Inside a Poke Ball, Part 2


"Well, not bad, Lightning," said Shanala as the team rested on a couch in the Mauville Pokemon Center. "I suppose you'll be joining the rest of us now, hm?" Sektek nodded silently, not sure how to answer. Outside, the sky was growing dark; Slick was picking up food from a deli next to the bike shop.

To Shanala's left, Insyte stretched and yawned. "He won't be with us long," said the Umbreon, prodding Sektek with a paw. "Lightning here almost lost to a little Lombre. From what? A weak absorption attack or two?" Annoyed, the Pikachu glared at him, but again, didn't know how to answer; the Umbreon was probably right.

"Pikachus are pretty frail, statistically," pointed out Rush. "Not so much heavy warriors like you or me, you know? He'd have a key niche in a larger plan. Besides, according to Slick's PokeTool, Lightning's experience rating is level twelve. Our ratings are all at least level twenty. Give him some time to catch up."

"PokeTool? Don't trust that garbage," snorted Insyte. "He ought to get a proper Pokedex someday. Right, Firaga?" He nudged the Charmeleon next to him, who paled and nodded silently, his eyes dull and unfocused. Sektek stared.

"So, Lightning, how was it like, fighting a real opponent today?" asked Rush, looking at Sektek. Shoot, they were all looking at him now. "Come on, little guy, we don't want you to be left out or anything!" Insyte snorted from suppressed laughter, but said nothing.

All these stares were making Sektek uncomfortable. What answer would make all the stares go away? "It was... um... fine," said the Pikachu nervously, still looking down, avoiding looking any of them in the eye.

"Yeah, sure it was," said Insyte snidely, looking at the Pikachu with glittering red eyes. "So you think you're part of some beautiful plan, huh? Well, let me tell you this, kid! You're completely wrong. He's a human! He doesn't understand us. He does what he feels like doing."

"What do you mean?" blurted out Sektek, looking around, confused. "What'll he do with me?" But the others just gave Insyte strange looks, not really agreeing or disagreeing, passing thoughts that he didn't understand. And so he fell silent, still struggling to understand this tactic-driven world, so different from the one he remembered.


But miles away, deep in the woods, another traveler embraced this world with open arms.

"You crossed through time and shadow, and yet you stand with a resolve undeterred," said a Sneasel as he and the Grovyle sparred. "What is it like, to be older than the first human cities in Kanto, to predate the ancient war of legend? Tell me of these ancient times, of the village shining on the western coast."

The Grovyle grinned as his leaf-blade met the Sneasel's cutlass. "The town itself was nothing," said Elias, crouching as he angled his blade under and around the other sword. "No, what made it great were its explorers, teams of Pokemon who wandered the world in search of riches and glory."

"Some sought gold and silver. Others sought fabled relics of great heroes. Some sought ambrosia, sacred food and drink. But it was their dedication to their quests, no matter how meaningless the rewards, that were great."

Breaking blade contact, the Sneasel stepped back from the Grovyle's upward slice. "At the head of society stood an exploration guild, which trained and funded these adventurers," continued Elias. "Of course, not all teams affiliated with the guild, such as Team Retrievers, which made its operations on a crumbling cliff just outside town. But when the Guild thrived, so too did the town."

The Sneasel swung up at the Grovyle, who just barely deflected the blow. "I think I can relate," said the Sneasel as he stepped past Elias for a slice at the Grovyle's shoulder. "It's like how they say the Swordwrit was, in its prosperous years. So what happened to it?"

Elias flinched as the flat of the blade struck his shoulder. "One day, a being called the Master of Darkness appeared and attacked Temporal Tower, home to the Master of Time," said the Grovyle, tucking the arm behind his back before continuing. "It is said that Temporal Tower was built long ago to maintain the flow of time. The resulting backlash of energy was enough to destabilize the planet's orbit, threatening to cast the earth in darkness."

The Sneasel stepped back as Elias advanced with three swift blade-strokes. "Half in chilling darkness, the other half in burning light," amended the Grovyle, striking the Sneasel's arm as well. "And so it would have been, but for two Pokemon, River and Saffron. With the help of their friends, both those in Team Retrievers and those in the Guild, the duo gathered up five artifacts known as Time Gears and brought them to Temporal Tower, stabilizing it."

"But the world was not yet free from peril. Furious that his scheme was thwarted by mortals, the Master of Darkness collected three more of the artifacts called Time Gears, and summoned from the abyss an army of shadow beasts to invade the world. Enraged, the Master of Time called upon divine warriors to meet his enemies in battle. And so, war broke out between the Masters of Time and Darkness."

"In the resulting wave of violence, hundreds of Pokemon were wounded, slain, or swallowed by time, never to be seen again. Many of those casualties were close friends of Team Storm. It would be many years before River and Saffron finally stopped the Master of Darkness for good."

Evenly matched, the two Pokemon continued to spar, blocking each other's strikes, circling, moving in and out of each other's range. "You talk about them as if that was a while ago, but they might've found their way to the present day, just like you did," said the Sneasel. "Do you think any of them survived-"

The Sneasel broke off as Elias dealt a flurry of blows from his sword, forcing his opponent back from his rapid blade. "I imagine that anyone who survived to this day would be shocked by what they saw, and would need to adapt or die," said the Grovyle as the tip of his blade touched the Sneasel's throat. "Well? Yield?"

Eyes widening, the Sneasel dropped his sword, watching as Elias too lowered his blade. "Well played." The two opponents stared at each other, hard, then returned to the center of the clearing, and bowed.