An eerie silence hung in the cool, damp, air of Mistralton Cave. The only sounds were random plinks and bloops of water droplets falling from stalactites. There were no sounds of life to be heard. Pokémon no longer inhabited this part of the cave; they'd all fled some time ago.
On a ledge overlooking a large chamber some distance inside the cave, a faint blue light slowly rose and fell in brightness as it cycled on and off. The source of the light was a small cylindrical device, standing on four, skinny metal legs. The cylinder featured a pair of round knobs rotating around a bearing, near the top of the device's body. The device was a collection of many parts; some given; some bought and some stolen; all cobbled together in a mostly elegant manner which looked functional but a little hodgepodge.
The slowly cycling light illuminated the creator of the device, who was propped against the cave wall, just an arm's length away. The creator's blonde hair appeared a ghostly, pale blue in the faint light. Her twin braids drooped over her shoulders as she slowly breathed in and out. Her eyes were closed and her head was canted to the side as Bonnie drifted in the peacefulness of sleep.
Tucked into the pocket of her messenger bag, Dedenne slept as well. Bonnie's hands were cupped together at her waist, holding the Pokéball of her other traveling companion, Charmander. The final member of the small group also sat with eye closed; however this one was not sleeping. Squishy slowly shifted as it peered out into the world, using its countless cells to see throughout the cave and its many entrances.
Time passed; it had no meaning inside the cave. The sun could rise and set and nothing would change inside their tomb-like abode. A small pile of snack wrappers and empty water bottles attested to the length of their stay. Bonnie softly sighed as she floated within a dream and then Squishy shifted!
The small, legendary Pokémon opened its eye, blinked a couple of times and turned around toward the young girl.
"Bonnie!" the psychic-capable creature gently nudged within the sleeping girl's mind.
The blonde haired girl hummed and smiled subtly. "Hiii Squishy…" she replied in a drowsy voice as she continued to sleep.
Squishy waited a moment and nudged again. "Bonnie!" it said with a bit more insistence.
At this, Bonnie's face scrunched up and she gradually pulled her limbs in as she woke up. She groaned softly and rolled her head as her eyes blinked open. She groaned again, ran a hand over her face and looked at the small, green Pokémon who'd awakened her.
"Squishy?" she questioned in an anxious voice.
At that moment, a soft, beeping sound began to emanate from the device. A small display lit up and showed a trio of red, yellow and blue bars all slowly increasing in height as the device tracked what was going on. Bonnie's eyes widened and she crawled to the device on all-fours. She stared at the display and then shut the device off. The girl from Lumiose City looked at her small friend and nodded.
"It's time," she said in a low determined voice.
Dedenne stirred and suddenly chattered as the electric type came awake. Now in total darkness, Bonnie shifted to a crouching position and held a finger over her Pokémon's mouth.
"Shhhh," she hissed. "They're almost here, Dedenne!"
Dedenne quietly chirped an acknowledgement and remained quiet. Bonnie reached to the side, opened a laptop which was sitting next to her and pulled out a compact camera she'd kept in the right pocket of her shorts. This sort of camera was typically used by people doing exciting things, like skydiving or surfing, and was designed to be easily strapped to one's body. Bonnie pulled the camera strap over her head and fastened it so it was mounted just above her forehead. She pushed a button on the camera and a button on the laptop. The image the camera was seeing appeared on the laptop and Bonnie smiled.
"Recording everything," she said confidently. She closed the laptop and the cave was once again plunged into darkness. Bonnie crouched down on one knee, held Charmander's Pokéball in her right hand and waited.
They didn't have to wait long. In less than a minute, strange sounds began to echo from one of the tunnels connected to the cavern they were in. A ghostly, white light slowly grew in intensity as something approached. Then, with an unnerving, ethereal warble, a pair of strange, jellyfish-like creatures floated into sight.
The creatures featured large, bulbous heads, a ring of fleshy frills and many tentacles descending from their heads. Both creatures were a pale cream color and glowed with enough light to illuminate the area around them. The strange visitors drifted toward the center of the cavern, moving without much sense of urgency. Below their bodies, their tentacles slowly swung and rocked. Nearly all of their appendages were carrying something.
Bonnie peered at the life forms she'd never seen before and made the quietest of whispers to Squishy. "So, that's an Ultra Beast?"
Though it was unnecessary, Squishy whispered a reply in Bonnie's head. "One of them. There are many different types which have been documented."
Bonnie pursed her lips and continued watching the creepy sight. "I wish we could have gotten those files from that Aether Foundation."
Squishy cocked its head to the side. "You can always try hacking them again…"
A rapid series of higher-pitched sounds emanated from the tunnel and a different entity joined the two jellyfish creatures. This one was also a pale cream color, but was shaped very differently. With stick-like legs and arms, a strange, tiered torso and extremely long antenna protruding from its head, this creature looked like a cross between a bug type Pokémon and modern art. There was some kind of thin, concave drapery which descended from the back of the creature's head and reached down to its feet. Bonnie had never seen anything like it before.
"They sure look strange…" the young girl mumbled. She stared at the Ultra Beasts and frowned as she finally got a good look at what they were carrying.
The jellyfish and modern-art-bug had in their possession everything one could imagine finding at a yard sale. Bonnie saw a toaster, a television, a small electric fan, half a dozen phones, metal pipes and something which looked like it had been ripped off an electric pole. The blonde haired girl stared at the junk with a puzzled and incredulous expression on her face.
"Why in the‑" she began. Her comment was cut short as the trio of creatures came to a stop and stared straight ahead in a trance-like state. The hairs on Bonnie's neck stood up and a subtle hum started to fill the cavern.
"IT'S STARTING!" Squishy exclaimed.
A grim expression took hold of Bonnie's features. She gripped Charmander's Pokéball in her right hand and stood up. "Okay, let's go!" she whispered. The girl from Lumiose City took a step and tossed the red/white sphere toward the Ultra Beasts. "Light it up, Charmander!" she shouted.
The Pokéball snapped open and a white flash of light resolved into Bonnie's third Pokémon. Charmander let out a cry as it flew through the air and performed a mid-air somersault. The fire type pulled four short, red sticks from behind its back, two in each hand, and furrowed its brow. Charmander summoned a ball of fire within its mouth and promptly chomped down on the heads of all four flares. A moment later, the cavern was illuminated by a harsh, flickering red light as the flares hissed to life. As Bonnie's Pokémon plummeted toward the cave floor, it tossed the flares toward the Ultra Beasts, bathing them all in glaring light.
Bonnie slid down the slope below the ledge and stumbled to her feet. Dedenne popped out of her messenger bag and perched on her shoulder. The electric type chattered a challenge to the Ultra Beasts and looked on with a determined expression. Charmander landed on its feet a few paces away. Squishy hopped down the slope and stood ready.
Bonnie let out a bombastic shout and spoke up in a loud voice. "OKAY, THE JIG IS UP!"
The Ultra Beasts…. didn't move. They continued staring straight ahead, seemingly unaware of Bonnie's appearance. Bonnie remained in her action pose for a few seconds while silence hung in the air.
"HEY, WE GOTCHA!" the blonde haired girl shouted again.
More silence followed and all of Bonnie's Pokémon began to appear puzzled. Charmander cocked its head to the side, Dedenne made a puzzled squeak and Squishy looked on with wary curiosity. Bonnie finally let out a deflated sigh and her shoulders slumped.
"Do they normally act like this?" she squawked in an annoyed tone. Before Squishy could reply, the Ultra Beasts finally moved!
All three of the creatures flinched simultaneously. The modern-art bug awkwardly planted its left leg to the side and began a counter-clockwise turn. The two jellyfish creatures began to turn counter-clockwise as well. All of them simultaneously came to a stop, facing Bonnie and her Pokémon.
Charmander softly chirped, Dedenne retreated behind Bonnie's neck and Squishy hardened its gaze. Bonnie eyed the strange Pokémon for two heartbeats and furrowed her brow. She opened her mouth to speak but the modern-art bug launched toward them in a blur of movement!
Charmander was knocked into the air and Bonnie didn't even have time to gasp as the strange, cream-colored bug bore down on her. She felt a tremendous impact and saw the cavern spin around, before her eyes. A second later, she slammed into the rocky floor and wheezed as breath was driven from her lungs.
In perfect synchronization, the jellyfish Ultra Beasts raised some of their tentacles and began to charge spheres of blue energy. Squishy glanced at Bonnie and then focused on the jellyfish Pokémon. The small, legendary Pokémon leapt into the air, just as twin beams of blue light simultaneously fired at the ground where it had been. The ground exploded and the cavern shook!
"ARE YOU ALL RIGHT?!" Squishy shouted into Bonnie's mind as shards of shattered rock rained down.
Bonnie writhed on the ground for a moment as she got her bearings. She rolled onto her chest and planted her palms into the ground so she could push herself up.
"I'M FINE!" she shouted back, as her vision briefly blurred. She quickly rose to a standing position and spit out some grit which had found its way into her mouth. As she did so she tasted blood. She took a step and felt a sharp pain in her right forearm. She glanced down and saw a very, nasty gash already seeping blood. The girl from Kalos gritted her teeth and tried to find the rapidly moving ultra bug.
The blur suddenly zipped across the cavern, causing flickering shadows to dance across the rocky walls. Squishy was impacted and thrown into a large boulder. Bonnie let out a distress cry and clinched her fists.
"Gotta stop it!" she growled. Dedenne let out a whimper and nuzzled into the back of her neck. A look of realization suddenly dawned on the young girl's face and she took several large strides toward the center of the cavern.
"HEY, ANTENNA BRAIN!" she shouted while shaking her right fist in the air. "COME OVER HERE SO I CAN SOCK YOU ONE!"
Bonnie glanced around and saw Charmander pushing itself to a standing position. A second later, she saw the strange bug screech to a stop, turn toward her and plant its feet. Bonnie swallowed and reached behind her neck for Dedenne.
"Use Discharge!" she shouted, squeezing her small friend as hard as she could.
Several things happened at once. Dedenne squealed, the bug accelerated into a blur, Bonnie closed her eyes and raised her arms in front of her face. Then, Dedenne cried out and electricity exploded outward in all directions! The blur slammed into the ball of sparking, yellow energy, causing Ultra Beast and preteen to go flying in opposite directions! Both crashed to the rocky floor and didn't move.
"CHARMANDER, QUICK!" Squishy commanded.
The small lizard responded and sent a stream of fire at the disoriented bug as it lay prone on the ground. The attack engulfed the cream colored creature but it showed no reaction. After a short pause, the Ultra Beast chirped out an eerie sound and calmly rose to its feet in the midst of the fire.
Bonnie groaned and struggled to stand up. Everything hurt and all she could smell was smoldering hair. She blinked her eyes and looked at the ultra bug. She watched the creature calmly and casually step out of the blazing inferno. As it moved out of the fire, some parts of its body remained alight. Despite being literally on fire, the bug showed no reaction. The young girl's mouth partially fell open as she took in the creature's lack of concern about itself. These Ultra Beasts really were monsters!
The jellyfish beasts let out synchronized cries and started charging blue spheres of energy again. Bonnie took a step forward and winced.
"Not this time!" the girl said, grimly. "Squishy, hit 'em back!"
Squishy didn't hesitate and immediately fired a sharply angled blast of bright pink and purple energy at one of the jellyfish creatures. The Ultra Beast didn't even try to dodge. It took the full force of the impact and was violently thrown backwards. All of the junk the creature had been holding was scattered across the cavern floor, along with a small, white, wedge-shaped construct. The jellyfish Pokémon slammed into the far wall and collapsed to the floor.
The second jellyfish beast continued as if nothing had happened and fired a beam of blue energy at Charmander. Bonnie's Pokémon cried out in dismay and dove for cover behind a stalagmite.
Bonnie limped forward and surveyed the battlefield. The ultra bug was strangely passive; one of the jellyfish beasts was down while the other was unscathed. The blonde haired girl looked at Squishy and was about to speak when light flashed and a rumbling, tearing sound assaulted their ears. A moment later, the space in the middle of the cavern stretched and distorted into a strange looking vortex. It elongated into a round portal, made up of grid-like line which stretched away into who-knows-where.
The air started to swirl and Bonnie shouted to be heard over the noise. "NO! STOP THEM BEFORE THEY GET AWAY!"
Before anyone could react, the still active jellyfish beast turned and floated through the portal. Charmander made a move toward the ultra bug, but it suddenly accelerated and zipped through the portal. Bonnie let out a cry of frustration and turned her attention to the remaining jellyfish.
"Okay, quick, capture that one!" she shouted, pointing at it.
Battered and bruised, Bonnie and her Pokémon approached the listless jellyfish as the portal roared just a short distance away. The preteen pulled out a Pokéball and tapped it to enlarge it.
"Okay, let's hope this‑" she began. Abruptly, the jellyfish violently flinched and let out a chilling cry. The tentacled creature shot into the air and rapidly moved one way and then another. It warbled and wailed, making noises which were utterly indecipherable but seemed primal and full of fear. Bonnie stood with eyes wide and mouth agape as she watched the jellyfish beast's sudden change in character. She had no idea what she was witnessing.
After several rapid movements and panicked screeches, the Ultra Beast gathered its tentacles up and dove for the portal. Captivated by the sight, Bonnie failed to react until it was too late. She gasped in dismay and cocked her right arm back to throw the Pokéball. Before she could, though, the jellyfish beast disappeared into the vortex. A second after that, the cavern rumbled and the portal collapsed!
"NOOO!" Bonnie shouted. She gritted her teeth, squeezed her eyes shut and let out a growl of extreme frustration. "SHOULD'A THROWN IT!" she ranted, stamping her feet and gripping the Pokéball with both her hands. "DARN IT! DARN IT!"
While Bonnie vented, Squishy hopped over to a weary looking Charmander and examined the fire type. Dedenne jumped off of Bonnie and watched the girl's angry tirade. After a few more self-deprecating statements, Bonnie let out a loud huff and dropped the Pokéball to the ground. She reached up to pull at her dual braids like she usually did when she was upset but found that her right one was missing. She felt the back of her head and discovered that a large bunch of hair had been roughly shorn off. Apparently the ultra bug had come very close to severely hurting her!
The Pokémon continued to watch as Bonnie slowly calmed down. She finally sighed and took a few steps in their direction.
"Good job guys, even though they got away," she said in as best an upbeat voice as she could manage.
Charmander chirped, Dedenne chattered and Squishy nodded. Bonnie finally let herself relax and took a step toward the scattered items the one jellyfish creature had dropped. The blonde haired girl winced as her right ankle stung in protest. She limped for a few strides until she reached a metallic toaster lying on the rocky ground. She picked up the device, her right hand leaving bloody streaks on the shiny metal.
"Why in the world would they want this?" she muttered, eyeing the appliance. She turned the boxy device over in her hands. "It's not even the good brand," she said critically. She stared at the toaster a few more seconds before shrugging and tossing it aside with a loud, metallic *clang.*
"Bonnie, you're bleeding!" Squishy said telepathically.
Bonnie limped toward another discarded device. "Yeah, I know!" she said in an off-handed manner. "I'll take care of it in a minute."
Charmander and Dedenne exchanged concerned glances and let out low moans. Bonnie picked up a Wi‑Fi hub and checked it over before discarding it. She looked around at a couple of phones and then her eyes settled on a white, wedge-shaped construct lying on the cavern floor. She made a thoughtful sound and limped over to it.
"Okay, what are you?" she grunted, picking up the strange object. She hefted the wedge in her hand. It was heavier than she would have guessed. The exterior was completely plain, smooth, and felt like it was made of plastic. The girl from Lumiose City frowned and turned the device over. Without warning, the object vibrated and started to brightly glow. Bonnie's eyes went wide and she opened her mouth to shout in surprise.
"BONNIE!" Squishy's voice thundered in warning.
Before anyone else could react, a sphere of green energy formed between Bonnie and the device. It expanded rapidly, throwing the preteen girl backward and the white wedge some distance away. Bonnie cried out in pain as her back slammed into the rocky floor. A second later, there was a powerful explosion from where the device had landed. Sand and small rocks fell from above and the cavern was filled with choking clouds of dust. Bonnie and her Pokémon wheezed and coughed for several long moments before the clouds began to dissipate.
"AUGH!" Bonnie exclaimed in frustration, pounding a fist into the rocky floor. "A self-destruct!" she shouted, angrily. "Seriously?!"
Squishy looked toward a small crater, marking where the device had exploded. "It would seem so," the legendary Pokémon, deadpanned.
Sitting on the ground, Bonnie pouted and slumped forward. She rested her chin on the palm of her left hand and spoke in a mumbling whine.
"Now we don't have anything!" she grumbled.
With dejected expressions on their faces, Charmander and Dedenne looked down at the ground. Bonnie huffed and sighed in frustration. She reached up to brush some dust from her hair and her hand ran over the camera still strapped to her forehead. In the chaos of the encounter, she'd forgotten all about it. Her eyes immediately brightened and she quickly stood up.
"Quick, let's check the recording," she said energetically, dashing toward the ledge they'd camped on for so long.
The trio of Pokémon made tracks to follow the young girl as she scampered up the small incline to the place where her laptop was. Once there, Bonnie sat down, opened the device and laughed in triumph when she saw the camera was still recording.
"Okay, let's see what happened," she murmured, beginning playback of the recording. She quickly moved through the Ultra Beasts' arrival and their actions. She paused at a few places in the battle but kept going until the point where she started examining the scattered objects. She got to the point when she'd picked up the white wedge and paused the video.
"I thought I saw…" Bonnie said absently as she slowly advanced the video, one frame at a time. Charmander, Dedenne and Squishy all crowded around as Bonnie reached the moment when she'd flipped the device over.
In the split-second before the object had started to explode, the camera had recorded a clear view of the device's underside. The surface was made of the same white material as the rest of the device but there appeared to be a half-dozen, small, rectangular metallic plates built into the wedge. However, that sight wasn't what drew the attention of the four adventures. With lips tensely pursed and brow furrowed, Bonnie advanced the video forward a few slides and then back a few slides, checking and double-checking what they were looking at. Finally, she let out a heavy sigh and spoke in a grim voice.
"Looks like you were right, Squishy!" Bonnie said.
The small, green, legendary Pokémon stared at the screen. "I had hoped that I wasn't," Squishy replied in a distance tone.
On the screen, impressed on the white surface, difficult to fully make out but impossible to deny, was a logo that everyone from Kalos could instantly recognize. It was something which made Bonnie's stomach churn and Dedenne softly whimper. It was the flame-shaped emblem of Team Flare!
Bonnie clinched her blood-encrusted right hand into a fist and ground her chin against her knuckles. "Lysandre!" she hissed through clinched teeth, in a voice full of venom.
Squishy subtly nodded. "Lysandre," the legendary quietly agreed.