He lost consciousness quickly, but in the back of his mind, he was aware that the apparition was drawing him away from the present moment and into the past. Fuji remembered the night he committed one of his greatest sins—the night that would lead Reina to turn her back on the Volunteer Pokémon House and would awaken the wanderlust lurking inside her heart.
Fuji saw everything as if it was happening for the very first time. He was sitting at the table, and Reina was staring out the window at the full moon. She was leaning on the windowsill, and Fuji was scared that it might break. Another fear that he selfishly kept to himself.
"What are you thinking about, Reina?" he asked. He remembered that his body was aching and his stomach was tight with stress, as if he already knew what she was going to say because it had been scripted beforehand.
She let go of the windowsill and stood up straight, not taking her eyes off the moon outside. "My parents called me about their travels in Kalos the other day."
Fuji said nothing.
"As you know, they were in Snowbelle City for a while. But they were exploring just south of there, and they found a pokémon they'd never seen before. They said it was a Psychic-type. They told me it was tall and white, with a long lavender tail."
His heart stopped beating for a moment. Time stood still, and neither he nor Reina moved. His brain couldn't process what was happening. Reality had come to a halt.
Finally, Reina spoke broke the silence, starting time flowing for him again. "They said they wanted to study it and see if could Mega Evolve, but I'm scared. Some of their pokémon haven't even evolved yet. They're just explorers! What if it's too strong for them?" She turned to him and gazed at him, with an unspoken plea written in her face. She wanted to hear that it was safe, that Fuji knew who that pokémon was, that it didn't have the most savage heart of any discovered pokémon.
He remembered that he had been frozen. Only a champion was able to tame the first individual, the one that had hidden itself in Cerulean Cave. Reina's parents had been the first to spot the one in Kalos, so there would be no League-appointed guard to stop them from approaching it.
"...I don't know what kind of pokémon that is, Reina," he lied.
She did not hear from her parents again. After a few weeks of no contact, she had called Blaine to ask for a starter pokémon, so she could go out on her own path to find out for herself the reality of what happened. Fuji could never bring himself to tell her the truth. The guilty of silence weighed down on him like a coming thunderstorm.
But it's strange, he thought, watching her sit down on the carpet and sigh to herself. If she wanted to find her parents in Kalos... how did she end up where she is now? Didn't she tell me recently she had a Porygon-Z and was in the Battle Frontier? Where was that, again? He stared at her intently, his eyes narrowed to mere slits. She was sitting down on the carpet, but there was a separation between her body and her shadow. In Johto, not Kalos!
"Reina, I have always wondered about your parents," he started slowly. "Why do you only bring them up now?"
She sat there, her body slumped over and her eye unblinking. Fuji watched her for a few moments. Suddenly, he ran out of the house and slammed the door behind him. He was breathing heavily. He tried to take deeper, slower breaths, but his head was spinning and he wouldn't calm down. Reina's an energetic girl, he reminded himself. She didn't need a family tragedy to convince her to go off on her own.
He took a few steps into the night, and what he found didn't surprise him at all. The Pokémon House was floating alone, bereft of the town. The sky was a deep blue sea, surrounding it. Only the full moon was a landmark in this unreal place, and even it was wrong. Fuji saw that it was the shade of a shiny Venomoth's wings—unnaturally blue ever for a clear night.
"Reina left because she was tired and had cabin fever. You know this, Dusknoir. I would chastise you for creating a nightmare, but I've done the same," he said while looking to the false moon. "I want you to know that while I don't appreciate your methods, but at least I know now what you were trying to show me." He continued walking, trying to find the boundary of the constructed memory. When he found that the sky kept stretching on, he closed his eyes and recalled his real memory of the Blue Flute he had received in the morning. He visualized its smooth surface in his hands until he could feel its weight. After rolling it over to feel its every curve, he held it up and began to play a slow song of his true epiphany and sorrow. The gentle sound washed through every aspect of the ghostly memory play, bringing Fuji back to reality.
As Fuji kept playing the flute, the illusion that surrounded him fell away. The scenery blurred and quivered, shimmering and rippling like it was distorted by flowing hot air. With each new phrase in his sad song, it was as if a new rock was thrown into a pond, disturbing the surface of the water just a little bit each time. Cracks appeared and grew in the sky, and the moon shook. With the last note, everything shattered, sending shards of imagery falling every which way.
Finally, I'm back, Fuji thought. He half-expected to be back in his bed, at home in the Pokémon House, but when he came to, he was lying on his side in a field of tall white flowers with red stripes on their petals. He stood up slowly, as the flowers quivered in the cold wind. Everything felt damp and cool, the way Lavender Town felt when there had been a light rain the night before.
Other people were lying down in the field with vacant expressions on their faces, their hands and feet being held down by pale, spectral chains. Fuji let out what he thought was a surprised yell, but only a soft hiss of air came from his mouth. It was then that he noticed that all the people amid the flowers were floating, like they had no weight to them. They were the staff of the Radio Tower—they were even in the same positions as they had been in when he found them in the building. He looked down at his hands, and they were pale and blurry, like they were being shot in soft focus.
In the distance, he heard a long, wailing cry that sounded like someone was being sliced by the arms of a Scyther. He looked in the direction of the sound, and saw that everything above the horizon was a deep bluish-grey color, like the ceiling of a cave or a sky blocked by massive storm clouds. Fuji shook his head. I hope it is only a Misdreavus making that noise, and not a suffering being. In any case, I know where I am now. He remained unfazed despite being in spirit world. All he knew was that he had to help his fellow lost souls.
He played the Blue Flute again, faster and louder than he had before. One by one, the others awakened from their own restless dreams. As they stirred, the chains withered away and their floated up through the flowers. Fuji could hear their frantic thoughts echoing in his own mind.
He tried to send a clear idea their way. You're having a bad dream, and you must wake up now! he thought, so they wouldn't be frightened. Some of the souls nodded sleepily, some floated backward in surprise, and others just blinked. Eventually, Fuji watched each of them become enveloped by a faint glow, shrink, and disappear from the spirit world.
He smiled softly as he felt something pulling himself away. But he was not able to feel his own light and escape. A harsh, unearthly wind somehow blew his soul backward, leaving him dazed and weakened. It was an Ominous Wind.
The Dusknoir rose out of the ground in a spiral of grey mist, sending white flower petals swirling through the air. You! What have you done?! Dusknoir's wrathful thoughts rang in Fuji's head. How did you—you bothered to take that Blue Flute with you?! Now I must harvest the sinners all over again! If you know you are guilty, why do you persist in ruining my plan? Are you just that selfish?
Fuji quietly sighed. Dusknoir, I understand why you put me through everything you did, he projected his thoughts. Feeling guilty is not enough. It's my duty to try and fix things, even though I don't know if I can... but dragging those people to this world wasn't going to fix anything. His soul settled back down, holding firm. Now you need to make an effort to understand what I'm saying.
No! Dusknoir's eyes glowed more brightly. I want you to suffer more! I need you to suffer more! Its body became purple once more, as its body sank to become a shadow. This time, Fuji was ready. When the shadow rushed at him, his spirit shifted to the side. Dusknoir reformed, crying out and shaking will rage.
Dusknoir, stop this. Fuji used the same tone that he used with petulant baby pokémon. This is a warning.
Dusknoir turned around and pulled its fist back, winding up for a Ghost Punch. Before it could swing at him, Fuji pulled his keys from his pocket and flung them at it as hard as he could. Unfortunately for Dusknoir, Fling was a Dark-type move, and was super-effective. Fuji's keys smacked it right in the eye and Dusknoir shrieked and reeled back.
I'm sorry! thought Fuji. He moved past the pokémon while it was stunned, grabbed his keys off the ground, and left the flower field as fast as he could. Moving and manipulating things as a disembodied spirit was simpler than he would have expected—it felt like flying through a lucid dream.
He flew in one direction for a while. The air slowly changed, from a warm moisture to a dry heat. Fuji stopped floating soon after, when he reached an area covered in ruddy, cracked rocks. Heat oozed from the ground. No matter how far away he fled, the light wasn't returned to this spirit, and he did not know how to leave the spirit world. Fuji sighed again, feeling completely exhausted. I can't keep running forever, he thought. He settled on the ground, and stared upward. He still didn't know whether the sky was rock or clouds. At least I managed to free everyone else.
He could hear the Dusknoir's cries getting louder and louder. Fuji started levitating again, even though he did not really want to flee. I have to try—for Blaine and Reina, if nobody else! He saw the red eye approaching him. Fuji prepared to float away again.
Suddenly, Dusknoir cried again, louder than before. Fuji watched it fall over and hit the rocky ground. He couldn't make out its thoughts, but they were dissonant and painful.
Against his better judgment, Fuji floated back over to its side. Even after everything, he still couldn't bear to see any pokémon suffer. Dusknoir could barely move, but it made sure to turn its head to glare up at him regardless. A giant metal weapon was had been thrust though its back, and had pierced its stomach cavity, gluing Dusknoir to the ground.
Fuji's spirit grabbed the weapon and levitated upward, pulling back out. Dusknoir let out an anguished sound as Fuji removed it from its back. Fuji inspected the weapon—it was a red and black pitchfork that reminded him of images he had seen of Mega Houndoom's tail.
Why? Why would you? thought Dusknoir, its mind hazy and disorganized with pain.
Because we've both suffered. Fuji placed the pitchfork back on the ground. It was too difficult for his spirit to keep holding up. Just as he put it down, two giant figures leaped out of the darkness, and slammed the ground so hard that it shook like a Magnitude 8. Fuji looked up and gasped. Two giants clothed in shining armor towered over him and Dusknoir. One giant had the head and blazing mane of a Rapidash, but was holding a spiked club in its humanlike hands. The other giant bent down to pick up the pitchfork. Fuji fell backward in terror when he saw the giant's face bearing down at him—it was the face of an angry Tauros, and the breath from its nostrils was burning.
Fuji was very glad he was already separated from his body, or else he definitely would have fainted dead away. He looked to Dusknoir for some kind of explanation, but the pokémon just looked weary. The Rapidash-headed giant grabbed Fuji, and the other giant picked up Dusknoir. Fuji didn't even resist, because he was too shell-shocked to do anything. He didn't even know if these giants were pokémon or human.
The giants closed their eyes for a moment, and suddenly they were teleported to a different realm. Fuji just accepted it, taking it all in. His entire existence had been shaken and wobbled like a Teeter Dance. The realm was decorated by fields of delicate red spider lilies and lines of large Pecha berry plants, whose berries looked especially luscious to him. He looked up, and was relieved to see an actual, milky blue sky without a single cloud obscuring it.
The giants put Fuji and the wounded Dusknoir down on a path between two rows of Pecha plants. Without saying a word, they vanished again. Fuji looked over at Dusknoir, who had closed its eye and slumped over, defeated. Fuji touched Dusknoir on its back, trying to comfort it. It pushed his arm away and started levitating again, despite its posture being lopsided and shaky.
The two of them watched silently as another giant figure walked toward them. This giant was clearly not a pokémon, or if he was a pokémon, he was a legendary one projecting a humanoid form—both the giant's head and body were completely human. He was broad-shouldered with deep red skin and a dark beard. He had a bright sash around his waist. On his head, he wore a golden crown shaped like the crest of a Mega Alakazam, with the character for "king" etched into it. An old book was in one of his hands, and in the other was a strange golden object. It was shaped like a small hammer, and its handle was studded with diamonds. Fuji had never seen so much gold in his life.
"Emissary, the humans whose souls you brought here were not in the book!" the giant said in a booming voice. Fuji was excited to hear an actual voice and not just a voice in his head. The giant continued. "The last time beings were condemned to that realm without a reason, it was that monk and those eight Clefairy maidens. You will face the consequences of disregarding your orders!" He pointed the golden object at Dusknoir, which started glowing like it was going to use Dazzling Gleam. Dusknoir flinched.
Fuji stood up. Wait! he thought, desperate.
"What is it?" The giant paused to look into Fuji's mind, searching for a name. "Elder Fuji. Why are you protecting this failure of a spirit guide?"
Dusknoir looked at Fuji, confused.
I know that what this Dusknoir did was wrong, King...
"I am Lord Yama." Yama pointed the object at Fuji, and suddenly a burden was lifted from him. He felt a burst of renewed strength.
"Lord Yama," Fuji started, happily discovering he could speak again, "I can't say that I fully understand what is happening here, but I need to share something with you. Your emissary was being hurt by transmissions from a Radio Tower I could have stopped from being built. Dusknoir made a mistake because it's rightfully angry that I didn't perform my duty as a caretaker. Please, be merciful when you pass judgment."
Yama frowned. "...I will take what you've said into consideration. Here," he plucked one of the Pecha berries from a nearby plant and handed it to Fuji. "Take this for your trouble."
Fuji blinked. The berry was bigger than his hand. "I'm afraid I can't eat food from the spirit world," he said awkwardly, remembering old stories he had read in his youth.
Yama grabbed Dusknoir, who was still staring at Fuji, and started walking away. His footfalls made the ground quiver. "Plant it in your garden," he muttered. "You're free to go."
"My garden?" Fuji felt his spirit grow warm and calm, and a comforting light filled his vision. He felt himself slowly spinning and sinking, like he was on the verge of falling asleep. His eyelids gently closed.