MONSTERS IN PARADISE

Chapter Five

By: Curtis Wildcat

Pokémon and the Touhou Project are the properties of their respective owners and copyright holders.

To answer the anonymous reviewer: No. And in the future, if those of you reviewing anonymously have any questions, would you be willing to just wait and see whether your question is answered in the fanfic? I just don't feel comfortable replying to people's reviews in the chapter itself when that space could be devoted to telling the story. Thank you.

Those of you who hate 100-degree weather, perpetual tiredness and repeated distractions, raise your hands. ...I thought so. Anyway, find the reference to Simcity 2000 and treat yourself to a candy bar.

/-/-/-/

Sanae was bored. Bored, irritated, and cranky.

She was seated in the room set aside for her in the Moriya shrine, an old book in her hands. It had been one of her possessions that she had been able to take with her to Gensokyo, albeit not one that she particularly liked; her associates had long ago given it to her, and only their insistance that it would somehow be "important" had kept her from burning it immediately. Just a short time before, Kanako and Suwako had decided that the time had come for her to study it, to remind herself of things that she had forgotten.

But Sanae had forgotten those things for a reason. I don't want to know any of this! she mentally complained. I was happy when we left the outside behind and came to Gensokyo. It meant that I didn't have to deal with that gargantuan franchise that my classmates liked so much, their endless yammering about it, their obsession. It's just... it's just not me!

But the truth was that she had no choice in the matter. She was devoted to Kanako, and if the goddess felt that there was something worthwhile to be had in this endeavor, then so be it. And it hadn't been a suggestion for her to read this book; it was an order. The franchise had finally followed them into Gensokyo, and it had done so in a way that left no doubt: It was the real deal.

"If I ever meet the person responsible for this," Sanae promised darkly, "he's going to need a miracle to escape his well-deserved beatdown."

"Or 'her', case depending," Suwako's voice added from outside the room.

The human goddess chuckled uneasily.

/-/-/-/

-A Couple Nights Ago-

/-/-/-/

All was quiet on the home front. Sanae was asleep, tired from a long day of working and dealing with the tengu. The news hounds- - -more specifically, Aya and later Hatate- - -had both insisted on getting the trio's opinions on the newcomers to Gensokyo. Suwako had directed the questions to Kanako both times; Kanako, in turn, claimed that it "would build character" and passed the buck to Sanae. By the end of it all, the group's only human (or as close as it got considering her status, anyway) was frazzled and wondering aloud why she was being pressed about creatures that didn't exist.

Kanako personally didn't understand what all the fuss was about. Sure, there was that backlash about the seizures, and the discontinuity that seemed to have fallen into place regarding one of the supposed perpetrators. Yes, a few of those that actually visited the shrine on the outside had been die-hard fans of the series, and kept running their mouths when they didn't know who'd been listening in. And okay, maybe some of her charge's classmates in school were the same way. Still, she didn't think that Sanae was being entirely fair to the newcomers. If something akin to that Hisoutensoku deal from a while back appeared in Gensokyo, she would have been positively thrilled.

Anyway, Kanako had yet to actually meet one of these Pokémon for herself. She had remained on top of the mountain for most of the week, thoughts in motion tending to stay in motion. Some of those thoughts after the meetings with the tengu had turned to ideas for faith gathering, using the Pokémon as a means to an end. During a group meeting, Suwako had seen things a bit differently and expressed a need for caution, warning that the Pokémon might take offense if they felt they were being used wrongly; it wasn't likely that they had the same hierarchy as humans or youkai, being a different sort of lifeform altogether. They'd finally agreed to look into things more closely before taking action. Sanae... not so much, as she vehemently continued to deny the creatures' existence.

In the mood for some relaxation, Suwako was now gliding about the Wind God's Lake. Hovering just four centimeters over the lake as she flew, occasionally her foot would reach down and make waves by skimming the surface. She'd tried spelling out the characters in her name this way, but the waves always settled down before they could show anything legible.

"You pick the oddest times to try that," Kanako called out as she hovered near the shoreline. "It isn't like anyone is around to watch you."

"Yes, but then I'd be busy maintaining my image as a dignified elder goddess!" Suwako returned, swinging her arms about in a steady rhythm. Each time, her sleeves came within a hair's breadth of touching the water.

Kanako shook her head, the corners of her lips twitching upwards. "You're the size of the village children, and you're behaving like a crazed aerobics instructor. If it weren't for the power you emit, no one would know that you were an elder goddess."

"'Crazed aerobics instructor'? Take that back!" Suwako huffed. "I'm not crazed, just unusual!"

"Fine, fine." Kanako waved her off. "Whatever floats your boat. Me? I have some thinking to do about- - -"

A vibration in the water and air cut her off. Another one shook the vicinity, then another. Suwako decelerated and stopped, righting herself and examining the water's surface with an odd look on her face. Kanako opened her mouth, intent on asking the smaller goddess what was going on...

Reality rumbled around them, rattling the air molecules like sugar being shaken in a glass container. A marble curtain was shredded with unbelievable force, clattering to the floor in tatters. The simile and metaphor both served to describe the sensations that the both of them felt as the lake rippled and trembled. Being airborne did not prevent the need to keep themselves balanced.

"Ennh...! What the...?! What's this power I'm feeling...?!" Suwako's eyes were unaturally wide as she made tracks- - -or plowed through the air, rather- - -towards the shoreline, waves shooting off to the sides as she went. Inwardly, it almost felt as if she were treading quicksand.

Kanako summoned her onbashira to her, teeth gritted. "Suwako... something is very wrong...! I hope you're ready; if this gets nasty, then you'd better wake up Sanae!"

"If she sleeps through this, I'm thinking we need to reconsider her workload!"

They needn't have worried about rousing her. The sensations gradually eased off, and reality's upset stomach stopped complaining; all was calm once more. The Wind God's Lake was as quiet as it had ever been, with the only sign of its discontent being the waves that splashed and receded against the shoreline.

Suwako, no longer feeling bogged down, allowed a confused glance at Kanako. "...You know as much about this as I do. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"The calm before the storm, as people say." Kanako folded her arms, staring hard at the lake's surface. She made no move to discard the onbashira. "There would not have been this much of a ruckus without something resulting from it. That power shook us to the core, Suwako, something that should not have happened unless the source of it was magnificent beyond the mortal mind."

"Hmmm..."

Experimentally, Suwako summoned a trio of large boulders from the shoreline and hurled them into the Lake. Sitting down in her favored froglike position, she watched as the rocks sunk lower...

...and lower...

...and lower...

...and lower...

...until the muffled sound of earth thudding against something reached her ears...

"HWAAAAAAAA-RHHHHRRRRRRR!"

...and the Wind God's Lake started to churn. Faster and faster it went, swirling around violently and splashing water into the faces of the Moriya Shrine's co-goddesses. They ignored it, watching as the lake was transformed into a gigantic whirlpool with nothing but the beastly scream as a catalyst.

Lightning flashed and thunder clapped in the near distance, and Suwako blinked as she felt several raindrops strike her hands. "Huh?" She looked up, seeing thick rainclouds form over the mountain. "Kanako, did you have anything to do with this?" she asked as the skies poured rain onto their heads.

She knew the answer even before Kanako replied to her. "Not a thing. Whatever is happening, our visitor here is the cause of it." The taller goddess raised her hand towards the air, her powers at work; the downpour did not stop altogether, but lessened enough that it would not hinder their flight or damage the shrine. The clouds expanded, then dispersed as the storm spread out across Gensokyo.

Feet repeatedly struck the ground nearby as Sanae rushed over to join them, trying in vain to keep the rain out of her eyes. "Kanako-sama! Suwako-sama! What's going on here? What did you do?"

"Oh, sure," Suwako muttered. "Blame us."

"I-I didn't mean it quite like that," Sanae hastily apologized. "But what's happening? What's- - -"

"HWAAAAAA-RHHHHHHHHRRRRRRRRR!"

"- - -...that?" she finished meekly.

It took an agonizing half minute before the monstrous beast finally rose from the center of the whirlpool, but rise it did, with all the flash and thunder that they expected of a legendary deity in physical form. The appearance was completely different from what- - -or whom- - -they had expected, but the fury with which it had arrived and its apparently short temper made Kanako wonder aloud: "Suwako, does this feel at all like Ryujin's power to you?"

"It's not," Sanae bit out coldly. She turned and paced back and forth. "This is nothing like Ryujin."

"HWAAA-RHHHRR! ...HWWWAAAA-RRRHHHHRR!"

"Aaaand you'd know this how?" Suwako inquired, wondering why she was so sure of this.

"They were right. The tengu were right! Lugia is here! Lugia... is... here... in Gensokyo!" Sanae fumed, outright ignoring the goddess's question. Raising her voice, she stopped where she was and screamed at the storm clouds: "In the name of the entire Shinto pantheon, please tell me you're kidding!"

Kanako and Suwako's sweatdrops were washed away by the rain...

"HWA-RHRRRRR!"

And the goddesses almost followed suit. As the Pokémon was too angry to tell who or what it was attacking, Lugia's Hydro Pump almost drowned them above ground. The width of the attack was more than twice as wide as Lugia's mouth, and the storm served to increase its strength and density even further. The trio were not about to sit still and let the Hydro Pump hit them, though, and they split off in three directions. Scant millimeters were all that separated them from a watery smackdown, the blast instead washing away a substantial amount of sand, rock and gravel.

With the battle now joined, the Moriya group decided to deal swift retribution. They had been attacked at their own home by a (supposedly) fictional menace; unlike Reimu and Marisa's actions years before, there was nothing truly harmless about what Lugia had just done. It came dealing rage, and it would receive rage in return.

Suwako struck from the left, alternating between watery sprays from her mouth- - -their power doubling in strength from the storm, like the Hydro Pump before it- - -and materialized boulders. As Lugia screamed and swiped at her with its wing, forcing her to stop what she was doing and scoot backwards, Kanako swooped in from the right. A storm of thick lasers, representative of onbashira, kept Lugia temporarily immobilized while a blistering barrage of talismans from Sanae assailed it from the front. By sustaining this triple-pronged attack, they hoped to finish this quickly and decisively.

"HWAAAAAAAA-RHHHHRRRRRRR!"

"...?"

Something about that roar made Kanako flinch, and she stopped firing for just a second. That was all the distraction that Lugia needed. Ignoring the rocks and talismans that continued to pound it, it reared back its head and opened its mouth...

/-/-/

The whites of her eyes were as wide as saucers, whereas her pupils were tinier than pencil tips. Tension mounted in her heart and lungs as the winds gathered, and her arms stiffened as she tried to sustain her attack. She knew now that Lugia cared not one whit for Gensokyo's way of life, and dread in its purest form had Sanae in its grip. There are so many ways that the phrase "oh, dear" can be conveyed, and lots of them could have been expressed in the second it took Lugia to charge up its attack, but Sanae was not going to argue about how to tell of her terror. She didn't need to.

Before she could so much as shout "Aeroblast!", it was already on its way. Those rocks, talismans and lasers that were nearest were scattered and disintegrated in the face of a tightly compressed tornado. Sanae was clipped by the 300-kilometer-an-hour winds; she spun off course and plunged into the lake, temporarily blacking out on impact and getting caught in the whirlpool left in Lugia's wake. Suwako was able to evade the Aeroblast as it swept towards her, but on seeing Sanae's plight she immediately dove down to save her.

This left Kanako. Lugia took a few moments to breathe, still simmering in the boiling water of its anger... "HWAAA-RHHRR!" ...then let fly with another Aeroblast right at her face.

The goddess's lips twitched, making the transition from a wondering frown to a soft smile. "I know not where your child is, mighty one..." Putting the faith that others had in her to good use, she subconsciously strengthened herself; no tornado, with or without magic, would break her defenses. "...But I can assure you..." With both hands she caught the edges of the Aeroblast, its rampaging circulation not budging her one measly millimeter. "...That your anger, while justified, is directed the wrong way."

Sweeping her arms to her sides, no longer noticing the assault she'd been warding off, she tore the Aeroblast cleanly in half. The winds that comprised the attack broke apart and dispersed, stunning Lugia and rocking it back long enough for Kanako to get into its face. It recoiled, not having expecting her to attempt a melee attack, and flinching as she brought her power to bear...

/-/-/

"Calm yourself, mighty one."

/-/-/

But Kanako didn't attack, not using her mastery over the winds and rain to assault her opponent. Instead, the fog around Lugia's mind lifted, and she saw the blue-haired woman for what she was: a divine presence, able to soothe and defend just as easily as she could attack. "Hwaa-rhrrr..." the Pokémon rumbled, realizing that this woman and her friends could not possibly have taken her child away.

At the same time, Lugia was conflicted. If they hadn't kidnapped her child- - -Silver, as she recalled that young human calling it once- - -then who did? Where was it? More to the point, where was she? Dimly she heard her other two attackers shout something as they charged back up from the lake, only to stop short as Kanako explained the situation to them. The green-haired one looked ready to bite metal, but reluctantly kept herself from shooting off more of those strange sheets of paper.

Kanako must have sensed Lugia's unease. "You are troubled," she intoned, her power still clearly felt. "That is no secret. I am Kanako Yasaka, co-goddess of the Moriya Shrine. Now what seems to be the problem, I wonder?"

For the first time that she could remember, as not even those children who had helped protect Silver had earned this great an honor, Lugia fully opened up her mind to this woman and her associates in the hopes that they could help her. Kanako frowned as the images crossed her mind, the deep-voiced speech accompanying them telling her of the wicked strength that separated her from her child. The small one with the strange hat narrowed her eyes as she learned of Lugia's violent retaliation, struggling valiently against whoever brought her here but no avail. Their charge, the most aggressive of the three, only began to reconsider her stance when she was told that Silver still was not full grown; he was ill-prepared to deal with the world at large, and had already been in danger once from thieves, so the Pokémon was afraid of what might happen while she was absent.

The trio in turn told Lugia what they knew of Gensokyo, carefully explaining to her that she had been transported across worlds. The culprit likely had no benevolent motives in doing this, as it felt like their essences were being violently shaken while the move was in progress. It wasn't hard to understand once they elaborated on it, since Lugia herself had once been revered as a god. In any event, everything that was happening did not sit well with her.

"I have to go home," Lugia stated bluntly. "That much is obvious."

"The question is 'how'," Suwako informed her. "None of us know a way to send you home, and even if we did, there's still that mysterious force to consider. If it found you once, it may find you again."

"I can not remain still. Anyone who would dare take me away from my child must be dealt with appropriately!" Lugia screamed, the waters below her crashing against the rocks in response to her psychic cry.

"And we understand that." Kanako held up a hand. "But lashing out angrily and aimlessly will accomplish nothing. Not only will you not get to where you want to go, but you may end up endangering the lives of the mountain's inhabitants. We have to think this through."

"We could ask around," Sanae suggested reluctantly. "There's no shortage of magicians and such in Gensokyo. Maybe they could send her home if they found something of use." Some of her old fury returned, something which almost made Suwako try to hold her back. "I'm not bringing this up because I like you. I don't want you here any more than you want to be here. You understand?"

"...If you feel that you will accomplish something by your methods... then fine," Lugia conceded as she made her final decision. "But I can not wait forever for a solution to present itself. I must return underwater, for only by hibernation can I pass the time appropriately and regain my strength. If you do not have something for me by the time I rouse myself..." She forsook her telepathy and roared in Kanako's face, blasting her hair straight out behind her.

"...Right. Consider your warning received," Kanako acquiesced, ignoring Suwako's quiet giggling.

Lugia had no further words for them. Sharply diving down, it plunged into the center of the whirlpool it had arisen from. Almost as if it could sense her quieting mental state and desire to sleep, the lake's agitation put itself into reverse.

/-/-/-/-/-/

At last the whirlpool created by Lugia's screams ceased to be, and the Wind God's Lake became steadily calmer as the legendary Pokémon settled into her promised sleep. The water was still choppy in a few places, as if to remind the goddesses once again that she would reawaken if they didn't make good on their promise, but then the only disturbance left was the rain that pounded the surface. It would take a little while longer before the clouds were cleared from the sky.

The trio was quiet for some time as they observed the lake, not caring if the rain soaked them. Kanako and Suwako were both concerned at Lugia's presence in their home, curious as to the sort of higher power that could displace such a force. Sanae, although still displeased from having fallen into the water (and her subsequent revival by Suwako), privately wondered what would become of Lugia's child without its mother to protect it; a slight twinge was all that betrayed her worry.

"Sanae."

The human goddess faced down at Suwako. "Yes, Suwako-sama?"

"I seem to recall there being a colorful book amongst your keepsakes from the outside." The smaller of the duo smiled over at Kanako, winking. "A guide to these... Pokémon. Tomorrow morning, I want you to find it."

"Certainly, Suwako-sama," Sanae agreed, quick to support her in any way she could. "I was wanting to destroy it anyway. I can take care of that before my morning chores, if you'd like."

Kanako smirked as she understood what Suwako had requested. "Not quite. With these Pokémon out and about, and with one right here on top of Youkai Mountain, the situation calls for drastic measures. Knowledge is the name of the game, Sanae. I want you to sit in your room, take the guidebook...and read it."

Lightning flashed, illuminating Sanae's gobsmacked face.

"WHAAAAATTTTT?!"

-GAP-

Present Time

-GAP-

After picking up Midori from the Pokémon Center the following morning and having her breakfast there, Yukari mulled over the options available to her.

According to the map in her possession, going straight west from Mauville would take her to Verdanturf Town. Not far away was a tunnel that would take her within a day's walking distance from Rustboro City. Her second choice was another western route situated somewhere between Mauville and Slateport City; it dead-ended at a river, but that was nothing for her to worry about. Once across, all she needed to do was journey straight south to Littleroot Town and the license she could obtain there.

The second route seemed the most optimal in her opinion... at least at first. There were several problems that Yukari would have to deal with, though; first, there were plenty of areas along the route where wild Pokémon and the battle-obsessed could ambush her. Much of it could be skipped via a secondary road, but that led to the second problem: it could only be accessed if she owned a bicycle.

And she, who had lived for who-knows-how-many centuries, watched humanity for ages, accumulated wisdom and experience that few beings alive could hope to match, did what she pleased and went wherever she wanted, had never learned how to ride one.

Yukari picked at the remains of her breakfast, irritated at this lack of foresight. Sure, she had no way of knowing that it would come to something like this, but still... I guess there's no putting it off any longer. I'll have to see if someone in Mauville is willing to teach me. She noticed Nurse Joy going about her business behind the counter, and she raised her hand to interrupt her. "Excuse me?"

"Yes?" Joy asked, turning to her. She took note of Yukari's grumpy face. "Is something wrong?"

"Nothing wrong, really. I'm just wondering if you know of any good bicycle shops here in town..."

-GAP-

Merril Elliott was the curious and inquisitive sort. Never satisfied to leave things be even at the best of times, she had found herself wondering about that woman who had effectively curbstomped the entire gang without showing any signs of awareness.

The defeat hadn't sat right with her, but it wasn't the ease with which it had been done; it was the complete improbability of it. The odds of pulling off a victory in those conditions were astronomical to begin with. Aside from not using any Pokémon, the woman didn't even have the muscle mass that the average trainer possessed from travelling. The strength shown in that fight would've needed to be equal to that of the average body-builder... no, greater.

Staring up at her bedroom ceiling, Merril wondered what to do. She had wanted from a young age to travel Hoenn like everyone else, battling trainers and becoming number one... every kid's dream. There was just one problem with that: her older sister was extremely protective of her. If she set foot outside Mauville, Lindsey- - -the original Violet Vigoroth, and the leader of said gang- - -would know all about it and chase after her. Merril would get dragged back and be subjected to a drawn-out lecture, like "UV rays are bad for you!" or "You don't need to travel; you're fine where you are!"

Merril pouted as she thought about this, idly reaching over to scratch the back of her Slakoth's head. The lazy-bones Pokémon, true to form, was relaxing peacefully. So I can't deal with strong sunlight too well. Big deal. That doesn't mean I'm weak. I was able to get that badge from the Mauville gym leader, no problem. Why can't she just let me take an umbrella or something? Isn't that why they were invented in the first place, to deal with sunshine?

...Fine. If she won't let me leave, I've got no choice. Plan B it is.

Getting up from her bed, Merril went to her desk and pulled out a laptop. After switching it on she waited impatiently for it to finish booting up, then quickly got to work. Now then... let's see what the all-powerful Internet can tell me. Just who is this woman?

-GAP-

"You're serious?"

"Technically I'm Yukari, but yes."

The local bike shop's owner, known to everyone as Rydel (last name unknown), was frowning as he mulled over Yukari's words. He seemed a nice enough man, if a bit intimidating at first. "Hard as it is to believe, you're the first person I've met who has ever admitted to not knowing how to ride a bicycle. Most of my costumers just buy one, then learn on the go."

"And the rest of them?" Yukari asked.

"The rest of them don't."

Yukari sniffed, letting the barest traces of haughtiness enter her tone. "Huh... must not be very brave individuals, then." She gestured at the shop's expanse; the place was bigger than it looked from the outside, and housed about a hundred different bikes of assorted types and colors in addition to repair kits and supplies. Just how many people does he have working for him? "So... to start off, I'll need one that'll get me to where I'm going quickly. I'm a bit rushed."

"Quickly?"

"Quickly. As in 'hopping mad Electrode' quickly. As in 'Ninjask on coffee' quickly. You get what I mean, correct?"

Rydel nodded, smiled, and rubbed his hands together. "You'll be wanting one of my Mach Bikes, then. A bit difficult to control, but on straight paths it will eat up the kilometers quickly. Best of all, it can be folded up for easy storage." His smile wavered. "Of course, since you haven't learned how to ride one yet..."

"I'll figure it out on the fly," Yukari decided. "Staying upright on those things can't be too difficult."

"Hmm... well, alright." Rydel scratched his chin. "Though from the looks of your pockets, it doesn't look like you're carrying much cash..."

"..."

"Don't give me that disgruntled look, miss. You're not as bad off as you think you are. Let me make a deal with you."

Yukari's eyes met those of Rydel's. "What kind of deal?"

"Virtually all of my advertising is done either through word of mouth, or by having the occasional visitor spread the word around Hoenn. I haven't had as many costumers in the past few months, so if you're willing to take that bicycle on a trip, I'll let you take it free of charge."

"Under the circumstances, Mr. Rydel, I can't really refuse. I'll do it."

...

It was ten minutes later that Yukari walked out the door, wheeling her chosen Mach Bike along. The bicycle had been designed for full-grown people in mind, and it looked remarkably sturdy (although she was warned that the bike would not be able to stand up to electric attacks). In contrast to her violet-white color scheme, the bike was red and black instead. Yami Reimu: Revenge of the Miko, now in theaters... ah, funny, she thought, amused.

Reaching a north-south street that looked like it led out of Mauville, Yukari put her parasol inside her pack and seated herself on the vehicle. Alright... Rydel was nice enough to tell me that unless I'm trying too hard, the bicycle's not going to just fall over while I'm still on it. Just stay calm, don't grandstand, and pedal. The rest will take care of itself. Easy now, easy...

Gripping the bike's handlebars, she followed those mental instructions.

-GAP-

A young boy and his father, residents of Mauville, looked out their apartment window as a flock of birds was witnessed taking flight outside the city.

"Papa?"

"Yes, Jeff?"

"Why are all those Taillow flying around? Did something scare them?"

"Maybe an amateur bicyclist lost control of her bike and forged her own path through Hoenn, crashing through everything in her way and creating a new route for future trainers to follow?"

"...You don't have to tell me if you don't know, papa."

"Thank you, Jeff."

-GAP-

Rustboro City. Home of the Devon Corporation, the Gym Leader Roxanne, the Trainer's School... and the librarian Amber Harrison: a legend in her own mind.

A little more than ten years ago, she was no egotist: she was just a pretty black-haired Unova-born trainer who'd had enough of the travelling life and settled down in Rustboro. She was highly intelligent, liked kids and had a thing for organization, so she was asked to take charge of the library when the position became available. The two-story building was a stone's throw from the Trainer's School, so the facility saw a lot of traffic. Amber passed her days helping children, and had later recommended that Roxanne should aim to become a Gym Leader when she was shown to have the right attitude.

But as Bill Cosby once put it, "my wife and I were intellectuals... before we had children." After Amber became a librarian, she married and had kids of her own. Quadruplets. For a decade she was run ragged as the couple struggled to raise them and rein in their mischievous impulses; some people swore that her skin was turning gray instead of her hair, and it was rare to see her without an exhausted look on her face. Finally three of the kids set out to become trainers together, easing her burden and giving her the chance to slowly recover from the increasing stress. Amber called herself a survivor, telling her tales to anyone who would listen and taking pride in her motherhood. Those with children sympathized with her, but most everyone else just called her annoying. It took weeks before she was finally convinced to shut up.

For reasons unknown even to her parents, the fourth child- - -named 'Ellen', after Amber's own mother- - -showed no inclination of wanting to leave Rustboro as she approached (and then passed) the 10-year mark. She spoke very little, if at all, and before doing so she always waited a few seconds before saying what was on her mind. She had a very cynical view of the world, and never felt as if it was worth going out in.

Instead of finding friends and playing with them, Ellen instead sequestered herself either in her home or at the library, seeming deadset on reading everything that was available whether she understood it or not. She liked swimming (so long as her father's Swampert was there to keep an eye on her) and she kept a small garden behind her home, so it wasn't as if she was physically weak for her age, but aside from that she spent little time outdoors. Most people found her cold to be around, having trouble looking into her half-closed eyes as they talked to her, and they tried to stay away from her when they could. Only Roxanne, Amber's parents, and a select few others could put up with her for long.

At the same time Yukari was talking to Rydel, Rustboro's library had just opened for the morning. An assortment of middle-aged people were sitting around, reading newspapers from around Hoenn. Roxanne, with the aid of a Geodude, was gathering research materials for a class that she was going to assist with that day. Ellen was sitting at the table closest to the front desk, a stack of books on astronomy before her as she decided which one to read first.

Having just finished cataloguing some new additions to the library, Amber sat down at the front desk and sighed quietly. Ellen's eyes flicked in her direction. "...Something wrong, mother?" she asked in a naturally soft-spoken tone.

"It's nothing, dear," Amber answered, her voice dry and just a bit raspy as she spoke at an equally low volume. Libraries were supposed to be peaceful, after all. "Calico's just been insufferable lately, that's all."

"...Delcatty's disappearance?"

"Yes. By all accounts it doesn't make sense, but you already know about that."

Ellen was silent for about half a minute. "...It could be another gang of thieves. ...Just because Teams Magma and Aqua have gone straight... doesn't mean that there aren't others causing trouble. Has Calico already talked to the police?"

"Twice." Amber took a sip from a previously unseen cup of coffee and smoothed out a wrinkle in the gray sweater she was wearing. "Both times they told her that while Pokémon have been reported missing, no one has been seen, let alone caught in the act of thievery. Officer Jenny promised to look into it."

"...I take back what I said. No offense to her or the department," Ellen said as she plucked a book about the solar system from the top of the pile, "...but I'm starting to think that this is beyond anything that humans could carry out. ...Pokémon, maybe, but humans are just not that stealthy. They don't have the intelligence for it."

/-/

Out in Unova, Jessie, James and Meowth got the vague suspicion that they were being insulted somehow.

/-/

Amber frowned at Ellen. "Dear, you shouldn't belittle us like that... or yourself. You've snuck up on me plenty of times."

"...I was entirely unaware that I was doing so." Ellen flipped through the pages until she found a section that interested her, then settled back in her seat to read. Entirely straight-faced, she continued: "...although admittedly, it was funny watching you jump up and flail about in the air like that."

"I suppose I should punish you for having a laugh at your mother's expense," Amber warned her in a huff. "You'll be confined to your room the rest of the day. Nothing to read, and you can't go outside to swim."

"...Never once did I laugh. It's a completely unnecessary thing." Beat. "...All I said was that it was funny. Nothing more, nothing less."

Frowning, Amber turned towards Roxanne for help, but all the Gym Leader could offer was a smile and a weak, nervous laugh before she continued her methodical search. With a sigh, Amber folded her arms on the counter and rested her head there. "How did you get to be so smart? You didn't get any of that from your father. Certainly not from me."

"..." Ellen looked up from her book, staring out at nothing. "...I've often wondered..."

Amber waited for her to continue, but she never did. Deciding that the conversation was over, Ellen fully focused on her reading material and kept her mouth closed.

The librarian felt inclined to ground her for the rest of the day, but refrained from doing so. It would just cause a minor scene, and it was too nice a morning to let a snarky child put a damper on it. Instead, Amber took out a deck of cards and opted to pass the time with some Solitaire, intending to enjoy a few moments of peace before anyone needed her for something.

Shame that the tranquillity didn't last, for only a few minutes later...

"Clear a path, clear a path! I can't stop this thing! Everyone out of my way!"

Everyone on the library's ground floor practically jumped out of their seats as something crashed into the main entrance, shattering the glass on impact, forcing the door open and provoking most of those present into taking cover. Yukari and her out-of-control Mach Bike barged inside; Amber's mouth dropped open at her obvious insanity, but things were happening too quickly for her to protest. The bike crashed into the side of the front desk, catapulting Yukari out of her seat and over the counter. She finally came to a forceful rest, slamming back-first onto Ellen's desk and dislodging the books that were piled there. Her pack wound up on the ground amidst the chaos.

Being the closest aside from the Harrisons, Roxanne was the first to reach her; her baffled Geodude stayed close by. "Excuse me, miss? Please! Are you alright?" she cried out, alarmed.

"Can't speak," Yukari groaned, looking more frustrated than pained. "Reticulating...spine. Ouch..."

Ellen gave no sign that the situation bothered her in any way, having not budged throughout it all. "...Health and Medicine, third row from the stairs."

"Ellen, stop being rude!"

-GAP-

Merril jerked in surprise. As if connected by strings, her computer chair's wheels skidded and tossed her sideways onto the floor with a whump. She ignored this, her eyes wider than her fists as the information fully sunk into her brain.

What.

...What.

... ...What.

"No. No no no no no no no," Merril muttered, shaking her head repeatedly. Jumping back to her feet, she brushed aside her scraggly bangs and edged as close to her laptop's screen as she dared. "This... this can't be right. No. It can't. She should've aged. She should've looked at least a little different. This just won't fly. This just won't fly!"

But it flew; reality didn't care whether Merril didn't believe it or not. Of course, considering that reality was not a physical being, that was a given. The Violet Vigoroths' resident computer geek was looking at a "Prospective Trainer" sheet that was being sent from the Mauville Pokémon Center to Professor Birch in Littleroot, courtesy of Nurse Joy. It showed a picture of the woman that had kicked the gang's collective butts; her smile would've looked pleasant on anyone else, but on her it set off sirens in Merril's mind. Amongst other stats were her age (estimated to be around 30), birthplace (some town not far from Mount Chimney), Pokémon (just a Ninetales)...

...and her listed name.

A decade ago, there was a series of articles published in a Lilycove-based magazine revolving around the life and disappearance of one Yukari Yakumo. It was a small-town sort of mystery that stymied everyone, most of all those who had been closest to her, and it continued to be a topic of conversation in Hoenn for another five years before even the local conspiracy theorists gave up on solving it; as big as it was, and as big of an Internet junkie as Merril was, it was inevitable that she'd learn all about it sooner or later. The details were pouring back into her head even now.

Fifteen years ago, Yukari had been discovered unconscious at the foot of Mount Chimney one night. The couple who discovered her, the Laydens, had said that there was no sign of injury or illness; not taking any chances, they brought her back to their home and looked after her until she woke up. Upon awakening she seemed mildly curious at her surroundings, but took her whereabouts in stride. She then seemed caught off guard, first by something that she refused to talk about, and then by the presence of Kevin's long-time companion Linoone; she was on record as saying that she "had never seen a Pokémon before", which most (read: all) people thought was a lie, and she was wary of them at first. Several decades old at least, and she had never seen one? Had she been hiding beneath a boulder all her life?

Whether it was considered a lie or not, over the course of that first month her entire attitude changed. One description of Yukari said that she possessed the sort of wonder that a rookie trainer had upon truly seeing the world around her for the first time. She had become increasingly fond of the Laydens, spending most of her free time with them. Whenever she wasn't working with them, she was either walking the paths immediately outside the town or conversing with the locals about life and Pokémon.

One citizen swore that he once saw her standing atop a lamppost one evening, staring eastward towards the far-off forests and positively aglow with happiness and satisfaction; when he questioned her, she said: "Such good-natured behavior... such cooperation and spirit... I wonder: what sort of world has allowed these circumstances, for them both to permit the residence of monsters in their personal paradise?... What sort of lives have their ancestors led, to allow a time when the normal and the special would unite this way?... Wherever I look, whether at nature or at civilization, this land is beautiful... fantastically so, and it is far more valuable than all the treasures and artifacts of the world. I shall sear these sights into my mind and heart so that I do not forget the time I've spent here. Both races should be proud, for they have accomplished something impossible: they have gained the approval of the ageless." When asked what she was talking about, she smiled but said nothing further.

As positive as Yukari's comments were, they were seen as the second sign that she was not everything she appeared to be. The articles talked about her being joined by a Vulpix, and the time she'd spent training it. Finally one day, with only the little fox bearing witness to it, she just plain and utterly disappeared.

Everyone feared the worst when said disappearance was discovered. Foul play? Abduction by a misguided Pokémon? Some joke gone entirely wrong? Some combination of the three? No one could say; only Vulpix really knew, and she could not express her views in terms that people could understand. While the Laydens expressed concern for her safety, wherever she was, Vulpix was out of her head with worry; it took much convincing from the head of the household before she could bring herself to eat. In the meantime, the town and much of the surrounding area was scoured for clues as to her whereabouts, but with no success.

Days, weeks, months went by one after another. There was no word from anyone that Yukari had turned up anywhere, and gradually the citizens came to accept that wherever she went, she was gone for good. Life went on, disregarding those travelers and overly curious investigators who wouldn't let the matter rest. Those people would be told the story about the mysterious lady, and they would speculate as to why she was so secretive and why she left when she did. No one would really know the truth.

Until now!

There was no denying it: she was back. Why and how, Merril didn't know, but there was something about the possibility of hearing those experiences first-hand that got her blood pumping. Underlying it all was caution: Yukari was not to be trifled with, if the gang's beatdown had proved anything. As the saying went, with her there was more than met the eye.

Merril's tremendous smile took up nearly half her face... that which could be seen, anyway. As if I'd let something like that stop me! Forget that, forget my lupus, forget the sunlight. I'm going! She turned towards her bedroom door and shouted: "Lindseyyyy! Lindsey, yo! Get up here, now! You gotta see this!"

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

"Huh..."

A red and white sphere sat on the banks of Misty Lake. Daylight shined down on its metallic surface, illuminating it before the eyes of Gensokyo's most well-known (and most annoying, to some) fairy. She sat down on the cold ground, not minding the temperature one bit.

"Wowww..."

Another fairy, better known by the name others gave her than the one she gave herself, joined her friend and stared at the sphere in awe. "It's very pretty, Cirno."

"Yeah." The ice fairy picked up the sphere and took a closer look, barely noticing the thin layer of frost that had formed on contact. "It's red and white. You think it belongs to the miko?"

Daiyousei thought about this for all of two seconds. "I don't know. I've never seen it before."

"...I say we keep it." Cirno looked up at Dai, teeth gleaming as she smiled. "If it's hers, she goes nuts trying to find it. If it's not, we can keep it as a toy. Either way, we win!"

"Shouldn't we find out what's in it before we steal it?" Dai suggested.

Cirno gave her a confused look. "What's in it? Isn't it just a metal ball?"

"Look at it, look at it."

Cirno did so, but she still didn't get it at first. It took about fifteen seconds before an honest-to-goodness intelligent thought formed in her brain. "Hey, maybe there's a treasure in here or something."

"But what would we do with it?" Dai lifted off, slowly circling around. Eagerly yet curiously, she appended: "What kind of treasure would fit in there?"

"We'll get to that later. Now help me get this open, would you?"

/-/-/

Their subsequent efforts to try and open the sphere weren't successful. Dai tried prying it open with a dagger bullet... but nothing. Cirno tried the same thing, but her much larger ice sword had next to no leverage to work with. It didn't stop her from making additional attempts in doing so, resorting to splitting it open when things didn't pan out. That didn't work out either, as the metal was somewhat tougher than any non-magical craftsmanship the little fairies had ever encountered.

After twenty minutes Cirno finally flung the sphere to the ground, fed up. "That's it," she decided. "We were going to do this the easy way, and now it wants to do this the hard way!"

"What's the hard way?" Dai asked, sure that she knew the answer already.

She was right. "I'm going to attack it and yell at it until it gives in." Cirno calmed down enough to explain this to her friend. "Don't tell me you didn't know that already. I thought all fairies did."

Only because we don't know any better! Dai wanted to say. What she heard herself saying was: "Alright. Give it what for, okay?", as she got out of Cirno's path.

The Ice Fairy's wonderful brain swerved onto a new train of thought, completely missing the ol' 5:15 and making the other passengers complain. Her face scrunched up as she tried to make sense of what was spoken. "'Give it what for'? What does that mean?"

"I don't know," Daiyousei confessed. "I overheard a villager say that once while he was fishing. It sounded appropriate."

"How do you figure?"

Dai thought back to that sight she'd seen, trying hard to remember. It strained the limits of her childlike memory, but remember she did. "There was this funny man, and he was having trouble catching fish at the river. ...I think he was muttering that to himself. The next time I saw him, he was bringing a dozen fish back to the village. Maybe it's a blessing?"

"Wow." Cirno looked down at the sphere, smiling. "Neat. So do you want me to give it what for?"

Dai nodded, fists held close to her. "Yes. Do it. Give it what for!"

A nod. "Count on it!"

...

Cirno backed up a half-dozen meters, preparing herself for what she was about to do. Eyes flicked from one side to another; aside from her and Dai, there was no one present. She took a breath, let it out...

...and charged ahead, flying low to the ground. When she got close enough, she swerved and brought one leg across at an angle. Her teeth gritted, she exclaimed: "Would you just..." Her foot connected with the sphere, kicking it against a nearby rock. "- - -OPEN already?!"

The sphere bounced off the rock and the ground once each, then obligingly obeyed the Ice Fairy's command.

If Aya had been around, she would have recorded Cirno and Daiyousei's surprised looks for posterity (It worked on the first try?! had crossed both their minds in that instant). As it was, only the metal orb witnessed it. It split in half down the middle, popping open and spitting out a wave of red light. "Don't look at it!" Daiyousei shrieked, warping within the branches of the nearest tree. Cirno flew straight up, intending to dodge what could only be an attack...

...And stopped, pleasantly surprised when the red light took shape on the ground, forming an amphibian and bringing it to life. The light faded, and the sphere resealed itself.

"Croa... Croa..."

Cirno turned and gestured at Daiyousei. "It's okay, Dai. It's just a frog. A really ugly frog."

Daiyousei flew out of cover, and the two of them slowly descended towards the ground. She would've been disappointed that there wasn't any treasure inside if she hadn't been distracted by the novelty of what had just occurred. "Do frogs even come in blue?"

"Croa... Croa..."

After a moment's thought Cirno flew in a wide circle around the frog, examining it. "Those circles on its face make it look creepy."

"Croa... Croa..."

"And it looks like there's white paint on its belly," Daiyousei added. "...And it has hands. Are frogs supposed to have hands?"

"Croa... Croa..."

The frog wasn't paying attention to them, doing little more than sitting on the ground and croaking. Cirno wondered why she was feeling a trifle scared, then lost her fear altogether. "Who cares? It's just a frog. And you know what that means."

Dai hung her head and sighed. "You're going to freeze it, aren't you?"

Cirno actually looked befuddled at this. "What else would I want to do with a frog? Make it croak different kinds of sake?"

"Croa... Croa..."

"What does sake have to do with this?" Dai protested, knee-deep in confusion. "I didn't drink too much! I don't want to get frozen!"

"What kind of silly thought is that?" Cirno flew over to the frog, an icy mist gathering around one hand. "It's not you I'm freezing; it's the frog! Now, watch this!" She brought her hand down towards the frog's head...

"- - -GHAACK!"

It never got there. Quick as lightning, a purple-tipped hand snaked in and jabbed Cirno's gut, stopping her in her tracks. The frog backed off two steps, watching as the ice fairy doubled over in mid-air, then lowered its hand and continued to look on passively. "Croa... Croa... Croa..."

"Cirno!" Daiyousei flew over, her wings fluttering madly as she helped her friend upright. "What happened? Are you okay? C'mon, c'mon, speak up already!"

"Ooof..." Cirno raised her head, glaring at the frog venomously; fitting, considering she suddenly felt rather... under the weather. "Ugly frogs hit hard... no fair, hitting me when I wasn't looking!"

"Cirno, you were looking," Daiyousei reminded her, sweatdropping and wondering how long she could support the ice fairy without her hands getting frostbitten.

"I was looking at the face, not the fist," Cirno countered as she struggled to free herself, incensed. "C'mon, Dai, let me go! There's going to be blustery vengeance in the woods tonight!"

Cirno was reasonably smart and strong as far as fairies went, like Shiki had once said, but when it came to taking things into consideration her entire species was sorely lacking. The frog's strike had poisoned her, venom seeping through her systems and steadily draining her willpower. Her reflexes and reactions were working against her as she fought the urge to lay down somewhere.

Also, her unawareness of this notwithstanding, the different styles and rules of combat that the two combatants were used to had clashed horribly. The idea of youkai and such from different worlds existing had never been in Reimu's mind when she created the Spell Card system. It thus failed to take into account the network of strengths and weaknesses that the Pokémon types possessed. Cirno, having an affinity with ice, was accordingly placed in an unenviable position:

...That of being doubly weak against tremendous physical attacks.

Wrenching herself free from Daiyousei's grip and ignoring her friend's surprised cry, Cirno leapt straight up into the air as the temperature around her dropped sharply. With a yell of "Super Ice Kick!", announcing her intention to enter a Spell Card duel with this creature, she spun furiously and plummeted with one foot extended...

...Only to miss entirely, instead freezing over seven square meters worth of land as her target leapt clear from ground zero. Recovering from the dizziness brought on by the spinning, Cirno looked up...

"Croa..."

...And was greeted by the frog as it dropped towards her from above. Its right hand was shining white as it swung in a downwards arc straight at her face.

"...gunnnk!"

"YEEEEK- - -"

Her panicked screech was cut off as the frog's brick-breaking smash was delivered to her front door, the shipping costs prepaid and its strength far out of proportion to the amphibian's size. Cirno rebounded off the ground, splintering some of the ice beneath her, and flipped end over end a half dozen times before finally hitting the ground back-first. Just as quickly as the fight had begun, it was over.

"Wah...! Cirno!"

Daiyousei dived in, anxious to help her friend, but slowed down when the frog pinned her with a dreadful stare. "P-please," she stuttered. "I don't w-want to fight y-you. Can... c-can I please help my friend if we p-promise to leave you alone?"

The frog's gaze remained locked on hers for the better part of fifteen seconds; the only sounds were the odd birdsong and that spooky croaking. When the frog finally tired of staring at her, it tucked the metal sphere under its arm and walked off sedately without any fear of being broadsided, perhaps knowing that Daiyousei was too unnerved to attempt a sneak attack in retaliation.

"Owwww," Cirno groaned as she sat up, her hand on her forehead. "What hit me? Where did it go?"

"Can we talk later?" Daiyousei asked as she helped Cirno upright. "I need to go home before that thing comes back."

"...Well, okay. I'm feeling kind of awful anyway... Bet you never thought I'd say that, huh?... Let me go, Dai. I can fly fine. It's my head that hurts, not my wings."

The greater fairy released her. "If you say so..." Daiyousei turned and flew off a few feet, then paused. "And could you try not to pick any fights between now and tomorrow?"

Cirno pouted. "You act like I get into fights all the time..."

"But you do! ...Or at least that's what it feels like."

"...Just go home, Dai. I'll see you tomorrow."

With obvious reluctance, Daiyousei waved good-bye and flew off towards home; dragging herself through the air, Cirno did the same. "I'll be alright," she told herself. "I'll be alright, I'll be alright. No violent frog gets the best of the strangest! ... Strangest? No, that's not it... oh, never mind!"

/-/-/-/

"Croa... croa..."

Croagunk stood before Misty Lake, taking a few minutes to examine his reflection. It was a rather eventful day, at least by the poison frog Pokémon's standards, and he wanted to spend the remaining time quietly.

A shadow swam beneath the Lake's surface. Focusing on it before it disappeared, Croagunk noted that it was a very pretty woman. Or perhaps it was a fish? Or maybe a woman in a half-fish costume? ...Whatever she was, she still could've made any man go bananas just by introducing herself. This inevitably caused a question to form in Croagunk's mind:

How did I get separated from that skirt-chasing trainer of mine, anyway?

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

Lugia's moveset: Hydro Pump, Rain Dance, Aeroblast, Recover

Approximate Level: 82

Kanako's Notes: The old command "Be careful what you wish for; you might get it" has struck home once again. I had wished that we could somehow use the Pokémon for our benefit, and one of the strongest of them has made its home right in our backyard. From what it told us and how it behaved- - -wait a few moments. Yakumo's servant has landed nearby. She should know something about this.

/-/

Croagunk's moveset: Poison Jab, Poison Sting, Brick Break

Approximate Level: ?

Cirno's Notes: Did I eat something bad for fairies? Am I imagining this? I've been punched by Marisa and the Hakurei maiden often enough, and it's never hurt this much. That must mean that the frog's stronger than they are! Ah-hahahaha! ... Who am I kidding? I'm going to try again to freeze it someday. It wouldn't be me if I didn't, right?