Chapter 2: Meeting


Dialga quickly learned four things about the time-branded child.

The first was the boy's name; Lucas. Mesprit held a soft spot for anyone living within the area of Lake Verity, particularly those from the small town called Twinleaf. She was all too eager to tell Dialga about him once her anger had subsided.

( Mesprit had actually told him much more than just the boy's name, but Dialga cared little for what else she said. Why should he know that the boy's first Pokemon was a Turtwig, or of his four years living in Johto? Such were meaningless details for the matter at hand. )

Second, Lucas did not seem to have any memory related to the Red Chain. Surely there would be an added sense of urgency in his actions if he had. A disappointment...but perhaps that was for the best. Dialga wished to know how to prevent the Unraveling of this timeline, but not at the cost of a human's sanity. There were some boundaries that he was not willing to cross.

The third thing - perhaps the cause of the boy's partial amnesia - was that that he had latent Aura abilities. At least, they were latent. Roar of Time must have awakened that ability within him. The mental backlash from such an awakening must have been harsh, so Dialga ultimately could not fault him for losing those memories (not that he was going to do so anyway).

The fourth - and the most concerning - was that Lucas had trouble adjusting to his newfound ability. Dialga half-suspected this much when he flinched at their presence the other day. As time passed, it grew more obvious that Lucas had no way to stop the mental onslaught of light and color that came to the newly awakened.

Not to say that it was impossible for someone to teach themself how to manage this ability. Dialga would not be this concerned if the boy had the resources to do so. The problem was that resources had become woefully scarce in recent centuries. To his knowledge, the only place a human could actually find anything concerning Aura was a small island that was closer to Kanto than Sinnoh. (Or, was it closer to Hoenn than Sinnoh...?) Did the boy even know that it was Aura he was sensing?

The point was this; if Lucas was to be of any help, it would not do for him to struggle with Aura. It would be impossible to turn his ability off now that it had been awakened, but at the very least he needed to learn how to manage it.

What to do about it, was the question.


"I don't know why you're asking me this," Mesprit huffed, when Dialga told her as much. "You're the one who feels responsible for what happened to Lucas."

The Lord of Time chose to ignore Mesprit's quip (as accurate as it was), because that wasn't the point. "You're the one who has known him for most of his life. He doesn't even know that Roar of Time is what struck him that day. Unless you told him?"

"I don't see why I should. Don't you think you should be the one who tells him that?"

"Doesn't he-?" Dialga cut himself off when it occurred to him. "...He doesn't know you're Mesprit, does he?"

"He suspects it, but you know how humans can be. Always finding their way out of common sense," the Spirit of Emotion giggled. "Whether he does or not is fine by me. I know I can trust him and his little friends. But I still need to be careful, you know?"

With a sigh, Dialga looked out over the expanse of Lake Verity. He knew that most humans would be asleep at this time of night, so there was no chance that someone would walk into the area. Even so, Dialga chose to visit in his human form; he was a careful creature to the very end, and he knew there were always exceptions when it came to humanity. (Rei was the one who taught him that.)

From what he gathered in his observations, the lake had become a popular year-round attraction for visitors; ideal for swimming in the summer and ice-skating in the winter. It was certainly a peaceful spot, the source of many a happy memory. Perhaps this was why Mesprit was so fond of those living in the Twinleaf area; the lake had become vital to their way of life, and vice versa.

If nothing was done about it, this entire place - and the entire world with it - would unravel into oblivion.

His train of thought was interrupted by a rustling in the grass. Dialga looked over and was surprised to see an Eevee making its way towards the edge of the water. Those haven't been found in the wild here for centuries...what was one doing here now?

Curiously, Dialga approached the little Pokemon and picked it up. The Normal-type squeaked, but did not struggle. In fact, she seemed to enjoy being lifted into the air. What a strange little Eevee.

(So this is what it's like to be tall!) she exclaimed, looking out over the horizon. She tilted her head to look behind her with a happy chirp. (Thanks!)

Dialga couldn't help smiling. There was no way for her to tell that he actually wasn't human, was there? That she was talking to him like he could understand likely indicated her youth - she must have been hatched no more than a month ago.

"Well, you better figure out what you're gonna say real quick," Mesprit suddenly said, a mischevious smile on her face. "Because he's coming here right now. Probably looking for that Eevee you got there~!"

Mesprit's words immediately got Dialga's attention, and he nearly dropped the Eevee. "What?!"


Lucas was actually relieved to be out here at night. The lab was starting to get a little unbearable, but he couldn't bring himself to leave without a good reason. One of the Pokemon slipping out of an open door was about as good a reason as he could get. As if that wasn't enough, it just happened to be an Eevee; one of many that Professor Rowan brought back from Kanto.

While it was on Lucas' mind, he should probably let someone know he was gone. So he got his phone and typed as he walked. He had his Turtwig with him just in case, but anything can happen.

Lucas (22:49): Hey Dad, letting you know that one of the Eevees escaped. Looks like someone left the window open?

Lucas (22:49): I just slipped out of the lab to look for it. I took Kale with me.

Dad (22:50): That's good to hear, thanks for the update.

Dad (22:53): The one that escaped is named Blair; she's the more relaxed one of the group, she shouldn't give you a hard time. Let me know if anything comes up, though.

Lucas (22:53): I will. Thanks.

With that out of the way, Lucas continued his search for the little Eevee. The more he explored the route, the more he felt like he should go to Lake Verity to look. It felt like a tugging in the back of his mind telling him to go there. He didn't know how long it had been since the Eevee escaped, how did he know she wasn't in Lake Verity? It couldn't hurt to look, right?

Besides, it might be as good a time as any to look into his suspicion regarding the legend of the lake.

He did see something in the distance as he entered the lake - what looked like a person. Shining the flashlight on him revealed that he held an Eevee in his hands.

"No way. Blair?" Lucas called, incredulous. The Eevee, completely unfazed by anything happening around her, gave a happy chirp in response. Lucas jogged over, getting more and more wary of the stranger holding her. Aside from him being one of the more intimidating people Lucas had ever seen (was he wearing an eyepatch?!), he almost hurt to look at. If it wasn't nighttime right now, he felt like he'd be blinded right now.

That wasn't even getting into how there was something about the stranger that he found almost familiar.

Mercifully, the stranger handed the Eevee back to him without question. Lucas accepted her instantly, looking her over for any injuries. It was only when the Eevee leaned forward to lick Lucas' cheek that he was assured of her safety.

"Thank you," Lucas said, taking a few steps away from the stranger. He still made sure that Blair was comfy in his hold. Better to not risk her running off again. "She belongs to Professor Rowan. He just came back from Kanto, and brought some Eevees here with him. There'd have been real trouble if I couldn't get her back."

"It's no trouble," the stranger responded. Huh...from someone with such an intense impression, there was an almost awkward vibe that Lucas got from him. Was he a recluse or something? As if he could read Lucas' mind, the stranger continued, "I was merely caught off-guard. Eevees are rather rare creatures."

"Yeah," Lucas said as he ventured another glance at the stranger. Even if it made his head hurt, he was curious. Twinleaf isn't a town that often gets new people; the last time anyone moved into the town was when he and his father moved back from Johto. Could anyone really blame him for being curious?

"Can't say I've seen you around," he spoke up. "Are you visiting a relative?"

"...You could say that," the stranger responded. After a pause, he continued, "I just finished speaking with her, actually. She was telling me about a friend of hers that got hurt recently. Or something among those lines, I wasn't paying attention. Do you know anything about that?"

Lucas flinched. Of course the town would still be fixated on that. He loved Twinleaf, he really did...but did a small town really have to hang onto gossip the way it did? It had been a week since it happened, and he would much rather forget about it.

The stranger must have noticed Lucas' response and connected the dots, because he said, "I apologize if I said something unpleasant."

"Yeah, well...that person you're talking about was actually me," Lucas admitted. "I'd rather not think about that so soon."

Especially since it didn't feel like an attack so much as a freak accident. Lucas remembered there weren't any Pokemon in the area that could have caused what happened; one moment everything was fine, the next he felt an indescribable pain on his right arm. He didn't even remember anything that happened immediately after the impact. The next thing he remembered after that impact was waking up in the hospital.

The most unsettling part was how he recovered like nothing had happened. Physically, there was a scar on his arm from whatever it was that happened to him. There was his photosensitivity as well, although there was more to it than what his father was able to pick up. Sensitivity to light was one thing, but Lucas had no idea how to explain how he was starting to see colors emanating from everything and everyone.

Nor could he figure out why he found himself wanting to divulge that to a total stranger. It could be the fact that they were in Lake Verity of all places - the lake always helped him feel somewhat at ease.

His thoughts were broken when he felt vibrating in his pocket. Right, he had to get back to the lab! Balancing Blair on one arm and grabbing his phone with his free hand, he was able to check his messages and type.

Dad (23:05): Did you find her yet?

Lucas (23:05): Yeah. I managed to find her in Lake Verity. I'm heading back now.

Dad (23:05): Great! Thanks so much, Lucas.

Dad (23:06): You can go home after you drop Blair off, if you want.

Letting out a relieved sigh, Lucas pocketed his phone and nodded at the stranger. "Thanks again for your help. I gotta get her back to the Lab."

"Of course. Good night." It was only when Lucas turned to leave that the stranger spoke up again; "Wait."

Lucas turned back, curious. The stranger pursed his lips before speaking up; "Take care of yourself. It's common for people in your situation to start seeing Auras - light and color that surrounds every living thing."

"How did you-?" Lucas cut himself off. This guy...was he a psychic or something? Whatever he was, he clearly knew about what it was Lucas had been seeing...so the word for that was 'Aura'? He'd have to look into that in his spare time. "Um. Okay. Thanks for your advice. Have a good night."

With a nod, Lucas turned and left the lake. As he made his way towards Sandgem, he glanced down at the little Eevee in his arms. To his surprise, she wasn't asleep; she just looked up at him curiously. Was she awake that whole time?

"Hey, Blair," he asked her. "That guy we just met. What do you make of him?"

Blair hummed before letting out a happy chirp. Lucas snorted, a smile on his face. If there was one thing he learned from helping Professor Rowan and his dad, it was that you can tell a lot about a person by how Pokemon feel about them. While Blair was still rather young, that probably made her approval all the more genuine.

"I think so too," he responded. "He's a little intense...but if he was willing to help me out, he can't be all bad. Right?"

Blair nodded, letting out a happy cry. Lucas nodded and started to jog back to Sandgem.

The sooner he got Blair back to the lab, the sooner he could go home and look into this 'Aura' stuff.