Six Months Before The Invasion of Aether Paradise
004 felt loneliness pricking at him like the tiny needles the scientists often poked at its skin with. Darkness and silence had become its closest companions. The scientists only rarely brought it into the light now, and the mask was now a permanent fixture of its face, left unremoved for at least a year.
Not that 004 wanted the mask removed. If it wanted that, it could remove the mask itself. 004 could easily muster enough power to shatter the mask outright. But 004 knew the pain that would result, the indescribable agony, the horror when the mask was finally replaced and it saw the full extent of the damage it had dealt. No, 004 was glad the mask had stayed on. But it wished that the scientists would bring it out more often. Or at the very least, activate its body and allow 004 to move.
004 knew a few things about where it was and what its purpose was. It was the fourth of the artificial Pokemon created under what the scientists had called the Type: Full program. 001, 002, and 003 were in separate containers. 004 hadn't seen them for a long time now; the scientists preferred to test them separately.
004 had been standing in this exact position ever since the scientists had last taken it out. That day they had simply poked and prodded 004, hooked it up to a few of their machines, and waited for about an hour while 004 listened to the constant cacophony of buzzing and thrumming. Then they'd taken 004 back into its container and left it deactivated right where it now stood.
Without the capability to move its head or even its eyes, 004 had but one place to gaze at, and as such it gazed at that place yet again. Its visual receptors were capable of seeing even in the darkest environments, and as such 004 had a clear view of the steel door that separated it from the outside world. The door was at least twice as large as 004 and incredibly sturdy; 004 had never tested the door itself, but it had seen two burly-looking Fighting-type Pokemon, augmented by the Psychic power of at least two Psychics, struggle to get it open. The second, smaller door carved into the side of the container was something 004 could only see out of the corner of its left eye; that was the access door for when the scientists simply wanted to run tests on 004's deactivated body.
And it was that door through which 004's auditory processors, capable of registering sounds from up to a hundred feet away, were now picking up the sound of quiet footsteps.
004 listened as the footsteps moved closer and closer, then stopped. The distinct sound of one of the scientists' electronic keycards was very audible in the surrounding silence. The door swung open, and a teenage blonde-haired boy stepped through it, turning to close the door very slowly and silently behind him.
The door shut with a quiet click, and the boy turned towards 004. "All right," the boy whispered to himself, "let's see about getting you out of here."
004 heard every noise the boy made; it couldn't see the boy too clearly as the boy moved towards its flank. 004 knew that was where its emergency activation trigger was located; it felt its artificial fur ruffle as the boy ran his hands through it, searching for the trigger.
"Ah." The trigger flipped. 004 felt power rush through its body as the activation sequence asserted itself. Slowly, 004 shifted, turning its head towards its activator, seeking to get a full view of the boy for the first time.
The boy was dressed all in black, though his messy blonde hair and bright red shoes undercut the stealth that his black clothing provided. His eyes were green, his skin white. As 004 turned, it saw the boy staring right at him.
"It's okay," the boy whispered. "You're free now."
Free. The word was so alien to 004 that it took a moment for it to recognize the meaning of the word. 004 longed to ask the boy what was going on. But it knew that the boy could not understand its words. All the boy would hear was grunts and droning.
"I know you're probably confused," the boy whispered. "My name's Gladion, and I'm going to get you out of here. Stay quiet, but if we're spotted, we're going to need to run."
Gladion stepped back towards the side door and swung it open. 004 followed Gladion out, looking from side to side as it exited. Normally, the laboratory was brightly lit and bustling with activity; now it was as dark and lifeless as 004's container.
"This way," Gladion whispered, swinging open a door. 004 fell into step behind Gladion, watching closely for any scientists. It had a feeling that the scientists would not like the fact that 004 had left its container without permission.
The two of them passed by hallway after hallway and room after room, all of them shrouded in darkness. Several times Gladion paused at a noise, but each time it turned out to be nothing, and eventually the two reached a set of large glass double-doors.
Gladion pushed them open. 004 followed, and as it stepped out it became aware that around it was a room much larger than any it had been in. This room was very different than all others; the floor was green and uneven, the roof and walls dark with countless little spots of white, seeming to stretch off into infinity on all sides. Something blew across 004's flank; it took a moment for 004 to realize that the rush was similar to the fans that the scientists sometimes blew on him.
The floor of the room sloped down into what 004 could only describe as a vast expanse of water. It knew what water was from the scientists' experiments on what 004 ate and drank, but it had never seen any amount of water larger than what filled a small bowl. Far away, across the expanse, lay several other uneven green-floored slopes, and it was towards one of those that Gladion pointed. "All right, that's Akala Island. That's where we're going. We'll have to go by boat, and it might get a little rough, so be ready."
With that, Gladion began to walk down the green slope. 004 followed, gazing from side to side, taking in all of its surroundings. The thought crossed 004's mind that this wasn't a room. That they were not in the laboratory anymore.
Could this be the 'outside' that 004 had heard the scientists speak of sometimes?
Gladion and 004 made their way to a couple large black-and-white objects floating on the surface of the water. "Good thing these tour boats always dock here at night instead of the main docking area" said Gladion to himself. "Need that space for the ferries, right? Lucky for us."
004 stepped onto the tour boat, still looking around. For the first time 004 looked behind it. It saw a massive black-and-white wall extending upwards so far that even from here 004 could not see it all without moving its head. This had to be outside.
The sound of a quiet motor reached 004's auditory processors, and Gladion stepped back into view as the boat began to move. The boy sighed in relief. "There we go. We're away."
004 tore its gaze away from the building to focus on Gladion once more.
Gladion sat down on one of the boat's benches. "I suppose you're wondering why I'm doing this," he said.
004 knew, from the numerous exercises drilled into its head by the scientists, that moving its head up and down meant yes, while moving it from side to side meant no. So 004 moved his head, first up, then down, then up again, then down again, emphasizing each movement.
Gladion stifled a chuckle. "Look," he said, "I'll be honest here. I rescued you because I need your help. Even with that mask of yours, you're strong. And I need strong Pokemon if I'm going to become strong myself."
004 frowned, not sure where this was going.
"I…lost someone I cared about," said Gladion. "And I need to become strong in order to protect the family I have left." He looked up into 004's eyes. "Will you help me?"
004 hesitated. All the references that the scientists had made to 004's strength involved taking off the mask. And 004 knew that taking off the mask meant pain. Did Gladion want to cause 004 pain?
No. Gladion had saved 004. Made 004 free. 004 would repay Gladion.
004 moved his head up and down again. Gladion smiled. "All right," he said, withdrawing a dingy spherical object from a pouch on his hip. "This is a Pokeball," he said. "It's a container. It's more comfortable, and I'll leave the seal off so you can leave whenever you want. But you'll need to stay in here most of the time. Aether's gonna be looking for you, and there are other people who might be interested in you. And I don't want to lose you, okay?"
Though 004 had taken a slight step back at the word 'container', it moved forwards, bowing its head in acceptance. Gladion touched the Pokeball to its side. Energy surged across 004's body as it felt itself distend, and in the next moment it was inside the sphere, even though it had seemed a lot smaller than 004 was.
004 heard Gladion touch something on the Pokeball, and in a flash it was back on the deck of the boat. Gladion placed the Pokeball onto his waist. "So. Let's give you a name, okay?"
004 tilted its head quizically.
"A name, like what to call you," said Gladion. "Because I'm not calling you '004' or 'Type: Null'. Those are what the scientists called you. You need an actual name."
004 had no problem with being called 004 or Type: Null. It was used to those names. But it moved its head up and down anyway. Clearly Gladion knew what he was doing.
"I'll call you Silvally," said Gladion.
004 tilted its head again.
"I dunno," said Gladion. "I just made it up on the spot, actually. But…it sounds right. So what do you say, Silvally?"
004 - Silvally - continued to move its head up and down. Gladion finally broke down, trying and failing to stifle his laughter.
"All right, all right," he said. "Okay, we're going to need to work on that." Gladion placed a hand on Silvally's fur. "But that can wait until we reach the mainland. We'll buy a few more Pokeballs and catch some friends for you." Gladion turned his head towards what he had called Akala Island. "Ready to get started, Silvally?"
Silvally responded with more excited up-and-down head movement.
It had been three hours since they had landed, and for most of that time Silvally had remained in Gladion's Pokeball, staring out at its increasingly strange surroundings. They had been surrounded by a multitude of what Gladion had called 'buildings', had gone inside a 'store' to purchase more Pokeballs, and had then ventured into a 'forest' filled with 'trees', which was where they were now, with Silvally in front and Gladion behind.
Already the laboratory Silvally remembered so well seemed stuffy and cramped compared with the forest of Akala Island. Silvally could hear numerous cries from many different Pokemon as it stepped through the trees, attempting to pick up a Pokemon with its numerous visual processors.
Silvally quickly became aware of numerous eyes turned in its direction. Pokemon were all around, staring at Silvally from treetops and lower-down green masses that Gladion called 'bushes'. Every time Silvally looked over, the Pokemon would duck away. Whispers echoed through the forest; Silvally's auditory processors picked up words like 'Creature' and 'Thing' and 'Monster', spoken in hushed, scared tones.
The words pricked at Silvally in a way that felt worse than the loneliness it had felt in its container. Silvally didn't know why, but the words sounded wrong to him. Like saying them meant something bad. Nervousness plucked at Silvally; it stopped short, turning back towards Gladion.
"Are you all right, Silvally?" At Gladion's words, more murmurs came from the treetops, but Silvally swiveled its auditory processors towards Gladion, attempting to mask the surrounding voices.
Silvally moved its head from side to side. Gladion sighed. "All right," he said, "we'll try somewhere else. Let's get out of here."
Gladion turned and began to move in the opposite direction. Guilt stung at Silvally as it moved after Gladion. The boy looked disappointed; was that Silvally's fault?
"So that's what you're called?"
Silvally looked up at the source of the new voice. Above it, a small purple winged Pokemon was moving after Silvally and Gladion, hopping from tree branch to tree branch and staring down at Silvally. "Yes," said Silvally, continuing to walk. "What are you called?"
"I'm Zubat," said the purple Pokemon. "The others are scared of you. They've never seen anything like you before."
"And you have?" Silvally asked.
"No," said Zubat. "But that doesn't mean I have to be scared like they are."
"What do those words mean?" Silvally asked.
Zubat frowned, clearly not understanding. "Creature. Monster. What they were calling me," Silvally clarified.
"Ah," said Zubat. "They're…words for things that are unknown. Like I said, the others are scared. They'll call anything a monster if it's foreign in any way."
"Why are you not scared?" Silvally asked.
Zubat shrugged. "I dunno. The others call me a 'daredevil'. A 'show-off'. 'Reckless'. I just think they're jealous."
"It sounds very much like they are jealous," said Silvally.
Zubat smiled. "Not that that means much, coming from someone I just met a minute ago…but thanks. Anyway, I should probably get going. There's limits to how much 'recklessness' they'll tolerate."
"You could come with us," Silvally suggested.
Zubat snorted. "Are you kidding? Only young and stupid Trainers want to use a Zubat. And your Trainer doesn't exactly look young or stupid. I doubt I'm even worth a Pokeball to him."
"I think Gladion would be happy to have a Pokemon like you," said Silvally.
Zubat sighed. "Don't I wish. Look, clearly you're not from around here, so I'll say it again. Good Trainers don't use Zubats. You'll be better off finding someone else."
"All right, let me prove it."
Zubat looked quizzically at Silvally. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Come down here, and I will get his attention," said Silvally. "Maybe he will refuse to catch you. In which case you can go on back, no harm done. But maybe he will decide otherwise. Maybe he will decide that you are worth a Pokeball."
"Yeah, doubt it," said Zubat. "Nice meeting you, Silvally."
"I thought you were not scared."
Zubat twisted back towards Silvally. "I'm sorry, what?"
"I think you are scared that you will be right," said Silvally. "That Gladion will not catch you. You are scared that he will reject you. And I understand. But what is the harm in trying?"
A few seconds passed before Zubat let out a sigh. "Fine. All right, I'm coming. Go ahead and signal your Trainer."
Silvally raised his voice. "Gladion!" he stated, loudly and emphatically. Gladion did not understand the word, but he heard Silvally's voice and turned. "What is it, Silvally?"
On cue, Zubat fluttered down onto Silvally's right shoulder. The purple winged Pokemon looked surprisingly nervous, but managed to gather his nerves and look up at Gladion.
Gladion chuckled. "Seems you've picked up a passenger, Silvally. I get it, it might feel weird, but wild Pokemon do things like this. I'm kind of surprised it didn't attack you…"
He stopped speaking as he noticed Silvally gazing at the Pokeballs on his belt. "Oh. Really?"
Silvally moved his head up and down.
Gladion frowned. "Strong Pokemon, Silvally, not a Zubat."
Silvally felt Zubat's body deflate on its shoulder. "Told you," Zubat whispered sadly.
"Wait," Silvally growled. Looking up, Silvally strode up to Gladion, gazing into its Trainer's eyes. Gladion looked down at Silvally. Silvally grunted, glancing down at Gladion's Pokeball's insistently.
Gladion looked back towards the dejected-looking Zubat, then fixed his gaze on Silvally. Silvally stared into Gladion's eyes unblinkingly. Gladion shook his head, letting out a soft sigh as he raised a hand to his forehead. "All right, Silvally," he said slowly, before turning to Zubat once more. "You're sure about this? Both of you?"
Zubat smiled toothily and moved his own head up and down; the motion was far more natural than Silvally's own movement.
Gladion sighed again, then tossed a Pokeball at Zubat. Silvally winced as the Pokeball arced towards Zubat, but at the last moment a flash of light temporarily scrambled Silvally's visual processors, and when they finally cleared the Pokeball was sitting on the ground, lit up blue.
Gladion picked it up, pressed a button on the side, and released Zubat onto the ground. "All right, Zubat, let's see what you're capable of. Once we're done with that, we can see how you stack up against Silvally, and act accordingly."
"Told you," Silvally whispered.
Zubat giggled before maneuvering to face Gladion, awaiting his new Trainer's commands.
"Right…" Gladion sounded embarrassed. "I…uh…can't really get much data from that…"
Zubat rose shakily, a cough escaping his mouth. "Okay, is 'Tackle' some kind of code for a stronger move?" he asked. "Because I've taken Tackles from the local Rattatas, and they weren't anywhere near as strong as that was."
Silvally glanced from Gladion to Zubat worriedly. Gladion had told him to use Tackle, and he had. He hadn't meant for his charge to send Zubat flying into the closest tree.
Zubat frowned. "You're just that strong, aren't you?" Silvally's head moved up and down. "Yikes. Guess I've got some catching up to do, huh?"
"All right, Silvally," said Gladion, "do you know any moves weaker than Tackle?"
"Zubat, Supersonic!" Gladion cried.
Zubat opened his mouth and let out a piercing shriek, sending the opposing Trainer's multicolored Grimer staggering backwards. "Grimer, Pound!" the Trainer called. With a groan of "Sludge Blow", the Grimer recovered and surged forwards, its gloopy body rippling as it swatted at Zubat with a nasty-looking fist.
Zubat managed to flutter out of the way in time. "Absorb!" Gladion ordered. "Leeching Spit!" Zubat hissed, letting fly with a pulse of Grass energy at the opposing Grimer. Grimer shrugged it off without too much difficulty, but as he turned he suddenly tripped; it was odd, Silvally reflected from inside his Pokeball, to see a pile of sludge fall to the ground, but that was exactly what Grimer did.
"A Grass attack won't do much to Grimer!" the other Trainer boasted.
"It'll do more than your Grimer's doing to my Zubat," Gladion retorted.
"Snap out of it, Grimer!" the opposing Trainer yelled. Grimer groaned, attempting to rise, but was unable to recover its mental faculties.
"Absorb again!" Gladion ordered. Zubat drained more vitality from Grimer with another Leeching Spit; Grimer noticeably reacted, even if he didn't seem terribly wounded.
"Pound!" the Trainer ordered, but Zubat fluttered out of the way of the confused Grimer, rising higher into the air to get out of Grimer's reach.
"Oh, come on, that's not fair!" the opposing Trainer yelled.
"You want fair? Catch a Flying-type. Or teach your Grimer a single ranged attack," Gladion suggested. "Zubat, just keep draining it. He'll fall eventually."
Five minutes later, the stubborn Trainer finally recalled his Grimer, tossed a bunch of Pokedollars at Gladion, and stormed off towards a Pokemon Center.
Zubat fluttered back down to Gladion. The grin on his face was infectious, and Silvally felt itself smiling too as it watched Zubat celebrate his victory.
The three of them sat in Gladion's hotel room, Gladion's legs dangling over the side of the bed. Gladion was smiling. "Not bad for a first day," he said. "Tomorrow we'll go out, fight some more Trainers, and maybe learn some more moves. Good night."
Gladion flopped backwards onto the bed, leaving Silvally and Zubat alone on the floor.
"First day?" Zubat sounded surprised. "With your power? Did he receive you from someone else?"
"He…rescued me, actually," said Silvally. "From the laboratory where I was created."
"You're artificial." Zubat sounded surprisingly relieved. "That actually explains a lot."
"Is that a bad thing?"
"No!" said Zubat. "Of course not." He cracked a smile. "No worse than being a Zubat, anyway."
"Do not say that," Silvally protested. "You are strong. You defeated that Grimer, did you not?"
Zubat's head moved up and down. "You heard what Gladion said when he first met me," said Zubat. "It's gonna take more than a Grimer to prove him wrong."
"Are you up for that challenge?" Silvally asked.
Again Zubat grinned. "Absolutely."
Silvally knew Gladion had several reasons to keep him inside his Pokeball for this. To shield him from trauma, to hide his existence from the newcomers, and to prevent the scientists from seeing him. But that didn't mean it hurt any less to watch the massacre outside.
The instant he'd seen the enemy's face, he'd known it was 001. They were all perfectly identical, and yet they instinctively knew each other by sight alone. He'd been shocked to see 001 without the mask; he'd been even more shocked to see 001 not screaming or even wincing in pain.
Had the scientists truly found a way to remove the mask without causing pain? They had to have, for 001 would have at least been reacting to the pain if it had still been there. But no pain had registered across 001's face as it tore its way through the gathered teams of Elio, Hau, and Gladion.
"Damn it!"
Silvally felt his Pokeball open and instantly leaped outwards, cannoning into 001. He knew words would not be useful in this situation. 001 had always been dutiful. But even so, as 001 skidded under Silvally's blow, turning its wrathful gaze towards him, Silvally felt a pang of guilt.
That guilt washed away as Silvally's optical processors swiveled around the battlefield, taking in the carnage, the crumpled bodies of the various Pokemon that had been felled by 001's rampage.
Charizard, splayed out on the floor, one wing badly broken. He'd been stolen from a Pokemon Professor's unwatched bag by a group of particularly nasty Team Skull Grunts. Silvally had never liked Team Skull. But Gladion had told the team it was a good way to get strong, and Silvally could not deny that. Gladion had taken the Charmander from Team Skull and offered it a place on his team, which had made their already low opinion of him even lower, but it had been worth it. To gain the respect of a member of the Charizard line was no small feat; Leon, Champion of Galar, was famous for the bond between him and his Charizard.
Weavile, fast but frail, had been unable to withstand 001's opening attack. Gladion had caught him as a Sneasel when he'd ambushed the team, believing that evolution would come with the defeat of strong foes. He'd fully evolved only a few weeks ago, and had been utterly ecstatic. It seemed so little time had passed since then.
Zoroark, felled alongside Weavile. Gladion had found him as a Zorua wandering the streets, scavenging for garbage. He'd never spoken of how he'd gotten there, but had quietly devoted himself to pleasing Gladion, doing whatever he was told without any complaint. Silvally had a suspicion that whatever Gladion told Zoroark to do, Zoroark would do it, barring extraordinarily dangerous tasks.
Porygon-Z, so recently felled by 001's final charge. As a Porygon, it had been a gift from a visiting Kantonian who believed Gladion could do more with it than she could. Gladion had spent an entire week locating the two rare evolutionary items to evolve Porygon, and once he'd found them, Porygon-Z had repaid him by becoming one of the most versatile members of the team, more than earning his place despite being the newest member.
And then there was Crobat, half driven into the ground by 001's foot. The one who had been with Gladion since the first day. Even after evolving into a Golbat, he'd never thought the much-coveted final evolution of the Zubat line would even be available to him; it had only been during Gladion's second battle with Elio that he'd finally accessed it. The first had been a loss, with even Silvally falling to the shocking power of Elio's Torracat's Z-Move. The second had nearly been the same, until Golbat's evolution had managed to swing it back around. It had still ended in a tie, but a tie was better than a loss.
All five had been felled by 001, alongside many Pokemon Silvally had come to see as foes. Incineroar, downed in the first attack without even an opportunity to use the Z-Move Elio had been saving. Decidueye, sacrificing himself to land a single hit on 001 that had been immediately negated. Lycanroc, Rotom, Alolan Raichu, Vaporeon. 001 had beaten them all, fully showcasing the power of his RKS System, the same RKS System that lay dormant in Silvally's body.
Silvally knew, deep inside, that he couldn't win. Not without the RKS System. Not without breaking his own mask. But he was afraid. Afraid that if he broke the mask, he would attack indiscriminately. Hurting his friends.
Hurting Gladion.
So he fought without it. Aiming his most powerful attacks at 001. But 001 handled each attack with ease, retaliating with effortless blows that sent Silvally flying. And thirty seconds later Silvally was tumbling across the earth, his entire body aching, the sheer amount of pain threatening to overwhelm his body.
As he landed, he felt his eyelids shudder, then close in spite of himself. He could still see spots of light through them, but darkness was rapidly encroaching, lulling him into the sweetness of unconsciousness.
"…on, Silvally, get up…"
Silvally could hear other voices, but they sounded muted, their murmurings barely audible. He was aware of Gladion kneeling by his side. A jolt ran through his body as he tried to force his eyes open, to rally himself. But the darkness was so nice and comforting,
"I'm not leaving her!" Gladion's voice rose in a strangled cry. A dull thud came from where Gladion was kneeling. "Silvally…please…"
No! Silvally forced his eyes open, tossing the darkness away, and became aware of Gladion's face above his. Hope shone in Gladion's wet eyes as Silvally looked up into them. He could only see out of his left eye, his right buried in the earth, but out of the corner of them he could see 001, readying itself for another attack.
There was only one way they could win this. Only one way he could protect Gladion.
"Silvally?" Gladion asked.
Silvally looked deep into Gladion's eyes. "I'm sorry," he whispered, in that moment wishing more than anything that Gladion could understand his words. And then Silvally drew on every bit of energy he had left and forced it all into his mask.
First it cracked. Then it cracked again, and then again, and then a shattering sound and Silvally felt air on his face and the sudden warmth of light and pain-
He'd prepared himself for it as best he could, and yet it was unimaginable, the sheer agony blinding him even as he was faintly aware of himself standing, faintly aware of 001 standing opposite him. The thought ran through his mind that this was a foe he needed to take down. He felt energy surging off him in waves, his body unable to contain the raw flow of power, even as he lunged straight for 001.
Gladion was saying something, but Silvally couldn't tell what it was. He could only see 001 and himself, as if the entire world was occupied by just the two of them. Silvally charged, and he was sure that he'd hit, but he impacted nothing but air.
He twisted, focusing the roiling energy as best he could to deflect a powerful beam of energy 001 shot at him. Pain narrowed Silvally's vision, blocked his hearing, his mind occupied with the agony that threatened each moment to lay him low. Silvally charged again, but bounced off a barrier. Several more rays came at him; defensive instincts took over, and Silvally felt his body change under the RKS System; even more pain came at him, but Silvally gritted his teeth and forced it back, focusing the energy around him into a blast to wipe away the rays.
He saw 001 counter the blast with his own, and managed to focus some more of the energy streams to deflect that attack, then charged 001 once more. Again he slammed headfirst into an impenetrable barrier, bouncing off, and in the next moment a beam of energy was slamming into his face.
The pain was lost in the shuffle, but SIlvally was dimly aware of his body flying, then hitting the ground. Any unconsciousness that might have yearned to come to him was lost in the surrounding agony. He raised his body up and leaped forwards again-
"Silvally!"
And suddenly Gladion was there, right in front of him. Silvally at once stopped, skidding to a halt, ending his charge so close to Gladion that dust and earth washed over the blonde-haired boy. A sickness filled Silvally's stomach. How long was he there?
I knew this would happen. I knew I'd just put him in danger.
"I know you're in there," said Gladion. "Behind all that pain. And…I need you to tough it out. One last time, you hear me?"
Silvally knew it was Gladion. His Trainer, his friend, his savior. But a fresh wave of pain pulsed through his body, and for a moment he was blind and deaf, knowing only that something was in front of him, and he had to defeat it, had to win-
"It's me."
Silvally's vision cleared once again; he gazed down at his claws, dug into the earth. How close had he come to hurting, even killing Gladion?
This is my fault. I knew this was a mistake. Another wave of pain surged through Silvallly, forcing a snarl from his throat. "Please, Silvally," Gladion's voice echoed as if coming from far away. "LIsten to me. We can do this."
Something touched Silvally's face. He almost snapped at it, but at the last moment realized it was Gladion's hand. His vision cleared again, revealing Gladion standing right in front of him, one hand outstretched.
Gladion looked straight into Silvally's eyes. "We can do this."
Silvally felt another wave of pain coming on, and then he saw it, out of the corner of his right eye. 001 standing behind Gladion, mouth open, energy gathering in preparation for an attack.
"I don't think so."
Silvally barely heard Plumeria's cry as the attack launched. The pain reduced his vision to a thin tunnel, but all Silvally knew was that Gladion was in danger. That he had to protect him. Silvally leaped, hurling himself around the featureless blob that he knew was Gladion. "Protect!" Silvally heard the cry as if it was coming from a different throat, but as his vision cleared he saw 001's Hyper Beam ricocheting away from the barrier surrounding his body.
The pain was still there, still pulsating like a tumor in Silvally's body. But he shook his head and forced it back. He could not give into the pain. Not while Gladion needed to be protected.
Silvally leaped at 001, and 001 leaped at Silvally, and the battle began anew.
Silvally's Pokeball was rattling, shaking Silvally slightly, as Gladion raced through the corridors of Lusamine's mansion. They were nearly deserted; many of the workers had fallen at the docks, and the Team Skull Grunts had been ordered to retreat; clearly none of them wanted to take on Silvally. A flash of satisfaction came through the still omnipresent pain.
"Silvally," Gladion whispered as he ran, "I'm so sorry about this. I didn't…I didn't want it to be like this. As soon as possible, we're going to solve this, okay?"
Silvally managed a nod, even though he knew Gladion couldn't see him. Gladion rounded a corner; ahead of him was a set of double doors, and standing before them were two Aether Foundation workers, both of whom threw out teams of three Pokemon.
"Get back!" one of the workers ordered.
"Silvally!" Gladion released Silvally in front of him without breaking stride. Silvally quickly scanned his opponents: Alolan Raticate, Lumineon, Trumbeak, Vikavolt, Stufful, and a Ghost-type Oricorio. None of them were resistant to Fairy.
"RKS System: Fairy Memory!" Silvally forced back a fresh wave of pain. "Multi-Attack!"
All six Pokemon went flying, the blast too much for them. The shocked workers didn't even make a move to stop Gladion as he lunged past them, Silvally at his heels.
Gladion and Silvally burst through the doors, and both stopped dead as the scene in front of them unfolded.
Lillie was standing between two other Aether Foundation workers; behind them, Lusamine and two beings Silvally had never seen before were standing around a desk covered in holographic-looking technology. Guzma was standing off to the side, looking bored. A black case with shining blue lights was also on the desk, and from the way the mysterious beings had been looking at it, it was important. Now, though, all eyes in the room were on Gladion and Silvally. Silvally looked towards Lusamine; he had never truly met Gladion's mother, but he'd heard the stories. Lusamine's face was the picture of fury as she took a step towards Gladion, fists clenched at her sides.
Interest flitted across Guzma's face. "Well, well, well, if it isn't-"
Lusamine cut him off. "Do you even realize what you're doing here?" Lusamine asked. "Do you realize the sensitivity, the necessity of this experiment? You're ruining months of work! And look at that poor Type: Full! It must be in so much pain, and all because of you! You should be ashamed of yourself!"
Silvally stepped in front of Gladion, snarling at Lusamine. Gladion scowled. "Mother? Shut up."
Lusamine glared at Gladion. "You don't-"
"I want my sister," said Gladion. "I want to take her away from here, and I don't think either of us ever wants to see you again."
"Gladion," said Lillie, "they've got Nebby."
Gladion looked at Lillie. "Leave him! We-"
"I'm not leaving without him!" Lillie cried. "They're torturing him!"
Silvally could hear footsteps behind them. Someone was running towards them. Was it the workers they'd passed? All eyes turned towards the doors as the new arrival burst in.
Silvally instantly recognized Marcus, the aspiring Gym Leader who'd come along with them. He was panting heavily, surprise dancing in his eyes as he gazed around the room. His eyes fell on Gladion. "Gladion! We need to go, right now!"
"I'm not leaving without Lillie!" Gladion called, not looking at Marcus.
"No one is taking Lillie or Cosmog from me!" Lusamine growled. "She is my daughter, and it is my experiment!"
Marcus glared back at Lusamine. "It doesn't really look like Lillie wants to be here," he said. "And I doubt Nebby wants-"
"What right do you have to dictate anything here?" Lusamine asked. "You have no idea what's going on! I don't need some random Kalosian charging in trying to screw things up!"
"Lillie?" Marcus asked. "Do you want to be here?"
"No," said Lillie. "But they've got Nebby in that case over there…" She pointed. "And I'm not leaving without him."
Marcus let out a long sigh. Then all at once, he moved, his fingers flying to the Pokeballs at his belt. "Medicham, get the case! Everyone else, protect her!"
Chaos descended the instant Medicham found herself outside her Luxury Ball.
She had heard Marcus's order; at once she made a dash for the black and blue case Lillie had pointed to. Silvally was on one side, the rest of Marcus's team save for Drapion, Pangoro, and Houndoom on the other; those three had been too weakened by the battle against Faba, and would not fight again today.
"Stop them!" Lusamine ordered, but in that moment Lillie hurled herself forwards, evading the grasp of her two attendant guards. The guards threw out Pokemon of their own, but scarcely had they landed on the battlefield when Silvally fell upon them, ripping through them with a Fire-type Multiattack that left four unconscious on the floor.
Medicham was dimly aware of Lusamine releasing half a dozen Pokemon into the room, was aware of Guzma hesitating to do the same, was aware of the two beings in strange blue-and-white suits stepping between her and the case. She ignored them all except for the suited beings. They were between her and her target.
Medicham hurled herself forwards; behind her the room descended into a frenzy of fighting as the rest of Marcus's team hurled themselves at Lusamine's. One of the two suited beings' fingers went towards a strange Pokeball on their belt, then hesitated and tapped another one; a Furfrou materialized in the room, and for a moment Medicham was reminded of Puffball, but this Furfrou looked far more menacing than the excitable Normal-type that Marcus's parents owned. "Furfrou, stop her!" the suited being ordered. The Furfrou lunged at Medicham, eyes wild. "Furry Tackle!"
"Aura Avoidance!" Medicham slipped out of the way. "Pure Power: Aura Strike!"
Furfrou went flying, careening across the room into the opposite wall. Part of Medicham wondered what the suited beings were doing sending out such a weak Pokemon, but she pushed that thought away and once more focused on the case. She could see it behind the two suited beings; she kicked off the floor and hurled herself at it, preparing an Aura Avoidance in case something else came at her.
"Back!" Lusamine's voice called faintly. Out of the corner of Medicham's eye she noticed Lusamine's team falling back, forming a line in front of the rest of Marcus's team. Gladion was helping Lillie up; Silvally was readying for another charge; Marcus was standing protectively in front of Gladion and Lillie, eyes locked on Medicham.
"Damn it!" One of the suited beings released a Pokemon Medicham had only seen once before, on an airport news broadcast. One of the strange Beedrill-like purple creatures that had been battling the strange Tentacruel-like being at Aether Paradise now materialized in the room, its massive stinger outstretched as it hurled itself at Medicham. Once again Medicham dodged with Aura Avoidance, though this time she didn't bother attacking the creature.
Instead, she lunged for the case, evading the desperate reaching hands of the suited beings, and grasped one hand around it. "Nebby!" she cried. "Are you all right?"
"n…no…" Nebby's voice was quivering. "get away…i don't want to hurt you again…"
"Come on, let's get you out of here." Medicham swiftly activated Aura Avoidance again, rolling off the desk with case in hand to avoid a blast of Dragon energy from the purple Beedrill-like being. She nearly landed on a large bag she hadn't seen up until now; it looked like Lillie's bag, but it was empty. She paid no attention to it. She had to get Nebby back to Marcus.
"no!" Nebby cried abruptly. "no! not now! why-"
Medicham saw the white light shining from the case a second before it burst out, blinding her. She could hear screams of surprise from the room, many throats at once upraised in shock. She could hear a whoosh, like the strongest wind Medicham had ever heard was blowing through the room, and yet she could not feel any wind. Her body was weightless, floating in nothingness.
"i'm sorry…"
And then she was back on solid ground, clutching Nebby's case like her life depended on it. The white light cleared, the world reasserting itself, and Medicham's eyes at once flicked upwards, searching for her opponents.
She stopped short, her eyes widening. She could see her adversaries, all right. The purple creature, the two suited beings, Lusamine and her team, and Guzma, all standing around the area, looking surprised.
What Medicham couldn't see was Marcus, the rest of Marcus's team, Gladion, Silvally, or Lillie. Nor could she see the room they'd been in. Instead, rising up all around her was a mass of towering skyscrapers, each the height of the Prism Tower back in Lumiose. Above them lay an impenetrable expanse of darkness, looking like a night sky but with no stars.
"What…" Medicham whispered. "Where am I?" She turned towards the case. "Nebby, where am I?" she asked, the words coming out more angrily than she'd intended.
"please…i didn't want this…i promise…" Nebby sounded heartbroken, barely able to form coherent sentences.
The suited beings gazed around the area. "Well," one of them said. "Strange…but fortuitous, I suppose. Lusamine, Guzma…welcome to Ultra Space."
The white light cleared, and Cloyster blinked. The Bewear he'd been struggling to get past was gone, as were the rest of their opponents. In fact, everyone apart from Gladion, Lillie, Marcus, and their Pokemon had disappeared from the room.
In the silence, a small Alolan Vulpix ran up to Lillie. "Snowy!" Lillie scooped the fluffy Ice/Fairy-type off the ground.
Snowy was babbling. "I saw that tall purple and white Pokemon coming to grab Nebby, and everybody was focused on her, and I ran while they all got distracted, and then there was a big flash of light and they were all gone, and-"
Cloyster felt a chill run through his body. "Where's Medicham?" he asked, half to himself, but everybody around him heard him as well.
"Medicham?" Trevenant called. But there was no answer.
Kriesh hurled herself towards the desk, landing hard on it, scattering technology everywhere as her talons dug into the table.
"Is she-" Liepard began.
Kriesh turned to face the rest of the team, battling back tears. "She's not here," she said, her voice low and grim.
Horror shot through Cloyster, shortly followed by rage. How…how could this have happened? How could I have let this happen? If I'd just been stronger…strong enough to get past that stupid Bewear…
Marcus had clearly figured out why the rest of his team seemed agitated. As Cloyster watched, he turned towards Gladion and Lillie. "Where is my Medicham?" he asked, his voice cold and furious in a way Cloyster hadn't at all expected from him.
"That…that was Nebby," Lillie whispered. "They were trying to get him to teleport them…he must have taken along your Medicham as well."
"And where were they trying to teleport to?" Marcus asked.
"Ultra Space," said Lillie. "A…some kind of alternate dimension. They wanted to fight a being…some evil Legendary called Necrozma."
Marcus stared at Lillie and Gladion. "My Medicham is in an alternate dimension fighting an Arceus-damned Legendary?"
"Um…yes," said Lillie, her head dropping to the ground.
"Marcus," said Gladion, "you're upsetting her. Come on, we need to get out of-"
"I'm upsetting her?" Marcus was in Gladion's face in an instant, practically radiating fury. "I'm upsetting her? My Medicham is stranded in an alternate dimension with an evil Legendary, and you're worried that I'm upsetting her? Are you out of your mind? I told you we had to leave, I told you the odds were stacked against us, but no, you had to charge in like a damn Torchic with its head cut off, and now my Medicham is gone because of you!"
"I never asked you to follow me in here!" Gladion retorted. "I never asked you to send your Medicham out to grab that case! If I'd had my way, we would have left without that thing! It's your own fault your Medicham's gone!"
Marcus clenched his fists. "You piece of-"
"Stop it!" Lillie shoved herself between them. "It's my fault, okay? I'm the one who asked you to get Nebby back!" Tears stained her cheeks. "And…I'm sorry. I'm sorry about your Medicham, and I'm sorry for my brother being an idiot, but we need to get out of here! In case you haven't noticed, we're right in the middle of Aether Paradise, and more scientists and Team Skull Grunts could be on us any second!"
Gladion stared at his sister in surprise, but Marcus spoke up quickly, albeit reluctantly. "You're right. But we're returning later. I'm not leaving Alola until-"
"Your Medicham isn't coming back," Gladion said brusquely.
Lillie turned to glare at Gladion before Marcus could make a move. "Gladion, stop talking! You're just making everything worse!" She swiftly took Snowy in her arms. "Come on!" she cried, making a run for the door.
"Silvally, with me!" Gladion ordered, recalling the Type: Full and racing after Lillie.
Left alone in the room, Marcus stared mutely at the remnants of his team. Cloyster had barely been paying attention to the words shared between the three humans, so wracked he was with guilt. Looking around, Cloyster could see the same guilt in everyone's eyes; Kriesh looked absolutely heartbroken, and even Trevenant and Liepard looked saddened.
"They're right," said Marcus. "We do need to go. We…we'll talk later."
Cloyster didn't resist the recalling beam. But he barely felt the cooling gel of the Luxury Ball. It seemed unnaturally hard as he gazed out of the ball, eyes locked on the room even as Marcus followed Lillie and Gladion out the door.
Giovanni.
Perfect.
Betrayer-Of-Kin hid a smirk. She'd known following Nidoking would bring her plan closer to fruition. It was why she had come here with him in the first place, after all. But now that she had a name, and was able to scan the future for that name, everything was beginning to fall into place.
"What's going on?" Ripper asked.
Betrayer-Of-Kin sighed. "Reflections. Anticipations. The feeling of a job well done."
Ripper snorted. "We've still got Wicke to deal with. Don't celebrate just yet."
"Please," said Betrayer-Of-Kin. "Wicke is comatose, barely guarded, with no conscious Pokemon. You could not have an easier assassination."
Ripper turned and stalked away, grumbling slightly. Betrayer-Of-Kin allowed the smile to come back to her face. There was no need for Ripper to know the truth.
She would never tell the Manectric, or anyone else for that matter, that Giovanni's little comeback story would be the direct cause of the upcoming end of the world. And with the amount of Psychic shielding surrounding the man (even with the name and her knowledge and experience she'd barely been able to get around it), it was highly unlikely the Heralds knew how much of a role Giovanni would play in Armageddon. Which gave Betrayer-Of-Kin an advantage the scope of which even she hadn't expected.
All that remained was to take hold of that advantage and manipulate it as best she could.
"Faba?"
Giovanni's voice crackled from the device. "What is it?" Faba asked.
"They're gone," Giovanni said.
Faba grinned. "All right. I'll arrange a staff meeting. Xerosic, keep the lab locked down." He stepped out of the door, his voice trailing off into the distance.
Nidoking turned to face Betrayer-Of-Kin. "You heard him. It's time."
"Right," said Betrayer-Of-Kin. "Ripper?"
"Coming." The Manectric swiftly followed Betrayer-Of-Kin as she stepped out of the lab, readying herself for the upcoming assassination.
Welcome to the Revelations Arc! As the title implies, there will be revelations. I've been excited to write these chapters pretty much since I began this fic. Be prepared for some big stuff.