Chapter Text
CHAPTER 1 - THE LAND OF TRUTH
Life was a lot easier when I wasn't worried about getting killed every minute—not that the God in my head would agree. Three months ago, Team Galactic had nearly ended the world. Now I was in Unova, five days away from the start of the League Circuit, and stuck in a strategy meeting instead of exploring Castelia City.
"...ready for launch soon in tandem with the start of the Circuit. Grace, are you paying attention?"
I blinked and looked away from the Castelia skyline outside the conference room window. Melody Summers, my sponsorship liaison, crossed her arms and tapped her elbow with a finger.
"Sorry, I think I'm a little tired 'cause of the jetlag still." I stood up a little straighter in my chair. "Can you repeat that?"
The tall, slender woman gave me a slight smile, shaking her head. "You know what, let's take a lunch break. What should we order?"
The new Poketch office occupied half of a floor in one of the smaller towers overlooking the Castelia Loop. It was easy to miss among the banks, law firms, and investment companies that dominated the district. A modest silver sign beside the elevator was the only indication that the region's newest technology company had set up shop there. Right now, most of the floor was open space.
Even if Melody had clearly envisioned future expansion, the management team was small right now, containing only ten people excluding me. Two marketers, three software engineers, and the rest of the staff filled a handful of roles that larger companies would have entire departments for—public relations, logistics, sales, and whatever happened to land on Melody's desk that morning.
My face stared back from a dozen promotional posters scattered throughout the room. A smiling Sinnoh Conference contender in her first year! I was giddy just thinking about spreading my name through the country and for people to hear about my story.
But for now… things were admittedly boring.
"I'm down for a traditional Sinnohan meal. I'm kind of homesick," Cameron, one of the marketers media managers, said.
"And have a worse version of what we'd get at home? No thanks," Melody chimed in. "Let's just do fast food."
"I mean I'm just saying. If I get the shits, we're fucked—"
Disgusted groans erupted from the rest of the room as Melody pulled out her phone looking for an alternative, and I saw an opportunity to finally get out of here for at least thirty minutes. Obviously, I had no choice but to take it.
"I mean… traffic is pretty bad right now, right? With the big protest and all." Apparently it had erupted first because of opposition to the establishment of a permanent city between Nimbasa and Castelia in the middle of the desert on route 4, which would displace many of the Pokemon there. "I can go and buy us something on foot, I really don't mind."
"She's right," someone said, looking at a delivery app on her laptop. "Plus, the delivery fees… Arceus."
Melody gave herself a few seconds to think; I noticed the gears turning in her head, trying to figure out every single way this could go wrong. "Come on, Mel. I'll be off on my own in six days anyway." I fluttered my eyes at her knowing she'd relent. "Pretty please."
"If you leave your Pokemon here so you don't get roped into some battle—" Melody noticed the way my gaze intensified and pinched the bridge of her nose. "...fine. Keep Jellicent. You'll need him to carry everything anyway. Don't get yourself involved in anything. You know the board wants you away from anything controversial." She paused, staring into my eyes. "Remember, you're the face, and we're foreigners. We don't want to cause a fuss."
"I'm the face," I repeated with a nod. "So what do you all want?"
I noted down everyone's order on my phone, and soon enough I was on the elevator down. The moment I made it outside and into the streets of Castelia, I struggled not to giddily run around in the first alleyway I saw—
Something wriggled on my skin.
"Aw, man. I know, I know." I stretched, then shielded my eyes from the sun. "Legendaries, I'll never get used to how hot it is here. Wanna cool me down a bit, Bud?" Under my shirt, the Jellicent wrapped around my body spread a pleasant chill across my chest and shoulders. "Thanks. And don't worry, we'll just take the slow way."
Technically, I hadn't really agreed to not take a detour. Oh, I'd make it to Bouffalant Burgers eventually—not that they actually ate Bouffalant. The ghost clicked at me, squeezing gently around my upper arm and saying that he had to admit he'd been curious about Unova.
"I know, right? I don't wanna be holed up in an office all the time." I began to walk in the store's general direction to the east, gently petting the metal bracelet around my arm.
They were asleep right now, but I'd never hear the end of it if I left them out. Still, Meltan needed their rest, so I decided to wait until we reached our destination before waking them.
Castelia buzzed around me. Streams of people flowed along the sidewalks beneath towering walls of glass and steel, disappearing into department stores, office buildings, and restaurants. Digital billboards flashed advertisements several stories high while the distant blare of car horns and chatter blended into a constant hum. Everything felt bigger than Sinnoh here.
I drew many eyes walking around. It wasn't every day that Castelians saw sixteen year olds with my amount of scarring with how safe the region was for trainers. It would have bothered me once upon a time, but I gave it no mind, instead opting to talk to my sole companion.
"I wonder what the history of this place is and why it grew so big?" I thought out loud. "Maybe we could get a book to read about it together."
The Jellicent pleasantly acquiesced, though saying he'd rather have a rundown of the entire region's history before getting into the details of specific cities. He was particular about historical knowledge, wanting to devour every little thing he could about an area. Hell, he knew everything about Sinnoh by now.
"I'll add it to the to-do list."
We went from street to street, and he struggled to keep me on track. It was difficult not getting distracted by all the new sights, smells and flashing lights. I knelt down near a group of city Patrat to offer them a small treat, but would have ended up involved in some Patrat gang drama had Buddy not kept me on track. A hungry Pidove landed on my shoulder and decided to be a traveling companion for the time being; I promised I'd give her a full meal when I got some food. According to her, Pidove could eat a surprising variety of foods, given that they were adapted to city life.
Occasionally I'd see trainers battling in open-air arenas with small audiences. That one made something itch deep inside of me. I hadn't battled since my loss at the Conference and the pull was getting stronger every day. Luckily the Circuit would start soon, and it wasn't like these trainers would give me any competition. Like in Sinnoh near the start of a Circuit, they were mostly newer trainers with little experience.
I turned a corner, and a huge digital ad for the Ranger Corp. Within it, a ranger stood at the edge of a cliff overlooking a dense forest, a Braviary soaring overhead while a Stoutland and Arcanine waited at her side. Words stretched across the screen in bold letters.
BE THE DIFFERENCE. PROTECT PEOPLE. JOIN THE RANGER CORPS TODAY.
Below it, a small group of protesters had gathered, but it was nowhere near the size I'd heard was on Oceanfront Road. Tens of thousands of people marching for a united cause.
But that was none of my current business. "The restaurant should be around this street somewhere…" Buddy spotted it, and a writhing tentacle slipped out of my sleeve, making the people around me flinch. Even the Pidove nearly took flight despite knowing he was there. "Sorry! So sorry, he's harmless!" I quickly yelled before whispering in my shirt. "Don't scare people, dude!"
He let out a long, cold sigh complaining about the fact that he was being blamed. I still felt like he'd enjoyed doing that and couldn't help but smile at him. He'd always had a knack to unsettling people, but genuinely scaring was a little recent. Personally, I thought he was always cute.
"Wake up, Mimi…" while we waited to cross the street, my fingers tapped along the gold-rimmed bracelet, which slowly shivered around my wrist. "Take a look around."
Months ago, I'd made a promise to the shapeshifted Meltan. We'd see the world together, gorge upon every new sight and story while they remained innocent and at peace. They couldn't contain their excitement—they returned to their original form, eye wobbling at the new sights.
With an awed, vibrating squeal, they climbed on top of my head and pointed toward a street performer surrounded by a crowd. A trio of dancing Lillipup balanced on colored balls while their trainers juggled Pokeballs. Then toward a train thundering past overhead on the city's monorail system, sending a gust of wind down the street. Then something else, and something else, and we'd never get anything done if I listened to their every whim.
"We'll have time to get into it all very soon. I'm just as excited as you are!" I picked them off my head, placing the metallic Pokemon on my shoulder opposite of Pidove. They held onto my hair, their eye bouncing around their golden rim as the city dazzled them. "For now, we have to buy food for the Poketch team, though."
Bouffalant Burger was known for having some of the best, well, burgers in the city according to reviews. It was a small-scale restaurant that relied on a loyal customer base to compete with the big chains that were entrenched in Castelia and beyond. The logo was honestly charming and kind of funny—a Bouffalant wearing a paper fast-food hat and a bright red apron, holding a burger nearly as big as its head.
Pidove requested to wait perched on said sign. She explained that being inside buildings made her anxious.
"Very Unova-like," I mumbled as I crossed into the establishment. "In Sinnoh they'd tell you no one would ever take you seriously and scrap this."
Buddy didn't reply, which wasn't cause for too much concern. He must have been focused on something else. It was quite busy given the activity around the city lately, with nearly every seat filled up and people and Pokemon chattering away over their food. I texted Melody I'd made it and that I was waiting in line, then decided to check around the Unovan trainer forums.
The culture here was… well, not that Sinnoh didn't have its fair share of drama and flaming, but it was a lot more cutthroat. People were competing, and it showed. There were far fewer cooperative threads or advice-giving to go around, even if it was still present to some extent. The biggest ones were guides to have the best chance at ever getting sponsored by the 'big five' companies. X Technologies, Avalon, Crescent Global, the Opelucid Group, and the Obel Energy Company.
A sponsorship from these companies, and you'd have all the resources you needed and more, or at least that was the story being sold. I'd been informed otherwise long ago by…
I wondered how she was doing. Well, I hoped with a slight smile.
"Next!"
I blinked. "Wait, you're the guy in the picture!" I recognized him from when Melody looked up the restaurant; he was the owner. A little chubby, his hair tied in a bun, very clear grey eyes and a gap in his front teeth. "You're the guy who owns the place! Uh, David Thune, right?"
His lips tugged upwards. "I work here nearly every day. Gotta show up for my people. What will it be for you today?"
I listed out our orders and hoped to Arceus I hadn't messed up any.
"You don't sound like you come from 'round here," he said. "Indigo?"
"Sinnoh, actually!" I beamed, leaning against the counter. "I'm joining the Circuit this year."
"Ah, I thought it must have been Kanto-Johto with…" he glanced at the left side of my face. "Not that I mean to be rude. It's a little strange seeing a kid that's been through so much." His eyes dropped back to the touchscreen as he entered my order. "I have a daughter your age, y'know?"
"Not rude at all, I'm used to it." I shrugged, drumming my fingers against the countertop. "If it makes you feel any better, it was totally worth it."
He frowned at that for some reason. "What's your name?"
"Grace Pastel!" I truly hope he wouldn't forget. What better feeling was there to be remembered across the world? "This is Mimi." I pointed to the Meltan on my shoulder with a thumb.
"That rings a bell. I think one of my daughters is a fan of yours—ah, let's not hold up the line." He waved to one of his employees. "Jensen! Cover for me for a few minutes." He then leaned forward and whispered, "Would you mind helping me with a favor? It has to do with my daughters."
"Err, I'm in a little bit of a rush, but I can hear you out while they get my food ready."
I might not be able to help, but I wanted to make my name echo across this country too, one good deed at a time. David led me to the back of the restaurant, a damp alley that smelled of cigarettes. The noise of Castelia dulled into a distant murmur between the towering brick walls.
He crossed his arms and hesitated, as if he didn't know how to begin. "This has to stay between us."
"For sure. I'm not one to spill a secret."
Satisfied, David rubbed the back of his neck. "My daughters are involved in the protest today, and I don't want them hanging out with the wrong crowds," he said, somewhat embarrassed. "They have Plasma members in the mix trying to recruit people, you know? I don't know how familiar you are with—"
"Oh, I'm very familiar," I cut him off.
"I don't like talking politics," he said, "but I don't want them radicalized by those numbnuts. Since Cat is a fan of you because you're apparently close to Pokemon or something, I figured you might have some leeway and convince her to steer clear."
"And if I convince her, her sister will follow suit?"
"They're so close you'd think they're twins." He grinned fondly with clear love for his daughters. "They do everything together. I think there's no question. And if you want, in exchange, I'll give you a month's worth of meals on the house."
"Wait, for real?"
He nodded.
"You're on!"
David showed me a picture of his daughters, who did look very alike despite the fact that there was a three-year age gap between them. They were the spitting image of their father, with his silver eyes and hair. According to him, they'd be on Liberty Pier down Gym Street, which was luckily only fifteen minutes on foot from here. I told him to keep my order to be picked up when I swung back, hopefully with his daughters, and then went on my way, hoping to find Pidove waiting for me at the entrance.
She was, however, gone. Had I taken too long for her tastes? She didn't strike me as an impatient bird, and I had a lot of experience with impatient Pokemon.
"Huh. Hope she gets to eat something tasty soon, then," I said. "Maybe she didn't like your vibe." I giggled at Buddy, who remained ever so silent "Okay, what's got you so quiet?"
He let out a series of quiet clicks and explained that he feared we were being followed by someone. Mimi trembled on my shoulder and turned back into a necklace around my neck.
My eyes narrowed. "Are you sure?" He answered that he was positive, and that he suspected Pidove was a spy. "Explain."
The cadence in my step didn't change as he told me he'd planted a piece of himself on Pidove and that the flying type had flown back to someone else. The bird had been in the midst of telling him my position before he somehow noticed the minute part of him and sent Pidove on her way before he could track him down in detail.
A deep, disappointed sigh escaped my lungs, and my ears started to buzz as a familiar warmth spread across my body. It was like stepping into old shoes.
"What'd he look like?" I asked.
Ghosts saw the world in monochrome, thus he could only tell me that it was a young man, possibly around my age, maybe a little older with long hair and a pale complexion. He wore a cap that had masked his face from his perspective on Pidove, who'd landed on his head.
I had made no enemies here, yet it was as if the world itself was attempting to make me slip into my old habits. My skin prickled with the urge to track down and eliminate this would-be threat, to extract every answer from him and leave nothing hidden in the dark.
Fear was a strange thing. Most people thought of it as a chain, but it had dictated nearly every major decision I'd made in the past year. Like a cornered animal, I had lashed out, fighting, torturing, killing, shedding all that made me human until it had nearly ruined me. I had wielded violence like a knife, hurting people before they could ever hope to hurt me.
Still…
I scratched the back of my head. "Man, old habits die hard, don't they?" Something didn't feel right. I began making my way toward Liberty Pier. "He's probably just a fan that was too embarrassed to approach and had his Pidove track me down."
Buddy reluctantly agreed, but his heart clearly was not in it.
I was done being a paranoid wreck.
—
Liberty Pier was one of Castelia's five piers, or 'five fingers' as people called them. Unlike some of the larger commercial piers, Liberty Pier primarily served ferries and passenger ships traveling between Castelia and the surrounding region. The air smelled of seawater, diesel, and the cries of Wingull and Pelipper mingled with the protesters' chants. Mimi wriggled excitedly around my neck.
"What do we want?"
"Protected habitats!"
"When do we want them?"
"Now!"
I adjusted the volume on my hearing aid in my right ear; people were far too loud here and it kept spiking. Nothing done would stop things from being uncomfortable here, though.
Of course, they also played music, handed out pamphlets and recruited for numerous organizations, and spoke to the media or among themselves. From my limited amount of research, Castelia was a city of bleeding hearts. It wore its conscience on its sleeve, unlike the settlements that still pressed against the wilderness. Various conflicts, whether they be simple disputes or rarely full-fledged attacks by fed-up Pokemon were routine in these frontier towns.
The issue was, of course, that the situation was a never-ending cycle of violence. Rangers pressed their boots on the wilds' neck, and thus some Pokemon struck back against an ever encroaching threat.
It was shocking how different things were here than Sinnoh, even if I'd come here rather well researched. There was, however, still a lot to learn if I wanted to eventually get my hands dirty.
To find two girls in the mass of humanity, we were going to need to use Buddy's tricks. I whispered to him, and a piece of him slipped from my sleeve, dividing over and over and dissolving into a cold mist in the sky. People would have barely had time to notice anything, his lidless, red eyes spreading above the pier before they turned imperceptible.
A trainer with a ghost, or a Pokemon experienced in sensing ghosts like my Electivire would have been able to figure something was off. The vast majority of these people were civilians—some with Pokemon of their own, yes, but civilians nonetheless.
While Buddy scanned the area, I texted Melody once again, this time to tell her I might be late because the Bouffalant Burgers was packed. Technically not a lie.
It took seven minutes for the ghost to locate who we were looking for, though Catherine, or Cat as her father called her, was without her sister. She did have company, though. She'd come to the protest with people who she seemed friendly with, and a Minccino whose head was peeking out of her backpack—
"Wait, for real? That's so adorable—"
Buddy told me to stop getting distracted.
I blew a raspberry. "Killjoy. But you're right."
He said he always was, which had my eyes rolling.
The water type tugged me closer to the edge of the pier, where a cluster of ferries sat idle at their docks, trapped behind a sea of protesters that had swallowed the entire pier. Obstruction was the voice of the unheard, after all. There stood Catherine Thune, holding onto a sign advertising some kind of group.
I squeezed past another row of people and tried waving at the girl to get her attention; she noticed me and frowned for a second, as if she was fitting the pieces together. There were few things more incredible than the look people gave when they recognized you—that little twinkle in their eyes.
"Truth above!" Catherine squealed. "Are you Grace Pastel? Wait, I'm stupid, of course you are!" Dropping her sign, she grabbed both of my hands, shaking them up and down with the brightest of smiles. "I knew you were coming to Unova, but I'd never in a million years thought I'd ever see you! Wait, let me introduce you to everybody. Uh, this is Cinccino." This spun around, allowing the little critter to wave at me from his backpack. "This is Erick, this is…"
The boy caught my eye for a simple reason. Beneath his casual expression was a deep-seated rage. It sat beneath his skin like a bed of coals, waiting for the slightest breath to fan it back into an inferno. I could smell it burning in him. He noticed me staring.
For the briefest instant, the fire disappeared behind an easy smile that I mirrored, but he did not fool me.
What followed was a couple more names that I did my best to commit to memory even if I'd probably never see these people again. If only Cassianus was here. The Claydol would have been able to put us in a soundproof bubble to hear each other speak. It was difficult not to be overwhelmed by all the new stimulation, even if I was having fun.
"So you're a fan, right?" I asked. "What's your favorite battle of mine? A lot of people say Crasher Wake."
The girl's face fell. "Oh. I mean, it's not really about the battles?" She awkwardly shuffled in place. "I got to know you because of that interview you did with Mallory Ryan. About how you were so friendly with wild Pokemon. From there I just got to know that you've got great intuition with them and can pretty much guess what they say, right? I'd never seen someone as good as you before, and I thought I was!" Catherine seemed over the moon again, beaming like the sun.
Right. That made a lot more sense—Mesprit giggled in the back of my head at the misunderstanding. We were so far apart, communication was rare now, but I could still feel them once in a while. Hopefully we'd find a remedy to that issue. My answer came as a simple nod.
"It really is an honor," someone else added.
"Are you here to protest?" Catherine asked. "It's truly horrifying what they plan on doing. It was never this bad with Alder a few years ago. Mark Obel is a corporate stooge."
"Errr. Yeah." I swallowed, deciding it was time to bring up her dad. I leaned in to whisper. "I'm actually here 'cause of your dad." Catherine's shoulders sagged. She tipped her head back toward the sky as if silently asking Arceus for patience himself. "There are apparently a bunch of Plasma people in the crowds and he's looking out for you."
"Dragons above," she groaned. "Yes, and I've already been approached by like five goons already. I'm here because my sister and I just started our own org recently and we were recruiting. It's not going very well…" she trailed off; Minccino grabbed something in her backpack and handed it to her from behind, squealing in her ear. "Oh! Here, take a look." She handed me a folded pamphlet.
I opened it and found The Representation League printed across the top in bold letters. The front of the pamphlet was a cacophony of hand and paw prints from different Pokemon species and a human. I thought I recognized Cinccino's on here, and maybe an Audino's? It was difficult to tell, though it was quite the heartwarming logo.
Inside were a few pages about Pokemon welfare, trainer regulations, and proposed labor protections for Pokémon working in construction, transportation, and emergency services. There were also proposed solutions to the constant human encroaching across the wilds. There were statistics, quotes from researchers, and a donation link and QR code squeezed into the bottom corner.
"That's cute," I said.
"It's cute, but we're serious! I'm the face and PR while Maddie—my older sister Madeline—she runs things behind the scenes. The budget and such." She stared at me for a moment, and I already knew where this was going. "Hey, we actually have a meeting on the 31st at six, so a day before the Circuit starts. That's what we're handing these for, mainly. You should come!"
"Um—"
"Just give us a chance! We're super small I know, but we plan on being super active!"
"I'm not sure—"
"Having you around would be so sick, especially for Pokemon-human relations! I'll see you there! Tell my dad I won't mess with Plasma!" She turned back to her friends. "Okay guys, let's keep moving! See you soon, Grace!" She waved at me as she left.
"Uh… okay?"
She left before I could even say anything else. My eyes drifted down to the pamphlet where their address was written. "Legendaries," I mumbled. Honestly, I really wanted to show up.
I'd come to Unova for numerous reasons.I wanted my name to travel further than I ever could, carried from person to person like a story around a campfire. To adventure again and uncover these new lands even larger than Sinnoh's. To sharpen my edge against new whetstones until there was nothing left to grind away and I could stand among the best.
But this, too, was exactly why I'd come. To help Pokemon in need in a country where they were less fortunate.
Buddy understood, yet he was telling me to stop considering her offer
"You're right. It'd be nice, but…" I bit my lip. How frustrating, to be chained like this. "Yeah, better not rock the boat so soon."
—
We were being followed again.
This time, he was taking no precautions. According to Buddy, he'd been following us one block away pretty consistently, and I'd noticed a flock of Pidove flying overhead every time I looked up. There were a lot of Pidove in Castelia, but this couldn't be a coincidence.
Unwilling to lead this potential stalker to where the Poketch team would be working, I decided to take the matter into my own hands and confront this individual. Buddy was out of my shirt now that we had so many packaged meals to carry—his rudimentary psychic abilities meant that he needed line of sight on any matter he wanted to manipulate.
People in Unova were rather coddled. Pokemon were classified into tiers, and only trainers with a certain amount of badges or special certifications were allowed to own species classified as dangerous by the government—that was if you ignored the monetary loopholes one could go through to get those lifted. Jellicent were predators of the deep, often unfeeling ghosts who lay in wait for months at the time for their next prey, stealing their life energy and devouring their lifespan for themselves.
All of that to say:
People weren't terrified of a Jellicent out and about per say, but this stalker would think twice when he turned into this dark alley and spotted him by my side doing his meanest of looks. We simply needed to scare him off.
Castelia might have been the largest city in the world, but finding an empty alley turned out to be rather easy. A few turns away from Bouffalant Burgers and I found a narrow stretch of concrete tucked between two office buildings. Five minutes of walking was all it took before I found myself somewhere nobody cared enough to look.
"Alright, then." I turned toward where I'd just come from, soothing Mimi's trembles with a caressing finger. "Get your Scary Face on, Bud."
The Jellicent scoffed, saying he'd never learned the intricacies of the move.
"I know, I know!" I waved a hand dismissively. "I just meant—you know what, just scare the kid and let's be on our way." I crouched and tapped my chin. "I guess that move would fit you. It's a lot of work to get to a level that's not 'scare things for a split second' though."
Buddy sighed, then asked me to please take the situation seriously.
"I am."
That is the only reassurance he needed from me. We'd been through too much for him to doubt me now.
It took only a minute for Pidove to start circling overhead, and another three for the culprit to finally prance into the alleyway.
I squinted at him, and was struck by how objectively handsome he turned out to be.
He looked to be around my age, maybe a little older. Long green hair spilled past his shoulders in messy waves that somehow managed to look intentional, framing a delicate face that could have fit on a girl. A loose, white shirt and beige pants hung off his long, thin body, and he had a necklace around his neck that looked like some sort of planet, along with some strange cube chained to his pants.
Several Pidove fluttered around him, landing all over his body. I recognize the first one who had spied on me on his cap from her thinner disposition.
My eyes darted all over him to assess threats. There were no Pokeballs on his belt, and his pockets didn't show any signs of anything that could be one. Was the Pidove not his? Neither did he carry any sort of bag to hide anything in.
Buddy's trap had already been set. There was a half open gutter next to where the boy stood under which he'd hidden a Night Shade ready to explode and kill him within a fraction of a second. If that didn't work, he'd be stunned long enough for his real body to slip inside of him and boil him alive.
"Listen, man," I rose on my feet. "I'm on vacation, okay? I'm here to have a good time and make friends, so can we not do this whole thing?" My finger alternated pointing toward me and him. "May I have the pleasure of knowing why you've been following me for the past hour?" I closed my eyes, inhaling sharply as I pulled deep within Emotion. This isn't something I'd usually rely on, but I needed to be certain. Even an ocean away from Lake Verity, I remained Mesprit's Shard.
He didn't appear to have any nefarious emotions. What rolled off him instead was curiosity: a pale gold that stretched toward me and coiled around my ankles. He just stood there a few seconds, observing me as I observed him. The murderous stare Buddy was giving him wasn't working one bit, either, and I knew for a fact it would have unsettled my closest friends back in Sinnoh despite them having known him for a year.
He pointed at the ghost. "Your Pokemon told me to get away from you if I don't want to die." His voice was soft, yet he spoke with incredible confidence and at a pace quicker than most.
How had he…?
"What does Pidove say?" he asked.
The bird on his cap flapped her wings and sang. Slightly breathless, I replied, "She apologizes about tricking me and hopes I forgive her."
Months ago, I'd spoken to a Plasma Organization sage named Rood who had been passing by Sinnoh, and he had told me I was the second person he'd met who could understand Pokemon perfectly.
Was it a fluke? No, no way. It couldn't be. The green-haired teen spread his arms and gave me the widest of smiles. "Marvelous!" he exclaimed. "So it was no lie! You exist!" He took a few steps toward me—
"Don't!" I warned my Jellicent not to kill him and to stand down. "Hey, dude. This is nice and all, but—you should take my Pokemon at his word."
He grabbed the cube dangling from his pants, his expression turning warm and soft. "No need. I see the future," he clenches his hand around it, "I see where it all leads me clearly. I do not die today."
Okay. So he was weird—but this was an incredible discovery. "Okay, wait." I lifted a hand at him. "Can I have your contact information or—or something? I've wanted to meet you for months—"
"I'm afraid not." His tone turned cold.
"Why?" How could he not want to explore this connection we shared? "I don't understand. Did you only seek me out to confirm that I was like you?"
"Is it not obvious to you? Then you're even worse than I thought." The words spilled from his mouth in a disappointed cascade. "You understand our friends and hear their truth." The Pidove flew around him, basking in his love. "You hear their plight, and yet you do so little. Only small acts of kindness instead of anything that might threaten this system of oppression our rotten society is based on." He pointed at my Pokeball. "Exploitation. Slavery. Bloodsport. We capture them. We command them. We decide where they live, who they fight, when they eat, when they breed. We call it partnership because it makes us feel better."
He gestured toward Bud.
"And yet they trust us anyway."
The boy turned away and left without another word, and I just let him. What was I going to do, stalk him back? His words… struck me a little. For a few minutes, I leaned against the alley wall deep in thought. Some of what he'd said was nonsense reminiscent of Rood. The old man must have gotten into this poor kid's head and influenced him with Plasma's ideology. He'd probably found me online and hoped I'd be the same as him, taking this opportunity to meet me.
The rest of it?
Was he not correct that I used small kind acts and pretended like they, in the grand scheme, mattered at all? Did it matter if I stopped a Pokemon from being captured against their will if another trainer passed by a week later and submitted them to the same fate?
"It doesn't," I answered myself, my eyes tightly shut.
Buddy places a tentacle around my shoulder in support, and I put my hand on his before grabbing the The Representation League pamphlet.
"6:00pm. If I find a good excuse…"
Enough stalling and sitting around. Enough putting this off.
I was going to go in secret and see where the story took me.