Pokémon Chronicles - Web of Lies

by Eric566

Three years after the disbandment and defeat of Team Uncario, the members of Team Star find themselves thrust back into stardom after a succesful mission in dealing with an unexpected menace. However, the fall of the last of the Dark Eons and this new achievement has stirred new enemies from the ends of the world, and re-ignited the fires of an empire best forgotten. Sequel to AHR.

2. Prologue - Come into my parlour

And we're finally back! Welcome everyone, to my next fic: Web of Lies! The sequel to AHR and FotW is finally here, after a long hiatus from the main story, we're finally going to straight into the action. I know that the first "chapter" of this fic wasn't too impressive in terms of length, but it's packed with symbolism, so I'd tread carefully in those lines.

Asides from that, those of you who are here and don't what's happening I'll catch you up: this is a sequel to my first fic, A Hero's Rebirth. If you haven't read it yet, then you are advised to do so before proceeding, otherwise you will be heavily spoiled. Asides from that, as many of you may know, I like to post the titles of songs I feel fit with certain scenes, like fights or emotionally charged ones. These are not mandatory, and they are there just in case you want to add more to the fic. The more options, the better. To listen to them, I recommend having a Youtube tab opened while you read, then when the title comes up copy paste it directly to the search bar. When the indication to stop the music appears

And also, like in FotW, I will be answering reviews here!

WesternFail, I'm glad to see you're sticking around and a million thanks for betaing this chapter! And we begin indeed…. we shall see how this story goes!

Long time no see, Pichu! I have to say, there's a lot more to it than just the web being a complex machine… perhaps this is all just a lot of foreshadowing in one place, you should consider who says what and why they say it. Can you really trust Watcher? Who is he referring to? And what does this change mean?

Followup to that last one Luchux, it's supposed to be confusing and mysterious! All the questions from above apply… but you'll see what it all means eventually.

Thanks a lot for reviewing so early on, and hope you guys enjoy this! Now, proceed!

Book 4 - The Spider

Prologue

Come into my Parlour…

Enjoy your peace and glory while they last

In just a single instant, our lives can change drastically. It can be a change for the better, like getting lucky and finding your place in the world, or simply getting some peace of mind… and sometimes things change for the worst. In a single instant, your entire life can be torn to shreds, and all it takes is just a broken wheel in a carriage passing through a mountain ridge. As the cart tumbles down, it's inhabitants bouncing and rebounding off the wooden boards, a stake burying itself into the neck a loved one whilst another falls out the hole… Often, in these tragedies, one simply cries and mourns for what has happened, an unexpected turn of fate, cruel some might even say… But it all takes on a different meaning when it was all foretold.

And yet you could do nothing to avoid the tragedy… and so you wait, crying and sobbing in the rain, unsure of why any of this had happened, too young to comprehend that you're alone in the world… and then finally, stepping through the mud, a shape comes out. Clad in a brown coat, he quickly approaches, flabbergasted as the scene before him, his voice clearly male as he inspects for survivors… and finds me in the rubble, clutching the pokémon with eyes white as smooth stones that I'd once called mother. Blood seeps into my fur, now wet and soggy from the rain, dirtied further by the mud. I have been crying for a long time now, my tears lost in the raindrops, the world itself mourn for my loss.

The sight no doubt squeezes his heart and strangles it, and unable to do or say anything to return what was once mine and no longer there… he instead attempts to replace it, and utters the words.

"Don't worry my child… nothing will harm you anymore."

And now, once again, he is forced to repeat those words, crying like he did then. A single instant that lasted twenty years it was this time, our village torn asunder, his children and family gutted and devoured by the creatures that we'd once called friends, now turned into beasts. We both cry as we watch what had been built burn down to the ground, the once peaceful village that oversaw the sea over a ridge now slowly turning into smoke, accompanying the souls of the lost on their way to his grace's ever loving embrace. And once again, I wonder if the tragedy could have been avoided, if I should've heeded to my dreams, as I should have back then. A wonderful gift, or a terrible curse, I cannot tell… but it is the one thing I know, and the one thing that father helps me control and use for good.

Maria

---

The sun in the sky shines harshly down on Hoenn's smallest island, Resurgam, a name the meaning of which had been long lost in the dusty and torn pages of the archipelago. A single shape, an Aggron, comfortably shifts and breaks through the crowds in the bustling streets of the island's main village, named after the plot of land itself, his eyes set on a large building at the end of said street. As he crosses the street a carriage with Ponytas at the lead threatens to drive him over, but it stops a few feet away, and the horse like pokémon are flogged immediately, the rider, a sickly looking Watchog throwing insults at the fire types and apologies to the steel type, whose intense gaze hurries his departure, losing himself further down the road.

The Aggron reaches his destination and knocks on the door with a peculiar pattern. The soft click of a lock opening is heard, and the wooden slab slides sideways and inside the building. What had once been a police department was now their base of operations, and he was quite pleased with their results: as he came in, a group of young pokémon, a Rampardos, a Cinccino and a Tyrunt all walk out, determined looks on their faces as they lose themselves into the crowd.

He closes the door behind him and walks further in. The building was being used, but it was not being properly kept, the ground dirtied with dust and pebbles from the street, mud and water from the frequent rains and holes in the walls from the passage of time, acquiring a brown hue to its natural white, though all the disgusting colors were lost in the darkness that wrapped that entire hallway. Even then, through the holes he could gaze at the main room, where even more pokémon, of many different species and sizes, were listening to a Drapion lecturing them.

"Long ago, Hoenn was an empire of beauty and luxury. United, the leaders of the islands commanded the region to prosperity, its inhabitants leading extravagant lives, full of leisure and peace. But peace brought weakness, and once the eyes of the other region's leaders set their sights on the islands bountiful resources, among the which were the inhabitants themselves, a large amount of shiny pokémon… only ruin followed." He was quite eloquent, something that served their purposes perfectly, and the Aggron stood by the broken door frame and waited. Some had already noticed his presence, and whispers rose from the group, though quickly silenced by the poison type's voice.

"The events that transpired have long been buried and forgotten by those that live outside… but us, Hoennians, we remember still, and we will never forget the shame and penitence they brought here: their illnesses were pinned on us, saying we poisoned their wells. They enslaved us because we were different, chastising us and cutting us off, forcing us to work for them to exploit the lush field we'd once played in… They took it all for themselves, and when this great region was left with nothing, what did they do?!"

"They abandoned us!"

"Yes! Yes they did! They left us to die and rot in these forsaken lands, the ones they themselves had ruined… quickly, it all fell into anarchy as the slaves fought and spilled the blood of their masters to regain their freedom, and then quickly they spilled each other's blood for the few morsels they could enjoy the eat. And some rose up and became more powerful than others, and those are the dictators that now rule us! An empire of brilliance now turned to nothing but shambles! And whose fault is it?!"

"Theirs!" The young ones were getting riled up, cries demanding for their offenses to be repaid raising up and being cheered by their companions, and soon their voices and shouts overtook even those of the Drapion. The Aggron was satisfied by all this, and even as the magnet turned to face him in slight distress, he nodded and waited for him to finish his speech.

"And what will you do?! Now that you have a purpose, you have been fed and are prepared to face them! What will you do?!"

"Take it all back!" They broke into cheering and praying, some of them crying tears at the intensity of the speech, which continued for half an hour more, the Drapion spilling more tales of the injustices exerted on the Hoennian people by those that came from outside… nothing but vapid lies that served their purposes perfectly. And none would know the truth, that the island's leaders had been the ones to start cutting their rivals' throats to try and completely unite the islands through violence… these were the official versions, the version of history taught everywhere else. And through their learning these children had converted the truth into lies, and adopted falsehood as their true belief. Everything proceeded as accorded.

"We shall take it all back! The world is a cruel place, we have been forgotten, but we shall rise again! Now go, my warriors, go our glorious leader and await for the time of war!" More roars echoed, and finally the session came to an end, the mob dispersing, some staying behind to exchange a few short pleas and bows with their leader before disappearing and leaving through the door… leaving only the Aggron and a few stragglers behind.

"Fantastic work… Our leader will be very pleased to receive these new warriors." He praised the Drapion's work, who laughed and walked further inside.

"I have done the best I can… After all, my days of announce false gods came to an end, but I still conserved my skills."

"Nonsense. You now speak for the truth. A few lies here and there do not change the fact that we do is the right thing to do. You tell them what their true purpose in life is… to serve us for a new and better world." They both remained silent after this until they were far away from everyone else so they wouldn't be heard. "However, it seems that we will be forced to move away… for our operations here have been compromised.

The Aggron's words brought a great deal of alarm to the Drapion, whose eyes widened. "Impossible! We have operated with the utmost care! How could it be that they learned we were enlisting them for our purpose here, in this very building?"

"Perhaps some of your followers were never that devoted… but that is besides the point: it would be a shame for you to be lost like this, my friend… so gather your things and leave. Otherwise things may take a turn for the worst." With that, the Aggron turned away and started to leave… but turned around to gaze at the bug type one last time. "And do not trust anyone… not even those you know best." This last bit of advice was too strange however, and the Drapion thought it to be a warning to not trust any new recruits… And besides, his anger was so great that even after his superior left he took no chances and shouted at everyone to start picking up everything.

He turned to one of his most trusted aides, a Machamp, and quickly ordered him to burn the boxes with their propaganda and any data on their followers. The fighting type saluted him and walked away… barely hiding a smirk, an electric blue tongue barely visible through his teeth, not unlike a canines'.

(Life Will Change, Instrumental - Persona 5)

He quickly walked over to one of the aforementioned boxes, and inside he saw the true unconscious Machamp and a purple crystal, hanging from a long cord, like a necklace. He hung it from his neck and touched it, entering the conversation.

"They're moving, that's our cue."

"Holy shit Zed, that was some intense fucking acting. Like, that Drapion looked so big he could've bitten your head off if he'd found you out!"

"Now now, I'm pretty sure THAT's the last thing he wants to hear, because he's still got something left to do. And please, keep the swearing to a minimum, Serge."

"Why are you such a buzzkill, boss? Ugh, whatever, we're on our way."

"ETA: 5 minutes. We're moving right now. Eric, are you in position?"

"Of course I am. Right, Zed open the main door and make sure it stays open until the others arrive, I'll take care of…" The transformed Zorua had already taken off to open the door, and was halfway through convincing the guard there when all of a sudden a shout of alarm echoed in the building. Then he'd remembered: he had left the box open, and thus the unconscious Machamp had been found quickly after that. Without a second thought he buried his fist into the guard's face and unlocked the door.

"What the hell is all that shouting about?" Their superior's voice was heard to all of them, and panic spread across the group.

"I forgot to close the box back up again and they found the Machamp… crap crap crap, what do I do?!" Zed was starting to panic again, having reverted to his normal form: a shiny Zorua with a lot of fluffy fur and the purple necklace.

"Hold on, I'll be there before you know it!"

"Even at top speed it'll take you too long to reach him Lucy, three minutes to be precise, and you wouldn't help that much." Before they all started arguing, another voice spoke up.

"Eric, how many of them are there?" The female's voice made the pokémon she was referring to smirk. The Riolu was standing on the top of the building, looking in through a dormer. He stood back up and readied himself, his long blue scarf waving in the wind as he grasped the white crystal hanging from his neck.

"Arceus, I love it when you get these ideas Elly."

"Just try to not get yourself hurt!" Her words didn't fall on deaf ears, but the Riolu had already jumped in through the window, falling down and surprising everyone inside as he pounced a Wobuffet that broke his fall. He stood back up, holding up his right arm, a complicated set of tattoos and drawings depicting a star and writings ascending up to his shoulder.

"Oh come on, you know how I am!" He responded, letting them hear his voice too.

"Ambush!" The Drapion shouted immediately and the pokémon that still remained inside charged the Riolu, who stomped the Wobbufet to make sure he stayed unconscious and jumped off, coming down on a Pansear and punching downward, dizzying him before burying his foot into its face with a roundhouse kick, throwing him back with a few teeth missing. The blue fighting type recovered his stance quickly and breathed in and out quickly, relaxing as his arms and legs started blowing blue, ducking under the swipè of Meowth's claws and then leaned to dodge a punch. He grabbed his arm and quickly threw him over his shoulder at a Seviper, who took the hit but still lunged at Eric.

He waited for the last second and as its jaws opened to reveal the venomous fangs, his right fist flew up at staggering speeds and shut it close, no doubt breaking a fang or two… but then the aura in his arm shot up as well, following the motion of his fist as he released it all in one punch, launching the snake up high against the roof, smacking against it and making a few pieces of wood and debris fall down. A Purrloin jumped on the Riolu's back, brandishing its claws, but Eric quickly ducked and punched its face, then delivered a flurry of kicks to its stomach that ended with him releasing the aura from both feet, doing a dive kick that launched the pokémon away and through one of the precarious looking walls.

He didn't have the time to breathe though, as a Gurdurr attempted to crush him with a loose iron beam, the Riolu quickly rolling away and then punching the beam with the last of his aura, bending it out of shape in the blink of an eye. The bigger fighting type looked at his makeshift weapon and visibly panicked, dropping it on the ground and running away, scared out of his wits at the display of strength as the Riolu got up. One by one, Drapion's followers fell, and even the cowardly Gurdurr could get away, as Zed was still covering the door, and in its haste didn't notice the Zorua, who quickly transformed back into that Machamp and delivered a karate chop to a specific spot on its back, knocking it out. For once, his knowledge of medicine was useful for something else.

The poison type already foresaw what was going to happen, and was tempted to run away at the sight of the star, but didn't do so until the Gurdurr fell. Whilst the rest of his followers distracted the Riolu, he quickly took running to the other side of the building, crashing through a boarded up window and attempting to escape. Eric noticed his evasion however, as sneaky as he might have tried to be.

"He's getting away!"

The massive shadow of a Pidgeot however, said otherwise.

"Not on our watch!" The bird flew down and took a swing at the Drapion's side, a gush of blood surging out as a small cut appeared on his right leg. The flying type wasn't the one that landed however, but instead a Houndour and a Shinx, who looked at eachother and smiled. The Drapion still tried to get away by dragging himself away, but the Houndour predicted this.

"Not today pal!" The fire type jumped forward, flames surging from his claws and maw as he was enveloped in fire, dashing in front of him and leaving a trail of flames, which he then breathed fire into, increasing their intensity and size, surely scaring some of the pedestrians but effectively cutting off that escape route. The Shinx covered the other one, and the last remaining road was blocked off as the Pidgeot landed, a Sneasel on his back.

"Nice one spotting those windows from so far away, Jake! He could've gotten away otherwise!" The Pidgeot looked at the Sneasel, who simply shrugged and smiled deviously.

"It is only natural I take into account every possibility." They all nodded and focused on the Drapion, slowly approaching him, though they were interrupted by the unconscious body of a Granbull flying out the building through another of the boarded windows, landing not too far away from the poison and bug type they had surrounded. Following him Eric and Zed also walked into the sunlight, and the Drapion knew who they were: Team Star, Eric the Riolu, Zed the Zorua, Lucy the Shinx, Serge the Pidgeot, Jake the Sneasel and Nox the Houndour. However, one was still missing… but that was the least of his worries right now.

"Please stop, I won't run away, I promise! Just stop, please don't hurt me anymore! My leg hurts too much, this is unbearable!" He started pleading and crying, making quite a scene, and Serge laughed loudly.

"What?! Dude, that's just a fleshwound!" Eric approached the Drapion, feeling confident.

"That's the smallest wound you're going to receive today pal… Because after this you'r-" The Drapion's fake tears had seemingly worked, and Eric got close enough for his stinger to reach the Riolu, attempting to stab and kill him… but it never reached the Riolu. Instead, a black mass shot out from inside the building and wrapped itself around his tail as it took the shape of a large Riolu paw, pinning it to the ground and making the Drapion scream in pain as he was forced to lay down.

Out from the building, an Eevee with sky blue eyes and a black crystal hanging from her neck walked out. The last member of the team: Elly the Eevee. "As he was saying…" She decided to finish off her mate's speech. "You're going straight to prison after this on the crimes of manipulation, kidnapping, promoting terrorism, kidnapping and murder!" The papers were still inside, intact, they hadn't done anything, as Team Star's attack was too quick… And he couldn't do anything with his tail and body pinned down like that.

"Alright… I concede… I give up."

(Stop the music)

Team Star in its entirety smiled, as they knew he truly meant it this time: victory was theirs.

As the commotion came to an end, and Nox's flames died out, the villagers and pedestrians bunched up around the team, curious as to why any of this had happened. Officials and police members from the ETF approached to apprehend the criminals, thus drawing everyone's attention away from the two pokémon standing on the rooftops, far away from where they were. One of them was the Aggron, who, despite his large appearance, had had no issues getting up to the rooftop, while the other was a figure clad in a black cloak, features indiscernible, wrapped in a mantle of shadows that Team Star's members would recognize.

"So… they have made their move." The Aggron begun, the figure besides him nodding.

"Indeed. It seems our activities here were compromised one way or another, but our goals still remain a mystery to them. We'll take advantage of this… And before they know, there shall be an army heading our commands." The cloaked one looked at his subordinate. "I feel the rage that emanates from you… he was there, wasn't he?"

"He's the reason they even pulled off this whole schtick anyways… Who does he think he is, but a wolf in sheep's clothing." A hand was gently placed on his shoulder.

"All in due time, my friend… For I know you crave justice, but we must be patient, and play our hand when the time is right. The Dark Eon failed to do so appropriately, and while he won many battles, the war was lost in the end." The cloaked one shook, as if a cold took hold of him, and his grip tightened. "You'll get a chance to bury your fangs into his body."

"No… I don't want to just bury them. I want to make him suffer, and to do that, I'll make sure his precious 'friends' learn of what he's done to me in the past." The Aggron's words were filled with bitter hatred, one that the cloaked figure thoroughly enjoyed as he patted his face.

"Correct. Let us leave then, for we have much to do and prepare for the main event…" He chuckled in his excitement, a maddened giggle, and jumped off the roof, soon followed by the Aggron, and the two were soon lost to the shifting crowds underneath.

---

"Alright, so… I now move here and…" Lucy moved her Horsea three spaces further than she could, and jumped up as she announced her victory. "Checkmate! In your face!" She let out a hearty laugh, the green eyed Shinx jumping back on her cushion and relishing in her victory, purring as she rubbed up against the fluffy surface and swung the three pointed star at the end of her tail left Elly flabbergasted, and the Eevee began laughing like a maniac whilst Jake threw his arms up in frustration and got up.

"I give up. There is only so much patience a Sneasel can have before finally reaching his wit's end." While the Sneasel's demeanour was usually as cool as the cyan color the gems on his chest and forehead glowed, there was something about the Shinx's behaviour that always riled him up.

"What? Too mad I beat you at chess, Mr. Smarty pants?!" Lucy truly believed she had won… or perhaps this was all a clever ruse on her part just to see Jake writhe in anger and laugh at his reactions, which were often hilarious to most of the pokémon involved, when they didn't involve threats to have a body part painfully removed, of course. This time the dark blue furred Sneasel simply walked back and dropped on the armchair at the other side of the room, right besides the round window through the which one could see the swaying waves. He moved his long red ear out of the way of his face as he huffed.

"I… I give up. I cannot. Should I proceed further I risk losing some of my mental capabilities. My brain cells are now in excruciating pain as I attempt to comprehend your thought processes! How can a single pokémon be so deluded!"

"How can a single pokémon have their heads so far up their ass so as to not admit they lost!" Was her reply, which earned her some chuckles and ovations from her friends.

"Ok, that was actually good." These words came from the other side of the room, where Serge was laying on the other armchair, trying to fix the feathers on his head and comb them in a stylish manner similar to a mane, long enough that they went down his neck, a streak of blue, green and orange adorning his head.

"Come on, guys, keep it down. Do you always have to get like this when you play chess, Lulu?" Zed's affectionate name instantly silenced the Shinx, as it usually did, her cheeks turning a bright red as she was betrayed by her most loved one.

"Et tu, brute?" Serge quoted, barely holding back the tears, that single sentence encapsulating the emotions in that room.

"Ok, no seriously, you guys need to cool it. Some people are trying to rest here, and the fact we're still on a ship certainly doesn't help it." Eric replied from behind the other armchair, laying his head against it with a pillow underneath. "It's obvious that you guys didn't have to handle a whole gang by yourselves."

"It's obvious you didn't end the fight in a stylish way… come on, not even a pose? Really Eric? Besides, Drapion would've gotten away if it hadn't been because of my fire, so I'm going to put this victory to my name!" Nox boasted, as always, though he was mostly doing it for fun, albeit there was a bit of sincerity in his words when referring to him thinking his role that day had been invaluable.

"Go ahead, you only have like… what, twenty odd criminals to catch up to me?" Eric leaned over his spot to look at the orange eyed Houndour as he said this, waiting to see his reaction, and sure enough the Houndour was flustered, specially when Jake specified the existing gap between them to be of twenty three counting this one.

"Oh shut up! Cunabula wasn't built in a day!"

"Damn right it wasn't… but they didn't progress one pebble a day, that's for damn sure!" Serge's addition to the conversation only helped make the fire type the butt of the joke, and the rest of the conversation slowly devolved into chuckles or repeating their former sentences as everyone settled down and got comfortable.

They didn't have time to properly sleep or rest however, as they arrived at their destination shortly after. The captain of the ship, a Golduck clad in a black long sailor's trenchcoat that went by the name of Toothache, made sure they knew it. "Aight, ya lot, we be at yer town again! So get on down! And whenever ya need some more help, ya know old Toothache will be there for ya!" The reason he was called like that was because his teeth were disjointed from an accident, and as such could not properly pronounce words, making long hissing sounds most of the time. Still, the message got across, and Team Star didn't care for his appearance: he was not only a trusted sailor but also a level headed pokémon, a rarity as of late.

They did as they were told, grabbed their things and came up to the hull, the afternoon sun greeting them and blinding the group momentarily as they walked the plank and made their way to the docks. They had to wait around for Lucy to muster up the strength and courage to cross over the water, and meanwhile Elly took her time to appreciate just how much the town had changed. One could barely call it a town anymore, as it had become one of the biggest commercial cities in Sinnoh. The docks they were standing on had been build barely a year ago, the wood still fresh and lush, but they were packed to the brim with ships full of travelers, immigrants or simply merchandise and other goods that were to be sold in the town's own market or carried further inland.

Whatever the case, after the Time Freeze, international communication had been regained with the other regions, and with it the trade routes were revived. The townsfolk of Treasure Town knew that for anything to come through to Sinnoh it would have to pass through Treasure Town, located at the tip of the Western Peninsula, or they'd have to sail for far longer, and so the town was adapted: while it kept the name of Treasure Town, purely because anyone had yet to come up with a better name, it had grown exponentially while Team Star was gone on their interdimensional vacation: the docks were mostly populated by mariners and seamon that helped carry the merchandise and sailed away to take care of their affairs, plus other first necessities like an inn, bars and some shops.

This whole area was located below the main town, though thankfully it had been built facing the bluff, so the Sharpedo shaped cliff and the beach where they had all made so many wonderful memories were intact. Once the Shinx was on land, they quickly got on their way. "Well, someone's gotten better at handling their fear of water." Eric commented, slowing down so that he walked alongside her.

"Well… What did you expect? I couldn't let that control my life!" She attempted to look confident, but Elly giggled and promptly followed up.

"But I remember you told me you were still deadly afraid of water… you just decided to focus on other things instead of the fact you're on a ship and voilá, you're no longer scared… most of the time." The poor Shinx just couldn't catch a break that afternoon, and promptly complained about everyone getting under her fur that day. After a quick round of laughter they decided to leave her be. Elly kept her gaze focused on their surroundings, especially as they walked into her favorite part of town: the heart of Sinnoh's trading routes, Treasure Town's main road had been expanded and lengthened, and now housed a wide variety of shops, stands and other vendors that sold whatever you could imagine. From books, to antiquities, to food, covering things like good luck charms of dubious effectiveness and furniture, this place all that one could need in their daily lives.

Of course, it didn't sell absolutely everything one could buy: when it came to coastal cities based on commerce, Treasure Town was ranked among the biggest and most influential, but it fell short to the sheer range of products that Pontavicel in Unova and Flumerc Ars in Johto had to offer, specially the latter. Still, there was something that those two didn't have, and that was a guild as famous and reliable as Wigglytuff's keep close scrutiny on what products were being sold, making sure they were up to standards and of course, acting as peacekeepers whilst shutting down any shady businesses that tried to set shop in that relatively tranquil city.

And speaking of the guild, the new building eclipsed the sun as they came into town, it's long shadow crawling across the entire avenue and reaching the docks, the stars already coming out to play at the end of the firmament. However, she was too distracted by the amount of pokémon coming and going around them, plus the greetings from some known faces, like Electro and Marco the Marowak, or the crippled Keck, who still kept his business running even after his brother Leon succumbed during one of the many battles that took place in that very soil, and proving to be fierce competition to even some of the biggest sellers nearby. Elly couldn't help come closer to greet the green lizard herself, his old age starting to take a toll, but moving with the all the grace and strength he could muster. Both brothers had taken care of the Eevee while she was seemingly alone in that world, and it was something she would never forget whilst she lived.

After saying their goodbyes and wishing him a good night, the group reunited near the entrance to the residential district, much more plain than the commercial one, but still quite large, a seemingly endless maze of forked roads and intersections that was smaller than it seemed, and only spread across the cliffside for a few hundred meters. They'd kept the beach and its surroundings completely pristine, and instead expanded further inland, rebuilding the old entrance, but everyone agreed this was a better option than having houses lean over the ridge and be visible from the beach.

Still, there was one house that stood separated from the others, a bit closer to the beach, and was barely visible from down there, but it was a special case: after all, saving the world did have its merits. It didn't help that Eric and Elly had felt it fitting that their home should be established near where Team Star had first been created. The house, which all seven members shared, was quite large, though nowhere near that of a nobleman or even a squire. The first thing they saw of the building was the wooden Veranda that covered the front porch and continued to the left side of the house. It had been painted white, just like the house itself, though the beams and safety railings were of a gray shade, same with the steps that lead up to the main entrance.

"Maan, I'm gonna take a serious nap before dinner, I'm beat." The sight of home sweet home had drawn back the spectre of exhaustion upon everyone in the team, albeit Eric was slightly offended by Serge's words.

"You? You're exhausted? You barely did anything!"

"But I did something, yeah? Something is better than nothing, and that means that I need to replenish that energy, so a nap is in order." He truly did look exhausted, but it was for reasons he had not explained to the rest of the team… though Jake had had his suspicions ever since the wind started blowing in their favor whenever they were sailing with him. Still, he hadn't explained the source of his powers, or even the fact he had them, to anyone in the team, and the only pokémon aware of this were now in another world, probably going through their own struggles, and so his secret was safe for the time being.

Still, he tried not to worry too much, and instead focus on the mighty power nap he was going to get in a few minutes, already looking ahead to reaching up to the ceiling to pull down that cord, bring down the steps and make his way up to his domain in the attic. The house had two floors: a base one, a first floor with the bedrooms, and finally the attic, where Serge's room was. There was a pair of large windows on the right side of the entrance, two more on the right face of the house, and two glass doors that slid to the left and right to allow for quick movement between the inside and the outside of the house. The second floor had two windows for every room, and finally the roof, which was made of shingles, had two windows right beneath it for the attic and also an skylight, which had been built to be capable of opening and closing to Serge's request, making it easier for him to leave and come into the house whenever he pleased, always carrying the only key that could open it

The murmur of the crowds filling the commercial district were barely audible, and only the sound of the waves crashing against the stones underneath was heard, which brought peace of mind to the pokémon there. They were finally back home… They spent little time opening the front door and walking inside. The entrance to the inside was quickly overcrowded as they turned to the cupboards and coat hangers to their left, where they hung their bags and stored any garments they were wearing, which at the time was Eric's scarf. "Finally, home sweet…" Serge trudged over to the right, where the living room area was, and quickly let himself fall on one of the armchairs. "Home."

"Hey, come on don't take the best chair already!" Nox complained, heading for the couch. Their new home was much bigger than the last, and the living room had been expanded, now housing a small coffee table in the middle of a group of armchairs and something called a couch, which for them was like a bigger armchair. They'd kept the cushions from the other house, which were scattered in front of the fireplace in a haphazardly manner, left there from the previous evening.

"Oh no, you two don't get to sit around! We're taking a bath, because I won't have this home smelling of sweat!" Elly exclaimed, her motherly behaviour kicking in quite quickly. The prospect of taking a bath was one that no one was looking forward to, specially Nox and Lucy. However, none could say to the Eevee, and so by pairs or individually, they all had a turn in the new bathroom. It looked fairly similar to the one in the old house, but much bigger, and with several wooden buckets to make washing oneself far easier without using large amounts of the water or having the trapdoors open for far too long. The water came in through one end, built up inside the large tub in the centre, where the water never reached to be half a meter long, and then left through the other opening, which remained closed by yet another wooden trapdoor until it was opened, after which it flowed out outside.

Jake was the last one to take a bath, and by then the sun was long gone and the moon was rising. He made sure his fur was straight in the mirror and left the bathroom. It was situated underneath the stairs that lead to the second floor, and he knew someone was going up to their room because of their steps.

"...You know, Serge's right… I'm not exactly hungry right now, so I think I'm gonna head to bed early." He overheard Eric comment this to her mate, who was barely keeping herself awake. Zed and Lucy had already fallen fast asleep on the couch, and Jake took it upon himself to wake up the duo and at least recommend they went to their room to get some rest. Lucy took it much better than he anticipated, and she and Zed waved the others goodnight before heading upstairs. Jake soon followed them, leaving Eric and Elly in the living room, wishing them a good night's rest.

Once they were alone, the Riolu sat by Eevee, looking at the starry night through the window. The only light in the room was being provided by the lone candlestick on the table, but it would soon die out, and with it they'd be plunged into darkness. Before that happened, Eric got off the couch and faced Elly with a smile. "Hey, come on, hun… Let's go to bed and sleep there, ok?"

"Hmmmmmah?" The normal type had been seconds away from falling asleep, hadn't it been for his sudden interruption. "Ah, ah…" She yawned, which in turn made her feel sleepier. "I don't think I can move… my legs aren't working anymore too tired… just lemme sleep here…" She was drifting off again on the couch, but Eric would have none of it, specially after coming back from a successful mission like that. He leaned over her and gently grasped her body, then carried her bridal style over to the stairs, blowing out the light as he left the living room, using his aura senses to guide himself through the house. He couldn't see straight through walls, but he did see the trails of heat that the others had left behind: Serge had gone straight to his room in the attic after Nox went to his own, Zed and Lucy were probably already asleep in their room and Jake's room had light coming from underneath the door, telling the Riolu he was planning to stay up for longer to probably read.

He gently pushed the door at the end of the hallway and walked inside. The room was in darkness, and so he couldn't see anything. Not that he wanted to admire the furniture, specially in the dead of the night, and just headed straight for their bed, which had finally been made into a proper bed, like the ones they had enjoyed in the Kaiser's world, the mattress itself filled with Flaffy wool and the pillows with Altaria feathers. The wooden frame was rather simple however, as they'd found that many times the most expensive part of those beds were the frames. Alas, it wasn't of importance so late into the night, and quickly laid Elly on the bed and pulled back the sheets, then slipped her inside. The poor Eevee had already fallen asleep in his arms right around the time when they got to the stairs, but she'd managed to whisper the words "good night" before she did.

Eric made sure she didn't wake up as he himself slipped into bed and cuddled the Eevee, caressing her cheek and planting a kiss on her forehead as a way to wish her good night… and then closed his eyes and let himself fall asleep too.

---

Elly's eyes shot wide open as she gasped for air, trembling and drowning a gasp of horror in her throat. Her nightmares had returned, though this time they'd taken on a much more disturbing form. She remained still for a few seconds, the sliver of light coming in through the windows allowing her to see the furniture in their room: the chest, the bookcases, the desk and the chair… everything was in order, including the mess of letters and papers on the latter. What, or rather who, wasn't accounted for, was Eric, the spot beside her cold and covered with the sheets, a signal that he'd disappeared quite some time ago.

Where he was a mystery to hear, and her pounding headache, no doubt a product of her uneasy rest, dissuaded her from even attempting to communicate through their psychic bond. Even then, she was curious, if not slightly worried, and slipped out of bed after she shook off her drowsiness. She made a bee-line for the bathroom underneath, checking the other rooms in the hallway before she reached the stairs: all of them were closed, so it seemed everyone was still asleep. She washed herself quickly and went to the kitchen, Zed's pride and joy, and snatched a few berries from one of the bags on the top cupboards. She didn't check where she left the bag, even though she knew for sure Zed would dig into her if it fell out.

She didn't find any signs of the Riolu, however, asides from the bones of two peaches in the trash bag, and the fact his scarf and necklace were missing. So early in the morning, and considering where they'd been the previous day, there really was only one place he could've gone to: the graveyard. She grabbed her own necklace and headed out the door, the cool morning air blasting her face and waking her up for good. No wonder he'd grabbed his scarf. He did it this many times whenever they came back from dealing with magnets or other missions that the Riolu felt were important to him and the state of the world. And surely, ending another operation in Hoenn and seeing all those indoctrinated pokémon must've set off some alarms in his head.

There wasn't a soul wandering in the streets, and save for the occasional window opening or blind raising, it felt like a ghost town, quiet and calm, which gave her time to go over last night's dream. She'd once again dreamed of Skye and Blake, both of them together and staring off into a beautiful sunset, before he turned around to face her with a malicious smile. He transformed into a black mass and swallowed the sun and Skye, turning everything to black, and then she found herself facing the abomination they'd had to destroy in the distortion world. It felt like she was stuck in that place all over again: the air was thin and rancid, the lighting was poor and somber, the sounds of his claws, the explosions and the rocks and loose floating islands crashing against one another… it all felt so real that for a second she thought it wasn't a dream.

It all faded to black as the creature pounced again though, and remained like that for quite a long time… before a psychic blade sprung out from the darkness, a cloaked figure pouncing her and attempting to cut her head off, ever so relentless in its pursuit, so much so that for the first few months after their return nobody in the house had been able to sleep properly. The Pursuer, their latest foe, who'd vanished as mysteriously as he had appeared, and whose vile deeds had ended up causing grief not only to them, but to friends in another world. Whoever it was however, when she'd stared into those eyes… she could've sworn she recognized a hint of insanity and obsession in them.

While she ruminated, she made her way through main street and then out of town. The big gate that welcomed one to Treasure Town was long gone, and instead a simple sign in the crossroads ahead pointed one to it or somewhere in the region: to the left, grassy fields and hills spread as far as the eye could see, and to the right, the dirt and gravel road took one to a conglomerate of grey structures and stones. Treasure Town had never needed a dedicated graveyard until the attacks, and its construction had been a huge issue, as many were at odds on how they were going to honour the victims from Nymphe and Clades' attacks. Eventually, a brass rectangular monument with the emblem of the ETF was erected in town to remember their names, while the graveyard was built to bury their bodies and enshrine a particular warrior.

And it was him whom Eric was visiting that very morning.

It didn't take long to find him, kneeling in front of the grave and looking down at the slab, reading the words: "Eric Star, World Traveler and Immortal Hero. Your friends and companions." The date of his death was engraved on it too, even though his body was never recovered. Instead, in the coffin underneath one would only find his jacket and his staff, the only two things that had remained after giving up his very being to become a part of the time stream. Many questions remained about what this could've meant for Eric, and what would happen after the time stream was restored and the energy returned… but the human was dead, that was for sure.

(Thoughts to a Friend - Xenoblade Chronicles)

Elly approached her mate from behind, her paws crushing the withering leaves underneath her, and placed a paw on his shoulder gently. "How long has it been already? Three years?"

"Three years and four months…" She responded to his question with as much precision as she could. The Riolu let out a sigh, depositing the flowers he'd brought on the slab, covering the epitaph.

"I understand why you never forgave him for what he did… in the end, it was all his fault, and he never admitted it, which I will never forget either… but he gave us everything he had, including his own life, for our sake." He turned to face Elly. Neither of them were tearing up, having been there many times in the past and having shed their share of tears.

"I know, but… A lot of pokémon suffered and died because of it, including our friends, and many are still paying the price today. Remember what his last words were?" She asked. Even though Eric didn't remember them perfectly, he repeated the overall message.

"He was a man of many faces and sides, and he told us to remember him in whatever way we saw fit."

"You choose to honor him for what he did: a great sacrifice in order to save us all, and I understand and accept that… but you need to understand that he wasn't a saint either. Whether those good deeds outweigh his shortcomings… I think we're the only ones entitled to say it." The Riolu huffed and turned away as she said this, knowing where she was headed.

"He gave pokémon everywhere hope. His sacrifice and the message behind it made everyone move to make the world a better place…"

"But look at what's happening now: magnets, terrorists, radicals in Johto and Kanto, the Judges of Arceus… all of this is being brought about because of a partial lie Eric. It's not complete, but it's a lie nonetheless."

"But if we were to tell the truth now, what would happen?" He sat down on the leaves, careful enough to not hit any other grave, grabbing a leaf. "Would anyone believe us? Our reputation's been run into the ground because of impostors and our year long sabbatical, and I read the newspapers this morning: we didn't even make it to the front page!" He crushed what he held and threw it away. "Does nobody care anymore?! Was all that strife and sacrifice for nothing?!"

He was starting to doubt himself once again, she could feel it, and to be honest, she did so too: their actions had been forgotten far too quickly, but such was the natural order. But even then, that excuse didn't help cheer them up in the least. Her purpose for most of her life had been to end Blake and find the truth of what had happened to her family, and she'd found her answers, even if what she did find wasn't satisfactory, but now… Eric and her were both at a loss for a purpose outside of living the life they'd set out to make for themselves, and yet they felt they had to do so much more than just that. They wanted to change the world, little by bit, mission by mission… but that goal felt nigh unachievable with the way things were going.

"It looks really grim, I know… but listen, we need to stick to our guns. We did it once, I'm sure we can do it again in the near future and start spreading our message further. It may take years, but I'm sure we'll eventually find a way to make our voices be heard." She walked up to him and nuzzled his cheek. "And besides… we have each other, and that's a good enough purpose for me." Eric turned to look at her and smiled, agreeing with this last part, and they both hugged and shared a tender moment, then turned to face their friend's grave again.

"True… I guess I just shouldn't lose sight of what I have now… With everyone's help we'll make this world a better place so that those that come after can grow up safely." Their struggle wasn't over yet, in fact, they felt like the true battle still had to be fought, bringing them a lot of anxiety and stress.

"The world is a scary place, it's always been like that, even without Dark Eons, or Essences or radicals. When we met, we were just children that had no idea of what was ahead and how daunting of a task our objective was… But we've grown, and we know more. We'll do it." Her assurance inspired the Riolu, and in turn his confidence returned, along with his smile, which comforted the Eevee. They supported each other like this, and became whole through the other.

(Stop the music)

After collecting their thoughts and talking a bit more about their current state of affairs, the couple left the graveyard and headed back to town. By then, an hour had passed, and the sun was now much higher in the sky. When they got back, the streets were as busy as they'd been the day prior, though this time they came across more pokémon, specifically some guild members: Loudred and Sunflora walked past them at first, with bags filled with food and other necessities, and they hadn't noticed their presence until the Riolu called them.

"Huh?" Loudred was a bit deaf from his own loudness, but it wasn't bad enough for the Riolu behind them to go unheard. "Oh, hey, it's you two!" Sunflora turned around and gasped.

"Oh my gosh, what a coincidence! We were just about to head to your place after we got this stuff back the guild… we heard about your last mission, which was, like, totally cool, and wanted to congratulate you guys!"

Elly found her odd speech manners quite amusing, but she decided to keep quiet about it. "Awww, you didn't have to, we were just doing our job!"

"And a damn fine job at that! Serves those assholes right for trying to… to…" He drifted off, confused. "What were they doing again?"

Everyone shook their heads and sighed, though Eric was the first one to answer. "We don't exactly know for sure, but they were recruiting pokémon for something… by the way, nice to see you again, Loudred."

"Huh? Oh, yeah, same."

"You know, that sounds totally suspicious… are you sure it'll be fine?" Sunflora cut off the normal type as he opened his mouth to say something, though he nodded, as she'd voiced their thoughts.

"Hopefully with this the ETF will be convinced to send more guards to Hoenn, even if the region's in horrible shape… But I think we'll have to wait until they stop making cases against the Judges of Arceus for breaking several pokémon rights and committing war crimes." Eric's last comment made everyone's looks turn somber immediately.

"I can't believe those animals… did you read today's newspaper?" Sunflora inquired. Elly shook her head, but her mate had read it, and both he and Sunflora quickly filled her in. "Apparently, they say that they grabbed an Umbreon and her family in Unova and publicly flogged them, saying they were sympathizers with the Dark Eons… but they had literally just moved into the region."

"Even worse, they took them away for further questioning, and they've yet to hear about them…" Eric huffed. "No wonder so many magnets are popping up everywhere, they're the ones making pokémon afraid with their actions."

"But supposedly they act based on what the people want… which is some serious tauros shit if you ask me." Loudred was known for swearing quite a bit, but they decided to let him off the hook on this one: this topic was fairly controversial.

"Wish that was the case… but it's hard to see it since we live in a town where most pokémon know the truth of what happened, since we lived it in person. Everywhere else though, Blake, Team Uncario, Clades… they're just names to the which they pin the whole Time Freeze. And since Blake was an Umbreon, the leader of Uncario and the last Dark Eon, everyone's going crazy trying to find some other link to them just to prevent the Time Freeze from happening again."

"Which is absurd!" Elly shouted. This topic was especially infuriating to her, and everyone there had a good idea why. "Nobody… nobody would follow in that monster's footsteps unless they were insane." Her words were venomous, but she was having trouble voicing her thoughts, no doubt because of who she was referring to.

"But that's what it is nowadays… people are scared shitless about anyone who was primal before, racism against shiny pokémon has been increasing, dark types, Eevees and their evolutions are quite literally being hunted down, I don't care what name they're using to refer to it… The world's a fucked up place." It was strange to hear those words from Loudred's mouth, more so after they had had a long talk about this very same topic.

"But apparently it doesn't end there… they said that they're setting their sights on Sinnoh next, since this was the place where, and I quote, because they actually said this: 'The place where the cursed on left his legacy.'" Sunflora's quotation made everyone else skeptical.

"And there's also that: the verbose… what need is there for those guys to use those sentences? It's almost like they're trying to sound intimidating, like they've got a god backing them up."

"I mean, given that their names are, quite literally "The Judges of Arceus…" Sunflora's follow-up response promptly shut her boyfriend up, who simply blushed and twiddled with his thumbs.

"Well yeah, that's kinda obvious, now isn't it…"

Eric chuckled at the scene. "Whatever the case, god or not it doesn't justify their actions, and should they show their faces around here I'll make sure they get what they deserve."

"Better leave some for me though!" Loudred joined the Riolu in their oath for physical revenge, which Elly and Sunflora disagreed with.

"Men will be men, I guess… But anyways, it's just rumors, and I honestly doubt they'll come here if they know what's good for them. They won't find any support in this town, that's for damn sure!" Sunflora's words resonated with everyone, who nodded in agreement, and after excusing themselves, the two guildmembers left to wrap up the remainder of their morning duties.

Eric and Elly reached home a few minutes later, and already they could hear voices coming from inside, particularly that of a certain Pidgeot's, which boomed above the rest as he spouted a string of profanities and huffs of indignation. Eric rolled his eyes and opened the door, having to add his own weight behind the push because of an imperfection in the lock, and walked in, letting Elly close behind them. "What's going on now?"

The Riolu's question couldn't have come at a better time, as Serge approached him and shoved the newspaper in his face. "We didn't even fucking make front page, that's what's going on!" He expected the Riolu to be as angry as he was, but he was surprised when Eric told him he'd already read it.

"Page five, and it's just a small mention that "a" Team Star stopped a magnet for a terrorist organization in Hoenn… but the way it's written it's like a bunch of little kids could've done it or something." He passed the newspaper to Elly so she could read it, and sure enough, their exploits were barely even mentioned by a small vignette at the bottom right of the page. The newspapers had gotten pretty lively ever since all political relationships had been restored between the regions, and they got news from essentially anywhere. The system was simple: there was an editor in every major town in the region, which were almost all of them all things considered, where a psychic type with a crystal like the ones they had to communicate was listening in to what happened in other regions. When they picked up something worth the people's interest, they wrote it, then printed several papers with that text on it and sold it.

Treasure Town's own unique newspaper was called "Breath of Sea", with the added typo because of the lack of space on the front page, and as she inspected this she also noted the first piece of news in the front: The Judges of Arceus were planning to pay a visit to Sinnoh, after all, or so the page said. She was anything but thrilled to hear those madmen were coming to town, and she could only hope they didn't do something horrible. But then unspoken tension in the air and the fact that it was in everyone's mouth told her otherwise.

She tuned into the main conversation as she finished her musings, and Eric had successfully managed to calm down Serge. "We'll just have to work harder and really do something that leaves them in awe. In the grand scheme of things, shutting down a small scale operation in another region isn't as important as shutting down a whole organization. So when we eventually do so… then we'll be on the front page, and people will know who we really are!"

Serge listened to his words and was tempted to fight back, but eventually resigned and smiled. "Yeah… sure. Anyways, we're taking today off, right?"

"Yeah, of course we are! We spent like a full week in Hoenn locating those guys and making sure we knew all their patterns, you think we're gonna head out to do missions already?" A sigh of relief spread through the team, and even Jake took her words kindly, nodding and returning to his reading over on the couch.

"Well, if that's the case… I think I may prepare something for lunch today then… perhaps a Lasagna!" His words made everyone turn their heads and look at him, and the suggestion earned him unanimous cheer and praise. Elly and Lucy decided to help Zed with the dish, whilst Serge and Nox announced they were going out to check out what was going on with the guild members, which left Eric alone with nothing to do.

"Hey, you guys need some help with that?" Eric asked as he approached the kitchen, but of all pokémon Zed was the one to refuse his help.

"Ever heard of the saying, 'Too many cooks spoil the broth'? Well… I firmly stand by that." When he got to cooking, something no one else could beat him at, he transformed into a completely different pokémon. The Riolu rose his arms in a defensive stance and walked off.

"Don't worry, I won't that much input in this if that's what you're worried about. At least when it comes to everyone else's plates, expect some chili peppers in yours!" Lucy shouted the Riolu headed up the stairs to their room, having remembered something he should be doing.

"And if you do that I'll make sure you run five laps around Treasure Town tomorrow morning Lucy." He responded with a chuckle, knowing that five laps were basically nothing for her. The relationship between the two was a strange impasse: neither could tell when the other was joking and when they were serious about their insults. Still, that was the fun of it, so he responded with that and left for the top floor. To his annoyance, Serge had forgotten to fold the stairs leading up to his room in the attic, and had to do it himself. To his surprise, he found a lot of papers and ink scattered around the entrance, almost as if he'd been taken over by a sudden impulse to write, and a strange stench reached his nostrils as he approached… something he recognized but he couldn't quite put his paw on it.

Either way, he folded the wooden steps and rose the trapdoor, which snaps shut above him, a single cord hanging so that it could be brought down. He'd question the bird after he came back, there was something else that was eating away at him. He re-entered the room, which was the same way Elly had left it, which meant the bed was just a mess of sheets and the blinds were still down. He raised the blinds and fixed the bed as best he could, and once everything was in order, he went up to their chest and opened it. Slew himself had given it to them, containing several maps and old history books, things that no doubt made Elly go crazy: tales of strange cities buried under the sand, which turned to be more than just tales if Slew's new profession wasn't indicative of it, island soaring through the skies, and of course, his topic of study today: the seven artifacts.

Relics that the great heroes of bygone times had left behind after their deaths and that Eric was particularly interested in… After all, it was strange that they'd come across five of them so far: The Sanctuary of Rebirth, the Life Gem, the Cloak of Shadows, the Watch of Time and his object of study that day: the Book of Lies. And quite literally he was determined to study it, as he reached down to the bottom of that chest and pulled out the genuine one.

How it'd gotten to their paws, he had no idea, but Mick and Milly gifted them this book to congratulate them on their first successful mission almost three years ago. At first, there were words and illustrations in it, depicting and explaining pokémon characteristics, but… Once the time freeze began, the book was wiped clean all on its own, and a new emblem appeared on the cover. The same emblem the other Eric, Elly and himself had: that five-pointed star surrounded by ten emblems. He was mesmerized by it ever since, but his suspicions had peaked when the book began talking, or rather… it wrote. Words appeared on it, as if someone was writing messages for them from the past and manifesting on those pages, which lead him to believe the book was of extreme importance.

All of those elements were linked somehow, and they'd only found four fragments out of the ten Eric claimed he saw when the watch was broken. He believed that if he could unravel the mysteries behind the book that spoke on its own, he could discover the locations of the other pieces and the purpose of the Sanctuary, and of course, who had been the sender of those messages, which had saved their lives. He'd been reading and re-reading it, checking each and every single one of its pages after they'd returned… and still, nothing. The pages were blank, devoid of content, and writing on the paper just made the ink disappear, sinking into the paper and vanishing.

On a daily basis he snuck up to their room, opened the book and stared at it long, hoping that the answer to his pleas would manifest as spontaneously as it did in Slew's house… but time passed, and nothing manifested itself on the pages. Today, however, he was specially exhausted, and since there wasn't anything interesting to do, he put the book back in the chest and left the room, determined to go down to the living room and lay down on the carpet and sleep until dinner came.

What he never got to see however, was how the cover of the book changed from when he first picked it up to when he put it down: instead of the five pointed star, now a sphere, surrounded by blinding beams of purity, spread outward, appeared on the cover.

---

"For the last time Nox, I'm not taking you to the public house! And stop asking me for advice with girls! I did well in not letting you out of my sight in Hoenn, or who knows where you might be by now. You're too rash kiddo, too rash!" Serge rarely scolded the Houndour, but when he did it was usually the same thing: Nox was, once again, being too rash or too immature. Or both.

"Hey, no fair you get to do whatever you want and I don't get to have any fun! And besides, I want to get a girlfriend already, this is taking forever!"

"Why are you in such a hurry, kiddo? You're fifteen, just relaax! Everything will come your way eventually, unless you keep up that horrible attitude."

"What?! Dude, you behave the same way! You walk up to a girl and you say some random shit to her, she giggles and then you walk away for a bit!" The Houndour's shouts were no doubt attracting a lot of attention that the Pidgeot would rather not have on them.

"Well, then how about this: Do as I say, not as I do. I've got years of experience on this dude, you barely just begun. And besides, it's different for everyone, and you know what I look for relationships. Do you?" His words were meant to remind him of an incident concerning a Riolu and an Eevee that weren't Eric and Elly, and the Houndour caught it. "Besides, you won over the heart of a single female, maybe you should analyze what you did then and figure it out?"

"I… but that's not how you or my bro do it!" And there was the main issue, or at least that's what Pidgeot considered the problem to be… He didn't know this "brother" was, but he was anything but sure that it was this pokémon's fault that Nox was the way he was.

The Houndour, however, was torn, thinking on so many things at once, while nobody, not even Serge, who was basically like a second brother to him, could understand how he felt. "You always all say the same thing, that I'm just a kid, that it'll come with time…. but I wait and wait and I'm still as much of an idiot as I was before! I'm only asking for pointers and ideas, not for you to give me everything on a silver platter!"

"But that's the thing kiddo, these things can't be handed to you on a silver platter, nor can I give you advice! You think like all females are for you is an object, and that isn't the case!"

"Looks who's talking!" Those words came out of the fire type's mouth, his eyes widening when he realized what he'd said. The damage was already done however, and Serge narrowed his eyes and looked away. The Houndour's own pride didn't allow for him to apologize, and instead faced away from the Pidgeot. They didn't stay like this for too long however, as shortly after the Pidgeot sighed in defeat.

"Look… just trust me when I tell you that I'm doing all I can to help you kiddo. But you need to make up your mind and figure out what it is you like to begin with, because, let's be honest here… Emily was cute and all, but you and I know she wasn't made for you, and eventually that shit happened, and you realized how much of an idiot you'd been by chasing her tail… and vice versa, then it turned out you got a response from where you least expected."

"Yeah, I know… but neither you or my bro do it that way, so why? Why is it different for me? You seem happy enough with things the way they are!" His response didn't hurt Serge… instead he patted his head, giving him a smile that had a story behind it.

"There's a lot more to it than just that kiddo… And I don't want to sound like a broken record, but… when you grow up, you'll understand." That sentence was the point where Nox admitted defeat and decided to drop the topic for the time being. Meanwhile, Serge kept his eyes on the Houndour, feeling as if he was staring straight at a mirror of his younger self. However, soon the migraines kicked in and Serge bent down, grasping his head. "Aaaah fuuuck…"

"Headache?" The fire type inquired, earning a nod from the Pidgeot. "The apothecary should be right around the corner, come on." He waited until the flying type got up and accompanied him to the stand. It was a tent located near the west end of the main avenue, so it was fairly secluded. Even then, there was a steady flow of pokémon coming in and out of the tent, some with smoking pipes on their mouths.

Nox didn't really pay much attention to the smoke, being a fire type, but Serge took notice of it immediately and stood straight. His splitting headache had subsided, and was replaced by worry. The Houndour noticed this, but didn't pay mind to it, breathing in the smoke without realizing it. The Pidgeot coughed, uncomfortable, and once they got inside the tent… the stench increased by tenfold, now perceivable by Nox and making Serge gag on it.

"God damn… alright let's just get this over with…" Serge said and walked over to the Vileplume in the middle of the tent. It was rather small, and the Pidgeot had to bend his head down in order to not poke a hole through the fabric. They asked for various herbs, not only for his current headache but also other things Zed might need, and once they paid him Serge noticed the plants he had in ceramic pots at the back of the tent. He looked back at Nox, who had a dreamy look on his face, and quickly snapped him out of it. "Get out of the tent, I need to talk with him about some private stuff, ok?"

"Aww, what? But it smells so weird and nice in here."

"Just get out." He sounded serious, and the Houndour obeyed. He turned his glare to the poison type, then looked at the plants. "Where'd you get those?"

"Oh… a true connoisseur, eh? We received them the other day, from Johto. They're a new type of medicine that helps the mind…"

"Tauros shit." He cut him off and approached the Vileplume. "You may fool some poor saps and kids with that shit, but you won't trick me with it. And you won't trick any ETF officials either." The mention of the institution made all color drain from the smaller pokémon's face. "So listen here, you bastard: you get rid of it safely, and I won't tell anyone about what you were doing. I'm guessing you started selling this shit, and I aim to make sure that you stop now. You understand?" He nodded. "I will stop at nothing to ban you from selling your shit in this town if I catch more kids with that stuff, you understand me?!" He got really loud, and the Vileplume looked at him terrified, nodding repeatedly. "Good… then get out of my face." And with that, the Pidgeot left the tent with the bag of herbs.

Everyone outside was confused as to what the exchange had been, as the last part of the conversation was audible outside. "What happened in there?" Nox's question went unanswered for a few meters, though behind them they could hear groans and shouts of annoyance as the apothecary closed down.

"Don't worry about it." Was his response, once again frustrating the Houndour to no end. As they made their way down the main street and reached the main plaza, a crossroads with the monument to honor the dead during the Time Freeze and other attacks in the middle, something caught their eye. A congregation of pokémon had been called by a group of four robe wearing pokémon: a Gallade, a Haxorus, a Throh and an Omastar were gathering pokémon in the place, calling them by name.

"By the order of… those that we pronounce… further interrogation in relation to… decree of the Judges of Arceus's high priest, Tharmius…" They both turned to stare at the four pokémon and saw what was happening: they were gathering pokémon in the plaza and listing them off as subjects. That was spine chilling enough, since nobody wanted to step up and go to the centre of the plaza, since their reputation preceded them… but when they heard the next name their faces drained of all color.

"Miss Elizabeth Star!"

---

"So you're really going to use the surname Star?" Lucy asked her friend again as they cleaned up the rest of the counter. Their new kitchen was much bigger than the last, outfitted with an oven, pots and stoves for Zed to indulge himself in, a drain for them to wash fruits and other vegetables and then dispose of the water, an island from where pots, frying pans and other cooking utensils hung, right below it some jars containing spices or other ingredients with labels on them… Zed made sure to keep everything in order, he really liked to be able to find out where everything was without having to look through a pile of disarranged food.

Just as she'd predicted earlier that morning, the Zorua scolded her for leaving the berries right against the cabinet door, but she was quickly forgiven as he kept preparing the bechamel, something that required his full dedication. "Yeah, I don't think using my actual surname is a good idea… and besides, Eric and I are mates, and he doesn't have a surname, so we just borrowed the human's one, since he said Eric could use it… as weird as that is." Elly handed the Zorua one more jar of milk, which he poured slowly in his Zangoose form, tall enough to look at the pot.

"So then Team Star is just gonna be like, part of your surname too? That's… pretty weird."

"Actually…" Jake spoke up from the other corner of the room, shutting his book. "Many teams name themselves after the surname of their founder or with the initials of the team's components. However, I have never heard of the opposite happening. When will you be changing the records at the town hall?"

"Oh… we did that a few days ago before we left for Hoenn and just… forgot to tell you guys. It came up because of Lulu's surname."

At the mention of her nickname, the Shinx groaned and looked at Zed. "Zeeed! Why'd you have to call me that in front of everyone?!" The Zorua didn't answer her immediately. "Zeed! I'm talking to you!" Still no answer. She poked him with her tail, but the Zangoose remained completely still. "Zeeed! I swear I'll wrap you up in bandages, you dumb mummy!" That last mention brought back the Zorua to the physical realm, who stared at her wide eyed, the memories flooding back to him. Elly burst out in laughter, waking up Eric, who looked around in a panic.

"Oh my gosh I forgot about the dumb mummy thing!" She kept on chuckling and giggling, and soon Lucy joined her, the two females laughing whilst Zed looked at them in a mixture of annoyance and embarrassment, Eric shook his head and chuckled and Jake rose an eyebrow.

"Did something happen?" The ice type inquired, confusing the duo.

"Oh right, he wasn't here when that was a thing… see, Zed once got really hurt…"

"You mean Eric decked him in the face." Lucy bitterly corrected the Eevee's explanation, which annoyed the Riolu.

"Hey, I apologized for it! Plus, I thought the love of my life had ended her life and I let him punch me in the face later! What else do you want from me?!"

"I want you to get hit in the face by a Snorlax."

"Then you might as well jump on my head then!" The Shinx gasped and Elly just chuckled.

"Alright you two, let's stop right there… anyways, yeah Eric hit Zed during a fit of rage and they had to bandage his face. Lucy and Eric weren't exactly on good terms back then… and to be honest, they still aren't, and so she called Zed a dumb mummy because he let Eric hit him."

Jake listened to the retelling and nodded with every key aspect. Once he was done however, he faced the Shinx. "Only you would come up with such a comparison. You do realize that being wrapped up in bandages does not transform one into a mummy, correct? In fact, mummies are the ancient remains of a pokémon's body, which have been kept somewhat intact through embalming and mummification, which implies the drying of the skin, which leaves you with a furless creature with skin similar in color and complexion to that of a raisin." Jake's lengthy explanation made everyone fall silent.

"Yeah… Jake, thanks for dropping that explanation while I'm cooking." Meanwhile, his mate was busy gagging.

"Yuck… alright I'm not eating a raisin ever again… Can anything be more disgusting than that?"

"Well, perhaps you should know that their organs are pulled out of their bodies before embalming. A special mention to the brain, which is pulled out through the nostrils using forc-"

"Oh my god Jake shut up! No no no!" The Shinx covered her ears and eyes and cowered in a corner of the kitchen whilst Jake visibly winced.

"Yeah, lunch is ruined everyone." Meanwhile, Eric was just holding back laughter at the whole situation. There was something about seeing Lucy suffer like that struck his funny bone. Zed pulled the bechamel off the fire, as he deemed it ready, and put out the fire.

"Arceus that is just… horrible. Why'd you have to explain all of that while I'm making lunch?"

"Because I felt it was necessary. Lucy was in dire need for some clarification on the topic of mummification so she'd come up with better nicknames. Alas it seems she ca-" Their conversation was interrupted as Serge unlocked the front door and burst into the house, opening in one swing.

"Guys?! We have a problem!" His words made everyone turn to face him, especially Eric, who had been sleeping a few moments prior.

---

"As stated, all the pokémon in this list have been warned! Come with us for questioning on your involvement, or you shall be apprehended on the word of our leader, Thamius!" The Gallade's voice roared through Treasure Town, the crowd of pokémon that had gathered looking at him in a mixture of confusion and fear. Few of them knew what was happening and what it meant, but those that did were definitely scared out of witts, none of the mentioned pokémon on the list walking up.

"No one? Not a single dark type, Eevee or eeveelution?" He asked again, and even though there were some dark types in the crowd, no one took a step forward. He scanned the crowds… and his eyes stopped on a Poochyena, who had approached thinking something else was happening. The Gallade pointed at him menacingly. "Him." The Haxorus and the Omastar turned to face the young one, and charged for the kid. The crowd split and screamed as the pokémon scattered, but the Poochyena was too scared to move, and was forcefully grabbed by the Haxorus, the Omastar looking around and ordering that they remained still.

"Make one move and you shall be apprehended too!" Nobody knew what to do: they weren't welcome there, but they were officials, a sort of police on the same level as explorers, and attacking them would mean there would be grounds for them to be imprisoned in turn. The Poocyhena screamed and thrashed, terrified as he was brought up to the Gallade. His mother, a Mightyena, screamed his name as she tried to reach him, but the crowds were blocking her for her own good, knowing that if she tried to do anything rash he'd be taken away.

The psychic type inspected the quivering pokémon before him. "Why are you afraid, child?" He kept glancing over him as he murmured to the small dark type. "You do not have something to hide, do you? Children like you are normally pure of soul… and yet you share the type with the cursed ones. Our records have said that a majority of the Dark Eons were dark types… your mother wouldn't happen to be one, would she?" His inquiry was met only by a frightened whimper and tears, as he was too scared to talk back to the inquisitor.

Gallade smiled. "If you remain silent you are impeding our lord Arceus' work! Our creator has enlightened us to rid this world of the dangers of the last Dark Eons, but you are trying to conceal them!" He turned to the crowd and grabbed the Poochyena's head. "We know you're hiding them here! This town was assaulted and destroyed by Blake's forces, and yet you remain silent?! Not a single notice has been sent to us about the dark one's sympathizers?! You surely hide something! We are the justice our lord has come to impart on this world! We are not your enemies, we're your protectors and closest allies!" He faced the Poochyena, raising his other hand. "And if you hide something from us… it means you're a sympathizer!" His hand shot back down and the Mightyena screamed at the top of her lungs…

"Leave him alone!" The words, carried by a strong gust of wind, stopped the Gallade on his tracks, and the crowd parted and allowed him to see who'd dared to defy him: a female Eevee with sky blue eyes, standing besides a Riolu and five other pokémon. But they were all inconsequential to him, he was more focused on the Eevee.

"Ah, as I predicted, you couldn't hide in the shadows while your followers were publicly punished… But it's far too late, both he and you will be judged by our lord's word!" The two inquisitors from before moved towards Elly… but Eric stepped in the way and rose his paw.

"Touch a hair of her fur, and you will not leave this town intact." Aura spread through his arms. "That's a promise." The Gallade's eyes widened, letting the Poochyena go, whose mother immediately ran over and covered with her body, hell bent on protecting him from further harm.

"You… a Riolu? Here? How can you betray us like this, brother?"

"Brother? I'd have to be mad to be a member of your brotherhood, you madman. You and the rest of you so called Judges are not welcome in this town or region!" Eric was absolutely livid, but his words didn't quite intimidate the Gallade.

"That's what we're always told… but eventually, you all see eye to eye with us after we expose the evils that lie in wait near your homes! So why do you defend the Eevee?!"

"For your information… she isn't just any Eevee, she's my mate! I am Eric Star, and she is Elizabeth Star, the pokémon you were looking for just now. We're the leaders of the real Team Star, and we have no need for you or your organization in this town!" The inquisitors were taken aback by this revelation, and they grouped up again, murmuring and whispering to each other.

"Look at them… they aren't used to having actual important pokémon stand up to their shit.." Serge's observation seemed to be true, since they talked in private for a few minutes before turning to the team again.

"And if you have doubts about who we are, you can ask the local guild, inspect our badges or I can show you this." Eric showed them the mark on the back of his arm, which seemed to surprise the Judges even more. "Satisfied?"

The Gallade's smile was long gone, instead replaced by a stern gaze. "You have made a grave mistake by confronting us, Riolu… You may very well be the ones that defeated the accursed one, but you've clearly fallen from grace! Surely you jest when you defend that Eevee as your mate?!"

"Got a problem with it?!" It was Elly's turn to speak up, not intimidated in the slightest by these pokémon.

"Watch your tongue, y-"

"No, pal, I think you misunderstood us…" Serge took a step forward, the gigantic Pidgeot overshadowing even the Gallade. "So let me put it simple, short terms so you understand, ok? Here we go: get the fuck out of our town. Nobody, and I do mean, nobody wants to see your racist mugs in town, especially when you're talking to the pokémon that saved it!" His words were met with praise and cheers, which even if they elicited growls of anger and deadly glares from the robed pokémon, it didn't persuade them anymore. Their robes, white as snow, with golden traces making out two semicircles with two spikes near the ends pointing outwards that wrapped around the cloak under their arms, were suddenly sullied as a ball of mud flew at them from behind, impacting against the Gallade's, the offender soon hiding behind the crowd.

"You little…" His unfinished threat was interrupted by the crowd's jeers, who had taken side with Team Star, who looked down at the inquisitors. The psychic type glared at the Eevee. "You… you control all of these poor pokémon… this won't be the last time you hear of us. We'll find out your evil misdeeds and take you to Cunabula…"

"Actually, no you won't be dragging me anywhere." She cut him off once more. "I've read about what you lot do: you go somewhere, you blame a pokémon at random, you try to take them away, and if that fails you come back a few days later with all your friends and take them whether they like it or not. And then, surprise surprise! They owe up to crimes they didn't know they committed! Well, guess what, I'm going there myself, so that way I can not only clear my name, but make sure you're all put where you belong: in prison!" Her speech stirred the crowds and got them to scream, edging her onward whilst the judges seemed to exchange nervous glances.

"You… lunatic! It will be your demise!"

"If anything…" Jake stepped forward, rubbing the bridge of his nose, smiling cockily. "It will be your demise. We have some powerful contacts, and as we said… we're Team Star. What better way to prove who we are than to expose a group such as yours?"

"Either way, one thing is certain: you messed with the wrong sort when you came here." Eric concluded, enraging the Gallade and making the pokémon around them cheer more…

"Silence!" The shout didn't come from Team Star, or the Judges of Arceus, or the crowds… it came from a pink Pokémon that limped his way towards the plaza, accompanied by a large assortment of pokémon: a Chatot, a Croagunk, a Bidoof and also Sunflora and Loudred. About half of the guildmembers had appeared, and Wigglytuff's appearance was awe inspiring: whilst not as tall as Serge, he was still quite big and intimidating, even for the fluffy pink fur he had. "Everyone, calm down, please…" He called for order, his voice transitioning from the deadly serious to a more relaxed and friendly tone, much more familiar to everyone there.

"And you… I guess you're the Mayor of Treasure Town?" The Gallade inquired. "Because otherwise I'm afraid you still have no authority."

"The previously elected mayor of Treasure Town recently passed away from old age, and a new election was held. Because there are no rules against it, I presented myself as candidate and won by landslide… ergo I am the town's mayor and the leader of the guild, and as such I doubly order you to leave this town." Wigglytuff's sentence was heavy, and felt like a gavel that ended a trial.

However, the judges still had something up their sleeves, as they bowed, concealing smiles. "If that is the case… then leave we shall… But first two things: for starters, we leave only due to your powers as the lawyer of this town, not because of your authority as a guild leader."

Chatot, who could understand between the lines of what they were saying, stepped up, looking livid. "What do you mean by that?! Guildmasters and explorers in general have as much authority as the local police!"

"But I'm afraid they do not hold a candle to us."

"How so? Why is it that you have so much power that surpasses that of the ETF?"

"Because just like the ETF, we responded to the people's call. The people needed us, and so we have decided step forward and make sure they don't go unheard. We have been approved by the Cunabular government too." This last bit of news came as a surprise to everyone.

"Why you scumbag… How'd you guys even-" This time Lucy was the one to step forward, but she was silenced immediately.

"As I said, we only carry out the will of the people. If the will of the people in this town is for us to leave, then we shall do so. Besides…" Once again their gazes fell on Elly, who defied them with her eyes. "She agreed to come on her own terms, and for this reason we have, in a way, succeeded in our mission." They bowed and threw their hoods again before lining up, hiding their hands in their sleeves and walking off in serene silence. The jeers had long stopped after Wigglytuff appeared, and the guild members told them to return to their daily activities, whilst the Guildmaster and his right hand pokémon approached the team.

"You were lucky Bidoof saw the commotion. Had you continued this line of questioning I don't think things would've ended well for you." Wigglytuff mentioned as he walked up to the team, his eyes focusing on Elly. "Will you be alright?"

"Yeah, just got a little heated it's all… This whole Judges of Arceus issue is fairly personal to me."

"Yes, we saw that… But goodness, lying to them straight to their faces about going to Cunabula? You must have some guts!" Chatot's praise of her courage didn't fall on deaf ears, but the Eevee was surely confused when he said this.

"Ummm... I wasn't lying about that, Chatot… I have the intention of going to Cunabula and confront them." The bird's beak touched the floor, while the rest of the pokémon there were unfazed by this reveal.

"Are you absolutely sure about this? I mean… you're going to charge straight into the hornet's nest." Eric placed a paw on her shoulder as he said this, trying to confront her and convince her to think over this.

"No, I've made up my mind. I'd been thinking about doing for a long time now, ever since those guys had started messing pokémon's lives wherever they went with the pretext that they're doing their lord's work and obeying the people's needs… those are just a bunch of lies, and I intend to expose them for what they really are." To everyone, it sounded like she was trying to convince not only them, but also herself.

"A noble cause, but alas… remember, we are going up against an organization that does in fact have the approval of the government and is supported by donations from devoted their devoted followers… and also whatever they exhort and rob from the pokémon they've apprehended." Once again, Jake took it upon himself to relay the cold hard facts to the rest of the team. Still, she wasn't deterred, and only reaffirmed she was going to go.

"Well… you know that wherever you go, I'll follow." Eric patted her head and held her paw when she sat down and extended it to him, holding it within his paws. Zed nodded and said the same, with Lucy rolling her eyes at their promises.

"Well, I guess I'll have to go if my best friend and my mate want to go…"

"And since we follow a democratic order where we vote to decide what it is we do, and four out of seven pokémon in the team have agreed, we shall all be leaving for Cunabula." The Sneasel approached the group, and only left Serge and Nox outside.

The Pidgeot sighed and shook his head, smiling. "I never agreed to this, but… count me in."

"Oh come on guys, don't put me in a tight spot like this!" Nox's complaint made everyone laugh, but eventually he also joined them.

"So… you really are going to up against them?" Loudred asked, quite surprised that this situation had taken such a sudden turn of events. His question was answered with nods, and Wigglytuff took a step forward.

"If that is the case, then let me give you two things: advice, and peace of mind. The former is simple: do not go too over your heads. You may be Team Star, but it has been three years since the defeat of Blake. Your achievements are known worldwide, but there are other news that have much more importance and relevance as we speak. And of course, do not let your guard down: your opponents are an organization supported by law, but it goes without saying that they may resort to filthy tactics. Make sure you aren't caught unaware." The guild master's advice was, as always, welcomed. "And as for peace of mind, we will make sure that all missions that you would've normally accepted are taken care of."

"Besides, it's about time we get some real work! Things have been terribly dull ever since you guys returned and decided to take up every single interesting mission! Chatot here was complaining too, that we were going to get lazy!" Loudred's big mouth once again became the source of both laughter and anger, as Chatot turned to him and started screaming.

"I did no such thing! I will not tolerate your lies in front of our celebrated team! I demand you speak the truth, you big mouthed…" And they two went on and one for quite a while, drawing smiles and laughter from their friends. In the midst of the commotion however, Bidoof still remained serious, and as he walked up to Eric and Elly he voiced his worries.

"You know… call me crazy, but I've got a real bad feeling about this, yup yup… Real bad feeling."

"What do you mean?" Eric inquired.

"I mean… those folks always announce themselves wherever they go and are sending letters to their next targets… and Elly here was on their list, so shouldn't you have received some letters prior?" His words rang true with the duo, who looked at eachother in confusion, though Eric's gaze trembled for a second in front of her mate's, barely perceptible.

"Eric?"

"I… was the first to leave early today, so I didn't check the mail… maybe that could've warned us prior." Having confessed to his crime, Elly relaxed, thinking the offense had been worse. After this quick exchange they rejoined their companions.

Unbeknownst to anyone however, the first string of a wicked web of lies had just been woven around them, and one of their hearts felt the weight of betrayal strangling them from that point onward.

---

The robed pokémon silently made their way back to the boat they'd arrived on. Publicly humiliated and kicked out of that town… this would not stand. The Gallade, the one that lead them, was especially infuriated by Team Star's involvement, but his hatred spread to the entirety of the town. "Fools… their minds have been consumed already… we will have to incarcerate and interrogate her, draw out the truth and…"

"You won't get anything." A voice suddenly interrupted his train of thought. He'd been speaking to himself, but didn't expect anyone to have been paying attention to whoever might be listening to his musings. "You're right: this town is corrupt, rotten to the core, and have been fooled through and through by all those so called protectors… specially Team Star."

"What do you want, child?" The Haxorus' voice was raspy and grave, but the speaker didn't budge, in fact, Gallade took a step forward and held back Haxorus from saying anything else with an open hand.

"What do you mean?"

"I meant just that: they're all idiots, they can see the truth behind all those guild members and exploration teams… they're all liars! They can't save a single pokémon, even if they tried! But the worst part… is that they have some huge skeletons in their closets, specially that Eevee."

The psychic type's eyes widened at this, but the Haxorus was skeptical. "What do you know that we don't?"

"Take me to your leader… and you'll know."

---

Far away from Treasure Town, in a completely different region, dawn came, light bathing the face of a tall manor. Banners with strange exotic symbols waved in the wind, and just above it the sliding doors of a spacious room were wide open, the sunbeams revealing a folding screen with beautiful drawings of a valley between tall green mountains, a river flowing through it, an oriental village erected in the middle as cherry blossom petals flooded in from the right. Behind it, a pokémon bathed and perfumed itself, walking out from behind the screen and looking off at the sun.

They breathed in, closing their eyes and reminding themselves of why did they were taking up such a mission… then walked over to the other end of the room. Enshrined in the far right end, with a candle of science slowly burning, was a set of armour, much too big for the pokémon observing it. Instead, they grabbed the arm pieces, covering the outer part of their arms and sat in front of the armor, praying. After this, they approached a cupboard and opened the top drawer, pulling out a cloak out and throwing it over their body, making sure it was properly adjusted so as to conceal their identity, then observed the drawing of their next target.

A Pidgeot, the description of which stated was two meters high and with green, orange and blue feathers.