~Dewdrop Woods~

"I'm sorry, Captain. I was unable to locate the source of the ultra aura traces you sensed."

Sticky emerged from behind a set of trees. A gray visor sat over his eyes, but it quickly dematerialized by dissolving into purple streams that faded into the harness on his chest.

"… tch. So, this was a waste of time, then?" Gallian growled, seated atop an overturned rock. He rolled onto his back and let his head droop down. He had an upside-down view of the blue-pawed dog Sticky addressed. "I thought Houndooms were supposed to be clever."

Sticky's eyes widened. "F-Forgive him, Captain Luxeira. He–"

The Houndoom raised a blue forepaw. "It's fine, Sticky," she said, adjusting her white, full-body jumpsuit as she got to her feet. "Truthfully, I didn't have a lot of hope, given how weak the signals were. It looks like we were too slow on the draw."

"Yeah… you seem to have a rather nasty habit of that," Gallian sneered.

"Well, perhaps if the terrestrial with the self-professed 'disaster sense' could offer up a little more support, this wouldn't be happening," Luxeira countered, her expression unreadable behind her helmeted visor. "Our partnership was born out of circumstance, but I seem to recall you saying that you 'owed us big time.' Perhaps it's time to you started living up to that promise. Or are the inhabitants of this world the type to renege on their vows so easily?"

"… tch. My disaster sense doesn't give specifics, Captain," Gallian growled. "And it's not going to work unless I'm close to the disaster, literally or figuratively speaking."

"Easy now, you two," Sticky coaxed, floating in between them. "There's no need for petty squabbles. We are here for reconnaissance work, after all. And, even without a source for the ultra aura, it's pretty evident that something transpired in this… this…" He tapped his forehead. "Oh, what do you terrestrials call this location, again?"

"A Mystery Dungeon?" Gallian said.

"Yes, yes. Quite an odd designation. I do not see any apparatuses associated with highly-fortified terrestrial prisons," Sticky mused. "But that's beside the point. What could have torn the landscape asunder like this?"

Gallian sat back up on his rock and rubbed his temples. "First off, enough with the big words. You sound like an uptight stiff. Second, I've got a hunch as to what's responsible."

"Oh? Do tell, rookie," Luxeira ordered.

"It was probably a Bewear," Gallian said, "or five."

Sticky titled his head in confusion. "Captain, are you familiar with that Pokémon? I am afraid I have not encountered it in the past."

"They're really big. And strong. Like, they can snap trees in half just by hugging them. It's the only Pokémon I can think of capable of doing something like this that lives around here," Gallian explained. "I guess the group that did this ran off."

Luxeira got to her feet. "Then it would appear it's time for us to move o–" She froze. Gallian tensed up, digging his claws into the rock. Luxeira's visor flashed. "Sticky! Get a load of this. I'm picking up substantial ultra aura readings."

Sticky pressed the jewel at the center of his harness. His visor rematerialized over his eyes. He placed a stubby hand on his temple and frowned. "I concur, Captain. Off to the southwest. A noticeable surge… and it doesn't appear to be subsiding, either."

"Rookie, what lies to the southwest of this dungeon?" Luxeira asked.

"Uh… that'd be Tethys Tunnel. It leads to an underground swamp," Gallian exclaimed.

"Alright. Sticky, I want you to do some careful observation on this 'Tethys Tunnel' and report back to me posthaste," Luxeira ordered.

Gallian's eyes flashed purple. "No way. Nuh-uh. You're not letting him get anywhere near that place."

"Because, let me guess, 'disaster awaits us if he does?'" Luxeira scoffed.

Gallian glared daggers at her. "Yeah. Pretty much," he seethed.

"Rookie, Team Paradox's first and foremost responsibility is to investigate anomalies that we suspect have ties to Ultra Space," Luxeira declared. "Even without a home, we're not about to abandon that principle."

Gallian pointed his scythe toward Luxeira. "Yeah, and how much have you accomplished here, honestly? Lemme answer that… nothing. Pinhead's not going to Tethys Tunnel, period."

Luxeira stormed over to Gallian's location and grabbed his scythe. The energy forming on it quickly dissipated. "I am your captain. And, as such, I'm ordering my subordinate to investigate Tethys Tunnel."

Gallian's forehead diamond sparked. "Then I'm going with him. Things probably won't end as badly if I'm around."

"Absolutely not," Luxeira said. "Your violent temperament will not do Sticky any good."

"But he's going to run into trouble. I'm sure of it," Gallian hissed.

"Then he will do his best to remove himself from that situation," Luxeira declared, giving Sticky a nod.

"Seriously?" Gallian gave her an exasperated look. "I went to a lot of trouble to get you two TM's so that you could actually defend yourselves out in these Mystery Dungeons. And you're telling me that you're just going to let that go to waste?"

Luxeira flicked her tail. "All members of an Ultra Recon Squad surveillance unit are expected to adhere to a strict nonaggression policy. We observe, but we don't attack unless there are no other options."

"Yeah, fat lot of good that policy did your home, huh?" Gallian muttered under his breath.

"What was that?" Luxeira growled.

"Nothing," Gallian dismissed, turning his snout skyward. "You want to find Tethys Tunnel? Fine. Follow me." Gallian turned and led Luxeira and Sticky back along the forest trail.

Episode 7: The Great Divide

Chapter 25: Fading Radiance

"Fooooooooooooooooooooool!"

So loud was Solgaleo's roar that it made the tiny dreamscape island quake. Shane tumbled down the sand and landed in the orange water with an unceremonious splash. Only, to his horror, he realized what soaked him was far more viscous than water. It was more like orange slime. When he managed to trudge back onto the beach, he resembled a normal, fire-type Vulpix.

"I explicitly gave you one direction. Do not disclose our conversations!" Solgaleo bellowed. "And now you've gone and done just that. Do you have brain damage? Because it's not like my instructions were hard to follow."

Shane writhed about, trying to clear some of the ooze off his body, but to little avail. "I… I didn't have a choice. I was backed into a corner there. And besides, I needed to prove a point. It helped out, didn't it?"

"What sort of answer is that? You are the worst chosen one ever!" Solgaleo shouted. "Proving a point is far less important than saving the world, don't you think?"

Shane flinched at this.

"Well? What do you have to say for yourself, human?"

Shane drew his lips back into a snarl. "I get it okay. Tessa, Null, the rest of the guild, and now you, too. You all hate me. Think I'm some sort of screw up, don't you? Well, why'd you bring me here, then? Why did you think that I'd actually be the one who could save your sorry butts, huh? You've given me no sense of direction, extremely cryptic clues, and not a single power boost to help me. How do you expect me to do this when nobody wants to help?"

"Siiiiiiillllleeeeeeennnnce!"

Shane jumped. He glared off toward the horizon, where a sun-shaped silhouette sat. "Well, which is it? You want an explanation or you want me to keep my mouth shut? I'm getting very mixed messages here, bub."

"I do not have the strength to bring forth another human," Solgaleo declared.

"And why not?" Shane huffed. "You didn't answer my first question, either. Why me, huh? What makes me special?"

"I said… silence! If I'm to be stuck with you, I need to make the best of a bad situation."

"Gee, thanks for the ringing endorsement," Shane sneered. "Real words of encouragement from a Pokémon that's supposedly worshiped around these parts. You're supposed to be making me feel better. Picking me up in my moment of need! Instead, you're just putting me down."

"Idiot! I am not here to give you belly rubs and tell you that you're the very best like no one ever was," Solgaleo roared. "This isn't some happy-go-lucky fairy tale where everyone holds hands and skips around in circles belting out songs about friendship and joy. This is a real, dangerous situation. Lives are on the line!"

"Yes, I think that's been made abundantly clear to me at this point," Shane said. "So, what am I supposed to do now?"

"Isn't it obvious? Rally your stupid friend, Riolu, and go after Absol like I told you to!" Solgaleo ordered. "And this time, no more excuses."

"Yeah, uh, and just how do you expect me to do that, big guy? According to Comfey, I broke my spine," Shane admitted.

"So? You are a Pokémon. You should heal up quickly," Solgaleo said.

"Look, I don't exactly know how healing works here. But where I come from, a broken spine is not something you just bounce back from and resume going about your business like nothing happened," Shane elaborated. "Heck, the whole reason I'm asleep right now is that Comfey's trying to use a serum to get my legs working. And if it fails… I don't think I'm ever going to walk again."

His head and ears drooped. "Besides, it's not like Tessa's going to be all that cooperative with me. She totally hates me now. She'd rather run around doing missions with Null. And that guy's the walking definition of creepy." He looked out toward horizon. "So, again, are you sure you've got the right guy? Tessa told me Null just randomly appeared with no memory several months back. And he's much stronger than me. Maybe he's the human you actually brought here? And I'm… just a mistake."

"Null? I know of no Nulls!" Solgaleo responded. "You are the human I summoned. Quit acting like a crybaby and get to work!"

Before Shane could offer a rebuttal, his entire field of vision went white.

~Aeon Observatory~

Shane's eyes shot open. He blinked rapidly, trying to adjust to the lack of light. 'Great. Not only did that go terribly, I woke up in the middle of the night,' he groaned. 'Things just keep getting better and better in Shane's horrible new reality.' He rubbed his head against his pillow and cringed at the feeling of moisture. 'Looks like I've got night sweats, too,' he sighed.

He squeezed his eyes shut, desperately hoping he could will himself back to sleep. Unfortunately, his brain didn't get the memo, so he continued to lie there, staring up at the ceiling. 'Maybe this is some form of punishment?' he thought. 'Like, I spent all that time playing Pokémon games and doing things online related to Pokémon when I could've, I don't know, volunteered in the community, or whatever. And now, as some sort of twisted karmic retribution, I'm trapped here in what should be a dream come true, only everything's trying to kill me and I haven't made a single friend.'

Shane shuddered. 'No, I can't think like that. I'm not a bad person. I might not be perfect, but that's why the phrase "I'm only human" exists in the first place, right? There are way more malicious folks out there. I need to keep my head up.'

He looked down at his hind legs and tails. 'Come on,' he thought. 'Come on, Shane. You can do this. Move those legs… move them. Come on… come on…' His brow furrowed, he grit his teeth, and held his breath as he tried to bend his knees. Much to his surprise, he saw his legs move ever so slightly toward his thighs.

His expression brightened immediately. 'Did Comfey's treatment work? Can I use these legs again?' With a forceful breath in, he flicked his foreleg back and hit one of his hind legs. The leg in question tensed up from the contact. 'I actually felt that!' he cheered. 'Oh, thank god, it worked. I'm healed!' He let himself fall back against his pillow, panting from exhaustion. Somehow, that brief bit of exertion had managed to drain him of his energy. He quickly fell back asleep.

Several hours later, light funneled in through the curtain, causing Shane to wake up. He stretched out his neck and, with considerable effort, managed to sit himself up. 'Maybe this means I can finally get out of bed without being levitated around,' he hoped.

"U-Um, h-hello? A-Are you a-awake in there, Mr. Vulpix?"

Mimikyu's squeaky voice came from the other side of the curtain. "Come in," Shane said. A ghostly hand drew back the curtain and Mimikyu zigzagged into the room. "What do you want?" Shane asked.

"O-oh… n-no…" Mimkyu looked down. "Are you not supposed to have visitors? I didn't get that memo. Please don't rat me out!"

"Relax, it's fine," Shane dismissed. "Did someone send you over here?"

Mimikyu shook his head. "No. I just, y'know, wanted to see how you were holding up." The little eye slots in his disguise started tearing up. "You've been asleep for a week now and–"

Shane's eyes widened. "A week?!" he gawked.

"Agh! Sorry! S-Sorry! I thought... y'know... someone had already told you," Mimikyu mumbled. "Comfey was supposed to break that news. Oooooh, she's going to be so mad at me."

Shane sat there in stunned silence. Mimikyu stared at him, and then looked down dejectedly. Just as it looked like he was about to leave, Shane snapped out of his stupor. "Wait. You clearly came here for something. What did you want?" he asked.

"R-Right. Sorry. Anyway, you've been asleep all this time, and I don't think a single Pokémon has come to visit you. I thought that maybe you'd appreciate a little company… but then I saw you move behind the curtain. So, I figured you must be awake. Aha ha… ha…" The head of his disguise flopped over, obscuring his eyes.

Shane frowned. "Yeah, I'm not exactly the most popular guild member right now. Thanks for the reminder."

Mimikyu's disguise stiffened. "O-Oh no! Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel bad! I was only trying to cheer you up." He scuttled toward the bed. "For what it's worth, I thought Lycanroc was very scary too."

"Uh, thanks, I guess," Shane muttered, but in the back of his mind, he thought, 'Great. It's like I'm back in my high school cafeteria. No one's letting me sit with them, so I have to slink over to that one table where the kid with hideous braces always sits.'

"Um…" Mimikyu shifted about, sensing the awkward silence. "I, uh, thought you might be hungry. So, I brought you a treat." His spectral arm appeared from underneath his disguise, carrying a small plate. "It's a 'Get Well Soon' Muffin. I made it myself!"

Shane looked at the "muffin," which actually appeared to be several brown lumps held together by a red paste. "I know it doesn't look that good," Mimikyu admitted, "but Steenee tried one and liked it." He set the plate down next to Shane's head.

'Yeah, but how much Sweet Scent did she douse it in?' Shane wondered. 'Well, I am hungry. May as well eat this.' He picked up the muffin and took a tiny, cautious bite of the largest lump. His eyebrows raised. "Huh, you're right. It's not bad." He scarfed the rest of the muffin down.

"I could get some more from the cafeteria if you want," Mimikyu offered. He looked down dejectedly. "Nobody else ate any."

Shane felt a pang of guilt. Clearly, he wasn't the only one failing to fit in. "You know what, that sounds good. Why don't you grab me three or four?"

The head of Mimikyu's disguise perked up. "Okay!" He turned to leave, only to see Comfey floating in front of him. Mimikyu tensed up. "Err, hi Miss Comfey. I, um, was just visiting Mr. Vulpix. Hope you don't, y'know, mind."

"It's quite alright, Mimikyu. But I'll need you to run along. Vulpix and I have work to do," Comfey said. Mimikyu saluted the healer with his shadowy arm and scurried back down the hall.

"Well, so much for breakfast," Shane muttered.

"I don't want you gorging yourself on carbs, mister," Comfey chided. "Not when we need to start rehabilitating those legs of yours."

Shane raised a brow. "Eh? How did you know I can feel my legs again?"

Comfey smiled. "Because you just told me."

Shane flopped back against his pillow. "Looks like I walked right into that one." An unseen force grabbed hold of him and lifted him off the bed. Shane's paws make contact with the floor. Comfey released her psychic grip and Shane collapsed onto his belly. "Ooooooooogh," he groaned. "Warn me before you do that."

"Sorry. In any case, we should get started. I find that most limbed Pokémon need a lot of time to get up and walking again. But since you're a human, maybe things will be different for you," Comfey said.

What followed was several hours of strenuous work for Shane. The net result being that he could shakily get to his feet. However, as he tried to shuffle forward, his hind paws slipped out from under him. Comfey grabbed him with her telekinesis before he could wipe out, and then give him a gentle nudge along. Still, his frustration was clearly mounting.

"Okay… I officially take back… every time I ever… laughed at those cheesy rehab scenes… in inspirational movies." he wheezed.

"Let me get you some water. You're sweating enough to fill up the town fountain," Comfey mused.

Shane dropped to his stomach, sides heaving. "Isn't there a better way… to do this?"

Comfey frowned. "This is the way I always rehabilitate my patients," she exclaimed. "I suppose if you're that desperate there's one other thing I could attempt. But the last Pokémon I tried this on lost all the fur on her legs."

Shane craned his neck back and brushed his sweaty coat with his snout. "Look… I'm desperate here. I'll try anything."

Comfey sighed. "Fine. If it's really bothering you that much, I suppose I can let you try my special healing potion." She floated over to a cabinet and pushed it aside with her telekinesis, revealing a safe. "It's actually a liquid soap. You pour it into a bath and soak yourself in it. It's supposed to seep through your skin and repair damage to any bones and muscles, but, as you heard, it's had mixed results."

"Wait, how am I supposed to use it, then?" Shane wondered. "There are only showers in the lodging area."

The safe opened, revealing a small, corked bottle filled with fizzy pink liquid. Comfey levitated it onto her desk. "We have baths in the veterans' quarters. I'll have to go ask the Guildmaster if it's okay for you to use one. Wait here." Comfey left the infirmary. When she disappeared from Shane's view, he heard her say, "Oh, hi, Riolu. Do you need something?"

"I'm good Comfey. I just need to speak to Vulpix."

Shane's ears folded against his head. 'It's Tessa. And she doesn't sound very happy.' He buried his head in his forelegs, so he couldn't see her enter the room. Much to his surprise, he didn't hear her say anything. Instead, Tessa draped a piece of paper over Shane's back. His head shot up with a startled yip. He craned his neck around and managed to grab the paper with his snout.

"What'd ya do that for?" Shane whimpered. "And what's this?"

Tessa crossed her arms. "It's a teammate dissolution notice. I'm done putting up with you."

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Shane expected something like this could happen. But the shock of hearing her say it overwhelmed him anyway. All he could do was repeat in his head over and over one single thought.

'She really does hate me.'

The silenced lingered, with Shane staring blankly at the piece of paper. He kept opening and closing his mouth repeatedly, but only succeeded in letting out short rasps. "Well? Say something, already," Tessa growled, tapping a foot on the ground.

Shane looked Tessa in the eye. "Why?" he croaked.

"You know exactly why. You're an insufferable jerk," Tessa explained. "I don't want to be around you anymore."

A whine escaped Shane's muzzle. His mind raced to try and form up something to say that could change her mind, even though the look in her eyes said she would never budge on this issue. "Please," he croaked. "I… I see now that I screwed up… badly. Just give me another chance. I'm begging you. You have no idea how awful this whole affair has been. I can honestly say this is the worst I've ever felt in my whole life. Both the Pokémon and human parts. Please don't make it any worse."

"Don't pull that crap with me. I've given you several chances," Tessa growled. "I'm sick of the constant danger. I'm sick of getting looked down on because I teamed up with you. And I especially don't want the Prism Virus chasing me around when it's really after you." Shane winced with each and every gripe Tessa rifled off. She turned away from him. "The Guildmaster's making us stay together for whatever punishment you got us. After that, I'm creating a new team with Null. I'll never have to deal with you again."

Shane's brow furrowed. "You're really just going to leave me like that? What am I supposed to do, then? I… I can't handle the Prism Virus by myself. It's a danger to everyone, including you."

"Haven't you been calling yourself a chosen one? Well, now you've got your chance to prove it," Tessa responded stoically. "Or, better yet, why not let the experienced Pokémon take over and stay on the sidelines for once? You'd be doing us all a favor." She turned and stormed out of the room.

"… that's it then," Shane whispered. "I'm all alone." He bowed his head solemnly.

'This isn't fair. I'm just trying to help everyone. Why can't Tessa see that?' he thought. 'Why doesn't she appreciate it? She should be defending me, not joining everyone else in getting mad at me. I'm doing the best I can here.' His muzzle stiffened. 'She really doesn't expect me to just sit and wait while the Prism Virus runs amok, does she? How can she even think that? She's just as wrapped up in this as I am!'

Before he could feel any sorrier for himself, a psychic force grabbed him and levitated him out of the room. He floated beside Comfey as she guided him to the stairs. "So, good news. I got you permission to use a bath in the veterans' quarters." The bottle of soap also floated next to Shane. "I just need to mix this into the water and have you stay in there for, let's say, an hour or so."

"An hour?" Shane sputtered. "I'll shrivel up!"

"The serum needs time to seep in through your skin," Comfey said. Shane noticed that they had passed the dimly-lit veterans' rooms and descended to an even-darker sublevel in the Observatory. Only a pair of small, orange Luminous Orbs provided light in the hallway. "Apologies with how dark it is down here," Comfey continued. "I've found that the lower lighting helps make the baths more relaxing. I can turn them up if you'd like."

"It's fine," Shane whispered. Comfey levitated him through one of the doors, revealing a small, purple, circular room shrouded in steam. He hovered in the doorway while Comfey proceeded to pour the bottle's contents into the water. Within seconds, mountains of lavender soap bubbles formed up.

"Alright, off you go," Comfey exclaimed, lowering Shane toward the pool.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Shane gasped, limbs flailing about. "You're not actually about to just plop me in here and watch me bathe, are you?"

Comfey raised an eyebrow. "What's the problem? Even if the fur covering your sensitive areas gets brushed aside, they'll be under water. I won't be able to see anything sultry and I need to make sure nothing happens to you."

Shane's face scrunched up. "Look, I don't know how Pokémon do things, but humans bathe alone. So, leave me be."

Comfey gave Shane an unamused look. "Oh, for pity's sake. You're the most difficult patient I've had in all my time here." She turned toward the doorway and her eyes flashed. Shane watched a blur whiz past his face and land in the bath.

"A rubber Ducklett? I'm not a little kid, you know."

"It's got a two-way communicator in it, so I can check in on you," Comfey explained. "I'm not about to float in that hallway for an hour."

"Fine. Whatever. I'll call you if I need you," Shane said. He watched Comfey float out of the room. The second the door shut behind her, the levitation ceased. Shane fell into the bath, splattering water around the rim. Luckily, he landed in the shallower part and easily surfaced, spitting up soapy water. "That wasn't very kind or caring," he muttered.

Shane managed to pull himself up to the rim of the bath. He rested his back against the wall and allowed the shallow floor to support his legs. Gradually, he slid down under the surface. Shane used his forepaws to pull some of the soap piles over toward him, washing away the grime and sweat in his fur from last week's events.

"Well, now what, Shane?" he sighed. "You finally have an inkling of an idea about what's going wrong with this world, only now the enemies are too tough for you to beat. Your partner's being unreasonable. The Guildmaster and Braviary think you're incompetent and now you're gonna get seriously punished. How do we fix this, huh?"

"There's only one thing you can do in this situation."

Shane blinked a few times and looked to his right. Above his shoulder floated a black shadow with a wisp of white smoke coming out of its head. Shane blinked several times. "This... this is just a trick, right?"

"... hmph, I do not waste my time with idle tricks," the specter sneered, crossing his arms.

Shane reached up and pulled his ears against his forehead. "Oh god... this is it... I'm totally losing my mind, here! And I didn't even have the common sense to hallucinate something really evil like Giratina or Yveltal!"

"Hrmph. I'm positively insulted!" the specter said, shaking his head. "You know that I've done far worse than either of those two rubes."

"Okay... fair point, Darkrai," Shane said, sighing. "Given the world I'm in, you're the perfect candidate to drive me crazy."

"Glad to see my reputation precedes me," Darkrai chuckled. "Then, I suppose we can cut to the chase."

"Hold up. Isn't there supposed to be another figment of my imagination here? Doesn't my conscience get a say in this?"

"Bah! The way I see it, you're so inept your conscience doesn't even want to try and sway you," Darkrai scoffed.

"That's not true!"

A flash of pink encased Shane's left shoulder. From it appeared a blue, swan-like creature. "Gee… a Cresselia. How predictable," Shane deadpanned. He glanced at Cresselia. "By the way, you owe me, like, a thousand Reviver Seeds. Dumb, stupid escort mission… I wasted hours saving your sorry butt."

"You do realize I'm a figment of your imagination, right?" Cresselia squeaked.

"If that's the case, what took you so long?" Shane sneered.

"This jerk Dark Voided me," Cresselia growled.

Darkrai shrugged. "You made it all too easy."

"Right. Yeah, that makes perfect sense. Except for the part where it doesn't," Shane hissed. "Well, thanks, but you both wasted a trip. I'm trying to do some thinking for myself. So, unless you two plan on offering up some much-needed advice, buzz off!"

"Oh, I've got advice," Darkrai declared. "It's quite simple. Ditch these inconsiderate bullies and join the winning side."

"You mean… I should let the Prism Virus get me?"

"Yes. More specifically, that Espeon you have your eyes on," Darkrai mused. "Or, is it the Umbreon? I'm inside your brain and frankly even I'm not sure what to make of it."

Shane's face went beet red. "S… stop assuming things!" he hissed.

Darkrai flicked a hand dismissively. "Whatever. The point is, they're hunting you down. Why not simply join them voluntarily? Y'know, get with the more powerful side? If you haven't been able to beat their flunkies, I hardly think you stand a chance against Espeon and Umbreon."

"Don't listen to him!" Cresselia cried. "I know things may seem bad, but the night is always darkest just before dawn. And, if you've really hit rock bottom, there's nowhere to go but up."

"Seriously?" Shane said, cocking an eyebrow. "Motivational taglines? That's your best defense?"

Cresselia looked down. "They sounded good when I was rehearsing them in front of my mirror."

Shane didn't even want to try and imagine how that would work.

"You see?" Darkrai let out a laugh. "Your conscience can't even put up a reasonable counterargument. And that's because I'm right." He floated up next to Shane and flicked his snout. "You tried doing the whole hero routine. Look where it got you. You've been humiliated, thoroughly beaten, and then repeatedly kicked while you were down."

"The vaunted 'partner' who's supposed to turn into your best friend prefers the company of a freak of nature that doesn't even qualify as a real Pokémon. That's how bad at this you are." Darkrai began sarcastically slow-clapping. "I must give you kudos. What you managed to do on your own ranks up there with some of the best nightmares I've ever made."

Shane scowled. "That's not me. This whole place is a nightmare and I just got plopped into it without any say in the matter. I'm trying to do the best I can here, but I'm not getting any help."

"That's exactly why you have to fight on!" Cresselia declared. "Solgaleo brought you here. Tell me, how many hundreds of millions of humans could he have picked from? He clearly sees something in you. Sure, it's something that none of us are aware of at the moment, but with a little time and some focus, I'm sure you could become stronger and turn the tide of this situation."

"Aha ha ha ha ha! Don't be ridiculous! Him?" Darkrai gestured at Shane. "Give me a break! It's obvious Solgaleo went cross-eyed and brought him here by mistake." He leaned against Shane's snout. "I mean, did you really expect to accomplish anything here? The only reason you got through any of the games back home is because you cheated!"

Shane's annoyance disappeared and he sank down on the ledge. "Well, yeah. Because they're long… and tedious… and boring… and they're really dang hard, okay! I don't want to spend, like, ten hours grinding up because I can't beat one stupid boss. That's obnoxious."

Darkrai chuckled once more. "Exactly. There are no cheat codes or Action Replays here to bail you out. If you want to get stronger then you have to do it the old-fashioned way. And are you really up to that? Especially when you have no one to turn to for help?"

Shane started opening his mouth but Darkrai held up a hand. "Let me answer that. No, you're not. Which is why you will join this Prism Virus. You can get all the strength and power you'd ever want as a Pokémon with no effort required whatsoever." He crossed his arms. "Not to mention the added perks. Like getting to show up all these guild Pokémon who've made fun of you from day one. And, of course, the company of the lovely Esp–"

Shane flicked Darkrai away with a forepaw. "How many times do I have to say it? I don't feel anything about anyone here and if I do it's this stupid Vulpix body and its stupider Vulpix instincts!" He slapped the surface of the water with a forepaw.

"... hmph. How utterly childish," Darkrai sneered. "If you were working with the Prism Virus, you'd have no need for petulant tantrums."

"Shane," Cresselia whispered, "I know it might sound tempting, but it won't end the way you want it to. You've seen what's happened to all the infected Pokémon you've encountered."

"But none of them joined willingly," Darkrai countered.

"And who's to say he wouldn't just meet with the same fate if he joined willingly, huh?" Cresselia huffed. "Shane, you're hurting. I get that. It's stopping you from thinking straight. Please, realize that you have everything to lose and nothing to gain from listening to Darkrai. Think of what you'll be turning your back on. A way back home… your family…"

"Things he's barely even given a passing thought to since he arrived," Darkrai scoffed. "For all Shane knows, the Prism Virus could give him a way back home instantly."

"Yeah, but it would be as someone his family would never recognize," Cresselia countered. "You said it yourself earlier. You are not an inherently evil person. Don't give into dark temptations simply because things aren't going your way right now. That just means it's time to make a change. Just get through Metagross' punishment and you can start fresh. Maybe try making a new team with Mimikyu? He seems to like you."

Darkrai visibly fought to hold back his laughter. Cresselia glared at him. "Look, you said you wanted to be a hero and save this world, right? Well, that means you have to take the bad with the good. But the victory will be all the more satisfying if you struggle and work for it. I guarantee it," she proclaimed.

Shane lowered his head. "Enough, alright?" he sighed. "I just… I guess I'll see what this punishment is, and go from there."

Darkrai's lone visible eye flashed ominously. "Fine. But when you go out there and get yourself killed, don't say I didn't warn you." He then vanished in a swirl of black shadows. Likewise, Cresselia disappeared in a flash of pink light. Shane let out a yawn and felt himself drifting off to sleep…

"Vulpix, do you copy? It's Comfey. You've been in there for ninety minutes already! Is there a problem?"

"Guuzack… sssnrggt… huhwha–?" Shane rapidly blinked his eyes and looked over at the rubber Ducklett. He grabbed it and found the little speaker on one of its wings. "I'm okay. Must've dozed off." He tossed the toy out of the tub and, without really thinking about it, climbed out. Shane stood on all fours and shook about to try and dry himself.

"Man, where do they keep towels around here?" he muttered, walking about the room. Shane eventually found one in the corner. No sooner did he grab it with his snout then he realized something. "H-Hey! I'm walking!" he gasped. Shane sprinted over toward the rubber Ducklett. "That didn't hurt either," he chirped. "Comfey, I think your serum worked! No more pain or tingling. I'm walking just fine."

"Glad to hear it. Head on up to the infirmary, then. I should be able to discharge you after a quick check up," Comfey declared. Shane ran for the door and bounded up the steps, overjoyed to finally be over his horrible injury. He made it up to the veterans' quarters when he noticed a shadow passing through the hallway. Shane skidded to a stop and peered out from the staircase.

"I just can't help but feel sorry for her, y'know?"

'That sounds like Serperior,' Shane realized. He glanced around the hallway and then cautiously crept forward, following the sounds of conversation.

"What makes you say that?" Milotic's voice carried over to Shane.

"She got played by that human. I don't know what Vulpix did to convince her to work with him, but she's clearly miserable," Serperior scoffed.

"I must concur. The entire time she's been here, she hasn't seemed like her usual, perky self," Dragonair muttered. "But do you think that's Vulpix's fault?"

"Yes," Serperior replied. Shane's stance slouched. "And all of this is happening with her hatch day tomorrow, to boot."

Shane stiffened. 'Wait. They actually do birthdays here?' It was admittedly an aspect of Pokémon that Shane had never considered. 'And Tessa's is tomorrow? But why wouldn't she say anything?'

"Maybe you're better off not bringing that up," Milotic suggested. Shane found himself slowly creeping even closer to Team Captivate's room. "She hasn't exactly advertised it to the guild, you know."

"Can you blame her? Her teammate's an attention whore and in the span of a year her entire family's disappeared on her," Serperior said. "She's probably too heartbroken, since none of them will be here."

Shane's ears flattened against his head. 'But Tessa told me her parents were exploring in the Grass Continent. Did she lie to me? Why would she do that?'

"Maybe we should throw her a surprise party. Y'know, to cheer her up?" Serperior proposed.

"Normally, I'd agree with you, but I think it's equally likely we could just end up making her really sad," Dragonair exclaimed. "Plus, she has to do that disciplinary assignment from the Guildmaster. I'll bet he made it so that it will run through her hatch day."

"We could always do a belated party, then," Serperior said.

"I just think it's too much of a headache at this point," Milotic sighed. "She clearly doesn't want anyone acknowledging it, so I say we respect her wishes. Even if we don't agree with them."

Shane found himself shuffling backwards. 'I don't believe this,' he thought. 'No wonder Tessa's furious with me.' He lowered his head guiltily. 'Why couldn't she have just told me what was going on?' He glanced over his shoulder and noticed that, in the process of sneaking around, he had ended up in front of another room. His eyes widened at the site of a large map of the Horizon Continent.

'This is Tessa's mom's room,' he realized. Shane took a step inside and examined the map in greater detail. Charcoal and ink markings dotted the map. Upon closer examination, Shane realized that most of the markings centered around continent's northeast, northwest, southeast, and southwestern corners. 'That's odd,' he thought. 'It seems like Tessa's mom was looking really hard for something. A treasure, perhaps?'

He crept into the room and started looking around. There were papers everywhere. 'Tessa must have got her tidiness from her dad, because this place is a total pigsty.' His forepaw struck a piece of paper. A crinkling noise filled up the room and Shane immediately tensed up.

"Well now. Yer looking mighty fit fer someone who'd been put to sleep to get his legs working again."

Shane slowly turned around and looked into Braviary's eyes. His fierce gaze was fixed directly on Shane, making Shane's heart race. "Uh… uh…" He looked around rapidly. "Whoa! How did I end up here? I guess that special healing soap Comfey gave me must've made me space out."

"Nice try, son," Braviary harrumphed. "But we both know that's a lie. This is the second time I've done caught you wandering these halls unsupervised. And that's on top of the trouble yer already in, to boot. What d'ya gotta say fer yerself, pardner?"

Shane had meekly lowered to the floor. "I'm… sorry?" he squeaked.

"Save it fer the Guildmaster," Braviary exclaimed. "Since yer clearly feelin' better, I think it's high time you and yer pardner had yer disciplinary hearing."

Shane's eyes widened. "N-No, wait! Please! Comfey said I'm supposed to get checked out by her first." Braviary unfurled his wings, causing Shane to yelp. Braviary darted over to Shane and plucked him off the ground with his talons. He then flew out of the room, making for the stairs.

"Haunter! I know yer hiding 'round here. Make yerself useful and go wrassle up Riolu fer me," Braviary ordered. Shane looked to his right and saw a pair of eyes materialize in the wall.

"Aww, but it was just getting to the good part!" Haunter whined. His eyes vanished into the wall.

Shane shut his eyes tight. 'Is it just me, or did Braviary find me awfully quickly given I wasn't making any noise? And he seems really steamed about this.' His snout stiffened. 'Is there something about Tessa's mom he doesn't want me figuring out?' He briefly looked up at Braviary, only to squeak and look back down as Braviary met his gaze with an annoyed look.

'No, Shane. You can't make the same mistake you did with Lycanroc,' he thought. 'He's mad because you broke the rules when you're already in trouble.' He gulped. 'Which I'm sure is going to make Tessa even angrier.'

Shane yipped as Braviary dropped him to the ground. He scrambled to his feet, doing his best to avoid Braviary's gaze. Braviary gave three sharp raps on Metagross' metal door with his beak. He then shoved Shane forward as the door opened.

"Well, go on. Guildmaster's waiting fer ya."

Shane peered into the dimly lit room and felt his tails droop between his legs.

Next time: it's the Christmas special, featuring answers to questions you didn't know you had. Don't miss it!