Stone silhouettes stood vigil over the still air of Tapu Village. Its residents locked themselves away for the night, protected from the chill and the dwindled moonlight in the comfort of their homes. But the paths of the once-prosperous village were not as empty as they ought to have been.
One girl trudged through the night, a long shadow behind her, a coat draped across her shoulders and her eyes following nothing but the next few steps.
"Hey!"
The girl startled as the man's voice cut clear through the air and kept walking; she got to the end of the path before something tugged at her sleeve. She wrenched her arm free from the man's grasp, clutched it to her chest.
"Easy there. Just wanted to let you know; you don't wanna go down to Route 14 on a night like this." His face was lined with wrinkles, his broad body wrapped in a black jacket with a badge on the arm. "You don't got any Pokemon, do ya?"
The girl glanced away.
"I don't need any."
"Then I'm gonna have to direct you to the Pokemon Center."
The girl bit her lip. "I used a Repel." She nodded at a trashcan behind the stranger.
The man took a long glance behind him, shrugged, and sent her on her way. She made her way through the ruins, a tiny thing compared to the height of the pillars that once held up shelter from the dead of night. The dirt path led to a beach with sand so dark it could have been black and beyond that the endless sea. She stared out for a moment, then clambered onto the now-destroyed road, just barely managing to heave herself onto the worn tarmac.
Ahead was the abandoned megamart, with its broken bricks and a tattered tin roof that seemed like it would slough off at any moment. She shuffled towards it, her only obstacle a wire metal fence that had been gnawed through by various Pokemon. She didn't hesitate in her approach, just found the biggest hole and forced herself through. The gnawed-off wires dug into her skin, scratched her as she pushed through, but she ignored the pain.
She nudged through the door with her shoulder, a loud creak announcing her entrance. It was almost pitch black inside, with not even starlight to help illuminate the interior. She let the door ease shut behind her and her eyes adjusted easily to the dark. There were abandoned carts, torn packaging, and toppled shelves wherever she looked.
The girl padded through, looking from shelf to shelf until she found a cluster of faded yellow dolls near the back of the megamart. She leaned in closer, spotted the familiar red dots on the cheeks, the crooked tail, and grabbed the one at the front. She clutched it tight to her chest and slumped down against the wall, tears brimming in her eyes and her heart pounding against her ribcage.
She sat there.
She sat until she felt it shift.
The girl opened her eyes and saw the Pikachu tilt its head at her. It let out a little cry, its tail wagging, its beady black eyes peering into hers. That vision lasted for only a second, flickered, and fell apart. A tattered thing was in her arms, a hide of stitched-together cloth with wonky ears, a bulging body, and spirals where its eyes ought to have been. She glanced down and saw another pair of eyes, just like the Pikachu's, but concealed by the Pokemon's disguise.
"I see you," the girl whispered. It blinked as she ran her fingers along the seams of its cobbled-together disguise, quiet and faintly trembling. "It's okay." She brushed a thumb against one of its ears. "You can take it off if you want..." She tugged softly on its ear and it pulled away, shaking its entire body from side to side. "That's fine. It's okay." She waited for it to meet her eyes again. "You can stay like that if you want. Want to sit here with me?"
The Pokemon rocked forward, its dangling head bobbing with the motion.
The girl held it there, her arms wrapped around the peculiar creature while it sat comfortably in her lap. It was impossible to tell how much time passed, but it did, and with it came the stirring shadows of the megamart. Even through the dark, the girl could see the purple-hued haze that swirled into shape beneath the nearest cart. A pair of wicked eyes shone, a drooling maw beneath them, and it started to drift towards her.
She shifted where she sat, then glanced at the Pokemon on her lap and paused. She turned slowly so that her back faced the approaching Pokemon while the disguised one was hidden between her and the wall.
"It's okay… You'll be okay," she told it, her voice soft and calm.
The air around her head started to turn purple. A tongue slithered out of the approaching monster's mouth, dripping with some unnatural, oozing substance.
The girl closed her eyes.
The Pokemon she cradled let out a cry. There was a rush of air against her cheek. She was fine. She slowly opened her eyes and saw the Pokemon still sat against her, a shadowy tendril slowly retreating beneath its disguise. She looked at where the other Pokemon had been, where its spherical shape had fallen to the floor and was slowly dissipating.
The girl met the creature's eyes and bit her lip. It stared back at her and another ethereal limb emerged, one tipped with vague finger-like shapes. It wrapped around her wrist and then her hand as if they were holding them together.
They were holding hands
"Okay." The girl nodded. "How about...you come with me? We can go somewhere and...do stuff. I don't know."
The Pokemon bobbed its head in agreement.
The girl pulled herself up and carried it with her to meet the morning sun.