Leo looked up, groaning in dismay. He was completely soaked, and the weather wasn't letting up at all. Even the shelter of the tree gave little cover from the downpour drenching him. Then again, it was a thin little excuse of a tree. Leo sighed at the sky.

I wonder if everyone's alright?

Leo pulled out his Xtransceiver. The cracked screen and odd buzzing when he turned it on confirmed his suspicions that it broke when he fell. He stood up slowly, grunting as he unfolded himself. One thing was for sure, this rain would've driven the others down to the ground. He sighed, staring up at the sky again. There was no sign of any of the others, and he suspected that they would be looking for him. Still, the cold rain was soaking him to the bone. He shivered a bit, drawing his arms around himself. One thing was certain: if he stayed here, he'd surely catch a cold. He needed to find some kind of shelter: something more effective than these spindly trees could provide.

But...if they were still looking for him, here was the best spot to be.

He shivered, glaring back at the tree. This chilly deluge was starting to give him a headache. Screw this place. He could come back here later. For now, the weather was his main concern. Flare's a fire-type, and she...

Flare...

He dearly wished that lovable Growlithe was here. He wasn't sure why, but that pup always managed to make him feel better. Maybe it was her stalwart loyalty. Maybe it was her nonstop, cheerful energy. Whatever the reason, she was the only thing that felt constant through his memory issues. Flare, and Amber. He was particularly worried about Amber. He was pretty sure the poor girl would be crying in her hands and freaking out right now. Leo wished he could at least call her and tell her he was alright.

Turning away from the tree, Leo set out in search of protection from the rain. As he trudged through the rain, a distant, buzzing cry caught his attention. He looked about. It sounded a lot like a Flygon. Could it be Chikosu? He scanned the fields, searching for the dragon. It took several minutes and the rain was not letting up, but he finally found the Pokémon, partly huddled in some shrubs. The dragon looked up at him, buzzed happily, then rushed forward and hugged him with his little forearms.

Leo was surprised by the dragon's affections. The dragon kept chattering and buzzing away, almost as if he were trying to tell him something. He noticed that Chikosu's right wing was bent at a rather odd angle, and the clearly injured Pokémon was holding it gingerly. He realized that Chikosu's wing was broken. Leo checked his supplies, finding only three Potions. He knew this was more than a mere couple of Potions could fix. Chikosu needed to see a doctor. It wasn't going to be possible right now though.

They both just needed to get out of this damn rain.

AJ's jaw dropped and his eyes went wide. What the man in front of him just said shocked him. A member of the Silicon Movement, and he was here under the hotel all along! Why didn't anyone notice this earlier?! AJ reached for his Xtransceiver, intending to call for backup. He noticed that Eeveen was already ahead of him, but the message on-screen said "No Service".

"It's not working?" Eeveen seemed baffled, holding up his phone. "AJ, I think it's broken..."

Evan cleared his throat, "Don't bother. Phantom's energy interferes with all electronic signals. It's a bit of a bother, but don't worry."

"Don't worry!? You're a Silicon goon!" Melody's anger was evident, and she glared at the man, "How dare you do this to us!? I'm gonna kick your ass all up and down this place!"

Evan's expression remained cool. "Now, I know you three must be very suspicious of me-"

"Suspicious hardly begins to cut it! Do you have any idea the hell we've been through?!"

"Melody, cool it. Blowing your top isn't going to make him talk." AJ tried to calm Melody down, but she only seemed to get angrier.

"Shut up, AJ! You can talk about blowing your top once your family's been attacked!"

"May I speak? There's a lot I must say to you." Evan calmly looked to the three trainers, continuing after a moment, "First of all, I am the former chief of the Silicon Movement. Secondly, I believe you will need my help if you want to get through to Alicia."

"Who the hell's Alicia?" Melody's glare never softened.

"You might better know her as Solstice. She is my younger sister. Now, you are part of the police force called Team Night, yes?"

AJ nodded, "Yes, Eeveen and I are. Melody's a civilian. We really need to get out of this place and solve a haunting."

"I know. You have been 'visited' by a Haunter that demanded you to put his body to rest."

AJ's eyes went wide and he stared at Evan. "That's right, but how'd you know that?"

Evan smiled slightly. "I know much more than that. I am a psychic. Reading human minds comes naturally to me."

Eeveen's eyes narrowed. "Who said you could do that!? Not cool!"

"Forgive me. I cannot control that particular talent. You needed to contact your boss, Sarah, am I right?" Evan opened a drawer on his desk and pulled out an odd-looking Xtransceiver. "Feel free to use mine. It is insulated against interference. You should be able to contact your allies easily."

AJ took the phone from him, "So, why are you helping us?"

Evan's face dropped. "I must stop my sister. Her plans will cause a war if she succeeds."

"A war?" Eeveen tilted his head at Evan, "We know she wants to turn people and Pokémon into robots. What else is she planning?"

"I think it would be most efficient to tell your boss at the same time as I tell you. Please, don't delay. You must be worried about your friends, and I'm sure they worry for you too."

AJ begun dialing the phone, warily glancing back at Evan. If he had an ulterior motive, AJ had no clue what it could be. Then again, he was a psychic. Arceus only knows what a man like that was thinking...

Sarah's face appeared on the screen, "Hello, who is-?" Her face showed confusion, then relief. "AJ? What's going on? You called from a weird number..."

"Yeah, it's me."

"We got a big problem!" Eeveen poked his head over AJ's shoulder, "We just found this psychic guy who claims he's the boss of the Silicon Movement!"

"Former chief," Evan replied, taking the phone from AJ, "You are the leader of Team Night and I must speak to you."

Sarah fell quiet for a moment. Then, she shouted, "AJ, what did you say to him!?"

"Do not blame him. I am a psychic. My mind-reading picked it up from AJ and Eeveen's minds. It is the one talent I cannot control."

AJ grabbed the phone back, "What'd you have to be so blunt for?! Now I look bad, you idiot!"

"May I speak? I still have things to explain..."

"Yes you do!" AJ glared at Evan, "You better stop these games and start making sense! I'm really sick of getting tricked!"

Evan sighed dejectedly, staring at the floor. "I'm sure you are. Alicia has done some awful things to you all, and I apologize on her behalf."

"Sorry isn't going to help us." Eeveen crossed his arms, "Just get to the point. I'm tired and I'm losing my patience!"

"Please don't be angry. I'm getting there." Evan sighed, "It started five years ago. She wasn't always so difficult. She was once a rather ordinary trainer, just like so many others. I too was a trainer. We traveled all over Unova together. I wanted to become one of the Elite Four. She wanted to become a Gym Leader. Both of our goals meant constantly becoming stronger. Together, we were a formidable force, and we earned five badges as a team. Shortly after we got our Quake Badges, we had a horrible accident. A big landslide hit when we were inside Twist Mountain and it blocked off the exit. We weren't hurt, but we couldn't leave. We weren't worried about supplies; we were well prepared. Even so, we knew we couldn't last more than a few days, especially in winter. By the third day, we were all exhausted. My Pokémon were in bad shape. Alicia wasn't doing much better. Her only Pokémon left standing was her Kadabra, Kali. Even Kali was pretty hurt though, and we had no supplies left to heal her. We heard that the rescue team was almost completely through the landslide, so we were headed back to the entrance. That was when three Cryogonal swarmed us. Kali barely managed to beat up one of them, but the other two were focused on me and Alicia. Kali bravely fought to save us. It was an intense battle. In the end, she won, but it wasn't a pretty victory. Kali was severely injured. She desperately needed medical attention. We weren't unscathed either. Both Alicia and I had frostbite injuries. Alicia caught the worst of it, and damaged the left side of her face badly. I just wound up with some frostbite on my right arm. Kali was very weak, but she still tried to Teleport us away to safety. It didn't work, and Kali...she died of exhaustion that day."

"Why are you telling us that?" Melody said, "That's pretty tough, but what does that have to do with anything?"

"After Kali's death, Alicia...changed," Evan hung his head. "She spent three months in the hospital recovering from her facial wound. I visited her every day. I wanted nothing more than to support my sister. She wasn't the same person. Anyone could tell she was in a lot of physical pain, but I could feel her mental anguish too. She was just so hurt after losing her favorite Pokémon. After she was healthy enough to leave, we made a promise together. We wanted to create a world where people wouldn't get hurt like this. That was the beginning of what became the Silicon Movement. Back then, we called it Project Zero, as in zero suffering. As the months passed and our ranks grew with like-minded trainers, I could feel her thoughts get progressively self-loathing and dark. She started to blame her pain on being attached to Kali. Our goals were one, but I started to feel her doubts. She was growing dissatisfied with human existence. We were growing distant, in spite of my efforts to the contrary. She announced her split quite suddenly. She declared that all emotions were the root of suffering and pain and vowed to eliminate the capacity to feel emotions. I disagreed from the start. I believe peace is the key to end negative emotions. She left me six months later, taking most of Project Zero's members with her. I have continued my research into keeping eternal peace on my own. I had no idea how far Alicia would take her own ambitions until I saw her again two years ago. She had begun experiments to further her ends, starting with herself. She fused a mask to her face, trying to symbolize the end of her humanity. She even stopped going by her true name, taking on the moniker you know her by: Solstice. As soon as I realized what she was up to, I tried to stop her. I've spent my resources since then trying to reverse the modifications she has done to her subjects. We fought several times, but each time, she would defeat me and warn me to stay away from her."

Evan looked back up, meeting AJ's eyes. "I'm sorry if it seems abrupt, but I lack the manpower to stop my sister. I desperately need aid. If your memories are accurate, and I know they are, Team Night is home to some rather impressive trainers. Will you help Project Zero? Will you help me?"