Kept ya waiting, huh?

NeoShadows, back in action, baby!

Same old, same old. Work be crushing me, had some family drama erupt just recently, and life keeps trying really hard to kick me down. But I have recently noticed I've been writing a whole lot more. The mojo's been going really strong as of late and I'm just hoping to keep it going some more.

Now, we've reached the climax of the Index Arc as a whole! Fucking finally! It's been, what? 2-3 years since Chapter 1's release? Sweet Christ, how'd you all do it?

As this is the big climatic ending, we will be saying goodbye to this little Arc with the Epilogue now in the works. That one should be released a lot quicker than the rest, considering it won't be anything big in length like 20-30K. It will also detail and hint to what's to come next. More to be explained in the closing AN. Along with other important tidbits of information ya might want to know about. After all, you could have already read this chapter yesterday. I know a few did.

How? Early access. Again, I'll explain more at the end.

For now, get to reading to your heart's content. Kept you all waiting for long enough, so scroll away!


Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to A Certain Magical Index or Pokemon. All rights are reserved to Kazuma Kamachi and Game freak.


Ch.13: Systems Above Humanity.

DEARLY_Departed_Smile.

[-]

As always, the morning news was a welcomed distraction for many adults like Komoe.

"-ince the defeat of the criminal organization made up of Skill-Outs; Toxic Hazard, the Level-3 facility has made significant progress in repairing the damage dealt by the terrorists and is believed to be back open to the public come the end of the week. Several questions still remain in the wake of the terrorist attack on Kokyu Tower's facilities, especially as to the whereabouts of its leader and how a group of Level-0s could stage such an attack that would cripple a facility commonly known to educate and grow Level-3s and their Pokemon. Level Toxin, a mysterious and deadly noxious cocktail of toxins of an unknown chemical compound, was discovered in the chaos and is now known to be the main biological weapon employed by what was previously seen as a small time splinter gang of Skill-Out, has been labeled by the Board of Directors as an illegal biological weapon after heavy discussions as to the toxins discovery. Among the topics discussed during the three-day conference of Academy City's governing board, certain curious rumors have arisen."

A set of fluffy gray ears flickered at the sound of a ceramic set down in front of them. A black nose twitched and a set of red and ghostly blue eyes suddenly honed in on the bowl of kibble mixed with odd mushed meat for flavor.

Kizuato, the stray and wild Poochyena with a scarred ghostly right eye, licked his lips as he rose up from his warm seat. With a small wag of his tail, he hopped off the human bed known as Kamijou Touma and quickly dove into his breakfast with gusto. Being a dog of the urban streets, he scarfed down his food with quick and large vicious bites that sent bits of his meal flying like sputtering oil on a hot skillet. Such eating habits could only ever be found on the likes of the Snorlax family...and Index.

Another bowl was set aside for another freeloader of Komoe's, placed right by the side of a sleeping Index who rested on her own futon shuffled close by the still unconscious and bandaged Touma. The Pokefood was reserved for the ever-watchful and stoic bird of misfortune, Zenchou the Murkrow.

Unlike Kizuato the Pup, the bird remained on his spot: perched by the head of the sleeping fairy-like Index like a guard dog Pokemon.

Blood-red eyes glanced at the food and scoffed.

He couldn't communicate with humans...other than a certain oddball he knew. But he would believe that the short little girl with the Jigglypuff hair would understand that he didn't eat that mass-produced garbage full of vitamins and nutrients called food. Sure, it tasted fine and all but it was still dry pellets for Arceus sake. What was he? Some human pet like that stupid mutt who claimed the stomach of his enemy/comrade-at-arms like it was some cushy bed?

Nothing beats the taste of wriggly, live, and squirming fish like Magikarps and Goldeens.

If he was peckish then he would leave this cramped box that smelled like cheap beer and smoke, and steal a hot meal from some hapless student or take a dive for a meal from a river close by.

It just so happened that he hadn't felt hungry to leave in the past few days since the tiny woman had dragged a bloody and beaten idiot back to her home.

Blood-red eyes grew bored at the pushy tiny woman trying to get him to eat and went back to the magic box of moving pictures to take his mind off things. A woman in her mid-twenties wearing a creamy pink blouse that showed off her upper body lines, dark hair tied back in a stylish ponytail that probably reached her lower back, and a broad and professional smile(was she missing a tooth in her front teeth? Did humans find that cute?) spoke from a desk regaling the latest news to the bored humans of this steel and plastic city.

Like Komoe, Zenchou wanted a distraction away from the heavily bandaged body lying in the center of the room.

"Landlocked since its founding 30+ years ago, Academy City has all but been rejected requests from many prominent figures in the Pokemon world, including various Champions who have expressed eagerness to explore the unique city region. Tourism is all but nonexistent and only families of students, and exclusive VIP individuals, have the privilege of entering its borders: all with the city's consent and a lengthy interview process that can take an entire week just to complete. As a region locked away from the world, known to be entirely focused on the academics of its students, technology, Pokemon research, and its infamous Power Curriculum Program, it is one of the incredibly few regions in all of the world that has strayed from joining the Pokemon Associations open invitation to establish its own league due to privacy restraints. But among all the rumors spread around since the governing board had gathered suddenly at the command of its Head Chairman, it is the thought of Academy City opening its borders for tourism!"

"Tourism?"

Weird word. Not even the intellectual Zenchou understood what it meant. Must have meant something significant since the Jigglypuff-haired brat-not-brat's mouth turned into an O as she minded herself in the corner of the room. Several warm and soft blankets were piled in a mound, concealing something from his eye.

Considering what was snuggled in the warm cocoon, he was surprised the tiny lady hadn't asked him to sit on it.

"Where the sudden rumor slipped from is a mystery but the very idea of even the smallest possibility of Academy City cracking its borders open is enough to get its citizens buzzing in excitement like a swarm of Beedrills! It's all just speculation but it is enough for several public stocks to rise in various trade markets."

Boring. Random percentages began to fill the screen of the magical box, causing the malicious bird to lose interest fast.

Human matters were of little interest to such a malevolent Pokemon who enjoyed observing others suffer bad luck. Especially in a city that all but denied the superstitious world outside of their steel and plastic cage. Zenchou couldn't help but roll his eyes at such arrogant and smug so-called facts. Even if he called such a blissfully ignorant land his home, it didn't mean he accepted such nonsense as a being whose very nature had sprouted from a malicious and unseen nature.

Especially when there existed a child ass unfortunate and unlucky as Kamijou Touma.

Blood-red eyes once again wandered over to the sleeping boy. He observed how the bandaged-faced boy's chest rose, slowly but calmly, his face peaceful despite all the blood previously found painting his body as if by a childish Smeargle.

Science could not explain the type of troubles such a dumb-ass constantly wandered into by mere chance. Whether it was going out to pick up his remedial work, buying eggs, or even relaxing with a nice lunch, all many of disasters would ignite with his mere presence. It didn't matter how safe the environment was, how little 'oil' there was, how normal or calm it was.

By merely stepping foot onto the scene, logic would be twisted and turned on its head like a Trick Room.

The disaster ignited by the spark of misfortune known as Kamijou Touma ranged by severity and nature.

There were ridiculous disasters that brought Zenchou to laugh to the point of tears.

There were baffling disasters that would cause Zenchou to tilt his head with scrutiny and leave him hard-pressed to explain.

There were impressive disasters that Zenchou would whistle in amazement at how the boy would not only stumble upon them but walk out of like it were perfectly normal.

There were stupid disasters that would cause Zenchou to smack his forehead alongside the sound of the boy being smacked in the face by what was typically a female human.

And then there were violent and tragic disasters that Zenchou would find were pungent with the aroma of blood and the scent of tears.

Such disasters were truly the worst kind he had the displeasure of coming across.

Those illogical fires roaring with human malice and tragedy burning ever so fierce that not even Fire-types could escape from being burned. A special type of fire born only in a forest of steel and plastic. A manufactured blaze the likes only humans could create without the aid of Pokemon or supernatural powers. Disasters that burned ever so softy yet so viciously that they burned straight to the core of a being.

Science could not explain how such a normal, naive, idiotic, and far too kind child so easily wandered into such fires.

Kamijou Touma wasn't a hero. He had no proper sense of justice in his heart. He lacked the proper ideals to desire wanting to take up arms to eliminate the silent evils of this forest of steel and plastic. Even if his life thus far could be described as tragic and unfair, he never once used them as an excuse to play the savior. Despite having all the reasons in the world to play either the hero or villain, walked a different path.

Once again, because of his tendency to stumble upon such illogical disasters, that soft human had been burned. To the extent, that he couldn't move a finger and had his bloody body dragged out of the flames by a mere pup.

Zenchou scowled at the mere memory of the Jigglypuff-haired woman and her Magmar bursting into the room with the beaten boy in their arms. He had gotten the full story from the battered-furred Poochyena(referred to by the spiky idiot as Kizuato for his scar) after the pup had recovered his strength.

Strange Unknown symbols, an entire street filled with a warding pressure that sent a shiver down one's back, a woman whose very aura screamed Legendary, and a battle-scarred street littered with stains of blood with a spiky boy collapsed in the middle with numerous wounds.

The spiky idiot had left his teacher's home to take a bath. Zenchou had been beside him with the fairy aura Sister, bickered with the idiot, laughed with him, and had run away with the Sister in a game with the idiot when he had said something stupid. They had been having fun.

Even though the idiot still held regrets. Even though the idiot was still sad. Even though the idiot was still angry. Even though the boy's eyes were still lacking their normal naive shine.

That human child with the aura of Dark had been smiling after overcoming another illogical disaster that had threatened to consume both humans and Pokemon in a malicious blaze.

Blood-red eyes grew softly.

It never did end, huh?

Why was it now, after observing and interacting with such a miserable and lonely child for years, did Zenchou realized Kamijou Touma was truly unfortunate?

What did it mean when an existence like Zenchou, who was amused by human misfortune and superstition, found himself pitying the incarnate of such guilty pleasures?

Oftentimes, he had found himself invading that idiot's world. Occasionally, he would lend a feathered wing to assist the idiot when those disasters he charged into were too much to handle on his own. Though he had no reason to, Zenchou would find himself aiding that one human whenever he felt the need to.

Each and every time, at the end of the disaster, once the blaze died down, Zenchou would depart.

He was a Wild Pokemon. Untamed, boundless, unshackled, rebellious, and free. He answered to no man. He obeyed no one and decided for himself what he wanted to do. Unlike other Pokemon, he was on the other side of the spectrum as a wild beast who had no need for humans to survive or find meaning in their existence.

Pokeballs were prisons. Cages. Uncomfortable balls of steel designed by humans to control Pokemon for their own deeds.

Zenchou would never find himself popped and crammed into such lousy trinkets.

He wasn't anyone's 'partner'. He would never listen to the orders of a human.

But…

Somewhere, deep in the heart of that malevolent trickster who cackled with tears at the misfortune of others, laid a glimmer of something innocent. Said glimmer grew bright at the sight of that lonely child of misfortune who had, once again, leaped into the heart of another illogical disaster all by his lonesome.

If...if that idiotic spiky-haired loser had someone, a Pokemon, by his side, would he have struggled so much or been left a bloody mess?

What if Zenchou had been by the boy's side? What if he had been there from the start of his days?

Those miserable kindergarten days.

Those boring days of constant misfortune.

Those days spent in back alley fights in order to search for something to cling to besides misery and loneliness.

Those days he had come across a fluffy-haired middle schooler who was just as miserable and lonely as him.

Those grieving days that led to the meeting of a starry-eyed honey-blond girl who shared the same broken gaze as him.

Those forgotten days that had left him with a gaping hole in his chest and lamenting his growing violent talents.

Those days before that lonely child had stepped foot into the forest of steel and plastic to escape a world that all but despised him for the dark aura he spread wherever he walked.

Zenchou refused to admit it.

But deep, deep, deep below his selfish core, that innocent glimmer thumped at the small thought: What if he had been there from the start and followed that idiot's first steps as his Pokemon?

These past few days had taken their toll on that human child who was better suited as a Dark-type. Zenchou had been there from the beginning and seen how much those disasters had caused the boy to start stumbling. And this time, it had nearly been too much.

He found he didn't like it.

He despised the very thought of that idiotic human who would occasionally sit down with him during his miserable days, talk to him, bicker with him, fight with him, and share treats with him, all with that naive smile on his boring face, suddenly turning up dead in some random street corner in a pool of his own blood.

"Ruff!"

Blood-red eyes glanced at a moist black nose peeking at the corner of his vision. Zenchou blinked, finding the Poochyena pup wander back over, climb over the sleeping high school boy, and stand over his chest. It seemed the dumb mutt grew curious at his staring.

Zenchou scoffed at the drooling pup.

"Caw."

What do you want, idiot?

Kizuato the Poochyena waged his tail and barked happily.

Is he going to wake up soon? I wanna play!

How old was this pup? Was playing all he thought about? Was this similar to a dog Pokemon bringing back its broken toy to its owner to be fixed? Did the Dark-type pup only think about the human as a plaything that he wanted to rough up again?

Why was Zenchou even growing irritated at the idea? What did he care?

"Caw, caw, caw."

Does he look like he's in any shape to play? Why are you still here? Shoo, go play outside and shit somewhere else, you lousy brat.

"Grr, ruff! Ruff!"

I can't leave! What if that weird lady comes back? I can't let my human get hurt again. I have to protect him!

Zenchou quirked a brow at the possessive tone in the pup's voice.

A conversation between Dark-types was heard, a talk the confused Komoe could only wonder what was about as she watched with curiosity beside the exasperated Oni the Magmar who was feeding a sniffling Cubone like a father to their daughter.

Your human? Pfft! Aren't you like me? A 'Wild Pokemon'? What do you care if the idiot gets hurt? Isn't he just your chew toy?

Mine! He's my human! No one is allowed to hurt my human! So, I'm going to protect him. That way, we can go back to playing again!

He really is just a toy to you then?

My human. Who cares what you think he is? He plays with me, eats with me, fights with me, and talks with me! That makes him mine. And I won't let anyone else ruin my fun!

Zenchou felt irked by that child's words.

They were alike then. Wild Dark-types who had come across a lonely boy of misfortune who constantly found themselves invading his everyday life. Both found the high school boy a constant in their everyday life despite not being called either a friend or a companion nor could they be seen as mere acquaintances.

Unlike Zenchou though, the pup selfishly proclaimed the spiky boy belonged to him. Whether he meant as a possession or a friend, he wasn't sure even the Poochyena known as Kizuato knew or understood the difference. All the child understood was that something that belonged in his ordinary and happy life had been damaged, and was in danger of being lost.

Such a proclamation; why did it irk him?

Isn't that why you're here?

Even the human, Komoe, noticed the abrupt silence.

Zenchou was at a loss for words. Something clearly wanted to escape his beak but had found itself stuck in his throat like a still wriggling Magikarp he had swallowed.

Question: Why was he still here?

As a Wild Pokemon, what did he care if some boring human lived or died? Not like he cared. It wasn't any of his business and he wouldn't lose sleep if he came across a dying human or Pokemon and decided to fly away. Dark-types were notorious for being malicious and cruel.

The disasters the idiot involved himself in had nothing to do with him. Whether a good or bad ending was reached didn't matter to him. Those bizarre blazes wouldn't threaten his everyday life or cause anything to change if they grew out of control.

Logically speaking, what reason did Zenchou have to stick around any longer?

...That wriggling sensation in the middle of his throat once again threatened to surface and spill out of his beak.

"It's okay."

Zenchou's body jumped a bit as he felt a hand reach out and pat his head. Startled, he glared at the person responsible for surprising him.

It was the fairy aura Sister: Index. Had she been awake this whole time? Was he that intently focused on the bedridden idiot?

Could...could she have understood what they were talking about? No, not even those weird magical papers she had apparently memorized could help her understand Pokemon speech; right? Seriously, what a strange human.

"You don't have to say it. I might not completely understand you two like Touma somehow does but I understand: I don't want to lose him either."

I don't want to lose him either.

Was that really how he felt? Was it so simple that even a dumb pup could selfishly say it without missing a beat?

As a Wild Pokemon, had he any right to think such a thought?

The soft and gentle hand brushing his feathers suddenly grew weak. Pale white fingers fell away as green eyes fluttered.

"Sister!"

With hurried footsteps, the short woman rushed over as the sweating-faced Sister suddenly collapsed back on the futon next to the sleeping Touma. The girl's breathing grew labored and her face twisted in pain to some unseen affliction. It was as if she was struck by a disease the likes of Academy City couldn't diagnose.

Zenchou watched with a concerned gaze as Komoe gently eased the fairy girl back into her own futon, cleaned the sweat from her paling face, and placed a wet towel her Magmar handed her on the child's forehead. The pup dubbed Kizuato quickly moved off of Touma to lick at the poor girl's face with a worried whine at the human who had only recently come to know.

Ever since the spiky idiot had been dragged back a bloody mess, the fairy girl had been suffering from these random attacks of weakness similar to fevers. She would be fine for a bit for, like a Pokemon inflicted with a bad case of Poison, she would collapse and lose her breath. It was occurring far too frequently to be normal or some passing sickness; they seemed to be getting worse with each passing day.

When was the last time since they returned from the baths that Index was able to stand on her own power for more than a few minutes?

No matter how much the adult-child woman fretted over the heavily breathing and grimacing girl, her condition wasn't improving. The medicine she had bought to relieve pain wasn't doing any good. At this point, would a doctor like that frog-faced man do any good? Was that why the two humans hadn't been taken to the hospital? What had the fairy child said? Something about their attackers striking the moment they left?

A heavily beaten idiot and a sickly Sister.

"Arooooo."

The childish Kizuato continued to lick the weak child.

What a worthless action. They were Dark-types; since when could such considered Evil-types heal?

The silver-haired smiled weakly at the lousy pup, almost as if his licks were actually doing some good for her health.

...At least the girl's face wasn't twisted in discomfort anymore.

Not much later did the Sister fall back to sleep. Zenchou spotted a hot plate of eggs, bacon, rice, and toast settled close by to the girl: it was untouched. The very hungry didn't even have the strength to eat now?

Dark foreboding feathers bristled at the growing cold meal. He couldn't help but glare at what should have been a licked-clean plate where not even a crumb would be left.

"I'm sorry but sensei has to leave. Class is starting soon and I can't keep missing out without drawing suspicion from the likes of Yomikawa-chan. Don't worry though! I'll be back as soon as school is over! And I'll stop by the convenience store with a tasty treat for you two, okay!"

Blood-red eyes didn't budge from that infuriating full plate as Komoe began to make her way to the door. He could hear it in the tiny woman's voice; that smile was strained and struggling to stay strong too. Like always, Kizuato left the futon to see off the kind woman with a wag of his tail, beaming as the devilish Pokemon, Oni, patted his head.

Zenchou refused to budge an inch from his post. But he felt those gentle pinkish-red eyes fall on him as she spoke before leaving.

"Please, continue watching over Kamijou-chan and Index-chan, Zenchou-chan and Kizuato-chan! Oh, and also the little one too! Sensei trusts you to protect them in her absence."

With the ever-stern Magmar following behind the tiny woman like some kind of bodyguard, the door to the cramped home shut with a click.

Protect, huh?

Zenchou found such trust to be amusing and snorted as he stretched his wings yet refused to move away from his spot between the two children.

Since when did Wild Pokemon protect humans? Wasn't it the opposite? Seriously, wasn't she supposed to be an adult? Shouldn't she have been kicking them both out with a broom or a command of her scary Pokemon? What reason did two rebellious and sinister beasts have to do what a human asked of them in caring for lousy humans?

"Arf!"

Scrapping could be heard close by and it wasn't until Zenchou looked away from the two children that he realized Kizuato had nudged a bowl of coffee-colored Pokemon food by his feet. The naive pup sat by, his face attempting to come off as stern and serious despite the fact the idiot was wagging his tail with his tongue out.

Eat. You need your strength too! How else are we going to protect them?

A click of a tongue was heard by the annoyed bird of misfortune.

Growling could be heard but not from the naive pup.

A sigh was heard.

Exasperated at the look of expectation and wanting the Poochyena to leave him be, Zenchou lifted his talons and dragged the bowl of manufactured pellets closer to his side. Several large bites were taken; not one pellet of the nutritious and kinda good tasting dry food was dropped. He only ate every crumb because he didn't want the pup to annoy him for another second.

That's all.

Admittedly empty stomach full, Zenchou licked his beak of his meal and went back to…

Exactly what was he doing? What was the point of this? He blinked, unsure and confused as he stared at the faces of the spiky-haired boy and silver-haired nun at the feet of his talons.

The naive pup was here, so what was the point of Zenchou standing guard like some Stoutland? Couldn't he just leave?

A strange inner conflict raged in the unsure Dark-type who always acted selfishly to his desires. That wriggling pressure in his throat continued to thrash for freedom.

Kizuato nodded in satisfaction and wandered back to his rightful spot: Kamijou Touma's stomach. As if he always belonged there, the scarred-eye pup nuzzled his chin on the boy's stomach, careful to mind his bandages, and yawned tiredly. All the while he kept his eyes facing the door with a glare.

Zenchou's talon feet shuffled tiredly. He'd been on his feet for who knows how long.

Blood-red eyes wandered over to the sleeping nun, noticing her face beginning to twist in discomfort.

...He flapped his wings and hopped over to her bedside. Carefully, he walked over to her small stomach, spotted a few long strands of hair over her sweaty face, used his beak to fix her hair, and even fixed her cool towel back onto her forehead, and nodded simply. Without the hair over her face, Index calmed down and her lips revealed a small smile.

Doing his job, Zenchou turned his back to the girl and decided he could take a load off. He settled himself on the girl's stomach and laid his head down with a snort as he suddenly found the girl's hand searching for his head. Seemed she was the type of girl who liked petting something in her sleep: be it a plush doll or a Pokemon.

"Ruuufff!"

"Caw."

Zenchou refused to meet the pleased gaze of the stupid pup as he kept his blood-red eyes on the door.

Smug little bastard. No, this did not mean he cared or thought of them as his humans!

It's just...it would be a pain in his ass if something happened to them is all. Besides, they had fed him, so it was only, you know, right that he repay the favor. This Zenchou-san was a gentleman after all. Just because he was a Wild Dark-type didn't mean he was a complete asshole who would abandon a couple of beaten and sick children to be attacked.

Zenchou was just doing what he felt like; he was still being a selfish bastard who only thought of himself. Nothing had changed.

Nothing at all.

[-]

They weren't dreams, not in the slightest.

Nightmares plagued him even in his sleep as if spurned by the demon of darkness, Darkrai.

Kamijou Touma found himself watching a series of random images flashing before him. Scenes of long ago haunted him and tore at his heart without mercy that he was sure he would have collapsed on his knees and cried.

Long ago Kamijou Touma had been your average, normal...

"Freak."

"Absol pest."

"Walking calamity."

"Curse."

Long ago, Kamijou Touma had yearned to be average and normal in a small superstitious world.

A normal child with dark hair that fell close to his eyebrows, dark blue eyes, and covered with the occasional bandage or band-aid on his face stood in the center of a typical small town in Johto. Alone, left to himself by a wary crowd of both humans and Pokemon like some Electrode ready to explode at the slightest sound.

The town had nothing special to distinguish it from Golden Rod City or Ecruteak City, it wasn't remotely close to any large city for its citizens to travel to for fun, and like most of its region, it continued to cling to those old and dusty traditions and beliefs instead of modernizing with the rest of the world's pace of evolution. Shrines to mythical Pokemon could be found for worship to a Silver Beast who governed over the Soul and a Golden Beast who governed over the Heart, traditional attire was still worn as if it had never lost its appeal, festivals to Johto's Legendary and Mythical Pokemon were still held every season, and other than computers, cellphones, homes, and Pokemon Centers, it seemed it would forever remain rooted in the past.

He had been born in a small town refusing to keep up with the rest of the world as it continued to evolve and evolve. Born in a world that wholeheartedly believes in the myths and legends of almighty beasts who controlled the world as it spun and governed over those unseen aspects of their everyday life like gods. Superstitions such as noticing a Murkrow while on your walk home from the corner of your eye spelled misfortune and ill-tidings were seen as fact rather than mere fiction.

Yes, a boy who was born devoid of any fortunes and commonly found disasters wherever he walked, small or large, had once lived there.

All around that normal child, he found dark silhouettes surrounding him like twisted shadows cast by barren trees. Clothing, hair styles, age, gender, none of those features came up through the miasma-like shrouds they exuded. It felt like he was no longer in a town but a witch's forest; lost and alone.

Even though he couldn't see their faces, he could still feel them.

Glares, scowls, sneers, disgust, fear, suspicion, and distrust.

The little boy who appeared perfectly normal other than the bandages on his face shrunk beneath the clear disdain and malice of humans who stared at him as if he were some vile beast.

As if he were a-

"God of Pestilence."

A boy lost his human shape, torn to shreds by human malice, and found their form molded into a beast of calamity.

An Absol cowered to human malice.

Long ago, before the likes of Academy City had become his home, the human Absol had lived a cursed life. Feared to spread ruin and disaster no differently than the old myths of an infamous Dark-type he was seen as. A bringer of misfortune whose every footstep was seen as spreading salt over the land to prevent fortune and miracles from growing. Inhuman. A terrible god utilizing the trickery of Zorua's to disguise themselves as human to better spread ruin to all those who brought him into their land.

Humans and Pokemon alike despised him, kept him at arm's length, feared him, and ridiculed him.

Such malice had become a normal part of his life that he no longer found tears growing in his dull eyes.

But...among all the malice, the Absol had found a twinkle of light.

Not even a calamitous being as the Absol had been denied a treasure everyone could entertain.

Once upon a time, there had been a fearless and brave little Water-type who had seen the Absol as a beloved and cherished friend. A big-toothed crocodile with red fins, blue scales, and bright red eyes devoid of negativity. At one point in time, a joyful child of the waves had waddled after the back of a God of Pestilence without ever missing a step.

Parting the dark curtain shrouding the boy to be seen as a beast was a Totodile.

Yes, contrary to popular belief, even Kamijou Touma, the boy who denied attaining a Pokemon of his very own, had once been an ordinary child with a Pokemon of his own. For all the malice sent his way, for all the misfortune he spread, even he had a friend beside him who hadn't been swallowed by superstition. Waddling after him no matter the glares following them behind, the always happy water child never left his side.

What had his parents said? That the Totodile had been his brave and valiant guardian? His first gift? That the small dent on his Pokemon's Pokeball had been from when he was teething?

Bits and pieces of those younger years reeled by, clearing away the haunting silhouettes. Of those moments not even his cursed luck could infect the smiles he had shared alongside his parents and his Pokemon.

"I...I had a Pokemon too. I had a best friend I loved with all my heart."

Those sweet candied memories continued reeling by without stopping.

Until a silver gleam cut through.

"...Once."

Fractures of...that day infected the reel.

There had been a man in a business suit, disheveled, hair a mess, reeking of smoke and booze, jittery and frustrated.

There was a park close by.

Where were his parents? Where did they go?

"Stop it."

A spiky-haired boy with a bandage across the bridge of his nose was building a sand castle in a poor imitation of a Sandgast. He was smiling, laughing as his Totodile squirted water to help give the sand its stickiness. They were having fun.

A muttering was heard.

"Stop it!"

'Y-your fault. It's all your fault, isn't it? You...you looked at me this morning. With those cursed eyes!'

A wicked shadow had loomed over the ignorant boy, lost in his own world even as his beloved friend had glared up.

'I lost everything. All my investments. My mortgage was on the line too. They fired me. S-She wanted nothing to do with me. All because of you. All because of you. All because of you. All because of you. All because of you. All because of you. All because of you. All because of you. All because of you. All because of you.'

When the spiky finally noticed the looming shadow and his Pokemon's uneasy stance, it was already too late.

Something sharp flashed-

Cries were heard.

A Pokeball cracked open and an even bigger shadow was cast.

Hot pain erupted with a splash of deep red. A small Pokemon could be heard crying.

A red flash was seen to rescue that crying child.

"STOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP!"

And-

CRAAAACK!

Silence.

An unresponsive Pokeball rolled away, splattered in blood, and marred with terrible cracks chipping metal and paint.

Touma sunk to his knees, eyes broken and wet as he stared down at the silent shrunken capsule ball rolling over to his knees. He saw the ball's button blink a bright red.

Once.

Only once.

A malfunctioned Pokeball refused to release its lock. No amount of pressure on the button would be of any good. Not even the emergency release functions were responsive. Something within the hardware had been damaged beyond repair.

Even as the bleeding spiky boy's cries had been heard. Even as the crazed man had been subdued by his father and his Pokemon's furious assault. Even as that bloody boy's mother had taken him into her arms, crying into his small chest and stroking his spiky locks…

The damaged Pokeball never budged.

It never would again.

The God of Pestilence's wicked curse had struck again.

[-]

"GAAAHHH!"

Like he had been submerged in water, Touma awoke sitting up rasping for air.

It wasn't long until his senses told him waking up from a nightmare in his state was a very bad idea. Pain pulsed across every joint and every muscle of his body. His gasps for air soon switched over to groans and sharp winces as he clutched his body.

"Guess that means I'm alive, huh?"

An empty smile could be found on his dry and cut lips.

He could spy sunlight peeking through the curtains of Komoe's apartment. Meaning he had survived last night's brutal beating by the busty athletic-themed chick with a legit sword straight out of Johto. The night's memories, his pathetic attempt to fight back, the words spat back at another, the shocking and heartbreaking news. It was all still there.

Fresh as a Sunflora.

Bandaged fingers bunched the futon's covers in frustration.

"Damn it."

"Auuuuuuuuughhh. It's all over my face."

Bitter news aside, Touma seemed to finally realize his abrupt wake-up hadn't gone entirely unnoticed. Off to his side, he could spot Index laid out flat on her back. Almost as if she had been rudely shoved aside. Upon closer inspection, he spotted white clumps of hot goo(?) on her face, hair, and collarbone. For whatever reason, the buttons of her borrowed pajamas were unbuttoned at the collar, leaving a bit of cleavage from her still-developing breasts as victims to the white goo that must have been hot porridge.

Alright! Let's put this scandalous scene together!

A young nun in a rather tight-fitting set of pajamas. A bowl of hot porridge poorly made as seen by the consistency of the porridge being gooey and thick like glue. An older boy waking up, arms flying around in a panic and pushing aside the worried girl and her meal, most likely causing a few buttons to undo from a glancing finger. And a flying bowl of said meal following the laws of Newton and his Pokemon, Applin, and falling back down on the groaning girl laid out on her back in a rather compromising position.

Did I mention he was without pants? Why? Who knows?

Now, what do you get when you add all that together?

A sweet nun of the church with warm white sticky goo splattered on her face by the bedside of a blushing high school boy...without pants.

"WHY DID YOU TAKE MY PANTS OFFFFFFFF?!"

"CAW, CAAAAAAAAAAAWWWW?!"

Translation of the pissed-off Murkrow now swooping in to peck at the idiot standing over the quivering lipped young lady?

That's what you're fucking focused on, you insensitive piece of shiiiiiiiiiiiit?!

Being the innocent good boy he was, Kizuato the Poochyena happily proceeded to lap up the porridge sticking to the sniffling Index's face with a wag of his tail.

"I can never be wed now!"

"Ruff!"

Translation: This is tasty porridge.

[-]

Daily morning dose of bad luck put aside, the now awake Touma sat on his futon with another groan. This time from the small welts brought upon by Zenchou's peck barrage. Had he learned Fury Swipe: Peck Style?

Thanks to Kizuato's help, a now cleaned but still blushing Index sat across him. She crossed her arms in a huff and refused to meet his eye as she absently petted an irritated-eyed Zenchou on her lap. Seemed it was only thanks to the asshole of a bird that she hadn't immediately performed her favorite move, Bite.

Sitting between the two was the every tongue-lagging Kizuato. Occasionally, his eyes would dart for either Touma or Index, unsure of who exactly he would like to go to. Almost like a child caught between two arguing adults.

It clearly hadn't taken long for the dark pup to grow attached to Index. Had he been Touma's Pokemon, he would have called out traitor.

Actually, now that the pain all over his body had strangely gone silent…

"What are you doing here, Kizuato-san?"

Only now did Touma realize the strange addition of the small thug dubbed as Kizuato sitting in Komoe's apartment.

Scarred ears perking up at his name, the Poochyeena trotted over to the puzzled Touma with a small bark. The pup plopped himself down in front of him, seeking his attention with a waiting stare and lulling tongue.

Touma scratched the back of his head awkwardly. He wasn't really sure what the jerk wanted from him. And why was he even here?

Zenchou was an asshole but Touma (kinda?)understood why he was there. The cursed bird had tagged along most likely because he was bored and wanted free food from Komoe, and to see him squirm and trip from misfortune. Asshole those reasons were but he understood.

But Kizuato? The tough puppy who had a hobby of stealing his wallet, snatching his groceries, biting his shoes, stealing his homework, and generally seeking him out to mess with him? The pup liked to play rough and considered Touma a chew toy. Nothing was more simple than that.

Never before, in all their years interacting with one another, had Touma ever found the troublemaker of a brat enter his home. Or, well, Komoe's home right now.

"He carried you."

"Huh?"

With a gentle smile befitting her stature as a nurturing nun of the Galar Church, Index spoke gently of the eager brat whose eyes hadn't left Touma.

"When Komoe found you, she said that Kizuato-kun had been carrying your entire weight on his tiny back for several miles all on his own. You were bloody, severely wounded, and unresponsive, but Kizuato-kun somehow lifted you over his body and forced himself to bear the weight even at the risk of harming himself. I don't know how he found you but that sweet child endured all he could to save your life and bring you somewhere safe, even if he didn't know where that could be. I think she said something about him facing towards a certain hospital in District 7."

A certain hospital in District 7? Could that mean?

"Were you taking me to Heaven Canceler?"

"Arf!"

Baffled. Touma was absolutely baffled by the actions of the brat who continued sitting in front of him with his mismatched ruby red and ghostly blue eyes.

Nothing was making any sense anymore. Everything starting from the beginning of this mess had lost all sense of logic to it. First nuns. Then magicians and magic. A gang of poison-themed Skill-Outs. A helpful Zenchou? A busty dorm manager like Onee-san who turned out to be a villain? A sexily dressed swordswoman from Johto who was actually a magician and Index's friend? The memory wipe and countdown.

And now, Kizuato, the bratty Dark-type pup, rescuing him? Touma bowed his head, dragging out a battered sigh as all the sudden reveals and new perspectives were causing his head to throb.

"I thought you didn't like me."

Naturally, with everything he'd been subjected to by both of the Dark-types in the apartment, wasn't it an honest thought to have? For a God of Pestilence like Kamijou Touma, wasn't it logical to believe he wasn't liked at all?

Fur tickled the fingers of Touma's bandaged right hand, snapping him out of his thoughts.

The bratty Kizuato had grown tired of patiently waiting for him to do something for all his work, so he nudged his wet nose underneath his hand and forced the large palm to rest over his head. Accomplished, the pup happily wagged his tail and nuzzled against the cursed limb like it were the most normal thing for him to do.

"Rarf, ruff, ruff, ruff!"

For a second, Touma was unsure of how to react.

Eventually, he smiled.

Humans were incapable of understanding Pokemon speech. Not even Academy City's infamous Espers were fully adapt in communicating seamlessly with Pokemon with supernatural abilities. For whatever reason, scientists had found themselves at a roadblock when it came to developing means through which technology or even esper abilities could perfectly communicate back to Pokemon. For now, it was an out-of-reach dream very few were able to grasp poorly.

Yet Kamijou Touma, the Level-0 who forewent having a Pokemon of his own, was able to understand the feelings and emotions spoken by the tail-wagging Poochyeena.

"You know, you have a funny way of showing it. I'm not your personal chew toy, you brat. Seriously, you know how stupid it is to risk your life just for some broken old toy?"

"Woof!"

"Don't think this makes us even for all the trouble you've caused me. You owe me, at most, over several thousandth Pokeyen worth of groceries, not to mention damages and grief, spanning several years. Dragging my bloody body back is a nice start though."

At some point, he found himself rubbing the mischievous Pokemon's head.

"If you're looking for some reward, you're going to have to wait a bit. This Kamijou-san had a rough night yesterday, so he's not going to be able to go out and buy you a nice treat for carrying his lousy ass around District 7."

Once this was all over, and the matter concerning a cute forbidden magical library and magicians was put to rest, no matter the expense, Touma would have to repay the kindness shown by the Dark-types.

"Three days."

"Hmm?"

Now clean, and back in her normal wear(i.e. religious white nun habit now adorn with golden safety pins), the now trouble-faced Index mumbled lowly at his side. Above her head in his new nest, the brooding Zenchou seemed to glare down at Touma as if he had just been insulted.

Touma cleaned his ear out and knitted his brows in confusion.

"I'm sorry, I think I heard you wrong. R-right?"

Dread prickled his chest at the lack of an answer.

Time Limit.

Memory Destruction.

Overload.

The ticking of a mute clock ready to pop off in imminent despair and heartbreak.

"How?! Three days?! How was I passed out for three whole days? Was I put under by any chance? I know I was beaten up real bad, but to the point, my body forcefully shut itself down for over 62 hours?!"

Sweat beaded down his face as he stared in disbelief at the silent Index. His left hand combed back his spiky locks in frustration. Right now, he couldn't help but recall the one-sided beat down at the hands of the Johto swordswoman.

His thoughts of a certain condition ready to pass were interrupted by a shout.

"I don't know!"

Green eyes were drowning in tears. Index balled her fists and appeared to be fighting from rushing the bandaged boy in some poor semblance of control.

"I...I noticed the flame magician from before lurking close by to us that night. That's why I kept running off. I was trying to lead him away from Touma and attack him again!"

Stiyl? The flame bastard from before? Had that thuggish brat actually been following them the entire night?

Touma cursed at his naivety. Of course, the flame magician would track them down. If the Johto swordswoman had located him, then Stiyl would have easily found Index.

"If it wasn't for Blewog coming back to me, I wouldn't have been able to keep the magician's Houndoom distracted when it was sent out."

"Blewog?"

"Meeeeeh!"

Fluffy white.

Out of the corner of his eye, Touma finally noticed it. Hidden from sight, as if by a veil of magic, a familiar large ball of fluffy white cotton stepped out to greet him. It had been several days since he had last seen or heard of it, but how could he have forgotten about the creature who had originally played the role of 'guardian' for the Index of Forbidden Books?

Blewog the Wooloo, Index's Pokemon partner. A cute and adorable Normal-type typically, and only, found in the region of Galar. Upon discovering the hungry nun on his balcony, he had been introduced to the apparent stalwart protector she kept by her side. When she was on the run from magicians across who knows how many cities and regions, the fluff ball had been the one to accompany her.

She wasn't alone. She had a friend every step of the way. Always protecting her. Watching out for her. Defending her.

Touma grit his teeth in an effort to conceal the ugly snarl on his lips.

An agent of Necessarius. A living, breathing, tracker and beacon for the cabal of magicians Index was unknowingly part of. Just another means of capturing their asset when the time was right.

"Meh, meh, meh."

Blewog greeted Touma with a simple tilt of his head. Such a sweet-looking Pokemon was hiding a devious Lycanroc beneath his soft wool.

It was no wonder they were always a measly few steps from Index no matter where she ran.

"When I finally lost them with Blewog and Zenchou's help, I went back to Komoe's place to wait for you. But when she came home, she was carrying poor Kizuato-kun in her arms while Oni carried you. Touma, you were so bloody. You look like you were mauled by wild Pokemon. T-There was so much blood to clean off. At any moment, I would have thought I would have seen the glow of a Lampent waiting patiently outside the window for your soul to pass on!"

A Lampent? Had he been so grievously wounded to possibly attract one of those creepy so-called Grim Reaper Pokemon?

"I couldn't save you. I couldn't protect you."

Index's face was in agony but no tears came forth. No, she was far too kind for that, huh? Even though she was hurting, blaming herself, and placing all the fault squarely on herself as the culprit, she would not cry. She refused to show any signs of needing to have sympathized with such a telling act of her emotions.

The damn idiot.

She wasn't the one who was failing. If anyone was to blame for all this misfortune, it would have to be the God of Pestilence.

Three days. If Kanzaki was telling the truth, then it meant the deadline was here already. Right now he wanted nothing more than to spit at the so-called revelation of Index's condition. He wanted to believe it was all an act. A lie. Just another make-believe nonsense meant to drop his guard and take advantage of his desire to save Index.

Touma couldn't. He wouldn't dare to say it had all been just a trick. Not after seeing the all too real pain on Kanzaki's face.

At that moment, he couldn't help but be reminded of how useless he had been far too many times in his life.

But...if it had been three days, why was Index still here?

Careful not to draw attention, Touma stared at the seemingly innocent Blewog from the corner of his eye. The fluffball had wandered around, 'innocently' sniffing every corner of the apartment. All while batting aside the nose of a pesky dark pup butting into his side. Like Touma, Zenchou was honed in on the sheep.

Blewog was the tracker and homing beacon. It had a penchant for vanishing one moment and appearing the next, seamlessly slipping into the scene as if he had always been there. When needed, he would 'call' in the others to the position of their target when the time was right for retrieval.

Touma had been knocked out for three days. At any time, couldn't they have used the chance of Index's protector being out of commission to complete their mission? Why hadn't they?

Three days.

After three days, it would be too late. Index's memory, her central nervous system, would be fried like a blackened crisp Magikarp.

And what had Touma done in those last three days? Sleep. Beaten to the point of being tossed aside in a bloody heap on the side of the road. Unable to do more than snore. All while the timer in Index's head steadily dropped in the background.

"Damn it, these bandages are too tight! I can't even make a fist. The hell? Who's idea was it to dress me up like a Cofagrigus? What? Have you been talking to the nurses at my hospital or something?"

"Does it hurt?"

"It's irritating, but no. I just feel an uncomfortable tightness wrapping all over me. I wouldn't be surprised if I found an Arbok coiled around me. Seriously, don't you think this is a little much?"

Too much was going on in Touma's head right now. Too many worries. Too many fears. Even if they did center on the sweet Index, he wouldn't let her know anything was wrong. For all the trouble the magicians had spoken of, she didn't appear to be sick or in pain. Just as when she first appeared on the railing of his balcony door room, she was fine.

At the sight of small tears welling up in Index's green eyes, the guard dog Zenchou sent Touma a despicable glare. When did the cackling asshole become so protective? Of anyone?

'It's too bad neither Index nor Komoe-sensei can use recovery magic to speed things along. Maybe if I had called over Yumiya-san...no, I can't think of her like that. I don't want to drag anyone else into my mess. Not to mention Index wouldn't have known how to use a phone to call her over. Just because the meek middle-school girl could have been useful, doesn't mean I have to resort to using her like that.'

Touma stared at his bandaged right hand. He could feel the deep cuts underneath the white, the broken fingers, and searing hot lacerations. It was completely destroyed.

Espers couldn't use magic. Vice versa, the Pokemon who had undergone the Power Curriculum Program most likely fell in the same boat. Something about the pathways being different? Was it like trying to run a foreign program on a completely different machine to devastating results?

An explanation was given. One where an embarrassed Index spoke of her 'other self'. A unique transformation Touma found to be similar to how certain Pokemon would undergo a brief evolution. Certain key items, elements, moves, or abilities could allow Pokemon to evolve into a new form for a certain amount of time which would allow them to use new moves, abilities, and skills they normally couldn't.

Just like Index, it seemed. Seriously, it was like the more information he got to the sweet, Munchlax Sister, the more she came off as some kind of Mythical Pokemon like Victini or Jirachi.

"Meh, meh?"

"Caw!"

What sounded like a small scuffle brought Touma's attention back to the Pokemon of the apartment. His gaze found the wandering spy, Blewog, poking his nose into a corner of the room. Zenchou wasn't pleased with the action and flew over to tell the sheep off. As for the item of intrigue…

Blankets. Lots, and lots, of fluffy pink blankets?

"Ah! Blewog, don't disturb the child's sleep! Komoe said we have to keep her nice and warm and keep her away from anything dangerous. You never know what kind of harm she could come to in such a small apartment, so she has to be kept away from any trouble; like Touma."

C-child?! Wait, wait, wait!

"What child?! Don't tell me you guys kidnapped some kid while I was out for three days!? How am I only now noticing the mountain of covers smothering the wriggling kid in the corner of this tiny, one-room apartment?! I've already got to deal with magicians, I don't need Anti-Skill knocking down our door next!"

Touma was too nervous to approach the mass of fluffy pink. Did the naive idiot Index really find some lost child out in the street while he was knocked out and take them in? And from the sounds of it, Komoe was in on this? What was with that child-sized woman and taking in wayward strays?!

Cheeks puffed, Index walked over to the blankets to reveal the 'child'.

Eggshell white, creamy pink, cotton candy blue.

A dumbfounded Touma found an egg, a Pokemon Egg, of all things in the hands of Index. Like all Pokemon eggs, the calcium shell was decorated with unique pigments in a design telling of the kind of supernatural being waiting to be hatched. Eggshell white, creamy pink and cotton candy blue swirled about the oval shape in strange lines.

If one wanted to, one could look up online to find what would hatch from the egg based on the pigments and design. To most though who had no knowledge, they preferred to be surprised.

Where...did-

"She was in the box you brought in with you a few days ago. The one gifted to you by Komoe's next-door neighbor."

...Yuri's parting gift? The once the sunny-faced Crucible left him in her stead?

At the memory of his most recent failure, Touma's posture slumped. In all the action since leaving Komoe's apartment, he'd completely forgotten about it. So, it had a Pokemon egg in there all this time?

Why?

Why would that deceitfully sweet woman leave him with a Pokemon egg of all things?

Walking over to his downcast form, Index knelt down and set the large egg between his legs. The curious Kizuato ran over, nose trying to nudge the warm egg, only to be scolded by the Galar Sister for being too rough.

"Komoe and I had no idea either. Since leaving it aside on the floor, none of us touched it. Zenchou and Kizuato did stare at it but none of us thought much of it. At least until we finished patching you up and washing you. All of a sudden, the box began to shake and wriggle before falling over on its side. I'm not sure how but the seal on the box opened and she rolled out, stopping only when she reached your side. Komoe says she was seeking warmth, and searched out for the closest source of heat at the time. I think differently."

A motherly smile graced Index's face, taking Touma back. For a childish nun, he forgot she could give off this strange sense of maturity found only in those who have had to endure tragedy after tragedy. Insulting as it was, he forgot she was a nun who had a nurturing nature to her.

"The innocent child inside was simply searching for her Trainer!"

Her...Trainer?

This Kamijou Touma? The idiot who refused to have a Pokemon of his own and rejected the idea of being a Trainer?

With a hesitant hand, Touma gave the pleasantly warm egg a rub.

Something nudged the cursed hand back.

First a nun, magicians, poison-themed Skill-Outs, and now an egg? What was up with all these encounters falling onto his lap?

There was little time to ponder the latest development giving him mixed feelings.

A knock on the door was heard.

"Huh? What are you two doing outside of my home? You're not trying to sell me something, are you?"

Someone knocked on the door, just in time for Komoe to return. Touma swallowed anxiously.

A click of the door handle later and the short pink-haired woman walked in with Oni by her side, carrying several grocery bags in hand. Right behind the adorable teacher and fierce Fire Pokemon were two familiar faces.

Fiery red hair, a cigarette, the smell of cheap cologne, and a bar-code tattoo.

Unique dark hair reminiscent of grape wine purple, a samurai sword in a holster-like scabbard, a large chest, and cut-off jeans. Gone was her athletic Trainer wear, replaced with a revealing white shirt tied in a knot at the bottom to show off her lean stomach and a pair of jeans, one leg cut off.

Stiyl and Kanzaki.

An invisible tension could be felt in the small apartment at the appearance of the two magicians, one felt even by the ordinary teacher, Komoe. Nervously, she stepped into her home, her small back blocking the two young children from entering.

"Um, Kamijou-chan, are these friends of yours?"

Touma frowned in uncertainty.

Friends, no. Not by a long shot. But...could he call them enemies? After fighting them both and growing to understand them? Maybe he couldn't accept why they were playing the role of the villain in this story, and like hell, he would just bow out because of something as ridiculous as a time limit, but if they weren't people he wanted to fight anymore, what did that make them?

His body tensed at their mere presence, his wounds stinging as he recalled the hellish flames and the terrifying drawing speed of an eastern sword.

From first-hand experience, he knew those two deadly magicians had no need for this; to pay him a visit just as he woke up. He was honestly puzzled as to why they even knocked or even waited this long to stop by. Clearly, they knew where they had been staying. Possibly this entire time at that. So, with him incapacitated, why hadn't they just stormed into Komoe's apartment when she had left for school and snatched Index away?

Nothing was adding up right. He really did feel like he was a Psyduck with an ever-present headache.

A low growl was heard from the two magicians. Devilish bone horns poked from behind Stiyl, revealing a glaring Houndoom taking a step past his master to peer into the apartment. Sulfur gave the tense spiky-haired boy a nasty glare, only softened by Index stepping up like as shield.

Just like Stiyl and Kanzaki, the Fire/Dark-Type was one of Index's precious friends. The flinch on the Pokemon's face seemed to hurt.

"Easy, Sulfur. Judging by the idiot's wounds, we won't have to worry about him escaping any time soon."

Smug. The flame magician was all too certain of Touma's lack of fighting ability at the moment. Even as Zenchou and Kizuato rose to his side, glowering with open snarls and foreboding spread wings, they weren't seen as a threat. Considering how beaten up he was, even he was doubtful of how a possible fight could go so soon.

So, why bother? What was the point of this? If Index's limit was coming closer with each minute if they had her position thanks to magic and the spy Blewog, why had they gone to the trouble of introducing themselves like this?

"LEAVE!"

A fierce, booming shout caused everyone in the apartment to visibly flinch.

Index remained standing over him, her skinny arms spread as far as they could like the wings of a threatening Sparrow. Though she lacked the ability to perform magic herself, lacked a supernatural power granted to her via drugs and self-suggestion, and wasn't even a Pokemon who fell between both Magic and Science, she played the part of a shield to block Touma from even seeing the faces of his assailants.

She was using Protect.

Against the two magicians, it was super effective.

Touma's ears twitched, catching a sharp intake of breath from the two magicians. He grimaced, morbidly wondering what kind of faces the two 'villains' wore and what kind of face Index was wearing to cause those two deadly magicians to step back a single step. A low whine could be heard from the downcast Sulfur by their side.

It had to hurt. To always see that face and feel that never-changing pain.

"Index, you don't unders-"

"Get out! Go away! Leave Touma alone!"

The fairy-like girl's entire body trembled and a small sniffle could be heard from his brave shield.

"I...I get it. I'll go. I don't care where it is, why, or what you want to do with me anymore. Whatever you want, I'll give it to you." Index's voice choked back tears, her stern voice wavering with each word as she spoke, "Just so long as you leave Touma alone. I'll give you whatever you desire, no matter the cost, and be the faithful 'Pokemon' you want. But stop hurting Touma. I-I can't bear it anymore."

Index hung her head, her long hair concealing the broken expression of tears hidden from Touma's view.

And Touma saw it. Zenchou and Kizuato had as well, their fierce and intimidating stances breaking in shock at what they saw.

Pain. A gut-wrenching, heart-stabbing, terrible, terrible, pained smile fell on those 'villains' faces.

Seriously...just how many times had those three had to bear with such a sickening pain?!

With a terrifying ease, the pain was concealed behind a frigid mask of indifference. This agony wasn't anything new or shocking. At some point, they had grown accustomed to being hurt like this. To be seen as evil.

Because they loved their precious friend that much. For the sake of her life, they would abandon the warm and sweet bond they adored with all their hearts, to be seen as malicious and despicable hunters seeking untold power and infamy.

The role of Pokemon hunters and the rare mythological Pokemon.

This was their story, one repeated over, and over, and over, and over again.

With a sneer of distaste, Stiyl looked over the trembling shield to speak directly to Touma.

"12 hours and 38 minutes. That's the time limit. And it's shrinking with every passing minute." he spat as if to clear something foul from his mouth. "Don't misunderstand this visit. You're a shackle, nothing more. We simply didn't want to go to the trouble of having to hunt her down again after finally trapping her in a corner. We have your toy exactly where we want it. There's nothing more that needs to be done on our part. Understand?"

There was little much to say. Turning his back, Stiyl stepped out of the apartment with a biting remark as Kanzaki and Sulfur trailed behind.

"Stop messing around with your toy like some petulant child and give up. Or are you so broken to let her break too?"

The door was shut behind the retreating magicians with a mere click. Leaving Touma to grit his teeth in the dreadful silence of their departure.

A silence only cracked with the faint click of the clock in the room.

[-]

Index collapsed moments later like a spent battery, her green eyes fluttering as she fell back without even a cry.

"I won't...I won't let them hurt you anymore. I-I-I won't."

Those were her last words before she fell asleep. From what Komoe had said as she helped him put her back in her futon, this was common. It had been happening since the first night he had been brought back from his death battle with Kanzaki. The young-bodied teacher wasn't sure what had brought on the sudden sickness, only being able to guess it was possibly stress-related due to Touma's state.

Try as he might, he couldn't keep awake either, Darkness had set in despite his best efforts as his wrecked body forcefully shut itself down. He had fallen asleep right by Index's bedside with Yuri's egg nestled between his legs.

By the time his eyes snapped open, he noticed night had fallen outside the window of the apartment.

"Touma."

In her sleep, Index was muttering his name. He must have awoken at the sound of her calling out to him in her dreams. As embarrassing as it was, he was thankful.

It was night. Meaning the time limit was nearly at its end. Exactly what time it was couldn't be said as he realized Komoe's home lacked a clock of any time.

Fighting the grogginess urging him to get more rest, Touma carefully carried the pink, white, and blue patterned egg over to the bundle of blankets off to the corner of the room. He patted the slightly wiggling shell, offering the unknown Pokemon inside a small smile as he wrapped it up.

"Shh, shh, it's alright. Go back to sleep. I promise I'll be here waiting when you finally wake up."

Yuri's egg gave one last wiggle. With Kizuato walking over to set down a few pillows to protect the egg, Touma walked back over to Index's side. Idly, he noticed a note Komoe had left behind on the fridge, explaining her disappearance.

'Off to the baths? I can't blame her. She's been watching out for us for days now while having to work extra shifts at the school too. She must be exhausted. Just another person I'm burdening.'

Flapping wings signaled Zenchou flying overhead, soon setting down on top of his head. The weight of the jerk on his head was becoming a familiar sensation, bringing a sense of comfort.

"Caw."

"Hmm, not in the mood for insults, huh? Guess even an asshole like you know how to read the mood."

"Caw, caw, caw."

"He sneaked out? Kanzaki did say Blewog was a tracker of sorts, so it makes sense he would leave again. If I was the shackle then the sheep was the monitor of the cell. But not even a glance back?"

"Caw. Caw, caw."

"Off? I know Wooloo aren't native to Academy City but he seemed like a normal Pokemon to me. Then again, he's an agent of a magical cabal tasked with monitoring Index. I wouldn't be surprised if magicians Pokemon were similar to Pokemon belonging to Espers."

"Aroo?"

Touma patted Kizuato's head, the Dark-type nudging his wet nose at Index's head with worried eyes.

"I...uh, she's…" Touma wasn't sure how to answer Kizuato's concern.

What could he say when the ticking of the clock was growing louder in the background?

Fingers gripped at his pants in frustration, the ticking grating at his nerves.

What...what was he supposed to do now?

Ring, ring, ring!

An old-fashioned phone was ringing, one still requiring a landline connection and large thick buttons to dial. Its ring reminded him of an alarm clock, loud and blaring to the ears. Even though it wasn't his home, he felt he needed to answer, if only to shut the noise off. With so much going on, he needed quiet. Not to mention Index and the egg were asleep.

Picking up the black antique phone, he froze at the voice on the other end.

"Do you recognize my voice, boy?"

Kanzaki? How did she…?

"As I've said, Blewog was an agent of ours. Did you merely assume he was only capable of playing the tracker and monitor? We've had your number for some time now, thanks to him. Among other helpful information. The Archbishop's special Pokemon is capable of more than it appears."

For whatever reason, it sounded as if Kanzaki was trying to whisper on the other line. Her voice was soft as if she was speaking lowly away from another party close by.

"I assume that Index is asleep at the moment. Good, it's for the best she does not hear of any of this."

Touma gripped the antique phone to the point of hearing a creak. He had half a mind to slam it down on the receiver. But Kanzaki, and Stiyl, weren't enemies to be locked in a never-ending cycle of battle. For the pain and suffering they had to endure for their beloved friend, they deserved to be heard.

"What do you want?"

"As stated, the time limit is tonight. Midnight to be precise. This can't be avoided any longer. There will be no more breaks or pauses once the clock hits twelve. Everything is scheduled to end tonight and no later."

A sense of dreadful coldness froze over Touma's beating heart. His breathing grew erratic as he glanced back, finding sweet Index asleep without a worry on her face. Even with the loud ring of the phone going off, she hadn't stirred even once. Almost as if she was stuck in some deep sleep.

Was...was there really no other way? Now that they were closing in on the 'The End', was this really the only option they could find?

Sensing his turmoil, Kizuato moved his head underneath Touma's left hand and gave the boy a concerned gaze.

Touma bit his lip as his frozen heart chipped.

"Why are you telling me this? Why even reach out to me? You have our address, you have your spells, you have your Pokemon! So, why bother with warning me? All you're doing is giving me more reason to want to fight you to the death!"

"…"

Had he struck a chord? The muffled breathing on the other end sounded as if it were repressing something thick.

"Would...would you like time to say goodbye?"

The chipping in his heart evolved to an audible crack. The phone in his hand nearly slipped through his grasp as his breath was trapped in his aching chest.

G-Goodbye?

At that moment, several faces flashed in his eyes, further agonizing his damaged eyes. Colors of blue, brown, gold, purple...now silver. All the hands that had fallen short of connecting with his own.

Blistering heat devoured the coating ice over his breaking heart, further growing in intensity as Kanzaki spoke sympathetically on the other end.

"We were the same. The first night was the hardest. Knowing the drawing time limit, we spent the last three days together at every minute available. All of us; Stiyl, Sulfur, and a few other of the nuns, Pokemon, and magicians who had grown close to her. On the final night, at the stroke of midnight, all we could do was embrace her and cry. I believe it was the stress, the turmoil, the defeat, and the pain that had caused young Sulfur to evolve into Houndoom. He adored her as he did his master with all his heart. All one could hear that night were cries and howls into the sky. After everything you two have been through, I believe you should have the same rights. Were the other girl who had been beside you both been here, I'd offer her the same kindness."

"Fuck off." He spat something vile from his burning core as if expelling whatever dregs of acceptance had found at the bottom, "Goodbye? I'm just supposed to nod my head with tears and sobs!? You're telling me to give up, not say goodbye! Just like you, you want me to just give up without even trying! What the hell gives you the right to take that right away from me?!"

How many times had he said goodbye? How many times had he been forced to give up on trying? How many times had he accepted such a sad and bitter ending?!

How many times...was he just going to admit defeat before he couldn't take it anymore?

"Get this through your thick head, magician. I'm not giving up. I don't think I can anymore. 100 times. Even if I fail over a hundred times, I'll get back up a hundred times! 1,000. 10, 000! Over and over again, I'll get back up on my feet. Even if it means I have to do this crawling on my stomach like a Caterpee, I'll keep trying! That's all there really is to it. Unlike you, I won't abandon her!"

Even his furious roar hadn't woken the slumbering Index. But his adamant refusal to accept another bitter ending had risen both Zenchou and Kizuato. The two Dark-types stood taller, their eyes glaring fiercely at the phone ready to break in Touma's tight grasp.

"Caw!"

"Ruff!"

The voice on the other end had grown silent again. This time, a creaking was heard alongside an unsteady breath refraining from losing their temper.

"This is merely a kindness, nothing more. Don't think this means I have any desire to negotiate with you. Whether you accept it or not, we will retrieve Index at the appointed time. There will be no more reasoning or explaining to be heard; stand in our way and we will obliterate you."

"Ruff!"

Good boy, Kizuato-kun. But please, refrain from such foul language.

"Don't count on stirring any human kindness from either of us. We do share one thought though; I don't have any fucking desire to negotiate with you either. Not if you're just going to obliterate her memories!"

"I'm offering you a chance to say a farewell you can remember in her stead. When the time comes, you must leave or suffer greatly. Your opinion does not matter. It never did. So, please...stop hurting yourself further. Haven't you been through enough already?"

For a person promising to beat him into a bloody pulp again, her voice sounded awfully soft and tender. As if she were pleading with a friend to stop moving in order to patch up the bleeding wound. She was unlike Stiyl in that regard.

Kanzaki cared and found sympathy for the boy known as Kamijou Touma. Such emotions were enough to nearly stumble him.

"So what? I'm used to misery and pain." he whispered lowly with a fragile glare, "Stop forcing your lack of effort onto others. You couldn't save her? So, I should give up too? Where's the logic in that? For magicians, you guys are seriously lacking in creativity! Isn't magic supposed to make the impossible, possible? How can you call yourselves magicians if your precious spells can't ease her suffering?!"

"Magic is useless. After sifting through every possible spell in Galar, Unova, Hoen, Johto, Kanto, Alola, Sinnoh, Kalos, Paldea, and every other continent's magical teachings, this was the only solution we could find to save her! Of all the countless attempts we made, this painful ultimatum was the only way we could salvage her life! Even with her enormous library of grimoires, this was all we could do."

"Then not even Index's all-powerful reality-bending knowledge can save her? How useful is that poison if it can't even save the memories of a single girl?!"

"Do you believe the church to be so daft as to allow her access to such information? There is a reason she can't use magic herself. A collar was placed on her to restrict her from abusing such great knowledge. It also allows the maintenance needed to perform the memory destruction to save her life. To prevent her from rebelling against the higher-ups, security measures had to be placed. No doubt any possible knowledge on spells involving memories was sealed away as well."

Like a Pokemon.

The fairy-like girl was treated no differently than a powerful Pokemon their Trainer was afraid of. It was like erasing all the incredibly powerful moves one knew to prevent said Pokemon from snapping back. The knowledge was there but it was inaccessible for the creature to use without tampering from their master.

Just how inhuman were the top brass of the Galar church?! For all their supernatural powers to bend reality and logic to their whim, they couldn't solve something as simple as a person having too much data in their brain?! What good was magic if it couldn't even fix-

...Magic.

Touma's breath caught his throat at the sudden realization.

"You said you've tried everything from a magical point of view, right? Then...what about science?"

If magic couldn't fix Index's overloaded memory then science could-!

"...Impossible. Are you suggesting we allow our precious friend to be violated and tainted by cold machines and injected with foreign chemicals found in plastics? I refuse to allow your people to touch her sweet pale skin with a sharp metal blade and peek inside her unresponsive body to fix something you can't see."

Fury boiled his blood at the utter rejection. He heard it. A pause! She had considered!

"What do you even know about science?! Do you even understand human memory outside of some dusty old practices abandoned in the Dark Ages? Don't you understand it's more than just some invisible thing you can't touch? I may be an idiot but even an idiot knows that memories are made of neurons in the brain! It's a cell, a physical connection! And we on the science side are far more knowledgeable about it than some bastards who aren't brave enough to step out of their caves!"

Silence.

The mythical magician, who could create seven deadly slashes with a tickle of wires and her sword to destroy the surrounding area in a second, who could move at Mach speed, was stumped.

"What's...a neuron?"

Like a naive child entering Pre-K and being taught math. She didn't understand the strange word and might have even believed it was some kind of unknown Pokemon. For all her power, she lacked intelligence outside of magic like a sheltered royal princess.

"We have facilities solely focused on the study of the human mind. There are Espers with psychic abilities inspired by the mental reality of Pokemon who can make others forget and relearn lost actions and thoughts! There...there's even a Level-5, I think, who's regarded as the strongest mental esper in all the world capable of removing memories with just a touch of her fingertips!"

Magicians couldn't perform any miracles, maybe Pokemon couldn't either. But in Academy City, there are untapped avenues to explore.

"Don't you dare insult us on the science side? Our methods may seem cruel and unusual, but it's saved lives where magic failed. If you're not even willing to try every method out there just because of your beliefs, then you're full of shit! You never tried, you never even thought of putting in the real effort! If the path to save Index means having to continue this cycle of pain and bittersweet partings, then I'll look for the path outside of your narrow worldview!"

Even if he didn't hear a response of any kind back, there was clearly hesitation in the magician's mind. He was cracking her long-held beliefs. And the cracks marring those once iron-clad truths were leaving her unable to properly reject him as she had earlier.

She was unlike Stiyl. She actually bothered to listen.

"Can your science absolutely save her? Can you guarantee you won't fail and risk harming her life with your precious numbers and theories? When put against our proven method of salvation, can your formless ideas truly cure her without gambling on a mere bet? We have saved her; you haven't. With time running out, can you swear you can find an answer that will trump our 100% proven solution?"

"…"

Not even Touma could make such a promise despite everything he said. In the end, his words were merely a matter of maybes. And for Kanzaki Kaori, maybes wouldn't be enough this late in the game.

Touma had to accept his ideas weren't the solution that had long evaded those tormented magicians. But he refused to merely give up either.

"I guess, in the end, we can't come to any understanding. Not like this. Maybe, if we had all met earlier…"

"...Maybe. But it is far too late in the story to think about such naive maybes. The next time she collapses, it will be far too late for any last-second miracles on your end to save her. Her suffering will be because of you. You understand what this means, do you not? What this will ultimately come down to if you refuse to make those last few moments count."

What did it always come down to?

What always reared its ugly head his way?

What could he only ever do when he was nothing more than a weak child who couldn't even play hero?

"Arf!"

"Caw!"

For some reason, he felt things were different this time. At the confident cries of the two Dark-types who had wandered to his side in all the chaos, Touma bared his canines at the powerful magician.

"You want a battle? Fine. High School Boy Kamijou Touma challenges you to a battle, magicians. You know where to find me, so hurry up before I steal the main prize all for myself!"

With a hard slam on the receiver, Touma ended the call.

Like always, just like always, there was only one way for this to end.

BATTLE.

[-]

Options, options, options, options.

Touma paced back and forth in the small living space that was Komoe's apartment, thumbnail bit down between his teeth. Behind his shadow, Kizuato followed his every step, the pup's red and ghostly blue eyes set in a determined scowl despite not exactly knowing what he could do. Most likely, he was simply copying his favorite human in order to not feel useless.

Zenchou minded himself with watching over Index's limp form. The bird of misfortune did his best to tend to the sleeping child as her face began to sweat and pale.

He had made a lot of big talk previously, so now it was time to make those big words into big actions. Problem was, he wasn't sure what he could actually do. Kamijou Touma was a Level-0 Esper with a handle only good for negating the supernatural. It could negate even a Pokemon's special gifts. It could even dismantle the system of god.

Yet such a specialized power was useless here. Meaning he would have to rely on what he did know about memories and the human mind. Which, sadly for him, was very little.

A nagging in the back of his head told him he was forgetting something but now wasn't the time to be entertaining that ever-present itch.

This was Academy City. It was ahead of the Pokemon world by thirty decades and was even responsible for many of the high-tech innovations and technologies distributed to the entire world. Surely in such a treasure trove of next-generation scientific practices, there was something that could save Index! All he had to do was find that golden needle in a haystack of other golden needles.

There laid the problem though: How? He was just an ordinary high school boy. His resources were zero.

"Think, damn it! There has to be something I'm overlooking!" Touma bit down on his thumb to the point of cracking the nail. He cared little for the pain, using the sharp damage as a way to keep his mind from growing weary, "I can call research facilities, maybe they could offer a solution. Which one though? There have to be people out there who know more about this crap than I do! Do I know anyone?"

He would have reached for his pocket to get his phone but swore as he remembered it wasn't an option. Typical misfortune bearing its fangs again. Why the hell did it have to break all those days ago?! With no other way to communicate with others but an old antique phone, Touma glared down at the thick buttons with a heavy phone book he had found close by propped open.

Institutes, well-known researchers, Pokemon research facilities, and hospitals, were all leafed through as he tried to think of people he knew who could also help.

"What were their numbers? Maybe I can utilize a drug to lengthen the time limit by putting Index to sleep? The Elder Sister, right? She was knowledgeable on all sorts of drugs and poisons utilized by Poison-types, so maybe she could help. Maybe the Level-5 Mental Out...what was her name again? How would I even begin getting in touch with her? Don't I know a Pokemon Tamer who specializes in augmenting her Pokemon's abilities? Could she do something with Pokemon to ease Index's supersaturated mind? Aogami Pierce? With what the idiot's always involved in, could he help?"

He was mindlessly firing away person, after person he had come across in all his time in Academy City. He circled several promising numbers in the phone book with a red pen as options. Without even realizing it, he was talking out loud in a manic manner that put even Zenchou and Kizuato on edge.

He wasn't sure how long he had rattled on for, feeling as if he was dredging up old acquaintances and forgotten people he had only ever met once, for what felt like hours. But he had a terrible memory when it came to memorizing numbers, growing far too accustomed to relying on his phone to do all the work. Even then, he wasn't positive those figures would help him or be in any position to.

"Caw, caw!"

A flap of wings brought Touma to see Zenchou flying over with a random paper he had found. Taking it, he noticed a somewhat familiar number listed on some phone bill.

"Is this Komoe-sensei's number? I mean, she is a teacher but what are the chances- No, I'll take whatever slim chances I can get! She's an adult, she's been in Academy City longer than I have. And she's the only person who could possibly help right now."

He all but smashed the numbers in.

By the time the third ring was answered, he was growing incredibly impatient. Without wasting another second, he went off on a ramble of a poor excuse of an explanation to the drowsy teacher. Most likely she was sitting down on a massage chair when the call came in and was being lulled into a warm pleasant sleep.

"Mental...overload? What? Like a burnt-out hard drive? Kamijou-chan, you're saying a lot of weird phrases far too quickly for sensei to properly understand. It sounds like you want to know about mental activity and storage, correct? I majored in pyrokinesis, so I don't have much in understanding the human brain like certain teachers I know. There are a few universities and institutes that could answer your questions better. Todai University Hospital is famous for its practices with certain Pokemon specializing in mental powers to treat people with repressed memories and decaying neurons. There's also an Esper I'm on good terms with who could help you with Telepathy. Which number would you like? Sensei can give you a good word and they should readily help you when they can."

"All of them. Just give me whatever numbers you have on you! I'll take whatever breadcrumbs I can get if it leads to one of them leading me to the correct answer!"

With thanks to Kizuato for handing him a notebook Komoe used for little reminders, Touma prepared himself to write down whatever phone numbers she could give him. He'd call every last one if he had to.

"Kamijou-chan, I can give you all the contacts sensei has to answer your questions, but don't you think it's a little late to bother any of them? Unless it's an emergency, even the hospital's lights would be out since they only deal in brain treatments involving damaged pathways and decaying cells in the brain. The best they could possibly do is prep a room and a bed at this hour. If you like, I can call them right now."

"That's not enough! I'm sorry for not better explaining this better but this is an emergency! Even if it is rude, we have to wake them up! It can't be that late in the day."

"But even an overworked businessman would say midnight is late, Kamijou-chan."

[-]

Tick!

All around Academy City, the clocks of the scientific world struck 12.

But in Komoe's apartment, no clock of any kind could be found. There had never been a clock in the small stature teacher's home. In all the silence, the dreadful ticking had originated from Touma's own anxious imagination.

But the strike of the day's closing number wasn't an illusion.

The phone fell from Touma's stiff hand and dangled in front of Kizuato. Not even the normally playful Pokemon felt the urge to knock it around as he felt inclined to take a look back.

Red and blue mirrors captured a silver-haired girl sleeping without so much as a twitch. A wet nose caught the scent of sweat and floppy ears caught an erratic thumping in the girl's small chest. Those floppy ears twitched at the sound of heavy footsteps coming closer and closer with the second.

A lot of strange words had fallen out of his panicked human's trembling mouth in the past few hours. Kizuato wasn't sure he had ever seen such a scary and worrying expression on the spiky boy's face in all the years he had interacted with him. But from the tone of voice, the sound of his heartbeat, the trembling in his legs, and the grating sound of teeth in his mouth, he knew.

The spiky human boy was terrified. And it was all because the nice and cute fairy-like girl with long silver hair couldn't wake up anymore.

Those echoing footsteps finally stopped outside the door of the apartment. With the crack of the door as if they had simply come home, the two strange-scented humans stepped in with the pale moonlight cast behind their imposing backs.

"Grrrrrrrrr!"

Kizuato had no idea what was going on. He had no clue as to what was transpiring or why his favorite human had turned stiff as a statue. But he recognized the lady with a long blade. Days ago he had fought her attempts to take the spiky boy away and only survived because of pity. Had she wanted to, she could have killed him. Even now it would only take a mere Tackle or Scratch from her to slaughter him on the spot.

Gray fur bristled and rose up like a mane on his small back as Kizuato peeled his teeth back in a vicious snarl.

He'd replay that losing battle all over again if it meant protecting those humans behind him from being harmed!

"Step aside, mutt. Can't you see not even your owner is willing to put up a fight anymore?"

Laminated paper fluttered down over the snarling Poochyena and glued itself to his forehead. A strange letter with an eye glowed ominously from the ink. And an unseen force stamped its foot down upon his body with incredible strength.

Kizuato's eyes snapped open in panic at the alien sensation. Was this a Pokemon move? No, it felt too...different yet similar. Kinda like those weird humans who had this strange aura around them. Had it something to do with a creepy card stuck to his face?

An irritating itch in his right eye caused him to growl. For whatever reason, he was able to move one of his paws up and scratch his ghostly blue scarred pupil. By chance, one of his claws tore the paper off.

The unseen pressure vanished in an instant.

With a grunt, Kizuato wasted no time in leaping at the tall back of the nicotine-scented stranger pushing aside his favorite human.

"Sulfur, restrain the petulant brat. There's been enough blood spilled, so keep the rowdy dog down without any damage."

From the long coat of the redheaded man, curled bone horns burst out and rammed straight into Kizuato's leaping form. Hard devilish calcium struck his small stomach with enough force to push the air out of his lungs and slam him back into the walls with a thundering bang.

Air and saliva popped out of the Dark pup's mouth as he slumped against the wall.

"K-Kizuato!"

"Tch, I told you to do so without any damage. Just because there's no blood doesn't make it acceptable."

A huffed snort was heard above the grimacing Kizuato's shivering body before he felt a warm paw pressed on his head.

Sulfur, the Houndoom, glared down sternly at Kizuato. No sympathy could be found in his burning red eyes. With a bit of pressure added, the Dark/Fire-type leaned his snout down as he forced the smaller Pokemon down to the ground.

Stay.

Don't move.

I don't want to hurt you any more than necessary.

Those were the silent commands of a far stronger beast accustomed to both the pitch black and hellish red of the unfair world.

Out of the corner of Kizuato's ghostly blue eyes, he caught the Murkrow, Zenchou, standing over the head of Index's futon. The bird didn't move and didn't attack, eyes locked onto the tall redhead man approaching with a cold gaze. As if daring the human to force Zenchou to spread his sinister wings.

The redhead man's entire body trembled like an Electrode ready to explode. His eyes ignored the foreboding Murkrow and sought only the sprawled-out form of the fairy-like girl on the futon. Even from his pressed form below the Houndoom, Kizuato could hear the girl's uneven shallow breaths.

Fury could be sensed from the softly cursing man of flames and smoke. When he spoke, his incinerating fury was tempered for the sake of the girl's salvation.

"Kanzaki, help me prepare the ritual. When need to erase her memories before she suffers any longer at the hands of that failure."

Cracking knuckles were heard.

When Kizuato glanced at the spiky-haired boy, he found the boy unsteadily rising to his feet. The unlucky boy almost appeared possessed, his body strung along not by his head but by the emotions coursing through his battered heart. Balled fists shook and his face was turned downward in a ghastly shadow of fear and anguish.

Erase her memories? Kizuato still had no clue as to what was going on around him. But he knew whatever was happening was causing his favorite human to turn down a scary line of evolution.

"W-wait."

The boy's body moved sluggishly as if the energy to do so was too much to conjure.

"I-I was just about to save her! This is Academy City! Technology, Pokemon, Espers, drugs! We have the resources to find a solution that doesn't involve having to erase a year's worth of her memories. All we have to do is call the right people to help us, explain the situation, and-!"

He was ranting his heart out. Grasping at straws he could hardly keep together in his shaking hands. Sweat trailed down his fearful face as he stepped up to the silently listening older redhead boy.

For some reason, Zenchou the Murkrow looked away.

"You're sick of this, right?! Aren't you fed up with having to wear the same pained expression every year? You have to have been praying for a miracle to save her this entire time! Well, we can save her! Y-You just have to wait a bit longer. A f-few hours is all I-I can ask for. If you just give me the chance, we can find an ending where we're all smiling and laughing together without fear of losing those precious memories!"

Nothing was said back. Not by the redhead magician or the elegant swordswoman close by. All one could hear was human noise such as breathing and heartbeats.

"Sulfur-kun...it's alright. You can let the child go."

A heavy and hot paw lifted itself off at the command of the pretty mythical woman. For whatever reason, they saw no reason to have to restrain him. Four legs wobbling, Kizuato hated to admit it but it was difficult to stand up. The Headbutt had done more damage than he initially believed.

Even though the young Dark-type was wounded, he prepared himself to charge at the back of the smoke-scented boy.

"Is that all? Paper thin ifs? Look, you idiot!"

Kizuato snarled in warning as the redheaded boy grabbed the back of the spiky boy's head and shoved his face down to stare at the pale-faced girl. What he had seen caused the miserable boy's posture to slacken and his tight fists to weaken. He would have snapped his jaw at the bastard but found a soft yet firm hand on his bruised scalp.

It was the mythical like swordswoman. The big bad Houndoom had left to stand by his Trainer's side, red eyes meeting the equally red gaze of Zenchou who guarded Index like he were a hound as well. Kanzaki, was it? With a fragile yet stern smile, she knelt down and held him back with nothing more than her imposing aura.

Fierce shouting was heard, each word stabbing visibly into his spiky friend's chest like a needle, further causing his body to lose its will to keep itself upright or make even a fist. From the long bellowing coat of the redheaded boy, a familiar jingle of some kind of jewelry was heard and brandished.

A small ornamental cross with weird markings was shoved in the face of the spiky boy. It was held by a silver chain and carried a stinging scent to it. More shouting was heard, slightly muffled as Kizuato flinched underneath the stern but gentle hold of the deadly woman holding him back.

"When she's suffering right in front of your eyes, can you destroy it!? If you're so confident, wicked Pokemon who plays hero, can you destroy her only salvation for the mere chance of maybe, possibly saving her without any solid proof!? Then do it! Use your cursed right hand to reject her salvation, you who reeks of Giratina's breath!"

"…"

Kizuato snarled silently as he felt his heartache.

Kamijou Touma, the human who carried an air of pestilence and disaster similar to Absol's, who always fought for what he desired and could stand back up even after being bludgeoned to a bloody pulp, said nothing. With a silver cross dangling in front of his profusely sweating and pale face, he stumbled a step back and appeared as if he would collapse. His bandaged arms fell limply to his side as if the strings holding him up had been snipped.

Whatever burning will had been roaring in his heart had been snuffed out.

Kizuato hated it. At the sight of tiny salty beads slipping out of the corner of Touma's eyes, the wicked pup found it incredibly difficult to stand still and fought to leave the pretty girl's grip.

Never before had Kizuato found his ghostly blue eye practically burn.

[-]

Humans...were always ever so complicated and messy.

Zenchou continued to eye the closed door of the tiny teacher's apartment even as the two magicians had left a minute ago.

It was clear to him those two children were unhappy with what was about to transpire. The tight expressions, the irregular heartbeats, the glossy eyes, the tight muscles, the pain in their voices. Though they appeared accustomed to this kind of routine, the wounds they had to inflict on themselves would always bleed the same. Not even their precious 'magic' could ease their suffering. Blood-red eyes regarded the room closely, inspecting the human scribbles and Unknown letters, of all things, decorated the walls and floor in intricate patterns and circles. He caught a whiff of a stinging scent beginning to permeate the small home space.

Were it not for Touma's right hand, the scent and energy would have been overwhelming.

Speaking of said human, Zenchou found the boy hadn't moved from his spot next to Index. He was on his knees, his spirit broken and posture ready to break apart, staring at the sweet child they had befriended several days ago like she were deathly a ill patient about to expire.

Perhaps the analogy wasn't too far off.

Zenchou was a Murkrow; a Pokemon. Human terms and conditions were all but alien to even an intelligent creature like himself who had learned how to pick locks. Magical phenomenon was no different from an occult symbol such as himself. Grimoires? Magic Cabals? Spells? Memory destruction? He'd understand things like AIM and ASMR better than that hocus pocus nonsense, and he hardly understood what Espers were.

Everything spoken of by the magicians went over his head. And he had no desire to understand magic. Still, he understood how dire the situation was.

Index, the fairy-like girl who had appeared in their lives as if tossed out of a children's book, was going to disappear. Physically, she would still be here. She would still live and could contest with a Snorlax in an eating competition without issue later. She wouldn't undergo any kind of evolution or de-evolution.

But Index, the Index who hugged this jerk-ass Murkrow to her petite chest as if he were a Pokemon plush, would be erased from the picture. All because she had absorbed too much knowledge? Because she crammed a bunch of toxic books into her head?

Ridiculous. This entire situation was ridiculous. The corpse-like smile on the troublesome boy's face was ridiculous!

Ten minutes. After ten minutes those magicians would return to wipe the Index who treated this cursed bird like some precious childhood pet, would disappear. They had been given a few minutes to say their goodbyes out of what kindness was found in their hearts. Once the door opened, it would all be over.

Over without a fight.

"Touma? Kizuato, Zenchou?"

Zenchou ripped his eyes away from the imposing door and looked down at the child. Emerald green eyes fluttered weakly, fighting their damnedest to stay open as she reached a shivering hand up.

He felt an incredibly weak hand stroke his yellow beak.

Why? Why did she appear so relieved to see them without a hair or feather out of place? Couldn't she see how fragile she was? How much pain she was feeling?

"I'm sorry."

"Touma, w-why are there symbols on the walls? Are those Unknown making up a magic circle?"

"...It's for recovery magic. Your headaches have become too painful, right? So, we have to fix it."

Zenchou clenched the small teeth in his beak. He heard something threaten to crack.

Kizuato whined sadly and rested his head on the girl's small chest.

Dark-types couldn't heal. They lacked any kind of ability to fix anything. All they were known to do was spread violence and disaster. No matter how hard either of those three tried, they could never play the role of hero like a Lucario.

It wasn't a matter of being Espers or Pokemon. Dark-types could never heal or properly save anyone.

Against her weak body's protest, Index tried to rise up. Her face twisted terribly. By now even moving a single muscle brought her great discomfort and took the breath out of her.

"Caw!"

With the help of Touma, Zenchou eased the girl back to bed. Kizuato pressed his chin down on the girl's chest, stopping her from moving again.

"Touma...the magicians…"

"It's over. It's...all over."

Index stopped fighting, letting her body fall back with a soft thump of her back hitting the sheets. Like the defeated boy with an ill-fitting expression on his miserable face, it seemed she was giving up on fighting too.

Did...did she know? Did she understand what was about to happen to her? Was that why she was giving them such a sad yet sweet smile? Just like the spiky boy, was she giving up after all the fighting they had done together?

An insufferable wriggling in his throat struggled to burst out as Zenchou felt his small heart thrash about like a wicked Taurus.

With a face struggling to not break apart at the seams, the spiky boy dropped his head as the last of his will to battle crumbled with each word falling out of his mouth.

"I'm sorry. In the end, it's always like this. No matter how hard I fight or struggle, I always find myself right back here. Always falling short right when I'm needed most. All because I'm too weak. But I swear- I fucking swear! I'll get stronger next time. I'll fight harder...we'll fight harder."

Weak as it felt, Zenchou felt a hand fall down on his scalp. The action left him stunned just as it had Kizuato, who found Touma's free hand petting his head too.

We? Was...was that miserable child actually suggesting…?

"I won't be alone next time. Zenchou and Kizuato, even the little child sleeping innocently in the corner of the room when she's ready: next time, when you see us, we'll be stronger, so strong we'll be able to defeat every last person who would dare treat you like some object!"

"Arf!"

He was bowing his head, tears slipping out without restraint as he vowed to pick up this losing battle the next time they met. With a teary-eyed scowl of determination, the young Kizuato made a similar promise underneath his favorite human's hand.

Zenchou felt that irritating, insufferable, annoying wriggling in his throat bulge like a balloon ready to rupture. A hiss was heard as he suppressed the sensation and blinked the hot wetness in his eyes away.

What was the human thinking? We? As if he actually believed this selfish Murkrow gave a damn to repeat this tragic battle all over again? What Wild Pokemon would do so for the sake of some random human? Zenchou wasn't the boy's beloved Pokemon. He had no obligation to even be here another second longer!

S-So, so, so, so, so, so!

"So, j-just wait for us, okay? Next time, we'll save you, no matter what."

A battered smile was seen on the pale-faced Index. As if she accepted this ending despite lacking any knowledge of her condition or what would happen next. All she knew was that this was goodbye.

G-goodbye...

The wriggling…

"When you're all better when we've defeated those magicians, when we've won our battle, we can all go out for a fun day around the city. We can even invite Yumiya-san too. I know she'd love nothing more for all of us to pick up where we left off. Who knows? Maybe we can also go out to the beach with Komoe-sensei. I'm sure if she was invited, she'd let me off of a few supplementary lessons."

The insufferable wriggling….

"I wonder if we can find a way to transfer you over to my school? You're close to my age, so we might be able to get you assigned to my class too."

"I'd like that. Then we can all play together all day long."

This hot, heavy, irritating, painful wriggling! All these damn lies! All these tears!

"We can make all sorts of memories together, right, Touma?"

"...We will. I promise."

A yellow, shivering, clenched, beak shuttered open. Unbelievably hot tears swam down the corners of a wicked bird's narrowed red eyes. And as that cursed, selfish, and cruel Pokemon watched as a frail hand had tried to reach out to him, to clean the tears on his face, lose all strength, and fall to the futon with an audible thud, he'd lost it.

Something wriggled free from his locked chest, no longer held back by excuses or pride as he witnessed the fairy-like girl's eyes shut with a far too sweet and kind smile aimed their way.

"C-Caw. Caw, CAAAAAAWWWW!"

A Wild Murkrow let out a pained and broken cry at the scene playing before his eyes.

Please, stop. I-I don't want to say goodbye so soon!

Reject this. Refuse this. Fight this!

"What kind of horrible ending is thi-!"

"CAW, CAW, CAW, CAW, CAW, CAW, CAW!"

Enough was enough! Fuck this miserable Taurus shit! Fuck this fucking sad ending with nothing but fucking tears and fucking false promises!

An enraged Murkrow flapped his wings furiously with tears dripping down his beak's chin, caring little for the small rivet of blood running down the spiky boy's bitten lip and did what he does best.

Peck the shit out of the miserable boy who didn't even have the strength to put up another fight!

"Ow! Zenchou! What the hell?! Why the fuck are you attacking me now, you fucking asshole?!"

"Caw, caw, caw! Caw, caw!"

Even now, even in this tragic situation, Zenchou's words were heard and understood by the unlucky idiot. Amid a fury of Peck attacks Touma struggled to block with his forearms, he somehow heard the words of the crying Pokemon.

Why are you giving up?! Is that it? Are you really fucking giving up without even putting up a battle? Are you really happy with accepting this shitty ending?!

Black feathers fell in the fury attack of a wet-eyed Murkrow's assault. Small droplets of red followed as the attacks broke the skin of the scowling spiky boy's forearms. Sadness was replaced by anger, drowning out the tearful goodbyes by a being of misfortune who could no longer stomach all this suffocating misery. Off to the side, Kizuato stepped back, face struck by surprise and uncertainty at what to do.

Pain, anger, frustration, and despair colored Touma's face as tried to guard against the Wild Pokemon's sharp pecks. With a deep grunt, the boy caught the Murkrow's wings in his hands.

"Give me a break! I-I've tried! All I've done is try, try, and try again, and again, and again! I've been fighting- for so LONG! - only to fail!"

Glaring red eyes, drowning in tears, clashed with dark blue, drowning in tears. Both unlucky boys faced the other as the clock continued counting down to an ending neither desired.

Yet only one had accepted it.

Touma's chest was heaving roughly to repress the thick pressure threatening to crush his heart. His entire frame was shivering like he had been struck by an Icy Wind courtesy of a Beartic. The shadows of grief and defeat cast over his face could conceal a Gengar. It took his all just to remain standing and not collapse by Index's side with a guttural sob made up of all his past failures.

Defeated.

The boy who held back Zenchou was painted in the sorrowful colors of defeat. There wasn't any fight in him and he couldn't even clench his fist. Even after everything he had just said to the swordswoman over the phone, the promises he made, the fight and fire he had shown, this was what he had ultimately had left to give.

"What do you expect a God of Pestilence to do?" he muttered weakly, voice broken and choked with a sob.

"Caw."

Zenchou sniffed, face still set in a tearful glare to the only human he had any bit of respect for.

Fight. Don't give up. Not like this.

Touma could only smile an empty smile.

"Zenchou, look at me. I'm not a hero. I'm a failure who's tried to play that special role while lacking all the requirements to fit the childish class. I can't be a justice-seeking figure like Lucario who uses their fighting spirit to defeat the bad guys. I can't evolve and change my nature; I'm a Dark-type. A miserable, unlucky, plague who always fails to clench a happy ending. It was the same with...with Musha-kun."

Big teeth flashed in his mind.

A Totodile, The Big Jaw Pokemon, a Water-type commonly known for its playful nature in splashing about puddles of water, taking large bites, and squirting water at their owners with a big grin and laugh.

Kamijou Touma's first Pokemon: his Starter Pokemon. His best and first, and true, friend.

Just the memory of his beloved Pokemon caused a sob to nearly break him.

"It was the same with Mitsuari. It was the same with...with...w-who was s-she? W-wasn't there s-someone e-else?!"

Two girls came to mind. One with brown fluffy cotton candy hair, her smiling face marred by a twisted shadow. And honey-blonde (?) hair, what he assumed was her smiling face marred by noisy static.

"It was the same with Yuri! And it's the same with Index, right?! I tried and failed. I fought and lost! Even though I gained all these small and significant victories, saved people, put an end to all these tragedies! I always end up losing."

This time the faces of two girls he had only recently gotten to know came to mind. An older girl with grape wine purple hair, her nurturing face, and kind eyes marred by a sweet yet sour light. And a young girl with flowing silver hair, her naive and innocent features marred by a dimming light in her big wide green eyes.

Once again, the friends he found wandering into his miserable and lonely world were going to disappear. Despite all the blood he spilled, the wounds he collected, his tears, his cries, all the pain! It would always end the same way.

Alone.

Always alone.

Touma sniffed back a thick cry, bowed his head, and whimpered.

"I'm tired of losing. I don't want to lose any more friends. I...I just can't take it anymore. After losing so much...what am I supposed to do?"

"CAW!"

"WOOF!"

As one, a Murkrow and Poochyena shouted to the sniffling child with wet red eyes set in valiant scowls.

FIGHT!

Touma shook his head tiredly, sniffling once again and letting go of Zenchou's wings so that he could flap his wings.

"You guys don't get it. All I have is this useless right hand. Even if this damn thing can dismantle the system of god with just a punch, it can't fix this. This isn't something physical I can fight with just my fists. This is something complex! I can't destroy the 85% of space crammed with over a hundred thousand toxic magical grimoires to free up the 15% of memories she needs to survive! She's lucky to have made it this lon-!"

Something cut through the hopeless and crushing air. In that split second, that brief gasp of clarity, the crying child's eyes grew wide amid the tears threatening to swallow him deep.

Zenchou smiled as he watched the spiky boy stumble back. Almost as if he had been struck out of nowhere. A gray-furred tail began to wag furiously as Kizuato had noticed it too.

"85%? Wait, wait. If only 15% can contain a year's worth of memories...and they'd only learned how to save her after trying out who knows how many methods gathered from all corners of the world...wouldn't that mean she would have died before she was even five?"

...There it was.

A change, bit by bit, was occurring. Bleak eyes were sparked. And a destroyed bandaged right hand twitched. Lips set in a sorry line quivered with a new emotion.

A thousand thoughts began to race without signs of stopping in the boy's mind. Unlike just a minute ago, no more tears slipped out.

Zenchou and Kizuato watched the shivering boy move in haste for the old phone. They stood by as the miserable boy called his sensei for clarification of the budding thought in his head. What was said over the line was lost to the two Dark-types who had no understanding of many of the scientific terms involving brain cells, storage capacity, semantic and episodic memories, and matters only super-smart Pokemon could ever comprehend. But it was undeniable.

A bandaged right hand clenched.

A fierce smile was made.

An odd laugh was heard.

Time no longer mattered.

The past no longer mattered.

What was lost or forgotten no longer mattered.

Because right now, the world had evolved enough for all those boring and useless subjects to no longer matter.

"Caw, caw!"

"Ruff, ruff!"

Not even those constraining bandages mattered anymore!

With a tug, the white bandages were removed with such force that the wraps resembled coils of a snake springing free. The fierce smile evolved into a wolfish, challenging, and brave grin to devour the pathetic line once adorning his tear-stricken face.

Now.

Let's abandon these tired notions of nature, misfortune, memories, magic, science, miracles, and evolution.

Claws, talons, and fists were clenched together to challenge this lousy finale.

A heavy seal was torn off as those three Dark-types challenged the world's natures and laws with a bellowing roar.

"I'm done playing the hero! We're done playing the hero! Because we will be the heroes!"

[-]

Honestly, he thought all it would take to put an end to all this drama and grief would be a measly touch of his right hand on Index's feverish face.

Battered palm pressed on the magical library's forehead, Touma released a heavy sigh.

Nothing.

No change. No audible sound of negation. No visible relief.

Imagine Breaker destroyed the supernatural with just a touch of his pinkie. Not even a city block-wide explosion from either an Esper, Pokemon, or Magician could break through his shielding hand. It didn't matter how strong the ability or effect was. Imagine Breaker would punch through.

"Aroo?"

Nose tickling Index's arm, Kizuato nudged the unresponsive girl with a hopeful poke. Like Touma, the pup had hoped IB would work.

Touma scratched the back of his head, puzzled by the lack of change. Maybe it was merely a matter of placement? Could it be that the 'collar' the church had implanted into Index was something more intricate and hidden? Like a power source?

If so, all he had to do was find the power source and break it!

Steeling himself, Touma touched the sleeping Index all over.

"CAW!"

"I am not a pervert! Besides, you're the one who told me not to throw in the towel and keep trying!"

Ignoring the pecking from a glaring Zenchou…

Still nothing?

Touma stood back in utter confusion.

Embarrassing as it was, he had placed his right hand on whatever location the Galar church would have placed the origin of Index's collar. He looked for any visible signs of some kind of magical sigil or symbol responsible for its source but couldn't find anything but further embarrassment. Thank Arceus she wasn't awake as he dared to touch her ches-

"OW!"

Once again, Zenchou delivered punishment for his sins.

Blowing on his newest wounds, he went back to trying to solve his dilemma.

If the collar wasn't on her outwardly, could it be inwardly? If it was a matter of disabling the power source like a machine then it had to be concealed inside her body to better safeguard it. Was it possible to carve a magic source inside a person? Just thinking of such a gruesome practice both sickened him and pissed him off.

But wouldn't that mean doing so would have left a scar? As red-faced as it made him, he thought back to the first time he saw Index naked. He couldn't recall a scar of any kind. Not to mention that they would need easy access to do any kind of maintenance work on the collar, so it would have to be a place they could reach without trouble. Question was where though.

Caring little for personal space, Kizuato continued to butt his nose into the sleeping fairy girl. With a curious paw, he tickled the girl's mouth with a needy bark.

"Arf!"

"Zenchou, you shou-"

Touma froze, eyes widening as a thought struck.

...No, right? They wouldn't place such a thing in there, of all places, right?

Gulping anxiously, he decided to throw caution and shame to the wind. Time was running out. Even if it would label him badly, he had to try whatever it took to save Index. With a silent apology to the dreaming child, Touma cracked open her cute lips to get a peep at the inside of her mouth.

Carefully sitting atop Touma's spiky head, Zenchou leaned down and tilted his head to get a better view of it.

A glowing ebony black symbol; an Unknown symbol. Upon being found, it pulsed like it were a heart exposed from a cracked open chest. The very sight of the ominous collar made both beings of misfortune grit their teeth and the rowdy pup's ghostly blue eye burn.

He had no idea if the black symbol was the true source. Or what would happen if Imagine Breaker touched it.

Touma carefully plunged his hand into Index's mouth, finger touching the back of her warm throat, ignored the wet sensation of saliva and muscle tissue, and struck the occult symbol. The time for second thoughts and fear was long over with.

Immediately he felt a static-like shock ram into his entire hand as Index's body thrashed about. As if he had just grasped the tail of a pissed-off Raichu. She shuddered visibly, throat gagging like she was going to throw up violently. Blood seeped out of her mouth as Touma's hand was blasted with an audible bang. Droplets of red followed behind his hand, courtesy of the wounds Kanzaki had inflicted him opening up.

Even as a deep pain caused the bones in his right arm to ring like a struck metal pole, and his wounds stung like they had been splashed with alcohol, he didn't care.

"Zenchou! Kizuato! Get back and protect the egg!"

With a determined scowl, Kizuato leaped back and put himself between the sleeping child and the exploding force released shortly after. The Bite Pokemon held firm against the fierce explosive waves, shielding the egg as many of the room's items and furniture were knocked down by the bellowing winds. It was as if a large Bird Pokemon had summoned a Gust to whip everything about.

Touma grit his teeth as he found he couldn't withstand the force. He was sent flying until his back was knocked into Komoe's bookcase and flinched as several heavy books, trinkets, and even Pokeballs cascaded down upon him. Wood was cracked, snapped, and splintered as Touma fell on the floor with a grunt. His fingers slipped as he tried to push himself up, finding a Pokeball in the way. The sight of the capture device had him worried that Komoe had left one of her Pokemon behind.

Thankfully they were empty. At least, four of them were. Wait...why did one of those Pokeballs have his name-

"Caw, caw!"

"I know!"

Blood and saliva mixed together as Touma struggled to swallow the bubble of red threatening to escape his snarling lips as he got up. It hurt. The explosive force wasn't a joke and was comparable to a grenade's. He felt like his shaking legs would collapse at any moment.

But…

"Warning: Chapter 3, Verse 2. All barriers for Index Librorum Prohibitorum's collar from first to third have been breached. Preparing to regenerate...Failed. The collar cannot self-regenerate. Switching priorities to the elimination of the intruder in order to protect the 103,000 archived grimoires. Preparing ...preparing...preparing…"

From the epicenter of the exploding winds, she slowly arose in an unsettling manner reminiscent of a limp puppet lifted up without strings. Like a sack of dead meat and bones, she stood up without the assistance of her muscles to support her, her body enveloped a thin translucent static as her silver hair floated like it were in water. Bright crimson circles spun slowly in Index's iris, piercing straight through Touma like she were merely a machine.

Nothing about the bright, sweet, kind, glutton remained. Nothing remotely human. Not even Pokemon like Magnemites held such a dim and blank gaze devoid of warmth.

He'd seen this before. When Kanzaki had sliced Index's back wide open. When she had spoken to him like some machine about runes. The appearance was the same. The unsettling sensation in his stomach was the same.

Touma's lips twitched.

"You said you can't use magic. Despite being a magician possessing all these forbidden and reality-twisting books in your mind, you lacked the magic power to actually put any of that vast and powerful knowledge to use. Actually, that never made any sense to me. After all, you're not an Esper, so why can't you use magic!?"

The twitch evolved into a vicious smile you would mistake for a beastly snarl.

Why had he bought this lousy story without asking any questions? As a member of the world of Science, he should have been asking nothing but questions. To want to understand this strange phenomenon and the people who had forced him to accept their supposed truth which would only lead to the smiles and laughter of others being trampled upon. Why had he simply given up at the very end instead of continuing to fight even after it was supposedly over?

Lies.

It had all been nothing but lies by the higher-ups who controlled the truth for their own comfy peace of mind. Those lies were utterly shattered by the possessed girl being overtaken by a magical defense system. A security program. An ironclad protective software to defend against those who would dare poke at what they labeled as their property and sought to break their control.

A defensive evolution, no different than Mega Evolution, only lacking the need of a Key Item to trigger.

How could a girl who lacked a once of magic power be capable of performing such a battle-centered evolution?

Answer: She could. She always could. But because of the machinations of the higher-ups of her own cabal, she lacked the willpower to do it herself unless unknown and unseen requirements were met.

Crimson magical circles halted, pulsing once as the very gravity in the room seemed to waver visibly in her space.

"Analyzing complete. Unable to determine the spell capable of damaging the seal. Surroundings scanned. No magical presence to detect. Abnormal threat detected. Utilization of the 103,000 archived grimoires authorized in order to asset a plan of elimination…Plan of Elimination discovered. Preparing fail-safe initiative: Broken_SANCTUARY. Initialization list of parameters."

The magic circles in Index's eyes expanded outward, breaking from the confines of her iris to float out in front of her like defensive shields. The circles intertwined over the other, each containing small Unknown letters spelling out alien incantations. Magical energy, colorless yet visible, ebbed from her robotic posture like dissolving sugar as gravity pressed down upon her to the point the floor beneath her began to sink and crack. Even from a safe distance from the girl, Touma felt as if something was swelling around her, ready to burst.

Index opened her cute lips and sang what could only be an inhuman melody not even the smartest scientists could hope to comprehend. And with a swift motion, softly swung her right hand in front of her as if she held an oriental fan.

"Parameters complete. Initializing John's Pen."

Finally, the crushing pressure gathering around Index's small frame popped and crashed forward behind her swinging gesture like Wailord's Surf.

Space stretched like taffy to the human eye as the unseen swelling pressure expanded in Touma's eyes. Physics was spat at as the tatami floor beneath their feet literally stretched without the material distorted or stretched out like skin. Out of instinct, Touma shielded himself from the invisible phenomenon expanding the once small room but found a lack of an audible negation. Did that mean the spell was more complex than he believed?

"Verse 8 Of The Crowned Trio: And so, The Second Child Swept The World With His Right Hand, To Expand The Land, Air, And Sea For All To Worship The Lord."

With just one motion of the robotic mannered girl's frail hand, the small room hand swollen and stretched out before their very eyes. All without causing any sort of damage to the room. He felt the breath stolen from him as he spun his head around to get an idea of the change.

A stadium. The measly one-person abode unfit for even the addition of a tiny bathroom, once cramped with all five of them, had grown out to resemble the width of the Pokemon battlefield he had previously fought the two leading figures of Toxic Hazard. It wasn't just width but height as well, the ceiling reaching up several more yards in length.

"C-Caw."

"Aroo."

Both Zenchou and Kizuato were immediately on edge at such a move performed so simply by a human. More so by one whom they had seen as a kind and loving child, they were determined to protect. To them, she no longer embodied the naive and sweet innocence of some Fairy one would find in a storybook.

Legendary.

What stood against them possessed the same aura as a Legendary Pokemon ready to strike down judgment from above. Primal instincts went crazy, warning them to submit and bow before what was essentially a Pokemon lost to myth and fables. There was no resisting against what effortlessly expanded the tiny room into a battlefield for Pokemon like Onix.

"The field has been set. Final preparations are complete. Beginning deployment of countermagic designated the most effect to combat the irregular threat. Warning, Warning: Activating St. George's Sanctuary."

Pitch-black lines cracked the space between the occult magical circles. It was as if something unseen, dwelling within another layer of reality, was pushing to break free. From the cracks, ebony lightning scattered wildly like hot splashing oil from the center of the distortion spreading further and further. Something pulsed from the cracked hole in space, its beastly scent wafting out like smoke from a fire to cause the fur and feathers on the two Dark-types to stand up and tremble.

Even a basic human like Touma felt it. The sense of terror, fear, and malice leaked out of whatever hid behind the cracked curtains of a space separate from this world into an abyss no human or Pokemon would survive. Without a doubt, if either of them could see the unknown beast glaring at them through the bullet-like hole, their minds would shatter completely. This sense of primal fear leaking out was reminiscent of toxic fumes, designed to break down one's resolve and will.

A poison from another world broke free to inflict an ancient and forgotten terror.

In the face of anyone else, anyone sensible, anyone remotely normal, this would be the point where resolve would be tested and strained. Even the fiercest Pokemon like Tyranitar would step back anxiously.

"Ha."

So, why was the so-called ordinary high school boy smiling?

Indeed, he was scared. He wasn't immune to the supernatural poison infecting his already damaged spirit. His legs were trembling and he felt sweat wet his bandages. If one were to look at him now, he wouldn't doubt they would see a scared child who had looked as if he had stepped out of the cold rain.

But he was smiling.

"Hahahahahaahahahaahahahahahahaah!"

He was smiling and laughing as he was leered down at by a girl who had lost her humanity and stepped into the territory of a legendary Pokemon all but denied by the world of science he called home.

Because standing before him was something he could actually fight. A physical object to confront with his lousy right hand. It wasn't something invisible, something small that would require expensive surgical tools and machines, something far out of reach for him to so much as see, or something blocked by a great wall of steel or stone. What stood right here was merely a girl being possessed by a supernatural power capable of distorting reality like it were settings in a video game.

Imagine Breaker was a shitty ability.

It was a curse he had come to realize after meeting Index. The right hand was responsible for all the terrible luck he had suffered as a child. For all the violence, the judgment, the hate, and the blame, for things he had no control over. Every loss he had suffered just at the last moment could logically be Imagine Breaker's fault.

Really, he was truly a cursed child; a Dark-type.

Even so, it was because of said shitty ability that he could stand here, right now! And make a fist to challenge this shitty ending everyone had to accept!

Beating wings could be heard by his side. A few ominous black feathers fell as he felt a presence join him in standing against what was a legendary beast. And if he turned his head back, he'd find a dark pup guarding over an egg a safe distance away from the battlefield with his gray fur rising like a mane.

This time it would be different. The last of the blood-stained bandages fell to the floor as Touma took a step forward.

Trembling with excitement utterly devoid of shitty fear, the failed hero who could never evolve past being a merely Dark-type took the first step to close the long distance between him and Index.

At the sound of his foot hitting the floor, the nightmarish cracks concealing an abnormal beast spread wide open like a gaping maw. An intense glint was seen by the summoned predator.

A pillar of searing light roared forth like a locomotive barreling through the tracks of a station. Its form reminded him of an intense laser beam made of molten sunlight, blinding white and appearing to sear the very air with an audible hiss. This was nothing like a Solar Beam, an attack made out of nutrients and gathered, condensed, rays of the sun above their heads. This was pure light itself.

Cringing at the blinding beam rushing forward, Touma thrust out his right hand. His open palm caught the pillar and the sound of sizzling meat hitting a hot skillet could be heard not a second later. A large spray of broken light splashed from the intense beam failing to break through the ordinary human hand as if it were made of water.

"Zenchou! Stay back and avoid the light!" Touma shouted to the flapping bird at his side as he held his ground.

With a nod, Zenchou ducked behind the droplets of molten light and flew a safe distance from the possessed girl, careful of the stoic magic-circled eyes briefly regarding him.

"Pokemon detected: Murkrow, Dark/Flying-type. Weaknesses: Rock, Fairy, Ice, and Electric. Unable to prepare adequate counterattacks as all power is focused on the abnormal threat. Suggesting cutting back 5% power to activate St. Peter's Anti-flight spell."

Touma grits his teeth as his knees buckle. Did Index say only 5% power?! Would that even make a difference when he had to support his right hand with his left hand? Already, he could feel the bones of his wrist groaning like rubber and struggle to break his arm like a branch. Imagine Breaker was fighting back as best it could but bit by bit the overwhelming magic was eating away at his resistance.

He was stuck. Locked in place without any chance to move without risking an instant OHK. Even with Zenchou at his command, he was too terrified of turning that deadly girl's gaze upon his friend. So, what could he do now?

Heavy banging was heard from far behind him in the expanded room. As the door swung open, he couldn't believe he'd almost forgotten about the second party involved in all this mess. He couldn't believe he found himself smiling in relief as he found the scowling and pissed-off face of Stiyl Magnus breaking into the room.

The flame magician looked absolutely livid, eyes snapped wide open in rage at the sight before him.

"What the hell are you doing?! Who said you could lock us ou-!"

Stiyl choked mid-sentence, finally noticing the abnormal scene playing right in front of him. He froze, unable to comprehend the magic-less sister he adored firing a laser beam of blinding light like she were a Pokemon using Hyper Beam.

Kanzaki flinched back, face ashen white as she trembled.

"Dragon's Breath? Spatial Quake?! That...that can't be possible. Those are forbidden magic spells!"

A magic spell? That he understood already! What else was it supposed to be?

Touma clenched his teeth, swearing he could feel a tooth begin to crack.

"No shit! What else?! You know what this thing is called, right? Dragon's Breath? I'm guessing it's nothing close to the Dragon-type move a Pokemon can learn under the right circumstances. So, tell me something I don't know! Does it have weaknesses? Does it have a limit? Can it be disrupted by an outside party!? If you know anything that can help me break through this, tell me now!"

"But-"

"Stop hesitating, you fucking idiots!"

Just the small sound of uncertainty pissed Touma off. He shouted with all his might at the magicians who couldn't even take another step forward.

"What the hell do you see?! You said it yourself; this is Dragons Breath, a magical spell! The girl who doesn't have a magic power in her bones is performing a dangerous spell. Who told you that shitty fact? It was the church, right?! Doesn't that mean they lied to you? Why? In fact, if they lied to you about this, what else could they have lied to you about? What about Index's memories? Doesn't it seem rather convenient to you that she has to have her memories wiped out yearly, crippling her ability to fully utilize the mega library of dangerous spells capable of stretching out a one-person apartment into a Pokemon battlefield!?"

"B-But!"

"God, stop screwing around already and say something useful! Just because you're magicians doesn't mean you're idiots! Think about it!"

Blood flew past Touma's snarling lips as one of his teeth broke the skin of his lips. His feet were slowly sliding back and the force of the beam was striking his body even as he held it at bay.

"Did you really expect those high and mighty higher-ups to tell a couple of grunts the whole truth? You were only meant to guard their Legendary Pokemon and ensure she didn't get captured. But this entire time, they were the ones who held the collar, her Pokeball, in their hands. They were always the ones in full control and knew full well of her dangerous spells. Just look at her! This is the real Index that those bastards were trying to hide from all of you!"

"St. George's Sanctuary is proving to be not effective. Type unknown. Sensing Fairy, Steel, Fire, Dark, Flying, and...unknown. Second abnormality discovered, typing Dark yet...unknown, unknown, unknown. Number of threats has increased. Preparing countermeasures to eliminate the new threats to the grimoire library."

"Meeeeeeeeeeehhhhhhhh!"

A loud warning cry was heard from behind the blank-faced magicians. Too stunned by the sight of their cherished friend using magic, they were unaware of the ever-silent sheep Pokemon, Blewog, hurriedly strutting past them. Kanzaki cursed herself for being unable to stop the faithful companion as he charged…

Straight at the open back of Kamijou Touma.

"Blewog, no!"

Unknown power colored the Wooloo's skull, empowering his blow to deal greater damage to flesh and bone.

But before the attack could land, another head bashed into the side of the fluffy beast.

Kizuato abandoned his post, his ghostly blue eye going mad with irritation as the sneaky Pokemon made himself known and acted on pure instinct. With just a Tackle, he intervened before his favorite human could be hurt and sent the traitor flying away.

The blow did little damage to the sheep, Blewog flipping mid-air before hitting the floor to land on his hooves. The fluff ball stamped his hoof down, glaring in frustration at the equally glaring Poochyena as he took a battle stance.

Something strange was seen at that moment. Normally white fur wavered, wriggled, and changed pigment to resemble a faint lustrous gold. The Pokemon's black eyes changed to a sinister otherworldly purple reminiscent of the starry night sky as the now threaded gold wool began to visibly thrash about as if it were a living being. Blewog snarled, revealing a clashing set of sharp teeth to his cute demeanor as its body stretched and rose like it were clay being molded.

Touma couldn't see the change but he doubted what the stunned magicians and Pokemon were seeing was a natural evolution.

Stubby hooves grew out into lanky yet powerful forearms, growing clawed fingers to better shred their prey. Their feet grew in a similar manner, molding into powerful legs one would find on lupine Pokemon. Dark skin cells were bleached by an ashen white hide hidden behind layers upon layers of soft wool, its bipedal form now resembling something similar to a human stature but more bestial like a Lycanroc's Midnight form. The golden wool parted to merely flow from his scalp all the way to his back and forearms and tail, still fluffy but bunched together in wicked curls for better cushion and appearing like a gold threaded cloak. His short horns elongated, slicking back like devilish fish spines as his face lost its sheepish and cute appearance, and grew sharp, wolfish, and cruel as it underwent an unnatural evolution. Or perhaps this was something different.

There was an old saying even an Esper had heard of in a world of science. Of a Lycanroc in Wooloo's clothing. Kindness and cuteness draped over a body of malice and distrust.

White, Black, and Gold. A symbol of pure wickedness concealed by a holy guardian. A liar.

"What...what is this?" Kanzaki muttered numbly as she found the adorable Wooloo now standing at 6 feet tall with a menacing glare aimed directly at those who were in the room.

"Sensing presence of church ally. Moniker: Clagwool, The False Sheep Fable; The Saint Killer. Adding agent's parameters into combat scenarios. Eliminating threat of Pokemon and lesser magician from the equation; now accounting for abnormality and Saint as the main focus."

The intensity of the melting drop of light didn't waver, choosing instead to erupt like a bubbling mass to swiftly deal away with the groaning shield in its way.

The newly transformed Wooloo, Clagwool, sneered venomously down at the frozen humans and Pokemon as he flexed his fish hook claws. He did not bat an eye to the legendary girl behind him, turning his full attention to those who dared to damage the collar of the girl he was in charge of monitoring. Not even the magicians he had been working alongside for years were free of his menacing shadow as he bent his body lower and prepared to leap at the first person who thought to get in his way.

"You...you piece of shit."

One person among those numb figures finally had enough and spat venom with a seething glare.

"Fortis931!"

Countless laminated cards were flushed from the long robes of the flame magician like birds let loose from cages. They spiraled out around the pissed-off teen, quickly spreading out to glue themselves to every surface they could touch in the battlefield-sized room. Strange runes of fire, drawn to resemble Unknown, glared down upon all those in the room like an eldritch creature taking hold of the small world to pass judgment.

Without further ado, Stiyl snapped his fingers, eyes locked directly to the snarling-faced wolf in sheep's clothing aiming to swing his claws at the exposed back of the esper.

Deathly white horns speared out of the shadows of his bellowing black cloak like sabers.

"Sulfur! Flame Charge!"

Flames roared out from the pitch black, the maddeningly snarling figure of Sulfur the Houndoom exploding out with whipping flames cloaking his charging body. The many rune cards spread about the room gleamed, causing the flames coating Sulfur to whip wildly to the point the colors deepened to resemble a scarlet red.

Clagwool clicked his fangs, hooked claws pausing just before he could swing them at the back of the spiky boy blocking Index's beam. Turning his attack to the burning dog, he was ready to deliver a savage downward slash to gore the beast.

Tiny fangs interrupted his downward swing courtesy of the Poochyena he had forgotten chomping as deep as he could into wool and flesh. Brief pain stopped him as he yelped in surprise.

The small opening was all Sulfur needed to ram his all into the chest of the tall wolf Pokemon. Enhanced wicked flames exploded from his body, stretching out like a massive maw to some giant beast, and snapped down to devour the newly transformed traitor in fire. Searing, angry, devilish heat gulped the roaring Pokemon(?) in a bonfire that thrashed about like a rampaging Taurus.

Giving the newly, and now burning, Pokemon a scathing glare, Stiyl ran past it.

His palm pressed itself upon Touma's back just as the boy was about to lose his footing from the shrieking beam.

"I don't know what the hell you did, what's going on, or what anything of this might mean! I don't give a shit about any of it! All I care about is saving Index. That's always been my main priority! And right now, she's at her limit. Right now, I can save her with an assured method! And right now, I'll kill anyone who gets in my way of accomplishing that!"

Even now, he would fight Kamijou Touma. That was how determined he was in saving his beloved friend even at this critical junction of the story. So long as he could save her with a proven method of salvation, he would do whatever it took to see her smile even from a distance.

Horrific cracks popped open beneath their feet as the tatami mats lost their composure. Sparks of blinding light began to spray about like a clogged hose, burning wild lines across the expanded room-turned battlefield. The bright bonfire of thrashing flames behind Touma's back was torn through by a great swipe of a strange Pokemon he wasn't sure had ever existed.

Things were going downhill fast. He couldn't keep this up much longer. And a new threat had shown itself.

But this time the lonely and miserable child wasn't alone.

Voice shouting over all the chaos, he spoke directly to the still too frightened and lost children of Arceus.

"Are you happy then?!"

"What?"

"Are you happy with this lousy compromise?! Can you honestly tell me that you're willing to accept this temporary form of salvation with a smile as bright as hers on your face?!"

A deafening roar was heard as the now fire-free Clagwool turned his sights back to Touma's exposed back. With a savage snarl, he fell on all fours and aimed to skewer the esper with his horns, the twin black spines twisted to resemble spears glittering with multi-colored energy. To the magicians, it looked like majestic spears wielded by knights, blessed by Fairy Pokemon, to slay dragons.

"Caw!"

"Raaarrrf!"

Ghostly energy balled up and flew to intervene alongside a rain of sawing razor wind disks. An explosive plume of cursed wind blotted out the charging beast, steering its blessed spears with the force off course. A grazing point of those horns just barely missed Touma, scoring a bleeding laceration along the left side.

Touma wanted to cry out in pain as he felt the dampness of the burning wound swim down his leg but forced himself to keep talking to the magicians.

"How long have you been waiting for this chance? To stumble upon a solution where Index's memories don't have to be discarded because of the fear of those holding her Pokeball in their palm? Where you guys don't have to continue saying goodbye with tears in your eyes! Villains? Prey? That boring plotline can go to hell! Right here and now is your chance to overturn the lousy plot and see a wonderful and happy ending where everyone can smile!

An angered Clagwool quickly found himself bracing his forearms as the mangy dark pup leaped at his face, fully intent on tearing his nose off with his tiny teeth. Springy golden threaded wool moved down his arm and shielded his flesh. With a creak of his jaw, the bizarre sheep/wolf emitted a foul mist of darkness. Tiny hairs curled along the startled Poochyena's caught teeth, locking him in place as the horned beast seemed to grin mockingly before having gathered a sufficient amount of energy for his attack.

A shadow fell above the Pokemon's face, confusing Clagwool before he found sharp talons stabbing down at his face. His yelp of agonizing pain as the Murkrow's talons came close to ripping out his eyes was accompanied by a wicked stream of malevolent black energy, missing the pup due to his head falling back as he cried out.

The deadly stream of darkness kept firing, piercing out the roof of the room like a sword of evil.

Blood flew out as Clagwool tore the pesky bird off his face, teeth exposed in fury before said teeth were forcefully clamped down with an audible bony clack by the tangled tooth Poochyena striking his bottom jaw with a Tackle. Clagwool howled madly and flung the pup away.

Even though Kizuato was tossed aside with cannon-like force, his crash was stopped by the helpful aid of Zenchou swooping in to catch the boy before he hit the floor. Flapping his wings, Zenchou carefully set down his companion, eyeing for any serious injuries to the flinching canine before turning back to their opponent. Kizuato blew a huff out his nose, mismatched eyes scowling ahead as he heard a chilling clicking of hooked claws.

Together, the two beings of Dark stood against the baleful eyes of a twisted sheep of holy clothe.

Even now, with the strange things occurring around them, lacking any understanding of the bigger picture, and completely out of their league against a legendary figure and a bizarre Pokemon neither were sure existed, they were fighting.

They weren't giving up, so Touma wouldn't either.

"Haven't you ever wanted to be the hero? Don't lie. This is what you've always wanted deep in your frozen hearts, right?! I get it. We get it!"

Dark-types from various backgrounds hit the floor again amid the boy's shouting to the petrified magicians. Wild slashes were seen and carved the floor in ugly grooves. The ground was torn apart as missed strikes scarred the floor. Explosions of various colors erupted in the background. Elemental energies flashed in the form of beams, blasts, cannonballs, claws, beaks, horns, wool, roars, wings, talons, blades, and abnormal phenomena. Blood began to stain the expanded tatami battlefield from all parties involved.

A battle between Pokemon was being raged. So, why shouldn't the humans emulate that same ferocity!? To the Saint, Kanzaki, such a fierce battle being waged by two children labeled as wicked and evil by the people, all for the sake of one girl's smile, her cherished friend's smile, left her feeling an ugly shame in her chest.

"Even us Dark-types have dreamed of becoming the hero too! We've all looked to those fairy tales and movies about humans and Pokemon rising up to the occasion to save some girl, so why are you hesitating now to play the role? Now's your shot to make that childish illusion a reality! Are you struggling to make a move just because the prologue to the story has been dragging on too long?! Or are you really content with us Dark-types stealing the show?!"

Before the magicians' eyes, what did those miserable, wicked, vile, unfortunate figures look like? When they had every right to give up and turn tails like cowards against a figure of corrupted purity, why hadn't they given up?

"Don't be afraid. Stretch out your hands already and reach it for yourselves!"

CRACK!

Several grisly cracks were heard at once.

Touma's face was twisted by the sound and sensation of his ring finger bending back- broken -at an almost comical angle suggesting it was made out of rubber. Sensing the crack in the shield, the beam increased its output, causing the boy's right hand to be flung back.

Kizuato yelped loudly as he found a devastating clawed fist smashing into his side, breaking at least two of his ribs before he found his small body slammed down mercilessly.

Zenchou withheld a cry as a majestic spear coated with fairy-like energy slipped into his right wing, the spear quickly sliding off as Clagwool tossed him aside like garbage.

The three figures of Dark were left exposed in the moment.

Blitzing light erupted forward with a howl.

Misty black darkness blasted forward with a roar.

And finally…

"Salvare000!"

"Sulfur, Fire Blast!"

Three heroes stepped up onto the field with a cry of their own.

A two-meter-long sword from Johto sliced through the air. Glinting metal wires were fired in strange patterns and angles like thin laser beams. The deadly cutting technique flew towards Index at a speed unavoidable to man or Pokemon. Instead of splitting the possessed girl's skin open though, the unseen blades tore apart the already weakened tatami floor, disrupting her footing and firing position.

With another stroke of her blade, an intricate array of defensive wards and shields were erected by another series of wires to ensure the safety of a sleeping unborn child.

Leaping in front of the downed Dark-types, Sulfur stood steadfast in the wake of the foul blast of energy and fired a densely packed clump of hellish flames. The clump unraveled mid-flight, spelling out the symbol of flames to smash straight into the twisted sheep's attack. Orange-red pushed against foggy black for dominance to the point elemental sparks splashed about.

Were it not for the now unsteady beam of molten light flying close by, Clagwool may have won the bout. Growing in frustration, the Dark/Fairy-Pokemon leaped out of the way as if a titanic sword was being swung around.

The spell had no limit, no pause, no containment. Even without its true target, Dragon's Breath continued its line of straight destruction as it cut through the roof above their heads and onward.

[-]

It was at that moment, in all of Academy City, that they saw it.

A middle-school girl with chestnut brown hair with ahoge shaped like a heart stopped in place just as she exited the late-night convenience store for some snacks.

A high school boy with blue hair and piercings looked away from his phone with a pensive stare out his window.

A high-class ojou girl with fluffy cotton brown hair found her eyes planted on it as she discretely exited a dark alley.

A lonely middle-school girl with piercing amber eyes and dark hair paused mid-click of her sniper rifle from atop a secluded roof at its blinding light.

A bruised and battered thug with hair resembling the fin of a Toxicroak glanced back at the sky just as he avoided Judgment-owned Pokemon chasing his back in the streets.

A pair of busty toxic older girls paused just at the entrance to a foreboding alleyway leading further into the unknown to stare at the last bit of light they'd see.

Several Level-5s woke up for reasons they didn't understand and found themselves staring alongside countless others at the sight.

Pure blinding white light. Bright as if it were dripping from the molten sun. Shaped like a satellite laser and swung up at the sky as if it were a blade striking at the stars above. With a single motion, the blinding blade cleaved the pitch-black clouds of the night sky and dared to go even further.

One could even say that whatever satellites floating above in its trajectory were easily cut in two.

"What...what was that?"

There would be no answer to whoever said it. The night simply continued.

[-]

The battle did not pause in the spectacle separating the night sky.

"Willow, provide cover for the two brats! Sulfur, prepare for the ceremony!"

A Pokeball was cracked open with a pop, releasing onto the field a new Pokemon. What appeared to be a gothic-style chandelier made of a black metal frame lit with purplish flames floated towards the downed Zenchou and Kizuato. Its striped round metal and glass head met the seething-eyed Clagwool with a cool stare of its round yellow eyes. With its four metal arms bending to aim its purple flames at the new enemy, it allowed Sulfur to run back to his master's side.

Not a moment later, the ghostly decoration piece fired a bombardment of wicked flames at their new opponent.

Touma took what little chance he could to breathe a sigh of relief. It took them long enough. But he couldn't complain now. At the very least he could-

"Don't relax now! Look above you!"

Flinching back at the shout, Touma listened to Kanzaki's warning. Above his head, he found the scored roof, cut through by Index's beam of magic. Strangely though, there were no embers or splinters from the damage done. Instead, the damage left behind had left behind...feathers?

Cascading white feathers, pure as snow, lazily fell from the destroyed portions of the roof. It was beautiful to look at, like how one would find themselves staring at flower petals tossed into the air by a festive Bellosom. Were they a part of the spell?

"Those are no different than Dragon's Breath. They contain the destructive power of the strike of the legendary Dragon of St. George, who was said to have brought about The Darkest Day! Even one of those feathers will deliver the might of a beast that threatened to destroy the world!"

Just the sound of what those innocent-looking objects could do sent a chilling shiver down Touma's spine. Too many of those ominous petals of a dragon's might were drifting down upon them, making them a new danger to avoid in the chaotic battle.

Regaining her footing, the possessed Index's magic circle-rimmed eyes fell back onto her true target. Following behind her gaze, the great and blinding beam of magic swung down like a descending sword, cleaving through more of the roof and creating more of the magical feathers. Its blazing edge was aimed at the grimacing spiky boy.

"Innocentius!"

Oil-like flames sprang to life from the determined-faced Sulfur, summoning the incarnation of grim flames in the form of a giant devilish flame-shaped Houndoom. With a roar on its lips, Innocentius leaped over Touma and caught the Dragon's Breath with its jaw. A strange sound was heard, of flushing flames and an electrical whine, created by the all-powerful magic of Index and the regenerative flames of the invincible flame Pokemon's shadow.

Touma couldn't help but gawk at the wicked form that had once tried to burn him alive with a holy cross, now standing up to shield him from further harm.

"Stop staring and move, Esper!" Stiyl spat with sweat running down his face, "The time limit has long passed, so we have to act now to save her! That means making every single second of this fight count. Don't make me regret putting any faith in a cursed bastard like you!"

Touma nodded without a word, turning his attention back to the possessed silver-haired girl. Now was the time for action. He needed to put his all into reaching Index and shutting down whatever security system was causing such a corruptible evolution. Were it not for the strange space-expanding spell she had used earlier, it would have only taken 5 meters to reach her.

Ignoring the taste of blood on his lips, Touma exploded straight to Index in a desperate run. He avoided the flames and light created by the clash of spells and clenched his destroyed right hand to put an to all this misery in one move!

"Caw!"

A warning cry was shouted out to the running boy.

Something had been forgotten in all the chaos. Or someone. A devious trickster who hid behind the wool of a cuddly and lovely sheep, so that their wicked claws could better pounce onto their target.

Curved devilish horns caught up to the spiky boy after five steps, illuminated with majestic rosary pink said to have slayed dragons in the days of old.

With a sharp breath leaking out of his clenched teeth, Touma spun around at the last second to avoid the spearing charge of Clagwool. The secret agent of Galar's church huffed as he missed the direct hit and twisted his angle mid-charge, lowering his spearing horns down in a dip and swung them up high in an uppercut-like slash. Even as Touma bounced back a step to dodge the full slash, he cried out as he felt those dragon-goring horns deliver two shallow diagonal cuts on his chest. Blood painted his torn uniform.

Next, a wide sweep of hooked claws followed. Touma's breath fell out in a sharp hiss as ducked low as he could. The air was sheared though with an audible whoosh. Miasma black energy was fired in a stream soon after, spearing through the floor as Touma rolled away to avoid the attack.

Not done in his attacks, Clagwool reared his head back as mystical energy began to emanate from his tall, lanky form. From the tip of his curved horns, the pale-pink energy gathered and bundled itself together into a beautiful shape. It looked like the full moon had been Minimized, stolen from the dark sky above the open roof, and forced to be transformed into a lovely yet destructive attack.

"Is that...Moon Blast?!" Touma cursed as he massaged his bleeding chest. A sudden thought struck him, causing him to momentarily forget about both the strange Pokemon and Index, "Wait, what happened to Zenchou and Kizuato?!"

A glance off to the far right revealed a miserable sight.

Struggling to rise back up were the two Dark-types who had stuck around this miserable boy to the very end. Zenchou and Kizuato were on their stomachs, small bodies badly bruised, cut up and burned by the many attacks traded by the Pokemon. The sight of blood glistening on their fur and feathers caused a boiling mad heat to consume Touma's sore body. Were it not for the urging of the Chandelure, Willow, keeping them down as it was badly beaten as well, they would have joined in the fighting.

An intense yoga ball-shaped blast of purifying supernatural energy was fired.

A furious swipe of Imagine Breaker shattered one of Fairy-types' most destructive and powerful attacks into pixel-like dust.

"Just what the fuck are you?" Touma cursed hatefully to the wickedly grinning beast.

Before him was Blewog, Index's guardian and companion. Fluffy, cute, adorable, and huggable. A Normal-type herded by stronger Pokemon, whose fluffy wool was sheared for clothing, and adored by the children of Galar and others outside of its nation. Even when Touma had first met the fluff ball shortly after destroying Index's Walking Church, he hadn't seen or sensed anything off about the cute crying beast.

Yet the Pokemon had tossed aside his coat and easily transformed into this? Right away, he could tell it wasn't an evolution. He'd seen Pokemon evolve right in front of his eyes before. He knew what it felt like even when he stood a fair distance away and always felt awing goosebumps whenever he was able to see it happen.

It didn't feel natural. Looking at it made his hair stand on end as its wicked grin stretched further as Clagwool gestured its clicking hooked claws at him. Ebony shadows elongated the deadly claws with a dark essence to better slice his prey to wet, bloody ribbons.

Night Slash too? Fairy and Dark. Was it a Dual-type?!

"Don't let it distract you, Kamijou Touma!"

Gleaming ceaseless blades struck around the slash-happy false sheep, forcing the Clagwool to avoid the onslaught of Nanasen wires peppering his space.

Appearing out of thin air in a burst of speed, Kanzaki stood by Touma with her long blade ready to fire another salvo.

"That is Clagwool, a Pokemon spoken of in forgotten texts, fairy tales, and legends of old Galar. Such a beast was considered heretical to the church and many other religions for its devious and malicious nature for taking the form of innocent Wooloo. It is a liar, a killer, a Pokemon that knows only how to trick humans and Pokemon alike to sate its wild bloodlust. Not even the most modern of Pokedex's have been able to record the existence of such a sinful monster that was said to have been hunted down and decapitated by the noble blades of Pokemon as Bisharp and Aegislash before the invention of Pokeballs."

From the snarling sharp-toothed maw of the heretical Pokemon, a murky black fog of energy was let loose like flaming fog. With another command of her steel wires, the unnamed Dark attack was torn to shreds.

"We have labeled it a Fabled Pokemon; lost beast known only in ancient stories focused on morals and not recognized by the world of Science. It is a Dark/Fairy-type for its ability to use magic to transform into Wooloo and attack with its hooked claws once its prey lowers its guard. I would advise fighting such a beast." Kanzaki coolly stated, her hand moving in blurring speeds to send another series of sharp wires to tear through another elemental attack Clagwool sent, "Your Pokemon have done well in keeping such a menace at bay as long as they could. It is an achievement alone not to have fallen to one of its deathly signature attacks; Wondrous Horn. But you should leave the rest to me. Even though I too lack Pokemon of my own, as a Saint, I can handle such a blasphemous creature."

"I don't think he'll let you keep this a one-on-one fight?" Touma spat as he watched the Clagwool evade another bladed wire strike.

Even as the Dark/Fairy-type dodged all the Steel essence attacks by a Saint, his slitted eyes were honed in on Touma as the main priority.

"Tch! Are you too seriously still standing around?"

Hearing Stiyl shouting, both Touma and Kanzaki turned to the flame magician's direction. To their frustration, Innocentius's form was wavering and appearing to crumble at the frays of its flames. A now crimson beam was striking its body, slowly but surely destroying its ability to repair itself. A whining Sulfur appeared to sustain a heavy toll on the new spell, his body trembling and appearing ready to collapse underneath the intense strain.

Time was deathly short. It wouldn't be long until Index's new counters spell landed.

Touma glared down at the menacing Pokemon standing in his way. He balled his fists until he felt his wounds over the damaged limb scream. Even if it hurt his battered body, bent his legs low for a better running start.

Discreetly, his left hand went to his pockets for something he had picked up without anyone's noticing at the very start of this mess.

"Give me an opening. There's something I need to do first before I can reach the finish line."

A now scowling Kanzaki gave Touma a glance out of the corner of her eye. She was no longer sending small bursts of crossing wires at the Fabled Pokemon, now forced to put effort in the various angles and slashes she was firing as the False Sheep Pokemon was now expertly evading the blinding glints of slicing steel. If this kept up any longer, she would have to resort to more full-contact attacks.

She hadn't said it out loud but there was a reason she was keeping her distance from the Pokemon. To a Saint like her, certain symbols could prove fatal to her unique body. The lying killer just so happened to be involved in an old-forgotten legend involving the death of Saints.

Directly clashing with such a Saint Killer could even do the impossible and kill a blessed child like her if she wasn't careful.

"If it is but a moment, you have it. I'd like it if we ended this fight quickly; Index's time is out and we have no idea to what kind of damage her current state is inflicting upon her. So, hurry!"

Touma only nodded once, eyes firm and fist hard as a Geodude.

Taking his nod as the starting shot, Kanzaki increased the speed of her seven wires to resemble a mad laser show. Faint silver glares rapidly tore apart the air space around the now startled Clagwool, each wire slashing by causing a shrilly shriek to be heard as the tatami floor beneath him was destroyed. He lost his footing and nearly found his head chopped off by a single deathly wire passing overhead.

With a deep breath, Touma sprinted.

But not forward at the stunned Fabled Pokemon.

"Zenchou! Kizuato!"

With all his strength, he sprinted to the downed Wild Pokemon who couldn't even stand up. The two Dark-types were off the far side of the large battlefield that was once Komoe's apartment room, their wounded bodies protected by a weakened Chandelure hovering over them. He gave the Ghost/Fire-type a thankful smile and stopped right in front of them.

"A-Aroo?"

"C...caw?"

Gray paws fought to get up and a pair of black feathered wings shivered as they tried to flap. From the looks of their flinching yet determined red eyes, they still wanted to fight.

Just like the miserable Dark-type they decided to follow out of some strange sense of kindness and adoration, they too wanted to save the sweet fairy girl who had treated them kinder than the world.

Touma knelt down amid the sounds of fierce battle, leaving the desperate scene behind for just a moment, and patted the two Pokemon's heads as gently as possible. If he could have, he would have taken them into his arms and given them the biggest hugs he could muster. He would have said sweet things, hopeful things, expressed his gratitude with all his heart, and shown them equal kindness as the girl who had fallen into their gloomy lives had.

There was a lot he wanted to say. So much he wanted here and now to tell those misunderstood children he had always believed disliked him and saw him as nothing but a twisted source of entertainment to satisfy their wicked natures. But…

"I'm sorry, but I have to bring an end to this on my own. I can't...I can't bear it if I lose you three as well."

Two small collapsible orbs slipped out of both his hands, hidden between the fingers of his hands as he rubbed Zenchou's and Kizuato's scalps. Two sets of red eyes grew impossibly wide like dinner plates as they recognized both the design and colors of the metal marble-sized balls now kissing their heads. Even wild Pokemon like them understood what they were.

Pokeballs.

A childish grin was found on Touma's face as an all too familiar pop was heard.

"Just bear with being this miserable and lousy Kamijou-san's Pokemon for a bit, okay? I promise I'll let you two heroes out once Index is back to her hungry self!"

Before a word of argument could be heard by the speechless Pokemon, a comforting and forgotten red light swam out of the cracked capture devices, and swiftly sealed them tight into their blinking shells.

Wriggle!

The two Pokeballs in Touma's hands struggled once.

Wriggle!

Twice.

Wriggle, wriggle, wriggle!

Thrice.

...Ca-chink!

With a pleasant click, the red light flashing at the core of the balls stopped.

Giving the two Pokeballs an apologetic smile, he turned to the curious-eyed Chandelure.

"Hey, can you do me a favor? Can you watch out for these two brats for a bit? Oh, and can you also protect my egg? I know Kanzaki set up some defensive wards to keep her safe but I'd feel much better if a cool and mysterious hero like you watched out for them all!"

Chandelure blinked its flames in an odd series of flickers in response to the boy. It tilted its head, bewildered as the spiky boy nodded in understanding. Extending his arms, the sinister Pokemon took hold of the Pokeballs in its now cooled flamed palms.

"Thanks! I know you're that stoic and serious brat's Trainer and all, but I'm happy to know he's got such a kindhearted Pokemon like you at his side. I promise I'll find ya a nice tasty treat as thanks for keeping my Pokemon safe and sound!"

Apologies could be made later. He could bow his head to those free and rebellious children when this was over.

With no more worries on his conscious, Touma turned back to facing the final obstacle in his way of putting an end to this tragic story of made-up villains and heroes. He didn't need to see the Chandelure float away with his Pokemon to confirm their safety.

Once again, he sprinted in a straight line towards Index, glaring straight at a wire-evading Clagwool.

Sensing his approach, a frustrated Clagwool swung his now dark-coated arms out wide and spun in a windmill swing. A brutal and thick ring of smashing darkness courtesy of his Brutal Swing swept away all the deadly wires, pushing them back and snapping a few strings in the process. He licked his teeth sadistically at his prey, his full attention zoning in on the odd human who had disturbed the security of the church's most valuable possession.

"Kamijou!"

"I know!"

Hooked claws designed for slitting throats and dragging out entrails were abandoned by the crouching Fabled Pokemon. Clagwool extended his devilish horns, bones twisted abnormally to conjoin into one vicious lance. It reminded Touma of a jousting lance seen in Kalos with its length but the blade had split into a two-prong fork for its head. Pale rose light painted the entire length of the fused bastardized horn, speaking of its mystical energy being associated with Fairy.

"Destiny Lance?! The holy lance of a certain Saint's Pokemon who hunted down his fellow Saints and Gods?! Do not let that attack so much as scratch you! Just a prick is said to assure death!"

The fearful shout of a superhuman magician was all the warning he needed.

Both Touma and Clagwool roared fiercely as they abandoned any notion of stepping aside or evading their attacks.

The Fabled Pokemon ran on all fours, his fused horn's pale rose pigment glowing with sparks of deep crimson at the very point of its blade. Air was visibly twisted as he charged, sheared through a legendary attack rumored to have proven the death and passing of Saints and Legendary Pokemon in a time when his kind had been seen as heretics. One measly prick of the skin would be it.

Destiny Lance assured the fate of one's death. It was the greatest attack to deal with humans and Pokemon alike. It was why said Fabled Pokemon had been ordered to be slaughtered before its existence could be recorded in other than stories and fables.

Joints popping, Touma abandoned his fist to instead throw his open right hand out as the two Dark-types clashed with a roar.

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Five fingers were spread out like a jaw and quickly snapped down onto the giant horn lance just before the very tip could pierce his skin. Immense pressure rammed into Touma's bloody chest and caused the bones in his upper body to crack. Just with its immense physical force alone, he felt a piercing shockwave tear a corkscrew-like hole out of his shirt's back. Red liquid bubbled up his throat and spit through his clenched teeth.

It hurt. It fucking hurt so much. But!

Shattered glass was heard as he grunted, latching onto the breaking horns as they lost their almighty Fairy energy and reverted back to devilish horns. It took a second but Imagine Breaker worked its own magic. With an eye-pleasing sight of rose supernatural power shattering and peeling away like withering petals, the so-called Destiny Lance was destroyed.

The power to ascertain death? A Fairy-type OHKO no different than Fissure, Sheer Cold, Horn Drill, or Guillotine? Who cares?

He dug his feet in deep, rooting himself in place as he found the snarling and snapping Pokemon fighting to bite his face and push his normal horns into his already cut-up chest.

Touma gave the deadly killer a nasty grin, freeing up his left hand as he spoke with an expression better fit for a Gengar..

"Hey, you shitty spy wearing Wooloo's clothing? I'd like you to meet a little friend of mine I just so happened to pick up a while ago. I got to thank Komoe for not returning him; I just know he'd like a challenge like this!"

Another Pokeball was revealed, one that just so happened to have been labeled in cutesy writing by his sweet teacher. It was dropped to the ground between the two, cracking open to reveal an odd sight to the confused killer.

Gray and yellow scales. A four-legged lizard in Clagwool's eyes. No bigger than the Poochyena he had tried to slaughter. And...it was glaring up at him? Wait, was it grinning?!

"Kan-Kan-san; what was the first move you used against me when we first met again?"

Jangmo-o, the Dragon/Fighting-type, a type quadruple weak to Fairy-types, rattled his heavily scaled tail eagerly as a metallic shine coated the yellow petaled scale on his forehead.

"Oh, right! IRON HEAD!"

Bloody fingers dug into the fearful Clagwool's horns as he tried to evade.

Not a second later did the fighting-obsessed little dragon launch straight into the underside of the Fairy/Dark-type's jaw with a metal hard skull bash. A glittering silver flash erupted upon contact, sending a devastating shockwave of force smashing into the False Sheep Pokemon's jaw.

Its status as a Fabled Pokemon, a beast perhaps reminiscent of Mythical Pokemon, didn't matter. Its strength didn't matter. Its deadly moves said to have slayed Saints and Legends in a forgotten era didn't matter.

An Iron Head to the bottom of anyone's jaw hit hard. Incredibly fucking hard. Especially when said target's main nature was Fairy. It was Type Theory 101. Even a Level-0 understood that.

With his vision swimming, thoughts scrambled, several teeth broken, and blood seeping out of his groaning mouth, Clagwool staggered back like a drunken barfly.

Leaving him completely open for one last hit.

Touma balled his fist tightly and stepped right into the deadly Pokemon's space, vengeance burning in his dark blue eyes to the point they seemed to glow.

"Go back to being just another fairy tale, YOU PIECE OF SHIT!"

The Mega Punch-styled Imagine Breaker attack landed with an Exploud-like bang.

[-]

No more obstacles.

"Arrrrr?"

Touma patted the happily wagging Janmo-o's large scale with a faint smile.

"Thank you. You did amazing, little guy. Makes me wish I had gathered the courage to have taken you home that day. I'll have to rethink Komoe-sensei's insistence when this is all over. Especially when you've already been given a name, Kan-Kan-san."

The little brawling dragon's eyes lit up like stars at his word. The clanging of hard scales gave off an excited sound. And like a certain dark pup, the newly named Kan-Kan wagged his tail in a blur of motion.

Red light froze the joyful dragon's celebrations, returning him back to the shrinking Pokeball in Touma's hand.

Giving the now downed and knocked-out Clagwool fallen on his side one more nasty glare, Touma set his sights to the finish line.

Several meters away, Index was bearing down on Stiyl and Sulfur's conjoined magical fire giant. It wouldn't be long until they couldn't hold the defensive line and were struck by Dragon's Breath.

'That's right, no more waiting. No more hesitating. These crappy prologues had been stretched for long enough. It's time to flip the page and start the real story!'

His feet were already moving before he even finished his thoughts. The expanded space below his shoes was rapidly shrinking with every step, dwindling the meters to Index further and further. His chest felt tight, his wounds were stinging, a few of his fingers were broken, and all he could taste was the nasty flavor of copper due to internal injuries.

But he ran ahead with all his might, not even caring about the beautiful feathers falling down around them.

Sensing his approach, the searchlight-like beam following Index's eyes moved to capture him. Yet even as Innocentius was losing its form, the giant flame Houndoom interfered to soak in whatever damage it could. Fire and light raged against one another, sinking their teeth into the others' forms like beasts fighting to tear the other apart.

Even if it was a losing battle, the struggle was worth it.

Touma slipped beneath the belly of the giant fire dog and now found himself facing the large occult circles spreading an ominous web of black cracks in space. He couldn't help but smile brightly yet tiredly.

Finally…

Shouting was heard. A warning was made. At that moment, Touma felt like he had forgotten something as he stretched out his ruined right hand to the magic circles blocking his way.

For some reason, he felt various thoughts begin running through his head.

'I...I always wanted to be a Pokemon Trainer. Even when I was being bullied, picked on, harassed, blamed, hurt by others, and told I was a God of Pestilence, I still had that naive hope that I could become this super cool Trainer who had all sorts of awesome and strong Pokemon. Maybe, one day, I could escape all this misfortune and set off on a journey with friends, take on gyms, and become a Pokemon Master like that anime I adored watching. Because I thought...I thought it was the only way I could ever make any friends.'

The past had not been kind to Kamijou Touma.

His story had been a tragic one. Made of loss, heartbreak, blood, pain, suffering and misfortune. Even as he left his superstitious hometown behind, tried to escape his status as a plague, and tried to be a hero, he still experienced all those things in the very end. Wielding a special right hand capable of destroying supernatural abilities with a touch hadn't been helpful and did little to soften the blows.

Being the type of hero who could become a Pokemon Master was a failed dream from the start.

The faces of his first Pokemon, of Mistruari Ayu, of a honey-blond girl he was sure to have met, of Sumire Yuri, of Index.

Zenchou.

Kizuato.

Yumiya Rakko.

Kan-Kan-san.

The faces of all his friends in his class, Komoe-sensei, the Delta Force, Fukiyose Seiri, and even that bratty middle-school Level-5, Misaka Mikoto. And others he met at some point but failed to meet up with again…

"LOOK OUT ABOVE YOU!"

Touma heard nothing else in the world as he brandished his hand to dispel this final illusion in his way.

'But this new dream waiting for me right here, it doesn't seem so bad or lonely. Even if I've failed before, it doesn't mean I have to be afraid to try it again either. I just have to take a step forward! But to do that, I have to move past this crappy story first! SO!'

In the face of those space-distorting cracks, to the unknown beast waiting behind another layer of this world, to the magic circles blocking his way, he swung his wide-open hand at the final page of the prologue.

'God, Arceus! If this world, this story, is moving ahead according to the system you created…!'

Touma swiped his hand at the cracks in the air, brushing off the occult circles and spatial lines as if cleaning a dry board with an eraser.

'THEN FIRST I'LL NEED TO DESTROY THAT ILLUSION!'

All it took was one hand. One simple swipe of the hand to easily rip right through the flimsy magic. It was almost as if it were made up of soggy paper.

Imagine Breaker shattered the spell in front of him so easily, he almost laughed out loud in tears. The spatial cracks in the air vanished into thin air. The magic circles cracked and broke apart like sugar. And in an instant, the deadly laser eating away at Stiyl's magic dissipated with not even a flicker. The room's space reverted itself, the damage sustaining shrinking but not disappearing as the room returned back to its normal measurements.

"W-Warning:...Final...Chapter, V-Verse Z-z-Zero...Collar...fatally...d-damaged...reg...regeneration….failed."

Index's robotic voice faded softly as the ghostly blue magical energy coming off her body died away. With a brief flutter of her green eyes, she lost her balance and fell back against the destroyed tatami floor. Her face appeared peaceful as she lay on the floor.

Touma's lips curled happily.

Worn out, exhausted, drained, and hurt, the brightly smiling boy bowed his head. Ignorant of the pure white curtain of light dancing above his head amid a flutter of holy white feathers slipping down from the heavens above.

"KAMIJOU!"

Index's peacefully sleeping face was the last thing he ever saw.


Cursed child, oh, cursed summer child.

Long last, at long last.

No more stumbles. No more trips. No more shortfalls or slipping fingers.

The finish line has finally been crossed. No more despair, no more tears, no more doubt or guilt. Only sweet smiles and laughs should await you.

Cursed child, oh, poor cursed child.

Now, lay your weary head to rest. Please, don't you cry no more.

Even in those final moments, you saw something unbelievably sweet, didn't you?

May the empty shell you leave behind in your sleep take it to heart.

And that's a wrap!

Boy, is there a lot to talk about when it comes to this sweet chapter. I found myself enjoying a lot of what I had planned, what I suddenly came up with, and the battle at the end. This chapter itself has gone through a lot of changes from what I had originally envisioned all those years ago when I came up with the Poison Index Arc.

Hell, the original villain of Toxic Hazard had been someone else. If I remember correctly, Hidoi's very character was modeled after the original boss before I changed her out. But I loved her design and personality too much to abandon her, so I kept her as an Admin in the very end with tweaks to her backstory. I'm happy I didn't scrap her; she's become one of my favorites in all this.

Alright, let's get to talking about this chapter.

As you can see after reading it all, a lot of the PoVs in this one came from Kizuato and Zenchou respectively. I felt this was necessary considering what would happen at the very end of all this mess to get a better understanding of their character and how they regarded Touma in their own eyes. Plus, it helped to cut back on all the tired and well-known information from the original source material regarding Index's memory loss and some other matters I felt didn't need to be repeated when a majority of us all knew what was happening to Index.

Everyone has read, or watched, The Index Arc of A Certain Magical Index. I don't know too many who just read fanfiction blind. Unless it's a crossover- guilty. So, I wanted a lot of what was read here to come from the view of Pokemon and focused a little more on them to change things up a bit. There's a fine balance between the original material and my own interpretations with the elements of Pokemon I wanted to stay on with the entirety of the story itself. The last thing I want to do is merely copy and paste the novels with Pokemon just randomly thrown in; I've said it before and I'll say it again, I hate that crap.

There are also some significant reveals brought up in this chapter too.

We finally got a name for Touma's Starter Pokemon. Musha the Totodile. And we even got a faint flashback of what exactly happened to scar Touma enough to reject taking on another Pokemon. That's all we will get into though. I have an entire arc planned on that forgotten history.

And a Pokemon Egg?! Oh, this one was really fun. I had been debating with myself at what point said 'unknown' Pokemon would be introduced to the story for the longest time when coming up with this concept in its early stages. I had 2 Pokemon in mind. But I couldn't abandon either one from eventually joining the party due to all the fun scenarios I had in mind. So, I decided to go the egg route for one, and the other for another time in the future. To those who are even somewhat knowledgeable about Pokemon, the color scheme alone might give you an idea of what Pokemon will be hatched. Seriously, the Toxic Hazard Arc has done a lot more than expected in getting certain things moving the way I wanted.

The team, and Pokemon that will be gathered, by Touma as the story continues will be incredibly fun.

An interesting muttering was heard concerning Academy City at the very beginning of the chapter. I wonder if that will come up as anything significant soon.

Blewog. Or, should I say, Clagwool(Clag: Scots Gaelic for Claw); The False Sheep Pokemon! The Saint Killer. He Who Wields The Lance Of Destiny. Man, did I have a blast with this overlooked little bastard of a Pokemon!

I'd like to believe everyone reading the first few chapters of the story completely forgot about the little spy as time went on. Which was good. I really wanted Blewog to be forgotten and slip past everyone's minds. Because that was his purpose. A silent guardian left off-screen but always watching without anyone's noticing. A seemingly cute and normal Wooloo, who's better fit to be a pet rather than anyone's protector. Soft, lovable, cute, just adorable.

Until, you know, the claws come out.

If this was going to be a Pokemon Story, I had to add another element of the Pokemon world to Index herself. Other than a scant few individuals like Touma and Kanzaki, everyone has a Pokemon. So, I wanted Index to have her own, s special one granted by the church to better defend their asset if such a situation ever came up. Hence, Clagwool was born. I took to the internet like most when coming up with the design of Clagwool and looked up various images of Wooloo's speculated evolution from back in the day when Sword and Shield were first announced. I loved the whole wolf in sheep's clothing motive many had in mind, so I decided to go with that. Plus, it fits really nicely in a biblical sense along with a whole bunch of symbolism I had read. I wouldn't consider Clagwool an evolution of any kind to Wooloo as even its name is supposed to be misleading. It is a Dark/Fairy-type due to its magical nature and betrayal. It has 3 signature moves: Wondrous Horn, Eerie Fog, and Destiny Lance. The first of said moves is a powerful Physical Fairy-type attack that will always ensure a Critical Hit on Dragon-types, the second is a Special Attack that drops evasiveness and makes Critical Hits land easier, and finally Destiny Lance!

A One-Hit-Knock-Out Fairy-type attack with low accuracy. At least, that's what it is normally. I took inspiration from the lance of Longinus when comping up with this deathly attack to further pile on to its dual nature as both Fairy and Dark. To those regarded as Saints, it is a highly dangerous attack that can even pierce through them.

Which brings us to Fable Pokemon! Another concept I had thought up with when creating Clagwool.

Compared to Mythical Pokemon and Legendary Pokemon, Fable Pokemon are even more obscure. There are no records of their existence, only fairy tales, superstition, heresy, and myths known only to closed-off regions. Labeled as dangerous to the world, a large majority of said Pokemon are extinct, slain before even the invention of the Pokeball had been dreamed up. You can think of them as myths but not in the sense of Mythical Pokemon. Because no one believes in them or worships them. Other than mere word of mouth, there's nothing to prove their existence. We'll get more into them later on in the story.

And at the very end of all this chaos, something noticeable did happen just before the climax hit, huh?

Touma captured his first two Wild Pokemon. Hell, he even accepted Jangmo-o(bet you didn't expect to see him at all, huh?) into his team and cemented the name he had come up with in passing. This time, when things were looking down and the distance seemed incredibly far, he had help. He fought with others.

But, in the end, something had to give.

I'm sure many of you can already tell what happened: Touma's Memory Destruction. This was always going to be the ending here. I know its happened plenty of times in many other stories but I feel this is necessary for what's going to happen moving forward. So, trust me on this.

Looking back on all of this, the climax really has evolved. I'd originally cemented myself to twisting the end battles of both Toxic Hazard and Index into one giant climax. I had Dynamax evolution thrown in, new spells modeled after Legendary exclusive attacks, a giant free-for-all battle between magicians, espers, and Pokemon. There were so many ideas I wanted to through with but held myself back as I gave myself more time to think the story through. And I'm glad I did; many of the ideas we see now would have been lost if I simply wrote.

Goes to show time does make a difference. One must never publish a rough draft right away. You never know when you might find yourself changing what you believe was great at first as you let it sit.

But that's a wrap here. The climax has finally been reached after so long. Now, all that awaits is the Epilogue.

Chapter 14: Epilogue/The Shedinja Boy.

Welcome_To_A_CERTAIN_World_Of…

We'll wrap up everything with the next chapter to come. And go over some other things I've been keeping back concerning the two arcs we've gone through. So, if ya have any questions you'd like answered, or thoughts, send them in the reviews! It'll be the only chance we have before we close up this arc and move on to what's to come.

With all that out of the way, let me tell ya of the big change I've gone through.

NeoShadows can now be found on P a treon!

I've had this out for some time now and set up with the past release of my other story focused on one-shots, Of Lines That Can Be Found In Between. It's merely a way for those who enjoy my work and want to show support to do so. It also offers benefits depending on what Tier you sign up for. I know those in the Wicked Tier were able to get the finished copy of Ch. 13 a day before anyone else. Among other perks they're free to utilize.

It's also a nice place to get the latest updates for my stories for non-members too. I'm planning on expanding what I can offer as time goes on, and even have some original content from my younger years for people to read and laugh at. Seriously, my original work in my early teens was cringe but still gets a good laugh out of me.

Whenever you have the time, take a peek at the posts. Again, even if you don't want to sign up, you can still read updates to what's going to be released and when. Everything else is just bonus content.

You can find me at P a treon . com (slash) NeoShadows.

Whelp! I've said all I can for now. There are still many things to do...like finally publishing A Certain Maelstrom of Misfortune for one. Seriously, that's been in writing hell for a long time. I got to get those last 3 chapters out. Plus those other projects and one-shots done too.

Remember to Read and Review! It's common courtesy.

NeoShadows fading in and out.