Chapter 11: "Hello, Ramon."

Majestic City Arc.

Those very words from the Shiny Zorua send shivers down Ramon's spine. The gray fox stares at him, remaining in place as his furs are spiking up and his face drowning into the abyss. The blue fox gazes back, smiling.

"Y-You. U-Um. E-Erm..." Ramon pauses for a moment, stumbling with his words. "You're the Zorua I saw earlier!"

The Shiny Zorua nods. "Yes." His voice is softer and smoother than Ramon's, giving off serenity to his tone. He walks forward, the Zorua backing away in response. He engulfs him with his forelegs, giving him an embracing hug. "I'm so glad I can finally talk to you!"

Ramon looks at the shiny fox, his cheeks nudging against his'. "Really?" he asks.

The shiny fox releases Ramon from his grasp, nodding. "Yes! I thought I'll never get the chance to communicate with you. But I was wrong." He wags his tail.

"I see then..." The Zorua tilts his head to the side. "Who are you and how do you know my name?"

"Why I'm glad you asked: The name's Nomar. I've tried several times to contact you through Telepathy. The...communication line can get real nasty, depending on the distance." He sighs. "And of course I'll know you! You're my brother, after all."

"Brother? I have a brother?" Ramon tilts his head to the other side.

Nomar nods. "Yeah! Remember the time we used to roam around and chase each other in the woods?"

"..."

"Or how about the time we fought those Ursarings when they tried to harm our parents."

"..."

"Or when we relaxed by a boulder nearing the sunset."

"..." Ramon blinks.

"None of those ring a bell?"

The fox shakes his head. "Not a single one. Sorry."

"...Oh." Nomar lowers his ears. "That's a bummer. I...was hoping when I finally reached you, you'd become rejoiced by us being relatives." Nomar gazes at the void, simply lifting his paw up. Several moving images pop up in front of them, showcasing the things Nomar mentioned: The two Zoruas chasing each other in the forest, the Ursaring attempting to attack them, and the sun lowering itself down while the two rest on a boulder. "Are you certain about not remembering these?"

Ramon gazes at the images, mesmerized by the sequence of events. He looks at Nomar, giving him a simple body shift. "Not a single thing..."

Nomar's ear flickers. "Not even our memories together?"

Ramon shakes his head once more.

"Hmm..." Nomar looks to the side. "Do you want to know about your past?"

Ramon gasps. "Yes! I've been traveling for that exact reason." The Zorua pounces toward Nomar. "What else do you know about me?"

Nomar blinks at the Zorua before nodding. "From what I know of, we were hanging out together until a thunderstorm happened. The weather was so severe that it separated us from our parents."

"Really?"

Nomar raises his paw again, another image showcasing two Zoruas getting blown away from their bipedal parents, lightning striking down in front of their path. "Yeah...And from there we...encountered these humans in white outfits trying to snatch us away." Upon lifting his paw up again, another image pops itself into existence, showing three humans taking away the Zorua while the Shiny Zorua trembles in front of several Pokémon. Nomar looks down. "I tried to stop them, but their Pokémon were too strong for me." The blue fox is shown backing away before running off into the bushes. "So I had to hide...Never seeing you again, afterwards." Nomar sniffles, tears springing up to his eyelids.

Ramon gazes down at the dark ground. "So that's how I ended up in that facility," he responds, glancing.

Nomar sniffles once again, shaking away the tears before staring at the Zorua. "Facility?"

Ramon looks up. "Yeah. I remember waking up in a dark room only to realize, I'm in some kind of building." He then looks at the shiny fox. "Have you heard of the Prospective Institute? That's what the facility is called."

"Hmm. Never heard of them. But I assume they're filled with no good humans, since they'd taken you away."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because-" Nomar looks away, frowning. He gazes up, one more image appearing in front of the two. A Shiny Zorua lies down while a pool of blood forms around him. Two humans in front of the Zorua are wielding knives, turning around and walking away with blood trails. "I was killed by them."

Ramon's legs begin to tremble, his eyes shaking in place. "Wh-What...?"

"While I was traveling around the forest, some sick humans decided to take my life away. They do it...out of enjoyment in hunting down Pokémon." The images begin to slowly deteriorate. "They don't care if you don't bother them: They'll rip you apart once they get the opportunity. It's like a game of tag, except-" the images explode into pieces, fading away afterwards. "-the tagger kills you."

Ramon lowers his ears, whimpering. "Oh...I, um." He flinches, feeling as though he's being rocked back and forth by an earthquake. "I-I'm sorry that happened to you, Nomar. I didn't know, and I wished that I was there to help you." Tears are streaming down the Zorua's cheeks, chills of guilt rising throughout him. Nomar didn't say anything, continuing his stare into the abyss.

"...Ramon, it's not your fault. Don't blame yourself over my death, okay?" Nomar says, assuring the Zorua. Ramon looks at the Shiny Zorua, sniffling while remaining shaky. "However, I want you to do me a favor: Head to Gloria Falls near Glory Pride City, and revive me." Nomar turns towards the fox.

"Hmm?" Ramon wipes away his tears.

"That way, we can reunite and hide from any humans we encounter." Nomar glances. "...Including the ones you're with."

"Gloria Falls? Glory Pride City? Wait wait, slow down for a moment, Nomar," Ramon advises.

Nomar tilts his head. "Too much information?"

"Yes! I don't know where those places are! Nor what they look like!"

"I'll guide you to them."

"How?"

"Telepathy, brother."

"But you're dead. How are you able to use Telepathy?"

Nomar snickers. "You never knew the dead can use Telepathy? I mean, it's admittedly tough because of the communication barrier. But it's possible."

"Oh...But are humans aware of this abil-"

Nomar's paw leans against the fox's maw. "Brother, you're asking too many questions."

"...Sorry. I'm just interested, that's all."

"And I'll answer all of those questions as soon as we reach Gloria Falls. Or at least, get close to it."

Ramon nods. "Alright then."

"Speaking of heading there, I want you to promise me something."

"That is?"

"Don't tell anyone about where you're going."

Ramon tilts his head. "Why's that?"

"Because humans cannot be trusted, as seen from the examples I've shown you." Nomar sighs. "Therefore, not even your friends should know about your goal."

"But I don't see any bad intentions coming from them. They're as lost in this world as I am..."

Nomar rolls his eyes. "Of course they'll have bad intentions!" He stomps the ground. "Humans will put on their nice and friendly masks before slowly stabbing you in the back. That's what happened to me from the ones I've shown you!" Nomar shakes his head. "They started off gentle...only to crush me when I gained their trust."

Ramon's eyes widen at the description, the intensity of horror drenching within them. "But my friends wouldn't do that to me!" He gazed to the side. "...Would they?"

A static noise occurs, the darkness beginning to shake and rumble. "Looks like time's up for my Telepathy," Nomar says.

"Wait! I got so many questions to ask! Like how do you know where Gloria Falls is? How's the dead able to communicate with the living through Telepathy? And what else do you know about my past!?"

"Like I've said: You will...know...lat...er..." Nomar's voice fades in and out, light beginning to shine in the middle of the darkness.

"Aaah!" Ramon screams, floating into the air within seconds. Everything gets engulfed in the light, the static getting louder and louder. The Zorua lowers his ears, flinching at it. Then Ramon lifts himself forward, being in his bed as the sun shines through the window. The Zorua's eyes have baggage underneath them, him glaring at the wall ahead. His ear flickers to the bedroom door opening, seeing the male teen having his hand on the knob.

"Hey dude, there's breakfast if you want to go get some," Justin mentions, looking at the Zorua. He raises his eyebrow afterwards. "Fam, are you good?"

Ramon blinks for a moment before shaking his head, smiling at the boy. "It's...nothing. I'll join you in just a moment."

"You sure? Something's on your mind?"

The Zorua shakes his head once more. "Just woke up, that's all."

Justin stares at Ramon for a moment before turning around. "Well alright then?"

As Justin exits the room, Ramon hops off the bed and looks out of the window. I wish you would've told me more information, Nomar, he thinks, following up with a release of air flowing from his mouth.

. . .

Somewhere in a dark alley lies a human with a dark purple outfit landing onto the ground. Soon, more Team Conjure members land next to him, the purple teleporter above fading away afterwards. One Conjure member has a tangled mess of a hair, with his black glasses doing its best to keep it in order.

The man reaches in his pockets, taking out a map. He unravels it, the layout to Majestic City being displayed. He points towards the letter 'X' on it, revealing a tall building. He then looks at the group and nods, turning his attention towards the large building up ahead. "Let's go," the man says, his voice cracking up as the Conjure members chuckle at him. He clenches his fists and grits his teeth, crushing the map before turning around. "Shut up!" Then he and his group of Conjure members proceed to the exit, looking around in a stealthy manner.