Like No One Ever Was

“Wait up!” Amethio called, trailing behind me already. With a glance behind, I shook my head.

“Just wait there, I’ll be back.” He cursed (impressively so for someone of his isolated living conditions. Personally, I blamed Coral) and gave up on following after me, unable to match my pace despite his longer legs. With Dun beating the air behind me, I surged forward, racing across the barren landscape.

Immediately upon arriving at Zapapico, I found my bearings and began sprinting across the mines as the fastest route to the site Friede was at. At least the fastest route as the bird flies, haha, I thought to myself, leaping over a ten-meter pit with ease.

The mirth on my face died quickly as I recalled why I was here in the first place. How could Friede, so friendly have- no, don’t jump to conclusions. Just focus on getting there and then finding out what the heck happened.

It was a difficult prospect; my mind was constantly thinking about stuff, and at the moment, I found it hard to think about anything other than this experiment. Trying to replay in my mind if there was anything I had given, any clue I’d let slip about Hisuian Zoroarks and their specific ‘creation’ process.

And I’ve got Turo up to stuff too. I can’t just ignore that problem any more or think I still have time. He’s already begun pulling Paradox Pokemon into our time. Miraidon had been a wakeup call there.

Despite Arven not being at the top of his game when he battled me and not being as skilled a battler as me even when he was doing fine emotionally (though he’d improved quite a bit this past year), he had still nearly won. The other Paradox Pokemon might be weaker than Miraidon, but they’re still plenty strong and very focused at what they do. I need to aim beyond just beating an Elite Four to match up to them, if indeed I do have to fight.

Part of me still hoped I could talk things out with the mono-focused Professor, but I was worried that he’d ignore or reject what I had to say as well.

Nightwing glided down, returning from where she had flown off to and keeping pace at my side. “Gligar, gli gli.” She said over the wind racing in my ears.

“You couldn’t see them? That’s fine,” I said, grunting as a high leap took me over the lip of the canyon and onto grassier terrain. “They’re illusionists; they probably have something in place to stop Flying Types from catching them from above.” Looking out at the forest, I said, “Let’s go,” and began marching through, looking for any signs of the camp.

***

It didn’t take too long, though a fair part of that was the fact that I had the exact coordinates on Miles, who was able to check them against where we were. Without that, I might have been going around for a few hours, the well-crafted illusions leading me off-course.

Passing through the veil, my eyes took in the small grove. Where before I had been convinced a solid shrub blocked the way, I could see dozens of Zorua, the young kits running around, chasing after each other and making ‘spooky’ illusions to play pranks on one another. I don’t think Tinkaton have that many fangs, i.e., any number higher than zero. Never seen a Flamigo look that demonic, either. I wonder why the illusions covering their home were of a higher quality than the figments they’re creating here? Is it a result of them working together, or just the Zoroark leaders being that skilled?

The black-furred fox-like Pokemon ran about on red paws, matching the red tufts of fur on top of their heads and around their faces. Most of the Zorua had darker patches of fur around their necks. A few of their evolutions, the Zoroarks, stood by the main den, watching over their smaller family members. They had a similar coloring to the younger Pokemon, but stood on two legs and generally had a far more humanoid appearance.

Said leaders/parents noticed me the moment I entered, three of them looking over at me and beginning to bare their teeth. In response, I recalled my team (who had been running and flying by my side), gesturing a hand to the white tent set up off to the side, a few scientists exiting and walking to a nearby all-terrain vehicle. I could tell they were still wary of me, they were giving me a chance, seeing me by myself as not a threat to them. To be fair to them, they haven’t seen Notch yet. They might get freaked out about a Fairy Type as strong as Notch being this close.

Probably also because my attention was caught by the thin but incredibly wide metal sheet that hung over the area. It was held aloft by some strategic loops of rope and the thick canopy overhead. Something about the dark gray metal felt weird, seeming to flicker in my vision even as I stared head-on at it.

“Nemona!” Friede’s familiar voice rang out, the young Professor eagerly waving at me from inside the tent. “Wow, you look puffed, did you sprint all the way here?” His puzzled look was quickly replaced by the enthusiasm that seemed to be nearly bursting out of him. “Come inside! I can’t wait to show you her!”

Not trusting myself to speak yet, I nodded, pushing through the flaps after him to enter the tent. Inside there were all kinds of spectrometers and equipment. Desks with papers haphazardly scattered as if they had been recently rifled through, the staff looking for something. The main focus of the room, though, was the Zorua standing on a scale, a video camera pointed at her. They really did it; that’s a Hisuian Zorua.

While similar in size and shape to the regular Zorua, her coloration was a vivid contrast. She had pale gray and white fur, with tips of light red. Where the tips of the other’s fur would be spikey, hers drifted about, as if caught on an unseen wind. The fur around her mane was thicker as well, puffing up like a scarf. Her eyes weren’t the blue of the other Zorua’s either, but a shade of amber almost identical to my own.

“What happened here?” I demanded, turning to Friede. He was wearing the same uniform as the other researchers here, save for the goggles pushed up above his eyes. His lab coat was plain, save for a symbol on the breast pocket of some geometric shapes looking not unlike a Tera Crystal cluster found in the wild. I knew it was the Exceed company, from what the man himself had told me, though I knew little overall of their goal here.

“Whoa, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning,” Friede teased, a smile on his face. “I tried to tell you that you didn’t need to rush over. The others are going back to the main lab to get some more equipment to test things, as we don’t have all the answers anyway. She’s the only one that turned so far, and they didn’t have any clue why.”

“Isn’t this your research?” I asked, my brow furrowed as Friede scratched the back of his awkwardly.

“Well, yes, this is my project. I designed the experiment in its entirety - with the advice you gave me. Exceed might bankroll all of this, but they keep me busy with plenty of other studies as well.”

“What advice!” Friede took a step back at my shouting, and I took some breaths to calm down. “I’m sorry, I’m just- today has been a bad day, and I have no clue on what is going on here or how this could have happened.”

There was concern in the Professor’s eyes, and he pulled out two chairs, sitting down in one of them. “Do you need a minute? Whatever’s bothering you, we can deal with it. I just thought you’d be happy to know that your theory about Distortion energy and Hisuian variants - or at least Zorua variants - turned out to be true.”

Blinking, I recalled the messages we’d sent on the topic almost two years ago. “They were? But that- possibly for others, I thought, but for Zorua, it should be different...” My voice trailed off as I tried to put the pieces together. Could I have been mistaken? I don’t know for certain that everything in this world is the same.

Instead of taking the offered seat, I kneeled down in front of the Hisuian Zorua, who looked up cautiously at me. “Hi there. I know this might be confusing, but... did you die before you became like this?”

Friede shot out of his seat. “Nemona! What kind of question is-” Zorua nodded her head, the action small but unmistakable. “-That?” He finished, shoulders slumping as he took it in. “What- how could this happen?”

“I don’t know. But I do know how Hisuian Zorua’s were made in the past.” Snapping his gaze away from the desks and monitors, Friede turned to me.

“You knew, and you never told me?!”

“You didn’t let me know that you were even doing this!”

“I forgot!” We both stood silent for a moment before he looked away. “Ok, my bad there. But what is the secret? We’ve been searching for so long. Until she came along, Exceed was about to scrap the experiment.”

Looking around, I asked, “Is this place secure? Anything being recorded here?”

Another concerned glance, and Friede strode about the lab, turning off cameras and other recording devices that might have picked up on our conversation. “What is it? What makes this so bad? Obviously, dying is one thing, but you're acting like it's something worse than just that.”

“As you guessed, Hisuian Zoruas are created through death. But not just any kind of death. Back in ancient Hisui, the humans didn’t get along with the Pokemon. They would see them as monsters and beasts, driving them from their homes, leaving them to starve. Killing them. The hatred of such cruelty would call the recently slain Zoroarks back into their bodies as-”

I was interrupted by some shrill ‘yips,’ the Zorua marching forward and shaking her head. “Wait, that’s not what happened here? But you did die under their watch, correct?” Nods to both my questions, the second more shaky than the first, with her shivering slightly at the memory.

Sitting down, I patted my lap, inviting her to come up, which she did, quickly hopping up. I petted her, running my hands through her fur and suppressing my own shivers. She’s cold to the touch. A sign of her Ghostly nature, I suppose.

While I did that, Friede hunted through some of the papers, his expression more grim than I had ever seen before. “Here it is,” he said in a monotone, holding up a few papers and reading them aloud. “Subject 34 beta has shown signs of being sickly from birth, the runt of her litter. Nothing nothing nothing,” he skimmed through a few pages. “Questions raised about her health under the synthetic Ghost Plate have been raised with no clear answers. Considered removing the subject from the experiment but suspended pending further approval… What further approval? I never heard about this!?”

Friede regained himself as he looked over at the Zorua snuggled up in my lap. “It ends with saying the subject- sorry, that she had disappeared for a few days before reappearing like this.”

“Disappeared for a few days?” I know they’re illusionists, but that feels odd to be unaccounted for for such a stretch of time.

With a sigh, Friede collapsed in the chair beside me. “When Pokemon are sick, they’ll sometimes try and find some place to wait it out. Some small cave or burrow where no one else will find them. It’s not exactly rational, but... it could explain how she died and no one noticed.”

“It would make sense,” I said, stopping my petting for a moment before the Zorua nipped me. “Ow!” It didn’t really hurt that much, but still! I didn’t like pets trying to bite me for attention before they were sentient creatures. Looking down at her big eyes, I sighed and resumed my petting, noticing something.

“Your fur is rather tangled; how did it get like this?” I asked, slowly combing it out with my fingers. She answered by crafting a shaky illusion in the air in front of us.

It showed a pack of Zorua playing in the fields, one of them trailing behind, getting tired, but the others would loop around and play with her too, occasionally. But then, as she got more and more tired, she found a small burrow and climbed down it, shivering. The whole scene faded to a blur of white before she emerged, but different; a distorted parody of herself as she was now.

Other Zorua would run away in fear, or when the few brave did play with her, they’d kick her around, too rough. Then she’d lash out and start battling for real before the (exaggeratedly massive) Zoroarks would come and break things up. Then some researchers come by and grab her up, taking her to the tent, where the illusion ended.

Breaking the silence first, I said, “First things first, you aren’t a monster, you look gorgeous.”

“Ua,” she quietly barked, not quite believing me but happy I said it.

“Secondly, you’re an excellent storyteller; thank you for sharing that with us. I think we have a better picture of what went on now. I don’t think the other Zorua were trying to hurt you, by the way.” Not the ones that didn’t avoid you at least. I noticed she became more aggressive there too. Just a response to the reactions of her pack, or something to do with her new form? I might have been off the mark about the way Zorua could become Hisuian Zoruas, but I’m pretty sure their signature Move will still be ‘Bitter Malice.’

She tilted her head up at me, and I said, “They’re all Dark Types. Before you changed, you resisted Dark Type Moves, so a Bite here or there wouldn’t be too much of a problem. But now Dark is the only Type you’re weak too.”

The Zorua still seemed a little confused, so Friede simplified it. "Basically, their attacks hurt you four times as much as they would have before.” Her head drooped, and tears started forming in the corners of her eyes. "Whoa, hey, it's- it’ll be alright.”

“It will. While it’s been unfortunate given your situation, your new Typing is really strong. The strongest in the world,” I tried to reassure her. She didn’t seem overly convinced, hoping off my lap to stare forlornly at the sounds of Zorua playing outside.

Releasing Dun, I said to him and Miles, “Hey, could you two keep her company for a minute?” They went off to cheer her up while I turned back to Friede. “So.”

“So,” he repeated, seeming just as lost as I did. “Where did you get this knowledge from? Some secret book, a traveling bard, some dark cult-” he frowned as I laughed before smirking and chuckling a bit himself. “Okay, maybe a bit far out there, but still. You gotta give me something.”

Biting my tongue, I held back my immediate thought. I don’t have to give you anything! “Does it matter where I got my knowledge from if it’s right?”

“Is it though? You weren’t wholly correct about how Hisuian Zoruas come to be.”

Crossing my arms, I retorted, “Not that far off either. Are you going to continue the experiment if I don't tell you then? Killing them in different ways until you see what doesn’t stick?”

“Fuck! Of course not.” He got up, the motion pushing the chair back a little, the sound drawing the Pokemon’s attention off to the side to us for a moment before my Pokemon distracted Zorua again. “I just- I was so hopeful that this would work. It seemed like a miracle, and now I find out it’s the exact opposite.”

Getting up, I patted him on the shoulder. “... I’m sorry. I was stressed out; my birthday party didn’t go great, my best friend got mad that I'm going to a different school, and then you called, and I jumped to the worst conclusion..." I shook my head. "But that doesn’t excuse my behavior. I was rude and confrontational to you. You didn’t know, you aren’t trying to do bad things here.”

After a minute, I added “Arceus.”

“What?”

“You asked where I got the knowledge from? I got it from Arceus.” At my words, Notch popped out of their Pokeball all on their own. “Oh, hello there.”

“What,” he repeated, his tone flat.

“Notch here tends to get a bit curious whenever I mention Arceus or some of the big legends.” At the look on his face, I snickered. “Sorry, sorry. But the long story short is that I did get a lot of knowledge from, as near as I can tell, Arceus themselves."

"Really now?" He crossed his arms, unconvinced.

"Yup. Or at least, knowledge enough to know for a fact that Arceus exists, and the severe doubt that I could have the knowledge I have if it wasn't allowed for by Them. Don’t have proof though, and it’s not a two-way line of communication here." In fact, the opposite really; I know enough to know that I won't ever be allowed to see Their divine llama-ness. "That is how I know things about how Hisuian Zoruas come to be, or how to evolve an Ursaring to an Ursaluna.”

“You know- ah forget it.” He waved me off, picking up some papers and stacking them.

“You sure? I’m sorry this didn’t work out, and the Ursaluna trick doesn’t involve anything terrible, just super obscure-”

“No, it’s fine.” He said in a tone that told me he was anything but. With the exuberance completely torn out of him, I saw just how deep the bags under his eyes were. “I doubt I’d get permission to run an experiment like this again after I kil- end this one. What am I even going to tell my bosses?” He wondered aloud.

I opened my mouth and closed it a few times, not able to find anything to say. Glancing over at me, he said, “Can I ask you for a favor?”

“Sure, any- I’ll try to help.”

“So guarded,” he muttered, likely not realizing I could pick his words up, and I flinched. He’s not wrong. There’s a reason why I have few friends, and it’s because most people pick up on the fact that I don’t act like a child should. Hopefully I haven’t driven away some of the few people who looked past that today.

“I really am sorry. If there’s any way I can help with your work-”

“I was thinking of quitting anyway,” he said casually.

“Huh? Why? Is Exceed a bad company-” The Professor shook his head vigorously.

“Nothing like that, they’ve been fine to me. Honestly, they treated me quite well considering my age and inexperience. Though I will have to be checking in on some of the supervisors who should have been reporting things to me.”

He shook his head, pushing that aside for the moment as he continued. “Before I got word that this had'succeeded,’ I’d been feeling like I was just going through the motions, you know?” I nodded my head, and he snorted. “Why am I not surprised that an eight-year-old girl would know that feeling?”

“Blame the llama God, not me.”

"Llama, what- nevermind, don’t want to know. I take it that’s also why you think I should stay away from Professor Turo’s research?”

“Yeah, he’s already started some stuff that’s going to go real bad - for himself and possibly everyone else involved. I’ve got an idea on how to stop him, though. Assuming I can't talk it out with him. I don't think he'll be as reasonable as you are, unfortunately." I offered him an appologetic smile, and he gave me a sad one of his own. Then he ruffled my hair. Like a jerk! I guess I'll let it go this time.

“Sounds like you’ll need a strong team for that. Maybe one with room for a Pokemon with the ‘best Type combination?’” He pointed a thumb to the Zorua in the corner of the room, doing different ‘impressions’ by transforming into Miles and Dun.

“Yeah, I’d love to have her on my team! If she’s willing, of course.”

“Ha, I think you’ve made a pretty big first impression on her, no worries there. And it’ll make things a lot easier when trying to clear up this experiment if she’s not around for any other scientists to try and get their hands on her.”

“You sure you don’t need any help? My family could definitely help you if you need to get hired by someone else.” Laughing, the man gave me a sad smile.

“No, trust me, kid, I’ll be fine. I’m just going to think of it as an extended vacation while I find myself.” Hesitantly, I nodded, trusting him to have a handle on things if he said he did. I better message him plenty too. I'll make sure we stay in contact so he remembers me if he needs any help.

Walking over to Zorua, I said, “How’s it going?” In a puff of smoke, she made the Dudunsparce illusion fade away (it was decent, but I knew Dun better than I knew myself, so even a slight discoloration of his blue scales was a clear sign that it was her to me).

“Zorua, zorua!” She cheered, and I smiled.

“Glad to see that you’re having fun. We have to go soon, but!” I quickly added seeing a flash of disappointment in her eyes, and her lips pulled back slightly to show her teeth. “I was wondering if you wanted to join us?”

“Rua?”

“Well, it would entail getting registered to a Pokeball, and then traveling with us. I’m planning on becoming a Champion-ranked Trainer, that’s one of the strongest Trainers in the land. So you could learn some stuff about battling too, if you wanted to do that.”

She considered it for a moment before looking bashful, glancing over at my other Pokemon and the flaps to the outside. “Are you wondering how well you’d be treated?” She didn’t give me a sign one way or the other, so I just continued, “I can promise you that while we might push you hard if you’re going to battle with us, no one is going to pick on you, not on my team. I don’t think other people will pick on you either; with how rare you are, I bet people will adore you.”

Her eyes grew wide at that, and I could practically see the stars dancing in them. Scratch that; I can see the stars dancing there. Unconscious illusion effect? Cute, though something we might need to train her to avoid in battles.

That was all the convincing she needed to leap at one of the Pokeballs on my belt, knocking it to the ground and falling down herself since she both failed to hit the button, and it was Dun’s Pokeball.

The land snake slithered up and gave her a mild rebuke, passing the Pokeball back to me with his mouth. Putting it back on my belt (and absolutely not squealing at how adorable Zorua looked with her face scrunched up and pawing at her nose after bumping it), I pulled out a spare Pokeball from my bag.

“You ready?” She nodded, and I clicked the button, the red beam of light absorbing her, the ball shaking for a few seconds as she got situated before clicking. “Alright, we’ve got a new teammate!”

***

After I talked to the Zoroarks (Zorua and I briefly explained to her parents what was happening and got their blessing to leave), I said goodbye to my Professor friend. Friede thanked me again for helping him and once more brushed off any offers to help, saying that he was going to spend some time in his hometown in Kanto and see some old faces.

Then we marched back to Zapapico, seeing Amethio on the outskirts. “Hey,” I said, waving at him. He stood with his arms crossed, stone faced. “Umm, sorry about dragging you out here for this.”

“What is ‘this’ anyway?” He spat out, still looking pissed at me. Fair. I don’t want to get into the nitty-gritty with him, but I can probably give him a general overview. Not like I can hide her forever.

Pulling out Zorua’s Pokeball I released her in front of him. “This is who we were helping.” She looked at him, mildly curious and sniffing around at Amethio’s feet.

“Who- is that a Zorua? I’ve never seen a Zorua looking like that before.” His insensitive words pricked Zorua’s pride, and she turned her nose up at him (a difficult task considering she barely came up to his knees).

“She is quite special, that’s right. Because of that, she was having some issues back in her home, and so, to make a long story short, she’s coming home with me.” Don’t ask any more questions, don’t ask any more-

“Does she have a name?” His startled me, coming from a different angle than I expected. “Just, you give names to all of your other Pokemon.”

“Uhh no, not yet.” To the Zorua, I asked, “Would you like a name?”

“Zorua,” was her reply, and I bit back a chuckle.

“I meant a personal name, just for you, not the same as your species name. Some Pokemon and Trainers like them to signify them as ‘different’ from wild Zorua. It’s harder for people to get than Pokemon,” I added on at her bewildered look.

“Personal names have different significance and meaning to them depending on what they are. I can tell you all about them later,” I said as I saw how her body slumped and how tired she looked. It’s been a long day for her already.

After I returned her to the Pokeball, Amethio asked, “Was it really worth it to ditch your own birthday for this? Arven’s been messaging like crazy worrying.”

“What? But I didn’t get any messages.” Because Miles isn’t handling my phone and I didn’t check, damn it! With a sigh, I shot off a speedy message to all my other friends and my sister, letting them know it was fine and I’d be coming back home.

“I didn’t mean to cause anyone distress.” As Amethio just stood there staring at me, making no moves to release Armarouge, I added, “Possibly. It was possibly worth it. I can’t see what could have been, but it definitely helped to get here early.”

It’ll make it way easier for Friede to bury things so no ambitious and amoral scientists can figure out the connection between Hisuian Zoruas and death. Perhaps the metal plate simulating Distortion energy above them would be enough for any death, but perhaps it would only work on some, and my girl just got lucky. Or maybe she happened to have a sliver of hate in her heart at the time of her death, for her circumstances or whatever, and that was enough, and without that mental state it wouldn’t work. No way of telling until it fails, so we best make sure no one tries again.

At my explanation, Amethio’s expression softened. “Alright, if it was worth it then, I’ll trust you.”

“Thank you,” I said with a bow. “If you ever need any help rescuing a Pokemon in a tricky spot, call me and I’ll come running.” The offer was impulsive and possibly reckless, crossing a line I’d put between me and the Explorers, but I couldn’t bring myself to regret it at the moment. Amethio helped me, and I trust him, if not Gibeon and his lot.

“Hopefully I won’t need anything like that, but I appreciate the offer,” the older boy replied, releasing his starter. “Shall we go back, or are there any other disasters you need to intercede in?” The smirk on his face was infuriating, but I let it go, figuring he earned it for putting up with my demands earlier. Might call in that battle soon, though. Be funny to see the expression on his face as Zorua hits his Drakloak with a STAB Ghost Type attack and then is immune to any of his own.

With a flash, we teleported back in front of my house. Opening the door, the kids sitting in the living room scrambled towards us, a barrage of questions washing over me.

“Where did you go?”

“Why didn’t you tell us what was going on?”

“Why did Amethio get to go with you?” (“Because it was my Pokemon that helped her get there!”)

“You should have taken us with you!”

“Enough, enough!” I shouted, trying to get them to give me some space. I saw my parents and the staff behind the kids (and behind them, Arven, who hung back nervously), looking on worried about me, so I enacted plan #7:

“I’d like you all to meet my new friend. She’s a little tired, so give her some space, but say hello to Zorua.” With a flash of red light, she appeared in front of them, to instant ‘oohs’ and ‘awws’ from the gathered crowd.

“They’re. So. CUTE!” Lacey squealed, rushing up to but not directly touching my newest Pokemon (no matter how much I could tell that she wanted to hug the Zorua). The illusionist was cautious at first but quickly warmed up to the pink-clad girl, letting her and the others pet and adore her.

“Sorry everyone, a bit of an emergency with Zorua here... and a bit of me freaking out too much, but I’ve got a new friend now. I didn’t mean to make you worry, but I had to go there and deal with the situation.”

“Oh, what a brave Glitterati heart!” Billy praised.

“But to make your dear parents worry so, how Un-Glitterati!” O’Nare scolded.

Then they flip-flopped, with Mom boasting about my initiative and Dad being upset at me throwing off the party.

“Yeah, sorry about that again, everyone.” Even with teleportation, I made them wait over at least an hour for me. I tried to catch Arven’s eye, him being the only kid not surrounding Zorua, but he averted his gaze. Shit, just another thing to fix.

“The party was mostly just going to be hanging out, but there are some activities we could do,” I began to suggest after Zorua returned to her Pokeball, the enthusiasm of having people quite interested in her not being able to entirely counteract the fatigue she felt.

“Open your presents!” Carmine demanded. “We worked really hard on yours, so you better like it. Kiki’s been talking about it all month.” Her younger brother flushed, embarrassed at his older sister but not disagreeing with her words. The others were nodding along too.

“Uh, ok,” I said, a little conflicted. I mean, I get it. On the one hand, that’s kinda what this day is about, but on the other, it feels weird to focus on me after I made everyone panic.

We sat around the living room, the pile of presents pushed forward in front of me. As expected, Carmine bossed her way to having me open hers and Kieran’s gift first. Ripping off the wrapping paper, I saw a small wooden box, and opening that up, I saw something gorgeous.

“Wow. Or should I say ‘wowzers?’” I smiled at Kieran to let him know it was all in good fun before I donned the mask inside. It was turquoise with elegant lines sweeping across it, eyebrows like clouds, and eyeholes in the shape of lightning bolts. While not quite to the quality of the mask their grandfather made for Ogerpon and lacking any Tera Crystals to accentuate it, this is a remarkable piece of work, especially from two kids.

“You should wear it for the mask festival! If you can make it,” Kieran muttered, and I grinned before realizing they couldn’t see my reaction.

“Of course, I'll definitely find the time to hop over for that.” Taking the mask carefully off, I placed it back in the box before opening the other gifts. ‘Arven’s’ gift came from his dad, with the Tera Crystals I had already received and the machine I had yet to. Amethio owed me a battle, but knowing the boy as I did, he was probably analyzing these gifts and would find something nice in the same vein to give me later.

Lacey’s present was a set of Pokemon bento boxes. Each one had a cute design on it and could keep the food cool or hot as needed. Practical and adorable, that’s Lacey. I let my team (sans Zorua) out to inspect them, and Dun looked quite interested in something that might let us keep nicer food while traveling.

Cyan gave me a collection of books, many of them biographies of champions or collections of stories from famous trainers. “I know you like that sort of stuff; some of it seems unbelievable, like Professor Oak - the old one, not the hot one - meeting world Champion Ash back in time, but-”

“Oh, I remember hearing about that! I don’t know any of the details though,” eagerly I started rifling through the books to find it. I saw that episode so very long ago. Or was it a movie? Probably a movie, there were dozens of them about all the different Legendaries and Mythicals Ash ran into.

Then came my parents' gifts. Some of these I knew, since I needed their help to order them ahead of time, like a Lax incense large bag of the herbs it burned that would last my team a long time or the Razor Fang I specifically requested for Nightwing. Others were a pleasant surprise, like a set of five differently colored glass flutes.

“I heard they made sounds pleasing to Pokemon, and with your music career about to kick off, I thought you might like them,” Dad said as I looked them over.

“Yeah, these look cool, I can’t wait to try playing with them.” Ok, honestly, kinda overloaded on instruments I’m learning already. Still, I am intrigued. I remember getting a Yellow Flute like one of the ones here in Pokemon Gold. It could remove confusion constantly for no cost. I remembered thinking that was an ‘amazing trick’ back then when I was not much older than I am now, if at all.

The real surprise, however, came from a small, light pink glass-looking orb. Within the orb was a familiar swirl. “Is this a Mega Stone?”

Mom clapped her hands together. "Indeed, it’s a Mega thing! I found it at the auction house in Porto Marinada. It was going for quite the pretty penny.” My sister and I blanched at her words, being the only children to get just how much it must have been for her to say that. This must have been millions, maybe even tens of millions of Pokedollars to win this! I get Mega Stones are great, but is it really worth that-

“I hope it’s the right one; I heard at the auction that there were multiple kinds of them.” My mother continued. “I don’t know too much about battling, but I remembered you mentioning Diancie a bunch-”

“This is DIANCITE!?!” Notch whipped over at my shout, staring at the stone in rapt fascination. I had already been holding the stone carefully, but I now had it in both hands, presenting it to them.

“Wowzers… What does Diancite do?” Kieran whispered the second part to his sister, but I answered.

“With a Keystone you can Mega Evolve a Diancie. It’s one of the only Mega Evolutions for a Legendary Pokemon!” Technically not true; Mewtwo and Rayquaza both Mega Evolve too, but the former isn’t known about, and for the latter, their Mega Evolution is probably like a Hoenn region secret or something.

“Wait, how does that help with Notch? That’s a Carbink, not a Diancie, right?” Amethio asked.

“They are, but Carbinks have close bonds with Diancies; packs of them are often led by the diamond Pokemon. There are old studies that say that Carbinks can sometimes transform into a Diancie, but they don’t explain how. Mega Evolution is a temporary transformation.”

Letting my words sink in for a minute, I got some rope from my bag and, using the survival training Amethio and I took together, made a very secure harness for the Mega Stone, using the rope to loop it around the top of Notch’s body.

The Carbink gave the most delighted chiming sounds I’d ever heard, zipping happily around the room.

“Will that make them a Diancie?” Arven spoke up quietly, looking a little puzzled. “Or do you need a Keystone first?”

“No idea! Don’t even know if this will do anything to be honest, but this is the first chance we’ve had to discover anything that even might be related to the phenomenon.” To the others, I explained, “It’s Notch’s dream to become a Diancie, so this is just- amazing.” Hugging Mom tightly, I squealed over my Pokemon’s chimes, “Thank you so much!”

“Urk! You’ve got that Glitterati strength. Actually, I don’t think any of the rest of us are this strong, can’t breathe, dear.” Letting her go, she took a deep breath. “Well, I’m glad that gift went well.” Seeing all the gifts were now opened, she suggested, “Shall we bring out dessert?”

***

After some more delicious food, great conversation, and me playing a few songs for them, my friends had to leave. Amethio had the Explorers to get back to, and Lacey, Carmine, and Kieran all had flights to take to get back to their home regions.

In the end, I was left with just Arven, the unusually subdued boy, waiting till we had a moment to talk. “I’m sorry!” He blurted out almost instantly after the last maid left the room, cleaning up the party supplies.

“Sorry for what? This morning? It’s fine, I get why you were worried.”

Biting his lip, he said, “So you didn’t leave because you were mad about our battle and me trying to force you to stay? You’re not upset?” The boy’s green eyes peeked out past his bangs, looking unbelieving at me.

To be fair, it was a little aggravating at the time, but it’s over now. And like I said, it’s easy to understand where he’s coming from, and his age doesn’t help matters.

“No, my leaving was just about Zorua. And like I said, I understand. I’m not leaving you forever or anything like that. We’ll always stay in touch, even if we go separate ways. And besides, I didn’t get to finish my plans; I’ll be coming back to Uva after I’m done at Blueberry Academy.”

“Huh? ”

“I'll probably be enrolling at about the same time you are too,” I offhandedly remarked with a grin, which had Arven wiping at his eyes.

“That’s cool. I was worried, and then with you running off after I almost beat you, but I guess you had a really important reason to go, saving that Zorua.”

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. ‘Almost beat me?’ Ha! You’re a hundred years too early for that,” I boasted, sticking my tongue out to show I wasn’t serious. Also, to hide my own guilt at making him feel bad. Leaving like that- I could have done it a lot calmer. I have to be better than that.

“Hey! You’re the one who said Miraidon was super strong!”

“Haha, well, maybe not a full hundred years,” I leaned back in the chair I was sitting on, staring up at Notch, still happily hovering around. “Your father has a pretty strong Pokemon there, but Maschiff evolving was huge too.”

“Yeah,” Arven replied back, scratching the top of his dog Pokemon’s head. Mabostiff leaned into it, happily panting. “Though Miraidon is my Pokemon now, Dad transferred ownership already.”

“You don’t say,” I said in a voice that was far too neutral for what I was feeling. Did I change things that much already? This means that Miraidon’s Pokeball can’t bypass the lock system in the Professor’s secret lab! Getting the Apricorn Pokeball technology is an even higher priority now. I can’t just have the Player Character with Miraidon as a safety net for beating the AI if things go really bad.

“How long do you think your journey will take?” Arven tentatively asked, and I shrugged.

“Not sure, still need to plan a lot of that out. I want to build up my team and train Zorua a bit. Plus, I need one more team member before I really attempt to take on the Elite Four and become a Champion. Though there’s all the Gym Leaders to get through before that, if I can even make it that far.”

The boy beamed, “Of course you’ll become a Champion; you’re Nemona.” He explained it as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Looking at his bright eyes, I could almost believe I could do anything too.

“Thanks. So, yeah, I won’t just be flying from Gym to Gym, but it won’t take a whole year. And I’ll make sure to call you tons when I’m out, too.” The young boy hugged me tightly, sniffling a little as I patted him on the back.

“Sorry again about thinking you were gonna leave me like Mom and...” He said as we broke off the hug, trying to wipe at his eyes.

And his father. He’s still missing him. Turo is definitely making more of an effort in this world, but he’s clearly still pursuing his Paradise, to his son's detriment. “Don’t worry, I’m sure your father will be back for good soon.” I’ll make sure of that.

***

Gathering my team in my room that night, I told them my plan, mostly explaining things for Zorua’s benefit. “So, I’ve had a vision- hmm not quite right. Let’s just say I know some aspects of what might happen in the future. It isn’t perfect, and I’m not able to predict what I might have changed already.”

The fox-like Pokemon nodded, understanding the point that I was getting at there. I had no idea how a few comments to Friede were going to lead to what happened with her. Would she have lived happily if the experiment was never attempted? Or died anyway, alone and unknown? We'll likely never know. “With that in mind, I was aware that Professor Turo is attempting a dangerous experiment. Similar to yours, but with potentially even worse ramifications.”

“Friede didn’t know of the risks in his experiment. I’d like to believe that’s true for Turo too.” Those words provoked a dismissive scoff from Dun. "Yeah, yeah, I know. The guy has tunnel vision in the extreme when it comes to his Paradise Project. He doesn’t know that it will lead to his doom, and possibly doom all of Paldea, flooding it with powerful Paradox Pokemon. Pokemon that can outcompete and push through even those that dwell in the Great Crater.”

That got Nightwing and Zorua to stiffen up. I’d told all of them (sans Zorua) about this before, but my tone was far more serious now. Before, it had always been some far-off event that only Miles and Dun understood how seriously I was preparing for it. Miraidon being here today is hard proof of this.

“Rua, zor, zorua?” Zorua asked. I didn’t understand at first until she showed me a crude illusion of me and Friede talking and smiling. The meeting wasn’t all sunshine and joy, but I get the point.

“Turo is a Professor, like Friede, but different too. He’s colder and more fixated on this as a goal. There’s also signs he’s growing more paranoid and less willing to accept what others say. He’s built his entire life up to this goal. If we try to stop him, he may view us as enemies.”

Glancing out my window I peered out into the night sky, where I knew Mesagoza was. Even I couldn’t see it right now, but I knew the League headquarters were over there. “That’s another reason why I have to become a Champion. To become strong enough to oppose him, if we have to, and to get more clout with the League to pressure him if need be.” I so hope it doesn’t come to that, though. I’d be forever tarnishing Arven’s image of his father and how the public sees him if it comes to that.

“So with that in mind, I want to ask everyone again if they want to continue with me on this path. It could be treacherous, so I understand if you don’t want to stay with me or if you don’t want to be part of my battling team. I need to know now though as we prepare for our journey-” I paused as Gligar started pointing at the pile of presents I had.

“Oh, you want the Razor Fang. Yes, you’ll get that no matter what, even if you want to leave.” I saw a flash of hurt on her face, and she stomped the floor (thankfully without enough force to shake the house). “...You want to become stronger, to help me take on any of those Paradox Pokemon.”

“Gli li, gligar!” She nodded. I think that was more ‘I’ll beat Miraidon on my own next time, and any other Pokemon too!’ But I’ll take it. As well as the lesson that I need to stop underestimating people, Pokemon, and humans alike. I have so many great friends supporting me; I have to have faith in them, like they've had in me.

Dun and Miles came forth, obviously showing their support for me as well. Notch floated by too, and while it could be hard to tell what they were thinking, from the way they angled themselves to let the moonlight streaming through the window catch on the Diancite resting on their mane, I knew they would follow me to the ends of the earth.

Zorua was last, more hesitant than the others, but she placed a paw on my knee. Looking into her eyes, I saw a fire that burned in them, one that might threaten to burn out of control if undirected. And that she trusted me to help her channel that rage and turn it into something that made her strong.

“Alright then, I guess, it’s time. You’ve mastered your Hidden Ability, and while we need to work on your Moves more, that can come after you’ve evolved.” With that said, I passed the Razor Fang over to her carefully.

She held it up to her mouth, and at the moment of contact, her body began glowing brightly. Everyone was looking at her, Notch in particular, enthralled at the changes that took place. Nightwing grew dramatically, her wings splitting off from her arms and spreading out wide behind her. Her arms grew skinnier, banded in red, while the pincers grew larger. The same was true for her stinger, which stretched out on her now lengthy tail. With a mouth full of far sharper teeth, she cried out, “Gliscor!”

She leapt onto me, grabbing me in a big hug and surprising me. Both with the force of her hug and how light she was. "Did you actually lose weight? But you're like, twice the size you were before! How is that possible?" I wondered, laughing.

She shrugged a clear sign of 'nerd stuff, not my problem,' and let me go, flipping around to land back on the ground. The others swarmed her, congratulating Nightwing while the bat-scorpion-like Pokemon spun about through the air (knocking over a chair and some stuff, still unused to her new body).

There were still all the worries of before, about Turo and the future, but seeing Zorua making illusions of Nightwing’s old Gligar form and riding on the evolved Pokemon’s back, I couldn’t help but feel optimistic. No matter what happens, I’ll do great with a team like this.