Jackson

While Alex had warned them to close their eyes during the Magnagate trip, he had failed to mention how his other senses would be affected. It felt like falling for those few seconds traveling between locations. It was a surreal, vertigo inducing experience that was, thankfully, very brief.

"Alright, everyone. Step out of the gate." Alex says, prompting Jackson to open his eyes. In the distance was a large town; large by Pokemar standards at least. He steps forward onto the path ahead followed by his son just as the Magnagate closes with a woosh and a vortex of wind. The only trace of the gate left is an ornate circular pattern burned into the dirt where it once stood.

"How is that even possible?" He says in confusion.

"I'm sure Umbeon and Espeon would be more than happy to explain it to you, so long as you don't mind long winded descriptions."

"I have a question as well." Thunder adds. "Why have the exit so far from town? Certainly it would be easier to have us exit in, say, the town square."

"Safety reasons. Umbreon and Espeon have made it abundantly clear that standing near an opening Magnagate could be fatal. Emolga once decided to test that with a Tamato berry..." Alex pauses and shudders. "Let's just say it was messy. And the berry having red juice certainly didn't help matters. So we make sure we use the gates far enough away from people so that no one will accidentally become a stain on the ground."

"Point taken."

"Anyways, let's get going. No doubt the rest of New Hope is eager to see us." Alexs says as he leads them towards town.

It isn't long before they reach the town's outskirts. As they pass by the houses and shops a sense of deja vu sweeps over Jackson. He is reminded of the many times he strolled through Pokemon Square with Cyn. It feels almost like a dream, as if it's nothing but an illusion. But it's not. He can feel the gentle breeze on his face and the dirt under his feet. The sights and the smells feel too real to be illusory. It's a surreal feeling, being back here after well over a decade. Pleasant, but definitely surreal.

A group of pokemon approach them,. A Virizion, Keldeo, Umbreon, and Espeon, all wearing badges identical to Alex's and Thunder's. This must be the rest of New Hope.

"Hey guys!" Alex calls out with a wave. "So good to see your faces again."

"The feeling is mutual, Alex. We were worried sick about the two of you." The Virizion says.

"Yeah! We feared you got dumped out into the Voidlands!" The Keldeo adds, quickly earning disapproving glances from the two eeveelutions.

"The what?" Alex asks warily.

"I thought we were going to break it to him gently." The Umbreon sighs.

"Guys, I'm standing right here. Do I need to know what these 'Voidlands' are?"

"Yeah…" The Espeon starts. "So shortly after you and Thunder left for Sinnoh Minor, Umbreon and Keldeo made a troubling discovery."

"The new generation of Entercards we've been using?" Umbreon adds. "We looked over the math and discovered something. It would seem that using them runs the risk of depositing you in a realm that we've started calling the Voidlands. In essence, it's the reality that exists between universes."

"Are these Voidlands dangerous?" Alex asks fearfully.

"We don't know for sure. Right now all we have are equations and theory. But I can't imagine an entirely different realm of reality to be safe for anyone."

"Wait, so we were risking being stranded in some world between worlds that may or may not kill us?!" Jackson exclaims.

"I mean, I wouldn't phrase it like that, but… Yeah." Keldeo responds.

"How likely is it to happen?" Alex asks.

"We're guessing around five percent, give or take a percentile. Too high for our liking."

"Mine too…" Jackson adds.

"Well…" Thunder says. "Guess we're not using the Entercards."

"Agreed." Alex adds. "I'll see about getting us a ride on a Wailord ferry."

"Before you do," Virizion says. "Would you mind introducing the Eevee and Machamp?"

"The name's Jackson Pine. This is my son, Josh."

"Hi." Josh says with a wave of his paw.

"Call me Virizion. This is my good friend Keldeo, and the brains of our team, Umbreon and Espeon. How'd you come to meet Alex and Thunder?"

"That there is a long story." Alex says. "Are Dunsparce and Emolga out on a mission?"

"Yeah, but they should be back soon. Why?"

"I'd say we wait until they get back before saying what we've been up to. No reason to end up repeating myself. In the meantime, how about a tour of Paradise?"

"That can be arranged." Espeon says.

Jackson had feared that they wouldn't believe Alex's outlandish story. But it would seem that the team took the recounted events in stride. What offered more trepidation was the time travel snafu that nearly drove a wedge between Alex and Thunder. Not that much of a surprise. If friends that close needed time to deal with it, those around them probably would too.

Meanwhile Alex had quickly gotten the tickets for the ferry to Hoenn Minor. By the afternoon they'd all be on their way to visit Team Guardians. Something he had long accepted as impossible. It's so hard to imagine that it is actually happening.

After an agonizingly slow day filled to bursting with anticipation, the time has finally come. The Wailord ferry had just come into harbor not long ago and was accepting passengers. Several long lines of pokemon converge on the massive float whale pokemon. Jackson, Josh, Alex and Thunder among them.

The Wailord in question was gently bobbing up and down in the harbor wearing a large wood and metal structure that mimicked the upper decks of a ship, albeit with a sloped front. Makes sense they'd do it like this. The alternative would be riding in the pokemon's mouth the whole way. Likely a very unpleasant experience.

"This is so cool!" Josh cheers, practically vibrating with excitement. "I've never rode a Wailord!"

"It should be quite the experience." Alex says. "I read that the interiors are watertight so that the Wailord can dive beneath the water for faster speeds."
"Underwater too?! That is cool!"

"How exactly did they manage to make wood watertight?" Jackson asks.

"It's all coated in a layer of resin. From what I've read, finding a mixture that was both safe and effective was a bit of a challenge." Eventually they reach the front of the line. Alex takes the tickets out of his bag and hands them off to a Shinx, who quickly checks them over before signaling for them to board.

"ATTENTION PASSENGERS! WE ARE DEPARTING IN TWENTY MINUTES." An Exploud yells from the murcrow's nest as they step aboard. "I REPEAT! DEPARTURE IN TWENTY MINUTES!" The words encourage those behind them to speed up, in turn causing the ramps to crowd up.

"We should get moving." Alex says. "I'd rather we not get caught in the crowd."

"You know, I just had a thought." Thunder says, picking up the pace.. "We're going to have a lot of time to kill, perhaps Jackson could tell us about what happened when he first came to Pokemar."

"Oh yeah. You never actually got around to telling us, what with all the Rocket stuff happening."

"Oooh! Yeah Yeah! I want to hear it!" Josh yips eagerly.

"I suppose I could do that." Jackson says. The three of them look at him expectantly, his son especially. The question is where to start. He could go from the very beginning, but perhaps it's worth letting them experience what he did back then, fragmented memories and all.

He takes a seat on one of the tables on the "ship's" deck, inviting the others to join. "Alright. Here's where I'll begin. With me waking up in a strange land with a new body. And before I even have a chance to process anything, there's a massive quake…"