Chapter 3: Plotholes

"A house like this is modest to you? Do you Pokemon really have such high standards?"

At first Aurora wasn't quite sure how to respond to this question.

"High standards? Do you all really live like shit where you come from?"

Kel wasn't bothered by the rather harsh question.

"Well… yes and no. There is a huge gap between people there. Some live on the streets, have nothing at all, while others have buildings like the organization office as their personal residences. However, there are many more people poor than rich. I myself only had two rooms, a bathroom and a bedroom with a cooking area in the corner. This right here is luxury for all I know."

For the first time since they met, Aurora actually felt sympathy for her new team partner. She really didn't live a wealthy life by Pokemon standards, and yet it was so special for this Growlithe to even have a living room in the house!

"But if everything was so unfairly distributed in your world, why didn't anyone do anything about it? Of course, there are big financial differences between Pokemon, but the wealthiest accept that every Pokemon has the right to live a dignified life and give away some of their money. Tyrantrum and Aurorus then distribute everything fairly to those who need it. I'm not really that poor, but I still get something regularly, simply because I have no real source of income. But once our team becomes successful, then that will change!"

Gloomy thoughts about the world that was once his home rose in the reborn one.

"Justice is not a priority there. Everyone thinks of themselves first. Nobody was interested in anything else. Even though the rulers often claimed that they were committed to justice. In the end, it was all crap, and those who did not want to adapt to their unjust system got opressed. It was not for nothing that I said that I was glad to meet my end."

All this lack of solidarity seemed just unreal to Aurora. How could anyone go to sleep with a clear conscience if they did nothing to help anyone but themselves? How could even those who should actually fight for justice ignore it most? However, Aurora decided not to pursue this topic any further. The human world was now in the past for Kel and it was probably the best thing that could have happened to him.

"So... I'll just make something to eat really quick. You can look around in the meantime, I guess."

Well, as easily said as it was dine. When Aurora entered the kitchen, Kel took a first look at the room in which he would live for the upcoming times. The room itself was very simple, but at the same time it seemed much cozier than the crowded bedroom-kitchen mixture that he was used to. A small window, in front of which a fabric curtain was currently hanging, was the only source of light in the correspondingly rather dark room. There was a mattress just lying on the floor with no bed connected, in the center of the right wall. Although the sight was a little unusual, it was very logical in the house of a small, four-legged Pokemon. There was also a small bedside table with a reading lamp. The last thing left in this room was the attic door, which Aurora had already mentioned. It really wasn't anything that would have any meaning for Kel. He left the room again and went into the lounge. Now that he was here, the books stored in this room caught his eye.

A lot of the books there seemed to be about the Fighting League. Everything you could possibly want to know was summarized here. Books about famous teams, including Team Fossil, of course, which Kel had already gotten to know. Others dealt with techniques or the history of the league. Among all these works there were also a few novels that clearly looked like entertainment literature. Basic adventure stories. One book in particular caught Kel's eye, however, a book that might finally answer some of his questions.

"Plotholes: The Power to Write the World"

was its title. According to the print, the author didn't care about special names, but stuck with Zoroark. The Growlithe took the liberty of taking this special book and opening it.

But right on the first page he was greeted by a picture that he would not soon forget. A pitch-black background with two eyes sticking out. They were blood red, with a green iris and grey pupils. They were not the shape of a normal eye, but were noticeably narrower and pointed at the ends. A text was written underneath in a red similar to the color of the eyes. The text read:

"Plot is everything, inevitable, but the power to control it lies only with the true emperor."

Whatever was depicted in this picture, Kel already knew that he'd rather not meet it. Ever.

At that moment Aurora came back into the room, a kind of fruit salad made of berries in her paws.

"This picture an quite an effect on me when I read the book for the first time too. Unfortunately, it is more than just scary fiction..."
"What do you mean?"
"The being depicted here exists and is essentially omnipotent. The sentence underneath is also what he once said."

She dug out a single sheet of paper from a drawer in the cupboard. It already looked quite old. At the top, the title was just the word "Wanted" in red letters. Below that was an image that had an effect on Kel that he himself couldn't explain. Whatever it was, it looked like a robot. Tall and thin, with a long snout. The golden head with the same red-green eyes from the book stood out. A long cloak with a strange symbol embroidered on it hung around the robot's shoulders. In his pointed fingers he held the golden, jagged handle of a strange sword. Instead of a blade, it had a huge feather. Underneath the image, there was some more text. "1,000,000. reward, Dead or Alive"

"A million? With a bounty like that, someone would have caught that thing in a week, right?"
"Do you really think that someone would put such a huge bounty anyone if they were easy to catch? No one knows exactly how long he's been out there. Fifteen years? Twenty? Something like that. And no one has ever caught him in all those years. And believe me, many have tried. And only few returned with empty hands. All the others... did not return at all."

Kel was getting pretty annoyed that no one in this world would ever give him any details.

"And what exactly is 'he', now?"

Aurora finally got the message and started to explain.
"The name of this being is Epsilon. No one knows exactly what he is. While most people do think so, it's not even clear if that guy is a Pokemon. I don't think you really know what the Plotholes are all about, right?"
"That's right. Because nobody could bother to tell me."

"Then listen instead of complaining. So, Plothole are a pretty common phenomenon of this world. Basically, they are like the errors in a story. Things that make no sense just happen, no matter what exactly they are. Sometimes what happens is helpful, sometimes it's harmful. They are unpredictable and can affect anyone. In short: they are chaos. Most Mon have gotten used to them, they have been plaguing us for that long, but of course we still want to get rid of the Plotholes. I think that your arrival is also related to one of them. The sky flashed, as it often does before a Plothole appears, and just minutes later I found you at the lake. And the fault of these plot holes lies precisely with this being: Epsilon. He was the first to radically believe in the higher power of this world, the Plot. During his reign of terror, many others also began to follow this ideal. The Plot they imagine basically states that everything that happens in this world is predetermined, precisely because of Plot. Many believe that only the world is influenced by the plot, not the Pokemon. This belief has now become firmly established in this world. Even most civilist Pokemon, take me as an example, now believe in this supreme force. But I also still believe that everyone can change their own fate and future! It is predetermined, but if you just work for it, you can change the world and future! However, there are also some fanatics who listen to Epsilon's crazy teachings and follow his words. They think that it is possible to change fate, just like me, but they want to prohibit it! Anyone who wants to change their future is an enemy to them. Anyone who does not want a life over which you have no control, is their enemy."

The war of ideals that has shaped this world for ages seemed to impress Kel greatly, but also to disturb and confuse him.

"So this Epsilon is basically anomnipotent being who doesn't want anyone to live a life that doesn't correspond to his ideals?"
"Well... actually yes. At least I think so. Epsilon himself insists that he would never force anyone to do anything that the Plot itself wouldn't want. But should one really trust that?"
"Never in a million years, when he's responsible for these Plotholes you are talking about! Isn't he damaging the plot that he's so enthusiastic about with them? The name at least sounds like it."

Aurora actually didn't quite know the answer at first, before she remembered a passage in the book that Kel was still holding on to.

"Plotholes only sound like they would actually damage the Plot. But only because society gave them that name. It stems from the fact that Plot is a symbol of logic and order for us. However, Epsilon's power, the Plotholes, defy all laws of logic. What we all associate with the plot, however, is not what is really behind the plot."

Kel noticed one more detail in the fanatic's picture that he wanted to find out more about.

"This strange weapon he's carrying, does it have anything to do with Epsilon, other than the fact that it's his weapon?"
"If I'm not misunderstanding your question, given the strange wording, then yes. Well, I'm at least very sure. Several people have at least talked about Epsilon using his feathersword to create Plothole as well as to fight. Either it's a kind of antenna for his power or, as some also suspect, even its source."
"And you are really saying some Pokemon have met this Epsilon before?"

Aurora was completely thrown off track at first.

"Do you think they just guessed what Epsilon looks like for the picture on this poster? Besides, nobody hides for that many years! Epsilon isn't really hiding at all. At least he is seen almost every day. It is almost a miracle, in a good way, that I have never had the "honor" before. Or maybe I did, but when I was too young to remember it."

Kel actually wavered. On the one hand, everything Aurora had said about the strange machine-like creature had been terrible. But on the other hand... if Epsilon was the reason for each and every one of these Plotholes, then it was he who had given the Now-Growlithe the chance for a second life. Epsilon was a fanatic, but Kel owed his life to him! But he decided to keep these thoughts to himself, especially from Aurora. During her explanation, she had seemed as if she truly hated Epsilon.

Where exactly this enormous hatred came from, Kel could only guess. Had something happened to her parents that was Epsilon's fault? Or was she perhaps simply afraid that her own ideas about her future were different from what Epsilon had planned for her?

"If that's all about that, maybe we should start eating and think of a name for our new team."

After all these new experiences in such a short day, a distraction was something Kel could use, but his dark premonition would not fade any time soon. The piercing eyes of the book's pages burned into his soul and seemed to want to send him a message. "We will meet soon enough."