(30.1)
Yellow walked around the geothermal power plant on Blush Mountain, taking in all the complicated machinery designed to turn the power lurking under the earth's surface into energy for the Alola Region.
Yet there was no sign of Team Magma.
None of the scientists and workers stationed there had heard of them and Yellow was starting to wonder if Arceus had been wrong.
Walking by a TV broadcasting the local news, she paused and then did a double-take.
"Could someone unmute that?" she asked. A researcher pointed a remote at the TV and sound flooded the room.
"-coming in and the bodies have been identified as Hoenn natives. Various logos unearthed from the wreckage match those of the group that called themselves Team Magma, who were responsible for a catastrophe almost fifteen years ago," the news reporter was saying.
The camera panned over a blasted landscape and Yellow stared at the devastation in slack-jawed horror.
"Serves those punks right," a scientist said, crossing his arms. "Tapu Bulu doesn't take kindly to those who mean his island harm."
"I...I see," Yellow said dazedly. "Huh. Came all this way for nothing," she grumbled. She then sighed and stretched her arms over her head. "Well, may as well explore what Alola has to offer. Thanks for your help."
Saying her farewells, she called out her butterfree and flew into the air.
She hadn't been airborne long before something joined her. She heard a bell ring, shortly followed by a voice.
"Land, please."
Yellow had heard many different tones of voice over the years and this one commanded respect and obedience.
"Down, Kitty," she murmured to her butterfree and they landed on a hill overlooking the Ruins of Abundance, as a nearby sign helpfully told her.
Brushing herself off, Yellow turned as a pokémon descended from the sky.
"Tapu Bulu, I presume?" Yellow said with a polite bow.
"You presume correctly," the guardian replied. "What brings one of Arceus' Chosen to Alola?"
Yellow bit her lip and chose her words carefully. "Arceus was...worried about Team Magma, and since it doesn't have a Chosen in Alola, it decided to send me."
"Hmph," Tapu Bulu snorted. "Typical of that old fool. Always sticking its nose in other pokémon's business."
"I take it you two don't see eye-to-eye?" Yellow asked carefully.
Tapu Bulu laughed. "Arceus gave us these islands to safeguard after a long battle between us and its children. Why the battle was fought, no one remembers or cares, but we have kept these islands safe ever since and don't need any help from Arceus and its ilk. Thank you for the kind gesture, but next time, tell Arceus to let us do our jobs, yeah?"
Yellow grimaced and nodded. "I will pass that along, provided it doesn't already know."
"Tell that overgrown horse anyway," Tapu Bulu said. "Repetition helps with remembering things, after all."
"Of course," Yellow replied politely, keeping her irritation under control. Tapu Bulu gazed at her thoughtfully before he shook his head and vanished.
Yellow let out a breath and touched Kitty's head, causing the butterfree to nuzzle her hand.
"Not everyone is easy to get along with," Yellow murmured. "A shame. I'd have liked to learn more about Alola from him, but I don't know if I'd have been able to put up with his attitude. Come on, let's get back to civilization."
(30.2)
Jessie, James, and Meowth stumbled along the path, stomachs growling loudly.
"My kingdom for a piece of bread," James moaned.
"I will surrender my contest ribbons for gruel," Jessie said.
"I will give up my dream of being Giovanni's right-hand cat for tofu," Meowth said.
Before James could reply, Jessie clapped a hand over his mouth. "Listen!"
The trio went silent, straining their ears.
"Thanks for the food, Sheena, Kevin!"
Meowth perked up. "It's the twerp!"
"Can we really call him that after all these years and what we've been through?" James asked.
"Old habits die hard," Meowth said.
Scuttling over the nearby ridge, they peered down at a spectacular set of ruins. Three pairs of eyes zeroed in on...
"That's a lot of soup," James muttered.
"Enough to feed an army," Jessie murmured.
"Or in this case..." Meowth said.
"US!" the trio chorused, making a mad dash at the table.
Jessie elbowed a man out of the way and seized a bowl, inhaling the contents, closely followed by James and Meowth.
"Ahhh," James said in bliss, licking the bowl clean. "That hits the spot!"
"Hey!"
The trio paused and turned to look at the woman standing at the head of the table.
"Who are you?" she demanded, brandishing a spoon.
"They're part of Team Rocket, Sheena," Ash said. "They go around stealing pokémon for their boss. What's wrong, can't find anything?"
"Shut up," Jessie retorted. "The only reason we're not after Pikachu right now is because our stomachs are empty. Once we're done with this lackluster broth, we'll-"
"Excuse me?" Sheena said, eyes narrowing to slits.
"Now you've done it," Kevin, the man Jessie had elbowed aside, muttered, sliding under the table as his wife seized a bowl of soup.
Planting a foot on the surface of the table, she jabbed a finger at the trio.
"How dare you call the secret family recipe my family has guarded for generations-"
"And lost at one point before Ash found it - by accident, I might add," Gary Oak said from his position at the table with a spectacular coughing fit.
"-lackluster!" Sheena finished loudly.
A polite cough drew everyone's attention.
Jessie's jaw dropped while James' eyes went wide and Meowth's fur stood on end as they beheld Arceus and the Creation Trio staring at them grumpily.
"Either sit down and enjoy the food or get out of here before I ask Palkia to do it for me," Arceus said acidly. "The soup is getting cold."
The trio sat down meekly and accepted bowls of soup.
"So what brings you here?" James asked Ash.
"After winning the Kanto League again, I wanted to go visit the places I went to all those years ago."
James blinked in surprise, idly stroking his chin. "Hm…that sounds kinda fun, actually…"
"Ya think the boss will let us do that?" Meowth asked dubiously.
"Why wouldn't he?" Jessie asked, leaning her head on her hand. "We've served him faithfully for several years and sent him plenty of rare and exotic pokémon – more than any other operative team, I may add," she added proudly, then hesitated as she glanced at Arceus, who was staring at her. "And…those pokémon were probably sent to good trainers from our various business fronts?"
"The only reason I let Team Rocket mostly do as it pleases is because Giovanni has wisely chosen not to go after my children," Arceus said. "While it may seem heartless of me to do nothing about the exploitation of pokémon, it has no impact on the safety of the world as a whole, which is my prime concern."
"And we thank you for that, as it has allowed us to become very rich," James said, resting his hand on Jessie's.
Ash blinked as his eyes caught something glittering on their ring fingers.
"You're married?!" he blurted out.
"Oh yes," Jessie said happily. "Two years now, actually."
"Congratulations," Sheena said, sharing a smile with her husband.
"And what about you?" James asked Ash, who looked away.
"Never thought about it," Ash said. "The world is a large place and while I'm not blind to the attractions girls – and a few guys," he added thoughtfully, "have had on me…I don't want to settle down just yet."
"Latias will be ever so disappointed," Dialga muttered into his soup, causing Palkia to choke on his as he bit back a laugh.
Ash smiled slightly and the rest of the meal went smoothly.
(30.3)
Mewtwo and Sasha wandered through the depths of Reflection Cave, thoroughly lost.
"I can see why people hate mirror houses and mazes now," Sasha said, rubbing her sore nose after having run into yet another reflective surface. "I'm sorely tempted to start breaking things."
"I am sorely tempted to allow you to do that," Mewtwo said, one hand on the wall to guide himself.
"Are you ever going to teleport us out of here?" Sasha grumbled.
"Only when we both admit defeat," Mewtwo said with a grin. "And with what's at stake, you're not going to, are you?"
"No fair withholding my favorite food as part of a bet," Sasha growled.
"I'm surprised you didn't wager intimacy," Mewtwo remarked.
"I can survive a week without snuggling you into oblivion," Sasha said.
"You tried that once. You lasted about thirty-five hours," came the matter-of-fact reply.
"In my defense, that was ages ago," Sasha muttered.
Mewtwo chuckled, then stopped abruptly. Sasha pricked her ears and frowned. The two shared a knowing look before Sasha clambered onto Mewtwo's shoulder and the clone crouched low, melting into the shadows.
Both stared at their reflections in the wall, both of which had not moved and were facing away from them.
"Interesting," Mewtwo murmured. "I'd heard rumors about this phenomenon, but to actually see it..."
"Mirror world, right?" Sasha asked quietly. "Wonder what kind of mirror. Opposite, parallel, what-if...?"
"We could always ask," Mewtwo suggested. Sasha shook her head emphatically.
"Absolutely not, because that invariably leads to one of us being replaced by a doppelganger and wacky shenanigans ensue."
"You're right. Arceus forbid I kiss the wrong eevee."
"I'm never gonna let that go."
"I'd be insulted if you did."
Sasha flicked her tail. "Alright, let's go. I'd rather put up with not snuggling you instead of whatever plot speaking to our mirror selves would kick off."
"No arguments here," Mewtwo said before the two vanished.
"Told you they wouldn't talk to us," the mirror Sasha said to her compatriot.
"Thank goodness for that. I'd have never been able to keep up the charade. Although I am curious as to what their lives were like," Mewtwo said. "Maybe she actually wins her League Match."
"You're never gonna let me forget that, are you?" Sasha grumbled.
"You lost against a snivy," Mewtwo said dryly.
"It was a snivy that had made it to the League," Sasha said defensively.
"As had you," Mewtwo pointed out.
Sasha sighed, shaking her head. "Whatever. Come on, let's get out of here."
(30.4)
Arceus woke up from its sleep and lifted its head.
Stretching its neck, the Creator felt something move against its side and looked down to see a young human boy stirring from where it had been curled up against Arceus' belly.
"Forgive me; did I wake you?" Arceus asked, leaning down to gently nuzzle the child.
The boy chuckled and shook his head, patting Arceus' side. "No, no. It's alright."
He gazed up at the Alpha Pokémon with a frown. "Is something wrong? Usually you sleep through the night without issue."
Arceus sighed, leaning its head down. The boy lifted his hands and gently cradled the pokémon's jaw, soft brown eyes gazing into red.
"I've had some doubts," Arceus admitted. "About you."
The boy tilted his head. "What kind of doubts?"
"Are you happy?"
The boy removed his hands from Arceus' jaw and stretched his arms above his head. Looking up at Arceus, he smiled.
"Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?"
Arceus frowned slightly. "So you're not bored by immortality? Outliving everyone you've met, having to bury your pokémon...?"
"Ah," the boy said with a nod. "I can see why you'd be worried."
He fell silent, hand resting on Arceus' golden harness, stroking over it slowly.
"It's sad, of course," he said after a moment. "Saying goodbye always is. But I have years worth of good memories to look back on and smile about. They were happy knowing and traveling with me."
He chuckled, causing Arceus to tilt its head.
"When they found out I was immortal, they were often envious. They'd have been able to explore the world and expand on their own dreams, but ultimately they decided to live a normal life to the fullest instead of stretching it out forever."
"Have you ever considered doing the same?" Arceus asked.
The boy shook his head. "My dream is one that takes several lifetimes to complete and I'm glad I can set my own pace. I've said it before and I'll say it again: thank you for giving me this gift."
Reaching up, he took hold of Arceus' jaw again and kissed the pokémon on the nose.
"Must you use such an archaic method of thanking me?" Arceus grumbled playfully, pushing its nose against the boy's forehead.
"You're too big to hug," the boy shot back, sticking his tongue out.
(30.5)
Jolteon and Umbreon strode through Lostlorn Forest, enjoying the lovely weather.
Bumbling around their paws was a young silver-furred eevee, whose bright inquisitive eyes darted around, taking in all the sights.
The undergrowth rustled, causing the two older pokémon to move in front of their daughter, ears pricked, ready to defend her if need be.
A zorua with blue eyes poked its head out of the shrubbery. Its eyes landed on the eevee and it let out a feminine yipe, getting her attention.
The two little foxes approached one another as Umbreon and Jolteon watched. Sniffing one another, the zorua let out a soft yip, wagging her tail. The eevee smiled and the two started wrestling.
A zoroark poked her head out of the ferns and blinked. "So, that's where you've wandered off to. Oh," she said, catching sight of Jolteon and his mate. "Sorry for the bother-"
Jolteon shook his head. "It's alright," he said with a smile. Umbreon watched the zorua closely, ears twitching.
"She looks like her father," she noted. Zoroark sighed.
"I'm aware," she said with a long-suffering exhale. "Always wandering off and getting into trouble."
The eevee managed to pin the zorua, who squirmed under her firm grip. The zorua then turned into an eevee, much to her opponent's surprise and slipped out of her slack grasp.
"Oh-ho," Umbreon said. "She's a quick learner."
The eevee narrowed her eyes as she examined the disguised zorua before lunging forward. Zorua leapt backwards, but not far enough to evade, getting knocked onto her back, causing her disguise to break.
"She adapts quickly," Zoroark noted. "That's good."
Umbreon glanced up at the sky and pursed her lips. "We've got to get going. Eevee!"
The eevee pricked her ears and turned to face her mother. Zorua took the moment of distraction to pounce, but the eevee had already ran towards her parents, causing the dark fox to faceplant in the dirt.
Zoroark chuckled, scooping her up in her arms. "There there," she said, brushing the dirt off. "You'll see her again. You're going to need a bath before dinner at this rate."
Dipping her head to the eeveelutions, she said her farewells and the two different families vanished into the depths of the forest.