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Universes involved:
Dreams in Darkness
Warped Skies

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WARNING! UNIVERSE MERGERS ARE RARE, SO PREPARE FOR UNFORSEEN CONSEQUENCES AS DETAILED IN FILE#2314.

For missing information, read documents labelled Dreams in Darkness and Warped Skies.

Written by Herolich1 and Team Ion

Amp Clearing

An eerie silence filled the air as a group of Legendary Pokémon arrived on the scene. The group waited in the back while the leader went ahead to see what had happened.

The farther he got, the tenser it became. The feeling of dread was filling the air around him. Then, before him lay the remains of long-dead Pokémon. The leader stopped for a moment, hovered over to the carnage, and clenched his fist in rage.

'How… Why didn't we notice sooner…' He muttered to himself.

A sudden lightning strike caused his head to shoot up, and soon enough, he had locked eyes with a Manectric, overtaken by the Shadow condition.

'You. Trespassers.' Manectric spoke, stilted and laboured despite an edge of mocking remaining in its tone. 'You. Fall. You. Come here. You. Submit. Or...'

The leader shot a Dark Pulse at the Manectric, causing it to jump in surprise. But that wasn't enough to dodge the blast. The Manectric got launched into some nearby rocks as the leader started to float over to its side.

'You…. YOU!' The leader began. 'Your kind will be exterminated! Every. Single. ONE!'

With that, the leader impaled his arm through the Manectric's chest, killing it instantly. The leader breathed heavily as he looked at his work, his arm covered in blood.

'Darkrai?' A concerned voice called out to him. 'Are you okay?'

Darkrai looked back to meet the voice, somewhat quivering as he does. 'I… I'm fine, Deoxys.' He lied. 'I'm fine…'

Deoxys seemed to doubt it but nodded his head anyway. 'Alright, let's get going. It shouldn't take long to turn this place into a death trap for these monsters.'

Darkrai nodded, causing Deoxys to go on ahead. Darkrai spared one last glance at the carnage of so long ago and then proceeded to follow his fellow Legendary.

He will keep true to his promise. Any Shadow Pokémon foolish enough to not run will be exterminated.

The present-day Treasure Town

A small Shinx was standing at the crossroads, looking at the giant staircase that leads to the Wigglytuff Guild. He was moving around anxiously, constantly looking up with confidence, only to look back down in fear.

'I can do this… I can do this…' He mumbled to himself as he prepared to go for another attempt.

'You know, I don't think just repeating that to yourself will bring you any closer to actually doing it.'

Shinx jumped around in surprise. 'Who's there!'

He then locked eyes with a mildly startled Vulpix. 'Wow, I didn't expect you to do that…'

There was an awkward silence between the two as they inspected each other. There wasn't much they could gather from this until they laid eyes on each other's necklace.

'Is that the Relic Fragment?' They both said in tandem, causing them to look at each other for a moment before laughing.

'Well, it must be, seeing how in sync we are.' The Vulpix said between breaths.

Soon enough, the mood shifted to a more friendly one, and the two sat down. 'I always wondered why part of the fragment seemed to be missing, but apparently, it was around your neck all along.' The Shinx said.

Vulpix let out a chuckle in response. 'Fate had something interesting planned for us today, hasn't it?'

'Yeah, looks like it.' He responded.

'Hey, I hope you don't mind me asking,' The Vulpix began. 'But what was with the whole "Repeat sentence for confidence" ordeal?'

Shinx let out a weak laugh as he looked away with embarrassment. 'Well, I was trying to join the Guild, but I don't know if I have the strength to do it…'

Vulpix cocked her head slightly before giving him a warm smile. 'Huh, I guess that makes two then.'

This caused Shinx to look up in surprise. 'You're also trying to join?'

'Yup, for a month now, actually.' She said. 'I've yet to find the push actually to get me to do it…'

Then, the Vulpix looked up with a spark in her eyes. 'Here's an idea, the Pokémon that runs away first is a chicken.'

Shinx looked at her with a surprised expression. 'What! Why would you want to do that?'

'What's the matter? Already admitting that you're a chicken?' She responded mockingly.

This caused him to become agitated. 'I'm not a chicken!'

The Vulpix got a grin on her face. 'Then prove it.'

With that, she started to walk up the stairs, trying to hide her faltering confidence.

'Oh, I'll show you!' The Shinx responded, quickly following her up the steps.

It didn't take long for the two to reach the top of the steps. There they were greeted by an enormous tent stylised after a Wigglytuff.

Vulpix took a few breaths from the sprint she did and looked ahead. 'Looks like we made it pretty far, but what about the entrance?' She looked back at her fellow Pokémon. 'Is this where you chicken out?'

The Shinx simply snarled at her in response, and soon enough, he went to step on the grate. There was a moment of silence until…

'Pokémon detected!' A sharp, high voice declared, causing Vulpix to flinch and Shinx to fluff up. 'Pokémon detected!'

'Whose footprint?' another voice, that could only be described as intense, boomed. 'Whose footprint?'

'The footprint is shinx,' The sharp voice said before it grew very excited. 'The footprint is SHINX!'

'WHAAT?' The loud voice gasped. 'I would say get in, BUT there is someone else with you. They must be checked out AS WELL!'

Shinx stepped away from the grate and looked to Vulpix. 'It's your turn…'

Vulpix took a deep breath, swallowed her fear, and walked over to the gate.

And not even a second had passed, and the sharp voice beneath the grate started again. 'Pokémon detected! Pokémon detected!'

Vulpix's held onto the bars as she felt a sense of fear starting to take hold…

The voice continued… 'Whose footprint? Whose footprint?'

…She couldn't give up now, not after getting this far…

And the voice continued… 'The footprint is Vulpix's! The footprint is Vulpix's!'

…No, if she gave up now, she would be the chicken. She wouldn't allow that to happen. There was a moment of silence, and then…

'Alright, that's all.' The loud voice announced. 'YOU MAY BOTH ENTER!'

With that, the gate flung open, causing the two to let out a sigh of relief.

'We… did it?' The Shinx asked, having a hard time believing the situation.

'Seems like it.' The Vulpix responded with a bit of uncertainty. She then shook her head and turned to him. 'Let's not keep them waiting now.'

Shinx nodded, and the two went into the guild for the first time in their lives.

The duo made their way to the second floor and were overwhelmed by the amount of Pokémon present and having little idea of where to go now.

'Ah, hello there,' a voice chirped up from behind them. Vulpix and Shinx slowly turn around to find a colourful bird having stepped up from the floor below them. 'I am Chatot, Guildmaster Wigglytuff's right-hand pokémon.'

'Ah, hello, then.' Vulpix replied while Shinx didn't make a sound. 'We're-'

"May I ask what your business is here?" Chatot asked, interrupting her. His words were polite, but his tone was sharp, causing the Shinx to shrink behind Vulpix.

Vulpix, feeling a bit under pressure, took a deep breath to calm herself down. 'We… actually wanted to join the guild as explorers.'

This response caused Chatot's demeanour to change immediately, going from a professional stance to a flappy one.

"Indeed? A new pair of Pokémon who wish to become explorers?" Chatot rubbed his beak with a wing, seemingly speaking his mind out loud. "It IS uncommon for a pair of younglings to want to apprentice at our guild… the training regime is known to be very difficult, considering the steady stream of Pokémon who have run away. Could they handle it?"

While Shinx started to get doubts upon hearing that, Vulpix simply sighed and nodded. 'Yes, I know the training will be tough, but I'm ready for it. I wouldn't be here if I didn't think I could handle it.'

'You're sure?' Chatot asked before he focused on the Shinx and saw his uncertain expression, causing him to fall into a flurry of flaps. 'Oh, no-no-no! Not at all. Our training is as easy as can be!' He gave a laugh, stiff and forced. 'Well, well, well. I do wish you had mentioned your wish to be an Exploration Team at the grate; we may have avoided some awkwardness there. Hee, hee.'

Vulpix stood in perplexed silence as Chatot seemingly ignored everything she had just said.

'Come along now,' Chatot said, motioning them to follow him. 'Let's get you signed up post haste with the Guildmaster. We don't wish to dawdle, chop-chop.'

Vulpix followed after him, only to realise that the Shinx hadn't moved from his spot, seemingly stuck in place. She walked back over to him. 'Ello? Earth to Shinx?' She gave him a small push, causing him to return to reality. 'Let's not make a bad impression right away, kay?'

Shinx gave a small nod, and the two of them descended to the lowest floor of the guild. Chatot was waiting for them with an air of eagerness. "Come now, come now. We cannot leave the Guildmaster waiting.'

Chatot took them to the left and to a pair of impressive doors. The light from a window was beaming into their eyes, and Shinx made a low, impressed sound. 'Wow. We're two floors underground, and we can see the sky.'

Rachel laughed and turned to her friend. 'Probably because the guild was built into the side of the cliff.' She said to Shinx.

'Oh! I see.' He said as Chatot motioned for them to come to him.

'Now,' Chatot said in a somewhat serious tone. 'We are to see the Guildmaster. Behave yourselves around him. Do not speak unless spoken to. And on now account. I repeat, on NO account, should you be discourteous to our Guildmaster.'

With that, he called out. 'Guildmaster? Chatot is entering with guests.' And pushed the doors open.

The three of them entered the room, and on the other side, the Guildmaster was standing on a tarp, looking straight at the wall.

Chatot hopped over to his side. 'Guildmaster?' he asked. 'I present to you the two pokémon who wish to join your guild as apprentices. Vulpix and Young Shinx!'

Wigglytuff didn't respond.

Shinx and Vulpix stared quietly as they waited for something to happen.

'Guildmaster?' Chatot asked again.

Then, as if on cue, Wigglytuff turned around, like he was just done with staring into the night sky. 'Hiya! I'm Wigglytuff.' He introduced himself. 'm the guild's Guildmaster. You want to form an exploration team?' Instead, he didn't wait for their response, opening his arms like he wished to hug them. 'Then, let's GO FOR IT! YOOM TAH!'

The sudden quake caused by the Guildmaster's battle cry caused the two Pokémon to wake up again from their frozen state. They quickly looked around for answers as Wigglytuff continued like nothing was wrong.

'First, we have to register your team's name,' Wigglytuff said. 'So, tell me your team's name?'

'Team name?' Shinx repeated, latching onto the last words as he began to return to the present. 'Oh, shoot! I had one… I had one… uh… help?'

'Yeah, uh…' Vulpix began before shaking her head. 'Okay, I'll be honest, I think neither of us knew we would end up in a team.'

'Wait, you didn't come here as a team?' Chatot asked, bewildered.

'No, we just happened to meet each other at the crossroad.' Vulpix explained.

'But why do you have matching necklaces then?' Wigglytuff asked, pointing to the Relic Fragments.

She wanted to say that she didn't know but found herself interrupted by the Shinx. 'We are a team! We just happened to meet fairly recently, that's all.'

Chatot moved his wing over his beak in a thinking motion and turned to Vulpix. 'Is that true?' he asked her.

'That's not true. I...' She stopped to look at Shinx, who seemed to have a desperate expression on his face. Then a thought hit her like a stick to the face.

'He's not experienced with this at all... he doesn't want to do this alone... he's a coward...'

'...Just like me...'

She looked down for a moment before letting out a sigh. 'We didn't come here thinking we would be joining as a team, but that doesn't mean we couldn't form a team now, right?'

Shinx started to look ecstatic as he nodded in agreement. 'I wouldn't mind that.'

'Then that's settled!' Wigglytuff announced. 'But your team still needs a name.'

The two looked at each other for a moment and realised that they really had no ideas in mind.

'Oh! I have a suggestion!' The Guildmaster said, catching onto their visual conversation. 'What about Team Lightbringers?'

'I like it, lightning and fire and all that.' Vulpix responded. 'What do you think, Shinx?'

'It's better then what I came up with.' he answered.

'All settled then!' Wigglytuff cheered. 'I'll register your team name as Team Lightbringers. Registering,' he sang. 'Registering… registered. YOOM TAH!' He nearly blew them away again, but his clear enthusiasm had replaced the fear in the two pokemon with enthusiasm.

'Congratulations!' Wigglytuff applauded. 'From now on, you two are an official Exploration Team! I present you this in commemoration. A Pokémon Exploration Team Kit.' With that, he pulled out a box from somewhere, which he handed over to the duo.

Vulpix opened the box and started to inspect the contents. 'Two badges, for identification, I assume. A map…'

'Oh! A Treasure Bag!' The Shinx added, grabbing the bag from the container. 'I've always wanted one. These things cost a fortune!'

'You're correct about the badges being for official guild identification.' Chatot explained, hopping over to Wigglytuff's side. 'The Wonder Map is a wonderful tool to have to find your way and shows exactly where you are on the continent. And the Treasure Bag is yours to keep. Now, look inside before the Guildmaster pops from excitement!'

Shinx did so, finding a pair of cloth items. He dug them out as Wigglytuff gave a high pitched 'eee' sound in excitement.

'That one's a Special Band; it'll make your Power moves stronger.' Wigglytuff pointed to the scarf-like azure cloth. He then turned to the white scarf. 'The other one is a Defense Scarf; it'll make the attacks of other Pokémon hurt less.'

'Thank you,' Shinx said, with Vulpix giving a nod in agreement. 'I really mean that… I didn't know it'd be so easy. You're very nice, Guildmaster Wigglytuff.'

'Aww,' Wigglytuff sniffled, tearing up. 'Come here.' Before anyone could so much as begin to refuse, Wigglytuff pulled Shinx into a hug. It took about four seconds before he grabbed Vulpix as well and hugged her as well. 'We have always believed you could do it, Shinx,' Wigglytuff said warmly, setting the pair down.

'But first, you had to come to us,' Chatot added, hopping up beside Wigglytuff, ready to intervene in case their new apprentices needed more space to breathe. Wigglytuff's hugs could be debilitating.

'Yep! But now we'll be having so much fun!' Wigglytuff cheered and did a dance around them.

'You will also be working hard,' Chatot added, acting as the stern teacher in comparison to the dancing Wigglytuff. 'There will be no shirking of work, and there are few excuses accepted here. Understand?'

'We do.' Shinx nodded, determination replacing all previous trepidation. 'Right… uhh…?'

'Rachel.' She answered.

Shinx nodded in response. 'Well, my name is Rai.'

'I'll take that as a yes. Come with me, you two,' Chatot said, gesturing for Wigglytuff to allow them passage. 'I'll show you to your rooms.'

'Have fun.' Wigglytuff waved. "And do your best!"

'We will,' Rachel and Rai chorused as the doors closed behind them.

'Come,' Chatot said, hopping his way past the window and to a corridor. 'The apprentices' rooms are this way.'

'We get rooms!?' Rai squealed under his breath, hurrying to catch up with Chatot.

Rachel got an amused smile on her face and raced after him.

Chatot led them past several pairs of rooms on either side of the corridor and to the final one. 'Here is where you'll stay during your training here.' They entered into a basic room. Having a pair of equally sized beds of straw and a window.

They stepped onto their beds, feeling them as Chatot continued. 'You'll live here while you train with us. Things will start getting busy tomorrow, so make sure you go to bed early tonight. Dinner is held when Chimecho rings her bell. You are expected to attend all morning briefings. Understand?'

'Yes,' Rai said, with Rachel giving a small nod.

'Very good.' Chatot paused and considered something for a moment. 'We are happy to have you with us,' he said before turning and hopping away.

After a bit of silence, a smile started to creep onto Rai's face. 'I did it,' he whispered, joy beaming his face like no amount of light could. 'I DID IT!'

Rachel couldn't help but smile as her partner danced around the room in joy. 'I'm an official explorer now. I didn't run away like the last sixty-one times! I did it, I did it, I did it!' He said.

'I think you mean "We did it",' Rachel interjected with an amused expression. 'I don't think neither of us would be standing here without the other.'

He stopped hopping around and faced Rachel with a friendly but disbelieving expression. 'Nonsense! It's all thanks to you that I'm here. Thank you, thank you!' He rushed to Rachel's side and gave her a lick on the cheek before freezing and leaping away from her.

'I'm so sorry!' Rai gasped before hiding his face in his paws. 'I got too excited. I shouldn't have licked you.'

Rachel scrubbed her cheek with her paw and just laughed it off in response. 'I appreciate the gesture, and I'm just as pumped up about this situation as you are, but that was a bit too close for comfort. Personal space and all that.'

Rai peaked out from his paws and saw Rachel was unbothered, and at worst, just amused. Sighing in relief, he propped himself up. "Sorry. I sometimes act without thinking. I can be thoughtless, sorry."

Rachel gave a small chuckle. 'Heh, then we're opposites in that regard. I can think things through for way longer than necessary. To each their own flaws.'

Rai gave a small nod and looked to the door. 'Maybe we should introduce ourselves to the rest of the guild?'

'We don't want to be strangers to those who we'll be working with.' Rachel said with a grin.

The two of them walked into the guild's main room, where they had a small crowd waiting for them.

"Oh my gosh!" A Sunflora in the room squealed out in delight.

The two had only moments to prepare themselves before they were swarmed by their guildmates. With only Croagunk, Diglett and Dugtrio abstaining from the attack on their personal space, everyone else went to clamber over them.

Soon enough, there were introductions all over the place. Rai was all bashful smiles and quiet introductions while Rachel waited for the opportunity to introduce herself.

'And this is Vulpix,' Rai said as he finished introducing himself. Rachel gave a kind, if not, nervous nod.

'I appreciate the warm welcome,' she began looking around a bit awkwardly. 'But maybe this is a bit too welcoming.'

It didn't take them long to understand Rachel's hint, and they all took a few steps back.

She let out a breath and faced her fellows again. 'Thanks, that was a bit too claustrophobic for me. So, as Shinx said, I'm Vulpix and look forward t-' Before she could finish introducing herself, Sunflora took her paw in her leaf-like limb and shook her whole body with impressive strength.

'Oh my gosh!' she repeated, beaming at Rachel. 'I'm so totally delighted to meet you. You're both so cute! I'm Sunflora, this is Bidoof, that's Corphish.' She continued pointing everyone out, and Rachel nodded and said hello to everyone she pointed out.

'Skulking over in his creepy shop is Croagunk.' Bidoof and Loudred stepped out of the way to let Rachel and Rai spot Croagunk, who gave a lazy wave from his perch. 'If you want to swap stuff, he's the guy. Although not at the moment.'

'Someone blew my cauldron up,' Croagunk called, smiling lazily. There was no reproach in his voice.

'Our main sentry is Diglett,' Sunflora continued, 'he's the one who read your footprints. And his dad is … uh…'

'Here,' Dugtrio said, rising from the ground. 'We took a break from communing with the waves to follow the commotion. Shinx, it is wonderful to see you in our ranks at last.'

'Th-Thanks,' Rai said, kneeling down and almost burying his face in his paws. 'For all this. Thanks.'

'I'm Loudred. I'm one of the main sentries for the guild.' Despite being pointed out by Sunflora, the others had decided it was only polite to introduce themselves. 'There's no one better in the guild than me to come to for advice on outlaws. I know 'em all. GREAT to meet you.' He looked ready to shake Rachel's paw, but she gave a nod and retracted her paw.

'Nice to see you,' Rai said, smiling.

'Agreed,' Rachel said. 'You do look like you'd know how to handle an outlaw.'

Loudred puffed up proudly. 'But of course! I'm the strongest apprentice here!'

'Second strongest!' Sunflora called out.

'FIRST STRONGEST!' Loudred roared back, and the two fell into an argument.

'Hey-hey, I'm Corphish.' A crustacean pokémon shook a paw each with his pincers, taking great care not to crush or pinch them. 'Ignore those two.' He had to speak loudly over Loudred. 'Croagunk is actually the strongest but don't say that around them.'

'Yup-yup,' Bidoof agreed, stepping up to them. 'Those two can get pretty competitive by golly. Oh, where's my manners? I'm Bidoof. I was the most recent apprentice before you two showed up. By golly, it makes me so happy to see some newcomers.'

Sniffling slightly, he let himself be pulled back by Chimecho, who floated up as the last member of the mob. 'It is great to meet the two of you,' she positively sang. 'I am Chimecho. I am the chef and nurse of the guild, and I also manage the Exploration Teams in general. If there are any questions you may have, places you need to scout, or anything at all, feel free to ask.'

'Thanks for the offer.' Rai smiled.

'It should come in useful since I suspect we'll get our first job tomorrow.' Rachel explained.

'Well, good luck,' Chimecho said. 'I'll see you at dinnertime.' She floated off, leaving the pair with Bidoof and Corphish.

'By the way,' Corphish started. 'Well done, Shinx. I was always rooting for you to join the guild!'

'Yup-yup, always knew you could make it,' Bidoof agreed, bobbing his head before turning to face Rachel. 'Same for you too, Vulpix.'

'Ah… don't embarrass me.' Rai blushed.

'I'm already starting to get emotional…' Rachel jokingly said.

Bidoof grinned. 'Knock-knock?' he asked Rai, who smiled in response.

'Who's there?'

'Snow,' Bidoof said eagerly.

'Snow who?' Rai asked.

'Snow point pretending you don't know me!' Bidoof finished, and Rai chuckled.

Corphish shook his head at the antics. 'Behave, Bidoof,' he said faux-seriously. 'Seriously though,' Corphish continued, 'we're happy to have you here. I know you'll be an amazing adventurer. Super strong too, just like your sister!'

Rai's smile became fixed. 'O-Oh, thank you.' Rachel raised an eyebrow in response.

Corphish blanched as he realised he'd said something wrong. 'Uh… uh… hey-HEY what's that over there?' He scuttled off as quickly as his six legs would carry him, Bidoof mumbling something unintelligible before running off himself.

Bidoof glanced back, eyes meeting Rachel's for a moment before he ducked down and ran up to the next level. Rachel turned to Rai, who was blinking a little too much to be normal.

Rachel let out a small sigh as she bumped her partner. 'A touchy subject?' She asked him.

'Not touchy per se.' Rai answered, turning around to walk back to their room. 'My sister left a fair while ago. I've just heard about how strong she is so many times.'

'I see.' Rachel answered as she looked down. 'I think I can understand where you're coming from, so I won't push the subject any farther.'

The two stood still in the hallway, wondering what to do.

'Actually,' Rachel said as her head shot up again, 'I think I should go back into town. Duskull would be disappointed in me if I didn't tell him the good news.'

Rai turned to her with confusion plastered over his face. 'Why Duskull, who is he to you?'

Rachel gave an awkward laugh. 'He's… my brother.'

Rai's eyes widened in surprise. 'Wait, really?'

'Yup,' Rachel began. 'We both arrived here a month ago, as I've mentioned before. He heard that Treasure Town was missing a banker, and he knew my fascination with exploring, so he took the opportunity almost immediately.'

'Alright then...' Rai said, still rattled by the information he just heard. 'Mind if I come along?'

'Of course, I wouldn't mind.' She laughed. 'Let's go.'

A Duskull was floating around in his bank in Treasure Town, bored by the lack of traffic for that day.

'Wonder if attempt number 7 will be her breakthrough…' he mumbled to himself, unaware of the two Pokémon standing before his stand.

'Uhm… hello?' The sudden greeting snapped Duskull back to reality.

'Hello, welcome to…' He suddenly fell silent as he looked at the duo in front of him. 'Ah, Vulpix! Good to see you. Did you become friends with that Shinx all the other shopkeepers seem to care about?'

Rai looked about ready to give a halfhearted answer but was interrupted by the excitement pouring out of his partner. 'Not just that, we've joined the Guild as a team.'

The Duskull's expression changed from curious to overjoyed. 'Wait, really!?'

'Yes, really.' Rachel said slyly.

'That's… amazing news!' He said as he did a spin around. 'I told you the number 7 was lucky.'

He quickly turned his attention to the Shinx. 'Well, since you're now in a team with my sis, I guess I can drop some formalities now.' He leaned in closer and talked in a softer voice. 'The name is Robert. Nice to meet ya.'

The Shinx gave a nod. 'Likewise, my name is Rai.'

Robert gave a nod to the two as he went back into a more natural demeanour. 'Alright, I guess I'll be seeing you two in the foreseeable future, right? Be sure to collect a lot of money along the way.'

'We will, Robert, we will.' Rachel said before turning around and motioning to Rai to follow her.

'Goodbye, mister Duskull.' He said before following Rachel.

Robert gave a quick wave before turning back to his business. 'I knew she could do it.' He whispered to himself before going on with his day.

'Duskull is a lot less scary then I thought.' Rai admitted as the two came to a stop at the crossroads.

'Yeah, he likes to give people he doesn't know a spook.' Rachel amused as she turned to him. 'Hey, I hope you don't mind, but I actually wanted to go to the beach for a bit.'

'Is it because it's right weather for the Krabby to come out and blow bubbles?' Rai asked.

'Exactly!' Rachel answered ecstatically. 'It's always so beautiful and helps me feel better after I start to feel down.'

'Then let's get going!' Rai said before sprinting to the beach, Rachel taking a moment to do the same.

Rachel soon caught up to her partner, only to see him frozen in place. She looked at what was bothering him and lays her eyes on a giant Pokémon.

The huge Pokémon didn't seem to notice the two; however, instead, she was sitting down, looking at the bubbles. 'THIS IS WHY SPACE IS GREAT, BECAUSE, WITHOUT SPACE, SUCH VIEWS WOULD NEVER HAVE EXISTED.' The Pokémon said to herself with a grin on her face.

The duo stood there in silence for a bit until Rachel tried talking to the Pokémon, to Rai's quiet protest. 'Uhm… Hello t-there?'

The Pokémon turned her head and gave the two a wave. 'OH, ARE YOU TWO HERE TO SEE THE BUBBLES?'

'We were planning on doing that, yes.' Rachel said, her bravado wavering.

The Pokémon was silent for a moment before giving a nod. 'SURE, IT'S NOT LIKE I OWN THE SOLE RIGHTS TO WATCHING THIS.'

The two let out a sigh of relief. 'T-thanks.' Rai said.

'NO PROBLEM.' She said.

Rachel and Rai said down and soon were entranced by the view. The bubbles reflecting the light of a lowering sun beautifully.

That was, until a sudden portal opened up, taking the three by surprise. While Rai and Rachel started to get worried, the other Pokémon let out an annoyed sigh and gave a flick with her fingers. This caused the portal to collapse in on itself, vanishing into a flash of blue and purple particles.

'WHY DOES MY BROTHER HAVE TO ANNOY ME EVEN HERE?' The Pokémon lamented.

Before the two could get back to watching the view, Sunflora called out for them before falling silent upon seeing the gigantic Pokémon.

'What's wrong, Sunflora?' Rai asked.

'D-d-d-diner w-will be s-soon.' Sunflora was able to let out before sprinting away from the area.

Rai and Rachel gave each other a nod and started to head back.

'HAVE A GOOD DAY SMALL POKEMON.' The large Pokémon said as they left. She soon resumed her therapeutic viewing.

The rest of the day went by in a flash, and before they knew it, they found themselves in their room, not very tired but certainly wanting to rest.

'Hey, Rachel, can I ask you a question?' Rai said after a while.

'Sure.' Rachel replied.

'About that bet, you forced, what was that all about?'

Rachel was silent for a moment. 'I didn't mean anything with it. I just thought that if I could motivate you to do this, then I wouldn't have any excuse to not do it.'

'I guess it worked, right?'

'Seems like it did.' Rachel said with a laugh. 'Still funny how we both have a piece of the same relic, eh?'

'Think it was destiny for us to meet?'

'Probably…' Rachel said, falling quiet for a bit afterwards. 'I might have said this already but, thanks again, Rai. I don't think I could ever have done this without you there.'

'Same for you. I don't think I could've handled the grate on my own.'

'Don't get me started on that grate. I almost had the idea it was some sort of alarm for criminals.'

The two of them share a laugh about that.

'Looking forward to working with you, Rai.'

'…You too. Goodnight, Rachel.'

'Night Rai.'

It was very cold. Cold and dark.

He tried to open his eyes, but he could only see a blur.

'Where… am…' He tried to mutter.

'Can't… drifting… why?'

A Meowth had stranded on the beach….

Hero: And that's a wrap on the first chapter. It was fun to make Rachel and Rai interact, with their similarities and differences.

Hero: This chapter was written by me, and the next one will be written by Ion. Look forward to that ;)

Ion: Well look at that? Hero and I have discussed a few crossovers before, this one was pretty interesting so we decided to go forwards with this one first. A proper fusion of our worlds and stories. For his, well you should know how Warped Skies gets. But for the Warped Skies bits, things might be a little lighter!

Ion: Can't promise how often updates come here though. I do have Warped Skies to write after all between a job, but we've got a fair few ideas that I'm excited to write! Stay safe everyone.