Pokémon Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Hands of Creation

[Gyeig]

Review of Chapters 16 and 17.​

Spoiler

Hi Namo, here’s a review you weren’t expecting. Some guy called it in, said his name was Gyeig or something.

Anyway, doing the standard two chapters this time, seems like that’s been working out pretty well for this fic so far (opinions may vary, lemme know if you want these to be bigger). So yeah, chapters 16 and 17 it is, and funnily enough they’re pretty lopsided to different ends in my eyes.

Starting off with 16… didn’t enjoy this one much. In all honesty, somehow it felt like a big batch of information, yet mostly filler as well. It took me a little while to figure out why that is, but hear me out here: This is probably the first chapter where I genuinely lost track of all the characters involved in the scene. I mean fuck, I didn’t even realise that Owen was in it until about a third of the way in, by which point I was already looking crazy trying to piece together what was being said - kind of like that meme of Charlie Day standing in front of all the papers and red lines trying to explain some insane theory he came up with.

Even after reading and re-reading several parts of the chapter, it didn’t feel like anything that important came up? Granted, this is HoC, and shit being foreshadowed fifty chapters in advance is normal given everything I’ve heard, but all the different characters going on about Hunters and auras, then the auras of parents… it just kind of blends together in a big soup of ‘what’?

Funnily enough, Chapter 17 swings the other way: It’s far more focused on Owen realizing that like 99% of his memories are just a black hole, with a supporting cast around him. I especially liked this chapter because the whole thing was essentially a panic attack, with various fragments of past events being played back to back without anything connecting them. It feels chaotic, and helps get me as a reader in a similar mood. It’s a pretty ingenious way of getting this across, quite frankly.

Some interesting concepts are introduced - Mysticism stuck out to me especially. It’s kind of like the Avatar State except in reverse, where a near death experience ends up making you stronger. Pretty cool concept, wonder how that’ll affect Owen or anyone else in the fic from here on out (I’m sure ‘you have no idea’ would be your response).

Really, Chapter 17 is one of the best chapters in the story so far, with no bad moments to speak of. Interesting that it came right after Chapter 16, which I honestly just kind of shrug at. If there’s ever a chapter you should go back to for some restructuring, that one would have my vote - even some extra clarity on what’s going on would go a long way there.

Anyway, I think I’ve rambled on for long enough - thanks again for the chapters, and best of luck with the rest of your writing.

Oh, and one more thing before I leave. Chapter 17.
‘Zena, didn’t you accidentally spit someone out when you used Water Gun once?’
I’m thinking of a certain word here. I’m sure you’ve heard this joke before.

 

[MintyMimix]

Review Blitz time! HoC is by far one of the most daunting in length, but knowing what I do from your campaign experience, it’ll be a very much well-deserved epic in scope that necessitates that density — so let’s dive right in! I’ve read up to Chapter 4 by this point and a tiny bit of context from Dodra-Owen, so I may make reference to near-future events in these earlier Chapter reviews.

Spoiler: Prologue

Already we get some fascinating intrigue with this dream sequence involving Owen, his parents, and the Seviper-Tyranitar. Not only hinting towards a far greater power dwelling within the MC, but also hinting at the mental hell that this man’s gone through already and the constant obfuscation of the truth within his life with his own mother putting him to sleep. Especially with his father back up and a-okay in the next scene!

It is, however, haunting both in-universe and from a meta standpoint that Owen’s rage-induced nightmare was one he considered a good dream. Though it could be explained that he’s simply a battleheart, there’s something lurking beneath the surface here, I can feel it.

The Thousand Hearts is a fun organization name / theme / restriction, and I find it amusing that you did not play the Kingdom Hearts series before this already.

In any case, the insistence from his parents for Owen to settle down and forget his dreams is a great way to both contrast their genuine care for his well being with their want to keep their secrets. And the remark from Alex: “Curse this body. It’s so foreign,” is a cherry on top of intrigue. A very compelling — if a bit frantic to keep up with at first — start. Wish I read this chapter before the word count when I was browsing for this on Ao3, or I might’ve gone through this whole thing already!

Spoiler: Chapter 1

If there’s one constant strength I’m seeing throughout this work so far, it’s foreshadowing. The emphasis on the Charmander yearning for the feeling of being a Charizard (power, weight, height, etc.) is both endearing as a “goal” and as a way of further hinting at his past lives. The fact that his village is specifically hidden adds to both the worldbuilding and raises the question of, “Why is Owen specifically here?” And of course, his ‘strong feral genes’ create some interesting implications of how society works alongside painting his past life as a violent one.

The technology level shown is also a point of intrigue for me, and one I’m not sure if I’m fully comprehending just yet. “Screens made of glass and light that could display different things without ink” indicates electronics, yet we also have buildings made of plain wood and glass and manual means of work, logistics, transportation, and communication. I know from Dodra that proofing exists, but it’s not quite clear just yet. Not a point against the fic; just something that’s lingering in the back of my mind.

Owen being mistaken for a kid due to late evolution is gonna be a sticking point throughout this journey, it seems. Wondering what this is setting up to. I do find it very interesting that Elite Heart Nevren — who seems to have at least some knowledge of Owen’s past — gave him an eviolite specifically to boost his abilities when his parents were so adamant on suppressing them. A conspiracy, perhaps?

We get introduced to Team Alloy (though the name doesn’t pop up until the next chapter)! Gahi’s brashness and Mispy’s aloofness left an immediate impression on me, but Demitri hasn’t quite been able to shine just yet. I know we’ll be seeing a lot more of these guys, though. The déjà vu with them particularly strikes me as curious, though, considering that they clearly did not have any idea about who Owen was.

Ending off on a cliffhanger! The first of many. Aerodactyl immediately establishes himself as a threat with his appearance and knowledge. A worldbuilding chapter without overstaying its welcome and a decent page-turner ending!

Spoiler: Chapter 2

Aerodactyl is a great “first boss” — just your average asshole thief that can back up his intimidation. Even with Owen’s cleverness and attempts at fighting back, he still barrelled through on brute strength — giving Team Alloy time to shine with their coordination and own moves! A fun dynamic all around; I do love that both Mispy and Gahi are blunt in their own way (one being chilly and the other being rash), and it’s a lot clearer here that Demitri is the voice of reason between the trio but lacking a bit in confidence.

He drops a hint that the world wasn’t one that needed his kind of cruelty, but some yet-known changes to dungeons have resulted in this dog-eat-dog mentality in his eyes. We don’t quite get an answer to this just yet, but I’ll keep a pin on it. I get the feeling there’s gonna be a lot of that throughout this.

Broken Hearts. Love it. There’s gonna be an abundance of heart puns, aren’t there? Please keep them coming!

Owen carrying Rawst Berries specifically to help out with the ferals is both endearing and carries over the ‘feral genes’ trait. I do like that he’s not perfect with it though and that the others lend a hand in helping them out! Already establishing some team cohesion while showing everyone’s individual traits!

That “pink cloud” is one heck of a mystery, though. Especially since it’s an atypical color, and tied to Rhys. We’ll get more on that in Chapter 3.

Ahh, we’re getting the first hints of Owen’s perceive here — subtle, but a good catch.

I think the only critique I have is that the chapter could have been potentially split with 3, but there’s some great setup going on.

Spoiler: Chapter 3

Here we get some interactions with Rhys, and oh is it equal parts tense and (in-universe) awkward. It’s perfect. And Rhys’s response was just brilliant – in terms of general humor and in keeping secrets in-universe.

“Mew’s Blessing”, huh? More to pin…

I love how saccharine Owen is and everything is surface level; it’s both endearing in its own right and compelling because of how obvious it is that there’s a lot of deception going on, yet the positivity itself is still shown to be genuine in the process. It’s a tough balancing act, but I’m enjoying it.

Wonder what sort of past Rhys and Owen’s parents have.

Goodra Anam seems like an eccentric but good-hearted leader. I can already tell I’m going to like the people within the Thousand Hearts even if the organization itself is keeping its secrets. Thank you for continuing the puns with “bleeding heart”.

Another piece I want to commend is how easy is it to follow the flow of battle; it can very easy in Pokéfic to get lost in the weeds of the individual actions and end up confused, but here the “rhythm” of the battle is clear, and the fighting styles of each make note of each of their personalities. Worldbuilding wise, it’s clever that a Substitute is being used as both a way to reduce power and ensure safety of the entrants.

Solid chapter all-around. Wonderful worldbuilding and continued layering of dark secrets beneath the surface.

Spoiler: Chapter 4

The glowing mystery orb continues to be mysterious! I’m curious how much truth there is in Rhys’s words versus him making up excuses for Owen specifically to not interact with the item.

“Exceptional” due to test results? Is the exception “being Owen”, I wonder? That nightmare that Nevren more than likely put him through is equal parts telling as it is terrifying. I’m curious to see if such an excursion will be prophetic, if it was an event that happened in the past, or if it was simply intimidation. Ah, this intrigue is compelling but it’s killing me! And Owen too, most likely. Especially with all the dismissive gaslighting.

“Yes, precisely!” Nevren said, chuckling. “You’re quite abnormal indeed, Owen.”

🤔

More of a setup chapter, but still intriguing nonetheless. I’m eager to learn more, especially since the ones who are explicitly not in the know are taking initiative. Hopefully Owen doesn’t end up spelling disaster here.

All in all, the writing is very tight; there is a lot of detail put into the dialogue in particular, and the worldbuilding focuses it from the perspective of the characters rather than going into details about the society itself unless it is relevant to the characters. I admire the dedication to succinctness while still dropping foreshadowing tells everywhere. No major complaints thus far; excellent stuff!

 

[Gyeig]

Review of Chapters 18 through 20.​

Spoiler

Hi Namo, that Gyeig guy called in another review. Plus, you’re in luck - it’s three chapters this time instead of the standard two, ain’t that something?

Yeah, these chapters were short enough that doing three was viable tonight, plus I needed some good distraction away from the past stressful days, and this fic is such an easy read that it’s great as a distraction from all of that.

Anyway, fight. Fight fight fight the chapters. That’s the first impression from these three - very surface of course, but there’s a lot of fighting that happens. After Owen manages to take down Azu, the other two roadblocks before Manny are pretty easily swept aside - so easily that I imagine them being included at all is meant to be for fun (and funny) more than anything. Nothing wrong with a little fluff here and there.

But let’s talk about the fights themselves, shall we. In my eyes, they’re alright, though nothing special. There’s times when they’re pretty picturesque, but there’s also times when it’s just Pokemon throwing the same moves at each other, without that much room for extra imagination. The fight between Rhys and Manny had quite a bit of this, plus quite a lot of quipping between both sides - even if this is more of a friendly sparring match, I’m not a big fan of quips during fights in general. Feels cheesy to me. I get that there’s an audience that enjoys them, I’m just not part of that audience myself

Before moving on, I did notice a dialogue goof - Rhys says “just because they are still with us does not mean that a number of doors have closed for them” before the fight, but the Pokemon in question have literally just been killed - pretty sure the doors did close and Rhys wants to say the opposite is not the case. Might want to fix that real quick if you’ve got the time.

Fights aside, there’s plot to talk about - going to start off with Star, since she’s been around for a while now. Having played Dodra, she reminds me a lot of several characters in there, where she’s done some truly heinous shit in the past but feels (well, claims to feel) sorry for her actions. Again, being a Dodra player, not sure if I buy it, but I don’t mean that in a negative way for the fic storytelling wise. Either she’ll be repeatedly confronted by the consequences of her actions and truly desire to make a change, or Owen and company will want to stomp her six feet under if it’s all an act. We’ll see.

One of the big positives in here is the whole artificial Pokemon concept that is introduced - Owen and Team Alloy were created this way, and as a result they’ve been living for literally centuries by this point. At the same time, they’ve had several nasty bouts of amnesia that’s left them unable to remember most of those centuries too. This opens up a lot of possibilities for exploring characters and how they deal with being aware of that backstory: To be more specific, how do they cope with it, what will they do with that information, is there any kind of mental block or trauma they have to work through… also a lot of self awareness: since they were created with a purpose, do they accept it? You can expand that into greater exploration into what it means to be alive as well…

…Oof, that’s quite the ramble. You could probably write an entire essay on all the various ways this concept can be explored, and you can probably tell how much it fascinates me in general, but all I’ll say for now is that I’m interested in seeing what you’ll do with it.

And now it’s time for the part where I start to point out the things I didn’t like so much. Always sucks having to write it. Fortunately, it’s just one thing this time.

So yeah, death. In HoC, death ain’t that big of a deal, it turns out. Between all the former Guardians still being conscious in one form or another through their respective orbs, and now Star as well, it seems like no one is ever really gone in this fic, and death is just kind of a temporary setback. Not the biggest fan of this myself, because it does cheapen and reduce the tension of the fic somewhat - if death ain’t that big of a deal, then the risk of it happening to a major character isn’t as scary, since they’ll still be around in one form or another. Now I know there’s probably a million asterisks involving all the details that I don’t know yet about HoC deaths attached, but as of right now, I am more worried about how you’ll handle this sort of thing from this point.

Okay, think that’s about enough. Again, can’t say I didn’t enjoy reading this - it worked out really well for helping me destress after the past few days, and isn’t that one of the things we all love about this hobby to begin with? Cheers, and good luck with the rest of the fic-

 

[Arukona]

Well, figured I’d finally get around to this fic, now that Week 2 of this Review Blitz’s come along with its big shiny ‘Review fics you’ve already read!’ bonus dangling in front of all our faces. And since I’ve already reviewed this fic a few times, now’s a prime opportunity to get stuck back into the action.

You definitely know of my readings of the rest of Act 3, and the very high praise I had for Special Episodes 9 and 10 in particular. It was a fantastic way to end off the chapter and the act. Now we move onto the next act, returning to the present day and see how our (very big and still growing) cast of characters continues to grapple with the situation in both Kilo and the Voidlands.

So let’s dive back in…After I find the chapter in question in the extensive list of threadmarks.

Act IV

Finally, I found it. Diving in for real this time.

Guess we’re opening up with Arceus again. Also nice to see Aramé and Ghrelle again - they definitely haven’t gotten enough screen time until now. (Ironically, I feel like they as humans in Special Episode 8 have played more of a role in the story than when they were Pokémon like they are now.)

Seems like our dear Creator is hardly invincible, given how the fight against Dark Matter has worn him down. It does make me wonder, though, if the fight might lessen on his end now that Owen’s beginning to maybe sorta get through to Diyem a bit more? Granted, there still is the issue at hand of Alexander claiming that power for himself…so no doubt this Act is gonna to have our tyrannical Hydreigon as the main baddie of this part of the story.

Ever since Star left, Ghrelle had been getting quietly closer to him. It was nice.

Is this…the implication of romance? Surprised to see this in the stoic Creator Himself.

And now over to Klent and Amelia. Even after all that’s happened thus far, these two are still here, as firm supporters of Owen in his quest. Brutal image of Alexander siphoning their power, though this one line gives pause for thought:

“I feel like I’ve seen him before,” she said. “But that’s impossible… isn’t it?”

I’m going to make a guess at this point that one of the two upcoming Special Episodes will feature Amelia encountering Alexander, back when he was a commander for Wishkeeper Owen, and that’s where these vague memories come from. Or maybe she and Klent were killed back then by him? Who knows? Something to keep in mind for later, at any rate.

And now over to Owen’s parents - good to see they’re still kicking, even after all that’s happened. Seems like Amber’s not in the best of health at the minute. Fingers crossed she and Owen can have one last meeting, at least.

Chapter 129

(Boy, it is weird typing chapter numbers in the hundreds like this.)

To think we’ve come this far, yet there are still so many unanswered questions. Luckily there’s still many chapters to go to answer them.

“I don’t care.” He crossed his arms, staring at a random, fake tree opposite to Owen’s gaze. “These memories are not yours anyway."

I wonder…Could this be an implication that each Owen we’ve seen thus far is in fact a different Owen? Owen as a mutant, Owen as Wishkeeper, Owen since he went to the Voidlands…it is possible that they could all be different. (I’ll be honest, I may possibly have been spoiled on this point.)

So Remi’s still alive? That’s good to hear - would’ve been a shame if she’d kicked the bucket. In fact, I have an idea where she, or at least part of her, could be. I recall during Gahi’s tussle with Mhynt, Mhynt had a Sceptile spirit to summon as an attack. Could that have been part of Remi?

“Every soul is cursed with immortality. It, like the memories tied to them, are eternal.

*Dahlia Hawthorne screaming from the underworld intensifies*

And now out of the dream sequence and into the unpleasant reality that is presumably capture for Owen. Just what is Alexander going to do to him?

“Demitri, Mispy, and Gahi betrayed you utterly.”

“They did,” Owen replied. “…But I had betrayed them, too.”

True. But there’s nothing saying they’ll betray Owen in the present. Firm friends, they all are. Would they even remember those memories of yore when they were the Lake Trio? And I’m sure that even if they did, they might well regret it and vow to support Owen going forward.

That gaze from Arcanine reminded Owen of Auntie Arcanine, back when he had been blissfully ignorant of so much. Back when he was still trying to become a Heart.

A stark reminder of the twists and turns Owen’s gone through, and an echo of a time when things were simpler, much simpler. Even as a reader, it feels like an eternity ago since I read that part of the story. And being reminded of the people that are still in those early chapters, it’s fascinating how much they don’t know in regards to the journey that unfolds from there.

Nearest was a Swampert doing exhaustive flips and dives out and into the dark surface.

Oh yeah, him. Still under Mhynt’s punishment, I see. (That, or he’s become accumulated to the ‘working out’ lifestyle and is keeping it up. Maybe he’ll eventually become muscular enough to capture the attention of Navar. )

Qitlan immediately coming off as a slimy bastard to Owen. Man, I hate this guy.

Owen missed the third step and fell forward, slamming hard into the stone a few more stairs down. Something cracked and he went tumbling further down half the flight before coming to a rough stop. There, he lay limp.

“Oh, for the love of…” Qitlan growled. “You really need to be more careful. Stairs can’t be that complicated…”

Owen:

Qitlan:

Qitlan’s fear definitely speaks to the fact that they need him alive. But whatever for? Is it just to induct Owen as another servant of Alexander, like Mhynt? Or is it for a more nefarious purpose?

But as Owen descended into the dungeon, he realized he had acquired another weapon to use later: his own wellbeing. Even within the very heart of Alexander’s lair, he had at least one card left in his hand.

Clever Owen, always finding a solution somewhere. Even on a horizon of darkening opportunity for him, he still manages to find his ace in the hole. Although putting his wellbeing at stake would poses a problem for his allies as well as his enemies…

And now back to Fae Forest, where Angelo is Angelo once again, in disbelief and wanting to forget about his livelihood in artistry.

Oh yes, Spice’s family. Now I’m recalling that oneshot about them released last Halloween, and how Spice being a Wraith was pivotal to that.

“Even average citizens can be formidable,” Phol hummed. “Especially southerners.”

I swear, if I had a shot for how often the southerners were referenced out of hand thus far, I would be as hammered as that Ursaring-turned-Teddiursa was back in that one scene in Act 3.

Spice being able to think in a more normal manner as opposed to the eldritch nature we’ve seen of the Wraiths does show an intriguing side to them, that the Wraiths aren’t all mindless beasts. Though what exactly is the reasoning behind Spice being different to the rest of them? I suppose we’ll find out soon enough.

“Not with us supporting you,” Brandon said. “Not to mention your family, right?”

“The family I invaded,” Spice mumbled.

Eh, judging by that oneshot, I don’t think they’d be as rejecting as Spice makes it out to be. (On another note, was this around when that idea was conceived?)

Leo pulled her in for another embrace and she leaned into him, eyes closed. Her hand was rubbing Leo’s shoulder, and Leo was doing the same to her.

Aww, that’s rather sweet, that Leo still cares for her even after all that’s happened.

A pretty sombre breakfast in Null Village, it would appear. A surefire testament to the loss suffered by all in that battle.

“I didn’t have a mouth until yesterday, Flygon,” Diyem grunted. “Everything before had been borrowed. A sense of taste was never relevant.”

Well…on the bright side, at least Diyem’s sense of taste isn’t absolutely bizarre once he acquires it. Not unlike a certain Big Bad legendary in another fic on here, whose curiosity about food leads to the most cursed stuff imaginable.

Diyem’s bluntness and unwillingness to mince words is kinda humorous, not gonna lie.

Poor Hakk. He deserves all the hugs in the world.

I’ll admit, I do like the guy, and I’d almost go as far as to say he’s one of my favourite characters thus far. He might be minor in the grand scheme of things, but I still like him. Could be species bias (Sandslash is among my favourite Pokémon), but there’s something about him I gravitate towards.

“…Null Village has a main hall?” Zena asked.

“It still has a main hall?” Diyem asked, looking insulted for some reason.

Had a good chuckle at this line. More Diyem bluntness.

Ouch, that cell is one of squalor. Guess there’s no luxurious cell incoming for our resident Charmeleon.

I recall predicting that the truth coming to light about Owen’s past would cause a rift between Zena and Mhynt, and I do wonder how that’s going to play out in the next few chapters.

Fire-Dragon would have been nice, too.

Fetch an awakening seed after fully evolving, Owen, and you may well be surprised at what awaits you.

Mhynt stepped through the door, closing it slowly behind her.

Welp, speak of the devil. There she is, and it’s time for the old mates to catch up again. Especially now that Owen knows the truth about what went down all those years ago.

Chapter 130

Based on the fact that Mhynt’s now a Treecko, seems like the same thing happened to her that happened to Owen and Trina; upon entering the Voidlands, she devolved.

I do wonder if Mhynt truly believes in Alexander, or whether she’s just doing this to seem as though she’s following his orders as a ploy. Or…does Alexander have Remi captive, and is using her as something to control Mhynt with?

And then, and only then for that split-second, did Owen see a pained look in her eyes as the door shut.

Yyyyyep. It's probably the latter.

“Between Null Village and Hot Spot, I think I’m losing my touch at omnicide.”

And now the abilities he previously had have been stripped from him altogether by our resident Hydreigon tyrant.

The place is full of legends, huh? Wow, almost forgot about them, given the focus on the other members of the party before the Special Episodes.

Things are already getting standoffish. Oh dear. Keep things civil, guys…

“Oh, another one.” Xerneas rolled his eyes. “Wonderful.”

“I beg your pardon?” Zena’s heart hammered from some budding anger.

Aaaaaaand there’s the first indicator to Zena of Owen’s previous love life. This’ll surely go well.

Dialga and Rayquaza being close to each other leaves us in no doubt that they are indeed Rhys and Elder, and the others who perished during the Dark Matter fight have been transferred back to their former Legendary bodies.

Nice sassy remark from Trina there. Good on her for shutting the Legends up.

“I suppose this is as good a time as any,” Diyem said, “for me to inform you all that your efforts at secret-keeping, while very admirable”—it was no secret to anyone that he was mocking them—“are pointless. Necrozma and I told Owen everything in a dreamscape.”

Kinda nice to see that Owen’s wish for him to know his secrets are now no longer being kept from him, thanks to the one who’s been a persistent evil for seventy chapters or so. At least we won’t be backsliding into that rut again. Hopefully.

“B-but… but we don’t want to betray him now, so it’s okay, right?” Demitri asked.

At least they recognise that it may not be the same thousands of years later in different bodies. Though I guess we’ll see for ourselves when they reunite with their mortal halves how different they are from their mortal personalities.

Given what Necrozma pulled against Owen…he doesn’t seem the most trustworthy right now.

Still, if his power will help against Alexander…

What a gesture for Enet to do, to hold Diyem up to Giratina like he’s Simba in the opening scene of The Lion King.

And so another Owen is created? How many are we at now?

“Oh, death was kinda high on my list of things to do,” Brandon said. “I’ll bump that down a few notches since you warned me.”

Pfffft. Love that dry wit from Brandon.

Phol must be well used to Angelo clinging to him and being petrified of just about everything by this stage.

Seems the gang in Kilo’s taking a leap into the unknown with that fissure. Then again, feels like being cast into the unknown is all Kilo’s known for the past while. Betting any money that it leads to the Voidlands.

I see Darkrai’s becoming more of a dab hand at his cooking skills. Guess a thousand years or more does give lots of time to improve.

A Salazzle Void Shadow, submerged in the water up to her eyes, stared back at him on the opposite side of the tub.

They locked eyes for a full second.

“…Hi?”

“EYAAAAAAAGH!”

An appropriate reaction. Though what, Darkrai? You telling me you never cast nightmares upon people that had Void Shadows in those?

Chapter 131

Kinda a bit of a humorous scenario to imagine with all of this group just emerging in a freaking bathtub of all things. :mewlul Even when the chips are down, and stuff’s getting serious, there’s still some levity to be had.

All these Legends, stuck in the Voidlands…I’m getting more curious if there might be a way out for them. They can’t be stuck down here forever, right?

Hmm, interesting story about Emily, and given what we’ve heard about mortal halves from the other Legends, I presume it's a similar story here, where the mortal half and divine half are separated from each other. And as the saying goes, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Ah, now Brandon’s being put towards this same quest that was discussed last chapter to reunite the mortal and divine halves of Legendaries. Looks like it’s gearing up to be one divine showdown against Alexander once all that’s done.

“Don’t believe every story you’re told,” she said. “Darkrai is the embodiment of fear. He harnesses everyone’s fear to make them stronger for the real thing.”

Interesting way of putting it. Given how much less edge this Darkrai has than what I expected, this softer description of fear as empowering does seem to befit him.

Multiple different pieces of both Owen and Diyem floating around. Feels like we may have a fetch quest on our hands~

Har curled up a little tighter. Nothing felt good anymore and he didn’t even know why. Casualties were miraculously low. The town was recovering. The ceremonies for the departed were over. And yet, he felt so empty. Why?

Probably has to do with the mutant side of him yearning for more. That, or the loss of Trina has left a big hole in his life.

Aww, I like how Ani comforts Har. Are these two romantically involved with one another, I wonder?

Har definitely feels a prouder sort than Owen - intriguing to see how he’s diverged as a character from the one he’s a copy of.

Oh dang, Arceus is here? But what if Destiny Tower needs guarding? Sure, Dark Matter might be suppressed, but there’s still the threat of Alexander, who with Dark Matter’s power, might well stage an invasion of Kilo. Then again…I suppose the people of Kilo don’t know that yet…

Must be something else to be speaking with the Creator of the world. I can’t blame Har for feeling awkward here.

Hmm, Har was once a feral? Part of me wonders if we might see what he was like once upon a time in the past before being turned into a mutant.

Oh dear, a revelatory letter, alright, regarding the death of Rhys. And revealing that there are more Legends we haven’t even interacted with yet, like Hoopa. (I somehow have a feeling I know who Hoopa’s other half might be…A certain mischievous little bug…)

And now back to the Voidlands, where Diyem is being his usual grumpy self about the Void Shadows and over restoring them. Hate to admit it, but his utilitarian attitude here does come in clutch here.

“You seem like the kind of person to feel bad for scaring ferals away from a campground.”

Demitri to a T, really. Super strength with fearsome looks, but a gentle persona. He sounds like the type that would be good with kids. (Not really any ‘kids’ in this story, I’ve noticed. Unless you count Willow’s childish temperament.)

So it appears Anam might’ve lost his Mystic power. Hmmm…a testament to how far the Orbs have fallen as a power scaling measure once Dark Matter came to the fore and Legendaries began emerging from the backdrop. Now the Orbs, once thought of as all powerful, have now taken a backseat as new powers come up. (Of course, this was probably apparent in the latter half of Act 3 already.)

Nice ending, though, with Diyem finding Anam’s attitude insufferable.

Chapter 132

Seems Rhys isn’t gonna emerge for a good while yet.

Palkia certainly fits the excitable scientist type. That side of him will no doubt have the ante upped once Nevren reunites with him.

“Ahh, always giving the challenging puzzles.

Well, as a certain top-hatted gentleman said: “Every puzzle has an answer.”

I believe Anam may be in possession of Giratina’s other half. Should we witness the reunion?”

Ah, so that would be Madeline. And now that Anam’s with the rest of Team Alloy, it should be a seamless reunion. I’m now curious what such a reunion would look like, between a Legend’s divine and mortal halves.

Xerneas is being a bit of an ass. I would be surprised at the supposedly serene deer being standoffish, but then I remember he’s also Ra (aka Dad of the Year) and then suddenly I’m not surprised.

And the best way to do that is tear down that tree, and take back the fragment Alexander stole.”

Oh, I see, because Xerneas guarded the Tree of Life in the world of the living, he’s annoyed at the ‘fake’ tree. Even all these chapters later, Ra continues to be an unlikeable bastard.

And now over to the other Owen in the Voidlands, where it seems he can just wait it out. The problem is, so can his enemies. So nothing’s happening, until Qitlan’s smug ass shows up.

Oh, I see why they want Owen to make Gone Pebbles; that way, he can unlock more memories. And with more memories…they expect him to side with Alexander? Hmm…not sure how, but it’ll probably make sense once our resident Charmeleon regains those memories.

I like me a ‘double take’ moment like Zena did with missing Owen the first time around.

“There have been a lot of… yous I’ve been seeing lately.”

Ain’t that the truth? I reckon this is all building up to something in the distant future…

Owen looked uncomfortable, shifting on his feet and grabbing at his tail. “I guess so.”

Oh boy, this is going to be awkward. Imagine telling your girlfriend you had a mate once upon a time who’s still alive. That’s not going to go without conflict, knowing the kind of person Zena is. (That said, if there’s two Owens now…maybe this won’t be as big of a problem?)

Diyem crossed his arms and paused his meal. “Mm. I did do that. I guess I wasn’t paying attention.”

“You forgot you restored my memories,” Zena said flatly.

Someone appears to be getting sloppy with the loss of their power.

“Oh, uh—sorry.”

“I hate you,” Diyem said, wheezing, as the darkness seemed to slow down.

Diyem tries to take basic compliments from his saviour challenge (impossible)

Man, even now, Zena’s hatred for Star runs strong, in spite of the fact the much-hated Mew’s been long dead for a while.

“I’m older than Kilo,” Owen pointed out.

Gahi scoffed. “You were sittin’ on that line.”

Gahi with the quips as always.

And now the reveals come one after the other, with the expected shocked reactions from all of Owen’s companions. Then again, who wouldn’t be shocked after hearing these stories?

Not surprising that Gahi’s taking this poorly. After all, being told that you betrayed your best friend in a previous life is bound to lead to denial and the struggle to come to terms with what happened. Especially someone that was implied to be among the closest to Owen in that past life, enough to be mates.

Zena didn’t know how to answer, so she followed her instincts. “I’ll be fine.”

Because amid all of this, the way Gahi had reacted, the way Owen was shaking… Zena’s problems were nothing.

Kinda true, now that I think about it. Somehow her issues do feel small in the grand scheme of things.

So Owen and Zena’s relationship may well not be in danger with Mhynt in the picture, because of all the changes that’ve happened across the years that will have made Owen and Mhynt drift apart. Still, what’s the edgy Treecko going to make of this? And for that matter, Remi, if the gang do end up finding her?

But perhaps most of all, they all needed to find their fire.

Yep. As a certain bald soldier on a distant planet said, “If you don’t lose your cool, you’ll never find your fire.”

Chapter 133

I see a poker game’s gone badly if this chapter has a title like that.

I suppose we’ll see if Rhys does indeed reawaken within Dialga. Hopefully he does - it would be a shame if Team Alloy’s mentor and longtime ally perished altogether. Even when his death in Chapter 122 (I think it was that chapter?) was a heart wrenching moment.

“Gahi, you can’t go alone,” Owen warned. “It’s still dangerous out there.

Words of the wise that have aided many a green-hatted sword wielder.

I repeat: Hakk needs all the hugs. Poor guy.

The way they speak about Xypher maybe coming back one day gives hope that he might. I sure hope he does.

Kinda realising that if Zena didn’t have a role as a Legendary back in the days when Owen was Wishkeeper, then what role did she play in those times?

Though, in Mispy’s opinion, Zena was a little too assertive for Owen. Maybe he had a type.

Certainly feels that way, since Mhynt has shown herself to be fairly assertive in her own way thus far. Maybe the two mates aren’t so different after all.

Looks like the rest of Team Alloy are gearing themselves up for a showdown with the Lake Trio. Guess we’ll see what happens on that end.

Oh, we are doing poker? There was me thinking ‘six chips’ might be alluding to something else.

Six months of safety; freedom*; a break for Star; Remi’s location; alone time with Mhynt; your own servant.

Those are all tempting options. Somehow I wouldn’t be surprised if Owen manages to win all of them, knowing his tact and even in spite of Qitlan’s advantage.

Just as Owen predicted, a full house against a triple. He acquired Remi’s location.

One step closer to seeing her…

Man, a card game has never felt so high stakes since that JoJo Part 3 episode where Jotaro plays poker with Darby. (Granted, that had a little more riding on it, like betting souls.)

Maybe he could use that in the future if these prizes were actually real.

They were probably not real. He didn’t just lose Remi. It had all been a ruse.

Aw, well that’s lame. Probably should’ve figured though, if it was coming from Qitlan and Alexander of all people.

He got some things, at least - six months of safety, a servant and some time with Mhynt. And knowing how tactically sound Owen is, he’ll use them to his advantage in the coming chapters.

The little Charmeleon curled his legs to his knees, pressed his back to the wall, and wept.

And yet, he could’ve had much more…

Chapter 134

Ohai, Star. Long time no see.

“What is the key to resetting Owen? You know the aura signature. We know that’s what was done. Show it to us, and you will be released.”

Oh shit. That’s gonna be one dangerous weapon if it gets into the enemy’s hands.

The Alakazam was gruff and spoke with a low voice, looking annoyed. “Why specifically me?” he questioned. “…Sir.”

Nevren on a budget. Somehow I wonder if this guy has what it takes to break Star. I would've been dismissive initially, but since she’s a lot weaker than she was in the world of the living…

Alakazam’s arms slackened. Blood dribbled from his nose. A second later, he fell back, hard, on the ground, convulsing.

Oh, never mind, I had nothing to worry about.

Toying with people does appear to be Star’s speciality, whether it’s her allies or her enemies.

And now over to Anam, who faces the not-at-all daunting prospect of talking to Legendaries. Important folks, not to be treated with disrespect. Not that our resident friendly Goodra’s capable of such a thing.

“Oh, yeah!” Anam straightened and waved back. “I had, uh… some time to sleep. I liked sleeping. I don’t sleep a lot.”

I suppose this would’ve been the first time in quite a while that Anam would’ve had to actually sleep, now that he’s lost his powers as the Ghost Guardian.

Before long, a Goodra nearly twice Anam’s size—which had already been imposing—stood before them, and Giratina’s eyes flashed with primal recognition.

Damn. Didn’t realise how beeg Madeline was compared to Anam. That would mean - checks Goodra’s height - she’s in the ballpark of 13 feet tall? Wow. Impressive.

Was Wishkeeper Owen even that big in his day?

I can speak with full confidence that my mortal half was nothing but a ball of hubris and regrets.”

Doesn’t feel like you’re much better than he was, Xerneas. Can’t believe I’m actually defending Ra here.

“Come, Anam,” Madeline said. “Perhaps we can use the other Tree to restore James to something more corporeal in this realm. I believe the host of that power is more agreeable.”

Nice way to get back at Xerneas there. Maybe that’ll get our resident life deer to have a better attitude around our heroes and stop being such an ass. After all, when Owen with his kind heart and charisma is right there with just as much power, why would you not go for that?

Palkia certainly liked his high-risk experiments… He could still remember that time he’d turned himself into a Dwebble for a few days.

Pffffft. I wonder what the circumstances of that Noodle Incident were?

And after that awkward reunion between Madeline and Giratina, perhaps we can beat her to the punch and unify with Nevren.” Palkia pressed his palms together. “I wouldn’t mind rubbing it in Giratina’s mandibles that I came first.”

Kinda feels like a sibling rivalry that Palkia and Giratina have, while Dialga feels like the serious one. Interesting way to portray it, and I rather like when Legendaries behave outside of their heavenly, reverential selves.

“O, Arceus! I call upon Your aid!”

Two seconds. Then, a distortion of light twisted the air, and a flash later, Arceus stood before them with a surprised look in his eyes.

Ah yes, dropping a ‘h’ and capitalising a ‘y’ is the way to summon the Creator Himself. No, he does not operate with modern language’s nuances. No sirree, he does not.

I do wonder whether the mortal or divine half of a Legendary will be the more powerful one when they reunite together. I guess we’ll see when one happens that isn’t in the same manner that Rhys and Dialga’s reunion was.

He recalled giving Palkia a piece of his own gem, and Palkia the same in return. He had been given it as a Lucario, taking on a mortal form. And then… the memory was too faded after that. And he was too enraged to think about what Palkia’s mortal half had done with that parallel blessing.

Oh yes, the Revisor. So that was what that was? A part of Dialga’s blessing given to Nevren, who then made an invention out of it. That makes sense now…

The deities of time and space, building a sandcastle? That’ll be one massive sandcastle, that’s for sure. Big enough to dwarf many smaller ‘mons, probably.

I just realised that all three types in Gami right now are weak to Ice. If a stray blast from Step hits them, they are doomed.

Goddamn, the place is like a snowfield. A testament to Step’s power - and as one whose possible favourite character in this whole fic is our resident icy Aggron, I’m very happy to see her holding her own and not getting herself kicked in by this Titan.

Hell, she even did well enough that all Gami had to do was land the finishing blow! Yep, Step’s my favourite character, no question. Absolute badass girlboss Aggron. Dunno if even Remi’ll unseat her as my favourite once we get to see her in full.

Step was, if anything, brave.

You bet she is!

After a glance at Step, she took to the skies and returned to Null Village, all the while thinking to herself how Step would take the news of Ra’s fate.

Not very well, knowing how she takes things. Null Village is going to be lost to a blizzard when she finds out…

Chapter 135

And now back to Kilo, where Elder doesn’t know about Rhys’ fate. Oh dear, this is going to be a rude awakening for him.

Oh, that’s convenient. Rayquaza came right to him.

Between Nate and all the other oddities going around lately, the villagers collectively went about their business, accepting this as yet another strange thing the Elites dealt with.

I suppose if you were a Kilo Villager and experienced even half of all that’s gone on since about Chapter 50 or so, you would become desensitised to these absurdly abnormal occurrences.

Elder and Rayquaza really are two halves of a whole. It’s like they’re talking in a mirror.

Ah, so he did catch on earlier that Rhys might’ve been gone. I suppose he wouldn’t be called Elder if he wasn’t wise. Still, though, a loss of the one closest to you is worthy of any sympathy.

Emily sure seems indomitable at this point in time. How will she be stopped? Now I’m wondering if she’s one of the fragments of Dark Matter that needs to be taken down.

Intriguing how Tanneth is like the mortal half of Emily, and it seems what’s keeping Emily (the Lugia half) from wiping out Kilo is the disunity between both. Kinda like a reverse of what the mortal halves of Legendaries are trying to accomplish by reuniting with their divine selves, in a way.

Emily’s in the Voidlands? Oh dear, that’s not good. Not good at all.

One’s bathroom has to be one hell of a place for a portal to Kilo to show up in.

An odd place Spice has stumbled into. And with a pair of carved baubles….strange. I guess the meaning of this place will come with time.

Returning to Step’s daughters, and now I’m reminded of an inconsistency I spotted at some point. One of them is called ‘Ana’ here, and yet I distinctly remember her being called ‘Kana’ in her first appearances, as well as for the rest of Act 2. Checking back to older chapters, it turns out that I wasn’t misremembering this, and that indeed, when they were first introduced, Step and Ra’s daughters were named Cent and Kana. I think this should be rectified?

“Dad looked cooler!” Cent amended. “Dragons are better!”

Damn straight.

Can’t say I blame Step for wanting out of there. Anyone would, in the presence of Xerneas.

And now over to the Owen in Cipher City, where as it turns out, the rewards were indeed real and he is free to go! Mostly. Knowing how our hero operates, he’ll put this new freedom to good use in the hope to finally extricate himself from the situation he’s in.

Chapter 136

He passed by places called game corners that seemed to hold all sorts of table-based activities

Voltorb Flip better not be a thing in this universe.

Here, he was positive he’d seen Pokémon where the parent was at their first stage, while the child stood tall and fully evolved.

That has to be weird, being a first stage parent with a final stage kid. Any reason for this in particular? Obviously, some parents would get devolved upon entering the Voidlands, but then what about the kids? Would they not devolve just as their parents had?

Oof, doing dishes in a restaurant. I had this as a summer job once and did not like it in the least, so I can’t say I envy Owen here.

Now contacting multiple Owens…I’m sure this won’t get confusing at all.

Do you know about what happened to Wishkeeper? Cipher Owen asked.

Yeah. There was a graveness to his voice. Gahi and the others don’t like it, either. I don’t think any reunions are going to be pretty.

Hmm…that could be worrying. Particularly with how powerful Wishkeeper Owen was in his heyday, he could prove to be a formidable opponent.

Sure. And good to hear from, um, me-you!

Yeah. Good to hear from you-me, too…

I repeat: this won’t be confusing or awkward at all.

Wouldn’t attempting to communicate with his other selves or Necrozma be a bit dangerous right now, as psychics could in theory intercept what he’s communicating to them? I know there mightn’t be any psychics in that kitchen, but better safe than sorry, surely?

A Blaziken and a Feraligatr…Part of me wonders if this duo’s meant to be a cameo to another fic.

Sad to see Owen disgusted with his own self.

Rayquaza trying to fit in anyone’s house would be awkward. Well, except for the Null Village main hall, that is.

Oh, along come Lucas, Lavender and Rim. How will they help the present situation? Are they gonna convince Elder to come out of his shell?

Rim was Celebi? Huh. One more bit of info found out.

Step appears! Aaaand she disappears just as quickly as she arrives.

“Well, essentially, yes. The destroyer. But it’s quite rare for a god to be called for destruction, so perhaps the temperament of someone who doesn’t wish to destroy would be the best person for that power.

Step certainly has been destructive throughout her appearances. That certainly is surprising that she would be Yveltal. Then again, even if she and Ra swapped roles, Ra is hardly what you'd call a peacemaker.

“Xerneas.”

“I’d rather not deal with him for longer than I must.”

Oh thank god I’m not the only one who thinks Xerneas is a piece of shit. Even if his temperament over his reluctance to grant powers makes sense, that doesn’t make him any less insufferable whenever he makes an appearance.

I’m almost surprised with how gentle Yveltal is compared to Step. I guess not all Legendaries are like their mortal halves.

‘The spirit is immortal’ lesson cropping up again. Why does my mind keep going back to that part in Trials and Tribulations

This whole reunion between Step and Yveltal is rather touching, especially with how Step lets her fears become known and Yveltal resolves that her daughters will not die. And the motes of light bring to mind the ending of Explorers. Man…the heartstrings are being tugged on.

(On another note, I kinda hope that the mortal halves can return to their old bodies in some form once this is all over. Totally not an excuse just to see Aggron!Step again. But I guess we’ll wait and see on that front.)

Chapter 137

“Of course. Whatever happens in there… I certainly won’t pry.” He chuckled. “Do at least have some decency. I know how primal you can get, and such a reunion would be very tempting.”

Wow, Qitlan went right for the jugular with that one. I get the feeling Mhynt wouldn’t acquiesce, though.

Mhynt’s pointed words at Owen seem like partial jealousy over his relationship with Zena. Funny, I thought our resident Milotic would have more of an issue with Owen’s previous love affairs. Clearly I forgot about Little Miss Edgelord here.

Awkwardly, Owen took a seat, and Mhynt grabbed a few boards before noticing that one seemed to be a word game, getting random letters to make words on a grid.

An in-universe variant of Scrabble? Time for Owen to make the word ‘oxyphenbutazone’, put it over a few triple word scores and get hundreds of points that way.

Did you know I used to be the Psychic Guardian?

How many hands has that orb passed through? That makes at least three different people that have had it over the course of this fic.

Psychic and Dragon elements were imbued with more inherent strength.

Perhaps that explains Aramé’s great strength as the Dragon Guardian.

I think I met her a little while ago, and sent her away so Alexander wouldn’t take her again. She took the form of a Salazzle wraith.

Holy shit, she was there the whole time. To think, all those chapters ago, all the way back since the first few chapters, Owen was conversing with his own daughter. That was Remi who he saved in Special Episode 1. And to think, through all we’ve been through in this adventure, wondering where Remi was, and it turned out she was in front of our faces the whole time.

Certainly a great Wham Line, this. But that said…maybe the bolded line here would be better off separated, so as to convey the shock reveal better.

And Enet also contains a fragment of Remi? Goddamn, this truly is a bombshell revelation.

Alexander has some kind of obsession over Remi. Almost as much as he does with you. I think it’s because Remi did something to him in the past that I don’t know about… She might have a way to counter him the same way you do. That I used to.

Sounds like the whiff of a Special Episode plot if I ever did hear one~

“At least you recognize that,” Mhynt said. “And now, you’re focused on trying to fix it. Even more focused than before, perhaps? To repent? To absolve yourself of your guilt?”

Recognising what one has done is at least the first step. Better than Owen constantly denying his wrongdoings.

Mhynt had to find a place to put a ‘Q’ and nothing else.

Tack it on before an i to create ‘qi’. Classic trick.

“Qi isn’t a word,” Owen said flatly.

“What? Yes it is.”

Oh my god I literally predicted that part LMAOOOO

Mhynt was leaning on Owen a little more than usual. She seemed comforted, in a small way.

Aww, kinda cute. Also nice to see that the old her hasn’t completely vanished.

Truly reflecting on the anomaly Owen is, with how his free-drifter status means everyone wants to avail of him. It’s always been thus, even in the early chapters.

The power to Reset is certainly a powerful one. Easy to abuse too, as we found out in the early chapters, with how Team Alloy were trapped in an endless now of resets by Rhys, Amia and Star.

Funny how with Owen’s pledge to take away the darkness in Mhynt so Alexander can’t control her shows his headstrong attitude along with his tactical ways.

At least, as the time comes to an end, things are beginning to look up for the two of them.

He made it all the way to the great hall at the entrance to the castle, where he finally spotted a guard walking in, looking like he’d just gotten out from a swim. A large, bulky-build Swampert, more gut than muscle.

“Him,” Owen said spontaneously, pointing at Swampert.

“Eh—uh?” Swampert asked, blinking.

“He’s my servant.”

And there I was thinking that he would end up choosing Mhynt as his servant, seeing as how Qitlan did allude to the fact that he could do this. Also kinda fun to see him toy with Qitlan, just as how the Inteleon seemed to toy with him over the game of poker they had a few chapters ago.

I see we’ll get to know more this as-of-yet unnamed Swampert. How will his addition to Owen’s support change things up?

Chapter 138

September 11, 2022? What a coincidence - that’s the same date I joined Writers United and began to become more active in the PMD community. I guess from here, maybe I’ll grapple onto details mentioned in passing on Discord and be like, “Oh, I remember this…”

“How’s that work, anyway?” Migami asked, Gahi’s distractibility getting the better of them. “Do you… get angry when he gets angry? Or something?”

That would certainly be awkward, if Owen’s two halves behaved the same way at the same time. Especially given how the Owen trapped in Cipher City has had to keep his emotions unreadable so as not to tip off Qitlan.

Intriguing how Jerry, in spite of seeming like ‘the one with normal powers’ back when he first joined the gang (that was nearly a hundred chapter ago, damn), actually turns out to have subtle blessings from both Dark Matter and Mew.

Jerry’s clearly not telling the full story about his parents. Hmm, what’s going on here?

I see the gang’s bashing the South again. Take a shot for every time that’s happened thus far.

A melting pot of blessings, Jerry is. Though I can see how a dynasty would want the power of many blessings for themselves, especially if they had a proud attitude like Jeremy did.

West Null Village must be desensitised to unusual happenings too, if four Legendaries can roam about the village without being remarked on by anyone. Or perhaps that’s more to do with how long they’ve been here.

And as expected, Owen’s not going to get off lightly from the Trio. Uxie, specifically, who keeps the forceful half of Mispy.

“But then you ascended, so that was off the table. But if you wanted to ever go back to that…” He looked down. “But, my daughter also wanted a family.

One too many ‘buts’ in this paragraph, methinks.

“We aren’t actually sure on that, either,” Azelf said. “Someone did him in and it wasn’ us.”

Gonna hedge a bet right now that it was Remi. That’s why Alexander has such a burning hatred for her.

I left behind a potted plant that held some of my spirit, and that’s what I grew out of. Most of me got carried to Cipher City. I’m also a tree.”

You’re a weird one alright, Mister Owen.

I do kinda have to laugh at Gahi and Azelf’s exchange; like they’re talking in a mirror to see each other. Almost like seeing two Gahis, and as one of the fan favourites of HoC’s cast, that’s hardly a bad thing.

The meeting went smoother than expected, although there is the outstanding matter of Jerry. Looks like that’s gonna have to be resolved.

And now for Null Owen to get caught up about Remi. Shocked reaction coming in three, two, one…

I feel like there’s still more to all of this than before. Something… happened to Remi. Call it a gut feeling, but it feels important.

Well duh, of course something happened to her. She hardly faded peacefully into the background. Though that does beg the question of just what did happen to her?

I think a lot of this halves stuff is going over her head, though…

Lucky her, not having to think too hard on that matter when she’s whole and thus doesn’t need to combine with another half.

Seems like Qitlan doesn’t take being outsmarted lightly. Then again, who doesn’t?

Chapter 139

There was a pause… and Qitlan was, however briefly, in a trance. His eyes relaxed, closing. His whole countenance had changed, like he had been taken to another world.

When tears fell from Qitlan’s cheeks, it left Owen in staggered awe.

This does make me wonder what Qitlan might’ve been once upon a time, back before he became Alexander’s lieutenant. Seemed like a fond time, if he’s shedding tears over remembering it all.

Whatever the case, it doesn’t appear as though Qitlan will be swayed by Owen. At least, not at this point in time. He does have a heart, though, and I suppose we’ll see how that unfurls in the upcoming chapters.

Kinda interesting how Zena and Owen assess Gahi’s feelings for Trina, how the controlling order-giving queen seems to have wormed her way into the heart of the impulsive one who doesn’t like taking orders.

Heh, more of Jerry wishing he was anywhere but with this lot.

And now a Zena and Gahi heart-to-heart. Is this gonna be about being mates with Owen?

“Like… so… you’n Owen… and me’n Owen… and Mhynt’n Owen… ‘n Azelf’n Owen…”

Everyone likes Owen; that’s the takeaway. Boy, he sure gets around, doesn’t he? Though obviously, as centuries flow by and new incarnations are ushered in, so are new feelings, and it seems there won’t be any Owen x Gahi here. They’re content as friends in their current incarnations.

I’m just Milotic Zena. I’m… pretty normal, actually, compared to all of this.

Quite a ways we’ve come in the story, for Zena of all people to be regarded as the normal one. After all that’s happened and been revealed thus far, she does indeed feel like the odd ‘mon out among our current cast of former Legendaries.

But Zena did look out for Owen - if I recall around Chapter 20 or so, she was the one who stuck up for Owen and whose anger at Star stopped the cycle of Resets that he and Team Alloy were stuck in. So there’s a lot to be thankful for her being around Owen all this time.

I think… I think I was obsessed. I don’t want that.”

Was she? Maybe it’s just me forgetting things over the course of the story, but I can’t say I ever recalled Zena being ‘obsessed’ with Owen. Maybe it’s just worries on her part?

Owen’s ability to forgive his biggest enemies is indeed an enviable one. His greatest strength, no doubt. Makes me wonder if he’ll extend that same treatment to Alexander? Or is our Hydreigon tyrant a lost cause?

“Palkia’s instructions were, uh, surprisingly easy to follow,” Jerry said.

“…Somehow, out of everything,” Zena said, “that surprises me the most.”

At least there’s that. In spite of his extreme, experimental ways, he doesn’t go into overly scientific drivel that would sooner harm the cause than help it.

I like Zena’s speech here, where she pleads for Owen to put the world ahead of her feelings. It shows character growth from a previously impulsive standpoint - one of ‘obsession’, as our resident Milotic so put it.

“But… you wouldn’t be against her and I being friends, right?”

“N-no, I wouldn’t,” Zena agreed, though she was tense again. Pushing past something.

Perhaps it’s a feeling of intruding upon a relationship that has the potential to be rekindled again, even in spite of what Owen said? I feel that can happen sometimes, where even when the other person assures it’s fine to do something, the reluctance remains.

“Really. I barely know him, and I can tell none of the gods could stand his attitude.”

Understandable. I can’t stand him either; good to know I’m not alone on that front. Annoying that we need him for the next stages of the plan.

“I don’t envy that one,” Demitri said with a little titter. “She was… scary. I can’t believe Anam’s related to her.

It seemed the apple fell far from the tree in this instance.

The god’s body brightened to a blinding white and shrank down, down, down. In a pulse of wind and light, his shape changed from four legs to two, revealing a painfully familiar, lithe frame.

Okay, so that does confirmed what I hoped for; that the Legendaries would be able to change back to their mortal flesh as well. And with it, a reunion of feels with Rhys(?) and Team Alloy.

Chapter 140

Not surprising that Owen would cry at the feeling of experiencing daylight again. I imagine the protags of Explorers would feel a similar emotion at experiencing the light again after being in the dark future. (Now I wonder if Warped Skies does anything similar with that…)

How sad, to see Hot Spot destroyed like this.

Demitri let out a shriek of terror. Everyone immediately entered a battle stance and rushed over to him, only to find that he was staring at a beheaded stone copy of himself, the head settled nearby and cracked in a few places. “W-w-w-wh… what… h-happened? That’s… me?! Is this a threat?!”

Hey, look at this way; now they have something to hang at the entrance to Hot Spot to scare off any potential intruders. I imagine a stone statue of Demitri, as intimidating as he may look, would be good for that very purpose.

“If you’re careful enough, you could chip away at the outer layer and study the—”

What, the innards? I…somehow doubt much would be gained from doing that.

Ah yes, all these old rooms, complete with the trinkets that accompanied them. Refreshing to see them once again after so long away from Hot Spot.

Though now we have to deal with the complication of a Rhys-like Dialga. Looks like Rhys in a lot of ways, but is far from him inside. Seen as with throwing out all the ‘junk’ he collected - things of sentimental value to the old him. And no wonder Gahi’s throwing a fit over it all.

But then Rhys picked up the letters. The letters Elder had sent to him for years and years.

“What?” Gahi said. “What’re you—”

He tossed them all into the bin.

Oh dear, that’s not gonna go down well with Gahi at all.

Owen wasn’t sure if it was that action alone, or if it was the final straw, but something switched in Gahi’s mind just then. Owen wondered if he would even need Perceive to have sensed it. Regardless, he wasn’t fast enough to react to Gahi, who grabbed him by the neck and slammed him into the wall.

As expected. Although I have a bit of an issue with the wording of this sentence - the lack of Lucario!Dialga being mentioned makes it almost sound like Gahi is slamming Owen into the wall, which judging by the next few lines is not what happens.

There was a strange, blue aura, but a different color than what Owen was used to. Lucario raised his paw…

Er. What exactly is that? Because the combination of Hot Spot, memories from very early chapters and Rhys doing that exact same thing on Owen before a Reset happened gives some cause for concern.

Not surprised that Demitri’s having his doubts over reuniting with Mesprit. Anyone would have that fear, of their personalities submitting to the Legendary’s divine half.

Your, er, old commander, Eon, had a similar power. I granted a weaker version of it to him, and a different sort of power to Nevren, long ago as a sort of… kinship.

Ah yes, reminders to old abilities. Now I recall that moment around Chapter 62 or so where Eon used that power to capture Owen and bring him to Quartz. And of course, Nevren’s Revisor.

Poor Gahi. Of the Team Alloy members, he was the closest to Rhys, so no wonder he’s taking this the hardest.

Those little imperfections in Rhys that had been so familiar to Mispy weren’t there anymore.

Why did she miss those? They’d always been so unsightly.

Sometimes the sheen of perfection can erase that which we love about those close to us. Proof that imperfections are best lived with, if not outright desired.

Oh right, yeah. Just as Demitri’s body was found turned to stone, so too is an aura replica of Rhys’s old form.

And at the same time, that autonomous aura copy of Rhys entered a mindless, practiced battle stance.

Not too unlike the other Lucario in terms of coldness and being like Rhys, if we’re to be honest here.

Owen had to kill what remained of Rhys.

A chilling final statement to end off the chapter. And now we have our mission for next time.

Chapter 141

Owen, I believe you are the most in need of this power, among Team Alloy’s quartet.

“It must be you.”

I don’t feel like these two lines need to be separate from one another. They could be on the same paragraph and no difference would be made.

And now we get ready to battle the remnants of Rhys. I know a fitting BGM for this occasion… (Fitting too, given how that game clearly took ideas from this fic. )

Dang, this feels sad. This should be difficult, yet it’s kinda a cakewalk with the power Owen keeps getting. It feels as cold and empty as the opponent being fought here.

At least Owen evolved again. A silver lining, if nothing else.

And now it transitions an Owen and Gahi fight, where our resident Flygon is still too blinded by anguish to realise the truth of the matter. Thus, we resolve things the old fashioned way through force, just how he tends to understand.

Suddenly, Rhys’ fraction of how long ‘Dialga’ had lived… was far more significant. Owen’s heart sank. Why, then? Why was Rhys so weakly present?

I mean, it’s been said a few times, hasn’t it? That Rhys’s half ‘died’, and thus Dialga is the dominant one between them? Even if the Dialga half hasn’t technically been around as long, it is what it is. Even if that is a sad truth…

The Flygon leaned in and pulled the hollow Lucario copy into an embrace. It accepted it passively, its whole form fizzling.

“Thanks,” Gahi whispered. “I’ll miss you.”

Got me right in the feels here…

At least Dialga’s understanding of the situation. Here’s hoping Gahi eventually comes to terms with it all.

“Serperior evolve fairly early, don’t they? Maybe it won’t be as hard for him.”

I mean, I wouldn’t call it fairly early, but…hey, better than most of its Unova peers.

And now back to the Voidlands, where it appears Cipher Owen is having to perform a balancing act with his demeanour around the ever-observant Qitlan. And so he prays to the one who kept him in an endless loop and possessed his body without his consent. Still, anything to free him from the confines of the castle…

“Twenty days, he says, hmm?” asked Qitlan, kneeling down next to Star while yet another Psychic—this time a Hatterene—stood next to him.

Oh shit, they heard him.

This is a certified Not Good moment. Now everything’s going to be ruined.

And it looks like it’s gonna be a long twenty days for Star…

Conclusion

I think I’ll leave it at that for now. A pretty emotional chapter to leave off on, all things considered.

So the sum up…Well, where do I begin? There’s rarely a feeling as though this fic slows down, especially at this point in the story. Like, goddamn. Even after the absolute bombshells that Special Episodes 9 and 10 were, the story does not let up, and continues to throw curveball after curveball. Stuff like Owen duplicating himself so he can stay with the party after being kidnapped, Remi being split into multiple parts, two of whom were in front of Owen the whole time, and the tearjerker that Owen and Gahi’s quarrel in Chapter 141 was. (Granted, that might’ve been helped by the feels-inducing vibes of Words That Never Reached You.)

Also, while Star’s not quite unseated in the Characters I’d Most Want To Give a Middle Finger To category, Xerneas very much takes a close second. Congratulations, Namo, you somehow made the life deer a hate sink when their portrayal is normally a caring, likeable one.

Regarding faults, I do alas have to call attention to the inconsistency of Kana/Ana’s name. I found the change rather jarring and hard to ignore (I think it was during Act 3 when the name suddenly changed) and I think one name should be stuck to for all their appearances.

But other than that, and some other smaller faults I found with certain lines, everything else is great. The prose and descriptions are pretty solid, the action’s great, the lines spoken are never too lengthy, and when there’s a comical moment, it usually hits pretty well. Like with Diyem’s bluntness, or most things related to Gahi.

I will say, now that I’m this far ahead in being caught up, it is more than interesting to look back and see just how much has happened. How we’ve gone from a simple little Charmander wanting to be a Heart to Owen existing in multiple different forms. (There’s two at least, and judging by something I heard along the pipeline, that number might well climb to five.) How we’ve gone from Orbs and Guardians being the ultra-powerful beings to our heroes combing shoulders with and indeed being literal Legendaries. It’s also kinda humorous to see someone say, “Oh, I’m on Chapter 9,” and then think, ‘You have no idea what’s in store, do you?’

Of course, I’m not quite caught up. Still got about 25 more chapters and two Special Episodes to go on that front. But I am getting there. I’m nearly there, and then finally I won’t have to be subject to the spoiler walls of Turkey and Xuey over on Diner that come with every new chapter. I’ll be caught up, and then I’ll be able to enjoy the final 30-40 chapters as they upload before HoC’s finale. It’ll be something to be there when this fic reaches its conclusion. (Of course, I do realise this won’t be for another while yet - there’s still quite a bit to go until HoC finishes, from what I’ve heard. But at least I’ll be there for the last part of it.)

Splendid work, Namo. You truly have written a masterpiece thus far, and I’ll look forward to catching up with this in the near future.

 

[Namohysip]

Thanks to everyone reviewing HoC so far! I've responded to you guys privately for everything, and maybe I'll give more of a response to it here later. Unfortunately, irl has been too hectic for me to reply formally here, but I'll try to get to it when I can!

<><><>

Chapter 169 – Spreading Darkness For Good​

Umbreon wobbled around the conference table like he’d never walked a day in his paws. And… he hadn’t. This was a human. No, two humans! Humans who had been transformed by some force into a Pokémon the moment they’d come into Kilo.

Star didn’t know how to feel about humans pouring into the world she’d made specifically to get away from them. But these… didn’t seem bad. Irritated or nervous, sure, but the Pokémon in Umbreon’s belt seemed curious and eager, not afraid or miserable.

With their arrival, the meeting’s whole atmosphere had shifted. Most left to handle other tasks, hoping to return for more strategy later, and all that remained were herself, a Hecto, Barky, whatever Nate was presenting himself as, and Diyem.

“Alright,” Umbreon said. “I think I understand.”

“You mean that these ‘Dungeons’ form when there’s some weakened part of the wall that separates realms?” Espeon asked. “That sounds like something out of a science fiction movie!”

“It’s less like a weak point and more an active gateway,” Barky explained. “There were reinforcements to prevent these from being created between our realm and a lower realm. However, with protections against them waning, the person trying to create them… made more.”

Star glanced at Diyem but he did not comment.

“To go further,” Barky went on, “we suspect that Necrozma is actively creating these Dungeons due to his natural ability to create Ultra Wormholes. Ultra Wormholes and Dungeons are fundamentally different but similar in how they interact with different parts of reality or, in the case of many Dungeons, how they interact with different realms.”

“And this world,” Umbreon said, “is related to ours because it… was split off from it long ago. I think I follow that.” He tripped and landed on his side, cursing as Espeon helped him up. “No idea how he handles four legs like this,” he muttered. He nuzzled Espeon but then paused as if the gesture confused him.

“This Umbreon stuff isn’t permanent, right?” he asked.

“Uhhh… I’ll… figure something out,” Star said awkwardly.

“Well, aside from that… There’s only one other thing I care about,” Umbreon said. “Can we fix this?”

“We have a theory on how, but we’re missing a cooperative Necrozma for doing it from our side,” Star said. “Not just any Necrozma, either, but one with some divine power imbued in it, too. So… not exactly something you can look around for that easily.”

“And the other half is…”

“We call it Shadows,” Star said, though she noticed Umbreon and Espeon had both gotten tense at the mention of it.

“Then that’s you,” whispered Espeon, looking directly at Diyem.

He furrowed his brow. “In part, yes. How did you know? …My flame is… from a special berry that colors flames.”

“Wow, all this time and that’s your best excuse?” Star chided the Charizard.

“I’m sure that exists,” Diyem defended.

“You, too,” Espeon said, looking at Nate.

Huh? Oh, I’m Shadowed, too. Long story.

“You don’t act like Shadow Pokémon, though,” Espeon said. “You aren’t closed off, or acting like a hostile fighting machine.”

“Well, one for two, but yeah,” Star said, gesturing to Diyem. “This guy’s about as edgy as they come even if he secretly cares about a few of us.”

“Do not turn me into a romance novel cliché.”

“Stop being one.”

“Let’s focus,” Barky growled. “You two.” He nodded at Umbreon and Espeon. “Did anyone else come with you?”

“My Pokémon,” Umbreon said, jerking his head toward his belt. “Otherwise, no. But we oughta get back if the time dilation thing you said is still there.”

“Yes. You may have already been gone for a few days, and we don’t want that happening.”

“Alright. But before that… Why are two of you Shadowed?”

“I am a source of that corruption in this world,” Diyem said. “We’re trying to get rid of other sources since I am the most ideal… host for it. As for him…” He glanced at Nate with a disapproving stare. “Corruption claimed him long ago. But because the Shadows of this world bring about negative emotions, and Nate’s nature inherently defies this, it did not affect him.”

I melted more.

“Aside from that, I suppose.” Diyem glowered.

“I’ve never seen Shadow Pokémon be this… in control of themselves without a proper trainer to care for them,” Espeon said. “Amazing…”

“It’s usually much less pleasant,” Diyem grunted. “We are exceptions.”

“If there’s anyone who could help you,” Diyem said, “it would be one of our own in your world. I doubt he is in your region, but knowing him, he may travel there to study Shadows. Send word for a Charizard named Owen.”

“I take it he talks like you all can?” Umbreon asked. “Am I gonna lose that when I transform back?”

“He is fluent in your language,” Diyem said. “We all are.”

“Neat.” Umbreon glanced at Espeon. “Alright. Let’s get going. I don’t want anyone worrying about us disappearing if the time dilation is… as bad as you said. Let’s walk and talk for the rest of what you need to say.”

“Right! Um, and thank you, everyone!” Espeon said.

“Take care,” Barky said, nodding formally.

As the duo made their way to the teleporter to Destiny Tower’s base, Barky turned to address them all.

“We cannot allow this to persist,” he said. “We need to redouble our efforts into stabilizing the realms before Kilo and the world it came from become indistinguishable.”

“Agreed,” Diyem said. “Regardless of the circumstances that gave rise to this world, it is in no position to ever return. These Dungeons are going to be a problem. It means… it’s spreading there. But why? Is it because Owen is there at all?”

As that question lingered in the air, Nate nervously curled inward, and a new question formed in Nate’s mind. Bubbled from echoes of doubt that he couldn’t fully comprehend.

Was this the right plan to follow? Did Owen know what he was doing? Or had this strayed from its intended course long ago?

For now, Nate held his words close. Things weren’t in a horrible crisis… yet… right?

Yes. It was fine. They were going to be just fine! He could still feel the beating pulse of the world fighting to survive. That much, despite everything, had not changed.

There was still hope Owen’s plan would work.

<><><>​

Me, a hero, eh? Yeah… nah. That ain’t…

But you are! You… have to be. He… he said you were.

I dunno, this is… doesn’ seem fair.

I brought you here for a reason… can you give it a shot? Just once?

Manny looked through his office. Marshadow’s office, now his.

He had the memories. He was the same person as before, and he was also the Lucario who’d holed himself in the Spire of Trials while waiting for things to get rolling again. As the years turned to decades turned to centuries, that purpose had faded into a stagnant complacency. Even he was not immune to the static inertia that settled into a Mystic mind as they awaited a change.

All this paperwork and tracking of resources, taxes to Cipher City, funding, and regulations, all because of his status. He had been in charge. The Pokémon looked up to him innately.

Didn’t seem fair. It never seemed fair. But that was the way the world worked.

He had to grow into the job. He knew for sure he wasn’t doing a good one at first. The leeway they allowed him, though… If he said the whole truth to them, would they see him the same way?

On his desk, too small for a Lucario but a little too large for a Marshadow, the latest report on the Titans was freshly set down. They had most of the Core Titans either defeated or located. It would be a matter of days with their newfound power and Radiance that they would liberate them all, and safely, without Dark Matter or Alexander encroaching on them when their resources were strained.

That crazy Charizard upset the balance and they were lucky—or, sure, skilled—enough to make that imbalance in their favor. Even befriended a piece of Dark Matter in the process.

Did a lot more than he did…

The report suddenly singed itself with ghostly fire in the corner. “Gah!” Manny hastily hopped onto the desk and stamped it out. He sighed again, easing his breath.

He should be happy. Everything was working out. Yet now that he had time to breathe, to remember, to consider everything he’d lost between his halves… those obligations were catching up to him. Old tasks were taken over by better people before he’d even realized it.

Maybe talking to Star about it would be a good idea. She was feeling better, right? How long… had it been at this point?

SLAM!

His office door burst from its hinges and went flying toward him. Manny held up a hand, blocking it and diverting it over his head and into the wall behind him.

Mewtwo Aster was panting heavily on the other side, eyes wide with fear.

“Those doors ain’t cheap,” Manny growled. “C’mon, what’s got—”

Aster babbled too quickly for him to understand, grabbing him by the shoulders and shaking him like a ragdoll.

“Whoa, whoa!” Manny said, waving his arms. He squeezed out of his grasp and slipped into Aster’s shadow.

Leph caught up and stood at the broken doorway.

Manny poked his head out like he was hiding in a swamp. “What’s goin’ on?”

The daughter of Arceus translated for Aster. “A refugee from Cipher City was rescued by one of our scouts an hour ago,” she said. “I healed her with some of my power. Enough that she could talk again. She’s a Dragapult who witnessed…” Leph trailed off. She steeled herself.

“Alexander is on the move. He’ll be here in a matter of days.”

“Days? That slow?” Manny said. “That ain’t alarmin’…”

“…And,” Leph said, “he has consumed all of Cipher City.”

<><><>​

Bright white sand kicked into the air amid a salty ocean’s spray.

Owen staggered backward and spread his wings like an air brake, claws digging into a wet oceanside. Everything was so humid here—his fire felt weaker, even if it was slight, and that subtle change in atmosphere messed with his tempo.

The Alola region was even smaller than Kilo. Owen wasn’t sure which island this was—all strange names to them—but when he’d arrived, he met with the lead professor of the region whom he mentally called Barechest. While they didn’t have any knowledge of Shadows, they knew of a similar power to Radiance, and they’d been referred to “Ultra Beast” specialists.

And the son of that specialist had a Pokémon that alarmed Owen with his raw power.

“Silvally! Multi-Attack, now!” Cresthair called.

Silvally crouched and allowed Owen no reprieve. Owen quickly brought up a Protect, parrying the strike and countering with a Flamethrower.

The flames didn’t do as much as Owen had hoped. “What—type is he?”

“He’s staggered! Go for another!” Cresthair shouted.

Silvally roared and pressed past Owen’s flames and slashed across his chest. Owen grunted and crouched, tapping his hand on the ground, his scales flashing green where his palm met the sand. Then, he beat his wings to blow Silvally away. He landed heavily, prone.

“Keep up the pressure!”

Silvally obeyed without hesitation, covering half their distance in one leap.

Just as Owen planned. The trap went off beneath Silvally, piercing him with Grass energy.

That worked very well.

Silvally roared in pain and stumbled ahead as that same energy twisted into temporary vines, ensnaring him. Owen opened his mouth, facing the sky, as he pulled in as much solar energy as he could at once. Silvally broke free from the vines with countless snaps and grunts but was too slow.

Sand kicked up with every leap Silvally made to get closer. Owen had his Solar Beam ready. But Silvally was going to feint the attack and Owen saw that coming. He was going to feint to the right…

“Now!” Cresthair commanded. Ambiguous, but it was an unspoken bond, a practiced strategy, that Silvally knew. Owen recognized this bond. Even if he was fighting trainerless, he had to outsmart them.

Silvally feinted and then jumped to the right. Owen acted like he was about to unleash his Solar Beam straight ahead, but then held up a wing to shield Silvally’s incoming attack.

It hit hard. But Owen could counter harder.

Owen turned his head while Silvally was still contending with his momentum and unleashed the Solar Beam point blank. The beam carved a rift through the ocean, spraying salty mist into the air and leaving behind a rainbow. Silvally staggered and collapsed on the ground, too weak to fight on.

Cresthair sighed and withdrew Silvally with a beam of light. He murmured something assuring to the ball, then approached Owen.

“You’re strong, even without a trainer,” he remarked. “How’d you see that feint coming? Silvally and I trained hard on that…”

“Lucky guess from how he glanced his true direction,” Owen half-lied. “I’ve got good eyes for that… Er, anyway… Why didn’t you use that special disk they made for him?”

“We’re still training it up,” Cresthair said, one eye hiding behind his bright hair. “It’s unstable. Silvally is still trying to harness it. But we’re getting better!” He glared challengingly at Owen. “You’ll see. Give it another week or so!”

Owen held up his hands and wings. “I believe you. “I’ve seen how well you can fight, and… Silvally’s unique ability to acquire ‘memories’ to channel different kinds of energy was just what we needed to help.”

Cresthair relaxed, nodding. “Okay,” he said. “Promise, we’ll get it done soon.”

“The only problem is…” Owen frowned. “Silvally can’t dual-type himself, can he?”

“Not really,” Cresthair said. “But it’s alright. You gave me the Shadow Memory, but my sister got into contact with someone in Galar who has a Silvally, too, who might be the perfect match for taking the Radiant Memory. We’ll have this covered for sure.”

“All the way in Galar?” Owen asked. “There aren’t any other Silvally? I mean, I know they aren’t in the wild or anything, but…”

“…Yeah, there’s another kid around here who befriended a Silvally,” Cresthair said reluctantly. “You made multiple copies, right?”

“Yeah. If you think that… friend of yours would be a match?”

“Yeah, yeah.” Cresthair seemed touchy about it so Owen didn’t press.

Cresthair’s gaze shifted behind Owen.

Far down the road, near town, Zena slithered down the path with Mu happily riding atop her horn to get a full view of the beachside. In Zena’s ribbons were several bags of groceries.

“Looks like your… wife? is back,” Cresthair said.

“We’re still cour—dating,” Owen explained. “The Charmander is, um… adopted.”

He wasn’t sure how much of a lie that was.

Still, it was enough for Cresthair, who waved him off and said, “Let’s train again tomorrow.”

“Definitely!” Owen brightened, and once he was far enough away, Owen kicked off the sand and flew to meet with Zena and Mu.

“Owen!” Zena called, rummaging through the bag before pulling out a large, sugary lump of fried bread. She tossed it in the air and Owen spat a small fireball at it in midair, flash-caramelizing it. He chomped down, enjoying the burnt, crunchy taste, and landed next to them.

Mu clapped happily and coughed a few embers into the air.

“Oh, good job, Mu,” Zena encouraged. “That was a bigger flame!”

“Yeah! Big fire!” Mu said. “Watch!”

She took a deep breath and leaned forward on Zena’s head, using one arm to hold her horn as support. Then, she breathed between Owen’s horns as a target, spewing a thin, concentrated jet of black-white fire. Even after she stopped firing, little motes of that energy drifted in the air for several seconds before evaporating.

“That was great, Mu,” Owen said. The rate at which she was gaining strength… It must have been all the human contact.

He and Zena exchanged a smile. “Well,” he said, “why don’t we head back to Tapu Koko’s place?”

Zena nodded. “Let’s… keep away from the electric fields tonight, though.”

Owen tittered. “Y-yeah… right.”

<><><>​

They weren’t sure where Tapu Koko had been that night—probably off somewhere with that trusted human, or taking care of business on another part of the island—but they were used to this during their stay in Alola. Instead, Owen inspected the temple for any signs of Shadow or Radiant damage, and determined that things were just fine.

All things considered, Tapu Koko handled training with these new elements well. And being the dedicated guardian of this island, perhaps it would be able to convey those teachings to the other Tapu of the islands. Dungeons had formed in Alola as well, though they were much smaller.

It hit Orre the hardest, and some people who had gone into the Dungeons were still missing. Owen feared the worst, but… If time dilation was at the pace Arceus said, it was obvious where they went. Hopefully, the others would get them back within a few weeks. He needed to have faith in them.

“Something on your mind, Owen?” Zena asked.

He had been staring at the cloudless sky. They’d camped out on the bridge across from the temple, enjoying the amazing weather Alola had, with only his and Mu’s flames lighting the night alongside the stars.

“Do you think they’re mad at us?” Owen said.

“Mad… for being here?”

“The past few weeks have been… mostly relaxing and waiting for others to do their research. I’ve just been… training, resting in new regions…”

“Owen, Arceus himself told you to take things easy. It isn’t the same as relaxing while they’re hard at work. The way time is moving here, it’s…”

“I know. But… at this point, it must have at least been half a day for them. That’s a half a day that I wasn’t helping.”

“And in that half day, you learned about the nature of Dungeons, have spread some power to others here to stabilize it better, and now you’re researching things about Necrozma with the help of all the resources you have here,” Zena said.

“I feel like they’re being too helpful. Like we’re asking too much of them,” Owen said.

“Because you saved the island already, Owen. You patched up every single Dungeon that appeared in Alola.”

“There were… three, at most,” Owen said. “They weren’t even that big.”

“They could have gotten worse. Owen…” Zena nudged him. “This is a world effort. Two worlds at this point. You’re helping. Don’t feel bad that you can finally relax while doing it, or you won’t be as effective when it counts.”

Mu crawled to Owen and tilted her head, squeezing her hands over his cheeks.

“Mu?” he asked.

“Sad?” she asked back.

“Oh… no, Mu, I’m fine,” Owen said. “You should sleep.”

“Daddy’s fine, Mu,” Zena assured her. “He just has a lot to think about for work.”

Work. It didn’t feel like work. It felt like… duty. Was he shirking it by relaxing?

“I think it’s because I’m restless,” Owen said. “We need to train harder.”

Zena sighed, though she wore a smile. “Alright, Owen. Why don’t we try… honing your parrying techniques tomorrow? You can try to toss back my Hydro Pumps.”

“I’d like that…”

Zena nuzzled him again and curled up next to him. Owen rested against her. Mu stared at them for a while longer and curled up, too, resting against Owen’s flame.

The night crawled by quietly…

<><><>​

Owen had a dream about studying for the Hearts exams and failing on the test. Then he had to recite a speech in front of the class that he completely forgot all the details of.

Which was weird because Owen never went to school. He only read about it in comics.

He awoke when it was certainly past midnight but the sky was only a very dark blue. Too early to wake up. Zena was snoozing next to him, sound asleep. And Mu was—gone.

Owen held his gasp to not startle Zena and instead focused on his Perceive. He expanded his range, further, further… there! She was fine. Wandered off again. They told her not to do that, but…

He watched her for now. She was about two hundred feet into the forest, and there weren’t any dangerous Pokémon nearby. She was looking at a little bird Pokémon that seemed quite young. A feral that fell out of a nest, perhaps? No… those were severe injuries. Maybe she was trying to help the poor thing.

Owen slowly sat up and crept away from Zena, but realized that his lack of warmth might wake her. He held a hand over the ground and conjured a small mote of fire. That would do for now.

He turned his attention back to Mu, dimming and cooling his flame as he pushed through the bushes and trees. Mu was reaching toward the bird, who recoiled in fear but seemed too weak to do anything else. Mu stroked the bird’s head and the bird relaxed, but when Mu pulled away, the bird seemed uncomfortable again.

A hundred feet away now. He considered calling out but he was still too far. He’d draw the attention of other sleeping Pokémon and make the whole night noisy.

Mu reached for the bird again and—Owen gasped—snapped its neck. The bird twitched and went still. The little Charmander continued to stare at it for a while longer and then smiled like she was satisfied with herself.

Fifty feet.

Owen noticed that there were a few other tiny carcasses like that in the area. His heart sank and his gut twisted with anxious confusion. Mu? Why was she doing this?

“Mu,” Owen finally called and Mu perked up.

“Daddy!” Mu happily walked to him.

“Mu, what are you doing?” Owen said. “You… why are you…”

“I was helping the birds,” Mu explained.

Owen held a cold silence in his chest, panicked at how he could possibly approach this. He eventually found the words, staggeringly. “Mu… you… killed them,” Owen whispered. “That isn’t helping them.”

Mu tilted her head. “Kill?”

“Y… yes! Kill! That’s not… You don’t do that for no reason.”

“I had a reason… Was helping.” Mu gestured at the carcass. “Was… her suffering. It was bad. And now it’s not bad.”

Her innocent eyes glimmered in the starlight. She stared at Owen, curious, inquisitive, like she got a math problem wrong.

Owen had a feeling he knew what happened. Mu… was Diyem’s daughter. And with it came some of his powers…

At least it didn’t seem to be the suffering of the whole world.

“Mu… That isn’t how you stop suffering,” Owen explained gently. “You don’t kill them because then… they can’t live anymore. Most people, once they’re dead, they can’t come back to life. Especially normal Pokémon like them.”

“Huh? But… but they were hurting.”

“They were, but Pokémon heal,” Owen said. “And if they don’t heal… they do die sometimes. But a lot of the time, they can heal. And when they heal, they can feel happy some other day, even if they’re suffering today.”

“And… can’t, if they die?” Mu asked.

“It’s not the same,” Owen said. “They can only live this one time. I don’t… know how it works in this world, but back home, that’s how it was.”

“But… your friends,” Mu said.

“O-oh. You remember them.”

“They are dead, but… didn’t die.”

Having a child grow up in Owen’s environment wasn’t healthy. But Owen had no idea how to remedy that, especially for someone like Mu…

“Yes,” Owen said, “my friends are… different.”

“When normal people are killed… they die?”

Owen gently pulled Mu close. She reflexively grasped at his fingers and curled around his wrist.

Owen cradled her and glanced at the bird, frowning. “You can’t kill people who are hurting. It causes more suffering.”

Mu flinched. “More?! But… but I don’t feel any!” Her eyes welled up with tears. “How more?! How?”

Owen quickly rocked Mu in his arms, folding his wings over his chest to protect her from the outside world. “It’s okay,” he said. “You didn’t know. I can explain. But it’s not your fault, Mu. You didn’t know any better, okay?”

“Didn’t want to hurt…” Mu sniffled. “Didn’t feel them hurting… thought it was okay…”

“When people die, they… leave behind family. And that family is sad because they can’t see them again. So, when someone dies early… that family hurts early, too.”

“Oh…”

Owen approached the body, already dead and cooling. Now that Owen had time to concentrate on the details, this little Pikipek had been wounded already. Perhaps it had narrowly escaped a predator but not enough to keep going for much longer.

“This one was already badly hurt when you found it,” Owen said gently. “It’s hard to judge if you want to put something doomed out of its misery. That’s why you should ask an adult first, okay?”

“Ask adult… okay…” Mu sniffled. “Not fair… how come hurting?”

Owen rubbed the top of her head. “The world… has bad luck sometimes, for some people. And sometimes lives are cut short. If you’re lucky to live for a long time, or you’re lucky to be strong enough that it’s harder to be hurt… you use that power to help others hurt less. You were trying that, Mu. It’s okay.”

“But I made more hurt…”

“But now you know how to do better,” Owen said. “It’s okay.”

“Not okay… not okay!” Mu said, and suddenly she disappeared from Owen’s grasp.

“Mu!” Owen called. She reappeared next to the corpse and looked wildly around her toward where the other bodies had been. She sniffled and pressed her hands into the feathers of the little bird. Her claws, to Owen’s Perceive, dissolved into the bones.

“Mu, wait!” Owen said. “What are you—”

“I don’t want to hurt!” Mu said. “I… I don’t want…!”

Owen grabbed her. At the same time, a pulse of black energy knocked his hand away, the recoil jostling his shoulder. He shouted in surprise and tried to grab at her again, but at that point, Mu had already sniffled and pressed her head against the body’s still-warm feathers.

“Mu…”

She just didn’t understand it. Maybe he’d said too much… He should have come up with a nicer story. But if he lied, how was she going to learn about… how to interpret the world healthily? Especially if she could sense pain like Diyem could. This… was just going to be a painful lesson, but Mu would get better. She had support.

Owen looked at the sky, sighing. The stars were so pretty tonight. No clouds. They glimmered a little, warping around as the light bent around the leaves…

That wasn’t right.

“What?” Owen mumbled.

The air… was changing. He could feel a Dungeon forming around him. Suddenly and without warning. But—no, this one didn’t have the stagnant, dusty air of the Voidlands, and it didn’t smell like Kilo, either. This was… a Dungeon that was localized to Alola.

“Hello?”

A feral chirp was distorted by Shadows. The carcass was moving again.

All of them were. Owen could feel each one rising from their dead positions, looking confused or sleepy. Each one didn’t have organs. Each one was just… a blob in the shape of what they used to be.

Oh, gods. What did Mu… what was she capable of?

“Huh?” Mu sniffled. “You’re… okay?”

The Pikipek-shaped Void Shadow tilted its head, chirped a distorted warble, and then flew onto Owen’s left horn like a perch.

“I’m better. Thank you.”

The language was simplistic. Owen associated it with ‘low-level’ feral talking, for Pokémon that didn’t have the capacity for higher intelligence. But that basic feeling of gratitude was conveyed.

The Dungeon was fading. It had no Core. “Mu,” Owen said hastily, “why don’t we go back to bed now? We can talk about this later…”

“Okay…” Mu reluctantly reached up for Owen to grab her. He folded his wings over her body so she didn’t have to see these Void Shadows evaporate when the Dungeon dissipated. She didn’t need to know.

The sky returned to normal. That feeble, temporary Dungeon space that Mu had created evaporated just as quickly. And now, the Void Shadows would disappear with them, able to pass on…

Any second now…

Right about… now.

…They weren’t fading.

Pikipek nibbled on a stray scale on Owen’s forehead.

The Void Shadows were stable.

This… is going to be awkward to explain to Tapu Koko…

<><><>​

Owen had a fitful sleep for the rest of the night. About fifteen Void Shadows in the shape of various feral Pokémon had gathered around Mu and the others overnight. They were… docile. But they also seemed to think Mu was now their protector.

Under Owen’s wings, Mu was curled up and comfortable with all of those tiny Pokémon-shaped blobs of darkness, each one normal to the naked eye, but his Perceive made the experience maddening. He eventually removed his horns to sleep.

This led to a staggered and groggy explanation to Zena in the morning, the Milotic’s eyes getting wider with every new piece of information.

“Then, Mu… inherited Diyem’s Dungeon powers? And now they’re manifesting, just like that?”

“I think so,” Owen said. “But… as for these Pokémon…”

Mu was playing with all fifteen, and they were laughing, chirping, hissing at each other like it wasn’t a problem. Like they hadn’t been killed and then revived as demon spawn. They were… normal. Normal in every way except physical.

“Hey!”

It was hard to see in the morning sun, but Owen recognized the incoming body of Barechest, Alola’s professor.

“Hope I didn’t wake you,” Barechest said. “Last evening, I got some awesome news.” He waved some papers by his head. “The results of your energy signature readouts are finally in!”

“Oh!” Owen perked up. “What did you find out?”

“I’ll admit, I only read the abstract and didn’t have time to get into all the data of it,” Barechest said, “but it sounds pretty definitive, yeah?” He handed over a copy to Owen. “I think the part you care about—”

CRACK!

Whatever Barechest wanted to say was interrupted in seconds by the crackle of lightning coming from Tapu Koko’s temple across the bridge. Arcs of black and gold electricity traced along the temple walls…

“That… sounded angry,” Owen said. “H-how good is Tapu Koko’s vision?”

“Well…” Barechest scratched the back of his head. “He flies around the region in a matter of minutes from high in the sky, so… vision strength somewhere between a Noctowl’s and a spacefaring satellite’s.”

He’d seen everything.

“Oh no.”

 

[Gyeig]

Review of Chapters 21 and 22.

Spoiler

Yup. We’re doing this again.

Continuing off on our journey of plot twists and reveals… so Owen’s a Charizard now. All of 22 chapters into the fic, some… 110-120k words or so. Gotta be some kind of record. Anyway, there’s a hell of a lot of reveals in these two chapters - they’re even more dense in that regard to the three I read before, which is saying something.

So, just going off the stuff I can remember - one of the main things that stuck out is that no authority figure in this fic is really trustworthy, in any sense. The higher up you go on the power ladder, the more pronounced that becomes: Both of the major gods are just openly demanding that Owen and the other guardians promise to not go against them in any way - Arceus (Barky lol) makes that even more explicit by tying some divine fuckery into the mix that makes it literally impossible to change your mind or object in any meaningful sense. This will definitely go well and totally won’t backfire, or anything. What could possibly give anyone that idea?

And yeah, the result of that is a pretty unique atmosphere all throughout these chapters, where you really don’t know who to trust or who to go along with - in that sense, I can put myself in Owen’s shoes (feet?) pretty well, because he really only has gut instincts to go off. Which one of these bad options sounds the best is pretty much in the eye of the beholder, and I feel like every reader would have a different answer to that question. I can see why there’s so much watercooler-esque talk about this fic on United and elsewhere. Good job.

As for the other stuff… well. Someone points out that Gahi and Manny have a similar accent, or just sound kind of similar - maybe they were twins separated at birth, or something of the sort - given the species difference, probably not literal birth, but I think I’m close to the mark.

Putting the reveals and atmosphere aside though, there’s some not-so-good things at play here as well, and I don’t want to leave those unaddressed.

Chapter 21… yeah. Starts off on a rough note where Mispy and Gahi are walking through the caves Owen’s spent the last however many years living in. They’re kind of riffing on about all the secrets and things they do not know, the brain fog they’re going through, et cetera et cetera - it’s probably the way it’s been written, but it doesn’t feel natural. It feels like they’re directly addressing the audience so they understand that ‘oh yeah, they’re artificial too, like Owen! So they have similar things going on!’ - aside from being very on the nose, the scene lacks a flow. It feels very stitched together, like they’re just hitting all the talking points the scene requires of them.

In general, the emotional moments in these chapters don’t hit particularly hard. Major culprit here is Owen and Zena trying to assure the other that they’ve got their back. It feels weak. They’re saying they trust each other, but I just don’t buy it - either the prose or the dialogue isn’t strong enough to convey this right.

Finally, there’s a thing I’ve noticed in your prose here - anytime Owen has one of these introspective moments where he’s trying to remember himself, or sorting through his emotional state, it’s often conveyed with a bunch of short, often repetitive sentences. Nitpicky, I know, but it came up often enough for me to remember.

But alright, that’s quite enough for this review. I don’t know if you’d come back to chapters this far in for touchups (I sure as hell don’t blame you if you want to leave ‘em as is), but maybe it’s something worth doing so the good shines all the brighter. Thanks again for the chapters-

 

[Gyeig]

Review of Chapters 23 through 25​

Spoiler

Alright, three chapters this time. Probably going to return one more time this Blitz for the Special Episode, then stop the reviews for the foreseeable future… unless you happen to be in the Diner review event as well. We’ll see.

Real quick disclaimer: I’m about at the point where many of the general gripes like prose, story telling, etc etc have been covered in some form. Since I don’t want to repeat myself in every review, I’ll try to keep these reviews to just the content that’s in the chapters, unless something about said general elements changes / sticks out in a major way that can’t just be ignored. Anyway,

So what’s interesting about these three chapters is that they very much feel like a respite from all the reveals and plot twists, continued introduction of new characters aside. Chapter 23 is primarily Owen getting lost in Kilo village, and isn’t that nice - he meets another Charmander to be buddies with. And that Spice character from the Special Episode makes a proper debut in this one. Chapter 24 continues with things switching to Owen’s training - or what Manny calls training, anyway. Another new character is introduced to give all the details about how Mystics like Owen grow, which is fine. Drags on a little, but it’s fine. And then finally, chapter 25 moves back to the actual plot.

Some might have a problem with all the reveals being put on hold, but I’m glad that there’s time to catch my breath here. Just sit back, read through what’s happening, no real fear or worries about the characters (the prose and dialogue alone communicate the lack of danger in these pretty well, the fight with Enet in chapter 25 aside). In that sense, you can say this Arc (everything after last SE to the new one) is winding down. Quick breather, get used to things, then we’re moving on to the next round of reveals and other craziness. Structurally, it works well.

And that’s about what I’d say for these chapters as a whole. Works well, but doesn’t particularly excel. As usual, I do have some gripes to go over storytelling wise, so let’s get to that.

First off, chapter 23’s opening - Owen has his long awaited reckoning with Klent about what happened. There’s good stuff bubbling under the surface - you see a looot of different characters being downright afraid about the old Owen potentially returning, and whether this current childlike buffoon is actually the real Owen, or whether the bloodthirsty killer Owen actually is.

Now that’s fine and all, but here’s the snag - we weren’t around for most of that backstory. On top of that, we don’t exactly know much about these characters to begin with. As such, Klent making up with Owen feels… off. Very forgiving for the Pokemon responsible for their death, which is something that I expected would have been expanded upon in the next few chapters, but it wasn’t, really. If anything, the way Klent and others talk about Owen later on in the chapter, it feels like that earlier making up was either forced, or not genuine. Something doesn’t sit right, and I think it’s the reasoning behind Klent’s decision there not being expressed well enough.

Now, for a bigger one, although it’s more retrospective on something in an earlier chapter than anything in these three - let’s talk about Spice. The Salazzle we first saw in Special Episode 1, and now is back. Based on said episode, and the conversation she has with Owen, they clearly have a history. Thing is… this is pretty damn late after the Special Episode, to the point where a lot of my memory on what happened in there is pretty fuzzy. I’d argue that purely from a plot point of view, Special Episode 1 might’ve been better served coming just before this, if only so the reader would have a more active memory of who Spice is.

Now, I get that this is a dense fic, and I also get that the Special Episodes are something you’re probably expected to return to just to get a greater context on the plot - rereading them will most likely lead to pleasant surprises here and there - at the same time though, HoC really hasn’t been a fic where I felt the need to reread previous chapters just to get a better understanding of what’s going on. Right now, my main takeaway is ‘oh yeah, that happened between these two’. More jogging the memory than any sort of new insight. Maybe I’m nitpicking here, but that’s how I see it.

Alright, I think this has gone on for plenty long enough. Again, these were decent chapters, just nothing particularly special in my eyes. Thanks again for the chapters, and best of luck with the rest of the fic-

 

[Chibi Pika]

SE 8+9

I read these chapters in 2022 sob cry

So, despite the whole point being that Diyem and Necrozma are going to corroborate each other's stories, I really don't believe either would want to deceive him at this point.

Oh wow, I had completely forgotten that Aster and Leph formed naturally as the actual gods of Kilo, since its creators were from the mainline world instead. I guess that explains where they came from! Makes sense that they would've fallen into the Voidlands too. Although there's obviously a bit more to the story since Aster became a Mewtwo at some point, and seems to have the mind of a child even a thousand years later.

Speaking of things I'd forgotten, Necrozma had a mortal form too... and it's SHIFTRY. Wow, that came outta left field.

Man, I feel bad for Owen. He seems so tired but everyone else is obsessed with prolonging his life indefinitely and never letting him rest. :(

Honestly, I'm still on team Necrozma even after seeing all of this. Kilo wasn't able to last forever, but no world lasts forever. Nothing lasts forever. They might as well get mad at the concept of entropy. That said, the way they went about ending it wasn't great. Just ending the world all at once would have been better than dragging things out tbh. But that was also Necrozma's original idea and everyone got big mad about it. :V There's even a provably real afterlife, c'monnnnnn.

Man, it's really painful to watch Owen stop trusting everyone around him, just because they're legends. Yes, they're undeniably changed, but they're still the same person. Even mortals don't stay the same as they age. He's just driving a wedge between himself and everyone who cares about him.

Anyway, Owen's paranoia towards everyone grows, especially his former mentor, whom he suspects of convincing everyone to turn against him, including his wife, so he turns to the dark side and--hang on...

It was kind of inevitable that this would happen when needing some way of neutralizing someone too powerful to stop and whom you don't want to kill. It was a catch-22 for everyone involved tbh.

Anyway, we skip ahead to after Owen was reset and the legendary era got erased from history. No one knows what happened, including Mew and Arceus, who also died in the process. I think Arceus wanted the past to stay erased, and since Star is the contrary one, she was immediately like "we gotta find what was hidden from us. " Thus, she made the Hunters, but then regretted it after seeing all the strife that came about from that, and ironically ended up taking a position very similar to Arceus by instructing the guardians to stay hidden. Did I get it all?

Yet again, I've gotta say that it's pretty astounding that almost everyone's agenda in Act I was nowhere near as important as everything that came before. We knew all along that Mew and Arceus didn't want the other to get too many Orbs (although Arceus wasn't exactly trying to get them himself) but the why felt extremely vague. I think, if it had been established earlier that it wasn't just that they both wanted to prevent the other from getting all the orbs for... ~some reason~. That something terrible happened in the past, and that getting all the Hands would grant enough godhood to undo the seal that was hiding the truth from everyone. I think that would've made the hunt for the orbs in the early chapters feel less arbitrary and get rid of the "everyone wants to save the world but no one even knows what's wrong with it" vibe. Obviously we (the reader) did learn about the Divine Decrees fairly early iirc, but that also felt sort of arbitrary at the time. Just a bit more clarification that "this world has a terrible history that was hidden from everyone, even the gods need more power in order to recover it" was the reason behind the decrees might've added some additional intrigue while preserving the mystery, I think. Heck that would also make Nevren's actions in Act 1 less bewildering.

Things we still don't know: I'm a bit murky on the whole two dark wars thing, though I know there are some special episodes that will clear that up. I guess the second one probably happened after Owen was reset and was less Owen rebelling against Necrozma and more Alexander trying to seize godhood now that Owen was gone. Interesting that that means that the second one must have been so much of a shitshow that it got the entire history of the world erased.

Oh, and what the heck Diyem was doing in the Ghost Orb, still no clue there. Might've had something to do with ~something~ Giratina did during the second dark war, I guess? There's a bit of a throughline there since Madeline was a Necrozma follower and one of the few people who still remembered him after the legendary era got erased.

Anyway--on to Act IV, finally!

This interlude is a lot less mysterious than they usually are since we just got a whole lot of answers given to us. The most noteworthy thing is getting to see Owen's parents again! And aaaaa, go ahead and break my heart why don't you.

I'm going to post this review now just to be on the safe side, and we'll see if I have time to cobble together my notes to leave a second review before blitz end. :V

 

[Namohysip]

Very forgiving for the Pokemon responsible for their death, which is something that I expected would have been expanded upon in the next few chapters, but it wasn’t, really.

This was actually somewhat intentional. It's awkward back in those days, but there's an allusion to it early on when Owen first gets the Grass Orb, Klent has a conversation with Star where he states "this is the last time I'll be able to say this -- I'll never forgive him." Suggesting that something will change once Owen acquires the Orb.

Still, it's murky. Something is amiss. But perhaps I could outline that a little more.

Special Episodes are something you’re probably expected to return to just to get a greater context on the plot - rereading them will most likely lead to pleasant surprises here and there - at the same time though, HoC really hasn’t been a fic where I felt the need to reread previous chapters just to get a better understanding of what’s going on. Right now, my main takeaway is ‘oh yeah, that happened between these two’. More jogging the memory than any sort of new insight. Maybe I’m nitpicking here, but that’s how I see it.

Special Episodes are usually meant to be timely releases. The first one is one of the few exceptions, but it sort of helps instead to build up some mystery bullet points for later in the Act.

Anyway, sorry for the mixed bag of chapters, Gyeig. Hopefully it'll pay off later if you get to it.

Anyway, Owen's paranoia towards everyone grows, especially his former mentor, whom he suspects of convincing everyone to turn against him, including his wife, so he turns to the dark side and--hang on...

Yeaaaah Owen definitely has a bit of a downfall arc here. And you're right in that Necrozma was largely in the right when you think about it from the Overseers' perspective. As I'm sure you've read, Owen even acknowledges the fact that he did make a lot of mistakes and things would have been better if he'd just let it die. Problem is, it is his home, and it's hard to fault someone for wanting to defend their home, no matter how "doomed" someone deems it.

I think that would've made the hunt for the orbs in the early chapters feel less arbitrary and get rid of the "everyone wants to save the world but no one even knows what's wrong with it" vibe.

This is a good point. Due to the divine seal, though, much was not even known to them except for subconscious drivers, and part of that was for pacing purposes. I didn't want to reveal any huge conspiracies that wouldn't actually be resolved until waaay later, since I didn't want any "eternal mystery" syndrome to frustrate readers. I think I could have led some breadcrumbs, though... Good point.

Thanks for the reviews, folks! Soon, I'll be posting the next chapter...

 

[Namohysip]

Chapter 170 – Accidental Connection​

In less than a second, a bolt of black lightning zig-zagged across the sky and splashed onto the soil on Owen’s side of the bridge. Motes of white light drifted around where Tapu Koko landed, his intense eyes focused entirely on Owen. Electricity—its natural color as well as its unnatural, Shadow-and-Radiant-tinged variety—arced across the halves of his shield.

“Tapu Koko!” Owen greeted. “Hi! How are—”

He held a shield half up toward Owen. “Quiet.”

Owen shut his mouth and stood stiff. Zena glanced between them and said nothing. Barechest offered a respectful nod.

But Mu was still playing with the Void Shadows. Tapu Koko’s attention was slowly drawn to the Charmander necromancer.

Zena looked ready to leap in to defend Mu. Owen wasn’t familiar with Tapu Koko’s body language, but if he could extrapolate from bodies he knew, he didn’t seem hostile. And Owen wasn’t sure if fighting him was a good idea. Battling his brother was one thing, but a guardian of the island? Right near his home, on his turf?

Tapu Koko inspected Mu in silence. She finally noticed him and tilted her head up, up, up until she fell onto her back.

“Hi!” she greeted.

Tapu Koko once again sank a little lower and Mu showed no fear in response. Then, he faced Barechest expectantly.

“Everything okay?” Barechest asked. “Seems there’s… a lot of strangeness happening here, yeah?”

“You could say that,” Owen said, looking between Barechest and Tapu Koko. Maybe he should explain now that he was listening.

“Okay,” he said. “Here’s what’s going on. . .”

They took a seat and talked. Barechest’s expression went from puzzled to concerned to trailing over to those tainted wild Pokémon that Mu was playing with. Tapu Koko’s expression was entirely inscrutable. Even to Owen’s Perceive, the guardian of the island gave nothing away.

By the time Owen was finished with the explanation, Barechest was approaching one of them, kneeling.

“Wait,” Owen said, “I don’t think you should—”

“It’s alright,” Barechest assured him. “I’m a professional with this, yeah? Regional variants… This might be the same thing.”

“Regional… variants?”

“In some parts of the world, Sandshrew are well-adapted to sandy environments. Here in Alola? They’re happy in the high snowcaps. Maybe these ‘Void’-adapted Pokémon are the same.”

“But… that’s very different,” Owen said. “You—”

“It is,” Barechest said, holding out a finger horizontally. The little Fletchling hopped onto it and chirped happily. “When you first encountered this power, it must have been scary. But here, from your daughter? Looks like they behave like normal Pokémon to me.”

Tapu Koko observed the same way, hovering behind Barechest. There was a curious trust between the two of them that Owen sensed. The lead professor of this region must have built up a great deal of credibility for the local god to trust him in this way. Owen wondered what his story was.

“I’m… I’m very sorry for this,” Owen finally concluded to Tapu Koko directly. “If there’s a way to reverse it, I’ll find a way. But…”

But they were still trying to save their world. And they were already making things worse here…

Tapu Koko moved with purpose toward the Void Shadows taking the forms of their old lives. He descended and placed his shield over them, bringing them all close. They chittered in greeting, a few trying to climb his arms and onto the top of his shield instead. Tapu Koko allowed it.

He also seemed to glance at Owen. His gaze focused on something on Owen’s chest. Owen wasn’t sure what that meant. Following his gaze more closely, it was the necklace he’d fashioned out of Amber’s claw bone…

“They are,” Tapu Koko finally said, “of the island. I will guard them the same way. They are friendly. I will learn about them.”

“You will?” Owen asked.

Barechest smiled and stood up. “I don’t need to understand you to know how you feel,” he said. “Sounds like Tapu Koko knows what to do here, yeah? Those ‘Void’ variants will be just fine under its care. Let’s trust the island’s guardian to handle this.”

Owen nodded. “Y-yeah, okay,” he said. “Um… thank you. I hope you can forgive us…”

“Go away.”

“Y-yeah, we deserved that.” Owen bowed stiffly.

“Hey, before you go,” Barechest said, “mind if we chat a little more? We still have those findings to read…”

“Oh! Right.” He glanced at Zena, who was gathering Mu and saying a few farewells to the little Voids and Tapu Koko. He seemed to recognize Zena as the more responsible one, since he was more cordial to her as they left.

They walked and talked and Owen read through the document with Zena. A few times, Owen got distracted trying to stop Mu from hopping from Zena’s head to his, but they eventually got through the paper’s introduction and summary.

A few of the lines weren’t surprising. Some of it noted their strange energy signatures, unlike anything they’d seen before. Other parts talked about how Zena’s signature was very hard to isolate, which also made sense due to the extra spirits she had, even if they were dormant in this world. But most importantly…

. . . There was one prominent abnormality we noticed in the energy signatures from Milotic. While said signatures were powerful and defined, the ‘extra spirits,’ as she called them, felt distant, not weak. What we at first thought were dormant energies were actually from very far away, like they were being filtered through a great barrier. You could equate it to trying to listen to someone through a foot of solid concrete.

Owen frowned, thoughtful. “The Water Spirits are dormant because they’re far away?” he said. “But that means…”

“Oh, I think I understand,” Zena said. “Our Orbs are basically like Dungeons, but internally. What if being here in this world… means we are only gateways to the Orb Dungeons we have? Their spirits still give off energy, but if they’re elsewhere…”

“Oh…”

That… might add up. The Water Spirits were still in Kilo, even if the Orb hosts’ bodies had been transported to this world. And their bodies had their spirits… but if the Water Orb was just a gateway to somewhere in Kilo’s realms…

“I… I think I get it?” Owen said uncertainly.

He kept reading…

My theory is this energy signature is not within Milotic at all, but is instead being channeled through her. We have seen similar readouts before when studying Ultra Wormholes and determining how far certain energy signatures are from our current location.

Regarding Charizard’s energy signature, it did not have the same distant spirits so it was easier to analyze. However, we still identified an abnormality. Pokémon that are whole—that is, their full energy signature is within one body—give off a consistent, uninterrupted wave pattern when analyzed through our machines.

Charizard’s signature is missing a minute fragment. Perhaps only a percent of a percent. Not enough to be noticed except by our eyes on a graph of the wave. You’d normally see this kind of signature from a Pokémon using an advanced Substitute, such as a top league fighter. But from the moves Charizard listed to us, he does not use Substitute and does not recall any other parts of himself that are missing.

In summary, Charizard is missing a minute fraction of his energy signature.

Owen uneasily glanced at Zena. “I thought I was… whole,” he said. “I’d split myself into three and that was my limit. But why do I still have a tiny part of me missing? My spirit?”

“Where could it even be?” Zena asked. “You were removed from the Reincarnation Machine, right?”

Owen nodded. “That was a long time ago. Rhys busted it so Eon couldn’t just kill me to get me back.”

“…He wouldn’t dare do that,” Zena murmured.

“It’d be practical. And I died all the time. I wouldn’t have been offended, in hindsight…”

Zena looked horrified. Barechest scratched his head, looking concerned but unsure if he should step in.

Owen tittered. “Er… let’s just keep reading.”

On a whim, one of our other scientists suggested offsetting background noise in Charizard’s energy signature with the same offset that Milotic’s distant signatures came from… and we found a match.

The piece of Charizard is in the same general world as Milotic’s background energies.

“Same general realm,” Zena said. “Then… Owen, a piece of you is in someone’s Orb Dungeon.”

“Since when would I…” Owen paused. “Mom’s? No, it couldn’t be that… Sure, I was a Fire Spirit and didn’t know it for a while, but…”

“But a part of you is kept in the Fire Core as a form of recall,” Zena said.

“No, it can’t be that,” Owen went on. “The Grass Orb overrode that. So, I’d only have a bit of me in the Grass Core.”

“My spirit is whole,” Zena pointed out. “It can’t be that.”

Owen scratched his head, stumped. He resolved to check the Fire Core, just in case, when he returned. Because where else could he be?

“It’s probably nothing,” Owen said, doubting his own words. “Or… nothing we can deal with right now. That’ll be the first thing we look into once we get back.”

There was still more to read.

We lastly checked Charmander’s. While strange, it was whole and had the fewest abnormalities. She is a healthy baby girl. Congratulations!

For some reason that offended him. Mu was the most normal of the three. Really?

Still, with that covered, and their findings in his hands, that was the last thing they needed to do in Alola. Cresthair had Silvally taken care of and they would be able to send that knowledge to the most capable people they knew.

Ultra Wormholes had been their original intent for Alola. But with the discovery of the Dungeons connecting, it wasn’t as necessary… Guiltily, Owen considered Alola to be a nice stop during their flight, and the scientists here with outer-world experience would have been a good group to seek advice from anyway. They were lucky to get all they did.

“Thanks for everything you’ve done for us,” Owen said to Barechest.

“What’s your plan from here?” the professor asked.

“We have one place left to go,” Owen said. “Orre. The origin of the Shadows we know about… They might have information on how we can combat it in our world. After that, we’re going to find a Dungeon still there and head home.”

“Well, good luck, yeah?” Barechest said. “That look in your eyes reminds me of a lot of talented Pokémon and their trainers I’ve seen here and all over. If you ask me… you’ll get this done.”

Owen’s flame grew and he nodded. Zena had relaxed, too, and Mu happily curled up in her ribbons.

Suddenly, Barechest stopped and stretched his arms up. “Woo! But before that, how about we send you off with a good meal?”

“Oh! Well, sure,” Zena said. “We need time for our flight to be scheduled anyway, don’t we?”

“Right, Orre’s… very far by wing. We could use one of those planes again.”

“Then it’s settled,” Barechest said. “I’ll treat you to a great Alolan feast!”

One last sendoff would be nice, Owen thought. And in exchange, perhaps he could provide more for Barechest’s research.

But soon, Owen would have to resume his research on the hardest subject they had… Shadows.

And he’d have to return to the region where he’d lost his normal life, just to leave this world behind again. Hopefully, this time, he could leave without regrets.

<><><>​

“So you’re saying I need to look for a talking Charizard named Owen,” Umbreon said. “With pointed horns that constantly invade everyone’s privacy within a three-hundred-meter radius.”

“Yyyyes?” Star tittered.

They’d descended Destiny Tower and traveled swiftly to a nearby Dungeon pocket where other ‘Orre refugees’ had gathered. Most had already traveled back, but a few lingered, waiting. Espeon had gone ahead to assure people on the other side that things were okay.

On the left was part of a house that had been split by distortions such that a lake now ran through it. On the right was what looked like a part of Fae Fae Forest intermingling with a sandy beach.

Several other human-turned-Pokémon were gathered up and clumsily trying to walk around in their new bodies. Some didn’t have legs, which complicated matters.

“And this is temporary, right?” Umbreon asked Star again, gesturing to himself.

“Y-yes!” Star said, with no confidence one way or the other. “Temporary! We’ll send you right on your way back and it’ll probably wear off after a few days… and if nnnot, I’ll fix it once I get the chance!”

“…I’ll find you,” Umbreon said. It was a threat.

“I believe you,” Star squeaked.

Umbreon exhaled through his nose and then turned to the confused Pokémon. “Okay, everyone. Back through the portal! Let’s go home.” He glanced back, looking at Star with one eye. “I’ll look out for this Owen guy. He’s trying to fight Shadows, right?”

“Yeah.”

“I know someone who did something similar,” Umbreon said. “I’ll get in contact with him and the lab his mom helps run. They have a machine that can purify Shadow Pokémon, no divine magic required. Maybe it’ll help.”

“Cure…” Star frowned. “Are there other cures?”

Umbreon seemed impatient. “Yes, there are others. Look, can you ask me this on the other side? Every second is more than a minute here.”

Star winced. “I… I’ll send someone after you,” she said. “I don’t want to… I mean, I can’t cross the barrier. But what’s the other way?”

Umbreon was already walking to usher the former humans through the portal. A Growlithe was helping to roll a Voltorb down the road while a Misdreavus tried to use her ectoplasm to crawl across the ground, too stubborn to ask for help. An Ekans rolled next to a Spinda that walked perfectly straight.

“Celebi,” Umbreon said. “Celebi’s power to return happy memories. Using the power of time to remind the Pokémon of their past. That’s the secret to dispelling Shadows.”

“Remind them of the…” Star squinted even as Umbreon was too far away to reply.

It was that simple? Memories of the past, powered by Celebi, could help dispel Shadows? But Celebi couldn’t do that in Kilo, not the one they created. Traveling through time was too dangerous, so she was more like a guardian over it… Like Dialga, she regulated time’s flow but didn’t hop through it.

How else could they dispel Shadows through memories?

As the rest of the former humans passed through the barrier, and as Star floated back to Destiny Tower, she helped one of the former humans who had tripped over a pebble.

That wasn’t so bad. The human was kind and didn’t seem to realize she was a Mew. Perhaps the shock of everything left them too stunned to acknowledge it.

Her gaze lingered on the little stone the human tripped over.

Star gasped. “Gone Pebbles!”

<><><>​

Mispy stared at the ceiling, laying on her back while her many vines lay splayed on Palkia’s cutting table. She stared at a mirror that Palkia had set up so she could see what he was working on. It was a rare moment of downtime while the others recovered their energy. And she wanted to take on a proposal that Palkia had given her a while ago.

This was a special room in Palkia’s makeshift lab in Kilo Village. No windows, only Luminous Orbs in the ceiling, most of them bright and facing her body on the table. The walls were devoid of decorations and there was a large table—small for Palkia—next to him with various instruments to pry, hold, bind, or remove soft matter.

“How fascinating,” Palkia said. “I’ve never seen a stomach like this before, especially for a Meganium.” Palkia held up a claw, which was enveloped in a mysterious energy that warped the light around his finger. He ran it along a membrane and pulled it out of her chest. “Shall we see what’s inside?”

Mispy nodded. Owen always talked about how her insides were strange. She never got to enjoy it herself.

“Right, let’s make a precise cut here—”

Knock knock.

“Hello?” called Demitri.

“Ah, Demitri! I apologize if you were waiting at the entrance,” Palkia said, waving at him.

“Oh, no, it’s fine. I actually…” He stopped, staring at them.

Mispy smiled and waved a vine.

Demitri’s eyes rolled to the back of his head and he collapsed, completely out cold.

“Ah,” Palkia said. “Perhaps he’s tired.”

Mispy frowned, sighing. She’d explain later. Her eyes trailed to his right hand, clutching something. “Mm?”

“Hm? Ah.” Palkia followed her gaze. He reached into a tiny portal in front of him and his hand appeared next to Demitri’s, taking the paper. “Let’s see… Ah! Strategy. For you, I imagine. Now, let’s get back to this stomach… Oh, don’t worry, I’ll take pictures later, Mispy.”

“Mm.”

While Palkia continued to study her insides, Mispy took the paper and read it over…

Her casual gaze slowly hardened to a more serious, analytical stare.

Report from South Null Village.

All known Core Titans have been defeated and all Legends within are being recovered or reunited with their twin selves. A more thorough list of that will be provided later. More pressing matters have arisen.

We have a report from a refugee Dragapult from Cipher City who once worked in Alexander’s castle staff. He has killed Qitlan, claimed his spirit, and is now covertly calling in much of his staff and city into Cipher Castle to do the same to them. We do not know why he did not do this first or what the effects are, but this sudden change in strategy means we have little time to prepare for whatever he’s planning.

An army was our main expectation. Now, it may only be Alexander as a ‘Super Guardian’ of Shadow itself. Diyem informed us that his Shadow powers are innate to this world and are distinctly anti-Mystic, like an opposing force. However, while divine, or Radiant, power is divided amongst Star, Barky, and the Guardians under Necrozma, the Dark Matter fragments are the corresponding Shadow power. Alexander has the majority of this power and will only grow stronger the more he finds.

Alexander is currently moving to North Null Village. He initially was heading south but suddenly changed course. This is abnormal because Alexander’s movements are usually very strongly planned. He may be operating alone, mentally, after consuming all other spirits to become his thrall rather than a thinking army.

We suspect he is either flying for Emily or Tanneth since they correspond directly to another known Dark Matter fragment. Since East and West Null Village have been abandoned and consolidated into South Null Village, he only has two choices and we are confident those are his targets.

Tacticians must meet in South Null Village Town Hall in Kilo’s next noon. Scouts must take the Calm Water Lake Dungeon’s passageway into the Voidlands to verify Alexander’s location. Remain low to the ground. Bring at least one Joltik Willow with you and a table’s worth of sweet pastries provided by Sugar ‘n Spice in case you run into Hoopa, who escaped our surveillance.

Offensive forces must meet in North Null Village by traversing through the Fae Fae Wilds Dungeon. Prepare to defend and retreat if Alexander’s attacks are overwhelming. Do not risk Tanneth’s well-being.

The rest of the letter continued with more details for various groups, but Mispy wasn’t too interested in the rest of the details. It didn’t apply to her. With Owen gone, she was back to being the tactician for Team Alloy, but Demitri and Gahi were still the muscle. Would they have to split up here? Then again, she still couldn’t shake her speech problems…

No, Uxie could help. She was comfortable talking to Uxie and Mesprit. She could whisper her thoughts to Uxie, who could transmit them, just like Demitri. And… one day they’d fuse anyway. But she didn’t want to do that while Owen was away. He… deserved to be there.

It’d sure be convenient, though. What was she doing, getting sentimental about it? Nothing would change. She and Uxie were already so similar.

Maybe she was afraid. It was a big leap. Uxie was probably afraid, too, no matter how cool and collected her aura was.

“Ah, how fascinating! You have another stomach! Or, I think it’s one. Let’s find out…”

Mispy gently folded the paper and watched Demitri, who was dizzily returning to consciousness.

“M-Mispy? A-are… are you okay? I think I passed out…”

“Oh, she’s just fine!” Palkia said. “Mispy wanted to study anatomy.”

“Isn’t this a bit… extreme?!” Demitri couldn’t look at the operating table. “Doesn’t it hurt—oh, right… S-still, Mispy! This is dangerous!”

“Nonsense! I’m using the warped fabric of space as my cutting instrument. That’s as sterile as it gets! Not to mention, it’s quite difficult to maintain any wounds on her. She heals them very quickly without thinking.”

Demitri whimpered anyway and kept his eyes on the floor. “…W-well, did you read that paper?” he asked.

Mispy hummed affirmatively.

“I think we should gather everyone up, um, s-soon,” Demitri said. “I already went to get Mesprit and Uxie. I couldn’t find Azelf, but he must be around…” The Haxorus held the extra axes on his tail. “I have no idea how they expect us to fight Alexander…”

“Indeed. We are quite outmatched,” Palkia hummed. “Really, you can categorize it quite well and determine from there how the odds are stacked against us.”

“Categorize?”

“Yes.” Palkia grinned. “The frail, the mortals, the demigods, the pantheon, and the forces. Generally speaking, if you’re in one category, you will be below the others, though enough skill will sometimes let you break barriers and defeat those one bracket above you.”

“Demigods…”

“Yes, that would be you, at the moment,” Palkia said.

“I—I’m not a demigod!”

“Are you mortal?”

“Well… no, I guess not…”

Palkia made a gesture as if for Demitri to go forward with the reasoning.

“…I guess… I’m a demigod, okay…”

“But Alexander has transcended the typical powers of the pantheon. We aren’t sure precisely how, but supposedly Diyem’s theory is there were ‘Shadow Hands’ created along with the Hands of Creation. And Alexander gathered that power from the Voidlands, more and more. His capstone, of course, was consuming that fragment of Diyem. While inside the Voidlands, he is its driving force, rivaled only by Necrozma, who is berserk.”

“Doesn’t that mean… we don’t stand a chance?”

“Well! That’s where you come in with your fusions. I think ‘Migami,’ as you call it… could rival those in the pantheon. Perhaps with some skill you could challenge Alexander. Cautiously, at least. We can’t afford to leave him to his own devices, now can we?”

Mispy nodded along, contemplative. A fusion of Migami would go from demigod to the power of the pantheon. From there, a ‘force’ like Alexander was something they could challenge… though maybe not win.

She hoped Owen was finding a solution to this…

“Well, we’ll be sure to wrap this up,” Palkia said. “Thank you for letting us know, Demitri. Oh! Would you like to see Mispy’s liver? It’s so large!”

Mispy knew by the shrinking of Demitri’s aura that he was going to pass out. She sighed in advance and her gaze returned to the mirror.

<><><>​

Rim gingerly placed a cold cloth over Lavender’s forehead. It steamed within seconds. The Cherrim frowned and swapped it out for another, and then another.

Lavender had been just fine at the end of their Titan hunting. The problem was his body didn’t properly ‘shut off’ its battle systems for a while longer, leading to his mechanical body overheating and his spirit transformation to fry. Nevren usually did maintenance and repairs, but…

“Here.”

Behind Rim was Leph, ducking to enter their little home at the edge of Kilo Village’s caldera. Through one window they could see Nate’s shadowy, leviathan form caress the outermost ring of the caldera and the way the sun shined on his countless, glistening dark eyes. It was once a horrid sight but lately had become a sign of protection and comfort.

Leph floated a wet cloth wrapped around a blue orb.

“It’s a Hail Orb. Made it myself. Specialized for him,” Leph explained. The Arceus placed it on Lavender’s forehead. Finally, the Silvally sighed with relief.

“Thanks, Auntie Fence,” Lavender said.

Leph narrowed her eyes.

“Are you… okay?” Rim asked, wobbling unevenly to the chair. She was getting more and more used to being in her new body, though she did miss fur. And not getting depressed without sunlight.

“I’m fine. Took it better than Lavender, at least.” Leph leaned forward and pressed her cheek against Lavender’s forehead. “Yow!” She quickly pulled away, wincing. “Lavender! Do you have a Fire Spirit active?”

“Noooo I’m just siiiick,” Lavender complained.

“Aren’t you half-machine? How do you get sick?” Leph frowned pensively. “I think we should ask Eon about this. He might know, right?”

“Daddy’s at the lab gathering supplies,” Lavender said. “Lucas is helping out…”

“Back soon,” Rim clarified.

“I know. Aster’s there, too,” Leph said. “Still, Lavender…”

“Can’t you just fix it with your godpowers?” Lavender begged. “You’re, like… another Arceus!”

“I… I’m out of practice,” Leph said nervously. “…Barely had any training from Father anyway.”

Rim settled against Lavender’s chest, where his body wasn’t as hot, and listened to them talk.

“What’s, um, you know, what’s your whole deal, anyway?” Lavender asked. “I thought there was only one Arceus.”

“There is supposed to be,” said Leph. “Or, just one who sends his avatars out. But I’m not the same as Father. When Quartz—sorry, when Kilo was created… I was born with it. I woke up one day after hearing so many little thoughts shape who I am, I… I think. I remember hearing a lot of thoughts that weren’t my own before I woke up.”

“Where’d you wake up?” Lavender asked.

Leph sighed and settled against the side. The wheel around her body dissolved into motes of light. “Well, I was born in—”

“You can do that?”

“What?”

“Your fence. It went away.”

“Oh. Yes. Why?”

Lavender stared for a while longer. Rim was admittedly also fascinated.

“Nothing. Um… go on.”

Leph lounged against one of the spare nests. “I woke up under a place called the Tree of Life. It isn’t around anymore… I don’t know what happened to it. Disappeared during the Dark War and I was taken into the Voidlands after that. But me and Aster, we’re kind of like siblings with Nate.”

“Whoa… Nate’s your brother?”

Leph nodded. “He was never given a name until after we fell into the Voidlands, but if he likes Nate, I’ll call him that.” She chuckled. “We just called him Tree for a while. He lived in it. I thought he was the Tree, actually…”

“But he’s a big friendly monster instead,” Lavender stated.

Leph nodded. “Nate always felt like a big brother to me. Maybe he’s the oldest thing here? You know, aside from… Father.”

Lavender oohed in response. He adjusted the cooling cloth on his forehead. “If you were born with this world… and Barky isn’t, like, native to this one, he just created it… does that mean you’re the true guardian of Kilo?”

“Maybe.” Leph looked away, bending her hooves inward. “…Some guardian I am, if so…”

“Aw, don’t say that!” Lavender said. “Barky was barely around, too!”

Rim winced.

Leph laughed ruefully. “Like father like daughter, then,” she said.

“Daughter, right…” Lavender tilted his head. His eyes made a mechanical noise. “But you aren’t a girl.”

Leph rolled her eyes. “And Barky isn’t male nor female. I picked it. I suppose I could choose a different form with some effort, but… why bother? Seems… needless, if you ask me.”

“Like your fence?”

“…Y… yes. Like my fence.”

A Mewtwo Teleported into their room and dropped a large pile of mechanical scrap in the corner of the room. “Mission complete!” Aster declared.

“Hey, Aster,” Leph and Lavender said with opposite levels of enthusiasm.

“Hey!” Aster glanced at Leph and his smile cracked. “Oh no. Your fence is off… Are you sad?”

Leph squinted at Aster, then glared at Lavender like he was responsible for something.

“I’m fine, Aster,” she said. “How did your lab mission go?”

“We got lots of stuff! Mister Jirachi is nice and Lucas is fun to play with.”

“Jirachi came, too? What about Eon?” Leph asked.

“Oh, he’s there, too. He was the other Jirachi.”

Rim tilted her body. Jirachi? Well, that was an improvement. At least he wasn’t a Charmander.

Lavender tilted his head. “Daddy said that he helped make your body, too. You were the first mutant, right?”

“Mhm!” Aster nodded. “I used to be a normal li’l Mew before Jirachi made a wish so I could be stronger! And then he did cool science stuff to the wish!”

Rim had a feeling it was the other way around. Science powered by wishes. She sighed, wondering when Celebi would be recovered… Maybe then she could have the power to help again. As she was, she was useless…

“Auntie Rim?” Lavender asked, nuzzling her.

“Ah—”

“Are you okay?”

Was it that obvious? Rim shrank away, hiding behind her thick, purple petals.

“What’s bothering you, Rim?” Leph asked. “Was it… about the mutants?”

“No…”

Leph hummed like she disapproved. “Well… it’s okay. I mean, I saw what happened to my brother. Aster is fine. A little excitable and battle-hungry, but some Pokémon are like that naturally!”

“Oh! Yeah! A lot of my spirits are Battlehearts!” Lavender’s cheek bolts whirred. “Say… if you’re, like, the true god of Kilo, what do you think about Pokémon that were modified, um, artificially? Or me? I was created, so I’m artificial!”

“Well, however you were created, I can sense your spirit, despite all the other ones inside you…” Leph nodded. “And… I… think I’ll be getting rid of the mutants if I ever have control of the world like Father said I might.”

Lavender’s countenance shifted to a nervous one. “G-get rid of…”

The young god seemed confused. Then her eyes widened. “Ah! No, like, not kill! Like… use god powers to give them normal bodies, is what I meant. I wouldn’t kill them, no way.”

“Oh.” Lavender relaxed. “How come?”

“Well…” Leph shifted her weight to a new resting position with her legs straightened. “Seems like it causes more problems. They’re stronger, they’re unstable, and the fusion thing is… a little weird, gotta admit. Just all around unnatural. If they weren’t so harmful I’d be less worried, but… I dunno. Just one of those hypotheticals.”

A very real hypothetical, though. Rim’s petals tensed and relaxed.

“Sorry. I guess that’s a little forward of me,” Leph said. “Maybe I’ll ask them. Besides… I’m thinking way too far ahead. I’m so low on the pantheon right now. I’m nothing compared to the real gods.”

“But you’re the realest god,” Lavender pointed out. “All the others are just ascended mortals and stuff, or Barky and Star. And, um, whatever Hecto is.”

“Right, I guess that’s… also…” Leph sighed harshly. “I don’t know what to think.”

And nobody else seemed to, either. The silence returned.

“Maybe I’ll just fix their minds so they aren’t unstable,” Leph finally said. “All mutants are sterile anyway. The least I can do is let them live out their lives.”

“I like that answer,” Lavender agreed. “But what about the mutants that want kids?”

“…Adoption?” Leph offered. “Lots of people probably died so there are lots of kids to adopt.”

Everyone else’s expressions darkened.

“…Er… sorry. Probably brought the mood down with that one.”

“Maybe a little,” Aster said.

“Well, hey! Having a mutant army on our side would be super useful against Alexander, right? Since… um…”

Lavender lost his optimism when Leph’s expression quickly became grave.

“They are very susceptible to corruption,” Leph said, “and from what we’ve heard, Alexander has gone on the offensive. It makes him vulnerable… but he’s also even stronger, too. Anyone who falls to him…”

“Oh…” Lavender looked down.

“He’ll claim them and add to his power. He seems to know that if we get the strike on him first, he’ll lose. So now… he’s throwing everything he has into one last attack.”

Rim sensed someone coming. A dull psychic presence in the air that she recognized as Jirachi.

Then, he appeared in the room, looking frazzled and wide-eyed. “Guys!” he said.

“Hi, Wish Daddy!” Lavender cheerfully greeted. “Leph gave me a magic cold pack!”

“Th-that’s good,” Jirachi said. Moments later, another Jirachi appeared at the doorway. “But we have a problem! We just got word from Null Village scouts on our report back with some lab supplies.”

Leph tensed, reapplying her golden wheel and standing straight. “What’s happening?”

“Alexander’s a lot faster than we expected,” Jirachi said. “He’s already there! North Null Village is under attack now!”

Rim gasped, shrinking away. She couldn’t help. That useless feeling coiled around her tiny body.

“…Then we have to go,” Leph said. Her voice was grave and her eyes had widened with fear. Rim could only imagine the feeling of facing someone like Alexander down… especially Leph, who had been under his rule for so long. “Aster?”

Aster’s tail flicked. “Y-yeah,” he replied.

“Aster. We can’t run from him. Not when that means others would—”

“Y-yeah. Yeah.” Aster took a sharp breath. “I’ll go.”

Jirachi hastily flew out. “I’m gonna warn more people. If we can repel him here, we can go on the offensive!”

“That’s the most we can do,” Leph said.

“Can I help?” Lavender asked.

“No, not yet,” Eon said. ”You’re still overheating… I’ll bring who I can, but not if you’re already recovering. Next time, okay? When we go on the offensive.”

“Okay…”

Several of their Teleporting members vanished. Others ran out of their home. Rim settled against Lavender… The best she could do was pray for their safe return.

A shadow crossed her vision while she hid behind her petals. It was a small, flying creature passing by the doorway.

“Huh?” Lavender asked.

“Mm?” Rim asked back.

“I thought I saw someone… A green, flying Pokémon.”

Rim tilted her body but then shook in negative. That could have been anyone…

“Cute little wings,” Lavender mumbled along. “I never saw a Pokémon like that before.”

Rim froze. Then, without hesitating further, she pushed off Lavender and said, “Stay.”

And she wobbled out the door.

 

[Chibi Pika]

129

So Remi never passed on, but she also managed to escape the Voidlands without burning up. At this point my brain was pretty much just like "o yea she's Spice isn't she" but the thought was so self-evident in my brain that it's almost like I'd already learned it before? Or maybe I'm just remembering from having skimmed some of these chapters before reading them properly later.

Only one of them, between Owen and the other Alloys, can be right, "at most." I like this way of conveying that they both made mistakes. I don't think that painting the trio as fully wrong for doing that, (or Necrozma for allegedly coercing them) is the right call. They were in a really painful situation and didn't have many options.

Owen is pretty dang clever, using his confinement to infer useful information about his captors.

Aaand the scene with Spice drives it home. "Just wanted to be part of a family," indeed. I don't think I have a concrete guess as to how she made it out of the Voidlands without burning, though. Some kind of divine power, maybe?

I do appreciate the mention that Xypher would never be the same, even if they managed to restore him. Makes his loss feel like it had meaningful consequences.

130

Hooo boy Mhynt is here. It's starting to become more clear that's she's playing an extremely long con. And yet, Alexander isn't stupid--he either has very good reason to believe she's loyal to him, or he has very good collateral. Given that she still gets 'tested' from time to time like what happened with Aster that one time, I'm inclined to believe the latter. Very clever that Owen picked up on her conveying information to him indirectly. I would've missed it completely, it was that subtle.

I can't help but feel like Zena is the real MVP of the HQ meeting. Everyone's all fussing about the legends recombining or freaking out about Diyem, and she manages to keep her cool even while having a bunch of revelations dropped on her.

131-132

Spice and company emerging into the bath is a hilarious image.

And wow, alright, just gonna drop "Brandon is Reshiram" on us just like that. Makes me wonder who was Zekrom, them--I'd expect someone with some ties to Brandon, since all the other "duos" ended up that way, but he was isolated in the factory for so long that it's hard to tell. Maybe one of the other guardians aligned with Arceus, since Ayame became Kyurem?

Random side thought, but we've seen no mention of Ho-oh despite Lugia being extremely prominent.

People keep saying that Rhys's life would be so small compared to ~the timekeeper's~, which sounds very impressive, but has has Dialga even lived that much longer than Rhys? I mean, they're both halves of someone who was older than Kilo!

God, Xerneas is such a bag of dicks, but then again so was Ra, so not much has changed. :V

Interesting that Remi also got split apart just like the legends. It's making me realize that I don't think I know why any of the legends got split apart. Probably another thing to add to the pile of "and then things got worse" from the second dark war.

133-134

Now that was a very interesting card game. I think I failed to grasp the significance of what was going on and why Owen was floundering so much despite having perfect knowledge, so a reread was helpful. As far as I'm understanding it:

- Owen has perfect knowledge of the cards, but poor knowledge of Qitlan's intent.
- Qitlan has excellent inference of Owen's intent and can use that to infer the cards.

So as a result, it ends with Qitlan gaining the edge. Almost reminds me of the "counting horse" trick, where the horse doesn't actually have to know math to infer what the human wants it to answer. Both situations involve being very good at reading the other party.

Tbh though, the declaration that this ~proves~ that Owen's priorities are selfish feels like a pretty big stretch. If anything, it proves that Owen panicked and couldn't risk ending up with nothing when even the ""selfish"" prizes could still be useful for helping his friends.

GIratina is based and her interactions with Madeline were fun. Both of them dunkingon Xerneas is satisfying as heck, and I'm glad they're getting the chance to know each other before recombining.

It occurs to me that I don't actually know what Palkia's blessing was that Rhys should have had, since Nevren had the Revisor. I also don't know if it did get revealed at one point, and I just forgot, or if it never got revealed. Gotta say though, this ending scene does a good job of showing that Dialga and Palkia do mesh surprisingly well.

135-136

Man, I feel really bad for Rayquaza having to deliver the news to Elder like this... it's heartbreaking.

Presuuumably Spice was drawn to Enet’s den. Iirc she got the lightning scar from the same storm that gave Enet the lightning orb way back when? Ah, wait, Enet's one of her pieces, isn't she. That makes me curious if Owen was drawn to her at all during their first meeting.

Step standing up to Xerneas and actually getting him to soften a bit was a heck of a moment.

And maaann, Rayquaza refusing to recombine while Elder is compromised... ;-; Good for him, that would've been miserable for them both. Here's hoping they can have some peace.

I thiiiink I lost track of how step got back to Kilo from the Voidlands. Presumably through the portal that Palkia made? And she doesn't look like a Void Shadow because she never actually died, right? (Whoops it's easy to lose track of who's dead and who's not.)

The scene with Step and Yveltal was hard to read in all the best ways. It was so hard on both of them, Step being so harsh and suspicious, and Yveltal trying to gently reassure her. But then, Yveltal has all the experience of one who has comforted those in death before, so it's no wonder it comes naturally to her.

137

Hoo boy. Even the name of this chapter is one to remember. God the tension, it's unreal. I had abolutely no idea what to expect from this reunion. Even if Qitlan was telling the truth and they really would have privacy, there's no way they'd trust that to be the case, and I absolutely can't blame them for that. Which is why the secret telepathic conversation caught me off guard almost as much as it did Owen. In a way, it feels like we're finally seeing the real Mhynt under the mask. Even if it's a Mhynt that's been so thoroughly changed by a thousand years since Owen last knew her.

I’d previously said that “she fell” was the most efficient dose of understated horror in the fic. The newest is "the Sceptile queen card." Less is so, so, so much more. Spelling out Owen's thoughts would have been so weak by comparison.

Alas, the one hour is up and Owen gets to pick his servant and ohhhh my god he picked Remi. I am cackling so hard, that's freaking ingenious of him to force Qitlan to reveal that he doesn’t have her. Wish you could see the copyka on my face as I read that. And then!! Making Qitlan give away the fact that he clearly expected Owen to pick Mhynt, by picking some rando instead. Absolute chad move.

138

Y'know, I'd been pretty much resigned to not understanding the second war until getting to the SE that explains it that I didn't stop to consider that it's kinda weird it even ended at all. Something must had ended it. And shattered all the legends and erased history. Necrozma sacrificing himself to drag Alexander into the Voidlands would certainly be on-brand for him. I feel like he was probably feeling a lot of regrets by then anyway.

Y'know, it is kind of fitting that the halves of the Mind Trio ended up becoming the alloy, what with the whole "red chain to shackle a god" thing and the Alloy being intended as a godslayer. Just a neat bit of poetic overlap--was it an intentional one?

139

Wow, it's wild to get some actual humanity (er, so to speak) from Qitlan. He's always just been this evil, manipulative right-hand to the big bad, but even someone like that can experience love, and loss. It's got me thinking... obviously I know Alexander isn't going to be redeemed, but it is interesting to think about who he was, what he valued, before he was consumed by lust for power. Sort of like how even Ganondorf must've been a kid with hopes and dreams once.

And we've got Zena as our MVP yet again with some radical communication! \o/ No most secrets and lies and doubts--it ruined Owen once before, and by that I mean he was just as guilty of it as everyone else. I think Zena will be good for him, in that regard. Also, it's a really good point that staying close to Zena means not losing sight of what it means to save Kilo and its people, as opposed to getting caught up in all the divine drama.

140

God, I just. Feel so bad for Dialga. He's trying, ok. I don't see this as him "pretending" to be someone else, so much as trying to tap into that lost part of himself, like someone grasping as old memories. It doesn't come naturally, but that doesn't mean that he doesn't care.

Still, even if Rhys's old stuff didn't have any instinctual importance to him, he really should have read the room a little and realized that throwing it out was a bad call. Maybe sorting through it and rereading letters could have even helped stir some buried memories. Oh well, at least they found Rhys's last fragment of aura. And having to battle it to claim it is a fitting end.

~~~~~

Gotta say, the pacing of these chapters has been pretty solid. Possibly because there’s fewer parties to check up in and more cards being lined up so to speak. I remember in mid-book 3 there were a few times it felt like we had to cut away from the group I was most interested in following but that feeling hasn’t come up in a while.

Another year, another "try not to fall hopelessly behind." Maybe someday I'll actually catch up ahahah. Until next time~

 

[Namohysip]

Random side thought, but we've seen no mention of Ho-oh despite Lugia being extremely prominent.

Yeah so full disclosure, if I had a character for every Legend I'd somehow have even more. Too many, even for me. My Lugia bias got the better of me; Ho-Oh does not exist in Kilo at the moment. Nobody ever "ascended" into the position. (It was going to die anyway, why have Ho-Oh for it?) And it wasn't my priority species to feature, soooo sorry. Just Emily here.

I do appreciate the mention that Xypher would never be the same, even if they managed to restore him. Makes his loss feel like it had meaningful consequences.

This was something I made sure to specifically outline. Death has little meaning in Kilo, and that was one of my main challenges going into this plot. And one theme of HoC is that even with death off the table, you can still lose someone forever, if that "someone" was how they were in the past. Memory erasure, reincarnation, and time, such as with Owen -- even with Owen knowing who he used to be, he still does not want to reunite with Eon the way things used to be. Owen is "gone" from Eon. And now we have Xypher as another example of this, and Rhys as another, where someone can be "alive" but no longer "with" someone.

I can't help but feel like Zena is the real MVP of the HQ meeting.

I'm glad this is shining! Zena stealthily is becoming the Only Sane Mon of many meetings at this point, sort of grounding people and remembering the mortal. Despite Zena's position, she's becoming kind of normal compared to everyone else around her.

People keep saying that Rhys's life would be so small compared to ~the timekeeper's~, which sounds very impressive, but has has Dialga even lived that much longer than Rhys?

VERY good question. This is brought up later~ It's not super important, though. But basically, due to how Rhys died, his "presence" is weaker in Dialga, compared to what would've been a mutual fusion if they fused normally.

Tbh though, the declaration that this ~proves~ that Owen's priorities are selfish feels like a pretty big stretch. If anything, it proves that Owen panicked and couldn't risk ending up with nothing when even the ""selfish"" prizes could still be useful for helping his friends.

This is actually intentional. Qitlan presented things in such a way that it's getting into Owen's head and messing with his morale. Even if Owen is convinced of this, feeding into his insecurities of how much he'd already messed up, it doesn't necessarily mean that's correct.

It occurs to me that I don't actually know what Palkia's blessing was that Rhys should have had, since Nevren had the Revisor.

Rhys used it as a seed for the Teleporters, with some enhancements by Anam. Thus, the Waypoints.

I thiiiink I lost track of how step got back to Kilo from the Voidlands. Presumably through the portal that Palkia made? And she doesn't look like a Void Shadow because she never actually died, right? (Whoops it's easy to lose track of who's dead and who's not.)

Yeah, basically. With fast travel being tied to a lot of people, places, and things, I think I neglect to outline each one sometimes...

I’d previously said that “she fell” was the most efficient dose of understated horror in the fic. The newest is "the Sceptile queen card." Less is so, so, so much more.

Sometimes being subtle helps get past the ratings, too. Surprisingly, less is more and the unmentioned makes it so much stronger when the reader pieces it together...

Just a neat bit of poetic overlap--was it an intentional one?

I really liked gen 4's lore.

Another year, another "try not to fall hopelessly behind." Maybe someday I'll actually catch up ahahah.

Hey, you're getting closer! Good work, and here's to another year of madness~

 

[Chibi Pika]

SE11

> Every night, as he drew nearer and nearer to evolution, Alex dreamed of the strange blade made from dragon scales and spells. It was the one destined to cut through his neck. Each time, in that dim haze of a nightmare, his other half would grasp the blade in his mouth, twist his head, and Alex would go tumbling down, down, down.

I'll be honest... this dream gave me a strong impression that Alex (Owen's dad) was split off from Xander, and that they're two halves of a whole just like so many others. This Alex definitely seems like the mild-mannered of the two, so it would fit. But then I revisited where Owen and Alex were reunited and he explicitly said Alexander was his father, so I guess they can't be halves of each other. I feel like, even if Alex were lying, he'd have said 'brother' or something.

So they know Amia (Evelyn)! That's... even more interesting since Alex (our Alex) is mates with her in the present era! Which... again makes me wonder if they're halves?? I am confusion.

WAIT THIS IS OUR ALEX. FATHER IS ALEXANDER. THIS IS OUR ALEX. HE'S GOING TO WIN. AAAA????

Oh man, this is such a great example of how a foregone conclusion doesn't have to lack suspense, but can add to it. We know that Alex isn't just going to fade away like Xander keeps claiming. He's the dominant personality now! And he's also dead! What happened.

Given the law of conservation of characters, I feel like Mother is someone we've met before. But her personality and manner of speech doesn't feel familiar, so--

>Ah! Sceptile, that was it. It’s been so long; I hardly remember anymore.
*squints* Whiiiich one... she doesn't talk like either of them...

Ahh, okay, so our Amia took her mother's name, and that's why she's reverted back to being called Evelyn in her memory-wiped state at present. Anyway, other-Amia sure did drop a bombshell here--Alexander has been killing his offspring for generations, so I guess it's been a while since the first dark war, huh. Also I'm guessing that in the meantime, all that stuff with the Fire clan happened? Although I sort of lost track of what the truth of that was since there were so many false accounts or propagandized versions.

Honestly, the more we see Xander, I don't think he's all that bad. Since I initially thought this was Alexander backstory, that colored my perception of him, but he's not evil--just a bit of a dick. A teenage bully trying to feel cool and tough. Far from the worst.

...Right on time to get that dreamscape conversation between the two of them, and the foregone conclusion coming to light. Damn, that scene really got to me.

I'm a bit unclear on what the purpose of the head switch was. At first I was like "oh man it's going to cause the inverse of Alex's dream!" but in the end, neither of them got chopped, and Xander's decision to lie dormant was a result of his own issues with how Alexander felt about him. I guess maybe it was there as a contingency but didn't end up doing much other than cause momentary confusion?

The sudden switch to using visual description for the first time is really good. I particularly love how simple the first description of Evelyn is, to the point that it would actually fall flat in any other context, but since it's literally the first visual description in the entire episode, it's so striking.

>In some ways, Alex already missed being blind.
That double meaning

Ah there it is, his mother is Remi. And... wait. Did you really just.

I am realizing I'd been slightly fuzzy on the chronology in my last review. I had thought that Owen was out of the picture until after the second dark war, after the legendary era had been erased. Mostly since he doesn't seem to have recovered any memory of that era in the present day. But Owen is here in this special, already reset to a Charmander. Maybe he'll remember the second war later, since he was present for it after all. (Also I just remembered that Heart Owen had Hydreigon trauma which is why Alex goes Magmortar, so yeah, of course he had to be here for this.)

Soo that debunks my theory that Alexander and Necrozma got sealed in the Voidlands around the same time that the past was erased. Interesting. Star isn't dead yet, she seems to be on decent terms with Arceus. Necrozma probably is already gone. Unknown if Diyem has been sealed away yet. The legends are probably already gone since Rhys and co. exist...

Alexander plans on resurrecting a great power... Lugia, maybe? I don't think he'd want Diyem back in the picture.

> It was probably fine.
It was not

> All you have to do is turn this Alexander into the dormant one… Oh, I hope that works…
iiiiiii have my doubts. In fact, I wonder if this will actually make things worse, if both heads are evil but one has the cunning and one has the savagery.

Okay, you got me I was so sure Alex had died there. (I mean, he's dead in the present era! I'm pretty sure he's going to die before the end of this.)

So Nevren is talking like the Alloy is their last hope here, hmm. We first learned about the Alloy in the context of their Guardian-slaying, as the Hunters. But the Hunters don't exist yet, which makes me wonder if they were first engineered like that to kill Alexander. Or maybe the legends? We don't yet know if this is their first incarnation after the split/mindwipe.

> It was going to be okay.
mmmmmm noooooo...

Yeeeeeahhhh, there it is, I knew it, the head switch made things worse. Anyway, Alex is definitely gonna die after getting shish kebab'd, but the funny thing is that you keep making me worry for Evelyn even though I know she can't die here! It's just that damn intense it keeps making me forget that she's 'safe'!

Man, with the fact that Owen is doing ok in the fight now, it makes me wonder how the Alloy lost.

Fire Orb?? Did Amia swap the Fire Orb to Alexander somehow? Did he already have it? Somehow Diyem was unsealed here just now. Was he in the Fire Orb?? Was he in OWEN??

Oh! I'd actually been wondering why we've never seen Alexander's army in any of the fights with him in the Voidlands--he doesn't have them! They're the residents of Hot Spot!

This ending with Remi... oof, what a gut punch.

Alright, this is making me more confident that "divine decrees" was always a bit of a misnomer and no one was actually responsible for them, they're just an emergent property of things being sealed in the voidlands. Maybe everyone used the term because they thought that Arceus was responsible for it, and he couldn't refute them because he didn't know the truth either. So that's why everyone was trying to depose Arceus without really knowing why. Necrozma has already been split, and some of the guardians of his shattered power already exist. But I'm pretty sure the Hunters aren't yet a thing, no one's tried to gather the orbs, etc. All that stuff with Emily must've been during the first war, but--

Wait. I had thought that she'd been a guardian before she got corrupted. But if her rampage actually happened during the first war, but the orbs didn't become a thing until after Necrozma got shattered, which seems like it would have happened at the end of the war. So it was the other way around? She got purified and then became a guardian...?

Man, I should just skip to SE12, I've waited too long to understand all this. :V

 

[Namohysip]

Chapter 171 – Lord of Nightmares​

North Null Village was in pandemonium. From the distant horizon, dark meteors arced through the red skies and demolished entire buildings, shattering light crystals and leaving corrosive craters in their place. Civilians fled into a Dungeon portal meant for travel and were hastily given light crystals to wear if they ended up in Kilo. They were running out of those. Some would have to take refuge in the Dungeon itself.

As higher class Pokémon ushered disoriented Class D Pokémon into the portals, Darkrai remained behind with Cresselia and their specialized forces. Even more ran down the roads to join their ranks.

“Everyone’s coming,” called Star, flying quickly until she was just in front of Cresselia.

“Good,” Cresselia said.

Darkrai tried to calm his nerves. Every explosion rattled him. “Everything we’ve tried to throw at him doesn’t work,” he reported. “Even our sentinel beam washes right away!”

“It’s just for show. Fire everything!” Star said. “It’ll weaken him at least a little!”

“They’re close to abandoning the post,” Cresselia said. “But… okay. Maybe if we have a few people giving more power to it, maybe a human? Some Legends can, too. Marshadow was always good at powering them.”

The ground rumbled from a nearby blast. None of them were close enough to strike where Darkrai stood but they were getting uncomfortably close. Could Alexander see them from so far away? Was he just guessing?

“Let’s move,” Star said. “The crystal spire! The others should be heading there, too!”

Darkrai drifted after them. Something caught his eye in the corner of his vision. By the time he turned to face it, Star had already dashed in the way and held up a purple barrier.

Then, there was a flash, Darkrai’s whole body compressed against the air, and all sound left him save for a high ringing.

He was on his back. Burning ash and stray black embers gently rained down in grotesque, beautiful destruction.

Muffled shouts were all he could hear amid the ringing but the ground rumbling told him the fighting didn’t stop. Had he passed out at all?

Something wrapped around his arm and flooded him with healing energy. Darkrai gasped and pushed himself upright, seeing a horrifying monstrosity in front of him. Scales, vines, intense eyes, but not a Pokémon he recognized. Some kind of horrible fusion—a mutant!

“Are you okay?” it asked.

“Y-yes,” Darkrai said. “Wh-who are you?”

“Migami. Get to safety, okay?”

“No, I—I need to help. I’m better now!”

“Fine.” Migami disappeared. It could teleport?

Darkrai took a moment to figure out where the spire was and then glanced at Alexander’s previous location. Skies, he was a lot closer now. He could see where he was from the origin of each dark blast. The sky swirled above him in a vortex, the very weather darkening to his presence.

Cresselia. He had to find Cresselia. She was too proud. If he wasn’t by her side there was a chance she would try to take Alexander out on her own. He was a coward who knew when to run. And ever since Cresselia had been there for him all those years ago, he owed everything to her.

“Ah!” There she was at the top of the crystal spire. She shouted something down below and the spire lit up. She ducked beneath the observation tower as a mote of light emerged from the very tip of the gray spike. Each crystal lit up starting from the bottommost diamonds, all the way to the top where the light was like a tiny, marble-sized sun. A hum rattled Darkrai’s head and fizzled his wisps.

Then, concussive force warped the light around the spire, trailing behind a beam of energy—a Radiant Hyper Beam.

But Alexander drifted left, dodging the attack easily—or so Darkrai thought. He was too pessimistic.

Suddenly, the Hyper Beam split into ten different beams, curling and weaving through the air. At the tip of the spire, Migami was holding some kind of pink gem—a Psychic crystal?

Alexander’s distant movements suddenly turned frantic. He ducked beneath one of the beams only for a second one to graze him. Two others closed in on either side but he spiraled through it and neutralized another with a Shadowy blast. The beams all curled inward to catch up to Alexander. One struck his back, sending him plummeting halfway to the ground. He endured.

He was so strong. That blast would have vaporized anyone else. Perhaps even Darkrai himself! But that’s what Alexander had become. A one-person army. A whole army inside of him, all so he could…

What was he aiming for? Power? He had power. What more was there?

Something tickled the back of his neck.

“Ugh, it ain’t workin’,” Azelf growled.

Darkrai yelped and spun around. The three pixies were floating there, covered in ash from the recent explosions.

“What are you doing?!”

“I was tryin’ t’give you a little willpower,” Azelf said.

“You seemed stressed,” Mesprit said, holding his hands anxiously. “But we need to keep fighting!”

“Too late.” Uxie sighed.

At the top of the spire, a second Radiant Hyper Beam tore through the skies, sending a reckless scattershot of twenty small beams toward Alexander. This time, Migami disappeared, too, racing the beams to Alexander head-on.

“Ahhh!” Darkrai held his head. “They can’t do that! They aren’t supposed to do that! No going alone!”

“They were frustrated,” Mesprit said. “They missed so they’re trying to end it now, Guardian to Guardian. But Alexander outclasses them…!”

“If Alexander truly has the ‘anti-Hands,’ the Voidlands fragment of power that is opposite to Kilo… then Migami is not just fighting a Guardian. They are fighting a god.”

“Why is the Mispy third of them allowing this?” Mesprit squeaked.

“Because she’s drowned out by two idiots.”

“H-hey! My other half isn’t like that!” Mesprit said. “Azelf, tell her! …Azelf?”

“He left while you were worrying.”

“And you didn’t stop him?!” Mesprit grabbed Uxie by the shoulders.

“I was busy talking to you.”

The volley crashed into the distant forest. Storms brewed, whirlwinds of Shadow picking up whole trees and making them dance into the clouds.

Azelf had thankfully not run to join Migami. Instead, he was at the top of the spire talking with the others. Darkrai followed with Mesprit and Uxie, overhearing the conversation.

“So what, they went t’ fight?!”

“W-we couldn’t stop them!” said a trembling Ledian. “How do you stop someone that… m-massive, who can also Teleport?!”

Over many rows of trees, Alexander clashed directly with Migami. But this time, there was a delay in Alexander landing a strike. Was he waiting for something?

Migami had no such hesitation. They blasted him point-blank with a Solar Beam, the light splitting across his heads to make several beams on the already scorched ground. Alexander blasted back, completely missing when Migami Teleported behind him and jammed an ax into his back.

The phantom of Qitlan emerged from the wound and grasped at Migami, tearing part of their face clean off. Migami snarled and, with a contortion of vines, kicked off Alexander while healing, the wound healing. Alexander chewed on what had been torn off, saying something to Migami like a taunt.

As Migami’s wounds closed, Darkrai, holding back a retch, scaled the spire with the other pixies.

“He’s too close,” Mesprit said. “Alexander is still trying to make his way here. He wants the town!”

“We need to evacuate everyone.”

“It might be Tanneth,” Darkrai said. “She’s part of Emily, right? If he wants to take the pieces of Dark Matter.”

Cresselia spiraled around the spire and floated on the lower observation deck to speak with Darkrai. Countless little beeps of the radar and other technologies chittered in the room.

“Tanneth was evacuated already,” she said. “Should we start evacuating everyone?”

Darkrai hesitated. “He’ll just follow,” he said. “How long can Migami stall? We need proper backup… why are the others taking so long?!”

“It was all short notice,” Azelf said. “Ain’t like walkin’ here is easy anymore. Kilo’s all… scrambled!”

Darkrai glanced at the brawl just in time to see Migami bite off Alexander’s left arm’s head. Black blood gushed out of it. Then, it coagulated into an undead cloud of wraiths that latched onto Migami’s mouth. They spat a Dragon Pulse and gained more distance as Alexander’s wings writhed into more snarling wraiths.

He was unstoppable. The wraiths, too, were all unstoppable. He had so much Shadowy power that even their spire shots did nothing. They… wouldn’t be able to fend him off like this. They’d evacuate North Null Village, but what then?

“Darkrai,” Cresselia said. “Darkrai!”

“S-sorry, what?” Darkrai jolted upright.

“It’s time to go. Azelf and the others will call for Migami to return. Psychic link.” Cresselia drifted down the spire.

“And what then?” Darkrai asked.

“What?”

“…Nothing.” He drifted after her. “Let’s evacuate everyone.”

<><><>​

And thankfully, that was nearly done. Everyone had gone through drills of this very event. By the time they’d checked homes and houses, almost everyone had already fled. A few stray, docile Void Shadows who’d gotten lost were ushered along, while some more hostile ones fled and were beyond help.

North Null Village, beautiful in the darkness it had to work with, had fallen quiet. A tapestry of dusty red streets trampled with footprints of all sizes told a story of abandonment in a single hour. Appliances still ran in a few of the buildings, glowing dimly with the power of faded Radiance. Darkrai heard a radio in a building two doors down blaring static and occasionally distorted commands and updates from South Null village. Because it couldn’t have been anywhere else. Every other settlement had been abandoned, destroyed, or… consumed by Alexander. The South would be the Voidlands’ final bastion after this.

Soon, Darkrai and Cresselia were all that remained, along with a distant Migami, who would be agile enough to outspeed Alexander. But perhaps only by a minute.

Migami was stubborn. They kept trying to fight and clash with their limitless energy but Alexander was just as persistent. And Alexander outpaced them. It wasn’t enough. Their attacks were graceless and Alexander had gotten a read on them. They had to rethink their strategies, find a new approach… Anything. That was what Uxie transmitted to them.

And, finally, they’d gotten through. Migami roared in frustration and slammed Alexander into the earth with one final strike, pinning him down with axes they’d regrow later.

Darkrai watched Migami fly toward them, covering the whole distance of town in the time it took for him to draw a single breath.

Wordlessly, they passed through, twitchy and crazed. The distortion bubbled from their power. And Darkrai nodded to himself.

“Let’s go,” Cresselia said. “We have to keep running before he realizes which Dungeon we—”

Darkrai held Cresselia’s forehead and pressed against her mouth. Cresselia yelped but melted into it. When she pulled away, and he got to see her beautiful, rosy eyes, he had second thoughts. But Alexander’s distant roar as he emerged from the soil reaffirmed his resolve.

“See you later,” Darkrai said.

Cresselia was about to ask a question when Darkrai shrouded her in darkness. She screamed. The horror was not against him but for him. He knew why. And it was too late.

The darkness faded and Cresselia lay in a gentle crescent on the ground, sound asleep. She didn’t suffer bad dreams near him. Never did. Or maybe she was good at hiding it. Gently, Darkrai carried her through the barrier, but he did not pass through it. Someone grabbed her and tried to peek through, but he put up a dark shroud. Nobody would dare pass through without falling asleep.

He hoped that was enough of a signal that they wouldn’t return.

His heart was hammering. The wisps of his head bubbled like a campfire in the rain. Alexander was in the skies, scanning the town. If he was lucky, truly lucky, Alexander wouldn’t find the distortion at all. But he had to prepare. He placed a small portal of darkness on the ground that would explode with any disturbance, even the air of a hovering Hydreigon.

He hid in a nearby home of the silent town where he’d be able to intercept Alexander if he moved closer afterward. He went over what he’d say, how he’d stall, how he’d react, over and over in this reckless, horribly reckless, improvised distraction.

And the thought did flit in Darkrai’s mind that he could flee. It wasn’t too late. Maybe the trap he laid would be enough. Maybe he could ask for backup. But that would risk everyone. This? Only he would be lost. The little cowardly Legend who fled and died during the Dark War. He had no strength and everyone knew how to counter nightmares. They already lived in one.

Alexander would find no use in him, but so much use in everyone else. This was the way.

These thoughts steeled Darkrai as he waited for the tyrant Hydreigon to leave and wander toward the portal. Though the chances were slim, if Alexander triggered the trap, he'd fall asleep, and perhaps Darkrai would be a hero. But barring that stroke of luck, he had to be ready to block the way… and stall as much as he could.

But Hydreigon didn’t step. How would Darkrai hear him? They merely… floated through the air by some spectral power. Or, Alexander did. Hydreigon were very rare Pokémon. When was the last time Darkrai had seen one other than Alexander himself? There were rumors that Alexander killed them all and Voided them to be part of his army long ago, but that was baseless. Surely.

Darkrai tried to listen a little harder…

Soon, he realized he didn’t have to listen. The sheer aura of power and malice was enough to make his wisps crinkle into his neck. What a dreadful aura. It was coming closer. Closer. It was hard to breathe.

Darkrai couldn’t remember what it was like to see the sunset. But he had a feeling it wasn’t this sinister. The dusty purple ground darkened and a miasma of black smoke crept along the road, heavy with gnarled, spindly fingers curling around every corner. Darkrai floated higher so it wouldn’t grasp him. Contact alone might’ve been corrosive.

He dared to peer outside.

And that’s when he finally saw Alexander up close. Ten… twenty feet at most, a dark nucleus surrounded by clouds that snuffed out what little light was allowed to exist in the Voidlands. His arms were scarred with black scales and part of his face had been healed over with more darkness. Part of his face had melted into a permanent, wraith-warped snarl.

And he was five feet away from where Darkrai had prepared a Dark Void. Just a little closer…

Darkrai tensed. The pillar erupted—and Alexander was too fast. He hovered backward and completely avoided it, though he went from idly approaching to fully alert. Darkrai steeled himself one last time and emerged, holding his hands together with his charged attack.

“You.” Alexander’s voice rattled in Darkrai’s head even from there like the buzzing of so many insects crawling through his skull.

“I—I’m here to stop you. Even a second, even a minute… it will buy them time to destroy you. Look at… look at you. I thought you wanted to run this kingdom for everyone once. A long, long time ago, at least…”

“Do you think I care?” Alexander said.

“Just… why?” Darkrai asked.

Alexander drifted closer but Darkrai held his hands up quickly, threatening him.

And… Alexander stopped. He recognized what would happen. He wasn’t beyond reason.

“What are you going to do?” Alexander taunted. “A Dark Void like that would put you to sleep, too. What then? Will you gamble… on who awakens first?”

“I’m… not strong. You know that,” Darkrai said, voice trembling. “I’ve always been… a-a coward. Always tempted by darkness to strengthen me, but I resisted! All this time, I resisted! And… if you claim me… th-the only way I’d ever fight for you is as nothing but a hollow Void Shadow. None of my powers… would go to you. I would resist…”

“So many say that.” Alexander’s smile curled unnaturally upward. “So many were wrong. Do you know how many I have already claimed? Do you know how many… were so much more than you?”

The oppressive atmosphere constricted Darkrai’s chest.

“You didn’t even fight in the Dark War. You ran away. You fled the village that had taken you in when the source of darkness had killed Cresselia. You left them to die. Do you know how I know that?”

“I—I’m different now. I’ve saved this village and I’m saving everything from you, too… right now!” And despite barely being able to breathe, he felt some warmth push against that miasma. He could maintain himself.

“I will wait one day,” Alexander said, “if you kneel to me now. I need… to gather my strength again anyway. It would benefit both of us… wouldn’t it?”

A day. Could he keep Alexander asleep for longer than a day? Would he be able to resist that darkness if he knelt?

…No! He couldn’t be tempted.

“No deal,” Darkrai said, taking a careful breath.

“Really?” Alexander said. “You’ll put me away for… a little nap, in exchange for your soul? Is that how little you’re worth?

“You wouldn’t make this deal if you thought you could get… more another way,” Darkrai said. “I learned… I learned that tactic. Owen used it on you, too, didn’t he?”

And suddenly, Alexander’s smirk froze. His eyes, those red-pinprick eyes, darkened.

“Don’t move,” Darkrai said. “Or… I’ll put you in a nightmare. The nightmare I know you have, Alexander.”

“And what would that be?” Alexander said, the buzzing becoming the rumble of gravel.

Darkrai’s resolve finally solidified. He knew that once he said this, there would be no turning back. Alexander would attack. Darkrai would defend. And for both, their worlds would become darkness, and perhaps one of them may never wake up from it.

He was ready. Even in the worst outcome… he’d bought everyone time.

“That Owen would banish you… for a second time. And that you would be left… with nothing. That the power you control… will consume you. That you won’t have anything… not even your name.”

The winds stopped. Alexander hovered in total silence. Darkrai wondered how correct he was. Alexander didn’t laugh. Did that mean something?

“All you want is power,” Darkrai said. “Why? What’s the point of it?”

Now frowning, Alexander snorted and shook his head. “Life has no point,” he said. “It is an existence to climb to the top. I am transcending this. Climbing further than any mortal deserves, as decreed by the gods who created us. I am powerful because I can be. I dominate because I can. Why… should I ever hold back?”

“That’s all?” Darkrai asked. “It’s just… power? Power for the sake of power? Nothing more?”

Alexander chuckled. The rattling rhythm nearly knocked Darkrai’s breath out of his body. “Are you just stalling for time again?”

Darkrai was about to answer. Alexander advanced first, so swift, so surprising, Darkrai nearly missed his opportunity.

But he’d been ready. And, luckily, being surprised was a trigger to release the attack. Dark Void expanded through the whole block before Darkrai realized he’d done it.

Just before it blackened him and blotted out all light, he saw the look of shock on Alexander’s face.

And that, as he clutched at Cresselia’s charm around his neck, was enough for sweet dreams to claim him.

<><><>​

Night fell. A bonfire burned in the middle of Fae Fae Forest to keep the night from growing too cold. Surrounding it were Team Alloy, their Trio of Mind counterparts, and Cresselia. Demitri shuddered in the cold, but the fire was too hot. Owen’s flame was so much more controlled.

Backup had arrived but had been dismissed just as quickly. It was too dangerous to enter North Null Village. They were instead assigned to organize the refugees while they figured out their next move.

Cresselia had tried to pass through the barrier only to collapse into deep sleep almost instantly. That was as much a signal as any that Darkrai didn’t want them passing through. And the fact that Alexander hadn’t followed…

Darkrai bought them some time. They could heal Cresselia, but facing Alexander was too risky.

“Can’t we jus’ use Chesto Berries?” Gahi asked again. “I ain’t sleepy.”

“Not against the King of Nightmares,” Mesprit said. “Mundane protections just don’t work against Legendary Pokémon. Maybe he’s holding back, but I get the feeling Darkrai put everything he had into this one…”

WHAM.

Gahi’s fist slammed into one of the pastel tree trunks, startling everyone.

“Couldn’t do a thing,” Gahi hissed. “Couldn’t… ev’n land anything that mattered. Now we’re all hidin’ here… Darkrai’s out, ‘bout ter get killed maybe…”

“Gahi…” Demitri reached toward him but hesitated on grasping his shoulder.

Gahi kept punching at the tree, leaning the whole thing an extra angle or two with every strike. The scales on his knuckles chipped away, leaving little bloody streaks. Mispy, sighing but without her usual annoyance, charged a Heal Pulse. Gahi held up his hand to her and stepped to the other side of the bonfire, curling his wings and tail around himself.

“Don’t let those wounds settle, Gahi,” Demitri said gently. He reached one hand to the tree and, with a gentle nudge, pulled it back into place.

“We completely underestimated how strong a single Pokémon could be,” Mesprit said, despondent. “That kind of power would have been enough to take on all of Kilo Village at once. Yet Alexander was just… mildly slowed down by everything we threw at him. How did he get so strong, so fast?”

“He obviously had that as a final plan,” Azelf muttered. “Maybe he wanted ter keep that kingdom intact, ‘til he got desperate. Maybe it just never occurred t’the guy.”

“No,” Uxie said. “Something this obvious would have been done long ago. There was a risk.”

“What’s the risk?” Mesprit asked.

Uxie shook her head. “I don’t know. I’m only deducing our unknown variables. I don’t know what they actually are.”

“Right…” Mesprit sank a little lower.

“St-still,” Demitri said, “we were up close and held our own. We just… lost our stamina. We were pushing hard to keep up.”

Mesprit and Azelf looked at one another. Uxie nodded and crossed her arms.

“I think… we need to do our desperate measure, then, before we’re caught off guard.”

Gahi stopped his muttering to glance at them. “What’s that, then?”

Mispy gave a knowing look to Demitri. His chest felt cold.

“You don’t mean…” Demitri’s axes on his tail accidentally got lodged in the tree. “Ah—sorry,” he apologized to the tree. Mispy frowned and silently repaired the gash while Mesprit spoke.

“You know, all things considered… we aren’t too different. Funny how that works out,” Mesprit said. “We were… hesitant for a long time. Because… b-because we’d still be giving up ourselves, and you, yourselves. But it needs to happen. We need to… become whole again. A soul’s a soul, and we’re sharing it… and weakening ourselves while divided.”

“Tch.” Azelf looked away. “Hate that we’re doin’ it fer power, not… ‘cause we’re ready.”

“We have been ready for a while,” Uxie countered. “But now we can turn a catastrophe into an opportunity. It’s as you said… we are similar. A trio. We even looked up to our halves of Jirachi.”

Team Alloy collectively winced.

“…At a point in time, at least.”

“Can’t wait ter figure out how he resolves,” Gahi muttered. “…Rhys… is still around… ev’n if he’s…”

Demitri couldn’t bear to look at Gahi with that one. Rhys’ soul was around, yes… but ‘Rhys’ was so wholly eclipsed by Dialga that it frightened him what would happen with Mesprit. Such long lives…

Then again, their lives were also long. It was only due to how Rhys died that… he was so faint. But not gone. Maybe he could come back.

Or maybe ‘Rhys’ was… tired.

“So, are we ready?” Uxie asked.

She faced Mispy. Azelf faced Gahi. Finally, Demitri stared at Mesprit… but in his eyes, Demitri only saw doubt. Concern, uncertainty. Demitri wasn’t sure why. Gahi was headstrong—he would certainly try to get it over with first. Mispy was logical and saw the benefits outweighing the risks. And Demitri acknowledged both. Yet…

Uxie reached toward Mispy. Azelf held his hands out for Gahi. Mesprit… did not. And Demitri, too, was frozen. He wasn’t very smart. He hesitated all the time. It took those two to drive him forward to take these risks. But—

“Wait,” Demitri blurted.

The other two pairs stopped.

“What?” Gahi said. “C’mon, we were havin’ a moment.”

“I… I don’t know if we should do this yet,” he said. “It… Something doesn’t feel right. Think about it…”

Mispy frowned, looking skeptical. Demitri shrank back, his claws trying to find something to hold other than his tail.

“…Bah, c’mon. Mispy’s the thinker an’ she thinks it’s alright,” Gahi said.

“But… aren’t we doing this a little rashly?” Demitri said. “Th-think about it. We’re weak. We’re still barely able to keep ourselves together when we fuse. We’re… broken still. If we fuse now… we might lose our lifeline.”

“Lifeline?” Mispy repeated. Then, a moment later, she glanced at Uxie with a more meaningful look. “Oh.”

“Those three are the ones keeping our tempers sane when we’re Migami,” Demitri said. “We don’t even know if we can fuse after that happens! And say we still can… If they fuse with us… Will we always have that? Or will we never have that?”

Mesprit’s expression turned horrified. “W-we won’t lose like that! We won’t… just be subsumed by those instincts, right?”

Meanwhile, Azelf exploded into the debate with, “Hang on, if we ain’t even able to fuse… then we’d totally lose! Fusion’s all we’ve got that messed Alexander up! …But c’mon, it’s totally gonna work, why wouldn’t it?”

“…No. We don’t know for sure,” Uxie admitted. “…Thank you for spotting this, Demitri. We were behaving rashly. We have no need for fusing right this instant anyway. Alexander is dormant and he makes a show of all his arrivals. We will know when he wakes up.”

Mispy nodded as well, offering an encouraging smile to Demitri. Gahi, meanwhile, grumbled something and crossed his arms in a way almost identical to Azelf.

“It’ll work out if we try,” Gahi said. “We’re hesitatin’. Any time we hesitate, stuff goes wrong. C’mon, we were about ter get it workin’. It’d work out!”

“But can we afford that risk?” Demitri said.

“It ain’t a risk! I know it’ll work!”

“How?”

“Gut feelin’.” Gahi tapped his chest. “We’ll be jus’ fine.”

“Gahi, I…” Demitri shook his head. “I’m sorry, Gahi. But I can’t accept pure guts here.”

Gahi looked like he’d been slapped across the face.

“B-besides,” Demitri added. “Think about Owen. He’s probably hoping to see us one last time, minimum. What if we… change forever somehow? What then?”

“Tch…” Gahi whipped his tail on the ground. “…Don’t like this,” he spat. “But fine. I ain’t gonna go ahead.” He glanced at Azelf, who nodded reluctantly.

“Thanks, Gahi…”

“But we still need to work toward this,” Uxie went on. “We aren’t just waiting for Owen. Why don’t we ask Palkia to compile research notes on you three? It’d be nice if we had Nevren, but…”

“Oh, that’s true,” Demitri said. “If Palkia can give us an answer for how it’d turn out… then we can do it!”

“Better not experiment on us again,” Gahi grumbled. “…Alright, whatever. So what now?”

“I think we three will go ahead to find Palkia,” Uxie said. “Why don’t you… stand guard over Cresselia, try to wake her up, and then catch up with us?”

“That’s fine,” Demitri said. “Thanks, you three…”

“Aah, don’t mention it.” Azelf dismissed Demitri with a wave and drifted away from the campsite. “C’mon! Ain’t gonna stall now!”

That… sounded passive-aggressive. Demitri let it slide and the Trio of Mind left them.

He sighed, feeling uneasy, but less uneasy than before. It would have to do. Now, as for how to wake up Cresselia—

“Oi, oi! Wake up already!” Gahi was rattling Cresselia like a giant maraca.

Alarmed, Demitri jogged to him. “G-Gahi! Don’t shake sleeping Pokémon! Especially the Pokémon of sweet dreams! You’ll get nightmares forever!”

“Bah! Darkrai’s not around, ain’t he?” Gahi said, setting her back down and crossing his arms. “She’s out cold. Ain’t wakin’ that up.”

Mispy rubbed her forehead.

“Maybe,” Demitri suggested, “we need to do something special to wake her up…”

“How ‘bout we put her hands in water?”

“I think that does something else…”

Gahi grumbled and drifted closer, crouching until his head was on the ground at Cresselia’s level. “Well, there’s gotta be some way ter wake her up…”

Mispy slid over, frowning pensively, and glanced at Demitri. He shrugged.

Gahi was starting to poke her cheek. He was about to poke her eyelid when Demitri said, “Um! Let’s try something other than that…”

“Geh.” The Flygon rolled his eyes and stood up.

“Hmm…” Mispy approached next. She brought a vine next to Cresselia’s mouth, then her nose. “Through… her nose…”

“What about it?” Gahi asked.

Mispy placed a vine beneath Cresselia’s nostrils. The Legend of Dreams’ brow furrowed and her body squirmed in discomfort. She opened her mouth and gasped, but it seemed uncomfortable and unnatural to her.

Mispy squeezed a little harder around her muzzle next. Suddenly, Cresselia took in a great gasp and her eyes shot open. Mispy quickly let go.

“What? What?” Cresselia said after a snort. “Where… what happened? Darkrai, where is Darkrai?”

“Still in the Voidlands,” Demitri said. “But… I think he used Dark Void on himself and Alexander. You know, to make sure it hit… I think he hit everything in there. And it must’ve worked. Alexander isn’t here.”

“What…” Cresselia looked around. “We’re still in the Dungeon…”

“Yeah. An’ the wraiths ain’t botherin’ us, meanin’ Alexander ain’t givin’ out commands er whatever.”

Cresselia let out a shaky sigh. “Darkrai…” Her little fists trembled.

“I’m… sorry,” Demitri said. “I know this isn’t… easy, but we shouldn’t let it go to waste. We have a little more time now. Let’s regroup. Maybe we can ambush him when he’s asleep, right?”

“Right.” Cresselia sighed. “Right. Darkrai… He’s usually so afraid. I want to honor his… bravery here. His courage to risk so much for us. Did you already send word?”

“Yeah.” Demitri nodded. “We just wanted to make sure it was safe first. I think we got our answer.”

Cresselia spotted a supply bag nearby and pulled out a light crystal on a necklace. She slipped it on.

“Let’s go to Destiny Tower,” she said. “There should be another Dungeon mapped to near North Null. We can send fighters through there to bombard Alexander while he’s down.”

“How long will that take?” Demitri asked.

“Couple kilos fer me,” Gahi bragged.

“For a real strike? It might take an hour or two.”

Recognizing the urgency, and after asking what an hour was again, Team Alloy and Cresselia departed. Demitri spared one last glance at the rift into the Voidlands… and then followed the others to the recon squads to get out of the Dungeon.

“Wonder how Owen’s doin’,” Gahi muttered. “Hope he’s havin’ a good vacation…”

“Gahi…”

“I know, I know,” Gahi said. “Jus’ irritated. Necrozma was the one who sent ‘em back. He’s… researchin’. Longer he has, more time he’ll get, yeah? He’ll find an answer… Always does…”

At this point, buying time was the best they could do.

Hopefully, Demitri thought, it would be enough.

 

[Arukona]

Well, here I am back again to the fic that keeps on giving. With the Review Event over on PMDiner up and running, and this fic being up for Review Tag on top of that, I figured I'd do what I've done for Review Events before and use this as an opportunity to get my teeth further stuck into this fic. I'm nearly caught up (at least compared to a number of other folks I've seen around), but still, the most recent chapters are beyond my reach. So hopefully I can close that gap just a little more with this review.

The last thing I read was Special Episode 11, which certainly put those early chapters into a different perspective (how long ago was that for me? Even I don't remember at this point). So this review will be starting from Chapter 146, and picking up that baton from where I left off.

Let's dive in back to the present, and recall the state Kilo was in...

Chapter 146

(These big numbers still are quite an amazing thing to behold in review like this, given how I've never gone this high with chapter numbers on any other fic I've reviewed thus far. Closest one to this much I've gotten as far on is probably Path of Valor. )

Intriguing how in spite of the great threat Emily once posed, she almost isn't as huge of a threat now? But she'll still be a problem our heroes will have to deal with, no doubt. Especially since a living natural disaster is hardly something anyone wants coming upon them. Calling it now - she'll impede the progress of Owen and co. in some way in the next while.

But now we have a race against time to get this done before winter's up. Gotta say, that would make for a rather poetic finish if the final threat was quelled at the end of winter, and spring, i.e. the season where life renews, would be heralded in the aftermath.

Nice reflection about how Owen's stepped up to the plate in these times, and I like the small acknowledgment towards him changing since his time in the Hearts. It's neat to see how far he's come from the small Charmander endlessly reset by Star, Amia and Rhys to becoming a leader everyone looks up to.

Now immediate curiosity as to just what's inside this Egg. I'm gonna bet that it'll be another Owen to add to the pile.

And now Manny's united with Marshadow again. Alas, that means no more seeing him with the funny fairy wings he had while he was a spirit with Willow.

Looks like there'll be more team splitting and divergent POVs to come in our near future. Granted, not that it was much different before now - there was hardly a huge amount of focus on any one POV in the last number of chapters.

Kinda surreal to think that Valle's other half is Necrozma of all 'mons. Who would've thought that would be the case when we met him all the way back when the chapter numbers were in the teens? Even back then, he seemed far from the most important of the Guardians, whereas now, his other half is one who's perhaps one of the most important players in the history of Kilo.

Practical and utilitarian with his remarks about Jerry - I see Owen's as forward thinking as ever.

Owen's thoughts about his current situation - "how had it fallen down from so high up to land in his hands" - is certainly worth thinking about. If neither Star nor Barky could sufficiently balance their ruling relationship with each other, then someone new's gotta step forward. Owen does have the charisma to be the world's new leader...but of course that comes with its own share of reluctance from our resident Charizard.

I see Willow's powers do have some use here. Good that they're being used for purposes beyond mischief for the Joltik's own amusement.

Ah yes, and Amia (well, more like Not!Amia, aka Evelyn after the bombshell reveal last Special Episode) and Alex, who even after all the tumult this story has been through, they are still here with us. To think they were the first characters other than Owen to be introduced by name, and yet they haven't been forgotten. They're still playing vital parts in the story to this day, and that, I appreciate in a story where each character, no matter how minor their role might diminish to, plays a pivotal role in some way towards the plot.

Four remnants of Dark Matter - I'm beginning to see what the plan is based on that chapter title at the start. Four teams to hunt down them all.

Fascinating how friendly Emily seemed when we first met her, yet now she's being spoken of in the same breath as Alexander as one of the ultimate evils to be taken down. Some things certainly change over the course of a hundred chapters, alright.

Between the unknown locations of Remi's last fragment and the other two Dark Matter fragments, it seems like our gang's gonna have to some searching of Kilo with a fine-tooth comb. Maybe possibly in some of the Voidlands, too.

“…When this all comes to an end, the Hands of Creation will be used to destroy my soul.”

Seems Diyem's default wish to die is a bit of a spanner in the works. Hopefully one that can be resolved in time.

And a new mystery about Hecto's cropped up, about him being from a realm beyond Star and Barky's creation. Followed by the existence of Ultra Space and the worlds that exist beyond that. Damn, and there was me thinking Path of Valor got complicated enough with its existence of dimensions beyond.

The way they talk about Dark Matter's 'primal, chaotic power' being absorbed by Alexander sounds awfully concerning as a force to be reckoned with, and now I wonder if such a force might well serve as a final threat for our gang to put down. The 'final boss' of this fic, so to speak. After all, from what's been alluded to in on conversations on Discord, where Hands of Creation is now, the ending isn't too far away. ...Still gonna be a long while before we get there, of course, but I can't help but wonder regardless just what the final obstacle of our heroes will be when the time comes.

Seems like the strategy is to lure Alexander out of the Voidlands, though how they'll go about that is another question entirely.

Logistic planning - the niche for many who love it (like our resident Charizard, no doubt), while others see it as a mind-numbingly boring task where the clock only moves five minutes after what feels like five hours.

Surprised Owen is still worried about his spirits not forgiving him, while Klent and Amelia have demonstrated a fair bit of loyalty and faith in him by now. I suppose it's just a natural fear; even after sins have long since been repented and forgiven, the reminder of those sins will never be washed away.

Oh? The egg's hatching? Let's see, how right was I about it being another Owen...?

“Healthy girl!” she declared.

Aw, rats. Not quite. Unless this is a female AU Owen whose name is Olwen. Probably not though; this kid looks like an offspring of Owen.

Still, I did just have a thought. Could this be where the third remnant of Remi is? In which case, that's that search curtailed. I guess we'll see what this baby Charmander has to bring to the table this late in the game.

Chapter 147

“Uh.” Awkwardly, Owen shifted his weight and gestured to the Charmander. “Just so you know, that wasn’t… from Zena and me. That was something else.”

I think it's a little early for those two to be having children already. Well, unless there's something the text isn't telling us about where they are in their relationship.

That being said, this kid's a cutie! Has all the charm of a little baby and they don't appear to be an excessive crier either. What a time to come into the world, though. Then again, better off at this time, when the gang has disposed of Dark Matter as a threat, rather than back at any point in Act 3. That would be, er, unfortunate.

So this kid was made from Owen and Diyem? Geez, Owen sure has racked up a load of partners throughout this adventure. Though it seems it's a creation from their essences, as opposed to anything more biological.

At least Xerneas is finally beginning to mellow out. ABOUT FREAKING TIME. If he continued any longer with his haughty self that he had in the last bunch of chapters I reviewed, he'd have outpaced Star for my most hated character in this whole fic.

So the young Charmander here appears to be a paragon of light and shadow, not unlike her dad(?). Are they gonna be the key to Alexander's defeat?

“It’s a very… disturbing family tree,” Xerneas said. “And for some reason, I have a sinking feeling it’s far worse once we piece it together.”

You can say that again, Xerneas. On that note, the talk about family trees reminds me of a conversation on Discord about fucked up family trees for one character in this and it's often cited by those in the know as one of this fic's many wack factors. I couldn't look too deeply at the time because spoilers, but I guess I'll have to backread when those were said and understand the context now that I'm this far in.

And with logistics comes a line break. Granted, if the discussions about logistics were included, they'd no doubt tank the pacing a whole ton, so their omission is understandable.

This Charmander's gotta be given a name at some point, surely?

Amia giggled. “Unorthodox meeting place, but I wanted to know my supposed step-granddaughter a little more.”

Okaaaayyyy, yeah, this family tree is certainly a bizarre one. If it had a tree form, it would look like something out of a haunted forest.

Kinda humorous - and a little bit morbid - to think that kids Owen played with once upon a time were Hydreigon spirits, of all things.

And now a recap of what happened in Special Episode 11 - a most revelatory one. And with it...Owen's inevitably gonna find out about Remi and Alexander's relations.

These family tree shenanigans are getting hella silly at this point. Owen raised by his own grandchildren, Jerry being Spice's great grandson...Whatever next? I tell you, this puts the Joestar family tree to shame in terms of how damn convoluted it is.

But now Owen and Zena have to be parents to little Charmander. Hopefully some cute interactions incoming between them?

Explaining humans to someone who has no concept of them...I've seen some fellow PMD authors struggle with that.

“I just don’t know who to blame anymore,” Owen said.

The time's long since passed for that, I reckon. It doesn't matter who's responsible for what at this point; what matters is putting the current troubles of the world to rest.

Seems like Owen and Eon are gonna have to work things out in some way. Just as Owen's changed as often as he has, Eon's done so too. I do wonder if we might get more of an insight into his point of view during the Dark War? Maybe in the next Special Episode, we might well see his side of things. But it looks like we're gonna have to wait a bit longer for our former Big Bad and resident protagonist to come to terms with each other. Hopefully it'll work out in the end.

Enet sure has a penchant for eavesdropping on important conversations. How many times has that happened now?

Conclusion

I'll leave it there for now, though I might possibly get back to this later on down the road during this Review Event.

Another great set of chapters! I'm particularly a fan of the family tree shenanigans that set in during Chapter 147 and made me as a HoC reader go, "Oh, we're getting even wackier, huh?" Another testament to just how beautifully crafted the oddities in this fic can be. Personally, I'm a big fan when it comes to revelations along the lines of a character being revealed as one's grandson or grandparent or some other familial relation, so I very much approve of these developments. Stuff like Owen being raised by his own grandchildren, and Jerry technically being Spice's great-grandson...a certified HoC moment if I ever saw one. And it's moments like these that make me look back and think, "Man, we've come a long way, haven't we?"

But there's still a ways to go until we reach the finish line. Still have more than twenty chapters and a Special Episode to get through, and hopefully I can work on whittling away at those in the next while. I am very happy to have made it this far in though, and I'll gladly stick it out until the fic ends sometime next year.

Great job! Keep it up with the shenanigans, we love to see 'em~

 

[Spiteful Murkrow]

Heya, not fully sure how this one's gonna turn out since nights after coming home from the office tend to be a bit low-energy, but I figured I'd at least make an attempt at picking up my offsite review tag before it got sniped with a readthrough of…

Chapter 13

Spoiler

Traversing Fae, Fae Forest was a calming experience, for the most part. The wild Pokémon were no match for Amia’s flames, and Owen managed to take on a few as well. He used the aggressors as practice for his vines. He had learned a new technique this way, though he couldn’t find a practical use for it yet, as it took too long. Owen was now able to turn his arm into a large vine. And that was all. He figured he’d build upon it later.

>Fae Forest
>calming

I take it that this means that Owen doesn't have Dragon-typing, since... yeah, you'd think that he'd find 'fae' anything to be really, really uncomfy to be around if so.

While the wilds themselves were not a problem, their pranks were. Everything within the Dungeon was a sea of bizarre, Pecha-pink leaves and beige wood. It smelled like candy. Wild cries of many Fairy and Bug Pokémon faintly sounded in all directions like ethereal, haunting cackles.

So, just how

-tier are the residents, anyways? Since just saying, fae can get really, really messed up in folktales and fiction in general. Which would be quite the unnerving contrast to how this place apparently smells like a candy shop.

The seeds that appeared in this Dungeon were also something that some of the more intelligent wild Pokémon took advantage of. Near the middle of their exploration, a Whimsicott tossed with precise aim a strange seed that exploded right in front of Owen’s face. The strange mist that followed made the Charmeleon’s reptilian pupils dilate into saucers, and he had to be carried by Amia and Alex for two whole segments while he babbled about the leaves teasing him. This slowly transitioned into him laughing about how everybody looked like giant, rainbow Goodra, and how he could taste the light with his ears.

I'm now getting flashbacks to that one dungeon with the extended Mushroom Samba sequence in MOTHER 3, since... yeah, between the aesthetic and Owen's reaction to that Totter Seed(?), it's definitely familiar.

Though ferals have a gradient of intelligence / sapience, huh? I mean, I suppose it wouldn't be that foreign of an idea to me given that that a whole slew of JRPGs have that going on with their monsters, though I'll admit that I still did a double-take there at first.

When Owen came back to his senses, he had no memory of the past two sections. Amia and Alex spared him the details, and instead told him that it was a Sleep Seed, rather than some sort of potent X-Eye Seed.

Oh, so it was an X-Eye Seed. Duly noted. Though Seeds in this setting have degrees of potency? I wonder if that means that Blast Seeds run a gamut from "party poppers" to "hand grenades" in Kilo Village and its surroundings.

Thankfully, aside from a few thrown seeds, the Dungeon itself wasn’t any problem for them. The forest’s twisted dimensions melted away with the passage of the seventh segment. They emerged in a field that was—in stark contrast of the pink foliage that surrounded it—one of normal, green blades of grass that went up to Amia’s knees. But the tall grass hid subtle details beneath it. There were large, multicolored mushrooms dotting the pasture, and the rocks were colored like rainbows.

Owen: "Wait, am I still tripping from that Sleep Seed or whatever that was? Since I didn't think that there were rainbow-colored rocks just lying around normally."

Amia: "... Maybe they're opals? Just saying those are rainbow-colored even while still raw and uncut."

This place was unexplored and untouched by most Pokémon affiliated with Kilo Village. Few wild Pokémon made this place their home, since it did not possess a Dungeon’s eternal, maze-like qualities to keep such Pokémon trapped inside its own warped ecosystem. This made the garden’s foliage move only to the wind.

“I feel like I shouldn’t be here,” Owen mumbled, looking around. “Don’t you kinda get that feeling…? Like… like this just isn’t a place where Pokémon like us should be walking?”

Which is as good a sign as any that things are going to go seriously sideways in short order, just saying. Since if you are getting the feeling that you don't belong here in a setting where everyone and their mother pulls Gurren Lagann-tier antics...

“I see your point,” Alex mumbled, rubbing his cannons together anxiously.

“Hmm, let’s just keep going,” Amia said, “and see where it takes us! It can’t be that bad, can it?”

18 words spoken seconds from disaster, since... yeah. This is kinda the definition of tempting fate right now.

“M-maybe,” Owen replied. “Mom? How come… you never told me about all this? Just, you know, about being a Guardian, or that awesome Fire power!”

Oh, trust me, Owen. If that disembodied flashback you had a few chapters ago implying that you and Team Alloy used to all know each other and were all once fully evolved, this is probably small potatoes in terms of things your adoptive mom hasn't been telling you.

“W-well, it’s simply because, that is, er, Owen…” She sighed. “We just wanted you to live a normal life. We’d tell you eventually, but… don’t you think you deserved to just live like a normal Pokémon, at least for a little while?”

[ ]

“I guess,” Owen said. “It’s just, it’s hard because I still know they’re dead.”

“Oh, but they’re hardly dead, dear.”

Wait, is the 'they're' in reference to the other Guardians, or...? Since I'm not entirely sure there. Though something about the gap between Amia and Owen's line felt like it was bait for showing how his mind was ticking, especially if he just accepted Amia's explanation at face value or not (I mean, Owen probably did considering his track record in this story thus far, but it'd be nice to have formal confirmation).

There was no winning with that argument. He conceded, “I’m glad I at least had a sense of a community… Can they hear me now?”

“They can, dear,” Amia said. “And they’re so proud of you for taking this so well.”

“…What I did counted as taking it well?” he asked, thinking about how he’d toppled Nevren over and had to get one of the Waypoints freed up thanks to his Vine Trap.

So considering how this is highly likely to not Owen's first rodeo with Mystic powers given that it's been very strongly implied that he's gotten "reset" a few times in the past, what on earth did him taking a reveal like this poorly look like?

“Well, compared to how it could have gone,” Amia said.

Yeah, I frankly would be more surprised if this was just an idle hypothetical and not an explicit comparison to something Amia saw before in the past from Owen.

They walked some more. He saw a blue mushroom along the immediate path. Bored of the foliage, he kicked at it carelessly.

“Ooo!”

Owen stopped walking. That voice did not sound like anybody he knew. In fact, it didn’t even sound like a voice. More like a cry, or some sort of primal, sing-song grunt. Amia and Alex, too, stopped, and they all looked down.

Whelp, looks like Alex's fate-tempting has come back to bite everybody a lot sooner than I was expecting. ^^;

The blue mushroom’s top grew a mouth. And for a few silent seconds, they stared at each other, two, beady-black eyes just above the carved mouth.

It then screeched at him. Owen jumped and held his arms up, as if to apologize. The mushroom grew to twice, then thrice its size—almost to Owen’s knees, now—and then exploded with a loud POP! It spattered fungal bits harmlessly in all directions. A bit got in Owen’s mouth; it tasted like old cheese. He spat, rubbing his tongue with his claws desperately.

Owen: "Oh gods, I did not need that anywhere near my mouth!"

Though what on earth were those mushrooms anyways? Since I didn't recognize that description aligning with any Pokémon that I could think of.

“I don’t think I like this place,” Owen finally said, looking back. Alex was hiding his gargantuan, flaming body behind Amia, who only looked mildly startled. They continued onward.

Owen thought about what was said previously—about only being able to summon solid copies if enough energy was put into them, some sort of divine energy from the Orbs, or spiritual energy. He hadn’t tried that technique yet. His mother, however, could.

Which should be one of the biggest signs that there's a lot that Amia isn't telling you right about now, Owen. Especially if this is something that you've only recently learned. But such is life as an overly trusting naïf, I guess. Did someone rip out Owen's inner skeptic in a prior cycle or something?

“Mom?”

“Yes, dear?”

“How come you were able to make the whole village solid if it takes so much energy to do it?”

“Oh, Owen, they aren’t very strong,” Amia said. “We used to live in a very hidden-away, very peaceful village. The Pokémon there didn’t fight—and so, their spirits were hardly trained to the same degree that you are in combat. The weaker a Pokémon is, the easier it is to make them solid. That’s probably why even Anam, as strong as he is, couldn’t fully materialize Star.”

I now have the mental image of Amia basically doing the equivalent of doing draw distance shenanigans with Hot Spot Village and dispelling whatever spirits weren't close to wherever she sensed Owen was in the general vicinity of. Since she is a Psychic-type, just saying.

Though waaaaaait a minute. 'Materialize Star'? Implying that Star herself is not a living Pokémon? I don't remember if that was mentioned in a prior chapter, or if that's a fateful slip-up by Amia there.

“Oh.” He paused, making connections. “Does that mean Dad is weak, too?”

“W-well, I…! I mean…!” Alex protested. “I’m fairly strong! I’m the strongest of the village—er, before Amia.”

Owen: "... Wait, did I really not get the idea to spar with the other villagers this entire time? You'd think that I'd have noticed that they were weirdly weak at battling after a while." ._.;

“So, if I fought you, I’d lose? Or win?” Owen asked.

“You… would have a challenge,” Alex said. “A-again, I’m strong, for my village.”

“For your village of non-fighters,” Owen clarified. “Is that why I never got to spar with you?”

Alex rumbled nervously.

Oh, I suppose "Owen, don't fight with the villagers" works as an explanation for him being in the dark about this all the time, too. Though I see that summoned spirits are hugely nerfed relative to normal Pokémon, which probably would imply some things regarding just how far up the tierlist Anam is around Kilo Village given that James can straight-up hold his own in battle in spite of being a summoned spirit himself. Though I suppose him literally being depicted sharing a background with Star and Arceus on the cover art was already an indication that he's well beyond being a normal Goodra.

Owen sighed. “Maybe you should have mentioned that when we were making teams.”

Yeah, I can already tell that Owen's going to be saying a lot of variations of this sentiment throughout the span of this story.

Just then, something shuffled in the grass ahead of them. Little flowers rose up from the grass—at first, Owen though they were pretty, but upon closer inspection, the petals were wilted and sticky. They’d been on the grass for a while.

Someone giggled—it was a high-pitched noise and came from three directions at once.

A chill ran up the Charmeleon’s spine.

“Huhuhu…”

Just saying, this clearing is doing a wonderful job putting out an advertisement for just pulling an Ellen Ripley on this entire Mystery Dungeon and bouncing afterwards.

“N-n-nggh, th-that just gives me a bad feeling,” Owen said.

“Hmm, perhaps that’s the Guardian,” Amia said. “I’m certainly… sensing a different presence here.”

“A Mystic aura, for sure,” Alex said, nodding to Owen. “That’s what we call that special atmosphere given off by people like us—Mystic auras.”

Right, I suppose that would explain why they're just tolerating all the mushroom samba antics thus far. Though I'm guessing that this is the Fairy Guardian they're going after given all the repeated mentions of 'fey' in this Mystery Dungeon.

“It’s what Star called it, at least,” Amia said. “I think she just liked how it sounded.”

“Oooh, and who are you?” The voice giggled again. Childish. Feminine. Jittery. “I can’t believe it. People are here to see me! That’s so cool! It’s been so long since I had new toys to play with.”

Yeah, it's the Fairy Guardian. I can already tell.

Owen: "... I'm sorry, did she just say 'toys to play with'?"

“Toys?” Owen repeated. He saw something yellow with pink wings fly past him.

Yeah, I figured that'd be his rough reaction. Though inb4 the Guardian turns out to be a Cutiefly / Ribombee so that way we can have a moment like:

“We aren’t here to play,” Alex said. “We are here to bring you with us. To bring you someplace with other Guardians. Did Star warn you about this?”

“I stopped talking to Star a long time ago. She’s no fun!”

[ ]

“Can you at least show yourself?” Owen squeaked. “Where are you?”

“Where am I? I’m right here! And here, and here, and now I’m here, and now here!”

It might make sense to get a bit more into Owen's head here in terms of how the gears are turning inside it, especially if he's meant to be progressively losing his nerve from creepy Fairy Guardian being creepy and messing with him.

Owen heard voices from all over—she was moving so quickly, the wind picking up with each new voice. Was this her—or was it spirits acting like her, or some kind of Double Team? Owen carefully tapped his foot on the ground, preparing a Fire Trap, just in case—Wait. No. Slowly, his foot turned green and leafy. He tapped his foot again. Vine Trap. That won’t burn the fields. Then, he returned to his red, scaly self.

“What’re you doing?” Owen called out. “I don’t want to fight! I—can’t you just come with us?”

“This is my home!” the Fairy Guardian replied. Every sentence came from a new location. “If you want me to come with you, then you’re just going to have to find me!”

Amia: "... We should've brought along someone who knew Haze with us, huh?"

Alex: "Dear, would that even work on a Guardian given that I'm pretty sure that they break normal game scaling by default?" .-.

Suddenly, the world around them flooded with a strange, pink, glittery fog. Owen reflexively held his breath and shut his eyes, trying to fan the fog away. It felt thick and it made his tail crackle.

“Owen!” Amia yelled.

“Mom?”

Owen opened his eyes—but she was gone. So was Alex—in fact… everybody was gone and, once again, he found that he was alone in a strange world. Blades of grass were as tall as trees; the little bits of dirt on the ground were like boulders. One of the mushrooms—a yellow one, this time—grew two slits for eyes and another slit for a mouth and jeered at him. It was ten times Owen’s height.

Did... Owen just get Sleep Powdered there? Or is this supposed to be the aerosolized equivalent of whatever's jammed inside X-Eye Seeds?

“…I shrank,” Owen said. He looked around, as if verifying. “Oh, good. Can’t have a normal day anymore, can I?”

Laughter filled the air.

Amia screamed. She was far away, from Owen’s perspective. “Mom!”

Owen, can you even take it for granted that you're awake right now? Even if I suppose that Minimize is a thing and could very well work like this assuming that mist was a "Minimize target" thing.

He ran, but then realized that the yellow mushroom was gone. Spinning around, he sensed something—it was right behind him. It opened its mouth, revealing countless tiny teeth, and dragged its body forward with an unknown force.

Owen ran as fast as he could, looking back to see the mushroom hot on his tail. Not wanting to get anywhere near, he heaved a plume of fire its way. It shrieked and flailed its huge tiny body, disintegrating into a pile of ash at a rate that startled Owen. A little, blue ember rose from the ashes and lunged toward him. Owen ducked, then spun to watch where it was going.

Owen’s mouth hung agape. “Oh, come on!”

Can't tell if the ember is meant to be the Fairy Guardian or a summoned spirit, but I recognize a bland-name hitodama when I see one, so...

Right in front of him was the largest Joltik he’d ever seen. Its tiny, blue claws were as tall as Owen.

“Huhuhu…” The Joltik—Star had called her Willow, didn’t she?—beamed. “You look squishy.”

Okay, so it's not really the fairest comparison since I'm coming back to this story after a multi-month hiatus, but I kinda wonder if "right, the Fairy Guardian is named Willow" should've been brought up more as a "right, this is what's going on" in the narration given that it's mentioned once in Chapter 11 and then never again afterwards up until this point in the story and there was a decent amount of activity between then and now.

Owen blasted Willow with another plume of fire. Immediately after, he turned and fled, using the distorted light and smoky aftereffect as a distraction. A grain of dirt tripped him and twisted so he’d land on his back—wincing when he crunched on his tail instead.

A huge, blue claw crashed down on him. He had no way to escape it. Out of reflex, he crossed his arms in an X-shape and squeezed his eyes shut.

I'm reminded of that one gag from the Kim Possible episode with the giant cockroaches of Ron whining about being about to be crushed by a bug right about now.

Immense pressure pushed on his back. He sank deeper into the dirt. Yet, no claw pierced through his body. Instead, a shield of radiant, golden light surrounded Owen in a protective, albeit fleeting, barrier.

“Ehh?” Joltik said. She poked at Owen’s Protect barrier. “No fair! Stop hiding!”

Owen:

It wasn’t as if Owen had a choice. The light was already fading, and it would be too much of a strain to use the barrier twice in a row. How useless—he couldn’t do anything while Protecting himself. All he could do was stall for time, and now he was—by his perspective—trapped many feet underground.

Hey, everyone! We have the first Guardian! He’s okay! He’ll come with us, and he’s super cool! …Guys? Hello?

Owen: "Wait, who on earth is even saying that right now?"

That voice—Anam? They found their Guardian. But why did they hear him? The communicator! Was it still normally sized? Owen just realized that he didn’t have his bag with him, but he could still feel the subtle presence of the Eviolite nearby. He must be close. If they could just get to the Badge, perhaps they could escape and get backup.

Whelp, we have an answer there. Though I suppose that's one way to tell that everyone got Minimized there by Willow's mist.

Owen, a voice rang in his mind. Focus on the dirt!

That voice sounded familiar. The Jumpluff who had guarded the Grass Orb previously. Klent?

Listen to me! Focus on the dirt! Become Grass! Sink into it!

Uhh—

Owen: "And of course this freaking Guardian would force me to assume the form that makes me feel all dirty and wrong inside in order to survive." >///<

“Owen!” someone else called. It was Amia, but from where he was, he couldn’t tell what direction it came from. Was it behind? Or in front?

Willow stomped again, but this time it actually hit. Owen wheezed—thankfully, he was so small that the claws lost their piercing capabilities. He couldn’t focus on the transformation. But he had another idea. Heat welled up in his chest again,and he scorched the Joltik’s claw.

“YOW!”

I mean, what on earth did you expect, Willow? You're trying to stomp a fire source with your bare feet. At least get some shoes or something before trying this play.

That was his chance. When she jerked away, Owen scrambled out of the hole of dirt, getting to the top just in time to spin around and cross his arms. The resulting force sent Owen flying back unharmed, and he used that to his advantage, taking the momentum to run away as fast as he—

Willow sprouted pink wings and rammed straight into Owen. Her wings then evaporated, and she resumed the chase, stomping on the ground just behind Owen any time she could.

Owen: "Are you kidding me right now?!"

Willow: "No? I literally used this power the moment we met each other. Now be a good little ember and stay still so that way I can stomp you out." >:|

“Please! Stop stomping on us!” Owen yelled.

“No!” the gigantic creature said. “This is too fun! Just wait until I nibble on you!”

Owen: "Okay, yeah. Assuming that I don't die from this, I volunteer making her Anam's problem the moment she gets back to Kilo."

“We just want to—” Owen narrowly dodged one of the claws of the giant Joltik. “PLEASE! Just turn us back to normal! We’re here to help!”

He didn’t know where his parents were, but he knew he heard Amia calling somewhere ahead.

Anam’s voice had to have come from somewhere nearby. Owen hoped that would be enough to guide the others back to the same place, too. Learning from his old mistake, he avoided bits of dirt and walked around the blades of grass. Weeds were like trees, pebbles like mountains. Surely this wouldn’t last forever, right?

No, but at this rate, it might last until Willow gets bored of trying to kill you since... yeah, not seeing any obvious signs that that Minimization is about to wear off right now.

The Joltik giggled and continued to pursue Owen. He’d lost his way. In this part of the world, the sun was setting, and the oversized garden looked more and more like shifting monsters of the night. Willow was probably only chasing him because of the flame on his—wait! Maybe if he focused enough…!

Owen: "... Ugh. Rhys really couldn't have had the Dragon Orb lying around his house, huh? Since boy do I always feel wrong and gross doing this..." >_>;

Owen shut his eyes. He tried to meditate—hard as it was, while running—and felt his body change and cool. The flame went out, and that same daffodil sprouted. He didn’t like it, but it was necessary. Red scales became leafy green, and all of his Fire attributes vanished—along with the light.

“H-hey! No fair! I just wanna play!” she said. “Where’d you go?!”

Willow must not be good at seeing auras. If he could just keep that up…

I like how Owen says that like it's the most natural thing in the world. Though is that a standard ability for Mystics in this setting? Or is a hint at something deeper for him? Since I recall that Mispy was also mentioned as being able to sense auras, but she doesn't have any Mystic power... yet, anyways.

Hey, guys! We did fine! Our Guardian is just fine!

“YOW!” Owen yelped, holding the sides of his head. “Demitri! Why so loud?!”

Because he's speaking normally while you're literally mite-sized right about now? ^^;

He turned to his right and saw a Badge almost as big as a house. His heart skipped a beat. He was there! He made it!

Now what?!

“Mom? Dad?!”

“Right here, dear!” Amia called, rushing over.

Owen: "... Wait, we're not going to be stuck like this after leaving this place, are we?"

“I found you!” Willow said.

Amia fired a jet of flames at her, but despite the Type advantage, she brushed it off with a laugh. The flames evaporated too quickly when fired from a distance.

“Is that all you have?” she teased. “You’re a hundred times weaker like that! You can’t do anything to me! Now c’mere…”

That's a bold assumption to be making given that Owen hurt you enough for it to sting like 30 seconds ago, Willow.

[ ]

“Oh, dear,” Amia said. “Owen, d-do you happen to have an idea…?”

Alex blasted Willow with a wave of fire next, sending two jets from his cannons, but it had a similar effect. Owen gulped and looked down. What did he do before? He’d stomped on the ground, preparing a Vine Trap. He did! And if the Badge was here, that meant it was probably right where they were standing. Maybe, with a little bit of good timing—

“Mom, Dad, stay behind me, okay?”

Might make sense to describe Willow encroaching and that flash of fear/panic coming over Amia's face a bit more, especially since if Owen sees Amia visibly freaking out, it'll probably have deleterious effects on how calm and collected he is himself at the moment.

“Owen?” Amia said, but listened.

“Are you gonna be my toy first?” Willow cooed.

Owen wordlessly stomped. This triggered the ground to lurch upward; Willow screeched and struggled, but it was too late. The dying sunlight instantly became blotted out by the rising vines. They entangled the Joltik’s body, twisting around her many limbs, immobilizing her. She screamed and flailed, but nothing came of it; the vines were still normal-sized, and she was too tiny to break free.

Owen: "Stick around for a while, why don't ya? Or... you could return us back to normal and we could talk a bit about getting you back to Kilo Village without your 'fun and games', hm?"

“N-no! L-let me go!” Willow screamed. “That’s not fair!”

“You shrank us!” Owen said. “Who are you to talk about fair?!”

Especially since she went the extra step of trying to goosh the party for her own personal amusement. Like that sounds like a strong argument for trying to investigate ways of getting Willow's Mystic power away from her and just walking off with it.

“Let me go!”

[ ]

“Turn us back to normal!” Owen said.

“LET ME GO!”

[ ]

“TURN US—”

Another spot where it might make sense to show Owen's frustration boiling over a bit more explicitly through the narration, especially since that seems like it'd potentially be a vehicle for jamming in later-story foreshadowing for Owen depending on how he ticks when he gets into "pissed-off" mode.

“Owen, dear,” Amia held his shoulder. “May I?”

[ ]

“Y-yeah, okay,” Owen said, shrinking behind her.

Ditto here, since I presume that Owen's meant to come down emotionally from the part where he was getting a bit heated, but it's handled entirely implicitly through dialogue and while I get that this story aims for chapters within a certain length range, I'm not really convinced that that's worth leaving the potential of showing off Owen's mental internals or getting in a lulzy gag on the table.

Amia stepped forward. The Joltik was still struggling, but the Gardevoir waved to get her attention.

“Um… Willow, dear,” she said, looking up. The Joltik’s right front leg weakly twitched against the vines. “We wanted to bring you home with us,” she said. “I’m Amia, the Fire Guardian, and this is my son, Owen, Grass Guardian. Alex, his father, is a spirit of mine."

[ ]

"Star sent us here to see you. Your name is Willow, right? Star sent us here to see you," she explained. "Hunters are trying to pick us off one by one, since they might know how to track us down. Sensing us, somehow, you know, dear? So, it’s better if we stay together!”

[ ]

“…Will you squish me?” Willow asked.

I'm not really feeling this sequence due to a combination of the first paragraph with Amia's explanation feeling like it has enough going on to merit formatting as multiple smaller ones. It probably also might make sense to show more of the "process" of Willow coming around to respond to things, especially if she's not meant to reflexively reply to Amia there but pause for a moment.

“You have my word that I won’t,” Amia said. “I’ll even make a Divine Promise out of it.”

“What’s that?”

[ ]

“Um… Gardevoir’s Honor?”

The Joltik stared. “Y’mean it?”

Ditto here. Though I can tell that there are some implications behind how Star was giving out some of these Guardianships if Willow is completely in the dark as to how Divine Promises work, and with 18 types out there, I doubt that she's the only one who similarly has a "wait, how do you not know this?" with regard to some critical detail of wielding Mystic power.

“I do. Please, Willow. There are so many friendly Pokémon waiting to meet you!”

Owen couldn’t believe that simply making what was effectively a little good word was enough to subdue Willow. Then again, she seemed… simple.

Owen: "Also more than a little psychotic, but let's not think too hard about that..."

“Mnnn… okay,” she said. “Hang on.”

She focused, and a white light surrounded the three of them. In another instant, they were back to their normal size, and Owen was staring at a three-foot-tall wad of vines. He was standing in the middle of it, trapped. Amia and Alex were behind him, out of the plant life.

“Uh—I’m stuck,” Owen said.

Oh, so that Minimize mist really was "until Willow decides it should stop working" in terms of duration of effect. Yeah, I can totally tell that this isn't the first time this mist is going to cause problems in the future.

“H-help!” a tiny voice cried. She was near Owen’s foot, still caught in his trap. She was tiny, even for a Joltik—no wonder they didn’t notice her before. She could stand on the top of his horn!

Well, I suppose that would explain a thing or two about why Willow had such a thing for crushing her would-be toys.

“C’mon, Willow,” Owen said, bending down to carefully unravel her from the trap. “Let’s show you Kilo Village.”

Willow sniffled and zapped Owen’s hand.

“O-ow!”

I mean, yeah. Willow didn't exactly strike me as a well-balanced individual that would be wise to hang around, so... ^^;

Willow hopped off and stood on top of the vines. “That’s for burning my claw! I can walk on my own!”

“O-okay, okay.” Owen sighed. Her body was barely a handful, but her attitude…

Owen: "... Anam does have a way of keeping her from doing that shrink mist thing back in Kilo Village, right?"

With everything in order, Alex helped pull Owen out of his own trap. The family and Willow warped back to Hot Spot Cave to rendezvous with the others.

Owen: "(I swear, if I never see this Joltik again, it'll be way too soon...)" >_>;

They had to act swiftly once they warped back to Kilo Village. ADAM and Willow, thankfully, looked normal, and the Rock Guardian passed as a sculpture. They had all finished their missions fairly close to one another, and were quick to go from the Central Waypoint to Waypoint Road. There wasn’t one for Hot Spot, but the nearest one was only a short walk away from the hidden village.

Once everybody was gathered, they made their way along the prairie roads together, with three new Guardians accompanying them.

I'm... honestly surprised at how quickly these Guardians are going by in this plot. I wonder if we're going to wind up blowing through all of them in short order and their powers winds up triggering the real problem once someone steals it all from them, or else if something's going to happen to throw a wrench into the plan of "find the Guardians, bring them all back to Kilo" partway through.

One of the first things Owen did when he saw the Rock group was congratulate the rest of Team Alloy on their evolutions. Demitri rubbed his tusk modestly, while Gahi flitted his wings with pride. Mispy just glared at Owen challengingly, and Owen returned it with his own provoking smile. They still had one stage left to fully evolve.

Ah yes, the shy one, the prideful one, and the Blood Knight. Though you can't say that those reactions don't feel on-brand with those three from how they've been depicted thus far.

“The location you describe does not sound normal,” ADAM said. He twitched a few times. “The structure is not to code.”

“It’s a cave, dear,” Amia said.

“Does it have little nooks and crannies to explore?” Willow asked.

“Certainly, dear,” Amia said.

“Is it of stone?” the Rock Guardian asked.

I see that everybody has their priorities in order right about now. >:V
Owen: "Wait, mom?! We're seriously letting Willow stay in our cave after she almost tried to crush us to death like five minutes ago?!"

Amia: "... She's learned her lesson by now so there's no sense in holding grudges? (Plus, you can just Vine Trap her again if she tries something, right?)"

“Yes! Oh… Mister Shiftry, what would you like us to call you?”

“You may call me Valle,” the Shiftry said. “I wish not to move for much longer. I must be one with the cave so I can familiarize myself with its form. If it is not to my satisfaction, perhaps I shall return.”

Gahi: "Look, can we just dig out a copy of the cave we found him in to get him to stop bellyachin'? Since I'm pretty sure that it'd save us all a lot of headaches in the long run."

“Well, if it’s not, why don’t we help you later, huh?” Amia asked. “But the cave definitely stays still!”

Valle’s stone face cracked into the tiniest of smiles.

Yeah, no. Not after you just mindbroke him last chapter after revealing that the entire planet was constantly in motion. Though I suppose that Valle has always been a few berries shy of a picnic.

“…How are you moving?” Demitri asked.

This entire time, Valle was standing like a statue, yet his entire form was dragging across the ground, creating an uninterrupted line in the dirt. James took the liberty of dusting that dirt path away in case some unsuspecting traveler tried to follow it toward the boulder.

“I move with Mystic power,” Valle replied.

Demetri: "... But you were moving, right-?"
Valle: "Not by shifting my limbs, and that's the important part." >_>;

“He’s just using some energy to push him forward invisibly,” Amia explained. “The same energy I use if I need to fly!”

Owen’s eyes almost popped out of his skull. “You can FLY?!”

Ah yes, Amia is just casually outing all the things™️* this chapter.

*It is not even close to all the things and there will be a lot more moments like this.

Amia jumped in the air and floated there. “Yep! It’s actually pretty easy once you get the hang of it!”

“Mm.” Zena nodded, floating a few feet in the air next. Anam stepped on an invisible staircase until he hopped down, jiggling his entire body. Willow skittered through the air. ADAM—he always floated, and had little to demonstrate.

“No fair,” Mispy growled.

Owen: "Seriously, why does nobody ever stop to tell me these things?! What, is 'keep Owen in the dark' a competitive sport or something?"

“Heheh.” Gahi hovered a bit higher, then jerked high into the air to avoid a swat from one of Mispy’s vines.

“I’m glad I don’t have to deal with that,” Demitri admitted, shuddering while riding atop Mispy’s back. “I’m worried about when I become a Haxorus, even. They seem really tall…”

Yeah, there's going to be a chapter that forces Demitri to get airtime sometime relatively early into this story so we can see him go full

about it, I can already tell.

Mispy wrapped a vine around Demitri, the tip nudging his cheek below the tusk. “You’ll be fine.”

Owen’s tail drooped with his shoulders. “That’s crazy. How come you guys never flew before?”

[ ]

“Well, did we ever need to? That hidden garden was inside a Dungeon," Amia said. "You can’t fly into it without getting caught in the distortion.”

Also, they're all in on some sort of conspiracy to keep you in the dark about some sort of true nature, and calling Nevren in to do cleanup duty gets annoying after the hundredth casual moment flying around gets you knowing too much, too fast.

Though it might make sense to explicitly identify the speaker of that last line (I assumed that it's Amia, but it's ambiguous, since there's multiple flying Guardians in the room right now)

“Yeah, but, it seems really cool to do. How long until I learn?”

“Well, why don’t we teach you?” Amia asked. “That’ll be part of our training! To learn how to ignore gravity, and move with your own willpower!” She giggled.

Owen snorted, but agreed.

Is there going to be a twist at some point that the world around them isn't actually 'real' akin to Aionios' status in XB3 or something like that? Since wielding Mystic power sure seems to allow for breaking a lot of rules of reality without a lot of effort.

[ ] The mushrooms didn’t glow until Amia returned to the cave. The Gardevoir sighed happily. “Home, sweet home. I haven’t left this cave for that long in a while!”

“I was starting to feel homesick,” Alex said. “How about you, Owen?”

I think that you're either missing a sentence or two explicitly noting that the gang made it to Hot Spot Village and entered it (especially since Owen has his embarrassing dance to open it), or else a hard scene cut, since this feels like a very abrupt change from the last couple paragraphs for some reason.

“Yeah,” Owen admitted. “I mean… I guess the Thousand Hearts is nice, and so was Rhys’ old place, but I kinda like it here the most.”

Mispy prodded at one of the mushrooms. To each touch, it glowed a bit brighter.

“I like the mushrooms,” Willow said, landing on a particularly large one. “What makes it glow?”

“Oh, just a bit of Mystic energy,” Amia said. “I thought the cave was a bit bare without them, so I wanted to give a little lighting! If I didn’t, the only glow we’d get was from the lava rivers deeper inside.”

Oh, so basically exploiting hitodama aesthetics for mood lighting. I wonder if they're blue / some "ghostfire" color or if Amia can basically make them look like whatever when channeling spirits.

“Lava rivers?” Valle repeated. “Stone in movement. I do not know if I am comfortable with being near such rivers.”

“Everything’s about not moving with you, isn’t it?” Owen said.

“Movement is not necessary.”

“Yeah, speak fer yerself,” Gahi said, rapidly beating his wings without any effort.

Gahi: "Look, buddy. Don't make us remind you about the way our planet's constantly hurtling through space right now."

Owen smiled at Gahi. He still couldn’t believe that all three of them had evolved! Still, he beat them to it, and he wasn’t going to let that tiny victory go. He’d certainly be the first one to fully evolve, too. He probably already had the power for it. He just needed a spark to trigger it.

Owen, the fact that you're explicitly bringing this up in your thought process sounds like a fantastic way to jinx yourself and force yourself to wind up evolving something like 40 chapters after everyone else. This just feels like it's that kind of story, just saying.

Hopefully Mispy wouldn’t kill him in his sleep when he won.

Again, see above.

“And here,” Amia said, “is the main square!”

Owen had seen it many times before, but after the adventures of the day, it was such a relief to see the town as he remembered it—particularly after running for his life from a twisted, giant Joltik.

“Mine!” the Joltik in question said, hopping into a nook that likely once belonged to a tiny spirit.

Owen: "... Mom, are we just going to allow her to do that, or...?" .-.
Amia: "I mean, I don't feel like inhaling a face full of shrinking gas again, so..."

“I shall check out this file for editing,” ADAM stated, floating into the one next door.

“This is adequate,” Valle said, standing in the middle of town.

[ ]

“Are… are you sure?” Amia asked.

“Yes.”

This feels like a moment that might improve by dropping in a lulzy reaction or something like that. Though I'm not convinced that Valle isn't going to wind up regretting volunteering himself to be a statue overlooking the main square of a town since you'd think that even if they're all dead, that constantly seeing the villagers moving around right in front of him would drive him crazy.

They all stared. Given that Valle didn’t move much, it should probably be fine. He was just going to be like a statue, then. Literally. A centerpiece of Hot Spot.

Cue the screeching about "No, stop moving!" not even five minutes after everyone leaves.

[ ]

“Well, let’s go to our home, next,” Rhys said. “Anam, James, that reminds me. Now that our numbers are growing, will you be taking up residence here as well?”

“No, I’m going to stay in the Heart,” Anam said. “I should be okay with all the other Hearts that live there, right?”

Oh yeah, no ulterior motives at all there. I mean, I was admittedly tipped off to some stuff from the Steamed Hams parody crackfic, but this would be sus even without those mentions in mind.

[ ]

“Anam, as much as that is appealing,” James said, “I have given it some thought, and I do not think that is a good idea. We can’t endanger Kilo Village any longer—we should stay here, with the others.”

[ ]

“B-but…”

James tapped his left foot, staring at the Goodra sternly. “Anam, do you want the mortals to be killed because of your carelessness?”

Oh yeah, that's not ominous at all there. Though considering how he managed to almost 1:1 the Steamed Hams sketch way, way back in the day, it has me morbidly curious as to just how high of a bodycount Anam's built up over the years from callous indifference to his actions' consequences.

[ ]

“N-no! I… I don’t!”

“Then we will live here. Is that understood?”

Anam sniffed, but nodded. “What will I tell the others…?”

“They won’t miss you if you’re there during the day,” James said. “It’s only at night, when most Pokémon have their guard down, that we must be careful.”

Actually, wait, can Owen hear all of this right now? If so, how on earth is he not having more reaction to the fact that Anam is apparently a hazard in some capacity to all of Kilo Village (which he'd presume is due to Hunter problems) and him having to share a sleeping place with him.

Plus, you know, the whole "butterflies in stomach"-ness over sharing your house with the equivalent of your boss from work.

“You guys still sleep?” Willow asked, peeking out her tiny window. “That’s so boring! Can’t you just play at night?”

Well, I suppose that would explain a thing or two about how Willow developed murderous psychotic tendencies given that sleep deprivation does correlate with mental deterioration IRL.

“I can’t believe you guys skip sleeping,” Demitri said. “Sleeping is great! And so is eating!”

Mispy nodded vigorously at ‘eating.’

“We certainly can do those things,” Zena said. “There’s simply no need to.”

I'm... not fully convinced that there's zero cost or aftereffects to just excising a part of one's natural processes just because you can do it. Though then again, with the way these guys can just casually do aerokinesis, I suppose I should be a bit more open-minded.

[ ]

“Can I still eat and sleep?” Owen asked. “Once I start getting more Mystical, can I still do that stuff? I want to feel normal a little while longer. I dunno. I’m still feeling kinda hungry.”

“You’re still new,” Zena said. “You need time to strengthen your Mystic power. Then you will make those mortal needs… optional.”

She gave Owen a small smile, if only to encourage him. Their training together showed how much Owen was dwarfed by all the other Mystics, but he was quick to catch up. That was the natural response, according to Star, for a weaker Mystic among titans of the same nature.

It might make sense to have Owen have a bit more of a described reaction to this moment before he asks about the whole eating and sleeping thing. Also, yeah. Zena's paragraph is a wee bit long in its present formulation.

... Though wait, does that also imply that Willow is also young as a Guardian? Since she also seemed to not know a lot about how her abilities as a Guardian worked.

Owen shifted where he stood. “Yeah…” He rubbed at his left arm, wondering if getting strong so fast was a good idea.

I mean, I've heard enough about HoC through the grapevine to know that this is potentially going to be a long and lingering worry in this story since Owen has a lot of runway ahead of him before he catches up with what he's 'supposed' to be.

Amia gently pat Owen’s back. “Why don’t I make you some dinner? How about for you all, too?” she asked, looking at Rhys and his students.

“Rhys, d’you need to eat?” Demitri said.

“Yeah, now that I think about it…” Gahi landed on Demitri’s head; the powerful Fraxure didn’t seem bothered by the added weight. “You eat, but y’don’t eat all that much. And yer Mystic, too. An old Mystic.”

I'm just going to go ahead and take that as a 'no' there. Though I suppose that if taking 'dex fluff at face value, bludoge likely don't need to eat all that much in general.

Rhys nodded. “I eat a small amount, if only to… appear normal,” he said. “But I suppose with this all in the open, I can drop the façade and focus on my training.”

“How come yer so good at cooking, then?” Gahi said.

The Lucario shrugged. “If eating is not a necessity,” he said, “then when I do eat, I’d like to make it worthwhile.”

Waaaaait, so does that mean that Rhys can also fly himself? Since if he also doesn't need to eat... Or is he not far enough on the Mystic power scale to be able to do that and that's exclusively the purview of Guardians and others above them?

Worthwhile indeed. Once everybody was settled into their new homes, and Amia filled the vacancies with her old spirits, she called for a small get-together in the town square, gathered around Valle. Before Owen and the others who had to sleep got tired, she wanted to sit around to get to know everyone. Rhys, with the assistance of Mispy and Demitri, hauled out a large pot of stew for everyone—Mystic or not—to enjoy. Around the time that the food was fresh and ready, Nevren conveniently arrived to get his bowl, and then ate quietly from the sidelines. It seemed that even the Alakazam could not resist Rhys’ cooking.

Ah yes, just casually allow the guy who was mentioned in passing to have memory-deletion/editing abilities to chill around in your secret hideout. Totally not worrisome at all there.

Rhys and Amia helped to pass around stone bowls for everyone to eat another hearty stew—Rhys’ celebratory specialty. Large helpings were given to those who actually had to eat—Owen and Demitri were given bowls, while Gahi was given a flatter plate to accommodate for his bug-like head type. They gave a large bowl to Mispy, knowing that her appetite was beyond comparison, and made sure to set aside enough for when she’d inevitably ask for seconds, and then thirds.

Is Mispy the descendant of a Hydreigon somewhere upstream in her family tree or something? Since she sure seems to be a bottomless pit when it comes to her appetite.

Anam got himself a small bowl to at least appreciate the taste, and shared some of it with James. Amia elected for a similarly tiny bowl and ate with Rhys and Alex. She fed Alex by hand, if only so the Magmortar didn’t have to struggle with his cannon-arms. Owen elected to sit between Alex and Zena during the meal so he could avoid the passive-aggressive nudges that Mispy gave him, perhaps as spite for evolving first. No, definitely because of that. From what Owen knew, Mispy’s species evolved fairly early to its final stage. She was the greatest contender to beat him in this silly race. Which he would definitely win.

Yeah, Owen is going to wind up evolving into his second stage last out of his friend circle, I can already tell. Since it's close to an ironclad rule in storytelling that the more adamant that a character is that something will definitely happen, the more likely that something will happen to wind up screwing it up.

They weren’t really sure what to do about Valle. Amia offered a bowl to the Shiftry statue, going so far as to place the bowl in front of Valle’s face to let him smell it. The bowl trembled in Amia’s hands—with a squeak of surprise, the stone bowl went straight toward Valle, vanishing into his face. The stew, too, was gone.

“Thank you for the offering,” Valle said.

Amia: "... Okay, note to self, serve Valle in paper bowls in the future."

Owen didn’t even know where to begin with that display. Did he just absorb the stew? Did he have a mouth, or was it just there, now? Did he taste? Did he even have a sense of smell? How did he see? Did he feel? Valle's simple gesture made Owen’s mind swirl with questions long enough that even his keen awareness was dulled. He even didn’t realize Mispy stealing from his bowl from afar using her vines. He resumed eating without realizing that half his food had been transferred into her bowl.

Minor nitpick, but if this story is written from a third person limited perspective, how does Owen notice the bit in underlined since if he didn't notice Mispy stealing his food, wouldn't it not have registered as something he'd have percieved to reflect in his narration?

I mean, it's funny and all, but it might be more consistent with the perspective you chose to have him 'barely notice' or something like that where Owen still notices what's going on, but is too distracted / lost in his thoughts to really pay it mind.

ADAM said that he required no food. Despite this, when presented with some, he leaned his beak into the bowl and, as far as Owen could tell, sucked the stew out of the bowl. But that gave Owen another thought, and he stared at ADAM for a bit longer. He didn’t have a neck. Porygon-Z had a head, and then a body, but no neck to attach them. How did he—?

“Optimal,” he stated.

I'm honestly a little surprised that he didn't pull a 'drinky bird' moment since Porygon2/Porygon-Z are very aesthetically similar, but I suppose that Porygon-Z are a bit too erratic to pull that off.

Owen decided not to ask. That was enough questions for the day. Instead, he watched Amia hand Willow the smallest bowl they had, which ended up being three times her size. She countered by blasting it with a swirl of pink mist, shrinking it down until she could grasp it with her tiny claws. She then zapped the ground, forming a tiny, red mushroom that looked up curiously. She then grabbed this mushroom and tore it apart—it screamed a little, yet it laughed at the same time—and dropped its remains into the bowl. Owen noticed an ember returning to the Joltik’s tiny body. That mushroom was one of her spirits. Like death was a game to them.

Oh, so that's why that mushroom that blew up in the Fairy Guardian fight had a blue ember that lingered afterwards. Though I wonder if that means that spirits in general can be summoned in arbitrary forms given that Willow apparently brings hers over as monstrous mushrooms.

At least I’m not the only crazy one, Owen thought worriedly. Does being a Guardian make you go nuts?

I think it’s just the isolation, Star said.

Oh boy, she's here right now. Wonderful.

Also, I like how she's just casually saying this when she instructed her Guardians to remain in firm isolation and then just never bothered to inform them that that wasn't necessary after untold decades/centuries.

Owen’s tail flashed with alarm, earning a concerned glance from Mispy. He shook his head dismissively and stared at his bowl. Can you not do that?!

Whoops! My bad. Sorry, I’m just watching. You mind if I sit in your head for a while?

Wow, somebody's a rude and presumptuous one. But I suppose "do things, explain the nasty nitty-gritty later" is a very Star thing based off what we've seen of her thus far in this story.

Though is she able to do this to all of the Mystics in this story or something? Since as far as I can tell, Owen isn't consciously allowing her into his mind. Probably. Maybe. He does feel like he's got a part of him that's weirdly credulous towards others, almost as if someone made him that way.

Ugh. Owen resumed eating. Why don’t you just come out?

Star: "I mean, you probably overlooked it since you were busy almost getting gooshed by a bug, but... your mom did mention that I needed to be materialized through the efforts of others."

I don’t wanna upset Zena. I’m gonna lay low for a while. Besides, I need to start looking for the next Guardians for you guys to get.

Owen: "Wait, after we already just got three in the span of like two chapters? There's over 170 chapters to this story! Don't you think that we're moving a bit fast, Star-?"

Star: "Not at all, really. And I doubt the readers want to seriously watch you track down Guardians for that long..." ^^;

“Owen, are you okay?” Alex asked, looking down.

[ ]

“Huh? Oh—yeah! I’m just fine,” Owen said. “Sorry. I got kinda distracted.”

“This must be a lot for you to take in,” Alex said, gently patting Owen on the back. “I’m really sorry for all this.”

Another spot that might make sense to show Owen's reaction to Alex a bit more, especially if he's getting flustered or something over Star's presence and going "nope, don't bring her up, don't bring her up" or something.

“It’s okay,” Owen said. “I mean, it’s still crazy, and I didn’t expect my time as a Heart would be like this, but, you know, it’s not… bad. I mean, look at everyone here, right?” He looked up at his father. “Lots of new friends, and Team Alloy is all here, and everything. So it’s not a total loss.”

He looked at the flames on Alex’s shoulders. [ ]

“I do kinda wish it was normal, but, I think that’s just a little panic, you know? Or… something.”

Alex smiled sadly. “I understand,” he said. “Believe me, I didn’t expect to live with Amia in quite this way, either. But I choose to stay here for her, and for you.”

Owen blushed and resumed eating.

Something about the first paragraph of this block feels like it should be broken up. I tried to play things a bit more conservatively and keep some of Owen's "looking around as he speaks", but the part where he looks at Alex's shoulder-fire in particular feels like a logical spot where he'd trail off or something that might be worth reflecting more explicitly.

Amia eventually tried to break the ice by having everyone introduce themselves. Anam was happy to oblige, talking about the Hearts and how James was such a great help managing everything. He then pointed to Nevren, who looked almost startled at being acknowledged. Owen was surprised, too. He’d almost forgotten the Alakazam was there. Anam declared Nevren to be the most helpful at managing the other Hearts. “He’s my favorite tactician!” Anam said, which earned an unpleasant cough from James and Rhys. Anam tittered nervously.

Ah yes, just casually saying this about the memory editor in everybody's midst. I can already tell that this is going to wind up reading a lot less innocently at some point in the future. And potentially quite soon into it.

“Hm, but now that I have the attention of everyone,” Nevren said, looking up, “I feel I should point something out. With the Hunters seemingly increasing their movements, and with so many Guardians here, it may be wise to stay together. That includes you, Anam."

[ ]

"James was right. You may have been strong enough to survive out in the open without the Hunters approaching you directly, but now, that may no longer be the case. You should live here, in Hot Spot, with the others. I’m sure Amia can build you a hot spring just as they built a lake for Zena.”

Okay, yeah, somebody's deliberately trying to gather all the Guardians in one place to steal their powers in one swoop. Since you'd think that with the established state of play that Nevren just brought up, that at minimum, they'd want at least one "designated survivor" such that the Hunters (who I'm not convinced at this point are the party the gang should really be fretting over) can't get all of the Orbs' powers even if the worst came to pass for the main group.

“Mnn… but I get to be in Kilo during the day, right?” he clarified.

“Of course,” Nevren said. “That way, you can just be here at night, when you feel the need to rest. I know how much you enjoy naps, even though you don’t need them.”

Anam’s cheeks blushed purple.

Wait, isn't Nevren's train of thought basically the same deal as James' earlier "No, Anam, you need to stay out of Kilo"? Since James literally brings up "you can still go to Kilo in the daytime" as part of his earlier shtick. It might be worth playing up a bit of a more distinctly different nuance. e.x. moving the emphasis to spelling out how to make James' earlier proposal work:

“Hm, but now that I have the attention of everyone,” Nevren said, looking up, “I feel I should point something out. With the Hunters seemingly increasing their movements, and with so many Guardians here, it may be wise to stay together. That includes you, Anam."

[ Anam has a moment where he folds his arms and pouts or whatever that I can't be bothered to write here ]

"Anam, James was right earlier. You may have been strong enough to survive out in the open without the Hunters approaching you directly, but now, that may no longer be the case," Nevren insisted. "There's obviously safety in numbers during the day, but at the very least, you should make a point of staying here when you're not working, in Hot Spot, with the others. I’m sure Amia can build you a hot spring just as they built a lake for Zena.”

“Mnn… but I do get to be in Kilo during the day, right?” he clarified.

“Of course, you still have your duties to tend to leading the Thousand Hearts,” Nevren said. “Treat this place as a safe harbor for sleep in at night, when you feel the need to rest. I know how much you enjoy naps, even though you don’t need them.”

Anam’s cheeks blushed purple.

Some food for thought, anyways.

[ ]

“I didn’t expect this place to become so… full, so quickly,” Zena admitted, looking around with an air of nervousness. “I—I haven’t talked to so many new people in… in ages, really. Lifetimes. But—I’m quite happy here, now.” She glanced at Owen, but then flinched when their eyes met. She turned her attention back to the others.

Zena, Owen thought to himself, frowning. I guess me being the Grass Guardian scares her a little. Her muscles are so tense every time she talks to me. Isn’t that how serpents react when they feel threatened? Owen hesitated, thinking for a bit longer. That wasn’t it. If anything, she was closer to him than she was to anyone else here!

Another spot where it might make sense to elaborate on Owen's inner thought process / noticing the others' reactions a bit.

She probably just likes you, Owen, Star said.

Likes… me?

Well, duh. Pretty obvious after you met her and you guys talked for a while.

Star: "Also, you two are literally cuddling with each other on the banner art, just saying."

“We’ll help you take it slow, dear,” Amia said to Zena. “Is there somebody in particular that you enjoy talking to?”

Zena gulped. She stared at the ground and nodded. Owen smiled slightly, feeling slightly reassured. That had to have been him. Maybe she was just intimidated now that his training was showing results. He wasn’t scary! After all, she was still many times his size. Along with that, he wasn’t going to deny that—aside from when the air was squeezed out of him—it felt good to be wrapped up in her embrace.

At first, I didn't see the 'aside from', so I originally had a bit of a

reaction at the idea of Owen liking having the air squeezed out of him, since... uh... well there are people that are into that sort of stuff IRL.

That was a weird thought, Owen said. Wonder where that came from. He glanced nervously at Zena. He shouldn’t be getting feelings like that so suddenly. They only knew each other for a little while, relatively speaking. Zena just needed a friend. Lost in thought, Owen started fiddling with his claws.

I can't tell whether or not this is organic love at first sight, lingering memories from a past life loop from waaaaaaay back in the day, or else Star deliberately influencing Owen in live-time since she is just chilling in his mind right now.

“Well, talk to them, then!” Amia said. “It’s great to have a close friend.”

Zena nodded silently [ ]

Owen found himself nodding, too.

“Hey, you know, Zena,” Owen said, quickly trying to think of something that she might enjoy, “if you want, you can train with me!”

“Train?” Zena perked up. “Like, meditate together?”

“No, we can spar!” Owen said.

“Zena nodded silently” either is missing a period or is cutting off really abruptly there.


Zena: "I'm... not sure how appealing that sounds, really."

Owen: "Wait, really? Since Mispy and Demitri go at each other all the time and always seem to have fun. Why, they practically have to be pulled off each other sometimes!" ._.;

“Oh.” Zena shrank slightly. “You certainly like to fight, don’t you?”

“Just a little,” Owen said, shrinking in return. Wrong move. “I mean, I trained all the time to become a Heart, so I guess maybe that’s where I get it from? Fighting’s in my blood. But, uh—let’s do something else!”

That throwaway bit about 'Fighting's in my blood.' is going to be a lot closer to the mark than Owen imagined, huh? Since something about this just screams 'pithy statement that turns out to be actually important later'.

“Yeah,” Demitri nodded. “I think Rhys raised us that way, too, huh? As long as we meditated, we got to fight as much as we wanted! Just like eating vegetables. But for your head? Kinda cool, having him as a dad and a teacher at the same time.”

“I think we can say that,” Gahi said. “Yeah, I remember training with you guys fer as long as I can remember. You guys could never get me, though, ‘cause I was always flying way outta yer range! Hah!”

Wait, Gahi remembers that? In spite of him (seemingly) only becoming flightworthy for like a day at this point?

Demitri, Mispy, and Owen all laughed, but Owen caught on that the others were laughing a bit less, or differently. The jovial atmosphere bled away. Willow was laughing obliviously; Valle and ADAM didn’t seem like the sort to ever laugh; Rhys and Amia chuckled with strained force; Anam tittered nervously; Zena didn’t make a sound and looked at the Charmeleon with concern. Owen tilted his head back at Zena, wondering what was wrong.

Yeah, I've got my eye on you, Anam. And all of you others for that matter, since I can see how you reacted to Gahi's 'slip of the tongue' there.

This made Owen think back—did they say something wrong? Something in that last sentence felt wrong. Did Gahi make an insensitive joke? Perhaps they just didn’t understand the joys of fighting, getting the blood pumping. They were a lot more peaceful, after all. The thrill of the chase, especially when Gahi flew around and they had to catch him on foot. Owen was never able to catch Gahi when he—

No. Wait.

Flying?

“Gahi, didn’t you just evolve?”

Ah yes, so Owen realized it now, too.

Anam: "(Ohhh boy, sure wasn't expecting this conversation to go here... Nev-Nev, get ready to do your thing in a bit.)"

“Eh?” Gahi said. “Well, yeah, but…” He twitched his head in thought. “Yeah… but… I always… flew off ter…”

Gahi fell into silence, his big eyes staring at nothing. Demitri and Mispy glanced at each other uneasily. Owen looked at Amia and Alex. They both averted their eyes. He then stared at Anam, who jumped and gained an interest in the ground. Then, Owen’s eyes went to James, but he was already analyzing a mushroom on the ceiling.

Owen: "Could you two make it any more obvious that something is up right now?"

Anam: "Hm? What's that? Sorry, I was busy checking the ground of your cave- hey, is that pumice flooring-?"
Owen: "Don't change the subject!" >:(

A slow silence filled the air. Nobody knew what to say next—and all Owen wanted was for someone to say something. Anything! But, nobody did. Even the new Guardians, who knew nothing about their situation, sensed that something was deeply wrong. Owen mumbled,

“Flying…”

Owen: "Seriously? You're all just going to let this chapter end on this awkward silence?"

Everybody Minus Team Alloy:

Owen: "Ugh, whatever. We'll get to the bottom of this later."
Anam: "(Nev-Nev, now would be a good time, just saying!)" O_O;

Alright, took a little longer than anticipated, but I suppose that it's time to bring on that review recap:

Okay, so I gathered that this chapter basically existed for two reasons: to dust off the initial crop of Guardians that Owen and Team Alloy got pointed at a couple chapters ago, and to make it blatantly obvious to readers and the cast that something is seriously wrong and that they can't take it for granted that anything that they know is really as it seems given that they're now just straight-up recalling apparent phantom memories. To that end, I felt that the chapter accomplished both of those purposes pretty well, and the note it ended on is definitely a decent "hey, come back and see how this all shakes out" note to things.

As for things that I wasn't sold on, there's some quibbles with paragraph formatting here and there, though the main structural issue that I saw was that there were a few points where I felt the chapter didn't get as far into the characters' heads as it could've, which leads to a couple moments reading a bit sudden or like a step was skipped. The way that the aftermath of the Willow fight was handled was one of those more standout moments, since we see Owen getting frustrated with her (and arguably being a bit tame given that she almost killed them all for giggles like 30 seconds beforehand), but don't really get to see the emotional climbdown or how he rationalizes "yeah, Willow's just going to be crashing in my hometown with me for a while" in spite of having really good reasons to not trust her or to resent her. Like even if Owen has a literal part of his mind that's wired to short-circuit on being mad with others, showing that more explicitly would help better understand how the characters tick, and in the context of this story specifically, potentially help foreshadow events and aspects of characters that will become relevant further down the pipe.

But all-in-all, I thought it was a fun chapter to get back into things with, @Namohysip . And I'm wondering just how much longer the already rickety wheels for Owen's perception of his world and his place in it can stay on, and just what them coming off is going to look like, since... yeah, I get the distinct vibe from the way this chapter ended that that day is not far away in the story.

That’s it until next time! Hope the feedback was fun and helpful! ^^

 

[Namohysip]

Chapter 172 – Memory and Light​

Something about Orre’s arid desert appealed to Owen a lot more than it did to Zena. The two of them flew over the skies after they’d made their landing from before. By now, he and Zena had become accustomed to using phones and computers to contact others, and thanks to the help of Barechest and Blue, they’d been able to get special, temporary passports for international travel.

Owen wasn’t sure why that was so important, but it seemed to make their trip from Alola to Orre a lot less complicated than Kanto to Alola.

They’d been given instructions to fly from where they’d landed to a town called Agate Village. Even though the lands below them were green, the desert to the east was still clear in their vision. Everything was hot and dry at this border between grasslands and wastelands.

“Slower!” Mu complained, riding atop Owen’s back.

“Slower?” Owen repeated.

Mu was reading a brochure half her height that she’d picked up at the airport. It talked about the triumphant return of wild Pokémon to the region and many tourist spots that were “must-visits” during their stay.

“Can we go to… to… to… Real-Gem Tower?” Mu asked.

“That’s a little far, Mu. I think… We need to focus on Shadows right now.”

Mu whined. “Boooring!”

Owen glanced helplessly at Zena, slithering through the wind, but she shrugged her ribbons in response.

“M-maybe if we have some time later,” Owen conceded. Gods, she wasn’t even a year old and she was already…

Zena drifted closer until she was within Owen’s natural wind barrier. It was easier to speak while flying.

“She’s growing up so fast,” she said. “Do you think it’ll stop?”

“I have no idea where she’s getting it from,” Owen murmured. “But I did notice that it happens the most after we pass through cities…”

“It’s homework,” Mu said, grumbling. “Nobody likes homework.”

Owen blinked. What in the world did that mean? She was speaking nonsense sometimes, but… maybe they could ask the experts if they had extra time.

“Oh, I think that’s Agate Village just ahead,” Zena remarked. “That wasn’t too long.”

Still a lot longer than any flight they’d’ve had to do in Kilo, but he supposed that was true for anywhere “a little far” in this world. Owen switched his flight to a descending glide. “Want to go swimming, Mu?” he said. “Looks like a clean river up ahead.”

“Don’t like water,” the Charmander grumbled, turning the page. “Agate Village,” she repeated from the brochure, squinting at the words. “…Old people live here.”

“We’ve seen old humans before, right, Owen?” Zena asked.

“Yeah, we have. And some humans can get pretty old, a little older than you’d expect a Pokémon to get, at least…”

Subconsciously, Owen touched the claw of his necklace.

He continued, “We’re supposed to go to the big house in a tree trunk near the center-top of the village.”

“Oh, I see that.” Zena pointed ahead with a ribbon.

Agate village came into view. With the backdrop of a mountain and a vast desert to the east, it was unreal to see such a lush, green hillside where great trees and rivers dominated the landscape. It wouldn’t be Owen’s first choice for an environment, but Zena would love it. Maybe they’d let her swim in the water, too.

“Slow your flight,” Zena reminded. “We don’t want to scare anyone.”

“Oh, right. Charizard aren’t native here.”

“Native means born here?” Mu asked.

“Kind of, yeah. It means you’d naturally see them born here and they didn’t come from another land.”

“What does it mean if they came from another place, but then had family?” Mu asked. “And then the family had a family? Are they native?”

“Uhh… No, I think that’s a different word,” Owen said.

“Where are humans native?” Mu asked.

“I don’t… I don’t know. I never asked. But humans have been around for so long that I think they’re just native to everywhere.” That didn’t sound right to Owen even as he said it, but where else would they have come from? Pokémon stuck to their regions for the most part and humans went a lot of places that Normal Pokémon did. Humans were probably Normal Type, now that he thought about it.

“They don’t like lava. They burn,” Mu said.

“That’s true. They aren’t native to volcanoes.”

“They drown, too.”

“Oh, yeah. They aren’t native to the ocean.”

“They don’t like caves. They starve.”

“That’s also true. And they don’t like the dark, either, kind of like us.”

“The dark is scary,” Mu agreed. “And my tail doesn’t light things up…”

“Would you like us to get you something for that, Mu?” Zena offered. “There are little Luminous Orbs that can light up a room back home if Dad ever needs to go out at night.”

Mu was quiet, turning the page. She was pensive and tense like she didn’t want to admit anything.

“Maybe,” Mu said.

Owen and Zena exchanged little smiles as they landed at Agate Village’s entrance.

“My goodness!” someone immediately cried. It didn’t sound alarmed, though. An old man in a yellow shirt with big glasses ran toward them, using a walking stick to stay standing. “If my eyes aren’t fooling me, that’s… a Charizard! And a Milotic! Amazing! Where’s your trainer, you two?”

Mu knew not to speak in front of random humans. Owen was glad she followed that practice.

Owen said in feral, “We came to see someone in the big tr—”

“Ah, I’m sorry, big fella. I lost your language a long time ago. But hey! You seem friendly. Welcome to Agate Village! Just be careful with that flame, yeah?”

Owen awkwardly nodded and ascended the hillside with Zena.

The door to a great old, dead tree opened in a sliding motion. On the other side was a human in a blue overcoat.

He peeked outside and frowned, glaring at them before they’d even gotten close. Well, that was a rude welcome…

This human had weird ears. Owen never knew humans had those.

“Owen, right?” called Bluejacket.

Owen made sure nobody was within earshot before he said, “Yeah, me. This is Zena and Mu.”

The human’s long, furry, black ears twitched. “Right,” he said. “Come in.”

They followed him inside, Owen folding his wings and ducking to pass through the door. It was a quaint little home inside the tree with a small set of bedrooms on the upper floor, a little kitchen and living room on the lower floor, and some facilities in the back. It seemed very old and lived-in.

Another human was sitting at the table. She was feeding an Umbreon and Espeon some pellets of some kind. That had Owen feeling hungry again. He wondered if Zena would try some, too…

Mu was already hopping off Owen’s shoulder, running to beg for a sampling.

“This is a cozy place,” Owen commented. “If I wasn’t a Fire, I think I’d like it in this village.”

“It’s… a relaxing place to retire,” the Umbreon-eared human said. “Name’s Wes. This is Rui.” He gestured to the girl. “And I already met your friend, Star.”

The world froze. Star… It had been months and it already felt so far away. Then there was that cold guilt that for them it had only been a few days at most.

“We, uh—How?” Owen asked.

“The Dungeon, they call it? While we were investigating a few things happening with the distortions here, we got sucked in. It wasn’t for all that long, but by the time we got back, it had been a few days. It was all over the news. And I’m still recovering.”

“R-recovering?”

Wes’ ears twitched with his annoyance.

“…They don’t look injured,” Owen said.

Umbreon’s ears twitched next and he looked up at Wes from the couch. He trilled, “I like his new look!”

“Don’t mock me!” Wes called back.

Umbreon made a playful growling noise, clearly teasing him, and went back to eating.

“Um, hello,” Rui greeted. The red-haired woman waved and bowed politely. “I didn’t have any lingering changes. Star said that Wes’ change should… wear off after a few weeks.”

“You turned into Pokémon?” Owen deduced. “Humans don’t normally take on Pokémon attributes?”

Wes stared at Owen like he was an idiot.

“H-hey, I’ve been gone for a while. You never know how much things changed…”

“To be honest, Owen,” Zena said, “most species don’t take traits on that easily. It’s usually just a color pattern from the parent that you don’t share a species with…”

“And,” Wes said pointedly, “humans don’t usually pair off with Pokémon like they’re married. Except for that weird old lady down the hill, but—look, either way, no, it’s weird.”

“Oh. Right.” Owen forgot that detail. Pokémon of this world… operated differently. “Sorry. In our world, er… Never mind. But we were told to meet you here. Why is that?”

Wes crossed his arms. “We wanted you to meet someone who might be able to help with your Shadow problem.”

“Someone?”

“Well, two someones.” Rui stood up. “We aren’t the only people who took on Shadow Pokémon before! There’s someone on the green side of Orre that you need to meet. We’ll give you directions later. But first… We wanted to show you Celebi’s shrine.”

“Celebi? Is that a Combee with a party hat?” Mu asked.

“Huh? No, Celebi is a very rare Pokémon. C’mon, we can walk and talk!”

“Uh, is that a good idea?” Owen asked.

“Oh, it’s fine. People either know about you already or they’ll just think we’re talking to our Pokémon like friends! That’s normal.”

Wes nodded.

“You two behave,” he said sternly to Umbreon and Espeon. Both grinned in such a way that Owen knew they wouldn’t.

<><><>​

Just down the hill and through a cave with a small river cutting through it, there was a glade that radiated a sacred atmosphere.

“Your world has a Celebi?” Wes asked.

Owen nodded. “We do. She’s very soft-spoken and worked alongside Dialga for… I’m not sure what they did, now that I think about it. We don’t have a lot of time issues in our world.”

Zena gazed at the water. “Maybe that means they were doing a good job,” she said. “The gods usually do their best work when it’s not noticed, yes?”

Mu was slouching against Owen’s shoulder, looking drowsy.

“You doing alright, Mu? You didn’t stay up late again, did you?”

“No…” Mu yawned. “I’m just resting…”

“Are you sick?”

Mu sighed, annoyed. “Nooo. This place is just… quiet for once.”

“Quiet?” Owen eyed the river, which was pretty loud, and heard birdsong up ahead.

“Oh,” Zena whispered. “You mean… the negative aura?”

“Yeah. It’s quiet,” Mu said again. “All the… old people…”

“Your kid feels negative auras?” Wes asked.

“It’s a long story,” Owen said, “but yes, she does. She, uh, she’s a Shadow Pokémon, I guess. But not in the same way.”

“Oh! So that’s why she…”

They all looked at Rui.

“I’m sorry. You see, I have aura sight,” Rui explained. “I was trying to figure out why Charmander’s aura was so dark despite behaving… normally. As normal as a talking Pokémon can! I—oh, is that offensive?”

“It’s alright,” Zena said, giggling. “We’re used to it. We know.”

“Huh. A stable Shadow Pokémon.” Wes eyed Mu warily. “…Well, she doesn’t seem unhappy.”

“I’m not,” Mu replied. “Just feel... everyone else’s.”

“Sounds like a drag.”

They passed through the cave and stopped just by the entrance. It seemed to be cleaned regularly. Something about this place felt quieter. Even the water that flowed through the cave seemed calmer in response to the cool breeze and even lusher greenery deeper into the valley.

Birds were singing high in the trees. The air smelled of morning rain, despite it being later in the day. Lights danced on the ground in patterns drawn by the forest canopy.

To the left near the entrance, there were two gravestones with a strange soil consistency. Rui knelt by the grave and closed her eyes. Wes didn’t kneel, though he did lower his head.

“Up ahead is a shrine to Celebi,” Wes said. Even he spoke softly. “Want to look?”

The shrine was an odd cylinder that looked like it was deliberately breaking apart in little quarter-segments all around its structure. Owen had never seen a structure quite like it.

“Is Celebi inside that shrine?” Zena asked.

“No,” Owen and Wes replied at once.

“Eh?” Wes said. “Why do you know?”

“Because there’s nothing inside it,” Owen said, pointing.

Rui stood up from her kneel. “How can… you tell that, though?”

“It’s my Perceive.” Owen pointed at his horns. “I can see anything. Kind of like seeing in three dimensions.”

A beat of silence followed. The birds chirped. The breeze let the tall trees dance. Rui suddenly gasped and covered her chest for some reason.

“Neat,” said Wes, deadpan.

“Can you turn it off?” Rui asked.

“Oh, uh, sure. Sorry.” This must have been offensive to humans. They were a very private species. He reached for his horns and popped them off.

Rui yelped. “You don’t have to be so drastic!”

“Also neat.”

“Oh, they just come off,” Owen explained, slipping them into his satchel.

Rui stammered and Wes continued to the shrine.

“They’re weird, Rui. The longer we focus on it the faster we’ll go crazy. Let’s just give them a chance to look at the shrine and then send them to Pokémon HQ Lab.”

“Pokémon HQ Lab?” Zena asked, looking disappointed about something.

“Best in the region. They’re comprehensive about all things Pokémon, but they have a few Shadow specialists.”

When Owen’s expression darkened, Wes raised his hands.

“As in, for purifying them. Don’t worry, all the folks behind the Shadow part are behind bars at this point.” He glanced away. “…Mostly.”

Owen relaxed his stance. “Right. Speaking of purification… How does this shrine do it?”

Wes tapped a knuckle on the odd cylinder. “This thing has a tiny bit of Celebi’s power in it. The power helps good memories surface. If Celebi is supposed to be a Pokémon with control over time, I think it uses its Psychic power to remind people of the past. Of good times, or something.”

“It… can’t be that simple, can it?”

“No, it is,” Wes said. “It’s just hard to do. A Shadow Pokémon’s heart is sealed tight and they no longer think about… their past before becoming a Shadow Pokémon. They just fight. They’re either mindlessly fighting or they’re in a negative frenzy. Calling them helps calm them down, but… it’s temporary.” Wes gestured to the shrine. “I had to bring a lot of Shadow Pokémon here after months of trying to get them to open up even a little. But that… speck of darkness never goes away. Not without the shrine here.”

“So… reminders, and a blessing,” Owen said. “Reminders of…”

It was starting to fall into place.

“Owen?” Zena asked.

“If Radiance isn’t enough to get a Shadow Pokémon to open up to us alone, then maybe memories are another key,” Owen said. “Void Shadows lose their memories. And when they’re purified, those memories start to come back, but it’s incomplete. Even Mom, who lost her memories, was never really the same when she was purified again, and… what if… what if that’s because it’s backward? What if memories purify Shadow, not the other way around?”

“You might be onto something,” Wes said. “But you still need both. We didn’t have any of that divine energy, aside from when we could call Celebi to help.”

“So you can call Celebi?” Owen asked.

“Not anymore,” Wes admitted. “Though, I did keep the flute… They’re sacred items that summon Celebi right here when you play it. But only… once. Annnnd I sorta used them all.”

Wes pulled out one like he figured it’d be relevant. It looked unassuming; a flute made of tan wood. Entirely mundane. Curiously, though, Owen saw a chamber near the bottom of the flute that was empty.

“Can I hold it?” Owen asked.

“Can you restore it?” Rui asked as Wes handed it over.

“I don’t want to abuse it if Celebi only wanted a few of these,” Owen said, “but this is important. Maybe I can.”

He wasn’t sure what was in that chamber but it wasn’t normal for a flute to have it. Maybe it was where the energy used to attract Celebi was placed. And if that was the case… what if he put Radiance into it?

Owen tried that, Bestowing a tiny amount of that energy into the flute. Then he offered it to Wes.

“Play it. I think I… did something.”

Wes looked skeptical but tried anyway, blowing a simple, improvised tune. When he did, sparks of light shot from the flute and to the cylinder, startling Rui and even Wes.

After he finished, he said, “That didn’t happen last time…”

Wes squinted. “You put a little Radiance into it and the flute… fired it out?”

“There was a chamber inside the flute that seemed like it stored something. I put a little Radiance in it, and that’s what happened…”

They all waited. One whole minute passed with idle chatter and birdwatching. Unfortunately… Celebi did not appear.

“Guess it stored a different energy,” Owen said, wings drooping. “Still… That’s a weird flute.”

“You want it?” Wes offered. “I have two more. Not like I’m good at it anyway…”

“Oh, if it’s not any trouble?” Owen asked.

Zena tilted her head. “What use would it be?”

Owen shrugged. “It’s weird. It might help. Anything that can interact with Radiance might be helpful…”

Wes tossed it to Owen, who slipped it into his pouch.

“Guess that’s everything, huh?” Wes said. “You be careful, alright?”

“Yeah,” Owen said, glancing at the gravesite that Rui had knelt next to before. “So… who are they?”

“Oh, that’s where my grandparents were buried. They used to own the house we live in now,” Rui said. She smiled fondly, but it was tinged with that usual, nostalgic sadness. “They lived long, good lives. Grandpa was a really accomplished trainer back in the day. His Pikachu is still roaming around the village. He’s kind of Agate’s guardian! I think… grandpa’s spirit lives on in him, too. Grandma is the same way.”

Owen offered a warm smile. “Sounds like they did all they could.”

“Mhm.” Rui smiled and sighed. “I miss them, of course, but… Well. They had other things to do. Same day, you know, right overnight.”

“Wow, same day,” Owen said, running a claw over his necklace.

Rui eyed it. “…Is that… of a relative?”

That earned an awkward titter from him. “Dad’s a Marowak. He, er… you know how it is.” Wait, no she didn’t, she was human.

Rui smiled politely. “I think it’s a beautiful gesture,” she said. “I think the Sinnoh region believed that Pokémon spirits reside in their bones for a while, too. Maybe your father said the same thing?”

“I figured the claw would, uh, point me in the right direction,” Owen said. “I have a lot of things to think about. I don’t know. Some guidance feels… nice.”

Mu was starting to get bored, wandering around the cave again. Zena smiled and gently offered to take Mu out to the rest of the village to play, nodding at Owen as she left.

“Oh, sorry,” Rui said. “We won’t be holding you up. Um, good luck with… Dungeoning?”

“Thanks.”

“Oh, yeah.” Wes, near the mouth of the cave, suddenly spoke up. “When you go to HQ, look around for Ho-Oh if it’s there. You can communicate with Pokémon, right?”

“Oh, I can. Wait. Ho-Oh? What’s that?”

Wes blinked. “I thought your world had Legends?”

“Not Ho-Oh. I guess we didn’t have all the ones here.”

“Huh. Well, just say hi for me. It tagged along with me for a while, but, you know how Legends are. Gotta wander and do… whatever they do. Last I heard, it wanted to go there for some reason.”

“Sure. I’ll say hi for you,” Owen said.

What a strange request. But after saying his farewells, Owen went over to Zena and Mu to relax before their next flight.

This was probably the last time they’d see Wes and Rui for something this important. They seemed satisfied with having a simple, quiet life here in Agate. If Wes was supposedly responsible for thwarting some of the Shadow forces, he could understand why.

Owen wondered if he’d be allowed the same opportunity one day.

<><><>​

It was ironic how little of Orre’s desert they were seeing. Most of where they had to be was on the green side of the region.

Further west, where the lush grass was even more pronounced than before, Owen followed the directions Wes had given them all the way to Pokémon HQ Lab, quite possibly the most generic-sounding location Owen had heard of yet. And that was saying something. He supposed that the region being so deprived of Pokémon for so long meant the basic names weren’t taken…

“I think that’s it,” Zena announced.

“Huh?” Owen had been so lost in thought that he wasn’t paying attention ahead of him. His Perceive handled anything in range that he’d collide with.

Up ahead was a large, white building on a hill with a giant, floating Poké Ball hovering on top of it. It seemed to be two stories tall with large, glass windows and a Lugia nesting in front of the—

“Why is there a Lugia in front of that building?” Owen said.

Zena frowned. “That’s an awfully small Lugia…”

“No, Emily’s just very large,” Owen said.

“Or baby?” Mu suggested.

“Can… can Lugia be young? Or are they created?” Zena sped up as they descended for a landing.

“I don’t know for this world,” Owen said.

Lugia perked up and spotted them. They let out a roar that Owen wasn’t sure how to interpret. The dialect was… strange.

“What is Lugia saying?” Zena asked.

“I… I don’t know. It might be an ancient dialect or something.”

Mu suddenly tensed. “Watch out.”

And moments later, Lugia opened their mouth and twisted the air. Benign winds became cutting gales that spiraled in their direction; he and Zena banked in opposite directions, avoiding the blast that turned a treetop into sawdust and dry mulch.

“Did we come in wrong?!” Owen shouted. “Zena! Let’s find some cover!”

“Where?!”

She was right. It was just trees. And those didn’t stand a chance against Lugia!

Another Aeroblast was charging up. This would get bad, fast.

Owen grasped at the air with a flick of his right hand. The air was still charged with the last attack. He grasped it. “Zena! Behind me!”

“Right!”

Just in time, too. The second Aeroblast spiraled through the air and Owen reached toward it with his Mimicked energy, then brought up his shield. The winds curled around him and he braced himself as well as he could. Zena held his back to help, having no grounding to hold his position.

He Bestowed his power into the blast itself. Waited for that connection. There! Like chaos in his hands, the power of freedom of the winds and destruction of the gales. It was his now. He twisted the blast into a little, concentrated ball, compressing his Protect around the volatile energy—

“WAAAIIIIT!”

Lugia stopped. Owen held his position. Zena made sure Mu wasn’t hurt—and, thankfully, she wasn’t.

A man with red, spiked hair and a yellow shirt ran into the yard, waving his arms toward Lugia. Whatever he was saying placated the great guardian of the sea. Lugia said something and their booming voice was a lot easier to hear than the man’s. Unfortunately, Owen still didn’t recognize most of the sounds… But he recognized one pattern. ‘Shadow.’

That Lugia was incredibly sensitive to Shadows, then. Mu… or maybe even he might have set Lugia off.

“Okay!” the man called. “You can come over now! Soooorryyyy!”

<><><>​

The man’s name was Michael and something about him bothered Owen. He’d never met the man before in his life and yet something felt disturbingly familiar about him.

They set up a small picnic where Lugia kept staring in his direction. Mu was having a staring contest with her. Like a competition.

“Hokay, sorry about that,” Michael said, plopping himself down on the gigantic red-and-white picnic blanket. He sat beside Lugia and on his other side was a Vaporeon enjoying some cold water from a bowl.

“It’s alright,” Owen replied. “Uh, sorry if we came sooner than expected…”

“No, no.” Michael raised his hands. “I sorta put this off. Got distracted with research again.”

Research…

“So! Talking Pokémon! You must get that a lot.”

“We get it,” Owen replied.

“It is a bit strange being the only ones who talk… Well, I heard rumors about one back in Kanto, but—ah, well, not here.”

“And you’re from another world where talking Pokémon is the norm, right?” Michael said. “I bet the folks in Alola had a field day with that one!”

“You could say that,” Owen said with a titter.

“Ahh, well… Anyway, you’re here because Wes told you about this place for its Shadow research, right?”

Owen nodded. “In our world, we’re dealing with a massive Shadow problem. If we can find a way to combat it or even cure it, any method would help. We already got one answer from Wes with Celebi. That might help. But if there’s anything that a common Pokémon can do…”

Michael nodded. “I see, I see…”

Lugia made a low growling noise again.

“Hey, it’s alright, it’s alright,” Michael said.

Lugia growled again.

“No, they’re fine, promise. They’re heroes from another world!”

“You understand her?” Owen asked.

“Sure I do! Took a while to get the feeling behind her words, but she’s a Pokémon, isn’t she?”

“I’m not familiar with her dialect,” Owen admitted.

“What is she asking?” Zena asked.

“Well,” Michael gestured to Mu, “Lugia is wondering why Charmander over there feels like a Shadow Pokémon.”

“Oh. Well, she was born as one, but just that she can harness the power. Her heart isn’t closed.”

“Hi!” Mu waved. “I’m not evil! Promise! Look, I have light, too!” She waved her hands in the air, forming little motes of golden lights.

This surprised Lugia. What about Mu caught her off guard? One way or the other, she lowered her guard and rested more comfortably near Michael.

“Lugia was the only result of an experiment to make an ‘impossible to purify’ Shadow Pokémon,” Michael explained. “I still don’t know what they did to make that happen, but it must have been awful.”

“Impossible to purify,” Owen repeated. “But I don’t sense a speck of Shadows in her.”

“Yep. All thanks to some crazy research we have going on, studying Pokémon, their auras, and how their hearts and emotions play a part in Shadows taking hold. How much time do you guys have?”

“Oh, well… Our world is running at one percent speed compared to here,” Owen explained. “But I don’t want them to be waiting for more than a day at this point.”

“So, a hundred days here,” Michael reasoned.

“…You caught onto that quickly,” Owen remarked.

Michael grinned broadly. “I bet you’ll only need a month to study all of this!”

“A month?” Zena said. “That’s practically as long as our time in the Aether Foundation alone…”

“Can I go to Real Gem Tower?” Mu asked.

“Oh, yeah!” Michael said. “All work and no play will make your brains mush! We need to relax between all that reading.”

“Maybe a little,” Owen said reluctantly. “But we really need to—”

“No, you don’t understand,” Michael said earnestly. “It’s too much for the brain to handle. If you read a ton, and then take a break to rest, it gives your subconscious mind time to sort itself out and really learn what you read about. If you don’t give your mind time to rest, nothing will stick!”

Owen wasn’t sure if that worked. Despite everything, Owen never had a formal education at any point in his life. This… study habit was something he’d only heard about and never experienced himself.

Was he about to get homework?

“Oh, by the way,” Zena spoke up, “Michael, is Ho-Oh around?”

“He left a while back,” Michael said. “Should be back soon. He said something about investigating an island offshore. That can only be Citadark, but that place is abandoned… Hopefully. I told him to turn back at the first sign of trouble.”

Citadark… an island offshore? “That sounds like Quartz Isle,” Owen said.

“Quartz what?” Michael repeated.

Owen couldn’t believe he didn’t know. Quartz Isle was the island destroyed by Arceus. It should have been all over the news! And yet… nothing? A whole island’s population had become Kilo!

“I think we need to talk about that later,” Owen said, not sure how to sort through his thoughts just yet.

“Alright. If that’s the case…” Michael suddenly got to his feet. “You guys enjoy your food!”

Owen had forgotten they were supposed to be eating. He hastily picked up what appeared to be a sausage in an elongated bun.

“I’m gonna get a lesson plan together.”

“Wait, what’s—”

But he was already gone. Why did that attitude feel so familiar?

Mu groaned. “Homework,” she murmured. “Nobody likes homework.”

 

[Kiba Makuro]

Hello Namo, sorry for the late review but let's get ready for brand new electric outdoor firepit, V-Wheel!

I'm here for Chapter 7 and Chapter 8, The Orb and Not Quite Dead.

Now while I am familiar with the events of these two chapters, and their outcomes, I didn’t realize all of the events within them, which made for a fun surprise.

The Orb is a chapter that has quite a bit of excitement and lore.

Owen and Team Alloy wake up from the wacky day and especially wacky night. And the Charmander is the only one in the house who recalls/went through the encounter with the interesting Espurr.

There's some repetition and samey sentences in the scenes where Owen gets everyone to help him reach the Orb, but the blooming dynamics make up for it. Again these are old chapters but it won't hurt for me to point anything out for any reading.

It also is a stylist choice I'm not used to/ completely fond of now that I'm thinking about it, but it's not going to detract from the plot.

We get immediate follow-ups to who that Espurr was,(she actually is an Espurr, well as far as this chapter shows- but we’ll get to who I thought she was in a second) with Rhys' conversation and see her capabilities in action.

While I enjoyed the joined and separated segments with Rhys, Anam, and Nevren, they all had a similar fault. Quite a few of the sentences just started with a character name, even in different back and forths. Often without the spice of species name or an action/description.

It wasn’t as noticeable during the beginning or during the next chapter which is good.

The content in these little pov shifts gave us a bit of a view of the Hearts building, but at the cost of kinda just dropping Anam, Rhys and James in it. I had to re-read that section to realize what was going on.

If there was anything else I wanted to mention was the prose in the mutant-Snorlax fight Nevren had was great. For some reason my memory increased the amount of spoken observations the Alakazham had, perhaps one or two could have been thoughts instead.

Let’s move over to content in Not Quite Dead. Despite it having the most unique factors, this is certainly a chapter that makes Hands of Creation itself in my opinion. The “type” dimension/realm.

So a common thing I've noticed in this chapter and the previous chapter is that, like before there's often a few instances where you just state how a character is feeling or state something that is obvious. Now I will give you credit for the obvious bit, for me the “One of the only Charmander” comes to mind, but in regards to others I suppose telling them directly removes a possibility of incorrect interpretations. But about the characters emotions, feelings, and certain thoughts,

So it seems like the Book of Mew is based on an actual Mew, and not the idea of one, how convenient it’s totally based on Star. Eh, probably not. [I thought Rim was secretly a Mew during my reading of the last chapter]

One thing I noticed was that there were quite a bit of hyphens. They were present throughout a majority of Owen’s dialogue, thoughts, and in the scene with Star in general. These crop back up later with Mispy and Demitri when Rhys comes home.

Some other odd word choices were here and there but this was an interesting set up for the million word and counting plot to kick in “high gear”.

The Mew gives him a choice, and it's definitely looking like Owen's got no real choice here. Staying inside the Orb and playing tower defense by himself, passing on in the aura sea or becoming a Guardian.

Interesting little sections here and there with Star and Klent, just like with Rhys and Anam of before. Part of me wonders if we exactly needed so many “pov swaps”/scene shifts in each of these chapters but that's just my memories of others suggestions. These scenes aren't meaningless of course, I just wondered.

I've already seen what happens via some art a few years ago, but I'm fine getting a visualization of the awesome chapter ending, Grass Charmander Owen.

I'm sure others have said this but I want Water Charmander Owen, as it would balance the team. But t also I think the Team now being unbalanced is fun. It's more of a pride thing for Owen.

Really loved the description and buildup to the vine"whip”. The initial setting in of the new life, and general Team Alloy, Rhys, and Owen craze definitely gave me quite a few ideas amidst the inspiration.

That's all I have for now.

 

[windskull]

Hey Namo. Thought I'd pick up a chapter for drive-by tag. It looks like the last one I reviewed was was “part 93,” which looks to be chapter 84 going off of ao3, so I'll be covering chapter 85 today.


It has been a while since I read these chapters, but I do remember well enough that going to get Emily’s help does not go according to plan. Still, from the perspective of in the story itself, it makes a lot of sense to try and get her help given the current overwhelmed situation.


Ah Nevren is as overly nonchalant as always, almost to a hilarious degree. “Oh, I'm just building a device to artificially create a dungeon. It'll probably backfire, but no big deal.” My dude. I know your reasoning is “because science” but that feels like a big deal.


Lavender and Lucas's interaction is cute. I like that Lavender is able to understand him through his behavior, even if he doesn't talk.

It was sticky like honey and stung the Combee it came from

I think you're missing a word after “stung.”


Congratulations, Brandon caught. Rhys!


Joking aside, I think you did a great job in this scene holding tension and playing with the horror of Emily’s current condition, especially through your word choice. There's just something unsettling and visceral about the description of the black ooze and the way the wraiths try to pull Tanneth back into the body.


I don't really have much to say about the final scene, but admittedly Rhys getting upset over being caught is pretty funny, even if it is understandable.


Coming back to this chapter as someone who's already read it before a while back, it's kind of like a trainwreck you can’t look away from. Rhys coming up with the solution to go get Emily’s help to deal with the ongoing disaster is is great! …But as someone rereading, I know it's going to go completely pear-shaped. It's almost painful lmao. I think it helped contribute keeping the tension up, in a way, but the chapter does a good job of holding the tension on its own.


Don't think I have any critiques this time. The only thing I had was the typo I already pointed out. So I'll go ahead and cut the review here. Until next time!

 

[Namohysip]

Thanks for the reviews, Makuro, Wind! Glad that you can get back into things, Wind, and it wasn't too disorienting after so long. And glad you got to the Grassmander part of the story, Makuro.

Lots of awkwardness in those early chapters, but it's nice that they're still passable.

Anyway, onto the next...

Chapter 173 – Rhythm, Tempo, and the Heart​

They’re closing in too fast! We’ve got wraiths on all sides!

What are we supposed to do about something immune to everything we throw at it?

Manny, do something!

What’m I supposed ter do?!

You’re the one who’s supposed to fix this! Hecto said so!

And what? And how? I don’t—I’m not some hero!

“Tch.” Marshadow Manny rubbed his forehead and stared idly at his cooling soup in Ludicolo Café. He reached for a spoon and toyed with it in his fingers, thoughtful. It was a quietly buzzing afternoon, somewhere between the lunchtime diners and the evening crowd. Manny recognized a few faces at a glance, but didn’t pay too much attention.

The most notable patron was Anam, looking forlorn and pensive all at once while eating a berry salad. Manny… wasn’t in the mood to navigate fake cheer and thick anxiety. Maybe a pep talk later when he wasn’t feeling down.

“Hey.”

“’Ey.”

Star appeared on the opposite seat in a flash of light. It only startled him enough to tense.

She spoke. “You… alright?”

“You?” Manny asked.

“Yeah, doing alright. Every day’s a little better.”

“Mm.” Manny tried a few spoonfuls. Still too hot, but he’d endure. The taste was good anyway. Hearty and lots of stuff to chew on to get his mind distracted by something else. Ludicolo danced his way to Star and placed a menu on the table for her, followed by a charming wink as he spun away. Even to the god of creation, Ludicolo was professional. He had to admire that.

“And it seems like every day is worse for you,” Star said. “C’mon, buddy. What’s wrong?”

Manny sighed. Straight to the point, was she?

“…A thousand years ago,” he said, “I watched my team die. I took their souls an’ ran. Hid away in Destiny Tower as it collapsed… an’ a day later I’m a Guardian. A thousand years ago, I fought and fell inter the Voidlands. There, I made a new team an’ defended lost souls from Void Shadows. An’ I dunno how ter square these two sets o’ memories. A hero from hades, an’ a coward who fled.”

“Oh.”

Manny figured she wouldn’t know what to say immediately. He understood. He took a few more sips of his soup. Cooler, now, and more tolerable. He could properly taste the ingredients of meat and spices instead of pure heat.

Star continued, “You… were thinking about this for a while, then.”

“What was yer first clue?”

The Mew sighed and pushed the menu aside. “It’s not like that, bud,” she said. “You were scared. Everyone was scared! I didn’t blame you for hiding away. That… that was the point. You were supposed to keep that power away so it wasn’t consolidated by whoever Dark Matter controlled. At least, that’s the reason we remember now…”

Manny’s fists clenched a little, wondering how strong he’d have to squeeze to break a cup or something. He had to be careful. Everything was delicate on Kilo's side. Nothing was reinforced.

“You keep bringin’ humans in here thinkin’ they’ll solve these problems because o’ their special properties,” Manny muttered. “But everyone in this world’s got some human in ‘em, don’t they? That was all… a mistake. There ain’t any amplifyin’ goin’ on.”

“Not true,” Star said. “That human blood is thinning every generation. It’s been two thousand years now. That’s, what, going on a hundred generations or so at this point, isn’t it? And… with it, that self-amplifying power keeps getting weaker. Dark Matter was… I think he was waiting.”

Manny quirked a fiery brow. “Sounds like you were thinkin’ on this fer a while too.”

Star sighed, nodding. Ludicolo spun by and asked for her order. Star asked for a disturbingly large platter of food. Ludicolo politely asked if she would need a to-go box. Star said no.

This worried Manny.

After Ludicolo left, Star continued the conversation. “Don’t blame yourself for what happened, alright? The guy overpowered us. It was only from that crazy stunt that I was able to get anything working to stop him, and… you couldn’t have known a single thing about that.”

“Can hardly remember that,” Manny remarked. “But… I still ran. Maybe if I fought more, I’d’ve—”

“Maybe maybe,” Star interrupted. “Or maybe Dark Matter would have taken your full soul. Then what? God, we’d be in even worse shape than before!”

Manny didn’t have a counter for that. He sat in awkward silence, eating his soup bit by bit.

“…So… don’t do that, okay? Trust me. I spent… I don’t know how long in a dungeon just wondering about all the… different things I could have done to avoid that situation. And a lot of it centered around actual mistakes I made and all the times I treated everyone else wrong. How much I just… just lost sight of it all. When I started getting memories back from the Voidlands, I… I panicked! I panicked so much that I was… I don’t even know what I was doing. I was desperate to get power before it got me. And then I lost everything.”

“C’mon, it didn’t go like that,” Manny said. “Yer head’s gettin’ all twisted. We hardly knew a thing ‘til the rift opened up. I mean, heck, I didn’ get much ‘til I fused t’gether.”

“I know, I know…” Star sighed. “A lot of us were like that. I was whole and even I had memories sealed. Me! I have a whole third of the world’s power in me and I had my memories sealed by some Decree that went past me.”

“The Anti-Hands, we’re callin’ it?” Manny asked.

“I’m not calling it that,” Star muttered. “Sounds lame.”

“How about we call it feet instead, eh?”

Star didn’t smile. Manny shrank in his seat. It was worth a shot.

They sat in silence a while longer. Soon, Ludicolo arrived with a platter of meats, fish, berries, veggies, rice, bread, and three different soups, all set on the table. Star dug her hand into her thigh, pulling out several platinum coins that she set on the table.

“…Oi, what was that?”

“What?”

“D’you have pockets? Wha?”

“I’m Mew. I can have whatever I want.” Star flipped her hand, growing ten fingers before returning to her normal three.

She started with the berries, meats, and rice first. Manny eyed the platter worriedly. That platter, in total, was three times her entire weight… Manny leaned to the left. Ludicolo had served Anam a sundae as tall as Star. They locked eyes and Manny froze.

Thankfully, all Anam did was wave with one of his horns.

“Well, eh…” Manny took a few more bites, waving back. “I guess what I’ve been thinkin’ is, I dunno, I think I oughta… test my strength again. Like, really test it. Those Titans ain’t a problem. Maybe I’ve still got it.”

“Fighting, huh?”

“I’ve got my spirits, too,” Manny said. “Ev’n dead, they’re strong. Tryin’ a new technique, y’know?”

“You’ve already been fighting, though,” Star said. A bowl’s worth of rice was gone and she was going for another slab of meat. “Sounds more like you want to go from Titan hunting straight into the front lines against Alexander, Emily, and Necrozma.”

“And Ghrelle,” Manny reminded.

“Right, once we find her…”

“An’ Nevren’s still on the loose,” Manny said.

“Riiiight…” Star sounded impatient, chomping down a whole fish at once. Bigger than her head.

“…Where’s all that food even goin’?” Manny asked worriedly.

“Dunno. Ask Owen.” Star lightly burped, punching her chest.

Manny squinted. Star offered him a plate and, all things considered… yeah, he was still a little hungry and his soup was running low. The portions for ‘small’ Pokémon were a little too small.

The silence fell again. Manny felt a little more comfortable for one reason or another. Maybe Star acting so casually was helping. Maybe he was finally getting his nerves together.

“I wanna try again,” Manny said. “Try bein’… the hero that y’said I would.”

“Manny…” Star sighed.

“C’mon,” Manny said firmly. “Please. I ain’t gonna—”

“That’s not what I mean,” Star said. “You already have been. But… if you’re saying you just want to try harder or something, or if you want to position yourself into the front lines… sure. I’m fine with that. I doubt anyone’ll think to object.”

Manny grabbed a piece of cheesy bread and dipped it into his soup. “Hope so once they realize,” he murmured. “Don’t think anyone knows anymore…”

“It was a secret for a reason,” Star said, keeping her voice low. “But considering it didn’t pan out… maybe it’s not important?”

Manny hesitated. He didn’t want to give the okay just yet. But…

Before he could answer, Star suddenly perked up. “Eh? What’s… Barky doing here?”

“He’s aroun’?” Manny didn’t see a giant Alpha Pokémon wandering the restaurant. Must’ve been an aura sense he’d lost as Marshadow.

Seconds later, in a blip of light, Barky appeared just behind Star, earning a few startled gasps from onlookers… and little more. At this point, residents of Kilo were used to his occasional appearances. Still, they stole a few glances. And Manny caught a few glimmers in Barky’s eyes at the recognition. Always smug…

“Star,” Barky said. “There you are.”

“What’s up, Barks?”

Barky’s eye twitched. “…I’m here to report that Owen has reached out to me again. The connection is strong. We’re getting the hang of this.”

“Eh? Right now?” Manny asked. “Yer pretty good at multitaskin’ that.”

“I have a secondary brain dedicated to prayer communications. This falls under that and it sends me important results.” Barky nodded.

Manny wasn’t sure which one to tackle first. The hesitation left Star an opening to say, “It’s in his butt.”

“The who the wha?”

“His second brain. It’s—”

“Located near my lower back.”

“Butt brain.”

Manny made a little ‘tsk’ sound. “Sounds like a butt brain ter me.”

“If you need clarity, you may ask Owen about it later,” Barky growled. “Now, will you be hearing from Owen or not? We need to be swift about this. I am trying to communicate with him every 864 seconds.”

“Oh, right, the hundred-to-one thing…” Star nodded. “When’s the next exchange?”

“Two hundred seconds.”

“Alright, well, probably missing that one, but what’d he say?”

Barky glanced around. “Shouldn’t we discuss this somewhere more private?”

At this point, several in the area were listening quietly. Manny got the sense they were trying to be polite, but they were also intensely curious.

“I think they should hear this,” Star said. “Like, c’mon. Who on our enemy’s side is gonna find out? Emily? Crazy. Alexander? Asleep and crazy. Necrozma? In lock with Nate every few hours. Ghrelle? Not even around. And crazy. Like, we don’t need to worry about information security anymore, dude.”

“…I’m… just being careful,” Barky said. “Ghrelle is still an unknown variable.”

“Well, you know what’s a known variable? Morale,” Star said. “And I bet people want to know what Owen’s found out.”

A few diners nodded sheepishly. A few avoided looking directly at Barky or Star while most seemed to still be pretending they weren’t eavesdropping. Maybe some genuinely weren’t.

“I’d like to hear it,” someone called out from the buzzing murmurs.

Across the table, perhaps eyeing Manny for a while, was an oversized, icy Sandslash. Hakk. Gods, he looked… better than a week ago, so maybe that was an improvement. Still…

Hakk offered a nod of acknowledgment before staring at Star. “I think we all want to hear some news about how we’re moving forward.”

No nonsense. Straight and to the point. He didn’t seem tense, but there was a coldness to the way he addressed them. Ever since Xypher was lost to the Voidlands, he hadn’t taken up action. And nobody blamed him.

Manny wondered if he wanted to take a step into the fray again. He recognized that look. Manny wore it, too.

A few eyes then turned to the one who’d have obvious authority on the matter—Anam, who was currently nursing a brain freeze. When the eyes landed on him, he nearly shrank back. Manny wondered what Anam would’ve been like if he had a shell to hide in. He’d heard some Goodra had that going on in ore-rich caves.

“Um…” Anam nodded. “It’s okay. Everyone should know. For… morale!”

Sounded like a line someone else gave him.

“Right…” Still, even Barky ceded to him. “Fine. I’ll announce what I know so far,” he said. “Owen has found a few venues that can be used to disrupt Shadows and he’s researching more direct approaches. What he knows so far is that memories of better times can directly counteract Shadows from within. With a divine push, such as through Radiance, this can purge that darkness entirely. And a human element may also play a part.”

Manny tensed. “Human element, eh?” he said. “Why’s that?”

“The bond between a human and a Pokémon is more than sentiment,” Barky said. “Humans… augment Pokémon auras, and vice versa. It is a symbiotic relationship that drew them together.”

“Wait, how strong are we talking?” Hakk asked, leaning forward.

“Mom was a human and she was super strong,” Anam said. “And I’m strong, too! So if I’m, um, second-generation human…”

“That is indeed meaningful,” Barky confirmed. “Even without Diyem’s power directly, you have retained much of it, Anam.”

“Oh…” This dampened Anam’s mood. Manny couldn’t figure out why; didn’t Barky just compliment him?

“And even after all these generations, the Pokémon here, untrained, are pretty strong,” Star explained. “Compared to a Pokémon of the human world, the average citizen might beat them pretty handily…”

“…Hang on…” Hakk paused. “Then… it’s generational dilution? Human blood? Human spirit amplifies Pokémon, just like that?”

“Which means ancient Pokémon,” Manny theorized, “y’know, folks from an earlier generation… They’re stronger. The blood’s got more human element in it. Ain’t all diluted.”

Murmuring continued but their eyes went back to Barky.

“Along with that,” Barky said, “Owen has been seeking humans and Pokémon in that world to defend against Dungeons that have been appearing on their side. In other words, it seems that Dark Matter’s influence is leaking into that world somehow. But compared to here, it is not as severe… and they have fighters who can defend against them. Owen spent a lot of time making sure they were prepared.”

“Heh. Good on ‘im,” Manny said.

“Dungeons are spreading to other worlds?” Hakk clarified.

“There are other worlds?” asked another.

“Humans… I thought they were just tales…”

“Do they really eat metal?”

“No! Mom eats normal food! But I can ask about the metal when she was human. But I think she’s becoming Giratina later.”

“What?!”

“Anam, that’s a bit much to explain!” Star warned.

“We don’t have much time before we miss a day.” Barky rerailed them. “Owen wants to know if we need to know anything more.”

“Wh—uhh—uhh—” Star, suddenly given the pressure, looked frazzled and glanced at Manny.

“What’re you lookin’ at me fer?!” Manny said. “I dunno what’s goin’ on! Eh, like, what Shadows will it help with? Which ones is he lookin’ more fer?”

“Yeah! What can we do right now to help?” Anam echoed.

“I’ll convey that for now,” Barky said.

“Great,” Star said. “So, how long will it take for Owen to fill us in with—”

“Owen is currently looking for information on Emily and will then be perfecting something with Gone Pebbles to assist with more ‘mundane’ Shadows, as he calls them.”

“Wow, that was fast,” Star said.

“Ah, right, yeh, the hundred-to-one thing,” Manny said, snapping his fingers.

“Yes. He also thinks a similar method can be done for everyone with the right circumstances. The problem is holding them still long enough… We need to plan around that. He will look for answers, too.”

“Keep them still, eh?” Manny repeated. “Huh… Alright. Somethin’ to think about…”

“Would it even work on Alexander?” Star asked. “He’s not just one Shadowy person anymore, and he’s not corrupted, either. With Necrozma and the others, it’s just corruption. Alexander’s rotten even without Shadows.”

“That’s… true. I’ll point that out to Owen after another day passes from his perspective.”

“There’s gotta be a way,” Manny muttered. “Nobody’s invincible…”

“How do we know?” Hakk spoke up. “…What’s the law that makes someone never invincible, huh? Like… we’ve thrown everything at the guy and the best we’ve done is slow him down. So what’s the deal? He’s a single guy. Not even a god.”

“Even if he has some opposing… Shadow power to the Hands of Creation, it’s just that,” Star said, stumbling over her words. “Opposing. Not dominant, opposing. So if we just put all our efforts together, we’ll be at least at similar heights to take him down. We’ve got numbers…”

“Owen,” Barky interjected, “thinks there might be a way to defeat Alexander given his status. He’s been thinking about that a lot lately. And it may be the same power, but rather than target Alexander, we target the spirits inside him. He is, in essence, a Guardian.”

“Shadow Guardian, then,” Hakk clarified. “…What’s a Guardian?”

“Oh, right, we didn’t really…” Star trailed off. “Uhh, powerful dude who has a lot of spirits powering them up from within.”

“Oh.” Hakk snapped his claws. “So get the spirits out. I coulda said that.”

“In essence, that is Owen’s suggestion,” Barky said. “The hard part is how.”

Manny and Star exchanged a look in the silence that followed. The timing worked a little too well. Still, if they had any guesses on how they could dismantle some of Alexander’s strength…

“Hey, Manny,” Star said with a bit of spark in her tone, “how about we strategize for a second?”

“I’d be down fer that.”

No more hiding. It was time to be a hero.

<><><>​

Getting daily updates from Barky was oddly comforting. Owen wasn’t sure how to feel about looking forward to every morning because he’d hear his former assailant’s voice in his head.

He wondered if any therapists weren’t swamped back home.

The days passed and they corresponded constantly. Owen had much more news than Barky did, but that was to be expected. What Owen really appreciated was being able to get his questions answered. Mostly everyone was fine. Team Alloy was deliberating on fusing while he was gone. He was… admittedly relieved they’d waited until he returned. He wasn’t sure why. Sentimental, maybe.

He missed them.

He kept Barky updated on Mu and how quickly she was growing up. Barky theorized—and Owen agreed—that Mu was getting older so quickly because she was experiencing many different lives in that place without realizing it. Mostly the negative parts. They had to pay special attention that she saw more than just pain during her upbringing.

Thankfully, Pokémon Lab HQ was peaceful. Mu seemed a lot more relaxed playing with Michael’s team. Lugia, too, warmed up to her after a few days.

Zena was the most dedicated to researching how to cure Emily. Even when Owen took mental breaks to spar with Lugia or Michael, she often went to the side to continue following a lead. Mu was a useful subject to simulate Shadow interactions.

But Owen was starting to get desperately restless. Every day he spoke to Barky was a day he felt he should have returned home. Zena tried to assure him that his relaxed life was still doing a lot more work thanks to the time dilation… but then Owen wondered, what if Dialga tried to swap time again? What if Ghrelle got to him and suddenly, the whole war passed without Owen there at all?

It wasn’t likely, but it was possible. And every day that passed, it could have happened on the next update.

So, Owen finally came to a decision. After a few weeks, once they felt that they’d found all they could on existing research, Owen went for one project to put into practice. And there was one he was most interested in—the power to purify Lugia, both in Orre and in Kilo. Here, it required a specific arrangement of Pokémon in a virtual environment, facilitated by their strange technology and PCs.

Owen didn’t know the first thing about how that worked, but he wanted to see how that would apply in the real world. They didn’t have the same technology in Kilo. How could they achieve the same thing?

It took a few days to make sure they could gather enough volunteers to help—including Michael, a total of twenty trainers with thirty-six viable Pokémon total. They moved to an open field just away from HQ and Owen marked circles on the ground, putting the Pokémon’s name down each time. The trainers were confused that some of the names didn’t match, which led Owen to add their ‘human names’ as well in case they didn’t match.

Owen was happy, at least, to see that the Pokémon weren’t offended by it and accepted it as a different name. Orre’s culture was so strange; the Pokémon were a lot more human-acclimated than in Kanto where wild Pokémon were the norm. But at least they seemed happy.

“Huh,” said Michael. “So you’re trying to do the virtual arrangement in real life?”

“Exactly. We don’t have a virtual environment in Kilo. So, we need to try the same thing you did for Shadow Lugia, but in reality. And I’m hoping it can still work.”

Zena slithered from the far end of the circle. “I think everyone’s in their proper spots. I just checked.”

In the field, thirty-six Pokémon were all looking at one another with mild confusion while their trainers read over the instructions to them on what they were supposed to do. Owen didn’t want to keep them waiting too long… It was about the length of a baseball field and it still felt cramped. Nine smaller circles of four Pokémon, each one arranged so that one element trumped the one in front of them. Supposedly, this specific arrangement of elements, when activated, did… something. Owen had to see it in practice to truly understand.

“Where’s Mu?”

“She got bored,” Zena said with an apologetic smile. “She left with Michael’s mother to help with cooking lunch.”

“Well, alright,” he said. “That’s fine. We didn’t want her to get too close to this anyway, in case, you know, it was dangerous to her.”

“You know, that reminds me,” Michael said. “You’ve got all the components for a purification circle, but nothing to purify. What’s your plan?”

Owen glanced at Zena, then back at Michael. “Shadows once tainted Zena. We talked a little, and I’m… going to corrupt her. If this fails, I can undo it.”

“Oh.” Michael tittered. “Good thing Lugia didn’t hear that one.”

“Thank you for keeping Lugia away,” Zena said. “I’m sure there were no good memories to be had from this…”

“Actually… Lugia insisted on watching once things were set up,” Michael said. “You know, Lugia likes you a lot more than you think. Sure, you came in with bad impressions, but…” He kicked the grass under his shoes. “You’re harnessing something for good. That’s what matters. I think we recognize that.”

Owen smiled, feeling emboldened. So even the Legends of this world approved? Or at least, one did.

“Still, if Lugia learned you could corrupt people on command, you’d probably be driven out of here!”

And there went the smile. “Y-yeah,” Owen said nervously. “Well, I don’t know if I can. I have the same Shadow powers Diyem does, but I’ve never… tried? But I can at least give the energy of Shadow to someone. That should be enough.”

“Right. Well, if that’s the case, go nuts with the setup,” Michael said. “I’ll grab Lugia. I think Mu is hanging out with her, too.”

Owen nodded and addressed Zena after Michael left. “You’re sure about this?”

“I’ll do fine with Shadows, I’m sure,” Zena said. “If I act out, keep me in line, okay? But I’ll do my best.”

“I’d… do it myself, but—”

“I know,” Zena said. “I’m the best volunteer. You need to be all there for analysis, and we don’t know how much it might hurt Mu. And she’s only a child, too. I think. And, er… well, we can’t volunteer anyone here, they’re innocent in all this…”

“And the last thing I’d want to do,” Owen rationalized, “is put a Pokémon that had been purified under any kind of Shadows again.”

Zena nodded and bowed her head. “Go on, then. Shadows, quickly.”

“Right…”

The process was slow and delicate. Owen didn’t want to harm her and he wasn’t familiar with the process, either. It felt like a ‘blessing.’ He siphoned some of that dark energy in his core along his arm and into his palm, which touched Zena’s forehead. He felt that energy leave him. The way Zena’s great ribbons tensed, and the way her brow furrowed, it was having some effect. His Perceive sensed little change otherwise, but his Guardian aura sense felt a lot more.

“You still with me?” Owen asked.

“I am,” Zena said. “I’m… fine. I’m fine.”

He figured this would be enough. He pulled away. “That’ll do,” he said.

When Zena opened her eyes again, she looked worried about something. She nodded and slithered to the center of the great purification circle and coiled up obediently. She was behaving stiffly and the other Pokémon noticed it. They eyed Owen warily; he nervously waved and said, “It’s part of the experiment. She’ll be okay.”

Soon after, Michael returned with his mother—an older woman with the same eyes and a pink dress—and Michael’s sister, a blue-haired girl with a broad smile. She was holding Lugia’s big hand for moral support; Lugia seemed nervous otherwise.

“Is it happening?” Mu asked, riding on the top of Lugia’s head.

“Yeah. We’re going to see if we can get a purification circle working outside of that virtual chamber,” Owen confirmed. “Everyone!” he boomed.

Looking excited at the prospect of something finally happening, the trainers and Pokémon all turned their attention to him.

“We’re going to start the experiment! I would like everyone to go as practiced. Don’t strike the person in front of you, but focus your energy as if you’re about to launch the attack!”

As Owen spoke, Zena slithered to the center of the arrangement of nine circles and coiled up. While her gaze was neutral, Owen sensed that she was distraught and nervous. The Shadows might have been pronouncing her doubts; for all he knew, she didn’t remember why they were in Orre to begin with. What memories did she lose from the Shadow seal?

In the circle just in front of Owen, an Arcanine asked, “And then?”

“That is all you need to do. We will handle the rest,” Owen explained.

Michael’s sister held Lugia’s fingertip tighter when she trilled nervously. Owen nodded at them and turned his attention back to the circle. The energy was flowing. According to the schematics, there had to be a connection from the circles into Zena, the subject to be purified.

“I’m curious what your step is here,” Michael hummed. “The computer usually does this part, directing the circle of purification from the four simple circles into the central chamber. That was the jump start we needed to purify Lugia. Like a… jolt of energy all at once.”

“Yeah. I think with some practice, they’d be able to do it on their own, but… I know a shortcut.”

Owen flared his wings. “Keep it up!” Owen said. “I’m now going to fly over you. Don’t lose focus!”

Once he was sure everyone could keep up their energy, Owen lifted off the ground and soared ten feet above the circle. First, he went around to analyze their auras, making sure every flow was as it should have been. Then, once he was sure of that, he dived into the first circle and grasped at something in the middle. It felt like—to his aura—a small thread, the same thread he pulled when using Mimic to reflect an attack. He wrapped it around his claws. Then, he dipped into the second circle, the third, the fourth…

By the final, ninth circle, he felt he could barely handle all of it. But for a proof of concept, it would do. He flew to the middle of the whole arrangement, to Zena, and placed these ‘threads’ into the center of her long back.

“Will this work?” she whispered, doubts pouring from her tone.

“It will,” Owen assured. Then, he pressed into her back, the threads taking hold. He was surprised that worked. He didn’t use Radiance or Shadow or… This was just the power of mortal Pokémon. And yet…

Owen pulled next. The threads caught something. Zena gasped in surprise. A spark of greenish cyan energy—the color of a simple aura—swirled around her, the power of thirty-six mortal Pokémon in perfect tempo, their energy flowing across this strange tapestry of human-Pokémon collaboration.

And then, a mote of darkness ejected from her back, exploding at once in the air. Owen staggered back from the surprise. It felt like he’d been punched in the face by his own Shadows.

Zena herself relaxed tremendously, heaving a sigh.

“Did—” Owen, dazed, stumbled to a landing. “Did it… work?”

“I felt it,” she said. “I… I forgot the look in your eyes,” she mumbled. Owen wasn’t sure what she meant.

Checking her aura… Not a trace of Shadows.

It… worked. Without a hint of Radiance or Shadow to purify her.

It worked. Finally, after all these trials, all this blind walking, they’d found the information they needed… to counter Shadows. And not just something Owen could do—anyone, given the arrangement and opportunity.

This was it. This was what he needed.

“Owen?” Zena asked. “Are you okay?”

“More than okay,” Owen said, beaming. “We’re ready to go home.”

<><><>​

Owen took one extra day to relay the news to Barky. That also gave Michael and his family some time to give them a little care package to return home. He wondered if they’d survive a trip across realities since some of the food looked perishable… But Owen couldn’t deny he might’ve gained a few pounds from their Tamato chocolates. A little treat to bring back wouldn’t hurt…

…Especially if he could get Darkrai to figure out the recipe later. Or Palkia to reverse-engineer it with science.

Afterward, Michael remarked that there were still a few Dungeons in Orre that he planned to take care of using some blessings that they’d left behind—and, of course, get in contact with Wes and Rui to spread the imbued stones Owen had given.

“Uh, by the way, Owen,” Michael said just an hour before he planned to leave.

“Yeah?”

“How come you… give li’l Vappy and Lugia weird looks now and then?”

“Oh—uhh—did you notice that?” Owen tittered. “Sorry. Back in Kilo, we knew a… Lugia and Vaporeon who were a couple. And… well, that’s kind of it.”

“Huh! How about that? Dunno about a couple, but they get along well.” Michael nodded. “I got Vaporeon from my pops. He, uh, died, or went missing, a long time ago.”

“Oh… Sorry to hear, uh…”

“Nah, it was… a long time ago,” Michael said. “Barely remember him. I’ve got his inventive spirit, though. I evolved my Eevee into a Vaporeon in his honor since his Vaporeon also went missing…”

“I wish I could find answers for you,” Owen said, frowning. “But… I’m a whole world away.”

“Nah, it’s alright. Sorry for dumping that on you. We’re fine. But it’s a story I like to tell, y’know, keep his name alive.”

“Oh, his name?”

“Same as mine!” Michael grinned.

“Oh, huh… Back home, we had a region that did that, too. Passing names down, I mean.”

“To be honest, it would’ve been kinda weird if he was still around,” Michael admitted with a crassness that punched Owen in the chest. “Anyway, see you around! Or, uh, never, I guess. Wait, let me try again. Good luck in Kilo!”

“Y-yeah.” Owen tittered and hoped he didn’t interact with Mu too much. The last thing they needed was another…

Owen wondered if this was a story he wanted to tell back home.

“Owen!” Zena called. “Oh! There you are.”

Mu was leaning away from Zena’s horn, using it like a lookout pole.

“Hey, Zena,” Owen called. “I’m ready. Counted up all our supplies. We’re nearly out of our world’s gold, too, so good thing we’re ready to go home…”

“Yeah, and don’t bring too much next time or you’ll break the economy,” Michael added. “I think. I dunno. Economics wasn’t my best subject.”

“I don’t like economics either,” Mu said. She didn’t like any subject. She only learned it from the tears of students all over the region.

Following just behind Zena was Lugia, who loomed over them and flew to Owen. She offered a respectful but formal nod.

“Will you be going to Citadark Isle?” Lugia asked. Owen had picked up on her dialect—enough for basic communication. He sensed she was simplifying her vocabulary.

“Oh. Uh… yeah. That’ll be our return Dungeon. It’s the largest and most stable, and it’s away from everything else, so it’s safer to use that one just in case… I don’t know, Dungeon things happen when we go through it.”

Lugia stared at Owen. The seconds passed uncomfortably. Was he supposed to… do something? Bow? Compliment her wings?

“Good.” Lugia nodded. “I hope you have a safe trip.”

Why did that sound like a threat?

“Thank you?”

Lugia approached Michael and poked at a capsule in his pocket. Lugia poured into it as a red light.

“She say something cryptic to you?” Michael asked.

“…Kinda.”

“Well, uh… good luck,” Michael said, shrugging. “Oh, and if you run into Ho-Oh on the way there, tell him I said hi!”

“Oh, sure.” Right, Ho-Oh. Wes had said that he was supposed to pass a message along… What was that message again?

“Daaad!” Mu complained. “Let’s go already!”

“Right! Right, I’m coming.”

After a short farewell later, Owen, Zena, and Mu returned to the skies of Orre, heading south and to the ocean. There, Citadark Isle—an ominous island just off the shore—awaited them.

<><><>​

Mu jabbered on about things she’d seen on TV and read in books. With less negativity to learn from in this part of Orre, she’d become curious to learn about other things of the world. Michael had even—secretly—offered her use of his smartphone. Owen hoped that wouldn’t cause any lasting damage, but she’d already called him “cringe” for not understanding what “lol” meant.

He still didn’t. Leaving her with Michael was probably a parenting mistake.

They’d been flying for a few kilos now. Mu had been gifted a few books to read. Within Owen’s wind barrier—the benefits of being part Flying—she had an easy time turning the pages, and Owen felt a little twinge of pride in her taking to books so soon. He wondered if, when the world wasn’t falling apart, she’d do well in a formal school setting.

Having the powers of darkness in the core of her soul wouldn’t disqualify her from being a student, right? He never went to school. But maybe she could.

“Daydreaming?” Zena asked, flying closer to him.

“A little,” Owen said. “Hey, Zena, did you ever go to school?”

Her expression darkened. “…I did.”

“Oh? In the ocean?”

Zena nodded. “It’s not too different from land life, now that I’ve had time to acclimate more. I think there’s even a division in Kilo that trades with the Kiloan seas. But… I don’t like talking about my school days.”

“Uh? How come?”

“I was a Feebas.”

“…And… that’s bad? Oh, right, Feebas aren’t as good at fighting…”

“Told you,” Mu said idly, turning a page. “Cringe.”

“Not just that, Owen,” Zena said with patience in her voice. “Feebas naturally… blend in to be unnoticed. We’re hardy in any environment, but we… aren’t… things that people like to look at very much. I had very few friends. I went in, got the lectures, did the homework, went home… I wasn’t even picked for kelpball, they forgot I was there…”

“Kelpball?”

“Oh, you use water propulsion moves to score goals in a large spherical arena,” Zena summarized. “Anyway… I just didn’t have any lasting friendships there. Once I evolved, though, I got all the attention… But…”

“But it was only because you were stronger now,” Owen said.

Mu smirked for some reason.

“…Yes,” Zena said and somehow it didn’t sound like a yes. “I guess that’s what led me to wandering the ocean… Just by chance, I found Emily. She was so… oblivious to everything that I felt her kindness was genuine.” Her smile was warmer. “…Huh. A lot like you, in a way.”

“I hope we can save her,” Owen said without thinking. He wished he hadn’t—surely, that would’ve soured the mood.

“I agree,” Zena said.

“Uh—sorry for…”

She shook her head. “We need to get our heads into this. No more vacationing. In just a few kilos, we’ll be back into it with all the others. Even if… most of this time was spent researching, we had a lot of rest. But we can’t get lazy.”

“Right.” Owen nodded, more emboldened. He stared ahead… “Hey…” Owen squinted. “Is that…?”

Far away, only a speck from this distance, Owen saw Citadark Isle on the horizon. Circling the strange, gray sphere atop its main mountain… was a rainbow bird. And when they got closer, its circular flying pattern changed.

“Ho-Oh,” Zena concluded. “And… I think he’s waiting for us.”

The bird flew into the gray sphere. And Owen… had to agree.

It seemed they were due for one last conversation before returning home.