Pokémon Mistery Dungeon: The Missing Project (Rewritten!)

by Lupingllogi111

Jake didn't know what happened when he awoke and realized he had turned into a Pokémon. All he knew was that his regular life had been replaced, and now, he will have to blend in, bond with new partners, and most importantly, try to unravel the misteries of the world he is in and save it from a criminal guild that plans to take over the world with the power of an abomination...

18. Chapter 15: Lively Town

Chapter 15: Lively Town

---

So fluffy...

Sage's house's guest dorm room wasn't too big, but we somehow managed to fit the four of us inside of it. There were only two beds, which meant that we would have to split into pairs.

Kit was kind enough to arrange them in a way that suited everyone's likings. Him and Marshtomp were sleeping on one bed, with Ember and me on the other one.

I could swear our bed was also smaller than theirs. Not that I minded.

Since Marshtomp was almost a whole meter smaller than Kit, they didn't have any problems with space, something that couldn't be said for the two of us, who were cuddled up with each other very tightly, trying not to fall from the bed.

It wouldn't have been all that bad if I didn't have to worry about stabbing the fire type with my chest spike while she clung onto me as if I was some sort of life sized plushie someone earned in a carnival.

I didn't mind at all, however, as her body warmth was better than any blanket and her slightly open mouth as she rested her head on my shoulders made me smile.

It was... too perfect.

I can't believe this is real. I never got a girlfriend before, and then I come here and I get the jackpot?

I squeezed her a bit tighter, feeling her shift and murmur something unintelligible in her sleep.

I chuckled as I closed my eyes again. She's so cute.

Despite me being the most comfortable I had ever been in who knows how long, I couldn't sleep. I didn't know if it was because of everything we had lived today, the immense relief of seeing that Ember was perfectly fine after getting her memory back, or the fact my heart still beat at the same speed as when Ember had kissed me.

Maybe all three of them.

No matter, the point was that I was still awake, and I didn't even know for how long.

After a few more minutes of uncomfortably squirming in place, I heard the Braixen take a deep breath and flutter her eyes open.

"Jake?" She whispered groggily. "Are you still awake?"

"Did I wake you up?" I muttered.

"Sort of. I wasn't too asleep."

"Yeah, I saw how your mouth was open a few seconds ago. Surely you were awake then."

Silent chuckles filled the room. "I can't believe being like this with you isn't enough to make me fall asleep." I said. "You're so warm and fluffy I thought I'd pass out the moment I closed my eyes!"

She giggled. "Shut it, you! You're not one to talk about being fluffy! Have you seen your chest? If it wasn't for that spike, I'd have my face buried in it!"

I felt my face go red. "S-Shut up!"

Ember giggled once again. "You're cute when you're flustered."

"You too."

Silence once again filled the room. "Something on your mind?" Ember asked after a pause. "You don't normally take this long to fall asleep."

"I'm just thinking about what we just saw. What was that Darkrai? That wasn't the real one, was it?"

"You know, I was more concerned about the literal copy of myself." She laughed. "But I guess that's also something to note... And the glowing figure too."

"Well, about that..."

I could see the Braixen raising a brow. "Don't tell me you know who that was."

"Maybe?"

"Well, it mentioned something about 'your dreams' so..."

"Yeah, that's something I have to tell you all about when we wake up."

"Is that the reason you kept waking up suddenly back at New Hope Town?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

"It's been a long time since that happened, don't you think?"

"You mean a few days?" I chuckled.

"That's better than zero days!"

"If you say so..."

Another moment of silence. I heard Kit snore slightly before he stopped. "So..." I began. "How do you feel? Like, about us being a couple now?"

"How do I feel? Well, you're one of the sweetest Pokémon I've ever met, and one of the only ones that's... well, managed to get me inside an explorer team! A shame we couldn't go on more missions before all of this..."

"Meh, it's fine. I'm more concerned about your town and the Pokémon there. Your friends, and all of that."

I could feel Ember's face turn gloom in a second. "D-Do you think everyone is alright? That they made it out?" She asked. "Arceus, I completely forgot about them! What if they didn't make it? What if the Rocket Guild actually got them? W-What if they're d-de-"

"Hey, hey!" I stopped her downwards spiral with a few pets on her head. "They're gonna be alright, okay? Your friends are strong and smart enough to make it. I know it's hard not knowing how your best friend is doing, but you gotta trust her. Her, and your other friends too."

"You really think so?"

"Of course."

I felt how she hugged me even tighter than before, tears falling from her eyes. "Thank you Jake. I love you."

"You're welcome. Love you too."

"Wait but..." She suddenly exclaimed. "Isn't this even a bit... weird for you?"

"What do you mean?" I asked her.

"Well, I mean, you're a human, right? Did you ever have a Pokémon mate before you turned into a Lucario? Or were they a human?"

I felt my face grow red at the question. "No, I didn't have one." I stopped to think about the question. "And now that you mention it..."

I sighed. "Having a 'Pokémon mate' is not something usual for humans. I'm pretty sure it's looked down upon, so I guess it's kind of weird? But you guys don't act like the Pokémon in my world either, so does it even count?"

She chuckled. "I guess we aren't the same as your Pokémon!" Ember then tilted her head as she looked at me. "But why is it weird for humans to have Pokémon mates?"

I frowned. "Well... I don't know? I guess it's because we're different species?"

"You and me are different species. My parents weren't the same species. Kit and Lil- Actually, nevermind those two, but you get the point."

"Uhh..." This was a hard question. Why had I never thought about it? Probably because the idea of having a 'Pokémon mate' never crossed my mind. "I don't really know. Maybe it's because Pokémon aren't too different from each other. I mean, they are, but at the same time, they aren't. Like, if I compare a Braixen and a Lucario, they are different types, different heights, different body structure, etc. But both of them can use moves, have a type, can evolve,... Humans can't do any of that. Humans share similarities between them, but compare a human to a Pokémon and the only thing you can find similar is the fact that some of them look like one."

Ember thought for a while. "I suppose you're right. But who am I to say? I've never seen how your world works!"

Her paws once again went behind my back. "But even if you're a human, you're still my human. And I wouldn't trade you for anything."

"You know, this is probably the fastest I've ever managed to get a girlfriend."

"I thought you said you never had one!" She joked.

"It's still a record isn't it?"

I felt her lips press onto mine. The kiss didn't last too long, but it was enough to make me blush. "How's that for a 'making someone blush' record?" She teased the moment she pulled away.

"Y-You're the number one at that!" I stuttered.

Ember's giggle at my answer was one of the most pleasant sounds I ever had the pleasure to hear. "Come on, let's go to sleep already." She said.

"Okay, but make sure we're hugging each other as tight as we can."

"Aye aye, team cap'n!"

Despite her carefree attitude, I could feel Ember's uneasiness in her grip, most likely because of her now remembering to worry about her friends.

"Ember, please, don't worry. Agatha told you she was going to go with her parents, didn't she? Where do they live?"

"They... they moved to Lively Town a few years ago. We're... We're actually going to the same place..." She thought out loud.

"Well, then maybe we could visit them before taking that boat, hm? Then you could make sure of it."

The fire type thought for a few seconds before I felt her calm down and sigh. "Okay. Yeah, yeah, okay. Everything will be alright, just trust her." She said to herself. "I think that's a great idea, Jake." The Braixen told me.

"See? Come on, goodnight Ember." I sighed, closing my eyes for the last time.

"Goodnight, love. Sleep tight."

I chuckled as my face went slightly red. "You're going to make sure of that, aren't you?"

"I thought I was too warm and fluffy for you!"

"And you are! I never told you to stop the hug!"

Another few chuckles later and the room fell in silence once again. I felt sleep overtaking me as I buried my face deeper into Ember's warmth.

---

...

"The dreams again..."

"Hello again, Jakey!"

"Wait, that voice... You were the light back when we were in Ember's head!"

"Teehee! Bingo! Did you finally tell your friends about us?"

"I was going to, but... something happened and I didn't have the chance."

"Hehe... You mean getting a girlfriend?"

"Wh- Shut up! How do you know that?"

"Well, I am in your head, silly! Of course I have ways to know!"

"O-Oh, I suppose that makes sense. Wait, are you alone? Weren't there two of you?"

"Yes! But Cebs is too busy trying to make sense of what I told her happened before. She's trying to find the actual Darkrai to talk and ask him if he knows anything about that impostor!"

"Cebs... You mean Celebi?!"

"Of course! I thought we told you already."

"Wait... Yeah, I remember. Celebi and Mew, right?"

"Exactly! How does it feel to meet two of those 'once in a lifetime' Pokémon, huh?"

"I can't believe it... Is it really true? You're the real Mew? Speaking to me this casually?"

"Formalities were never my thing. And yes! We are real! You're not imagining it, don't worry!"

"Wait, but then is it true you were cloned?"

"Of course not! That was the Mew that watches over your world!"

"Wait, what? There's more?!"

"Listen Jakey, we've got no time to discuss these sorts of things! Speaking to you like this is already dangerous enough, so we should do this as quickly as possible. After all, you don't want your location getting leaked by a psychic belonging to a certain organization passing too close from here, right?"

"...Okay. What do you need then?"

"I'm gonna tell you where to go next, of course! There's someone where you're headed that can answer most of the questions you have about that bunker you guys found and probably about the abomination as well."

"What?! But how?"

"You'll see when you get there, hehe... Also, do you have that... rectangular magic thing with you?"

"Rectangular magic- You mean the laptop?"

"Yes, the zaptog! Do you have it?"

"I'm... pretty sure I left it in New Hope Town..."

"Aww...Well, it doesn't really matter. The point is: Keep going to Seabound Town! But not just anywhere, your target lives in a house in the middle of a Mystery Dungeon called Concealing Forest, so make sure you don't search the whole town!"

"Thanks? But how do you know that? And why suddenly help us?"

"Well, let's say we've been watching over him for some time now! We know what we're doing, relax! And about helping you, well..."

"I don't like the tone change."

"You shouldn't. Listen, what I'm about to say is very important, so pay attention. Before, we were just watching you to make sure nothing happened and you could settle down easily, but now, we're racing against the clock."

"In what sense?"

"Remember the 'abomination' we talked about a few days ago?"

"I think. Why?"

"Latios and Latias haven't shut up about 'feeling an increasingly big and very weird psychic pulse coming from somewhere', and the recent spike in activity of the Rocket Guild makes us think it's coming from that same abomination they're trying to get their hands on. We still don't know what it is, or what they want to do with it exactly. We just call it 'abomination' because the psychic pulse is, I quote, 'an abomination and an offense to the psychic type'. We believe that 'pulse' is actually a call for help so that they have an easier way to find it, because it's weak, and can't do much. We also know it's been going for a long while, sometimes changing, but never stopping."

"So you want us to find out what it is?"

"Sort of, yes. We believe that the one you will find there may have the answers to those questions."

"But then why not go and ask him yourselves? This is supposed to be a global emergency!"

"I know! And I asked Cebs a lot of times about it, but she just goes 'niehhh, Mew you can't let yourself be seen... blah blah blah'."

"What?! That's the whole reason?"

"Well... not really. It's part of it. The dungeon where the guy lives is a very weird one. The middle of it is inaccessible by teleporting, warping, or anything you can think of. The entrance is also very hidden and hard to access. It changes every time, and the guy seems to be the only one to know when and where it will warp to! Even Palkia doesn't have an idea of the possible places the entrance can go to, and he's the god of space! And as you can imagine, we don't have the time to go around searching for it ourselves."

"But then how are we supposed to get in?! Or why not ask him while he's out of the dungeon?"

"...I was hoping you'd know that! I thought humans were clever!"

"What?! How am I gonna know something Palkia doesn't?!"

"Hehe, I was just joking! But anyway, we know that he comes out of the dungeon to go to the town itself at least once a day, and that he's quite sociable even, so we tried to speak to him with telepathy, but looks like he's at least partially a dark type, because it didn't work, and Miracle Eye is hard to perform when too many Pokémon are together in an area. I guess you can find him somewhere and ask him to take you to his house."

"But I thought you said not to search the whole town!"

"Did I? Well, change of plans!"

"..."

"Anyway, I'll be leaving for now. Cebs should be about to arrive with news about that Darkrai thing. I'm sure she'll tell ya next time she can."

"I guess this is a goodbye then... Can I ask something before you go? It's been troubling me for a long while."

"Sure, go ahead!"

"Before I came here, Lilith pushed me off a cliff. What... happened there?"

"..."

"Mew?"

"Your human body died from the fall. Arcy managed to save your consciousness and make a new body for you here, but your human one is beyond repair."

"Died? A new body? That's why I'm missing some memories?"

...

"Wait, does that mean..."

"Even if you were to go back to your world, you wouldn't be able to turn into a human again."

"..."

"I'm sorry Jake. We weren't fast enough to save you."

"It's... It's okay. Goodbye Mew."

"... Goodbye Jake. You all be careful out there, okay?"

"We will."

...

"Wait, Mew?"

"Yes, Jakey?"

"Would there be a way to... tell my family and friends that I'm okay? Or at least that I'll miss them?"

"I... don't know. I can talk to Ricky and see what he can do. He's the Mew of your world, so maybe he can do something. Leave a letter in your family's house or something. Would that be okay?"

"I... Yes, please. I'd love that."

"I'll see what I can do. Good luck."

"Same to you."

---

I woke up to the sun hitting me on the face and Ember's body close to mine. Despite how comfortable I was at that moment, what Mew had just told me was preventing me from relaxing as I felt a tear run down my cheek. So I'm... supposed to be dead... Everyone back home will think that...

My friends... The little family I had left...

And even if I were to go back, would they really believe it's me? And how would I talk to them in the first place?

The tears turned into silent sobbing as I tried to muffle them by burying my face in Ember's chest.

I'm so sorry... I'm so sorry I disappeared without even a goodbye... And now I'm asking for a favour from a mythical just because of me and my impulsive need to follow that Pokémon into the forest...

Please, Mew. I beg you, let them know I miss them.

"Mrrm... Jake?" Ember groggily muttered.

With blurry eyes, I looked up to her, feeling her emotions shift into shock. "Arceus, Jake, what's wrong?! Did you have a nightmare?" She worriedly asked, no doubt remembering that time when we came back from the bunker.

"N-No, it wasn't that." I sniffed. "It's... I had a dream again. And... I found out something. I... I promise I'll tell you later. I'll tell you guys all later. But please, just... not now."

The fire type smiled as she pulled me into another hug. "It's okay, Jake. I'm here, okay? I'll always be here with you. Let it all out." She reassured.

I broke into tears again, feeling the Braixen slowly pet my head as she kept repeating those same words I wanted to hear so much. "I don't deserve someone like you..." I said.

"Shh, don't say stupid things. You deserve everything and more."

The room fell in silence for a while, with only my sobs breaking it. After some time, I heard a pair of groans come from the other bed.

"Ugh, it's morning already?" Kit whined, his mane even more disheveled than when I slept at his house.

"My sweet princess, I wish our relationship could be real..." Marshtomp said in a whisper, which wasn't that quiet since most of us heard it.

The two of us turned to look at our bed, no doubt wanting to comment on us, but stopping when they saw the scene. "Woah, what's going on?" The dark type exclaimed.

"Boss, you okay?"

"Y-Yeah, just..."

"He's having a hard time about something he'll tell us later." Ember filled for me.

"Okay, gotcha." Kit stood up. "I'm gonna see if I can find Sage and ask her if I can prepare some breakfast. Marshtomp, wanna come?"

Marshtomp looked reluctant, but nodded. "Yeah, let's go."

After we were left alone, I spent some time crying until I couldn't anymore, followed by a few minutes of just cuddling with the fire type.

"Feeling better?" She asked.

"Sort of..." I sniffed. "You definitely helped."

"Glad to hear that, Jake. Do you need anything else from me?"

"N-No. You already did too much for me. I'm alright."

"Jake, you three went inside my mind to help me. Cheering you up is the least I could do."

I let out a small chuckle. "You are too good for me, I swear."

"Well, I guess I'll be leaving then! We are officially over!" She yelled with mock anger.

"I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be able to take that right now."

We spent a little bit more in each other's embrace until Ember spoke again. "Are you ready to get up?"

"Do you promise we'll sleep like this tonight again?"

"Heh, of course."

"Love you."

"Love you too." She let me go as she stretched. "Now let's move our asses and get down already! Cuddling is nice and all, but I'm starving!"

"Yeah, me too." I said wiping the tears off my face. "Let's go down. Maybe talking will take my mind off things."

"Hopefully. And if you need something, just tell me, okay?"

I nodded and a few seconds later, we were walking down towards the lower floor, where we found Kit, Marshtomp and Sage having a lively talk about something we didn't manage to catch.

Sage was the first one to notice us coming down. Her crest was almost as disheveled as Kit's mane, though to a lesser extent. The other two also took notice of us, and waved. "Good morning you two! How'd ya sleep?" Kit asked with a smirk, trying to cheer my mood up a bit.

"I suppose good!" Marshtomp added.

"One of the best sleeps of my life." I answered.

"Glad to see you're replacing me this fast!" The water type chuckled.

"Come on, you know I'd never do that!"

"I know, I was just being happy for you!"

A pair of plates with toast floated towards us as we sat down on the table. "Thanks for everything, Sage." Ember said.

"Yeah, thank you. You really didn't have to do all of this." I added.

"Nonsense!" The Ninetales exclaimed. "Being alone to collect someone's thoughts is important, but so is having company from time to time. I ought to be the one thanking you for staying. It has been a long time since I helped a Pokémon with their problems, let alone use the guest bedroom."

"Is that why you were looking at the sky when we found you?" Marshtomp asked.

"The firmament contains a very big amount of information for those that know what to look for. Just how I saw that a big danger is ahead of us..."

I almost choked on my food, and was about to ask about it, but Ember beat me to it. "A great danger?"

"Mhm. I am not certain of what it could be, but the sky does not lie. Disaster is looming." Her head gaze fell on me. "But I must guess you already knew that?"

Now everyone's eyes were on me. "Jake?" Kit asked, arching a brow.

"I was gonna tell you after we were done with this!" I blurted. Did they not know about the 'abomination' at all?

"I believe it's best if we leave that conversation for later, isn't it?" Sage interrupted. Sitting down next to Marshtomp, who only stiffened up in response.

Breakfast went by without any more setbacks. It was amazing to see Sage's psychic power in action. She barely moved at all while she spread some butter on her own toast with her powers. I wasn't the only one impressed, however.

"Would you like some?" She offered Marshtomp when she saw him looking at her.

"Wha- Ye-Yeah, sure!"

Sage didn't even look at the food as the knife acted on its own accord, before the toast was lifted to his hand. "There."

"Th-Thanks."

I couldn't help but let out a small chuckle.

Once we had all finished, we helped Sage carry all the plates and silverware to the kitchen, despite her insisting it wasn't necessary. She volunteered to do the washing while we talked about our stuff, understanding it was something private.

We sat on the sofa, with everyone facing each other.

"So Jakey. Wanna start? You didn't look too good back there." Kit asked me.

I sighed. "I think I should, yeah."

How could I even start to explain it? I didn't know, and it was a very hard time recalling everything I had been told and explaining it to them. By the end of it all, the three of them wore shocked faces as they processed my story.

"So what Lilith's after is some sort of abomination that's been crying for help for years?" Kit incredulously exclaimed.

"Scratch that! Mew and Celebi talked to you and you didn't tell us anything?! And they told you we have to go to Seabound Town to meet someone that could help us solve what this 'abomination' is?" Ember added.

"Scratch all of that! What do you mean you can't be a human again?" Marshtomp yelled, causing the room to fall in heavy silence.

I looked down. "That's why I was crying before. Today... Mew told me that when Lilith pushed me off the cliff, my human body didn't survive the fall. Apparently, my consciousness was put inside this body before I was sent here, but going back won't revert it because..."

No... I can't... I won't cry again.

"Because I'm supposed to be dead. All of this is just some crazy reincarnation stuff! Maybe I'm just dreaming all of this, who knows?" I bitterly laughed. "I'm never going to see my family and friends again, and even if I did, how would they react to seeing me like this?! They wouldn't even be able to understand what I'd say!"

Ember pulled me into a side hug as I felt my eyes get wet once again. "Jake, I didn't know. I'm... so sorry you had to find out like this..."

"That... that doesn't even suck! That's horrible!" Kit said. "I-... I'm so sorry. Arceus, I'm so sorry." Judging by his expression, it was clear he meant it in more ways than one.

"Kit." Ember interrupted him. "It's not your fault. Please, don't."

"Kit, please don't blame yourself. It was me who fell for her trap." I tried to reassure him, even if he didn't look at all convinced.

A huge feeling of rage coming from someone snapped me out of my own depression. When I looked at Marshtomp, his fists were clenched to the point he had to be harming himself, and his teeth gritted with a force that could break them.

"I'm gonna kill her. For the love of every single god there exists, I swear that fucker is going to end up six meters underground! " The water type growled. "She's going to pay for everything! "

Kit looked like he was about to say something, but didn't. He probably wanted to argue about killing her ex-girlfriend, but he understood Marshtomp was very angry and that he should keep his mouth shut.

"The fact that she's going to spend the rest of her days behind bars is clear." Ember said, pulling away from me. "But let's not go that far. We're still supposed to be a rescue team."

"Fuck that! She killed my trainer! Do you think I care about 'rescue teams'?!"

"Marshtomp, please." I interrupted. "We won't get anywhere like this."

"Boss, I'm not-"

"Look, I know that it hurts to hear that I... won't be a human anymore and that for them I'm dead, but if you try to fight her without a plan, it won't end well. Remember when we tried the Rustboro gym with just our courage? We got wiped. Please, promise me you will try not to let your feelings get the better of you next time we need to fight. We can mourn all we want when we're done and there's no danger, okay?"

The water type looked at me. "It wasn't very fun when you had to carry me all the way back to the Pokémon Center..." He chuckled, remembering the moment. "I'll... try my best." He sighed, slowly unclenching his fists.

"That's all I've ever asked from you."

The room felt in silence once more.

"Welp, I suppose it's my turn now, is it?" Kit sighed.

"Kit, you really don't have to tell us if you don't want to." I told him.

"No. You deserve to know. It's already been long enough. I'm gonna tell you how the Rocket Guild ended."

The Zoroark took a deep breath as he prepared himself. "Okay, so my days there weren't exactly too exciting, at least looking at them from now, and I'm probably missing a lot of details, but anyway, when Lilith and I first joined, we went on small missions. Like... uhhh... I think our first one was to steal something from a merchant inside a Mystery Dungeon? I don't remember, but what I do know is that we succeeded. Everyday was basically waking up, trying to convince Lilith it wasn't that bad, going on a mission, and then coming back for dinner and sleep."

He sighed. "At least at first... There was one point in time where Lilith simply... stopped worrying about what we were doing. And it was after a mission in which she almost got caught because of my fault... The most important change was the morning after that mission, which was her looking more and more distant."

There was a pause. No one wanted to say anything and just let him continue. "One day, our leader Giovanni, a pretty old Persian called us to his office. He gave us a simple mission: Get a crystal from the mayor. He also told us that he knew his retirement was close, and that he needed someone to replace him. He said that, even though we were pretty young compared to most members, we had demonstrated a huge devotion for the guild and that, if we succeeded in this mission, which was a lot harder than any previous ones, we would become the next bosses of the Rocket Guild. He also told us that we were going to do the mission that same night, and that we should prepare as much as possible before it was too late. Lilith was so excited to hear that, something that didn't sit right with me."

His face turned dark. "Time skip to that night, we got the crystal, but on our way out, the mayor found us. After a battle that we almost lost, I..."

His expression twitched as tears formed in his eyes. "I... I did something I regret so much, even to this day. To the mayor. I already told you about it."

We all looked at each other. I had almost forgotten he had... accidentally killed someone. It was clear that the last thing Kit wanted was to relive the memory again. "The point is, that I knew that the Rocket Guild had killed Pokémon, and I didn't give it too much of a thought before, not until I had done it myself. And to top it off even more, when we got back to the guild, Lilith didn't even look shocked! She was happy because we completed the mission! That was the moment I realized what I had done to her. What my stupid decision had caused her to morph into. The moment I realized I couldn't keep doing it."

He shook his head. "The problem was that the guild didn't treat quitters very well. I couldn't just go to Giovanni and say 'hey dude! Look, I've been here for who knows how long, but now I want to leave. See you!'. So that's why I had to do something, and unfortunately, that meant I had to bring down the organization that was the closest thing I had to a family. That I had to betray my friends, and my girlfriend. Because yeah, I could just disappear once I became the boss, but the Rocket Guild would continue doing their stuff, and I didn't want that. Not anymore."

Kit wiped the few tears in his eyes before continuing. "When we became bosses, Giovanni told us what that crystal was for: to power a machine that our best scientist worked in that could display a real time map of the whole world, letting us know what was happening anywhere, at any time. The crystal was supposed to act as an energy source, and he also revealed to us that both our mission to get the crystal and the machines were confidential information that we couldn't share with anyone. Lilith looked very eager to see it completed."

He looked up thoughtfully. "Now that I think about it, she did mention something about wanting to use the machine to find something specific, but I don't quite remember, though I suspect it was the abomination Jake told us about."

I frowned. So she was already going to look for it with some sort of... GPS?

"Anyway, we directed the guild for some time, and there wasn't a single moment where I didn't think about how I could take an entire organization down without being too suspicious. That's when the perfect opportunity was presented to me. One day, Lilith and I were informed that the machine only needed one last material to be completed. It was some sort of radioactive substance that was housed in a very closely monitored place. I had an idea. I would tell Lilith that she should make a plan and that the whole guild should be involved in going to that lab to get it, and the moment she was done and the plan was deemed good, I would go, disguised, to the police station to tell them that exact plan as if I happened to hear it from someone else."

He looked up. "I remember the raid. So many explorer teams and policemon waiting for us. Everyone simply scrambled to save their own lives while they did their job at arresting the members. It was chaos. I don't remember what they said, but Lilith somehow found out about me being the one that caused them to be there and..."

Kit let out a very deep breath as he fidgeted with his pendant. "Since the material was too radioactive, we couldn't take it all the way back without someone getting a lethal illness, so the plan included bringing the machine secretly with us. I remember the exact moment before it was destroyed so vividly. Lilith's hurt face as she realized what I had done, her evolving in front of my eyes, everything she said... Words truly do hurt more than anything... Oh, and the Bitter Malice that just barely missed me and hit the machine, destroying it completely. The sound alerted the cops, who didn't waste any time on going after us. Before they could catch her, Lilith ran away without even looking back at me. It was the last time I saw her in a long while, before everything in New Hope Town happened. Looking back, I should have surrendered to the cops right there, but the fear, sadness and adrenaline clouded my mind enough to make me think that running away was the better option. After all, they didn't know who I was, so why would I hand myself in like that?"

Another pause. "The point is, after that, I tried to start a new life and forget my past. I wandered aimlessly until I settled in New Hope Town and found a job in the dojo, managing to get a house with some of the old stuff I had from the guild. Despite everything I tried, nightmares were my partner every night, just after I cried myself to sleep. That was my life before my probably undiagnosed depression got the worst of me and I came up with a plan."

He sighed, looking at Ember. "The rest is history."

The room was stunned silent. "Kit, I..." Ember began, but didn't manage to say anything.

"Why didn't you... go to the psychologist, or something?" I asked him.

"I was trying to get over it all by myself. By the time I realized I couldn't, it was too late."

"I'm... so sorry Kit. I didn't know you'd gone through this much in your life."

"Kinda funny when you look back, isn't it?" He chuckled, his head hanging low. "Honestly I think that talking about it with someone was just what I needed..."

"Sorry if I interrupt, but may I join you?" Sage's voice called while she walked towards us.

I was about to say something but Kit beat me to it. "Sure. We're done anyway." He replied.

As the Ninetales sat down on the only spot that was left (which was conveniently next to Marshtomp) she looked at us with a neutral face. "I am not one to like lies, but I must say that I have been hiding something from you since the start." She suddenly said.

"You already knew everything we talked about, didn't you?" Ember sighed, as if she already knew the answer to that.

The other fire type only nodded. "Foreseeing the future unfortunately comes with some undesirable consequences. I offered not to be here simply so you could feel like you were in a more trustful environment. And also so that I did not forget to do the dishes and leave it for tonight..."

"But then... how much do you know?" I asked her.

Her eyes fell on me. "A lot of things. For example, I know what you truly are, and what is your purpose in this world, though just on a surface level." Sage answered, leaving me with my eyes widened. "But do not worry. I have not any problems with humans."

I stiffened up. "So you know that?"

Sage nodded again. "I know a lot of things about you four. But unfortunately, I believe our time here is running short. You have a long way to go, don't you? I shouldn't hold you any longer, even if it... pains me. You have been a very enjoyable group to be around."

"Thanks, Sage. You've been very helpful to us too." I told her.

"Yeah, your psychic abilities are so cool! You should teach me some of them someday!" Ember added.

"Yeah. Going inside Ember's head was a blast!" Kit slightly chuckled.

"Yeah! It was... fun..." Marshtomp said.

The Ninetales smiled and looked at him. "You know, Marshtomp, we may have no time today, but if you ever want to, and have some spare time, maybe you and I could go and have a drink somewhere?"

Marshtomp's face turned almost completely red. "S-Sure. I'd like that."

Everyone let out a laugh. The gloomy atmosphere from before hadn't completely disappeared yet, but it was for sure almost gone.

Sage offered to show us the path towards Lively Town as we made our way out of her house. The inhabitants of the town waved at us when they saw us, something we returned as we made our way out of Oldale Town. According to Sage, this was a shortcut that would save us a lot of time in our journey.

"Goodbye, team Indigo. Hopefully we'll see each other soon enough." Sage told us once we reached the pathway and we were about to part ways, waving goodbye.

"We will, don't worry!" Marshtomp replied.

"Be careful out there! And stay alert inside the dungeon! There's a very strong Pokémon that lurks somewhere inside and can knock you four out in an instant! It would not be the first time a team came badly hurt from the fight."

"We'll make sure to have an eye out for it! Thanks for everything, Sage!"

We made our way away from the small town and headed through the narrow path that cut through the shrubbery. Thanks to Sage's warning, it wasn't that big of a surprise when the forest slowly turned darker and darker and we found ourselves in a big room with nothing in it.

"Alright, so where to first? I'm not really in the mood to fight this early in the morning." I said.

"I don't know. Let's just do how we always have and go through a random path. This dungeon is supposed to be short, right?" Ember suggested.

"And has a very strong Pokémon, remember?" Kit added.

"Come on, it can't be that bad!" Marshtomp exclaimed.

"We'll have to find out ourselves." I finished the discussion, pointing towards one of the paths. "Let's take that one."

The exploration was nothing more than trying to find our way through the maze without getting lost. Something we all noted was that it felt weird. "Where are all the ferals?" Ember exclaimed.

"Yeah, that's weird. I've never seen a dungeon completely empty like this. It's freaking me out." Kit commented.

The answer would come to us soon enough. Inside one of the rooms we found, the grassy ground gave away to a more rocky one. If that wasn't weird enough, there was also a cave that led somewhere unknown.

"Alright, this is weird." The Zoroark said.

"You don't say?" Ember sighed, grabbing her stick and lighting it on fire. "I suppose we've only got one way to go, right?"

"You want to get inside?" I exclaimed. "What if we get attacked there? You and I are especially weak to ground types, remember?"

"Aw, come on! Is someone too scared?" She teased.

"S-Shut up!" I stammered as my face grew redder.

Kit chuckled and took the lead. "Come on. I think I see something inside."

"What? I don't see anything!"

"Me neither. It was an excuse to get you inside! Come on! This can't be anything too different from Darkness Cave!" He then looked nervously back to the entrance. "Probably... Do we have something to help us escape?"

I looked inside our bag and found out I couldn't open it properly. "What the-"

"Looks like this dungeon is one of those that don't let you use your items..." Kit commented.

"We better be careful then... Ember, light the way, please."

"Happy to be the torch of the team!" She ironically laughed while entering the cave.

The inside was just a long and narrow path that led to unending darkness. As we spent some time walking, we suddenly came to a stop. The stairs that led to the next floor were there.

"I don't like this." Marshtomp told us. "Do you think it could be a trap?"

"I don't know. Maybe we should turn-" She stopped herself as she looked at the path we just came from. "G-Guys? Where did the exit go?"

True to her words, the path we had just entered from had completely been replaced with a solid wall. All of our faces paled as the dim light of fire was everything that illuminated the small room we were now trapped in.

"Guess there's only one way to get out now." Kit sighed. I'll go first."

"Wait Kit!"

He turned around and I tossed him the Darkinium Z I stole from the camp. "You should keep this just in case. Have it on you, but don't lose it."

He stuffed it somewhere inside his mane as he smirked. "You still haven't told me how this works."

"I don't know. People had to do a pose, but I don't know how it would work if it's a Pokémon that's carrying it... Just think about black holes, I think."

"What?"

"Nevermind. Just... don't lose it, okay?"

"You bet!"

And with that, Ember walked down the stairs, followed by Kit and then me and Marshtomp.

The room in which we ended up in wasn't easily the most lit up one, but it beat the last one, with at least being able to properly see our surroundings.

But we really wish we couldn't. We were in a very big room, surrounded by rocky walls, floor and ceiling, with no exits at all. And if that wasn't familiar enough, just as that time with the Beedrill, there was a Pokémon waiting for us. However, compared to the Beedrill, this was nothing.

A Rampardos stood a small distance away from us, its lifeless eyes craving the souls of the innocent and its big and hard forehead shining with the artificial light of the dungeon. This was the perfect definition of a wild Pokémon.

"What the hell is that thing?!" I exclaimed.

"Is that the strong Pokémon Sage told us about?" Marshtomp added.

"Only one way to find out!" Kit yelled preparing a Night Slash and running towards it.

The Rampardos, seemingly excited with seeing someone try to attack it, began charging in the opposite direction as Kit with its head ready.

The attacks connected, but the dark type move wasn't even nearly as strong as the Headbutt he received. Kit was launched back towards a wall, creating a small indent in the otherwise polished walls of the room, falling to the ground shortly after.

He didn't get back up.

Our mouths hung open as we watched the strongest member of the group being knocked out in a single hit, wondering how we would even be able to get close to it without the element of surprise that Kit's illusions could bring us.

"Alright, leader. So what's the plan?" Ember asked, seeing the Rampardos prepare for another strike.

"The plan?" It tried to use another Headbutt as it came charging at us as fast as it could. "Run for your life!"

We barely dodged the attack as the feral kept running and hit one of the walls. "Jake! Use a Force Palm!" Ember yelled.

"On it!"

Taking advantage of the fact that the Rampardos was dizzy from the impact, I hit it on one of its sides with a Force Palm, causing it to roar in pain.

"Nice one Boss! We just have to keep dodging and hitting it while it's dizzy! It won't be able to stop the charge if-" Marshtomp added, but was interrupted by the feral letting out another roar that shook the walls.

The room fell silent. "What the hell was that?" I asked no one in particular.

My answer came soon enough, when there was a very powerful bang coming from behind the walls. Before anyone could comment on it, there was another one. And then another. Followed by even more. All of them came from different places within the walls.

"Ummm, guys? Is this normal?" I asked, but for the looks on their faces, it was clear it wasn't.

And then, as suddenly as they had appeared, there were no more bangs. But something still unnerved me. The Rampardos hadn't moved an inch ever since it had let out that roar.

And if that wasn't enough, something within my gut told me we weren't alone in here.

"Bring Kit here."

"What?"

"Boss, what do you mean."

"There's something behind those walls. We're not alone. Get Kit away from them, quick!"

Ember and Marshtomp grabbed the unconscious dark type and set him down in the middle of the room next to us.

The Rampardos still didn't move.

I was about to jump and try to attack him, but just then, the ground shook, as if there was an earthquake happening.

And then, breaking down the walls as they appeared, at least a dozen more Rampardos crashed into the room, all porting the same twisted smile.

Our faces went pale.

"We're done for." Were the only words that left my mouth as we saw all the ferals prepare for another attack.

"We can't just give up! We have to try! We'll get warped out of the dungeon if we faint, right?" Ember yelled.

"We will, but Marshtomp won't! He doesn't have a badge!"

With a look of realization, Ember turned to look at Marshtomp, who simply stood up and walked towards me. "Listen, Jake. If I don't make it out, just know you've been the greatest trainer and partner that ever existed, got it? And promise me you'll keep going, no matter what."

"Don't say that!"

"Promise me."

A small pause where I felt tears form. "I... I promise, bud. You've been the greatest partner too."

"Now, let's kick some ass!"

One of the Rampardos charged and Marshtomp simply used a Water Gun, which managed to make the feral miss us entirely.

Then another feral, which I blasted with another Force Palm followed by Ember using an Ember attack.

Everything seemed to work out, at least until the Rampardos began charging at us in pairs. Then three at once. And then four.

We barely managed to dodge, let alone concentrate enough to use an attack. We couldn't do anything to stop the horde of Headbutts coming our way.

Finally, the inevitable happened. Ember let out a scream as she was hit on her belly and thrown back towards a Rampardos, who took the opportunity to use Rock Smash and bash her skull in, knocking the Braixen out and staining the yellow fur on her forehead slightly crimson.

My eyes didn't have enough time to widen. I was forced to jump out of the way of yet another feral as I tried to stand back up.

Marshtomp tried to help me, but the moment he turned around, another feral hit him, sending him flying and knocking him out as well.

Seeing all my teammates fall one by one left me with a sense of dread I couldn't even begin to describe. I knew I wouldn't be able to do anything against this many Pokémon, so I could only wonder. What would happen when I got knocked out? Would I really just wake up outside? Or would the concussion be enough to make me not wake up at all?

I felt every single bit of energy get drained from me in an instant as I let a Rampardos hit me, sending me down to the floor. As my eyes closed, I silently begged that Marshtomp wouldn't get stuck here.

He didn't deserve to die. Not like this.

---

"..ke! Jake! Hey, don't leave me! Wake up, please!"

My eyes slowly fluttered open as someone shook me and quite literally screamed in my ears. A blurry figure was in front of my eyes, but I couldn't make out who it was at that moment, and the bright afternoon sun didn't help.

At least until it talked again. "Boss!"

Marshtomp then proceeded to soak me with a Water Gun which instantly woke me up. The moment I confirmed that my partner was just in front of me and that I just wasn't seeing things, I immediately sat straight, causing my back to ache as I let out a cry of pain.

"Hey hey! Take it easy!" He said, sighing with relief. "I'm sure you got knocked out in one hit like everyone else, so be careful when you-"

Without having a chance to finish his sentence, I managed to work the strength to get on my knees and pull Marshtomp into a tight hug. "You-... You're okay! How?" I sobbed.

"I... I don't even know, Boss." He stammered, patting my back. "I just opened my eyes beside you all and I immediately went to wake you up."

"I'm just... so glad you're okay... I wouldn't know what to do if you weren't here with me right now."

"Probably move on with your new girlfriend, huh?" The water type chuckled, to which I slapped his face.

"Don't you even joke like that, got it?" I cried angrily. "I've already had enough revelations, and it's just past noon! ...Probably."

"Oh! Right, I forgot about that... sorry."

"Just shut it. I'm so glad to have you here..."

We spent some time in silence, simply being thankful to still have each other. After who knows how long, we finally let go as I wiped my tears.

"Never would I have thought we'd be hugging each other like this." He laughed.

"Never would I have thought I'd be a Pokémon, yet here I am." I laughed back.

Something to keep my mind distracted from the experience we had just gone through that just wouldn't go away, no matter how much I tried to suppress it.

Thankfully, I didn't have a chance to keep thinking about it. "Shouldn't we be waking up the others?" Marshtomp asked. "And where even are we?"

It was then I realized I hadn't even looked around. We were at the end of a forest, and in front of us, there was a slope that led downwards, with the sea visible very far in the distance.

But that wasn't the only thing.

"Is that... a town?" I incredulously asked, seeing a combination of buildings and what looked like a castle rise up from the ground. All of it was massive, even from this distance.

"Town? That's a city at least!"

"Do you think that could be Lively Town?"

"Well, it looks like what they described it was, that's for sure. But it's impossible! Your friend said it was at least a week away! And we were only on the trail for a day! Maybe two, depending on how you see it!"

He was right. How could that be a town that was a week away if we were just a day walking?

"Maybe it was the dungeon? The one we were in was weird as hell."

"You think a dungeon can take us this far from where we entered?"

"We should ask them." I turned to look at Kit and Ember. "I'm gonna check if we have any-" I added, looking inside my bag, only to see nothing. Nothing at all.

"Where did everything go?!" I yelled, full of panic. Then I remembered what Blaze had told us the first day we became explorers.

"We lost everything because we fainted!" I exclaimed. "Oh nonono!"

"Hey, calm down Jake! We don't need items to win a fight! And even if we did, the city is right there! Do you really think that we can get attacked while being that close to civilization?"

"That's not what worries me!" I told him, running towards Kit.

"Hey! Kit!" I shouted at the Zoroark while I shook him as fast as I could. "Wake up! Please!"

He slowly opened his eyes. "Who- What's going on?" He groggily muttered.

I stopped shaking him as he came to his senses and widened his eyes when seeing me. "Jake? What happened?"

"I'll explain to you later, but now I need you to check if you have the crystal I gave you with you!"

"What? Why?"

"Just check! Please, I need to know something."

"Okay?"

Just as if it were a bag, Kit grabbed his mane and began rummaging through it, pulling the Darkinium Z shortly after. "See Jakey? It's right here. Told you it was a safe spot. Why did you ask?"

I widened my eyes as I saw that the crystal hadn't fallen off or disappeared when we got warped out of the dungeon, and Kit took notice. "Let me guess. We have no items on us 'cus we all fainted, right?"

"Yeah."

His gaze fell on Marshtomp and he too widened his eyes. "Marshtomp, you're here too?! How?"

"I don't know, but I'm not gonna complain." The water type shrugged.

"Huh... the badges must have thought you were a client, or something..." Kit then looked to his side and saw the city in the distance. "What the- That's Lively Town!"

"So it is actually..." I mumbled.

"But how?! We weren't even close!"

"That's what we're trying to figure out."

Kit was left astoundedly looking at the city as I turned to look at Ember. The blood that stained her fur was luckily not too big of a deal, and it seemed to have dried out, which meant that it had already stopped.

I kneeled down next to her and began shaking her. "Hey. Wake up sleepyhead!"

Despite probably being the one with the worst injuries, Ember didn't take too long to open her eyes. She covered her eyes to shield herself from the blinding sun before looking at me.

"J-Jake?"

"Good morning, Ember. Are you alright?"

"We're alive!" She yelled, throwing herself against me for a hug. "We're alive..."

"Yeah, we're okay too. Thanks for asking." Kit ironically chuckled, walking closer. "Also, I don't wanna interrupt your moment, but you should look over there."

"Look wher-"

Just like with everyone, Ember's eyes went wide. "What the-? Is that Lively Town?!"

"It looks like it, yeah." The Zoroark nodded.

"But- But how?!"

"No idea." We all said.

"But however we got here, it's very convenient. We've got no items with us, so we should invest in buying something. We should also find a way to get your head washed." Kit added.

"Oh, I can help with that!"

Before anyone could react, Ember was soaked by one of Marshtomp's Water Guns, cleaning the blood stain, but also soaking her whole.

"Maybe I went too far..." He said, rubbing the back of his head.

"You think?" Ember said, still stunned.

"Well, at least you're clean now!" Kit exclaimed, trying to hold his laughter.

"Let me-" I let out a small chuckle. "Let me help you."

Ember frowned as she took my paw and stood up. "You think this is funny?" She seriously said.

"Well... sort of? I didn't mean to hurt your feelings-"

Before I could even finish, Ember suddenly shook herself, splashing water all over us. It didn't help at all, because now Kit and I were wet and Ember's fur had just poofed out, making her look extra fluffy and causing us to laugh even more.

"I didn't think this through..." She groaned. "Well, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em!" She shrugged, before laughing with us.

"If it makes you feel better, I think you look better like this." I told her.

"Yeah, yeah. Let's see how you look after shaking the water off you!" She teased. "Or do humans not do that?"

"Well, for your information, humans don't have to dry themselves like that because they-"

Kit shaking himself interrupted my rant. He looked at me with a cocky grin, and his mane and chest fur had so poofed like Ember's. "Sorry. I couldn't help but interrupt your nerd talk about humans."

We all burst out with laughter. It was weird being like this when we were fighting for our life a few minutes ago, but I was not the one that was going to complain.

"We should start going to that town. We want to arrive before it goes dark." Kit said, gesturing for us to go.

"Wait!" Ember yelled. Her eyes then fell on me. "Your turn now. I want to see how you look."

"What? I'm not shaking myself."

"Aww, come on! Why not? I thought I looked better like this! Maybe you do too!" Seeing how I was still refusing, she got a bit closer and grinned. "Come on! If you don't want to do it for you, do it for me!"

"Jakey, your girlfriend is asking you to do it! You can't refuse that, can you~?" Kit teased.

"I'm not gonna do it." I simply stated.

"But why?" Marshtomp asked.

I felt my face go red as I looked away. Kit's smile only grew larger. "Oh, I think I get it. Is someone reluctant to do it because you'd feel embarrassed? "

I sighed, feeling my cheeks get even warmer. "Shut up."

Ember's grin also got bigger. "Oh, what's the matter? The human doesn't want to clean himself like this? Do I have to bring you a towel?"

I frowned slightly. Truth to be told, the real reason wasn't because I didn't want to. In fact, it was the exact opposite reason. Because I knew exactly how I had to do it.

Noting my silence, laughter slowly died down. "Hey Jake. What's wrong?" Ember asked.

I only sighed. "It's nothing. I don't want to bring down the mood."

"Are you sure?" Kit said, raising a brow.

"You can tell us, Boss. We really don't mind." Marshtomp added.

I sighed. "It's that... I'm scared. Now that I know that I... can't be a human again I'm just... scared to forget about it."

Everyone raised a brow. "Forget about it? What do you mean?" Kit asked.

I thought for a bit before speaking. "I don't even know." I ended up sighing. "Guess I'm still not fully used to being a Pokémon and I don't want that to happen because I don't want to feel like 'being human' is just a memory. Am I even making sense?"

"I think I know what you mean." Ember said, smiling. "You don't need to worry about it, really. Even if you don't realize, you still do things that aren't quite normal for Lucario, you know? Like talking with weird words."

"Yeah, and fighting weirdly." Kit added. "Remember that Weavile in the dojo and how you fought at first?"

"And you also walk weird." Marshtomp added.

"The point is," The fire type interrupted. "What matters is the inside. You can look like a Lucario, or like a tree, but as long as you are you, you'll always be human deep inside."

"Exactly! And you should be proud of that! It's not everyday that Pokémon get to talk with what we thought were myths!" Kit added. "If only Lilith met you a few years ago..."

"Yeah! And why would you ever forget you're a human? I'll always be right here to remind you!"

I simply stood silently, feeling even more tears appearing in my eyes. How many times had I cried just today? It didn't matter. "You guys... thank you so much!" I whimpered.

"Does that mean we'll finally get to see Jakey's true potential?" Kit joked.

"Maybe we'll have to go inside his head too to help him!" Marshtomp chuckled.

"Yeah, let's do that! Let's see if yours is not as empty as you say!" Ember added.

We all let out a hearty laugh before slowly falling silent again. "Oh yeah?" I mischievously grinned.

Before they could react, I shook myself, just like they had before, prompting the three to cover their faces.

"How's that for a 'not regular Lucario', huh?" I mocked them with a smile.

Ember stared at me for a while. "You look better with your fur poofed out." She chuckled.

"See how I wasn't crazy?"

"Sorry to interrupt, but if everything is okay, we should start moving to... Lively Town." Kit said, still a bit astonished by the fact we had skipped so many days of travel.

Everyone nodded and we began our march towards the town. Kit was first followed by Marshtomp, then Ember and finally me. I was looking down at my feet with a frown. I walk weird?

Ember took notice and walked a bit slower to go along with me. "Something on your mind?"

"Why do you say I walk weird? I don't see it."

"Well, now it's not that noticeable, but you had to see yourself the first days of you being here!" She chuckled. Ember then looked seriously at my eyes. "Listen, I know I've already said this earlier, but even if you're a human deep inside, you're my human, okay? And I'd never trade you for anything. So cheer up and let's get to that town already!"

I smiled at her and nodded. "Okay. I'll try just for you."

The Braixen then gave me a quick kiss before resuming her walk forward. "That'll work as an incentive. And there's more to come if you ask nicely~!"

My cheeks reddened as I ran after them. "Hey, get back here!"

---

The archway that acted as entrance to Lively Town was impressive, but it paled in comparison to the rest of the town. If some human towns were already huge, this one was as big, or even bigger than them.

"Woah! This place is amazing!" I exclaimed.

"I thought Mauville city was big, but this?!" Marshtomp yelled.

"This is so cool!" Ember added.

"How can this not be the capital?" Kit mused.

While we all took in the amazing sight of hundreds of houses, shops, and more, my eyes landed on a building on top of a pretty big elevation. It looked like some sort of castle, with a few flags that depicted some logo I couldn't see from over here slowly waved with the wind.

"What's that castle over there?" I asked them.

"That?" Ember turned her head towards the building.

"That is the house of our beloved king Empoleon, who rules the continent with an iron fist!" Kit said.

"Really?"

"No. We don't have a king here." Ember laughed, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah, I was just joking." The Zoroark laughed. "That's the Expedition Society's HQ, which is one of the most powerful organizations of the continent."

"Expedition Society? Isn't that where Blaze works?"

"That's right! Now that I think about it, we should go there to check if they can lend us a room to stay tonight. We don't wanna sail towards Seabound Town when it's about dusk, do we?" Kit told us.

"We can do that?" Ember asked.

"I'm not sure. But since we're explorers, and that technically makes us a part of the society, I guess we can? I dunno, but we won't lose anything by trying."

"Sure then! It'd be great to sleep inside somewhere that isn't a pile of leaves..." Marshtomp groaned.

"I need to check something first." The fire type suddenly said, walking away towards the first Pokémon she saw, who turned out to be a Hawlucha behind a stand.

"What's wrong with her?" Kit asked me.

"She wants to make sure her friends made it here safely." I sighed. "Let's follow her. She won't be able to sleep well until she gets an answer."

Once we got closer to the stand, we saw that Ember was trying to get the attention of the Hawlucha, who was using a boxing bag to train while there was no one.

"Excuse me?" The Braixen called, causing the Pokémon to finally turn and face us.

She immediately left what she was doing and jumped in the air just to fall in front of us behind the counter with a flip. "Hmm! Welcome to Hawlucha's Slam School! Where you can re-learn any moves forgotten or even learn new abilities! What can I help you with today?" She quite literally yelled in our faces.

"N-No. We just needed to know if you had seen some Pokémon."

"Oh! Well, in that case, who are you looking for, young lady?"

"A Froslass named Agatha. And also an Incineroar called Aiden and an Absol called Damian."

She raised a brow. "Aiden?"

"You know him?"

"Well, yes! He works for me!"

"He what?" We all said.

"He and his friends arrived just a day ago. They work for some of the local shops. Your friend the Absol works in Rockin' Lock, and the Froslass for Kecleon's Shop." The Hawlucha explained.

"So they're all here..." Ember sighed, a huge wave of relief washing over her.

"But how did they get here that fast?" I asked.

"Do you know where they are?" The fire type asked, addressing the Hawlucha again.

She simply shook her head. "Their shift ended just a few minutes ago, so I don't know, but I'm sure Ashwin does. He's the Kecleon that owns the shop over there." She told us, pointing to a green stand where a Kecleon gave a young Smoliv an apple. "Just between us, he's the one that likes gossiping the most, so if you ever need to know something about someone, he's your 'mon."

"Alright. Thank you so much, miss..." Ember said.

"Cahira. And please, don't call me miss."

"Ember. Thanks for the help, Cahira."

"No problem at all! And remember, if you ever need to re-learn any moves, or learn new abilities, Hawlucha's Slam School is here for you!"

After waving goodbye, we walked towards the shop where the Kecleon stood. He immediately looked at us and smiled. "Welcome to the Kecleon Shop! How can I help you today?"

"Well, we were looking for the Froslass that works for you."

"Agatha?" Ashwin said, raising a brow. "Oh, you must be that friend she's been talking about so much!"

"She has?"

"Of course! She's been worried sick about an 'Ember' the whole time she's been helping me here! Are you her?"

"Yes! Do you know where she went?"

The Kecleon looked up in thought. "I think she said something about meeting her friends at Café Connection, but I'm not sure."

"Café Connection? Where's that?" Kit thought out loud.

"It's that building over there. No way you can miss it."

"Okay. Thanks for the help!"

"No problem! Come back soon!"

And with that, we made our way inside the building that made the cafe. It was a very spacious establishment, with quite a lot of Pokémon drinking various drinks. In the middle of it all, there was a Kangaskhan cleaning a glass while her child looked at her with curious eyes.

She raised her head to look at us when we got close, letting the glass down on the counter. "Hello there! How may I help you today?" She asked us with a big smile.

"We're looking for a group made of a Froslass, an Incineroar and an Absol. Have they come here?" I told her.

"They have, yes. They are right there."

Looking towards where she pointed, we saw Agatha, Aiden and Damian sitting together on a table. They didn't look like they had noticed us yet.

"Thank you!" Ember suddenly exclaimed, running towards them, leaving the Kangaskhan confused.

"What's wrong with her?"

"Nothing much. She was just worried for them." Kit summed, going behind her.

"Thanks for the help." I told her, doing the same.

"Yeah, bye!" Marshtomp added.

"...wasn't that bad! Of course it's not the same as with my own shop, but I had fun!" I managed to hear from Agatha as we walked by.

"My job has not changed at all. I still must keep counting all the money we gained, just like before." Damian said.

"Gotta say, I didn't have much to do, but helping clients remember moves was fun!" Aiden added with a grin.

"A toast to the friends that managed to survive a town bombing!" Agatha yelled, raising her glass.

"Yeah!" The other two followed suit.

"Speaking of surviving, where do you think those four are now?" Aiden told them.

"Well, they took the long route, so I suppose they still have a few days before they arrive!" The Froslass chuckled before her face saddened slightly. "Hopefully they'll be fine..."

"I have not felt a disaster yet. There is no need to worry about it, Agatha." Damian reassured her.

"I know, but... I just miss my best friend, okay?"

"Agatha?"

Ember's voice caused the ghost type's face to widen. Everyone's head slowly turned and their eyes fell on us.

The happiness coming from them was noticeable, even without my ability to read emotions.

"Ember? Is that you?" Agatha asked, her voice quivering.

Ember didn't answer, simply running towards her and hugging the ghost type in a hug, which she quickly returned.

"I'm so happy you guys are okay..." She whispered.

"Me too." Her friend replied.

"How did you get here that fast? You walked all the way here!" Aiden exclaimed.

"That's something we still don't know. We entered a dungeon, and we got out, we were just a small hike from here." I told him.

"That seems extremely unlikely." Damian commented. "However, I cannot deny the fact you are in front of our faces."

"I don't care about what is extremely unlikely!" Agatha cut him off. "I'm happy that my best friend is here with me, and that's all that matters."

"Well, while these two show how much they missed each other, you guys wanna have something? It's on me!" Aiden asked us.

"No need to do that." I told him.

"Bah, just tell me what you want! We are glad to see you alive too, you know!"

"Is there a way to change your mind?" Kit sighed.

"Nope."

"Fine. Give me some Totter juice then." He finally gave in.

"Uhhh, what was the thing we-" I turned to ask Ember.

"Nanab berry coffee." She said without letting me finish.

"Yeah, I'll take that."

"Make that two." The fire type added, letting go of Agatha.

"Get me another Totter juice, if you don't mind." Marshtomp finished.

"Alright! Be right back!"

Once the Incineroar had left, we grabbed a few more chairs and sat down on the table next to them. When the drinks came, it was the time for sharing what we had all gone through.

"What's all this about working for the stores here?" Was the first question thrown by Ember.

"Well, my parents give us all a place to sleep, but we still need to earn our money!" The Froslass told them.

"And that is why when we heard that some of the local establishments needed help, we volunteered." Damian added.

"We've been at it for just a day, but it hasn't been that bad! At least yet!" Aiden chuckled.

"Speaking of, how did you all get here this fast?" Kit questioned.

"Well, we found someone that was willing to Teleport us to Lively Town for some money." Agatha replied.

"'Some money', she says! That was a scam if I've ever seen one!" Aiden exclaimed. "You know how much we had to pay to get two dark types and a ghost type teleported?! Better if you don't!"

"It was a very big amount of money, yes." Damian agreed.

Our eyes widened. I turned to look at Ember and Kit. "We could teleport?! " I exclaimed.

"I-I didn't think about it!" Kit stammered, so I looked at the Braixen.

"Oh, give me a break! I've already gone through enough!" She shouted.

"No point in dwelling on it now." Marshtomp interrupted. "We're here, and that's what counts."

"Exactly! So leaving that aside, what about you, girl? What have you four gone through?"

"Oh, that's going to be a long story!"

We spent the next twenty minutes or so summarizing all that happened in our journey. By the end of it, everyone had either worried or incredulous faces.

"You got attacked by the Rocket Guild?" Aiden exclaimed.

"You fought the Boss herself?!" Damian added.

"You lost your memory and had to go to a psychic Ninetales to get it back, but then there was a copy of yourself and a weird Darkrai that tried to kill you all before a glowing Pokémon saved you and you managed to get it back?!" Agatha yelled.

"Yeah, sort of." Ember sighed.

Respectfully, she had omitted the reason we were on the rooftop in the first place.

"But you're missing something, aren't you~?" The Zoroark teased.

My and Ember's faces went red. "Yeah, and..."

"Yes?" The Froslass inquired with a raised brow.

"Jake and I... may be... mates now..." She almost whispered.

Their eyes went wide for a split second before their faces turned to smirks. "Well, looks like it finally happened!" Aiden laughed.

"Huh?!" We both exclaimed.

"Call it 'best friend intuition', but I already knew something like this would happen." Agatha added.

I heard a chuckle next to me coming from Kit. "Looks like your friends are pretty smart, aren't they Ember?"

Being here, simply having a drink like if nothing was happening was a good feeling. It let my head have other thoughts apart from the gloomy ones it already had.

"So what are you four doing here anyway? In Lively Town, I mean." Damian asked.

"Oh! I totally forgot about telling you!" Ember exclaimed. "We need to go to Seabound Town, and we wanted to ask Misty if she could take us there with her boat."

"Seabound Town? Why?"

"Well..." The fire type looked at me.

"We have some... stuff going on." I told them. "It's really complicated, and we can't tell you here."

"Hmm, gotcha. If you want to tell us, we could go to my parents' house. I'm sure they shouldn't be there at this time of the day." Agatha said, clicking her tongue.

"I mean..." Ember turned to me again. "Do you want them to know? I can promise you they won't tell anyone if you do."

I thought for a second. I didn't have any problem with letting them know, and if Ember said they could be trusted, I would too. After all, Spark already knew, so what could happen if they knew too?

"Sure. If you trust them, I do."

"What's with all the secrecy?" Aiden's voice had turned into questioning. "Do you have some sort of state secret, or something?"

I decided not to answer that question.

Once we finished drinking and Ember unsuccessfully tried to convince Aiden for her to pay for our drinks, we set off back onto the streets of Lively Town, headed in a particular direction. A pretty big house made out of hard stone, something I had hardly seen in all my time here, was in front of us. Agatha took out a small key and opened the door.

"Mooom! Daaad! Are you here?"

"Agatha? Are you already here?" A voice called.

From what I supposed was the living room, a Glaceon's face peeked. "Hi mom. Yeah, we wanted to come here for something. Where's dad?"

"Right here sweetie."

A Beartic suddenly appeared from the kitchen, taking off a kitchen apron and hanging it on something. "How was today's day of work, boys?"

"It went very well." Damian told them.

"Yeah! Thanks again for letting us stay here, sir." Aiden added.

"Bah! Don't thank me. This house is too big for just the two of us anyway." The Beartic, Agatha's dad, chuckled.

"What are you doing here, though? I thought you were going to go for a walk!" The Froslass asked them.

"We were just about to leave! But we were preparing dinner in case it gets late!" The Glaceon said.

"Mom, I can cook by myself!"

"I know, sweetie! And that's why we're doing it! You and your friends have already gone through enough!"

She sighed. "There's no way to change your mind, is there?"

"You know me all too well."

It was then when her gaze fell on us, or more specifically, on Ember, and her eyes widened. "Ember?! Is that you?"

The Beartic did the same as he gasped. "It's been so long since we saw you!"

"And who are your friends?" The Glaceon asked.

"It's been pretty long! These are Jake, Kit and Marshtomp. Guys, these are Agatha's parents. The Glaceon is Eira, and the Beartic is Yas."

"Glad to meet you!" Eira smiled before turning to Agatha. "Agatha, why didn't you told us you'd be bringing more Pokémon here? This house is big, but not big enough for all of them!"

"Actually, we don't plan on staying here." Kit told them. "We were going to see if we can get a place to stay inside the Expedition Society's headquarters since we'll only be staying for tonight."

"Oh! I didn't know they gave lodging to any Pokémon!" Yas exclaimed.

"They don't." Ember replied. "We are a team, so that's why we'll try."

That caused the two Pokémon to fall silent. "Ember, you are in a team? An explorer team?!" Eira shouted.

"Y-Yeah?"

"Oh, Arceus! I thought you didn't want to have anything to do with exploring after..." Yas fell silent mid sentence.

"You can thank Jake here. He's a bit... persuasive."

"Oh, come on! I didn't do anything!" I laughed.

"Besides begging? Yeah, sure enough!"

"I didn't beg! I said you could refuse to come with us!"

"Hmmm, I don't really remember that!"

The fake bickering caused the two elderly Pokémon to chuckle. "Whatever the reason, I am happy you are living your dream, Ember."

As she said that, Eira walked to the door. "Now if you excuse us, it was nice meeting you, but we have things to do."

Yas grabbed a bag and a key like Agatha's. "Hopefully we'll see each other again. Oh, and I'm sorry to hear about what happened to your town."

After waving goodbye, the two left the house and we were left alone.

"Your parents seem nice." Marshtomp told Agatha.

"Yeah, that's what everyone says, unsurprisingly." She laughed.

"Now that we are alone, are you going to tell us what's going on with Jake and all of what's happening recently? Because you lot seem to know a lot of things and it's freaking me out." Aiden pressed.

"Furthermore, I did not have the chance to ask before, but where did Jake come from? One day we did not even know he existed, and the next he appears with Ember!" Damian added.

"Let's sit down. I have the feeling we won't want to be standing when they tell us." The Froslass said, gesturing for us to come to the living room.

It was a pretty spacious room with a pair of bookshelves filled to the brim with books. There was no TV, but that was something that probably didn't exist here, so it was most likely normal.

"Alright, Jake. What's that thing you have to tell us?" Aiden sighed.

"I must say, I am intrigued." Damian added.

"Please, don't tell us another thing like 'Ember lost her memory and we went inside her head to help her', because I won't be able to take it." Agatha joked.

"Well, something like that." The Braixen said. "It's about the town bombing."

"You know about the Rocket Guild?" Kit asked.

All their faces went pale. "Don't tell me you're saying that-" Aiden tried to say.

"Yes. It's their fault. They bombed the town because they wanted to leave no trace while they..." I looked away. "...looked for me."

"Look for you? Why would they want to do that?" Damian asked me.

"Because... the Boss of the Rocket Guild wants me gone."

"But why?" Agatha kept pressing.

I stood silent as I took a deep breath. "Don't tell this to anyone, alright? Not even your parents, Agatha."

They silently nodded. "We know that the boss of the Rocket Guild is looking for some sort of abomination to gain a lot of power, and we know that she's been getting closer and closer during all these years that you thought it was gone, and we can even tell you how it ended!"

"Remember that police raid at the Int-Ace laboratory?" Kit asked them. "That was the Rocket Guild."

"The point is, that she's after me because she sees me, and now Ember, Kit and Marshtomp too, as an obstacle to her plans." I continued.

"Because...?" Aiden almost whispered.

"Because I'm a human. And I'm pretty sure she's not too much of a fan of those."

The room felt silent. "Excuse me, you're a what? " Agatha exclaimed.

"He's a human. Doesn't look like it, does he?" Ember reaffirmed.

"I am sorry to say that I find that hard to believe. Humans do not exist, and you more than anyone should know that." Damian simple stated.

"Jake, what were your first words to me when we first met?" The Braixen asked.

"How are you talking." I recalled.

"Jake, did you know how to use your aura the first time we saw each other?" Kit questioned, following Ember's game.

"Nope."

"Boss, where do you come from?" Marshtomp followed suit.

"Unova, but moved all over the world because of my parents' work."

The three in front of me simply stood silent. "Oh, and I also can't read anything, if that means anything to you." I added.

"I know it's very hard to believe. It was for me! But he's not lying. There's no way he can be." The Braixen said.

"Do you think we would be making up something this big?" I told them.

The three stood in silence, thoughtfully recollecting their thoughts. "Okay, okay. So let's say you're not lying and you are actually a human, okay?" The Incineroar began. "How in the world did you come here? And why are you a Lucario?"

Those two questions felt like a punch in the gut to me. They reminded me about what happened to my human body. "The Boss of the Rocket Guild killed my human me, and a pair of mythical Pokémon brought me here as a Lucario. I... still don't know how she managed to come to my world, but that's what happened."

"Yeah, and I'm the world monarch!" Aiden shouted, standing up. "Are you even listening to yourself?! What kind of fantastic story is that? Next you're gonna tell me Arceus himself came down from Paradise and spoke to you?"

His eyes then fell on the other three. "And you all are saying it's true too?"

They nodded, making Aiden raise a hand to his forehead. "This is crazy..." He sighed. "Did that Kangaskhan put something on your drinks before?"

We stayed silent for a long while. "I knew you wouldn't believe it. I don't even believe it myself." I sighed.

"Aiden, do you really think they could be making all of this up?" Agatha weakly asked.

"Don't tell me you believe them! Agatha, the Rocket Guild has been gone for years! And humans don't exist!"

"Then who bombed New Hope Town, Aiden. Do you have an answer to that?" Damian asked.

That caused him to fall silent as well.

"I'll only ask one question, Jake." The Froslass sighed.

"Go on."

"How do you know who the Rocket Guild's boss is, and how did you know that the raid at the lab was their fault? No one ever knew what truly happened."

That made our faces go pale, and I couldn't help but turn to look at Kit. "See?! They are making it up! Just listen to your senses!"

"I am doing that just now." Damian interrupted. "And I must say, I can feel that whatever Kit let's out next will be something we would have preferred not to have heard."

Ember widened her eyes and looked at Kit. "Kit, you don't have to do this." She said.

"If I tell you how we know, you will believe us?" The Zoroark asked.

"Yeah, sure, why not! Are you a disguised mythical? Or perhaps another human? Come on, don't be shy!" Aiden kept saying.

"Aiden, you're starting to be a bit of a prick, you know?" Agatha told him.

"This is hard for me too, give me a break!"

"Yes, Kit. We will believe you." Damian replied.

"Kit, are you sure?" I asked him.

He gave me a weak smile. "Taking one for the team, huh? You already saw I can't run away from it."

"Don't tell this to no one either, got it?" Kit then closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. "We have a very reliable source to know everything that happened inside the Rocket Guild before it was defeated the first time. Remember that note that appeared in the police station after the raid?"

"Of course! It was something that spread faster than a Pidgeot using Agility!" Agatha exclaimed.

"Well, do you think that the raid would have happened in the first place if someone from the inside didn't snitch to the police about what the plan of the Rocket Guild was? And why do you think no one ever knew who the boss was?"

A pause. "First of all, there wasn't one. There were two."

Another pause, a big, long pause where he thought if he should really say it. "The two bosses were Zoroark that went on missions hidden so that no one could know who they were."

Their eyes widened. "How did no one think about this?!" Agatha yelled.

"How do you know that?" Damian raised a brow.

A long moment of silence where he took a deep breath. "Because-"

Before he could finish, the door suddenly flung open, and we saw Yas and Eira panting, the former with some sort of paper in his hands.

"Mom! Dad! What happened?" Agatha yelled, her tone full of worry.

"The guild... it's..." The Glaceon tried to talk between breaths.

"Take a look at it." Yas said, handing us the paper. It was some sort of official looking notice, but I couldn't read what it said.

Aiden, Agatha and Damian's eyes went wide while Ember, Kit and Marshtomp simply cursed to themselves.

"What's wrong?" I asked them.

Kit turned to look at me, and showed me the paper. "This an official notice from the ES. 'To everyone reading, the aim of this notice is to inform you that the organization known as the Rocket Guild has been restored and is back under the leadership of a new boss, a female ghost type Zoroark known to hide under illusions. Please, we recommend you only step out of your homes for the most necessary things until we have secured the city fully. Thank you for your cooperation and take care of yourselves.

-The Expedition Society.'"

He raised his head to look at Aiden. "So who's making stuff up now?"

He simply gave me a bewildered look before his head fell down. "I... can't believe this."

"So the bombing..." Eira said.

"It was their fault. And the great amount of crimes that have been happening recently too." I told them.

"That's why we need to go to Seabound Town." Ember added.

"Remember the 'abomination' we were talking about before?" Kit told them.

"Oh, Arceus..." Agatha sighed.

"What are you all talking about?" Yas asked.

Agatha, Damian and Aiden looked at each other for a second before giving me a glance.

"Nothing. Just a talk between friends." The Froslass lied.

"Oh, well." The Glaceon then looked at her daughter. "Hopefully tonight's plan is cancelled?"

"Absolutely it is."

The nervous glances I was receiving from the three Pokémon were starting to make me nervous too, and Ember seemed to notice, since she grabbed my paw as discretely as she could.

"Well, I suppose we should get going to the ES now. Whatever we could do this afternoon has now been cancelled." Kit sighed.

"Are you sure you should be going out there?" Eira worriedly asked. "We don't want anything happening to you."

"Oh, Eira, if only you knew..." Ember chuckled. "We'll be fine, really. It's not like we can't defend ourselves."

"We know, but it's the Rocket Guild." Yas insisted. "Are you sure you don't want to stay here? I'm sure we can arrange something."

"Thanks, but really, don't worry about it." Marshtomp said, shaking his head.

"Mom. Dad. Before they go, can you leave us a moment alone? We need to discuss something." The Froslass told them.

"Sure, sweetie. We'll be making sure the windows are barricaded if you need us."

The exact moment Agatha's parents went out of earshot, all eyes fell on me.

It wasn't a pleasant feeling.

"So it's true, huh..." The ghost type hummed. Her look moved to Ember as a little smirk grew across her face. "I knew you were into legends, but I didn't think you'd like them that much~"

Her face blushed as she frowned. "Really? That's what you have to say about this?!" She half yelled, half laughed.

"I can't believe this..." Aiden kept repeating. "I swore to myself I wouldn't believe in these sorts of children's stories..."

"I do not like to interrupt, but you still have not told us how you know this much about the Rocket Guild." Damian said.

Before Kit had a chance to reply, the Absol beat him to it. "Do you really want to let us know? We already believe you well enough, so think before you speak."

He stood silent for a while before looking at us. We shook our heads, silently telling him not to tell them so that we could avoid any sort of unnecessary conflict.

"Fine." He groaned, before frowning.

Ember put a paw on his back. "You were willing to tell something like that so that they believed Jake. You're a real friend, Kit. Or very stupid."

He let out a chuckle. "Probably the second one."

"So are you guys in some sort of divine mission? Because with what you told us, it looks like you are." Aiden spoke.

"You could say that... but I prefer not to think too much about it."

"Now, as much as I'd like for you all to stay here so I can ask the huge list of questions Ember and I made when we were kids for if we met a real human one day..."

I perked up and looked at her, feeling her fluster. "We were kids, shut up." She said, looking away.

"You should go to the ES and make sure you get a room to stay there." Agatha continued with a chuckle. "Your divine quest can't wait, can it? You gotta escape from that guild's grasp, after all!

"I can't believe there's a real human right in front of me..." Aiden sighed. "Fine! You're right! You shouldn't waste too much time here. Get moving to the ES HQ, quick!" He added with a laugh. "And sorry for not believing you. You gotta understand it's hard to do that with something as extraordinary as that!"

"I know. I really wasn't expecting you to believe us at all." I rolled my eyes. "We should really go to the store tomorrow and buy some stuff before we set off."

"Do you think they'll open after this?" Marshtomp asked, pointing at the paper.

"Ashwin? The world will freeze before that ol' mon doesn't open his shop." Agatha laughed. "And if he doesn't, I can convince him to sell you something."

"Good luck on your journey, team Indigo. You will need it."

"Are you feeling something?" Ember questioned him.

"Most certainly. But it has been going on for so long that I simply learned to ignore it."

"Well, anyway. Thanks for having us. And for... you know... not killing me for being a human."

"Why would we kill you?" Damian asked.

"That... might have been my fault. Hehe..." The fire type next to me shyly laughed.

"Why did you tell him that? It's been centuries since Pokémon killed each other for these sorts of dumb reasons." Aiden added.

"I panicked, okay! You don't know how finding an almost dead Lucario on the shore of a river that turned out to be a human just after your work shift feels!" Ember shouted.

I decided to leave the conversation there and sigh in relief. "Thank God... That's some weight off my shoulders."

"Yeah, my bad..." The Braixen said rubbing the back of her head.

"Well, let's go. I know where to go. Bye guys, and stay safe. You never know when the guild may be stalking you." Kit warned them before opening the door.

"We'll be tomorrow morning at the port, hopefully, so we'll see you leave! And if you don't leave tomorrow come and tell us!" Agatha told us.

"Goodnight, I suppose. We will see each other soon." Damian nodded his head.

"Next time you have something like that in store, warn us, okay?" Aiden joked.

"Sure. I'll tell you when we meet Arceus himself." Ember followed with a roll of her eyes.

"Yeah, and we'll even take a selfie!"

Once again, all eyes fell on me. "Okay, are there seriously no cameras in this world?"

Kit whirled a finger on the side of his head. "These crazy humans and their strange words, am I right?"

With one last goodbye, we left Agatha's house and we headed for the headquarters of the Expedition Society.

There was something different, however.

The streets of Lively Town were exactly the opposite of what the town's name implied. There was no one walking, talking, or even just running back home. It made the place look like a ghost town.

"This is eerie." Kit commented.

"I don't like it either, but what can we do? It's only normal that everyone's gonna be scared when they realize the Rocket Guild is back." Ember sighed.

"Let's just get there and leave the thinking for later." Marshtomp finished the discussion.

There was something unnerving about the four of us going alone through a street that should be bustling with activity, but it was quickly drowned out by the hustle and bustle of the inside of the castle.

A grand total of five Pokémon ran around the inside of the Expedition Society, yelling and shouting at each other. No one seemed to bat an eye to us standing on the door, too busy with their own things.

At least, after a few minutes of silently wondering what in the world was going on, one of the Pokémon, the Mawile, turned her head to look at us and widened her eyes.

"HEY! WE'VE GOT COMPANY!" She shouted to the top of her lungs.

All movement stopped and the Pokémon's heads turned to look at us. "Oh, hey! We didn't see you there." The Archen said.

"All of this stuff with the Rocket Guild is making us work like we never did!" A Bunnelby exclaimed.

"And the fact every team left to go with their families the moment they found out..." A Dedenne sighed. "I can't blame them, but still..."

"It made me not think about eating anything for more than a few minutes! Oh no, now I'm thinking about eating and I'm hungry..." The Swirlix whinned.

"Hey, shut up you lot!" The Mawile commanded before she sighed. "Sorry. We are all a bit on edge lately. Welcome to the Expedition Society! What may we help you with today?"

We were left a bit stunned by the display, but I managed to shake my head and answer the Mawile. "Oh, umm... We're team Indigo!" I said.

"Team Indigo? You're the four that told that police officer about the guild?" She raised a brow.

"Yeah, we are."

"We got word you'd be coming here, but we didn't expect it to be this fast!"

"How did you get here in less than a few days?" Bunnelby asked.

"An incident with a dungeon apparently teleported us all the way here."

"Hmm, let me guess, that one near Oldale Town?" Dedenne hummed.

"Yeah, it's been giving explorers all sorts of trouble. That floor with all of those Rampardos and the fact it can spit you out almost anywhere in the continent makes it really difficult." Mawile nodded.

"Why did you even enter it?" Archen asked us.

"Someone... told us it was a shortcut." I replied, remembering what Sage told us. Could she have done this on purpose?

"Well, that someone must be crazy! What were they thinking to do that?" Mawile exclaimed astounded.

"Only Arceus knows..." Marshtomp replied with a roll of his eyes.

"Alright, anyway. Let's get back on topic. You are Jake, Ember, Kit and Marshtomp, right?" The Mawile asked us.

"Yes!" We replied in unison.

Her head turned to the fire type. "Are you the same Ember that..." She began, but stopped herself.

"Yes. Yes, it's me." She winced.

"Oh... Well, I'm glad to see you are doing alright."

"Thank you."

There was an awkward silence. "I suppose you'll want to see our chief?" Bunnelby interrupted.

"Well, we were actually here to see Misty?" Ember told them, trying to hide her pained face.

"Misty? She's still bringing back all the cargo from the boat." Archen said.

"I can tell her to come while you talk with the boss. She'll probably take a pretty good time to get here though." Dedenne thought out loud.

"Yes, do that Zia. Rest of you, let's get back to our work. We gotta get the Pokémon Nexus working to communicate this to the whole world as soon as possible." Mawile exclaimed.

"Aye, aye!"

And with that, all the Pokémon resumed their work, back to running around the place. "Let's do this fast. I have to help them too. My name is Amirah, by the way."

She began walking towards the stairs at the other end of the room. "Follow me. The chief and Jirachi are just right up here."

"Excuse me, the chief and who? " I questioned, widening my eyes.

"You heard right. But that's for later. Now let's go."

Had I heard right? Had that Mawile just said 'Jirachi'? The mythical 'Wish Pokémon' from the Hoenn tales?

"Did you know there was a Jirachi working here?" I asked my friends.

"I heard rumors. Looks like they were right." Ember replied.

"Thank Arceus I didn't know this when I was in the guild..." Kit muttered to himself.

"I can't believe we are just going to meet the Pokémon we promised to find, just like if he was another regular Pokémon." Marshtomp whispered.

True to her words, when we reached the top, we found ourselves in a similar room as before, though this one had some sort of blue platform that was projecting a hologram of the world.

And next to the platform, there were two crouched Pokémon. One of them was, as Amirah had said before, a Jirachi. He held a wrench on one of his hands as he did something to the platform's internal wiring.

Wiring. Something I thought I'd never see again.

And the other Pokémon, next to him was a very familiar Ampharos.

"Chief, company. Your old friend and her teammates." Amirah told the electric type.

He immediately turned around, causing Ember to gasp. "Louie?!"

Everyone widened their eyes, even Louie himself, as he then proceeded to rub the back of his head. "Oops... Guess the Purrloin is out of the bag..."

He stood up and looked at Jirachi. "Will you manage on your own for a while?"

"Yeah, don't worry. I'll be fine." The mythical answered.

After a nod, Louie walked next to us with a sheepish smile. "I'm happy to see you're all fine."

"You're the Ampharos that almost got mugged back at New Hope Town, aren't you?" Kit exclaimed.

"You what?" Amirah perked up.

"Didn't I tell you? Oh well. A story for another time, I suppose." Louie looked at Kit with a smile. "Yes, I am."

"I thought you worked for the police!"

"Well, I was on an undercover mission, of course!"

"You worked for the ES all this time?" Ember yelled.

"I did, yes! At least until that happened."

"Woah... I really didn't expect this..." The fire type was astounded.

"You know, it's probably the first time someone's more surprised to see Louie than they are to see me. Appreciate it, by the way." Jirachi commented without raising his look from the platform.

"Oh, I suppose I should introduce you all to the members of the society? Then we can talk."

"Chief, can I go? They probably need help down there." Amirah interrupted.

"Yes, of course! You can go."

"Alright." She turned to look at us. "Nice to meet you in person, team Indigo."

"Likewise!" We told her before she sprinted downstairs.

"Alright! So, this is Jirachi, our astronomer and self proclaimed genius." Louie began, pointing at the mythical.

"Self proclaimed? Who's modifying the nexus while you're there talking?" Jirachi chuckled.

"Excuse me, mister mythical. I didn't mean to harm your oh so brilliant mind." The Ampharos laughed.

"Yeah, keep making a fool of me in front of Pokémon that are still surprised to see a mythical!" Jirachi laughed back.

Louie rolled his eyes and looked at us. "Anyway. The Mawile was Amirah, like you already know. The Archen is Craig, our aerial explorer (I don't know how, because he can't fly), the Bunnelby is Heath, our underground explorer, the Dedenne is Zia, our communications operator, and the Swirlix is our cook. Her name is Nori, and she's always thinking about eating. And then of course is Misty. She's our marine explorer along with Lapras and their boat."

"That sounds like very few names for such a big organization..." I pondered out loud.

"Well, that's just the ones that are always here! There's also lots of explorer teams that come here to help, but they've left to go and and see their families because of... well, you already know."

"Yeah, I suppose that makes sense." Kit hummed.

"What are you guys doing here anyway?" Louie asked us, turning to give another tool to Jirachi.

"We need to get to Seabound Town, and I thought about asking Misty for a favour." Ember replied. "But now I see that it may not have been the best of ideas..."

"Well, we're kinda busy at the moment, but I'm sure that Misty will find time for you. Seabound Town is not that far, after all." The Ampharos paused. "Though, I'm guessing you aren't going to set off today?"

"No. In fact, we were wondering if you'd happen to have a room for us to stay here." I said.

"A room? Well, usually I'd say that we are full, but..." He sighed. "And you're a rescue team too, so there shouldn't be too much of a problem. And you arrived at a perfect time as well! Dinner is being served soon!"

"If Nori doesn't eat it first, of course..." Jirachi commented.

Everyone let out a relieved sigh. "Thank you so much, Louie." Ember smiled.

"Well, that's what friends are for right? Now come on. Let's see how they are doing down there."

"You go. I swear for Arceus that I'm finishing this today, and I'm not moving from here until it's done." Jirachi yawned. "Or until I fall asleep right on the spot."

"We get it, Jirachi. Good luck." Louie sighed and gestured for us to move.

Once we were walking back down the stairs, Marshtomp interrupted the silence. "Let me guess. He's been at whatever that is for a long while."

"Jirachi has been trying to modify the nexus to broadcast the message about the Rocket Guild to the whole world non-stop ever since we got news of it a day ago. It's the first time he's been awake for this long."

"What's that 'nexus' thing anyway?" I asked. I was pretty curious about it, probably because it was the only piece of technology I'd seen ever since I was here, excluding the bunker.

"The nexus is a map of the world, but also a way for us to store a lot of data about Pokémon we helped. I... don't really know how that works, but it definitely does ! You don't know what a relief it is to be able to have all that important data somewhere safe and not having to write everything down!" The electric type exclaimed excitedly.

"I... think I know what you mean."

So it's a computer...

Before we could keep talking, we bumped into someone. It was Craig. "Oof, sorry about that! I was going to tell you that dinner was ready!"

The Archen looked at us and raised a brow to Louie. "Are they staying too?"

"They are, but just for tonight."

"I'll tell Nori to serve more food. Now, let's go!"

"Why didn't Zia tell us?"

"She's barely walking, chief. Just like the rest of us! I doubt she'll be able to transmit any message like that."

"Then why not use the badges?"

"Excuse me, 'transmit'?" I asked.

"Hm? Oh, yeah. Zia can send messages over long distances using her electric powers just like the badges. She calls them elec... electro..." The Ampharos stuttered.

"Electromagnetic waves?" I filled in.

"Yeah, something like that! How do you know?"

"He's just a bit of a nerd." Ember teased.

"Hey!"

Chuckles echoed as we entered what I supposed was the dinning hall where all the Pokémon we had already met were eating their food, which consisted of a lot of berries and some meat for some of the Pokémon.

"Hi there, chief!" Amirah exclaimed.

"Are those four staying? 'Cus there's leftover dinner I cooked... just in case they did, ha!" Nori laughed, obviously that last part being fake.

There were a pair of plates in between some of the society members, probably reserved for Jirachi and Misty.

We sat down and Nori wasted no time in handing us our own plate of food, which we ate in silence while we heard the members talk.

Apparently, they had been busy the whole day because they needed to make the posters and take them to the 'Pelipper Post Office' so that the Pelipper we saw earlier could deliver them to the town.

We also found this was their first break of the day.

The conversation was cut short, as the door suddenly opened and someone entered the dinning hall, carrying enough crates to block our vision to see who it was.

"I'm back! And I've got the food Nori asked me to get!" The figure said, letting the crates next to the wall and wiping the sweat off her forehead.

The mysterious Pokémon turned out to be a Floatzel, someone whom Ember immediately recognized.

"Welcome back Misty! How was the trip?" Heath asked her.

"Meh, not as exciting as I thought. Ol' Lapras is very fast, and she sure doesn't like being late to a request from the chief!" She laughed before her eyes fell on us, or more specifically, on Ember.

"Ember? Is that you?" She shouted.

"Hi, Misty! Missed me?" The Braixen cheekily exclaimed.

"You know each other?" Heath asked.

"Of course we do!" The Floatzel replied, running next to Ember. "What are you doing here? Does it have to do with the Rocket Guild and them blowing the town?"

"Yeah. Everyone that lived there had to run away."

"That's horrible!" She then paused to think about something. "Wait, what about Agatha? Is she alright?"

"We've been visiting her just a few minutes ago. She, Aiden and Damian are doing fine."

Misty let out a relieved sigh. "Thank Arceus..."

"Well, now that you are here, why not sit down and have dinner?" Amirah asked her.

Misty sat next to the empty plate next to Ember and the two began sharing the experiences they had gone through while they were separated.

Apparently, Misty realized she had a passion for boats after her sister had an accident that left her unable to swim properly, and she had to use boats to take her through large bodies of water. Then, she came over to the Expedition Society and became the official marine explorer along with a Lapras partne, who helped as the motor of the boat.

It was a pity Ember couldn't tell her about all we had lived, not in front of them. But the things we could tell them were enough to make them gasp. "You got attacked by the Rocket Guild on your way to Oldale?" Craig exclaimed.

"And you're fine? Completely fine?" Nori added.

"The ones that attacked us were a trio of incompetent members. We didn't even break a sweat." Kit laughed, remembering them flying away after accidentally eating a Blast Seed.

"But you fought the boss, right? That's how you found out who she was!" Zia exclaimed.

"Yeah, and thank God we told that Dewott to call the police, or we wouldn't have made it out!" I chuckled.

"I can't believe you're part of a rescue team now!" Misty exclaimed before looking at me. "Jake, was it? Thank you for finally knocking some sense into her head!"

The rest of the dinner went with just small talk and Ember telling Misty she had to ask her something later, after dinner.

Once every Pokémon was done, Louie gestured for us to follow as he took us to our room for tonight.

It was a simple room with a window and four straw beds. There were also a few shelves with some potted plants and a frame with a small painting inside. There wasn't much else to say about it except that it was pretty wide.

"It's not much, but it's all we have. Hopefully it will be enough for you."

"Thanks for all of this, Louie. We really can't thank you enough." Ember told the Ampharos.

"Bah, don't be silly. It's the least I can do for having lied to you for this long!"

"Doesn't this job require it?"

"It may, but I still didn't like to do it." He chuckled. "Come on, just accept the apologies!"

"...Fine! You win!"

"Sorry to interrupt!"

Misty suddenly appeared behind Louie. "What did you want to tell me before, Ember?"

"Oh! We wanted to ask you a favor."

"A favor? You came all the way here for a favor? " The Floatzel repeated incredulously.

"It's something only you can do!"

"Heh, fine, enlighten me!"

Ember looked at me, silently giving me the go. "We need to get to Seabound Town and Ember told us you could take us there."

"Seabound Town? What do you need from that place?"

"We need to visit someone there that might have some info for us, but we can't get there!" Kit said.

"You lot... know you can just rent a boat, right? Or hire someone to take you there?"

"You know how expensive that is?!" Ember exclaimed. "And even if we had the money, there's not a single soul that likes or dares sailing through waters with so many Mystery Dungeons!"

"I... usually wouldn't mind, Ember, and you know that. But we're snowed under so much work that I don't think that's possible..."

"Well..." Louie interjected. "You already brought enough food for a while, and it's not like you will need Lapras and your boat for anything else."

"What are you saying?! Even if that's true, you need help with all of the stuff you have going on here!"

"We'll manage well enough. You should go and help them."

Misty looked at us and then back at Louie. After a long while of thinking, she sighed and began laughing. "Alright, alright! I'll take you all to Seabound Town. For the good ol' times, just like when we were kids, right?"

"Just like when we were kids..." Ember repeated.

"So you'll take us there?" Marshtomp asked.

"Of course! I'm sure Lapras will be thrilled to go through some action! I'll wake you up tomorrow when we're ready to go, and I'll stay around until you want to come back, counting it's not more than a day, deal?"

"Okay! Thank you so much, Misty!" Ember smiled.

"When we come back, we are going to Café Connection and you're paying for the drinks!" The water type joked.

"Hey! I thought this was supposed to be a favor!"

The two friends then laughed together as Misty let out a yawn. "Well, goodnight you four. Tomorrow we'll probably set out pretty early, so don't stay awake too long!"

Waving, Misty headed for her room, leaving us alone with Louie. "I don't know how many times you've heard this, but be careful out there." He said.

"Don't worry, we will." Kit reassured. "And if we need help, we'll call you so we can beat them up together, huh?"

"Oh, you bet!"

And just like with Misty, Louie left for his own room, leaving us alone.

"Well, let's decide who sleeps where." I suggested.

"I'll take this one." Kit said, sitting on a bed next to the window.

"I'll take this one!" Marshtomp repeated, laying on the one next to the door.

"Well, I guess we'll have to take these two..." Ember sighed.

...

"Wanna move them a bit closer?"

"You look the words right out of my mouth."

As we took the beds and moved them a bit closer to each other, I began thinking about tomorrow. What would we find once we arrived at Seabound Town? Who would the one with the answers that we need be? And then I remembered the map we found inside the laptop. Could it be that that Pokémon could be...

"Of course you two lovebirds decide to move the beds closer..." Kit commented taking me out of my thoughts.

We simply ignored him and laid down, ready to pass out for the day. "What do you think we'll find tomorrow?" I asked them.

"Hopefully an answer to what that 'abomination' thing is. Because it's making me go crazy whenever I think about it." Marshtomp replied.

"I'm more concerned by the fact we'll be searching for someone without having a clue as to who they are or anything." Kit added.

"And Misty told us she'll only carry us back if we take less than a day..."

"We'll, no point in thinking about it now, is there? We'll cross that bridge when it comes to it." Ember finished the discussion. "Let's get to sleep. My body is still aching from the ram from that Rampardos..."

"Yeah, me too. Goodnight guys." Kit stated before closing his eyes, something we did too.

There were sounds of hurried footsteps around the society for a while before everything fell silent.

The members had finally gone to sleep, it seemed.

It wasn't long until I began hearing snores coming from Marshtomp and Kit. Somehow, they had already managed to fall asleep as well.

"Ember, you awake?" I whispered.

"Mmrg... sort of? What's wrong? Are you cold?" That last question had a hint of a chuckle.

"No, I'm just... wondering about what we're gonna find in that town tomorrow..."

There was a pause. "Yes, I got what you meant, by the way." I laughed, feeling the fire type squirm closer, her familiar warmth bringing a smile to my face.

"You mean the guy that Mew apparently told you to find? Yeah, I'd be nervous too."

"That's not what I meant."

"What did you mean then?"

"Remember the map we found? The one that told us to come to Seabound Town?"

"Yeah? What about it?"

"We found it inside someone's laptop, Ember. Do you think that if that Pokémon has the answers to this, they could be-"

"Human? I was asking myself the exact same thing after you told us that."

"So I wasn't the only one..."

"Jake, I can tell that's not all."

I paused for a moment, thoughtful. "Do you think they could be... one of my parents?"

Ember didn't reply for a while. "I mean, they could! They might have been deemed dead by the people in my world because they were stuck here!... for some reason..." I added, trying to sound hopeful.

"Hmm... maybe you're right. We'll have to get there to know for sure, but I really hope you're right. I'd be so happy for you."

I shifted and turned around to Ember, giving her a small kiss. "Thank you."

She chuckled, following suit. "Love you."

I felt a smirk grow as I looked at her. "Now, what's that about a question list you and Agatha did?"

I could feel her embarrassment without having to do anything. "It's nothing. Just a thing we did when we were children."

"Aw, come on! I want to hear it!"

"You won't shut up until I tell you, will you?"

"Probably."

I heard her sigh. "Okay, fine. I don't remember all of the questions, but I'm pretty sure one of them was 'how do humans' 'Poke-Balls' work?'"

"...and it's a very good question!" I laughed.

"You don't know?"

"Well, I'm pretty sure only the ones that make them know exactly how they work. The people that use them just know that you throw it, it hits a Pokémon, and that's it."

"Oh... well that's disappointing."

"I know. Well, anything else?"

"Ermm... Oh, yeah! Is it true that humans have gone outside the Earth?"

"Outside the earth? You mean space?"

.

"Yeah! Is it true?"

"Well, yeah. The ISS, the moon, and we've sent a few robots to Mars too."

"'ISS'? 'Mars'?"

"I suppose no one here has built a rocket, have they? How the hell does the name 'Rocket Guild' even exist then?"

"A rocket? That's just one of the many things associated with humans. A legendary method of transportation that takes you out of the Earth!."

"Well, it's the thing that lets you go to space, so maybe you guys should try building one someday."

"Woah... so it's true! What's out there? And what's 'Mars'?"

"In space? Nothing. That's why it's called space! Well there are things, like planets and stars, but you guys already know that, right? Mars is one of the planets that is closer to our earth. Imagine another earth like the one you live in, but all barren and made of red sand."

"That's... completely barren? Nothing in there?"

"Nothing. Well, there's ice, so that's why humans are investigating it. If there's ice, there might have been life before."

"Woah! And how many planets are there?"

"If our theories about the universe are true, infinite."

I could feel her widening her eyes without even looking at her. "Infinite?! How?"

"Well, because the universe is infinite, of course! But that's a lot to explain, and I don't even know it too well myself, so certainly not something to explain while trying to sleep!" I laughed.

"So back to your question, yes, we've been to space."

"Wow... Humans are amazing!" She exclaimed, squirmed closer. "I really wish I could see it by myself along with everyone..."

"Maybe someday, Ember." I decided not to remind her about the maybe possible way to go back to the human world as to not give her false hopes. "That's pretty unlikely, but I don't discard it from happening. And if it actually does end up happening, I'll be delighted to show you."

Ember laughed as she gave me a small kiss on my cheek. "Thank you, Jake. I have more questions, but we should go to sleep. Something tells me the boat trip isn't going to be easy at all."

"I get you. Sleep tight, Ember."

"You too, Jake. And if you have another one of those dreams, do us a favor and tell us!"

"Alright, you win!"

And with the last of our chuckles, the room fell in silence. I couldn't stop thinking about the theory I'd said before, however. Could it really be that the Pokémon we were looking for was a human? And if he or she was, could they... be my parents?

I didn't want to think about it. Not after having gotten over it so long ago. I had already found out that they had come to this world too, and it almost teared me apart, so I didn't want to give myself false hopes.

At least, I wasn't alone now.

With hopes for what tomorrow would bring, I closed my eyes and fell asleep, feeling Ember's warmth all the way.

---

Filler aaa chapter moment. Originally, this was supposed to end with our protagonists setting off, but I think I'll leave that for next time.

Also, I apologize for taking this long. I have been losing motivation to keep up this story, so I don't know how regular the updates will be. Hopefully you understand.

Anyway, see you next time and remember to leave a review! It helps a ton.