Chapter 2: Heed the Call

Pyrose paced back and forth on the grass. The base cast a shadow over them as they stood just before the line of woods behind the building that formed a sparse forest. His tail dragged behind him, the light at the end flickering between a passionate brightness and a moody dimness that reflected his fickle facial features. At one point, a frown, his brows furrowed with a claw on his chin. At another, looking towards the sky, hopeful. Yet another still, skeptical, and even then eyes filled with optimistic hope and excitement.

"Pyrose, stop walking in a circle you're gonna set something on fire." March was sitting on the grass, the one closest to him as his team and Alakazam watched him turn around to march back across the turf for the hundredth time.

"I haven't had an accidental burning in years and you know that," he retorted, eyes staring into the ground. "But… a whole other world."

"Humans." Verdant crossed her arms and leaned backwards.

"BZZT, HUMANS, BZZT," Polare reiterated, staring at him in a similar fashion to the rest.

"I just… I mean…" Pyrose sighed and buried his face in his palms. His tail lashed out, and he growled as he suddenly shifted from confliction to impatience. Punching the air, he said to Alakazam, who was sitting on a tree stump a bit further away. "Can we at least see the gem?"

"Of course." Alakazam stood up and walked over on unsteady and trembling feet. He opened his palm as the others gathered around, revealing a small green tetrahedron, no bigger than one of his fingers. It gave off a soft, green glow, a light that, despite sharing its color with that of the vegetation around them, looked artificial and almost unnatural.

March frowned. "I… have some doubts."

Alakazam nodded. "I understand, but I assure you I would not lie."

"BZZT, AS IF YOU WOULD EVER DO THAT, BZZT." That earned a glare, humorous or not, from Alakazam.

"May I?" March gestured to the gem, and Alakazam nodded. The Swampert picked it up with fingers even larger than Alakazam's. In his hands, the gem was miniscule, almost insignificant.

"And you're sure the creatures you saw were humans?" Pyrose asked. "Positive? Not, like, some strange-looking Sawks?"

"They matched your descriptions perfectly," Alakazam affirmed. "There was no doubt in my mind. The clothing, the body shape, the height, it was obvious."

"It looks almost exactly like it did before though," March noted, turning the Teleport Gem over in his hands to examine it from different angles. "Without the cracks it had after Sky Tower, of course."

Verdant shuddered at the memory before shaking it off. "It glows a little brighter though."

"Not sure if that's because it's refracting the sunlight or not though," Pyrose said.

"No, it had that glow right after I had the Legends infuse it," Alakazam explained. "I could feel its… potency. It was like a beacon of psychic power, drawing me to it."

"BZZT, HOW EXACTLY DID YOU RETURN? YOU MENTIONED THAT THE TRIP HAD DRAINED IT OF ITS ENERGY, BZZT?"

Alakazam shook its head. "I nearly marooned myself there, yes, but because I had psychic powers I was able to replenish it. The act, however, cost me much of my energy, hence why I am walking and not floating right now." He gestured to his shaking knees, as if they had not noticed already.

March held the gem back out to Alakazam, who took it back. Leaning back, he said, "Well, I don't think I want to go exploring in other worlds without some research first. Safety nets, in case we get stranded without a psychic type, stuff like that. Is that the only other world, or can we go to… others?"

Verdant tittered. "I don't like it, I'm worried something will go really poorly if we try to use it."

"BZZT, WHAT WOULD WE BE WITHOUT RISKS? BUT THE ARGUMENT IS SUBSTANTIAL, PERHAPS WE SHOULD WAIT–"

"No, I… I want to go. See the other world." They all looked at Pyrose, who stood before them with squared shoulders and a determined look in his eyes. It seems he made up his mind.

He took a shallow breath. "E–ever since I… came back, I've been wondering what would have been. Gardevoir was pretty much sending me back home, but I chose to stay."

"Are–"

"I don't regret it one bit. You guys are my world. My everything." He looked at all of them, and all but Polare smiled back, though he pretended the Magneton could and was doing so.

But he did not return it. Frowning, he said, "But I've… always wondered. What my past was like. What my future could have been like. What I even LOOKED like. My… friends. Family."

Pyrose slowly sat down on the grass, looking up at them as he continued to speak. "I… I want to know what happened to me. I want to discover my past."

The others were silent. The Charizard's conviction was clear.

Polare finally spoke up. "BZZT, WE HAVE NO METHOD OF DETERMINING IF THE WORLD IN QUESTION THAT ALAKAZAM HAD WITNESSED WAS THE SAME THAT YOU HAD ORIGINATED FROM, BZZT."

March nodded. "We also need to test and stuff. You know, can it carry multiple people, are there dangers, how do we get back if we don't have a psychic type. The lot. We don't even know if there are Pokémon in that other worl–"

"I did see some," Alakazam added.

"Ooookay there are Pokémon there."

"His point still stands," Verdant said, her eyes filled with worry. "What if the world changes us? We can't use our powers or something? Or what if we get hurt on the way? What if the journey isn't safe, what if the humans are hostile, what if–"

"Okay, okay, I get it, Arceus," Pyrose raised his claws above his head and Verdant stifled her protests. "I never said we're definitely going to go, but… you guys get me when I say I want to go, right?"

They all nodded. He sighed. "I've been left without answers for so, SO long."

They all watched him as he slouched forwards, a claw twiddling with a blade of grass. March stood up and walked over to him, placing a hand on Pyrose's shoulder. They made eye contact.

"Listen, buddy, we've been in this for years, I'm not gonna let you down now. I have your back, and we'll do what we need to do." The corner of Pyrose's mouth twitched upwards.

"Thanks, March."

March flashed him a warm smile. "We're all with you. But we gotta make sure we, and especially you, don't get hurt again while doing all of this. We're veterans, not rookies, we know how to prepare for thin–"

A shrill, high-pitched whistling noise pierced through the air, tearing through everyone's ears and making them all, with the exceptions of Polare and Alakazam, clutch at their heads in pain and annoyance.

"Ow, what the–"

Team Go-Getters.

They all looked around them and upwards at the sky. The voice didn't seem to come from anywhere, and just echoed around the clearing. Alakazam tilted his head. "Is… something the matter?"

Your help is urgently needed.

"What–"

"BZZT, IT IS XATU, BZZT."

The metal one is correct. Heroes, you are needed on the Grass Continent.

"What for?" Verdant asked.

A catastrophe nears. I fear it may be worse than the one that was dealt with many years ago.

"Worse than–"

The falling star, yes. I await you on the Grass Continent.

"Xatu, wait, what's the catastrophe?" March yelled, looking up at the sky as though Xatu was up there somehow. "Xatu! XATU CAN YOU HEAR ME?"

Silence.

Pyrose sighed. "And I thought I'd never have to hear that old bird's voice again."

"BZZT, IT APPEARS THAT SOMETHING TERRIBLE IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN, BZZT."

"No kidding, and Xatu won't tell us."

Verdant opened her mouth, then closed it. "I was about to ask if we knew if Xatu was even right or not, but the last time he did this he was definitely right."

Alakazam tilted his head. "I presume Xatu has a foreboding warning?"

Pyrose sighed and leaned back. "Catastrophe worst than 'the last one.'"

Alakazam's eyes narrowed, mustache quivering slightly. "That is… not good news. Xatu is known for both his reservation and prophetic accuracy. He does not give warnings heedlessly."

"So… do we just HAVE to go to the Grass Continent now?" March asked, crossing his arms. "Xatu can just summon us whenever he wants?"

"We're a world-renowned team, it's an occupational hazard." Pyrose shrugged, slumping forwards and scowling slightly. "I'm just worried about how this could possibly be worse than the comet."

Verdant shuddered. "I have a very bad feeling about this–"

"Of course you do," Pyrose cut her off, "it's a warning from the world's greatest prophet saying that it'll be a world-ending event even more dangerous than the previous, literally world-ending event. That we didn't even stop ourselves, we just woke up some big green snake to blast the thing for us."

March humphed. "Didn't even do that good of a job of it, remember Meteor Cave?"

Polare made a whirring sound and narrowed their eyes. "BZZT, DO NOT REMIND US, BZZT."

"So, what now?" Verdant asked. "The Teleport Gem is right there–"

"We answer Xatu's call." Pyrose stood up, eyes set and solemn. "Whatever this other world is, it can wait. Ours is more important."

Alakazam nodded. "I… do not enjoy the sound of this at all. But I applaud your lack of hesitance, Go-Getters. You are all truly the heroes people make you out to be."

March fidgeted uncomfortably. "I wouldn't say that. It's just our responsibility."

Pyrose sighed. "We're numb to it at this point."

"BZZT, THAT IS WHAT REGULAR DUNGEON EXPLORATION DOES TO A POKÉMON, BZZT."

"Shut it Polare."

Polare emitted a metallic scratching sound, almost like laughter.

Pyrose inhaled deeply, shaking it off. "Whatever, let's… let's grab our bags. Get some items, you know. The lot."

"I will await further news," Alakazam said. "I return to Pokémon Square, contact me if I am required."

"Sure."

Pyrose watched as the Teleport Gem floated out from within Alakazam's fist, raised itself in the air, and slowly crossed the gap between himself and the wisened leader of Team ACT. He reached out a claw and grasped it, feeling its hard edges press slightly into his scales.

"Best of luck."

With a barely audible blipping sound, Alakazam disappeared, teleporting away and leaving Go-Getters to themselves. The team grumbled amongst themselves about this new predicament, and they all walked back towards the base, knowing that, whatever lied ahead, it would not be pleasant. Such was the risk of being a rescue team.

But Pyrose stayed behind, standing on the grass. Xatu's warning rang clear in his head, but as he stared at his open palm, the Teleport Gem pulsating a vibrant green, his own doubts and words festered at the back of his mind. Xatu's warning had reminded him of Sky Tower, of their last battle, of his journey with his friends, of… of how he had been a chosen here for a destiny that he did not understand.

He was the human. The leader. The one who was in charge, and knew everything, because it was his job to know everything so that he could command his partners on missions.

But he didn't know about his past. It evaded him still.

He gripped the Gem in his claw, teeth gritted, feeling its jagged edges dig into his scales.

I… I don't want the world to end… But I just want to know… I want some time for myself to figure things out… to figure out who I was…

"I…"

The Gem flashed once. He did not notice.

The Gem flashed twice. The tears refracted the light, and he barely saw it.

The Gem flashed three times. He glanced at his fist, and realized what was happening.

"PYROSE!"

He looked up, light seeping out from within his curled claw and nearly enveloping his arm. His team was running towards him, shock and desperation written across their faces as the Teleport Gem grew brighter and brighter. Verdant was the closest, and she leapt for him, her arm stretching to reach him. March reached his hand out, but he was too far back.

He tried to move his arm, uncurl his fingers to drop it, but he couldn't.

Verdant touched his hand.

And all went white.