Pokémon Police Force Chapter 50: The Distortion World

I awoke coughing. The ground was hard yet soft at the same time. When my eyes finally opened, I found myself staring at a path made of loose, sandy sediment. Each movement moved the grains and pushed them off, into the abyss below. Strangely, the ground seemed to ebb and pulse with life.

I got to my feet and then sat down. The pathway seemed to be suspended in air and just wide enough for me to sit comfortably. Over the horizon, I could see mountains and hills. They were each badly warped and pulled apart, like if you take a wet washcloth and started making something out of it but stopped halfway.

When I looked up, I noticed the sky was decorated with shades of brilliant blues, reds and purples and dotted with stars. The sky looked like it was "pinched" at the top, as it looked narrower the further up it went. That's when I dared to look underneath.

There was a black sphere as big as a planet. It cackled with electricity and pulsed with an unimaginable darkness. Whatever was down there was likely to end in instant death. Even for me.

"Oh no," I said.

The air felt weird. Like the air was extremely heavy and yet absent all at the same time. I might as well have been sitting in a vat of peanut butter.

(I would kill for a peanut butter sandwich right now. Where did that come from?)

"Curse you, Chimecho! You corrupted me!"

"Wait."

The Zygarde Core materialized an image of itself right beside me, floating over the abyss.

"Where are we?" Asked Zygarde.

"I was hoping you'd have the answer," I replied.

"Sadly, I do not. None of my Cells have ever been here."

"Can you contact one of the other Cores? Get us out of here somehow?"

"I've been trying. I can't contact any of them. We're on our own here."

"Well, whatever this place is, it's bound to have a master somewhere," I said, "let's ask him if he can get us out."

"If he's friendly, that is."

"Those spires out in the distance; I think they're mountains. Let's go there and see if we can't get our bearings straight."

Zygarde nodded and then disappeared. I began walking forward along the path and towards the mountains. Forward I walked for hours, or maybe it was just minutes, but I found myself walking into a dark forest. The trees were all huge, but bent and twisted into shapes that trees should never grow in. It was like the whole place just breathed madness.

"Don't worry. I'm always here for you."

I gulped and forged on. It wasn't long before I found out that though the woods seemed to be abandoned, everything seemed to be alive. Unnaturally so. If the trees just started moving of their own accord, I would not be surprised.

Eventually, I ran across a spring of clear water. The water appeared to be clean and fresh even despite all of the madness around.

(I really could go for a cool drink.)

I had just made it to the water. My hands had almost breeched the surface when something stopped me.

"My arm! It won't move!"

"Sorry. You made me do it."

"Zygarde? What?"

"Think about it. Why is there an innocent pool of water in the middle of a mad forest?"

All I could do was sit down by the water's edge and groan.

"I hate this place!"

I decided to now look at my reflection. What I'd seen was not the face I was expecting. It was the face I'd seen in my dream. A white and purple furred Sneasel with two gems, one on the forehead and another on the chest.

"What the-!?"

I jumped to my feet and gasped. Then I began examining my body closely. Everything was exactly as I remember. I'm the other kind of Sneasel now!

"Zygarde! Please tell me this is a dream!"

"Not unless we're having the same one."

"We need to get out of here. Pronto."

I looked back at the water. There was a head peeking out of the water at me. Just an average Buizel, staring at me.

"Hey. Do you know the way out of here?"

The Buizel just kept staring at me.

"Um, hello?"

The Buizel said nothing and swam close to the edge of the pond. No ripples followed as it swam. I backed away as far as I could.

"Get back," I warned.

Buizel got out of the water, but the creature that crawled out, was not a Buizel. Everything beneath the floatation sac was a gross, pulsing mass of black ichor. Then the jaw broke off and a black tendril slithered out of the Buizel's throat. A tendril with a mouth and rows of jagged teeth.

"Run!"

Quick as I could, I ran from the pond and back into the forest.

(What- what the actual Voidlands was that thing!?)

"That was not of this world."

"No crap, Sherlock!"

I had run as far as I could until I ran across a cliff. That's when I decided to take a breather.

"Son of an Arceus forsaken, scum sucking Miltank teat sniffer!"

I punched the cliff with all of my strength.

"Language."

"Oh, stuff a sock in it!" I snapped.

I withdrew my hand and listened to some loose gravel fall.

"When I find Dusknoir, I'm going to shove my mask right into his eye!"

I reached into my mask and took out my latest possession.

"Then I'm going to take this Relic Fragment and I'm going to-!"

I gasped when the realization hit me. The Relic Fragment was with me! It wasn't a dream!

"We've got to get back. I've got to right a few wrongs."

"Um, look at the cliff."

I looked at the cliff and beheld a huge depression where my fist once was.

"What the poop-snuffler!?"

"Before we go anywhere, you'd best learn the strengths and limits of your new body."

"Shadow Claw!"

My powers responded at once, cloaking my claws in dark energy and extending them several times.

"Well, we have that," I said, "I wonder what else I can do."

I spent the next several hours, testing my moves and the physical limitations of my new body. Surprisingly, I found out that through concentration, I could make my Shadow Claw even faster or even put more power into it. Really wish I could've kept Agility though. It has really become my friend over the years. Turns out my new body was more built for power than speed.

"All done then?"

"Yeah, I think so. Time to climb this mountain. Luckily, my claws seem to be strong enough for this."

I dug my claws into the rough stone. They found purchase instantly. The same applied with my feet.

"Too bad there's no move called Rock Climb," I said, "is there?"

I shrugged the thought aside and began to pull myself up. As I climbed, I found my new body was a natural at this, like it was made for climbing mountains. On the other hand, the mountain was so distorted and twisted that I often found myself not knowing which way was up. It took way longer than it probably should have, but I eventually made it to the top of this spire.

"Would you look at that?" I said.

This "world" wasn't as much of a world as it was a confusing maze of floating pathways, forests, mountains, deserts and even a volcano and a town or two. At the far end of the continent (if you could call it that) was a massive castle made of the most sinister black stone I've ever seen.

"I assume the master of this world is in that castle. This is not going to be easy."

"Wait."

The Zygarde Core illusion appeared beside me once more.

"I think I know where we are. Though, I never thought I'd ever end up here."

"Where are we?"

"We called it the Distortion World."

"What exactly is the Distortion World?"

"It's actually another dimension that acts like the dark side of our dimension. Two sides of the same coin. Apparently jumping through time and space shot us here."

"Is there any way back home?"

"There is. The master of this realm is Giratina and the only Pokémon that can travel freely between the realms."

"Can we trust it?"

"We have no choice. Chances are that Giratina already knows about us and is waiting patiently for our arrival."

"Well, let's not keep our host waiting."

"Try to avoid towns. If what we seen with that Buizel is commonplace-"

"Don't worry. My body may have changed, but my instincts have not."

I headed back the way I came, down the mountain. Well, in the direction I hoped was down.

"Hey, Zygarde."

"Yes?"

"I was wondering. You've been around for several thousand years now. Have you ever met any Sneasel like me?"

"There's one thing you must understand about that. We're very similar, you and I. Just like me, you Sneasel have never been great with crowds or really other Pokémon in general. If one of my Cells had met one of you, it would be an extremely rare occurrence."

Zygarde was quiet for a bit.

"I still can't get in contact with my Cells, so I can't give you a definite answer. All I can tell you is that you're the only one of your kind that I've ever seen."

"You didn't seem that concerned when I suddenly changed forms though."

"Yeah. For some reason, I felt that this is the form you were always meant to have."

We continued the climb back down in silence. Once I'd gotten my bearings straight, I began walking in the direction I'd seen the castle in. From the forest, it was just a matter of navigating the huge maze in the sky. There was a lot of false turns and backtracking involved, but thankfully, no other "Pokémon". Unfortunately though, the path I took ended up taking me right to one of the towns.

"Turn back."

"No. We'll lose valuable time. Trust me. I'm a thief."

Zygarde was quiet once more.

"Okay, that sounded better in my head."

"No, it didn't."

"Oh, shut up. Let a professional show you how it's done."

I walked into town and found it oddly deserted. The buildings were all bent in such a way that it makes no architectural sense at all. As for the citizens, there was no one in sight. It was like the town was ripped right out of a cartoon but the characters haven't been drawn yet.

"I don't know whether it's more unnerving that nothing's here."

I walked through the town streets not seeing nor hearing hide or hair of anyone. That is until I passed by the town hall. As I passed, I felt the ground tremor violently.

(Please be a Ditto.)

I tentatively turned to the city hall, just in time to see it shoot out of the ground. Turns out, the city hall was actually a gargantuan tentacle made out of all manner of buildings. It was thick enough to smash Neo City in its entirety and long enough to reach Ironwell Stronghold and back.

"Definitely not a Ditto!"

As quick as a cheetah, I took into a full sprint once more. The other buildings I passed became their own tentacles.

"This world wants me dead!"

The tentacles crashed nearby and almost made me lose my balance.

"Zygarde! Help me!"

I could now feel that familiar sensation. Each and every cell of my body began overflowing with power. Using every bit of control I could muster, I willed that power into my legs. My legs burst into green flame as I ran. The path began going by much quicker and before I knew it, I was shooting along the maze with all the speed of a bullet.

I have no clue how long I ran or how far away I got. There was no way in the Voidlands that I was looking back! When I did stop, it was only because I ran out of energy and passed out.

"Wake up."

My eyes shot open instantly. I clambered onto my feet and prepared for another attack. Fortunately, no one was around.

"I say once more: I HATE this place!"

I looked around and found myself at the border between a forest and another town.

"Not another town!"

"Wait! Look beyond the town."

I lifted up my eyes and beheld a massive black castle decorated with golden rings floating right behind the town.

"We have no choice."

"Fine. Just let me adjust my mask here. It's been uncomfortable for quite some time."

I unfastened the mask and removed it. Then, I began adjusting the straps.

"Strange. This mask has always fit just fine before. Why is it-? Wait, what happened to my arm!?"

My arm bindings had somehow slipped off in the chaos. Underneath was… nothing. No green patches, no corruption, just fur.

"Wait just a minute…"

I reached to my left ear and ran my claws over it. There, I found what I've been lacking for years, a feather! A real feather! My feather!

"My feather's back! That's why the mask doesn't fit!"

As a test, I closed my right eye. There was the usual far vision that Zygarde has gifted me ever since we joined.

"Zygarde, is my eye still green?"

"Yes."

(Well, to be fair, the heterochromia has kind of grown on me.)

I turned the mask over in my hands and a lightbulb went off.

"Easy fix."

I poked a hole in the ear. Well, more like I ripped the ear off, but same difference. Finally, I made a few more adjustments and returned the mask to its proper place.

"You could just get rid of it."

"I don't know how long I'll remain like this. Besides, I feel naked without it."

"Well…"

"Don't start, bub."

I looked back at the town.

"Really wish I didn't have to walk through this."

The town responded instantly. One by one, the buildings broke apart and began assembling themselves together. Eventually, the buildings became a bridge that led right to the castle.

"Now that's what I call service!"

"We're expected."

"Giratina could just meet us halfway, you know!"

"Not its style."

"Could things just go my way just once?"

Groaning to myself, I trudged ahead. Silently, I walked up the buildings and into the castle.

Inside, the castle was a stark contrast to the madness outside. Everything looked like a carbon copy of a medieval castle on Earth, right down to the knight statues.

"Okay, I just want to find this Giratina guy before this castle turns out to be some huge eldritch pig or something."

"Giratina is here. I can feel its presence."

"Right. Lead the way."

I followed Zygarde's mental tugging right to the castle's audience chamber. Just a pair of huge wooden doors stood between me and my gracious host.

I took a deep breath and pushed a door open. The audience chamber was dark except for a lit brazier hanging from the ceiling in the middle of the room. Of the room itself, it was circular with no discernible throne and several ornate rugs met at the center of the room.

The middle of the room housed a Pokémon the likes of which I've never seen. It was a grey serpent with a face of black and mask of pure gold. The same gold decorated its body and six red-tipped, black tendrils sprouted from its back.

"I'VE BEEN EXPECTING YOU."

Giratina neither sounded masculine or feminine, but something in between.

"Well, next time, maybe give me an easy way to get here."

"I DO NOT KNOW HOW MUCH YOU KNOW, BUT I AM GIRATINA. I HELPED ARCEUS CREATE YOUR WORLD AND THIS IS MY REALM OF MY OWN MAKING."

"I almost died out there! Instead of the Distortion World, might I suggest renaming this place the Nightmare Fuel World?"

Once again, Giratina ignored me.

"I AM THE ONLY POKÉMON THAT CAN FREELY TRAVEL BETWEEN THESE TWO WORLDS. HOW DID YOU GET HERE?"

I told Giratina about everything that happened since meeting Dusknoir and up to my journey to get here.

"I AM CERTAIN THAT DUSKNOIR IS NOT WHAT HE SEEMS. REGARDLESS, HOW DID HE OPEN UP A PASSAGE OF TIME? NO DUSKNOIR SHOULD HAVE THAT KIND OF POWER."

"I have no idea," I said, "but if you want to talk about powers that shouldn't exist..."

I used my powers to create another image of the Zygarde Core within me.

"WHAT IS THIS?"

"Hello, Giratina. Been a while."

"ZYGARDE? NO WONDER I FELT YOUR PRESENCE. HOW ARE YOU HERE?"

"That is another story all together," I said, "here it is…"

I told Giratina about how Zygarde and I got bound together and how we're now one and the same. Then, I told it how I changed forms upon reaching this place.

"AH. I HAVEN'T SEEN ONE OF YOUR KIND IN WAY TOO LONG."

"My kind? Where!?"

"IT WAS THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO. THERE WERE TWO DIFFERENT KINDS OF SNEASEL BACK THEN. ONE WAS AN ICE AND DARK TYPE. THE OTHER, A POISON AND FIGHTING TYPE."

"No wonder I can't use Ice Beam anymore," I said, "but why did I change forms to begin with?"

"THE OTHER FORM WAS JUST A FABRICATION. THIS WORLD FOLLOWS DIFFERENT LAWS. WHEN YOU CROSSED OVER, THOSE LAWS YOU WERE USED TO WERE MUTED. THIS, ARGYLE, IS THE SNEASEL YOU WERE ALWAYS MEANT TO BE!"

"What…?"

"Giratina? Can you get us back home?" Asked Zygarde.

"I CAN. JUST A WORD OF WARNING. I DON'T KNOW WHEN YOU'LL RETURN."

"What do you mean?" Asked Zygarde.

"YOU WERE TRAVELLING THROUGH TIME WHEN YOU ARRIVED HERE. THE RULES OF TIME THAT YOU'RE USED TO BACK HOME DON'T APPLY HERE. YOU MAY END UP JUST A FEW HOURS FROM WHEN YOU LEFT OR MAYBE EVEN A HUNDRED YEARS INTO THE FUTURE. YOU MAY NOT MEET YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY EVER AGAIN."

I looked at Zygarde and we nodded.

"It's a risk we have to take," I said, "send us home."

I willed the Zygarde image away.

"I'M SURE I DON'T NEED TO TELL YOU THIS, BUT FIND THOSE KIDS THAT WENT INTO THE PASSAGE OF TIME WITH YOU. SOMETHING MAY HAVE HAPPENED TO DIALGA."

"Dialga? Who is-?"

Giratina began crackling with black lightning. Suddenly, I was floating in the air with a vortex of dark energy underneath me.

"SAFE TRAVELS. DON'T COME BACK."

Then, the vortex swallowed me.