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Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Guiding Light [COMPLETE]

Cutlerine

Gone. Not coming back.
Well, it's been way too long! I have to stop doing this; the longer I leave it, the longer it takes to get through all the chapters. Not that that's a complaint. More content is good, especially now that the story has picked up pace and started to focus more narrowly on its main thread, rather than roaming freely through a whole bunch of different perspectives. Which makes it sound like I didn't like the earlier segments, and that's not true; rather, I think what you're doing is (as I've said before) a nice evocation of the way the PMD games structure themselves, with a sprawling first half and then a narrowly focused quest in the latter half, the whole somewhat leavened with special episodes where you follow some of the characters you met along the way for a while. In consequence, this review is going to be one of those ones where I just sort of look at all the notes I made while reading through and go there's no way I'm pulling all this together into something coherent, let's just type it up and have done with it, so apologies in advance if my thoughts seem slightly scattered.

I think I'm in two minds about the thing with Espeon. In my last review, I said that I didn't really have any comment to make on it, and now that I've read further I kinda feel that that's symptomatic, in a way – like, I don't have thoughts about Espeon. She's okay, I guess, but not that characterful, and certainly nowhere near as interesting as the rest of the main cast. Which in turn makes the hints of Shane's vague infatuation with her kind of baffling, because the main thing making up her personality is penitence, and that's not quite enough for her to feel as real as the other characters do. And that, I think, is why I was like “oh yeah, Espeon might be dead but probably not, considering how this story works, but I don't really have an opinion about it”. Since she's now apparently a bigger part of the main story, maybe she'll get some character development going forward. I'd hope so, anyway.

I do like that touch about Shane being able to read unown script; that's a very cute twist on the old “the chosen one can miraculously read the mysterious ancient language” device. Of course, the fact that unown script in the PMD world is still just English raises a lot of questions about trans-universal linguistics, but I think those are probably best left unasked. Actually, interchange between worlds comes up a lot in these chapters, what with Nicky and the mewtwo quote and all that; you kind of have to wonder where the Game Freak of Shane's world are getting all this from. Did inventing the pokémon world create the reality in which pokémon are real, or is there just some sort of visionary prophet at Game Freak who peers into other pre-existing worlds? If the PMD world is real, to one degree or another, then what about the standard pokémon world? Man. I guess I probably shouldn't question the metaphysical logic of a series that plays as fast and loose with universal continuity as Pokémon.

I really like that thing about unown being the remnants of the thousand arms of Arceus, too. I don't know if I've seen many fics acknowledge the legend of Arceus' thousand arms at all, actually, which is a shame because it's delightful – it feels like a real mythological thing, probably because it's a very mythical kind of description to attribute a thousand limbs to something like that. It's interesting that you link it to the unown, too. Bit by bit, the cosmology of your version of the PMD world is coming to light, and it has a wonderful internal logic to it. That's always an excellent thing to be able to say about any world, whether it's a fan interpretation of a point of lore or something wholly original: when something works, when all the parts move in the right order and you can see how the wheels fit together, that's very satisfying.

I was going to say that the scene where Golem talks Nicky round felt a little too simplistic to me – Golem I expect to sound like a pantomime villain, but Nicky? Even accounting for the childishness that comes with rebirth in the PMD world, he feels a bit flat, a criticism I think you could level at him through all of his life as a Necrozma – but then I read on and it seems like the justification for it is that Nicky regressed much further than Prisma or Shane did upon shifting universes. I guess there's probably an explanation for that – this fic pretty much always has an explanation, which is one of the reasons I like it – but I can't quite see it yet. Something to think about, I guess. I do still think that once he becomes a Necrozma Nicky is a much weaker character, particularly when compared to people like Prisma, Shane and Tessa. Like, he kind of just comes across as a stereotype.

I think it's a little strange that Tessa's first thought after learning that Null rescued her is that “oh, he's definitely still a murder-monster!” Like, they were really good friends! And okay, Tessa isn't always the most optimistic person, but I feel like she'd want to believe that Null is still the person she knew, especially with how much she depends on him (as she says at the end of the bonus) and that she would in her desperation latch onto this clue that she hasn't lost him to his broken RKS system.

As for the bonus itself – hm. It's the first time we've gone this deep into Null's mind, and he's very much … not the character we've come to know along the way. That's going to take some getting used to. Shane was right about the size of his personality change, and I haven't quite got the measure of it yet. I think I'll probably not comment on it just yet, to give it time to settle in my mind.

She shut her eyes and forced herself to take slow, deep breaths

Missing a full stop at the end there.

its voice filled with static that made the trio to flinch

You don't need the word “to” there.

A part of me wants to lash out at this guy for some reason.

I don't know, Shane, maybe it's because he's clearly a terrible person who's torturing and murdering sentient creatures in pursuit of a greater good that's obviously just a cover for his own ego?

"It could be your instincts," Espeon exclaimed. "Ninetales are believed to have spiritual powers."

Oh. Okay, or it could be that. But like I think the first thing still stands. Also, the idea of an Alolan golem trying to like manipulate buttons and stuff with its tiny little arms that don't even reach in front of its own chest is kind of hilarious.

I will pull hundreds of violent, tormented spirits from the next world back into our reality.

You kinda feel like this guy needed someone to bounce his ideas off first. Not necessarily another alchemist, just someone with the capacity to go “hey, my dude, don't take this the wrong way, but, uh, that idea kind of sounds like the last thing someone says just before they get murdered by hundreds of violent, tormented spirits from the next world.” I have to commend Golem, in a sense. It takes a certain kind of dedication to say a sentence like that out loud without realising that you're literally just a villain from a Saturday morning cartoon.

Shane wrapped a paw around her.

This makes it sound like he's somehow managed to fit Tessa into his paw – “foreleg” might be a better choice there.

"Call me crazy," she said, "but that thing's face looks like Null's did without his helmet."

While I find the concept of calling someone crazy distasteful, I think I'd have to disagree with Espeon there. I don't really see the resemblance between the two species' faces at all.

If we just left him down here to rot… we'd be no better than Golem and his ilk."

I mean, unless you were going to kill/enslave hundreds of people and drag thousands of souls out of hell just to satisfy the demands of your own ego, you'd still be better than Golem, but you know what, good for you, Shane! It's nice to see you've grown a conscience.

The lightning surged over her.

This sort of reads like the lightning is actually making contact with her, the way it would if you said a wave surged over someone. Maybe something about it going overhead would make it clearer.

He pointed his head skyward and opened his beak

You're missing the punctuation at the end of this sentence. Colon? Full stop? Long dash? I think you could make a case for any of the three.

"Everything You Always Wanted to Know About the RKS System (But Were Afraid to Ask)? Are you serious, here?"

The title here is missing some formatting – quotation marks, or italics. Either could work in this situation.

So! All caught up at last. I really enjoyed these chapters; it was great to finally hit the pay-off with Null and his mask, and to see how it is that Null's plot was connected to the main story – because of course it did have to be, in the end, and I couldn't see how you were going to make it happen. I'm going to have to try harder to not fall behind in future!
 

DeliriousAbsol

Call me Del
National Dog Day Episode:

This was cute and fun XD I mean, who doesn't like dogs? Poor Shane put his paw in his mouth offending Null though.

"What? No! That's stupid. And you totally made the name Solgaleo up," Shane dismissed. "The answer's obvious. Whoever's creating this adventure is clearly a hack of an individual with immense levels of bias and apparently no sense of shame."

lmao fourth wall dig at yourself there XD

Chapter 5

Wonder who Shane was talking to at the start? D= For some reason, I feel it might be Solgaleo.

Wow, here are Sneasel and Jangmo-o again. Trying to mess up Shane and Tessa's mission.

I like the quick turn-around here, getting through the trouble quickly but not without error. I don't think Tessa approved of her little dip in the water.

Neither did Sneasel XD

I'm glad Tessa is still willing to try and make her partnership with Shane work. I wonder if he'll have learned from his mistake here?

Chapter 6

I don't know if you intended it, but Crabrawler comes across with a British accent in my head. I like it.

"… Primarina," she replied. "He lives near Sunset Shoals and makes music crystals that are distributed to Sky Jukeboxes around the world."

Shane blinked in surprise. "That's a dude singing? Dang, he's got some impressive pipes. I was totally fooled!"

Me too. I was totally expecting Primarina to be female XD I know they can be male, and are most of the time, but I still can't picture one in my head (Despite Bel Canto the male Primarina being a fantastic member to my VGC team)

"Good moooooooooorning, dahlings! Settling in okay?" Bruxish greeted.

How on EARTH did I forget about this guy? D=

It's interesting to see the use of lesser used pokemon such as lunatone and solrock. I really like that, it gives them more recognition and personality than just 'floating rocks that fight'.

"Fine that… have it your way."

Wondering if this should be 'Fine then'?

That battle was pretty intense. I love the use of terrain! Also, poor Shane getting knocked out. Guess he had to lose a battle some time.

Tessa's ears and aura feelers jolted upright. Her eyes widened as she watched the pearls levitate into the air. A purple cloud gathered behind them, materializing into a Misdreavus.

Gotta say I was NOT expecting that!

"Hey, we were all newbies once. A little tough love can go a long way," Haunter mused. "And since we're good sports, we'll even let you guys claim the bounty on Solrock."

Shane's pout quickly faded. Dollar signs flashed in his eyes.

Aww =) That's really nice of them. Also, I love the cartoony image of dollar signs in Shane's eyes XD

"Oh, you mean Riolu?" Togedemaru said as she entered the room. She had a pair of metal bolts firmly attached to her head.

Why? O__o

"It's an electrical amplification testing apparatus," Togedemaru snorted. "… obviously."

Oh, sorry. I totally should have known.

I enjoyed that chapter. Also, we get a little more insight into the legends and also surprised Tessa's mum still has a room there. How long has she been missing? I think I've forgotten.

And, erm... is Gallian the absol from earlier? D=

Chapter 7


"I sure hope I'm picked to go this time," Togedemaru harrumphed. The metallic bolts were still fastened to her head. "Last time was a whole week sitting by the Pokénector. I was pretty much bashing my head against the wall in boredom by day two!"

"Is that why there's that dent? I was wondering where that came from," Trapinch chuckled.

"Excuse me? Did you just insinuate I'm fat?" Togedemaru growled.

Sweat droplets popped up on Trapinch's head. "O-Of course not!"

"Swell-headed is more like it…" Shane muttered.

"I heard that, human!" Togedemaru hissed.

'Crap… crap… inner monologue, Shane. Inner monologue!'

Just wanna say I loved this XD

If you see the base of the Pokénector glow yellow, then it's someone we don't records of.

There's a word missing here

That creepy meowth sounds familiar. With that crescent marking.

I loved the battle scene. Shane getting in the way, Null finally speaking. Messing up. Loosing the meowth. That can't bode well, right?

That did it. Tessa could see the fight drain from his eyes. His mouth fell open, and all the Vulpix could do was let out weak gasps of air. She saw his fur stand up on end and his empty gaze fall to the floor. She unfurled her scarf and tossed it toward the floor.

"I want some space, Vulpix. I'm going back to Sunrise Village. If you have any respect for me as a Pokémon, you'll leave well enough alone and stay here," Tessa said. She turned and marched out of the room, leaving Shane sitting there.

D= What?!

I can understand she's exasperated, but that was still somewhat unexpected.

"Oh, you don't know about the Prism Virus?" Espy giggled. "I guess I can't blame you. Let's just say it can make you an ultra-fun Pokémon to be around."

I'm trying to work this out. Necrozma... some kind of power turning regular pokemon into Ultra Beasts? Or Totems? Gah! I wanna know! XD

Man those two eeveelutions are creepy, particularly Espy. Crazy colours, too. And they're like chalk and cheese XD

Another fun chapter. You really know how to keep a reader on their toes!

Chapter 8

Aww, I like the interaction between Tessa and Shane at the start. Him opening up is quite character building, and things seem to improve with their relationship after that. I guess it helps that Tessa understands him better now.

I liked this chapter a lot. Some things have been tossed in the air, and it will be nice to see where Team Radiance goes from here. Especially because...

"I think that's a bit of a stretch," Tessa denied. She flopped down onto her pillow. "Actually, I was thinking maybe we recruit him."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Y'know, ask Null to join Team Radiance," Tessa elaborated.

Yaaaaay! =D I wanna know more about Null myself, so this idea is exciting.

It is not something I am at libertarian to discuss with you. I could offer you an apology cycle if that would help.

'Apology cycle' XD I love Magearna

The lore is very interesting. I'm wondering if I've got this right – Solgaleo and Lunala looked different before Ho-Oh 'renewed' them? And the hourglasses are a sort of fallback net perchance anything happens to them? I'm also interested about what happened to Lugia, as they didn't seem to play much of a part in the lore prior to Solgaleo and Lunala.

I noticed at the end you said you rewrote a lot of this chapter. I noticed a few errors that might be the result of that, so I thought I'd point them out. Sorry if they've been pointed out already.

Finally, the silence broke. "I really screwed this up all, haven't I?"

'Up' and 'all' are the wrong way round

"Err…" Stella glanced down the hallway. "Tell you what. How about Trapinch and I go grab some snacks from Steenee? You can stay here with Null."

I'm not sure who Stella is, but I spotted a review about a similar mistake earlier on. Just wanted to point it out perchance it's an accident. I'm wondering if it's an older name for Tessa?

Tessa opened his mouth, but no words came out.

"So, uh…" She scratched his forehead.

That evening, Tessa took the time to loop Shane into his conversation with Null.

Tessa seems to be going through a spurt of quick gender swaps here.

After all that's happened, I guess there's some exciting stuff to look forward to in the next chapter =D

Chapter 9

Wow, interesting start! D= I do wonder how Lucario is contacting Tessa via a dream, given she's not a psychic type.

"It's the Pokémon I'm helping protect," Lucario replied. "She told me that she sensed a Vulpix with an unnatural aura appear in Horizon. She believes that Pokémon will be a lightning rod for the kind of trouble we're trying to keep her safe from."

My speculation here is it's something to do with Espy, Umbry and their weird manipulation of other pokemon...

Given the end to that dream, I'm now wondering if the pokemon Lucario is protecting is Lunala, or maybe Lunala in some way enabled her to contact Tessa via dreams? Hmm... Those legends keep coming up recently. Not complaining, 'cos they're best legends. (Sorry Reshiram.)

"Rough? I fell in a pond. Got an apple splattered on my face. Not to mention lathered in disgustingly sticky honey," Shane recalled. "I just got my fur all nice and fluffed, so–"

I love Shane's difficulties dealing with being a vulpix. It must be tough keeping that lush, sparkly fur all pretty.

"Aww, come on!"

Shane jumped back toward a nearby tree and started brushing his right flank against the bark.

"I told you guys to warn me before you start tossing berries all willy-nilly," he whined. Shane backed away from the tree and glanced at his side. Streaks of purple lined his snow-white fur. "This is getting ridiculous. Do the powers that be just have a cruel sense of humor or something?"

I'm starting to think his fur is like Macro's scarf. Always on the receiving end of dirt and damage. Poor Shane.

Shane rolled up to his feet and peered at where the Perfect Apple pile had once towered. In its place stood two teal, short, rotund Pokémon. They each had large, yellow bellies with jagged lines running across them. In fact, their bellies almost seemed to serve as second mouths. The yellow space gave way to blue, void-like funnels in the centers of their stomachs. Each critter had a pair of black arms extending out from their stomachs. The arms ended with mouth-like pincers. Their actual arms were much shorter by comparison and ended with sharp, yellow claws. Each of the Pokémon's ears were covered in jagged, black cubes. All of the cubes bore red, crescent-moon insignias on them.

"Are… are those supposed to be Munchlax?" Tessa gasped.

Totally thought you were describing Guzzlord at first. Have... have the munchlax been merged with some kinda Ultra Beast by Espy? D=

Shane howled in pain as wisps of fire peppered his back, leaving ugly black scorches across his fur.

Yep... sorry, Shane. Us authors can be mean sometimes. Erm... it'll wash?

"Look at the Munchlaxes," Steenee gasped, pointing a hand forward. The trio watched in horror as the black squares covering the Munchlaxes' ears faded into a thick black mist. It swirled around each of their bodies, spiraling down toward the dirt. As the mist sank into the earth, all of the color seemed to drain from the Munchlaxes' bodies.

"They're disintegrating," Shane hollered, his legs quivering. He saw the irises and pupils on one of the Muchlax's faces dissolve off its body, following the black mist into the ground.

When all of the mist faded, the two Munchlax lay unmoving next to one another. Their fur was nothing but different shades of gray. Their eyes were now cold, hollow balls virtually indistinguishable from their gray faces.

Good grief! I was not expecting that! I thought once they'd be freed from that infection, everything would be fine and dandy! Something seriously sinister is going on here... makes me like that Espeon and her partner even less.

Shane meanwhile, stared at the pair of aggressors with a look of abject horror. 'Entercards? No… that's impossible. This is just a sick coincidence. It can't be them. They were such nice characters in the games. They'd never attack innocent Pokémon like th–'

Erm... O__O It's been a long time since I played Gates to Infinity. I don't even think I completed it. But I remember Espeon and Umbreon. I totally hadn't put two and two together here before Shane said this. But... Ultra Entercard? I'm wondering if this has something to do with Ultra Beasts, and given the munchlaxs' appearance I'm leaning towards 'yes'. But I guess I need to keep reading and stop writing to find out.

'Huh, I wouldn't have thought to make that connection. I guess that's what being a seasoned explorer's all about,'
Shane thought. 'Either that, or this guy knows more than he's letting on and he's trying to play us. In which case, I'd better pay close attention to him.'

Hmm, so not only does Null offer to help out on expeditions, Shane is now suspicious of Braviary. Well... I'm not so sure on Braviary. With all the surprises you've been throwing in recently, Braviary turning out to be working for some bad guy wouldn't be out of place. I hope not though. I like him. But then Nuzleaf turned out to be bad in the games, didn't he? And I'd liked him, too =(

Couple of typos:

One of the Munchlax picked up a Perfect Apple and swallowed it whole used the mouth etched into its stomach.

Little typo here. Should be 'using'.

"Ugggh! Peeyew!" Steenee waved a forepaw in front of his face. "That's noxious."

Steenee is going through a gender swap phase, too.

Chapter 10

Torracat and I shared a Sharpedo, while Metang sat atop the other one.

I... can't... quite picture a metang sitting on a sharpedo for some reason. But when I really try, it makes for a funny image. Kinda like that meme of Blue flying on a spearow, only without the dramatic size difference.

In a pokemon-science sense, given Metang can levitate and utilise psychic power, he could probably adjust his weight to make it easier for the sharpedo to carry him. I like thinking of stuff like this, wondering how the world would work with the huge size and weight differences. It's one of the things I loved about Zootopia.

Branches and bushes were getting slashed up left and right by a Feraligatr with a particularly nasty look in its eyes. There were a couple Pokémon beside it, but I didn't recognize them right off the bat. It's not like I went about memorizing Pokémon species in my spare time.

And there are over 800 of them.

Urgh that feraligatr is gettin' my goat with his flailing paw like that >.> poor Prisma. I'm already guessing here that Prisma is Tessa's mother, and Torracat seems to be being set up to be her father. Hmm...

Nice lore with the Tapus and mystery dungeon randomness here. I'd love to see how an uncontrollable one might work!

"Talk about a close shave," he sighed, placing a paw to feel his right cheek. Poor feller done got his whiskers sliced right off. No idea if that meant anything important, but he seemed frazzled about it.

Lmao, poor Rufflet doesn't know much about cats, by the sounds of things.

Are your wings operable?
he asked.

Do you watch Star Trek by chance? Because this sounds like something Seven of Nine would have asked XD Or a vulcan, maybe D= I do enjoy your use of different speech patterns. The wackier the better, imo!

Chapter 11

I quite like the puzzle. Very different take on things. Writing puzzles is no easy task, either.

Rufflet is also not very gentlemonly, is he? Scolding Torracat for having Prisma's best interests at heart.

That Golisopod battle felt like one you'd find in a video game. Great use of puzzles and trickery. And 'first impression', too! (Took me way too long to remember the name of that move...)

Wondering now if the battle with the scavengers is gonna be harder than that one...

Small typo I noticed:

So, I bucked the Goldbat away

'Golbat'

Chapter 12

Yep, that battle seemed a lot more intense XD But urgh, that Feraligatr. So glad they rescued Prisma from his wicked clutches.

Now we have an insight into the PMD naming conventions. I like how this plays into it. It's always your player character and their partner that have names, and almost no one else. I love how she finds their lack of unique names odd, and they find her use of a unique name odd!

Also, sorry, Rufflet. Romance happens. It's a thing.

This special episode puts Braviary in a better light outside of Shane's suspicions. I like that. It affirms he's a good guy, attitude towards Prisma aside. Obviously they made amends during their time working together. You can tell that by the end of the final chapter.

Looks like my guess was right about Gallian being the absol's name. Wasn't expecting him to be Tessa's adopted older brother, though!

It's a bit of a shame we didn't see the erratic uncontrolled Mystery Dungeon in action, but there was so much going on I forgot about it until I read the bonus episode. I just thought I'd add my comment here to keep it linked in with the special episode.

Bonus #2

The door flew open and Shane let out a yelp as it smacked him into the wall.

Ah, Shane's cartoon moments. A sheer delight in this story. Sorry, Shane, but they're just so entertaining.

Shane collapsed beside the open door, his eyes spinning in their sockets. "When is a door not a door? When it's a jaaaaaaaaaaar…" he moaned.

I actually laughed out loud at this at this.

"Course I do, dude. Your voice puts an Exploud to shame," Tapu Koko responded. "Not everything needs to be shouted at the top of your lungs, you know."

Tapu Koko using the word 'dude' was NOT expected.

"Whoa, chillax, dragon dude," Tapu Koko exclaimed, "We Land Spirits are, like, one with nature around here. It lets us craft terrain to suit our abilities. Pretty righteous, huh?"

So he's a hippy? X'D You throw some wild surprises into this story, but it's so nice that all the legends don't talk with the same tone.

Unless it's just Tessa's interpretation?

Couple of typos:

but Zekrom's proved move stronger and seared Tapu Koko's arms.

I think the words are mixed up or it's a typo, I can't really work it out.

in continued arcing through the fields, leaving barren rock behind.
'it'

The lore behind this story is weaved in well. Once again, Tapus are revealed to be the reason Mystery Dungeons change. I'm still very interested in the ones that aren't controlled, however.

Chapter 13

His entire body stiffened and the red, diamond-shaped jewel in his forehead flickered ominously.

Red? D= Oh no, he isn't like Espy and Umbry, is he?

I'm intrigued by his very familiar one protruding fang. Much like Lucario. Hmm...

It amuses me how Misdreavus speaks like Bidoof. I'd thought it before, but it's becoming much more apparent in this chapter XD

"Hey now, don't underestimate those Sharpedo. The one we used on our first mission seemed pretty tough," Tessa exclaimed. "I'll bet one could carry you, no problem!"

Well they can carry a metang, so...

"… both of you… stop arguing… and start battling…" Null hissed, glaring at Shane and Tessa.

"She started it!" Shane accused, prompting Null to slap him upside the head.

"… and I finished it…" The chimera spun around and sent an Air Slash crescent rippling toward Parasect.

I love Big Brother Null.

That fight was like a living nightmare. Parasect after parasect after parasect... poison after poison. Lots of fast thinking only making the situation worse. If Team Captivate hadn't rushed in, Team Radiance would have been smoke (or sludge) and the story would have been short lived for sure.

Wondering what happened to Morelull and Shiinotic. Did they faint? Run away? I really hope they didn't get infected...

Little error I noticed:

"You stepped in some sort of… well… I don't really know what it is," Stella said. She pointed at the black spot.

The mysterious Stella is back

After reading your next post about little tidbits, I want to say I absolutely love the nihilego/parasect pairing. In my head, it looked just as menacing. Although I couldn't mentally see it clearly. I could imagine the tentacles hanging off the jelly mushroom like extra legs, similar to the munchlax monsters' extra limbs. It was very well executed, and I agree the changes you made were exceptional. I'm not sure how it would have worked with a lurantis. I look forward to seeing more ultra-beast-fusions!

Chapter 14

'Pain. Crushing pain. Something hit me.'
Shane's vision flickered. For a flash of a second, glass shards and metal fragments lined the forest floor. They vanished almost as soon as they appeared.

"Vulpix?" Tessa looked over and noticed Shane sitting across from her. His whole body was rigid and his mouth was clamped tightly shut. Then, he fell to the ground. "Vulpix!" Tessa gasped. She ran over to him, with Null and Milotic looking on curiously.

Whoa boy, he's recalling his human 'death' D=

"Here, you should eat these." Milotic rolled the oran berry and apple toward him. "You seem like you're a world away right now."

Little does she know how right she is.

I read this chapter at night without my notes, so I'm having to skim read to remind myself what I really enjoyed about it. Not an easy task when it was absolutely epic!

So Gallian invades the guild, and takes out the ghost gang. They probably stood no chance due to a type disadvantage, either. Also, Gallian really sounds like he's all twisted like Espy, Umbry and their victims. Except he's more in control of his faculties like them two sinister eeveelutions. I mean, he does have an Ultra Beast hovering around him. I sort of get the impression he's not an enemy, however. Despite his way of dealing with things.

Shane got back up to his feet. "We don't need to take that from a stupid outlaw like you," he spat. "So, either you can take your angsty edgelord routine and head for the exit or Magnezone can drag you out! Your choice, bub. It's three-on-one here."

Wow, what a burn, Shane! XD Edgelord... oh dear.

"Stop this, Gallian!" Tessa shouted. The Absol momentarily froze, but then sidestepped the charging Null and struck his backside with a downward Night Slash. Null collapsed into a heap beside Shane.

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" Gallian roared.

Sensing real brother-sister similarities here.

Gallian's rant about the guild being rotten is very... ominous. Makes me wonder if there's some kind of cover-up that Incineroar knew about and Gallian somehow found out about. Wonder if Lucario knows about it, too?

We now know Shane's been talking to Solgaleo, which is cool. He also seems to be speaking Shane's language a bit here. That pep talk was much needed after the little vulpix's confidence drop.

I love Primarina's entrance! Spitting a water bubble on Shane to wake him XD Oh, I think I love this character already.

"… I'm tired… of your bickering," he rasped. "I'm… in enough pain… from this… blasted helmet. I don't need… your arguments… making my headaches even worse...”

Can someone please hug Null? =(

Big Brother Null fixing Shane and Tessa's bickering again. I feel like he's the catalyst their friendship needs, since he speaks sense to them in his own way. Poor Shane slipping into his old, depressed self... At least he's opened up about it. Hopefully his talk with Solgaleo and Tessa will perk him up a bit and give him back his confidence after such a horrible defeat.

From behind the corner of the nearby hallway, Null watched them emerge from the Guildmaster's office. He nodded to himself and disappeared before either of them could see him.

Aww! He's keeping an eye on them! =3

Chapter 15

The two of them saw Primarina collapsed on the ground and an unamused Vaporeon fanning him out with his tail.

Oh, I wonder if he's claustrophobic?

Given the pokemons' response to Shane's human-turned-pokemon story, I'd say he has lost his memories. About his accident, anyway.

Shane frowned. Primarina looked at him in surprise. "Wait, that's you, babe?" He scratched his snout. "And here I thought Serperior was just yank-a-tiddly-anking my tailfins. She can be such a gossip sometimes, y'know."

I'm sensing some Ned Flanders influence in Primarina's speech pattern.

"Now, now." Shane pet Tessa on the head. "It's not a hard job. I just need you to walk around with a notepad and a pen and jot down all my brilliant thoughts as I deduce the identity of our criminal." He walked toward the entrance, only to stop and look at Crabrawler and Magnezone. "Actually, would either of you happen to have a deerstalker hat and an ornate wooden pipe?"

Yay! Goofy Shane is back! =D

I enjoyed Sherlock Shane. Although I didn't come up with the same culprit as he did. I thought it might have been Sneasel and Jangmo-o up to no good again. What does Gallian want with a Mystical Malasada? I thought he was looking for a TM. I might have to backtrack and refresh my memory...

backtracks ...I guess that was the distraction he wanted to cause?

Tessa bit down on the ghost-arm. It dissolved into a purple fog, revealing a dull gray arm that tasted like a dirty rag. Tessa's gag reflex nearly made her heave, but she steeled her will and yanked her head back. A frightened shout echoed from the alleyway. Tessa fell backwards and succeeded in dragging out the offending Mimikyu. She could just make out a void of purple struggling to keep Mimikyu's disguise rooted to the ground.

"Ahh! No! Stop! Please stop! Let go, let go, let go! I'm sorry!" Mimikyu squealed. Tessa felt his arm wriggle about in her mouth. She quickly released her grip and swallowed hard, trying not to puke. She raised her fists and glared defiantly at the Mimikyu.

I'd never thought of a Mimikyu tasting vile, but given how long it likely wears that rag, it makes a lot of sense. And only adds to my revulsion of the pokemon, too XD

Mimikyu nodded his head slowly. "Ah, see, see. That's good. But, y'know, I think it would be better if we were able to talk face to face. So, why don't we take off that Pikachu costume and see who you really are, huh?" Shane started reaching a paw toward Mimikyu. "Boy, I can't believe I get to do my own Scooby Doo villain unmasking."

I think Shane needs to update his PokeDex.

The Vulpix bit his lower lip. 'This guy got away with stealing from a Kecleon? Okay… this is bad. Really bad! As if it wasn't humiliating enough getting knocked out by him yesterday… now I know that he's totally out of my league. What if I run into him again? How am I supposed to win?'

Given Kecleon can totally pwn you in the games, that Gallian must be one crafty absol. Nice reference, there =D

Lycanroc smirked, showing off gleaming-white fangs. He fixed his glowing-red eyes on Shane. "Heard a bit about ya, kid. It's nice ta meet ya, Snowy."

Shane's entire body stiffened upon hearing that nickname.

'Oh no... this guy's not going to help us. He's a criminal!'

Jumping to conclusions? I hope so D=

Nice filler episode, while still sticking to the plot! I wonder if we'll see any more of Sherlock Shane?

Chapter 16

Creepy ghosts are creepy. From Haunter juggling his own eyeballs to Drifloon spying from a plant pot, I can't even...

Serperior's apprehension makes me wonder what exactly Team Specter do to them, and how often as well... You give us a little taster or two about it, but it sounds like that trio of ghosts really get up to no good with their fellow guild mates. Little pranksters they are, clearly.

Serperior pursed her lips. "Lemme get this straight. Your big, secretive mission is to rescue your hair? Won't it just grow back eventually?"

Serperior is so tact

"The pearl in a Zoroark's mane is a fulcrum to help us channel our illusion-making powers. Without mine, I'm completely useless!...”

Nice little bit of head cannon there. I like it =D

Serperior fished a trio of small, raindrop-like crystals out of the item pouch. "Got 'em, chief," she said, tossing one emera to each of her teammates. Milotic fastened hers into the looplet around her torso.

You may have explained this earlier and I simply forgot, but in this world don't emeras disappear once they're out of a dungeon? Just interested if there's a reason for this, or if it's a bit of creative licensing.

I felt a bit sorry for the boldore. I mean, he hadn't done anything XD

Nice overlap. But I felt that mission went a bit too fast and easy for Team Captivate. I found myself wondering what relevance the zoroark plot really held until the end of the chapter. It seems like you're building up to something here.

I don't think I picked up the spy movie parody, but I'll keep an eye open for it in the next chapter.

Bonus #3

Somehow I can totally picture Dialga with a feather duster sweeping his tower. Does he really need a maid service?

The silent infernape is amusing, compared to his chatty companion. They're like the pokemon equivalent of Jay and Silent Bob.

I have to say I was not expecting to ever see a hyperactive, puppy-like giratina. And he totally got put in his place through a time rift. That's one way to deal with him, I guess? XD

I love how Palkia is totally contrasted with Dialga here. Dialga is like some kind of lounging prince diva taking advantage of other pokemon, whereas Palkia seems to have a Legend Complex and speak with long words in loud, booming capitals.

"The pleasure is mine, Lugia," Rayquaza replied, glancing over to see the giant sea bird reclining against a pair of stone slabs he had pushed together. "You're always a pleasant guest to have around. Everyone else just asks me to summon wind storms or vaporize something in the stratosphere. Makes a guy feel unappreciated, you know?"

Not to mention chasing wild deoxys about the O Zone.

"Oh, totally!" Lugia agreed. "You're talking about Blaziken and Swampert, right?" Rayquaza nodded. "Well, at least they're nice enough to bring food. I can't even go back to the Sea Shrine because this annoying Delphox and Meganium duo keep dropping by and begging me to join their foofy little Expedition Society. They say, 'If the Lati twins did it, why can't you?' Can you believe that?" He nonchalantly flicked a wing. "Honestly, what was Cresselia thinking joining an exploration team? Now everyone and their brother thinks they can go out and recruit a Legendary."

lmao! I love poking fun at the games!

"SPECIAL DELIVERY!" Palkia shouted, and unceremoniously dropped Giratina to the ground. The gray dragon landed on his head, making his eyes comically tear up. "NO GIVESIES-BACKSIES!" Palkia immediately disappeared back into the rift he'd opened. It promptly shut behind him.

I rescind my previous statement on the use of 'no givesies-backsies' alone.

"It's maaaaaaaaaaagic!" Mew chirped, giving Mewtwo enthusiastic jazz sands.

Small typo - 'hands'. Also... I can now not unsee this.

"TRASH MY V-WHEEEEEEEEL, WILL YOU?" Victini thundered. "Do you have any idea how long I spent working on that? YOU'RE GONNA BE A SMOLDERING PILE OF ASHES WHEN I'M THROUGH WITH YOU!"

No, not the V-Wheel! D= Man, I never thought Victini could lose his cool!

Growlithe whistled. "Whoa… that is one thoroughly cooked Vulpix. I didn't know you could roast 'em well-done like this!"

I'm gonna hazard a guess that Shane was the ONE pokemon eager to volunteer for Giratina's new 'trick'...

Tessa froze in place. Her eyes drifted up to look at Giratina, who towered above her. The gray dragon hopped around the room happily, causing tremors when he landed. "Yay! Yay! It worked! It worked! I blew up a Vulpix! Did you guys see it? It was great, right? I can't believe the other Legendaries didn't want to see this."

"Golly, it sure was quite the sight," Misdreavus said.

"Yup. Absolutely wild!" Drifloon agreed.

Haunter noticed Tessa and his grin widened. "Well, what do you think of Team Specter's newest recruit? He's… a real blast! Mwee hee hee hee hee!"

Oh. No. It was the ghosts who offered. But seriously, I can totally see Shane offering because 'big legend is talking to him' =P Come on... I'm right, right?

Chapter 17

Looks like Serperior was right. Zoroark did lie, and her mane was an illusion. Hmm...

"She found some notes suggesting that, after Dark Matter's first attack in ancient times, a group of Pokémon strongly believed they could no longer trust Legendaries to look out for them. So, they wanted to set out to create a Pokémon that could protect them from any kind of threat."

...Null? D=

The catacombs closing behind them certainly seems ominous.

If we didn't know Null was found by Glyphic Falls, I'm not sure I'd believe this Zoroark. But something has clearly happened. The question is... is it another Null? A silvally completely berserk without its helmet?

...Or Epsy and Umbry up to no good again?

"In our direction," Milotic replied, jerking her head down the path.

I'm not sure 'our' makes sense here. Not sure if it's a typo or not, so I wanted to point it out just in case.

Oops, looks like Milotic landed in a dirt trap. If Team Specter didn't place it, who did? Imaginative description of the stealth rock trap, btw. I like it =D

Wasn't expecting the gentleman-esque Marshadow. Can't decide what to make of him. If he really is a lone wolf working for the guild, I wonder if we'll see more of him?

Way to end on an ominous note. I'm trying to picture that shattered crystal structure. Sort of wondering if it's like the stasis chambers Lusamine used?

Chapter 18

"Call me crazy," Milotic said, "but I think there may have been something inside this crystal."

"That's an amateur opinion. It's not a something, it's a someone," Marshadow claimed.

I'm really thinking my suspicions are gonna be confirmed very soon.

'Which means it totally does. So, did Zoroark tell this guy about the conspiracy? Or did he find out on his own?'
Milotic thought. But she put on a frown in order to maintain her façade. "Aww, you're no fun," she whined.

"I can be plenty fun in the right situation. This just isn't one of them," Marshadow quipped, giving Milotic a wink.

I think Team Captivate have found the male version of themselves. Also... coy, Marshadow. Coy.

"These look like emera ores," Milotic observed. "So, I guess they don't have unlimited energy. Not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing."

"Forget the energy amounts," Marshadow dismissed. "There are a bunch of cords shooting out from the emeras to the big crystal." He knelt down and ran his hand across a small, circular band in the floor. "And they feel exactly the same as the broken crystal. I think we can safely conclude these emera ores were powering this big thing."

I was just beginning to wonder if they'd been powering that big thing, and then Marshadow comes out and says it. That's one point for me!

In which case, you must be on guard for a Pokémon with a large, stone helmet covering its entire face.

Yes! I was right! It's Null! (or another Null). Another point for me!

Oh dear. Marshadow was up to no good after all. Tying up three girls like that? And with their own tails? That's just playing downright dirty!

I'm so glad they didn't find themselves locked in a monster house. Those four pokemon were enough of a chore, and Team Captivate are in enough of a bind as it is! … shot

So they have to climb out? Wow, that's gonna be a tough challenge. And somehow... I can't help thinking whatever attacked Zoroark is gonna make an appearance.

Unless she's working with Marshadow? D=

Typos:

Marshadow crosses his arms. "I should think so, luv. It did break, after all."

'Crossed'

Milotic weaved her way around the crystal and accompany emera ores,

'Accompanying'

But I needed to test you girls to make surely you really knew what you were doing.

I think you meant 'sure' here?

Chapter 19

Well, that was an eventful and energetic escape down the rapids! I'm glad Team Captivate managed to unangle themselves! And arrest Marshadow, too. Although I doubt we've seen the last of him.

Also... Mawile, yay! =D Nice to see Super Mystery Dungeon characters making an appearance. I don't recall the Lati Twins, but they seem adorable. It was a shock to see that Zoroark was Latias in disguise, however! I was beginning to think Zoroark was up to no good until her story checked out.

I wonder how things are going to go down once Team Captivate are back at the guild with the information they uncovered on Null? Man, I hope things turn out okay!

Chapter 20

Whoa, what a start to this arc! D= Poor Stufful, watching his mother fall like that!

We mow know what Espy and Umbry are up to, and it doesn't sound good. Wiping legends off the planet... looking for the hourglass... and confirmed, they're merging pokemon into ultra beasts. Yikes!

'Ugh, why is this guy still here?'

Because Primarina is awesome! That's why.

I'm not sure on Shane's reaction to Lycanroc calling him Snowy. I mean, he is pretty snowy-looking. And he's an ice type. So I agree with Braviary and Metagross that he hasn't got a solid argument there.

I was seriously expecting that bewear to show up in those woods. I was not expecting Lycanroc to have basically 'ninja'd' Team Radiance's mission, willingly or otherwise. Still not sure on Shane's accusations, but it sounds familiar to me. I can't remember which game I'm recalling similar events from. But nevertheless, I kinda hope Lycanroc turns out to be innocent and Shane's just paranoid.

Not sure on that howl they heard though. Maybe it was Bewear and they just didn't see her?

Good grief, that's not Yungoos evolved lying on that bed is it? 'Cos Braviary is there, and he took Yumgoos with him. And I love Yungoos D=

Whew, doesn't sound like it! That's a relief. Poor Gumshoos though =(

Man, I want Lycanroc to turn out to be good and Shane's just having paranoid rambles, but that smirk he gave Shane has be questioning my initial suspicions. Argh...

Bonus #4

This was cute =) I love Gallian and Tessa playing together.

I'm intrigued about Prisma's missing memories. I wouldn't be surprised if she turned out to be a human, too D=

Chapter 21

Okay, what's Gallian got to do with all this? I'm completely confused. I thought Espy and Umbry were behind all this UB merging stuff D= And Espy said they were after the hourglass, right? I'm very confused. Unless Gallian is after the other item and that threatens Solgaleo?

"We need to talk, Vulpix," she said. Dragonair turned around and beckoned him forward with her tail. "Walk with me."

"Uh, you don't walk. You slither."

Shane has a habit of saying exactly what I'm thinking

His brow furrowed. "Yo, Arceus, if you're really up there doing whatever, how about a sign?"

"… hurry up, human…"

Shane flinched at the sound of Null's rasping voice.


Was this deliberate? XD

Love how Shane's begging other pokemon to help in, dragging them into his strange conspiracy. Unless Lycanroc is part of all this weirdness that's going on, Shane's gonna get a shock when he sees Bewole/Buzzware.

I'm not sure what Null is up to. I hope his following after them muttering about beasts only bodes well for Shane and co...

I adore how much of a pyromaniac Growlithe is. I reckon they stand a chance against this Bewear with him on the team.

"W… what in da blazes…?" Yungoos staggered backwards.

"Hey, that's my line," Growlithe griped.


Lmao!!

Btw, way to go on creating the creepiest, most unlikable enemy duo I've ever come across in a story. I absolutely DETEST Espy and Umbry. Or what they've become, at least. If it is the same duo from Gates, I truly hope they can shake whatever it is that's taken over them and return to their previous selves.

"Really? They don't all have four legs and massive red arms with veins bulging out of them?" Shane panicked. "It's called leg day, you big brute! And you never skip it!"

Shane. Fantastic in a crisis since 2017.

Is it just me, or is the thought of a Bewear with Buzzwole arms, all flexing like that hilarious UB, just totally amusing and ridiculous?

Chapter 22

Love how Growlithe is happy that Bewole has fluffy. I thought it would be a pretty awesome advantage, but nope. Things are clearly not all that simple or easy when fighting one of these things.

And why is she using Milotic as a whip?! That's just plain not cricket! Poor Milotic will be feeling that later.

Can't believe Growlithe went down like that either =( his poor leg!

The boulder exploded into hundreds of rocky fragments. Bewear's arms thrust apart and flexed in surprise.

This is an oddly amusing image during an intense scene.

Great to see our buddy Null leaping to the rescue!

...And considering killing Shane. Ah. This can't bode well for future events...

At least they took Beware down. And she went down flexing. Flexing until the very end...

I have to say, after that crystal shattered, I thought they'd broke the infection's hold and freed her, but no. She ended up just the same as the others. Only for her kid to witness it all. Gah, that... that was pretty heart breaking. And poor Stufful thinks Shane and co are to blame, too. I can see why but... argh ='(

"Well, Team Captivate's all healed up. Their injuries were fairly routine, all things considered," Comfey reported.


No evidence Milotic was used as a whip, then? That's a relief. Thought that would have left some pretty nasty bruises and muscle strain. Maybe a broken bone here and there.

I love the use of pokemon moves used in a medical ward here. Such an imaginative use of sweet scent for Comfey to sedate her patients. That's probably my favorite one here.

"Oh… oh my…" Milotic flummoxed. "I… I'm so sorry. This is really humiliating."


Also, Milotic's response to being used as a whip is mildly hilarious. One of those 'lifting the mood' lines after a hectic nightmare of a battle.

Shane running his mouth off again, causing more trouble for himself and Tessa... Dang it, won't he learn? I'm really interested to know if his gut instinct on Lycanroc is right. I can't help but feel he's judging on appearances. What does he mean Null isn't even nice?! He's saved his hide, for goodness' sake, AND stopped himself from killing Shane on instinct! Ah well. Hopefully Shane will see through Null's exterior soon enough. Meanwhile, I do wanna know what his beef is with Lycanroc.

I also wanna know why Solgaleo is saying Gallian is behind all this, when it's seemed up until now that it's all Espy and Umbry.

Just before the curtains closed up, he saw Tessa burry her face in Null's left foreleg.

I can see why one of your readers is shipping Tessa and Null. I may join that other reader.

I'm also wondering if Shane is a little jealous... maybe you have a love triangle brewing?

Bonus #5

This stargazing chapter was cute, especially with Tessa and Gallian. Argh, I so want them to make amends and save him from whatever it is that's taken over him (unless it is him, in which case... I've no idea.)

Also, was that Dawn Wings Necrozma at the end? 'Cos if it was Lunala, she's had a gender switch D= I'm going to go with the former, and if I'm right then something's gone wrong and it's very worrying!

Chapter 23

To discover that Shane was wrong all along, to the point it actually pushed Lycanroc over the edge to actually screw over the guild is downright terrible! I hope that's given Shane a much needed wake-up slap. He really needs to watch his mouth. I'm wondering what things are gonna go down when he has that discussion with Metagross.

Togedemaru was hilarious as always, using her prickles to pin down one of those thugs. I love how Magearna can utilize two attacks at once. She's awesome.

I'm really intrigued by Tessa's building friendship with Null. He needs a friend. It's great he's opened up to her somewhat, as well. I look forward to how their mission goes.
 

Ambyssin

Winter can't come soon enough
Due to the time-sensitive nature of this update, review replies will come later. My apologies.

Additionally, if anyone's confused by what they're reading here, skip down to the end of this special (in the next post) and see the author's notes. It should make more sense then. Enjoy! ^^

XxX

~Celestial Island~

Necrozma threw open a gemstone doorway, nearly dropping the ice bag resting on his head. He floated over the onyx-tiled floor, passing jet-black chairs and equally-black cubes suspended in midair. He looked up toward the red and purple vortex swirling where there should have been a ceiling and bellowed, "Missstreeeeeessssss! Where are you?" He looked around the room. "Don't tell me you're out again? This cold is bound to pass in a few hours, but I could use a little pick-me-up to tide me over. I think…"

He took in a shuddering breath and put a black hand up to his face. Necrozma let out a relieved sigh. "Oh, thank goodness. I don't think I could take another one of those sn– WAAAAAHCHOOOOOOO!"

Necrozma sneezed so hard he shot himself back against the doorway. His ice bag tumbled off his head. The crescent moon in his forehead flickered while his head whiplashed back off the door. He slumped down to the ground, a dazed look in his eyes. "Ooooooogh… not again," he groaned. He lifted a weary arm. It glowed pink and the bag levitated toward him. He grabbed it and put it atop his throbbing head. "I shouldn't be getting head colds like this. I'm… Necrozm–" He descended into a violent coughing fit. His fatigued wings gave out on him, and he slumped onto the floor.

"I wonder… if that sneeze… tore open another wormhole?" he wheezed. "Bah!" He rolled onto his back. "What do I care? What's the worst that could happen?"

XxX

Bonus #9: Transdimensional Tourism
This is an omake. Don't take it too seriously. Just sit back and enjoy the ride!

XxX

~???~

A sleeping Shane rolled across creaky wooden floorboards. His eyes snapped open, leaving him a second to realize he was moving, before something hard and metallic caught his snout. "EYOWCH!" he yipped, throwing his paws up over his snout. "What just hit me?"

"Hmmgh? Huh? What happened? Are we under attack?"

Shane glanced up to see Silvally lying next to him. He looked down at Shane. "Did… did you just hit me?"

"Me?" Shane said, sliding up into a seated position. "It was your metal cheek I bonked into!" he accused, rubbing his throbbing snout. "Why didn't you watch where you were going?"

"How could I watch where I was going? I wasn't moving anywhere. I was sleeping," Silvally huffed.

"And so was I," Shane said, frowning.

"Will you two quit bickering for a moment?" Tessa said, stepping in between them. She suddenly lurched to her right and fell against Silvally's shoulder. "Oof!" She gripped her head and got back to her feet. "Like I was trying to say… something's wrong. We're not at the Observatory."

Shane and Silvally abruptly shut their mouths and jumped to their feet. Silvally took a look at their surroundings. "What the–? Where are we?" He looked about in a panic. "This isn't our room! … And there are splinters caught in my fur." He scratched at his underbelly with his talons.

Shane raised an eyebrow. "Are we in a brig? Like a ship's brig?" He walked up and touched the heavily-reinforced metal bars. "Oh my god… we're totally in a brig!" He turned around to his teammates. "How did this happen? Were we kidnapped? Is this the Prism Virus' doing?"

"Wait, slow down, slow down," Tessa said, clutching her head. "You're not making any sense. Ships? Brigs? What the heck are those?"

"Uh, hello? It's what we're standing in right now," Shane scoffed, gesturing to the room. "Didn't your parents ever tell you any stories about pirates when you were little?"

"Pirates?" Tessa cocked her head in confusion. "What are pirates? Are they like the scavengers Dad used to tell me about?"

"Seriously?" Shane's jaw dropped. "How could you not know. Pirates are staples of storytelling!" He jumped back, spreading his legs out. "They scour the high seas, searching for treasure. They terrorize anyone who comes in their path with swings of their swords and blast of their cannons!" He wiggled his hips around and swiped the air with his tails. "Shyya! Hyyyaa!" He turned back around. "And they raid settlements to plunder their booty! How is this not making any sense to you guys?"

Silvally raised a skeptical brow. "Why would anyone want to steal someone's butt? That seems like a waste of time."

Shane smacked his face with a forepaw. "You two really need to get out more." He shook his head in disbelief. "They've got peg legs. And hooks for arms. And a lot of speak in funny voices." He cleared his throat. "Something like, 'Avast, mateys! The cap'n be sayin' we need to skewer that saucy wench, or we'll be walkin' the plank!'"

Tessa and Silvally exchanged perplexed looks. "Don't look at me. You're the one with a thousand different sets of memories," Tessa said, raising her paws innocently. "If anyone knows what he's rambling about, it's you."

"Oh, so now you get up… I'm surprised you're already making such a ruckus after getting blown around like that."

Shane's ears stuck up and his tails twitched. "Someone's coming. Big guy, go hide in the back of the cell."

"Why?"

"Because it's dark back there, and I don't want anyone to see you. If we run into trouble, you can be our secret weapon," Shane said, shoving Silvally's hip with his head. Silvally stomped over into the corner, disappearing into the shadows.

Shane took a deep breath. "Okay, we're going to get some answers. Let's see who's running this show and see if we can't resolve this little misunderstand… huh?"

"What the–? Who are you two? Where are our prisoners?" a Ponyta growled, his nostrils flaring. He approached the cell, flanked by both a Cranidos and a Sandslash. Aside from the trio, Shane couldn't see anyone else.

"Cabot, we did put the Protector and his friends in this cell, right?" the Ponyta continued.

The Cranidos standing beside him hastily nodded his head. "Yeah, we did! We tied them up and put them here, since it's the most fortified cell on the ship." He turned around, scanning the hallway. "There's no way they could've busted out with causing some sort of commotion."

"Hey, cue ball!" Shane barked, causing Cabot to jump in surprise. "What's going on here? How did we get on this ship, huh?"

"Cue ball?" Cabot parroted. He looked to the Ponyta beside him. "What's a… 'cue ball?'"

"Not a clue, but I'm pretty sure he's just insulting you," the Ponyta replied flatly. "You've got some nerve, considering we just caught you stowing away on an Imperial frigate. Do you have any idea how much trouble you two are in?" He stepped toward the bars, snorting tufts of fire between them. "Now… how did you switch places with the Protector? Tell us now, or I'm bringing the captain down here. And you do not want to see how she'll react to this."

Tessa's face scrunched up in confusion. "Frigate?" She rubbed her head. "I don't understand. Shane already told me this is a ship, but it's clearly made of wood. Not... uh…" She scratched her head. "Well, I certainly know what a gate is. But how do you frig it, exactly?"

"Don't play dumb with us," the Sandslash standing beside Cabot sneered. "We may not know what rock you crawled out from under, but even a group of incompetent hicks like you ought to know of the Royal Navy. Who the heck do you think keeps your sorry butts safe from those devilish pirates, huh?"

"So, there are pirates here!" Shane realized. "Something tells me we're not in Horizon anymore, guys."

"Y'know, the more these two talk, the more I'm thinking they were sent here to steal the Protector. Do you suppose they're pirates?" Cabot wondered. His teammates looked at him, and then turned back to the cell. Berecien's brow furrowed.

"Pirates? Stowing away on our ship? No way. We'd have spotted them for sure, and I doubt they'd have chosen the brig of all places to hide. Look at them!" He lifted his snout up and scrunched it up indignantly. "To say they look ragged would be an understatement. Whoever hired you clods has a sorry grasp of propriety."

"Hey. What's that supposed to mean?" Shane growled.

"He's talking about your scarves," the Sandslash snorted as he crossed his arms. "If I can even call them that. This was the best you could come up with? If you really are mercs or pirates, then you're the sorriest batch I've ever seen."

"These scarves are mine," Tessa said. "They used to be one scarf, until a pair of crooks tore them in half. And they're from my dad. So, I'd appreciate it if you'd keep your mouth shut." She brought her paws up, aura flashing across them.

"Liar!" Berecien accused. "You just dug some torn-up cloth from the trash. This is what a proper scarf looks like!" He craned his neck up, allowing Team Radiance to view the indigo kerchief around his neck, their threads sporting a white imprint of a leaf pattern on it.

"Are you serious? That's a bandana," Shane scoffed. "I mean, I guess I should understand the confusion. Why the games chose to call them scarves is beyond me. Maybe it was just a translation issue?"

"Shut it, mutt," the Sandslash hissed, winding up to strike the bars.

"You're not in a position to sit there and insult us," Cabot said. "And, for the record, we worked hard to earn these. I'd like to see you two make it through one day of boot camp in a Mystery Dungeon."

"And I'd like to see you three fight an Ultra Beast," Shane scoffed.

"Quit making things up, kid," Niilo huffed. "We work our tails off for the Empire. We deserve better than some smart mouth trying to show us up. I mean, you tried looking in a mirror recently, Snowy? You're not one to talk appearances."

Shane's eye twitched. "Don't… call me… that…" he seethed.

"Last I checked, you weren't paying me. I'll call you whatever I want," Niilo huffed.

"It didn't end well for the last Pokémon who called me Snowy, you know," Shane muttered ominously.

"Well, I'd say I like my chances against a runt like you."

"Quiet, Niilo," Berecien growled. "Don't you see what's going on here?" He pointed an accusatory foreleg toward Team Radiance. "These two are obviously stalling us with this stupid conversation so the Protector and his friends can get away. Go get the captain. I'm sure she'll be able to get the Protector's location out of them."

"Seriously, you're back to this routine?" Shane scoffed. "Look, we don't know what you're talking about. My friends and I aren't from around here, okay? I don't even know how we got here. Besides, we only know of one Protector, and I strongly doubt you've been keeping a giant light dragon in this cramped little cell. You'd all be dead if that was the case."

Niilo scowled. "Okay. I'm getting Captain Nugget." He turned and started to stomp out of the room.

"Don't you two even think of moving a muscle," Berecien growled. "You're in more than enough trouble already. Breaking into an Imperial vessel. Somehow abducting subjects that rightfully belong to the Empire…"

"You're not listening to me!" Shane hissed.

Tessa put a paw on his shoulder. "Easy there, Shane. Deep breaths," she coaxed. Shane huffed out a small cloud of chilled air and turned away, puffing up his cheeks. "Err, listen, Mr. Ponyta."

"It's Berecien. I'm a leading seamon and I'll have you show me some respect," he said.

"Okay. Listen, Berry-see-un…" Tessa started.

"Berecien. It's not that difficult to pronounce," Berecien scoffed.

"Whatever," Tessa said. "There's been a big misunderstanding here. See, what my friend here is trying to say is that we're not from your world."

Cabot narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "Are you serious? You two look perfectly normal to me," he said.

"Yeah, well that's just because we're from a world of only Pokémon too," Tessa explained. "But we've been dealing with these villains who can open up wormholes, and I'm starting to think one of them may have sent us here… for some reason."

Cabot shot Berecien a wide-eyed look. "Wormhole? What do you suppose they mean by that? Is it related to Mystery Dungeons?"

"Of course not," Berecien scoffed. "This is obviously a ruse."

"If it's such a ruse, then explain this to me," Shane declared, stepping aside and beckoning Silvally forward. He walked up to the bars and looked down at Berecien and Cabot. Cabot's eyes went wide in amazement, while Berecien let out a frightened whinny and hopped backwards.

"W… what the heck are you?!" he shouted. "Some sort of potwór?!"

"'Pot-voor?' No, I'm Silvally!" he chirped, tail wagging excitedly. "It's nice to meet you." He stuck his talons out toward the bars, only for Berecien to lash out with his fiery tail. Silvally hissed and pulled his foreleg back. "Hey! What was that for?! I just wanted to say hi!" He turned to Shane, a frown etched on his beak. "The way you were talking, it sounded like this place might be fun. But it's totally not! I want to go home."

"I hear ya, big guy," Shane sighed. "The novelty's kinda worn off. I guess the only thing left to do then is break out of here."

Cabot tensed up at this. "You three can't go anywhere," he said. "Not until Captain Nugget gets down here."

"And who's gonna stop us, you?" Shane scoffed. "What kind of navy staffs a ship with a bunch of Pokémon weak to water, huh?"

"What are you talking about? We've got the advantage over you, stowaway," Berecien huffed.

"No, you don't. Because Silvally here's a water-type," Shane exclaimed, a big grin working its way onto his face. Silvally mimicked the grin as best he could, before his eyes, cheeks, tail, and head crest turned blue.

"Whoa!" Cabot gasped. Shane seized on his momentary shock and unloaded a cloud of Frost Breath, freezing the cells bars solid. Berecien's eyes widened and he jumped back as Tessa lunged for the frozen bars. The moment she knocked them loose with a Force Palm, Cabot and Berecien pounced. Cabot's glowing cranium connected with Tessa's gut. The wind rushed out of her and she tumbled head over heels across the cell. She struck the far wall and slumped down, a dazed look in her eyes. At the same time, a ball of fire rolled over Shane, flattening him into the floorboards and making him squeal like a popped balloon.

"Flank the large one!" Berecien shouted. He and Cabot carefully positioned themselves on either side of Silvally, making sure to stay out of range of his forelegs. Silvally looked between the two of them, his eyes narrowing. He pivoted toward Cabot, and Berecien seized on the opening, crashing into Silvally's hide and briefly igniting it in flames.

"Hey!" Silvally turned to face Berecien, snuffing out the flames with a sudden jet of air. Cabot raced forward. He lowered his head and charged into Silvally's rib cage. Silvally's legs buckled from the impact. His talons kicked up splinters of wood and he hissed his displeasure. "Cut that out! Lemme help my friends!"

"Not a chance," Berecien growled. He jumped away from Silvally and kicked his hind legs out behind him. They smacked Shane and knocked him backward, stopping Tessa mid-charge.

"Stop it!" Silvally growled, narrowing his eyes at Berecien. He tried to launch a flurry of Air Slashes at Berecien, but Cabot charged in and headbutted his flank. Silvally growled in pain. "ALRIGHT, THAT TEARS IT!" he snarled. His cheek bolts started rotating in their sockets, and his eyes glowed blue. A golden wheel flared up around Silvally's chest. Cabot's eyes widened and he immediately backpedalled out of the cell. Silvally turned and lunged at him. The wheel exploded in a burst of gold light that raced up to Silvally's forelegs. Light shifted to water and Silvally raked Cabot's head with his liquified talons. Cabot slammed against the wall. His legs grew weak and the Cranidos collapsed onto all fours, trying to regain his breath.

Silvally immediately jumped to the side, dodging a strike from Berecien's hind legs. "What the–?! No! A big 'mon like you couldn't possibly be that fast!" Berecien gasped.

"I'll move as fast as I want if it means keeping my friends safe from bullies like you!" Silvally snarled. He stomped the ground with his talons. A pillar of water erupted underneath both Berecien and Cabot. The water plumes rocketed them into the ceiling. They struck it in unison with a loud pair of crunches. Splinters and dust fell back to the ground with them. Silvally again covered his talons in a layer of cold water and clobbered the two of them. The force of the blow sent the Ponyta and the Cranidos reeling into the cell, where they ended up in a corner, down for the count.

Silvally turned and sprinted over to Shane and Tessa. He helped them both to their feet. "You guys okay?" he asked, a worried look in his eyes.

"I'll live," Shane muttered. "Right now, we've gotta get out of here. Backup could be coming any moment." His teammates nodded and they took off running down the corridor. They passed by a few other cells, not bothering to stop and check if there were any occupants. The trio spotted a fork coming up at the end of the corridor. A Lampent floated out from the left half of the hallway, swivelling his head as he went.

His gaze fell on Team Radiance and he narrowed his eyes. "Hey! What do you think you three are up to, huh?!" he asked.

"Knocking you out, of course," Shane scoffed. He flopped onto his belly, allowing Silvally to lunge for Lampent. The golden wheel surrounding his torso shattered into streams of water that raced up along his forelegs. He slashed Lampent in the face, knocking him away. Tessa bit his arm while he was down and flung him toward Shane, who blasted Lampent back toward the brig with a burst of Extrasensory. He looked and confirmed that Lampent had been knocked out. He turned and followed his teammates along.

They rounded a corner, only to skid to a halt in unison. Glowing yellow stars struck the floor in front of them, raising up splinters and forcing them all to look away. "Hey! You weren't supposed to stop short like that!" an Aipom snapped from her perch up on the rafters. "You made me miss my Swift!" Silvally growled threateningly at the Aipom. "Yeah, no. I'm smart enough to know not to pick a three-on-one fight."

Her tail grabbed hold of the rafters and she swung down onto the floor. "Quick, stop her before she gets help!" Shane shouted. He tried to fire off an Extrasensory, only for Aipom to abruptly disappear before his eyes. "What the–?" His eyes widened in realization. "Double Team!" he groaned, watching the Aipom's tail disappear through the top of the stairs.

"What do we do now? She's gonna call reinforcements for sure," Tessa panicked.

"Hmmm. Well, I've seen plenty of pirate movies. And my inner Jack Sparrow tells me there's an ambush waiting up on deck. If we just charge out there, we're going to hit by attacks from all sides," Shane said. "So, we need to think of something else. And quickly."

Tessa raised an eyebrow. "You're advocating holding back? Okay, who are you, and what have you done with Shane?"

"Har, har, you're quite the comedian," Shane scoffed. "I just think it's foolish to head up there without a plan…" His voice trailed off and his eyes lit up. "Wait, that's it! I've got it!" Shane blurted out. "They're expecting us to come up through the stairs. So, why don't we find a way to distract them? Can you use Flamethrower?"

Silvally raised an eyebrow for a moment, and then nodded. "Definitely."

"Perfect. Just aim straight up, and I'll use Extrasensory to really bring the house down," Shane quipped.

"But this ship's made of wood. Wouldn't that, like, make it sink into the water or something?" Tessa panicked. "You know I can't swim."

"Relax. This ship's pretty well fortified. I think we'll be okay," Shane said. He looked at Silvally and nodded. "Fire away, big guy." Silvally stopped to glare at him. "What, was it something I said?" Shane said. A beat passed, and he realized the awful pun that he made. A grin spread across his face. "Oh, come on. You gotta give me credit for that one. It was good!"

"Guys, I hear footsteps above us," Tessa said, tugging at one of Shane's tails.

"Right." He looked at Silvally and nodded. Silvally craned his neck up and shot a jet of fire at the roof. At the same time, psychic waves rippled forward. The psychic energy compressed the flames, and then pushed them forward with even greater force. Silvally's fire burned a hole through the wood.

"Aiiiiyyaaaaaaaah!" a voice shouted from up on deck. "All hands on deck! We've got a fire! Contain it, quickly! Don't let it reach the masts!"

"Okay, that should cause a scene above deck. Time to get up the stairs," Shane declared. He turned around and sprinted toward the stairs, Silvally and Tessa following along. They lumbered up it, emerging into bright, almost-blinding daylight.

"Oi, captain. There they are!"

Shane's tails shot between his legs. He grabbed Silvally and shoved him in front of the oncoming burst of water. It splattered across Silvally, who gasped in pain and stumbled back a few steps. He shut his eyes and shook his head about. "W… what was that for?" he whined. "That really hurt!"

"You're a water-type. I needed you to handle that," Shane said. "Who fired that attack? Does it look like someone tough?"

Before Shane could answer, a large, spiky ball bowled him and Tessa over. Niilo uncurled and pinned Shane to the ground under his claws. "I've got him, captain! Someone hold down the other tw– AUUUCK!"

Shane opened his mouth and Niilo's entire world went white. The burst of frozen air sucked the wind right out of the Sandslash. He stumbled back, breaths coming in short, ragged gasps. Tessa immediately charged at him. She struck Niilo's chest with a Force Palm blow before he could catch his breath. The blow was forceful enough to knock Niilo onto his back and send him spinning backwards. Niilo grew dangerously close to the far wall, but a Pidgeotto swooped in, grabbed Niilo by his spines, and hoisted him back up with a flap of his wings. He gently flapped his wings, supply a steady stream of air that helped Niilo recover the wind that had rushed out of him. "Th… thanks for the save, kaveri."

"Don't mention it," the Pidgeotto said. "Let's double team that Riolu first. That Vulpix won't be such a problem when he's lost his little friend."

"Good idea. You go in high. I'll go in low!" Niilo said. He leaped forward, brandishing his claws to slash at Tessa… only for a wayward Water Pulse to strike him and send him reeling to the side. He spun to a stop by one of the ship's masts. Niilo tried to sit up, but his strength failed him and he flopped back, trying to catch his breath.

The Pidgeotto noticed this. "Captain Nugget! You just blasted one of our own!"

A couple of meters below him, a Clawitzer fired a shimmering blue Dragon Pulse. It zipped across the deck, but Silvally easily outran it. Electricity crackled across his fur, making it stand on end. "Not now!" the Clawitzer growled, turning to point her large pincer at Silvally. "These brigands think they can raid my ship and take the Protector from us?" Blue aura started gathering up in her pincer. "Well, you crooks have another thing coming."

An Aura Sphere shot forward. At the same time, Silvally dug his talons in and sent the gathered electricity corkscrewing forward. The two attacks met in midair, neutralizing each other in an explosive burst of wind. Shane's and Silvally's fur stood on end when the wind buffeted them, and the Clawitzer's scarf crackled with lingering static electricity.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Shane said, jumping in between the two of them. "Time out for a second." He turned to the Clawitzer. "Your name's Captain Nugget? Are you kidding me? That's hilarious!"

The Clawitzer raised her pincer. "… it's Nagant," she stated, and shot another Aura Sphere forward. An explosion of blue enveloped Shane, leaving no traces of him when it subsided. Instead, a loud crunch sounded from across the ship. Tessa and Silvally looked over in surprise to see Shane laying in the wreckage of a wooden barrel.

"Hey! You can't just blast my friend like that!" Silvally hissed.

"Oh? I wasn't aware maritime laws had changed to allow trespassers to order around a ship's captain," Nagant declared. "I'm going to ask you nicely… whatever you are. Where is Tromba's Protector?"

Silvally cocked his head in confusion. "What's a Tromba? Is that a type of fruit? Because it sounds pretty yummy!"

"Sounds more like the kind of thing you'd order at Crabrawler's Café," Tessa mused.

A sparking blue Dragon Pulse raced forward. Silvally jumped in front of Tessa. The pink glow of fairy energy lit up his eyes, cheeks, tail, and energy blades. The Dragon Pulse enveloped him, but Silvally harmlessly absorbed the attack. "I just told you to leave my friends alone. We don't know anything about your Protector. We're not even from here."

Nagant slowly lowered her pincer, staring wide-eyed at Silvally. "Jun," she whispered, turning to the Beedrill hovering beside her.

"Yes, captain?"

"Am I crazy, or did this stranger just change colors like a startled Kecleon?"

"Oh, good. You saw it too," Jun said, letting out a relieved sigh. He watched Cabot and Berecien run up the stairs, with the Aipom from earlier beside them, clutching a bucket with her tail. She pointed right at Tessa and Silvally, and the two of them charged forward, leaving their fellow crew member to run off to contain the fire. Having gotten back to his feet, Niilo curled up into a ball and rolled toward them, letting out a battle cry. The Beedrill nodded approvingly as the three crew members struck Tessa in unison, bringing her to her knees. "It was such a strange sight, I thought I was getting a touch of seasickness."

Nagant's right eye twitched. "You hover off the ground, Jun. How could you–? No, forget it. We need to subdue that trespasser right away."

Jun's eyes widened. "Whatever for, captain?"

"Isn't it obvious? That weird dog… bird… thing just swapped its typing. And it's no Kecleon or Ditto. Which means, fate has seen fit to take that blasted Lugia and replace it with a different Protector." Nagant narrowed her eyes, examining Silvally's movements. He zigzagged through a set of rocks and fire launched by Cabot and Berecien in tandem. Iron coated his body, but to Cabot's surprise, Silvally pivoted and headbutted the charging Niilo. The blow was strong enough to force Niilo out of his ball. "A Protector who actually seems to know how to use his powers."

Nagant hopped forward. She was about to fire an Aura Sphere when a cloud of frosty air blindsided her. "Hey! Fo… forgetting someone, Captain Nugget?" Shane wheezed, struggling to remain standing. A pink glow overtook his eyes. Ripples of pink energy raced toward Nagant. She pivoted and effortlessly blew Shane's attack apart with a single Dark Pulse. Black shadows drifted off her open pincer, like smoke from a gun barrel.

"Let's get one thing clear, lesá," Nagant growled. "You and your little friends will pay dearly for this. Anyone who attacks my ship and puts my crew members' lives at risk, answers to me afterwards."

Shane shook his head. "Are you serious? Lesá?" He let out a laugh. "Da, is very nice accent you have, comrade! Come now. Why not put aside differences and talk things out over nice, cold bowl of borscht?"

Another Aura Sphere smacked Shane in the chest. The resulting explosion blew him sky-high. Shane soared through the air, limbs flailing about, and careened over the edge of the ship. He landed in the water with a small splash.

Tessa and Silvally immediately froze, eyes widened in horror. "SHANE!" they cried in unison. Neither of them noticed Jun fly behind them and hurl a glass orb forward. It conked Silvally in the head and shattered, releasing pink gas on the remaining members Team Radiance.

"Fuh… feeling… kinda tired all of a sudden," Silvally mumbled and let out a loud yawn. His eyes fluttered shut and he snored loudly.

"Aww, he looks kind of peaceful when he's sleeping like that," Cabot chuckled.

Berecien blinked and stared at his Cranidos friend incredulously. "Seriously, Cabot? That brigand nearly burned down the ship!"

Cabot winced. "Er… right." He plodded over toward Nagant and Jun. "So, what do you want us to do with them, Captain Nugget?"

Nagant glared at him. "First off, it's Nagant," she seethed. "And second, I want this new Protector bound…"

The crew members positioned around Team Radiance turned to their captain with shocked expressions. "Wait, this thing is a Protector?" Berecien gasped. "But it's so unsightly!"

Nagant scowled at him. "Appearances matter not. It has powers that only a Protector can display. If we can't have the Lugia, then he's an acceptable substitute. As I was saying, I want him bound and gagged. I want his talons stuck together. No possibility of escape whatsoever. Whatever frilly little trick he's doing to change his colors… I'd like to see him try when he can't even move a muscle."

"Not to question your authority, captain, but if he can't move any muscles, then how's he supposed to breathe?" the Aipom from earlier asked, scratching her head with her tail. "Don't we need a living Protector?"

"… go swab the deck," Nagant ordered, letting out a groan. Jun hovered by Nagant's side and shooed Aipom away with his stingers. "Now then, as I was saying. We're going to fully restrain this Protector. As for the Riolu?" She looked out over the helm of the ship. "Toss her overboard."

Jun's eyes widened. "Captain, are you sure about that? That sounds like pirate-level skullduggery."

"I have had enough games, Jun. And those two had the gall to burn a hole in my ship while we were out in the middle of the sea," Nagant growled. "If they're going to endanger my crew's lives so callously, I'm not in the mood to show any sort of charity back toward this Riolu. Send her over with her friend!"

Jun nodded. "You heard her. Toss the pup off the ship! And confiscate hidden items, too."

Cabot and Niilo exchanged uneasy looks. Niilo ran his claws across Tessa's fur and confirmed that she wasn't hiding anything. He scooped Tessa up, dragged her over to the edge of the ship, and hurled her into the sparkling blue water. She floated up to the surface and the waves swept her away from the ship.

XxX​

"Uuuuuuuuurrrrrrrgggghhh!"

Shane woke up on the shores of a beach and rolled onto his back, groaning in pain. He turned to his right and saw Tessa lying face-down beside him. Sand covered her damp fur, turning her face, and chest brown. Shane staggered over to her and shoved her with his muzzle. Tessa's eyes opened and she slowly rose to her knees, coughing up water.

"I cannot believe this," Shane whined. "I get thrown into another universe from the universe I got thrown into… and I still end up soaked to the bone. Who died and made me into a cosmic punching bag, huh?"

"Shut up, Shane. I'm not in the mood for your whining," Tessa groaned, spitting out a mouthful of wet sand.

"No, I will not just shut up! It needs to be said!" Shane huffed. He tilted his head forward and shook it out. His soaked mane collapsed onto his face and, in the process, sent a small Tynamo tumbling out of it. It hit the sand, and then floated into the air. It zapped Shane, who convulsed in midair before dropping to the sand, his fur now dry but thoroughly charbroiled. "See? See? This isn't fair!" he shouted.

"Next time, watch where you're floating… jerk," the Tynamo hissed and hopped back into the ocean. Tessa let out a sigh and helped her partner to his feet.

"Complaining's not going to help us get Silvally back," Tessa said. "We have no items and no idea where we are."

"Well, we've got our looplets," Shane noted. "But, yeah, those aren't very good odds." He looked around the beach. "Whoa! Look over there. There's this giant wall off in the distance!"

Tessa followed Shane's gaze and gulped at the sight. "What do you suppose is in there?"

"No idea. I see a sign over at that road. Maybe that'll give us an answer?" he said, beckoning Tessa to follow him. They trudged through the sand, eventually reaching a dirt road running across the edge of the area. A large white post stuck out of the ground on the other side of the road. It had arrows pointing off to the left and right. "Hmm… go right to get to Tidemill City. Go left and we reach Plowder… no, Chowder, uh…" He squinted his eyes at the sign. "Cloverfield Town?"

"Brush your hair out of your eyes, dummy. It says Polderfield Town," Tessa exclaimed.

"Ah, okay. That makes the choice easy, then," Shane said. He flipped his head upward, flinging locks of fur back onto his neck. "I'm pretty sure that if Silvally's being held on a big ship, it would be bound for a city, as opposed to a smaller town. I guess the city's inside that big wall."

Tessa's aura feelers twitched. "Then that must be where Silvally is!" she broke into a run, arms stuck out by her side. "Come on. We have to go get him back."

"Wait up!" Shane shouted, running after her. "Ugggh, of all the times to decide to take up triathlon training, why right now?" He winced with every step he took. His legs were sore from getting blasted off the ship, and this was hardly helping his situation.

Eventually, the road brought Team Radiance to the edge of the beach. A small gated checkpoint was stationed by the large wall, separating them from the outskirts of the city. A particularly bored looking Quilava and Leafeon sat in the security station. The Quilava traced a paw along the desk he was resting his head on. He spotted Team Radiance and quickly sat up, adjusting the indigo scarf around his neck. He bit down on the Leafeon's ear, prompting her to snap to attention.

"Hold it!" the Quilava called, holding up a forepaw. "You better think twice if I'm about to let a couple of ferals go wandering into the city. Go on, scat! Go back to whatever hole you crawled out of."

"We're not ferals," Shane said. "Our friend got separated from us and he's in this, uh, Tidemill City."

"Ha! Likely story," the Leafeon huffed. "If you're not ferals then I bet you're just a couple of beggars looking to cause trouble. In which case, you're definitely not getting in."

Tessa rubbed her temples. "Seriously? We don't have time for this." She walked up toward the checkpoint.

"Hey! I said to keep your distance!" Quilava said, snorting out a few warning embers into the dirt.

"Sir, could you please just listen to us for a second?" Tessa begged. "We're not wild Pokémon and we're not homeless either. We… um…" She rubbed her shoulder nervously.

"We're tourists!" Shane chirped. "My, uh, girlfriend and I came to Tidemill to see the sights. We're from… uh… Polderfield Town! And it's always been her dream to see this place in person." Tessa gave Shane a thoroughly dumbfounded expression, but he ignored her and continued, "We came with a mutual friend, but we left him in the city so we could take a stroll along the beach together." He scooted next to Tessa, nuzzling her shoulder. Tessa's aura feelers shot straight up and heat blanketed her face. "But we were getting a bit worried, so we want to go back to the hotel and check on him."

"And why, pray tell, are you so filthy if you just went on a stroll, hmm?" the Leafeon asked, eyeing Tessa skeptically.

"Well… we may have decided to splash around a bit in the shallows and then cuddle together on the shoreline," Shane exclaimed, a goofy grin on his face. "I just can't help myself, sometimes. Isn't that right, gorgeous?" Tessa looked as if she'd been slapped across the face. Shane immediately shot her a glare, screaming for her to get with the program.

"Y… Yup!" Tessa stammered. "I'm, uh, still feeling a little light-headed from it. He's… uh…" She gritted her teeth. "… really good kisser."

They looked up and noticed both guards shifting about uneasily at the direction the conversation had taken. "Alright, alright, I've heard enough," the Quilava said. The gate opened up. "Just, head on back and keep your paws where I can see them. You lovey-dovey touristy types make me sick sometimes. Blech!"

"Thank you, sir," Shane said. He and Tessa made their way through the gate and into Tidemill City.

XxX​

(Con't in next post...)
 
Last edited:

Ambyssin

Winter can't come soon enough
(Con't from previous post...)

XxX

~Tidemill City~

Shane and Tessa barely made it a few steps onto the stone streets before their senses were assaulted. Buildings lay in every direction around them. Many had three or four floors to them. Foot traffic pounded against the stone, combining with a chorus of different conversations from various Pokémon walking down the streets. Tessa's aura feelers scrunched up and her ears flattened against her head. "I don't like it here. It's way too noisy," she squeaked.

Shane ignored her. His attention was drawn to a nearby fruit stand surrounded by several Pokémon. He crept toward the stand and swiped a quartet of oran berries that looked about ready to fall out of the basket holding them. Shane trotted back over to Tessa, plopping two of the berries at her feet. "Here," he said, the berry in his mouth muffling his speech. "Eat up. We need to get our strength back if we're gonna get Silvally back."

"Where did you get these? We don't have any money," Tessa gasped.

"I applied the old two-forepaw discount," Shane said, a nervous look on his face. Tessa gave him a confused look. "I stole 'em, okay," he said in a whisper. Her eyes widened. "Quiet. Desperate times call for desperate measures." He scarfed his two berries down, feeling his vitality return. Tessa at her berries, albeit more hesitantly than her partner.

They continued walking down one of the main streets. "This is totally crazy!" she said. "Aeon Town doesn't even hold a candle to this. Some of those buildings are huge! You could fit, like, four versions of my house in them! And what's with the water running where streets should be?"

"Those would be canals," Shane explained.

"How would you know that?"

"I've seen buildings like this before," Shane said. "See the arches in some of those buildings? Those are classic Gothic lancet arches. These buildings look like they jumped right out of Venice, Italy!"

"What the heck is a Venice?" Tessa asked. "Is that what you call Venipedes in the human world?" She raised a skeptical eyebrow. "And why are you suddenly so interested in buildings, anyway? I've never heard you marvel about any of the buildings in Aeon Town before."

"Of course not!" Shane scoffed. "Because this is so much different. They're a little rough around the edges and the doors and windows are a bit shoddy, but they're just like the buildings I saw in this one human city I took a vacation to with my family, my best friend, and his family." His tails started wagging excitedly. "I'll bet they make some amazing pasta dishes here… not that we'd be able to get any." His ears folded against his face. "Aaaaaaand I just made myself hungry. Great."

"Wait, you're saying this is a human city?" Tessa said. "Then… there are actual humans walking around it? Or would they be humans turned into Pokémon?"

"No, it just looks like a human city. I doubt humans are here. If anything, it's far more likely that humans used to exist here, and then they didn't, so the Pokémon just kind of took inspiration from them," Shane said. His eyes widened. "Wait… look over there. By the water! It's a shipyard. And I think I recognize those sails from that Clawitzer's ship. We've just got to find a way over there." He pointed a forepaw ahead of him. "There. We'll take the bridge."

They walked up a stone bridge hanging over one of the canals. Tessa peered out over the railing, observing two-way traffic from water-types swimming below her. Shane hopped onto his hind legs and braced himself against the side of the bridge. He examined the vast array of ships moored up in the different rows of docks ahead of them. "Crap," he said, "they all look the same to me. Doesn't help they all got the same indigo sails, too. Ugh, how are we going to find Silvally like this?"

"I'm not sure," Tessa said, stepping to the side to allow a Machoke carrying several large planks of wood on one shoulder to pass by. "Also, while we've got a second… seriously, Shane? Your girlfriend?"

"Hey, it got us past those guards, didn't it?"

"Well… yeah," Tessa murmured, fidgeting with her paws. "But you didn't have to jump right to that, you know? We could've been friends or siblings."

"Look, I went with the first thing that came to mind. Sorry for not consulting you first," Shane said. "Dwelling on the issue isn't going to get us our friend back. So, why don't you help me look around a bit?"

"Fine," Tessa said. She crossed her arms over her chest. "But don't get any ideas. If anyone else asks, we're friends from work."

"Yeah, yeah. I got it," Shane muttered. He resumed walking forward, only to step on an uneven stone wedge. He let out a yip and fell onto his front. Shane rolled down the other side of the bridge, shouting, "Tessssssaaaaa! Help meeeeeeeeee!"

"Oh, for the love of–" Tessa smacked her face with her paw. "Wait up, you doofus." She jogged after him.

"Augh!"

An unfamiliar voice caught her attention. Tessa looked down at the edge of the bridge. There, Shane lay tangled up with a Mothim, his eyes spinning about in their sockets. "Why does gravity hate me so muuuuuuch?" Shane groaned.

The Mothim wriggled out from underneath Shane and hovered into the air. "Watch where you're walking, you unkempt little miscreant!" He glanced down at his scarf and frantically dusted it off.

"Sorry about that," Shane mumbled. "Stupid bridge wasn't laid down right."

"Hmph. That's hardly a fitting excuse. You have eyes. You can see," the Mothim huffed. "Whatever. I don't have time to deal with a mangy mutt. I've business to attend to."

"Yo, Elmer. Nice wipeout there!"

The Mothim flinched as a Weavile casually strolled up beside him. "We've been over this, Ketu. It's Ellsberg," the Mothim seethed.

'Nugget? Elmer? Jeez, it's no wonder everyone in Horizon skimps on the naming thing. Pokémon suck at naming themselves!' Shane thought. "Uh, sorry to bump into your friend, Mr. Ketu. We'll just be on our way."

Ketu shrugged and rolled his eyes. He started to walk away, when he glimpsed Shane's Looplet out of the corner of his eyes. 'What the–?' His face momentarily blanched. 'No… that's impossible! What are a couple of street rats out here in Tidemill City doing with our prototypes?'

"Err, hold up one moment," Ketu said, sticking a claw out. Ellsberg gave him a confused look as Shane and Tessa turned back around. "I couldn't help but notice those lovely pieces of jewelry you and your friend have. I don't think I have seen such exquisite craftsmanship in all of Tidemill." Ellsberg's look turned from one of confusion to one of utter disbelief. "Tell me, are you tourists? Where did you get those from?"

"What? This?" Shane stuck his left foreleg out. "It's just a looplet. What, are there no explorers here?" Tessa shot him a horrified look. "Because I could've sworn there are Mystery Dungeons."

Ellsberg gave a derisive snort. "Looplet? What a childish name for an even more childish looking toy. Ketu, if this is your way of stalling because you don't want to work, then I suggest you shape up and get a move on. We're burning daylight as it–"

Ketu held his claw up and flicked it, swatting Ellsberg back like an overgrown fly. He took in a breath and resumed his usual detached expression. 'This doesn't make any sense. Administrator Elilan said the Looplet Project hit a number of snags during testing since the last time I used one. How can a couple of sewer Mareanies like them know about the project? It's supposed to be top-secret!' A gleam flashed in his eyes. 'And yet, they're flaunting a couple of prototypes at me. Did the Imps somehow steal our design and beat us to the punch?'

"Ketu. What is your problem? Do I need to go back to the ship and tell Lyn you're slacking off as usual?" Ellsberg fumed.

"Sorry, my claw slipped," Ketu lied, keeping his expression neutral. "Actually, Elmer, why don't you run along back to the ship."

"Are you crazy? Lyn's expecting a report on–" Ellsberg started, but cut himself off. "Err, well, he's expecting a log about the, um, status of that cargo we're picking up."

Ketu glared at Ellsberg. A gesture that Team Radiance couldn't see, since his back was turned to them. "Tell him that I'm pretty close to finding its location, then," Ketu growled.

"What? And leave you here by yourself so you can keep slacking off?" Ellsberg harrumphed. "Fat chance."

"Uh… you guys seem a bit busy at the moment," Shane muttered, trying awkwardly to look behind him. "So, we're just gonna keep on going. C'mon, Tessa." He and Tessa turned and walked down the cobblestone street.

Ketu watched them go. His left eye twitched. 'Stupid Lyn pairing me up with this obnoxious little bug. He's a perpetual itch I can't scratch! Guess I'm just gonna have to work a bit of the old charm and lie through my teeth to him. That notary's gullible, he'll fall for it.' He grabbed hold of Ellsberg's scarf and pulled him down so they were eye to eye. "Listen up, buddy," he whispered with a venomous tone. "See those two kids? They're Imperial spies. And I bet they're heading off to tell their higher-ups about us."

Ellsberg's eyes widened. "How can you be so sure?" he asked in a whisper.

"Those little trinkets on their legs?" Ketu paused, his face scrunching up. "I saw a report about it on Lyn's desk back on the ship. Straight from Director Inler himself. The gems inside them are incredibly rare and extremely valuable tools for the Company."

Ellsberg's brow furrowed. "That sounds pretty far-fetched. How could gems possibly be so important to Director Inler?"

Ketu shook his head. "Because they use psychic energy. I'm telling you, I was getting briefed by Lyn and saw the documents on his desk. Those anklets are memory-snatchers. And the memo said that the Imps had stolen them from us."

"Wait… those foofy little trinkets are ours?" Ellsberg gasped. He shook his head. "I… I still don't believe you," he said, his voice wavering and his wings steadily beating faster. "Why have I never heard about this before?"

"Because you're a notary," Ketu scoffed. "I'm serious here, the things are ingenious. All you have to do is pin your victim down and touch them with the anklets. It sends a sharp psychic current through your body that digs through your mind and pulls out your memories." Ketu leaned over. "Think about it. You looked pretty dazed when that Vulpix crashed into you. And didn't it seem like that encounter was all just a bit too convenient? Why, I'll bet he's got your whole life's worth of memories sitting in that anklet. He's about to bring everything you know about the Company's inner workings to his superiors. What would Administrator Elilan think if word got out?"

Ellsberg's eyes widened, his mind jumping to a mental image of a Zoroark grabbing him by the scarf, yanking him up to eye level with bared fangs. "It would seem, that I must inform Administrator Farn that we're about to have a new opening among our Second-Ranks…" the Zoroark hissed. "I'm sure my Commander will be able to find some time to process you as a new inmate." The Mothim daydreamt of the fox flashing a set of ruddy claws which sliced into his face, jolting his attention back on the streets of Tidemill with a startled buzz. His wings seized up, prompting the moth to drop in the air before a hasty, fluttering scramble to stop himself from crashing into the ground.

Sweat beads trickled down Ellsberg's head. "This is clearly a huge problem. We have to do something! But what?"

"Isn't it obvious? Take 'em out and drag them back to the ship," Ketu harrumphed.

"Need I remind you that our objective is to remain undetected by the Imps?" Ellsberg huffed. "Kidnapping two of their spies in their own capital? That's the kind of action that can lead to war!"

"It's a bit late for that, Buzzy," Ketu said. "Just relax, okay? Follow my lead, and we'll have this little problem wrapped up rather quickly." He turned back around, making sure he could still see Shane and Tessa. "Whoa, hold up there!" he called, jogging after them. "Sorry about that. Elmer can be a bit of a scatterbrain sometimes."

Ellsberg nearly fell out of the air. "Seriously, Ketu?" he groaned.

Ketu ignored him. "Anyway. You two look a bit lost. I was going to offer to help with directions before Elmer started running his mouth." He chuckled and shook his head. "Isn't that right, buddy?"

Ellsberg slouched in defeat. "Yes. My sincere apologies," he said. Ketu had to fight the urge to smirk at his partner's unfortunate position.

"Oh," Shane said. "Actually, yeah, we could really use some help. Especially if you're working with cargo. Do you two have a ship?"

"We do," Ketu replied.

"Great! Then maybe you can help us figure out how to get to the docks down there?" Shane asked, pointing ahead of him. "We lost our friend, and I think he's on one of those ships."

Ketu stood on his tiptoes to prevent Shane and Tessa from seeing Ellsberg's panicked expression. "Perfect. We were just heading over there, actually. Follow me." Ketu beckoned them forward and led them down one of the stone streets. It sloped downward, growing steadily closer to the canal it borders. Tessa soon found herself dwarfed by the long, slender neck of a Lapras. Excited giggles made her ears twitch. She spotted a group of kids sitting on the back of Lapras, pointing excitedly as he ferried them down the canal.

"Err, does everyone use these waterways to get around this place?" Tessa wondered.

"Of course not," Ketu dismissed. "Otherwise the canals would be too crowded for anyone to get through."

"And, of course, it'd be a waste of time for someone like me," Ellsberg said. "Ah, the benefits of wings."

"Yup. They sure did you a lot of good when that fuzzball was rolling down the bridge, huh?" Ketu sneered. Ellsberg looked about ready to pop a blood vessel. "Okay, we can cut through this side street to get down to the docks. You looking for any ship in particular?"

"Um. Our friend said he wanted to take a gander at some of the naval ships," Tessa lied. She didn't see Ketu turn to give Ellsberg a knowing smirk. "I'm just really worried about him. He has a tendency to cause a bit of a scene when he runs off by himself. So, we just want to make sure he's okay."

"Totally understandable. We've had a couple of instances where we've lost track of employees. Makes for one hell of a headache," Ketu said. "Guess we shouldn't dawdle, then."

As the group continued down the alleyway, Ketu quickened his pace, while Ellsberg hung behind Shane and Tessa. Ketu scanned the area and when he was absolutely sure there weren't any other Pokémon around, turned to face Team Radiance. "Alright, looks to me like we've made it."

"What are you talking about? We're in the middle of an alley, not at the shipyard," Shane said. "I thought you told us you knew where you were going."

"Oh, my mistake," Ketu exclaimed, giving Shane an innocent grin. "I should've clarified, this is the spot we'll be using to shove you two brats into Apricorns." His innocent grin immediately darkened into a scowl. "Hope you enjoyed the sights, kiddos, because we're taking you to Company waters for a nice, long incarceration."

Shane's tails shot up in alarm. "Ap… Apricorns? They have those here?!"

Tessa looked at him in confusion. "You know what they're talking about?"

"Yeah! They're… uh… kind of like what Espeon and Umbreon told us Zero used to capture them!" Shane panicked. He tried to back away from Ketu, but the Weavile swung a glowing arm around in the blink of an eye. His claws connected with Shane's sternum, rocketing him back into the wall. Ketu hopped backwards and Ellsberg, still hovering behind Team Radiance, flapped his wings rapidly, sending Air Slash currents at Tessa. She had enough time to turn around in surprise before they peppered her body. She stumbled back toward Ketu, who spread his claws and sent a volley of Ice Shards to pummel Tessa. She hollered and dropped to her knees. Her world spun and it took every ounce of willpower not to puke.

"W… what the heck is your problem?" Shane whimpered.

"What? You didn't really think you could get away with stealing our looplets, did you?" Ketu sneered. "But hey, I know some Pokémon on Nagrobek Island who'd love to question you."

He raised his claws and hurled Ice Shards at Shane. His tails shot up in alarm and he blasted the projectiles apart with Extrasensory ripples. Ellsberg fluttered behind him, however, and his eyes glowed pink. Shane and Tessa floated into the air. Their limbs flailed about as they struggled against Ellsberg's psychic grip.

"You're just a Mothim. Why are you so strong?" Shane gasped. Ellsberg flung them over Ketu's head, and they rolled down the alley, stopping in a tangled mess of fur and paws. Ketu left them no time to recover, working quickly to close the distance. Panicking, Shane breathed out a cloud of Frost Breath. It raced along the alleyway, but Ketu threw up an arm and ran right through it.

"Sh… Shane…" Tessa groaned. "It's no good. They're too strong! We can't take them like this."

Shane staggered to his feet, wincing in pain. Rapid footsteps and wingbeats made his ears twitch. He leaned over, bit down on Tessa's scarf, and yanked her to her feet. Shane dragged her backwards seconds before Ketu's icy fist connected with the spot she had been lying on. Ketu's brow furrowed as he realized his claws were stuck in the ground.

"You're right. No fighting. Only running!" he cried, and took off down the street. Tessa's aura feelers raised in alarm as Ketu pulled his claws out of the ground. She turned and ran after Shane, narrowly dodging Air Slash crescents fired by Ellsberg.

"Damn it!" Ketu hissed. "Of all the strokes of dumb luck. Now they're making a run for it!"

"Well then, hurry up and catch them!" Ellsberg cried. "Don't let them get back to their boss!"

"What do you think I'm doing?" Ketu snarled. He brandished his claws by his sides and charged ahead. Ellsberg flew along behind, looking between the nearby buildings to make sure that no one was watching. The Mothim's gaze fell on Team Radiance and his eyes widened.

"Ketu, wait. Stop!" he shouted. The Weavile skidded to a halt and looked back at him, a glare spreading across his face.

"This isn't a good time, Bugzzy," he hissed.

"Look. The Imps are heading onto a main street. If you try to attack them in a crowd of people, we'll have a whole squadron of guards breathing down our necks," Ellsberg said.

"Not if we get them in the Apricorns and slip them out of there fast enough to miss the guards," Ketu muttered.

"That's ridiculous," Ellsberg huffed. "You'll get us both jailed… or killed!"

Ketu's eyes lit up. "I've got an idea." He burst into the street, honing in on Shane and Tessa. "STOP!" he shouted. "THIEVES!" Several folks paused in the middle of their on-foot commutes to look at Ketu with widened eyes. "Stop the Vulpix and Riolu. They took my jewelry!"

"Are you kidding me?" Shane shouted. "That's a lie!" He slammed his eyes shut, gritting his teeth in pain, and tried to run faster. "We're not even from around here. We're just tourists." He and Tessa pulled away from the crowd in the street, making for a smaller road that descended toward the docks. Behind him, Tessa narrowly escaped a set of Air Slash crescents hurled by Ellsberg.

"Shane, I think that story's run its course," Tessa groaned.

"Fine." Shane glanced over his shoulder and shouted, "My partner's right. We're not tourists. We're from another world entirely. And we're trying to find our friend and get back there. So, please, leave us alone!"

"Another world? Ha!" Ketu lunged at Shane. The Weavile just barely missed striking Shane's flank with his icy claws. "How stupid do you think I am, huh? What's next? You gonna try to tell me you're actually a human on a mission to save the world?"

"Aha ha… ha… funny you should mention that," Shane said, a sheepish grin spreading across his face.

Ketu rolled his eyes. "Please. You're gonna have to think of a better cover story than that, kid." He spun around, claws outstretched, and shot Ice Shards at Shane and Tessa. Shane turned around and eyes glowed pink. Extrasensory waves blew the Ice Shards apart into harmless frost clouds. Ketu saw a blur of motion through the frost. He immediately braced himself, expecting to dodge a Force Palm from Tessa.

But Tessa didn't make a move toward him. Instead, electricity gathered in her fist as she hopped toward a nearby railing. "What the–?" Ketu wondered, only for his eyes to widen as Tessa kicked off the railing and careened toward an unsuspecting Ellsberg. Her Thunder Punch struck him right between the eyes. Electricity took hold of Ellsberg's body and he fell to the ground.

Ketu slightly tilted his head, before taking on a bemused expression. "Well, aren't you full of surprises?" he scoffed. "Not that it really matters once you're locked up in Nagrobek."

Tessa's eyes bugged out at the thought, but then Shane screamed at the top of his lungs. The sound waves pushed Ketu back down the street, giving Tessa the opening she needed to run back to her partner. Ketu dug his claws into the ground, preventing him from being pushed back any further. "You're not getting away from me that easily," he barked, and resumed chasing Team Radiance.

"Nuh… not so fast!" Ellsberg groaned. The Mothim hovered wearily in the air as psychic energy gathered around him. He tried to send the energy forward, but paralysis seized his body and sent him crashing to the ground.

Ketu skidded to a halt. "Elmer, you idiot!" the Weavile growled. "You're screwing everything up!" He dashed to Ellsberg's side and scooped him up.

"Me? Th… this was your… asinine idea…"

"Save your excuses for later," Ketu snapped. "We've gotta stop those pipsqueaks." The Weavile produced a cheri berry from the satchel slung over his shoulder and held it in front of Ellsberg's proboscis so he could eat the berry. Ellsberg descended into a coughing fit as his paralysis subsided and Ketu broke into a run, chasing after Team Radiance. It didn't take long for Ketu to once again close the gap between the two parties.

"Tessa, what do we do? He's gaining on us!" Shane panicked.

"I don't know. If we had items, I could throw something, but we don't," Tessa groaned. She looked ahead of her. "The docks are just up there. But there's another guard post."

"Maybe we could ask them for help?" Shane proposed. He noticed the Barbaracle and Meowstic at the guard station looking over at them in confusion. "HELP! HELP! Some thugs are chasing us!"

Ketu narrowed his eyes. 'Crap! That stupid mutt beat me to the guards. There goes my idea,' he thought. The Weavile raced toward the guard post, readying to strike as the guards popped out of their station.

"Hey, just what do you think you're doing? This is a restricted area!" the Barbaracle shouted.

"Yeah!" his Meowstic partner chimed in. "Authorized 'mons on–"

Ketu lunged at the Meowstic and slashed her with his shadowy-black claws. "Sorry, but I'm gonna have to cut in," he quipped. He pivoted toward the Barbaracle and slashed at the guard's knees. In the process, he put his back to Team Radiance. Tessa and Shane used the momentary distraction to run forward. Shane coated the gate in a thick layer of ice and Tessa wound up to smash through it.

Ketu looked up just in time to see the frozen gate burst open. "Hey!" he barked, trying to lunge for Team Radiance. However, the Barbaracle guard stepped into his path, looking to strike him with several sharp slabs of rock. Ketu dodged the attack and struck the guard's chest with a glowing fist. His Brick Break knocked the wind out of the Barbaracle, who collapsed onto the ground with a dazed look in his eyes. Ketu again looked through the broken gate, but saw no sign of Team Radiance.

"Damn it! This is not how things were supposed to go down," he snarled.

Ellsberg finally caught up to Ketu. He fluttered beside the Weavile, panting heavily. "Are you alright?"

"No!" Ketu hissed, swatting Ellsberg away. "Those brats have officially pissed me off. Get after them and keep them distracted! I'll freeze them with Blizzard."

"Err, but what about any naval officers on the docks?" Ellsberg asked.

"Do I look like I care about them right now?"

Ellsberg's wings fluttered rapidly in surprise. He buzzed ahead after Team Radiance. Ketu immediately took off after him, scraping dust off his claws as he ran.



XxX​

Nagant let out a groan. "What is the matter with you Slakoths? Put your backs into it!"

The crew members Nagant had gathered pushed themselves up against Silvally's side, trying to push him along the deck of the ship. Above him, Jun and a Pidgeotto flapped their wings and tugged on ropes, trying to hoist Silvally up and help give the crew some traction for movement. However, they failed to make any progress, and most of them slumped against Silvally's hide, panting in exhaustion.

"S… sorry, captain," Cabot wheezed, "but this new Protector's a fair bit heavier than a baby Lugia."

"Yeah, he must weigh as much as a Boldore!" Niilo said. "Can't we get some more members of the crew to help?"

"They're tending to the hole in the ship. Or did you all conveniently forget about that?" Nagant growled. "Fine then. Stand aside and let me show you how a naval officer gets a payload moved." She flexed her large pincer and was about to press it up against Silvally.

"Silvally? Where are you?!"

Tessa's cry echoed through the shipyard. Nagant's eyes widened. "No, that can't be." She hopped toward the edge of the ship and spotted Tessa and Shane sprinting down the far docks. "Unbelievable. Those kids again?" She whirled around, glaring at Jun. "Just how much daylight did we burn waiting out here, huh?"

The Beedrill rubbed his stingers together nervously. "Err, well, it did take the courier a while to return from the palace with the queen's permission to bring this new Protector to her. I'd say it's been at least a few hours."

Nagant's brow furrowed. "I have no intention of letting a pair of obnoxious children run around our shipyard and cause trouble. Least of all after damaging my ship." She took a closer look at Team Radiance, only to do a double-take at the sight of Ellsberg flying after them and Ketu trailing behind the Mothim. "Eh?! That Weavile from Sormus is here too?! But-! Bah, I don't have time for this!" Nagant raised her pincer and narrowed her eyes. "Jun! Be ready to attack on my mark!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Wait for them to get closer. I'll snipe the kids from the ship, and then you swoop in and scoop them up," Nagant ordered. Jun saluted her with a stinger and buzzed higher into the air. Nagant peered out over the edge of the ship as she saw Team Radiance coming closer.

"Hey, watch it!"

Tessa bumped into a Shieldon wearing a naval grunt scarf, nearly knocking him off the dock in the process. "Sorry, we're kind of in a hurry!" she shouted, not bothering to look back and make sure the Shieldon was okay.

"Are you even authorized to be here?" the Shieldon shouted, noticing Tessa's rainbow scarf fluttering as she ran. But at that moment, Shane bumped into the fossil Pokémon. Shieldon stumbled to the side. His right leg slipped off the deck, and the rest of him followed suit, landing in the water with a large splash.

A sheepish look overtook Shane's face. He wanted to ask Shieldon if he was okay, but a few Air Slash blades whizzed by him. His tails shot up and he started running after Tessa. Shane looked over his shoulder and spotted Ellsberg buzzing toward him. "This isn't working!" he shouted. "And we're going to run out of space to run pretty soon."

Tessa tried to look back at him, only for a burst of water to pummel her from the sky. She fell to her belly, grunting in pain. Shane screeched to a halt and looked up at the ship he was standing beside. "Wait." His eyes widened. "Are there Pokémon firing at us from up there?" He turned around in time for a psychic force to hoist him into the air and throw him back across the docks. Shane tumbled to a stop near the dock's edge. He struggled to get to his feet. Exhaustion made his legs tremble.

"Ketu, are you ready?" Ellsberg asked. "If I attack them again, I'll knock them into the water."

Ketu appeared by Ellsberg's side and dug in his feet, getting ready to attack. "You've done your part, Elmer. Now it's time to put these kiddies on ice."

Up on the ship, Nagant waved Jun back with her pincer. "Is something the matter, Captain?" Jun asked.

"It looks like we don't need to intervene after all. If that hack from Sormus wants to keep himself busy with those brigands, then we can simply shoo them out when they're weaker," Nagant declared. Frosty air drifted up toward the ship. The two of them looked down and saw a massive snowstorm racing forward.

Shane's eyes widened at the approaching Blizzard. It buffeted Tessa from behind, freezing her solid with a shocked expression plastered on her face. "No… Tessa!" Shane shouted. A flash of light burst forth from his Naturia Looplet and enveloped his left foreleg, something that did not go unnoticed by Ketu. The attack reached Shane just as an orange glow took over his body. The Blizzard's gale force winds struck the light and funneled completely around Shane, leaving him standing in front of a bewildered Ketu.

"What's going on? Why isn't your attack hurting him? And why is he glowing like that?" Ellsberg panicked. He fluttered in front of Ketu and waved his digits around frantically, as the Weavile continued to look at Shane while gritting his teeth. "Ketu, you said these were Imperial spies. Since when could spies do something like this?!"

The Blizzard fizzled out. Shane's orange glow intensified. He opened his eyes, revealing the same orange energy leaking out of them. "You do not hurt my friend like that!" he shouted. Shane stamped a forepaw on the ground and a gigantic iceberg shot up from the dock, with him positioned on top of it. It rose high enough to give him full view of the deck of Nagant's ship, complete with the shocked expressions of the crew.

"H… how…" Jun stammered.

"Is he also a Protector?" Cabot wondered.

"What? No way! He's just a Vulpix!" Berecien cried, backpedaling from Silvally. "What sort of trick is this?!"

Back on the ground, Ellsberg now had a grip on Ketu's scarf. "Do something, you lazy oaf! He's looking right at us. He's–"

Shane's tails fanned out, liquid ice funneling to the tip of his open mouth and firing down in a giant beam. "Get to cover!" Ketu shouted. He pushed Ellsberg off of him and dove into the water, disappearing under the surface. Ellsberg had just enough time to look back at Shane before the attack froze him solid.

"Everybody down!" Nagant shouted, as the fringes of Shane's Z-Move rocked the side of the ship. Ice coated the wooden walls and quickly spilled out across the deck. Cabot and Jun couldn't move away fast enough, and the ice froze them to the ground instantly. Niilo and Berecien slipped while trying to flee toward the far end of the ship. A wave of ice washed over them, freezing them to the deck in two large icebergs that jutted up into the air. Nagant just barely managed to hop free of the ice, shivering from the frigid air. The wave of ice came to a stop halfway across the ship deck. In the process, lingering icy air froze Silvally's restraints and jostled him awake. He opened his beak and thrust his limbs apart, shattering the frozen bindings.

Silvally hopped to his feet, narrowed his eyes, and charged across the deck, preparing to strike Nagant. She was too preoccupied taking aim at Shane, who had leaped off the iceberg he summoned before it melted into the water and sprinted across the icy deck, making a beeline for his teammate. "Silvally! Silvally! Silvally!" Shane shouted.

Nagant's eyes widened and she turned around. "No, the Protector!" She found herself staring down Silvally as he lunged toward her, golden light encasing his body. Nagant tried to shoot a Water Pulse at him, but couldn't form the attack up fast enough. Silvally's lightning-coated talons clubbed her pincer. It squished up against her face, offering Silvally a moment to see her shocked expression before the force of his blow sent her reeling across the deck. Nagant struck one of the ship's masts and crumpled to the ground, clutching her head and groaning in pain.

The crew members that hadn't been frozen stood in complete shock. Silvally turned around. A current ran across his body, giving his fur a jagged, spiked appearance. He fired several warning bolts of electricity in front of him, scattering the terrified crew. Shane jumped up onto his back. Silvally's legs momentarily buckled. "Where's Tessa?" he asked.

"Frozen down on the docks. We've gotta break her out and get as far away from this place as possible!" Shane slid his forepaw back and slapped Silvally's rear. "Hi ho, Silvally! Away!"

Silvally gave a surprised trill and reared up on his hind legs, clawing at the air. He dropped back to all fours and sprinted across the deck. Shane curled up tight on Silvally's back as the chimera's leg muscles tensed up. "For the record," Silvally said, springing into the air, "next time you want to hit me like that, you better have chocolate and flowers."

Shane's expression blanked just seconds before he and Silvally hit the docks. The impact jostled Shane upward, but he managed to stay on Silvally's back.

"Gah, I can't believe I had to dive in this disgusting seawater!"

Shane's head shot up in alarm as he saw Ketu dragging himself back onto the docks, looking at his soaked body.

"Hey, what's with the Weavile?" Silvally wondered.

"I don't know what you Imps did to modify our designs, but I'm definitely gonna find out," Ketu snarled. "I'll get you to Nagrobek, even if I have to take down some freak along the way."

"… Trouble," Shane said. "Just get him out of the way so we can get Tessa!"

Silvally tapped into his fire memories, shifting the glowing parts of his body to red. He opened his beak and spewed out a Flamethrower, prompting Ketu to jump to the side in order to dodge the attack. "Ha! Is that the best you g–? Ack!"

A Water Pulse struck Ketu from above, leaving him sprawled out in a puddle of water. "Nobody's… going anywhere!" Nagant's voice rang out. She hopped down onto the docks, landing rather unsteadily. "So, you're Company scum after all!" Nagant spat, pointing her pincer at Ketu as he glared back at her. "Well, there'll be plenty of time to discuss this further during interrogation."

"In your dreams, little shrimp," Ketu hissed. He sprang to his feet, looking to uppercut Nagant with his claws. She shielded herself with her pincer, but Ketu lunged for her before she could retaliate.

"Uh… did I miss something, here?" Silvally asked. "Why are they fighting?"

"Who cares! We'll take any opening we can get. Hurry up and free Tessa so we can leave," Shane said. Silvally nodded and lunged for Tessa, fire encasing his forelegs. Silvally dug his talons into her icy prison. They radiated enough heat to thaw her out.

"Th-th-th-th-thanks," she said, teeth chattering.

"Don't thank me yet. We've still got to find a way home," Silvally said. He turned around and bounded across the docks, passing Ketu and Nagant in the process. Silvally nearly managed to round a corner when a jet of water immediately shot up from the right side of the dock. Shane blew the water apart with a strong burst of Extrasensory. He looked over and noticed a Tentacruel and Sharpedo in indigo scarves trying to keep with the party from within the water. "I think we've got company. Run faster!"

"I'm going as fast as I can," Silvally groaned. He tucked his head down and started increasing his speed, moving away from the waterside.

"Halt, in the name of the Royal Navy!" the Tentacruel shouted. Another jet of water raced toward Team Radiance. Tessa grabbed hold of Shane's scarf and tightened her grip on Silvally's neck. Shane used her anchoring to turn around and fire another Extrasensory. The psychic blast ripped through the water, causing it to drizzle harmlessly onto the docks. Shane turned back around and resumed clutching Silvally as the chimera bolted behind a nearby ship. The water-types giving chase drifted to a stop, the Tentacruel slapping the water angrily as her Sharpedo companion shook her head.

"Forget it, Cyanea," she said. "We're not catching up to them in a million years."

Up at the edge of the docks, Silvally raced through the already-busted guard station, surprising a Meowstic and Pelipper that were attending to the guards Ketu had knocked out earlier. "H… hey! You're not supposed to be here!" the Meowstic squeaked.

Silvally looked over his shoulder, frowned, and then immediately booked it to his right. "Whoa! What's the big idea? We didn't agree to go right!" Shane complained.

"Uh, Shane?" Tessa mumbled, tugging on his shoulder. Shane looked back at her and she pointed a paw forward. "Maybe that has something to do with why Silvally went right?"

Shane turned his head back, his jaw dropping at the sight of two dozen Pokémon of all different shapes and sizes running after them. "Stop right there, criminal scum!" the Magnezone at the head of the group shouted. Electricity darted between his magnets and he narrowed his central eye at Team Radiance.

"No, don't stop! Go! Go faster!" Shane hollered, digging his paws into Silvally's fur and grabbing onto his scales for dear life.

Silvally gulped and raced forward, looking around for any signs of a clear escape route. A sudden flash of light brought his attention straight forward. The light swirled around, forming a familiar-looking checkered wormhole. "Ah! I see a portal up ahead of us. It's just like the ones the Prism Virus uses."

"Then head for it. It's our only real shot of getting home!" Shane said. He then let out a frightened yip as a lightning bolt and an ectoplasmic arrow whizzed past Silvally in unison.

"Guys, I think we've got a problem," Silvally whimpered. "Look… they've got a Lugia helping them!" he cried, eyes bulging out in surprise. "It's in that alleyway!"

"What? You've gotta be kidding me!" Shane groaned.

Silvally's beak stiffened and he started funneling electricity toward his cheek bolts. "I'm gonna zap him!" But before he could shoot his Thunderbolt, panic washed over the Lugia's face and it immediately disappeared. "Wait… what? It just ran away!" Silvally's eyes scrunched up in confusion, but given the crowd of Pokémon chasing him, he didn't dare stop to investigate the matter.

Instead, Shane poked his head up just in time to see the Lugia shove a Growlithe, Cubone, and female Nidoran further back in the alley. "Wait. It's a baby Lugia?" He shook his head. "Never mind. Just keep running, Silvally!"

"What the–?" the Cubone asked dumbfounded as Silvally ran past the alley.

"Sorry, we're in a bit of a hurry, here!" Shane shouted, before turning back around and clinging to Silvally's head crest. Silvally approached the Ultra Wormhole and lunged into it. Bright white light swallowed Team Radiance up.

XxX

~Aeon Observatory~

A faint twinkle of light shimmered in Team Radiance's room. An Ultra Wormhole opened up on the far wall, facing the door.

"EYYYYYAAAAAAAAAH!"

Shane flew out of the portal, limbs flailing, and belly-flopped onto the ground. "Oooooog… my aching head…" he groaned. He was in the process of sitting up, when Tessa tumbled out of the wormhole and rolled into him, knocking him back onto his belly. "Ow! Hey! Watch it," Shane growled.

"Sorry," Tessa squeaked.

The wormhole flashed and, next thing Shane and Tessa knew, they were pinned down underneath Silvally's large frame. He turned and watched the Ultra Wormhole shut behind him. "Hey, I think we're back!" he declared. "Isn't that great?"

"Mmrrrggggh!"

Something jabbed Silvally's belly, causing him to look down. His cheeks grew warm. "O-Oh… my bad," he muttered, and stood up. Tessa crawled forward, while Shane rolled onto his back, gasping for air. "Hi, guys," Silvally chirped. "Heh… I was wondering why my landing was so soft and cushy. How'd you get down there when you were sitting on top of me?"

"Seriously, dude?" Shane hissed, rubbing his face with a forepaw. "Do you use any soap when you shower?"

"Of course I do!" Silvally said. "Why, is something wrong?"

"Yes, you reek!" Shane groaned. "Or, more specifically, your underbelly reeks."

"Too much information," Tessa cut in, a disgusted look on her face.

"Oh, really?" Silvally lifted a foreleg and awkwardly tried to look across his underbelly. "I showered yesterday. But I didn't scrub my belly much. I'm 'monmade, after all, so I doubt I can make any weird scents there."

"What part of 'too much information' didn't register, Silvally?" Tessa growled, throwing up her paws and cringing.

"I don't want to hear any complaining from you, missy," Shane grumbled. "I'm the one who had to steal berries just to keep the two of us alive, you know. Frankly, this is both of your faults!"

"Excuse me? You're just as much to blame for all of this as we are," Tessa said, pointing a paw at him accusingly.

"What are you talking about? I told my agent when I booked this gig: 'no stupid crossovers with someone else's production,'" Shane scoffed.

"Well then, you should've read your contract closely, doofus. Because we all signed on for April Fool's Day world-swap pranks for as long as this is under production," Tessa explained, crossing her arms and giving a smirk.

Shane went slack-jawed. "You're kidding. There's no way…" His voice trailed off. He took the satchel off his neck and walked over to a small shelf. He pulled out a stack of papers and startled shuffling through them. His eyes widened. "Son of a *****! 'As part of your main character status, it is expected that you will take part in an April Fool's Day crossover event. Said event will run without any prior notice from the production team.'" He crumpled that particular page up with his forepaw. "I don't believe this! I've been had."

"It could be worse. The original plan was for an Easter special that'd put you in a Lopunny costume," Tessa mused while Silvally fought to hide a snicker.

Shane's jaw dropped. "Seriously?! Don't I look foofy and girly enough already? That's just demeaning!" He narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Tessa. "And wait… how do you know about that? I'm supposed to be the star here!"

"Excuuuuuse me?" a booming voice echoed through the room. Necrozma popped in behind Shane in a puff of black smoke. Shane yipped and hopped forward, burying his head in his forepaws. "You want to rephrase that one? Last I checked, it's my name in the title, bub. I'm the star here… literally!"

Shane couldn't think of a retort. Necrozma shook his head disapprovingly and teleported out of the room. Shane got back to his feet. "This is totally ridiculous," he huffed. "I'm getting such a crap deal. Where the devil is my agent?"

"… you rang, buddy?"

Shane turned to his right and let out a girlish shriek at the sight of Giratina's head sticking out of the wall.

"Ohhhh… I get it. He asked 'where the devil is my agent?' so you popped up," Silvally said. "I like it!" His tail wagged.

"Yes, thank you! I was worried no one was gonna get the joke," Giratina cheered. He turned to Tessa. "By the way, this totally counts as me appearing in the special. I expect compensation. Or else I'll steal all your sugary sweets!" He disappeared back into the wall, leaving Shane standing there, his right eye twitching rapidly.

"Aww, c'mon, Shane," Tessa said, walking over to him and throwing an arm around his neck. "Didn't you have fun? I thought the folks in Anyilla seemed great. Even if, y'know, they were all trying to capture us and throw us in jail."

"Yeah!" Silvally agreed, tail wagging even faster. "I'll bet their exploits would make for a real great read. A light-hearted, colorful adventure that everyone could enjoy!"

"Oh, shove off," Shane hissed, stomping toward the door. "Nothing in our contracts says we have to suck up to them or anything."

"It's not sucking up if it's true," Silvally exclaimed in a singsong voice. "Besides, they're the top dog in our genre. You should feel honored to get to work with them!"

Shane snorted out tufts of frost. "Whatever. I'm outta here."

"Where are you going?" Tessa asked. "Don't you want to rest up at all?"

"No," Shane growled. "If anyone needs me, I'll be at Glyphic Falls. I'm feeling rather spiteful, and think I'll take it out on a Murkrow flock there." He angrily marched out of the room, muttering under his breath.

Tessa and Silvally exchanged concerned looks. "You don't think he meant anything by that, do you?" Silvally asked.

Tessa rubbed the bridge of her snout with her paw. "I don't know. But I think I see why we Pokémon don't have an April Fool's Day. Or an April, for that matter."

END

XxX​

Footnotes
1) Potwór: monster, fiend (Polish)
2) Kaveri: pal, friend, buddy, mate (Finnish, possibly from the Yiddish word kahver)
3) Lesá (лиса): fox (Russian, English romanization used)
All info from Wiktionary

XxX​

If you haven’t caught on by now, yes, this was a giant April Fool’s Day special. More specifically a crossover with Spiteful Murkrow’s Fledglings and, by extension, Virgil134’s Casting Off. This idea was born from a Discord conversation back in December, and both of them very generously agreed. They also contributed to writing this chapter. And I’m immensely grateful for all the work they put into both this. Not to mention they spearheaded their own half of this crossover, which you can read by clicking here!

I know this was a bit of a throwback to the whackier tone of the early chapters. And that that might be a bit jarring. Nevertheless, we hope you guys enjoyed this and will consider sharing your thoughts. Thanks for all the support!

Next time: we return to our regularly-scheduled programming with the start of Episode 10!
 
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Ambyssin

Winter can't come soon enough
Okay, time to get to some replies! And test out the multi-quote feature, which I can confirm works and is very convenient for making these replies. <3

But first, quick announcement!
With the fic awards results coming in a couple of weeks, there's going to be a short little non-canon special in which the cast will be, essentially, roasting themselves/riffing on one another. All for a few laughs. With that said, I thought it might be fun to have some optional audience participation for this. So, I'm opening up a Q&A! You can ask as many questions as you'd like to whatever characters you want (main, recurring, hero, villain, living, dead, or somewhere in between). They can be serious or silly. I just ask that you keep it tasteful enough to stay in a T rating. And how you choose to submit them is up to you. You can post here, send me a PM, DM me on Discord, send a carrier pigeon. Any option works. Well, maybe not the carrier pigeon. Point is, I thought it might be fun to make fun of myself a bit. And if there's any juicy secrets you've wanted to know about anyone, this is your best chance to find out!


This event is now over.

Onto the review replies.
Which makes it sound like I didn't like the earlier segments, and that's not true; rather, I think what you're doing is (as I've said before) a nice evocation of the way the PMD games structure themselves, with a sprawling first half and then a narrowly focused quest in the latter half, the whole somewhat leavened with special episodes where you follow some of the characters you met along the way for a while.
I'm glad you like it. I was worried how that formula would be received, but I didn't have enough trust in my narrative abilities to do something else. As for focused quest... well, there may (or may not) be one of those by the end of the next episode. ;)

I think I'm in two minds about the thing with Espeon. In my last review, I said that I didn't really have any comment to make on it, and now that I've read further I kinda feel that that's symptomatic, in a way – like, I don't have thoughts about Espeon. She's okay, I guess, but not that characterful, and certainly nowhere near as interesting as the rest of the main cast ... Which in turn makes the hints of Shane's vague infatuation with her kind of baffling, because the main thing making up her personality is penitence, and that's not quite enough for her to feel as real as the other characters do.
That's understandable. The thing about Shane's crush isn't supposed to be that it's a character development point for Espeon, so much as it's supposed to be a red flag of sorts. I think I said this in an earlier review, but the only evidence we've seen that Shane has that crush (as opposed to characters like Lycanroc saying it to bully him) has been after the point in time where he's getting glimpses of Solgaleo's memories and have his human memories be called fake. That was completely intentional and that little thread is going to get resolved by the end of the next episode.

Since she's now apparently a bigger part of the main story, maybe she'll get some character development going forward. I'd hope so, anyway.
Assuming you think I do my job right, then yes.

I do like that touch about Shane being able to read unown script; that's a very cute twist on the old “the chosen one can miraculously read the mysterious ancient language” device. Of course, the fact that unown script in the PMD world is still just English raises a lot of questions about trans-universal linguistics, but I think those are probably best left unasked.
If I ever find myself thinking stuff like that, I usually just say "An Ultra Wormhole did it" and move along. Game Freak gave me a very convenient excuse to work with. :V

Actually, interchange between worlds comes up a lot in these chapters, what with Nicky and the mewtwo quote and all that; you kind of have to wonder where the Game Freak of Shane's world are getting all this from. Did inventing the pokémon world create the reality in which pokémon are real, or is there just some sort of visionary prophet at Game Freak who peers into other pre-existing worlds?
That remains to be seen, I suppose. Though, I vote for the answer involving wearing kitchen utensils on your head and pretending they're actually a satellite to contact aliens.

I really like that thing about unown being the remnants of the thousand arms of Arceus, too. I don't know if I've seen many fics acknowledge the legend of Arceus' thousand arms at all, actually, which is a shame because it's delightful – it feels like a real mythological thing, probably because it's a very mythical kind of description to attribute a thousand limbs to something like that. It's interesting that you link it to the unown, too. Bit by bit, the cosmology of your version of the PMD world is coming to light, and it has a wonderful internal logic to it.
That is the idea. I just kind of thought to myself, "Why does Arceus need a thousand arms? Answer: to stitch together the fabric of reality, of course!" This won't be the last we see of the world's creation, actually. Since there's a little caveat that was left out.

I was going to say that the scene where Golem talks Nicky round felt a little too simplistic to me – Golem I expect to sound like a pantomime villain, but Nicky? Even accounting for the childishness that comes with rebirth in the PMD world, he feels a bit flat, a criticism I think you could level at him through all of his life as a Necrozma – but then I read on and it seems like the justification for it is that Nicky regressed much further than Prisma or Shane did upon shifting universes.
We've already talked about this a bit so I'll just say that I intend to make some changes.

I do still think that once he becomes a Necrozma Nicky is a much weaker character, particularly when compared to people like Prisma, Shane and Tessa. Like, he kind of just comes across as a stereotype.
And, honestly, I guess that was a failure on my part. I made him a caricature of an existing TV character, failing to account for the visual and audio aspects of the TV medium being such an integral part of said character. I think that made it translate poorly to fic, which probably explains why it was so lousy.

I think it's a little strange that Tessa's first thought after learning that Null rescued her is that “oh, he's definitely still a murder-monster!” Like, they were really good friends! And okay, Tessa isn't always the most optimistic person, but I feel like she'd want to believe that Null is still the person she knew, especially with how much she depends on him (as she says at the end of the bonus) and that she would in her desperation latch onto this clue that she hasn't lost him to his broken RKS system.
It was probably a little much. But Tessa does tend to jump to worst-case scenarios pretty quickly. The other point was that there was supposed to be a bit of shock factor behind her outburst. Like, if she hadn't seen it happen, she might not've reacted as drastically.

As for the bonus itself – hm. It's the first time we've gone this deep into Null's mind, and he's very much … not the character we've come to know along the way. That's going to take some getting used to. Shane was right about the size of his personality change, and I haven't quite got the measure of it yet. I think I'll probably not comment on it just yet, to give it time to settle in my mind.
Okay. I'm hoping to sort of channel Silvally's Dex entries, which states it can be wild and unpredictable. But, at the same time, I'm hoping to keep that sort of "aloof big brother" idea going. Even with the mask on, he wanted to be supportive of his teammates. With it off, he can be supportive and do so from an unrestrained place of love.

Also, the idea of an Alolan golem trying to like manipulate buttons and stuff with its tiny little arms that don't even reach in front of its own chest is kind of hilarious.
I know the semantics don't add up, but I picked Alolan Golem purely because its facial hair was the most Faba-like of any 'mons in the Alola Dex. :p

You kinda feel like this guy needed someone to bounce his ideas off first. Not necessarily another alchemist, just someone with the capacity to go “hey, my dude, don't take this the wrong way, but, uh, that idea kind of sounds like the last thing someone says just before they get murdered by hundreds of violent, tormented spirits from the next world.”
That's fair. The point I was going for was that, since this is shortly after Dark Matter's first reign of terror, that there's a lot of anger and hatred in the population. Caution and reason get thrown into the wind and what not.

While I find the concept of calling someone crazy distasteful, I think I'd have to disagree with Espeon there. I don't really see the resemblance between the two species' faces at all.
I'm just the blind one then. I always thought the angles of their facial features (especially their beaks and eyes) were quite similar.

good for you, Shane! It's nice to see you've grown a conscience.
He's always had it! It just wasn't previously good at its job (see: start of episode 7).

So! All caught up at last. I really enjoyed these chapters; it was great to finally hit the pay-off with Null and his mask, and to see how it is that Null's plot was connected to the main story – because of course it did have to be, in the end, and I couldn't see how you were going to make it happen.
Glad you could still find some enjoyment out of it. Hopefully the slower update schedule will make reading a bit easier. Thanks again for reviewing! ^^

This was cute and fun XD I mean, who doesn't like dogs? Poor Shane put his paw in his mouth offending Null though.
A prelude to his actual treatment of Null in-universe, I'm afraid. :(

lmao fourth wall dig at yourself there XD
We at Guiding Light take pride in making fun of ourselves. :p

Wonder who Shane was talking to at the start? D= For some reason, I feel it might be Solgaleo.
You are, as far as you know, correct!

I like the quick turn-around here, getting through the trouble quickly but not without error. I don't think Tessa approved of her little dip in the water.

Neither did Sneasel XD

I'm glad Tessa is still willing to try and make her partnership with Shane work. I wonder if he'll have learned from his mistake here?
Tessa didn't actually end up the drink... she ended up in the muck. It was the threat of that happening that made her upset. She's still ironing out the (many) kinks with Shane at this point.

I don't know if you intended it, but Crabrawler comes across with a British accent in my head. I like it.
That's fair. I did sort of read his lines in Patrick Stewart's voice. XD

I was totally expecting Primarina to be female XD I know they can be male, and are most of the time, but I still can't picture one in my head (Despite Bel Canto the male Primarina being a fantastic member to my VGC team)
If Primarina was female, I'd be conforming to stereotypes! Male Pokémon can be fabulous and flaunt it, too. I mean, there are statistically more male Primarinas than females... just not necessarily in fanfics.

It's interesting to see the use of lesser used pokemon such as lunatone and solrock. I really like that, it gives them more recognition and personality than just 'floating rocks that fight'.
When I knew I was making this Sun/Moon themed, I had to put them in somewhere.

That battle was pretty intense. I love the use of terrain! Also, poor Shane getting knocked out. Guess he had to lose a battle some time.
Correct. As you saw, though, they get Reviver Seeds pretty quickly.

I enjoyed that chapter. Also, we get a little more insight into the legends and also surprised Tessa's mum still has a room there. How long has she been missing? I think I've forgotten.

And, erm... is Gallian the absol from earlier? D=
She left around six months before the events of the story. And, yeah, Gallian is the Absol.

I loved the battle scene. Shane getting in the way, Null finally speaking. Messing up. Loosing the meowth. That can't bode well, right?
You could consider it a prelude to some bad times.

D= What?!

I can understand she's exasperated, but that was still somewhat unexpected.
Sometimes Tessa can let her emotions do all the thinking and decision-making for her. This was one of those times.

I'm trying to work this out. Necrozma... some kind of power turning regular pokemon into Ultra Beasts? Or Totems? Gah! I wanna know! XD

Man those two eeveelutions are creepy, particularly Espy. Crazy colours, too. And they're like chalk and cheese XD
You actually stopped reading right before the chapter that definitively confirms who has a big hand in all of this. ^^;

Aww, I like the interaction between Tessa and Shane at the start. Him opening up is quite character building, and things seem to improve with their relationship after that. I guess it helps that Tessa understands him better now.

I liked this chapter a lot. Some things have been tossed in the air, and it will be nice to see where Team Radiance goes from here.
The foundations for trying to start a better relationship... only for things to not work out so well as Shane gets angrier and angrier.

The lore is very interesting. I'm wondering if I've got this right – Solgaleo and Lunala looked different before Ho-Oh 'renewed' them? And the hourglasses are a sort of fallback net perchance anything happens to them? I'm also interested about what happened to Lugia, as they didn't seem to play much of a part in the lore prior to Solgaleo and Lunala.
Sort of. The story goes that two "beasts," as in UB's, but not necessarily Solgaleo and Lunala, rescued Ho-Oh. They couldn't survive, so Ho-Oh revived them as a pair of Cosmogs that grew into the Cosmic Duo. And they are reincarnated by Ho-Oh every 200 years or so. As for Lugia, not involved because, in this universe, they're a sea guardian, but they're a lesser god (as in, not immortal like Ho-Oh).

I'm wondering if it's an older name for Tessa?
It is. Whoops. @.@

My speculation here is it's something to do with Espy, Umbry and their weird manipulation of other pokemon...

Given the end to that dream, I'm now wondering if the pokemon Lucario is protecting is Lunala, or maybe Lunala in some way enabled her to contact Tessa via dreams? Hmm... Those legends keep coming up recently. Not complaining, 'cos they're best legends. (Sorry Reshiram.)
I'd say you're right on the money!

I love Shane's difficulties dealing with being a vulpix. It must be tough keeping that lush, sparkly fur all pretty.
See? I told you. Even the guys want to be fabulous if they have the right instincts for it. :D

I'm starting to think his fur is like Macro's scarf. Always on the receiving end of dirt and damage. Poor Shane.
Sort of. It's also a sort of jab on the limitations of the games, since the Pokémon you play always look spic and span no matter what happens to them.

Totally thought you were describing Guzzlord at first. Have... have the munchlax been merged with some kinda Ultra Beast by Espy? D=
Correct!

Good grief! I was not expecting that! I thought once they'd be freed from that infection, everything would be fine and dandy! Something seriously sinister is going on here... makes me like that Espeon and her partner even less.
Yeah, as you'll come to find out, infection is practically a death sentence unless something very specific can bail you out.

Erm... O__O It's been a long time since I played Gates to Infinity. I don't even think I completed it. But I remember Espeon and Umbreon. I totally hadn't put two and two together here before Shane said this. But... Ultra Entercard? I'm wondering if this has something to do with Ultra Beasts, and given the munchlaxs' appearance I'm leaning towards 'yes'. But I guess I need to keep reading and stop writing to find out.
They are indeed the duo from Gates.

Hmm, so not only does Null offer to help out on expeditions, Shane is now suspicious of Braviary. Well... I'm not so sure on Braviary. With all the surprises you've been throwing in recently, Braviary turning out to be working for some bad guy wouldn't be out of place. I hope not though. I like him. But then Nuzleaf turned out to be bad in the games, didn't he? And I'd liked him, too =(
To be fair, he got suspicious on the basis of Braviary's accent alone specifically because Nuzleaf was a thing.

Urgh that feraligatr is gettin' my goat with his flailing paw like that >.> poor Prisma. I'm already guessing here that Prisma is Tessa's mother, and Torracat seems to be being set up to be her father. Hmm...
That's also correct.

Do you watch Star Trek by chance? Because this sounds like something Seven of Nine would have asked XD Or a vulcan, maybe D= I do enjoy your use of different speech patterns. The wackier the better, imo!
I don't watch a lot of Star Trek. I just sort of tried to make Metang (and Metagross) sound like robots.

I quite like the puzzle. Very different take on things. Writing puzzles is no easy task, either.

Rufflet is also not very gentlemonly, is he? Scolding Torracat for having Prisma's best interests at heart.

That Golisopod battle felt like one you'd find in a video game. Great use of puzzles and trickery. And 'first impression', too! (Took me way too long to remember the name of that move...)
I was drawing on a mix of inspiration from the Goonies and Ratchet & Clank: Quest for Booty, so I'm glad it translated well into the story.

Yep, that battle seemed a lot more intense XD But urgh, that Feraligatr. So glad they rescued Prisma from his wicked clutches.

Now we have an insight into the PMD naming conventions. I like how this plays into it. It's always your player character and their partner that have names, and almost no one else. I love how she finds their lack of unique names odd, and they find her use of a unique name odd!
Actually, the fact that she has a name and washed up on a beach with no memories is kinda supposed to indicate a certain something. ;)

This special episode puts Braviary in a better light outside of Shane's suspicions. I like that. It affirms he's a good guy, attitude towards Prisma aside. Obviously they made amends during their time working together. You can tell that by the end of the final chapter.

Looks like my guess was right about Gallian being the absol's name. Wasn't expecting him to be Tessa's adopted older brother, though!
"Making amends" is a very rough interpretation of their working relationship. And, yeah, Gallian and Tessa are brother/sister. Quite a few people have pointed out the (unintentional on my part) parallels to a certain Gen VII family...

It's a bit of a shame we didn't see the erratic uncontrolled Mystery Dungeon in action, but there was so much going on I forgot about it until I read the bonus episode. I just thought I'd add my comment here to keep it linked in with the special episode.
I could only do so much. ^^;

Ah, Shane's cartoon moments. A sheer delight in this story. Sorry, Shane, but they're just so entertaining.
Poor Shane gets a raw deal a lot of the times. I don't blame him for being such a grump.

Tapu Koko using the word 'dude' was NOT expected.
He is a surfer dude in every sense of the word. And I'm kind of channeling the Wyld Stallyns from Bill & Ted, as Jax pointed out. XP

The lore behind this story is weaved in well. Once again, Tapus are revealed to be the reason Mystery Dungeons change. I'm still very interested in the ones that aren't controlled, however.
Well, you won't find any of those in Horizon. We will be visiting a very famous pair of dungeons later on though. In fact, I'd say it's really... just a matter of time.

Red? D= Oh no, he isn't like Espy and Umbry, is he?
You mean infected? Oh, but he is!

It amuses me how Misdreavus speaks like Bidoof. I'd thought it before, but it's becoming much more apparent in this chapter XD
I'll be honest, I didn't even realize I was doing it myself, by golly!

That fight was like a living nightmare. Parasect after parasect after parasect... poison after poison. Lots of fast thinking only making the situation worse. If Team Captivate hadn't rushed in, Team Radiance would have been smoke (or sludge) and the story would have been short lived for sure.

Wondering what happened to Morelull and Shiinotic. Did they faint? Run away? I really hope they didn't get infected...
No, they just sort of stayed back and watched in silence. It's safe to assume neither could really defend themselves or they wouldn't have needed Team Radiance in the first place.

Whoa boy, he's recalling his human 'death' D=
Correct. Though he can't consciously remember them at the moment.

So Gallian invades the guild, and takes out the ghost gang. They probably stood no chance due to a type disadvantage, either. Also, Gallian really sounds like he's all twisted like Espy, Umbry and their victims. Except he's more in control of his faculties like them two sinister eeveelutions. I mean, he does have an Ultra Beast hovering around him. I sort of get the impression he's not an enemy, however. Despite his way of dealing with things.
He's a rather complicated guy. But he's definitely hostile and quick to engage in hostilities instead of talking things out.

Gallian's rant about the guild being rotten is very... ominous. Makes me wonder if there's some kind of cover-up that Incineroar knew about and Gallian somehow found out about. Wonder if Lucario knows about it, too?

We now know Shane's been talking to Solgaleo, which is cool. He also seems to be speaking Shane's language a bit here. That pep talk was much needed after the little vulpix's confidence drop.
There may indeed be a cover up that involves Incineroar... but not in the way you think! As for Solgaleo, yeah, he really seems to be saying what Shane wants to hear...

I love Primarina's entrance! Spitting a water bubble on Shane to wake him XD Oh, I think I love this character already.
That was done explicitly to get Shane to dislike the guy. It'll make things to come better that way. Though, yeah, Primarina's the type of guy who'll introduce himself by showering you with water if he thinks you're unkempt.

Can someone please hug Null? =(

Big Brother Null fixing Shane and Tessa's bickering again. I feel like he's the catalyst their friendship needs, since he speaks sense to them in his own way. Poor Shane slipping into his old, depressed self... At least he's opened up about it. Hopefully his talk with Solgaleo and Tessa will perk him up a bit and give him back his confidence after such a horrible defeat.
It speaks volume about the two of them that Null of all people is the voice of reason at the moment.

I'm sensing some Ned Flanders influence in Primarina's speech pattern.
I was actually going more for him scatting mid-sentence, just because he can.

I enjoyed Sherlock Shane. Although I didn't come up with the same culprit as he did. I thought it might have been Sneasel and Jangmo-o up to no good again. What does Gallian want with a Mystical Malasada? I thought he was looking for a TM. I might have to backtrack and refresh my memory...

backtracks ...I guess that was the distraction he wanted to cause?
Correct. He made a distraction to raid the Kecleon mart.

I'd never thought of a Mimikyu tasting vile, but given how long it likely wears that rag, it makes a lot of sense. And only adds to my revulsion of the pokemon, too XD
To be fair, the PMD world doesn't have a laundromat. And I don't think Mimikyu would use it, anyway.

Given Kecleon can totally pwn you in the games, that Gallian must be one crafty absol. Nice reference, there =D
Yup. The shadow-melding part helps considerably!

Creepy ghosts are creepy. From Haunter juggling his own eyeballs to Drifloon spying from a plant pot, I can't even...

Serperior's apprehension makes me wonder what exactly Team Specter do to them, and how often as well... You give us a little taster or two about it, but it sounds like that trio of ghosts really get up to no good with their fellow guild mates. Little pranksters they are, clearly.
They just like to cause whatever manner of mischief they feel like. They're not the most popular folks around. Why do you think they get stuck looking after headquarters during expeditions? :p

Nice little bit of head cannon there. I like it =D
Thanks! I thought it could be an acceptable enough reason why a Zoroark would just, y'know, evolve a pearl into its mane.

You may have explained this earlier and I simply forgot, but in this world don't emeras disappear once they're out of a dungeon? Just interested if there's a reason for this, or if it's a bit of creative licensing.
In this story, an emera activates only when it's placed in a looplet, and will stay active for 24 hours before turning to dust. Emeras can be made from stardust that rains from the cosmos, so they can be found in and out of Mystery Dungeons.

Nice overlap. But I felt that mission went a bit too fast and easy for Team Captivate. I found myself wondering what relevance the zoroark plot really held until the end of the chapter. It seems like you're building up to something here.
Well, as the rest of the episode shows, that was all a big trick!

The silent infernape is amusing, compared to his chatty companion. They're like the pokemon equivalent of Jay and Silent Bob.
Silent Infernape is supposed to a be a reference to the player character's lack of speaking. Infernape is this worlds human from the events of Explorers, with Feraligatr and his partner. Same goes for Blaziken and Swampert with Rescue Team, as well as Meganium and Delphox for Super.

I have to say I was not expecting to ever see a hyperactive, puppy-like giratina. And he totally got put in his place through a time rift. That's one way to deal with him, I guess? XD
Giratina just wants friends. And snuggles. :3

I love how Palkia is totally contrasted with Dialga here. Dialga is like some kind of lounging prince diva taking advantage of other pokemon, whereas Palkia seems to have a Legend Complex and speak with long words in loud, booming capitals.
Palkia's ALL CAPS DIALOGUE is something I held over from the games. It just just seemed too funny not to.

No, not the V-Wheel! D= Man, I never thought Victini could lose his cool!
He loves it very dearly.

Oh. No. It was the ghosts who offered. But seriously, I can totally see Shane offering because 'big legend is talking to him' =P Come on... I'm right, right?
Don't worry, he gets to geek out about a Legendary later.

Looks like Serperior was right. Zoroark did lie, and her mane was an illusion. Hmm...
IT'S A TRAP!

If we didn't know Null was found by Glyphic Falls, I'm not sure I'd believe this Zoroark. But something has clearly happened. The question is... is it another Null? A silvally completely berserk without its helmet?

...Or Epsy and Umbry up to no good again?
I'll take it to mean I did my job, then. Since, as Latias eventually reveals, her goal was to keep Team Captivate skeptical and unsure if what they saw in the Catacombs could be trusted or not.

Oops, looks like Milotic landed in a dirt trap. If Team Specter didn't place it, who did? Imaginative description of the stealth rock trap, btw. I like it =D
That would be Marshadow.

Wasn't expecting the gentleman-esque Marshadow. Can't decide what to make of him. If he really is a lone wolf working for the guild, I wonder if we'll see more of him?
He's just a particularly-crafty outlaw. Need a tough outlaw for tough veterans.

Way to end on an ominous note. I'm trying to picture that shattered crystal structure. Sort of wondering if it's like the stasis chambers Lusamine used?
Sort of. It's pretty much just a giant, hollowed-out crystal.

So they have to climb out? Wow, that's gonna be a tough challenge. And somehow... I can't help thinking whatever attacked Zoroark is gonna make an appearance.
Well, he already did appear by this point. ^^;

Well, that was an eventful and energetic escape down the rapids! I'm glad Team Captivate managed to unangle themselves! And arrest Marshadow, too. Although I doubt we've seen the last of him.
Yeah, that was about the closest to a crazy vehicle chase scene as I could do in the PMD world. So, glad it managed to please!

Also... Mawile, yay! =D Nice to see Super Mystery Dungeon characters making an appearance. I don't recall the Lati Twins, but they seem adorable. It was a shock to see that Zoroark was Latias in disguise, however! I was beginning to think Zoroark was up to no good until her story checked out.
That's because they only showed up in Super to get turned to stone by Yveltal. They join the Society after the fact, which is how you see them now.

We mow know what Espy and Umbry are up to, and it doesn't sound good. Wiping legends off the planet... looking for the hourglass... and confirmed, they're merging pokemon into ultra beasts. Yikes!
It's quite an unusual plan. Far cry from trying to hurtle the planet into the sun.

I'm not sure on Shane's reaction to Lycanroc calling him Snowy. I mean, he is pretty snowy-looking. And he's an ice type. So I agree with Braviary and Metagross that he hasn't got a solid argument there.
Good. You should be suspicious! Because, as you see, Shane was very wrong here.

I was seriously expecting that bewear to show up in those woods. I was not expecting Lycanroc to have basically 'ninja'd' Team Radiance's mission, willingly or otherwise. Still not sure on Shane's accusations, but it sounds familiar to me. I can't remember which game I'm recalling similar events from. But nevertheless, I kinda hope Lycanroc turns out to be innocent and Shane's just paranoid.
It's the Explorers games. I took Chapter 6 (Team Skull) and turned it upside down for this.

Man, I want Lycanroc to turn out to be good and Shane's just having paranoid rambles, but that smirk he gave Shane has be questioning my initial suspicions. Argh...
You get your wish... sorta!

This was cute =) I love Gallian and Tessa playing together.

I'm intrigued about Prisma's missing memories. I wouldn't be surprised if she turned out to be a human, too D=
And I wouldn't be surprised if that guess of yours is correct. ;)

Okay, what's Gallian got to do with all this? I'm completely confused. I thought Espy and Umbry were behind all this UB merging stuff D= And Espy said they were after the hourglass, right? I'm very confused. Unless Gallian is after the other item and that threatens Solgaleo?
Hmm... it's almost like Solgaleo might be misleading Shane?

Was this deliberate? XD
At this point, I'm just gonna say yes. XP

I adore how much of a pyromaniac Growlithe is. I reckon they stand a chance against this Bewear with him on the team.
He loves his fire quite a lot. Helps when Flash Fire is your ability.

Btw, way to go on creating the creepiest, most unlikable enemy duo I've ever come across in a story. I absolutely DETEST Espy and Umbry. Or what they've become, at least. If it is the same duo from Gates, I truly hope they can shake whatever it is that's taken over them and return to their previous selves.
It is and, to be fair, they've been through quite a lot of bad things that led to this decision.

Is it just me, or is the thought of a Bewear with Buzzwole arms, all flexing like that hilarious UB, just totally amusing and ridiculous?
That was the point. Buzzwoles are just... really ridiculous. If not for the fact they could suplex buildings, they'd be utterly hilarious.

Love how Growlithe is happy that Bewole has fluffy. I thought it would be a pretty awesome advantage, but nope. Things are clearly not all that simple or easy when fighting one of these things.

And why is she using Milotic as a whip?! That's just plain not cricket! Poor Milotic will be feeling that later.
Because under the fluffy exterior lay a bunch of hideous Buzzwole-like, creepy-crawly exoskeleton stuff. Yick! And the whip part was really just something silly/stupid I threw in because snakes.

Great to see our buddy Null leaping to the rescue!

...And considering killing Shane. Ah. This can't bode well for future events...
No, it most certainly doesn't bode well.

I have to say, after that crystal shattered, I thought they'd broke the infection's hold and freed her, but no. She ended up just the same as the others. Only for her kid to witness it all. Gah, that... that was pretty heart breaking. And poor Stufful thinks Shane and co are to blame, too. I can see why but... argh ='(
Yup, it was supposed to be a considerable downer, to set things up to get a little worse. Actually, Team Radiance will be keeping on a bit of a downer streak. They're still stuck in it, to be honest. XP

I love the use of pokemon moves used in a medical ward here. Such an imaginative use of sweet scent for Comfey to sedate her patients. That's probably my favorite one here.
It was the best thing I could think of to make Sweet Scent actually feel useful. And I need to play around a bit to work this healing stuff around a small little 'mon like Comfey.

Shane running his mouth off again, causing more trouble for himself and Tessa... Dang it, won't he learn? I'm really interested to know if his gut instinct on Lycanroc is right. I can't help but feel he's judging on appearances. What does he mean Null isn't even nice?! He's saved his hide, for goodness' sake, AND stopped himself from killing Shane on instinct! Ah well. Hopefully Shane will see through Null's exterior soon enough. Meanwhile, I do wanna know what his beef is with Lycanroc.
Yeah, Shane has a way of taking things from bad to worse.

I also wanna know why Solgaleo is saying Gallian is behind all this, when it's seemed up until now that it's all Espy and Umbry.
Hmm... could it be that he might be misleading Shane?

I'm also wondering if Shane is a little jealous... maybe you have a love triangle brewing?
Aha ha. Not a chance. This is my first story. I couldn't write romance to save myself.

This stargazing chapter was cute, especially with Tessa and Gallian. Argh, I so want them to make amends and save him from whatever it is that's taken over him (unless it is him, in which case... I've no idea.)
It'll happen eventually. Gotta give it time!

Also, was that Dawn Wings Necrozma at the end? 'Cos if it was Lunala, she's had a gender switch D= I'm going to go with the former, and if I'm right then something's gone wrong and it's very worrying!
You stopped right before the chapter that would've answered that question. :p

To discover that Shane was wrong all along, to the point it actually pushed Lycanroc over the edge to actually screw over the guild is downright terrible! I hope that's given Shane a much needed wake-up slap. He really needs to watch his mouth. I'm wondering what things are gonna go down when he has that discussion with Metagross.
It may have given him a wake-up slap, but it's too late. He's in a downward spiral now. The only question is if he's gonna drag everyone else along with him.

I'm really intrigued by Tessa's building friendship with Null. He needs a friend. It's great he's opened up to her somewhat, as well. I look forward to how their mission goes.
I enjoy writing the two of them a lot. Especially the fluffier moments. :3 Thanks for reviewing, as well! Now... I have a lot of typos to correct. (Pray for me.)
 
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Cutlerine

Gone. Not coming back.
Well, this is fun. I'm familiar with Casting Off, though not Fledglings, and this is kind of a cool mash-up; I recognise a few faces, Cabot and Niilo and Berecien, if not the rest, and while it initially seemed like an absolutely terrible idea for everyone to start beating each other up instead of talking (you are three people, guys, you are three people and you're trying to beat an entire ship's crew), it did make for a very fun fight. This is the first time we've seen Silvally really making use of his newly-enabled RKS system, and it's exactly as ridiculous as I was hoping it would be.

This is also one of those chapters where the action really works, too. I think that might be because the fights have some unusual objectives – especially that chase fight, where the goal isn't to win, but to buy enough time to get away, while negotiating crowded streets full of pedestrians and obstacles. The action feels pointed, like the combatants are working towards goals, and that makes the exchange of moves that much more engaging.

I think I'm still a little thrown by Silvally's change in personality; he seems very childlike now, which doesn't quite make sense to me. Like, he's still the same guy who went through all the stuff he went through over the course of the story; I don't see why he'd suddenly get so naive and start trying to shake hands with people who very obviously regard him and his team as intruders and criminals. The way you write that initial conversation between him and Berecien reminds me more of Nicky speaking to Golem than anything else. He's definitely got the life experience to recognise a bad situation when he sees one. But then – a few lines later, he's back to something recognisable as a kind of healed version of his old self, where there are flashes of violence contained by his affection for his friends, and that works really well as a representation of the sort of person he is now, I think.

Because it's dark back there, and I don't want anyone to see you. If we run into trouble, you can be our secret weapon

It's odd that Shane doesn't assume that someone put them in this cell, and that therefore they'd know about Silvally – he's right, of course, in that they just magically teleported in here, but I don't know why he'd jump to that conclusion instead of “we got captured by someone”, which feels like the reasonable option. Then again, we're talking about Shane here, and Shane is … not always the best at logical conclusions.

"Guys, I hear footsteps above us" Tessa said

You're missing a comma after “us” here.

Err, well, it did take the courier awhile to return from the palace

In this context, I think you'd use “a while” over “awhile”.

"… Trouble," Shane said, "Just get him out of the way so we can get Tessa!"

That should be a full stop after “said”, rather than a comma.

Anyway, this is great fun – and like I said, it's a really competent action story, too. Nice work! I'll be looking forward to the next real chapter with interest, because this is a superb one.
 

Ambyssin

Winter can't come soon enough
Review reply!
Well, this is fun. I'm familiar with Casting Off, though not Fledglings, and this is kind of a cool mash-up; I recognise a few faces, Cabot and Niilo and Berecien, if not the rest, and while it initially seemed like an absolutely terrible idea for everyone to start beating each other up instead of talking (you are three people, guys, you are three people and you're trying to beat an entire ship's crew), it did make for a very fun fight.
In fairness, Team Radiance woke up in a brig and Shane has yet to demonstrate that he can keep a cool head (heh) in potentially tense situations. :V

This is the first time we've seen Silvally really making use of his newly-enabled RKS system, and it's exactly as ridiculous as I was hoping it would be.
I'm glad to hear this, because I fully intended to make it pretty ridiculous. If the Ultra Espeon/Umbreon fight and the Unown masquerading as the Beast Trio were any indication, we're steadily taking a turn toward much crazier fights. And I thought that the good guys needed to start being able to match that ridiculousness, or else my willful suspension of disbelief wouldn't hold up (which is bad if I'm writing this dang thing). With that said...

This is also one of those chapters where the action really works, too. I think that might be because the fights have some unusual objectives – especially that chase fight, where the goal isn't to win, but to buy enough time to get away, while negotiating crowded streets full of pedestrians and obstacles. The action feels pointed, like the combatants are working towards goals, and that makes the exchange of moves that much more engaging.
... so, this makes me very happy to hear, because the action was by far the toughest part of this whole thing. In fact, gonna quickly tag @Virgil134 and @Spiteful Murkrow so they can see this, too. Because they provided a significant number of suggestions to improve the choreography... to the point where the action scenes don't resemble my original draft in any way, shape, or form. The fact of the matter is that our two stories operate on very different power scales. So, the bulk of the revisions focused on that. It just so happened that my side of things wound up coming out scoring worse (Team Radiance gets their butts kicked are on the defensive the entire time except Shane's Z-Move, while Team Traveller wins every battle they take part in... even if there's a little magic god power in play at the end), but it's worth it if it worked! ^^

I think I'm still a little thrown by Silvally's change in personality; he seems very childlike now, which doesn't quite make sense to me. Like, he's still the same guy who went through all the stuff he went through over the course of the story; I don't see why he'd suddenly get so naive and start trying to shake hands with people who very obviously regard him and his team as intruders and criminals. The way you write that initial conversation between him and Berecien reminds me more of Nicky speaking to Golem than anything else.
That was more-or-less just done for the sake of the crossover. Shane's explanations about pirates got him excited and a bit too eager.

HBut then – a few lines later, he's back to something recognisable as a kind of healed version of his old self, where there are flashes of violence contained by his affection for his friends, and that works really well as a representation of the sort of person he is now, I think.
That is the more accurate representation of what I'm going for. I'm mainly drawing from the Pokédex again, in having him be very warm and cheerful, but also having a vicious wild side that could flare up depending on the situation.

It's odd that Shane doesn't assume that someone put them in this cell, and that therefore they'd know about Silvally – he's right, of course, in that they just magically teleported in here, but I don't know why he'd jump to that conclusion instead of “we got captured by someone”, which feels like the reasonable option. Then again, we're talking about Shane here, and Shane is … not always the best at logical conclusions.
He's kind of using video game logic in this scenario. :p

Anyway, this is great fun – and like I said, it's a really competent action story, too. Nice work! I'll be looking forward to the next real chapter with interest, because this is a superb one.
Happy to hear you enjoyed it. We enjoyed writing it! The next chapter will be much lighter on action. But I hope you'll enjoy what I have to offer. Thanks again for reviewing! ^^
 

Venia Silente

[](int x){return x;}
A crossover with the Fledglingsverse? Oh this is so cool.

Hi I am Venia Silente and started reading your work juuuust over a week ago, was recommended to me and it doesn't disappoint. I am reminded I should get up to date on these two stories and I will work on that. But right now, cool fun factor.

You get one VeniaSilente coin Point™ from me for having a Silvally as one of your characters! There are some species that could use more screentime in the fandom so when I find a story that I like and features one of those I try to always be explicit in saying how cool that is.

It seems your main team for the crossover has found itself in quite the multiversal challenge - an environment that only one of them partially understands, the usual barrier of a common language, the historical inaccuracies revealed from lifting the nostalgia googles, pretty much everything fun about crossing worlds is in here. Of course, for a scenic tour I don't think a brig in the Navy is going to be like, any a good place to start, but at least this get us to see some of the iconic characters of the Fledglingsverse right away - including the coolest Ponyta ever I promise I'm unbiased.

Good things about this crossover: I feel like it starts all scenes and interactions with the right foot:
"I'd like to see you two make it through one day of boot camp in a Mystery Dungeon."

"And I'd like to see you three fight an Ultra Beast,"
Yes, this is how friendships are forged °3°

"Which means, fate has seen fit to take that blasted Lugia and replace it with a different Protector. [...] A Protector who actually seems to know how to use his powers."
Oi! :D

(but yeah, mental imagery for an interesting AU)

The fight scene I feel it lacked a bit extra description but had a very good cast choice and was very good in pace and strategy with some fun moments such as shoving Silvally onto the way of an incoming attack -hey, what are friends for...- and, well, Captain Nugget. Now I want to see if anyone ever tries that back on the Fledglingsverse side of things.

As usual it's good to see Nagant and the crew are good at capturing Protectors, or in this case prospective Protectors. Poor Silvally! Let's hope Shaun and Tessa can-

"We're tourists!" Shane chirped. "

....yeeeeah. Now you're taking the scenic tour! XD Which ceertainly includes commenting on human-esque architecture and describing how different their worlds are, a good time for such a scene. I mean, considering they didn't really get a good tour of the ship first. The comparison to Venice makes me giggle because the Latii movie is one of my favourites and Alto Mare is very very unabashedly Venice-inspired.

All in all, Team Radiance's adventure was short but very engaging, they got a chance to learn a couple of things from different factions, they got to catch a glimpse of Team Traveller in the end, we got to see Silvally's powers in action and the group even got to invoke a couple of old tried and true tropes. I can say it was overall a very entertaining side of the crossover, and now I have to read the other side. Of course, I have to catch up to this story too!

I loved the special meta jab at the end:
'As part of your main character status, it is expected that you will take part in an April Fool's Day crossover event. Said event will run without any prior notice from the production team.'
As an author, there is being mean and forceful to one's own characters and then there's this :cool: That should teach him to always read the Terms of Service and then click OK, lol ! It's a good jab, I loved it.



Also:

Elmer Ellsberg: "Why have I never heard about this before?"
Ketu: "Because you're a notary."
To anyone and everyone dealing with Elmer: don't ever stop with the burns :p
 

Ambyssin

Winter can't come soon enough
Another reply! Now with 100% more spotty train Wi-Fi!

Hi I am Venia Silente and started reading your work juuuust over a week ago, was recommended to me and it doesn't disappoint. I am reminded I should get up to date on these two stories and I will work on that
Hiya! I've definitely seen some of your earlier reviews and your name's popped up in Fledglings a bit either for credit and in the trivia section. ^^

You get one VeniaSilente coin Point™ from me for having a Silvally as one of your characters! There are some species that could use more screentime in the fandom so when I find a story that I like and features one of those I try to always be explicit in saying how cool that is.
I see you are someone of exquisite taste. Or, rather, I am immensely biased and did end up focusing more on Pokémon that I like. And I regret nothing!

It seems your main team for the crossover has found itself in quite the multiversal challenge - an environment that only one of them partially understands, the usual barrier of a common language, the historical inaccuracies revealed from lifting the nostalgia googles, pretty much everything fun about crossing worlds is in here.
Yeah. The overall structure definitely hearkens back to the earlier chapters, where Team Radiance was mostly getting into trouble due to Shane's tendency to put his paw in his mouth big time. Even in another universe it holds up.

Of course, for a scenic tour I don't think a brig in the Navy is going to be like, any a good place to start, but at least this get us to see some of the iconic characters of the Fledglingsverse right away - including the coolest Ponyta ever I promise I'm unbiased.
Yeah, the intention was to focus a bit more on the characters since I really didn't trust myself to do justice to the environments that Spiteful Murkrow has created so far. Especially Tidemill City.

Good things about this crossover: I feel like it starts all scenes and interactions with the right foot:
Glad to hear it. Though, really, Shane has four left feet and he knows how to use them! XD

The fight scene I feel it lacked a bit extra description but had a very good cast choice and was very good in pace and strategy with some fun moments such as shoving Silvally onto the way of an incoming attack -hey, what are friends for...- and, well, Captain Nugget. Now I want to see if anyone ever tries that back on the Fledglingsverse side of things.
A lot of the action was cut out of it on revisions... otherwise you'd have Team Radiance tearing through an entire ship's crew and while it works in video games, I guess it doesn't hold up well in fanfics. ^^;

As usual it's good to see Nagant and the crew are good at capturing Protectors, or in this case prospective Protectors.
Yup. They employed some decent teamwork. Shane and Tessa were taking notes, I assure you.

Now you're taking the scenic tour! XD Which ceertainly includes commenting on human-esque architecture and describing how different their worlds are, a good time for such a scene. I mean, considering they didn't really get a good tour of the ship first. The comparison to Venice makes me giggle because the Latii movie is one of my favourites and Alto Mare is very very unabashedly Venice-inspired.
I do have a soft spot for Heroes, too. And Shane has a soft spot for Latias (and went to Venice with his best friend), so he'll still find a way to geek out about it.

All in all, Team Radiance's adventure was short but very engaging, they got a chance to learn a couple of things from different factions, they got to catch a glimpse of Team Traveller in the end, we got to see Silvally's powers in action and the group even got to invoke a couple of old tried and true tropes. I can say it was overall a very entertaining side of the crossover, and now I have to read the other side.
In comparison to Fledglings' more recent chapters, yes this is short. For me, it's actually the longest chapter that's been published and will very likely hold that title until the end of the story. At least, I don't anticipate any breaking the character limit in the next, say, three or four months. The other side has quite a bit going on. It'll be very fun!

As an author, there is being mean and forceful to one's own characters and then there's this :cool: That should teach him to always read the Terms of Service and then click OK, lol ! It's a good jab, I loved it.
If there's one thing I'll never stop doing, it's making fun of myself and this story. XP

To anyone and everyone dealing with Elmer: don't ever stop with the burns :p
There isn't enough Burn Heal in Anyilla for that poor Mothim. Thanks for giving this is a look and reviewing! Happy I could entertain. ^^

EDIT: If you're reading this, some of the major scenes with Necrozma have undergone revisions, per everyone's feedback. Notably the ones at the ending chapters in episodes 6 and 8. I'll get to the chapter in episode 9 later.
 
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RocketKnight66

404: Consistent Schedule not Found
I haven't read the newest bonus yet (I'll get to that tomorrow), but I finally managed to catch up on the end of Episode 9, and I really wanted to talk about it. Honestly, I'd say it was everything I wanted and more. I certainly felt shock seeing just what the circumstances of Sivally's creation were. As of the Guiding Light (Love that cheeky CinemaSins reference in the endnotes by the way lol), I can't say I expected a lot of that, either. Although I think I know who that is, and I hope I'm right! (And I also don't because it's going to hurt lol)

Chapter 43 was wonderful. Seeing Sivally finally get free of his past and seeing all of them happy was something really sweet, and I'm glad it turned out that way. Of course, there's the foreshadowing at the end, but I'll reserve any thoughts on that for now. I think Sivally might be one of my favorite characters now, but it's kinda hard to pick who my fav is, since the main trio are all so great. ^_^;

I'm tempted to say that "Memories" might be my favorite chapter so far. I guess I really enjoyed the look into Sivally's mind, but moreso, the whole thing was just really wholesome and heartwarming, and I loved every moment of reading it.

I ended up playing some different music for the last part, though. (This) I think it worked pretty well.

I'll definitely make sure to read Bonus #9 tomorrow, can't say I was expecting a big omake, and it looks like it'll be a fun read.

I'm really excited to hear about that Q&A, I can't wait to ask Team Radiance some cheeky questions! (Like Shane's veeery obvious crush... xD)

So anyway, I'm super hyped for the Q&A, and also for Episode 10!
 

DreamSayer

Name's Adam.
Chapters 7-9 Reviews

Ch7 begins with this strange scene with Lunala, and from what we've learned from it, I'm guessing Lunala is at least going to be the main antagonist for a while, which I find really curious. I'll wait to see how you handle them. There's also those two eeveelutions who seem to act as Lunala's agents, and their weird ability to 'infect' other Pokémon. Wonder what's their deal, and how they came to work for the lunar Pokémon.

I think the part where Tessa pretty much tore Shane apart with words was a scene that very much needed to happen. I mean, he was being an ass to Null, and he deserved it, though I can't say I didn't feel sorry for him when he was begging her not to leave him alone. I expect some character development to come from this at least.

In Ch8, we learn more that Umbra and Epsy have been after Tessa for some reason, and they are quite formidable foes; she'd be a goner if Shane and Co hadn't stepped in to interfere. However, these eeveelutions seem to have powers that don't exist anywhere in other canon materials, and their infection powers is similar to Dark Matter. I wonder just how you're going to play around with these concepts.

The most important part of this chapter to me is no doubt the character development that Shane received. We also learned that he had a rough time blending in with his peers back in the human world, and he might've been a shut in. It sure explained his overblown personality in the first few chapters. I just hope he maintains his now toned down attitude.

We also got a bit of lore concerning Ho-oh, and how Lunala and Solgaleo might play into this. My guess at the moment is that the current Lunala doesn't want to undergo the rebirth cycle, and would rather maintain a longer lifespan, or trash the status quo altogether. Well, I'm still curious to see how Solgaleo will play into this, whether it too is a villain, a neutral party, or an ally.

Also, Tessa wants Null in the team, which is pretty kind of her. Personality and appearances aside, Null will no doubt be a great and versatile addition to any team. I hope we learn more about him and how he came to be moving forward.

Ch9 gave us the first official appearance of Tessa's mother, albeit through a dream sequence. This raises more questions than it answers, like whether this story will subvert the PMD trope by making Shane ultimately be the force of disaster, and I'm curious to know which Pokémon her Mom is helping to protect. My guess is that it's a mythical mon, but it could just be a regular pidgey. Heh, it's totally going to be a pidgey, isn't it?

Those rabid Munchlaxes sounded like something right out of a horror movie, and they took the metronome spamming to the extreme. Umbry and Espy also returned, because why not, and Shane might have had a clue who they truly were. I wish that had been followed up on in the chapter though, but that's a plot point for later, I suppose.

Overall, Episode 4 has given us new questions and new revelations, and the plot gears have started turning unlike ever before. This'll be fun.
 

Ambyssin

Winter can't come soon enough
Honestly, I'd say it was everything I wanted and more. I certainly felt shock seeing just what the circumstances of Sivally's creation were. As of the Guiding Light (Love that cheeky CinemaSins reference in the endnotes by the way lol), I can't say I expected a lot of that, either. Although I think I know who that is, and I hope I'm right! (And I also don't because it's going to hurt lol)
Shock factor was pretty much what I was going for. Silvally is, essentially, an extension of the whole "hate plague" concept that keeps popping up in the PMD world. As is Necrozma, technically. He's supposed to be the (illogical) conclusion to that idea, actually. XP

Chapter 43 was wonderful. Seeing Sivally finally get free of his past and seeing all of them happy was something really sweet, and I'm glad it turned out that way. Of course, there's the foreshadowing at the end, but I'll reserve any thoughts on that for now. I think Sivally might be one of my favorite characters now, but it's kinda hard to pick who my fav is, since the main trio are all so great. ^_^;
Glad you liked it. I do have a fondness for writing the fluffier bits in this story. :3

I'm tempted to say that "Memories" might be my favorite chapter so far. I guess I really enjoyed the look into Sivally's mind, but moreso, the whole thing was just really wholesome and heartwarming, and I loved every moment of reading it.
Happy to hear it managed to tug at the heartstrings, since that's entirely what I was going for.

I ended up playing some different music for the last part, though. (This) I think it worked pretty well.
I can't argue with that choice. Xenoblade has some fantastic music.

I'll definitely make sure to read Bonus #9 tomorrow, can't say I was expecting a big omake, and it looks like it'll be a fun read.
It was a lot of fun to write and I'm quite grateful to have had the opportunity to work on it, since it was a collaborative effort.

I'm really excited to hear about that Q&A, I can't wait to ask Team Radiance some cheeky questions! (Like Shane's veeery obvious crush... xD)
Don't wait too long to ask. As soon as the fic award results are released, submissions will close down! And as for Shane's crush... well... you don't even need to ask. Because if you scroll down a bit, this next chapter actually tackles that subject head-on. ;)

Thanks again for reviewing! ^^

Ch7 begins with this strange scene with Lunala, and from what we've learned from it, I'm guessing Lunala is at least going to be the main antagonist for a while, which I find really curious. I'll wait to see how you handle them. There's also those two eeveelutions who seem to act as Lunala's agents, and their weird ability to 'infect' other Pokémon. Wonder what's their deal, and how they came to work for the lunar Pokémon.
I'd advise that you be careful with your first impressions, because everything is not what it seems.

I think the part where Tessa pretty much tore Shane apart with words was a scene that very much needed to happen. I mean, he was being an ass to Null, and he deserved it, though I can't say I didn't feel sorry for him when he was begging her not to leave him alone. I expect some character development to come from this at least.
If you think that's crazy, then just you wait. The two have a bumpy road ahead of them but I swear the payoff is worth the struggle.

In Ch8, we learn more that Umbra and Epsy have been after Tessa for some reason, and they are quite formidable foes; she'd be a goner if Shane and Co hadn't stepped in to interfere. However, these eeveelutions seem to have powers that don't exist anywhere in other canon materials, and their infection powers is similar to Dark Matter. I wonder just how you're going to play around with these concepts.
Correct. Plenty of characters will be using abilities that aren't your typical Pokémon moves and attacks. It's designed to play up the alien nature of the Prism Virus for everything it's worth.

The most important part of this chapter to me is no doubt the character development that Shane received. We also learned that he had a rough time blending in with his peers back in the human world, and he might've been a shut in. It sure explained his overblown personality in the first few chapters. I just hope he maintains his now toned down attitude.
I don't want to spoil anything, so I'll just say that changes like these tend to be a pendulum. He was too overblown, so there's a strong chance he'll swing toward being overly-negative before he finds a middle ground.

We also got a bit of lore concerning Ho-oh, and how Lunala and Solgaleo might play into this. My guess at the moment is that the current Lunala doesn't want to undergo the rebirth cycle, and would rather maintain a longer lifespan, or trash the status quo altogether. Well, I'm still curious to see how Solgaleo will play into this, whether it too is a villain, a neutral party, or an ally.
That's a reasonable guess from the information you have. Solgaleo has appeared in the story already. Though you'd have to read between the lines a bit to figure out what his deal is.

Also, Tessa wants Null in the team, which is pretty kind of her. Personality and appearances aside, Null will no doubt be a great and versatile addition to any team. I hope we learn more about him and how he came to be moving forward.
That's one wish you will definitely get! :D

Ch9 gave us the first official appearance of Tessa's mother, albeit through a dream sequence. This raises more questions than it answers, like whether this story will subvert the PMD trope by making Shane ultimately be the force of disaster, and I'm curious to know which Pokémon her Mom is helping to protect. My guess is that it's a mythical mon, but it could just be a regular pidgey. Heh, it's totally going to be a pidgey, isn't it?
The answer may surprise you, but not in the way that you're thinking.

Those rabid Munchlaxes sounded like something right out of a horror movie, and they took the metronome spamming to the extreme. Umbry and Espy also returned, because why not, and Shane might have had a clue who they truly were. I wish that had been followed up on in the chapter though, but that's a plot point for later, I suppose.
All I'm going to say is that the fact that they mention Entercards should be a massive tip-off as to who they are.

Overall, Episode 4 has given us new questions and new revelations, and the plot gears have started turning unlike ever before. This'll be fun.
Glad you liked it. And thanks for reviewing! ^^

It's time to shake things up even more with a new episode. My thanks to Cutlerine for looking over this introductory scene and offering some feedback. Enjoy!

XxX

~Pokémon Paradise~

Despite the fact that it was already late morning in the thriving Mist Continent community, the area seemed eerily quiet. Word from the Expedition Society was that Zapdos would be passing over the area, bringing with him a major storm. Thus, the townsfolk had opted to remain in their homes, and keep their businesses shuttered. So, when the sky darkened and rain drops began to fall against the ground, only a single, three-headed dragon found himself getting soaked.

Hydreigon booked it toward his cozy little house on the outskirts of the area, but he couldn't get there before the heavens opened up. "Blech! Ugh! It's like getting hit by a Hydro Pump from above," he groaned, using his two smaller heads as cover for his main one. He reached his house and threw the door open, fumbling inside. He was so focused on entering the house, he failed to account for the wooden chair sitting in the middle of the floor. Hydreigon flew right into it and flipped over it, landing on the floor with a thud.

Swirls appeared in all six of his eyes. "Ooooogh, when did that chair get there?" he muttered, waving his limbs in front of his main head.

"Wow. Impressive. I see some things just never change. Even in a floating body with three heads, you're still as clumsy as ever!"

Hydreigon's heads shot up at this, and the smaller two hissed at the sight of Necrozma sitting comfortably in the house's other chair. A small fire crackled next to him, and Hydreigon could see threads of firelight trickling toward Necrozma's face.

"Now, now, there's no need to get all flustered," Necrozma assured. "All I want to do is spend some quality time and catch up. See? I even started your fire for you. Come on… dry yourself off. Pull up a chair. Let's have ourselves a chat, Voice of Life."

Hydreigon raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Lunala, is that you? I know it's been a few years, but some advanced notice would've been appreciated." He floated closer toward the fire, only to freeze up. "Wait a second." He narrowed his eyes at Necrozma. "Your life force… it's tainted. You're not Lunala, are you?" He raised his smaller heads and snapped at the air with them. "Who are you and what do you want?"

"Heeheehee. You really don't remember me?" Necrozma said. "It's me. Your old friend… Necrozma!"

Hydreigon's face scrunched up in confusion, only for the realization to slowly set in. Surprise spread across all three of his heads. "You're… the Guiding Light?" He backed away, hissing at Necrozma with his smaller heads. "That's impossible! Solgaleo and Lunala assured me they had put you in some sort of inescapable void!"

Necrozma frowned. "So… it's true. You know what happened to me." His frown contorted into a snarl. "And yet… you saw fit to help everyone try and pretend like I never existed! There wouldn't have been a Solgaleo and Lunala if it wasn't for me!" His claws dug into the arms on the chair. "But… oh no… we can't give Necrozma credit. Heaven forbid the lowly mortals ask questions we don't want to answer. Better to lie! Tell them Ho-Oh – that fat, worthless sack of feathers – made them. They'll buy that for sure!"

"I think there's been a misunderstanding. Solgaleo and Lunala… they said you were on a rampage. It was either they contain you or kill you," Hydreigon said.

"A rampage? I was in pain!" Necrozma shouted, slamming his arms onto the chair and shattering it. He floated into the air and draped his wings over his body. "Golem hurt me. He took my light. He fractured my spirit! You… Arceus created you to help Pokémon like me! Why didn't you come to my aid when you heard what happened?"

Sensing the escalating tension, Hydreigon floated back toward the door. Necrozma immediately teleported behind him. Hydreigon turned around and the flaps of scales around his three heads curled up in fright. "Hold on. Calm down. Please! I… I had no idea what was going on then. And there's no way I could've gotten there quick enough to–"

"Liar!" Necrozma reached out and clamped his arms around Hydreigon's neck. "You called me your friend! You made me a cake when I brought light back into the world. I really appreciated that. And yet, when I told you I was worried about Golem… you and the rest of the gods did nothing!"

Hydreigon gasped for air. His smaller heads shakily raised up, trying to gather up dragonfire. Necrozma's red eyes flashed. Black crystals shot out of the ground and muzzled Hydreigon's smaller heads. Necrozma dug his claws into Hydreigon's throat. His gasps turned into panicked wheezes.

"Heeheeheehee. What's the matter? Bat got your tongue?" Necrozma crooned, opening his mouth and licking his fangs. "You know… the humans you love so much… they did research. Yes… lots of research. About what happens when you leave a person alone. No friends… no family… no one to even talk to." Necrozma dropped Hydreigon, who fell to the floor in a crumpled heap. Hydreigon descended into a fit of raucous coughing. "If I was really your friend… you would've helped me. You could've told Solgaleo and Lunala to bring me back. You could've tried to fix me."

"I… I'm sorry…" Hydreigon wheezed. "Look, if you just give me time, I can…"

"It's too late for that!" Necrozma snarled. He hoisted Hydreigon back into the air again. "My core – my Ultranecrozmera – it's stuck in some stupid Lucario's skull! All because of you! Because you gods turned your backs on me!" He brought Hydreigon close to his face. The red crescent moon in his forehead morphed into a piercing red eye. "I want my light back. I want my spirit back. But Mistress Zero… heeheehee… she has my power!"

Necrozma's wings spasmed and he nearly lost his grip on Hydreigon. "See how Lunala fights my control? All because I don't have my Ultranecrozmera. I'm tired of this pain. I want light. I want life energy." He opened his mouth wide and drool trickled out of it. "So, I've decided to take it… by force!"

Hydreigon's eyes widened in horror. He again gathered dragonfire in his mouth but Necrozma slammed him onto the floor. "What did Guildmaster Wigglytuff like to say, again? 'Truly evil Pokémon… don't really exist.' Well, that's a farce. But I'll play along. If you follow that logic… there isn't a drop of darkness in any of you. You're all brimming with light! Light for me to devour."

Hydreigon burst up from the floor. Instead of dragonfire, three bolts of Dragon Pulse spiraled forward, coalescing into one large wave. Necrozma thrust an arm forward and split the Dragon Pulse in half with a single Shadow Ball. The attack exploded before it could reach Hydreigon, flooding the entire house with smoke. Hydreigon made for one of the windows, bursting through the wooden shutters. Rain pounded on his back the moment he exited the house, and smoke trailed out of the busted window.

"Somebody sound the alarm!" he roared. "There's an enemy attacking the Paradi– AIIIIIYYYYSSSSSSE!"

His warning turned into a cry of pain as dark black crystals speared him from below, knocking his smaller heads into his main one. The force of the blow made Hydreigon's entire world spin, to the point where he could only vaguely see swirls of blue and black in his vision. Necrozma reached out and caught Hydreigon before he could hit the ground. The dragon let out a weak groan.

"Heeheeheehee! Well now, isn't this fitting for a god who loves to pluck innocent, unsuspecting people from their homes?" Necrozma taunted. "It's not much fun when the shoe's on the other foot, is it? Oh, who am I kidding? Neither of us have feet!"

Necrozma bent his head downward and sank his fangs into Hydreigon's gut. His three mouths opened wide and the life instantly faded from his eyes. Necrozma jerked his head upward, pulling the colors off of Hydreigon's body. He proceeded to slurp the dragon's life force up like it was an oversized pasta noodle. When all was said and done, he let his arms fall, and Hydreigon's colorless body fell to the ground with a thud.

"Hydreigon? Oh gods… Hydreigon!"

Necrozma smiled as Virizion charged forward. A blade of energy had appeared atop her forehead. "You monster! You're going to pay for this," she cried, lunging for Necrozma. Her angered expression slowly morphed into one of utter horror as her Sacred Sword passed harmlessly through Necrozma's crystalline body, poking out of his back. His grin widened.

"Hey, that tickles!" he exclaimed. "And I appreciate the mid-meal entertainment. Honestly… using a fighting-type move on a ghost. I thought you Legendaries were supposed to be clever. I know Mistress Zero wanted to kill you herself, but I'm not going to wait around if you're all this incompetent!"

Virizion had no time to offer a retort, as Necrozma hands grabbed both sides of her body. She flailed about, letting out a scream. Necrozma dug his talons into her hide, and Virizion immediately went silent. Her head lolled lifelessly against her shoulder. Drool poured out of her mouth while her colors raced across Necrozma's arms and funneled into his open mouth. But rather than releasing her, Necrozma tightened his grip. As he did, black crystals spread across every inch of her dead body. Cracks appeared in the crystals seconds before Necrozma's iron grip shattered her into a thousand pieces.

"NO! VIRIZIIIOOOOOOOON!"

Necrozma looked up and noticed a tearful Emolga trying to fly toward him, with Dunsparce and Keldeo barely able to hold him back.

"Heeheeheehee. This just keeps getting better and better. Yes! Attack me! I'll take your light as my own!" Necrozma cackled.

But before he could move to attack the newcomers, he felt a presence in the back of his mind. Zero's voice growled, "Necky, where are you? I thought you were going to track down Tapu Lele. We had a deal!"

His mouth clamped shut and his wings twitched. "Of course, mistress. Just taking a moment to fill up on a little light before I go."

"Well, hurry up. For all we know, Tapu Lele may have fled her temple. So, quit wasting time!"

Necrozma felt the mental connection fade. "Ah… the Tapu. Another batch of two-faced deceivers! I'll deal with them soon enough. But first…" He fixed his gaze on the Pokémon streaming out of various buildings, stealing panicked glances at him. "I'll suck the life right out of this town. Because your friendships are meaningless before Necrozma, Devourer of Light!"

XxX

Episode 10: Tapu Fever

Chapter 44: Instinctual Reactions


XxX​

"Phew. That was a tough one, team, but we managed to pull through in the end," Shane exclaimed, hoisting his Nintendo DS into the air with a smile on his face. "Good work, everyone!"

Shane looked across his bed, where Nicky lay on the other end. He folded up his DS and slid it into his bag with a sigh. "Yeah. Good work… as usual."

Shane's brow furrowed. "That's not how you're supposed to react, you know."

"Huh?" Nicky blinked twice. "Oh… right." He sat up on the bed and snapped his fingers. "Curses… foiled again! You might've won this time… but Team Rocket never gives in so easily. We'll be back… just you wait!" Nicky proceeded to roll halfheartedly off the bed. He sat up on the floor and slumped back against the bedframe, sighing loudly again.

"That definitely wasn't your best take," Shane scoffed. "Is something the matter? You're acting kind of funny."

Nicky rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Yes, Shane. Something is the matter. Why do I always have to play the bad guy?"

Shane looked down at his DS. "Uh… well… b-because you're so good at it," he mumbled, opening and closing the DS repeatedly. "You can do all those funny voices. It makes the battles more fun that way. Aren't you having fun?"

"No… not really," Nicky replied. "Because I'm tired of losing. Couldn't you just let me win one battle? Or at least let me be player one on occasion when we're doing a co-op game?"

Shane looked at Nicky. Distorted rippled encircled Nicky's head. A pair of blue eyes glared back at him. "This boy means nothing to you," a deep voice growled.

"H… huh?" Shane rubbed his eyes, sending the strange image away.

"Did you hear me?" Nicky asked.

"Y-yeah!" Shane said. "And I don't know what you're talking about. You've won plenty of battles. You beat me at Smash all the time."

"Because you suck at Smash, dude," Nicky retorted. "No offense, but you self-destruct so often you'd make a Golem cry."

"The controls are confusing!" Shane harrumphed. "Look, I don't see what the big deal is. It's just harmless fun."

Nicky's expression darkened. "Right… harmless fun…"

Shane looked down and noticed ripples of black cubes spreading across Nicky's face. They dissolved, replacing his head with that of a metal lion. "Forget this nonsense! It's all meaningless to you! Wake up! Remember who you are!"


XxX

~Aeon Observatory~

Shane's eyes shot open, silver filling his vision. He became acutely aware of the fact that he wasn't resting against his pillow. He turned his head and Silvally's feathers brushed against his cheek. Silvally's exhale came out as a soft whistle and he shifted. A paw brushed Shane's backside. He glanced over to see Tessa fast asleep beside him, attempting to drape an arm around him like he was a plush toy. He blinked a few times, steadily adjusting to the darkness in the room, and slowly slid out from between his teammates. As he got to his feet, he noticed Silvally curl into a tighter ball, wrapping Tessa up in the process. The sight brought a small grin to his muzzle, but it faded quickly.

'Looks like it's another sleepless night for me,' he thought, glancing out the window. The eerie purple glow of the moonlight had grown darker. It only served to unsettle Shane's stomach, forcing him to retreat out of the room. He stopped in the doorway. 'What is wrong with me? First these dream visions turn out to be a big lie. And now…' He shuddered.

Warmth hit Shane's cheek. He turned to the right and his whole face grew hot. His tails slowly fluttered at this. It took him a second to conclude that steam was filling up the hallway. 'Is someone showering… at this ungodly hour?'

He padded forward, steam gradually enveloping his entire body. He noticed some dim, yellow lights to his right. Shane glanced over his shoulder, where he could just make out Umbreon sleeping in the room he'd been assigned. The rings on his body slowly pulsated with light as he breathed in and out. In the process, he managed to illuminate a faint outline of Latias' body. She was curled into a little ball, resting her head underneath her wing.

'If Latias and Umbreon are here, then that must mean…' His thoughts trailed off as light trickled out of the end of the hallway. Shane proceeded into the shower area, the floor dampening under his paws. He froze, absolutely certain that any further steps may alert whoever was in here to his presence. Shane looked toward the far corner of the room, where the clouds of steam were the thickest. He saw a luminous orb hovering by the wall. There was an outline next to it. He squinted, trying to see through the water and steam.

Eventually, he noticed a forked tail lazily drifting back and forth. Shane throat grew dry, despite all the moisture in the room. His face was already red from the heat, but now he felt more blood rushing toward it. He continued staring, failing to realize there was a problem until the tail disappeared in the steam, and a pair of glowing blue eyes replaced it. Shane realized his mistake one second before hot water drenched him, sending him to the ground. He slid across the room, coming to rest atop one of the drains.

Shane looked up and found Espeon standing over him, water dripping off her fur. "Enjoying the view?" she asked. Shane rolled onto his belly and planted his head against the wet drain. But a forepaw grabbed his head and yanked it back up. "No, no, by all means, keep staring," Espeon exclaimed.

"I… I was sleepwalking! I didn't realize–"

Espeon grabbed a towel from a nearby hook and wrapped it around her torso. "Don't lie to me," she said. "You came in here to watch me shower, you sicko."

"I... I would never!" Shane sputtered. "What does it matter, anyway? It's not like there's anything to–"

"Don't give me that," Espeon hissed, narrowing her eyes. "I'm sure you've showered since you got here. You know your fur keeps things covered up, same as mine." Shane winced and looked away, biting his lower lip. But Espeon stepped into his field of vision. "Oh no. You're not squirming out of this. We're gonna have ourselves a little chat."

"In here?" Shane gulped. "But what if–"

"You clearly don't seem to have a problem with coming in here for stupid reasons," Espeon scoffed. "So, yes, in here." She slid the towel along her body and let it hang over her hips. "Why have you been staring at me all day, huh?"

"Muh-me? I wasn't… that wouldn't…" Shane stammered, his face bright red.

"I wasn't born yesterday, you know," Espeon said. "You think you're the first guy to check me out? Far from it. Probably won't be the last, either. Mom warned me about this. 'Espeons have a certain physique that a large number of Pokémon in our egg group will find appealing. So, I hope you're prepared to deal with that.'" Espeon shook her head. "I'm just surprised because you're supposed to be human. So, what's the deal? I want an explanation."

Shane dug his head under his forepaws. But Espeon grabbed one of his ears and yanked it up. Shane let out a whine. "Ow, ow, OW! Stop it! That hurts. We're gonna wake everyone up like this."

"I don't care," Espeon said. "Answer my question."

"Alright, alright," Shane groaned. Espeon released his ear. He flopped down against a puddle and spit up some water. "I know… it's stupid. I'm stupid. I just…" He let out a loud sigh. "Look, you exist in my world. Sort of." He sheepishly poked at the puddle of water with a forepaw. "So, I already knew about you and Umbreon. And, well, Espeon happens to be one of my favorite species. So, I definitely liked you for that reason. But then…" He lowered his head shamefully. "… I woke up in this body. And suddenly, liking Espeons didn't feel good enough anymore."

Espeon sat down and curled her tail around her legs. "Go on," she said.

"I have different instincts. Every time I see you, my heart starts racing. Then there's a tingle that runs along my back, right to the tips of my tails," Shane said, covering his eyes up with his forepaws. "And when I actually met you, you... y'know... made some advances toward me. Yeah, you were working for the Prism Virus, so I was a bit creeped out. But then you told us that you were well aware of everything you were doing. So… so I thought that… maybe… you were attracted to me, too."

Espeon closed her eyes and let out a sigh. "Well then. That's, um, certainly something. So, you really do have a crush on me?"

Shane nodded shamefully. "I know how ridiculous it sounds. But ever since that Bewear attacked me, it's just…" He trailed off and let out a frustrated hiss. "I feel like I'm losing my mind!"

"That's your excuse?" Espeon said, looking unamused.

"You wouldn't understand," Shane whispered meekly. "Each day that passes… every time I wake up… it feels less and less like I'm a human. Like I was ever a human."

"You're right. I don't understand," Espeon said. "Sounds like you're speaking in riddles to me."

"I'm not," Shane insisted. "I tried to fall asleep this evening. But I just woke right up. Because my dream… it was just someone yelling at me. Telling me all my memories are fake. And I need to wake up and remember… something." He smacked his head with a forepaw. "What if it's true? What if I'm actually just a Vulpix? What if all these human memories are actually fake?"

Espeon seemed taken aback at this. "You're right, that does sound bad," she said. "But that's no excuse to keep checking me out. It's making me uncomfortable." Her brow furrowed. "And, I'm sorry, but I don't return your feelings. At all."

"Because of Umbreon?" Shane croaked.

Espeon's eyes narrowed at him. "No, of course not. What would make you think that?"

Shane blinked in surprise. "A… aren't you two intimate? You have pet names for each other, don't you?"

Espeon hissed in frustration. "You found that old tabloid article, didn't you? The one those stupid Jellicent wrote about us." Shane's eyes widened. "It's a hoax. A load of crock. Someone saw us snuggling together for warmth one evening. That's all that happened! We're brother and sister, understand? We've been by each other's sides since the day we both hatched. I have no interest in any romantic relationships. If I did, I'd have settled down to start a family years ago." She shook her head angrily. "Who showed you that article, huh? I swear, I'll make that 'mon wish they were never born!"

Shane's muzzled stiffened. 'Maybe I should just leave out her thoughts about Umbreon from the Connection Orb, then. I'm already in enough hot water as it is… literally.' He coughed weakly. "Okay. I understand. I'm really sorry and I'll try not to let it happen again."

Espeon's gaze turned icy. "You'll try?" she growled.

Shane's ears shot up and his face went bright red. "No. I mean yes! I mean… we can still be friends, right?"

Espeon slapped him across the snout. Shane gingerly placed a paw on his stinging cheek. "Control your urges, perv. And then we can talk," she said, and left the room in a huff.

Shane hung his head in shame. "Nice going, you moron," he whispered. "No wonder you never dated."

"… you should consider yourself lucky. When she found out about that gossip article, she tied the Jellicents' limbs together and tossed them into the Altar of Ice. I had to drag her out before she could summon Kyurem to eat them."

Shane's ears twitched, and he looked up to see Umbreon standing in the doorway. He clearly looked tired, but this was the first time he didn't look as serious as Espeon. Still, a panicked expression overtook Shane's face. "How much of that did you hear?" he whimpered.

"I came in at the part where you said your heart starts racing when you see Espy," Umbreon replied stoically.

Shane's fur bristled. "I'm sorry. I didn't… I wasn't going to try anything, I swear!"

Umbreon sighed. He walked over and offered his forepaw. Shane looked at it skeptically, but clasped it anyway. Umbreon hoisted him back to his feet. "Look. Espy's… changed over the years. Between the Bittercold and Dark Matter, she's not the same sister I grew up with."

"I think I can see that," Shane said.

"I figured. She's a lot more… emotionally volatile, to say the least," Umbreon declared. "Little things set her off these days. One moment, she can be walking about cheerfully, and then the next, she's a sobbing wreck." He lowered his head. "I've tried to do the best I can to support her. It's tough sometimes." He scrunched his face up. "I love her… I really do. But ever since Dark Matter's attack… she's been driving me up a wall!"

He shook his head forcefully. "So many nights of sleep lost to Espy waking up, shouting about Void Shadows that aren't really there. Evenings coming home to broken glasses and spiked berry juice scattered around the house." He shuddered. "Stardust hidden under her pillow." That comment drew a confused look from Shane, but Umbreon paid him no mind. He let out an unhinged laugh. "I don't even know why I'm telling you this. You're nothing to us. Espy would try to strip the fur off my skin if she heard me saying this."

"But I don't care. I need to get it off my chest. She's unbearable! And, after all that stuff with Zero, it's just too much for me to handle. I'm afraid of what the future holds for her. I can't keep her grounded anymore. I'm exhausted. And I really don't know what to do." He stopped walking and lowered his head shamefully. "Know how Espy and I got split up today? It wasn't your Guildmaster's doing… it was me."

"What are you talking about?"

"I told him to split us up!" Umbreon declared. "Because if I had to spend an afternoon dungeon-crawling with her after all of this, I was gonna start pulling out my fur." Another unhinged laugh escaped his lips. "Imagine how horrified I was to hear she fell down a ravine and got crushed in a cave-in."

"I… I had no idea things were this bad," Shane whimpered. "Is there anything I can do to help? Please! I… I don't want to see you two like this."

"Ha!" Umbreon laughed again, his voice cracking. "You've done enough already. If you want Espy's friendship so badly, keep your conversations with her superficial," Umbreon said. Shane blinked in confusion at this. "It's what our friends back in the Mist and Water Continents do," he continued. "But, enough about that. Because I want to talk about what happened underground." His eyes narrowed at Shane. "Specifically, about what you did to Espy."

"It was an accident. I didn't mean to… I mean, I know it was reckless, but it was do or die, so…" Shane's voice trailed off and he shrank down to the floor. "Please don't hurt me," he squeaked.

"… tch. It's in the past, now. I don't have anything to gain by attacking you. Especially if we're on the same side," Umbreon scoffed. "No, I wanted to know how in the world you managed to heal my sister up with Morning Sun when you're a Vulpix."

Shane gulped. "Ah, you, uh, know about that?"

"I heard about it from Silvally. He had no idea what you did. But, from the way he described it, there's nothing else it could've been," Umbreon explained. "I've seen Espy use it hundreds of times, after all."

Shane scratched the back of his neck. "Um, I don't really know what to tell you. I'm not sure how I did it, either." He looked back at Umbreon. "But that's part of why it feels like my humanity is slipping away from me. Something's really wrong here. Bruxish told me my ability is not normal. And now I'm using moves I shouldn't know."

Umbreon raised a skeptical brow. "Based on what I'd heard from your guild mates, I expected you to start prancing around boasting about how awesome you are."

Shane's ears drooped. "No, it's not awesome. It's scary!" he whined.

"I can't help you there," Umbreon said. "Speak to Latias tomorrow. She's an empath, so she might be able to help." He turned and left the room. Shane remained standing there for another minute before plodding out of the shower area. He winced with each squelching noise his wet paws made against the ground.

Shane brushed his sides against the doorway to his room, trying to get off as much water as possible. It hardly proved effective. Shane let out a defeated sigh and lay down on the floor, not wanting to wake up his teammates. He started to curl up into a ball, when he felt fur and feathers against his back. Shane's body stiffened, and he looked up to see a pair of silver eyes sparkling in the moonlight.

"What are you doing?" Shane whispered.

In response to this, Silvally curled up around Shane. Cold metal pressed against Shane's wet fur as Silvally's Looplet touched his shoulder. "I think you could use some positive vibes right now," he replied.

A soothing sensation rippled across Shane's body. He let out a yawn and his eyelids slowly closed. "Th… thanks…" he muttered.

"What are friends for?" Silvally replied.

Shane drifted off into a dreamless sleep. He slept through the remainder of the night, waking up to the sound of footsteps, followed by Tessa shouting, "You guys gotta get up right now!" Shane's muzzle twitched and he sat up, blinking the sleep from his eyes. As his vision cleared, he noticed the worried look on Tessa's face.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, getting to his feet. Silvally looked between his teammates, beak clamped shut.

"Yes, I think. I don't know all the details, but Espeon and Umbreon are really upset! They said Pokémon Paradise was attacked last night."

Shane's tails shot up and his fur bristled. "Attacked? But that's… that's… no way!" He sprinted out of the room, leaving his teammates standing there with bewildered expressions on their faces. They jogged after him, stopping when they reached the assembly area.

"Nooooo. Umbrrryyyyyyy! This can't be truuuuuuuuuue!"

Espeon collapsed onto the floor, her face buried in her forelegs. Umbreon sat beside her, a stunned look on his face. He looked right at Tessa and Null, but they could both tell he was practically catatonic. Slowly, he lowered his head to face his sister. "E-Espy…"

"This is all our fault!" Espeon wailed. "Our home… our friends… gone! And it's our fault, Umbry. Our fault!" Without warning, she grabbed his torso and dragged him to the ground. She buried her face in the scruff of his neck and continued crying, her body quivering.

"I can't believe this," Shane whispered from beside his teammates.

"I know," Primarina said, fins pressed against his head. "She cries half an octave flat, babe. It's absolutely terrible."

Shane shot Primarina a look that screamed "Seriously, dude?"

"How did this happen?" Tessa wondered.

"I'm still trying to figure that one out for myself," Latias exclaimed, floating over to join Team Radiance. Her eyes glowed bright-blue. "Latios is sight-sharing with me right now. It's… it's really not pretty. The Prism Virus got Post Town too, by the look of it."

"Can we take a look?" Shane asked.

Tessa's aura feelers jolted up at this. "Are you sure that's such a good idea?" she squeaked. But it was too late. A powerful presence filled up her mind and, in an instant, Tessa found herself standing in open air. She barked frightfully, expecting to plummet to her death. But, to her surprise, she remained suspended in midair.

"Oh my god," Shane muttered. "This is horrible!" He and his teammates surveyed the wreckage. Crystals jutted out of the ground, covering every square inch of settlement. The ground was littered with scattered patches of soil and broken rocks from the buildings that previously stood there. But it wasn't long before those also turned into black gems, sucking in the light from the air around them.

"And now this place has one of those monoliths too," Silvally said, glancing at the spire sticking out of the ground. The star insignia now had a piercing red eye in its center that stared out across the ruined town, sending shivers down Team Radiance's spines. Latias severed the mental connections, returning Team Radiance to the assembly area with grim expressions on their faces.

She floated back from them. "Sorry I can't show you more. I've got to deal with the Expedition Society right now." She floated off toward the staircase, a worried look spreading across her face. Latias left Team Radiance standing in silence. All of them exchanged worried looks.

"What's going to happen now?" Tessa wondered. "Are they going to evacuate the Mist Continent? Send everyone into the Mystery Dungeons because at least they're not out in the open that way?" She fidgeted with her paws. "Did Zero do all of that?"

"No… it had to have been Lunala… or whatever's really controlling him."

The team turned to see Umbreon looking at them. They could see tears brimming in his eyes. "He can take a Pokémon's life force, and then turn its lifeless body into black crystals." A shudder ran across his body. "We saw it for ourselves multiple times."

Tessa tensed up this. She thought back to her conversation with Shane in Glyphic Falls. 'That can't be true. Maybe there's just another Lunala. An evil Lunala. Mom's okay. The Prism Virus hasn't gotten to her. She's the strongest Pokémon I know.'

"If that's the case, shouldn't we be doing something?" Shane spoke up. "Why are we all still working separately from one another?" Tessa and Silvally looked over at Shane. "We need to start pooling our resources together or the Prism Virus is going to just take down one community at a time."

"It's not that easy, human," Umbreon replied. "You're acting like the groups back home are just sitting around, twiddling their paws."

"And how would you know what they've been doing?" Shane wondered.

"Shane, don't you think you're being a little harsh?" Tessa asked.

Shane's muzzle stiffened as he noticed Umbreon's ears drooping. While Espeon's sobs had quieted, she still lay on the ground, unresponsive. "Sorry," he said, taking a deep breath. "It's just… there are other humans living over there. And they've dealt with this kind of stuff before. If we could just get there help, then–"

Ruuuuuuuumble!

The ground started to shake, making Shane in surprise. "Wha-what's going on? Is this an earthquake?" His tails jolted into the air. "Are we under attack?"

Latias' head poked over the staircase. "You guys are going to want to see this!" she shouted. Team Radiance exchanged nervous looks but ran up the stairs in unison. They found the front entrance open and several guild staff members assembled around a large metal rod that pulsated with blue and gold energy.

"That wasn't there before," Tessa realized. "What the heck is it?"

"Only one way to find out," Shane said, and proceeded out the guild's main entrance. His teammates joined him just as the tip of the rod shot a beam into the air. The trio looked up and watched the energy rise above them until it exploded outward. Blue and gold energy raced across the sky, blanketing Aeon Town. Slowly it trickled down toward the ground, eventually connecting to the outskirts of the city to form a dome.

"Did you guys just erect a forcefield?" Shane gasped. "How? Why?" He looked up at the energy dome again.

Affirmative, Metagross replied. Fact: after becoming Guildmaster, I ordered Magearna to construct a barrier device for the town. Fact: it is powered by emera ores.

"But I thought these days it was taboo to use them for anything," Latias squeaked, stealing frightful glances at the glowing rod.

It might be. But I deemed this action necessary to protect Horizon's citizens from malevolent forces, Metagross replied. Fact: we have placed similar devices underground in other communities. Fact: Braviary and Volcarona have departed to activate these devices. Fact: we also installed them in Lively Town, Treasure Town, Post Town, and Pokémon Square.

I placated a call to the Expedition Society telling them to activate their barrier and get other towns to do the same, Magearna added. The primal energy in the emera ores should be strong enough to repellenate the infected Lunala.

"How are we supposed to get in or out of the city, though?" Shane asked. "Does this mean we're trapped here?"

Negative, Metagross replied. Fact: small, temporary holes can be made in the barrier to permit entrance and exit from Aeon Town.

"And what's just stopping the Prism Virus from teleporting someone in here, huh?" Shane wondered.

Primal energy, Magearna answered. Most of the world's Legendaries use primal energy to keep their domains protected. For example, it's primal energy that forms the basis of the sealed pockets that Temporal Tower and Spacial Rift sit in.

"And didn't Espeon say that Zero was after the Dawn Hourglass in order to get around those barriers?" Tessa thought aloud.

"Okay, point taken. But, if you guys can do all this fancy-schmancy barrier stuff, why aren't we trying to get the Expedition Society and other guilds over here to help us out?" Shane asked. "What happened to strength in numbers, huh?"

Metagross turned and glared at Shane, sending his tails shooting between his legs. His eyes glowed blue and he said, That is illogical for a number of reasons. Fact: the fastest method to get us in one location we be use of Hoopa's rings, which is far too risky. Fact: putting us all in one location would create an enormous target for the Prism Virus to strike with. Fact: it would also leave other parts of the world vulnerable to attack.

I heard it from Dedenne. The Expedition Society is stretched thin right now, Magearna continued. Numerous reports of Pokémon getting sucked into wormholes and plopped into the middle of Mystery Dungeons. Not to mention the weather-relatiated issues that the enlarged moon's bringing about.

"I get it. I get it. Sorry for bringing it up," Shane growled. "It's just… it doesn't feel like we're making any progress here."

Fact: our top priority is now to locate the Tapus and the Dawn and Dusk Hourglasses, Metagross declared. Order: Team Radiance will depart for Aurora Vale posthaste. Order: you will locate the Temple of Mind.

"And what exactly do we do if we find it?" Silvally asked.

Order: get Tapu Lele to bring the Dawn Hourglass to Aeon Town, Metagross exclaimed. Once we have both hourglasses, I will explain my plan in greater detail.

Tessa and Silvally exchanged concerned looks. Shane slumped over. "You mean we have to go through the entirety of Aurora Vale again?" he asked. "That place is dangerous now. And we need to be at our best."

I concurbulate, Magearna said. Which is why you're going to use my Geartronic Dungeon Penetratorizer to immediately warp to the end of Aurora Vale. Thanks to some fine-tuning, I've gotten its error rate down to three percent. I believe you should have no difficultifiers using it.

Shane looked at the metal device apprehensively. "Isn't that the thing you said could explode if we don't use it right?"

Yes. However, I estimate the odds of it spontaneously combusting as one in six thousand, six hundred, and thirty-seven, with rounding, Magearna reported.

"I like those odds!" Silvally chirped. "Besides, it beats trudging through that place again, right? I mean, it could be fun to skate across the ice, sure. And I suppose I could use my fire memories to try and burn us a path through. But I think we'd run out of elixirs if we did that." He scratched at his cheek bolt with a hind leg. "Not that I wouldn't enjoy torching the place after all the flak it gave us. We've gotta be practical here, right?"

He turned to give Shane the closest thing to a smile he could manage with his stiff beak. Sweat drops appeared on the back of Shane's head. "Uh, sure. Whatever makes it quick for us, I guess." He looked back at Metagross. "And what's everyone else doing while we're charging into danger, huh?"

Fact: teams will be sent to the locations where we believe the other temples are. They will offer the Tapumeras we created to gain access, Metagross replied.

"Hopefully, this means we can get the Dusk Hourglass, too," Latias exclaimed.

Metagross nodded. You are in sufficient health to fly the teams to their respective locations?

Latias' face blanched. "You want me to take everyone?"

Affirmative. Fact: your in-air velocity exceeds that of a Sharpedo in the water, Metagross replied. Conclusion: you can cover the distances in Horizon much quicker.

Latias gulped. "I'll, um, do my best, I guess," she whispered.

Team Radiance, are you prepared to depart? Metagross asked.

Shane and Silvally nodded, but Tessa put her paws against her chest and stiffened. "No, wait! I forgot our new item bag. I should go back and–"

"Wait! Please wait! I've got it right here!"

Mimikyu scuttled out of the Observatory, only to trip on his rag and faceplant on the ground. Shane's stiffened at the sight of ectoplasmic wisps seeping out from the base of Mimikyu's disguise. "S-Sorry… I'm sorry," he mumbled, pulling himself upright. He slipped the bag off his neck and pushed it over to Tessa. "Here. I grabbed it out of your room. Please don't be mad at me for going in!"

"It's fine, dude," Shane dismissed. "You saved us a little bit of time." He helped Tessa sling the new item bag over her shoulder. "Alright, I guess we've got everything we need. So, what, we go outside this forcefield and activate the device?" Magearna nodded and the team started walking away from the Observatory.

"Wait! Please wait… err… again!"

Shane stopped short. Silvally walked into him and knocked him onto his belly. Mimikyu sped forward. "Tuh… take me with you!" he begged, before seeing Shane collapsed on the ground. "Oh. Or, y'know, don't. It's entirely up to you and I wouldn't want to be a burden–"

"Hold up. You actually want to come with us?" Tessa asked. "Have you seen the stuff we've been dealing with lately?"

"Nuh-no. I mean… uh…" Mimikyu tugged at his disguise. "Of course I've seen what you guys look like coming back from your missions. And… and that's why I want to help. I know I'm not really a guild member. But there's bad stuff happening out there. If I don't do anything, then I'm just going to end up in danger anyway! At least this way, I can take a stand, right?" He looked away from Tessa. "Oh, who am I kidding? You guys probably think I'm just a nuisance, don't you?"

"Eh, why not let him come?" Shane said, shrugging. "You don't need him for anything, do you Guildmaster?"

Fact: I had assigned him to clean dishes in the dining area, Metagross replied.

Mimikyu's raggedy head perked up. "You really mean it?"

"We need all the help we can get at this point," Shane said. "And it's probably not good to rely on Silvally here to carry the team."

Silvally shrugged. "I'm willing to battle as much as it takes."

Order: enough idle chatter. Depart for Aurora Vale at once, Metagross thundered. A rainbow of different colors flashed across his eyes, drawing alarm from the entire group. They hastily left, making for the edge of town. Latias floated along after them.

"Hey, uh, human," she called, flying up to Shane.

"What?"

"That suggestion you made earlier and Metagross shot down… I think I'm going to try and contact my brother about it," Latias said.

"To do what, exactly?" Shane asked.

"I'm going to see if we can convince Hoopa to help us," Latias said. "I… um… I'm not really sure I trust what your Guildmaster's doing here."

Shane's ears folded against his face. 'So she thinks there's something wrong… and she's actually a powerful psychic!' He gulped. "W… what do you mean by that?"

"I don't agree with his belief that we shouldn't be pooling resources," she said. "That's the kind of circular thinking that led to problems in the past. That's why I want to reach out to Hoopa. If we're lucky, maybe he'll agree to help without asking for anything unreasonable in return."

"Seriously? Isn't, y'know, being allowed to live enough of a reward?" Shane groaned.

"Not for Hoopa. He's… um… he's a bit of a character," Latias muttered. "Anyway, good luck with Tapu Lele." She waved farewell to the team and zoomed back off to the Observatory.

Tessa wanted to press the issue further with Shane, but they had reached the edge of the town. "Okay then," Shane said, setting Magearna's device on the ground. "Magearna said she put in all the coordinates. So, all I need to do is press this suspicious-looking big red button, and it should take us to the end of Aurora Vale."

"Then we find the temple, talk to Tapu Lele, and bring her back with the Dawn Hourglass," Silvally said. "With any luck, we'll be back in time for a real lunch!"

Tessa's ears drooped. "Knowing our luck, there's no way that's happening."

"C'mon, don't think like that," Silvally said. "We've had such a lousy streak, that it's about time for something to go our way. Be positive!"

"I think it's best that we stay on our guard," Shane exclaimed. "Everyone ready?" His teammates nodded. "Then let's hope this thing really works." He stuck his forepaw out and pressed the large red button. The device started to vibrate and sparks flew around it. Shane stepped backward, biting his lower lip.

"Is it supposed to be doing that?" Silvally asked.

"I don't know. But back in the human world, if things starting smoking and shaking like this, it was usually a bad sign," Shane whimpered.

Suddenly, beams of light shot out of the metal plate, swallowing up each member of Team Radiance. They instantly retreated into the plate, and a small portal appeared underneath it. The plate fell through the portal, which then disappeared in a blinding flash of light. Only a scorch mark remained on the ground, giving off a trail of black smoke. The area fell into silence for a few moments, before a nearby set of bushes rustled.

"Ha! Told you gits this was the perfect place to lay low."

Lycanroc popped out of the bush, stretching out his back. "We found Snowy and his band of freaks without needing to lift a paw. Not bad, eh?"

Jangmo-o stepped out of the bush, spitting out a mouthful of leaves. "Did we have to pick such a thorny bush to hide in, though? I think I pricked the underside of my tail… and it's really sensitive down there."

A rock flew out of the bush and conked Jangmo-o on the head. He toppled over, swirls in his eyes, while Sneasel stomped out. His body was covered in nicks and scrapes. "What're you complaining about, you dunce? You've got a body of scales. Thanks to you, I look like I just hugged a Pyukumuku!"

"How's it my fault?" Jangmo-o whimpered, sitting back up. His eyes spun about in their sockets.

"You sat on me, tubby! That wasn't a thorn pricking your tail, it was me!" Sneasel hissed, brandishing his claws.

"Quiet, mates," Lycanroc growled. "Ain't my fault you two are a pair of softies. Not even a prison stint can harden you up. I ought to toss ya both back in that bush."

Their faces blanched at this. "Oh yeah? Well… well… your breath stinks!" Jangmo-o countered, causing Lycanroc to roll his eyes.

"And what was the point of finding Snowy if we just let him run off, anyway?" Sneasel asked.

In response to this, Lycanroc smacked Sneasel's head. "Use your brain, mate. Assuming you've got one, of course. Didn't you hear 'em? They're trying to find one of the Tapus. That means, they're going to come back with some banging treasure." He rubbed his hands together. "All we have to do is wait for them to come back and–"

"But boss, there's, like, one more of them than there is of us," Jangmo-o squeaked. "We ain't supposed to pick fights where we're outnumbered. That's bad maths!"

Lycanroc sarcastically applauded the dragon. "Bravo, mate. You can count. I was kinda worried there for a moment." He crouched on all fours and then flicked the tip of Jangmo-o's snout.

"Owie! My schnozzle," he whimpered, eyes tearing up.

"Think about it, mate. They'll be super tired from their mission. Meaning they'll be easy pickings," Lycanroc said. "Now, as I was saying, we jump them, take their treasure, and bring it back to the guild. Then we'll be welcomed in with open arms, while Snowy and his flunkies'll be the laughing stock of Horizon."

He pointed a paw back toward the bush. "Now get your butts back in there, mates. I ain't bailing your hides out if you get seen by someone." Sneasel and Jangmo-o sighed and trudged back into the thorny bush. Lycanroc smirked. "That's right, Snowy. Have fun with Tapu Lele. Team Fang'll have a nice surprise waiting for when you get back."

XxX​

I feel the need to state that I by no means hate Gates to Infinity's characters. I just felt that they were the least objectionable targets I.e. people wouldn't be after me with pitchforks and torches like they'd be if, say, I had Necrozma destroy Treasure Town. My apologies to all the massive Gates to Infinity fans. ^^;

Next time: Tapu Lele's temple forces Team Radiance to do some serious mental gymnastics.
 
Last edited:

DeliriousAbsol

Call me Del
Chapter 24

Prisma shrugged. "No idea. If Vulpix is telling the truth, he probably knows what happened to Solgaleo. But…" Her eyes narrowed. "As I said before, I think it's in your best interest to avoid him."

I really wanna know why Prisma is so wary of Shane. I can understand her concerns for him potentially dragging her daughter into danger, but still. It's not Shane's fault =x

"You're darn tootin' I do!" Togedemaru declared. She froze upon completion of that sentence. "Oh, for pity's sake." She smacked her forehead. "Now Braviary's got me talking like a wastelander, too."

lmao Togedemaru is comedy gold.

"Can you hear me?" Comfey asked. She leaned in toward Shane, only to freeze at the sound of Shane weakly gasping for air.

"Help… me…"

"Vulpix, are you alright?"

The Vulpix met her gaze with a dazed look in his bloodshot eyes. "Car… crushing… me…" he wheezed. "Hurts… everything huuuuuuurts…"


Oops, here we go. Another flash back. Makes me really wonder what's happening to him =/

Togedemaru was great on that excursion. Those wingull didn't stand a chance.

"Mind the clay pile in front of you," Togedemaru warned. "It can't support your–"

Fwump!

"Auuuuugh!"

"–weight." Togedemaru facepalmed. Null looked beside him and noticed that Tessa had somehow disappeared. He started looking around in confusion. "Stick your left foreleg down, buddy," Togedemaru said. Null did as instructed and felt something grabbing his insectoid exoskeleton. He hoisted his foreleg up, flinging a mud-covered Tessa toward Togedemaru's feet.

Tessa squirmed about. "Ugggh… this is totally disgusting!"

"Are you kidding? It's absolutely hilarious," Togedemaru laughed. "The only way it'd be funnier is if it was your human partner there instead!"

Gotta love some slapstick! I'd love to know what Null was thinking there. Like... was he amused at all? I guess we can't tell since we can't see his face...

"Wahchooo!"

Shane sneezed, spitting out a mouthful of water that Comfey had tried giving him. "Good gracious. What was that all about?" she gasped.

"Dunno," Shane mumbled. "I've just got the strange feeling someone's making fun of me right now."


ngl, this is one of my favourite tropes. And you used it =3

Tessa smiled, though no one could tell with the mud dripping down her snout. "So, would you be okay if we teamed up, Null?"

"… If it's for you… I can live with it…" Null said, letting out a few rasping coughs.


=3 ← silly smile says it all

Shane's ice dip was fantastic. I totally feel for him at this point. I don't like cold water either. And despite being an ice type, I doubt they'd all appreciate a dip in a bath tub of ice. I mean, he's got fur for a reason, right?

Tessa flinched at this. She bit her lower lip. "Um, in that case, can you have someone tell me when he's awake? I need to talk to him."

"It could very well be a week before he's up, Riolu," Comfey warned. "But, I'm sure I can arrange that." She floated away.


Gah, Tessa's seriously gonna call things off with Shane while he's hospitalised? Wow, as if he wasn't hurt enough she has to break him emotionally too?

Oh, wow. So Espy and Umbry are actually working with some form of Necrozma? Dawn Wings, by the sounds of it. And the way he talks is mighty familiar. Like a certain Solgaleo who's been having exchanges with Shane.

Hum. Then I guess Shane might be being misguided? Lycanroc may very well have been right and it's Espy and Umbry up to no good, not Gallian.

I wonder if Prisma is being misguided too, by trying to sever Tessa's ties with Shane?

Chapter 25

Gallian, Luxeira and Sticky sound an awful lot like the Ultra Recon Squad.

Luxeira flicked her tail. "All members of the Ultra Recon Squad are expected to adhere to a strict nonaggression policy. We are here to observe, not to attack."


Oh. They ARE the Ultra Recon Squad. Guess I cottoned on there XD

"FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!"


Enter Ham.

Poor Shane is on a downward spiral here. Lost all faith in himself. Did Solgaleo really drag him here though? 'Cos he sounds an awful lot like Necrozma. I'm super confused as to what is going on here, and why exactly the region's legendaries would be misguiding the human they'd allegedly dragged into the world in order to save it. I'm getting as many mixed messages as Shane is, it seems.

"Real words of encouragement from a Pokémon that's supposedly worshiped around these parts. You're supposed to be making me feel better. Picking me up in my moment of need! Instead, you're just putting me down."

"IDIOT! I am not here to give you belly ruuuuuuubs and tell you that you're the very best like no one ever was," Solgaleo roared.


Nice anime reference XD But yeh, poor Shane does need a pick up right about now.

"Um…" Mimikyu shifted about, sensing the awkward silence. "I, uh, thought you might be hungry. So, I brought you a treat." His spectral arm appeared from underneath his disguise, carrying a small plate. "It's a 'Get Well Soon Muffin.' I made it myself!"


I'm far from mimikyu's number one fan, but it's nice another pokemon is looking out for Shane. That's something nice for him to wake up to. Besides being able to feel his legs again.

Tessa crossed her arms. "It's a teammate dissolution notice. I'm done putting up with you."

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Shane expected something like this could happen. But the shock of hearing her say it overwhelmed him anyway. His entire body went rigid and his breath started coming in short rasps. All he could manage to say was a tiny, "But… why?"

"You know exactly why. You're an insufferable jerk," Tessa explained. "And I don't want to be around you anymore."


Oh great. He gets the use of his legs back and she breaks him from the inside straight away. I can understand where Tessa is coming from, and I'd like to say there's a time and a place, but after all that with Lycanroc, Shane really did have it coming.

"But that's exactly why you have to fight on!" Cresselia declared. "Solgaleo brought you here. Tell me, how many hundreds of millions of humans could he have picked from? He clearly sees something in you. Sure, it's something that none of us are aware of at the moment. But with a little time and some focus, I'm sure you could become stronger and turn the tide of this situation."

"Aha ha ha ha ha! Don't be ridiculous! Him?" Darkrai gestured at Shane. "Give me a break! It's obvious Solgaleo went cross-eyed and brought him here by mistake." He leaned against Shane's snout. "I mean, did you really expect to accomplish anything here? The only reason you got through any of the games back home is because you cheated!"


Okay, this whole scene was fantastic. Cresselia and Darkrai were a great choice for these roles, and Shane basically having a 'Deadpool-like' conversation with himself about his role in Horizon was just hilarious. The cheat cart reference was great, too. This was a nice scene to add some light hearted humor after everything that just played out.

And now he's snooping. I'm really wondering why Prisma's room is a mess. Someone has snooped, clearly. Why... oh why... does Braviary find him? What was he doing there? Red herring, or a set up for something sinister? Given Shane is now not trying to make the same mistake he made with Lycanroc, I can't help but worry it's the latter.

Bonus #6

I don't quite get the scene with Shane at the beginning. I'll be honest. It kinda set things up to be about his past, then it leaps to Prisma instead.

It does answer some raised questions, though. Prisma is a human pulled into Horizon. But why? Did she play the games? Her children clearly did. Interesting how she's named her pokemon children after her human ones. By the end, she clearly remembers her human family. Just like Shane, she died in some way. That was a shocking ending to her human life ='( Quite a sad Christmas Special, I have to say. But it really answered some questions, and now we know a little bit more about Prisma.

And that Shane had a friend in his human life. That's nice =3

Chapter 26

Metagross gives Tessa and Shane the good talking to they've been needing. But...

Fact: you've made no attempts to reach out to anyone to help you and your partner settle your differences. Fact: you cannot go through life picking and choosing the Pokémon you work with. Conclusion: this punishment will also force you to work cooperatively with the human.


They have to work together to earn their place in the guild. This does not bode well...

"So, our places here are dependent on escorting some random Pokémon? That's just great," Shane growled. He turned to Tessa and said, "We're going to Dhelmise Depot and dropping off every single item we've got. I don't want this Oranguru fellow dipping into our stock. And, trust me, he will. These things always go badly."


I agree with Shane. I loathe escort missions. I try to sandwich the client behind my team members and somehow they ALWAYS end up a the back and ALWAYS get attacked and- trails off on a tangent

Shane is really trying to apologize here and Tessa is having none of it. Interesting how that is only serving to make Shane's attitude worse.

"Whoa, whoa, take it easy, Null," Trapinch called, running over to him. "Is your head hurting again? Maybe you should go see Comfey?"

Trapinch was forced to duck back as Null whirled around and bashed his head against the wall several times. "Wow. I can't believe that's
what you want to ditch me for," Shane scoffed. But Null turned around to face him, and his body went completely rigid. The chimera stared right at him, letting out heavy, echoing wheezes. Null stomped toward him, continuing to shake his head about.


He seriously needs to learn something about sympathy, too. He really is sounding jealous, though.

This mission is already off to a bad start. Shane sinking in quicksand, firing his mouth off, arguing with Tessa to the point neither of them are paying any attention. They're both as bad as each other at this point.

He walked into Null's hindleg and staggered backward, muttering angrily under his breath. Null turned back to give him a disapproving look. "… perhaps it's best… if you keep quiet…"

"Ha!" Tessa taunted.

"… that goes for you too…" Null growled.


At least Big Brother Null has his head screwed on straight. This did amuse me though XD

Sticky turned around to face Shane. "I am referred to as Sticky, however I understand the inhabitants here refer to one another by species name. So, my species designation is Poipole."

The Vulpix cocked his head in confusion. "Your species name is just a color? What a joke!"


It isn't until reading this that I realised Poipole is a corruption of 'purple'. And Poipole is purple. How... how did this get by me?

Sticky calling Null a monstrosity isn't gonna help change Shane's opinion, is it?

Sticky's eyes widened. "I am afraid that that is an unacceptable response, terrestrial," he declared. "This failed experiment is a threat to those of us with ultra auras. Though my team adheres to our Ultra Recon Squad's nonaggression policy, I'm sure my captain would overlook it in this instance. Your friend must be immediately neutralized. Please surrender him to me."

Null's head fell toward the ground. "… experiment?" he rasped.

"So, he is a total freak, then? I knew it!" Shane scoffed. He shook his head at Tessa. "And you actually want to be his friend. You're really something, you know that?"


Null finds out he's an experiment, Shane kicks him when he's down. Way to go, Shane. Way to go.

"Just do it!" Null roared, causing Tessa to shirk back in surprise. "I'm… the one… this guy's after. Don't… get yourself hurt… protecting me."

"But…"

Null tossed his head about, letting out a loud hiss.


Null is so nice T__T

All the arguing during that battle... oh boy.

Null's had his memories tampered with, which totally rules out the possibility of him being human. Not that I'd been thinking he was, mind. We know he's an experiment. Unless you've got more surprises heading our way? (Pokemon haven't been experimenting on humans, have they? XD )

And now they've lost Null as he gives chase after Sticky... And they've not even found Oranguru yet.

Chapter 27

Oh my goodness, this chapter just went from bad to worse. Oranguru mentioning his mate over and over makes me wonder if something has happened to her. Shane wandering off only to get attacked by Null was a shocker. Poor Null warring with himself in a bid to NOT hurt Shane and losing. That's not gonna help the vulpix's opinion of him at all!

That swamp does not sound nice to swim in either.

Shane forced himself to swallow the swamp water and tucked his head into his chest.


This makes me feel a bit sick... XD

A blade of air whizzed past him, slicing the tops off several reeds.


Nice description. Sometimes we can forget about the terrain.

The Vulpix responded by pushing Tessa's head into the mud with his neck. He leaned down and bit her on the ear, causing her to let out a howl of pain. "You don't get to tell me what to do anymore! I'm through listening to you!" he hissed. He pulled his head back and smacked her across the cheek. Shane opened his mouth wide and coated Tessa in Icy Wind from head to toe. The Riolu gave a frustrated cry and struggled even harder. But her energy quickly faded as Shane's attack encased her in a thick layer of ice.


Wow, he totally snapped! D= This really took me by surprise. He's just left her there, frozen, beside an unconscious Null. What the...

Chapter 28

Hmm, having the Prism Virus infecting an entire Mystery Dungeon is rather threatening. The lanturn wasn't, however. Shane dealt with that surprisingly quickly XD

Oranguru's mate being somewhere in the bog is rather disconcerting, too.

She started walked off toward the fog. Null jerked his head to the right and jostled his helmet around. "… okay. I trust you. Please… please make sure I don't snap again."


Argh, I feel so sorry for Null =(

Kartana Lurantis (Lurtana?) is pretty interesting. She talks a lot more than the other infected pokemon, however. Makes her kinda amusing.

"Kekeke… I'm going to slice you up like a loaf of moldy white bread!"


Why moldy? XD

Despite her somewhat comical threats, utilising two solar blades at once is pretty terrifying. She posed a difficult enough boss in the games, never mind as a mutated Totem Ultra Beast thing.

"Kekekeke! Take this… Prism Drill Breaker!"
"How's this for an impression? Back Slash!"


I feel like she's just making things up here XD Well, why not. She's got blades for arms. Might as well use them.

Shane and Tessa, however, are still arguing amid all this chaos, which makes this battle seem a lot less threatening than their previous ones. Lurantis' comical outbursts really work in this scenario.

"Enough, Null! You got her! She's down!" Tessa hollered, sprinting over toward her teammate. Null froze in the midst of his attack. He blinked a few times and looked at his glowing talons. The chimera gave a groan and shook out his head.

"See, what did I tell you? The guy's dangerous," Shane growled.


Uhm, guys. You've not stopped the thing D=

"You think Incineroar would be proud of what you're doing? Defending a psychopath?"

Tessa's paws immediately balled up into fists and she started shaking. "Sh… shut up…" she muttered.


Tessa's face contorted in anger, but Shane continued, "Hey, here's a thought. Maybe your parents didn't leave because they felt like exploring the Grass Continent. I'll bet they never actually loved you. And they went away because they were tired of putting up with your bull!"


Dang, he actually went there? He shouldn't have pulled at that thread. That argument went from bad to dreadful very quickly. Shane really needs to think before he speaks =(

"Kekekeke! SURPRISE! Heeeeeere's Lurantis!"


See? I told you! You've not stopped the thing! (Nice Shining reference btw XD)

So both Shane and Oranguru were almost made an Ultra Beast. But we know the main character isn't going to be turned into an Ultra Beast, right? (Right?!) I know I can't say the same for a more minor character like Oranguru. Thanks to Null rushing to the rescue, doing his job as Beast Slayer, both unfortunate victims managed to get out of that by the skin of their teeth.

I really wasn't expecting the end to this endeavour, though. I thought Oranguru's mate would turn out to be infected, not already passed on! And he went to meet her to die? D= That is just too sad! Such a melancholic ending, yet a happy one for Oranguru.

It was so nice of him to give Null the Lunar Wing before he left. I really hope it helps Null resist those voices.

Chapter 29

So the Lunar Wing isn't helping fantastically, but at least Null was able to help Shane rather than kill him.

Shane is still running his mouth off before finally realising there is something actually wrong with Tessa. Man this chapter hit me in the feels so hard ='(

You're really dealing with some dark themes here, but it's executed well. I hope it's the wake-up slap Shane needs tbh, because it really makes him do a 180 with his attitude. Even to go so far as sit down and talk things over with Null.

If you really intend to do right by Riolu as her partner, then you need to start respecting her boundaries. She's been through a lot. More than you can possibly know.


Is this something Shane has realised himself, or is he remembering it from someone else? It sounds a bit familiar but I'm not sure. Especially since he's referring to her as Riolu and not Tessa.

Nevertheless, he's finally realised what she's been going through. And despite him being an utter jerk, she still cries on his shoulder.

Let's hope the party perks her up a bit.

Chapter 30

This was a lovely chapter. I'm glad that the Guild are willing to help out Shane. At first, I wasn't sure he was going to get through to them. And it's understandable with all he's put them through recently.

"Here are your things, Growlithe," Dhelmise announced, and dropped a pile of sparklers onto the desk. It was such a large pile that some of the sticks rolled onto the floor in front of Growlithe.

Araquanid's eyes widened. "Duh-doesn't that seem a bit excessive to you?"

"Excessive? Hardly!" Growlithe replied. "If anything, this isn't enough."


Ahh, Growlithe. I would love to see your idea of 'enough'.

… Actually, maybe I don't D=

The fluff scene with Tessa and Null was absolutely adorable. I loved it! We learn a lot about the both of them. Your headcannon with Null not being able to feel his face under his mask is a little worrying. I mean... why can't he? Does his helmet make his entire head numb? Poor Null =( I'd actually been wondering how he ate with that helmet on. Maybe he just doesn't need to? I'd love to know why. Surely he must need nutrition of some sort?

"You matter to me."

Tessa poked her head up, sand cascading down her face. "Null, you don't have to say that to make me feel better."

"I mean it," he whispered, scooting toward her. "You're the first person… who's made me feel like... something other than a burden. Everyone else… keeps their distance. But you… you want to talk to me." He pressed his mask against the tip of her snout. "I… I have fun… being with you. When you're around… the pain… it doesn't feel as bad. It feels like… I can handle it…"


This has to be one of my favourite moments between these two =')

The water fight was adorable too. It showed a playful side to Null that we've not seen before. I really hope he gets his helmet off soon. But I have no idea when that will be! It feels too soon at the moment. Given he's a happiness evolution, I feel you're hinting at something with their friendship being a catalyst that could cause that here.

Somehow, I don't think Shane is gonna make the party. After the scene in Crabrawler's Cafe, he just seems too exhausted, and he's still all beat up after his ordeal in the swamp...

Chapter 31

Ohh so the opening to this chapter makes the Snowfall scene with Nicky make sense now. Whereas that seemed so random, we know he had an impact on Shane's life.

Shame it all ended so darkly ='(

Shane is oddly living out Solgaleo's history here. Not sure why that is, given I'm under the assumption the legend has been misleading him.

Lunala's jaw dropped. "Luh-Lady Ho-Oh? Is that you? Forgive my rudeness."


Totally thought Ho-Oh had been a guy up to this point. Must not assume genders. Understood.

Shane is acting rather humble keeping himself hidden so as not to draw attention to himself. I'm actually happy he managed to make the party, and even help out with it, despite being exhausted.

That is the same gem your father owned. I used my patented Geartronic Gemstone Shrinkifier to resize it,
Magearna explained.


Because she just happened to have one handy

That apology scene was too cute. I'm so happy Shane and Tessa have made amends. The story wouldn't be the same without Team Radiance.

Also... group hug with Null =3 gah! Such a sweet ending to this episode.

Such a shame those little spooky spies had to ruin the moment. Along with Team Captivate. Such gooseberries!

Rather ominous ending that follows though. Looks like the Necrozma stuff is gonna get pretty heavy.

'Null's helmet… there's a crack in it!'


Insert Puss in Boots 'Oooooh' Cat meme here

Chapter 32

Hmm... so no more dream conversations with Tessa's mum? Looks like Prisma's pretty unimpressed with Tessa's declaration to stick with Shane.

And, uhm... Waituhminte...

Prisma dropped Tessa to the ground, and she let out a low growl. Her aura feelers then stood up on end, as she saw the pitch-black energy of a Dark Pulse crackling across her mother's clenched fists.


O__o

"Silence," Zero hissed. Her left eye flashed dark blue. "I would not need to be doing this if you two had done as I'd ordered and taken care of the human." She raised her left hand and black sparks crackled around it


Is uhm... Is Zero actually Prisma? Her overall attitude to Shane and 'stopping the Prism Virus'. Zero's similarities. Unmasked. Black feet. Metal claws. Crackling red and black energy. I might be reading into things too much, but I think there's a reason we've not seen much of Zero's face yet. Plus... Prisma is protecting Lunala. And Lunala is currently Dusk Wings Necrozma.

You don't need to tell me, I'll continue enjoying speculating =3

"Sorry to spook you, dahling. It's nothing life-threatening or anything," Bruxish said. "But according to my cauldron, your ability is Clear Body. And that doesn't make a liiiiiiiick of sense."

Shane blinked. "What's wrong with Clear Body? Regice has Clear Body and they're an ice-type too."

Bruxish shook his head. "I'm soooooooorry, dahling. But Vulpix in Horizon are meant to have Snow Cloak, with a select few knowing Snow Warning. Your ability is more like an impossibility!"


I wonder how this little revelation is gonna be put to use?

"You've just gotta have a look at this," Trapinch said, heading for the southern hallway. "I can't even explain it. Part of the globe just blacked out."

Blacked out? Magearna parroted. That's not possachievable. Show me.


Ick... way to go, Necrozma. You're breaking the world.

Also, 'possachievable' is an awesome word XD

The Mayor is a ribombee?! Yes! Adorable! 8D But Sylveon and Eevee being taken by Espy and Umbry? No! NO! They've not done anything wrong, and Eevee is just a kid! ='( Urgh, those two...

The targets to draw out Tessa and Shane, however, make me even more suspicious of Prisma...

Chapter 33

'Ugh, was it too much to ask to just get a nice, normal day for once? …'


Apparently, yes

So the Ultra Recon Squad is back, and it all goes down. A huge, epic, blown way out of proportion Sibling Rivalry ensues.

Please excuse my terrible joke.

To be honest, the sides are nicely evenly matched here. There's no Prism Virus being fired at Shane and his friends, and the fight is somewhat fair. We also learn a lot more about Tessa and Gallian's family. But... has he also been misguided? I'm not sure I buy Braviary and Metagross killing off Incineroar like that. I think something is amiss here.

Also... Prisma didn't love either of her children?! I don't think Tessa needs to hear that from someone else, does she? I mean, Shane said it out of anger, but it seems like Gallian believes this =/

Gallian shook his head disapprovingly. "Of course she'd never tell you anything. Mom thought you were insufferable. After Dad died, she'd constantly show up at my room, ranting about how you were suffocating her. How you constantly wanted her attention, when all she wanted was peace and quiet." He started pacing back and forth. "Heck, I even went down to the veterans' quarters a few times and saw her losing her mind. She'd scribble all over her maps and papers, angrily throw books around her room, and screw up a bunch of family photos. All the while shouting some nonsense about how she's 'going to make them pay. Make them all pay.'"


I like how we have some insight into this. Hopefully it won't be too long until we find out who 'them' is. Ooh, I like speculating what might happen next. Prisma is a fun puzzle to try and unravel. Given both she and Shane died and ended up in Horizon, I'm beginning to wonder if Nicky has, too.

Wait... didn't Gallian arrive with no memories, too? D= No, Del. No... don't read too much into this.

Gallian drew his muzzle back into a snarl. "Try me!" he shouted and sprinted forward. But he couldn't even get halfway toward where Umbreon sat. Instead, a card made of red and black energy appeared in front of him. Gallian fell onto his rear and dug his hind legs into the ground. But he failed to stop his momentum, and slid right into the card. A second card opened up far across the field, over the remains of Sylveon's well. Gallian yelped as he fell down into the hole. A splash permeated the area seconds later and the two cards dissolved into thin air.


Oops...

Espy and Umbry seem pretty irritated with the legends. And it's not exactly any fault of the legends that Yveltal flew around turning everything to stone, is it? Nevertheless, I wonder if the legendaries might be who 'them' are?

But urgh. Those two are insufferable. Using a mother and her child as bargaining tools? Come on...

Chapter 34

Shane's reliving Solgaleo again.

The purple jelly stuff was hilarious! Especially Null sticking his head into the bucket. Comfey has her tiny hands full with those three.

"Riolu, ya don't really think them varmints are gonna keep their word, do ya?" Braviary asked. "I reckon that the moment y'all show up there, they're gonna attack you and infect Sylveon and Eevee anyway. From what I've heard, they ain't exactly sounding like a reasonable pair."
Tessa's gaze fell at this. "N-No," she squeaked. "I… I can't lose them too. Not now."


This makes the situation even more heart breaking.

The Necrospheres all sounded their high-pitched tones in unison. Black-and-red beams shot forth from their cores, striking Drampa simultaneously. The old dragon let out a startled cry as the beams struck him. He collapsed to his belly, and then started to tremble. The Necrospheres ceased their attacks and turned on the guild members.

Braviary's brow furrowed. "Listen to me, Team Radiance. Y'all get a move on. Head into Aurora Vale. Leave everything here to us."

Shane looked over and noticed black crystals starting to encase Drampa's torso and hair. "Are you nuts? We need to help you. Look at what's happening to that Drampa guys!" He pointed a forepaw ahead of him, showing the membranous, purple wings emerging from the crystals on Drampa's body. The fur shed from his tail, leaving a large, purple bulb that ended in a massive gray needle. Purple ooze squirted from the its tip.


Now they've actually witnessed a pokemon get infected!! Oh man D= but... they took it surprisingly well! I mean, they were just talking to that Drampa!

A Mystery Dungeon full of ice. And flying types. Seems like the infected dungeon's typing goes against its occupants, huh?

Man, I remember ice puzzles. I sympathise. I'd loathe to see one in a PMD game with 'Monster House' traps like that.

I have to admit I was a little amused at Shane's epic boo-boo resulting in his concussion and broken muzzle. I'm amazed at how affective berries are at healing wounds like that.

Poor Tessa, though =( She's really not happy in this dungeon. Null warming her up was cute. He's such a big ball of love, isn't he? You've really made me like Type:Null and Silvally because of this character, you know XD

Chapter 35

Okay, this battle was epic and so imaginative. The way Espeon and Umbreon used the entercards was ridiculously threatening up until Team Radiance managed to find a way to counter it. And even then, Espeon and Umbreon didn't make it easy for them.

Shane suddenly using Z Power to defend Tessa was a huge surprise! And that it actually removed the Prism Virus from them? Was not expecting that!

[quoteHe floated up from the table and looked around the room he was currently constructing. "And it looks like it was you, Shane. Yes… finally. You need to break out of that shell. That foolish, foxy shell. My light… heeheehee… it will make you something better. Much better! And you'll thank me… you will love me. Everything will be right. It'll be... just like it used to."

Necrozma sank back down onto the table, and folded his wings over his body.

"It's just a matter of time. I'll make you see how good of a friend Necrozma can be."[/quote]


Ridiculously creepy... I'm gonna take back what I said about Gallian, because I am now wondering if Necrozma is Nicky...

Chapter 36

More confirmation that Espeon and Umbreon are freed from the Prism Virus! It's so much fun to see this canon cast. I loved the cast of Super so much.

Latias and Latios' interactions are pretty cute. Although he's like an annoying little brother despite being older XD

So Zero confronts Braviary and co right after they stop the infected Drampa. And she's super threatening. I'm not sure they could beat her, tbh. Kudos to Dragonair for figuring out she uses extreme speed.

I hope Zero's nasty words haven't put a dampener on Team Captivate. I know they have a bit of a serpent theme going on, and I am NOT a big fan of dragonite, but I'd assume should she choose to evolve that they won't just ditch her? They seem too close for that. I guess we'll see what comes of this.

"Get back!" Espeon shouted, scrambling to her feet. She staggered backward, crouching low to the ground. "You… you need to get back! Get out of here! It's going to come back," she hollered. Tears welled up in her eyes. "You're not safe! We're not safe...”


Nice change to a pair of enemies you'd caused me to loathe. I'm so glad they seem to be back to normal, if somewhat shaken.

I honestly thought Zero was going to off Espeon and Umbreon, not Sylveon and Eevee! That's devastating! They hadn't done anything! It seems she did it out of sheer spite to get at Tessa!

Shane's jaw slackened. His head slumped over. "Sh… Shane?" Tessa squeaked. "What's wrong?"

"Lu… car… io…"


Thank you, Shane, for confirming my suspicions. Either Lucario has been taken over, thus changing her attitude towards her family and friends, or she was warped from the get-go. Or something else, maybe Necrozma (or Necky, as she calls him (oddly similar to Nicky)) got to her. Whatever it is, I don't like it. She's a very terrifying foe.

I really hope they can get Sylveon and Eevee back. That's just rotten. It's like she's trying to remove everyone Tessa cares about...
 

Ambyssin

Winter can't come soon enough
Man, I'm not used to doing so many of these replies. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. You guys rock (and roll). <3

I really wanna know why Prisma is so wary of Shane. I can understand her concerns for him potentially dragging her daughter into danger, but still. It's not Shane's fault =x
You've gotten far enough to know that Prisma's Zero. So, she's trying to separate them to make Shane an easier target.

Oops, here we go. Another flash back. Makes me really wonder what's happening to him =/
As it stands, Shane cannot consciously remember the fact that he was in a fatal car accident right as he was slipping between worlds. Whenever something particularly traumatic happens to him, those memories are getting dragged up to the surface and he's "flashing back" to the scene of the accident.

Togedemaru was great on that excursion. Those wingull didn't stand a chance.
I had to at least give her a chance to show that she's more than just a big mouth.

Gotta love some slapstick! I'd love to know what Null was thinking there. Like... was he amused at all? I guess we can't tell since we can't see his face...
He was mostly just confused. Something like, "Did the ground just eat my only friend?"

ngl, this is one of my favourite tropes. And you used it =3
I had to do a sneeze cut with Shane. I'd have never forgiven myself if I didn't.

Shane's ice dip was fantastic. I totally feel for him at this point. I don't like cold water either. And despite being an ice type, I doubt they'd all appreciate a dip in a bath tub of ice. I mean, he's got fur for a reason, right?
Well, if the Dex is to be believed, Vulpix's can chill the air around them using their tails, so the fur may actually cool them. However, Shane has a very specific reason to be so averse to the cold, despite being an ice-type. It's also the exact opposite of Amby the author, who has done several polar plunges and jumped into glacial melt. Because I'm crazy.

Gah, Tessa's seriously gonna call things off with Shane while he's hospitalised? Wow, as if he wasn't hurt enough she has to break him emotionally too?
That's how you know things had gotten to be too much for her. You saw her saying that she was desperately clinging to the idea that maybe Shane would help her become a famous hero, but this was the point where her last hopes for that had snapped.

Oh, wow. So Espy and Umbry are actually working with some form of Necrozma? Dawn Wings, by the sounds of it. And the way he talks is mighty familiar. Like a certain Solgaleo who's been having exchanges with Shane.

Hum. Then I guess Shane might be being misguided? Lycanroc may very well have been right and it's Espy and Umbry up to no good, not Gallian.

I wonder if Prisma is being misguided too, by trying to sever Tessa's ties with Shane?
The similarities are 100% intentional. If your brain's telling you Shane's being misguided, I'd say trust it, because it's absolutely right!

Oh. They ARE the Ultra Recon Squad. Guess I cottoned on there XD
Sort of. They're a unit of an Ultra Recon Squad. The idea is that there are many Ultra Recon Squads spread among the different pockets of Ultra Space. The URS was far too good of an idea to not use as an Ultra Space counterpart to rescuers and explorers.

Poor Shane is on a downward spiral here. Lost all faith in himself. Did Solgaleo really drag him here though? 'Cos he sounds an awful lot like Necrozma. I'm super confused as to what is going on here, and why exactly the region's legendaries would be misguiding the human they'd allegedly dragged into the world in order to save it. I'm getting as many mixed messages as Shane is, it seems.
If you're confused, then that's a good thing, in my book. Because yes, Necrozma and the voice in Shane's dreams sound alike. Which begs the question: who really brought him here and why?

Nice anime reference XD But yeh, poor Shane does need a pick up right about now.
Except this is his extended comeuppance. :V

I'm far from mimikyu's number one fan, but it's nice another pokemon is looking out for Shane. That's something nice for him to wake up to. Besides being able to feel his legs again.
Too bad Shane didn't exactly see it that way. XP

Oh great. He gets the use of his legs back and she breaks him from the inside straight away. I can understand where Tessa is coming from, and I'd like to say there's a time and a place, but after all that with Lycanroc, Shane really did have it coming.
That's roughly what I was going for. Again, Tessa had lost all hope that something could be salvaged from her partnership with Shane. She wanted out and no longer cared about how he felt.

Okay, this whole scene was fantastic. Cresselia and Darkrai were a great choice for these roles, and Shane basically having a 'Deadpool-like' conversation with himself about his role in Horizon was just hilarious. The cheat cart reference was great, too. This was a nice scene to add some light hearted humor after everything that just played out.
I had a lot of fun with it. The cheat cart is more than just a reference. It's supposed to draw attention to the fact that human!Shane was, well, a loser. And that's going to be revisited.

And now he's snooping. I'm really wondering why Prisma's room is a mess. Someone has snooped, clearly. Why... oh why... does Braviary find him? What was he doing there? Red herring, or a set up for something sinister? Given Shane is now not trying to make the same mistake he made with Lycanroc, I can't help but worry it's the latter.
It's a mysteryyyyyyyy (dungeon).

I don't quite get the scene with Shane at the beginning. I'll be honest. It kinda set things up to be about his past, then it leaps to Prisma instead.
It was sort of shoehorned in to tease Nicky out before he gets a much larger role in the story.

It does answer some raised questions, though. Prisma is a human pulled into Horizon. But why? Did she play the games? Her children clearly did.
The why will be answered later in the story. Yes, she played many Pokémon games, including Rescue and Explorers.

Just like Shane, she died in some way. That was a shocking ending to her human life ='( Quite a sad Christmas Special, I have to say. But it really answered some questions, and now we know a little bit more about Prisma.
She did not die. That ending scene is just supposed to be her falling through an Ultra Wormhole. Xatu's vision brings mention to "A faller rising."

And that Shane had a friend in his human life. That's nice =3
You might not be thinking this by the end of the story. o3o;

I agree with Shane. I loathe escort missions. I try to sandwich the client behind my team members and somehow they ALWAYS end up a the back and ALWAYS get attacked and- trails off on a tangent
*rests head against arm* Tell me how you really feel, Del.

Shane is really trying to apologize here and Tessa is having none of it. Interesting how that is only serving to make Shane's attitude worse.
Yup, they're in a full-blown downward spiral here. Both of them working the other one up.

This mission is already off to a bad start. Shane sinking in quicksand, firing his mouth off, arguing with Tessa to the point neither of them are paying any attention. They're both as bad as each other at this point.
Glad to hear it. I put a lot of effort into making sure one of them didn't come of as being a bigger jerk than the other.

At least Big Brother Null has his head screwed on straight. This did amuse me though XD
He's pretty much the voice of reason for Team Radiance. Which... probably doesn't speak well for them as an actual team.

It isn't until reading this that I realised Poipole is a corruption of 'purple'. And Poipole is purple. How... how did this get by me?
You've got me there. XP

Sticky calling Null a monstrosity isn't gonna help change Shane's opinion, is it?
Nope.

Null finds out he's an experiment, Shane kicks him when he's down. Way to go, Shane. Way to go.
Null is technically right. Shane's genuinely afraid of him. And, given what happens, it turns out he was right to be.

(Pokemon haven't been experimenting on humans, have they? XD )
Uh, I'm gonna stay silent on this one and ask you read Episode 9. :p

Oh my goodness, this chapter just went from bad to worse. Oranguru mentioning his mate over and over makes me wonder if something has happened to her. Shane wandering off only to get attacked by Null was a shocker. Poor Null warring with himself in a bid to NOT hurt Shane and losing. That's not gonna help the vulpix's opinion of him at all!
Ah, good, you're the first person to raise red flags at Oranguru's behavior. It's what I was hoping someone would do. And, yeah, this is where things pretty much hit rock bottom for them.

That swamp does not sound nice to swim in either.
I tried to base it mentally of the Haiti level in Sly Cooper and the Thievius Racoonus. "The Swamp's Dark Center" is actually the headcanon soundtrack for Moonrise Marsh.

Wow, he totally snapped! D= This really took me by surprise. He's just left her there, frozen, beside an unconscious Null. What the...
Yup, Shane finally lost control here.

Hmm, having the Prism Virus infecting an entire Mystery Dungeon is rather threatening. The lanturn wasn't, however. Shane dealt with that surprisingly quickly XD
If I had everyone struggling through each dungeon, we'd be here for years and hundreds of chapters. I can't put anyone through that... least of all myself. DX

Kartana Lurantis (Lurtana?) is pretty interesting. She talks a lot more than the other infected pokemon, however. Makes her kinda amusing.
Ultra Totem Lurantis is the official name. But you're right that she was spliced with Kartana. I kind of tried to base her dialogue a bit off of Devilbat Schilt from Mega Man Zero 3. Attacking-wise, she's actually based off a different boss from the same game: Deathtanz Mantisk.

Why moldy? XD
Remember, he was covered in mud and slimy swamp water at this point. He pretty much looked like a loaf of moldy bread.

Despite her somewhat comical threats, utilising two solar blades at once is pretty terrifying. She posed a difficult enough boss in the games, never mind as a mutated Totem Ultra Beast thing.
Not to mention the attacks she shouldn't normally have access to, yanked from Kartana's movepool instead. She also had Beast Boost, though I think I need to make some revisions to make that part clearer in the future.

I feel like she's just making things up here XD Well, why not. She's got blades for arms. Might as well use them.
Actually, they're both references. "Prism Drill Breaker" is a reference to the GIGA DRILL BREAKER from Gurenn Lagann. "Back Slash" is a Xenoblade Chronicles reference (or a Smash 4 reference for you Shulk mains). It was supposed to be a subtle bit of foreshadowing to the fact that humans are lurking at the center of the Prism Virus, because why would this Pokémon know about things from the human world?

Shane and Tessa, however, are still arguing amid all this chaos, which makes this battle seem a lot less threatening than their previous ones. Lurantis' comical outbursts really work in this scenario.
Fair enough. Though she was hitting pretty hard, I'd like to think.

Dang, he actually went there? He shouldn't have pulled at that thread. That argument went from bad to dreadful very quickly. Shane really needs to think before he speaks =(
This was meant to be the absolute tipping point. I.e. Shane crossing the one line that would send Tessa into a full-blown breakdown.

But we know the main character isn't going to be turned into an Ultra Beast, right? (Right?!)
Uh... my lawyers have advised me not to answer that one.

I really wasn't expecting the end to this endeavour, though. I thought Oranguru's mate would turn out to be infected, not already passed on! And he went to meet her to die? D= That is just too sad! Such a melancholic ending, yet a happy one for Oranguru.
Yeah, this was meant to be a system shock for Shane and Tessa. You're also the first person not to get upset at Metagross for giving an assignment like that knowing full well what the outcome was going to be.

It was so nice of him to give Null the Lunar Wing before he left. I really hope it helps Null resist those voices.
It's been helping, trust me!

Shane is still running his mouth off before finally realising there is something actually wrong with Tessa. Man this chapter hit me in the feels so hard ='(
Good. It was meant to be a super feels-y chapter.

You're really dealing with some dark themes here, but it's executed well. I hope it's the wake-up slap Shane needs tbh, because it really makes him do a 180 with his attitude. Even to go so far as sit down and talk things over with Null.
It was indeed meant to be the big wake-up slap.

Is this something Shane has realised himself, or is he remembering it from someone else? It sounds a bit familiar but I'm not sure. Especially since he's referring to her as Riolu and not Tessa.
Dragonair said that to him in Episode 6. He was recalling it in the moment.

Nevertheless, he's finally realised what she's been going through. And despite him being an utter jerk, she still cries on his shoulder.
Sometimes you're not thinking straight during outbursts. Which Tessa most definitely wasn't.

This was a lovely chapter. I'm glad that the Guild are willing to help out Shane. At first, I wasn't sure he was going to get through to them. And it's understandable with all he's put them through recently.
I actually extended the scene a bit b/c I thought the guild needed to put a little more friction toward Shane in light of his past misdeeds.

The fluff scene with Tessa and Null was absolutely adorable. I loved it! We learn a lot about the both of them. Your headcannon with Null not being able to feel his face under his mask is a little worrying. I mean... why can't he? Does his helmet make his entire head numb? Poor Null =( I'd actually been wondering how he ate with that helmet on. Maybe he just doesn't need to? I'd love to know why. Surely he must need nutrition of some sort?
D'aww, thanks. The idea is that Null's helmet is crushing his face, to the point where he's lost all feeling in it. As for appetite, he's synthetic. Given how he was created, he doesn't actually need food. You can just assume the mask's suppressing his appetite.

The water fight was adorable too. It showed a playful side to Null that we've not seen before. I really hope he gets his helmet off soon. But I have no idea when that will be! It feels too soon at the moment. Given he's a happiness evolution, I feel you're hinting at something with their friendship being a catalyst that could cause that here.
It may be closer to where you are than you think. ;)

Somehow, I don't think Shane is gonna make the party. After the scene in Crabrawler's Cafe, he just seems too exhausted, and he's still all beat up after his ordeal in the swamp...
He's also suffering from sleep deprivation. :V

Ohh so the opening to this chapter makes the Snowfall scene with Nicky make sense now. Whereas that seemed so random, we know he had an impact on Shane's life.

Shame it all ended so darkly ='(
Yes, it's an important piece of info. I'd keep it in mind.

Shane is oddly living out Solgaleo's history here. Not sure why that is, given I'm under the assumption the legend has been misleading him.
That is your assumption, yes. But reality and assumptions may not end up lining up. ;P

Totally thought Ho-Oh had been a guy up to this point. Must not assume genders. Understood.
To be fair, assigning genders to some Legendaries just becomes a toss-up. I generally went with headcanon genders for a lot of Legendaries (e.g. male Zekrom, female Reshiram, female Lunala, male Solgaleo).

Shane is acting rather humble keeping himself hidden so as not to draw attention to himself. I'm actually happy he managed to make the party, and even help out with it, despite being exhausted.
That was the intention. ^^

That apology scene was too cute. I'm so happy Shane and Tessa have made amends. The story wouldn't be the same without Team Radiance.

Also... group hug with Null =3 gah! Such a sweet ending to this episode.
I had a lot of fun with the fluffy moment. Even if it's kind of cheesy.

Such a shame those little spooky spies had to ruin the moment. Along with Team Captivate. Such gooseberries!
That's what Team Specter specializes in: unwanted appearances!

Rather ominous ending that follows though. Looks like the Necrozma stuff is gonna get pretty heavy.
Heavier than a Celesteela, for sure.

Hmm... so no more dream conversations with Tessa's mum? Looks like Prisma's pretty unimpressed with Tessa's declaration to stick with Shane.
Yup, because she wanted to pry them apart, but it clearly didn't work.

Is uhm... Is Zero actually Prisma?
Yes! :D

I wonder how this little revelation is gonna be put to use?
Many folks are pretty much on the right path to figuring out what this means. You'll have to put quite a few pieces of information together.

So the Ultra Recon Squad is back, and it all goes down. A huge, epic, blown way out of proportion Sibling Rivalry ensues.
I see what you did there. :p

To be honest, the sides are nicely evenly matched here. There's no Prism Virus being fired at Shane and his friends, and the fight is somewhat fair.
Actually, this was probably the most advantageous fight for Team Radiance, since the idea was to show that Sticky and Luxeira are not quite up to Gallian's snuff when it comes to battling.

We also learn a lot more about Tessa and Gallian's family. But... has he also been misguided? I'm not sure I buy Braviary and Metagross killing off Incineroar like that. I think something is amiss here.
I'm gonna leave that up to you to figure out. You're the first person to not agree with Gallian, for what it's worth.

Also... Prisma didn't love either of her children?! I don't think Tessa needs to hear that from someone else, does she? I mean, Shane said it out of anger, but it seems like Gallian believes this =/
Correct. Which is a far cry from the Gallian you saw in the bonus chapters. Wonder what could've happened?

I like how we have some insight into this. Hopefully it won't be too long until we find out who 'them' is. Ooh, I like speculating what might happen next. Prisma is a fun puzzle to try and unravel. Given both she and Shane died and ended up in Horizon, I'm beginning to wonder if Nicky has, too.
She didn't actually die, but her circumstances are unusual. As are Shane's, as you'll come to find. out.

Wait... didn't Gallian arrive with no memories, too? D= No, Del. No... don't read too much into this.
Gallian is 100% an Absol, born and raised in Horizon.

Espy and Umbry seem pretty irritated with the legends. And it's not exactly any fault of the legends that Yveltal flew around turning everything to stone, is it? Nevertheless, I wonder if the legendaries might be who 'them' are?

But urgh. Those two are insufferable. Using a mother and her child as bargaining tools? Come on...
Yes, it was a rather jerk move. But the order came from Zero, essentially.

The purple jelly stuff was hilarious! Especially Null sticking his head into the bucket. Comfey has her tiny hands full with those three.
You don't know the half of it. XP

Now they've actually witnessed a pokemon get infected!! Oh man D= but... they took it surprisingly well! I mean, they were just talking to that Drampa!
To be fair, Drampa was kind of a jerk.

A Mystery Dungeon full of ice. And flying types. Seems like the infected dungeon's typing goes against its occupants, huh?
Espeon actually stated that in the chapter before this one.

Man, I remember ice puzzles. I sympathise. I'd loathe to see one in a PMD game with 'Monster House' traps like that.
Honestly, I thought puzzles would be more interesting to do in a fic than mindless dungeon battles. I'm happy people are liking them!

I have to admit I was a little amused at Shane's epic boo-boo resulting in his concussion and broken muzzle. I'm amazed at how affective berries are at healing wounds like that.
Pokémon are magical creatures, so there's a little bit of magic going into the healing element. I know from your interview that you're not a big fan of magic so I hope you can look past that stuff. ;~; <3

Poor Tessa, though =( She's really not happy in this dungeon. Null warming her up was cute. He's such a big ball of love, isn't he? You've really made me like Type:Null and Silvally because of this character, you know XD
Yeah, I'm under the impression that Riolu don't have much in the way of fur insulation. It seems like they don't have a mature coat until they evolve into Lucario.

Okay, this battle was epic and so imaginative. The way Espeon and Umbreon used the entercards was ridiculously threatening up until Team Radiance managed to find a way to counter it. And even then, Espeon and Umbreon didn't make it easy for them.
It was meant to be the big climactic battle for the first half of the story. Glad I could impress!

Shane suddenly using Z Power to defend Tessa was a huge surprise! And that it actually removed the Prism Virus from them? Was not expecting that!
Yup. Z-Power had been alluded to earlier, but this was it's big, sparkling debut! A bit late, I admit. ^^;

Ridiculously creepy... I'm gonna take back what I said about Gallian, because I am now wondering if Necrozma is Nicky...
It's a possibilityyyyyyyyy...

More confirmation that Espeon and Umbreon are freed from the Prism Virus! It's so much fun to see this canon cast. I loved the cast of Super so much.
Thanks! There appearances will be a bit infrequent, since I want to focus on the original cast. But I can't just have them sitting around doing nothing while this is happening.

Latias and Latios' interactions are pretty cute. Although he's like an annoying little brother despite being older XD
I always got the impression Latios was the more aloof of the two, while Latias is more timid.

So Zero confronts Braviary and co right after they stop the infected Drampa. And she's super threatening. I'm not sure they could beat her, tbh. Kudos to Dragonair for figuring out she uses extreme speed.
Yup. It had been awhile since we'd had a real hopeless boss fight.

I hope Zero's nasty words haven't put a dampener on Team Captivate. I know they have a bit of a serpent theme going on, and I am NOT a big fan of dragonite, but I'd assume should she choose to evolve that they won't just ditch her? They seem too close for that. I guess we'll see what comes of this.
Oh, uh, you might not like the end of this episode, then. I'm sorry! ;~;

Nice change to a pair of enemies you'd caused me to loathe. I'm so glad they seem to be back to normal, if somewhat shaken.
I wouldn't exactly say things will be back to normal. Since, well, they're shaken, and that's gonna spill over into future chapters.

I honestly thought Zero was going to off Espeon and Umbreon, not Sylveon and Eevee! That's devastating! They hadn't done anything! It seems she did it out of sheer spite to get at Tessa!
Yup, it was the ol' bait and switch! Meant to be a gut punch. Looks like it worked.

Thank you, Shane, for confirming my suspicions. Either Lucario has been taken over, thus changing her attitude towards her family and friends, or she was warped from the get-go. Or something else, maybe Necrozma (or Necky, as she calls him (oddly similar to Nicky)) got to her. Whatever it is, I don't like it. She's a very terrifying foe.
The funny thing is the very next chapter would probably answer these questions for you. ;P

I really hope they can get Sylveon and Eevee back. That's just rotten. It's like she's trying to remove everyone Tessa cares about...
If the story does have a happy ending, it's not going to be perfect. That's all I'll say.

And, once again, thanks so much for reviewing. Really brings a smile to my face! :D
 

Ambyssin

Winter can't come soon enough
Given what's happening this episode, I think it's only fair I should say that this right here is Necrozma's unoficially official theme. So, I suggest you use it whenever he shows up. Now, onto the chapter!

XxX

Chapter 45: Temple Traversing Troubles

~Celestial Island~

SMACK!

Necrozma's head slammed into glass table, shattering it instantly. His ethereal body flopped to the ground. Zero pressed down harder on his skull, making him squeal. "Muh-mistress, stop it! I was just… doing what you wanted. I needed more light. Can you blame me?"

Zero's outstretched paw flickered in and out of existence. The distortion spread to Necrozma's body and he began screeching loudly. "You overstepped your boundaries, Necky. The Prism Virus is after Legendaries. Only Legendaries," she growled. Her crystalline claws dug into the armor covering Necrozma's head. An eerie noise reverberated through the room.

"Skreeeeep! I'm sorry, mistress. I couldn't control myself. So many Pokémon… so much light! I had to eat it all. It helped send the pain away," Necrozma sputtered, his body spasming under Zero's grip. "How is it any different… from what you did to Sylveon and Eevee, huh?"

"The Prism Virus is trying to make a better world and that will all go to waste if there are no Pokémon to inhabit it," Zero growled. "I don't care how 'hungry' you claim to be. Exercise a little restraint. Or I'll be forced to renege on our agreement."

Necrozma's jolted in surprise. Zero clamped down on his head even harder. "No… you wouldn't. You promised I'd get my light back!" he barked. "I must devour it! I must consume it!"

"Then do as I tell you to," Zero ordered. She released her grip on Necrozma and stood back up, dusting off her armor. She glanced at the octahedron in her staff, her red eye flickering with rainbow light. "Once I've reshaped the world, I can try to bring back the mortal Pokémon you so recklessly did away with."

"I won't let you!" Necrozma shouted, floating into the air and spreading his wings apart. "They're all part of me now. I can feel their spirits inside me… wriggling around! Filling the emptiness you left me with. I won't give them back. Their spirits… they're too succulent!"

"You should have thought about that before crashing into me in Glyphic Falls," Zero snapped. "You have no one but yourself to blame for your current situation."

"Me?" Necrozma glared at Zero. "You're the one keeping my light hostage! This is all on your head!" He wrapped his wings over his body to stop his arms from spasming. "If you didn't have my Ultranecrozmera I'd annihilate you on the spot! You don't care about me at all, do you?"

"You're not exactly my idea of a good friend, Necky," Zero said, tapping her staff.

Necrozma's red eyes flashed ominously. "I knew it. Even with all my light powering you, you can't stand me!" He floated back and shook his head violently. He dragged his wing-claws across his forehead. "All of you… are the same. Every time I try to do something good… to make someone happy… they don't care! They try to get rid of me!" He craned his head down look Zero in the eye. "Maybe… I shouldn't wait. My core… you've drained it. But better a greatly-damaged core than no core at all!"

Zero snarled and raised her staff. Dark energy swirled around it. "If you try anything funny, I'll yank your tiny spirit fragment out of Lunala and obliterate it. And before you laugh it off, look at how well I've done since I melded part of your spirit to Lunala's. I have control of my body back." Her eye narrowed. "Like it or not, you need me around if you want free will."

Necrozma opened his mouth to retort, only to shut it. He floated away from Zero, gnashing his teeth together. "Then what is your order… mistress."

"You know what I want. Go to Aurora Vale. Get the Dawn Hourglass from Tapu Lele," Zero said. "No dawdling. And none of your stupid little games. Do whatever you feel is necessary. And if you encounter any unexpected opposition…" Her eye narrowed and she clenched her free paw. "… get rid of it."

"As you wish, mistress," Necrozma said, giving a comically overexaggerated bow. "Anything else?"

"I need an Ultra Wormhole stabilized to the base of Mt. Thunder," Zero instructed, gesturing beside her.

"Oh? And why should I waste my light doing that?"

"Because it's time I paid Zapdos a visit. He owes me some answers," Zero said, eye flashing dark blue. "Now, do as you're told!"

Necrozma lazily raised his arm and pointed it beside Zero. An Ultra Wormhole popped up next to her. Zero raised her staff and slammed it against the ground. A yellow and black blur shot through the room, disappearing into the wormhole. Seconds later, Dragonite fluttered back out of it. She dusted off the black, armored helmet on her head, exposing an insignia of a broken red heart. The same sigil appeared on each of her black, crystalline wings, superimposed on Necrozma's star icon.

"That's Mt. Thunder all right," Dragonite said, keeping her electric-blue eyes focus on Necrozma. The Xurkitree-like antennae sticking out of her helmet bobbed up and down in front of her face.

"Come now. What, did you think I was going to open a portal into the mouth of a volcano or something?" Necrozma sneered.

"Yes," Zero replied. "Now, stop dawdling and leave."

Necrozma grinned. "Very well. After all, I wouldn't want to arrive at the Temple of Mind too… Tapu Le-late! Heeheeheehee!' He turned and gave a flap of his wings. A second Ultra Wormhole opened in front of Necrozma and he flew right into it. The portal shut behind him before he could see Zero rubbing her temple.

"Mistress, if I may?" Dragonite spoke up, tapping her talons on her black, heart-shaped chest plate. "Why are you still putting up with him? Is Necrozma really that essential, here?"

Zero tightened her grip on her scepter. "Yes," she seethed. "Loathe as I am to admit it, his Ultranecrozmera is the only thing keeping me alive." She nudged her helmet. "It's taking every ounce of willpower to keep his broken spirit subdued inside of me. It's trying to wrestle away control of my own body. If I try to kill the part of Necky's spirit I corrupted Lunala with, I'm confident his core will fly into a violent rage that I won't be able to stop."

Dragonite's eyes widened. She opened her mouth, only to freeze. After a moment of silence, she finally asked, "Okay, how does that work?"

"It's all about balance… or imbalance," Zero hissed. "Necky is barely who he thinks he is. That's Lunala's body, Lunala's mind, and Lunala's spirit. I drained a small portion of Necky's life energy from his core into Lunala. And then I transferred all of Necky's memories to her. Thus, Lunala's infected by Necrozma." She shook her head. "I can't lie… having Ultra Wormholes at our disposal is immensely helpful."

"But Necrozma's growing harder to control," Dragonite pointed out. "He could undo everything we're working for."

"I'm aware of that," Zero snapped. "Which is why we just need to beat him to the punch. Did you find what I asked for?"

Dragonite produced a worn, tattered book from inside her chest plate. "Yup. It was in the researchers' old room, just like you thought." She handed the book over to Zero, who started flipping through it. "But what's that dusty old thing going to help us accomplish?"

Zero froze mid-page turn and looked down. Her lone eye slowly widened. "I'll have to look this over more thoroughly while we're climbing Mt. Thunder. But, I might have found a way to keep the world's daylight and dispose of Necrozma in one fell swoop."

She held up the book, allowing Dragonite to see the page it was turned to. It held a drawing of a green, compass-like rune with spokes poking out of it. And in the rune's center sat a silver, six-pronged gear.

XxX

~Aurora Vale~

Magearna's invention popped up out of a golden portal. Four balls of light arced up from the metal plate. They landed on the ground and burst apart. A single member of Team Radiance emerged from each one. "Ooooooogh," Tessa groaned, clutching at her stomach. "I think–" She threw a paw over her muzzle and belched. "–we made it."

Shane's face looked a particularly off shade of yellow. "All in favor of never doing that again?"

"Aye!" his teammates shouted in unison.

"Great. Motion passes unanimously. Go team," Shane deadpanned, before collapsing on his belly, stars swirling around his vision.

"So, this is Aurora Vale?" Mimikyu asked. He hunched down, trying to keep the winds from blowing off his disguise. "I didn't think it'd be so… cold."

"That would be thanks to the Prism Virus," Silvally exclaimed. His appendages glowed dark red, signifying he'd taken on the mantle of a fire-type. Steam rose off his body as harsh, snowy winds made contact. His gaze fell on the monolith, which still towered over the end area of the dungeon.

"How would a temple even hide here, anyway?" Mimikyu wondered. "This place is wide open." He noticed Silvally giving him a skeptical look. "Eep! Sorry! I didn't mean to ask a stupid question."

A frightened squeak drew Silvally's attention. He and Shane turned around and noticed Tessa's gaze had fallen toward the ground. "Sylveon… Eevee…" she whimpered, jamming her eyes shut and shivering. Unpleasant memories flashed through her mind, prompting her aura feelers to shoot up.

Her teammates raced forward. Silvally reached her side first and bent over, nestling the side of her cheek. "It's okay, Riolu," he whispered. "You're safe right now. You're with friends. And only friends."

"I know. I know," Tessa said. "I just…" Her digits dug into the ice. "I can't stop thinking about them. About Zero! When she had me in her grip and I–"

Shane stepped beside her and gave her a nudge in Silvally's direction. "You should stick with the big guy. He can keep you warm this time." He looked down at Tessa, but she continued shivering. "Hey," he said, taking her chin in his forepaw and swiveling her head to face him, "I know it sucks to be back here. But we have to press on and find the temple. The sooner we get to it, the sooner we get out of this place. That's what you want, right?"

Tessa's reply consisted of a sniffle. She stood up and rubbed her eyes with her arm. "Stay close to me… please," she whispered, putting her left paw against Silvally's knee. Silvally nodded and they started walked forward in unison.

"How do you suppose we even summon this temple, anyway?" Shane wondered. "The Guildmaster said I should be able to use my Looplet to do something, right?" He stuck out his foreleg and shouted, "Open sesame!" His teammates all gave him confused looks. "Crud. That didn't work. Let's see here…" His brow furrowed. "How about this? By the power of the looplet, show me the temple!"

Again, nothing but silence followed.

"Uh, Tapu Barada Nikto?" Shane mumbled, flicking his forepaw ahead of him much less confidently.

"I don't think it's working," Silvally observed.

"Darn, those ideas always worked in movies," Shane grumbled. "And I can't just hold my looplet up to the sun and expect a magical beam of light to point us the right way since, well, there's no sun over this dungeon anymore."

Mimikyu looked up and his eyes nearly bugged out of his costume at the sight of the red vortex swirling through the sky. "Bwaaaah! That thing in the sky's going to eat us," he panicked, fleeing behind Silvally for cover.

"Wouldn't we already be dead then?" Silvally thought aloud.

"This isn't getting us anywhere," Tessa growled. "If only we could get something more concrete from the ruins in Glyphic Falls."

"It's a bit late for that," Shane said. He was nearly at the end of the clearing, approaching a large sheet of ice. "I guess we just need to comb through the snow and see if we find anyth–OOF!"

Shane struck an invisible wall. His teammates did double-takes while he fell back on his rear, snout bright red and throbbing. "Ow, ow!" he whined, sticking his snout in the snow. "What kind of obnoxious jerk puts a barrier right there of all places?" He rubbed the bridge of his snout, completely ignoring the fact that the gem on his looplet had started glowing.

"Shane, look. Your looplet's reacting!" Tessa called out. Silvally grabbed her and Mimikyu. He trotted toward Shane. Shane looked down at his looplet just in time for a bright flash of light to erupt out of it and startle him. Silvally immediately broke into a run. But the blinding flash forced him to skid to a halt. Luckily, the light died down quickly. Shane looked up and his eyes widened as the previously invisible barrier revealed itself to be a bright pink doorway.

Shane shuffled back along the ground. He nearly fell onto his back from craning his neck up to look at the large, neon-pink building that now sat embedded in the wall of ice. Hanging above the massive doorway was the very same insignia Team Radiance's exploration badges had emblazoned upon them.

"Guys. I, uh, think we just found the temple," Mimikyu noted.

"This is Tapu Lele's place?" Shane gasped. "This is no temple. This is more like one of those ritzy Beverly Hill mansions!" He looked over at Tessa. "Are the Tapus celebrities or something?"

"Um, not that I know of," Tessa replied, staring in awe at the building. The group continued to take in the sights of the temple's exterior in complete silence. "So, do we just go up and knock?"

"I don't see any other way in," Silvally replied. "I nominate Shane to do it!"

"What?" Shane's tails shot between his legs. "Why me? You're so gung-ho about it. You go!"

"I don't have the Naturia Looplet," Silvally pointed out, his tone far too enthusiastic for Shane's liking.

"But what if there's some sort of, I dunno, evil security system?" Shane wondered. "Places like these tend to have things like that."

"Then you have us to back you up," Silvally encouraged. Mimikyu poked his head out from behind Silvally and waved a raggedy hand at Shane.

"My heroes," Shane deadpanned, walking up toward the doorway. "Just so you know, if something bad happens to me, I'm not letting you guys hear the end of this."

"Love you too!" Silvally shouted back, giving Shane the closest he could manage to a thumb's up with his talons.

Shane took a deep breath and rapped the door three times. Loud, metal clangs echoed through the valley. Shane hastily retreated from the door, crouching low into a fighting stance. But, to his surprise, nothing happened. He was about to turn and say something to his teammates, when the door slowly swung inward. A loud creak sounded. Shane's fur frizzled in displeasure. His ears reflexively curled against his forehead. He looked into the open doorway, but couldn't see anything inside. He gulped. "W-Well? I got it open. Are you guys coming or what?"

Silvally bounded toward him, stopping to let Tessa and Mimikyu disembark. The foursome slowly made their way inside the temple and the door closed behind them. Seconds after the door finished closing, a trail of shadows raced down the ice wall and slipped into some cracks along the side of the temple.

"Heeheeheehee. Time for Dr. Necrozma to make his first house call!"

XxX

~The Temple of Mind~

Team Radiance stood in the shadow of the massive doorway, staring into the spacious room that they entered. Sparkling pink and black tiles lines the floor, giving way to walls and a ceiling that looked as if Tapu Lele had ripped it out of the night sky. "This is… really not what I was expecting," Tessa muttered. She took a step forward and the tile beneath her started glowing.

"I'll say." Shane let out a whistle. "Yo, Tapu Lele! Olympia called, she wants her gym's decor back."

"What's an Olympia?" Silvally asked.

"Another human world thing," Shane replied.

"You know, it defeats the purpose of making a quip if you're the only one who can understand it," Silvally scoffed, joining Tessa on the tile floor. The tile underneath him lit up and a ball of light formed up in the center of the room.

"Uh oh. I think Shane was right about a security trap," Mimikyu gulped, skirting back toward the door. However, the light disappeared, revealing a cube standing twice as tall as Silvally. Its outline was made of tough metal, while its interior had pink, curved glass. Mimikyu's head lolled to the side. "Um, that's not very scary," he muttered.

"What's it doing here?" Tessa wondered.

As if to answer, a beam of pink light descended from the cluster of stars on the ceiling. It struck the top face of the cube. Light then shot out its four other faces. Tessa's eyes widened at the sight of a pink beam flying toward her. She dived onto the floor and the light whizzed by her seconds later. She rolled onto her back and looked into the beam, breath coming in short rasps. "That thing nearly torched me!" she gasped, paw resting on her chest. "Guys, you need to be care–"

Shane stepped out of the light, a confused look on his face. Tessa's muzzle went agape. "Sorry. Did you say something?" he asked.

Tessa's face flushed. She got to her feet, brushing herself off. "Nope. Must have been your imagination," she lied. "Anyway, I guess we should move on?"

"Uh, guys? I don't think we can go much of anywhere," Silvally called, pointing a talon ahead of him. His teammates looked toward the other side of the room where a pink, cast iron door stood. A heavy metal lock hung over the door. No keyhole could be seen in it, but each of the chains holding the lock in place contained a different colored crystal.

"Pink, red, purple, and white," Shane stated. He raised his forepaw and snapped his digits. "I've got it. We've just got to use psychic, fire, poison, and ice-type moves in unison on the door. I'll supply the ice. And… uh…" He looked over at his teammates, focusing on Tessa and Mimikyu in particular. "Hey, Silvally, I don't suppose you can, like, clone yourself, can you?"

"That sounds crazy," Silvally replied. "But I'm willing to try!"

Tessa's eyes widened and she jumped in front of Shane. "Or… or we could try solving this puzzle to open the door," she suggested.

"What puzzle?" Shane asked. Tessa grabbed his head and pivoted it to the right. Shane noticed a purple statue of a round Pokémon with a conical hat on its head. "Um, do we have to guess who that's a statue of?"

"No. And it's Tapu Lele," Tessa said. "But there are three other statues, and their colors all match the gems on the locks."

Shane nodded in understanding. "Oh, I think I get it. We've got to get the light to shine on the statues. That'll activate the crystals, break the lock, and open the door." He approached the purple Tapu Lele statue. "Could be worse. We could've had to assemble the statue of the Shrine of the Silver Monkey. Then we'd never get out of here alive."

"Hate to… urrrrrgh… interrupt your human reminiscing… unnnnngh… but you want to give me a hand trying to move this thing?"

Shane turned around to see Mimikyu trying (and failing) to push the block in the center of the room. "This thing's… really heavy…" he groaned. Silvally walked up beside him and pressed his head against the block. It immediately started sliding along the floor, causing Mimikyu to fall forward onto his face. "Aha… ha… that's just 'cuz I softened it up for you."

But by pushing the block forward, Silvally had moved it out from underneath the light. He shut his eyes and walked out from the light beam. "Okay, that's really bright," he said. "But, beyond that, how are we supposed to move the light beam to keep up with the block?"

Tessa and Shane both scanned the room, looking for anything suspicious. "There, by the door," Shane declared, and jogged in the direction he was looking. A large white floor tile sat at the base of the door, with four directional arrows positioned on its edges. "Ten Poké says these move whatever's generating that light."

"I'm not taking that bet. It's pretty obvious," Tessa scoffed.

Shane pouted. "Fine, ruin my fun." He stepped onto the arrow pointing toward the main entrance. Sure enough, the light beam moved further away from the box. "Right, so I suppose the best way to do this is first to position the block so the glass faces the four statues, and then move the light beam to shine on the cube."

His teammates nodded their approval. Tessa ran over toward Shane and proceeded to give directions to Silvally, who pushed the block around the room. When she was satisfied with its placement on the tile floor, she and Mimikyu helped their teammate rotate the block so that each its faces pointed toward one of the statues. "You're up, Shane," Tessa called, stepping back from the cube.

Shane nodded and turned toward the up-facing arrow. He was about to step on it, when its color shifted from pink to red. "Huh?" He cocked his head in confusion, but pressed a forepaw to the arrow.

"Hey! What are you doing? You're moving it in the wrong direction," Tessa barked. Shane looked over his shoulder, and realized the light had indeed move down, putting it further away from the cube. He glanced back at the arrow, which had turned pink again. He cautiously pressed it a second time. When he looked back over his shoulder, he spotted the light moving in the correct direction.

'Oh, I see. If I press the arrows while they're pink, the light moves in the same direction. But if I press them while they're red, it goes in the opposite direction. Great, I always hated timing-based puzzles,' he thought. Shane carefully used the up and right arrows to slowly move the light in the cube's direction, pausing whenever the arrows turned red to avoid getting confused.

"What's taking so long? Why do you keep stopping?" Tessa asked. Shane explained the timing mechanics to her, and then resumed moving the light fixture. Eventually, he maneuvered it atop the cube. Light beams spilled out from its sides. Each beam struck one of the Tapu Lele statues. They lit up with their respective colors. Bright light filled Shane's vision, forcing him to shut his eyes and look away from the door. Overhead, the colored crystals on the locks glowed as bright as their corresponding statues. They shattered simultaneously. Shane backpedaled from the door, opening his eyes in time to see the massive metal chains fall to the ground with a set of heavy thuds.

The large door opened inward, and fine pink mist spilled out from inside. Shane's muzzle twitched and he couldn't help but take a whiff of the air. A blush fell over his cheeks. "Guh," he grunted. "That smells great! Better than one of Steenee's Sweet Scents, even."

"I agree," Tessa said. "But don't let it go to your head. What if it's meant to distract Pokémon? Y'know, get them to lower their guard or something?"

Shane's ears twitched. He rapidly shook his head and slapped his cheek with a forepaw. "You're absolutely right. This isn't the time for playing 'Guess That Smell.' We have to forge on ahead!" He stiffened his muzzle and stomped through the doorway.

Mimikyu turned to Tessa. "Is 'Guess That Smell' really a thing?"

Tessa shrugged and followed her teammate through the doorway. The next room of the temple contained an identical puzzle to the first room. Only this time, there were mirrors scattered around the floor. This proved to hinder Team Radiance's progress, as there were a couple of instances where they believed they had solved the puzzle, only for a mirror to get in their way. It wasn't until Tessa made the suggestion that they try using some of the mirrors to reflect the light at the statues that they were able to figure the second puzzle out and move on.

The temple's third floor held another light puzzle. But this time, the floor was broken up by a staircase. Two of the statues sat on the upper level, while two of them sat on the lower level. In addition to this, unseen forces levitated the mirrors in midair. After several minutes of standing about, bewildered, Silvally noticed certain tiles on the floor glowing blue. Pressing one caused a nearby mirror to pivot, adjusting its angle. A quick brainstorming session followed. The result of which being that Team Radiance pushed the single cube onto the staircase, and used the mirrors to direct the light toward both the upper and lower levels of the floor.

"We better be done with this nonsense," Shane groaned as he followed his teammates into the door. "What's next? Having to do this puzzle with zero gravity?"

"Don't say that. You'll jinx us!" Mimikyu squeaked.

"Uh, something tells me we don't need to worry about doing another one of those puzzles," Tessa said, stopping dead in her tracks. Her teammates paused beside her and looked across the room.

The tiled floor was gone, replaced by marble. It gave the floor the appearance of a star-filled sky, just like the walls and ceilings in the previous rooms. Pink tapestries descended from the ceiling. Their golden trims made them sparkle in the light of the purple chandelier hanging from the ceiling, bathing the room in a soft lavender glow. At the other end of the room stood a massive black wall. Light reflected off the wall's numerous glass tiles.

"Huh. Y'know, when you guys kept mentioning that the Tapus are 'Land Spirits,' I got the idea that their homes would be rather… rustic. And this is anything but rustic," Shane mused. "It's like I'm in some prissy noblewoman's castle. I bet Tapu Lele's going to ride down and greet us in a Rapidash-drawn carriage."

"Don't be ridiculous," Tessa scoffed. "Rapidash aren't native to Horizon."

Shane faceplanted onto the ground. "That's all you took from what I was saying?"

"It's unimportant," Tessa dismissed. "What we need to focus on is finding a way forward."

"But the only door in here is the one we came through," Mimikyu pointed out. "Oh no… what if this is actually a dead end?"

"Calm down, dude. There's no way this is a dead end," Shane insisted, walking toward the center of the room. "If this was a dead end, then we would have already triggered some sort of–"

Shane stepped on the room's center tile and a puddle of black shadows materialized right in front of him.

"–trap?" He let out a squeak and hastily backpedaled toward his teammates.

"Heeheeheehee. What's this? It seems I have guests!"

Silvally's eyes narrowed. "I don't think Tapu Lele's the only other 'mon in this temple. And that sure doesn't sound like someone dropping by for a friendly visit."

Shane's ears stuck straight up. "Wa-wait, I recognize that voice." His eyes widened and he turned around, running up and pushing his teammates. "We've gotta get out of here. Quick, Tessa, grab an Escape Orb and let's–"

Necrozma appeared beside Shane, sending him scrambling back with a yelp. "Hold up. There's no need to walk out on me. I'm just… passing through. Please… don't mind me. After all… no one else does." His wings twitched and he lifted up an Escape Orb. Tessa's eyes widened and she frantically started digging through her item bag.

"Hey, that's ours! Give it back."

Necrozma clenched his fist and the Escape Orb shattered. "Oops! Looks like the Voice of Life's light has made me rather clumsy. I really should be more careful." He shook his head. "Tell you what. Since you're all with Shane, I'll make it up to you!" His use of Shane's real name drew alarmed looks from everyone on Team Radiance.

"Wait." Silvally's eyes widened. "Those black crystals… you're the Guiding Light, aren't you? You're Necrozma!"

The realization made Tessa's aura feelers shoot up in fright. Likewise, Shane shuffled backwards, tails falling between his legs. 'He knows my name. He knows. My. Name. Why does he know that? Is he reading my mind right now?'

"Where's my mom?" Tessa demanded, her voice wavering. "I... I know you did something to her! Give her back!"

"Your mother? Well, I have run into a Lucario many times," Necrozma declared to Tessa's abject horror. "But I left her alone. She seemed... perfectly happy to be on her own. I think... she was like me. She realized... how stupid... relationships are. Friends... family... they don't mean anything. Heeheeheehee."

Tessa shivered. "No... you're lying!" she squeaked.

Silvally took a defensive stance in front of her. "Don't indulge him, Riolu. He's clearly trying to rile you up."

"Aw, shucks. You found me out. So sorry about that. But I'll make it up to you, I swear! How about we grab some pizza? I know it's your favorite, Shane! I'll get us pepperoni… just like the good old days!" Necrozma declared, an eager grin on his face.

Mimikyu fidgeted with the edge of his rag. "Do… do I want to know what a pepperoni is?"

"It's meat," Shane said.

Tessa looked at him in shock. "Wait… you were a predator when you were human?"

"Easy now, Riolu. Don't judge him until you try it for yourself!" Necrozma taunted. He stuck his right arm out and a small Ultra Wormhole popped up beside him.

"Ah! That's just like the portal Zero appeared out of," Tessa squealed, fur bristling.

"Silence! Can't you see I'm trying to make a phone call here?" Necrozma growled, pulling out a telephone stylized to look like a Pikachu. "Honestly, the nerve of some people." He shook his head disapprovingly.

"What's a phone?" Silvally asked.

Shane's muzzle stiffened. "It's kind of like a Gear-Com, but for humans. Which begs the question… how is this guy doing that?"

Necrozma brought the phone up to his head. "Yes, hello? Zippy Zeraora's Ultra Pizza Delivery Service? I'd like to place an order." Necrozma paused. "Uh-huh. Yes… give me one extra-large pepperoni pizza, with– oh, hang on one second." He put a hand up against the receiver. "You guys want Wishiwashis on your pizza? They're quite delectable."

Team Radiance responded with disgusted looks. In Mimikyu's case, his disguise head flopped over his eye holes.

Necrozma brought the phone up to his head. "You never were adventurous, Shane. Fine. Let's just make it a bland ol' pepproni pizza." He paused. "No, no extra cheese or sauce. Crust? Extra thiiiick, obviously. Oh, and gimme an order of those cinnamon desert sticks. Drinks? No, we're fine." Another pause followed. "Name and species?" Necrozma sighed and rubbed the bridge of his metallic helmet. "Necky. I'm a N– Lunala. My location? Let's see here. I'm at the Temple of Mind in–"

He abruptly cut himself off and his eyes flashed angrily. "What?" He lifted the phone in front of his phase and started shaking it, shouting, "What do you mean you don't deliver outside of Ultra Space? This is an outrage. Do you hear me? OUTRAGE! I demand to speak to your supervisor!"

Click!

A loud dial tone echoed through the room. Necrozma's red eyes glowed even brighter. He grabbed the telephone cord extending through the Ultra Wormhole and gave it a hearty yank. The telephone's base hurtled out of the portal. Necrozma released his grip on the phone and it sailed across the room. He turned and blasted it to smithereens with a Shadow Ball. "Bah! How disgraceful," he scoffed. "No matter where I go. No matter what I do… everyone disappoints me! Surely you can understand such a sentiment… right, Shane?"

Shane throat ran dry. He tried to open his mouth and say something, but all that came out was a scratchy squeak.

"Heeheeheehee. What's the matter, buddy? You look white as a sheet!" Necrozma grinned wickedly. "I know it's been awhile, but I thought you'd be happy to see me! After all. It's me… your best friend."

Shane felt his teammates' gazes fall on him. "Wha-what are you talking about?" he stammered. "You're no friend of mine. You're… you're the voice that was pretending to be Solgaleo in my dreams!" He looked down, his jaw stiffening in worry. "Espeon and Umbreon were right then," he whispered. He shot an accusatory look toward Necrozma. "Necrozma! You're part of the Prism Virus, aren't you?"

"So, the brave little hero finally pieces it all together, huh? Bravo! Splendid!" Necrozma bellowed. He thrust his wings apart and burst into a round of applause. "And here I thought the cowardly blue fuzzball would catch on quicker."

Shane shook his head in disbelief. "I can't believe I didn't realize it sooner. You're calling yourself Necrozma, for god's sake! I know you used to be human, so surely you realize 'necro' means death! You're practically hanging a sign around your neck that says, "Hi, I'm Evil. Nice to meet you!'"

Necrozma's grin widened. "Of course. After all, I'm just doing what I know best: playing the bad guy."

A chill ran down Shane's spine as Necrozma locked eyes with him. "I… I don't understand," Shane said. "Are you the one who brought me here, then? Why are you doing all of this? Is this about what Golem did to you?"

"Do not bring that wretched worm's name up in front of me!" Necrozma thundered, his eyes taking on a rainbow shimmer. "As for you, Shane, I brought you here to save the day, of course. To be the hero that you always wanted so desperately to be."

Shane's face scrunched up in confusion. "You brought me here… to stop you? That doesn't make any sense!"

Necrozma sighed loudly. "Of course not. You're here to save me. I'm giving you a second chance… to fix the biggest mistake you ever made in your life."

Shane's eyes darted about the room in a panic. He could feel his teammates' gazes on the back of his neck. "I… You…" he stammered. "We don't know each other. We can't know each other. You were brought here centuries before me."

Necrozma merely grinned at Shane, licking his lips in anticipation. "You're assuming time moves linearly between this world and the human world." He leaned over, arms spasming. "But that couldn't be farther from the truth."

Shane's legs trembled. "Wh… who are you?"

"Come now. If I told you, that'd be spoilers!" Necrozma crooned. "And I don't want to be that guy. No, it'll be much more fun if you find out on your own. Besides… you're not ready to save me. Look at you. You're still stuck inside that meek, pathetic body. There's a sliver of my light coiled around that leg of yours… but it's not enough."

Panic overtook Shane's face. "Did you do something to me?" His eyes widened in realization. "Are… are you the reason why my ability's not normal? Are you sending someone to yell at me in my dreams and tell me I'm not human? Answer me!"

"Bzzzzzzt! Sorry, buddy. But we've run out of time," Necrozma said. "Don't worry, though. You won't be leaving empty-handed. Your good buddy Necrozma's prepared a lovely parting gift for you. Please…" He leaned forward, bowing like he was making a curtain call and continued, "… enjoy it." He folded his wings back up.

An Ultra Wormhole opened behind Necrozma and he drifted back into it. Shane sprinted forward, shouting, "Wait, stop!" But the wormhole vanished in a flash of light. Shane skidded to a halt, looking up ahead of him. The glass wall now glowed red.

"Um, guys?" Mimikyu squeaked, as dozens of bright pink exclamation points popped up on the wall in front of them. "I think it's time to make our exit!" But as he turned around, the door slammed shut. Black chains shot out from the wall, wrapping themselves around the door. A large padlock, bearing Necrozma's star and a piercing red eye, grew out of the chains. "Eep! We're trapped!"

"What are those things on the wall?" Tessa asked, her aura feelers trembling. "They kind of look like the Unown, but…"

"It's… it's human writing," Shane gasped. "It says, 'Threat Detected: Deploying Security System TPLE.'"

"Sounds to me like this is Necrozma's parting gift," Silvally stated grimly. The exclamation points vanished. In their place, dozens of glowing red eyes appeared. They all turned to look down at Team Radiance. Tessa's aura feelers shot skyward at this.

"I don't like this!" she squealed.

"Well, we lost our Escape Orb. So, the only way out is to deal with this threat," Silvally declared.

Unauthorized access detected. All intruders will be destroyed by Prism Virus Security System TAPU_LELE.

"Ahhh! Who said that?" Mimikyu shouted, looking around the room in a panic. The red eyes vanished from the wall, taking some of the glass tiles with them. Streaks of electricity appeared in their places. A red octahedron crystal floated out from the electricity.

System ready. Extracting program "Prism_RBRT_Meanies.exe".

The crystal shattered, shrouding the other end of the room in thick black smoke. Silvally thrust his head forward and Air Slash jets raced ahead, slicing through the smoke. "No way!" he gasped. "The crystal, it made gemstone versions of a Medicham, a Gengar, and… an Ekans?"

Shane's eyes widened. But before he could respond to his teammate, the glass tiles and red eyes reappeared on the wall. The three crystalline Pokémon in front of him snapped to attention, their eyes glowing the same shade of red.

Engage.

XxX​

Yes, Necrozma's acting a little odd in that last scene. But, as you saw, he's doing it to screw with Shane. As he said (and the last chapter showed in the human world flashback) he's recreating the games he played with Shane... just on a much more dangerous level. Hopefully that makes sense for everyone.

Next time: shadows of the past, present, and future!
 
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Ambyssin

Winter can't come soon enough
Here are the Q&A results, along with some extra fluff. There's also a message at the end. Anyway, enjoy!

XxX

Bonus #10: Hard-Hitting Questions
This is an omake. Please don't take it too seriously!

~Aeon Observatory~

Shane sprinted toward his team's room, a crinkled-up piece of paper in his mouth. A gold medal lay around his neck, striking his chest with every bounding step and making him wince. "Guysh! Guysh! I've gop beeg ne–"

He cut himself off and came to a screeching halt in the doorway. Tessa and Silvally looked up at him. Like Shane, Silvally had a small, Celebi-shaped medal around his neck. Similar ones were sitting in a plastic case on the floor. "Oh," Shane muttered, the paper falling out of his mouth and drifting to the floor. "You, uh, heard the news, huh?"

"Yup," Tessa stoically replied. She was sitting on her cushion, thumbing through a book whose title Shane couldn't make out.

"Wait, does everyone else know, too?" Shane asked.

"Yup." Tessa turned the page in her book.

"And nobody thought to tell me anything? I spent all night pacing in front of the main entrance, waiting for the mail Pelipper to bring the results," Shane complained, rubbing sleep out of his eyes. "How did everyone find out so quickly?"

"Necrozma used an Ultra Wormhole to get us the results as soon as voting closed," Silvally explained. "We wanted to tell you, but we lost track of time celebrating."

Shane's jaw dropped. "You mean there's already been a party and I wasn't invited?!" He stamped a forepaw angrily on the ground. "This is totally unacceptable!"

"Relax, it wasn't anything big," Tessa assured him. "We had some cupcakes and berry juice, but I'm pretty sure the berry juice was fermented. I know I passed out pretty shortly after drinking it."

"This is totally unfair!" Shane harrumphed. "How can you throw a party and not have me there? I'm the cog at the center of this whole metaphorical machine! See?" He gripped his medal in his mouth and hoisted it up.

"Ahem… you're not the only one who was recognized, you know," Silvally exclaimed, pointing a talon at his chest.

"Fair point," Shane said. "But unlike a certain chimera, I won my category outright as opposed to tying." He beamed pridefully. "And that makes me bet–"

CLANG!

Shane jumped, barking in fright, and scrambled into the room. He looked back to see Metagross standing behind him. A medal was stuck to his foreleg like a tiny magnet. Fact: I performed better in my category than you. Fact: I can easily dispose of you in battle. Conclusion: I am the superior character, here. Fact: if anyone has the right to brag, it is me.

"I don't think that's how it works," Silvally muttered.

Did you not hear me using 'fact?' My statements are undisputable. Fact: they have numerical data behind them. That makes them objective, Metagross scoffed.

"Yeah, but you're a minor character," Shane pointed out.

I can still be better appreciated than the main cast, Metagross stated. Fact: it is the trope known as 'Ensemble Darkhorse.' Look it up.

Metagross turned and stomped away from Team Radiance's room. Shane puffed out his cheeks and stormed up to the doorway, shouting, "You only know about that term because I told it to you in the first place, you oversized kitchen table!"

"Mwee hee hee hee! Oh, don't feel bad, Snowball."

Shane tensed up. "Haunter? Quit eavesdropping. This is our room!"

Haunter materialized out of the floor, snatching up Shane's medal in the process. "I'll be taking this. Yoink!"

"HEY! That is mine! I earned it fair and square!" Shane fumed.

"Oh, puh-lease. Everyone knows that, if it wasn't for the brilliant comedic efforts of Team Specter, nobody would give a lick about you," Haunter said, swinging the medal around his finger. "They voted for you because they love seeing you get all mangled up. You're a walking, talking chew toy! Mwee hee hee hee!"

"That's totally not true," Shane said, pouting. "Isn't that right, guys?" He looked expectantly at his teammates. Tessa and Silvally stiffened. Both of them immediately looked away and whistled innocently. "Seriously?" Shane whined, ears drooping. "Does my suffering really bring people that much joy?"

"Of course it doesn't!"

A scalding burst of water knocked Haunter out of the air. Milotic stuck her tail out and caught Shane's medal as it fell to the ground. "Here, I think this belongs to you," she exclaimed, handing the medal over to Shane. He immediately perked back up.

"Thanks."

"You guys don't know how to take a joke! WAAAH!" Haunter flew out of the room, comically large streams of tears gushing out of his eyes.

"You don't think he was really upset, do you?" Shane asked.

"Nah. That's just Haunter being Haunter," Milotic dismissed. "Anyhow, it turns out there's one more award that just got delivered." She uncoiled her body and pushed a small plastic case toward Shane. "It's for you and Tessa."

Tessa got to her feet, raising a skeptical eyebrow. "Really? I didn't think the two of us were up for anything." She reached Shane's side and the duo looked down at the case.

"W-What the–?! 'Cutest Couple?!' In what universe? I thought the award was 'Best Character Dynamic!'" Shane gasped. He and Tessa looked right at each other, only to immediately turn their backs on one another. "We're not…"

"We don't…"

"We're not a couple!" they finally said in unison. They turned back to stare at each other with bewildered looks. "Hey, I said it first!" they shouted. "No, I did!" Their eyes widened in shock and they looked away again, blushing wildly.

"See, Millie? Told you they would fall for it!"

Shane's ears stuck up. "Wait, Serperior's here, too? And what's that supposed to mean?"

Sereperior slithered up to Milotic. "That I got the two of you good, that's what," she said. "Oh man, did you see the looks on their faces? Yeah, you guys aren't fooling anyone. One thousand Poké says they're together by the end of this whole story."

"Hey! You can't just bet on my love life like that!" Shane huffed.

"Or, rather, his lack of a love life," Silvally said, snickering.

Shane face palmed. "Can we just move on to the fan mail submissions, already? You guys are awful."

"Sure," Serperior said. "But we need Silvally to get the submissions. It's, uh, a bit of a heavy lifting job."

Team Radiance collectively stiffened. "Jeez, just how much stuff did we get?" Silvally wondered, walking out of the room. Shane and Tessa followed him out to the assembly area, where most of the Pokémon they had encountered so far were assembled. Most were grouped around tables, all of which had bowls of bright-red tamato soup sitting atop them.

"Oooh. We get free food out of this?" Shane said, licking his lips eagerly. "Never mind. They can ask as many questions as they want!" He happily jogged toward the table in the center of the room. He turned toward Metagross's office, where a makeshift podium had been hastily assembled. Magearna stood behind it. A microphone had replaced her left arm.

Okay, everyone. I think we've spent enough time minglinating, Magearna exclaimed, stepping back from the podium. Now, I believe it's time we addressed these burning questions that we received via fan mail.

"Um, exactly how many questions did we get, Magearna?" Tessa asked. "Because I'm due to get my fur groomed this afternoon, and–"

"Wait, you booked a fur grooming appointment?" Shane gasped. "And you didn't invite me?" A puppy dog pout appeared on his face. "Come on! The party's one thing. But I haven't had my hair poofed in a week! Can you believe that? A week!"

"I didn't invite you because you're insufferable at the salon," Tessa groaned, rubbing her temples.

"I am not!" Shane huffed.

Tessa turned to the other Pokémon in the room. "Everyone?"

"Ow! What are you doing, you dolt? You're supposed to brush down the length of my tails! What kind of amateur are you?" Togedemaru bellowed, trying to imitate Shane's nasally voice.

"No, no! You can't use a cheri extract shampoo on my hair. That'll make my locks of fur clump together!" Milotic exclaimed, also imitating Shane.

"What kind of dolt uses a claw file on a 'mons paw pads, huh?" Araquanid pantomimed. "I want a loofa soaked in crushed lilac for exactly thirty-five seconds."

Shane turned back to Tessa, a hurt expression on his face. "I do not sound like that."

"Yes, you do!" half the Pokémon in the room shouted back in unison. Their combined volume was loud enough to make Shane jump out of his chair in fright. He landed in his bowl of soup, with a comical red splash.

Tessa handed in a napkin, trying to hold back her laughter. "Hey, you've got a little something on your cheek," she teased.

"Oh yeah?" Shane raised a soupy forepaw and flicked it at Tessa, splattering soup on her face. "Now you do, too."

Order: both of you cease your childish squabbling, Metagross bellowed, putting a foreleg down on their table. Continue, Magearna.

Magearna bowed. Of course. We'll get started with the questions just as soon as Silvally finishates bringing them out.

"What's taking him so long, huh?" Growlithe wondered. "How many could there possibly be?"

Everyone turned toward the southern hallway. Their jaws collectively dropped as Silvally staggered forward, pushing a giant box toward the stage. As soon as he reached it, he collapsed onto his belly, gasping for air. "Never… doing this again…" he wheezed.

Ah, excellent. Let's get started, then, Magearna stated. Stand by as I boot up my panel moderation algorithm. She stiffened and the glow faded out of her eyes. She almost immediately sprang back to life and approached the box. To keep things fair, we'll rotate through different members of the cast until all the questions are done. First up, Shane.

"Heh. I figured," Shane said, stepping out of the bowl of soup and sitting back on the floor with a squelch.

Shane, what is your favorite generation of Pokémon?

"Pffft. That's a low-baller. It's Generation III, of course," Shane scoffed. "Err, okay. Hoenn's not the best region. But it's definitely got the best lineup of Pokémon, and that takes the cake for me. There isn't a single starter family I don't like. And, of course, you've got the best fossil in Anorith and Armaldo. And just the amazing line-up of Legendaries before things went completely off the rails and we started getting twenty of them every generation. Latios and Latias are great! And Rayquaza is pure, concentrated awesome…"

"Not to mention it's where Mystery Dungeon got its start," Tessa said, adding in a giggle.

"Oh, yeah. That too," Shane added.

Now, for Tessa: what's your favorite family memory?

Tessa stiffened. "Oh… w-well…" She poked her digits together. "When I was much younger, Dad brought Grandpa Lycanroc and Grandma Incineroar over for dinner one night. And they brought this amazing picture book: The Tale of the Temporal Saviors. It was about the Pokémon that banded together to restore Temporal Tower."

"Seriously? That's barely a worthwhile memory," Shane dismissed.

"Let me finish," Tessa said. "Grandma Incineroar cooked up her homemade malasadas while Grandpa Lycanroc went and narrated the whole entire story for us. He could do the most amazing voices." She smiled. "I think that was the first time that Gallian and I really got excited about the idea of exploring. Grandpa even helped us do a practice battle…"

"Where I wiped the floor with you," Gallian scoffed.

"But you were still laughing and having fun!" Tessa pointed out. Gallian looked away, face flushing. "The point is, seeing Dad and Grandpa getting all riled up just… it sent this chill down my spine in the best way possible."

"Too bad the real thing didn't live up to expectations, am I right?" Sneasel chortled.

"Yeah! If I had to sum up her explorer's career with an attack… it'd be Self-Destruct!" Jangmo-o added, collapsing on his back in a fit of laughter.

"Um, maybe we should just move onto the next question," Tessa sighed, ears drooping.

Necrozma, does light from different sources taste different? And if so, what kind is the tastiest?

"Of course it all tastes different. Every drop of someone's life energy is a slightly different flavor,"
Necrozma declared. "But the best one? Hmm… that's a bit trickier. Flavors aren't exactly something that just stick with me. Especially when I'm constantly sucking out Lunala's light. Her taste has grown very stale." He tapped his forehead with a claw. "I suppose the Voice of Life would win in best flavor department. He was… positively heavenly! Like an all-you-can eat ice cream buffet filled with your favorite flavors and toppings."

Espeon, while you were infected, what was the deal with this obsession over finding a new playmate?


Espeon blanched. "Oh… um… that…" Her face flushed. "Funny story about that…" She scratched the back of her head. "It might've meant that I was, uh, looking for someone to help with, erm, some 'stress relief.'"

Umbreon's ears drooped. "If you're thinking the reasoning was lewd, you're absolutely right."

"Ha! And you're calling me the pervert here?" Shane scoffed.

"I wasn't myself back then!" Espeon hissed. "Next question!"

Okay. Silvally, here's one for you. How do you know you're a guy?

"When I woke up in the guild, I just gravitated toward the idea of being male," Silvally said. "Now that the mask's gone, I can say for certain that there are more male spirits inside me than female ones. So, that feels right."

"That's really it?" Haunter wondered. "Because I swear I saw you in the showers the other night and you very clearly looked to be end– OWWWW!"

Braviary knocked Haunter to the floor. "We're supposed to be keeping this tasteful, pardner."

"What? I was just gonna say that I saw–"

A flurry of Air Slash crescents cut Haunter off. Braviary nodded at Magearna to continue. Yes, I think that's best. Lycanroc, how does evolution work for you? Did you try to make yourself Midnight form or was it pure luck?

"… tch. Only an amateur would think it's luck, mate," Lycanroc scoffed. "It all depends on time of day. If it's sunny, you're Midday. If it's sunset, you're Dusk. If it's nighttime, you're Midnight. And you better believe I wanted to be Midnight form. Actually being able to use two of my paws as hands? A real banger of a deal. I've never regretted it a day in my life."

"But boss, when we got tossed in the slammer, weren't you wishing you'd been a Midday Lycanroc, instead?" Jangmo-o wondered. Lycanroc's reply came in the form of hurling a rock into Jangmo-o's head.

I think we should move on. Lunala, I have one for you. How is life? Do you like your new roommate?

A phantom of Lunala poofed into existence next to Magearna. "Absolutely not! He's a total fruitcake. I hate him. And I want him gone!" The phantom disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Wow, tell me how you really feel, why don't ya?" Necrozma scoffed.

For Gallian: What do you think of Shane? Are you glad he is your sister's friend or do you just want him to disappear as well as your sister?

"He's a terrible influence. Every second my sister spends with him she wades further and further into the pit of absolute disaster!" Gallian spat.

"Did you seriously just make that pun?" Shane groaned.

"Butt out, fox-boy! Go tie some foofy ribbons around your tails," Gallian snapped. "For the record, I do hope you disappear like the other humans did."

"Ouch," Tessa said, wincing.

Mimikyu, what's hiding under that rag of yours?

"Ah!" Mimikyu scuttled back toward the stairs. "That's… um… a secret. All us Mimikyus promised not to spill the beans. Sorry! Please don't be mad at me."

Perfectly understandable. Now, for Braviary, can you tell us about your worst mission experience as part of Team MIB?

"Yer darn tooting, I can!" Braviary said. "Lemme tell ya. Ain't nothing that can prepare a 'mon for the first time they go up the Invern Mountains. But, of course, as soon as we was apprentices, Torracat thought it'd be nice to take a mission that would bring us up to Solstice Summit. Didn't even take the time to read up on the Invern Mountains at all."

"What's so strange about the Invern Mountains?" Shane wondered.

"It done twists up what moves are effective on what Pokémon!" Braviary said. "It was awful! All these grass-types I done should've had the leg up on were knocking me about like I was a piece of rubble."

Shane's eyes widened in realization. "Wait… Invern Mountains? Oh god, the whole dungeon's a giant inverse battle, isn't it! That's…" He smiled. "Actually, that's awesome for an ice-type." He looked at Tessa. "We gotta go there!"

"Pass."

"As I was saying," Braviary harrumphed. "Getting on up that mountain were a right pain. Nearly had the three of us at each other's throats. Especially since all the ice-types done had the jump on both Metang and Torracat. The two of them done yelling at me fer not being fast enough to keep the varmints off of them." He shook his head. "Thought we was gonna black out fer sure. But, somehow we pulled through in the end. Made it up to Solstice Summit. We each got a special trinket out of it. I think Torracat's was the best though. They done gave him that rainbow scarf. Said some of Ho-Oh's feathers were woven into the fabric and everything."

"I think that might explain why the Prism Virus doesn't work on you two," Espeon said, looking at Shane and Tessa. "Ho-Oh's healing energy is beyond compare."

"Not to mention all the abuse we get put through," Shane said, sighing loudly.

This next one's for Incineroar. What is a fault or two that you have? And how did you work to overcome it? Magearna turned to her right, glancing over at Ninetales, who stood by the north hallway.

"Oh… right," she muttered. "Hang on a moment." She fanned out her tails and a green, ethereal glow overtook her body. A spectral silhouette of Incineroar appeared beside her. "Did you get that?" she asked.

"Yeah. Flaws, huh?" Incineroar rubbed his chin. "I guess folks always told me that I could be a bit too trusting of others. I liked to think that having Braviary and Prisma by my side kind of helped with that, since they were always reasonable voices of doubt. Aha ha…"

Keep him around, Ninetales. We'll need him later, Magearna said. Now, for Zero: have you ever heard of Infinite?

Zero crossed her arms. "No. Next question."

Err… of course. Haunter, what was the best prank you ever pulled?

"Easily the time I dyed Guildmaster Incineroar's fur hot pink!" Haunter said. "It took him the entire morning to realize what was wrong and I had half the guild in hysterics."

"Yeah. And that dye took hours of scrubbing to get out," Incineroar grumbled. "You should just consider yourself lucky you got off with sentry duty."

"You didn't punish him more?" Ninetales gasped.

"To be fair, it was pretty funny," Incineroar conceded. "Heck, I did the same thing to Leafeon when I first joined the guild."

Onto Jangmo-o. How did you and Sneasel become friends?

"Pfbt. Us? Friends? Whoever asked that's sorely mistaken," Sneasel scoffed. "We're partners in crime, that's all."

"But you helped me when I staggered out of Rem Canyon," Jangmo-o said. "I was positively starving. Sneasel offered to give me one of the berries. I, uh, didn't know they were stolen. So, when the berry's owner ran after Sneasel, I fought him off. And we've stuck together ever since."

"Wait, you're from Rem Canyon?" Togedemaru gasped. "So, you're a wild Pokémon?"

"Wild and proud!" Jangmo-o declared. "That a problem for ya, toots?" Togedemaru shook her head. "Good. I had to leave there. I… had a falling out with my old man. And that's all I'm saying on that."

Alright, then. Shane, back to you. Based on Solgaleo's memories, would you say Solgaleo and Lunala are siblings, friends, or lovers?

"Siblings," Shane replied. "Heck, that's what the Horizon legends imply, right? Man, I was expecting hard questions." He leaned over and slurped up some soup. "Blech! Ugh, this tastes awful!"

"I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that you took a nice relaxing dip in it," Tessa scoffed.

Hrmm… Tessa, you're up next. But what I have here is less of a question and more of a statement from a fan. Ahem… 'You are awesome. Whatever happens in the future, don't let it drag you down.'

Tessa perked up. "Oh… um… thanks!"

Shane pouted. "Hey, where's my endearing praise, huh?"

Necrozma, who do you hate more: Zero or Golem? Why? And what would you do to that person?

"Skrreeeeeep! Isn't it obvious? GOLEM!"
Necrozma snarled. "He put the most crucial crack in my spirit. He cost me my real body. My light! I was using it to do good. I was making Pokémon happy. And that made me happy. Then he went and ruined it! I'm glad I obliterated him."

For Espeon: what happened to the two Jellicents who did the exposé on you and Umbreon?


"Umbry had untied their limbs," Espeon grumbled. "But they both agreed to give up their journalistic aspirations. They haven't published another story since." She flicked her snout skyward. "And good riddance."

Very well. A follow up then, for Umbreon: Espeon seems rather flustered whenever the Jellicents' article is brought up. Does that mean there's truth to it?

Espeon turned and glared at Umbreon, who promptly started sweating. "Um, I don't really have to answer that, do I?"

"Of course you don't! Espeon hissed. "Move on. Move on!"

Silvally, is there anything special you've thought about doing? And, now that your helmet's gone, do you think you can do it?

"Um, if I'm honest, I don't really think I've ever thought about anything special," Silvally replied. "Though, now that the helmet's gone, I'd, uh, really like to meet Arceus." Several Pokémon look at him in surprise. "I know, I know. It's completely unreasonable. But Destiny Tower does exist. And… I just want to know. I want to see him for myself. So that I can figure out why Golem thought to model me after him. And maybe he'd have an answer as to why so many Pokémon back then felt like Legendaries were useless."

Zero, you're up again. And, uh, this is definitely a weird one, Magearna exclaimed. 'Do you want to have a bad time? Because if you keep going down the path you're on… well… you won't like what happens next.'

Zero's eye narrowed. "No. If I keep on the path I'm on, this world will be rightly and truly perfect. More importantly, I'll have my family back. Next question."

Incineroar, is it true you snuck into your dad's office with Prisma?

"Yup!" Incineroar said, grinning goofily. "One of my favorite nights in my time at the guild, that's for sure."

"Too much information," Shane groaned.

Haunter, have you ever thought about or tried giving Metagross spiked berry juice?

"Nope!" Haunter said. "Because if I were to even think about it, he'd know. And I wouldn't want to think of what'd happen." He glanced nervously at Metagross, who glared back at him.

And we're back to Shane. It's, um, another statement. This one says, 'Good luck. Something tells me you're gonna need it.'

Shane's ears drooped. "Just what's that supposed to mean, huh? Tessa gets words of encouragement and I'm told to watch my back?" He slouched against the table. "No respect… no respect, I tells ya."

For Tessa: has Shane been getting better to be around?

Tessa looked at Shane, whose tails were slowly wagging. "I think I'd say so, yeah. I'm a lot more comfortable around him than I was."

"Thanks!" Shane chirped. "Honestly, Riolu deserves a lot of credit for all the stuff she's been through. If our situations were reversed, I'd have probably thrown in the towel by now." He gave Tessa a warm grin. "I know the early days were… rough, to say the least. But I honestly don't think I'd have gotten here if it wasn't for you."

"Oh… uh…" Tessa's face flushed. "Thanks."

"You're welcome."

"Awwwwwwww!"

"Shut it, Milotic!" Shane hissed.

Uh, I have a comment here that's directed at Prisma. This is some sort of really long message and I'm not sure I can make heads or tails of it, Magearna exclaimed. I had to truncate it, due to length. Ahem… 'So... It's been a while. You seem... different, that's for sure, but... you're still you, if that makes sense. Something tells me that you're at the center of something huge, so don't lose yourself in pursuit of your goals, alright?

Zero crossed her arms and looked away. "… tch. What is it with these humans trying to convince me I'm in the wrong? Let me ask you something, question-writer. Have you been forcibly ripped away from the ones you loved and thrown into some sort of alien world? A world that's brought you continuous heartache? If not, then I can't expect you to understand where I'm coming from." She nudged her helmet. "I don't know why I was even invited to this."

Right. Let's move on, then. Shane, has being a Vulpix grown on you at all? Or do you still not like it?

"Well, it would be much better if I could keep my fur nice and clean," Shane said. "That's, like, apparently impossible here. I think Arceus gets off on gunking up other Pokémon's coats. It's the only explanation that makes sense."

"Isn't there anything you like about it?" Tessa asked.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I mean, it's not so bad anymore. Sure, I miss having hands. But being able to use magic is pretty great. And I've got way more stamina than I ever did as a human. So, that's pretty great. Besides… there's this small part of me that thinks being a Pokémon makes sense… and being a human doesn't."

Magearna looked at the next card. Oh my. We finally got a scintillating question. Tessa, is there anyone you really like?

"Ooooooooooooooh!" Milotic and Serperior looked eagerly at each other.

Tessa's aura feelers shot up in alarm. "I… that's… whatever would give that impression?"

"Quit dodging the question, dahling!" Bruxish shouted. "Give us the juuuiiiiicy details."

Tessa's brow furrowed. "I'll bet this person's thinking of Silvally, aren't they?"

Silvally scratched at his cheek bolt with his hind leg. "I mean, we have spent a lot of time around each other. But, we're both well aware that, while we could be a couple, we probably wouldn't be the best mates out there. I can't make an egg no matter how badly I want to."

"But I do really like Silvally. He's like… um…" She rubbed her shoulder. "He's what I was hoping Gallian would be like for me when I joined the guild: loving and supporting." She stole a nervous glance at Gallian, who quickly looked away. Silvally gave her a reassuring nod.

Shane, what was there in particular about the PMD games that you liked or hated?

"Loved each of the stories. Haaaaaaaated the gameplay," Shane replied. "So boring. So repetitive. I did what I thought was necessary to skip the awful stuff and enjoy the stories and characters."

Tessa, how soft is Silvally's fur? Even when he was Null, you had a penchant for snuggling up to him.

"Aha ha… ha…" Sweat drops ran down Tessa's head. "You'd actually be surprised. Shane's fur is silky soft. But Silvally's actually very fluffy! Even though he's got scales underneath his visible fur, it's actually deceptively cushy."

Silvally chuckled. "I try."

Shane, are you aware there have been new Pokémon games lately? Silvally and the ice Vulpix that you turned into are parts of those.

"Pfffffbt. You're just making that up to yank my tails. There's no such think as ice-type Vulpixes in Pokémon," Shane insisted. "Except here, of course. But this isn't the world of the main games, so it doesn't matter." He sipped more of his soup. "How much further do we have? We've been doing this for a while, now."

I'll do one more question, then. Shane, if you could date either Espeon or Tessa, who would you choose?

Shane's ears and tails stuck up. "Th… somebody actually asked that?" He gulped. "Um… well…" He glanced to his left. "P… probably Tessa."

"What?" Tessa gasped. "But that doesn't make any sense!"

"It does. Espeon stomped my heart into a hundred pieces." He shrank down toward the ground. "And she kind of scares me. B-Besides…" He sat back up. "We've been around each other longer. I know a lot of it hasn't been great, but after all the stuff we've gone through, it just feels like I can connect with you."

"Gee, what a flatterer," Tessa deadpanned.

"Well, there's still plenty of work for Team Radiance to do. So, I'd say anything could happen," Silvally exclaimed.

Agreed, Magearna stated. This concludes our special audience question session. Hopefully you all had some fun. We'll be back with our normal programming next weekend.

END
XxX​

If I may get serious for a bit, here, I just wanted to thank everyone for all the love and support. I didn't really have any expectations for this story. I was just kind of writing it on a whim because I thought it might be fun to do. It's mind-boggling how many of you have enjoyed it, so far. Seriously, I'm completely flabbergasted. Especially with how slow things were out of the gate. It really does make me feel warm and fuzzy inside. I'm grateful to all of you who've read, whether you've been here from the start or just started reading recently. I hope you'll continue to enjoy what the second half of the story has to offer. And that you don't think I jump the proverbial Sharpedo, because things are going to get quite a bit crazier from here on out.

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Cutlerine

Gone. Not coming back.
First of all, I've read through the rewritten Necrozma material, and I have to say it's a much better tonal fit with the story as it is now – as well as a much more appropriately nuanced view of his character. I think it's most certainly a change for the better.

Now, onto the new stuff! And it's a really interesting couple of chapters, huh. I was all set to open with some speculation about what would happen when Prisma found out about a legendary getting killed without her (and a town, but given her desire to take on the legendaries herself I feel like it's Virizion that would get her most), but then I got my answer: just push him through a table. I guess that's effective, if not particularly subtle. Presumably Prisma thought it would make an impact.

I also think that Null's new persona has settled down a bit at this point; he's chirpier, flightier, but not in a way that seems to contradict who he was before. Now he feels – aptly enough – like an evolution of his prior self, someone who still carries who he was before, but who has since become more than just that person. Nicely done.

The scene with Espeon and Shane is a bit odd, really. You write it like they're humans – which just doesn't really make sense to me, because they have, you know, both been wandering around naked the whole time. This type of scene depends on a specific cultural view of bodies that just doesn't seem to exist in this world – like, you can't have the concept of a peeping Tom as we understand it in a world where bodies aren't normally covered, which is I think the angle that you're playing, with the emphasis on the movements of Espeon's towel around her body. Maybe there are other cultural norms that Shane is flouting by watching her shower, and for which he is being decried as a pervert? I would assume there are. It's certainly an invasion of privacy, just … not quite in the way that we'd understand it in the human world, and not quite in the way that you've written it here.

It's nice to see someone questioning Metagross, though. Perhaps it takes an outsider to see the problems that seem to be endemic to the Horizon guild. But like, “let's not pool our resources because it might be difficult and/or go wrong” seems like a very poor alternative to “let's pool our resources because we're probably tougher together and we're facing an overwhelming threat”, and it's definitely something that he needed to be taken to task over. I'll be curious to see what becomes of Latias' plan to start building those connections, for sure – and what Metagross' response will be when he finds out.

And then everything goes a bit Explorers of Sky, huh. Time Gears! Because taking them never made anything go wrong before, did it. Then we continue our tour through the games of yesteryear with what appears to be a temple from an old-school Legend of Zelda game, which I don't know if I like or not. I feel like much of the appeal of a puzzle-filled temple is that you, the player, solve the puzzles yourself. Reading a description of someone else solving a puzzle is much less interesting, especially since you've written this in a very video-game-puzzle kind of way, if that makes sense. Like, you introduce new mechanics, then in the next paragraph have Team Radiance master them and solve the problem at hand, which kind of makes you wonder why they were introduced in the first place. It just reads a bit oddly, is all. Like watching a Zelda let's play where the commentator cuts out the solution and just skips to the end of the puzzle.

Shane's perception continues to fail him, I see. Necrozma gives him all the clues, refers to himself as “Necky”, tells him he's his old best friend, starts re-enacting the games they used to play – and still he doesn't get it. Maybe the period of time between Nicky's death and Shane's is longer than I thought – I had it in my head as around, oh, five to seven years, for no particular reason – but even so. How deliciously unobservant. I suspect there will be a point at which The Realisation happens, or possibly some interesting thing where Tessa ends up knowing about Nicky while Shane knows about Prisma and the whole so you knew about this? thing cuts both ways after the revelations come, but until then I'm enjoying the build-up.

Okay, most of the big points over with: here are some typos and related minor things:

Team Radiance responded with disgust looks.

That should be “disgusted”, I think.

He landed in his bowel of soup

That should definitely be a “bowl” of soup. A bowel of soup is … kind of a horrifying thought.

He leaned over and slurped up some suit.

Looks like you've got “suit” for “soup” here.

What is with these humans trying to convince me in the wrong?

Missing an “I'm” here.

Finally – the bonus. It's a cute metatextual aside; like lots of the bonuses, it is in many ways a throwback to the earlier chapters, when Shane was even more the butt of every joke than he is now. And it's a lovely way to mark the story's success to date – as is the absurdly cute message at the end. I hope you know that this story deserves all the success it's had – it's genuinely entertaining, and the effort you've put into improving both it and your skills as a writer along the way has been really great and heartening to see. I look forward to seeing more of the same, and better yet, in future!
 

Ambyssin

Winter can't come soon enough
First of all, I've read through the rewritten Necrozma material, and I have to say it's a much better tonal fit with the story as it is now – as well as a much more appropriately nuanced view of his character. I think it's most certainly a change for the better.
Glad to hear it. I fully admit his original depiction was an artifact of this fic being a comedy/parody. Which started to fall by the wayside when initial reviews were intrigued by how much of a jerk Shane was, and fully went off the rails by Epsiode 5. As it stands now, I'm trying to make him a foil to our main trio, especially his harping on how useless relationships are.

I was all set to open with some speculation about what would happen when Prisma found out about a legendary getting killed without her (and a town, but given her desire to take on the legendaries herself I feel like it's Virizion that would get her most), but then I got my answer: just push him through a table. I guess that's effective, if not particularly subtle.
As you can see, their (already rocky) relationship is getting even worse.

Presumably Prisma thought it would make an impact.
I see what you did there and I approve of the world play. Are you reading my drafts for Shane? :D

I also think that Null's new persona has settled down a bit at this point; he's chirpier, flightier, but not in a way that seems to contradict who he was before. Now he feels – aptly enough – like an evolution of his prior self, someone who still carries who he was before, but who has since become more than just that person. Nicely done.
Thanks. You can attribute the earlier weirdness to trying to settle down after the mask came off. He's gotten pretty used to his current situation, now.

The scene with Espeon and Shane is a bit odd, really. You write it like they're humans – which just doesn't really make sense to me, because they have, you know, both been wandering around naked the whole time.
You're right. I added a couple of lines it to clarify a rule that this story was operating under but was never outright stated. That being that there are sensitive anatomical areas, but they're hidden by Pokémon's natural coats (fur/scales/whatever), except during certain circumstances, like bathing.

It's nice to see someone questioning Metagross, though. Perhaps it takes an outsider to see the problems that seem to be endemic to the Horizon guild. But like, “let's not pool our resources because it might be difficult and/or go wrong” seems like a very poor alternative to “let's pool our resources because we're probably tougher together and we're facing an overwhelming threat”, and it's definitely something that he needed to be taken to task over.
Rest assured, you'll know exactly what his deal is by the end of this episode. Remember, she may look and act rather meek, but Latias is an empath. She may already know more than you think. ;)

I'll be curious to see what becomes of Latias' plan to start building those connections, for sure – and what Metagross' response will be when he finds out.
We'll be getting to that. Needless to say it should ring some familiar bells for PMD veterans. But the part about the Expedition Society being stretched thin is true. It's just not being shown. Much as I would love to give them some extra focus, the story has a big enough supporting cast as it is... and folks probably wouldn't be as invested in them at this point. That, and I really don't want to still be writing this in, say, late 2019/2020. You'll have to take Latias' word.

And then everything goes a bit Explorers of Sky, huh. Time Gears! Because taking them never made anything go wrong before, did it.
So, remember back in Episode 8 how Espeon and Umbreon mentioned Zero claimed to have a method to sever the normal flow of time's connection to Dialga and Temporal Tower? That may just be starting to come into play. ;)

Then we continue our tour through the games of yesteryear with what appears to be a temple from an old-school Legend of Zelda game, which I don't know if I like or not. I feel like much of the appeal of a puzzle-filled temple is that you, the player, solve the puzzles yourself. Reading a description of someone else solving a puzzle is much less interesting, especially since you've written this in a very video-game-puzzle kind of way, if that makes sense.
That's a fair criticism, and one that I was worried about. I assure you this was a one-time thing for Tapu Lele, because she's psychic-type and her domain is the Temple of Mind, so I thought it made sense to go this way versus the usual string of traps and enemies. Future dungeons won't go like this, I promise. ^^;

Shane's perception continues to fail him, I see.
Correct. Remember, he's really not the best at picking up on this stuff (even though he thinks he is). He's far more likely to believe Necrozma's reading his mind and acting like this to screw with him than he is to believe his deceased best friend was actually dragged into the PMD world.

Maybe the period of time between Nicky's death and Shane's is longer than I thought – I had it in my head as around, oh, five to seven years, for no particular reason – but even so.
It's actually been even less time than that! When Necrozma says there's no linear time connection between these two worlds, he really means it. To put it in perspective, in USUM, traversing Ultra Wormholes has the player travelling light years.

Finally – the bonus. It's a cute metatextual aside; like lots of the bonuses, it is in many ways a throwback to the earlier chapters, when Shane was even more the butt of every joke than he is now.
I fully admit many of theses bonuses are an excuse to just write silly stuff. Because I've always enjoyed writing silly stuff. ^^;

And it's a lovely way to mark the story's success to date – as is the absurdly cute message at the end.
D'aawww, thanks. :3

I hope you know that this story deserves all the success it's had – it's genuinely entertaining, and the effort you've put into improving both it and your skills as a writer along the way has been really great and heartening to see. I look forward to seeing more of the same, and better yet, in future!
I appreciate the kind words. And I do really hope I can continue to entertain going forward. Lord knows I'm terrified of the stuff to come because it's a bit more out there. But I still believe we have plenty of fun times ahead for the rest of 2018 if you stick around. As always, thanks for reviewing! ^^
 

Ambyssin

Winter can't come soon enough
Time for the boss of this episode! Even if you're not a fan of the battle scenes here, I strongly encourage you to check out the boss descriptions at the end. They've got quite a few juicy nuggets of information. Enjoy!

XxX

Chapter 46: Mind Over Matter

No one on Team Radiance had time to react as Prism Medicham sprang forward, socking Shane in the jaw with a Mach Punch. He howled in pain and skidded back across the ground. Prism Gengar levitated into the air and launched a Shadow Ball toward Mimikyu. His eyes widened and he threw a cloth arm up, looking to deflect the attack with a Shadow Claw. But to his surprise, Silvally jumped in front him. The Shadow Ball struck and fizzled out harmlessly. Prism Gengar's eyes widened in surprise.

"How the–? You're a normal-type?" Mimikyu gasped.

"Right now I am," Silvally said, turning to face Gengar. His eyes narrowed and his cheek bolts rotated in their sockets. "You go help Shane with Medicham. I've got this guy."

"Are you sure?" Mimikyu squeaked.

"GUUUUYS! SOMEBODY HELP MEEEEE!" Shane wailed, flying back through the air and landing in a heap on the ground. Beside him, Tessa sidestepped Prism Ekans' lunge and slammed into him from behind with a burst of speed. He slumped forward, some of the crystals lining his body grinding into dust on impact.

Mimikyu nodded to Silvally and hopped forward. His spectral arm shot out from his disguise. But Prism Medicham's eyes flashed blue. A shield appeared and deflected Mimikyu's Shadow Claw, much to his frustration. Behind him, Silvally lunged at Prism Gengar, opening his beak wide so black shadows could flood into it and take the form of a massive set of fangs. Gengar tried to gather the toxins needed to toss a Sludge Bomb at his attacker, but Silvally proved too quick. He bit down on Prism Gengar's forehead, shattering some of the red crystals sticking out of it. Gengar hissed and staggered backward.

"Silvally, look out!" Shane cried. His teammate turned in time to see Prism Medicham descend from the air. Her foot connected with Silvally's right flank, propelling him back across the room. He struck the far wall with a hard thud. Shane sprinted forward. He opened his mouth, expecting an Icy Wind to rush out. What he got instead was a multicolored energy beam. Prism Medicham turned around in time for the Aurora Beam to strike her in the face, freezing it solid.

Mimikyu paused in the midst of readying a Shadow Claw and broke down laughing at the shocked expression on Prism Medicham's face. "Hey, stay focused!" Shane scolded, before a Shadow Ball struck him in the chest, knocking him backward. Mimikyu stiffened and sent an ectoplasmic arm toward Prism Gengar. Mimikyu's Shadow Claw caught him between the eyes. Gengar threw his arms up over his face and levitated into the air, growling. Mimikyu looked over his shoulder and noticed Prism Medicham about to break out of the ice, when several blades of air struck her from behind. She fell flat on her stomach.

Mimikyu's body glowed white and he raced forward. Prism Gengar noticed him moving in and fired a Shadow Ball. It struck Mimikyu, but he was completely unaffected. The sounds of a deflating balloon filled the room and the head of Mimikyu's disguise flopped against his shoulder. He reached Prism Medicham and dived on top of her. A cloud of pink fairy dust encased both of them. Prism Gengar winced, but immediately turned and hurled a Sludge Bomb forward. It struck the charging Shane, tripping him up and sending him crashing to the ground. Gengar snickered, but his victory proved short lived. Silvally jumped up behind him, golden energy swirling around his body. His talons flashed bright pink and he slashed Gengar.

The gems lining Gengar's back turned to dust and he screeched as he fell toward the ground. He bounced up from the floor, and then shattered like a broken mirror. Silvally hit the ground, pink energy streaming from his glowing eyes. He prepared to charge at Prism Medicham, when Prism Ekans leaped onto his back. Black energy filled his mouth and he sank his fangs into Silvally's hide. Silvally screeched and hopped around, trying to buck Ekans off.

"Sorry, Silvally!" Tessa cried. She hopped onto his back and socked Ekans between the eyes with a Thunder Punch. Paralysis raced across his body, allowing Tessa to roundhouse kick him off Silvally. She jumped down, tossing Silvally an oran berry as she went.

"What about me?" Shane croaked, coughing up a mouthful of black sludge. Purple splotches now peppered his hide.

"We have an upgraded item bag, you know," Tessa said. "If you think about the item you want, it should appear in front of you." She grabbed a pecha and oran berry from the bag and tossed them over to Shane anyway. He gave her a thankful nod and gobbled up the berries. The poison faded and his vitality returned. He looked back up in time to see Mimikyu land another blow with Play Rough. Prism Medicham staggered backward. She dropped to one knee and slammed her fist against the ground before shattering into thousands of pieces.

That only left Ekans. The three unoccupied members of Team Radiance ran over toward Tessa, watching her dodge a poisonous strike from Prism Ekans' tail. She retaliated with a Quick Attack shoulder-ram, knocking Ekans to the ground and pinning him down with a foot. Ekans looked up and saw the other members of Team Radiance staring right at him. The color drained out of his face, and he raised his tail up in surrender. Tessa's fists glowed red and she punched Ekans in the snout. He exploded into glass shards.

System error. System error.

The room started shaking. Team Radiance turned toward the glass wall and saw the eyes disappear, along with the centermost glass tiles. "Look! Right there, in the middle of the electricity! That's gotta be Tapu Lele!" Mimikyu cried, pointing a ragged arm forward.

Tapu Lele fell out from behind the glass wall. Four bundles of electric wires stuck out from her back, anchoring her into place. She bounced around in midair until a series of small explosions destroyed the top right bundle. Tapu Lele lurched violently toward the floor. Behind her, electricity wildly shot around. Some stray bolts fell onto the ground and shot forward, forcing Team Radiance to scatter. Shane looked back at Tapu Lele and noticed the thick metal hoops surrounding her body like a planet's rings. A large antenna stuck out from her head, topped by Necrozma's star icon. She fixed her empty black eyes on Shane and her antenna flickered red. The remaining wire cables yanked her back inside the wall and the glass tiles reappeared.

'What the heck did the Prism Virus do to her?' Shane thought as the red eyes returned to the glass tiles.

Reboot complete. System ready.

The room resumed shaking violently. Tessa and Mimikyu frightened squeaks rang out. They looked around in a panic.

Charging space-time transceiver. Charging complete. Extracting program "Prism_TDS_DarkFuture.exe."

Shane's ears stuck straight up 'Wait, 'Dark Future?' She doesn't mean–?'

The centermost glass tile disappeared and a green crystal floated out. It split in half, flooding the area in front of the wall with green smoke. Team Radiance immediately regrouped, assuming fighting stances.

Engage.

A green blur shot out of the mist, a pair of glowing Leaf Blades sticking out of its arms. "I've got Grovyle!" Shane shouted, spitting out an Aurora Beam without a second thought. Prism Grovyle was far too agile, however. His Leaf Blade connected against Shane's right shoulder. Shane buckled, allowing Grovyle to strike him with his other arm and knock him into Mimikyu. The two collapsed into a heap. Silvally looked up and noticed a Shadow Ball drifting toward his teammates. He deactivated his Memory Looplet and leaped into the attack's path, rendering the Shadow Ball harmless.

"I guess I'll take Dusknoir, then," he said, and sprinted forward.

Tessa jumped toward Prism Grovyle, aiming to strike him with a Force Palm. But he ran out of her range. Pain immediately wracked Tessa's body. An unseen force hurtled her back across the room and she struck the wall, grunting. Mimikyu scuttled forward, narrowly dodging slashes from Prism Grovyle's Leaf Blades. His Shadowy Arm raced into the lingering mist cloud. The fog disappeared, but Mimikyu only succeeded in slashing air.

"Celebi's right above you!" Shane hollered, firing an Aurora Beam skyward. Prism Celebi summoned a barrier. Shane's attack pinged off it harmlessly. But she had no defense against Mimikyu's Shadow Claw. It struck her tiny, translucent wings, sending her into a freefall. Mimikyu hopped forward, trying to avoid blocking Silvally, who was weaving through Shadow Balls launched by Prism Dusknoir. Mimikyu spun back around, hoping to strike Prism Celebi from behind yet again. But his Shadow Claw barely made it a few inches in front of him when a metal-coated tail struck him in the neck. Mimikyu lurched violently to his side and toppled over, down for the count.

Beast Boost activated.

Prism Grovyle gave a triumphant smirk and raised a fist. A red glow enveloped his body, prompting Tessa to halt her charge and turn around to retreat. Grovyle hunched over and ran after her, Leaf Blades at the ready. He noticed a blur of motion out of the corner of his eyes and quickly twirled around, striking Shane in the side.

Shane squealed in pain and dropped to his knees. "Wait, did that Leaf Blade just hit me harder?" he gasped, staggering to his feet. "Don't tell me he knows Swords Dance or something."

Grovyle's smirk widened and he readied an Iron Tail. Tessa came charging in, fists glowing red, and socked Grovyle in the gut as hard as she could. Bits of gemstone flew off his body and he skidded back across the floor, hissing his displeasure. "He's much too quick," she muttered, tossing Shane another oran berry. "We've got to find a way to slow him down or he's going to run circles around us!"

"Don't you have a wand or a seed that could do that?" Shane wondered.

"Yes, but I need you to keep him busy," Tessa said. Shane nodded and squeakily Roared Grovyle. This flung him back against the wall. Shane took a protective stance in front of Tessa.

However, their focuses were momentarily shaken by the sounds of an explosion. Behind them, Silvally slammed into the ground. Prism Dusknoir descended from a cloud of smoke, Will-O-Wisp fireballs circling around his body. He pointed a hand forward and the flames descended on Silvally. He got to his feet, his Memory Looplet channeling water-type energy into his body. Silvally stomped the ground with his forelegs. Plumes of water shot up, dousing each of the fireballs. Prism Dusknoir was undeterred. Electricity encased his fist and he descended toward Silvally.

Dark energy once again filled Silvally's mouth. He stood his ground, watching Dusknoir rear back to Thunder Punch him. At the last moment, Silvally sprang forward, sliding along the floor. Wisps of electricity grazed the tips of Silvally's head crest, but he skirted the brunt of the attack. He dug his talons into the floor, using them as a fulcrum to pivot his body around. He lunged at Prism Dusknoir, biting down on his shadowy tail and slamming him into the ground. Dusknoir grunted loudly. Silvally hastily jumped back, fearing a retaliatory strike. What he wasn't expecting was a bevy of razor-sharp leaves peppering his body.

Silvally screeched in pain and turned toward the source of the leaves. Prism Celebi stuck her tongue out, then turned and fired a blast of Psychic behind her. She caught Mimikyu in midair and knocked him back to the ground. Despite the attack hitting, Mimikyu's Shadow Claw still managed to clip Celebi's shoulder. She squeaked and grabbed it in pain. Silvally prepared to launch an attack, when he sensed movement behind him. He ran toward Prism Celebi, narrowly dodging another Thunder Punch from Dusknoir. As Silvally lunged for Celebi, Dusknoir levitated upward, gathering the energy needed for a Shadow Ball.

He hurtled it forward and, just as Silvally sliced Prism Celebi into fourths with X-Scissor, detonated it like a bomb. Silvally roared in frustration and plummeted to the ground, landing unconscious in a small impact crater. Mimikyu's eyes widened as a red aura encased Prism Dusknoir.

Beast Boost activated.

Prism Dusknoir opened the mouth in his stomach wide. A ball of swirling black and red energy gathered inside it, distorting the air around him. Mimikyu looked over and confirmed Silvally was staggering back to his feet. He launched a Shadow Claw at Prism Dusknoir. However, the black hole forming in Dusknoir's stomach swallowed up the attack. Mimikyu's arm tugged against his body. Prism Dusknoir yanked Mimikyu off the ground, drawing terrified squeals.

"Aggggh! Only… gonna have… one shot at this…" Mimikyu hollered. As the distance between him and Dusknoir lessened, Mimikyu's disguise turned dark black. Prism Dusknoir didn't notice the change. He pointed his hands up and the black hole exploded outward into a massive shockwave. Mimikyu had no means of escape. His body spasmed in midair before he fell to the ground in a smoking heap.

Prism Dusknoir crossed his arms, a pleased look on his face. The victory lasted for a few seconds, before the same black glow that had enveloped Mimikyu wrapped around Dusknoir. His eyes widened and then his body exploded into tiny glass fragments. Silvally looked up in confusion, before racing to Mimikyu's side. A loud hiss drew his attention and he crouched low into a fighting stance. But a look toward the other side of the room showed that Shane and Tessa had finally managed to corral Prism Grovyle and freeze him in place.

Tessa stood in front of him, wound up, and struck him in the gut with Force Palm. The impact knocked Prism Grovyle backwards, where Shane waited. A cloud of Frost Breath enveloped Grovyle. He screeched in agony and fell to one knee, where the ice again froze him. Tessa socked Grovyle in the snout. Cracks splintered across the ice, before Grovyle crumbled into dust.

"This… this is getting too tough," she grunted, grabbing an oran berry and an elixir from the item bag. "How much longer do we have to keep this up for, huh?"

System error. System error.

Just like before, the room shook. The middle glass panels in the wall disappeared and Tapu Lele fell out of the electric machinery. Explosions destroyed her bottom left bundle of wires. Tapu Lele bounced around like a ragdoll, the remaining wires keeping her suspended in midair. The wires seized on her, yanking her backwards into the electricity once again.

Xurkitree power cells at fifty percent ca-pa-pa-pa-pa–

Static overtook some of the glass panels and loud hissing filled the room. Both Shane and Tessa grabbed their ears and pressed them flat against their heads. "It looks like we're making progress," Shane said through gritted teeth. "But at this rate, we're going to run out of stuff to heal with before we can beat everything Tapu Lele throws at us."

Tessa tightened her item bag. "Then we need to make use of some more attack items. Let's get the jump on whatever she summons next." She pulled a blast seed out from the item bag and held her paw behind it. "Everyone else think of an item you'd like to draw on."

While Team Radiance armed themselves, the red eyes reappeared on the glass tiles that were still functioning.

Re… re… boot complete. System read-y-y-y-y-y-y-y.

The room start to shake again. Tessa waved her paws in each direction. "Fan out, guys. If we're together, we'll just leave them with one easy target to hit." Her teammates did as she instructed, forming a semicircle around the center of the wall.

Server access compromised. Backup data initialized. Extracting program "Prism_GTI_ColdAndCalculating.exe."

For the third time, the central panel disappeared. A blue crystal floated out, and broke off into two halves. Blue energy exploded out from each half. "Now!" Tessa shouted, hurling the blast seed forward. It struck one of the energy bursts and exploded. Shane watched as the blast flung Prism Kyurem backwards.

"Nighty night, you ugly dragon!" Shane cried, pointing the sleep wand in his mouth at Kyurem. Still dazed from the explosion, he didn't see the attack, and slumped onto his side, snoring loudly. Beside him, a massive whirlwind whipped up, flinging Prism Munna into the air. Her stubby little legs flailed about.

"Get ready, Mimikyu!" Silvally called. He shifted to a flying-type and thrust his head upward. Air Slash blades whizzed forward, pummeling Prism Munna and shattering most of the crystals jutting out of her body. She plummeted from the air, only to get cut off by Mimikyu. He slammed into her and they crashed into the ground. Dual Shadow Claws raked Prism Munna's sides. Mimikyu launched her back into the glass wall. She struck it, screaming in agony. A large crack appeared along her back, leaking blue energy.

She saw her injury in her reflection and her eyes widened. She turned and glared at Mimikyu, only to burst into a shower of pink powder. Prism Kyurem didn't even get the opportunity to realize he had lost his battle partner. Shane and Tessa flanked him on either side while he slumbered. Tessa uppercut him with Brick Break while Shane hit him between the eyes with Aurora Beam. Kyurem briefly stirred, before another blast seed hit him. The explosion sent Kyurem into a marble pillar, destroying it. The resulting cascade of rubble buried Prism Kyurem. Muffling sounds of shattered glass filled the room.

"Wow, you don't think that was overkill, was it?" Tessa squeaked.

"For those two? Not a chance," Shane scoffed.

"Not a fan of them when you were human?" Tessa wondered.

"Yes, in a manner of speaking," Shane grumbled. Their conversations were interrupted by the room shaking again. They exchanged panicked looks and raced back to the center of the battlefield.

Critical systems failure. Sys… tem… fail-ur-ur-ur-ur-ur–

More glass panels filled with static. The central ones shattered and Tapu Lele fell forward as the bottom right set of wires exploded beneath her. She bounced around like a slinky as the lone remaining set of cables tried to rein her back in.

"Now's our chance to save her!" Shane cried. He raced forward, the gemstone on his Naturia Looplet glowing brightly. But a surge of electricity blindsided him. Shane skidded backwards, howling in pain.

"Shane!" Tessa hollered, running over to him with a pair of berries at the ready.

The wires yanked Tapu Lele back into the electricity. Red eyes popped up on the glass tiles that still functioned.

Power circuit overload. Circuit overload… load… load… load…

One of the glass tiles exploded. Silvally and Mimiky backpedaled to avoid the glass shards. Smoke vented out of the hole in the wall.

Auxiliary power cells engaged. Reboot complete. System ready.

The room once again began shaking, this time even more violently. "Oh gods, what's she summoning now?" Mimikyu groaned. Team Radiance collectively flinched as, one by one, more glass tiles exploded, exposing sparking pieces of machinery and circuitry.

Cha… cha… charging… extra-dimensional tran… tran… transceiver. System… access granted.

Tapu Lele trembled and the rings encasing her revolved wildly around her.

Extracting program "Prism_PSMD_DarkMatter.exe."

Shane's eyes widened. "Wait, did she just say Dark Matter?"

Tessa's aura feelers shot up. "We've gotta get out of here!" she screamed.

Tapu Lele's eyes glowed bright purple and she summoned a purple crystal. Rather than exploding into mist or bright energy like the ones before it, this one liquified in midair. The gelatinous blob pulsated wildly, forming into a red sphere. A white dot appeared in the center of the sphere. Corrosive black crystals formed a cage around it. Prism Dark Matter let out a mighty roar. Black-tinted wind exploded out in all directions.

Team Radiance all shouted as the wind blew them back across the room. The wind also buffeted Tapu Lele, destroying the last set of cables. Tapu Lele dropped to the floor and the last of her glass tiles exploded, revealing bits of machinery venting smoke and other parts that were on fire.

Fa… tal… err… or…

Prism Dark Matter started taking in large amounts of energy. Light distorted around it. "Everybody back! Take cover behind the pillars!" Shane bellowed, sprinting for the nearest marble column. He leaped into the air, freezing a part of the column with Aurora Beam, and dug his paws into the ice. He stopped sliding down with his tails dangling inches above the floor. To his right, Tessa climbed up the remnants of the destroyed pillar from earlier.

Dark Matter finished gathering energy. Shadows raced across the floor and massive, spike-shaped tendrils shot up, looking to impale whoever stood in their way. Fortunately, Shane's teammates heeded his advice, and they all safely avoided the attack. Dark Matter sank down to the ground, its core pulsating as it tried to recharge. Shane leaped off the column and fired an Extrasensory. The psychic blast raced forward, gradually weakening until a small portion struck Dark Matter, shattering a few pieces of its gemstone shell.

"What are we supposed to do to hit this thing?" Tessa wondered, producing another blast seed from the item bag.

"It doesn't have a type. Just hit it with whatever!" Shane barked. He raced toward Dark Matter, readying an Aurora Beam. But it rose into the air, red core glowing. A black laser surged toward Shane. He stopped running and fell to his side, rolling over to dodge the attack. Dark energy grazed his fur, drawing a pained squeal. When he came to a stop, smoke rose off the left side of his body. However, Dark Matter kept up its attack. "Tessa, watch out!" Shane shouted.

Tessa was preoccupied with throwing the blast seed forward. Dark Matter's beam vaporized it instantly. The beam struck Tessa's chest and hurtled her off the rubble pile. "TESSA!" Shane screamed as she struck the wall, leaving a noticeable crack. She fell toward the ground. Shane raced forward, not bothering to notice that Dark Matter aimed to sweep its beam back onto him.

A roar caught Dark Matter by surprise and, an instant later, golden talons struck its shell and hammered it into the ground. Mimikyu jumped off Silvally's back. He successfully slipped an arm through Dark Matter's shell and slashed the core with Shadow Claw. It screeched its annoyance at this turn of events. Spiky black thorns jutted out of its shell in all directions. Silvally barely managed to jump out of the way, but Mimikyu's arm was pricked by the spikes. Poisonous splotches popped up on his disguise.

Across the room, Shane had dragged an unconscious Tessa back behind the rubble. "Tessa? Tessa! Oh, please god, no! I can't lose you too. Wake up! Wake up!" he blubbered, shaking her body with his forepaws. He managed to roll her onto her belly, only to recoil at the sight of her smoldering, furless torso. "No, no, no, no, no, no!" he panicked, yanking the item bag off his teammate. Images of Espeon's battered, mangled body from the Catacombs flashed through his mind. "I've got to save her, I've got to save her!"

A weak cough made his ears twitch. He looked up from the item bag to see Tessa's eyes wide open and filled with terror. Her jaw fell open. She was trying to scream, but only a gasp of air escaped her. Shane managed to dig an oran berry out of the bag, but spotted movement out of the corner of his eyes. Silvally and Mimikyu were fleeing toward the other side of the room, shadows racing along the floor behind them. He saw the shadows moving in his direction and his tails shot up in fright.

Shane lunged forward, pressing himself against Tessa and pushing her against the pile of rubble. A black energy spear shot up behind Shane. The spear grazed his back. Pain surged through him, lingering even as the spike retreated and the smell of burnt fur intensified. Shane fell off his partner, his world growing blurry. In desperation, he managed to grab the oran berry and squish it against Tessa's chest. Then he collapsed onto the floor. Tessa stopped hyperventilating, slowly regaining her wits.

Before she could sit up, the room shook. She squeaked and poked her head out between pieces of rock. She saw Silvally ferrying Mimikyu out of the way of Dark Matter's latest attack: serrated crystal blades jutting out from the ground like they were Stone Edge shards. Silvally dropped Mimikyu to the ground and turned around, shooting Air Slash blades at Dark Matter.

'It's totally distracted. I might be able to hit it from here!' she thought. She raised a paw and a fresh blast seed popped into it. 'Come on, Riolu. You've got to make this one count.' She stood perched on the rubble, watching Dark Matter dispel Silvally's attack with a gust of shadowy wind. Mimikyu conjured up a Shadow Ball and hurtled it forward, but a gem-encrusted tendril shot out of Dark Matter's shell and destroyed the Shadow Ball.

Tessa hurled the blast seed forward. She immediately ducked back behind the rubble, not bothering to see if it hit. Silvally spotted the seed flying through the air. He roared and fired more Air Slash blades at Prism Dark Matter. It once again dispelled the attack using a gust of black wind. It couldn't multitask, however, so the blast seed struck it and exploded. Silvally jumped in front of Mimikyu, forming up an Iron Head and using it to deflect the gem shards that rained down on them from Dark Matter's shell.

Prism Dark Matter roared furiously. It turned in the direction of the explosion, and started gathering up dark energy. Realizing it intended to go for Tessa, Silvally switched forms to a dark-type. A golden wheel appeared around his torso and he lunged for Dark Matter. The golden energy raced into his forelegs, turning them pitch-black. Silvally slashed Dark Matter with his talons and threw the entirety of his weight onto it. Dark Matter struck the ground. It detonated the energy it was charging. Mimikyu toppled over from the massive eruption of black shadows.

Tessa watched the explosion and her aura feelers shot up. She heard shuffling behind. "Was… was that Dark Matter blowing up?" Shane croaked.

"Sort of? Maybe?" Tessa mumbled, voice riddled with uncertainty. "Silvally attacked it, but I think he got caught in the explosion, so–"

Shane's eyes widened in horror. "WHAT? NO!" He sprinted forward, back muscles spasming in pain.

"Shane, wait!" she called, to no avail.

'He's gotta be okay. He's gotta go be okay. This isn't how we're losing him. I refuse to lose him!' Shane thought, trying to see through the smoke. But as Shane neared the site of the explosion, what he spotted wasn't his teammate, but the glowing red core of Dark Matter. Shane skidded to a halt, eyes widening as a red laser swept toward him. At the very last second, Mimikyu's cloth arm wrapped Shane up and yanked him out of the way. Shane watched the laser stream right past him, heart pounding in his chest.

Prism Dark Matter floated back into the air. The bulk of its shell had fallen away, and the core hovered in place erratically. Tiny cracks dotted the red sphere, giving off small beams of black light. To Shane, it looked as if it could explode at any second. But somehow, someway, the core stayed together. It rotated around, and Shane's gaze fell on Silvally. The blast had charred every square inch of Silvally. Smoke billowed off his body.

"No… no, it can't be," Shane whispered. Dark Matter started charging up. The slivers of light poking out of its core glowed even brighter. Shane wrestled himself free of Mimikyu, ignoring his teammate's panicked cries. "Get away from him!" Shane shouted, racing toward Dark Matter. Orange light gathered in his foreleg and spread across his body. His core temperature plummeted. Chilled air encased him and he jumped into the air.

"GET AWAY!"

A massive iceberg jutted out of the ground, catching Prism Dark Matter by surprise. It floated backwards, its core spinning about in a frenzied panic. Shane landed atop the iceberg and fanned out his tails. The frigid air encasing his body coalesced in his mouth. He opened it wide and shot a gigantic ice river at Dark Matter, instantly freezing its core solid. Shane maintained the ice beam, pushing Dark Matter back toward the destroyed wall. It struck a shard of broken glass and ricocheted down toward the floor. Shane cut off his attack in time to watch Dark Matter slam into the unconscious Tapu Lele. Dark Matter shattered, spreading bits of glowing ice across her body.

The iceberg promptly melted. Shane hopped off of it. His attention returned to Silvally and he sprinted over to him, ignoring the fact that all of the metal pieces were breaking off of Tapu Lele. He paused beside his teammate as an agonized yell echoed through the room. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw black smoke evaporate up to the ceiling. He ignored it and focused on Silvally.

"Hang on, big guy," Shane pleaded, pressing his forepaws to his torso. 'Come on… come on… just like you did with Espeon in the Catacombs.' He shut his eyes and gritted his teeth. Warmth spread across his body, weaving its way into his forepaws. Bright orange light washed over Silvally, restoring his feathers, scales, and fur to their natural colors. Silvally's eyes slowly opened. He shakily lifted up his head to look at Shane, who let out a relieved sigh.

"Did… did we win?" he whispered.

"We did, big guy," Shane said, voice trembling. Without warning, he threw himself against Silvally's shoulder. "We did."

XxX

~Mt. Thunder Peak~

Waves of distorted red energy spread across the mountaintop, turning the neon-yellow rocks black and the dark gray storm clouds blood-red. The first wave buffeted Zapdos, freezing him in midair. The remaining waves battered his convulsing frame. Zapdos' wings locked up. He plummeted from the sky, screeching in agony, and slammed into the ground with tremendous force. Zero's distorted waves fizzled out, restoring the mountain's normal colors.

Zapdos weakly raised his head, only for his eyes to bulge out as a yellow and black blur raced toward him. Dragonite reared back and drove her ice-covered fist into Zapdos' beak. It scrunched up like an accordion. The force of the collision rippled through Zapdos' body, rattling his bones and snapping his joints. Zapdos sunk deeper into his impact crater and slumped over, breaths coming in short ragged gasps.

Dragonite stood triumphantly atop Zapdos' stomach. "How pathetic. You hardly proved a fitting test for my strength!" She looked up across the area and beckoned Zero over. "He's all yours, mistress!"

Zero strode forward, pointing her glowing staff at Zapdos' broken, bloody face. "I've waited a year for this moment," she said. "Now that it's finally here, I must say I'm disappointed."

"W… what are you… talking about?" Zapdos wheezed. "Who are you? Why… why are you doing this?"

Zero knelt down beside Zapdos. She grabbed his injured beak and squeezed. A muffled squawk rang out. "There we go. That's more like it," she said. "That look of hopelessness and despair in your eyes. That sense of unimaginable pain... of everything you worked for unraveling before your eyes. That's what I've been waiting for. I want you to know exactly what I felt when you stole the most important thing in my life away from me." Zero gripped Zapdos' beak even harder. Tears welled up in his eyes.

"Mmmmmffffrrrggggggh!" Zapdos groaned, eyes darting about in a panicked frenzy. He tried to move his wings, but they spasmed uselessly by his sides.

"I just have one question for you," Zero hissed. "One year ago, did you fly over Aeon Town and Sunrise Village without giving prior warning?"

Zero released Zapdos' beak. His head slumped back against the ground. "I don't… how should I know?"

Zero's lone eye flickered in rage. "Wrong answer." She snapped her digits.

Dragonite leaned over, putting the full force of her weight on Zapdos' sternum. "AHHH! AHHHH!" Zapdos screeched, eyes wide open in agony. "YES! YESSS! I was there! I was there! Make her sta-ha-ha-ha-p!"

Zero grabbed a pawful of feathers on Zapdos' forehead and yanked him back up. "And did you bring a storm over the area?" she snarled.

"I did! I did!" Zapdos wailed. "What does it matter? I bring storms wherever I go!"

Zero slammed Zapdos' head back against the ground. "That storm ruined my second life," she seethed. "It cost me my soulmate. The one and only thing I valued in this wretched world… you stole it from me!"

Zapdos shuddered under Zero's piercing gaze. "Nuh-no! That's a… that's a mistake! I'd never intentionally kill someone with a storm! This has to be some sort of misunderstand–"

"Consume!" Zero shouted, shoving her scepter into Zapdos' face. Corrupted energy blanketed his body, sucking the life and color out of him and sending it into Zero's mask. A faint rainbow glow spilled out of her mask. Zero pulled her staff back and nudged the mask up. "Destroy," she whispered, holding her free paw over Zapdos. Dark shadows strangled Zapdos' lifeless body, covering it in crystals that immediately shattered when Zero clenched her paw into a fist.

"Farewell Zapdos. And good riddance," Zero spat.

"That was anticlimactic," Dragonite said, smirking. "Here I thought the gods would prove a much greater challenge."

"Gods or not, they're still Pokémon. They all have weaknesses," Zero said, waving a paw dismissively. "You'll find a worthy challenger in time. Besides, wouldn't you like to share in this wondrous moment with some old friends of yours?"

Dragonite frowned. "We don't need them. I can handle everything by myself."

"I'm sure you can," Zero agreed. "But there's this old human saying: 'if you fail to prepare, then you're prepared to fail.' Don't remember who said that, but it's a good piece of advice. I want some insurance." Blue aura sparked across her eye. "Besides, I'm sure with a little convincing, your friends will be more than happy to join us in our endeavors." She tapped her staff against the ground and stared into the octahedron. "What if I threw in one of the Tapus as an added bonus for helping me run this little errand?"

Dragonite grinned wickedly. "I'd say you got yourself a deal."

XxX​

Mindless Machine, Ultra Tapu Lele
Necrozma has stripped Tapu Lele of her free will, imprisoning it underneath layers of Prism Armor and Xurkitree wiring. He's replaced her mind with the memories he received from Zero to help him possess Lunala. Her psychic powers are now being channeled toward giving these memories violent physical forms. Stop her before she burns herself out!

Mischief Makers, Prism Team Meanies
A greedy trainer once ran afoul of a Ninetales, leaving his Gardevoir to take Ninetales' curse in his place. His guilty spirit drifted into this world, bringing forth natural disasters culminating in a gigantic meteor that threatened to destroy the planet. It took the strength Rayquaza's Dragon Ascent to shatter it. However, the energy released by the meteor's destruction tore open countless Ultra Wormholes. When the Voice of Life surveyed the damage, it found only a single Riolu washed up on a beach…

Time-Displaced Warriors, Prism Dark Future Trio
Darkrai disrupted Temporal Tower by trapping Solgaleo and Lunala in their own nightmares, leading them to invade the Hidden Land. Ultra Beasts swarmed Temporal Tower, damaging it enough to break Dialga's sanity. But as the damage weaved its way through the time stream, it generated Ultra Wormholes. One of which would throw an unsuspecting human into the lightless future Darkrai had created, unknowingly setting his demise in motion.

Black-Hearted Beasts, Prism Kyurem & Prism Munna
While imprisoned in the Ultra Nexus, Necrozma came across a lost, severely weakened Munna. She cried out for her one true friend's icy embrace. When Necrozma devoured her light, he learned that some of the world's negativity has traveled through Ultra Wormholes in the past. The negative energy gathered in a seemingly-empty void of Ultra Space, where it formed a heartless, frigid creature known as Bittercold. There are undoubtedly others drifting through Ultra Space, looking for worlds to plunge into darkness.

Revitalized Mastermind, Prism Dark Matter
Tapu Lele lacked the energy needed to fully manifest this horrible creature. But even so, this clone is not to be trifled with. How could Necrozma get her to recreate Dark Matter so perfectly if he was never around for either of its attacks? Could there be a dark, twisted secret lurking at the heart of the Prism Virus?

Since, unlike Zero, I have the power of the internet, I can tell you that her quote is from Olympic swimmer, Mark Spitz. I apologize if this kind of battle isn't your thing. But, like I said, the second half of the story is going to be much crazier. I always intended for this to be a "popcorn fic." That doesn't mean I'm backing down from the serious themes I've been addressing, only that they're going to be incorporating all of the ridiculous stuff that's going to happen in the upcoming episodes. I promise, you're in for a fun ride if you stick around. ^^

Next time: a real dead-ringer of a chapter. Because there are rings and someone's gonna die. I'll show myself out.
 
Last edited:

Ambyssin

Winter can't come soon enough
Time for things to start unraveling. I'd appreciate any thoughts about this chapter, as it has a few revelations in it. Enjoy!

XxX

Chapter 47: A Ring and a Prayer

Silence hung over the room. Shane quietly broke off his embrace with Silvally, leaving the latter blinking in confusion. "Um, are you okay? Did I do something wrong?" he muttered.

"Yes!" Shane barked, wincing when he realized that had come out far louder than he intended it. "Err… it's just… that was really reckless of you. You frightened me."

Silvally raised an eyebrow. "Wow, pot calling the kettle black much?" he said.

Shane frowned. "Okay, yeah, I know I've made reckless decisions before. But there's one key difference here," he said. He leaned over and whispered, "I don't have someone who cares about me as much as Riolu cares about you. After everything she's been through, she can't afford to lose her best friend, too. Breaking your mask won't mean a thing if you don't use your new powers responsibly, y'know. You're not invincible."

Silvally hung his head. "Yeah, I see your point. I just heard your cries of pain and, without really thinking, I lunged for Dark Matter." He awkwardly poked at the ground with his talons. "I don't understand, though. I was in so much pain before I passed out. I don't think a Reviver Seed could make me feel good as new. So, what happened?"

"I, um…" Shane started, but his voice trailed off. He shook his head. "Sorry, I can't really explain it," Shane said. Before Silvally could protest, Shane turned and ran toward Tapu Lele. He found Tessa kneeling next to her, a paw resting on her pink helmet. "Is she… y'know… dead?"

"I'm not sure," Tessa said. Her aura feelers twitched. "I think I can sense something. And she's got all her colors."

"But I didn't hit her with my Z-Move," Shane noted.

"True," Tessa said, "unless that Dark Matter clone was actually part of her… somehow. Because you did knock it into her body, so…" She stopped. "Wait, what am I saying? We've got to wake her up and get the Dawn Hourglass… quickly!" She fumbled through the item bag and produced a Reviver Seed. She paused, holding her paw over Tapu Lele's face. "Um, do you see a mouth on her?"

"Just, I dunno, mash it against her face or something," Shane suggested. He had turned around and was looking all over the room. "The longer we stay here, the more we risk that Necrozma guy realizing something's wrong and coming back."

Tessa went with his proposal and pressed the Reviver Seed to Tapu Lele's face. It dissolved into her skin. Tessa yanked her paw back in surprise. A couple of seconds passed, and then Tapu Lele began to stir. Her eyes slowly opened and her gaze met Tessa's. She tried to sit up, only to grab her right shoulder and fall back against the ground.

"Cuh-careful now," Tessa cautioned, kneeling beside her. "You're still hurt. Do you… um… remember what just happened?"

Tapu Lele nodded quietly. She turned and glimpsed Shane out of the corner of her eyes, spotting the Naturia Looplet on his foreleg. "You… you saved me, didn't you?" she whispered.

"It was a team effort, to be honest. These two were putting in most of the legwork," Shane said, gesturing to Silvally and Mimikyu. "Are you feeling okay? Any, y'know, weird stuff going on in your head?" he asked, twirling a digit around his temple and adding a cuckoo whistle for good measure.

Tapu Lele again struggled to sit up. This time, Tessa offered her a shoulder to lean on, and she rested against it, breathing heavily. "My head's tingling a lot. And…" Tapu Lele's voice trailed off. She shakily raised her hand. It briefly flickered pink, but the energy promptly faded. "My powers are nearly drained." Tears welled up in her eyes. "That monster… that horrible monster is still here. I can sense him."

"We know," Shane said grimly. "And that's why we need to ask you about the Dawn Hourglass."

Tapu Lele's eyes widened. She looked at Shane's looplet again. "You've been recognized by Bulu," she noted.

"Huh?" Shane looked down at the looplet. "Oh, yeah, I guess. Look, I'm sorry if I sound rude, but we're in the thick of a really serious situation, here. And we really, really need your help." Tessa shot him a concerned look, to which Shane looked back at her and shrugged his shoulders.

"No… I understand," Tapu Lele muttered, propping herself up higher. "It's not like I blacked out. I remember everything that happened. That monster… the one who looked like Lunala… he showed up and attacked me. He hit me with this weird beam." She shuddered. "I thought I was going to die! These… these slimy wires came out of nowhere, and jabbed themselves into my back. And I–"

"If you don't mind, I'd really prefer if we skipped the descriptions," Shane said, looking a bit queasy. "We need to keep the Dawn Hourglass from falling into Necrozma's hands. So, where is it hiding?" A guilty look appeared on Tapu Lele's face in response. Shane frowned. "Is there something wrong?"

"Necrozma doesn't have it already, does he?" Silvally asked, an alarmed look in his eyes.

"No," Tapu Lele squeaked. "It's… it's not here." Panicked expressions overtook Team Radiance's faces. "I'm sorry," she said, looking away from them. "I screwed up. Like, majorly."

"Why? What happened?" Tessa asked.

The room started shaking again. Mimikyu looked about in a panic. "Guh-guys? I think we need to speed it up a bit, here."

Tessa yelped as Tapu Lele grabbed hold of her paw. "Hey! What are you doing? That's my looplet. It was a hatch day present!" she barked, tugging on her arm.

"There's no time," Tapu Lele said. Pink energy funneled into her hands, and she channeled it into Tessa's looplet. Tessa's eyes widened and her aura feelers stood straight up. "I sensed that something was wrong in Aurora Vale, so I sent out a Ditto to investigate. When Ditto didn't return, I began to panic. I was going to get the Dawn Hourglass and flee the Temple but I was careless… and I broke it."

"You WHAT?" Shane shouted, the volume making his teammates wince. "Well, where are the pieces, then?"

"Gone," Tapu Lele whispered. "The moment it shattered, all of its pieces vanished. My siblings and I placed hexes on the Hourglasses. If someone were to break them, the shards would scatter. Otherwise, large amounts of energy would leak out of the shards and create a huge explosion!"

Silvally's eyes widened and he winced, recalling the blast he had taken from Dark Matter. "But what are we supposed to do, then? We need to keep that power away from the Prism Virus," Shane growled. "Don't you know where they went?"

"I'm sorry," Tapu Lele whimpered. "If I was feeling alright, I'm sure I could help you. But my powers are totally sapped right now. Even doing this… is taking a lot of me."

The glow faded from her hands and she pulled them back. Pins and needles ran along Tessa's arm. She looked down at her looplet and her eyes widened. "Wh… what did you do to this?" Tessa gasped.

"I've… charged your looplet," Tapu Lele wheezed. She slid back down onto the floor, brushing sweat from her brow. "If you're really… going to go against that monster… you need Z-Power. It's the least… I can do for you. Heck… it's about all… I can do for you… right now. Again… I can't apologize… enough."

Before Tapu Lele could say anything else, a column of shadows swallowed her up and she cried out in terror. Tessa scrambled backwards, heart pounding in her chest. Silvally took up a protective stance in front of her, narrowing his eyes as the shadows shaped themselves back into Necrozma. He pinned Tapu Lele against the destroyed wall.

"Broken? BROKEN?!" Necrozma snarled. "You told me it was downstairs in the Temple cellar!"

"I know. I… urgh… did you really think… I was going to tell you the truth? You came in here… and threatened me," Tapu Lele groaned. Necrozma pressed down on her torso, eliciting a pained squeal.

"You lied to me!" Necrozma roared, to Team Radiance's alarm. "LIAR! LIAAAAAAR!" He reared his arm back and slammed Tapu Lele into the wall several times. Tears welled up in her eyes. "I gave you light! I gave you Z-Power! It was me! MEEE! And this is how you repay me? BY LYING TO ME?!"

Tapu Lele meekly struggled in Necrozma's grip. "Nuh… no…" she rasped. "That can't be… that's impossible! You're… you're supposed to be gone. Solgaleo and Lunala took care of you!"

Necrozma paid her no mind. "You're no better than the Pokémon that took my light away from me. Everyone lies to me… everyone uses me for whatever suits them. Nobody cares about what Necrozma thinks!" His arms and wings twitched. "You gods… if you're really a symbol of what this world has to offer… then I'm in the right! Pokémon… they don't really care about each other at all. No… you're just like humans! Lying and back-stabbing and twisting reality until you get the result that you want!"

"And Mistress Zero really believes she can save this world. She wants to use my light to make things better. But none of you deserve it! The only thing you fools deserve… is to spend eternity in oblivion! ON MY TERMS! I gave this world a future and it gave me nothing in return! It's only fair that I take it all away! Burn it down in a blaze of glorious light!" Necrozma ranted, drenching Tapu Lele in spittle. "But I can't do that. The power I need… is stuck with someone else! So, I'll have to settle for your life energy as a consolation prize. My Z-Power flows through you. And it's time I took it back."

Shane's jaw dropped. 'Oh my god… this Necrozma guy… he's gone completely off the deep end! He's gonna kill her! He's gonna kill us!' He found himself staggering back toward his teammates. "Guys," he whispered. "We've got to get out of here… now!"

"But what about Tapu Lele?" Tessa asked.

"Forget about her. What about us?" Shane panicked. "Look, the door's open. Let's get the heck out of dodge before we wind up just like h–"

A bloodcurdling scream filled the room. Shane looked back to see Necrozma squeezing Tapu Lele's tiny frame between his large, metallic hands. Her eyes bulged out of her head briefly before a loud popping noise sounded. Tessa's knees grew weak. She sank to the floor, watching Tapu Lele's eyes roll back in her head. Necrozma then dug his claws into her torso. He forcibly yanked his right hand back, pulling all of the color off of Tapu Lele. He took the swirling globe of energy and swallowed it in a single bite. Dark energy ran down his left hand. It raced along Tapu Lele's body, turning her into crystal.

Necrozma clenched his fist and Tapu Lele's body shattered into tiny fragments. "NO!" Tessa shouted. Her mind flooded with the memory of Zero killing Sylveon and Eevee in a similar manner. She turned and buried her head in Silvally's shoulder. "Make him stop! Make him stop!" she squealed, shuddering against his hide.

"What are you doing?" Shane hissed, trying to shove his teammate to her feet. "Get up! Get up! We need to get out of here while he's still distracted, or else!"

But Necrozma teleported in front of Team Radiance. "What's that? Leaving already?" he said. "Come now. There's no need for that." His arms twitched again. "I can't believe this is the company you're choosing to keep, Shane. It leaves much to be desired."

"We don't have anything to say to the likes of you," Shane said, but his voice cracked and his gaze fell to the ground.

Necrozma frowned. "Nothing at all? Even after all my hints?" he muttered. "My god, you really are the densest moron in all of reality." He shoved his head under his wing and whispered under his breath, "No wonder I had to spell it out for you that we were being bullied back in school."

"Of course we don't want to talk to you. You're trying to kill us!" Mimikyu shouted. Necrozma looked right at Mimikyu and he shrank back behind Silvally, letting out a frightened, "Meep! Please don't hurt me!"

"I get it. It's fine. You think I'm some sort of freak, don't you? Now that Tapu Lele's light is rightfully mine, you want to slink off and forget you even met me. That's it, isn't it?" Necrozma's wings tensed and he flicked an arm toward the door. "I'm not surprised. After all… heeheeheehee… forgetting and moving on is what you specialize in, isn't it, Shane?"

"I don't know what you're talking abo–" Shane started, only for Necrozma to vanish. He reappeared behind Tessa. Silvally immediately unleashed a flurry of Air Slash blades in Necrozma's direction. He hissed and teleported across the room. Necrozma dusted off his right wing.

"My, my. Aren't we testy?" Necrozma taunted. "Tell me something, Tessa. Did Shane ever tell you that his one and only human friend took his own life?"

Tessa turned so her right eye poked out from Silvally's fur. "Wh… what do you mean?" she gasped.

Shane bared his tiny fangs. "Hey! You're not allowed in my brain!" He panicked when he realized what he had said. "Um… that's… I mean… liar, liar, wings on fire?" Shane shrank down toward the ground, feeling his teammates gazes fall toward him.

"I mean that your 'precious' little human… the one whose sob story you've bought… is really an idiotic, ignorant LOSER! He is a failure in every facet imaginable… so he clung to his games. He hunkered down in his room – in his perfect little fantasy worlds where he could always be the hero – and hoped that all his problems would just go away. And the one guy who felt sorry enough to keep hanging out with him? Mocked! Bullied! Humiliated by his fellow humans! And when he turned to Shane, begging for a bit of kindness to reel him in from the brink, you know what Shane did? Casually brushed his so-called friend aside and went on like nothing was wrong in his life," Necrozma exclaimed, his arms twitching. His tongue fell out of his mouth and he forcibly slurped it back in.

"That's not true!" Shane shouted. He turned a horrified look on his teammates. "Don't listen to him. I... he's..." He shook his head. "He's making stuff up to screw with me! Or with us! Or something! I don't know!"

Necrozma ignored Shane. "Then his human friend killed himself. And just like that… little Shane was all alone." Necrozma clawed at his forehead. "It's all there in your partner's mind, Tessa! And you stand as proof that he can't learn from his mistakes!" he crooned before turning back to Shane. "You never made another friend, did you? Heeheeheehee. No wonder you latched onto the first Pokémon you met when you got here. It helps that she has the potential to be a Lucario, despite your bumbling making that increasingly more unlikely with each passing day."

Shane squeezed his eyes shut. "You don't know what you're talking about! I don't care if you can read my mind... you don't understand me or my friends!" He looked over his shoulder. "Right, guys?"

"Um..." Tessa rubbed her shoulder. "You did talk a lot about Riolus and Lucarios when we first met."

"I know. But I've gotten better about that, right?" Shane squeaked. "This guy... he's twisting things around to confuse us!"

A wicked grin spread across Necrozma's face. "Oh, please. Don't try to hide it, Shane. I know that's what you want to see. Your mind's as easy to read as a baby's first pop-up book. Those… ahem… pictures on your computer? Your human friend knew about them. He was just too embarrassed to say anything."

Shane turned to Tessa, a look of utter horror on his face. But his gaze faltered when she made eye contact. Tessa tightened her grip on Silvally's leg and buried her face in his fur again. Images of Zero holding her in the air and strangling her with psychic energy flashed through her mind. She squeezed her eyes shut and bit her lower lip. "I can't… take this anymore," she whispered.

Silvally once again launched a bevy of Air Slash crescents. This time Necrozma's eyes flashed. A psychic ripple raced forward, breaking Silvally's attack apart. "Tell me, Shane. Why did you help Tessa, anyway?" Necrozma asked. "Do you really care about her? Or… heeheeheehee… were you just doing it to ease your own guilt." His lips curled into another unhinged smile. "Yes… the guilt from turning your back on your real friend."

"Sh… shut up!" Shane hissed, slamming a forepaw on the ground. "My teammates mean the world to me! Even if things haven't been perfect between us, I consider them my friends!" He glanced at them, and then turned back to Necrozma. "In the past, I'd have probably just given up… and turned myself over to you and Zero. But that's not who I am anymore. I'll do whatever it takes to stop you!"

"Stop me? Heeheehee… bwahahahahaha! You've got it backwards, Shane. Why would I want to do anything to you?" Necrozma's head lolled to the side and his wings spasmed. "No… I need you alive. I want you around… so that we can annihilate this worthless world… and have ourselves an eternity's worth of fun with what remains!" He swung his head to his other side. "But that can't happen without the Dawn Hourglass. So, it looks like, we're going to have to gather the pieces somehow."

He vanished, reappearing next to Shane's teammates. "You three, on the other hand, are not needed. Mistress Zero wants interlopers dealt with. And the happier she is, the easier things are for me. You see where I'm going with this?"

"Get away from them!" Shane hollered. He spat an Aurora Beam but Necrozma teleported to his right and easily dodged the attack.

"What are you getting so worked up about, Shane?" Necrozma sneered. "Why do you care what happens to them? You only know how to think about yourself!" Ectoplasmic energy gathered up in his mouth and he shot a Shadow Ball right toward Tessa and Silvally. The latter stepped into the attack's path, letting it harmlessly strike him in the face. He lunged at Necrozma, darkness filling up his mouth. Silvally crunched down on Necrozma's torso, generating a pained screech. Necrozma swatted Silvally off of him. Silvally landed on the ground, growling.

"Skrrreeeeeeeevvvvk! You pathetic, miserable fool! I'll feast upon your light and then rip your girlfriend to fuzzy shreds!" Necrozma snarled. He pointed an arm forward and psychic energy raced ahead of him. Silvally changed to a dark-type and, once again, the attack harmlessly washed over him. Silvally sprang up toward a startled Necrozma, who just barely managed to teleport out of the way. Silvally hit the floor and skidded forward.

"FOOOOOL! You left Tessa wide open," Necrozma cackled, having reappeared over the Riolu. "Your light is mine!"

"TESSA, NO!" Shane screamed. He started to gather the energy needed for an Aurora Beam when a golden ring appeared on the floor underneath him. The icy energy dissipated. Shane dropped into the ring with a frightened shout. Seconds later, his teammates all fell into identical-looking rings. Necrozma looked down. His arms and wings spasmed in protest.

"What? That can't be!" he shouted, looking about the room. "How could they have warped out of here? My powers should've blocked them! Who is responsible for this nonsense?"

XxX

~Aeon Town~

"Bum-da-da-daaaaaaah! Alléhoopariiiiiiiiiiing!"

Shane tumbled out of a ring-shaped portal. He faceplanted into the ground and skidded forward, scuffing his fur. He didn't even have a second to get his bearings straight before Tessa was flung out of a second, identical portal. She slammed into Shane's rear. Shane yipped in surprise and scooted forward. Mimikyu next flew out of the second portal, ending up draped over Tessa's arm. And then Silvally struck her from behind. Team Radiance collapsed into a heap.

"Ooooooooogh. What just happened?" Shane groaned, eyes spinning around in their sockets.

"Why, Hoopa saved your sorry butts, of course," a high-pitched voice replied.

Shane blinked a few times and managed to crawl out from the bottom of the pile. "Wait, did someone just say Hoopa?"

"Hoopa did! Hoopa did!" the small djinni cheered, floating right up to Shane's face. Shane shuffled back uneasily, contacting Silvally's face.

"Hey!" Silvally grunted. "Watch where you're pointing those tails. This is hardly my idea of a flattering view."

Shane looked over his shoulder and his face went red enough to make a tamato berry jealous. He stumbled forward, tails reflexively curling against his hips. "Heh heh heh! You're pretty funny," Hoopa chuckled. "Are you the human Latias was talking about?" He floated above Shane and his expression immediately went stern. In a pale imitation of Latias' voice, he said, "Hoopa, you need to help these explorers in Horizon. I sense that they're in trouble. And you're the only one brave enough, smart enough, and cool enough to get the job done!"

Hoopa smirked and crossed his arms. "And so, Hoopa bailed you out. Once again, the day is saved… thanks to Hoopa!" He raised his right arm, posing dramatically. One of his ring portals opened behind him and a trio of fireworks shot up.

Shane's teammates had managed to untangle themselves and joined him in watching Hoopa. "Is this really happening?" Mimikyu whispered.

"I don't know. At this point, I'm waiting for the giant tap-dancing rubber chicken to show up and tell me this has all been some crazy nightmare brought on by eating too much ice cream," Shane groaned, rubbing his forehead.

Hoopa broke off his pose and furrowed his brow at Team Radiance. "Hey, what's the matter with you guys? Why aren't you cheering for Hoopa?"

"Because we're still a bit confused, to be honest," Silvally replied. "You yanked us out of Mystery Dungeon like it was nothing." He walked forward and sniffed the air. "What's your secret, huh? Because you don't smell like you're made of Escape Orb."

Tessa facepalmed. "That's… not how it works, buddy."

Hoopa rolled his eyes. "What's there to know? You needed rescuing. So, Hoopa gave you a rescue. Isn't that what we guild folk do?"

Tessa's jaw dropped. "You're part of a guild?"

Hoopa twirled around to show off the Expedition Society badge dangling from his neck. "You betcha! Hoopa is Team Gaia's trump card. When trouble's afoot, Hoopa swoops in to save the day. Like this!" He threw his hands to the sides and shouted, "Alléhoopariiiiiiiing!"

A ring portal opened over Shane's head. He just had enough time to look up before a column of water gushed out of the portal. "AUUUUUUUUGH!" Shane shouted, collapsing on his belly. Hoopa shut the portal, snickering loudly.

"There. Now you're squeaky clean," Hoopa declared, dusting off his hands. "No need to thank Hoopa. Hoopa will put it on your tab."

"Wait, what tab?" Tessa gasped. "We didn't agree to anything like that."

Shane spat out a mouthful of water and coughed up a string of kelp. "Oh… great. You're one of those genies," he growled.

Tessa raised an eyebrow. "Do you know something I don't?"

Shane shook out his fur. Tessa hissed in displeasure and threw an arm up over her face. "Of course I do," he said. "In human stories, genies are conniving little buggers. There's always a catch to accepting help from them."

"Oh no, there are no catches with Hoopa. It's really simple. Hoopa helps you and you do a favor in return for Hoopa," Hoopa explained. He shot a glance over toward the forest and his eyes flashed blue. An annoyed howl erupted in the distance, making everyone jump in surprise.

Splaaaaaash!

"Make that two favors," Hoopa declared, crossing his arms and smiling. "There was a group of thugs in the bushes over there. They were waiting to ambush you." He jerked his head in that direction. "But, no need to thank Hoopa. You can make up for it lat–"

"That's enough out of you, Hoopa."

Latias materialized beside him and bit down on the horn protruding from the right side of his face. "Ow! Ow! No biting!" Hoopa wailed, flailing his arms about. Latias released her grip and Hoopa started rubbing his injured horn. "No fair. You snuck up on Hoopa!"

"I thought we had a deal. Whatever favors you need taken care of, I'll handle them," Latias huffed.

"Aww, Hoopa just wanted to have some fun with the kiddies," Hoopa said. "What's so bad about that?" Latias' response consisted of biting him on the same horn again. "OW! Okay, okay! Hoopa's sorry! Hoopa's sorry!" Latias again released her grip.

"Thank goodness you're all okay," Latias said. "Hoopa here can see through the ley lines in dungeons. I was worried the Prism Virus might be able to block his powers, but Hoopa didn't have any problems monitoring your situation." Hoopa grinned triumphantly behind Latias. Despite this, she put on a grim expression. "It looks like this is worse than we thought."

"What are we supposed to do, then?" Shane wondered.

Latias looked up toward the sky. "I think it's best you guys regroup back at the Observatory. It's not safe to stay outside the barrier too long. That monster that attacked you guys could try to follow you here."

"What about you two?" Shane asked. "You have to come with us!"

"Not a chance," Latias replied, a nervous look on her face. "Metagross didn't want me bringing in outside help and, quite frankly, I don't want to be there to see how he reacts. Plus, Hoopa and I have some work that we need to do anyway. Isn't that right?" She turned to Hoopa, who rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. We're stopping for lunch first though, right?" Hoopa said as he and Latias disappeared into one of his portals. Once they were gone, Team Radiance headed for Aeon Town. A small hole appeared in the barrier, allowing them all to pass. It resealed itself as soon as they were inside it.

None of them looked back and spotted the ripples in the water as a soggy Lycanroc staggered out. "This blows!" he hissed, resting his head against his shoulder and smacking it. Water trickled out of his ear.

"Yeah! I hate water… especially wet water!" Jangmo-o whined, shaking off his body.

Sneasel smacked him upside the head. "How many times do I gotta tell you? If you're thinking of saying something stupid, bite your tongue instead." He turned to Lycanroc. "So, now what? You saw the Pokémon Snowy's running with. We can't deal with that much firepower!"

Lycanroc backhanded Sneasel, knocking him back into the water. "I ain't blind, mate. I can see that for myself." He crossed his arms. "If we can't ambush Snowy, then we look for an unsuspecting target and get the leg up on 'em."

"Um, not to question your decision-making, but how will extra legs help us in this situation, exactly?" Jangmo-o wondered.

Lycanroc sighed and slumped over. "Just… get back in the bushes, ya dumb git."

XxX

~Aeon Observatory~

"Well, I reckon this complicates things… uh… a lot," Braviary groaned, burying his face in his right wing. "So, lemme make sure I have this straight. The Dawn Hourglass is gone?"

"Smashed into pieces, apparently," Shane replied. "According to Tapu Lele, if the Hourglass breaks, the pieces scatter themselves. Something about chain reactions and explosions if that doesn't happen."

Braviary's brow furrowed. "Which means the Prism Virus ain't got it. Fer now, anyway."

Shane's stance slouched. "Yeah, thanks for the reminder that we blew it… again."

"Shane…" Tessa muttered.

"I know, I know. 'Now's not the time,'" he grumbled. "Sorry, Braviary. Continue."

Braviary started pacing in front of the Observatory's front entrance. "Tapu Lele was done in by the Prism Virus, though. Which means a whole quarter of Horizon ain't got no Land Spirit looking after the Mystery Dungeons there."

Tessa stiffened. "Um, is that a problem?"

In the short term, no, Magearna replied. But without a Land Spirit exercising control over a dungeon, there is a one-hundred percent chance that the ley lines will become unstable.

"Which means what, exactly?" Silvally asked.

The Tapus used ley lines to anchor the Horizon Continent to the ocean floor, Magearna explained. If they are not properly maintenanced, then they could detach and set Horizon adrift once again. Or worse… the continent could just sink into the ocean.

"WHAT?" Tessa gasped, aura feelers shooting up and tail bristling. "But… but that…"

"Settle down, now. We've still got three of the Land Spirits around," Braviary said. "If'n anything, we ought to be worried about this… uh…" He rubbed the back of his head. "Now, what did that feller who attacked you guys call himself?"

"Necrozma," Silvally replied.

"Right." Braviary nodded slowly. "And, from what it sounds like, he's actually possessing Lunala?"

"Either that, or he's made himself look like Lunala to throw us off," Shane exclaimed. "In any case, he's definitely working with the Prism Virus. He infected Tapu Lele, and then sucked the life out of her."

"Working for? I wouldn't be surprised if Necrozma's the mastermind, here," Tessa mumbled. "He could teleport. And… and…"

Silvally shot Shane a scathing look. He quickly looked away, biting his lower lip. 'Oooooh, I really hope you're right, Tessa. Because that's the only way I can see things ending well for you, here.'

Shane snapped back to attention when he heard Mimikyu say, "He also seemed to know Shane for some reason."

Braviary looked over at him and raised an eyebrow. Shane went stiff as a board. "I… well… he read my mind, that's all. Probably trying to mess with me or… or…" His eyes darted around as he tried to come up with an answer. "Look, I have no idea who Necrozma is, okay. Honest! All of this is just as confusing to me as it is to you."

But the skeptical look didn't vanish from Braviary's face. "Hrrrrm. Well, I'm gonna have a word with the Guildmaster. See if he has any thoughts on the matter. Y'all wait out here for the moment. Yer day might not be over yet." He walked into the Guildmaster's office. The door immediately slammed shut behind him, drawing worried looks from Team Radiance. They stared at Metagross' office with bated breath. But when they all determined they couldn't hear anything, they relaxed.

Shane lowered his head. "We failed again," he whispered. "Why do we keep failing?" He snorted out tufts of ice. "This is getting ridiculous. Ever since Twilight Forest we can't seem to do anything right. All of our missions turn into disasters. And the Prism Virus' forces are getting tougher and tougher." He squeezed his eyes shut and gritted his teeth. "I can't believe I was stupid enough to think I could really save the world. We're… I'm…"

He flopped onto his belly and buried his head in his forepaws. "It's too much! It's hopeless! Things keep getting worse each time we face the Prism Virus. At this rate, we're going to get killed tomorrow."

"Hey!" Tessa barked, walking up to Shane and shoving him with her foot. "What happened to trying to stay positive and actually mean it, huh?"

Shane looked up at her. "How can I possibly be positive after the last few days?"

"Well… uh…" Tessa turned to her right and rubbed her shoulder. "We have Silvally now." She looked toward Silvally, who puffed his chest out.

"And he nearly got himself killed in his first battle," Shane pointed out. Silvally deflated and poked guiltily at the ground with a talon. "Face it, guys. We're so far out of our league. It's just a matter of time before our luck runs out."

Tessa's ears and aura feelers drooped. "You don't think I don't know that?" she whimpered, to Shane's displeasure. "But we have to keep fighting. If Necrozma and Zero have their ways, then… then…"

"No," Shane whispered.

"No?" Tessa repeated.

"You two… you should go," Shane said.

"Excuse me?" Tessa raised an eyebrow.

"You heard me. Go!" He turned to Mimikyu. "You too, li'l guy. You all saw it for yourselves. I'm the one Necrozma's fixated on. You're only putting yourselves at risk by sticking with me." He shook his head. "Zero said something about trying to make things better for normal Pokémon. And you fit the bill…" He looked up at Silvally, whose head was cocked in confusion. "… well, reasonably speaking, anyway."

"Look, the point is. This doesn't have to be your guys' fight. I don't…" Shane lowered his head. "If the Prism Virus kills you guys because of me, I'll never be able to forgive myself."

Tessa grabbed the scruff of Shane's neck and yanked him to his feet despite a yip of protest. "Seriously, Shane?" Tessa growled. "What, do you think you're being heroic or something? You're not just some sort of walking sacrifice."

"But I don't want you getting hurt," Shane whimpered.

"It's a little late for that, don't you think?" Tessa said. "Sure, we could run away. But what if Zero's lying? What if the Prism Virus isn't going to ignore us, huh? Then we're basically rolling over and dying!" She put a paw on his shoulder. "So, sorry, but we're going to keep fighting."

"Yeah! And we've pulled through as a team so far," Silvally chirped. "Which means our best bet is to stick together." He bent down to make eye contact with Shane. "Besides, it's not all doom and gloom! You've given us some good times. Like when you get blown up… or dropped in water and mud and…"

Shane put a forepaw on Silvally's beak. "I get the idea," he said, sighing. "Okay, I guess I might've overreacted just a little bit."

"I don't know. It sounded like a lot bit to me," Mimikyu muttered. Shane gave him a stink eye and Mimikyu tensed up. "Meep! I'm sorry… I was just making an observation." He threw a raggedy arm up over his eyes.

"Still, if we're going to stand a chance against the Prism Virus, we need to make improvements," Shane said. He turned to Tessa. "And that means we both have to evolve."

Tessa tensed up at this. "Evolve? Are you serious?"

"Yes. Right here. Right now," Shane declared.

"Uh, not to offend, but did you hit your head really hard when Hoopa brought us back here?" Tessa growled. "I can't just magically wave my arms around and turn into a Lucario! It doesn't work that way."

"I'm aware of that," Shane retorted. "But we can make it happen!"

"You can?" Silvally's eyes widened. "Does this mean you're secretly made of evolution pheromones?"

"Yes, I– wait, what? No!" Shane recoiled, only to pause and sniff at his backside. "Yeah, no, that's just sweat. Look, we already discussed this the other day. You just need to fully tap into your aura powers." He poked Tessa's Naturia Looplet with his snout. "And now we can try testing out Umbreon's theory."

"Huh?"

"It's simple! You just use a Z-Move on me," Shane declared. He stepped back and puffed out his chest. "Just, I don't know, remember when you hated me and wanted to yank my tails off. Then channel that anger into an attack. That oughta do it, right?"

Silvally and Mimikyu exchanged unconvinced looks. Tessa rubbed her shoulder. "Um… but I don't feel anything."

"What are you talking about? You've just got to focus!" Shane insisted.

"That's such a vague way of describing it," Tessa growled frustratingly. "What does 'focus' really mean, huh?"

"Uh… well…" Shane's brow furrowed. "Okay, so you got me there."

"You're the one who's used a Z-Move twice already. So why don't you tell me how you did it?" Tessa said, jabbing him in the chest with a digit.

Shane looked down at his Looplet. "How I did it?" he repeated. "Um… lemme think…"

Tessa's eyes widened. "You mean you don't even know how you used your Z-Move?"

"Hey, give me a break! Both times were in the middle of really stressful situations where I thought one of you was going to die. I didn't think… I just sort of leaped into action," Shane explained, his tails twitching nervously. "I was desperate. I guess, I dunno, the looplet sensed that desperation and channeled it into a Z-Move? Which means, the best way to get a Z-Move to work for you would be to put you in an extremely stressful situation."

Tessa crossed her arms and gave Shane the most sinister glare she could muster. Shane shuffled backward, the back of his head turning dark blue. "Aha ha… uh… that came out wrong."

"What we really ought to do is speak to someone who knows more about Z-Moves," Silvally thought aloud. "Like Magearna."

"See, now that's a much more reasonable solution," Tessa exclaimed, gesturing toward her friend.

"Thanks!" Silvally chirped. "I figured since she was the one who explained them to us in the first place, she must have some sort of theory about making it work."

WHAM!

"Ah!" Tessa jumped into the air, squeaking in fright. She landed in a collapsed heap on the floor.

"Now, Guildmaster, don't ya th–"

I will not have Latias' reckless abandon get the lot of us killed!

Worry flashed across Shane's face. "He… he sounds mad," Shane squeaked.

"Really mad," Mimikyu agreed, hunching low to the ground.

"I understand, sir. I feel the same way, but–"

You do not. You are skeptical of my plans. I can see it. Are you questioning me? Are you siding with her over me… your best friend?

"Of course not! I reckon I'd never…"

Metagross' door slammed open. Team Radiance jumped to attention. Braviary fluttered out, his feathery head crest completely disheveled. "But, Guildmaster, don't ya think it's a bit unreasonable to send all of us down there, sir?" he asked, rubbing the back of his head with a wing.

Metagross walked out of his office. Shane could just barely see the corner of one of his eyes, which had a rainbow gleam in it. The gleam abruptly disappeared. At the same time, Espeon, Umbreon, and Magearna appeared from the hallway leading to the latter's workshop. They all fixed curious looks on Metagross.

Negative, Metagross replied. The only avenue for success is for you all to proceed to the Solaris Wastelands. He turned to Team Radiance. That includes Espeon, Umbreon, and you four.

"Wait, what? But we just got back from a really tough mission!" Shane complained. "Can't we at least wait until tomorrow?"

Negative. Fact: time is of the essence, Metagross answered. Fact: Yungoos, Trapinch, and Growlithe reached the Temple of Body. Fact: they discovered that Tapu Bulu is holding the Dusk Hourglass, but were promptly ejected from the vicinity. With the Dawn Hourglass fractured, we must prevent it from falling into the Prism Virus' hands.

"And you need to send all of us out there just to get it?" Umbreon said. "Espy and I really don't feel up to–"

Metagross turned and glared at Umbreon. You have much to atone for. Do as I command or I will hand you over to the authorities.

Umbreon and Espeon wilted at this. Shane bit his lower lip. 'I don't like the sound of this,' he muttered. 'If he's sending all of us, then there'll practically be no one left in the guild besides him.' Thoughts of Gallian flashed through is mind. 'Wait… he couldn't have an ulterior motive for wanting to do this, could he?'

"Why have us go, then?" Shane asked. "We're weary from battling Tapu Lele and we need rest."

Fact: you have a looplet gifted to you from Tapu Bulu. You are far more likely to be able to get through to him than Yungoos, Trapinch, and Growlithe, Metagross replied.

"So, why do I need all this backup, then? Is Tapu Bulu super hostile?"

The rainbow gleam flashed across Metagross' eyes. Everyone in the room noticed. Several Pokémon tensed up. Metagross glanced around the room and proceeded to glare directly at Shane. You are not in a position to question my strategy! The backup is in anticipation of a possible attack by the Prism Virus! Metagross replied. His eyes glowed blue. You would dare challenge my authority, human?

Shane shuffled backward. "Nuh-no…" he squeaked, avoiding Metagross' glare.

"Well, I sure am, sir," Braviary exclaimed. "Why are ya sending me? I know that there's my home turf. But don't you think I'm of better use here coordinating and whatnot?"

Metagross turned his glare on Braviary. No!

This time Shane jumped in alarm. 'His voice… it's getting higher-pitched. What's going on here?'

You know the fastest, safest routes through the Solaris Wastelands, Metagross said. With the harsh sandstorms, I'm unwilling to take any chances. We must succeed at all costs!

"Then why not have Latias and Hoopa send 'em all over?" Braviary asked.

Did you not hear me before? They're going to get us all killed with their poor decision-making! Metagross thundered. Espeon and Umbreon exchanged panicked looks and shrank backwards, looking as if they were ready to bolt at a moment's notice. Metagross ignored them. Magearna, give them their supplies so they can get going.

Magearna remained frozen in place, staring curiously at Metagross. Again, a rainbow gleam flickered in his eyes. Now, Magearna!

Oh… right! Magearna jumped to attention. She placed a large bag on the ground, and several pairs of goggles tumbled out. Behold, my patented Geartronic Weather Optical Dehazardification Units!

Happy for any sort of distraction from Metagross, Shane looked down at the goggles. He raised an eyebrow. "Something wrong?" Tessa asked.

"I was half expecting her to introduce them with something along the lines of, 'the future is now, thanks to science!'" he mused.

Science is not about catchphrases. Especially cheesy ones like that, Magearna harrumphed. I will have you know that these goggles all releasemit special protective forcefields that will keep you safe from any hazarterious effects of the desert sandstorms.

"Yeah, I know. They're just Safety Goggles, after all," Shane scoffed, grabbing a pair and sliding them onto his face.

They are not. They are Geartronic Weather Optical Dehazardification Units, and I would appreciate it if you gave them the respect they deserve, Magearna corrected, crossing her arms.

"Whatever," Shane said, rolling his eyes. "So, I guess this means we're going to the desert, then?" He cast a glance at Metagross. 'Trap or not, I'd rather go there than stay here with him. He looks like he's gonna blow a gasket. And even with all of us here, could we really take him if he went on a rampage? What if he has an Awakening Emera hidden somewhere?'

Metagross tapped a foreleg impatiently on the floor. Your Sharpedos will arrive at the port in fifteen minutes, he declared.

'Great. But I still have a really bad feeling about all of this,' Shane thought, his stomaching churning.

Do not delay! Go! Now! Metagross thundered, stomping his foreleg on the ground. Several of the guild members again jumped in surprise. The group hurried toward the stairs, scampering up them without a second thought. Only Magearna remained, eyeing Metagross cautiously. What are you looking at? You have work to do! Monitor the forcefields or this will all be for naught!

He turned and stormed back into his office. The door slammed shut behind him. Metagross' right eye twitched. Ngggrrggghhh… that stupid, stupid human! He's going to be the death of me! I can see it in his eyes… in all their eyes! They want me dead. They're trying to off me! ME! After everything I've done for them!

Metagross stomped forward, his gaze darting back and forth across the room. It's all the same. Incineroar… Lucario… now their children… trying to put an end to me. I have just as much right to live as any of them! He reached his tapestry handing from the wall and tore it off, revealing a small safe. It doesn't matter… it doesn't matter… they won't succeed. I will persist. I will survive. No matter what it takes! I'll get rid of them before they get rid of me!

His eyes flashed blue and the safe's dial turned. The handle moved into the open position and Metagross flung the door open. He reached inside and pulled out a smoothed, obsidian stone. A familiar star emblem was carved into it. Metagross set the stone on the ground and pressed a foreleg to it. Rainbow glows overtook his eyes. Dark energy swirled around the stone, expanding into a cloud of black shadows. Necrozma's hollow red eyes stared back at him.

"What do you want? I told you not to bother me unless it was important!" Necrozma spat.

I have news… Metagross exclaimed. Important news. I've sent Team Radiance to the Solaris Wastelands. Tapu Bulu is the one with the Dusk Hourglass. Espeon, Umbreon, and Braviary are with them. Just go there… and you can get the Hourglass and the spirits of all of those conniving miscreants.

"Heeheeheehee! Is that so? I see you're working very hard to keep up your end of the bargain," Necrozma said, laughing jovially.

Yes. And I expect you to honor our agreement.

"Of course. You give me what I want… you get to live on even after I wipe this world out of existence," Necrozma replied. "Of course, I'll need to verify that you're not misleading me. Because I would really hate to show up there and find myself deceived." His red eyes flashed and black mist swirled around Metagross.

I am telling you the honest truth.

"What of Tapu Koko, then? I thought you suspected he was holding the Dusk Hourglass," Necrozma exclaimed.

I have not heard back from Teams Captivate and Buzz Buzz, the scouts that went to Tapu Bulu's temple found the Hourglass, Metagross explained.

Necrozma's eyes flickered with interest. "So, Team Captivate is trying to get to Tapu Koko? I have a partner with a vested interest in them, so if you value our deal, you'd best answer truthfully."

They are proceeding through Voltaic Crater, Metagross replied.

"Heeheeheehee! How very informative. Thank you so much for your help, Guildmaster." Necrozma's eyes vanished and the black cloud spiraled into the stone.

Metagross looked down at it and shut his eyes. Just a bit longer. All of my enemies will be gone. I will finally… finally know true peace.

XxX​

Next time: a trek through the desert sands.
 
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