Disclaimer: I do not own any of the material appearing in this story. The OC's belong to their respective owners.
Warning: LONG
Alessandra stirred in her sleep as she slowly rose, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. She looked around, seeing that she was back in her dorm room as the previous night's events started to come back to her.
Nearly getting humbled by Ruby, the Elite Four, Geeta throwing a curveball on her with the Z-Move, fighting Nemona… her one on one duel with Gloria…
Snooooooooore
Alessandra turned her head to see Balto on her bed snoozing at the foot of her bed and snuggled up next to Raffia. Alessandra moved her arm and pinched herself to make sure she wasn't seeing things.
A smile curved on her lips as she gently stroked his back, remembering how he was just a small Growlithe before evolving into a fierce and loyal Arcanine.
She got out of bed to make some breakfast in her room as she looked at her schedule, noticing that it was the weekend so that there'd be no classes. Perfect.
Once she made breakfast for herself, which was just some toast and a muffin, she went to get herself dressed, sporting a dark green beanie and a blue crop top that exposed her shoulders as she sported a heart shaped diamond necklace while also wearing skinny jeans and sandals.
She then brought out her makeup kit and proceeded to go for a cosmic blue eyeshadow while applying some black eyeliner, then added in some glitter to her eyeshadow before applying some dark green lipstick on her, then applied pink nail polish on her nails and drew hearts on them.
Alessandra smiled and turned around to see Raffia and Balto getting up and stretching before hopping off the bed. "Morning, you two."
"Umbre."
"Woof." Balto smiled as Alessandra hugged Balto, kissing him on the forehead… and then her eyes widened, seeing she got lipstick all over his fur. She snickered as she pulled out a washcloth and wiped the lipstick off of him.
She then walked outside with her Pokemon accompanying her as she walked outside of the academy and headed into Mesagoza for her free time, only to notice Cian and Carmine in the midst of a battle. "Hmm?"
"Oh hey, Aless." Gloria waved.
"Hey Glori. What's all this?"
"Oh, Cian wanted to warm up before he took on Zinnia again, and Carmine wanted to help him out with that."
"Ah, cool."
"Sinistchaaaaa!" Sinistcha cried after Staravia used Aerial Ace on her, as her Grass Tera Jewel disintegrating as she fell to the ground in defeat.
"Staaaaarrrr!" Kevin cried.
"Sinistcha is unable to battle! Cian wins!" Nemona declared.
Carmine chuckled. "Not bad."
"You weren't all that bad yourself." Cian said as he turned to his sister. "Morning, sleepyhead."
"I guess I did sleep in…" Alessandra chuckled while Nemona was busy complimenting Carmine's battle prowess, causing her to blush and scratch her cheek.
Suddenly, a bright glow caught their eyes as Kevin started to evolve into Staraptor.
"Raaaptor!" Kevin cried.
"Sweet!" Cian fist pumped. "Knew it was just a matter of time."
"Alriiiiight~! Sounds like I'm up." Zinnia said as she walked over, high fiving Carmine on the way over as Cian took off to heal up his team real quick.
"Okay… so Balto, I'm curious… where and why exactly did you run off anyway?" Alessandra wondered as Balto turned to look at her and gave off a sad melancholic whine.
"...Wot? Oh…" Gloria frowned.
"What is it?"
BGM: Dream (Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX)
"He's sayin' that the tree falling on the house freaked him out and he wanted to leave… but he thought you were following him because he wanted to lead his pack to safety in case the whole house collapsed." Gloria translated as everyone overheard the conversation.
"What…?" Alessandra wondered.
Balto continued with soft growls.
"The wind was too powerful for him to go back, so he had no choice but to run with the wind and run inside a cave to ride the storm out, but the cave entrance collapsed. The next day, he dug himself out and found a Wattrel with an injured wing, who was blown into Galar from the storm that started in Kalos."
More growls.
"WHAT?!" Gloria yelled in surprise.
"What is it?"
"They went into Hulbury and found… Rose and Oleana where the latter put him into a veterinarian clinic."
Alessandra's expression darkened. "What…"
More growls.
Gloria snickered. "Turns out he felt something off about Rose so he bit his hand. Oleana called him a naughty pup and he bit her hand in retaliation."
Alessandra giggled, scratching the Arcanine by the ears. "Good boy~"
"Then they found Flareon in a kennel and the three escaped inside of a fisherman's boat when Wishiwashi rescued them and… took them to the Rekjyavik region where they were stuck there for a few months because of the Legendary blowin' up a volcano and using the pyroclastic flow to block out the entire region where no one gets in or out for a few months."
"Oh, I've heard about that Legendary. No one likes it." Alessandra sighed.
Several more growls.
"That's when they ran into Snom who wanted to become a Frosmoth to explore the world below her. Then later on, Balto evolves because he was so famished, he thought a Fire Stone was… a burger?"
Alessandra snickered. "Oh, you hungry doofus…"
"Oh… and then they head back to Galar to yer old home, but by then, it was too late. Ye guys had moved to Wyndon, so they looked around the world for seven years looking for ye. They even scoured Galar a few times before Kamek found them in the Crown Tundra when the lad was on the brink of giving up."
"Seven years…" Alessandra whispered. "You were looking for us for so long while we gave up so easily…" She closed her eyes and planted her forehead on his. "You are the most loyal friend we know…"
Balto let out a few growls, closing his eyes and nuzzling against her. Alessandra giggled. "I love you too…"
"Ack!" Hop smacked his head. "I just remembered something!"
"What is it?" Alessandra wondered.
"Okay, so it was a few days after you moved away, right? I was wandering around Postwick when I saw an Arcanine running off with a Snom, Kilowattrel, Flareon and a Wishiwashi in a fish tank on the Arcanine's back! I thought nothing of it at first, but now that I think about it… bloody hell, I briefly saw Balto!"
"What?!"
"Holy shite… I remember ye tellin' me this and I just thought it was weird!" Gloria said, her eyes widening.
"Right?! So did I!" Hop turned to Alessandra guiltily. "Agh, Aless, I'm so sorry! I didn't realize that-"
"Hoppy… don't blame yourself. We all saw him as a Growlithe. Seeing an Arcanine run off with a fish tank on his back? I wouldn't have thought nothing of it either." Alessandra said. "Neither would my bro."
She gave him a reassuring smile. "Don't worry about it. I would've done the same thing…"
"Honestly, I would've done the same." Marnie said.
"I think I saw them run around in Sinnoh at one point…" Victor folded his arms.
"Hmm, I think Nessa and I saw them riding on Wishiwashi when we were hanging out in Hulbury at one point…" Sonia said.
"Come to think of it, I think I saw them wander around Hammerlocke a few years back…" Bede mused.
"It's in the past. Let's not worry about it." Alessandra then pulled out two Ultra Balls and called out the Kilowattrel and Snom.
"Kilo!"
"Snom~!"
"Now, what to name you two…" Alessandra wondered as two ideas came to her as she pointed toward Kilowattrel. "Orville-"
"Kilo?!" Kilowattrel said in surprise before smiling, thankful it didn't sound crass at all. "Kilo Kil."
Alessandra then picked up Snom gently, looking at her in her hands. "-And Charlotte~"
"Snom? Snom Snom Snom!" The Snom jumped up happily as she scurried over her arm and nuzzled against her neck. "Snom Snom~"
End BGM
Cian walked over to the main square once he was ready, scratching Balto behind the ears on his way by. "Alright, let's have that rematch."
Zinnia smirked. "I've been looking forward to this." She said, backflipping and then landing gracefully. "Show me the power of your bonds!"
Cian activated a Pokeball. "Gladly."
BGM: Battle! Zinnia - Pokemon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire (GaMetal)
Lore-Keeping Dragon Gal - Zinnia
Zinnia sent out Goodra while Cian sent out Chien-Pao.
"Gooooodraaaa!"
"Cut Cuuuuuut!"
Chien-Pao immediately used Swords Dance before immediately using Sacred Sword on Goodra. The Goodra responded by using Muddy Water, pushing Chien-Pao away as Goodra unleashed Thunderbolt on him. Chien-Pao shook it off and used Snowscape and hid in the snow while Goodra slightly shivered and used Dragon Pulse in the snow.
Chien-Pao jumped out and used Icicle Crash, striking Goodra as she flinched from the icy touch from the Icicles, giving Chien-Pao time to use Ruination to finish off Goodra.
"Draaaaaaa!" Goodra cried as she fell to the ground.
"Not bad!" Zinnia smirked as she recalled Goodra and then sent out Tyrantrum.
"Truuuum!"
Cian switched out Chien-Pao. "Alright, Tim. Show me what you got!" He said, sending out Wishiwashi.
"Wishi! WISHIIIIIII!" The Wishiwashi cried as his Ultra Ball opened up as more Wishiwashi came flying out and joined Tim as he went into his School form. "WISHIIIIIII!"
"You managed to get all his fellow Wishiwashi into one Ultra Ball? That's awesome!" Zinnia said.
"I'm wondering how that even works…" Blake said, watching while eating a doughnut.
"I think it boils into the "It's complicated" territory." Weiss said as Blake simply shrugged.
Tyrantrum kicked back his clawed foot and then charged forward, immediately using Dragon Claw while Tim clashed with Aqua Tail, both moves connecting but Tyrantrum was the one who was knocked silly.
Tyrantrum got back up and used Stone Edge, but Tim unleashed Hydro Pump to eradicate Stone Edge while also hitting Tyrantrum as he was knocked away and fell to the ground in defeat.
"Hey, look at you. That's a new personal best~!" Zinnia teased, recalling Tyrantrum and sending out Altaria as Cian switched him out.
"Let's go, Homura!" He called out, sending out Flareon.
"Flare!" Flareon said proudly, staring at Altaria as she smirked, proceeding to twist her paw and moved it forward to challenge the Altaria.
Here we go again… Balto, Orville and Charlotte all thought.
Altaria proceeded to use Dragon Pulse but Homura swiftly jumped to the side and then proceeded to use Flamethrower on Altaria, who proceeded to use Flamethrower of her own to cancel each other out.
Altaria then flew up and unleashed Moonblast on her, but Homura dove out of the way as Altaria let out her Hyper Voice, causing Homura to wince as Altaria flew down and used Dragon Pulse, but Homura used Flamethrower again, both moves hitting each other but Dragon Pulse pushed Flamethrower back and struck Homura.
"Flaaaare!" Homura cried as she got up and let out a cocky smirk as Altaria charged up Moonblast, but then she stepped on the ground as a plume of lava came shooting out and struck Altaria.
"Tariiiii!" Altaria cried out as Homura wrapped herself in flames and launched herself, leaping into the air and slamming into Altaria with Flare Blitz, causing a mini explosion that knocked both back and while Homura winced, she smirked and spat out a poisonous Smog, striking Altaria as Homura tucked and rolled backwards, sliding a few feet as Altaria tried to fight off her now poisoned state as she tried to use Moonblast, but Homura dove out of the way and used Flamethrower, striking Altaria as she barely held on… only to succumb to the poison and fell over KO'd.
Zinnia whistled. "That Flareon just seems like she's the life of the party." She said, switching out Altaria for Noivern, where Cian switched to Kevin as both Pokemon flew up into the air, with Kevin immediately using Agility.
Noivern immediately used Air Slash on him, but Kevin swiftly avoided the move as he flew in and used Aerial Ace, slamming into Noivern as she immediately hit him with a point blank Dragon Pulse, pushing Staraptor away as he fell to the ground as Noivern chased after him, but Kevin recovered and flew up, hitting Noivern with Aerial Ace again as an uppercut, knocking Noivern back.
With a growl, Noivern attempted to use Super Fang on him but Kevin flew to the side and flew in with Close Combat, knocking Noivern away who responded with a few Air Slashes as Kevin avoided these but got wing clipped by one of them, causing him to wince and nearly fell but recovered.
At that moment, Kevin flew higher into the sky. "STAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR…"
"Noi!" Noivern fired Dragon Pulse at him right as Kevin came down as a massive blue aura surrounded him, dodging the first Dragon Pulse. Noivern's eyes widened as she used another Dragon Pulse.
"RAAAAAAAAAAAAPTOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOR!" Kevin cried, slamming into Dragon Pulse as he pushed through with Brave Bird, slamming into Noivern as a powerful explosion occurred, knocking them both out of the sky as they both slammed into the ground, both KO'd from the attack.
"Brave Bird already? Talk about determination." Zinnia chuckled as both of them recalled their Pokemon as Cian sent Chien-Pao back out right as Zinnia sent out Salamence.
Chien-Pao unleashed Swords Dance as Salamence flew in and chomped down with Fire Fang, but Chien-Pao jumped away and used Ruination, hitting Salamence dead on. With a growl, Salamence tried to bite down with Thunder Fang but Chien-Pao avoided it, but a few sparks from the Thunder Fang crackled into Chien-Pao's whiskers.
Salamence roared as he tried to Crunch down on him, but Chien-Pao avoided it and used Icicle Crash, slamming into Salamence to knock him out for the count.
End BGM
Zinnia chuckled. "You've definitely improved…" She recalled Salamence and flashed a smirk. "...Now~"
She brought out her Master Ball, activating it.
BGM: Battle! Primal Groudon/Kyogre (Pokemon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire)
"Can you handle THIS?"
She threw the Master Ball high into the air, where Rayquaza was sent out and let out a roar.
Guardian of the Skies - Rayquaza
"Cut Cuuuut!" Chien-Pao got ready.
"We can handle this!" Cian smirked.
"You hear that, Ray Ray? He thinks he can take you down easily." Zinnia said as Rayquaza let out a growl as if he was chuckling as Rayquaza flew high into the air and disappeared into the clouds where they all saw a powerful glowing light… and then came back down fully Mega Evolved.
Competitive Pokemon's Kryptonite - Mega Rayquaza
At that moment, a powerful wind blew through the area, nearly blowing everyone away as the tables and chairs were blown down at the food court.
"Ah geez… I've heard how ridiculously strong Rayquaza is when he Mega Evolves!" Alessandra said, trying to hold herself steady while Cian and Zinnia held their footing, the latter smirking.
"Cut CUUUUUUT!" Chien-Pao cried, unleashing Icicle Crash… but before he could even do it, Rayquaza slammed into him with Extreme Speed and then to add insult to injury, he flipped around and smacked his tail into Chien-Pao, sending him crashing into the food court and knocked him flat within seconds.
Cian gasped in surprise as he recalled his KO'd Chien-Pao as he sent out Hercules, who immediately used Flip Turn and came back out of his Pokeball in his Hero form, folding his arms defiantly against Rayquaza.
Rayquaza unleashed a Dragon Pulse but Hercules quickly avoided the attack and then focused his energy into his fist, dodging another Dragon Pulse and then jumped up and Focus Punched Rayquaza in the head, only for Rayquaza to headbutt him and then blasted him away with a point blank Hyper Beam, slamming him into the ground as Hercules was knocked out almost immediately.
Cian recalled the Palafin and then sent out El Dorado. "Dengo!"
El Dorado immediately threw a few Shadow Balls at Rayquaza, who simply tanked it and proceeded to use Dragon Ascent as El Dorado shot Power Gem into Rayquaza, the latter slamming into Gholdengo at high speeds.
"Deeengooooo!" El Dorado cried as he fired one last Shadow Ball before collapsing, but the Shadow Ball missed.
Cian exhaled, recalling El Dorado and closing his eyes. I'm definitely at a disadvantage here… sure, I got plenty of Pokemon left, but they'll just be easy pickings. If Chien-Pao couldn't do it, then I doubt the other three will have much success.
An idea came to him.
It's worth a shot.
Cian sent out Aaron, who was now sporting a dark hat and a cape that looked similar to Sir Aaron himself while also sporting a pouch on his waist.
"Ah… my finest creation and it's absolutely stunning on that Lucario." Atticus said as he was watching the fight.
End BGM
"Alright Aaron… I know we don't see eye to eye, but we need to band together to take down Rayquaza. Are you with me?"
Aaron got in a stance, aura flowing through his paws. "Car!"
Cian smirked. "Now let's defy this Mega Evolved dragon!" He said, strapping on a Mega bracelet and then tapping it as Aaron proceeded to Mega Evolve.
"LUCAAAAAAAR!"
BGM: Defy the Legends (Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX)
Zinnia smirked. "Good. I was hoping you wouldn't make this too easy on us!"
Rayquaza immediately used Extreme Speed on Aaron, slamming into him but Aaron held on to Rayquaza's mega evolved lower jaw line as his fist turned to metal and delivered a Bullet Punch uppercut to stop Rayquaza from shoving him into a building.
Aaron pushed him back and then fired a barrage of Aura Spheres that Rayquaza swatted away but then got hit by a few extra Aura Spheres. Rayquaza launched into the air and then came back down with Dragon Ascent, but Aaron backflipped to avoid the attack as he immediately activated Bone Rush and rushed toward Rayquaza.
Rayquaza mockingly laughed, knowing full well that Bone Rush would do nothing to him as he fired a Dragon Pulse, but Aaron smirked as he slammed Bone Rush into the ground, using it as a pole vault as he launched into the air to avoid the Dragon Pulse, then Aaron came down and Ice Punched Rayquaza in the head, then Ice Punched him again as Rayquaza grabbed him and threw him back.
Aaron used Bone Rush again, this time flipping over and swinging down right as Rayquaza swung his tail, both attacks clashing as Aaron backflipped away, gracefully landing as right as Rayquaza unleashed Hyper Beam on him.
With no time to escape, Aaron put both hands forward and blocked the Hyper Beam as best as he could, feeling the intense stinging that came with it until Hyper Beam finished. Aaron let out a growl and launched himself toward Rayquaza, throwing a few Aura Spheres at him where Rayquaza batted away with his tail and then used Dragon Pulse, but Aaron slid underneath.
Rayquaza smirked, thrusting his tail toward Aaron but he immediately had both paws turn to steel and blocked Rayquaza's sharp tail, bouncing off of the steel hands as Aaron used an uppercut with Bullet Punch to knock Rayquaza back before he came down with an Ice Punch.
With a snarl, Rayquaza unleashed another Hyper Beam on him but Aaron used Bone Rush and twirled it to try and deflect it, as it was disintegrating the Bone Rush and causing Aaron to wince, but he stood strong as the Hyper Beam died out, giving Lucario enough time to throw a few Aura Spheres at him point blank.
Rayquaza let out a growl as Aaron backflipped away, only to get hit by Extreme Speed as Aaron slammed into a wall, causing him to fall on one knee as he recovered. Rayquaza let out a chuckle and then used Dragon Pulse, but Aaron used Bone Rush to deflect it by spinning it and then got up and ran toward him. Rayquaza snarled as he flew up into the air as Aaron slammed Bone Rush into the ground and jumped up on top before launching himself, his paw turning to ice as Rayquaza came down with Dragon Ascent as Aaron pulled his fist back as they both let out a massive cry/roar before connecting both attacks… but Rayquaza slammed into him and crashed into the ground, sending up dust.
End BGM
Aaron was then tossed out of the dust cloud as his Mega Evolved form dissipated as Rayquaza emerged from the dust, chuckling with a smirk.
You gotta be kidding me… Cian thought.
Rayquaza let out a victorious roar…
SLAM!
…Until he collapsed as his Mega Evolved form dissipated as well.
Zinnia looked on in disbelief while Cian let out a sigh of relief. However, Zinnia smiled. "Heh… hahahahaha! Oh MAN, I was beginning to wonder if you'd ever pull it off!" She said as Rayquaza slowly rose up, where the former used a Full Restore on him and tossed him a Sitrus Berry.
"I knew I had several Pokemon left, but I was worried that they would be desert if Aaron didn't pull it off."
Zinnia chuckled. "You have Floette, don't you? Pretty sure a Fairy move would done the job."
"Compared to Hyper Beam?" Cian deadpanned.
"Ah… right, good point." She chuckled as she walked over and hugged Cian as Aaron slowly rose with a small chuckle.
"Good job out there, bud." Cian said, offering a fist bump.
"Car…" Aaron nodded, returning the fist bump.
"Come on, let's go patch you up." Cian smiled.
"Yeah, let's do that before Arven's folks sends us on some wild suicide mission." Zinnia said.
"Wouldn't surprise me if they'd do that…" Arven mumbled.
"We have your back." Cinder said, rubbing his back along with her mothers.
Yang chuckled. "Glad they're in high spirits." She said as she turned her head to see Ruby in her own world with concern written all over it. "Rubes? You feeling okay?"
"Oh… I didn't have much sleep last night." Ruby said, drinking coffee to keep herself awake.
"Hmm? What's wrong?"
"Well, I decided to call Penny last night-"
"Hey Penny~!"
"Ruby~! It's so good to hear from you."
"How you holding up?"
"Oh, I'm… hanging in there. Guess what? I have a boyfriend now!"
"You what?!" Ruby said in surprise.
"Yeah! It's Keebo. Turns out we were both hot and bothered for each other. He's the best boyfriend ever!"
Ruby giggled. "Oh, that's wonderful! I'm so happy for the two of you! Does Nagisa know?"
"Yup! I've been meaning to call you about it but… things got chaotic and slipped my mind. Luckily dad, Aunt Miu, my boyfriend and the other eggheads are cheering me up."
"What's going on over there?"
"Nothing major! Just…" Penny looked away sadly. "It's SAPR…"
"SAPR? What about her? Is something wrong?"
"I thought this would be an easy fix. All of us did. We'd repair her, get her upgraded… stuff like that. But… it's like there's something that's preventing all of us from making progress. I've checked Cyberspace multiple times but I don't see anything out of the ordinary when I check on her core. It… it's befuddling even Souda, Nitori, Futaba, Sage and even Eggman! We even had the Gadds take a look at her the other day but even they're stumped…"
"Not even the Gadds… not even Jade could figure it out?"
"Unfortunately, no. The Crygors are doing all they can to find a solution to our problem but…" Penny sighed, closing her eyes. "What if I don't get her back, Ruby? I don't want that… none of us do… dad's stressed, GLaDOS is nearing her limits of what she can try to do to help… everyone's at their wit's end with whatever problem is going on."
"Penny…"
"I know… I should be more chipper about this but, I'm genuinely worried. And… maybe… I don't know if "stressed" is the right word, but I think I'm experiencing stress for the first time."
"Penny… give yourself a hug for me, okay? As soon as I'm back from vacationing from Paldea, I'll give you the biggest comforting hug and we'll get through this together… even if we have to rebuild her from scratch."
"Right… thank you, Ruby. Tell my bro I said hi…"
"SAPR is still out of commission? That's… concerning." Yang said.
"I know. I couldn't sleep last night because I was trying to come up with ways to figure out how to get SAPR out of that mess but I kept running into walls."
Yang patted her on the back. "We'll figure it out. I'm sure they'll get her up and running in no time… and if they don't, we'll just have to fight whatever's holding SAPR back."
"Right…"
"But let's hope they find a way before we get involved." Yang smiled.
Meanwhile, with Nagisa and Penny…
"Hell of a fight, huh?"
"A little windy for my taste, but yeah…" Penny wiped her glasses and put them back on. "So, as I was saying before Rayquaza made me feel like I was gonna fly like a kite…"
BGM: Dream
"The… truth is… I've had a crush on you ever since we met but I… I didn't know how to go about it. I was afraid of being rejected because… I didn't think you'd want to date a "troubled kid" like me."
"So what made you have the courage to come talk to me?"
"Well…"
Earlier, before Rayquaza Mega Evolved…
"Hmm?" Giacomo noticed Penny looking at Nagisa longingly as he was oblivious to it while eating a bagel. "Oh, I see… You're thinking of that Nagisa boy, aren't you?" He teased.
Penny blushed in embarrassment. "Huh?! Th-that's… n-none of your business!"
"Hey, leave her alone." Eri said sternly. "She's gonna flip her lid if you keep prodding her like that."
"Thank you, Eri…"
Eri giggled as she then whispered in her ear. "Still, I think it would be wise if you tell him sooner or later…"
Penny groaned. "Not you too, Eri…"
"She's got a point there, Penny." Mela nodded. "Trust me, if you don't build up the courage to tell that Nagisa guy how you really feel, then it will only end up making things more complicated for the both of you." She said bluntly.
"Talk about blunt…" Penny sighed. "Alright, I'll go talk to him."
Back in the present…
"You can thank some boneheads for that."
"Everyone needs a push…" Nagisa chuckled.
"Yeah…"
"But, I understand where you're coming from. I've… also been down this road."
"You have?"
"Considering you've spied on Remnant before, I'm sure you've heard about our pasts?"
"I've heard bits and pieces, but not the entire thing." Penny said. "What happened on your end?"
"Well…" Nagisa whispered in her ear.
"Mhm. Uh-huh… oh… okay…"
Her face immediately turned pale as he continued.
"What in Arceus' hell…?!" She whimpered. "Oh… oh no… ooooh…"
Nagisa pulled away. "Yeah…"
Penny rubbed her face. "Well, uh… thanks for the nightmares I'll be getting tonight… it's not your fault, I was the one who pried."
She then shook her head. "But… why did you even listen to that Monaca hag in the first place? You should've known something was wrong."
"Part of me thought there was something off… but, she had me wrapped around her finger, forcibly kissing me to get me to "behave". Hell, she had other tactics to make sure the rest of us were in line."
Penny grimaced. "So she had all of you on a tight leash no matter what…"
"Yeah…"
"But… against all odds, you became a better person out of it and changed for the better. Just like how I did…" Penny sighed wistfully. "I guess we do have a lot of things in common after all, huh?"
"I guess so." He chuckled lightly. "We're both "troublemakers" who want to make things right again after we managed to get ourselves to get ourselves out of the dark path we regret taking."
Penny nodded. "Right…"
Both of them looked up at the sky together. "I'm willing to make this work… you?"
"Yeah…" Nagisa nodded. "I just gotta… ignore the green haired gremlin in my head."
Penny softly smiled. "I'll help you out in any way I can." She said, and without even thinking about it, she planted a small kiss on his cheek, causing him to blush as she realized what she just did.
"I… uh… crap, why did I do that?" Penny groaned. "Sorry, was that too straight forward? I-"
"No, it… it felt kinda good…"
"O-oh? W-Well… I… it felt good to do…" Penny shyly admitted.
Nearby, the rest of Team Star watched the duo.
"Atta girl." Mela smiled.
"Just a kiss on the cheek? She should've gone all in… I mean, it would've been way more roman-"
POW!
"Yowch!" Ortega whimpered, a massive goose egg on his head courtesy of Eri.
"Let's have it blossom naturally."
"Good idea…" Ortega groaned.
End BGM
Nearby…
"Tell it to me straight, Mewtwo." Weiss said. "Is my hope truly back? I feel like I'm back to myself but I don't know if I'm just going crazy because I feel like I'm not there yet…"
"From what I can sense… some pain still lingers within you." Mewtwo responded. "How curious… your hope has come back from when Team Star just so mentions "greatest treasure", and yet, from within your heart, there is a piece missing."
Weiss sighed. "I guess I'll never go back to my old self…"
"Don't beat yourself up. Your hope is outweighing your pain, do not let this last missing piece discourage you."
"Then… how am I ever going to get it back? Where or… when will I get it back?"
"Only time will tell." Mewtwo said as he looked over at the Great Crater of Paldea. "I've a feeling it is closer than you'd think."
"Hey!" Cian called out to everyone. "Geeta just told us where we would need to go!"
Geeta walked over. "There is a structure just near Medali. If you face the crater, you'll see a tunnel and there you will find a structure where you can go into Area Zero. I must warn you though… it is treacherous down there, which is why I am coming along with you."
"Are you sure it is wise?" Mewtwo asked.
"Yes. I figured the Top Champion should look into this as well." Geeta smiled. "And, I've told Rika that she wouldn't need to worry about me as I told her I'd be in a business meeting."
"With whom?"
Earlier…
"Hey Larry, can you pretend that I am visiting you for a business meeting?"
Larry raised an eyebrow while on the phone. "What are you up to?"
"Oh, nothing important. I just don't want Rika to get the wrong idea."
"You know very well she gets exasperated by your antics."
"Tell you what? I'll give you a ten percent bonus this month."
"Mmm…"
"Twenty percent."
"Hmmmmm…"
"Thirty percent for… five months."
"You got yourself a deal."
Back in the present…
"I suppose that works…" Mewtwo deadpanned.
Geeta chuckled. "Shall we then~?"
"Toma ya! We got La Primera coming with us!" Nemona cheered.
"Well, that makes me… a little more comfortable." Arven said.
"Woo! Area Zero! Let's go!" Lemmy exclaimed.
"Haha! Yeah! This is gonna be great!" Bowsette grinned.
Alessandra stood up. "Alright, guys. Let's go see Area Zero."
"We'll hold down the fort!" Giacomo said. "We'll keep the old man busy."
"Yeah, you guys take care. I'm not one for jumping in large craters." Mela admitted.
"Okay. We'll be back before you know it." Penny said as the twins sent out their respective Raidons and hopped on, with Hop and Zinnia deciding to join them as they took off toward Medali.
Beyond Medali…
"Here we are." Arven said as they stood before the structure that was hanging by the cliffside. He didn't look all happy to be back but he took a deep breath as he walked in as everyone else followed.
"It's a little too dark for my liking…" Ruby said.
"Agh, maybe there's a sensor here somewhere." Meryl responded.
"I got it!" Pit waved his arms in the air. "Heyyyy! We're in here! Hellooooo!"
"I don't think that's gonna work." Claude said while Penny wandered off.
"There had to be a switch somewhere." Mewtwo said.
"In this darkness? Good luck finding it…" Hiyoko said.
"The lights were on earlier when I came here the first time…" Arven mumbled.
"Maybe we need more folks waving their arms." Sun said as he joined Pit as Neptune joined in.
"By the power of myself, I command you to turn on the lights!" Jinx yelled, but nothing happened. "Uh… please?"
The lights came on.
"Ha! Thank you very much." Jinx smiled.
"Actually… I just found the switch to turn on the lights." Penny said as she walked back. "You're welcome, by the way."
"Ooooh… so much for that…" She sighed as Erza patted her on the back.
"Biometric identification in progress…"
BGM: Professor Sada/Turo (Pokemon Scarlet and Violet)
"Hello, Alessandra and Cian. We have been expecting you." Turo said.
"And it seems you have brought some formidable allies." Sada added.
"Uh… I'm sorry, who are you guys?" Penny wondered.
"Those… are my parents. Probably." Arven mumbled.
"Confirming ID numbers. Welcome, Ruby Rose, Yang Xiao Long-"
One long identification later…
"-And Geeta."Turo finished.
"Did… did you do all of that in one breath?" Flandre wondered. "There's no way ordinary humans would have done that flawlessly."
"They do sound a bit robotic… I wonder if it's the radio frequency…" Geeta mused. …Unless…
"Not at all freaky…" Dipper folded his arms in suspicion.
"How did you get Waddles?! He was in my bag!" Mabel said.
"Oink!"
"Did you tell them about us?" Penny wondered.
"When would have I had time to do that?" Arven asked.
"To begin with, I'd like you all to make your way down into the Great Crater of Paldea. You can reach the lower chamber using the elevator you can see to your right." Sada instructed.
"Um… mom? Dad?" Arven spoke up.
"...Please proceed below."
Arven sighed. "'Course…" He mumbled as a comforting hand was placed on his hand courtesy of Cinder.
"Are you guys like… not on good terms?" Sun wondered.
"Probably not…" Neptune agreed.
"Let's just go…" Arven mumbled as they walked over to the door as it automatically opened up.
"Heeeey, the door opens automatically!" Nemona grinned.
"No… I feel like someone else is operating it from somewhere else." Penny responded.
"Once you step through, you will be above Area Zero. Alessandra, Cian… you have brought the Raidons with you?" Turo asked.
"Yes." Alessandra nodded.
"We thank you for bringing them on your many adventures. If you utilize their gliding capabilities, you should be able to descend into the depths to reach Area Zero."
"Whoa, hang on, what do you mean "gliding into the depths"?!" Sonia asked in surprise. "Are you sure this is an elevator?!"
"Affirmative. When you reach the bottom, we will get in touch once again. We hope your trip is uneventful."
""Uneventful"...?" Kokoro grimaced.
End BGM
They all approached the edge toward a sea of clouds, where Perrin wasted no time taking a picture.
"Definitely picturesque." She said.
"Yeeeah… but uh… there's no actual elevator to this!" Hop said. "How are we going to get down?"
"Simple. We take the scenic route." Jinx walked over toward the edge and turned around, giving everyone a salute. "See ya at the bottom~!"
She proceeded to lean back and fell into the ocean of clouds, causing Alessandra to shriek in horror, her hands over her mouth in horror.
"My word!" Geeta exclaimed in shock as Cian was too much in shock to say anything.
Penny blinked. "Did she just…?" Her eyes widened. "OH MY ARCEUS, SHE JUST JUMPED WITHOUT A PARACHUTE!"
"And I thought I was fearless. You go girl~!" Nemona smiled.
"Oh no no no no no! We gotta go after her! We gotta make sure she doesn't turn into a pancake and… and… WHY are the rest of you not reacting properly?!" Arven exclaimed.
"Because this seemed like something she'd do." Ren said.
"She's fine." Jaune reassured.
"JNPR told us about her antics and… yeah, this seems like something she'd do and survive." Carmine looked down. "...I say hopefully."
"Honestly, I'd probably do the same thing." Zinnia said casually.
BGM: Road to a Hero (Kingdom Hearts)
"Welp. Let's not keep her waiting." Ruby said as she then jumped off as WBY, JNPR, Erza, Sun, Neptune, Mery, Claude and Pitl followed her.
"Are… are all of y'all suicidal or something?!" Alessandra asked in disbelief.
"Nah, that's just how they do things in their world." Marnie waved it off as she walked over and swan dived off the cliff.
"...I know being part of the Koopa Troop has made her more fearless but… goodness." Bede shook his head.
"I swear, none of y'all are normal." Arven groaned as Neo gracefully dove off.
"That's the beauty of it, Arven." Cinder walked over to the edge. "Being normal is boring~" She activated her Maiden powers and jumped off with her family and Eddie accompanying her as Zinnia decided to backflip off.
"Make way, coming through!" Kotoko ran ahead and jumped off. "CANNONBALLLLL!"
Mahiru climbed on Basalt and helped up Hiyoko as Carmine and Perrin also climbed up as Basalt took a running leap and jumped off as Mewtwo flew down with Flandre.
"Wh-what is going on?!" Cian demanded to know.
Gloria chuckled. "Yer just not livin' until ye tried it~" She said as she immediately went into her Latias form and jumped down as Silver flew down while Mabel took Dipper's hand and then pulled out her grappling hook as she fearlessly ran off.
"Mabel! We should probably reconsider this! Mabel?! MABEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLL!" Dipper cried as he fell into the abyss with Mabel.
The twins looked at each other and shrugged as they hopped on their Raidons, though they looked a bit nervous.
"Agia…"
"It's gonna be okay. We're here." Alessandra said, stroking his head as Cian did the same as the Paldeans and Galarians climbed in as the Warriors of Hope also climbed on.
"Wait, isn't this a little too much for them?" Kokoro wondered.
"I hope not…" Jataro said as the Raidons both had their confidence return as they jumped off of the platform and started to glide their way down.
End BGM
Down below…
BGM: Area Zero (Pokemon Scarlet and Violet)
Jinx opened her eyes as she pulled out a button and pressed it as an inflatable tube came out of her back as she landed on the grass and bounced off as she did a few graceful flips and landed on the ground.
"Wooo! Nailed it~!" Jinx smiled as one by one, everyone landed softly and gracefully on the ground.
THUUUUUD!
…Or make a large crater with the sheer force of both Kotoko and Basalt combined.
"AAAAAAH!" Dipper screamed as Mabel fired at a tree, latching on to it and swinging forward as she slid against the grass along with a pale Dipper.
"Grappling hook~!"
"You okay, Dip?" Kotoko asked, casually brushing herself off.
"I will be… I was planning on riding on one of the Raidons…" Dipper shuddered as the Raidons soon landed on the ground, but they looked intimidated by the time they landed.
"Can… can someone check my pulse for me? I… I think I need a reset after all that…" Penny said.
"Ah, you're fine." Arven waved it off.
"Agia…" Miraidon whimpered.
"Agia Ga…" Koraidon said as they went back into their balls.
"Did they just go back in?" Penny wondered.
"They're probably intimidated… not that I blame 'em." Arven mumbled.
"So this is Area Zero…" Geeta mused, looking around her. "I never thought this place would be so… breathtaking."
"Wooooooow! It's a whole new world down here! I wonder if there's any cool new Pokemon I haven't seen before!" Nemona's eyes sparkled.
At that moment, Ogerpon came out of her Luxury Ball. "Ponya Pon Pon…"
"Hmm?" Geeta turned to Ogerpon. "Does this seem familiar to you?"
"Pona Pon Ponyo Poni!"
"She's saying that she's been here before with her best friend, Momotaro." Gloria translated.
"Fascinating~" Geeta smiled.
"Pono Pono Ponya Pona Pon!"
"And also she met a very special friend earlier and wants to go see him."
Geeta still smiled. "How adorable~ I wonder if we'll meet him down here?"
"Oh hey, we were wondering when you guys would get here." A voice said as they turned to see Nyx approaching along with Yagami, Umber and Dedede.
"Nyx!" Ruby smiled. "Wait, you've been here too?"
"Yeah, Yagami came to get me to help Aless out with a trial. It was so hilarious." Nyx giggled.
"I stepped on every trap imaginable… I don't know how I managed to do that…" Alessandra sighed.
"By the way, we saw your fight with Gloria. That was pretty epic." Nyx said. "Yagami was on the edge of her seat."
"We couldn't tell who was gonna win that!" Yagami admitted.
"Yeah, hell of a show there." Umber nodded.
"Oh! Alolan Champion Umber Lightwave? I was not expecting to see you here." Geeta said.
"Yo. Nice to see you in person after all those online meetings we had with the other champions." Umber said.
"Indeed~" Geeta giggled.
"Still wish it could've been at a more reasonable hour…" Gloria grumbled.
"We decided to have a picnic down here while we waited, because we had a feelin' y'all would show up." Dedede said.
"We were going to have one above ground earlier, but this freak wind came out of nowhere and blew off all the food. I've never seen Moltres so angry…" Nyx said.
"Freak wind?" Zinnia wondered before it dawned on her. "Oh. Ahehehe~" She looked away while innocently whistling.
"Oh, and by the way… he just showed up before you guys got here." Nyx said, pointing off toward the railing, where they saw Captain Toad looking over the area.
Pause BGM
BGM: Toad Brigade (Super Mario Galaxy)
"Ooooh, this place looks ripe for exploring~!"
"Captain Toad?!" The non-Paldean (Minus the Galarian Twins and Penny) folk said in surprise.
"Hmm?" Captain Toad turned around. "Oh hey guys! Thought I'd do some solo exploring and saw this crater that was ripe for explor-waaah!" He yelped as the Paldeans and Penny crowded him.
"What is this… a talking Paldean Amoongus I wasn't aware of?" Alessandra wondered.
"Nice backpack." Carmine said. "Do you have poisons in there?"
"That's the cutest Amoongus I've ever seen…" Perrin said, snapping a picture.
"Is that a pickaxe?" Arven wondered. "I didn't know Amoongus held them."
"ACK! BACK AWAY! BACK! I AM NOT AN AMOONGUS! I AM A TOAD!"
"...So, a Paldean Politoed then?" Penny wondered.
"No! Why are you guys thinking I'm some sort of Pokemon?!"
"Now ya know how I feel!" Dedede said.
"I see his track record of him popping up in random spots continues…" Yang said.
"Yeah." Nyx nodded. "Oh, by the way, y'all remember the Koopa Bros? They showed up at my house yesterday looking for "revenge" or whatever."
"The Koopa Bros? I haven't heard from them in a long while." Blake said.
"Oh, really? I was beginning to wonder if he ever got the letter I sent to him…" Ruby said.
"You sent him a letter?" Weiss asked.
"Yeah, I apologized for the butt whoopin' I gave him and sent him a cookie. …I wonder if he ate it. That cookie's a year old at this point." Anime tears ran down her cheeks. "That poor cookie was never eaten and has become stale… the most heartless vile thing you could do to a cookie… how dare you!"
Nyx chuckled. "There there…" She patted her on the back while Weiss looked at Ruby with a deadpanned "Really?" look in her eyes.
"Alright, alright! BACK OFF! I am not a Pokemon!" Captain Toad warded them off. "Sheesh, it's like they've never seen a Toad before." He mumbled as Nagisa whispered in his ear. "Hmm? Oh… ooooh, so they've been living under a rock something fierce, eh? Well, I suppose a grand tour wouldn't hurt once we're done…"
End BGM
Resume Area Zero BGM
At that moment, Alessandra's Rotom Phone came up. "We see that everyone is safe and accounted for." Turo said.
"Yeah."
"However, there are five intruders here that have not been given permission. They will be properly disposed of in their final hour."
"WHAT?!" Alessandra asked.
"That was a joke. …Maybe." Turo said, causing them to sweatdrop. "Regardless, you should make your way and meet us at the Zero Lab, the deepest part of Area Zero. However, the entrance to the lab is barred by four locks installed on the exterior, which we cannot unlock."
"You can't unlock it by yourselves?" Hiyoko raised an eyebrow.
"Hmmm… curious…" Geeta said.
"On your way to us, you must visit four research stations that were constructed inside the crater. At each station, you will be able to disable one of the locks. Do so as you make your way down. We hope you succeed."
"Okay, anyone else getting red flags from that?" Nyx asked.
"Yeah, I don't think that was a joke. We did trespass buuuuut I didn't think it was that big of a deal since, hell, I didn't know anyone was down here aside from a few structures." Umber said, glancing at a few stations to the side. "Of course, they could have been abandoned, so I thought nothing of it."
"Well now… we all know how well we take threats." Dedede pulled his hammer out. "Come on, we got some work to do."
"What he said! Let's get to that first lab and activate it!" Nemona said with her fist pumping.
"Woo…" Arven unenthusiastically waved his hand.
"We got your back, Arven. We'll get to the bottom of your dumb parents' neglect." Roy said as they walked down as they looked around, seeing Girafarig and Farigaraf graze, Frosmoth and Venomoth flying around while Corviknight wandered around freely while not having to worry about a Tinkaton.
Several Pawmi ran around as Geeta glanced over at Rei who walked around with an umbrella over her head. "Excuse me, miss… Rei, was it?"
"Hmmm?"
"I do not mean to pry, but does the sunlight bother you so much?"
"Well, you see… I am the product of an experiment gone horribly wrong. I was just an ordinary girl and my parents wanted to fuse things together with an invention they made. I wanted to volunteer because it sounded fun, so I fused together with a Boo, which is a ghost in my world and… well, the machine exploded after the fusion and I permanently became a human/ghost hybrid. Because of that, I'm… very sensitive to sunlight."
"Wait, you're actually a ghost? I thought you just didn't get out that much." Arven said.
Rei sighed, putting her arm out as they actually heard her arm sizzling for a few seconds as she pulled away with a whimper.
"Oh! That's… oh my gosh, that's horrible." Nemona said.
"That's why I carry an umbrella with me when I wander outside. The sun burns me…" Rei mumbled.
"Are you actually a ghost though?" Carmine wondered as Rei smiled, proceeding to sink into the ground. "Whoa! I guess she is…"
Rei appeared behind Carmine and gently leaned behind her ear. "Boo."
"Wah! Whoa! Okay, that's pretty cool. Sorry about the sunlight though…"
"Oh, it's no matter. I preferred the shade when I was human anyway, this is nothing to me~"
Bowsette giggled. "Ain't she a cutie?"
"I guess so." Carmine chuckled.
"We had Jade who didn't get out much. Her skin complexion was almost as bad as yours." Nyx said. "Luckily we fixed that."
"I was beginning to wonder why she seemed pinker than usual…" Ludwig said.
"Yeah, that was definitely a good thing. Last thing we need is our science gal getting a lot of health problems." Yagami said with Umber and Nyx nodding in agreement.
"At least she's lucky to even absorb the sun properly…" Rei said.
"Soooo, Kotoko, was it?" Penny changed the subject. "What's with the pink aura I saw before you jumped?"
"Oh, I was just using my goddess powers."
"Ah, coo-... Wait, what?"
"Athena gave me her blessing and her power. Took me a bit to master it, but I got it down."
"Okaaaay and who's Athena…?"
"Greek goddess of wisdom, war and handicraft."
Penny rubbed her chin. "I think I've heard of such a Pokemon in the Athens region at some point… been a while though."
"Hey, is that the first lab?" Carmen asked, pointing toward it.
"Looks like it." Ruby nodded.
"Sweet. Let's go." Alessandra said.
"Mooooora…"
They were stopped as a few Glimmora flew over to them.
Pause BGM
BGM: Battle! Wild Pokemon - Area Zero (Pokemon Scarlet and Violet)
"Mora Mooooraaaaa!"
"My my, Glimmora like to hang around in here?" Geeta mused. "How wonderful."
"Pona Pon!" Ogerpon readied her cudgel.
…Suddenly, there was a loud roar as an unexpected monster jumped in.
A Rajang.
"Whoa! Is that a Rajang?!" Nora exclaimed.
"Oh hey! I remember this big guy!" Nemona said. "Dude was terrorizing Medali one day when I was visiting, so I fought him off! Hell of a wrestler, I might add…"
"You warded off THIS guy?!" Yang said in surprise.
"Si! I wonder if he remembers me…"
The Rajang spotted Nemona and let out a loud roar, beating his chest wildly.
"Ooooh, he does remember me!"
"Not to rain on a reunion, but I don't think he's happy to see you!" Penny said as more Glimmora arrived to surround everyone as a few Glimmora pushed Nemona toward the Rajang before focusing their attention on everyone else.
"Guess we have to fight our way out!" Alessandra said.
"Soooo, how's the wife and kids…?" Nemona asked as Rajang slammed his hands in the ground and roared in her face, saliva shooting out and hitting her. "Oooh, that rough, eh?" She wiped her face as she activated a Pokeball. "I'll calm ya down!"
The Rajang slammed the ground and raised his arms to try and clobber her… but Yang swooped in and punched the Rajang in the face to knock him down.
"Well, so much for being calm to try and get him to fake me out." Nemona shrugged as Yang immediately went into her Shin form. "Ooooh~!"
"You gonna stand there gawkin' or are you gonna help out?"
Nemona smirked, immediately calling out a Tauros. "Let's do this!"
The Rajang got back up, shaking it off and roaring at the duo.
Destruction Incarnate - Rajang
At that moment, Basalt barreled through the Glimmora as he joined the fight with Mahiru riding on top of him. "Got room for another?" Mahiru smiled.
The Rajang charged toward Yang as she jumped in, both of them pulling back their fists as they delivered a strong haymaker toward each other, both of them striking as they were knocked back.
Rajang pounded his chest while Yang cracked her neck, her eyes turning draconic as Rajang charged ahead as Yang immediately summoned her dragon wings and flew up into the air, and then came back down, slamming into the Rajang with a powerful explosion that sent a shockwave that nearly knocked Nemona off of her feet.
"Whoa! Is she normally like this?!" Nemona asked with her eyes sparkling.
Yang got off of the Rajang, who grabbed her by the ankle and slammed her into the ground and started to pummel her, but Yang breathed fire to get him off of her as she kicked him off, then sprang back up.
Yang launched herself toward the Rajang, but he immediately grabbed her and shoved her into a wall, but then Tauros came running in with Raging Bull and gored the Rajang, pushing him back as Basalt ran in and smacked him away with his tail and fired a laser.
Yang dropped to the ground and landed on her feet as the Rajang roared as he got up and spat out a laser but Yang breathed fire, both moves connecting but as both of them upped their power but Yang powered through and engulfed the Rajang in flames, then she flew over and launched a Shoryuken to knock the Rajang up into the air as she flew up higher and heel kicked him to the ground.
With a draconic roar, Yang conjured up a massive ball of fiery energy as she threw it down as it transformed into a majestic golden dragon. The Rajang got up and fired a laser to try and slow it down… unaware that Nemona had an idea and whispered into her Tauros' ear, then she got close to the Rajang and pulled out a red cloth.
The Tauros kicked back its hoof and charged as Nemona swiftly pulled the red cloth in time as Tauros gored the Rajang right in the butt, causing him to roar and lose his concentration while the Tauros picked up Nemona and ran as the dragon fire slammed into Rajang and exploded, the shockwave enough to scatter away the Glimmora that already weren't doing so hot.
"Ole~!" Nemona flashed the peace sign as the smoke settled as the Rajang was knocked down on the ground as Yang landed.
End BGM
Resume Area Zero BGM
However, the Rajang got back up and let out a huff… but gave Yang a nod of begrudging respect before leaping away to lick his wounds in peace.
Carmine, meanwhile, had witnessed Nemona using Tauros to gore him where the sun didn't shine as it was more focused on Yang.
"Siiiigh… what a woman…~" Carmine said dreamily.
"Seriously?!" Penny and Arven said in disbelief.
"Cute~" Geeta giggled as they made their way to the first lab, but Cian noticed something sticking out of the ground as he picked up a Shiny Stone.
"Fancy." He mused as he put it in his pocket and then wandered into the lab with everyone.
"It's a bit… stuffy in here." Dipper said.
"I've dealt with worse." Flandre responded.
"This facility was constructed eighty seven years ago as a way station for those surveying Area Zero." Sada explained.
"Ooooh, so that's why there's a bed~!" Nemona smiled.
"Only one? What, did everyone else sleep on the floor?" Penny snarked.
"Hope they brought sleeping bags." Jaune said.
"If one of you would be so kind as to disable the first lock on the lab using that central panel." Turo requested.
Alessandra walked over to the panel. "Let's see… where is the… aha!" She pressed the button.
"Well done. Please continue your efforts at the remaining research stations."
"Mmmph…" Arven grumbled.
"Hey, what's with the journals lying around?" Nyx wondered as she picked one up. "Huh?"
"What is it?" Yagami asked.
"We've determined that this energy crystallization is linked to the being we call Terapagos. The interlocking hexagonal plates that comprise Terapagos's shell must somehow cause this phenomenon—which we've dubbed "Terastallizing.""
"What's a… Terapagos?"
"Pon Pon! Poni Pon Pona Pon!" Ogerpon cried urgently.
"She's sayin' that Terapagos is her friend that she made a long time ago." Gloria translated.
"This Terapagos is your friend? Why, I'm sure this Terapagos will be happy to see you again after so long~" Geeta smiled, patting her on the head.
"Poni Pon~" Ogerpon smiled.
Nyx giggled as she walked over to the next journal.
"Thanks to our prototype Tera Orb, we secured corporate funding for our research and made a laboratory in the lighthouse near Cabo Poco. Someday, though, we'll return to the crater and resume our studies of these crystals."
"Got a little too obsessed over it…" Arven grumbled.
"So Terastallizing has only been done recently… how interesting…" Ludwig mused. "These professors are top notch, if I say so myself."
"Let's go. We got three more of these to find." Alessandra said as they walked out and started to walk down the slopes toward the next research station.
"So… I know you haven't seen your family in a long time, but have they always checked in growing up?" Cinder asked.
"Well… there were the phone calls, but they've always been spotty due to the cell service being horrible. I've gotten a lot of emails from them, but… they just stopped a few years ago." Arven said.
"So you've been in the dark for that long…"
"I know. And at some point, I just had enough and wanted to get to the bottom of it. Unfortunately, a crazy Pokemon came out of nowhere and seriously harmed Mabosstiff."
"Seems to me they got so caught up in their research, they had forgotten your entire existence." Mewtwo said.
"Or perhaps the internet finally gave out down here." Dedede said. "...Maybe."
"Something is just not adding up here…" Umber said. "Don't the professors sound robotic to you guys?"
"They do, honestly." Hiyoko nodded.
"Honestly, they did sound a bit robotic before but I thought it was just Rotom messing around with the audio." Alessandra said.
"Ro-to-to…" Her Rotom Phone mumbled sadly.
"Oh, don't worry about it, lil' guy." Alessandra giggled.
"Come to think of it, they did act really stiff when we visited their lab…" Perrin said.
"You saw that too?" Mahiru asked.
"I have a keen eye for detail. Trust me, I know a body is stiff as hell when I see one."
"Iris would probably pick up on more details but she's not here. What is she doing anyway?" Nyx wondered.
"Well, we know she's been hanging around Rantaro a lot and has been visiting Emerald a lot too…" Yagami said.
Pause BGM
Meanwhile…
"Waaaah!" Red yelped as he was being hit.
"It's like hitting a pinata… but there's no candy." Iris frowned as she was holding bat.
"Maybe you gotta hit it harder." Emerald said.
"Oooh, try the head!" Rantaro said.
"HAVE MERCY!" Red yelled.
BONK!
"OWWWW!"
"At what point do we feel bad for these guys?" Futaba wondered, eating some chips.
"Not sure…" Jade said.
Back with them…
"Maybe they're on a date." Yagami guessed.
"With Emerald being the third wheel?" Nyx raised an eyebrow.
"Maybe they're playing matchmaker with her." Captain Toad said.
"Just like how some folks were spying on us during our first date?" Umber asked.
"Ugh, thanks for the reminder…" Nyx rubbed her head, feeling a soft headache coming on.
"I can't remember if we had anyone tailin' us…" Masaru said as he glanced over to see Penny gently rubbing Kokoro's ears. "Soft, aren't they?"
"I've heard about the Faunus in your world but to feel the actual ears up close is surreal…" Penny mused, as Kokoro accidentally purred, causing her to blush.
"Well, what do you know… you actually do purr~!" Kotoko teased.
"Q-quiet…" Kokoro groaned with a sigh. "It's embarrassing."
"Blake purrs all the time." Weiss said.
"Do not." Blake said as Meryl reached over and scratched her cat ears, causing her to lean in and purr, only to blush and gave Meryl a mock annoyed glance. "You suck."
Meryl giggled. "You were wide open."
They walked down toward the second lab, where they chatted amongst themselves as some Raichu were napping underneath a rock formation while a Garganacl watched over some Pawmi.
"There it is, the second lab." Geeta said as they walked over toward it… but as they did, Mewtwo sensed something.
"Behind us!" Mewtwo said as they all turned to see two Pokemon wandering around. One was an Iron Bundle and one was a Jigglypuff with a long tail for a ponytail.
"Oh! It's a Delibird and Jigglypuff! They're so cute!" Penny gushed as she walked forward.
"Wait!" Mewtwo stopped her. "Those aren't ordinary Delibird and Jigglypuff. They're Paradoxes."
"Just like those Donphan…" Geeta said as Alessandra scanned Iron Bundle.
"Iron Bundle, the Paradox Pokemon. Iron Bundle waits for an unsuspecting individual to approach it, and then it springs its head open to startle the individual as a harmless prank. However, it has unwittingly chased off many children and adults as it only just wants to play with them and does not have any friends to give its electronic gifts to. It lives a lonely life."
Cian scanned the Jigglypuff.
"Scream Tail, the Paradox Pokemon. Unlike a regular Jigglypuff that sings soft melodies to put everyone to sleep, Scream Tail does the exact opposite as it will scream as loud as it can. Reports have said that a single scream from Scream Tail will rupture eardrums and make you go deaf instantly. Its singing is known to make Ghost Pokemon rise up from their graves and start complaining. Scream Tail, however, does not care about the complaints."
"It… does… what now…?!" Hop yelled in surprise.
"Deli…?"
"Pur Purin?"
Both Paradoxes turned to see the group as Yagami and Mewtwo quickly used their powers to shove psychic energy into everyone's ears to plug them up.
"PURIN PUUUUUUUUUUUUURRRRR!" Scream Tail screeched as loudly as possible, which was enough to startle several sleeping Raichu awake.
Pause BGM
As a matter of fact, a few Rathalos came flying down in agonizing pain from the Scream Tail's screeching as they slammed into the ground in a daze.
Outside of the Great Crater…
"Whoa, what was that?" Iono wondered as she was walking around town.
"The hell was that?" Bea wondered as she walked around with her family and Acerola.
At that moment, a Haunter came out from the ground in broad daylight, looking absolutely annoyed and looking toward the Great Crater.
"HAUNT HAUNT HAUNTER HAAAUNT!" He waved his fist angrily.
Back in the crater…
BGM: Battle! Paradox Pokemon (Pokemon Scarlet and Violet)
"Aha~!" Carmen's eyes sparkled as the Rathalos got up and roared at the group as Alessandra and Cian got in a stance and sent out their Pokemon to deal with the two Paradoxes.
"Alright, Eevee, let's shut that Jigglypuff up!" Penny said, opening up her backpack.
"Eevai!" Eevee came out and got ready with a smirk as Balto and Homura were ready to go.
"Deli Delll!" Iron Bundle unleashed Ice Beam on the two Fire Types but Balto used Flamethrower to counter it while Homura jumped in and used Lava Plume.
Gloria watched them fight it. "It's just a robot Delibird, they're weak as hell anywa-" The Iron Bundle unleashed Hydro Pump and struck Balto. "-WOT THE FOCK?!"
"You were saying?" Ruby asked with a sweatdrop.
"Wha-... okay, I know I've seen that Rodin lad have one but… wot…?"
"A robot Delibird that knows Hydro Pump… that's not good." Alessandra said as she checked her dex. "What do you mean this is part Water?!"
"Hey, uh, what's the typing on this thing?" Penny asked as Cian took a look.
"Fairy and… Psychic?!"
"Well, that would explain why Baddy Bad did nothing!" Penny said.
"Vow VEEE!" Eevee slammed into Scream Tail with Sizzly Slide, causing it to back up.
"Purin…. PURRRR!" Scream Tail unleashed Hyper Voice on Eevee, but thanks to it wearing psychic earmuffs courtesy of Yagami, Eevee fared rather well.
"Vee vai~!" Eevee smiled before using Buzzy Buzz on it.
Balto used Extreme Speed on Iron Bundle, slamming into it as it retaliated with another Hydro Pump, but Balto jumped up into the air and unleashed Fire Blast right as Homura used Smog on it.
"DELIIIIIII!" Iron Bundle cried as it fell KO'd as it's head sprang up.
"Purin?!" Scream Tail exclaimed in surprise, only to turn around and get struck by Veevee Volley, exploding behind Eevee. "PURRRRRRRRRRIIIII!"
End BGM
Resume Area Zero BGM
"That takes care of it!" Penny said as Scream Tail got up and picked up its robot companion and floated away. "Aww…"
"Phew… so that's what it's like to use that power on Rathalos." Carmen smiled.
"...I think you killed them." Carmine said.
"Sweet, more armor for me then~" Carmen chuckled.
"I don't know why… but I want one of those Scream Tails." Nemona grinned.
"No and NO. We do not need eardrum shatterers!" Arven said.
"Oh, where's your sense of adventure?" Nemona snickered.
"I'd rather not go deaf, thank you…" Bowsette said.
"Or me!" Weiss added.
"Yeaaahhh, I like my eardrums…" Pit nodded.
All of them walked into the second lab.
"So, I guess there's a lot more Paradoxes than we thought." Blake said as she started to count on her fingers. "There's Delibird, Ruby's Misdreavus, the two Donphan, Jigglypuff…"
"Don't forget the two Cyclizar that the twins have." Mewtwo added.
"Right." Blake nodded.
"Where did they even come from?" Captain Toad wondered.
"We can answer that for you." Turo said.
"Some of the life forms that you see residing in Area Zero are ancient and futuristic Pokemon that lived in the distant past and future." Sada explained.
"So are talking like… before the fossil Pokemon with these ancient Pokemon? What's the deal here?" Nemona wondered.
"The Zero Lab, which we are located, contains a time machine. It summons the ancient and future Pokemon to us." Turo added.
"Whoa! Time out a second! Are you saying you used a time machine?! How is Dialga not breathing down your necks?!" Ruby demanded.
"Dialga is not of our concern. We do not fear him." Sada said.
"...Wow, you are either really brave or really stupid…" Ruby mumbled under her breath.
"You two… actually got it working?!" Arven said in surprise.
"...Indeed. Though the cost was catastrophic."
"The… cost…? What are you talking about?" Arven asked.
A sinking feeling came over Geeta, her eyes widening. "Oh no…" She whispered.
I'm assuming you've reached the same conclusion. Mewtwo telepathically said to her, as Geeta nodded.
"It is theoretically possible to travel to the past and future. However… for a being such as a human, it would not be possible to return to the present." Turo said.
"Wait, so you mean to tell me Porygon to the Future was just a bunch of Tauros crap?" Penny wondered.
"Guys, you… you…" Arven clenched his fists.
"Arven, we…" Sada paused. "...If possible, we would like us to speak when we can face to face It will be easier for you to understand once you can see the situation for yourself."
Arven said nothing while Cian walked over to the panel to disable the lock.
"Thank you, Cian. Well done. Please continue your efforts." Turo said.
"I'll just… uh… look at these journals real quick to get our minds off things…" Zinnia said as she grabbed a journal.
"At last we can resume work on the Tera Project! We'll move our research to the Zero Lab this month. Our team will be smaller, but no matter. The strong influence of the crystals makes our experiments much more unstable."
"...Hoo boy…" Zinnia grimaced as Umber picked up the next one.
"The crystals' power is tremendous! Their unstable output made our corporate backers fret, but… If we can harness this energy, it will open up research possibilities we'd only dreamed of. At last, paradise will be ours to create."
"I'm sorry… paradise…?" Umber wondered.
"They're playing god for some… paradise? This is absurd." Mewtwo said.
"I… am having a horrible feeling over this." Arven said.
"You're not the only one…" Cinder agreed as they walked out and walked down the slope as Penny kicked up a conversation with Silver to get everyone's minds off of things.
"The future? You've done it a few times?" Penny asked.
"Yeah, and they're all within reason… though one feels more like a dream I had but, eh…" Silver shrugged.
"So what's it like?"
"Think about anything futuristic you've seen and that's pretty much it."
"Oh cool."
"Ah sweet, a waterfall!" Nemona said as they made their way down. "...Oh! Is that another Paradox Pokemon?" She wondered as they got closer… and saw it was none other than Big who was casually fishing.
"Tum tum te tum~ Oh! Hello!"
"He's here too?" Ruby asked.
"I just came here for fishin- oooh!" Big felt a bite.
"Ribbit! Ribbit!" Froggy cried.
"Hnnngh… hup!" Big reeled up…
…A Roaring Moon.
"WHAT THE?!" Everyone yelled in surprise as even Mewtwo looked shocked that he reeled it up.
"Ooooh, how interesting!"
Unbeknownst to them all, a robotic Gardevoir/Gallade watched them from above the waterfall.
"Gar… Gar… Gallade…"
Somewhere else in the distance, a Valstrax watched them with keen interest, narrowing its eyes as it let out a growl.
Mario and Luigi Brothership is so fun! I'm almost to the second Great Lighthouse!
Ibuki: We're so back!
Deadpool: So SO back!
Yeah! Anyway shout out to Cody for suggesting Captain Toad and Yoshi for suggesting Big reeling up Roaring Moon!