In a deep cave at the center of Lake Verity, the legend of spirit stirred.
There was a twist of destiny, somewhere. An event out of place, a man out of time. Things were not as they should be.
Mesprit dismissed its concern, and fell back into its deep sleep.
A Mid-Sinnoh Night's Dream - II - Who's Drill Is It, Anyway?
It was early into the afternoon when they finally arrived in Jubilife. Golett beat anything they came across with ease, being immune to Normal-type attacks and resisting the Flying-type. Mudslap and Pound came in handy, suffice to say.
Lucas seemed a bit annoyed at his sweeping tendencies, as Chimchar looked like he was itching for a battle.
Noticing that, they headed off to the Trainer School, because Dawn thought boys were dumb, or something like that.
"Do we seriously have to spend the first day of our adventure in a lecture?" Groaned Barry, letting Piplup swing the door open as he sulked.
"Yes. Even if I'm not taking the gym challenge like you six, I'm making sure you know what you're doing," she replied, disappointed in Barry's lack of enthusiasm.
"For the professor's research?" Asked Hilbert.
"Well, we do owe him for giving us Pokemon…" Lucas said, more to himself than anyone else.
"I already know this stuff!" Barry exclaimed, tugging his hair. They were walking down a corridor to find the actual classroom. The Trainer School in Jubilife was the largest in Sinnoh, on the level of some Unovan universities.
"Oh, do you? What attacks do Fairy-types resist?"
"...Fairy-types?"
The seminar topic was on type advantages. A massive chart was on the blackboard behind the presenter, nineteen columns and nineteen rows. Marks were scattered across, red and blue.
The eight of them slipped in the back while the starters were pulled into their Pokeballs. Golett insisted he sit in as well, like everyone else.
A few minutes in, Barry looked like he could start slamming his head into the desk any moment.
Lucas had pulled out some stationary and was recreating the type chart.
Seeing that, Hilbert resolved to take a nap, and let Lucas catch them up later.
He was jolted when the formally-dressed presenter's Loudred echoed his voice louder than before. "Now, we likely all know of the basic type matchups. Grass beats water, water beats fire, and fire beats grass. However, obviously so, there are fifteen entire types and dozens of matchups you may not know as much about. As such, I ask for volunteers who work with non-indigenous Pokemon to demonstrate these matchups!"
Hilbert felt a sudden dread that he might have to do some work.
"How about… You! Boy with the Golett in the eighth row!"
He sighed and stood up, planting his hands on the desk. "Yeah, alright."
"Please come to the stage."
He walked down, Golett thudding down alongside him. The golem wasn't that heavy, despite being made of rocks. He tended to use his Ghost-typing to lessen the load, unless he was trying to hit Hilbert and make it hurt.
Another trainer walked down, with a strange dog-like Pokemon. His hair looked naturally blond, so Hilbert guessed they were from Galar or Kalos or something.
"Right, thank you. Please introduce your Pokemon and state their typings." The instructor stepped back, giving the four some space.
"I'm Black, and this is my partner, Golett."
Of course I used my cool nickname, you think anyone is going to respect me if I go by 'Hilby'?
"He's a Ground-Ghost type."
Golett flashed his lights in confirmation.
The other trainer introduced themself. "'Ello, I'm Charles, this is my best mate, Yampa- I mean, er, Yamper. Little guy's an Electric-type you see."
Yamper wagged its tail and barked.
"Right, thank you. Charles, please demonstrate an ineffective move."
"Got my pick o' the lot, don't I? Yampa, Nuzzle!" The Electric-type bark and ran up to Golett, charging electricity on its fur and attempting to transfer it to the golem. To which, obviously, it had no effect.
"Thank you. Do you have any super-effective moves at your disposal?"
"Yes'ir, I might. Yampa… Use Bite!"
Golett held out an arm for the Pokemon to bite onto, which it did. It refused to let go though.
"Black, please use a move you believe is super-effective."
Hilbert nodded, and Golett gathered a palm-full of mud in his hands. The golem slapped it onto Yamper, sending the yowling Pokemon skittering back to its trainer.
"That's a smart one you got, mate. Didn't have to say anything." Charles pulled a spray bottle and comb out of his saddlebag and crouched down to his Pokemon.
"Yeah, he's smart like that. His punches hurt like hell though." Hilbert absentmindedly rubbed at his bruised shins.
"Ahem." The presenter brought their attention back to him. "Thank you for the demonstration. Please return to your seats. Now, as you can see, Pokemon can learn moves that don't align with their typings…"
Barry stretched his arms as they walked off the campus. "Ah, man, I'm beat. Did you really have to use your nickname though?"
"You think they would take me seriously if I said my name was Hilbert?"
"...You've got a point, Hilby."
"I said don't call me that!"
"Whatever, lets get some food!"
Piplup appeared out of his ball just to raise a flipper and squawk in agreement.
Okay, listen. I'm not saying that Starmiebucks is a dumb name, but-
They sat at a round table on the patio, eating some pastries. Golett was watching them, and even without a mouth or facial muscles, looked jealous that they could eat such good looking food.
Well, good was subjective. It was a chain restaurant, after all.
There was a loud 'boom', suddenly. Hilbert shot out of his seat, curious. Smoke was rising in the sky not very far from them.
One of the baristas stopped by their table, seeing their concern. "Oh, they're filming the new Mecha-Tyranitar movies a few streets over. I wouldn't worry about it."
"They are?" Barry jumped up, excited, rather than worried... But that's Barry for you. "Let's go check it out!"
The entire street was covered in scrap metal, and the road mouths were blocked by camera equipment and vans. A Tyranitar was fighting a Garchomp, hand to hand- Claw to claw?- in the middle of the street, while Magnezones with cameras attached flew overhead. A sizable crowd was gathered, watching the action. He could hear the buzzing of Porygons and Rotoms in the equipment as they talked with the crew.
"Hey, aren't they supposed to be wearing armor?" Barry asked one of the crew members, who was taking a drink of water.
"Nah, that's too much work. We add that in during post-processing. Porygons are great at handling that kind of thing."
"Aw man…"
"Why are you disappointed? Did you think the armor was real?" Hilbert said, shaking his head. Of course, he'd seen a few of the main series movies, who hadn't? It must've been one of the spin-offs, he thought.
"Yeah, man… I wanted to try it on myself!"
"...You know that those Pokemon are at least twice your height, right?"
"Details, details, who cares?"
"Alright!" Yelled one of the crew members, the director by the look of it. "Start up the machine, Rotom! It's time for the mega evolution scene!"
"...You guys know what you're doing, right?" Last he'd heard, you needed friendship or something to access the next step.
"Of course, it's all proven science… I think. We've got a machine that will make them mega evolve, no trainer required." The crew member started looking less certain.
"There's no chance of them, say, berserking like they did that one time in Kalos, is there?"
There was a bright orange flash as the two Pokemon took on their new forms. Garchomps limbs became sharper, its claws became serrated blades, while Tyranitar looked like an absolute fortress, rocky spikes extending even further from its spine. They roared and started attacking each other with more ferocity, like an animalistic rage.
The crew member finally answered him, shaking off a daze. "No, of course not! We use mind-control braces linked up to Porygons, there's not a chance of that happening!"
A whisper traveled over from the director's chair.
"Sir, the Porygons have been locked out of the control program. They aren't running on our commands anymore."
"Huh? Oh, whatever. I'm sure it'll be fine." The director waved off his Rotom and leaned in to watch the battle.
A wave flew outwards, knocking the Magnezones slightly off balance.
"Yeah, sure… Hey, I'd suggest everyone take a step back." He placed a hand in front of Dawn's chest and motioned for the others to step backwards. Everyone in the crowd seemed hesitant to be there, all of a sudden, and those that weren't had the feeling they would soon be.
Garchomp let out a fierce cry, and hit Tyranitar square in the chest, causing it to turn pavement into gravel as it skidded backwards into the building behind it. The concrete shook, and there was a massive hole left in the building as Tyranitar shot out, eyes glowing red, and started attacking again.
"This is… This isn't in the script?" The director paged through a booklet, checking the stage directions, but didn't seem too concerned besides that.
"Sir, I think we should tell the Magnezone crew to use Thunder Wave…" Said a nervous crew member, walking up to her boss.
"Bah! It's just a little damage, the main studio's paying for it anyway."
Who put this guy in charge?
"Hey, Barry. You can run, right? Go grab an officer Jenny, I think we're about to need them."
"Don't be so paranoid- Actually, I see what you mean." He turned and ran down the street, and instead of heading for the police station, went straight into the Jubilife TV station.
"Idiot…" He mumbled, turning his attention back to the battle.
Garchomp jumped into the air, and swung Tyranitar into the side of the same building as before. Half of the wall came down, three stories worth of concrete and brick crumbling down onto the set.
"Sir, I really think-" The crew's protests were cut off as Tyranitar used Flamethrower, and inadvertently knocked out a Magnezone, who landed at the feet of the director.
"Hm. Well, I'm going to my trailer." The fat director stood up, dusted off his cartigan, and walked off. "Wake me up when clean-up is over."
"Who the… Who the hell put that guy in charge of two, mega-evolved Pokemon! Two dragons, no less!" Hilbert ranted, as everyone started backing away from the barrier. Just in time too, as Tyranitar piledrived Garchomp into the pavement, cracking the ground beneath their feet. Two crew members dragged the KO'ed Magnezone away, and started trying to salvage ground equipment.
"Wait, what are you going to do about them?"
The same crew member looked up from the box he was carrying. "Dunno. I guess some Jenny's will figure it out. We don't have any trained Pokemon who can fight, and the Magnezone that's still filming is occupied."
"You- How many safety regulations does that violate! Mind control, mega evolutions, no trainers on standby-"
"Take it up with the main studio, I'm getting out of here."
"Oh my Arceus, you people are stupid!"
"That isn't a swear in Sinnoh, Hilbert."
"Dawn, that is so, so not the point right now!" Hilbert said, kicking aside a barrier and letting Golett through.
"Wait, what are you doing?"
"What am I doing? I'm doing what these numbskulls won't even try! Golett, STOMPING TANTRUM!"
Golett jumped high into the air, charging his limbs, before crashing back down nearby the two berserkers. The weakened equivalent of an Earthquake shook the ground, attracting the ferocious stares of the two mega Pokemon.
"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, HEY! I'm going to tell you something important now, so you better dig the wax out of those huge ears of yours and listen!"
His words grabbed the attention of the two Pokemon who looked confusedly between him and Golett; And, unbeknownst to him at the time, a few news persons who'd arrived at the scene.
"The reputation of Team Black echoes far and wide. When they talk about its badass leader - the man of indomitable spirit and masculinity - they're talking about me! The mighty trainer, Black!"
Golett was thrown back by a Dragon Claw, and Hilbert ran over to catch him.
"Golett! Let's see you grit those teeth!"
There was a brilliant flash of white, right before the golem landed in his arms.
Barry, sitting in the lobby of the new station, watched the breaking news, and seeing Hilbert give a certain speech, bursted out laughing, and after getting that out of his system, turned actually serious and clasped his hands.
Johanna, back home in Twinleaf, and after receiving a call from Michelle about a call from Barry, switched on the TV, and promptly shrieked.
Lucas and Chimchar were herding people away from the scene, allowing the Jenny's a safe passage through, when a flash of light caught his vision.
Turtwig was trying to pull Dawn away from the scene, nipping at her socks while the girl was frozen in place.
Golett was red, and shining a brilliant bluish light from his crevices.
"Wow, I didn't know you could do that!" Hilbert exclaimed, as his partner's arms turned into drills. "I was being metaphorical! But y'know, if you can do it…" He smirked.
"Golett!"
"No, he isn't!" Lucas froze, an expression of mild horror on his face. The two mega Pokemon were confused, slightly shaken out of their rage.
"Giga…"
The golems light began glowing brighter, the spiral on its stomach filling with willpower.
"Drill…"
Golett jumped in the air, blue jets forming under its feet, and his arms spinning. Ghostly energy solidified, like the spirit of man and Pokemon given form.
"BREAK!"
The golem surged forward, its entire front taking the form of a massive drill. It slammed into Tyranitar, cracking its plating, forcing it back a few feet, directly into Garchomp.
Both 'Mons were pinned, as the drill flew forward. They were stuck up against a giant machine that crackled with crimson energy.
There was an explosion, then an orange blast of smoke.
When the dust settled out of the air, there was a pile of unconscious Pokemon settled on top of a sputtering machine. Hilbert took one look at it, spotted what looked like a transmitter, and swung his foot into it.
Ow. But, it got the job done. Both psuedo-legendaries reverted to their normal forms in a white flash. He lifted Golett, now blue and yellow as always, before turning back to the crowd.
"Now, tell me, if you can." He inhaled. "WHO THE HELL AUTHORIZED THIS! I mean, seriously! In the middle of a city, no less! Everyone knows that you don't mind-control Pokemon with machines! Just use a Psychic-type for Arceus's sake!"
Still not a swear, but oh well.
"...Are you not concerned about the two mega-evolved Pokemon your partner just knocked out?" Asked Lucas, being closer than anyone else.
Hilbert turned back to them, looking at the dazed sleeping expression they had. "Nah, not really. I believe in the Golett that believes in me that believes in him, so I knew we could do it."
"...Wot?"
"It doesn't make much sense to me either." He walked out of the pile of wreckage, suddenly coming face-to-face with the director, red-faced from running up.
"You! You broke our machine! Do you know how many pounds of flesh the studio's going to take out of me for this?" The large man pointed a sweaty finger in his direction.
Hilbert looked lazily back at him, letting Golett rest on his shoulders. "For what it's worth, I hope you get fired." He left the man sputtering and walked off to find a Pokemon center, barely noticing Dawn and Lucas following up behind him.
A Magnezone floated down from the top of a building it had been hiding behind, and moved next to a crew woman.
"Please tell me you got all of that."
"DUDE! DUDE DUDE DUDE-"
Hilbert tiredly waved to Barry, as the excited blond boy ran out of the TV station, waving his arms in the air. "Hey, cut that out. My throat kinda hurts now."
"Dude! I know I joked about Golett being that thing, but he seriously-"
"Yeah, I know. Surprised me too, I just went along with it." His cross-transceiver started ringing. "Hold on, I gotta-"
"HILBERT!"
"Ah, hey, mom."
"You're not gone for one day- ONE- DAY!"
"What?"
"Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about- Fighting two dragons in the middle of the city-"
"What? How do you-" He saw Barry mime a weather reporter, getting the gist across. "Oh, I was on TV?"
"YES, you were on TV; DAWN!"
"Uh… Yes, ma'am?" Dawn squeezed her faze into frame on the communicator.
"I trusted you to keep my boy out of trouble!"
"Why'd you do that?"
"You seemed like the sensible one."
"Well… To tell you the truth, ma'am, we were trying to get everyone else away from there."
"Oh, you were? So it was all Hilby, is what you're saying."
"..." Dawn gave him some mercy, and didn't answer, shooting him a look of sympathy before his mom rounded back on him.
"You're not hurt, are you?"
"No, mom. Golett is a little exhausted, though."
"I can imagine. Do you need some money for potions? I can send it-"
"It's fine, they have a Pokemon Center around here."
"Well… Alright. But if you do anything like that again, I'm going to drag you back home if I have to!"
"Yes, ma'am. I'll talk to you later." She mercifully let him hang up the call.
He exhaled a sigh of relief, putting his hands on his knees, before looking up. "...What?"
"...Dude, your mom is scary."
Hilbert reclined on a futuristic couch in the Pokemon Center. Evidently that was the theme for most buildings, as the city was one of the biggest in Sinnoh, aside from maybe Veilstone. It seemed like everyone was taking a break, really. He didn't expect it would take too long for Golett to get better, but it felt like forever.
Someone tapped him on the shoulder. He looked up and saw Officer Jenny. They seem to have those everywhere, it was kinda weird.
"How can I help… Officer?" He said, stretching his back.
"If you wouldn't mind, could you come down to the station? We only have a few questions."
"Sure, no problem. Though, my mom might get mad if she hears I got arrested…" He said, his finishing words being spoken more to himself.
Jenny laughed. "I can't imagine a mother in the world who would like to hear that."
"This man says you destroyed the filming equipment for no good reason." Jenny gestured to the director, who was wiping his brow while lawyers crowded around him. "But we have multiple accounts of the Garchomp and Tyranitar going out of control and you stopping them beforehand. Anything for the record?"
"I did what I had to do. I mean, Golett did, but, y'know. The machine was what was making them go crazy like that, it's pretty obvious."
"That's not true!" Yelled the man, before his lawyers shushed him.
"They turned back to normal after I broke it by accident, so I think it was involved."
"By accident, you say?" Jenny asked, while writing something on a legal pad.
"Yeah, I didn't expect it to get so busted up."
"Alright then. Next topic of debate… The two Pokemon that were knocked out in question. Alakazam has told us that they'd like to travel with you."
Hilbert fell out of his seat. "What?"
"We've learned that their conditions are unpleasant, and looking at what happened… I'm inclined to believe them."
The director once again had to be hushed up by his lawyers.
"I… Well, I'd be happy to, if that's what they want. I'm sure the professor would like to take a look at them."
"Are you unable to take care of them?"
"No, see… I'm taking the gym challenge, and as much as I'd love to have two super cool Pokemon… It wouldn't feel earned, y'know? So yeah, send them over to Rowan's lab."
"Hm. Very well. We'll contact you if there's anything further, though looking at the evidence… I don't think you have anything to worry about," she said, smiling, and sent him on his way.
"No prob."
When he got back to the Pokemon Center, Dawn was holding Golett's hand while their couch was being crowded by other trainers. They all looked towards him, to the Golett, and back to him.
"Ah… Could you not bother my partner? He's kinda tired." He said, rubbing his head and standing in the doorway.
He was suddenly surrounded by people.
"How did you do that?"
"What kind of Pokemon is it? Can it evolve?"
"How long have you been training-"
"Hey!" Cried the nurse from behind the counter. "Stop blocking the entrance!"
Everyone muttered apologies before letting Hilbert through to his friends.
"About time you got back, Hilby." Barry bit into a sandwich while Piplup was demolishing a bag of berry chips.
"Couldn't help it," he said, sliding into his seat next to Golett.
Again, before he would blink, the couch opposite them was filled with trainers, intently staring at him.
"Okay, fine." He sighed, walking over to the other group, picking up Golett. He placed the golem on the center table and stood with his fists on his hips. "What do you guys want?"
There was a brief silence, before another explosion of questions.
"Alright, alright. I don't know, he's a Golett, I think he can, he's from Unova, and I arrived in the region yesterday."
There was another silence.
"Okay, fine, don't tell us the truth…" Muttered one of them, as the crowd quickly dissolved.
Hilbert sighed and went back to sit down.
"When did you get so popular?" Teased Dawn.
He pulled his hat over his eyes and crossed his arms. "Don't know, don't care. I'm taking a nap."
"What happened with those two other Pokemon anyway?" Barry asked.
"Oh, Officer Jenny said that they wanted to come with me."
"THEY WHAT?" Yelled Barry and Lucas in surprise.
Simultaneously, Dawn asked, much quieter, "Jenny's can speak to Pokemon?"
Answering the more polite of the three, Hilbert said, "No, but they have an Alakazam down at the station."
"Wait, wait, wait. A Garchomp and a Tyranitar wanted to join you. On the first day of your adventure?" Lucas asked, like his brain was broken.
"I guess."
"So, where are their balls?"
"Ah, see, I said no."
Lucas jumped forward and grabbed him by the collar. "YOU WHAT?"
"Chill out, I sent them to the professor."
"Why would you do that?" He said, still shocked.
"Well… It would be like cheating, wouldn't it? Plus, I don't have the gym badges to train Pokemon that powerful. I can get them back later if they really want me to."
"Agh…" Lucas sunk back into the couch, deflated.
"Let me take my nap, damn it."
When Professor Rowan woke up the next morning, he was surprised to find an email from the JPD in his 'URGENT' inbox. Seeing that they contained transmissions for Pokemon data, he let the uplink deliver them to his lab.
He was shocked into spilling his coffee when two fully evolved pseudo-legendaries with mega-stones appeared in the middle of his lab.
After reading the rest of the information in the email, he felt like he was going to go even further into shock.
The day after, when they were on their way out of Jubilife, Hilbert spotted a strange man in a trench coat moving from alley to alley, watching them.
He turned slightly, and whispered to Golett, "Hey, you know Phantom Force yet?"
Years ago, in a secret lab far into the sparse forests of Unova.
"Skill tutoring is going well, director." Said one of the scientists, watching a tube tied into Golett's eye.
"Good, good."
"Alright, beginning memory transfer- Wait. Wha-" The scientist was thrown across the room and into the wall with a sickening crack, as the golem disappeared from the tank and appeared at the scientist's side. Its eyes were glowing bright purple.
"You idiot! You taught it a teleporting move!" Yelled the director, before being attacked himself, shattering the tank of liquid as he was thrown through the air.
Liquid spread across wires, and as they made contact with a generator, through the blaring sirens, there was a blast, and then nothing more.
Golett looked up at him, blinked, and melted into the pavement.
There was a cry as the strange man was pelted onto the sidewalk.
Hilbert walked up to him and squatted down. "Whatcha doing following a bunch of kids around?"
The man looked embarrassed for a moment, before jumping up and shoving his hand into his pocket.
Before Hilbert could move, the man whipped out a-
International Police identification card.
"Ah. I'm not getting arrested, am I?" Hilbert held up his hands and stepped back. Golett reappeared behind him, holding up his arms in defense.
The man shook his head. "No, nothing like that. I must apologize, but you see, I'm an… Investigator, of sorts."
"Secret agent. Your name wouldn't happen to be Koichi Zenigata, would it?" Hilbert asked. Sure, he was no Lupin, but the comparison could stand. If this guy gained a few pounds of muscle, then sure, that would be a good costume.
"You… Aren't the first to make that assumption. However, I insist you refer to me as Looker."
"As in, 'spy', and not, 'look through people's windows at night'."
"Be polite to the policeman, Hilbert," chided Dawn
"Yeah, sure. Sorry, Looker. What's your deal?"
"I am on the lookout for any strange individuals. Such as yourself?"
"You calling me strange?"
"I saw you on the news recently, and I believed it worthy of my investigation."
"That's… Fair."
"In truth, my main mission is to be on the lookout for any member of Team Galactic."
"Team… Okay, catch me up on this, guys."
They didn't know either.
"It's a criminal organization," Looker explained. "And though their surface methods seem to be legal, my contacts tell me that they engage in unsavory practices, similar to Team Rocket."
"Team… Oh, wait, I actually have heard of them. Didn't they collapse or something?"
"There's very much conflicting information, but that's beside the point. If you have any information, please, feel free to get in contact." Looker grabbed his wrist, and tapped his cross-transceiver to Hilbert's. "I must be going. Farewell." The man ran for a minute, before jumping behind a lamp post and standing stock still.
"...Well, ignoring that… Is everyone ready to head off to Oreburgh?"
They were, and they stepped onto the trail.
"Hey wait, aren't we forgetting something?" Asked Barry, stopping to think for the first time in his life.
"..."
"..."
"Pokeballs?" Suggested Dawn.
"Pokeballs!"
They ran off, probably to spend all of their grant money from Professor Rowan.
The professor in question was sipping coffee while his assistant stroked the Tyranitar's spines. He was tapping out an instant message with one hand, trying to get in contact with Roark. Tyranitar was a Rock-type, after all, and that was the gym leader's field of expertise. Rowan wasn't all too familiar with Pokemon from other regions, but he guessed that Roark would have a clue.
"Where on earth did you get a Tyranitar, professor?"
"One of my assistants had it delivered after an incident in Jubilife."
"You're not talking about the disaster at the film-set, are you?"
"No, I am. He's a young man, taking the gym challenge, actually."
"And… His partner is a Ground-type, if I assume correctly."
"That's what I've been told."
"The same Ground-type that KO'ed two pseudolegendaries."
"Yes."
Rowan sat back and chuckled at the gym leader's 'typing…' message popped on and off the screen.
"And he doesn't have any other gym badges?"
"None."
"My poor Cranidos…"
AN:
Not everyone is an expert on Pokemon, so some people would assume that Tyranitar is a Dragon-type.
I'm channeling the spirit of the anime by making up bullshit that contrives game canon, screw the rules, I have authorial bias! This is mostly based on the game though. Also, takes a lot of cues from Ashes of the Past. I still haven't finished that thing, it's crazy. A little hinting at how Golett got the way he is. His stats are still low, it's just he has moves that he shouldn't yet.
The Giga Drill Break was just me messing around though. Don't expect to see it every battle.
Will Hilbert get sued for plagiarizing Gurren Lagann? Find out next time, on… This.