Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

A harsh pounding in his skull, like if a furious zombie were beating him over the head with a tire iron.

That was the first thing that Ibzan was aware of as he awoke.

…Unfortunately.

A brilliant Warmth emanating from deep within. The fiery roar of life itself — the furthest thing from the bitter chill of undeath he was so accustomed to. A feeling that he’d never again let himself take for granted, not for a single second, not after suffering an eternity of its absence.

That was the second thing that Ibzan was aware of as he awoke.

Darkness, stretching endlessly in all directions. The bizarre sense of floating in the air, weightless, with nowhere to plant his feet. A deathly silence, broken only by the sound of his own breathing.

That was the third thing that Ibzan was aware of as he awoke.

A plane of sheer, all-encompassing nothingness.

Experimentally, Ibzan shifted a leg forwards. The motion sent him spinning gently in place for a few moments. As he slowly drifted to a halt, he asked himself the sensible question at hand.

Where the hell was he?

Fighting against the ache reverberating through his skull, he pushed through the fuzziness and focused on the last thing he could remember.

…Ah. Right.

He'd been shot in the head.

Multiple times, as a matter of fact. While his Generals’ magic may have been able to reverse the effects of any lethal injuries, it could only last as long as he had the energy to spare for it.

And, well, his opponent was nothing if not persistent.

Death was nothing new to him, of course. Nothing new to any sorry denizen of that Place. He clearly wasn’t back at the bottom of the river, but he’d hardly expected as much. An undead soul, taken by a reaper, well…

He never knew the specifics, to tell the truth. Obtained souls were to be delivered to the Ferryman, who would take them off his hands and offer weaponry in return. Ibzan never knew, nor particularly cared, what happened to them after that.

Was this it, then? The afterlife he’d fought so hard to escape, for fear that it would only be worse than undeath? If so, he was right to be afraid. Ibzan knew better than anyone just how effectively an eternal, unchanging existence could gradually rip away at your psyche.

And yet, despite the darkness, the pervasive nothingness that stretched as far as the metaphorical eye could see, he was still blessed by that Warmth burning within him. Looking down at himself, he was greeted by the familiar sight of an unbuttoned coat framing his empty ribcage.

Still skeletal, then. But… no chill. He was alive, yet dead, yet blessedly not undead.

Just like… back then.

Before he’d—

A sudden gleam of light interrupted his thoughts, piercing through the murky cloud of darkness as though shining through a keyhole. Ibzan stared as that pinprick of light began to expand, larger and brighter, until it resembled his vague recollection of the sun. He lifted an arm to shield his eye sockets.

Then, the light began to shift. It coalesced inwards, forming a quadrupedal body like that of a deer — one easily over ten times his size. The figure shone a radiant gold.

In a practised motion, as natural to him as breathing, Ibzan reached under his jacket and yanked his revolver from its holster. A pair of glowing red eyes pierced straight through him, like a knife through flesh.

He levelled his gun at the point between them.

Then, a voice echoed across the void — one brimming with sheer power. Power that Ibzan somehow knew could shift continents. Crush galaxies. Mould reality itself. It shook him to his very core.

“Thou shalt not be needing that.”

His gun was torn from his grip by some unseen force. He could only watch as it blinked out of existence in front of him, leaving only a few golden sparkles dissipating in its place.

“I welcome thee to my realm. I am the governor of a different reality to the one thou called thine own.”

In spite of the overwhelming pressure that lay behind each word, its tone still carried a sort of… gentleness to it. Foreign, yet… almost comforting, like the reassuring presence of the flame that burned within him once more.

“To humanity, I am known as Arceus. Listen well, and heed my words.

“Thy creator's plea pierced the bounds of countless realities, in search of a listening ear. And listen I did. Thy course of existence has been laid bare to me, and I am in agreement. Thy fate was one ultimately wrought through little fault of thine own.”

His creator? Was Arceus talking about… his Friend? But… Ibzan had never apologised to him. He’d lost that opportunity, so why would he…

“I am not blind, of course. Thou art not without fault. Nonetheless… I have a place for thee. Thou art about to enter a world far removed from thine own, filled with wondrous creatures known as Pokémon. Therein, thou shalt surely find thy peace. In return, I charge thee with one task — seek out my chosen. Protect her, and aid her in the completion of her own duty.”

Before undeath, all his work leant towards elimination and destruction. Even… after, that pattern never changed. To be tasked with the protection of a target… He felt the rush of something unfamiliar to his chest.

"But before we may begin… Firstly, I must ask thee to recall thine appearance, from before thine acceptance of thy creator's own task.”

His appearance, from before? It had been so long since then… Since he had truly been human. Ibzan fought to recall even one small detail, but those memories had all long since faded. All he knew now was… this.

"Worry not. What is lost may simply be built anew."

It occurred to Ibzan, then, that he’d never spoken his response aloud. Arceus heard it nonetheless.

"Second. I shall need a conduit from which to facilitate thy task. Doest thee… ah, that shall suffice."

A sudden gale blew against Ibzan, forcing his coat open yet somehow not sending him spiralling further backwards into the darkness. From an inside pocket floated… his shitty, beat-up flip phone. As a golden light enveloped the device, the world began to spin and Ibzan’s vision slowly faded to white.

"Heed thy creator's final request, Ibzan. Seek happiness for thyself — that which he could not grant. That is his final mission to thee!"

And Ibzan knew no more.

Dawn slid shut the door to her quarters, giving her tired muscles a stretch. Releasing her Pokémon from their balls, she breathed out a sigh and lay down on one of the mats by the fire pit.

Shelly, wasting no time, immediately waddled over and clambered on top of her, curling up on her stomach and contently shutting her eyes. Dawn wrapped her arms around her, gently running a hand along her sleek fur with a smile.

Kilowatt, meanwhile, seemed content just to poke around at his new surroundings, sniffing curiously at every little thing he came across.

Surveying sure was hard work, but apparently she had a knack for it. It’d been two days since she’d found herself here. Well, three days, if you counted the evening she’d woken up on Prelude Beach.

Yesterday, she’d passed her (actually super easy, but everyone was weirdly impressed anyway) entry trial with flying colours, and Rei had shown her the ropes of surveying from there. It reminded her a lot of all the times she’d helped Lucas with his assignments from Professor Rowan, and a lot of that was definitely to do with how similar they looked. Really, it was uncanny!

Lucas wasn’t the only familiar face she’d run into, though. Dawn had just about passed out when she met Captain Cyllene and Commander Kamado for the first time, each for very different reasons.

Professor Rowan always seemed like the kinda guy who’d just… manifested one day as a fully-formed grumpy old man, and yet the Commander’s face was definitely a younger version of his. At least the Professor’s ancestor was still rocking the ‘stache — her head might’ve just spontaneously turned itself inside-out if she saw his face without it.

And Cyllene… Well, she seemed a lot nicer than her descendent turned out to be! Even if it’d take some crazy limbo skills to get under that particular bar. She’d just about jumped out of her skin when Cyllene had first walked up to her — she was just as intimidating as he was, but with her it felt more like that same special ‘I’m looking out for you, but outwardly expressing one positive emotion would straight up kill me’ kinda vibe that the Professor had mastered.

And that wasn’t even mentioning the place where she was seeing all these familiar faces. Jubilife Village! She could hardly imagine this tiny little place growing into the bustling city she was so familiar with.

And the Galaxy stuff? The name, the logo… As nice as everyone (except Beni) was, if she caught one whiff of anything Team Galactic from this Galaxy Team, she was legging it straight to Mount Coronet to live life as a feral mountain woman instead. The kinda mysterious cryptid who’d be talked about online for decades to come!

…Y’know, once ‘online’ gets invented.

In, like… two-hundred years, or whatever.

Dawn let out a hefty sigh. She missed the internet. And modern appliances. And indoor plumbing! The moment she was finished with her divinely ordained nerd work, the first thing she’d be doing once she got back home is getting in the shower, turning the water on full-blast, and never ever leaving it again. She’ll become an honorary Water type and live there forever with Pepper the Empoleon.

…Actually, the first thing she’d do is give her mum the world’s biggest hug. And all her Pokémon. And Barry. Then she’d become a shower hermit.

Yeah.

…

Surveying! Yes! She’d caught a lot of Pokémon today!

For her first time out in the field by herself, she’d done pretty well, if she did say so herself! She hadn’t ventured too far out, yet — just the places to the left of that bridge the security guy was guarding — but she’d managed to finish enough research tasks to help fill out a few entries in Professor Laventon’s Pokédex.

…And also managed to run faster than she’d known she could run, after she tried to challenge that big Rapidash to a battle. The one that knocked Shelly out in one hit.

She squeezed the Oshawott a little tighter at the thought. She was so glad it didn’t bother chasing her any further than the edge of its territory, because she had no idea what she’d have done if it did. Run to the river and given herself a crash course in how to swim, probably.

Most of the Pokémon she’d caught seemed fine just grazing in the pastures while she did all the boring science stuff. Measuring heights, waving food in their faces to see what they liked, that sorta thing. Once she and the Professor were done with all that, they’d be releasing them.

In Dawn’s time, a Pokémon could be released using any PC in any Pokémon Centre. They’d automatically be sent to experts who know what to do with them — whether they’re too domesticated to go back to living in the wild, their natural habitats, that kinda stuff.

Obviously though, here in the however-long-ago times, PCs weren’t an option. So, instead, she had to be the expert. Which meant painstakingly noting down exactly where she’d captured each and every Pokémon. Something that’d definitely get way more complicated the more places she goes, but it was probably worth the effort. She’d rather not be responsible for any Bidoof-related apocalypses just because she got careless about where she was putting them.

So far, she’d found two Pokémon willing to stick around and be part of The Team. Actively interested in battling to get stronger, to place their trust in others to help them grow, instead of just battling for fun or to settle territorial squabbles.

…Okay, so maybe found was a generous way of putting it, when one had been handed to her and the other literally pounced on her head while she was trying to sneak up on a Starly.

Shelly the Oshawott, and Kilowatt the Shinx. The former yawned and snuggled further into Dawn’s arms — and her heart! She really thought that Piplup were the cutest Water types to ever exist, but Shelly here sure was fighting hard for that title.

She was proving to be a very competent battler in general, actually, even if she was kinda inexperienced at the moment. Living in the Professor’s lab probably didn’t leave a whole lot of room for action, huh? Even casual scuffles would probably just end up breaking something important, and the three of them were too nice to do something like that to him.

…Even if they didn’t mind causing him a bit of a headache by running out of the lab every now and again.

What Shelly lacked in experience, though, she more than made up for with enthusiasm! As well as some knowledge about the theory of Pokémon battling. Even if the Professor’s lab wasn’t action-packed, you were bound to learn a thing or two just from watching him study all that stuff, Dawn guessed.

She turned her attention towards Kilowatt, who was currently working diligently at investigating the contents of her dresser. You go, little man! Show the world that opposable thumbs aren’t required to open drawers!

Kilowatt sure was a feisty little thing, with teeth he was very eager to demonstrate the pointiness of. Just ask her fingers! He may like being pet, but he also liked playing, and those two conflicting desires resulted in innocent, charming bystanders such as herself getting caught in the crossfire. Not that she’d let a few tiny little bite marks stop her from trying. She just couldn’t resist that little face!

Dawn jumped as Shelly suddenly sprang to her feet. Eyes alert, she hopped off Dawn and darted over to the door, anxiously pacing back and forth in front of it. Kilowatt, too, had the same nervous energy about him, fur standing on end with built-up static electricity.

“Hey, what’s wrong, guys?” she asked, getting to her feet. Shelly just let out an agitated cry in response. Then, a hurried knocking sounded at her door. She rushed over and opened it, revealing an out-of-breath Professor Laventon.

“Professor? What's going on?” she asked. “Something’s got these two on edge all of a sudden, but I have no idea what!”

“Dawn, my girl! The other two were similarly acting all frazzled, so I’ve put them in their balls for now. Can’t have them dashing off again, after all! Poké Balls really are a convenient thing… Ah, but forgive me, I’m getting off-track, aren’t I? The fact of the matter is… Here, step outside a moment, would you?”

“Uh… Alright, Professor,” Dawn said, unsure where he could be going with this. She stepped out into the street, and Laventon pointed up at the night sky, in the direction of Mount Coronet, where…

What?

It was small, but there was definitely something moving near the rift in the sky. It was like a shooting star in slow motion, leaving a faint trail of golden light in its wake. And it was… getting closer?

“I… Professor, is that what I think it is?”

“Yes, my dear girl, that is precisely the sight I was met with the day you fell from the sky!”

It was getting much closer now. She still couldn’t make out what — or who? — it could be, not with all that light surrounding it. Shelly and Kilowatt were both at her feet, pacing around and staring intently up at the falling whatever-it-was.

They all watched as it soared past overhead, falling towards Prelude Beach. She felt her Arc Phone buzz in her pocket. Pressing the button, the screen turned on and she was met with a new message.

Mission

The New Arrival from the Skies

Wordlessly, she turned the device around for the Professor to read.

“Hmm…” he mused, squinting at the screen. “Well, now we know that it’s… for you? Whatever it may be. Let’s hurry along and investigate, shall we?”

Dawn nodded. Recalling Shelly and Kilowatt to their balls, she set off with the Professor for the beach.

Chapter Text

For the second time in a row, Ibzan woke to darkness with his head swimming. He really hoped this wasn’t going to be a trend. His arms felt like lead, and there was an incessant thumping noise coming from somewhere nearby.

“Are… horns something normal where you’re from, my girl?”

“No? I dunno what’s up with this guy!”

Ibzan let out a pained grunt, clutching his skull as he felt the world tilt and roll under him. As he did, his hand was met with an unexpected texture, like if he were to touch the fur on the trim of his coat.

Instinctively, he opened his eyes and saw… flesh. A fleshy hand.

…What?

He shot upright, sitting up as he stared down at himself. His coat framed a bare chest, where he was so used to seeing nothing but bone. The wind was blowing through… what must be hair on his head.

All at once, Ibzan was overwhelmed by… everything. He’d opened his eyes just now — he had eyes, and eyelids to close them with! He would actually be able to sleep! Gone were the days of just lying on a useless bed, staring listlessly at the mouldering ceiling as he imagined what true rest must be like.

That constant thumping noise — that must have been a heartbeat. His heartbeat!

The smell and taste of salt in the air, the light of the sun — the sun! — shining in his eyes…

He didn’t have the words to express all the emotions running through his head.

“Do you… think he hit his head or something?”

“Oh hush, my girl, don't let’s be rude now. Er… Hello, sir! Are you alright? Did… erm, did you hit your head, by chance?”

Ibzan looked up, suddenly very aware of the fact he wasn’t alone. Two strangers hovered over him, concern on their faces. The first was a man wearing a lab coat and… frankly, an atrocious hat. The second was a girl with long hair wearing a red scarf.

Their skin tone was… normal. Not the deathly chalk-white pallor of the vampires, not the diseased-looking green of the zombies, and not the furious red of the demons. These two were human, and they were alive.

And so, apparently, was he.

The man had a hand stretched out towards him. Ibzan took it, and the man grunted with effort as he pulled him to his feet.

“Goodness me, you’re tall,” the man breathed out, looking up at him. He didn’t even come up to Ibzan's shoulders, and the girl was perhaps only about half of Ibzan’s height. “Are you alright, sir?”

It wasn’t as though he hadn’t talked to plenty of people, back in that Place. He talked to a lot of people, in fact. It was necessary as a leader — he needed to direct people where he needed them, rally them to the cause, convince them of the way forward. Alliances weren’t formed without strong words to back them. Talking to these two shouldn’t feel different to any of that.

So what was this sudden rush he felt?

“I… am,” Ibzan replied. “Thank you.”

“I'm glad to hear it!” the man said with a grin. “My name is Laventon. I'm something of a Pokémon professor. And this is—”

“Heya, I'm Dawn!” the girl chirped. “I’m something of a sky-faller, like you!”

“Ah, hello. My name is Ibzan,” he said, before mentally catching up to her words. “...Sky-faller?”

“Uh-huh! You dropped out of the rift above Mount Coronet, just like me,” she said with a nod, pointing behind her with her thumb. “See it up there?”

Past where she was pointing, a large mountain loomed in the distance. The sheer scale of it awed Ibzan, but he pushed that feeling down. Above the peak was a mass of dark clouds, spiralling around what looked to be a crack in the sky itself. Energy visibly pulsed and crackled amongst the dark haze surrounding it.

“Ah,” he said, after taking a moment to process that. “Yes, I see it. Is that… normal, here?”

“Goodness, no,” Laventon frowned, folding his arms and shaking his head. “It formed above the mountain just a few short months ago. The sight of it kicked up quite the fuss in the village, and among the clans, but we still haven’t a clue what, precisely, could have caused it to appear.”

Ibzan filed that information away for later. It made sense that his point of entry into this reality would be a crack in reality, he supposed. As much sense as a sentence like that can make, anyway. It was hardly the first time he’d crossed dimensions.

He made sure to note the mention of a village — presumably where these two lived — and of multiple clans who were separate from it.

One thing still bothered him, though.

“So I… fell from that rift, you said? Without injury? How did I end up here, so far from it?”

“Oh, I saw the whole thing,” Dawn interjected with a grin. “So, you dropped from it like a rock, right? Then you landed, and started tumbling down the side of the mountain. Then, there was this bit of rock that jutted up the way, right? You went up it, like a ramp, and it launched you aaallllll the way over here!”

“Dawn,” Laventon admonished with a laugh. He turned back to Ibzan. “Nothing quite so exciting as that, I’m sorry to say. You simply… went diagonally, I suppose, from there to here. With a soft landing, thankfully! A strange light surrounded you all the way, which I am curious about… Ah, but we’re getting off-track. Tell me, do you know where you are, exactly?”

“I do not,” Ibzan replied. This was a reality entirely different to his own — what could he know? “I am here with a purpose, however. Tell me, are you familiar with a creature named ‘Arceus’?”

Laventon thought for a moment, then shook his head with a look of disappointment. Dawn’s eyes, however, lit up in recognition.

“Wait, are you also… Oh! Actually, hold on for a sec, I'll be right back!”

She turned and dashed off a short distance away. Ibzan glanced at Laventon, who simply gave him a bemused smile and a shrug. Moments later, with a triumphant “ah-ha”, Dawn rushed back over with something clutched in her hands.

“Yeah, I think I’m getting the picture now. Here, I believe this is yours?” she said, holding it out to him.

“...No,” Ibzan said, eyeing the tacky golden protrusions on the cell phone in her hand. “I can’t say I… hold on a moment.”

Those protrusions looked very much like the ones that were on Arceus’ body, from what he remembered. And that cracked hinge, that looked very much like the cracked hinge on his phone. The phone that had been pulled from his pocket - and modified, it seemed - by Arceus before it had sent him here.

“Uh. It may be, actually,” he said, taking it into his hands.

Flipping it open, he navigated to the phone’s contacts page. All the saved numbers were as he remembered. Not that he expected he’d be able to reach any of them from here, even if they weren’t all dead by this point. Regardless, this was definitely his phone.

“Thought so. Don’t blame you for not recognising it, with the whole redesign and all. I have one just like it, see? Found it in the same spot and everything,” she said, producing a similarly gaudy smartphone from a pocket. She put it away and fixed him with an appraising look. “So, you were sent here for the same reason as me?”

“Assuming you’re Arceus’ ‘chosen’, I’m to help you with your task, yes,” he confirmed.

As far as assumptions went, this was a pretty safe one. Dawn had fallen from the rift, same as him, and had in her possession the same style of phone that he now had.

“Wow! My very own servant,” she said, amusement twinkling in her eyes. “I’m glad to have someone to foist all the boring grunt work onto. Imagine all the time I'll save!”

“...Your Arceus was quite clear that this was about protection, not grunt wor—”

“Pardon me!” Laventon said loudly, then winced. “Er, I apologise for the volume, but I fear we’re getting off-track once again. So, you're here to aid Dawn with her mission, correct? Are we to assume, then, that you're here under similar circumstances to her? No acquaintances nor a place to stay?”

Ibzan shook his head.

“Oh, right! My mission here is to ‘seek out all Pokémon’,” Dawn said, showing him the words on her phone screen. “I had no clue what was going on when I first got here, but since the Professor’s looking to do the same thing as us anyway, he invited me to work with him in Galaxy Team’s Survey Corps!”

“Yes,” Laventon said with a proud grin and determination shining in his eyes. “I wish to catalogue all of Hisui’s Pokémon into a record known as a Pokédex! There's been a few efforts made here and there in other regions already, but I intend to be the very first to put together a fully complete collection!”

So, it seemed he had his task. Safeguard Dawn as she helped Laventon with his work cataloguing the Pokémon in the area. It sounded simple enough, though there was an obvious question that needed to be asked here.

“And what sort of creature is a Pokémon, exactly? Arceus mentioned them, but that was the first I’d heard of the word.”

The two of them stared blankly at him for a moment. The beach was silent, aside from the breeze blowing past them. Ibzan began to wonder if he should have started gathering information a little more subtly than just outright asking, but the uncomfortable silence was quickly shattered.

“Ibzan! You don't know what a Pokémon is?” Dawn cried. “How on earth is that even possible? Have you even lived?”

“They don’t exist where I’m from. Not unless we’re using different words for the same things.”

“Goodness, how far must you have travelled…?” Laventon mumbled.

“Oh, what a sad existence that must be,” Dawn lamented, wiping an imaginary tear from her eye. She stood on the tips of her toes and just about managed to reach up and pat him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, Ibzan, you're in a better place now.”

“I’m touched by your sympathy,” Ibzan said dryly.

“Er, not to interrupt,” Laventon interrupted, “but I really feel we should be making our way to the village soon. It’s close to nightfall, after all. We can discuss the particulars of everything while we walk.”

“Oh, wait, hold on a sec!” Dawn said, before thrusting something in Ibzan’s face. Or, at least, thrusting something as close to it as she could reach. “This was lying beside your phone, so I’m guessing it’s also yours?”

Ibzan blinked in surprise. Taking it, he looked down at the item as Dawn ran back over to Laventon’s side.

This was…

This was his old lighter.

He’d left that behind in his apartment safe, what the hell was it doing here? He brought it up to his face, examining it more closely.

It was… undeniably his. He’d spent countless hours staring at the thing — by this point, its every detail was etched into his mind. One thing, though, wasn’t as he remembered. There were words engraved into the side of the lighter’s metal body.

Live Well

Ibzan lifted a shaking thumb towards the spark wheel and flicked it. He must have done this a thousand times before, desperately wishing for even a hint of a spark. Nothing ever came of it, then.

Now, a brilliant flame burst forth.

The image of the flame dancing before him suddenly blurred. Was this… a peace offering? His mind spun. But… he’d failed! Failed to reach his Friend, to throw himself down before him and beg for forgiveness. Though… maybe he knew, regardless? Maybe, just maybe, this was a sign that Ibzan’s mistakes might have been forgiven after all?

Ibzan breathed deep, flicking the cap of the lighter shut. He blinked until his vision cleared, then placed it in a pocket on the inside of his coat. He looked up to find Laventon and Dawn standing a short distance away, speaking quietly with one another. Laventon noticed him looking, and smiled.

“Ah, done making sure all’s in order?” Laventon asked. “Marvellous. We should make our way back now, before the sun crosses the horizon. Shall we?”

After a moment of hesitation, Ibzan nodded. And with that, the three of them set out on the path towards the village.

“So, in order for you to stay in Jubilife Village, we’ll need to find a role for you,” Laventon said. “If you’re to assist Dawn with her work, you should probably aim to join us in the Survey Corps.”

The sun was already beginning to set, painting the sky a warm orange. Ibzan couldn’t help but gaze in wonder at their surroundings — the wind blowing through the grass and the leaves in the trees, the clouds lazily drifting through the sky, the various colours of flowers dotted along the sides of the path…

As far back as he could remember, the only place he’d ever been was… well, that Place. A murky, eternal dusk, shrouding a city consisting of decrepit apartment blocks and dim, flickering street lights. All of this, it was a far cry from those miserable surroundings he'd long since grown accustomed to.

“However,” Laventon continued, “there’s no need for concern if you’re not accepted into our ranks. I feel someone such as yourself would be well-suited for work in the Security Corps, for instance, and I’m sure you’d still be able to assist Dawn from there! Although, those opportunities may be more limited than with the Survey Corps, so let’s still shoot for that, alright?”

“So, the Survey Corps study Pokémon, you said?” Ibzan asked. “What does that entail?”

“Oh, there’s a lot to it! Some information can be gathered simply by observing them in the wild. Their preferred environments, how they react to humans or different Pokémon, those sorts of things. Some things, however, necessitate the capture of the Pokémon for further study. That’s where Poké Balls come in!” Laventon said excitedly.

“If you don’t know what a Pokémon is, I’m guessing you won’t know what a Poké Ball is, either,” Dawn said. She reached into her satchel and held something out to him. “Here, take a look.”

Ibzan let her drop the ball into his hand. It was two-toned, one half a hard, red material and the other half a rough beige one, with the two sections connected by a metal rim. On the front was a latch. Flicking it made the ball pop open, though the inside was entirely empty.

…Frankly, he had no idea how these things could be of any use. Dawn grinned at him and pulled out another ball from her satchel.

“Oh, I see that look on your face. History lesson time! Did you know the term ‘Pokémon’ is a combination of ‘pocket’ and ‘monster’? That’s because they can shrink to super tiny sizes — even the largest of Pokémon can shrink enough to fit in your pocket!”

…Well. That certainly was an outlandish concept, but it was certainly no stranger than zombies walking around with their heads separated from their bodies, or the half-man-half-bat Nightcrawlers that the Royals kept in their employ.

No, creatures shrinking at will wasn’t a concept he’d outright dismiss. Even if he was… well, having a little trouble imagining it at all.

“So, these devices are able to contain these Pokémon once they’ve… shrunk themselves down?”

“Oh yes,” Laventon said happily. “Marvellous things, are they not? They were invented only recently, but they’re already proving to be well worth the effort!”

Dawn nodded, tossing the ball to the ground with a grin. With a burst of light, there was suddenly a small blue creature standing before him.

“This is Shelly,” she said, a fond look in her eyes. “She’s an Oshawott.”

Ibzan knelt down to get a closer look. It was an odd little thing, resembling a blue-furred otter, though with a much larger head. Two large round eyes looked curiously up at him. Tentatively, it approached and sniffed at his leg, before turning and waddling back over to Dawn, who picked it up in her arms.

“Interesting. To think that something that size could fit itself into something like this…” he mused, staring thoughtfully at the ball in his hand.

“Yup!” Dawn said with a grin. “The wonders of the world, right? Anyway, if you toss one of these at a Pokémon, it’ll pop open and they’ll go inside. They can break out with some effort, but I guess there’s something comforting about being inside them, for Pokémon? I can’t say I get it, but you’re hardly complaining, are you?”

That last bit was directed at the Oshawott in her arms. It let out a happy chirp as Dawn scratched it behind the ears.

“Anyway, something you’ll need to get used to if you’re working in the Survey Corps is throwing these things. How’s your aim, Ibzan?”

He was, in fact, very well-versed in the delicate art of throwing things. Knives, hammers, grenades, whatever was on hand that could do some damage. Standing back up, he tossed the Poké Ball a few times in his hand to get a feel for its weight.

“Only one way to find out?” he suggested, a smirk sneaking its way onto his face.

“I like the way you think,” she said, grinning back. She glanced around. “There’s gotta be something around here we can use as target practice… Ah! How about that tree over there?”

He followed her gaze, spotting the tree about twenty paces from where they were standing.

“Hm,” Laventon hummed, looking up at the sky. “Well, I see no harm in a little practice! Let’s just be sure not to get carried away and take too long, alright?”

Dawn threw him a thumbs up before running up to the tree and calling out to them.

“I’ll stand over here and let you know how close you were if you miss, okay?”

Ibzan nodded. Gripping the ball, he readied his arm and took aim.

Dawn flinched as the Poké Ball slammed into the tree like a bullet, showering the roots and surrounding grass with splinters, and leaving a sizeable gash in the bark. After a beat of silence, Laventon let out a low, impressed whistle.

“Uhhh…” Dawn knelt and picked up the Poké Ball at the base of the tree, wincing as she looked down at the deep crack running along the side of it. She walked back over and held it up to him. “Maybe… throw a little more gently than that? Because we’re trying to capture Pokémon here, not take their heads off!”

Shelly nodded frantically from its place in Dawn’s arms.

“Right, sorry,” Ibzan apologised, taking the offered ball. He was used to throwing things with intent to kill, or at least injure. Gently was hardly something he was used to. “I’ll… be more careful in the future.”

“...Well, how about a second throw? I don’t think this ball's any good for capture anymore, so we might as well keep using it here.”

“Alright. I’ll try for that tree again,” Ibzan said with a nod.

Dawn nodded back at him, then ran back near the tree again, standing much further from it than she was before. Which was unnecessary, frankly, since that first throw hadn’t even come close to hitting her. He’d aimed for the tree, so the tree was what he'd hit.

“Now remember, not so hard!” Laventon called from the sidelines.

Ibzan’s second attempt ended much less destructively than the first. He still hit the target dead-on, but he’d reigned it in enough that there wasn’t any further damage to the tree or the ball he hit it with. Laventon had smiled approvingly at that, calling him a natural, before sheepishly rubbing the back of his head and bemoaning his own lack of coordination.

They continued on towards the village, talking amongst themselves along the way. Dawn described a few of the Pokémon local to the Obsidian Fieldlands, the nearest area to Jubilife Village, with Laventon chiming in every so often with some bizarre fact he’d picked up on while observing them from afar in the wild.

They’d also told him about another strange property of Pokémon — their ability to ‘evolve’ to a new form in an instant. Dawn’s Oshawott, for example, apparently was the first stage of three, and with enough experience fighting against other Pokémon, its body would morph into something more suited for combat.

He supposed if their forms were malleable enough to change size at will, that sort of thing was hardly a stretch. Still, it was another reminder of just how far removed he was from the world he knew.

As the sky began to darken, the gate of the village came into view. Two wooden towers, with green-tiled roofing, flanked at the sides by a wooden fence that spanned the edge of the settlement. A man in a woven hat and a uniform similar to Dawn’s, albeit red, stood guard in front of it.

Hearing their approaching footsteps, the guard pushed the hat out of his eyes and looked up at them. A pair of Pokémon — Buizel, if Ibzan remembered Dawn’s description correctly — stared curiously from beside him, one larger than the other.

“Ah, Professor. And Dawn! You’re back,” he greeted, then shifted his attention to Ibzan, carefully eyeing his horns. “...With a peculiar stranger in tow, I see.”

“Greetings, my good guardsman!” Laventon said with a smile. “This is Ibzan. He arrived here under similar circumstances to Dawn, you see. We agreed that he’d be another good fit for the Survey Corps, so I hope you’ll forgive my bringing him to the village.”

“We can vouch for him, Dorian,” Dawn said. “If you thought my aim with a Poké Ball was good, his’ll blow you away!”

Dorian hummed. “Well… Bringing Dawn here did work out, so I can respect your judgement there, Professor. And Dawn, you did me a huge favour by bringing Titan here yesterday, so I’ll trust the both of you and let him in,” he said. The larger Buizel perked up at the mention of its name. “Just be sure to let Captain Cyllene know straight away, alright?”

“Naturally! We appreciate this, sir,” Laventon said with a grateful nod. He turned to Ibzan and Dawn. “It’s getting late now, but Cyllene will undoubtedly still be hard at work in her office. Regardless, I’d rather not delay any further than we must, so let’s hurry, shall we?”

Chapter Text

“Now, I’ll rush on ahead to let Cyllene know about our new guest,” Laventon said. “Dawn, would you mind showing Ibzan to the Wallflower? You two can wait there until we return, just like you did the night you appeared.”

“Uh…” Dawn said hesitantly. “Actually… How about we wait in front of my quarters, instead? It’s about as close to Galaxy Hall, anyway.”

Laventon gave her a confused look, then realisation dawned in his eyes. “Ah, of course! Beni will probably have closed up shop at this hour, won’t he? A shame, but I’m sure we can stop by tomorrow, instead.”

Nodding to himself, he turned and jogged towards the large building in the distance. Dawn gave Ibzan a sheepish look.

“Actually… Don’t tell him, but I don’t think the owner of that place likes me very much,” she said quietly with a sigh. “At least, he got all huffy at me showing up there before I officially joined, so I don’t think he’d be happy to see you now, either. The food’s great, don’t get me wrong, but I’d just rather not… hang around there, y’know? I don’t want the Professor to stop going there on my account, though, so please don’t say anything. Anyway, let’s keep moving.”

At this late hour, few people were out in the streets of the village. Those that were whispered among themselves at the sight of yet another stranger — particularly one so outlandish as Ibzan. Murmurs about his height and horns rang out around them as they walked.

Dawn hummed nervously, glancing around. “Don’t worry, people were like this when I first got here, too. Once you’ve been here a day or two, I’m sure it’ll die down! It, uh, did for me, at least…”

As they crossed the bridge, Dawn pointed towards the large building ahead of them.

“That’s Galaxy Hall. Hard to miss, right? Lotta important stuff in there, like the Commander and Cyllene’s offices, or the place where the Medical Corps patch people up.”

It certainly was an imposing structure, towering over the houses they’d passed so far. Where they mostly had one level, two at most, this one had three. Rather than the wood used for the other buildings, the walls of Galaxy Hall were built with solid brick, with a familiar emblem proudly displayed front and centre above the main entrance. He recognised it from Dawn and Laventon’s clothing. Large statues of fish — made from either stone or metal, Ibzan couldn’t tell from here — sat atop its roof. It was clear a lot of time and resources had gone into the Hall’s construction.

“It’s impressive, right? Wonder what happened to it…” Dawn murmured to herself. “Anyway, my quarters are just over this way.”

She led him to the right where a smaller building stood, with three doors and a blue-tiled roof.

“Here we are, home sweet home!” Dawn said, bouncing up and spreading her arms wide with a smile. “This door here is mine, and the one in the middle is Rei’s. I don’t think the one on the right is occupied yet, which is good news for you! Assuming you pass the test, anyway. Which you will, I’m sure!”

Ibzan nodded. The test sounded simple enough, from what she’d told him on the way. Even if he lacked experience with Pokémon, what experience he did have in remaining undetected — along with his capable throwing arm — should be enough for a test like the one Dawn had described.

“Sooooo…” Dawn said, rocking casually on her heels. “All this time, I’ve been dying to ask. Your horns! Gimme the deets. Are they normal, where you’re from?”

That was… debatable. With enough exposure to magic, they’d sprout from anyone’s head, but that didn’t mean many people were exposed for long enough. Most who had them carried magic energy within them.

Demons’ magic was innate — second nature to them. It could passively bolster their eyesight or strength, or be channelled into their weapons. That magic was well within their control, but by no means subdued. Shoot them, or bludgeon them hard enough to crack bone, and that magic would burst forth, setting the damaged area alight in a brief flash of magic flame.

His Generals — the Liches — on the other hand? They’d forced a different kind of magic within themselves. Dangerous, addictive, unstable. Too severe an injury, and that magic would violently force itself out through that opening, liquifying its host in the process. Even ignoring that, their magic changed them more drastically than most. Their spines would elongate, and their leg bones would wither away into nothing, forcing them to use yet more magic just to levitate their own bodies around.

Compared to the years that demons’ horns would take to form, and the… however long his own took, Lich horns would fully grow in a matter of weeks once they tapped into that power.

“Horns are… uncommon, but by no means an unknown. It seems they’re much more unique around here, though,” Ibzan said evasively.

“Yeah, I’ll say! I’ve definitely never met anyone that looks like you. What happened to that one, anyway?” she asked, pointing to his broken horn.

“That’s none of your business,” Ibzan returned.

Even if it weren’t a bad memory, going into detail would require far more background information than he was willing to get into.

“Ooh, was it super embarrassing? Did you try to do a backflip or something?” Dawn asked, leaning forward with an amused grin.

That amusement faltered when she saw the look on his face.

“That’s… a line I just crossed, isn’t it?” she said, wilting. “I’m sorry. I… didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. I won’t ask about it again, I promise.”

Ibzan sighed. “It’s fine. Just not a particularly fond memory of mine. I’d rather not get into it.”

“Alright,” Dawn said quietly.

Before the silence could get any more uncomfortable, it was broken by a voice from behind them.

“Dawn? Who’s this? He got to do with why you and the Professor rushed off all of a sudden earlier?”

It was a boy who looked about Dawn’s age. He had the same uniform as her, with a red flat cap instead of the headscarf she wore.

“Oh, Rei!” Dawn greeted, thankful for the distraction. “Ibzan, this is Rei, another member of the Survey Corps. He’s the one who helped me out during my entry trial!”

“Ah, I can’t take any credit for that! You’re the natural, here,” he said, rubbing the back of his head with a bright smile.

“Rei, this is Ibzan. He fell from the rift like I did, so we’re trying to get him a place in Galaxy Team,” Dawn said. “Ideally, the Survey Corps, but we’ll take what we can get, I think.”

“Wow, another person from the sky?” Rei said incredulously. “Er, nice to meet you, sir.”

He held out a hand, which Ibzan shook.

“So…” Rei said, “should we be expecting more people dropping from the rift?”

Dawn hummed. “I don’t think so? I can’t say for sure, but somehow I doubt there’ll be anyone else.”

Ibzan nodded in agreement. Arceus had a plan for the two of them. Even if, from what he understood, his inclusion in it was a spontaneous one. While it wasn’t impossible that it may send more people their way, the old adage of ‘too many cooks’ stuck around for a reason.

He turned back towards Galaxy Hall, keeping an eye out for Laventon’s return.

“So… are horns normal where you’re from?” Rei whispered to Dawn.

“Not where I’m from, no,” Dawn murmured back. “Apparently they are where he is, though?”

“You’re not from the same place? But you both came from the rift, right?”

“Apparently he comes from somewhere Pokémon don’t even exist.”

“...Does he also come from somewhere where shirts don’t exist?”

“I come from somewhere where ears exist,” Ibzan said dryly, looking over his shoulder at them. Even if he himself didn't have those until today. The two of them froze guiltily under his gaze. “You can ask me things. I won’t promise I’ll answer everything, but I won’t begrudge you for your curiosity.”

“Ah, sorry!” Dawn said with an embarrassed laugh. “But since you’re offering, do they have shirts where— mmph.”

Rei had slapped a hand over her mouth, smiling nervously up at him.

“We’ll ask any questions we think of then, thank you!”

“Not any questions, apparently,” came Dawn’s muffled voice from behind his hand. Ibzan huffed in amusement.

“Ah! Rei, my boy, you’re here too!” came Laventon’s voice from behind. “I see you’ve met our guest already, then.”

“So, this is our new applicant to the Survey Corps?”

Rei immediately let go of Dawn’s face, both hurriedly straightening their posture. Turning, Ibzan examined the new arrival. She had a stern face, and wore the same uniform as the two kids behind him. She had the practised, straight-backed stance of a soldier, with her hands clasped behind her back.

“I am the captain of the Galaxy Team’s Survey Corps. You may call me Cyllene,” she said.

She looked up at Ibzan with an impassive expression.

“If we find you to be of use to the Survey Corps, you’ll have a place here in Jubilife. If we don’t, and you’re unsuited for work in any of the other Corps, then you’ll have to move on elsewhere. Within these walls, we have no patience for those who take and offer nothing in return.”

A sensible stance — one he was more than familiar with. If someone didn’t contribute, there really was no reason to keep them around.

“I’ll prove myself worthwhile, Captain Cyllene,” Ibzan said.

Cyllene’s gaze bore into him for a moment, then she gave a sharp nod.

“Very well. You may stay in the village for the night, but tomorrow you will undergo an entry trial to prove yourself, as Dawn did. You will capture nine species of Pokémon. Any will do, but they must be different.”

“N-nine Pokémon?” Rei exclaimed in surprise.

“Er, Captain, don’t you think that might be… just a bit much of an ask?” Laventon asked nervously.

“I do not. Dawn?”

“Ah! Yes, Captain Cyllene?” Dawn blurted, standing to attention.

“You will oversee his trial, as Rei did yours. Step in if you deem it necessary, but that outcome will be considered as failure on Ibzan’s part. Understood?”

Dawn gave a hasty nod.

“Good,” Cyllene said. She fixed her gaze on Ibzan once more. “You may use these unoccupied quarters for the night. Your performance tomorrow will determine whether or not you may continue to do so.”

She turned and marched back in the direction of Galaxy Hall. Laventon glanced back and forth between them and the departing Captain, then gave a hurried wave farewell before jogging after her. Behind Ibzan, Dawn and Rei heaved sighs of relief.

“Man… She sure is intense. Her glare’s even scarier than Professor Rowan’s…” Dawn breathed.

“Nine different Pokémon…” Rei murmured to himself dazedly. “Is that even possible?”

“Well, uh, I caught a few more than that today! Most of them were the same species, but… you’ll be fine!” Dawn said firmly. She turned to Ibzan with a determined look in her eyes. “Ibzan, even though you’ll be new to this, don’t worry! I’ll make sure you pass that trial! Just follow my lead, alright?”

“I’ll trust in your expertise,” Ibzan promised.

“Great! But for now…” she yawned. “It’s getting pretty late, isn’t it? We really should be getting some sleep.”

Sleep… Despite not feeling at all tired, Ibzan couldn't wait to lie down and experience it. He hadn't slept for as long as he could remember, unconsciousness at the beach aside. Couldn’t sleep, not with a skeletal body. He’s always been jealous that the zombies and vampires could do so, even before his undeath.

“Well, that’s your door there, Ibzan. Good night!” Dawn said, before opening the door to her quarters and disappearing within.

“I’ll get some shuteye, too. Nice meeting you, Ibzan,” Rei said from the entrance to his own room. He slid the door shut, and Ibzan was alone. He looked at the door to the room that, hopefully, would be his residence for the foreseeable future.

…The future. It’d been so long since he’d properly looked forward to it. Even as his plan was coming to fruition… There’d always been a small part of him that knew he was deluding himself. That it would ultimately end in failure. And that small part of him turned out to be right.

And yet, in spite of all that, he’d been given a new start in this place. A second chance. On reflection, he could hardly say that he deserved it, not with all he’d done. But Arceus said that he wasn’t… completely at fault for what had happened to him, didn’t it?

He’d try to make the most of this new lease on life. Strive to make a positive difference, for once. He owed his Friend and this Arceus that much, for what they’d given him. Sliding open the door, he stepped inside.

It was too dark at the moment to properly make out the details of the interior. He took off his coat and threw it somewhere to the side. When the sun rose tomorrow morning — and wasn't the sun rising such an exciting concept? — it would shine through those paper windows and illuminate the room properly. He'd familiarise himself with the room then.

For now, he found the bedding — didn't the Demons call these futons? — and lay down. He was too tall to properly fit on the mattress itself, but the sheet was at least large enough to cover him fully. He pulled it over itself, shutting his eyes.

Eventually, for the first time in an eternity, he drifted off into slumber.

“Ah, Captain! Are such steep requirements truly necessary here?” Laventon said as he caught up to her. “The man’s only just seen a Pokémon for the first time today!”

“Then he won’t be fit for the Survey Corps, will he?” Cyllene said bluntly. Laventon wilted, and she sighed, stern expression loosening some. “The more we expand the Corps, the more we have to justify the resources we dedicate to it. The Commander is also wary of Dawn’s sudden appearance from the rift. To have another stranger appear from it, so soon after her… A strong case is needed to warrant signing him on.”

She stopped, turning to look Laventon in the eyes.

“You spoke well of his ability to throw a Poké Ball, and you trust Dawn to guide him through the process of catching Pokémon, correct?”

“Ah, well, yes… If anyone’s suited for the task, it’d certainly be her.”

“Then leave her to it. Should Ibzan succeed, the Commander won’t deny his potential for the Survey Corps. Should he not, then we may yet find use for him in another division. Regardless, there’s no sense in worrying yourself over this.”

“Of course, of course… Things should work out fine either way, really…” Laventon murmured to himself, then smiled. “Thank you, Captain.”

“If that’s all, I’ll be taking my leave,” she said. “Get some rest, Professor. You’re responsible for supervising Ibzan’s trial tomorrow morning, if only to verify he’s properly fulfilled the requirements of the task.”

“I’ll do that! Be sure to follow your own advice though, Captain,” he said with a cheery grin, “I know the both of us are wont to losing track of time while we work.”

“Naturally. I’m well aware of the value of a proper schedule, whether that be for work or for sleep,” she said. Her partner Pokémon had certainly taught her that.

“Well then, I wish you a good night, Captain!” Laventon said, giving her a wave before setting off for his quarters.

“And to you, Professor.”

Chapter Text

Ibzan grunted as sunlight shone down on his face, dragging him back towards consciousness.

…Sunlight.

Ibzan shot upright, suddenly very awake. In the distance, he heard some cries ring out unlike any animal he'd heard before.

But it wasn't an animal out there, was it? It was a Pokémon.

Because everything that happened yesterday was real. Not some strange fever dream running through his mind as he lay dying in the snow.

He stood, stretching his stiff limbs. This was a foreign world, one so very far — both literally and metaphorically — from the Place that he'd reluctantly called home.

He felt… refreshed. Remarkably so. A nice change of pace from the previous two times he’d awoken. Now that he had light to properly see by, he decided to take a look around what would hopefully be his new accommodation.

Fairly small, but with plenty of room for movement, as the furniture was mostly pushed up against the walls. Most of it was too small to use as effective cover, anyway. As for layout, the room only had one exit point — the front door — but those paper windows were probably thin enough to break through if need be.

It was a lot smaller than his old apartment, but there was so much more to it. So many little reminders of… life. A fire pit was placed in the centre of the room, undoubtedly for warmth and cooking.

As a skeleton, he hadn't needed to concern himself with food, nor could he experience the pleasure of it, for obvious reasons. And no man-made flame could stave off the bitter chill of undead. Not even if you set your own body alight. With this new life, both of those factors would be a lot more relevant to his continued existence.

A chest of drawers sat in one corner. Not that he had any other clothes to fill it with, but that… well, it could be an issue, actually, now that he thought about it.

Skeletons lacked many bodily functions, thanks to their structure. Even breathing was done more out of residual instinct than any actual need. Without perspiration, there just wasn't much need for regular changes of clothes, aside from outside factors like blood splatter or whatever. Wasn't much need for clothes at all, really, for skeletons. Trousers and coats had utility with their pockets, but what use did a shirt have, outside of a fashion statement?

Though, even if he were still skeletal, he got the feeling frequent changes of clothes would be needed anyway. Fieldwork could be messy business, according to Laventon. He'd even told a few stories about some unfortunate mishaps that befell a previous pair of Survey Corps members who'd since left Galaxy Team. Possibly out of embarrassment.

Something in another corner caught his attention. It was tall, with a sheet draped over it, so he couldn't tell what it was just by looking at it. Curiosity piqued, he walked over and pulled off the sheet, letting it fall to the floor. Underneath, he saw…

Himself. For the first time since he'd arrived, he saw himself.

Mirrors were hardly a rarity in that Place. In fact, the vampires seemed to think it fashionable to plaster them on every surface in their nightclubs. The sight of their empty reflections was a real novelty, apparently. Ibzan didn’t see the appeal in such reminders. He could scarcely stand the sight of his reflection at all, in fact. A permanently grinning skull, forever mocking the misery of undeath. An eternal reminder of what he was, and what he wasn’t. Now, though…

He watched his reflection's eyes widen as his new appearance sunk in. Pupils ringed with gold, and hair whiter than snow.

It seemed his phone wasn't the only thing Arceus redesigned.

Which made sense, in retrospect. He couldn't remember his human face at all, so Arceus just… built upon his skeleton with what it already knew. He hadn’t considered it before, but a completely new body would probably be a more regular height, wouldn’t it? To say nothing of the horns. He was still the same, deep under the flesh and sinew.

And yet, deeper still, he couldn’t be more different. The flame of life burned within him, now.

Of course, even if Arceus did somehow know and recreate his original human visage, Ibzan doubted he'd recognise himself anyway. No reason not to let Arceus do what it wanted.

At least it was relatively subtle. If his remaining horn were moulded into that crossed ring shape jutting out from the sides of his phone, he’d have snapped it off himself.

…A thought suddenly occurred to him. Leaning in close, he watched himself hesitantly poke at the space between his mouth and nose with a finger. Thankfully, he was met with the solid resistance of bone. The gap in his skull was fixed, then. If that crack were still there, he couldn’t imagine how it would have affected the tissue above it. He let out a relieved sigh.

Then he blinked in surprise as his breath fogged up the surface of the mirror. When skeletons exhaled, their breath was always cold enough to condense the air in front of them. For it to be warm enough to fog up a mirror like this… It was just another reminder of his newfound humanity, as if his reflection wasn't proof enough by itself.

Ibzan stared at his face in the mirror, shifting its features from expression to expression. Sure, he'd seen plenty of faces over the years, but seeing one respond to his own movements was incredible. Obviously, the only part of a skeleton’s head that could be moved was the jaw, which hardly lended itself to expressiveness. He and the other members of the Dredged relied more on body language and tone of voice because of it.

He wasn’t sure how long he’d spent, just appreciating the novelty of having a face, but eventually he was interrupted by a knock on the door.

“Hello?” Dawn called. “You awake, Ibzan?”

Giving his reflection one last glance, he grabbed his coat from where it had ended up last night (atop a container of some sort). Throwing it on, he slid open the door to reveal a somewhat bleary-eyed Dawn, one arm behind her back.

“Morning,” she yawned. “You ready for your trial today?”

“About as ready as can be expected, I think,” Ibzan replied. “This isn’t something I can do a great deal of preparation for, after all.”

“Ah, but that’s where you’re wrong,” Dawn said with a grin. “Great Deal of Preparation Step One: a present, courtesy of Galaxy Team!”

She proudly revealed what she was hiding behind her back — a satchel, similar to the one that she was wearing.

“Your best friend out in the wild! Best inanimate friend, anyway. You can fit all sorts of stuff in here, which is great for when you're gathering up materials or need somewhere to put the Pokémon you catch," Dawn said, pushing it into his arms. "Go ahead, put it on!”

Dawn wore hers around her waist, a little higher than a belt would be. No reason not to follow suit. He took the straps and began wrapping them around his torso like she did, but paused.

Hm, that wouldn't do.

He lowered the satchel and buttoned up his coat. There. The straps were much less uncomfortable when they weren't resting directly on his skin.

“Thank Arceus,” Dawn murmured to herself, “now he doesn't look like a wannabe Crasher Wake.”

“Did you say something?”

“Uh, I said we should be heading over to Galaxy Hall, now that you’re geared up and awake! Let's go!” she said cheerfully, before darting off towards the building.

That definitely wasn't what she said. He shook his head in amusement before following her. He'd definitely be asking about this ‘Crasher Wake’ at some point down the line.

“Ah, Ibzan! Good morning to you!” Laventon said, cheerfully waving as Ibzan stepped through Galaxy Hall’s front door. “Today, you’ll be proving yourself to Galaxy Team! Are you ready and raring to go?”

“Hmm, I wouldn't say he is, Professor,” Dawn said, folding her arms with a grin. “Anything you could do to help with that?”

“Why, my girl, I believe I do have just the ticket to resolving that little problem,” Laventon said with a fond smile. He looked over at Ibzan. “Ah, but theatrics aside, going out into the wild without a partner Pokémon by your side can be very dangerous, especially if you're looking to interact with wild Pokémon, as we intend to. I speak from experience! There’s a reason I’m on orders to limit my forays into fieldwork, nowadays.”

“Believe me, it's something I'm well-aware of, too,” Dawn said, reminiscing a stern lecture with a faraway smile on her face. “So, Ibzan! Great Deal of Preparation, Step Two! The Professor was kind enough to give me Shelly for my trial, and he's decided to extend the same offer to you!”

Laventon nodded, taking out two Poké Balls from a pocket and tossing them onto the floor. With a burst of light, suddenly two creatures were staring curiously up at him.

“They both seem intrigued by you, so take your pick, my good man!”

Ibzan knelt down in front of the two Pokémon. They greeted him with enthusiastic cries. The one on the right reminded him of an owl, with its round body and short beak. It spread its wings, seemingly showing off for him. The green… were those leaves? The green leaves on its chest looked like a tiny bow tie. It was a cute little thing.

He shifted his gaze over to the other Pokémon on the left. It resembled… an anteater, perhaps, with that long snout. Or possibly a porcupine. Though, rather than spines, jets of flame spewed from its back. Its eyes were shut, giving it a sleepy expression. It was… also cute.

The purpose of these Pokémon was to attack and subdue wild specimens for capture and study. So, which would be the best for that purpose?

His first instinct was the one on the left — obviously, fire could deal some real damage. That said, the owl had some truly knifelike talons from what he could see, and likely a better degree of manoeuvrability thanks to its wings.

Capture, though... Would fire be the best choice for subduing a target? It could quickly spread out of control, and burns were difficult to heal, as well as affecting the target’s movement capabilities. Injuries like that would probably affect Laventon's research.

Hmm. He glanced over at Dawn.

“What made you decide on your Pokémon?” he asked her.

Dawn released Shelly from her ball and picked her up, hugging her close to her chest. The other two Pokémon chirped at the Oshawott in greeting, Shelly waving happily in return from Dawn's embrace.

“How could I not? Look at her cute little face,” she cooed, holding Shelly out in Ibzan's direction. Shelly… did have a cute little face, he’d give her that.

But a cute little face didn’t help when it came to battle. He looked in Laventon's direction.

“Pick the Pokémon that speaks to you the most!” he said with a grin. “Whichever you choose will be happy to come along with you, from the looks of things!”

Ibzan sighed. So much for the analytical mind of a scientist.

“...Hey,” Dawn said, leaning forward a little to meet his eyes. “I can tell you're overthinking this. Really, just pick the one you feel drawn to, like the Professor said. Your first partner Pokémon is a big deal, but you don't need to analyse all the pros and cons or whatever. The most important thing is the connection you share with them, so just go for whichever your heart tells you to!”

His heart, huh?

It felt like a rather… childish outlook, but could that really be the best approach? This was hardly like choosing between guns from a weapon rack, was it? These were living creatures. Living creatures with intricacies that these two understood far better than he could hope to.

He looked back down at the two Pokémon before him. What mattered most to him, personally? Well, fire… that meant a lot to him. His Friend had always taken the form of flames, back before Ibzan had… abandoned his duty.

The weight of his lighter pressed reassuringly against him from his coat pocket.

Slowly, hesitantly, he extended a hand towards the Pokémon on his left. It approached, sniffing at it before squeaking approvingly at him.

“So, you’d like to choose Cyndaquil as your first partner Pokémon?” Laventon confirmed with a smile.

Ibzan nodded.

“Jolly good!” Laventon grinned. He held up a Poké Ball and the Cyndaquil disappeared in a flash of light. “That’s Cyndaquil snugly secured in his ball. Here you are!”

Laventon proudly handed it over. Ibzan took it, looking down in amazement. Even with the creature apparently inside it, the ball didn't feel any lighter than the empty one he'd thrown last night.

“I see you're finished? Good,” came Cyllene’s voice from her office doorway. Laventon hurriedly stepped aside as she approached. She gave the satchel wrapped around Ibzan's waist a brief glance before meeting his eyes with a hard look.

“I won't waste time by reiterating your assignment. You know the stakes. Dawn will lead you to the Obsidian Fieldlands and assess your potential for the Survey Corps. Make your preparations and get to work.”

With that, she turned and marched right back into her office.

“Ah, as to the point as ever, I see,” Laventon said. “Now, Dawn, I believe you had something planned for Ibzan before heading out into the field?”

“That I do,” Dawn replied. She turned to Ibzan with a grin. “Now that you have a partner Pokémon, I’d say it’s about time for your first battle. This way, c’mon!”

She grabbed him by the sleeve and started pulling him in the direction of the door. Laventon chuckled.

“I’ll be heading off to my office, for the time being. Come along, Rowlet,” he said. “Do let me know when you two are ready to head out to the Fieldlands, alright my girl?”

“Will do! See you later, Professor!” Dawn replied as they left the building.

“Ah! Good morning Dawn, Ibzan,” Rei greeted. “You guys about to leave for the trial?”

“Not quiiiiite yet,” Dawn replied. “I was thinking we should get him introduced to battling, first. Hey, would you like to do the honours?”

“What, be his opponent? Sorry, I can’t,” Rei said, rubbing the back of his neck. “The Diamond Clan’s reached out with an important request, apparently, so I’ll be headed to the Fieldlands to hear out all the details.”

“Aw c’mon, can't you stay for just one battle?” Dawn whined. “You're both new to this, so it’ll be good to practise against someone at your level!”

“Sorry, but I’d really rather not keep the warden waiting. I doubt it’d reflect well on Galaxy Team if I did, and I don’t want to give the boss any reasons to be mad at me.”

“Aw, fine,” Dawn pouted. “Shut me down by being all responsible and stuff. Well, good luck with that, then.”

“Thanks. And good luck with your trial, Ibzan!” Rei said with a smile. “Though with Dawn helping you, I’m sure you won’t need it!”

With a wave, Rei headed off towards the gate on the east side of the village.

“Oh well…” Dawn sighed. “I was thinking you two could battle each other, and I could give advice from the sidelines. Two birds, one Rock Throw, y'know? Still, we can make this work! I may be super experienced, but my Pokémon still aren’t, so it should be fine!”

She pulled out a Poké Ball from her pack and tossed it in her hand with a grin.

“So,” she said. “Great Deal of Preparation, Step Three! Ready for your first battle?”

“Uh…” said a voice from beside them. “As exciting as your fight with that merchant the other day was, Dawn, could you maybe do that somewhere besides the main street? Preferably the training grounds?”

“Oh! Beauregard! That, uh, probably does make more sense, huh?” Dawn said sheepishly. “Sorry, battling on the spot is the norm where I’m from.”

“That’s… alright,” said the guard. “I just don’t want to risk anyone getting hurt. There’s a reason we have a designated area for this.”

“Ah, yeah, no problem! Sorry again!” Dawn said, face a little red. She turned to Ibzan. “The training grounds aren’t far from here — just over that way, c'mon!”

She marched on ahead, not looking at either of them.

“Hey. Ibzan, was it? Tell her not to worry, alright? She’s a good kid — brought me little Beaugene here yesterday just because I asked her to,” Beauregard said, gesturing to the caterpillar thing sitting beside him. “I don’t want her feeling bad just because she got a bit ahead of herself, y’know?”

Ibzan gave him a nod before setting off after her. She was waiting for him a short distance away, leaning on a wall and staring at her feet, arms folded. She looked up as he approached.

“Yeah, I know, don't worry about it and all that. I heard that bit. It's just…” she sighed. “Where I'm from, everyone's so used to Pokémon battles. Nobody would even bat an eye at that sort of thing. It’s so easy to just… forget how different things are here. How uncomfortable I make people, sometimes. I’m fine, though, just need to remember that more.”

“Where are you from?” Ibzan asked, curious. He knew she fell from the hole in the sky like he did, but unlike him, Pokémon were obviously commonplace wherever she’d lived.

“Ah! Uh, well, how about we get into that a bit later? The training grounds are just up there, see?” she said, pointing to a fenced-off area uphill. “We've still got your trial to prepare for, so we’d better get a move on!”

It was just about the least subtle attempt at changing the subject that Ibzan had ever seen, but it really was none of his business anyway. He nodded, following her up the path.

“Hey, Zisu!” Dawn called out with a wave. “Is it cool if we use the training grounds? We've got a newbie here who needs some battle experience!”

“Go ahead! It’s what they were built for, right?” the woman in front of the building called back. She looked Ibzan up and down as they approached, her gaze lingering on his horns for a few moments as was quickly becoming tradition. “So you’re the new arrival I’ve been hearing whispers about? They said you were tall, but I never expected you to be a full head above even me!”

This woman was definitely taller than anyone else he’d seen so far in the village. Enough that she could probably even pass for one of the vampires, if she painted her skin a deathly white. Shorter than average, of course, but still within that realm of possibility. She stuck out her hand with a grin.

"Name's Zisu. Captain of the Security Corps."

"Ibzan," he replied, shaking her hand. "Future member of the Survey Corps."

"Hah! That's the kind of confidence I like to see!" she said boisterously. She turned to Dawn. "So, you're looking to show him the ropes, huh? Well, your battle with Rei the other day was exciting enough that I hope you won’t mind if I watch.”

“Well, I can’t promise much excitement, but you’re more than welcome to!” Dawn replied. “Feel free to give any advice I miss out on! I want to boost Ibzan’s chance of success as much as I can before we get started.”

Zisu folded her arms with a wide grin, sticking a thumb up. Thanking her, Dawn turned to Ibzan and gestured to a spot on the sand in front of the building. There were white lines painted around the area, like a tennis court without a net, with the symbol of a Poké Ball outlined in the centre. Ibzan moved to the spot she showed him, while Dawn stood on the opposite side.

“Here we are, the field of battle!” she said, spreading her arms excitedly. “First thing’s first, we need our competitors!”

She tossed a Poké Ball onto the court in front of her, releasing a small black and blue quadrupedal Pokémon. It hopped up and down excitedly. Following her lead, Ibzan released his Cyndaquil onto his side of the court. At the sight of its opponent, the flames on its back flared up.

“This is Kilowatt, a Pokémon called a Shinx! Normally in battles against other trainers, they’ll use a whole team of up to six against you. I have two with me — you know Shelly, obviously — but I’ll limit myself to just Kilowatt for now since you only have Cyndaquil, got it?”

Made sense. This wasn’t a serious fight, just a quick lesson in the basics.

“Good,” she said with a nod. “Now, the first thing you need to do is familiarise yourself with your Pokémon and what he can do. At his level, he should only know one or two moves. Uh… hold on a moment.”

Dawn speedwalked over to his side. Cyndaquil gave the Shinx on the other side of the court a confused look. Kilowatt simply shrugged its shoulders, washing its face with a paw.

“Now, uh, bear with me here, but can you bring out your Arc Phone for a second?” she asked.

Bemused, Ibzan reached into his satchel and brought out his phone, flipping it open.

“Wow, where’d you even find that thing, a museum? Anyway, one advantage the two of us have here is that these things can help track our Pokémon’s progress for us. Or, uh, mine does at least.” She squinted at the screen. “Man, what is this UI… uh, that one, I think?”

Ibzan ignored the appalled look she was giving the device as he navigated to the app. It was a perfectly reasonable choice of phone, thank you. Touch screens didn’t respond to bone at all (Timur had explained it to him a while ago — something to do with conductivity?) so he could only use phones that came with physical buttons. Well, until now, but he could hardly replace the thing at this point, could he?

“Right, okay, so you see here… This thing’s screen is smaller than a Pokétch, I swear… There’s six spaces for your Pokémon. That’s Cyndaquil at the top there, see? Select that, and… there! He can use Quick Attack and… uh, that’s it.”

Dawn scratched her head and pulled out her own phone.

“Kilowatt, meanwhile… Uh, he also only knows Quick Attack at the moment, so… this fight’ll be pretty simple, I guess. Still, it’ll be good practice for commanding your Pokémon, if nothing else. Okay!”

She dashed back to her spot on the other side of the court.

“Let’s get started! Kilowatt! Use Quick Attack!” she shouted, throwing an arm forward.

“Er. Cyndaquil, use Quick Attack?” Ibzan said, feeling a little ridiculous. If it only had one option, did it really need a strategist giving orders in the back?

The two Pokémon darted around the court, kicking up the sand in their wake. They exchanged blows — Ibzan couldn’t tell who’d struck first — before skidding to a halt in front of their respective trainers.

“No, no, that won’t do!” Dawn cried. “Our job as trainers is to lead the team to victory! Your Pokémon won’t have confidence in your commands if you don’t have confidence in yourself! You gotta give your orders with conviction!”

“Hear, hear!” Zisu cheered from the sidelines, pumping a fist in the air.

“Stand tall! Trust in each other! Kilowatt, Quick Attack!” Dawn yelled.

A commanding presence. A leader who could bring his followers to victory. Ibzan was well-versed in projecting that particular image — he could channel that into this little skirmish. He couldn't say that Dawn's excitable energy wasn't getting to him, either. He cleared his throat, gaze hardening.

“Cyndaquil,” he spoke, voice echoing across the training grounds. “No hesitation. Quick Attack, now!”

“Yeah!” Dawn shouted, pumping her fists eagerly. “Now that’s more like it, Ibzan!”

Cyndaquil and Kilowatt became blurs as they zipped across the field, ducking and weaving as they attempted to strike out at each other. The Shinx skidded to a halt and leapt at Cyndaquil, who deftly hopped out of the way and hit back full force.

“Shake it off, Kilowatt! Quick Attack again!”

“No mercy. Finish it!”

Both Pokémon charged each other once more. Kilowatt slammed into Cyndaquil, knocking it back. Cyndaquil was dazed, wobbling from side to side for a moment, but quickly collected itself and let loose one last Quick Attack into its opponent. Kilowatt let out a cry as it collapsed onto the sand. Dawn held out a Poké Ball, and the Shinx began to shrink down in a burst of blue energy, retreating inside.

“That was great, Ibzan!” Dawn said excitedly. “You’ve got a real knack for giving out commands, even if you, uh, didn’t have so many options. You’ve got an impressive throwing arm, and you can instruct your Pokémon well, so you’ll definitely crush this trial! And Cyndaquil, you did great, too!”

Cyndaquil proudly puffed out smoke from its nostrils, the flames on its back flaring brightly. Dawn knelt down and gave it a scratch on the head.

“A leader’s only as good as the forces under his command,” Ibzan said, nodding down at Cyndaquil. “Still, thank you. I have some experience acting as a leader already, so I had an advantage on that front.”

“I can tell!” Zisu said as she approached. “You sure you don’t wanna join up with the Security Corps, instead? There’s a lotta potential in you, I can feel it!”

“Maybe if the trial goes poorly,” Ibzan said, folding his arms. A smirk snuck its way onto his face. “Not that I expect it to.”

“Hah! Well said! I don’t have anything to add for now, but come visit me later. I’ll teach you the basics of move mastery, and the Strong and Agile styles,” Zisu said with a grin, slapping him on the shoulder. “In the meantime, show ‘em what you’re made of! See ya, Ibzan.”

She walked off into the building beside the court. Ibzan turned to face Dawn, before a chime emanating from his satchel distracted him. Grabbing his phone, he flipped it open and read the notification.

+New Move

Dawn stood on her toes in an attempt to see the screen. He lowered his hand for her sake.

“Ooh! Cyndaquil’s learned a new move! Go back to the app, and… oh yeah, Ember, that checks out. Now you and Cyndaquil have two moves to work with!”

She walked to the gate separating the training grounds from the rest of the village and spun back around, hands on her hips.

“You’re ready! Next stop, the Obsidian Fieldlands! That new move of his is a Fire type attack — I’ll explain type matchups on the way, that’s super important. C’mon, let’s go!” she exclaimed, pointing a finger in the direction of entrance to the village, then marching off towards it.

Ibzan glanced down at the Cyndaquil, who was looking up expectantly at him.

“Powerful little thing, aren’t you?” he said, before holding out its ball. “Shrink down, then. Let’s not keep her waiting.”

Cyndaquil squeaked affirmatively, disappearing into the Poké Ball. Securing it safely within his satchel, Ibzan stepped past the gate and followed after Dawn.

Chapter Text

After retrieving Laventon from his office and reporting their planned travel route to the guard by the eastern gate, the trio made their way to the Obsidian Fieldlands. As they walked, Ibzan squinted at the chart of type matchups displayed on his phone’s screen, Dawn explaining what each symbol on the chart meant and pointing out the interactions relevant to him and his Cyndaquil.

Some of these matchups made sense to him — Water extinguishes Fire, Fire burns Grass, Grass absorbs Water. They had an inherent logic he could follow. Others… didn’t. Why were Bug attacks, specifically, less effective against Ghost types, when so many others were neutral against them? Why was Fighting strong against Steel when punching metal was… well, a bad plan, to say the least? What made Psychic attacks so effective against Poison types?

And that wasn’t even getting into Pokémon with two types. Ibzan sighed.

“And you have all of this completely memorised?” he asked.

“Well, I’ve been learning this stuff for as long as I can remember. I can’t really explain the science of it, it’s just… y’know, how things are,” Dawn replied with a shrug. “I know some mnemonics to help you remember, if you like.”

“...Sure, hit me.”

“A Dragon fears nothing but another of its kind!” Dawn said, punching her fists together.

“Except Fairies, apparently. And a forecast for snow.”

“Shush,” she said with a pout. “Point is, Dragon’s effective against Dragon. It's just framing it all poetically, like in those old stories. It's not talking about the other types.”

“Right. Is that the same for Ghost? That undead suffer from no misery greater than their own existence?” Ibzan asked.

“I’ve never heard of that one,” Laventon said, humming in thought. “Rather bleak, to be honest. I’ve heard it related more to their incorporeality — that the only thing that can harm something non-material is something else of the same nature.”

“Okay. And Fighting's ineffectiveness against Flying? Better to flee than fight?” Ibzan asked, internally rolling his eyes at the concept.

“Nah,” Dawn said. “It’s more like… well, have you ever tried to punch a bird?”

Dawn and Laventon rattled through a few more type matchup mnemonics as they walked, and soon enough the group had reached the appropriately named Fieldlands Camp. It was a humble little site, consisting of a couple of small tents, a fire pit, a storage container, and a toolkit of some sort. A flag bearing Galaxy Team’s emblem stood proudly off to the side of the camp. The Security Corpsman stationed nearby nodded to them in greeting as they approached.

“Well, here we are,” Laventon said. “Sadly, if I followed you two I know I’d end up as more of a liability than anything else, so I’ll be sticking by the camp while I await your return. But before you get started, Ibzan, I have something for you.”

Laventon held out a small cloth bag. Taking it, Ibzan looked inside and found twenty Poké Balls. He stashed them away in his satchel, then voiced his thanks as he handed back the empty bag.

“We’ll be back before you know it, Professor!” Dawn said cheerily. She turned to Ibzan, beckoning him forwards with a tilt of her head. “Up this way, c’mon.”

Ibzan followed her up the hill, then froze as he reached the top and the rest of the Fieldlands came into view.

It was…

Massive.

The streets of the city were always claustrophobic. Eternal dusk shrouded that Place like fog. Without a sun, the outside was incredibly dim, enough that you could often only see a few feet in front of you. The only consistent sources of light outside of buildings were streetlights, and ‘consistent’ was a generous term given how much they flickered. Even without the darkness limiting your vision, you were more often than not still surrounded on all ends by rundown buildings looming over you.

This was such a departure it was almost laughable. From where he stood, he could see mountains in the distance — surely miles away from where they were standing — and the bright shine of the sun clearly lit up everything between them and him. Rather than flat streets, abandoned buildings, and rusty fences, the Fieldlands were all trees, mossy boulders, and rolling hills.

“Great view, I know, but pick up your jaw,” Dawn laughed. “This here is Aspiration Hill, and it’s home to the first three species of Pokémon you’ll be capturing.”

Ibzan blinked, then resolutely shut his mouth. He looked away, a little embarrassed despite himself. She nudged him with an elbow, smiling, then began walking down the hill, gesturing at him to follow.

“I did my trial here, too. Pretty soon, we should see… ah, there they are!”

There was a group of small brown creatures gathered ahead. They resembled beavers, particularly with those huge buck teeth. Dawn ran ahead and knelt down in front of them. She cooed adoringly at them as Ibzan walked up beside her.

“Bidoof are so cute!” she said happily. “They’re curious little guys, so if they spot you they’ll usually just stroll on up to see what’s going on! They often won’t even bother knocking away Poké Balls, unless you’ve done something to annoy them, so this should be an easy first catch.”

There was a clicking noise from Ibzan’s feet. Looking down, he was met with the beady eyes of a Bidoof, looking back up at him. They both stared blankly at one another for a few moments.

“Okay, so the capture process is simple — hit it with the ball and it should just jump right in. Just… make sure to be gentle about it, okay?” Dawn stressed, likely thinking back to the tree from yesterday.

While he couldn’t help but huff a little at that, he could hardly blame her either. Blunt force trauma was not the goal here. Until he got used to putting a little less oomph into his throws, he’d have to keep on top of himself and avoid falling back on muscle memory.

Or whatever the phrase should be when said memory didn't involve any muscles to begin with.

He grabbed a Poké Ball from his satchel. The Bidoof was still staring up at him, unmoving. He held the ball above it, paused for a moment, and let go. It lightly bounced off its head with a tonk, and the Bidoof shrank down, disappearing inside. The ball shook once, then clicked shut.

“Nice, Ibzan! Your very first wild Pokémon capture! How’re you feeling?”

“...A little underwhelmed, to be honest,” he replied as he stowed the ball away in his satchel.

“Yeah, I get that. But don’t worry,” she said with an amused look in her eyes, “this is the exception, not the norm. C’mon, we’ve got two more Pokémon on this hill to catch. Let's get you introduced to some of the less docile species around here.”

They continued further downhill, until Dawn raised an arm to block him. She raised a finger to her lips, then pointed to a group of birds hopping about nearby.

“There's some Starly over there, see?” she whispered. “They’re awful skittish, so if they see you coming they’ll usually just run away. You’ll need to sneak up on ‘em — I recommend taking advantage of the tall grass. Think you can do that, big guy?”

“I’m used to moving quietly,” Ibzan replied, voice low. “It shouldn’t be an issue.”

Stealth wasn’t something he often prioritised — that his firearm of choice was a Revenant would tell you as much — but that didn’t mean he neglected this particular skill. Before his undeath, he’d spent countless hours creeping through buildings, stepping softly enough that their occupants would only hear him when it was far too late. Learning to move quietly was essential to a successful mission.

He carefully began moving towards the patch of tall grass near the birds, taking care to avoid treading on any noisy detritus. The Starly hopped around, blissfully unaware of his presence. After reaching the tall grass, he crouched down as low as he could and slowly reached into his satchel, careful not to make noise that wouldn’t be concealed by the environment.

Then, a Starly happened to glance in his direction, squawked in alarm, and hurriedly started hopping away. The rest of the group startled and quickly followed suit. Ibzan cursed and yanked a ball out, throwing it in the direction of the nearest Starly, but it took flight at just the right time to dodge it.

Dawn did an impressively bad job of holding in her laughter.

“I…” Ibzan began, then sighed. “Yes, hilarious.”

“S-sorry, I…” Dawn said between giggles. “Don’t get me wrong, I’ve never seen anyone move so quietly, but… you’re— you’re too tall to actually hide in the grass, huh? You stuck out like a sore thumb!”

“Yes, well, maybe trusting your expertise on this occasion was the wrong call.”

Dawn gave up the pretence and let out a cackle. Ibzan sighed again, standing up and dusting off his trousers.

“Okay— okay,” she breathed, calming down. “So, tall grass is a no go for you. Didn’t even think of that, sorry. Uh, how abooouuut… those boulders over there?”

“Well, the grass could work if I went prone, I suppose, but I wouldn’t be able to actually see what I’m aiming for.” Ibzan said, scratching his chin in thought. He wasn’t confident in his accuracy from a lying position, either.

“So, you’d basically need to pop up, shout ‘surprise!’, and throw the ball before they know what’s going on,” Dawn mused.

“Basically. As for the rocks, they’re tall enough for me to conceal myself, sure, but I wouldn’t have been able to actually get to them in the first place without being spotted.” He gestured to the area around them. “There’s nothing between us and them besides the tall grass.”

“Not-so-tall grass, in your case,” Dawn joked.

“Not all of us decided that we'd grown enough once we turned eleven,” Ibzan deadpanned. Dawn gasped in mock offence, smacking him lightly on the arm. “Anyway, let’s find a spot with better cover. Worst comes to worst, I can just throw harder to hit them from further away.”

“You could probably hit Mount Coronet from here, if yesterday was anything to go by,” Dawn said. “Be careful though, alright?”

“I’m aware, don’t worry,” Ibzan reassured her. Honestly, overdo it on just one occasion…

They found another group of Starly a little further off. This time, there was enough cover around them that he could get close enough to throw a ball without issues. A wobble, a click, and Ibzan’s second catch was secured. Dawn threw him a thumbs up with a smile, then gestured at him to follow her once more.

They’d nearly reached the bottom of the hill before Dawn stopped him again. Near the end of the path sat a single solitary Shinx. Behind it was a bridge stationed with a Security Corpsman, who eyed it nervously, a hand hovering over the Poké Ball on his belt.

“Okay, Shinx are the sort of Pokémon that’ll attack you on sight when you get close,” Dawn said. “Well, for Shinx it’s more that they want to play, but don't really know their own strength yet. Or how not-electric-resistant we humans are. Either way, they can be pretty dangerous if you’re not careful.”

The Shinx ran in wild circles, chasing the star-shaped end of its tail. It tripped over its own paws and fell on its face, then sneezed from the cloud of dirt that got kicked up. They stared at it in silence for a moment.

"...Okay, I know it doesn't look like much, but trust me, one of those shocks could take you out for a day or two. Just ask Rei. Anyway, aggressive Pokémon will bat away any Poké Balls you throw. So!"

She turned to face him, a determined grin on her face.

“You’ll have to distract them with a battle! Or just sneak up on ‘em like before, but… you need the experience. I’m pulling rank on this one! Grab Cyndaquil’s ball and get to it, rookie!”

Well, time to see if the practice match earlier paid off. The Shinx perked up as he approached, letting out an excited cry and running towards him. With a flash of light, he released the Cyndaquil from its ball, immediately gaining the Shinx’s attention.

“Don’t knock it out, now!” Dawn called from further up the hill. “If you do, it'll shrink down and you won't be able to capture it! Tire it out before throwing your ball!”

Alright. He could do that. First thing, though, he had something new to try.

“Cyndaquil, Ember,” he commanded.

Cyndaquil breathed in, the flames on its back growing in intensity, then it spat a small ball of fire at its opponent. The Shinx yelped and dove to the side, but the flame caught it on its flank. The force knocked it back, but it immediately sprang to its feet and slammed into Cyndaquil with a Quick Attack.

The Shinx was already looking winded from just that one attack, while Cyndaquil stood calmly in front of Ibzan, already awaiting the next command.

For now, Ibzan reached into his satchel and pulled out a Poké Ball. With the Shinx’s attention focused on Cyndaquil, lining up the shot was child’s play. The Shinx disappeared in a flash of light as the ball hit it.

A wobble, a cl—

No, no click this time. The ball popped open with a snap, the hinge breaking, and the Shinx reappeared with an eager cry. Before Ibzan could get another order out, it had already hit Cyndaquil with another Quick Attack.

“I see how it is. Cyndaquil, retaliate.”

Cyndaquil crossed the space between them in the blink of an eye, zigzagging around the Shinx until it found an opening and rammed into its side, knocking it to the ground. It stumbled to its feet, gazing at its surroundings with a confused look in its eyes.

Pressing his advantage, Ibzan wasted no time in throwing another ball.

A wobble, a click.

“Yeah!” Dawn cheered, running up to him. “Way to go, Ibzan! You sure this is your first time doing this? Because you handled that like a pro!”

From the bridge, the Corpsman gave an impressed nod, an awed look in his eyes.

“Ah, er, thanks,” Ibzan said hesitantly.

He wasn’t used to hearing compliments so readily given. Or hearing them at all, really. The other undead looked to him for leadership, so he was already expected to be competent. The closest he’d heard were the Stelas complimenting his scheme, or Timur excitedly hanging onto every little fact he shared from before his undeath. Both ultimately self-serving, so those words meant little to him.

Hearing Dawn’s earnest praise struck him somewhere deep in his chest.

“Okay, so we're done with Aspiration Hill. A third of the way there already! Go, you!” Dawn said with a smile, bumping him on the arm with the back of her fist. “Training wheels off now, though. I’ve explored the area off to the left of here, so I’m thinking we go there first. Sounds good?”

“Sounds good,” Ibzan agreed. “You said you’d seen seven different species there?”

“Sure did,” Dawn began, taking her Arc Phone out of her satchel, “I’ve got a super basic route for us in mind. You see, up here— wait, wait hold the phone! Ibzan, look at this!”

She held the phone up to him. It displayed a top-down map of the area, with a couple of labels for Aspiration Hill and the Horseshoe Plains. Which… begged the question, really — if animals didn’t exist here, where did the term ‘horseshoe’ come from? He pushed the thought away for later.

“This lil red arrow is where we are, see? But underneath… Uh, Ibzan, go stand over there for a sec, okay?”

Ibzan obliged, walking a short distance away.

“Yeah!” Dawn said excitedly. “You’re a lil blue arrow! Our Arc Phones can keep track of each other, that’s so cool— wait, does that fossil of yours even have a map?”

Ibzan flipped open his phone to take a look. It certainly didn’t have any map interface before he arrived here, but it also didn’t have a specialised app for keeping track of Pokémon, either. The most advanced application it had was snake. He scrolled through the list and, sure enough, there was one labelled ‘map’. Selecting it opened up a low-resolution, zoomed-in equivalent of the one on Dawn’s phone. He gave her a thumbs up, and she ran over to his side to take a look.

“Oh yikes, that looks kinda… well, bad,” she winced. “But hey, a map’s a map. We’ll be able to find each other if we get separated! That’s definitely gonna come in handy sometime in the future. Anyway, where was I? Ah, right!”

She held up her own phone, pointing at an area on the east side of the (much larger) map on its screen.

“Over here I saw a group of Mime Jr., who should still be there. Hopefully. And up here there’s some Ponyta, but we’ll need to watch out for the big Rapidash who’s guarding ‘em. There’s Buizel all along the river, so we should be able to find one pretty easy, and there’ll definitely be Wurmple somewhere along the way, too. I saw them just about everywhere, yesterday.”

She traced out a route over the map with a finger.

“So, I say we go along the river until we find a Buizel — shouldn’t take long, really — then we head up for a Ponyta. Then, we go to catch a Mime Jr. down here. With the three you've caught already, that’ll be six, plus a Wurmple from wherever along the way makes seven.”

“The Rapidash you mentioned would make eight,” Ibzan pointed out. Dawn gave him a wide-eyed look, then shook her head fiercely.

“Nope. Uh-uh. Bad idea. That thing? It’s big, it’s strong, it has scary glowing eyes, and it’s super grumpy. I really doubt it’d want to stay in any Pokéballs we throw, and it knocked Shelly out before she could do anything. Let’s… call that a last resort, alright?”

“Alright. Let’s get started, then,” Ibzan said.

Dawn nodded, and the two set off to the east, following along the river.

Soon enough, they found a Buizel sitting on the shore. It shot to its feet when it spotted their approach, spitting jets of water in their direction. Ibzan darted closer, ducking under a stream as he released Cyndaquil from its ball. While he knew it was at a type disadvantage, he had Cyndaquil take advantage of its Quick Attacks to dodge most of the water sent its way and hit back until Ibzan was able to capture it. Dawn congratulated the both of them, treating Cyndaquil's wounds with some medicine from her satchel.

After that, they began heading northeast towards Horseshoe Plains.

“So,” Ibzan said. “You mentioned life being different where you came from?”

He couldn’t help but be curious about his fellow sky-faller. Ibzan originated from an entirely different universe, but Dawn sounded a lot closer to home thanks to her existing experience with Pokémon.

“Ah, yeah, I did say I’d talk about that later, huh?” Dawn said, rubbing the back of her neck. “I didn’t really want to say anything in the village. Falling from the sky is strange enough already, so I didn’t want anyone to give people any other reasons to think I’m weird.”

“If that’s your concern, you needn’t worry,” Ibzan said. “There’s very little that surprises me, nowadays.”

“Oh, yeah, it wasn’t anything to do with you,” Dawn said. “I just didn’t want anyone overhearing, y’know? You’re from somewhere else entirely, which is even crazier, so it’s not like you won’t believe me or anything.”

“I take it you’re not from somewhere else entirely, then?”

“Not somewhere else, no,” Dawn said. “I’ve only told the Professor so far… who I guess could’ve told Cyllene and the Commander, but they haven’t said anything so maybe not. I’m from Hisui, technically, but from way off in the future, when it’s known as the Sinnoh Region. Not sure how long exactly. At least a couple of centuries. The Jubilife I know is a whole city, not a village.”

“Interesting,” Ibzan mused. That certainly explained a few comments she’d made earlier. It sounded like living with Pokémon was much more common in the future than it is now. If Arceus could pull him across universes, moving Dawn from one point in time to another seemed well within its capabilities.

“It’s kinda crazy, really,” she said. “I recognise strangers’ faces all the time. The Commander is like a younger-looking Professor Rowan, the man who gave me my first Pokémon! And Rei is a dead ringer for his assistant, Lucas! A buncha other villagers look familiar, too. It’s so weird to think I’m meeting the ancestors of people that I already know, y’know?”

Ibzan hummed in response. He really couldn’t picture what his reaction would be, were he in her place. It wasn’t like he really knew anyone, not on a personal level.

“Time travel is sci-fi stuff even when I’m from, so if people here found out they’d definitely think I’m a nutjob, or dangerous, or both. So, please don’t go spreading it around?” Dawn pleaded.

“Don’t worry, I won’t. Besides, I think I’d have more to worry about than you, anyway. An unnaturally tall stranger with horns and oddly-coloured eyes, from an entirely different realm? They’d think I’m some poorly-disguised monster and run me out with torches and pitchforks, I’m sure.”

Dawn laughed. “Well, us strange strangers should stick together, then! And your eyes aren’t that odd, really. My best friend’s are kinda similar, actually, but more orange than yellow.”

"Gold, thank you very much," he joked impulsively, injecting some haughtiness into his tone.

"Oh, pardon me, your Majesty, sir!" Dawn snickered, bowing dramatically.

They walked on in a comfortable silence for a while, before Ibzan remembered something.

“While we’re on the subject of people from your time… Should I assume this ‘Crasher Wake’ is one of them?” he asked in an innocent tone. Dawn froze at that.

“Ahaha, so you heard that, huh?” she said nervously. “Well, that was because— oh hey, look at that! It’s a Wurmple! Wow! C’mon recruit, time to get to work!”

She started pushing at his back, towards a Wurmple inching its way through a nearby patch of grass.

“Yup! Trial time! Let’s go! Pokémon number five!” Dawn wheezed, her efforts not moving him one centimetre.

He took pity on her and began walking forward.

The Wurmple in question gave him a brief, uninterested glance before continuing to crawl forward. Seemed this was another relatively docile species, then. Ibzan grabbed a Pokéball from his satchel and tossed it at the bug, capturing it.

“Five down, four to go,” Ibzan said. He looked back at Dawn, who’d fully caught her breath at this point. “Ponyta next, then?”

“Ah, yeah!” Dawn said, looking relieved at the change in subject. “They’re not far off, let’s go!”

Ibzan followed her, resolving to ask again later. If only because it was entertaining watching her try to dance around actually having to explain it.

Dawn’s expression turned serious as they approached Horseshoe Plains.

“Okay,” she whispered lowly, “what we’re doing here is sneaking up on a Ponyta, catching it, and getting out. We do anything to get the Rapidash’s attention and we book it, alright? I’m not budging on this. None of our Pokémon have enough experience to stand a chance against it.”

Ibzan nodded. The Rapidash clearly left a big impression on her, and she was a lot more experienced with Pokémon than he was. He’d trust her judgement, here.

The group of Ponyta were grazing near a rocky outcrop, large enough to conceal Ibzan. They kept an eye on the Rapidash as it stomped around the plain, keeping watch for intruders like them. Dawn was right about it being intimidating — it was taller than even him, and its eyes glowed an angry red. It radiated power.

They waited until it wandered to the opposite side of the plain, then Ibzan crept over, ensuring the rock was firmly between him and the group. He slowly edged around the side of it, Poké Ball readied.

He heard the clopping of hooves just around the corner. Not heavy enough to be the Rapidash. Peeking his head around, he saw a lone Ponyta, wandering from the rest of the group, sniffing at a patch of flowers. Perfect. He threw the ball, catching it on the back of the head, and it disappeared within.

Two shakes, then the ball snapped open.

“Shit,” Ibzan muttered, ripping open his satchel and grabbing another ball. The Ponyta seemed confused for the moment, but it definitely knew there was someone nearby. Ibzan threw a second ball just as it turned to face him. He held his breath as it disappeared once more.

A shake.

A second.

…Click.

Ibzan breathed a sigh of relief, retrieving the ball before anything else had the chance to wander over. He’d avoided alerting the pack, then. He looked over at the patch of grass where Dawn was hidden. She was hurriedly flapping a hand in a ‘come here’ gesture. He made his way over quickly, avoiding making too much noise just in case.

“Phew,” Dawn breathed as he got close, her hand over her heart. “The Rapidash was headed back over, so I’m glad you got out quickly. Good job, by the way!”

Ibzan looked back. The Rapidash was sniffing around the spot he’d just captured the Ponyta in. It must’ve been close, then. If the Ponyta had escaped the second ball and seen him, it definitely would have alerted the Rapidash, which would presumably proceed to rush over and trample him to death with its hooves. Thankfully it didn’t come to that.

“Three more Pokémon to go,” Ibzan said. “There was one more species that you knew of, right?”

“Yeah,” Dawn said, bringing up her map. “Mime Jr. next, over here. It’ll be a bit of a walk, but it’s pretty much a straight line from here to there.”

“Alright, let’s get moving, then.”

The route they were taking seemed relatively peaceful. A few Wurmple peeked out from the grass and trees, but besides that it was sparsely populated.

“I’ve got a question,” Ibzan said.

“Oh? Let’s hear it.”

“Where’d the name Horseshoe Plains come from?” he asked.

“Oh! You wouldn’t know, because Pokémon don’t exist where you’re from! It’d be named after the Ponyta that live there. See, they’re known as the Fire Horse Pokémon, and a lot of people tame and ride them! Those flames won’t hurt people they trust. Horseshoes are made to protect the Ponyta’s hooves as you ride.” She paused, scratching her head. “Actually, one of the lakes there is kinda shaped like a horseshoe, too.’”

“That’s odd.”

“Yeah, guess whoever named it saw both those things line up and went ‘oh, this is an opportunity I can’t let slip!’”

“No, not that. Where I’m from, there are creatures known as animals. One species, called a horse, very much resembles Ponyta and Rapidash. Hell, horses are referred to as ‘ponies’ if they’re small enough, which is pretty damn close to ‘Ponyta’.”

Well, ‘where he was from’, there weren’t really any animals, hellhounds aside. He was sure other undead animals existed, but hellhounds were the only ones he’d ever seen. Weren’t many methods of death that produced undead animals, he supposed. Regardless, he was familiar enough with most animals thanks to appearances in media like movies or books, even if he couldn’t really remember if he’d seen any while he was alive.

“Oh, really?” Dawn said, a thoughtful look on her face. “That’s an interesting coincidence. Wonder if any others line up like that? Uh, tell you what. Try listing a few of these ‘animals’, and I’ll say if I recognise any.”

“Hm. Dogs?”

“That… rings a bell? I can’t think of anything more specific though, sorry.”

“Cats?”

“Uh… Well, Meowth is known as the Scratch Cat Pokémon, and Glameow is the Catty Pokémon. There’s a few others like that, I think.”

“…Mice?”

“Oh! There’s a bunch of Pokémon in that category! I think Cyndaquil is the Fire Mouse Pokémon, actually, but there are several others that’re just… Wait wait wait, hold on, look!” she said, pointing ahead of them.

There were several small… things tottering about in the grass. They looked like dolls, or gnomes, or… something. They had brightly coloured… hats?

“...Dawn, what the hell am I looking at, here?”

“Mime Jr.! I’m glad to see I was right, I only saw one earlier, so I wasn’t sure if it was just a one-off or something.”

“I…” Ibzan began, but faltered in his bafflement. Shaking his head, he took a ball and threw it from a distance at the nearest creature. The ball bounced off its head, making the… hat? The hair? …Making the top part jiggle as it shrank inside the ball.

It clicked shut.

“Hey, nice one!” Dawn said with a grin. “That’s seven Pokémon! Which means we’ve caught all the species I saw around here already. Let’s go head for that bit I haven’t been to yet, then! There’s gotta be some other species down that way, right?”

“Alright, let’s start heading back, then.” Ibzan replied.

They began walking.

“Hey, hit me with some more animal types, let’s see if any more line up!”

“Hmm… Chickens?”

Apparently, a remarkable number of Pokémon classification categories shared names with animals. Even a few fairly specific ones like scorpions or skunks. Ibzan wondered if they somehow shared an origin, or if it was a simple case of shared words.

He paused mid-step. Did Arceus rewrite the language he thought and spoke in, when it constructed this body? That… made more sense than the people of this alternate world coincidentally speaking English, didn't it?

…He pushed the thought out of his mind and resolved not to think too deeply on it again.

Switching tracks, he tried to think of some more animals to suggest, but then Dawn interrupted him with a loud gasp. She smacked him repeatedly on the arm, pointing at something in front of them.

“Look, look, look! It’s an Eevee!”

A Pokémon stood in front of them, brown-furred with a lot of fluff around its neck, munching away at a berry that had fallen from a nearby tree. One of its long ears twitched, and it turned to look back at them. It stared wide-eyed at them for a moment, before jumping with a panicked squeak and darting off.

“Ah, nuts!” Dawn cursed, immediately taking off after it. Ibzan blinked, then started running along behind her.

When he caught up to her, Dawn was crouching in some tall grass. He walked up to the tree next to her and used that for cover instead. She glanced up at him, then silently pointed at a spot further up the plain.

There was the Pokémon she was chasing earlier, nervously sitting in the grass beside another of its kind. The second one was tense, eyes alert as it scanned the surrounding area.

“So,” Ibzan whispered, “Eevee, you said?”

“They’re so rare,” she whispered back, “and there’s two of them right there!”

“Rare in your time, or this one?”

“Who cares? I’m catching one! And you are, too, because that’s Pokémon number eight right there!”

Ibzan looked back at the pair of Eevee.

“I’ll take the right, you take the left?” he suggested, grabbing a Poké Ball from his satchel.

“Works for me,” Dawn said, doing the same.

They readied their aim, watching and waiting until both Eevees looked away from their position, distracted by some rustling from a nearby tree. Ibzan held up three fingers, then two, then one, then they threw. Simultaneously, the two Eevees disappeared in twin flashes of light.

The balls shook.

One clicked shut.

The other snapped open.

“Throw another, throw another!” Dawn whispered frantically as the right-side Eevee — the second one — popped back out of the ball. He quickly grabbed another one from his satchel and threw again.

The Eevee saw it coming this time, batting it away with a flick of its tail. Spotting their hiding spot, it growled and tensed up.

“So much for subtlety,” Ibzan said, this time bringing out a Poké Ball that wasn’t empty. “Time for action.”

A flash of light, and Cyndaquil appeared.

“Ember,” he commanded, not giving the Eevee any time to react.

The puff of flame smacked into the Eevee, singeing its fur and knocking it back. Getting to its feet, it let out a warbly warcry and charged towards Cyndaquil, slamming roughly against it with its body.

“Don’t knock it out!” Dawn shouted anxiously. “Since I caught the other one, it won’t count for your trial! And I don’t think we’ll find more of them anytime soon!”

Ibzan nodded, eyes still focused on the fight. Another Ember might just knock it out, which left him one option, really.

“Quick Attack, Cyndaquil. Wear it down.”

Cyndaquil darted towards the Eevee, striking at it before it had the chance to move.

“Again!”

Cyndaquil let loose another Quick Attack as the Eevee was still reeling from the first. With a growl, it retaliated with a Quick Attack of its own.

The Eevee was clearly winded, breathing heavily as it stood on shaking legs. Ibzan grabbed another ball and tried for another capture.

A wobble.

Snap.

The Eevee burst from the ball, stumbling backwards and giving Ibzan a filthy glare.

“Stubborn,” Ibzan growled. Fourth time’s the charm. He threw yet another ball.

A wobble.

A wobble.

…A click.

Dawn breathed a loud sigh of relief.

“Man! I was worried I was gonna have to try and lie to Cyllene about who caught this one,” she said, holding up the ball containing the other Eevee. “And her eyes pierce through to my soul. I could not lie to that woman to save my life.”

“Well, you won’t have to,” Ibzan said, tossing the ball in his hand. “Eight of nine. One left.”

“Sick,” she grinned. “One last Pokémon, one last area. Let's go.”

Chapter Text

“So, are you gonna give Cyndaquil a nickname?” Dawn asked, hopping up on one of the rocks along the path, spreading her arms for balance.

“A nickname?”

“Yeah! You know, like how I’ve nicknamed my two Pokémon. Shelly and Kilowatt!” she said, jumping across to another rock, wobbling precariously as she landed. “Pokémon don’t mind not having a nickname, far as I can tell, but I think it really helps foster a connection between them and their trainer!”

Ibzan hummed thoughtfully. It wasn’t something he’d at all considered until now, but he really was just calling Cyndaquil by its species name, wasn’t he? He supposed he hadn’t seen any others in the wild, so he wasn’t really thinking of ‘Cyndaquil’ as anything but its name.

“Is it common practice to nickname Pokémon?”

"Well, yeah! Loads of people like giving their Pokémon nicknames! But competitive trainers need to use species names in official battles, so they usually train their teams to respond to both," she said, hopping off the rock. She straightened, studiously adjusting an imaginary pair of glasses and folding her other arm behind her back. “That way, if a gym leader or some other big name trainer is using a Pokémon you don’t recognise, you’ll know what to look up later. It’s good for both challengers and spectators!”

“Naming things isn’t my strong suit,” he admitted, stroking his chin. Timur was the one who came up with ‘The Dredged’, after all, not him. “Do you follow a particular process when naming your Pokémon?”

“Oh, just whatever comes to mind, really,” Dawn said, flapping a hand airily. “Shelly has that shell on her tummy, so slam dunk there. And a kilowatt is a measurement of electrical power or something like that, with ‘kill’ at the front, so it felt fitting for that little menace. You gotta make sure that they actually like their name before you commit to it, though!”

“...Right,” Ibzan said. He really should have guessed when he’d first heard Shelly’s name. He’d be coming up with his own methods, then.

“Some Pokémon will just go with whatever you name them, especially if they already like you, but some can be picky, so it’s good to offer them a few options. Try not to overthink, though! I remember Lucas kept dithering back and forth on all his nicknames, so sometimes I’d just throw something out to see if it stuck. I don’t think he ever forgave me for getting his Chimchar responding exclusively to ‘Blazley’,” she laughed.

“If you get any of my Pokémon attached to a name like that, rest assured that they won’t ever find your body,” Ibzan promised. Dawn let out a loud bark of laughter.

“Never say never! Maybe archeologists will dig up my skeleton one day and revive me like a fossil Pokémon. Then I’ll tell the whole world about the dumb nickname I gave your Pokémon, and then everyone will laugh at you,” she said with a grin, then paused. “Could human remains be revived like that? That’s not something I’d ever thought about, actually.”

“...Sorry. You said you can revive the dead in the future?”

“Mhm! Well, less ‘reviving’ and more ‘recreating’, I guess? This guy I know, Roark, he knows a lot about it! Most fossils end up as Rock types, though. Nobody’s really sure if it’s just that the most durable fossils came from Rock type Pokémon, or if it’s because their DNA being preserved in rocks affects things,” Dawn said. “Well, actually, someone from Galar did revive some fossils as non-Rock types, but her research was super unethical and pretty much all discredited by now. Or, uh, by then? You know what I mean.”

“Oh? Unethical how?” Ibzan asked, curious. The practice on the whole sounded like a recipe for disaster to him, but that was probably just his second-hand knowledge of Jurassic Park talking.

“Oh boy, you’ll want to sit down for this. But don’t, actually, ‘cause we’re not far from the bridge now. So anyway, what she was doing was…”

Once they made it back to the bridge, Dawn stopped and pulled out her phone. Ibzan leaned down to look at the screen over her shoulder.

“So, I was thinking,” Dawn said as she opened the map. “The only Water type we’ve found so far is Buizel, right? Well, if you look here you’ll see there’s a lake nearby — that’ll be Lake Verity. And some more of the river along the way, too. Gotta be some other Water types around there, right? And if we happen to find something else along the way, then hey, mission accomplished!”

Ibzan nodded. That made sense to him. They’d already been to several other plains and forested areas — a new environment certainly had a lot more potential for new species. Dawn knew Pokémon much better than he did, anyway, so it was best to follow her lead here.

The lake was surrounded by rock on all sides, judging by the map, but there was one opening that would allow them access. They started heading south towards it, following along the river as they went.

A few Shinx harassed them along the way, but they were quickly driven off by Dawn’s own Shinx. As they passed the forest to the north, Dawn stopped and peered off into it.

“Hm,” she said, squinting through the treeline. “Yeah, only seeing Shinx and Wurmple from here. Lake Verity’s definitely the better call.”

They moved on, continuing to follow the river, the path beginning to narrow as the river bent closer to the rock face. The sound of heavy stomps from somewhere ahead of them made them freeze. Exchanging wary glances, they got close to the rock wall and started carefully moving along it.

Peeking around the side, they were met with the largest creature that Ibzan had ever seen. Its eyes shone with the same enraged glow as the Rapidash, and it produced a heavy thud with each earth-shaking footstep. A sheer wall of fat and muscle — it was built like a tank.

It either hadn’t spotted them, or didn’t consider them worth its time. Ibzan wasn’t complaining either way.

The two of them backed away.

“So, uh,” Dawn said nervously, “change of plans! How about we take a look at the forest, instead? Gotta be something up there besides Wurmple and Shinx, right?”

Ibzan nodded mutely. That thing practically radiated power. He just knew that if they got on its bad side, they wouldn’t live to regret it.

“And hey, if we don’t find anything, we could always just wait until the sun goes down. Ghost types start coming out at night, y’see. Uh, there wasn’t a time limit for the trial, was there?” Dawn said nervously as they walked.

“If there was, they didn’t mention it,” Ibzan replied. “If they fail me on a technicality like that, then they had no intention of ever accepting me in the first place.”

Cyllene didn’t seem the type to do something like that, of course — so far, she’d been more direct than a point-blank gunshot. But he didn’t know anything about the man higher up on the totem pole, this Commander Kamado.

Dawn walked further ahead, peering through the trees as she searched for their final Pokémon capture.

“Wurmple, Wurmple, Shinx, yet more Wurmple…” she sighed. “Nooooot seeing much else, here…”

“Hm. Should we head back to the camp and wait for nightfall, then?”

“Maybe? Might as well look around for a little longer, though. No reason not to be sure that th—”

A growl from somewhere through the trees interrupted her. She spun towards the source, blood draining from her face.

A pair of glowing red eyes pierced through the shade cast by the canopy. The Pokémon slowly padded out of the shadows, revealing an enormous blue-furred body — what he could only assume to be the evolved form of a Shinx. The air crackled with static electricity, making Ibzan’s hair stand on end.

Suddenly, Dawn bolted, and the large Pokémon immediately darted off after her.

“Keep looking! I’ll lead it away! Just find that last Pokémon!” Dawn shouted as she disappeared out of sight into the woods, the behemoth thundering after her.

“Dawn— shit!” Ibzan cursed, running after them. What the hell was she doing? Was she trying to get herself killed? Death was permanent here! Dawn was taking a moronic risk, and for what? To buy him time?

How did he let this happen? It hadn’t even been a day, and he was already failing in the single instruction he’d been given. Yet another failure, in the endless stream of failures that made up his pitiful existence. That familiar urge buzzed through him like an itch. Why could he never—

Stop. This wasn't helpful.

Breathe. Think.

Keep calm.

He stopped running — he’d long since lost track of them, not helped by that little spiral he’d wasted time on. But Dawn wasn’t dead yet. His task here was to protect her, and he’d do his damnedest to follow through on that.

He had one job. Failing at it would let down both the beings who gave him this second chance.

And… the thought of her corpse lying still on the floor, cold and empty-eyed…

He shook the image from his head.

“Protect my Chosen,” he grumbled as he flipped open his phone, stabbing at the buttons with a finger. “When she throws herself into danger for no good reason, make sure the logical outcome to that decision never happens.”

He may have lost track of them, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t find them again. He clicked the button and opened up the map program.

There. The red arrow… had its back to a cliff face. She was cornered. Shit.

Shoving his phone into a coat pocket, Ibzan rushed in the direction of the spot indicated on the map.

…Then promptly slammed straight down onto the forest floor. He’d… tripped over something hidden in the tall grass. Gritting his teeth, he glanced back, and was met with an odd cocoon thing. A pair of red (non-glowing, thankfully) eyes blinked curiously up at him.

“I… do not have time for this,” Ibzan growled at the ball of white silk at his feet as he opened his satchel. “Be difficult, and I will pick you up and throw you into the river.”

The cocoon's eyes widened, and it nervously shifted its body in an approximation of a nod. Ibzan grabbed a Poké Ball and dropped it onto the Pokémon at his feet. It disappeared inside.

The ball clicked shut immediately.

Well, trial complete, he thought as he stuffed the ball into his satchel. Now to make sure Dawn would be around to congratulate him.

He arrived just in time to watch the oversized Pokémon slam into Kilowatt, energy crackling across its body. The Shinx was launched with a yelp into the rocky wall behind them, shrinking down and retreating into its ball. The beast turned its sights on Dawn, growling. She cried out in panic, rolling out of the way as it attempted to bite down on her.

Ibzan ran forwards, sending Cyndaquil out for battle.

“Quick Attack! As often as possible!” he commanded. “Evasive manoeuvres! Do not let yourself get hit!”

Cyndaquil gave a squeak of acknowledgement and landed a blow on the giant’s back, gaining its attention for a few precious moments. Ibzan ran to Dawn’s side while it was preoccupied, grabbing her by the arm and dragging her towards him.

“What the hell were you thinking, leading it away by yourself? Did you forget I’m meant to be here to protect you?”

“That Luxio’s… way more persistent than the Rapidash was,” Dawn said with a shaky laugh. “I thought it’d stop once I got far enough away, but it didn’t, and it knocked out my whole team and it’s gonna knock out your Cyndaquil and—”

“Alright, alright, keep calm,” Ibzan said, steeling his voice. “Cyndaquil’s got its attention for the moment. We’re getting out while it’s focused on it and not us.”

Cyndaquil darted in circles around the Luxio, narrowly avoiding its knife-like jaws, sneaking in small hits that it barely even seemed to notice.

Ibzan began leading Dawn towards the treeline. They just needed to break line of sight, and their chances of escape would increase tenfold.

Almost there.

“Man, that thing’s— Ibzan!” she shrieked.

He spun. The Luxio’s attention was focused squarely on him now, electricity crackling dangerously along its fur. Cyndaquil hammered it with Quick Attacks and even Embers, but the Luxio simply took the hits and kept its focus locked onto him. Cyndaquil squeaked in alarm, spitting another ball of fire at it to no avail. With a roar, the Luxio released its gathered power in a bolt of electricity that surged towards him.

A mighty crack as the electricity struck. But… Ibzan felt nothing. He opened his eyes in time to watch Cyndaquil drop to the ground, twitching as smoke rose from the point of impact. His heart froze in his chest.

“Cyndaquil? Shit, I—” Ibzan stammered.

It… he… Cyndaquil took the hit. For him. What… Why the… He gained nothing from protecting Ibzan like that! Why did he just—

Ibzan startled as Cyndaquil raised his head, looking up at him. He’d survived the hit. After making sure he was uninjured, Cyndaquil breathed out and shrunk down, disappearing into the ball in Ibzan’s shaking grip.

He felt about ready to collapse, but he didn’t have the luxury of doing so now. The Luxio looked winded from that attack, but Ibzan’s hair was already starting to stand on end once more as it began to gather yet more electricity in its body.

Fuck. They needed to escape ASAP. With Cyndaquil down for the count, they didn’t have any means left of defending themselves, short of wrestling it himself. He didn’t fancy his chances there. Nor did he think any of the other Pokémon he’d caught today would last even one second against that monster. What could he do? What did he have?

…Well. He had a few things left, didn’t he?

Grabbing an empty Poké Ball from his satchel, he gripped it tightly and threw it as hard as he could directly at the Luxio’s forehead.

The Luxio let out a pained yowl as the ball broke into pieces on impact. A disoriented look in its eyes, the Luxio's gathered energy dissipated into the ground with a harsh buzz, blackening the grass at its feet. It flinched backwards, clutching its head with its paws.

“Time to move!” Ibzan shouted, grabbing Dawn and hoisting her over his shoulder as he broke into a sprint.

“Wh- hey! I have legs too, y'know!” Dawn cried, kicking at the air for emphasis. Ibzan didn’t bother responding, wholly focused on dodging trees as he dashed through the forest. He didn't expect that little stunt to keep the Luxio stunned for too long, but he'd take advantage of whatever moments he could get.

He made for the foot of Aspiration Hill, but from what Dawn had said, the beast wouldn’t be satisfied just chasing them out of its territory. Especially not after what he just did to it. He needed to stop its pursuit entirely, and he doubted whatever Pokémon the guy stationed at the bridge had on him would be of much help.

An idea occurred to him, then. The Corpsman’s Pokémon wouldn’t be a match for it, but…

“It’s gaining on us!” Dawn cried. He glanced back at the Luxio charging towards them, an angry-looking welt between furious glowing eyes.

The bridge was near, now. They were at the crossroads. He released his grip on Dawn, letting her drop to her feet, and grabbed two more balls from his satchel.

“Head for the bridge!” he shouted as he ran. “I’ll meet you there shortly!”

“What?” she cried. “You were just chewing me out for doing that, and now you— Arceus!”

The ground thundered as the Luxio charged right at her. She tripped as she scrambled back, but right before it reached her, another Poké Ball shattered against its flank. With a furious huff of breath, its glare shifted in Ibzan’s direction, who slowly backed away, ready to throw another Poké Ball if it didn't take the bait.

Growling, it took off after him like a bullet. Ibzan turned and bolted.

“One chance,” he panted to himself as he neared his destination. “You fail, you die.”

He skidded to a halt. The large creature that had blocked the path to the south stood facing away from him. No time to waste, he threw the Poké Ball full-force, shattering it against the back of its head. The giant slowly turned to face him, glowing eyes demanding retribution.

Ibzan ran back the way, and the giant followed. This was it.

The Luxio sped up as it saw him reappear from around the corner. Electricity sparked off its body. The air rumbled with a deep growl, like distant thunder, and it pounced towards him.

At the same time, the giant lumbered around the corner, the ground shuddering with each step it took.

Time seemed to slow as Ibzan dove down, beneath the Luxio’s leaping form. Unable to change its course, it slammed directly into the giant chasing him from behind. The acrid smell of singed fur and ozone wafted outwards as electricity coursed through both their bodies. With an irritated grunt, the giant grabbed the Luxio and slammed it harshly into the ground. The resulting shockwave made Ibzan stumble in his attempts to get away.

The Luxio snarled from its grasp. Electricity crackling in its mouth, it sank its teeth into the giant’s arm, forcing it to release its hold.

Ibzan made himself scarce. The battle raged behind him, like two bullet trains in a head-on collision. He saw Dawn staring wide-eyed from behind a tree, decidedly not waiting for him at the bridge.

“Holy Arceus, Ibzan, that was insane. You’re insane.”

“Yeah, well, let’s not wait around to see who wins,” he said, wearily glancing back at the carnage. He was exhausted. Maybe having muscles and lungs wasn’t such a great thing after all. “Didn’t I tell you to wait by the bridge?”

“If you thought I was just gonna leave while that thing was chasing you, then you’ve got another thing coming, bucko,” she said with a glare.

“And earlier you expected me to do the same?”

Dawn went silent at that. Ibzan sighed.

“Look, I was sent to protect you, alright? That’s my purpose here. Don’t throw yourself into danger for my sake, not for something so trivial as a single Pokémon capture.”

“Well, I couldn’t just do nothing!” she protested, throwing her arms up. “There’s no way I could’ve known it’d chase me that far! The Rapidash didn’t! And why do you get to put yourself in danger and I don’t? I’m not some— some defenceless kid! If I had my actual team here with me, I’d— I’d…"

She trailed off, the fire in her eyes dissolving into despondence. Ibzan sighed again, saying nothing. He didn’t doubt her ability. Quite the opposite, in fact. It was just… she was important. Didn’t she realise? Arceus brought her here for a reason, not on some… whim, like it did for him. And… he didn’t want her getting hurt, either.

They started walking, the sounds of the battle still raging on in the distance.

“So… are we gonna have to head back to that forest?” Dawn asked, some of her usual energy returning to her voice. “You found me pretty quick, so I’m guessing you didn't actually go looking for the last catch like I said to.”

“I did find something, actually, though not on purpose. Literally tripped over the thing as I went to chase after you. I caught it without incident, thankfully.”

“Oh, good,” Dawn breathed. “Well, we should go report your success to Professor Laventon, then. If the Commander doesn't let you into the Survey Corps after that little display, I’m gonna yank that moustache right off his face!”

Determination flared in her eyes. He wouldn’t put it past her, honestly.

“No getting yourself kicked out of the village,” Ibzan said with an amused huff. “That certainly won’t help you with your goal.”

“Well, I do have a backup plan,” Dawn whispered conspiratorially. “Two questions: One, how do you feel about mountain life? And two, how do you feel about cryptids?”

Chapter Text

Once they reported their success to Laventon and he verified the successful capture of nine different species, they began making their way back to Jubilife. The Professor was suitably wide-eyed as Dawn regaled him with the tale of Ibzan’s trial and tribulations. Apparently, they were very lucky to get away unscathed from their encounters with the oversized Pokémon.

Ibzan didn’t doubt that for a second.

“So, they’re called Alpha Pokémon, you said? Certainly a fitting moniker,” he commented.

Also, one based on a Greek letter. Or, rather, something he perceived as a Greek letter. It likely had a completely different history in whatever language they were actually speaking… Ibzan shook his head and forced the thought from his mind once more.

“Oh, yes. Utterly terrifying, those things. While I sadly haven’t had the chance to observe any in the wild so far, let alone in captivity, I’d say their handiwork already speaks loudly enough! The Medical Corps have been kept quite busy treating those unfortunate enough to cross paths with them,” Laventon said worriedly.

“They’re scary, sure, but with enough training, we’ll be able to take ‘em!” Dawn said, determination shining in her eyes. “A well-trained team can take down any threat, no matter the size!”

“Oh! In that case, I must ask, my girl, what measures do people take against Alphas in your time?”

“Ah… well, Alphas aren’t actually a thing, uh, when I’m from. Or, at least, I’ve never seen any. I was… thinking of something else.”

“Fascinating… The first sighting of an Alpha was actually just a few months ago, now that I think about it. We heard tales from the Ginkgo Guild merchants after they stopped by one of the clans’ settlements. There were no Alpha sightings anywhere before that, nor apparently in the future. And, well, they’re rather hard to miss, aren’t they?”

“You said the Space-Time Rift formed less than a year ago,” Ibzan mused. “You think they’re related?”

“Well, the timing correlates, at least. Perhaps it’s the result of the ‘space’ half of that moniker. Pokémon size is already quite variable, as we know. Who’s to say that the presence of that rift isn’t having some knock-on effect on a select few of the local Pokémon population?”

He sighed, folding his arms and tapping a finger in thought.

“As interesting as these Alphas may be, their behaviour is wildly incongruous with the behaviour of their standard equivalents. If they are a consequence of the rift, I can confidently say that nothing good has come from it,” he said with a frown, before freezing. “Ah! That is, of course, with the natural exception of the two of you! Rest assured, I had no intention of—”

“Don’t worry Professor, we get what you mean!” Dawn laughed.

Ibzan looked up at the Rift crackling ominously above the mountain. It was, theoretically, causing regular Pokémon to turn into those enormous, raging beasts. He couldn’t help but wonder what other effects it might be having on the land.

“I will admit,” Cyllene said, her eyes focused on a sheet of paper in her hand. “I held you to a standard that I thought impossible to live up to, and you succeeded in spite of my expectations. I am impressed.”

She looked up at him from her paperwork.

“Congratulations are in order. Welcome to the Survey Corps.”

From the sidelines, Laventon grinned widely and Dawn pumped her fists in celebration.

“That satchel is yours to keep. Once we’re finished here, speak with Anthe, our clothier. She’ll modify one of our existing uniforms to fit your… unique stature. She will prepare some spare uniforms for you at a later date, but for now she’ll have the materials on hand to make the necessary adjustments to one set.”

Laventon cleared his throat. Cyllene glanced over, then let out a short sigh.

“And, at the repeated insistence of Professor Laventon, you will be inducted into the Corps directly as a First Star Rank, given the stringent requirements of your entry trial. Once Anthe has prepared your uniform, get changed and present yourself to the Commander. Understood?”

Ibzan straightened, nodding sharply. Then, after a moment’s pause, he asked a question.

“What degree of customisation is permitted, for the uniform?”

“Elaborate.”

“I would like to keep my coat. Layer it over the rest of the uniform, perhaps,” he said. He glanced over at Dawn’s outfit. “Also, I’m more comfortable with my current shoes than with sandals. I’d like to keep them, too, if permitted.”

If nothing else, this coat was always a constant in his life. A practical piece — kevlar padding lined throughout. While he was hardly expecting to be shot at here, the material would still be more than enough to resist attacks from knives or, more likely, claws and teeth.

And the sandals? Well, come on. He wasn’t about to give up a good pair of laced boots.

Cyllene hummed.

“Granted. Leave your coat off for your first meeting with the Commander, but afterwards you may wear it as you see fit.”

“Thank you, Captain Cyllene.”

She nodded, before looking back down at the report in her hand.

“Very well. Dismissed.”

“My, you’re as unique as they say!” Anthe said, looking him up and down with a smile. “I feel inspired just at the sight of you. Tell me, do you have an interest in fashion?”

“Not particularly, no,” Ibzan replied. “I prefer to focus on substance over style.”

“Those are not mutually exclusive, you know. But I suppose a striking figure such as yourself could make anything work, couldn’t you? Someone like you has a lot of potential… But for now, we need to get your uniform prepared, don’t we? Just give me some time to adjust one for your form.”

“You won't need to take measurements?”

Anthe flapped a hand dismissively.

“No need to worry about that, hon. I’ve got an eye for these things. You just wait out here, alright? I won’t be long.”

She disappeared into her shop, humming a tune.

“So, Mr. Substance Over Style,” Dawn smirked. “There a lot of substance to not wearing a shirt?”

“Oh, plenty,” Ibzan said dryly. “I look stunning while taking a knife to my gut.”

“Ha, I bet. How about the sandals, then? Not stunning enough for you? Too self-conscious to wear them with socks?”

“These are just more practical. You don’t want to be worrying about your shoes of all things during a fight.”

“Ah, I see! All along, a coward at heart! I never would have suspected, but here we are.”

“Here we are!” Anthe unknowingly echoed, carrying out a thick bundle of fabric. “Do let me know if there’s anything that doesn't fit right, okay? I’ll make whatever adjustments are needed.”

Thanking her, he accepted the bundle and they began walking back to his quarters.

“Alright, I’ll wait out here ‘til you’re changed. Don't admire your cool new uniform for too long, though, ‘kay? Remember, you’ve got the big cheese himself waiting for you!”

“I’ll do my utmost to resist the urge, then,” Ibzan said with a roll of his eyes.

He slid open the door and headed inside. After unstrapping his satchel, he hung his coat on the bamboo above the fire pit and took stock of the new uniform in his hands.

A black undershirt, made of a form-fitting fabric that didn't seem prone to tearing easily. Sensible. Durable, but flexible. The jacket and trousers were made of a thicker, hardy material. Somewhat stiff, but not enough to impact manoeuvrability too much. A result of waterproofing, if he had to guess. Running a thumb over the trim on the sleeves and collar revealed it to be made of cotton.

Pinned to the lapel was a badge, bearing a logo he assumed represented the Survey Corps. The ones on the uniforms of the Security Corpsmen he’d encountered so far, Zisu included, were of a different design.

He pondered the necessity of such a badge, considering that the different outfits were already colour-coded, but he supposed it could act as proof of his position when outside your uniform. Which would be very useful indeed, because he would be unrecognisable wearing something else.

Also included in the bundle were the sandals. He tossed them aside. While there did seem to be straps at the back of them to adjust how tightly they fit, he’d still rather trust the familiarity of his boots. When it ain’t broke, et cetera.

He held up the red scarf that was also packed in. Rei and Dawn both wore similar ones, but he’d noticed that Cyllene didn’t, despite otherwise wearing the same uniform. The Security Corpsmen seemed not to have an equivalent either, despite the other similarities in their uniforms. He wondered why these were issued to the Survey Corps in particular.

Well, he could think of a scarf’s general utility, if nothing else. The fabric could be used as makeshift bandaging for wounds sustained in the field. Which might be why it was dyed red, come to think of it.

And, well, the scarves looked nice. The red contrasted nicely with the blue of the uniform. Or something like that. Again, he was no fashionista, but he could still appreciate how it looked. He idly wondered if anyone from the other Corps ever got jealous of them.

Uniform on, he took a look at himself in the mirror. He had to hand it to Anthe, she wasn’t lying when she said she had an eye for measurements. Everything fit surprisingly well, given the contrast in builds between him and her usual clientele. He turned to head back out the door, then hesitated when he saw his coat hanging there. He hardly cared about how he looked, but… Grabbing it, he threw it on and walked back in front of the mirror regardless.

Not bad, actually. His coat was a similar colour to the rest of the uniform, so it fit in nicely. And since he had clothing to wear beneath it, now, he wouldn’t need to button it up while wearing the satchel, which suited him fine. He’d worn it open for so long that it just felt odd to do so any other way. He adjusted the satchel, laying it against his hip rather than his back, so he could wear it under his coat while still keeping it accessible.

Hanging the coat back up for now, he slid open the door. Dawn looked up, grinning at the sight of him.

“Hey, looking good! Look at you, a real member of the Survey Corps! Still not wearing the whole set, though,” she said teasingly, with a pointed look at his footwear.

“Take it up with Cyllene, if it’s such an issue,” he said, not looking at her as he walked towards Galaxy Hall. Dawn laughed and followed.

“Anything I should expect in this meeting?” he asked.

“Hm, well, I guess the most memorable thing is that he asked me to fight him,” she said, tapping a cheek in thought. Ibzan blinked.

“…The Commander asked to fight you?”

“What, don’t think I could take him? I’m insulted,” she said with a laugh. “Really, though, I didn’t last long. I tried charging at him, but he just tossed me like a ragdoll and ended the fight right there. Anyway, I think he just wants to see what kind of person you are, and I guess big macho men like him think the best way of getting to know someone is through combat. Which, y’know, I do agree with, but only for Pokémon battles. Not so much for… people battles.”

Ibzan hummed. In his experience, he didn’t really get to know the people he’d fought. Corpses didn’t typically make for good conversation. Not that it sounded like either of them would be dead by the end of it. Ideally.

“Well, let’s hope I’ll make a good impression.”

“Oh, I’m sure you will! But good luck either way. Lemme know if you win, alright?”

The Commander’s office sat atop a grand set of stairs. The office itself was stately, if surprisingly small, with a couple of cabinets at the back that likely housed village records or other such intel. The table to the left of the entrance was quite thin, while the desk in the centre looked a lot more solidly built. It would make for the best cover in the room. The only exit, besides the open doorway he was approaching, was a door to the right that likely led out to a balcony on the roof.

The Commander himself stood rigidly in the centre of the room. Coat draped over his shoulders like a cape, arms folded, and eyes shut. He looked up as Ibzan walked in.

“I have been waiting for you!” he proclaimed, voice booming. “I am Kamado, the Commander of the Galaxy Expedition Team!”

He fixed him with a scrutinising look, expression stern.

“So, you’re Ibzan, then.”

“Correct, sir,” he responded.

Kamado hummed.

“Another who fell from the sky, so I hear. Well then, show me your mettle!” he cried, spreading his arms in a clear invitation for combat.

“A spar, then." Just as Dawn had said. Ibzan shifted his stance. "What determines the end of the fight? First blood? Knockout?”

“The match ends when I say it ends,” Kamado said firmly. “Now then! Make your move.”

Ibzan was… at the disadvantage here, in every sense. The Commander was evidently well-versed in hand-to-hand — why else would he challenge others to unarmed combat, if not to flex his skills? Ibzan’s skills, meanwhile, were… serviceable at best. He’d won fights, sure, but his opponents weren’t exactly star boxers either. It was always a quick, messy scramble where his physiology gave him the advantage. Above-average reach thanks to his height, and a lack of organs to target, flesh to bruise, or muscles to tire. Only one of those still applied to him now.

He avoided fair fights like these, too. Ambush, and kill before they get their bearings. A surprise blow to the head, stomach, or crotch would give him time to disarm and possibly finish them then and there, depending on how they react. Of course, you couldn’t ambush a man who already knew you were there.

Kamado had set the limits of the fight, and made no effort to indicate where they were. And in forcing Ibzan to make the first move, he’d put him at a disadvantage. Kamado knew a strike would be coming, and all he had to do was react.

Still… this was just a spar. One that Dawn apparently made it through, even if hers ended within moments. No fight to the death, just a test to see what he was made of.

Raising his fists, Ibzan cautiously inched forward. Kamado’s arms were still spread wide, daring him to take a swing, eyes sharply watching his every movement.

Well, they wouldn’t get anywhere without him making a move, would they? Ibzan risked a jab at Kamado’s throat.

Quick as a viper, Kamado intercepted Ibzan’s fist, grabbing it before it connected. With a grunt, Ibzan smacked down at Kamado’s wrist with his other hand, the impact weakening his grip just enough for Ibzan to force it open. He yanked his hand away and backed off.

Kamado stood in place, hunched over and ready to intercept any further approach.

Okay, he needed to be craftier, then. He moved forward again, throwing another jab at his head. Kamado moved to intercept once more. This time, Ibzan let him catch it, and slammed his knee into Kamado’s stomach while he was distracted with the feint.

Kamado let out a pained grunt, releasing his grip on Ibzan’s fist. Ibzan tried to back away again, but found himself unable. Kamado had blocked his knee strike with his other hand — not to soften the blow, but to secure a firm grip on Ibzan’s leg.

Kamado laughed, grinning fiercely despite his still-furrowed brow.

“Not bad! I can tell this isn’t your first time on the field of battle! I’m beginning to see what caught Captain Zisu’s interest this morning.”

Kamado yanked Ibzan’s leg forward, sending him stumbling forwards. Ibzan attempted to use that momentum to power another strike, but the Commander ducked under it and grabbed him around the waist.

Ibzan struck out at Kamado with his elbow, catching him in the face. He grunted, but his grip didn’t loosen at all. The room flipped, and Ibzan suddenly found himself pinned on the floor, his arm forced behind his back in a manner that threatened dislocation if he tried to make a move.

“This match is over,” Kamado said with an air of finality. The pressure on Ibzan’s back was lifted, and he turned to see he was being offered a hand. Taking it, he allowed the Commander to help him to his feet. Kamado stood just as straight as before, but his stance seemed looser now.

“I see a lot of potential in you!” he said with a gruff nod. “If you find that survey work isn’t for you, come see me, and I’ll set you up in the Security Corps.”

Kamado had his eyes shut once again. Ibzan could see the beginnings of a black eye forming from that elbow blow, but thankfully he didn’t seem to be holding it against him.

“Thank you, sir,” Ibzan said. While he had no intentions of taking him up on that offer — it would make fulfilling his mission here much more difficult — he appreciated having a fallback option nonetheless.

“Now, I’ll be straight with you. You completed your trial with flying colours, in spite of the odds. You're a part of Jubilife now. However, there will be people in the village who won’t trust a new arrival such as yourself so soon — particularly one that looks the way you do.”

Of course, that wasn't something the Commander needed to tell him. The stares had spoken more than loudly enough on that particular subject.

The man was difficult to get a read on, honestly. His face seemed to be permanently set in a frown, even when he laughed during their spar. His body language was very guarded, too, with few noticeable tells.

“I’ve been told Pokémon are an unfamiliar concept to you,” Kamado said. Ibzan guessed that Laventon must have mentioned that fact to him. Or to Cyllene, who relayed it. Nobody else would have known, after all. “I’ll give you some advice — don’t let the weaker Pokémon in the Fieldlands colour your perspective. Be on your guard as you work. Pokémon are terrifying creatures, some capable of reducing even the most fortified of strongholds to mere rubble in a matter of minutes. Your work in the Survey Corps will help us to better understand them, but never forget the threat they pose.”

“Yes, sir,” Ibzan said. He definitely didn’t think he’d forget that clash between those two Alpha Pokémon anytime soon.

“Good,” Kamado said with a sharp nod. “Dedicate yourself to your work, and Jubilife will have a place for you. Dismissed.”

After the new recruit left, Kamado took a seat at his desk with a sigh. He’d have to send for some ice from the Medical Corps, but he’d be a liar if he said he didn’t enjoy their little spar, short as it was. It wasn’t often that someone managed to land a blow on him like that. He looked over at a dark corner of his office and raised a brow.

A figure seemed to emerge from the shadows themselves, adjusting his face mask.

“Well. Your impressions?” the man asked. Kamado scratched at his moustache in thought.

“A second stranger falling from the sky, so soon after the first. Those horns of his, it's almost as though he himself were a Pokémon. He can put up a decent fight, too.”

“A second stranger who originated from ‘somewhere else entirely’,” the man commented. “A stranger with minimal knowledge on Pokémon, as if he’d never encountered one.”

“So you've told me. He made no move to deny his lack of familiarity.”

"And yet… Despite coming from the same rift as he, she's remarkably familiar with Pokémon. On par with Laventon, at least. In fact, familiar is an understatement. She has hardly any fear of them whatsoever."

“Indeed.”

“That rift… It spat out these two suspicious characters directly on our doorstep. It's surely no coincidence they both landed at Prelude Beach, despite its distance from Coronet,” the man commented, rubbing his chin beneath the mask in thought. “What’s the reason for their sudden appearance? Are they a threat to what we've worked to build here?”

Kamado contemplated in silence for a few moments, then shook his head.

“I’m willing to give the both of them the benefit of the doubt for the moment, strange as they are. Infiltrators would arrive in a far less conspicuous manner, I’m sure. For the moment, I shall view them as simple strangers from faraway lands, seeking refuge with us in Hisui. Is that not the very purpose for which we founded Jubilife Village in the first place?”

He glanced over at the faded photograph framed on his desk. They were looking to create a place where everyone could be safe, after all.

He sighed. Such idealism always suited her far better than it did him.

“Nonetheless, I want to keep an eye on them. Benefit of the doubt can only extend so far, with such strange arrivals as these. We need to know for certain they’re not a threat," he said, folding his arms and leaning back in his chair. “For any specific assignments, I’ll have our two sky-fallers paired together. They seem to work well together, so they won’t think anything of that. Having them both working at the same tasks will make tracking their actions easier. Monitor them in the field, when you’re able.”

His old friend nodded, before throwing down a smoke bomb and disappearing while it kept him obscured. Rolling his eyes, Kamado stood up from his desk and slid open the door to the balcony, giving the smoke somewhere to disperse.

Much as he’d claim otherwise, he always did have a flair for the dramatic.

“So? How’d it go?” Dawn asked eagerly as he descended the stairs to the Commander's office.

“He’s quite the fighter,” Ibzan said. “He beat me handily. Though I did manage to give him a black eye for his trouble.”

“Really?” Dawn exclaimed, an impressed look on her face. “How’d you manage that?”

“Elbow. He pinned me right after, though.”

“Well good job, Mr. Black Belt!” she grinned, punching the air in front of her with a few clumsy jabs, then paused. “He wasn’t mad or anything, was he? You’re still part of the Survey Corps?”

“I’m still in, don’t worry. He seemed to enjoy it, actually. Guess he doesn’t get many opportunities for a fight like that.”

“Huh. Maybe we should find him a Machoke to spar with or something,” she mused.

Ibzan hummed noncommittally, having no idea what kind of Pokémon a Machoke even was. They began walking down the stairs to the ground floor.

“So, what’re your thoughts on our Commander, anyway?” Dawn asked.

“Hmm. He didn’t give me much to work with, really. I’ve met statues more expressive than him. He did seem less tense after our spar, so I must’ve done something right.”

“Professor Rowan’s exactly like that! Always so grumpy-looking. Beneath that prickly exterior, though, he cares a lot. Guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, huh? I don’t think I could picture him ever doing sumo throws, though.”

“Ah, Ibzan!” came Laventon’s voice from below them. Ibzan looked over the bannister to see him standing in the doorway to his office, Rei poking his head out from within. “I see you’re back. With good news, I trust?”

“The Commander’s officially welcomed me into Galaxy Team,” Ibzan said, nodding.

“Ah, brilliant!” Laventon grinned. “I do believe this calls for some celebration. Would you two care to join Rei and myself at the Wallflower for some potato mochi?”

Ibzan glanced at Dawn, recalling her comment yesterday about the owner. She just grinned at the prospect, however, so he supposed there wouldn't be any issues.

“You’ll take any excuse to order that stuff, Professor,” Rei laughed. “Not that I’m complaining.”

“For good reason! Come along, you three, let’s get ourselves a table.”

“Four portions of potato mochi please, Beni!” Laventon said happily, kicking his feet beneath the table. He really was looking forward to this, wasn’t he?

Beni nodded before hobbling off inside the Wallflower.

“So,” Dawn continued, voice low. “You remember that Alpha Snorlax I mentioned earlier? Well, Ibzan certainly did. The Luxio was hot on our tails, and getting closer and closer. So Ibzan ran straight for the Snorlax, got its attention, and got both of them fighting each other while we got away!”

“Whoa…” Rei said, eyes wide. “That’s… something else. You’re crazy, Ibzan.”

“I know, right? That’s what I said!” Dawn agreed.

“Oh, don’t get me wrong, you’re both crazy, with how you act around Pokémon. It’s working out, though, so… maybe I’m the crazy one, here…”

“I got lucky, really,” Ibzan said. “If a single thing went wrong there I might not have returned at all.”

“You call it luck, I call it skill!” Dawn said with a grin, punching him lightly on the arm. “I saw the whole thing, remember? You handled it like a pro!”

Ibzan just made a noncommittal sound, looking away. There she went again, throwing praise around like it was nothing…

“Ah, but how did your meeting with the Diamond Clan representative go today, my dear boy?” Laventon asked. “They were reaching out with a request, correct?”

“Ah, yeah,” Rei said, looking down. “Well, I was thinking it’s… more Dawn’s wheelhouse than mine. I was told they needed someone experienced with battling Pokémon, and that’s… well, that’s not me.”

“You’ve mentioned these clans a few times now, Laventon,” Ibzan said. “Mind telling me a little about them?”

“Yeah, I don’t know a whole lot myself, and I’m kinda curious,” Dawn chimed in.

“Oh, of course! The Diamond and Pearl Clans were here in Hisui long before Galaxy Team ever set foot on these shores. They were in conflict for a long time, but eventually they made peace with one another. Lately, Galaxy Team even helped to ease the tensions between the two, somewhat!” Laventon said. “Anyway, they’re a lot more familiar with the land than we are, and they were here first, so we’re always looking to better our relations with both of them!”

“Which makes Warden Mai’s request very important to fulfil properly, which means I’m not the one for the job,” Rei said miserably. Laventon laid a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. “So… would the two of you handle things, instead? It’s really something we can’t afford to mess up.”

“I… was hoping to stay here at the village and train tomorrow,” Ibzan said. “This morning, Zisu offered to teach me a few extra things about battling, and I’d like to spend some time practising with Cyndaquil. I can put that on hold, though, if this is so important.”

“Nah, don’t worry about it,” Dawn said, winking as she bumped him on the shoulder with the back of her fist. “I’m no slouch when it comes to battle. I can handle this alone, no problem.”

“...Alright, if you’re sure.”

The door to the Wallflower slid open, and Beni emerged with several platters of mochi. Laventon’s eyes lit up as they were placed onto the table.

“Ah, they look as scrumptious as ever, my good man! My compliments!”

Beni nodded with a polite smile, before turning and heading back inside. Ibzan had kept an eye on Beni as he approached, but the man hadn’t given Dawn so much as a glance, despite what she’d told him in confidence the other night. Ibzan wondered if he was ignoring her out of spite, or simple awkwardness after a poor first impression.

That train of thought was quickly derailed when the smell of the food hit him. His stomach growled loudly, startling everyone at the table.

“Whoa there,” Dawn laughed. “Did you swallow a Pokémon while I wasn’t looking?”

“Goodness gracious,” Laventon said, frowning. “You never had anything to eat last night, did you? Or this morning, for that matter! I can’t believe I let that escape my attention, do forgive me!”

“Don’t worry about it,” Ibzan said, embarrassed. “I hardly noticed, myself.”

He knew about the concept of hunger in theory, and he had noticed the growing ache as the day progressed, but somehow he’d managed to avoid connecting those two glaringly obvious dots. He supposed the idea had been so far removed from him for most of his existence that it was just… something he forgot about. Now, though, his body was making its protests quite clear.

“Well, let me know if you need any extra portions, alright? I’ll make sure you get them,” Laventon said worriedly.

Ibzan nodded in thanks.

“Capital! Now then, we should enjoy them while they’re still hot!” the Professor said, licking his lips and picking one up.

Ibzan followed suit. There was something papery wrapped around the middle of each mochi, letting him hold them without getting sauce on his hands.

“I’m unfortunately quite abysmal when it comes to using chopsticks, so Beni’s kind enough to provide portions with seaweed wrapped around them when I’m at the table,” Laventon explained.

“We shouldn’t let you, really,” Rei said with a smile, snapping his chopsticks apart. “It’s funny watching you fumble about with them. Or that time you just tried skewering them, and just ended up breaking them apart instead.”

“Oh, hush. I grew up with knives and forks, not sticks of wood.”

“Sounds like a you problem,” Dawn said, picking up some mochi with her own chopsticks and popping it into her mouth.

Ibzan’s stomach loudly protested once more. Taking the hint, Ibzan took a bite out of the mochi in his hand, and…

Wow.

It was crisp on the outside, yet chewy on the inside. The outer layer was glazed with a savoury sauce that perfectly complemented the potato itself. Ibzan hadn’t tasted anything in… years? Decades? Time blurred together enough in that Place that he couldn’t say for sure. Once upon a time, he’d tried eating something he’d found in a fridge while on a mission. His lack of a tongue meant there was nothing for him to react to, besides the food tumbling downwards and landing in his pelvis.

This… It was more than he’d ever hoped for, whenever he’d fantasised about what eating might be like.

He was shocked out of his thoughts when a droplet landed on his hand. Abruptly, he realised there was water running down his face, and he hastily began scrubbing away at it with a sleeve.

“So, tomorr— huh? Wait, Ibzan, are you crying?” came Dawn’s stunned voice from beside him.

“I…” Ibzan tried, but couldn’t find the words. He looked down at his plate, avoiding their eyes. Eventually, his mind managed to string a sentence together. “It’s good. The best thing I’ve had in… a while.”

The understatement of the century, of course, but saying it was the first thing he’d eaten in years would definitely raise questions he didn’t feel like answering.

“Aww, you’re turning red!” Dawn giggled. “Don’t feel embarrassed! It’s nice to see that you like them!”

“A fellow connoisseur, I see! I knew recruiting you was a good idea!” Laventon laughed.

“Oh no, another mochi obsessee,” Rei said, shaking his head with a teasing smile. “Should I start stockpiling before you and the Professor empty Beni’s supply?”

Ibzan’s face was still flushed from being caught in that moment of vulnerability, but their good cheer was infectious enough that he couldn’t help the quiet huff of laughter that escaped him.

Chapter Text

A knock on his door stirred Ibzan from his slumber. Rubbing sleep from his eyes, he moved to sit up, but was surprised to find something pressed up between his chest and arm.

“Hello there, friend,” Ibzan said softly. “When did you get there?”

Cyndquil yawned and blinked sleepily up at him. Ibzan looked over at his satchel, which he’d left lying against the wall. Now, it was tipped over with the flap open — the Pokémon must have left his ball sometime during the night.

Thankfully, the flame on Cyndaquil’s back was currently extinguished. While Dawn had told him that a Ponyta’s flames wouldn’t harm those it trusted, Ibzan was in no hurry to test if that little theory applied to other Fire types. He’d seen the damage burns could do.

Speaking of damage, Cyndaquil was looking surprisingly healthy, despite being hit by what might as well have been a lightning strike yesterday. Pokémon really were durable, weren’t they? Ibzan felt a weight lift off his back that he hadn't noticed until now.

Another knock, more impatient this time. Cyndaquil let out a pathetical mewl of protest as Ibzan picked him and set him down on the bed. Ibzan stood, stretched, and made his way to the door. He slid it open, interrupting a third knock.

“Morning Ibzan! Did you sleep we—” Dawn paused, expression going flat. “Oh, good, you’re shirtless again.”

“Were you expecting me to wear my uniform while I slept?” Ibzan asked, feeling a little defensive, as he gestured to the folded pile of fabric sitting on top of the storage container.

It was a hardy outfit, fit for purpose, and that purpose wasn’t to feel comfortable while you were lying down. Before heading to bed, he’d instead changed back into what he'd been wearing when he first arrived.

“You could’ve at least, like, kept the undershirt on! Ugh, we need to get Anthe to make you some actual pyjamas or something,” Dawn groaned, pushing her way past him. “And how are you doing today, cutie?”

Cyndaquil responded with a drowsy chirp from his spot on Ibzan’s pillow. Dawn sat herself cross-legged on one of the mats by the fire pit with a yawn.

“I’d say to make yourself at home, but it seems you’re already getting quite comfortable,” Ibzan said, sitting on the mat opposite.

“Oh, you know me,” she said, flashing him a peace sign with a lazy grin. “Always ahead of the game.”

“So, what brings you here this morning?”

“I just thought I’d bless you with my wonderful presence,” she said, yawning again. “Really though, I figured we could go over the agenda, since we’ll be splitting up for the day and all that.”

“Ah, right, you’re helping Rei with the Diamond Clan's request, aren’t you?”

"Yeah, but there's a couple things we should get done first,” Dawn said with a nod. “First thing… Well, first thing, you’re putting on a shirt. Second thing—”

Second thing would have to wait, as Cyndaquil chose that moment to amble over and clamber onto Ibzan's lap. Dawn gasped delightedly.

“Aww!” she cooed adoringly. “Ibzan, I love him. Tell him I love him.”

“He can hear you, you don't need a middleman,” Ibzan replied, very carefully not moving as Cyndaquil settled down.

“Cyndaquil, I love you,” Dawn said, expression serious. “Oh, actually, that reminds me! Have you thought of a nickname for him yet?”

Cyndaquil visibly perked up at that, looking up at Ibzan and tilting his head.

“Hm… I’ve had a few ideas, if you’d be willing to hear them out.”

“Lay ‘em on me! But don’t forget, Cyndaquil’s the one who should be deciding!” Dawn said excitedly.

“Alright… My first idea was Primer.”

Dawn stroked her chin, rolling the name around in her mind.

“Because he was your first Pokémon? The Primer-y member of your team?”

“What? No,” Ibzan said, shaking his head. “Like the component that feeds petrol to the rest of the engine to get burned.”

Well, that was a lie. What he’d actually thought of were firearms. More specifically, their bullets. The primer was the section of the cartridge struck by the hammer — the impact would set off the primer mixture, and the resulting explosion would launch the bullet forward.

Cyndaquil's speed reminded him of a bullet, and while he’d now stopped thinking of him as just a weapon, guns were still the subject Ibzan had probably the most knowledge about.

Explaining any of that would have Dawn questioning why, exactly, that was his best subject. So, car engines it was.

“Hm… I think I like my explanation better,” Dawn said, tapping a cheek in thought. “Well, Cyndaquil? How about it?”

Cyndaquil let out a bored grunt and laid his head down on Ibzan’s knee.

“Okay,” Dawn laughed, “not a winner, then. Got any others?”

“Hmm. Well, there was an associate I once had. A ferryman, by the name of Charon. He always carried—”

Dawn suddenly slammed her palms on her knees, startling both him and the Pokémon in his lap.

“Nope! Uh-uh! That’s a no from me! I… I once met a guy with that name, and I refuse to let this precious baby here share a name with such a… slimy piece of work like him!”

Ibzan blinked. Okay, clearly there was some bad history there. He glanced down at Cyndaquil, who shrugged, showing no real affinity towards the name either. Dawn shrank back down, looking embarrassed at her outburst.

“So, uh… yeah. Not a fan, sorry. Uh, anything else?”

“Just one more,” he replied, scratching his chin. “I’ll have to go back to the drawing board if this one doesn’t land, either.”

“Well, third time’s the charm, right? Let’s hear it!”

“Jet. He shoots flames like a jet engine, and he’s proven to be just about as fast as one in battle, thanks to his Quick Attacks of his.”

“Hm. Hm! Jet! I like it! Short, snappy, catchy, and apt!” Dawn said, punctuating each word with a snap of her fingers. “What do you think, Cyndaquil?”

The Pokémon in question thought for a few moments, then chirped affirmatively.

“Well, I guess that settles it! Nice to officially meet you, Jet!” Dawn said, sticking out a finger towards him. The newly-named Jet looked up at it, then grabbed it with both paws and shook it. Dawn laughed happily. “People around here might think it’s a little weird, though. They’d probably think of jets of water first, since engines aren’t a thing yet!”

“They think I'm a little weird already, anyway,” Ibzan replied, tapping his intact horn with a finger. “The name won’t worsen that outlook any, I’m sure.”

“True enough!” Dawn said, leaning back with a smile. “Just a couple weirdos, you and me. You’re weird on the outside, I’m weird on the inside! And with our powers combined, we can either make up the most normal person in existence, or one complete oddball! Anyway, now that that’s sorted, what do you say we head down to the pastures, once you’ve gotten changed?”

“Hm? The pastures? What for?”

“Well, boring science stuff. Measurements and all that. But,” she said, pointing at him with an excited grin, “while we’re at it, we can see if any of them want to join your team!”

“...so I got my ID card the morning before you arrived, but they used a photo of me that the Professor took right after my trial,” Dawn explained. “I’m not even wearing my uniform in it, but they won’t let me change it, so whatever. Anyway, I don’t think we have a pic of you yet, so you should probably head to Dagero’s studio at some point soon to get that done.”

True to Dawn’s word the other day, the attention from the villagers did seem to be dwindling as time went on. Wearing an official Galaxy Team uniform probably contributed to that. Most villagers still stared shamelessly at his horns when they thought he wasn’t looking, and firmly averted their gazes when they saw he was, but the whispered conversations were now few and far between.

The pastures were close to their quarters, so it didn’t take long to get there. The woman by the fence gate smiled as they approached, politely doing her best not to stare too openly at Ibzan’s horns.

“Hello, you two! Those Pokémon you caught yesterday have settled in nicely. Do you have any more you’d like to leave here with me?”

“No thanks, Marie, we just wanna visit the ones we dropped off last night, if that’s okay,” Dawn replied.

“Oh, no trouble at all, go on ahead,” she said happily, opening the gate for them.

They spent the next while going around the pastures, taking measurements of each Pokémon Ibzan had caught. There was a sheltered area to the side that had a reinforced set of scales designed for measuring the weight of Pokémon, as well as other tools like tape measures for determining their heights. Apparently, from what Laventon had told Dawn, the scales were something that he brought across from his home region when he came to join Galaxy Team.

It turned out the last Pokémon he’d caught — a Silcoon, Dawn told him — was an evolution of Wurmple, so they didn’t need to experiment with different foods to see its preferences, just quickly verify that its tastes hadn’t changed with its new form.

Since Dawn hadn’t actually caught a Mime Jr. yet, it was one of the Pokémon they did need to find the food preference of. Ibzan was still a little perturbed by how… humanlike the creature was, but watching it carefully replicate his and Dawn’s movements, giggling to itself at their reactions, was oddly charming in a way.

“Phew, nearly done,” Dawn sighed to herself as the Mime Jr. skipped off the scales with a twirl. “I seriously took modern Poké Balls for granted. They just record all this stuff for you, y’see. Anyway, just two Pokémon left, now!”

“The Eevee. Do you think they’ll be willing to join our teams?”

“I sure hope so! It’d be nice if you got at least one new Pokémon out of this, and they'd definitely be welcome on my team, too,” Dawn said. “I left ‘em for last, since I just knew I’d be all distracted for the rest of the day after meeting them. Eevee are just so cute!”

The duo had secluded themselves in a corner of the field. The Eevee that Dawn had caught eyed them nervously as they approached, but didn’t make a move to leave. The one Ibzan caught, on the other hand, sent them a fierce glare.

“Hey there, cuties,” Dawn said gently, crouching a short distance away from them. “You hungry? I’ve got a few things here I think you might like.”

She reached back into her satchel and grabbed a honeycomb from one of the pockets.

“Do you like honey? I can’t get enough of the stuff, myself! Here, give it a try.”

She snapped off a piece of the honeycomb and placed it on the ground halfway between her and the pair, but didn’t move any closer. The nervous Eevee tentatively inched forward, nose twitching as it sniffed at it. It gave the honeycomb an experimental lick, then made a face and backed off.

“Not your cup of tea, huh? That’s alright, we’ve got a few other things that might be more up your alley,” Dawn said, reaching once more into her satchel. This time, she withdrew a sprig of wheat.

“I know Hearty Grains can be used to make a bunch of great stuff, but I can’t say I like it raw, myself,” she said with a soft laugh. “I know it's different for Pokémon, though. Here you are!”

She placed the grain next to the piece of honeycomb. The irritable Eevee rumbled a growl at her, but the other one approached again, much to the former’s chagrin. One experimental nibble, and then suddenly the entire stalk disappeared. Dawn laughed.

“Oh, you like that, do you? Well, I have more where that came from, but I’d like to let you try a few other things, just to see what else you like, okay?”

The Eevee made a happy noise, nodding. Dawn really had a way with Pokémon, didn’t she? Ibzan watched as she offered it various other foods, jotting down its preferences for Hearty Grains and Plump Beans on her behalf. The Eevee was visibly getting more and more comfortable with her presence as time went on, and soon enough it was pressed up against her, enjoying some head scratches.

All the while the other Eevee sat at a distance, watching Dawn like a hawk, its entire body tensed up. Its subtle glances at the food didn’t escape Ibzan’s attention, nor apparently that of the Eevee by Dawn’s side. It looked up and let out a reassuring trill, but the other quickly turned its head away, nose turned up and eyes squeezed emphatically shut.

“Dawn,” Ibzan said. “Would you mind giving me some of those grains?”

“Why, you hungry?” she said teasingly, but glanced knowingly at the Eevee isolating itself in the corner. Reaching into her satchel, she grabbed a few bunches of wheat and handed them over to him.

Ibzan carefully began to approach the other Eevee. Up close, he could see its fur was much scruffier-looking than the other’s. It growled and backed off once he got close, so he stopped in place and knelt down, lightly tossing one of the sprigs towards it. Between them, it landed closer to the Eevee than it did Ibzan.

“Here, friend. You’re hungry, right? You’re free to take it. I expect nothing of you in return, and I won't move any closer."

The scruffy Eevee glared balefully at him, but slowly began to approach the offered food. It snatched one up in its mouth, scowling in his direction all the while. When it was finished with the first few, Ibzan tossed some more food its way.

“Looks like she… likes you?” Dawn said hesitantly.

Ibzan looked between the Eevee contently snuggled in her arms, and the Eevee fixing him with a death glare the likes of which would make a hellhound blush.

“Sure,” Ibzan said. “How can you tell its gender from there, anyway?”

“Oh, that’s easy,” she said, holding up her Eevee. “Look at the tails. This one’s a boy, so the pattern on the edge of the tail is kinda spikier, you see? The one on your little friend there is more rounded.”

The Eevee’s tail was quite visible with Dawn holding it — him — up by the arms like that. The Eevee in front of Ibzan stubbornly moved her tail behind her body, but it was a little too fluffy for her to properly hide.

“Yes, I see it,” Ibzan said. The scruffy Eevee huffed before resuming her meal.

Dawn handed him a few beans, just to make sure both Eevees shared the same preferences. Which seemed to be the case, as reluctant as the scruffy one was to let on to the fact. Dawn carried the male Eevee over to the sheltered area to take his measurements, the other Eevee following behind and watching her every move. They both agreed not to push their luck trying to take any of her measurements.

“Well, that’s us all done with the note-taking now! Thank you for your help,” Dawn said, scratching the Eevee behind his ears. “I’ve got one more question for you both, if you wouldn’t mind hearing me out.”

The male Eevee tilted its head, curious. The female one huffed irritably, but sat and listened, tail twitching impatiently.

“Y’see, me and my friend here are looking for Pokémon to add to our battle teams. We’ll help each other get stronger, but it’ll be pretty demanding for you. If you don’t want to, you can stay here in the pastures until the Professor’s had a look at you, then we’ll put you back where we found you,” she said. “But, if you’re interested in joining us, I can promise we’ll take good care of you, and do our best to help you work towards your full potential! What do you say?”

The scruffy Eevee scoffed, turning and beginning to walk away. When she noticed that the other one wasn’t following, she turned back to face him with an inquisitive sound. The Eevee hesitantly chirped back. Whatever it meant, the scruffy one let out an affronted cry, gesturing at the two humans with a paw.

The male Eevee’s expression grew more determined, and he let out one final chirp before trotting over to Dawn. Delighted, Dawn held out his Pokéball towards him. The Eevee tapped his nose on the latch at the front of the ball, which popped open and sucked it inside.

Ibzan felt something tug at the leg of his uniform. Looking down, he was surprised to see the grumpy face of the other Eevee, looking expectantly up at him with a mouthful of trouser leg.

“You want to join me?” he asked her. “Why not Dawn’s team, like your friend there?”

She growled impatiently at him, throwing a vulgar-sounding trill his way. Seemed she had little patience for questions. He reached into his satchel and pulled out the ball he’d caught her in the day prior, offering it to the Eevee the same way that Dawn did.

The Eevee eyed it with distaste for a few moments. She turned and barked at Dawn, then roughly headbutted the latch, disappearing within as it popped open.

“Well, guess that’s that,” Dawn said, holding her Poké Ball with a smile.

“Looks like it,” Ibzan replied. “I wonder why she wanted to join me and not you. Watching over the other Eevee would be easiest if they were on the same team, surely.”

“Maybe she was impressed with how you handled the Alphas? Pokémon can kinda tell what’s happening outside their balls, though I dunno how well exactly.”

Ibzan hummed, looking down at the ball that held his reluctant second addition to the team. Speaking of the trial, something occurred to him.

“...I only have two Poké Balls left, at this point,” he commented.

“Oh shoot, that’s right, you used a ton of ‘em yesterday, huh? Maybe Rei can show you how to craft them sometime later. It’s not all that hard, but he’s definitely a better teacher than I could hope to be,” she said, scratching her head. “For today, I can give you some cash to buy more from Choy, since you haven’t gotten any from surveying yet.”

“I would appreciate that, thank you.”

“Hey, Rei!” Dawn greeted with a wave. “That's us done in the pastures now. Thanks for waiting!”

“Ah, hello to the both of you,” Rei replied. He glanced nervously between the two of them, unsure about something.

“I’d say I’m about ready to head out now, if you are,” Dawn said, noticing his hesitance. “…Anything you need to do before we go?”

“Ah, well…” Rei said nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. “Actually, would you be alright… doing this one on your own? I already okayed this with Cyllene, and I can give you directions to where Warden Mai will be waiting for you.”

“Huh?” Dawn blinked, surprised. “I mean, sure, no problem, but why? Did you get some new orders from the Commander?”

“Nothing like that, it’s just…” Rei trailed off, then determination suddenly flashed in his eyes. “I need to get better at this!”

Ibzan and Dawn blinked, glancing at one another. Rei looked down, clenching his fist.

“Neither of you have been here for long, but… you’ve accomplished so much in just a few days, where I’ve been going in circles for months. I want to contribute to the Corps like you two have. Dawn, you clearly had experience with Pokémon already, but Ibzan… You caught so many on your trial — even tangled with Alphas — with no prior experience at all! And if someone in your position can do all that, then… I have no excuse, do I? So… I need to catch up. And to catch up, I need to train. Ibzan, you said you’re gonna be doing that today — let me join you. Please?”

“I… have no problem with that,” Ibzan replied.

“Oh, yeah, of course!” Dawn said, lighting up with excitement. “Don’t worry, I’ll get this request done, no sweat! You focus on training hard, and see if you can’t get through to that Pikachu of yours! And when you do, we can have a rematch! Ooh, I can’t wait to see how far you’ll have come by then!”

Dawn really was getting fired up over this, wasn’t she? She was practically vibrating on the spot. It seemed her excitement during their practice match the day before extended to Pokémon battling with anyone, not just a newcomer like him.

“Ha, no pressure, then,” Rei said, grinning widely. “Thank you both. Dawn, Warden Mai will be waiting for you by the bridge near the foot of Asp—”

He was interrupted by a chime ringing out from Dawn’s satchel. She took a look at the screen, then flipped it around to show Rei.

“Here?”

“Oh. Yeah, uh, that looks about right,” he said, a little stunned. “Don’t suppose you have any more of those things, do you? They sure look useful.”

“Sorry, it’s a sky-faller exclusive deal, for now,” Dawn shrugged. “I’m sure they’ll be more widespread sometime in the future, though!”

Ibzan rolled his eyes.

“Alright, well, I’d better head off, then!” Dawn said. “Can’t keep that Diamond Clan person waiting! See you guys later!”

She waved and rushed off towards the village gate. Rei waved back, and they began walking towards the training grounds.

“I’m sorry to say that I’m not as knowledgeable with Pokémon as Dawn is, so I won’t be as much help as she would,” Ibzan said.

“That’s no problem. What was it Dawn said yesterday? That it’s best to practise against someone at your level? You're… Well, you’re probably above me at this point, but Dawn’s definitely in a league of her own, so I figured you’d be my best bet.”

“Fair enough. Would you mind doing a favour for me, then, in exchange?” Ibzan asked.

“Uh, if I’m able. What do you need?”

“I’m running low on Poké Balls after yesterday’s trial,” he said. “Dawn told me of your skill in craftsmanship. Could you demonstrate to me how you make them?”

“Oh, of course! I was so focused on the idea of learning from you I forgot there’s stuff you could learn from me, too!” he said with a smile. “Poké Balls all generally follow the same process, but there’s a few intricacies with the other variants that you’ll need to get a feel for. I’ll walk you through it, don’t worry.”

“I appreciate it. I get the feeling buying balls directly would be far more draining on my wallet than crafting them for myself.”

“You’re definitely not wrong about that,” Rei said with a laugh. “Convenience comes with a price, you know! Alright, I can show you the ropes later in the day, if you wouldn’t mind us starting with the Pokémon stuff first?”

“Sounds like a plan.”

Chapter Text

Dawn hummed to herself as she arrived at the Fieldlands Camp. She really hoped that Rei would have a breakthrough with his Pikachu, but… she knew that not every Pokémon could work well with every human. Sometimes parting ways was just better for the both of you, whether that meant trading or releasing them. Still, Pikachu did stick around, even if it didn’t always listen to Rei… That was encouraging. Pikachu was the only Pokémon he had, after all. Not like he could stop it from just up and leaving if it really wanted to.

She wondered if there was anything she could do to help them out. Sadly, though, she wasn’t too familiar with the Pikachu species in general. She’d only seen a couple of them back during her Pokémon journey, neither of which she’d managed to catch, so she didn’t really know how they tended to act or how you should care for them. And it wasn't like she could just go and ask Volkner or Lucas about it, since…

Wait. Why on Earth did Arceus send her here when Lucas was the Pokémon Professor in training? Putting together a Pokédex was exactly the kind of thing he’d be good at! And it wasn't like there were a ton of competitive trainer battles going on around here! Ugh, what reason could there have possibly even been for her to be considered the better choice over—

A hand clamped down on her shoulder.

“Boo!”

Dawn let out a loud squeak, jerking her shoulder away and whirling around. She backed away, her hand automatically slapping at where her Poké Balls would usually be, if she actually got to bring her trainer belt with her. She heard laughter from the security guy stationed at the camp, and she blinked, finally registering exactly who just ambushed her.

“Volo!” she yelled, face flushed with anger and absolutely nothing else. The merchant laughed.

“My, my! If I knew that would be the sort of noise you’d make, I’d have done this somewhere with more people around to appreciate it.”

“Agh, get that smug look off your face! That’s it, from now on I’m never gonna buy anything from you!”

The security guy snorted. He really needed to mind his business.

“Ah, do forgive my little bout of mischief, my friend! Your patronage is important to me, after all. To make up for it, how about I let you in on a little trade secret?” he said, pointing upwards with a smile. “That wasn’t just a prank, you know, but a demonstration! It’s a little something I like to call the Secret Back Strike Technique!”

“A demonstration? Of what?” Dawn asked, curiosity overriding her embarrassment righteous fury.

“You see, if you hit an unaware Pokémon from behind with a Poké Ball, they’ll be taken by surprise!” he said excitedly. “You’ll find your success rate with captures will be much higher if you take advantage of that!”

“Huh," she said thoughtfully. "Huh! That’s… super interesting, actually! I’ve always caught Pokémon mid-battle, so that’s not something I’d ever really thought about. Thanks!”

“Glad to be back in your good graces,” he said, grinning. “Make good use of this technique, and I'm sure it'll make your work in the Survey Corps a breeze! Of course, sharing one of my hard-learned techniques wasn’t the only reason I sought you out. I’ve been hearing whispers of a new arrival from above, and who better to ask about it than she who first fell from the skies?”

“Ah, I should have guessed you’d have heard about him by this point,” Dawn said, shaking her head.

“Of course!” he said, excitedly pointing a finger at her. “A good merchant always keeps abreast of current events! I’m not one to let a good mystery lie, and this second sky-faller sounds very mysterious indeed! Taller than a Rhyperior, with the horns of a Houndoom sprouting from his head! How could such a unique character not pique my curiosity?”

“Well, just don’t bother him too much, alright? He’s still getting used to how things are here. He comes from somewhere very different to here, y’know.”

“Oh?” he said, interest flashing in his eyes. “Do tell.”

“Ah, well, I don’t really know the details myself,” Dawn said, rubbing the back of her head. “Just that those horns of his are normal where he comes from, and that Pokémon are… less common, there?”

It was probably a bad idea to let on that he came from a different world entirely, just like how she’d been avoiding mentioning her own little trip through time. If word spread about either of those facts… she doubted it’d end well. And as nice as Volo was, he didn’t seem like the kinda guy who could keep a secret. If his “Secret” Back Strike Technique was anything to go by, anyway.

“Somewhere where horns are normal? How curious,” he mused. “I’ve never heard of any such place. I’ll just have to ask about it when I meet him, then! And where might he be, at the moment? I’d heard the both of you often stick together, but I’m certainly not seeing him anywhere around here.”

“Ah, he’s back in Jubilife. Practising Pokémon battling with Rei, since they’re both newbies. I think they're gonna go over Poké Ball crafting at some point, too? Anyway, I’m here to meet with someone in the Diamond Clan. You wanna come with? The meeting point’s not that far from here.”

“As much as I’d love to, I do have business in Jubilife, even ignoring the new arrival,” Volo said, shaking his head with a sigh. “I wish you luck with that meeting, though!”

“Alright, see you later, then!” Dawn said. Volo waved and started on the path towards the village. She could really see a lot of his descendant in him — and Cynthia had to be his descendent, just look at him. They acted pretty similar too, with their shared excitement for Pokémon battling and old, mysterious ruins. Everyone else she'd met had as many differences as similarities to the people she knew, so it was nice having someone so familiar instead. It reminded her of home.

Dawn sighed, stretched, and began heading down Aspiration Hill. Time to meet the Diamond Clan.

They found Zisu outside the Training Grounds, shadowboxing with a small purple monkey-like Pokémon by her side, mimicking her movements.

“Whew! Hey there, you two!” Zisu said, wiping sweat from her brow. “I’m just working on teaching my Aipom Fire Punch. So, you here to take me up on my offer, Ibzan?”

Said Aipom stared curiously up at Ibzan, a grin on its face as it bounced on its hand-like tail.

“If you wouldn’t mind. Rei, are you already familiar with…” he trailed off, rolling a hand in the air.

“Move Mastery and Styles,” Zisu supplied. “And I would hope he is, at this point!”

“Ah, yeah, Zisu’s explained it to me a couple times before. Still, a refresher couldn’t hurt, right?” Rei said.

“I suppose not! Okay, Aipom, return for now.”

She held out a Poké Ball. Aipom pouted up at her, but she just raised a brow and tapped the side of the ball with her finger. With an overly-dramatic sigh, it shrank and disappeared within.

“Alright then, listen up! When a Pokémon’s familiar enough with a move, they can choose to vary how they perform it. The names are self-explanatory — Strong Style, and Agile Style!” Zisu said.

“Right,” Rei said with a nod. “Strong Style moves have the Pokémon plant their feet and put their all into an attack. More power, but it’ll tire them out too much to do something else quickly, so they work best as a finisher.”

“Ah, so some of what I said did make it through that skull of yours!” Zisu said cheerfully, plucking Rei’s hat off his head and ruffling his hair.

“Agh! Stop that!” Rei groaned, grabbing for his stolen headwear. Zisu laughed and released it. “Ugh. Why don’t you pick on someone your own size? Like, oh I dunno, him?”

“Ibzan’s hair isn’t nearly so ruffleable,” she teased. “So, how about Agile Style?”

“Well, it’s basically the opposite of Strong Style. The Pokémon gets off an attack as soon as they can, sacrificing power to stay mobile.”

“That’s right! If your Pokémon’s fast enough, you might even be able to get multiple hits in before your opponent can react!”

“Hm, I’ve seen that happen, actually,” Ibzan said. “Jet — Cyndaquil, that is — has managed to hit the enemy with Quick Attack a couple of times before they could retaliate.”

“Aww, you gave him a name? How cute! And yes, that’s exactly how it works. Once your Cyndaquil… Sorry, once Jet masters that Quick Attack of his, he’ll do that even better thanks to Agile Style!” Zisu said with a grin.

“Huh,” Rei murmured to himself. “Would it help if I gave Pikachu a nickname? Dawn names hers, too, and they both adore her…”

“Agile Style definitely sounds advantageous,” Ibzan said. “There’s a saying I’ve heard somewhere — ‘speed is war’.”

“Speed’s definitely useful, but don’t underestimate the tried-and-true power of sheer force!” Zisu said, proudly flexing an arm. “Anything else you remember about the styles, Rei?”

Rei hummed in thought, then smacked a fist into his palm.

“Oh! Strong or Agile Styled moves will tire your Pokémon out faster, so it can be best to stick to regular moves if you’re planning on staying in the field for a while.”

“Correct!” Zisu said with a grin. “And that about sums up Move Mastery. Your Pokémon will master them on their own if they can learn them naturally. If they can’t learn them by themselves… Well, that’s my speciality, actually! Hold on a sec.”

Zisu reached into a pocket on her uniform and fished out a folded, slightly crumpled piece of paper and handed it to Ibzan. Unfolding it revealed a page with ‘Cyndaquil — Rank One’ written at the top, with a list of names and descriptions below it.

“That’s a list of the moves I’m allowed to teach Cyn— Jet, at the moment. When you’re more experienced, I’ll be able to teach him a few more, but those are what I’m limited to for the time being,” Zisu said, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. “Sorry. After a few… incidents, the Commander ordered that I only teach certain moves to members above certain ranks.”

“That’s alright,” Ibzan said as he read over the list. Aerial Ace, Swift, and Rest. While the healing properties of Rest did sound useful, he didn’t like how vulnerable it would leave them. “What’s the distinction between Quick Attack and Aerial Ace? They sound very similar.”

“Hm, I suppose they are pretty similar in a few ways — both overwhelm the opponent with speed. But! Quick Attack focuses on getting a hit in before your opponent can act, while Aerial Ace is more about striking before they can dodge. It prioritises accuracy over speed. Plus, Aerial Ace is a Flying type move, unlike Quick Attack.”

Ibzan hummed in thought. Jet’s namesake speed had definitely proven to be a boon so far, so leaning further into that sounded like a good strategy. And an undodgeable attack was always a good thing. He looked at the list again. It looked like Swift was similarly unavoidable, but it was a Normal type move like Quick Attack was. Having more coverage seemed like his best bet.

“Would you be willing to teach Jet Aerial Ace, then?” Ibzan asked.

“Of course!” Zisu responded, throwing him a thumbs up. “He won’t be able to master any moves I teach him by himself, but I can help with that too, later. Anyway, that’d be five hundred Poké Dollars, for that move.”

Ibzan blinked. Poké Dollars? That’s what their currency was called? …Well, that was probably unfair. To him it may have sounded like an existing currency with ‘Poké’ awkwardly stapled to the front, but that was probably Arceus’ language rewiring at work again. Suppressing a shudder at the thought, he handed over the requested amount.

“Alright! Gimme a few, and Jet’ll be a natural in no time!”

Releasing Jet from his ball, Ibzan caught him up to speed. Jet nodded, looking excited, before running over to Zisu, who had brought another Pokémon out.

“Alright, Murkrow, you’ll be my assistant for this one! Jet, first thing you’ll need to learn is how to manipulate the air around you. Sounds tough, I know, but follow Murkrow’s lead and you’ll have it down in no time!”

Murkrow landed beside Jet. The two of them quirked their heads at one another, before Zisu led them off to the other side of the field for practice.

“Guess our battle will have to wait until she’s done, then,” Rei said. “I hope it won’t take too long. I’ve never actually asked her to teach Pikachu anything, so I’m not sure how much time that’ll take.”

“We might not, actually. I do have a second Pokémon we could battle with.”

“Oh, really? Already?” Rei said, surprised. “I know you caught a lot of them on your trial, but I’m surprised you found one that’d cooperate with you.”

“Well, I haven’t battled with her yet, so I’m not yet sure if she’ll follow my directions, but I’m willing to try if you are,” Ibzan said.

Rei nodded, heading to the opposite side of the court, and they both sent out their respective Pokémon. The Eevee looked around the area, then up at Ibzan.

“We’re going to be sparring against Rei and his Pikachu. If you would be willing to follow my commands, that is?” Ibzan asked her. She huffed at him before turning to face her opponent.

Well, it wasn’t a no. Ibzan flipped open his phone and checked what moves she already knew.

“Okay Pikachu,” Rei said from across the court, “time for battle. Please listen to me, this time?”

Pikachu fixed him with an unreadable look, then walked onto the sand of the court.

“Alright, then. Eevee, open with a Quick Attack!” Ibzan commanded.

“Ah! Er, Thunder Shock, Pikachu!”

After the guard double-checked her ranking and let her across the bridge, Dawn crossed over and… was that the warden? Wow, she looked a lot like Marley. Like, a lot. Not for the first time, she wondered how weird it’d be to walk up and say "Hey, I met one of your great-great-times-whatever grandparents!" once she got home.

Beside the warden sat a Munchlax, gnawing at something in its hands.

“Oh?” the Marley lookalike said. “I was under the impression I’d be meeting two people from the Survey Corps, not just one. I haven’t seen you before.”

Wow, she even sounded like Marley. A Marley that wasn’t so hesitant to actually speak up about what was on her mind. She had a cool, calm tone that contrasted Marley's hesitant start-stop style of speech. It was weird hearing so much from a voice that usually said so little.

“Ah, yeah. Rei, the guy you already spoke to, was planning to join us, but something else came up,” Dawn said.

“Well, it hardly matters how many of you are here, so long as the one that is here is prepared to help with my predicament. I’m assuming you’re the battle expert that Rei spoke of?”

“That’d be me! I’m Dawn. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of whatever the issue is!”

“I admire your confidence. My name is Mai — a warden of the Diamond Clan. The issue at hand requires someone with a talent for battling with Pokémon. Rei sang your praises when I met him last, but I would like to test that skill for myself.”

Dawn nodded determinedly.

“This is Taru,” she said, gesturing to the Munchlax next to her. “He’s always been by my side, ever since birth. And unlike you Galaxy Team types, he chooses to stand with me without the need for those silly little balls.”

That… annoyed Dawn. Did she think she forced her Pokémon to stay? That their bonds were fake, just because of what she used to keep them close? Well, she’d show her just how strong their bonds really were.

“Watch and learn,” Mai said, nodding down at him. Sensing his cue, Taru stuffed the remaining food into his mouth and stood up. Dawn grabbed Shelly’s ball and threw it, releasing her onto the field.

So, a Munchlax… that could be trouble. They more than made up for their lack of speed with their bulk. They could shrug off a lot of hits, and when they hit back, they hit hard. She’d have to act quickly before he had the chance to build up momentum.

“Alright, Shelly! Hit him with an Aqua Jet!” Dawn commanded with a sweep of her arm.

Shelly gathered water around her, then used it to propel herself right at her opponent. In the blink of an eye, she smacked against Taru, the impact splashing the ground around them with water.

“Again!”

Shelly repeated the attack. Taru, for his part, hardly flinched from either blow. He was ready for the second attack, and before Shelly had the chance to retreat, the Munchlax slammed into her with a Tackle. Shelly grunted as she weathered the hit.

…Oh. Hang on.

Mai didn’t order that attack. This… wasn’t a trainer battle, was it? Not really. She lived with her Pokémon and helped build his strength, sure, but… There was no strategy here. She was just letting him do what he wanted. In other words, Dawn was basically just fighting a very strong wild Pokémon.

Was it wrong to say that was a little disappointing? She was the one who got her own hopes up. Matches against other trainers always got her blood pumping, but… apparently, trainers weren’t a thing here, aside from people like Zisu. As nice as it was to see someone who proudly lived alongside Pokémon, compared to the fear that was so common in Jubilife… it was still very different from back home.

Not that all this made Taru any less dangerous, though. She needed to focus. What was her best approach here?

Well, with Pokémon as inexperienced as these were, there wasn’t… really any room for actual strategy. Shelly only knew Tackle and Aqua Jet. Piling on the Aqua Jets was probably her best bet — Shelly's typing made it stronger than a simple Tackle, even if Munchlax weren’t weak to Water, and it would help her keep her pace up.

“Just keep up the Aqua Jets, Shelly!” Dawn shouted.

Mai folded her arms and glanced down at Taru, saying nothing. Shelly breathed in, gathering more water, then once again shot herself towards the Munchlax.

They exchanged blows several more times. Shelly was landing more hits, but Taru was hitting back much harder. Eventually, he landed one last Tackle on the Oshawott, and she collapsed. Dawn winced. That was a Strong Style hit, she could tell.

Down one member of the team, she had two left. She’d rather train Eevee up a little more on some weaker opponents than use him here, though. Shelly had done her part — Kilowatt could finish Taru off.

“You did super well, Shelly. Get some rest,” Dawn said softly, recalling her into her Poké Ball. “Alright, Kilowatt! He’s on the ropes!”

Kilowatt appeared in a burst of light and with an excited cry. He bounced on the spot, ready for action.

“Alright, Quick Attack! Stay light on your feet!”

The Shinx became a blue blur as he zipped towards Taru, colliding into him.

“Now, use Bite before he can react!” Dawn commanded.

Still close to Taru, Kilowatt easily sank his teeth into his arm. Taru attempted to strike back with another Tackle, but the Shinx hopped out of the way. Without the expected collision, Taru stumbled past him, losing his balance on the wet ground and crumpling to the floor.

Dawn took advantage of the opening, ordering Kilowatt to perform another Quick Attack before he could get back up. The Munchlax swiped at Kilowatt again, but couldn’t keep up with his agility and missed. Clambering back up onto his feet, he watched and waited for Kilowatt’s next move.

“Taru,” called Mai. He paused and looked back at her. “Might I suggest using Rollout?”

Taru's eyes widened and he nodded happily. He curled up into a ball and rolled, quickly rocketing towards his opponent like a cannonball. Kilowatt yelped and dove to the side, but was caught on the leg by the attack.

Oh, this was bad. Mai must have known that Rollout only hit harder and harder each time it connected. She was looking to take advantage of Taru’s bulk to outlast Kilowatt, until those hits became too much for him to handle. If she couldn’t stop him or end the fight before he built up momentum, this fight was as good as lost.

She couldn’t help but grin wildly. Now this battle was getting somewhere!

“Thunder Shock, Kilowatt! Stop him in his tracks!”

Electricity sparked off Kilowatt’s fur as he gathered up strength. With a war cry, he let loose a blast of electricity, scoring a direct hit at Taru’s rolling form. A direct hit, but not one that made him falter.

“Again! Paralyse him!”

Another burst of electricity, but he still just shrugged it off. Taru crashed into Kilowatt again, hitting even harder than last time. That was the last one he’d be able to take, she knew.

“You can do it, Kilowatt! One more time!”

With a hoarse cry, Kilowatt let loose another surge of electricity. It slammed into Taru, crackling across his body, and… Yes! Paralysis! Unable to move properly, Taru veered off course and slammed into a nearby boulder. He lay there, dazed.

“Yeah! Nicely done, Kilowatt! Now, use Bite to seal the deal!” Dawn cheered, enthusiastically pumping her arms.

Kilowatt bounded over. Taru began to sit up, his eyes widening at the sight of the rapidly approaching Shinx. He tried to move out of the way, but Kilowatt was too quick, biting down on his shoulder. The Munchlax collapsed with a groan.

“Well fought, Taru,” Mai said, walking over to him. “Here, let’s do something about those wounds of yours.”

She took out a bottle and poured its contents onto her hand, rubbing it onto his injuries. Taru rumbled appreciatively. Mai looked back up at Dawn.

“I can treat your Pokémon, too, if you’ll allow it,” she said. Dawn nodded gratefully, releasing Shelly from her ball.

“Defeating Taru is no small feat. You practically acted as one with your Pokémon! It reminds me of those old stories, spoken under the flickering light of a campfire…” she said, nostalgia filling her eyes. “You’ve given me some things to think about. Regardless, I can tell Rei’s praise was not unfounded. You’re definitely the one for the job.”

Shelly let out a relieved sigh as Mai massaged the Potion onto her skin.

“I’m glad,” Dawn said. “So, what was it you were needing help with?”

“Well, you see, there’s an Alpha Pokémon making a nuisance of itself in Deertrack Heights. It’s interfering with my duties. Tell me, do you know what being a warden entails?”

“Not… really,” Dawn said, scratching her head. “I just figured it meant you were super important.”

“Well, that’s not entirely inaccurate,” Mai said, laughing softly as she moved on to treat Kilowatt’s wounds. “Our duties are important. We tend to the needs of an honoured few Pokémon, blessed by almighty Sinnoh. My Lord, the great Wyrdeer, often rests in Deertrack Heights between travels. But that Alpha’s muscled in on his territory, and I’ve unfortunately been unable to drive it off by myself.”

“Wait wait wait, sorry, back up a sec. Almighty what?” Dawn blurted, shocked. That was the name of her home — what Hisui would be called in however many years — and she hadn't heard it mentioned anywhere around here until just now.

“Ah, of course, you’re new to Hisui, aren’t you? Almighty Sinnoh is the master of the flow of time. Using its power, it created the very fabric of the universe, and from there Hisui came to be, followed by the rest of the world, and every human and Pokémon that inhabits it. Long ago, our people arrived in Hisui, seeking to deepen their connection to almighty Sinnoh, and ever since we’ve had wardens who attend to those Noble Pokémon blessed with its protection.”

Huh. The master of the flow of time… Well, that described Dialga to a tee, didn’t it?

“I… see,” Dawn said carefully. “I heard there was another clan, too. What’s their deal?”

“Oh, the Pearl Clan,” Mai said with a sigh. “Their wardens care for the Noble Pokémon, just as ours do, but they’re… misguided. They have a false image of almighty Sinnoh — one that governs over space, not time. I respect them for the work their wardens do, but… I worry, sometimes, about where their misconceptions may lead them.”

Oh boy. A Pokémon that controls space… that would be Dialga’s sibling, Palkia. The Pearl Clan believed Palkia created the universe, and the Diamond Clan believed Dialga created the universe.

And Dawn knew that neither did. That honour went to the one who’d brought her and Ibzan here in the first place.

Didn’t the Professor say the clans had been in actual conflict until fairly recently? If she went around claiming they were both wrong she really doubted either one would be too happy. Especially not without proof. Besides, she was a time traveller! Revealing that kind of stuff could mess things up and, like, make her slowly and dramatically fade out of existence like in the movies, right?

Yeah, probably best not to say anything.

“I see,” she said instead. “I’d heard about the two clans, but not really anything about them until now. Thanks for explaining! So, about that Alpha…”

About that Alpha. Her experiences with them so far had been… well, the opposite of good, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t scope out the situation. She needed to know exactly what kind of Pokémon was causing issues. If it were, say, a water type, then Kilowatt would have an advantage in the fight, and she'd probably need all the advantages she could get.

Still, if worst came to worst, she could spend however long she'd need training up her team until they were strong enough to take it down.

“Of course,” Mai said. “I’ll show you the way to Deertrack Heights. Follow me.”

Chapter Text

“Tackle.”

“Thunder Shock, Pikachu!”

Rei’s Pikachu let out a fierce cry as he shot forward… with a Quick Attack. Eevee weathered through the blow, legs shaking from the force, then retaliated once her opponent came to a halt. She slammed her body into the Pikachu, knocking him to the floor. He let out a small groan, not getting up.

Eevee hopped enthusiastically on the spot, tail wagging back and forth. She spun around with an excited squeak, then froze as she spotted Ibzan standing behind her. At that reminder, her mood soured, and she looked away with a scowl.

“Good work, Eevee,” Ibzan said. Eevee responded with an annoyed bark, but the excitement of battle was clearly still running through her, if her wagging tail was any indication.

“Return, Pikachu. Get some rest," Rei said with a sigh, holding out a Poké Ball. Pikachu shrank down and disappeared inside. Opening his satchel, he grabbed a Potion and tossed it to Ibzan. “No matter what I do, it feels like I just can’t get through to him… Don’t suppose you have any advice, do you?”

“You’d be better off asking Dawn, but I can try,” Ibzan said, kneeling down beside Eevee, uncorking the bottle and pouring some onto his hand. “Was he always like that?”

“Well… not really?” Rei said hesitantly, scratching the back of his head. “We weren’t exactly pals when I first caught him, sure, but he wasn’t outright ignoring my commands until pretty recently.”

Ibzan hummed in thought as he rubbed the Potion onto Eevee’s wounds. She rumbled out something between a growl and a purr, settling down beside him and shutting her eyes. “Anything happen around then that might have caused that change in his behaviour?”

“I… don’t think so? Well, there was that time when a Shinx decided to use me for target practice. I was stuck in the infirmary for a couple days after that. I just… froze at the sight of the electricity sparking as it charged up its attack. It took me too long to get a hold of myself. I didn’t have the time to send out Pikachu for battle, or even try dodging, before it sent me right to the infirmary.”

“Hm. Do you think Pikachu took that as a slight against him, perhaps?”

Rei blinked. “Uh… Sorry, you’ve lost me.”

“Well,” Ibzan said, “it might have seemed to him that you purposely chose not to send him out.”

“So, what, he thinks that I’m incapable, or… that I think he's incapable, and that’s why he’s giving me the cold shoulder?”

“Well, maybe. Pokémon seem like smart creatures, from what I’ve seen. Dawn told me they have a vague idea of what’s going on outside their balls, so he might have come to his own conclusions based on what information he had access to,” he said, then shrugged. “Or not. I don’t know. It might be worth speaking to him about it.”

“Uh, Pokémon can’t talk, Ibzan.”

“Not in words, but they seem to have some level of understanding of our language, and respond in their own ways. For example, you can tell that Eevee here is thrilled to be part of the team. Aren’t you?” he asked dryly, patting her on the head. She hissed, though also she didn’t bother to move from where she lay. “Anyway, it’s worth a try.”

“I guess so…” Rei said, still sounding a little doubtful. “I’ll give it a shot once he’s rested up a bit.”

An enthusiastic whoop of celebration from the other side of the Training Grounds drew their attention.

“Hey, you two!” Zisu called with a wave as she approached, her Murkrow perched on her shoulder and looking just as proud as its trainer. “Guess who’s just had a breakthrough? Show ‘em, Jet!”

The Cyndaquil stepped out from behind her, puffed out steam from his nostrils, and focused. Then, he shot forward, the wind whistling as the air in his path parted before him. Zisu let out another whoop as he arced across the court in the blink of an eye, kicking up a thick line of sand in his wake.

“Quick in battle, and a quick learner," Ibzan said, impressed. “Good work, friend."

Jet puffed up with pride at the praise.

“I see you’ve got another little addition to your team,” Zisu said, leaning down to look at the Pokémon lying next to him. Eevee warily eyed her back. “Does it have a nickname, too?”

“Hm. No, she doesn’t. Do you want one?” he asked the Eevee. She fixed him with a scowl. “I see. You don’t want one, then.”

Impressively, she scowled even harder. Getting a straight answer from this creature was like pulling teeth with a plastic spoon.

“So you do. I’ll have to think of something,” he said.

“As simple as that, huh?” Rei murmured to himself, running a thumb over the latch on the Poké Ball in his hand.

“Anyway, do you want me to teach it — or her, ‘scuse me — a new move, too? Uh, Eevees… Gimme a second, here,” Zisu said. She disappeared into the dojo, then came back out a minute later with another list of moves, the ink on the page still drying.

Ibzan hummed in thought as he looked them over. Focus Energy, Calm Mind, and Rest. He dismissed Rest for the same reasons as before, so there were only Calm Mind and Focus Energy to consider.

They seemed pretty similar, overall. Both had the user focus themselves in order to improve their combat abilities. Calm Mind seemed to prioritise awareness — keeping a level head in combat so they could better defend against attacks or find moments where their opponent’s guard is lowered. Focus Energy, on the other hand, shifted that focus from themselves to just on the enemy — looking for specific areas to target for the most impact.

In other words, Calm Mind kept a balance of offence and defence, while Focus Energy went all-in on the former. Of the two, Calm Mind sounded like the more reliable option. He suggested it to the Eevee lying beside him, giving her a quick summary of what both moves did. She thought for a moment, then gave him a slow nod.

“Alright!” Zisu said with a grin. “Leave it to me! That’ll be fifteen hundred Poké Dollars, this time.”

“Quite the step up from Aerial Ace,” Ibzan commented, handing over the requested amount.

He wasn’t sure how much the crafting materials would cost, but hopefully he’d still have enough for them for Rei’s lesson later on. Failing that, he could always just memorise the process and come back to it when he had the necessary funds. Besides, investing in his Pokémon was a good plan, considering his work revolved around them now. It wasn’t as though Pokémon couldn’t be studied without capturing them, anyway.

“Some moves are a little harder to teach than others,” Zisu said. “Don't worry, though, it’ll be well worth the price of admission, just you wait!”

She headed back over to the other side of the grounds. Eevee glanced back at Ibzan, then followed her.

“Alright, I don’t have any Psychic types who’d be able to help demonstrate, but I’ve taught it plenty of times before!” she said to Eevee. “Let’s go over the basics first, then…”

Her voice faded as they got nearer to the other side of the field, but at least Eevee seemed to be listening to her. Ibzan supposed the chance to learn another move, even if it wasn’t an attack, wasn’t something Eevee would want to pass up.

“Well, Pikachu still needs time to rest, so we can’t do any more battle practice for the time being,” Rei said. “How about we head down to the Craftworks and I can show you how to make Poké Balls for yourself?”

Ibzan nodded. “Sounds go—”

“Hello, there!" a voice said from behind them, making Jet jump. "So glad to finally get the chance to make your acquaintance!”

“Oh, hello again!” Rei greeted the approaching stranger. “Didn’t see you there. Something we can help you with?”

“Ah, just looking to sate my curiosity, that’s all! I’ve heard so very much about you, stranger. Ibzan, was it not?”

“That’s my name, yes,” Ibzan said. “And you are?”

The man carried a large rucksack on his back, bulging at the sides from its contents. He looked up at Ibzan with a bright smile.

“Forgive my rudeness — my name is Volo, of the Ginko Guild. The go-to choice for any of your mercantile needs in Hisui!” the man said.

“I see. Well, I’m not looking to buy anything at the moment, so—”

“Oh, but I’m not here for business! You see, while my work may be in trading goods, my passion lies in seeking out the little oddities of the world. When I heard about Jubilife’s second sky-faller, I just knew I had to find out more about you!”

He should have figured as much. That last part of his introduction had sounded a lot like an afterthought — probably something he was contractually obligated to say, rather than something he held any actual interest in. While having wares shoved in his face was hardly a thrilling prospect, the idea of being badgered for personal information was one he liked even less.

Volo was looking him up and down, fascination twinkling unabashedly in the one eye his hair left uncovered. He was staring up at Ibzan's horns, of course, but his gaze seemed to linger on other areas near them, too — his hair and eyes. Dawn had said earlier that his eye colour was nothing unusual here, and had never made any comments on his hair colour, either. It was odd to see them being given the same amount of attention as his more… distinct features.

Perhaps this Volo character was the type to absorb every little detail he could, no matter the significance. Timur was similar, whenever something managed to catch his interest. Though in exchange, he’d forget about basic things like ‘answering the damn phone’ or considerations such as ‘rigging your whole room with explosives as a trap for the Reaper is a bad plan, especially when you’re still working in said room’.

“Well, look, I’m sorry to disappoint, but I’m not interested in sharing my life story,” Ibzan said, trying to move past. Volo held up an arm with a grin, barring his way forward.

“Don’t worry, I would never simply ask in exchange for nothing! I’m a merchant, after all — I know the value of quid pro quo. I couldn’t help but overhear your plans to learn how to craft Poké Balls! It’s always exciting to see more and more people getting involved with Pokémon!”

“Get to the point,” Ibzan said, patience rapidly dwindling.

“As luck would have it, I happen to have a good stockpile of Tumblestones and Apricorns in my possession! I’d be happy to part with them, if you would be willing to tell me a little about yourself. What do you say?”

Ibzan was about to tell him exactly where he could shove his wares, but paused. He still didn’t know the prices of those materials, so there was no guarantee that he’d be able to afford them with what remained of the funds that Dawn had given him. Even if he could, there was the question of how much he could afford. If he could only buy, say, two balls worth of materials, that wouldn’t leave a lot of room for practice.

In other words, getting stuff for free was a good thing. Go figure. He’d just have to dance around these questions without revealing too much.

“Fine,” Ibzan said with a short sigh. “Make it quick, then.”

“Wonderful! Now, I was planning on asking about the Rift you fell from, but my good friend Dawn mentioned an interesting little tidbit to me — that you come from a land where Pokémon are a rarity. I would love to hear more about that!”

Ah. Great.

Well, he appreciated that Dawn told him that Pokémon were rare where he came from, rather than nonexistent. Smart. It explained his unfamiliarity with Pokémon in general while still keeping his story within the bounds of plausibility.

He just questioned her decision to tell this guy anything about it in the first place.

Right, well. The sooner he satisfied Volo's curiosity, the sooner he’d leave. The most believable lies were those with truth sprinkled throughout.

“Well, what more could I add? Pokémon were rare. In fact, I only ever saw a few different species in my time. The type I was most familiar with, we knew as Hellhounds.”

Hellhounds weren't Pokémon, of course, but undead animals. What they were was a close enough analogue that he could believably portray them as such.

“Oh, how interesting! I’ve never heard of such a Pokémon. Could you tell me more about them?”

“They’re four-legged, have a tail, and have three heads. A Dog Pokémon, if that means anything to you. I’d never trained one myself. While I wasn’t familiar with the type classification system at the time, I’d say they were…”

Well, undead, first and foremost. The same chill ran through their veins as every other denizen of that Place. And they always had an utterly vicious temperament, so…

“A dual Ice and Dark type, I believe. They were always cold to the touch. That’s just an educated guess, though.”

“Hmm… Similar names, and… Tell me, might they have horns like you do?” Volo asked, holding up his hands on either size of his head to mimic them, eyes were glittering with enthusiasm.

Ibzan shook his head.

“How very interesting indeed!” Volo said cheerily, lowering his hands. “Your description brings to mind the Houndoom of the Johto Region, but they have horns much like your own, and only one head! They’re a dual Fire and Dark type, so I’ve got to wonder… could these Hellhounds of yours be a regional variant, perhaps?”

“I’m not familiar with Houndoom, I’m afraid,” Ibzan said, “so all I can do is speculate.”

And lie through his teeth, of course.

“You won’t find any in Hisui, unfortunately,” Volo sighed. “Perhaps I can find a sketch or photograph of one somewhere to show you. Well, here’s the Tumblestones, as promised!”

Volo reached into the large rucksack he was carrying, and brought out a cloth bag, dropping it into Ibzan’s hands. Then, he pointed up at Ibzan, excitedly wagging his whole hand up and down.

“Now, the Apricorns can be yours, too, if you’d humour me for another question!”

“Get on with it,” Ibzan said with a sigh.

“I believe that you in particular may have some insight into a subject I’ve been pursuing for some time now. Could you tell me what precisely happened to you before you fell through that Rift in the sky?”

He really was getting on Ibzan’s nerves. Best to get this over with quickly.

“I’ll admit, I don’t remember much,” Ibzan said. “I was going about my day, when everything just… went dark, all in an instant. I woke up on Prelude Beach with Laventon and Dawn standing over me.”

All of which was true. He’d simply left out a few details. He had forgotten a lot across his long stretch of existence — really, if Volo didn’t ask what it was he wasn’t remembering, that was his own fault. His actions that particular day weren’t something he ever planned to elaborate on either, nor what exactly led to him ‘blacking out’. And finally, he did indeed wake up on the beach sometime afterwards. He saw no need to mention any of what happened between those two points in time. And space, in his particular case.

“Ah, a shame,” Volo said, shaking his head with a sad smile. “Dawn couldn’t recall the specifics of her travel through the Rift either, so I suppose I should have expected as much. Well, as unsatisfying as it is, a deal’s a deal. Hold on a moment.”

He rummaged in his rucksack once more before producing another cloth bag, handing it over.

“Would you be willing to indulge me a little more? I’ve never met anyone with such an extraordinary feature as those horns of yours! And I’d make it worth your while, of course!”

“That depends,” Ibzan said. “Rei, do we need any other materials for crafting Poké Balls?”

“Hm? Oh, uh… No, just Apricorns and Tumblestones for the standard ones,” he said hesitantly, scratching his cheek.

“Then no,” Ibzan said flatly.

“Pity. Well, I do need to meet with Ginter soon, regardless,” Volo said with a sigh. “So for now, I’ll be on my way. Do reconsider my offer — I’m sure I can scrounge up something you’d be interested in. I look forward to our next meeting!”

He waved with a bright smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes, then turned and headed back towards the village.

“I don’t,” Ibzan muttered. Rei barked out a startled laugh.

“Yeah, he can be a bit much at times, can’t he? He doesn’t mean anything by it, though, he’s just very curious about things and… gets a bit too focused on them to care about how he comes off, I guess. He’s been like that as long as I’ve known him.”

“Well, at the very least we got some crafting materials out of it.”

“Yeah, see? He’s not so bad. By the way… Didn’t Dawn say there weren’t any Pokémon where you were from?” Rei asked.

“There aren’t, but I’d rather not spread that fact any further than it needs to. Anyway, the Craftworks?”

“Ah, right, yeah. Let’s go.”

Ibzan and Rei headed out of the Training Grounds, Jet trotting along behind them. As they left, they heard an exasperated voice from behind them.

“Okay, just… listen. To use Calm Mind you need to actually, y’know, be calm? Please, just take a deep breath, and… Look, getting frustrated won’t help! In fact, it’ll do the opposite. Ugh, maybe I should just refund Ibzan and see if there’s anything different he’d like to teach you…”

An indignant squeak.

“Alright, alright! Okay, just take a deep breath, and… You need to hold your breath, don’t just breathe out again right after! …Hey, don’t give me that look, fluffball!”

“Here we are, the Craftworks!” Rei said cheerily. “The workbench here is free for Corps members to use, so you won’t need to worry about that. You can talk to Anvin inside if you need to buy any more materials, but I don’t think we’ll need to worry about that thanks to Volo.”

“Yeah, I suppose something good did come of that encounter,” Ibzan commented.

“Be nice,” Rei said, laughing.

“Should the workbench really be on the floor like that?” Ibzan asked, pointing at it.

“Oh, yeah, well… That’s how you’d use the portable ones in the field, so… yeah.”

Rei sat cross-legged beside the workbench and waited for Ibzan to do the same.

“Alright, let’s get started. Could you grab me one Apricorn and one Tumblestone?”

Ibzan handed them over.

“Alright, listen close! The first step to making a Poké Ball is taking the Apricorn and splitting it in half! First, we need to weaken the shell.”

Rei took a hammer from the workbench and knocked it hard against the shell of the Apricorn, then rotated it a little and struck it again. After several minutes of repeated strikes, a neat split formed down the middle, letting him pull the two halves apart.

“Whew. They’re hardy, but you just need to be patient. We'll put these two halves to the side for now. The bottom one — the half without the stalk — we'll be using for the lower half of our Poké Ball,” Rei said, taking a knife and beginning to remove the insides of the Apricorn half.

“And the top half?” Ibzan asked.

“We'll get to that,” Rei replied. “A lot of Pokémon love Apricorns, so you could probably give them the leftover innards, but only after we're done. We still have a use for them right now."

“I see,” Ibzan replied, looking down at the mushy contents sitting in each half of the Apricorn. It certainly didn't look particularly appetising to him, but Jet was eyeing the stuff with all the subtlety of his namesake, his long snout twitching up and down at the scent of it.

“They aren't much use to us now, but will be once they've dried out a bit. Now, you know the red bit on the top of the ball? Well, that's the Tumblestone. But if we split this chunk here open…"

Rei took a hammer and used it to drive the chisel deep into the rock, breaking it in two.

“There’s a bunch of small metal deposits dotted around the inside, see?” Rei said, wiping his brow. “We can use them to make our latch.”

“Metal? How would you work with that in the field?”

“Apricorns have a lot of energy inside — that's why Pokémon like them, or so the Professor says. What that means is that it makes for pretty good fuel!" Rei said. "Even when they’re dry, it’s still pretty hard to start a fire. And it doesn’t keep well once outside the shell, so it's not great for lamps or whatever. But, it’s good as a quick source of heat out in the field! Here, watch."

Rei used the chisel to pick out the metal from within the Tumblestone, piling it up into a small metal bowl with a wooden handle. Once he'd gathered enough, he flicked some flint and steel together at the now-dry innards of the Apricorn. Sparks were landing on the pile, but nothing that properly caught alight. Rei looked resigned to keep on trying, until Jet approached and used a small Ember to set it alight.

"Oh! Thanks, little guy. Alright, so this bowl here is made of a heat-resistant metal, with a higher melting point than what’s in the Tumblestone. The Apricorn’s shell is durable enough to resist the flames, so it’s useful as a makeshift ‘fire pit’ of sorts," Rei explained, placing the bowl above the shell. “You gotta be extra careful here. The workbench and our crafting kits come with little moulds for the latch, hinge, and rim, so all we gotta do is pour in the metal and wait for it to cool."

After a good few minutes, the flame emanating from the Apricorn shell petered out. Rei took the metal bowl by the handle and poured the liquid metal into the three moulds, careful not to spill any. He grabbed the other half of the Apricorn and placed it in front of Jet, who happily dug into its contents.

"If the metal hasn't fully melted by the time the flame begins to die, you can add some more from the other half of the Apricorn," Rei explained. "What we had in that one half was enough, though, so Jet can enjoy the leftovers. One Tumblestone should have enough metal inside for what we need, though some other types of ball need to be reinforced with iron to hold together right."

He carefully placed the moulds to the side.

"While those cool down — which’ll take a while — we can chisel out the Tumblestone itself into the right size and shape for the ball," Rei said, grabbing a chisel and hammer. "It should be about equal to your Apricorn."

Rei gestured to the lower half of the Apricorn, which Jet had entirely picked clean by this point. He carefully chiselled the rock until it was the right size, the edge remarkably smooth considering the tools he was using. Once that was done, he demonstrated how to piece all the components together properly, and soon enough a fully completed Poké Ball was sitting on the workbench.

"That's incredible, Rei," Ibzan said, impressed. "I'm surprised by how much use you can get out of just these two materials."

"Ah, there's nothing to it, really! Didn’t invent the process, I just follow it," Rei said, face flushed as he grinned happily. "I know it seems like a lot, but practice enough and it'll feel like second nature!"

Rei grabbed the newly-made Poké Ball and handed it to Ibzan. It felt just like any other Poké Ball he’d used, but this one he’d watched get built from scratch. It definitely gave him a new appreciation for these things.

"Now, you give it a try! I'll keep an eye on what you're doing, and point out anything I—"

“Rei.”

Rei jumped as Cyllene’s voice interrupted him.

“Ah! Yes, Captain?” Rei barked, shooting up to his feet and standing ramrod straight.

“I apologise for the interruption," she said unapologetically. "I need you to deliver a message to Dawn as soon as you’re able. I trust that won’t be an issue?”

“No, ma’am!”

“Good,” she said with a nod. “Professor Laventon left before I could pass him the message, so it's down to you. We have gained permission to construct a secondary base camp at Deertrack Heights, once Warden Mai's request has been fulfilled and the area is cleared of danger. You, Dawn, and the Professor will assist the Construction Corps where necessary, ensuring any nearby wild Pokémon won't cause issues for them. Understood?”

“Yes, ma’am!”

Cyllene nodded again, then turned and headed back towards Galaxy Hall. Rei gave Ibzan an apologetic look.

“Sorry… We can pick this back up again sometime later, if that’s alright?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Ibzan said, waving him off. “I remember your instructions well enough. I'll keep practising the process while you're busy with that.”

“Alright,” Rei said hesitantly. “Good luck, then! I’m sure you’ll do great!”

“See you later,” Ibzan said. Rei waved and started running towards the village gate.

…So, the first step was splitting the Apricorn in half. Ibzan grabbed one from the bag and placed it on the workbench. Grabbing the hammer, he swung it down onto the fruit.

The force caused the shell to crack immediately around the point of impact, the uneven, jagged split rendering the shell unusable. The insides slowly trickled out onto his hand.

He sighed and held out his fingers to Jet, letting him lick the Apricorn mush off.

Alright… Gentler hits than that.

…But not so gentle that he’d be here all day.

He sighed and grabbed another Apricorn from the bag.

“Here we are. Deertrack Heights, my Lord’s chosen domain.”

Dawn looked around in wonder. Mai had led her to a clearing, surrounded on each side by large hills. Their path up here had some wooden steps for ease of travel, but here at the top there were some ancient-looking stone structures. Some mossy pedestals and the remnants of a fallen pillar. She wondered what could have originally been built here.

Dawn was about to ask her about it, but that train of thought was interrupted by the sound of rapid footsteps behind them.

“Oh? I see your professor has decided to join us,” Mai commented.

Professor Laventon came to a stop in front of them, face red with exertion and breathing heavily. Despite that, he had a cheery grin on his face.

“Whew… I’m not built for this sort of thing…” he wheezed. “But I got here in time, it seems! Thank goodness…”

“Uh, hey Professor,” Dawn said, bemused. “What are you doing here? Did something happen?”

“Oh, there’s nothing to worry about, my girl,” Laventon said, adjusting his hat. “I could hardly stand to miss out on the opportunity to observe an Alpha in the wild, that’s all!”

He brought out his camera from a lab coat pocket, grinning ear to ear.

“Oh, okay. Just… be careful, alright? Alphas are no joke,” Dawn said worriedly, before a thought occurred to her. “Uh, Warden Mai, you don’t mind him being here, do you?”

“Just Mai is fine,” she said. “And no. So long as you keep out of the way, you may do as you like.”

“Not to worry!” Laventon said cheerily. “You’ll hardly notice my presence!”

“Very well,” Mai said. “Now, as I’ve said, this is Deertrack Heights, where—”

She was interrupted by a melodic noise echoing throughout the plains.

“It’s coming. Quickly, this way.”

Mai led them behind one of the mossy pedestals. When crouched down, it was tall enough to hide them all from the approaching Alpha.

“There it is,” Mai said, peeking over the top. “The troublemaker that’s been disrupting the great Wyrdeer’s area of respite.”

Dawn looked around the side of the pedestal. In the middle of the clearing was the biggest Kricketune she’d ever seen, rubbing its arms across its chest to produce a deafening melody. Maybe its size was what let it be so loud?

“My goodness…” Laventon murmured to himself. “While I’ve heard plenty of tales from others, seeing an Alpha in person is another thing entirely… What a truly fearsome sight!”

“Hey Professor,” Dawn said as quietly as she could while still being audible over its din. “Do you have any idea what typing Wyrdeer is?”

“I haven’t had the chance to properly study one, but I do believe it’s a Psychic type,” he responded.

Ah, yeah, that checked out. While Bug types were generally on the weaker side, competitively speaking, they still had the advantage in that matchup. And Bug or not, this was still an Alpha.

“This is the reason I requested Galaxy Team’s aid, Dawn,” Mai said, voice hard. “I need this interloper driven from this place. Can you do that?”

Could she?

She knew she had no hope of beating those Alphas she’d come across earlier, but a Kricketune? That was a very different story. While she didn’t have a type advantage here — and oh, it would’ve been really handy to have Ibzan and Jet along for this, huh? — Bug types were, again, generally weaker than most other types. She knew Kricketot tended to evolve into Kricketune a lot earlier than Luxio and Snorlax would, so there was a pretty good chance it had less experience in battle than Kilowatt or Taru, too.

“I… think I have a good shot,” Dawn said. “Still, I wanna be careful about this. If things go south, would you two be able to get out of here quickly?”

Mai and Laventon glanced at one another, then nodded.

“Alright…” Dawn said, taking a deep breath.

She grabbed a Poké Ball from her satchel and stepped out from behind the pedestal.

Chapter Text

Once the Kricketune spotted Dawn, it roared, unlike anything she’d… well, actually, quite a lot like three other Pokémon she’d heard recently. Which was way too many angry Alphas to have met over three days. Not that any amount of Alphas wanting to kill you was good, but…

Head in the game, Dawn, c’mon. Her grip on the Poké Ball tightened.

“You’re up, Kilowatt!” she shouted, throwing it forward. The Shinx appeared in a burst of light, tense as he growled at the giant staring him down.

The Kricketune roared again. Dawn took an involuntary step back, heart pounding. She shook her head harshly.

“Open with a Quick Attack, Kilowatt!” Dawn yelled, sweeping her arm through the air. “Evasive manoeuvres! Do not let yourself get hit!”

The most dangerous thing about an Alpha, from what she’d seen so far, was everything. They were big, they hit hard, and didn’t even have the decency to be slower to make up for it. In fact, they were faster than regular Pokémon of their species. Watching that Alpha Snorlax chase after Ibzan had been terrifying.

Kilowatt slammed into the Kricketune, hopping back before it could retaliate.

“Good! Now, hit it with a Thunder Shock! Go for a paralysis!”

Leading with Kilowatt was very important for her strategy here. With all the strengths Alphas had, she needed any advantage she could get, and he was her best bet for that.

The electricity crashed into the Kricketune, crackling off its shell. It growled, a noise like a rainstick dragged across a xylophone. It lunged forward with a Tackle, but Kilowatt managed to hop out of the way just in time.

That… looked like it actually hurt it! Only a little, but it was a reaction! The Luxio had barely flinched from anything she’d hit it with yesterday, but this meant the Kricketune was beatable.

“Again, Kilowatt!”

Kilowatt let loose another blast of electricity at the Kricketune, the force pushing it back just a little. It retaliated with another Tackle, one that Kilowatt couldn’t dodge in time. The Shinx was launched back, bouncing on the ground and rolling to a stop.

“Kilowatt!” Dawn cried, rushing forward.

She stopped when Kilowatt barked at her, clambering to his feet, legs shaking. Dawn knew that the next hit that connected would take him out of this fight, but what to do? Quick Attack would help keep him more mobile, but she needed a paralysis to stand a chance here. And being faster still didn’t guarantee he’d be able to dodge everything.

“Try another Thunder Shock, Kilowatt! You’re doing great!” Dawn called.

Kilowatt blasted another surge of electricity at the Kricketune, and… yes! That stopped it in its tracks! It was paralysed!

“Qu-Quick Attack!” Dawn hurriedly cried.

The Shinx darted forward and slammed into the Alpha again, but in his exhaustion he tripped over his feet while trying to get away. As he scrambled to his feet, the Kricketune rushed forward and finished him with…

An Absorb.

Oh, this jerk!

Some of the smaller scratches on its body were already closing up. While Absorb wasn’t nearly as effective as Mega or Giga Drain, every little bit of damage still mattered in a fight like this.

She recalled Kilowatt into his ball, whispering thanks and apologies. She dove into her satchel and threw out another ball as quickly as she could. Shelly burst out, brandishing her shell with a furious glare.

The Kricketune let loose another blaring melody. Dawn cried out and slammed her hands over her ears. Shelly, thankfully, didn’t seem to be affected nearly as much by the din.

“Aqua Jet, Shelly!” Dawn shouted through the ringing in her ears. “Keep at it as long as you can!”

Even though Kilowatt had fallen, he’d swung the fight back in their favour, lessening the Alpha’s speed advantage and levelling the playing field just that little bit more. And Dawn was going to take that and run as far with it as she could.

Aqua Jets would keep Shelly on the move, letting her hit multiple times and helping her dodge any attacks it could get out through the paralysis. When an opponent’s every attack hit like a truck, mobility was key.

Shelly dashed past the Kricketune, swiping at it with her shell and propelling herself with water to avoid its retaliatory swipe. While Water type attacks weren’t any more effective on Bug types than Electric ones were, Shelly had more experience fighting than Kilowatt did.

The Kricketune charged forward with another Tackle, but Shelly shot herself backward with a jet of water, getting out of the way in just the nick of time. Turning in an arc, she jetted forward and struck back at the Alpha before it could recover from its own attack. As the shell’s edge raked against its carapace, it roared.

Shelly stumbled for a moment, but managed to keep up her momentum. As she passed the Kricketune to strike at it again, the air suddenly shifted, and in the blink of an eye it swung its arm down, slamming Shelly directly on the back.

An Aerial Ace!?

Jerk was way too kind a word for this thing!

Shelly cried out, the water surrounding her dissipating as she was sent sprawling in the dirt.

This was bad! Shelly’s speed advantage wouldn’t matter if the Kricketune knew a move that couldn’t miss! And that Aerial Ace hit hard, too — Shelly was still reeling from that blow!

“Get up, Shelly! Please!” Dawn cried desperately. The Oshawott caught her breath and rolled away from her opponent, getting back to her feet and standing firmly between Dawn and the Alpha.

Dawn glanced nervously between the two Pokémon. That one hit already took a lot out of Shelly, but the Kricketune wasn’t looking too hot, either. This was… doable, she thought. Maybe.

She glanced back at the pedestal, Mai and the Professor peeking out from behind it. If things went south… She could throw a Poké Ball and they could all leg it. While she wasn't a human cannon like Ibzan was, she wouldn’t need to use them as projectiles like he did against the Luxio. Containing it for just a few seconds should give them enough time to get away.

…Hopefully?

…Just don’t let it come to that.

“More Aqua Jets, Shelly! As many as you can manage!”

In the end, that was all they could do. Aqua Jet was the strongest move Shelly knew, especially since she was a Water type Pokémon using a Water type attack. So, that was the plan. Whittle this thing down as best they could, and pray the paralysis would hinder it enough for Shelly to outlast it.

Shelly gathered more water around herself and charged forward. She dodged an attempt at a Tackle and quickly swiped at it twice more. The Kricketune cried out and raised an arm in preparation for another Aerial Ace. Dawn heard the air shift again, but its arm locked up midway through the swing, slowing it enough that Shelly could avoid it.

“You can do it, Shelly! It’s on the ropes!” Dawn yelled, voice hoarse.

Shelly smashed into the Alpha once more with an Aqua Jet, but still it didn’t fall. She darted back and prepared to charge in once more, but the Kricketune slashed its arm through the air, wind whistling as the air propelled its arm forward. The Oshawott cried out as it slammed into her, launching back. When she crashed to the ground, she didn’t get back up.

“No! Shelly!”

Oh, this was bad. But… the Alpha was clearly exhausted, at this point. That last attack took a lot more effort than its first few, from the looks of things. And Dawn had one more Pokémon on her team.

…One she hadn’t fought any battles with, yet.

Her heart pounded in her chest, like it wanted to smash right through her ribcage and run for the hills. The Alpha loomed over her, red eyes glowing menacingly as she fumbled for the last Poké Ball — the last chance — she had.

Ibzan looked over at the growing pile of wasted Apricorns and sighed. Jet patted him on the knee sympathetically, long since eaten his fill of the innards.

“How did Timur ever have the patience for this nonsense?” Ibzan grumbled to the Pokémon sitting next to him. Jet gave him a blank look and shrugged.

It was easy to forget Timur didn't have the same infamy here as back in that Place, Dredged grunts whispering to one another about the mad scientist who had rigged his whole building up with shotgun and grenade traps, paranoid of the Reaper’s arrival. The mad scientist who was building them a path to freedom, to where they wouldn’t need to worry about the cold.

Nobody knew him here. Nobody but Ibzan. Timur was just another memory, at this point.

Ibzan certainly didn’t share the man’s talent for creation. For all his efforts, he’d made a grand total of two functional Poké Balls from his fourteen attempts so far. Said balls looked… incredibly amateurish. The Tumblestone halves were jagged and rough — a far cry from Rei’s picture-perfect example.

At least the Apricorns and metal segments looked alright. Granted, that was mainly because Apricorns already started in the correct shape (barring any mishaps with the hammer), and the moulds shaped the metal by themselves. Though, he’d still managed to snap a couple of the smaller pieces while putting everything together.

Thankfully, that didn’t ruin the rest of the ball, it just meant he just needed to make another. Which still took time — he needed to scrape more metal from the Tumblestone, and light a new flame to melt it. The latter part of that was quickly done, thanks to the little Cyndaquil by his side.

Jet grabbed a new Apricorn and held it up to Ibzan with an encouraging squeak. Ibzan smiled tiredly, scratching him on the head as he took from him. Right, he still had a good few of them left to get through.

He held it up and began knocking the hammer against it. Through a lot of trial and error, he’d figured out the force needed to split them open without cracking and ruining the shell. After a few minutes, a split formed in the middle and he pulled them apart.

Hm. A little uneven, but the majority was on the bottom half that he needed. He could use a knife to level out the edge.

Jet chirped and tapped him on the arm, looking off towards the side of the building. Following his gaze, Ibzan spotted two young faces unsubtly peeking at him around the side of the wall.

“...Can I help you?” he asked.

The boy in blue squeaked at being caught staring, ducking back behind the wall, but the other one spoke up without hesitation.

“My mum told us not to talk to you,” he said matter-of-factly.

“...Right. You’re doing a good job of that so far,” Ibzan commented dryly.

The brown-haired boy nodded confidently, continuing to stare. The other boy slowly moved his head back around the wall, too.

“...I take it you’re not planning on doing anything else, today.”

The boy shook his head, this time. Ibzan glanced down at Jet, before shrugging and continuing to shave the edge off the Apricorn. After a few minutes, the boy stepped away from the wall.

“I’m Sho, and that’s my best friend Waka,” he said, pointing at the grey-haired kid still hiding behind the wall.

“Hello. My name is Ibzan,” he replied, feeling a little out of his depth. When was the last time he’d interacted with children in any capacity?

“Are you a Pokémon?” Waka asked suddenly. Ibzan blinked, bemused.

“No,” he replied. “I’m guessing it’s the horns that gave you that idea?”

“Yes, your horns!” Waka agreed with a nod, running up next to his friend. “And you’re tall! Taller than my dad! Taller than us, even when you’re sitting on the floor like this!”

“Having horns doesn’t make me a Pokémon, nor does my height,” Ibzan said. He pointed at Sho. “You’ve got brown hair, dark eyes, and you’re short. Does that make you a Bidoof?”

“No!” the boy said angrily. “And I’m not short!”

“Exactly. The colour of your hair doesn’t make you a Pokémon. The presence of my horns doesn’t make me one, either. They’re just a part of me,” Ibzan said, then paused for a beat. “You are short, though.”

Sho harrumphed, crossing his arms and looking away with a pout.

“How do you have horns, then?” Waka asked.

“I grew them.”

“Could we grow some?” Sho asked excitedly, Ibzan’s grievous insult to his stature forgotten.

“No,” Ibzan said, shaking his head. “It only happens where I lived, before coming here.”

Assuming magic didn't exist here. Which honestly wasn't out of the question, with what Pokémon were capable of, but even if it did it likely didn't involve the soul quite so heavily.

“Where’s that? I wanna have horns!”

“Not anywhere within walking distance,” Ibzan said evasively.

“Why can’t we just grow horns here?”

It seemed that questions about his past were just inescapable today. Still, this was somehow infinitely less irritating than the merchant’s interrogation.

Plus, they were children. Gullible. He could probably have a little fun with this.

“It was… very dark, where I lived. Some of us grew horns so we could hang lanterns off them while still keeping our hands free. It’s very sunny here, so you don’t need them.”

“Did you live underground?” Sho asked in an awed tone.

“…No. The clouds were thick enough that sunlight couldn’t pass through.”

The kids glanced at each other and nodded, as if that were the most sensible thing in the world.

“If we lived underground, would that work? Or… if we only went out at night?”

People would probably have some complaints if he encouraged that sort of behaviour, huh?

“I’m afraid not,” Ibzan said, shaking his head. “Your bodies already know about sunlight, so they’ll know that you’re trying to trick them, and won’t grow any out of spite.”

The kids groaned disappointedly.

“I want horns, though. They look so cool…” Sho whined.

“Why don’t you find some lightweight branches and use a headband to hold them in place?” Ibzan suggested. “That way you’ll get all the benefits of horns without the drawbacks. Like the inability to wear cool hats, or someone grabbing ahold of them.”

The boys oohed at the prospect, grinning excitedly at one another. Looked like they had plans for tomorrow.

Ibzan could take or leave hats, personally, but it seemed like the sort of thing they’d consider important. Having his horns grabbed during a fight, on the other hand, was always a concern when it came to close-quarters scraps. Well, at least, when his opponents could reach that high. Just one more reason to use a gun and avoid brawling altogether.

“So what’s with the big pile of broken Apricorns?” Waka asked. Ibzan blinked at the sudden change in subject.

“I’m trying to craft Poké Balls,” he responded, doing a very admirable job of resisting the urge to be irritated.

“Why are there so many, though?”

“Because I’m not very good at it,” Ibzan said.

Such an admirable job.

“Are you making balls so you can catch that Pokémon?” Sho asked, pointing at Jet.

“No, he already has one. I need more for my work with the Survey Corps.”

“Can you give us some? You’ve got two, that’s one each! I wanna catch a Pokémon!” the boy declared excitedly.

Ibzan paused. What age was suitable for catching Pokémon? Dawn had clearly started very young, but she was also from the future, where Pokémon were far more accepted. He was sure people wouldn’t take kindly to him giving these children Poké Balls, otherwise they wouldn’t be asking him about it.

Besides, he’d worked hard on these things, damn it.

“These are mine,” Ibzan said. “Ask your parents to buy you some from the shop.”

“Aw, c’moooon,” the boys whined in unison.

“I’ve asked my mum a hundred times and she always says that it’s too dangerous!” Sho moaned.

“Maybe you should listen to her, then,” Ibzan suggested. “Pokémon are dangerous.”

“But you have one right there, and it’s not doing anything bad!”

“Jet’s well-trained and familiar with humans. Wild Pokémon aren’t.”

“C’mon, we’d be good at it! Just let us—”

“SHO! WAKA!” came a shout from nearby. The two boys froze. “Come here, right now!”

Ibzan looked over at the source of the noise. Ah, that must be one of their mothers. Probably Sho’s, given the shared hair colour. The boys groaned and walked over to her.

“What did I tell you about talking to him?” she scolded in a hushed tone. “We don’t know who he is, or why he’s here!”

“But he’s actually really nice!” Sho protested.

“Not nice enough to give us Poké Balls,” Waka grumbled quietly.

“Enough,” she said sternly. The children wilted. The mother looked back over at Ibzan and hesitantly approached.

“I am so sorry these two bothered you, Mr. Sky-Faller,” she said, wringing her hands nervously.

“It’s Ibzan. Anyway, don’t worry abo—” Ibzan raised a hand to wave her off, and she flinched. He blinked, then made a show of very slowly lowering his arm back down onto his lap. “Don’t worry about it. They were just curious.”

“Still, I promise it won’t happen again, Mr. Sky-Faller. Will it?”

“No,” the two chorused, looking defeated.

“Good. Now come along, you can go play elsewhere,” she said, leading them away from the Craftworks.

Ibzan sighed. It was actually… kind of nice, those kids being so curious about him. Especially since he could get a lot more creative with his explanations and they'd still believe it. It was a lot more enjoyable than his conversation with Volo, at any rate. Still, he couldn’t fault the mother for her wariness.

Ibzan grabbed the Apricorn half, ready to get back to his sorry attempts at crafting. He resumed sawing at the edge to even it out, then cursed as the knife slipped and cut his palm.

“Just a little more, Eevee!” Dawn shouted as she threw the ball forward.

Eevee appeared in a flash of light. He looked up at the behemoth towering over him, then back at Dawn with a wide-eyed expression.

“I know, and I’m so sorry this’ll be your first battle, but the other two are down, and— dodge dodge dodge!” Dawn shrieked, watching the Kricketune rear up for another Tackle. Eevee hurriedly hopped out of the way.

“Use Quick Attack!” Dawn cried, pulling out her phone. That’s one he had to know, right? And it was their best option right now, for the same reasons as Shelly’s Aqua Jets. She flipped to the known moves section as Eevee darted forward. Just Tackle and Quick Attack.

It’d have to do.

The Kricketune growled as Eevee leapt at it, smacking into its back with another Quick Attack. Turning to face him, it surged forward with a Tackle that Eevee just barely avoided thanks to the paralysis slowing its movements.

“Keep going, Eevee! You’re so close!”

Another Quick Attack, and the Kricketune snarled, like a box of maracas being slammed into a drum. It raised an arm and rushed forward with another Aerial Ace. Eevee cried out as it slammed him into the earth. Dawn flinched.

Her options were… limited, here. She didn’t have any Revives. If she healed Eevee with one of her Potions and the Kricketune used Aerial Ace again, she’d have accomplished nothing. But… she had something else sitting in her satchel. Maybe the Kricketune was tired enough that it wouldn’t have the energy to break out.

Which… it would regain later on, but that could be a problem for future Dawn.

Dawn grabbed an empty Poké Ball from her satchel and threw with all her might. It smacked into the Kricketune's forehead and it disappeared inside.

Dawn’s heart thudded so hard it hurt.

A wobble.

A wobble.

…A wobble.

A roar.

The ball snapped open, the pieces violently pinging away as the Kricketune reappeared with a furious look in its eyes. It charged forward and used Absorb on Eevee, draining some of the precious little energy he had left.

“Quick Attack!” Dawn cried desperately. All she could do now was pray that it would be enough.

Eevee zipped forward, but the Kricketune immediately swatted him down with another Aerial Ace.

He struggled to his feet and tried again, crashing against the Alpha's side.

…It wasn’t enough.

The Kricketune slammed into Eevee with one final Tackle.

“EEVEE!” Dawn cried, running forward before she could stop herself. The Alpha turned its gaze on her, freezing her in her tracks.

Her hands shaking, she fumbled in her satchel for another ball and threw it. She just needed a little time to recall Eevee into his ball and run, and—

The Kricketune batted it away. Of course it did, there wasn’t anything here to distract it. Dawn hurriedly backed away, before stumbling and falling on her butt. She could only look up at the behemoth as it raised its arm, wind gathering around it, and—

“Rollout, Taru!”

Something blue rocketed past her, the force blowing her hair up into her face. Swiping it out of the way, she stared as the Munchlax slammed into the Alpha, forcing it several metres back. Mai ran up beside her and helped her to her feet.

“You really are impressive, Dawn,” she said with a smile. “Watching you drive that Alpha to the brink of exhaustion… It truly does bring to mind those stories about the legendary hero of old.”

She placed a hand on Dawn’s shoulder and gently pushed her back, placing herself between Dawn and the Kricketune.

“This Alpha’s barely able to keep upright, now. We could never have reached this point by ourselves, but thanks to you we have a chance. You can leave the rest to us, Dawn.”

“Dawn! Are you alright, my girl?” Laventon cried, running up beside her, face fraught with worry.

“ Yeah, I… I’m fine, Professor,” Dawn said shakily.

Taru cried out as the Alpha slammed into him, sending him reeling.

“Another Rollout!” Mai commanded, voice calm and steady.

Taru curled up into a ball and shot forward again, returning the favour twofold. The Kricketune reeled back, wobbling in place as it barely managed to stay on its feet. It attempted to gather more wind for another Aerial Ace, but its paralysis caused the limb to lock up again, leaving the energy to dissipate harmlessly into the air.

“Drive this troublemaker from our Lord’s territory, Taru!” Mai shouted with a sweep of her arm.

The Kricketune staggered to the side in an attempt to dodge the rapidly approaching Munchlax, but Taru crashed into it with a loud crack. The Kricketune cried out, and the red shine in its eyes petered out. It shrank down and vanished from sight.

Dawn ran forward and knelt, picking up Eevee and cradling him in her arms.

“I’ll do better, Eevee, I promise,” she whispered, hugging him gently.

“Bring him here,” Mai said. “I’ll take care of his and the others’ wounds.”

Dawn nodded gratefully, standing and running up to her. Mai pulled out some Potions and a handful of small yellow crystals.

“I must say, my girl, my heart feels like it’s about to jump right out of my chest!” Laventon said with a relieved sigh. “I’m so glad that you’re unharmed. Towards the end, I was really beginning to worry that—”

WYEEEEEEER!

“Wh-what in the world was that!?” Laventon stammered, jumping.

Shelly, Kilowatt, and Eevee all looked upwards. Mai broke out into a small smile that Dawn recognised as Marley’s ‘overjoyed’ expression.

Dawn looked up, following the Pokémon’s gazes. A large Pokémon with elaborate horns stood atop the largest stone spire surrounding Deertrack Heights.

“It’s the great Wyrdeer!” Mai exclaimed.

Lord Wyrdeer jumped down to ground level and slowly approached the group. He looked towards Dawn, and she felt a slight — but not uncomfortable — pressure settle on her mind as she met his eyes.

“He looks upon you with kindness, Dawn…” Mai said, smiling softly.

Dawn felt a surging sense of gratitude wash over her, before the Pokémon turned and walked away, disappearing over the hills surrounding the area.

“It seems you’ve gained Wyrdeer’s approval. I’m glad,” Mai said, smiling at her. “He’s an esteemed Pokémon, with incredible speed and stamina. He’s been known to carry passengers on his back, so long as he deems them worthy. He truly is a blessing to the people of Hisui.”

“Oh, how fascinating! Like the Ride Pokémon of Alola!” Laventon said excitedly. His fingers visibly twitched with the desire to start taking notes.

Ride Pokémon were a thing at this point, huh? It was good to know people still had strong connections with Pokémon in other regions, at least.

“Dawn! Professor!” Rei called from behind, waving as he approached. “Looks like things went smoothly!”

“I… Yeah. Things worked out,” Dawn said quietly. Rei shot her a concerned glance. “So what are you doing here? Weren't you practising with Ibzan?”

“Ah, well, I’m here to pass on a message from Captain Cyllene,” Rei said. “She’s given us the go-ahead to set up camp here, once the request’s taken care of. Warden Mai, is that all done?”

“Yes,” Mai said with a nod. “Dawn’s fulfilled my request in full.”

“Is it truly alright for us to be setting up more camps?” Laventon asked worriedly. “I understand that this was a joint decision between your leader and the Commander, but…”

“Hisui is a land created by almighty Sinnoh for the sake of its Pokémon,” Mai said. “So long as you intend to coexist and thrive alongside Pokémon, then I have no issues with you sharing it.”

She turned to Dawn.

“I’d like to thank you again for your assistance here. We would not have been able to drive that Alpha away without your help.”

“Ah… Yeah, no problem,” Dawn said with a sigh.

“The Construction Corps should be here on the way by now,” Rei said. “They said they just had a few more things to prepare before they left. They’ll have the camp set up in no time!”

Mai folded her arms, glancing over at Dawn.

“You know, I think I could spare a little more of my time until you’re all set up,” she said after a moment of hesitation. “Would you like to hear anything more about Deertrack Heights?”

“Oh… Well, actually, I was a little curious about those ruins at the edge there. Was there something important here before?” she asked.

“Ah, yes. It’s long before my time, but the story’s been passed down across the generations,” Mai said with a smile. “Let me see if I can recall all of the details…”

The pair of construction guys waved at the group before taking their leave alongside the security guy who escorted them over.

It was pretty much the same as the Fieldlands Camp — two small tents, a storage container, a crafting bench, a torch, a banner, and a small fire pit. The group all currently sat around the fire, Laventon retelling the story of the Alpha encounter to a wide-eyed Rei.

Dawn sat a little further off, knees pulled up to her chest as she stared into the fire. Her Pokémon lay beside her, basking in its warmth, along with Mai’s Munchlax. Kilowatt was pressed up against Taru, tired after chasing several wild Pokémon away from the camp, on strict orders not to bother the Construction Corps as they worked.

“May I sit with you for a while?”

Dawn jumped, looking up to see Mai standing over her. She nodded, scooting to the side to give her a little more room. The two of them sat in silence for a few minutes, until Mai spoke up.

“You know, you really were a help today. But I get the feeling you’re unhappy with how things went,” she said.

Dawn blinked, then sighed, looking back at the dancing flame.

“I just… Well, things worked out in the end, sure, but… I still lost that fight.”

“I wouldn’t worry about that. I could count the people I know capable of standing up to an Alpha, alone, on one hand. I could count the people who could outright win against an Alpha without hands.”

“But I should’ve won!” Dawn exclaimed, throwing her hands up. “I… should’ve won. Should’ve been able to handle that. That was doable, I could feel it, but… I wasn’t ready enough. Didn’t prepare my team enough. I failed them. You had to jump in to save me.”

Her eyes stung, and she blinked hard to clear them.

“I would be a hypocrite to begrudge you for that, would I not?” Mai said gently. “I wouldn’t have been able to drive that Alpha off without your assistance. Sinnoh knows I tried that enough times, before Adaman eventually just told me to request assistance from your Galaxy Team instead.”

“I know, I just…” Dawn trailed off, then shook her head harshly. “I hate feeling so helpless. When that thing pulled out Aerial Ace, and my whole plan went out the window… I didn’t have anything to fall back on, and my Pokémon suffered for it.”

She stroked Eevee’s ears gently. He shifted in his sleep, huddling closer to her.

“Needing help isn’t a bad thing,” Mai said. “It’s the reason almighty Sinnoh blessed us with the ability to communicate with one another.”

“I know, I know, but…” Dawn sighed. “I’m used to being the best. The very best. Like… Well, nothing like how I performed today.”

If she’d had her original team with her, she could have beaten that Alpha blindfolded. But they weren’t with her, and she hadn’t done enough to make up for that.

Mai placed a comforting hand on her on the shoulder.

“I can tell your ability to work alongside Pokémon is something extraordinary. Galaxy Team doesn't know how lucky it is to have you.”

“Thanks,” Dawn said with a tired smile. “So… Is there a chance that Kricketune might come back? I know Pokémon tend to respect territory when they lose a fight, but I don’t really know if Alphas work any different to regular Pokémon.”

"I wouldn't worry. Their aggression aside, Alphas tend to share similar behaviours to other members of their species, from what we’ve seen. I don’t think it'll be in any rush to come back here. And if it does…” Mai smiled at her. “Well, I know who to ask for help, don’t I? And I’ve got the feeling that you and your Pokémon’s strength will only soar higher as time goes on. And that, soon enough, that Alpha wouldn’t even be able to hold a candle to you.”

Dawn sniffed, rubbing at her eyes and nodding determinedly. Mai nodded back with a pleased look on her face.

“Well, I’ve spent enough time here. I need to leave for Diamond Settlement. Rest assured that our clan leader will hear of how much help you’ve been with this.”

She stood and shook Taru’s shoulder, rousing him from his sleep. Dawn looked up at the sky as hints of orange slowly began to creep in from the nearly-setting sun.

“We should probably be heading back to Jubilife soon, too. It was nice meeting you, Mai!” she said. “And… I… Thanks.”

Mai nodded and waved farewell as she left for her clan’s settlement.

“Hey!” Dawn called to Rei and the Professor. “We should get going soon, I think!”

“Ah, of course!” Laventon said. “We’ll want to get moving before Beni closes up shop for the night! I’d say that your victory over an Alpha Pokémon deserves some celebration!”

“Mochi again, Professor?” Rei asked with a grin. “Better be careful, or we’ll end up rounder than Rowlett!”

“Oh, hush, I’d say it’s more than warranted here!” Laventon said with a laugh. Then, quietly enough that Dawn had to strain to hear it: “Besides, I think Dawn could use some cheering up. She’s been taking this much more harshly than I would like.”

“Ah, yeah…” Rei murmured, glancing back at Dawn. “Well, let’s get going while we’ve still got daylight, then!”

The two of them set off on the path back to Jubilife. Dawn smiled and followed.

“Hey, Ibzan! We’re heading to the Wallflower, so you— oh, wow.”

Ibzan was sitting in the Craftworks next to a large pile of broken Poké Balls in various states of assembly. Jet perked up as Dawn approached.

“How… How many are in that pile?” Dawn asked, mouth agape.

“Twenty-seven,” Ibzan grumbled.

“Wow. And you managed to make—”

“Eight functional Poké Balls, yes,” he interrupted, then sighed. “I don’t have the hell-damned patience for this shit.”

Dawn stared for a few moments, then suddenly broke out into a hearty laugh.

“Looks like we both had a rough time of it today, huh? How about you tell me all about it over some piping hot potato mochi? Rei and the Professor are waiting there for us,” she said with a grin.

“That… Would be welcomed, yes,” he said. “So things didn’t go so well on your end either, then?”

“Well, not exactly. But… It all worked out in the end, so… I’m happy. C’mon, let’s head over and get some grub.”

Ibzan shoved the successful attempts into his satchel, then stood up and dusted off his trousers. He glanced back at the reject pile. It was a huge mess of Apricorn shells, cracked Tumblestone and broken metal.

“What… should I do with all that?” he asked.

“Uh. Let’s just bag it up for now, and we can ask the Professor where to get rid of it?”

“That works for me.”

He’d used up enough materials that he could fit the remaining Apricorns and Tumblestones into the same sack, leaving one free to scoop the rejects into.

Once done, they turned to leave, before being interrupted by someone calling his name. Zisu marched down the incline leading towards the Training Grounds, Eevee following behind her.

“Hey Ibzan! Guess who finally managed to get Calm Mind down!” she said with a very tired-looking grin. “Show ‘em, Eevee!”

Eevee proudly stepped up in front of her. She squeezed her eyes shut, and briefly glowed.

“Ooh!” Dawn said excitedly, clapping her hands together. “Nicely done, Eevee!”

Eevee preened with the praise, puffing her chest outward and holding her head high. Ibzan couldn’t say he spotted any noticeable change past that brief glow, but Dawn seemed impressed by it. He supposed there wasn’t as much to showcase for this compared to an offensive move.

“Well done, Eevee, it looks like you worked hard to learn that,” he said. She nodded proudly.

“Well, we don’t want to keep those two waiting,” Dawn said. “Let’s go!”

With that, she turned and ran off towards the Wallflower. Ibzan nodded at Zisu in thanks and turned to follow, but was stopped when she caught his arm.

“Hey, so. Quick request. Don’t make me teach that Eevee anything else involving patience, alright? Please. Not for a while, at least. I need a break after all that.”

Ibzan blinked, then nodded.

“Great!” Zisu said with a tired grin. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna go take it easy for the rest of the evening.”

She slapped a hand on his shoulder before she turned and left. Ibzan rummaged in his satchel and recalled his two Pokémon into their balls before heading up to the Wallflower.

“Oh, dear,” Rei said, guilt written on his face. “I’m sorry, Ibzan. If I were there to give you advice, maybe you wouldn't have had such a tough time of it…”

“It's fine,” Ibzan said, waving him off. “You had more important stuff to do. While I won't say it wasn't frustrating…”

He trailed off, trying to think about something positive to say about all that.

“It was… a good learning experience,” he settled on.

There, that was reassuring, right? Rei opened his mouth to say something in response, but was interrupted as Beni appeared carrying several plates of mochi.

“Have the four of you heard the grave news?” he asked, a serious expression on his face as he set the plates down on the table.

They all glanced at one another, and shook their heads.

“Oh, it’s terrible,” he sighed. “That Kleavor the Pearl Clan insist on worshipping… It’s gone mad! It’s already gone and mauled some of the Security Corpsmen sent to investigate the rumours of its frenzy this morning.”

He sighed again and shook his head.

“The Medical Corps are at their wits’ end trying to treat all those injuries…”

“Oh, yes,” Laventon said with a frown. “That Kleavor’s the one that was reportedly struck by a bolt of lightning just a few days ago, was it not? I’d heard its behaviour has been… erratic since then, but nothing quite so bad as that…”

“Indeed. So soon since that lightning struck, and already it’s proving itself to be a danger because of it. In fact, it struck the very night that Dawn appeared in Jubilife,” he said, stroking his chin as he looked down at her. She shrank in her seat.

“What are you implying?” Ibzan asked, a dangerous edge to his tone.

“Why, nothing. Merely providing some context for when it occurred.”

Laventon coughed.

“Naturally, we at the Survey Corps will step up if any further investigation is required!” he said with a grin. “These two have already proven themselves quite able when it comes to handling dangerous Pokémon!”

Beni squinted at Laventon, then shook his head.

“I don’t think whatever Pokémon they’ve faced so far will be much compared to that thing. Still, this is definitely the sort of thing Kamado will have you investigating. I wish you luck.”

With that, he disappeared inside his restaurant.

“I think I see what you meant about him the other day,” Ibzan murmured to Dawn. She sighed and sank further into her seat.

“Ah… Beni’s not usually so temperamental… Perhaps the stress of that bad news has soured his mood?" Laventon wondered aloud, scratching his head. “He’s been tasked with managing Jubilife’s food supply, so he’ll likely be that much more aware of the strain this event will be putting on our medical resources, too.”

Dawn mumbled out some vague agreement, staring down at her plate. That subdued demeanour didn’t suit her at all, Ibzan thought. Was there anything he could do about that?

“So,” he began, not entirely sure where he was going with this sentence. “While I was attempting to master the Poké Ball crafting process, I… Ah, I was approached by a pair of children.”

“Oh?” Dawn looked up at him. “They bother you?”

“Not particularly. They asked me a few questions. They were quite interested in these,” he said, tapping his intact horn. “Wanted to know if they, too, could grow some.”

“Oh, really?” Dawn asked, sitting up. “How’d they take the bad news?”

“Not too well, but… Well, if you see a couple of kids running around with branches strapped to their heads, you’ll know who to blame.”

Dawn laughed a little at the mental image.

“Look at you, an inspiration to the younger generation!” she teased with a small grin. “Looks like they saw your persistence and your admirable work ethic today, and decided they wanted to be just like you!”

“Alright, you be quiet now,” Ibzan said flatly, fighting a smile. Dawn laughed again.

“Ibzan’s not the only admirable one around here!” Laventon said, picking up some mochi with his fingers. “You performed very well against that Alpha today, my girl!”

Ibzan blinked, and looked back over at Dawn.

“You fought an Alpha? By yourself? And you won?”

“Ah, well… Not really, but…”

“You’re selling yourself short, my girl!” Laventon scolded gently. “Here, Ibzan, you listen to my account of the matter and tell her just how impressive she is, would you?”

Ibzan nodded. He was curious about how things went for her today.

Laventon regaled them with the tale of her battle against the Alpha, Dawn cutting in occasionally to correct some minor detail or downplay something.

By the end, Ibzan had to say he agreed with the Professor. Despite all her protests, Dawn was a very impressive person indeed.

Chapter Text

Ibzan groaned as he was slowly dragged to consciousness the next morning. It was so cold. Was it winter already? He wasn't actually sure if Hisui had seasons. That Place certainly hadn't.

Shivering, he pulled the covers up over his head. It didn't help.

His head was throbbing, too. An illness? Those were another concept far removed from his existence, until Arceus brought him into this world. Hissing out a pained breath, he reached up and clutched at his head.

His heart stopped when his touch was met with nothing but bone.

He shot upright, staring down at himself in horror. He… was skeletal again. Why was he skeletal again?

It was so cold.

No, no, no, no, no—

He stood and bolted to the mirror, yanking off the sheet that covered it.

All he was met with was the blank stare of empty eye sockets.

His legs gave out beneath him, his knees hitting the wood of the floor with a crack. His reflection grinned mockingly at him.

He was undead again.

Why was he undead again?

He desperately searched his memories, but couldn’t keep focused enough to pin anything down. He was skeletal, so did he…? But why was he still here, then, and not clawing his way back up from the murky depths of the River?

The panicked thoughts rampaging through his skull all froze at a sudden knock on the door.

“Rise and shine, Ibzan!” Dawn called cheerily. “I was thinking that we could focus on getting some research tasks done today!”

Shit, shit, shit.

“Right, of course!” he called back. “You… get started without me, and I’ll join you when I’m ready!”

“...Uh, everything alright, there?” Dawn asked, sounding worried. “Your voice sounds kinda… odd. Are you sick?”

Of course it sounded odd, he didn’t have vocal cords anymore.

“Y-Yes! I’m feeling under the weather, that's all!” Ibzan replied, praying that she’d go away until he figured this out. “In fact, I don’t want anyone catching it, so I think I’ll just stay in for today!”

Dawn hummed, sounding sceptical.

“I’m coming in, okay? Don’t worry, my immune system is top-notch! Stronger than an ox!”

FUCK.

“NO, DON’T—” he yelled as she slid open the door. She froze at the sight of him, eyes wide with fear.

“Ibzan? I… What are you?”

Ibzan tried to say something, anything, but each time his voice died in his throat. Taking a deep breath, he forced some words out.

“I’m… Ibzan. Your… friend?"

“No… No, you’re not, are you?” she said, expression hardening. “You’re a monster. Always were. You hid it from me before, but I can see it plain as day, now.”

“What? I—”

She marched up to him. Ibzan took an involuntary step backwards.

“All those people you killed. Murdered. Do you feel even an ounce of regret?” she spat, jabbing a finger at him.

“I— They were undead,” he croaked out. “There was nothing awaiting them but death.”

“Did you think someone like me would accept such a flimsy excuse as that? They're human all the same. They feel, they hurt, they fear. They're not at fault for how they died. But you don’t care about any of that, do you?”

She glared, expression filled with nothing but disgust and loathing.

Did he? Could he say he at all regretted any of it? Honestly… no. How could he? Undead weren’t meant to exist. There was nothing intentional about them — nobody was meant to end up in that Place.

Some minor quirk in the cycle of life and death made their souls slip through the cracks. They’d die some specific way and wake up undead, coughing up water on the River’s shore. Or at the bottom of it, if you lacked the organs to keep you buoyant.

That Place… it held nothing. Nothing but ratty buildings, oppressive darkness, and the ever-present, eternal chill of undeath. It wasn't made to be lived in. He doubted it was made for anything. All they could do was squabble amongst themselves as they awaited a natural death to take them to a proper afterlife. A natural death that might never come.

He knew this well as a reaper, and he knew it all the better as a skeleton.

Did it matter, if you killed the already-dead? Those who feel nothing but cold and misery and soul-crushing banality, aimlessly wandering an empty, utterly stagnant world?

Was death not a gift, compared to all that?

“Hm. Yes,” Dawn said thoughtfully. “Death is a gift, in the face of undeath as the only alternative.”

She threw out a Poké Ball. A blinding flash of light, and there Jet stood, glaring up at him with icy hatred.

“Jet, let’s gift him what he asks, shall we? Use Napalm Rain.”

The flames on Jet’s back flared angrily. He drew himself backwards, and suddenly Ibzan burned.

He collapsed to the floor and rolled, batting at the flames that consumed him, but they just refused to die down. He screamed at the pain of his bones blackening, cracking, and melting together under the intense heat that burned around him.

And yet, despite the agony of being burned alive, the freezing cold within him persisted still.

“A man, undead,” intoned Dawn, her voice crackling like flame, “cannot live with me.”

Ibzan shot up with a choked gasp. He stared down at his shaking hands.

Flesh.

He could hear nothing but his heart thundering in his ears.

He sucked in breath like a man drowning.

He couldn’t…

A nightmare. Just a nightmare.

That’s… all it was.

Just a nightmare.

His quarters were pitch-black, the barest hint of moonlight doing its best to illuminate the room through the paper windows. Eevee stared at him from her spot atop the dresser, tail flicking to-and-fro in agitation. Jet lay on the mat opposite to her, a worried expression on his face. He stood and cautiously began to come closer.

The flames on his back flared up in his anxiety, lighting the room in a flash of orange. Ibzan jerked away, and Jet froze, distraught.

“I…” he croaked out, throat feeling like sandpaper. “I’m sorry, Jet. It was… just a nightmare. That's all. Nothing to concern yourself with. I'm fine.”

Jet hesitated, then slowly started to approach him once more. Careful not to make any sudden movements, he clambered up onto Ibzan’s lap. Ibzan stroked him on the head and lay back down, trying not to think.

He got no sleep for the remainder of the night.

Ibzan jumped at the sudden knock at his door.

“Hey, Ibzan! Up and at 'em! Sergeant Stache is apparently looking for us, so we gotta get in gear!” Dawn called.

Ibzan found himself looking down at his hands again. Still human. Still alive. Then, he mentally slapped himself, cursing the fact he’d let his own imagination rattle him so.

“Right,” he called back woodenly, slowly sitting up. “Give me a few moments.”

Ibzan stood, grabbing his uniform from where he'd left it. He glanced at the mirror, and flinched at the sight of a grinning skull. Blinking hard, he forced himself to look again.

Dark circles under his eyes, unkempt hair, glassy expression.

No skull. No bones.

Still human. Still alive.

Letting out a shaky breath, he began putting on his uniform. Jet circled worriedly around his heels, back flaring up in agitation.

“Hey, uh… Everything alright in there? Is it okay if I come in?”

I'm coming in, okay?

Ibzan pushed down the memory and focused on tying the belt around his uniform top, ignoring the way his pulse raced.

“Feel free,” he said, carefully keeping his voice steady.

The door slid open a little and Dawn peeked around the side.

“Oh wow, you look exhausted. Did you get any sleep last night?” she asked, stepping in with a concerned look on her face.

“Well. Just a nightmare. You know how it is,” he said, not looking up at her as he sat to lace his boots.

He’d forgotten about nightmares as a concept, before today. If he’d been asked, before, if he would consider them a worthwhile tradeoff for the ability to sleep at all, he’d have agreed in a heartbeat. Now… he wasn’t so certain.

“Oh, that sucks,” Dawn said with a sympathetic wince. “Do you… wanna talk about it?”

You’re a monster.

“No,” he spat. Dawn jerked back at his harsh tone, staring wide-eyed up at him. Jet squeaked helplessly, pushing up against his leg.

Idiot. He needed to get a hold of himself. Ibzan inhaled, held it for a few seconds, and breathed out.

“No,” he said evenly. “I’m fine. Besides, you said the Commander was asking for us, right? We should hurry.”

He moved to stand up, but Dawn placed a hand on his shoulder and gently pushed him back down, before sitting beside him.

“Hey, he can wait. If you really don’t wanna talk about it, I get it, but still… it can help, y’know?”

Monster.

“I’d… really rather just forget about it,” he said carefully. Not that he expected to have any luck with that anytime soon.

“That’s fine, too,” Dawn said, leaning back. “Dreams are stupid, anyway.”

Silence reigned for a few moments, before Dawn spoke up once more.

“Hey, wanna hear about a dumb nightmare I had when I was, like, five or something?”

Ibzan blinked. His tired eyes stuck shut for a moment.

“Y’know what, sure,” he said, absently scratching Jet on the head.

“I only really remember a few things about it, honestly. Just that it actually freaked me out as a kid. Somehow. You ready? So, I was being chased around the house by… a pair of disemboooodied Uuuursaring paaaaws!” she said, wiggling her fingers and speaking like she was telling a ghost story around a campfire.

“...What?”

“I know, right?” Dawn said with a laugh. “I’m guessing the rest of the Ursaring was there and just, like, invisible or something, otherwise it wouldn’t be able to actually do all that much. It was like something out of a cartoon, but I guess it felt scary enough to little Dawn, even though it was… just…"

Dawn trailed off. Ibzan glanced over to see her frowning in contemplation.

“Man, are you kidding me?” she exclaimed suddenly, looking a little frustrated.

“Something wrong?”

“My oh-so-traumatic childhood nightmare was based on a pun.”

“...What?”

“So it was a floating pair of Ursa paws, right? Well, Ursaring evolves from Teddiursa. The Little Bear Pokémon.”

“And?”

“Ursaring paws. Bear feet. Like ‘bare feet’. It was a pun all along.”

Dawn looked so disgruntled at this realisation, Ibzan couldn't help the snort that escaped him.

“Shut up, I’m having an existential crisis here! That one weird nightmare I had as a kid was even stupider than I realised!”

Ibzan actually broke out into a short laugh at that. Dawn crossed her arms and huffed.

“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up,” she said, pout quickly melting into a smile. “Anyway, point is, dreams can be stupid. Some… much stupider than others. So, I bet whatever you dreamt last night was one of the stupid ones, so don't listen to whatever it had to say, alright? Listen to me instead, I’m much smarter! And I say you’re the coolest!"

“Right,” Ibzan said with a sigh. He didn’t say that the words running loops through his mind were spoken in her voice, so listening to ‘her’ was in fact part of the problem. In the end… the Dawn who said them was just a part of his imagination.

But that didn’t make those words any less true.

Still, Ibzan appreciated her efforts to comfort him, regardless.

“Well,” he said, standing up, “we should get moving soon before the Commander loses his patience and physically throws us out of Jubilife.”

“Probably a good idea,” Dawn nodded. “Rei told me to head to his office as soon as you were ready, so let’s get going.”

“Well! Look who’s being punctual! Did you finally realise you’re wasting almighty Sinnoh’s precious time by bowing to a sham?”

“You're the one bowing to a sham, here! The true Sinnoh is the ruler of space, not something so meaningless as time!”

Rei was looking utterly done with life as Dawn and Ibzan approached. He stood watching as two (literally) colourful-looking characters yelled at each other loudly enough for the whole village to hear.

“Uh, hey Rei,” Dawn said, raising her voice to be heard over the commotion. “What’s going on?”

“Ah, hey guys,” Rei replied tiredly. “Nothing to actually worry about. Just yet another argument between the clan leaders.”

“Those are the clan leaders?” Dawn exclaimed, looking over at them.

“It’s no wonder you value space so highly, given the abundance of it you carry between your ears!” the man shouted, flipping his hair dismissively.

“Oh, please! Perhaps you should spend a little more of your precious time reflecting on what’s actually important in the world!” the girl returned.

“Well, it’s certainly clear how little you value time, considering how much of it you insist on wasting!”

The argument raged on. Ibzan immediately made an effort to tune them out. This just made him glad he’d delegated Sir Stela to deal with the zombies' gang. It meant he’d never had to deal with any of the fuss put up by the leader of the Zombie Kingz. According to Stela's reports, the man had always argued fiercely with him over the number of men he was losing to the Reaper, once he’d finally made his appearance.

Do you feel even an ounce of regret?

Ibzan suppressed a flinch and shook her voice from his mind.

“So, I’m guessing the guy in blue is… Adaman? Mai mentioned his name yesterday… Who’s the girl in red, then?” Dawn asked.

“Yup, that’s Adaman, leader of the Diamond Clan. They put a lot of importance on time, if you couldn’t already tell.”

“It’s a miracle you didn’t get lost in the pointlessly vast space you’re so fond of on the way here!” Adaman yelled.

“Me, get lost? In almighty Sinnoh’s great gift to the Pearl Clan — in our world’s very basis? You wish!” the girl barked back.

“Aaaand that’s Irida. She and her clan are all about space, obviously,” Rei said.

“Sinnoh, enough of this!” Adaman cried, throwing his hands up in the air. “I can’t believe I’ve wasted time by yet again being dragged into another pointless argument with you. I’m off to Commander Kamado’s office!”

He stormed over to Galaxy Hall’s entrance and threw the door open.

“Excuse me? I believe you were the one who started this!” Irida fumed, following after him.

The world suddenly felt so much quieter. Ibzan could hear himself think again.

“Well,” Rei sighed. “Just another day with those two. These sorts of arguments happen every time they meet. One will make some snide comment, the other will take offence and fire back, and it all snowballs from there.”

“Their clans were in conflict until a few years ago, correct?” Ibzan asked. “Seems there’s still some lingering enmity.”

“And now they’re meeting with the Commander in his office, huh?” Dawn said hesitantly. “...That very small room. Where we’re also going.”

Silence.

“Perhaps we could just… not show up?” Ibzan suggested. “Wait for them to leave before we head up for the briefing?”

“Sounds good to me,” Dawn agreed, spinning on the spot to face away from the Hall.

“No, no, stop it,” Rei chided, grabbing her shoulders and spinning her back around. “Orders are orders. Whatever the boss wants you for likely involves those two, anyway. You don’t go up there, and you’ll find yourself without a roof over your head.”

“Y’know what, I’ve heard the mountains are lovely this time of year,” Dawn said, spinning around again.

“No,” Rei said firmly, spinning her back and slowly pushing her towards the door. “I like you guys, and so does the Professor, so I’m not letting you get kicked out over this. As your senior, I’m officially ordering you: go follow your boss’ orders.”

“Fine, fine,” Dawn said with a laugh. “Let's get this over with then, Ibzan.”

“And what do you intend to do about that Kleavor, Commander Kamado?!”

Adaman’s voice rang out from above as the pair ascended towards Kamado’s office. Unlike the shouting match earlier, he spoke clearly and with purpose. Ibzan held out an arm in front of Dawn, stopping her in her tracks. At her questioning glance, Ibzan tapped an ear and looked back up the stairs. They wouldn’t be visible from where they were standing, and a little intel gathering never hurt anyone.

“Straight to the point as always, Adaman…” came Kamado’s voice, a relieved edge to his words. Clearly he’d been forced to mediate for the clan leaders’ arguments in the past. Ibzan felt a stab of sympathy for the man.

“Time wasted is time lost.”

“Well, tell me this… What, exactly, would you have us do?” Kamado asked. “Kleavor is a revered lord of the Pearl Clan, is he not?”

“That's exactly it,” Adaman said with a sigh. “My clan can’t just interfere in the Pearl Clan’s affairs — not without risking a return to that conflict that raged for so long. But this is bigger than just the clans… Folk from Galaxy Team have been wounded, haven’t they? Someone’s got to do something, here, and soon.”

“Who, then?” Irida asked, voice icy. “Are you suggesting that the Pearl Clan attack our own precious noble?”

“I don’t believe I said that,” Adaman returned. Then, under his breath: “Thought it, maybe…”

“Wh-” Irida exclaimed hotly. “You might as well have said it, you fool! I refuse to allow Lord Kleavor to come to harm!”

“Oh, but you’ll allow Lord Kleavor to freely cause harm to others, is that it?”

“Don’t put words in my mouth, you insufferable— If it was one of your nobles, would you be so callous?”

Dawn and Ibzan glanced worriedly at one another. Things were already off to a poor start, clearly. She gestured towards the top of the stairs and pushed past him.

“Look,” Irida said with a sigh. “We don’t even know what drove Lord Kleavor into such a violent frenzy. We can’t just act as rashly as you would like us to.”

“Well… At least we’re in agreement about something,” Adaman said. “I’d like to know the cause, myself. This frenzy is a first, as far as my clan knows.”

“Ah, you two,” Kamado called as Dawn and Ibzan came into view. Their arrival nipped another brewing argument in the bud, which the Commander looked immensely glad for. “I see you’ve arrived. Clan leaders, this pair is Dawn and Ibzan, our newest recruits to the Survey Corps.”

“Aha! So you’re Dawn! Mai’s had a lot to say about you, you know. And…” Adaman turned his gaze to Ibzan, staring shamelessly at his horns. “I’ve heard a fair few things about the horned giant of Jubilife, too. It’s good to meet you, twin strangers from the rift!”

Adaman grinned and stuck out a hand.

“I’m ‘Adaman, leader of the Diamond Clan’, if you want to be formal, but… who has the time for a mouthful like that? Just call me Adaman.”

“Ah, nice to meet you, sir,” Dawn said nervously, taking his hand and shaking it. Ibzan simply nodded in greeting.

“If you two came from beyond the Space-Time Rift… Could you be from the space where almighty Sinnoh is said to reside?” Irida asked, hands over her mouth.

Dawn blinked.

“Uh…”

Seeing Dawn's hesitation, Irida’s gaze hardened and she shook her head, before straightening.

“I’m Irida, leader of the Pearl Clan. Caution and foresight are my watchwords,” she said. Ibzan idly wondered how much time she'd spent practising that line in the mirror. “Which is why I have trouble believing such a tale. Could you two really have passed through the rift?”

“Whether you believe it or not hardly matters to us,” Ibzan said.

Dawn jabbed an elbow into his hip and gave him an irritated look that screamed ‘stop antagonising the important clan leaders’. Ibzan resisted the urge to smack himself. Learning the effects of sleep deprivation first-hand wasn’t an experience he’d wanted to have during an important meeting.

“Er, that is to say… It’s not important, for now,” he amended with a cough. “What is important is what we can do to help with this whole situation.”

He hoped that salvaged things. Her glare suggested otherwise.

“Yes,” Kamado said with a nod. “I have a proposition. Why not have these two study Kleavor, before we make any decisions about what must be done?”

“What?” Irida exclaimed, whirling back to face him. “You’d send this pair of strangers, who supposedly fell from the rift, to study Kleavor? These newcomers with no experience?”

“Says the leader with no experience,” Adaman muttered.

“Oh, don’t you start with this!” Irida spat, turning and jabbing a finger towards him. “Being a good leader isn’t a matter of your precious time — it’s a matter of embracing Hisui’s vastness without fear!”

“Well, then!” Adaman said, clapping his hands together with a forced smile. “Let’s take those words of wisdom to heart! If how new you are doesn’t matter, then let’s give this pair a chance, shall we?”

Before Irida could respond, he grinned and turned to face Kamado.

“I’m sold, Commander! Let’s try things your way!” he said. “This should be fun, seeing your Galaxy Team in action, with all your weird ways. Putting Pokémon in those strange balls and what have you.”

“Don’t speak of that so lightly — that whole practice bothers me!” Irida exclaimed, crossing her arms and glaring. “Almighty Sinnoh made Hisui vast so Pokémon could live freely throughout. We’re meant to stand alongside Pokémon, not count ourselves above them!”

Dawn looked uncomfortable at the implication. Thankfully, Ibzan wasn't so addled by tiredness as to make another sarcastic remark and further irritate the clan leader.

“We don’t use Poké Balls out of a desire to control Pokémon,” Kamado said firmly. “Only that we may live together. Allow us to show you what the Survey Corps can do!”

Kamado turned to face Dawn and Ibzan, speaking before either leader got the chance to say anything else. Which Ibzan was thankful for, really, because it looked like Irida was about to start arguing again.

“This is your mission. Study Kleavor and help us to find the truth behind its frenzy!”

“Y-yes, sir!” Dawn said nervously. Ibzan nodded after a few moments.

“Remember, you two, that you’re still strangers to Jubilife. Some are rightly suspicious of you and the strange way you arrived here. You’ll have to work hard to prove yourselves to the village. To the very bone, if you must.”

Ibzan pushed down a sardonic laugh at the phrasing.

“We will,” Dawn said with a resolute nod.

Irida moved to speak up, but Adaman interrupted her.

“Well, that’s settled,” he said with a grin. “No time like the present! The sooner you study Lord Kleavor the sooner we can act!”

“For Sinnoh’s sake, stop rushing things,” Irida snapped. She turned to face the surveyors, expression serious. “Heed this warning. Lord Kleavor is not to be trifled with — he is descended from a Pokémon blessed by almighty Sinnoh itself. Do not take him lightly, understand? Whatever Pokémon you’ve faced so far couldn’t hope to compare to his strength.”

She looked back at the Commander.

“Is there anything else to discuss, or are we done here?”

“That’s all,” Kamado said. “Thank you both for your prompt responses.”

Irida turned and marched through the door without another word, fists clenched. Ibzan realised she didn’t actually have much input in the decision made, despite Lord Kleavor being her clan’s responsibility. No wonder she was so irritated.

“Well,” Adaman said. “I’m also expected elsewhere. I’d hate to keep her waiting. See you soon, you two!”

With a wink and a grin, he left the room. Once his footsteps faded, Kamado spoke up.

“Listen to me. The Galaxy Expedition Team has come to the Hisui region as a group of outsiders. Some might consider us to be interlopers,” he said. “We mustn’t do anything to threaten our relations with either clan. Am I understood?”

He sent a glare Ibzan’s way. Whoops.

“Yes, sir,” the two of them said.

“Very well,” he said with a nod. “Dismissed.”

“Join me downstairs, both of you,” came Cyllene’s voice from behind them. “We’ll cover the details of this new mission.”

“Ah, good, everyone’s here,” Laventon said, fidgeting nervously.

He wasn’t wrong. Every member of the Survey Corps was present, though Ibzan conceded that that didn’t amount to much — just him, Dawn, Laventon, Rei, and Cyllene. The air in the room felt heavy, and every face in the room was serious.

“Professor Laventon. The briefing, if you please,” Cyllene ordered from her desk.

“Right, of course, let’s get right to it,” Laventon said. “So, I understand that the pair of you have been requested to determine the cause of Kleavor’s frenzy. But, as you’re aware… that Kleavor is a mighty thing. Nigh invincible, dare I say!”

He folded his arms, a troubled look on his face.

“From their report, it seems the Security Corps team tried throwing Poké Balls during the attack, but they didn’t even come close to capturing him! They had no effect, not even when he was distracted with a battle!” Laventon said, shaking his head with a sigh. “It seems he’s a class above even those aggressive species of Pokémon like Shinx and Buizel…”

“I’d like to be perfectly clear on this point,” Cyllene said. “This mission will put the both of you in extreme danger. Do you believe you can handle it?”

“Of course!” Dawn said, determination ringing through her voice.

“I’ll do this alone,” Ibzan said at the same time.

A pause, then Dawn rounded on him and glared.

“I am not sitting this one out.”

“This is a dangerous Pokémon,” Ibzan said, crossing his arms. “More so than an Alpha. I’m not letting you put yourself at risk like this.”

“What, so I just sit around twiddling my thumbs and let you risk yourself instead?”

“Yes. My purpose here is to protect you, and letting you near that thing would not help with that.”

“Look, I’m not exactly thrilled at the idea of going up against a dangerous Pokémon like that, one that’s injured people, but I’m not gonna sit by and let you do it alone! You know I can handle myself, so why are you being so stubborn about this?”

“I’m being stubborn? You—”

Cyllene interrupted them by clearing her throat, irritation flashing in her eyes.

“Let me be clearer. The two of you don’t have a choice in the matter. You will collaborate on this task, and you will succeed. Understood?”

Dawn sent him an annoyed glare. Ibzan sighed and nodded.

“Then let us go over the particulars of your mission,” Cyllene said, grabbing a sheet of paper from one of the many stacks on her desk. “The Diamond and Pearl Clans revere their nobles because they believe these Pokémon serve their ‘almighty Sinnoh.’ They leave offerings to express their gratitude to these Pokémon in locations they call the nobles’ seats.”

Laventon hummed in thought, scratching his chin.

“It stands to reason, then, that the best starting point for our research would be to find out what sorts of offerings they normally leave for this Kleavor.”

“Has Irida left yet?” Ibzan asked. “It may be worth consulting her if she’s still in the village.”

“Dawn!” came an unfamiliar voice from the hall. “We need to speak with you!”

They turned. Adaman strolled through the doorway with a woman in blue Ibzan didn't recognise, before proceeding to… pose? The woman rolled her eyes with a smile at the sight.

“Mai!” Dawn exclaimed happily. “What are you doing here?”

“Hello, Dawn. It's nice to see you again,” she said. She glanced up at Ibzan. “And this is?”

“Ah, Mai, this is Ibzan. He's…” she trailed off, sighed, then smiled. “A friend of mine. Being kind of a bonehead right now, but still. A friend.”

Ibzan released a breath he didn’t realise he was holding.

“Well, nice to meet you, Ibzan. As for why we’re here… Well, I’ll leave that explanation to our illustrious leader,” she said.

“Ah, good, I was beginning to feel left out!” Adaman said with a good-natured laugh. “Now, listen here. That rift in space-time… It seems as though it’s connected to another world entirely. Possibly, in fact, the world where almighty Sinnoh resides. The true Sinnoh — the one that rules over time! So, if you fell from the Rift, then that must mean… you travelled through time, by almighty Sinnoh’s great power!”

“Uh,” Dawn said, freezing on the spot.

“Think of it! You must’ve been swimming in its divine might!” he said, grinning excitedly.

“I— Listen, you— I don’t remember a lot about my travel through the Rift, but I don't think—”

“Our appearance from the Rift isn’t relevant to this matter,” Ibzan said firmly. “Tell us why you’re here, or stop wasting time.”

Adaman, finally noticing the look of discomfort on Dawn’s face, averted his eyes and cleared his throat.

“Ah, of course. A discussion for another time. Forgive my excitement. Point is, you likely carry Sinnoh’s blessing, so… I have a request. Don't just study Kleavor — quell his frenzy altogether!”

“And how do you propose we do that, exactly?” Ibzan asked, irritated. It was a task easier said than done. Especially when Adaman was the one saying, and he and Dawn were the ones doing.

“As a matter of fact, we were just discussing what our next step may be!” Laventon said. “If you have any input, young Adaman, it would very much be welcomed!”

Adaman’s expression shifted into something more serious. He stood a little taller and looked between Dawn and Ibzan.

“Now, I know it’s a lot to ask, so let me elaborate a little. Kleavor is a respected Pokémon, even outside of the Pearl Clan. You heard his title — the Lord of the Woods. The Pearl Clan… I’m sure they’d rather get this under control as soon as possible, too, but…” he shrugged. “It’s hard for them to come right out and ask outsiders for help. Especially those so new as your Galaxy Team.”

Adaman sighed, running a hand through his hair.

“Truth is, we in the Diamond Clan have a similar problem on our hands. A Pokémon dear to us, up on Mount Coronet, has flown into the same kind of frenzy that’s befallen Kleavor. Despite the bad blood between our two clans…” A look of determination. “We’ve all got to share Hisui, and that means we ought to tackle our problems together.”

“Unfortunately, those capable of standing up to such powerful Pokémon are few and far between,” Mai said. “But you, Dawn… You may be among them. You proved that much to me yesterday. You’re the best hope we’ve got.”

Ibzan ignored the pointed look Dawn was sending his way.

“Kleavor makes his home at Grandtree Arena — a place in the very heart of the Heartwood. His warden is a boy named Lian. He’s a brilliant child, but he’s…” she trailed off, then shook her head with a shrug. “Well. Sometimes brilliance can be blinding, you know. He’ll tell you all about his beloved Kleavor, whether you wish him to or not.”

“Well, that’s good news for us,” Dawn said. “We need all the info we can get.”

“Anyway, with what Mai told me of your exploits yesterday, I’m sure you’ll be more than up to the challenge, so…” he gave her a loose two-fingered salute. “We’ll be counting on you! See you later!”

And with that, both Diamond Clan members turned and walked out the way they came.

“Wow,” Rei murmured. “He just said his piece and vanished right after. I guess they really do value their time that much…”

“We should heed their advice,” Laventon said. “To study and, if possible, quell Kleavor, our best bet is visiting his abode. You remember the name, don’t you?”

Dawn and Ibzan’s phones both buzzed. Neither took them out of their satchels, but both knew there would be a new blinking marker on their maps.

“It sounds like a scam,” Ibzan said, slamming the door to Galaxy Hall shut behind them.

“I’m just saying, the dude has a point. Being able to pack more things into my satchel would be handy,” Dawn said.

“And for the low, low price of a hundred Poké Dollars, he’ll deign to show you a supposed secret technique to fit more things in the same amount of space.”

“It is a low, low price. I’m gonna see what he has to offer, when we have the time.”

“Well, it’s your money, not mine.”

As they stepped into the street, Dawn tapped him on the arm.

“Hey, I’m gonna loop round the village real quick to see if anyone has any requests we can fulfil while we’re out and about. Wanna come with?”

Ibzan thought back to the mother of the children who’d shied away from him the night before.

“I think I’ll just wait for you by the gate. I’d just discourage anyone from approaching.”

“If you don’t interact with people they won’t get used to you, but… Alright,” Dawn said. “I’ll see you in a bit, Ibzan.”

She turned to leave, and Ibzan hesitated for a moment.

“Listen, Dawn, about Kleavor… Must you really—”

“See you in a bit, Ibzan.”

And she left. Ibzan sighed, running a hand through his hair.

Didn’t she realise how important she was? She was here at the behest of a god. Whatever she was really here for, Ibzan would bet that it was more than just filling out the Pokédex. And, more specifically, that it involved the crack in the sky above that distant mountain.

He, on the other hand, was here explicitly to protect her, nothing more. Arceus had told him as much. He’d been brought in on a whim because the god had happened to hear his Friend’s request.

He didn’t matter the way she did.

If he let any harm befall her, then he’d fail in the only purpose he had here. And… he didn’t want her to die. She deserved better than that. He didn’t, and he knew it. Keeping her safe was the one positive impact he’d ever make on the world, and…

He sighed again.

Trying to force her into inaction wouldn’t work. She was much too stubborn to accept that, that much was abundantly clear. And, selfish as it was… he didn’t want to force her to do anything. Not when it would make her hate him almost as much as if she found out about his past.

But what could he do?

He… just didn’t know.

Chapter Text

Ibzan was probably going to wear a hole in the ground if he kept up this pacing. Every time he forced himself to stop, though, it took but a few moments for his feet to start wandering back and forth again.

Kleavor.

Kleavor, Kleavor, Kleavor.

For all of the warnings they’d been given earlier, there’d been precious little in the way of actual information about him. More powerful than an Alpha Pokémon. Blindly raging for reasons unknown — possibly a bolt of lightning. Injured a group of Galaxy Team scouts.

Important enough to the Pearl Clan that eliminating him outright would be like adding wood to the dying embers of the inter-clan conflict, then chucking a live grenade at the whole mess for good measure.

And… that was it. Everything they knew about him.

Nothing about his capabilities, habits, strengths, or weaknesses.

Ibzan hated it.

Their current objective was to speak with Kleavor’s warden, Lian, to get a little more information to work with. What offerings would usually soothe his mood, and to try and use that to counteract whatever’s behind this fierce rage of his.

It was a perfectly good first step towards a plan of action. He had no issues with that. What was an issue was that Kleavor might not even let them take that first step. They needed to travel to the Heartwoods — Kleavor’s own territory — to meet with Lian. Which meant that there was still the possibility of running into Kleavor early.

And therein lay the issue. The purpose of this operation was to gather that intel, but that just meant they didn’t have it yet. What could he do, if they ran into Kleavor before meeting Lian? What could he do if Kleavor made his way to the village itself?

How could he prepare for those possibilities, when he knew nothing about him?

He couldn’t.

And Irida had already left Jubilife — he’d confirmed that much with Ress already — so he wouldn’t be able to ask her. And it wasn’t as though anyone else in the village would have information on Kleavor, either.

Hm. Although…

That… wasn’t exactly true, was it? There was one potential source of information about Kleavor, right here in Jubilife.

“Ress,” Ibzan called. The guard in question glanced up at him from his station. “If Dawn returns before I do, tell her I’m visiting the infirmary, would you?”

He nodded. Thanking him, Ibzan turned and headed towards Galaxy Hall.

Who better to ask than an eyewitness?

“Ah,” Pesselle said, nervously looking up at him as she twirled a loop of pink hair around her finger. “I’m afraid our patients are all asleep, at the moment.”

She gestured to the row of beds on the far side of the room. From around the wooden dividers, he could see all three of them were occupied.

“I can let them know you were here next time they’re awake, if you’d like?” she suggested.

Ibzan considered it for a moment, then shook his head.

“It’ll probably be too late by that point, one way or the other,” he said. “I appreciate the thought, though.”

He turned to leave.

“Hold up, Pesselle,” came a groggy voice from one of the beds. “That a visitor I hear?”

The nurse hurried over to the bedside.

“Oh, guardsman, you really should be resting,” she tutted.

“Been doing nothing but rest, lately. I could use a break from it all,” the man said, propping himself up with his elbows. He peeked around the corner of the divider at Ibzan. “This the guy asking after me?”

Ibzan approached. The man’s leg was wrapped in a thick bundle of cloth, a wooden splint running down the middle.

“Hello,” he said, inclining his head in greeting. “My name is Ibzan. I’m with the Survey Corps.”

“Ah, our very own sky-falling giant,” the man said. “Name’s Owen. Security Corps, as I’m sure you’re aware. A pleasure. You really do have horns, huh?”

Taking care not to jostle his leg, Owen shifted himself into a seated position and held out a hand. Ibzan shook it. Having confirmed that her patient had no objections to this unexpected visit, Pesselle left the two of them alone, heading back to her desk.

“Now,” Owen said, “I take it this ain’t exactly a social call, not unless you’re very desperate for company. There something I can help you with?”

“There is,” Ibzan said. “I and another surveyor were tasked with studying Kleavor, the Pearl Clan noble, to decide our best course of action for dealing with him.”

Owen laughed. It wasn’t a happy one.

“I’d wish you luck, but I reckon it’s a bit too late for that, with you two saddled with that task and all. That thing’s a monster.”

“Luck is never something to rely on,” Ibzan said, shaking his head. “We don’t intend to engage for the moment, just to speak with his warden, but… intentions often mean little, I find. Should we encounter him unexpectedly, I want to be as prepared as possible.”

“And me and my boys are your best bet for that, being the unfortunate victims of its rampage."

“Whatever you can tell me would be helpful.”

Owen scratched at his stubble in thought, then met his eyes with a hard expression.

“Distance won’t help you. That thing’s fast,” he said. “Faster than the wind. It crossed the clearing we were scouting in the blink of an eye. But… once it started attacking us…”

He gritted his teeth and clenched a fist in anger.

“Sadistic thing started toying with us,” he growled. “Swung those big axes on its arms just barely slow enough for us to dodge. When exhaustion caught up to us, it hit us with the flats of the axes, even though we saw that thing cut through trees like rice paper.”

“The flats of its axes?”

“Coulda split each of us clean in two if it wanted,” he muttered, his lip curling in disdain. “But it didn’t. It wanted to draw things out, make us hurt, and boy did it deliver. I was lucky to get away with one broken leg.”

He tilted his head towards the bed to his right. The unconscious man within had splints on both legs, and one arm in a sling.

Ibzan hummed in thought.

“And your Pokémon? How did they fare?” he asked.

“We just barely got the chance to send ‘em out, really,” Owen said with a shrug. “It didn’t pay ‘em any more mind than us. And it didn’t take long for it to take anyone out of commission, lemme tell you. Although… it did focus on each of us one at a time, until it either took them out, or took a particularly strong hit. Could be something you could work with.”

That did sound workable. Pokémon were much more durable than humans were, so an opportunity to take Kleavor's attention off him and Dawn and onto their much better-qualified Pokémon was something to look out for. Though, the fact that Owen and his fellow Corpsmen were here to tell the tale, even after their Pokémon fell…

Well, there was time for speculation later.

“You staked out the area for a time before you encountered Kleavor, correct? Can you tell me anything about his habits? Where he’d go and when, that sort of thing. Ideally, we avoid encountering him altogether until we’re ready,” he asked instead.

“Yeah, we stuck around for about a day before we moved into the Heartwood,” Owen replied. “Good news for you — it mostly seemed to keep to its forest. ‘Lord of the Woods’, and all that. That little warden boy, he seemed to have a good idea of where it’d be moving. Kept out of its way, and tried to shoo us away from the area, too. Yelled a lotta stuff to try and make us leave. I tuned him out after the third promise of the beast’s impending wrath.”

“And here you are.”

“And here we are,” he echoed wryly. “Guess the kid knew his stuff after all, huh?”

Ibzan sighed, scratching his head.

“How about Kleavor’s typing, then?” he asked. “Any insights?”

“Typing, huh?” Owen asked. “I’m no surveyor like you, but… Those axes were made of solid stone, I can tell you that.”

“A Rock type, then…” Ibzan mused. “And what about a secondary typing?”

“Haven’t the foggiest,” Owen said with a shrug. “Ain’t exactly my area of expertise. As I said, the warden boy yelled a lotta things about the beast. If anyone knows that stuff, it’d be him.”

They were silent for a few moments.

“Is there anything else that you think might be of help?” Ibzan asked, just to be thorough.

Owen shut his eyes, leaning back with his arms folded.

“At one point, it shunted the air itself out of its way to get at me,” he said. “Like nothing I’ve seen before. Nearly took my head off.”

That sounded like an Aerial Ace — moving air to avoid resistance, and to push themselves through that brief vacuum and strike before the opponent could react.

And yet, Owen supposedly did react to it. That meant…

“Thank you, Owen,” he said. “You’ve been very helpful.”

“Ain’t nothing,” Owen replied with a dismissive wave of his hand as he settled back down onto his back. “Least something good came out of that whole mess.”

Ibzan stood and moved to leave, but stopped when Owen spoke up again.

“Hey,” he said. “I know you said you weren’t looking for luck, but… Well, good luck anyway, Ibzan. You and your surveyor friend could use it more than I can in this bed, I’m sure. Show that thing what for, will ya?”

Ibzan blinked in bemusement, before nodding his thanks and taking his leave.

As he neared the gate, Ibzan took one look at who was waiting for him there and weighed the merits of turning back the way he came. On one hand, Dawn was there. On the other, so was Volo.

They were chatting quite amicably, but Ibzan was much too tired to deal with the ordeal of dodging questions. Alas, that moment of consideration cost him. Dawn perked up and waved once she caught sight of him, Volo quickly following suit. He sighed and walked up to them.

“Hey, Ibzan!” Dawn greeted. “We were just talking about you!”

“Were you, now?” he asked dully, giving Volo a tired glance.

“Indeed!” Volo said with a bright grin. “I was rather worried, when I’d heard that she would be studying the Pearl Clan’s Kleavor, of all Pokémon. I’m glad to hear she won’t be alone in this daunting task!”

“Look, I’m not answering any— What?”

“I’d hate to lose my favourite customer, after all,” Volo said cheerily.

“I’ve never bought anything from you,” Dawn laughed.

“You sell yourself short! I value our conversations rather highly, you know! Not to mention that exciting battle we had the other day,” Volo said with a smile, before rummaging around his rucksack. “And in exchange for the time you’ve spent with me just now, I would like you to have these!”

He dropped several Potion bottles into her hands, before turning to Ibzan and doing the same.

“And Ibzan, please consider these an apology for the interrogation, yesterday. While I don’t regret our trade, I realise I may have come on a little… strongly. These are Super Potions! Just mix some ground Pep-Up Plant into a regular Potion and you’ll nearly double its efficacy!”

Ibzan scrutinised the three bottles he was now holding. The liquid within was redder than the Potions he’d seen so far.

“Really though,” Volo said, voice turning serious. “That Kleavor is a very dangerous Pokémon. It would ease my mind if the two of you had these, so please accept them.”

“Thank you, Volo!” Dawn said with a smile as she stowed the bottles away in her satchel. “These’ll definitely come in handy.”

Volo tipped his hat at her with a wink.

“Think nothing of it! However, I really must be taking my leave. There's an interesting ruin I’ve heard about, and I can only shirk my duties for so long before Ginter starts chasing me up. I should be on my way before then. Farewell for now!”

With a wave, he strolled out the village gates.

“That was nice of him,” Dawn said.

“Hm,” Ibzan grunted noncommittally, eyeing the bottles. “So you’re certain these aren’t poisoned, then?”

Dawn gave him a bewildered look, then laughed.

“Man, you’re cranky when you’re tired, huh?”

“Well— I—” Ibzan sputtered, then sighed, rubbing at his eyes. “Sorry. He’s just… annoying. Pushy. It feels like everything he does, he does just because he wants to get information out of us.”

“Well, we are pretty interesting,” Dawn said with a shrug. “I don’t blame him. Besides, it’s nice that he’s worried enough about us to help like this, y’know?”

“True enough,” Ibzan said, sighing again. “A poor first impression isn’t a crime, I suppose. I’ll… try to keep an open mind about him from now on.”

“Woo, benefit of the doubt, you love to see it!” Dawn cheered, punching him lightly on the arm. He rolled his eyes. “So what were you doing at the Infirmary, anyway?”

“Hm, well,” Ibzan coughed. “…Getting information out of people, I suppose. I’ll explain on the way.”

“Ah, see, you’re not so different after all!” Dawn teased with a grin. “Alright, let’s get moving, then. To the Heartwoods!”

“So… Big axes for hands, huh?” Dawn said as they walked. “Lovely. Can’t wait to make his acquaintance.”

A nearby Bidoof looked up at them as it heard their conversation, a smile on its face and absolutely nothing going on behind its eyes. Dawn tossed a Poké Ball at it, which it made no attempt to dodge or bat away.

“Apparently so. Kleavor’s species isn’t one you’re familiar with, then?” Ibzan asked.

“Sorry, not a clue. Maybe they migrated to some other region in the future, whatever they are?” Dawn pondered, tilting her head in thought as she knelt and retrieved the now-occupied ball. “I know there’s a few species out there that’ve done that because of, like, the climate changing or whatever.”

“Ah, I was hoping you’d have at least heard of them,” Ibzan sighed. “Owen said the axes were made of stone, so he’s probably a Rock type, but he didn’t know if he has a secondary type or not.”

“Rock type? Well, at least Shelly will probably be at an advantage if we do end up having to fight him,” Dawn said. “Speaking of, though…”

She picked up her pace, then stopped and turned to face him.

“We definitely need to get some more training in. Shelly and Jet are close to evolving, I can feel it, and Kilowatt shouldn’t be far off, either,” she said, folding her arms. “I say we take the scenic route and battle as many wild Pokémon as we can along the way. What do you say?”

Ibzan knew about Pokémon evolution conceptually — Dawn and Laventon had given him the basics the evening he'd arrived — but he struggled to imagine what it would look like. The kind of evolution he was familiar with happened over the course of many generations, not to one individual in an instant.

He supposed it wasn’t unlike turning undead. Die a human, come back different. Not that being human was a requirement, of course. If a vampire died from overdose, which wasn’t at all uncommon thanks to their clubbing habits, they’d wash up on the riverbank as a zombie. Sure, they might still be a little taller than average, but they’d still lose the majority of their vampiric qualities, and certainly wouldn’t be able to walk on ceilings anymore.

Such a sudden change, all in an instant. Ibzan could definitely relate to that. Any undead could, really.

Not that evolution sounded like a bad thing, as far as Pokémon were concerned. Just… different. Their change in form would strengthen them, and possibly alter their typing depending on the species. In exchange they’d require more upkeep, Dawn had said, so only competitive trainers or researchers tended to have more than one evolved Pokémon.

“I certainly won’t object to Jet getting stronger. How far off would you say our Eevee are from evolving, if you had to guess?”

“Huh? What do you— Oh, right!” Dawn said, lightly slapping her forehead. “You wouldn’t know, would you? Sorry. Eevee are unique among Pokémon in that they have a bunch of potential evolutions, but they can’t just evolve by themselves. Each one has a different typing, with different requirements to get there.”

“Oh? What sorts of requirements?”

“Well, most evolve from exposure to a particular type of stone, either from absorbing its energy or just being near one of those big ones, like that one in Eterna Forest. There’s a few that just need a strong connection with their trainer, too.”

“Hm,” Ibzan hummed, scratching his chin. “Not much chance of our favourite little scruffball fulfilling the latter category. What kind of stones do they need?”

“Ah, you’ll know ‘em when you see ‘em,” Dawn said. “Fire Stones are warm to the touch and glow a little, for example. We should ask them first, though. No point doing all the work to find a stone they don’t want to evolve with, y’know?”

“Sensible,” Ibzan agreed with a nod. “We can look into that once we're done with this assignment. Let’s not delay any further.”

“Alright!” Dawn said determinedly. “Even if our Eevee won't be evolving, we should still get some time in with them, but for now we can focus on the other three. Let's get started!”

After arriving at the newly-built Heights Camp and taking a look at their maps, they decided to explore the surrounding areas before they’d proceed to the Heartwoods. They battled the various wild Pokémon they ran across, as well as capturing a few that didn’t have entries in the Pokédex yet — an Abra, a Paras (one of many that had accosted them at practically every turn), and a Burmy that jumped out at a surprised Ibzan when he attempted to knock some Apricorns from a tree.

It was a good thing their maps had labels for the locations they’d visited, Ibzan reflected. Putting a name to the places they’d already been to was handy, and he definitely wouldn’t have known any of them otherwise. Dawn wasn’t much help on that front, either. Whenever he asked about a particular location, she just tended to rattle off a three-digit number like it meant something, then shrug and tell him she was unsure anyway, thanks to how different the land is by her time. Which was reasonable, to be fair.

“Finish it with a Rollout,” Ibzan commanded.

Jet puffed steam from his nostrils before rolling into a ball and smashing into the hapless Kricketune that had made the mistake of existing today. While Bug types were apparently just as weak to Fire moves as Rock ones, Jet had only learned the move an hour prior and Ibzan thought it best to get some practice in with it.

The flames on Jet’s back flared proudly as the Kricketune collapsed and shrank down. Ibzan was about to compliment him on his progress with the move, but he stopped in confusion when he noticed dust slowly swirling around the creature.

“Dawn?” he called. “What’s happening here? …A Flying Type attack?”

“Hm?” Dawn glanced over from her own match against yet another Paras. “Ooh! Jet’s about to evolve! Shelly! Swords Dance, then finish with a Tackle!”

Shelly did just that, cleanly knocking out her opponent. She and her trainer then rushed up to Ibzan’s side, eagerly eyeing the Cyndaquil.

The dust was swirling much more intensely, now. Energy sparked off in all directions. It was like watching a miniature storm. The force blew against Ibzan, causing his coat to flap in the wind. He glanced at Dawn. She was holding an arm protectively in front of her eyes, grinning excitedly as she watched. This was… expected, then. That was good.

Jet let loose a wild cry, and they were hit by a force that forced Dawn a step back. The dust settled, and…

Dawn gasped.

“Look at him! He’s so long!” she said giddily. “Long boy! The longest in the land!”

She… wasn’t wrong. His body was probably about twice as long as it was, and his limbs were a lot less stubby now, too. There was now a second flame on his head to go with the one on his back.

Jet stood on his hind legs and looked down at himself. Wow, he really was a long boy. Shelly ran up and grabbed his front paws, the Oshawott chattering excitedly as she spun him in circles, hopping up and down all the while.

“Huh,” Ibzan said. “He probably won’t fit in my lap anymore, will he?”

…Wait. Why was that his first reaction?

“Ah, yeah,” Dawn said with a smile. “That’s another reason why a lot of people choose not to evolve their Pokémon. But that’s quitter talk! He could curl up on you, probably! Ooh! Or you could drape him around your neck like a scarf!”

“He’s probably a bit heavy for that,” Ibzan said with a roll of his eyes.

“Or you could use him as a pillow!”

“Appreciate the suggestions as always,” he said, rolling his eyes fondly. He looked back down at Jet and scratched him on the head, taking care not to touch the flame. “Well done, Jet. You’ve come a long way.”

Jet chirped happily at him.

“He’s a Quilava now, by the way,” Dawn said. “I’m, like, ninety-nine percent sure he doesn’t have a secondary typing or anything right now, but we should probably confirm with the Professor just to be sure. It doesn’t look like anything’s changed, but some Pokémon don’t make that sorta thing obvious.”

“Right,” Ibzan said. “We can do that later on, then. For now, let’s keep going. Eevee could use some training, too.”

“Alright! Let’s Ack!”

Dawn ducked, narrowly avoiding a ball of poison spat her way by yet another Paras.

“Ugh,” Ibzan groaned, slapping a hand on his forehead. He was already sick of those things. He pointed a finger at the diminutive menace. “Jet, kill.”

“No killing!” Dawn yelled, then squeaked as she rolled out of the way of another ball of poison. “Okay, maybe just a little killing! What did I do to you, bub?”

They worked their way through a few more areas, letting Kilowatt and Ibzan’s Eevee train against whatever wild Pokémon they ran across. Many of which were Paras, as it happened. Ibzan certainly had no qualms with beating them down in battle. Once they spotted you, they absolutely refused to leave you be until you made them, it seemed.

According to Dawn, Paras weren’t nearly so aggressive in her time, and wasn’t that a lovely thought? He wondered if the Space-Time Rift might be aggravating them somehow.

Kilowatt evolved after a dozen or so encounters. A small part of Ibzan couldn’t help but be wary, thanks to his poor experience with one particular Luxio in the past, but he was still exactly the same individual he was before, despite the difference in form.

A thought that comforted Ibzan in some ways and not in others.

“Look at my big strong little man!” Dawn cooed, hugging Kilowatt tight with a huge grin as she rubbed her face against his cheek. Ibzan hid a smile at how ridiculous she looked, with the static electricity making her long hair stand on end.

While Eevee wouldn’t be evolving anytime soon, she did learn a new move as a consolation prize — Swift. It was, quite frankly, a bizarre attack. A spray of energy, each piece shaped like the classic five-pointed representation of a star. Dawn confirmed that the shape did have that same association here. Ibzan supposed the attack must resemble an array of shooting stars if used in the dark — he wondered if that’s where that association originated, in this world.

Its utility was self-evident, though. So many stars were fired that the opponent had no hope of dodging. And even ignoring the sheer volume of projectiles, the stars also seemed capable of tracking targets to a limited degree.

After thoroughly exploring the surrounding area, they decided to finally start making some progress towards the Heartwoods.

“Hm,” Dawn said, squinting at her map. “It looks like the only way to get there is this little bridge here to the south. There’s ‘Worn Bridge’ up to the north, sure, but it’s a long way from the Heartwoods, and it looks like there might be cliffs blocking the path from there anyway.”

Ibzan nodded. South it was.

On the way there, Dawn managed to capture a Staravia. They were a lot less timid than their unevolved counterparts, immediately going on the offensive while the nearby Starly hurriedly hopped away.

“We’re gonna get the Pokédex done in no time,” Dawn said with a satisfied grin, tossing the Poké Ball up and down a couple of times before tucking it away into her satchel.

“We certainly do seem to be making good progress. No way to know for sure how many different species there are for us to find, though.”

“This ain’t my first rodeo,” Dawn reminded him. “I helped with the Pokédex in my time too, remember? The electronic dexes track what Pokémon you’ve come across, but people already knew what Pokémon exist in the region by then, so there are blank spots to represent what you haven’t seen. I think there were about…”

She hummed in thought, face scrunching in concentration.

“Two hundred-ish? I think?” she suggested. “I was always more focused on competitive battling than filling it out, honestly. There’s way more Pokémon species outside of Sinnoh, but Professor Rowan started us off with just the regional dex to make things simpler before the national one. The number of species might be a little different in this time period, but it should still— hey!”

Ibzan had grabbed her by the collar and yanked her behind one of the nearby boulders.

“What was that for?” she groused, shooting an annoyed glare his way as she adjusted her scarf. Ibzan put a finger to his lips and jerked his head towards the natural bridge. Dawn followed his gaze and paled at the sight of an Alpha Pokémon stomping around on the other side.

“Bidoof’s evolution, I’m guessing?” Ibzan asked. Dawn nodded. “And this is our only way to the Heartwoods, correct?”

Another nod.

“Great,” Ibzan sighed. “I don’t suppose you can swim?”

“No, sorry,” Dawn said. “It’s not something I ever really needed to learn. I usually just rode Pepp— uh, one of my Pokémon. I can tread water for a bit, but that’s about it.”

“It’s fine,” Ibzan said. It occurred to him that he didn’t really know how to swim, either. Skeletons sank, so it wasn’t like he could have practised, even if he wanted to. “Then our only recourse is to fight it head-on.”

Dawn frowned, then snapped her fingers, a smile growing on her face.

“Ibzan, have you heard of double battles?”

“I haven’t, though I can hazard a guess from the name. Two Pokémon on the field at once?”

“Right!” she said with an enthused nod. “Alphas are strong, sure, but it won’t stand a chance against the two of us working as one! Usually I’d think ganging up on a single wild Pokémon like this would be unfair, but I think I can make an exception for an Alpha.”

“Well, you won’t hear any complaints from me, either,” Ibzan said. He grabbed Jet’s ball from his satchel. “Let’s get to work.”

He began to stand, but Dawn grabbed his shoulders and pulled him back down.

“Wait!” she hissed. “Bidoof are just Normal Type, but Bibarel are both Normal and Water.”

“Ah,” he said, looking at the ball in his hand. “Not a job for a Cyndaq— a Quilava, then. Let’s hope Eevee’s up to the task.”

“Hey, don’t worry,” she reassured, bumping him on the arm. “I’ve got your back. Let’s show that thing what the power of teamwork can do, huh?”

Nodding to one another, they stood and walked across the sandy bank that made up the bridge. The Alpha spotted them and roared, the force rattling the stacked-up wood that lined the bank. Ibzan glanced at Dawn. She grinned confidently back.

They both threw their Poké Balls, and the fight was on.

Chapter Text

“Go! Kilowatt!”

Ibzan remained silent as Eevee popped out of her ball, laser-focused on the Alpha as it barreled towards them.

“Thunder Shock! Don’t let it near you!” Dawn commanded with a sweep of her arm.

“Quick Attack — keep its attention off Kilowatt. Don’t put yourself at risk.”

Eevee dashed around the field, kicking up clumps of wet sand in her wake. The Bibarel eyed the brown blur as she moved, then darted forward and snapped its jaws down. Eevee barely hopped out of the way of the Alpha’s Bite, its buck teeth snatching a patch of fur off her leg, before leaping forward and slamming herself into its side.

Using the momentum from the impact, she jumped back. The Bibarel growled and took a step towards her, then froze at the sound of crackling electricity. It quickly spun around to face Kilowatt, just in time to watch the bolt of energy arcing towards it. It crashed against its chest, the electricity easily coursing through the Water type’s body. It sank to the ground, twitching, then growled and jumped backwards, landing on the sand with a wet thud.

“It’s a super-effective hit!” Dawn announced like a sports commentator, grinning wildly. “But how will the challenger respond?”

“Let’s not give it the chance to adapt. Eevee, Swift.”

“Alright, swap roles! Get in close for a Thunder Fang!”

Electricity crackled between the Luxio’s teeth, sparks running along its fur and dissipating menacingly into the air. Eevee stared at him, wide-eyed, her tail twitching wildly back and forth.

“Focus, Eevee!”

She jumped with a squeak, snapping back into awareness. She squeezed her eyes shut and she began to glow. With a cry, the gathered energy exploded out of her, shooting towards the Alpha as a dense stream of star-shaped pellets. No single pellet did a great deal of damage, from what he could see, but the sheer quantity more than made up for that. Death by a thousand cuts, as the saying went.

The Bibarel squinted through the stars crashing against its face. A ball of water slowly began to coalesce in front of it. With a deep cry, it launched it through the array of pellets. It smacked straight into Kilowatt, sending him sliding back a few steps, but he retaliated by again sinking his teeth into the Alpha with a loud crackle of electricity.

“Okay, okay good, he’s fine,” Dawn sighed. “Water Pulse sometimes confuses its target, but looks like Kilowatt’s pushed through it. Surprised it even managed to hit the shot with all those stars blocking its vision, though. Things’re going… pretty well so far, actually!”

They were. From the looks of things, both of Kilowatt’s attacks had done a number on that Alpha, and it had only managed to land one hit in retaliation.

“Alright, once more,” Ibzan called. “Quick Attack, Eevee.”

“If it ain’t broke! Another Thunder Shock!”

Eevee darted forward again. As before, she targeted the Bibarel’s side, striking then bouncing back. The moment she landed, however, the Bibarel slammed its thick tail into the ground, the force knocking Eevee off-balance. Pushing its advantage, the Alpha slammed into her with a Tackle, sending her flying into the river with a distressed squeak.

“Eevee!” Ibzan cried in a panic. Everything was still for a moment, then her head popped up from the water’s surface, spitting water. He breathed a sigh of relief and ran to meet her as she began paddling her way to the riverbank.

She crawled up out of the river, expression utterly dour. She looked like a drowned kitten, fur all flattened down by the water. Ibzan, thoughtful soul that he was, politely disguised his laughter with a cough. She glared at him anyway, shaking herself off like a wet hellhound.

There was a mighty crack as another bolt of electricity crashed into the Alpha.

“Hey, you okay, Eevee?” Dawn asked, running up to them.

Eevee glared and spat a long string of vulgar-sounding chirps her way.

“Woah, watch your language there, missy,” Dawn admonished lightly, before looking back at the Alpha. “I think that Bibarel’s on the ropes now. You got one more attack in you?”

Eevee stared daggers at the Alpha and nodded determinedly.

“Alright,” Dawn said with a grin. “I say that’s enough keepaway. Eevee, Kilowatt, use Quick Attack, the both of you!”

Eevee glanced up at Ibzan. He nodded. With that, she dashed off again, eager for revenge against her opponent. Kilowatt quickly followed suit.

If the Bibarel struggled to keep up with one Pokémon as it dashed around the battlefield, it had no hope of keeping track of two. They dashed circles around it, blurs of brown and blue, until Eevee suddenly shot forward.

“Now, Kilowatt!”

Eevee kicked off the Alpha’s head, snapping it to the side — right into the path of Kilowatt’s own attack. He slammed harshly into it, grunting at the force of the impact. The Alpha groaned, then collapsed and shrank, disappearing into the sand.

All was silent, save for the water lapping against the shore.

“Whew… That… That was…” Dawn said breathily. She spun back to face him and excitedly threw her arms in the air, vibrating with excitement. “That was great! Ibzan, we took down an Alpha! Without casualties!”

Ibzan felt a small smile break out onto his face.

“We did indeed,” he said.

“Man, that’s… That’s a huge relief!” she laughed, grinning as she bounced on the balls of her feet. “Maybe this whole thing with Kleavor won’t go so badly after all.”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” he said with a sigh. “We should still be as cautious as possible.”

“Oh, obviously, but still… It’s a load off my back, y’know?”

“...Yeah. I know.”

A chirp from nearby caught their attention. Eevee was walking up to Kilowatt — dare he say a little nervously? — before coming to a stop in front of him and chirping again, a determined look on her face. Kilowatt eyed her for a few moments, before dipping his paw into the river and gently slapping it on the top of her head.

She squeaked indignantly and shook it off, while the Luxio just let out an amused chuff.

Dawn smiled at the interaction before casting her gaze towards the nearby treeline.

“We should get going soon," she said. “Hey, you two! Time to go!"

“Keep your wits about you,” Ibzan said as they recalled their Pokémon. “Let’s do our best to find Warden Lian without drawing his noble’s attention.”

Ibzan was intimately familiar with the dark. As a reaper, it had been his shield — shrouding him from his enemies’ sight as he crept from room to room. Concealing him between the brief illumination of muzzle flashes as he fought through their ranks. As an undead, it was an oppressive, suffocating constant — each shadow hid a reaper looking to put a swift end to his unnatural existence. And eventually, at his final hurdle towards escaping his fate, that paranoid fear turned to cold reality.

Darkness. Once his cloak, once his prison, once his ruin.

What it had never been, Ibzan thought, was anything that could be described as beautiful.

Not until now.

The thick canopy over their heads blocked much of the evening sun, though the occasional break in the cover allowed that golden light to spill down between the leaves, mixing with the soft shade of the trees like paint. The darkness of the forest felt… mysterious. Whimsical, even. The chitter of various Pokémon reverberated through the area, a melody played by every creature hidden amongst the trees.

Another thing darkness had never held before. Life.

Ibzan didn’t think he could ever stop appreciating this world he’d found himself in.

Dawn’s head popped around the side of one of the trees.

“Hey, Ibzan!” she called. “Guess who just got three new captures while you were busy daydreaming!”

“Well, don’t you work quickly. What did you find?” he asked, kindly ignoring the latter half of that sentence.

“A Buneary, a Dustox, and a Psyduck!” she reported with a grin. “All by the river. I think I saw some Scyther, too, but I guess they ran off before I could do anything.”

“Well, something to hunt for later,” he said. “For now, we’ve got other priorities.”

“Right!” she said, then pointed back in the direction she came from. “I saw a path down that way, lit with torches. Bet you that’ll lead us to our warden!”

“A sound theory,” Ibzan agreed. “Man-made structures are usually a good sign when looking for people, or so I’m told.”

She led him through the trees to a dirt path, which they followed along. The torches dotted along the sides all burned brightly, and there were wooden steps interspersed throughout to help with the ascent. Eventually, they stopped at the sight of a pair of banners depicting the silhouette of, presumably, Lord Kleavor himself.

“...Yeah,” Dawn said slowly. “I see what you mean about the axes.”

She fiddled with her scarf nervously as they resumed walking.

“Maybe it’s… artistic licence?” she suggested with a hesitant smile. “And they’re actually a whole lot smaller than that?”

“...Maybe.”

“Okay, yeah, but a little optimism never hurt anyone,” Dawn groaned. “Too much optimism, sure, but that’s a perfectly reasonable level of— Oh, hey! Is that Lian?”

Ahead of them were the remnants of a stone structure, like the crumbled remnants seen in Deertrack Heights, sitting in front of the largest tree Ibzan had seen in his life. Not that he’d seen many trees in his time, but… Well, it rivalled Galaxy Hall in stature.

The most intact part of the structure looked to be an altar of some sort. Standing just in front of it was a small boy wearing a pink tunic bearing the symbol of the Pearl Clan, and… a cowboy hat? And a cowboy hat that was much too large for him. He looked a little older than Waka and Sho, but not by much. However many years old that happened to be.

He turned at the sound of their approach, frowning.

“You there!” he called, thrusting a finger their way. “This place is not open to outsiders! Without express permission from Lady Irida, I cannot— Are those horns?”

The boy stared wide-eyed up at Ibzan, pushing his hat up out of his eyes by the brim.

“Woah, you’re very tall,” he murmured, then visibly shook himself and cleared his throat. “I am Lian, of the Pearl Clan! Warden to Kleavor, Lord of the Woods! And you two… I can see it clearly!”

He huffed out a breath of air and nodded sharply to himself, rocking his hat back down over his eyes.

“You’re here to see Lord Kleavor, aren’t you?” he exclaimed, pushing his hat up once more. “I recognise that symbol. More from Galaxy Team, huh?”

“That’s right!” Dawn responded brightly. “My name is Dawn, and the hatstand next to me is Ibzan. We’re with the Survey Corps!”

“Hatstand?” Ibzan muttered to himself.

Lian folded his arms with another satisfied nod.

“Of course I’m right! Who would pass up the chance to see the powerfully awesome Kleavor, after that bolt of lightning made him even more awesomely powerful? But… I can’t let that happen,” he said, expression turning serious. “His power is great, but… It’s far too much for most. You lot need to clear off before you get hurt like those last guys you sent here.”

“That’s what we’re here for, actually. We’re looking for a way to stop Kleavor from hurting anyone else,” Ibzan said. Before Lian could protest, he quickly added, “without hurting him, either.”

“I…” Lian started, then trailed off with a sigh. “Look, I’m sorry, but Iri-—Lady Irida told me not to let anyone see him. Not after he nearly killed those guys. And it woulda been real bad if they did die. So… I ain’t budging on this. Nobody gets to see him.”

“That’s fine!” Dawn hurriedly interjected. “We just want information at the moment, that’s all!”

“I’m young, not stupid,” Lian huffed. “What’ll you do after I spill the beans, huh? Go and look for him yourselves. Ain’t happening.”

“Look, Lian, Irida was the one who sent us this way, and—” Ibzan tried.

“I just said I ain’t stupid!” Lian growled, glaring up at him. “All I’ve got is your word about this whole thing. Until I hear it from Irida’s own mouth, I ain’t budging on this! So… Leave now, or face the wrath of my Goomy!”

A small, round slug-like creature peeked around the side of the stone altar. Dawn perked up immediately.

“Aww, look! Hey there, little guy! What is he? Does he have a name?” she cooed, kneeling down to the Pokémon’s level. “Ibzan, just look at him, he’s so cute!”

“Oh, uh…” Lian stuttered, caught off guard. “His name’s Slurry. He’s a Goomy. Not many other people actually think he’s…”

He trailed off, then his gaze hardened.

“Uh, I mean, he’s super tough! And if you don’t clear off now, I’m gonna order him to attack! So if you know what’s good for y—”

“Ooh! You wanna have a Pokémon battle?” Dawn asked, springing to her feet as her eyes lit up. “We can do that! Which of us do you wanna fight?”

“It doesn’t matter!” Lian shouted irritably. “Slurry can take you both down, no problem! Both at once, even!”

Dawn and Ibzan glanced at one another. Ibzan raised a brow, but she just shot him a glare for even thinking about it.

“Yeah, we’re, uh…” Dawn said hesitantly. “Not doing that. Can we fight you one at a time, instead?”

“Fine! If it’ll get you outta here sooner!”

“Great!” Dawn said with a smile. “Ibzan, do you wanna do the honours, or…”

“Go ahead,” Ibzan said. “You’re the battle maniac here. Try not to crush him too badly, though. We don’t want to hurt our relations with the Pearl Clan.”

“No promises,” she grinned.

“I can hear you two, you know!” Lian said loudly.

“Okay, here we go! Show ‘em what you’re made of, Shelly!”

Ibzan stepped back to avoid risking stray attacks getting close and turned his attention away from the battle. Though he was the furthest thing from an expert in the matter, Slurry didn’t look like a particularly dangerous Pokémon. Especially after their scuffle with the Alpha Bibarel on the way over.

Besides, even if Dawn stuck to only one Pokémon for sake of fairness, Shelly was hardly a slouch in combat. And, of course, even if she somehow lost, then Lian would just have to fight Ibzan right after. And he certainly wouldn’t be imposing any handicaps on himself.

He had more important things to worry about, anyway. Namely, keeping watch for any signs of Kleavor. They were right in the middle of his territory, after all. While he was sure Lian would recognise any such signs far sooner than he could, he was also in the middle of battling Dawn, so Ibzan would rather stay on his guard.

“Swords Dance! So, where did you find Slurry? I've never seen a Pokémon like him before!”

“Oh, uh, I've had him for a long time, actually! Warden Calaba gave him to me when I was little, and— Hey! Your attempts at distraction won’t work on me!”

He wasn't sure what signs he could be looking out for, but he kept an eye out regardless. As unfamiliar with Pokémon as he still was, he doubted the approach of a creature made of rock would be particularly subtle.

Footsteps from behind immediately put him on edge.

…Or maybe it could be subtle. He spun, hand instinctively reaching for the empty holster within his coat, then paused when he saw the source.

“Irida?”

The clan leader approached, looking past him at the unfolding battle.

“What is going on here?” she demanded icily.

Ibzan glanced back at them. Neither of them noticed her arrival, too focused on the fight. He realised how this may have looked.

“There's no disagreement here, don't worry,” he said. “Well, I suppose there is, but… Lian told us in no uncertain terms to leave, unless he heard your express permission to get involved, and threatened us with a battle should we not listen.”

“I take it you didn't listen, then?” she asked, deadpan.

“Less that, and more that Dawn… just got excited the moment a battle was mentioned,” he said. “She's quite enthusiastic about Pokémon battling, so she’ll jump at the opportunity more often than not.”

“Just a… friendly battle, then? Irida asked, relaxing a little. She hummed and murmured quietly to herself, “rather like Warden Ingo…”

“Yes, exactly,” Ibzan agreed. He didn't know who that was, but he got the feeling that the comment wasn't meant for him anyway. “Just a friendly battle. Though, truth be told, I’m… not quite certain that Lian got the memo.”

“Water Jet, Shelly!” Dawn commanded, cheering when it landed. “Hey, what typing is Slurry, anyway? I thought Poison or Water at first, from his looks, but now I’m not so sure.”

“I’m not revealing anything about Slurry to the enemy!” Lian growled, though he sounded more exasperated than truly annoyed at this point.

“Is she… directing the Oshawott?” Irida asked.

“Common practice where she's from,” Ibzan said with a nod. “In Jubilife Village too, to a lesser extent, though she has a lot of experience from before her arrival.”

Irida hummed, staring at Dawn with a thoughtful frown.

“And you two said you came from beyond the Rift, correct?”

“Fell right out of it, I’m told.”

“We found him before it appeared, though…” she murmured quietly. “Not long before, but…”

“What was that?” he asked. He’d heard her fine, honestly, but it was quiet enough that it clearly wasn’t directed at him. Pretending not to have heard properly would give her an out if she didn't feel like elaborating.

“Hm? Oh, just thinking aloud. Nothing you need to worry about,” she said. Then, to herself again, “could that possibly be a lead…?”

It didn’t sound like she was talking about anything particularly urgent, but Ibzan couldn’t help but be curious about it. Did she know something about the Rift that they didn’t? Before he could ask, though, he was interrupted by a triumphant cry from ahead of them.

“Yes! Nice work, Shelly!” Dawn cheered.

“H-how can this be…?” Lian moaned, looking downtrodden.

“Hey, it’s okay! Slurry fought really well!” Dawn said, leaning down to pat him on the shoulder. “Is that enough proof that we can handle ourselves, though?”

“Hmph. Well, my point still stands,” Lian said sadly. “Slurry may be strong, but Kleavor’s on another level entirely! It’s far too dangerous to see him now. But…”

He hesitated, glancing at the clearing with the giant tree in the middle, before looking back up at her.

“Did Irida really send you to help? Be honest, please.”

“I did.”

Lian jumped, staring wide-eyed past Dawn as Irida walked closer. Shelly waddled up to Dawn’s side and squeaked in greeting, waving a paw at Irida.

“Oh! Hello, Miss Irida!” Dawn greeted nervously, leaning down to pet Shelly on the head.

“I-Irida? How long have you been there?” Lian stammered, then shook himself and frowned. “Is it really alright to tell outsiders this stuff? This is Pearl Clan business, isn’t it?”

Irida sighed.

“As much as I wanted us to handle this alone, this is bigger than us,” she said. “Kleavor’s power is too great for us, and that lightning bolt… Who’s to say it wasn’t sent down by the false Sinnoh that the Diamond Clan bows to?”

She sighed again, looking up at the giant tree at the end of the path.

“Kleavor means so much to our clan. To have to throw our hands up and ask outsiders to solve this for us… I hate it, but I can’t stand to see Kleavor suffer from this frenzy any longer. You know him better than any of us, Lian,” she said. “He always was a gentle soul, wasn’t he?”

“Yeah, he…” Lian said, a faraway sadness on his face. “He’s acting nothing like usual.”

Irida nodded.

“Yes, and if he attacks more people and Pokémon… That could lead to conflict with both the Diamond Clan and Galaxy Team. I refuse to drag our people back into war over something so meaningless as pride.”

Lian silently stared down at his boots for a few moments. Then, his gaze hardened, and he looked back up at Dawn and Ibzan.

“You two! Strangers from beyond the sky! Tell me… Could you Galaxy people actually fix all this? Quell our lord’s frenzy and get him back to normal?”

“I promise,” Dawn said determinedly, “we won’t rest until we find a solution to this whole mess. You can hold me to that.”

Lian stared at her for a few moments, then the tension eased from his shoulders.

“Right. I’ll hold you to that. Okay, so… Usually, if Lord Kleavor’s in a foul mood, I’ll make an offering for him — a nice heaping helping of his two favourite foods, served up with respect by his loyal warden! That’s me, o’course,” he said, smiling lopsidedly as he jabbed his chest with a thumb. “That usually cheers him right up, but… Now, even I can’t get close enough to give him any offerings, not with the way he’s been rampaging and running amok. I’m…”

Shame began to seep into his features.

“He won’t let me get near. And… I’m… scared, to try my luck any further. Listen, I know he’d normally never hurt me! But… he ain’t acting normal, right now. And if he won’t let me get close, I dunno what you two strangers could do.”

“We’ll find a way, I promise,” Dawn reassured him.

“This is a good lead to start with,” Ibzan said. “And if nothing comes from it, we’ll look for new ones to follow.”

“That’s right,” Dawn agreed. “We’re not gonna give up.”

Irida looked at the two of them, then straightened.

“Please. Find a way to quell his frenzy, even if you have to search every corner of vast Hisui!”

“We will,” Dawn said with a fierce nod. “Ibzan, let’s head back to Jubilife and let the Professor know our findings. We’ll figure something out, for sure!”

“Right. We should—” he began, then stopped when he noticed dust swirling around her feet. “Actually, there’s one more thing that needs your attention before we go.”

Ibzan pointed down. Confused, Dawn looked down at her feet, then gasped in delight.

“Shelly! You’re evolving?”

The swirling dust increased in intensity, energy sparking off as the force rustled the foliage surrounding them. A flash of light, and Shelly had evolved.

“Shellyyyyy! Look at you!” Dawn cooed, sweeping her up in her arms and spinning around delightedly. “You’re so big now! And… quite a lot heavier. But it’s fine! I can handle it!”

The former Oshawott giggled in Dawn’s arms, pawing at her face with her newly-extended reach.

Ibzan glanced back at Irida and Lian, wondering if they’d seen a Pokémon evolution before. They were certainly more likely to have done so than anyone at Jubilife, Survey and (possibly) Security Corps aside. They were both wearing surprised smiles as they watched Dawn baby her Pokémon, so perhaps the evolution wasn’t the unexpected sight here.

“Hey, time to get going,” he reminded her. “We want to be back before sundown, I’m sure.”

“Right! Bye Lian, Miss Irida! We’ll be back when we come up with something!” she called, waving at them with a free hand. Lian hesitantly waved back.

With that, they started on the path back towards Jubilife.

“Are you really planning on carrying Shelly all the way there?” Ibzan asked.

“I couldn’t bear to part with my daughter here for one moment, sir,” she replied, squeezing her to her chest. “How dare you make such an insinuation!”

“Fine,” he yawned. “If you slow us down too much I’m leaving you behind, though.”

“That would mean leaving Shelly behind, too, and you could never stand to do such a thing, surely! Just look at her!”

“A compelling argument. Fine, you win this time.”

By the time they got back to the village, the sky was already dark. It wasn’t late enough in the evening to empty the streets, but there certainly were less people out and about.

“Alright,” Ibzan said, suppressing a yawn. “We have our lead. Lian often calms Kleavor’s temper with his favourite foods. The question is, can we take advantage of that, while he’s still rampaging through the woods?”

“I’m gonna bring it up with the Professor,” Dawn said. “See if we can’t brainstorm up a solution or something.”

“Good plan,” Ibzan said with a nod, walking towards Galaxy Hall. “With any luck, he’ll—”

“Nope!”

Dawn reached out and grabbed the hem of his coat, giving it a yank. He stopped and shot her a questioning look.

“I’m gonna bring it up with the Professor,” she repeated cheerily. “And you are gonna have an early night!”

“That’s…”

Somewhat tempting, he thought, eyes heavy.

“Hardly necessary,” he said instead. “Brainstorming works best with more participants. Well, to a point, anyway. Too many cooks and all, but we’re a small enough group for that not to be a concern.”

“Come on,” she said sternly. “You’re running on fumes, here. You need to rest up!”

“A couple nights’ poor sleep isn’t going to kill me,” he said with a huff. “We have work to do. We need to deal with this as soon as possible, you know.”

“That’s right, some lost sleep won’t kill you,” she said with a glare. “But do you know what will? Exhaustion! While we’re dealing with the big Rock Type with axes for hands!”

Then, she sighed, expression softening.

“Look, I get it. You want to help, but proper rest really is important. I’ve watched Barry run out of steam enough times to know you can’t go full-throttle all the time. I’ll fill you in on what we come up with, and you can help out if we don’t have anything by tomorrow, but please go rest?”

“I…” he started, then sighed. Her argument was well-reasoned enough that he couldn’t really argue. And he knew, logically, that rest was important. Still…

“You’re right. I do feel exhausted. I know I need sleep. I just…” he trailed off.

“The nightmare?” Dawn softly finished for him. He remained silent, feeling utterly ridiculous. After all he’d been through, why did sleeping suddenly feel like such a hurdle? Just a week ago, he’d have given anything for the ability to sleep! And now, just one little scare had soured him to the whole experience. One night out of four, and he couldn’t even handle that?

“Hey, I see those thoughts running through your head, stop it,” Dawn reprimanded lightly. “Nightmares have a way of digging into your head, I get it. In my experience… Being all stressed while you’re lying in bed doesn’t help anything. Having my Pokémon stay with me always helped me stay relaxed and keep my mind off things, y’know? It can’t hurt.”

“Well,” Ibzan said with a snort. “Attempting to use Eevee as a stuffed animal might hurt, as a matter of fact.”

“Well,” Dawn repeated with a laugh. “You’ve got me there.”

They smiled at one another for a moment, then Ibzan let out a short sigh.

“I appreciate your efforts to comfort me, Dawn,” he said. “I know that I’m not the most… That I’m not the easiest person to stay patient with. I’ll do my best to get some sleep.”

“Oh, don’t worry, you’re nothing compared to trying to get Barry to slow down!” she said with a grin. “I’d be here for another hour, at least!”

“Well, I won’t keep you any longer,” he said with a yawn. “Go meet with the Professor. I’ll see you tomorrow, alright?”

“Alright!” she said happily. “G’night Ibzan!”

“Yeah, night.”

With a wave, they parted ways. Ibzan slid open the door to his quarters and hung up his coat with a sigh. He unclipped his satchel and released his two Pokémon, the flashes of light practically blinding in the darkness of the room.

“I’m retiring early tonight,” Ibzan told them. “Though… Last night is still weighing on me, I’ll admit. Eevee, I won’t ask this of you, obviously, but Jet… Would you mind… Er…”

Jet squeaked enthusiastically and trotted over to the sleeping mat, thankfully saving him from needing to elaborate aloud any further. With a small smile, Ibzan took off his uniform and pulled on the trousers he’d been using as sleepwear before heading to bed for the night.

“Here I am!” Dawn declared as she stepped into the Professor’s office.

“Ah! Welcome back, my girl!” Laventon said, standing up from his desk chair. “We were wondering if you’d be much longer!”

“So, how’d things go?” Rei asked, laying down a bowl of Plump Beans at the base of the tree where Rowlet tended to nap. The Pokémon in question fluttered down and began to peck at them. “And where’s Ibzan? Did he stay behind for something?”

“Oh, nothing like that,” Dawn said, walking up and giving Rowlet a scratch on the head. “Just made him get some rest. You saw how he was this morning — he needed it.”

“Very thoughtful of you,” Laventon said with a warm smile. “So, what did you find out from Warden Lian? Anything of use?”

“Well, I think so,” she replied. “Ibzan seemed cautiously optimistic, too. I’m not too sure what we could do with that information yet, but I am sure that we can figure it out together!”

“Well, why don’t you fill us in over a spot of tea?” Laventon suggested. “Just give me a moment to fetch the kettle…”

He began rummaging through the various drawers and boxes in his office.

“Hm… You two sit at the… the, erm… the table! I’ll be but a moment.”

“The kotatsu,” Rei supplied, placing down three cups and taking a seat.

“Yes, that’s the word I was looking for!” Laventon agreed. “Just put those books there to the side for the moment. Now, where’s that blasted… Ah, here we are!”

He grinned as he held up a metal teapot, before hurrying over to the brick structure near the door that Jet often slept in, before joining Ibzan’s team. He unfolded a metal stand and placed the kettle on top, before lighting a small flame beneath it.

“There we are,” the Professor said with a satisfied smile, before taking a seat at the kotatsu. “Shouldn’t be long. Dawn, why don’t you tell us what you learned?”

“Okay,” she said with a nod. “So, like Cyllene said, Lian usually calms Kleavor down by making offerings to him. Those offerings are a mix of his two favourite foods, apparently. Kleavor’s favourites, not Lian’s. Anyway, issue is, he can’t get close enough to actually, y’know, offer them anymore. Not safely, anyway.”

“I don’t blame him,” Rei said with a shudder. “That thing put three men in the medical ward like it was nothing.”

“Food, hm?” Laventon said thoughtfully, glancing at Rowlet as he pecked at the bowl of beans. “That would make sense. Revered or not, Kleavor is still a Pokémon, and they do tend to respond well to such rewards. What did Warden Lian say Kleavor’s preferred foods were, Dawn?”

Dawn froze, eyes wide.

“I— ah,” she stammered nervously. “I… forgot to ask? I’m sorry, that was dumb of me.”

“Oh, no, no, it’s fine, my girl!” the Professor reassured her. “We’ll need to coordinate with Warden Lian once we come up with a plan of action anyway, so we can simply ask him then! Provided, of course, that we have a plan of action to present.”

Laventon rubbed his chin with a thoughtful hum.

“These offerings typically work to soothe him, so they’re our best bet for the time being,” he said. “The question, then, is obvious — how do we make these offerings?”

“Do you know how Warden Lian typically does that, Dawn?” Rei asked.

“He didn’t say,” Dawn said with a sigh, resting her head on her hand. “There was this altar thing that looked important. It had, like, stone bowls on it, so maybe there? But he also might just hand them directly over, instead of there being a whole ceremony or whatever.”

“You said Lian can’t get close enough to make the offerings,” Rei said. “That points towards the latter, I think. At least during this frenzy. If he could just leave it somewhere for him, he’d do that, right?”

“So I guess we can’t just leave Kleavor an extra-big offering and hope for the best, huh?”

“It seems not,” Laventon said. “We’ll need to consider— Ah!”

A sudden whistling from the kettle interrupted him. He sprung up and hurried over to grab it. Bringing it over to the table, he poured the contents into the three cups, then sat back down with a smile.

“Ah, the smell of a good cup of tea really does remind me of home,” he said wistfully. “Now then, how do we get Kleavor to accept the offerings? If he won’t eat the food when it’s simply left out, how can we coerce him into doing so?”

“Well, he has to eat eventually, right?” Rei said. “Maybe we could just… keep leaving him offerings until he does?”

“Ah, but there’s no guarantee he won’t simply hunt to sate his hunger, instead,” Laventon said with a sigh. “His refusal of offerings seems almost wilful, since they’d be a much more efficient alternative than hunting, as far as energy expenditure goes.”

“So, what, we force feed him somehow?” Rei asked. “I don’t think he’d let us do that.”

“Well, maybe we can just make Ibzan do it,” Dawn said with a snort. “Throw the food directly into Kleavor’s mouth.”

Rei laughed, but Laventon just stared down at his tea, eyes unfocused.

“Uh, Professor?” she asked worriedly. “Are you—”

“EUREKA!”

Dawn let out a surprised ‘eep’, leaning back at the sudden exclamation and nearly spilling her own tea.

“Throw the food! Why, it’s so simple!” he said excitedly.

“Uh, that was a joke, Professor,” she said. “I don’t think even Ibzan’s accurate enough for that, y’know?”

Laventon shook his head with a grin.

“Not at all, my girl! We needn’t feed Kleavor directly when the scent is enough!”

“The… scent?”

“Quite! Just like the tea we have here! And the sense of smell of Pokémon tends to be much better than our own!”

“Oh! We don’t need Kleavor to eat the food if the smell of it is enough to calm him!” Dawn realised, hitting her palm with a fist.

“Precisely! And if we shape the food into balls, much like a Poké Ball, that should make throwing them all the easier!”

“That… could work, actually,” Rei said, rubbing his chin. “Depending on what the food is, we could just hold them together with paper, like wrapping a present. Except, uh, squishier.”

“Yes! Rather ingenious, if I do say so myself,” Laventon said proudly. “As for what to call these yummy projectiles… How about Teatime Balls?”

“Teatime Balls, Professor? Really?” Rei groaned, shaking his head in disbelief.

“What? I think it has a rather nice ring to it,” he said defensively. “It was this very cup of tea that inspired this idea, after all.”

“Why not just name them after yourself? Laventon Balls?”

“No! No, no, no! That’s an awful name!” Dawn cried.

“Indeed,” the Professor agreed. “With that name, it rather sounds as though I’m the one being launched at our frenzied friend…”

“Plenty of things are named after the person who invented them,” Rei argued. “Like… bowler hats, I think? Either way, it’s a better name than Teatime—”

“Look, let’s worry about if it’ll work instead of the name,” Dawn interrupted. “Maybe we could make, like, a proof-of-concept example to test them out, and to show Lian and Miss Irida once we’re sure they will.”

“A sound idea,” Laventon said with a nod. “For the moment, however… It is getting rather late at this point, isn’t it? I suggest we retire for the night, now that we have a potential solution on hand.”

“Alright,” Dawn said, draining the last of the tea from her cup. “If those two agree to the idea, hopefully they’ll be able to give us the food to make enough of them. I get the feeling just one whiff of the stuff won’t be enough to calm Kleavor, y’know?”

“Probably not,” Rei agreed with a sigh. “I’m just glad we’ve got a… slightly safer approach than just walking up and handing him the offerings. Tomorrow, I’ll see about making a sample like you suggested, then I’ll meet with you and Ibzan and we can take it to show the Pearl Clan.”

“Alright, thanks Rei,” Dawn said with a smile. “See you tomorrow. You too, Professor.”

“Sweet dreams, my girl!”

After a brief stop to pat Rowlet on the head, she left the office and headed back to her quarters. Though the thought of going up against Kleavor scared her, a small part of her couldn’t help but look forward to it a little, now that they had an actual plan.

They definitely needed a better name for the stuff, though. ‘Teatime Balls’ wasn’t great, and the less said about ‘Laventon Balls’ the better.

Chapter Text

“Ibzan?”

No response.

“IIIIbzaaaaan,” Dawn called, knocking again.

Nope, nothing.

“You went to bed earlier than me, c’mon! Open the door or I’m kicking it down, Hitmonlee-style!” she warned.

She rapped her knuckles on the door, alternating between one hand and the other to knock at supersonic speeds, just like she and Barry did when they were kids. Much to the annoyance of both their mothers. She paused and held an ear to the door, but all was still silent on the other side.

“Okay, time’s up! Here I go! A-one and a-two and a-one, two, three!”

With a fierce war cry, she raised her foot slightly and lightly knocked three more times on the door with the tip of her sandal. A few seconds later, the door slid open to reveal an unimpressed Ibzan.

“I think a good kick would sooner put a hole through one of these doors than actually break it down,” he said. “Too thin. Anyway, sorry for the wait. Hadn’t finished putting on my uniform.”

“You saying those kicks weren’t good?” she asked with a yawn. “Rude. Anyway, Dawn’s top tip of the day! Usually when people knock, it’s polite to, y’know, acknowledge them in literally any way.”

“I acknowledged you by opening the door,” he said, leaning out of the door to look up at the sky. “What time is it, anyway? I don’t know how to tell it from the sun, and I wasn’t wearing a watch when I was brought here.”

“It’s too early, is what it is,” Dawn sighed. “Hold on though, I know a foolproof method of telling the time. Passed down through generations!”

She squinted up at the sun, gauging the distance between it and the horizon with her thumb and index finger. She stroked her chin with a thoughtful hum as she examined the gap between her fingers.

“Ah, I’ve got it! Now, this is just a guess, but I’d say it’s abooouuuut…”

She reached into her pocket and pulled out her Arc Phone.

“Ten to six,” she read off the screen, breezing past Ibzan into his quarters with a cheeky grin. Jet beeped drowsily at her in greeting from his spot on Ibzan’s pillow.

“Very impressive,” Ibzan said, sliding the door shut. “I'd wager that estimate to be accurate to the minute.”

“I’m very talented,” she agreed, yawning again as she gave Jet a quick scratch behind the ears. “Man… I’ve kinda gotten used to waking up this early. Kinda. But already being out and about this early? Yeah, no. I told Rei we’d meet him at half-past, though, and I wanted to get you up to speed before then so… here we are.”

“I see,” Ibzan said, sitting down on the mat opposite hers. “So, get me up to speed.”

“Right you are,” Dawn said, snapping her fingers and pointing at him. “I'll getcha up to speed so quick they’ll ticket us!”

She quickly recapped last night’s conversation, and the idea the Professor eventually came up with. Plus, she even managed to avoid any mention of his and Rei’s awful name ideas! Sparing Ibzan from that horror for as long as she could was just the ethical thing to do, really.

“So, we’re going to… throw food at him?” he asked sceptically. “I can follow the logic, I suppose, but it sounds rather… optimistic. You’re a lot more experienced with Pokémon than I am. Do you really think this’ll work?”

“Well, a lot of Pokémon are pretty food-motivated. Mine were always crazy for poffins,” she said with a shrug. “And Kleavor’s gotta have some positive association with the smell of it, y’know? It’s a lot easier to calm down when you’re around things that make you happy. I think we’ve got a good shot!”

“Well… alright,” Ibzan sighed, scratching the back of his head. “We should come up with an escape plan, though, in case it doesn’t work. Though, honestly, I think there’s a non-zero chance he’ll just let us go if we run.”

“Oh, you think?” Dawn asked, blinking in surprise. Now he was the one sounding rather optimistic.

“Remember what Owen told me? That Kleavor swung slowly at them, hitting with the flats of his axes? He said that Kleavor was just toying with them, but the fact that they got away at all tells me that he was holding back. Aerial Ace doesn't miss… Unless you're not actually aiming for the target, right?”

“Oh! So Kleavor doesn’t want to attack people? That’s… good! Great, actually!”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself,” he said sternly. “It’s just a suspicion. Besides, he is still attacking people, intentions be damned.”

“Yeah,” she sighed, twirling her hair around her finger. “Dangerous, even if he doesn’t want to be…”

There were a bunch of Pokémon that were naturally just less safe to be around. She’d heard of several cases where a Slugma ended up putting its trainer in hospital with third-degree burns because it wanted to show them some affection. And that was just one species.

It always made Dawn sad to think about. And grateful for the sort of specialised equipment designed specifically to let trainers touch Slugma or other Pokémon like them. This situation with Kleavor was different, though. Passive dangers like Slugma body heat or Weezing gas were one thing, but Kleavor actively taking swings at people was another.

“Right. So, any ideas for getting away from him?” Ibzan asked. “Teleportation isn’t exactly something… humans can do.”

He had a look in his eye — some private joke she wasn’t in on. Well, the joke was on him, actually, because humans could teleport. They just needed… Oh, there’s an idea!

“People can’t teleport by themselves, sure, but they can with the help of Pokémon! Maybe Cyllene’d let us borrow her Abra!” she said. Then, she pictured going up and actually asking the Captain for a favour like that, and her enthusiasm dropped like a rock. “Or, uh, let's not, actually! …Maybe Rei might have some other ideas?”

“We’re about to go and meet him, anyway,” he said, tapping his knee in thought. “There’s certainly no harm in asking.”

“Yeah, exactly! Still got a bit of time left to kill, though,” Dawn said with a sigh. “Maybe I could’ve slept a little bit longer after— Oh! Hello, there!”

Eevee poked her head out from underneath a sheet that had been lying in a bundle on the floor, looking none too pleased at their volume. She let out a noise that was somewhere between a growl and a yawn.

A grawn? A yowl? Wait, a yowl was already its own noise, wasn't it? Grawn it was, then. Eevee grawned at them.

“Oh, same,” Dawn said, offering a hand for a fistbump. Eevee gave it a withering glare, shaking herself out from beneath the sheet. “Ah, hold on a sec, there's someone who was wanting to see you!”

She dug into her satchel and retrieved her own Eevee’s Poké Ball, letting him out. He squeaked in delight and tackled his sister in a hug, to her (very loud) protest.

“Hey, did you ever think of a nickname for her?” Dawn asked. “Since they’re a package deal I thought it’d be neat if their names complimented one another, so I’ve been holding off on coming up with anything on my own.”

“Not yet,” he said, watching one Eevee bounce excitedly around the other. “We didn’t exactly have a lot of free time yesterday, after all.”

“Yeah, true,” Dawn said. “We’ve still got a bit until we need to go, though. Hey, wanna brainstorm nicknames, you two?”

Both Eevee perked up, one much more visibly than the other. Grumpy Eevee definitely looked at least a little interested, though. Dawn’s Eevee trotted up to her side and lay down next to her.

“Alright!” she said with a grin. “So, a good starting point for nicknames is what they’re gonna evolve into. Especially species with branching evolutions, and especially for Eevee. Do you have one in mind, Ibzan?”

“Not like I know the options,” Ibzan said with a shrug. “I’m not too picky. Whatever’s strong. I should probably be the one asking you what to go for, here.”

“Ah, right,” Dawn said with a sheepish laugh. “Well, Jet’s a Fire type, so maybe Leafeon? Grass types pretty much cover all their weaknesses.”

Eevee frowned and stuck her tongue out at the suggestion.

“Looks like you’ve been overruled,” Ibzan said insightfully. “Any other ideas?”

“Hm, well… You’ve only got two Pokémon on your team, so we have a lot of freedom. Whatever we go with, we can build the rest of the team around, y’know? Uh, if you want to go that route, anyway.”

“I’m a believer in the strategic approach, yes.”

“Well, sometimes it’s less you picking your Pokémon and more your Pokémon picking you, y’know? Like me and Kilowatt! I didn’t even see him until it was too late, then bam! He pounced right onto my head, and into my heart!”

“Bridges to cross when we come to them,” he said, waving a hand dismissively. “So, suggestions?”

“Hmm,” Dawn hummed, stroking her Eevee on the back while she thought. “Well, a Flareon would be pretty redundant, what with Jet on your team, so maybe you could—”

A sharp squeak interrupted her train of thought. She looked down at Eevee, who glared back with an irritated flick of the ear.

“Oh! Uh, did you have something in mind already, Eevee?”

A long string of trills and barks. Dawn saw Ibzan give her a questioning glance out of the corner of her eye.

“Don’t look at me,” she shrugged. “I can’t actually speak Pokémon, y’know.”

Eevee growled irritably at that, tail twitching as she paced back and forth. Then, she stopped in place, ears sticking up as something occurred to her. She looked up at them, puffed her tail up, and made a warbly buzzing sound.

“Ooh! Electric type, right? A Jolteon?” Dawn asked excitedly. “Inspired by a certain someone, were you?”

Eevee began to nod, then squawked and glared at her. She laughed.

“Hm. Something electricity-related…” Ibzan mused to himself.

“Sparky!” Dawn suggested with a grin.

“No,” Ibzan said flatly. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Eevee sigh and use Calm Mind. Wow, tough crowd.

“Then how about… Jolt!”

“That’s just a shortened… You’re messing with me, aren’t you?”

“Heh, maybe,” Dawn said, pointing finger guns at him. “Better hurry up and come up with something, or I’ll keep going.”

Ibzan stroked his chin in thought. Dawn gave him a minute before she spoke up again.

“Y’knooow, I think Socket is a lovely na—”

“Blackout.”

Dawn blinked. A quick glance at Eevee showed no immediate signs of disapproval.

“The consequence of a power surge — an overwhelming increase in electricity that fries the system and leaves everyone in the dark. And, of course, a word for being knocked unconscious,” he added wryly. “I think it fits. How about you?”

The Eevee considered for a few moments, then slowly nodded.

“Well. Glad to finally be properly introduced, Blackout,” Ibzan said, holding out a hand. Blackout hesitated, then approached, allowing a brief scratch below the chin before making a fast retreat back to where she was sitting before.

“Blackout… Blackout…” Dawn mumbled to herself. “Hmm, now I gotta think of something that pairs well with that. Do you have an evolution in mind, little man?”

The unnamed Eevee smiled up at her. So very, very cute! But alas, not so very, very helpful!

“Guess not, then,” she sighed. “Well, let’s see…”

“Roundabout,” Ibzan suggested. “It rhymes.”

“I'm not that desperate for ideas, thanks.”

“Catastrophic Power Failure. Catapowfa for short. It follows the theme.”

“Wh— That— Oh. Oh, I see how it is. Be careful, or I might actually accept one of those suggestions, and then you’ll have to deal with that forever,” she said with a grin. Ibzan shrugged at her innocently, keeping his face straight.

Alright. She wasn’t planning on a specific evolution, aside from ‘not Jolteon’. She wasn’t Volkner, thanks, she didn’t need more than one Electric type on her team.

She didn’t want to put any expectations on Eevee with the name, either. As great as it would be to have a Flareon named Tsunami, she wanted his evolution to be his choice, and going with a name like that might make him choose for her sake, instead of his.

So, maybe something that sounded good with Blackout when spoken? Starts with a B, ends with a T? Maybe something like… Biscuit. Brisket. Baguette? Breakfast?

She knock-knock-knocked on the side of her head. Hello, Dawn, you home? Thinking is done with your head, not your stomach.

She stroked Eevee’s back and mulled over her options, but nothing was really sticking like she—

Oh, actually… She had an idea that was pretty cute. Maybe…?

“How about… Bennett?” she suggested, picking him up and holding him out in front of her. “Blackout and Bennett, the best little duo in Sinnoh!”

She brought him closer, looking into his eyes.

“What do you think? Bennett? Little Bennie?”

He yipped and licked her on the nose. She leaned back with a startled laugh.

“I think we can take that as approval,” Ibzan said.

“I’m glad,” she said with a smile, hugging the newly-named Bennett tightly. “Look at us, a couple of naming pros!”

“We could always start a consultancy if surveying doesn't work out,” Ibzan said dryly. “Speaking of, though… What time is it now?”

“Hey, you’ve got a phone too, haven’t you? Or does it predate the invention of clocks?” she teased, pulling out her own phone. “Anyway, it’s… twenty-past, looks like. Should probably get going soon.”

“Oh, hey! Good morning, you two!” Rei called from his seat at one of the Wallflower's tables. “I got us some breakfast! Nothing extravagant, just some rice and miso soup, but I made sure to get extra for you two. I get the feeling you’ll be needing it!”

“You’re a star, Rei,” Dawn sighed, sitting down next to him. Ibzan took the seat opposite her.

“So, Dawn filled me in on the plan,” Ibzan said, picking up a pair of chopsticks and just about managing to hold them correctly. “Did you manage to get that proof-of-concept done?”

“I did indeed! I’ve got a few sample Laventon Balls” — Rei blinked as one of Dawn’s chopsticks thwapped lightly against his forehead — “…in my bag here. Uh, hold on for a moment.”

He began rummaging through his satchel. Ibzan met Dawn’s eyes and mouthed Laventon Balls?

She rolled her eyes, shaking her head with an exaggerated huff.

“Here we are,” he said, plopping a small wrapped bundle onto the table. “I made this one with Oran Berries and Springy Mushrooms, but the design should work for whatever Kleavor’s favourite foods are. Caster Ferns are pretty durable.”

Dawn picked it up, bouncing it up and down in her hand.

“Ooh, nice heft to it,” she said appreciatively. “I could totally see myself throwing these. And it’s not at all soggy, even with the Orans in there! Here, Ibzan, feel!”

Ibzan obligingly took hold of the… Laventon Ball, or whatever they were calling it.

“Uh, yeah? I wouldn’t be keeping them in my bag if they were,” Rei said with a roll of his eyes. “The Caster Ferns are waterproof enough for this kinda thing, when you wrap the stuff properly. More than the paper was, that’s for sure. Anyway, glad you approve. I thought they felt fine, sure, but you two are the expert throwers here, not me.”

The ball did have a good weight to it, enough that it wouldn’t easily get knocked off course by a stray gust of wind or anything. It was surprisingly sturdy, too — it didn’t feel as though it would fall apart unless it smacked into something, which was precisely what they needed.

“It looks like it'll do the job,” Ibzan said with a nod. “Nice work.”

“Just happy to be making myself useful,” Rei replied with a proud grin. “Even if I’m not so good at the whole Pokémon, uh… training thing, I do know my way around a workbench!”

“You’ll get there,” Dawn said, slinging her arm around his shoulders with a grin. “I know a future Pokémon master when I see one!”

“If you say so. It's just very… slow-going, so far,” Rei said with a wince. Then, he smirked. “For the moment though, I can help the most by making these Laventon Balls for you.”

He laughed as Dawn shoved him on the shoulder.

“So, we have our ammunition sorted,” Ibzan said. “There’s one more thing I wanted to discuss, though. Fallback options, in case they don’t work as well as we think they’ll do.”

“Oh, that's right! I actually have just the thing for that! Uh, hold on…”

Rei dove into his satchel again. Ibzan couldn’t help but wonder exactly how much he had in there. Maybe Dawn should be getting packing advice from him, instead of that Bagin guy.

“Here we go,” Rei said, setting something on the table with a plonk. It was a small, dark grey ball, with rope wrapped around its sides. “This is a Smoke Bomb! Beni showed me how to make them a while back, when I helped make some replacements for some of his old kitchen utensils. Apparently those Sootfoot Roots — he uses them in his recipes — expel quite a lot of powder if they’re struck too hard, which—”

He cut off his own ramble with a cough, looking embarrassed.

“Uh, point is, you throw one of these at your feet and they’ll burst into a cloud of smoke-like powder. It blocks vision and throws Pokémon off your scent. If the Laventon Balls don’t help calm Kleavor like we hope, then you should be able to use these to help you get away. Here. I had the materials for four of them, so that’s two each.”

“Thanks, Rei,” Dawn smiled, stashing them in her satchel. “Really. We couldn’t do this without you!”

“Ah, I’m sure you’d have figured something out on your own!” he laughed, face a little flushed from the praise. “Again, though, glad to be of help.”

“So,” Ibzan said, setting down his now-empty bowl. “What’s our next step?”

“Now we need to go and meet with Lian,” Dawn said. “He knows Kleavor’s favourite foods, so once we’re there we can get started on crafting the… ammo. Rei’s gonna come along to show how it’s done, and then we just need to make enough to calm Kleavor down.”

“Right,” Rei said with a nod. “Uh, how many is enough, anyway?”

“As many as we can manage,” Ibzan said. “Better overprepared than dead.”

“Uh. Right. Sensible,” Rei said with a nervous laugh.

“So, we all done here?” Dawn asked. Once they both nodded, she nodded back. “Great. Let’s get going!”

They were surprised to find Warden Mai waiting for them at the gate. Apparently, she had something in the Heights Camp that would be of use to them. Not about to turn down any help they could get, they agreed to follow her there. Besides, that was the direction they were headed anyway, so it wouldn’t delay them any more than necessary.

Ibzan couldn’t say he knew Mai all that well — they’d only met during yesterday’s meeting, after all — but he noticed a slight bounce in her step as she led the way to the camp. She hadn’t said anything when asked about her plan, claiming it was better to show than tell, but she was clearly looking forward to presenting it to them.

Adaman waved at them as they entered the clearing where the camp was set up. Standing next to him was a proud-looking Pokémon with white fur that resembled a deer or elk, albeit with a long, bushy beard. Ibzan assumed this was the Lord Wyrdeer that Dawn had met yesterday.

Noticing the fancy white-and-gold saddle sitting on the Pokémon’s back, Ibzan thought he had an idea of what Mai might be offering them here.

Wyrdeer rumbled out a greeting as they approached.

“Hello, you three,” Adaman said with a grin. “I spoke to Wyrdeer about what’s been going on — how the pair of you have been hard at work looking for a way to quell his fellow Lord’s frenzy.”

He placed a hand on his hip, turning to look at the Pokémon in question.

“All this, and you’re not even part of either clan. You have no obligation to this land — to us — and yet you’ve been tirelessly working to help resolve our troubles. And hearing that, it moved his heart! So, he’s agreed to lend you his aid!”

“This isn’t a privilege that just anyone has access to,” commented Mai, “so I trust you’ll appreciate it.”

“You mean…?” Dawn asked, eyes sparkling as she stared at the saddle.

“Whoa…” Rei breathed, his expression utterly identical.

“Yes,” Mai said, nodding with a smile. “Wyrdeer’s found you worthy, which means… you’ll need one of these.”

She reached into one of the pouches and withdrew something white and cylindrical.

“Ooh,” Dawn said appreciatively, eyeing the tube. “Uh, what is it?”

“That, my sky-fallen friend, is a Celestica Flute!” Adaman proudly.

It was an odd-looking instrument. Unlike any other flute Ibzan had seen, it didn’t have any holes in the sides — from the outside, all it looked like was a hollow cylinder. He assumed there was something more complex on the inside to make it an actual instrument, instead of an overglorified cardboard tube.

“This is important,” Adaman continued, “so keep your ears open!”

Mai raised it to her lips, holding her hand over the base. Blowing into it, she played a short, fluttery tune by moving the fingers blocking the hole at the bottom of the flute. High, low, high, low, then an extended high note. She paused for a moment, then repeated the melody, though Ibzan still couldn’t make any sense of what movements corresponded to what notes.

“Now, Celestica Flutes are precious tools that can call upon the Noble Pokémon for their aid,” Adaman said. “If you play, they will hear it. They’re one of a kind! It’s said they were gifts from almighty Sinnoh itself. And now…”

Adaman reached into his coat and produced another Celestica Flute with a flourish.

“This one’s yours!”

“Wow, and you said these were a gift from… Sinnoh itself?” Dawn asked. “Thank you.”

Ibzan refrained from pointing out that the two of them each already had a gift from ‘Sinnoh’ sitting in their pockets. That would probably raise a lot of questions that they’d rather not get into.

“Think nothing of it,” Adaman said, waving a hand. “You’ll get more use out of it than I, certainly. Can’t play that thing for the life of me.”

“Wait, this is yours?” Dawn asked nervously. “Is that… really okay? If these things are as special as you say?”

“Ah, but that's where you're wrong,” Adaman smirked. “That flute isn't mine. It's yours. And besides, you’ll be doing Hisui a service by taking it off my hands, really.”

“It’s true,” Mai said with a small smile. “I don’t think even a Chatot could replicate the sounds I’ve heard him force out of it.”

“Mai,” Adaman pouted.

“You know it’s true,” Mai laughed. “Now, Dawn, see if you can play that melody.”

“Hold on,” Ibzan said. “You haven’t even told her how to play that flute. She—”

He was interrupted by an absolutely perfect recreation of the tune that Mai had played. He turned, giving Dawn a look of disbelief as she grinned sheepishly at him. Wyrdeer let out a grunt of approval, then turned and walked away.

“Wow,” Rei said. “Have you played one of those before? That was spot-on.”

“No, actually,” Dawn said, watching as Wyrdeer scaled the large rock formation just past where the camp was set up. “I’ve never played any instrument before, but I just kinda… did it? I guess?”

…Huh. Did Arceus implant that knowledge into her, like it did with him for the language?

Did it implant that knowledge into him, too?

Ugh.

“Well done, well done! Frankly, I’m jealous,” Adaman said, clapping his hands together with a smile.

Wyrdeer hopped down from the rock formation and approached them once more, this time with something small and rectangular floating in the air next to him. He came to a stop, and the object drifted towards Dawn.

“Oh? Uh,” she said, plucking it out of the air. “Thanks?”

“What is that?” Rei asked.

“No clue. Kinda… tingles when I hold it,” Dawn said, stowing it away in her satchel. “I'm guessing it's probably important? Whatever it is?”

Great, Ibzan thought. More mysteries. Exactly what they needed.

Wyrdeer snorted, then gestured at the saddle on his back with a jerk of his head. Letting out a squeak of excitement, Dawn wasted no time clambering up.

Ibzan shot Adaman a questioning glance.

“That's the first I've seen of that tablet,” he said with a shrug. “Also, I only have one of those flutes to spare, I’m sorry to say.”

“That’s fine,” Ibzan sighed, deciding to worry about the tablet later. “I don’t know how to play the flute, anyway.”

Well, as far as he knew, he didn’t know. And he’d be keeping it that way, too.

He watched as Dawn rode Wyrdeer in laps around Deertrack Heights, cheering as he picked up speed.

“Would… he even be able to carry me?” he asked. “I’m hardly what you’d call a typical passenger. If I sat on his back I could probably still touch the ground with my feet.”

Maybe if he tucked his legs in, like how people rode motorbikes? There were a few Dredged grunts he’d seen who rode those. The lack of a footrest would likely make it a very uncomfortable position to hold, though.

“I can’t speak for the height issue, but he’s definitely strong enough to carry you,” Adaman said. “I’ve seen him push aside boulders.”

Dawn whooped as Wyrdeer cleared one of the camp’s tents with a leap.

“I think Wyrdeer’s enjoying getting to show off a little,” Mai said.

“I think Dawn’s forgetting why we’re here,” Rei sighed. Ibzan didn’t miss the quiet look of discontent in his eyes as he watched her ride around the clearing. “Hey! Dawn! We’ve got places to be, remember?”

“Oh!” Dawn said, coming to a halt in front of them. “Right on! I’ll see you two there, okay?”

“Hold on,” Ibzan interrupted before she could gallop off. “There’s no point in you rushing ahead of us.”

“Why not? I can… Uh… I can let Lian and Miss Irida know about the plan ahead of time!” she suggested.

“And do you know how to make a Laventon Ball?” he asked flatly, folding his arms.

“Uh.”

“Could you show them the crafting process, and get a head start on making enough of them for the fight?”

“...Uh.”

“Exactly,” Ibzan said with a nod. “Which is why Rei should be the one to ride ahead.”

Rei suddenly burst into a coughing fit.

“Wh— Me— I—” he spluttered.

Ibzan clapped him on the back. Rei’s coughing died down and he took a deep breath.

“But— There’s— I… Could I really?” he asked, eyes shining.

“We can’t all three ride him there. Assuming Wyrdeer’s fine with it, that’s our best option,” Ibzan said. He turned to Wyrdeer. “Are you?”

The lord looked between him and Rei, then gave them a slow nod.

“But… I…” Dawn protested, before her resolve melted in the face of Rei’s excitement. “Aw, fine.”

She slid off the saddle and dropped back onto the ground. Mai walked over and began helping Rei onto Wyrdeer’s back.

“You really know how to kill a gal’s fun,” Dawn sighed as she came up next to him.

“You’ll live. This is the more sensible approach,” Ibzan murmured. “Besides, I think we’ve just made Rei’s day.”

Rei was grinning brightly from atop Wyrdeer as Mai explained the basics of riding to him.

“...Yeah, that does help make up for things,” Dawn said with a smile. “Besides, I have Wyrdeer on speed dial, now!”

She held up the Celestica Flute and waggled it at him.

“You sure do,” Ibzan said, rolling his eyes.

“Alright, uh… Mr. Lord Wyrdeer, sir,” Rei said nervously. “We need to get to Grandtree Arena in The Heartwood to meet with Warden Lian. Could you— AAH!”

Wyrdeer shot off like a bullet in the direction of the forest, Rei’s startled scream quickly turning to excited laughter.

“Well,” Adaman said with a grin. “Looks like we’re about done here. Good luck, you two.”

He turned to leave, giving them a wave before walking away with Mai.

“Thanks, Mr. Adaman! Bye, Mai!” Dawn called.

“Just Adaman’s fine!” Adaman called back.

“Thanks, Mr. Just Adaman!”

The clan leader barked out a laugh as he and Mai continued down the path.

“Well, we’ve got a giant rock monster to antagonise,” Ibzan said. “Let’s get moving.”

“You know,” Dawn said, running to catch up to him with a grin. “Since you took away my chance of riding Wyrdeer there, it’s only fair I get an alternative means of transportation, right? How about a Mamoback ride?”

Ibzan kept walking.

“Aw, c’mon! Would it help if I got an Alpha to chase me again?”

“Thing is, I don’t actually know a whole lot about electricity.”

“Hm. What about his other features? Like… how about his tail?”

“Well, it looks like a lightning bolt, I guess. I feel like ‘Bolt’ would be a little boring, though.”

Rei and Lian’s conversation drifted through the trees as Ibzan and Dawn approached Grandtree Arena. They worked on balms as they spoke, mashing food together and wrapping it tightly in Caster Ferns.

“Well, you don’t hafta name them based on what they attack with, it’s just one starting point,” Lian said. “Take Slurry. He ain’t a Rock type, but I like rocks, and Goomy like him are all goopy.”

“I don’t think he’d appreciate the name ‘Workshop’ all that much,” Rei sighed. “Or ‘Chisel’”.

Pikachu was out of his Ball, chasing leaves as the wind blew them around the forest floor. Slurry sat by Lian’s side, watching as the Electric type zipped to-and-fro.

“Bah, you’re just lackin’ imagination,” Lian scoffed. “You Galaxy folk like crafting your gizmos and contraptions, right? Maybe name him after whichever of those is your favourite?”

“Hm,” Rei said thoughtfully. “Maybe I could— Hm? Ah! Look, they’re here!”

Rei dropped what he was doing and spun on the rock he was sitting on to face Ibzan and Dawn as they approached.

“Heya Rei, heya Lian!” Dawn called, waving. “Where’s Wyrdeer?”

“Oh, he left after dropping me off here,” Rei said. “Guess he had more important things to do than hang around listening to our conversation.”

“Aw, so I could’ve called him on the way?” she sighed. “Ah well. So, you’re hard at work, I see!”

“That’s right,” Lian said with a nod. “Gotta say, you Galaxy people… Your inventiveness sure is something. Using the smell of his usual offerings to calm him down safely!”

“Yup,” Rei said with a grin. “I’m quite proud of our Laventon Balls.”

Lian groaned.

“I’m tellin’ you, that’s a terrible name,” he said.

“Yes! See, Rei, see? Lian agrees with me!” Dawn said smugly.

“Come on Dawn, it’s a good name!”

“It really isn’t.”

“Ugh, you’re hopeless,” Rei groaned. “Ibzan, you think it’s a good name, don’t you?”

Ibzan looked up at the treetops. Oh look, there was a swarm of Beautifly passing above them. How nice.

“Ibzan?” Rei asked hopefully.

“Face it, Rei,” Dawn said, “you’re outnumbered.”

“I’m surrounded by people with no taste,” Rei said, throwing up his arms with an exaggerated sigh.

“Alright, alright,” Dawn said with a laugh. “So, how’re the not-Laventon Balls coming along? Need any help?”

“Not really, actually,” Lian said, hat rocking back and forth as he scratched his head. “We’ve made what we can with the materials we have on hand.”

“Ah, yeah,” Rei nodded. “Kleavor likes Plump Beans mixed with a mushroom called Iron Barktongue, apparently. We’ve got plenty of the latter — it’s common enough in these woods — but we’re nearly out of beans.”

“I see,” Ibzan said. “How many Name Pendings have you made, then?”

“Uh, this many,” Rei said, gesturing to the small pile they’d made. “About… twenty-ish, I think?”

“Hm. We don’t have any point of reference, unfortunately. No way of knowing if that’ll be enough. So you can’t make any more?”

“Not without more Plump Beans,” Lian said with a sigh. “They’re local to the Coastlands, so they’re a pain for me to get a hold of. Lord Kleavor’s worth it, of course, but we’ve used up my stockpile, and getting more on short notice ain’t easy.”

“I could head back to Jubilife, maybe?” Dawn suggested. “See if Choy’s got any in stock. If I rode Wyrdeer—”

“No need for that,” came a voice from behind them.

They turned to find Irida walking up, carrying a bag over her shoulder.

“I knew your plan, whatever it is, would involve Kleavor’s favourite food, so I had the clan gather up any Plump Beans we could find.”

She dropped the bag on the ground by Lian and Rei’s feet.

“Gah! I apologise, Irida — I’d forgotten all about you!” Lian exclaimed. “Why, we’ll be able to make a whole bunch more, now!”

“And what are these, exactly?” she asked. “Part of your strategy, I assume?”

“Oh, yeah!” Rei said. “We’ve mashed up Kleavor’s favourite foods and wrapped them in Caster Ferns. This way, the offerings can be thrown from a distance. When they land, the Ferns will come apart, and the scent of the food will be released!”

“Hm,” Irida said, stroking her chin. “So you’re hoping that these… soothing balms, of sorts, will help to calm Kleavor down. I see!”

“Oh,” Rei said. “Well, actually, they’re called—”

“Yup!” Dawn said cheerfully, shoving Rei’s head down. “Balms! What a name! Let’s call them that!”

“I agree!” Lian said with a frantic nod. “That’s our Clan Leader for you! Great at naming things!”

“Everyone’s a critic,” Rei muttered, shoving Dawn’s hand off his head and pushing his hat back up out of his eyes. “Anyway, with these we can make a bunch more… balms, so let’s get to it. Dawn, Ibzan, I’ll walk you through the process.”

“Wait a moment,” Irida said firmly. “I’d like to speak with Ibzan for a while, if you wouldn’t mind.”

“Oh, uh, no problem at all, miss!” Rei said nervously. “Dawn, c’mere, let’s get started.”

The three kids moved a short distance away and began putting together more balms.

“Is something the matter?” Ibzan asked.

“Yes, well, I admit that having to turn to the Galaxy Team to resolve this still isn’t sitting well with me as a leader,” Irida said, bowing her head and shutting her eyes. “And having to entrust such an important task to outsiders, when you don’t share our values or customs… I don’t like it. So…”

She looked up at him, eyes burning with a cold determination.

“Prove it to me. Prove your worthiness to stand in the presence of our Noble Pokémon. You may battle by capturing Pokémon in those balls of yours, but my partner has stood by my side for years. She is like a sister to me. If you can defeat her, I will trust you with Lord Kleavor’s fate. Do you accept my challenge?”

“You want to battle?” Dawn cried, waving enthusiastically from where she and the others sat. “I can battle you! Let’s do it!”

“Dawn,” Ibzan sighed. “At least try to pretend you’re not eavesdropping.”

“No,” Irida said with a shake of her head. “I witnessed your battle with Lian yesterday. I have confidence in you. But this man? He’s still a mystery to me. So I ask again… Do you accept my challenge?”

Ibzan set his jaw and nodded.

“Very well,” Irida said. A light blue Pokémon emerged from the undergrowth behind her — Ibzan assumed it to be an evolved form of Eevee, from its appearance. “Then let Tundra’s true strength chill you to your depths!”

An Ice type, then. Alright.

Ibzan had an answer to that.

Chapter Text

One final Ember crashed into the Glaceon’s side, and the battle was over. Dawn cheered from the sidelines, having given up trying to focus on crafting balms when there was a battle she could be watching instead.

Honestly, Ibzan felt a little bad about how one-sided the fight was, if only for the look on Tundra’s face when he released Jet onto the field, but he was hardly going to sabotage himself when he had something to prove. …Whatever it was that Irida was looking for.

Irida knelt by her fallen Pokémon, gently placing a Revive into its mouth.

“Well fought, Tundra…” she murmured, before standing and folding her arms. “I will admit, those Poké Balls of yours do still unsettle me — it feels like a violation of a Pokémon’s right to inhabit Hisui’s vast space.”

Tundra’s eyes slowly blinked open, then she got to her feet and stretched her aching limbs.

“Still, I can see that they are not products of disregard for your Pokémon. Quite the opposite. You respect them, understand them, and treat them as partners, just as any clan member would. Even though you constrain him in that ball, it’s clear to me that your Quilava adores you.”

Jet chirped proudly up at her from where he stood by Ibzan’s feet.

“A Poké Ball isn’t a prison,” Dawn said as she approached them. “It’s a promise. That you’ll do what’s best for your Pokémon, and your Pokémon will do what’s best for you. That can mean training, companionship, or just an agreement to part ways if things aren’t working out. When a Pokémon lets the ball click shut, that’s it agreeing to join you on your journey, wherever that may lead.”

Irida let out a brief, thoughtful hum, then smiled.

“An interesting perspective,” she said, “and one that is heartening to hear. And Ibzan, I feel better placing my trust in you after watching you battle, I think. Here, I can tend to your little one’s wounds, if you’ll allow it.”

Irida pulled a Potion bottle from her pocket, then glanced up at Ibzan. When he nodded, she knelt down, gesturing towards Jet. After a moment’s hesitation, he approached, and she began applying it to his injuries.

“You hear that?” Dawn whispered, nudging him with an elbow. “She was impressed by what I said there!”

“It did sound rather profound,” Ibzan murmured back. “So, where’d you hear it from?”

“Hey, who says I didn't come up with that myself? I can be profound,” Dawn pouted, folding her arms.

Ibzan didn’t comment.

“…Alright, I might’ve paraphrased that from something Professor Rowan told me once, but he’s plenty profound! And that makes me profound by proxy, y’know?”

“Sure.”

“My profound mind is detecting some doubt in your tone.”

Ibzan snorted. Before he could reply, though, he was interrupted by Jet approaching him, now fully healed. The Quilava chirped at him, so he leant down and gave him a scratch on the head that he leaned into.

“Now, if these balms of yours truly will help soothe Kleavor’s frenzy, then we should get to work making as many as we can,” Irida said determinedly. “We’ll put our very hearts and souls into them!”

“Yeah!” Dawn cheered. “We’ve got plenty of food now, so let’s get started!”

“Alright Ibzan, come over here so I can show you how to make them!” Rei called.

“Rei, I’d like to ask that you demonstrate the process to me, as well,” Irida said.

“Oh! You’re gonna be helping us with this, too, Lady Irida?” Rei asked, surprised.

“Of course,” Irida said firmly. “I will do whatever’s in my power to help calm our lord.”

“Uh, r-right! Come here then, please? Okay, so the first thing you want to do is spread out the Caster Fern like so… Then, take a handful of each of the foods and mash them together, so they’re nice and compact…”

Ibzan sat alone on a tree stump, back to the group and mood thoroughly soured. One too many of his attempts had fallen apart in his hands, and Rei had gently asked him to instead keep an eye out for signs of Kleavor or any other hostile Pokémon that may be around. Or, in other words, to stop wasting ingredients and leave the others to actually do the job competently.

It was vexing. Infuriating. A little embarrassing. Why did this particular skill so consistently elude him? Sure, crafting wasn’t something he’d had any need to practise before, but… Well, he could handle firearms just fine. Efficiently loading a revolver, speedloader or otherwise, required a level of dexterity, precision, and finesse that should transfer over to something as mundane as wrapping leaves around balls of food, or fitting together the components of a Poké Ball. And yet…

“Whew! There we are!” came Lian's voice from their little crafting area, interrupting Ibzan’s brooding. He glanced over to see Lian wiping his brow with a proud grin. “A veritable mountain of balms! This should please Kleavor, if anything can…”

“Hey, Ibzan!” Dawn called with a wave. “Stop sulking over there! We’re done now!”

“I’m… not going to deign that with a response,” Ibzan sighed, getting to his feet and walking over.

Sat on the ground near the group was a cylindrical wicker basket filled to the brim with balms. He had to hand it to them, it was an impressive amount, given how little time they’d had to make them.

“This should be more than enough to calm Kleavor down!” Dawn said with a grin.

“Hopefully,” Ibzan said. “Before we begin, though, we should talk strategy. Lian, could you tell us Kleavor’s typing? How he fights? I already have some idea of that from Owen's account, but you should be able to fill in whatever gaps he left.”

“Of course! There’s nobody who knows Lord Kleavor like I do!” Lian said proudly. “Kleavor likes to strike fast and hard, with multiple swings per attack. He can control the air around him to speed himself up or strike from a distance — Aerial Ace and Air Slash, I believe — and he can lay traps on the field with pointed rocks. As for his typing, he’s both Bug and Rock type!”

“Bug, hm?” Ibzan said, stroking his chin. “…With that pairing, our best option would be… Hm. Dawn?”

“Bug and Rock… That’s not too great a combo, actually,” Dawn said, folding her arms and tilting her head in thought. “Doesn’t resist a whole lot. He’d be weak to Rock and Water, so Shelly’ll be a great pick, and Jet knows Rollout so that could be useful, too. Kleavor’ll resist Normal type attacks, so Blackout and Bennett might not be a huge help, but they could maybe still use Quick Attack to keep out of his range and chip him down…”

“Bug and Rock is the best combo,” Lian grumbled. Then, he frowned. “And you’re definitely not gonna be hurting Kleavor, right?”

“I understand how it sounds, but I don’t expect we’ll be able to damage him in any meaningful way, if what we’ve heard about him is true,” Ibzan said. “We’re primarily concerned with distraction here, and we need to leverage whatever advantages we have. Whether that be type matchups, or our numbers advantage.”

“Two against one isn’t exactly a huge advantage, though,” Dawn sighed. “Especially against such a huge opponent.”

“Wait— Ibzan, do you want us to fight Kleavor, too?” Rei stammered. “I… I know how to dodge roll, sure, but only against… like, Shinx and Buizel! And I dunno how helpful I’d even be! I mean, I’m not good at throwing things like you two are!”

“Ibzan,” Irida said, fixing him with a cold glare. “If you’re expecting Lian to take part in this fight…”

“Calm down, all of you,” Ibzan said firmly. “I’m not expecting anyone but Dawn and myself to face Kleavor. If I had my way, Dawn would be joining you on the sidelines, too.”

“No chance,” Dawn said with a glare.

“I’m aware,” he said with a sigh. “Anyway, our advantage isn’t the number of people, but the number of Pokémon. If we have all of them on the field at once, then Kleavor will be forced to focus on more threats than just us two.”

“All at once?” Dawn asked incredulously. “I’m not sure I could direct all three of my Pokémon at once, though. I’m not Unovan, the most I’m used to are double battles!”

“We don’t need to micromanage everything they’re doing,” Ibzan assured her. “All we need them to do is keep Kleavor’s focus off of us, as much as they can. We can leave the specifics to their discretion, unless we spot an opening to take advantage of.”

“And with Shelly, Kilowatt, Jet, Bennett, and Blackout on the field, that already gives Kleavor five other things to worry about that aren’t us!” Dawn said excitedly. Then, a thought struck her. “Hey, Rei, could Pikachu join us, too?”

Pikachu’s ear twitched, and he eagerly ran up to the group, electricity crackling along his cheeks.

“I, uh, think I’d be in danger if I said no,” Rei said with a nervous laugh.

“Lian, Miss Irida? Could Slurry and Tundra also help?”

“We’ll do whatever it takes to get Kleavor back to normal, I can promise you that!” Lian said, nodding fiercely. At his side, the Goomy mirrored the action.

“Well, I… Tundra?” Irida asked, looking down at her companion. Tundra looked up at them and, after a moment’s consideration, yipped in agreement.

“Great! Instead of a two versus one fight, that makes it a ten versus one!” Dawn grinned. “Even if their attacks don’t hurt him much, he won’t be able to ignore eight Pokémon running around him!”

“And Pokémon can afford to take hits,” Ibzan said. “Humans can’t. The kinds of attacks they can shrug off are lethal to humans.”

“And… we’re sending the two of you in there anyway…” Rei said quietly, shoulders hunched. “Is… Is there anything I can do to help? Besides lending you Pikachu? I know I’d just get in the way, or worse, if I joined you down there, but… if one of you gets hurt, or… or…”

Were… Oh hell, were those tears forming in the corners of his eyes? Ibzan didn’t know how to handle this. How did people handle this? Thankfully, Dawn spoke up so he didn’t have to.

“Rei, hey,” Dawn said gently, placing a hand on his shoulder and meeting his gaze. “Don’t worry about us. We’ll handle this, I know we will! You just keep yourself safe, okay?”

“I… right. Sorry. Just… let me know if I can help, alright? And I’ll do my best if you do,” he said, sniffling.

“We will. But for now, stick with Lian and Miss Irida, yeah? We’ll worry about Kleavor.”

Rei nodded with a shaky exhale, blinking away the wetness in his eyes.

“So,” Ibzan began. “Basic strategy. We throw as many balms as we can, leaving the Pokémon to draw Kleavor’s attention off of us. We keep the basket somewhere accessible so we can restock on balms easily, and we can cover each other whenever necessary.”

“Right,” Dawn said. “I guess we’ll have to play the rest by ear. No plan survives contact with the enemy, and all that. Everyone ready?”

Everyone looked at one another and nodded.

“Alright, then,” Lian said, adjusting his hat. “Let’s get to Grandtree Arena, and I’ll get ready to summon him.”

They decided on a safe spot for Rei, Lian, and Irida a short distance away from the Arena — one near enough to see the battle, but with enough cover that Kleavor wasn’t likely to see them. Better for them to know precisely what was going on, rather than making guesses based on what they could hear. If things went badly, they’d know to make their own escape, which was one less thing for him and Dawn to worry about. There were a few too many of those for Ibzan’s tastes, at the moment.

With that, all there was left to do was survey the Arena itself. The namesake tree in the centre certainly looked grand from a distance, but that utterly paled in comparison to how it looked from its base.

It wasn’t often that something made Ibzan feel small.

As for what surrounded the tree… it wasn't ideal. All around the sides of the Arena were rocky inclines, too steep to run up and too tall to clear with a jump. It would be possible to climb them, sure, but Ibzan doubted Kleavor would just politely sit and watch as they scrambled up. At that point, they might as well paint some nice targets on their backs to really make killing them as easy as possible.

There was one small gap in that surrounding wall — the way they entered. It was small enough that he and Dawn couldn’t stand next to one another without squeezing themselves against each side of the opening. A workable exit point, but hardly what he’d call ideal.

Having to fight in a place like this rang every alarm bell in Ibzan’s head. There was only one viable exit. There was no cover, aside from the tree in the centre, which obviously couldn’t be vaulted over. Not to mention that they’d be calling Kleavor here, rather than an ambush. It wasn’t as if he had a consistent schedule, after all.

Ibzan loathed taking fights against aware opponents, and the plan here was to lay out the welcome mat and greet him at the door.

A thick cloud of unease hung in the air around them. The Pokémon were all visibly as tense as he was, tails twitching and fur bristling. Dawn nervously fidgeted with the end of her scarf, glancing down at the group of Pokémon repeatedly as if making sure they were still there.

“Done checking out the arena? Told you there ain’t much to it, besides the tree itself,” Lian said. “Now, if you’re both ready?”

Dawn and Ibzan looked at one another, then nodded.

“Alright, if you’re sure. I’ll summon Kleavor now.”

“Just get away before he shows up, alright?” Dawn said.

“Don’t worry about me,” Lian said, tipping his hat. “I’ll make myself scarce right quick.”

“Listen well, you two,” Irida said. “Don’t lose sight of Kleavor for a moment. You can’t rely on distractions forever — be ready to dodge his attacks between throws!”

“We’ll be careful,” Ibzan said with a nod. “You two head for the safe spot for now. Lian, join them the moment you’re finished with your summoning ritual.”

“Okay,” Rei said. “Don’t die, you hear? Either of you! This is an official order from your superior!”

“Sinnoh’s blessings upon you both,” Irida said, inclining her head towards them.

With that, the two of them left for the observation point.

“Looks like it’s time,” Dawn said. “Lian?”

Lian nodded, turning to face the tree in the centre of the Arena.

“Oh mighty Kleavor, Lord of the Woods… Though it isn’t yet the time of ceremony, we’ve prepared an offering of your favourite things.”

All was silent in the woods, aside from Lian’s speech. Even the wind seemed to die down, as though holding its breath in anticipation.

“Benevolent lord who works his might between the heavens and earth, we offer our gratitude, and beseech you — reveal yourself to our eyes…”

Lian withdrew a Celestica Flute from a pocket on his tunic, and played a short, slow tune — a low note, a high note, then a series of lowering notes. At any other time, Ibzan might have considered it a mystical, perhaps even soothing, tune, but in the moment it rang in his ears like a funeral dirge.

Lian’s last note faded and, shortly after, a loud cry pierced through the woods some distance away. He shoved the flute back in his pocket and ran for cover with a hurried “best of luck!”

Thudding around them — fast, heavy footsteps. Left, right, ahead, behind. Kleavor ran circles around the Arena, constantly changing direction, a glowing yellow blur Ibzan could barely glimpse amidst the trees. A sharp crack bounced within the walls of the Arena, and displaced air blew against him and Dawn from behind, causing his coat and her scarf to flap. Kleavor spun through the air, landing in front of them with a heavy thud. Moments later, a tree crashed down directly behind them, trunk cleanly bisected.

So much for their exit.

Kleavor raised his axes and slammed them into the ground, the resulting bang nearly as loud as a gunshot. He glared at them, a wild fury in his eyes, and roared.

The Lord of the Woods was here.

The group scattered, spreading out so Kleavor couldn’t focus on more than one of them at once. Ibzan immediately got to work throwing balms as quickly as he could. They burst against Kleavor’s rocky armour, splattering food and, more importantly, releasing their scent.

Ibzan did his best to stick near the tree. It was a bit of a gamble, since it was one less direction to dodge in, but it also limited Kleavor’s options, too. Despite how cleanly he’d cut through the tree that now blocked their way out, Ibzan doubted he’d be able to cut all the way through a trunk this thick. And even if he could, the wood would at the very least slow the swing down, and that was a split-second more time to react. He’d take what advantages he could get at this point.

“Ibzan! I’m out!” Dawn called.

“Blackout, Bennett, Swift!” Ibzan ordered. “Slurry, Bubble! Jet, Ember! Tundra, Powder Snow!”

Ibzan himself continued throwing balms. The wave of projectiles crashed against Kleavor. He raised his axes, blocking them with an irritated grunt. While they pinned Kleavor down, Dawn sprinted for the basket and scooped out an armful of balms, then kept running.

“Restocked!” Dawn yelled.

“Alright!”

He turned back to see Kleavor running directly at him.

Shit.

Ibzan ducked, one axe sailing over his head. The other axe swung downwards, and Ibzan used the momentum from the duck to roll out of the way. Near miss.

He sprang to his feet and backed off, barely avoiding another swing aimed at his torso. A blast of electricity slammed into the side of Kleavor’s head, and he growled, turning and darting off in Kilowatt’s direction.

Ibzan sucked in air, hands shaking. He was still unused to the physical effects of adrenaline. He forced it down and refocused on the fight. He threw the last of the balms he had on him.

“Cover me!” he yelled, running for the basket.

“Gotcha!”

Ibzan grabbed as many balms as he could hold while Dawn issued orders to the group of Pokémon. Jet, Blackout, Bennett, Pikachu, and Tundra were all dashing around Kleavor with their Quick Attacks, landing inconsequential hits that nonetheless kept Kleavor’s attention off him.

Kleavor seemed to be focusing on one target at a time, as Owen had said, but having so many distractions on the field at once was definitely forcing him to shift his focus that much more frequently.

A large part of Ibzan was screaming at him that this fight was utter lunacy — that they shouldn’t be risking themselves like this, trying to take down Kleavor nonlethally when he was not returning the favour. In a straight fight, no less! Ibzan stomped those thoughts down. Different world, different rules. What-ifs were not helpful.

Bennett sprang at Kleavor with another Quick Attack, but Kleavor intercepted him, smacking him to the ground and following up with a lightning-fast axe swing downwards.

Damn it, he’d already fainted. Sure, Bennett didn’t have the same amount of experience in battle as the others, but… That was one attack. Kleavor was just as dangerous as he looked. Dawn scrambled to retrieve Bennett’s Poké Ball and recall him.

Blackout screeched in fury and shot towards Kleavor, slamming into his legs. She narrowly avoided another axe swing, and launched herself at him again. Kleavor was ready this time, however, and kicked her away.

She bounced a couple of times along the ground, then skidded to a stop. Shaking, she got to her feet and readied herself to attack yet again.

“Blackout!” Ibzan barked. “Don’t just attack mindlessly!”

Blackout snarled in protest.

“I don’t care!” he growled back. “Stick to the plan!”

She bristled at him, but ultimately calmed herself and got back to distraction tactics.

Good. Insubordination amongst the ranks would only complicate matters. He looked back at the fight. Kleavor was focused on Shelly as she weaved in and out with bursts of Aqua Jet, striking where she could with her shells. He glanced over at Dawn, who was running away from the basket with a new armful of balms.

A wave of purple liquid splashed and sizzled against Kleavor’s back, who promptly spun around and slammed a retaliatory axe down on Slurry. Another KO, just as quick as the first. The Goomy shrank down and disappeared from view.

Kleavor turned and swung again at Dawn, who barely rolled out of the way. Ibzan growled and ran forward, lobbing balms as quickly as he could manage. Another bolt of electricity crashed against Kleavor, this time courtesy of Pikachu, followed by a ball of fire from Jet and an icy blast of snow from Tundra.

Kleavor growled and crouched down, the air shimmering around him.

“Gah! B-back!” Dawn cried. “Everyone back!”

Kleavor quickly spun around, a blast of air shooting out around him. Tundra, Pikachu, and Jet were all launched away, slamming into the rock wall surrounding the Arena. Shelly and Blackout managed to get out of range in time, at least, and Kilowatt was fighting from a distance. None of the Pokémon caught in the blast were knocked out, but it was enough to halt them in their tracks for a moment.

Ibzan’s coat billowed behind him as he blocked the gust of wind with his arms, fighting to stay upright. He was far enough away from the blast that it wasn’t strong enough to hurt him by itself, but it still had enough power behind it to nearly knock him off balance.

Before he could fully recover, Kleavor turned and stared directly at him.

…Fuck.

The air shifted and Kleavor loomed behind him, axe raised. Ibzan stumbled forward, narrowly avoiding it as it crashed down, the resulting cloud of dust stinging Ibzan’s eyes. The cloud suddenly parted as Kleavor shunted the air aside once more, and suddenly Kleavor was standing right in front of him.

Instinctively, Ibzan threw a punch at the threat. The lance of pain that shot from his knuckles to his shoulder immediately reminded him of exactly why pulling a move like that was a bad idea. He stumbled back with a hiss, clutching at his hand.

A flurry of stars crashed into Kleavor from behind before he could take advantage of Ibzan’s stunned state. He spun and darted off after Blackout, axes swinging wildly. Blackout’s rapid usage of Quick Attack only barely kept her ahead of him.

Ibzan winced and shook his hurt hand, surveying the damage. The knuckles were scraped and bleeding, but it didn’t feel like anything was broken, at least.

He clenched his fist, focusing on the spike of pain as he moved it. Stupid mistakes like that would get him killed.

…And so would standing here daydreaming, idiot. Ibzan ran after Kleavor.

Throw balms, dodge swings. Repeat ad nauseam. Slowly, one by one, the remaining Pokémon fell to Kleavor’s attacks. Blackout got caught by an Air Slash as she avoided what she thought would be a physical hit. Kilowatt fell to an axe slam, and Tundra got chipped down by Stealth Rock traps as she tried to keep out of Kleavor’s range.

Were they even making progress, throwing food at him like they were? If anything, Kleavor seemed to be speeding up, not slowing down. Was that a good thing? Hell, he had no bloody clue.

Another Air Slash, down went Pikachu. Damn it all. Six out of eight, out for the count.

“Need more balms!” Dawn yelled.

“Right!” Ibzan responded. “Jet, Rollout! Shelly, Aqua Jet!”

Their numbers were low. They needed to hit hard and fast — Rollout and Aqua Jet would both target Kleavor’s type weaknesses, as well as keeping them mob—

Ibzan froze in his tracks as a pained scream rang out through the arena.

He whirled around and stared. Dawn… stood by the basket, wincing as she covered her head with her arms. The sleeves of her uniform were shredded, red lining the arms underneath. At her feet lay several jagged pieces of rock.

Kleavor had trapped the balm basket using Stealth Rock, the bastard.

“I-I’m fine!” Dawn shouted. “They’re just scrapes, nothing embedded! You— Ibzan behind you!”

Ibzan’s body ducked forward before his mind even registered her words. Moments later, an axe slammed down where he’d been standing, tip buried at an angle in the ground. Kleavor swung the axe upwards, showering Ibzan with dirt. He shielded his eyes with an arm, and right after an unseen blast of wind sent him flying.

He crashed to the ground, air knocked from his lungs as he landed on his back.

Damn it. He couldn’t fight like this.

Light switch. Where was the light switch? Undead couldn’t see in the dark like a reaper could.

He glanced around, then up.

Sky. Sun.

Idiot. No lights, no switches.

He shook himself. Head fuzzy. Did he hit it when he landed?

Dawn. Where was Dawn?

“Shelly! Swords Dance! Jet, cover her!”

Dawn frantically dashed around the field, throwing balms and barking orders. She hopped to the side to dodge one axe swing, then leapt out of the way of a blast of air.

Jet slammed into Kleavor with a Rollout, then sped away… Directly into another Stealth Rock trap. The jagged rocks stabbed down into him, disrupting the roll and causing him to crash into the tree. Kleavor didn’t hesitate to finish off the disoriented Pokémon.

Ibzan scrambled to his feet. Balms. Their victory condition was balms. He ran and grabbed more from the basket, and resumed throwing as quickly as he could.

Shelly shot Kleavor with an Aqua Jet, slashing at his legs with her shells, then leapt over a retaliatory Air Slash.

“Great work, Shelly!” Dawn called, throwing another balm. “Keep at it!”

Kleavor’s head snapped up, and he stomped hard on the ground. The resulting shockwave caused Shelly to stumble, and Kleavor pressed that advantage by slamming her with the flat of an axe, sending her flying… directly into Dawn.

Dawn cried out, stumbling backwards from the force as Shelly bounced off her. The air shifted, and Kleavor stood before her, arm trembling as he raised the axe above her.

Ibzan was sprinting forward before he even realised he was moving. He slammed into her side with a tackle. Moments later, Kleavor’s axe crashed down with a thunderous bang right where she'd been standing.

Ibzan's foot hit a root and he stumbled, crashing down to the ground and getting the wind knocked out of him once again. Dawn smacked into the tree with a pained cry and collapsed.

“You alright?” Ibzan wheezed.

He glanced back at Kleavor. It looked like Shelly wasn’t out of the fight yet, though desperately dodging Kleavor’s flurry of strikes was all she could manage at the moment, from the looks of things.

“P-Peachy,” Dawn groaned. “Thanks for the save. That could’ve—”

She froze.

“I-Ibzan,” she said quietly, eyes wide. “I… can’t move my arm.”

“You what?” Ibzan barked, staring at her.

“It— It just— It won’t move,” she stammered. “I can’t feel it at all!”

Ibzan’s head whipped back towards Kleavor, axe still buried in the earth. He saw red.

Fuck this.

He reached into his coat, ready to draw his Revenant and blow that fucker’s head off his shoulders. His hand closed against the empty holster, and he froze, the world crashing back into focus.

“I-Ibzan?”

He looked back at her. She was lying on the ground, clutching her right arm as it lay limply at her side.

Hell. He knelt down and examined her.

“Hmph. Dislocated. I’m getting you out of this fight,” Ibzan growled. “Don’t protest, I won’t care.”

“I… Y-yeah, okay,” Dawn murmured, voice shaking.

It was then that Shelly sailed over their heads, crashing against the trunk of the tree and falling to the ground. She attempted to lift herself up with shaking legs, then collapsed unconscious.

That was all of their Pokémon down and out.

Ibzan whirled. Kleavor stood over them, staring down. His arms were shaking again — either he was very mad, or he was trying very hard to resist the urge to kill them both where they stood.

Dawn. He needed to get Dawn out. She couldn’t fight anymore, not with her throwing arm out of commission. Ibzan would only risk causing further, likely permanent, damage if he tried to pop it back into place. His area of expertise was causing injuries, not fixing them.

Getting her to safety wouldn’t be easy, not with their Pokémon all out of commission. He still had one more trick left up his sleeve, though.

He ripped his satchel open and yanked something out, throwing it directly at Kleavor’s head. The Smoke Bomb burst open, blanketing the area in a thick cloud of smoke. Ibzan grabbed Dawn, careful not to jostle her arm too badly, and rushed over to the exit, ducking under Kleavor’s wild, blind swings.

The fallen tree still blocked it, but with Kleavor disoriented by the smoke they had enough time to circumvent it. Ibzan hefted Dawn up and deposited her in a seated position on top of the trunk.

“Slide off and run for the safe spot,” Ibzan said. “Can you do that for me?”

“I… No, Ibzan, you’ll be alone!” Dawn protested, turning her head back to look at him.

“I’ll be fine,” he said firmly. The last thing he needed was her worrying about his wellbeing, of all things. “You need to get to safety. That’s my role here.”

“No! I—”

The air whistled. Ibzan shoved Dawn on the back and threw himself to the side. She fell forwards, out of the Arena, right before an Air Slash crashed into the trunk.

Ibzan scrambled to his feet again, glancing around for Kleavor.

Alright, Dawn was out of immediate danger. If he followed her, Kleavor would just attack the both of them, but staying would give her time to flee. Ibzan still had a few balms on him, and while restocking would be tricky, he could still—

Kleavor followed his line of vision, short as that glance was. The air shifted, and he came to a stop directly beside the balm basket. He raised an axe and swung, smacking the flat side directly into the basket. Ibzan could only watch as it sailed over his head, out of the Arena.

…Well. The remaining balms he had on him would have to be enough.

Kleavor glared at him. His arms were shuddering constantly, now.

The two of them slowly circled around each other, each wary of making the first move.

Ibzan’s heart was racing. Just him left. He hadn’t felt in danger like this since the Alpha Luxio chase.

“C’mon,” he snarled. “Were you planning on staring me to death?”

Kleavor let out a low growl, raised an axe, and swung. Ibzan hopped out of the way of the blast of air, skidding when he landed, then threw a balm. It splattered against Kleavor’s face.

Ibzan threw another, which Kleavor blocked by raising an axe, before shifting the edge towards him and swinging it horizontally. Ibzan threw himself on his back, watching as the blade sailed over him, then lobbed another balm before scrambling to his feet.

Two left.

The air shifted, and Ibzan jumped back right as Kleavor’s axe crashed down on the ground, then jumped again to the side as Kleavor ran forward at him, axe still impaled, leaving a long, deep gash in the soil. He threw again, hitting the back of Kleavor’s head.

One left.

Did the yellow glow surrounding Kleavor’s body seem fainter, or was that just wishful thinking? Ibzan couldn’t say. He desperately hoped that was the case, because otherwise… Well, he was screwed.

Kleavor rushed forward again, this time sending a leg out in a sweeping kick. Ibzan tried to jump out of the way, but Kleavor's leg caught him on the ankle, and he was sent tumbling to the ground once again.

Ibzan looked up and saw the stone edge of an axe hurtling towards him. He rolled hurriedly to the side, then scrambled to his feet and readied his last balm.

“That’s enough,” he growled, and threw.

Kleavor reared back as the balm splattered right against his nose. Ibzan slowly backed off, watching as Kleavor shook his head.

The glow seemed to flicker — or was that his imagination? — then Kleavor glared fiercely at him once more.

Shit.

Ibzan took a step back right as another swing came his way. Rolled to the side to dodge another vertical slice. Jumped up to avoid a leg sweep. Raised his arms and braced himself as a blast of air pushed him back several steps.

He needed to catch his breath. Taking advantage of the momentum from the blast, he retreated further. Suddenly, several floating stones became visible and closed in, scraping against his back.

He winced. Stealth Rock trap. They didn’t penetrate the kevlar lining in his coat, but those impacts, the force all concentrated in those sharp tips, would definitely still bruise.

Alone. Out of balms. Forced back into a corner. All Ibzan could do now was try to survive.

At least he did his duty and got Dawn out.

Dawn only stumbled a little after landing, thankfully managing not to fall. Moments later, the trunk was launched in her direction by whatever attack Kleavor threw out. It rattled against the rocky walls on each side of her before thudding back to the ground.

Oh man. Oh man, this was bad. She had to do something! But… what could she do?

Gah, if only she’d had the time to use one of the Super Potions Volo gave them! Then they’d still have at least one Pokémon left in the fight! But Kleavor was relentless, and she was really worried about standing still for as long as it’d take to apply one, especially since these stupid old versions couldn’t just be sprayed on like normal!

…If only Potions worked on humans like they did with Pokémon. At least then her arm wouldn’t be so useless. It wasn’t hurting at the moment, but she really wasn’t looking forward to her when adrenaline would run out.

No way she’d be climbing back over with one arm out of whack, and there still wasn’t enough of a gap between the tree and the walls to squeeze through. Growling, she turned and kicked the tree trunk a few times. Which didn’t help or anything, but it did make her feel a little bit better for a moment.

“Dawn!”

She turned. Rei skidded to a halt in front of her, shaking.

“D-Dawn! You— you’re okay! Oh, Dawn, your arm!”

“Let’s… not worry about it for now,” Dawn said, trying not to look at it or move it or acknowledge the numbness or—

“Ack! Right! Ibzan!” Rei stammered. “Wh-What are we going to do? I— We can’t just leave him! But… How—”

“Rei,” Dawn said, grabbing him firmly by the shoulder, ignoring the way her own hand was trembling. She’d have grabbed both of his shoulders, but… “Breathe for me. Slowly. In, two, three. Out, two, three. Can you do that for me?”

“I… Y-Yeah, okay.”

She gave him a few moments to calm down, ignoring the voice in her head screaming that each second was a second Ibzan was fighting Kleavor alone. Ignoring the hammering of her heart as it echoed in her ears.

“You okay now?” Dawn asked him.

Rei took another deep breath and nodded.

“Yeah. Sorry. Uh, your arm… is it…?”

“...Dislocated, according to Ibzan’s five-second checkup,” Dawn said.

“Not broken, then? Okay, that’s— that’s good, at least! Uh, here, lemme just…”

He reached out and yanked her scarf away, ignoring the affronted noise she made.

“Here, just— Sorry about this,” he said, gently grabbing her forearm and lifting it horizontally. “Hold it there for me, please?”

Dawn obliged, grabbing it with her other arm. She was very glad she still couldn’t feel anything with it.

Rei spread the scarf across her front and over her shoulder, then looped it around the back of her neck. He raised the lower part of the scarf to support her arm, then brought the two ends together.

“Now, this won’t— Oh, you can let go now, thanks,” he said, knotting the ends. “This won’t fix it or anything, but it’ll help keep it still and prevent further damage until we get you to the Medical Corps.”

“Wow,” Dawn said, looking down at his work. “Where’d you learn to do this?”

“Well, the Survey Corps is still relatively new,” Rei said, making adjustments to the makeshift sling. “I bounced between a few places when they took me in — Construction, Agriculture, Supply… and Medical, thankfully. I’m not an expert or anything — I spent most of my time in the Supply Corps — but I did pick up a few things here and… There, that’s about as good as I’ll get it.”

“Well, I’m glad,” Dawn said with a nod. “Thanks.”

“Okay, that’s you sorted, for now, but…” Rei said, anxiety creeping back onto his face.

“Ibzan, throwing himself in danger for my sake, again…” Dawn huffed. She clenched her working fist and met Rei’s eyes. “Well, we’ll just have to pull him out of it!”

“Well— I—” he stammered, before shaking his head. “Okay, yeah, I agree, but what can we do? We don’t have any more Pokémon between us, and—”

“Dawn!”

Dawn and Rei turned to face the direction the voice came from. Irida ran towards them, a basket in her hands, followed by Lian.

“Wh— Is that the balm basket?” Rei asked incredulously.

“It is,” Irida nodded. “Kleavor knocked it out of the Arena shortly after you ran off, Rei.”

“Irida and I went to retrieve it,” Lian said, breathing heavily and red faced from exhaustion. “And I found where it landed!”

“But… That means Ibzan’s in there without any way of fighting back!” Dawn yelled. “That’s it, I’m going back in! Rei, gimme a boost!”

“Wh— Dawn! You have a dislocated arm!”

“Yeah, and the other one still works, what’s your point?” Dawn snapped. Her eyes were burning, and she blinked hard to clear her vision.

“Just— Look, just wait! We need to get medical assistance as quickly as possible, in case Ibzan is injured, too!” Rei barked back. “If we only do that after the fight, then it might be too late for them to help! O-One way or the other!”

“Too late— It might already be—” Dawn growled, then stopped herself. She took a deep breath. “Yeah… Okay, that makes sense. Someone needs to get back to Jubilife quickly, and bring back someone from the Medical Corps.”

She took another breath, forcing herself to think.

“I can call Wyrdeer here, and he can carry someone there while I help Ibzan,” she said. “And I am helping Ibzan. My offhand aim is nearly as good as with my normal hand, and this is my fight. I’m finishing it.”

“Then… Rei, you’ll have to go,” Irida said carefully.

“What? But…”

“Lian and I aren’t as familiar with Jubilife as you are,” she said. “And a Pearl Clan member riding a noble cared for by a Diamond Clan warden… it may raise some complications, even if Warden Mai understands the situation.”

“I…” Rei said, frantically looking back and forth between her and the Arena, then sighing. “...Okay. I’ll do it. The guards at the gate would let me in sooner, anyway. It makes sense.”

“Okay, let’s not waste any more time,” Dawn said, digging the Celestica Flute out from her satchel. “Er, Rei, could you…?”

“Ah, yes, right! Of course!”

He grabbed the flute from her hands and held it up to her lips for her. Dawn pressed her working hand to the bottom of the flute and played. The resulting tune was halting and imperfect, but somehow Dawn knew Wyrdeer would come regardless.

She shoved the flute back in her satchel.

“Okay. Rei, you give me a boost so I can get back over the tree. Then, someone pass up the basket, and…”

“I will join you.”

They all stared at Irida.

“Uh—” Rei said.

“Are you—” Dawn started.

“My lady, I cannot allow this!” Lian protested.

His interjection seemed to take even himself by surprise.

“Lian, I cannot just stand by—”

“Irida, please!” he begged. “We can’t risk losing another leader like this! I’m not so young I can’t remember what things were like before you were appointed! And— and what would Calaba say? What would Palina say?”

“Oh, what would Lina care?” Irida snapped furiously. “These outsiders are doing everything they can for our sake, and I’m doing nothing to help!”

“Irida, she would care! And— And I couldn't stand to see… To see you… Not after…” he trailed off, sniffing wetly.

His words visibly made Irida pause. She started to say something, hesitated, then sighed.

“You… You’re right, Lian,” she said dully. “I… apologise for my conduct. Dawn, may Sinnoh guide you.”

Dawn looked back and forth between her and Lian, hesitating. Then, a crash from the Arena brought her focus back on track. She nodded.

“Okay, we need to move. Rei, help me up.”

“Uh, right!”

He cupped his hands into a foothold, which Dawn stepped onto, then he lifted her up with a grunt of effort. Dawn clambered her way back onto the tree trunk, grabbing the basket one-handed once Lian passed it up to her. She nodded her thanks at them, then slid off the trunk back into the Arena.

“Lian and I… will watch and pray from afar, then,” Irida said. “May Sinnoh shorten your travel, Rei.”

And with that, she turned and left for the safe spot. Lian hesitantly tipped his hat at him before following after her.

Rei took a deep breath and sighed. Now all he could do was wait for Wyrdeer to arrive.

He didn’t believe in either clans’ Sinnoh, but he prayed for Ibzan and Dawn’s safety regardless.

Left.

Left.

Back. This was exhausting.

Duck.

Right.

Back. Kleavor was a whirlwind.

Right.

Back.

Left. How long had he been at this, now?

Duck. It felt like months.

Back.

Ibzan grunted as his back hit the wall of the Arena.

Cornered. He needed to get out. No time to open his satchel for the second smoke bomb.

He jerked to the side to escape the corner, then stamped his foot to halt his momentum as he saw another swing coming. Kleavor’s axe slammed down, impaling into the dirt, and moments later Ibzan smacked off its side, unable to completely stop in time.

Duck.

The arms were comparatively thinner than the rest of the body. Thin arm, thin bones — more easily breakable?

No. No breaking. Couldn’t risk doing significant damage — target was an asset that needed protecting.

Besides, he was made of rock. Durable.

Bug Type — exoskeleton? Breaking could be lethal. Unfamiliar with insect biology.

Right.

Right. Very near miss.

Jump.

Blunt the axes? If they hit the wall enough, they could lose their edge.

Left.

No. Blunt force wasn’t any less lethal than a blade. Ask any of his Sergeants.

Break the axes?

Were the rocks part of the body?

Duck.

If they were, then that would be permanent damage. If not, then it could make things easier.

How could he even break them, anyway?

Grenade? Too close — would be caught in the blast radius. Revenant? Would definitely punch holes through them, but probably not enough to break the whole structure with a single cylinder, let alone both axes.

Right.

Left.

Tired.

Back— No room. Right instead.

Shotguns wouldn’t cause a dent. Rifle? Old World Rifles had good stopping power — possibly enough to break rock? The armour-piercing rounds would risk damage to the target, though.

No. There weren’t any weapons in the room. Just whatever he had on him.

Which… was nothing. He wasn’t there anymore, why was he—

Left, left!

The flat of the axe smashed into his side, sending him flying into the tree in the centre of the arena.

The wind was knocked out of him again as he slammed into the trunk, before crashing back down to earth on his front. Lungs really were more trouble than they were worth.

He wheezed and slowly rolled onto his back. Kleavor stood over him, both axes raised.

Get out of the way.

Get up.

Get up.

Ngh. Roll away? He jerked his shoulder up, but couldn’t work up the energy to do more than that.

Hell.

Kleavor’s axes shuddered violently. Jerked downwards, then stopped. Shuddered more.

C’mon, move.

A balm smacked into the side of Kleavor’s head.

He looked almost as confused as Ibzan was. They just stared at one another for a few moments, then another balm hit.

“Get away from him.”

Kleavor’s head whipped in the direction of the icy voice. Was that Dawn? Shit. He tried and failed to sit up.

Another balm hit Kleavor. He growled and ran in her direction.

No Aerial Ace to close the distance quicker, this time. Seemed Kleavor was losing steam after all.

Dawn threw two more balms before Kleavor reached her. He raised an axe and swung down at her, which she deftly sidestepped. Another balm thrown.

Kleavor was definitely moving slower, now. His swings seemed almost telegraphed, at this point.

Kleavor attempted one more wild dash at Dawn, but she ran to the side and out of the way. When the next balm connected, Kleavor flinched and slumped forward, barely avoiding collapsing by propping himself up with his axes.

Dawn gritted her teeth and threw one final balm. When it connected, light exploded around Kleavor, rising into the air and dissipating. Slowly, the yellow glow faded.

Kleavor slowly looked up at Dawn, then raised his axes and buried both halfway into the ground. A symbol of nonaggression, Ibzan guessed — it would take several seconds to yank his weapons back out of the earth.

Ibzan sighed and let his head drop back to the ground. It was over.

Chapter Text

A few deep breaths later, Ibzan managed to work up the energy needed to get back on his feet. His muscles ached from overexertion. Just another disadvantage to having a living body, he supposed.

Not that any amount of disadvantages would make him want to go back to how things were.

Dawn was still standing a short distance away, hunched over from the throw that finally quelled Kleavor’s frenzy. She breathed heavily, her left arm trembling as she stared ahead at nothing. He pushed down the exhaustion and stumbled over to her.

“How are you doing?” he asked.

Dawn looked up at him, eyes wide and pupils dilated.

“Oh, hey,” she said dazedly. “I think I’m… a little dizzy? Woah—”

She wobbled. Ibzan stepped forward and caught her before she hit the ground and worsened her injury.

“You’ve still got adrenaline running through you,” Ibzan said. “It’ll pass, now that we’re out of danger.”

“Oh, that’s good,” Dawn murmured. “Wait, no. Not good. Arm’ll hurt.”

Ibzan gently lowered her down to the ground, back against the stone wall of the Arena. She looked miserably down at the makeshift sling holding her arm in place.

That was… his fault, wasn’t it? He’d rushed to get her out of the way of that strike, but when he tripped over that root he’d ended up shoving her hard, straight into the tree.

Ha. Some protector he was turning out to be. Here he was, free of injury, and Dawn was the one with lacerated forearms and a dislocated shoulder, all thanks to his negligence.

Careless. Stupid. Why was he even here?

Kleavor grunted, and the two of them looked up at the lord. He bowed to them, head so low it was nearly touching the ground. His axes were still buried firmly in the dirt.

An apology, then. How nice.

“Lord Kleavor!”

Kleavor’s head snapped up. Lian hopped off the tree trunk blocking the entrance, running up to him.

“You’re back to normal!” he cried, wrapping his arms around Kleavor’s head.

Kleavor let out a happy rumbling noise.

“The light that erupted from your body… Has your frenzy truly been cleansed? For good?”

“Does this confirm that the strange lightning was to blame for Kleavor’s unnatural power?” Irida asked, sliding off the trunk.

“Uh… Maybe?” Dawn said, before hissing through her teeth. “Ow ow ow, yeah, that— that’s bad. Ow.”

“Hm, well, we know the lightning came from the Space-Time Rift the other night, and it struck Grandtree Arena,” Irida said, stroking her chin. “The day after, Kleavor was in his frenzied state. These two events surely must correlate.”

“Wait,” Lian said suddenly, letting go of Kleavor. “The lightning came from the Space-Time Rift? But… if almighty Sinnoh truly does dwell beyond that rift, then that lightning… That was almighty Sinnoh’s power? Were we even right to interfere?”

Lian folded his arms and glanced to his side at Kleavor, then frowned at him and Dawn.

“I happily went along with your plan, like I knew what I was doing — like some sort of thoughtless fool! Outrageous!”

Ibzan felt a cold irritation wash over him.

“Lian,” he growled, leaning forward with clenched fists. “If you’re about to suggest that we should have left things as is, after everything Dawn went through just to fix your mess…”

“Calm down, the both of you,” Irida snapped.

Ibzan blinked. Lian suddenly looked even smaller than before, looking apprehensively back up at him.

Kleavor shot him a warning look. Then, he took a few seconds to slowly yank one of his axes from the earth, and used it to flick the back of Lian’s hat upwards, knocking the front down over his eyes.

“I… I apologise,” Ibzan said with a sigh. “This has been a… trying day, so far.”

“Lian,” Irida said. “Remember that Lord Kleavor has long been our protector, keeping the Pearl Clan safe from dangerous Pokémon that might harm us.”

Lian pushed his hat back up and watched Irida gesture up at Kleavor.

“Would power sent by the true almighty Sinnoh have driven Kleavor to turn on us, and attack people and Pokémon indiscriminately?” she asked, then shook her head. “I doubt it.”

“B-Besides,” Dawn said with a shaky laugh through gritted teeth. “If Kleavor was meant to stay frenzied, then… Hngh. Then, like, couldn’t Sinnoh just hit him with a second bolt as soon as we freed him, or something?”

“Don’t tempt fate,” Ibzan sighed.

“I… Yes, fine. I apologise for becoming briefly incomposed,” Lian said, putting his hands on his hips. “Please don’t take my words as me being ungrateful. I cannot thank you enough for helping my lord. I just… Well, it can be hard to interpret almighty Sinnoh’s will, at times.”

Kleavor leaned down and nuzzled Lian’s face with his own. Being made of rock, it didn’t look at all pleasant to Ibzan, but Lian seemed happy enough.

“Hm, you know… I think I’ve finally come to believe that the two of you truly did fall from the sky,” Irida said with a smile. “Though I still can’t imagine the reasons why. Still…”

She fixed them with a serious look.

“If you come across any other Pokémon trapped in this painful frenzy, please do what you can to help them.”

Dawn gave her a shaky thumbs up that lasted about a second before she dropped her arm back down.

“Yeah, we’ll— ngh. We’ll do our best.”

“Oh, hold on! While none grow in the Heartwoods, there’s a plant that can help numb pain,” Lian said. “I’ve got a few stockpiled, if you’ll give me a moment to retrieve them.”

“That— That sounds good,” Dawn winced, squeezing her eyes shut. “Thanks. Hey, Ibzan?”

Ibzan glanced at Lian as he ran to the entrance. Kleavor dug his other axe from the ground and followed him over, splitting the tree trunk in two so Lian wouldn’t have to climb over it again.

“Yes, Dawn?”

“Wouldja mind… gathering my Pokémon back up for me? Just— Here.”

She unstrapped her satchel, gasping in pain as she accidentally jarred her shoulder, then held it up to him with a white-knuckle grip.

Ibzan knelt down and took it from her with a nod. He needed to gather up his own Pokémon, too. Dawn had already recalled Bennett earlier in the fight, but neither of them had the opportunity to do so for any of the others.

“They’re familiar with— with their balls, at this point,” Dawn said haltingly. “They’ll get in when you’re close.”

“Is that why Slurry and Tundra shrank straight away, while the others didn’t?”

“Mhm,” Dawn said with a hazy nod. “Normally Pokémon just— ack. Just shrink down and hide somewhere close while they rest. Ours already think of their balls as safe, so… so they’ll wait for them while they know we’re still h-here.”

Dawn shifted, hissing through her teeth as she scrubbed at the tears running down her face.

“Ow, ow, ow. Uh, the… If we left the Arena, or if Kleavor tried attacking them again, then they’d shrink down and hide like other Pokémon would. There’s a— a bunch of… Uh. Unconscious instincts they have, even while… Y’know. Unconscious.”

“I can watch over her while you do that, Ibzan,” Irida said. “I’ll treat the Pokémon once you’ve gathered them, too.”

“Alright,” Ibzan said. “Thank y—”

He was interrupted by Kleavor suddenly leaping over their heads, slamming into the tree. Kleavor then proceeded to run up it, then disappeared into the leaves at the top.

How…? Kleavor was made of heavy rock. He hit the tree, stopped there, then began running up it. How didn’t he just fall back down? Did he manipulate the air to keep himself pressed onto the trunk?

Ibzan shook his head. Pondering the exact mechanics of any Pokémon was a fruitless venture.

Then, he coughed, remembering he was in the middle of speaking.

“Thank you,” he repeated. “I’ll just be a few moments.”

Irida nodded, then knelt beside Dawn.

“So, your Pokémon consider those balls a place of safety, you said?”

“Oh, yeah, th— ouch. Uh, they…”

The girls’ conversation faded as Ibzan walked away, Dawn’s satchel in hand. He spent a few minutes walking around the Arena, recalling each fallen Pokémon into their respective balls. It really put into perspective just how chaotic this fight had been, seeing all the damage done to the ground when it had been perfectly intact before.

When he was done, he returned to find Lian kneeling beside Dawn, while Irida sat at her other side. Dawn looked like she was doing a lot better, at least.

“Ibzaaaaan,” Dawn whined. “This sucks.”

“It’s a terrible situation overall,” he agreed, “but I get the feeling you’re talking about something more specific.”

“I made her some Remedies with the plants I mentioned,” Lian said. “They’re just ground-up Bugwort, so it’s pretty easy to make. They’re effective at healing Pokémon, but they work as painkillers for humans, too. But, they're…”

“They're so bitter,” Dawn groaned. “I’ve never wanted to spit something out so badly in my life. And I’m not even allowed to do that until what I’m chewing stops tasting bitter.”

“Is it at least doing its job?” Ibzan asked.

“That’s the worst part,” Dawn said. “It is. Shoulder’s less burny and more achy, now. So— blegh. So I don’t have an excuse to stop chewing this stuff.”

Well, at least she wasn’t suffering too badly for his mistakes anymore.

“Here’s your satchel back,” he said, laying it beside her. “I didn’t notice any obvious organisation system, but I tried to put the balls back where I found—”

The earth shook as Kleavor suddenly crashed down right in front of them. Ibzan leapt back up to his feet, hand automatically shooting towards the empty holster under his coat again.

Kleavor gave him a glance, then turned his head down towards Dawn. Between his axes, he was delicately holding…

Huh. That looked a lot like the tablet that Wyrdeer had given her earlier in the day.

“Oh, uh, for me? You, uh, shouldn’t have,” she said, grabbing the offered tablet. “Oh that feels weird. My hand feels all itchy now.”

She hurriedly stowed it away in her satchel. Kleavor gave her a satisfied nod, then turned and dashed off, disappearing into the forest.

Ibzan shot Irida a questioning glance.

“If you’re asking if I know what that is, I’m afraid not,” she said with a shake of her head.

“We got one from Wyrdeer earlier, too,” Dawn said, wiping her hand on her trousers, then shaking it and looking down at her palm. “Adaman didn’t know what it was, either.”

“Curious,” Irida said thoughtfully. “Could all of the lords be carrying such peculiar items, I wonder?”

She shook her head and turned back to Dawn.

“Anyway, he’s not the only one with a gift. I’d like you to have these,” she said, handing over three berries. “Consider them an apology, both for what you two have gone through here, and for my attitude in our first meeting.”

“Ooh, Sitrus Berries,” Dawn said appreciatively. “These are hard to come by. Thank you!”

Then, she winced, curling inwards slightly.

“Here, you should take more of this,” Lian said, holding out a handful of powder to her. “At least until Rei gets back with your healer.”

Dawn groaned, screwing her eyes shut as she reluctantly shoved the Remedy into her mouth and chewed.

“I’ll treat the rest of your Pokémon while we wait,” Irida said. “I brought plenty of medicine.”

“Why can’t berries and Potions work on us?” Dawn mumbled.

Ibzan let their Pokémon out of their balls one-by-one so Irida could treat them more easily. All the while, she, Dawn, and Lian talked amongst themselves about various things from Pokémon care to life in Jubilife and the Pearl Clan’s settlement. Ibzan stayed at the sidelines, all motivation to join the conversation dying each time he saw Dawn’s sling.

While Irida was midway through treating Jet’s wounds — Shelly and Kilowatt both fully healed at this point — they heard the thumping of Wyrdeer’s hooves and a cry of “Dawn!” from Rei.

“Oh, Dawn, you’re alright!” he exclaimed, sliding off Wyrdeer’s back. “I kept imagining the worst, all the way there and back! Anyway, Pesselle agreed to ride here with me, to check on you both as soon as we could!”

He turned and helped Pesselle off of Wyrdeer. She quickly rushed over to Dawn’s side and examined her arm.

“Good job on the sling, Rei,” she said. “I knew that would end up being useful knowledge, even if you didn’t end up staying with the Medical Corps.”

She gently felt around Dawn’s shoulder, causing her to wince.

“Hm, the bone’s been pushed forward…” she mused to herself. “I’m going to move it back into position, okay?”

“Ah, okay,” Dawn said nervously. “Should I… be doing anything?”

“You just stay there and keep breathing in and out. I’ll do this slowly, alright?”

Ibzan assumed her dislocated shoulder would just be shoved unceremoniously into place with a pop. He’d seen it done that way before. Pesselle’s method, however, was surprisingly delicate in comparison. He watched as she untied the sling, then slowly rotated Dawn’s arm outwards with a gentle hold.

“You’re doing well, honey, just stay as relaxed as you can. And keep your shoulders back.”

Eventually, it suddenly shifted itself back to its normal position.

“Oh! Wow,” Dawn said, turning her head to look at her shoulder. “That… feels way better already!”

“It’s not fixed, the muscles will still need time to heal properly, so don't go thinking you can run around like nothing happened,” Pesselle said, tying Dawn’s scarf back into the makeshift sling. “Once we’re back in Jubilife I’ll get you a proper sling and treat those gashes on your arms. I’m not going to hear any arguments, you will be coming with me to the infirmary as soon as we’re back, understood?”

She shot a glare at Dawn, who gave her a hasty nod.

“I-I wasn’t gonna try and avoid it or anything! I know injuries like this need treatment!”

“Hmph. I know how you Survey Corps types tend to be,” she said. “Speaking of…”

She turned and directed her glare at Ibzan. All the earlier apprehension she’d had when he first visited Owen was completely absent now.

“You’re also injured, aren’t you? Tell me.”

“Nothing serious,” Ibzan said with a sigh. “You should be focusing on D—”

“Tell. Me.”

“...Some bruising on my back. My coat protected me from the worst of it.”

“I see. And your hand?” she asked, pointedly looking at his scraped knuckles.

“Scraped, slightly bruised. As I said, nothing serious on either front.”

“Hm. I’ll be the judge of that. I’ll need to treat Dawn first, but stop by first thing tomorrow and let me take a look, alright?”

“...Fine.”

With Dawn’s shoulder relocated, Pesselle deemed her capable of making the journey back to Jubilife. They opted not to use Wyrdeer — as fast as he was, riding him would also risk jostling her shoulder unnecessarily. Dawn handed Pikachu’s Pokéball back to Rei, and they bid farewell to Lian and Irida before beginning to make their way to the village.

Ibzan walked in front of the group, while Rei watched their backs. Dawn and Pesselle were in the middle, Pesselle because she didn’t have any Pokémon to do battle with, and Dawn because… Well. She was injured.

Thankfully, not many wild Pokémon ended up approaching them, so the journey back was relatively stress-free. They took things slowly to avoid straining Dawn any more than necessary, even if it did mean the sun was setting by the time they got back to Jubilife.

Thanklessly, there was a headache waiting for them near Jubilife’s gate.

“I saw that light fading into the sky,” Volo said with a wide smile. “I take it you’ve managed to quell the lord Pokémon’s fre— Ah?”

He’d caught sight of Dawn’s makeshift sling.

“Oh goodness, are you alright, Dawn?” he asked, worry overtaking his features. “When I saw Rei leaving with Pesselle, I’d feared the worst, but…”

He briefly glanced at Ibzan, short enough that he’d have missed it if he blinked.

But I see your so-called protector failed to do any actual protecting. Why is he uninjured while your arm’s in a sling?

That was surely what he was thinking, that moment. The same thought had been running laps through Ibzan’s own skull, from the Heartwoods all the way back to the village.

“Hey, Volo!” Dawn greeted with a tired smile. “No worries, I’m fine. I banged my shoulder up a bit, but Pesselle fixed it right up!”

Pesselle cleared her throat pointedly.

“Erm. She took care of the worst of it, but I still need to stop by the infirmary to get it properly treated?”

“Ah, well, I won’t keep you. I’m glad to see the two of you are each still in one piece!” Volo said cheerily.

“Oh, wait! Before we go, I wanted to ask you about something, actually! You know about all sorts of strange stuff, right?”

“That I do,” Volo said, eyes suddenly gleaming. “Do you have something that might be of interest?”

“Think so,” Dawn said, rummaging through her satchel. “Should be— Ah, there. Do you have any idea what this thing is?”

She held up the tablet that Kleavor had given her earlier. Volo’s eyes widened almost comically at the sight of it.

“Could that be…?” he darted forwards for a closer look. “Ah! One of the fabled plates of old! Please, may I have a look at it?”

“Go ahead,” Dawn said, handing it over. “We have two of them, actually.”

“Two— Why, Dawn, that’s incredible!” he gushed, practically vibrating in excitement as he turned the plate over in his hands. “Oh! I see there’s an engraving on its back! Let’s see here…”

Volo squinted down at the plate, then began reading.

“Where all creation was born, that is the being’s place of origin,” he recited. “Hmm… This brings to mind a very old myth I’ve heard before. Where in the world did you come across them?”

“Wyrdeer and Kleavor gave them to us, actually,” Dawn said. “Kleavor after we helped cure him of his frenzy.”

“The nobles? I see!” Volo said enthusiastically. “Why, this is quite something! I can feel my heart racing with excitement!”

He smiled and began excitedly pointing at her.

“You two must be quite special, indeed! I’d bet my stock that you’ll find more of these plates scattered across Hisui! Why, if we were to gather them all, and decipher the scripts on them, then who knows what we might uncover?”

He handed the plate back to her and grinned eagerly.

“The mysteries of the past! Oh, how they tickle my curiosity! It’s moments like these that make me glad to be alive!”

Another pointed throat clear.

“Uh, right, I should be going now,” Dawn said with a sheepish laugh. “I’ll be sure to show you any more we come across, though!”

“I look forward to it! However I, too, have places I need to be, so I’ll bid you farewell for now!”

With a smile and a wave, he strolled past them out of the gate.

“Alright,” Dawn said. “We just need to report to the Commander, and then—”

“He can report to Kamado. You are coming with me to the medical ward, and that’s final,” Pesselle said in a voice that allowed for no negotiation.

“Ah— Okay! Ibzan, you’re cool with that, right?”

“Sure,” he said, waving a hand dismissively. “You go get checked out.”

“Alright, lemme know how it goes, then,” she said with a smile.

They walked together towards Galaxy Hall, then parted ways once they were inside. Dawn wished him luck with his report. Ibzan didn’t expect he’d need it, since he’d be reporting a successful mission, but he appreciated it nonetheless.

Kamado had been expecting him, clearly — he was standing directly in the middle of his office, staring at him with his arms folded as Ibzan made his way inside.

“Hrrrm. Well done!” he exclaimed once Ibzan reached the top of the stairs. “I’ve already received reports of your success in quelling Kleavor’s frenzy. The two of you have restored peace of mind to the people of Hisui!”

“Thank you, sir,” Ibzan said dutifully.

“It’s a shame that Dawn suffered that injury, but I’m pleased that it was a mere dislocation. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that that could have gone much worse, if not for your capable action.”

Wow, word had travelled surprisingly fast. Perhaps some of the Security Corpsmen they’d passed had sent word of what had happened? Via carrier… Starly, or whatever other means of communication they might have had here?

“Despite your status as strangers, and your unusual means of arrival, you’ve already served Galaxy Team quite admirably! You’ve certainly proven that taking you in was no mistake. However… things aren’t settled yet.”

Kamado placed his hands on his hips, giving him a stern look.

“I’ve received word that there are other Pokémon nobles that have succumbed to the very same frenzies elsewhere in Hisui. I expect we’ll get requests to deal with those in future, so prepare yourself for that.”

He walked forward and clapped a hand on Ibzan’s shoulder.

“For now, though, just carry on with your research and survey duties. Keep proving that accepting you into this village was the right decision, and I’m sure everyone will come to accept you in turn soon enough.”

Well, wasn’t that a nice thought. He could tell the heroic story of how he shoved Dawn into a tree, then had a lovely little lie down while she actually finished the fight. He could practically see the crowds of fans cheering his name already.

“That is all. You are dismissed. Your fellow Survey Corps members are likely waiting for you at the Wallflower — go and join them.”

Ibzan just nodded and left. Surprisingly, he hadn’t needed to do much reporting in his report. Galaxy Team communications were clearly efficient for all they lacked in the modern technology Ibzan was used to.

As he descended the stairs to the ground floor, he heard Laventon call out to him. He turned to find him standing by the door to his office.

“Ah, Ibzan, it’s good to see you!” he grinned. “Congratulations on successfully quelling Kleavor’s frenzy! Rumours are buzzing! You and Dawn have been the talk of the town, I’ll have you know, as soon as everyone saw that eruption of light off in the distance.”

“...Thanks,” Ibzan said hesitantly. “I’m… sorry about Dawn.”

“Ah, yes, that,” Laventon sighed, rubbing the back of his head. “Rei filled me in. Obviously I won’t say I’m happy with how things went, but I’m very glad it was just a dislocation, and not anything more serious. And I’m glad to see you escaped relatively unscathed as well, naturally!”

That was true. He had escaped pretty much unscathed.

And Dawn hadn’t.

“Where is Rei now, by the way?” Ibzan asked.

“Ah, he’s with Dawn in the infirmary, at the moment. The two of us decided to postpone our traditional celebratory visit to the Wallflower until Dawn’s back up on her feet. It would be a shame for her to miss out, after all!”

“It would,” Ibzan agreed distractedly. “Am I free to visit Dawn now, by the way? Not that I don’t appreciate your company, but…”

“Oh, by all means! You’ve been there once already, so you'll know the way, correct? I won’t keep you.”

Ibzan nodded his thanks and headed for the infirmary. He was surprised to bump into Rei on his way in.

“Oh, hey Ibzan,” he said. “If you’re here to speak with Dawn, I’m afraid she’s already asleep.”

“Asleep?”

Rei nodded.

“Yeah, Pesselle disinfected and bandaged her arms, gave her a proper sling, then had her rest in one of the beds here. She conked out right away, so I think she’ll be here overnight. Not that I blame her, after all that,” he said, glancing back inside. Then, he looked back up at Ibzan. “You should get some rest too, y’know. I know you were pushed even harder than she was in that fight.”

“...Right. Sure. Am I alright to go in and see her now?”

“Should be fine,” Rei said with a yawn. “Pesselle’ll just chase you out if it’s not, anyway. I’m just heading off to bed now, myself. Night, Ibzan.”

“Good night,” he said distractedly as Rei moved past him.

Ibzan hesitated for a few moments, then walked through the entryway to the infirmary.

Pesselle heard him enter and turned to face him.

“Ah, Ibzan. I’ve already packed up for the night, I’m afraid, so unless it’s an emergency, would you mind waiting until tomorrow morning?”

“That’s not what I’m here for,” Ibzan said with a shake of his head. “As I said earlier, my injuries are all superficial. I just wanted to see Dawn, if that’s alright. I know she’s already asleep, but I’d still…”

…Still what, exactly? He wouldn’t be able to speak with her. He already knew she’d be okay, so what was he hoping to accomplish with this visit?

He didn’t know the answer to that, but Pesselle spoke up, sparing him from having to try to figure it out.

“Sure,” she said gently. “I’ll just ask that you keep quiet so you don’t wake any of the patients. And don’t spend too long here, for goodness’ sake, alright? You need your rest too.”

“...Got it, thanks.”

“Alright, then. Dawn’s resting in this bed over here, beside my desk. Do come by tomorrow so I can look at those injuries, alright? I know you macho types have a habit of downplaying your injuries, but I have no patience for that. For now, I’m off to bed, myself.”

She started walking out of the room, then paused at the door frame, turning her head back towards him.

“...You know, you’re a lot less intimidating than your appearance suggests. It’s… nice to see how concerned you are for her. Good night, Ibzan.”

And with that, she left. Ibzan stared blankly at the empty doorway for a few moments, then sighed. He wasn’t sure what to think of that, so he decided not to bother trying.

He looked down at Dawn as she slept. The arm he’d dislocated was still in a sling, though this one looked like it fit better and didn’t rely on knots to keep her arm held in place. Dawn’s scarf was neatly placed on top of her uniform jacket, which was folded up and sitting on the edge of Pesselle's desk.

Dawn looked… so much smaller, like this. She was small already, sure, practically everyone was to him, but… She always had a larger-than-life aura about her. So confident in herself, and so good at speaking to others, whether human or Pokémon. She had an energy to her that was just… so easy to get wrapped up in and swept away by.

And now here she was, lying in hospital thanks to him.

He sighed, running a hand through his hair.

He wasn’t stupid, he knew that if he hadn’t acted she may have been killed instead, but still… If he didn’t just mindlessly tackle her out of the way, she might not have been injured at all. If he’d pulled her out of the way, or pushed her slightly further to the side than he did, or just avoided that damn root in the first place…

Ugh.

He knew what she’d tell him if she could hear these thoughts. That he was being too hard on himself, that he’d saved her life, that it all worked out in the end anyway, so who cared?

Well, maybe he cared. Reapers weren’t supposed to make mistakes. A single wrong move risked death. He’d been a reaper for a long time. A very long time.

He'd been a good reaper, back then.

Until that one mistake sent him straight to the bottom of the River, never to feel Warmth again.

It felt like he’d made nothing but mistakes since.

He looked down at the superficial scrapes on his knuckles, then once more at the sling holding Dawn’s arm in place.

Maybe Arceus had made a mistake, bringing someone like him here.

Maybe…

He sighed.

Maybe he needed to get some sleep. He was running on fumes.

He glanced back at Dawn’s sleeping form one last time, then left Galaxy Hall and made his way back to his quarters.

He collapsed onto the bed, not bothering to remove his coat or uniform, and sleep closed in on him the moment his head hit the pillow.

The zombie leaned against the peeling wall of the decrepit building, cigarette in hand as it morosely watched the rain pounding the streets beyond the overhang it sheltered under.

It took a long drag from the cigarette and checked its watch. Then, a kitchen knife sailed out from the darkness and buried itself in the zombie’s skull. It weakly reached up for the handle, then collapsed. The Reaper knelt down and grabbed the gun that it was carrying.

9mm Pistol. Ten bullet capacity. From the weight of it, the magazine was about half full.

He stopped in front of the door. He faintly felt the chilly presence of… three undead souls on the other side of it.

Child’s play.

He stepped forward and knocked twice on the door.

The footsteps on the other side gradually got closer, and closer, until…

“Fuck’s sake… Told ya, Artie… Y’aint getting outta guard duty… N’matter how many—”

The door opened, and the Reaper slammed the butt of the pistol straight into the zombie’s nose, feeling it crunch from the impact. It stumbled back with a gurgled curse, clutching its face as blood poured between its fingers. The Reaper slammed a boot into its kneecap before it could react.

He quickly took stock of the interior.

One zombie lay incapacitated at his feet, unarmed. The second stared blankly at him from the sofa, a syringe stuck in its arm, a pistol laying on the table in front of it. The third was already rising from its seat, a tire iron in its hand.

The Reaper raised his pistol and fired twice. Both shots hit the seated zombie in the chest, killing it before it had a chance to reach for the gun. It slumped forwards, falling and breaking the cheap plywood table in half.

The other zombie cursed and ran at him, tire iron raised and ready to strike. It swung down at him, and he dodged to the side. The zombie’s attack was clumsy, and it stumbled forward after missing its attack. He kicked it in the back, sending it through the doorway and sprawling on the soaked pavement outside.

The Reaper lowered the pistol and shot the first zombie in the head before it could recover, painting the floor beneath with blood and viscera. The last zombie groaned and slowly got to its feet, turning to charge at him once more.

He punched it in the face, disorientating it, then grabbed its head and slammed it once, twice, three times against the doorframe. He released his grip and it crumpled down lifelessly, skull caved inwards and teeth scattered across the floor.

A door on the other side of the room slammed open, and two more undead rushed in — a heavyset zombie carrying a Sawed-Off Shotgun, and a vampire with a 10mm Pistol.

The Reaper ran for the sofa, just barely putting it between him and two blasts of shotgun pellets. He didn’t miss the telltale clack of the double-barrel breaking open, even above the vampire’s gunshots.

…Four, five, six, seven, eight, nine…

Ten.

He stood up from his cover. The zombie slammed the shotgun back shut and levelled it at him. These zombies, he knew, were more durable than average. Three shots to the head and it dropped to the floor like a tonne of bricks.

He turned and aimed at the vampire before it could finish reloading, then hurriedly ducked back down when the pistol clicked empty. A bullet whizzed past the spot his head had been moments prior.

The vampire was being more careful than before, holding off on firing until it had a sure shot. He tossed the empty gun aside and kicked the syringe zombie’s corpse off the remnants of the table.

There.

He grabbed the 9mm Pistol that had been lying underneath it. He peeked his head over his cover, and immediately ducked back down as the vampire fired another shot. 10mm Pistol. Same capacity as a 9mm, so that meant it had eight shots left.

The vampire thought it had him pinned. How could he move from behind the sofa without entering its line of sight, after all?

How indeed.

The Reaper raised his pistol and fired it at the ceiling light, instantly flooding the room in pitch-darkness. The vampire panicked and fired several blind shots, before standing up to retreat to the room it had come from.

Before it could get far, though, the Reaper blew it into paste with the zombie’s shotgun.

He continued forward through the door that the pair had burst through. The room was large and circular, with a thick beam supporting it in the centre. On the other side of the room stood a pair of skeletons — a Technician and a Sergeant.

Sprinting for the pillar, he threw himself behind it before the Technician could fire the Grenade Launcher it carried. The Sergeant charged, forcing him to duck beneath a lightning-fast swipe of its sledgehammer. He levelled the Sawed-Off at its ribcage and pulled the trigger, showering the floor behind it with dull blue paste and bone fragments.

Tossing the shotgun off to the side, he stepped out from behind the wooden pillar and emptied the rest of the pistol’s magazine into the Technician.

For a few moments, all was silent, then a distant thud rattled the walls of the building.

Another thud, closer now.

A yellow blur crashed through the ceiling, landing in front of him with a threatening glare. It slammed its axes onto the ground with a thunderous crash.

Both of the Reaper’s guns were empty.

Ducking past a swing, he sprinted for the dead Technician. He grabbed and aimed the Grenade Launcher at the beast, but it zipped forward and swung its axe, smacking the weapon to the side the moment he pulled the trigger, sending the grenade wide. It sailed harmlessly past the creature, exploding uselessly on the other side of the room.

He cursed and dropped the empty launcher. Killing this thing wouldn’t be easy without it. He still had one more trick up his sleeve, though.

He ripped his satchel open and yanked something out, throwing it directly at Kleavor’s head. The Smoke Bomb burst open, blanketing the area in a thick cloud of smoke. The Reaper grabbed the Technician’s own satchel, packed to the brim with unarmed land mines, and rushed over to the centre of the room, ducking under the beast’s wild, blind swings.

He stopped beside the tree and spun the Technician’s satchel in circles via its carrier strap. The monster cleared the smoke around it with a blast of air, then turned to glower at him. He launched the bag at Kleavor, the carrier strap looping around the spike on its head.

The Reaper reached into his coat and drew his Revenant from its holster.

“That’s enough,” he growled, and took aim.

Kleavor’s eyes widened, and it raised both its axes to protect itself.

He pulled the trigger.

The bullet punched straight through both of the stone axes and slammed into the satchel.

The explosion reverberated throughout the forest. Kleavor’s smoking, headless body fell to its knees, then crashed down onto the earth.

…The Reaper felt the chill of one final undead soul, rushing him from behind.

He stepped to the side, catching the wrist of his attacker. He twisted it hard, forcing the knife to drop and skitter away across the ground, then turned and drove his elbow directly down on its arm, cleanly snapping the bone in two.

He took a step back, raising his revolver and pointing it directly at…

…Dawn?

Ibzan stared as she clutched her broken arm, dangling uselessly at her side. She stared back, tears running down her face, eyes full of betrayal.

Time slowed to a crawl as he felt his finger slowly begin to close around the trigger.

No!

Stop!

No, no, no!

Bang.

Ibzan jolted awake, sweating buckets and shivering like a new undead, freshly washed up on the Riverbank.

Another hell-damned nightmare. Of course.

And in this one, he…

Dawn.

Fuck.

He dragged a hand over his face with a shaky groan.

Shutting his eyes just filled him with dread, so he quickly gave up on that. He needed to… do something. Go somewhere. Maybe a walk around the village would clear his head. Get this restless energy out of his system.

And if he scared anyone as he stalked the streets at…

He flipped open his phone.

…At 3:13 a.m., then that was their own damn problem.

He left his quarters, shoving his hands in his pockets and wandering in a random direction, trying not to think.

Not to think about the visceral satisfaction of blowing Kleavor to pieces. Of the snap of Dawn’s arm beneath his elbow. Of her tear-stained face, eyes wide as he—

Enough.

Ugh. Hell.

He stopped and looked up. The moon was full, staring unblinkingly back down at him. Countless stars peeked out from behind the clouds scattered across the night sky.

In that Place… The sky held nothing. Nothing but the occasional set of clouds, barely visible amidst the murky blackness, that occasionally decided that existence wasn’t quite miserable enough and started pouring rain.

Seeing the sky lit up like this… it did help to calm his nerves a little.

“Ibzan…”

The voice rang clearly out through the night air, but Ibzan couldn’t immediately tell from where. Caught off guard, he spun around in search of its origin, until he saw a small girl staring up at him with a doleful expression.

“Oh… Hello, child,” he said, taking a breath to calm himself. He was far too on edge, at the moment. “I’m afraid you’ve caught me at a bad time. Was there something you needed?”

“I’ve been waiting for you, Ibzan…” she said. “My name’s Vessa.”

“Vessa,” he repeated. “It’s nice to meet you, but I can’t imagine your parents would approve of you talking to me. Especially this late.”

“I… wouldn’t worry about that,” she said. “There’s something real important I need to tell you. Something I know you can help me with. Would you come with me?”

And with that, she turned and walked away. Ibzan blinked. Well, he wasn’t going to be getting back to sleep any time soon. He might as well humour her.

He followed along behind her, as she led him to a spot near the Pastures.

She looked nervously up at him.

“Um, this is kind of a secret, but… something terrible has happened,” she said quietly. “Hisui is in a whole lot of danger.”

“I see,” he said, playing along. “Do tell.”

“Please, this is serious,” she said, fixing him with that sad look again. “There’s a dangerous being that was sealed away long ago using strange magic… But now, and I have no idea why, that seal’s been broken.”

Ibzan could hear the unease underlying her words as she spoke. Whether this was true or not, she certainly believed that it was.

“It could be very bad if they’re not sealed away again… Please, Ibzan, would you help me?”

“I…” he started, then sighed. He hasn’t been great at helping lately. “I’ll hear you out. What do you need, exactly?”

“Oh, thank you!” she said, suddenly brightening. “I know you’re sceptical, but I’m happy you’re willing to listen anyway. Please, take this.”

She handed him a piece of rock with a thick crack running down the middle. The moment he took hold of it, a purple flame fizzled into existence on the other side of the river.

“You see it now, don’t you?” she said. “This is an Odd Keystone. Once the seal broke, a hundred and seven wisps scattered all across Hisui… Invisible to most, but not to the holder of the Keystone.”

She turned to face the floating flame.

“Please, will you try touching it?”

She turned back and looked expectantly up at him.

Wordlessly, Ibzan stashed the Keystone in his satchel and walked across the bridge. As he neared the wisp, he felt just the tiniest lick of… Warmth, emanating from it.

Hesitantly, he reached out and touched it. The moment his fingers made contact, it rushed down towards his satchel and dissipated.

“The wisp… has been absorbed into the Odd Keystone, just as it should have been,” came Vessa’s voice from behind him. He spun, surprised. He hadn’t even heard her approach, distracted as he was.

“These ‘wisps’…” Ibzan said slowly. “They’re spirits, aren’t they? Souls.”

Vessa smiled.

“You’re already familiar with this sort of thing, aren’t you? I could just tell.”

“...I am,” he said, mind racing.

Gathering souls… This… was almost like…

Wait. He could feel several others, just like that first one. Faint, oh-so-faint, fractions of one whole, but if he really focused, he could get a feel of where they were.

“Vessa, there’s… six other loose souls in this village, correct?”

“Oh,” she said, blinking in surprise. “You’re right.”

Then, she smiled at him.

“I knew you were the right person to ask. Thank you for agreeing to help! If you need my help locating any, please come to see me!”

He nodded. Well, he wasn’t sleeping tonight, anyway, so why not collect the rest in the area for now?

Maybe he could actually make a positive difference, doing this.

Chapter Text

When Dawn woke up, she was… lying on a mattress, with blankets comfortably pressing down against her body.

Wait, was she…?

She shot upright, eyes darting around the room.

…Ah. This was the infirmary. Right. She looked down at her sling. She and Ibzan had knocked some sense back into Kleavor, but she’d gotten herself hurt in the process.

She was pretty used to sleeping in the futon in her room now. Being back in a normal bed again… She’d thought for a second that she was…

“Ah, you’re awake,” came Pesselle’s voice from the doorway. “Did you sleep well?”

“Oh, good morning. I did, thanks,” Dawn yawned. “It is morning, right?”

“Just a little past eleven, now,” Pesselle said. “I don’t blame you for sleeping so long, after all you went through yesterday. You definitely deserve the rest. Hold on a moment, I’ll fetch the ointment for your shoulder.”

Pesselle walked off towards one of the white cabinets in the opposite corner of the room, opening it. Dawn heard a knock from behind the cabinet near her bed. She leaned to the side to look around it, and saw Cyllene standing in the doorway that connected the infirmary and her office, knuckles still pressed against the doorframe.

She lowered her hand and walked in, greeting Pesselle with a nod, then turned to face Dawn, hands behind her back.

“Hello, Dawn,” she said, expression stony as ever. “Have you spoken to Ibzan today? He and I have something to discuss.”

“Oh, uh, no. Sorry, Captain,” Dawn said. “Why? I thought he’d be taking it easy in his quarters or something.”

“No,” Cyllene said with a shake of her head. “The gate guard reported that he left the village early this morning, for the Fieldlands. I wanted to ask if you knew when he was planning on returning.”

“Oh, okay,” Dawn said, scratching the back of her head. “Haven’t seen him since he went to see the Commander yesterday, sorry.”

“He did visit her last night, actually,” Pesselle said, still rummaging through the cabinet. “She'd fallen asleep by that point, though. He might have planned on telling her about whatever it was then.”

“Hm. I see.”

“If he does come by again, I can send him your way?” Dawn suggested.

“I would appreciate that,” Cyllene said with a nod. “While nothing urgent, I would like to address the issue soon. I wish you a speedy recovery.”

She turned and walked back through to her office. Pesselle breathed out a sigh of relief and came up beside her bed.

“Phew. There’s only so long I can pretend to look for one bottle,” she sighed, voice low as she removed the lid. “I don’t know how you Survey Corps handle having to answer to her. The way she always glares at you…”

“You’re not wrong, but she’s actually pretty nice, too!” Dawn said with a smile. “She gave me my headscarf here, back when I passed my trial. I think the glare is just… how she always looks?”

“If you say so,” Pesselle murmured as she applied the ointment to Dawn’s shoulder. “These sorts of injuries often take twelve weeks to heal at the absolute minimum, but the Medicinal Leeks that grow here are, quite frankly, miracle workers. Applied daily, this ointment should knock it all the way down to a mere two weeks.”

“Mhm.”

Dawn idly wondered what Ibzan was up to at the moment. It was a shame he didn’t come to see her earlier, but Cyllene did say he’d left pretty early, while Dawn had woken up pretty late.

He’d seemed kind of on edge, yesterday. Which, y’know, made sense. Kleavor had nearly killed the both of them, after all. Maybe he just wanted to get back to their normal routine straight away? Even if Dawn couldn’t survey with him, for the moment? He did strike her as the type who didn’t know how to relax.

Ooh, or maybe he was getting some extra training in! Their Pokémon all did super well against Kleavor, but they all still ended up getting KO’d in the end. Maybe he was out there, pushing himself and his team to their limits! Oh, she’d have to battle him when she was back on her feet again.

“You don’t sound very surprised,” Pesselle noted, screwing the bottle shut again. “Do they have medicine like this where you’re from, too?”

“Oh! Uh, yeah! I dunno if it’s, uh, made with the same stuff, exactly, but it’s… pretty similar, yeah!”

Medicinal Leeks were native to Sinnoh, but nowadays — thenadays? — they were exported all over the world for medicines and stuff. She didn’t know if there were other plants with the same healing effect on humans, but saying she was familiar with a Hisuian plant might raise some questions she wouldn’t have any good answers for.

“Interesting,” Pesselle said. “I suppose whatever lies beyond the Rift isn’t so different after all. Anyway, I’ll need to apply this daily. The day after tomorrow, I’ll be comfortable discharging you, but I’ll still need you to come in each morning so I can give you more and keep track of how it’s healing.”

“Sure, no problem!”

“I’ll hold you to that,” Pesselle crossed her arms, clicking her tongue in annoyance. “Your horned friend certainly didn’t keep his word. He promised to let me check his injuries first thing today, but instead he’s gallivanting off in the Fieldlands like nothing happened.”

Pesselle shook her head with a sigh.

“Honestly, you Survey types, always thinking you’re invincible. Time and time again. It’s no wonder people cycle in and out of your Corps so often.”

“I’m sure he just forgot, that’s all. If he comes to visit again, I’ll… Well, I'll send him to report to Cyllene first, but then I'll make him come straight back for a checkup,” Dawn promised.

“I’d appreciate that,” Pesselle said. “I need to check on my other patients now. Let me know if you need anything.”

“Oh, could you get me my jacket, actually?” she asked. “I’ve got something in my pocket I wanna grab.”

“Of course,” she said, grabbing it from the desk and placing it down on her lap. “That reminds me, if you were wondering where your Pokémon are, they’re all in the Pastures, so you won’t need to worry about feeding them yourself or anything.”

“Ah, okay. Thanks!” she said.

Pesselle nodded and walked off to the row of beds on the other side of the room. Dawn grabbed her Arc Phone from her jacket pocket and opened up the app list. Sure, Arceus may have added some fancy new bells and whistles, but this was still her phone at the end of the day.

Ah, there it was. Magikarp Jump, the pastime of champions.

She definitely had a lot of time to kill until she could leave.

A couple of hours of virtual fishing, training, and jumping later, Rei came into the infirmary holding a tray, the Professor following closely behind him.

“Hey, Dawn!” Rei said with a grin. “How are you doing? We brought you some lunch!”

“Oh, hey!” Dawn said, turning off her phone’s screen. “I’m starving, thank you!”

He laid the tray on her lap. Her mouth was already watering. Dawn hadn’t realised how hungry she was until now. She hadn’t had anything to eat last night, had she?

“Nobody was quite sure what to make of that eruption of light last night,” Laventon said, “but word has been spreading all morning of your and Ibzan’s success!”

“I was terrified out of my mind, and I was just watching from a distance,” Rei said with a shudder. “I don’t know how you guys could even handle something like that.”

“Well, it was kind of a do or die situation, y’know? Uh, literally,” she said with a cough. “Didn’t really have the time to start doubting ourselves.”

“Just goes to show the importance of preparation, I say,” Laventon said. “Rei told me that Ibzan’s usage of a Smoke Bomb was pivotal towards giving you time to regroup and recollect yourselves.”

“Yeah, I wasn’t thrilled that he did that just to get me out of the fight, but I was kinda too shell shocked to argue at the time,” Dawn said, shoving some rice into her mouth. “Speaking of… don’t suppose he’s reappeared yet?”

“Not that I’ve seen,” Rei said. “The Fieldlands should be a lot safer though, now that Kleavor’s been calmed, so I’m not too worried.”

“Yeah…” Dawn sighed. “Still, I do hope he comes to visit soon. I know he came by last night, but I wasn’t awake then so it doesn’t count. I wanna celebrate our victory together, y’know?”

“Well, when you’re discharged, know that you’ve got a plate of potato mochi with your name on it!” Laventon said with a grin. “Nothing makes a celebration quite like it, I say!”

“Ha, looking forward to it,” Dawn smiled. “Feels like such a long way away, though, even if it's actually just a couple days. Can’t stand all this sitting around doing nothing, but I don’t really have a choice here.”

Laventon hummed. “Perhaps I could bring you some reading to help pass the time? I know I can often lose track of time while studying, myself.”

“Ah, I can give it a go, but I’m not really the… studying type?” Dawn said with a sheepish shrug.

Getting lost in books was always more Lucas’ thing than hers. She was always more of a… how did he put it? A kinetic learner, that was it. She liked just figuring things out as she went, while Lucas was more into reading everything he could in advance. She never had the patience for that.

She supposed that was why he did so well as Professor Rowan’s student. You couldn’t become a Pokémon Professor without a tolerance for that sort of thing.

“Hm. I might have just the book for you, actually,” Laventon said, a smile growing on his face.

“What— Oh. Oh, you’re talking about that one, aren’t you,” Rei said, shaking his head and folding his arms, hiding a smile of his own. “Why do you even still have that thing?”

“It’s entertaining,” Laventon said with a laugh. “I’ll have a rummage around my quarters tonight and see if I can't find it.”

“Okaaaay,” Dawn said, bemused. “Thanks?”

“Anyway, I’ll be heading to the Fieldlands myself, soon,” Rei said. “If I see Ibzan, I’ll smack him over the head and send him straight back here.”

“Loving the enthusiasm, but I'm not sure you’d be able to reach,” Dawn said.

“Ah, the fool that you are, you underestimate the value of a very long stick,” Rei said, looking down at her with a serious expression.

“Ah, of course,” Dawn said, nodding solemnly. “How shortsighted of me. I apologise.”

They stared at one another in silence for a few seconds before they both broke and laughed.

“Alright, good luck out there, then!” Dawn grinned. “I believe in you and your stick-finding talents!”

Rei scooped up the now-empty tray, and he and the Professor bid her farewell. Dawn sighed and lay back down, grabbing her phone once again. Those Magikarp wouldn’t train themselves.

A few more hours passed. Dawn, thoroughly bored of Magikarp, was now occupying herself with some puzzle game she’d downloaded on a whim a while back. She hoped it would last her the rest of her stay here, because she was quickly running out of games, and she didn’t exactly have an internet connection here.

At least she didn’t have to worry about battery life. She’d have some choice words with Arceus if she didn’t get to keep that feature, once all of this was said and done.

A noise interrupted Dawn’s train of thought. She looked up to see Pesselle coming back through the door, carrying a bag of supplies.

“Hey, Pesselle?” she called. “Any word on Ibzan? I’m super bored here, so it’d be nice if I could see him.”

“Hm? Oh, give me a moment, dear,” Pesselle said, placing the bag on the table in the middle of the room. “I’ve just got some things to put away quickly. Might as well take another look at how your shoulder’s healing too, actually.”

“Ah, sure thing,” she said, tucking her phone away.

Pesselle packed the contents of the bag away within the cabinet, then came over to her bedside. Dawn winced a little as she gently felt around her shoulder, but that was nothing compared to how it felt when it was still dislocated. Now it was more of a dull ache than anything.

“Looks like the ointment is already starting to work its magic,” Pesselle said.

“That’s good,” Dawn said distractedly. “So, Ibzan?”

“As far as I’m aware, no sign,” Pesselle replied. “All of the guardsmen know to send him to Cyllene’s office the moment he returns, though, so if he is back he’s doing an excellent job of hiding.”

Ugh. He’d been out there for hours, what on earth was he even doing?

Images of Alpha Pokémon suddenly flashed through her mind.

“...Hey,” Dawn said hesitantly. “You don’t think he’s… injured out there or anything, do you?”

“Honestly, it wouldn’t surprise me,” Pesselle said, folding her arms and looking away with a huff. “Ignoring one injury, even if you think it’s ‘nothing to worry about’, will inevitably just lead to more of them. Why everyone but me ignores that fact, I’ll never know.”

“Oh…” Dawn breathed out, voice small.

“Back injuries hurt, so he might’ve gotten distracted and let some Pokémon catch him off guard. Those scraped knuckles might’ve stopped him from being able to grab a Poké Ball in time,” Pesselle listed with a roll of her eyes. “He could’ve even caught heatstroke and collapsed somewhere. Who knows? Survey Corps just love putting themselves in idiotic situations.”

With each potential fate she listed, Dawn shrank a little further down into her bed.

“Hm?” Pesselle turned back and caught sight of Dawn’s expression. “What’s with that look? If he wants to injure himself further, I say let him. The Security Corps will put together a search party if he’s missing for too long, anyway.”

“Oh. And… how long is ‘too long’, exactly?” Dawn asked slowly.

“One day with no sightings, last I checked,” Pesselle said, then her eyes widened in realisation. “Oh! You’re worried about him, aren’t you? I… uh, look, just forget what I said. He’s… probably not injured, and if he is, they’ll find him, so don’t you worry. Alright?”

“...Alright,” Dawn said, forcing a smile. “Thanks.”

Pesselle nodded and left to check the patients on the other side of the room. Dawn let her head hit the pillow and sighed. Ibzan was smart, he wouldn’t let himself get hurt like that, right? But then… where in the world was he, and what in the world was he even doing?

Ugh. Not like she could find out, cooped up in bed like this. She sighed again and pulled out her phone once again.

…Her phone.

…Her phone!

Dawn sat up, opening the app list and navigating to the map.

She could find out where he was! The Arc Phones tracked each other!

The map loaded up and Ibzan’s blue arrow appeared on the map, right above…

Jubilife?

She zoomed in. The arrow was… over his quarters?

But… Ibzan was definitely not in the village. His quarters would be the first place they’d check! She’d bet her hat that Cyllene went there herself!

So why was…

Did he leave his phone behind?

Why?

Ugh. Dawn lay back down with a frustrated growl. What in the world was he thinking? There was no reason to leave his Arc Phone behind, unless…

Did he… not want to be found?

But the only way of tracking him was through another Arc Phone. And only two of those existed! So… was he hiding from her? Her, specifically?

No, no, no.

She was jumping to wild conclusions. He was super focused on keeping her safe all the time, so training made the most sense. Nevermind the fact that she was perfectly capable of protecting herself, thank you.

So, the phone thing…

He probably just forgot to bring it. Dawn forgot important things all the time. Once, she’d left her fishing rod at home when she’d wanted to look for what Water types lived in Mount Coronet’s underground lakes! What a waste of a day that was.

Well, whatever. He’d either show up by himself at some point, or the search party would bring him back. Either way, she was gonna yell at him for leaving her out of whatever cool thing he was doing.

Without her.

She sighed and lay back down again. She didn’t really want to think about this any more. She brought her phone back out again and clicked the first app that she saw.

That turned out to be the photo album, so she spent the rest of the evening wistfully scrolling through photos of her old team, her friends, and her mum.

The next morning, Dawn was well and truly fed up.

“Do I really need to stay for two more days?” Dawn whined. “There’s nothing to do! And I feel fine! I already spent the whole of yesterday here in bed!”

Pesselle was applying the ointment again. She paused, then pointedly gave her shoulder a poke that made her wince.

“You’re staying here for as long as I say you are,” Pesselle said firmly. “Frankly, I’d keep you here until it’s fully healed, if I could. But I’m willing to let you go tomorrow morning, remember? That’s one day and one night, not two days. Don’t be dramatic.”

“...Alright, fine.”

“Good,” she said with a satisfied nod. “By the way, I've been meaning to ask…. What exactly is that strange device of yours? You were staring and poking at it all of yesterday, and I couldn’t help but be curious.”

“Oh, this?” Dawn asked, holding up her phone. “This is my…”

Wait, was this the sort of thing that could mess up the timestream? Probably not, right? Pesselle wouldn’t, like, pass down the tale of the weird girl’s weird thingy to her descendents, who would go on to invent smartphones, right?

…Maybe she should still be a little vague about it, just in case.

“Well, it’s something that a lot of people have where I come from. It can do a bunch of stuff, but one of the things it can do is take photos. I was looking at the album of pictures it has stored, last night.”

“Hm. Like… Professor Laventon’s little handheld camera, but it keeps them inside rather than printing them out?” she asked.

“Uh, yeah, exactly!” Dawn said, glad to have an easy comparison from Hisui. “I was just… a little homesick, y’know?”

“...I think that’s something all of us in Jubilife can understand,” she said softly. “This village was only built two years ago, you know. Even the children living here carry memories of a different home.”

Dawn hummed, looking down at her lap. Pesselle laid a gentle hand on her (healthy) shoulder for a few moments, then left to put the medicine back in the cabinet.

Dawn sighed. Well, at least Pesselle hadn’t asked anything else about her phone. She didn’t want to think about home any more, though.

…Man, if only she had some headphones with her. Then she’d at least be able to listen to music. No way was she unmuting her phone, though, not when that’d just raise even more questions about the thing.

…

Boooored.

“Hey, Dawn,” Rei greeted as he walked in, the Professor following along behind him. “We—”

“Rei!” Dawn said, perking up immediately. “Any news on Ibzan?”

“Uh, well…” he said, scratching the back of his head. “Kinda?”

“Kinda? I’ll take kinda! What’s the word?”

“Well, Ibzan hasn’t returned yet, but… he has been spotted.”

“Huh?” Dawn said. “But… weren’t they meant to send him back here if they saw him?”

“Ah, we heard that some of the guardsmen did see him in the Fieldlands,” Laventon said. “But only a few times from a distance, I’m afraid, and with no real pattern that they could ascertain. They’ve confirmed that he’s not visibly injured, however!”

“So he’s running around the Fieldlands, doing… what, exactly?”

“We’re not sure,” Rei said with a shrug. “Surveying? He hasn’t reported back to the Professor or anything yet, but that’s about the only thing I can think of. Since they know he’s not stuck somewhere, though, they won’t be putting together a search party or anything.”

“Ugh, this is all so confusing,” Dawn groaned, running a hand over her face. “He’s not stuck somewhere, but he hasn’t come back to the village? Did he at least sleep at one of the base camps last night?”

“Apparently not,” Rei said.

“At least we know he’s not in any danger,” Laventon said. “For now, though… Can you guess what I found last night?”

“Well, if I had to guess… Could it be the book you told me you were gonna look for yesterday?”

“Indeed it is,” Laventon said with a grin. “Here you are!”

He handed her a well-worn book with an illustration of a Flying type Pokémon she didn’t recognise on the front. It was an imposing-looking thing, with dark feathers and sharp edges.

“Professor Foxglove’s Complete Guide to Pokémon?” she read, looking up at him. The Professor huffed out a small chuckle and gestured to her.

“Go ahead, open it up on any page that strikes your fancy.”

Dawn blinked, glancing at Rei. He just rolled his eyes and nodded. Shrugging, she placed the book spine-down on her lap and let it fall open to a random page.

“Charizard, the Flame Pokémon. Typing, Fire and… Dragon?” she read incredulously. “I mean, common misconception, sure, but isn’t this a scientific textbook?”

“So it claims,” Laventon said with a laugh. “Try another page.”

Dutifully, Dawn flipped to a different entry.

“Combee, the Tiny Bee Pokémon,” she read. “Typing, Bug and Flying. Made of honey, it— Made of honey? No?”

“I do hope nobody’s ever tried to take a bite out of one,” Laventon commented.

“That’s— Whatever,” Dawn said, shaking her head. “Its evolution requirements are unknown, seemingly only happening to a certain few individuals. I suspect it may have to do with… the flowers it collects honey from? No, it’s— it’s the gender. Only female Combee evolve.”

“Unfortunately, my roommate back in uni spent a long while trying to evolve his male Combee, thanks to this little book,” Laventon said. “He tried all sorts of flowers that he’d seen others evolve around before.”

“Where’d you even find this?” Dawn asked. “It’s getting basic stuff wrong. Like—”

She flipped to a new page and quickly scanned it.

“Sudowoodo! Grass type!” she exclaimed, smacking the page with the back of her hand. “What does he think the ‘Sudo’ means, huh?”

“Wait, they aren't Grass?” Rei murmured.

“Well, this was one of my university textbooks, actually,” Laventon laughed. “I happened to study under the eponymous Professor Foxglove, back then!”

“This was being used in university— Wait, the author of this was teaching there?”

Dawn gaped at Laventon, who was shaking with laughter at this point.

“Well, it was hardly a popular subject at the time, and he‘d made some noteworthy contributions to the field several years prior. I suppose he simply coasted along ever since,” Laventon said. “This book came later. Much of the information it presents is simply rumour or outright speculation.”

“Man, oh man, how was this guy not fired?” Dawn said, shaking her head in disbelief.

“Seniority, I suspect, along with people simply not knowing better,” Laventon said. “This book was also the only of its kind for a good while. It only happens to cover Pokémon local to Galar, despite the title, but even then it has several glaring omissions.”

“Oh? Like what?”

“Oh, all the understandable things, you know. Legendaries, hard-to-find Pokémon…” the Professor listed, counting on his fingers. “...Pidove, Zigzagoon, Wingull…”

“Wait, what? I’m not too familiar with Galar, sure, but even I know how common those ones are there! Why’d he leave them out?”

“I believe the good Professor considered them ‘pests’ and unworthy of a place in his ‘Complete Guide’,” Laventon said. “This book is part of the reason I became so invested in putting together an actually complete Pokédex here in Hisui, you know. As far as I'm aware, nobody else has bothered cataloguing every Pokémon in a region, legendaries included, let alone doing so accurately. I mean to change that!”

“Wow,” Dawn said. “Well, at least this book was good for something, then.”

“Yeah,” Rei agreed. “Want to read some more?”

“Oh, do I!”

She went through the book together with Rei and the Professor, laughing at all the weird little assumptions and mistakes in the entries. Apparently Dugtrio were just three Diglett that travelled together, instead of being a single Pokémon with three heads.

It also said that Shellos’ different forms were based on their diet, which… Well, it wasn’t an unreasonable assumption, sure, but it wasn’t like you couldn’t test that! Lucas had told her once that he and Professor Rowan had taken two eggs from the same mother and raised them in two tanks with different temperatures, and they’d ended up with both forms!

Dawn had also laughed at what she’d thought was a very bad drawing of a Ponyta, but that was apparently just what they looked like in Galar. Psychic type, too, instead of Fire, which was interesting. The guide didn’t even mention that they were Fire types literally everywhere else in the world, though.

Professor Foxglove also theorised that Gloom drool might have medicinal properties, for… some reason? It was just honey that smells super bad, so Dawn wasn’t sure where he’d gotten that idea. She felt bad for the patients of any amateur doctors who’d read this book.

Dawn was surprised to find that several hours had passed by the time they had to leave. The Professor left the book with her to keep her occupied, which she was definitely thankful for. She couldn't wait to show Ibzan—

Ah.

Ugh.

Dawn huffed and buried her head back in the book.

Apparently Gardevoir were always female, and all male Kirlia evolved into Gallade. Ha.

…Dawn let out a hefty sigh.

She hated this.

Dawn continued flipping through Professor Foxglove’s Complete Farce, but all the while she just couldn’t stop worrying about whatever was going on with Ibzan.

After Kleavor, she’d been tired enough to sleep all the way till eleven o’clock — way later than she was used to getting up at this point. Ibzan had spent ages alone in the arena, dodging Kleavor’s attacks all the while. Even if he was fitter than she was, that was still a lot of work.

She could just see how tired he’d been, after the fight. Well, it didn’t take a genius to guess that from the way he’d been lying there, but even after resting for a minute he’d still been exhausted. It was actually part of the reason she’d agreed to take it slow on the way back to Jubilife — so he wouldn’t have to push himself any further than he already had.

Then he’d left early in the morning. If he’d had any sleep, it wouldn’t have been much.

He hadn’t even stayed at any of the tents in the base camps, either. So he’d either slept somewhere in the wilderness (bad) or stayed up all night (worse).

So—

“Dawn.”

She jumped. Cyllene was staring down at her. How long had she been there?

“Ah! Cyllene! Any news?” she asked hurriedly, straightening her back as she sat up.

“...No. Ibzan’s still out in the Obsidian Fieldlands, that much we know.”

Dawn deflated.

“Ugh, what’s he even doing out there?” she moaned, holding her head in her hand.

“I was hoping that you might have some idea of that,” Cyllene said. “Though I can see that’s not the case.”

“You can send someone to look for him, right? I’m worried something might be up with him.”

“No.”

“Okay, that’s… Huh? Why not?” Dawn demanded.

“The Survey Corps don’t expect regular check-ins,” she said. “Multiple days spent in the field without communication is to be expected. He’s been seen — we know he doesn’t require medical aid, so there’s currently no need to dedicate time and resources to locating him.”

“But—”

“Dawn,” she interrupted, tone hard. “Whatever Ibzan is doing out there, he is fine. He’s not trapped anywhere, nothing’s forced him out of the village, and there’s nothing preventing him from coming back. You needn’t be so worried.”

“But if nothing’s stopping him from coming back, then why isn’t he?”

Cyllene sighed.

“I don’t know,” she said. “He is an adult. His actions are his own — you are not responsible for them.”

“I… Right. Sorry, Captain.”

Another sigh.

“If he isn’t seen again for another day, we’ll put word out to the Security Corps. I promise you that. But what you should be focusing on is recovering. The sooner your shoulder heals, the sooner you can get back to work. So for now, just get some rest.”

Cyllene turned and left the infirmary. Dawn lay back and dragged her hand over her face in frustration. She'd been getting nothing but rest lately.

Tomorrow. She’d be out of here by tomorrow. She could head out and look for Ibzan then, right? Find out the answers to all these questions on her mind.

…

She drummed her fingers impatiently on her stomach.

…

…

Yeah, no. She was definitely not waiting that long.

She was outta here tonight, and she was gonna drag him back by force if she had to.

Eventually, Pesselle packed up her things, wishing her a good night as she left. Dawn waited a few minutes more, then threw off the covers and hopped out of the bed. She gave her stiff limbs a stretch, then started getting ready.

She pulled her uniform jacket back on, draping it over her slung arm and letting the sleeve dangle. It felt kinda cool, actually, especially with the sleeves still ripped open. Like she was some sorta battle-hardened warrior or something. Strapping her satchel on was awkward with only one hand, but she just about managed.

Pausing for a moment when she saw the Professor’s book lying on the bed, she grabbed it and shoved it in her satchel.

She cautiously glanced into Cyllene’s office before she left the infirmary — thankfully, she wasn’t there. Something told her that this little plan would go against her order to rest, and Dawn just imagined her staring her down as she demanded an explanation. The thought made her shiver.

Opening Galaxy Hall’s door, she looked around the street. It was dark out now, so there weren’t a whole lot of people around. Dawn took a deep breath and strolled confidently out the door. She knew that if she walked with purpose, less people would question her presence.

The advice of a former champion. It was meant more for boosting her confidence and cementing her position in the eyes of the public, but hey, it applied here, too. Maybe not exactly what she’d had in mind when she gave it, but Dawn was sure she would understand.

She made her way to the pastures. Marie wasn’t here at this time of night, so it was pretty empty. Stopping by the fence, she called out in a low voice. Her Pokémon all immediately perked up and bounded over.

“Hey, good to see you all, too,” she said with a laugh, giving them each a scratch on the head. “I’m not really supposed to be here at the moment, but I won’t tell if you won’t. You all ready to head out?”

Shelly gave her a flat look, then pointedly waved her right arm at her.

“Yeah, I know, but this is important,” she said. “I don’t know where Ibzan is. Well, okay, I know where he is, but not where he is, y’know?”

Bennett tilted his head in confusion. Dawn sighed.

“Right. Lemme rephrase. Ibzan’s somewhere out in the Fieldlands. He’s been there for two whole days now. I don’t know why he’s out there, but I wanna find out. Sound good?”

Affirmative yips all around. Dawn smiled.

“Alright, don’t suppose you know where they’re keeping your balls?”

Kilowatt let out a rumbling noise, then padded off. Dawn awkwardly clambered over the fence and followed after the Luxio. Most of the other Pokémon here were asleep already, so there wasn’t a lot of noise as she walked through the field.

It also reminded her that she hadn’t caught any nocturnal Pokémon for study yet. She should probably get on that, once she’s back to her regularly scheduled surveying.

Kilowatt led her to a small box, with the Poké Balls neatly lined up in rows separated by little wooden dividers. It reminded her a little of the gridlike interface in the Pokémon Centre PCs, actually. She wondered if maybe this way of organising Poké Balls was common in this time period, and the UI designers took influence from them in the future.

Dawn shook her head. She was getting distracted. She searched the box for her own Poké Balls, managing to find them all in a few minutes. She’d carved little symbols on her team’s balls — a shell for Shelly, a lightning bolt for Kilowatt, and a little B for Bennett — so it was pretty easy to know which were hers.

Well, technically they were all hers, since she was the one who'd caught all the Pokémon here, but… y’know.

Anyway, with her Poké Balls gathered, she recalled her team and tucked them safely away in her satchel. There. Now she was ready.

First on the agenda… Ibzan’s quarters.

She climbed back over the fence and headed over. She paused by the door to her own quarters, then quickly slid it open and popped the Professor’s book inside for safekeeping.

That done, she moved onto Ibzan’s room. She slowly slid open the door and poked her head inside.

Empty.

Well, at least that confirmed he wasn’t here. She crept inside.

Ibzan’s phone was somewhere in the room. Might as well have a look for it so she could give it back when she found him.

And she would find him.

His bed wasn’t made. She didn’t know if that meant he had gotten some sleep that night or not. It wasn’t like she ever made her bed, after all. What was the point when you were just gonna sleep in it again?

…Oh! Hold on a minute! There, lying on top of the dresser. Was that…?

She picked up the empty Poké Ball, running a thumb along the crack. Aww, he kept this? She’d nearly forgotten about that!

…Man, that was only a few days ago, wasn’t it? It had already felt like they’d known each other way longer. Like months instead of just days. She supposed sharing a couple near-death experiences with someone would do that to you.

She gently set the ball back down and resumed her search. It didn’t take too long — she found it lying on top of the storage crate in the corner of the room. She flipped it open and shut a couple of times. Ancient as this thing was, that sure felt cool to do.

Alright. Next on the agenda… The Fieldlands.

Dawn left Ibzan’s quarters and casually made her way to the gate. Ress gave her a surprised look, pushing off the wall he was leaning on as she approached.

“Hello, Dawn,” he greeted. “I thought you were still in the infirmary until tomorrow.”

“Well, you know me,” she said, flexing her working arm with a grin. “Nothing can keep me down!”

Ress hummed. “You were discharged early, then?”

Wuh-oh. He sounded a little doubtful. Dawn gave him a wide, innocent smile.

“That ointment stuff really is something, huh? Anyway, I’m heading out to the Fieldlands for a little bit.”

“Field work, so soon?” he asked incredulously. “...And you’ve been given permission?”

“Hey, if I hadn’t, then I’d be inviting Pesselle’s wrath upon me,” Dawn said solemnly. “Do you think I’d willingly do that to myself?”

“...No. Nobody in their right mind would,” Ress said with a shudder. “She’s like a completely different person if she thinks you’re ignoring an injury. Alright, I’ll mark you down for the Fieldlands, then.”

He produced a small notebook from his pocket and jotted her name (she assumed) within.

“Stay safe out there,” he said, looking back up from his notebook as he stepped aside. “I know dislocations might seem like they’re a quick fix, especially with that fancy medicine, but they’re really not. They need time to heal properly. Though… I’m sure you’ve heard enough of that already, huh?”

“Don’t you worry,” Dawn said brightly, flashing a peace sign as she walked past. “Careful is my middle name!”

Ress gave her a lazy wave goodbye as he settled back against the wall.

Cyllene and Pesselle were problems for Future Dawn. For now, though…

The final item on her agenda… Find Ibzan.

…Addendum, actually. Find Ibzan, and give him a smack on the head for making her worry so much.

…Sooo. Maybe doing this at night wasn’t the best of ideas.

Sure, she could see surprisingly alright thanks to the moon and the cloudless sky, but still… sunlight sure would’ve made things easier. Plus, there’d be less Ghost types pestering her. Thankfully Kilowatt was making short work of them with his Bites, but it was still a nuisance.

The Fieldlands were pretty big, so she kinda had her work cut out for her. Starting out from the Fieldlands Camp, she decided to first check the areas above the river. The Ponyta in Horseshoe Plains were all asleep, the Alpha Rapidash keeping watch over the group. Dawn thought it might have spotted her, but she made sure to keep her distance, and it seemed content to leave her be.

Checking Floaro Gardens was a nerve-wracking experience, given what happened last time she was there. While her Pokémon were all a lot stronger now, she didn’t really have an answer to something like the Alpha Luxio. Thankfully she didn’t see it anywhere as she crept through the forest, and she gave the place where it had first attacked her a wide berth.

The Alpha Snorlax was in a deep slumber, still blocking that path to Lake Verity. Dawn really doubted Ibzan had managed to sneak around it somehow, so she was happy to avoid it for the time being.

There was no sign of him anywhere, so next she crossed the bridge and headed for the area around Deertrack Heights. Riding Wyrdeer would probably have made things quicker, but Ibzan had probably been right about it being a bad idea, with her shoulder still banged up.

Aside from a close encounter with a cranky Staravia she’d accidentally managed to wake up, nothing much happened. She still hadn’t seen any sign of Ibzan, which was really beginning to annoy her. Still, there was one more area left to check.

The Alpha Bibarel was back on the bridge leading to the Heartwood, but her Pokémon were even stronger now than when they’d last fought it. Kilowatt had nearly managed to take it out all on his own, with Shelly switching in at the end to finish it off. It was a rough battle, but nothing a few Potions couldn’t fix.

She was so proud of how far they’d come in such a short amount of time.

The Heartwood itself, she wasn’t too familiar with. She and Ibzan had found the path to Grandtree Arena pretty quickly, so they hadn’t explored much of the rest of it. The forest looked endless — the canopy blocking out the moonlight made it much harder to see anything.

After the third time she found herself back at the lit path leading to the Arena, Dawn sat on one of the fallen stone pillars with a sigh.

This was going nowhere fast.

Why was Ibzan out here, all alone? Why did he leave his phone behind? Why—

Why…

Why did people keep abandoning her?

…

She and Barry had been friends… pretty much since birth. They were inseparable. He was always rushing around, and Dawn was always right there beside him. They promised each other that they’d travel together, whenever they managed to get their first Pokémon. They’d fantasised about camping out in the wilderness together with their cool Pokémon teams, roasting marshmallows over a fire while discussing strategies for whatever gym leader was next on their radar.

But that never happened, in the end. He just kept… running ahead, leaving her scrambling to catch up, until she eventually just gave up. All she could do was just treasure the moments where they ran into each other between gyms. It felt like she’d spent more time with Lucas, a complete stranger at that point, than Barry during her journey. It took running into the brick wall that was Commander Jupiter for him to finally slow down.

After that, she was the one who had to run ahead of him to keep on top of Team Galactic’s plans. They were still best friends, but she never felt like they’d really managed to get back to the dynamic they’d had as kids.

And now this. Ibzan was doing the same thing. She had to spend time recovering from an injury, but Ibzan apparently didn’t want to wait for her. He was running ahead, just like he always did, and she didn’t want to settle for just occasionally bumping into each other, she-

Huh?

Dawn blinked a few times. When her vision cleared, the brown thing that had appeared in front of her turned out to be… an Eevee?

…Wait!

“Blackout!” she cried. “Is that you?”

Blackout glared up at her, then turned and darted off into the woods.

“H-Hey!”

Dawn gave chase.

Blackout definitely wasn’t making this easy on her. Dawn really didn’t want to run into another tree and risk re-dislocating her shoulder. On top of being super painful, Pesselle would actually throttle her if she let that happen.

Dawn did a good job of keeping up though, despite all that. The few times she lost Blackout, it didn’t take long to catch sight of her again. She got the feeling she was leading her somewhere. And she had a pretty good idea of where that ‘somewhere’ might be.

Well, she didn’t know where specifically, but she had a feeling she knew who she was being led to.

Eventually, they left the forest outright. Blackout suddenly picked up speed and sprinted ahead, speeding off towards a large hill.

“Hm? Oh, you’re back,” she heard his voice say in the distance. “What made you—”

Ibzan looked up from where Blackout was standing, and saw her.

“Ah.”

Dawn swallowed and walked forward, up the incline. Blackout sat down beside him, tail twitching in agitation. Jet, standing by Ibzan’s side, ran up to Dawn with a happy chirp.

“...Hello, Dawn,” he said, expression infuriatingly blank. “I wasn’t expecting—”

“What are you doing out here?” she snapped. “You just… left! Without saying anything! It’s been two days!”

“...Two?” he murmured absently, before shaking his head. “Well, it’s nothing you have to worry about. You really should be resting—”

“Ibzan. Is this— Is this because of me?” she asked hesitantly. She felt Jet push reassuringly up against her legs, and took a deep breath. “Did I... do something wrong? Is that it?”

“What?” he asked, looking genuinely perplexed. “No, I’m the—”

“Then what’s going on?” she demanded. “Why did you leave without saying anything? Why did you leave your phone behind? Why have you been out here for all this time?”

“I—” Ibzan started, then sighed. “Alright. Give me a moment.”

He opened up his satchel and produced something small from within.

“Here, hold this, would you?”

“What? Ibzan, just tell me—”

“Please,” he interrupted. “It’ll help me explain things.”

“...Okay.”

Dawn stepped forward and took hold of the strange, yet familiar, rock. The moment her fingers made contact, a purple flame suddenly appeared next to Ibzan. Startled, she fumbled and dropped it, the flame disappearing the moment she let go.

“You saw it, then,” Ibzan said, kneeling and picking it back up. “That’s a soul. One that was contained within this stone, and needs to be re-contained. Otherwise…”

He trailed off, then shrugged.

“Some unspecified negative consequence will occur,” he said.

“...Okay. That’s the what. Tell me the why.”

“What? I just explained—”

“No, Ibzan! You didn’t!” she exclaimed, throwing her arm out to the side. “Something bad might happen! Sure! Okay! But that doesn’t explain the reasons for any of the other stuff!”

“I…”

Ibzan sighed, running a hand through his hair.

“Look. Dawn. This, here, is something I’m actually good at. I can vaguely tell where these things are, without even needing to look at them. I’ve already gathered twelve of the twenty souls scattered out here.”

“Okay, but—”

“Point is, this’ll ostensibly have a positive benefit on the world. It’s something I can do. If I can do that, then maybe I’ll have done something worthwhile for once.”

“Worthwhile? What are you talking about?” Dawn demanded. “You helped calm Kleavor’s frenzy! You saved my life!”

“Yes, and got you injured in the process,” Ibzan sneered. “Arceus sent me here as a protector. What a fucking joke. All my talents lie in breaking things, not protecting them.”

“What? That’s not—”

“And I know how the world works,” he continued, looking away from her, up at the night sky. “How all worlds work. You’re only worth something if you can do what you’re meant for. If you can serve your purpose. If I’m not useful, I’m useless. And useless things should be discarded. But… gathering these souls, that’s useful! That contributes something! Don’t you see?”

Dawn stared at him silently.

“You’re… a good person, Dawn,” Ibzan said. “Everything I touch turns to shit. As much as I can try to ignore it, with all of this… sarcasm, and these… dry witticisms, that fact remains unchanged. You deserve better than someone like me. You have better people, already — Rei, Laventon, Cyllene. I’m just… the man Arceus sent here because it didn’t know any better.”

More silence. Ibzan waited for a few more moments, then sighed.

“Well, if we’re done here, I—”

“You’re so stupid.”

“Wh—”

“You’re so stupid!” Dawn yelled. “You think— you think I care about any of that? Ibzan, I don’t care about what you contribute! I don’t care about the benefits you come with! About— about the reasons why Arceus sent you here!”

“I… What?”

She crashed into him with as big a hug as one arm would allow, and she felt him immediately freeze up.

“None of that matters! I like joking around with you! Coming up with nicknames together! I like guiding you through catching and caring for your Pokémon! I like having someone to talk about home with, someone who’s in the same boat as I am! Who understands!”

Ibzan suddenly wobbled. Dawn took a sudden step back as Ibzan collapsed down onto his knees. There were dark circles under his eyes. He looked exhausted, like everything over the past couple of days were all hitting him at once.

Dawn put her hand on his shoulder and met his gaze directly.

“Look, this… soul thing? It does sound important. But we can tackle it together. Please, just… don’t leave me behind again? I don’t care about what you can do, I just care about you. Okay?”

“I…” He stared with a confused gaze, like he even didn’t know what language she was speaking. Still, eventually, he nodded. “Yes. Okay.”

“Great. Now, let’s get going. Both Cyllene and Pesselle need to see you.”

“...Pesselle? I’m not injured.”

Dawn fixed him with an unimpressed look and thumped him lightly on the back with her fist, causing him to grunt.

“Your coat’s literally ripped up back there, don’t think I didn’t see it.”

“I… Yes, fine.”

“…Okay. Let’s get back to the village, big guy.”

Chapter Text

The barest hints of blue were beginning to creep into the sky as they made their way back to Jubilife. It seemed to be the perfect hour to avoid being bothered — close enough to morning that the Ghost types and other nocturnal Pokémon had vanished, but still early enough that the other Pokémon hadn’t yet awoken.

Blackout trotted ahead of them, looking rather pleased with herself, while Jet stuck closer to Ibzan’s legs, as he had done for most of the time they were out here.

“It was a good thing I ran into her, actually,” Dawn said, gesturing at the Eevee. “Not sure I’d have found you if she hadn’t shown me the way.”

“I don’t think luck had much to do with it,” Ibzan said tiredly. “I noticed a rattling coming from my satchel. When I opened it, her ball popped open and she shot off into the forest. Hours later, she returns with you in tow. I think she knew you’d be coming, eventually.”

“Really,” Dawn said thoughtfully. Blackout’s tail swished back and forth smugly as she walked, but she didn’t otherwise acknowledge their conversation.

“I’d thought the vibration might be my phone, so a scruffy, irritable ball of fluff bursting out was definitely a surprise.”

Said tail briefly twitched in annoyance.

“So you didn’t mean to leave it behind after all?”

“My phone? No, I did, I just…” Ibzan said, then sighed. “I just thought I might’ve brought it by accident, that’s all. I had no intention of taking it with me, since… well. I failed my task, didn’t I?”

He stopped walking, taking his lighter out from his coat pocket and flicking it on.

“I… thought it would be easier to leave the phone behind myself, than to wait for it to be taken from me,” he said, watching the flame dance.

Jet pressed up against his leg with a distressed whine.

“Ibzan…” Dawn said, looking up at him. “You haven’t failed at anything. Look at me! I’m fine! It’ll heal! Don’t get so hung up on what-ifs, okay? I know for a fact things would’ve gone much worse if you weren’t there. Still, though, I…”

She trailed off, walking a little further ahead. Blackout glanced up at her, then back at Ibzan, tail flicking to-and-fro.

Ibzan clicked his lighter shut and looked back up at her. She faced away from him, fidgeting with her scarf as she stared off to the side.

“I hope I’m more to you than just… a goal, or whatever. You’re so focused on doing what Arceus told you to, and… Ibzan, we are friends, aren’t we?”

Ibzan froze, caught off guard. Unbidden, the memory of her words from that first nightmare slammed into him. Ever since, he’d been hesitant to even acknowledge the possibility. He took a few seconds to collect himself before speaking.

“I… Well. It’s been a long time since I’ve really… had much of a connection with… anyone,” he said hesitantly. “So, I didn’t want to… presume? Uh, what I mean is…”

“Aww, Ibzan, if you’re asking if I consider you a friend, that’s a definite yes!” Dawn said, instantly perking up. With a relieved laugh, she turned back to face him with a brilliant grin. “Really, I was worried you were only hanging around me because Arceus told you to!”

“What? No, no I… That's not… Did I give off that impression?”

“Well…” Dawn said, rubbing the back of her head with a slight grimace. “The whole ‘running off without a word’ thing didn’t really… fill me with a lot of confidence, y’know?”

Oh hell, he hadn’t considered that at all. Hadn’t expected it to mean anything to her. He had a mission, and failed it, so… why would she care if he left? He’d rightly stopped mattering to his Friend when he’d become undead, after all, and those who’d worked under him would definitely sooner mourn their lost chance at finding Warmth, than mourn him as an individual.

…Not that he’d blame them.

“No, I did that because of my mistakes, not because of you,” he hurriedly assured her, hands raised placatingly as he hesitantly walked closer. “As I said before, I was a poor choice for a mission like this, and you deserve—”

“Ibzan,” Dawn said, the sharp edge to her voice stopping him in his tracks, before sighing again. “Look… you said you were just here to help me, back when we first met, right? Well, having a friend around helps me a lot more than just some… bodyguard, y’know?”

That…

Hm.

He’d forgotten, but… when Arceus had issued him his mission, it had two parts, hadn’t it? Protect Dawn, and help with her own task of completing Laventon’s Pokédex. He’d been so focused on the former that he’d forgotten the latter.

Would emotional support really contribute to the secondary objective? Was emotional support something he was capable of at all?

Absently, he ran his thumb along the engraving on the side of his lighter. And that wasn’t even getting into his supposed third task. If you could call it that. It was more of a… platitudinous well-wish than an actually concrete objective.

Ibzan sighed. He just… couldn’t let go of the twisted feeling in his chest whenever he remembered the state Dawn had been in once the fight was over. A state he was responsible for. No matter how you sliced it, he’d been the one to dislocate her shoulder, intentions be damned.

But… running away didn’t undo that injury. Given the fact that she’d followed him out here, where Pokémon could attack her, it could very well have worsened it. All it had done was cause her stress.

Mistakes upon mistakes, as always.

“Dawn, I…” he said, breaking the silence. “I should apologise.”

“Oh?”

“Your shoulder— I know, I know, hear me out,” he said before she could protest. “While my actions may have prevented anything worse, the fact remains… that was still my fault. That’s… That’s eating away at me. And… fuck, Dawn, I’m sorry.”

“...It’s okay, Ibzan,” she said softly. Now she was the one carefully approaching him. “I forgive you, alright?”

Some of the pressure in his chest alleviated the moment he heard those words. It baffled him, really, the immediacy of it all.

“And… leaving like this. That didn’t help, either,” he continued. “I thought you’d be better off without me around, even if I knew you might disagree, so I tried taking that choice away from you. Leaving my phone behind to stop you tracking me down. I’m sorry for that, too.”

“Ibzan…”

“And everything I said earlier, about the world, and myself. Those weren’t things you needed to hear. Usually I’m better at keeping those thoughts to myself, but I suppose I’m tired enough that my usual filter—”

“Ibzan!”

He stopped talking, blinking down at her.

“Look, my shoulder, and the running away thing? Apologies accepted. But don’t say sorry about the other stuff, alright? I’d rather hear what’s running through your head than let you bottle it all up until it explodes into…” she trailed off, then gestured vaguely. “Y’know. Us being out here.”

“...Right.”

“And Ibzan, you’re not useless, alright?” she said. “You’re doing fine. And even if you weren’t, your worth as a person isn’t defined by what you can do. You still deserve to be happy, and all that stuff.”

“...Wouldn’t Galaxy Team kick us both out of Jubilife if we couldn’t meaningfully contribute?”

“That’s… not the point!” Dawn huffed, frustratedly throwing her hand up in the air. “Even if they think someone’s not doing enough, that doesn’t mean that they’re worth any less as a person.”

Ibzan just hummed noncommittally. He didn’t have it in him to muster anything more convincing than that.

“Ugh, I’m not explaining this properly, just… Look, I’d never have thought of sending out all our Pokémon at once against Kleavor. I’m too used to single or double battles. But I bet you saw how Irida’s Glaceon battled independently of her, and that inspired you, right?”

“I… suppose,” he acquiesced. “That and my experience with working as the leader of a ga— a group in the past. You can’t afford to micromanage every individual member — you have to delegate.”

“See? You brought your own knowledge, your own insight, to the table, and it was the key to victory! And, again, because I really can’t emphasise this enough, you saved my life. I wasn’t ready for that move Kleavor pulled, and it nearly cost me. Just goes to show that neither of us are perfect, right? But together, we worked past all that, and we came out on top!”

“...I suppose we did.”

“Yeah, we did!” she said, elbowing him with a grin. “Now come on, let’s get a move on before your battery runs out and you actually collapse.”

“...Right.”

Now that Ibzan wasn’t purposely isolating himself, Jet seemingly felt comfortable enough to finally unglue himself from his side, instead opting to sidle over to Blackout and pester her until she eventually growled and tried to chase him off.

And she most certainly wasn’t getting into it as time went on, no sir. If anyone claimed as much, including her own tail, then they were most certainly a bald-faced liar.

While the sun hadn’t quite risen by the time the village gate came into view, it was certainly getting there. Ress fixed Dawn with an unimpressed look as they walked through the gate.

“Uh, hey again!” she greeted with a nervous wave. “We’re back!”

“So I see,” Ress said flatly, arms folded. “Pesselle’s looking for you, Dawn. Why might that be, I wonder?”

“Ah,” Dawn said, rubbing the back of her head. “Well, uh, technically, I never said I wasn’t leaving without her permission, I just… asked if you thought I would be stupid enough to try it?”

Blackout snorted. Jet just shot her an unimpressed look and lightly smacked her on the side.

“Technically,” Ress agreed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Look, I don’t appreciate my trust being taken advantage of like that.”

“Well, I…” Dawn started, then wilted. “Yeah, you’re right. I’m really sorry. I was just really worried about Ibzan, and—”

Ress held up a hand, interrupting her.

“Just… wait here, alright?” he said, before trudging off towards Galaxy Hall.

“Well, guess I won’t be sneaking back into the Infirmary before Pesselle notices after all,” Dawn sighed.

“You left without telling anyone?” Ibzan asked, surprised. “Weren’t you just scolding me for doing exactly that?”

“That’s different,” she huffed. “You were MIA for ages — I had good reason to come looking for you. Plus, I told Ress where I was headed.”

“So did I,” Ibzan pointed out.

“Oh, whatever, sue me,” she snapped. “I’m not gonna apologise for bringing you back here.”

“Ahem.”

Ress had returned with a stern-faced Cyllene and a somehow sterner-faced Pesselle.

“Oh. Uh, hey, Captain! Hey, Miss Pesselle!” Dawn said with a nervous laugh. “So, how are you two doing this fine morning? Because I—”

Pesselle strode forward and grabbed Dawn’s arm — the uninjured one, thankfully — then wordlessly began dragging her back towards Galaxy Hall.

“Ack. Yeah, okay, fair. Uh, see you later, Ibzan! Sorry again, Ress!” she called.

Ress just let out a frustrated sigh, folding his arms and leaning on the wall again.

“Ibzan,” Cyllene said. “Come with me to the Survey Corps office. Now.”

Her tone left no room for argument. After recalling his Pokémon, Ibzan followed along behind her. Hopefully he wasn’t about to be fired — that would certainly put Dawn’s efforts tonight to waste.

As she led him into her office, Ibzan could hear Pesselle scolding Dawn through the open door that connected the two rooms. It didn’t sound like her little excursion had aggravated her injury, at least. Just Pesselle.

“Now, I won’t ask what you’ve been doing these past couple of days,” Cyllene said, taking a seat behind her desk. “Just know that it’s caused some disruptions that I’d rather avoid in future.”

“I understand. It won’t happen again,” Ibzan promised.

Cyllene stared him down for a couple more seconds, before nodding.

“Very well. Onto business, then. First, well done in calming Kleavor. I understand that your quick thinking and actions were key to the mission’s success.”

“Uh, thank you, Captain,” Ibzan said, caught off guard by the praise.

“Second, I would like to remind you of your role in the Survey Corps. I understand that you’ve been with us for only a limited time, and that the Kleavor situation took precedence over your other duties, but you’ll need to make progress on your research tasks soon if you don’t want to be reassigned.”

Right. Even a few days into the job, he hadn’t done any actual… well, surveying. He supposed it could be argued that the intel gathering he’d done in preparation for the fight with Kleavor counted, but even so, that covered just one Pokémon out of the many that were out there.

“Yes, Captain.”

“Good. I don’t expect much for the moment — you’re still inexperienced in the field, after all, and I understand the need for rest after an assignment like the Kleavor situation — but I do expect something by the end of the week.”

Ibzan nodded. It had been easy to forget what his actual job description was while they were working towards calming Kleavor. He imagined the Survey Corps weren’t typically expected to engage in direct combat with giant, empowered guardian beasts with axes for hands.

“Consult your Pokédex to find a list of research tasks Professor Laventon put together for each discovered Pokémon. Report your findings to him. With enough information from each Corps member, he can put together a formal entry. Dawn will guide you through the process, I’m sure.”

Well, assuming she was permitted to leave the Infirmary sometime in the next decade, anyway.

“One more thing. Come closer, if you would.”

Ibzan walked up to the desk. Cyllene looked up and met his eyes with a frigid glare.

“Yesterday, Dawn repeatedly asked after you and your whereabouts, to anyone and everyone who visited her,” Cyllene said, voice low. “It seems she’s become quite attached to you. Cause her such undue concern again, and I will personally track you down, and drag you back for an apology delivered on your hands and knees. Understood?”

She spoke in exactly the same matter-of-fact way she always did, but there was somehow an extra underlying intensity to her words. Ibzan had stared down the barrel of many a gun without even an ounce of fear. And yet, somehow, her words still sent a chill running down his spine.

“Understood.”

“Good,” she said, looking back down at her paperwork with her usual disinterested air like nothing had happened. “Now, go and get some rest. You look like you’re about to collapse where you stand.”

“Y-Yes, Captain.”

In practice, ‘getting some rest’ turned into ‘sleeping the entire morning and afternoon away’. Probably not a net benefit for his overall sleep schedule, but it would be a lie to say that Ibzan particularly cared about that at the moment. Hell, he might have slept all the way until the next morning, if a knock on the door hadn’t woken him up first.

Opening it revealed Dawn, now free from Pesselle’s irritated lectures on self-preservation, who invited him to the Wallflower for mochi with Rei and Laventon. An offer which quickly reminded Ibzan of just how hungry he was. It turned out that only eating whatever berries Jet managed to scavenge and forcibly shove into his hands wasn’t a terribly efficient way of keeping his stomach full.

With that genius observation concluded, Ibzan followed Dawn to the Wallflower where Rei and Laventon were waiting for them, plates and mochi already spread out in front of them.

“Ah, Ibzan! Glad to see you, my good man!” Laventon said with a grin, handing him and Dawn a set of chopsticks each. “I was wondering if we’d ever see you again, you know!”

“Yes, well, I’d gotten myself… sidetracked for a while,” he responded as he took a seat beside Dawn. “Managed to lose track of time until Dawn came and dragged me back.”

“Lost track?” Rei asked, sounding doubtful. “What, did you not notice the sun passing overhead?”

“Well… it can be easy to let things slip by, when fixated on a task,” Ibzan deflected with a shrug, grabbing some mochi with his chopsticks.

“When we finally ran into each other and I told him he’d been gone for two days, he was definitely surprised,” Dawn agreed, squinting down at her chopsticks as she attempted to manipulate them with her non-dominant hand. She was fully capable of just picking the mochi up, as Laventon was doing, but it looked as though she was too stubborn to resort to such barbaric methods.

“I know the feeling,” Laventon said with a sheepish smile. “Captain Cyllene often has to chase me out of my office to ensure I won’t forget to eat or sleep while engrossed in my work!”

“What were you even doing out there anyway, Ibzan?” Rei asked.

“Ah, well…” Ibzan started, tapping a chopstick against the table in thought. Was there any possible way to phrase this that didn’t sound terrible?

“Aww, you feeling a little embarrassed about it? It’s okay, really!” Dawn said, nudging him with a grin. “You see, at one point I offhandedly mentioned Shiny Pokémon, and how rare they are. Turns out that caught his interest, and he went looking for one!”

Oh, Dawn was giving him an out. He appreciated that.

“That’s right,” he said with a nod. “I thought finding one might be beneficial for Laventon’s research, but I underestimated quite how rare they were. As I said, I didn’t realise how long I was gone until Dawn found me.”

“I’ve never heard of ‘Shiny Pokémon’ before,” Rei said. “What are they, exactly?”

“…Ah. Yes. Shiny Pokémon, well… They’re… rather rare, you see. And… hard to come by. Yes.”

Ibzan surreptitiously glanced at Dawn, who was leaning her head on her hand, watching him with a massive shit-eating grin on her face. Prior appreciation retracted.

“...Uh-huh,” Rei said, squinting at him. “And what precisely makes them so rare?”

“Well, that’s… Actually, Dawn, I think you could explain better than I could,” he said. “I only got the short version from you, after all. The… very short version.”

Dawn stared at him for a few seconds, still grinning. He stared back. Eventually she rolled her eyes with a laugh.

“See, if you just listened to what I said from the beginning, we wouldn’t be here,” she said pointedly, before turning to Rei. “Shiny Pokémon are very rare - it’s estimated that only one in every four thousand or so Pokémon are born shiny. Some even speculate it to be half that.”

“Wow,” Rei said, tapping a finger impatiently against the wood of the table. “Yes, that’s very rare indeed. I see why Ibzan couldn’t find one. Now would someone mind explaining what they are?”

“I was getting to that,” Dawn said, leaning across the table and prodding him on the forehead with her chopstick. “So impatient.”

“Just because I’d like to hear about it sometime this evening? I dunno why you two are being so coy about this,” Rei grumbled, rubbing his forehead. Dawn went for a second poke, but he leaned backwards and out of her reach.

“Aaanyway,” Dawn said, “Shiny Pokémon aren’t as complicated as this guy’s making them out to be. They’re different colours than other members of their species, often very obviously, though sometimes not.”

“Huh? That’s it?” Rei asked, confused. “I could go down to the Coastlands and catch a ‘Shiny’ Pokémon by tomorrow, then.”

“You’re referring to Shellos, aren’t you? There’s a distinction between mere species variants and… Shiny Pokémon, I assure you,” Laventon said. “Though I’ve only ever heard them referred to as ‘Rare’ or ‘Alternately Coloured’ Pokémon. I like the term, though! Very catchy.”

“So how would you know what’s Shiny and what’s just a species variation, then?”

“That’s actually where they got the name from!” Dawn said. “When light hits them a certain way, or when they go from a dark to a light area, they’ll have a very noticeable shimmer about them. Even Shinies that look very similar to a regular Pokémon will stand out because of that.”

“Right. The shimmer in particular caught my interest,” Ibzan shamelessly bullshitted. “I thought Laventon might want to look into what exactly causes it, given how Shininess is the same regardless of a Pokémon’s makeup. Fur, flesh, rock, whatever.”

“Oh, that was it, huh?” Dawn asked, the grin back on her face. Brat.

“Well, I appreciate the enthusiasm, but don’t go putting in so much time that you burn out, alright? My knowledge regarding the Pokémon local to Hisui is limited enough at this point that even the very basics will be new to me,” he said. “Even a Zapdos must learn to walk before it can run, you know.”

“Uh, don’t you mean fly, Professor?” Dawn asked.

“Hm? Well, despite being a Flying type, it’s far more known for its running than its flight. I’ve heard it can barely fly at all, in fact.”

“What? N-no, I’ve never heard of one running,” Dawn said confusedly. “They’re legendary birds. They fly. What, next you’ll tell me Zapdos isn’t an Electric Type?”

“Funny you should say that, actually—”

“Professor, it’s in the name!”

“Seriously though, something’s wrong with Galar,” Dawn was saying. Even after they’d left the table and her discussion with Laventon was already over.

“Dawn, I really don’t care about those legendary birds.”

“Flying and Fighting type?” she cried, throwing her hand up in the air in frustration. “Orange? Zapdos is yellow! And don’t even get me started on the other two!”

“I promise you, I won’t,” Ibzan sighed.

“Alright, alright, fine, I’ll let it go. But it’s still wrong,” she muttered, before straightening and snapping her fingers. “Oh! There was something else I wanted to ask, actually.”

“Go on.”

“So— Actually, hold that thought for just a sec. Could I take another look at that rock you showed me earlier? The one that makes you see the purple-flamey-soul things?”

Ibzan nodded, reaching into his satchel and handing it to her.

“Mhm,” she said, turning it over in her hands. “Yup, okay, I do recognise this thing.”

Ibzan blinked. “You do?”

“I do,” she nodded. “I have a friend who has one of these. Anyway, what I was gonna ask… Someone in Jubilife told you about that nonspecific impending disaster, then gave you this, right? Think I could meet them, too?”

“Well, I don’t know where she lives, but we could have a look around for her, I suppose,” he said.

“Great!” Dawn said with a grin. “I have a few questions for her, I think.”

Finding Vessa didn’t turn out to be difficult — she was waiting in the same spot she’d brought him to the night they met. The moon shone brightly enough that it was hard to miss her. She gave them a small smile as she saw them approach.

“Hello again, Ibzan. You work very quickly! Just eight wisps left in the Fieldlands — I’m impressed!” she said, then turned to face Dawn. “And you, you’re Dawn, right? I’m Vessa. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Uh, yeah. Same here,” Dawn said, blinking in surprise as she looked down at her. “I’m sorry, but there’s something I gotta ask. Ibzan’s quick work was because he was being stupid and just threw himself right at it without breaks, for two days straight.”

Ibzan might have protested if she wasn’t entirely correct.

“Oh,” Vessa said, a look of concern overtaking her features. “Ibzan, I know I said this was important, but… please don’t do something like that for my sake.”

“It’s not your fault,” Ibzan said, raising a placating hand. “I was the one wh—”

“Shush,” Dawn snapped, shooting a glare his way. Ibzan shushed. “Vessa, when I found Ibzan, he said something bad would happen if he didn’t collect these souls. Please, tell me, what actually is that ‘something bad’, and how long exactly do we have before that happens?”

Vessa looked down at her feet, her shoulders hunched forward.

“I know it might seem like I’m being purposely vague, but I promise I’m not. Many of these scattered wisps are angry or vengeful. Many are not. I can’t really speak for their exact effects, but… Either way, leaving them out there is a bad idea.”

“So… Where does that leave us?” Dawn asked. “Do you have a rough estimate of how long we’ve got? And the wisps’ general effects, if you don’t know their exact ones?”

Vessa hummed in thought.

“I wouldn’t say it’s anything too strict,” she said. “Someone wandering close to one might get a bad feeling. A shiver down their spine, like someone walking over their grave, but that’s about it right now. But as time goes on, their presence will gradually begin to agitate people and Pokémon around them. They’ll unsettle them, impose feelings of dread, worsen their moods, or may even drive them to aggression.”

“...Yeah, I could see why that’d be bad,” Dawn said, rubbing the back of her head with a wince. “So how long would that take, do you think?”

“I’d say… about a year, maybe? Or two? It would depend on the individual wisp, I think. Calmer ones would take longer, if they have any effect at all on those around them.”

“That… gives us quite a lot of time, actually,” Ibzan said thoughtfully. “Still something to keep track of, but not a top priority.”

“Yes, exactly,” Vessa nodded. “So please focus on your own wellbeing. Hisui doesn’t need more spirits floating around — a hundred and seven’s more than enough!”

“It’s fine, Vessa,” Ibzan said with a sigh. “Really. Even if you’d have given me a time limit of a decade, I don’t think I would have acted any differently. I was choosing to avoid my own issues by throwing myself at someone else's.”

“Wait wait wait,” Dawn said. “Time out. A hundred and seven? Including the first one Ibzan nabbed?”

“Yes?” Vessa responded, looking confused. “Is something wrong?”

“Well, I know what this funny little rock actually is,” Dawn said, holding up the keystone. “And I know it needs a hundred and eight spirits total. So… what gives?”

“Oh,” Vessa said, eyebrows raised. “I’m surprised you know that. I can definitely promise that there are a hundred and seven wisps total, though. I can feel them, after all.”

“Astonishing, really,” Ibzan commented. “I can only sense them when they’re close. I’ve already gathered all the souls loose in the village, so I can’t feel any at the moment.”

“Oh, believe me, it’s actually very impressive that you can feel them at all! Especially since you haven’t spent much time around Ghost type Pokémon!” she reassured him.

“So, one’s missing? Is that something to worry about?” Dawn asked.

“Oh, no, it isn’t,” Vessa said, shaking her head. “It’s not too difficult to recontain one if it’s close. The one-hundred-and-eighth was already here when I gave you that Keystone.”

“Oohhh, I see,” Dawn nodded. “You already collected one, so there’s only a hundred and seven left for me and Ibzan to get, huh? Yeah, that checks out.”

“I’m sorry for the confusion,” Vessa said with a bow. “And for encouraging you to put yourself at risk gathering them, Ibzan. I promise that wasn’t my intention.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Dawn said with a smile. “It won’t happen again — I’ll keep this goober in check.”

Being called a ‘goober’ was… somehow more upsetting than an actual insult, and the fact that he couldn’t even argue against it made it worse.

“I’m glad,” Vessa said, smiling back. “Is there anything else I can help with? I can tell you how many wisps are left in the other parts of Hisui, if you’d like!”

“We’ll worry about the other parts when we actually visit them,” Ibzan said. “We’ll keep focused on the Fieldlands for now. Thank you for clarifying things.”

Vessa nodded with a smile. They said their farewells, and Ibzan and Dawn turned and began walking back to their quarters. Not that it was a long walk — the building was right across the bridge, after all. As they came to a stop in front of it, Dawn turned and smacked him on the arm with the back of her hand.

“You could have mentioned she was, like, eight,” she complained. “I was expecting some… y’know, some creepy manipulator taking advantage of you!”

“But… I already told you I was the one at fault, not her,” Ibzan said, confused.

“Yeah, but I imagined that, like, someone saw you weren’t in a great mindset and decided ‘aha, some poor sap to unknowingly rope into my evil plans! Mwah-ha-ha-ha-ha!’”

Ibzan squinted down at her.

“Yeah, okay, I miiight’ve let my imagination run a little wild there,” Dawn said with a sigh. “At least I have a better idea of what’s going on, now.”

“You said you were familiar with that Keystone?”

“Yeah,” Dawn said, holding it up. “This is an Odd Keystone… Uh, that’s what they call it, I’m not just commenting on its weirdness. It binds a Pokémon called Spiritomb, which is a Ghost/Dark type made up of a hundred and eight individual spirits.”

“Oh. And we’re… putting it back together?”

“Guess so?” Dawn said with a shrug. “Word has it that most Spiritomb were bound to these stones because of their past misdeeds, so leaving the individual spirits free is probably a bad thing.”

“Not to mention the effect they apparently might have on those around them,” Ibzan said, stroking his chin. “And putting this Spiritomb back together won’t have negative consequences? Unleash it, or whatever?”

“Don’t think so. I’ve only ever met one Spiritomb, and it’s mostly just… kinda ominous, but not actually malicious. I think that maybe every spirit votes on what to do and that’s how it makes decisions, so its personality would really depend on the spirits that make it up,” she said, holding the Keystone up to him. “Even if it is evil, though, this thing should stop it from being able to do anything too bad.”

“I see,” Ibzan said, taking the Keystone and stashing it back in his satchel. “Why one hundred and eight, anyway?”

“Huh?”

“Well, it just seems a rather specific number, is all. Why not just one hundred?”

“I dunno,” Dawn shrugged. “It’s as good a number as any, I guess?”

“...As good a reason as any.”

“Anyway, let’s call it for today,” Dawn said with a yawn. “Whatever happens, I’m sure things’ll work out. See you tomorrow, Ibzan.”

“Good night, Dawn.”

Chapter Text

“Ember, Strong,” Ibzan commanded.

Jet stopped, inhaled, and spat a large ball of flame at the hapless Paras that had made the mistake of attacking them. Shockingly, the first they’d ran into so far. This was the Fieldlands, though, so it inevitably wouldn’t be the last.

Ibzan took a small notebook and pencil out from his satchel, both purchased from the Ginkgo Guild merchants. He’d have preferred a simple ballpoint pen, but he doubted those had been invented yet, and a pencil was close enough. He’d certainly take it over the feather quills or brushes he’d seen in Jubilife.

“Ember is reliant primarily on breath,” Ibzan said aloud as he jotted down his observations over the past few encounters. “Strong Style requires Jet…” — he scribbled the name out — “requires the Quilava to stop in place to inhale a sufficient amount of air. Standard and Agile Style can be done on the move, but this forces lesser air intake, resulting in a weaker ball of flame.”

Writing felt a little odd, with the bandage wrapped around the middle of his hand. He didn’t think it was really necessary for mere scrapes like this, especially after two days’ worth of healing, but Pesselle hadn’t been in the mood for any arguments.

“Don’t forget to make notes on the Paras’ behaviour during the battle!” Dawn called from atop the rock she was sitting on. Ibzan levelled her with a flat look.

“It… got hit by one Ember and immediately fell unconscious,” he said, gesturing at the now-empty spot where it had been standing. “What exactly was there to observe?”

“Hey, not my fault if you’re not paying attention,” Dawn said with a shrug, Pokédex open in her lap. “I’ll give you a hint, though — there’s two research tasks that involve KO’ing a Paras.”

Ibzan dug his own copy of the Pokédex out from his satchel and flipped through it until he found Paras’ page.

“Number defeated, and… number defeated with Fire type moves,” he read. “That’s… specific.”

“Sure is! Now, why did the Professor add that second one, do you think?” Dawn prompted, idly swinging her legs forward and back as she sat.

“Well, if it specifies Fire type… Hm. Does Laventon theorise that they’re weak to Fire?”

“Bingo!” Dawn said, leaning forward and snapping her fingers. “But still, it got KO’d very quickly, right? More quickly than you’d expect. Why?”

“Well… because it was a Strong Style attack, right?”

“Bzzt! Not quite. That’s a factor, sure, but it ain’t what I’m getting at. There’s a reason the task isn’t ‘defeat with Strong Style Fire type moves’.”

“You know, you could just tell me and be done with it.”

“That’s no fun!” Dawn said brightly, leaning back with a grin. “You’re a researcher now, so you gotta do some research! Brave pioneers such as ourselves don’t have existing papers to fall back on, y’know!”

Ibzan sighed. He had signed up for this, he supposed. ‘Number defeated’ was definitely prompting them to observe a wild Pokémon’s behaviour while in battle. ‘Defeats’ were probably just specified over ‘battles’ because if they were on the losing end of the fight, they’d have more important things to worry about than their research tasks.

So… observations. Well, the Paras had definitely looked panicked, skittering wildly backwards as the Ember grew closer. Well, as panicked as a glassy-eyed crab could look, anyway. But anything would panic with a ball of fire speeding directly towards them, surely?

…No. That wasn’t true, was it? Blackout had seemed more annoyed than actually afraid when Jet hit her with an Ember, back when they’d first captured her. Granted, ‘annoyed’ was her default state of being, but the point was that she hadn’t reacted the same way the Paras had.

She wasn’t weak to Fire, of course. The Paras was — Dawn had confirmed that much for him. That would explain its reaction, but there was apparently something more than just that.

...What types were weak to Fire, anyway? Ibzan flipped open his phone and checked the type chart app that came bundled with the redesign.

Grass, Ice, Bug, and… that symbol was probably Steel. The mushrooms suggested Grass — it seemed that type was shorthand for vegetation in general — and while it resembled a crab, its Fire weakness suggested it wasn’t Water type. The closest thing he could think of besides that was Bug, but he couldn’t be sure whether it was that or Grass, since—

…Ah. He scanned the chart once more to confirm.

“Paras is both Bug and Grass type, isn’t it? Not just one of them,” Ibzan asked, flipping his phone shut and pocketing it. “It’s twice as weak to Fire attacks as a pure Grass or Bug type would be.”

“There you go!” Dawn cheered. “You’ve figured out its typing just from how it looks and acts! Well, what are you waiting for? Write it down!”

“...Dawn, you already knew what type they are,” Ibzan sighed, scribbling a quick note regardless. “Why send me through this whole rigmarole for information you already know?”

“Well, we wouldn’t be very good scientists if we didn’t have any evidence to back up our claims, now would we?” Dawn said, wagging a finger at him. “See the same stuff enough times, that’s a pattern. That’s why the Professor’s making us do each research task multiple times! To make sure we didn’t run into just one Paras that’s scared of fire and the rest are immune or something, y’know?”

“...Is that really the best way to figure out a Pokémon’s typing?” he asked. “Seeing how it reacts to moves?”

“Well, it’s one of them!” Dawn said brightly. “It’s all about observation. Body and behaviour! Take Jet, for instance. We can assume he’s a Fire type because, well, I mean… just look at him. Then, we can verify that hypothesis by looking at what moves he tends to use, and how he reacts to certain attacks. Dual types can be kinda tough, sometimes, but that just means you need more data!”

“So I could make an educated guess that Paras are Grass and Bug because of the mushrooms and the rest of its body respectively, then verify with its increased weakness to Fire,” Ibzan summarised.

“Yup! Obviously capturing one would be the easiest way to figure things out, since the Prof could then examine its biology or whatever, but that’s why the ‘Caught’ tasks count more than the ‘Defeated’ ones,” Dawn said. “It’s a lot easier when the Pokédex already has this information logged and you can just scan stuff, but this ain’t the future. So, we’re doing it live!”

“You’re surprisingly enthusiastic about this,” Ibzan commented. “I thought you weren’t one for ‘boring science stuff’.”

“Yeah, well, this is interesting science stuff!” Dawn said, eyes gleaming. “The moves they use! Their typing! How they move about the field! It’s all way cooler than, like, their heights and weights, or what food they like, y’know?”

“Ah,” Ibzan said with a nod, snapping his notebook shut and stowing it away. “The stuff related to battling. I see.”

“Well, duh. Battling is the best,” Dawn grinned, leaning forward and sliding off the rock. “Oh! That reminds me, actually. You know the back of your coat’s still all torn up from when we fought Kleavor, right? What even is that yellowy stuff poking out from the inside, anyway?”

“Hm? Oh, that’d be the Kevlar padding.”

“The what now?”

Ah, right. Of course Dawn wouldn’t be familiar with that sort of thing. Did armour like this even exist in this world? Definitely not in this time period, but it was possible that it or something similar had been developed in the future she was from. It was certainly advanced enough, from what he’d heard of it from her, but it didn’t sound like warfare was common enough here to necessitate its existence.

“It’s a material designed to absorb the impact from… projectiles,” Ibzan said. “Not that I’d expect this to completely block anything too large. It’s just lining, not proper armour. Still, it helps protect against damage. It’s the sole reason my back was only bruised by that Stealth Rock trap, and not sliced up like your arms were.”

“Ooh, sounds useful,” Dawn said. She stood on her tiptoes, reaching up and poking gently at the exposed lining on his back. “If your coat’s made to protect you, though, why do you wear it open like that? You weren’t even wearing anything underneath it when you first arrived.”

“Ah. That’s…”

Because part of him had never stopped wanting to die for good, even after he’d started working towards his goal of apologising to his Friend face-to-face. Hell, he’d started leaving it unbuttoned even while he’d still been a reaper.

The white of his ribcage made for a very visible target, amidst the deep blue of his coat.

“...because I thought it looked cool,” he finished instead. “Nowadays it’s more a combination of habit and providing easier access to my satchel.”

“Ah, I knew I sensed some vanity in you,” Dawn said, nudging him with a grin. “Anyway, what I was gonna say is that you should let Anthe patch it up. She’s fixing my torn-up uniform jacket right now, and I’m sure she’d be able to work with your coat, too!”

Ibzan opened his mouth to respond, but then he noticed Jet staring intently at something in the distance. Following his gaze, Ibzan saw… a large, green Pokémon hovering in the air, watching them from afar. Now that he'd seen it, he registered the faint buzzing sound of its wings above the wind and other noises of the Fieldlands.

“Ooh, it’s a Scyther!” Dawn gasped excitedly. “I saw some in the Heartwoods the other day, but nowhere else out here! What’s it doing this far from home?”

Seeing that they’d spotted it, it hovered towards them, coming to a stop on the ground a short distance away from them. Ibzan tensed, ready to move if need be. Now that it was closer, he could see that it stood at around Dawn’s height. Its carapace shone in the light of the sun, and it had two sharp-looking curved blades at the ends of its arms. Its namesake, presumably.

Jet watched the Scyther warily, on guard but not yet hostile, ready to jump into battle at the first sign of aggression. From the structure of its wings, Ibzan guessed that it was a Bug type Pokémon, meaning Jet would have the type advantage in battle.

Surprisingly, though, it didn’t attack. Instead, it held one of its hands — blades? — to its chest and gave them a short bow. Ibzan glanced at Dawn, who just gave him a bemused shrug.

“I know that sometimes Pokémon can mimic behaviours they see humans doing,” she whispered. “Maybe it saw someone greet someone else that way?”

Interesting. Sometimes he forgot just how intelligent Pokémon were, even after spending several days around them. He supposed it was easy to mentally separate the likes of Shelly, Jet, and Blackout from the other random Pokémon out in the wild. Particularly Paras and their unending, mindless aggression.

Well, he knew that following the other party’s example was typically the right move in a meeting like this. Ibzan bowed back, imitating the Scyther’s movements. A second later, Dawn recognised what he was doing and followed suit.

“Is there something we can help you with?” Ibzan asked.

The Scyther tilted its head, then turned and pointed one of its blades towards the giant tree towering over the Heartwoods in the distance.

“That’s… the big tree in the middle of Grandtree Arena, right?” Dawn asked.

It nodded and pointed again, this time at Ibzan.

“Me?” he asked. “Do you need us to go there? Kleavor’s not frenzied again, is he?”

A head shake, this time. It swiped a few times in front of it, blades whistling through the air, then hopped from side to side. Ibzan didn’t know what to make of it. He glanced at Dawn, who looked similarly lost, but then suddenly her eyes lit up in recognition.

“Oh!” she said, snapping her fingers. “The fight against Kleavor! You saw how Ibzan dodged his attacks! It was super cool, right?”

The Scyther’s head snapped her way, and it nodded again several times. It hovered a little closer and pointed at where Jet sat at Ibzan’s side.

“Hm,” Ibzan said, rubbing his chin. “Is this a challenge? You want to test your mettle against me and my Pokémon?”

The Scyther actually let out an audible sigh, looking up at the sky and tapping a blade against its leg in thought. Ibzan guessed that he’d missed the mark. The Scyther looked down at Jet and shrugged, evidently asking for suggestions. Jet thought for a moment, then barked back at it.

The Scyther tilted its head, then nodded. It hovered towards a nearby tree and gave it a solid kick, causing several Apricorns to fall from the branches. It grabbed one between its two blades, then flew back towards them.

“Oh, uh… Do you want me to… crack this open for you? Or the ones growing in the Heartwoods, specifically?” Ibzan asked, still feeling lost, but giving it his best guess. “I’ve proven to be good at that, if nothing else.”

Now Jet was the one sighing at him. The Quilava gave his leg a sympathetic little pat, and Ibzan pushed down a sigh of his own. He could certainly read that message a lot more clearly than whatever the Scyther was getting at.

“Ooh, ooh! I got it!” Dawn exclaimed. “You want to join Ibzan’s team, don’t you? That Apricorn’s meant to represent a Poké Ball, right?”

The Scyther let the Apricorn drop to the ground, nodding at her once more with a grateful look in its eyes.

“Well, what do you say, Ibzan? Sounds to me like you’ve already proven yourself to it!” Dawn said with a grin.

This whole situation felt pretty surreal, honestly. He wasn’t sure why this Scyther wanted to join him just from his fight against Kleavor. Dawn was the one who took him down, after all — Ibzan hadn’t really managed to do anything, in the end.

Still, he could hardly complain about getting a new member in his team. There was strength in numbers, after all, and having some more variety in typing would definitely be beneficial. He opened his satchel and dug out an empty Poké Ball.

“If you’re willing to join me, I’d be glad to have you,” Ibzan said, holding up the ball and opening it. The Scyther bowed to him once more, then approached and shrank down, disappearing within.

“...Huh,” Ibzan said, looking down at the ball as it clicked shut. “Is… this sort of thing common, Dawn?”

“Not really?” Dawn said, scratching her head. “Usually you need to battle first to gain a Pokémon’s respect. Show that you’re worth its time and all that. But not here — you gained its respect already! Guess you’re making waves around the Fieldlands, huh Ibzan?”

“Guess so,” Ibzan said, stowing the ball away in his satchel.

“We’ll have to get to know it later on,” Dawn said. “Let the Professor take a look at it, and all that. Speaking of, though, let’s not forget why we’re here! C’mon, Ibzan, more research tasks await!”

Dawn marched off, pointing in front of her as she went. Ibzan rolled his eyes and followed, Jet happily trailing along behind him. Hopefully he’d find the same enthusiasm for surveying as Dawn had, at some point down the line.

Ibzan had worn his coat for so long that it felt strange to be without it, but obviously it couldn’t be repaired without him parting with it for a while. He’d visited Anthe’s clothes shop and asked about it, and she’d happily invited him inside so she could take a look.

She seemed confident that she’d be able to patch the material on the back with some new cloth without disrupting the protective lining underneath it. She’d also tutted at the other damage it had sustained over the years - a couple bullet holes, some rips and frayed edges, a missing button, among others. She waved him away and promised to restore it to its former glory.

Thankfully, Ibzan had completed a fair few research tasks the day before, and was compensated accordingly, so he could stop relying on Dawn’s wallet for this sort of thing. Laventon had seemed pleased with his progress during his survey report, which hopefully meant his position in the Survey Corps wasn’t in jeopardy any longer.

“So, this will-o-wisp, it wasn’t… purple, was it?”

“No, it was a bright red ball of flame. Just… floating there! Right in the sky!”

There she was, talking to a woman he didn’t recognise. Which… applied to most of the residents of Jubilife, come to think of it.

“Ah, okay. Just sounded kinda like something else I’d— Oh, hey Ibzan!” Dawn said with a wave upon noticing his approach. “Paira here was just asking me to look into something strange she saw out in the Fieldlands a couple nights ago.”

Paira turned around, flinching when she saw him behind her. Slowly looking up, her face paled more and more until she stopped at his horns. She stared speechlessly for a few moments.

“Oh, it’s…” she said, voice quavering as she glanced back and forth. “Just something I was curious about, that’s all! Nothing to bother you about, really! Um, excuse me!”

She pushed past him. Glancing back, she flinched when she accidentally met his eyes, and began walking faster.

“Hey, hang on a sec!” Dawn called. “You didn’t say where you saw it! Wait!”

Too late, Paira had already rounded a corner and disappeared. Dawn sighed.

“Sorry,” Ibzan said.

“What? Oh, no, don’t apologise!” Dawn said, frowning. “I’ll just track her down later, I guess. Not your fault some people don’t know how to handle a new face.”

“I’m a bit more than just a new face, Dawn,” Ibzan dryly pointed out.

“Yeah, well, you shouldn’t be!” she huffed. “It doesn’t matter what you look like, what matters is what you do! And calming Kleavor is a pretty big thing you did! But no, they look at your horns and that’s all they see! And your horns are cool, not scary! They’re just being stupid!”

“There isn’t anything we can do about it,” Ibzan said, shaking his head. “Look, I’ll wait here while you go find her again. Without me around, she’ll be—”

“Nope! We’re figuring this out,” Dawn said, determination shining in her eyes. “There’s gotta be some way we can get people to be less afraid of you!”

“Dawn…” Ibzan sighed. “Really, I don’t care what people think of me. This would be a waste of your time.”

He didn’t care about the stares, or the whispers, or the sudden detours some would take when they saw him. It wouldn’t make sense to. Even one friend was a vast improvement over the isolation of before. And he had more than one, here. Well, maybe. He hadn’t confirmed it or anything, but Rei and Laventon seemed to generally have a positive option of him, at least.

“Nope again! We’re doing this,” Dawn said, prodding him in the chest. “I was in the same position as you, y’know, when I first arrived. But people are fine with me now! And I’m sure we can do the same for you!”

“Well, I can’t exactly just change my attire to better fit in like you could,” Ibzan said.

“Shush. Now, what I did, after passing my trial… Hmm…” Dawn said, tapping her cheek in thought. “Well, I did some requests for people who asked. Like getting Dorian his other Buizel, or showing that one guy what Kilowatt’s ears look like.”

“I doubt anyone will be asking me much of anything,” Ibzan sighed. “Dawn, let’s just—”

“Aha! Got it!” Dawn said, snapping her fingers and pointing at him. “The blackboard!”

“The… blackboard?”

“The blackboard!” she nodded. “The one set up in the Professor’s lab! It’s usually got a bunch of requests on it! If you’re the one asking people about their requests, they won’t feel like they’re bothering you! And then word’ll get around that you helped them, and that you’re not gonna bite their heads off if they speak to you! It’s perfect!”

She grabbed his arm and started marching towards Galaxy Hall.

“C’mon, let’s go take a look!”

Ibzan sighed and let himself get dragged along.

“What does any of this have to do with surveying, anyway?” he asked. “You’re making us sound like handymen, not researchers.”

“Well, it’s part of our job to hear out requests,” Dawn said. “We’re out exploring the surrounding areas, studying Pokémon, all that. We’re experts on the land and its wildlife! If our knowledge can help anyone out, then we should!”

“Right, sure.”

“Plus, people generally give rewards when you do their requests,” Dawn said, looking back at him with a wink. “So, there’s your extra incentive if you need it!”

Laventon was surprised to see them suddenly barge into his office, but happily greeted them nonetheless. When Dawn explained what her plan was, he seemed all for it, quickly ushering them over to the board.

“It seems we’ve got five outstanding requests, at the moment,” Laventon said. “Let’s have a look through to see what’ll be best, shall we?”

“You got it, Professor!” Dawn said brightly. “Let’s see, first up… Ohh, that’s not good.”

“What is it?” Ibzan asked.

“Apparently a kid’s been spotted playing with a Drifloon,” she said. “You’re probably not aware, but there’s a lot of urban legends about them abducting children.”

“...I can see why that would be of concern.”

“Yeah, thing is, there’s no evidence of anything like that happening, only rumour,” Dawn said with a frown. “Apparently a lot of Drifloon ended up getting hunted down over it, though, so they’re pretty rare in my time. At least in Sinnoh. You won’t see groups of them out in the wild like we did last night, anyway.”

“I’ll admit, I have heard those sorts of tales, myself,” Laventon said, stroking his chin in thought. “There’s a lot of superstition surrounding Ghost types, so it can be hard to tell what’s fact and what’s fiction.”

“So you think the Pokémon’s the one in danger here, not the kid?”

“Maybe?” Dawn shrugged. “Ghost types are mostly just pranksters, but they’ll often lead people places they find interesting, without considering if they’re dangerous to more tangible beings like us. Probably where the abduction rumours come from… And we can’t know if it has intentions like that in the first place, anyway.”

“But either way, its reputation precedes it, and you’re worried about what the villagers might do because of that,” Ibzan surmised. “We’re looking into this one, then?”

“I’m looking into this one,” Dawn corrected. “I was thinking it’d be better for people to see you choosing to help by yourself, rather than just while hanging around me. Plus, that way they won’t just uncomfortably ignore you and talk to me instead, y’know?”

“That’s… reasonable,” Ibzan sighed.

“Plus, I think it’d be better for me to handle this one by myself, anyway,” she said. “We’re trying to make people less scared of you. Don’t take this the wrong way, but you going around the place asking about a Ghost type might… not help with that?”

That was probably true. People already shied away from him where they could. Him walking up and interrogating them about Pokémon that they tell… well, ghost stories about, likely wouldn’t help matters. Especially where a child was concerned. People like Sho's mother already didn’t want him having anything to do with their kids.

“Oh! How about this one?” Laventon asked, pointing at the second entry listed on the blackboard.

“A group of Bidoof causing trouble in the village… Hey, that’s perfect!” Dawn said enthusiastically.

“When she put forward her request, Tsumugi mentioned that the Bidoof were causing a lot of damage about the village. Coming in without warning, gnawing on woodwork and the like,” Laventon said. “I’m sure people would be very grateful for your aid in removing them.”

“Yeah! It should be a pretty easy one, too. You know what Bidoof are like,” Dawn agreed. “And look, Tsumugi’s from the Security Corps! She’ll have her own partner Pokémon and experience fighting, so she should be less intimidated by you!”

“Hm. I see your point,” Ibzan said. “So I’ll just need to find a way to keep them away from the village?”

“Probably?” Dawn shrugged. “The note on the board only says that they’re causing trouble, and to go to Tsumugi for more information, but what else would she expect you to do?”

Well, kill them, probably. Wait, no. Ibzan mentally shook himself. That wasn’t how things worked around here, idiot. Doing that would be the opposite of helpful when it came to Dawn's goal of making him more approachable, anyway.

“I’m sure I’ll figure something out,” Ibzan said. If nothing else, he could just catch them and move them as far away from the village as he could. Bidoof didn’t seem like the most mobile of creatures.

“Then it’s settled! I’ll go talk to the person who put up the Drifloon request, and you’ll talk to the one who put up the Bidoof request!” Dawn said.

Simultaneously, their phones buzzed. Flipping his open, Ibzan saw a new marker on his map, presumably where this Tsumugi person could be found. Glancing down, he saw that Dawn had a similar addition to her map, though in a different location.

Say what you will about Arceus, it certainly knew how to make things convenient for them.

Tsumugi was stationed near the eastern gate to the village, right where the marker said she’d be.

“Excuse me,” Ibzan said. He made sure to get her notice from a distance, so she wouldn’t suddenly find him looming over her.

“Hm? Can I help—” she said, pausing uneasily when she turned to face him. “Oh. You’re, uh… that second sky-faller, right? Hey… is it true you caught nine Pokémon in your entry trial?”

“It’s Ibzan,” he said, coming closer. “And yes, I did. You put in a request regarding some Bidoof?”

“Oh, you’re here to help with that? That’s perfect!” she said enthusiastically, all prior apprehension forgotten. “I could use the kind of Pokémon expertise you showed in that trial! See, I need help finding a way to prevent—”

Whatever she was going to say, she was interrupted by some commotion behind them. Turning to face it, they saw three Bidoof darting in through the gate, immediately scattering in different directions. With a frustrated cry, she ran after the group, but seemed at a loss as to which one to chase once they split up.

“Agh! Those little…” she growled. “They watch for when nobody’s guarding the gate now, and just waltz in like there’s nothing to it! Oh… what kind of Security Corpsman am I, when I can’t even protect the village from those little things?”

She sighed, folding her arms and turning to face Ibzan once more.

“A while back, it was easy to get rid of them. Just walk up, throw a Poké Ball, hey presto. Now they’ve learned to run off as soon as they see someone in a Security Corps uniform. I just can’t get close! It takes all day to catch just one of them, let alone three!”

“Hm,” Ibzan said, stroking his chin. “Well, battling’s probably the easiest solution. Your Pokémon prevents them from escaping, then you can catch them while they’re distracted.”

“No, no, we can’t do that,” Tsumugi sighed. “We’d risk causing more damage to the village than their teeth already do. I did have one idea, though. They may run from me, and anyone else I ask to help, but I heard that they get easily distracted if another Bidoof’s nearby. I think that might make them lower their guard!”

“I could see that working,” Ibzan said. “I did catch one during my trial. We haven’t released it yet, so it should still be in the pastures.”

“Perfect! Lead the way!”

The Bidoof sat peacefully in the field, basking in the afternoon sun. It stared blankly at Ibzan as he explained the situation, but its eyes lit up the moment he offered some Oran Berries as incentive. Tsumugi watched the process, looking fascinated all the while.

As the Bidoof slowly got to its feet and shook itself, Ibzan noticed another one, far off in the corner and on the other side of the fence, happily gnawing away at the wooden post. They left the Pasture, the Bidoof waddling along behind them, and made their way over to it.

As they drew near, his Bidoof trotted along ahead of them, chirping at the wild one. It turned and chirped back, then the both of them walked back over to where Ibzan and Tsumugi were standing. Tsumugi lifted a Poké Ball, prepared to go for a capture, but Ibzan raised a hand to stop her.

He took a few steps back. His Bidoof followed him, and the other Bidoof followed the first.

“Huh,” Ibzan said. He turned to Tsumugi. “Attempting a capture may spook them into running again. We should leave that as a last resort, if possible.”

“Yeah, I guess so,” she said, putting the Poké Ball away. “Man, I wish I tried asking you guys earlier. This is much easier than chasing them around. Great going!”

“Two more to go, then,” he said. “Any ideas where they might be?”

“Well, I know there’s a stockpile of wood near the Survey Corps quarters. Spotted them there a few times before, so we could take a look there next. And after that…”

According to Miki, the security girl who wrote down the request, all the children in the village were accounted for this morning. So, they hadn’t taken any action yet, but they sure were getting antsy about it. A lot of people caught glimpses of the Drifloon and the kid playing together, after all.

Nobody Dawn had asked could say any more than that, though. They were always seen in the evening, and only from a distance. Drifloon had a very distinct silhouette, but the kid could have been anyone.

When they’d done their headcount, they’d also asked the kids if anyone knew anything. Apparently, none of them did. Dawn suspected one of two things — one, the kid was lying to protect the Drifloon, or two, the kid never existed in the first place.

Yeah, that second one sounded like a plot twist from some b-list movie, but it was reasonable, really! For one, a lot of Pokémon — mostly Ghost or Psychic types — could mess with people's minds. Maybe casting an illusion, maybe manipulating memories. If a Pokémon wanted to lure a villager closer for… whatever reason, a child playing with a Pokémon rumoured to abduct them would be pretty effective.

Another explanation… Well, she’d seen ghosts before. Actual, human ghosts, not Ghost type Pokémon. She thought, anyway. The Old Chateau was dark, and she’d only caught glimpses. Maybe they were real, maybe they were just Ghost types messing with her for a laugh, but… the sight of them slowly floating through the darkness as she prayed they wouldn’t turn to look at her, or worse… that all definitely felt real. She couldn’t rule it out.

If it was the ghost of a kid, playing with a Ghost type in the dark… Well, she didn’t want to think about that too much. Nobody… would be in any danger, at least.

All that said, she was still leaning towards the first explanation. Jubilife Village was pretty new, wasn’t it? They’d only built it, like, a couple of years ago. Someone would have mentioned if a kid…

Ahem.

So, yeah. Probably a kid befriending a Drifloon and covering for it. Her plan now was to wait until the evening, then to go take a look around the beach to see if she could see anything. Which meant that right now, she couldn’t do much beyond just going around and asking people what they’d seen, and she didn’t think she’d get much more from that.

Maybe she could go take another look at the board? See if there were any other requests she could work on while she waited, and—

She stepped around a corner, and her thoughts came crashing to a halt.

There was Ibzan, walking through the streets with… a line of four Bidoof waddling along behind him.

She didn’t bother to stop the laugh that bubbled up in her throat. He looked like— Oh, what was that Pokémon? She saw that photo in Foxglove’s guide… A Falinks, that was it! He looked like that picture of a Falinks, with the big one in front and the small ones marching along behind it!

As she wiped away a tear, she registered that two nearby villagers were in the middle of a conversation.

“You know, when you told me about the second sky-faller, I imagined a monster!”

“Well, uh…”

“I can see the horns and such, sure. He does look pretty menacing. Still, I definitely imagined something… a little scarier, from what you told me?”

“I guess I might have, uh, exaggerated a bit? My first impression was just seeing him from a distance. This is the first I’ve seen of him doing something like… this.”

Dawn smiled. It sounded like he was already beginning to change how people saw him, even if by a little. The sight of him leading that conga line of Bidoof down the middle of the main street was definitely helping with that, at least in her eyes.

Well, she still had a bit of time before the sun would set. And there were still a few people looking for help, according to her Arc Phone. Might as well see what they needed.

Once they’d gathered all the Bidoof, Ibzan led them back to the front gate. Tsumugi had seemed content just to evict them from the area, but Ibzan wanted to come up with a plan to prevent them from just… walking back in again.

Admittedly, he couldn’t think of much beyond ‘dump them in the Heartwood and hope they don’t bother making the trek back’ but thankfully they were saved from having to come up with any other solutions by Sanqua, the head of the Construction Corps. Apparently, she saw some potential uses for them — in particular, their tough teeth, which could even crack stone — in her Corps’ work.

Tsumugi was sceptical of how useful they’d actually be, though her opinion may have been coloured by how much time she’d wasted chasing after them. Sanqua led the Bidoof away, Ibzan’s included — it seemed it took a liking to life in the village, and preferred this option to being released back into Aspiration Hill later on.

“So, I guess that’s settled!” Tsumugi said, smiling up at him. “Thanks again for your help!”

“It’s… no problem,” Ibzan said. He felt he should say more than that, so he added, “be sure to put a request in with the Survey Corps if you need any further assistance.”

Tsumugi nodded happily and bid him farewell.

Ibzan couldn’t help but feel… surprisingly good, hearing her thanks. To have a stranger look at him without suspicion, being actively glad for his presence…

Well, maybe Dawn had been onto something, after all.

Chapter Text

Ibzan hummed as he read over the options on the list. Scyther already knew a decent variety of moves, according to the Arc Phone — Quick Attack, Silver Wind, and Aerial Ace — but he and Dawn agreed it would be a good idea to see if Zisu had anything useful to teach it.

Teach her, rather. While Laventon was examining her, Dawn had reported that Scyther was female — apparently, females of the species had larger abdomens than males did. Upon hearing this, the Professor asked that the two of them keep an eye out for male Scyther, so he could take some comparison photos between the two for the Pokédex.

Anyway, as far as the list went… none of these options were too appealing. He handed the sheet back to Zisu and apologised for taking up her time.

“Hey, no worries!” she said with a grin. “How about you come back when you get your next rank? I’ll be allowed to teach your Pokémon more kinds of moves then, so you can see if any of those catch your fancy.”

“I’ll consider it,” Ibzan nodded. “Thanks again.”

She threw him a thumbs up and went back to training. Arguably. She was throwing Apricorns into the air, ostensibly for her Murkrow to keep airborne with Gust for as long as possible. In practice, though, the bird kept ‘losing control’ right above the river, letting them drop into the water from up high. Zisu’s whoops of excitement at the larger splashes weren’t particularly subtle, either.

He just left them to it. If they wanted to play games under the guise of training, that was their own prerogative. He wouldn’t defend them if Cyllene or Kamado caught them slacking, though.

“Nothing?” Dawn asked as he left the Training Grounds.

“Her current move options outclass the rest of what’s available,” Ibzan replied. “To the Fieldlands, then?”

“To the Fieldlands!” she declared.

While they already knew what moves Scyther could use, he’d yet to actually send her out for battle. Some encounters against the weaker Pokémon in the Fieldlands seemed like a good way to familiarise her with following commands. Dawn also had a few outstanding requests in the Fieldlands to take care of, anyway. Two birds, one stone.

Some of those requests were reasonable asks — two involved catching Pokémon, which actually fit their job description — while others were… pretty strange. One person Dawn had met asked her to find a single mushroom on his behalf, while another asked for a specific type of berry. Those seemed more like Supply Corps issues to him, but the Survey Corps just… did general grunt work for whoever felt like asking, apparently.

“Oh right,” Dawn said, snapping her fingers. “So, I did manage to find that kid with the Drifloon last night. It grabbed him when it saw me heading towards the beach, and refused to let go until I went to help him.”

“So the rumours about abductions were true, after all?” Ibzan asked.

“No, no, it wasn’t abducting him,” she reassured him. “I think it was more just… trying to drag him out of sight?”

“That… doesn’t sound much better.”

“Well… Okay, so, Taki said — oh, that’s the kid’s name, by the way — he said that they’d been playing at the beach together for a while now, without anything bad happening. And the beach… well, it’s kinda walled in on all sides, right? There wasn’t anywhere to abduct him to, not without going up and through the village first. Or using a boat, I guess.”

“So, what was it doing, then? Doesn’t sound like they were just playing when you came along. Any ideas?” Ibzan asked. Dawn didn’t sound worried, so he was mostly just curious what her take on the situation was.

“Well, it dragged him behind that shack on the beach and wouldn’t let go. What I think it was trying to do was protect Taki from me,” Dawn said. “See, whenever they were together, it would’ve watched him hide from the villagers, right? Because he didn’t want anyone seeing them together.”

“Because that would risk someone forcing them apart.”

“Right!” she nodded. “So, I’m thinking that it might’ve drawn its own conclusions for why he kept hiding from everyone else. When it saw me approach — one of the ‘everyone else’ — it thought I was bad news and tried to get him out of sight. It even started preparing an attack, I think.”

“I see,” Ibzan said. “How did you defuse the situation, then?”

“Well, I didn’t do much, actually. Taki was… pretty spooked by what his friend was doing, and he called out for help when he saw me. I think seeing that he was more scared of it than me… kinda shocked the Drifloon. It just stopped, let me untangle its arms from around Taki’s arm, then drifted off right after.”

Dawn looked in the direction of the beach with a sigh.

“I tried telling Miki that there wasn’t anything to worry about — I mean, again, where could it have taken him, even if it did have bad intentions? But she said they’d be posting more guards around the village anyway. So I guess Taki might not be able to sneak out much anymore… Well, not successfully, anyway.”

“You can’t blame them for being wary about this sort of thing,” Ibzan said. “Pokémon still aren’t trusted, given their history of attacking travellers, so they’re not going to want to leave a kid alone with one.”

“Yeah, I know, but still—”

“Excuse me!” interrupted a voice from nearby. They turned to find it was the man who ran the Craftworks.

“Oh! Hello, Anvin!” Dawn greeted as they walked over. “Something we can help you with?”

“There is, yes!” he nodded, leaning forward. “I’ve seen you two frequent the Craftworks, and I can just tell that you’re both crafting aficionados! So, I’d be very, very grateful if you could try crafting a certain something for me!”

Ibzan and Dawn glanced at one another. Ibzan had spent the better part of a day in the Craftworks some time ago, that was true, but that wasn’t because he was good at crafting. The opposite, in fact. Ibzan supposed Anvin had seen him sitting there crafting for hours, but hadn’t actually seen the results of those efforts.

“I’ve put together a quick how-to. Here, take it,” he said, pushing a piece of paper into Ibzan’s hands. “Hold on for a moment, now.”

He darted back into his shop. Ibzan wordlessly passed the recipe over to Dawn, not bothering to look at it. Anvin came back out moments later carrying something in his hands.

“This is what I call a Pokéshi Doll!” he said, proudly holding it up. It was a wooden carving that presumably resembled a Pokémon. It wasn’t one Ibzan recognised. “These are fairly easy to make, so I thought it would be nice to see what designs people can come up with!”

The doll looked… fairly simple, actually. A cylindrical body with a larger head at the top. The head was about the length of one of Timur’s landmines, maybe slightly wider. The limbs were painted on, but the features that jutted out like its ears and the curl on its head were carved.

Just carved wood, with a splash of paint here and there. That… was all, huh?

“Uh, sure thing,” Dawn said, glancing down at the recipe. “I’ll give it a shot sometime today and show you when I’m done!”

“Oh, to be clear, I’d like the both of you to try your hand at it!” Anvin said with a grin. “I’m interested in how different the results may be, even if the same recipe is followed!”

“Uh…” Dawn said, fidgeting nervously with the paper. “Sorry, but…”

“Alright. I’ll do it.”

“Wh— Ibzan?” Dawn sputtered incredulously.

It was just carving. If any of his skills were going to transfer, that would surely be one of them. Carving was basically just… a more peaceful application of knives, wasn’t it? He’d stabbed knives into plenty of things. Mostly people. And wood didn’t fight back, so it would be that much easier, right?

Determination burned within him. This much he could do, he just knew it.

“Good man!” Anvin said happily, reaching up and clapping a hand on his shoulder. “I look forward to seeing the product of your efforts!”

With that, he disappeared inside the Craftworks.

“Ibzan, are you… sure about this?” Dawn asked. “Because you… Well, I’m just saying… uh… historically…”

“I’ll make it work,” he said firmly. “What does the recipe need?”

“Uh…” Dawn looked down at the paper she’d been given. “Oh. Just two pieces of wood, apparently. One for the head and one for the body, and maybe one more for any intricate details like ears or whatever. And optionally some paint, which we could probably ask Choy about…”

“Great, let’s get going,” Ibzan said. “We can get the wood from the Fieldlands. Scyther can chop some branches off the trees if need be. Then we come back, and we craft.”

“...Yeah. Sure thing,” Dawn said, the doubt in her voice palpable. Ibzan didn’t care. He was a man on a mission, and he was going to pour blood, sweat, and tears into succeeding at this.

“Ah, yes!” Anvin said. “That’s a Pokéshi Doll if I ever saw one! Please, let me have a closer look!”

Ibzan handed it over. Anvin took the doll with gusto, turning it around in his hands as he examined its every detail.

“Amazing!” he cried. “Just look at how smoothly you’ve carved these curves!”

“Well…” Ibzan started to say, but Anvin didn’t seem to even hear him.

“And just look at that beak! Your attentive carving shows that you put love and care into your handiwork!” he continued.

“Look, I—”

“And these colours!” he interrupted. Again. “The blues are so vivid, and pair beautifully with the white of the rest of the face! These hues must be the very shades of your inner strength and passion!”

“Anvin—”

“Not to mention, it’s perfectly balanced! At a glance, you’d think it’s sure to fall over, and yet!” Anvin placed the Pokéshi Doll on top of a nearby workbench. “It stubbornly remains upright!”

“Anvin!”

Anvin blinked, looking up at Ibzan like he’d only just remembered he was there.

“Ah, I apologise,” he said, face turning serious once more. “Thank you for letting me savour your handiwork. We may have used the same recipe, but the dolls—”

“Anvin, that’s Dawn’s handiwork, not mine.”

Dawn waved from beside him. Anvin stared for a moment in surprise, then coughed embarrassedly.

“Ah, I see. You were the one carrying it, so I assumed…”

“Dawn didn’t want to risk dropping it, so she asked me to hold it on her behalf,” Ibzan said. “It’s a bit big to carry with just one arm.”

“Thank you, though,” Dawn said with a smile. “I’m glad you like my lil Piplup!”

“Of course,” Anvin said with a nod. “Here, I’ll let you have the one I made. Despite us using the same method, our results are quite different!”

Anvin handed her the doll he’d shown them yesterday. Dawn carefully took hold of it, making sure her grip was firm.

“Thank you!” she said. “You’ve made a very cute Clefairy.”

“So, Ibzan,” Anvin said. “You also crafted one, correct? Did you bring it with you?”

“No,” Ibzan said.

“Yes,” Dawn said at the same time. Ibzan shot a weary look her way. “Come on, I’m curious what it looks like! You worked so hard on it, but you never even let me see!”

“There was a good reason for that,” Ibzan muttered.

“Come now!” Anvin said with a smile. “I’d love to see what you came up with!”

Ibzan folded under the two pairs of expectant eyes looking up at him. Wincing, he opened up his satchel and reluctantly dragged out the doll that he’d spent all night carving, handing it over to Anvin.

“Ah,” he said, looking down at it. “The jagged cuts, they… have a lot of character! And the paint, it’s very… colourful!”

Ibzan looked away with a grimace, feeling rather pathetic.

“I… can tell you put a lot of effort into it!” Anvin hurriedly reassured, placing the doll down on the workbench beside Dawn’s doll. “It has a friendly expression, which makes it all the more endearing, and— Ack!”

The doll had tipped to the side and dropped face-down on the table with a thunk. Ibzan groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose as he considered the merits of just walking away and forgetting this whole situation. Of just walking out of the village, maybe, and never returning.

“Really, it’s… er, good work!” Anvin said with a grin plastered on his face that lasted all of three seconds. “...Um, please don’t look so disheartened? Whatever Pokémon it is, I can tell you put a lot of time into carving its likeness!”

“Whatever Pokémon?” Ibzan repeated morosely.

“Ah! No, it’s… actually quite recogniseable, actually, I just— Uh, whoops! Look at the time! I just remembered something I need to do! Please excuse me!” Anvin stammered. “Thank you both again!”

Anvin rushed into the Craftworks, slamming the door shut behind him. Ibzan sighed. That poorly-hidden look of pity was almost worse than the fear and suspicion in the other villagers’ eyes.

“Well, I think it’s a very nice-looking Glaceon,” Dawn said, reaching up and patting him on the arm. “And I like the lil white neckerchief it’s wearing!”

Ibzan mumbled something in response.

“Hm? Sorry, I didn’t catch that.”

“I said it’s not a Glaceon…”

“Oh, it’s not? Sorry! I just thought, well, because of the dangly bits, and the ears, and we saw Miss Irida’s Glaceon recently, so I— Sorry. What’s it meant to be?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Ibzan said, turning away from the Craftworks. “We have things to do, so now that this request is over and done wi—”

“Aw, c’mon, Ibzan! Whatever it is, I promise I won’t laugh or anything!”

“No,” Ibzan said. “I want nothing more to do with that travesty.”

“C’mon, please?”

Ibzan mumbled something again.

“What was that? Ibzan, if you really don’t wanna tell me, that’s alright, but I promise—”

“It was meant to be you, alright?” he snapped, face reddening.

“...Oh,” Dawn said, squinting down at his carving where it lay. “Oh! So, those dangly bits are actually my hair? And the pointy bits—”

“Meant to be the corners of your headscarf, not ears,” Ibzan said, running a hand down his face. “That ‘neckerchief’ is the collar on your uniform jacket. And the less said about the eyes, the better.”

Dawn picked it up from its depressing face-down position, holding it up for a closer look.

“Hand it over,” he sighed. “I’ll just have Jet burn the thing, and we can forget this ever happened.”

“Don’t you dare!” she cried, hugging it to her chest.

Ibzan blinked down at her.

“I get that you're disappointed in the end result, but you still put a lot of effort into this,” Dawn said. “And… I like it! I think it’s really cute that you decided to make one of me. So, please don’t ruin all your hard work like that just because you only see the flaws.”

“Dawn, it’s nothing but flaws. There’s nothing else to see in it,” Ibzan grumbled. “But… fine, do with it what you will. Just so long as I don’t need to look at it anymore.”

Ibzan’s efforts to reach the lofty heights of ‘eh, passable’ may have failed spectacularly, but at least this fiasco seemed to contribute more to his acceptance in the village. At least, that’s what he told himself as they passed a group of ladies tittering to themselves at the sight of that whole exchange.

“I just think you could have handled it… a little better, that’s all,” Ibzan said. “Or at least consulted someone else about it, first.”

“How? I handled it perfectly fine!” Dawn said defensively. “What do you know, anyway? You weren’t there, you didn’t see their faces when they asked…”

“Dawn, you gave Poké Balls to a pair of unsupervised children.”

“And what’s wrong with that?” she asked with a huff. “They really wanted to catch their own Pokémon, and that’s a good thing! I’ve met plenty of kids younger than them with their own Pokémon. I’ve battled plenty of kids younger than them!”

“This isn’t Sinnoh,” he reminded her, lowering his voice as he said the name. “It’s Hisui. Pokémon aren’t understood yet. You saw how people reacted to Taki playing with that Drifloon. How will they react to Waka and Sho running out into the wilderness and looking for Pokémon to catch?”

“Yeah, well, I—” Dawn started, before letting out a short, frustrated growl. “Fine, you’ve got a point, it’s just… it helps to practise this stuff early. I didn’t get a Pokémon of my own until I was twelve, sure, but I still got to practise basic battling and stuff with my Mum’s Kangaskhan, you know? That way, I was fully ready to raise my Pokémon when I did get them!”

“...That sounds supervised, to me.”

“It… Yeah, it was,” Dawn sighed. “Well, okay, so what should I do?”

“Well, first, we should make sure they’re not about to try something stupid like rushing at an Alpha by themselves. Then, we can talk to their mothers, see if you can’t get permission to bring them to the Fieldlands to catch a Bidoof or something under your guidance. Oh, and we should bring that whole plan up with Cyllene, too.”

“That… sounds good, actually! Okay, after we find those two, how about I talk to their parents, and you tell Cyllene—”

“No.”

“What? C’mon!”

“You’re the one who gave them the Poké Balls, you’re the one explaining to her why you thought this was a good idea.”

“Ugh…” Dawn groaned, wilting. “After she’s done with me, then, make sure my actual birth year goes on my gravestone. If I’m going out, I’m going out confusing every historian who finds it.”

“You’ll be fine,” Ibzan said with a roll of his eyes. “Now, I doubt the guards would just let those two leave the village by themselves, so they’ll probably try to sneak out somewhere. Time for an impromptu security assessment.”

“Come on! Quit dragging your feet!” Dawn said, tugging him down the path past the south gate of the village.

“You still haven’t told me where we’re going, or what we’re doing,” Ibzan said.

“What, don’tcha like surprises?” she grinned, looking back at him with a wink.

“Not particularly,” Ibzan said. She stuck her tongue out at him. “This is the path to the beach, isn’t it? Is this something to do with that Drifloon you chased off a few days ago?”

“I didn’t chase it off, it left on its own,” Dawn pointed out. “Aaanyway, it’s got nothing to do with that. It’ll be fun!”

He felt a little nostalgic, walking down this path. He hadn’t been anywhere near Prelude Beach since the day he’d awoken there, but it had still left a distinct impression on him. It and this path were some of the first things he’d seen in this world, after all. It turned out, though, that Dawn wasn’t actually taking him as far as the beach itself.

Instead, they turned left at the clearing where Ibzan had first practised throwing Poké Balls. Dawn led him towards a set of large rocks, where a man was seemingly waiting for the two of them.

“This is Taggart!” Dawn said, waving at him as they approached. The man waved back with a grin. “And we’re gonna be fulfilling a request for him!”

“...Okay?” Ibzan said. “This is quite the song and dance for just one reque—”

“Line up lots of targets — pop a lot per ball!” Taggart suddenly exclaimed, hands on his hips. “Practise, practise, practise, and be the best of all!”

Ibzan… didn’t know what to say to that.

“Catchy, don’t you think? I’ve been workshopping that one for a while!”

Ibzan stared for a moment longer, brow raised, before looking to Dawn for an explanation.

“Taggart approached me yesterday, after I brought the boys back from the Fieldlands,” she said. “He’s opening up a ball throwing game! But he wants someone to test it before he opens it up to the public.”

“...A ball throwing game,” Ibzan repeated, just to make sure his ears were working properly. “Right. And why are we doing this, exactly? This is hardly something that requires the expertise of the Survey Corps.”

“Ah, but that’s where you’re wrong!” Taggart said. “You see, in this game, the players pop balloons by throwing Poké Balls! So who better to ask to test this than the people whose job it is to throw them all day?”

“Isn’t this great, Ibzan?” Dawn enthused, eyes shining. “It’s supervised, and no Pokémon are involved, so people won’t be scared off from trying! They can get used to throwing them, and maybe that’ll open the way to them wanting to catch their own Pokémon! It’s perfect, right?”

“...Yup, sure. So, what do you need me here for?”

“Well, I would do it, but… Oh, woe! My throwing arm is out of commission!” Dawn said, throwing a dramatic hand over her forehead. “But! We Survey Corps can’t just ignore someone in need! So, it looks like you’ll have to test the game on my behalf!”

Ibzan stared at her silently.

“C’mon, it’ll be fun!” Dawn urged. “Plus, there’ll be rewards!”

She leaned towards Taggart, holding her hand by her mouth.

“There’ll be rewards, right?” she whispered loudly.

“There’ll be rewards,” he confirmed.

“See? There’ll be rewards!”

“Dawn, please stop implying I’m only motivated by materialistic gain,” Ibzan said, folding his arms. “You can throw nearly as well with your left hand, anyway. I’ve seen you do so.”

“C’mon, Ibzan, please? For me?” she asked, staring at him with big eyes. “It’ll be fun, I promise!”

…

Ibzan turned his head and looked away. Dawn stepped back into his field of vision and kept staring up at him with that pleading expression.

…Ngh.

“Fine,” he sighed.

Dawn whooped, bouncing excitedly in celebration.

“Alright, what is it I need to do here, exactly?” Ibzan asked Taggart.

“I’ll set up a number of balloons for you to take out,” he explained. “You’ll have a minute. Burst more than one balloon with a single throw for some bonus points, and burst many with one throw for extra time! Purple targets are a hundred points, yellow ones are two hundred.”

“Okay. And I’ll be using Poké Balls for this?”

“You will indeed! And don’t worry, I’ll be providing them, so you won’t need to worry about bringing your own! I’d like to ask that you reach ten thousand points, just to make sure a long game runs smoothly. Now, give me a moment to set things up.”

Taggart walked off behind the rock, grabbing some supplies and carrying them to the open space nearby, humming to himself.

“Dawn, is this… really what we’re spending our time on?” Ibzan asked. “This isn’t real Survey Corps work.”

“I mean, it is though,” Dawn said. “It’s as official a request as any other. Anyway, you’ve been too focused on real Survey Corps work lately. It ain’t a crime to just stop and have fun every once in a while, y’know.”

“You can’t tell me a request like this is on the same level as the ones where we actually catch Pokémon.”

He could see Taggart blowing up the balloons with a small pair of bellows. Hm, they were designed to look like Drifloon, from what Dawn had described to him. Small hanging arms, cross patterns around their mouths, and there were flat wooden representations of the little clouds on their heads.

It might be considered in poor taste, given the panic among the Security Corps with the Drifloon incident earlier, but he could tell they’d been crafted far in advance, so it likely just amounted to unfortunate timing. Besides, nothing actually happened to the kid playing with the Drifloon, so he doubted it would cause any issues.

“Aw, don’t be that way,” Dawn pouted. “Hey, if it’ll help, consider this an order from your superior! Go pop some balloons!”

“I’m not sure you’re considered my superior.”

“Excuse you, I have a whole two days’ more experience than you do! That makes me higher up than you!” she grinned, clicking her fingers and pointing at him.

“Alright,” he acquiesced. “You’re precisely one step above me on the proverbial ladder.”

“Nope, wrong!” Dawn said. “Two days’ experience means two steps above!”

“Ah, of course. My mistake.”

“That’s me done with setup,” Taggart called, weaving through the many balloons now floating in the field. “Now, just give me a moment to— ‘Scuse me.”

Ibzan stepped to the side, and Taggart walked past him behind the rock once more, then came back carrying a basket packed with Poké Balls. Plonking it down at Ibzan’s feet, Taggart grinned.

“We should be good to go now!” he said with a thumbs up. “You ready?”

“I suppose so.”

Dawn clambered up to the top of the rock, grabbing Ibzan’s shoulder for support midway through, then plopped herself down on top. That girl seemed to have an affinity for looking down on things from above. Perhaps she was a squirrel in a past life. Or, well, whatever the equivalent here would be.

“Alright, then!” Taggart said, pulling out a whistle and a pocket watch. “Three, two, one!”

The shrill sound of the whistle signalled the beginning of the game.

Ibzan looked down at the basket. With a shrug, he plucked a Poké Ball and tossed it at the nearest balloon. The ball slammed into the balloon, popping it immediately.

Huh, looked like they were made of rubber, or some similar material. Ibzan always considered it more of a modern invention, but it wasn’t like it was something he’d ever looked into. Not that balloons were a common sight in that Place, either way.

There was nothing worth celebrating there.

“Like them?” Taggart asked, shunting him back to reality. “Went to the trouble of importing them from all the way over in Galar! Added the Drifloon stuff myself, of course. Aren’t they perfect for a game like this?”

Ibzan just hummed in response, not terribly interested in the particulars. He grabbed another ball from the basket, picked a new target at random, and threw.

Pop pop!

Two balloons burst, one after the other. Now that he was paying more attention, he noticed the scraps of rubber and the accessories added to the balloons all flying outwards through the field. Ibzan blinked.

That was… surprisingly satisfying, actually. Akin to the splatter of red mist and meaty chunks from a well-placed shot to the head.

The ocean breeze was causing many of the balloons to drift back and forth through the air. But… if he aimed this next ball just right…

Pop pop pop pop!

“Woo!” Dawn cheered from atop the rock, kicking her feet in excitement. “Four in a row! Now you’re getting it, Ibzan!”

“That’s some extra time for you!” Taggart called. “Thirty seconds left, now!”

Oh, he’d already used up half his time. More than half, actually, since that was after the time bonus. He grabbed a Poké Ball in each hand and began lining up more shots.

Many thrown balls later, though, another blow of the whistle signalled the end of the game.

“That’s it!” Taggart shouted. “By my count, your total is… eight thousand, six hundred!”

Taggart pocketed his watch and walked up to him.

“A new record, though I suppose that goes without saying,” he said. “A little shy of the ten thousand point goal, though. Watching you play there was already plenty informative, so I won’t begrudge you if you don’t want to give it another go, but… Well, would you like to, anyway?”

“...You know, I think I would,” Ibzan said, surprising himself.

“Oh, very good!” Taggert said with a grin. “I’ll need some more time to prepare a new set of balloons. Give me a moment, please.”

Taggart walked over to his stockpile of equipment again. Ibzan followed him, stopping by the rock.

“Hey, not bad, Mister Regigigas!” Dawn said, beaming.

“...Mister Regigigas?” Ibzan repeated questioningly, looking up at her.

“Well, you had a bit of a slow start, but you really hit your stride at the end there!”

“That doesn’t explain anything.”

“Eh, I’ll tell you later,” Dawn said, waving her hand dismissively. “Point is, I’m sure you’ll have no problem rocketing straight past that ten thousand point goal!”

“Well, I’d hate to disappoint,” Ibzan said dryly.

“Ready when you are!” Taggart called.

Ibzan nodded at him and began walking over to the Poké Ball basket, which was now freshly refilled with the balls he’d thrown during his last attempt.

“You got this!” Dawn encouraged.

Ibzan took his place next to the basket and waited. The moment he heard the whistle, he grabbed a ball and wasted no time in throwing it at the nearest line of balloons.

Ibzan tuned out everything else as he fell into an old, familiar focus. One that he hadn’t tapped into for… however long it was, now. Take stock of his surroundings, identify priority targets, resolve the situation as efficiently as possible. It was reminiscent of his old work in many ways, but with much lower stakes.

It was… fun, actually. He was having fun.

And then, before he knew it, the sound of the whistle rang out through the field, snapping the world back into focus.

“Ibzan!” Dawn shouted excitedly, dropping down from the boulder and running up to him. “That was great! Better than great!”

“Whew,” Taggart said, wiping his forehead. “No kidding! You were clearing those things out faster than I could replace ‘em, y’know. Your score this time was… an impressive two hundred and sixty thousand, seven hundred! Far cry from your first score, eh?”

“It was amazing!” Dawn said, pumping her fist in excitement. “You were all woosh, woosh, woosh, pop pop pop! You hit, like, seven balloons at once a few times!”

“It was quite hard to keep up with all the maths I had to do, the pace you were going,” Taggart said sheepishly. “Especially when I had to blow up more balloons at the same time. Very impressive, at any rate!”

“Ah, well, I just… got in the zone, I suppose,” Ibzan said. “I suspect Dawn would perform similarly if she tried.”

“You kidding? I can’t throw nearly as far as you!” Dawn said. “I could probably get, like, four or five in a single throw, at most.”

“Regardless, you’ve more than earned your prize,” Taggart said, handing him a small bag. “These are Razz Berries. I’m told they heal Pokémon more effectively than Orans do, which should help with your Survey Corps work.”

“Ooh, those can be good,” Dawn said.

“I’d like to hear your thoughts on the game,” Taggart said. “Whatever feedback comes to mind, if that’s alright with you.”

“Hm,” Ibzan said, rubbing his chin in thought. “What you’ve got here is engaging enough already, I’d say. The breeze from the beach blew the balloons back and forth in an interesting way, so perhaps consider adding that as a factor you have control over. A Flying type should be fit for that purpose, I imagine?”

“Oh, yeah, that’d work!” Dawn said. “Most Flying types should be able to do something as simple as controlling a light breeze. You could get a Starly from the Fieldlands pretty easily… Oh! Or you could get a Drifloon! It could be a little mascot for your game, since you’ve already got the theme going with the balloon designs, and it might even help to reduce the fears people have about them!”

“I see, I see,” Taggart said with a nod. “Anything else?”

“Hm… If you’re planning to open this up to children, perhaps you could have a lighter option than Poké Balls? They’re surprisingly lightweight already, but smaller children might still struggle with them. Perhaps a hollowed-out Apricorn, without the added rock and metal, could work.”

“Hm…” Taggart hummed, stroking his beard in thought. “I could see that being a good option, yes. Maybe for those under eight… I’d need to test if the balloons would burst as easily with a lower-weight projectile, though. Perhaps I could even add blunt barbs to the sides for easier popping…”

“That’d probably help them get multiple balloons in one throw,” Dawn said. “Especially since their throws will be weaker overall. Under eight’s a good cutoff, though! It’ll be good for them to get experience throwing proper Poké Balls past then, I think.”

“Hm. Well, thank you for your feedback!” Taggart said with a grin. “I have one more thing to give you, as thanks for completing my request!”

He handed Ibzan another bag, this one larger than the last. Inside were a set of blue Poké Balls with a pair of red stripes painted on the top of each, and a small golden nugget glinting from within the pile.

Dawn was hopping up and down next to him, trying to get a peek inside the bag. He lowered it down for her sake. Once she got a look at the contents, she let out a low, impressed whistle.

“I’ve been preparing to set something like this up for a long time, now,” Taggart said with a wink. “You need resources for this sort of thing. Please accept it as thanks for testing it out, and for the valuable feedback.”

“Well, I’m glad you found it helpful,” Ibzan said, storing the contents of both bags in his satchel.

“Hey,” Dawn said, nudging him with her elbow. “You did super well last time, but personally I think you could do even better. What do you say?”

The two of them looked at him expectantly. Ibzan gave an amused huff.

“Well, I don’t think I’d be opposed to giving it another try,” he said, grabbing another Poké Ball from the basket.

“And I only noticed he was following me when I got to the village gate and Ress pointed him out,” Rei said. “When I turned to look, he also turned and looked behind him! It was pretty cute.”

“Mime Jr. tend to do that,” Dawn said, her head lowered to the table’s level as she stared at her rice bowl. “If they see someone or something that interests them, they’ll follow them around and mimic whatever they do!”

Dawn had stuck both her chopsticks into her rice, causing them to stick out like a bunny’s ears. Or rather a Buneary’s ears, Ibzan supposed.

“I was gonna shoo it away, but then I realised it'd be a better idea to capture it,” Rei said. “So, yeah, I’ve finally added a second member to my team!”

“Are you gonna nickname it?” Dawn asked. “Oh! Wait! You were thinking of nicknaming Pikachu, right? Did you ever think of one?”

“Ah, yeah, I did,” Rei said sheepishly. “I dunno how good it is, but he seemed to like it, so… Say hello to Gadget!”

Rei reached into his satchel and grabbed a Poké Ball, releasing the Pikachu from within. He appeared in a burst of light on top of the table.

“Aww, that’s a great name! Hello again, Gadget!” she cooed.

Gadget let her pet him on the head, ear twitching up and down as she scratched in just the right spot. Then, without warning, there was a buzz of electricity and Dawn yanked her hand back.

“Haha, ouch!” Dawn said, shaking her hand up and down. “Guess that was enough pets, huh?”

“Don’t take it personally,” Rei said with a wince. “He does that with me, too. It’d be nice if you said enough was enough some other way, y’know.”

Gadget scoffed and turned his nose up at him.

“To be fair, it is a pretty efficient method,” Dawn laughed.

“Hey!” Beni barked from the door to the Wallflower. “No Pokémon at my tables!”

“Ack! S-Sorry!” Rei stammered, hurriedly recalling Gadget back into his ball.

Beni simply humphed and walked off, carrying a tray of food to an awaiting group of Security Corpsmen.

“So, what about your Mime Jr.?” Dawn asked. “You gonna nickname him, too?”

“Ah, well, I haven’t brought it up with him or anything, yet,” Rei said, rubbing the back of his neck. “But I did have something in mind, yeah.”

“Ooh, what is it?” Dawn asked, sitting up. “You can tell us!”

“Again, I dunno if I’ll be using it or anything, he might not like it,” Rei said. “But the name I had in mind was ‘Ditto’.”

“Ditto?” Dawn repeated. “Like the Pokémon?”

“What? It’s because he likes mimicking me. Y’know, I do something, and he’s like ‘ditto!’ and does the same.” Rei said. Then, his face fell. “Wait, there’s already a species of Pokémon called Ditto?”

“Well, yeah, of course,” Dawn said. “Y’know, they’re— oh.”

Dawn hunched over and mumbled something. Ibzan leaned closer.

“Everything alright?” he asked.

“Do Ditto exist yet?” Dawn mumbled to herself. “They’re rumoured to come from, like, a lab experiment or something. If that’s true, they can’t be a thing now, right? Am I gonna cause a paradox?”

“Dawn, calm down,” Ibzan murmured back. “Even if they don’t exist yet, I doubt something like this would have much of an impact.”

“What are you two whispering about?” Rei asked, tapping a chopstick against the wood of the table.

“Nothing important,” Ibzan said. “A species called Ditto exists where Dawn’s from, but she doesn’t know if they exist in Hisui or not.”

“Y-Yeah, that’s all,” Dawn said with a hasty nod.

“Oh, alright,” Rei said with a sigh. “If they are here, it’d probably be confusing if I named Mime Jr. that, wouldn’t it? Back to the drawing board, I guess.”

“Hey, Ibzan, since you’ve been so quiet until now,” Dawn said, poking him in the arm, “did you ever think of a nickname for your Scyther?”

“Ah. I did, actually,” Ibzan said. “She seems to like it, from what I can tell.”

“Well, don’t leave us in suspense! What is it?” Dawn asked, bouncing in her seat.

“Balisong,” Ibzan said. “It’s a type of knife where I come from. Her arm blades brought weaponry to mind, and it felt appropriate.”

“Hmm,” Dawn hummed, tilting her head from side-to-side. “It’s a pretty word. I like it! So why that one in particular?”

“What?”

“Well, you said it felt appropriate, right? Appropriate how?”

“Oh,” Ibzan said with a wince. “Well, a balisong is the original name of the knife, but they’re commonly referred to as… uh. A butterfly knife.”

“Butterfly…” Dawn repeated with a thoughtful frown. “Oh! Like Butterfree and Beautifly, the Butterfly Pokémon! Because they’re Bug types like Scyther are, right?”

“Yes,” Ibzan said with a self-conscious cough. “Her strikes are also rather elegant, as far as attacks go, so I thought…”

“Well, it sounds like a good name to me,” Rei said. “And those associations will be lost on the people from around here, so to most it’ll just be a pretty-sounding name, if you’re worried about what people’ll think about it.”

“Yeah! Besides, names with meanings behind them are always good!” Dawn said, lightly punching him on the arm. “That reminds me, though. We both have teams of three, now. We gotta have a battle soon!”

“I wouldn’t mind testing how far they’ve come,” Ibzan said with a nod. “The last time we fought was the day of my entry trial, wasn’t it?”

“Exactly!” Dawn said, nodding fiercely. “We’ve definitely come a long way from two Pokémon who only know Quick Attack! So, if you don’t battle me I’ll be very cross!”

“Well, we can’t have that,” Ibzan said with an amused huff. “I accept your challenge, then.”

“Great! You, me, first thing tomorrow!” Dawn said, eyes gleaming. “And you’re going down, buster!”

“Tough words,” Ibzan said with a slight smirk. “We’ll see if you can measure up to them.”

Chapter Text

True to her words, Dawn had come banging on Ibzan’s door before the sun had even fully risen. She dragged him to the Training Grounds, where Zisu was already waiting for them. The moment they were done eating the night prior, Dawn had excitedly sprinted up to her post and explained their plans to her. Zisu was, apparently, all for acting as referee for their little match.

Leaving Dawn to explain all the specifics of the rules to her, Ibzan stood on his side of the court and stretched the stiffness out of his shoulders. As he waited, he noticed there was actually a small crowd of around six people gathering, watching with curious eyes. It seemed word had spread about their upcoming battle.

Recognising a few Security Corpsmen from the nearest table at the Wallflower last night, Ibzan could hazard a guess as to where, exactly, the news had broken.

“You ready, Ibzan?” Dawn called. He turned to find her standing on the opposite side of the court, grinning. “Ready to get your butt whooped, that is!”

“Oh, I’m not the one you should be worrying about,” Ibzan responded, a slight smirk sneaking its way on his face. Her excitement was infectious, sue him.

“Alright!” Zisu called, her voice echoing across the field. “This is a three-on-three Pokémon battle! Use of items is prohibited, and the battle ends when all three Pokémon on one side have been knocked out, or when one side forfeits! Any questions?”

An explanation mostly for the crowd’s benefit. Ibzan himself had already heard plenty about the rules from an eager Dawn as they’d made their way back to their quarters.

Dawn bounced excitedly in place, tossing a Poké Ball up and down in her hand. Ibzan reached into his satchel and grabbed a Poké Ball of his own. Typical convention was for both combatants to release their Pokémon onto the field simultaneously, according to Dawn. He just had to hope she wasn’t starting with Kilowatt.

“No?” Zisu asked, raising a hand in the air. “Then get ready!”

“Your time to shine, Bennett!” Dawn shouted, releasing the Eevee onto the field. Alright, good.

“You’re up, Balisong.”

Gasps rang out from the crowd as she emerged from her ball. Ibzan supposed Scyther were a far cry from the Bidoof and Starly you’d typically be able to see from the village. She fanned her wings out, tapping her scythes together as she stared down her opponent.

Bennett gave the crowd a nervous glance when Dawn sent him out, fur bristling in agitation at all the attention, but his focus sharpened the moment his opponent appeared on the field.

Their eyes met, and Balisong gave Bennett a quick bow. Bennett just stared confusedly back at her for a few moments before clumsily returning the gesture.

“And… Begin!” Zisu called, throwing her hand forward.

“Close the distance with a Quick Attack,” Ibzan immediately commanded.

“Oh, no you don’t!” Dawn called. “Bennett, match her pace with a Quick Attack of your own!”

Balisong shot forward, wings buzzing harshly, kicking up clouds of sand in her wake. Twin blurs of brown and green zipped around the battlefield, each searching for openings as they moved.

Eventually, Bennett made his move, leaping at the spot where Balisong’s current trajectory would take her. Balisong suddenly leaned to the side and plunged a scythe into the sand, slowing her momentum enough that Bennett just narrowly missed her, then struck him in retaliation before he landed.

“Quick Attack on both sides? Feeling nostalgic for our first battle, are you?”

“Oh, shut it,” Dawn laughed. “Okay, Bennie, change of plans! Keep your distance and hit ‘em with a Swift!”

“Hmph. Alright, Balisong, retaliate with Silver Wind.”

Balisong’s wings took on a silver sheen, the buzzing heightening in pitch as they fluttered faster and faster. Bennett slowly took on a white sheen, light enveloping him all over. Balisong thrust her wings forward, sending out a cloud of silver scales, and at the same time Bennett let loose a war cry, the energy exploding outwards into an array of white star-shaped pellets that shot towards her.

The crowd oohed as the attacks collided. The powdery scales shimmered in the light of the sun, and the stars emitted a bright light which cascaded off the scales in a rippling motion. The effect reminded Ibzan a little of those disco balls he used to occasionally see in the vampires’ nightclubs.

What Silver Wind’s scales lacked in individual power, they more than made up for in sheer density. The stars pushed against the mass of scales, gradually shrinking down before winking out as they lost their energy. Only a few of the projectiles made it past, which Balisong knocked away with her blades.

Bennett squeaked in alarm as what remained of the powdery cloud shot towards him, and he lurched to the side in an attempt to dodge. He’d yet to fully recover from his own attack, however, leaving him too winded to move as far as he needed. About half of the silver scales connected, sending him stumbling backwards.

“Keep up the pressure,” Ibzan ordered. “Quick Attack.”

“Back off, Bennie! Focus on dodging!”

The Eevee hopped backwards, putting as much distance as he could between the two of them. Balisong stared him down, wings thrumming as she prepared to make her move. Suddenly, she darted forward and swung. Bennett ducked, and Balisong soared over him, skidding to a halt near the edge of the arena. Bennett took advantage of the extra space he had access to and retreated further towards the centre.

Balisong wasted no time in charging forward again, this time swinging low. Bennett quickly stumbled back, the attack missing him by a hair. Frustrated, Balisong raised both scythes and slammed them down at him. Bennett narrowly rolled out of the way of the attack before running back a few steps. Balisong made to pursue him before realising the force of her last swing had left her scythes buried in the sand.

“Now, Bennett!” Dawn yelled with a victorious grin. “Tackle her!”

Balisong’s eyes widened as Bennett charged towards her. She tried to yank her scythes out from the sand, but they were buried a little too deep for her to do so quickly enough.

“Kick him away!” Ibzan shouted.

Balisong frantically swung out a leg, right as Bennett leapt towards her. While her positioning made the manoeuvre awkward, she managed to catch him in the stomach, sending him flying with a surprised cry. He landed with a thud, kicking up a cloud of sand.

“Aerial Ace!Close the distance and finish him!” Ibzan ordered.

“Ack! Swift, Bennie! Mess up her approach!”

Bennett stumbled to his feet, rubbing at his eyes with a paw. His fur glowed as he prepared another Swift. At the same time, Balisong finally managed to yank her scythes from the ground, shifting her gaze back onto Bennett.

Bennett released the energy like before, but this time the stars were only roughly aimed in her direction. Ibzan smirked. The sand from his rough landing had impaired his vision, then. Many of the stars fired off in random directions, and had to spend time course-correcting to reach Balisong, giving her more time to react. She stood her ground, blocking the stars that came her way with her scythes.

The air shifted and Balisong shot towards him in the blink of an eye, kicking up large clouds of sand in her wake. She swung down, and this time she didn’t miss. Bennett let out a pained yelp before shrinking down and disappearing into his Poké Ball.

Silence for a few moments, before Zisu broke it with a yell.

“Bennett is unable to continue!” she declared. “Survey Corps Dawn, send out your next Pokémon!”

The crowd suddenly exploded into chatter as it registered that this was only one part of a much greater whole. When Ibzan glanced over, he realised that their number had actually grown a little since the match had started. Which made sense, he supposed. It wasn’t like they were doing anything subtle, here.

“Darn, I thought I had you for a second there,” Dawn sighed, shaking her head and shrugging her shoulders. Then, she smirked. “But then again, who says I still don’t?”

Kilowatt appeared in a bright flash of light.

…Ah. Of course that would be her first counterpick — an Electric type to counter his Flying one. Dawn broke out into a grin as she watched the realisation wash over him.

“Okay, Kilowatt! Time for a Thunder Fang!”

“Battle decided!” Zisu called.

Dawn waved to the crowd with an elated laugh as they cheered. She really was in her element here. The crowd itself had grown to about twelve people now, by his count — double what it had been when they started — and he thought he saw a pair of familiar young faces peeking at the action from further away, too.

Ibzan called Blackout back into her ball with a short sigh. He hadn’t realised until now, but Dawn’s team composition countered his own quite neatly. The Eevee twins were the same type and thus neutral, but Kilowatt’s Electric attacks were effective against Balisong, and Jet was obviously at a type disadvantage against Shelly.

He hadn’t intended to leave Blackout as his team’s anchor. After Balisong fell, though, he realised he couldn’t save a Fire type for last when Dawn was clearly doing the same with Shelly. So, he’d chosen Jet to deal with Kilowatt instead. The Quilava had managed to just barely pull out a win against him, which just meant that Shelly could then sweep in to easily finish him off. And as tenacious as Blackout was, she just didn’t have the same level of experience that Dawn’s first team member did.

Still, he couldn’t say he was at all disappointed at his team’s performance — they all did admirably, even in the face of such poor matchups. Just things to consider when choosing what moves to teach them in future.

“Ibzan,” Dawn said, breaking him out of his musings. He looked up to see her extending her hand towards him.

She was such a crowd pleaser. Rolling his eyes, he grabbed her hand and shook it. As expected, their audience appreciated the gesture of sportsmanship, their chatter only getting louder.

“So, remind me. Who was it, again, who needed to worry about their butt getting whooped?” Dawn asked teasingly.

“Yes, yes, you’re the very best.”

“Really though, that was super close,” she said, nudging him with a smile. “I had a lot of fun! We should do this more often, y’know.”

“Not sure I appreciate all the attention,” he said, glancing at the crowd. “But… I wouldn’t be opposed to more battles like this in future.”

“Now that’s what I like to hear!” Dawn cheered.

Ibzan, taking a leaf out of Dawn’s book, was currently parked atop a rock. Not one large enough that he’d needed to climb it — he was quite tall enough already, thanks — but a small one that made for a decent enough place to stop for a moment.

Dawn had split away from him once they’d reached the Fieldlands — she’d run into that woman he’d scared off a few days ago, and had finally gotten the necessary information to actually fulfil her request. Naturally, she was much more willing to talk when Ibzan wasn’t around.

He huffed and kicked a nearby pebble. Whatever. Blackout looked up at the sound, watching with a bored expression as it bounced down the hill.

So, Dawn was currently investigating the area where the woman had seen that will-o-the-wisp. Hardly a two-person task, so they decided his time would be better spent training, taking research notes, and catching Pokémon. Her shoulder was close enough to healed at this point that she could comfortably run from something if need be.

Right now, though, Ibzan was simply… taking a break, it seemed. Blackout had just fought off a disgruntled Staravia they’d gotten a little too close to, and now she’d simply stopped and laid down next to the rock, refusing to budge when prompted.

She did definitely deserve the rest, sure, but he didn’t know why she couldn’t just do so in her Poké Ball — she hadn’t so much as glanced at it the last couple of times he’d tried recalling her. Still, she’d been adamant that the time for a break was here and now, so… here he was.

Ibzan leaned back and stared up at the sky. Back in that Place, clouds hadn’t meant much of anything. They came and went, drifting through the sky as listlessly as the undead did through the city streets. Sometimes, they heralded an impending downpour of rain. Sometimes, they did not. And amidst the darkness of the sky, you’d be forgiven for not noticing they were even there at all.

Hisui’s clouds, on the other hand, were completely different. They weren’t just a uniform, miserable dark grey, for one. They varied. Right now, a light, fluffy white. And the presence of a sun in the sky meant that their presence actually had an effect on the land below them, rain or no rain. Today, the abundant layer of clouds made for pleasantly cool weather.

And… Heh. Wasn’t that just the strangest combination of words. Pleasantly cool. If you’d asked him before all of this, he’d have considered them diametrically opposed.

“Why, fancy meeting you out here, friend!”

Blackout glanced over at the voice, an ear twitching in annoyance. Ibzan got the feeling that if his ears were half as expressive, he’d be doing the same. Volo waved at them with a bright smile on his face as he approached.

“Hello, Volo,” Ibzan said, suppressing the sigh.

“I’ve been kept quite busy, these past few days,” he said, stopping in front of them. “I’m glad I happened to run into you like this!”

“Mhm. So, what are you doing out here?”

“Oh, just a quick detour. Wardens Mai and Lian need supplies as much as anyone, you know!”

“I see,” Ibzan said with a roll of his eyes. “And if you happen to come across any ruins on the way, that’s a happy coincidence.”

“Between you and me,” Volo said with a wink and a conspiratorial smile, “the wardens travel back and forth from their clans’ settlements often enough that they don’t strictly need someone like me coming along with supplies.”

“And between you and me,” Ibzan said flatly, “I can tell you didn’t ‘just happen’ to run into me out here.”

“Ah, you’ve got me!” Volo laughed, raising both hands in surrender. “I may have asked the guardsman stationed nearby if they’d seen you. So… a little Starly told me that you’ve been looking for a Thunder Stone for your friend there? I was thinking we could make a trade.”

Three guesses as to who said little Starly was, and the first two didn’t count.

“I imagine you’re not looking for money here,” Ibzan said, glancing down at the Eevee by his side as she perked up at the offer.

“Correct again!” he said cheerily. “That’s what I like about you. You’re as sharp as you are mysterious!”

Yeah, because that was such a tough deduction to make.

Ibzan was about to just tell the merchant to fuck off and leave him be, but… he did promise Dawn that he’d try to be more open-minded about the guy. Besides, he did help by giving them those potions, and his concern over Dawn’s injury was definitely genuine, even if it was quickly forgotten once she brought out those plates for him to examine.

Of course, playing nice didn’t mean he had to entertain his questions.

But…

He looked down at Blackout again.

“I… know you want to evolve,” Ibzan said. “To catch up with Shelly, Jet, and Kilowatt. This is an opportunity for you. Would you like to take it?”

Blackout looked up at Volo, looked back at Ibzan. She stared for a few mildly uncomfortable moments before turning towards Volo and… instead of the expected nod, she stuck her tongue out at him and lay back down with a disinterested expression.

“Ah,” Ibzan said, blinking in surprise. “Well. There you have it.”

“I… but… you…” Volo stuttered, before letting out a bark of laughter and shrugging. “Well, that’s that then. I don’t suppose any of my other wares might entice you?”

“I’m afraid not,” Ibzan said, shaking his head and doing an admirable job of keeping the smirk off his face.

“I figured. Oh well, there’s always another day,” he said, readjusting his backpack with a rueful smile. “I’ll find whatever key is needed to open up that prickly exterior, though! I’m stubborn like that. But for now, farewell!”

Volo waved and walked off in the direction of the village, whistling a tune as he went. Ibzan leant down towards Blackout and smiled at her.

“You didn’t have to do that, you know,” he said. “But still, I appreciate it.”

She shot him a look. Who says I did it for you?

“Ah, you just found him equally as annoying as I did, then,” Ibzan said, reaching down and patting her on the head, much to her protest. “My mistake. In either case, it still benefited us both, so take my thanks regardless. And I promise I’ll find you another Thunder Stone at some point down the line.”

Blackout’s wagging tail betrayed her otherwise sour demeanour. Ibzan sat back up, leaning his elbows on his knees as he looked in the direction the merchant had headed.

Ibzan sighed. Volo.

While he personally found him annoying, he recognised that the man had never actually done anything wrong to him, per se. He’d actively helped him and Dawn, in fact. And Ibzan also recognised that his own… unique appearance, and strange means of arrival, were exactly the things that would raise questions from those willing to ask him.

Inquisitive minds rarely quieted themselves. Timur had been a prime example of that, sprawling diagrams, notes, and blueprints across every surface of his workshop whenever inspiration struck him. Volo didn’t seem quite as obsessive, but he definitely recognised that same thirst for knowledge in his eyes.

Well, Timur didn’t have eyes, but that was besides the point.

Ibzan couldn’t (justifiably) fault Volo for his curiosity, but he could fault him for his damn pushiness. He’d made it quite clear he had no interest in speaking about his past, and Volo had only taken that as a challenge. A fun little game to partake in.

Still, he could handle it. If all else failed, he wasn’t above simply lying like he did last time. What would Volo do to fact-check? Take a sledgehammer to the fabric of reality and leap across universes to find some random undead to pester with his questions?

Ibzan snorted. Now that’d be a sight.

For now, though…

“Probably not quite as relaxing a break as you were hoping for,” Ibzan commented. “What do you say we spend a few more minutes here?”

Blackout yawned and curled up on the grass next to the rock. No complaints from her, then. Ibzan leant back and stared up at the clouds once more.

“Ibzan,” Vessa greeted, before turning towards him. “Good afternoon.”

“Hello to you, too,” Ibzan returned, nodding at her.

Despite the hustle and bustle in the nearby streets, Vessa’s little spot by the river was actually pretty quiet. It was right by a footpath, of course, so there were occasional passers-by, but even so it was a surprisingly secluded place.

“You’ve been doing a great job collecting wisps so far! Are you here to ask how many you’ve got left to find in the Fieldlands?”

“No,” Ibzan said, sitting down next to her, back against the nearby tree. “I’m not.”

“Oh, uh…” she said, looking confusedly up at him. She was still shorter than him, even when he was seated like this. “What… are you here for, then?”

“Well,” Ibzan said, looking away. “That’s… I’ve noticed you tend to just… stay here a lot of the time. Alone. I’ve never seen you speak with anyone else, besides me and Dawn. And, well…”

He coughed, suddenly feeling a little self-conscious.

“Isolation is… a terrible thing. I know that… better than most. So, I thought that, perhaps… You might appreciate… some company? If that isn’t too presumptuous.”

“Oh, you don’t need to do that!” she protested, surprise written all over her face.

“Maybe so,” Ibzan shrugged. “Would you like me to, anyway?”

She blinked, then her expression melted into a shy, hesitant smile.

“I… think I would,” she said quietly, sitting down beside him. “If… that’s alright with you.”

“I wouldn’t have offered if it wasn’t,” Ibzan shrugged. “I thought we could just… sit and talk for a while. Is there anything in particular you’d like to speak about? I’d like to avoid talking about the time before I arrived in Hisui, but I’m open to other topics.”

“Um, well… Since I don’t really… talk to the people here all that often, I only really hear about things in passing,” she said hesitantly, fidgeting with her sleeve. “Would you mind… telling me about some of your work in the Survey Corps?”

“I could do that,” he nodded. “What would you like to hear about, then? Our quelling of Kleavor’s frenzy?”

“Oh, I don’t think there’s anyone in the village who hasn’t heard all about that, even me,” she said with a slight smile. “But I’m more interested in… the simpler things, I guess. Daily life. Sorry if that’s a little boring.”

“No, no,” Ibzan said, waving a hand. “I’ve come to welcome mundanity.”

He leaned back against the tree, tapping a finger on his knee as he considered what recent happenings might be of interest to her. Perhaps Dawn’s nervousness over telling Beauregard that his ‘Silcoon’ was, in fact, a Cascoon. Both she and the Pokémon himself were worried about what his reaction might be, but Beauregard still adored little Beaugene just as much as before. It was… a little saccharine, honestly, but it had still made him smile.

That story didn’t involve Ibzan much, though, so it was hardly about his experience in the Corps. There wasn’t much to recount in his visits to the Fieldlands, either, unless she wanted to review his notes on the local Buizel, or to hear him rant about how irritating Paras could be.

Then, Ibzan remembered one request he had recently completed. A request that was immensely frustrating in the moment, but admittedly ridiculous in retrospect.

It… was the best story he had, he supposed. One a child like her might get a kick out of.

“Well,” he began somewhat reluctantly. “Recently I was approached with a request regarding a Mr. Mime that was spotted within the walls of the village…”

Ibzan awoke with a start. Groaning, he slowly sat up and rubbed his face before looking around the room. It was still dark, though the small amount of moonlight shining through the paper windows meant it wasn’t pitch black.

Jet was draped across his legs like a noodle, and Blackout was curled up on her favourite spot atop the dresser. Balisong, meanwhile, was just sprawled face-down on the wooden floor like a corpse. The slow rise and fall of her chest made it clear that it was only an unusual sleeping position, however.

Everyone accounted for, then. Good. Carefully, he shifted his legs out from under Jet. Not carefully enough, though, as he beeped drowsily at him in protest.

“Sorry,” Ibzan said quietly. “I just… need to walk around town for a bit, that’s all. Go back to sleep.”

Jet blinked blearily, then levelled a flat look at him. Ibzan sighed.

“I promise you I’m not going to disappear off into the wilderness again. I’m leaving my satchel here, see? I won’t be long, but I just… need to get out there, that’s all.”

Jet still looked a little doubtful, but he slowly relaxed and laid his head back down on the sheet. Ibzan gave him a scratch behind the ears and stood up, grabbing his coat and quietly heading for the door.

The village was, predictably, rather quiet at this hour. Nervous energy thrummed within him, keeping him on edge, until eventually he finally spotted another villager walking through the streets. When that villager caught sight of Ibzan, he’d jumped with a gasp, placing a hand on his heart and breathing heavily before giving him a tired nod. Ibzan blinked, then nodded back at him as they passed one another.

Ibzan roamed Jubilife aimlessly for a while, until he eventually found himself near the pastures. A figure was leaning on the fence, arms folded as they looked at the Pokémon inside. When he approached, he was surprised to find that it was Professor Laventon.

“Hello, Laventon,” Ibzan greeted.

“Goodness me!” Laventon blurted with a startled flinch. “Ah, it’s you, Ibzan. Goodness gracious, you frightened me. Perhaps we should give you a bell to wear. Anyway, good evening.”

“Good evening. So, what brings you out here at this hour?” Ibzan asked, joining him in leaning on the fence.

“Why, I could ask the same of you, I think,” Laventon said with a slight smile.

Ibzan didn’t reply, and Laventon didn’t elaborate. They spent a while just looking in on the pastures. The Ghost types he and Dawn had caught were out and about, along with the other nocturnal Pokémon. Which, for the moment, only really consisted of a couple of Zubat.

It’s fine if you really don’t wanna talk about it, but it can help, y’know?

Ibzan sighed, drumming his fingers on his arm. Laventon clearly had more important things to worry about than what was on Ibzan’s mind. But… he still had that tension buzzing within him. Lessened, but still present. Maybe…

He came to a decision.

“I’m out here… because of a nightmare,” Ibzan admitted. “I… needed to walk somewhere to calm my nerves.”

Laventon gave him a surprised glance, before laughing a little.

“Ah,” he said. “My sympathies. As it happens, I’m out here for a similar reason.”

“Oh?”

“Indeed,” he said, not looking at him.

“Would you… like to talk about it?” Ibzan asked. “I’ve… been told it can help.”

“Oh, you needn’t worry about me,” he said with a smile.

Silence for a few moments longer, before Ibzan spoke up again.

“I dreamt that the village was completely and utterly empty,” he said. “Devoid of both humans and Pokémon. Even when I ventured out into the Fieldlands, there wasn’t a soul to be found. None besides me. Seeing my Pokémon present in the room when I woke up was an immediate relief, but I still felt the need to check the village, just to be sure.”

What he didn’t mention was that, in his nightmare, he’d tried venturing down the other paths outside the village gate, to areas he hadn’t been to yet. As he’d progressed, though, trees gave way to streetlamps, grass to tarmac, and mountains to high-rises. As the sky darkened and a chill began to set in, that was when he’d awoken. None of that would have meant a thing to the Professor, though, so it was pointless to bring up even if he’d wanted to.

“Ah,” Laventon said sadly. “Loneliness is a terrible thing, isn’t it?”

Laventon turned his head, gazing up at him for a few moments before giving him a wan smile..

“You do have a… certain look about you, I’d noticed,” he said. “A world-weariness that your youth belies. Wherever you came from… it’s not a place you have any intention of returning to, is it? Not like young Dawn does.”

“...No,” Ibzan said dully, “it isn’t.”

Laventon nodded with a sad hum, then wordlessly turned back towards the pastures once more.

“...It was back when Dawn was fulfilling that request from Warden Mai,” he said eventually, staring into nothing. “The warden and I watched from afar as her Pokémon fell, one-by-one, to that Alpha Kricketune.”

Laventon sighed, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

“She and her Munchlax stepped in to protect Dawn after that. But, in that nightmare… Mai wasn’t there. I was alone. And all I could do was stay there and watch helplessly as Dawn was… Well.”

Laventon didn’t elaborate. Ibzan didn’t ask him to.

“I’m sorry,” Ibzan said. “If I were there, perhaps it wouldn’t have been so close.”

“Oh, nothing to worry about, my boy,” Laventon said sadly. “Nightmares are not reality, after all. Warden Mai was there, and everything worked out just fine. Still…”

He sighed, resting his chin on his folded arms.

“I’m… worried about her,” he confided. “She was so confident that the Drifloon meant no harm, and she was right in the end, but… I’ve seen what happens to those who’ve been attacked by vengeful Ghost types. They’re never quite the same, afterwards. If you want to know the dangers of Pokémon, just ask the Commander. Cyllene. Even Beni.”

Ibzan stared at the Ghost types happily playing with one another in the Pasture.

“I’m admittedly new to Pokémon,” he said, “but for what it’s worth… Dawn does have a healthy respect for them. She very much knows the dangers that Alphas pose, and she knows more about Pokémon than most of this village put together.”

“...Yes, you’re quite right,” Laventon said. “Perhaps I’m just worrying too much. Still, Dawn… She comes from a place so much gentler than here. And I’m worried that Hisui will break down that optimism of hers. I… don’t want to see her lose her wonder of the world.”

Laventon exhaled slowly, looking up at Ibzan and meeting his gaze.

“You’ll protect her, won’t you?” he asked, unshed tears sparkling in the corners of his eyes.

“...Yes,” Ibzan promised. “I swear it. I’ll stop at nothing to keep her safe.”

Laventon stared for a moment, before breaking out into a smile.

“I’m glad.”

They spent a while longer standing together in a much more companionable silence, before Laventon spoke up again.

“You know, I’ve noticed… you also still carry a certain wonder for the world too, don’t you? I can see it in the way you look at the smallest of things. Grass, trees, Pokémon, the sky, the stars… It warms my heart to see that, in spite of whatever circumstances you’ve left behind you.”

Laventon reached up and put a hand on his shoulder.

“If you’ll honour one more request of mine… Do keep as tight a hold of that wonder as you can, won’t you? Protect it with as much ferocity as you do Dawn. Don’t let Hisui’s harshness change either of you for the worse, alright? Good night, Ibzan.”

And with that, he left before Ibzan could respond. He stood there motionlessly for a good few moments, staring in the direction the Professor left in, then leaned back over the fence again.

He should… probably get some sleep.

…Yeah.

Chapter Text

“Ibzan! Guess whaaa-aaat? I’m free!” Dawn cheered, throwing both her hands in the air.

“I can see that,” Ibzan said with a slight smile as he slid his door shut. “Good morning to you, too.”

“Freeeeee!” she cheered, gleefully spreading her arms wide as she spun in a circle.

“You’re going to pop it back out of its socket again if you’re not careful.”

“I know, I know, I am being careful,” she said, laughing happily. “I’m just… so glad to be fully operational again! Two arms! Unlimited power!”

“The medicine here definitely is a wonder,” Ibzan mused. “Where I came from, that sort of injury would take, uh… Hm. A month? …More?”

Ibzan rubbed his chin. Really, he was more familiar with the immediate effects of an injury, rather than their recovery time. Knowing that a cracked rib would ruin an opponent’s breathing, or how a broken nose would blur their vision with tears… those sorts of things were much more relevant to his job than how long they’d take to recover from said injuries. Nobody he was involved with would get the chance, after all.

Injuries weren’t particularly relevant to him personally, either, even disregarding his biology at the time. The Candles would wordlessly work their healing magic on any performance-affecting injuries, and whatever else he sustained could just be ignored until it healed on its own.

“Back in the game!” Dawn continued, derailing his train of thought. She punched the air in front of her a few times. “Watch out world, ‘cause I’m coming for you!”

“Very intimidating,” Ibzan commented. “I’m sure the world is trembling in its metaphorical boots.”

“Oh, shut up,” Dawn laughed, smacking him on the arm. Ibzan tensed it so it would stay completely still despite the impact.

“Hm? Did you feel a particularly light breeze just now?” Ibzan asked, looking from side to side and hiding a smile. Dawn hit him again harder.

“Hey!” interrupted an unfamiliar voice. “You’re the two who quelled Kleavor’s frenzy, aren’t you?”

They turned to find a red-haired woman walking up to them, a lazy grin on her face.

“Mar—” Dawn blurted, before interrupting herself with a cough. “Uh… Well!” she said with a forced laugh, suddenly looking very nervous. “Who’s to say, really?”

Ibzan gave her a questioning glance.

“Being dumb,” she murmured. “Just… ignore me.”

“Heh, sorry, but you can’t fool me!” the woman proclaimed, missing Dawn’s whisper. “Your reputations precede you! Quelling one of almighty Sinnoh’s chosen ones! Some people are a little scared of you guys for doing something so bold, y’know!”

Dawn let out a quiet “oh”, looking down at the floor. Ibzan, meanwhile, just wondered if this woman knew anything about his reputation before they faced Kleavor. If the residents of the village were more scared of him than before, then they were certainly doing a better job of hiding it. Dawn’s efforts over the past couple of weeks had made him feel more like an actual part of the village than ever before.

Which was, admittedly, a very low bar, but the point still stood.

“Oh, right!” the woman said, lightly slapping the side of her head. “Name’s Arezu, by the way. I’m a warden of the Diamond Clan! Now… tall guy. Ibzan, right? I have something very important I need your help with…”

Arezu’s face turned serious. Now that Ibzan got a proper look at her, she was wearing similar clothing to Warden Mai, true to her words. One of the Diamond Clan’s nobles, Adaman had said, was under the same sort of frenzy that had gripped Kleavor.

He could see where this was going.

“Alright, just tell us where—”

“How does your hairdresser work around those horns of yours?”

Ibzan blinked.

“What?”

“Like, do they do something special for the hair around them, or do they just treat it the same way as the rest of it? And do the horns affect how you need to part your hair? Do scissors risk damaging them at all? Do they risk damaging the scissors?”

“...What?”

“Well, it’s just…” Arezu said, looking up at him with an excited gleam in her eyes. “I’ve never seen a head like yours! I’m a hairdresser, y’know, and I can’t let any possible new techniques pass me by! So please, you gotta lemme in on this stuff!”

Ibzan just stared, completely thrown, before shaking his head with a sigh. What could he even say here? Obviously, he didn’t have hair until Arceus created this body for him. Skeletons weren’t known for their luscious locks.

“Look, I only got my hair… cut like this recently,” he said. “For the first time in a good while. And I hardly asked the one who did it any questions.”

“Wait wait wait,” Dawn said. “Ibzan, did you have long hair before that?”

“...Yes,” he lied.

The two of them stared at him in silence for a good few moments. Was… that the wrong thing to say? Did that thoughtless response call his whole story into question?

“What a shame!” Arezu cried. “Longer hair would really suit you, I think. And worse, you didn’t even have it cut into anything interesting? Look at you! No imagination! Ugh, oh well. Who’s the one who gave you your haircut, then? Maybe I’ll go ask ‘em a few questions!”

“Suit me…? Uh. Ahem. They were… rather distinctive. Tall, red eyes, white hair… Er, old-fashioned…” he said, then froze as a realisation occurred to him. “None of which is relevant, since it happened before I fell from the rift. You won’t be able to ask them anything, because they’re not here.”

Really, he had the easy out of ‘beyond the rift’ all along, so why did he bother responding to that question at all? He felt like slapping himself. This woman was really throwing him for a loop.

“Aw, shoot,” Arezu said with a pout, before brightening and snapping her fingers. “In that case, you wouldn’t mind letting me try some things out on you myself, would you?”

“Look, is this the only thing you’re here for?” Ibzan snapped, patience wearing thin. “Because we have more important things we could be doing right now.”

“Oh, snip!” Arezu gasped. “It’s not! I got totally distracted! I need to go talk to your Mr. Kamado. See you around!”

And with that, she dashed off towards Galaxy Hall.

“Well,” Ibzan sighed. “That was… something. But a warden paying the Commander a visit… We may have a frenzy on our hands after all. Well, that or he’s getting his moustache trimmed. Think we should head up to his office and get some more information?”

No reply.

“Dawn?” Ibzan asked, turning to look at her. She was still squinting up at him with a thoughtful expression on her face.

“Long hair…” she murmured to herself, stroking her chin.

“Dawn. Best not to wait, come on.”

“Y’know, if you grew it out again, I could share some hair care tips,” she said, ignoring him completely. “We could brush each other’s hair… Ooh! We could get you some cute hair clips…”

“Dawn,” Ibzan interrupted, snapping his fingers in front of her face. “Warden. Commander. Probable frenzy.”

“Uh! Right!” she blurted, straightening. “Let’s grow. Go! Let’s go!”

And with that, she ran off towards Galaxy Hall.

Ibzan sighed in exasperation. If there was another frenzied noble, they had much, much more important things to be worrying about than something so meaningless as his appearance.

…Realising he was still standing in place, Ibzan shoved the image out of his head and followed her to the Hall.

“Dawn,” Ibzan said when he caught up to her at the stairway. “You seemed… uncomfortable, when Arezu first approached us. Something wrong?”

“Oh, uh,” she said, averting her gaze. “Just another familiar face, y’know? Caught me off guard. Was just being dumb, like I said.”

“Someone you had a bad experience with?”

“Yeah, I guess you could say that,” she said with a humourless snort, walking ahead of him. Ibzan sensed this wasn’t a topic she wanted to delve into, so he stayed silent as he followed her up.

Once they reached the stairs to Kamado’s office, Dawn stopped at the bottom and leaned against the bannister as the Commander’s conversation with Arezu drifted down.

“Hrrrm… So it’s come to Ursaluna as well, then…” Kamado grumbled, sounding like he was fighting a headache. “There were reports of lightning in the area some time ago, which matches the Kleavor situation…”

“Oh, so that’s what causes it?” came Arezu’s voice. “That makes sense, I… guess?”

“As much sense as Pokémon typically make,” Kamado sighed. “In any case, you have my thanks, Miss Arezu. I appreciate you coming to inform us of Ursaluna’s situation.”

“No problem!” Arezu said brightly. “Adaman’s got his hands full running our clan and all, and Ursaluna’s warden wouldn’t even give me the time of day, so the Galaxy Team were the only ones I could really turn to about this.”

“Hrm. Ursaluna’s warden is the Pearl Clan’s Mistress Calaba, correct? Of all the wardens I’ve met, she is the most narrow-minded-” he coughed. “Erm, bound by tradition. Ahem. I’d prefer listening to a hundred of the clan leaders’… disagreements, to attempting negotiations with her present again.”

The conversation lulled at that, which they took as their cue. They waited a few moments before walking up the stairs to make their eavesdropping a little less obvious. Though, honestly, Ibzan doubted Kamado didn’t at least suspect their presence, since he didn’t react with any degree of surprise when they entered.

“Dawn, Ibzan. I have a new assignment for the both of you,” he said. “Study Ursaluna in the Crimson Mirelands. You are permitted to use whatever force you deem necessary!”

“Yes, sir,” Ibzan replied.

“We’re on it like Onix,” Dawn said, saluting with a grin. Kamado gave her a somewhat tired look, then visibly made the decision not to comment.

“Hrm. Good,” he said, nodding. “Head down to Captain Cyllene’s office for your briefing. Dismissed.”

As they walked back downstairs, Arezu ran to catch up with them.

“Hey!” she said. “Thanks for agreeing to help. You guys are a cut above the rest, for sure, and I know I’ll feel a lot safer with you two on the case. Speaking of frenzies, though, I was curious… How do those things you used on Kleavor work? Balms, right?”

“They’re fairly simple, actually,” Ibzan said. “Just the noble’s favourite foods mashed together and thrown at them. The smell helps calm them enough to return them to their senses, supposedly. The results speak for themselves.”

“I see, I see,” Arezu said, nodding. “So you guys’d need a bunch of food in order to make them, huh? And how are they made, exactly? I heard there was something more to it than just balled-up food?”

“They’re wrapped with Caster Ferns. I’m probably the worst person to ask about the specifics, though,” Ibzan sighed. “Crafting’s… not my forte. Dawn, would you mind…”

Ibzan turned to her, then paused briefly when he saw the subtle grimace on her face.

“...telling her where Rei is, if you’ve seen him today?” he continued smoothly. “He’s the one best suited to explaining it, as their designer.”

“Oh, I’d appreciate that!” Arezu said with a smile. “I was super curious about how you could possibly quell a noble’s frenzy, ever since I heard about how you helped Kleavor! Talking to the guy who made all that possible in the first place would be real interesting!”

“I… don’t know exactly where he is at the moment,” Dawn said apologetically. “Pretty sure he’s still in the village, though? He shouldn’t be too hard to find — he wears the same uniform we do, but with a red flat cap.”

“Red cap, huh? Alright, got it! Thanks for the help!” Arezu said with a grin. “See you guys around! Good luck with Ursaluna!”

She gave them a quick wave farewell before moving past them, down the stairs to the ground floor. Dawn let out a heavy sigh, looking up at the ceiling.

“You alright?” Ibzan asked.

“Yeah, just… kinda frustrated, is all,” she said. “I know she’s not her, but… Ugh. I’ll get over it, ignore me. C’mon, we’ve got a briefing to go to.”

Dawn pushed past him again and walked down the stairs. Ibzan sighed. He wasn’t any good at this. Still, if she didn’t want to talk about it, he didn’t have any right to push. Not when he was keeping so much from her.

Not that whatever she was hiding would be anywhere near the same level as what he was hiding. He knew there was nothing that could affect his opinion of her, but that most certainly wasn’t the case the other way around. If she knew about that mistake he’d made, so long ago, she would rightly lose all respect she had for him.

Would probably want nothing more to do with him, too, just like his Friend.

Not to mention the questionable morals of his job, even before all that. It was necessary work, but he knew Dawn would be disgusted with him if she knew anything about it. Quelling frenzies was nothing compared to the violence of quelling undead.

Well, Ibzan was ultimately a selfish person at his core. He was perfectly content to keep up the charade of being worth her time, so long as she was willing to keep him around.

However long that was.

…

Ibzan slammed the brakes on that train of thought. They'd just been given an assignment. This wasn’t the time for self-reflection. Ibzan shook himself and followed Dawn down the stairs towards Cyllene’s office.

The briefing was a fairly quick affair. Ursaluna was one of the two nobles who resided in the Crimson Mirelands. A location Cyllene emphasised the dangers of, both in terms of Pokémon and the environment itself. Ravines, cliffs, and mud pits were commonplace, and the Pokémon were similarly more threatening than those that lived in the much tamer Fieldlands. Professor Laventon would apparently be accompanying them to introduce them to the area.

Dawn was already at a high enough rank that Cyllene was comfortable sending her there, and a stoic review of Ibzan’s progress towards the Pokédex earned him the same merits.

Which was good, because Ibzan simply wouldn’t have accepted being forced to stay behind while Dawn marched forward into dangerous territory, and he doubted that would endear him to his superiors any further than he already had.

Regardless, they had their orders. The old warden had been seen frequenting a place called the Solaceon Ruins, so paying her a visit there was their first course of action.

When they got to the gate, they found Rei waiting for them. He visibly perked up when he saw their approach, running up to them with a smile.

“Hey, you two!” he said. “I’ve been looking for you!”

“Heya Rei,” Dawn said. “How’re you doing?”

“Eh, alright. Just got done being quizzed by that warden lady on how to put balms together,” he sighed. “She said you guys sent her after me, by the way, so thanks for that.”

“Did you want me to be the one to explain how they’re made?” Ibzan asked dryly, folding his arms. “Because you know my track record where crafting’s involved.”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it,” he sighed. “Still a bit of a pain, though. I’m bad at describing stuff without something visual to help me, so I had to use some random stuff in my satchel to demonstrate the process.”

“Oh… Hey, listen, I’m sorry,” Dawn said. “I… couldn’t really speak to her, but I should’ve just…”

“Hey, don’t worry about it,” Rei said with a gentle smile. “A Caster Fern and some berries aren’t a huge loss. If you want to make it up to me, though… How about a quick battle?”

“Rei,” Dawn said, expression serious and eyes sparkling. “The day I refuse a battle is the day Bidoof sprout wings and become Flying types.”

“Well, watch the skies, because refusing a battle is exactly what you’ll be doing here,” Ibzan said firmly. Two pleading faces immediately rounded on him.

“What? C’mon, why, Ibzan?” Dawn whined.

“We’ve got a mission, Dawn,” he reminded her. “An important one, straight from the Commander. One we really shouldn’t be delaying.”

“Ah,” Dawn said, deflating. “Yeah, I guess you’ve got a point th—”

“Oh, that’s fine!” Rei said brightly. “This won’t delay you guys!”

“See? No delays, Ibzan!” Dawn agreed. Then, she leaned over and whispered to Rei. “Why won’t this delay us?”

“Well, Arezu said you guys were heading off to the Crimson Mirelands today, right?” he asked. “And you'll need to wait for the Professor before you leave. But he’s not here yet, which means you’ve got a little time to kill.”

“Time we could spend battling!” Dawn said gleefully. “I like the way you think, Rei!”

“I have my moments,” Rei said with a laugh. “We can call it off when he gets here, but there’s no issue battling before then, right? You’d be waiting for him anyway, after all. And we can battle right here - I cleared it with Ress - so the Professor won’t miss where we are or anything!”

Ibzan glanced over at Ress, who just nodded in response.

“Planned this out in advance, I see,” Ibzan sighed. “Go on, then.”

“Alright!” Dawn cheered, pumping a fist in the air.

“Okay, here we go,” he said, clearing his throat. “Dawn! I challenge you! Come on out, Echo!”

Rei threw out a Poké Ball, and out popped the small figure of a Mime Jr.

“Ooh! You decided on a new name! Hello, Echo!” Dawn cooed, leaning on her knees as she greeted the small Pokémon.

“Ah, thanks,” Rei said, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. Echo glanced back at him then copied the movement to a tee. “It took a bit of thought, since ‘Ditto’ was already taken, but he seems to like it!”

“Alrighty, then!” Dawn said, cracking her knuckles before grabbing a Poké Ball from her satchel. “Let’s do this, Bennett!”

Kilowatt lunged forward through Gadget’s Thunder Shock and clamped his jaws down on him with a vicious Bite. The Pikachu groaned and shrunk down, disappearing into the Poké Ball in Rei’s hand.

Dawn pumped a fist in the air, praising Kilowatt for a job well done. Praise which the happy Luxio soaked up like a sponge, preening as she scratched him on the chin.

“Oh, boy,” Rei said with a self-conscious grin, looking down at the Poké Ball. “That’ll be another few days of ignored commands, for sure…”

“Hey, you and your team did super well!” Dawn reassured him, recalling Kilowatt back into his own ball. “That was a good fight!”

And a fairly long one, all things considered. Not overly long, but definitely more than a few minutes. Ibzan was surprised that Laventon still had yet to show up.

“Oh well,” Rei sighed. “Seems about right that you’d beat me, when you managed to defeat Kleavor like you did…”

“Hey, don’t say that!” Dawn protested. “Anyone could reach my level if they put the effort in! I was a novice once too, y’know!”

“That’s… pretty hard to imagine, honestly,” Rei laughed, rubbing the back of his head.

“I apologise for the wait!” came Laventon’s voice from behind them. He jogged up to them and grinned. “I see you two are done now, though, so the times have aligned quite nicely. Shall we get going?”

“Oh, hey Professor!” Dawn greeted. “Your timing’s pretty good, yeah! We’re ready to go when you are.”

“Capital!” Laventon grinned. “Let’s be on our way, then.”

“I’ll be coming along, too,” Rei said. “I’ve also got some tasks to do in the Mirelands, today. Wasn’t expecting you guys to be joining me, but it’ll be nice to have some company on the way there!”

After a quick check-in with Ress, they set forth on the path that apparently led towards the Mirelands. Rei and Dawn walked ahead, chatting amongst themselves, while Ibzan and the Professor followed along from further behind.

“So, what was keeping you?” Ibzan asked.

“Oh, just bits and pieces that needed doing,” Laventon said. “Preparations for this upcoming trip. You know how it is.”

Ibzan hummed. They walked in silence for a few more moments before he spoke up again.

“You’re not subtle, you know.”

“Pardon?”

“Rei seemed confident that they’d have the time for a battle. Then, you arrive less than a minute after they finish. And do I need to mention ‘I see the two of you are done now’?”

“Ah…” Laventon said, looking away sheepishly. “Subtlety never was my strong suit, no. But Rei was quite excited about battling Dawn today, and when he heard about your upcoming mission from Warden Arezu, he asked if I might wait a little to give them time for one. I do hope it wasn’t an inconvenience.”

“No, it’s fine,” Ibzan said. “If Cyllene demands an explanation for the delay, though, the blame’s going your way.”

“Oh, a little delay like that won’t draw her ire,” Laventon reassured him. “You’re not expected to dive into missions the very moment they’re given, you know.”

“...Why not?”

“Pardon?”

“Why… aren’t you?” Ibzan asked. “It’s a mission. Given by the highest authority in the village. Surely we should be expected to drop everything for it?”

“Well, yes, it does take priority over other tasks you may have been assigned, requests from the populus, and what have you, but we still wouldn’t expect immediate action,” Laventon said. “You may need to prepare by purchasing supplies from the shop, you may need to take time to rest before you get started, or you may simply have something that you can quickly take care of first.”

“That doesn’t make sense,” Ibzan said, shaking his head. “You can’t just… flout a superior’s orders like that.”

“Well, I’d hardly call that flouting,” Laventon said with a frown. “So long as you don’t delay for more than, say, a day or so without reason, it should be acceptable. You need to look after your wellbeing to perform at your best, you know! Just imagine if you tried to face up against Kleavor with a sprained ankle, for instance.”

If he’d been ordered to face Kleavor in spite of an injury, he wouldn’t have a choice but to comply, surely? Galaxy Team held eviction above their heads like a guillotine, and he couldn’t see them allowing wasted time for distractions like that.

Was that really the expectation here, or was Laventon just being hopelessly optimistic?

Ibzan remained silent. Laventon was staring up at him with a contemplative frown, so perhaps he was already reconsidering that view, now that he said it aloud. Regardless, he seemed content to end the conversation there, which Ibzan was fine with. He tuned into the conversation the pair ahead of them were having, instead.

“So, you’re headed to the Mirelands to look out for… Space-Time Distortions, right? What exactly are they?” Dawn asked.

“We don’t really know,” Rei said. “They’re becoming more and more common, though. They pop up without much warning, and a bunch of stuff pops into existence with ‘em. Really strange stuff, and even stranger Pokémon. Super aggressive ones, at that!”

“Like the Paras in the Fieldlands?”

“Oh, much worse,” Rei said, shuddering. “I ducked into one, once, to try and pick up some of those weird trinkets inside. Managed to grab a gold nugget, actually, but then out of nowhere I was surrounded by angry Pokémon all of a sudden!”

“Oh, gosh,” Dawn said. “What happened next?”

“Well, that’s the funny thing. I sent out Gadget for battle, but they took him out pretty much instantly. He wasn’t happy about that, later…” Rei said with a cough. “But then, just when they turned their attention on me, the Space-Time Distortion and everything it brought with it, Pokémon included, just… disappeared, like it was never there to begin with! I hate to imagine what might have happened if it stayed…”

“Yeah, that’s definitely super scary,” Dawn said with a wince. “So they’re… big purpley domes, you said?”

“Yeah. Looks a bit like a rainbow, at first, but then they grow darker and darker until stuff starts appearing inside them. But anyway, when they dissipate, they take everything they made appear with ‘em, right? Well, look here.”

Rei dug into his satchel and held up a shining piece of gold.

“Oh! Is that the nugget you mentioned?” Dawn asked, leaning in close. “It didn’t disappear?”

“Yeah! I think that maybe having it on my person when it ended… disconnected it from the distortion, or something? Or grounded it in reality? Might even be the case with the Pokémon inside, too. I’m certainly in no hurry to test that one out. Anyway, if you do see one, just be careful, alright?”

“Hey, when have I ever not been careful?”

“...Do you want a list, or?”

“Hey!” Dawn laughed, smacking him on the arm.

“Ah, here we are!” Laventon said with a grin. “The Crimson Mirelands! A place simply teeming with Poison type Pokémon, and many others besides!”

Galaxy Team had set up the standard base camp arrangement of a couple tents, a storage chest, and a Security Corpsman to overlook it all. The area was quite different from the lush greens of the Fieldlands. The grass was a dull yellow, though much of the travel around the camp had worn it away to just the soil below.

A short distance away, Ibzan could see a small body of water, with a couple large patches of golden stalks nearby. He assumed they were composed of the Hearty Grains that he and Dawn had been buying until now, but he was no expert in plant life. For all he knew, those plants were as poisonous as the Pokémon said to live here.

“So. Solaceon Ruins, right?” Rei asked. “They’re not too far from here, actually. Just past this boulder and down the path there — they’re on the side of the mountain there, see?”

Ibzan looked down the way Rei was pointing. Sure enough, there was a stone archway built into the rock. Dawn squinted in its direction, then scratched her head as she looked at the surrounding area.

“As for me, I’ll be keeping an eye out for those STDs,” Rei said. “I just wish there was some way of telling where they’d be ahead of time…”

Dawn burst into a coughing fit, face going red. Laventon snorted, holding a fist in front of his mouth and looking away.

“We are not calling them that,” she spluttered.

“Really? Can’t I name just one thing without causing a fuss?” Rei groaned. “Actually, I’m not even naming this one, I’m just shortening the existing name!”

“Look, it sounds like something else I’m not getting into, alright?” Dawn said, throwing her hands up. “Trust me, it’s a bad name. Just say the whole thing.”

“Ugh, come on!” Rei sighed, folding his arms. “I don’t see what’s so—”

“Sexually Transmitted Disease,” Ibzan said. “STD.”

Rei blinked, staring at him.

“Oh.”

“Ibzan!” Dawn squawked. “You don’t just say things so… bluntly like that!”

“Why not?” he asked with a shrug. “Now he knows.”

“Yeah, but— Look, you just don’t do that!” Dawn argued. “Like… if a kid at the Pokémon Day Care asks where an egg came from, you tell them you don’t know how it got there!”

“Hear that, Rei? She’s calling you a kid.”

“Ugh, you’re impossible,” Dawn groaned.

“Well, bad name. Yup. I agree. Can’t win ‘em all,” Rei said, backing off with his hands up. “I’m just… gonna take my leave now. Bye!”

Rei speedwalked off in a seemingly random direction. Laventon gave up the ghost and laughed loudly.

“Well,” he said, shaking his head, “I wish you two the best of luck in your task. Though, I’d like to remind you of our discussion on the way up, Ibzan. Perhaps it would be beneficial to familiarise yourselves with the Mirelands before you head for those Ruins? And if you happen to catch any Pokémon for study in the meantime, I certainly won’t be complaining!”

“Oh, yeah!” Dawn grinned. “There’ll be plenty of Pokémon we haven’t encountered yet here! We’ll have to check ‘em out!”

Ibzan’s first instinct was to shoot that suggestion down, to remind her of their mission and get her back on track, but Laventon shot him a meaningful look. He hesitated for a moment, then spoke up.

“Getting a feel for the immediate area first… would be useful,” he said slowly. “You’re certain that this wouldn’t cause any issues?”

“Remember, Galaxy Team took you on as surveyors,” Laventon said with a smile. “That you’d survey is to be expected, wouldn’t you say? Just don’t put it off for the full day and nothing will go awry, I promise.”

“I wouldn’t dream of that,” Ibzan said. “Well, Dawn?”

“Let’s do this,” she grinned. “Crimson Mirelands, here we come!”

Ahead of the camp lay a bridge that spanned the river. Curiously, while the bridge itself simply consisted of three wooden logs tied together, it was bookended by two once-ornate, now crumbling pillars, with the faded remnants of a stone path leading up to it.

As they crossed, Ibzan couldn’t help but wonder what had happened to it. Clearly, there had once been a bridge made of the same stone as the columns and path tiles here, but it was long gone by now. He assumed the Diamond Clan had added in these wooden replacements, given that their settlement was apparently somewhere nearby.

The entrance to the Solaceon Ruins loomed ahead of them, a short walk away. Rather than pursue that immediately, though, they decided to follow the other pathway to the right of it. Along the way were a few ponds and the remnants of a building.

Or, at least, Ibzan presumed as much. There were four pillars with an archway in the middle, so it wasn’t difficult to imagine what might have been there, once upon a time.

There were a few Pokémon here and there as they went, most of which they caught, but overall there wasn’t much in the way of danger here. Neither the Psyduck wading through the lakes nor the Budew milling at their edges seemed terribly interested in their presence.

…Was ‘lake’ an accurate term for these bodies of water? They were shallow enough that perhaps ‘puddle’ would be more apt. Very large puddles, mind.

Regardless, the most aggressive thing they’d come across was a single Grass type Pokémon, apparently called a Carnivine. Everything else seemed content to leave them be.

…Or not. They froze as red eyes glared at them from the path ahead. It made no move to attack right away, but that was very little comfort in the face of an Alpha aware of their presence.

“Well, shit,” Ibzan murmured, avoiding any sudden movements. “Do you know what kind of Pokémon that is, Dawn?”

“That’s a Tangrowth,” she said quietly. “Grass type.”

Ibzan hummed in thought. They had two Pokémon with an advantage against Grass — namely Jet and Balisong. Two Pokémon was not enough for him to confidently take it on, especially since the Pokémon they’d encountered so far had generally been stronger than those in the Fieldlands, true to Cyllene’s words.

If it wanted to attack them, though, it would have already. It was giving them the chance to back off.

“I’ve no interest in seeing how strong the Alphas are here, for the moment,” he said. “Let’s just avoid it — there’s a path to the right we can take instead.”

“Avoid her.”

“What?”

“That’s a female Tangrowth,” Dawn said, still keeping her voice down. “You can tell by the fingers, see? They’re red all the way, not just red-tipped.”

Ibzan shook his head.

“Fascinating, but let’s not test… her patience any further.”

Slowly, they backed off towards the path to the right. The Tangrowth’s furious gaze followed them all the while, but Ibzan could see it visibly… if not relax, then at least lose a bit of tension as they moved away.

Down the path were several more of those ponds, puddles, whatever. Yet more cracked stone structures were dotted about, from pillars to paths to archways. The remnants of some steps leading down into the water made it clear that this area was dry whenever they were built.

“Something… very grand stood here once, from the looks of things,” Ibzan said. “Definitely a place with a lot of history. I wonder how old these ruins even are.”

“You could probably ask Volo, next time we see him,” Dawn suggested. “Ruins are kinda his whole thing, right?”

“I’d rather not,” Ibzan said with a grimace.

“Aw, c’mon, he’s not that bad,” Dawn said, nudging him with an elbow.

“Ah, I can tell you all about these ruins, but that would hardly be a fair trade, would it?” Ibzan mimicked, bending down and wagging a finger in her face. “A dedicated merchant such as myself abhors to share something for nothing! Just give me your name, address, mother’s maiden name, and city you were born in, and I can tell you all you want to know about these ruins!”

Dawn giggled.

“Why, it’s like looking into a mirror!” came an amused voice from behind.

Ah. Whoops. They turned around.

“Your finger wag needs work, though,” Volo said with a grin, doing the aforementioned motion. “I point more skyward, and less at the person I’m talking to!”

“Oh! Uh, hi, Volo!” Dawn said nervously. “We were just… Uh…”

“We were just taking the piss out of you,” Ibzan said. Because really, there was no point in pretending otherwise.

“Hey, who’s ‘we’?” Dawn protested.

“Well, I’ve certainly heard worse impressions,” Volo said brightly. “I take a break from my tireless Ginkgo Guild work to examine these ruins some more, and imagine my surprise when I see you two doing the same. A pair after my own heart!”

“Well, you’re in luck, because Ibzan was actually wondering about these ruins!” Dawn said with a smile. “Me? I’m gonna go catch those Croagunk. See ya in a bit!”

And with that, she ran off, Poké Ball in hand. Traitor.

“Do you, now? Well, I can answer what I can,” Volo said. “And since I’m off duty, I won’t even ask for your name, address, et cetera.”

“Very kind,” Ibzan sighed. “I was mainly curious about who built these structures, and what caused them to fall into ruin like this.”

“Ah, very good! Straight into the interesting stuff,” Volo said enthusiastically. “Which is, of course, the stuff we don’t know too much about. Were you aware that the Diamond and Pearl Clans weren’t Hisui’s first inhabitants?”

“...No, actually,” Ibzan said after some thought. “I just knew they were here before Galaxy Team. So these were built by whoever came before?”

“Indeed. The Celestica, they were called,” Volo said, looking at a nearby pillar. “They were long gone before the Clans ever arrived in Hisui, though.”

“Really?” Ibzan asked, interested despite himself. “Whatever happened to them?”

“Who’s to say?” Volo said with a smile and a shrug. “Perhaps they left, sailing for parts unknown. Perhaps they died, an unexpected disaster wiping them from the Earth. Perhaps it was something else entirely. We can hardly ask them. I’ve been dying to know, myself, but I haven’t gotten any closer to finding out, despite all my efforts.”

Ibzan hummed in agreement.

“Whatever it was, time certainly took its toll on what they built,” he said, looking out over the crumbled, water-seeped ruins.

“Yes. This is a cruel world, isn’t it?” Volo said, his smile turning sad. “All their culture, their history, their efforts, all wiped away by the hands of time.”

“I wouldn’t go that far,” Ibzan said, looking back at him. “Nothing lasts forever, that’s just life. The world itself can be nothing but indifferent to its denizens.”

Of course, things lasting forever in death was another story. Perhaps his role as a reaper would have lasted forever, if he weren’t so weak-willed.

“Ah, but is indifference not cruelty in and of itself?” Volo asked, shrugging again. “Ah, but we could talk philosophy all day. I have a proposal for you, if you’d like to hear me out.”

Ibzan’s mood immediately dropped. Evidently, that showed, because Volo laughed and raised his hands in surrender.

“I assure you, I’m not here as a merchant this time, or for personal curiosity, but as a historian!” he said. “You’re here to speak to Calaba, correct? Well, calling her stubborn would be an understatement, but I have-”

“Heya!” Dawn said, bursting into view with a wide grin. “I caught those Croagunk, but I also found some Pachirisu nearby! They’re so cute! And I caught one! Wanna see?”

“Ah, you’re back,” Ibzan said, turning to face her. He raised his eyebrows when he got a look at her. “Wow, you’re soaked.”

“Dodging attacks here is a little messy. Small price to pay for Pokémon captures!” Dawn said proudly, wringing some of the dirty water out of her scarf.

“My, your enthusiasm is infectious,” Volo laughed. “Tell you what. Let’s head back to that camp of yours so you can get the chance to dry off, and I can explain my plan while we’re there.”

“Ooh, I do like plans,” Dawn said. “Is this related to our mission?”

“That it is! But that can wait until we’re sitting around a warm fire. You’ll catch a cold if you’re not careful, you know.”

“Bah, you worry too much,” Dawn said, flapping her hand dismissively, flicking dirty droplets everywhere. Ibzan took a step back. “But sure, I’m down for a break before we get back to business!”

“Alright then,” Volo said, clapping his hands together. “Let’s get going!”

Volo walked off ahead of them, humming to himself, and Dawn followed suit shortly after. Ibzan glanced back at the ruins one more time before he went after them.

“Hey, Ibzan,” Dawn said, bouncing excitedly as she walked. “Did I ever tell you about the Pachirisu who won a world championship?”

Chapter Text

The camp already had a stockpile of firewood in the onsite storage container, which saved them the effort of gathering it themselves. Ibzan hadn’t the first clue how to safely set up a campfire, something Dawn was surprisingly shocked to learn, but she and Volo both apparently had more than enough experience to make up for it.

They picked a point far enough away from the tents that any stray sparks wouldn’t risk hitting them. The campsite itself didn’t have any grass or other potentially flammable vegetation to worry about. They built a small ring of rocks and piled up the firewood inside it, in what Dawn called a teepee style, which she said was good for the kind of shorter stay they were planning on.

Ibzan had never even thought that far about building campfires. Different configurations for different purposes. It made sense, but they always felt kind of… fictional, in a way. Besides the Fireplace, any fires he set were just for the destruction of documents and the like. They didn’t require nearly so much preparation as this — the material was already there, after all. Just set it aflame.

Fitting, then, that in the end his sole contribution to the campfire was being the one to light it. Technically the most important step of building one, yes, but his lighter made it trivial enough that it still felt like he hadn't done much to help.

In fairness though, given his track record, attempting to involve himself any further in the process might just have resulted in one less base camp on the map.

Regardless, Dawn was now firmly on the path to dryness, though cleanliness was still a far-flung concept. They didn’t have chairs or anything, but unlike most places in the Mirelands, the ground here was dry enough that sitting on it was comfortable enough.

“My, what a curious little device!” Volo said, eyeing Ibzan’s lighter with interest as he tucked it away in his coat pocket. “Like a reusable match! Are those common, in your land beyond the rift?”

Ibzan sighed. He should’ve just let Jet handle this instead.

“Yes,” Ibzan grunted, not in the mood for these sorts of questions. Thankfully, though, Volo noticed and had enough restraint not to pursue the matter any further.

“So,” Dawn said, wringing out her scarf some more. “You’re thinking you can help us out, here?”

“Indeed I am!” Volo said, looking over at her with a smile. “You’re here to quell Ursaluna’s frenzy, correct? But to do that, you’ll need to speak to his warden first.”

“Sounds about right, yeah!”

“Do we, though?” Ibzan questioned. “If you happen to already know Ursaluna’s favourite foods, Volo, then we wouldn’t need to bother with her at all.”

“Sadly, that’s not a fact I’m privy to. But even if I was, doing that might very well cause a little tension between Galaxy Team and the Pearl Clan, wouldn’t you say?”

“Yeah…” Dawn sighed, resting her head on her fist. “Plus, it’d be rude not to at least try reaching out to her first, y’know.”

“Which brings me back to my point,” Volo said. “If you know one thing about Warden Calaba, you know she’s stubborn. She trusts outsiders about as far as she can throw them. Which isn’t very far at all — she’s ninety-nine years old, after all!”

“Woah,” Dawn murmured, eyebrows raising in surprise. “Didn’t know people could live that long at this point…”

“It might surprise you, just how long some people can cling to life,” Volo said with a laugh. “Regardless, she won’t look generously on you right off the bat. Your use of Poké Balls won’t make matters any easier, either!”

“Ugh,” Dawn groaned, folding her arms and staring at the fire as it danced. “I really don’t get why the Clans don’t like them.”

“In their eyes, we’re forcing Pokémon inside small, enclosed balls,” Ibzan pointed out. “And given they value space so highly…”

“I know, but… it’s not even like that!” she huffed. “It’s not like Pokémon can’t just break out if they really want to. You need special, not to mention illegal, Poké Ball storage container things to keep Pokémon trapped, not that those even exist here. And if they didn’t like it, why would they keep going back in the balls instead of just turning and running away, or even attacking their trainer as soon as they’re let out?”

“It’s very new technology,” Volo said with a shrug. “Perhaps, with time, they’ll come to accept them. For now, though, we don’t have that luxury.”

“But I mean, we already helped Kleavor out!” Dawn huffed. “Irida was there! Wouldn’t that count for something? …Maybe she already put in a good word for us?”

“It’s possible, but Calaba’s one to make her own judgements,” Volo said. “And she doesn’t much appreciate you quelling his frenzy by force. That’s not just an assumption on my part, either. I brought it up when I last spoke to her, just to see her reaction! And, needless to say…”

“She wasn’t happy,” Ibzan sighed. “So, what do you propose?”

Volo leaned forward with a grin.

“You may be wondering why she’s been frequenting the Solaceon Ruins as of late,” he said. “Well, within those ruins lies an engraving in the stone wall — centuries old, and one she’s spent many years caring for! But recently, the Miss Fortunes made off with a fragment of that very engraving!”

“The… Miss Fortunes,” Ibzan repeated flatly, arching a brow.

“You haven’t heard of them? They’re a trio of bandits. Notorious ones, at this point — they’ve stolen from travelling Ginkgo Guild merchants a fair few times, myself included!”

“What do bandits want with an engraving?” Dawn asked. “Does the stone have, like, gems in it or something? Or does the engraving have directions to secret treasure, maybe?”

“No gems that I’m aware of,” Volo said, rubbing his chin in thought. “And it certainly doesn’t point to any material wealth. A wealth of knowledge, perhaps. Priceless to those who value history, such as Calaba or myself, but I’m not quite sure what they expect to get out of this little heist, exactly.”

“Ransom?” Ibzan suggested. That was what he’d have done, if he’d stolen an item that was worthless to all but one person.

“Hm, very possible!” Volo said brightly, turning and smiling at him. “Good thinking! Though Calaba’s pride would certainly make negotiations… difficult for them, to say the least. I’m not sure I’d think it worth the effort, were I in their shoes.”

“A fun name like that is wasted on such a nasty bunch,” Dawn growled, clenching her fist with a determined spark in her eyes. “We need to get that fragment back where it belongs!”

“Exactly!” Volo agreed with a nod. “And, of course, I expect Warden Calaba to be quite grateful for its return, which benefits you just fine!”

“So, we track down those bandits and steal back the fragment,” Ibzan summarised, “and that’ll increase the likelihood of her cooperation.”

“Indeed!” Volo said, nodding again excitedly. “However, why stop at just that? I have a second idea to improve the warden’s opinion of you. Doing both would make that chance all the likelier!”

“And that is?”

“What else but a Pokémon battle?”

“Yes!” Dawn exclaimed, leaning forward and pointing at him enthusiastically. “Good plan! You’re so smart, Volo!”

“Okay, stop,” Ibzan said flatly. “Explain the logic here.”

“Any plan involving a Pokémon battle is a good one!”

“...Volo. Explain the logic here.”

“Of course, I’m just getting to that!” Volo laughed. “My idea is as follows. Dawn will speak to Calaba in the ruins. If she agrees to help, then wonderful! That saves us some time and effort. If she doesn’t, though, that’s where I come in.”

“Oh! I think I get where you’re going with this!” Dawn said, grinning at him.

“I don’t,” Ibzan sighed.

“She’ll likely pretend to ignore our little match,” Volo continued. “But she’s the observant type. She’ll be subtle about it, but she’ll watch closely. That, you can bet on.”

“And you can tell a lot about a person by watching them in battle!” Dawn said eagerly. “She’ll see firsthand we’re not, like, heartless monsters who only see Pokémon as tools, or whatever!”

“Is that… really it?” Ibzan asked. “What good will a single battle do? One she’s not taking part in? Surely we should just focus on the bandits and the stolen fragment instead.”

Battling clearly wasn't some insightful window into someone’s true character. Dawn had battled him too many times for that particular theory to hold any water.

“Oh, ye of little faith,” Dawn grinned. “Why do you think I took to you so quickly? Our first battle, of course!”

“Right,” Ibzan said sceptically.

“Uh-huh!” Dawn nodded. “It showed me that you’re quick on the uptake, have a good head for strategy, you’re used to giving out orders, all that. But, way more importantly, it showed me that you cared about Jet, even if you’d only met him that morning!”

“...What?”

“It’s all about the little things,” Dawn said, leaning back with a smile. “Subtle reactions to when they’re hit. The way you give your commands. Even though you were unsure about things, you still projected a strong, confident image for your partner’s sake! And, of course, you told him how well he did after you won! Some trainers take all the credit for their victories, but you acknowledged that Jet played just as much a role as you did!”

Ibzan stared at her, brow furrowed.

That…

…What?

“Don’t look so surprised! I can be observant when I want to be!” Dawn laughed. “Anyway yeah, you passed the vibe check back then, and you’ve only proved me right ever since! And I’m glad! Things’re better with you around, y’know?”

Ibzan kept staring, searching desperately for some mischievous glint in her eyes, some smirk, some… anything, to prove that she was just fucking with him here.

But, somehow, he found nothing.

Distantly, he heard Volo laugh and speak. Some sort of agreement? Ibzan barely registered the merchant’s following suggestion that the two of them have a battle of their own at some point.

“Uh, right… Sure…” Ibzan responded absently, his mind still running in circles.

“So!” Volo said, raising his voice and clapping his hands together. The sudden sound made Ibzan jump. “Dawn, you meet with Calaba and we’ll have our battle as discussed. And Ibzan, you seek out the bandits. Earlier today, I saw smoke from a campfire north of here, in the forest - perhaps a lead. If it turns out to be the bandits’ location, we’ll find that fragment all the sooner!”

“Somewhere north of here, huh…” Ibzan mused. Then, he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. “You know, somehow I’m feeling optimistic about my chances of finding it.”

“Very good!” Volo grinned. “If you find them, try to stay hidden — confronting them will be safer if we’re all together, after all. Three of them, three of us. But, if things do go wrong, I have faith that you’ll come out on top!”

“Once we’re done in the ruins, we’ll head up to where you are,” Dawn said. “Then we can grab that fragment, and we’ll be in Calaba’s good books for sure!”

“Alright,” Ibzan said, standing up. Dawn and Volo followed suit. “Let’s get moving, then.”

“Yeah! We’ve got a battle to get to!” Dawn said eagerly.

They split up at the entrance to the ruins. Dawn gave Ibzan a quick wave goodbye, and after a moment’s hesitation he waved back before he left.

Dawn smiled as she delved into the darkness of the ruins. Slowly but surely, she was cracking that shell of his. Volo stayed behind at the entrance, chatting with the Security Corpsman who was stationed there.

Dawn looked around curiously. Everything was super different to what she remembered. For one, the entrance was a lot bigger now than in the future. The corridor was just a straight shot towards one bigger room, too. Nothing like the maze of stairs and branching paths she’d had to find her way through before.

She’d have to ask Cynthia about it, when she got back. This sorta thing was right up her alley. Like ancestor, like descendent, she guessed. Maybe some earthquakes or landslides changed things up? Exposed new pathways that weren’t visible now, something like that? A landslide would explain why the entrance was so much smaller in the future, at least.

She shook her head. Focus, Dawn. Her past was the future, which wasn’t relevant yet, so what she should really be focusing on was the present. Which was the past. But not her past, just the past. In a general sense.

Focus, right. She was focusing. Walking further into the depths of the ruins, she squinted as her eyes adjusted to the darkness.

As she got near the big room, she saw two figures standing inside. A human and a Pokémon, judging by the silhouettes. Once she was close enough, she could tell they were a Bibarel and a little old woman. Calaba, she assumed.

At the sound of her footsteps, the woman glanced over at her.

“Uh, hi! I’m Dawn!” she greeted nervously.

Calaba turned and looked her up and down. It reminded Dawn of being subjected to one of Professor Rowan’s stern glares. She tried not to fidget.

“I’m Calaba of the Pearl Clan,” she said. “Warden Calaba to you.”

“Nice to meet you, Warden Calaba!” Dawn said brightly, doing her best to shake off the nerves. “So, I wanted to ask—”

“You’re the one who fell from the Space-Time Rift, aren’t you?” she interrupted. “One of two, anyway.”

“Oh, I, uh… I guess, yeah…” Dawn stuttered, her momentum halted.

“Why the vague response, hm?” Calaba said flatly, tilting her head as she glared up at her. “Something to hide?”

“Ah! No! Nothing to hide! I fell, yes! A-All the way down!” Dawn blurted, waving her hands in front of her as she scrambled to salvage this conversation.

She needed to get a grip! Calaba wouldn’t let her help at this rate! Ugh, she always hated being pressured like this!

“Hmph. I’ve heard about you, and the tall one,” she said, clasping her hands behind her back. “That you two quelled Kleavor in his frenzy.”

“Ah, yeah! That’s why I’m here, actually! You see, if we—”

“I’m sure many people were saved by your actions, but I can’t help but wonder if there wasn’t another, better way to handle the situation.”

“Well, uh, that’s…”

“You rushed ahead with the first solution you thought of — one hardly any different from bullying him into submission — and didn’t stop for a moment to consider a single other approach,” she said, looking down her nose at her. “Rushing ahead without thought, like those Diamond Clan fools. Well, I don’t need any help from either of you.”

“But— I— Please, if we just—”

“Be on your way,” Calaba said dismissively, turning away from her. “I’ve enough to worry about as it is, and I don’t need any more distractions.”

And with that, she walked towards the wall at the end of the room, her Bibarel trotting along at her side.

Dawn just stared at the back of Calaba’s head. Everyone had said she’d be stubborn, sure, but… she thought she’d do better than that. Calaba looked at her like she was the least capable person on Earth, and… boy was she feeling like it, right now.

Maybe… Maybe she should’ve been the one to look for the bandits, instead? It wasn’t like she hadn’t tangled with criminals before. And she’d definitely have done a lot better there than… whatever that was.

Ugh.

She was a champion! Why did people like that just get to her? It’s like she didn’t learn anything from Cynthia at all! Why wasn’t she just—

“Ah, Dawn!” came a familiar voice from behind. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you! And then, just when I’d given up and gone to examine these ruins instead, here you are!”

Oh, right, the battle.

…Oh, right! The battle! Dawn felt her mood instantly shot back up. She’d nearly forgotten the whole reason she was here, after that mess of a… could she call it a conversation? Well, whatever it was, she could forget it for now.

“Volo!” Dawn greeted with a brilliantly natural-sounding laugh, turning to face him. “Fancy seeing you out here!”

“How about you show me the strength that could quell even a frenzied lord?” he suggested, pointing excitedly at her.

Okay, now she just needed to smoothly accept the battle, without making it sound like they planned this out in advance. Easy-peasy.

“A battle? I dunno, I’m kind of on a mission right now!”

Volo smiled brightly at her.

“Tone it down a little,” he said, low enough that his voice wouldn’t carry far. “Just act natural, okay?”

Dawn winced.

“Come now,” Volo said, returning to his usual volume. “Who knows when we’ll next get the chance to meet up like this, given our busy schedules?”

“Well, when you put it like that, sure!” Dawn grinned, feeling the pressure melt away some. Battling! If there was anything she could do, it was that!

“Excellent!” he said cheerily, holding up a Poké Ball with an excited smirk. “Let’s get to it then, shall we?”

His Togepi popped out of the ball with a bright burst of light. Ouch. Not great in a dark place like this. She released Kilowatt onto the battlefield, making sure to shut her eyes as he appeared.

“Thunder Shock, Agile Style!” Dawn commanded. “See if you can’t paralyse her!”

“Ah, interesting,” Volo commented. “Togepi, Calm Mind.”

Kilowatt charged his electricity up, fur standing on end as the air buzzed, then fired it at his opponent. Agile Style meant he built up less of it, but it did make sure he could fire it off sooner. Togepi just shook off the blast, though, not looking much worse for wear. So much for that paralysis, then.

Togepi closed her eyes and took a deep breath, a soft light flickering into existence in front of her before it burst open, shooting towards Togepi and enveloping her body in a subtle sheen.

Alright. She needed to shift tactics. Lean more on the offensive side to stop Volo from buffing Togepi up any more. Bite wouldn’t be useful, not against a Fairy type, but that wasn’t the only trick Kilowatt had up his… mouth.

“Okay, Kilowatt! Close the distance and use Thunder Fang!”

“Hold for now, Togepi! Wait for your chance!”

Kilowatt charged forward, mouth crackling with energy. Togepi, meanwhile, just stood in place, bracing for the attack. Just as Kilowatt bit down on her, Volo spoke up once again.

“Now! Strong Style Draining Kiss!”

Before he could react, Togepi pressed her mouth up against the Luxio’s snout, pink light flowing as she drained him of his energy. Kilowatt hurriedly broke away from her, backing off, swaying a little as he came to a stop.

Oh, how interesting! Dawn couldn’t help the grin that broke out on her face. Volo had Togepi use Calm Mind to bait an approach, and then once Kilowatt did just that, he took advantage of it right away!

Despite it being Strong Style, though, it clearly didn’t heal all the damage Togepi had taken. And now, she was winded from the effort an attack in that style took.

“Okay, Kilowatt, one more Thunder Fang, Agile Style, then back off!”

“Evade it, Togepi!”

Togepi did her best to do just that, but Kilowatt was already so close. Combined with the strain from the Strong Style attack, she didn’t have a hope of avoiding his next bite. Didn’t help that Kilowatt’s legs were so much longer than hers, either. He charged forward in the blink of an eye and bit down, just long enough for the electricity to surge through her, then let go and took a few steps back.

“Alright, keep using Quick Attack!” Dawn called. “Stay light on your feet!”

“Hm. Tackle! Stop him before he can get going!”

Try as she might, though, Togepi just couldn’t land a hit on Kilowatt as he dashed around the arena, slowly chipping her down and avoiding any Tackles or Draining Kisses she tried. Eventually, Togepi collapsed. Volo smiled and shrugged, recalling her back into her ball.

“That strategy was pretty cool, Volo!” Dawn said enthusiastically. “How long did you and Togepi practise that together?”

“Ah, you flatter me,” Volo laughed. “You clocked onto what was happening right away, and you put a stop to any attempts at repeating that little trick.”

“Yeah, but still! It was a cool plan! Not a lot of people around here strategise like that! I think what you need are some ranged attacks to complement it, is all! That way, you’ll have an easier time when your opponent keeps their distance!”

“I’ll bear that in mind,” he said with a smile, holding up another Poké Ball. “This is my last Pokémon, but rest assured we’re not out of the fight yet.”

He threw it out onto the field, and out popped…

“A Gible!” Dawn gasped, running forward and dropping down to her knees in front of it. “Hello! Where’d you find it, Volo? They’re super rare, y’know!”

A male one, actually, from the looks of things. Cynthia had explained it to her before, showing how her Garchomp lacked the notch in her fin that males, like this little guy, did have. Dawn scratched him on the chin, after a careful pat to make sure he wasn’t one of the rare ones with Rough Skin. Cynthia’s one wasn’t either, but she’d warned her to be very careful when petting the Gible line, just in case.

“Maybe where you’re from,” Volo said. “Here, though, they’re not all that uncommon a sight in the Coronet Highlands, if you know where to look. I’m sure your survey work will take you there soon enough!”

“I hope so! I have a friend who has one of these, y’know. They’re really cute… Hey! Stop, that’s not for eating!” Dawn laughed as the Gible gnawed gently on her sleeve.

Volo cleared his throat, raising his eyebrows when she looked up at him.

“Ah! Right, the battle! Sorry, I just got excited,” Dawn said, rubbing the back of her head as she got to her feet.

“Oh, don’t worry, I know what you’re like,” he said with a smile, “but for now, let’s get back to it, shall we?”

“Yeah! Alright, sorry Kilowatt, but this isn’t your wheelhouse,” Dawn said, calling him back into his ball. “You’ve got the rest, Shelly!”

The Dewott popped out in a burst of light, her shells glinting in the small amounts of sunlight that reached here from the entrance.

“You know your typings, I see. Oh well. Earth Power, Gible!”

“Try to dodge, Shelly!”

Volo must’ve caught Gible pretty recently, because he didn’t seem to know that many moves — just Twister and Earth Power, from what she could tell. While he did his best, his limited range of attacks made him predictable enough that Shelly managed to dodge most of what he threw out. Soon enough, she landed one last Water Pulse, and Gible collapsed.

“My, hearing about your battle prowess is one thing, but seeing it is another!” Volo said, recalling Gible and folding his arms with a grin. “You’re quite adept at instructing your Pokémon in battle. Goodness, how fun!”

“Volo!” Dawn whined, running up to him. “Why didn’t you tell me you caught a Gible? I thought we were friends!”

“Ahaha, I have to keep a few things under my hat, you know!” he said with a wink. “I need to keep pace with you somehow!”

“Well if you care for him properly, your Gible could be a beast!” Dawn said. “My friend, she raised one all the way to a Garchomp, and she’s super strong!”

“Really now?” he said, stroking his chin. “I’ve heard Gible can be quite a hassle to raise, but I couldn’t help but pick up this little fellow on my way through the Highlands.”

“Yeah, but I know you can do it! Okay, so they really like to gnaw on things. Don’t worry if they chip or lose a tooth, ‘cause they always grow back super quick! That’s how they learn to regulate how hard they bite. Oh, and when he evolves, he’ll probably gain an interest in shiny stuff. You should be especially careful, since you’re a merchant and—”

“Ahem.”

Dawn froze. She’d forgotten all about Calaba.

“If you two are quite done smashing up the floor of this centuries-old room, then I’ll kindly ask that you leave,” she spat.

“Of course!” Volo said calmly as ever, nodding at her with a smile. “We apologise for the disruption.”

Calaba just humphed and turned back towards the wall, looking up at the missing section of the stone. Volo turned and strolled back out into the corridor leading to the exit. Dawn glanced nervously between the two of them.

“Uh, s-sorry!” Dawn called, before running to catch up with Volo.

“Well!” he smiled, clapping his hands together. “I think that went quite well, don’t you?”

“I— No! Not at all!” Dawn said frantically. “Oh man, that just made her even more annoyed at me than before!”

“Ah, don’t worry so much,” Volo said, patting her on the head. “Notice how she didn’t say a word until after the battle was over. She may pretend otherwise, but she was interested.”

“...Huh,” Dawn said thoughtfully. “I guess you’re right.”

“That I am! Stopping the match to pet my Gible was inspired, by the way. Definitely showed off your love of Pokémon.”

“I… I’d forgotten what we were doing by then, actually…” she admitted. “I was just… really excited when I saw him.”

“Of course you were!” Volo said happily, stopping and turning to face her. “There’s a reason I told you to just act naturally, you know. No need for deception when the real deal is more than enough! Why did you think you were the one I had approach her, between the two of you?”

“Oh… I, that’s… I thought you just picked Ibzan for that ‘cause he’s big and tough and stuff,” Dawn said, a self-conscious smile breaking out on her face.

“Either of you could handle the Miss Fortunes, of that I’m sure,” Volo said. “And watching Ibzan would have swayed Calaba just fine, certainly. But watching you, that would convince anyone! Your care for Pokémon shines through, like the sun through storm clouds!”

“Stop, you’re gonna make me blush!” Dawn laughed, fighting not to actually do that.

“I’m just speaking the truth!”

“Really though,” Dawn said. “Thank you so much for helping us convince her. My first conversation with her was a disaster, so I can’t imagine how we’d have done without your help…”

“Oh, I know for a fact that you’d have found a way. Still, the pleasure is mine! For now, though, why don’t we see if Ibzan’s had any luck in his search?”

“Right! Here, check this out!”

Dawn reached into her satchel and brought out her Arc Phone, turning the display on and opening the map.

“My, what a… curious device,” Volo murmured, stroking his chin as he leaned down to look at the screen. “Is that a map of the surrounding area?”

“It is! And check this out,” she said, pointing at the blue arrow north of where they were. “That’s where Ibzan is, right now! What do you say we go pay him a visit?”

“How incredibly handy! I don’t suppose you would be willing to part with that? It certainly looks like it’d save me a lot of work.”

“Sorry, Mr. Merchant, it’s not for sale!”

“I thought not,” he laughed. “But it was worth a shot, regardless. So, you had some advice for raising my little Gible, then?”

“Ah, right! So, Gible really like to burrow underground — that’s how they stay warm in cold weather — so you really need to watch and make sure he doesn’t destroy any floors or anything. Oh! And furniture! My friend had to replace a lot of chairs back before she trained her to only gnaw on her toys. Also, when they evolve…”

Never let it be said that Arceus was a distant taskmaster, because the marker it placed on his map made tracking down the bandits’ camp laughably easy. When he reached the clearing, he took cover behind a tree and surveyed the area.

Aside from the distant clicks of the Paras he’d had to avoid on the way here, the campsite itself was surprisingly quiet. He supposed that would be why they set it up here — wild Pokémon harassing them wouldn’t make for a good resting point.

He listened out for a while longer — the surrounding trees lowered visibility enough that it was best not to rely on eyesight alone — but it seemed the area was empty. He grabbed Jet’s ball from his satchel and crept forward towards the camp itself.

It was spartan, compared to Galaxy Team’s setup. Several stumps surrounded a burnt-out campfire, so there was seating, but that was about all it had. No tents or anything else of that nature. That probably meant they’d already packed their things up, which—

Hold on. Leaning against that stump… was a slab of rock.

Ibzan knelt down and ran a hand along its surface. Engraved on the front were a series of characters that looked… familiar, somehow. Something in the back of his head told him he should be able to read this, and yet he couldn’t make sense of it whatsoever. Regardless, this was definitely the stolen wall fragment he was here for.

And its presence in the camp suggested that the bandits had every intention of returning here.

Ibzan reached out and laid a hand on the wood of the campfire. Still warm, but not enough for it to have just been extinguished. Which meant the bandits had been here recently, but also that they had left a while ago.

In other words, the bandits were likely already on their way back here. Ibzan stood and looked around the clearing. He heard nothing but the wind blowing through the trees. Feeling on edge, he glanced back at the fragment.

He didn’t know how dangerous these bandits were. Taking the fragment now would slow him down — it was a huge chunk of rock, after all. Better to leave it be, and watch from a distance until Dawn arrived. There was strength in numbers, after all.

After one more quick sweep of the treeline, Ibzan turned to leave, and—

He took a step back as he saw three figures standing in the clearing, in a spot he’d checked just moments prior.

How did they get there? He’d heard nothing to signal their approach. It was quiet enough here that there was nothing to mask their footsteps, and yet…

“Now, who might you be?” one of them said. “Certainly not the average traveller. You that giant we’ve been hearing whispers about?”

Ibzan shifted himself into a ready stance, saying nothing.

“Giant or no, there’s only one reason someone’d go poking around out here in the middle of nowhere!” the leftmost bandit growled. “You’re after us three, aren’t you?!”

“Sisters, we should introduce ourselves properly, before we show this poor fool how wrong he was to stick his nose in our business,” the one on the right said.

The one in the middle sent a glare his way, placing a hand on her hip.

“I bring good luck to my sisters wherever I go — and ill luck to anyone who crosses our paths,” she said loudly. “I’m the eldest, and I’ll be your unlucky Charm!”

“Thought you spotted a four-leaf clover? Well, I’ll soon have you seeing double?” the one on the left proclaimed. “I’m the middle sister, and I’m one Clover you can’t pick!”

“Heads, I win, and tails, you lose — you’ve got no chance in this game of fortunes,” the third declared. “I’m the youngest, Coin, but I’m definitely not your good-luck piece.”

Then, the three of them… posed. In synchrony. All together, they yelled:

“We’re the infamous bandit trio, the Miss Fortune Sisters — and your luck’s just run out!”

Ibzan just stared at the trio in front of him, speechless. Did they… rehearse that?

“I… What was that meant to be?” he asked, baffled. “Are the three of you bandits, or a circus troupe?”

“Wh— Hey!” Clover growled, stomping the ground. “What kind of reaction is that? Who do you think you are?”

“Who do I— Wait. Clover… and Coin,” Ibzan repeated. “The Survey Corps members who provoked a Shinx, ran from it, tripped over a sleeping Bidoof, then tumbled into the river? And loudly swore to quit moments after?”

“You— Who told you about that?” Clover screeched, causing Ibzan to wince at the volume. “Was it Laventon? Ooh, I’ll rip that stupid hat off his head and shove it down his throat!”

“Clover,” Charm said, voice firm. “Keep your cool.”

Ibzan pinched the bridge of his nose.

“You didn’t even bother to come up with aliases after becoming criminals? What kind of bandits are you?”

“The kind with recognisable faces,” Charm replied coolly, crossing her arms and levelling him with a flat look.

“You want to know what kind of bandits we are, hm?” Coin asked, tossing a Poké Ball up and down in her hand. “I’d be happy to oblige. Don’t worry though, I’ll only hurt you a little.”

She tossed the ball forward, and out popped a Pokémon he didn’t recognise. The evolution of a Croagunk, he assumed? It grinned menacingly at them, settling into a fighting stance.

“Come on, Scarlet,” she said with a smirk. “Let’s douse this fool in poison!”

Ibzan wasn’t taking chances here. He threw Jet’s ball, releasing him onto the battlefield. Noticing the tension in Ibzan’s stance, Jet growled fiercely at his opponent.

“Flame Wheel,” Ibzan commanded. “Agile Style.”

Before Coin could get a word out, Jet curled up into a ball and shot forward, much like whenever he performed a Rollout. This time, though, he was wreathed in a thick cloak of flame. Scarlet barely had time to start dodging to the side before the Quilava crashed directly into her, using the momentum to bounce away and land out of retaliation distance.

“Now, Quick Attack.”

“Oh, no you don’t. Rock Smash, Scarlet!”

Jet took off once again, striking at his opponent before she could ready her own attack. This time, though, she charged forward as soon as Jet came to a halt. She stamped her foot on the ground, a chunk of rock launching upwards, then she slammed her fist through it and into Jet, both hitting him and showering him with sharp, jagged fragments of stone.

“Rock Smash, hm? Okay, Jet, Aerial Ace. Strong Style!”

“That thing knows Aerial— Uh, block it, Scarlet!”

Scarlet immediately stepped back, bracing for impact. The air shifted, and Jet suddenly appeared in front of her. He struck viciously, sending Scarlet skidding several metres back from the impact. She shuddered, then collapsed.

Ibzan smirked. Looked like his little guess at her typing paid off.

He looked back at Coin, waiting for her next Pokémon, but she just… tisked and turned away with a shrug.

“Hmph. Even after leaving, the Galaxy Team just won’t stop ruining things for me,” she muttered.

…That was it? One Pokémon?

Coin turned back to face him with a fierce glare.

“Just take the blasted thing and leave us alone,” she growled. “Trying to lug that thing out of here was a bad plan, anyway.”

“H-Hey!” Clover yelled. “Just because—”

“Clover,” Charm snapped, her tone as hard as steel. “We can get back at her warden some other way. Your plan’s a bust, let’s just go.”

“Don’t call that stupid old bag my warden,” Coin hissed.

“Tell me,” Charm said, turning to face Ibzan. “Why were you seeking us out? What set you on this path?”

“I don’t see why you think I need to tell you anything,” Ibzan said coldly. Jet growled at them from his side.

“Hmph. You needn’t bother,” she said with a roll of her eyes. “That eyesore of a uniform speaks loudly enough on its own. Galaxy Team’s pet giant. They’re holding your leash tightly, I see. How long, I wonder, until they decide to yank at it?”

Ibzan glared, saying nothing.

“Well, I have a score to settle, and if you’re with them, then that includes you!” she shouted, before turning to the side and shutting her eyes. “Remember what those ancient verses tell us… ‘Why is it, in days of spring, beneath the soft caress of the sun, the blossoms tremble and fall, spirits lashed by uncertainty?’”

Ibzan stared at her.

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

“That your days are also numbered, Galaxy fool.”

Charm raised her hand and threw something downwards. It hit the ground with a bang, and suddenly the area was enveloped in smoke. Ibzan coughed and waved it away from his face, but by the time the smoke dissipated, the bandits were long gone.

Well. That was… an encounter. Were they really what passed for criminals in this world? They’d have been eaten alive back in that Place.

He shook his head and glanced behind him, confirming that the wall fragment still lay where he left it. Sighing, he walked over and sat down on one of the stumps, folding his arms. Jet stood at his side, watching out for any potential dangers for him, whether that be the Miss Fortunes or the wild Pokémon in the area.

After waiting for however long — he just sat and let time pass in a blur, like he used to between missions — Ibzan came back to awareness as Jet let out a small, happy cry. He looked up to see Dawn and Volo emerge from the treeline.

“Well, hello!” Volo greeted, looking around at the empty camp. “I take it you drove them off all on your lonesome?”

“Aw,” Dawn pouted. “I wanted to fight them!”

“You’d have been disappointed,” Ibzan sighed, standing and stretching the stiffness away. “Anyway, stealing the fragment was some sort of revenge scheme, from the sounds of things. They abandoned it at the first sign of resistance, though.”

“Hmm,” Volo said, kneeling down and examining the fragment. “Yes, this is the genuine article, alright! Well done, Ibzan!”

“It was nothing,” he said flatly. “Really.”

Dawn peeked over Volo’s shoulder.

“Oh, so that’s what they stole?” Dawn asked. “And they wanted to get back at Calaba for something? Any idea what for?”

“Only one of them cared about this particular scheme, from the sounds of things,” Ibzan said. “They were all ex-Galaxy Team, though, and they all share the same grudge against them. And us, by extension.”

“So you think we might be seeing them again, at some point?”

“I… wouldn’t bet against it,” he sighed. “How’d things go on your end, anyway?”

“Oh, Dawn performed quite admirably!” Volo chimed in. “When she wasn’t trying to put on a performance, that is.”

“Hey! So I’m not exactly Pokéstar Studios material, so what?” she said hotly, folding her arms with a pout. “It all worked out in the end, anyway!”

“Pokéstar Studios?” Volo repeated, raising a brow. “Whatever might that be?”

“Oh, uh… That’s… Well…”

Dawn meandered for a few seconds before Ibzan rolled his eyes and jumped in.

“You mentioned that the other week, didn’t you?” he lied. “Some theatre group where you’re from, wasn’t it?”

“Ah, right! Yes, exactly!” Dawn suddenly blurted, proving Volo’s earlier point.

“I see! Yes, that makes perfect sense,” Volo agreed much too easily. Then, he straightened, dusting off the front of his uniform. “Well, I’m happy to have been of help, but I do have duties to attend to. I’ll leave the rest in your capable hands!”

He tipped his hat at them, and set off in the direction they’d come from.

“Okay, bye Volo! Thanks again for the help!” Dawn called, waving at him.

Volo smiled warmly and waved back before disappearing into the treeline.

“Okay!” Dawn said with a determined nod. “Time to put this back where it belongs!”

She grabbed the stone tablet and did her very best to lift it, reaching the admirable height of about an inch above the ground before she wheezed and dropped it, red-faced with exertion.

“Whew! This thing’s, uh, pretty big, huh?” she said, breathing heavily. “And very… made of stone. How did those bandits even move this thing?”

“Used a Pokémon, probably,” Ibzan suggested with a shrug.

“Ah, yeah, that makes sense! Hm, let’s see… Who’d be best to carry this thing back? Maybe if we got it on Kilowatt’s back, we could—”

Ibzan interrupted her by hefting the thing up with a grunt, carrying it on his shoulder.

“Woah. Okay, Mr. HM-oh-four,” Dawn said with a laugh. “Think you can carry it all the way back like that?”

“HM…? Whatever. I’ll manage,” Ibzan said, voice strained from the effort. Despite being small enough to haul like this, it was still a thick slab of stone. “Let’s get moving before I drop it and break it in half, though.”

“Right!” Dawn said with a nod. The two of them began walking in the direction of the ruins. “If you do, though, let’s just say it’s the bandits’ fault! I won’t tell if you won’t.”

Chapter Text

Ibzan grunted, pausing as he shifted the fragment from one shoulder to the other. They’d been walking for a while now, and the thing wasn’t getting any damn lighter.

“...You, uh, sure you’re good?” Dawn asked worriedly, glancing at him. “I mean, that thing’s, like, super heavy. We can take a break.”

“I’m sure,” Ibzan replied, taking another step forward. The weight suddenly felt like it tripled, and the fragment slid out of his grasp. Hurriedly, he stepped to the side and let it drop. Dawn let out a panicked squeak as it slammed down, narrowly missing Ibzan’s foot.

They both stared blankly at the fragment as it lay there. Ibzan took a deep, calming breath, moved to a nearby fallen log, and took a seat.

“I suppose a break wouldn’t hurt,” he sighed, resting his head on his hand.

“Well, if you’re sure,” Dawn said dryly, plopping down next to him.

Ibzan huffed. At least the fall hadn’t further damaged the fragment. He doubted that would win them any favours with Calaba. Leaning back, he looked up through the canopy at the cloudy sky. They quietly sat together for a while. Dawn idly swayed her head back and forth, humming softly to herself.

“Y’know,” he said, breaking the silence, “we really need to work on your deflection.”

“Hm?”

“Whenever you accidentally mention something to do with the future. If someone asks you to elaborate, you often just freeze up. That’s not going to ease any suspicions.”

“Ugh, I know,” Dawn groaned, sliding her hands down her face. “I’m bad at talking when I’m panicked, alright? And talking isn’t my strong suit at the best of times! I just let my Pokémon battles do the talking for me, y’know?”

Ibzan rubbed his chin in thought. He knew that Dawn wouldn’t mention those sorts of things if she could help it, but she had a tendency to speak without thinking when her guard was lowered.

“How about this? Next time you mention something anachronistic, I might ask you about it. I also might not. I’ll decide on a whim,” he suggested. “That way, we can practise responding when you’ve been caught off guard.”

“I mean, I guess?” Dawn said hesitantly, looking away from him. “I dunno if I can do it in the first place, though. On or off guard.”

“Lying isn't difficult. You just need a starting point,” Ibzan said, leaning down to meet her gaze. “Base them in truth as much as you can. Take that question Volo asked, for example. Plays are a close enough equivalent to movies that people here would know about. And even if he asked for further elaboration — your favourite play, actor, whatever — you could just base those answers in that same truth.”

“Huh,” Dawn said thoughtfully. “I did do something like that a while back, actually. Pesselle asked about my phone while I was at the infirmary. I’d been looking at the photos, so I talked about that, and she compared it to the Professor’s camera!”

“See? Easy,” he said with a satisfied nod. “Just go for the nearest equivalent they’d be familiar with, and they shouldn’t suspect anything. Take the time when Volo asked about the Pokémon where I’m from — I just thought of an animal and described that instead.”

Well, hellhounds were hardly just ‘an animal’. But explaining that would mean explaining undeath, which Ibzan had no intention of Dawn ever learning about. He ignored the twinge in his chest as he watched her mull over his words.

“That makes sense, yeah. ‘Animals’ aren’t a thing here, but Pokémon are the closest thing… Okay! I’ll do my best!” she said, clenching her fist and looking up at him with a grin.

“Good,” Ibzan said with a slight smile, knocking the back of her fist with his own. “I’ll keep an ear out for things people might question. For now, though… I’d say we’ve rested here long enough.”

He stood and walked back over to the fragment. Dawn followed, looking nervously between him and the oversized slab of rock.

“Okay, just… be careful? I don’t think Pesselle’ll be happy with you if you break your foot. And I won’t be, either!”

“Sure, sure,” Ibzan said dismissively, hefting the stone back up onto his shoulder. After double checking that his stance was solid, he started walking again. Dawn joined him on the side he wasn’t carrying the fragment on.

“Look, just say something if you get tired again, okay?” Dawn said. “I’m not a mind reader, y’know!”

Yes, that much was clear. Her outlook on him would certainly be different if she could.

“Hm? Come to bother me again, have you?” Calaba asked, not turning to face them. “Badger me all you want, my answer remains the same.”

“Actually, we—”

Ibzan placed the wall fragment on the floor with a heavy thud, interrupting whatever Dawn was going to say. Calaba turned, looking down at the fragment, then up at him.

“Would this change things?” he asked dryly, quirking a brow.

“Ah…” Calaba said, clearly caught off guard. “You… retrieved it for me.”

“Actions speak louder than words,” Ibzan said. “Particularly where deaf ears are involved.”

“Ibzan,” Dawn hissed, elbowing him.

“Hmph. You’re the other one, then,” she sniffed. “Tell me, you two. Why go out of your way to help me with this, after I so thoroughly rebuffed you?”

“We have a mission to quell Ursaluna’s frenzy,” Ibzan said. “And we need your cooperation to do that.”

Dawn elbowed him again. Ibzan frowned, glancing down at her. He didn’t even say anything wrong that time, did he?

“Listen…” Dawn said quietly, fidgeting under Calaba’s gaze. “That fragment’s important to you, right? We couldn’t just let them steal it like that. And… Yes, we do need your help with Ursaluna. Kleavor… just watching him was… awful. He… He was in pain, I could tell.”

She shuddered briefly. Then, she looked back up at Calaba with a resolute expression.

“If I can do something to stop the other nobles from going through that, I will. So please, let us help.”

Calaba squinted at Dawn, searching her expression for something. An uncomfortably long pause later, she sighed and looked away.

“Truthfully, I didn’t expect anyone else to genuinely care for Ursaluna like I do… But I can see that you’re earnest. Very well, I… would be grateful to accept your help.”

“You will?” Dawn asked, perking up. “Yes! I promise, you won’t regret it one bit!”

“Thanks. So, where did you want this?” Ibzan asked, motioning to the fragment.

“Well, back in the wall would be nice,” Calaba drawled. “I know a certain musclehead who’ll be more than happy to step up to that little challenge, though. Unless you’re offering?”

Ibzan followed her gaze to the missing section of the wall, far above their heads, then down at the heavy, heavy chunk of rock.

“...No,” he said. “I’m not.”

“Then just leave it where it is. I’ll see to it that it’s returned to its rightful place.”

Ibzan looked down at the etched letters with a grimace.

“...If I may ask,” he said slowly, “what do these runes mean?”

It felt like there was… an itch in his brain. The characters should have made sense to him, but just… didn’t. He didn’t know whether to consider it a feeling of déjà vu or jamais vu.

“It’s a dead language, as I understand it. Rarely known outside of those who value history,” Calaba said. “But I’m familiar enough to translate its written form. When this fragment is back in place, the whole etching reads ‘All lives touch other lives to create something anew and alive’.”

He looked down at the writing on the fragment, but even knowing what it translated to didn’t help him make any more sense of the symbols than before.

Calaba hummed, crossing her arms and tilting her head to the side.

“I’ve read it many a time in my years caring for these ruins, but… this is the first time I feel like I’ve properly understood its message. I suppose experiencing something first-hand is a world of difference from simply reading about it, hm?”

“...Sure,” Ibzan said.

It… was a nice sentiment. People change others for the better. Someone like him, though… He glanced over at Dawn. When she looked curiously back up at him, he quickly averted his gaze. He was doing his best to be better, but…

Would his influence truly be something ‘anew and alive’ for her? Or would it be ‘disparate and detrimental’? He looked different, sure, but he was still the same beneath all that. What if those old impulses and behaviours were etched just that little bit too deeply into him?

He was trying to change for the better, but… what if his presence just changed Dawn for the worse, instead?

Ibzan shook his head. No, Dawn was a good person. A strong person. She wouldn’t fall into the same pitfalls that he did. She wasn't the sort who could be dragged down by someone like him.

Never mind the fact he was teaching her how best to deceive people less than twenty minutes ago.

…He let out a frustrated sigh.

“You good, Ibzan?” Dawn asked, snapping him out of his train of thought. He blinked as she looked up at him, concern shining in her eyes.

“Just lost in thought,” he deflected, averting his gaze. He turned to Calaba. “So, Ursaluna.”

“Yes, I was getting to that,” Calaba said, flapping her hand at him. “So stay focused, if you would be so kind. While he seems to be enraged, he doesn’t seem to be in an utter frenzy. Not like what I’ve heard about with Kleavor. He’s acting more aggressively than usual, but he’s not calculatingly attacking people. I think that, if I can administer some medicine, he should return to normal.”

“Oh, great!” Dawn said with a grin. “Just give it here, and we’ll—”

“I haven’t made it yet.”

“...Oh,” Dawn said, wilting.

“I wasn’t expecting the opportunity to resolve this today,” Calaba tutted. “I’m not one to engage any Pokémon in battle, let alone my lord.”

She ran a hand through her Bibarel’s fur, who leaned into her touch.

“You, though…” she said, eyeing Dawn. “You’ve proven yourself quite capable in that particular field. I’ll need to rely on you to tire Ursaluna out enough that I can give him his medicine. Think you can handle that, girl?”

“I can,” Dawn promised, expression serious.

Calaba scrutinised her and Ibzan for a few more moments, then nodded.

“I’ll need the rest of the day to travel back and prepare it,” she said. “Ursaluna prefers to stay on Sludge Mound, southeast of these ruins. I’m sure your Galaxy Team associates could point you there, if need be. Perhaps a place of comfort will help to ease him that much more quickly. Please meet me there tomorrow at midday, and I’ll call Ursaluna there for you.”

Calaba walked past them towards the entrance, paused a moment, then swivelled around again.

“You two,” she said, gesturing at them. “Dawn. Ibzan. I’m placing my trust in the two of you. Don’t make me regret that. Lend me your strength, and together we might just heal Ursaluna of his suffering. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Calaba turned and left, her Bibarel trotting along behind her.

“That went well!” Dawn said with a grin. “Aaaannnd, we’ve got the rest of the day free! Enough time to do a little more exploring before we head back for the night!”

“Well…” Ibzan said slowly. On one hand, it would be better to spend their time making sure they were prepared for another noble fight. Stocking up on potions, that sort of thing. On the other hand… Dawn was staring up at him with such wide, pleading eyes. “...We’re meeting her at midday. We could make our final preparations tomorrow morning, I suppose.”

“Yes!” Dawn cheered, bouncing up and down as she grabbed his wrist. “Come on, Ibzan, no time to waste! Places to explore, Pokémon to capture! Let’s go!”

As Ibzan let her drag him out of the ruins, he couldn’t help the small smile that grew on his face.

“Soooo, I was thinking,” Dawn said as she pulled him along. “We already went down the path to the right, right? Well, let’s check out the other way next!”

Ibzan stopped walking. Dawn continued a step past him before being yanked back by her own grip on his arm. He levelled her with a flat look when she turned back to face him.

“The path occupied by that large, angry ball of vines?” he asked, raising a brow. “The one we agreed would be best avoided for now? That path?”

“Yeah, well, I’ve been thinking about this since we last saw her, and I think I’ve got a gameplan sorted!” Dawn said, with a determined smile. “C’mon, let’s walk and talk!”

She began pulling at his arm again. Ibzan rolled his eyes and followed along, listening to her explanation as they went along. He had to admit, despite his reservations he felt a lot more comfortable taking on the Alpha with her strategy in mind. Once they got near its territory, they crouched behind a nearby boulder, in case it wandered further from the spot they’d seen it last.

“Okay! So, you got the plan down?” Dawn asked, looking up at him.

“Yup,” Ibzan replied with a nod. “Gang up on it.”

“No!” Dawn whined. “Don’t put it like that, I feel bad enough already that we’re not just doing a straightforward fight! We’re not ganging up on it, we’re just… levelling the playing field, alright?”

“No shame in taking what advantages you get,” Ibzan said. “Playing fair is what gets you killed.”

Dawn just gave him a look he couldn’t decipher, before shaking her head.

“That’s… Uh, y’know what, forget it, we’re burning daylight here,” she said, digging into her satchel and retrieving a couple Poké Balls. “You ready?”

“Let’s go,” he said, doing the same.

The Alpha’s eyes snapped up at them the moment they entered its line of sight, red eyes burning fiercely as they approached. It stood stock still, glaring like it did before, until they passed some invisible threshold and it darted forward with shocking speed for its size. As it moved, rocks burst out from the ground, surrounded by a purple aura, before shooting towards the two of them.

Dawn dodged to the side, while Ibzan ducked out of the way and kept running forward. Dodging a swipe from one of the Tangrowth’s vines, Ibzan released Jet and Balisong onto the field. Behind him, he heard Kilowatt and Bennett let out cries of their own as Dawn sent them out.

“Jet, Flame Wheel. Balisong, Air Slash.”

Balisong moved first, wings buzzing harshly as she sped forward. Another row of rocks burst from the ground, forcing her to change her course and take to the sky. Slashing both her scythes forward, two blades of wind surged towards the Tangrowth. It raised its arms to block them, small chunks of vine flying off from the point of impact, and retaliated by launching the rocks up at her.

While the Tangrowth was focused on the Scyther above it, Jet caught it off guard with a Flame Wheel to the side. With a growl, it turned and moved to grab Jet with its vines, but was interrupted as a bolt of electricity crashed against its head.

“Nice hit, Kilowatt!” Dawn cheered.

While Jet and Balisong both had type advantage against the Tangela, they also both did their best work at close range. A range that happened to be the worst position to be in against an Alpha. Or any opponent, really. Ibzan knew this well — close melee skirmishes were a mess, and best avoided unless you had some sort of advantage to exploit.

The Tangela turned towards Kilowatt with a growl, just in time to take a burst of star projectiles to the back of the head, courtesy of Bennett.

If you had no advantage in a fight, then you just had to change the situation to make one. With Kilowatt and Bennett harassing it from range, the Alpha’s attention was now split among four separate Pokémon, none of which it could afford to ignore.

…But that didn’t mean it couldn’t still prioritise. Slamming its hand into the ground, several more rocks rose and launched in different directions — one towards Jet, one towards Balisong, and one towards Ibzan.

Ibzan threw himself to the side, narrowly avoiding the rock as it sped by. Jet managed to duck under the one sent his way, but Balisong wasn’t able to slow her momentum quickly enough to avoid hers. Last second, she raised her blades to block it, but the impact still sent her crashing back down to the ground.

“Balisong, back on your feet and Double Hit!” Ibzan commanded, scrambling upright. “Jet, draw its attention with Quick Attack!”

The Quilava glanced back at him, looking him up and down for signs of injury, before letting out an affirmative squeak and darting forward. In a blur, he jumped up and slammed right into the Tangrowth’s face, then dodged its retaliatory swing. Balisong, meanwhile, pushed herself off the ground and focused, preparing for her next attack.

More stars and electricity from both sides. Admittedly, the so-called ranged team only had one actually ranged move each, neither of which were terribly powerful. Still, their purpose in this fight was more to disorient and distract than actually damage.

This back-and-forth continued for a while, their teams managing to avoid the worst of the Alpha’s attacks. They weren’t unscathed, of course — it managed to hit Kilowatt with an energy projectile while he was preparing another Thunder Shock, and Jet had taken a Sleep Powder straight to the face, which had a major impact on his reaction speed.

Still, they were making good headway. Balisong’s adaptability was a boon here, with both ranged and physical attacks that were effective against the Alpha’s typing. They just had to keep on the att—

The Tangrowth roared.

Ibzan froze. His limbs were locked up, as though the joints had all fused together. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the others falter in the same way. Before he could shake it off, the Tangrowth raised both arms and slammed them down.

Ibzan stumbled as the ground shook beneath him. Before he could find his balance, it slammed down again, sending him sprawling inelegantly. Ibzan sat up in time to watch the Tangrowth raise its arms for a third slam, and—

Something crashed into his side, knocking him out of the way right as he heard the third slam and a chunk of earth burst up from beneath him.

Ibzan rolled to a stop on his back. Propping himself up by his elbows, he took stock of the current situation.

The Alpha — currently exchanging blows with an airborne Balisong. Probably flew up before that ground-slam attack could connect.

Jet — presumably his saviour just now — lay snoring by his side. That burst of movement must have sapped the last of the energy he was using to fight off the effects of the Sleep Powder.

Dawn? He looked around. Ah, there — she was running up to him, Bennett by her side. Kilowatt was also knocked out, lying next to a pillar of earth that he presumably failed to dodge in time.

“You okay?” Dawn asked, grabbing an arm to help him to his feet.

“Uninjured,” he replied, glancing down at Jet, then back at her. “How close are we?”

Dawn hummed, looking over at the Alpha.

“Last legs, I think,” she said. “One more big hit’ll do it, but—”

They jumped as a loud crash reverberated from nearby. Balisong had been knocked down to earth once more.

The Alpha swivelled towards the two of them and charged.

Ibzan backed away, but they couldn’t hope to run, not at the pace it was going!

He pushed Dawn behind him. The Alpha was right on top of them—

“Baby-Doll Eyes!”

The Tangrowth slowed. Bennett stared up at it, with the saddest, wettest, most pathetic expression Ibzan had ever seen. The Alpha looked back blankly, the glow in its eyes actually flickering as it frowned down at the tiny, quivering ball of fluff.

The world seemed to freeze as everyone just stared at one another. A second later, the Alpha’s expression hardened. Rocks sprang up from the ground, and then—

The Alpha collapsed, the rocks dropping to the floor. It shrank down, revealing a winded Balisong behind it. She took a deep breath, flicking her blades to remove the shreds of vine her attack had cut away from its body.

“Good… Good initiative, Balisong,” Ibzan said after a moment. She nodded at him in acknowledgement, before collapsing into a seated position.

“Bennett! Great job!” Dawn cried, sweeping him up into her arms with a twirl. “Our little hero!”

Bennett was practically glowing as he soaked up her praise, tail wagging.

“Well,” Ibzan said after he caught his breath. “We’ve cleared the way, but definitely not easily. We should head back to the camp and rest a while.”

“Yeah, sounds good to me,” Dawn said. “Lemme go get Kilowatt in his ball real quick.”

As she walked off, Ibzan knelt and scooped up Jet’s unconscious form. His snoring had picked up, now, to the point that it was reminiscent of his namesake. Well, he was glad Jet at least hadn’t been hit by the attack he’d saved Ibzan from.

Ibzan lay him over his shoulder. It was like carrying a loudly rumbling sack of potatoes. Dawn ran back over, Kilowatt’s Poké Ball stowed safely in her satchel. With a quiet grumble, Balisong got back to her feet, and together they made their way back to the camp.

One short rest by the campfire later, their Pokémon were back on their feet and ready to get back to work. He’d recalled Jet back into his ball before they got going again, as the effects of the Sleep Powder hadn’t entirely worn off, but Balisong apparently wanted to stay out for the time being.

They knew that, after its loss, the Alpha would keep away from its former haunt for the time being, which meant they could head down the path it had been blocking without any further resistance.

Ahead of it was a series of mud pits. Nearby, several Croagunk waded through the pits, but Ibzan could also see some Geodude and another Rock type that was probably its evolution, as well as some others in the distance that he couldn’t quite make out from where he was standing.

“Alright! Plenty of Pokémon to capture here!” Dawn said, cracking her knuckles with a grin. “You ready to rock, Ibzan?”

“You go ahead,” he replied. “I’ll just—”

“Ready to rock?” Dawn repeated, looking back and forth between him and the Geodude in the distance. “Ehh? Ehh?”

Ibzan stared silently at her.

“Y’know, because they’re Rock types?”

“I… Whatever,” Ibzan sighed, shaking his head. “I’ll catch up in a minute.”

“We just took a break and you already want another one?” she teased, nudging him.

“Hearing a lazy joke like that inspires similar laziness in me,” he responded, nudging her back. “Just have some thoughts I want to get in order. Go have fun.”

Dawn saluted and bounded off towards the nearest Pokémon she saw. Ibzan sighed and moved to a nearby tree, leaning against it. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Balisong mirroring the action against a different tree. Ibzan smiled a little at the sight, then pulled out his phone.

Navigating to the photo gallery app, he opened it and looked through his recent images. Which wasn’t a long process — he only had two of them stored. The first was a photo of the Fireplace, in which his Friend had been present.

It was a photo borne of desperation — after so much time spent staring at the empty fireplace, waiting for the faintest flicker of light as a sign that he’d returned… when he’d next appeared, Ibzan had snapped a picture in the hopes that it might compare to the real thing, in times when he’d needed the company.

It never did, of course, but he could never find it in himself to delete it, either. Especially not after his undeath, after he finally made it back to his apartment and found nothing but a blank wall where the Fireplace had always been…

The other one was taken long after his undeath. Technically, it wasn’t his photo, but it was one he’d requested be sent to him. A blueprint laying on a desk, framed by miscellaneous clutter haphazardly cleared away so as not to block the view of any of its contents. Timur never was the neatest of individuals.

The Meat Portal was a ghastly thing. A large collection of whatever undead corpses they could get their hands on, all piled high in the frame of an archway. Timur’s notes detailed how they could be used in conjunction with a large supply of Ash to rip open a gateway to the realm his Friend called home.

Timur was, of course, a genius. A doorway of flesh, bone and sinew — its key, the Warmth of life itself. The portal worked flawlessly.

The rest of the plan… well.

He zoomed in on some of the notes — a sheet of notebook paper ripped from its binder and laid atop the blueprint, calculating the required quantities of both corpses and Ash to open the portal. He and Timur had discussed this at length already, enough that he knew these words by heart.

Which was a good thing, apparently, because now he couldn’t read a lick of it. Just as he’d thought.

Timur’s handwriting could charitably be called chicken scratch, and realistically be called much worse, but Ibzan had learned to decipher it long ago. Despite that, though, the characters and symbols scrawled onto the sheet were now completely foreign to him.

It left a buzzing in the back of his head — a feeling that he should be able to read this, but couldn’t. A feeling he recognised from earlier that day.

Ibzan held the phone up to his ear.

“Can you hear me?” he asked, not expecting nor receiving a response. “I know you’re watching. The map markers and objective updates are proof enough. Was it truly necessary to overwrite the language I knew? Was adding it on top beyond your capabilities?”

Balisong glanced over at him, cocking her head questioningly at his words. Ibzan sighed and shook his head, flipping his phone shut with a snap. It was… hardly relevant, in the end. He needed to speak the language to properly integrate here, and what possible need could there be to speak English in a land where it didn’t exist?

Well, aside from ancient engravings that apparently contained ‘Unown script’, according to Dawn.

Whatever. Ibzan could push through the discomfort — it made sense, after all. His old language was useless here. Useless things got discarded. Any desire to keep that sort of thing around was just… sentimentality.

Sentimentality had no place here. He was a practical person, after all.

…And since he was so practical, he really should be helping study the Pokémon here, rather than standing around doing nothing. Since that was literally their job and all.

He pushed himself off the tree, watching Balisong follow suit, before heading off in the direction he’d last seen Dawn.

Turned out he hadn’t missed much in the time they’d been separated. Well, Dawn had caught five Pokémon already, but that really wasn’t much by her standards. A quick check of their maps revealed that Ursaluna’s usual haunt, Sludge Mound, was actually pretty close to where they were, so they decided to go and scope out the area in advance.

They were sure to check the frenzied noble wasn’t actually present before they got close. Not that they expected a frenzied Pokémon to be terribly subtle, but a little caution certainly didn’t hurt. While they didn’t find Ursaluna, they did find a member of the Construction Corps standing to the side of the area.

Apparently they were planning on setting up another camp nearby. The Construction Corpsman, Maldon, asked that they assist a junior member with setup, pointing them down a path leading north of the Sludge Mound. Dawn happily volunteered to help, while Ibzan stayed behind to survey the area they’d be confronting Ursaluna, come tomorrow.

It was a flat, elevated area, similar enough in size to Grandtree Arena. Perhaps a little bigger. Though, it lacked… pretty much anything on top, actually. A lot of space to move around in, but nothing in the way of cover. At least the edges of the mound were all declines, which meant fleeing would be a much less complicated affair than in Kleavor’s walled-off stomping ground.

There wasn’t much else of note, so Ibzan just stood and let the time pass. He trusted Balisong to knock him out of his haze if anything needed his attention. After however long — probably not a huge amount of time, since the sun hadn’t moved too much — Dawn returned with news that construction of the camp was underway.

Also, three more captures under her belt. Apparently a group of Pokémon called Stunky had been harassing the junior member of the Construction Corps Maldon had mentioned earlier, so Dawn took care of them for him.

All that sorted, they started making their way back to the mud pits they’d visited earlier. There was still a Pokémon that Dawn had failed to catch there earlier called a Hippopotas, and she was eager for round two.

Since it had been sitting in the middle of a mud pit, challenging it directly hadn’t worked too well before. It was a Ground type, making the Electric type Kilowatt practically useless, and Shelly, despite her type advantage, couldn’t really manoeuvre around it thanks to the mud.

“So, this time, I’m just gonna sneak up on it,” Dawn explained. “You two mind keeping its attention until I can go for a capture?”

“Fine by me,” Ibzan said. At his side, Balisong nodded. Her being a Flying type would make dealing with the Hippopotas far easier — she wouldn’t be forced to push through mud to attack up close, and its retaliatory Ground type attacks wouldn’t pose any real threat.

It was a laughably simple affair, really. Balisong got its attention with an Air Slash from a distance, while Dawn snuck up from behind as it was distracted by the battle. One throw from behind — the Secret Back Strike Technique, apparently, which frankly sounded less like a special technique and more like common sense — and the ball clicked shut. Dawn pumped a fist and grinned at him.

“I hope you know you’ll be the one collecting that Poké Ball,” he said dryly.

“Aw, scared of a little mud?” Dawn laughed, already starting to wade into the muck. “You wouldn’t last a day in the Great Marsh.”

“Hardly,” he said. “But I’m generally a fan of being able to move faster than a snail’s pace.”

“Sure, buddy,” she said with a grin, the mud already up past her waist. She reached the point the Poké Ball had landed and grabbed it, holding it victoriously up in the air. “Got it!”

Ibzan was about to respond, when the ground rumbled. Out of another nearby pit rose the glowing eyes of…

“Another Alpha,” he mumbled, staring in shock. He spun to face Dawn. “Another Alpha!”

“Ack, I know, I know!” she cried, moving as quickly as she could towards him. Which… wasn’t fast at all, thanks to the mud. Shit.

He glanced over at the Alpha, which was working its way to the edge of its own mud pit.

“Balisong!” he called. Her gaze snapped back at him. He tilted his head towards Dawn, who was still struggling to wade through the mud, and Balisong nodded back.

Flying over, she hooked the blunt ends of her blades under Dawn’s arms and began to pull her up. Dawn wiggled, trying to help free herself from the mud. Ibzan looked back towards the Alpha, which had just stepped out from the mud pit onto solid ground.

It looked a lot like the Hippopotas Dawn had just captured — presumably, its evolution. And, therefore, presumably also Ground type. Even if this were a good matchup for him, Jet would still be groggy from the Sleep Powder earlier, so…

He threw out Blackout’s ball, releasing her onto the field.

“Stall it!” Ibzan ordered. Blackout nodded, launching herself towards it with Quick Attack. Ibzan turned back to Dawn, who Balisong had carried close enough to the edge at this point. Ibzan stepped forward into mud, reaching out and grabbing Dawn, then slung her onto his back.

“Blackout!” he called, starting to run. She glanced over, shot a Swift right in the Alpha’s face to disorient it, then dashed back over to his side. The Alpha threw a muddy projectile after her, but she barely managed to outspeed it.

Thankfully, it didn’t seem too inclined to actually pursue them. Not that Ibzan risked looking back to check until they’d put a good amount of distance between them and the mud pits. They came to a halt, and Ibzan put Dawn back down, now that he was sure they weren’t being followed. Blackout and Balisong stood guard behind them, watching for any hostile Pokémon, Alpha or otherwise.

Well, Balisong kept watch, while Blackout just looked down at the muck in her fur with disdain.

“So that’s, uh, something to bear in mind tomorrow, huh?” Dawn said with a shaky laugh.

“...Yeah,” was all Ibzan could say in response.

“I, uh… I lost a sandal,” Dawn said with a wince, looking down at her legs. Sure enough, beneath all that mud caking her lower half, one foot was covered by nothing but a mud-soaked sock.

Ibzan stared at her. Several long moments passed, before he suddenly burst into laughter.

“S… Sorry,” Ibzan said, feeling a little embarrassed at his outburst. Maybe the adrenaline was messing with his head. “I’m… not sure what came over me there.”

Dawn looked weirdly happy for someone who’d just escaped a near-death situation.

“Oh, don’t be! The world needs more of that, I’ve decided,” she said gleefully. “I’m making it my mission to get you laughing more! Hold on, lemme find another mud pit to go throw myself in!”

“Don’t,” Ibzan replied, forcing his tone to be stern. He might’ve even succeeded.

“Well, I don’t think there’s much hope of finding that again,” Dawn sighed after her own laughter died down, looking down at her single remaining sandal. “I’ll never make fun of you for rejecting the sandals again, I swear.”

“I think it’s time we head back for Jubilife,” Ibzan suggested. “I think Anthe had some shoes in stock. Boots, specifically. With laces.”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it,” Dawn laughed, shoving him. “Let’s get going, then!”

She took a few steps forward, then winced as she trod on a sharp rock. Ibzan sighed, grabbing and hauling her onto his back again.

“There’s more polite ways to offer to carry someone,” Dawn commented, wrapping her arms around his neck for support. “Like, y’know, actually offering instead of just scooping them up.”

“Are you saying you’d have refused?” he asked as he walked.

“Oh, not on your life, but it’s the principle of the thing!”

“I wasn’t aware you had principles to begin with.”

Dawn laughed again, and Ibzan felt lighter than ever, despite the muck still clinging to his ankles.

“Y’know, this reminds me of something that happened to me when I was younger,” Dawn said.

“Oh?”

The blue sky was slowly giving way to twilight as he made his way to Jubilife, Dawn still on his back.

“Yeah,” she said, voice turning wistful. “Me and Barry were messing around by Lake Verity. Pretending to be explorers, there to solve the mystery of the lake! We got a bit too into it, though, and I ended up falling into the water. Accidentally dragged Barry in, too!”

“Accidentally, sure,” he said, rolling his eyes.

“I exercise my right to remain silent,” Dawn said, prodding him on the cheek with a finger. “Anyway, I ended up ruining the new coat my mum just bought me, which she was super mad about. But she ended up carrying me back home anyway, just like this.”

“Sounds nice.”

“Yeah… I miss her a lot…” Dawn sighed. He felt her shift herself forward, leaning over his shoulder. “What were your parents like, Ibzan?”

He turned his head to look back at her. The sensible thing to do would be to lie. Make up some charming anecdote. But looking at her expectant face made him falter.

“I… don’t remember them, actually,” he said slowly. “Nor much of my early life at all. I haven’t a clue what they were like.”

“Do you…” Dawn said hesitantly. “...Do you have, like, amnesia, or something like that?”

“...Yeah,” Ibzan said after a moment’s pause. “Something like that.”

It was close enough to the truth. Barely even a lie. There wasn’t some big singular event that made his memory falter, but… you could only retain so much before you began to lose stuff. He’d been around for so long that he couldn’t remember anything about his original life. Before reapers, before undeath, before Hisui.

“Oh.”

Ibzan expected her to perk up at the admission. Amnesia! How exotic, how exciting! What mysteries could be behind this man? So, he was surprised when he just felt her squeeze her arms around him a little tighter.

“I’m sorry,” she said quietly. “I can’t even imagine losing a whole part of my life like that.”

He averted his gaze, looking straight ahead as a fuzzy feeling danced around in his chest.

“Don’t worry about it,” he said, waving her off. “I can’t care about what I can’t remember. Hell, for all I know my parents were terrible people and there’s nothing to miss about them.”

“Hmmm… Nah.”

Ibzan blinked, looking back at her.

“What?”

“Dunno if they were your birth parents or not, but they were definitely good people,” she said. “Had to have been, to raise someone like you.”

“Wh— You—” Ibzan stuttered, before sighing. “You… hardly even know me.”

“Uh, I kinda do?” Dawn said, bonking him gently on the head with her fist. “We’ve spent nearly a month together, at this point. And that’s been more than enough time to get to know you.”

“Really, I—”

“I mean, you didn’t have to carry me like this,” she said, shifting to lean over his other shoulder. “I could’ve walked. These socks are thick enough to protect me from most things. But here we are, anyway!”