"All right. All systems are ready to go," a scientist said. "Thank you, Porygon2."

"No need for thank yous, sir. You programmed me to aid in your research," the duck creature reminded, adjusting a couple of variables on the machine. It looked a lot like a big box, with some hover thrusters underneath. He flew to the side, and swiped a card. "The Spacial Transwarp Hub is ready, sir. You may enter at your discretion."

The human nodded, adjusting his labcoat. "Right you are. Alright." He pulled out a red and white ball, and sat it on the desk. "I trust you will attempt to track me through the worlds?"

"Affirmative, Director Levi," he responded. "And I shall ensure you return safely. I have already taken the liberty of attaching an emergency pulley to the underside of the hull. If you lose power, I can activate it and pull you back, if your theories are correct."

"Always planning ahead, you are, my little marvel of engineering~" Levi spoke. He entered the door, holding his hand out for the card. "Set the test timer for thirty minutes, not a second more. If I am not back by that time, activate the pulley."

"Affirmative. Timer set." Porygon2 paused, humming. "Director, there has been an unauthorized entry into the laboratory. I suggest we put the experiment on hold for now."

"Are you kidding me, Porygon!? There's no more time for waiting. We're on the verge of greatness!" The human slammed his hand on the desk. "Activate all the security systems, Porygon. And lock all the lab doors, I can't have anyone bursting in unannounced."

"Affirmative, Director. Engaging security now. May I take any other measures?"

"Negative," Levi responded. "We don't want to kill them. If we did that, then all the work we'll have done here will be for nothing. Is the Transwarp Hub running?"

"Affirmative. Systems on standby, Director."

"I want you monitoring very closely. If this is successful, this would be the invention of a lifetime! I'll make millions!"

"And provide much more to the world of scientific research, correct, Director?"

"Yes, that too," he replied. "But everyone knows science is all about the money."

"I doubt that, or you would have mass produced AI like myself and sold them everywhere," the duck pointed out. He flew over to the wall with a lever.

"You're different," Levi spoke quickly. "An Artificial Intelligence is far harder to program and create than setting parameters. Something like you needs to be able to learn and grow. To adjust your own programming. If I mass-produced you, Porygon, there would only be havoc!"

The duck squinted its large eyes. "I see. The test run, Levi. Do not forget about the test run."

"Right you are. I'm heading out, and I shall see you when I return. Would you mind creating the first testing log while I am out?"

"Affirmative, Director," Porygon2 replied. "Good luck, and return safely."

A teenage girl looked up at the building in front of her. This was where Dad worked, he'd said. She could tell he was still there thanks to his car being present.

She clenched her fists, and kicked a rock at the security cameras. Of course he was working well into the evening. He was never home to be with her, or help her with her science homework… And all he said was he wanted to be a good father.

Some wish that was. She kicked down the door, beginning to make her way through the laboratory hallways. If her dad really wanted to do something important, it only made sense that she should be involved in it.

As she ran through, cameras began to follow her. Porygon2 watched, locking doors as she passed. Levi had told him not to let anyone close, after all. And he was just following orders.

Levi was about to enter the machine when she ended up bursting through the lab doors. Porygon2 backed away, beeping incessantly.

Levi spun around, key card flying out of his hand. It slid across the ground, despite his attempt to quickly step on it. "Rashi, darling… What are you doing here? I told you I'd be home late tonight!"

"Never mind that," she growled. "What are you doing? You promised me that I'd be a part of your life, and you're always locked up in here!" She bent down, and picked up the dropped key card.

"Rashi, darling…" Levi walked over, holding his hand out for the card. "This is my secret project. If it works, then we'll never have to worry about not having food on the table again."

"I don't care about having food on the table! I just want you!" she replied angrily. "So what is this!?" Rashi pulled the card closer, refusing to hand it over.

Levi's face fell. With a sigh, he started walking around it and touching a few buttons. "It's… It's a machine designed to travel through the strands of Utra Space," he explained. "If it works, we could potentially visit other worlds. But it's highly experimental, and I didn't-"

"Then let me test it!" she insisted, heading to the door. "If you're doing something big, at least let me be a part of it, as you've so often wanted me to be!"

"Rashi, I haven't even tested the machine yet!" Levi shouted, hurrying over. "And I'll be damned if I let my daughter be my first test subject!"

"Well, you don't have any choice in the matter!" she asserted, crossing her arms. "I'm doing this, and that's final."

Levi frowned. "...Please. I don't want to lose you."

"Director," Porygon2 spoke up. "If I may… I would recommend you allow this change in procedure. The Hub is already connected to our systems… It would be simple enough to guide her." Seeing Levi's expression, he beeped a bit in fear. "I say this because I believe she will likely cause more damage to our research if we do not let her in. She has already destroyed our door."

"... Alright." He put a hand on Rashi's shoulder. "Alright, we'll let you help. But you have to follow my directions exactly."

"Why?" she asked. "What happens if I don't?"

"I… don't know," Levi admitted. "But I don't think anything too horrible will happen."

"If something goes wrong, there is a 99.9% chance that-" Porygon2 began, before Levi muted him with a remote. He simply glared at his creator after that.

Levi rolled his eyes. "Alright, Rashi. If you'd use the key card on the scanner there, it'll let you into the cockpit. Don't touch anything until I let you know through the speaker."

"Got it." Rashi did exactly as he asked. When the door opened, she entered and took a seat. Following that, the teenage girl moved one of the levers forward, curious to its function. The ship began to float.

Levi didn't notice at first, having turned away to read the monitors behind him. His attention was all set on reading the monitors. He hit a few keys, then spoke to a microphone. "Alright, all systems are ready. Hit the big blue button, and move the two side levers halfway up."

The furious beeping of Porygon2 caused Levi to break his concentration. He whirled around, and saw a wormhole slowly appearing. Something was wrong, though. It looked unstable, with violent sparks of lightning striking a few objects and starting a fire.

"Porygon2! Shut it down, now!"

The duck nodded. He attempted to connect to the Transwarp Hub's electronic system, but was blasted back by one of the stray lightning bolts. Rashi pounded on the door, unable to manually stop it.

Papers began to fly into the wormhole. Levi grabbed onto his table, fighting the strong winds. Seeing Porygon2 sliding towards it though, he groaned. Releasing one hand from the table, he nearly got pulled all the way into the anomaly.

He grabbed the Poke Ball. Struggling to keep a hold of it, he started to lose his grip…

The last thing Rashi saw was Levi tossing the Poke Ball. Then, everything went white as the Spacial Transwarp Hub disappeared into the wormhole.

The last thing Porygon2 saw was the Hub disappearing. He was surrounded by red energy as the Poke Ball came closer. He shrunk back, and in… And then the lab itself disappeared for him, as the Ball clicked and fell into the growing void.

"...So that's how our world came to suffer an extreme fate," Suntren mused, as the Porygon2 fell silent. "Do you think anyone from your original home survived?"

"I do not have enough information to answer that question," Porygon2 replied. He locked his beady eyes onto the Jubilife Ruins behind them. He was thankful Suntren had pointed this place out before they left Crosat. More so that it seemed Suntren and his Aerodactyl pal had already decided to look into several of these scattered ruins. Since these were the closest to Crosat, it made sense to stop here before determining their next move.

Fortran looked at the ruins in the backdrop. His eyes locked first onto the tall tower in the west side of town. It was mostly intact, though with no windows and vines climbing all around the outer wall. Then, his attention switched to the general streets and layout. Most of the rest of the buildings all had more severe wear and tear. A couple of other former skyscrapers collapsed, now standing at just under half their former height. Smaller buildings had cracked walls and broken roofs. Debris from the broken buildings littered the ground nearby.

He turned his attention back to his companions. "Given the state of these ruins, however, I find the chances of survival slim. Slim, but not impossible."

"Ah wonder if that Jetfin wid know anythin' aboot it…" Rocttryn asked out loud. " Ah mean, he wis one o' th' main ones lookin' intae th' Devastation! if a'body wid know anythin-"

"There's logic in chur thinkin'. Should we plan tuh meet up with him again, then? Where'd he say he wuz goin'?" Noytrun replied.

"Treasure Town," Rocttryn answered. "Ah cuid likelie fly me 'n' Sun thare, bit ah'm not keen oan leaving a'body behind again." He flinched backwards from Noytrun's angry gaze at that comment.

"Yeah, yore not," Noytrun growled. "Or am walkin' awf. Ah don't thank you'd bay happy with thet."

"Na... Na ah don't think sae either," Rocttryn said, looking away from the Feraligatr.

"So we walk," Suntren determined. "Fortunately for us, Apple Woods is only about a day's travel west from here. And, once we get there, we begin travelling southwest. Treasure Town will be about half a day's walk from there.

"Then let us make haste for Treasure Town," Porygon2 replied. "Though I would like a day to study and investigate these ruins. I find them quite… striking."

"A'm o' a mynd wi' Fortran," Rocttryn nodded. He grinned. "We're nae in ony hurry, ur we?"

"No, I do not believe we are," the Porygon2 replied. "And we can get going as soon as I am satisfied."

"We can leave whenever everyone's ready," Suntren decided. "We might as well investigate and explore these ruins while we're here."

"Great! Sae we kin start now, then?" Rocttryn asked, stepping forward. He fumbled with the Poke Ball, curious to how it worked. He accidentally brushed past the button, causing a red light to shoot out and surround Porygon2. He shrunk down in the beam, and the light shot back into the ball. Rocttryn yelped, dropping the ball.

"Whut thuh hell gist happened!?" Noytrun asked, scrambling to his feet. "Iz he alright!?"

Suntren chuckled, walking forward. He took the ball out from the dirt, and cleaned it off a little bit. "Don't worry, Fortran's fine. This Poke Ball is simply the device that he's registered to. The… easiest way to explain it is like the item bag I'm always carrying around," he replied, bringing it forward. "Except instead of being controlled by a flap, it's controlled by a button. Push the button again, and…"

The same beam of red light flashed out, forming into the Porygon2 just like it did when they first saw him. The duck blinked a bit, looking at Rocttryn. "Please do be careful with Poke Balls. Not all of them we will come across may be registered to a Pokemon like mine was."

Noytrun grunted, crossing his arms. He growled at the ball, forming a bit of an Aqua Jet. "So way should destroy these things as we come across them. Thet makes it safer, raht?"

"Oh, goodness no," Suntren answered, hurriedly putting the Poke Ball away.

"I assure you, there is no harm involved in a Poke Ball's capture mechanism," Fortran spoke. "I would simply need to do some work in its CPU to de-register you if you were caught."

"Not to mention it'd be the act of destroying the Poke Ball that's most likely to cause harm to anyone who's in one," Suntren added. "As Fortran explained to me while we wandered the Lake Huroni lakebed. Even if we do have to destroy them, we'll have to activate each ball first to ensure it's empty."

"Cuid tak' a while... Bit it beats bein' trapped in thare forever, richt?" Rocttryn asked, shuffling a bit away from the ball. "Soonds lik' a plan. Whaur would we send th' rescuees though?"

"A question for another day," Suntren decided. "When and if we find any such rescuees. Shall we get heading into the ruins?"

"Yawl guys can go on ahead. Ahl stay behind an finish settin' up camp," Noytrun replied. "Be sumwhere around hare. Wouldn't wonna risk uh buildin' collapsin' on us while we're sleepin'."

"A good idea," Fortran affirmed. "If we run into any trouble, we shall simply make some noise."

"Soonds lik' a plan, then! Are we gonna gao together, or split up?"

"Split up," Suntren answered quickly. "Like Fortran said, if we run into any trouble, just make some noise. We should be nearby enough to hear any sounds of distress."

"I agree," Fortran spoke. "For one, I do not believe you would be interested in watching me access any terminals. It would be quite boring, really."

Suntren nodded. "Exactly. We'll probably have more fun on our own."

"Be careful, then," Noytrun spoke. He went and picked up the mallet from the camping kit. "Ahl catch up as soon as camp's done."

"Don't be tae long, Noy! Ye'll miss a' th' fun!" Rocttryn shouted, taking to the air. "See y'all' thare!"

"...He just doesn't stop, does he?"

"All part of his charm," Suntren replied. "We'll catch up with you later."

Suntren turned away from their campsite, his tail swinging. With a shivering spine, he walked towards the ruins. As he did, he couldn't help but feel a tinge of familiarity. Like he'd been in this place before, but he knew that to be false.

The lizard shuddered. Shaking his head in an effort to remove the weird sense, he began to walk into the ruins. Right off the bat, it was easy to tell these were a much more complete set than the small ruins found at the Sky Plains, and the twisted roads only added more to his sense of familiarity.

There were footprints, too. Old ones. Suntren took one look at them, and growled. These, he recognized too.

In another futile effort to escape the feeling, the Heliolisk looked at the crumbling stones… The broken doors and the overgrown frames. Rocttryn, standing in front of a nearly perfectly preserved building, looking so out of place next to all the destruction. The walls were white, had a little bit of writing… And a nice red roof topped it all off.

"Look at whit ah found!" Rocttryn called out. "Thir's bound tae be something in 'ere, richt? tis tae perfect nae tae be hiding treasure!"

A chill ran down Suntren's spine. Gently, he called Rocttryn over, backing away ever so slightly. "...We need to get out of here, Rocttryn. Now."

Fortran beeped. His scan came back successful; there were a few areas where he detected functioning technology. There was a large terminal functioning in the west end of town, so he decided to head there first. It probably had a database he could access, and he could also perform some routine maintenance while he was connected.

The scan was slightly curious, though. Not a single Poke Ball had been detected, despite this ruin greatly resembling the once famous Jubilife City. He would have imagined, logically, that whatever happened here would have left quite a few strewn all about. It made some sense, his algorithms decided, that perhaps Pokemon passing through had picked them up, due to the city being directly in the middle of the road, and yet he had a hard time believing that.

Perhaps it was the unnatural absence of any traces of life anywhere. Not one chirp of a wild Starly, not one Rattata scuttling under the fallen debris. Even for an AI like himself, it was easy to tell something was terribly wrong here.

Fortran floated along the streets, looking back and forth. Every now and then, he ran a smaller secondary scan just to ensure his readings remained consistent. The only life forms he ever detected were those of his travel partners. And…

Now that was curious. He was also detecting a Gallade nearby, but his optical sensors were not confirming. According to his scans, the Blade Pokemon should be directly in front of him, but he saw nothing!

Of course, it being part Psychic, it was possible, although unlikely, that he was using an illusion to hide his presence. But Gallade weren't particularly known for honing those skills. More likely, his scans were reading a false positive. He'd have to check them out when he got a chance; just another reason to get to that terminal.

Fortran hummed a quiet tune, continuing along. The western source wasn't far now. Seemed to be originating from the former Global Terminal.

His records showed it had once been the center of Jubilife's economy. Trainers came from all over Sinnoh to trade for Pokemon from across the world. Though he couldn't feel pain, it was still a sad sight to see such a wondrous building in such poor condition.

The Porygon2 stopped in its tracks as a few Psycho Cuts slammed into the ground in front of him. Moments later, the Gallade he sensed stepped out from the shadows, growling.

"What kind of Pokemon do we have here? A foolish one, to be sure," it growled.

Without hesitating, Fortran screeched loudly. He opened up a quick laser grid, and disappeared into virtual space mere moments before another Psycho Cut slashed through his machinery.

Noytrun looked up as he heard a screech from somewhere in those expansive ruins. Growling, he abandoned the tent pitching job and gathered a couple of supplies with him. Some blast seeds, a Heal Seed… Not much else. Leaving the rest of the items behind, the Feraligatr jumped into the air and called on his Surf.

That Surf carried him much faster than walking would have. Noytrun zoomed through the broken streets, weaving in and out of ruined buildings, searching for the source of the screech.

It was clear, at least, that it wasn't coming from the north end, when he saw Suntren and Rocttryn both running down to meet him in the road. Suntren looked terrified; Rocttryn looked confused.

"Where's Fortran? Yawl didn't see him anywhere?" the gator demanded quickly, skidding to a halt.

"Na, we only heard his cries? ye didn't see him comin' up?" Rocttryn fretted.

"Would Ah be askin' yawl if Ah had?" Noytrun pointed out.

"Then he must have gone down one of the side roads…" Suntren muttered, out of breath.

I only hope he didn't run into any of them.

"Then let's go. An stick together, we don't know anythin' uh whuts goin' on here," Noytrun growled. "Safety in numbers."

"Ah agree. Which wey dae we go first?" Rocttryn asked. He gazed down an alley, past a tall building. A few stone crumbs dropped in front of his eyes, causing him to scrabble backwards a bit.

"There's no way of knowing exactly where he went. However, I bet whatever made him scream is still out there. Listen hard for any noise, and we should move to intercept as soon as we hear any. That's likely to lead us directly to… Wherever he ended up going," Suntren reasoned. He looked up at his teammates. "Does that work for you?"

"Sounds lahk uh plan for me. In thuh meantime, until way hear sumthin', lookin' at thuh more intact ruins could provide clues. Lahk... Thet tower," Noytrun spoke, pointing at the one that towered above all the others. "Can't say much, but sumthin' still standin' lahk thet has gotta mean sumthin'."

"Makes sense to me. I'll lead," Suntren offered. He gently rubbed the webbing between his fingers.

"Nah, ye'r still lookin a' bit weird from th' dungeon, Suntren. Ah will leid; mah instincts kin keep us safe!"

"...Alright, that's fair. But don't try and fight whatever we come across alone, right? Whatever's lurking…" Suntren shuddered, the next few words stuck in his throat. "Whoever's lurking… They're extremely dangerous."

"Torracat got chur tongue? Yawl look nervous," Noytrun commented. "Shore yawl don't wonna set this out?"

"I'm sure," he replied. "We're a team… Right? Teams don't run out on each other." The lizard shot a small glare at Rocttryn, remembering what he'd said back at the lake. "B-Besides, I-I might be able to get you three a chance to get out if… If…"

"Spit it out, Suntren. If whut?" the Feraligatr demanded.

"Hey, back aff!" Rocttryn yelled at them both. "Clearly Sun's huvin some kinda flashbacks, 'n' ah think ah know why. 'n' we'll tell ye why after we fin' Fortran."

"But Roc, I-" Suntren started to object.

"We will," Rocttryn said again, more firmly this time. "Noytrun's a friend 'n' a teammate, 'n' teams don't keep secrets from each other."

"...Alright," Suntren sighed. "It's only fair. But after we rescue Fortran from whatever's got him."

"... Can't say Ah understand. But if yore gunna explain, fahn by me. Let's go."

The trio arrived in front of the tall tower. All three were on guard, having seen the clear markings of territory within the broken buildings. There were a lot of slashes on the rocks, and a couple of bladed marks in what wood was left. There were also steel beams, sliced cleanly in half.

Suntren had a horrible feeling he knew exactly why. Ever since seeing that building, he'd had a dreadful feeling this place was being used for bad things again. And yet, he couldn't find the courage to act again. The last time he was here, he was just trying to get out.

"... Now that's interesting. A fishy-looking Heliolisk… Reminds me of someone I used to know," a voice called out from inside the tower. "And an Aerodactyl… A Feraligatr. Both excellent Pokemon. Are you all travelling together? Perhaps… acquaintances of the strange Ducklett I saw earlier?"

"That wasn't a Ducklett, twas-"

"Yes, we are. Where are you hiding him!?" Suntren demanded. "I swear, if you've hurt him!"

"Oh, don't be so angry at that," the voice called. A Gallade stepped out, crossing his arms. "He disappeared without a trace. I can't find him anywhere."

"Wadja mean, he disappeared without uh trace?" Noytrun demanded.

"Doesn't matter what I mean by that, does it?" the Gallade growled. "Because you three are still trespassing. I have every right to defend my territory… But I'm willing to make a deal to let you walk away."

"'N' whit kinda deal are ye proposing noo?" Rocttryn growled, raising his wings.

"Heliolisk stays with me," Gallade replied. "And you, that Feraligatr, and the Ducklett can leave without any trouble. What do you say?"

"Absolutely not. Suntren's our friend an teammate, an we don't evun know yawl," Noytrun growled, slamming his fists together. "If it's uh fite yore fixin for, let's fite."

"No deal," Suntren growled, recognizing the Gallade. His eyes flashed red as he glared at it. "And I suggest thinking over your next move."

Rocttryn moved away, noticing Suntren turning orange and red. He also let out a little gasp at the fire forming on his frill. That wasn't good. Suntren had promised himself never to dip into the scars left on him from his past. If it's happening to him now…

"Suntren, buddy, calm doon! ye'r losing yersel'!"

The Heliolisk didn't seem to hear him. He was stepping toward Gallade, leaving a flaming footprint behind him. He growled loudly, closing his eyes. With that, the rest of his frill caught ablaze, the heat radiating off of him.

"Fascinating…" Gallade rumbled. "You seem to change types when in moments of stress. If you only learned to harness that ability, you could truly be a force to be reckoned with!"

"I dunno whut yore talkin' bout, or whuts goin' on. But Ahl be damned if ah don't fite against yawl. Sumthin bout yawl smells funny," Noytrun growled. He stepped, wincing a beat from the sheer heat, and summoned a ball of water.

"We're going to make sure you burn."

Gallade frowned, backing away. "Now now… Heliolisk. There's nothing to be gained from a fight. I've offered you a peaceful solution, I would take it," he spoke curtly.

"Yeah right. Your offer is worthless," Suntren spat. "You just want me, and for what? To study me again? No. That's about the worst thing you could've offered."

"Wadja mean again?" Noytrun growled, still keeping his guard up. "You two know each other?"

"I'll tell you later," Suntren growled, the flames beginning to swirl around his body. "For now, let's win this-"

"There will be no fight," Gallade announced, backing away. "I'm all alone, and there's three of you. Two of which are species especially known for being brutal in battle… You called my bluff." He jumped back to a nearby counter. "Even one as accomplished as I would be a fool to take those odds" He crossed his arms, and closed his eyes with a smirk. "But I wasn't bluffing when I said your shiny Ducklett friend disappeared. I cannot say where he is now. That is something you will need to figure out for yourself."

Gallade wasn't given another word. Barely opening his eyes in time, he swung his cloak around to deflect a powerful Fire Blast. It spun off to the side, catching a couple of rocks on fire. With only moments to spare, he Teleported away as Suntren leapt at him.

The lizard ended up crashing over the counter. Rocttryn flinched, seeing him roll into a big metal stand, overgrown by vines and weeds. To his surprise, though, Suntren got up, and seemingly shook off the impact though, a little bit of liquified metal dripping from his nose. "...I'm going to kill that son of a…" Suntren swore, clenching his fists. He punched the nearby wall. "Let's find Fortran and get out of here. I owe all three of you a full explanation."