Main Hall - Cotton Down Lounge

[IFBench]

Gen flinched at the word "hero". He wasn't a hero. He couldn't be. He couldn't have that sort of immense responsibility. He'd heard horror stories about what Red, Blue, Green, and Yellow experienced during the incident with Team Rocket in Kanto a while back, and he wanted nothing to do with anything similar.

"I-it does exist in my w-world. It's...somewhere I v-visited a few times when I w-was human," Gen said, gripping tightly onto his reunion cape. "I...think I w-woke up in her original world, a-at least."

"A-and..." Gen took a deep breath, and said, "I'm n-not a hero. I...I can't be."

 

[Dragonfree]

Gen flinched at that. It was pretty hard to picture him going around saving the world, but she supposed you could say the same about Mark.

"Coleane was very adamant that the only humans in her world were heroes," Spirit said. "If the Voice of Life summons heroes for a purpose, then surely you were summoned for a purpose too." She straightened herself. "They must have seen great potential in you."

May sighed. "I mean, it doesn't really matter, does it?" Gen clearly didn't want to be a hero. Maybe the Voice of Life was going to make him be a hero anyway whether he liked it or not. Either way, his feelings on it didn't change anything. "So you... what, met Coleane and then got re-summoned to Hoenn with her? Did the Voice ever tell you what it wanted? She said it'd just told her to go win the League."

 

[IFBench]

Tears began to well up in the Oshawott's eyes, as Spirit went on about him being a hero. He couldn't be he couldn't he couldn't he couldn't do that he was just him he wasn't anyone special why him why why why why why couldn't he just go home?

"I'm n-not a hero. I can't b-be. I c-can't. I-I can't," Gen insisted through the tears. "I'm j-just...nobody s-special."

"I...never m-met the Voice of Life...I think. I j-just...woke up again o-one day in a forest i-in Hoenn...all a-alone..." Gen was beginning to tremble now. "It w-was a day before C-Coleane found me. I...I was a-alone the whole time I was th-there u-until then."

"I d-don't want t-to be a hero..." Gen whimpered, barely audible.

 

[Dragonfree]

Spirit's ears flattened back in alarm. She looked confused, distraught. Had to be pretty hard for her to imagine anyone being distressed at the thought of being a special chosen hero.

Gen was whimpering, crying. May wished Spirit had never started this conversation. She looked away, rubbing her forehead. "Well, if the Voice didn't even ask you to do anything, hard for anyone to tell you you're supposed to be doing some kind of hero thing. If it wants something from you and doesn't even tell you, that's nonsense. I guess maybe if it actually talks to Coleane you can try to get some answers." And what? Then maybe it'd let him go home, if it felt like it?

"I'm... sorry you were left all alone," Spirit said carefully. "The Voice of Life must have... they must have had a reason."

"Or maybe it's a jerk who doesn't care. Or maybe it just bungled whatever it was trying to do. Who knows."

Spirit cringed, but didn't say anything, looking away uncomfortably. "I'm glad Coleane found you," she muttered. "She... she should take care of you until you learn what the Voice of Life intended."

 

[IFBench]

"...I h-hope it's nothing," Gen said, looking down. Why was he like this? What had he done to deserve this?

"Th-thanks," he said a few seconds later. "Um...d-do you have a-any experience with th-this sort of stuff? It...s-sounded like you do."

 

[Dragonfree]

May took a deep breath. Different world. Why not?

"We've got a legendary telling us to save the world. He doesn't really know what he's doing. Just picked some kids out of a crowd. I'm not even one of the ones he picked; he picked my friend. I just got mixed up in it anyway. But if you know the world's going to end if you don't catch all the legendaries, you can't exactly just ignore it and go home."

Spirit shifted on her feet, looking up at May. Normally she'd probably be starting in on the whole speech about being chosen by Entei, but that wasn't exactly likely to help, was it.

"Point is, these legendaries or voices or whatever, at least in my world they're not exactly infallible, and you haven't even been told the world's going to end, just that Coleane should go be a Pokémon trainer. Maybe you can see if Hoopa can just send you back to your own world or something."

"Maybe you're meant to be with Coleane and help her on her mission," Spirit said cautiously.

May sighed. "I guess."

 

[IFBench]

Huh, that's...huh.

...he should probably go find Coleane. Thinking about this all was getting him down.

"Um, I'm g-gonna go," Gen said, wiggling off of the beanbag. "It w-was nice meeting you.",

 

[Dragonfree]

Didn't want to talk about that much, did he. Probably predictable. Why'd he even ask?

She sighed. "Yeah, you too."

"I hope you find your way back to your world with Coleane," Spirit said. "Good luck to both of you."

The Oshawott disappeared out of the lounge. May sank back down onto the couch with her book and opened it to the page on triple battles.

Spirit gazed lingeringly after Gen, her head held low.

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[Dragonfree]

Before they left, Spirit warily sniffed around the lounge, trying to pick up any interesting or unexpected scents.

[[Odor Sleuth @Flyg0n]]

 

[Flyg0n]

Before they left, Spirit warily sniffed around the lounge, trying to pick up any interesting or unexpected scents.

[[Odor Sleuth @Flyg0n]]

Spirit sniffed around! Spirit picked up on something!

The air was filled with overlapping scents of various pokemon and people. Gen and Coleane, Steven, Xavian's scent, Hazel and Victoria... but there was oddly enough, the faintest lingering stench underneath all of those. Sweet, plastic-y and chemical like. Pungent. It wasn't strong enough to pinpoint, but it was there. Whatever is belonged to or whatever caused it had been around the Llounge it seemed....

 

[Flyg0n]

Far to the back of the lounge, Xavian could be seen, pacing back and forth and muttering under his breath. Unlike usual, he wasn't accompanied by his Klefki. He'd changed his suit at least, though it appeared wrinkled. Dark circles rimmed his eyes, and his hair seemed hastily styled. Every now and then he would pause his pacing, staring off into the distance as if contemplating some new thought, then shake his head and resume pacing again.

He seemed to take no notice of Wallace and Victoria.

 

[Flyg0n]

Target acquired.

Wallace slowly and silently stood up, trying to listen to what Xavian was saying without being noticed.

Finally, Wallace was standing right in front of Xavian.

And he didn't know what the fuck to say.

It wasn't a crush—Wallace didn't like rich, older people. He knew how to talk to them and flirt with them, but no, no way, absolutely no chance he would feel anything for them, much less this specific rich, middle aged, multiverse man. It wasn't sympathy—Wallace felt sympathy for the Pokémon, not Xavian. And Wallace wasn't feeling nothing—he wanted to punch this poor soul. Was that his true self or his intrusive thoughts? It didn't matter, because he didn't act on those impulses. Instead he stared blankly at Xavian, trying to form words from letters he couldn't even remember.

As Wallace got closer, Xavian's mutters could just barely be heard, in snatches. "Cresselia? ...she help? No. - Some gold...- can't be her - ghost type? Marshadow but... Perhaps Jirachi--- try one more time. ..don't know... won't help. Who? Why why..." He seemed to be talking about mythical pokemon, flip flopping between trying to figure out the culprit and who to ask for help, his thoughts scattered and nonsensical to anyone but himself.

He seemed not to notice Wallace until he nearly collided with him. Looking up, he blinked, then gave a strained smile. "Ah, Mr. Papadakis. I- How- I mean-. May I help you in anyway? Anything?" There was a faint desperate edge to his voice, as if he wanted to somehow make up for everything.

 

[Flyg0n]

“I want… I want to see your… Pokémon. Your sick Pokémon. Please.”

Xavian drew back ever so slightly, seemingly put off by his question. "My sick...? Oh, they're resting right now, I'd rather not disturb them if you don't mind. Besides, I'm not sure they can offer much assistance."

 

[Flyg0n]

Wallace was shaking. He had to see those Pokémon. He had to see them. He had to see them.

View attachment 4081
"Why not? Why not? Why not why not why not why not why not why not why not why not why are we here why are you torturing us who are you why didn't you tell us we were in a multiverse why why why why why why..."

Wallace took a deep breath—several deep breaths. This was going to be a good day. This was going to be a great day.

[[Mind Reader]]

"Xavian... do you have any shiny Pokémon? Are Orzo and Clink your only Pokémon? How did you meet them?"

Xavian took a slight step back, looking a bit apprehensive. "I-" he shook his head. No sense in apologizing more. Maybe if he just answered the questions he could help somewhow. Although he didn't understand what all the questions were for. Surely the trainers would want to be practicing or staying safe somehow. What good could he do?

"Shiny pokemon? No I'm afraid not. I have met quite a few in my time, however. Orzo and Clink are... they're all I have," he said quietly. "My whole world." And now they were sick and he couldn't do anything. "I met Clink first, in a library actually. I spent a great deal of time there pouring over stories. We bonded over a love of books, and Clink was the first to show me whole other realms! The realms of the myths themselves." A light returned to his eyes as he spoke, and he seemed briefly lost in the happy memories.

"We met Hoopa a few years later, as we were traveling together. Rather unexpectedly, actually. They were weak at the time after a battle and I helped them. They themselves were a traveler, and together we traveled to many worlds. Those were wonderful times."

With a sigh, he shook his head. "I apologize, I do not understand why you are asking such questions, or how it will help."

Mind reader is active! Xavian is not lying!

 

[Flyg0n]

[[Intimidate]]

That anger, that anger from heart swapping with Odile still lingered. And here he was, standing in front of the person that had caused all of Wallace's problems in the past week.

View attachment 4085
"I'm going to be very, very blunt with you: I don't like you. I don't like you one bit. First of all, you made it very unclear in your stupid little letter that this was a multiverse event, and because of that, I had a full on breakdown because I thought my own family was gaslighting me and pretending they didn't know me. And then, and then, all of this kidnapping bullshit goes down, and you don't even think to call National or International Authorities? You rely on two police officers and two Pokémon as the sole protectors of countless people and Pokémon that are all but screaming to be taken away or killed by some ransomer or extremist or something?! Are you so far up your eccentric millionaire ass that you think you can deal with this yourself?! At least Steven can admit when he's wrong every once in a while! At least he sometimes admits when he needs help!

"I don't like Amara. I don't like Honzo. I don't like you. Orzo and Clink are fine. I like them. I trust them. I don't trust you. I don't like you. For all your talk of bonds between Trainer and Pokémon, you sure don't know how how to bond with your guests and treat them with basic—"

Victoria picked Wallace up by the shirt and pulled him away from Xavian. She didn't want this ending in a duel; Wallace would surely lose.

Wallace took more deep breaths, though they sounded more like hisses. He looked at Xavian, eyes wild.

View attachment 4086
"Why are we here? Why are we actually here?"

Xavian's face remained neutral and unchanging, but his eyes told another story. Grief, guilt, regret. Anger and pain. How would he have known that coming to this would give this Wallace a mental breakdown? But that comment hardly bothered him. No, the rest of Wallace's ramble made him angry. Angry at himself, angry at Wallace, angry most of all at whatever despicable force was doing this.

Wallace... the other trainers... they didn't understand anything. But then, no amount of explanation could atone for this.

"You're here for exactly why I said so!" he burst out, composure slipping. "I wanted to give back! To do something for the others. I didn't ask for everything to be ruined! I never planned this either. What do you think authorities can do when the mythical pokemon can't even help? I'm powerless. Helpless. And now my pokemon, my friends are sick and I can't help them either. Everyone wants to blame me but all I ever wanted was to do something for trainers and pokemon and Orzo said he could help and came up with this and Clink even said that mythical pokemon would be interested!" his voice dropped and he looked away.

"I just wanted to do some good. I have so much and I wanted to give back. That was always my greatest desire."

He swallowed. He'd never meant to lose composure around his guests. He'd tried to stay calm, to not cause panic and everything had gotten so much worse...

When he spoke again, his tone was more composed, though no less secure. "I apologize, Mr. Papadakis. This was never meant to happen like this."

Xavian is telling the truth!

 

[Flyg0n]

Those... words. Those words were like a punch in the stomach. No, a stab. No, the dull, unignorable pain following a spear stabbing into your stomach, your chest, your heart and being left to bleed.

This guy wasn't even a nice, albeit oblivious rich guy. He was a nice rich guy trying everything in his power to make things okay again, and despite all of that, it wasn't enough. It wasn't enough. Xavian couldn't do anything to save them.

They were doomed.

Wallace felt a sinking feeling, like he was falling in the ocean with sandbags attached to his wrists. No, no. He had to deal with this in a calm, mature, Champion-like manner.

"Xavian," Wallace began, "I can't imagine the stress and suffering you're going through right now, what with your partners falling ill and everyone pointing fingers at you. But..." Wallace sighed. "...to be completely frank, you haven't been the most transparent, starting with that letter where you didn't mention the multiverse... To quote the letter, 'Trainers from all across the world will be in attendance,' not 'Trainers from all across the multiverse will be in attendance.' From there, several things stood out to me: Amara and Honzo's shifty behaviour, the vague information Victor and Jenny gave us, your behaviour... but here I am, realizing that maybe you're not evil, not shady, just human. And I'm sorry, so sorry for snapping at you. I'm sorry for not trusting you. I'm sorry for panicking. I just want you, need you to be more transparent." Wallace held out his arms. "In exchange, I will be transparent about this week, myself, anything and everything you wish." That was how communication with people worked, right? Steven would open up to him in exchange for Wallace admitting he wasn't okay, so maybe Wallace could do the same thing.

Xavian bit back the things he wanted to say. He'd already discussed it at length with Amara. They knew they should have said something sooner, but then hindsight was always 20/20 as Honzo had said. The past couldn't be changed.

"I am, and I'll continue to be," he said firmly. "I've not hidden anything further from all of you. But now... I fear its too late anyway. If Clink and Orzo don't recover, no one can go home... I'm not sure I can offer any more aid. I can only hope maybe the mythical pokemon can do something to help now." What other hope was there? What could be stronger than them?

 

[Flyg0n]

"Okay... Do you have any idea what kind of poison this is? Is it Pokémon poison? Plant-based poison? Lumiose Green Paint has arsenic. Could it be that? What are the symptoms? What—"

"Nurse Joy told me its not like poison from a battle... someone wanted to put them out of commission. But the toxin is pokemon based-" his voice trailed off as he Victoria said something to Wallace, which he proceeded to translate.

("What is the deal with bonds?")

Wallace stopped, staring up at Victoria. "What do you mean?"

("Brea and Nurse Joy... they mentioned a lot about the bonds between Trainer and Pokémon having power. There's Mega Evolution of course, but... do bonds on this island have some sort of... different, special power? In more than a metaphorical sense?")

"Oh! Bonds? Well yes, I am told they're a bit different here than other worlds. Here, the link between trainer and pokemon has literal power. The cumulative experiences and friendship between pokemon and trainer in the form of aura. It's not unlike mega evolution or Z-moves. A pure energy."

"If you recall my brief mention on your first day, I mentioned how my pokemon saved my life. That was Clink. I was badly injured one day while exploring. Clink called on the aid of a Shaymin they knew. In order to save me, Shaymin needed a great deal of energy. That energy came from the bond between Clink and I. Without that, I would have died," his tone was solemn, but nostalgic. "Unfortunately, poison is much harder to heal..." he shook off his sadness.

"But yes, to put it simply, bonds here have a very real power. I'm told its one mythical pokemon can sense. And that its quite strong."

 

[Flyg0n]

"So it's Pokémon based... there are Poison types on this island, right? Or Pokémon that can learn Poison type moves."

"Yes. Some sort of natural poison produced by a pokemon, most likely. Poison type moves are aura based and generally can't do real harm to a pokemon."

"You and Victoria. Have faith in each other, even when you are not in this world. Your bonds have power you know. And be careful, please."

"Do you think that power could be used to heal your Pokémon, or even—" Wallace smiled. "Or even find the culprit?"

"Healing a poison is much harder... For now, the remedies Nurse Joy gave me seem to be working, albeit slowly. As for finding the culprit," Xavian tapped his chin. "I don't think it would work like that. It's much closer to an energy source but I don't think it could be channeled like that. Otherwise the other mythical pokemon would have found the missing trainers or the culprit."

 

[Flyg0n]

Wallace's head was spinning. He didn't think he could speak fast enough to keep up with his thoughts.

"Xavian, forgive me if this sounds really, really stupid, but hear me out: there are bonds all over this island, but not just the bonds between trainer and Pokémon. Take me, for example. I now have a nephew. I met different versions of my son and the man who quite possibly saved my life. I've met so many friends who accept me for who I am, warts and all. Hell, Victoria even found love!"

Tears fell down Wallace's face. "I haven't felt this kind of love in years. I didn't have friends as a child, and even when I did, I had so few people to turn to. This island vacation has caused at least six mental breakdowns, but the bonds I've made... the bonds we've all made... What if... What if that kind of energy could do... something? Anything?"

Xavian shook his head and shrugged. "I truly wish I had an answer for you, Mr. Papadakis. But I have none. All I know is what I have discussed with Clink and other mythical pokemon in the past. It is an energy that can be very powerful, but it is not something that can solve any problem. I am glad to hear that you have made such strong bonds. Perhaps it can do something, but if so, healing this poison does not seem to be one of those."

Mind Reader is still active! Xavian is telling the truth.

 

[Flyg0n]

Something. Something. Something. It had to do something. Anything. Wallace didn’t know what would help, but something about this bond energy had to do… something.

Wallace bowed solemnly. “That is all I had to ask. Thank you, Xavian. I’m sorry for everything I’ve said and done to you.”

Wallace turned and walked away. Victoria lurched forward to try and stop him, but she could sense that it was a lost cause. It was all a lost cause. She looked back at Xavian. With a sorrowful nod, she followed her Trainer.

Xavian watched them go, then turned away. He needed to return to his pokemon and make sure they were ok.

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