Chapter Two: The Wishmaker

Kris felt like an inmate in a maximum security prison out of some gritty TV show as she and Iris were escorted through the prison's dungeon-like hallways with their hands in chains. Two Pokémon Rangers escorted them while Solana led the way, marching ahead with determination.

As the group arrived upstairs, however, things turned brighter as they entered what appeared to be a hallway in some public office building, headed towards imposing-looking double doors. Kris heard Iris nervously whispering to herself besides her, and she couldn't blame her. If this region really was as serious as the guide implied… the only battles Kris would be having were against shank-wielding inmates in a prison.

But before they got to the doors, the group was interrupted by loud yelling, then rapid footsteps as another Ranger rushed to meet, almost tipping over objects as he ran. And Kris only knew one person who moved like that.

"Stop!" the Ranger, a tall, skinny boy of about Kris and Iris' age with pointy, blonde hair yelled. "Hold up!"

"Barry?!" Kris and Iris said at the same time.

Kris, Iris, Solana and the escorts had stopped a while ago – Barry did not, instead crashing straight into one of the Rangers.

"Watch it!" he snapped at the Ranger, as if he hadn't been the one to crash like an idiot. "Hey, you, Selena-"

"Solana," the leading Ranger said through gritted teeth.

"Right, sorry, I'll definitely remember next time!" Barry prattled on – he talked as fast as he moved. "Anyway, they said I could talk to these two alone for a while before the hearing. They're my friends, you see!"

In a loose sense of the word, Kris thought.

"You have two minutes!" Solana said rudely, and to prove her point, she grabbed a stopwatch from her pocket and started taking time as she and the two other Rangers moved aside a bit so Kris, Iris and Barry could talk.

"Well, well!" Barry said excitedly as he jumped up and down in place. "Kris, Iris, my dearest friends! Came all the way to Fiore just to see me, eh? Should have known you two troublemakers would make yourselves known here in Fiore, huh?"

Kris and Iris glanced at each other. They were indeed 'acquaintances' with Barry and had met him while investigating Team Galactic in Sinnoh, but back then, it didn't feel like Barry liked anyone in the world besides his best friend Lucas. And he wasn't shy about expressing it.

"Uh, hi, Barry," Kris said awkwardly.

"Yeah, hi," Iris said nervously. "Say, they didn't feed you any wacky herbs here, did they?"

Barry laughed – which frightened Kris and Iris even more. "It's so good to see you again! Anyway, listen, once I heard it was you two who got nabbed for poaching, I rushed over here straight away! Thanks to the top Rangers here, I get to help you out, so just a few pieces of advice: just tell them that you love Pokémon and you made an honest mistake and you'll never break a rule here again. It's super easy to lie here!"

"But it's the truth!" Kris protested.

Barry winked at her. "Now you're getting it," he said. "Anyway, I gotta go, but just do everything your defense counselor says and you'll be fine! Okayseeyagottago! I'll be there, trust me, there's a million poké-dollar fine for me if I'm late!"

Barely catching half of what Barry said, Kris yelled after him as the boy rushed away.

"Wait!"

Barry turned around, though he kept running in place like a neurotic Pikachu after five cups of coffee.

"Who is our defense counselor?!" Kris asked him.

"Me!" Barry announced cheerfully and ran off.

As the Pokémon Rangers began escorting Kris and Iris towards the double doors again, a terrified Kris was certain that her career as a trainer was over.

~o~O~o~

The hearing had begun in earnest, with four people called the Base Leaders acting as judges. Apparently Solana wasn't officially head of the base, just the field team assigned there, while the local base was headed by a laid-back, soft-voiced guy called Cameron. Solana herself, unsurprisingly enough, was the prosecutor, but the so-called defense counselor had yet to arrive.

Finally, as Kris was already wandering if she could escape through the window, Barry stormed into the courtroom wearing a black cloak and an old-fashioned white wig – which made no sense as everyone else was wearing normal clothes or Ranger uniforms. The sight of this alone made Kris plant her face on the desk.

Nonetheless, the judges were still negotiating amongst themselves, which allowed Barry enough time to catch up as he squeezed between Kris and Iris.

"Barry, I'm going to regret asking this, but do you have the slightest idea of what you're doing?" Kris asked him immediately.

"What? Of course I do!" Barry protested and showed Kris a messy pile of papers he had brought. "I even have notes!"

"Have you done this sort of thing before?" Iris asked.

Barry laughed. "Of course not!" he said cheerfully. "But I've played a lot of video games with similar themes. I think I've got it."

Kris had to bite her own fist to avoid yelling out.

"What are you two doing here anyway?" Barry asked Iris. "It's been a month, right?"

"Yeah, it's kind of a long story," Iris said. "We'll tell you if we manage to get out of this. Shouldn't Dawn and Lucas be with you?"

Barry's constant smirking stopped for a moment. "They're in the neighboring region, Almia, have been for two weeks. Together. They're working as assistant instructors in the Ranger School."

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Kris said. "Must suck getting ditched, huh?"

"What? No, I wanted to stay here!" Barry snapped. "Two weeks worth of traveling with those two was enough for me. I know Lucas was never the sharpest bulb in the harbor, but being with her seems to make his brain turn to mush!"

Barry's insane grin soon returned. "But this is gonna be great! I've always wanted to be a defense attorney, you know!"

"All right, silence, please," one of the judges, a purple-haired woman, announced. "Let's begin the case of the Ranger Union versus-"

"OBJECTION!" Barry yelled as he suddenly stood up from his seat.

The judge raised her eyebrows at him. "Um, we haven't started yet."

"I know, but I wanted to say that," Barry said with a grin. "Plus I wanted to test the acoustics here. Trust me, I'll be saying it a lot more times, believe me!"

"Rrright," the judge said, shrugged and moved on, reading from her papers in a bored tone. "The case of Ranger Union versus Kris of New Bark Town and Iris of the Village of Dragons. The two stand accused of… well, some of the charges were so outlandish that we've decided to stick with poaching."

"Another poaching case?!" cried out another judge, a young green-haired man wearing a bandanna groaned. "Reported by Solana, no doubt?"

"Hey!" Solana protested.

"Yes, Solana, we're all tired of having to come here several times a week," the lady judge told her. "This is a standard Ranger violation hearing, not a criminal courtroom, and we these aren't our day jobs."

"It isn't?" Iris whispered in confusion.

"Man, she's ruining the mood," Barry muttered.

"Anyway, prosecution, feel free to begin," the purple-haired judge yawned. "Solana, you're up."

"Thank you, your honor," Solana said pretentiously as she stood up. "I call my first witness: Solana, Top Ranger of Summerland!"

The judges all look confused, but true to her word, Solana grabbed her own collar and dragged herself to the witness' stand.

"You are Solana, correct?" Solana asked herself and immediately replied: "That's right, Solana of Summerland! And were you there when these two monstrous outsiders attempted to assault an innocent Vulpix? Well, I wouldn't necessarily use those words, but – enough! You are under oath, Ms. Solana, tell the truth! All right, all right, please, this is a stressful situation..."

As Solana rambled on, Kris leaned closer to Barry.

"I mean no offense, but is she crazy?" she asked him.

"Solana?" Barry asked. "She graduated Ranger School with historically good grades, has successfully stopped dozens of poachers, smugglers, criminal gangs and natural accidents. She personally answers to Chairperson Erma, who practically runs this country, and is one of her favorite Rangers. Everyone in the Union knows of her."

"I see..."

"Oh, but she is crazy, though," Barry said earnestly. "You gotta be to get to as high as she is at… what, she's like 24, 25? And yet she's already worked harder than many senior Rangers combined."

After Solana had finished rambling, she called further testimonies and showed photographic and ballistic evidence of Kris' misdemeanor (and Iris' guilt by association), in a speech that lasted for almost an hour. And yet, every grandiose speech she made just seemed to repeat the same thing: that Kris tried to capture a Vulpix. And yet the tone she used to describe it made it sound like Kris had kidnapped a baby Vulpix belonging to a sick child, then ate it on live television and gloated about it on Twitter afterward. Solana definitely knew how to gather the crowd on her side.

When it was finally Barry's turn and he stood up proudly, people started whispering about his weird clothes.

"Your honor," Barry began, "I am to prove that these two are as innocent as pure white snow on the smile of a baby angel. Well, except for the poaching thing, I mean, after that evidence – whew! I don't think I'll talk my way out of that. Anyway… the defense calls Iris of the Village of Dragons as a witness."

Iris stared at Kris in wide-eyed horror, but Kris urged her to go – if only because everyone was staring at them. Iris nervously shuffled to the witness' stand and tried to wave at the crowd, but when the chains made it impossible, she just smiled awkwardly at them.

"Now, Iris, as an accomplice, you are facing a lighter sentence anyway, so there's no need to be nervous or hide anything," Barry told her while eying the crowd smugly. "Just answer me this: do you think Kris would be the kind of person to break the law?"

Iris opened her mouth to answer without hesitation – but only quiet wheezing came out. She then stared into nothing as she started to ponder about the answer. Turning to the judges, she asked:

"Am I under some kind of oath?"

"No one took any oaths here, just answer the question as best you can," the purple-haired judge said, clearly confused.

"Well… okay, Kris, don't hate me for this or anything," Iris said nervously, "but she did try to capture the Vulpix."

The crowd gasped audibly. Kris face-palmed.

"Not only that, but she did almost make her Feraligatr attack it," Iris said, and someone in the audience fainted. "But, you see, it didn't obey her, so she tried to attack it herself-"

"Attack it?" Barry asked. "Like, physically?"

"Oh, she would never hurt a Pokémon!" Iris said quickly. "I mean, she can be short-tempered and selfish and mean… oh, and during her first gym battle, she almost gave her Sandshrew a concussion."

"A concussion?" Barry wondered, seemingly forgetting who he was defending. "Like, with a blunt instrument?"

Iris bit her nails nervously. "Crap, I'm explaining it wrong! The battle just got a bit rough, that's all. I mean, she had just gotten the Sandshrew and it was only Pokémon who would obey her… um, wait, that doesn't sound good, doesn't it?"

"So, Kris was in possession of a dangerous beast she couldn't even control?" Barry asked. "Aware that any damages this Feraligatr would cause would be her responsibility?"

"Barry!" Kris hissed.

"Hm? Oh, um, right, no further questions."

Barry and Iris returned to Kris' table, Barry sighing in relief. "Well, glad that's over," he whispered to Kris. "That went real badly. But hey, can't win 'em all, right?"

"Your honor," said Solana, standing up. "The prosecution suggests a sentence of twenty years to Kris, and twelve years to Iris for accessory!"

"Man, she is good!" Barry muttered.

"Okay, that's it!" Kris snapped and stood up herself. "Your honorable… whatever you are. I made a mistake, that's it! At this point, I'd normally say I wouldn't do it again, but you people annoy me so much that I probably will do it, just to screw with you! I'd gladly track down the same Vulpix and pummel it with Poké Balls until it was mine! Because where I come from, Pokémon are our friends! We go and capture them and make them fight each other because of friendly competition, to create bonds between our species, and to channel a Pokémon's innate desire for battle for useful purposes."

Every sensible part of Kris knew she should stop, but right now, the side that blurted out awkward things was in full control as she continued her speech.

"You say we broke some laws?" Kris asked. "I say, we acted in accordance of what's natural to us! We did as our nature demands! We're no different from Pokémon, but you wouldn't throw a Fearow into jail for eating a Magikarp! I mean, if they do that… anyway, the point is, we were acting like normal people, and if you people are so used to your ass-backwards laws, then you better be willing to face the consequences! I have spoken!"

Kris sat down, all eyes in the room staring at her, Iris with her mouth open in terror. As realization kicked in, Kris turned to look at Barry and Iris nervously.

"Yeah, that screwed us over even worse, didn't it?" she said.

Barry was the only one who hadn't paid attention to Kris. Instead, he seemed to find something in his PokéGear terribly interesting, which pissed Kris off even more.

"Does the defense have anything to add?" the purple-haired judge asked with a sigh.

Barry glanced at Kris and Iris, holding up five fingers and silently mouthing something – possibly either 'five more minutes' or 'pies for piglets', though Kris was fairly sure which one.

"Yes, your honor, I do," Barry said as he picked up his notes and organized them as slowly as possible. When he was finally ready, he cleared his throat and continued: "Fellow Rangers, you have heard all the evidence presented to you today, but in the end, you must look into your hearts to see who the real culprit is. Once you've given it enough thought, I'm sure you will come to the same conclusion: that my clients, Kris and Iris, are totally and utterly guilty."

Sitting down contently, Barry suddenly opened his eyes wide and turned his notes over, then quickly sprang up again.

"-of nothing more than attempting to introduce themselves to our wonderful culture. In the face of such a heartfelt desire to learn, surely a minor mistake can be forgiven."

The purple-haired judge glared at Barry. "If you don't have anything else to add, I suggest we-"

But just at that moment, the double doors were slammed open. A tall, athletic male Pokémon Ranger with dark hair and bright blue eyes entered the room, prompting excited whispering from all over. When Kris had arrived, everything in the region (except for Barry, which wasn't really a good thing) was unfamiliar to her, but she recognized the Ranger all too well – it was Lunick, with whom she had worked in Hoenn and Sinnoh.

Barry immediately took advantage of the situation:

"The defense calls for Top Ranger Lunick to the witness stand!" Barry said excitedly.

Kris' nervousness seemed to melt away as Lunick was questioned by the judges. Though he made zero effort to deny that Kris had indeed tried to capture the Vulpix, he talked in great length about what Kris and Iris had done before, how they had helped him take down criminal gangs and how the two had an outstanding love for Pokémon. The people in the courtroom clearly had no idea what he was talking about (the dealings of people in other regions weren't very important to the Rangers), but apparently they respected him enough to take him for his word.

Once Lunick was done, the four judges convened to mutter amongst each other for a few minutes, Kris and Iris waiting tensely. Finally, the purple-haired judge announced the verdict:

"In the case of the Ranger Union versus Kris and Iris. For the crime of poaching, we find the defendants-"

~o~O~o~

"Whoo!" Kris hooted. "Not guilty! Heck yeah!"

Lunick escorted Kris through the hallways of the Summerland Ranger Base, where the courtroom was. Barry had taken Iris to retrieve their Pokémon and other stuff, allowing Kris a moment to catch up with Lunick.

"But what are you doing here?" Kris asked Lunick. "I wondered where you went after we split ways. I even thought you found a way, you know, back to your own, um... time."

There was another thing about Lunick why Kris was interested in him. After all, not many people could say he used to live in area that was now the Ruins of Alph in Johto… beforethey became ruins, hundreds of years in the past. After an incident with Celebi displaced him in time, he ended up in the Ranger Union, which probably lessened the culture shock a bit - imagine if he had ended up in the middle of a busy street in Saffron or Goldenrod! From there, Team Aqua managed to appeal to him with their claims of being environmentalists, but thanks to Kris, he saw the light, and helped bring down not only Team Aqua, but also Team Galactic later on, from within the gang.

"It didn't work," Lunick said calmly. "It would seem I'm to stay here. But it's all right," he said quickly when Kris looked worried, "I returned here to Fiore, where they had apparently heard of my escapades. Not that I deserve any credit, I was just along for the ride while you did the work."

"You did more than that," Kris assured him.

Lunick smiled. "Thank you, Kris," he said. "Anyway, they made me a Top Ranger and I've been able to do good work. A month ago, Barry and his two friends arrived here. Barry was nice enough to instruct me in the use of these... things," Lunick showed Kris the PokéGear. "As soon as I heard you and Iris had been arrested, well, I had to do something."

"And it was great!" Kris said excitedly. "I'm a free woman!"

"Remember the conditions," Lunick said. "You're only allowed to stay in the Ranger Union if you-"

"-adapt to the Ranger lifestyle, which means the clothes, the gear and the license to act smug, got it," Kris said quickly. "I'll bear it, in fact, I'm really, reallylooking forward to it!"

Ten minutes later, outside the Summerland Ranger Base

"Is it still too late to get deported?" Kris asked as she and Iris stood outside with their Ranger uniforms on.

Their Pokémon were nearby, frolicking away in a large, fenced area reserved for Rangers' Pokémon when not with their partners. Kris' Chandelure, Froslass and Gardevoir were there, as were Iris' Excadrill, Goodra and Dragalge. Kris decided to take Croc as her partner while Iris went with her Haxorus. Iris' Haxorus had only evolved a month ago and was still getting used to its new size – and the fact it could no longer jump in Iris' lap whenever it saw her. Fortunately, no bones were broken.

Lunick handed Kris and Iris both a red device with a small screen and antenna attached to it, just like the one they had seen Solana wield.

"That right there is the most important item a Ranger will ever have," Lunick lectured. "It is called a Capture Styler, a device that allows us Rangers to do our jobs."

"It captures Pokémon?" Kris asked as she tried to find some games from the thing. "Hypocrites, much?"

"The name is misleading, I know, we get that all the time," Lunick sighed. "At any rate, the Capture Styler has many functions. Most are self-explanatory and can be found from your Gear-device, um, things, like the map and the clock. But there are two specific ones that I will explain for you now. Now, for your partner Pokémon..."

Lunick helped Kris and Iris guide their Pokémon to their positions about five yards away from their trainers. Haxorus waited patiently, eager to help Iris, while Croc clearly didn't like playing along, exposing its teeth at Lunick as he tried to adjust the Feraligatr's position.

"I… think that should do it," Lunick said and quickly got some distance between him and Croc. "Okay, then, first, when a Ranger requires the assistance of a Pokémon, they must make their intentions known. This is a revolutionary device that allows limited communication between Pokémon and humans. Observe."

Lunick put two fingers in his mouth and whistled loudly. Soon after, there was loud rustling coming from the nearby trees, followed by Lunick's Sceptile landing gracefully next to him. Lunick merely nodded at the Pokémon, and the Sceptile assumed its place next to Croc, who glared at it, challenging it, but Sceptile dutifully ignored the Feraligatr.

"The process is simple," Lunick said. "You point this device at the Pokémon and press this button." Lunick pressed a button in the middle of the Capture Styler, which opened a hatch and launched a little spinning top-like device floating towards his Sceptile.

"Using the remote-control functions of the Styler, you can control that top, which is known as a Capture Disc," Lunick said as the top started looping around Sceptile, leaving a trail of blue beams behind it. "By looping it enough times around the Pokémon, you can transmit friendship to the Pokémon, thus allowing you to-"

"Excuse me?" Kris asked incredulously. "Friendship? So this device essentially crams friendship into the Pokémon's brains? Great, we'll try that next time a wild Ursaring attacks us in the woods!"

"Please, Kris, I have no idea how this works, so I'm using simple terms," Lunick said. The Capture Disc floated back inside the Styler, and the Styler's screen showed an image of Lunick's Sceptile. "Now, the second important function of the Styler are Poké Assists. Essentially, they allow the Ranger to use the Pokémon's powers in tandem with the Styler for non-violent purposes. For example, putting down fires for water-types, chopping trees for any with sharp claws, immobilizing criminals, farming, heavy lifting, construction, cooking, whatever you can think of."

Kris rolled her eyes, unimpressed with the whole situation, causing Iris to jab her with her elbow.

"What?!" Kris snapped. "I just find this all a bit silly, that's all."

"When in Fiore, do what the Rangers do, Kris," Iris lectured. "Besides, this is cool! I mean, we use Pokémon for stuff that isn't battling in other regions as well, but to imagine the Rangers managed to do it such an organized fashion… hey, Lunick, who invented these things? This is ingenious!"

"That would be professor Hastings, one of the founders of the Ranger Union," Lunick said.

Kris and Iris looked at each other, probably thinking the same thing. Leaf had mentioned a scientist in Fiore who knew about Jirachi and the prophecies, and now Kris and Iris had a place to start.

"This Hastings, he lives here in Fiore, right?" Iris asked.

"I believe he resides in Almia most of the time," Lunick said. "He does visit the lab in Fall City from time to time. I have no idea where he is at the moment, I'm afraid. He is in charge of the research done in this entire country, so it's only natural that he's busy."

Kris and Iris sighed. Getting a hold of this guy wasn't going to be as easy as just knocking on his door, it would seem. Still, Iris was quick to get her enthusiasm back.

"Well, I wanna try the Capture Styler!" she beamed. "Let's see you pressed… this button? Whoa!"

Iris was started as her Capture Disc flew towards her Haxorus, though in a much more wobbly line than with Lunick. Iris tried her best to keep the Capture Disc steady, but it took a few attempts to successfully make it loop around Haxorus. The dragon-type just looked mildly curious about the disc and didn't seemed to have changed, but the image of Haxorus and a list of the Poké Assists and field move it could perform soon appeared on Iris' Styler.

"Hey, that wasn't so hard!" Iris said.

"Well, if you already know the Pokémon, obviously," Lunick said with a smile. "But a Ranger often goes out to recruit wild Pokémon for their cause, and shooting a flying disc that leaves bright beams behind at them isn't nearly as easy as just chucking an apricorn at them."

"You mean Poké Ball?" Kris asked.

"Hm? Oh yeah, right, those. Anyway, Kris, do you want to try next?"

Kris glanced at Croc, who was laying on the ground and picking its teeth with its claws, not really caring about anything, and sighed mournfully.

"Maybe later," she groaned. "Lunick, I don't know if I have what it takes. The only thing I have ever been good at is Pokémon battles, and even then I'm just kinda mediocre. I mean, my strongest Pokémon only obeys me some of the time and I'm still not letting it sleep in the same room with me."

"You don't?!" Iris wondered as she was hugging her Haxorus. "But it's so great, though! Okay, I mean, I won't let Goodra or Dragalge in my bed, but cuddling with Haxorus is the best!"

"Well, I'm not a freak," Kris muttered under her breath.

"You'll get the hang of it," Lunick assured. "I mean, the first time I laid eyes on this thing, I was confused out of my mind! But apparently they tell me there's some kind of network with pictures of naked people inside it these days, so I guess anything's possible."

Kris tried not to laugh. "Still, though," she complained. "No battles, no capturing, no competitions, what do you people do here?!"

"Actually, Top Rangers like me and Solana are allowed to organize sparring matches from time to time," Lunick said. "It's tightly controlled, but we still need to do it, because we can't assume everyone plays by our rules. Here, let me show you..."

Lunick took another device out of his pocket. This was also red, looking kind of like a cross between the Capture Styler and a PokéDex, except Lunick attached it to his wrist.

"This is a Fine Styler," Lunick said. "It has more power and allows for more sophisticated Assists, including some offensive ones. Only Top Rangers have these, though you probably noticed Solana using the standard Styler."

"Why does she do that?" Iris asked.

"Probably to prove that she can," Kris guessed. "What's with her, anyway?"

Lunick looked nervous and looked around him, like Solana was withing hearing distance or something. "Well, I'm not exactly a friend of hers," he said quietly, "but you'll still have to forgive her behavior. She takes her work very seriously, especially now. I think I forgot to mention, but Chairperson Erma is visiting Summerland today, and Solana is in charge of protecting her. Not that anyone's ever tried to hurt her so far, but you can never be too careful. There are criminal gangs in Fiore and Almia as well."

"Oh, great," Kris groaned. "More idiots in stupid clothing with vague plans involving legendary Pokémon, right? Weird as it sounds, I miss when the worst I had to deal with was some thugs chopping off Slowpoke tails."

"I'll tell you about it later," Lunick said. "For now… um, would you perhaps like to…?"

Kris frowned. It was unusual to see this guy hesitate about anything.

"...have a m-match with me, perhaps?" Lunick finished with a stutter. "You know, uh, a good old-fashioned Pokémon battle?"

"Oh, sure!" Kris said excitedly. "Absolutely! But won't you get in trouble?"

"Hey, I put in the good word for you, and they trust me here," Lunick assured. "I told them you were both accomplished Pokémon trainers. I'm the only reason you two are allowed to use those Stylers instead of the ones they give to students."

"You coming, Iris?" Kris asked. "You can be the ref!"

"Actually, I'd like to know more about this Hastings guy," Iris said quietly. "And about the Ranger Union, if you're… uh, I mean, we're ever gonna fit in."

"The base here has a really good library," Lunick said. "You'll find what you need there."

"You had to say the magic word," Kris muttered.

Indeed, Iris had squealed in joy when the word 'library' had been mentioned.

~o~O~o~

Location: Ranger Base, Summerland, Fiore

Half an hour later

Deciding to keep Haxorus in its Poké Ball to avoid any funny looks when a six-foot tall dragon followed her with its tail wagging like an excited Growlithe, Iris had dived headfirst into the collection in the base library. Seeing they had books about pretty much everything – in two floors, no less – Iris grabbed everything she could find on the Ranger Union's history, ancient prophecies and legendary Pokémon she could find and hid behind a mountain of books at a table in the second floor.

But as much as she learned about the Rangers and their lifestyle and professor Hastings, nothing in the books pointed to Jirachi, the prophecies or Hastings' current whereabouts. The internet didn't help either, and the battery on Iris' PokéGear was running low, making her wonder if she could call it a day.

"Excuse me, miss," a soft voice asked from behind the pile of books, breaking Iris from her book-induced trance, "have you finished reading this?"

Iris moved the books aside to see a man holding up a copy of 'Rare Pokémon in Fiore, Almia and Oblivia'. The man was probably in his early 20's, very tall and thin with long, tea green hair and grayish blue eyes. He wasn't wearing the usual Ranger Uniform and looked distantly familiar to Iris.

"Oh, sure," Iris said in exhaustion and continued reading her book on ancient languages, her brain barely keeping up anymore. "Feel free to tell me if you find what you need there cause it didn't help me at all."

The man smiled warmly at Iris as he took the book. "Perhaps I can help you," he said. "I've spent a lot of time in this library these past few weeks and have read quite a few of these books."

Iris glanced at the man. She supposed there was no harm in asking him, and she needed a short break from the text, anyway.

"I need info on a Pokémon called Jirachi," Iris said. "And good luck with that, even searching online just got me some fairy tales."

"Jirachi, the Wish Pokémon," the man said immediately. "Legends say it wakes up for seven days every one thousand years to grant any wish to those who seek it."

Iris stared at the man, who smiled and shrugged. "I read a lot," he said casually. "See, you're looking for legendary Pokémon, creatures we already know exist in small numbers. They're rare and powerful and most people never see them, but science has already proven that they exist. What you need..."

The man handed Iris a book titled 'Glossary of Mythical Pokémon'.

"...is this. This book contains information on Pokémon mentioned in myths, legends and folk tales. Sightings of these Pokémon exist in very small numbers and scientists haven't been able to prove or disprove their existence. Jirachi, considering its farfetched powers, is one of them."

Iris looked at the man carefully. "Have we met?" she asked. "You sound Unovan."

"It's possible, I have traveled a lot these past few months," the man said, "and yes, I'm from Unova. It's nice to meet you, Iris from the Village of Dragons."

Iris flinched. "How do you-"

"It's written on your bag," the man pointed out. "It says 'Iris from the Village of Dragons is less than three', doesn't it?"

Iris took her bag off the table and put it on the floor. "Everyone always says that," she muttered. "It's supposed to be a heart!"

"Well, it's good to meet you" the man said and extended his hand. "The name's N."

Iris shook his hand. "The letter? That's… an unusual name. Um, I mean no offense, of course! Just, um-"

"I know," N assured. "It still beats my real name. Which I will not tell, by the way."

"Oh, I won't laugh," Iris said sincerely.

"Yes, you will."

"Come on!"

"Fine," N sighed. "Natural Harmonia Gropius."

Iris snorted and tried her best to stifle a laugh. "It's, um… original," she said tensely.

N shook his head. "Now you see why I prefer N," he said. "Not like I chose this though. Parents, huh?"

"Yeah..."

"Speaking of which," N said, "excuse me for saying, but you a look a bit young. What do your parents think about you traveling this far to Unova by yourself?"

"I'm 17, I'm almost an adult," Iris huffed. "And… I was raised by the village Matriarch after my parents… well..."

N's smile faded. "I'm sorry," he said.

"You didn't know," Iris said and put on a weak smile. "But really, everyone in the village has been good to me, letting me study in Opelucid Academy, letting me go on this journey… it's been a great ride."

"I understand, actually," N said sympathetically. "I never knew my parents. I was raised my by foster father and two stepsisters."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Iris said.

"No need. They've all been good to me as well, and my stepfather is a kind, wise man. The only thing that I didn't like was how overprotective he was. Well into adulthood, I never left Unova. It wasn't until my 23rd birthday a few months back when he decided I was ready. I wanted to see what was out there, see other lands, other cultures."

"I know the feeling," Iris said, now completely lost in the conversation. "How have you liked it so far?"

"I've been to many places, but I'm sad to say I've witnessed way too much selfishness in most other regions," N said bitterly. "People everywhere treating their Pokémon like possessions, like mere things. It sickened me. But here in the Ranger Union, people have the right idea. It's just a shame it can never work in Unova..."

"Uh… huh."

An awkward silence fell between the two. Well, N didn't look awkward, but Iris wasn't sure what to say.

The silence was broken by sudden sounds of screaming from downstairs, followed by loud noises of combat – chairs being knocked around, bookcases being destroyed, windows getting broken. This was followed by loud – music? After exchanging puzzled looks, Kris and N both stood up, Iris letting Haxorus out of its Poké Ball. The dragon-type was about to roar in joy, but Iris put a finger on her lips to silence it. Kris, N and Haxorus sneaked down the stairs to get a better look of what was happening down there. And it was stranger than what Iris thought possible.

Four young adults dressed in long coats, who all had their hair dyed either white, platinum blonde or light blue, were playing the deafeningly loud music: there were three men and one woman, who played the guitar, bass, an ashiko drum and a violin, respectively. And while they rocked on, two Vigoroth and two Scyther ran amok around the library, destroying everything they could.

"All right, N!" Iris said into N's ear, believing the quartet's music to drown her out. "You grab your strongest Pokémon, and-"

"I don't carry any Pokémon with me," N said. "I wish to honor the rules of the Rangers."

"Oh..."

"I have a plan, though," N assured. "You and Haxorus keep them busy. Try to draw their attention to you."

"What are you-"

But N had already slipped away. So, when Iris nodded at Haxorus, the mighty dragon let out a roar so loud even the rocking quartet could hear it. They all stopped playing and turned to look at Iris.

"Okay, what's your deal?" Iris asked them. "Do you just hate learning or something? Why, of all places, a library?!"

When the violinist saw her, she totally ignored what Iris was saying and instead turned to the other three.

"Boys, our motto!" she yelled.

Iris just looked baffled as the four musicians assumed some kind of pose, all facing Iris, with stupid grins on all their faces.

"Pokémon a go-go!" they all yelled.

Iris blinked. "Wha-"

"Even if you're in a hurry, stop in your tracks!" the bass player yelled and played a funky bass solo.

"Open your ears to our melodic attacks!" sang the violinist, who finished with a brief violin solo.

"The rhythm of rage pounds the ground!" announced the drummer and played an ashiko solo.

"Let the melody of ambition rise to the skies!" shouted the guitarist and played a heavily distorted guitar solo.

"If you don't know us, we'll cure your ignorance!" the group sang, and prepared to announce their names. "Billy!" The guitarist struck a pose. "Garret!" The bass player bowed politely. "Clyde!" The drummer smiled smugly and made a victory sign. "Tiffany!" the violinist winked and made a little pirouette. "The Go-Rock Squad's hot prospect band, of key-shaker-and-taker celebrities! A name once heard and never forgotten! The Go-Rock Quads~!"

They all finished their song, playing their instrument at once while, somehow, confetti fell on them from the ceiling. When Garret, the bassist, inhaled some confetti and started coughing, Billy made throat-cutting gestures and the group stopped playing. Iris started clapping sarcastically, but the Go-Rock Quads didn't seem to get it, instead choosing to just bow.

"Thank, thank you, you're too kind," Billy said. "Also, big round of applause for our number one fan, the only one who didn't run like a coward from us, huh?"

The Go-Rock Quads all applauded. Haxorus hissed at them, but Iris kept it from attacking… just yet.

"So, you're… a band of thugs?" Iris asked. "Like, a literal band? I'm just trying to understand the situation."

"We're siblings!" Tiffany announced and grabbed Clyde and Garret by their shoulders roughly. "The children of the mighty Gordor, admins of the Go-Rock Squad! You've heard of us, haven't you?"

"I… can't say I have," Iris said. "Um, sorry."

"Pshaw, the Go-Rock Squad are yesterday's news, man," Clyde said and rudely smacked his sister's arm away. "You gotta keep fresh! The Grand Master runs things now!"

"Nice drum, by the way," Iris said to the drummer.

"Oh, thanks, dude," Clyde said, the use of 'dude' confusing Iris even more. "The ashiko's really hot right now. It's got that retro-ethnic-faux-hip-style to it, you know?"

"...I really don't."

"Clyde, little bro, please stop bugging this charming young lady with such tripe," Garret said smoothly, having gotten the confetti out of his throat. "Now then, miss, I assume you're going to, how you say, attempt to stop us from committing our crimes? Make us see the error of our ways?"

"I just kinda want to kick your asses, then ask why bother rampaging in a library."

"Feel free to try!" Billy said and grabbed his guitar pick. "Because we're gonna rock you like a hurric – ow!"

A book from a nearby bookcase suddenly flew off and smacked Billy in the back of the head. When it distracted the others, Iris nodded at Haxorus, who jumped at the Go-Rock Quads, taking on all four of their Pokémon at once. Blocking one of the Scyther's attacks with its claws, it grabbed the Scyther with its other hand and chucked it at a Vigoroth. Iris took cover while the remaining three Go-Rock Quads started running around in panic.

"Hey, man, what gives?!" Clyde wailed.

"She's not using Poké Assists, you idiot!" Tiffany yelled. "That kid's not a Ranger at all!"

Oh yeah, Iris thought as she looked at her Capture Styler. There was a list of all the Assists and field moves Haxorus could pull off, but Iris had no idea what they did or how they worked. Randomly, she chose the 'Ground' Poké Assist.

The Styler launched a Capture Disc at the Go-Rock Quads while Haxorus glowed and started stomping the ground. Realizing what to do, Iris made the Disc loop around the Quads' Pokémon, which caused the earth around them to churn, making them all lose their balance. One of the Vigoroth hid behind a fallen desk, so Iris chose the field move 'Tackle'. Without Iris having to say anything, Haxorus grabbed another fallen table and pushed it at the table the Vigoroth was hiding behind, knocking it out of cover. When Iris chose the 'Crush' field move, Haxorus smashed a table, sending pieces flying at the enemy Pokémon and knocking all out except for one last Scyther.

The Go-Rock Quads also had their own ways of controlling the Pokémon, as when Garret played a few chords on his bass, the Scyther returned to him. Curiously, Iris selected what seemed like the most natural choice to her: the Dragon Poké Assist.

She made the Capture Disc fly to the Quads while Haxorus glowed in a hue of purple. For a second, nothing seemed to happen. Then, a small meteor unexpectedly crashed through the library's roof, landing at the Go-Rock Quads and causing an explosion that raised up a cloud of smoke and dust so thick that Iris couldn't see a thing.

By the time it was gone, the Go-Rock Quads and their Pokémon were all in one unconscious pile in the middle of splinter and debris.

"N?!" Kris called out. "You okay?!"

Fortunately, N emerged from behind cover, having quickly hidden when the meteor arrived, making Iris sigh with relief.

"That was excellent work, Iris," N praised. "It's just a shame that these people exist in the Ranger Union as well. Using Pokémon to satisfy their evil needs… it's inexcusable."

"I'm just glad no one got hurt," Iris said, glanced at the Quads, and added: "Apart from them. That Poké Assist isn't something I'm gonna try in the near future. At least not indoors. But it was cool," she told Haxorus and patted the Pokémon gratefully on its arm, not reaching the head.

Billy, the guitarist, was coming to after N had struck him with the book. Noticing his siblings laying unconscious on the floor, he groaned, but he came to when Haxorus grabbed him roughly by his collar.

"Now do you want to tell me why you came here?!" Iris asked him harshly. "Or is this just a punk thing? Like, do you enjoy trashing the place?"

"We're with the Go-Rock Squad!" Billy announced defiantly. "You can't comprehend our elaborate master pla-"

"The Go-Rock Squad was disbanded," N pointed out. "I heard Solana united Fiore's Ranger Base heads to defeat Gordor, their leader, a few months back. That's how she became a Top Ranger."

"Yeah, yeah, thanks, professor," Billy spat. "Okay, so we're not with the Squad anymore, we're mercs! We go where the job is! We've been kind of short on cash since our dad skipped the country!"

"Yeah, I heard your brother," Iris said. "Who is this 'Grand Master'?"

But Billy just laughed.

"Trust me, girl, nothing you can do to me can compare to what he'll do if he finds out I talked," he said. "Besides, we did everything he wanted."

"What do you mean?" Iris asked.

Billy laughed again. "Chairperson Erma is on her way to the docks, for her visit, isn't she? Too bad every Ranger in the area is probably on their way here to fix the hubbub in the library, leaving that poor old woman all defenseless..."

"Damn it!" Iris swore. "Haxorus, let go of him!"

Billy continued laughing even when Haxorus dropped him. Iris grabbed her Capture Styler.

"Let's hope Kris has figured out how to use this thing," Iris said as she typed a message. "N, I need to get to the harbor! Can you help me out?"

N just stared at Billy, who kept laughing hysterically as he just lay on the ground, accepting his punishment.

"N!" Iris yelled.

"We're just going to leave them here?" N asked as he stared down at Billy in contempt. "These wastes of human life who would callously use and discard Pokémon like this?"

"The Rangers will deal with them!" Iris told him. "What do you suggest we do with them?"

"Hurt them," N suggested harshly. "Hurt them as much as they hurt their Pokémon."

"And what would that accomplish?!" Iris yelled. "N, we don't have time for this, we need to get there! Are you with me or not?"

N looked at Iris. "I'm with you," he said after a pause. "Lead the way."

~o~O~o~

Meanwhile, slightly outside Summerland

While Iris was busy with her books, Kris and Lunick's battle was fully underway. When Lunick had chosen his Luxray, Kris had deliberately went with Croc just to prove she could with even with a disadvantage. For now, the two seemed to be equally matched, both the trainers and their Pokémon running tired.

"Luxray, Spark!" Lunick ordered.

Sparkling with electricity, Luxray attempted to tackle Croc, but Kris ordered the Feraligatr to respond with Aqua Tail. Croc managed to whack the Luxray away, but at the cost of getting electrocuted, still it stood strong, not willing to go down just yet.

"Thunderbolt!" Lunick yelled.

"Croc, Ice Punch the ground!" Kris ordered.

It was a strategy Kris and Croc had been working on. As Croc did what was told while Luxray charged its attack, Croc was able to create a solid ice barrier in front of it, deflecting the Thunderbolt away. Kris then ordered a Dynamic Punch and Croc shattered and exploded the ice barrier, sending sharp shards of ice flying towards Luxray. And while the electric-type was busy dodging them, Kris had Croc charge and fire a Hydro Pump attack, which finally knocked Luxray out.

"Aww yeah!" Kris cheered and rushed to hug Croc. "Still got it! Good job, Croc!"

The Feraligatr didn't respond to Kris' hug, but was busy roaring and flexing its muscles. Lunick withdrew Luxray, but he didn't look sad that he lost. He looked downright stoked.

"Wow, Kris!" he said. "I mean… that last move! That was incredible!"

"Ah, 'twas nothing," Kris said. "Oh, screw it, who am I posing for?! It was pretty incredible, huh? We got that idea while we fought a Magnezone on the S.S. Spiral. Damn thing was this close to ruining my winning streak, but that's when the idea came to me."

"I can't believe you still call yourself mediocre after this," Lunick said. "That strategy was just – hold on a second."

Kris looked at Lunick expectantly as he looked at the blinking screen of his wrist-mounted Capture Styler a frown appearing on his face.

"Yes?" Kris asked. "Feel free to go back to praising me!"

"It's a message from Solana," Lunick said. "Chairperson Erma is on her way here now, but something's come up. Also a message from Iris… Kris, haven't you seen any messages on your Styler?"

"Hm? Oh yeah, got a few during the battle," Kris said casually. "It was distracting, so I turned the thing off. What's up?"

Lunick sighed and showed Kris the message he had gotten.

~o~O~o~

Location: Docks, Summerland, Fiore

There was an old, wooden watchtower at the docks, used during times of war. Now abandoned, it still gave a great view of the entire harbor. A few Pokémon Rangers had been guarding the tower, but they had all been dispatched by a mysterious person clad entirely in black, except for a white mask obscuring their face. Not using any Pokémon or weapons, the person's athletic skills alone had managed to knock out three Rangers.

Now, the person, armed with a crossbow firing bolts with cyanide-laced tips, looked out of the tower's observation window, keeping a close eye on the ship that had just arrived to the harbor. The person's objective was simple: assassinate Chairperson Erma as soon as she left the ship and quickly leave before anyone knew what had happened. All the assassin would need was one bolt as, just as they had planned, there were a lot less Rangers at the docks than there should have been, most being busy with the disturbance in the Ranger Base.

But something broke the assassin's concentration: the roaring of a Feraligatr who had somehow sneaked up behind them.

As the assassin turned, Kris, who had made it to the watchtower with Lunick, tried to get a good look. Though the white mask obscured all of the assassin's facial features, from the shape of their body and their curly, blonde hair, Kris' first thought was that it was a woman, though she didn't want to be rude and assume things – and she didn't really care.

"I wouldn't try anything if I were you," Kris told the assassin. "There's nowhere to run, unless you want to try your luck with that sixty-five foot drop."

Indeed, Lunick and his Sceptile blocked off the exit. Even worse for the assassin, Lunick was soon joined by Iris and Haxorus, who ran up the stairs panting.

"Thank goodness…" Iris panted. "You made it in time… I got worried when you didn't reply to messages..."

"Oh, yeah, I saw them," Kris lied. "Anyway, you, why don't you drop your weapon and surrender quietly. The judges are feeling merciful today, you might not even get a life sentence for this."

The assassin dropped her crossbow and raised her hands, though in a way that Kris could see was incredibly sarcastic, even through the mask.

"Yeah, you won't be getting off the hook just yet," Kris told her. "We need to search you!"

"I'll take care of it," Lunick assured. "Sceptile, come with me."

Looking worried, Iris told her Haxorus. "Hey, back them up, okay?"

The blonde-haired assassin kept her hands up as Lunick and the two Pokémon approached – but as soon as Lunick was within grabbing distance, the assassin suddenly grabbed his arm, twisted it and threw him at Iris' Haxorus with great force. Lunick's Sceptile took a swipe at her with its tail, but the assassin jumped into the air, avoiding the hit and instead landing boots-first on Sceptile's face, dazing the grass-type. Recovering from getting a human thrown at it, Haxorus was next, but the assassin knocked it back with a swift kick in the face, expertly avoiding Haxorus' sharp tusks.

Just as the assassin was about to escape, though, she bumped into Croc, who exposed its teeth at her. Kris stood behind her, afraid to go closer but believing Croc to be intimidating enough.

"Hold it!" Kris yelled at her. "After that, I'm not afraid to tell my Feraligatr to eat you. And he'll do it, mark my words! Now hold still!"

The assassin quickly pulled something out of her sleeve and aimed it at Croc, making Kris cringe – but it was only a black-petaled flower, a tulip if Kris was not mistaken.

"A flower?!" Kris laughed. "This place really is full of hippies. You could have least chosen a rose, I hear those have some sharp tho-"

But the assassin had the last laugh as she fired an electrical blast from the end of the tulip at Croc, the power of the blast knocking the big water-type down. By the time Lunick, Sceptile and Haxorus recovered, the assassin had shoved Kris aside and fled down the stairs. Kris tried to rush to the window, but there was no trace of her anywhere. And that's what frightened her the most – she had temporarily incapacitated three strong Pokémon and one human who had plenty of combat experience.

Still, there was nothing to be done now, so Kris, Iris and Lunick withdrew their Pokémon, Kris healing up Croc with a Potion first. The blast hadn't done much damage to it, but Kris was still worried what would happen if there was to be a next encounter.

"How did you know where to go?" Iris asked Kris as the gang walked down the stairs of the tower.

"Lunick told me about this place, so I figured, if anyone wanted to do something to Erma, they'd go up there," Kris explained. "I'm more interested in how you found your way here."

"Oh, I got help from-"

Iris noticed N wasn't with her anymore. He had pointed Iris to the tower, and she was pretty sure he was behind her when she ran up the stairs, but now… no sign of him.

Iris didn't have to answer, though, as dozens of Rangers, Solana leading them, quickly swarmed the place.

"I want a search team into the Olive Jungle immediately!" Solana ordered her troops. "Don't be afraid to use the deadliest Poké Assists you've got, we need to take this one down! You, you and you, start raiding every building in town, we can't take the chance that she's hiding in someone's home. And what are you doing here?!" she barked at Kris and Iris.

"They helped, Solana," Lunick told her immediately. "They took down the Go-Rock Quads at the base, and they probably just saved Ms. Erma's life by stopping that assassin. How did you know about her?"

"She took down three of my Rangers – useless idiots," Solana scoffed. "So, you two really started making noise, huh?"

"Don't worry," Kris deadpanned, "we'll never help you again."

"Hmph," Solana said. "Guess you weren't completely useless after all..."

Kris was taken by surprise, Iris almost looked hopeful.

"...though you let her get away, so don't go patting yourself on the back just yet," Solana finished. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to-"

"Hey guys, what's with the congregation here, did someone die? Don't shoot me if I'm right!"

Everyone turned to look at the source of the obnoxious voice – it was Barry, unsurprisingly enough, wearing his Ranger uniform sloppily and hastily munching on a bag of potato chips, looking like he had ran all the way there.

"What?!" he shouted when everyone stared at him, spraying crumbs everywhere. "What I do?"

"I requested every Ranger of Summerland to get to the docks!" Solana snapped at him. "Where were you?!"

"Ohhhh, right," Barry said and smacked himself on the forehead, laughing. "Yeah, my bad, my Styler ran out of battery so I was busy charging, I did get the message, but I figured, you know, I can't go till I've charged this baby up, and-"

"Eugh!" Solana screamed, rubbing her temples. "I've had it with these newbies! I have to go meet Erma. Everyone who I didn't give an order to – dismissed!"

Indeed, Chairperson Erma's boat had just arrived, and Solana stomped to meet the leader of the Union: a small, elderly woman walking with a cane. Solana hugged Erma like she was her grandmother, but when she noticed people staring, she assumed a more professional tone and escorted her to a Radidash-drawn carriage waiting. Apparently cars were another thing not really used in the Ranger Union, which made Kris wonder how these people got around.

"You didn't really mean what you told her back there?" Iris asked Kris. "Because I think we did help today. We may have saved someone's life!"

"Yeah, sure, but that's not why we're here," Kris said bitterly as she stared as Erma's carriage was pulled away, back towards the Ranger Base. "If that wacko assassin comes back, they can deal with it. I'm leaving this region."

"Aww, come on!" Iris pleaded. "I know this Ranger thing is a lot to take, but you shouldn't give up yet!"

"Who's giving up?" Kris asked cheekily. "Quite the contrary. See, while we were preparing for our battle-"

"Ooh, yeah, that reminds me, who won?!" Iris asked excitedly.

"Me, of course!"

"'Course you did!"

Kris and Iris high-fived, while Lunick looked a bit upset.

"I got close, though," he said meekly.

"Of course you did," Kris assured and patted him on the shoulder. "Anyway, while we prepared, Lunick told me that even these hippies have competitions every now and then, and there's a Ranger Tournament coming up in a few weeks!"

"Yes, but Kris, I didn't get to tell you the catch," Lunick said quickly. "You're not official Rangers yet! Even I had to take a few mandatory classes at the Ranger School in Almia. Everyone who wants to enter that tournament has to take a preparatory, three-week intensive course!"

Kris cursed quietly. "Always a catch," she mumbled.

"Well, what's the big deal?" Barry asked, reminding the others that he hadn't left. "Just head over there and take the course!"

The other three stared at him. "They can do that?" Lunick asked him. "I didn't know that."

"Oh, yeah, Lucas called me a few days back, asked me if I wanted to take a few of their classes," Barry nodded. "They take new students in all the time, and it's totally free! I might even get us free accommodations!"

"'Us'?" Kris repeated.

"Well, I wanna come with you!" Barry said quickly, getting a mad gleam in his eyes. "I wanna see my old buddy-pal-bro Lucas!"

"And Dawn!" Iris reminded.

"Yeah, I suppose I'll have to see her too, huh..."

Kris wasn't particularly keen on taking Barry with her, and she certainly didn't look forward to going back to school, considering her earlier experiences. But she doubted Fiore had anything to offer her and the tournament they were holding sounded like something she wanted to do…

"Fine, you can come with us," Kris told Barry, then turned to Lunick and Iris. "What about you two?"

"Oh, I'm with ya, no problem!" Iris said excitedly. "I mean, it sounds like that professor Hastings guy is easier to find there anyway, plus there might be a library there, too! We're going back to school!"

Everyone stared at Iris' excited squealing.

"Sorry," she said sheepishly when she noticed. "I just have different interests."

"I'll come with you," Lunick assured Kris. "We'll all go! There's still a lot of catching up to do! I think I can help you with some of their classes."

"How do we get there?" Kris asked Barry.

"There's an overnight train leaving from Fall City in a few hours," Barry said. "The school is one of the stops. We should be there by morning."

"Well, off we go," Kris said, and while she was glad of the opportunity, she couldn't help but to sigh. "Back to school, I guess… yay."

~o~O~o~

Location: Fiore Temple, Sekra Mountain Range, Fiore

Later that night…

Near the top of the Sekra Mountains, at the most northern corner of Fiore, far from human civilization, was an old temple. Partially in ruins, nobody ever stepped into it, not humans nor Pokémon. The last recorded visit seventy years ago ended in disaster, and authorities banned people from coming there.

That was, until tonight.

A group of people wearing brown robes, their faces obscured by hoods, were on their knees inside, in a circle formation. In the middle of them was a large symbol painted on the floor with dark purple paint: a big circle with six spikes protruding out of it, pointing in every direction.

The robe-wearing people kept on muttering some kind of incantation as another man joined them, this one clad in fancier, purple robes. He was short and completely bald, and he carried a book with him, from which he read:

"...soul and body, cast into the abyss of the Torn World," he read. "We call on you, oh Great Ones, release this one from torment. Return to this world what is rightfully its. Return!"

The brown robes around the circle stopped muttering and they all grabbed knives from their pockets. In unison, they all cut their fingers and dripped some blood on the symbol on the floor.

This was followed by blue electrical sparks appearing in the air above the symbol. The brown robes stared in awe, but the man in the purple robe wisely took a few steps backwards. Indeed, the sparks were followed by an opening of a powerful, purple vortex, which spit something out with such strength that the brown robes were knocked backwards.

"Well," said the bald man in the purple robe, "that should do."

Ignoring his companions laying around the room, the man in the purple robe walked over to the center of the symbol to see what had come out of the portal – a human man. It was an old man, albeit one in great physical shape for his age, which had to be over 70. The white-haired man had his upper body completely bare and full of scars, lashes and burn marks as he slowly got up from the floor, disoriented and trembling.

"Welcome back!" the man in the purple robe told the old man. "I know this might be a bit confusing to you, but I feel congratulations are in order. Not many could survive the horrors of the Distortion World with their mind and body intact."

The purple-robed man applauded a bit, not bothering to help the old man back on his feet.

"Oh, please let me introduce myself," he said. "You may call me the Grand Master. This temple has been claimed by the Circle of the Torn World. In exchange for bringing you back to our nice, safe human world, we just want you to do a teeny-tiny favor, but I'm sure you'll agree. Won't you, Mr. Pryce?"

The former Johto gym leader, once cast into the Distortion World for betraying Giratina, lifted his head to glare at the 'Grand Master'.