WindsweptCity
Youngster
Ricky groaned as his alarm rang. He groped out blindly at the Chingling shaped device, eventually managing to grab hold of it and switch the annoying thing off. Even after a few years, he struggled to stick to a set work schedule.
Stretching and cracking as many bones in his body as he could, he slid out of bed and flicked the light on, nudging a smaller, but no less plush bed on the floor with his foot. “Oy. Don’t pretend you’re a Voltorb. I know you heard that. It’s time to get up.”
Electrike shifted sleepily and mumbled something, skiing deeper into his bed, but it was enough for Ricky. It was a lot easier to get ready for the day as a Pokémon than a human, he mused, heading to the bathroom.
He had to relieve himself, brush, shower, and put on respectable clothes, check that his black hair and beard weren’t looking too wild, and apply deodorant, all before he could head to the kitchen and get some breakfast, where Electrike was already waiting.
The part-time electrician poured some Pokémon mix into a bowl, adding a few berries that grew on a farm south of the city, while sticking a couple of frozen sausage, cheese, and egg biscuits into the microwave for himself, while making coffee.
Ricky sat down heavily to join his Pokémon once everything was finished. Electrike glanced up from his food with a questioning look.
“What’s the plan? We’re going to the TV station today, to run some cameras. I don’t have any other calls, and they’re seemingly always in need of some help…”
He trailed off as Electrike nodded, finished his meal, and leapt to the front door. It would appear to most observers that the Electric-tpe was waiting patiently, but Ricky knew better. Pokémon like Electrike stored a lot of energy inside them, and needed to burn it off.
They battled very casually, but most of the time, Electrike just ran around the city. With a whole gang of Electric-types, actually. “See you at work,” he told his Pokémon, opening the door and closing it behind him.
Once upon a time, he’d race Electrike around, but after years of losing, Ricky had given up. He took his time finishing his breakfast before hopping on his bike and heading east towards Hoenn TV’s studios.
His house was on the other side of town, so he got to see much of the city on the ride there. Ricky always marveled at how much it had changed in recent years. When he had come out of electrician’s school, twenty-odd years ago, he was rolling in money.
Wattson could not stop himself from meddling with the grid, trying to remake it to the best possible version, they still relied on New Mauville for power, and his schedule was jam-packed as a result.
Now? He’d worked himself out of a job. Wattson was satisfied, New Mauville had been shut down, and there weren't really any problems to address. A routine trip down the cycling road to his parent’s house in Slateport had been the inspiration for applying as a cameraman.
He’d found, covered in dust, the old camcorder he’d been given one of his birthdays. Ricky remembered taking it to school, showing it to all his friends, and driving his parents mad by recording them performing the most basic of tasks. That thing worked in the rain, in the mud, and wherever else he decided to take it as a child. It even still worked today, though its images were blurry.
One such place was on the low road, where he filmed an Electrike accidentally falling into a deep hole no doubt made by some trainer and their Pokémon using Dig. He had video of him finding a branch long enough for the Pokémon to climb out on, but not the aftermath, because he had dropped his camcorder when Electrike had jumped on him and licked him silly.
That same Electrike was waiting for him at the studio. He parked his bike at one of the numerous racks this bike-friendly city had to offer, put a chain and a lock on it, ruffled Electrike’s fur, and entered.
Ricky only had time for a few fist bumps and waves to his friends and their Pokémon, before he was accosted.
“There you are!” his partner exclaimed. “I’m on the air in thirty minutes. Get your camera! Go, go, go!”
She tried her best to push him in the correct direction, but he wasn’t exactly skinny. “Since when are you on the morning news, Violet?” he asked the young lady, probably named for her shockingly purple hair.
“Since Cassandra called in sick, I volunteered to take her place. Chop-chop!”
Twenty-nine minutes later, they were both in front of a large map of Hoenn, him filming it with a large camera on his shoulder, and Violet with a Castform, reading over the teleprompter one last time.
“And now, checking in on the weather, with Violet!”
Castform used a very localized Rain Dance and turned into its rain-form to demonstrate what was going on.
“Thank you, Robert. Eastern Hoenn is still undergoing a deluge of rain and thunderstorms, the likes of which we have no record of. With sea levels rising, and visibility so poor, all cities east of Fortree have suspended all water-based activities for another week, until this unprecedented and historic event finally comes to an end. On the brighter side, western Hoenn continues to enjoy moderate and sunny weather, with only a slight chance of clouds later into the week. That’s the weather from Violet, sending it over back to you, Robert!”
Her ninety seconds on air over, Violet thanked Castform, and came over to him, having calmed down a bit. “How was I?” She asked, peering over his shoulder into the camera.
Ricky shrugged as best he could with the large camera on his shoulder. “Fine?”
The younger woman seemed dissatisfied, as if she wanted more of an endorsement than that. “Well, okay then. Thanks for being flexible. I feel most comfortable with you manning the camera. Let’s go record my other parts, shall we?”
Violet’s main parts were filler, as they were called in the news industry. Shows that played throughout the day, to take up airtime, when most people were at work, and most of their views came from TV’s on as background noise in people’s houses or offices. Local crime, interviews with a notable trainer if they were lucky, gossip… things like that. All their main stories were put on in the morning or evening.
It didn’t bother Ricky. His job was the same regardless, and his face was never going to be on television in the first place.
His partner, though? That was a different story.
Electrike only caught one issue throughout the rest of the day, where two newbies accidentally plugged one surge protector into another. Other than that, everything went quite smoothly.
As he was putting away his equipment, Violet came up to him. “Great work as always, Ricky. You headed to the pub after work today?”
“Yep.” Not only was this place on his way back home, the beers were all local, the food was not too expensive, and they always cooked Electrike’s steak extra-rare, just like his Pokémon liked it. He’d go every day if he could.
“Do you mind if I tag along?”
This was odd, because Violet usually said someone who was on television shouldn’t be seen drinking in public. She did seem like something was weighing on her, though.
It wasn’t a hard decision, in the end. “Sure. The more the merrier, right?”
Once they had arrived, found a table, and put in their orders, Ricky cracked open a couple of cold beers and passed one over. “What’s on your mind?” he asked, taking a long draught.
He watched as she downed half the bottle in one go, finally setting it down. “My career is doomed,” she began despondently.
One beer really was not enough for a conversation like this. He waved to the closest waitress and signaled they needed several more, before responding. “That’s a little dramatic.”
“I’m being serious,” Violet insisted, finishing her drink and popping the top off the second. “We might be partners, but things couldn’t be more different for us. You have actual skills that are transferable. If your body is able, you could leave here, and find employment for the next twenty years. I’ve got a time limit, and I’m already being set aside. Whenever Captain Stern emerges from his submarine with a new discovery from the ocean floor, who gets to interview him?”
“Gabby,” Ricky answered, moving on to his second beer as well.
Violet nodded animatedly. “Whenever they launch another spaceship from Mossdeep City, who gets to be on the scene, filming the moment the rocket takes off?”
“Gabby.”
“And whenever a new hotshot trainer like that young girl from Littleroot Town, or Wallace’s sister Lisia is making waves in the trainer circuit or the contest scene, who gets sent to interview them?”
The answer was of course, Gabby and her cameraman Ty again. Still, Ricky wasn’t understanding what Violet was getting at. “What’s your point?”
“My point is that I’m already irrelevant! Someone has a stranglehold on all the best stories and events, and that relegates me to reporting on useless stuff like whatever is trendy in Dewford this week! The only reason I’m on TV right now is because I’m young and pretty. What’s going to happen when that fades away, and I have zero name recognition?”
It finally clicked for Ricky, as he was starting his third beer. “You’re worried that you aren’t maximizing your most critical years, and that you won’t have as much opportunity later on. But how are you supposed to get out of this cycle?”
The spark was returning to Violet’s eyes. She pounded a fist on the table, which was normally a sign to the waitstaff that food needed to be rushed out to them urgently. “We need a big story! Something that will really captivate the masses! Ideally, it will be a total mystery, a complete unknown, so Gabby can’t get her grubby hands on it before I do.”
As the food arrived on their table, Ricky found that his appetite had disappeared. “I don’t know,” he mumbled, picking at it with a fork. “That’s a lot of unknown for me.” Uncovering a story like that would involve long hours, late nights, travel to remote places, just to acquire pieces that may not even fit together to solve a puzzle.
He knew Violet, with her degree in investigative journalism, was more than happy with those conditions, but he was comfortable with his lot in life.
“Come on, Ricky,” Violet began him, in a much softer tone. “Is this really all you’ve ever wanted in life? You’ve never dreamt bigger? You said you have two gym badges! That must mean you wanted to be a Pokémon trainer at some point.”
“More like delusions,” he muttered under his breath, finally starting to eat. He had borrowed a Snorunt from a mate to challenge the Fortree Gym leader before Winona, but he barely escaped by a Taillow and a WIngull, and got the sense the old man was going easy on him.
As for the Dynamo Badge, Wattson had given him it once all the work with the power grid was finished, calling it proof he was a master of electricity. The gym leader had even been nice enough to have his Manectric teach his Electrike Flamethrower, not that Ricky ever used it for much, other than lighting the fireplace in winter, or driving off a pesty Dustox here or there.
“Everyone who’s ever done something of note was a little delusional,” Volet said simply. “I could do it with someone else, but like I told you earlier. I want you by my side.”
Ricky warred within himself for the rest of their dinner, before he finally came to a conclusion. “Fine. I’m in.”
“Great!” Violet whooped, slapping down money on the table for the both of them. “I know just where to start!”
“Where’s that?” he asked hesitantly.
“The library!”
It was at the Mauville Library that they spent their first long night, poring through books and staring at computer screens until their eyes hurt.
“What about this one?” Ricky suggested, rubbing at his eyes to try and keep them open. “Relicanth was originally found only near Sootopolis, but it's been spotted around Lilycove as well!”
“That’s old news,” Violet dismissed his findings, not peeling her eyes away from her computer screen. “I’m looking for something completely new.”
“Oh.” Ricky frowned, before scrolling down and trying again. “Then I guess the Devon Company’s announcement of a working fossil restoration machine is old news, too.”
“Yeah,” Violet said. “Those are what I call continuations, on stories that have already broken. “What we’re looking for is something that hasn’t been broken before. She looked away from her computer, but not at him. “Any luck finding any other imminent celestial events, other than the upcoming meteor shower?”
Violet’s Xatu didn’t make any inclination that he had heard his trainer. Ricky really didn’t know if the psychic bird could see the future. He was pretty sure that Violet would have broken a big story by now if Xatu actually could.
His partner pursed her lips and dove right back into her computer screen. Ricky changed his search, away from big stories, to local ones that barely were worth mentioning.
It might be the alcohol from earlier, or his tiredness, but as he read, he was starting to see a pattern. He called Violet and Xatu around, and Electrike jumped up on the table to see, too. “Is it me, or is there something here?”
Violet’s eyes were much sharper than his, even at this late hour. “You’re right,” she breathed. “Lilycove, Lavaridge, Dewford, Fallarbor, Petalburg, Fortree… people have been claiming for months to have seen or sensed a mystery Pokémon. We’ve got stories from all over Hoenn.”
“You don’t think it’s a coincidence?” Ricky half-asked, half-yawned.
She shook her head. “Not with how long it's been and how many people have said the same thing. This smoke has some fire to it. Not one clear description, though.”
“Maybe we should call it The Blur, then,” Ricky said drowsily. Blurriness was all that he could see, which was quickly fading to black as he dozed off.
“Yeah, The Blur! I like that!” Violet clicked on the links in rapid order, trying to see which sighting came first. “It looks like the oldest of these was around Lilycove CIty. You know, that’s where the Safari Zone is. Maybe they were importing a Pokémon that escaped! That would be a huge scandal! What do you think, Ricky? Ricky?”
She jumped as a loud snore answered her. When she went to wake her partner, a low growl froze her. Violet glanced over to see Electrike, hackles raised. “We can discuss this another time,” she told the fiercely loyal Electric-type hastily. I’ll have Xatu teleport you two right into your beds, okay?”
Lilycove wasn't as subject to the deluge of rain pounding the rest of eastern Hoenn, so the news station still had assignments there. Though Violet was volunteering for every single one, she had taken him into account, and they hadn’t dropped everything in pursuit of The Blur.
A few days later, they had been chosen for one. An opening of a new exhibit at the Lilycove Art Museum, where Violet could interview the owner, and perhaps a few artists, too.
After hustling into the museum, locating the curator, and setting up, it was time. Ricky gave the signal that they were rolling.
“Hello, Hoenn! This is Violet, from Hoenn TV, and I’m very excited to give you exclusive insight to the opening of the newest exhibit in the Lilycove Museum! Mr. Curator, what was the inspiration behind this exhibit?”
The old gentleman was certainly comfortable in front of a camera. “As you know, I’ve traveled all over the world, collecting rare pieces of art for my museum. There are certainly talented people of all nationalities. That said, there is a lot of talent right here. This exhibit will feature local artists, specifically from Lilycove, and from Hoenn in general. We should always be able to appreciate what’s close to home.”
“Amazing! Does that mean anyone can apply to have their work featured?”
“Of course! We still need to evaluate it, to ensure that it lives up to the standards set up by the museum, but any and everyone is welcome to submit their personal masterpiece, no matter the form.”
That actually sounded pretty good to Ricky. He wasn’t really cultured enough to appreciate art, but he could appreciate hard work by your everyday person. Maybe once this interview was over, he’d check the exhibit out.
Violet had a different approach, as soon as they were done recording. “I’m going to see if I can’t get the Safari Director to spill the beans. Be right back!” she said, having Xatu teleport them away.
With nothing else to do, Ricky went to the new exhibit. There were more than just paintings there, with sculptures, pottery, and modern art that Ricky couldn’t understand, but one particular painting drew his eye, and sent shivers down his spine.
It was sort of like stained glass, or looking through a broken mirror, colored purple. At the center was some sort of yellow spider-like figure, staring into his very soul.
He jumped like a girl when a voice came from behind him. “Do you like it?”
Ricky turned, holding his chest, to see an extremely pale teenager, with the same purple and black color scheme of the painting. “Did you paint this?” Ricky asked, getting his heart rate under control.
The teenager nodded. “Yes,” she answered, in a monotone voice. “I asked if you liked it.”
“It’s certainly something,” Ricky said, looking back at the painting. “It evokes emotion in me, without me even knowing what it is.”
“It’s the world beyond ours, and the rule of that world” the girl educated him, only sounding slightly more interested. “No one believes me that either exists, but I have felt them. They are powerful presences that shape the fabric of the universe. Not that anyone understands me.”
Ricky wasn’t sure he understood, either. “But it’s not the presence you seek.”
He turned to look at the girl in shock. “What was that?”
“I can sense powerful presences,” the goth-like teen said again. “Not unlike that Xatu from earlier. She shivered. “It was the most powerful psychic presence I’ve ever felt.”
Is this what investigative journalism was? Violet always stressed having accurate and reliable sources… He didn’t think this girl counted, but he decided to write it down, just in case.
The Safari Zone escapee theory turned out to be a dud, according to Violet. The director vehemently denied any Pokémon escaping from the confines of the Safari Zone. That meant they were back at square one, but Violet assured him that they were still making progress. Knocking out theories narrowed down what The Blur could be.
Their next traveling assignment, a couple of days later, turned out to be in Dewford.
“I thought you hated going there?” Ricky asked Violet as they were getting ready.
“I do,” she assured him. “What’s trendy in Dewford has to be the stupidest segment we run on this station. Who cares what’s trendy on some isolated island? But, on the one percent chance that those people created a trend based on The Blur, I asked to go there, to check it out. At least we don’t have to interview them.”
That was a relief. “What else happens in Dewford that warrants us going, though?”
“They relocated all the entire beach volleyball league, since most of the cities are getting drenched, to Dewford. They're having a big tournament as opposed to the playoffs at the end of the season.
It usually was much more of a challenge to set up his camera outdoors. Long extension cords worked well, but they were also a massive tripping hazard, and with how many people were on the beach, Electrike had to be the portable power source, in order for them to be close enough for clear shots without people constantly getting in the way.
Beach volleyball was a two person sport, but every city that participated had a male human team, a female human team, and two Pokémon teams that competed. Unfortunately, when you were one of the only professional athletes in an entire city, it tended to give you a big head.
Ricky always rooted for teams from Slateport City, his hometown, but as the matches progressed, he started to root for anyone to win but the men’s team from Dewford, because of how sleazy they were.
Unfortunately, they were also really freaking good, considering there wasn’t much to do in this town but practice.
Violet was grimacing as one of the two members of Dewford’s male team sauntered up to her following their victory, but she put on a professional face as Ricky started recording.
“Hello, everyone! Violet here, with Josh from Dewford, following their dominant victory at the first inaugural Battle on the Beach tournament, sponsored by Devon, of course. Choose Devon, for all your living needs. Josh, how have you maintained such an impressive win streak, dating back to last year?”
“It’s because all my competition are bums,” the shirtless, sweaty athlete said. “Me and Aaron are thinking about heading to Alola, to see if we can find someone half-decent to play against.”
Not exactly a humble winner, Ricky thought. “And what about playing at home? How does it feel to play in front of all your fans?” Violet asked.
“I mean, it's nice to sleep in our own bed, and not have to travel all the way across the region, but I think we’ve proven we can play and win anywhere. As long as there are pretty girls looking at me, I’ll always have the motivation to go out there and perform.”
With that, he wrapped an arm around Violet. It was times like this Rick really wished he wasn’t holding the camera. Had Violet’s father been here, seeing this, he had no doubt the man would start throwing hands, for touching his daughter without permission.
She was still maintaining her professionalism, even though Ricky could tell she really wanted this dude off of her. “Right. One last question. Do you have anything to say to your fans before we go?”
Josh pointed straight into the camera. “You all know my number. If you have a rockin’ bod like me, hit me up for some fun, yeah?”
Violet squirmed out of his grip and all but raced back to Ricky and Electrike. “You alright?” Rick asked his partner? “Need Electrike to go bite that guy’s heels or something?”
“I’m fine,” she said, shuddering. “One day that asshole will go too far and get what he deserves. For now, I’m going to head over to Dewford Hall while there’s a respite, to investigate their trends. Do you want to come?”
“Not really,” he said. “Imma get a couple of cold ones. It’s super hot out here.”
“Don’t drink too many,” Violet warned him as she rapidly walked off. “That camera needs to be held steady.”
He had a high tolerance. And besides, one of the drinks wasn’t for him. Ricky paid for two, heading over closer to the shore, where fishermen were casting their lines. He left his camera a safe distance away from the water, and headed down with Electrike.
“Hey there,” he greeted a fisherman. “It sure is hot today. You need something to cool off with?” Ricky asked the man offering one of his beers.
“Much appreciated, friend,” the man said, patting the sand next to him as an invitation to sit down. “Name’s Ned.”
“Ricky,” the electrician introduced himself. “Cheers.” They clinked their bottles together.
“What brings you over here?”
“Well,” Ricky began, “I was doing some investigating on some weird sightings around here, and I thought you could help me out. How long do you stay out here, watching the ocean?”
“Forty hours a week,” Ned told him. “This is my job. I’m supposed to record the number and type of Pokémon I catch, to make sure the populations are healthy.”
That’s what Ricky wanted to hear. “So you see everything, then. Have you noticed any Pokémon that you’ve never seen before around here?”
Ned glanced at Electrike. “When the sun doesn’t get in my eyes. And yeah, but you’d probably know more about them than me.”
Ricky frowned. “How so?”
“I see Pokémon zooming past me, every once in a while. Figure they were Electrode or Voltorb, though. I put in a report, but it never came to anything.”
“We definitely do not let Voltorb and Electrode go where they please. They have a bad habit of getting angry and exploding, if you don’t know.” Ricky told Ned.
The fisherman wasn’t convinced. “I haven’t seen anything move that fast in my life. She was like a plane whizzing past. And the colors were the same. Red and white. That much I could tell.”
“She?” Ricky asked.
“Ah, that’s how people around the ocean talk. Everything is a she. The sea is a she. Boats are she's. Even the fish we pull up are she's.
Ricky made conversation with the man, eventually saying goodbye when it was time to get back to work. Still, he couldn’t help thinking about The Blur as a she.
Violet didn’t seem to have much more luck than him. “Rubbish,” she grumbled, smoothing out her suit. “Absolutely useless rubbish is all I got from those trendsetters. Once we’ve made it big, Ricky, we’re never coming back here. Unless it’s to relax on the beach.”
Sadly for them, there was one more assignment that they disliked even more than Dewford. The desert, up in northern Hoenn. “Dusty the ruin maniac has apparently had another sighting of the Mirage Tower,” Violet was telling him. “Means we need to head up there, and ask him a few questions.”
“How is it that he always sees it, but we never do?” Ricky asked, trying to wiggle his way out of this. Electrike absolutely hated the desert. It was no place for Electric-types. Especially ones that couldn’t use Magnet Rise, and thus had no way out of Trapinch holes.
“It vanishes into the sand,” Violet said, cupping her eyes with sandstorm goggles they were given, doing her best impression of the man. “That’s why it's a mirage. I think Xatu is strong enough to hold back the sand and levitate Electrike, but you might want to bring your rubber gloves, too.”
As usual, there was no Mirage Tower when they teleported into the desert, taking shelter behind a massive boulder, surrounded by six smaller ones, all of which had somehow not eroded away or ground into dust by the fierce wind and sand. Just one very animated man.
At least there was nothing for him to film.
“I’m telling you, it was right there!” Dusty exclaimed, pointing to an empty space. “It was there, and I saw it, and it was amazing!”
“Right,” Violet replied, giving nothing away with her voice, even though Ricky was sure that she was mentally rolling her eyes. Maybe even actually rolling them, considering their sandstorm goggles hid their eyes pretty well. “What makes this sighting different from the,” she flickered through her notepad, “nine other times you’ve seen the Mirage Tower.”
“Because,” Dusty said, far too confidently. “I also saw something else! A Pokémon! With the same powers!”
That got both of them to wake up. “Can you describe it?” Violet questioned, uncapping her pen and putting it to paper.
“Not really,” Dusty answered, causing Ricky to sign internally. “You see, I was using my magnifying glass on the ground, because I was collecting some nice, silky red sand to sell.”
Ricky always wondered how this man paid his bills. That was one mystery solved, albeit the wrong one.
“But then I noticed I was standing in a shadow!” Dusty continued, waving his arms in the air. I thought it was a cloud, which would have been amazing, because there are never any in the desert, but when I looked up, I-”
The man cut off. “What happened when you looked up?” Violet pressed the man.
Dusty seemed extremely embarrassed. “I screamed like a little girl, because something alive was hovering above me! Whatever it was, it shrieked too, and vanished, like it wasn’t even there! It must have flown away whilst invisible!”
“You can’t give us any description?” Ricky asked, thinking of the stuff he had heard previously. Flying was one thing but hovering sounded similar to how Solrock and Lunatone held themselves up in the air. With psychic power.
“The sand was extra thick that day. But don’t you see! It must be extremely powerful! All of this is connected! And I believe it lives right here!” Dusty slammed his palms onto the giant, central boulder. “Show yourself! Reveal your secrets! I know you live in there!”
Ricky exchanged a glance with Violet. It was time to go. Xatu was kind enough to drop them in Lavaridge down, where they could enjoy the soothing hot springs, after enduring the sands of the desert.
“You think that Pokémon was The Blur?” Ricky asked his partner.
“It would certainly explain why no one has ever gotten a good look at it,” Violet thought aloud. “Turning invisible is a hell of a way to stay anonymous.”
“It also makes it that much harder to get a picture of,” Ricky grumbled. “It’s amazing anyone has seen her.”
“Not if you have good eyes,” Violet said thoughtfully. “I heard from a friend in college about the legend of the Mirage Island. She was from Pacifidlog Town, and said they had a man who could see it. And apparently, he was right, every single time.”
Mirage Tower, Mirage Pokémon, Mirage Island. Ricky could see where she was going with this. “You want to go speak with him?”
Violet shrugged. “Couldn’t hurt. At the very least, we could get his number so he could call us next time he spotted it.”
“That’s a super long trip,” Ricky said, weighing it in his mind. It’s going to take Xatu some time to rest up to be ready for it, not to mention the return teleport. We’re supposed to report back to the station tomorrow. What if he actually sees the Mirage Island when we go there? What then?”
“We both have sick leave and vacation time,” Violet said easily. “I’m willing to use all of them, and even unexcused absences, Ricky. I can’t chase ghosts any longer. You see what they have us doing. I’m down to put my career on the line for this.”
She was a much braver person than he, that was for sure. And like she said, there were plenty of opportunities for him, if this camera gig ended, as much as he enjoyed it. “I said I’m in when we started. I’m not backing off now.”
“Best to get some sleep then,” Violet told him, as she exited the hot tub. “Tomorrow might be a day to remember.”
Thankfully they didn’t start off on the wrong foot, with Xatu landing them on the wooden platforms the town was known for, rather than straight in the water. It was raining hard though, but eventually, they found some locals who were nice enough to direct them to the mirage seer’s house.
Violet knocked on the door sharply, three times. “Come in!” was the distant reply.
They pushed open the door and hurried inside to reveal the old man looking through his window. He greeted them happily, and offered them some refreshments and towels. “What brings you four all the way out here?” the mirage man asked, including their Pokémon in the question.
“We’re researching some rumors about a mirage Pokémon,” Violet answered between sips of her tea. “And we wondered if you had any insight, like if it were related to the mirage island.”
“A mirage Pokémon?” the man repeated, thinking hard. After several moments, he leaned back in his chair. “I’m afraid I don’t know. Can you describe it to me?”
Violet’s face fell, but this was Ricky’s time to shine. Assuming that, the dubious information he had collected along the way was accurate. “We think it’s a Psychic-type. Colored red and white. As fast as a plane. And it can fly like one, too.”
Xatu and Violet were staring at him, while Electrike looked on proudly. “What?” Ricky defended himself. “I can do some investigating too!”
The mirage man smiled. “Ah. I see. No, what you're looking for has nothing to do with Mirage Island. But I have seen what you describe, many a time, flying past.” He shuffled to the wall, where a map of Hoenn was pinned. “By my calculations, it's always going to the same location. Here.”
He put his index finger on a tiny island between Slateport and Pacifidlog. “We call this Southern Island. I believe that is this Pokémon’s home. It would be a brave sea captain that would try to get you there, though.”
Violet went to look at it, before coming back to her Pokémon. “I know you’ve been listening, Xatu. I know we’ve only ever teleported to places we’ve been. Do you think you can get us there? Whatever you decide is what we’ll do.”
For several seconds, they watched the stationary, motionless bird, staring at the map. Just as Ricky started to think that this was going nowhere, Xatu squawked loudly, spreading his wings to their full extent.
“Yes!” Violet cheered, before looking at them. “Are you ready?!”
To teleport to a tiny island no one had ever been before in the middle of the ocean? Ricky grabbed his camera. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”
“Thank you, sir,” Violet thanked, profusely shaking the mirage man’s hand.
“Don’t mention it,” he replied cheerfully. “I hope you find what you’re looking for.”
“On three, Xatu,” Violet said, stepping back. “One, two… three!”
Ricky closed his eyes, but when he opened him, he wasn’t sinking into the sea. He heard the gentle lapping of the waves on the most pristine beach he had ever seen, felt the gentle rays of the sun, and saw the most beautiful gem of an island anywhere. “Xatu really did it,” he breathed in awe.
To think that a place like this existed. And to think that he of all people was able to see it!
“I knew you could,” Violet told Xatu proudly, stroking her Pokémon’s head. “Now, where should we start? It wasn’t a big island on the map, so maybe we could split up?
She took one step forwards, and a dark cloud appeared overhead. Ricky swore, running to some trees to try and protect his camera, though he knew that it was futile, unless the rain stopped quickly. “I didn’t do anything!” Violet wailed, following him.
Electrike was snarling, and Xatu was staring off into the distance. “I think it was that,” he said grimly, watching the sea serpent that had emerged from the waves.
The Gyarados was staring right at them. “We can’t stay! There’s no cover!” Ricky hissed to his partner.
“This is another mirage Pokémon!” Violet insisted. “A trick! You can beat this thing! I know you and Electrike can! We’ll support you!
He and Electrike had barely beaten a Wingull at the Fortree gym. Gyarados, even a fake, was on a whole different planet!
But he had come way too far to turn back. “Let’s do it, Electrike! Snarl!”
Gyarados didn’t seem to notice, breathing dragon fire at them. Ricky’s mind wasn’t working. Electric wasn’t good against dragon, was it? Was fire? Why couldn’t he remember!
Thankfully, Violet had an idea what to do. “Dazzling Gleam!” The ray of sparkling light from Xatu cut through the attack. “Tailwind!” The wind picked up behind them.
“Thunderbolt!” He knew this attack was good, at least. Electrike charged up before sending a bolt of lightning flying.
A screen of yellow light appeared around Gyarados, signifying that this was not going to be easy. Only half of their Thunderbolt made it through as rain started to fall upon them.
A huge wave was swelling up from behind Gyarados. “Run! Violet shouted, as they scrambled for higher ground. Ricky tried to grab at his camera, but Violet pulled him along. “Leave it!” But even if they did find the real mirage Pokémon, how were they going to bring back proof?!
He tripped on something, and Ricky felt a sharp pain in his chest. He grabbed at it, realizing what had caused it. When he looked back, Surf was receding, but his camera and almost all his equipment were casualties.
They were going to be next, unless things changed dramatically. “Air Slash!” Violet yelled, as Xatu bravely flew in, sending blades of wind forth.
Gyarados was breathing in deeply. “Get ready for another Dragonbreath!” he warned his partner.
“Xatu, did you hear that?! Prepare your Dazzling Gleam!” Violet relayed to her Pokémon, shouting above the rain at the top of her lungs.
Neither of them expected Gyarados to blast them with an icy Blizzard, though.
“Flamethrower!” Ricky roared. Electrike tried to counter, but in the pouring rain, his stream of fire was weak, and Xatu’s wings were frosted over, and the psychic bird crashed heavily to the ground.
Static filled the air, and they both realized what was coming. “No!” Violet screamed, as an enormous, wicked lightning bolt dropped from the rain cloud, straight at Xatu’s prone, frozen body.
Halfway down, though, it pivoted sharply, to crash down directly on Electrike’s head. The power of the lightning, so close to them, was blinding. Ricky could hardly see anything but white for the next thirty seconds.
A Pokémon roared, jarring him from his shock. It wasn’t Gyarados. Ricky rubbed his eyes furiously, looking for his Electrike desperately.
He was there. In a sense. Except he had traded his green skin for blue, and sprung up several feet.
Ricky remembered the old legends Wattson had regaled him with regarding Manectric. About how the first ones were born at the base of lightning strikes. His Pokémon roared again, and this time, Manectric was the one to drop a massive Thunder right on Gyarados’s head, shattering the Light Screen with its sheer power and exploding the mirage Gyarados into dust.
As Gyarados disappeared, so did the rain cloud, and Southern Island was a gentle paradise once more. They both staggered over to their Pokémon, half-laughing half-crying from sheer happiness.
Violet hugged her Xatu tightly, starting to defrost the bird with her own body warmth, while Ricky stopped a few feet in front of Manectric, knowing that he was still soaking wet.
“It’s been thirty years since we met, hasn’t it?” he asked his Pokémon rhetorically. “And I couldn’t imagine a single day without you. Here’s to the next thirty. Congratulations, and thank you, old friend.”
“There’s still something to do,” Violet said, when they were finished, getting up and dusting herself off. “Can you all stay close to the ground and not look threatening? Especially you, Manectric. You’re quite imposing, now.”
They all did as she asked. “Hello?” Violet began, letting her voice carry. “We know you’re here! We are sorry for arriving at your home unannounced. You see, we know you’ve been all over Hoenn, and that made us curious about you.”
Violet paused. “You’re curious about us, too, aren’t you? And scared, because you don’t know much about us. That’s why you go invisible and fly away every time you're seen, and why you created that Gyarados now.”
She knelt to the ground as well. “But I promise, we aren’t here to harm you, or any Pokémon, unless it was to defend ourselves. Pokémon are what make our lives complete, and just as you're learning about us, we want to learn all about you.”
Another pause. “All we wanted to do was see what you looked like,” Violet said, voice cracking, but if you want us to leave, we’ll understand-
His partner broke off as the very light above them was bending. Ricky got out his childhood camera, the one that he kept close to his chest, and had given him a bruise easier, and pressed record.
The image of the Pokémon would be clear for the rest of his life, he knew that. The Blur was beautiful. She was like nothing he had ever seen, pure white in the front, bright red in the back, with luminous, curious, intelligent eyes. She also had two patterns, a blue triangle on her chest and a red circle on her head. The mystery Pokémon circled around them, demonstrating her ability to hover, before folding her wings back and taking off.
Not before leaving one word in their heads with her psychic power.
“Latias…” Violet said reverently, watching the now named Pokémon until she was a speck of red in the distance.
She leapt into the air. “We did it! We really did it! We uncovered the mystery of The Blur! This is the most amazing thing ever! Now all we need to do is to convince everyone of what we saw here today!”
“About that,” Ricky interrupted Violet’s happy dance hesitantly. “I actually got a recording. It’s on my old childhood camera, so it's probably going to be a little blurry-”
Violet stopped him right there. “That’s perfect, isn’t it?”
“May! May! Come here, quick! There’s a breaking news report!”
Caroline made space on the couch for her daughter.
“Now, Hoenn TV is proud to bring you an exclusive, never before on television story, straight from our very own Violet! Take it away!”
A pretty, purple-haired newswoman appeared on the screen. “Thank you. Over the past several months, there have been multiple sightings all over Hoenn of a mystery Pokémon, that we named The Blur. Well, this is her.” A picture of a somewhat blurry red and white something, shaped like a plane was put on the screen behind her.
“We managed to track down this Pokémon, and what I can say about her is that she is extremely shy, and therefore likely to flee, especially if you try to be violent. She can also turn invisible, and flies extremely fast, so she’ll be hard to track. That said, she is extremely curious about our world, and I believe that she’s waiting for a trainer with a pure heart and determination to connect with her, and form an unbreakable bond with.”
Caroline turned down the volume as Violet began to give credit to everyone who helped her with the story, starting with her cameraman, Ricky, and their Pokémon, a Xatu and a Manectric.
“Isn’t that amazing, May! Just when you think you’ve seen it all, there’s always something incredible and new to discover!”
May stared at the image of brand new Pokémon and smiled. “Yeah…”
A/N: Written originally for the 2024 Magical and Mundane contest, to mixed but fair feedback, considering I didn't really get the prompt. The idea was to show a routine event from the games has its own magical backstory. I still had fun and was challenged writing it, considering my main work is a journey fic, and this needed to have a beginning and end all in one neat chapter. Am accepting any feedback/criticism that someone has to offer.
Stretching and cracking as many bones in his body as he could, he slid out of bed and flicked the light on, nudging a smaller, but no less plush bed on the floor with his foot. “Oy. Don’t pretend you’re a Voltorb. I know you heard that. It’s time to get up.”
Electrike shifted sleepily and mumbled something, skiing deeper into his bed, but it was enough for Ricky. It was a lot easier to get ready for the day as a Pokémon than a human, he mused, heading to the bathroom.
He had to relieve himself, brush, shower, and put on respectable clothes, check that his black hair and beard weren’t looking too wild, and apply deodorant, all before he could head to the kitchen and get some breakfast, where Electrike was already waiting.
The part-time electrician poured some Pokémon mix into a bowl, adding a few berries that grew on a farm south of the city, while sticking a couple of frozen sausage, cheese, and egg biscuits into the microwave for himself, while making coffee.
Ricky sat down heavily to join his Pokémon once everything was finished. Electrike glanced up from his food with a questioning look.
“What’s the plan? We’re going to the TV station today, to run some cameras. I don’t have any other calls, and they’re seemingly always in need of some help…”
He trailed off as Electrike nodded, finished his meal, and leapt to the front door. It would appear to most observers that the Electric-tpe was waiting patiently, but Ricky knew better. Pokémon like Electrike stored a lot of energy inside them, and needed to burn it off.
They battled very casually, but most of the time, Electrike just ran around the city. With a whole gang of Electric-types, actually. “See you at work,” he told his Pokémon, opening the door and closing it behind him.
Once upon a time, he’d race Electrike around, but after years of losing, Ricky had given up. He took his time finishing his breakfast before hopping on his bike and heading east towards Hoenn TV’s studios.
His house was on the other side of town, so he got to see much of the city on the ride there. Ricky always marveled at how much it had changed in recent years. When he had come out of electrician’s school, twenty-odd years ago, he was rolling in money.
Wattson could not stop himself from meddling with the grid, trying to remake it to the best possible version, they still relied on New Mauville for power, and his schedule was jam-packed as a result.
Now? He’d worked himself out of a job. Wattson was satisfied, New Mauville had been shut down, and there weren't really any problems to address. A routine trip down the cycling road to his parent’s house in Slateport had been the inspiration for applying as a cameraman.
He’d found, covered in dust, the old camcorder he’d been given one of his birthdays. Ricky remembered taking it to school, showing it to all his friends, and driving his parents mad by recording them performing the most basic of tasks. That thing worked in the rain, in the mud, and wherever else he decided to take it as a child. It even still worked today, though its images were blurry.
One such place was on the low road, where he filmed an Electrike accidentally falling into a deep hole no doubt made by some trainer and their Pokémon using Dig. He had video of him finding a branch long enough for the Pokémon to climb out on, but not the aftermath, because he had dropped his camcorder when Electrike had jumped on him and licked him silly.
That same Electrike was waiting for him at the studio. He parked his bike at one of the numerous racks this bike-friendly city had to offer, put a chain and a lock on it, ruffled Electrike’s fur, and entered.
Ricky only had time for a few fist bumps and waves to his friends and their Pokémon, before he was accosted.
“There you are!” his partner exclaimed. “I’m on the air in thirty minutes. Get your camera! Go, go, go!”
She tried her best to push him in the correct direction, but he wasn’t exactly skinny. “Since when are you on the morning news, Violet?” he asked the young lady, probably named for her shockingly purple hair.
“Since Cassandra called in sick, I volunteered to take her place. Chop-chop!”
Twenty-nine minutes later, they were both in front of a large map of Hoenn, him filming it with a large camera on his shoulder, and Violet with a Castform, reading over the teleprompter one last time.
“And now, checking in on the weather, with Violet!”
Castform used a very localized Rain Dance and turned into its rain-form to demonstrate what was going on.
“Thank you, Robert. Eastern Hoenn is still undergoing a deluge of rain and thunderstorms, the likes of which we have no record of. With sea levels rising, and visibility so poor, all cities east of Fortree have suspended all water-based activities for another week, until this unprecedented and historic event finally comes to an end. On the brighter side, western Hoenn continues to enjoy moderate and sunny weather, with only a slight chance of clouds later into the week. That’s the weather from Violet, sending it over back to you, Robert!”
Her ninety seconds on air over, Violet thanked Castform, and came over to him, having calmed down a bit. “How was I?” She asked, peering over his shoulder into the camera.
Ricky shrugged as best he could with the large camera on his shoulder. “Fine?”
The younger woman seemed dissatisfied, as if she wanted more of an endorsement than that. “Well, okay then. Thanks for being flexible. I feel most comfortable with you manning the camera. Let’s go record my other parts, shall we?”
Violet’s main parts were filler, as they were called in the news industry. Shows that played throughout the day, to take up airtime, when most people were at work, and most of their views came from TV’s on as background noise in people’s houses or offices. Local crime, interviews with a notable trainer if they were lucky, gossip… things like that. All their main stories were put on in the morning or evening.
It didn’t bother Ricky. His job was the same regardless, and his face was never going to be on television in the first place.
His partner, though? That was a different story.
Electrike only caught one issue throughout the rest of the day, where two newbies accidentally plugged one surge protector into another. Other than that, everything went quite smoothly.
As he was putting away his equipment, Violet came up to him. “Great work as always, Ricky. You headed to the pub after work today?”
“Yep.” Not only was this place on his way back home, the beers were all local, the food was not too expensive, and they always cooked Electrike’s steak extra-rare, just like his Pokémon liked it. He’d go every day if he could.
“Do you mind if I tag along?”
This was odd, because Violet usually said someone who was on television shouldn’t be seen drinking in public. She did seem like something was weighing on her, though.
It wasn’t a hard decision, in the end. “Sure. The more the merrier, right?”
Once they had arrived, found a table, and put in their orders, Ricky cracked open a couple of cold beers and passed one over. “What’s on your mind?” he asked, taking a long draught.
He watched as she downed half the bottle in one go, finally setting it down. “My career is doomed,” she began despondently.
One beer really was not enough for a conversation like this. He waved to the closest waitress and signaled they needed several more, before responding. “That’s a little dramatic.”
“I’m being serious,” Violet insisted, finishing her drink and popping the top off the second. “We might be partners, but things couldn’t be more different for us. You have actual skills that are transferable. If your body is able, you could leave here, and find employment for the next twenty years. I’ve got a time limit, and I’m already being set aside. Whenever Captain Stern emerges from his submarine with a new discovery from the ocean floor, who gets to interview him?”
“Gabby,” Ricky answered, moving on to his second beer as well.
Violet nodded animatedly. “Whenever they launch another spaceship from Mossdeep City, who gets to be on the scene, filming the moment the rocket takes off?”
“Gabby.”
“And whenever a new hotshot trainer like that young girl from Littleroot Town, or Wallace’s sister Lisia is making waves in the trainer circuit or the contest scene, who gets sent to interview them?”
The answer was of course, Gabby and her cameraman Ty again. Still, Ricky wasn’t understanding what Violet was getting at. “What’s your point?”
“My point is that I’m already irrelevant! Someone has a stranglehold on all the best stories and events, and that relegates me to reporting on useless stuff like whatever is trendy in Dewford this week! The only reason I’m on TV right now is because I’m young and pretty. What’s going to happen when that fades away, and I have zero name recognition?”
It finally clicked for Ricky, as he was starting his third beer. “You’re worried that you aren’t maximizing your most critical years, and that you won’t have as much opportunity later on. But how are you supposed to get out of this cycle?”
The spark was returning to Violet’s eyes. She pounded a fist on the table, which was normally a sign to the waitstaff that food needed to be rushed out to them urgently. “We need a big story! Something that will really captivate the masses! Ideally, it will be a total mystery, a complete unknown, so Gabby can’t get her grubby hands on it before I do.”
As the food arrived on their table, Ricky found that his appetite had disappeared. “I don’t know,” he mumbled, picking at it with a fork. “That’s a lot of unknown for me.” Uncovering a story like that would involve long hours, late nights, travel to remote places, just to acquire pieces that may not even fit together to solve a puzzle.
He knew Violet, with her degree in investigative journalism, was more than happy with those conditions, but he was comfortable with his lot in life.
“Come on, Ricky,” Violet began him, in a much softer tone. “Is this really all you’ve ever wanted in life? You’ve never dreamt bigger? You said you have two gym badges! That must mean you wanted to be a Pokémon trainer at some point.”
“More like delusions,” he muttered under his breath, finally starting to eat. He had borrowed a Snorunt from a mate to challenge the Fortree Gym leader before Winona, but he barely escaped by a Taillow and a WIngull, and got the sense the old man was going easy on him.
As for the Dynamo Badge, Wattson had given him it once all the work with the power grid was finished, calling it proof he was a master of electricity. The gym leader had even been nice enough to have his Manectric teach his Electrike Flamethrower, not that Ricky ever used it for much, other than lighting the fireplace in winter, or driving off a pesty Dustox here or there.
“Everyone who’s ever done something of note was a little delusional,” Volet said simply. “I could do it with someone else, but like I told you earlier. I want you by my side.”
Ricky warred within himself for the rest of their dinner, before he finally came to a conclusion. “Fine. I’m in.”
“Great!” Violet whooped, slapping down money on the table for the both of them. “I know just where to start!”
“Where’s that?” he asked hesitantly.
“The library!”
It was at the Mauville Library that they spent their first long night, poring through books and staring at computer screens until their eyes hurt.
“What about this one?” Ricky suggested, rubbing at his eyes to try and keep them open. “Relicanth was originally found only near Sootopolis, but it's been spotted around Lilycove as well!”
“That’s old news,” Violet dismissed his findings, not peeling her eyes away from her computer screen. “I’m looking for something completely new.”
“Oh.” Ricky frowned, before scrolling down and trying again. “Then I guess the Devon Company’s announcement of a working fossil restoration machine is old news, too.”
“Yeah,” Violet said. “Those are what I call continuations, on stories that have already broken. “What we’re looking for is something that hasn’t been broken before. She looked away from her computer, but not at him. “Any luck finding any other imminent celestial events, other than the upcoming meteor shower?”
Violet’s Xatu didn’t make any inclination that he had heard his trainer. Ricky really didn’t know if the psychic bird could see the future. He was pretty sure that Violet would have broken a big story by now if Xatu actually could.
His partner pursed her lips and dove right back into her computer screen. Ricky changed his search, away from big stories, to local ones that barely were worth mentioning.
It might be the alcohol from earlier, or his tiredness, but as he read, he was starting to see a pattern. He called Violet and Xatu around, and Electrike jumped up on the table to see, too. “Is it me, or is there something here?”
Violet’s eyes were much sharper than his, even at this late hour. “You’re right,” she breathed. “Lilycove, Lavaridge, Dewford, Fallarbor, Petalburg, Fortree… people have been claiming for months to have seen or sensed a mystery Pokémon. We’ve got stories from all over Hoenn.”
“You don’t think it’s a coincidence?” Ricky half-asked, half-yawned.
She shook her head. “Not with how long it's been and how many people have said the same thing. This smoke has some fire to it. Not one clear description, though.”
“Maybe we should call it The Blur, then,” Ricky said drowsily. Blurriness was all that he could see, which was quickly fading to black as he dozed off.
“Yeah, The Blur! I like that!” Violet clicked on the links in rapid order, trying to see which sighting came first. “It looks like the oldest of these was around Lilycove CIty. You know, that’s where the Safari Zone is. Maybe they were importing a Pokémon that escaped! That would be a huge scandal! What do you think, Ricky? Ricky?”
She jumped as a loud snore answered her. When she went to wake her partner, a low growl froze her. Violet glanced over to see Electrike, hackles raised. “We can discuss this another time,” she told the fiercely loyal Electric-type hastily. I’ll have Xatu teleport you two right into your beds, okay?”
Lilycove wasn't as subject to the deluge of rain pounding the rest of eastern Hoenn, so the news station still had assignments there. Though Violet was volunteering for every single one, she had taken him into account, and they hadn’t dropped everything in pursuit of The Blur.
A few days later, they had been chosen for one. An opening of a new exhibit at the Lilycove Art Museum, where Violet could interview the owner, and perhaps a few artists, too.
After hustling into the museum, locating the curator, and setting up, it was time. Ricky gave the signal that they were rolling.
“Hello, Hoenn! This is Violet, from Hoenn TV, and I’m very excited to give you exclusive insight to the opening of the newest exhibit in the Lilycove Museum! Mr. Curator, what was the inspiration behind this exhibit?”
The old gentleman was certainly comfortable in front of a camera. “As you know, I’ve traveled all over the world, collecting rare pieces of art for my museum. There are certainly talented people of all nationalities. That said, there is a lot of talent right here. This exhibit will feature local artists, specifically from Lilycove, and from Hoenn in general. We should always be able to appreciate what’s close to home.”
“Amazing! Does that mean anyone can apply to have their work featured?”
“Of course! We still need to evaluate it, to ensure that it lives up to the standards set up by the museum, but any and everyone is welcome to submit their personal masterpiece, no matter the form.”
That actually sounded pretty good to Ricky. He wasn’t really cultured enough to appreciate art, but he could appreciate hard work by your everyday person. Maybe once this interview was over, he’d check the exhibit out.
Violet had a different approach, as soon as they were done recording. “I’m going to see if I can’t get the Safari Director to spill the beans. Be right back!” she said, having Xatu teleport them away.
With nothing else to do, Ricky went to the new exhibit. There were more than just paintings there, with sculptures, pottery, and modern art that Ricky couldn’t understand, but one particular painting drew his eye, and sent shivers down his spine.
It was sort of like stained glass, or looking through a broken mirror, colored purple. At the center was some sort of yellow spider-like figure, staring into his very soul.
He jumped like a girl when a voice came from behind him. “Do you like it?”
Ricky turned, holding his chest, to see an extremely pale teenager, with the same purple and black color scheme of the painting. “Did you paint this?” Ricky asked, getting his heart rate under control.
The teenager nodded. “Yes,” she answered, in a monotone voice. “I asked if you liked it.”
“It’s certainly something,” Ricky said, looking back at the painting. “It evokes emotion in me, without me even knowing what it is.”
“It’s the world beyond ours, and the rule of that world” the girl educated him, only sounding slightly more interested. “No one believes me that either exists, but I have felt them. They are powerful presences that shape the fabric of the universe. Not that anyone understands me.”
Ricky wasn’t sure he understood, either. “But it’s not the presence you seek.”
He turned to look at the girl in shock. “What was that?”
“I can sense powerful presences,” the goth-like teen said again. “Not unlike that Xatu from earlier. She shivered. “It was the most powerful psychic presence I’ve ever felt.”
Is this what investigative journalism was? Violet always stressed having accurate and reliable sources… He didn’t think this girl counted, but he decided to write it down, just in case.
The Safari Zone escapee theory turned out to be a dud, according to Violet. The director vehemently denied any Pokémon escaping from the confines of the Safari Zone. That meant they were back at square one, but Violet assured him that they were still making progress. Knocking out theories narrowed down what The Blur could be.
Their next traveling assignment, a couple of days later, turned out to be in Dewford.
“I thought you hated going there?” Ricky asked Violet as they were getting ready.
“I do,” she assured him. “What’s trendy in Dewford has to be the stupidest segment we run on this station. Who cares what’s trendy on some isolated island? But, on the one percent chance that those people created a trend based on The Blur, I asked to go there, to check it out. At least we don’t have to interview them.”
That was a relief. “What else happens in Dewford that warrants us going, though?”
“They relocated all the entire beach volleyball league, since most of the cities are getting drenched, to Dewford. They're having a big tournament as opposed to the playoffs at the end of the season.
It usually was much more of a challenge to set up his camera outdoors. Long extension cords worked well, but they were also a massive tripping hazard, and with how many people were on the beach, Electrike had to be the portable power source, in order for them to be close enough for clear shots without people constantly getting in the way.
Beach volleyball was a two person sport, but every city that participated had a male human team, a female human team, and two Pokémon teams that competed. Unfortunately, when you were one of the only professional athletes in an entire city, it tended to give you a big head.
Ricky always rooted for teams from Slateport City, his hometown, but as the matches progressed, he started to root for anyone to win but the men’s team from Dewford, because of how sleazy they were.
Unfortunately, they were also really freaking good, considering there wasn’t much to do in this town but practice.
Violet was grimacing as one of the two members of Dewford’s male team sauntered up to her following their victory, but she put on a professional face as Ricky started recording.
“Hello, everyone! Violet here, with Josh from Dewford, following their dominant victory at the first inaugural Battle on the Beach tournament, sponsored by Devon, of course. Choose Devon, for all your living needs. Josh, how have you maintained such an impressive win streak, dating back to last year?”
“It’s because all my competition are bums,” the shirtless, sweaty athlete said. “Me and Aaron are thinking about heading to Alola, to see if we can find someone half-decent to play against.”
Not exactly a humble winner, Ricky thought. “And what about playing at home? How does it feel to play in front of all your fans?” Violet asked.
“I mean, it's nice to sleep in our own bed, and not have to travel all the way across the region, but I think we’ve proven we can play and win anywhere. As long as there are pretty girls looking at me, I’ll always have the motivation to go out there and perform.”
With that, he wrapped an arm around Violet. It was times like this Rick really wished he wasn’t holding the camera. Had Violet’s father been here, seeing this, he had no doubt the man would start throwing hands, for touching his daughter without permission.
She was still maintaining her professionalism, even though Ricky could tell she really wanted this dude off of her. “Right. One last question. Do you have anything to say to your fans before we go?”
Josh pointed straight into the camera. “You all know my number. If you have a rockin’ bod like me, hit me up for some fun, yeah?”
Violet squirmed out of his grip and all but raced back to Ricky and Electrike. “You alright?” Rick asked his partner? “Need Electrike to go bite that guy’s heels or something?”
“I’m fine,” she said, shuddering. “One day that asshole will go too far and get what he deserves. For now, I’m going to head over to Dewford Hall while there’s a respite, to investigate their trends. Do you want to come?”
“Not really,” he said. “Imma get a couple of cold ones. It’s super hot out here.”
“Don’t drink too many,” Violet warned him as she rapidly walked off. “That camera needs to be held steady.”
He had a high tolerance. And besides, one of the drinks wasn’t for him. Ricky paid for two, heading over closer to the shore, where fishermen were casting their lines. He left his camera a safe distance away from the water, and headed down with Electrike.
“Hey there,” he greeted a fisherman. “It sure is hot today. You need something to cool off with?” Ricky asked the man offering one of his beers.
“Much appreciated, friend,” the man said, patting the sand next to him as an invitation to sit down. “Name’s Ned.”
“Ricky,” the electrician introduced himself. “Cheers.” They clinked their bottles together.
“What brings you over here?”
“Well,” Ricky began, “I was doing some investigating on some weird sightings around here, and I thought you could help me out. How long do you stay out here, watching the ocean?”
“Forty hours a week,” Ned told him. “This is my job. I’m supposed to record the number and type of Pokémon I catch, to make sure the populations are healthy.”
That’s what Ricky wanted to hear. “So you see everything, then. Have you noticed any Pokémon that you’ve never seen before around here?”
Ned glanced at Electrike. “When the sun doesn’t get in my eyes. And yeah, but you’d probably know more about them than me.”
Ricky frowned. “How so?”
“I see Pokémon zooming past me, every once in a while. Figure they were Electrode or Voltorb, though. I put in a report, but it never came to anything.”
“We definitely do not let Voltorb and Electrode go where they please. They have a bad habit of getting angry and exploding, if you don’t know.” Ricky told Ned.
The fisherman wasn’t convinced. “I haven’t seen anything move that fast in my life. She was like a plane whizzing past. And the colors were the same. Red and white. That much I could tell.”
“She?” Ricky asked.
“Ah, that’s how people around the ocean talk. Everything is a she. The sea is a she. Boats are she's. Even the fish we pull up are she's.
Ricky made conversation with the man, eventually saying goodbye when it was time to get back to work. Still, he couldn’t help thinking about The Blur as a she.
Violet didn’t seem to have much more luck than him. “Rubbish,” she grumbled, smoothing out her suit. “Absolutely useless rubbish is all I got from those trendsetters. Once we’ve made it big, Ricky, we’re never coming back here. Unless it’s to relax on the beach.”
Sadly for them, there was one more assignment that they disliked even more than Dewford. The desert, up in northern Hoenn. “Dusty the ruin maniac has apparently had another sighting of the Mirage Tower,” Violet was telling him. “Means we need to head up there, and ask him a few questions.”
“How is it that he always sees it, but we never do?” Ricky asked, trying to wiggle his way out of this. Electrike absolutely hated the desert. It was no place for Electric-types. Especially ones that couldn’t use Magnet Rise, and thus had no way out of Trapinch holes.
“It vanishes into the sand,” Violet said, cupping her eyes with sandstorm goggles they were given, doing her best impression of the man. “That’s why it's a mirage. I think Xatu is strong enough to hold back the sand and levitate Electrike, but you might want to bring your rubber gloves, too.”
As usual, there was no Mirage Tower when they teleported into the desert, taking shelter behind a massive boulder, surrounded by six smaller ones, all of which had somehow not eroded away or ground into dust by the fierce wind and sand. Just one very animated man.
At least there was nothing for him to film.
“I’m telling you, it was right there!” Dusty exclaimed, pointing to an empty space. “It was there, and I saw it, and it was amazing!”
“Right,” Violet replied, giving nothing away with her voice, even though Ricky was sure that she was mentally rolling her eyes. Maybe even actually rolling them, considering their sandstorm goggles hid their eyes pretty well. “What makes this sighting different from the,” she flickered through her notepad, “nine other times you’ve seen the Mirage Tower.”
“Because,” Dusty said, far too confidently. “I also saw something else! A Pokémon! With the same powers!”
That got both of them to wake up. “Can you describe it?” Violet questioned, uncapping her pen and putting it to paper.
“Not really,” Dusty answered, causing Ricky to sign internally. “You see, I was using my magnifying glass on the ground, because I was collecting some nice, silky red sand to sell.”
Ricky always wondered how this man paid his bills. That was one mystery solved, albeit the wrong one.
“But then I noticed I was standing in a shadow!” Dusty continued, waving his arms in the air. I thought it was a cloud, which would have been amazing, because there are never any in the desert, but when I looked up, I-”
The man cut off. “What happened when you looked up?” Violet pressed the man.
Dusty seemed extremely embarrassed. “I screamed like a little girl, because something alive was hovering above me! Whatever it was, it shrieked too, and vanished, like it wasn’t even there! It must have flown away whilst invisible!”
“You can’t give us any description?” Ricky asked, thinking of the stuff he had heard previously. Flying was one thing but hovering sounded similar to how Solrock and Lunatone held themselves up in the air. With psychic power.
“The sand was extra thick that day. But don’t you see! It must be extremely powerful! All of this is connected! And I believe it lives right here!” Dusty slammed his palms onto the giant, central boulder. “Show yourself! Reveal your secrets! I know you live in there!”
Ricky exchanged a glance with Violet. It was time to go. Xatu was kind enough to drop them in Lavaridge down, where they could enjoy the soothing hot springs, after enduring the sands of the desert.
“You think that Pokémon was The Blur?” Ricky asked his partner.
“It would certainly explain why no one has ever gotten a good look at it,” Violet thought aloud. “Turning invisible is a hell of a way to stay anonymous.”
“It also makes it that much harder to get a picture of,” Ricky grumbled. “It’s amazing anyone has seen her.”
“Not if you have good eyes,” Violet said thoughtfully. “I heard from a friend in college about the legend of the Mirage Island. She was from Pacifidlog Town, and said they had a man who could see it. And apparently, he was right, every single time.”
Mirage Tower, Mirage Pokémon, Mirage Island. Ricky could see where she was going with this. “You want to go speak with him?”
Violet shrugged. “Couldn’t hurt. At the very least, we could get his number so he could call us next time he spotted it.”
“That’s a super long trip,” Ricky said, weighing it in his mind. It’s going to take Xatu some time to rest up to be ready for it, not to mention the return teleport. We’re supposed to report back to the station tomorrow. What if he actually sees the Mirage Island when we go there? What then?”
“We both have sick leave and vacation time,” Violet said easily. “I’m willing to use all of them, and even unexcused absences, Ricky. I can’t chase ghosts any longer. You see what they have us doing. I’m down to put my career on the line for this.”
She was a much braver person than he, that was for sure. And like she said, there were plenty of opportunities for him, if this camera gig ended, as much as he enjoyed it. “I said I’m in when we started. I’m not backing off now.”
“Best to get some sleep then,” Violet told him, as she exited the hot tub. “Tomorrow might be a day to remember.”
Thankfully they didn’t start off on the wrong foot, with Xatu landing them on the wooden platforms the town was known for, rather than straight in the water. It was raining hard though, but eventually, they found some locals who were nice enough to direct them to the mirage seer’s house.
Violet knocked on the door sharply, three times. “Come in!” was the distant reply.
They pushed open the door and hurried inside to reveal the old man looking through his window. He greeted them happily, and offered them some refreshments and towels. “What brings you four all the way out here?” the mirage man asked, including their Pokémon in the question.
“We’re researching some rumors about a mirage Pokémon,” Violet answered between sips of her tea. “And we wondered if you had any insight, like if it were related to the mirage island.”
“A mirage Pokémon?” the man repeated, thinking hard. After several moments, he leaned back in his chair. “I’m afraid I don’t know. Can you describe it to me?”
Violet’s face fell, but this was Ricky’s time to shine. Assuming that, the dubious information he had collected along the way was accurate. “We think it’s a Psychic-type. Colored red and white. As fast as a plane. And it can fly like one, too.”
Xatu and Violet were staring at him, while Electrike looked on proudly. “What?” Ricky defended himself. “I can do some investigating too!”
The mirage man smiled. “Ah. I see. No, what you're looking for has nothing to do with Mirage Island. But I have seen what you describe, many a time, flying past.” He shuffled to the wall, where a map of Hoenn was pinned. “By my calculations, it's always going to the same location. Here.”
He put his index finger on a tiny island between Slateport and Pacifidlog. “We call this Southern Island. I believe that is this Pokémon’s home. It would be a brave sea captain that would try to get you there, though.”
Violet went to look at it, before coming back to her Pokémon. “I know you’ve been listening, Xatu. I know we’ve only ever teleported to places we’ve been. Do you think you can get us there? Whatever you decide is what we’ll do.”
For several seconds, they watched the stationary, motionless bird, staring at the map. Just as Ricky started to think that this was going nowhere, Xatu squawked loudly, spreading his wings to their full extent.
“Yes!” Violet cheered, before looking at them. “Are you ready?!”
To teleport to a tiny island no one had ever been before in the middle of the ocean? Ricky grabbed his camera. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”
“Thank you, sir,” Violet thanked, profusely shaking the mirage man’s hand.
“Don’t mention it,” he replied cheerfully. “I hope you find what you’re looking for.”
“On three, Xatu,” Violet said, stepping back. “One, two… three!”
Ricky closed his eyes, but when he opened him, he wasn’t sinking into the sea. He heard the gentle lapping of the waves on the most pristine beach he had ever seen, felt the gentle rays of the sun, and saw the most beautiful gem of an island anywhere. “Xatu really did it,” he breathed in awe.
To think that a place like this existed. And to think that he of all people was able to see it!
“I knew you could,” Violet told Xatu proudly, stroking her Pokémon’s head. “Now, where should we start? It wasn’t a big island on the map, so maybe we could split up?
She took one step forwards, and a dark cloud appeared overhead. Ricky swore, running to some trees to try and protect his camera, though he knew that it was futile, unless the rain stopped quickly. “I didn’t do anything!” Violet wailed, following him.
Electrike was snarling, and Xatu was staring off into the distance. “I think it was that,” he said grimly, watching the sea serpent that had emerged from the waves.
The Gyarados was staring right at them. “We can’t stay! There’s no cover!” Ricky hissed to his partner.
“This is another mirage Pokémon!” Violet insisted. “A trick! You can beat this thing! I know you and Electrike can! We’ll support you!
He and Electrike had barely beaten a Wingull at the Fortree gym. Gyarados, even a fake, was on a whole different planet!
But he had come way too far to turn back. “Let’s do it, Electrike! Snarl!”
Gyarados didn’t seem to notice, breathing dragon fire at them. Ricky’s mind wasn’t working. Electric wasn’t good against dragon, was it? Was fire? Why couldn’t he remember!
Thankfully, Violet had an idea what to do. “Dazzling Gleam!” The ray of sparkling light from Xatu cut through the attack. “Tailwind!” The wind picked up behind them.
“Thunderbolt!” He knew this attack was good, at least. Electrike charged up before sending a bolt of lightning flying.
A screen of yellow light appeared around Gyarados, signifying that this was not going to be easy. Only half of their Thunderbolt made it through as rain started to fall upon them.
A huge wave was swelling up from behind Gyarados. “Run! Violet shouted, as they scrambled for higher ground. Ricky tried to grab at his camera, but Violet pulled him along. “Leave it!” But even if they did find the real mirage Pokémon, how were they going to bring back proof?!
He tripped on something, and Ricky felt a sharp pain in his chest. He grabbed at it, realizing what had caused it. When he looked back, Surf was receding, but his camera and almost all his equipment were casualties.
They were going to be next, unless things changed dramatically. “Air Slash!” Violet yelled, as Xatu bravely flew in, sending blades of wind forth.
Gyarados was breathing in deeply. “Get ready for another Dragonbreath!” he warned his partner.
“Xatu, did you hear that?! Prepare your Dazzling Gleam!” Violet relayed to her Pokémon, shouting above the rain at the top of her lungs.
Neither of them expected Gyarados to blast them with an icy Blizzard, though.
“Flamethrower!” Ricky roared. Electrike tried to counter, but in the pouring rain, his stream of fire was weak, and Xatu’s wings were frosted over, and the psychic bird crashed heavily to the ground.
Static filled the air, and they both realized what was coming. “No!” Violet screamed, as an enormous, wicked lightning bolt dropped from the rain cloud, straight at Xatu’s prone, frozen body.
Halfway down, though, it pivoted sharply, to crash down directly on Electrike’s head. The power of the lightning, so close to them, was blinding. Ricky could hardly see anything but white for the next thirty seconds.
A Pokémon roared, jarring him from his shock. It wasn’t Gyarados. Ricky rubbed his eyes furiously, looking for his Electrike desperately.
He was there. In a sense. Except he had traded his green skin for blue, and sprung up several feet.
Ricky remembered the old legends Wattson had regaled him with regarding Manectric. About how the first ones were born at the base of lightning strikes. His Pokémon roared again, and this time, Manectric was the one to drop a massive Thunder right on Gyarados’s head, shattering the Light Screen with its sheer power and exploding the mirage Gyarados into dust.
As Gyarados disappeared, so did the rain cloud, and Southern Island was a gentle paradise once more. They both staggered over to their Pokémon, half-laughing half-crying from sheer happiness.
Violet hugged her Xatu tightly, starting to defrost the bird with her own body warmth, while Ricky stopped a few feet in front of Manectric, knowing that he was still soaking wet.
“It’s been thirty years since we met, hasn’t it?” he asked his Pokémon rhetorically. “And I couldn’t imagine a single day without you. Here’s to the next thirty. Congratulations, and thank you, old friend.”
“There’s still something to do,” Violet said, when they were finished, getting up and dusting herself off. “Can you all stay close to the ground and not look threatening? Especially you, Manectric. You’re quite imposing, now.”
They all did as she asked. “Hello?” Violet began, letting her voice carry. “We know you’re here! We are sorry for arriving at your home unannounced. You see, we know you’ve been all over Hoenn, and that made us curious about you.”
Violet paused. “You’re curious about us, too, aren’t you? And scared, because you don’t know much about us. That’s why you go invisible and fly away every time you're seen, and why you created that Gyarados now.”
She knelt to the ground as well. “But I promise, we aren’t here to harm you, or any Pokémon, unless it was to defend ourselves. Pokémon are what make our lives complete, and just as you're learning about us, we want to learn all about you.”
Another pause. “All we wanted to do was see what you looked like,” Violet said, voice cracking, but if you want us to leave, we’ll understand-
His partner broke off as the very light above them was bending. Ricky got out his childhood camera, the one that he kept close to his chest, and had given him a bruise easier, and pressed record.
The image of the Pokémon would be clear for the rest of his life, he knew that. The Blur was beautiful. She was like nothing he had ever seen, pure white in the front, bright red in the back, with luminous, curious, intelligent eyes. She also had two patterns, a blue triangle on her chest and a red circle on her head. The mystery Pokémon circled around them, demonstrating her ability to hover, before folding her wings back and taking off.
Not before leaving one word in their heads with her psychic power.
“Latias…” Violet said reverently, watching the now named Pokémon until she was a speck of red in the distance.
She leapt into the air. “We did it! We really did it! We uncovered the mystery of The Blur! This is the most amazing thing ever! Now all we need to do is to convince everyone of what we saw here today!”
“About that,” Ricky interrupted Violet’s happy dance hesitantly. “I actually got a recording. It’s on my old childhood camera, so it's probably going to be a little blurry-”
Violet stopped him right there. “That’s perfect, isn’t it?”
“May! May! Come here, quick! There’s a breaking news report!”
Caroline made space on the couch for her daughter.
“Now, Hoenn TV is proud to bring you an exclusive, never before on television story, straight from our very own Violet! Take it away!”
A pretty, purple-haired newswoman appeared on the screen. “Thank you. Over the past several months, there have been multiple sightings all over Hoenn of a mystery Pokémon, that we named The Blur. Well, this is her.” A picture of a somewhat blurry red and white something, shaped like a plane was put on the screen behind her.
“We managed to track down this Pokémon, and what I can say about her is that she is extremely shy, and therefore likely to flee, especially if you try to be violent. She can also turn invisible, and flies extremely fast, so she’ll be hard to track. That said, she is extremely curious about our world, and I believe that she’s waiting for a trainer with a pure heart and determination to connect with her, and form an unbreakable bond with.”
Caroline turned down the volume as Violet began to give credit to everyone who helped her with the story, starting with her cameraman, Ricky, and their Pokémon, a Xatu and a Manectric.
“Isn’t that amazing, May! Just when you think you’ve seen it all, there’s always something incredible and new to discover!”
May stared at the image of brand new Pokémon and smiled. “Yeah…”
A/N: Written originally for the 2024 Magical and Mundane contest, to mixed but fair feedback, considering I didn't really get the prompt. The idea was to show a routine event from the games has its own magical backstory. I still had fun and was challenged writing it, considering my main work is a journey fic, and this needed to have a beginning and end all in one neat chapter. Am accepting any feedback/criticism that someone has to offer.