Note: Another week, another chapter.


Sinnoh chapter 1: Pachirisu a Punch!

It might have been past midnight, but none of the trainers felt remotely tired.

They decided it was a good idea to head back to the hotel, which luckily for them was close to the comedy lounge. They also decided to make the less-then-responsible decision to buy a case of beer on their way, Dragagle Lager, a Kalos brew recommended by Zoey. The hotel had a balcony on the second floor that gave a perfect view of the Sinnoh night sky, as well as housing a number of comfy lounge chairs. The hotel stood at the edge of Jubilife city, leading out into the dense forest that sat between the large city and Mount Coronet. The trainers layed down on said chairs, spaced throughout the small area. Piplup and Pikachu sat in the center of the balcony, lying on the ground and staring up at the stars.

"So, what are you and Yellow doing here in Sinnoh anyway?" Dawn asked.

Ash and Yellow regaled the details of their adventure to the coordinators. A gloomy mood hung over the balcony for a moment.

"Oh Yellow… I'm so sorry," Zoey said.

"No, it's fine, and we're gonna find him," She responded, this time with the utmost confidence.

"You got Ash helping you, you guys got this, no doubt," Dawn said.

"How about you guys? You two live in Sinnoh?" Yellow asked the coordinators.

"Ya. Zoey just came back from a short trip to the Hoenn region, I was just meeting up with her at the airport when we ran into you."

"Lucky for us. Hey Zoey, toss me one," Ash said.

Ash was somewhat surprised by the lack of fatigue he was feeling. He wasn't used to staying up this late. To him, pokémon training is a twenty four hour affair. Constantly on the move, constantly fighting, constantly preparing to fight. It was just so… constant. It also helped that his mother had instilled him with healthy sleeping habits at a young age. It didn't stop him from sleeping in from time to time, but still…

"Catch," Zoey tossed him a can from her seat. He caught it with ease.

"Hey Ash, you said you got Quilava with you?" Dawn asked. Ash nodded.

"Well bring him out!" Dawn said as she reached for her belt and tossed a pokeball, releasing her own Quilava.

"Qui?" Quilava looked at his trainer with a confused expression. He wasn't exactly sure why he was out at these late hours of the night.

"Alright, Quilava come out!" Ash called as he released his own Quilava.

"Lava?" Ash's Quilava was confused as well, though quickly thought nothing of it when it caught eyes with its kin. The two pokémon ran up to each other, standing on their hind legs, almost as if sizing each other up. They squeaked and chirped at each other for a few minutes as the trainers watched intently at the exchange.

"Can't believe we didn't let them meet before," Dawn commented.

The two pokémon sniffed the air intently, almost as if they were searching for something together. They turned their attention towards Ash, rushing up to him.

"Yes?" He asked, puzzled.

"QUI!" His Quilava stood and pointed at the beer can in Ash's hand.

"Uhmm… do you want some or..?"

"QUILA!" Dawn's Quilava nodded.

"Ash! You can't give your pokémon alcohol!" Dawn said, chuckling at the absurdity of the situation.

"I know that!" Ash didn't intend to do it, no matter what his curiosity was telling him. "Sorry fellas, this stuff's for humans only."

"Qui!" The Quilavas gave up on their quarry, turning their attention towards Piplup and Pikachu. Piplup got up from its perch and stared at the duo. While he learned to get along with Dawn's Quilava after their initial hostilities, he preferred to keep his distance if possible. Still, there was no arguing with two of them, and even he could appreciate the peaceful atmosphere that hung in the air.

"Piplup!" Piplup acknowledged the Quilavas, a gesture of peace. The Quilavas placed themselves next to Piplup and Pikachu, staring at the sky with their companions.

"You alright there Pikachu?" Ash asked.

"Pika!" Pikachu responded without moving. He was quite happy with where he was at that moment.

Ash took a sip from his can. It was a bit stronger than his Kanto drink from the lounge, but it didn't taste too bad.

"Taste good, Ketchum?" Zoey asked.

"Not bad," He responded earnestly.

"So, any idea of what you'll find in Mount Coronet? Do you even know exactly where to go," Dawn asked, her voice stern and very, very serious.

"Honestly, I don't know…" Ash said. He looked to Yellow, who was ignoring them for the moment, staring up at the stars, just like their pokémon. He decided not to bother her for the moment.

They were suddenly interrupted by a door opening behind them. Out came Platinum, Diamond, and Pearl, all dressed in less formal outfits than their appearance at the bar.

"Hey Diamond!" Dawn called, waiving.

"Hiya Dawn!" Diamond responded, waiving in turn.

"Come take a seat. There's plenty of chairs around" Ash motioned towards the balcony. The trio spaced themselves among the seats, remaining close together.

"Huh, you look like Barry?" Zoey said, looking at Pearl.

"Berry? What kinda Berry!?"

"One of Ash's rivals from back in the day. Always rushing around everyone, totally impatient, very short temper…" Dawn reminisced.

"Sounds like Pearl," Diamond commented.

"No it doesn't! That sounds nothing like me!"

"Of course, right…" Dawn said, holding back a laugh.

"You all drink?" Zoey asked.

"Oh, we're still a bit too young, miss," Platinum responded.

"We don't wanna make the lady worry, so we're skipping out too," Pearl said.

"Awwww, what a bunch of good kids," Zoey chimed, opening a can for herself. "Speaking of kids, where's your sister?"

"She went to sleep a bit early," Platinum said "Oh, hello senior Yellow." She startled Yellow from her trance.

"Oh, right, hello.." Yellow said sleepy-eyed.

"We got the call from old man Rowan yesterday. We're here to help ya find Red," Pearl said with conviction.

"Oh? Good, Good." Yellow said as she yawned. Diamond yawned in turn.

"Dia, we just got here!" Pearl yelled at his companion.

"Ya, but you smackin' me around really tired me out," Diamond said lazily.

"That's fair."

"Pearl, can you please take Dia to his room," Platinum asked.

"Do I have too?" Pearl responded. Platinum gave him a pleading look. It was all it took. "Fine, sheesh! Come on Dia". Pearl grabbed Diamond by the arm, the two trotting back out the door.

"Night everyone," Diamond meekly called back.

"I think I'm gonna get some sleep too," Yellow got up and followed the duo. "You kids have fun now, don't get into too much trouble."

"No promises," Dawn said as Yellow left the scene.

"So Platinum, what's this about owning the hotel?" Dawn asked.

"My full name is Platinum Berlitz. My family owns most of the hotel chains in Sinnoh… well… I should say they co-own it now."

"Co-own?"

"Since the merging. The Berlitz from your world also owned most of the Sinnoh hotel chains. It didn't take long for my father and Mr. Berlitz to sign an agreement. It helped that they were so alike."

"One of the richest families in Sinnoh huh? You must live like royalty!" Zoey said.

"I try to live like the rest of the humble folk," Platinum said, catching herself. "Wait, no that sounded offensive. Let me explain again, um…"

"Hey, it's okay," Zoey said as the other trainers giggled.

"Hey, there's no need to worry," Dawn said.

"She says that a lot," Ash said to Platinum, who he just realized was eyeing him intently.

"Hmm… interesting…"

"Ummm? Yes..?"

"My apologies, I shouldn't stare. The professor informed me that we would be meeting senior Reds look–alike, but I wasn't expecting… well…"

"Weelll?" Ash wasn't sure he liked being examined like this.

"Well you look like him… somewhat. There's some obvious differences, which is not uncommon but… there's an energy around you that's so similar to him," She said, looking slightly more confused by the second. "It's just… not very scientific. I'm sorry I shouldn't be bothering you like this…"

"No, no it's okay," Ash said earnestly. "You're not doing anything wrong. No need to apologize."

"It's just so… odd. I didn't know him that well but… all of us dexholders look up to him, you know? So, I doubt I'll be the last person who feels a little bit awkward around you… uhmm… I apologize again, what is your name?"

"Ash Ketchum, from Pallet Town. It's a pleasure to meet you, Platinum Berlitz," Ash said, trying to match Platinum's formal tone.

"And it is a pleasure to meet you, Senior Ash."

A sudden screech pierced through the entire area, startling the trainers and their pokémon. They could all tell that it was the sound of a creature in distress, coming from somewhere in the forest.

"Qui?!"

"PIKA!?" Pikachu ran up to Ash, leaping to his shoulder. "Pika pika!"

"Right buddy, let's go check it out!"

"What was that?!" Dawn exclaimed.

"I don't know! Let's take a look!" Zoey concluded. The trainers nodded and ran out the door, their pokémon following close behind.

"Over here!" Dawn called.

Luckily the source of the noise was close to the edge of the forest, next to the hotel. A group of the other hotel goers had arrived on the scene, encircling the source of the noise.

"What is that? It looks like a Pachirisu," An elderly man said.

"Don't touch it, it might be dangerous!" A young woman said.

The group made their way to the Pachirisu, breaking through the small crowd. What they saw horrified them. The small, squirrel-like pokémon was laying on its side, nearly fainted and breathing heavily. On the side of its abdomen was a scar, but a scar unlike anything they had seen. The wound was clogged by a pulsing black, sludge-like substance.

"Oh, no.." Dawn was horrified, and she doubted that the other trainers felt any different.

"Piplup…" Piplup cooed sympathetically.

"We need to get it to a pokémon center," Ash said as he reached out to the Pachirisu, before he felt Zoey's hand on his shoulder, holding him back.

"No, we don't know what's wrong with it. It could be dangerous to touch, for both you and your pokémon."

"But we can't just leave it…" He hesitated. He wasn't worried about putting himself in danger, but it was the second part that gave him pause.

"Stand aside," an astute voice called from behind the group.

"Moon?" Platinum was only somewhat surprised to see her sister here, though part of her knew that no Berlitz would stand aside when trouble was afoot. She realized that Yellow, Diamond and Pearl had also arrived on the scene. They must have been awoken by the screeching.

"Moon, be careful. We don't know what's wrong, and we shouldn't touch it…" Dawn pleaded.

"By my oath as a doctor, I cannot leave an injured creature uncared for, neither people, nor pokémon"

Dawn nodded.

"Careful junior…" Yellow said.

"I can't watch!" Diamond said, clinging to Pearl.

"Pull it together Dia!"

"Everyone step back," Moon said as she put on a pair of gloves. The trainers and hotel-goers gave her and Pachirisu space. Moon knelt down to the Pachirisu, placing two fingers in front of its nose.

She's still breathing, good. But she's struggling for air…

She took a closer look at the wound in question. Blood loss wasn't an issue, as the wound itself seemed to be superficial, what she could see past the sludge anyway. The black substance coalesced around the wound, but it didn't seem to be stemming from it. This was something external…

That's when she noticed it next to the Pachirisu. There was a pool of the black substance sitting next to it! It was difficult to see and easily missable in the dark. She picked up a stick nearby, poking at it. It was very viscous, perhaps a bit less so than molasses. It was unlike anything she had seen before. It wasn't just coloured black, it was like the darkness one would see when their eyes were closed. The complete absence of light…

It was at that moment that she realized that Yellow had snuck up behind her, her palm outstretched.

"Please senior Yellow, I know about your abilities but…"

"Like you said, I cannot stand idly by when I can possibly help." She said as her hand started to glow.

"Alright, but slowly," Moon said as Yellow touched the wound. Her hand felt cold when she made contact with the black sludge. Very cold.

"It's working, sort of," Moon could see that the underlying injury was somewhat healing, though the black sludge remained unaltered. The light in Yellow's hand dissipated as she slumped to the ground.

"Senior Yellow!"

"I'm alright…" She said through a loud yawn. "My powers just… make me… sleepy… sometimes…" In truth a single use of her powers wouldn't usually wipe her out so easily, but usually she wasn't using them a few hours past midnight.

"Go get some rest, senior Yellow. We'll take it from here" Moon said. Yellow weakly nodded as she got up, lumbering back to the hotel.

Carefully, Moon picked up the Pachirisu. The black substance didn't encroach onto the glove, to which she sighed in relief. Perfect, it wasn't infectious.

"She picked it up? Are you okay little girl?" Said a young man from behind the trainers.

"I'm alright, but we need to get Pachirisu to the pokémon center, quickly!"

"There's one right next to the hotel. Follow me." Zoey said as she ran off. The trainers followed her.

The Jubilife pokémon center was at the top of its class in modern medical technology. At least Ash assumed, considering all the gadgets and gizmos surrounding Pachirisu on the doctor's table. The trainers stood behind a glass wall in the next room. A large scanner hung over the Pachirisu, focusing in on the wound. Next to the trainer was a young man in a nurse outfit, looking at the data through a computer.

"The scanners aren't turning up anything… except…"

"What is it?" Moon asked, also eying the screen.

"Where the wound is… it's not just that the scanners aren't picking anything up, but it's almost like… like…"

"Moon moved up to the computer screen, analyzing the data herself.

"It's like the entire section of it isn't there anymore. Like it's been entirely removed… even when we can see it…"

"Is there… is there any treatment?" Dawn asked, concerned. Zoey placed her arm around her, holding her close.

"Well its vitals… well the ones we can see, are all stable. But there's nothing we can really do other than keeping it safe here."

"Pika…" Pikachu hopped off Ash's shoulder, leaping near the Quilavas and Piplup.

"Pika-chuuu!" Pikachu began conveying the doctor's findings to the other pokémon, to the best of his abilities at least.

"Piplup…" Piplup was visibly shaken. The Quilavas looked at each other, then looked up at the trainers. The mood of the room was stern, everyone deep in thought.

"There's not much any of us can do right now… we should head back to the hotel," Platinum said. The other trainers nodded.

"I'm gonna stay back here for the night, see how I can help," Moon said.

"Alright. But make sure that you stay safe," Platinum said.

"Of course sister, I will," She said, giving Platinum a hug. The trainers said their goodbyes before making their way out of the pokémon center.

Outside, Pikachu looked at the stars again, but this time without the innocent gaze that he had just a few hours prior.

"Pika…"

"Yah Pikachu," Ash said while also staring at the stars. Despite the sky being bathed in an ocean of glowing lights, his mind was clouded in a dark haze, as thick and impenetrable as the sludge.

It was going to be a long night.