Author's Note: Sorry for the delay. I actually wound up drastically changing where I was going with this chapter, and then my computer crashed and I lost the new document. Had to start almost from scratch. I'm still trying to shoot for a once a week update schedule.

One important note: I've removed the previous Gladion chapter, the one where he wakes up in that box. I've opted instead to have a couple more chapters more in the same vein as Chapter 33.

Gladion

He stood atop a tall, dark tower.

Moonlight burned into his skin, the smell of it curling his nose. He stood transfixed, staring down at the gray landscape far below. A dirty, earthen color up close, but here, so high in the air, the gray of the statues of men colored the image. He raised one finger as if to gesture at them.

It was then that the mountain finally caught his eye.

It sat at the edge of the world, a lone mound, the only imperfection in the miles and miles of flat and gray. Nearly hidden behind a layer of mist, it towered impossibly high above him – despite the immense distance – lumbering tall and dark and wide. He could not discern the color of it.

And it stared with empty, dead eyes.

At first panic swelled within him as he was dragged to the earth. He could not look away; it would not let him. He struggled and the moonlight seared his skin and he screamed. His feet brushed the earth, the tower he stood on long since fading away.

Bulbous and amorphous and all around him, the mountain watched.

He saw now for the first time the detail of the statues of men. They surrounded him, taking many forms. Two arms and two legs, some tall and others tiny, intricate bodies etched into the stone. The age of a few showed, the gentle wind having eroded them until all that remained was their outstretched arms and empty eyes.

They pointed to the mountain in the distance, their gazes fixed in place.

The statues wore many faces. Young, old, hideous, or wretched, each one pocked with wear. The newer statues bore the same expression, with wide open mouths in exultant, feral acceptance. Thin lines of liquid dripped from their teeth. The older ones worshiped serenely with open palms and welcoming demeanors.

On the oldest faces only empty eyes stared back – no other detail remained.

He raised his arms now, seeing only the mountain now. He felt his jaw slack as his mouth fell open. As he stood there, unmoving, saliva pooled against his tongue, thin lines dripping down over his chin. He smiled radiantly.

A white dress fluttered in the corner of his eye, and his trance broke, and he floundered about, confused. Voices tore at the edge of his perception, hundreds of conversations he'd never had, memories he couldn't recognize.

He saw her face in a million different ways.

It was then that a scene filled his mind, one he would never live through, for it belonged in a far better world.

"Big brother, do you believe in god?"

"God?"

"Yeah."

"What brings this up?"

"School. In social studies, we're learning about the Eastern Region religions. It's pretty neat! They worship a lot of pokemon there."

"Worshiping pokemon? That's a little absurd."

"Well, it makes sense, right?"

"How?"

"Imagine you're a samurai running around the landscape several hundred years ago and you come across an articuno. I've heard those pokemon are so powerful they can influence the weather and cause blizzards. You'd want to keep it happy, right?"

"I suppose so, yeah. But what does that have to do with believing in a god?"

"Well, some of the things we were learning about were the sinnoh region religions. Apparently they believe a pokemon exists there that can recreate the world."

"That's ridiculous."

"Why is that?"

"That's not like growing spines to better defend yourself or becoming a faster swimmer to escape from prey. What kind of creature would develop the ability to recreate the universe? Where would the power come from?"

"Isn't that why they're worshiped as gods? Because they aren't understood? The samurai coming across an articuno that can start blizzards wouldn't understand how the pokemon did it."

"Yeah, but we do understand how articuno do that."

"Now."

"My point is: the mechanism makes sense. Articuno can rapidly radiate and then circulate cold air over large areas by inducing radical temperature drops with its large wingspan. The blizzard it creates are very localized and short-lived, and we understand it's for hunting and for escaping from aerial competition."

"But the samurai didn't understand that, so he's justified in calling it god, isn't he?"

"But it isn't a god just because the samurai doesn't understand it. Calling it that doesn't make it so, sister."

"You sound like Dad."

"You sound like Mom."

"I asked Dad about this earlier and he just mumbled stuff about relative perspectives and the power of science."

"Sounds like him."

"He never really looks away from his research, huh?"

"Yeah… Did he ever explain any of it to you?"

"Mm-hmm! Stuff about walking and boxes and higher spatial dimensions. I think I kinda get it, but it's a lot to take in. It's been years since he first started rambling about it. Mom's vetoed several of his more dangerous experiments though."

"Hey, do you believe in a god?"

"That was my question to you! Don't just turn this around on your sister."

"You brought it up! It makes sense to ask you."

"Hmm… I understand that pokemon like articuno, entei, or groudon aren't gods. They're extremely rare, usually associated with mythology, and are very powerful, but science has mostly come to understand them since their discovery."

"Rediscovery, you mean."

"Right. Hoenn got hit pretty hard by those strange weather patterns. I'd heard about it in school. Wasn't that like ten years ago now?"

"More than that. I think you were a baby at the time."

"I guess… it scares me. That there might be something out there that we wouldn't be able to understand. Dad talks about stuff like this too, but he seems convinced there's a logic behind it. A science. And yet they've never been able to get a clear picture of this Ultra Space or anything that supposedly lives there."
"Dad says that's because Mom keeps stopping him from doing the 'most encouraging' experiments."

"Most dangerous, you mean."

"Yeah… Anyway, you were talking about being scared?"

"If we assume the legends of Palkia, Dialga, and Giratina are true. Then pokemon exist on this planet that can recreate the entire universe. Isn't that a bit extreme? The universe is enormous. It's impossible for humans to really understand exactly how big it is. Our own sun can fit over a million Earths in it, and our sun is tiny compared to some of the other stars out there. And a pokemon could destroy all that? It has to be a lie, right? An exaggeration."

"So you don't believe in a god?"

"Not as a physical, living creature that exists on this planet, no."

"So then you don't buy into the idea of pokemon worship. But you just said earlier that it was interesting."

"It is! Perspective is valid, because perspective informs reality. Even if it's not objective truth, we can only ever attempt to find objective truth through an imperfect lens – our perception."

"You've been listening to Mom a lot."

"Well, okay, sure, we know that articuno isn't a god because we have science and decades of research and lots of information to tell us that it isn't. But a samurai four hundred years ago doesn't know that. All he sees is mystical god bird, and all he will ever know is a mystical god bird. There is no mechanism present yet for him to understand it's not a god. So it may as well be one at that time."
"I suppose that makes sense. It's a flawed interpretation of objective reality."

"But if pokemon worshipers are worshiping a concept, the idea of a bird-god, even if it actually isn't one, then how is that different from worshiping a classical 'god'?"

"You're talking an intangible, omnipotent figure now?"

"Not necessarily."

"I don't understand."

"Big brother, consider Palkia or Dialga or Giratina. Suppose these pokemon exist, but suppose they exist with the level of mythological powers that are commonly given to them."

"If they did, wouldn't that debacle in Sinnoh have destroyed our planet already? That crazy cult leader Cyrus threw together a giant ritual on top of that mountain and nothing happened. No recreated universe. The only thing that changed is that his organization saw he was a lunatic and disbanded."

"If he had destroyed the universe, would we even know it? If it had been recreated by the powers of some higher intelligence, would we even understand that it happened?"

"Sure, yeah, we can say that, but you're making the same logical claim that nothing had happened at all."

"What do you mean?"

"One of two events occur. Both ultimately have the exact same outcome, and it is impossible to tell which event took place. How would it be wise to assume the less likely, more wild and convoluted event occurred? Even if it did, if nothing else was changed as a direct result and there's no tangible evidence of the event occurring, then what's the meaning of saying it happened? It's the same as saying that all of existence came into being four seconds ago, and we just sprung into being with all our previous memories, thinking that we actually lived beforehand even though we didn't."
"You're dipping into philosophy."
"No, the counterargument begs a philosophical underpinning because you have to reach in order to doubt the simpler solution."

"Maybe I listen to Mom a lot, but you really listen to Dad a lot."

"Philosophy isn't science."

"I know it isn't. But if human cognition and perception is inherently flawed, then sure, we can attempt to understand deeper meaning in consistent, logical fashions using mathematics and science, but we have to make a few assumptions first."
"What do you mean?"
"First, that our eyes and ears don't lie. That the information that our brain is interpreting actually exists in the form that we are seeing it."

"Explain that to me."

"We could be brains floating in a vat while aliens pump electrical signals into us that trick us into thinking we're experiencing reality. I could be the only conscious, thinking thing in existence and everything else around me is a mental construct that I created. In that case I'd be a prisoner, or a god, or… something."

"But you're not, and this is the same argument as before. Why assume the more complicated solution if there's no evidence for it?"

"I'm not disagreeing. We assume that we are interpreting at least some level of objective reality. We assume, to an extent, that what we see and hear and feel can be trusted."

"You left out smell and taste."

"Because we suck at it."

"Well, yeah, I guess so. We're not growlithes."

"But that's part of my point. Growlithes are able to experience objective reality differently because they have highly specialized organs that allow them to do so. Smells are much more important to their perception than it is for ours. Most humans can't tell people apart by smell."

"Right."

"Likewise, humans have better developed eyesight. We see the world better, and they smell the world better."

"Right."

"So what if there's something out that we can't really… see? Like, because our eyes are just not sensitive enough, or maybe because we lack the appropriate organ. Would you be able to call that hypothetical existence a god?"

"Just because we can't see it doesn't mean it's not there. There could be other ways to interact with it, and if we can interact with it then we can extract data and understand it. It wouldn't be a god."

"So all that's required to discredit something as a deity is that you can physically experience it?"

"Well, yeah. Do you remember that anime about a wolf girl who traveled with a merchant during medieval times?"

"Yeah!"

"The wolf girl was commonly called a 'god' in the show, right? She had wolf ears and a tail, and she could transform into a massive wolf if they were ever in danger. She had also lived for several centuries. You're right when you say medieval societies would label something that they don't understand as a 'god'. The wolf girl was branded a 'god', and she even claimed to be one in the show. However, she's depicted as being mortal, albeit long-lived, and has family. It's more likely she was simply a more powerful, rarer species that was poorly understood."

"Brother, it's just an anime."

"But it relates to this problem. So you're saying that the wolf girl was a god?"

"In a medieval-level society, sure. In a modern society, perhaps not."

"At this point I suppose the difference in our viewpoint is just in the labeling. So then what about higher-power, transcendent god figures?"

"What about them?"

"Do you believe one could exist?"

"I..."

"You look troubled."

"You know how I mentioned the idea of Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina having those kinds of mythological powers was scary?"

"Yeah."

"The fear comes from the fact that we may not be able to understand it. Like I said earlier, we might not even be biologically equipped to do so. It could be infinitely more powerful than we are. If it was to turn its attention to us, I imagine it would be easy to simply swat us out of existence."

"But why assume such a thing exists if it worries you?"

"Brother, you mentioned earlier that there was no reason to pick the more complicated answer. I've heard that phrase before a lot, especially from Dad, and when I was learning about Sinnoh today in school, I realized that… the complicated answer is what Dad has been working on."

"What do you mean?"

"What if those things he talked about actually exist?"

"Mom called them Ultra Beasts."

"Could one of those be a god?"

"I… don't know."

"Well, let's break the idea down logically, just like Dad does. Suppose the Ultra Beasts don't exist. Then there's nothing to worry about and this conversation is pointless."

"And if they do exist…?"
"If they do exist, well… how do they see humans? Do they see us as antagonistic? As a threat or a stranger, maybe? Or maybe we're beneath its notice, maybe too powerless to even have one devote its attention to us?"

"Remember how Dad mentioned that Ultra Beasts saw a fourth dimension? The 'w' dimension, as he said. He said that the Ultra Beasts would be able to see other versions of us, other 'universes', like sheets of paper stacked on top of one another. Presumably the other versions of me aren't all doing the same thing as I am right now, so would the Ultra Beast have a better idea of who we are as people because they can see so many different sides of us?"

"Or maybe they have an even worse perspective, brother."

"What do you mean?"

"When we see an ant crossing the kitchen counter, we often don't think of the individual ant unless we're trying to squash it. Usually we think of groups of ants: trails, swarms, or colonies. We think about the objective the ants have, about how we might be able to learn about ant biology, and how we can learn about other colonies of ants. However, we genuinely do not care about one single individual ant. We either kill it or ignore it. Oftentimes we simply lose sight of the ant a moment later if it's with others of its own species."

"So you're saying that the ability to see a larger picture, a more complete version of reality, implies that you wouldn't care to see the very small, fine details?"

"It's possible the Ultra Beasts can't see us as individuals in the first place. It might not even recognize us as sentient in any meaningful capacity if it's able to see and understand every possible action we can take."

"Give me an example. I'm not sure what you mean."

"Alright. Hmm..."

"What's with the grin?"
"Imagine we're at a restaurant with that girl you recently met."

"W-w-whatever do you mean?"

"You know who I mean, brother. The one who just moved here from the Eastern Regions. The really good pokemon trainer that even Mom and Dad were impressed by. The one you were flirting with in Hau`oli City."

"I-I-I-I wasn't flirting with her! We're just friends!"
"Oh, but you two talk on the phone an awful lot to just be friends."

"A-Anyway! You were telling me to imagine we were at a restaurant."

"Right. So the three of us are eating and having a good time. We're about to leave and everyone's standing up and suddenly you get this really strong urge to make-out with her right then and there. Of course, you don't because you're about as courageous as a wimpod."
"Hey!"
"But maybe there is an Ultra Beast who just happened to be observing that situation. It's possible it isn't just observing that one single instance. It's possible it's observing all possible instances of that scenario. Maybe in some of them you muster up the nerve to kiss her. Maybe in others you trip and fall and make a fool of yourself. Maybe in a few here and there she slaps you because you're weird. And maybe–"

"I'm starting to see a pattern here I don't like..."

"And maybe in some you actually pull it off right and the girl reciprocates. And maybe in other versions, I jump her instead and you're actually more interested in the strapping young waiter..."

"Lillie!"

"So the Ultra Beast is observing all of these. Instead of forming judgments and making observations about one single individual, it instead perceives thousands or millions or even more versions of a similar individual making somewhat similar decisions with potentially different outcomes. It wouldn't care about you, the version that's standing in front of me right now gawking at how smart his little sister is. It wouldn't care about any individual version or outcome. It would be analyzing the statistics, the individual outcomes, the colony of ants instead of the individual."

"I… I suppose you're right. If Dad's hypothetical Ultra Beasts exist, it's certainly a possibility that they don't see us as individuals. Actually, rather, it's possible it can't."

"Take, for example, there's a reality where you're awkwardly shoving your tongue down that poor girl's throat and–"

"Lovely."

"–and you slip and fall and crack your head open and die."

"Ouch."

"To the Ultra Beast, you are not dead. There's still so many other versions of you that's happily doing what you were doing. One individual version may be dead and gone, but there's still so much information that exists about you that it can learn. In fact, a drastic circumstance would allow the Ultra Beast to gain information on me or the other girl if we're actually its primary focus."

"I… you're completely right. People wouldn't be 'living' or 'dead'. It's more like we become points of data, and the important essence of who we are would be our contribution to this higher-dimensional image. That's… weird."

"There could be versions of us out there that had to deal with losing each other, or Mom and Dad. I could be dead in some other version of the world, and there's no way for me to be able to know. I could be miserable or hurt or crying right now, somewhere else. My life could be in danger."

"Or you could be talking to your brother about philosophy and impossible scenarios. Don't worry about it so much. Life is great. Why bother worrying about things you can't control?"

"I know. It's just… I know it's all conjecture. The nature of these sorts of things limits our ability to talk about strict facts."

"This makes me want to ask Dad again about his research again."

"Yeah…"

His eyes were empty, his expression open in its exultance. He could see her screaming at the edge of his vision, but that didn't matter now. The lumbering mountain swelled and bellowed, and he felt the images leave his mind.

Author's Note:

Anasazi Darkmoon - Woe be to Lillie when she has to keep a Salamence under control! We'll be seeing in a few weeks how much Ultra Sun/Moon change things. I might not adopt all the changes, but I'd like to stick relatively close to whatever ideas they introduce.

Mal - I mean, remember when Lei was first introduced in Chapter 3? In a situation like that, I imagine most people would get a little rough around the edges.