The Mossdeep Space Center was still in a frenzy over the events that had previously transpired. All of their collective hard work over the past few months - the studying of the impending meteoroid's travel path, the development of the dimension-warping Link Cable, the amount of Infinity Energy even required to potentially teleport the damn thing in the first place - all gone at the hands of the elusive Zinnia.

"What about the other two?" his Metagross had asked him telepathically as the pair floated through the skies above Mossdeep. "They look just like - "

"I know," came the impatient response. "The resemblance is uncanny… But if they're to be believed, then there is - or was - another Hoenn region out there."

"Do you even know where they might have gone?"

Steven sighed and buried a hand in his silver hair. "No… but I might have an idea. Do you remember Team Aqua's base off the coast of Lilycove?"

"What? Why would they be there?"

"They attacked the Space Center, didn't they? Maybe they know a thing or two about Zinnia themselves…"

"Perhaps… You know, there's been talk of the champion from Sinnoh visiting sometime."

Steven's face flushed. "Let's just… focus on saving the world, shall we?"

Once Brendan and May had regained their bearings, Professor Cozmo had made the situation very clear; it would still be possible to potentially save Hoenn, but a second meteorite shard was required to open the wormhole. He theorized that, were it not for Zinnia destroying the Link Cable, there would've been no need.

"Okay," Brendan said aloud, exiting the center with May close behind him. "We can do this. We might have just met two versions of us from a ruined Hoenn, but we can do this!"

May shut her eyes and took a deep breath. "This is so bizarre… They're us, but… they're not us! And their home… gosh. I just feel so bad for them, Brendan…"

He stood on the beach of Mossdeep, taking in the wind and the cries of the Wingull, before turning to May with a fire in his eyes. "... May."

"Hmm?"

"I think we need to split up for now. Can you look around Meteor Falls for a second meteorite shard? They're a nice bright blue and they shine brighter than any other rock in there."

May's eyes lit up at the mere mention of it. She had always enjoyed rock collecting when she was younger, long before Brendan had moved into town. "Y-Yeah, I can handle that!"

"Great," Brendan said with a smile. He leaned over and gave her a quick peck on the lips, much to her sudden embarrassment.

"B-Brendan!"

"Heh, sorry… I need to go to Mount Pyre for a little bit."

"The cemetery mountain? Why?"

"I… There's just something I have to do there," he explained, shifting nervously. "Meet me back here in an hour, okay?"

"Well, okay," she relented, though a song of worry still resonated in her youthful heart. Shaking it off, she smiled. "Just… be careful, Brendan."

"I will," he affirmed, taking her hands into his. "And… and once this is all over, maybe we can just hang out sometime? You know, like normal kids?"

This made her giggle. "Yeah… I'd really enjoy that."

"Great! I'll see you back here in a jiffy," he greeted, summoning his faithful Latias from her ball. He climbed on top of her back and said, "Take care, May! I know you can do it!"

With that, Brendan flew off towards Mount Pyre for reasons unknown to May. The girl sighed and shook her head before looking out west. "Meteor Falls, huh…? I can do that."

Deep within Team Aqua's base in Lilycove, unconscious grunts lined the floors left and right as Steven made his way inside cautiously.

"Did she really do all of this…? … No, I can't waste time asking silly questions. If she or her… 'friends' are here, then I need to find them."

After much in the way of trial-and-error regarding teleporting floor panels of dubious origin, Steven finally reached the laboratory part of the base. Numerous monitors recording various things rested atop the desks and along the walls, but the former Champion was more focused on the scene in the center of the room.

That admin he had fought in Rustboro, Shelley, was lying on the ground clutching her side in pain. In front of her stood none other than Archie himself, barking orders at his fatigued Sharpedo and Crobat.

Steven turned his attention to his right and spotted Zinnia, yawning and standing behind a powerful Salamence. The dragon had a scar running across its eye and it bellowed belligerently, intimidating its foes. "I can't believe that this is the best Team Aqua had to offer! Finish 'em with Flamethrower."

Both of Archie's remaining Pokémon were too weak and frightened to avoid the powerful blast of flame, and the Team Aqua Leader had no choice but to recall them and admit defeat. "Rrgh… I'm sorry, everyone. Ya did the best ya could…"

"Right then. Gimme," Zinnia demanded, holding a hand out. "You have no idea how long I've been eyeing that Key Stone of yours, Archie."

Steven strided forward, getting between the now surprised pair. He glared at the Salamence and its trainer, unimpressed. "That's enough, you… you…"

"Ughhh," Zinnia groaned, smacking a hand to her forehead. "It's Zinnia. Honestly! How hard is that to remember?"

"The Ch-Champion?!" Archie blurted. "What are ya doin' 'ere of all places?!"

"Former Champion," he said coolly, "and I'm here because she went ahead and doomed us all."

"Have you no faith in me, Steven?" she cooed, stepping forward with a hurt expression.

"... No!" Steven yelled exasperatedly. "When have you ever given me a reason to trust you!? I barely know you!"

Zinnia rolled her eyes, recalling her Salamence. "Well, you should trust me."

"Why?"

"Because I have a plan to save this world that doesn't involve ruining another world altogether. Didn't you see those two people with me at the Space Center? They're… They're the last remnants of their home, Steven."

"Brendan and May?"

"Yes… and no. They are indeed a Brendan and a May, but… not the ones you're familiar with," Zinnia elaborated, closing their eyes. Archie's gaze shifted between the two curiously, but he said nothing. "They weren't kidding when they said they were from a ruined Hoenn, you know. Didn't you ever stop to wonder how it was ruined, though?"

Steven paused in his tracks, giving her a scrutinizing glare. "... Explain."

"By their own admission," she began, "it all started with a meteor. It was probably half the size of the one coming here, but its effects were no less deadly. Are you familiar with Route 131?"

"That's near the Sky Pillar, yes."

"Well, in their world, that's where the trouble began. The meteor landed in the seas between that and a place called the Battle Frontier."

"No such place exists here," Steven interjected. "... Well, not yet, anyway."

"Let me finish!" Zinnia demanded, stomping her foot in place. "Geez! I hate it when people interrupt me in the middle of explaining stuff!"

The Champion held up his hands in mock surrender. "Okay, okay…"

"Anyway, when the meteor landed, it eventually formed into a landmass and became known as Birth Island. It became something of a tourist spot among particularly lucky individuals, but that all changed when Deoxys arose from its slumber."

Now Archie was interested in the tale. "Deoxys? What in the scurvy seven hells is that?"

"Brendan and May - that is, the ones from the ruined Hoenn - said that Deoxys was originally just a virus from outer space," Zinnia explained with a grim look. "Supposedly it was mutated by a laser or something, but when it arrived in their world, it went berserk. It started duplicating itself nonstop, and eventually the clones started opening up wormholes."

"A Pokémon called Deoxys," Steven muttered, "and… wormholes?"

Suddenly, he remembered the event in Ever Grande after his battle with Brendan. That man in the trench coat… How he had fallen out of a portal in the sky… Things were beginning to add up, if only slightly.

Zinnia nodded her head slowly, eyes shut. "It gets worse, I'm afraid. See, the wormholes ended up summoning a lot of Pokémon to their Hoenn. Weird Pokémon. People took to calling them Ultra Beasts because of just how strange they were. Eventually, they started fighting the Deoxys clones as well as each other, and the result was a ruined Hoenn."

"... Damn," Steven cursed, his eyes falling to the floor. Neither he nor Archie could believe what they were hearing. All those people and Pokémon… dead? Could such a horrible thing truly have happened?

Zinnia threw her hands up. "So there you go. They don't call me a Lorekeeper for nothing, ya know."

"But… Why destroy the Link Cable?!"

"In one ear, out the other… I destroyed it because you eggheads probably would have sent the meteor to another dimension, and that could have caused another apocalypse!" she yelled, her fists clenched and her ruby eyes blazing. "Is that what you want?"

For the first time in what felt like forever, Steven felt genuinely unnerved. Multiple Hoenns? Multiple versions of… everyone? All gone? "... I had no idea…"

"This is all too fishy if ya ask me," Archie said, folding his arms. "Kinda wish I got a chance to meet the other me though…"

"Zinnia," Steven said. "I - "

"We're done here. Now, Aster!"

In an instant, the small Whismur appeared in the room and let out a tremendous, ear-piercing wail. Archie and Steven both shut their ears in agony, and Zinnia took the opportunity to relieve them both of their Key Stones.

"Hey!"

"What the - ?!"

The Lorekeeper made a mad dash towards the entrance of the base, but not before grabbing Aster. Steven tried to give chase, but Zinnia's Salamence Mega Evolved and zoomed away at incomparable speeds.

"D… Damn!" Steven swore again, hands on his knees. He was fortunate that none of the younger trainers had been around to hear that.

The former Champion briefly fumed at his own carelessness before calming down. "This isn't good. I'd better call the others…"

Deep within the Pokémon Center of Ever Grande City, the man in the brown trench coat was just beginning to wake up from his past trauma. The Nurse Joy and Chansey became greatly excited as he opened his drowsy eyes.

"Sir…? How are you feeling?"

"My… my head," he groaned. "... Where is this? Who are you?"

"I'm Nurse Joy, and this is my partner, Chansey," the pink-haired woman replied, gesturing to herself and the Pokémon in question. Chansey pulled a fresh egg from its pouch and handed it to Joy who in turn handed it to their patient. "Here you go. This should clear the mind and hasten the healing process."

Out of extreme hunger or desperation (or both), the man graciously accepted the egg and downed it in an instant. "Ah… Thank you, my friends."

"Not at all, sir. What's your name?"

"My… my name…?" he repeated weakly, his brain beginning to hurt once more. He shifted around in bed before noticing a crinkling sound in his coat. Curiously, he picked it up and unraveled the note and gave it a close read. "... 'l00k3r'? What does that mean?"

"May I?" Joy asked, offering to read the note. He nodded and passed it over to her. "Hm… It almost looks like it wants to say 'Looker'. Not a bad description, if you ask me…"

He gazed at her confusedly, and the nurse blushed upon realizing what she had just said. "A-Ah! Sorry!"

"Looker… I like it. Call me Looker!"

"O-oh! Well, alright then… Looker. You arrived in quite the unorthodox manner, you know. It's not every day a man just falls out of the sky."

"Eh?"

"You really don't know?" Joy questioned with sadness in her voice. "... Do you remember anything?"

"I… I fear I do not. My apologies…"

"There's no need. We'll look after you until we can figure out where you're from," Joy asserted positively. "Isn't that right, Chansey?"

"Chan-Chan!"

Looker leaned back and smiled, hands folded on his chest. Whatever mission he had would have to wait. Right now, there were more pressing things on the horizon...