My Hero Pokedamia

by Zayden StormVoid

Izuku realized at a young age that all men are not created equal. They aren't treated equal either. Some people have more power over others. The same can be said for the wondrous, mysterious creatures that inhabited the world before Quirks: Pokemon. This is the story of Izuku Midoriya, in this world of Quirks and Pokemon, and his path to become the Very Best, like No One Ever Was.

32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32

*Pokeball falls onto the ground* POP! AHA! GREETINGS POKEFANS! ZAYDEN STORMVOID HERE! I HAVE RETURNED TO REVEAL THE NEXT CHAPTER OF MY HERO POKEDAMIA!

Firstly, welcome all to the new year of 2025! Sorry for the wait, but duty calls for the other stories and family reasons. Also, Happy belated Valentine's Day, and I hope you guys had a great time with your significant others and the Super Bowl. Toasts to Lamar and his awesome Halftime show, songs were sick, political messages were on point, and hilariously overlooked by his beef with Drake. Also, I hope I wasn't the only one who saluted the King when All the Stars played. RIP Boseman, Wakanda Forever!

Anyway, in the last chapter, we had the finale of the Sports Festival...Finally! In that chapter, we had Izuku finally bid farewell to the Kacchan of old, and where the Baka-hoe of now tried attacking his hated enemy in the back only for both to go down for count courtesy of Midnight's Quirk... and for the R-Rated Hero to once more make the girls jealous. We had the award ceremony where All Might gave useful advice to the top four -or at least, those who bothered to listen- and congratulated his protege with a Shiny Shelgon, a feisty, proud one. Iida finds out about his brother, Stain gets a visit from Kurogiri, Shoto visits his mother finally, and the long-awaited confrontation with the Yaoyorozu's ends with Momo's engagement broken and Todoroki taking his first steps toward redemption.

But where do we go from here? What is this trip that Taishi has in store for Izuku, Shoto, and Hagakure? Who were the Yaoyorozu's concerned about? What will happen with Stain's meeting with the League? What punishments await Bakugou, Todoroki, and Shinsou? And how will Izuku and Shelgon begin to bond? Some of these questions and others will be answered now!

But first, the Index:

"Zayden," -Normal Dialogue

'Zayden,' -Internal or Mental Dialogue

"Zayden," -Flashback, Pokémon, Letter, and Story Dialogue

"Zayden," -Buff Might, Dark Shadow, Kurogiri, and Izuku Ultimate Move

"Zayden," -Flashback Buff Might, Spiritomb, Legendary Pokémon, and Shadow Pokémon Dialogue

"Zayden," -T.V., Phone, and Article Dialogue

"Zayden," -Pokedex Dialogue

[Zayden,] Present Mic Quirk Reveal Dialogue

Finally, I do not own My Hero Academia, a property of Horikoshi and adapted by Bones Studios. I also do not own Pokémon, which belongs to Nintendo and Gamefreak, and who better release some news about Pokémon Legends Z-A now that the Switch 2 has been revealed, or I'm gonna lose my flippin' mind!

With all that said, Let the Battle-uh, I mean, the Chapter Begin!

---

Lake Resolutions

Third POV

"Oh, Toshi! It was amazing! You should have seen Izuku! He was so fast and strong! He was like, BOOM, ZIP, SMASH!"

Toshinori Yagi chuckled, his cheeks pink. The Symbol of Peace's secret identity took a sip of his tea as he listened to Inko as she recounted her son's feats throughout the Sports Festival. Ever since he arrived at the Midoriya household, he was bombarded by a hyperactive Inko Midoriya as she mimed her sound effects with waving arms and poses. He tried not to laugh as his secret girlfriend's Pokémon, Mr. Mime, mimicked his Trainer's actions.

"So, I saw," Toshinori replied, coughing back a choke of laughter.

"O-Oh, are you okay, Toshi?" Inko broke free of her fervor. "Is the tea too hot?"

"No, no, it is perfect," Toshinori waved away her concern, smiling. "I-It's just how you recount and are so passionate about Young Midoriya's progress is extraordinary to me, not to mention adorable."

Inko's face turned scarlet. "Oh, Toshi, stop it!" Inko cupped her cheek while waving him off bashfully. After miming his Trainer, Mr. Mime did his own actions and fake gagged with a finger pointing to his mouth.

All Might nervously smiled at the Pokémon. While it appeared the Pokémon didn't have any outwardly negative view of the incognito Number 1 Hero or disapprove of the man's relationship with his Trainer, it didn't stop the Barrier Pokémon from feeling like an uncomfortable third wheel during Toshinori's and Inko's date nights in her home. However, despite bearing witness to the two adults' lovey-dovey sessions, enough to make the Pokémon's teeth rot, Mr. Mime always did bid Toshinori farewell with a grateful smile, one the skeleton-of-a-man interpreted as gratitude for making his Trainer smile and enjoy life again.

"A-Anyway, please, Inko, continue," Toshinori requested. "I take it you were quite surprised by Young Izuku's progress?"

"Oh, yes, I was!" Inko nodded, smiling warmly. "I know Izuku's Quirk made him super strong and fast, but seeing my boy in actions like that was something else entirely. I wish you could have been there."

"I'm sorry again I couldn't be there to see it with you," Toshinori half-lied, forcing down his reaction to cringe.

"Honestly, it was perhaps best you didn't," Inko sighed tiredly. "Otherwise, I would have had to introduce you to Mitsuki. She can be quite protective of me."

"Ah, yes, Mitsuki Bakugou, right?" Toshinori asked, growing tense at the mention of the last name. "And her husband, Masaru Bakugou?"

"That's right," Inko nodded, noticing the tension on Toshinori, sighing sadly. "You don't have to worry about them, Toshi, they are good people. I've known Mitsuki since high school; she's been a good friend to me for so long, and Masaru is such a kind and gentle soul."

"I know, sorry," Toshinori sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I know I should take your word for it, but after witnessing Young Bakugou-"

"I know," Inko sighed, her eyes downcast. "I've watched that boy grow up alongside Izuku, Mitsuki and I walked around the park with the two in their strollers and watched them play in the park. I-I know what he had been doing to Izuku, and I've tried hard to stop me in any way I can, but...to see what he become before my own eyes...what he did to that poor girl..." Inko's hands around her cup shook.

Toshinori frowned sadly, reaching over to place his hand on Inko's. "You did the best you could under the situation, Inko," Toshinori reasoned. "What Izuku suffered through was no fault of yours, but he grew into the strong boy he was because he had his Pokémon and his mother there to guide be there for him." Inko sniffled, wiping away a tear as she smiled and nodded lovingly at Toshi. "And do not worry about Young Ashido. All Might said she would recover quickly; your son and his friends have helped, too."

Inko's smile turned relieved and proud. "Thank goodness," She grinned, mixing excitement with a teasing mischievousness. So, is she to be one of the girls who will make me a grandma?"

'She and Ashido, from what I've heard, would get along well,' Toshinori sweatdropped, deeply apologizing to his young protege for being unable to hide the boy's uncanny talent for attracting attractive, young girls. "I-I don't think they are anywhere near that stage in their friendships, but they are quite close," Toshinori neutrally explained. "Honestly, I don't believe Young Izuku even quite knows the extent of the girls' feelings toward him."

"That's my Izuku for you," Inko shook her head with a fond smile. "So perceptive except for the things right under his nose."

Toshinori once more hid a flinch at how true that statement was in more ways than one or how, to his shame, it applied to his mother, too.

"Though, it is for the best," Inko took another sip of her tea. "High School pregnancies are not something I want Izuku to worry about."

Toshinori did a spit-take to Inko's amusement. "You know, it's still quite surprising that you are so on board with our son having multiple girls interested in him," Yagi admitted.

"I know, and any other time, I would be losing my mind with worry, the whole protective mother kind of thing, but I trust my son," Inko smiled proudly and lovingly at her cup as if Izuku's face was in it. "He's a kind, loving, and respectful young man, and I trust him to make his own decisions, whether they will end up in mistakes or not. Plus, he deserves such happiness after everything."

"Agreed," Toshinori nodded, smiling. "After all he's gone through, the ladies' attention isn't such a bad reward. It will help his popularity when he goes Pro."

"I still can't thank you enough for watching out for him and training him, Toshi," Inko bowed her head.

"Think nothing of it, Inko," Toshinori waved off the unnecessary thanks. "It was mine and Mr. Might's pleasure to see Young Izuku discover and grow his potential."

"Yes, his potential..." Inko muttered, looking forlornly at her fingers.

Toshinori noticed her line of sight, frowning. "You're thinking about Young Izuku breaking his fingers, right?" Toshinori rightfully guessed.

"I can't help it," Inko's grip on her cup tensed. "Hearing about it happening and seeing him returning with bandages on his arms and legs is one thing, but seeing it happen with my own eyes was horrifying. How could his own Quirk cause such harm to him?"

Toshinori cringed, his side throbbing. "Quirks aren't always so easy to master or control," Toshinori replied. "You don't know how many Heroes in the industry have had such difficulty getting a handle on their Quirks in their younger years. Even All Might struggled greatly with his."

"Still, I've never heard of a Quirk that could break its user's limbs," Inko continued worryingly. "And for my son, out of everyone, to get one-"

"His body and control are getting better at handling his power, but it will still take time," Toshinori explained. "I did my best to hammer into his head to take better care of himself, if not for his sake, then for the sake of his friends, family, Pokémon, and all those he could save in the future."

"Thank you, Toshi," Inko sighed again with relief. "Though, I didn't expect to have to let him go so soon after the Festival." Inko looked out the window. "Do you know why Izuku had to go on this trip of his?"

"He didn't tell you?" Toshinori questioned.

"No, no, he did, but you know how he is, sometimes his words come out faster than my ears can keep up," Inko chuckled fondly.

"True," Toshinori lightly snickered as he remembered his successor's tendency to spit out word vomit. "Trust me, Inko, what this trip is, why it had to be so urgent, will do him good." Toshinori looked out the window, too, his face serious. 'I hope so, anyway.'

---

Meanwhile...

Izuku sneezed.

"Are you okay, Izi?" Hagakure asked. "You aren't catching a cold, are you?"

"No, I'm good, Hagakure-chan," Izuku shook his head. "Just a little sneeze."

"Wouldn't catching a cold be redundant, considering where we are?" Todoroki questioned, mostly to himself.

"Come on, you three! No time for dilly-dallying," Taishi called out several steps before them. "We'll need to make it to our destination before nightfall. Unless the two of you wish to endure even more cold?"

Izuku and Hagakure quickened their pacing, and Todoroki was forced to do the same despite the heavy load on his back.

The four hiked their way through Hokkaido's snowy fields and hills, blankets of white covering the grass and trees, and the cold wind biting at their skin even through their snow gear. The only ones seemingly unaffected by the cold were Taishi and Todoroki, though the latter was obvious. Despite the frigid temperatures, the students could not deny the beauty of the second-largest island of Japan. The very air sang to them of how sacred and old this land was; it rang something deep within Izuku's core.

Izuku spied around to take in the landscape, one as beautiful as it was cold. Sakhalin Fir and Japanese oak trees were caked in flakes of snow, while Sargent Cherry trees began to blossom their pink petals. Izuku spotted several types of Pokémon roaming around, such as wondering pairs of Snovers, Swinubs, and Snorunts, though most of the Ice Types would divert their paths to steer clear of the four of them. Taishi would even instruct the group to veer away from the pairs on the chance that a protective Abomasnow, Piloswine, or Glalie may be close by. Izuku even spotted Trash Cloak Burmys hanging on the trees while Pachirisus climbed them and nestled on the branches.

"Jesus, it's so fucking cold!" Pikachu whined, shivering like a leaf while his fur stuck on end at a cold breeze.

"This is the fifteenth time you've said that!" Froakie groaned. "If you are so cold up on Master Izuku's shoulder, go back down."

"Are you kidding?! And get my feet all frozen up and tired again?!" Pikachu exclaimed.

Izuku recalled how they barely made it one-eight of their way to their destination before the Electric Mouse Pokémon declared he had enough and climbed up to Izuku's shoulder. The weight was too familiar to Izuku to bother him, and the Pokémon's fur was a warm enough buffer for Izuku to press on at times. The only real annoyance to him was Pikachu's whining being directly in his ear.

"Then quit your whining and get back into your Pokeball like the rest of us," Combusken suggested.

"Don't bother, Combusken," Eevee sighed. "You know how this will end."

"If it is heat you wish, I can pop out and toast your body with a Flamethrower?" Shelgon proposed, fed up. "That will resolve all of our issues."

'No one is toasting anyone,' Izuku ordered telepathically. 'And Pikachu, ball or keep your lips shut.'

"Oh, don't worry, Boss, my lips will definitely be shut," Pikachu sassily replied. "Frozen shut."

Izuku rolled his eyes. He heard Hagakure giggle. "What is it, Hagakure-chan?" Izuku inquired, curious.

"What did I say, Izi?" Hagakure notably pouted.

"R-Right, T-Toru-chan," Izuku corrected, his cheeks red.

"Better," Toru said, satisfied. "As for what's so funny, can you believe this is where we would be so soon after the Sports Festival? Hiking across half of Hokkaido, freezing our pretty butts off with Professor Taishi and Todoroki?"

"Well, when you put it like that-" Izuku paused mid-sentence and stride, his cheeks burning red and warm. Pikachu sighed as he pressed against them. "WAIT, WHAT DID YOU SAY ABOUT MY BUTT?!"

"She said that your butt is adequately shaped and firm enough to be considered attractive," Todoroki explained, deadpanning as he passed by him. Hagakure giggled harder.

"Come along, Mr. Midoriya!" Taishi called out as he noticed Izuku's blushing form remain as still as the ice nearby. "It would do us no good if you suddenly were to be a permanent icy fixture of his land."

"R-Right!" Izuku shook himself of his blush and rushed to reunite in stride with the others.

As he did, Izuku couldn't help but ponder Hagakure's prior words and wonder how he went from the Sports Festival Champion to here.

---

Flashback: Right after the Sports Festival...

"Greetings, Misters Midoriya, Todoroki, and Miss Hagakure," Nezu greeted the three as they entered his office, leaving a fuming Bakugou and uncomfortable Shinsou outside. The three students entered to find the chimera-of-a-Pokémon principal sitting in his chair with the sunset lighting casting a rather ominous shadow about him. Standing beside the principal was Professor Taishi, his face fully serious and grim. "Please take a seat. Oh, and Mr. Midoriya, congratulations on winning the Sports Festival. I must admit that your opening speech was inspiring enough to get this unbiased soul to root for you."

"T-Thank you, sir," Izuku thanked as he sat in the middle seat, Todoroki taking the left and Hagakure the right. Izuku turned to the other teacher in the room. "Professor Taishi."

Taishi nodded back, his serious frown giving way to a pleased smile and nod. Hagakure stared at the enigmatic professor with suspicion, their interaction in the nurse's room and Midoriya's surprise recovery unforgotten in the invisible girl's recollection.

"Now, I'm sure you are wondering why the three of you are here so soon after the Sports Festival, yes?" Nezu asked to the affirmative, tense nods of the students. "Let me assure you that this meeting is not in light of any punishment or disciplinary action for Mr. Midoriya or Ms. Hagakure. Mr. Todoroki, on the other hand, we have much to discuss about your recent actions during our Festival."

Izuku and Hagakure couldn't help but glance at Todoroki, who only flinched but looked down shamefully.

"W-Wait," Hagakure perked up. "Principal Nezu, how did you find out? Did Yaomomo-I mean-Yaoyorozu tell you?"

"No, Ms. Yaoyorozu did not inform me of these events," Nezu shook his head, picking up and showing a small listening device. "Per my and Aizawa's request, Ms. Midnight had this listening device on her person during the 3rd round matches. Your homeroom teacher felt it would be prudent to have it on hand in case any events were to occur that may jeopardize or negatively impact our students."

The students blinked in surprise at this revelation, though their surprise was centered more on Eraserhead's part and reasoning. It felt too unlike their homeroom teacher, who they found too cold, rigid, and unfeeling to take this sort of action or care about how they felt. Izuku pondered back to his confrontation with the teacher during their Quirk Apprehension Test, wondering if something changed in the Erasure Hero back then. Izuku shook his head, scoffing at himself for being too presumptuous and arrogant to believe that.

"Because of this well-thought decision, few of us authorized teachers were privy to some conversations between you students," Nezu stated, looking directly at Izuku and Todoroki.

The students froze as the weight of this revelation finally crashed down on them. Izuku and Hagakure remembered Bakugou's battles with the green-haired teen, along with Mina and Kirishima, all three battles having the ash-blonde teen practically outing himself as a bully. Todoroki thought of his battles with Mariella and Midoriya, where his issues, family history, and actions were spoken out loud. The scarred teen realized that was how the principal knew about what he had been doing.

"In light of these disturbing revelations, action will be taken. U.A. has no place or tolerance for such cruelty and malfeasance," Nezu declared with a coldness that froze even Todoroki's soul. "Your actions, Mr. Todoroki, will be addressed further in private, as well as your punishment for your actions against Ms. Yaoyorozu and your Pokémon."

Todoroki flinched again but nodded, accepting his fate, whatever it may be.

"And Mr. Midoriya, rest assured that the complicated situation revolving around you and Mr. Bakugou will likewise be addressed and 'taken care of." Izuku blinked, unsure what the principal meant by that, especially the last part, but the green-haired student nodded, too.

"However, that is not the true purpose of this meeting," Nezu said, confusing the three students. "It has likewise come to our most recent attention that all three of you have been, as best put it, compromised."

"C-Compromised?" Hagakure stuttered out, confused.

Izuku's eyes whirled to Professor Taishi, his eyes widening with realization. "I-Is this about whatever was interfering with Todoroki's mind?" Izuku asked.

Todoroki and Hagakure looked to Izuku with shock and confusion. "Interfering with my mind?" Shoto questioned, looking between Izuku and Taishi. "What are you talking about?"

Taishi raised an eyebrow at Izuku, the boy feeling embarrassed and admonished for his outburst. "Before your final battle, Mr. Todoroki, I discussed with Mr. Midoriya the many irregularities you and your past displayed regarding your feelings toward your Vulpix," Taishi explained to Shoto. "We inferred you and Vulpix once had a friendship but that you had forgotten many details revolving around your past, especially toward your mother."

"It's why I knew your mother gave you your Vulpix, Todoroki. Both of them," Izuku jumped in. "Vulpix wouldn't have stayed with you for so long if that wasn't the case. You two were friends before, and he hoped you would change. I know well how that feels like."

Hagakure took hold of Izuku's hand, squeezing it supportively. Izuku was surprised by the gesture but quickly accepted it, not minding the warmth and care he could feel from her.

"Before I left, I admitted that I had sensed something was amiss about you, something beyond simple memory loss," Taishi continued. "I discovered that a psychic interference clouded your mind. Not a Quirk, mind you, but one more mystical."

"Y-You mean that a Pokémon was messing with Todoroki's head?" Hagakure asked.

"Very inquisitive of you, Ms. Hagakure," Taishi nodded, commending the girl.

"W-Well, you are a Pokémon Professor," Hagakure blushed at the compliment. "If you said that you found something wrong with Todoroki that isn't a Quirk, a Pokémon would be the only thing left that could do it."

"Indeed," Taishi nodded. "However, Mr. Todoroki is not the only one here affected by a Pokémon's influence. You are, too."

"W-What?!" Hagakure exclaimed. Izuku and Shoto were likewise in confusion and shock.

"With Professor Taishi's help, we discovered more students psychically touched by Pokémon than Mr. Todoroki," Nezu returned to the conversation. "We likewise found similar interference coming from the two of you, Mr. Midoriya and Ms. Hagakure, as well as Ms. Tsuyu Asui."

"T-Tsu, too?!" Izuku exclaimed, worry and fear gripping his heart. A surge of anger then rose from the depths of his heart. "T-Then why isn't she here too?!"

Taishi's eyes flashed blue, and Izuku felt a wave of something pass through him. Suddenly, the anger had settled down. With clarity, Izuku realized that he had stood up and gripped the principal's desk in his fury. Izuku quickly let go of the desk and sat back, muttering an apology.

"As I said," Nezu nodded. "As for why Ms. Asui has not been brought here, we have seen no outward change where immediate action must be taken. Professor Taishi and I concluded that whatever influence she was subjected to was either too minimal or passive to cause any shift in her personality. Let me assure you that if that were to change, action will be taken to ensure Ms. Asui's safety.

"But what about me?" Hagakure asked. "I don't feel any different."

"I'm afraid your situation is more complicated," Taishi said, giving her an apologetic stare. "However, I have found the means to resolve this issue."

Flashback over...

---

Afterward, Nezu and Taishi set up this little field trip of theirs to northern Hokkaido to cure the three's respective conditions. They managed to schedule it during their small break after the Sports Festival with enough time for Izuku and Todoroki to take care of their plans beforehand, i.e., canceling Momo's engagement and for Shoto to visit his mother.

Professor Taishi had met up with the three at Tatooin Train Station, taking a series of trams from Musutafu to southern Hokkaido. When arriving at the island, the four had changed into their hiking gear they were told to pack beforehand and took a cab till they were at a reasonable distance to their destination. When asked why they didn't just go all the way, the Pokémon Professor gave a cryptic answer:

"Our arrival must be timed accordingly, and our journey rewarded by the marring of the cold and exertion," Taishi had said.

Izuku knew there wasn't any chance of getting more out of the annoyingly cryptic professor, so he accepted it. As if by following his example, Hagakure and Todoroki followed suit.

That was how Izuku now found himself hiking through the snowy fields with Taishi leading. Izuku and Hagakure were clothed in heavy winter gear, the two of them still surprised at how cold and snowy Hokkaido was despite being in spring.

Even with his winter gear, Izuku was surprised to see Professor Taishi had no issue with the cold that bit at his students' fortitudes. The Professor's winter gear even looked lighter than how heavily Izuku and Hagakure were clothed; Izuku expected Todoroki to have no issue with the cold given his Quirk, but Taishi was another thing. The silver-haired professor even had what he called a hiking staff, yet Izuku felt that was a bald-faced lie.

The staff Taishi held was nearly as tall as the professor; the shaft was wooden and aged with its many chips and lines yet looked no less sturdy and well-kept. The end of the staff had a cool, dark grey metal stand with a diamond-like crystal shaped rigidly like a globe. Two rings of the same dark grey metal surrounded the diamond orb horizontally and vertically, with two teardrop-shaped shapes dangling from the sides; it reminded Izuku of the teardrop-like fur of a Lucario. Izuku's eyes occasionally would glance at the staff's head, his eyes entranced by the subtle blue glow blinking in the center and his ears enchanted by the chimes the teardrop shapes would make. It felt like they were on a pilgrimage led by a wise old monk.

Todoroki also wore winter gear, yet he was noticeably less dense than the two. If anything, Todoroki looked hotter than he was cold, mainly due to the heavier load of equipment he was carrying on his back. Izuku would feel sorry for Shoto if the scarred teen didn't deserve this.

Izuku sighed, shaking free of the rising anger that plagued his thoughts.

"You're still angry with Todoroki, huh, Izuku?" Eevee said, though his question came off more like a statement. Izuku said nothing back, his feelings, he could tell, were answers enough.

"If all that you have informed me of his actions and misdeeds are true, then anger is the least he should feel," Shelgon commented. "I find this punishment insufficient to his lack of honor."

"The Professor said this would only be the least of what he would have to deal with, Shelgon," Combusken reminded their team's new member. "I'm sure the principal will have more for Todoroki when we return."

"He better," Pikachu muttered. "Same with that Shinsou guy and Bakugou. I've seen that asshole skate by unpunished for too long."

"Is his defeat and humiliation in front of the entire viewing world not enough?" Froakie inquired curiously.

"Not even close," Pikachu growled.

Izuku's frown deepened, remembering Principal Nezu's promise. He was understandably skeptical, he and his mother had received similar assurances before, only for those promises to be but lies and soothing words with no meaning or sincerity behind them. Izuku had thought that getting into U.A. would be different than Aldera, and it was, for the most part. He had friends, a friend group, fair classes, unbiased teachers, and no bullying whatsoever. Izuku would often pinch himself to remind him that he wasn't dreaming.

The only hiccups were Bakugou and Aizawa. The latter had always made Izuku tense and uncertain since Orientation and his Quirk Apprehension Test. Izuku clenched his fists as he could still remember Aizawa's dismissive, hypocritical words, and he wasn't blind or naive enough not to notice that the homeroom teacher was targeting him with those narrow gazes. Yet, after he blew up at Aizawa, an act Izuku looked back on with equal pride and embarrassment, Aizawa's interactions with him were as curt and fair as the rest of the class. It was a surprising change for the often-bullied teen, but he wouldn't complain about it, especially when it was the teacher's idea for the listening device that had picked up Bakugou's words and behavior. Intrusive the act may have been in hindsight, yet it did what Izuku always bitterly wanted to do: expose Bakugou for the bully that he was, without the guilt or pettiness he feared would follow.

Then there was Bakugou, always Bakugou. Izuku knew that even if he were to get into U.A., Bakugou entering too was an inevitability; he was too strong, combat proficient, and smart not to. His presence would always be a dark, ominous cloud over Izuku at U.A., from glowering right in front of him in class to his constant desire to fight him again like the Battle Training Exercise. Sometimes, Izuku feared that Aldera would happen all over again, and Bakugou would convince the class to follow him and make Izuku's life Hell.

But this time, he had something he didn't have in Aldera: friends. Izuku gazed at Hagakure, easily seeable with her winter clothes and winter beanie over her invisible head. She and the others, including Serena, were a constant reassurance that the nightmare of his past life was over, that the future was bright and hopeful. More so, the rest of the class, barring Todoroki, all seemed like good people who treated him with respect and kindness; none of them felt like the kind to suddenly believe and follow Bakugou unquestionably. When he finally revealed everything Bakugou did to him to his new friends, he couldn't help but feel relieved, not just for letting go and spilling the beans he kept back for so long, but because they believed him, and they didn't abandon or turn on him like he secretly feared. They were horrified, appalled, and angry for him, and that support meant so much to him than he felt they would ever know.

Hagakure must have caught him staring because he heard her giggle and bump shoulders. "What's that look for, Izi?" Hagakure asked sweetly. "Do I have snow on me for something?"

"No, no, it's not that... well, maybe a little snow," Izuku admitted. He didn't know where the confidence came from, but Izuku brushed his thumb over Hagakure's soft cheek, brushing away the snowflakes.

The shiver running from Hagakure's cheek to her spine felt stronger than the cold winds around her and far more pleasant. "T-Thanks," Hagakure stuttered, her cheeks getting warmer though they were still sadly unseen. "But if it's not the snow, what is it?"

"I'm just happy you're here with me, Toru-chan," Izuku smiled warmly. "That you and the others believed me when I told you guys the truth. I hate to admit it, but part of me feared you wouldn't."

"Of course, we believed you!" Toru exclaimed, her voice slightly affronted. "You're our friend and the Class Rep we chose. You've never lied or given us any reason to doubt you."

Izuku unconsciously flinched. 'I wouldn't say that,' he thought guiltily. He hadn't told them everything. Not about One For All or All Might training him, not even Serena, his oldest friend, knew.

Hagakure noticed the flinch yet thought differently about what it meant. "I-It was that bad for you?" Hagakure asked, nearly whimpering.

"Before Serena, I never even talked to a girl, let alone had a friendly relationship with one that didn't extend to laughing at me or was my mother," Izuku scoffed humorously, yet bitterly. "It's surprising that I can talk so easily with you. I know that sounds pathetic."

"It's not! Nothing about that is pathetic, only that those girls could be so shallow and tasteless for treating such a good guy like you so poorly just because you were Quirkless," Hagakure declared. "Urgh, just thinking about it makes me so angry!"

Izuku looked at her with surprise. "So... you would have still liked me even if I was Quirkless?" Izuku asked, cursing himself for sounding so needy, yet he couldn't help it. Bakugou's taunts from their match still rang in his ears.

"Of course!" Hagakure said Izuku couldn't pick up any deceit or lie in her declaration. "And don't ask me a silly question like that again, or I'll suffocate you with hugs for a whole day!"

'That doesn't sound too bad,' Izuku's intrusive thoughts rang, yet he had the decency to keep them as thoughts and not mutter them out. At most, he merely blushed. "Got it," Izuku smiled. "Sorry for doubting you, Toru-chan."

"Keep calling me that, and all's forgiven," Hagakure cheerfully said, her chest straining with barely held-in giggles full of love. "Though, I warn you, if I ever spot any of those bullies from Aldera, I'll strangle them till they're as cold as this damn wind."

'With her Quirk, she would make for one Hell of an assassin,' Izuku sweatdropped. "Gotcha," he said. "Though, hopefully, you don't get yourself expelled for strangling the bully that sits right behind you."

"No promises," Hagakure replied.

"I like this girl, she is fierce and protective of her loved ones," Shelgon declared. "If her appearance were more discernable and fairer, her genes would make strong offspring for you."

"SHELGON!" Combusken exclaimed.

Pikachu nearly burst out laughing yet decided instead to sigh as he used Izuku's burning red face as his personal warmer.

---

Meanwhile...

"GGGRRRAAAARGH!" Bakugou yelled as he punched the duffle bag with as much force as he could muster, specifically where the plastered face of Izuku 'Deku' Midoriya was stamped onto.

Bakugou panted hard, leaning his body away when the bag swung back around. He attempted to do so casually, only to blink and snap into focus before he stumbled to the ground. The explosive blonde's hands fell to his knees, panting as the exertion of his exercise/cooling process finally took its toll on him. Bakugou looked up to his All Might clock that read the time. He was momentarily surprised when he realized he'd been working out for the past 4 hours.

"HEY! KEEP IT DOWN, BRAT!" His annoying mother's voice yelled out on the other side of his locked door. "GROUNDED MEANS ZERO RAGING AND HOWLING LIKE A DAMN URSARING!"

"STUFF IT, YOU HAG!" Bakugou barked back, selectively muting her response. He would have said worse, but he didn't wish to test her in his current situation. He may be a legal adult by their country's standards, but his allowance, which could be taken away just as easily as it was given, would not afford the rent of an apartment if he tried to move out without their support. As he recalled the situation he was stuck in, Bakugou began to growl with hatred.

After the end of the Sports Festival, Bakugou was practically dragged to the 1-A homeroom, still wrapped up in chains that he couldn't remove because of his damn teacher's Quirk erasing his. He only got out of them when they arrived in the classroom, and Aizawa made it clear that any further actions from him would make him regret it. Bakugou was forced to stew in his seat, his teeth grinding and gnawing on the rope of his 2nd place medal, trying to ignore its existence.

When the damn insomniac finally finished groaning on about the next few days of school for a resting period, Bakugou was called out to stay behind for a personal chat, the teacher's glare showing that he would not take no or any 'colorful' alternative to no, for an answer. Most of the 'chat' Bakugou tuned out of his mind, lest he spiraled into another rage. Still, the gist included the teacher's disappointment and anger for what Bakugou did to Weird Eyes, calling his actions 'excessive' and no different than a mindless beast. He had to bite his tongue not to call out the unfairness and hypocrisy of it all. How were his actions any different than Icy Hot burying Round Cheeks in a fucking glacier, or Shitty Hair and his Metallic Twin giving each other CTE with every punch and annoying ass exclamation of 'Manliness'? Weird Eyes was his enemy, an obstacle on his path to winning the Festival and becoming Champion, an annoying, whining bitch of one at that, and he treated her like all the would-be 'Villains' that stood in his way.

Then Aizawa brought up his past with Deku, revealing he knew about his actions. Bakugou almost blew up, demanding to know if the nerd had snitched like he thought he did to Weird Eyes. The insomniac-hobo-of-a-teacher then revealed that he had placed a listening device on Midnight, allowing him and some faculty to hear everything the students said throughout their match.

"Midoriya didn't rat you out, you did," Eraserhead said.

The Underground Hero made it clear that they weren't pleased with Bakugou's actions and history, reinstating that U.A. has no place or tolerance for bullying while also stating the many crimes that he would be accused of this information came to light, ranging from assault that bordered on mental and physical torture, illegal Quirk usage, Quirk-based assault, and Quirk-based hate crimes. While Eraser said that U.A. could not convict him personally nor do anything about what he already did, his actions against Weird Eyes, proving he was behaving not at all differently than the bully he was, earned him his second strike. The insomniac teacher said that his anger management sessions with Hound Dog would be increased and that there would be more official punishments to come when they returned from break, but it was clear to Bakugou that such punishments might range from suspension to straight-up expulsion at worst.

Safe to say, Bakugou stomped his way back home more enraged than ever, cursing Deku, Weird Eyes, his teacher, and that damn rodent principal.

It was no different at home, either. Bakugou knew his parents had shown up for the Festival, no matter how many times Bakugou yelled for them to stay away and not bother spending their damn vacation money on seats. When Bakugou arrived home, he had expected to hear cheers for making it so far in the Festival, even an annoying hug from his hag of a mom.

Instead, he was met with the tearful sobbing of his mother while his father tried to comfort her. For once, Katsuki didn't know what to do. He remembered being torn between walking away, pretending he didn't hear or see anything, or demanding who made her cry so he could teach them a lesson. Turned out it was him that made her cry. Bakugou was forced into the most argumentative and explosive Bakugou family meeting in history, and that was saying something. Mitsuki and Masaru Bakugou likewise made it clear that they heavily disapproved of his behavior and actions throughout the Sports Festival, saying he made himself look like a fool with his raging attitude to even a monster with what he did to Weird Eyes.

Bakugou was halfway into throwing in their faces that no one cared and instead were rooting for him and his strength when Mitsuki brought up the Midoriyas, specifically Auntie Inko. His mother shared how disgusted and horrified she was of Bakugou, how she knew about what he did to her son for all these years, and while Auntie never said it to his mother, she knew that Inko would no longer allow Bakugou to call her 'Auntie' ever again. Bakugou was struck silent, betrayal and guilt warring within himself before he knew exactly who was to blame: Deku!

Bakugou tried to convince his parents that Deku had been spreading lies about him, trying to paint him as a Villain to everyone when he was the Hero, the future Number 1 Hero who was being sabotaged by a jealous, envious little shit. His father awarded him with a slap across the face. Bakugou didn't know what he was more surprised about, his spineless father gaining a backbone and smacking him or the sheer look of disgust and disappointment in both of his parent's eyes. In the end, Bakugou was officially grounded, forced to stay sheltered in his room for the remainder of the break, his gaming consoles were confiscated, his access to any entertainment site and streaming services were revoked, and he was forbidden from using his Quirk or training his Pokémon, their meals to be handled by them instead.

Bakugou walked numbly to his room after that, and it took a whole hour of silence before he exploded in anger. Bakugou had never been more furious and had spent the rest of his time since then fuming at himself and his Pokémon and working out, usually resorting to the duffle bag implemented in his room. His parents removed the previous picture of Deku he had strapped to the bag, but Bakugou kept a spare hidden underneath his couch for such emergencies. And no, he was not self-aware enough to realize how weird that was.

'This is all his fault! Everything is his fault!' Bakugou raged internally as he stared at Deku's crumpled photo, snarling like an animal. 'Turning Auntie against me, my braindead parents, Shitty Hair, Tape Arms, Weird Eyes, that hobo teacher, the Principal, and badmouthing Uncle Hisashi.' With every act, Bakugou's rage boiled further. 'He even got All Might to acknowledge him. Him! That first place should have been mine! That Shelgon was mine! All Might should've acknowledged me!' Bakugou struck the duffle bag again before walking away, ignoring the burning pain in his knuckles.

Bakugou stomped over to his chair and pulled up his computer, the one thing his parents didn't take, if only for if U.A. sent him an update. The computer turned on, displaying the last thing it had on-screen previously: an article on the events of the Sports Festival.

1st Year Sports Festival Champion: Izuku Midoriya
Symbol of Hope or Fear?

Written by: Chitose Kizuki

With another start to the scholastic year comes quickly one of the most widely watched events in the world since the Olympics and the World Pokémon League Tournament: U.A. High School's coveted Sports Festival. This highly famous event needs no introduction to you, my loyal readers, yet its significance needs to be reiterated. Ever since the Dawning of Humanity's next stage of evolution, Quirks, were blessed onto human civilization there has not been a more prestigious and important showcasing of Hero Society's future Pro Heroes and their Quirks' potential. This Festival has rivaled and surpassed the once lauded Olympics of old and even the Pokémon Championship Tournaments of the present, showcasing the strength, endurance, and potential of U.A. High's, the world's foremost breeding ground for the next Top Heroes, students.

Many of Japan's highest-ranking Pros have been graduates of U.A. High, from Fiber Hero: Best Jeanist, Shinobi Hero: Edgeshot, Flame Hero: Endeavor, and even the Symbol of Peace himself, All Might, who first made a name for himself as the reigning back-to-back Champion of the Sports Festival in his time, achieving first place in every event for 3 years and three consecutive Sports Festivals. To make it high in the Festival, even win, is to show your strength and potential to the world and Pro Heroes interested in taking promising students as interns or even future sidekicks. Each Student Year's Festival has its grand significance, from the 1st Years displaying their blooming potential to the 3rd's who put all their training and teaching to work and showcase how far they have come and can still go.

This year's 1st Sports Festival has, in my humble opinion, been the most memorable and controversial Festival in recent memory, maybe even ever. Not long before this, U.A.'s famous and thought-to-be impenetrable security and safety for its students and faculty was challenged and debunked by two major incidents in two days. The first was a brazen gathering and trespassing of fellow reporters, journalists, and media on the grounds of their main campus where U.A.'s defenses were breached and hungry journalists and reporters thirsting for an interview with All Might, the latest to join the school's Pro Hero faculty. Anonymous sources from within U.A.'s student population described the students of all years and courses to have reacted in a fearful panic, running wild and trampling over each other like a horde of Tauros in a China shop. While law enforcement eventually arrived, this event would only be the prelude to what would come next.

The very next day, U.A. High's 1st Years of the lauded Hero Course were attacked by a gathering of Villains, their numbers ranging to more than 70 assailants, at the off-site training facility known as the USJ. This group would call themselves the League of Villains, led by a young man, reportedly in his 20s, dubbed Tomura Shigaraki, and his right hand, Kurogiri, a Villain with a rare Warping Quirk, both escaping and still at large. This group's mission was to attack and kill our beloved Symbol of Peace and Number 1 Hero, All Might, as well as harm and even murder the young class of would-be heroes. Luckily, the Symbol of Peace proved as unbeatable as ever and drove back the Villains. However, this event has many, including me, questioning U.A.'s security and the safety of its students. When asked for comment, U.A. High School's Principal Nezu, had this to say:

"U.A. High School is committed to the education and protection of its student body. Most of these Villains have been identified as no less than street-level fodder with no true coordination or plan. The masterminds of this attack, Tomura Shigaraki and Kurogiri, are being investigated, and we have found that Kurogiri's Warping Quirk and Electrocution Villain, Tesla, to be the parties responsible for their unprecedented entry and tampering with U.A.'s security systems. Warping Quirks are a rarity, even in our world's vast diversity of such powers, while U.A. was prepared for teleportation through Pokémon, this Kurogiri is an oddity we were unprepared for. Rest assured, this lapse Will not occur again, and we will continue to improve and strengthen our security measures for the safety of our society's future."

Bold words from the ever-influential and brilliant Principal, yet actions speak louder than words, and this Hero Principal's actions have taken place in the continuation of the U.A. Sports Festival. Talks of canceling the event were rampant after the USJ Invasion. However, U.A.'s Principal assured us of its safety through updated security, including the presence of Top Rank Heroes, among them ranging from rising stars such as Mount Lady and Kamui Woods to old and familiar faces such as Flame Hero: Endeavor. Reports even say that the Rabbit Hero: Miruko, current Number 7 on the Hero Billboard Charts, was said to have made a surprise appearance with Number 9 Dragon Hero: Ryukyu. Could the Dragon Hero have managed to drag her reported best friend to attend, or could there be more to this relationship than friendship? (Find out more on Hero Love Triangle?! Three-way War of Passion between Ryukyu, Miruko, and Guardian?!)

Thankfully, the Sports Festival proceeded with no incident as crowds roared with passion at the displays of skill and power from U.A. High's students, especially Class 1-A, the brave students who survived the villainous assault at the USJ. Many of their ranks would even rise to take the top spots of the Final 3rd Round, the ever-constant one-on-one tournament where the best and strongest of their ranks compete for 1st Place. Notable contestants included Shoto Todoroki, the youngest son of Flame Hero: Endeavor, who displayed masterful control and power over ice and fire that left the stadium entombed in building-sized glaciers! Other standouts included Fumikage Tokoyami, a brave and powerful boy with not only a seemingly Sentient Quirk, an astonishing rarity in of itself but also a Metamorphic effect of an avian-like head, like that of a Honchkrow or Corviknight. This brave Metamorphic went far and proved his strength and honorable composure to where he would share the 3rd place ranking alongside Shoto Todoroki.

The 2nd Place and runner-up of the Festival went to Katsuki Bakugou, a graduate of the prestigious Aldera Junior High, whose powerful Explosion Quirk was displayed with power, speed, and creative versatility that of a prodigy. Tension and drama were raised during his first match against his fellow classmate, Mina Ashido, another student with a unique Metamorphic trait of pink skin, hair, yellow horns, and intriguing eyes. In a shocking turn of events, Katsuki Bakugou displayed unmatched ferocity and brutality against Ms. Ashido, the poor girl rendered unconscious and badly injured by the end of their match; many among the crowd even jeered against Katsuki Bakugou for his ruthless approach. While the treatment of Ms. Ashido is by no means tolerated or should be looked on with approval, I find it unfair to cast this growing prodigy with such unfair disdain and controversy. Is the Sports Festival itself not dangerous enough when similar displays of power and injuries from past Festivals and matches were overlooked without a peep? Perhaps Mr. Bakugou's behavior may be much, but it's my hope that U.A. has more to teach Mr. Bakugou and allow him and his amazing Quirk to flourish and improve to the great Hero I believe he could still be.

The one to take 1st Place in the Sports Festival, though, is the one on everybody's mind, the one who managed to obtain 1st Place in all 3 Rounds of the Festival, and the very one who started the festivities with a rousing and interesting speech: Izuku Midoriya. A fellow graduate of Aldera Junior High, much like Katsuki Bakugou, reportedly the Class President of Class 1-A, and the current record holder of the highest Practical Entrance Exam score, surpassing the previous record held by none other than All Might. Throughout the Festival, Izuku Midoriya rocked the world with his astonishing and mysterious Quirk and even bolder and more intriguing words. His Quirk, Aura Force, reportedly uses his very Life Energy, Aura, to empower his body to monstrous potential. Reports claim to see Midoriya speed through his opponents while covered in green bioelectricity, giving him a unique theatrical flare and strength capable of overpowering his classmates.

The most shocking displays of his strength were shown in the 3rd Round, where Mr. Midoriya made it a habit to display a new monstrous show of strength, from creating bursts of wind with but a snap of his fingers that left the crowds staggered, both by its strength and the frankly disturbing side-effect of leaving said fingers swollen purple and broken. Other than numerous and disturbing displays of self-harm, his first match-up against General Course Class 1-C student Hitoshi Shinsou, a surprising underdog, nearly spelled his end until he lit the stage with a bright display of blinding blue light and shocked all with a sudden transformation of blue ghostly flames surrounding his body. It almost appeared like Izuku Midoriya had two Quirks instead of one!

However, Izuku Midoriya's words were what left audiences across the globe astonished and their attentions locked on him. In his opening speech, a tradition held for the 1st Place Applicant in the Practical Entrance Exam, Izuku Midoriya stunned the world with bold words detailing a life of hardship, discrimination, and unyielding courage and Hope in the face of such struggles. (Izuku Midoriya's full opening speech at the end.) The wildest claim made was the startling revelation of being considered Quirkless until last year! Quirks have notably been shown to manifest around birth to 4 Years of Age, with late exceptions rare, yet Izuku Midoriya claims to have not known of his Quirk until as early as his 15th birthday! Such wild claims leave me skeptical, including much of his claims to have been bullied for his perceived Quirklessness, yet perhaps his boldest claim was his seemingly indirect challenge to surpass All Might himself!

"That is the Hero that I wanted to be. Not a Symbol of Peace, not just the Number 1 Hero: I wanted to be Something More. I wanted to be a Hero of Hope. A Symbol of Hope." -Izuku Midoriya.

While passionate and optimistic, I find such words quite the daring challenge to surpass the world's symbol of peace and become an even greater symbol, one of hope. Are his words the innocent, naive declaration of a fan wanting to live up to and be recognized by his idol or the proud arrogance of the haughty? Could he have let his record-high score, surpassing All Might's previous record, in the Entrance Exam go to his head? Unsure, I must admit, but he certainly did not prove his words empty with his victories across all three rounds, even defeating notable opponents like Shoto Todoroki and his former Aldera classmate, Katsuki Bakugou.

Izuku Midoriya's future is yet to be decided, yet he has shown a promising start to his Hero career, even if his words and claims could be seen as extravagant and controversial at worst. For now, we leave this year's Sports Festival with high expectations and intrigue for this Sports Festival Champion and his peers. Will Izuku Midoriya make good on his promises to surpass the Symbol of Peace? Is this the humble beginnings of the World's Next Big Hero or the peak before a calamitous fall from grace? The jury is still up for debate, but one thing is for sure: We are watching Izuku Midoriya, and we hope you don't disappoint.

At the end of the article, Bakugou slammed his laptop shut, uncaring whether he cracked the screen. This article he found made him both angry and satisfied. For one, someone at least had the brains to realize his strength and how the crowd was a bunch of hypocrites for jeering him for putting Weird Eyes in her place. However, he bristled when reading that he needed improvements to be taught by U.A. The true satisfaction he found was how seemingly no one believed the nerd's claim of being Quirkless until recently, even looking at the nerd with suspicion and antagonism.

What angered him the most, however, was that even with the nerd called out, he was still praised and applauded for that bullshit Quirk of his and mentioning beating Icy Hot and himself. It stirred something awful within him when the article mentioned the nerd achieving first in the Entrance Exam and beating All Might's record, his jealousy on the brink of exploding. But one thing did catch his attention throughout the nausea-inducing jerking of the nerd's feats.

'Like he had two Quirks instead of one,' Bakugou thought. He didn't believe still that Shitty Deku had managed to get a Quirk naturally after all this time, and Todoroki's words still buzzed in his head about the connection between the nerd and All Might. Try as hard they did to hide it, Bakugou could see there was something more to All Might praising Deku. It looked too personal, like a father praising his son. 'Or a master and his apprentice.'

Bakugou wanted to dismiss the thought, the jealousy springing from his heart of his idol choosing Deku over him too much for him to consider, let alone bear, but he couldn't. He couldn't dismiss how everything seemed to line up between Deku and All Might. Their similar Quirks and power, All Might becoming a teacher the same year as he and the nerd, Deku suddenly with a Quirk after the two of them met the Symbol of Peace in person, Todoroki's words, and even All Might warning him from not using his gauntlets on Deku during the Battle Training Exercise. He wasn't warning him because it was too excessive, it was because he was unfairly siding with Deku! The Shitty Nerd turned their idol, His Idol, against him!

Bakugou growled, his fists cracking under the strain of his grip. Ultimately, the rageful and jealous teen shot up from his chair and struck the duffle bag, restarting his training/venting while ignoring the blood starting to leak from his knuckles.

"Goodbye, Kacchan," Deku's words rang in his head, the ones he whispered after their match. "I always thought you would be one of the greatest."

Something twisted inside Katsuki's chest every time he remembered those words, yet he could never figure out where it came from or why. Instead, Bakugou saw it through the simplest, most logical conclusion: Deku was still looking down on him. What at first sounded like a final goodbye rang out as a dismissive taunt.

"Just you wait, Deku. I'm gonna prove you're nothing but a cheat and liar!" Bakugou declared, his eyes practically bloodshot in his rage. "Then everyone will know who is the only one who will surpass All Might! ME!"

---

Later...

As night fell on northern Hokkaido, the four expeditioners made camp, erecting their tents to where the cluster of trees blocked the wind in its direction, Professor Taishi instructing them not to camp directly underneath them in case of falling branches, accumulated snow, upsetting the wild Pokémon, or even the unexpected possibility of lightning striking a tree.

As they finished, their four tents were erected in a U-shape facing toward the trees, with Taishi's and Todoroki's at the ends where they, as the least affected by the cold winds, would most likely face, leaving Izuku's and Hagakure's in the center of the shape. The four of them were now huddled in a circle around a campfire, Taishi and Izuku sitting across from one another while Hagakure and Todoroki were across from each other. The fire was made out of branches from the nearby trees and easily lit with Todoroki's fire. Pikachu sat by Izuku, sighing contently with the fire's warmth.

"Ahhh, finally! Sweet, warm heat!" Hagakure cheered as she lifted her glove-covered hands to the flames. She raised her gaze toward Todoroki, who stared silently into the fire he made. "Glad we didn't have to coax you too hard to use this, huh?"

Izuku spotted Todoroki's small flinch. "Toru," Izuku said.

"No, it is fine, I do deserve that," Todoroki muttered acceptingly.

"So, are you just gonna let yourself get insulted and probed and think that will make up for everything you did?" Hagakure questioned.

"If that is what must happen, perhaps," Todoroki muttered, his gaze fixated on the flames.

"Reconciliation through humiliation is noble sounding at first, yet it is also the path that appears easiest," Taishi warned, his lotus position practically flawless. "To seek true and sincere redemption, one must take the right steps, not the easiest."

"Understood," Todoroki nodded, a contemplative gleam in his eyes.

"Well, if that's the case, at least you went off to a good start going to cancel your engagement with Yaomomo," Hagakure mentioned. "But don't think for a second that you'll win us over for a while, Todoroki."

"It doesn't matter how long my attempts to make amends take, only that I can achieve it," Todoroki replied.

"Why?" Izuku said, drawing Todoroki's and Hagakure's gazes. "I understand you have much to make for after all you did, especially with Momo and Vulpix, but why the rest of us, too? Does it involve your question of whether we can still be friends?" Todoroki turned his gaze back to the fire, staying silent for a few seconds in contemplation. Eventually, he nodded. "Why do you want us to be friends? It can't simply be because I helped you."

"You're right, it isn't," Todoroki admitted. "On a logical level, I've seen how just as you grow stronger because of the support of your friends, they, in turn, grow stronger from you. Your advice and strategies would be helpful for me to grow stronger. However, honestly, I never had the luxury of friends."

Izuku's eyes blinked, surprise, memories of his childhood spent alone and bullied replaying in his mind. "Most kids avoided me because of my scar and cold demeanor," Todoroki recounted his childhood as the teen himself remembered walking down the halls of his junior high, kids steering clear of him, staring, pointing, and whispering at the scarred teen. "And those that didn't only wanted to get close because my father was the Number Two Hero. Other than my Pokémon, I had no one to turn to for friendship, and even then, I wasn't open enough as I should have been to Ninetails."

Todoroki looked to Midoriya with his regular neutral gaze, yet a warmth of sincerity glimmered in his grey and turquoise eyes. "Even after everything I did to you and your friends, you still were the only one who bothered and tried to help me because it was what you wanted," Todoroki continued. "Not for my father's influence, but because it was the right thing to do. I didn't have much in the luxury of trust, but I felt I could trust you."

Izuku was stunned by Todoroki's confession, unsure of what to feel. On the one hand, this was still the same boy that caused so much pain and grief to his friends, tormenting Yaoyorozu with their engagement, manipulating Hagakure and the others to side against him, and abusing his own Pokémon. Yet, on the other, Todoroki's childhood wasn't that different from his own. While no one tried to buddy up to Izuku because of his father, or at all, no one at his previous schools wanted to be friends with the Quirkless loser, steering clear as if he was a walking disease. He never even opened fully up to Eevee or Pikachu about some of his darkest thoughts.

"...He reminds me of you, Izuku, if you ever truly drowned in hatred for your father and Bakugou," Eevee's words replayed inwardly. Izuku could see his lifelong partner was more accurate than he expected.

"Well, I guess I can't fault you for that or lie and say I don't get what you mean," Hagakure muttered, her voice forlorn and downcast. "We are all pretty similar to each other, huh?"

Izuku stared at Hagakure, dejected. "You too, Toru?" Izuku asked.

Thanks to Toru's beanie, Izuku could tell she was nodding. "I try to be bubbly and cheerful as much as I can with others, and I guess I made a few friendly acquaintances in my previous schools, but not real close friends, you know?" Hagakure replied, melancholy. "Guys aren't interested in a girl they can't tell if she's pretty or not, and girls were a bit turned off by how I look too, or rather not looked. At least I had my Pokémon and my parents, but it wasn't the same."

"Then they were stupid," Izuku said, Hagakure turning to meet Izuku's stern stare. "Looks, reputations, none of that matters. Your personality and cheerfulness are what make you special, Toru-chan. I don't need to see you to know how you're feeling, acting, or who you are as a person. If people let things as superficial as looks define who you are, then they aren't worth befriending." Izuku placed a hand over his heart and smiled softly at her. "You have me, Mina, and all the others as friends, Toru-chan, and we can truly see you, even if you can't."

Hagakure was still, shaking here and there, yet Izuku knew those shakes weren't from cold. The invisible girl sniffled and brushed her face, wiping away the tears that stung where her eyes were. "Thank you, Izi," Hagakure cried. "That means more than you can imagine."

Izuku nodded, smiling softly at how sincere and cute she sounded, it was enough to make his heart ache, similar to how he felt with Ochaco, Tsu, and Mina, yet not as strong as how his heart drummed toward Serena and Momo. Izuku didn't know what to call this foreign feeling, yet it felt nice.

Izuku turned toward Todoroki. "And for what it's worth, the same goes for you too, Todoroki," Izuku said, his face more serious and neutral. "If all they saw was your father and that scar, you were right to avoid them. True friends overlook their differences and hang out because they genuinely want to, not for self-gain."

Todoroki's eyes were slightly wider, and his mouth opened a smidge. His shock wore off, and he smiled softly and nodded in return.

Taishi's chuckle reminded the three of his presence. "It always refreshes an old man's soul to see shared trauma mended and healed with such compassion," The silver-haired professor chuckled softly.

"A-Ah, s-sorry, Professor," Izuku rubbed the back of his head. "I didn't mean for things to get heavy and awkward."

"No apologies needed, Midoriya," Taishi waved the apology away. "I'm content to let yourselves soothe each other's inner wounds. It is for the purpose that I brought you all here."

"Purpose?" Izuku repeated questioningly.

Suddenly, a Pokeball by Izuku's side opened up, and a beam of white light shot out and formed Shelgon. "Shelgon," The Endurance Pokémon cried out with his appearance.

"W-What?! Shelgon?!" Izuku exclaimed, jumping in place. "Why did you come out? I-Is there something you want?"

Shelgon gazed briefly at his Trainer before squatting down. The Endurance Pokémon began rubbing his short legs on the snow.

"Huh?" Izuku stared, confused at what his new Pokémon was doing.

"Looks like he's trying to touch as much snow as he wants," Todoroki observed.

"Huh, weird," Hagakure muttered, tilting her head. "I thought Dragon Types hated the cold. I mean, they are weak to the Ice Type, right?"

"Indeed, they are," Taishi nodded, smirking. "Quite the interesting paradox of their species, isn't it?"

"What do you mean, Professor?" Izuku asked.

"Todoroki," Taishi addressed, looking at the scarred student. "You were quite familiar with this land in the past, weren't you?"

Todoroki blinked, perplexed by the sudden question. "Yeah," Todoroki nodded hesitantly. "When I was younger before my mother scarred me-" Todoroki hesitated, flinching at the mention of the incident. "-she used to take me and my siblings on a family field trip. Touya couldn't usually go because he was too sickly for the cold. After what happened, I came here with my father once and never again."

Taishi nodded, his mouth a thin line as he absorbed this information. "Tell me, do you recall still the type of Pokémon to be found here?" Taishi continued.

"Where do you think this is going?" Hagakure leaned and whispered to Izuku.

Izuku shrugged, choosing to wait and see where this unfolded.

"Hmm, well, we've seen a few species that are regulars in this environment. The Snover line, Swinub's, Snorunt's, and other Ice Types. Ghost, Normal, and Psychic types are usually around in the woodland areas."

"And near the mountains and rocks?" Taishi questioned further.

"Rocks and Fighting Types, obviously, but-" Todoroki paused as his eyes widened. "Dragon Types too. Usually the Gabite line."

Taishi smiled, satisfied. "Excellent," Taishi nodded to Todoroki with a teacherly approval. "If we were in class, I would give you full marks." Taishi turned his gaze back to all three. "Yes, despite their weakness to Ice, especially the Gabite line, Dragons often make their homes or frequent cold areas with many Ice Types. They'll usually reside in caves and mountains, yet you can spot a few Dragons wondering about them, even in the coldest. Is that not interesting?"

"Huh, I didn't think about that," Izuku muttered, looking to Shelgon, who listened silently.

"But why would they do that?" Hagakure inquired. "Wouldn't they get hurt more easily if attacked by an angry Ice Type?"

"Most likely. Often, that very circumstance can lead to a Dragon Type's demise," Taishi answered. "And yet they do so anyway. You see, while some differ, a common trait among Dragon types is that most are a proud and resilient type of species. There is a reason why Dragon Types are weak to themselves, and it is from their common drive to grow strong and mighty, a drive so fierce most Dragon Types will willingly put themselves in perilous situations and disadvantageous fights for the sake of growing stronger. A trait notably similar to Fighting Types, I might add."

"They fight even when the odds are against them," Izuku muttered, looking again to Shelgon, contemplative. "You mean Shelgon wants to be out here to grow stronger?"

Taishi smiled. "That sounds like a rather Heroic trait, don't you agree, Midoriya?" Taishi asked.

"Y-Yeah, I guess it does," Izuku agreed, finding a new respect for Shelgon and his Type.

"I suppose that your Pokémon wishes to live up to its title as the Endurance Pokémon," Taishi continued. "While its species often reside in caves, neither eating nor drinking, some seek battle and hardship to grow stronger from there, all for the day they will evolve." Taishi looked to Shelgon. "Am I accurate?"

"He speaks the truth," Shelgon said, though everyone, except Izuku and his Pokémon, heard him say his name. "This environment is suitable to test my strength and resilience. Perhaps exposing myself to this cold environment can hasten my evolution further."

"I see," Izuku muttered. "You know, I can relate to how you feel." Shelgon gazed at his Trainer. "Before my Quirk came in-" Izuku glanced at the others, silently informing his Pokémon about his choice of words. "-I tried training my body to my limits and beyond them," Izuku recalled his days in Aldera training under All Might's training regiment, where he hovered his butt over his seat for so long till his legs screamed, an exercise he still does to this day. He also recalled using a grip strength device underneath his desk, doing more pushups, sit-ups, and weight lifts than the hero's plan detailed. "I pushed my body so hard till my limbs felt useless. I felt that because I was so far behind everyone else, if I wanted to become a Hero, I had to work even harder, push my limits to the breaking point."

"But in my haste, I overworked myself," Izuku remembered how he collapsed on his run with All Might, exhausted. "I pushed myself too hard, and I was destroying my body rather than improving it."

Hagakure flinched, recalling how Izuku acted no better in the Festival when he broke his fingers, especially against his fight with the boy across from her.

"It wasn't until a friend of mine, a trainer of sorts, set me straight that I got back on the right track," Izuku smiled, reminiscing All Might smiling reassuringly as he picked up his collapsed body. Izuku looked to Shelgon with the same reassuring smile his mentor gave him. "I admire your drive to grow stronger and evolve past your limits, Shelgon, and I promised that I would help you achieve your goal, but as your Trainer, I wish to caution you. Don't overwork and destroy yourself or think you must go this far alone." Izuku raised his hand in offering. "Let me help you so we can both achieve our goals."

Shelgon held his gaze with his newfound Trainer, his constant glare hiding how deeply resonating Izuku's words were or just how similar he truly was to this boy he mistakenly assumed was plain. Shelgon's gaze dropped to Izuku's hand, his pride calling him to bite the hand or Headbutt his Trainer again.

Instead, Shelgon crawled forward and pressed the back of Izuku's hand to his shell above his face. Izuku's smile grew, his eyes half-lidded with warmth as he placed his palm on Shelgon's bony shell, patting and rubbing the proud Dragon Type. The Pokémon dropped his gaze to the snowy ground with his low hums, a sign of his contentment.

"Heh, I guess the big, mighty hardhead has soft inside after all," Pikachu snarked, walking closer to the Dragon Type.

That proved to be his mistake. Shelgon's sharp glare swiftly met Pikachu, and the snarking Electric Mouse Pokémon was sent flying comically with a Headbutt. Izuku sweatdropped, chuckling nervously as he continued petting the satisfied Endurance Pokémon while Pikachu's upper half was buried in snow, the Pokémon struggling to get out.

Hagakure had switched from crying girlishly at the sweet, heartwarming scene between Trainer and Pokémon to giggling at how adorable Izi's Pokémon acted.

Todoroki stared silently at Izuku's and Shelgon's bond growing on display, recalling their rough start when they first met. Todoroki grabbed one of his Pokeballs, Vulpix's ball, and stared at it in his palm, contemplating.

"Grow through what you struggle with most," Todoroki spoke aloud. "That's what you want from me on this trip." Todoroki gazed at Taishi. "You knew I visited here after what happened with my mother, didn't you?"

"I suspected you visited the lake one last time," Taishi nodded, his frown steely and serious. "Your visit after such an incident and your refusal to face your past would explain why you were affected then and not before or after."

"Wait, can you clue us in on what you mean?" Hagakure questioned, confused. "What do you mean by 'the lake'?"

"Our destination, where Todoroki's mother would ultimately take him on their trips," Taishi answered. "Lake Acuity, the most mystically important lake of all Hokkaido, and where you and Todoroki were affected by the psychic influence that plagues the two of you."

"Lake Acuity," Izuku repeated; a part of him felt the name's meaning as significant.

"Yes, if my suspicions are indeed correct, and they most assuredly are, Mr. Todoroki had visited the lake sometime after his incident with his mother, where his tumultuous feelings were an unintended prayer to the Lake's Spirit, who would cast its psychic influence on him and make him forget his memories," Taishi revealed, turning his attention to Hagakure. "Coincidentally, at the same time, you visited the lake in your youth, too, Ms. Hagakure."

"Toru?" Izuku whirled his wide eyes at Hagakure's still form. "I-Is that true?"

Todoroki, too, had wide, surprised eyes. "You were there?" Todoroki questioned.

"I-I don't know," Hagakure stuttered, her head leaned down, and Izuku presumed her eyes were darting around aimlessly as she tried to remember. "I mean, I remember my parents taking me here on a visit when I was younger, but I don't remember much of that trip. I-I always thought it was because I was young and forgot things."

"It is likely your memories were likewise affected, clouding your visit when you encountered the Lake Spirit at the same time as Todoroki," Taishi explained. "The similarities between your psychic conditions end there but likely had cost you more."

"Lake Spirit? Professor Taishi, you said that the psychic influence that affected us came from a Pokémon," Izuku pointed out.

"Spirit, Pokémon, synonyms to the being that which I speak of," Taishi replied cryptically, eyes closed in an almost meditative trance.

"But something doesn't add up here," Todoroki noted. "You say that Hagakure and I were affected by the same Pokémon on the same day, but Midoriya wasn't there, correct?" Todoroki turned to Izuku with the question.

"No, I've never been up to Hokkaido before, much less Lake Acuity," Izuku shook his head.

"So, if we are all influenced by whatever Pokémon, spirit, whatever resides in this lake, then how come Midoriya's also affected?" Todoroki asked.

"Whoever said the Spirit that affected Midoriya and Lake Acuity's Spirit were the same?" Taishi replied, opening his eyes as the campfire flames reflected in his glasses. "Or that Midoriya's condition occurred in the same lake?"

The question stunned the three silent. Shelgon and Pikachu, freshly freed from his snowy predicament, were too quiet and listening.

"He means Lake Verity," Froakie's voice came up in Izuku's mind, startling him. "Where we first met, Master Izuku."

'W-What?!' Izuku replied mentally.

"Don't you remember, Izuku?" Eevee joined in. "When you and Asui were fishing, and she caught her Psyduck?"

Izuku's eyes widened as the memory came back to him, standing by as Asui prepared to battle Psyduck to catch him, only for them to be interrupted by that presence. He remembered the gusts of cool, transparent wind, the shining water rippling, the melodic hum that sang as the shape of that transparent figure rose from the waters.

"Wooowaooo!" Izuku recalled the heavenly cry as clearly as when he first heard it before the shape vanished into the lake.

Izuku's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as he recalled how he felt when the shape emerged: anger, sadness, and joy, all cascading through his heart chaotically. It was the earliest he could remember feeling his emotions lately running wild.

"Lake Verity, the shape me and Asui saw back then," Izuku muttered, looking to Taishi, his shocked eyes meeting Taishi's cold, emotionless ones. "That was the Pokémon that affected me and Asui, but it isn't the same one as the one that affected Toru and Todoroki, is it?"

Taishi silently nodded.

"Izi, what are you talking about?" Toru asked, confused and concerned.

"The day that Mr. Aizawa told us about the Sports Festival, Asui invited me on a family trip to Lake Verity," Izuku recounted the trip. "It was on that trip where I caught Froakie, but before, Asui and I saw something at the lake. It was a vague shape, transparent, and whatever it was, it cried to us before it disappeared back into the water. Since then, my emotions have been uncontrollable, like my hatred of Bakugou. That shape, that Pokémon, must have done something to me."

Suddenly, Hagakure and Todoroki froze stiffly, their respective eyes widening as they were brought into their minds. Images of a large lake, misty air breezing cooly, and a transparent shape rising from the water and crying before everything went white. Just as suddenly as they were pulled in, the two were blasted out of their minds, the two groaning and clutching their heads, the sudden migraine pounding loudly in their skulls.

Izuku was startled by the reactions of the two. Before he could say anything to confirm their conditions, Izuku heard Taishi sigh. Looking at the Pokémon Professor, he looked apologetic, remorseful. "Just as I surmised," Taishi muttered, his hand raised to his necklace. Izuku's eyes darted to Taishi's iconic necklace, catching how the inner and violet-purple gem flashed.

Hagakure and Todoroki stilled again; their migraines suddenly vanished. They could still feel the throb, but only faintly. Izuku noticed their more relaxed composure, staring wide-eyed at Taishi, who met his stare with a cold gaze. The enigmatic professor shook his head, silently commanding him to stay quiet. Izuku felt conflicted, the continued and growing mystery surrounding the Pokémon Professor gnawing impatiently in his mind, but the green-haired would nod, choosing patience over restlessness.

"W-What was that?" Hagakure stuttered, rubbing her head.

"Your memories scratching behind the veil cast upon your minds," Taishi sagely replied. "Midoriya's similar encounter awakened these memories, yet the Spirit's psychic influence persists."

"But I thought mine was broken during mine and Midoriya's match?" Todoroki inquired.

"Whatever occurred in your battle broke a hole through the veil, but the veil itself remains," Taishi answered. "You must be fully free of it, lest the veil may recover and lock your memories behind it again."

Todoroki's eyes grew alarmed, fear pounding in his chest of what could happen if that were to occur. 'If my memories get locked away again, will everything it took to get me to change be for nothing?' Todoroki clawed at his forehead, panting panickily. 'Will I become like him again?' Todoroki's fearful eyes gazed at the flames and saw his previous self, his cold, uncaring self that acted like his father.

Izuku frowned, incredibly concerned, thinking along the same train of thought as Todoroki. 'If that happens, everything I did to get him to come to his senses, all I sacrificed to get him to change, to save Vulpix, it could all be for nothing,' Izuku thought as he stared at his scarred hand.

"But wait, what about me?" Toru asked, scratching her invisible head. "I understand how Todoroki got affected by whatever this Pokémon is, but why did I need to come along? Yeah, forgetting about that trip sucks, but I haven't lost any other memories."

"Maybe not, but as I said, you may have suffered a costlier fate than even Todoroki," Taishi frowned apologetically at her, gesturing from his face to hers. "Tell me, Miss Hagakure, have you always been this way?"

Only the breeze of the wind and the crackling of fire were heard as Izuku and Shoto stared at Toru with widening, horrified eyes. Toru's body shook worse. "D-Do you mean t-that Pokémon made me invisible?" Toru asked, her voice heavy with shock and horror. Izuku was quick to grab Toru's hand and squeeze it comfortably. The fact she didn't react or brush him off was enough for Izuku to continue.

"Turn you invisible, likely not. This is still your Quirk. The real tragedy, I suspect, is that you may have always held the capacity to turn your invisibility on and off, like a switch, and the Spirit robbed that knowledge from you," Taishi explained his hypothesis. "Whether or not this is the case, I am truly sorry."

Toru gasped and fell backward into Izuku's arms, the green-haired teen rubbing her shoulders while she slung to his body like a lifeline. "I-I could have been normal...all this time?!" Toru cried, tears leaking from her eyes. "W-Why?! Why would it do this?!"

Todoroki stared at Toru with wide, horrified eyes. In a flicker of the flames, Toru was replaced with Yaoyorozu, crying similarly because of him, just like Toru.

"Why? What is this Pokémon, and why would it do what it did to me and Hagakure?" Todoroki questioned Taishi. "Is it similar to the one Midoriya and Asui saw?"

"Please, Professor Taishi, whatever these Spirits are, we need to know," Izuku implored.

"What he said!" Pikachu cried out, arms crossed and his face serious.

"If these Spirits are potentially our foes, we will need everything we can to face them," Shelgon nodded.

Taishi sighed through his nose, staring contemplatively at the five and the fire. "Very well, but for me to properly explain what these Lake Spirits are, I must regale you with a story," Taishi said, the students looking at him surprised and curious. "A Story of Creation, Beginnings, and Legends."

As Taishi drew breath and prepared himself, he stared at the campfire's dancing flames and embers flying into the heavens, mixing with the stars above.

---

"Before the beginning, before all that there was, there was only Chaos, a Primordial Void of incomprehensible nothingness and everything. But from Primordial Waters of the Void, a single egg emerged, and from the egg, Light and Life began."

"The being that came from this Egg took on many forms and shapes, from a mass of light and arms to the body of a man, till it reached its zenith in the form of a great beast, its fur white as light itself, a great heavenly gate around its waist. Arceus, the First Being, and the Alpha Pokémon. It stood before the Void and saw potential, possibility, and Life. And so, with a mighty decree, Life and Light came to be."

"With the power of its mighty Plates, manifested shards of his power, Arceus's work began. As the first second struck, Dialga, the Being of Time, roared into existence. When the first atom formed, Palkia, Being of Space, tore his way into being. And as the laws of Creation solidified, an opposite was made to balance it all, a Being of Anti-Matter, the Adversary. With the first of its children, Arceus's work came to be, Creation began, and the universe as we know it would slowly shape to his machinations. Stars lit, died, and birthed more of creation. Galaxies spun into being. Dimensions of reality splintered and shaped into existence."

"But as he saw his birthing universe come to be, Arceus sought more, a home for his children to grow and prosper. In the milky depths of where he began his works, Arceus, with his mighty thousand arms, formed Sky, Sea, and Land, along with mighty Beasts of Legend meant to embody and maintain them: The Emerald Serpent, The Sapphire Leviathan, and Ruby Behemoth."

---

"Rayquaza, Kyogre, and Groudon," Izuku gasped.

Taishi stopped his tale and looked at Izuku. Todoroki and Toru, still pressed against him, likewise stared blankly at him.

"Boss. Really?" Pikachu raised an eyebrow. "You had to be that guy and interrupt the story?"

"U-Uh, s-sorry," Izuku scratched his cheek, embarrassed. "I remember them from one of my history lessons. Groudon was what they used to base the design of the Zero-Pointers."

"Oh?" Toru blinked. "I didn't realize that."

"What other Pokémon did you imagine they used to base their design on?" Todoroki questioned.

"Oh, hush you," Toru pouted.

"Not to sound impatient, but may I continue the story unimpeded?" Taishi inquired, raising a slightly admonishing, if not amused, eyebrow at Izuku. The green-haired teen blushed, embarrassed, and nodded, Todoroki and Hagakure following. "Now, where was I? Ah, yes..."

---

"As the Earth that would be this new home was forged, Arceus continued his works and created more Legendary creations of all shapes and sizes. The Stag of Life, The Eagle of Destruction, and the Great Titan Dragon to maintain Order and Balance. The Rainbow Bird of Hope and the Beast of the Sea embodying and dispelling Despair. A Great Dragon of Black and White, a culmination of the universe's chaotic draconic energy, who embodied Truth and Ideals in equal measure. A Guardian Angel of Dreams and the Specter of Nightmares. A Mighty Colossus tasked with pulling the lands of the Earth into place with his mighty ropes, aided by his Legendary Titans."

"More and more of these walking Legends and forgotten Myths came to be, either by his hand or the hands and wills of his Legendary children. And yet, the Creator was still not content. He saw a vast and beautiful world, too big for even him and his children, and thus continued his work. With aid from a Mythical creature, new beasts and creatures began to populate the Earth, beasts of similar cloth to him, yet not as mighty, Pokémon, and a new kind of being of Arceus's design, mankind. His only order to his newfound creations: Grow, Propagate, and Unify."

"Yet to truly make these beings their own, Arceus created and birthed three new Legendary Spirits, Beings made to embody the attributes that he would bestow upon creatures of the world. To be his valiant sword, he formed Azelf, the Being of Willpower, the Valiant One, and as he flew across the lands, mankind and Pokémon alike became determined, the gift of free will sparked in their souls, and resilience and diligence came to be."

"Born as a benevolent jewel in Arceus's eyes, Mesprit, the Being of Emotion, the Benevolent One, was the creature's name. Her flight was the birth of emotion, delivering and teaching all the joys, sorrows, pain, anguish, and love in life onto their hearts."

"And finally, to act as a mirror and reflect his wisdom onto his creations, Uxie, the Being of Knowledge, the Wise One, was born. With her flight, the minds of all came alive with knowledge, wisdom, and intelligence, gifting Arceus's newfound children the tools to solve life's problems and challenges on their own."

"And as the time of Legends and Myths passed by, and Arceus retreated to his scared Hall to sleep content and give dominion of this world to us, so too did the Legendary Pokémon vanish to their respective homes, caves, and dimensions. The Three Beings of Willpower, Emotion, and Knowledge too would disappear from the world, resting in Three Sacred Lakes in the Land Where the Sun first Rises and Sets, never to be seen until the time of their choosing."

---

"And that time appears to be now," Taishi ended his tale, opening his eyes to gaze upon his students.

The three students sat still, absorbing all Taishi told them.

"Azelf, Mesprit, and Uxie," Izuku repeated their names. "They are the Spirits we've encountered."

"The Legendary Pokémon," Todoroki muttered, staring into the flames while pondering the gravity of their predicament. "Most people believe they were simply Legends and Myths made to explain away the creation of our world or scare us to sleep when we were young."

"But if these Legendary Spirits are what we three saw and were affected by, they can't be simply tall tales, right?" Hagakure questioned.

"There is always a bit of truth in Legends and Myths," Taishi sagely explained. "Even I don't hold all the answers or believe my tale to be fully accurate. However, the inklings of truth found in these tales, breadcrumbs left behind from ages past, are the best means of explaining and solving our present challenges." Taishi pushed his glasses up as he stared at the three. "So, have you figured out which one of the Legendary Spirits you've encountered? Midoriya?"

"Mesprit, that's who Asui and I encountered," Izuku gasped the answer out, his memory of the encounter replaying, now with a name to pin on the Lake's Spirit. "I remember how Asui said she felt happy when she saw the shape or how my Pokémon reacted. Right, Pikachu? Guys?"

"Yeah. I remember feeling excited when I saw that shape," Pikachu nodded, recounting his experience. "Guess that's what emotion Mesprit wanted me to feel."

"I, too, felt a rush of excitement, yet wariness," Combusken commented. "I felt such a sensation concerning at the time. Now, we know what it truly was."

"I felt peace and calm when that shape, Mesprit, appeared," Eevee said. "I felt similar to the times Izuku and I cuddled when we were younger. What about you, Froakie? You were there on the Lake, too? Did you feel anything?"

"Now that you mention it, I did," Froakie admitted, recalling feeling a sensation as he spied on Izuku, Asui, and their Pokémon from afar during Mesprit's emergence. "I felt a great sense of curiosity, but also a sense of loneliness, longing. It was partly why I sought you out, Master Izuku. To think I resided so close to such a Legendary Being is astounding."

"Interesting," Shelgon muttered. "I wonder what emotion it would have sparked in me?"

"And you, Izi?" Hagakure asked, looking at him from when Pikachu and Shelgon spoke their names in her ears. "What did you feel when Mesprit appeared?"

"Lots of things," Izuku answered. "Anger, sadness, joy, and amazement. It all felt so confusing and overwhelming. After that, during the Sports Festival, I had difficulty maintaining my emotions, especially my confrontations with Bakugou and you, Todoroki." Izuku elected to forgo any mention of how his heart throbbed more around the girls, including Momo, Serena, Uraraka, Ochaco, Asui, and now, Hagakure.

"That explains a lot," Todoroki muttered, remembering how pissed off Izuku looked by the end of their talk after the 2nd event. Todoroki knew Izuku would still have been angry about what he told him, but now, with this context, Todoroki wondered if his face wasn't planted into the wall by sheer luck of Izuku's willpower holding out.

"Mesprit's Blessing," Taishi revealed.

"Blessing?" Izuku questioned, finding whatever Mesprit did to him anything but a blessing.

"The whims and meanings behind the Legendary Pokémon's actions aren't as easily discernable as we would like," Taishi said, repeating what he said to Pupil Hado. "Whatever their intentions or aims are, even if it might be seen more as a curse, their actions and influence are still their works, same with their Blessings, be it for good or ill-intent." Taishi turned his attention to Hagakure and Todoroki. "And the two of you?"

Toru and Shoto stared at each other's eyes and nodded, confirming their thoughts. "Uxie," Shoto answered. "My missing memories, Hagakure's condition, it all matches what you said about Uxie, a Being of Knowledge and of the Mind that could just as easily mess with it. Right?"

"Indeed," Taishi nodded. "Long is fabled Lake Verity and Lake Acuity were the resting places of Mesprit and Uxie, respectively. The Legendary Spirits, or Lake Guardians as most refer to them, often reside, hiding transparently at the bottom of their lakes or in a cave shrouded in mist at the center of the lakes, only to emerge at their discretion."

Izuku blinked, his mind flashing with the memory of spotting the fabled unreachable cave at Lake Verity's center before it was shrouded in mist.

"What about the third Legendary Spirit, Azelf?" Izuku questioned. "If Mesprit and Uxie reside in lakes across Japan, then Azelf should be too, right?"

"Yes," Taishi nodded. "If the legends are true, Azelf's home would be in the sacred lake known as Lake Valor."

"Lake Valor," Izuku repeated the name, recalling it was a pretty large lake, probably around the same size as Lake Acuity and Verity, funnily enough, residing somewhere among the southern Japanese prefectures, but he couldn't figure out which one at the top of his head.

"But why would they do this?" Hagakure asked again. "If Arceus, the Creator, made them, why would they curse us like this?"

"You say as if all of Arceus's creations are naturally good. That is a very naive look at the world, Hagakure," Taishi shook his head. "If Arceus did create them as he did the other Legendaries, then they are no less as independent and volatile as the rest of them, including Groudon and Kyogre, whose legends involve them squabbling and fighting among each other for dominance, with little care of the people and Pokémon their fighting would affect, or The Bird of Destruction, Yveltal, who drains the life force of all in its wake. The Legendaries may be gods among people and Pokémon, but not all gods are benevolent. And even ourselves, we are considered Arceus's children, his creations, and yet how many atrocities and Villains have risen from our species?"

Toru lowered her head, embarrassed by the silly question. Taishi was right; if the tales were true, they were just as much Arceus's children as the Lake Guardians, and yet if they were all good, things such as criminals, Villains, and evil wouldn't exist at all.

"As for why the Lake Guardians would act as they did, I do not know," Taishi admitted. "Many times in the past, the Lake Guardians would rise from their lakes and act according to whatever will they follow, be it their own or even Arceus's for all we know. In those instances, the Lake Guardians who gifted us with Emotion, Knowledge, and Willpower likewise turn their powers against us. This would not be the first time Uxie had stolen the memories of others," Taishi looked between Todoroki and Hagakure. "Nor Mesprit bring emotional discord with its appearance." Taishi looked at Izuku, who flinched. "Even Azelf has been known to act against humans and Pokémon, robbing them of their free will and turning them into his puppets."

'Sounds similar to Shinsou's Quirk,' Izuku thought, finding a similarity between the indigo-haired teen and the Being of Willpower.

"Regardless of their intention, our goal with this visit remains clear," Taishi stated. "Tomorrow, we will reach Lake Acuity at approximately noon. There, we will commune with Uxie and pray for a reversal of your conditions."

"Commune? Pray?" Todoroki raised an eyebrow. "Why not fight and catch it? If it's still a Pokémon, then it should still be subject to capture."

Taishi's eyes whirled and gleamed dangerously at Todoroki, the scarred teen paling at the fury and dread contained within, in contrast to Taishi's continued cold demeanor. "You speak of a dangerous path you know not where it will lead," Taishi warned dangerously. "Regardless of what it has done, she is still a Legendary Pokémon of great might, one I will not be so arrogant to believe you children could capture, much less defeat. Even I am not confident whether my Pokémon would succeed in vanquishing it."

Izuku, Toru, and Shoto gulped nervously at Taishi's tone and warning, agreeing that a Legendary Pokémon, something that existed for thousands of years and created by Arceus itself, would be a monstrous task to overcome, one they and their Pokémon are far from ready for.

"And even if, by some miraculous twist of fate, you could capture Uxie, we know not what would happen as a result of taking a Lake Guardian away from its resting place against its will," Taishi further warned. "Uxie embodies all of human intellect and wisdom, a master of such an important domain to all mankind and Pokémon alike. Would you be willing to capture it if it could spell the loss of human intelligence worldwide? Worse, would you be honest and say you would not let such godly power corrupt you?"

Todoroki lowered his head, shame and fear plastered on his face. "No," He answered. Already had Shoto let himself act and become just like his abuser of a father, holding a Pokémon capable of God-like feats. Todoroki paled at what he would do with such power.

"I thought not," Taishi nodded. "The ridiculous notion of even fighting Uxie is more preposterous if you consider it might not even appear to accept your challenge." Todoroki felt a weight of comical shame and embarrassment crash over his head.

"Yeah, that does sound silly," Hagakure muttered. "If it can manipulate and read minds, I don't imagine it would want to come out willingly if it could read your intentions easily." Todoroki felt another comical weight land on him again, but where the first was labeled 'ridiculous', this one read 'silly'.

"But Professor Taishi, if all this is true, what makes you think that Uxie will even come out to answer us, let alone do what we want?" Izuku questioned. "This can't be the first time someone knew Uxie existed here and prayed for it to come out, right?"

"That is true," Taishi nodded. "Yet the chances are greater if she recognizes the one whose prayer she answered." Taishi looked to Todoroki.

Shoto blinked, surprised. "Me?" Todoroki questioned. "What prayer of mine did she answer?"

"Whatever prayer you made that day," Taishi responded. "Contrary to Mesprit actions with Midoriya and Asui, the Lake Guardians don't appear easily or frequently, much less act without proper cause. And for Uxie, she may have done her works per your past self's desires."

Shoto stared at the snowy ground, digesting this new revelation.

"However, this gamble of ours has its ace in the hole," Taishi declared, staring directly at Midoriya. "That is why you are here, Midoriya?"

Izuku blinked, flabbergasted. "M-M-ME?!" Izuku exclaimed, pointing at himself.

"It is because of your presence that Uxie might be willing to emerge and hear us out," Taishi stated.

"And why is that?" Todoroki raised an eyebrow. "I doubt it must be something simple like Midoriya's strong Quirk or character."

"No, but it is important to remember a clear distinction between Midoriya's visit to Lake Verity and the Asui's annual family trips to the lake," Taishi pointed out. "Every year, the Asui's would visit Lake Verity for a family field trip to capture and release Pokémon, and for all the years, including all 15 of Asui's yearly visits, it was only when Midoriya joined that Mesprit chose to appear."

"B-But that could just be a coincidence!" Izuku exclaimed, arms waving around panickily. "You really can't expect me to be someone important enough to gain a Legendary Pokémon's attention?!"

'If only you knew how wrong you were,' Taishi thought, but he couldn't reveal what he knew about Midoriya to him here and now, especially in front of Hagakure and Todoroki. "In my years of experience, there is no such thing as coincidence, everything happens for a reason," Taishi declared. "Why Hagakure was there at the same time Todoroki encountered Uxie, why Mesprit would appear now of all of the Asui family trips, why all of you are here now, fate has brought you here together, now it is time to find out why."

"I guess," Hagakure muttered, unsure. "But... Uxie might fix whatever she did to me and Todoroki, but what about Izi? Would Uxie be able to fix what Mesprit did to him?"

"Unfortunately, no," Taishi shook his head. "It is unlikely that one of the Lake Guardians could undo the works of another."

"Then he should have gone to Lake Verity instead!" Hagakure shouted, concern and care for her friend/crush fueling the righteous fire from within. "One of the other teachers could have taken him back to meet with Mesprit while we dealt with Uxie."

"Already you forget why Midoriya has to be here," Taishi shook his head again. "Midoriya's appearance is critical for Uxie to appear at all. Without him, this trip would end in only failure."

"B-But how do you know that?!" Hagakure yelled desperately, yet Taishi's face remained as still as stone with an apologetic look in his eyes. Hagakure's shoulders slumped. "I-It's not fair."

"Toru," Izuku said softly, his hand on her shoulder. "It's alright." Toru and Todoroki looked at him. "I appreciate you worrying about me, but I agree with Professor Taishi. If he's sure Uxie will appear thanks to me, if it means you and Todoroki can be free from what it did, then wrestling with emotional discord for a bit longer is a small price to pay."

"Not to me! Or any of our friends!" Hagakure replied. "You've already gone through so much, Izi."

"And I'll likely go through more. That's just life, Toru. It can be cruel and unfair," Izuku smiled softly at her, causing Hagakure's heart to throb. "But if I can help save you from this 'Blessing', I'm content. It's what Heroes do."

Hagakure could say nothing more; she knew that Izuku was set in his way, but that did not mean she couldn't offer comfort. Toru pulled Izuku into a tight hug, clinging onto him like a clingy Komala. Izuku was surprised but accepted the hug.

"Your heroic, self-sacrificial nature is gonna be the end of you one day, Midoriya," Todoroki muttered, gaining Izuku's attention. "Especially toward people that don't deserve it."

"Then you can blame Azelf for giving us free will, but it's my choice who see I wish to save," Izuku smirked. "You want to stop me? Take it up with him."

"Don't give us any ideas, Izi," Hagakure giggled lightly, her chin resting on his shoulder. "If it can jog some sense into you, I'll dive into Lake Valor myself and strangle that Pokémon till he does what I want."

'Hopefully, Uxie doesn't take that personally,' Izuku thought, the stray fearful possibility of Uxie reading her mind about what she would do to her 'brother(?)' not something the green-haired teen wanted to imagine further. Izuku resorted to sighing and chuckling, tightening his hug with Hagakure to her humming approval.

Taishi stared at the three's interactions with a heavy heart. He knew Hagakure and Todoroki would take issue with leaving Midoriya's condition secondary to theirs, and, logically speaking, it made more sense to take Midoriya to Lake Verity instead, given his admitted greater importance than the two other students. Taishi knew Izuku would not see it that way, though. Admittingly to his guilty soul, he gambled Midoriya's self-sacrificial nature to aid him. He needed Midoriya open and willing to trust him, and aiding one of his friends and ensuring the sacrifices he committed to save Mr. Todoroki did not go in vain was a good start.

After fleshing out more details for tomorrow's events, the three students retreated to their tents, leaving Taishi and Shelgon to spend more time outside. Shelgon held on stubbornly out in the cold for an hour or two more before he entered Midoriya's tent, lying beside the sleeping green-haired teen, who unconsciously held hands with the Dragon Type's cold paw.

Ultimately, Taishi was left staring into the stars as the last of the campfire's embers died. A Pokeball by his waist opened up, the flash of white light forming a Volcarona, floating beside his long-time trainer as the flap of his wings brought a soothing warmth even as the flames died. Still, Volcarona knew that it wouldn't warm the cold, distant, guilty heart of Tengoku Taishi, as displayed in their past.

'Perhaps Riley was right, I am a cold, heartless bastard,' Taishi admitted as he stared into flames, knowing, deep down, there was no 'perhaps'.

---

The Next Day, at Noon...

The four arrived and stood upon the shores of their destination, the three younger members staring in awe at the sight before them.

Lake Acuity was as wide and expansive as Lake Verity, perhaps a bit wider in Izuku's opinion. Like its sister lake inside the swamp, Lake Acuity's glittering waters were blanketed by thin strips of mist, though Midoriya couldn't tell how much of it was 'Home of Legendary Pokémon' mist to 'cold, wintery' mist. The main feature that separated this mystical lake from the other was that Lake Acuity had several sheets of ice floating around, speaking to its colder waters. As Izuku stared at the distant center of the lake, the mist coalesced thickly, a blink of his eyes nearly making the green-haired teen miss the glimpse of land with a cave before it was shrouded.

'Just like Lake Verity,' Izuku thought, wondering if this mist-covered island was also unreachable by the same supernatural constraints.

Shoto and Toru likewise stared at the lake with a different kind of awe, a reminiscent one. The lost memories the two have of their visit scratched at the surface of their minds achingly with every familiar detail. The thinning sheets of ice floating lazily about the waters, the random bouts of Magikarp or White striped Basculin jumping and poking out of the waters, and even the wooden bridge extended further out to Lake Verity by a few meters, the two's minds would flash with similar memories.

Hagakure's eyes drifted to a pair of far-off bushes topped with snow. Her gloved fingers twitched as she remembered how thick they felt when parting, how its leaves felt against her cheek. Hagakure let out a light, barely acknowledged gasp. 'There. That's where I came from,' Hagakure thought, knowing that several years ago, a small girl had peeked through those bushes. Now, she was here again, standing on the other end, returning to reclaim what may have been stolen from her.

As for Shoto, his gaze lingered and spread across the shore, children laughing, the quiet, pleasing hums of a woman all echoing in his ears. Children's laughter grew louder as Shoto's eyes dimmed, the shining shapes of two kids with white hair, one pulled back and spiky and the other with specks of red, running and chasing each other along the shore.

"Why do we visit this place every year, Mama?" Shoto remembered his voice, far younger and innocent, repeating in his aching mind, yet his mother's response seemed dull and incomprehensible.

'I remember, and yet I don't, I can't, because of whatever is out there on that Lake,' Shoto stared toward the water of Lake Acuity. 'Because of that thing-' Shoto clenched his fists. 'No, because of me.'

"So, we're here," Hagakure broke the ice. "What now?"

"Now," Taishi said, closing his pocket watch after checking the time. "It is up to three."

"Excuse me?" Todoroki said, confused. Izuku and Hagakure shared the scarred boy's confusion as Taishi lowered to the ground.

"This is your quest to complete, not mine," Taishi said, performing lotus position on the ground, his staff across his legs. "I am but the guide. It is the three of you who must face Uxie."

"B-But what do we even do? Shout at the Lake until a Pokémon shows up?" Hagakure questioned.

"If you must," Taishi's lips quirked upwards momentarily. "Go to the end of the dock and call to the Lake Guardian." Taishi pointed to the dock. "Think, Believe, and Speak True. The Spirit will know if you lie." Taishi closed his eyes. "When you hear the music, do not look back. Face toward the future, as fate intended. You will know what to do."

"Are you sure this will work, Professor? Professor?" Izuku questioned. Taishi did not respond, humming musically while his eyes remained closed and his hands folded by his lap.

"Unbelievable," Shoto scoffed, throwing his arms up in frustration.

Izuku couldn't help but feel similar to his former foe, pondering and studying his cryptic professor's actions. The green-haired teen could feel that raging temper in his soul burning up, Mesprit's Blessing accelerating his previous frustrations. He wanted answers, not vague preaches and lessons, not when Hagakure's and Todoroki's lives were at stake.

Izuku's eyes blinked as that last thought resonated with him. Hagakure's and Todoroki's sakes were what he should be focusing on, not his annoyance with his professor. Izuku sighed, exasperated yet accepting. "Come on, guys," Izuku said.

"Izi?" Hagakure quirked her head to the side. Todoroki also looked at him.

"There's no use arguing about it now," Izuku stated, staring seriously at them and the lake. "We're here; it's nearly noon, and I don't want to revisit and try again another time because we were too stubborn and confused to do anything. Let's get this done and give this Legendary Pokémon a piece of our minds."

With his piece to them said, Izuku strode toward the wooden dock.

"My respect for our Trainer grows with every display of confidence in dire situations," Shelgon commented as he walked after his Trainer.

"Well, you screwballs coming or what?" Pikachu asked the two remaining students, even if they couldn't understand him fully. "The faster we get this over with, the faster we get out of this damn cold." Pikachu ran to catch up to Izuku and Shelgon.

Hagakure and Todoroki stood there so still and taken aback that they could have been mistaken for being frozen over by the cold. Finally, Hagakure sighed acceptingly. "Whelp, you heard our Class Rep. Let's go, Todoroki," Hagakure turned and followed after Izuku. "I have some words of my own for Uxie."

Todoroki stared at her as she went on ahead. Turning back and forth between Taishi and the others, Todoroki sighed, exasperated. "Fine," Todoroki huffed and marched after the others. "But if this doesn't work, I'm freezing this damn lake."

As Todoroki jogged to catch up, Taishi was left alone as he meditated, a satisfied smirk forming on his face. One of his hands reached into one of his pockets and fished out a single item: a white flute.

---

Izuku, Hagakure, Todoroki, Pikachu, and Shelgon stood at the end of the dock looking out at Lake Acuity as the cold winds blew and the water before them was so cold the air around it was misty. The five stood there in silence, unsure of what to do other than stare at the suddenly vacant waters, no Pokémon in sight other than the ones on the dock.

"They're all gone," Hagakure stated the obvious. "Did we scare them off?"

"No, something is strange here," Izuku shook his head. "This is something else. Something-"

"Mystical," Todoroki finished what Izuku was going to say.

"Do you think the Pokémon all fled because it-she is here somewhere?" Hagakure asked.

"I'm not sure," Izuku answered. "Mesprit showed up regardless of all the Pokémon around at the time. But just in case," Izuku looked at Shelgon and Pikachu. "I think you guys should get inside."

"What?!" Pikachu whined.

"Very well," Shelgon hummed. No sooner did he consent, Izuku returned the Dragon Type to his Ultra Ball.

Izuku looked at Pikachu, the Electric Mouse Pokémon pouting while crossing his arms. "Pikachu. It's only until after we figure this out," Izuku pleaded with his Pokémon. "Please?"

"...Urgh, fine," Pikachu huffed. "But only to get me out of this damn cold for a bit." With that last whining served, Izuku returned Pikachu to his Pokeball and clipped the ball back to his necklace.

With only the three Hero students on the dock now, they continued staring, pondering silently on what to do.

Suddenly, from behind, they heard music. The melody was pleasant, soothing, inviting even, its notes carried in the wind that seemed to lose its sound in favor of adhering to the melody.

"Is that Professor Taishi?" Hagakure questioned, about to turn her head. Remembering Taishi's words, Izuku quickly grabbed Toru's hand to stop her. Hagakure stared at the sudden action with an unseen blush. "I-Izi?!"

"Remember what the Professor said? When we hear the music, don't look back," Izuku instructed; his eyes steadied on the lake. "Face forward, and we will know what to do."

"Alright," Hagakure said, still a bit unsure. "And what are to do exactly?"

"Talk," Todoroki answered, staring into the waters. "Plead. Confess."

Resolve in his eyes, Todoroki stepped forward further up the peer, leaving Izuku and Hagakure to stare at him. Todoroki's steps ended with his toes touching the edge of the dock, the whole of Lake Acuity before him while the music played into the wind behind him. Todoroki stared down, gazing at his watery reflection and seeing his younger self look back, the fresh bandages on his left side still there.

'I understand now what happened, how I caused this,' Todoroki thought with clarity. 'Time to fix it.'

"Being of Knowledge! Wise One. Uxie," Todoroki yelled out to the waters. "I call to you as Shoto Todoroki, son of... son of Enji Todoroki and Rei Todoroki." His face flinched and squirmed slightly with emotion. "I come here-no, I have returned here after so many years, lost and confused. I know what happened here. I know why you did what you did, taking away and veiling my memories."

Shoto took a deep breath, his guilty heart weighing as if he would break through the dock and sink into the lake's depths. "After my mother scarred me and was taken away, my father took me here to try healing me, if not physically, then mentally," Shoto explained, Izuku and Hagakure listening intently. "I was in pain, confused, and angry at my father, my mother, and the whole world for being born as I was. I thought of myself as cursed, so damned that my mother scarred me for life. I hated myself for being a tormented burden upon her, my father for condemning me, her, and my siblings to this painful life, and the memories I shared of my mother, memories that only held longing and pain. I was sick of them, tired of the pain, and wanted to get rid of them."

"My mother told me about this lake, your lake, and of its importance, its power, your power, and I wanted you to make my memories disappear," Shoto explained, voice heavy and cracked, tears trickling frigidly down his cheeks. "I thought my memories brought only pain, and I wanted solace from them, erased, taken away, hidden within the deepest recesses of my mind, and you granted that wish. I forgot, but the pain didn't stop, it only spread."

Shoto's hand brushed against Vulpix's Pokeball. "I grew cold inside, empty, and I thought vengeance would be the only remedy," Shoto continued. "I wanted to spite my father and everything he stood for, I wanted to honor the mother I chose to forget, and as such, betrayed her and myself. I turned against my Pokémon and blamed him for something he had no part in. I became just like my father, disregarding, manipulating, and tormenting the people around me to achieve those goals that I betrayed. I forsook my mother, alienated her from my life, and cast the same pain she went through onto another."

"I was a fool, desperate, lost, and weak," Shoto declared, the wind parting his hair, revealing his tearful, painful eyes. "I turned to you to rid me of something I should have never tossed away. It was unwise of me to forsake the past, but to remember it, grow from it, and in my desperation, I caused unnecessary pain to innocents and those I should have remembered and loved." Vulpix's Pokeball shifted, almost rubbing on Todoroki's hand. Todoroki clasped it and thrust the Pokeball toward Lake Acuity. "And so, I ask-no-beg, pray for you undo your Blessing onto me! Not for the sake of a weak, crying fool of boy but for the sake of this Pokémon, My Pokémon! For my mother, for my family, and for those I harmed who still helped me, people I do not wish to harm again. I plead this for them! Please return my memories, unveil the curtain cast upon my past, and help me remember again. By your grace of Wisdom, so shall it be."

One of Todoroki's tears fell from his chin and onto the lake, the droplet rippling the waters, spreading farther and wider than one tear would ever do.

Izuku stared at Todoroki with surprise, taken back fully by the truthful weight behind every word the scarred teen declared. He felt his heart moved by the speech, and he was not the only one. Izuku noticed Hagakure leaving his side and joining Todoroki by the end of the dock.

Todoroki lowered his Pokeball back down to his belt and stepped a few steps back, leaving the invisible girl on the stage. Hagakure stared at the lake silently and contemplatively. Eventually, she spoke.

"Wise One. Uxie. Being of Knowledge," Hagakure started, clearing her throat. "I call to you as Toru Hagakure, daughter of Akira Hagakure and Hikari Hagakure. I, too, have returned here to your lake, your home for so long yet unaware of this lake's importance upon my life." Hagakure clenched her fist over her heart. "I will not lie and say I know why you did what you did, whether it was an accident or a purposeful act, but I know why I am here, why I have come to you with an angry heart."

"I know now that I came here with my parents for a vacation, a trip meant to celebrate my Quirk's awakening after spending so long saving the money for it," Hagakure detailed her past. "I knew that my father loved this lake, your home, of the tales of it being a lake of wisdom and intelligence for which he was named. I remember wandering off to the lake while my parents were busy until I appeared when you did to Todoroki." Hagakure pointed to the bushes where she appeared from without looking back. "I know when you granted Todoroki's wish, you took something from me, too: my ability to turn off my Quirk, to be visible, normal."

Hagakure's voice strained with anger as her gloved hands clenched. "I know that because of what you did, I was robbed of a normal childhood," Toru whimpered angrily. "I lost friends I could have made; my parents and Pokémon lost the chance to see me fully and grow up and live with so much self-consciousness of whether I was pretty or ugly. You took something from me when I didn't ask for it. When I learned what you did, what you took from me, I was never angrier and sadder than I was then than I am now. I felt my life was ruined because of you, and I wanted to come here to force you to change me back, to apologize, to make you pay!"

Hagakure's left hand clenched the wrist of her right. "But then, a friend of mine spoke to me, made me see things differently, and made me realize my life didn't turn out for the worst for what you did, but for the better," Hagakure admitted, taking off her glove. "My parents, my Pokémon, never stopped loving me, even when they couldn't see me. I didn't lose friends I could have made, not true ones, and I found and earned them with who I am, not because of what hides behind my Quirk. I found something more, something... someone precious who cares for me for who I am inside, who truly sees me. He showed me true compassion, kindness, loyalty, friendship... love." The final word she said with a whisper, only heard by her and the lake. "He made me see that anger and revenge aren't who I am." Her hand raised to her beanie and gripped it tight.

"I am Toru Hagakure!" Toru declared, removing the beanie swiftly from her head and directing it to the lake. "I am friendly, caring, loving, and compassionate. That is who I am, and I don't need a mirror to see it. I am a Hero Student. I want to be a Hero, and I don't need my true appearance to achieve that. I know I can be a Hero just as I am! So, undo what you did or don't, it doesn't matter. If making me like this forever meant I would meet the most wonderful friends and partners a girl could ask for, know the truth on this journey, and accept myself for who I am, then I am content with that. I don't pray for you to fix what isn't broken, I'm not broken, I'm just me. By your grace of Wisdom, do what you wish."

Hagakure lowered her beanie-holding hand, sighing tiredly, releasing all her pain and insecurities, her sigh ringing through the air like bells chiming.

Izuku and Todoroki stared at the invisible girl with awe and pride, the latter admiring a girl he thought was useless when he first met, and the former shedding proud tears for one of his friends recognizing herself for who she is, what he and the others saw her as. And yet, her shaky voice struck deep in his soul, the act of her crying with such pain an unforgivable crime to him. 'She's one of the kindest, sweetest, most wholesome people I know. She doesn't deserve to feel that pain, she didn't have to feel that pain or have to overcome it. It never should have happened to her in the first place,' Izuku thought, imagining Hagakure in an empty classroom, alone, like him. The injustice roared from within. 'No more.'

Izuku strode forward, Hagakure stepping back and joining Todoroki's side, leaving the friend she stated she cherished and loved at the dock's end.

"Uxie! Being of Knowledge. Wise One," Izuku shouted toward the lake. "I call to you as Izuku Midoriya, son of Inko Midoriya and... of Hisashi Midoriya. I have come here for the first time for reasons and desires not my own, save for the well-being of those before me. It is for them I came here to speak with you." Izuku looked down at his scarred hand and clenched it. "And it is for them that stand against you!"

Hagakure and Todoroki blinked, gaping, flabbergasted at Izuku for what he said. Even Taishi nearly faltered playing his flute, paling with dread.

"I know now of what drew me here, of what you did to Hagakure and Todoroki, what your sister, Mesprit, did to me and Asui, my friends, my classmates, and it is because she appears safe that I don't do the same toward your sister," Izuku stated, the water below him rippling more noticeably. I don't pretend to know why you obeyed the desperate wish of a lost, hurting boy or needlessly take from a bystander. I don't know whether it be coincidence, fate, work of Arceus, or yourselves, and it matters not. What does matter, what I do know is what you did to them."

"As I listen to these two pour their hearts and truth to you, their malefactor, understand you, their offender, and even thank you, their Villain, I could not be prouder of them," Izuku continued, gestured to them without looking back. "For acknowledging their mistakes and their past and striving to better oneself for others they wronged." Todoroki gazed at Izuku with a slightly open mouth. "For reconciling with past trauma, overcoming insecurities, and accepting who one is, inside and out." Hagakure's face could not be seen, but she didn't need to for others to know she was confused yet grateful for the praise. "I see them growing, strengthening, and being the great Heroes I believe they can be." Izuku frowned. "But it doesn't change the fact of what you did."

"I can praise their growth and who they are till I turn old and grey, but I cannot dismiss that their pain and hardships were not necessary, that theirs' and others' pain are yours to fault," Izuku declared, eyes fierce and unwavering. "It is because of you, a near deity thousands if not millions of years old adhering to the unstable, naive wishes of a child that said child became what he became and hurt those he did." Izuku's mind flashed suddenly to when he was a child, broken and hopeful, crying because his mother wouldn't acknowledge and support him. Izuku gritted his teeth. "It is because of your deed that Todoroki mistreated and abused his Vulpix, one of your fellow Pokémon, needlessly and scarred their bond forever." Todoroki blinked, glancing at Vulpix's Pokeball guiltily. "It is because of you that Todoroki forgot who he was, and in his time lost, manipulated and hurt my friends to get to me, sabotaged himself, and spat the memory of his mother by becoming like his father because you entertained Todoroki's ill-conceived wish."

"It is because of you that Toru had to live so long self-conscious about herself, a worry she need not have suffered so much at all," Izuku declared further, Hagakure's body shaking. "While she found friends in me and others, Toru didn't need to worry about how we felt about her, about how we see her for who she is." Another image flashed forcefully in his mind, this time of Izuku revealing his past with Bakugou and being surprised by their unwavering support and friendship. Izuku growled. "Toru has the making of a great Hero, but the greater potential she has, the one I know is within her, would have been awakened sooner and stronger if you did not sabotage her life with an act most would call a charitable accident, damn the reasons why."

Izuku lifted his scarred hand to the lake in an inviting gesture. "Look at me and know that I, Izuku Midoriya, stand here to condemn you where others wouldn't," Izuku proclaimed, his eyes glowing ocean blue, his words echoing across Lake Acuity. "I speak the truth that others would be too frightened to speak to a god-in-all-but-name. I state the cold, hard facts others would dismiss because of the 'inconceivable' intentions of a deity like you. I don't beg, plead, or ask anything for myself but demand that you undo what you have done to Toru Hagakure and Shoto Todoroki. For themselves, for those who care about them, I demand it! I care not for what you would do to me; I'm not frightened but what you are, and I'm done cowering over those who believe themselves my betters. With all the Wisdom and Knowledge I have, I declare what you did, whatever your intentions, hurt them, made them suffer, and for that, You Were Wrong!"

Izuku's last echoing words silenced all other sounds. The whole world seemed to hold its breath without music from a flute, the harsh breeze of the wind, or the rippling of water. Izuku lowered his hand and continued staring unwaveringly at the lake and the Pokémon of Wisdom and Knowledge he called wrong, hiding in its depths.

Hagakure and Todoroki looked at each other. They could see it in their wet eyes, they were touched by Izuku's words, their accomplishments and growth recognized, yet their pain was acknowledged and treated with unceasing compassion, even in the face of a god. But now the two are worried shitless for the fate of their friend who dared speak out against such a deity.

"Izi-" Whatever Hagakure was going to say was silenced by the lake.

The three stared as the waters of Lake Acuity began to ripple. The icy mist was blown away by cool, transparent winds, circling a single, rippling spot meters from them. The waters in the center began to shine.

Izuku's eyes widened at the familiar sight while Hagakure and Todoroki gawked speechless, subconsciously walking forward and standing by Izuku's sides. From afar, Taishi stared, mystified.

Melodic humming sang in the air as a transparent shape emerged from the waters, one Izuku, too, found very familiar. The shape held the same structure as its Lake Verity sister from its main body, arms, legs, and two tails, yet the top was different, more circular, and complete rather than the sprouting dreadlocks of the other.

"Is that like how you described the other one?" Todoroki asked, but he didn't need to look at Midoriya to know he was nodding.

"She is real," Hagakure gasped with wonder.

"Uxie," Izuku announced the deity's name.

Instantly, the transparent shape burst away in sparkles, and the Being of Knowledge's true form was visible. Uxie was small for a supposed deity-like Pokémon, but everything about it gave it an air of mystery and mysticism. Her small greyish-blue body was ovalish, flowing downward from her upper body to her lower end like a typical teardrop; her feet were two ovalish stubs, and her arms were longer, almost reaching her toes. The Wise One's two tails extended from where her rear was, the tails as long as her whole body, the hilt of the tails spiked-shaped, and the ends were three leaf-like flaps like a fin with a red jewel in the center of both. Uxie's head was roundish, her sides the same greyish-blue, yet the front was yellow, including the eyelids of her round, closed eyes and her small, frowning lips. A red oval jewel rested on her forehead while the yellow of the Pokémon's face extended backward from the top, forming a round crest with four bumped ridges, making the crest look like a helmet or a human brain.

"Kyouuuun!" Uxie cried out her corporeal arrival.

"A Legendary Pokémon in the flesh," Todoroki gasped, completely flabbergasted.

"S-She's actually rather cute," Hagakure admitted. She turned to see Izuku and Todoroki looking at her with blank expressions. "Well, she does! You can't deny that!"

Izuku turned back to face Uxie, who faced him despite the Legendary Pokémon's eyes still closed. 'Is it blind, or does it use its psychic abilities to see?' Izuku thought. The green-haired teen blinked as he saw how Uxie tilted her head from side to side, glancing at each of them before settling her perpetually closed gaze at him.

Izuku felt a wave of nervousness fill him now that the Legendary Pokémon he yelled at was right before him. Izuku caught Toru's and Todoroki's expressions from the corner of his eyes. Shoto looked close to sweating bullets, and Hagakure's body shook from nervousness or fear. Reminding himself why he did what he did, Izuku clenched his fists, banishing the fear within. 'Okay, now's no time to back down or brainstorm,' Izuku thought, turning back to Uxie.

Izuku took a step further, the toes of his shoes past the edge and above the lake's cold waters. Izuku and Uxie stared each other down. Uxie's eyes closed, yet the very aura around her exuded timeless wisdom and intelligence, while Izuku stared down the floating Pokémon with determined green eyes.

"Uxie, Pokémon of Wisdom," Izuku greeted the Legendary Pokémon. "You came. I was afraid you wouldn't."

Uxie said nothing, continuing to stare at the green-haired boy silently. Izuku didn't know whether it was due to a lack of communication abilities or if it was purposefully taciturn. Regardless, Izuku could tell that the Pokémon listened to them and understood him, and that was enough.

"I meant what I said," Izuku stated, steeling his nerves. "I don't know or care what your reasons were for what you did to Toru and Todoroki; it was wrong."

Toru and Todoroki hissed quietly. The two wanted to rush their class rep and get him to stop talking before he made it worse for himself; Uxie's silence and frown did not ease their flaring nerves and panicked minds.

"I know that you are a Legendary Pokémon, who could so easily punish me for everything I said, but then would that be smart, oh Wise One?" Izuku continued, questioning the Being of Knowledge. "You are supposed to value and embody wisdom. So, isn't it wrong to smite down someone for questioning and criticizing your judgment, no matter who you are? Would that not be an unwise act of hubris rather than honest candor?"

Uxie tilted her head, analytically regarding Izuku, yet did nothing more. Impatience flared in his head, but Izuku smushed it down.

"We came here because of what you did to Toru Hagakure and Shoto Todoroki in the past," Izuku explained. "We traveled across half of Hokkaido, faced cold and snow, faced our deepest insecurities to get here, to see you, and remove what you did to their minds. It may sound arrogant, but I'm not here to beg or pray for you like you're some god. I'm here because they need my help. I'm here because they are in pain and in fear of what you did, and I won't let them suffer any longer."

Izuku removed his necklace containing Pikachu's Pokeball and his Trainer belt, setting his Pokémon's Pokeballs to the floor beside him, to Toru's and Shoto's astonishment. "I can't force you to do anything, that would be wrong of me too, and I'm not here to fight or capture you if you could be," Izuku declared while Uxie listened. "I would rather we talk and make peace, but I will fight if I'm given no choice. I want to be a Hero who saves everyone with a smile on my face, to ensure they can smile and be in peace, but if your inaction threatens that, if you continue to play the Villain of their story, then I will do what I must."

"You wronged them, Uxie." Izuku extended his scarred hand out to the Pokémon. "Please, make it right."

Uxie floated silently while Izuku kept his hand raised to the Pokémon, both stoic in demeanor, while Toru, Shoto, and Taishi from afar watched on, nervous yet expectant.

Finally, Uxie's tails wiggled, the red jewels gleaming. Taishi noticed, swiftly shutting his eyes. The red jewel of Uxie's forehead glowed, too, alerting the three Hero students as they gazed with awe and trepidation. A pinkish glow surrounded the Pokémon's head, and shining light began to peek from the slits of her closed eyes.

Izuku's eyes widened. "Izi!" Toru exclaimed, reaching out to him, but it was too late.

"KYYOOOUUUU!" Uxie's closed eyes snapped open, unleashing pure white light shining upon the eyes of the three wide-eyed students.

---

Todoroki felt himself falling, tumbling into a vast nothingness, his surroundings clouded by watery mist. It felt just like during his battle with Midoriya, only this time, instead of feeling himself crash through what felt like a wall of glass, he could see, as he fell, a hole in the layer of mist, cracked like and jagged like a broken mirror, with the end he was falling past appearing blurred and incomprehensible.

Then, Shoto heard Uxie's cry echo in his mind, a blinding flash of white blasting down from above like a mini-sun. The rest of the breached barrier began to crack, the white light peeking from the forming openings, the incomprehensible mist fading, and eventually, it all shattered, and light overwhelmed Shoto's consciousness from above and below him.

Shoto's inner eye widened as he felt what was rising into him: his memories, fully and unimpeded.

He saw everything he saw when Midoriya helped break through to him. His mother comforting him after training with his father, gifting him the two Vulpix, his father's excessive training, himself longingly gazing at Touya, Natsuo, and Fuyumi playing while Endeavor took him away, and even the funeral they held for Touya, his eldest brother. Shoto remembered his mother pouring the boiling water on him, his cries, and the unimaginable pain. Likewise, he saw his mother blink repeatedly, sadness and horror in her eyes as she snapped back to reality and quickly attended to him. His mother's fervent apologies reached his ears through his wailing.

In a flash, Shoto found himself once more before Lake Acuity but smaller, weaker, and his eyesight clouded on his left by bandages. The scarred boy quickly realized he was in the memory of his last visit to Lake Acuity, his first and only without his mother. He remembered the events that led to him here, from his stubborn refusal to leave his room, sluggish, lackluster attempts to eat his food, and ignoring Natsuo or Fuyumi whenever they tried to talk to him. Touya didn't, and it looked like he was grinning viciously for a fraction of a second.

Shoto recalled Endeavor declaring that they would head to Lake Acuity to 'move on' from this 'abysmal state' he was in. At first, Young Shoto had refused but held no choice but to go with him anyway. He and Endeavor barely spoke to each other on their trip or when they camped. Then, when they arrived at the lake, Endeavor stood there with him for a few minutes before walking off, telling him to do whatever he needed to do to let go.

Shoto saw it through his own eyes, walking up to the end of the dock, his tears falling to the wooden planks as he reached the end. Shoto felt his mouth move on its own and speak the words of the past: "It's all his fault. He made her hurt me. Mama wouldn't..." Young Shoto wept, his tiny fists clenched. "I don't understand, I don't want to, I don't want to feel this way anymore. All I see when I remember her is pain. I don't want it. I don't want it! Please, someone! Help me! Please, make the pain end! Please, Make Her Go Away! Please..."

Shoto saw a tear fall into the lake, the waters rippling. Shoto remembered seeing the mist and cool winds gathering, a glittering light rising from the water. Shoto's eyes widened as he saw Uxie's transparent shape emerge and cry out. The shape regarded him before the jewels of his forehead and tail glowed, and two bright white lights flashed and overtook him. When the light faded, there was no more shape, no more rippling, glittering water, no cold wind or mist, just silence.

Shoto recalled being confused and afraid. He had tried thinking of his mother and cringed as if he hit a newly formed brick wall. All his mind could conjure was the faint smile of a white-haired woman whose eyes he couldn't make out. Before long, Shoto's relief turned to cold, emotionless apathy, and the recently scarred boy walked back toward his father's camp dull and lifeless, the memory of what he had seen fading from his mind. Until now...

Suddenly, Shoto felt himself pulled from his mind, yelling as he hurled back into the real world...

---

All Toru saw was white light, and she suddenly found herself in an endless expanse of blank white nothingness. Toru looked around and tried calling for anyone, for Izu, Professor Taishi, even Todoroki, but no sound escaped her throat. She tried cupping her hands over her mouth before she froze, realizing that she could see her hands or what was the shape of her hands.

They felt like hers, but they felt sluggish, like she was moving through water, and they were transparent, yet she could see their shape like she saw Uxie's. Looking over the rest of herself, she realized she was naked, but she could see the transparent shape of her body as well instead of nothing at all.

Wherever she moved her arms, the space she passed left a trail of watery rainbow colors, and the more she moved them, the more the colors stuck to the shape of her arms like paint. Toru followed this up by moving her whole body against the sluggish constraints of where she was at, and more color began to cling and color her body till it was a kaleidoscope of rainbow colors. But as she did, she felt full. Not like when she ate too much, but more like she filled something vacant. A space within her body, previously empty, now filled with something that made her body tingly, buzzing with energy, so much that she felt she couldn't contain it anymore.

And, as if on instinct, she didn't. With a cry, she spread her body out, and the rainbow light within burst forth and filled the blank white canvas around her with a multitude of colors and light, glittering and sparkling. Toru felt overwhelmed, elated, and wonder flooding her mind.

Then she heard Uxie's cries again, and Toru felt herself dragged once more with a flash of white light. When she regained her sight, she was looking in a mirror, but the person she saw was alien to her: a little girl, her skin pale white and her hair a vivid yellow-green color, chartreuse, with flecks and tiny splotches of pink here and there. A light from a window so bright that she couldn't see the girl's eyes. She felt herself move as if on autopilot, and the girl in the mirror matched her movements. Toru realized resoundingly that the girl in the mirror was Her, the true her.

The scenes she saw, her memories, she realized, played out rapidly, so fast she could barely pick up on them. She saw her parents telling her about a vacation they were going on. She remembered heading to their destination, a cabin near Lake Acuity, and she remembered her mother saying she could go ahead and play in the snow while they finished unpacking as long as she didn't wander off too far. Young Toru didn't keep her promise. Within moments, she was wandering through the woods beside the lake before finally parting clear a pair of familiar bushes.

As she did, Toru, living through the memories of her past self, saw Lake Acuity and the dock bridge she was on right now with Izi and Todoroki. However, what she saw instead was a young boy around her age with red and white hair: Young Shoto. As she looked to where he was facing, she saw the transparent shape of Uxie, although her younger self didn't know it at the time. Uxie's jewels glowed red, and Young Toru squeaked in fright, activating her Quirk, and the hands parting the bushes in front of her vanished from sight. Not a second longer, a blinding flash of white light came from Uxie and slammed into Toru's mind.

When the light hit her, Toru felt disoriented, sluggish, and confused. By the time she came to her senses, the boy she would know as Young Shoto was gone, along with Uxie, and the Young Toru knew not why she was there and had no inkling of what she saw before. She stared at her hands, still invisible, but no matter how much she wanted, they didn't reappear. Young Toru felt she had forgotten something important, but she couldn't figure out why.

Toru felt disconnected and saw her younger self in the third person, like a ghost in her memory. Toru and her younger self heard their mother calling for her, and Tour watched her younger version run after her mother's voice. Toru tried reaching out to her, yelling at her to stop and come back, yet the world faded to white, and Toru felt pulled back to the present...

---

As the white light faded, Izuku's eyes opened with a gasp. Izuku looked around his surroundings only to find a familiar darkness surrounding him. This was the same darkness he found himself in after the Battle Training Exercise and after he passed out in his match against Todoroki. What was different here was that, unlike the previous times, his body was whole; none of his limbs buzzed with numbness, and he could move freely and without restraint.

Before Izuku could wonder further what was happening, he turned and froze as a figure stood a meter away. "Mom?" Izuku questioned, his voice echoing all around him.

True enough, his mother stood before him, wearing a loose pink sweater over a white blouse and a blue skirt, her usual attire. As Izuku stepped forward to reach out to her, a light shined beneath him. Looking down, Izuku saw his foot stepping on a glowing blue circle, the light a similar color to his Aura Spheres. A Line shot forward from the circle, extending through the black void of a floor in a straight line, leading toward his mother and the similar glowing blue circle she was standing on, though it looked faded compared to his.

Izuku's body was pulled by an unseen force, rocketing him toward his mother, who stared and smiled blankly, unfazed about his rapid, unwilling approach. Before he could slam into her, her body became transparent blue and faded, the green-haired boy passing through the shape of her like she was made of mist. As he zoomed past, he could see his mother reform and watching him go by. Izuku looked back to where he was being pulled and saw his body was following the same line on the ground.

Suddenly, the line shifted right, and Izuku's body followed it. This continued until the line split two ways, one continuing forward whilst another veered left. His body took the leftward line, yet Izuku watched as the other line went right, running parallel to his mom's and his, yet he couldn't see where the line headed as it vanished into the darkness. Izuku returned his gaze to where his body was taking him, and he found another figure: a woman. This woman looked like a Hero with her costume: a black, skin-tight jumpsuit that showed off her muscular figure, a red sash tied at her hips, white boots on her feet, yellow gloves on her hands, and a flowing white cape tied around her shoulders. The woman's raven black hair, tied in a high ponytail, reminded him of his mother's.

The woman, previously with her back turned to him, noticed his approach and turned to face him. Izuku's eyes widened as he saw the woman's face also looked similar to his mom only her features were sharper, her eyes a dull purple, and there was a small mole below her bottom lip. Izuku could have sworn he had seen her before but couldn't figure out where.

As his body approached hers like he did his mom's, the woman smiled sweetly at her before glowing transparent, though instead of just the same blue light as his mom, there was something else: a sparkling pink star within the woman's chest. As they collided, everything turned white, and Izuku felt himself flung into the darkness above. He looked down and saw the blue line stretch out from beyond where the Hero-looking woman was and spread out, forming more and more glowing lines and brackets till it almost resembled a tree. Finally, the lines coalesced atop as they did, another flash of blue light blinded him.

When Izuku could open his eyes again, he found himself in a dark grey, misty area with dark clouds in the sky. He stood before a jagged cliff, a dense forest behind him and healthy grass at his feet. Izuku continued looking around, following the cliff he saw, at the pointed edge of the cliff stood two figures. The easiest to make out was a Lucario, The Aura Pokémon's blue and black fur, pointed ears, and black teardrop appendages on its head, a dead giveaway. The second one was less distinguishing. His body was cloaked in a dark brown cloak, the bellowing winds brushing the cloak enough for a black cape to peek out from underneath.

Izuku froze, his heart pounding in his chest, something within himself resonating at the sight of the figure. He tried calling out, but before he did, the figure perked up and turned to look at him. Their body was clothed in a weird get-up of black, blue, and grey robes, though most of the figure's identifying traits were still covered in the cloak, including their face. However, two items were shown in the figure's gloved hands. The first was a clear white rectangular plate, one which Izuku couldn't help but find familiar in design, its corners into triangles with a diamond-like design at the base, and at the center a star-like design that shined briefly. The second was what got Izuku's eyes widening: it was a staff, Professor Taishi's staff, or at least a similar version of it.

As the diamond globe on the staff and the Plate glowed, the dark clouds and mist parted behind the figure, and shining forth was a massive, glimmering crystal tree. The tree's magnitude and splendor stole Izuku's breath before the light overtook everything while the figure and their Lucario vanished.

The next place Izuku found himself was perhaps the strangest one yet. He stood before a massive hall, pillars of marble rising toward a roof that wasn't there but a starry sky, yet the pillars themselves didn't seem to end either, only fading into the space above. As Izuku looked around, he was surrounded by floating structures that spiraled upwards, increasing in width and number. The structures looked like thrones, yet the seats appeared too wide for a normal human to sit on, and these 'thrones' looked broken. They were chipped, cracked, pieces chunked off and floating nearby, and some even completely broken to the point the pieces held the rough outline of a throne. One of them looked split into three pieces.

Izuku noticed that one side of the spiraling thrones held space for a few larger thrones, three at the base level, the middle one looking almost completely destroyed, and one above them at the most middling of the spiral. This throne was the only one that wasn't broken, yet its splendor faded as if it shone brighter before but was now dull by the state of this room full of broken thrones. Its design resembled Taishi's necklace, with diagonal spikes forming from a golden arc behind the throne. Izuku looked closer and realized that the same Plate the figure previously held was floating in the middle of the throne.

"Seen much you already have, Oh Rising Hope, too much."

Izuku jumped at the voice, booming and echoing across the throne room with authority and magnificence. "W-Who are you?" Izuku called out, whirling his gaze around frantically. "Show yourself!"

"In time, Oh Hopeful One, but much growth you have yet to achieve," The voice chuckled fondly. "For now, let me lighten the burden of Daughter Emotion's Blessing."

"I-I don't understand," Izuku stuttered out, utterly confused.

"Again, in time, you will," The voice decreed, a light shining from behind Izuku. "Go forth, Fated Champion mine. Grow, Prosper, Unify What Has Been Broken!"

Just as Izuku turned, he caught one glimpse before the golden light overtook him: the equine shape of a creature with a golden arc.

---

Izuku gasped, rising swiftly. The green-haired teen panted hard, blinking and adjusting his eyes to reality.

"Boss!/Izuku!" Pikachu's and Eevee's voices exclaimed, feeling the two pressed onto him.

"G-Guys?" Izuku muttered. "You're out your balls."

"The two couldn't wait to ascertain your condition, Master Izuku," Froakie spoke telepathically.

"Yeah, that sounds like them, Froakie," Izuku muttered, rubbing his head.

"Oh, thank goodness, you're alright," Combusken sighed, relieved. "I was worried that you may have forgotten about us."

"Forgotten?" Izuku repeated, confused.

"Midoriya," Taishi's voice rang in front of him. Izuku rubbed his eyes, adjusting them further to see the Pokémon Professor's serious and worried gaze. "Are you alright? Do you know who and where we are?"

"U-Uh, yeah, Professor," Izuku replied, shaking and nursing his throbbing head. "Why ask?"

"When Uxie opens her eyes, stolen memories are one of the many side-effects," Taishi answered, adjusting his glasses as he inspected his emerald-eyed student.

"Right," Izuku nodded before realization kicked in. "Wait! What happened? Why am I here?" Izuku finally noticed his surroundings, lying on the snowy earth by Lake Acuity's Forest. "Wasn't I on the dock?"

"After Uxie shined her eyes, the three of you collapsed," Taishi revealed, fiddling with his amulet. "By the time I arrived, Uxie had disappeared back into the lake."

"Yeah, it was freaky," Pikachu muttered, shuddering. "We felt something through you and then felt you collapse and pass out. Eevee couldn't wake either of you three."

"Three of-" Izuku's eyes widened, whirling around him. Quickly, he spotted Todoroki lying on his left, his Vulpix and Ninetales by his side, and Hagakure on his right, attended to by her Zorua. "Guys!" As Izuku exclaimed, their bodies stirred and rose groggily. "Are you guys okay?"

"M-Midoriya?" Todoroki muttered, rubbing his head while looking around, confused. "How did we-"

"I moved your bodies after Uxie shined her eyes at you three," Taishi responded. "How are you feeling, Mr. Todoroki? Are you-"

"Fixed?" Todoroki guessed Taishi's question, nodding. "Yes. The barrier, or whatever Uxie did, is gone. I-I remember." Todoroki looked to Ninetails and Vulpix. "I remember everything."

Ninetales's soft huff sounded the equivalent of a sigh of relief. Vulpix merely tilted his head in response.

Todoroki regarded his two longest partners before surging forward and embracing them. "I'm sorry," Todoroki said softly. I'm sorry for forgetting, sorry for everything I did. You two stuck by me through it all yet kept your promise to Mother. You helped guide me back. I'll make it all right. I promise."

Ninetails cooed and rubbed her head against his comfortingly. Vulpix was still at first, yet relaxed, and pressed his head on Todoroki's chest, lying limply and tired, hearing his Trainer's honest heartbeat.

"Urgh," Hagakure groaned, her body rose, her arm sleeve rubbing near her head. "Can I get a number of that bus?" Her Zorua yipped happily and lunged onto her chest, rubbing its head on her. "H-Hey, Loki!"

"Toru!" Izuku turned his attention to his friend, carefully placing a hand on her shoulder. "A-Are you okay?"

"Yeah, Izi, I'm fine. I-" Hagakure paused, her arm sleeve moved from her head to in front of her, likely staring at it and her invisible hand.

Izuku blinked, confused and concerned by her sudden pause.

Suddenly, where Toru's sleeve cut off into nothing, light shimmered and colors blended, slowly forming the shape of a hand. Izuku, Todoroki, Taishi, and the Pokémon all stared in wonder as a pale hand appeared. The same occurred by Hagakure's head, pale white cheeks forming, brushed against by rapidly revealing chartreuse and pink-splotched hair. Izuku's emerald eyes widened in amazement as they stared at teal eyes with a ring of yellow around the pupils.

"T-Toru?" Izuku gasped, his breath stolen away as his cheeks grew pink.

With the last wild strand of hair colored, the guys and Pokémon gaped at the shocked countenance of Toru Hagakure's true form.

---

AAAAANNNNNNDDDD SCENE! There you have it, folks! Lake Acuity visited, the Legendary tale of Creation told, Uxie in the flesh, Izuku standing up the likes of a Legendary Pokémon, and Toru's and Shoto's 'Blessings' removed, including revealing Toru's real face.

I hope you like this as our first chapter out of the Sports Festival Arc. I find it similar to Chapter 18 with Izuku's and Asui's trip, where one of my reviewers compared it to an actual episode from the Pokémon anime. That was something I wanted to emulate with this chapter as well, putting a lot more emphasis on the Pokémon aspect of this world given the admitted lack of involvement in the final round of the Festival Arc if you don't count the psychic shenanigans Uxie's and Mesprit's actions.

Speaking of those two, if you hadn't realized by now, I've been referring to Mesprit and Uxie using feminine pronouns, while Azelf is referred to with masculine he/him pronouns. This decision was based mainly on the stereotypes of willpower, courage, and stubborn resilience, commonly depicted as primarily masculine traits, while intellect, resourcefulness, emotion, and feelings were typecast as more feminine traits. This is obviously untrue in a far broader sense, but I found that giving these Beings of Willpower, Emotion, and Knowledge these pronouns would be a neat explanation to where such stereotypes originated from.

While the Legendaries don't have genders in the game, a lot of them in anime and their Dex entries often refer to them as male or female, like Zacian being seen as the elder sister of Zamazenta or Darkrai in the Rise of Darkrai movie was referred to and sounded like a male, at least in the English Dub version. More and more throughout this story, we will see the Legendaries and Mythicals with proper identification for narrative and lore purposes.

I also based Taishi's Creation story as a sort of blend between the tale of Genesis from the Bible and the more scientific reality that Arceus didn't automatically create the Earth as he created the universe, and I kept it vague enough that you can even see the process of creation of the universe and Earth in any way you like, either where Arceus did so in a matter of days or that the story is a hyper-condensed retelling of millions of years of creation jammed packed into one tale.

I also hope you all liked the mental trips the three went through, from Todoroki finally seeing the past fully, Hagakure likewise remembering what happened to her but also regaining her ability to turn her Quirk off and on, as well as hinting there is more to Hagakure's Quirk than at first glance, and Izuku's visions and an impromptu meeting with the Alpha Pokémon himself. As for how Todoroki, Hagakure, and Izuku each approached Uxie, I decided for them to go about it in each of their own ways. Todoroki repented, apologized, and prayed; Hagakure chose to let Uxie do whatever she wanted while accepting her present and herself, and Izuku straight up demanded and pleaded peacefully for Uxie to appear and reverse Toru's and Shoto's conditions for their sakes with no care in mind for his own. Each approach I wanted to mirror their current arcs with Todoroki's path of redemptions, Hagakure accepting herself before she regained her ability to turn her Quirk off, making it appear like a reward rather than giving it back, and Izuku's struggles between his growing aggressive side and his still peaceful, passive, Heroic nature.

Another purpose of this chapter was also to further grow and expand on Izuku's and Toru's relationship, like had done with each of the girls thus far throughout the story. This time, it was Toru's turn to shine, literally, but there will be more to come between Toru and Izuku, as well as his relationships with the other girls and the girls yet to come in fully, like Jiro.

We also got some info on what's going on with the Bakugous, an article about the Sports Festival and its lasting effects, and MHA fans will catch who the article's author is and their importance.

Anyway, let us end this chapter with a new character update!

Toru Hagakure:

-Height: 5'0"

-Age: 15

-Birthday: June 16

-Quirk: Invisibility(?)

Pokémon:

1. Zorua: (aka Loki)

-Gender: Female

-Type: Dark

-Ability: Illusion

-Moves: Fake Tears, Knock Off, Hone Claws, Fury Swipes, Counter, Scratch

2. Mime Jr.:

-Gender: Female

-Type: Psychic/Fairy

-Ability: Soundproof

-Moves: Psybeam, Confusion, Protect, Copycat, Encore, Pound

3. Kecleon:

-Gender: Male

-Type: Normal

-Ability: Protean

-Moves: Slash, Disable, Psybeam, Shadow Sneak, Lick, Thief

Finally, I hope that you all liked this chapter, comment your thoughts in the reviews, as well as further Pokémon predictions. If you haven't already, check out my other stories here and on AO3. Be nice and chill with each other in the comments, and know I am doing my best to attend to all my stories.

P.S. I have one last question for you all: Prism or Lightwave? Thoughts?

This has been Zayden StormVoid, and to celebrate Hagakure's true appearance, the Super Bowl, and all you lucky dogs and cats out there with a partner:

WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS, MY FRIENDS! AND WE'LL KEEP ON FIGHTING TILL THE END! WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS! WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS! NO TIME FOR LOSERS, 'CAUSE WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS...OF THE WORLD!