Draco: It feels nice to be in a writing frenzy again. I've missed the feeling of getting this much done so quickly.

Pokémon and protagonist © Nintendo. Character designs © Koei. Ransei © somewhere in the middle.

Lumiose: The Looker and the Hidden

"My word... This city is massive."

Kenshin's utterance earned a chuckle from his escort. "It is, isn't it?" she admitted. "Makes one wonder how long it's been this big - and whether it'll get any bigger." She glanced around. "I dare say there are people who could live their entire life in Lumiose and be just as satisfied with their experiences as someone travelling the whole of Sinnoh."

Gallade gave her a look.

"...I'd not rule it out," Kenshin conceded.

A tone from the Trainer's bag halted her in the middle of making to lead them forward. She reached in and drew out a small red device, holding it before her and pressing a button; a projection emerged from one end, showing a somewhat younger girl with rather unkempt hair. "Hey, Serena, it's Emma. If you're in Lumiose, could I get you to swing by the Bureau? We've got some very concerning reports coming in, and I'd like an extra hand."

"Ah, la vache," Serena muttered. She turned to Kenshin. "I'm sorry, I don't-"

"You needn't apologize for something urgent coming up without warning," Kenshin insisted. "In fact, if they need assistance, I'd be happy to join you. Where is this Bureau?"

Serena led him around the boulevard and into a narrow alleyway that was almost directly north-and-south. An unremarkable storefront bore a simple sign reading Looker Bureau; the entrance was a bit on the short side, but Kenshin didn't quite have to duck to get through. The interior suggested it served as both a business and a place of residence; a sturdy desk was opposite the entrance, before a shuttered window, and to one side was a kitchenette and a sizeable fridge. To the other side was a large bookcase, though partially obscured by the standing screens and curtain fixture that cordoned off a small area with a bed; opposite the screens was a smaller, lighter desk with a computer sitting atop it.

The girl from the hologram was sitting at the latter desk, and looked up at their entrance in surprise. "Serena, hi!"

"Hey, Emma," Serena greeted. "You know you don't have to say your name with the projector model, right?"

"Sorry," Emma pleaded, "force of habit!" She got to her feet. "Thanks for coming by on such short... notice..." She trailed off as her gaze fell upon Kenshin - and then traced up the spear on his back, settling on the seven-bladed tip. "And you are?"

"Kenshin of Illusio," he replied. "A Warrior from Ransei, brought here against my own will."

Emma double-took. "A Warrior? Why does that sound familiar...?" She set a hand on her chin. "Wait, do you know a man with a Hydreigon and no Poké Balls who looks like he's angry all the time, even when he's being nice?"

"No Warrior uses Poké Balls," Kenshin insisted. "But a Hydreigon and an irritable face bring to mind Nobunaga of Dragnor..." He glanced at Gallade, who nodded, before continuing, "...who come to think of it, did mention visiting Kalos once before."

Serena decided to speak up while Emma was distracted. "I was in the middle of trying to help him figure out what to do when your Holo Clip came in. He said he's willing to help with whatever you need an extra hand for."

Emma shook her head. "Right. About that..."

+x+x+x+

Kenshin opened his eyes.

He was lying on an unfamiliar bed, in an unfamiliar room. As he started to stir, a startled "Oh!" drew his attention; there was a girl standing at his bedside, clad in a high-waisted outfit with a pleated red skirt, her honeyed hair dancing around shoulder length. "You're awake."

"Where am I?" Kenshin demanded.

"Calm down," the girl insisted. "You're in Ambrette Town, in Kalos. Someone found you drifting in the water and brought you ashore." She stepped back. "You were fairly far away from shore, at that. Might I ask where you were going?"

"Going?" Kenshin echoed. "I was not going anywhere. I was at home, in Illusio Castle..." His gaze fell. "That sound... Did something happen to send me away from Ransei?"

The girl started. "Ransei? Then you're... a Warrior?"

Kenshin turned to her. "You know of Warriors?"

"Tangentially, but yes," the girl confirmed. "You must've met with a terrible fate to end up in a region of Trainers."

"Trainers..." Kenshin's gaze went down to her belt, where he now noticed several red-and-white orbs mounted. "I'm inclined to agree. Whatever has occurred, I must find a way back."

He started to rise from the bed, but the girl's hand found his chest. "Back to another region? That's not going to be something you can just stand up and get to."

Kenshin glared, but sat back down. "Very well," he conceded. "First things first, then. Where is Gallade?"

A cry from the hallway drew their attention, and both turned to see the Blade Pokémon stepping into the room with a relieved expression.

"Thank the Alpha you are well," Kenshin sighed. "My next question, then - I don't suppose my saviour managed to recover my weapon?"

"Weapon?" The girl turned towards the corner of the room. "Is that what that is?"

Kenshin followed her gaze to see what definitely looked like the shaft of his spear standing against the wall. Getting to his feet again, less aggressively this time, he stepped towards it and picked it up; his concerns that it was broken were unfounded, for it had simply been left with the blade down. "Indeed," he confirmed. "A bit worse for wear, but I shouldn't have need of it until I return in any case."

The girl took a deep breath before drawing something out of her pocket. "Unless you have some interregional contacts," she mused, "I suggest we start by making out way to Lumiose City. Being in the center of the region, it's as good a place as any to look for something difficult to find."

"I'd not thought a boat difficult to find," Kenshin admitted.

"Maybe not," the girl mused, "but a boat to a region of Warriors is another matter." She offered her hand. "My name is Serena, by the way."

"Kenshin."

+x+x+x+

"Someone skulking in the alleyways?"

Emma nodded. "Yeah. There's reports from all over Lumiose. They keep seeing someone sticking to the back alleys and very specifically keeping away from others. One of the reports says they might be carrying a weapon."

Kenshin crossed his arms. "Another Warrior, perhaps," he mused. "Whatever happened in Illusio must have happened elsewhere in Ransei as well."

"Do you know who this other Warrior might be?" Serena asked.

"If not for the secrecy, I would think it Nemesis," Kenshin admitted. "No matter what boon or jinx one of us might suffer, the other often encounters similar fortune. But he is not inclined to keep himself hidden." He raised his gaze to Emma. "Have you any other information on the suspect? Or any sightings of seemingly lone Pokémon?"

"No Pokémon," Emma observed. "But the suspect is said to be dressed in dark colours. And there are a couple reports of them climbing up walls when cornered."

"Shinobi, perhaps," Kenshin suggested.

Serena double-took. "Quoi?"

"A ninja?" Emma exclaimed.

"I can think of only one Ransean ninja who would actively avoid conversation," Kenshin mused. "But he happens to be the greatest stealth expert in Ransei." He sighed. "I should hope a familiar face might convince him to ally, but that depends on my being present when we find him."

Emma got to her feet. "Well, that's something to go on, at least," she admitted, starting towards the screened-off area. "But if he's another Warrior, I have to assume he is carrying a weapon - which means I need to be prepared."

She closed the curtain behind her as Serena rose as well. "I'll take Kenshin and trawl the alleyways," she suggested. "We'll leave the rooftops to you."

"Sounds like a plan," Emma agreed.

Kenshin and Gallade followed Serena out of the bureau, and the Trainer led the way on a patrol through the alleyways. "May I ask you something?" the Warrior inquired.

"What is it?" Serena asked.

"You mentioned that someone found us adrift and brought us to shore," Kenshin observed. "Did they happen to mention a motive for not awaiting my recovery themselves?"

Serena shook her head. "Motive had nothing to do with it," he insisted. "He just doesn't fit in most buildings. He called me to help you into Hotel Ambrette, and I told him he could take off and leave you to me."

"Doesn't... fit?" Kenshin narrowed his gaze. "I know of only one man so large as to not fit in an ordinary building," he admitted. "And, come to think of it, he did claim to be from Kalos."

His words drew Serena's attention. "...AZ?"

"You've met him, then," Kenshin mused.

"What in the world was he doing in Ransei?" Serena wondered.

Kenshin hummed. "Supposedly, he had visited the region some time ago," he admitted, "before he was a Trainer proper. One of the very few to have ever come to a land of Warriors from a land of Trainers, I imagine."

Serena narrowed her gaze. "Did he say how long ago?"

"Not to me," Kenshin admitted, "though it must have been well before I became Warlord. Which suggests-"

Gallade grabbed his shoulder, cutting him off and causing him and Serena to both turn. They were standing in a crossroads of sort between alleyways, and the Blade Pokémon had his gaze down one of the offshoots; the Trainer and the Warrior traded glances and nodded, and as Gallade began to dash down the alley, Kenshin followed suit, with Serena close behind him.

A figure in dark purples and metallic gold was sprinting down the alleyway ahead of them, and as they approached an open street, he took a sharp turn towards a dead-end. Any hopes of Serena's that they could pin him down before he could climb were swiftly dismissed when he started to run up the wall at an angle; when gravity started to pull on him again, he leapt towards the end and then the opposite wall before pulling himself onto the rooftop. Gallade swiftly skidded to a stop at the dead-end and turned to Kenshin, bringing his hands together, and Kenshin brought his foot up and set it into Gallade's grip so that the Blade Pokémon could fling him skyward, giving him the height to grab the edge of the rooftop for himself.

Serena stumbled to a halt of her own. "Flowing Life, that was seamless." Turning to Gallade; "Do you do things like that often in Ransei?"

Gallade only shrugged.

On the rooftop, the pursued soon found himself intercepted by another dark-clad figure - this one clad in a sleek black ensemble that seemed largely mechanized. What wasn't covered by mechanics bore a bodysuit in black and orange, and the helmet had an orange visor with a prominent LCD display, of which five segments were illuminated to form an E.

The suspect wore a golden mask, but enough of his eyes were exposed to make evident his glare. Movement from behind Essentia drew her attention; a Poké Ball emerged on a prehensile wire, and she seized it and hurled it skyward and back. A Malamar emerged, descending back-to-back with her to halt the advance of the Gengar that had been approaching; when the ninja tried to take advantage of her distraction and run past her, Essentia swiftly intercepted him, the Expansion Suit giving her the speed to seize him by the arm and the strength to hurl him back the way he'd come.

He righted himself mid-tumble, slamming one hand to the ground to halt his momentum - though there was plenty of distance between him and the edge of the rooftop. Without a word, he reached back and drew a kusarigama, the sickle blade and mace-end bearing the same dark purple as his garments. As he whirled it backwards, the chain tangled on something, and he had no opportunity to react before the weapon entirely was pulled out of his hands and sent skyward.

Kenshin caught the falling weapon by the point where the chain connected to the sickle's handle, wrapping it around his palm as he set the butt of his spear against the rooftop. "Hanzō. Long time."

Hanzō turned to face him.

"Not since Evia first took Viperia, I think," the Illusian observed. "And it had already been a long time before that. Far be it from me to tell someone that an aversion to conversation is a problem, in and of itself..." He shook his head. "But when one is stranded in a foreign land, it is likely to make their situation worse."

There was silence for a long moment; then Hanzō raised his hand over his shoulder. Gengar lowered his fighting stance with open-mouthed surprise; then he sighed in frustration, slumping forward slightly as he made to walk around Malamar.

The lighting of the Expansion Suit's visor dimmed to reveal Emma's face on the other side. "Where'd you leave Serena?"

"She's at ground level, with Gallade," Kenshin replied. "Shall we rejoin her before we return to the Bureau?"

+x+x+x+

"A crystalline sound and a blinding light..."

Kenshin nodded. "It was much the same for me," he confirmed. "At first, I thought some terrible cataclysm had befallen Illusio, spefically, but if the same occurred all the way in Viperia..." He turned to Hanzō. "Were any of the others in the castle with you?"

"No," Hanzō admitted. "Nene had taken them to investigate an occurence elsewhere."

"I see." Kenshin crossed his arms. "Then let us focus on trying to find a way back. In a city as great as this, there must be someone with the resources for interregional travel. It should be a simple matter to convince them to take us to Ransei."

"Assuming they even know where Ransei is," Emma argued. "Or do you think you could navigate a boat all the way home from a region you've never been to?"

Hanzō glanced at Gengar. "Maybe... Teleport?"

Kenshin turned to him. "There's an idea," he admitted. "A strong enough Psychic-type Pokémon might well be able to Teleport us back to Ransei."

Serena sighed. "I can only think of one Psychic-type Pokémon that would be strong enough to Teleport you to another region entirely, and he's not exactly fond of strangers."

"A specific Pokémon?" Kenshin mused. "Then I suggest you introduce us."

"Seriously?" Emma demanded. "You're not even gonna ask who first?"

"I've Linked with many a Psychic-type Pokémon in my time," Kenshin insisted. "One of whom, I would argue, would be strong enough - had he been present when the disaster occurred. If nothing else, I should be able to at least negotiate our return."

"...Fine," Serena conceded. "Let's get you guys a place to stay, first. It's getting late."

Kenshin glanced at the shuttered window to find sunlight hues filtering through the blinds. "I suppose..."

Serena got to her feet. "In the morning, I'll take you to the Pokémon Village. Don't say I didn't warn you."

Draco: I said Legends: Z-A was going to have no impact on this story, and I meant it, but that doesn't mean I'm not gonna reference it, nor that I'll refrain from insulting the people who are looking down on it before it even comes out.