The world of pokémon! An idyllic, beautiful place... or so it would seem. The relationship between humans and the so-called 'monsters' which inhabit this world has always been mutually beneficial. Humans direct action and build, while the pokémon with them carry things out with their fantastic abilities. However, as humans grew in their knowledge and influence they started to poke into more fundamental pieces of their world... and in recent years the delicate balance of this world has been thrown into jeopardy, time and time again!

The Great War between the regions and the subsequent foundings of the Pokémon Leagues...

The rise of Team Rocket and it's harassment of the artificial pokémon, Mewtwo...

Team Snagem's rampage throughout the Orre region...

The ill-fated attempts by Team Galactic to control what are essentially the gods of this world...

And most recently, the resurgence of unnatural pokémon fusions, and the invention of gijinka pokémon...

As always, strong-willed trainers have emerged from the woodwork to save the day, fueled only by their trust in their pokémon partners and determination to do the right thing! But all are eventually unsung, for however widely they may become known, they are still just children who operated in the underground: trainers like Dawn, Brendan, and Silver... and the one true Pokémon Master, the legitimately legendary Red.

However, the spotlight has yet to leave this world's most recent champion: Ethan, former Champion of the Indigo League and newly-crowned Champion of Hoenn!

"So... I'm really grateful to get a second chance here, Bill. I... I won't let you down!"

Bill nods, hands clasped as he looks at the woman before him. Alma... she's really been through a lot. That Ghetsis person really is despicable, isn't he? The least he can do is provide her with a place to stay and something to do while she gets her bearings.

*cough!*

Ethan coughs, his head sticking into the cottage. He scratches the back of his head (covered by his gold and black hat) as the two inside turn to look at him.

"Oh! Ethan, hello!" Bill says, popping up from his chair. "Back from the Conference of Champions already?"

"Er, yeah. Heh. I won, if you were wondering."

"It doesn't surprise me. You are the most, 'on your game', as it were..."

Alma stares with wide eyes, gasping in admiration. "Wow... so, you're the best trainer in the world...? No wonder I couldn't beat you." Ethan laughs, scratching the back of his head as he settles into a chair at the table.

"Nah – I mean, I'm not going to lie, I'm a champion," he says with a smirk, "but I think I mostly won because of dumb luck. And because biggest threat didn't come on his A-Game. At least I don't think he did... hard to tell with him."

Bill squints for a second before gasping. "Brendan...? W-wait, no way! You really beat him? ... He actually showed up?!"

"Wait, who is 'he'?" Alma asks.

"R-Red!"

Her eyes go wide: even she's heard of the ultimate Champion. "Red?! You defeated him again?!"

"Heheh... yeah though barely: it was a heck of a fight! His pikachu knocked Buzzy out with one hit right at the start! He also had a chareon and a... lapradon...? I'm telling you guys, I'm pretty sure he keeps going easy on me."

"Mph! I'm inclined to believe it – he might seem stony, but he helped me out of the goodness of his heart: he's a surprisingly kind and gentle person."

Ethan nods absently, fingering his Poké Balls. Alma looks between the two and coughs into her hand to spur them on.

"Oh, uh, yes – what did you need, Ethan?"

"Erm... now that the stuff with Ghetsis is over, shouldn't we... start, uh, defusing pokémon?"

To Ethan's surprise, Bill hesitates before sighing. He stands up and faces the Fusion Machine: "Ethan, normally I would be all for it, but... the business on Splicen Island has changed my perspective once again. The revelation that fusion is a fairly natural phenomenon that well predates my research into it... well, I don't know."

"You defused me, didn't you?" Alma pipes up.

"That's true..."

Ethan goes for it.

"Bill... okay, so let's say pokémon hybrids are natural. That doesn't mean the normal pokémon that were stolen by Team Galactic Rocket should have to stay that way. The only natural hybrids in Poké Balls are mine and the others who were here, right? We just set those aside while everyone else starts to defuse their pokémon."

"That actually makes a fair amount of sense. All right Alma, I'm going to help Ethan with pokémon defusion for a bit, okay? Can I trust you to manage the PC Storage System?"

"Yes, Bill! Totally!"

"Great!" he replies to her back: she's already running off to check on the PC. "So, Ethan, do you really have anything to do here?" Bill asks as he opens up the hatch to his basement. The Fusion Machine had been moved down there just recently – out of sight from visitors. "I don't think you caught any real fusions – heck, you defused the Totovee I gave you as soon as you had the opportunity."

"... Actually, yeah. ... I don't know if you'd noticed, but I've kind of been using your teleporter for a bit, heh." He scratches the back of his head awkwardly when Bill raises an eyebrow. "Hey, I wasn't being sneaky or anything! You've just... been really busy with Alma. You didn't notice all the moves, I guess?"

"Uhhhh..."

"Heheh, don't get worked up, man," Ethan says as he punctuates his words with a knuckle-crack. "You think that thing can defuse Hogia?"

"... Oh, man, geez! I've been so focused on all the problems going on lately... I never even got to asking!"

"Asking what?"

"How the heck did you catch Lugia in the first place?!"

Down in the basement of Bill's cottage, the titular scientist nods in amazement. "How peculiar... I'll have to tell Oak about this. The capture, at least temporarily, of other legendary pokémon could lead to all sorts of breakthroughs!"

"Erm, we're trying to release legendaries right now, remember?"

"Right, right... just, if you find any new ones, catch them? Just for a bit? For the Pokédex?"

"I... all right."

Bill grins a self-satisfied grin as he smacks a button on the control power, forcing the machine to whir to life. The pods glow an ominous blue-green as the blasphemous energy crackles. Arceus himself winces up from the Hall of Origin.

"Okay, Ethan, what legendary fusions to you have on you?"

"Um... a few." Might not be best to mention how many he had found running around on Splicen. He hoped to God that he was mistaken about a few of them – and that maybe, perhaps, they were created by Team Magma Aqua back in the day instead of Galactic Rocket or Plasma.

"Hm, all right. I guess you'll want to defuse Hogia first?"

"No, actually..." he answers to Bill's puzzlement. "A... certain fusion I found in one of the labs on the island. It's probably really important we get it's constituents back into the wider world ASAP. I needed to use up a Master Ball that I had found... long story."

"Oh! What pokémon are make it up?!"

"Get this," Ethan whispers as he leans in. "A Celebi..."

"Wha–?"

"And Dialga."

Bill's eyes widen as the name registers. W-w-what!? Dialga, the Temporal Dragon?! ... Again? Ethan is surprised at Bill's relative lack of reaction. He had expected at least a dropped jaw: Dialga was a god! And not only had it been captured and fused, he had captured it as a fusion! Where was the- oh, apparently he wears his emotions on his sleeve. Bill coughs.

"I-I'm sorry, Ethan. Brendan already caught Dialga before you during his journey — it was fused into a being called 'Dialxys', you see... It is a shock to see it captured twice. Er, four times?"

"Oh."

"Still, you're probably right: time is a very important aspect of the world, after all. ... Wait, have you captured a Palkia fusion as well?"

"Huh? Yes, actually! It was fused with a Manaphy."

"Excellent!" he shouts, giving Ethan the satisfaction he was looking for: "To my knowledge, there is no record of Palkia in the pokédex. This could be huge!"

"Aha... thanks, Bill?"

"Don't thank me, thank Team Magma Aqua for stealing my Fusion... actually, you know what, you can thank me~."

The Poké Ball containing Dialabi vibrates, seemingly trying to egg Ethan forwards. The Lord of Time probably isn't used to being contained... or, judging by the fervor with which it is shaking, something has gone wrong in its domain? The Poké Ball containing Mania is shaking too... as soon as they are back to their original forms, they are going to make a beeline for Spear Pillar and find out what's screwing with this universe's space-time continuum.