Disclaimer: Pokemon is copyright its original owners. The authors only own the plot and original characters. Any representation of real persons, dead or alive, is purely coincidental unless it makes a damn good reference.

Here we are, then. A couple things to note about this chapter is that it's both the longest and most exposition-heavy chapter so far. If you've played Colosseum/XD: Gale of Darkness, you'll probably end up skimming the last third or so; if you haven't, then you'll be learning along with the characters. We do delve into Manya's backstory, if that's any consolation.

Small "no one but the author cares" factoid: next Tuesday (April 5th) marks one year since this story was first published. Granted, an average of one chapter every three months isn't the best track record, but at least we're getting somewhere. As of writing I have about eight more chapters plotted out, so it'll be fun to see how the plot develops.

Comments/thoughts/what-have-you are, as always, appreciated. A big thanks to those readers who're sticking around and reviewing, it really means a lot!

Chapter 4
"The Path to Purification! Research at the Pokémon HQ Lab!"

I'm lying in my warm, comfortable bed. It's the middle of the night, and everything is quiet. My head is sinking into the pillow, and I pull the blankets tighter around me. It's strange, though, how aware I am of the fact that I'm fast asleep…

There's a sudden sound: a creaking of the floorboards in the hallway. I sit up in my bed, alert. Everything looks blurry, like I'm seeing things through a photography filter. Who's there? I try to say, but nothing comes out of my open mouth. I hope Dad heard it. He'll come rushing in any moment…

My bedroom door swings open, slamming against the wall. Just as loudly, my heart bangs up into my throat. I reach for a Poké Ball on my nightstand but nothing's there. I turn back to the doorway, but something blocks my view and I'm suddenly pushed back onto my bed.

"I know what you're doing," a raspy voice says, right in my ear. I sit up again, frantically trying to get even a glimpse of who's in my room. But I can't see anything that doesn't belong…

"You need to stop fighting." the voice says again, and I try to say I'm not, I'm not doing anything to you —

"May?"

"You are nothing compared to me," says the voice, and my room starts fading from view. Everything's going black, and the voice is getting louder and angrier. "You cannot stop what I've started. You will fail, and you will suffer for interfering."

I don't — I have no idea what you're talking about. Go away! Someone help, please, I can't —

"That's right, you can't. You're messing with things beyond your control…"

"May."

"We are in control. There's nothing you can do against us. We will prevail, and you… you will die."

No! Don't, don't kill me, I haven't done anything! Please, I was just sleeping… help! Dad! Mom! Someone—

"May!"

May snapped her eyes open, out of breath and drenched with sweat. She was lying in the bed of Manya's customized motorbike, staring up at the underside of a tall, shady oak tree. Manya stared down at her, mouth creased into a concerned frown.

"Wha… what?" May gasped, eyes darting around and landing upon her new friend's face.

"You fell asleep." said Manya, as May sat up with a groan. "I let you rest for a while," She continued, speaking in a gentle, soothing voice. "But then you starting moaning and twitching."

May rubbed her hands over her face. She must have been dreaming, then… yes, that was it. Her childhood home, so long a source of security and comfort, was no longer available to her. The goggles were digging into her scalp; she slipped them off and looked over at her new companion. "Where are we?"

"Under a tree," said Manya with the slightest hint of a smile. "Seriously though, we're a good distance away from Gateon Port right now. We've been riding for about an hour." She reached into her duffel bag and pulled out a couple of plastic water bottles, one of which she handed over to May. "Figured we could get a little more acquainted, as long as we have the time."

May twisted the bottle open and chugged it down. It wasn't ice-cold, but at least it would keep her hydrated. She sighed, the images of her nightmare flashing by whenever she closed her eyes. What is wrong with me? It hasn't even been a day, and yet this is happening… Was she really as powerless as the voice said?

"You hungry?" asked Manya, propped up against the tree's trunk and peering into her bag. "I have a couple of snacks here."

At this, May's stomach emitted a loud rumble. "Yeah," she affirmed, climbing out of the bike's bed. She stumbled a little as her feet touched the surprisingly grassy ground, and attributed that to a combination of hunger, anxiety, and exhaustion. She ought to be used to this by now…

"So," Manya said, handing May a protein bar and watching her devour it. "What's your story?"

"Like why am I here?" I'm still trying to figure that out.

"Well, more like, who you are. Yeah, I know your name and that you're not a Trainer, but…" Manya tilted her hand as if the rest of the sentence was obvious. "Who is the non-Trainer named May? And what are Contests?"

May stared at Manya, the blue eyes meeting purple. Who am I? I can't answer that completely right now… But May did explain about her journeys through Hoenn and Johto, what Contests where, and how they worked. It didn't take very long (most of her adventuring involved getting lost, after all), but Manya was enraptured and continually cut in with questions and exclamations.

"You're a very interesting girl," Manya said, once May was finished. "And wow, Pokémon Contests… I never knew such a thing existed." She stared out to the sandy horizon, eyes alight with fascination. "There's so much outside this place."

May drank some more water, watching out of the corner of her eye. Manya being awestruck was nothing new to her at this point. May had met some fans of her in Johto, who squealed in glee when they saw her and frequently asked for autographs. Manya, at least, was much more subdued, given her very recent exposure to Contests. Lowering the water bottle from her lips, May asked, "Okay… what about you? What's your story?"

Manya's eyes dulled as she turned to face her. She turned pale, and even seemed a little nervous. "Oh. Alright… I guess it's only fair, after all." She cleared her throat and dusted off her skirt, staring at the creases and folds before speaking.

"So, my parents were famous magicians. They traveled all around Orre, doing shows and stuff. They had kids pretty late, towards when they decided to retire. Obviously, Galli came first, and for a while, after he was no longer a newborn, they had him in their shows. Nothing too dangerous, just simple disappearing tricks and whatnot.

"Everyone loved it. Mom and Dad were very talented and respected, never did anything that would endanger themselves or the audience. Y'know, bad press to kill off their own kid. They finally retired once Galli was around five, and they were still well-renowned. Then I came along, and things were… okay. Sort of."

Manya paused to scratch her knee, gazing back out at the horizon again. "Mom says she regrets having him when they did, because they didn't have a lot of time to raise a kid when they still had their performances to focus on. Once I was born, though, they could be actual parents and pay more attention to a young daughter.

"Galli hated that." Manya grumbled. "He was so used to applause and being in the spotlight that he couldn't stand it that I was more 'loved' and 'pampered'."

"You don't think you were?" May asked, picking up on the emphasis Manya had used on the last few words.

"I'm of the opinion that my parents never got over their career and liked the fact that they had their child perform with them." Manya blurted out. Embarrassment flashed across her face and she returned to staring at her knee. "So a lot of Galli's behavior got overlooked, at least until he starting physically assaulting me."

May thought of Max and was inwardly thankful that their relationship was manageable. Norman and Caroline would never tolerate any of their kids hurting the other. Doing anything of that sort would result in a grounding or worse.

"Anyways, Galli got kicked out when he was sixteen, around the time he stabbed me in the leg during dinner." Manya rolled down her stockings to reveal an inch-long scar on her upper left thigh; May's own leg tingled at the sight. "He got involved in a lot of criminal junk, trying to make a name for himself. I kept my nose clean, at least until my parents moved away from Orre and Galli roped me into this whole Abyss business."

Manya looked up at May, her eyes watery again. "So, that's my story, since you asked." She gulped down some water and hastily wiped her eyes with her sleeve.

Without thinking, May said, "I think you could get a movie deal out of it, at least."

Water sprayed over the ground in front of them as Manya started laughing, her chin dripping wet. "That was actually pretty funny!"

"I'm glad you have a sense of humor about it," replied May, taken aback at Manya's reaction. She had let slip another comment without giving it a thought, and while relieved it had gone through positively this time, it was best not to expect similar reinforcement in the future. I really need to work on holding my tongue, she thought, sipping her bottle as Manya continued to giggle.

Manya had another question once her laughter had subsided. "I didn't know you could capture other people's Pokémon. Are you a sorceress or something?"

May hesitated, then lifted up her arm to show off the Snag Machine. "It's this thing," she said, as Manya leaned in to examine the device more closely. "It lets me capture — er, 'snag' — the Pokémon that Abyss is using."

"You have to capture all their Pokémon?" wondered Manya, eyes wide at the prospect of such a tedious endeavor.

"Not all of them," answered May, getting up and retrieving the goggles from the bike bed. "Only the ones that are called Shadow Pokémon. These things," She held up the goggles. "Let me tell which Pokémon are Shadow. They have purple smoke floating around them."

"That's pretty cool," admitted Manya, taking the goggles and thoroughly inspecting them. "They must alter what light spectra are visible to the human eye, seeing as you can't distinguish Shadow Pokémon from regular ones otherwise."

Half of what Manya said was completely lost on May, but she decided not to let it bother her. As long as the goggles did their job, she was content. The two girls sat in silence for a while, a dry breeze blowing by. Manya continued investigating the goggles, her lips moving soundlessly. May just sat, sipping her water and trying not to let her nightmare resurface.

"Do these things have a name?" asked Manya, jarring May out of her reprieve.

"Huh?"

"The goggles," the blonde repeated. "Do they have a name, at all?"

May stared, not quite sure what Manya was expecting. "Er… no, they're just 'the goggles', really." She felt her face growing hot and took another gulp of water to hide her embarrassment.

"Could I give them a name?"

"You name things?"

"Sure," Manya shrugged. She gestured to her bike, parked just a few feet in front of them. "That's 'Miss Birdie'."

"Favorite animal?" May inquired, curious as to the origin of the interesting name.

"TV show I used to watch," Manya replied, lips unfurling into a sheepish grin. "The girl protagonist was a gearhead with a motorcycle called 'Mister Birdie'. That was around the time I got into mechanics, so I went with a tribute." May had to wonder what type of show that had to be, but set that thought aside.

"Anyways," Manya continued. "I thought of a name for these goggles, and if you're alright with that…"

"I don't mind." May said, hoping whatever Manya was thinking of would be better than 'Miss Birdie'.

"Say hello the 'Aura Lenses'." Manya declared, beaming. "What d'you think?"

"Better than just 'the goggles'." May reached out to take the Aura Lenses back, but a sudden clattering noise from her bag caught her attention. Rummaging around inside, she quickly found the source: the Poké Ball containing the Altaria she had snagged this morning.

"What's going on with you?" she asked to the miniaturized capsule resting in the palm of her hand. The Altaria, visible through the translucent top, was throwing itself against the inner walls, as though it was struggling to escape. May glanced at Manya; the other girl had pulled the Aura Lenses over her eyes, most likely to experience seeing a Shadow Pokémon's smoky aura for herself.

"So my brother's Crawdaunt looked like this, too?"

"Yeah. I dunno why this one's acting all upset, though." May held the Poké Ball up to her face, frowning at the Altaria. "Maybe because it's a Shadow Pokémon?" A realization came to her as she asked this question: despite her experience, there were still many things about Pokémon she didn't know yet. I'm definitely not the right person for this job.

Manya was still staring at the Poké Ball with the Aura Lenses. Eventually she looked up and said, "I think I know where our next stop is gonna be."

How about an asylum, because all of this is gonna drive me crazy. Instead, May took a (hopefully subtle) deep breath and asked where.

"About another hour's ride from here," Manya explained, putting her water bottle back into her bag and tossing it into Miss Birdie's bed. She pulled off the Aura Lenses and handed them back to May. "They'll know all about Shadow Pokémon, and what to do with 'em."

"We're not going to an Abyss base, are we?"

"Please. We need to stay away from them for a while." Manya scrambled onto her bike's seat, and motioned for May to hop aboard. "We're off to the Pokémon HQ Lab."

They headed north, the sandy docks of Gateon Port replaced by vast plains of lush grass. As Manya explained (yelling to be heard over the roar of Miss Birdie's engine), a river flowed south into the ocean, providing healthy soil for vegetation to grow.

"The further west you go, the more plant life there is," she shouted, swerving to avoid a rock (May gripped the edges of the cargo bed for stability). "If you go east, it just gets dustier and hotter."

"You'll have to give me a tour." May yelled back. She settled back into the bed's middle as Manya readjusted the bike back on course. Due to all the grass, the air was fresh and clean, a drastic change from the stale atmosphere surrounding Gateon Port. With nothing else to do for the time being, May placed her forefingers and thumbs together to make a rectangular window in front of her face. "Today on May's Expeditions, we find ourselves riding through the desert…"

"Talking to yourself back there?" Manya inquired, suppressing a laugh.

"It helps me relax," May replied, twisting to capture a passing tree.

"Got any room for a co-host?"

"I'll need your references first."

"We are not going back for my brother."

They pulled into a forest clearing within the hour, aligned with Manya's estimate. The seedy environment of Gateon Port provided a drastic contrast to the serene landscape of the Pokémon HQ Lab. A well-worn dirt path, framed by a wood fence, led up to a circular pavilion. The best comparison May could find for the white-tiled building's shape was the letter "P" set at an angle.

Large glass windows took up the entire arch of the "P", giving it in the style of an atrium. Just to the right of the atrium was a set of three small domed fountains. A large ceramic Poké Ball protruded from atop the flat roof, expanding and contracting vertically like an accordion. Manya waited for May to extract herself from Miss Birdie's cargo bed before starting up the stairs to the entrance.

"So what is this place?" May asked, hoping that the people inside wouldn't think too much about her current attire.

"Well, it's a laboratory," replied Manya, resisting the urge to smirk. "So there's lot of scientists and complicated machinery."

"I could've gathered that from the name." May nudged her companion with her elbow. "What do they study?"

"Shadow Pokémon. They helped stopped the last criminal syndicate looking to take over Orre."

"This sort of thing happened before?" May lapsed into thought, not acknowledging Manya's affirmative nod. Okay, I didn't know that. You'd think they wouldn't require outside help, then… The mart owner's panicked face flashed in May's head as Manya pulled up the glass doors to the HQ Lab. He, at least, had seemed to prefer getting strangers to help rather than staying inside and calling the police. Really speaks about the effectiveness of law enforcement around here.

Almost every piece of furniture inside was some shade of white, from the receptionist's desk to the floor tiling. The wallpaper, for what it was worth, was the same shade of green May had seen in hospitals (though she was thankful there wasn't any of the same smell). A handful of people were milling about, some wearing lab coats, others blouses and button-up shirts. As few as they were, their indistinct chatter managed to fill up the room.

It was warmer inside than outside: the tall windows of the atrium created a sort of greenhouse effect. It was somewhat stifling, and while May could hear cold air being churned out of large vents in the ceiling, the air conditioner's efforts did little to suppress the sunlight's heat.

"C'mon," muttered Manya, and led the way over to the receptionist's desk, a simple marble table with a desktop computer and a phone. The receptionist, a woman about ten years older than either of them, looked up from her computer screen as they approached.

"How may I help you?" She asked politely, folding her hands atop one another. Her eyes reflected both professionalism and a willingness to help, as well as a hint of curiosity.

"Hello," chirped Manya, turning on the charm that she had clearly developed as a hostess. "We'd like to see Lily, and if she's not available, Professor Krane, please."

The receptionist nodded and picked up her phone. Manya turned back to May, one shoulder resting on the edge of the desk. "If anyone can help us, it'll be them." The blonde explained. "Like I said, they helped smooth over the last fiasco."

"How do you know them?" May asked. It seemed a little strange to her that Manya, a strange performer who had been coerced into her criminal brother's doings, would be on friendly (or at least familiar) terms with scientists.

The receptionist set down the receiver with a click and said someone would be along in a moment to see them. Manya motioned May to sit at some of the chairs set up in front of the tall windows.

"Sometimes I'd come out here when I'd had enough of Galli's bullshit and wasn't on shift. Despite appearances — " She gestured out towards the room. " — people can be pretty friendly out here. So I figured it'd do me some good to get all buddy-buddy with some folks in a position of authority."

An image of Professors Oak and Birch popped into May's head. "I get that."

"Also, before I forget," Manya lowered her voice and murmured, "Honestly… what's with your outfit? I mean, it's cute and all, but what's the purpose?"

Ignoring the burning in her cheeks, May looked down at the frilly skirt and corset-esque top. "Er," she said, attempting to piece together an acceptable answer. "I thought it would, uh… be better suited for this kind of environment than my normal choice."

An imaginary voice sounding uncannily like Brendan Birch spoke up at once: You just actually like something I've made for once.

Furious that she was unconsciously talking to herself in Brendan's voice, May looked back at Manya, who seemed to take her reasoning without question. With an internal sigh, May leaned back in her chair, resting the back of her head against the window. Too much stress all at once… but who can blame me?

They sat in relative silence for a while (Manya was tapping her fingers against her leg and appeared to be humming under her breath). In an effort to reduce her heart rate, May observed the scientists going about their normal, non-world-saving lives. She could only imagine what she would be doing had the Snag Machine never appeared on her doorstep. There was that Contest in Hearthome City she had considered… that she could handle.

May spared a glance at the device strapped to her arm. If anything, it felt more like an Iron Ball than an electronic device: a burdening restraint that forced her to do as she was commanded. But I'm at fault, too. She reminded herself, absent-mindedly running her right hand through her hair. I didn't want to be the person who abandoned this entire region to ruin out of selfishness.

Well, if Abyss doesn't get me, I'm gonna end up doing myself in. Not the most comforting thought in the world, but at least an inner conflict was something May could control to some degree.

Manya nudged May's side again, jolting her out of her thought process. "We're about to get some answers." she whispered, pointing back to the reception deck.

May looked over. A slim woman with light brown hair pulled up into the largest bun May had ever seen was talking to the receptionist. She was dressed professionally enough: a rather form-fitting pink pea coat over a knee-length skirt with stockings and pumps. The woman turned to May and Manya, and after confirmation from the receptionist, walked towards them.

"Manya, it's nice to see you again," the woman said, smiling. Her emerald eyes gleamed as she shook hands with Manya. "Welcome back."

"Thanks," replied Manya with a smile of her own. "This is my friend, May."

The woman reached out a hand, which May shook. Forcing a smile up at her, May thought wistfully of her mother Caroline back home in Petalburg. Damn, I haven't called her yet… I bet she's worried regardless of what Dad's told her.

"I'm Lily," said the woman, motioning for them to follow her. "I'm one of the administrators here." She set off at a walk back past the reception desk, Manya and May not too far behind. "What can I do for you girls?"

May took the initiate in answering this question: this was her responsibility, after all. "We'd like to know what you can tell us about Shadow Pokémon."

Lily paused and turned to face them. Her mouth creased into a frown and her eyebrows furrowed as she looked at May. She glanced at Manya, who nodded humorlessly. Lily sighed and set off walking again, turning down a stairwell.

"I was hoping my expertise in this area wouldn't be necessary again, but I really shouldn't be surprised." Lily said, as they clambered down the steps to the lower floor. "Orre's not the most urbanized region, so we get more lawless activity than you'd like."

"I'll bet," muttered May, thinking again of the Abyss Grunt she stopped in Gateon Port. Manya nudged her in the side again, but she ignored it.

They reached the lower floor, and Lily led them down a corridor lined with windowed doors. May caught glimpses as they passed by: people holding clipboards and folders deep in conversation; a janitor whistling while he mopped the floors; and a break room where a scientist dumped their coffee down the sink with a disgusted look on their face.

Lily pulled open a door and ushered the two girls inside. Manya flicked a switch on the wall, and the florescent bulbs jittered alight, illuminating the room. A few plastic chairs sat in front of a dusty chalkboard, and Lily motioned for them to sit down as she shut the door. May's chair creaked as she settled in, watching Lily pace about.

"Shadow Pokémon…" The older woman mused aloud, arms folded across her chest. "Well, I suppose the best place to start would be how they differ from normal Pokémon. Shadow Pokémon are, in essence, Pokémon deprived of emotion."

"Funny how people forget that Pokémon are living, breathing creatures." Cut in Manya, her voice heavy with contempt.

"That just happen to be capable of producing fire and other crazy powers." Added May, smirking. She caught Lily's blank stare, felt her face heat up, and turned her attention back to her.

"At any rate," Lily continued. "Shadow Pokémon are powerful, ruthless fighting machines. They have little to no restraint during battle; they're even known to attack Trainers themselves."

May's heart jumped up to her throat: she was putting herself into more danger than initially thought. If anyone from Abyss, especially with a Shadow Pokémon, was aware that she was after them, there was no doubt that they'd hesitate to target her directly during a battle. Almost subconsciously, her hand reached into her bag and tightly gripped a Poké Ball. The Pokémon inside, as if sensing her emotions, warmed its Poké Ball to a reassuring degree.

"Can Shadow Pokémon be turned back to normal?" asked Manya, unnecessarily raising her hand into the air. "Or are they stuck as mindless battling machines forever?"

"Thankfully, they can." Answered Lily, smiling. "Most commonly, being exposed to loving, caring Trainers gradually reverts Shadow Pokémon back into normal Pokémon."

I can do that, May thought, the hand in her bag drifting over to the rattling Poké Balls holding Altaria and Crawdaunt. I hope. "Are there other methods to curing Shadow Pokémon?"

"A few, at least as far as we know." Lily stepped over to the chalkboard and picked up a piece of chalk. "One alternate method is using special Scents to massage a Pokémon." She turned and scribbled massaging Scents on the board, the chalk scratching and screeching as she wrote. "This helps reopen a Shadow Pokémon's heart more than just walking around with it.

"Another method is something we've devised here at the lab the last time this happened: a device known as the Purify Chamber."

Before May could imagine what such a machine would look like or how it would function, a man in a lab coat opened the door to the room.

"Oh, there you are, Lily, I — I'm sorry, am I interrupting?"

"Actually, Professor Krane," Lily said, indirectly introducing the man to Manya and May. "It'd be good of you to join us."

"Oh. Alright, then." Professor Krane stepped into the room, closing the door behind him. He was dressed much like the other scientists: a white lab coat over a polo shirt and khakis. His glasses were barely distinguishable from his unruly hair; they were almost precisely the exact same shade of brown. "Ah, hello again, Manya!"

Krane stepped forward to shake her hand, then turned towards May. "Ah, and you are…" He paused, as if trying to recall if he had possibly met her at all before.

"I'm May," she said, extending her hand. Krane seemed relieved at not having to remember a name he never learned and shook her hand. His skin was cold and slightly damp to the touch.

"So, ah… what's the word in here?" Krane asked, turning back to Lily.

"Shadow Pokémon," replied Lily matter-of-factly, and Krane did a double-take.

"S-shadow…? Oh, dear… what dreadful news. Well, on the bright side," He noted, straightening up. "At least the Purify Chamber will see the light of day yet again… though I'm not sure if that's good or not."

"We were just about to discuss that, Professor, if you would like to explain it."

"Oh, yes, certainly… ahem." He strode over to the chalkboard, taking the piece of chalk offered by Lily. "The Purify Chamber is a project I devised with a colleague of mine... Lily's late husband, actually. We wanted to do something after the first Shadow Pokémon incident, and this is our magnum opus, as it were.

"How it works may seem rather complicated, but it's rather effective at curing Shadow Pokémon. Basically, we have nine Sets, each of which can hold up to five Pokémon. A Shadow Pokémon is placed in the center of the Set —" He drew a circle on the board with a small caricature of a Pikachu in the middle. "And other, non-Shadow Pokémon are organized around based on type advantage."

Krane whirled around and pointed the chalk at May. "What's a type weak to Electric?"

"Water," she answered, surprised that she was able to respond after being put on the spot like that.

Krane dashed off a small Mudkip underneath the Pikachu. "And what's weak to Water?"

"Fire," said Manya, and Krane doodled a Cyndaquil in the left side of the circle.

"Good. Now, Fire is strong against —"

"Ice," replied Lily.

A hastily-drawn Glalie sat atop the Pikachu. "Now, what is Ice strong against that, in turn, is best to use against Water-type Pokémon?"

It took her a moment, but May responded with, "Grass."

The ugliest Skiploom she had ever seen completed the circle. A beaming Krane turned to face his miniscule audience. "As you can see, this is a completed Set. As each of the Pokémon — starting with Pikachu and continuing clockwise — has a type advantage over their neighbor, this Set has maximum flow. Thus, the Shadow Pikachu in the center can be purified at the quickest possible rate."

"This works with dual-typed Pokémon, as well." added Lily. "As long as at least one type is weak to the previous Pokémon and strong against the next Pokémon in the Set."

This is worse than Rustboro's Trainer School. "I think I get it… maybe." May stared at Krane's drawing as she tried to make sense of it. "So, as long as I know how types match up against each other, it'll work out?"

"Essentially, yes." Krane set down his chalk and dusted off his hands. "If you get some hands-on experience with it, it shouldn't be too difficult to understand. Oh yes, before I forget… because Normal-type Pokémon aren't normally strong against any other type, in the Purify Chamber Normal is strong against itself, like Ghost or Dragon."

"So if you had all Normal Pokémon in a Set, it would have maximum flow." Said Manya, gesturing to the drawing. "As if you did all Ghost or Dragon."

"Precisely!" beamed Krane. "And with nine Sets, you can purify nine Shadow Pokémon all at once. It works automatically, so you won't need to continually travel back and forth." He adjusted his glasses and looked out at May and Manya. "Any other questions?"

May opened her mouth, but Lily cut across her. "I have one, but for you, May."

"… Okay." Lily's directness reminded her once again of Caroline, so May forced herself to settle into the chair and listen.

"The fact that you're asking about Shadow Pokémon tells me that you've encountered them before coming here. But Shadow Pokémon aren't distinguishable from normal Pokémon… so how are you able to tell which is which?"

May could almost feel Lily's gaze skimming over her, and shifted slightly at the fact that she was wearing Brendan's handmade clothing. Doing her best to ignore the persistent uncomfortable squirming in her stomach, she said, "It's these goggles. They beep if I'm battling a Shadow Pokémon."

Lily and Krane both nodded in understanding. Krane leaned over and murmured something into Lily's ear. May could barely make out what he was saying: "… just like Michael's…"

"And that, I assume, is your Snag Machine?" asked Lily, pointing to the device on May's wrist.

"Yeah," replied May, suddenly furious at herself for not concealing it. But the next moment, as Lily and Krane held another whispered discussion, she told herself to calm down and that these people were here to help. There was no reason (she hoped) for her to keep things hidden from them.

"Quite remarkable," came Krane's voice from her side, and she jumped when she realized that the professor had crouched down to better inspect the Snag Machine. "It's a very streamlined design… much more compact that the model we had designed."

May looked over at Manya for help, but the blonde merely shrugged at her gaze. Finding her voice again, May said, "You guys didn't send this to me?" She had forgotten to look for anyone resembling the woman that had sent her the Snag Machine here, but as both Krane and Lily shook their heads, understood that no one at the HQ Lab had done so.

"You have a very talented ally out there somewhere," remarked Krane as he stood up. "I would very much like to meet the creator of this device."

You and me both. May thought. "I have another question. When I was battling a Shadow Pokémon earlier, the goggles —"

"Aura Lenses," hissed Manya.

May shot her friend a look. "The Aura Lenses noted something called 'Reverse Mode'. Does that have something to do with Shadow Pokémon?"

"Yes." said Lily. "The process by which Shadow Pokémon are created is done artificially, but it has flaws. Reverse Mode is when a Shadow Pokémon's emotions leak through. They may disobey if not instructed to use Shadow moves — special moves known only by Shadow Pokémon — and you won't be able to use items on them. It even lingers when you're not battling."

"You can interrupt Reverse Mode by calling the Pokémon during battle or using a Scent on it," continued Krane, gesturing to Lily's writing on the chalkboard. "As Lily said, Reverse Mode is a distinct imperfection in creating Shadow Pokémon, which are supposed to be emotionless, impassive. The closer a Shadow Pokémon is to being purified (that is, returned to normal), the more frequently Reverse Mode occurs."

"How can you tell if a Pokémon is ready to be purified?" May wondered aloud, speaking more to herself than anyone. Almost immediately, the Snag Machine chimed and every head in the room turned to look at it. Flustered at being the spontaneous center of attention, May brought up the device and discovered there was a window displayed on the screen.

"What's it say?" whispered Manya, leaning over towards her.

May shot another glare at Manya before turning back to the message. Knowing that Lily and Krane were waiting, she read aloud: "Snag Machine 3.0 has been upgraded to Version 1.1. Status of Shadow Pokémon can now be viewed by placing a Poké Ball against the Capture Core and selecting the Shadow Meter option."

Silence followed, with Lily, Krane, and Manya all sharing a bemused look. Looking up from the Snag Machine, May said, "That was rather convenient." She knew her location was being tracked by whomever had given her the Snag Machine, but to have that message delivered right when she needed it… There isn't a microphone on this thing, is there?

Krane cleared his throat. "Ahem… if you have any Shadow Pokémon with you, May… would you mind demonstrating…?"

Not like I have a choice, do I? May reached into her bag and removed one of the rattling Poké Balls. Stealing a peek at the Pokémon inside, she placed the Poké Ball against the Capture Core and held it tight in her hand: with the Altaria still struggling, the last thing she wanted was for it to get lose and start attacking everyone.

With her other hand, May found the Shadow Meter icon on the screen (a horizontal bar filled in about two-thirds with white) and tapped it. The display altered to an image of Altaria with a meter divided into quintiles underneath it. Only half of the right-most segment was devoid of purple. Not wanting anyone to lean further into her personal space, May held out her arm. "Here you are."

Krane stroked his chin as he scrutinized the display. "Yes, I see… you've just snagged this Altaria recently, haven't you?"

"Just this morning," May replied, watching Lily's eyes move over towards Altaria's Poké Ball. "I guess you can tell by that meter, huh?"

"Indeed. You still have a while to go before it's fully purified, but at least we can be assured that you're of a good disposition." Krane smiled down benignly at her. "Please do your best to purify whatever Shadow Pokémon you snag."

"You don't have to always come back here," cut in Lily, before May could object to constantly returning to the HQ Lab. "If you manage to bring that meter down to nothing with the Pokémon on you, you should head to Agate Village. It's out east, across the river."

"What's at Agate Village?" inquired Manya. She noticed May staring at her and said, "I've never been there myself, having been my brother's lap dog and all, so I don't know a lot about it."

"There's a forest up north there with a very interesting monument." Lily explained, looking between May and Manya. "It's called a Relic Stone, and according to our research, it has the power to fully open a Shadow Pokémon's heart.

"A Shadow Pokémon can't revert to normal on its own, even if it loses all its inner Shadow," she continued. "You have to visit the Relic Stone to complete the process. The Purify Chamber completes the process automatically, however, so you're free to use whichever you'd like."

I won't worry about that just yet, then. May thought, placing Altaria's Poké Ball back into her bag. She regarded Krane and Lily a moment before speaking. "Well… thank you both for all of this. I guess there's just one last question…" She waited for the adults' nod of approval before asking, "Would you happen to know where Shadow Pokémon are being made now?"

Both Krane and Lily shook their heads, but out of the corner of her eye May could see Manya gaping at her. Turning to her, May said, "I just figure the best way to wrap this up quickly is to cut off their production at the source."

"I get that," Manya said, standing up from her chair with widening eyes. "But that's far too reckless! I told you, Galli's probably informed all of Abyss about you by now. You'd be walking straight into their hands!" She paused, biting her lower lip. "At least let me come with you."

May almost flat-out said no, that she was putting herself in enough danger and didn't want to put Manya into more trouble with Abyss… but she didn't. May knew that there was no way she was getting wherever she needed to without Manya's bike. If she had learned one thing from her adventures back in Hoenn, it was how helpful other Trainers can be.

"Alright," the brunette said, and stuck out her hand. Manya blinked, but gave a weak smile and shook it. "At least we're in this together."

"If I may…"

Lily's voice made May jump: she had gotten so absorbed with her conversation with Manya that she had completely forgotten about that Krane and Lily were still in the room.

"I'm not sure how much this will help, but Cipher — the previous organization in Orre — had a factory that created Shadow Pokémon out to the east, at the base of Mount Battle." She noticed May's blank expression and clarified: "Mount Battle's a large volcanic mountain in Orre, it's not too hard to spot. Anyways, I've heard that factory has been abandoned, but given that you have some Shadow Pokémon already, that might be a place to start."

"Works for me." May reached out and shook Lily's hand. "Thank you so much again for everything." In the infinitesimal pause in which their gazes met, May could see worry and concern reflected in the woman's deep green eyes. She had no precise idea why, but she harbored a strong feeling that Lily was a mother and wanted nothing but for May to be safe. This lingered in May's head enough to not notice Krane's awkward, stuttering good-bye.

Manya clapped a hand onto May's shoulder. "Ready to go ruin some mad scientists' days?"

"Sure." May replied, a sly grin creeping across her lips. "I was never all that good at science, so I'm sure I'll be able to mess up something important."

To be continued...