CHAPTER 2

Silence.

It was so deafening that it caused ringing in his ears.

He looked to his side where the other members of the infiltration team stood. They were all equally quiet, each of them bearing different expressions.

Kukui wore a blank expression as he studied the ultra GPS device on his hand.

N was focused on trying to communicate nonverbally with what appears to be a small ultra-beast hiding behind a rock.

Olympia and Riley were on a meditative state.

Ash Ketchum wore a small smile of confidence as he looked around. The boy appeared to be reminiscing some memories. He was a former Ultra-Guardian for Alola and had gone to Ultra-Space on multiple occasions. In comparison to them, he had a grasp of this place.

His gaze then turned to the blonde woman standing a few feet away from the group. She was staring at the vast, dark space from where they stood. Her right hand was on her chest, lightly grasping the specialized fabric of their Ultra-space suit.

She was concentrating. Steven knew that the instant he saw the gesture. Cynthia had a habit of grasping her coat by the chest or mid-torso whenever she tried to carefully focus on certain matters. It was a subtle mannerism that many would overlook.

But not him. No. He knew these little mannerisms just by observing her throughout the 2 years they were dating.

"Thinking again?" Steven asked as he approached her.

Cynthia turned her attention to the voice behind her. "A bit. I was just thinking how ultra-space reminds me of the time when I went to the distortion world to try and stop Cyrus' plans,"

She looked up once more to the vast space in front of her. It was a world colored in dark hues of blue and violet. Clouds of particles and elements formed swirls amongst the blue and violet. Several platforms of land with jagged rocks floated in space and appeared like uprooted islands. At the moment, all of them stood in one of these floating lands.

"It even looks like the distortion world. Although the laws of physics here seem to be better," She added. "I can't believe I'm in a parallel dimension again, trying to thwart the evil plans of another man. I'm beginning to see a pattern here,"

Steven was about to reply when he saw the bulky figure of Lieutenant Surge heading towards the group. Earlier, the lieutenant volunteered to scout ahead.

"Pika!" Ash's Pikachu alerted everyone else and brought their attention to the approaching man.

"Why is he running? I have a bad feeling about this," said N.

"It is. I can sense his aura. It's erratic at the moment unlike the steady flicker it had before he left. Is it the same for you, Ash?" asked Riley

"I haven't really gotten that far in my aura training yet, but yeah. His aura does seem weird. It's like he's anxious," answered the boy.

Lt. Surge kept running to their direction. When he was certain that he was within hearing range, his voice boomed in warning. "WE NEED TO GET GOING. I SAW INJURED ULTRA-BEASTS FLOATING NEAR SOME OF THE LANDS. I THINK 'HE' ARRIVED HERE EARLIER THAN US!"

"Then let's go! Gladion just sent me the coordinates to Ultra Megalopolis. It shouldn't be far from h—" Kukui couldn't finish his sentence when they heard a massive blast from afar.

The ground shook violently until shock waves from said blast hurled towards them.

"TAKE COVER!" Shouted Lt. Surge.

All of them went behind the nearest rock to where they were standing. Except for Olympia. She had been quick to pick up on the situation at hand and immediately called out her Slowking and Meowstic.

"COMBINE YOUR POWERS. USE PROTECT AND SHIELD EVERYONE!" She instructed her Pokémon.

In an instant, the two Pokémon created two green barriers that spanned a gigantic diameter enough to cover everyone behind them. Olympia had particularly prepared her two Pokémon for instances like this. She foreseen that the move 'protect' would prove useful in this mission.

Slowking and Meowstic struggled with the intensity of the impact. Despite their efforts, the shield barrier began to crack. They turned to their trainer with a worried look.

"LET US NOT GIVE UP! WE CAN DO THIS! TOGETHER!" She encouraged them as she bent slightly and placed her hands on the two Pokemons' back to assist them. Olympia was surprised with the heaviness of the blast's pushing force.

As they awaited the end of the shockwave, Cynthia had only one thing on her mind.

They all had to survive this, or else it meant the worst for their world.

'We're not letting 'him' get away with whatever he's planning!' She thought to herself when she suddenly heard a shattering sound in front. In a flash, Cynthia felt her feet being swept away from the ground before her body made hard impact on a rock, effectively knocking her unconscious.

Present time…

Steven Stone looked up from the small pile of papers in front of him. His gaze went to the two gentlemen currently inside his office.

Riley sat on one sofa with his arms crossed and eyes closed. At first glance, one would think he was taking a nap. But judging by the patterns of his deep breathing, Steven was sure the man was meditating as always. Opposite to Riley, Roark stood in front of a glass case that contained Steven's rare stone collection. He was engrossed in observing the details and intricacy of each rock.

"So it wasn't the Ruins of Alph?" Roark asked without tearing his gaze off on one of the rocks.

"Apparently not. The terrain coordinates that the research team decoded didn't seem to match some sections of the cave,"

"Is that why you and Riley kept digging endlessly near the west cave walls?" Roark asked.

"Yes. I actually joked Cynthia that the spot would cave in on us before we can find the third stone tablet," Steven said with slight humor, "But she actually took that into consideration. A few days after I returned to Sinnoh, she came home one night telling me that it was another dead end for the research team. Turns out, the coordinates they've been decoding didn't point to the Ruins of Alph."

Riley was listening intently to the ongoing conversation. Half an hour ago, he and Roark came to visit Steven in his office here at Devon Corporation Sinnoh, albeit unannounced. However, they knew Steven was expecting this visit. Exactly a month ago, they received a call one morning telling their units to pack up. They were told that they had been excavating the wrong location. Again.

Riley would be lying if he said he wasn't displeased at the announcement. Even so, he knew that the research team were doing their best so he refrained from stating any complaints. Then again, it was not merely a personal reason why he would feel displeased. He could excavate day and night if he had to; Riley could care less of the exhaustion. However, he knew that they shouldn't delay further in finding the third stone tablet. Who knows what clandestine activities that 'man' has left operating.

It's been 5 years (nearing 6 years in a few months) since the 'incident' that this same 'man' has caused. Riley had been among those sent to fight in the frontlines. He was also among the so-called "INFILTRATION-8", an eight-man squad sent to ultra-space in order to halt the ensuing chaos in the world at the time. Riley couldn't say they were a hundred percent successful in their mission. Apparently, this 'man' had a larger scheme prepared but was unfortunate to not survive long enough in bringing it to fruition. Whatever this grand scheme was, no one had an idea. This was the reason why they were trying to decode the stone tablets in their possession.

The stone tablets had originally belonged to this 'man' from 5 years ago. It seemed they contained crucial information regarding his motives. During his final moments, this 'man' had thrown the 3 stone tablets separately into different ultra-wormholes that connected and opened into different locations on Earth. All members of the International Pokémon league Association had been tasked to locate these stone tablets, with the regional champions being the heads of the search operations in their home regions.

It took 2 years before the first two stone tablets had been found.

The first one was located by the Kalos search unit in Ambrette town. It had been situated firmly between two rocks on a cliff, the lush greens obscuring it from view. Had it not been for a storm and the heavy downpour of rain, the stone tablet wouldn't slip slightly into clear sight.

The second stone tablet was found in Unova's Route 3 under a pond. A young trainer had found it when she dived in the waters to retrieve the Dawn Stone she had dropped. Thankfully, she had brought it to professor Juniper's lab. The professor, aware of the ongoing search for the stone tablets at the time, immediately contacted the research team based in Celestic Town of Sinnoh.

Steven had been crucial in the process of identifying the stone tablets. After all, he was the only one among the Infiltration-8 who had seen them up front before they were hurled into three different ultra-wormholes. While he had provided sketches of the tablets to make the search efficient, he was still responsible for examining every potential stone the excavation and research teams present him, in hopes of finding the actual ones.

"When will we be expecting the next potential excavation site? After all, our job is far from finished," Riley interrupted after a few moments with his thoughts.

"I was told that that the research team is yet to find a site that matches well with the terrain coordinates. Hopefully, this next site is where we finally locate the third stone tablet," Steven replied.

"You know, I never understood one thing. How is it that the two stone tablets in our possession point to the location of the third? Are we really sure that whatever is encoded in the first two is a series of coordinates pointing to the third? Also, how do we know that the third one isn't randomly located somewhere like a volcano, waterfall, or something? We did find the other two on a cliff and under a pond," Roark said as he sat down on a nearby sofa.

Riley looked at Steven. "You're the one who can answer that, Stone. You did see it for yourself."

Steven sighed and stroked his chin. He closed his eyes as he recalled events from 5 years ago.

"Back in ultra-megalopolis, we managed to enter the heart of the city. It was in a state of chaos. Our infiltration team engaged in a violent battle with that 'man' and the ultra-beasts under his control. I was able to slip past the heat of the battle with Metagross and followed that 'man' when he tried escaping to the Megalo Spire. There, I saw the three stone tablets up front and floating in midair. They didn't look particularly special at first. However, I noticed that when the 'man' took the third stone tablet out of its position, the symbols written on the other two stone tablets immediately changed. Some symbols disappeared, some symbols appeared, and some moved to a new position. I thought I was hallucinating, but I was sure of what I saw,"

Steven opened his eyes and looked at the men listening.

He continued, "Then, three ultra-wormholes opened and that 'man' hurled the third stone tablet first. Immediately, the symbols written on the other two tablets changed once again. This time, almost completely. It was like a computer matrix. The symbols rapidly moved, changed, and disappeared until they settled onto a set of symbols. And I am quite sure that those sets of symbols are exactly the same as the ones being decoded by the research team now,"

"That's why," Riley interjected, "when Steven told us what he had saw, we theorized that the symbols encoded on the two stone tablets in our possession are dependent on the location of the third. Basically, the two tablets are like a radar that detects the third and translates its location coordinates into encoded symbols."

Roark had absorbed every single word he had heard. He understood, but he can't help but be skeptical. "It's like some magic thing? Kind of weird to think that plain rocks could do something like track a fellow rock and write symbols about it."

It did sound silly, but the incident 5 years ago had taught Steven to take unexplained phenomena seriously.

"Anything is possible these days, Roark. Remember those people with special abilities from 5 years ago? Their existence already proves that there is so much we don't know about this world," Riley said.

"Well, you've got a point," Roark replied. "You know what? Enough with all this talk. I think it's time we take our pal Steven out for a drink. Don't you think so, Riley?"

"I agree. A break from work won't kill you, Stone. I'm sure Cynthia won't mind,"

"I also heard from Gardenia that Cynthia mentioned you being a great dad to little Garnet. I'm sure any wrath of Cynthia's when you get home will be toned down because of that." Roark added.

"Speaking of Garnet, she's turning 2 years old soon, isn't she? That calls for a mini celebration for you, Stone. Growing toddlers can be a handful."

"I can't. I hav-" Steven was interrupted when Roark and Riley went to his side and placed each a hand on his shoulders and dragged him towards the door, all the while having amused expressions on their faces.

"Drinks are on me tonight, Stone. Down as much as you can,"

Roark scoffed. "I'll bet 50 Pokédollars that he'll be as drunk as a Skuntank by his third drink,"

As he was dragged out of his office, Steven tried to protest with reasons of unfinished paperwork. However, neither Roark or Riley loosened their grip on his suit and continued their way towards the elevator.

Steven sighed internally.

There was no point of reasoning with these two now because they were adamant on taking him out for a drink. It wasn't as if he hated alcohol, he just didn't feel the need for a drink at the moment. He would have preferred to finish up some paper works so he can be free during the weekends. Then again, he had been working since morning. He did deserve some break.

Turning his gaze towards the glass windows that overlooked the cityscape of Jubilife City, Steven realized it was now evening as evidenced by the city lights and dark sky.

I should call Cynthia later. It's going to be a long night with these two.

Several kilometers south of Sinnoh lies the Jhoto region. Being at different locations on the globe, the two regions have different climates and time zones. In comparison to Sinnoh that was now in its early hours of the evening, the sun has only begun to set in Jhoto.

Golden rays illuminated the skies in red and orange hues as the sun slowly dipped into the horizon. Such a view was spectacular to see at the higher floors of buildings and houses, as well as in the waters and mountainous areas of nature.

Such was the case even in Mt. Silver. The mountain stood treacherously, bordering the regions of Jhoto and Kanto. It is said that only the best of the best and strongest trainers had access to its location. Many have tried to reach its peak, yet only a few could make it half of the way and only one is known to have reached the summit.

It was filled with the dangers of rock slides, getting lost in the complex cave routes, and even getting attacked by wild Pokémon of incredible strength and abilities.

Mt. Silver truly thrived in its perils and harsh landscape.

Yet amidst all this, somewhere in the forest near the mountain was a raven-haired boy who braved his way towards Mt. Silver. With a Poliwag in his arms, the boy trekked along the forest path.

"Almost… there… Poliwag," The boy said in between his panting. He was tired. His little feet ached yet he was determined to reach his destination. "Daddy took me there once," he added.

The boy stopped in his tracks when he saw the large tree trunk that blocked the path. He tried to find a way around it, but the trunk was sandwiched between a large boulder and an elevated portion of land.

"We climb then," the boy said as he began to make his way towards the trunk.

As he examined the trunk to decide his footing, he heard the distinct snap of a twig nearby. The Poliwag was alerted and jumped down from his arms. The Pokémon had made its way under the shade between two rocks.

"Wait Poliwag! Don't go too far!" he shouted as he ran to the Pokémon. "Don't worry. Maybe it just was a small Pokémon,"

"Poli…" the Pokémon replied with a fearful expression.

"I'll protect you. I promise,"

With this, the boy brought his right hand to the Pokémon's head slowly. The moment his hand made contact with the Poliwag, he felt a sudden tingle. This tingling coursed through his entire body and a mental image of himself, then of a Poliwhirl in battle came into his mind. Oddly enough, he felt a sudden connection with the Poliwag in front of him. He sensed fear and uncertainty, something that he had not felt seconds ago.

The boy started to become confused with how he was feeling. He felt all sorts of emotions coursing through him: fear, uncertainty, trust, concern, surprise, comfort, and exhaustion. The boy had never felt such simultaneous rush of emotions before. Because of this, his chest started to heave as he was on the verge of tears.

Just as the first teardrop slid along his cheeks, he felt a strong vibration in his arm resting on Poliwag. In a split second, a strong wave of vibration and energy was released from his little body. He and the Poliwag stumbled back from the force. The ground shook lightly, the trees swayed, and the leaves rumbled.

After a few seconds, the boy and the Poliwag stared at each other, shock evident in their expressions. Then, hurried footsteps can be heard nearby.

"Hey! You there! Are you alright?" A woman asked as she emerged behind the trees.

Seeing the woman, the Poliwag ran away in fear towards the trees behind it.

The boy wanted to chase the Pokémon, but he was in shock of what had happened that he could barely move.

"Was that your Poliwag? I can chase after it before it goes deeper into the forest,"

"No. It's… j-just a w-w-wild Poliwag," the boy stuttered. He could barely speak at the moment.

"I saw you trying to climb that trunk earlier. I was going to approach you when that earthquake suddenly came," the woman kneeled beside the boy to check for any injuries. "You're not hurt, are you?"

The boy simply shook his head.

"Oh my, I'm sorry. You must have been so scared from that earthquake," the woman said, "Here, let me hold your hand so you won't be scared anymore,"

It seemed to work as the boy began to breath slowly again. However, he now began to cry.

"I want… my daddy… I didn't… listen and… wandered off again," he said between sniffles. "We were… going to… return Poliwag… inside the…cave… in the waters inside where he belongs,"

"I understand. You were only trying to help Poliwag weren't you?" the woman said as she wiped the boy's tears with the back of her free hand.

"Yes. But I wanted to show daddy I could do it on my own now,"

"How old are you?"

"I'm 4 years old"

"I see,"

The ranger took a transceiver from her pocket and dialed a series of numbers.

"PR-019 speaking. I have a boy with me at the moment, a 4-year old."

(…)

"I found him near route 28. He doesn't seem to have acquired any injuries after that earthquake,"

(…)

"Yes…mhm"

(…)

"A man looking for his son came in headquarters earlier?"

(…)

"I see,"

(…)

"Yes, leave it to me,"

When the ranger ended the call and turned to the boy, she saw him staring at the direction where the Poliwag had ran.

"I know you still want to bring Poliwag back to the cave, but we should take you back to headquarters first. There's someone I'd like you to see,"

"Is it my daddy? Is my daddy looking for me?"

"We'll see when we get there, okay? In the meantime, you stay with me,"

The ranger took a pokeball from her pocket and called out a Skarmory. She picked the boy up and settled him on the Pokémon's back.

"I hope you're not afraid of flying. I'll try to keep close to the ground," the ranger said.

The boy simply looked at her when a thought came into his mind. "Would you believe me if I said that the earthquake was my fault?"

The ranger looked at him like he had three heads. "Poliwag can't learn earthquake until it evolves into a Poliwhirl. The earthquake wasn't your fault. It's likely to have been a natural one or the elite trainers in the Victory Road nearby are having a battle,"

The boy wanted to explain that he wasn't referring to Poliwag. He was sure that the energy came from inside him. Yet, he didn't know how to say it. After all, he was still a 4-year old with a developing vocabulary. He can only describe his experience in so many words.

"My daddy always battles there. He takes me with him sometimes," he said.

"I see. No wonder a little one like you is running around Mt. Silver," the ranger replied as she positioned herself on Skarmory's back. Headquarters is going to give that man the longest talk of his life for sure, she thought to herself.

Before signaling Skarmory to take off, the ranger asked the boy for his name. A crucial information she should have asked as per protocol the instant she saw him.

"Me? My name is Eller."

Hi again!

Sorry this update took a little longer than the previous ones. I've been busy with university these past weeks.

Anyways, I hope you liked this chapter. I've included some glimpse of the incident Cynthia and Steven had talked about previously.

Also, notice that I've included some Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon content. The Megalo Spire is something I've made up and, in this story, it is a different structure from that of the Megalo Tower in the games. You'll find out more about it in the coming chapters

And what was that energy that came out of the boy?