Chapter 18 - Aftermath

The silence that permeated through the entry hall of the Rescue Society headquarters was heavy enough that one could feel it. It was a deafening silence. The kind that makes time seem to move more slowly. Eight guildmembers, the guildmaster, and a shiny Buizel all stood or sat in the room at a loss for words. All of them were looking in complete and abject confusion at Rico the Riolu, who was quite literally the centre of attention.

"Wh-what?" Terry said, finally breaking the silence. He gave the Riolu a wry smile and chuckled. "What's that s'posed to mean, you goof?"

Rico's expression didn't change. He was still looking down at the Eevee with a look of bewilderment, and he appeared to be uncomfortable within his embrace. "Um…"

"C'mon, quit foolin' around," Terry said, "Aren't you hungry after your big adventure?" He then leaned in to give Rico a peck on the lips.

"Whoa!" Rico exclaimed, pulling back from the kiss with wide eyes, "Okay, hold up. Time out. Seriously, who are you?" This caused the Eevee to look up at him in confusion and Rico added, "I dunno where you're from where it's cool to just go up to random strangers and kiss them like that. I mean, I'm flattered and all…You're kinda cute, but what the heck dude?"

The other guildmembers all started to share glances of concern about Rico's behaviour. A lot of them looked to Sparks, as if he had the answers, but he could only offer back an equally perplexed look.

"Rico, what…?" Terry murmured in bewilderment. His smile was gone and his frown had returned.

"Can you…stop hugging me please?" Rico stated firmly, "Y'know…Personal space?"

"But- But I…"

Rico started looking around at his colleagues helplessly. "Seriously, does anybody know who this is? What's he doing here? Is he a new recruit, or a client?"

Terry used one of his paws to push Rico gently but firmly on his chest. "Rico, stop it!" he said, looking concerned, "This isn't funny. I was really worried about you, Rico. Stop joking around."

But Rico only looked down at Terry with that same bewildered, uncomfortable expression and said nothing more.

Sparks was growing more concerned by the second. Rico was a bit of a jokester, but this wasn't like him at all. It especially wasn't like him to joke like this with Terry, of all Pokémon. He decided to step forwards and speak. "Rico?" he said, grabbing the Riolu's attention. Sparks paused for a moment, struggling with the absurdity of what was happening, and decided to simply say with a gesture of his paw, "This is Terry."

Rico looked up at him in utter incomprehension.

"…Your mate?" Sparks pressed after a couple seconds.

Again, Rico's eyes went wide. "'Mate'?!" he blurted, "The hell are you talking about? I don't have a mate! I've never had a mate…"

The silence from earlier was nothing compared to what happened a second later, after a few Pokémon gasped in shock. Everyone stared hard at Rico, each of the guildmembers surrounding him wearing shocked, even appalled looks.

"…What?" Rico said in confusion.

A small whimper could be heard, drawing everyone's attention back to Terry. Sparks' heart immediately shattered when he saw the Eevee's expression. His lip was quivering, he was clearly on the verge of tears, and the frown he wore painted a picture that words could never do justice. Ears splayed back, the Eevee just looked up silently at Rico for a couple seconds. His paws quivered on Rico's shoulders, and before long tears started welling up in the corners of his eyes.

Then, with a sudden cry of anguish, Terry pushed Rico away and bolted for the door to the common room. Through the open door he went, sniffling and gasping as he went, and ran directly towards the dorm rooms.

"Terry!" Kona called out as he gave chase, "Terry wait up!" The Dewott ran off to the dorms after him.

Sparks immediately turned on Rico and glared at him. The others followed suit. Rico held up his forelimbs in confusion and indignation and exclaimed, "What?"

"Rico, this had better not be some stupid joke because I swear to Arceus if it is…" Sparks growled.

"It's not!" he retorted, "I'm serious! I have no idea who the hell that was! I've never seen that Eevee before in my life!"

"What are you talking about?!" Carmen butted in, "That was your best friend, your lifelong companion, your guild teammate and your mate!"

Rico wilted slightly under the guildmaster's glare. "Huh? What're you…? Is this some kind of prank you guys are pulling on me or something?"

"I could ask you the same question…"

"I have legitimately never seen that Eevee before," Rico replied resolutely, "I didn't know who he was when he came in, I didn't know his name until you guys said something, and I have no idea how he even knew my name. I wanna know why he's hugging and kissing me like that!"

"He's your future mate!" Sparks yelled.

"Why do you keep saying that?" Rico replied indignantly.

"For crying out loud, he was wearing the engagement bangle you gave him! It was around his paw, clear as day."

Rico just looked up at Sparks, incomprehension colouring his expression. "I have…no idea what you're talking about…" he said in a calm, serious tone, "I don't have a mate. I haven't proposed to anyone. I've never given anyone an engagement bangle. I'm kinda young for that, aren't I?"

Sparks sputtered for a second. He was still recovering from the insanity that had just taken place at the park, and now there was this insanity. "What…" he muttered, "What are you talking about? Seriously, what is this? You can't be serious. Pokémon don't just one day suddenly forget their-"

But Sparks' words died in mid-sentence. Rico had turned back to look at Carmen, who was still glaring down at him with her forelimbs crossed. In doing so, Sparks got a clear look at the slightly blackened patch of fur on Rico's head. His eyes grew wide and speculation started to circle in his mind. That couldn't be the cause of this…Could it?

Carmen had started arguing with Rico again, but Sparks stepped in and held up his paws. "Wait, wait, wait," he interjected, "Wait, stop. Shut up for a second."

"What?" Carmen replied, incensed.

"Just hang on for a minute," he said to her. He then stepped directly in front of Rico and grasped the Riolu's chin, tilting his head up so he was looking directly into Sparks' eyes. "How's your head?"

"What? My head? It's fine. Doesn't hurt or anything."

"Are you sure?" Sparks asked. He reached out with his other paw and gingerly brushed against the charred spot.

"Yeah," Rico replied. He didn't react in pain or discomfort from Sparks' paw at all. After a moment he said, "Cut it out, that tickles!"

Sparks wasn't convinced. He stepped back and gave a look to everyone, ending with Carmen. "Rico got zapped by that thing," he said, "Of all of us, he was the only one who got hurt by it."

"What're you saying?" Carmen asked, looking confused.

"I'm not sure…" Sparks then turned back to look at Rico and asked, "You're absolutely serious about this? You don't remember Terry? At all?"

Rico looked right up at him, right in the eye, and calmly said, "No."

A little shiver ran up Sparks' spine. Over the years, he had gotten really good at determining when Pokémon were telling a lie, especially if there was solid eye contact. Rico was not.

"What?" Carmen asked, "Do you think he has amnesia?"

"Well, no. I don't think so… Rico, what's your birthday?"

"Huh? June 16th," the Riolu replied in confusion.

"Where were you born?"

"In Lively Town. We moved out here when I was five."

"What about what schools you went to?" Sparks asked, and Rico answered the correct names of his elementary, middle and high schools. Sparks skewed his lips for a moment in thought and then asked, "Now tell us about how you became part of this guild."

"Uh…Okay," Rico replied, "Ever since I was in high school, I thought it would be so great to become a guildmember. I remember being annoyed that I had to finish school before you guys would let me in. Then, like just a month or two after I graduated, I put in my application and the rest is history."

Now everyone was just staring at Rico, giving him strange looks. That was the exact series of events that had taken place, and Sparks knew it because Rico told this story often, only Terry was missing from the story now.

"I…don't believe it…" Sparks murmured.

"Sparks, you can't be serious…" Carmen interjected, "Are you really trying to say a zap in the head from this creature made Rico specifically forget about Terry and nothing else?"

"Rico," Sparks addressed the Riolu, ignoring Carmen for the moment, "What about the day a bunch of us went out this winter when the snow was falling at night? Remember, we went up on that ridge near the edge of the city?"

"Oh yeah," Rico nodded, "Of course I remember that. That was a great night."

"Yeah?"

"Sure, yeah! It was awesome. A really magical night. The snow and the low light, and the way everything looked under the fresh snowfall. I was really glad a bunch of you guys came along with me so we could see the sights and experience that night together."

"What about why we went up on the ridge?" Sparks pressed.

"Well, that was kinda the main reason I wanted to go out in the first place…"

Sparks' eyes widened in surprise. "Yes?"

"Yeah, because I wanted to see the city in the distance under the evening snow. From there, it looked really beautiful."

What followed was a brief silence. Sparks' ears fell back down and he deflated slightly. "That's…That's all?" he asked.

"I guess so. Why?"

Sparks held a paw to his forehead and broke eye contact. "Rico, that was the night you proposed…"

An even longer, heavier bout of silence filled the room. Sparks felt his headache getting worse. Too much was happening and he couldn't handle it all. Too many impossible things were occurring. Glancing around at the other guildmembers, it seemed like most of them were at a loss for words as well.

"…Sparks?"

He turned to look at Rico upon hearing his uncharacteristically quiet voice. "Hm?"

"You're…serious about this?" he asked softly, "I'm…I-I'm engaged to someone? And I've…forgotten them?"

"Hey!" an exhausted-sounding voice called out. Sparks looked over towards the guild's front doors, which hadn't been shut after Terry had burst through them. A lightly panting Audino was standing in the doorway looking in. "I'm sorry! I got back here as fast as I could."

"Kandice…" Sparks murmured in a half-hearted attempt at a greeting.

She jogged over towards them. "So what happened? What's the issue?"

Sparks just gave her a wide-eyed look and said, "By Arceus' good graces, where do I start?"

Thankfully, before he could be saddled with the monumental task of explaining what had just transpired, Kandice noticed the charred patch on Rico's fur and poured all her attention into examining it. Carmen and the others stepped in to help fill her in.

That's when Sparks heard a quiet little whimper. He looked up towards its source and saw Ziggy, still sitting on that nearby bench, with his paws covering his mouth. He looked embarrassed.

"S-sorry…" he murmured.

"Oh…" Sparks sighed and walked over to where the Buizel was sitting. "Sorry, Zig. I forgot about you for a moment. A lot of…wild stuff just happened…"

Ziggy was looking over at Rico anxiously. Sparks noticed that Ziggy looked very nervous and uncomfortable. The tense situation had definitely shaken the Buizel, who had already been shaken by the incident at the park. It looked like Ziggy'd had just about enough for the day.

"Do you wanna go to your room?" Sparks asked, "I can bring you food later if you just wanna hide in your room for the rest of the day. I understand if that's what you want. No worries."

"Mnn…" Ziggy just quietly nodded.

"All right, let's go."

Sparks told the others that he was taking Ziggy to his room and would be right back. If Ziggy was okay in his room, Sparks didn't plan on staying there. He had a feeling his presence would be needed with the others for a long while, maybe even the entire rest of the day.

Ziggy held onto Sparks' paw as they entered the empty common room, like a cub holding his parent's paw. Sparks felt awful for how badly things had gone today. It was a lot for a struggling anxious young Pokémon like him to take in, even if parts of it had nothing to do with him.

Sparks led Ziggy through the door to the dorms and made his way the short distance over to Ziggy's bedroom door. He was about to open it with his badge when he realized he could hear something. It sounded like sniffling or quiet weeping, so Sparks instinctively turned back to look at Ziggy. However, even though he was distressed, Ziggy wasn't crying. Furthermore, his confused expression revealed that he heard it too. Sparks looked around for a moment before he realized what it was they were hearing.

The door to Terry's room was slightly ajar. It hadn't been fully shut. It didn't take a genius to realize who it was that was crying. Sparks found himself listening for a moment, and the sniffling grew louder and more upset. A few seconds later he heard quiet sobbing. Sparks' heart broke in two.

"Why…?" a shuddering voice drifted from within. Though a far cry from the Eevee's usual bright, upbeat personality, Sparks could tell it was Terry's voice.

"Hm?" a second voice replied. Sparks recalled that Kona had followed Terry in earlier.

"Why is Rico saying all those mean things…?"

There was a noticeable pregnant pause before Kona said anything. "I…I don't…"

"Why is he saying awful things like that…? I-It's n-not like him…"

"Terry…"

"Does…D-does he…not want to be my mate anymore…? I-Is that it?"

Sparks felt his heart break into even more tiny pieces. He knew he shouldn't be eavesdropping like this but he simply couldn't pull himself away. Seeing Terry run away crying had been one thing, but hearing him now was a thousand times worse.

"What…" Terry whimpered, "What did I do? What did I do wrong…?"

"Terry, c'mon. Whatever this is, it's not your fault. You didn't do anything."

"Why does he…h-hate me now…?"

"He doesn't hate you! Stop it, Terry…"

Terry didn't say anything else and just devolved into more sobbing. Sparks hoped that Kona was giving him a nice comforting hug. This wasn't right. It just wasn't right. Whatever was going on, it had to be fixed. Poor Terry didn't deserve to go through something like this.

Sparks glanced back at Ziggy, and he saw the Buizel had been listening too. Ziggy was on the verge of tears as well.

"C'mon…" Sparks whispered, "Into your room now, okay? We'll talk later…"


Sparks was up early.

Well, perhaps 'up early' was a misnomer. Waking up early implies that one had actually gotten any sleep the previous night. Just looking at Sparks, sitting at the table with his paw on his forehead, a miserable expression on his face, and a half-empty cup of coffee in front of him, was enough evidence that this wasn't the case.

Sparks wasn't sure he had gotten any sleep at all. Yesterday had been completely insane. There was no other word to describe it. Sparks could honestly say his world had been flipped on its head. The events in the park had left him shaken and mystified, and then there was the whole mess with Rico afterwards.

Kandice had examined Rico and his injury, but had determined that she couldn't find anything immediately wrong with him besides charred fur. He didn't have any burn marks on the skin underneath, he didn't have a concussion or any other head injuries that she could tell, and by almost all accounts he was acting normally. As far as she was concerned, he had a perfect bill of health.

Following that, Sparks had subjected the poor Riolu to a grueling interrogation. Sparks had quizzed Rico on everything he could possibly think of about Rico's life. Everything from his cubhood to his days in school, all the way through guild training to the present day. Rico could remember it all. Everything he said matched up with official records or anecdotes he had told in the past.

Except that Terry was missing. It was almost astounding to see. Any event that had involved Terry simply had the Eevee erased from the picture in Rico's mind. Their first spelunking mission, the first big mission the two had gone on together, had been explained by Rico as a solo mission. Terry had almost fallen down a crevice during that mission and Rico had pulled him back up, but that aspect was missing from Rico's retelling. Rico fully believed that he had gone into that cave alone.

Which didn't even make sense. No guild would ever send a new recruit into a cave alone.

Rico didn't even remember going out to buy his engagement bangle for Terry. That entire event was wiped clean from his memory. He only remembered going to the market for some shopping.

Sparks grumbled and took another sip of coffee. They hadn't been able to get much further than that because soon after the press showed up at the front gates. That had been an entire nightmare in itself trying to keep them from storming the building like they owned the place. Carmen had recruited Sparks to try and answer some of the more burning questions, but eventually she had been forced to shut the gates early and wasn't planning on reopening them until after the morning briefing today.

It was an absolute mess, and Sparks' head was still spinning. He had tossed and turned all night. Thinking about the weird creature they had seen, worrying about the ramifications of it, getting anxious about what would or will happen when it reappears, and suffering through endless questions in his mind about what the heck had happened to Rico.

Maybe he had gotten to sleep a couple of times for less than an hour. That didn't help much, though, because that just led into the nightmares. Those, at least, he was familiar with.

Sparks glanced down at the table in front of him. The early morning newspaper was sitting there. As he had expected, the front page was dominated by a photograph of Edwards Memorial Park from the ridge up above, showing the creature floating up towards the portal that had ultimately taken it away. It was from a fair distance away, but the creature could still be easily seen in the photo. It would be hard to question its authenticity.

"Mystery creature invades Radiant City Park" proclaimed the headline in huge, bold letters. It was one of the biggest, most prominent headlines Sparks had ever seen in a newspaper, though that was hardly surprising. How often did aliens visit Radiant City, after all?

The caption under the picture read, "Photograph taken by local resident from Obsidian Ridge. Creature visible above the centre of the park, alongside unknown portal-like anomaly". There was also a note that the story was continued on pages two and three.

Sparks hadn't read the story yet. He wasn't sure he even wanted to, and could only hope it wasn't over-sensationalized. The press would be back once Carmen opened the gates to get a more full, in-depth story from the Pokémon who had been there and saw everything first-paw. Unfortunately, Sparks was one of those Pokémon.

The weary Raichu took another sip of coffee, wincing as it went down to his troubled stomach. He was so worn down that the rejuvenating coffee seemed to have no effect on him. He was up so early that nobody else was awake. It was strangely quiet in the common room, like a sound even quieter than silence. It was the eye of the storm, calm for the moment but the storm had not yet passed by.

Only one other Pokémon was awake, likely because he hadn't gotten any sleep either. Sparks glanced over at Terry, who was sitting opposite and just down the table from him. Terry didn't have any coffee or food in front of him. He was simply sitting there with a thousand-yard stare, quiet and unmoving.

Sparks wanted to say something to him. He'd wanted to since Terry had first walked into the room. But, he couldn't think of what to say. Sparks was only grateful that the press would probably leave him alone, since he wasn't at the scene of the incident.

Sighing again, Sparks rubbed his forehead. Food would possibly make him feel better, but Liz wouldn't even be awake for another hour and a half. That's just how early it was. Breakfast was almost two hours away at this point.

Sparks' ears twitched at the sound of a door opening. It was the door to the dorms behind him. Sparks checked over his shoulder to see who the heck was crazy enough to be up at this hour besides him.

It was Terry who spoke, though. "Rico…!"

The Riolu stood quietly in the doorframe, looking back and forth between the two other Pokémon. He seemed really tired as well, though likely not anywhere as close as Sparks and Terry were. "Uh…Hey…" he said quietly.

"G'morn…" Sparks murmured in reply. He looked back at Terry, and winced when he saw the conflicted expression on the Eevee's face. The Riolu's mere appearance had churned tons of emotions up within him in a matter of seconds.

"Um…You mind if I sit down?" Rico asked, re-drawing Sparks' attention.

"S-sure…" Terry muttered.

Sparks watched as Rico moved into the room, and slowly walked over to the long table. He held one of his paws on his opposite limb, looking around awkwardly as he went. There was a palpable tension that could be felt already. It seemed like it took forever for Rico to sit down across from where Terry was.

"Uh…So…" Rico murmured, rubbing the back of his head and glancing away, "I guess…I guess we should talk…Right?"

"Talk…?" Terry whispered. Sparks could just hear the tenuous optimism in Terry's voice, like he was hoping with every word out of Rico's mouth that everything would be fixed and go back to normal.

"Do you guys want me to go?" Sparks asked, "I can go sit somewhere else if you want some privacy…"

"No," Rico answered, "No, it's fine Sparks. You can stay."

Sparks gave him a skeptical look and asked, "Are you sure?"

"Yeah…" he said with a nod, "Yeah, I think…I dunno. Maybe it's important for somebody else to hear this…"

There was a brief silence, and then Sparks simply nodded and said, "Okay."

Rico then turned back to face Terry, whose expression hadn't yet changed. After another moment of silence, he furrowed his brow and rubbed his paws together awkwardly. "So, uh…" he muttered, "So...I've been told that, apparently...we are a couple."

There was a visible twitch in Terry's expression. "Y-yeah…"

"And…when that thing touched me yesterday…I forgot it all."

Terry's ears drooped. "So…I-It's true…?" he whispered in a shaky voice. Sparks looked empathetically at the Eevee, wondering how long he had cried last night without knowing the full truth of what had happened.

Rico nodded. "It's true… I have…no memory of you. When you ran in yesterday, it was like…to me, the first time ever seeing you."

Another dagger ripped into Sparks' heart when he saw tears forming in Terry's eyes, though he didn't start crying. "Y-you don't remember…anything?" he asked pleadingly.

"No. Sorry…" Rico frowned and shook his head.

Terry's lip quivered and tears started to stream down his cheeks. He was trying his best to keep from bursting into sobs, but it was clearly an uphill battle.

"Oh gosh…" Rico said, seeing how distressed Terry was becoming, "But, like, I can see…I can tell that everything they've told me is true. You know? I don't remember any of it, but…obviously we must have been close. Especially with how upset you are right now, not to mention how mad everybody was at me yesterday when they thought I was joking…"

There was another pregnant pause. Rico ended up glancing down and noticing Terry's bangle. "Did I really buy that for you?" he asked.

Terry glanced down at the bangle as well, and then nodded. "Uh huh…"

"Heh…" Rico said with a little smile, "That was really nice of me…"

"Mnnn…" the Eevee groaned, a few more tears running down his face. "I…I just don't know what to think of this…" he said, still clearly trying to hold back tears.

"I know. Me too," Rico said in a decidedly calmer tone.

"Can…C-can this be fixed?" Terry asked hopefully.

"Well…" Rico said with an apologetic frown, "Kandy's gonna send me to see a neurologist, but she didn't sound hopeful. She said she was pretty sure I didn't have amnesia specifically. Like, I'm not showing traits associated with amnesia, so she's not sure a neurologist will be able to help much."

Terry simply bit his lip and glanced away.

"…I'm sorry," Rico said, "I hate to see how upset this makes everyone. It's hard for me, though, because from my perspective I didn't even do anything, y'know?"

What followed was the longest period of silence thus far. Terry was once again looking off into space, struggling with the thousands of thoughts in his head, while Rico just looked uncomfortable and unsure. Sparks wanted to help, but he couldn't think of a single thing to say. The situation was just too alien.

"So, what do we do…?"

Rico's ears perked and he looked over at Terry. "What?"

Terry looked up at him with tear-stained eyes and repeated himself. "What do we do now?"

"Uh…I honestly don't know…" Rico admitted.

"We were going to be mates…"

Rico sucked in a breath through his teeth and rubbed his paws awkwardly again. "Yeah…"

Terry looked up at Rico silently for a moment. Neither said anything for a few seconds, and then Terry suddenly stood up on the bench on his hind paws and leaned on the table with his forepaws to get closer to Rico. He looked right into Rico's eyes with an expression that Sparks could only describe as 'searching'. Rico looked back at him unflinchingly.

Eventually, after some more silence, Terry's ears perked up a bit. "You know what?" he said, his voice less shaky and more resolute, "It's okay. It'll be okay."

"Huh?" Rico said, "What do you mean?"

"We can get through this," Terry said, sounding more determined.

While Rico didn't seem hesitant or unconvinced, neither did he seem optimistic. "How do you mean, exactly?"

"You're still you," Terry said plainly, "You're still Rico. You're the same Pokémon you were before. The same Pokémon that woke up and had breakfast with me yesterday." Terry closed his eyes for a moment and added in a quieter voice, "You're still the Rico I fell in love with."

The faintest hint of a rosy blush appeared on Rico's cheeks, though Sparks wasn't sure if it was affection or embarrassment. "All right…" he said slowly.

"We'll just…have to start over a bit," Terry said, "We'll get to know each other again. We'll start dating again for a little bit. Just because you forgot about me doesn't mean that who you are as a Pokémon has changed. The Riolu I know who fell in love with me, who proposed to me, is still there. He's sitting right in front of me…and I still love him."

A little smile began to tug at the ends of Terry's lips. "It might take a bit of time," he said in a softer voice, "But that love will come back. I'm sure of it… We were a team, Rico. We were such an amazing team that we decided to spend the rest of our lives together. Nothing can change that. Not even getting your memory wiped."

Rico glanced over at Sparks. His expression was pretty neutral, not offering much of a window into the Riolu's thoughts.

"What do you say?" Terry said, recapturing his attention, "Let me show you the amazing relationship you had with your boyfriend?"

A few seconds passed without an answer from Rico, and Sparks subconsciously held his breath. If Rico said no, Terry would be absolutely devastated. That was just about the last thing in the world Sparks wanted to happen.

Thankfully though, Rico eventually offered Terry a gentle smile and said, "Sure. I don't see any harm in giving it a try, at least. You are pretty cute, I have to admit."

A heartwarming smile slowly grew on Terry's muzzle. "Y-yeah? Great! Okay, then! I'm so glad to hear that. I was really scared…"

"Maybe don't rush right into things, though," Sparks said. When the two turned to look at him, he added, "If I may interject, I mean. Sorry. Just, like, don't go out on a date right away today or tomorrow. This was a big…thing that's happened. Might want to let the dust settle a bit."

"I was actually going to suggest that as well," Rico said with a nod.

At first, Terry didn't seem keen on the idea. But his expression softened after a moment and he nodded in understanding. "Okay…"

Rico turned back to Terry and said, "Try to cheer up, okay? I'm sure things will work out."

Terry looked into Rico's eyes, and a gentle smile graced his expression. Sparks could still see the lovestruck Eevee buried under all the pain and turmoil.

The door suddenly burst open. Carmen marched in, a miserable expression on her face and her fur all frazzled. For the first time that Sparks could remember, Carmen actually looked overworked.

"Not to be insensitive or anything," Sparks said to the young couple, "but we do have a few more important things to worry about right now…"

Terry looked troubled by this, but he did nod in agreement. "That thing…"

Carmen marched right over to the table and practically slammed her forepaws onto it, staring right into the Raichu's eyes. "Sparks," she stated plainly.

"Yes, ma'am?"

"…" Carmen just stood there silently for a moment. She then quite simply swore and said nothing more.

"…I agree, ma'am," Sparks remarked.

"This is going to be a long day," Carmen groaned, holding a paw to her forehead, "A long, long, long, long day…"


"Scientists and Poképologists have given the creature a tentative name; Nihilego."

The common room was full. Every member of the active team was there, plus Sparks, Ziggy, Carmen, and a few other members of the guild. All were crowded around the table, either sitting or standing, while Kona stood at the far end. He was presently reading from a copy of the evening newspaper.

As everyone had predicted, reporters had flooded the front gates of the guild as soon as Carmen had opened it. She refused to allow anyone into the guild itself and only let them occupy the courtyard. Since she did administrative work so often, Sparks sometimes forgot just how forceful and commanding Carmen could be. Despite the frantic nature of the media, few challenged her rule of not setting paw inside.

Carmen had also agreed that everyone who was present at the site of the incident, besides Ziggy, be interviewed by the press. Sparks and his friends had tried their best to re-tell what they had seen. They lost count of how many times they said "I don't know" to a reporter's question. The only thing they left out of their story was what happened to Rico.

Now much later in the day, and the evening edition of the paper had been hastily delivered. With the information gathered from the guildmembers, as well as other bystanders who had seen the creature from a distance, a nearly five-page story had been printed out.

"Nihilego?" Jules repeated in confusion.

"That's kind of clever…" Danika remarked. When everyone looked at her, she clarified by saying, "It's based off a really old, archaic phrase that means 'I am nothing'. So like, because we know nothing about it, that's the name they went with…"

"As the creature was only briefly seen and has not since reappeared," Kona continued, "Experts have little to go on aside from eyewitness reports. At this point in time, it is still unknown if the creature is a Pokémon, or something else entirely. There are no clear photographs of the creature, but visual descriptions by eyewitnesses are all consistent.

"The Rescue Society reports that the creature manifested out of what appeared to be a portal floating in midair. It appeared in the central lawns of Edwards Memorial Park while the park was closed for a cleanup operation. Rescue Society guildmember Raz reported that attempts were made to hold the creature off, but these were mostly fruitless and the creature seemed to attack unprovoked. However, guildmaster Carmen also reported that no Pokémon were injured during the event besides a single member who suffered a sprained leg."

Sparks didn't quite know how to feel about hearing his name in the newspaper in such a context. He had been featured in some smaller stories in the papers before for some of his guild work, but never anything like this.

"Assuming the creature is indeed a Pokémon, it is not known at this point exactly what type of Pokémon it is. Guildmembers present at the incident could only confirm that it was likely the creature was partially Electric-Type, due to a powerful electromagnetic field it emanated. Charred tree trunks could be found in the park where the creature impacted them. Suggestions from other guildmembers include it possibly being Poison, Fire, or Rock-Type. It was not seen using any known Pokémon Moves."

As Kona read, Sparks took a moment to glance around at the other guildmembers. Everybody seemed to share the same expression; a mix of uneasiness and intrigue.

"'This is an extremely unexpected but certainly not unprecedented event,' said Dr. Konala Hilo, noted researcher at Juiji Laboratories- Wait, Dr. Hilo?"

"They interviewed Dr. Hilo?" Danika remarked in surprise.

"Apparently…" Kona confirmed, "Jiuji Labs, right? It's the same guy?"

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised," Danika said, "His company specializes in 'strange' things. I think this qualifies…"

Kona cleared his throat and continued where he'd left off. "…noted researcher at Jiuji Laboratories, who was nearby and witnessed the event. He went on to say, 'There is no way that any of us can be sure that our current registry of Pokémon species is absolute. The planet, and the universe itself, is vast and at the end of the day, not even the most intelligent scientist in the world can claim to know everything. It has always been a possibility that there are Pokémon, or creatures out there that we do not yet know about. Yesterday seems to have proven this fact to us.'

"Reliable information at this stage is scarce. Since its brief appearance in Edwards Memorial Park, there have been no further sightings of the creature within Radiant City. Experts are still unsure exactly how it appeared and how it departed, so quickly and without a trace. The guildmembers involved in the incident reported that attempts were made to communicate with the creature, but it did not respond, so it is possible the creature may not even speak the Pokémon language. Both Mayor Amichay and Guildmaster Carmen have released statements, which are featured on the following page."

"Don't bother reading mine," Carmen quipped, "It's just about the most diplomatically fluffy way I could think of to say 'I don't know crap'." Sparks couldn't help but chuckle at her bluntness.

"For the moment, authorities are considering this an isolated incident. The creature has thus far only appeared for a few minutes and has not since returned, and there is no obvious evidence that it will appear again. As such, police are urging the public not to panic or be terribly concerned, and encourage everyone to go about their daily lives. However, they also warn that if the creature does reappear, then members of the public are urged to stay away, do not approach, do not attempt to engage or communicate, and to contact either police or the Rescue Society as soon as possible. No attempts should be made to interact with this creature; its abilities are unknown and it is believed to be extremely dangerous."

Kona put the paper down into his lap and looked around at the others. "Wooow…" was all he could say.

There was silence at first, as it seemed nobody could think of what to say. There was an unsettling air to the whole room. This was without a doubt the biggest event that had happened to any of them, or to Radiant City itself.

"So…" Javier was the one to speak up, "…What now?"

"What now?" Sparks repeated.

"Yeah," Terry chimed in nervously, "What're we supposed to do now?" Sparks glanced over at the Eevee, and his heart sank again. Terry was sitting by himself; Rico was a number of seats down from him.

Sparks then glanced at Carmen to see if she had an answer, but found that she was looking at him as well. Suddenly Sparks could feel all eyes on him. Why was everybody expecting him to come up with an answer? Just because he was the oldest?

"…Well," he finally said, after giving it some thought, "Nothing, I guess…"

"Nothing?" a few Pokémon blurted out.

"Well, what can we do? And I don't just mean us, but what can any Pokémon do? Nothing, really… We know what happened, we're all aware of it, and we documented it as best we could. But that creature vanished into thin air, basically. It's not around anymore, and it's entirely possible it won't come back. Ever."

"Really?" Carmen remarked.

"I have no idea… But really, there's nothing we can do until it shows up again, if it shows up again. It's not like we can go chasing after it or anything, right?"

"So, what?" Danika asked, "We're all just supposed to go back to our normal lives? How're we supposed to do that after…this just happened…?"

"Come on," Sparks retorted, "This isn't the first time in history that something beyond our comprehension has happened. Hundreds of years ago, some of the most famous guild teams in history have dealt with planet-threatening destruction from Pokémon and forces no-one had ever seen before."

"You believe those old stories?" Jules asked with a hint of skepticism.

"You don't?" Sparks shot right back.

"Sparks has a point," Carmen interjected, "Worrying about this all day and night isn't going to accomplish anything, especially if we have no evidence to suggest it will return. At the end of the day, the Rescue Society still has an important job to do, and we're going to keep doing it. Right?" She was met with a chorus of agreement.

"But…What about…?" Kona asked, and then trailed off. He was looking over in the general direction of Rico. Sparks could tell what the unasked question was. Rico and Terry met each other's gazes for a moment, and then glanced away awkwardly.

"We're…looking into it," Kandice answered.

"Do you really think," Akash asked, "that this was caused by that creature…or did this just happen because of the head trauma?"

"I don't know. We're looking into it," Kandice repeated a bit testily.

"Guys," Sparks cut in, "A little decorum, okay? We already know to not let that thing touch us if it comes back, so we all just have to wait and see, right?"

As everyone muttered quietly in agreement, Rico just looked off into space awkwardly. Terry, on the other paw, looked distressed.

After a brief moment of silence, Carmen spoke up again. "Well," she said, "That's that, I suppose. Kona will leave the paper there on the table if anybody wants to read it, and we have a few more copies in the entry hall. Please don't tear them to shreds fighting over them... And, well…get a good night's sleep for tomorrow. Like I said, we've still got a job to do."

A round of "Yes, Guildmaster" swept through the crowd.

"U-um…!" a voice squeaked.

Sparks looked over at Ziggy, who had raised his voice just loud enough to be heard. To his surprise, the Buizel was holding up his paw as if he were a cub in elementary school. "Uh…Yes, Ziggy?"

Ziggy blushed profusely, both from his outburst and the sudden set of everyone's eyes on him. "Umm…" he murmured, "I was just wondering…" He trailed off, wilting under everybody's gaze.

"Go ahead, Ziggy," Sparks encouraged him, "What's your question?"

"What if…?" Ziggy muttered. He then gulped and asked, a tad more definitively, "What if it's actually friendly, even though it's dangerous and it can hurt by touching you, but we don't know 'cus it can't talk?"

Sparks and the other guildmembers shared a glance. It was clear that he and most of them shared the same thoughts. "Buddy," he replied, "I don't think that thing was acting very friendly. It seemed aggressive in the park, didn't it?"

Ziggy gulped and wilted again. "I…I dunno…I was hiding in the bush…"

"It's okay, bud," Sparks said, giving Ziggy a pat on the head, "We just don't know, and won't know unless it shows up again. Don't worry, we're not just gonna attack it on sight. We'll still only fight against it if self-defence is necessary."

"Okay…"

"For now," Sparks continued, "We'll just do our best to go back to normal. That goes for you too, alright? You've been doing so well lately by tagging along with us on jobs."

There was a small chorus of agreement from the other members, many of which had worked alongside Ziggy recently.

He blushed a little and said, "Th-thanks…"


"Hey, Danika…"

The Sneasel in question wandered over and sat next to Sparks on the couch. "Hey yourself."

"Life is strange, isn't it?"

Danika sighed wistfully, nibbling on the after-dinner scone she was holding. "Sometimes I realize…just how much different things were before. Even just going back to last summer. Ziggy wasn't here yet, Daisuke was just retiring, you and I were still trying to figure out the mysterious rock…"

"Oh, yeah!" Sparks sat up suddenly, "With everything that happened I totally forgot to ask. Did Dr. Hilo come and take it?"

Danika nodded. "Yeah. He came really early, actually. He was ahead of schedule. I probably could have even come down to the park and joined you guys, but Carmen had some other chores for me."

"Eh, well, you didn't miss much…" Sparks wryly joked. Then in a more serious voice, he said, "So it's gone then? Off to some other experts to try and crack the mystery?"

"Yup. But hey, at least you and I will be privy to the information once Jiuji discovers anything. I was gettin' tired of the dumb thing taking up space anyway."

"Mmm…" Sparks murmured. There was a brief pause between the two. "You know," he then spoke up, "I was carrying that thing with me when I first met Ziggy."

"What?"

"It was that day you sent me over to the government office because they wanted some official pictures of it for their records, remember?"

"Oh, that's right…" Danika remarked, "…Wait. That means…"

"Yeah, Ziggy tried to steal it from me."

"Sparks! Dear Arceus, you never told me that! Do you have any idea how bad it would've been if Ziggy had-"

"Hey, hey, Dani! Relax! It all worked out in the end, didn't it?"

Danika skewed her lips. "That's a loaded question and you know it."

Sparks chuckled and shrugged. It took him a moment to realize it had been the first time he had laughed in quite a while, with all of the crazy stuff that had just happened. "I love this guild," he remarked, "I love all of you guys. Even when the world changed and everything we knew got turned on its head, being with you guys makes everything feel all right."

"You ol' softie…" Danika teased. She then added, "It's good we managed to keep Ziggy here, hm? I know he definitely feels the same way about us that you do."

"I'm gonna make him the guild mascot."

"Sparks, no! He would hate that!"

Snickering, Sparks said, "I'm just kidding…But yeah, you're right…He was in a pretty bad spot, but…he's come quite a ways back up. Compared to the incident in the market, he doesn't seem quite as shaken up by this. After the marketplace, he didn't want to set paw outside for weeks, but I have a feeling that's not gonna be the case this time. I mean, besides the…What was it called again?"

"Nihilego?"

"Yeah, that. Besides the Nihilego, he really seemed to have fun joining us on that mission…and all the other ones. If it weren't for his social anxiety, y'know…"

Danika nodded as she finished off the last of her scone. "I feel optimistic about him…"

"Yeah. Me too."

The two fell silent for a moment. Sparks noticed that Danika was looking at something and followed her gaze. He found that she was looking at Terry, who had been sitting at the table nearby and was now walking towards the door leading to the front hall. He stepped through it a moment later, leaving the common room behind.

"Him, though…" Danika added apprehensively.

Sparks cringed a little and bit his lip. "Yeah..."

"I don't think what's happened to them has really set in for most of us," Danika commented.

"I can't even imagine what poor Terry is going through…and Rico's kind of just caught in the middle. If I was in either of their paws, I'm not sure what I'd do…"

Danika looked over at him with a frown. "Do you think they'll be okay?" she asked, "With their relationship?"

Sparks sighed and said, "I honestly don't know. This is not a 'normal' thing. There's not a lot of precedent here."

"They said they were going to try, though…Right?"

"Yeah, there's that at least…"

Danika sighed as well. "I hope we can help him…Do something to fix what happened to Rico. Seeing those two fall apart would be a real tragedy…"