March 21st, First Year

Electricity crackled and burned through the canvas pouch, the fabric quickly catching on fire. The creature responsible for the newly-found tinder gave an annoyed squeak and sent the bag flying before it winced in pain; the trainer of the aforementioned creature huffed and turned to face the other way with a scowl. Jaku looked up from where she'd been standing guard, watching with an air of amusement as Rei tried to teach his Pikachu how to aim its thunderbolts for the umpteenth time that hour. The boy had been keeping her company since Akari had been tasked with doing inventory for the camp and Yuki was apparently unconscious back in Jubilife.

To her knowledge, something had happened to the children involving some kind of unnatural phenomenon. She hadn't been around for it but she had heard the rumors swirling about the Fieldland Encampment. Apparently, Yuki- the eldest- he had had one of his femurs completely shattered. The boy had been found near the camp with a broken arm and bruised ribs as well. She knew that he had been in the medical wing prior to her leaving it, but she hadn't known what for.

Rei and Akari on the other hand had come out with no scrapes and apparently, Akari had no memories of the incident despite there being a large scorch mark on the prairie within plain view of the encampment. Jaku had asked around- mostly out of concern regarding possibly being mauled to death. The guards hadn't witnessed anything apart from sighting some kind of distortion from afar. The guards stated that they had simply stumbled upon all three children unconscious in the tall grass. Yuki had been the only casualty.

She glanced toward Rei, watching idly as the teenager carefully fiddled with an apricot in his trembling, dry hands. Out of the three, he had been the only one to remember the incident. On his recollection, they had ventured into a distortion of some kind and had encountered an abnormally large Luxray which had brutally attacked Yuki. Rei had stated that some kind of pokémon- one that he hadn't seen and that he couldn't describe- had bested the behemoth before vanishing. He had fainted alongside Yuki and Akari not long after.

Jaku sighed, straightening out her posture. Just what in the hell happened while I was out? "Having fun over there?" she called, pulling her headscarf tighter around her head as a cold breeze began to stir.

"Oh, hardy har har," Rei grumbled. "Verrrry funny." He took out a small oran berry from his pouch and promptly flung it as hard as he could toward the treeline, Tot not far in pursuit. "You'd think it'd be easy trying to keep an electric mouse under control. A simple Pikachu- Komuro said it would be easy." He turned to the aforementioned pokémon, his mouth set in a miserable scowl. "Why do I even bother trying?" Tot turned and snarled at its trainer as if it had been kicked. It bunched its legs, its tail quivering as little sparks flew from its golden coat.

"Might wanna keep your comments to yourself, buddy. I don't think Tot liked that last comment of yours very much."

"And I don't care very much!" Rei snapped back. "How am I supposed to perform better as a scout with a worthless partner? I couldn't even protect Akari and Yuki when that huge Luxray appeared! Heck! I couldn't even help you when that other Luxray attacked us in the night!"

That had been Rei's mood ever since their group had arrived back in the fieldlands: frustration. Jaku felt a little bad for Tot who was currently withering with its berry in its small hands, almost the mirror image of its trainer. She couldn't say she was thrilled at the prospect of listening to Rei mope around all day. But then, she remembered what the teenager had recently been through, trying her best to appear empathetic.

"That was a different situation." She kneeled down, meeting Rei's eyes as she glanced out toward the scorched grass down by the river. "You get thrown into a bad situation with little to no preparation. You can't succeed all the time and besides; you're still learning. You're still getting stronger."

"It doesn't matter! I wanted a partner so that I could be safe, but it almost feels like I'm babysitting! All Tot ever does is cause trouble!"

Tot gave an angry chirp and lunged at its trainer only to be swiftly knocked out of the air by Peanut, Jaku's Eevee. The two pokémon flew across the snow in a tangle of limbs and teeth until Peanut eventually took charge, tossing Tot into a nearby puddle and wrestling it down into the wet earth.

A little surge of joy filled Jaku's chest. Attaboy, lil guy! "Nice moves!" Jaku called to her partner. Peanut immediately lit up at her praise and wagged its tail. Looks like the little guy is getting the hang of using Quick Attack. She then turned to Rei. It was certainly worrying that his partner was so ready to attack him. "When did you catch that Pikachu of yours again?"

"I didn't catch it," Rei responded curtly. "It was a gift from my dad when I became part of the survey corps. He caught the little rat eating the grains from the storage room inside headquarters and had another scout catch it. Wasn't my first choice, that's for certain."

"Rude," Jaku commented snidely. "If you're not a fan, then why didn't you just- I don't know- release it?"

Rei had stood up and crossed his arms, tossing another berry to distract Tot. "You don't think I've tried that already?" He shook his head. "It just keeps coming back for food and shelter from the cold. Never listens to me or my dad. A freeloader is what it is. You know I tried to battle Akari with him once?"

"Oh, really? How'd that turn out?"

"How do you think? A resounding defeat! Made me look like a newbie still wet-behind-the-ears and I've been a scout for more than a whole year! Honestly!"

"And here, I thought you two were the best of chums. Geez. I guess some pairs just don't get along. Well, you can always just keep him in the reserves and-"

"Find another partner?" Rei finished for her. "Right. I've thought about that. I wanted a Shinx- they're fearless and cool! I've always wanted to know more about them, especially since they get so much stronger when they evolve, but…"

"…But?"

Rei's expression soured again. "Yuki already managed to catch one. Did you know his Shinx is actually large for its species? And you know, I don't want to copy him. I thought about catching a Starly but they're kind of… you know… weak."

Jaku raised an eyebrow at that. "Yeah, Rei. Shocker. All pokémon start off weak- even Shinx. That's why they team up with us humans: to grow stronger. Some pokémon even evolve specifically when they work with us humans." An idea suddenly popped into her head. "Hey, how about we go look for a new friend for you after I'm done doing guard duty?"

"A new friend?" Rei perked up. His previous sour mood seemed to vanish immediately, replaced by an excited cat-like grin. "Like what?"

"Hmm. How about a Ponyta? Good for getting across land. They're pretty sturdy too if you're in a pinch."

Rei stared off toward the river with a thoughtful expression. "A Ponyta, huh? Yeah, okay. That sounds fine-"

"My, oh my! What are we chatting about over here?"

Jaku turned to stare as a tall figure strode over toward them and she barely took note that though the man wore shin-high boots because his footsteps made not a sound. She had seen the gathering of Gingko Guild merchants in Jubilife, but she never thought they might be following the corps along. Especially not in their bright getup that could be seen from a mile away.

"Oh. Hey there, Mister Volo!" Rei waved pleasantly. "Didn't think I'd see you of all people out here. Jaku and I were just talking about heading out into the fieldlands to find a Ponyta. What do you think?"

The so-called 'Volo' immediately perked up, a wide grin splitting his face as he walked closer. His voice was smooth like silk and low; pleasant but also with an air that exuded confidence. "Ever the opportunist, aren't you Rei?" the merchant crooned. "And here, I thought you might be cowed after that incident with that Luxray. I heard about what happened. My condolences."

Rei blinked and then swallowed, his once-cheery mood immediately turning somber. "Thank you. I- I was… trying not to think about that… Anyway, we're heading out later so that I can find a more dependable-" he gave a scathing glare at where Tot was sitting- "partner. Would you happen to have any tumblestones, Mister Volo? I want to be well-stocked when Jaku and I set out later."

"Of course!" Volo eagerly loaded off his pack with a loud thud and began rummaging through it. "Always eager to help! But at a cost! May I come with you?"

The three of them had set out at noon. Jaku hadn't initially said anything at Volo's bid to tag along as it meant they would have one extra head. She would've asked Egel to come along but the man was still recovering from being electrocuted and having the flesh of his arm charred. She hoped he didn't lose the appendage.

"We're staying away from the western forests," Jaku immediately declared. "I think I've heard enough about Luxrays attacking people to last a lifetime."

"You think you've heard a lot? We merchants hear about them all the time!" Volo piped up. "Luxrays seem to be all over Hisui. They usually stick to their habitats, but they make a point to harass our caravans whenever they can. It's why we can't travel anywhere with our large caravans; too much attention and too much product."

"Yeah, but doesn't Mister Ginter have a Machoke that pulls the cart?" Rei questioned. "As a matter of fact, Mister Volo, why don't more of the members of the Gingko Guild keep pokémon around?"

"Let's just say we already have quite a few issues keeping the local pokémon from devouring our rations and… misplacing our goods," Volo muttered after a while.

"Maybe you should think about getting a flying-type partner. Much faster than land travel with much less danger too," Jaku suggested nonchalantly. She glanced at Volo and only then noticed the little Togepi balancing between the bulk of the man's backpack and the fluff of his collar. The man has a Togepi. "How on earth did you manage to get a Togepi?!" she gaped. "Those are incredibly rare!"

"I've had her since she was an egg," Volo explained, handing a bit of berry to the little pokémon. "Got her egg in a trade at a foreign port about a year ago. She's only just recently hatched as a matter of fact!"

"That little guy of yours should actually evolve into a flying-type later down the line. Well, a flying-and-fairy-type," Jaku nodded. "That's assuming you can find a shiny stone and those are stupid rare."

"…Miss Jaku, what in distortion are you talking about?" Rei interrupted her. "What's a shiny stone? How do you know about Togepi's evolution?" Like a fountain, more and more questions began to spill from Rei's mouth and just as quickly, Jaku silenced him.

"I just know, okay? It's knowledge from the future hanging around in my banged-up head. Wasn't I just telling you earlier that some pokémon evolve via stones?"

"Oh, you were. I just had no idea what you were talking about and didn't want to interrupt you."

"Jerk. Next time, cut in if you don't understand me! I don't like rambling like a loon."

The trio soon came to a dip atop a plateau overlooking the Horseshoe Plains. Jaku paused and stared at the snowy hills, stalks of tall grass and barley poking out from the snowy cover. Beams of sunlight split the clouds and shone down on the melting river ice. If it weren't for the jarring trauma of her trial two months ago, the scene before her would've been pretty even. Instead, all she could remember was the feeling of being frozen to her core and the sight of the alpha Rapidash as it chased after her, the hellish fire of its mane twisting into the blood-red sky. She shivered and began descending, carefully keeping an eye on the large glowing light in the distance: the Rapidash was very well still there.

"Alright," she declared, coming to a stop next to a clump of trees. A Wurmple emerged from the grass and immediately latched onto the toe of her boot, wiggling its little feet at her in a 'hello' of sorts. If she weren't so adamant about not liking bug-types, Jaku would've scooped the little pokémon up right then and there.

"A Ponyta, right? This shouldn't be too hard. I've got this." Rei rolled a pokéball into his waiting hand, his eyes set on the icy hills. "There still ought to be Ponytas hanging around the hills." He then turned to Tot who had been following sullenly at his heels. "You stay here."

"We'll keep an eye on the scamp. And don't forget the technique I taught you all that time ago," Volo chimed in. "We'll be watching right over here. I know you'll do well."

"Don't get burned," Jaku teased.

"I won't!"

Jaku watched carefully as Rei crept away into the snowy undergrowth, his red cap sticking out like a sore thumb. Tot made to trail after him before shrinking back as Peanut barred the way again. She then switched her gaze back to the alpha Rapidash as it crept along the thin treeline on the other side of the plains. She still had nightmares about that creature even if she never told anybody. Captain Cyllene had said before that scouts had been mauled to death by it; she didn't doubt that. She could only think that if she were a second slower, she would've been added onto that list.

"Quite terrifying, isn't it? The Rapidash?"

Jaku jumped, almost forgetting that Volo was there too. The man had taken to sitting on a fallen log, his Togepi resting leisurely in his lap as the merchant's silver eyes trailed the alpha pokémon. "No need to tell me that," she responded lightheartedly. "I nearly got roasted by that thing a few months ago. I certainly do not want to meet it again."

"Is that so?" Volo leaned closer, his pleasant grin turning to a sympathetic smile. He clasped his hands in front of him. "You seem to know quite a bit about wild pokémon. Even more so than our good professor and his assistant. Even more so than Miss Akari…I wonder what else you must know. We merchants hear quite a bit of gossip during our travels and naturally, word of two people falling from the sky would of course reach my ears. I've heard snippets about you from both Miss Akari and Young Rei, of course, and what do you know! A chance run-in with another of Almighty Sinnoh's Chosen. I consider myself very lucky, indeed."

Jaku frowned, not sure why her skin crawled at his questioning. Jaku was a woman of instinct and right then, her instincts were telling her to not give too much away. "How so? I hope you've only heard good things about me."

"Of course!" Volo waved away her concerns. "And I just couldn't help but be fascinated at the prospect of speaking with people from another time period. I made it a point to speak with Warden Ingo of the Pearl Clan first, but he has a nasty case of amnesia. Nastiest case I've ever seen."

"All of us have amnesia to some extent," Jaku joked, glancing back at where Rei was silently approaching a Ponyta. "Must be some sort of failsafe from changing history or something. I can only hope that we're here on purpose but…"

"But? I do hope I'm not pushing too far."

"No, no! You're fine! It's just- I've personally had the chance to speak with Warden Ingo and the man has been here for nearly two years already. I just- I hope it's not the same for me. I hope we're not just stuck here for no good reason. At least give me something to do," she commented wryly to herself.

"Mister Volo! Jaku!" Rei came sprinting back up the slope, his eyes wide and his pace erratic as he unconsciously latched onto Jaku's sleeve. His eyes were rounded with fear as he coaxed them both to their feet. "I think we need to head back to camp!"

"What? Why?" Jaku immediately whipped her head around to try to find the Rapidash. To her relief, the great beast was still on the other side of the pastures. "What's…" She paused, her eyes lingering on a snowy hill that just didn't look quite right. She stared harder. "Are you two seeing what I'm seeing?"

A little farther along the plains where the hills dipped into a small valley of sorts was what looked to be a bubble. The air around it wavered like heat bouncing off the pavement on a hot summer day. The edges of the bubble trembled and spasmed, the snow and grass within heavily discolored. A small crack of something unexplainable lingered at the top of the bubble, little fingers and webs of electricity discharging along the perimeter.

Even as every hair on Jaku's body told her to run- to grab Rei and get back to camp- a tiny infinitesimal part of her longed to get closer. To reach out toward that energy that seemed to be whispering something to her. Every second that she continued to stare was another second that that irresistible pull seemed to grow stronger and stronger. The edges of the distortion wavered again, the insides growing murky and opaque as the static worsened. Something moved inside. Something big. Jaku inched closer-

"Miss Jaku, please! We need to go! Right now!" Rei protested, tears threatening to fall from his eyes. His voice was weak and shaky and from what little skin contact they shared, Jaku could feel Rei's clammy hands tightening on the slack of her tunic sleeves.

She gave a frustrated sigh, feeling Rei's grip on her sleeve tighten like a vice. Even Volo looked a bit worried, recalling his Togepi into a wooden pokéball on his hip as he adjusted his wares on his back. She took another glance back at the distortion and then swallowed. "I'm going to take a closer look. You two should get back to camp-"

"No way!" Rei moved to bar the way, tears now freely flowing down his cheeks as he tried to push her back. "You just got out of the medical wing after getting attacked! We shouldn't be approaching this thing. Akari, Yuki, and I got swept into one of those things and Yuki nearly died! I'm not chancing that again!"

"I have to second that agreement," Volo muttered. "As interesting as it is, I can't see any benefits of endangering ourselves in the process. Perhaps another time when we're better equipped? Or rather, not at all?"

A spark of indignation and rebelliousness lit in Jaku's chest like a fire. "Well, I'm going to indulge myself," she drawled, her fingers crawling onto the pommel of her saber. That little niggling part of her that wanted to get closer was now singing praises at a fever pitch. "It's just a distortion," she found herself muttering. "What could possibly go wrong?"

Before Rei or Volo could object, Jaku was already picking her way down the slope toward the distortion with reckless abandon. Up close, the bubble seemed to sing with a certain energy that she found utterly intoxicating like the sweet scent from a Combee. Wind swirled along the edges like a tempest and almost as soon as her fingers met the periphery, she was drawn in.

It was warm. Pleasantly warm too, as though she were bathing in summer sunshine. There were no sweeping hills of snow and ice within; instead, rows upon rows of barren, layered mountains loomed before her. Scrubby bushes with small yellow flowers and wispy trees with low-hanging branches dotted the landscape, a sweltering breeze finding its way beneath her clothes. It was the first time Jaku had actually felt truly warm in all of her time in Hisui.

Boisterous caws and the songs of hidden songbirds echoed, the hum of the wind rising as it whistled through a narrow outcrop of rock some few feet away from her. Jaku tapped one shoe down, unable to control her growing grin as dust rose up and blew away in the breeze. The cracks in the distortion appeared to her like one massive spider web, its branches brightening the closer it drew to the horizon. I know this place. I've been here before. The feel of it all was cloyingly sweet. So sweet that she thought it was just her imagination playing tricks on her when she thought she heard faint whispers right behind her; unintelligible whispers that sounded awfully like garbled noise.

A heavy calm settled over her as she walked along the cliff's edge, sighting a twisting river far, far below her perch. Why was I ever afraid of distortions? Jaku looked further, her eyes catching on unique rock formations and cacti fields far in the distance. She carefully picked her way down the slope toward the river, observing her distorted image on the smooth surface of the water as it fell from a place Jaku couldn't discern. She then paused. There was a large misshapen shadow that approached from just behind the waterfall.

"Jaku!"

She turned to see Rei and Volo emerging into the wall of the distortion, their eyes seeming to glow as they hurried in her direction. Volo in particular stopped and, like her, stared in wonder as the distortion moved around them.

"Are you insane?" Rei hissed as he collided with her, once again maintaining his firm grip on her sleeve. "You could've gotten injured! Please, can we just go?"

"Rei, calm down-"

"No! No, no, no! I'm not getting talked into doing something stupid again! Please, let's just get out of here! Yuki already got mauled in one of these things! I don't want to see it happen again!"

Jaku abruptly stopped him in his tracks by yanking back her sleeve. "I never said you had to follow me in here. You could've just stayed up on the plateau."

"Because we're supposed to stick together!" the younger boy protested.

Static crackled. The distortion picked up in its energy, its borders expanding and writhing as the sky darkened above. Rei tightened his grip on her to the point where Jaku thought he might leave a bruise. Even so, she could clearly still see her surroundings as if it were daytime. She shared a confused glance with Volo. Her fingers twitched at her sides.

"Rei, do me a favor and hide in the tall grass. You too, Volo."

"What? Why?" Rei snapped. "Whatever you're thinking, don't do it! Come on! We can still get out of here!"

"Because something's about to happen." Jaku froze, the hairs along her arms rising as the dry breeze turned to a cold front. She shoved both of them into the shadow of the waterfall just as the distortion gave a hearty ripple. The dry brush and draping trees shuddered, small green-and-black birds taking to the skies in a cacophony of noise. Static crackled again and in the fraction of a second, a new pokémon had come into existence.

On a twisting section of the canyon ledge, a small blue-and-red pokémon appeared from an opening in the ethereal spider web, stopping to sniff and spit at the dry desert area. It then whipped around, its red eyes locking onto Jaku.

"Snea!"

A Sneasel. Jaku knew that pokémon from somewhere but it most likely wasn't from the desert lands. The little pokémon cocked its head, its beady red eyes seizing her up for only a moment before it charged at her, its long claws bared. Dusk appeared from its pokéball and spat out an ember, sending the little Sneasle skittering away back down the trail.

The Sneasel recovered quickly, its eyes wide as it clawed its way back up the ledge to stand at the entrance to the waterfall cave. It chuckled. It then charged once more coming up right before them before coming to a halt. It looked first at Jaku and then at Rei. It then chuckled again. "Snea?"

"Hey Rei," Jaku muttered. "What do you think about getting a Sneasel?"