Now Playing, Fools, by Lauren Aquilina
Bzzt.
"Good morning, Swellowtail City, Katapa, everyone who may be listening. This is WXYZ Radio, 106.9, nice, back again to wish you a very good morning."
"Professor Sycamore, please stop making that joke. It's not funny. And I hear it enough during class."
"Roxanne, what people need most in the morning is a bit of humor to put them in a good mood. Coffee by itself doesn't cut it."
"I prefer tea, actually."
"Surprising absolutely nobody. Now, before we get into the routine morning argument which I will undoubtedly win due to the strength of my belief in espresso and my stunning good looks, we do have a guest. He wishes to remain anonymous, and we have him over the phone. Joey Doe, please tell us about the strange things you have encountered in the Katapa region. As our more regular listeners know, the show was established to investigate strange events in the region that may be Legendary in nature, though we also dig into all kinds of mystery."
"Am I good?"
"Yes, Mr. Doe, go ahead."
"Well, ah, I was out last night looking for rare Pokémon and outside the Poké Mart, I saw this guy catch a Pokémon I've never seen before."
"You were searching for rare Pokémon in the middle of the city? I don't have to be a professor to tell you that isn't-"
"I was in a rush, y'know? And, uh, sorry for interrupting."
"No troubles. Go ahead with your story."
"Well, the guy catches this thing- he called it a Golett- then an hour later, I watch him walk into a bar."
"Now, telling from your voice, are you underage, Mr. Doe?"
"N-no. I'm… twenty-one for sure. I was a really good tenor, uh, in the trainer school choir. Yeah."
"Ouch. Snip snip, am I right?"
"Professor, that is disgusting. This is public radio."
"Anyway, back to the bar. What was so strange about it, Mr. Doe?"
"Um, see, the guy went in and challenged the biggest guy in there, I mean, super tall and buff, to a Pokémon battle."
"Right."
"And he won."
"Right."
"And he used the Bond Phenomenon less than an hour after catching this Pokémon."
"Ri- Wait, really?"
"That's quite rare, Professor."
"I know. Really, a bond that fast… are you sure, Mr. Doe?"
"I mean, it's possible that it could have been longer or shorter, but I saw that Pokéball capture that Pokémon, not just return it."
"That's really something. Moi Helix, Roxanne, have you ever heard of something like that?"
"I've only been in Katapa for a few months, I really can't say."
"Well, how about that? Mr. Doe, can you describe this mystery man to us?"
"Uh, let me think. Called himself Wayfarer Black for one, but he was kinda plain. Blue jacket and I think black pants, then a Pokéball cap, and… no, he definitely had gray eyes. I think I saw them sparking a few times."
"Huh. Wayfarer Black. Roxanne, do we have a Wayfarer Black in our database?"
"You know well that we don't."
"Had to verify. I'm a scientist, of course."
"What's your Ph.D.?"
"Moving on, thank you for your time, Mr. Doe."
"Professor?"
"-I don't care how traditional it is, your tea doesn't have enough milk and sugar to wake anyone up in the morning!"
"Excuse me?! I'll have you know-"
Bzzt.
"This isn't much of a shelter," Hilbert said, tripping over another crystal glowing blue.
The cave was made of them, with the outcroppings being more prevalent than bare stone.
"Go," Golurk said, marching along the floor as if he had a map. Being a Ground-type, that was entirely possible.
Another Pokémon, vaguely identified as a Carbink, floated away as they passed, not out of any sense of preservation or fear, just because it did. It was hard to believe they were Pokémon, sometimes.
"This reminds me of Chargestone Cave," Hilbert said, looking at the crystals overhead before stubbing his toe on an outcropping beneath.
"Go?"
"It's a," he hissed, "Cave filled with electrical energy that makes the rocks float. Have you never been there?"
"Go," Golett said, shaking their head.
"You don't have many memories, do you?"
Golett shrugged.
"Hey, that's fine. I had a dream about a guy like that once. He was albino and pretty whiny, but I think he was a cool guy. Really shouldn't have told Hilda about that, let me tell you."
"Go."
"If I ever take you home, I'll-" Hilbert paused. A jolt of electricity had jumped from his hand to one of the nearby crystals.
It actually held the bolt, letting it float around before the crystal began floating.
Hilbert looked at it for a minute. Golett turned and was similarly lost.
"Huh."
"Go."
Hilbert poked it. He didn't feel a reciprocal shock and watched the crystal float away.
After bumping into the wall, it grounded and dropped to the ground without any charge.
Hilbert glanced at Golett.
Golett stared back.
"...Do you think I should grab some of this?"
As if to answer, a Carbink touched a wall nearby, converting a bit of the rock into crystal.
"If it's renewable…"
"Go," Golett said, nodding rapidly.
Hilbert grabbed an empty tube for storage, cracked the crystal into smaller bits, almost like gravel, and filled it up. He then slipped it back into his bag.
He had most of his items from Unova, just no way to actually contact everyone.
"I heard that these rocks are the reason Swellowtail City is the capital of technology, I just didn't expect them to be such good conductors by default," Hilbert rambled.
"Go."
"And I guess they count as rocks, so that explains the Gym Leader's type."
"Go."
"But really, rocks? Not diamonds, rubies, sapphires, emeralds, anything? Just cool rocks? I've heard that room temperature superconductors are useful, but-"
Golett kicked him forward. "GO!"
He had caught sight of a poster asking about strange occurrences in the Katapa region, saying to call a certain number or go to a certain address between eight in the morning and six in the afternoon.
Given his cross-transceiver had committed Kantonian ritual suicide without a sword, he had to seek out the address himself.
That took him a few days. While the city seemed fairly modern, the infrastructure was rough and uneven. Roads ended abruptly, curved, and changed directions entirely which made navigating a nightmare.
Eventually though, he ended up downtown close to noon, wandering down the street looking for the exact address.
Part of the street was shut down for some kind of festival. He stopped to buy some boiled peanuts, since they were a popular local snack, though his main focus was finding the radio station.
At the address he expected, the front doors were closed off. Rather, tables were set outside with a large banner hanging from them, naming the event "WXYZ Radio Pit Stop."
Only two of the seats had placards on them, belonging to a man in a lab coat and a…
By Helix, was that Roxanne from the Pokémon World Tournament? It was the Hoenn Leaders Tournament if he recalled correctly, and while he didn't go very far in that particular challenge, he recalled seeing her around once or twice.
He stumbled over, crunching another peanut and swallowing it whole.
"Must be a northerner, heh," he heard someone say, but that couldn't possibly have been directed at him, right?"
His attention was directed to the table, where the man in the lab coat was beginning to speak to the guest, a passerby.
"Now, Ms. Doe, please tell us about this "Pokébominable snowman.""
"Well, Professor, I was in the mountains on a trip, and I saw this massive sheet of ice coming down the mountain. I thought it was an avalanche. But then it stopped, looked at me, and ran off."
"Wow. Huh, Roxanne, what do you think about that?"
"It's not a rock. I haven't a clue."
The Professor tapped a button. A laugh track played over a nearby speaker.
"Hm. I have a hypothesis. Ms. Doe, have you considered that it could have been a Crabominable?"
"A what?"
He began gesturing wildly to the air. "Well, it's a rather large Fighting and Ice-type that is thought to be the Kingler species' distant Alolan cousin. It would be incredibly rare in this climate, but in Alola, they can only be found on snowy peaks."
"Wow, I didn't know that, Professor Sycamore. You know a lot of things, I'm a big fan," the passerby said.
"Thank you. I'm restricted to radio because the ratings for other shows on television would plummet when I go on." Another laugh track. "Alas, I have to rely on my and my co-host's mind to get by."
"I'm not your co-host, you paid my trainer school off, made me go on sabbatical, and told me to take a guest tour as a Gym Leader."
The Professor hesitated.
He clicked the laugh track button again.
"What does a Crabominable look like, exactly?" the passerby asked.
Roxanne spoke up, launching into a detailed description of arms, legs, and fur.
That wasn't what Hilbert paid attention to, however.
It was the strange shapes beginning to pour out of her head. They looked almost like letters…
Ah, they must have been Unown. He remembered the source of the written language from trainer school. However, they seemed to be made of glass. Bit by bit, they began filling with water from nowhere.
They began floating towards the passerby.
Hilbert watched the first one, an 'F,' float by him.
Then there were a pair of 'O's.
There was an 'L', and though he might have been able to, he didn't reach it.
Sure of the speed and pattern, he reached out and grabbed the glass 'S' before it could pass him by.
Most of the audience members didn't notice it, dismissing it as his swatting at a fly or something similar.
Roxanne, however, froze and looked straight at him.
Sycamore caught her reaction, though he didn't visibly react. He looked at Hilbert as he released the glass Unown. "Hello, there! Do you have any strange to report?"
"Uh… sort of?" Hilbert said, still working off his headache from his last battle.
"That's great! Why don't you sit down?" Augustine gestured to an empty seat. "Are you a listener?"
Hilbert slid into his seat before answering into the stand-up microphone. "No, I just saw a poster when I was walking around."
Augustine dramatically reeled while the laugh track played. "Ouch. I guess we're not so popular yet. That's fine," he said, "Now, tell us about your strange tales."
"Well, see, I'm from," Hilbert began. A shock ran across his body, but it didn't immobilize him. It threatened to jump to the microphone. Zekrom must have been trying to keep him on a short leash. If he said anything about that, though, they probably would. "...out of town. I'm… a decent trainer, and I worked with a Legendary Pokémon back in the day."
"Really? Was it one of the common Beasts or Birds? Or were they more mythical, like Wintullr, Xerneas, Yveltal, or Zygarde?"
"Who to the what now?" Hilbert asked.
The laugh track played again.
"Well, young man, local mythology is what we're researching in particular. With the help of the Aether Foundation's regional branch and Katapa Company, we're hoping to discover and catalog what influence those four Legendaries have over this region."
"I'm new around here. The Aether Foundation is a… Pokémon care group, right?" He had run into a few of their members in Unova, some in the employ of Team Plasma at lower levels, some working against them at higher ones. They weren't so much about Pokémon rights as they were about preservation. "And Katapa Company must be a regional thing, because I've never heard of it."
"Well, how about that? That's just a hoot, isn't it, Roxanne?" he asked.
Roxanne sighed. "You're from Kalos, Professor Sycamore, and I'm from Hoenn. We're hardly at liberty to make fun of him."
"The straight woman as usual," the Professor said, playing the laugh track again. "And I never asked, what is your name, young man? Of course, you can remain anonymous if you like."
"Black." Hilbert flinched again, though he didn't have time to correct himself.
"Ah, I see," the Professor said nonchalantly, though his eyes narrowed slightly. "To give you the run-down, Katapa Company is in charge of administering this region and its Pokémon League. It's technically a sect of the United Regions like most regional leagues, but it has leeway on a local basis. That's why the Gym Challenge is so wonky and more about the journey. I would have looked that up before visiting, wouldn't you?"
"Maybe. What do you mean by wonky?" Hilbert said.
"Well, most have to register as a Pokémon Scout with the Company," the Professor said, waving his hand in a loose circle. "Surely you've seen them walking around in their uniforms."
Hilbert thought back to the youngster he had run into. "Once or twice."
"The official uniform is much more decorated, but loosely, there are guidelines for how each type of scout dresses."
"It's not just the tan shirts?" Hilbert asked.
"No. The tan shirts are worn by scouts without specialization. They have the widest fields of study and are generally skilled in most areas, though none in specific. Then there are the green shirts, which are Venturing Scouts, who are most skilled in orienteering and traveling. They're allowed to use their badges from other regions in their Gym Challenge here. The blue shirts are Sea Scouts, though they usually wear typical sailor clothes. They spend a lot of time on the water, so you'll find them on the ocean and in Florentine City."
"What's that like?" Hilbert asked.
"Filled with canals. Quite beautiful in the summer, but rather muddy in the winter," Roxanne said. The glass Unown started spinning around her head again.
Hilbert shot her a warning glare, making it clear he was glancing at the transparent Pokémon. "Is that it, Professor?"
"No, there are two more. The most recent division added are the Sky Scouts, who have a bright red shirt. They have to be easy to spot even in the air, and obviously, they specialize in aviation and flying Pokémon. The last one is more incognito, as their uniform shirt is either black or white. Explorer Scouts are more about the business end of things. They'll be accomplished in their own right as trainers, but most often they'll be traveling with a career goal in mind."
"Huh," Hilbert said. "That's really something."
"It is," the Professor said, nodding sagely. "You have to register with a corps during your Gym Challenge, so keep that in mind. Each trainer is an individual scout, though with their Pokémon they form a troop, a well-oiled traveling machine."
"A Pokémon that can make water, a Pokémon that can make a shelter, a Pokémon that can start a fire, that sort of thing?"
"Just about. Are you taking the Gym Challenge, Black?"
"Dunno," Hilbert shrugged. "I'm sort of going with the flow right now, seeing where the wind takes me."
"Ah, a wanderer, then?"
"Not… quite?" Hilbert asked.
"Now, I hate to be nosy, but could you tell us why you're visiting this region."
Hilbert paused before answering.
"Zekrom made me do it."
The microphone exploded and he fell out of his chair, convulsing on the concrete for a moment.
"Monseigneur Helix, are you alright?!" the Professor asked, halfway out of his chair.
"It comes and goes. Sorry about the mic," Hilbert said, pushing himself up while no worse for wear. He reached for his wallet. "How much for that?"
"I think we should discuss that… inside." The Professor flashed a winning smile. "I would hate to disturb everyone's day with any more explosions.
The studio was on the bottom level of a three-story building, through a door that led into a small waiting room across from a typical soundproof booth.
The door's lock clicked into place.
"You can see my Stand," Roxanne said.
The Professor leaned on the door, hands in his labcoat's pockets. "Zekrom is the Legendary Pokémon you were talking about, then? That's interesting. I hadn't factored Ideals into the struggle, but I suppose they would get involved somehow. With a region so saturated in aura, I should have expected that sooner."
Hilbert squared his shoulders. "Let's get this straight. Stand? Struggle? Aura? Explain that to me."
"It's an aura ability," Roxanne said, crossing her arms. "I only discovered it after arriving in Katapa. It stands by my side, so I call it a Stand."
Hilbert thought back to trainer school. "I thought aura was that thing Lucario and Aron can use."
"Sir Aaron was a mythical human aura user. Still, you're not far off," the Professor said. "In other regions, that's the most there is to it. Here, however, it's much different."
"That doesn't look like an Aura Sphere," Hilbert said, pointing at the glass Unown forming around her head. "And would you stop doing that?"
She flushed. "I'm sorry about that, it's an automatic response. My Stand, Fools, allows me to transfer knowledge both to and from myself from others, whether they are people or Pokémon. I'm a teacher at a trainer school in Hoenn, and I'm used to having to explain things… I suppose it's given me a bad habit whenever explanations run down my patience."
"Why are the two of you in Katapa, then?" Hilbert asked, taking a step back.
"Same reason you are, I imagine," the Professor said with a cutting gaze. "There's something strange going on here. In Kalos and Hoenn, there is a phenomenon known as Mega Evolution, which I believe was originally granted by Xerneas and Yveltal."
"I've seen them at the Pokémon World Tournament," Hilbert said. "You mentioned Xerneas and Yveltal earlier, what's up with that?"
"There's a storm brewing in Katapa," the Professor said.
"That's rather ominous, Professor," Roxanne said.
He waved her off. "I think we can all go by our names here. Black, call me Augustine. I hardly care for the title."
"You're acting differently than you were earlier."
"It's a character," Augustine said. "Now, to elaborate, there are only three Legendary Pokémon said to live in Kalos. It is also said that those three, in addition to a fourth, live in Katapa."
"That one is named Wintullr, right?" Hilbert asked.
"Yes. You see, Xerneas and Yveltal counter each other by their mere existence. Life and death exist in contrast, yet there is not one without the other. However," Augustine said, lifting a finger. "That would leave Zygarde by itself."
"But Zygarde is… balance, isn't it?"
"It is, but even so, it has its own counterbalance. What is the opposite of balance, Black?"
Hilbert thought for a moment. "Chaos?"
Augustine nodded and walked over to a filing cabinet. He pulled out a poster and laid it flat on a nearby table.
The paper was well-used, almost archaic, likely pored over hundreds of times. A spindly tree displayed on the edge of space. Above the tree, a red-winged Pokémon flew, labeled Yveltal. In the middle, atop a platform of trees and plains, a blue deer-like Pokémon stood gallantly, each of its horns adorned with a bright gem. It was labeled Xerneas. At the base of the tree, wrapping around each of its roots, was a serpent clad in black and green scales. It seemed to be the only thing preventing the tree from growing out of control, and it was labeled Zygarde.
"That's only three," Hilbert said.
Augustine raised the poster up to the light. Behind the tree, faint lines indicated a crack in the sky, and a blocky, ice-covered golem spreading its arms.
"This tree is the Katapa region," he glanced over to Hilbert. "I don't think we need to be enemies in this. In fact, merely traveling and telling us what happens may be helpful. That's why the station is so open. If we can discover the root of all of the strange things in Katapa, then we may be able to help a lot of people and Pokémon."
"And secure your funding, of course," Hilbert said.
Augustine shrugged. "I'm a scientist. She's an archaeologist. We do our jobs. The Aether Foundation knows more about Wintullr than they let on. Katapa Company is wrapped up in too many layers of secrecy and spiritualism to tell us anything important. We need help, Black. There's something strange in this region. You're involved in it too, now."
Hilbert sighed. He saw Zekrom in his mind's eye, but the lightning that ran over his neck felt almost… warm. Approving, almost.
"I suppose I'm here for a reason," Hilbert said. "But if I have to fight terrorists again, I want at least some danger pay."
Invisible atop a building in the heart of Swellowtail City, Magearna was clicking excitedly.
Volcanion watched the boy as he left WXYZ Radio and paced down the street rubbing his head.
"I thought I may have had to intervene for a moment," Volcanion said. Steam hissed out of their back and melted into the city sky. "I sense something within him."
Magearna chittered, waving their arms.
"Yes, Zekrom will make a good ally, but I am not so sure about the boy."
Magearna pouted at them, their mechanical face shifting easily.
"I still do not understand your definition of "cute," but if you feel the same way about him as you do the other two, then I suppose it is acceptable."
A storm was brewing on the horizon.
"My lady, I sense we are not the only ones with a stake in this region."
Magearna clicked worriedly. They turned to a pair of lights, invisible to most, if not all, but the two of them. One red and one blue, they raced across the sky.
"You need not concern yourself any further. I will protect you and your chosen."
Magearna whirred happily and engulfed Volcanion in a hug.
The quadrupedal Pokémon grunted. "Get off of me!"
Magearna continued regardless, almost laughing in their mechanical voice.
Augustine made a call. The video machine rang for a few moments before it was answered.
"Aurea, how have you been? Is that mess in Unova all cleared up?"
"I've been well," Professor Aurea Juniper said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Team Plasma has been disbanded and the League is cleaning up their mess."
"Tres bien, tres bien… listen, Aurea, what do you know about Zekrom?"
"Zekrom?" she blinked, "They're one of Unova's Legendary Pokémon. Why?"
"Can you look into their history for me? I need to know about their past of choosing champions."
Aurea looked puzzled. "Well, of course, there was the younger of the Two Brothers, and it is said that revolutionaries often had their favor, but… what do you mean by that?"
"People who can channel a Legendary's power. An avatar, if you will. Someone that they've turned into a conduit."
"...What exactly is happening in Katapa?" Aurea asked.
Augustine shrugged. "I wish I knew."
Omake:
The stage of the Pokémon World Tournament was covered by a hundred spotlights. The crowd roared as two trainers entered from opposite ends. Their portraits flashed on the jumbotron, split by a bolt of violent lightning.
The announcer whipped the audience in a frenzy.
"Introducing, the Baron's Master, the Petal Storm, the Key to the Lock! The Bug-type Gym Leader of Hoenn, JAAAAAAAAAAN ROLLSBURROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW!"
The crowd jumped out of their seats and cheered.
His opponent looked sheepish at all of the attention, rubbing his neck and laughing awkwardly.
"And… Hilbert."
Nothing.
Somewhere off in the distance, a Kriketune played a sad song on the world's tiniest violin.
"Well, screw you guys too!" Hilbert yelled at the silent auditorium.
*Hoenn's Bug Catcher reference
As someone who was born and raised down south, I didn't know you were supposed to spit out the shells of boiled peanuts and sunflower seeds until someone told me. I still don't, because if you've ever tried creole-spiced boiled peanuts, then there's no way you'll waste the flavor.
Introducing more aura MC nonsense is Roxanne with the JoJo reference. Stands are formed from life energy, and what is aura if not that? Even so, there's more kinds of aura related nonsense to come. Sycamore is the most normal canon character in this setting, though my personal interpretation of him is a wannabe-casanova-persona hiding sharp, Lysandre-esque mind.
And because there's not much else to do down south, Scouting is a big part of the culture. Most people are at least tertiarily into or aware of scouting, through a relative or some such. That translates to the Pokémon trainers, who do a lot of hiking, traveling, and cooking on the road. I like Scouting and I think everyone should do it, as long as they have the right attitude for it. It goes beyond gender, race, creed, all that stuff; I've seen it myself. So yes, throw in Scouts along with everything else.
Also, more Gen 6 parallels. I wonder what that's about. No clue. Nope. No idea what's going on there.
It wouldn't be a MikaelBrigman story without tons of weird shit thrown in, so I hope everyone is enjoying it.
Read, review, flame, whatever fits your tastes, please do!