. Even if the idea was… undesirable, to say the least, Clemont couldn’t really find fault in it.

Serena shrugged, looking antsy as she said, “Well, it doesn’t look like anyone could get in there now.”

The others were right to be cautious. Clemont stepped back, feeling his heart get heavy as he called out, “It’s fine, it’s probably old. I should check the dates of the websites from now on.” It was a bitter thought, for sure, but nonetheless a safe one. The electronics were probably rusted by all the time spent under the weather anyways.

{You’re just a coward. You’re selfish. You know you want to come here without the others.}

Clemont ignored it, as always.

Footsteps crunched behind him, two pairs following his downwards descent, but the third one never came. He made himself stop, looking back at the other member of their team.

Ash glanced at them as he crossed his arms, tilting his head from side to side. “I mean… what’s stopping us?” 

There was that hint of that restless grin, and Clemont found himself shutting it down before it could drown him out. “Absolutely not.”

“But you wanted this, didn't you?” Ash placed a hand on his shoulder, and for whatever reason, Clemont walked back, slipping away as it brushed by him. The touch felt too cold, too sudden, and he glanced back to watch the confusion wash over his friend.

“I—-” What could he say? Clemont turned his head as he bit his lip, focusing on the pressure, before letting it go. “It’s a bad idea. And it really doesn’t matter to me.” He forced some levity in his voice, making the matter sound truly inconsequential. He turned his gaze to Serena, who already faced away. “You’re the one who wanted to film something.”

She glanced at them as if it were the first time she heard the conversation since she last spoke, a glint of fear in her eyes. “Do you really think there’s something worth filming in there?” she asked, reluctance in her voice, “Because the only idea I’ve got is a horror flick. And I prefer that we make something more nicer and safe and won’t get us eaten.”

“We can… always find another one, right?” Bonnie muttered, and the three of them looked up at each other. It really wasn’t worth it.

Even Ash’s eyes have dimmed as he turned away, the barbed wires stark against his retreating frame. “Fine, if you say so.” His voice was chipper, but there was no hiding the weary tone in his voice. It seemed like even he had reached his limit next to this place.

And if what was behind them was any proof, that was a good thing. Pursuing broken things only led to pain and hurt. And this time they didn’t even need to go! To Clemont, this was the cleanest break they could ever get.

{Run away. That’s all you’re good at. Cutting corners and cutting emotions.}

So why did he feel so guilty?

Why did it feel so wrong?

And why did he feel like he was leaving something irreplaceable behind?

The walk became weird.

Now, that’s a usual sentiment for Clemont. With everyone quickly outpacing you and long distances to be taken, he regularly found himself (or the others) experiencing some issue. There’s been heists, there’s been pitfalls, there’s been projectiles and there’s been waterfalls/cliffs. The roads of Kalos weren’t as tightly regulated as he thought.

And yet, this road was weirder than most.

“Where are all the Pokémon?” Bonnie cried ten minutes in, scampering away from another potential den to find nothing. At the start Clemont would berate her, but with the promise of observing distance and the action of brandishing her pouchette in the air, his sister went forward to try to spot anything of note. It was made easier by the small wink Serena gave from her side, and so he didn’t really spend that much brain power on it.

That was until the obvious came to light. “That’s strange,” he answered, his tone curious. Unregulated as the roads were, Pokémon always found a way to live around them. Sometimes even in them. To hear of no such presence was… disquieting, to say the least.

Serena shrugged, having brought out Fennekin a few minutes in to sneak some food she’s found (and definitely not trying to give herself something to do). The Starter was chewing on a twig slowly, her eyes scanning the trees with a sort of lull to her movements. Usually, she would scarf them down before anyone could spot her eating such a delicacy, but now…

Clemont shook his head. He’s just getting paranoid. There’s nothing wrong with Fennekin, or the Pokémon in the forest for that matter. “I’m sure we’ll see some soon.”

Bonnie raised an eyebrow at him. “When’s that?”

“Soon.” There’s a logical explanation for this. A predator, perhaps? Hibernation? Migration? Whatever it was, the norm will soon return.

The walk didn’t get any better twenty minutes in. Serena recalled Fennekin quietly, and even Bonnie’s pouchette remained still. Pikachu’s ears were perked up and swiveling every which way, his body language leaning towards hostile as time ticked on. Clemont kept to himself and focused on getting out, on not stating the obvious, on never suggesting another site ever again.

A rustling in the bushes got everyone to stand to attention, eyes wide. Even Ash, who was tight-lipped, held a hand in front of them, Pikachu jumping off his shoulder to spark his cheeks at the sound threateningly.

A few more seconds of the sound gave way to a thump on the ground.

A pale cream body laid on the path, yellow charm glinting in the light.

“Meowth!” Serena yelped, stepping backwards with a furrow settling over her brow. Clemont stared at the body, finding a myriad of injuries all over it. Scratches, bruises, dark blobs of energy flickering around some scorched tuffs of fur. Without thinking he pulled his bag down, rummaging out Potions and walking forward.

Bonnie hopped next to him, crouched low as she flicked at one ear. “Isn’t it, like, bad to help out our enemies?”

Clemont restrained the need to ask about her sudden ruthlessness. Being sassed by a Pokémon would probably do that to anyone. “How do you know it’s the same Meowth?”

Her anger waned a little. He sprayed the potion over the face, where a majority of the scrapes were placed. “It— He looked like he was walking? Before he fell. And his toes aren’t even bent right now like a normal Meowth.”

“So maybe it’s the same one,” he amended, moving to the paw. “Now, are you willing to live with the fact that he was hurt and nobody helped?”

“If he didn’t bother us again.”

Clemont glared at Bonnie.

She stuck her tongue out, then glared back, then rolled her eyes and turned her head to the side. “Fine. But,” she added, looking at him slyly, “Are you willing to live with the fact that he might steal Pikachu from us? Or any of our other Pokémon?”

“We’ll deal with that as it happens,” Clemont replied coolly as he spritzed the knee before capping the bottle. “Sometimes, you have to be the bigger person. Even if the other person is mean to you.”

“Even if the other guys get to have an advantage the next time we meet?”

Clemont nodded as he waited by the Pokémon’s side, Potion at the ready in case the first dose wasn’t enough. “Even then.”

Bonnie pouted for a moment before tapping his shoulder. At his bemused look, she whispered, “Can I attack him if he hurts us?”

An unbidden smile fought to place itself on his face. “Don’t hurt yourself,” he said simply, the thought of such an act causing him to crane his neck towards Ash.

The Kantonian was strangely quiet, his gaze burrowing into Meowth’s body as if it held the answer. He didn’t move an inch from his post, as did Pikachu— the two of them held a stalwart image, bodyguards ready to protect those who can’t do so themselves.

Clemont reflected on himself; after all, more and more he’s been getting reliant on Ash and his quick reaction time. While there has been no need to hold himself back anymore, Clemont had found that the time he had spent away from the Gym (and indeed, of any true battles) had weakened him greatly. Fighting against Ash that fateful day had changed his perspective, and against Clembot had influenced his mindset, but did he truly do anything after that?

He wanted to be a Gym Leader. He still holds that desire. But he couldn’t just sit around and merely want for something.

A gasp cracked the silence and Clemont looked down to see two slitted eyes open, tail curled up tight, a paw quickly launching Meowth to stand on his feet and hiss at them. His breathing was far too fast, erratic, and the inventor (Gym Leader?) found himself putting a hand out. “You’re okay now,” he said, feeling the words fall flat in the charged environment.

Meowth bared his sharp teeth and cackled, the voice as familiar as they came. “Safe? With that monsta ‘round? Nothin’s safe.” He put emphasis on the last word, almost tearing into his lip with the force he exercised.

“What’s wrong?” Ash swiftly said, stepping toward. Somehow, the visage of the Kantonian boy cooled down the Pokémon, Meowth’s chest shuddering for a moment before he slumped down once more.

Pikachu quickly sat next to him, chittering for a few moments before offering an Oran Berry, and that sharp eye wearily moved towards it before a paw snatched it up and tossed it down the hatch. “Doesn’t matter. Just leave, Twerps, and don’t look back.”

“That’s awfully nice of you to say,” Serena called, her voice stone cold. “Just letting us go? Nothing else to it?”

“It’s not like I could ask ya to help out,” Meowth muttered before he pulled both paws over his mouth, somehow looking pale even with the cream-coloured fur. The humans all looked up at each other, their gazes coming to an agreement.

“You know, by now we’d be hearing your lousy catchphrase,” Bonnie said, smirking as she nudged Meowth a little. “It’s like I could hear it right now—”

“To destroy the world with our bad song!” Serena sing-songed, nodding her head to the invisible beat.

Meowth grimaced. “Stop.”

“To disband all eardrums all day long!” Bonnie added, smirk growing larger.

“Why would you even choose those words?” Meowth groaned as his ears flattened against his skull. The two girls looked over at Clemont, and he sighed before thinking up of the next botched lyric.

“To… proclaim the truth of auditory perception?” He winced, hearing how the tune dropped with his hesitance. Yet, Meowth still looked at him as if he was a traitor, eyelids dripping with the weight of his tears as he turned to the last person left, his only hope of salvation.

The Scratch Cat Pokémon whimpered as he said, hands held up in a pleading gesture as he shuffled on his knees to his perceived savor, “Please, if anyone could have mercy on me…”

Ash grinned as he tapped the bottom of his chin, glancing over at Pikachu who held a similar devious look. “To stop the spread of these terrible accusations!” It was a broken rhythm with the tonal shift at the end, the worst thing of all, and Meowth wailed as he face-planted on the ground and banged his fists down.

Clemont warily stood up as he stood next to the others, whispering, “So we’ve traumatised him. Now what?”

Serena gave him a wink as Ash bent down to pick up the inconsolable Pokémon, Pikachu quickly scampering back to his usual perch. It was Bonnie who nearly yelled out, “Wait, no, we’re actually going to help him?!”

“Why not?” Ash replied, friend and enemy on either side of his shoulders, back straight and expression assured. His pace was quick, and he didn't hesitate one bit (nothing like Clemont, his mind screeched). 

It’s that simple.

Why not, indeed.

“Not this place again!” Bonnie groaned, kicking up ground a little ways away from the bottom of the hill as Serena muttered about bad omens.

This felt like a cruel joke of the universe at this point. Clemont hanged back as Meowth yapped about how they'd overheard about the radio observatory, their plan revolving around staking out the place for an ambush before something unmentionable having taken all of them out of the fight long before they could even get started. His gaze was flight, fidgety, and it left a bitter taste on Clemont’s tongue.

{Why are you denying yourself this? You know you want it.}

“Can we really trust him?” Clemont said, louder than necessary. The others glanced at him and he felt the instinct to cower, but the rawness of the situation chafed at him. Glaring at Meowth, he added, “Team Rocket aren’t known to be truthful, and for all we know, they’re leading us to an actual ambush right now.”

“Not like they’ve already done it anyways,” Serena muttered under her breath as Bonnie’s eyes narrowed, the pair glaring down at Meowth beside them as the latter called out, “Yeah, maybe we should just leave him here and go back to where we were before!”

The talking Pokémon blanched as he shook his head emphatically. “No, seriously, don’t leave me here! They’re gonna get me for real, and I’m gonna be all alone and they’re gonna ship me off the the highest bidder or maybe control me too an’ an’—”

“Take a deep breath,” Ash instructed, voice brooking no arguments. Meowth still babbled panickedly to himself for a few moments before Pikachu squeaked in the same tone, which got him to face the mouse with a dour expression.

Still, it did the trick. “Now, what’s this about ‘getting you’?” Ash’s eyes darkened at that, and Meowth looked down in silence for a few moments before sighing.

“It’s… really not pretty. An’ the more time we spend ‘ere, the easier that weirdo can get you all and I’ll…”

Ash stood firm. “We can make time.”

“Give us a brief rundown, at least.” Clemont leaned forward, adding, “If we don’t understand the problem, we can’t help you.”

Meowth glanced at him, pupils narrowed. He weighed the words for a few moments before turning away to look at his back paws, looking just as disinterested as he always did. “I dunno where to start anyways. It really was supposed to be—”

Team Rocket was cooking up the perfect plan.

It was thanks to the Twerps, honestly, for ruminating on the point so long that the plan could even exist. A place full of gadgets and gizmos they could take for themselves, as well as twisting architecture to trap certain Pokémon in? It was definitely one of their top schemes to date.

Of course, there was that flimsy wired gate all over the property. It took them ages to scope out an opening, and they couldn’t just climb over it because Jessie wasn’t willing to risk her hair on such sharp barbs. But still, they had plenty of time to get ready, in part thanks to the truck they now use to traverse the region.

Why, it was such a pleasing thought that Meowth didn’t even stop to think about how quiet the forest had been, or the field they were walking around now. Why should he care about some low-level Scatterbug or an overhead Fletchling when there was loot to be scavenged? Perhaps they could even make another Mega (Mega) Meowth robot and finally show the Twerps who they were messing with!

It was James who noted that there seemed to be no soul around the area at all. He said those words with worry, as if it wasn’t the role of a master thief to not leave any witnesses at all. Jessie got him good with that, and that really was that, until more time had passed.

At some point, it felt like they were wandering around forever. Even Meowth could’ve sworn his charm lost a little sparkle, his legs lugging behind him like years had passed instead of hours. He fell flat on his stomach a few minutes later, his mouth feeling inexplicably dry as the world spun around him.

So did his eyes, now that he thought about it. He rapidly blinked, trying to pull himself up, but he couldn’t do it. There were flashing lights up ahead, and just a bit beyond him, the distant bodies of his teammates had stopped getting smaller.

It was… almost like they had stopped moving.

Meowth had scoffed to himself then. About time they noticed his plight! 

(Of course, if someone had called it out he would’ve refuted it, said that they had cotton in their brain, because of course he could get out of this predicament by himself. Just not as fast as two stubborn and much taller than usual humans, that’s all.)

Meowth concentrated on taking deep breaths as the two turned around, taking the time to recuperate as much as he could so he could get back to walking on his own two feet sooner rather than later.

And sure, they were walking in unison, and sure, their body language stayed dreadfully the same, and sure, their voices were all drony and words were mumbly. Sometimes friends play pranks on each other, right? There was nothing to worry about, nothing at all.

And it was fine, all fine, until their eyes came into view.

Oh, even poor Wobbuffet wasn’t exempt from the sign— dark eyebags hung as if effort translated directly into time, pupils (if there were any) overblown and blotting out any colour in their eyes, a gaze unfocused as they stared off into the horizon. Meowth pulled himself up, hissing between his teeth as the dizziness did not abate, and warily waved a paw in front of the now-stagnant bodies in front of him. Zip. Zero reaction. Nada, even.

He opened his mouth to say something, but then he heard a rumbling voice, vaguely female, mutter past loose lips, “Here he is, master.” 

‘Master’? Jessie would never, in a hundred years, call anybody that. Even the Boss was just that, the Boss. Meowth turned to James, hoping that there was a glimmer of intelligence behind those usually already-dim eyes, but not even a smile greeted him.

Just… just that emptiness. Like there was nothing inside, carved out by some other being.

Meowth shook his head as he stepped back, but of course that’s where Wobbuffet was and nobody could push past that guy on a good day (and this was supposed to be a great day, theoretically, anyways). The Scratch Cat Pokémon found himself blubbering as a shadow rose in front of him, golden eyes flashing before that same light show played.

The lights startled him enough that he ducked his head down, a paw immediately blocking his sight. His ears pricked up as he heard footsteps walk towards him, and he managed to pick up enough words to shout out, “Guys, snap out of it already! I know y’all are dopes, but not this dopey!”

“You should be serving our master, Meowth,” James intoned, hand grasping at him. Meowth swiped, but there was no reaction.

He grimaced as he backed away to the right, finding Jessie looming over him. “You’re a valuable Pokémon, Meowth.”

Their voices congealed into something much more sinister as they hummed, “There’s no need to think, Meowth. The master just needs your body, Meowth.”

Meowth shook his head, his fur standing on end. ‘Serving’? ‘Valuable’? ‘Body’? “No!” he cried, feeling himself get more sluggish under the light bathed over them, sapping away at his will to fight.

The light…

He looked down at his paws and resigned himself to his fate. After all, a life of freedom was worth everything, even—

“Even scratching your face up?” Serena interrupted, looking slightly green at the implications.

The feline quickly swiveled to face her and snapped, “Well, it ain’t like I had another choice, now, did I? I’ve faced my fair share of creeps and mind mumbo. I know what it takes to sneak out of most traps of that variety.” He pressed his lips then, uncharacteristically still tight on details.

Still, it was more than what they had to work with before. Clemont thought about the story, weighing up the details and finding holes whenever he could. In the meantime, he could hear Ash ask, “So this mind control, it’s based on concentration?” 

“Dunno. All I knew was that the light was bad news.” Meowth stuck out his tongue and shook out his body. “Who knew the rainbow could be evil?”

“Sounds fake,” Bonnie mumbled underneath her breath, but Clemont could hear the shred of worry in her voice. He could empathise with that. After all, a mind-controlling villain out around here, snatching people and Pokémon for their own nefarious purposes? That couldn’t be good news for anyone around here.

He glanced at the radio observatory, his wants conflicting with the bigger need. No matter what, safety came first. If they were all mind-controlled then there was no point. But could they really afford ignoring a threat getting bigger without interruption?

Luckily, Ash had already made up his own mind. “We’ll go in there and stop that bad guy,” he said, nodding firmly to himself as he stood up from his crouching position. 

Serena was quick to react, pulling him down just as quickly and barking out, “We’re not going in to stop this so-called bad guy.” She turned her gaze to Meowth, narrow and still full of distrust. “I mean, do we even know that this so-called bad guy is even bad? Sounds like they stopped Team Rocket to me.”

“They stole my friends!” Meowth gasped, looking completely affronted. “They’re gonna sell me to this rando we’ve never met!”

“So you say.” Serena stressed out every word, her viewpoint clear with every syllable. “You say lots of things! Doesn’t mean they’re all true. Do we even know where this mastermind is hiding? Or do you really expect us to take the long way?”

Clemont felt a tug on his side and saw Ash shooting him a loaded look. The inventor suddenly felt pressure to make his point known; the worst part was that he couldn’t think fast enough.

Strange lights, longer than usual property lines, unfocused eyes and strange requests. Team Rocket were a lot of things, but they were always loyal to each other. That was a given in every situation. 

But then again, this could be a trap.

{This is what you wanted, though. A reason to exist. A reason to be here.}

His gaze slid towards the building once more as Serena said, “Absolutely not! We’re not going to risk our lives on a problem that didn’t even touch us!”

Clemont wet his lips, subconsciously buying more time, before he said, “I think we should go.”

Ash beamed at him as Serena sputtered, Bonnie tilting her head at him questioning. Clemont waited for pushback, but surprisingly none came. Not even the biggest naysayer of their group had something to say.

Instead, Meowth fiddled with his paws. “That’s great, kid, but a word of warning.” He stood up shakily and pulled his head up straight, eyes suddenly perceptive. “Always be on your guard. Don’t let your head flop or eyes drop or whatever. Don’t even blink, if that’s what it takes.”

“That’s a fun new way to hurt us,” Serena muttered, facing away as she pulled herself out of the crouch and dusted off her skirt. Ash stood up himself as he fixed his cap, Clemont reluctantly getting to his feet as the hill stood in front of them.

From here, the voices were almost imperceptible. It also helped that Clemont was tuning them out, but he wondered how loud it would get if they went inside.

Then he shook his head, freeing the stray thought while fixing a determined expression. Voices from a building? That was preposterous. There was no such thing as subliminal messages, after all, and even if there were, the radio observatory was built to receive signals from space, not project their own onto the earth. It was clear that he was just tired.

{This is your chance to finally mean something. Don’t let it go to waste. Don’t let the others take it from you.}

Really, really tired.

“—catching up?”

Clemont looked up at Ash as he waved at him, everyone else already in the process of scaling the hill. He held that determined face as he nodded and got to work.

After all, he wanted this, right? The whole situation at hand was just another excuse in the end.

He couldn’t let them get to the radio observatory before himself, after all.

The station was almost as impressive up close.

Almost, because the closer they got to it the more Clemont could see how aged it really was. Moss covered large swaths of metal that touched the ground, vines crawling upwards, broken glass looking worn down. He narrowed his eyes as Meowth kept glancing backwards, the cat still baffled that there was a hole in the gate that laid in plain sight.

“I’m tellin’ ya, it wasn’t there before! Not even a peephole!” he had cried, turning his head left and right as if something was going to swoop in right there and there. It was strange— no normal event had caused it to happen, and the tear looked to be inflicted by sheer force. Like hands effortlessly ripping through it, or a truck.

Serena looked pensive while Bonnie still maintained her doubtful stance. Ash just strolled on through, not missing a beat as Pikachu watched over his shoulder. Mutual assurance had leaked out and infected the others before long, getting them to follow in the lead of the clear leader around here.

The power of confidence was a force to be reckoned with, and while Clemont was still wary, he could appreciate its effects. With a definitive direction and a steady pace, worries wouldn’t have the chance to infect an individual's mind. Somehow, before even knowing it, Ash was proving to be a much better example just by being himself.

{If only you could be half the man your friend was. Were you even friends? Do you, of all people, deserve the title?}

Clemont flinched, scanning around briefly before they all walked into the front entrance. The door was stuck in place, a revolving set firmly holding its position. It took all of them to push it to face inwards, and even then, the inventor couldn’t help but fear what they would find inside.

It was dark inside, yet not completely unseeable. The front room seemed to be frozen in entropy, the only sounds and movements coming from the living and breathing beings that had just stepped inside. Silence quickly descended over all of them; even Meowth didn’t utter a word as he stuck close to Ash, the latter taking purposeful footsteps down the short flight of stairs to where the corridor was. It was there where he looked over his shoulder, giving Clemont a small nudge of his head.

He was asking for directions. Clemont quickly tried to recall the map in his mind, one that he poured over alongside Serena as they talked about the place. Locking eyes with her for confirmation, they both pointed—

In completely different directions.

Serena’s eyes widened as she jabbed her finger upwards, clearly wanting for a better view from a higher floor, but Clemont wouldn’t change his mind. The bad guy clearly had some sort of familiarity with this place— by going to the main office, they could wrestle control without having to risk themselves. Ash looked between them in confusion as Meowth dragged a paw (without claws poking out) over his face in exasperation.

This went on for another minute or two, Clemont trying to instill knowledge through his gaze while she shook her head and jabbed harder, before Bonnie stepped between them and shooed them apart. Surprised, they did just that, and she quickly waved her hands about to make her point across.

Even more surprisingly, Serena agreed with his reaction— a solid head shake. Time has made it easier for him to read Bonnie’s charade attempts, and it was clear she was asking for them to split into teams. Which was a terrible decision. What part of mind-controlling villain was unclear here?

Clemont went to face Ash and found him nursing a contemplative expression. His own face paled as he reached for his shoulder, trying to shake him out of whatever crazy scheme he’s got in his head, but just as easily Ash shrugged him off and faced them all with a sunny disposition.

While Serena was mollified by such a display, Bonnie was easily ready to react with whatever strong emotion will come out of the plan. The sad part (for Clemont, that is) was Ash’s plan was simple in its entirety.

Split up, he had mimed.

Ash even had the gall to cheekily point out two people had agreed to it, which was unfair and quite frankly untrue since Clemont had the authority to override what Bonnie said, but his own sister went to stand by Ash and stick her tongue out at him. Which didn’t hurt, obviously, but was pretty disrespectful to witness.

Before the inventor could argue the decision further, Meowth flailed his paws and roughly pushed at Ash, pointing up with him before looking at Clemont and pointing to the side. The Kantonian patted the feline’s head before giving them a thumbs up, walking confidently forward with Bonnie following at his heels.

Leaving Clemont and Serena alone.

The only ones who— Wait! Clemont tried to run to them, thinking about how no one on the other team knew the layout, but Serena instinctively grabbed his arm and waved a hand out to calm him down. She wryly pointed upwards, letting her fingers ‘walk’ up, and then he finally calmed down as the concept dawned on him.

Right. Stairs. Going up was a lot easier than finding one specific room, after all.

Clemont focused on his breathing— the method of sucking air in and expelling it out— before nodding. Sure. He could do this. Getting to the bottom of a mystery in the one building he wanted to visit was fine, after all.

Serena gave him a small smile, their one point of contact already broken in the time that it took him to settle. He clicked a button on the strap over his shoulder and the Heliolisk-Light turned on, lighting up the way.

The hallway was long.

(The thoughts stopped. But… why?)

Clemont went forward, not giving an inch to the darkness ahead. She followed beside him, constantly checking around them with a critical eye, and despite himself he was starting to get lulled by the repetitive movements. The two of them had planned out the route with another awkward round of charades, basing their direction from the entrance and moving towards the room in question. Soon enough there should be a crossroads, and they should turn right.

…Except no crossroads made themselves clear. There seemed to be only one path they could go down, each turn the only turn they could take. After the third right Serena stopped in her tracks, leaning her head against one hand before spinning a finger from another around in a small loop.

Clemont stopped too, his brow furrowed. Three of the same turns… should mean that they were facing right where they first started. He peered at what was in front of them, seeing nothing but the long corridor and the occasional door that adorned the side of it, and looked back, seeing only the same. Serena reached for her pockets and pulled out her portable device, which caused Clemont to shake his head. The radio waves will interact with the satellite dishes, distorting or mixing with what was naturally received from outside. They didn’t know if this facility was running or if anyone was watching for interference.

Serena nodded and drew out her camera instead, confusing the inventor as a result. She held it to her eye, turning her head around in an act of looking around, and yet the only idea he got was using it as a telescope. It was a relatively harmless idea. He shrugged and she grinned, stepping forward with renewed purpose.

This time, she held a hand out to stop him at the next turn. She looked over at the right, the only option once more, before turning to the left, where a wall was. Clemont was prepared to walk back and retrace their steps when she held a hand up and pointed towards the wall.

He looked at it curiously and put a hand out there, expecting to feel… a wall, optimally. Solid and cold. Instead, there seemed to be no change in texture or give, causing him to stumble forward, past the wall itself.

Clemont blinked, expectations shattered with that stray movement. He turned around and saw Serena, waving at him with a self-satisfied smile, camera still held over one eye. The inventor walked back to where he previously stood by her side, looking around to only find the wall again. He stuck his hand through it, seeing it touch the wall but not feeling anything. It looked uncanny, hurting his head enough to make himself pull away with a wince.

He felt a tap on his shoulder as the camera was waved in front of him, Serena passing it over for him to try. He warily took it, putting it over his glasses and looking through to see the same sight he saw beyond the ‘wall’. That was, of course, more corridors. But distinctly different to before.

It was an illusion. The camera must’ve seen through it, which meant that this was one affecting their perception rather than an actual projection. It must be an advanced one to explain how the light wasn’t affected by it, but the fact remained that the wall wasn’t real. Clemont handed over the camera to Serena, who resumed her dutiful position behind its lens before they both continued moving forward once more.

This time, in a different direction. It was clear that whoever set up the illusion didn’t want them snooping around this section of the observatory, and that meant something important must be of note here. There was always the chance that it meant nothing and they were wasting their time as the others got into trouble without them to help, but Clemont shook that thought (blissfully his own) away. There was a meaning to everything. An explanation available. 

Thanks to the steady guidance of unfoolable camera lenses, the two of them ended up in a completely different section of the building entirely. The latest corridor had spat them out in some open space, the room wide and full of objects hanging above them. Clemont angled his light upwards and found the ceiling glittering with colour, different planetary bodies spinning aimlessly as stickers shone in the space between.

Despite himself, he couldn’t help but soften. It was a rudimentary display, with approximations and stylisations of planets and stars rather than actual pictures, but the visual of astronomy spread around them really was beautiful in its own way. There were tiny clicks and Clemont turned to Serena, who was capturing snapshots of the room with the very tool that allowed them access to it.

He… wanted to thank her. He didn’t really know how to, considering the very real conspiracy enveloping them and the situation they were in, but it was a sentiment he held all the same. After she filmed a short panorama she turned to give him a short nod, holding in a laugh as he instinctively jumped back with the camera focusing on him. After being shown that, no, it wasn’t live (and after he recovered from the shock), they got to walking once more.

The room somehow widened even more the further they entered the space. Clemont kept vigilant, gaze bouncing around as the dangling objects decreased and plan walls greeted them once more. Soon they found office cubicles nestled to the side, and finding no other clues, decided to check it out.

It was eerie, being surrounded by unblinking computer screens. Clemont resisted the urge to see if any of them worked, instead combing around for a hint of what may have transpired here. There were no signs of individuals working here— no notebook, or pencil, or mug lying around. He was tempted to wonder if this whole place was just a sort of his imagination with such nothingness surrounding him, but the idea gained little traction in his mind.

There was Serena beside him, checking the veracity with her camera. There was Ash alongside Bonnie (and Meowth), climbing their way to the very top. Even if there was a sinister force around here, it would be more difficult to guard against two separate groups coming from different angles.

Their plan will work.

He has to have hope.

There was a blink of light and Clemont glanced outwards, where a window was placed. There was nothing but the satellites outside and the grassy slope they were atop of. He looked back and realised that the screen closest to him held a message in dull green font, overlaying the blackness of the screen itself.

‘Help’.

He narrowed his eyes as Serena came close to him, wondering why he wasn’t moving and spying the same word. She gave him a befuddled look and he shrugged, not really understanding why it was there. They were already on the case, weren’t they?

A few rows ahead was another blip of colour. They quickly made their way there, reading another message.

‘Leave’.

Conflicting messages? Or the same thing? Serena shuddered and moved away, a dead end proving to be ahead of them, and normally Clemont would’ve followed. Normally he would prefer safety over whatever kind of mystery was thrust upon them.

But his senses were warning him of something. His instincts knew there was something, someone, afoot here. He opened his mouth to warn Serena but then the dam broke in his mind aND THEN—

{You can’t do anything, you ruin everything you touch, everyone is doing better without you, you’ve only gotten worse with time, your friends will leave you}

He clutched his head, falling to his knees, fingers scrabbling to make purchase and tear those thoughts out.

{You’ve just been taking up space this whole journey, are you even a Trainer, your Pokémon have betrayed you and they’ll do it again, just give it up already}

They were so loud.

{Why are you even here? What do you hope to accomplish?}

They were blaring in his head.

{What’s the point of this? What’s the point of you?}

Could they… 

{You cause problems on purpose, and for what? To feel useful, to feel worthy? You’ll never escape what you truly are. Just accept it}

be…

{Just stop thinking.}

The light was so gentle, a balm in the face of madness and chaos. It was… just a little bit ahead. He could walk that far, couldn’t he?

“Clemont!”

—needed a break. He couldn’t keep going like this. 

{Just listen to me.}

Just a little bit ahead, there was peace. Salvation.

(The steps didn’t even register to him.)

{Just walk closer.}

It was the easiest walk of his life.

{That’s it. That’s all you’re good for, after all.}

…He could feel something warm slide over his cheek, leaving a mark where it passed. He embraced it, feeling all those worries melt away. It was better this way, right? No more hurt. No more pain. None of those painstaking nights where he stared over blank papers or thought about the next problem or hammered metal until his fingers were raw. None of those unpredictable days where danger lurked and things could go wrong and everything could be lost with a sleight of hand, as if it never been.

Those golden eyes were so, so warm. He could just stay like this forever; never charging, never confronting, never getting worse. Entropy can never touch this bliss. This could be his forever. He could rest, peacefully, finally, forever. It can be a constant he can indulge in until the end of time itself.

It was so easy to give—

Something thunked in front of him and an eldritch scream echoed in his head {HURT YOU HURT YOU HURT HURT HURT—} and in the air around him, causing Clemont to recoil. His panicked gaze met Serena, who yelled, “Run! Now!” and the wall beside him crumbling as a thundering figure ran free (an Exploud of all Pokémon) and it was a mad run up the small flight of stairs separating the cubicles from the control centre he was currently in. Clemont was in no shape or form to be outrunning anything, but a cautionary glance backwards showed that the darkness wasn’t pursuing him, merely directing the Pokémon to their whereabouts through its screams.

{HURT TEAR DESTORY SHATTER PEEL BREAK WASTE END CRUSH EXTERMINATE}

So hiding wasn’t an answer. They couldn’t keep running forever, and Hyper Voice obliterated everything standing in its path. Vaguely, Clemont could compare the behaviour of the mentally-ensnared Pokémon to the Confusion status— its attacks were random, with a shaky aim, and it was likely to harm itself in the long run. It was that thought that got him to pull Serena aside just as another Hyper Voice slammed into the space they previously occupied, a close call that neither of them could afford.

All he could say was, “Underground.”

“How?” Serena was completely focused on him, not a shred of doubt, and he could appreciate the trust she had as he pulled out two Pokéballs. 

“Use this,” he whispered brusquely, handing her one as he held the other. Releasing Chespin, he kept his eye on the darkness and called out, “Use Drain Punch!”

It was a gamble. It would be too easy if the darkness was a Pokémon itself and Dark-Type at that, but even if that missed, the Exploud would take the hit. Either way it would be super-effective, and Chespin took that sentiment to heart as he charged up his fist and launched himself forward.

The darkness moved, somehow, the movement itself hurting his eyes in real time. Clemont rubbed them before putting his glasses back, finding himself feeling faint as he then beheld the sight of Exploud laid on the ground, shadow nowhere to be seen. Instead, all there was in front of him was Chespin, who had hurriedly made his way to his Trainer chirping in worry.

He… had to say something now, right? “I’m fine,” he said, glancing at the Exploud to check if it was okay. Chespin seemed to be glowing with health, so probably the move was a lot more efficient than he expected. Bending down, he pet the Grass Type. “Thanks a lot for covering for me.”

“Che-pin!” The Pokémon looked happy, and Clemont couldn’t help but smile as he recalled him back. He didn’t want to risk leaving a target for the shadow, nor initiate another fight. Quickly scanning around he found a hole behind a corner not easily seen from the pulpit, and without a doubt he dropped himself down.

Just as he predicted, there were catacombs here and they were still functional. Walking a little ahead he found Serena, who was holding his Pokéball to her chest and looking lost until she heard his footsteps.

Clemont slumped against the wall, wiping his eyes behind the glasses he wore once more as undeniable tiredness hit him. The Trainer beside him was taking in deep breaths, her hands shaking as she just barely passed the Pokéball to him.

Their eyes met at the same time their hands did and their voices immediately overlapped.

“What was that, what did you do—”

“What was wrong with you, why were you like that—”

They both stopped, quickly breathless and wincing at each other's volume, before Serena nodded at him. “You first,” she said, pulling her hand back to herself.

Clemont thought back to the incident, his mind feeling picked clean and… strangely empty of maliciousness. “I don’t know what got over me,” he admitted, rubbing his arm self-consciously. “There was this voice, and this peace, and I just wanted…” His voice fell. He wanted what? To leave everyone behind?

“There was this monster beside you,” Serena supplied quietly. At his look of fear, she looked down. “It was… I couldn’t really tell that well, because of how far I was, but it was going to take you.” Her hand clenched at her skirt, bunching it up. “I couldn’t come close.”

“You saved me.”

“You saved us,” she huffed, prickliness entering every word. She took a deep breath and let it out, realising how harsh she sounded, before focusing on something else. “I lost the one good thing I got today. That rock was one of a kind, you know?”

Clemont couldn’t hide the incredulous sound in his voice. “You like rocks now?”

“It was a sparkly one!” She leveled a glare at him and, for whatever reason, he started to laugh. She laughed too, and the tension bled away from their shoulders as they leaned against the same wall, a level below ground floor, a monster above them.

Survivable odds, really.

The inventor pulled off his glasses and cleaned it with a wipe, his mind feeling thicker than sludge. Whatever it was that got him had made sure its effects would last. “These catacombs are relics from long ago. They probably won’t hold up to too much action, so we should start moving as far from this spot as possible.”

“That’s probably a good idea.” Her agreement was quiet, subdued, and in any other circumstance Clemont would rack his brain trying to find a way to not make it as awkward as it actually felt. Mold himself into a leader that was worthy, that was interesting, that was Ash-like, or even just Ash.

But it was just them two, and their doom above them, and a mistimed visit to a place they both thought they could get something good out of. 

Her voice echoed in the silence. “It’s not your fault.”

Not even Clemont could believe the sound that slipped out of his throat, sharp, sharp, sharp, but Serena pushed on. “I mean it. Whatever that monster did… that’s on them.”

“But I’m the one who wanted to come here.”

“So did I.” Serena’s gaze was equally sharp, unrelenting, unwilling to bend. “It’s not wrong to want something.”

It’s easy to say that when your life is your own. To Clemont, everything he did was under a microscope, weighed against benefits and harms, looked though the lens of what could help the most people. This visit? It helped nobody, currently. Nobody good, anyways.

Before he could vocalise that, though, a banging sound pierced the air. They both jumped in place, looking back and coming to the same conclusion: something was trying to get into the tunnel.

“Where’s the exit?” Serena screeched as their pace got faster. Clemont glanced at his pocket, where his Pokéballs were— but he didn’t want to risk his Pokémon being affected by whatever was in here or get into a needless confrontation when escape was still possible.

“It’ll show up,” he said instead, hoping that these catacombs were a lot smaller due to the remoteness of the facility.

A crash. Despite himself Clemont turned around, finding his torch illuminating the very distant and tiny form of a Scolipede.

Well, not tiny for long.

He shook his head as he lobbed out Heliolisk— self-reliant and ruthless to a fault, his mind unbendable by outside forces (or so he hoped). If anyone could buy some time, he could. “Use Bulldoze!” he called, running far enough that the move shouldn’t affect him.

The lizard growled as he flared out his frills and slammed his right leg down, causing the tunnel to shake and the Scolipede to slow down. Serena, who was much further ahead, glanced back as she held one hand in her own pocket, lost in thought enough to stop.

But Clemont knew of her reluctance to battle, and of Fennekin’s reluctance of dirt. “Go! I’ll hold it back and catch up to you.”

“But what if that monster—”

Glowing yellow eyes.

Clemont shook his head and roared, “Heliolisk, follow it up with Dragon Tail!” The Generator Pokémon ran toward on quick feet and slammed his tail forward, the thick scales slapping against Scolipede’s face and getting it to falter. The latter made a pained sound before slashing down its poison-tipped horns, and Heliolisk had just managed to contort its body enough to dodge the attack.

“Now, use Dragon Tail again!” The inventor wiped a hand over his forehead as the move connected, pushing Scolipede far enough. One more Bulldoze caused the Pokémon to collapse, and Clemont nodded to Heliolisk before recalling him, running as fast as his legs would allow him.

There was a split a small distance later, and Clemont looked around before a puff of fire shone from the left. He followed it and soon found himself close to Serena, who was keeping a brisk pace.

Was she upset at his actions? “I’m sorry if—”

“It’s fine, really,” Serena said, Fennekin shooting him a disgruntled look. Not so fine, then. “We should be getting out of here before engaging in underground battles, though. Don’t think this place is very stable.”

Clemont thought about the amount of dirt and concrete above them and winced. It was a reckless move, but it was one that saved them in the end. Still, the worst threat was right around the corner. He pulled out Bunnelby’s Pokéball and let the Pokémon out, asking him to keep an eye out and guide them out of the labyrinth. 

It was a tense time. Bunnelby’s guidance was indisputable, but it also left Clemont with nothing to do but light the way forward and worry himself to a wreck. The thoughts were gone, but they’ve made their mark. He couldn’t even tell what was his and what was the monster.

Was there even a difference in the first place? More and more, he couldn’t tell.

A wet nose nudged him and he looked over to see Fennekin yip, eyes glimmering with intelligence. Even if that Scolipede was under some strange influence, it seemed that their own weren’t affected this far down. Or perhaps it was about proximity to the monster itself. That was enough to get his mind off the mental quandary and into something much more worthwhile, causing the Fox Pokémon to huff before snuggling back into her usual perch.

And so time passed.

An unidentifiable amount of it later came another crashing sound.

The two humans squinted at what was forward— a large, lumbering figure.

“At both ends?” Serena groaned. “Maybe we should’ve stayed on the same ground floor after all.”

A bellow cleaved the air before the Pangoro stormed towards them, causing everyone to split up to dodge the reckless charge. Fennekin jumped out of Serena’s grip and Scratch-ed at its arm before landing on Clemont’s pack, bouncing off that to land another hit. While Pangoro tried to peel off the suddenly incensed Fire-Type, Bunnelby was trying to get a clear enough shot for Mud Shot to land, previous attempts splattered over the cheek and chest of the rampaging Pokémon in front of them.

And Clemont? He was too busy trying to stay alive underneath the barrage of Hammer Arm and Crunch. One of the stray attacks knocked into Bunnelby, which got the inventor to dive towards him, using the Aipom Arm to fend against the next charged punch. The sound of metal twisting grated his ears but his eyes were on his Pokémon, who was clearly battered by the super-effective attack.

A small sparkle caught the corner of his eye and he craned his neck forward, but there was no one there.

He sighed, shaking his head before checking up on the Pokémon in his grip. Fighting like this wasn’t a feasible option. Clemont returned Bunnelby back to the Pokéball, checking the damage to his bag and the Aipom Arm before turning his attention to the scuffle in front of him. Without Bunnelby to draw some of the ire, Pangoro had a clear shot at Fennekin and was holding her by the scruff. He opened his jaw, ready for a devastating Crunch—

But Serena had jumped right in time to snatch the Starter out of his grip, causing him to bite down at his own hand and howl. Clemont stared at them incredulously as Fennekin started spitting out Embers, the two of them working in perfect sync as Serena managed the art of rolling and dodging away.

At some point though, all Fennekin could manage were puffs of smoke, her ear tuffs dimming, and Clemont pulled Serena aside with the slightly dented Aipom Arm as a punch dug into the wall where they previously were. The Trainer-and-Pokémon pair were tired, exhausted, and the Pangoro before them was fueled by anger and possibly influenced by strings beyond their control. Shakily, Serena understood the look he gave her and got ready to sprint down to another turn instead.

Unfortunately for them, the Pangoro recovered a lot quicker than anticipated and swiped at Clemont, flinging him some distance away and tearing at one of the bag straps. The walls spun around him as he struggled to get up, one hand trying to bridge the rip as another pulled himself up. One of his Pokéballs jiggled and he had to let go of the bag to pat it, trying to warn against coming out. While having any of them out would be nice, he didn’t think it would be wise to enrage what was in front of them, especially with the foundations already shaken up as it was.

He tried to move forward and his eyes caught onto the opening nearby.

…The Pangoro had tossed him closer to the exit instead of further away. But the dramatic entrance had destroyed most of the ladder to the surface, and glancing over at Serena as she narrowly dodged another punch, he knew he couldn’t go to get help quick enough to save her.

Maybe—

“Clemont, duck!” Serena had dived over at his side right when a blast razed down the entrance, widening the tunnel but also almost caving them in with the rubble that exploded. She was huffing, out of breath, while he readied himself once more.

That was Hyper Beam.

This Pangoro knew Hyper Beam.

“I should’ve never recommended this place,” he whispered, bitterness seeping into every word.

“It’s not like you knew any of this was going to happen,” Serena muttered back, exhaustion behind every word of her own. Clemont glanced forward, at the ball of white slowly growing between its cupped claws, and felt the finality of the end.

No invention. No Pokémon. And no sky either.

Kind of pathetic, to be honest.

The Pangoro stepped closer, the Hyper Beam charging up against them. Serena gripped him tightly and he found himself saying meaningless things, his whole life flashing before his eyes, why did he even think of continuing this journey if this was how it ended—

And then suddenly, the world shifted.

It was different to the darkness from before. There was a bonk and a loud cry, and then a voice chirping, “Now that wasn’t very nice, now, was it?” and by the time Clemont finally opened his eyes, there was no Pangoro chasing them down.

Instead, all he felt was a hand tugging at him, calling them forward, solid and cool.

Clemont followed. He always did.

And in any case there was no time to wonder. The tunnel shook even harder, dirt falling from above, and the Pangoro could get up at any moment and resume his planned execution. Clemont dimly felt fingers pulling himself up and he stood up, ready to run and leave this whole nightmare behind, not even caring that his internal voice had sounded suspiciously feminine.

All there was to follow was a shimmering sparkle at the edge of their vision as it turned through corners and ducked under low ceilings and squeezed through tight cracks, guiding them through what could’ve been the last place they ever visited with such grace and confidence. A short while later he found himself stopping at a rounded section, wider than the tunnels were, the air less stale as well.

It took Clemont far too long to realise that the Heliolisk-Light was no longer working. He tapped it a few times and angled it using his own hands, hissing through his teeth as the light bounced off the rocks around them and lit up the whole chamber.

And in front of them?

Serena spoke first, voice reverent and ringing true. “It’s so lovely…”

The Pokémon in front of them chuckled, holding a hand above her mouth as she blinked her red eyes and gave a short bow. “Aww, thank you!” she said, her grin brighter than the diamonds all around.

In the meantime, Bonnie was clinging to a Noivern for her life and laughing about it.

Ash was battling the Beedril down below, Fletchling chipping it down as it buzzed angrily and attacked back with fervour. At the start it was definitely scary, having all those Pokémon hunting them down in the small corridors, but once there was enough space they quickly found that knocking the Pokémon out would restore them to normal. Of course, there was the small problem of knocking out Pokémon that were mind controlled to never stop attacking, but as evident with the Noivern, there was always a way.

Right now though, there was a commotion down below. Bonnie squinted downwards as she saw Meowth stand up with Pikachu beside him, the two of them getting ready for some confrontation. Couldn’t be good if even Pikachu was getting prickly about it, and so she patted the Noivern and pointed to the entrance where the baddies would be coming out.

The wyvern pulled his head back before blasting sonic waves downwards, effectively hitting two. She grinned happily as the Noivern floated down,  stepping down to see who they’d hit—

“You've just killed them, Twerp!”

Only to frown as she saw the twisted bodies of none other than Team Rocket. The humans, anyways.

Bonnie stuck an accusing finger at Meowth before waving at the crumpled pile in front of them. “Why do you make such a big fuss over everything?! Weren’t they going to ‘get you’ or whatever? You should be happy I saved you… not that I wanted to.”

Meowth narrowed his eyes at her. “What did ya say?”

She leaned in, glaring at him. “Nothing that you’d care about.”

A yellow-black striped body crashed down behind them and they both turned to see Ash waving. “That’s the last of ‘em!” he called chippily as the Beedril stayed on the ground, eyes in dizzy spirals. Fletchling landed on his head, twittering in curiosity as Ash then tried to peer over them. “Hey, is there someone behind you?”

“I took care of it,” Bonnie replied proudly as the Noivern poked at James’ body. 

Ash shrugged before glancing at Meowth, whose fur bristled at the attention. “Aren’t you going to go now?” he said pointedly at the Pokémon.

Meowth shook his head. “That rando also took the Pokémon too, dimwit! Didn’ja notice how there’s no big blue lug around ‘ere?”

Ash sighed. “Guess you’re right. Let’s—” His voice cracked as he winced in pain, looking up as the sky momentarily dimming as darkness moved forward. Bonnie shielded her eyes as a brilliance overtook the small balcony they were on, before her hand fell down in shock.

In front of them was the newly risen Jessie and James, Noivern and Beedril looking angry once more beside them. The kicker?

There was also Wobbuffet out there as well.

Bonnie and Ash faced Meowth as he snapped, “It’s actually worse if Wobbuffet of all Pokémon is staying inside the ball and listenin’ to Jessie. Trust me.”

“We have!” they both yelled before Ash picked himself up, calling out Froakie as Pikachu and Dedenne entered the fray.

The shadow opened its mouth (?) and through it, the humans chorused, “Attack them and bring them to the master, posthaste.”

Wow. Now even the darkness wanted a piece of them.

Looks like it’s time to do this battle all over again!

In the end, it was a pokémon that saved them in the end. Clemont couldn’t stop thinking about that move— that had to be Ally Switch, right?— that had narrowly pulled them away from danger, and if their saviour was even more powerful then that Pangoro, it should stand to reason that they could be the next threat at any moment.

Especially if the shadow decided to come down to greet them personally.

But somehow, for some reason, the loveliest sight in the world had instead decided to fill up the space with small talk, even with the chaos all around them— an attitude Clemont would normally have some reaction to, if not for the fact that it was… well, a Pokémon that glittered in any sort of light that was asking questions in the first place (and who had saved them in the first place).

“Hey, so I’m sure you're wondering: who am I? After all, it’s not every day you get to meet a princess. That’s what the forest Pokémon say, anyways.” The Pokémon hopped around— hopped being the best word to describe the movement— spinning its arms around. Its scarlet eyes rested on them as it hummed thoughtfully. “But you’re not Pokémon, are you? You look a little weird around the edges. And you didn’t even use a move back there!”

“Uh, yeah,” Clemont managed to say. Maybe he was wrong and all of this was a result of the concussion. Wouldn’t be the strangest thing that has happened to him. “We’re humans.”

The Pokémon clasped its hands in a polite clap. “Ah! Hoomans. Sounds fancy.” She laughed to herself, a jingling sound.

Serena never stopped staring at the Pokémon, but hearing such a cheerful sound had shaken her awake enough to say the first thing in her mind. “If you say so.” She quickly course-corrected once realising what came out of her mouth to point at the inventor and then herself, saying, “His name is Clemont, and mine is Serena. It’s nice to meet you, madame.”

The Pokémon nodded, suddenly the picture of stone-cold royalty. “If you must know who you are speaking to, it is Princess Diancie of the Diamond Domain. It’s a pleasure to meet you as well.” She then brightened up before hugging them. “You’re all so adorable!”

“Thanks?” Clemont wheezed as the weight of a boulder settled against him. Serena was not going much better, whispering, “I don’t think I can feel my legs anymore.” Once Diancie released them, they both rubbed their own joints, feeling circulation continue its rightful course through their body.

It was a minute before Serena looked up, finding a more steady voice to say, “Hey, Diancie, do you know a way to get above ground?”

Diancie chuckled. “Of course I do! Even though Dace always tells me to not go above ground unless strictly necessary, I can tell that you humans aren’t supposed to be here.” She tilted her head coyly, cheerfully adding, “Why, you couldn’t even fend off one Pangoro with your plentiful numbers! And that’s an above-ground Pokémon!”

They both winced. The Pokémon before them didn’t seem to mind, hopping away to another part of the cavern. “Anyways, there was this sort of wooden contraption here. I was watching outside before, and there’s no danger around here, so I think you both should be fine. Probably.” Both humans walked over to where she was gesturing, and sure enough, a trapdoor was out there. This place was prepared for anything, it seemed, and it made Clemont wryly remember how he tried to prepare for every circumstance.

Not that he was paranoid enough for these sorts of events to happen, but it was interesting to note that he wasn’t the only one over-prepared at times.

This time he was the one to open it, his eyes scanning around for anyone around them. Thankfully there seemed to be none, and even more thankfully, they were next to the building itself. The cool wind ruffled his head as he pulled himself up, shakily standing on solid ground as Serena followed suit. Once both of them were out they looked inwards, to where Diancie was.

To where Diancie used to be.

“Who are you looking for?” a voice chirped beside them. Clemont jumped back but Serena stepped closer, her awe giving way to that usual deep-seated kindness inside of her as she helped the princess steady herself. Diancie quickly lost her concentration once she moved forward on her own, finally beholding the sight in front of her with awed cooing and raised arms. “Incroyable! Above-ground is so wonderful, just like always! And this spot here, well, it looks stunning! Splendid! I must applaud you for your diligent work, humans!”

Serena shrugged, looking ready to pass off a barb in response in response to the situation at hand, but her eyes softened. “Yeah,” she said instead, holding herself. “It can be beautiful at times.”

A distant yelp echoed and Clemont shook his head, looking around for the source. Above them was a balcony, and from there he could see shadows fighting. They were too close to the edge. Their enemies outnumbered them, outpowered them, and were creeping closer.

Diancie noticed their change in expression, tilting her head as she whispered, “Are you okay? You look a little pale there. Well, both of you do. Are humans naturally pale like that?”

“They’ll make it,” Serena replied, eyes fixed on the sight above. “They have to.”

Clemont wished he had that faith, that trust, no worries in his head at all. All he could think about was the space. The rapidly shrinking distance. The collision course and the millions of ways anything can go wrong.

Space…

“Diancie, that move you used before with the Pangoro— can you use it again? If I…” He bit his tongue, not wanting to say the words.

Serena took over for him., glancing over at the princess as she said, “We need our friends on the ground, so can you switch something on the ground with their location?”

The Pokémon hummed in interest. “Sure I can! But I can’t reach them from all the way up there! Too far for my powers to reach.”

The question hung in the air. Could they risk it? Could it work?

And Ash looked at him as he ducked under a stray wing, eyeing that crooked bag holding on even with a strap severed, and he knew that there was one thing he hadn’t tried yet.

And Clemont could feel that reckless impulse running through them, a circuit running from ground to top floor. Before he could say anything—

“Give it your best shot!” that voice called out as an array of moves collided towards two young humans, a teasing and separate voice following in jest before they both free-fell downwards.

They were free falling, and muscle memory guided the inventor to haul off his bag and throw it down, the emergency airbag deploying by the force of the hit and the precise angle he threw it at, ballooning into a massive white pillow that covered the two that had jumped upon it. Without even realising it he was running down that same path, calling out their name, and something bent inside him at the legs that wiggled themselves out of the quickly deflating cushion.

Deep down, Clemont thought about how he would never have thought of this plan by himself. 

Deep down, he wondered if he would ever have to make a choice that hard in his life with no one else around to help.

Deep down, he wondered if it was through any fault of his own that such a risk needed to occur.

The balcony exploded and a small set of sparkles flew over the horizon, a Blast Off by any other name. A blond head poked out of the fluffy white prison to groan, “Meowth didn’t even do anything!”

A hand stuck out a little away from Bonnie, retorting with, “He did stop us from getting mind controlled back there. Remember that jump he did? Crazy stuff.”

“That doesn’t mean— Oof!” Bonnie couldn’t finish her counter-reply as Clemont went to pull her out, clasping her into a brief hug once her feet touched the ground. She resisted, mumbling, “We were fine! Stop worrying so much!”

He needed to get it together. He tried to say something, but then she slackened in his grip and squirmed out of his arms. Clemont reluctantly watched as she got quickly scooped up by Serena, who was looking listless until the full force of Bonnie hit her. “Wha— And you say that nobody should be worrying!”

Bonnie puffed her cheeks out. “I’m worried about how much time you’ve spent with Clemont! You didn’t get any weird ideas, did you?”

“…No.” Serena’s gaze met his own as she sighed. “Nothing that good.”

“Good?!”

“Thanks a lot for saving our back there,” Ash said, clapping a hand on Clemont’s shoulder. The inventor took it this time, looking over to see Pikachu combing out dust from the other side.

He needed to say something. He needed to step up. He couldn’t do it, and yet Ash still nodded. “The Pokémon were fine,” he said in lieu of an answer, stretching his arms back behind his back. “They’re pretty tough, and wild Pokémon always know how to take care of themselves. Kinda wished I rode on that Noivern though.”

“Do you… know what the monster was?”

Ash’s eyes glimmered with understanding, even if he didn’t look at him (his glance at the rubble where the balcony had stood was not unnoticed, no matter how quick it was). “Some sort of, uh, wavy thing. Have tentacles. And a beak.” He groaned as the thought hit him. “Should’ve used the Pokédex on it.”

“It’s okay.” Clemont could survive without a name to the terror. It was probably best that there wasn’t a name— because that means he knew what to refer to it as, which means there was an easier way for the subject to pop into his mind, which meant that he’ll never be free.

For now, his mind was quiet.

For now, his thoughts were gone.

He glanced up, finding nothing above them. Nothing around them too. The field was quiet apart from the bickering that arose from having humans together, and it was a peace he never knew of until true chaos had gripped him and wrung him dry.

Sooner or later, he knew the consequences would come. They always did.

…He’ll take what he can get.

They leave the grounds of the radio observatory, which had changed drastically from their initial perception of it. They don’t talk about it. Instead there’s condolences, there’s promises for next time, there’s small talk and jokes.

(There’s the story of their separate paths, and how much each day has changed it (for better) (for worse).)

There is a shadow / monster watching, and cataloging, and remembering for the next time.

They’ve made an enemy today.

There was a small laugh and light hopping, sparkles following in their wake.

They’ve made a friend as well.

The wheel turns.

At night, as expected, Clemont was plagued by glowing yellow eyes.

He could feel something sharp dig into his ears, unintelligible whispers curdling his insides, broken debris and twisted metal and ash between his fingers. There was nothing. There was too much. A thousand failures combating his mind, of futures that could have been the present, of a slight second going so, terribly, wrong. A paradox ripping him into particles that opposed each other and annihilated upon contact.

He woke up, back soaked, voice hoarse.

Another eventful night. And just when the nightmares were getting better too.

Ash was snoring beside him, body splayed out, Pikachu curled up in a tight ball beside him. Clemont slid out of the arm draped over his shoulder gently, laying it where he once was before crawling out on his knees. At least nobody woke up because of him.

He pushed his way out of the tent, content to just waste the rest of the night fixing up his bag, when he heard whispers in the night air.

“—can’t just come in like that.”

“But you will need help, right? I can help!” The voice sounded like wind chimes, like reflective surfaces, like crystal. “And then you can help me! I don’t know much about the above-ground, after all.”

“It’s your first visit?” Silence. “Wow, I couldn’t tell.”

“A princess is naturally a superior specimen! Or they’re supposed to be…” Diancie quickly followed it up with, “Do you, perchance, know about the Life Giver?”

“The Life Giver?”

A small sigh, the first time that upbeat voice sounded so low. “…Hmm. I must have been too hasty in assuming all above-ground dwellers were acquaintances.”

Shifting sounds. “Even if we don’t know them, we can help you find them, whoever they are! You’re not alone.”

“...Thank you.” The tone picked up, and the two of them talked about something else, voices rising and falling. Clemont found himself loosening up, a slip of thought— his own thought— reminding him of Diancie’s presence back there. It was nice to have someone stay by their side. It was nice to have a friend. It was also nice to help them, however they could.

It was so easy to just join them out there. Fix his bag as they talk, as they figure out their next location and their plans, finding out more about Diancie and what she was doing around there. Anything to make sense of something. Busying himself with company to stave off the worries that had flooded back into his mind.

With just one action he could, theoretically, be a part of this conversation. Be a part of something better than himself on his own.

Do you deserve this?

It was the faintest whisper, and yet Clemont found himself freezing up, the night air unbearably cold. The chatter stopped. He didn’t know how long he was out, only that he didn’t want to see the stars anymore.

So he went back to bed and closed his eyes.

Quiet enveloped the campsite.

The next day was an hour away.

…He can lie down for that long, right?