Iris was not having a good day, or even an exceptional year. The resurgence of Team Plasma just days after she took the position of Champion took wind out of her sails. She had been busy solving problems nonstop for months, going from one place to another, and she desperately needed a break.

She looked around her office, trying to find her peace. It was small but full of mementos from her journeys. The bones from her times in the desert north of Castelia. A small, broken eggshell from the day she found her Axew. Photos of her with friends, the other leaders, the day she turned into Unova's Champion…

"The subject is in custody."

A voice broke her off her musings. She turned to the door, seeing a woman's face partially inside. Her long, blond hair almost reaching the floor. "Champion." She said as Iris waved the woman in. Her steps measured and fluid like water. A thin pink veil covered her thin figure and white dress. When she was in front of the desk, she curtsied, making her hair wave in the air.

"Hi, Caitlin." Iris nodded at her. "His Pokemon?" She reclined on her chair, remembering the state they found Drayden in. The aura that suffused the place they battled. It was hard to resist the urge to shudder.

"They're being examined by Professor Juniper and higher ups from the Joy clan." She intoned. "They seem really involved."

"Great. Politics." She murmured to herself. Caitlin smiled wryly at her comment.

Alder left out an important detail when he pitched the job to her: Politics. Apart from stopping Team Plasma, she now had to deal with those. It put context into why the man was always away from his office.

The fact was that the man was most likely than not part of the Joy clan. He had their signature pink hair and an Audino. The latter gave more weight to the theory, since those were hard to find outside their specialized breeders. Caitlin handed her a document, as if she was reading her mind. "She probably is."

"Let's see… New dragon species, different evolutionary pathways for two Unovan Pokemon, new evolution for Porygon…" Her eyebrows continued to rise higher and higher. The quick tests performed on the recovering Pokemon showed they were absolute monsters. The ghost dragon gave her pause. "Speed and raw power are much higher than Hydra…"

"Who is this man?"

Caitlin gently shrugged her shoulders. "He should be waiting in the interrogation room. We'll ask questions when you are ready."

Iris nodded, putting down the papers. "What about Kyurem?" Her eyes narrowed, remembering what Drayden told her about that strange silver Pokeball.

"That…" Caitlin hesitated. Her expression grew conflicted for a couple of seconds. "Nobody has deactivated the Pokeball."

"That's…worrying." She narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms. "Not even Amanita?"

Caitlin gently shook her head. "When she tried the usual safeguards for a Pokeball, the model is almost the same as a traditional one. Then it said that it was, and quote: 'being manipulated by a third party not approved by the World Pokemon League.'" She passed a document to Iris. A small photo of a pitch black Pokeball was on the front page. "And then it turned into this. Nobody can lift it from the table ever since."

Iris felt another headache rearing its ugly muzzle. She sighed exasperated and stood from her desk. "Let's see what's what with our mystery man." She grabbed her tiara and rushed out of the office, leaving a chuckling Caitlin behind.

"Are the cuffs necessary?"

Daniel shook his cuffs against the metal table to which he was tied. The guard looked ahead, completely ignoring his question. His eyes traced the featureless gray room he was in, complete with what he assumed was a one-way mirror.

The League officials took all his gear. They handled his bracer and Kyurem's temporary Pokeball with special care. At least they let him continue using his uniform after triple checking him for anything suspicious. Except his beret, which was sadly taken away too.

"Heh, dad used to tell us this used to be popular." He said, looking to fill in the silence rather than start a conversation. "I just hope they don't use the good cop, bad cop approach he told us in stories."

Thinking about the family he left behind in the future gave him some pause. It still didn't feel real that he was most likely hundreds of years into the past. Worries about people he knew not being born because of him plagued his mind. Those that saw him simply disappear into the night. Those that didn't make it through the night. He distracted his mind from that. Not the best place to be vulnerable. After adrenaline ran its course, things began to click in his mind. The giant ship, lack of Dynamax protections in place, that Drayden asked about team plasma…

"Opelucid was supposed to be destroyed." He whispered in realization.

The guard twitched, but otherwise remained still. Daniel tried to rub his face, but the cuffs prevented him. He settled for a sigh before reclining on the uncomfortable metal chair. Just before he could get comfortable again, the door was violently open. That same girl that identified as Champion Iris stared at him with narrowed eyes.

"Care to expand on that, mystery man?!" She entered, the full force of her draconian aura slamming into him. "Because from MY perspective, it's very destroyed!"

Daniel used his fairy aura to counteract hers by reflex. That made him realize two things. The first, his was much stronger, much denser than hers. The other was…

"You don't have protection against aura users?"

"Huh?"

"Huh?"

Both looked at each other in stunned silence for completely different reasons.

"We are off to a good start." Caitlin's melodious voice rang from behind Iris. She nodded at the guard, who took it as his signal to leave. "Greetings." She walked to Iris' side and bowed towards him.

"Greetings." He bowed back, training kicking in before he could realize. "I didn't catch your name, miss…"

"Caitlin." She curtsied. "I'm part of the Elite four. Psychic specialist."

"Pleasure to meet you, Elite Caitlin. My name is Daniel Joy."

"Pleasure is mine, Mr. Joy."

"Hold a moment!" Iris seemed to recover from her shock. She jumped into the table and examined Daniel close. "You know about aura?"

Now, Daniel felt he was between an Aegislash and a hard place. He could try to hide about the future, try to prevent anyone he knew from stop existing. "A bit late for that, I think." He mused, looking back at Iris, finding it hard to be intimidated by the young woman.

"I can tell you what I know, but I need access to one of my Pokemon." He crossed his fingers. "Porygon3, more exactly."

"Why?" Iris tone grew sharper, her face coming a bit closer. "What are you planning, mystery man?"

"I…need to confirm something."

Iris backed off and got off the table. She huffed and crossed her arms, considering his question.

"Granted." She nodded, frown still in place. "But Hydra needs to be in the same room. I don't want any funny business."

"I assume that is your Hydreigon? Yes, that is reasonable." He shrugged his shoulders. Caitlin took that as her cue to leave.

The wait was awkward. Iris' eyes never leaved Daniel apart from having to blink. "If that wasn't a reflex, I bet she wouldn't have blinked at all." He smirked at his own little observation. The woman didn't really take that too kindly, he figured. Her aura began to emanate from her once more, only to be stopped by him.

It was fascinating watching a, most likely, self-taught aura user. Thinking on that point, nobody he passed seemed particularly attuned to their aura apart from Caitlin. Hers fit the bill for psychic. Blocking hers was trickier, but still doable for him. "Can't be too careful with mind reading."

Before he broke the ice with an inane question, Caitlin returned. She handed him a Pokeball and returned to her previous spot. Before he could release Donald, Iris beat him to the punch by silently releasing her massive Hydreigon. Scales shined under the overhead lamp and their 6 eyes glinted in malicious light as they stared him down.

"Well, thank you." He nodded at the woman, who simple curtsied. "Come out, Donald."

The ball expanded and opened. A small red and blue duck appeared, flapping its wings. Its appearance was much more animal-like than its predecessors, especially Porygon-Z.

"Donald. Please pull the file on Opelucid city, Plasma incident."

[UNDERSTOOD, MASTER.]

A mechanical voice rang from the duck, startling everyone present. Even the Hydreigon seemed unsure how to proceed.

[OPELUCID CITY. 125 B.U. SUFFERED AN ATTACK FROM THE TERRORIST GROUP THAT CALLED THEMSELVES "TEAM PLASMA." A FLYING SHIP, FIRST OF ITS KIND, FIRED A WEAPON THAT FROZE THE ENTIRE CITY. ESTIMATED CASUALTIES: 45735.]

"Thank Arceus…" Daniel slumped, feeling relief coursing through his body. If Daniel still had the original article, that meant that this was not his past.

"Thank Arceus for WHAT!" Iris slammed her hands on the table. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN!"

"Well, it's hard to say." Daniel looked away for a second, looking at how to best breach the topic. "I'm not from around now."

"We know you're not from around here." She growled, looking even more irritated. "Where are you from?!"

"Well, I'm from the future."

"…"

"…"

"…"

It looked like he just sucker punched them out of nowhere. Both women stared at him in complete shock.

Caitlin tilted her head. "Was…that a joke?" She said, trying to steer the conversation.

"I think we'll need psychic interrogation." Daniel shook his head. "I don't think you'll believe me otherwise."

"It's either that or a therapist." Iris bit back, her face even more annoyed than before. She pinched the bridge of her nose for a second, muttering prayers under her breath. After a sigh, she looked him directly in the eyes and nodded. "Alright. On my authority as Champion of the Unovan Pokemon League, I authorize a psychic interrogation. Caitlin, as a current member of the Elite four and expert in psychic Pokemon, will precede it. The subject made a voluntary request for the psychic interrogation without any form of mental stimulation.

Caitlin nodded and released a Gothitelle in the already cramped room. Daniel looked curious as the maid-like Pokemon bowed towards their master and drew their gaze towards him. As their eyes glowed cyan, the world disappeared around him.

His life flashed before his eyes, just as dad said it would in his stories. Granted, those talked about near-death experiences, but it felt close to that. He could feel the alien mind of the Pokemon brushing against him, poking and prodding memories. His more…private ones left untouched because of protocol, he guessed.

Daniel could almost relieve them, too. Lily and Mothra being his first Pokemon. The first time his fairy aura flared up. His journey through the Kalos league. His first time inside the World League's main headquarters in orbit. Blowing his teenage mind away was the vast expanse of the world just below him. The absolutely brutal battles to reach the top of the world. The League's brushes against megalomaniacs. His brother ascending to the "throne" of Champion of Champions. The night he traveled back in time…

Before the melancholy could fully envelop him, he felt Gothitelle's mental link fade away. She sent him feelings of gratitude for his cooperation and shock from what she saw. "Mental links are not as strong now… maybe has to do with aura not being as well known." He guessed by Iris' expression earlier that it was not widespread yet. Something so…Fundamental in the top battles of the World League being absent was wrong.

"What…How?" Iris choked out. Her mind reeling from all the revelations she saw through the link.

"That is…a really good question, isn't it?" He laughed awkwardly, watching the pale women trying to regain composure. "This is going to be a long day…"