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Pokémon Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Instruments of Creation

Pen

the cat is mightier than the pen
Staff
Partners
  1. dratini
  2. dratini-pen
  3. dratini-pen2
17. Access

At long last, the moment of truth. You make a bold move in this chapter, after all that laborious and careful prep, to have everything . . . go right! I found Mewtwo's speculations on Creepy Tunnel really interesting. It's clear now that either humans visited the PMD world or that the PMD world, independent of humans, at one point had a more industrialized society capable of machines. I was also intrigued by the idea of mystery dungeons being ideal dimensional storage pockets if time only passes when pokemon are in the dungeon. I hope the fic continues to explore the weirdness of mystery dungeons and why they exist at all--that's one of the most interesting aspects of PMD to me.

Despite the plot progression, the character work with Zorua stole the show for me this chapter. Returning to her hometown lets us really appreciate just how much she has grown over the course of the fic so far. We've seen her consistently trying to temper her instincts to attack and prank others, but here she faces a real test--seeing Lucario and Fluffy fitting so well together--and both acknowledges her jealousy and nevertheless encourages the relationship. Her visit to her childhood home was pretty heart-breaking. Zorua's gathered a wonderful found family, but that doesn't mean she's not going to still miss her mother, particularly because she got no catharsis. She still doesn't know why she disappeared or why they had to hide their identities the whole time. Her memories of those times in the evening that they dropped the disguises and could be Zoroark and Zorua together really tugged at the heart-strings. (I wonder if we'll learn more about Zorua's mother in the future--a lot of mysteries there.) Nevertheless, Zorua is finally able to find some closure here. And like with her jealousy of Fluffy, a big part of getting over it is looking it in the face. The choice to leave her home open to a new family is a generous one and speaks to the empathy that Zorua's been developing all story.

Mewtwo could have floated in silently, had he wanted, but honest Pokémon didn’t sneak up on each other.
Younger Mewtwo would definitely have floated silently into places and made everyone jump.

She was being polite to Mewtwo now, she reminded herself; not because she trusted him or was forgiving him for hurting Arcanine, but because it would make Absol and Arcanine happy.
That's right, Zorua, proud of you!

Lucario was living with Luxray’s family now, rather than in the Lodge. It made sense; the Lodge was a busy place, and there was no reason for him to stay there now that she and Treecko were gone, but it still bothered her. It was like a final admission that things were never going to go back to normal.
This was a nice moment. Understanding that something makes logical sense doesn't mean it won't hurt.

Mewtwo, who had been about to drink it, pretended not to notice and poured himself another.
A polite cat.

Mewtwo’s was more precise, perfectly encompassing the entire group while he was still adjusting, but Arcanine wasn’t sure which of them had been faster.
Interesting.

Psychic powers are the domain of the mind; they’re not so effective on inanimate objects, particularly metal.
That answered my question about why Mewtwo can't just psychic the door open.

“…I know I normally don’t say this unless I want something, but I love you.”
Aw, Zorua.

Mewtwo’s eyes snapped open as he jerked upright, glowing with gathering power for an instant before fading back to their normal, gentle violet. He blinked and glanced around the room, and she could see his posture change as his muscles relaxed.

#Ah, Absol. Thank you.# Mewtwo’s mental voice was as calm and composed as always.
Mewtwo's excellent coping methods on display.

If the three of them slept the whole watch like that, Arcanine thought, Absol would have been closer to Mewtwo for longer than he had been in all the years they had lived together.
Oof. Seems like the PMD world is having a good impact on Mewtwo though.

#Maybe the inside of a dungeon doesn’t exist at all when no one is there,# Mewtwo suggested, #maybe the room is only a few years old, or a few hundred; whatever time the occasional exploration team has spent inside?#
Very cool concept.

Zorua opened her mouth to deny it, but realized that their current presence proved Lucario right. “Yeah,” she said instead, “I guess I did.”
Thinking before she speaks!!

At night, we would draw the curtains, and mom would be Zoroark and I would be Zorua, and we would lay on the bed together and groom.

Zorua lowered her head and looked away. She didn’t know why she’d felt the need to come here now, to show everyone what she’d lost. This wasn’t her life any more; it hadn’t been for years. She’d been angry, and grieved, and she’d gotten over it and moved on, hadn’t she?

Of course not, she thought; she just didn’t let herself think about it. Seeing Lucario living with Luxray’s happy family, and listening to Absol talk about her parents, and watching how Arcanine looked up to Mewtwo, seeing Grey with Pink, it all reminded her of home.
Yeah, ignoring something and being over it are not the same.

With the claws of her other, she carved carefully into the wood:

Free House
❤️

“Just...don’t let me being jealous get in the way of you guys being friends, okay?”
So much character growth on display today.

“Wait, she’d actually volunteer for that, knowing what we were doing?”

“I think so. She doesn’t really dislike you, you know; she just feels like she has something to prove.”
The best part of that is that in Fluffy's position Zorua would have done the same, and it feels like she understands that.
 

The Desert Cat

Good Boy
At long last, the moment of truth. You make a bold move in this chapter, after all that laborious and careful prep, to have everything . . . go right! I found Mewtwo's speculations on Creepy Tunnel really interesting. It's clear now that either humans visited the PMD world or that the PMD world, independent of humans, at one point had a more industrialized society capable of machines. I was also intrigued by the idea of mystery dungeons being ideal dimensional storage pockets if time only passes when pokemon are in the dungeon. I hope the fic continues to explore the weirdness of mystery dungeons and why they exist at all--that's one of the most interesting aspects of PMD to me.

Well, I was getting sick of Creepy Tunnel at this point, and I'm sure that they are too. While Arcanine and Mewtwo have more theories about mystery dungeons, there are never really any answers.

Despite the plot progression, the character work with Zorua stole the show for me this chapter. Returning to her hometown lets us really appreciate just how much she has grown over the course of the fic so far. We've seen her consistently trying to temper her instincts to attack and prank others, but here she faces a real test--seeing Lucario and Fluffy fitting so well together--and both acknowledges her jealousy and nevertheless encourages the relationship. Her visit to her childhood home was pretty heart-breaking. Zorua's gathered a wonderful found family, but that doesn't mean she's not going to still miss her mother, particularly because she got no catharsis. She still doesn't know why she disappeared or why they had to hide their identities the whole time. Her memories of those times in the evening that they dropped the disguises and could be Zoroark and Zorua together really tugged at the heart-strings. (I wonder if we'll learn more about Zorua's mother in the future--a lot of mysteries there.) Nevertheless, Zorua is finally able to find some closure here. And like with her jealousy of Fluffy, a big part of getting over it is looking it in the face. The choice to leave her home open to a new family is a generous one and speaks to the empathy that Zorua's been developing all story.

I wish I could say I have a grand plan for Zorua's parents, but I don't. Originally, it was just an excuse to have her be eager to leave Meadow Town. I wasn't going to do anything further with her family or Meadow Town after she left with Arcanine. Now I'm trying to retroactively give her a past, without major changes to older chapters.



Psychic powers are the domain of the mind; they’re not so effective on inanimate objects, particularly metal.

That answered my question about why Mewtwo can't just psychic the door open.

Plus it would spoil the story.


Mewtwo’s eyes snapped open as he jerked upright, glowing with gathering power for an instant before fading back to their normal, gentle violet. He blinked and glanced around the room, and she could see his posture change as his muscles relaxed.

#Ah, Absol. Thank you.# Mewtwo’s mental voice was as calm and composed as always.

Mewtwo's excellent coping methods on display.

Totally normal cat behavior.


If the three of them slept the whole watch like that, Arcanine thought, Absol would have been closer to Mewtwo for longer than he had been in all the years they had lived together.

Oof. Seems like the PMD world is having a good impact on Mewtwo though.

He probably needed the vacation.



“Wait, she’d actually volunteer for that, knowing what we were doing?”

“I think so. She doesn’t really dislike you, you know; she just feels like she has something to prove.”

The best part of that is that in Fluffy's position Zorua would have done the same, and it feels like she understands that.

Of course, Lucario probably could have gotten anyone to fill in for her – but using Fluffy is good reinforcement.

 
Book 2 Chapter 4: Respite

The Desert Cat

Good Boy


Book 2 Chapter 4: Respite

The familiar scents and sounds of the manor, stone and smoke and hot food and dozens of Pokémon working and living together, wrapped around Zorua as the door creaked shut behind them. Zangoose and Sandslash, working on something she couldn’t see on one of the big dining tables, looked up and nodded in greeting, and Ampharos stopped mopping to wave. She smiled back.

This was home, just like the lodge back in Meadow Town, only instead of being tolerated, she was welcomed. If she wanted to be honest with herself, that probably had more to do with her own attitude than anyone else’s. Her friends were here, her team was here; all that was missing, she thought, was Lucario. No; Treecko was missing too, and her mother. Zorua stumbled and caught herself. Her eyes stung. The nap they’d had outside Temple Ruins hadn’t been nearly long enough.

In front of her, Arcanine was limping again; she wasn’t sure how long he had been. Even if all of them were exhausted, there were half a dozen other Pokémon in the manor who could heal him, if he wasn’t too stubborn to ask.

They were halfway across the lobby when she looked up again. Growlithe and Electrike were there, shoulder to shoulder in the doorway of Team Mighty’s room, watching them. She wasn’t stupid enough to challenge Arcanine like this, was she?

Growlithe averted her gaze as they approached, eyes flickering around the room before settling on the floor in front of her. Her tail drooped, passive, but not submissive. No, Zorua thought, Growlithe didn’t want to fight; she wanted to talk. Zorua looked away. She didn’t have the patience for Growlithe’s problems right now; whatever she needed could wait until morning. Even as she thought it, Zorua realized that Absol had already veered to meet them, and she, shoulder to shoulder with the larger Pokémon, was being guided in the same direction.

Growlithe’s head and tail remained low, paws kneading nervously at the floor as they approached. Electrike’s gaze shifted appraisingly between the three of them. Her ribs were already beginning to fill out, and her coat was regaining its sheen. Though she was the smaller Pokémon, her confidence made her the more imposing.

Growlithe took a step back as they approached, and Electrike moved instinctively forward, her hackles beginning to rise as she angled protectively between them. Zorua and Absol stopped. They all looked at each other in awkward silence for a moment. The two of them probably looked a bit rough, Zorua thought, but they couldn’t be that bad.

“I’m sorry.” Elektrike stepped back, looking embarrassed, and shook her fur flat.

Absol stared for a few seconds. Her mouth opened and closed and opened again before she found the words to answer. “Did...you want to talk?”

“Yes.” Electrike nodded. “But, ah, it can wait for morning.”

Zorua and Absol rejoined the others. The stove was burning in the library, and the room was pleasantly warm. Wordlessly, Arcanine flopped down on their bed. Absol curled up beside him, and so did she. Rather than return to their own rooms for the rest of the night, Team Raiders and Team Charm followed them into the library. The six of them pulled the remaining cushions into a semicircle in front of the stove.

She understood the urge to stay with the group, Zorua thought, to stay with the activity. She wouldn’t want to be shut in one of the small side rooms with just her team right now, either; she wanted to see and hear and smell all the other Pokémon in the manor, a constant reassurance that they were home and safe and not still trapped in the interminable corridors of the dungeon.

Tyranitar and Charizard watched for a moment and left, returning a few moments later with the bedding from their rooms. No one cared to remake beds, so the six of them ended up in a heap all together. No one seemed to mind.

Alakazam joined Team Easy and Team Arcana, still working on their translation of Instruments of Creation by the pale blue light of a Luminous Orb. Their soft voices and the rustle of pages were comforting and familiar.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

All of the teams from Temple Ruins were slow to rise the next morning. Arcanine could feel Absol and Zorua moving and stretching beside him, and Mewtwo’s lingering scent told him that the psychic had joined them sometime during the night. He could smell breakfast from the other room, and the pleasant floral scent of Aromatherapy. His stomach growled, but somehow it didn’t seem worth getting up for.

Arcanine watched through half-closed eyes as the other occupants of the manor gathered in the library after breakfast. Team Raiders and Team Charm were just beginning to stir as well.

He knew that there was important work to be done, but everything seemed distant and impersonal. His head throbbed, and the muscles along his spine ached with the pain of a hundred half-remembered scalpels, but the sensations seemed to belong to someone else. The conversation washed around him like a stream parting around a boulder, a pleasant sound, but devoid of meaning.

Was it a lingering effect of their time in Temple Ruins? Was that how Team Mighty felt, lingering around the manor, still wanting to be part of the group, even if they could no longer understand its purpose?

He woke again. The sun was several hours higher in the sky, and his mind was clearer. Alakazam and Delphox were talking, and the plate of now-cold baked Apple slices on the floor beside him smelled delicious. He could feel Mewtwo waiting, so he gulped his share. Zorua and Absol grumbled and grunted as his movement woke them. It wasn’t quite enough to be satisfying, but conserving food had been his idea, he thought, so he couldn’t complain.

#Ah, you’re back with us,# Mewtwo said as soon as he had finished. #We were just about to volunteer you for something.#

His back wasn’t feeling any better. Arcanine stretched slowly, carefully, and hobbled over to sit beside Mewtwo. Team Razor Wind were all there as well, returned from Treasure Town; Zangoose raised a hand in salute and grinned at him. Scyther and Sandslash nodded in acknowledgment, and he returned the gesture.

“Buried Relic is dangerous,” Delphox was saying. “By all accounts, it’s even more difficult than Temple Ruins. With Dragon and Hydro away, I’m not sure that we have the teams to do it safely, and if anything goes wrong, we can’t count on Wigglytuff Guild for help.”

“Chatot and the remaining Magnemites absconded the day after you left,” Zangoose interrupted the conversation to explain, “along with Duskull and most of the money in the bank. Wigglytuff is still nominally guild leader, but Team Poképals have been managing operations.”

Arcanine noddedhis thanks for the news. Zorua and Absol finished eating, and joined him beside Mewtwo. They both looked tired, still, but not nearly as dazed as he felt.

#That is why I will be joining myself,# Mewtwo said.

A mystery dungeon with Mewtwo, Arcanine thought? That was something worth getting excited about, even if all he really wanted to do was spend a few more days asleep in front of the stove.

#No.# Mewtwo shook his head. #I’m sorry, Arcanine. I would enjoy it as well, but we need your team for another task.#

Mewtwo sensed his disappointment, and reached a hand over to rest on his shoulder.

#I think that there will be other opportunities, yet, for us to fight together.#

“Yes,” Delphox continued, “there’s a clue to another location which I believe we’ve overlooked; the Ice-types. Around the same time they were reported near Meadow Town, we received a report from River Town of similar activity.”

“Oh!” Absol interjected, “we did, didn’t we. We’ve been so busy, I forgot about that.”

Delphox nodded. “So had I, until a few days ago. A lot has happened since then. But, they were correct about a sphere near Meadow Town, so I think River Town bears investigation.”

Delphox turned to Alakazam, who met her gaze with hesitation. Whatever Delphox had planned, he thought, Alakazam didn’t agree.

“There are three dungeons within two days walk from River Town,” Alakazam picked up the story, “Serenity River, Waterfall Cave, and Grassy Marsh. None of them are difficult, and they have all been thoroughly explored. If there was a similar door in any of them, it would be commonly known.”

“Probably,” Delphox agreed, “but no one has been there looking for just this thing. It might be we’ll notice something no one else has.”

“Serenity River will also put you uncomfortably close to Treasure Town,” Alakazam said. “In any case, all three dungeons have a significant amount of water. This is a job for Team Hydro or Team Sprouts.”

“We’ve been in Grassy Marsh,” Zorua said, “and there was definitely not a huge stone door.” Zorua looked to Delphox and Alakazam, and then to Mewtwo. “If they’re so easy, why do you need Arcanine?”

#I need all three of you,# Mewtwo said, #because I’m certain that if there is anything to find, you will find it. I think this door may be much smaller than the ones we’ve found before.#

Everyone was silent for a moment, and they all knew that the matter was settled.

Delphox took the lead again. “I have two things to help you. First, some reading; Grey has found accounts of all three dungeons for you.” She pointed to where several books were laid out on one of the tables.

“Also, a Drought Orb. Are you familiar with how they work?”

“Kinda,” Zorua said, “but I’ve never used one.”

“It will dry up all of the water in the dungeon,” Delphox said. “The effect lasts an hour or two. When it ends, the dungeon will begin to refill. The speed varies; some dungeons refill quickly and violently, while others take days. Unfortunately, we don’t know how it will work in any of these. I think it would be best used in Serenity River, but I will leave that choice to you.”

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Growlithe and Electrike were curled up next to each other when Absol and Zorua went to meet with them that evening. Absol felt guilty about not following up with them earlier, but after waking late, it had been another busy day. Searching through previous accounts of the upcoming dungeons and planning their search had occupied the rest of the morning, and then reviewing Team Arcana’s progress with the translation and helping them with research had claimed the afternoon. Arcanine had been restless and distracted all day, and she didn’t know whether it was a lingering effect of the dungeon, or what he’d had to do with the Yamasks, or if something else entirely was bothering him.

Absol paused, inhaling slowly and deeply as she entered the room. Elektrike’s scent was already thoroughly mingled with that of Growlithe and the Mightyenas in the room; the kind of mixing which came from not just living together, but grooming and cuddling together. That was good, she thought; whether she stayed or not, that was what Elektrike needed right now. Team Mighty had a way with Pokémon in need – or, at least, with lonely female field-group Pokémon.

There was another new scent in the room as well, and Zorua recognized it before she did.

“You’ve had your egg!” Zorua said excitedly.

Growlithe nodded, smiling, and Electrike wriggled aside and she could see it, nestled in the blankets between them. About the size of Zorua’s head, the shell was striped orange and black. Absol bent down to examine it more closely. The shell was firm, but soft and leathery, and felt warm against her nose.

Instinct told her to curl up around the egg, to keep it warm against her chest, but there wasn’t room between Growlithe and Elektrike for her to join. She stepped back to let Zorua have a closer look as well. When Zorua had finished, Electrike slid back into her former place, covering it completely.

“We wanted to thank you,” Electrike began as Absol and Zorua settled into the blankets beside them. “Everyone here has been so kind to us. Team ACT, Team Mighty, Aromatisse...Tyranitar invited me to join the watch, and Delphox sent messages to the whole Federation to help find Glameow and Lycanroc. I know you all have more important things to worry about, but everyone has still taken time to help us.”

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

They were all silent for a moment. Zorua could feel Electrike’s weight shifting as she stretched out a hindleg to prod Growlithe’s flank. The two of them had rehearsed this, she thought, while they were all away. Growlithe had something she wanted to say as well, but was too timid to say on her own.

“I...I want to, um, thank you too.” Growlithe began hesitantly. “I know I haven’t been very nice and I don’t deserve it, but everyone has helped me so much —”

Growlithe stopped abruptly, as her voice caught on an indrawn breath. Absol leaned over and began to groom between Growlithe’s ears.

“I don’t want to be like my mom,” Growlithe continued, more calmly, “and I don’t want him to be like me. I want him to be strong and smart and brave, like you guys...” Her voice trailed off as she looked away.

“Of course we’ll help!” Zorua offered immediately. She looked to Absol for confirmation. “Right?”

Absol nodded in agreement. “Growlithe, you don’t need to be afraid to ask. I think everyone wants to help.”

Growlithe didn’t answer, just nuzzled her face into Absol’s chest. Zorua watched for a moment as Absol continued to groom Growlithe, then began to knead Electrike’s back. Electrike yawned and stretched, pushing back into her paws in obvious pleasure. They were in no hurry to get back to the library, Zorua thought; Arcanine and Mewtwo were still outside, talking about whatever it was that they talked about. Were there secrets that they didn’t want to share with the rest of the manor, or memories from Arcanine’s past? Was it science from their world that she wouldn’t understand anyway? Arcanine would probably tell her everything, if she insisted, but that didn’t seem like the right thing to do. He didn’t ask what she and Absol and Growlithe and Team Mighty did together. If it was something that they needed to know, Arcanine would tell them.

Above them, the wind whistled through the crack around the window. Zorua shivered, though the room was warm enough that even Absol looked comfortable.

“Are you gonna be okay in Serenity River and Grassy Marsh?” Zorua asked. “They’re all outside.”

“I think so,” Absol said. “It can’t be as bad as Mount Mistral. As long as we have shelter at night.”

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The wind picked up again, pelting them with ice scoured from the hill outside the courtyard and whipping through the treetops behind them with a roar like the turbines on Team Rocket’s airships. Arcanine squinted, lowering his head against the assault and letting his ears fold back against his skull, but didn’t look away. He was only slightly cold. As long as he was relatively dry, his thick coat provided excellent insulation.

“Why are they all on this continent?” Arcanine wondered, instinctively raising his voice to be heard over the howling of the wind, though he knew it didn’t matter, “or even this world?”

Mewtwo didn’t answer immediately. His eyes were closed and his face serene and motionless as he faced into the storm, as if he couldn’t feel the wind which ruffled his his short fur and flattened his ears, or the rime which grew along his muzzle with each breath.

Was it a test, he wondered, or was Mewtwo actually enjoying himself? Either way, Mewtwo had led them here, their accustomed perch on the wall, and he wasn’t going to be the first to suggest that they move somewhere more sheltered. Perhaps Mewtwo was testing himself instead; consciously regulating his body temperature and reactions.

#Sometimes,# Mewtwo said, his psychic voice as calm as his face, #we can see that events are related, even if we don’t know what is the cause, and what is the effect. Were the tools of the Creation Pokémon placed where we could find them, or did their presence make this world more suitable for life? Were they placed in mystery dungeons for a purpose, or did the dungeons form under their influence?# Mewtwo’s voice softened, and Arcanine didn’t need to look to feel his grin. #The Torchic or the egg?#

A rhetorical question to answer a rhetorical question. The answer didn’t matter to him anyway, Arcanine supposed, and was probably beyond any of their understanding. What was important was that they had a job to do, and people relying on them.

#Actually,# Mewto continued, #Team Arcana made quite a lot of progress in their translation while you were away. There appear to be several elsewhere in the world, though we’re still working on precise locations.#

A crack echoed across the courtyard as a branch on one of the remaining Apple trees lost its battle with the wind and snow. Arcanine turned reflexively to look. Mewtwo didn’t move.

“Hydro and Dragon will be back in a month or so,” Arcanine said, changing the subject slightly, “Find one in these dungeons, can have it back in a few days. What then?”

#I do have a theory now for how it works,# Mewtwo said. #Unfortunately, we can’t test it until they return with the planets.#

Arcanine waited, knowing that he didn’t need to prompt Mewtwo to continue.

#The principle of sympathy; there is a connection of some sort between the models, and the planets which they represent. I believe that the movement of the models, when they are near each other, affects the movement of the corresponding planets. The Orrery itself is a timekeeping mechanism; when all of the models are mounted, the planets are constrained to their proper positions.#

“Like replacing the Time Gears in Temporal Tower,” Arcanine suggested.

Mewtwo nodded.

“So,” Arcanine said, “need all thirteen to work.”

#Ultimately, yes. The system is far too complex for us to regulate manually. We may be able to make some gross adjustments with fewer planets, but unless we have Earth, I’m not sure that it will matter.#

Arcanine shivered, but it wasn’t from the cold. The thought that any being, even Mewtwo, could manipulate whole planets so casually, was terrifying.

#It is, isn’t it,# Mewtwo agreed somberly. #I could be wrong. I could miscalculate and kill all of us. But, I don’t see that we have a choice but to try. As much as we’re trying, we’re not progressing quickly enough.#

Silently, Arcanine agreed. “You said all of the planets were affected?” he asked.

#Yes,# Mewtwo said. #Earth and Luna the most by far; our mystery object passed quite close.#

“How, if they don’t have all the spheres?”

#I don’t know,# Mewtwo admitted.

There wasn’t much more they could usefully speculate, now. Umbreon and Espeon might have more answers, by the time they had the spheres from Mount Mistral and Temple Ruins to experiment with. What would have happened four years ago, he wondered, if Team Poképals had only replaced some of the Time Gears?

#There’s another thing,# Mewtwo said, #and I...need your advice. We don’t have the manpower to keep going at the rate we have been; every sphere that we find deprives us of at least one strong team for weeks or months, and the remaining dungeons aren’t going to be closer or easier.#

Arcanine nodded; he had been thinking the same thing. But where were they going to find more Pokémon strong enough and reliable enough to lead further expeditions? Most of the world’s renowned teams were already here.

#Most of this world’s teams, yes.# Mewtwo agreed.

It took Arcanine a moment to realize what Mewtwo was suggesting, and he shivered again.

“Can you?” Arcanine asked. “Safely? Still don’t remember what happened...”

Arcanine hesitated. He didn’t want to say it; there wasn’t any way it wouldn’t sound like an accusation. Mewtwo knew what he meant. When you lost me.

#Arcanine.# Mewtwo began, hesitantly, #I... blocked your memory before we came here. It’s not an easy journey – not for me, at least. Partway through, you woke up. You had no idea who I was, or where we were, and, understandably, you panicked. I panicked, and lost my grip on you.#

“Still don’t really understand where...when...” He trailed off; none of the languages he knew offered a good word for the relationship between their timelines.

#Otherwhen?# Mewtwo suggested, his lips curling upward in the hint of a grin.

It took Arcanine a moment to process the reference, and he grinned back. “Makes you Lord, ah...”

#Kalvan,# Mewtwo supplied. #What Piper called paratime is close enough, though he got a lot of the details wrong.#

Mewtwo leaned back, his hands on the inner edge of the wall behind him. For several minutes, the roar of the wind was the only sound. Arcanine waited, patiently, knowing that Mewtwo would continue when he was ready.

#Say that you have two parallel lines in Euclidean space,# Mewtwo began slowly. #Each line exists in its own, unique, one dimension. If you’re a one dimensional creature, you can look in either direction on your own line... we’ll call it plus or minus ‘x’. You can’t look over to the other line - that direction doesn’t exist for you.

#But say we plot those parallel lines on a Cartesian plane - two dimensions. At any point on one line, we could draw a perpendicular line - in the plus or minus ‘y’ direction - which connects them. This remains true no matter how many delta-x lines there are; one delta-y line connects all of them at each value of ‘x’.

#We can think of time the same way. We can travel in the plus or minus ‘t’ direction on our own timeline. Only plus ‘t’, for most people, most of the time, but that’s not important. We can’t look over and see the other timelines parallel to ours, but for any value of ‘t’ there’s still a line - we can call it delta-u, which connects all of them.#


Arcanine nodded slowly. It made sense, he thought, in a theoretical way.

#The difficult part is learning how to look in that ‘u’ direction,# Mewtwo continued, #I’ve tried to show the rest of the Family how, in the last few years, but it doesn’t seem to work for them. Maybe that’s part of being Legendary - access to that second time dimension. I still don’t understand how you landed in the correct timeline on your own; you should have continued to drift in ‘u’ space.

#So, no,#
Mewtwo said, returning to the original question, #I can’t bring them over safely; not quickly enough to be useful. Mew can, if she’s willing to help, but that carries its own set of risks.#

Arcanine nodded. Even if Mew had been helping so far, there was no guarantee she wouldn’t change her mind or lose interest partway through. On a cosmic scale of time, even Mewtwo’s life was inconsequential.

#Even if nothing goes wrong on the way here, will Mew be available when we’re ready to return? She doesn’t understand time like we do— the urgency we feel. It could be months before she answers me again, or decades, or never.#

“Work you’re doing there is important?” Arcanine asked, though he already knew the answer.

#Yes.#

“But only if we succeed here?”

#Yes.# Mewtwo answered again.

“Think I would take the risk,” Arcanine said.

#I think so too,# Mewtwo agreed, #but that’s part of the problem. They’ll agree because I’m asking, not because of a considered evaluation of the risks. No matter how I try to explain what we’re getting into, they can’t really understand what I’m asking of them until we get here - any more than you did five years ago.#

“They’ll agree because we trust your judgment,” Arcanine said. “Mewtwo, they know you wouldn’t risk them unnecessarily.”

Finally Mewtwo released whatever mental exercise he had been using to maintain his composure in the storm. His head drooped and his shoulders sagged, and he grimaced in the onslaught of the wind. Mewtwo’s hand rested on Arcanine’s shoulder, then slid slowly down his back, tracing from scar to scar.

#This is all my fault, you know,# Mewtwo said softly, #Everything Team Rocket did to all of you. Everything that you’ve gone through here. I don’t understand how you can still trust me.#

“No,” Arcanine said firmly. “Remember better now. We were all complacent on Mount Quena. Remember when everyone was hurt after the fight with Rocket, and I was selfish. You did what needed to be done.”

Mewtwo leaned into Arcanine, burying his face in his mane. Arcanine wrapped a foreleg around him, and allowed his body temperature to rise until he could feel the ice coating his fur begin to melt. Even as the world’s most powerful Psychic, Arcanine thought, Mewtwo had to be cold out here with his short fur.

#This is no place for civilized conversation,# Mewtwo eventually said. #Shall we continue indoors?#

The library was still busy, despite the hour, so they settled in the kitchen. There was a fire build in the stove, waiting to be lit, and trays piled with berries and herbs on the counters; Ampharos, or whoever was cooking for the Pokémon at the manor, preparing for breakfast tomorrow.

#If I’m correct so far about how the Orrery works,# Mewtwo resumed their discussion, #I think we can make some guesses about what our enemies, whoever they may be, have, and what they know. What do you think?#

A Mentat question, Arcanine thought; this was an old game, for the Family. Mewtwo would say that there was no such thing as perfectly logical reasoning; one always began with some intuitive assessment of what was reasonable, what was important. Mewtwo already had answers. If he arrived at similar answers, it validated Mewtwo’s conclusion. Or sometimes, as with Giovanni, they were all wrong together.

“At least one other party has spheres,” Arcanine began slowly, “probably including Earth, if it was most affected. Probably knows at least as much as we do about how they work, but if all it takes is moving them nearby, could have been accidental. Can’t know whether the Ice-types caused it; possible they’re in the same situation we are. Might even think we’re responsible; could explain their violence.”

Mewtwo nodded. #That’s reasonable. Anything else?#

“Occam’s Razor; should prefer theories with the fewest other parties. One party gives us only the Ice-types; they did it intentionally and want to prevent us from interfering. Accident is unlikely; Pokémon would admit a mistake and ask us for help.”

Arcanine paused a moment, thinking. “That doesn’t work. Something had already gone wrong before they attacked Meadow Town. Knew more than we did, could have collected the other spheres before revealing themselves or using them. Probably two other parties; one to act first, and one to interfere.”

Mewtwo nodded slowly. That didn’t mean that Mewtwo agreed with his deduction, Arcanine thought, just that he agreed that it was reasonable.

#There is one other interesting bit of information,” Mewtwo said. “Meowth has been monitoring the situation while I have been away, and Mew tells me that she has observed no further change in the orbits of the planets. What do you make of that?#

Again, Arcanine paused to consider the possibilities. The ice in his coat was melting in the warmth of the manor; soaking deeper into his fur, or dripping to the floor around him. A similar puddle was forming around Mewtwo. He wanted to shake, but, he thought, Ampharos wouldn’t be happy if he made any more mess here.

“Could support the accident theory. Or, the Ice-types had spheres and lost them. Or, something forced them to begin sooner than intended, and they need the rest to finish. But...all of those theories have the same problem; why haven’t we seen them again?”

#That is an interesting question, isn’t it?# Mewtwo agreed.

It was a question that they probably wouldn’t be able to answer, Arcanine supposed, until they saw the Ice-types again.

Arcanine yawned. It was late, and he and Mewtwo both ought to be sleeping if they were going out again tomorrow morning, but there was one more thing the two of them needed to settle first. He couldn’t think of a good way to broach the subject. He didn’t need to, because Mewtwo already knew what he had really wanted to talk about out on the wall, and Mewtwo had been avoiding it too.

#You’re still unhappy about Buried Relic, aren’t you,# Mewtwo said. It wasn’t really a question.

Arcanine nodded. “Safer if I come with you.”

#Team Charm, Team Raiders, and Team Razor Wind,# Mewtwo said, #You’ve fought alongside all three. You would trust them with your life, wouldn’t you?#

He trusted them with his own life, Arcanine thought, and maybe even Absol’s and Zorua’s. That didn’t mean he trusted them with Mewtwo’s.

It was more than that, though. Buried Relic and these lesser dungeons didn’t have to be done at the same time; there were plenty of other Pokémon who could have searched Grassy Marsh, Serenity River, and Waterfall Cave while they were in Temple Ruins. He was sure that Mewtwo and Delphox had arranged it this way intentionally. He was being sent away again.

#Arcanine,# Mewtwo said, #I’m worried about you. Can you tell me, honestly, that you’re ready for another dungeon like Temple Ruins?#

For a moment he hesitated, then Arcanine shook his head. He couldn’t lie to Mewtwo. As much as he tried to ignore it, he hurt. His back, as always. His wrist, from Growlithe’s tantrum. He wasn’t as tough or as fast as he should be, and he wasn’t healing as well as he should.

#I’m exhausted too,# Mewtwo admitted, #but it’s a different kind of tired. I can’t stare at books any longer; I’m a Pokémon too, and I need to fight something. Arcanine, these dungeons are important, even if they’re easy. If anyone else came back with a negative report, I would still have doubts; I know you will find whatever is there to find.#

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

“Grassy Marsh first?” Zorua asked, “Arcanine, we know there’s nothing there.”

“Mewtwo and Delphox are both smart Pokémon,” Absol said, “if they think it might be there, it’s worth looking again, isn’t it?”

Arcanine nodded. “Don’t think there is either, but I agree. Also, it’s the smallest.”

Zorua might be sure, but he wasn’t. His attention had been on Zorua, on their last visit, and neither of them had been looking for anything more than ferals to fight.

There ought to be three moons among the remaining spheres, if someone else hadn’t already found them— Luna, and whatever Jupiter’s and Saturn’s were called. Those would be small enough they might not have their own rooms. Alakazam was right; someone would have documented a door the size of the others they had found, but a smaller compartment might have gone unnoticed or unremarked. Each disc was four centimeters or so in diameter. If the ten planetary orbits and three lunar orbits were discrete, the door had to be at least 132 centimeters across.

“Don’t think this one will be a big door,” Arcanine said, “maybe a niche in a wall or floor, or a chest.”

Zorua didn’t answer immediately. She looked like she wanted to continue the argument, but she shrugged instead and looked away.

“Alright, big guy. Somehow, you’re normally right about this stuff.”

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Other than the very end of Mount Mistral, this was the first opportunity they’d really had to use Arcanine’s saddle. Absol was cozy inside, with a blanket across the top to keep the heat in and the night out, and Arcanine’s body heat beneath her. There wasn’t any room to move her legs, and the constant motion of his long strides made her a bit queasy, but at least it was a lot warmer than Lapras’ boat.

“Doing okay in there?” Zorua asked, her voice muffled through the basket and blanket. She was sitting on the front of the saddle, outside the basket. Even encumbered with both of them, Arcanine could keep a faster pace than Zorua could.

“Yes, thank you!” Absol called back.

“Good. Arcanine thinks it’s another hour toGrassy Marsh, and there’s a burrow outside we can sleep in.”

She was glad they wouldn’t be running all night. The saddle gave them a few extra hours at dawn and dusk, but Arcanine would need to stop and sleep as well.

Mewtwo and the teams accompanying him would be inside Buried Relic by now. They were all strong Pokémon; a more capable expedition than any she could recall in her parents’ stories or the books they had read in the library. She was still worried about them. They ought to be there to help.

The combination of motion and warmth was making her sleepy. For a while she fought it, feeling guilty about sleeping while Arcanine was working. Eventually, she decided to give in. It wouldn’t make a difference to Arcanine if she was asleep or awake.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Grassy Marsh was more pleasant with all of the water frozen over, Zorua thought. Though it was colder than their last visit, they were able to stay mostly dry. There weren’t many ferals around today, either, but there were tracks in the snow, and holes in the ice where they must have entered and exited the water below.

This was dumb, she thought; they were wasting their time here. Mewtwo hadn’t been here, and he didn’t understand that it was just a swamp. Arcanine wasn’t assertive enough, and she should have argued instead of just accepting everyone else’s decision. She was supposed to be team leader.

“Wonder if the orb works on ice, or just liquid water,” Arcanine mused.

“Do you think it might be underwater?”Absol asked.

“Probably not,” Arcanine said, “other places were all similar; stone room, inside, the altars, lights. They had...intent? Someone made them to be found by people like us. But possible. Don’t find it in the other dungeons, come back here and try.”

Absol and Arcanine were walking really slow, Zorua thought, looking around like they were expecting the door to jump out and surprise them. Since they had to be here, she could scout ahead, and maybe they’d get though a bit faster.

A jet of water splashed across her back. Zorua stopped, looking around for its source. Fifty meters to her left, a Wooper ducked behind a stone.

With an angry snarl, she gave chase. The attack hadn’t even hurt, but now she was all wet, and she was going to be cold, and why were they even here?

When she reached the stone, the Wooper wasn’t there any more. There were more stones, though, lined up off to either side of the first one. They weren’t just ordinary stones, either; they all had the same uniform, oval shape, like they’d been carved that way.

With a running start, she made it to the top of the next menhir in line. There were a lot more stones. The ground had been too uneven for her to see from below, but from up here, she could see that they formed a broad circle, a hundred meters or more across.

They hadn’t noticed anything like this last time, Zorua thought, but like Delphox said, they hadn’t been looking, either. Maybe no one knew how things in mystery dungeons got the way they were, but this looked intentional to her.

“Hey guys!” Zorua called, the cold and her frustration forgotten. “Come look at this!”

As Absol and Arcanine started toward her, something blue moved at the edge of her vision. She’d forgotten about the Wooper, too. The Water Gun caught her squarely in the chest. Claws scrabbled for purchase on the curved stone, and then she was tumbling down its side.

Zorua landed on her side. It wasn’t that far to fall, but the impact stunned her for a moment. Where was that Wooper now? It would be pretty embarrassing if it was still conscious when the others got here.

A Mud Shot splattered off the side of the rock above her, pelting her with globs of foul-smelling mud. She darted after the Wooper as it turned to run again. The space between them closed surprisingly quickly, and when the Wooper turned to attack again, she was ready. Darting forward, her jaws closed around its neck. It squealed as she shook it, then went limp. She let it drop.

Zorua looked down at herself and remember where she was. She was cold, and wet, and sore, and she smelled like a swamp, and this dungeon was stupid.

“Are you alright?” Absol asked behind her.

Arcanine was grinning when she turned around, and quickly tried to hide it.

“Fine,” she growled.

Zorua sat down and began to clean herself. She grimaced as she spat out a mouthful of mud; it tasted just as terrible as it smelled. Arcanine pushed her over, and began to groom. His hot tongue and breath felt wonderful, and she rolled onto her side and stretched out to let him work.

It wasn’t very long ago that he’d cleaned her up on the ledge outside his cave in Haunted Forest, Zorua thought. Three months? So many things had changed since then that it felt like another lifetime.

Arcanine’s huge tongue worked fast. In a few minutes she was mostly clean and dry, and warm enough to be excited about the rock circle again.

“This is the kinda thing we’re looking for, right?” Zorua asked, “Maybe there’s something here?”

“Maybe.” Arcanine nodded in agreement. “Let’s look.”

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It took them three hours or so to thoroughly search the henge. There was nothing there. Arcanine hadn’t expected there to be; it wasn’t the right environment.

Mewtwo and Delphox’s reasoning was sound. If the Ice-types had been looking nearby, there was probably something to find. He didn’t want to be there any more than Zorua, but it was better to be as thorough as practical now, than have to drag the team back through the swamp in a few days if they didn’t find the fragment in Serenity River or Waterfall Cave.

A long breath melted the snow from a pair of scraggly pines and set them ablaze, and they gathered around to dry off in the heat. The cold alone wasn’t bad, but their fur and Absol’s blanket were slowly accumulating moisture as their body heat melted the snow.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

“We have to jump through that?” Zorua shouted to be heard above the roar of the waterfall. Her expression wavered somewhere between fear and disbelief.

Beside her at the edge of the cliff, Absol shared her doubt. From here, the pounding water appeared impenetrable, and there was no indication of an opening in the cliff behind it. If they weren’t knocked out hitting the rocks, the force of the water would drive them deep into the pool below to drown. Not even a water type could swim against that current.

“Team Poképals made it,” Absol shouted back.

She had read the whole account aloud to Zorua and Arcanine three nights ago, before they left Pokémon Square. In the comfort of the library, it hadn’t seemed such an impressive feat. It was only water. She was larger and heavier than either of them had been, and almost certainly a stronger jumper. If they had made it through, she would too. She could understand risking one’s life on a vision, and saw no reason to doubt their account, but all of her instincts recoiled against the jump.

“Maybe Arcanine should go first,” Zorua suggested, “If he bounces off the wall, he’ll be the easiest to see.”

For a moment the three of them stood silently, then Arcanine took a few steps back, his body tensing as he prepared for a running leap.

“Arcanine!” Zorua interrupted quickly, “I was joking; you don’t have to do it.”

“No,” Arcanine shook his head, “I should go first. If I make it, Heat Wave should be visible through the water.”

“What if it’s not?” Zorua objected, “then we won’t know.”

“Then don’t jump. Don’t see me in the water, assume I’ll exit at Hot Springs.”

Arcanine’s face was grim. He didn’t trust Poképals’ story, she thought. At least, not enough to be confident. He was going to jump anyway, because someone had to do it. He tensed again.

“Wait,” Zorua said, walking in front of him. She grinned and stretched her neck up toward him. “Kiss for luck.”

Arcanine bent down. Their noses touched, and he rubbed his cheek against Zorua’s body. Absol followed Zorua. They butted heads, and Absol kept going, rubbing her face through his mane and along his side. Arcanine’s tail brushed across her back as they parted.

Arcanine’s argument why he should go first was reasonable, Absol thought, but she wasn’t certain that she was okay with it. The image of his body washed up on the rocks downriver forced its way into her mind, and it was physically painful. She loved Mother and Ninetales and all of her friends back on Mount Freeze. She loved Team Mighty and Team ACT and Mewtwo and Growlithe and Zorua and Lucario and all the other Pokémon helping them, and she would have worried about any of them making the jump, but suddenly the idea that she might not see him again was more terrifying than any amount of rushing water. She had to go first.

“Be fine,” Arcanine said before she could find the words to voice her objections. “See you inside”

A few running steps, and Arcanine was airborne, the water parted and closed behind him, and he was gone.

Absol and Zorua waited a second, two, three, glancing between the waterfall where Arcanine had vanished, and the white water in the pool below. Absol glanced down, and saw Zorua looking up at her, eyes wide with fear.

Five seconds. Neither of them moved. Seven. Ten. Fifteen.

The waterfall lit up orange from within. The glow was bright at the center, clearly visible despite the reflecting sunlight, and they could see that a narrow strip at the center of the torrent was barely more than a mist of fine droplets. Zorua pressed against her shoulder.

“Well,” Zorua said, “that doesn’t look so hard. See you inside.”

The frigid water hit Absol like a Surprise Attack, but in an instant it was over, and she was inside. Zorua and Arcanine ducked away as she shook, and then Arcanine was pressed against her, steam curling from his fur in lazy wisps. She was shivering uncontrollably and her legs felt weak, and Absol didn’t know how much of it was from the cold, and how much from the sudden relief of tension.

Absol allowed herself to sink to the ground. Arcanine wrapped around her back and began to groom her, and Zorua stretched out against her chest, just like the first night that the three of them had slept together.

All three of them were nearly dry when they started down the path, but she had only taken a few steps when Zorua turned abruptly in front of Arcanine, forcing him to stop.

“You’re limping,” Zorua accused.

“It’s fine.”

“It’s not fine,” Zorua said. “Where Growlithe bit you, you hurt it again landing, didn’t you.”

Arcanine nodded.

So, Absol thought, that was probably why he had been so slow to signal his landing.

“When were you going to tell us?” Zorua demanded.

Arcanine didn’t answer, but his face eased as her Moonlight flowed around them.

“It’s never going to heal all the way, is it?” Zorua asked.

“Maybe not.” Arcanine shook his head. “Don’t know.”

“I’m sorry,” Absol said. “We should have stopped her, even if Mewtwo said not to.”

“Don’t know,” Arcanine repeated. “Worked, didn’t it?”

“I guess,” Zorua agreed, “but why?”

Arcanine shrugged.

Absol didn’t know either, but he was right; Growlithe had changed after their fight. Somehow, that had gotten through to Growlithe in a way that all of her own and Zorua’s efforts hadn’t.

The feeling she’d had in front of the waterfall, Absol thought as they continued into the depths, was that why Arcanine always rushed into danger first? Not because he was brave, or protecting them, but because he was afraid of being the one left alone if someone else didn’t survive? Or maybe that was just two ways of saying the same thing; that he cared more about other people than himself.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Absol felt the familiar falling sensation as they passed through the stone pillars, and knew that they had reached the end of the dungeon. The rocky path widened ahead of them, illuminated in a warm, reddish glow, like a welcoming fire. She shivered, leaning into Arcanine’s side as they walked.

“Well, that was easy,” Zorua proclaimed, ahead of them. “I probably could have done it myself.”

“Of course!” Absol agreed with a grin.

No one was keeping time, but she thought they must have been inside most of a day. They had searched every side path, just like in Grassy Marsh, and even swum every pool and channel. Despite his Type, and obvious dislike for being wet, Arcanine was a strong swimmer. She watched from the shore, frustrated at her inability to help with what would have been, a few months ago, an easy task for her.

She could see the source of the light now, an enormous ruby crystal at the center of the room ahead. Around it, hundreds of smaller crystals glittered like stars, their patterns changing with each step. After their exhausting trek up and down Mount Mistral, and their five days in Temple Ruins, these easy dungeons felt like a game. She could almost imagine that she was back on Mount Freeze, exploring with Sylveon and Poochyena and Furret, instead of trying to save them all from a curse she still didn’t understand.

The path opened up into a cavern twenty or thirty meters across. Arcanine stopped at the center of the room, raised his head, and let out a puff of flame. All around them, from the walls and floor and ceiling, thousands of spots shone in answer, reflecting the warm light of his flame back in a rainbow of hues.

“Oh, Arcanine!” Absol gasped, gazing around the room in wonder. “It’s beautiful!”

Arcanine was grinning broadly as the light faded. Absol didn’t think that she’d ever seen such an expression of pure joy on his face before. Whatever secret problems he and Mewtwo worried about, however much he hurt, whatever awful things he kept hidden in his past, for those few seconds, it was all forgotten.

She leaned into him, pushing her head up under his chin. He pushed back.

“That was amazing, big guy!”

Zorua trotted back to join them. On her hindlegs, with her forepaws on Arcanine’s throat, she butted her head under Absol’s chin. For a few seconds longer they stood together, silently enjoying each other’s presence.

“Yeah.” Excitement lingered in Arcanine’s voice.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Arcanine hesitated for a moment as his teammates spread out to search the dungeon’s final room. The last few days had been enjoyable, exploring with his team. It felt like the first times Zorua had visited on his mountain, before they all got caught up in this mess, or their casual forays into the jungle around Mount Quena. Even if their mission was important, even if the weather was unpleasant and the dungeons were wet, he could ignore for a while the danger they all faced and enjoy the present. Mewtwo was right; he’d needed this.

If the sphere was here, he thought, he already knew where it was hidden. At the center of the back wall, behind and above the glowing red crystal, there was a dark patch of wall which hadn’t sparkled back when he had illuminated the room. After he opened it, they would have to go back to Pokémon Square and trying to save the world.

“Well that’s cheap,” Zorua’s complaint interrupted his reverie.

Arcanine turned to see her scratching at the wall beside the entrance.

“They’re not even gems,” Zorua continued, “just little flakey bits.”

Arcanine smiled as she shook the glittering dust from her forepaws, and turned back to the crystal. There was work still to do, and they didn’t have time to waste on his woolgathering.

“Don’t touch it,” Absol cautioned as he approached the crystal, “remember what happened to Team Poképals.”

“I remember,” Arcanine confirmed.

It was there, just above his head; this close, he could see the top halves of each circular indentation illuminated red by the crystal, while the bottom halves were shadowed. Arcanine stood up on his hindlegs and dragged his claws along the border of the carving until he found the edges of the door. The gap was subtle, but it was there, a rectangle roughly two meters across.

It wasn’t surprising that no one else had reported it. Team Poképals and all the other Pokémon who had explored the dungeon would have missed it, enraptured by the glow of the crystal and the glitter of the walls. No one who did notice would have considered it important beside the illusory wealth around them, unless they remembered the pattern from the large doors in another dungeon.

“Did you find something, big guy?” Zorua asked behind him.

He blew a brief flame, illuminating the outline for the others to see.

Holding them one at a time with both forepaws, Arcanine carefully fit each disc into its hole. Absol stood beneath him, ready to catch any that he dropped. He didn’t think this short fall would damage them, but there was no need to take chances. Zorua pranced around and under them, too nervous or excited to sit still.

There was a click from within, and the door moved beneath his paws. Arcanine stepped back. A sliver of yellow light appeared at the crack, growing as the door swung slowly open to one side, until the whole room was illuminated.

“It’s the Moon!” Absol exclaimed. “Arcanine, I recognize the continents!”

“How are we gonna get it back?” Zorua asked.

“I don’t think we can,” Absol said.

“No.” Arcanine shook his head. “Need a team with hands, and something to protect it in the river.”

“So, does this mean we don’t have to do Serenity River?” Zorua asked.

“Probably nothing there,” Arcanine answered, slowly, “but, everyone will still be in Buried Relic. May not be another time when we’re not needed elsewhere. Do it now, we know for certain.”

“Well,” Zorua said, “since you and Mewtwo and Delphox were right, I guess I’m not grumpy any more. Let’s do it.”

Absol nodded in agreement. They stared for a moment longer, then he pushed the door closed. The three of them stood side by side, waiting for their vision to adjust to the renewed darkness. The only thing left for them to do here, he thought, was trigger the flood to wash them out. That wouldn’t be pleasant at all.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The smoke curled around them as they ascended the stairs, stained crimson from the light of burning bodies below. At the landing, Absol turned to look back. The flames crept hesitantly across the pile of Yamasks, flickering and sliding, as if they were so repulsive that even the fire didn’t want to touch them. A lone wail rose from the pile, high pitched and faint. Another joined it, and then another, until the whole pile of voices merged together in a single deafening scream. Absol turned away. Arcanine was right; she didn’t want to witness this.

Something wrapped around her hindleg as she started up the stairs, cold and damp and sticky like wet cloth. She kicked, reflexively, but the grip didn’t loosen. Another one wrapped around her other hindleg. She twisted around, slashing at them with her horn, but the limbs flowed like smoke, reforming as quickly as she could sever them. Her claws dug gouges in the stone as they pulled her toward the edge.

She shouted for help, but her voice was lost in the screaming of the Yamasks. The others passed her, oblivious. Gallade, Rhyperior, and Roserade disappeared into the square of light at the top of the stairs, then Gardevoir, Lopunny, and Medicham. Zorua and Arcanine didn’t even look at her as they passed.

Arcanine vanished into the light, and she was alone with the Yamasks. Suddenly, there was no more stone beneath her hind feet. She tumbled backward, pawing desperately at the edge, but the grip on her legs pulled her inexorably downward.

The fire was both searingly hot and numbingly cold, but she was through it in an instant. Bodies squirmed against her, invisible in the darkness except for their eyes. With every touch, the remaining warmth drained from her body. They covered her, crushing, suffocating. She flailed, trying to claw her way back to the surface, but they weren’t solid enough to hold onto.

She was below the pile now, looking up at the bodies; a thousand red eyes stared back at her like bloated, evil stars, edged in the ghostly blue flame of the aurora.


Do you see it?” Ninetales’ voice was bodiless in the darkness beside her. “A new sky, for an eternal night.”

Did you ever make it to Pokémon Square?” Mother asked. Her voice was tired and sad. “It’s getting awfully cold in here; I don’t know how much longer we’ll last.”

Absol turned to look. Mother was beside her now, and Ninetales as well. They were both gaunt and emaciated, like Elektrike in Magnezone’s prison, their eyes hopeless and their coats thick with frost.


We tried, Mother,” Absol pleaded, “We tried, everyone tried.”

I know, dear.”

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Two pair of eyes watched her in the darkness. Absol stared back for a moment, confused, trying to resolve the dim shapes around them into Mother’s and Ninetales’ familiar faces.

She blinked once, and again, as her mind slowly caught up to recent events. She was in the traveller’s burrow near Hot Springs, and Mother and Ninetales were hundreds of kilometers away.

Her blanket was tangled around her legs. She kicked, reflexively, shuddering in revulsion at the memory of the Yamasks wrapping around her. Zorua scrambled out of her way.

“Are you okay?” Zorua asked. “Did you have another vision?”

“I think...it was...just a dream,” Absol realized that she was panting. She closed her eyes, and forced herself to breathe slowly and deeply until she regained control.

“The Yamasks were burning in the pile in Temple Ruins, and they dragged me in, and Mother and Ninetales, and...”

She didn’t want to explain now. She didn’t know what it meant, or whether it meant anything at all. She circled several times, and lay back down on top of her blanket. There was no way that she was going to get back to sleep. The burrow, which had been cozy and comfortable before, seemed cramped and stifling, and Arcanine’s and Zorua’s bodies pressed against her felt like the squirming bodies of the Yamasks. Arcanine tried to groom her, and she wriggled away.

She wanted to go outside, and run until she was tired, and lay on her back in the snow and watch the stars like she had done at home on Mount Freeze, but she knew that she couldn’t. She wanted to be free of this awful curse and her helplessness.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Zorua asked.

“No,” Absol admitted.

“Can we help?” Zorua asked.

“Can we go now?” Absol asked in response.

“Go where?”

Absol hesitated. She needed someone more knowledgeable, but none of the Pokémon from whom she would have sought advice were available; Mother and Ninetales were on the other side of the continent, and Mewtwo was probably still deep in Buried Relic. She wanted to be back in Pokémon Square, but Arcanine’s logic for exploring Serenity River next was still sound.

“I suppose Serenity River,” Absol said.

“We only slept a couple hours,” Zorua objected, “it’s, like, midnight.”

“I know,” Absol agreed, “I’m sorry. But...I need to do something and there’s nothing else I can do in the dark.”

“Alright,” Zorua said, “up for a run, big guy?”

Arcanine yawned and stretched and rolled into a crouch.

“Are you sure you didn’t have another vision?” Zorua asked as they secured the straps on Arcanine’s saddle.

“I don’t know,” Absol admitted, “I need to talk to someone; Mother, Ninetales, Mewtwo. I don’t know.”

 
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love

Memento mori
Pronouns
he/him/it
Partners
  1. leafeon
New chapter, yay. It's always nice to see the team getting along. I wonder if Mewtwo's explanation about mapping parallel timelines along a euclidean vs cartesian plane will become relevant later.

Characters struggle more with doubt than difficulty in this chapter. They don't know if it's worth searching Grassy Marsh or if the waterfall will kill them or why the orrery got messed up to begin with. Mewtwo is not sure if it's right to try to bring the rest of the gang over. Absol isn't sure if her nightmare is a terrible omen or if it means nothing at all. In stories where someone saves the world, there is usually a clear path forward or a clear enemy to fight, but in this story it feels like the issue is more often a lack of knowledge, and there is no guarantee that saving the world is even possible. With that said, they're certainly making progress.

Anyway, here is a googledoc with some more comments.
 

The Desert Cat

Good Boy
New chapter, yay. It's always nice to see the team getting along. I wonder if Mewtwo's explanation about mapping parallel timelines along a euclidean vs cartesian plane will become relevant later.
Not really, but I felt like Mewtwo ought to have some explanation for traveling between the worlds.
Characters struggle more with doubt than difficulty in this chapter. They don't know if it's worth searching Grassy Marsh or if the waterfall will kill them or why the orrery got messed up to begin with. Mewtwo is not sure if it's right to try to bring the rest of the gang over. Absol isn't sure if her nightmare is a terrible omen or if it means nothing at all. In stories where someone saves the world, there is usually a clear path forward or a clear enemy to fight, but in this story it feels like the issue is more often a lack of knowledge, and there is no guarantee that saving the world is even possible. With that said, they're certainly making progress.
Even though IoC has blatant magic and is obviously fantasy, I guess I'm trying for more of a rational, sci-fi like feel. The main conflict is supposed to be the process of discovery, rather than the actual fighting.
Thanks! You caught a lot of things I missed.

#This is all my fault, you know,# Mewtwo said softly, #Everything Team Rocket did to all of you. Everything that you’ve gone through here. I don’t understand how you can still trust me.#

“No,” Arcanine said firmly, “Remember better now. We were all complacent on Mount Quena. Remember when everyone was hurt after the fight with Rocket, and I was selfish. You did what needed to be done.

As far as I could make out, this is at least a little bit right. Arcanine dismisses it more quickly than I might have; the others could have been less complacent, but my impression is that Mewtwo firmly held the reigns of the group and was quite stubborn. But Arcanine is not the type to shift blame, especially not onto Mewtwo.

Basically this. Mewtwo is partially right, but the others were also content to let him make all of the choices. Maybe this is still too prescient for Arcanine, though. I'll think about it some more. We'll explore this further with Ninetales(two) in a couple chapters.

I leaned more toward the interpretation of nightmare than vision for this one. It seemed centered around things that would specifically bother Absol: the yamask, her friends ignoring her, her parents starving. If it has any purpose beyond that, then I would guess it's to inspire a sense of urgency.
That's basically Mewtwo's appraisal in the next chapter.
 

The Desert Cat

Good Boy


Book 2 Chapter 5: Seaside Village

Absol’s eyes blinked open, and they were back in the warmth and comfort of the library. Mewtwo was seated in the middle of their bed, and she lay between his legs, with her chin on his lap. Arcanine and Zorua flanked them on either side, and Team ACT, Delphox, and a dozen other Pokémon were gathered around, watching and waiting.

Mewtwo’s hands slid from her temples to wrap around her ears, his fingers kneading the sensitive spots at the bases. It felt wonderful, and she pushed into it. Letting Mewtwo into her mind the first time, two months ago, had been frightening. Now, she thought, she could understand why Arcanine valued their connection so much. There was a wonderful feeling of unity, of each understanding what the other meant with a completeness which words alone couldn’t convey.

“Well?” Zorua demanded.

Mewtwo didn’t answer, and neither did she. Her dream hadn’t made any more sense the second time. With Mewtwo’s help, the experience was less frightening and more impersonal; like listening to a story rather than experiencing it herself. Her original vision, and her conversation with Darkrai, both had an obvious purpose and direction which this one lacked. Maybe her initial assessment had been correct, and it was just a nightmare.

Mewtwo’s fingers continued to stroke absently through her fur as he thought. He looked haggard, she thought, exhausted from his time in Buried Relic, and she hoped that she wasn’t wasting his time.

#It’s not a waste of time,# Mewtwo assured her. It didn’t seem strange, any more, when he responded to her thoughts as if she had said them aloud. #I admit that I’m not sure what to make of it. However,, before I suggest anything which might influence your interpretation, I want you to explain what you think it might mean.#

Absol hesitated. It had seemed urgent, two days ago, but now she wasn’t sure.

Mewtwo’s hands stopped stroking. He lifted her muzzle, and leaned down to meet her eyes. #We haven’t known each other very long,#Mewtwo said, #but anything you think might be important is worthy of further examination. Let’s assume, for the sake of discussion, that at least part of your dream was a message,# Mewtwo instructed. #If so, what part,and would it mean?#

Now this sounded like one of his conversations with Arcanine, Absol thought, but if Mewtwo’s method worked for the two of them, there was no reason it wouldn’t work for her, as well.

“I don’t think that the part with the Yamasks meant anything,” she began. “I...I’ve never killed someone before. I know it was necessary, but I keep thinking about it.”

That she hadn’t, personally, killed the Yamasks was irrelevant; all nine of them had agreed with Arcanine’s decision, and they all shared responsibility.

“The fight was awful, too,” she continued. “Mount Mistral was miserable, but in Temple Ruins was the first time I thought we might all really die.”

Mewtwo nodded slowly, his eyes unfocused in thought.

“But the part with Mother and Ninetales, I don’t know. They know I reached Pokémon Square, so why would Mother ask? And what Ninetales said about the sky, that’s not what’s happening, is it?”

#I don’t think so,# Mewtwo said.

“So if the part with the red stars was left over from burning the Yamasks, all that remains is when Mother and Ninetales are hungry and cold.”

Mewtwo nodded again.

“So if it is a vision...” Absol hesitated. “All it means is that we need to hurry?”

Mewtwo was silent yet again. She could hear his slow breathing and the beat of his heart, and her own, and the occasional movement of the Pokémon around them.

Zorua cleared her throat.

#Well,# Mewtwo said, #whether your dream was a vision, or just a nightmare, I agree; we’re not progressing quickly enough. I think that you’ve helped me reach a decision on another matter.#

Mewtwo and Arcanine turned to look at each other at exactly the same moment, and Arcanine nodded once, as if granting Mewtwo permission to continue.

#There is another resource available to us. Our Family is rather unique; there are nineteen more Pokemon, in our world, who are all roughly as strong and intelligent as Arcanine. I think that we are going to need their help.#

Delphox raised an eyebrow. “Why now? We could have used them two months ago when you joined us.”

It was a reasonable question, Absol thought, though it could have been phrased more diplomatically.

Mewtwo appeared unperturbed. #They’ve been quite busy dealing with the situation in our world,# he answered. #There is also considerable risk involved in the transition, and I hoped that it would not be necessary. This is…how I lost Arcanine five years ago.#

Delphox looked away. No one else spoke.

#In any case,# Mewtwo continued, #If there is no other pressing business, I’m going to sleep.#

Mewtwo rolled over and curled up on the cushions, seeming unbothered by the continued activity in the library, and Absol, Zorua, and Arcanine moved to the floor in front of the stove so that their movement wouldn’t disturb him.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

“Arcanine,” Delphox continued once everyone was settled again, “there is another urgent matter, but I think it’s something that your team can handle. Seaside Village missed their scheduled contacts yesterday and today. Bay Town has a team on the way to investigate, and I would like to have your team ready to teleport if there is any trouble.”

“Oh,” Absol said, “Lapras and I stopped in Bay Town to repair his raft. I hope everyone is okay.”

“Nothing has happened in Bay Town, as of this morning,” Delphox said, “Alakazam, Xatu, and I have been taking turns waiting for contact, just in case.”

“How unusual is that?” Arcanine asked.

“How unusual is what, specifically?” Delphox responded.

“Two days without contact,” Arcanine clarified.

“In ordinary times,” Delphox said, “many of the smaller towns go months or years without any communication with the Federation. Even when we first implemented Metagross’s sandglasses and daily contacts, not everyone took them seriously. Since the weather has gotten worse, though, most of them are eager for news. In the last month, no one has missed two consecutive days.”

Under the current circumstances, Arcanine thought, that was unique enough to be worthy of investigation. Anything important in Seaside Village?” he asked.

“You mean part of the Orrery?” Delphox asked.

Arcanine nodded.

“Not that we know,” Delphox said, “but it’s possible.”

“Tell me about the village.” Arcanine said.

“They’re on the northeast coast,” Delphox said, “on a bluff looking out toward Spatial Island. I haven’t been there in decades. Fifty or sixty Pokémon, mostly Water, Rock, and Ground-Types.”

Delphox waved them toward the map beside the door, and everyone gathered around.

“There are three mystery dungeons nearby,” Delphox said, standing on a chair to point with her wand, “Magma Cavern...”

“That’s where Mother met Team ACT,” Absol said.

Tyranitar grinned down at her. “Where your mother and Team Go-Getters rescued us from Groudon,” he elaborated.

“We don’t remember anything resembling the Orrery chamber doors,” Alakazam said, “but, given what you found in Waterfall Cave, we can’t be certain.”

“Spatial Rift on Spatial Island,” Delphox continued.

“Spatial Rift is where Team Poképals met Palkia during the Time Gears crisis,” Charizard explained, “since they revisited it while you all were in Meadow Town, we can be fairly certain that there isn’t a sphere there.”

“And Shimmer Hill,” Delphox concluded.

If the Ice-types they’d fought in Meadow Town had successfully attacked Seaside Village, Arcanine thought, they were already two days too late to help them. Any tracks they might have left wouldn’t last long in the snow. If they had found a sphere and had to haul it out, however, there might still be time to intercept them.

Did the Ice-types have another set of disks? Did they know how to use them, if so? The group that they had encountered in Creepy Tunnel hadn’t been able to open the door, even with Bayleef’s reluctant help.

He thought back to his conversation with Mewtwo a week ago. There was something important that they still didn’t understand. Either the Pokémon in the room with him right now knew a lot less than the Ice-types did about the Orrery, and how it worked, and the dungeons where it was stored, or they knew a lot more.

“I wonder what happened to the raft after we crashed on the beach,” Absol mused, “we’ve been so busy that I never thought to go look. And Lapras, too. I hope he had a safe journey back to Bay Town”

“The raft is gone, now,” Tyranitar said. “It was too badly damaged to repair; someone probably salvaged the lumber.”

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Charizard sat alone at the table by the stove. He was writing something, but Zorua couldn’t see what. Curious, she jumped up on the chair beside him. Charizard glanced up and nodded briefly, then returned to work.

There were papers spread out across the table, mostly in Charizard’s handwriting, but there were some in Alakazam’s, and Delphox’s, and several others that she didn’t recognize. Right now, Charizard was writing something about Creepy Tunnel.

“Is that our book?” Zorua asked. “Absol said you were writing about all the stuff we’re doing.”

Charizard nodded. “Not just your team,” Charizard said, “but everyone involved.”

“Why?”

“Someday, someone might need to know.” Charizard gestured around the room. “Look at all the books that have helped us so far. Some of them are thousands of years old - copied and recopied because someone thought that knowledge might be important. We have a responsibility to do the same. I want to get things written down before we start forgetting.”

“Oh.” That made sense, she thought. She had probably read more in the last few months here than in her whole life before.

Charizard dipped his pen and continued writing. It was the part when they’d fought the Klingklangs.

“It’s not as important as that,” Zorua said, “but can I ask you something else?”

“Of course.” Charizard tapped the ink from his quill and lay it down in its tray, carefully replaced the cap on his inkwell, then looked up to meet her eyes.

“Before he went to Treasure Town,” Zorua said, “Grey said I should ask you why he doesn’t go in town.”

“Hmmm.” Charizard leaned back and picked up his mug of tea. His nose wrinkled in distaste as he sniffed it. He began to set it back down, then he changed his mind and took as sip.

“Ordinarily, I would make a fresh pot,” Charizard said, “but who knows when we’ll be able to harvest more? Frightening, isn’t it?”

Zorua nodded in agreement. It wasn’t only tea that Charizard was concerned about, she thought, but food in general, like everyone else.

“Grey has lived in Pokémon Square almost as long as Tyranitar and I,” Charizard began, “he’s not our most prolific criminal, but probably our most noteworthy. I never understood why. He’d live as someone else for months, working, exploring, trading; he’s a very talented Pokémon. He’d make friends, start a business, fix up one of the unused houses. Then, he’d throw it all away on some elaborate prank. The thrill of winning, I suppose? It seems to be common for the Zoroark line. No offense intended.”

“No,” Zorua agreed, “you’re right. It is, um, exciting thinking you’re smarter than everyone else.”

Charizard nodded. “He was run out of town quite a few times, but always ended up back here. Somehow, no one was ever quite angry enough to kill him. In any case, he wasn’t well liked, and when he came back with Eevee one day, everyone was suspicious. She was as close to feral as I’ve seen outside a dungeon; no manners, no planning, and couldn’t speak at all. I’ve seen ferals wake up in dungeons, but I’ve never seen a Pokémon like that outside recover before; ordinarily, all you can do is try to teach them not to fight. She was also far too young to be exploring.”

Zorua nodded.

“Grey took her everywhere,” Charizard continued, “talked to her like a normal Pokémon, brought her here and read to her for hours. I don’t know whether he saw something that no one else did, or he was just lonely.

“They were at Ampharos’s, six months or so after he’d found her. Pink was just beginning to speak. It was Midwinter festival, I think, we were there, and Team Dragon, and Team Hydro, and a lot of others, sharing a keg of Tropuis’ cider.

“Grey announced that they were forming a team. Feraligatr and Dragonite accused him of taking advantage of her, endangering her unnecessarily by taking her into mystery dungeons, and there was a rather heated arguement. Swampert was quite drunk. I don’t know whether he tripped or it was intentional, but he knocked Grey off his stool.

“Pink went berserk. She knocked Swampert out with a single Take Down, chased Dragonite and Flygon a few laps around the room, then she injured herself attacking Salamence, and Ran Away. They broke most of the furniture in the bar, and Ampharos was furious. Grey, uncharacteristically, paid for everything. That settled the question of physical competency, at least, but it was months before Pink spoke again. She doesn’t seem to have a grudge against Hydro or Dragon, but she won’t go near the bar.”

Finally seeing Grey in his true shape brought back so many memories of her mother. When the two of them were alone together, did he relax and let down his illusion, like her mother had? He must, Zorua thought; it was too difficult to maintain in close contact

What would her life have been like in Meadow Town, if her mother had come home? Well, of course, she wouldn’t have been living in the lodge with Riolu and Treecko, but they would still have been friends. Maybe she would have been nicer to everyone, because mom would have been so angry about some of the things she had done. At least, she would have been more careful and gotten caught less. But then, maybe she wouldn’t have been partners with Riolu, or gotten lost in Haunted Forest and met Arcanine, or helped stop the Ice-types. Then she wouldn’t be here in Pokémon Square, now, helping everyone save the world.

The background noise of Charizard’s story stopped. Zorua looked up. She wasn’t sure how long she hadn’t been paying attention.

“Are you alright?” Charizard asked.

“Yeah,” Zorua said, “Grey, um, he reminds me of mom a lot.”

“What happened to your mother?” Charizard asked.

“I think she must have done something awful, once; something she couldn’t even tell me about. We hid in Meadow Town for like twelve years, then she went out one day and never came back.”

“And no one saw anything?” Charizard asked.

Zorua shook her head, sniffing back tears that wanted to form. “She was supposed to be gone a week or two. After she didn’t come back I went to look for her, but I couldn’t find the scent any more.”

“I’m sorry.” Charizard said.

He reached out a hand to rest on her head, and Zorua leaned into it.

“Thanks,” Zorua sniffed. “Um, thanks for the story. I’ll let you get back to writing.”

“My pleasure.” Charizard smiled. I’m here, any time you want to talk.”

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

#Arcanine.# Mewtwo greeted him as everyone began to gather in the library, early the next morning.

“Mewtwo.”

Mewtwo’s face was unusually somber Arcanine thought. Was he worried about the journey, or still exhausted from Buried Relic?

#Some of both.# Mewtwo admitted.

Mewtwo pulled a chair over next to him and began to sit, then pushed the chair away and sat beside him on the floor, instead. Arcanine leaned his muzzle on Mewtwo’s shoulder, and Mewtwo’s arm wrapped around his neck.

“Leaving now?” Arcanine asked.

#In a few minutes. I wanted to discuss some details with everyone, first. And, I wanted to talk to you.#

There was, simultaneously, a lot of things left to discuss between the two of them, and very little which needed to be said. If Mewtwo didn’t return, whatever remained unremembered in his past was just a curiosity, since he would never see the Family or their world again. If he did, there would be plenty of time to reminisce when the Family was here. He didn’t know where to begin.

The mental guards which Mewtwo maintained, both to protect himself, and to protect others from him, relaxed, and their thoughts and sensations began to intermingle. Arcanine could simultaneously feel Mewtwo’s shoulder supporting his chin, and the weight of Arcanine’s head on his shoulder; Mewtwo’s arm around his neck, and his arm around Arcanine’s neck. This, he knew, was why Mewtwo often found physical contact uncomfortable.

Mewtwo’s second time dimension was no longer an abstract mathematical construct. As Mewtwo rehearsed the journey in his mind, he could remember the dizzying turn sideways from his four dimensions into something else that his mind wasn’t designed to comprehend.

#In all likelihood,# Mewtwo said, #with Mew to help us, the transition will be uneventful. If something does go wrong...I know things haven’t turned out how any of us wanted, but I want you to know that all of you have been the best family that I could have hoped to have.#

He couldn’t find the right words to agree, but with their minds this exposed, the meaning was shared, and words were a formality.

#I don’t have much direction to give you. You know what needs to be done as well as I do. Mew may return without me; she has helped us already, but it’s hard to know how much she understands, or what her true interest it. I suspect you’ll see Darkrai again, as well, but he is even more unknown.#

#What happens to our work there?#
Arcanine asked. They were closer now than they had ever been before, even in the early years when Mewtwo hadn’t always been able to control his power. He could hear the surface thoughts of the Pokémon around them, like whispers in the background, and feel their positions relative to him.

Alakazam, Delphox, Espeon, Medicham, and Gardevoir were more distinct. Without turning his head to look, he could see all of them, or what he imagined must be their their own mental self-images, in a panorama around himself, and he knew that they could see his as well. He could even, indirectly, perceive Zorua and Umbreon through the collective senses of the rest of the Pokemon in the room.

He had wondered, occasionally, whether the sections of his own DNA that Mewtwo had used to create the other clones had given all of them some miniscule Psychic ability. Was any of this his own perception, or entirely Mewtwo’s?

#We don’t know,# Mewtwo admitted, answering his previous question. #None of our cubs are ready to assume positions of authority, and only a handful of people outside the Family are aware of the full scale of our operation, or my involvement. However, the movement we’ve begun has enough momentum to sustain itself for a time; millions of Humans and Pokemon in mundane jobs at the corporations and governments where we have influence, who will mostly continue to work as long as they continue to be paid.#

Mewtwo shrugged. #If we don’t succeed, here, none of it matters. Delphox is right, we shouldn’t have waited so long.#

Everyone was assembled, now, waiting for them to begin; Zorua and Absol, Growlithe and Electrike, Team ACT, Team Arcana, Team Razor Wind, Team Charm. He began to refresh the exercises, nearly automatic after so many years, rebuilding his mental guards.

#Thank you,# Arcanine thought.

#Thank you.# Mewtwo answered.

Everyone in the room was staring at them as Mewtwo looked up to face the group, and he was sure that their conversation had been intended for everyone.

#I expect to return within two weeks,# Mewtwo said, #Three at most.#

“You’d better come back,” Zorua said, “we need you.”

Absol nodded in agreement. “Mewtwo, be careful. I don’t know if we can do this without you.”

#Whatever happens,# Mewtwo said, #don’t give up. There is more happening here, I think, than any of us know.#

Absol circled the two of them, rubbing along Arcanine and Mewtwo’s back, and ending with her head pressed against Mewtwo’s chest. Zorua pushed between them, and Mewtwo reached down to scratch her ears. It wasn’t long ago, Arcanine thought, that Zorua had been suspicious of him, but working and living so closely together, deceit and distrust were difficult to maintain.

#Anything else, before I go?# Mewtwo asked.

“Computers to automate translation?” Arcanine suggested, only half joking, “With solar panels? Vehicles?”

Mewtwo chuckled. #I had the same thought. I doubt Mew will allow it, but I’ll see what I can do. Maybe I could sneak a calculator through?#

#Well,#
Mewtwo continued when no one else spoke, #I’ll see you all again soon, I hope. Even you.#

Mewtwo placed a finger on the tip of Zorua’s nose. His shape blurred for a moment, and Arcanine felt the same disorienting drop that accompanied entering a mystery dungeon. Mewtwo was no longer there. Zorua, who’d had her forepaws on his leg, toppled over.

Zorua rolled to her feet and shook. “I bet he did that on purpose,” she grumbled, then she grinned. “Hey. He does have a sense of humor.”

Zorua’s grin faded and she looked away. “He’d better come back, though.”

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The wind whistled through the boulders around them, carrying the scents of the sea, and smoke, and wet ash. The snow underfoot was crusted over, solid enough to walk upon. Absol shivered as she looked around, hunching down into her blanket. They were near the top of a rocky ridge, sloping down toward the ocean to the east, and a wide valley to the south. In front of her, however, were two familiar faces.

“Buizel! Feraligatr! I didn’t know you were here.”

Buizel and Feraligatr both stared for a moment, confused, before Feraligatr recognized her.

“Ninetales’ daughter! Feraligatr exclaimed. “You’re one of the last people I expected to see. So, this weather is why Lapras was taking you to Pokémon Square?”

Absol nodded.

“I should have known.” Feraligatr’s jaws split open in a toothy grin. “With your parents, you were destined for trouble.”

Absol stepped forward to bump her head against Feraligatr’s outstretched hand, then Buizel’s.

“I hope you all have a solution.” Feraligatr pulled a worn green and grey cloak tighter around his shoulders. “I’ve never liked winter, anyway.”

“We’re working on it,” Absol said, “along with a lot of people in Pokémon Square. I can explain more when we’re somewhere warmer.”

Absol turned to look back at Arcanine and Zorua. “This is my team,” she said, “Team Warmth. Feraligatr and Buizel help fix Lapras’ raft on the way to Pokémon Square.”

“A pleasure to meet you, despite the circumstances,” Feraligatr said. He and Buizel were accompanied by a Golem who seemed to take no notice of the cold or the wind, with an miserable-looking Chingling crouched atop his head. “We’re Team Slickrock, temporarily.”

“Have you been to Seaside Village yet?” Absol asked. “What happened?”

Buizel pointed past her, and Absol turned to look. The grey of the rocky coastline blended into the sea and overcast sky beyond, and it took Absol a moment to find what he was pointing at.

They were near the top of a taller hill, here, looking down onto a lower bluff protruding into the sea. Twenty or so squat stone structures clustered atop the bluff, ranging in size from small cottages to a hall as large as the lodge in Meadow Town. A low wall partially encircled the village. The roofs of several of them were blackened and collapsed, and the walls of the two largest buildings at the center of town had fallen inward in places. No Pokémon were visible, but at this distance, smaller Pokémon would have been easy to miss.

“Oh,” Absol said quietly.

“We saw from the ridge,” Feraligatr pointed back the way that Team Slickrock had come, “and decided to call for help.”

“The roofs are thatched,” Buizel said, “the fire could have been an accident, but that doesn’t explain the lack of activity.”

There was no further conversation as they continued down the hill. Everyone seemed shaken by the destruction. Even if it had been an accident, or if no one was seriously injured, there was going to be a lot of work to rebuild, and they probably wouldn’t be able to re-thatch the roofs until summer.

It was summer now, by the calender, Absol thought. She shivered, sidling over to brush against Arcanine as they walked. They didn’t know when it would be real summer again.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

They met the road at the base of the bluff. As it wound upward, the stunted trees in the valley faded to scrub and bunchgrass. He would have put a town in the valley, Arcanine thought, sheltered by hills on three sides, rather than exposed atop the bluff, but with so many different species of Pokémon, one could find someone who enjoyed nearly any environment.

As they approached, Arcanine saw that the perimeter wall was higher than it had appeared at a distance. While the rock wall was only half a meter, it ran along the top of a berm another two meters tall. The slope was too gradual to be of much use as a defensive fortification, and its purpose was probably as a windbreak.

The road passed through a gap in the wall, and they were out of the wind. Like the perimeter wall, the walls of the houses were bermed with earth so that only the upper third to half of each was exposed. The stone walls were chinked with grass and clay.

The village was eerily silent, save the sound of the wind whistling overhead. He could smell some of the residents, mostly Ground and Rock-types, as Delphox had said, but the overwhelming smell of smoke and wet ash made it difficult to determine how fresh they were.

“Hullo!” Feraligatr bellowed. “Anyone here? Team Slickrock from Bay Town!”

The first two houses they passed were undamaged, though the grass was charred in patches around them. There must have been enough frost or snow on the roofs to protect them from sparks. Their heavy wooden doors were shut, and curtains blocked their view through narrow, recessed windows. The thatch on the roofs was not only tied in place, but held down by long poles secured at both ends. This was a village, he thought, designed to weather harsh winters and violent storms.

“Hullo!” Feraligatr called again. “Team Slickrock from Bay Town, and Team Warmth from Pokémon Square!”

Arcanine turned as a door creaked open beside them. A pair of eyes and a canine muzzle peered out through the crack. Then, door swung open wide, exposing a large, cinnamon-furred Lycanroc and Vaporeon.

“Feraligatr!” Lycanroc exclaimed in obvious relief.

Lycanroc rushed out, and the two of them collided in a rough hug. Lycanroc’s chest and face were patchy with the shorter fur of freshly healed wounds.

“I’m glad to see you.” Lycanroc said “We didn’t know if anyone else knew what happened. Did you find Panphy and Cranidos? They went to Bay Town for help.”

Vaporeon stayed in the doorway. She was glancing around, nervously, not at them, but around the perimeter of the village. Behind her, in the darkness, Arcanine could see two more pairs of eyes.

“We didn’t see them,” Feraligatr said, “but we came cross-country, so it would have been easy to miss each other. Pokémon Square asked us to investigate when they couldn’t reach Raichu. What happened?”

“We were attacked three days ago,” Lycanroc said. “Some Pokémon, mostly Ice-types, snuck into town early in the morning and broke into the lodge. No one was there, but Marowak heard them and called for help...”

It didn’t make sense, Arcanine thought; they’d targeted the lodge in Meadow Town, as well. Why attack the town at all? Had they expected to find more discs? Had they expected a sphere in town?

After a moment, he decided that those were actually both reasonable possibilities. Their continent and some of the nearby islands were, socially, largely self-contained. There was no routine communication with the rest of the world, and, as far as anyone seemed to know, no towns of significance to communicate with. It was plausible that elsewhere in the world, there were spheres which hadn’t been hidden in dungeons, or had been retrieved so long ago that no one remembered the details. There could be a civilization of mostly Ice-types, somewhere high in the northern or southern latitudes, who did keep their spheres in their town halls.

Zorua’s claws on his nose brought him back to the present.

“Hey,” Zorua said, “are you listening?”

“Sorry,” Arcanine said, “thinking. What happened?”

“What Pokémon is six meters tall and looks like a stack of bricks?” Zorua asked.

His team, Team Slickrock, and Lycanroc’s family were all staring at him. Arcanine thought for a moment; the description didn’t match anything he could think of.

“Stack of bricks?” Arcanine confirmed.

“Yeah,” Zorua said, “Lycanroc says there were Snorunts, Cryogonals, a Froslass, and a Pokémon that looks like a stack of bricks.”

“Don’t know,” Arcanine admitted.

His new theory was something that he was going to have to discuss with Mewtwo when he returned, Arcanine thought, and everyone else back in Pokémon Square. Someone had mapped the other major continents, so someone must have ideas for where they could begin searching for other civilizations.

Vaporeon emerged from the house to join them, and stood on her hindlegs to embrace Feraligatr. The two of them and Lycanroc walked side by side, nearly touching, followed by a young Eevee and Rockruff, as they continued down the road toward the lodge. The next house had been gutted by fire, and he could see the charred remains of roof beams through the open doorway.

Arcanine found himself staring at Vaporeon as they walked. Even after five years and losing his memory, there was no way that he could have ever mistaken her for his Vaporeon, but something about the way she moved was similar enough that it was difficult to look away.

They had been so close to having cubs of their own, back on Mount Quena. Another month, and he and Vaporeon and Vulpix and Sandslash would have had two young Eevees and another Vulpix trailing behind them, like Eevee and Rockruff followed Lycanroc and Vaporeon.

“They’ve attacked six or seven more times since then,” Lycanroc continued, “not coming into the village, but firing over the walls from a distance. We’re all afraid to work outside.”

They stopped in front of the remains of the lodge. There were four fresh mounds of soil beside the door, each with a few stones carefully piled on top.

“Raichu was our only Psychic,” Lycanroc explained, pointing toward the second grave. “He didn’t even want to be here - he hated our weather, but he volunteered when the Federation sent the sandglass, so we could communicate. He and Marowak were the first ones to fight, while the rest of us were waking up.”

“Sandshrew, Marowak, Pelipper.” Lycanroc named the other three. Arcanine lowered his head in respect. Rockruff and Eevee each picked up a paw-sized stone from the ground nearby, and lay it solemnly atop Sandshrew’s pile. Humans placed flowers, he thought, or at least they did in books and movies, but the act of placing seemed more significant than the object placed; one final opportunity to interact with a Pokémon one would never see again.

There wasn’t much here to see, Arcanine thought, stepping carefully through the wreckage inside of the lodge. The back wall was collapsed inward in two places, as if something massive had slammed into it from the outside. It must have been their mystery brick Pokémon. The wall was more than a meter thick at the base, and it would have required a tremendous amount of force to knock down.

Through the windows, he could see between the houses to the back of the village, where the perimeter wall was similarly breached. Two Rhydons and a Rhyhorn had begun the slow work of rebuilding.

By the time he emerged, there were half a dozen other Pokémon gathered in front of the lodge.

“Is there a way up?” Arcanine pointed toward the cliff.

“Climbing or flying,” Lycanroc said. “We don’t know how they got around back. We weren’t keeping watch - there’s nothing here worth stealing, and we haven’t had bandits in decades.

“So, what do we do, big guy?” Zorua prompted.

“From which direction have they been attacking?” Arcanine asked.

“Southwest, the last two days.” Lycanroc pointed. “We’re not sure where, exactly. With Raichu, Marowak, and Cranidos gone, we don’t have enough strong Pokémon to pursue them.”

“Mystery dungeon that direction?” Arcanine asked.

“Ah, yes.” Lycanroc said, “Shimmer Hill.”

“What are you thinking, big guy?” Zorua asked.

Arcanine briefly explained his theory. “Bayleef took them to Creepy Tunnel. They didn’t find a sphere here, again, so they’re checking the mystery dungeons. But, may still not know how to open them. They have to know help will come eventually; don’t want to be divided, so they’re probably all that direction.”

“You’re going after them?” Feraligatr asked.

Arcanine nodded slowly.

“What do you want us to do?” Buizel asked.

Arcanine considered for a moment. Feraligatr was old, but still looked fairly tough. Buizel probably wasn’t much of a fighter, but he seemed comfortable in the mountains, despite his Type. Golem would be the most useful in a fight, but would also slow them down, and he didn’t know which would be more important. “Chingling should stay here; need to communicate with Pokémon Square if we don’t return. Rest of you, come with us, or stay to defend; don’t know which is better.”

“There are a lot of them,” Lycanroc warned, “and we could barely damage the brick Pokémon. Are you sure you three can beat them?

“No,” Arcanine admitted. “Nothing else, we find them and follow until reinforcements from Pokémon Square.

“I’ll come with you,” Lycanroc volunteered. “I know the area, and you’ll want a guide.”

“Then I supposes I’m going too,” Feraligatr grumbled. “What would Vaporeon say if I let you get killed?”

Wingull, perched on the edge of the collapsed roof of the lodge, drifted down to land beside Lycanroc.

“I’ll come” he volunteered. “I can see further in the hills than any of you, and...” Wingull hesitated, glancing toward the graves. “They killed my partner.”

“Thank you,” Arcanine said, turning back to Lycanroc. “How long to Shimmer Hill?”

Lycanroc considered for a moment. “Three days, give or take. It’s a winding road, through the hills.”

“How long if stay mostly to the ridges?” Arcanine asked.

Lycanroc frowned. “That won’t save time. The hills here are rough, and we’d be ascending and descending every few kilometers.”

“Most of us aren’t good at range,” Arcanine explained. “Don’t want to be charging uphill with them attacking from above.”

“I didn’t think about that,” Lycanroc admitted. “It will add a day, at least.”

That wasn’t good, Arcanine thought. Figure eight days out and back, if nothing went wrong. They didn’t have eight days to waste. Eight days out of touch with Pokémon Square, and eight nights trying to shelter Absol. They didn’t have a choice; they couldn’t risk the Ice-types escaping with a sphere, if there was one in Shimmer Hill.

He wanted more people. He wanted teams watching Spatial Rift and Magma Cavern, and another team following them. It was a huge risk, even if there were teams available; if he was wrong about where the rest of the Ice-types had gone, he was going to get people killed.

“Chingling,” Arcanine said, “can you contact Pokémon Square?”

“I’m going to slow everyone down, aren’t I,” Absol said.

“Want you along,” Arcanine said, “but won’t be shelter. We have to fight at night, can’t have you in the saddle.”

Absol looked away, tail and ears drooping in shame. “I’m sorry. I don’t think I can do it.”

Arcanine leaned into Absol, resting his chin atop her head, and felt her push back.

“It’s okay’” Arcanine said, “you can help here, too”

“I know,” Absol said, “it’s just...this should be so easy for me, compared to Mount Freeze. It’s so frustrating being helpless.”

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As they crested the first ridge, Arcanine paused, turning to look back toward town. How safe was Absol there, alone? If he was wrong and the Ice-types did return, the Pokémon of Seaside Village couldn’t stop them, and Absol wasn’t one to run away when others were in danger. They might return in eight days to find another pile of stones in front of the ruins of the lodge.

He turned away. There was nothing else he could do. They were all taking risks, and to ask Absol to return to the safety of Pokémon Square would be both counterproductive to their mission and an irredeemable insult.

The canyons stretched out ahead of them, an interminable maze of grey stone and snow. Wasn’t that the afterlife of Howard’s Cimmerians, he thought; to wander a cold, grey wasteland forever? Better to simply cease to exist.

“Too bad Lucario’s not here,” Zorua said.

“Yeah,” Arcanine agreed.

He had been so excited, months ago, to have Zorua beside him. He wasn’t any less grateful for her presence now, Arcanine thought, but now the group felt incomplete with only the two of them.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Arcanine, Zorua, Lycanroc, Wingull, and Feraligatr passed through the berm and wall around the village and turned to the south, out of Absol’s view. She didn’t look away. That was her team, she thought, and she ought to be with them.

Pursuing the Ice-types could be their most dangerous job yet; Temple Ruins at least had the predictability of a mystery dungeon. What if Arcanine and Zorua never returned? What if none of the expedition did, and she never knew what happened to them? How long would she wait here, hoping, before she had to return to Pokémon Square alone? What if neither Arcanine nor Mewtwo returned? No one else understood their plans well enough to continue without them.

Absol’s eyes stung, and she blinked rapidly to hold back the tears. They were a rescue team, even if the rest of the team had gone on without her, and there was work to do here. Also, when they all got back to Pokémon Square, she was going to make Mewtwo and Arcanine explain everything.

A score of Pokémon still stood in the square with her; staring at each other, staring at her, or at nothing, like she had just been doing. She could smell the fear and uncertainty on all of them. Beyond burying the bodies and the handful of Pokémon who had begun to work on the wall since they had arrived, it didn’t look like they had made any attempt to clean up or rebuild.

It was the opposite of how Meadow Town had reacted, based on Zorua and Arcanine’s descriptions. Meadow Town had had Lucario and Luxray’s leadership, but no one was taking charge here. Meadow Town had also won their fight with the Ice-types, with Arcanine’s help.

If Arcanine had remained here, Absol thought, he would have a plan, and tell everyone what needed to be done, and they would probably cooperate, even though it was their town, because he sounded so confident and competent.

That wasn’t the wrong solution, but it wasn’t something that she was comfortable doing. She also didn’t have a plan, or really any idea where to begin making one. The big brick Pokémon was a mystery. The Ice-types could do almost anything, and how could they prepare when they didn’t have enough strong Pokémon to win anyway?

She couldn’t even set a good example for them. She had abandoned her team, and in a few hours she would be cowering inside, afraid of the dark. Still, she had to try.

“Wh-what can I d-do to help?” Absol asked.

Vaporeon stared at her, her face uncertain.

“I can help keep watch,” Absol suggested, “or clean up, or repair...”

“I don’t know...” Vaporeon looked away, awkwardly.

Even without a plan, Absol thought, everyone knew that certain things needed to be done. If they had been too afraid to even go outside for the last three days, it might seem overwhelming, but they had to begin somewhere.

There were few tasks for which she was worse equipped than moving rocks, but the Rhydons and Rhyhorn were the only ones working, so she joined them. Buizel followed. Between the two of them, they could roll most of the larger fallen stones back to the wall, and pile dirt into a ramp to role them into place. She held them while Buizel wedged smaller rocks around them to keep them in place. She didn’t know if that was the right way, or how they were supposed to fit together, but it seemed better than nothing.

“Absol?” Vaporeon’s voice startled her out of the rhythm of work. She turned around.

A dozen other Pokémon had joined them by now, working on the wall. Despite the frigid temperature, the soil seemed to turn to mud as they worked, and her legs and belly were thoroughly caked with it. Her paws were sore, bruised and scraped and aching from the cold.

“We’re starting a watch, like you suggested. Would you like to join us?

Vaporeon wasn’t just asking to to watch with them, Absol thought, Vaporeon knew just how much difficulty she was having with the rocks, and was offering her a more suitable task.

“Oh, yes.” Absol accepted, “thank you. But, I won’t be able to watch very long...” Briefly, Absol explained her curse.

“That sounds awful,” Buizel said. “Lapras tried to explain, when you stopped in Bay Town, but we all thought you were a little crazy, hiding in the warehouse.”

“Th-hank you again for fixing the raft,” Absol said. “Have you seen Lapras since then? I hope he made it back safely.”

Buizel shook his head.

“Wait,” Rhyhorn said, as Absol turned to follow Vaporeon. “Thank you. You didn’t have to help; it’s not even your town.”

“Oh,” Absol said, “well, I had to do something.”

“We don’t have much to offer in return,” Rhyhorn said, “but you’re both welcome to stay with us while you’re here.”

“You can both stay with us, as well,” Vaporeon offered as they walked. “The Rhydons are good people, but I think you’ll find their house uncomfortably cold and drafty. Ordinarily, we put visitors up in the lodge...”

Vaporeon glanced toward the wreckage of the lodge, then looked away.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

They spent the first night sheltered in a copse of scraggly pines near the top of a draw. The surrounding ridge blocked most of the wind, but, more importantly, hid them from view in all but one direction.

Feraligatr hunched down at the center of the group, his cloak held tightly around his shoulders. Lacking fur, it had been obvious all day that the cold was difficult for him. Arcanine shifted closer, and Lycanroc, on the other side, did the same. He wasn’t going to suggest that the tough old Pokémon needed help keeping warm, but if they ended up in a pile by accident, everyone’s pride could remain intact.

Zorua, on first watch, looked over and grinned, and he smiled back. As much as he would have enjoyed her company, Arcanine was grateful that Absol had chosen not to come; she would have been even more miserable than Feraligatr.

“Do you know that Vaporeon?” Zorua asked, unexpectedly.

Arcanine shook his head.

“You were really staring at her,” Zorua said, “it was kinda wierd.”

Arcanine didn’t know how to answer.

“Remind you of someone?”

“Vaporeon on my team,” Arcanine said, “um, before.”

It wasn’t a good description, he thought, but Zorua would know what he meant.

“Oh,” Zorua said. “I bet she misses you, too.”

Arcanine didn’t know how to answer. He didn’t want to lie to Zorua, but he didn’t want to explain, either; particularly not here, with people he barely knew. Zorua would feel bad about bringing it up, and that didn’t accomplish anything.

“Yeah,” he agreed. It wasn’t really dishonest, he thought; she would, if she was still alive.

“Maybe she’ll come back with Mewtwo?”

He wasn’t going to try to answer that. Arcanine lay his muzzle on his paws and closed his eyes. They were there is the darkness, waiting for him; Vaporeon, Vulpix, Hitmonlee, Gyarados, Vileplume, Golduck. Laying so close together, all of the others had to know that he was crying, but he didn’t care.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Vaporeon and Lycanroc’s home was small, but comfortable and cozy, and more elegant than it appeared from the outside. The walls were plastered smooth, and hung with blankets against the cold. The ceiling was wood, as was the floor, worn smooth from countless years of use. The east and west walls each held a single window, short and wide, to allow sunlight in the morning and evening.

A small woodstove sat against the far wall. In front of it was a large rug and a pile of blankets and cushions. Dozens of crates were stacked along the wall, filled with Apples and berries.

“Absol and Buizel are going to be staying with us for a few days,” Vaporeon said. “You two help them get dinner, and let them get some rest.”

“Yes, mum,” Rockruff answered.

“I’ll be back after watch.” Vaporeon said. “They’ve traveled a long way and I’m sure they’re tired, so don’t keep them up, okay?”

“We’ll be good!” Eevee promised.

Rockruff nodded in agreement

The two of them looked up at their mother with faces perfectly innocent. Vaporeon stared for a moment, dubiously, then turned to leave. The door clicked shut behind her.

“Are you a real rescue team?” Rockruff asked.

“Are you going to get the bad Pokémon?” Eevee asked.

“Where did Arcanine get all those scars?” Rockruff asked.

“And why is he weird?” Eevee asked.

“Why are you wearing a blanket?” Rockruff asked.

“Is Pokémon Square far away?” Eevee asked.

“Why didn’t you go with them?” Rockruff asked.

“Well,” Absol began, “that’s a long story, but I think we have time. Would you like to hear it?”

When Vaporeon returned an hour later, Absol had just reached Pokémon Square. The room was chilly, but her belly was full, and she was warm and cozy between one of the larger cushions and an extra blanket on top of her own. Rockruff and Eevee were curled together on another cushion beside her, and Buizel sat against a crate by the stove, all three listening attentively.

“Have they been keeping you up?” Vaporeon asked.

“I’m sorry,” Absol said sheepishly, “I think maybe I’ve been keeping them up.”

Vaporeon smiled at her. She took an Apple from the open crate, and lay down beside Rockruff and Eevee, who both cuddled up against her belly.

She was tired, Absol thought, and Vaporeon sounded tired as well. A lot had happened today, and she wasn’t used to the sort of work they’d been doing on the wall. They would have plenty of time the next few nights to finish. It was a good distraction from worrying about her team, and how useless she felt.

Absol waited a few minutes, in case Vaporeon had more to say, then ducked her head under the blanket. Arcanine and Zorua were both so understanding, Absol thought, when she couldn’t do all the things she ought to be able to do. She knew that they knew that she wasn’t really so helpless. Still, when everything was over, she was going to take them both exploring on Mount Freeze and prove it.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

There were two furrows in the snow in the valley, five meters apart and each about a meter wide. At regular intervals within each track, there were deeper imprints, almost a meter square. The other ice-types had left their own, smaller trails within them. The Pokémon in Seaside Village hadn’t been exaggerating the brick Pokémon’s size, Arcanine thought.

That confirmed, at least, that the Ice-types were headed to Shimmer Hill. It was difficult to judge their age in the snow, but the edges had melted and refrozen so they were still at least a day behind.

“Been thinking,” Arcanine said, “maybe we’re going the wrong place. Sphere in Shimmer Hill and they get it, then what?”

“Well, we take it back?” Zorua’s question was the obvious answer.

“I mean, where do they take it? Mewtwo can’t teleport them, they probably can’t either. They have to haul it somewhere.”

Arcanine turned to Lycanroc. “They follow the valleys from Shimmer Hill to the coast, where do they come out?”

Lycanroc thought for a moment, then shrugged. “Wherever they want. There are dozens of routes they could take, over a hundred kilometers of coast.”

“You think they have a boat?” Feraligatr asked.

“Maybe.” Arcanine said. “Don’t think they’re from this continent.”

“We can beat them to the coast.” Zorua said.

“The shore is rough, here,” Feraligatr said, “Even with a wagon, they’ll travel faster in the valley than we would following the coast.”

“Boat is off shore waiting for a signal, could pass it and not know,” Arcanine said.

Feraligatr and Lycanroc both nodded in agreement.

“Wrong about the ridges,” Arcanine said, “take us the fastest route to Shimmer Hill.”

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

“Your father was quite famous around here, decades ago,” Buizel paused. “Well, he’s probably even more famous now, I suppose, for his astrology, but he and Lapras explored all the islands off the coast. It was before my time, but all of the older Pokémon still talk about it.”

“Oh, yes.” Absol nodded. “He has so many stories.”

“You should get Feraligatr to tell you stories sometime too,” Buizel said. “He traveled with them a few times, and an Absol - your mother?”

“Grandmother,” Absol said. “Ninetales settled on Mount Freeze to stay with her. Mother says he lived in our cave with them, then.”

Ninetales loved her, Absol thought, loved Mother, but his relationship with Grandmother must have been even more special. “Mother said he moved to the big cave after she died.”

“Are you going to tell us a story?” Eevee prompted.

“We finished my story last night,” Absol said, “we’ll have to start another story. How about when Great Grandmother flew through a volcano to rescue Musharna?”

“Absols can’t fly,” Rockruff objected.

“Of course not,” Absol agreed, “but Great Grandmother did. It was more than two hundred years ago...”

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The snow at the entrance to Shimmer Hill was trampled to frozen mud. The scents of dozens of Pokémon mingled together; The Cryogonals, Snorunts, and Froslass that Lycanroc had told them about before, the brick Pokémon, and a few others. There must be thirty of them, Zorua thought, or more. Even with Arcanine and his type advantage, there was no way that they could fight all of them at once.

They had camped here at least a day, she thought; or some of them had, while the others were inside. She could smell urine, and feces, and food, and the imprints of bodies huddled up against the cliff, out of the wind. There was a a faint whiff of something else, too; sharp and acrid, but she couldn’t quite place what it was.

Circling farther out, the chaos resolved into two distinct tracks; one leading northeast, and another southeast. The brick Pokémon’s footprints were just rectangles, and she couldn’t tell what direction it had been walking, but they already knew that. There wasn’t anything special about the first set of tracks, the ones from Seaside Village; they were the same as the ones that they had encountered on the way here. But the second set was slightly different.

Zorua crouched down inside of one of the prints, examining the edges closely. It was hard to be sure on the rocky, uneven ground, but this one seemed deeper than the other direction, and the edges were a little bit sharper. She ran back to the first set of tracks, and then to a different print in the second set. Yeah. It wasn’t a big difference, but she was sure that these were a little bit deeper. The acrid smell was stronger here, too, and now she recognized what it was.

“So they came from town,” Lycanroc said, pointing back toward the northeast, “and left toward the coast south of us.”

Arcanine nodded. “But, with or without the sphere?”

“With it,” Zorua declared, “the brick Pokemon is carrying it. Also, do you guys smell blast seed ash?”

“You’re certain?” Arcanine bent down beside her to examine the same print.

Lycanroc, Feraligatr, and Wingull gathered around, and Lycanroc crouched down beside her to sniff the print.

“I smell it too,” Lycanroc agreed. “It must have walked through the dust.”

“Yup,” Zorua confirmed, “I’m an expert at stealing stuff, remember? Also, this means I was right about the door in Creepy Tunnel.”

“What do you mean?” Arcanine turned to look at her.

“I said we should drill through it, remember? But you guys all wanted to do it the hard way.”

Arcanine stared for a moment, then grinned. “Guess you were.”

“Shall I scout ahead?” Wingull asked as they started off.

“Yes,” Arcanine said, “but carefully. Stay high and remember they could be on the ridges.”

Wingull nodded. He circled above them several times, gaining altitude, then turned eastward toward the coast.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A shadow crossed the afternoon sun, and Arcanine glanced up. His exhausted eyes needed a second or two to refocus from the ground in front of him to the white shape circling above. Wingull circled slowly downs and alit on his neck, in front of Zorua.

“What did you see?” Zorua asked.

“You’re only a few hours behind them, now,” Wingull said. “You gained a lot of ground while they stopped last night. But they’ll make the coast tomorrow morning.”

“Boat?” Arcanine asked.

“I didn’t see one,” Wingull said, “but there’s nowhere else to go. That brick Pokémon moves fast in the valleys, but I don’t think it can climb the ridges with the sphere.”

Arcanine looked back at Feraligatr and Lycanroc. He couldn’t keep pushing them like this. Feraligatr was too old for this, and he wasn’t built for marching. He was too stubborn to stop, but his pace had slowed considerably. He didn’t know how much farther he could push himself; it was almost three days, now, since he’d slept, and he was beginning to hallucinate, napping a few seconds at a time as he walked. Zorua, Lycanroc, and Feraligatr could all take turns resting in Absol’s saddle, but there was no way for him to rest without stopping the whole party.

Even following in the path of the brick Pokémon’s left legs, he was breaking through snow chest-deep. There were no turns to take; Lycanroc didn’t have the weight for the job, and Feraligatr wasn’t keeping up already.

He couldn’t carry all three, but he could leave Feraligatr behind, take Zorua and Lycanroc, and run to the shore. That was probably suicidal; they would arrive exhausted. There were a lot of tracks, more than the group he and Zorua had fought in Meadow Town, and the brick Pokémon was a huge unknown.

Better to go alone than risk the others. Still suicidal, but if he ran straight for the boat, he could probably damage it enough to trap the Ice-types here until reinforcements from Pokémon Square caught up to them. That seemed like a fair trade, with the rest of the Family arriving to replace him.

They still weren’t certain that there was a boat, or reinforcements from Pokémon Square, or that Mewtwo would return with the Family. If he was fresh, he could harass them for days, attacking and retreating into the canyons, as he had considered doing years ago in Treasure Town. He wasn’t. They wouldn’t be either, but they could afford to sacrifice a few Pokémon in a rear guard. One way or the other, the first engagement would be decisive.

That left him with a relatively straightforward choice; the odds that a few hours rest would allow the Ice-types to escape, versus the odds that a premature attack would fail. Arcanine glanced back again. Maybe a little bit further...

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The trail they’d been following grew thinner and thinner, and finally disappeared into the mud of the swamp. Arcanine stopped to look around. Behind them, Mount Quena’s cone was the only feature visible through the jungle canopy.

Arcanine put another paw forward, testing the ground. It squished and sank uncomfortably beneath his pads. He stepped back and shook the mud from his paw in disgust. He couldn’t remember why he had agreed to this.


It’s just mud,” Vulpix teased from her perch between his shoulders, “it won’t hurt you.”

Not going in that.” Arcanine said firmly.

Come onnnn,” she whined, “we’re going to be late for dinnerrrrr.”

Enough.” Arcanine growled

She was joking, he knew. There was plenty of prey in the jungle, and they had planned to be out another week, at least. Still, he wasn’t in the mood for this.


Fine.” Vulpix pouted.

Vulpix...”

Are you alright, big guy?” Vulpix’s tone was suddenly concerned. Why are we stopped?”

What?”

Vulpix’s sharp teeth nipped the tip of his ear.


XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The glare of the sun on the snow was blindingly bright. He closed his eyes and opened them again, slowly. The rocky hillsides around him were unfamiliar. Where were they, he wondered, and how had they gotten here?

“Arcanine?”

She sounded just like Vulpix, Arcanine thought. At least he wasn’t alone this time.

“Hmm?”

“Why did we stop?” Zorua asked.

“Don’t know,” Arcanine admitted.

Lycanroc and Feraligatr caught up and stopped beside him, and he remembered why they were here.

“Who’s Vulpix?” Zorua asked.

Arcanine didn’t want to answer that. He sighed, and began walking again.

“Someone I used to know.”

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

What does the map say?” Vaporeon asked.

Arcanine crouched to let Squirtle retrieve the map from his pannier. She unfolded it carefully, and they all leaned in to look.


The trail should continue,” Squirtle said, pointing on the map. “We all agreed that Aspear-shaped lake we passed before lunch was this one.”

There’s no swamp on the map.” Arcanine observed.

Well, the map is eighty-six years old.” Vaporeon said. “It’s the best I could find.”

So the swamp is new.” Squirtle shrugged. “How often do you think Humans get out here to check? The ruins won’t have moved. Do we want to turn around now and tell everyone we couldn’t find it?”

Arcanine couldn’t argue with that. Even if he didn’t care about the ruins, he wasn’t going to go back and admit defeat. He sighed and turned back to the swamp.

The mud grew deeper and colder as they progressed, and soon he was wading through chest-deep slush. He took another step forward, and suddenly there was nothing underfoot.


XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

He couldn’t see. It filled his mouth and nostrils, and he couldn’t breathe. Strange voices shouted above him, muffled through the mud which closed around his head. Instinctively he was backpedaling.

The glare of the sun on the snow was blindingly bright. He closed his eyes and opened them slowly. Again he remembered where they were. He’d rather be back in the swamp, Arcanine thought; at least it had been warm. The snow melted rapidly in his mouth, but he could still taste the mud of the swamp. They had found the ruins, eventually, but it had taken weeks to get the odor completely from his fur.

“You okay, big guy?” Zorua’s voice was worried.

“No,” Arcanine admitted.

“We’re stopping.” Zorua pointed to a boulder ahead of them. “Dig out beside that. I’ll keep watch.”

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The smell of saltwater and seaweed grew stronger as the hills on either side receded. Arcanine increased his pace, letting Zorua, Lycanroc and Feraligatr fall behind. The valley widened, and they tracks they had been following petered out onto a rocky beach, scoured free of snow by the omnipresent wind.

There was no one there. They were too late. The trail ended at the shore, rocks scuffed from recent activity. The scents of wet wood and their quarry were no more than a few hours old.

He scanned the horizon. Grey sea and grey sky faded together in the distance, but there was no ship. Horizon distance was five kilometers or so at sea level, he thought ; they could be out there, so close, yet completely out of reach.

There was no sign of Wingull, either. It was possible that he was following the boat, Arcanine thought. If so, he was on his own. Even if they knew what direction he’d gone, there was no way to send help.

It was also possible that he was unconscious or dead. They could have passed his body anywhere in the maze of canyons the last few days without knowing.

He had failed, Arcanine thought. Everyone had trusted his plan. Mewtwo had trusted him to lead in his absence.

He should have taken them the fastest route to Shimmer Hill, instead of worrying about ambush. He should have run here from Shimmer Hill, rather than keeping pace with the others. He could have pushed himself just a little harder instead of stopping to rest before the job was finished.

For a moment he was tempted to plunge into the ocean anyway; to swim blindly after a boat he knew he could never catch rather than admit defeat. Exhaustion would claim him eventually, or the cold, and he would drown, leaving this world as ignobly as he had entered it. He wouldn’t have to face his team, or Mewtwo, or the rest of the family when they arrived.

If he was going to go, he had to do it now, before the rest of the group caught up to him. He took a step toward the water. His legs were shaking so badly that he could barely stand. Another step.

“Arcanine!” Zorua’s voice echoed across the empty beach

He stopped, but didn’t turn around. His ears swiveled back, tracking her approach by the occasional click of disturbed stones. Soon, she was beside him.

“So I...guess we...missed them...huh big guy?” Zorua panted.

Arcanine didn’t understand how she could be so flippant. The lives of everyone they knew were at stake, and billions of other Pokémon who at least mostly deserved better than freezing or starving to death. His exhausted mind failed to find an answer.

“Arcanine?” Zorua said, “do you see something out there?”

He was still staring out over the ocean, Arcanine realized. He turned away. It was a foolish idea anyway, he thought. They had far to much work here to do. There was nothing to see. Arcanine shook his head.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The wind picked up the next day, shrieking across the ridges in a curtain of blinding white. Huddled in Arcanine’s mane as they walked, Zorua couldn’t tell whether it was new snow falling, or old snow rising.

Feraligatr rode behind her, crouched low against Arcanine’s back. “I can’t see a thing!” He shouted to be heard over the wind.

Though the ridge was nearly clear of snow, the icy rocks were treacherous enough that they weren’t traveling any faster up here than they had been in the drifts below.

Feraligatr was right, Zorua thought; there was no way they could find Wingull in this weather.

Zorua leaned into Arcanine’s ear. “Arcanine, we gotta stop.”

No answer. She didn’t know whether he hadn’t heard, or wasn’t paying attention.

“Arcanine,” Zorua tried again, more loudly, “we can’t see like this. We have to stop.”

“Yeah.” Arcanine grunted. His plodding pace didn’t change.

A figure loomed ahead of them through the white. She scrambled for balance as Arcanine stopped abruptly, tensing for combat.

The blowing snow parted for a moment, and she saw Mammoswine. It raised it’s head into the wind and bellowed; not a challenge, but a greeting. A smaller figure rose atop his head, indiscernible except for a flapping red scarf.

“It’s Team Icicle!” Zorua shouted to be heard over the wind.

Mammoswine turned away from them and bellowed again. A few seconds later, she heard a faint reply from across the valley.

Weavile waved them forward, and they followed as Mammoswine turned and retreated down the lee side of the ridge.

They stopped beneath a ledge halfway down the hill, and Mammoswine lay down a bodylength in front of it, creating a pocket of shelter. Arcanine lay down as well, and Zorua could feel warmth beginning to radiate from his body. Feraligatr and Lycanroc both pressed against his belly. They were all too cold and exhausted to worry any more about dignity. She joined them.

“I’m glad we found you,” Weavile began, “I was worried we would miss you in the storm.”

“I’m glad too,” Zorua agreed, “I thought you guys were pulling the wagon back to Pokémon Square.”

“We were.” Weavile said. “Alakazam said you needed help.”

Arcanine was uncharacteristically silent as Zorua explained their situation. He had to be exhausted like the rest of them, she thought, but he wasn’t resting, either. Without looking, she could feel him fidgeting, muscles tensing like he wanted to fight, or run.

They really needed to talk, Zorua thought, but she didn’t know what to say. They needed Arcanine; with Mewtwo gone, he was probably the only person who understood what was going on. There was something wrong with him that wasn’t explained by exhaustion, or losing one of the spheres. She had schemed to be team leader because she thought she could control him, but now that it was important, she was incredibly out of her depth.

Team Icicle’s other Mammoswine joined them, and settled beside the first. Zorua, Feraligatr, and Lycanroc finished explaining the situation, and the conversation drifted off into exhausted silence. She was just beginning to doze off when Arcanine struggled to stand.

“Where are you going?” Zorua asked.

“Seaside Village.” Arcanine’s voice was as tense as his body. “Need to get back.”

“No.” she said firmly

Arcanine paused, midstep, confused

“You can barely walk.” Zorua said. “We need to rest, and then we have to find Wingull.”

“Gone too long. Need to be back to Pokémon . Need to prepare.”

Arcanine was pawing restlessly, almost walking in place. Being team leader wasn’t going to be enough this time, Zorua thought. If she didn’t go, Arcanine was going to leave her here and run back alone. She would be fine with Lycanroc and Feraligatr and Team Icicle, but could she trust Arcanine on his own?

“Alright,” Zorua offered hastily, “how about we sleep the rest of the day, and then I’ll come back with you, and the others can stay and search?”

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The sun was setting as they said farewell to Lycanroc, Feraligatr, and Team Icicle. They were all good Pokémon, Arcanine thought.

They weren’t going to find Wingull now. If he’d followed the ship, he was well out of reach and would have to make it back to Seaside Village on his own. If he had been shot down somewhere in the maze of canyons, or gone to ground against the wind, they wouldn’t find him in the snow.

It took them four days to reach Seaside Village. With only Zorua on his back and no one else to keep pace with, he should have been able to do it in two. Zorua was right about that part, he thought; he couldn’t keep on like this much longer. Unfortunately, there weren’t any other options.

It was the middle of the night when they reached Seaside Village. Ignoring the questions of the watchmen, he swallowed a few mouthfuls of snow and flopped down in the lee of the first house. Zorua could explain things; she was good at that. There was nothing that needed his attention until they teleported back to Pokémon Square in the morning; then, unless Mewtwo had returned, everyone was going to expect him to have a plan for what to do next.

He woke to Absol’s tongue on his face.

“Arc-c-ccanine, we n-need t-to t-t-talk.”

The sun had barely broken the horizon. Absol’s eyes were wide with suppressed panic in the dim light, and her breath condensed in rapid puffs of fog. Still, Arcanine thought, she was maintaining control; that was better than he’d done, the last few days.

“I’ve been trying to talk to him for days,” Zorua complained, “I’m not sure he’s even heard me.”

“Arcc-c-can-n-n-ine, p-p-lease,” Absol begged, barely understandable through her shivering, “y-y-you ha-ave to c-come in-n-s-side and t-t-alk-k-k to us.”

As insignificant as it was in comparison to their mission, Arcanine thought, Absol was suffering right now, and it was something that he couldn’t ignore.

His legs were slow to respond, sore from days of exertion and stiff from the cold. The pain in his back returned to his awareness as he began to move, burning up and down his spike. His hindlegs cramped, and he had to sit back down and wait for it to pass. Absol and Zorua watched in silence.

Lycanrock and Vaporeon’s house was comfortably warm, cozy with the scents of Pokémon, food, and woodsmoke. He allowed his legs to collapse on the rug in front of the stove. Vaporeon, Eevee, and Rockruff watched for a moment, then Vaporeon turned and led them outside. Her face was disapproving. She probably wasn’t happy, he thought, that he had left her partner, Feraligatr, and Team Icicle to search for Wingull.

“I mean, it’s bad that they got one,” Zorua began again, “but it’s not that bad, right? I mean, they already had some, so we were going to have to find them anyway, and now we have a clue.”

That got his attention. Arcanine raised his head

“Clue?”

“I tried to tell you last night,” Zorua said, “but you were busy pouting. Absol says they saw a big boat going north along the coast two days ago."

Absol nodded. “It’s hard to tell at a distance,” she said, “but I think it was big enough for all those Pokémon and a sphere.”

That was important. Certainly it didn’t excuse his failure, but it did give them something more to work with. When the Family arrived, they were going to need a plan to search for the Ice-types.
 
Last edited:

windskull

Bidoof Fan
Staff
Partners
  1. sneasel-nip
  2. bidoof
  3. absol
  4. kirlia
  5. windskull-bidoof
  6. little-guy-windskull
  7. purugly
  8. mawile
Hey Desert! I saw that you uploaded a chapter recently, so this feels like a good time to get a little caught up. I'll be starting book two today, and we’ll see where we go from there.

Book 2 chapter 1
I don't have much to say about the first couple scenes, but it does very quickly get me back into the “these are animals and behave animalistically” mindset, given Growlithes current condition. Makes a lot of sense that the other guys would keep their distance between her mood, the fact that it would be distracting as it is, and the fact that she’s already spoken for, to put it mildly. Can't really blame Arcanine for keeping his distance, but I like that he is being considerate, even if it might only be because any form of confrontation would just make things worse.

Moving on to the next scene, I kind of feel like the current situation with Growlithe might also be factoring into Arcanine’s decision that he needs to go after Magnezone now. Yeah, there's also the issue of not being able to do much at this phase due to his lack of hands, as is stated, but that's clearly not the only thing making him antsy.

I think Mewtwo’s stance on the situation is very logical. Can't blame him for choosing it. And it's not like he isn't providing help. He just isn't going to help with the confrontation.

Yep. Next scene pretty much confirm’s my thoughts about Arcanine lmao.

It sounds like there's been at least three major extinction events prior to the current situation. It's probably mostly world building fluff and not directly relevant, but interesting!

This scene definitely felt multipurposed (a good thing). It established how Arcanine is going to get to Treasure Town and what he has to do to do so, it establishes the reasons for inaction on the legends parts. And it serves to further build the connection between the team and Mewtwo (well, those that are here at least lol.)

Didn't really have anything to say about the flashback. I guess it might imply some things about Mewtwo’s psychology, but we can't confirm that at this point.

Moving on to the next scene… poor absol 8(. Someone get this girl a hot fireplace and a warm tea. Also, glad to see some ice types that aren't causing trouble (I hope). We love a good weasel.

I do really enjoy the little scene of them setting up a safe resting place in the snow storm. It tracks with what I know about winter survival, even if I don't know much.

Also, they bring up communication breaking down here. At least it wasn't as bad as Meadow Town though from what I remember. Could just as easily be explained as Weavile not understanding the full details.

Not much to say on the fight scene, but glad to see it. In the sense of “glad to see some tension and some trouble.” Without wrenches in the plan, there wouldn't be much point in showing it.

Different continents, huh? I wonder if this is a case of “earth at a previous point in time, in a previous civilization” or if it's a different planet entirely.

Aww glad to see Absol get to have a moment. And good on both her and Zorua to recognize when someone needs to step in and tell Arcanine to take a break.

Liked the chapter overall. The stakes weren't super high in this one, but it felt like it served a purpose and pushed the plot forward.

As a heads up, I noticed a couple of spots in this chapter where “thought” was typoed to “though.”

That said, on to the next!

Book 2 Chapter 2
Poor Alakazam. I mean. I know he's doing all this hard work because he has to. Because if he doesn't, who will? Because the fate of the world is at stake. But still. I’m glad to see you address the toll it's taking on him though. Makes it feel more grounded.

Oh, this is just the make me feel sad about ACT chapter isn't it lmao. Man, it's got to be rough seeing something you spent a lifetime cultivating destroyed practically in an instant, knowing it was necessary and knowing that it can be built again, but also knowing that you won't be able to be the one to finish that rebuilding process.

So Growlithe has an egg now, huh? The story has already implied that it's likely to cause trouble due to the timing, so we’ll have to see what ends up happening on that front. But geeze the whole scene was just kind of pathetic in a sad way. He’s just sitting there while she basically ineffectually mauls her until she tries herself out. Really shows how much self control he can have when he wants to, though.

Moving on to the next scene, it looks l
Growlithe and her egg are probably the focus of the next few scenes before we go after Magnezone. The potential problem, rather. Absol’s scene makes it clear that this egg would hatch (assuming it does) right around the time their stores would run out. Assuming the freeze lasts that long. But it sounds like there's a pretty good chance that could be the case,given the several months it's going to take to get all the parts back and assemble them.

And now, we finally have Growlithe backstory. Christ. the story up to this point made it really clear that she was traumatized and that something horrible happened to her related to bandits, but this really recontextualized it. It really explains the degree of anger and fear she has towards Arcanine and why she's so upset by people trusting him, even if most of it is irrational and unfounded (I mean, he did kill people, but it was arguably self defense.) But now that the truth is out in the open, and I assume the main cast isnt gonna treat her any different, maybe she’ll finally get a chance to start healing.

Moving on to the next scene, it’s heartwarming to see that Arcanine has made connections here. And that he recognizes that they wouldn't be willing to leave their world and friends behind, even at the cost of their life and that, therefore, he won’t either.

Also, I can't believe I didn't think about how bad things are going to be for the other hemisphere that's about to hit their normal winter season. They could really use a little divine intervention right about now, not that I'm expecting it.

The mental image of a giant torterra slowly drawling out a question requesting what is ultimately busy work from a bunch of angry corrupt police as they grow increasingly agitated is pretty hilarious, not gonna lie. Y'all can fly, you could have floated over or around the torterra at any time and you would have had a better chance at getting out of the ambush but no, y'all just had to be an ass to an elder lmao. Kind of nice to see the initial ambush go off without a hitch. But we still got more to do, let's see if their luck holds.

Rip Magnezone lmao. Interesting to see that Arcanine wasnt feeling much better after killing him though. Vengeance only brings so much satisfaction, and I think it says a lot about him.

Well, that *could* have been disastrous, if not for his quick thinking. We get a little tease of the current state of the guild members we know from explorers, but I don't expect them to have too much more.

Krokorok seems like a really interesting character. He’s killed. He doesn't really seem to have much remorse for it. But outside of that he seems to have some sense of honor.

The Magnezone part of this plotline has been dealt with, which I think was good and kept it from becoming a dangling thread before things get too intense. I have a feeling there will still be some things from this that are going to remain relevant. Electrike, if no one else. Good chapter. Moved the b plot forward and revealed some new information about some of the side characters.

Book 2 Chapter 3
Before I start on the story proper, I thought I'd address your author’s note. I personally, didn't have much of an issue with the head-hopping within scenes. There are some pov tenses where it's common to have multiple povs (ie third person omniscient) which is what I figured you were going for here. I think the only real issue was when it was occasionally unclear that we’d head-hopped to someone else.

Ok, moving on.

Looks like another one has joined Arcanine’s Harem lmao.

Joking aside, glad to hear that things are looking up in Meadow Town. They've been through it and deserve a break and it's good to here that there's someone competent in power now.

Glad to see Zorua and Grey get a chance to talk one on one. It gives us some nice insight on the psychology of their species, while also leaving some potential plot breadcrumbs to follow up on, should they end up useful for the narrative (namely, Grey’s implied past. I don't think it'll be super relevant, but you never know!)

Haxorus the Wanderer? Do I spy a Shiren reference? Or was that just coincidental?

Interesting that Absol and Zorua saw something out there. Makes me wonder if that's something unique to this dungeon or not. I also wonder if it might become relevant either later in the chapter or in the story overall, depending on the answer to my first thought. Or maybe it's just spooky scene dressing. Only time will tell.

You mention a golett using a Mega Fist attack. I think you might have meant mega punch instead?

Pausing for a moment at the point where they all went tumbling down the stairs, I think it's good that you're only showing us snippets of the dungeon exploration. Just moments that are important to drive the plot forward or to show something. Explaining everything is a trap that I think a lot of people fall into, but you've done a good job avoiding that.

Ah man, poor Zorua. I think it was important for Arcanine to bring up the possibility that he might not be able to stay, but I have a feeling it's going to be eating at her for a while. Hopefully it doesn't form a rift between the team.

Ooh, like the character moment between Absol and Gardevoir. It’s kind of nice, seeing a different perspective on remembering lost memories that we don’t see very often. I suppose it's a little different, given the amount of time that's passed since. But I still appreciate it.

Good on Zorua for taking charge and making that stubborn dog take a break lol. And good on her for trying to put her feelings aside to focus on the now, too.

At this point, I'm half expecting there to be a “boss fight” at the end of the dungeon, what with how many times the sensation of being watched has been described. And then there's the ever ticking timer. I suspect they're going to make it to the bottom, but possibly not without some sacrifice.

Took me a minute to work out what pokemon they were. Oh boy. Yamask. Depending on how much Pokedex lore you integrated into them, that could have some real creepy implications.

I think fighting dozens of ghosts counts as a boss fight lmao. I feel like there's something I could say about the dark conclusion that the only thing they could do to guarantee their safety is kill, but I'm struggling to put it into words. It did leave an impact, though.

As expected, they did manage to make it out of the dungeon. Though not without close calls.

I think I'll stop here for now. This was a nice set of chapters. We wrapped up one of the b plots, and also managed to make some progress on the main problem at hand. And throughout it, there were some nice character moments that I got some enjoyment out of.

The only notable critique I have is that I did notice some typos throughout, the most common of which was mixups of though, through and thought. I pointed out a couple, but unfortunately I was reading on the ffn app and it doesn't make it easy to copy passages.

Over
all, though I enjoyed it, and I look forward to reading more! Glad to see the story back again.
 

The Desert Cat

Good Boy


Hey Desert! I saw that you uploaded a chapter recently, so this feels like a good time to get a little caught up. I'll be starting book two today, and we’ll see where we go from there.

Book 2 chapter 1

I don't have much to say about the first couple scenes, but it does very quickly get me back into the “these are animals and behave animalistically” mindset, given Growlithes current condition. Makes a lot of sense that the other guys would keep their distance between her mood, the fact that it would be distracting as it is, and the fact that she’s already spoken for, to put it mildly. Can't really blame Arcanine for keeping his distance, but I like that he is being considerate, even if it might only be because any form of confrontation would just make things worse.

Moving on to the next scene, I kind of feel like the current situation with Growlithe might also be factoring into Arcanine’s decision that he needs to go after Magnezone now. Yeah, there's also the issue of not being able to do much at this phase due to his lack of hands, as is stated, but that's clearly not the only thing making him antsy.

I think Mewtwo’s stance on the situation is very logical. Can't blame him for choosing it. And it's not like he isn't providing help. He just isn't going to help with the confrontation.

Yep. Next scene pretty much confirm’s my thoughts about Arcanine lmao.

It sounds like there's been at least three major extinction events prior to the current situation. It's probably mostly world building fluff and not directly relevant, but interesting!

Yes. Not all that relevant to the plot, but the world has been not-saved before.

This scene definitely felt multipurposed (a good thing). It established how Arcanine is going to get to Treasure Town and what he has to do to do so, it establishes the reasons for inaction on the legends parts. And it serves to further build the connection between the team and Mewtwo (well, those that are here at least lol.)

Didn't really have anything to say about the flashback. I guess it might imply some things about Mewtwo’s psychology, but we can't confirm that at this point.

I also needed to establish the presence of the armor, because we’ll see it again later.

Moving on to the next scene… poor absol 8(. Someone get this girl a hot fireplace and a warm tea. Also, glad to see some ice types that aren't causing trouble (I hope). We love a good weasel.

I do really enjoy the little scene of them setting up a safe resting place in the snow storm. It tracks with what I know about winter survival, even if I don't know much.

Also, they bring up communication breaking down here. At least it wasn't as bad as Meadow Town though from what I remember. Could just as easily be explained as Weavile not understanding the full details.

Not much to say on the fight scene, but glad to see it. In the sense of “glad to see some tension and some trouble.” Without wrenches in the plan, there wouldn't be much point in showing it.

Different continents, huh? I wonder if this is a case of “earth at a previous point in time, in a previous civilization” or if it's a different planet entirely.

The plan was that it’s Earth at the same time, but in a different timeline, and the continents ended up different because of legendary interference in the past. However, I didn’t end up going anywhere with that idea.

Aww glad to see Absol get to have a moment. And good on both her and Zorua to recognize when someone needs to step in and tell Arcanine to take a break.

Liked the chapter overall. The stakes weren't super high in this one, but it felt like it served a purpose and pushed the plot forward.

As a heads up, I noticed a couple of spots in this chapter where “thought” was typoed to “though.”

Thank you! I need to be more careful with these.

That said, on to the next!

Book 2 Chapter 2

Poor Alakazam. I mean. I know he's doing all this hard work because he has to. Because if he doesn't, who will? Because the fate of the world is at stake. But still. I’m glad to see you address the toll it's taking on him though. Makes it feel more grounded.

Oh, this is just the make me feel sad about ACT chapter isn't it lmao. Man, it's got to be rough seeing something you spent a lifetime cultivating destroyed practically in an instant, knowing it was necessary and knowing that it can be built again, but also knowing that you won't be able to be the one to finish that rebuilding process.

So Growlithe has an egg now, huh? The story has already implied that it's likely to cause trouble due to the timing, so we’ll have to see what ends up happening on that front. But geeze the whole scene was just kind of pathetic in a sad way. He’s just sitting there while she basically ineffectually mauls her until she tries herself out. Really shows how much self control he can have when he wants to, though.

Moving on to the next scene, it looks l

Growlithe and her egg are probably the focus of the next few scenes before we go after Magnezone. The potential problem, rather. Absol’s scene makes it clear that this egg would hatch (assuming it does) right around the time their stores would run out. Assuming the freeze lasts that long. But it sounds like there's a pretty good chance that could be the case,given the several months it's going to take to get all the parts back and assemble them.

And now, we finally have Growlithe backstory. Christ. the story up to this point made it really clear that she was traumatized and that something horrible happened to her related to bandits, but this really recontextualized it. It really explains the degree of anger and fear she has towards Arcanine and why she's so upset by people trusting him, even if most of it is irrational and unfounded (I mean, he did kill people, but it was arguably self defense.) But now that the truth is out in the open, and I assume the main cast isnt gonna treat her any different, maybe she’ll finally get a chance to start healing.

Moving on to the next scene, it’s heartwarming to see that Arcanine has made connections here. And that he recognizes that they wouldn't be willing to leave their world and friends behind, even at the cost of their life and that, therefore, he won’t either.

Also, I can't believe I didn't think about how bad things are going to be for the other hemisphere that's about to hit their normal winter season. They could really use a little divine intervention right about now, not that I'm expecting it.

The mental image of a giant torterra slowly drawling out a question requesting what is ultimately busy work from a bunch of angry corrupt police as they grow increasingly agitated is pretty hilarious, not gonna lie. Y'all can fly, you could have floated over or around the torterra at any time and you would have had a better chance at getting out of the ambush but no, y'all just had to be an ass to an elder lmao. Kind of nice to see the initial ambush go off without a hitch. But we still got more to do, let's see if their luck holds.

Rip Magnezone lmao. Interesting to see that Arcanine wasnt feeling much better after killing him though. Vengeance only brings so much satisfaction, and I think it says a lot about him.

Well, that *could* have been disastrous, if not for his quick thinking. We get a little tease of the current state of the guild members we know from explorers, but I don't expect them to have too much more.

Krokorok seems like a really interesting character. He’s killed. He doesn't really seem to have much remorse for it. But outside of that he seems to have some sense of honor.

The Magnezone part of this plotline has been dealt with, which I think was good and kept it from becoming a dangling thread before things get too intense. I have a feeling there will still be some things from this that are going to remain relevant. Electrike, if no one else. Good chapter. Moved the b plot forward and revealed some new information about some of the side characters.

Finally done with that. It was supposed to happen earlier, but I couldn’t find a good place to fit it in

Book 2 Chapter 3

Before I start on the story proper, I thought I'd address your author’s note. I personally, didn't have much of an issue with the head-hopping within scenes. There are some pov tenses where it's common to have multiple povs (ie third person omniscient) which is what I figured you were going for here. I think the only real issue was when it was occasionally unclear that we’d head-hopped to someone else.

Ok, moving on.

Looks like another one has joined Arcanine’s Harem lmao.

Gotta catch em all

Joking aside, glad to hear that things are looking up in Meadow Town. They've been through it and deserve a break and it's good to here that there's someone competent in power now.

Glad to see Zorua and Grey get a chance to talk one on one. It gives us some nice insight on the psychology of their species, while also leaving some potential plot breadcrumbs to follow up on, should they end up useful for the narrative (namely, Grey’s implied past. I don't think it'll be super relevant, but you never know!)

Haxorus the Wanderer? Do I spy a Shiren reference? Or was that just coincidental?

Actually, I’m not sure! I did look into Shiren lore a little bit, at some point. I think I wrote this chapter about three years ago. It’s interesting re-reading it now and trying to figure out what I was thinking then.

Interesting that Absol and Zorua saw something out there. Makes me wonder if that's something unique to this dungeon or not. I also wonder if it might become relevant either later in the chapter or in the story overall, depending on the answer to my first thought. Or maybe it's just spooky scene dressing. Only time will tell.

You mention a golett using a Mega Fist attack. I think you might have meant mega punch instead?

Yup, thanks!

Pausing for a moment at the point where they all went tumbling down the stairs, I think it's good that you're only showing us snippets of the dungeon exploration. Just moments that are important to drive the plot forward or to show something. Explaining everything is a trap that I think a lot of people fall into, but you've done a good job avoiding that.

Ah man, poor Zorua. I think it was important for Arcanine to bring up the possibility that he might not be able to stay, but I have a feeling it's going to be eating at her for a while. Hopefully it doesn't form a rift between the team.

Ah yes. She has abandonment issues already, and this doesn’t help

Ooh, like the character moment between Absol and Gardevoir. It’s kind of nice, seeing a different perspective on remembering lost memories that we don’t see very often. I suppose it's a little different, given the amount of time that's passed since. But I still appreciate it.

Good on Zorua for taking charge and making that stubborn dog take a break lol. And good on her for trying to put her feelings aside to focus on the now, too.

At this point, I'm half expecting there to be a “boss fight” at the end of the dungeon, what with how many times the sensation of being watched has been described. And then there's the ever ticking timer. I suspect they're going to make it to the bottom, but possibly not without some sacrifice.

Took me a minute to work out what pokemon they were. Oh boy. Yamask. Depending on how much Pokedex lore you integrated into them, that could have some real creepy implications.

If they’re the remains of Humans, they’ve been down here a very long time. I guess we’ll never know.

I think fighting dozens of ghosts counts as a boss fight lmao. I feel like there's something I could say about the dark conclusion that the only thing they could do to guarantee their safety is kill, but I'm struggling to put it into words. It did leave an impact, though.

I think this is the toughest dungeon fight so far

As expected, they did manage to make it out of the dungeon. Though not without close calls.

I think I'll stop here for now. This was a nice set of chapters. We wrapped up one of the b plots, and also managed to make some progress on the main problem at hand. And throughout it, there were some nice character moments that I got some enjoyment out of.

The only notable critique I have is that I did notice some typos throughout, the most common of which was mixups of though, through and thought. I pointed out a couple, but unfortunately I was reading on the ffn app and it doesn't make it easy to copy passages.

Over all, though I enjoyed it, and I look forward to reading more! Glad to see the story back again.

Thank you! Hopefully I'll be a bit quicker with the next chapter.

 
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