Prologue
An Ending and a Beginning
Hey. Have you ever heard of the Ultra Wormholes? It's a hard thing to take in but they are apparently passages to another world.
In normal circumstances, most people would throw away that kind of notion. The existences of passages to other worlds are something that come as far removed from a person's life. Even if scientists research it and discoveries are made, the layman would throw that notion away. It was not a form of denial but a desire to ignore something that would not normally make a consequence in one's life. After all, even though we have demonstrated the existence and many effects of black holes, for example, the average person merely entertains the thought for a few seconds before letting it fade away. Really, what concern does one need to put into something that normally does not affect themselves?
But, it's not unheard for Ultra Wormholes to open in random places. These passages can appear throughout dimensions and can be classed as natural disasters when they do appear.
One can compare them to tornadoes, hurricanes, and earthquakes. They do not occur by human induction, but can cause devastating impacts on societies standing in their paths.
However, the reason for that is nothing like sucking in random objects. They do not appear at the foundations of buildings and cause them to fall inside. In fact, it tends to be the exact opposite.
When there is a passageway, something must cross it. Be it energy, blunt objects, or an unexpected existence.
Where those Wormholes open, something is always lost.
There are no exceptions.
Even we, of the International Police, could never escape that overbearing reality. After all, that was the day that I…
That thing left behind it a trail of nothing but destruction. Within the Vast Poni Canyon, nothing would stop its pursuit. No matter what kind of wall it would come across, that gargantuan black beast would simply walk forward and consume it all.
As if following a scent, the beast continued to slowly move forward. While each step may have been slow to it, the monumental size of the thing was more than enough that it would look clumsy, yet quick as it begin to traverse through the Poni Wilds.
"Are you in position, 40Z?" One agent spoke into the microphone as he ran, letting his longcoat billow in the wind while keeping watch of the beast's position from a safe zone. That thing had a range in which it could devour things, but so long as one was out of its reach, the danger would be minimized. As long as the agent going by the codename 100kr could keep this in mind, he would not have to worry about becoming devoured. All that was left was—
"Croagunk! Sludge Bomb Defense!" Eying an incoming strike, 100kr issued a command to his trusted partner. With no delay, the poison frog threw a great ball of sludge that it had already gathered, as if knowing in advance his partner's command. The incoming strike, a black pulse full of malice and hatred, collided with the intercepting attack before splitting into multiple beams and diverting directions, hitting everything but 100kr and his Croagunk.
A high pitched scream echoed throughout the now evacuated Poni Wilds. The beast stopped moving only for a few seconds as the scream entered and resounded.
That's 000's—
"I'm in position! The other two boats are also on the beach. We can stop impeding its path now, so get into position!"
"Roger that." A second voice came through on the intercom and the ear-splitting snarl that had once filled the area came to a close. It almost seemed lethargic, but there was a pointed focus within it. Such was the agent known as 000. "Let's move, 100kr."
Receiving the confirmation from his colleague, he made a run for the beach at the far West of the Poni Wilds. Once he felt his feet slamming into sand, he noticed two motorboats, one precariously parked right at the border of the beach and the tide and the other carrying his gray-haired associate to the receipt point. The associate, 000, turned his head back with a stern face and gave a quick nod before speeding off.
"Let's go, partner." The black-haired agent in a longcoat beckoned before he and his partner Croagunk pushed the boat off into the water and jumped into the floating vehicle. With a quick pull, the motor began running, pushing the boat forward. "We're ending this here."
"Took you two long enough!" The young lady in one of the three boats spoke into a headset. She wore a single thin, red coat over a black riding suit and boots that matched. If one asked her why she wore those even when she was off of a bike, she would definitely say that it was to accentuate the curves of her body while allowing for easy movement. After all, InterPol seemed to be quite lenient about what their agents wore on duty. A suit and tie would eventually restrict its wearer if they were on the field and her role in this mission required quite a lot of movement.
Her boat faced the distant beach. She continued to look between three locations: the two boats which were in front of and to either side of her, forming a large equilateral triangle, and the shore off in the distance.
She scratched at her scalp before running her hand through her long, black ponytail. Wiping off some sweat forming on her forehead, despite the chilly winds flowing over the sea, she sighed. "It'll be fine, right, Gardevoir?"
It was faint, but she could see a trail of dust rising. It was coming. Of course, it was natural for her to be nervous. Even if she was an InterPol Agent, 40Z was being used as bait for that unidentified beast.
Said unidentified beast was devouring everything in its path as it made its way to her, who was apparently bathed in a special energy from its home.
40Z felt the green arms of her partner wrap around her, as the red horn on its chest gently rested on her back.
"Are you having second thoughts about acting as the bait for that thing?" 000 asked a nervous 40Z over the headset. "It's still not too late to revise the plan if you feel like backing down. Nobody would think any less of you for doing so."
It was true. 40Z was forced into this mission by the higher-ups of InterPol to act as bait for the rampaging beast. She was not particularly renowned for her skill and it was not that she was someone who was famous among InterPol like her two colleagues. She was simply a regular, expendable agent roped into a dangerous mission because she was the perfect bait.
No matter what organization one looked at, the corrupt and self-serving nature of higher-ups was never something that could be avoided.
In the end, she was pushed into a life-threatening situation and was put into the most dangerous point of their plan.
"No. I'm fine." 40Z, took another deep sigh and slapped her face with both hands twice. So what if she was just a disposable agent who was being used as bait? She would still fight. Standing down at this stage would be an insult to herself.
"Are you certain?" It seemed like 100kr was still worried for her.
"Yeah. I'm certain." 40Z unconsciously felt her lips curve up into a soft smile before her face began to become reminiscent of a mischievous child's face. "But, 100kr. You really don't need to dote on me like I'm a little girl. I'm grown up, you know."
"Wai-What? 40Z?!"
"Ho? That's how you see 40Z, 100kr?" The third member of the party interjected.
Nice, 000! Thanks for the save! 40Z gave a short chuckle as she heard the dark-type user in their team interject.
In the distance, a splashing sound reverberated. As the three turned their heads to the sound, they focused on the source. The great black beast was approaching, step by step. As it pressed forward, wading through the waves, large quantities of water were thrown into its mouth by nature but all was devoured and never seen again.
"Jokes aside, how about this?" Dropping her mischievous grin, 40Z spoke back to her superiors with a bit of levity. "Once we finish up here, I'll treat you all to dinner at a restaurant on Seafolk Village. I hear they're open into late at night, so we can all eat there. Does that sound good?"
"The bill's on you, then."
"I'll gladly accept."
"Let's begin, then." Without a further word, two attacks began firing at a high frequency rhythm from either side at the beast that was now directly at the center of 100kr's and 000's boats. It was difficult for 40Z to tell what they were from a distance, but based on their partner Pokemon, it was likely…
"Sludge Bomb and Shadow Ball, huh."
The plan was simple. The beast had two pincer like structures that came from its mouth and could intercept attacks. In that case, it could probably intercept up to two attacks at once, so the solution was the intuitive one. Blind and oversaturate.
"Let's begin, ourselves." 40Z pointed out. "Moonblast."
The Gardevoir, unlike the other two, fired down at an angle, leaving the pink orb of energy to hit the water right in front of the beast. The next shot was fired straight, aiming the top of the beast's jaw.
A deafening roar erupted as the second blast shot through the water and slammed into the beast's body.
The water fell back down as a subsequent blast smashed into the beast, leading to another deafening roar.
"That thing…is it in pain…?" 40Z heard a few words being muttered by 100kr over her headset as the onslaught continued. She looked to the beast, which was continuously writhing in pain with each attack it took, finally using its pincers to devour the Moonblasts rather than the Shadow Ball.
"It's taking the Shadow Balls over the others…100kr! Throw a Brick Break at it!"
Taking 40Z's suggestion, 100kr's partner Croagunk jumped off of the boat and slammed down onto the pincer facing it, causing the beast to recoil its pincer while giving a pained howl.
"Go! One more shot!" 000 shouted out, egging 100kr on to go in for the kill now that it had given an opening.
But, the Croagunk who bounced off that pincer after its attack remained flying through the air, not forcing itself down. That second of delay was enough. Still howling in pain, the beast launched forward, closing the distance between itself and the scent of its home in under two seconds. It seemed almost unfathomable, but it continued to consume the seawater as its mouth opened wider before 40Z and Gardevoir.
The waves grew more turbulent as the movement of the beast displaced the shallow sea water. The boats were thrown around as their drivers struggled to stay firmly planted on the solid ground they provided.
As the great maw enveloped 40Z, the last thing she could see was the radiant light coming from the back of its mouth before it enveloped her, Gardevoir, and the boat in one single bite.
"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU HESITATE FOR?!" The angry 000 picked 100kr up as soon as both of them landed back on the beach at the edge of the Poni Wilds. "It was right in your sights. You could have ended it right there!"
"It was in pain…" 100kr muttered, trying to squeeze out the answer marred in regret. It was crying in pain. It was still a living being trying to find its way to what was its home and following its only track. There had yet to be any casualties. But it was a threat that would destroy societies. That was the kind of entity it was. But, he still could not help but feel pity as the beast continued to cry in pain.
"You hesitated because of pity…" 000 tapered off. "Because of your pity, 40Z is dead. Killed by the monster you pitied." He gritted his teeth. At this point, it was all over. She was lost for good. Getting mad at 100kr was only him venting his frustrations and would never change the fact that 40Z was lost. Letting go of 100kr, he turned to face the sea, looking at the location where 40Z was taken.
No longer was there either beast or human. Instead, a brilliant blue light taking a shape reminiscent of a funnel was pointing out from the water. As 100kr and Croagunk rushed to deliver the final blow, that beast disappeared in a flash of blue light. More than likely, it was one of the same kind of Ultra Wormholes 40Z had fallen through.
As the two stared, defeated at the Ultra Wormhole, they noticed something floating in the water, being carried over by the waves until it was washed onto the beach by the wave and left by the receding of the water.
"A…person..?" The two of them pulled the body further up before laying it on its back. "She's still breathing." 100kr pointed at the rhythmic rise and depression of the chest.
Her clothes took on a lilac motif as both her pants and shirt were dyed in various shades of lilac barring a single red stain on the collar of her shirt. While she might have looked somewhat androgynous, if her hair was done, any styling had come undone in the water as her lilac hair reached shoulder length. If 100kr's estimate was right, she was probably about fourteen.
But, the most striking feature was a red spot on her head from which blood was slowly streaming down. It was likely that the sea had washed away most of it, but she was likely still in critical condition. He looked back to 000 before both simultaneously nodded. She needed to get medical attention quickly. The two rested the girl onto 100kr's back before heading off to their command center in the Seafolk Village.
A/N: Honestly, this is something I had started writing months ago when I had finished the Ultra Beast quest in Sun and Moon and declared Anabel to be best Sun/Moon Waifu. I'm a bit of a lover of interlude stories like this which detail events that are left exposited on in the canon, so I figured that since I really liked Anabel and there was just this wide open gap just ripe for the pickings, why not? Hopefully, you all enjoy this and future installments. Though given how hectic med school life gets, I can't guarantee any regularity.