Ash tried his best to prod Bridge for more information as they worked their way through the field. The trouble was, Bridge didn't seem to be much for talking. Every time Ash posed a question or tried to explain something about the modern world, Bridge responded with as few words as possible. Usually an "I see" or a "how fascinating." Ash soon got the impression the man thought he'd picked up a lunatic and was only humoring him until he could pass him off to someone else.
They'd moved out of the tall grass now, and they'd encountered a lot more tiny bug-like, non-Pokémon creatures. But they hadn't quite reached the road, either. Ash was relieved he didn't have to work his legs so hard to keep moving forward, but the castle still remained to be seen. Which meant the hike was far from over. He didn't want to walk in silence the whole way, but the idea of a one-sided conversation didn't appeal much, either. What would Dawn or Misty or any of his other traveling companions do in this situation? He imagined both girls watching him right now, taking notes on his progress. Probably they'd tell him to shut up. More specifically, to shut up and listen.
Ash sighed. Right. I've got someone here who knows about this place. If I can't figure out how to get home straight away, I should try to learn as much as I can.
"Sorry for yammering so much," he said by way of a peace offering.
"How fasc-" Bridge started to say, then he glanced back at Ash and laughed. "Apologies. I mean, it's quite all right. I understand you must have a lot of your mind. And I can listen, even if I do not understand."
"I can listen, too," Ash said. Probably with more enthusiasm than the statement needed. "Tell me about this place."
"That's quite the broad category. Anything specific you want me to discuss?"
"Well, for starters..." Ash pointed at the row of bent stalks they'd left behind. "Can everyone here do what you did out with the grass?"
"Ah. No, not everyone. It depends on one's Source."
"Source?" Ash asked. They'd reached the dirt road now, and he never thought it would feel so good to walk on smooth ground.
"Exactly. Sources are...how do I put this? I suppose the closest thing would be these 'magical creatures' you describe. Every person is connected with one."
Ash rubbed his chin. "So it's like a Pokémon partner? But I haven't seen any Po-I mean, magical crea-I mean-Sources around here." He waited for Bridge to chuckle at his confusion over all the terms, but the man's face softened with sympathy.
"Sources dwell in a plane parallel to this one," he explained. "You won't see them unless someone calls their partner to work beside them. Usually because there is a task that needs accomplishing."
"So...when they go to this other plane, it's like retreating into a Poké Ball," Ash mused. He meant to keep it to himself. But he'd discovered on the walk so far that he had a bad habit of speaking his thoughts aloud. Did he always do this or was it only when he was a complete stranger in a different time period?
Bridge didn't call any attention to it, so Ash didn't either. "Hang on," he said. "You did the Whirlwind all on your own, didn't you?"
"Not at all," Bridge replied. "If the bond between a person and their partner Source is strong enough, they can channel their Source's energy directly through their own body."
"Whoa...cool!" Ash exclaimed. He imagined what it would be like to yield the power of Pikachu's Thunderbolt. Or Charizard's Flamethrower.
Bridge looked confused again. Probably he wondered why Ash would shout out temperature descriptors in his excitement. Ash didn't bother to explain. His mind still raced with all the amazing possibilities. There was Bulbasaur's Solar Beam. Or Muk's Sludge Bomb. Or Tauros'-
Looking ahead, he saw the road led up a steep hill, and his enthusiasm vanished faster than an Abra. Or maybe it'd just be nice to have Noctowl's ability to fly.
#
It took another hour or so of walking to reach their destination. Ash's feet weren't too happy about it. Then he stole a glance at Bridge's worn, dusty sandals and decided to look on the bright side. At least he had modern footwear.
The castle, visible even from a distance, wasn't quite as Ash remembered it. He expected once they got closer, he'd be looking at a giant building with tons of rooms, tapestries on every wall, and fancy statues. Instead it was more like its own little town plaza centered inside Michina. About half the buildings around it were open, with three walls instead of four. People moved all over the place, holding bundles of cloth or sacks of grain. Everyone seemed like they had somewhere to be-a set path to follow. A couple people glanced his way and gave him strange looks. But most of them were too involved in their own work to pay him any mind. Here and there, Ash caught glimpses of Pokémon-like shadows among the crowd of humans, but the second he tried to focus on any of them, the shadows disappeared.
"It is a curious name you associated with me before," Bridge mused as they walked. "Almost like a child's name."
"Huh?" Ash shook his head, realizing he'd started to fall behind. Likely Bridge had restarted the conversation to draw his attention. He quickened his pace to close the gap between them.
Bridge chuckled and continued his explanation. "You see, everyone here has two names-the one used in early childhood and the one they are given when they connect with their Source in adolescence."
"Huh. No kidding." Ash didn't know how else to reply. The whole concept sounded kind of strange to him. Then again, there was Misty and her water Pokémon. Brock and his father Flint with their rock Pokémon. Now that Ash considered it, he knew a great number of gym leaders whose names matched their type specialty with unusual precision. "So...let's say your name is Gary, and you turn twelve and find out you have an ice-type Source. You just...go from being named Gary to being named Snowflake?"
"Well, I don't personally know anyone named Snowflake, but yes, you have the right idea. Now, stick close to me, please." Bridge made a sharp right turn onto a rather nice road. The paved walkway led past several fountains and an outdoor bath until at last it reached the staircase leading to the castle proper. The sun was low in the sky now, and while Ash could clearly see a person waiting at the top of the steps for them to ascend, the glare from the sun's rays made it difficult to see their face. They had some fancy-looking red robes, and unlike everyone else in the town, they weren't rushing around. Instead, they held themselves with the poise of someone who didn't need to rush anywhere.
"Bridge!" called a voice that sent a chill down Ash's spine. Not that the tone was particularly malicious. In fact, it sounded downright friendly. But when one went through the experience of watching a man nearly drown Arceus itself in a vat of silvery liquid, they didn't forget it.
"Marcus," Ash growled under his breath.
Bridge gave him a questioning look. "You...also know someone who looks like our senator in your world?"
Ash huffed. Which wasn't a very good reply, he'd admit. But he didn't feel like he could say any more and still be respectful like Bridge wanted him to. Ash had never been good at hiding his feelings. And how was he supposed to keep his temper with a villain like that standing so close by?
Bridge continued to look at him in confusion. When neither of them ascended the stairs after several moments, Marcus decided to come down to them. He patted Bridge on the shoulder like they were old buddies. Unlike Bridge, however, Marcus's face was clean and his crimson hair was neat and smooth. Whatever the equivalent of showers was in this time period, it seemed like Marcus had way more access to them than Bridge did. "Senator" must be a pretty important job here.
"You were gone a while," the guy who looked like Marcus went on. "I worried I'd be dining solo tonight."
"And miss your colorful rants about the latest senate meetings? Never."
The two men laughed, short and concise, like this was all part of their daily routine. Ash didn't like it one bit. Marcus and Damos seemed like decent enough friends back in the version of Michina he remembered. That was until the former hypnotized the latter into nearly committing murder. True, maybe this guy in the fancy robes wasn't exactly the same person. But with so many similar threads between their worlds, it'd be flat-out stupid to trust him.
"...young man is named Ash," Bridge said, motioning towards him. Ash suddenly realized that during his brooding about Marcus's past crimes, the conversation had continued without him. "I found the poor boy lost and disoriented out in the fields. He claims to have traveled here from the future."
The senator stood over Ash, leveraging his considerable height advantage to look even more pompous and self-important. "Do tell," he said with a raised eyebrow.
"His attire certainly backs up his story," Bridge continued. "In either case, I thought he should meet Pepper. I'm sure they would have much to discuss."
"Of course," the senator said and motioned the both of them up the steps. This time, Ash didn't hesitate and hurried up through the wide entrance. The sooner he could talk to someone from the modern world, the sooner he could figure out what this version of Marcus was up to.
#
"Ah, yes! Our couriers returned last night, so almost the whole day was taken up with news from their travels," Marcus 2.0 was saying as they walked inside. The entrance hall wasn't half as elaborate as Ash thought it might be given the outside. There were some fancy vases and statues lining the stone walls, but they seemed more there to accent the massive archway that led into the rest of the castle. Like...the ye olde royal version of the spot you'd kick your shoes off at when you came home. No one was taking their shoes off here, though, so Ash followed suit.
"I see," Bridge said to the senator. "You were at least rewarded with some interesting stories, I hope?"
"'Interesting' would be up for debate. Those two lords out in Hoenn are still going at it. Word is they're talking of moving their clans out in our direction some day."
"Indeed. Let's hope 'someday' is long after our lifetimes."
The two of them laughed, and not being in on the joke, Ash could only smile, nod, and look around the place some more. They'd entered the dining room now, and it was actually pretty nice. The bricks weren't just plain stone or clay here but were painted in rows of forest green, white, and goldenrod. Even the ones on the floor. A long wooden table, with half a dozen chairs on either side, took up the center of the room. The chairs were all intricately carved along the edges, painted with the same color scheme. Lush potted plants and open bowls of fruit on the table made the whole place feel like a small garden. Ash's stomach growled, and he tried not to ponder the logistics of sneaking an apple when Bridge wasn't looking.
A narrow entryway led off to a room Ash couldn't see. But there was a small trail of smoke and some yummy smells coming from that direction, so maybe it was the kitchen? Ash could hear movement just out of sight, but no matter how many times he craned his neck, he couldn't actually see anyone without wandering away from Bridge's side. Since he was the visitor here-a visitor who was definitely not going to snatch fruit off the table-it felt like he should wait until he was told to leave.
Waiting sucked, though. Ash's stomach continued to growl, and these two really, really liked talking.
"And what of the Paldean Empire?" Bridge asked. "Any word there?"
Ash's stomach went quiet. As did the scuffling from the probably-kitchen.
"Ah, that was the highlight of the news. It seems they were finally able to quell those horrible human-less Sources, though the cost in the interim was great."
"Human-less Sources?" Ash asked, forgetting the kitchen and turning back to the conversation in front of him. As long as 'Source' was a substitute for 'Pokémon' here, he would pay attention every time he heard it. "What are 'human-less Sources'?"
The men both startled as if they'd completely forgotten Ash was there. "Oh, nothing you need concern yourself with," Bridge said. "The original incident was nearly a year ago."
"It would still do well for him to be aware of it," the senator said and turned to Ash with a stern expression. "Evil Sources can strike anywhere, after all."
"'Evil'?" Ash frowned. "But Poké-I mean, Sources can't be evil. Can they?"
"That is a wonderful thought," Bridge sighed. "And maybe things are different in the world you come from. But here? Yes, they absolutely can be. We call them 'dark-types.'"
Ash almost answered that he called plenty of Pokémon that, too, but it didn't mean they were bad.
Bridge continued, "About a year ago, four powerful dark-type Sources entered the human realm and ran rampant in Paldea's capital city...they had no bond with any specific individual. Instead they indiscriminately flooded people with dark energy and wrecked havoc wherever they went. It was horrible."
"Thankfully, this most recent news assures me the Sources have been contained," Marcus 2.0 cut in. "Anyone they channeled their energy through is being kept under close surveillance."
Ash did not find this very reassuring. "They're not in trouble though, right?" he asked. "I mean, if these Sources reached out to them first, the people didn't do anything wrong, did they?"
"Perhaps not," the senator said with a shrug. "But I certainly don't blame the authorities for exercising caution. I imagine I would do the same if not more so." He reached forward and picked up a golden goblet, taking a long, thoughtful sip.
Ash fidgeted and hungry as he had been, he found his stomach turning sour. His nervous expression did not go unnoticed as the senator set the goblet back down.
"Please don't be concerned," he said. "I assure you, Paldea is quite far away. And even if we were to find someone wielding the power of such a creature, I would use any force necessary to keep them from hurting our home."
Bridge lowered his voice and added on, "I can explain more with you later if you like, but our original discussion of them left Pepper very distressed." He turned back to the senator. "And in any case, it's bad for one's digestion to discuss negative topics over dinner. I'll show Ash into the kitchen, and we can lighten the mood with a drink, hmm?"
"Now that is by far the most helpful suggestion I have heard all day," the senator said as he waved Bridge off and called over a servant to have more wine brought in.
Ash tried to smile and tell himself that whatever was happening in this Paldea place would be better soon...and that the ancient version of "close surveillance" just meant visiting people at their houses for a chat.
He hoped the rest of his time here didn't require so much mental and emotional gymnastics. His constitution was stretched thin as it was.