Annie stared at the clown costume laid out on her bed. After everything that had happened, everything that was about to happen... She couldn't bring herself to put it on like it was a normal day.
"I shouldn't be going to work," Annie sighed, pulling the Light Stone from her bag and turning it over in her hands for what felt like the millionth time. It emitted a faint noise, like a whining. She hoped that was a good sign – Reshiram was responding to her. "I have to challenge the League. I should be training."
Ariados hopped up onto the bed, eyes hopeful. She was always eager to train.
There was a loud crash in the living room and Annie grimaced.
"What was that?" she called out. Silence.
Annie made her way through the apartment to the source of the noise. Her television lay on the ground, surrounded by dirt and shards of a ceramic plant pot. On the TV unit sat Genesect, chomping down on her Monstera plant. Venonat was beside it, looking up at her sheepishly with an expression that said: "Wasn't me..."
"Hey, that's not food, buddy." Annie leant over and gently prized the plant from its steel claws. It chattered its jaws at her sulkily.
Genesect was a chaotic presence, like having a toddler. It was always hungry and curious, but completely oblivious to its own strength. Since she had brought it home, she had very little furniture left that wasn't broken or chewed. There had been multiple fatalities amongst her Piers and Marnie figurine collection.
Annie didn't mind, though. She'd spent so much time running around after her new friend that she'd barely had time to lament about her upcoming showdown with N or the void that Galvantula's absence left in her life. Genesect was huge, nearly as tall as Annie, but it acted like a baby discovering everything for the first time. It was inconvenient, but in a way, kind of cute. As she watched Genesect guiltily place the broken TV back on the unit, screen facing down, she chuckled. Genesect needed somebody to take care of it and she needed a funny little guy to take care of.
As Annie gathered the shards of terracotta pot scattered around the living room, she imagined never putting that damned costume on ever again. Quitting her job, blowing up her chance to become a Gym Leader... Giving up. The idea sparkled like a jewel.
'That's what I do, isn't it? I give up.' Annie thought dejectedly. 'But my dream... I'm not going to give up on that. I'm going to challenge the League and stop Team Plasma.'
Annie smiled as Crustle and Venonat began scuttling along the floor helping her tidy up. Even Genesect picked up a couple of pieces, but didn't seem to fully grasp what it was doing because it just put down the one it was holding when it picked a new one up. Her Pokémon, her friends, were all that mattered. A future with them was the dream she wouldn't give up.
"I'll go to work today," she said resolutely. "But after I stop Team Plasma, after I've proved that I don't quit everything I start, then I'll consider dropping the clown costume."
Her day passed with about as much tedium as she expected. Battling ten-year-olds with Sewaddles didn't hold quite the same importance to her now that she knew N was out there, preparing to defeat Alder and end life as she knew it. By the time the Gym closed for the day, she was itching to train. It was already dark and freezing cold as she stepped out onto the streets of Castelia City. This close to Christmas, the streets were still rammed with people, carrying handfuls of shopping bags or swaying drunkenly on their way to the next bar.
Annie headed to Absentia Natural Park, a huge sanctuary of greenery amidst the sprawling concrete metropolis. It was quiet there, never empty, but big enough that nobody would bother her as her Pokémon battled into the night.
She began with the usual routine, practice battles between her Ariados, Frosmoth and Crustle. Ariados clearly missed Galvantula, the two used to get intensely competitive, chasing each other around for hours. As they trained, Annie found herself looking down at Genesect's Friend Ball.
"Okay guys, wrap it up. I think it's time to see what our new friend can do." Annie beckoned over her bugs and released Genesect into the park. The purple bug stretched its metallic limbs and clicked its jaws, looking oddly peaceful in the middle of the serene greenery. For a Pokémon that looked like it belonged more on a battlefield than a park, it seemed perfectly content to poke around, exploring the bushes with the curiosity of a child.
Annie, on the other hand, had no idea what to do with it. She folded her arms, feeling the biting chill of the night air through her thin jacket. "Okay, big guy. I don't have a clue what attacks you know."
At the word 'attack', Genesect's eyes locked onto her. It stayed frozen, as if waiting for instruction.
"Righto, let's try something simple first. Uh... attack that tree. Give it whatever you've got." She pointed to a sturdy-looking oak tree.
Genesect stood motionless for a moment, its red eyes locked on her, and Annie wondered if it even understood her. Then, in a sudden blur of movement, the cannon on its back started to glow ominously. Before she could react, a blinding beam of energy shot from the cannon, slicing through the air and smashing into the tree with a deafening explosion.
The tree didn't just fall over. It disintegrated.
Annie's eyes widened in horror as she watched the oak – and a good portion of the surrounding park – disappear into a smouldering crater. Twigs and ash rained down around her.
"Blimey..." She swallowed hard, waving away the lingering smoke as she glanced up at Genesect, who stood there, unfazed by the destruction it had just caused. "Good job, I guess?"
Genesect let out a small, satisfied chirrup as a flake of charred bark landed on its chrome snout.
"Just a minor note. If we're battling somebody, they really ought to be alive at the end of it. Please don't vaporise a real opponent."
Genesect simply stared at her with those glowing, unblinking eyes, awaiting its next command. Her other three Pokémon seemed to exchange a few hisses before unanimously deciding to watch from the other side of the park. She waved meekly as they abandoned her.
"Let's try an attack that doesn't involve the cannon," she ran through a mental list of basic attack commands. "How about Metal Claw? You've got claws, right? Use that, but let's pretend you're battling somebodies beloved Lillipup, okay?"
Genesect obediently lifted one of its metallic claws and swung it with terrifying precision at a nearby boulder. There was a sickening crack as the stone split clean in half. One half flew several feet, knocking into another tree, while the other half crumbled to dust at its feet.
"Right." Annie muttered, scratching her head as she stared at the carnage.
As Genesect gazed at her expectantly, she couldn't help but feel a bit unnerved. This Pokémon was terrifyingly strong. There was something unsettling in the way it moved, so calculated and efficient, like it had been built for this exact purpose.
'Who would create a Pokémon like this?' she thought sadly. It was almost as if it were a weapon, designed for she looked down at the damage it had caused with a simple Metal Claw, she realised that there was a high probability that this Pokémon had escaped from a military base. 'If that's the case, there could be people looking for it. Maybe I should be more careful where we train. If the wrong person sees it... Well, they didn't even teach it how to eat. They're not having it back.'
"Well, at least we know you've got firepower," she grimaced. "But I don't think I'll be using you against the gym challengers... or anyone, really. Sorry, buster."
Genesect clicked its claws together, looking oddly proud of itself, and Annie couldn't help but chuckle. Despite the destruction, there was something endearing about the innocence in its eyes.
"Well, that's enough vandalism for one day. Let's get out of here before the park rangers show up asking about their tree." Annie recalled Genesect and shouted for her other Pokémon.
Nothing.
"Oh, come on, where are they?" Annie grumbled, walking deeper into the park. As she walked, the trees got thicker around her and the footpath turned to dirt. The lights were getting further away and she squinted into the dark woodland. "Not funny, it's time to go!"
Annie pressed further into the woods, the dark swallowing her up as she called for her Pokémon again. "Ariados! Crustle! Frosmoth!" Her voice echoed faintly, lost among the dense trees. She cursed under her breath. It was freezing, and she was definitely too far in now. She could barely see the path she'd come from, and the city lights were long behind her. "Where are they?"
Suddenly, there was a shift in the air, almost imperceptible but unmistakably wrong. Annie's skin prickled with unease, her instincts screaming at her to leave. She spun around, intending to head back the way she'd come, but before she could move, a shadow slid across her vision.
"…Come."
The voice came from nowhere and everywhere all at once. Cold, emotionless, and uncomfortably close. Annie startled, but before she could react, hands - icy and unyielding - gripped her arms, lifting her off the ground. She felt that familiar feeling of neither walking nor flying as the world around her blurred into darkness and she was escorted deeper into the woods.
"…Ghetsis. We brought the one you wanted."
The Shadow Triad deposited her roughly in a small clearing, their figures barely distinguishable from the surrounding darkness. Annie stumbled, trying to regain her footing, her heart pounding in her ears. Ahead of her, Ghetsis emerged from the shadows, his long robes trailing over the dirt. His red eyepiece gleamed in the dim moonlight.
"Excellent," Ghetsis' voice cut through the silence, a cold, twisted smile playing on his lips. He stepped forward and held out his hand expectantly. One of the shadows jerked her bag off her shoulder and held it out to Ghetsis. She lunged for it back, but the icy hands held her firmly in place.
Ghetsis pulled out the Light Stone and held it up to the moonlight, turning it this way and that. There was a long, tense moment as she glared at him, but eventually he dropped it back into her bag and threw it back to her. Suspiciously, she clutched her bag to her chest as the Triad's grip on her arms eased.
"It seems that you have obtained the Light Stone. I congratulate you on a job well done." he said without a hint of kindness.
"You're not stealing it?" Annie asked through gritted teeth. If they tried stealing it, they'd be meeting the business end of her Genesect. It was too dangerous to use in battle, but she'd make an exception for Ghetsis Harmonia Gropius.
"It is my lord N's thought that the two holders of the legendary Pokémon should put their beliefs on the line and strive to find which is the true hero." Ghetsis replied with a sneer.
"So, you want to see the two dragons battle and destroy Unova like in the old legends? Is that what this is all about?" asked Annie. She had never spoken to Ghetsis at length about anything before. She knew she didn't like him, but beyond that, she had no idea what his motivations were.
He paused, as if savouring the moment, then shook his head slowly. "No. You may have the Stone, but there's no chance whatsoever that the legendary Pokémon will accept you as the hero." Ghetsis drew closer, close enough for Annie to see the way only half of his face moved. "From N's infancy, I provided him with the education required to become the hero of legend. Indeed, he has been so acknowledged by the legendary Pokémon. Such purity of purpose is his."
"So, N is just another one of your followers. The people you twist into doing your bidding. Like the sages... Like Colress." Annie replied, her voice quietening as she mentioned Colress. He said he'd been fired from Team Plasma, but if that was true, why was he at Dragonspiral Tower?
"Myah-ha-ha-ha!" Ghetsis let out a cackle that chilled her to the very bone. "Oh, Annie Foxglove. Are you still sulking about that? You weren't very memorable at Blueberry Academy, no, I had to wrack my brain when lord N told me about you. But the one thing I did remember, you were sweet on Colress, weren't you? The glares you'd give me when he chose to spend his time with Team Plasma instead of you. Oh, I remember those."
"Shut up!" Annie shouted, for lack of a better comeback. He was right, of course the bastard was right. She and Colress had been friends, or something like that, until one day he just... Shut off. He started to look tired all the time. And he spent the rest of his free time at the academy with Ghetsis. Eight years ago, that was absolutely what she was angry at him for. But not anymore. "It's your so-called 'liberation' I'm sulking about, not school politics!"
"The liberation of Pokémon of which I... Of which Team Plasma speaks is the separation of Pokémon from foolish people! That's the truth! All trainers will become helpless to resist us! We alone will be able to use Pokémon!"
"I'm going to stop you. I won't let you separate Pokémon from people" Annie replied, her grip on her bag tight enough to leave imprints of the fabric on her skin.
"The preparations are complete!" Ghetsis waved his arm in a grand, sweeping gesture. "When my perfect plan is set in motion, first a few gullible Pokémon trainers who are unable to resist Team Plasma will release their Pokémon. Then that number will become a hundred, then a thousand... In no time, even the Gym Leaders and the Champion will become unable to fight us. Having a Pokémon will be considered a bad thing! Even sad little trainers like you will be unable to face public opinion and will release their Pokémon! That's the kind of world we'll make!"
"You're a lunatic..." Annie breathed. The weight of his ambitions was suffocating.
"I am no lunatic... I am the perfect ruler of the new world," Ghetsis leaned in slightly, his smile widening into something predatory. "So, if you're not willing to hand over your precious Pokémon, I suggest you search for some courage... because you're going to need it."
With a flick of his hand, the Shadow Triad stepped forward, their presence pressing in around her once more. Without another word, they escorted Annie back through the woods, leaving her to wrestle with the weight of Ghetsis' words and the cold dread that clung to her like frost.
She fell to her knees as they dropped her back into the well-lit field. Ariados, Frosmoth and Crustle rushed over to her and she embraced them tightly.
"We've got to get to the Pokémon League." she told them softly. She didn't return them to their balls as they walked back to her apartment. She didn't want to be alone.