Chapter 6
It was real, right?

Iron Island was once the site of a mining operation, but the mine had been shut down some time ago. Trainers often visited the area, but they usually stayed outside or in the upper caves. Laresa passed through those areas without finding anything, and proceeded deeper into the mine. There had been a few Trainers around, but Laresa did nothing to draw their attention while in sight of them. Presumably, anyone who did notice her would assume from her behavior that she was on a Pokemon hunt.

After she got deeper in, Laresa got out her flashlight. She also released Luxray. "Okay, Luxray, usual underground routine. You can still see just fine, so keep an eye out. I don't want to get ambushed down here."

Laresa grabbed the object off of her belt. Okay, there may not be a visual indicator, but hopefully, the object will provide indication. So let's get moving. She and Luxray moved through the abandoned mine, Laresa with the object in her hand. Progress was slow; they moved carefully, both for safety reasons and to minimize the chance of missing something.

After a time, Laresa noticed a faint glow begin to emanate from the object. But it wasn't doing that before. It only started now. Does that mean I'm getting close to... whatever I'm looking for? Okay, the glow's still very faint. It'll probably get brighter as I get closer. And it did indeed become brighter as Laresa progressed further into the mine. Eventually, Laresa noticed another glow coming from ahead. Definitely getting close. The object and whatever I'm looking for must be reacting to each other. Okay, not much farther.

The glow turned out to be coming from a spot on the wall. Laresa expected to find the symbol there, or at least part of it, but she saw no markings of any kind on the wall. The glow was the only odd thing about it. Until she approached the wall and held the object up to it. The sunburst symbol suddenly appeared on the wall, flashing. And the sunburst design on the object was flashing in unison. Okay, this seems to be the spot. Now what? Hmm... okay, let's try physical contact. She centered the center of the object's sunburst, the jewel, on the center of the design on the wall, and pressed the object up against it. The glows vanished, and then there was a flash, and-

And Laresa was somewhere else. Still underground, she thought as she recalled Luxray and began to look around, but this is not the mine. Probably still on Iron Island, though. Hmm... actually, it's a lot like the cave I got the object in. Except for the light. She turned her flashlight off. Where the hell is it coming from? There doesn't seem to be any source, and- okay, that's got to be important.

On the wall was the full composite symbol. No, wait. Giratina's and Ho-oh's symbols are there, but Lugia's isn't. And some sort of... I can't tell what those are. She began to move towards the wall, and-

And he was standing in front of the symbol, facing Laresa. The man she'd seen in Floaroma, and again in Jubilife, and who had vanished both times. "You."

"Well, fancy seeing you here," the man said.

"Cut the shit and tell me who the hell you are. Or are you just some sort of illusion?" Something I'm seeing because I'm losing my mind.

"An illusion? Why would you think that?"

"Mainly because nobody else seems to see you, I only see you when you're alone, and you vanish whenever somebody else shows up."

"I see. An incorrect conclusion. Understandable, but still incorrect."

"Whatever. If you're not an illusion, then just who the hell are you?"

"Hmm... actually, I think I like that. Seems fitting, too. Very well, then. You may call me Illusion."

"Fine, then, 'Illusion'," Laresa said. "But that doesn't answer my question. Who are you?"

"I didn't come to be Mr. Exposition. I'm not here to answer questions. Besides, you already know what's going on, do you not?"

"So you're part of it, then."

Illusion nodded. "I am. And right now, I'm here for a fight."

"Excuse me?"

Illusion reached into a pocket and removed a Pokeball. "I'm here for a fight," he repeated. "So let's fight."

"What the hell makes you think I'll agree to a match?" Even if I probably will. Maybe I can get some info out of you.

"Simple. If you refuse, you die. Oh, don't worry, I won't kill you if you lose. It's solely to force you to fight back. My Pokemon will kill you, but only if you do not send yours out to fight. So whether you agree to a match or not, you will fight. I'll follow the League regulations, don't worry. Six-member team, stick to match rules, all of that. So what'll it be?"

You've got a beating coming, that's what. "It'll be me beating the shit out of you and forcing out some answers," Laresa said.

"As I thought. You are quick to fight, aren't you? Even when you shouldn't. But then, that's exactly what I wanted. A fight. And now I have one." He released his first Pokemon, an Aggron.

Laresa sent out Sceptile. "Let's go, then. Sceptile, quick and low!"

Sceptile charged. Aggron sent a blast of flame at Sceptile, the 'Flamethrower' move. Sceptile dodged to the side and closed the remaining distance, delivering a Leaf Blade hit. Aggron lunged at Sceptile, but she was easily able to avoid the slower beast, dancing around it and continuing to land hits.

It didn't take long for Laresa to realize something unusual was going on. Why the hell isn't Illusion saying anything? He's just standing there. Surely he doesn't intend to- well, let's find out. "Sceptile, straight on!"

Sceptile jumped back and charged Aggron head-on. Aggron tried another blast of flame, but Sceptile dodged it, moved in and landed a good hit, then jumped back and charged again. Aggron's response to Sceptile's charges was always the same, although it did try moves other than Flamethrower. But it was still trying the same thing over and over, and more importantly, Illusion wasn't saying a thing.

"Okay, Sceptile," Laresa said, "revert to prior attack plan!"

What the hell is going on here? Laresa wondered as Sceptile returned to her previous pattern of dancing around Aggron while attacking. Damn it, what Is Illusion up to? If he doesn't do anything, Aggron'll go down as easily as a wild Pokemon. Although now that I think about it, the thing should really be down already, given how much punishment it's taking. But somehow, Aggron kept going. It never fought any more effectively than a wild Pokemon would, but it kept fighting far longer than it should have been able to. Eventually, though, it went down. Illusion recalled it and sent out a Ninetails, still without saying a word. Laresa recalled Sceptile and sent out Espeon. "Okay, Espeon, you get this one. Be careful; there's something odd going on here. All right, then, let's start simple. Full force!"

Espeon launched into an unrelenting attack pattern. Ninetails moved to evade, but Espeon's blasts came hard and fast, and Ninetails couldn't avoid them all. Okay, Laresa thought, this is getting stranger and stranger. Only a wild Pokemon would've done that badly evading that. And now Ninetails is still solely trying to evade. Illusion has to know that this is no way to win a battle, so why isn't he saying anything? And he wasn't; he was just standing there, as still and silent as he'd been when he'd had Aggron out. What the hell is this?

Ninetails was much more evasive than Aggron, but it still went down sooner, although it still lasted, like Aggron, far longer than it should have. Ninetails couldn't take hits as well as Aggron, and although Espeon didn't have a type advantage, she was Laresa's most powerful Pokemon. She wasn't the best at taking hits, but she could dish it out. And she was fairly agile, not taking nearly as many hits as some of Laresa's Pokemon did. But here, it was the offensive power that mattered. Espeon's blasts hit harder than anyone else on Laresa's team could, and she could launch some impressive series of moves. And she could perform non-stop attack chains of impressive length.

Illusion's next Pokemon was a Pinsir. Laresa recalled Espeon and sent out Nidoking. Nidoking's strength was toughness. Tyranitar was laresa's toughest, but Nidoking was a close second. Both were quite strong as well, Nidoking slightly more so than Tyranitar. Nidoking was also more agile than Tyranitar, but then, that wasn't exactly saying much.

"Okay, Nidoking," Laresa said, "go in close and personal!" And Illusion's still standing there silently, the thought as Nidoking attacked Pinsir. Why isn't he doing anything? It's almost like he's not even there. Hmm... As with the last two Pokemon, Pinsir seemed able to take far more punishment than it should be able to. But Nidoking clearly had the fight under control, as Pinsir was behaving as a wild Pokemon would, which was again like the previous two. So let's try something, then.

Laresa circled around the battle, approaching Illusion, who seemed completely oblivious to her actions. He's still just standing there. She closed in on Illusion, and-

And Illusion was gone. Looking around, Laresa spotted him opposite her, on the other side of the battle, where she'd previously been. He hadn't turned around to face the battle, though; he was still staring in the same direction as before, completely motionless. What the fuck? And just when I though it couldn't get any more bizarre. What the hell is going on here?

Laresa waited as Nidoking finished Pinsir off. Illusion didn't even turn around while recalling Pinsir and sending out his next Pokemon, a Gardevoir. He didn't aim the balls over his back or anything, either. He pointed it straight ahead while recalling Pinsir, but Pinsir was behind him. And he pointed Gardevoir's ball straight ahead-away from the battlefield-but Gardevoir appeared behind him, between him and Laresa, facing Laresa as she recalled Nidoking and sent out Tyranitar. Okay, if this is consistent, Gardevoir won't act any more intelligently than the others. Tyranitar shouldn't have any problems. Although there may very well be a nasty surprise coming. "Okay, Tyranitar," she said, "take the straightforward approach."

As Tyranitar and gardevoir fought, Laresa again circled around, approaching Illusion. She didn't get too close this time, though. Just close enough to hit him with a rock she picked up and threw. Illusion was hit, but gave no reaction at all, not even a simple involuntary flinch. Laresa threw a few more rocks at him, each getting the same lack of a response.

Out of the corner of her eye, Laresa saw Tyranitar take hold of Gardevoir and slam it hard into the ground. She watched as Tyranitar gave Gardevoir one hell of a beating. Okay, this one's performing poorly even for a wild Pokemon. Why? Wait. Could it be because... Laresa approached Illusion again, and like before, he was suddenly on the other side of the battle, back where he'd been at the start. And once more facing the battle. And almost immediately, Gardevoir's performance improved. It only improved to the wild-Pokemon level Illusion's other Pokemon had been at, but it was still an improvement.

Laresa circled around again, and Illusion was once more on the other side, facing away from the battle. And Gardevoir's performance degraded to its previous level. Okay, what the fuck? Illusion's Pokemon don't do as well when he isn't watching? Although I didn't notice that with Pinsir. But then, Pinsir was almost down by the time Illusion... moved, or whatever. There may not have been enough time to notice it. Okay, so real question: what the hell is this? Shit, and just when I thought this couldn't get any stranger. His Pokemon fight like wild Pokemon and are way tougher than they should be. And they fight even worse when Illusion's not facing them. But Illusion does absolutely nothing, not even turn around. And he hasn't said a thing since he sent out Aggron. Well, let's just see if this gets a reaction.

Gardevoir went down. Illusion's next choice was a Scyther. Laresa recalled Tyranitar and sent out Luxray. Luxray wasn't Laresa's hardest hitter, nor was he very durable, but he was quick. He was extremely evasive, and also very accurate even against the most evasive of opponents. "Okay, Luxray, break!"

This one brief statement told Luxray exactly what was coming. So he wasn't surprised when, after positioning himself such that facing him put Scyther's back to Laresa, Laresa sent Nidoking into the battle. Nidoking creamed Scyther from behind before it even knew what was happening. And faced with the double-team of Luxray and Nidoking, it went down quickly despite being able to take a lot more damage than it should have.

Illusion didn't react at all to Laresa's cheating. He simply recalled Scyther and sent out his sixth Pokemon, an Arcanine. Luxray and Nidokind made short work of it, too, and the battle was over. Illusion recalled Arcanine. Laresa recalled Nidoking, who had landed the final blow, but left Luxray out. Let's try a little experiment.

"Very good," Illusion said, finally turning around to face Laresa. "Very good indeed."

"Interesting end," Laresa said. "I didn't think that last his was going to connect."

"I guess Luxray there is a good shot."

Thought so. "Time to cut the crap. You don't have any idea what happened during that battle, do you?"

"Excuse me?"

"Luxray didn't land the final blow. That was Nidoking. Although I suppose some confusion to which one of them ended it isn't that hard to understand. After all, I did have them both out simultaneously for your last two."

"You-"

"I cheated, yes. I also hit you with several rocks, and approached you a few times. Your sudden relocation was not quite what I expected. And I didn't expect you to keep staring away from the battle after you moved."

"Wait-"

"Yeah, we ended the battle opposite our starting positions. Or didn't you notice? Oh, and your Pokemon performed even worse than usual when you weren't facing the battle, and their usual was just at the level of wild Pokemon. Although they were far more durable than should be possible. So yeah, I think you owe me some answers, Illusion. Just what the hell is going on here?"

"Interesting," Illusion said. "It seems some adjustments will have to be made. Well, I should thank you for that battle. It was most informative."

"Yeah, and now I want some goddamn answers. Starting with: just who and/or what the hell are you?"

"You know," Illusion said, "they say a picture is worth a thousand words."

Pictures? Wait, those markings on the wall. That's what they are. Drawings. Images. I just haven't gotten close enough to make anything out clearly. "I don't care. I want answers from you. I strongly doubt the designs on the wall will answer all of my questions. So start talking."

"All I can say is to examine the-"

"I don't think so," Laresa said. "None of that 'all I can say' crap. Start talking."

But Illusion was suddenly gone. Damn it. Well, I guess that's to be expected. Okay, time to take a look at the 'pictures' on the wall.

Laresa walked over to the wall and examined the images. A lot was worn away, making many of the images difficult or impossible to decipher, but there was still plenty Laresa could make sense of. The objects were visible in many of the images, including a couple showing human blood dripping onto them. One of the clearest images was of the Spear Pillar on Mt. Coronet. Both Ho-oh and Lugia were visible in the image, and two human figures were holding up what was clearly the two objects. Above them, between the birds, was... something. That has to be the connection point with the Distortion World. And this image next to it looks the same- no, there's a difference. Part of the connection point is different. And here's a third image. Is this a sequence? Let's see here... okay, this first one looks like it has the connection point, but this enclosing design, this isn't part of it, is it? In the second one here, it seems to be shattering, and in the third, it's gone. These are showing the seal being broken. So then has it been broken before? And subsequently restored, of course. Or...

And examination of the other images yielded no further information there, but what Laresa could make out did tell her something about the objects. One image in particular she found informative. It showed something similar to the connection point in the other drawings, presumably meant to represent distortive influences. There was a person with one of the objects in the middle of the distortions, and within a radius of the object, there was very little distortion. Some, but not much. So these objects protect against the distortions, then. Not completely, but substantially. I probably don't need to worry about major things like relocation, but perspective flips and stuff are still happening. And there was a similar image of Spear Pillar. There was the connection point, and distortions surrounding it, except for an area centered around Spear Pillar, where there were no distortions. So no distortions at spear Pillar, then. I wonder why? Maybe Palkia's and Dialga's energies have something to do with it. Hmm...

There were too many indecipherable images, but Laresa was able to get some information from them. And I should assume that the other focus point locations have similar images. Cain'll probably see enough to figure out that I'll be breaking the seal. I'll have to assume he won't cooperate. Well, for now, let's activate this point. "Give me a scratch, Luxray," she said. "I need to get a little blood on this." Luxray complied, and laresa rubbed the object against her bleeding arm. Nothing happened, so laresa repeated the action, this time making sure that some blood got on the jewel. And that worked.

The jewel lit up with a bright glow. Laresa, making a guess, pointed it at the center of the symbol in the middle of the drawings. This appeared to be the right move, as the symbol too began to there was a flash, and suddenly Ho-oh was there. There were more flashes, and Laresa thought she saw a beam of light briefly connecting Ho-oh, the object, and the symbol on the wall. And then Ho-oh was gone, as was the glow; only the previous unnatural light remained. No, that symbol is still glowing, just a lot more faintly.

And then there was another flash, and Laresa and Luxray were back in the mine. There was no more glow from either the object or the symbol in the mine. Laresa turned her flashlight back on, and saw that they symbol had vanished entirely. Okay, then. Well, time to get out of here.

The nurse on duty at Canalave's Pokemon Center returned Laresa's balls to her. "I ran them through anyways, but it didn't look like your Pokemon needed any treatment."

Wait, what? She did, however, have a response ready "Yeah, but it's been a while since the last treatment, so I figured I'd get one done before I left the city."

"That's what I thought," the nurse said. "It's getting kind of late, though. Maybe you should spend the night here and leave tomorrow."

Laresa nodded. "Yeah, that's a good idea."

"I'll get a room ready."

As the nurse dissapeared into the back, Laresa released Sceptile from its ball. "Okay, help me out here. You do remember the battle, right?" Sceptile nodded. "So I didn't imagine the entire thing. Good to know I'm not that crazy yet. And your battle injuries felt real? They hurt and everything?" Another nod. "But they were gone by the time I got here?" Another nod. "Was it quick to happen, or gradual?" One grunt. The first choice. "Quick. How much time passed before you noticed it?" A short grunt. Not much time. "Very little, then? Hmm... maybe when we returned to the mine." Sceptile nodded again. "Yeah, that's the most likely point, I think. Okay, yet another mystery."

Laresa recalled Sceptile. A few moments later, the nurse emerged. 'All set. Swipe your card to get in. You probably know the drill."

Laresa nodded. "Thanks."

Laresa found her room and entered it. She placed her bag on the floor and sat down. Okay, what the fuck is this? Shit, now there's another bizarre thing about that battle. It's like it wasn't even real. But it was real, right? What the hell is going on?