Chapter 7: Here there be Dragons

Yoshi had so many questions on his mind. Where was Mario? Why did this city have so many humans? Where on Earth was this city, anyway? Did they even call this planet Earth? They must, they spoke English.

The strangest thing to Yoshi, though, was that only the humans spoke English. He knew that his skill with the language was unusual among yoshis, but, really? Not a single non-human seemed able to speak more than a few syllables.

"Oh, wow!" A little girl with blonde hair ran up to him. "So cool! Are you a Pokémon?"

"Bonnie!" A boy this time, who looked a lot like this little girl. Yoshi guessed he was her brother. "I'm terribly sorry about my sister, she gets very excited around new Pokémon."

"They're so cool, though, Clemont!" Bonnie protested. "Hey! Are you a Dragon-type? What's your name? Oh! Can you show me a move? That'd be so cool!"

"Yoshi…"

Crud. Yoshi thought. I didn't mean to say that!

"Bonnie, you're crowding it," Clemont said.

"But it's so cute!" Bonnie got closer to Yoshi. "Show me a super-cool dragon move, Mr. Dragon Pokémon!"

Yoshi threw an egg, which exploded into rainbow-colored fireworks. He grinned – It had taken him a while to get that trick down, and he was quite proud of it even if it wasn't very useful.

"Ooh! So pretty!" Bonnie said.

"That's Egg Bomb, a Normal-type move!" Clemont said. "Wow! I didn't know any Dragon-types could learn that move!"

"Aw, I wanted a dragon move… Do you know a dragon move?"

Yoshi shook his head. How would someone even define a 'Dragon-type' move? Was it one of those weird things like 'Jump-type' magic?

"Aww…" Bonnie said. "Hey, Clemont! Look, that girl has a Pikachu!" Bonnie dashed off.

Clemont chuckled. "Sorry for all that. She's only five."

Yoshi nodded. He remembered how much of a handful he and the Mario Bros were at that age. They'd frequently spent all day playing on top of Mushroom Castle, much to the dismay of anyone trying to keep track of them, and the great fear of anyone unfamiliar with the Mario Bros' abilities.

"Now, I need to go make sure she doesn't…" Clemont trailed off. "She's trying to get me a girlfriend again! Bonnie, I told you to stop this a million times!" He dashed after his little sister, leaving Yoshi to laugh at their antics. Crazy sibling things… That definitely reminded him of the Mario Brothers.

"(Who am I going to ask for help?)" Yoshi wondered aloud, this time in yoshi language. He couldn't very well ask anyone around here – Either him speaking would be strange and draw attention to himself, or he couldn't understand a word of what the person he asked was saying. Not helping this, none of the signs were written in a language he knew how to read.

Yoshi continued wandering aimlessly around town, hoping one of the townspeople would say something remotely useful. Most of them seemed to be tourists, and ignored the green reptile-like creature walking around. That was a relief, at least – If he'd ended up somewhere where his looks were unusual, that'd make things even harder than they were already shaping up to be.

He heard someone saying a word that caught his ears (or whatever it was he had, he wasn't sure) – 'Professor'. He had experience with that word… Generally, not great experiences. On the other hand, a professor, no matter how much of a mad scientist, was probably someone he could trust. And if not, knock out and run away from, but hopefully it wouldn't come to that.

He followed them a bit, getting a general idea of where this 'Professor Sycamore' these girls seemed to want to go on dates with was, and took off at top speed. He quickly arrived at a large white building which looked like the sort of place a professor would be. Well, not E. Gadd, but a more… normal professor.

Yoshi knocked on the door, preparing for the worst.

"Hold on, I'll be just there!" A young man's voice shouted from inside. "Gible, I have to answer the door…"

There were various sounds from inside – Was he disorganized or just really busy? – Before the door was opened by a young man in a lab coat. Yoshi could definitely see why those girls had been talking about this guy… He looked a lot like those pictures the Princess called 'the sort of perfectly pretty pompous prince Toadsworth says I should marry', except actually dressed like a normal person.

"Hi! I'm Professor Sycamore!" He said, holding out his hand to shake. Yoshi did so. "So… Did you come here with your trainer, or something else?"

"I'm a bit lost, and I need help with something," Yoshi said.

"Well, then, that's…" Professor Sycamore trailed off. "Interesting! Very interesting! Well, come along inside, then! I'll get some snacks together, hang on just a moment."

So far, this was going better than Yoshi could've hoped for.

"Outstanding…" Sycamore said. "Another world, without Pokémon… Simply marvelous! It's long been hypothesized that such things exist, but there's been no concrete evidence before now."

"So… Can you help me?" Yoshi asked.

"… Well, I can't honestly say that I know how to help," Sycamore said. "I do, however, have a few friends in a similar situation. Would you like to meet them?"

Yoshi nodded.

"Great!" Professor Sycamore stood up. "Alain! Bonnie! Come meet our guest, please, he's got quite a story to tell!"

A boy in his early teens came into the room. He seemed to have dressed himself with a very specific motif – lots of black, to match his hair, and a blue scarf. On his shoulder rode an orange salamander with a fire on its tail.

Following him was the girl from earlier, only she'd suddenly gotten a few years older and an orange gerbil-thing was riding her head.

"So cute!" She said. "Hey, are you a Pokémon?"

"Uh, no," Yoshi said. "… Didn't I meet you earlier? Only I think you were shorter…"

"You must have met mini-me!" She said. "Well, you see, there was this whole thing, and timey stuff, and a spark and a boom and now I'm here!"

"... What?" Yoshi asked, completely lost. "Um, okay, the professor says you're in a similar situation to me? Are you from another dimension too?"

"We came back in time," Alain said. "I have memories of a future that no longer is."

"Why do you still talk like that?" Bonnie asked. "Anyway, yeah! I'm from further in the future, but there's another me running around! She's so tiny and silly! And this is Dedenne! He's my first Pokémon!" She held out Dedenne, who chirped a greeting to Yoshi.

"Ah, yes, there's a lot about this world that I'm sure you have questions about," Sycamore said. "Though, I believe these two would be better suited to answer them. They're trainers, and have been travelling for quite some time. I'll leave you to it, I've left Gible alone a bit too long."

"Yeah, don't worry!" Bonnie said. "I learned all sorts of stuff travelling with Ash, and Squishy, and Dedenne."

"I'll help in any way I can," Alain said. "… But, I need to ask, what do you need help with? Just getting home?"

"… Yeah, if that's all, just go to Reflection Cave and find the right mirror," Bonnie said. "All of the mirrors lead to different worlds. I've seen a few different ones, I bet yours is in there somewhere."

"Um. Well, I actually came here on purpose," Yoshi explained. "I'm looking for my friends, Mario and Luigi. They're twins who wear red and green hats and have really bright blue eyes. It's possible they look different than I remember, they're normally human but just about anything can make them transform."

"How does that work?" Alain asked. "Humans don't just turn into things. Neither do most Pokémon, for that matter."

"Magic!" Bonnie exclaimed. "Ash has seen it a few times, and me too. He was a Pikachu for a day or so."

Alain looked at Bonnie in disbelief. Bonnie laughed. "Come on! You weren't there for Xerneas and Hoopa and Arceus, but you saw all that stuff with Greninja and Team Flare!"

Alain sighed. "Never mind. So… What? Are we going on a journey, to find your friends?"

"That sounds like a great idea!"

"The question is, where do we start?" Alain asked.

"I didn't think this through," Yoshi admitted. "Mario's definitely going to end up on the news sooner or later, but Luigi… If they've been separated, he'll be tough to find."

"Why don't we just ask Olympia?" Bonnie suggested. "She's a psychic!"

"Yeah, that'd work…" Yoshi remembered Mario's stories – Psychics were frequently a big help if he ever managed to get lost on where to go next. "Where's she live?"

"Anistar City," Bonnie said. "Squishy can get us there really fast!"

"… Or we could not use a Legendary Pokémon as transport," Alain said. "First, though… Yoshi, do you know what a Pokéball is?"

Yoshi shook his head.

"It's a device used to transport Pokémon… It also registers the Pokémon, and prevents them from being captured by another trainer," Alain explained. "… Yoshi, I think you should allow me or Bonnie to try and catch you. This way, we can determine if it works, and protect you from being captured by any random trainer who decides to throw a ball at you."

"… Okay?" Yoshi said, unsure.

"Right." Alain pulled out a red and white metal sphere. "Pokéball, go!"

"That was weird," Yoshi said, after being released.

"I'm honestly surprised it worked," Alain said. "If you're from another world, you aren't a Pokémon…"

"There's Pokémon in other worlds," Bonnie said. "There's some with just Pokémon and no humans, even! But Yoshi speaks human language… Then again, so does Meowth… Can you talk like a Pokémon?"

"(Like this?)" Yoshi asked. "(This is the language my people speak.)"

"Denne?" Dedenne seemed very confused, and chattered away at Bonnie.

"Well, that's definitely not Pokéspeech…" Bonnie said. "It's close enough to trick people, I think, but Dedenne can't understand you."

"So why did it work?"

Professor Sycamore chose that moment to return, a small dragon-like creature trailing behind him. "What worked?"

"Pokéball," Alain said. "I tried it on him, to see if it would work and protect him if it did."

"Ah! Yes, good thinking, Alain." The professor scratched the dragon Pokémon under her chin, before turning to Yoshi. "Pokéballs have three requirements for a potential capture: The target must not be registered to another Pokéball, there's a DNA lock against capturing humans, and the target has to have a kind of energy specific to Pokémon and humans… And, seemingly, creatures from your world as well. There is a chance of failure even if these conditions are met, but the ball simply won't pull in a target that does not meet them."

"That sounds complicated," Bonnie said.

"I suppose it is… So, have you figured out what you're going to do?" Professor Sycamore asked. "I really wouldn't mind having you three stay here, but I imagine you've got quite a bit on your minds, hm?"

"Yes, Professor," Alain said. "We want to consult Olympia, the Anistar Gym Leader."

"Hmm… Not a bad idea," Professor Sycamore said. "No guarantees, of course, but if there's something big going on – and there clearly is – She's likely to be the first one with some idea of what."

"She predicted that big thing with Squishy and Team Flare," Bonnie said. The Professor looked at her curiously, but didn't pry. "She's got to know, for sure!"

"Well, then, get ready, everyone. I'll drive us there." Professor Sycamore grinned. "This is exciting, isn't it? Going on an adventure… Next thing you know, I'll start writing poetry!"

"I don't think the world needs another Professor Oak…" Bonnie said.

Professor Sycamore laughed. "No, I suppose not. Well, seeing as my lab wasn't destroyed this time, I might have to find something new to keep things interesting!" He returned Gible, and began walking to the door. "Well, I'll tend to a few things out front, and get the car started. Once you're ready, come on out. We shouldn't be gone more than a few hours."

~ONE LONG AND BORING DRIVE LATER~

"Ah, Anistar City," Professor Sycamore said. "It's been quite a while since I've been here! And the sundial's just as marvelous! Perhaps I can finally get around to studying it in depth… No, not today, we have work to do, don't we? Have you been here before, Alain?"

"Um, yes. My first gym battle."

"I was travelling through Kanto, so my first was against Damian, the Seafoam Gym Leader!" Bonnie closed her eyes, trying to remember something. "Um. I don't think his gym has been built yet… That's so weird."

Yoshi stayed quiet, taking in the city around them. There was a huge crystal standing over the ocean that dominated the scene – That must be the sundial, but it didn't look like any sundial Yoshi had seen. It looked more like one of those ancient artifact things that were always showing up whenever he went on an adventure with the Mario Brothers.

"Lysandre tried to use that thing to destroy the world," Bonnie said, noticing Yoshi's interest.

"Lysandre?" Sycamore asked. "… The same from Lysandre Labs?"

"Yeah, he's real mean!" Bonnie said. "He's the leader of Team Flare. I think the labs were their super-secret headquarters."

Alain nodded silently, the Professor barely catching it out of the corner of his eye.

"That can't be…" Sycamore said. "Lysandre is a well-respected researcher. I haven't met him personally, but nothing I've heard…"

"... I trusted him, too," Alain said quietly. "But what Bonnie says is true. He wants to use the power of Zygarde and Mega Evolution to transform the world, and remove every person and Pokémon he deems imperfect."

Bonnie held up a Pokéball. "Well, he's not getting one of those things! 'Cuz Squishy's right here! Uh, that's Zygarde, Professor."

"Interesting… But you brought it from the future, didn't you?" Professor Sycamore asked. "There's another Zygarde from this time around somewhere, then. Mega Evolution isn't common, but it's hardly rare, especially here in Kalos."

"So he could enact his plans at any time," Alain said.

"Don't worry about that," Professor Sycamore said. "The timeframe probably won't change too much, and the Gym Leaders and I can handle things as long as we know what we're up against. I'm sure you can focus on finding this young man's friends."

"… I'm the same age as you," Yoshi pointed out.

Professor Sycamore laughed once more. "I guess you'd know better than me." He slowed the car, parking in front of a round building encased by huge golden rings. "This is the Anistar Gym. Olympia should be inside. Come along, now!"

Yoshi jumped out of the car, while Bonnie and Alain took the more reasonable approach of using the door. The Pokémon professor, the dragon from another world, and the two trainers with their respective starters riding their shoulders, walked into the gym.

The interior was, if anything, more bizarre. A large round room that looked like it was floating in space, with a floor that looked like it was made of light.

Yoshi whistled. They didn't have stuff like this in the Mushroom Kingdom.

The only inhabitants of the gym were a purple-haired woman and two cats, white and navy blue in color, glowing with a blue light and floating above the center of the battlefield.

"I meet you alone, in anticipation of what we must discuss." Olympia opened her eyes, looking to the six before her. "You have a question that may be difficult for me to answer, and I have a premonition of great danger that may be difficult for you to accept."

The Psychic-type gym leader looked to Yoshi, and levitated down to float in front of him.

"You ask where your friends may be found," Olympia said. "I see your past with your friends clearly, but an aura of chaos surrounds their present and future. The one in red is impossible for me to perceive, the green one nearly so. I can see that he travels with a young man and his faithful Pikachu, but for how long and where I cannot say."

"Ash!" Bonnie said. "It's gotta be Ash…"

Alain nodded. If half the stuff he'd heard of Ash was true, it probably was.

"And you wish to ask of the great danger I speak," Olympia said, turning to Alain. "Know this! A day will come in the future when the bounds between this world and the distorted world will collapse! A beast will emerge, with unprecedented powers and strength! All in its wake will be destroyed, until its lust for revenge has finally been sated. The boy and his Pikachu will stand tall, but alone they will never succeed."

Alain stood there, shaken, and sighed. Battles were one thing, and this was another entirely that he did not want to go through again.

"Make no mistake. I will not stand idly by. We cannot prevent this beast's awakening, only prepare to stand together when the time comes."

"That is how these things go," Professor Sycamore mused. "I suppose we'll be on our way. Thank you for meeting with us, Olympia."

"It is always a pleasure, Augustine. May we next meet in less dire times." She levitated back up to her cat Pokémon, and continued with the meditation she'd been doing before they entered.

"Come along, then," Professor Sycamore said. "She's not much one for greetings and partings."

"So… I guess we're going to Kanto, then," Bonnie said, as she piled into the backseat of Sycamore's convertible. "That's where Ash is, so that's gotta be where your friend is, too! Yippee!"

"What's Kanto?" Yoshi asked. "And this beast she was talking about? That's really worrying me a lot more than finding Mario and Luigi!"

"Kanto is a distant region, where my – and Bonnie's – friend Ash hails from," Alain said. "The beast sounds like the legend of Giratina to me."

Professor Sycamore nodded, as he started the car. "That's most likely. There's others it could mean, but none as powerful as Giratina."

"How do we deal with it?" Yoshi asked. "… Mario and Luigi can probably handle it, but they're not unstoppable."

"Giratina and Squishy are both dragon types, so Squishy's moves should be super-effective," Bonnie said. She shrugged. "It's not perfect, but it's not like we don't have backup…"

"Giratina is incredibly powerful," Professor Sycamore cut in. "You'll need to take everything you've got against it."

"We'll definitely do that," Alain assured him.

"Good. And I'll make sure we've got people behind you, too. Now, the real question is how to get you all to Kanto. Yoshi can pass as a Pokémon, so he's no problem."

"Squishy can take us!" Bonnie said. "That's how I got there last time."

"… It's a Legendary Pokémon," Alain pointed out, Charmander echoing his trainer. "And… It's just alright with that?"

"She doesn't have identification, so it's likely your only option." Professor Sycamore said. "Just make sure to check in with Professor Oak first thing. I can take you as far as Couriway Town today, but you're on your own for the rest. Is that alright?"

"Sounds great, Professor!" Bonnie said, giving him a thumbs-up.

'Yes, that is acceptable' Yoshi jumped at the sudden voice in his head, and looked around wildly.

Sycamore looked surprised. "Was that Squishy, then?"

"Yeah, that was Squishy!" Bonnie said. "It can use telepathy! Usually it only talks to me, though."

"Training a telepathic Pokémon… I've always wondered what it'd be like to truly speak to them."

"Yeah, it's real cool alright," Bonnie agreed. "Oh! Ash has told me about loads of talking Pokémon. You see, there's this Meowth that follows him around…"

Regardless of the insane things going on, Brock couldn't simply leave the Pewter Gym without a Gym Leader. He might be able to train Forrest enough in time for Ash to arrive, or he might get lucky and his father return again.

He'd just finished a gym challenge, just as he had this same day last time. The main difference was that he now recognized this trainer who never even gave his name.

"I won. So give me the gym badge."

"Your Turtwig is very strong." Brock took a Boulder Badge out of his pocket to hand it to the purple-haired boy. "However, if you continue to treat your Pokémon-"

"I don't need the advice of a gym leader as pathetic as you," Paul snapped, taking the badge and turning to walk out.

Brock sighed. He'd forgotten just how Paul could be. Just another thing to add to the list of the future events he needed to think about.

Okay. So I didn't work on this story for like a week, because my cousin was visiting and I wanted to spend time with him. Sure, we can play Terraria together online, but it's really not the same. There's work-in-progress versions of several chapters, but they're likely to see huge revisions before they're posted. I think next time I'll cover Pewter City and possibly Mount Moon - Might split that into two chapters though. There's quite a bit of dialogue... Oh well. Part of the reason behind this story is that I want to explore these characters. Sooner or later, I'll have a Mario-centric chapter, which will probably not have much dialogue.

Clemont is unfamiliar with Alolan Exeggutor, and Jump-type moves are actually a thing in Super Mario RPG. Unlike most people in the Mushroom Kingdom, Yoshi has realistic expectations of what Mario and Luigi can do - He knows they're strong, but he's perfectly aware that they have limits and are fallible.

Having traveled with Ash, Bonnie is liable to getting in weird situations. The strangeness of these situations is ramped up a bit thanks to how curious she is and how much she goes looking for them, but they're decidedly less frequent than the ones that find Ash without him even trying. Relatedly, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon exists. Player and Partner characters are the same as in animated specials and shorts... Yes, even though the partner can't be female in international versions of Gates To Infinity.

...It's Paul. He did travel through Kanto before. I am not a fan. Not even close. Other characters sort of like him... I can see developing into better people, given time. But he's terrible.