Spryte and Glade

[Wild Dragonite]

This is the second fanfiction I've written, and it's already much longer than the first one I wrote. The first one was on a different universe, so don't go looking for it. Definitely NOT canon.

Constructive criticism is appreciated.

Spryte and Glade

Rated: PG (Because there may be some things later on that people won't like, such as death)

Chapter One​

Lily Ach was a woman on a mission. Actually, more like a reporter on a deadline.

She had been assigned to investigate a mysterious ring of underground Pokémon smugglers. Nothing too far off what she became famous for doing.
Lily Ach was the greatest female reporter in the five-region area. She was the one who let everyone know about Team Magma and Team Aqua, the one who tipped the International Police off about Cyrus- basically, she was somehow involved with anything that had to do with something big in the news. Not that she was prideful or anything. Today, she was interviewing the person in charge of the ring.

“It’s not like we do it to be illegal or nuthin’,” he said. “We just do it cuz we have no udder way of supportin’ our families. If we could be supportin’ members o’ society instead o’ the ones tryin’ to take it down, we’d do it. We just can’t cuz we can’t support our families otherwise.”

“Okay… but that doesn’t answer my question. Why have over fifty Pokémon you reported sold to Trainers suddenly gone missing?” She fingered her Pokéball, which held her favorite Pokémon, Froslass.

He looked uncomfortable at this. “We aren’t in league wit Plasma, if that’s what you’re hintin’. What dey do is what dey do, ‘n’ what we do is what we do. We’re not responsible fo’ the Trainers not bein’ able to keep track of their Pokémon,” he said, voice rich with his Hispanic accent. “We jus’ tryin’ to make some money fo’ our-”

“Your families, yes, you’ve made that very clear,” Lily interrupted, exhausted. “Famous reporter and they still treat me like dirt,” she muttered to herself. “So, tell me,” she continued, “What exactly do you do catch these Pokémon?”

“Well, most o’ dem are ordered by parents who can’t catch Pokémon demselves,” he said, turning to the vast lot behind him, full of captured Pokémon. “We tell dem that they should try talking to a Perfesser or sumthin’, but dey insist.” He sighed. “Their lack o’ effert keeps us workin’.”

Lily nodded, and took some notes on her pad. It was all starting to come together, but she wasn’t ready to put the topic to rest. “And what about the rarer varieties of Pokémon, the ‘shiny’ ones, as most Trainers call them?”

“Well, we charge extra fo’ dem. You know, the fact they’re so rare means we gotta keep chargin’ extra.”

She pressed on. “And what do you do if you get someone who wants, say, an evolved Pokémon, like a Tranquill?

“Well, dey just hafta pay a little more than usual, cuz dey evolve ‘n’ that takes labor. Y’know, more effort, more money.”

And now, the final nail. “Can you show me one of the Pokémon you’re evolving today?”

He paused for a long, long time for that question. “Pierre! Are we allowed to show reperters our wares?”

Pierre shrugged. “It might get them interested, and that means more money for us. Go ahead, show her the Kirlia we’re evolving today, Carlos.”

Carlos relented, and took Lily to a Kirlia, near the back of the warehouse. “Dis Kirlia is a special one fo’ one o’ our top clients,” he told her. “It’s a gift we’re giving to him. I can’t name names, ‘course.”

Lily wasn’t listening. She was too interested in the blue and orange Kirlia. She leaned in, saying, “You didn’t tell me it was shiny…”

Carlos caught the glimmer in her eye. “Interested? We can sell it to you fo’ 250,000 Poké…”

All of her notes on Kirlia came back. Emotion Pokémon. Capable of forming psychokinetic powers. But one look into her eyes took all those notes away. The Kirlia just seemed to want to get out…

If I could get you out of there without having to buy you, I would…
She wasn’t expecting a response, but that’s exactly what she got.

There is a way. But I don’t want to put you through the pain… it wouldn’t make me happy.

She leaned back a little. Never had a Pokémon respond to me like that… but you don’t seem happy anyway, she thought, leaning back in. Tell me, what’s your brilliant plan?

Kirlia looked away. It… it would be easier if I showed you. As I’m carrying it out.

Lily looked at Kirlia with an intense glare that would have chilled the hearts of Team Plasma members. Well, then, you’re just going to have to carry that plan out.

Kirlia looked back. Please don’t hate me for what I’m going to do…

What… was as far as she got before it happened.

She felt her conscious leave her body, and before she knew it, she was face-to-face with Kirlia’s consciousness. What I’m doing is switching our life forces. Everybody has them, but not many people can do what I can. I’m the only one who can, she said, voice full of pride.

Lily was confused. So, what happens because of this ‘life-force’ switch?

It’s actually pretty simple. You wake up in my body, I wake up in yours. We both retain all our memories- not that they do us much good- and begin our lives again.

Lily had a surge of outrage. You mean you’re basically stealing my body so that you can escape!

Kirlia shrank back. You were the one who said you’d get me out if you could… all I’m doing is helping you.

Lily pursed her lips. Kirlia was right, but she wasn’t really looking forward to trying to start life again as a Pokémon. She had always assumed she’d live to be old, and die happy. Now that was looking more and more like a pipe dream.
And… is there any way to reverse this at this stage?

Of course. If you’ve changed your mind, I can’t take over a reluctant host. Two minds, one body just doesn’t really work very well.

Lily thought about this for what seemed like an eternity. Life as a Pokémon, never having to worry about a deadline again in her life… instead having to worry about who caught you and how you felt about them…

It’s actually not as hard as you think it is. Most Pokémon go their entire life and never get caught by a Trainer. If you want, you can give me your Pokéball and I can hide it before we switch. Lily had forgotten Froslass, and quickly agreed. Now that that’s taken care of, are you ready?

Lily nodded her head. What’s really to get ready for?

Kirlia gave her a sad look. Oh, you really have no idea…

And with that, Lily’s body fell to the ground.

Carlos was the first to establish order. “Guise, guise, guise, don’t panic, don’t panic. Pierre, get over here. Everyone else, back t’ work.”

Pierre came over from the front desk. “So, what do we do?”

Carlos knelt down and felt her pulse. “Well, she still gotta pulse, so tossin’ the body’s outta the questin.”

Pierre nodded. “I think it was out of the question in the first place. Can’t go tossing the body of a famous reporter out, then they’d find us.”

“Yeah, and that’d be bad. You keep the guise in line, I’m takin’ her to de hospital. Jose, evolve dat Kirlia. I oughta be back soon. You know my number, call if sumthin’ comes up.”

Pierre nodded. “Will do.” Carlos slung the body over his shoulder and walked out of the warehouse. Jose grabbed a Rare Candy and moved over to the Kirlia.

Meanwhile, Lily was trying to figure out what to do inside her new body. Okay, so how do I stand up?

She had just figured it out when Pierre grabbed her and forced a Rare Candy down her throat.

She nearly gagged on it, but once it got down, she decided it tasted great. Then, of course the evolution decided to take that exact opportunity to get started.

She toppled over and began convulsing. She felt herself getting taller, felt something growing out of her chest, and felt the horns on her head shrink back. She hadn’t thought it possible, but she could feel her dress elongate around her legs.

After what felt like ages, it all stopped. She lay on the ground, face down, waiting for something to happen. After nothing did, she pushed herself up and looked around.

She could hardly believe her eyes when she saw the International Police going from cage to cage, releasing and carrying out all the captured Pokémon. She heard two of the officers talking to each other as they opened her cage. “Boy, that Lily Ach is really good at what she does. Even in the confines of a hospital bed, she’ll still tell a great story.”

So I’m no longer Lily… she thought to herself as one of the officers carried her out. She held on to Froslass’s Pokéball, hoping nobody would notice. Kirlia never told me what she called herself… Spryte has a good ring to it…

 

[Wild Dragonite]

Chapter Two​

Far away, a TV was on. The person who owned it wasn’t paying much attention to it, instead having it as background noise while he cleaned his room.

Zach Metagron was 18, older than most other Trainers on the road. He was pretty tall, with brown hair and brown eyes, and was pretty thin.

“And now, we bring you a breaking news update. Lily Ach, the ace journalist, remains hospitalized today, following her collapse while investigating a Pokémon smuggling group. Upon regaining her motor skills, she informed the International Police about the group. The Police moved in swiftly and found nobody there, instead leaving the Pokémon in their cages. We join our reporter, Jack Beras, who is live on the scene.”

He was interested in this story. He turned to the TV and listened carefully. He didn’t really care much for Lily, but he was very concerned about the Pokémon.

“Thanks, Tom. As you can see behind me, members of the International Police are still carrying the wild Pokémon out of this warehouse, just outside of Nacrene City. Now, the majority of these Pokémon are not usually found wild, so Trainers are being told capturing any of these Pokémon will result in a heavy fine. We interviewed the first officer on the scene.”

The picture cut to a stoic-looking, self-righteous looking officer. “We came in and found nothing. The only thing we heard was the cries of all these sad Pokémon. We noticed one evolving, but out of personal safety we opted not to interrupt that process. Hopefully we can get all of these guys out of danger and back into their natural habitat."

Zach got up and turned the TV off. Some people think they’re so great, doing the right thing every day, no matter who they stop or how they do it. He walked over to his closet and opened the door.

His first Pokémon, Haunter, came out. “And how are we on this fine day in Icirrus City?”

Haunter flew into him, his usual means of talking to him. I still hate this place. I’d rather be in Blackthorn Town. Those people knew how to act scared.

“What do you think of the news story? The ones with the smuggling ring being broken up?”

Good for the International Police. They finally have done something competent in this region. You never would have seen that happen in any other region.

Zach shrugged. “True enough on the Police, at least for this region.”

Yeah, like they did better in Sinnoh anyway. Come on, how much shame do they have? Letting a ten-year-old deal with all their dirty work while they go for donuts or something.

“I’m sure something came up, but I agree. There needs to be better law enforcement in this region. If only Lily had gotten to that in some point in her career…”

This coming from the one who claims that he cares nothing for her.

Zach rolled his eyes. Of course he didn’t care for her, but it was normal human emotion to want someone injured to get better. Haunter never understood it. “Whatever. Ready to start training at Dragonspiral Tower today?”

If we must. Since you are my all-knowing Trainer, you obviously know what’s best for me.

Zach got up and went downstairs. “Stop with the drama, Haunter. You know it makes me irritated.”

Haunter flew out of Zach’s head, spun around it a few times, and then levitated just over his shoulder. It made him feel gangster, somehow. He grabbed a breakfast bar and walked out the door, into the beautiful sun.
“Wow, I’m so glad it’s not raining today,” he overheard one of his friends, Mike, say to him. “Hey, have you checked your XTran today yet?”

Zach shook his head and smiled. “Good morning to you too, Mike. No, I haven’t, why?”

Mike pulled out his XTransceiver. There’s a girl in Castelia who wants to start a team to save those Pokémon who were released from Nacrene from being captured. She says she can do it humanely, without a Pokéball.”

Zach rolled his head back, staring at the sky. “Wouldn’t Plasma love to hear that. What’s she want us for?”

“Well… apparently we were on the news a few days ago on some report on ‘Trainers who don’t use Pokéballs.’ You know, you’ve got Haunter, and I’ve got Throh. She wants us to keep an eye out on Pokémon that match her description.”

Zach pulled out his XTransceiver and checked it. “What’s this girl’s name? Becca or something?”

“Becca, yeah, sounds about right. Why?”

Zach pushed a button on the XTran. “She left a message.” He pulled it up to his ear and started listening.

“Hi Zach, I saw you on a news report a few days ago, and I thought you looked like a very passionate Trainer. If you’d like to help those Pokémon who were released from that smuggling warehouse yesterday, gimme a call back. Hope to hear from you soon!”

It seemed innocent enough, but there was something in the background that gave him pause… almost like a chilly whisper on a cold night…

“I’m gonna call her back,” he said to nobody in particular. He hit the ‘Call Back’ button and stared at the screen.

Three rings later, the image showed up, but it was nothing like he had expected. A hooded figure was on the other end, and he had no idea if this was Becca or someone else. “Um…. Hi. Is Becca there?” The head of the figure turned to its left, and motioned to someone off-screen. A girl, probably not older than 13, showed up on screen and looked at him. “Are you Becca?”
The girl nodded. “I am, you are… Zach?”

He nodded. “I got your call, and I have to confess it seemed pretty interesting. Have you heard back from anyone else?”

“Oh, yeah, you’re the last one I called to respond.” He gave Mike a glare. “Conference time!”

His screen split up into four equal parts, each showing someone different. One was sitting on Marvelous Bridge, with a skyline of Nimbasa behind her. Another was in Opelucid City, with Drayden’s Gym towering behind him. And then there was Mike and Becca.

“Hey guys, thanks for responding so quickly. So, I’m sure you’ve all heard the reports about Nacrene City. I think it’s sad how they’re being released into the wild with only a warning to Trainers not to catch them… so how do you guys think we should respond?”

This girl has no idea what she’s doing… Zach thought. He zoned out and only thought about the mysterious hooded figure he saw earlier…

He remained that way for about an hour. When he finally came back to, the other four had moved on to discussing why the smugglers had smuggled Pokémon.

Zach yawned. “Well, I’d love to stay and chat, but I have to get training Haunter for Pryce. Peace.” He clicked another button and put the XTran away.

He turned north and heard Mike say something about following him. He waited just outside the city for him. “So, lonely by yourself in that group?”

“Yeah. You have no idea. So what’s the plan for Dragonspiral?”

“We go there and start surfing around and beat up the Trainers hidden on the island to the right.”

Mike nodded. “Good idea.”

The two Trainers moved north, to Dragonspiral Tower.

 

[Wild Dragonite]

Chapter Three​

​

“Uhhh… Zach?” Mike called out.

Zach turned away from Icirrus and looked at Mike. “Yeah?”

“Since when has Dragonspiral Tower had a bridge?”

Zach put on his best ‘What-the-heck-are-you-talking-about’ face and walked over to Mike. “What do you mean since when has it had a bridge?”

Mike pointed. “Since when was this here.”

Zach looked down at his feet and saw what Mike was talking about. A single black bridge was extended from the bank to the interior of Dragonspiral Tower. “That’s not supposed to be there. Why are there people breaking in to this super-ancient tower? It makes no sense!” The heavens decided to release the full-on force of a thunderstorm at that exact instant. “Gaaak! No time to explain now, get inside! We’ll wait out the storm!”

Once they were safely inside Dragonspiral Tower, Zach quickly grew bored of waiting the storm out. “I don’t care if it’s ancient or not, there’s some serious stuff that needs to be explored. Like who’s in here and what’s making that giant pounding noise!” he yelled over the giant pounding sounds. “C’mon, we’re investigating.” Haunter looked a little hesitant, but eventually decided to follow him. Mike and Throh were more hesitant, and it was only another loud thunderbolt that jolted them into action.

Up and up they climbed. Floor after floor. On and on. Nothing interesting, except the ruined pillars that were obviously caused by something powerful. Zach and Mike stopped to take a look at the pillars. “So, Mike, what do you think happened?”

Mike looked over the ruins. “Well… all I can think of is Zekrom or Reshriam or something, but I’ve never heard of either of them living in this tower before.”

The words had hardly exited his mouth when a man wearing medieval-style armor ran out from above. He looked slightly weird, like there was something wrong with him that they couldn’t figure out. He saw them and gagged. “You, get out of here! I’m not even trying to save our operation! Zekrom’s at the top of this tower, and he’s unleashing all of his energy, ideal energy waves and electric energy waves!” He collapsed and didn’t say anything else.

Zach looked at Mike. “Mike, go and get somebody!”

Mike grabbed Zach’s arm. “Zach, I’m not leaving you alone here!”

Zach pushed him away. “I said, GET OUT OF HERE! What word are you not getting! FIND SOMEBODY WHO CAN HELP!”

Mike nodded and started running back to the entrance. “But who can I find?”

“Alder! I don’t care! Find SOMEBODY who looks like they can stop this!”

Mike nodded again, and he and Throh left Zach alone to face Dragonspiral Tower.

Zach turned around and clutched his chest. He grimaced and ran over some debris and up the stairs. He ran right past the man who warned him to get out. It didn’t click at first, but his arm looked a lot like a Muk’s arm…

He ran up the stairs, ignoring all the pain in his body, ignoring the discomfort his favorite shirt was giving him, and looked at the room. A puzzle. Well. He could jump this one. He ran to one of the edges and jumped over, and continued like that until he ran up the stairs again.

The next floor was full of Plasma grunts, all of them horribly disfigured. One looked like he was growing a tail that seemed to have a hand on it, another looked like she was growing a pair of wings and a bee-like dress, and still another looked like his body was giving up and turning squishy and pink. He ran to the edge, vomited, and set off down the horror scene. He looked back down once and saw a girl with her costume lying next to her, face down, growing red hair and slowly having her legs morph together and become rainbow-like. He shuddered and continued upstairs.

The floor after the horrid Plasma scene was another puzzle floor. He ran around for what seemed like hours, ignoring the new discomfort his favorite pants were giving him, and found the stairs. He collapsed under the intense pain, but something growing out of his chest kept him from getting rested, so he gave up resting and continued on.

Keep going, Zach! Haunter yelled, encouragingly.

The next floor looked like something out of a horror scene. Every Plasma grunt was more distorted than the ones he had seen on the floor before. One, who had torn off the bottom half of her costume, was shrinking, and gaining a floral dress around her waist. A man nearby appeared to be contracting into a red shell and all his limbs were becoming short and yellow. Zach grimaced again and ran across the room, up some stairs, over a grunt who looked like he was starting to grow blue… things… over his chest and wings. He started up the stairs, climbing over a girl who had torn her entire costume off, gained a black waistband and two extra arms. He didn’t even look at the twelve-or-so other grunts in the room.

Haunter stopped him as he was half-way up. Zach! Stop! Listen to me for one minute! Zach stopped and put his hand on his chest… or what was left of his hand, anyway, it seemed to be more of a green stump at this point. Every person inside this tower is turning into a Pokémon!A Vespiqueen, a Ditto, a Milotic… should I go on? There’s a lot more than the ones you’ve seen.

Zach vomited off the edge again. “Please… if it’ll get you done faster.”

A Bellossom, a Machamp… not to mention the one turning into a Muk at the first level of the tower! Whatever’s going on here is stronger than you are, Zach! It’s a good thing you got Mike out, there’s no telling what he would have become. Zach ignored him, and tried climbing again, but Haunter got in his way again. You are an idiot! What were you thinking you’d be able to stop whatever’s at the top! I said every person in this tower, and guess what, Zach, that includes you!

Zach vomited again; the pain was becoming much too intense for his body to bear. “I have to get to the top… help me…” Haunter gave up and started holding Zach as he climbed the stairs.

After ten grueling minutes of climbing the last staircase, Zach and Haunter emerged out of the top to find a huge, black dragon Pokémon directly channeling his power to the heavens. “Zekrom…” Zach muttered before collapsing to the ground. The thing growing out of his chest was again in the way, and besides, Haunter wouldn’t let him stay down. He got up, if only to mount a final attack.

His breathing was labored now; the pain was the worst he had ever felt in his life. “I don’t know how… how you got here… but no matter what… happened to get you here… I’m not letting you get away!” The only response Zach got was Zekrom lunging off the side of the tower and taking to the sky. Zach coughed. “Haunter, stop him!”

Haunter didn’t move. “Are you listening? Stop…”

This time, Zach collapsed on his side, and didn’t get back up.

 

[Wild Dragonite]

Chapter Four​

Days passed. The rest of the world praised Mike as the hero who stopped the raging thunderstorm, while Zach lay forgotten at the top of Dragonspiral Tower, which was sealed off by the International Police upon finding it open. Nobody in the world of Pokémon knew what had happened inside of Dragonspiral Tower, and nobody really cared.

Except for one.

Far away, in Castelia, a hooded figure grew worried. Something was telling her something had happened to the Trainer who had seen her. It wouldn’t stop bothering her.

I can tell something’s bothering you… her Froslass said to her. What’s wrong?

It’s that Trainer… Zach, I think. I think something’s happened to him… Tell Becca we’re going to Dragonspiral Tower immediately. Oh, and I think we should bring his friend along too… what was his name?

I believe it was Mike, Spryte, her Froslass confirmed.

Spryte took off her hood. Her blue hair was only seen by Becca, who instantly knew something was up. “Where are we going now?”

Spryte sat by as Froslass told Becca of her plan. “I can’t say this is surprising, since Mike didn’t know where Zach was. Come on, we’ll take Crobat.”

Spryte and Froslass enjoyed a talkative flight to Icirrus, while Becca sat on, trying to keep from throwing up. Half an hour later, the trio disembarked, and Becca returned Crobat to her Pokéball. “I’ll find Mike.”

Fifteen minutes later, Mike stood by, not entirely knowing who the hooded figure was or why it had a Froslass floating nearby.

Meanwhile, inside the tower, Haunter grew bored. He had scouted every floor of the tower eighteen times, and each time, he had found the same thing. The Golett on the ground floor weren’t happy about their tower being invaded by humans- now Pokémon- but they knew they couldn’t do anything about it.

He turned to what used to be Zach and yawned. Fat lot of good you’ve done since you went down. I’ll give you five more minutes until I leave you for good.

One minute rolled into two, two to three, and three to four, and still he didn’t move. Eventually, four minutes became five, and Haunter cracked his ghostly knuckles. Right, nice knowing you Zach. Good luck getting out.

He had just turned and was starting to glide away when he heard Zach say something. “What’d you call me?” Haunter turned around to find a Gallade standing up and confronting him. Haunter laughed out loud. “You heard me, Haunter. What did you call me?”

Haunter grinned. “I called you Zach. It’s what you were.”

The Gallade looked confused. “No, that’s wrong. I never was anything else.”

Haunter raised an imaginary eyebrow. “Then why are you wearing human clothes?”

The Gallade looked down, and was shocked to find himself in human clothes. “Fine, but if you’re expecting me to know why, I don’t know.” He stripped and looked at Haunter. “Why are you so interested in me?”

Haunter floated next to him, just like he had to Zach. “Well, believe it or not, but you used to be my Trainer. A Pokémon-Trainer bond is one of the hardest to break, regardless if the Trainer happens to become a Pokémon,” Haunter said, looking at Gallade’s body.

The Gallade raised an eyebrow. “So, you mean to tell me that I used to be human and you used to be my Pokémon. Great, best news I’ve heard all day.”

"You don't believe me, do you?"

"Considering I just woke up, no. You'll have to do better than that to make me believe you."

“Well, then," Haunter stared, "The entire tower interior is overrun by Pokémon, several of which would have you beat in a head-to-head matchup.” The Gallade didn’t seem to take this news too seriously. “Let me put it this way… nearly every Pokémon down there was a former member of a gang that stole Pokémon. Do you think they still care?”

The Gallade looked at Haunter again. “If they’re anything like you tell me I am, they’ve probably forgotten too.”

He got up and moved to the stairs. Haunter floated near him. “I hate to be a bother, but what can I call you, Gallade?”

The Gallade stopped for a moment, and thought about it for a while. “Glade sounds like it’s got a good ring to it.”

Glade turned away from the skyline and moved down the stairs.

 

[Wild Dragonite]

Chapter Five​

Glade got halfway down the stairs before being spotted by a Swanna. “We have a visitor!” she yelled to the world.

Glade jumped into his battle pose, but to his surprise, the Swanna didn’t seem too intent on attacking him. “We’ve been worried about you, lying on the floor for so long. By the way…” she trailed off, looking at some costumes that had been left on the floor. Haunter recognized them as the Plasma grunt’s costumes. “We found these clothes on the floor. We don’t want to do anything to them, because we’re not sure if their owners are going to come back for them later…”

Haunter interrupted. “They’re garbage. Get rid of them.”

The Swanna looked perturbed. “Are you sure?”

“Very. Toss ‘em.”

She looked unconvinced, but he relented. “Machamp! Toss the costumes!” A female Machamp went around picking up all the clothes and unceremoniously dropped them off the edge. She turned back to Glade and Haunter. “Thank you, you have no idea how badly they were starting to smell.”

Haunter took a single whiff and recoiled. “Try me.”

The Swanna stretched his wings. “I am leader of the Pokémon in here. At least the ones above the Golett, Druddigon and Mienfoo. What do you want from us?”

Glade looked at the Pokémon in the room. They all looked so happy, so innocent, and most importantly, so unlikely to kill him. He opened his mouth...
“We need to get out.”

Glade closed his eyes. What’s wrong with just wanting to stay here forever? “What Haunter said.”

Swanna unfurled her wings again. “Well, Haunter, I don’t think getting out will be a problem for you. But you, Gallade…”

“It’s Glade.”

“For you, Glade,” she continued, “it will. So, grab onto my legs, and I’ll fly you out.”

Haunter waited until Glade had grabbed Swanna’s legs before disappearing through the tower walls. Swanna leaped into the air and flew out from the roof. She circled a few times before landing outside of Dragonspiral Tower.

“Well, Glade, it was nice meeting you. Be sure to visit us again sometime.” And just like that, Swanna flew back to the tower.

Glade turned to Haunter. “Why was it necessary to get us out of the tower?”

Haunter laughed. “Your fighting skills wouldn’t’ve been as good if you stayed, Glade. Besides, you have visitors.”

It was only then that Glade noticed the two humans, a Froslass and hooded figure. Glade leapt back, ready to fight his way out. Haunter’s grin was almost ready to break off his face and start beating someone with it.

The male human scratched his head. “So… this is the guy we were waiting for, Becca?”

The female looked at the hooded figure. “I dunno, Mike, I’ve got to wait for her to answer.”

Glade fidgeted. I don’t like this… not knowing who anybody is or what they’re planning…

Then the hooded figure took a step forward, away from the others. The Froslass followed, hovering behind her shoulder. It seemed to look him over for a moment, as if deciding his worthiness. When she spoke, it was with a soft and soothing voice.

“What’s your name, Gallade?”

Glade paused. Of all the things it could say, asking for his name was the one he was least expecting. “Uh… Glade. If you want anything more than that, you’re not going to get it.”

The figure moved closer to him. “I don’t need anything more, Glade.” It pulled down the hood to reveal…

A Gardevoir with blue hair.

Glade lowered his guard. “Wow. Um…” He cleared his throat. “I suppose I should start by asking you your name, Gardevoir.”

A smile crept onto her lips. “Spryte. The two humans are Becca and Mike. I think you used to know them a while ago.”

Glade turned and looked right at them, but nothing clicked. “No. They don’t look familiar.”

“No, I wasn’t expecting them to look familiar to you.” She turned to Froslass. “Let them know we found him. Talk to Haunter about what happened, and then tell Mike. He should know. In the meantime,” she continued, turning back to Glade, “You should put this on.” She pulled out a hooded robe, in the same shade of blackish-brown hers was. “The humans don’t ask as many questions if they can’t see your face. Especially if they were to find out your face wasn’t like theirs.”

Meanwhile, Mike and Becca still had no idea what was going on. “So… does she know him? Because… it really seems like she knows him… whoever she is.”
Becca looked at Spryte for a moment, and then started talking. “Mike, I didn’t tell you the reason I started a club to help out those Pokémon who were involved in that smuggling trade, did I?”

“No, you didn’t.”

Becca shrugged. “Could have sworn I did. Well, you remember how the report said Lily Ach tipped off the International Police about the warehouse?”

Mike thought a moment. “Yes… what’s your point?”

“Well…” Becca searched for the right way to say it. “She says that some weird body swap thing put Lily’s mind into a Kirlia’s body and vice versa. So the Lily Ach who tipped off the I.P. wasn’t the Lily Ach who was famous.”

Mike looked confused. “That doesn’t make sense… hang on, lemme try to make sense of this. Lily swapped consciousnesses with a Kirlia, evolved, and then was released on the Kirlia’s information?”

“Basically. And guess who came to me wanting me to start up a club to help the other Pokémon?”

“Her?”

“Her, meaning… yes. You noticed how her hair is blue?”

“Kind of hard not to notice, but yes.”

“Most of the time, Gardevoir have green hair.”

“So, she’s a shiny?”

Becca nodded. “That’s why she hardly ever shows herself without her cloak on, and why she named herself Spryte.”

Mike put a hand over his mouth. Of all the things that had happened to him recently- losing a friend, being involved in a club, and trying to start his own Pokémon adventure, not to mention keeping Throh active, this was almost too much. It didn’t get any better when Froslass explained to him that the Gallade he was seeing was really Zach.

Mike shook his head. Why are so many people doing this whole ‘turn-into-Pokémon’ deal? I can’t imagine it feels good…

 

[Wild Dragonite]

Chapter Six​

That night, the six of them went to bed in a remote house on Route 7. Everyone went to sleep fairly quickly. Except Glade. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t fall asleep. Why can’t I sleep?

Eventually, he gave up, put his cloak on, and went outside. It was a pretty peaceful night, the stars were out and there was a full moon. He considered walking around, but he ended up sitting down.

Try as I might, Haunter’s words still worry me… I can’t remember a thing about the past- if I had one. I wish I knew why I don’t remember anything before waking up at the top of Dragonspiral Tower…

So engrossed in his thoughts was he that he didn’t notice the door inside open and close until Spryte knelt down beside him. “Something wrong, Glade?”

Glade sighed and looked at the night sky. “I wish I remembered what happened before I woke up at Dragonspiral Tower. I wish I knew if Haunter was right when he said I used to be human…”

Spryte helped him get up. “You wish you knew who you were.”

Glade sighed again. “You could say that.”

Spryte looked in the direction of Celestial Tower. “Well, if you want, you might be able to get some answers at Celestial Tower. Do you want to go there?”

Glade followed her gaze. “Celestial Tower? I’ve never heard of it before, but I guess.”

The two of them headed out for Celestial Tower, not noticing the rustling in the bushes.

The two of them had reached the top of Celestial Tower. Dragonspiral Tower, Celestial Tower… how many towers can one region have? Glade thought.

Spryte had mentioned that a Xatu usually roosted at the top of Celestial Tower at midnight, so as far as either of them could tell, they were early. Early enough for a Trainer to still be at the top of the tower.

Glade felt uncomfortable about trying to lure him away, but Spryte tried to soothe him. “Don’t worry, it’s just Alder. He’s Unova’s Champion, and he comes here a lot to remember his fallen partner.”

They moved off to a corner where they could talk without being overheard. Soon enough, Alder flew away on one of his Pokémon. Spryte walked up the stairs to the bell, and Glade followed. Within ten minutes, a Xatu landed on top of the bell, causing it to ring slightly.

Spryte cleared her voice. “Hello, Xatu. We have… a question for you.” The Xatu said nothing. She turned to Glade. “My friend here doesn’t remember much of his life. We were wondering if you could help him.”

Still, silence. Spryte and Glade waited for a long time for him to answer. When he did, it wasn’t the answer they had hoped for.

“Remembers nothing, you say? Would you mind removing your hood, for a moment?” They complied, and they both heard an audible intake of breath. “Before I help you, Gallade, I must ask Gardevoir a few questions, privately. Please excuse us a moment.”

Glade was only too happy to leave. He stared off into the distance as Spryte answered questions about her past, her memories, and the like.

“Gallade, you may come back now.” Glade wandered back to them. “After asking Gardevoir about her history, I have decided that I cannot help you at this time. I am sorry, truly. Gallade, you must decide for yourself what path you will take. Good luck in your future.” With that, the Xatu spread his wings and flew away, leaving the bell ringing.

Spryte was heartbroken. “I thought he could have helped you… why didn’t he answer? I was told he’d always answer…”

Glade didn’t answer at first. He still had to think about what to say. “I know you’ve wanted to find out more about me… but it’s okay.” He placed one of his hands on her shoulder. “I just need to find out who I am, I guess.” Spryte tried to smile, but it wasn’t easy. “Come on, let’s get back to bed.”

They descended Celestial Tower at a comfortable pace, and, thankfully, most of the Pokémon inside were asleep. Nothing particularly interesting happened until they were outside.

The bushes all around Celestial Tower were rustling, but Glade didn’t think much of it, as there had been a slight breeze on the top of the tower. Spryte however, thought of it. “Um, why are the bushes rustling if there’s no breeze…?”

They were answered, moments later, by a net.

“Got them! Get their Pokémon, now!”

Glade struggled against the net. “Spryte! What’s going on!”

“I don’t know, Glade! Someone’s been waiting for us!” she yelled.

Glade felt a pair of hands reach for his hood, and, since he was still tied up in the net, he had no way to resist the hands remove his hood. As soon as his head was visible, he heard a collective gasp from the crowd.

“A Gallade… he’ll be a hard worker for the castle. Check the other!”

Glade struggled harder, but he only got himself tied up more. When Spryte’s hood was removed, there was a sharper intake of breath.

“A shiny Gardevoir…… can you believe our luck! These two will be perfect working with the Haunter and Froslass we stole at that house up the route. Team Plasma is going to be great with this element of surprise thing. Knock ‘em out and take them to the work station.”

Glade had only enough time to recognize Haunter and Froslass before he was knocked unconscious and carried away…