Chapter 5

"You can have my Pokemon when you pry them from my cold, dead hands," said Cynthia. Her arms were folded across her chest and, despite already being the tallest person in the room, she held her head high.

Dr. Stone held his hands up in a way Diantha imagined he thought would placate them. "That seems a little extreme. I promise no harm will come to your Pokemon."

It wasn't really the Pokemon that Diantha was concerned about so much as herself, given what they'd already seen today. When Dr. Stone had shown them all to what looked like a high tech locker room, she'd assumed it was some kind of bizarre joke. A bizarre joke that had fallen very short of the mark. Then she'd noticed the circular glass harness that leaned inside each locker with six Pokeball-shaped pockets. It wouldn't have been her first choice, but when Diantha was on set she hardly needed her Pokemon by her side and often left them at home. She had grown accustomed to travelling alone. Cynthia, on the other hand, was beside herself, and Steven didn't seem far behind.

"I haven't been separated from Garchomp in twenty-five years and if you think I'm letting it happen now-"

"-Not to mention sending us out into an island of dangerous Pokemon you can't control without any kind of protection," said Steven, cutting across Cynthia who pointed at him and nodded. Already it was feeling like it had been a long time since lunch.

Dr. Stone let out an audible huff. "It's perfectly safe. Would I send my favourite nephew out there if it wasn't?"

"Honestly, Uncle, I have no idea. Some very questionable decisions have already been made here on my behalf."

"Perhaps," said Diantha, forestalling whatever Cynthia had just opened her mouth to say, "if you told us why we have to leave our Pokemon behind we could move things on a little?" She'd been listening to this circular argument for about five minutes now and maybe she was imagining it, but a dull ache was starting to spread somewhere above her eyes. How it was only two o clock in the afternoon was beyond her. The day had already felt endless.

So far Dr. Stone had been vague about the Park's 'no Pokemon' policy, instead electing to recite security issues and discouragement against guests attempting to capture the creatures living on the island. It was unclear to her if Cynthia and Steven had picked up on it, but she had found it mightily suspicious. Now, he hesitated, making it very obvious they weren't going to like what he was about to say.

"We've had some…difficulties integrating other Pokemon to the habitat," said Dr. Stone. His fingers twisted around his cane and his smile became strained. "It seems to…rile the Pokemon living here."

"What exactly do you mean by rile," said Steven, eyes narrowing.

"Ranger Peck mentioned earlier that there had been other incidents with the resurrected Pokemon," said Stone. "Many of them were caused by the sight of other Pokemon not native to the island. The Machamp we had working with the builders, for example. They became…angry. Aggressive. We aren't sure if it's jealousy over a human trained Pokemon or some kind of biological instinct. It has become necessary to ban all other Pokemon from the island, however, for their own safety."

There was a pause, then, "And you didn't think to mention this to us before now? You can't invite three of the strongest Pokemon trainers in the world to a location and expect them not to have brought their Pokemon!"

"Now, now, Steven. Let's not get carried away with ourselves," said Stone. "As long as your Pokemon stayed in their Pokeballs there was unlikely to be a problem. I just feel now that it would be safer for all of us if they were left here."

"So just to clarify," said Diantha, "You want us to leave our only means of defence behind and then for us to wander into the wilds with territorial, angry Pokemon roaming around?"

"What I'm saying is that if you leave your Pokeballs here, in these very safe lockers, the Pokemon won't be angry or territorial."

They argued back and forth like this for some time, and Diantha came to the quick realisation that she hadn't been imagining that headache blossoming across her skull. Sensibly, Martin had stayed well out of it, instead choosing to lean against the wall next to the door with his arms folded. Diantha was starting to think he had the right idea. It would be easier to just do as she was told and then they could get this whole sorry mess over and done with. As much as she did want to see the fossil Pokemon, nothing was worth this.

That was why, after another few minutes of debate, Diantha pulled the Pokeballs from her belt and moved over to the nearest locker. Behind her she heard Steven fall silent somewhere in the middle of an impassioned rant that she hadn't been listening to, but she didn't turn around. She'd had quite enough of that. Instead, she mentally wished her Pokemon a happy rest and then placed them all gently in the holders provided. She felt a flicker of unease as her hand lingered over Gardevoir's Pokeball. Then she released it and took a step backwards.

"I'm bored," she said, turning back to the group. It wasn't quite what she'd meant to say and it didn't quite cover the feelings she was trying to get across. She thought that perhaps Cynthia had understood though, because after holding her gaze for a moment, she gave her a jerky nod and selected her own locker. For some reason, the tension that had settled in her chest didn't lift like she thought it would.


After what felt like an age, it was finally time to begin the tour of the park. Dr. Stone, having recovered instantly from his argument with his guests, smiled brightly as he ushered them back to the Visitors Centre, where a large car sat waiting for them, sporting the Prehistoric Park logo on each door. Martin allowed himself to be directed into the front by Stone and then he shot a smile at Diantha, so she altered her course and slid into the back of the car instead. Cynthia sat next to her.

"Where are the brakes?" Steven asked, ducking his head to look where the car pedals would usually be. The vehicle gave off a constant, electronic humming sound.

"Oh don't worry about that. The whole tour is automated!" Cynthia moved sideways then, to allow space for Dr. Stone to get in, but he shook his head. "I'd like to come with you, but I have some things to deal with back at the control base," he told them. "Don't worry though! I'll be on the comms installed into the car if you need me and we have security cameras on the dashboard if we need it." Very comforting. Then with a wave he sent them on their way.

To say things were tense would be an understatement.

Diantha tried to focus her attention on their electronic tour guide explaining some of the local flora blaring through the speakers inside the car, but she wasn't very successful. It was hard to concentrate with Cynthia sat next to her with that somehow audibly blank look on her face. She hadn't said a single word since leaving her Pokemon behind; even Steven didn't seem to know what to say to her. Diantha wished she knew enough about the women to help.

Instead, she folded her hands neatly together in her lap and looked out the window. Grey clouds rolled past, threatening rain.

The island was, at least, very beautiful. A pathway had been forged through the jungle, cut back enough so as to make the sky visible. The high electrified wire fences that penned in the fossil Pokemon around them was something of an eyesore, but they did make Diantha feel safer. She stared between the lush green trees and bushes, hoping to spot a Pokemon. So far she'd had no luck, despite the tour guide assuring them that they were in Armaldo territory. With the windows closed she couldn't even listen out for any clues about where they might be hiding. Her shoulders slumped.

"So," said Diantha, turning to her silent companion, "Dialga and Palkia? How did that happen?" She'd been wanting to ask since earlier, but it was hard to find an opening amongst the conflict.

Cynthia looked up and though her whole body remained stiff, her expression softened. "I'm not really supposed to talk about it," she said, in a way that suggested she definitely was going to talk about it if Diantha probed any further.

"Come on," said Steven, turning around onto his knees so he was facing them both. "Diantha's one of us now."

Cynthia seemed to think about that for a moment, then she smiled and Diantha felt herself smiling back and wondering, not for the first time, who Cynthia actually was. It was far too late in their acquaintance to ask at this point. "That's true. It will be nice to have another woman at the next tournament. There aren't very many of us."

"It will be nice to have another woman there for more than one reason I'd have thought," said Steven with a grin.

There was a momentary pause and then Cynthia scowled. "Alder." Out of the loop again, Diantha thought despondently.

"Yep."

"Who's Alder?" asked Diantha.

"The Unova League Champion," said Cynthia. "You won't be able to miss him when you eventually cross paths. He's the loudest person I've ever met."

"He's been trying to convince Cynthia to go on a date with him for the last...how long has it been? Five years?" said Steven. His eyes twinkled with an amusement his friend didn't seem to share. "Maybe he'll move onto Diantha now?"

"Six, and I don't know why you're all always so entertained by it. He's intolerable. I wouldn't wish that on Diantha. She's going to have enough to put up with with Blue strutting around like he owns the place, as he does with every new contender." Blue - the Champion of the Kanto region; now that one Diantha did know.

"Alder's harmless," said Steven to Diantha. Having had more than enough personal experience with men who wouldn't take no for an answer, she wasn't entirely convinced by Steven's defence. "He's just...persistent. And exuberant."

"There's only so many ways a girl can say 'no'," said Cynthia. Then perhaps she noticed Diantha's unhappy expression because she added, "He'd never push too far. He's just ridiculous. The kind of ridiculous that every time I see him again I'm surprised he's still alive. I once saw him trying to ride a Bouffalant across Humilau City while standing on it's back. Somehow ended up unscathed despite falling off a bridge."

Diantha made a mental note to run an internet search an Alder when she got back to her hotel later.

"Did you leap to his rescue?" asked Steven.

"He's a big boy," said Cynthia with a shrug. "He can rescue himself."

Somewhere in the back of her head Diantha dimly registered a break in the foliage to a sloping field broken up by a small, distant river. She glanced out the window, but none of the advertised Tirtouga could be seen. Maybe there were coming up to the larger lake they'd visited earlier. She hoped this wasn't all the tour had to offer, because as much as she enjoyed the occasional foray into nature (assuming she could ever find the time in her busy schedule), this wasn't really living up to the hype. Only Martin was still pressed up against the window in search of roaming Pokemon. The electronic tour guide droned on.

"Poor guy," said Steven, with faux-sympathy. "Maybe you should give him a chance."

"Or I could just throw myself off the nearest radio tower instead."

"An equally valid option," said Steven.

"Will you three keep it down!" said Martin, looking around with a scowl. "I'm trying to listen to the tour!"

Her first instinct was to protest that she hadn't been the one speaking, but Diantha resisted the urge. He wasn't worth her irritation and she didn't need to defend herself to an overly attentive corporate lawyer. Instead, she looked at Cynthia, who rolled her eyes.

"Well that's us told, isn't it?" she muttered. Diantha smiled faintly.

With the conversation well and truly killed, she turned her attention back out the window.


Peck whisked through the double doors leading to Prehistoric Park's main control area. This was his least favourite room in the entire park, and there was some stiff competition for that dubious honour. Something about the rows of computer terminals and video screens created a false sense of security that put him on edge. A barrier of safety between the workers and the the beasts living around the island. Stone already took a rather lax approach to security without the illusion of safety within his electronic bunkers giving him another reason to be lackadaisical about it. On top of that, the whole room smelled like grease.

"National Weather Service is tracking a tropical storm about seventy-five miles west of us," he said. Jack, the island's chief technician, turned his head and acknowledged Peck with a nod.

"Why are they all hiding?" said Stone. He peered closely at the wall of monitors, each showing a different group of Pokemon from all across the park. "I didn't pour over half of my fortune into this island to have all the Pokemon hide behind trees when the tourists pass by." On one screen two Archens fought over what looked like an oran berry.

"Sir," said the Peck, resenting the honorific. The man might be paying him, but as far as he was concerned Stone had yet to do anything to earn Peck's respect. "Did you hear what I said?"

"Yes, yes," said Stone, waving a dismissive hand. His gaze was fixed on the dashboard camera of his brand new tour vehicle, and Peck could see why. The actress they'd inexplicably brought on board for the tour looked bored out of her mind and the other guests didn't look far behind. Quite a blow to Stone's ego, Peck suspected. Personally, he'd have liked for them to have run more checks on the vehicle before sending three of the world's most beloved champions out into this accident waiting to happen, but Stone had made it very clear that it wasn't his place to have an opinion on issues that fell outside of his purview.

"I'll keep an eye on it," Peck continued. "Maybe we'll get lucky and it will swing south like the last one." He knew he was talking into the ether, but at least somebody in this damn office needed to be on the ball.

As if to prove his point, a young technician bumped into the back of his shoulder as he staggered towards the large, glass map against the far wall. Peck's hand instinctively twitched towards the tranquiliser gun strapped to his belt. It took a moment for his mind to register that there was no threat here - just a harried worker trying to rush through his to-do list before everyone began their migration home. Unfortunately, Peck would be staying on the island for the night, as requested by Stone, because the chances of their first tour going smoothly was slim to none. He didn't relish the thought; while he didn't enjoy the Park during the day, there was something downright unsettling about it during the night.

"Why are the headlights on?" asked Jack, leaning forward and squinting at his own computer monitor. "It's the middle of the day." Stone didn't respond. "I'll just add it to the list of 'things to fix at a later date' then, shall I?"


"A charging Rampardos can knock down virtually anything with one hit," said their absent tour guide, which Diantha now vaguely recognised as someone she'd once worked with on a movie. Stone really had spared no expense. "A hundred-million years ago, it lived in jungles much like these, where it tore down trees to catch it's prey. It enjoys barging into objects with it's head to train it's strength and reflexes…" And on it went. It was hard to say how long had passed, but it felt rude somehow to check her phone for the time.

She had been in something of a daze for about half an hour when a member of their group finally spoke again.

"Here?" said Steven. Diantha's eyebrows furrowed; though she was looking, she wasn't really seeing what was going on around her. Here what? Had she missed something? Cynthia looked out the window and then nodded her head.

"Here," she said.

Then without warning, the two of them opened their doors and jumped out of the moving vehicle. Diantha blinked and then stared after them. She was startled back into her self when her own door was pulled open by Cynthia, who was now jogging beside the car.

"Care for an extra-curricular adventure?" she said, cheeks already pink from exertion. In the front seat Martin was twisting around, spluttered protests spilling from his lips. Diantha ignored him, as for her own sanity she had been doing for most of the day. It took her a few seconds to answer, but in the end it wasn't a hard decision to make.

"Absolutely."

Cynthia beamed at her and held out a hand. Diantha took it and allowed herself to be hoisted from her seat. Well, if nothing else, today was certainly keeping her on her toes.


Back in the control room, Peck slammed his hand down on the nearest desk. "I told you we should have put locks on the door!"


AN: To OS - I'm away this weekend so I won't really have time to do anything fanfiction based for a while, but when I get back I will definitely consider posting on Ao3 as well as here. Thanks for the suggestion.

To everyone else - thank you for reading :-)