Lots of catastrophes happen everywhere. Whether it's earthquakes, criminal organization terrorist attacks, or evil psychic warlords trying to rule entire regions, I always end up thinking, thank Arceus it didn't happen to me. The feeling of anxiety comes when something happens near you, maybe in your neighborhood. Or it happened to your friend. There's always that fear that you could be next, the next calamity to affect you.

But no amount of anxiety could match the feeling you get when things do happen to you.

Seth was seated in his math class, his eyes glazing over as he listened to the teacher explain endlessly about rational expressions. He didn't understand the point of a quiz review. If they didn't know the material, let them get an F. You're just wasting the time of the people who studied beforehand.

While math was one of his least favorite classes, Seth was naturally good at it. His main problem was that he found it extremely boring, especially since the teacher was also boring. Most of his math days were spent listening to the teacher for half the class and playing games for the rest of the class.

After an eternity and a half, the teacher stopped talking and told everyone to start independent work. Seth breathed a sigh of relief and opened his computer, typing in his password.

Looking at his screen, he noticed a news article flashing in the corner. Clicking on it, he saw a recent report of yet another Surge. That would make the third one this month.

The Surge phenomenon, Ultra Wormholes would appear in clusters around random areas. There was no way of telling when and where it would happen, no one knew where the portals led. Only a few things were clear.

The Surge Phenomenon started around four years ago. Its first appearance was the largest magnitude compared to its later appearances. A city devastated by earthquakes and the shifting of land. People who fell into these holes were never heard from again.

Seth closed the news article and glanced at the teacher before switching to a Pokémon game, ignoring the hundreds of math practice problems he should've been doing. Not that he needed the extra practice.

The rest of the day flew by quite quickly. Math was the last subject of the day, the only obstacle between him and a short bus ride home to true freedom. He could already think about playing on his console, Pokémon battles against his friends, and ignoring his homework.

"All class," said the teacher, shutting off the projector. "The Unit Test is going to be on Thursday next week. Make sure you complete the graded Unit Review assignment before then."

Seth bobbed his head up and down as he gathered his stuff, waiting for everyone to stream out of the room before leaving. He started shoving his school materials into his backpack, which was sitting in a cubby.

Suddenly, Seth felt a change. His vision turned red, the world growing blurry as his legs struggled to hold him up.

Snapping to attention, Seth looked around as everything went back to normal. He noticed everyone else looking around, uncertainty rising in the air.

A loud crack shot through the air, everything becoming distorted. Shapes stretched and morphed in people's vision as an earthquake started.

People started screaming as they were thrown to the ground, the floor and walls cracking apart. The PA system buzzed to life as the principal called for an emergency evacuation. Seth barely made out what was being said as the world spun and roared around him.

What happened next, Seth would only be able to describe in flashes.

Ultra Wormholes began to open up, pulling in everything around them and warping their dimensions. All around him, people ran as Seth struggled to his feet, disregarding everyone around them.

A voice called out to him, a voice reminiscent of his teacher. He picked himself up and tried to run, feeling pressure as heavy as a lead weight tied around his legs.

Every step he tried to make was like running through molasses. Assorted objects came flying towards him, seemingly on their own. A desk from another classroom clipped him on the side, sending him tumbling.

However, he never reached the cold tile. Instead, he was flying backward. For a brief moment, all of reality seemed to warp around him. Bright lights and stars flashed around him, glowing portals to other dimensions, unstable energy clusters. It was a sight to behold, a sight that lasted barely a second.

The next moment, he was falling.

Seth's eyes widened as he was flung from the wormhole into the open sky. He opened his mouth and began to scream as the wind rushed past him, his arms flailing as he tried to comprehend his situation.

He shut his eyes, his messy black hair and silver hoodie flapping in the wind as his uncontrollable freefall grew faster. His mind raced as he counted all the cruelties of life, and now he was going to die from falling into a portal.

Dark thoughts began to swirl in his head. I guess it was me in the end.

He didn't get very far when something hard slammed into him mid-air, changing his direction. He opened his eyes and looked up, the silhouette of someone's face as their bronze hair whipped in their face filling his vision. It was at that moment he realized that someone had caught him.

"You okay?" the person asked, their voice definitely feminine.

Seth tried formulating a response, but his mind was working overdrive as he attempted to figure out what had happened in the last thirty seconds. The best he could do was a startled squeak.

In the short time it took for the verbal exchange, the person had landed on top of a building and set him down.

"I have no idea where you came from," she said, floating a few inches off the air. "But I suggest you get out of here as fast as possible."

She turned and took off without another word, red streaks trailing behind her. It was at that moment that Seth realized the person had translucent red wings floating behind them.

"H-hold on!" he shouted, running to the edge of the building. But he was far too late, the woman had already left, taking off like a rocket.

He looked around at the city beneath him. It was a well-developed and sprawling city with tall skyscrapers and busy roads. It took Seth a moment to realize that the roads were deserted, cars abandoned in the middle of the road and haphazardly strewn about.

"What the heck?" he asked aloud, trying to find more clues to where he could be. As he turned around, his jaw dropped in shock as he saw a decimated city block. Buildings seemed to have been burned through and decimated with force equal to a few tons of TNT.

He remembered the woman's warning and took a few steps back, looking around for a way to get out of the building. He saw a set of doors that presumably led from the roof into a building and started heading towards them.

As he did, the world around him started to darken. Looking around, he saw that the sky was clear. All around him, light seemed to be moving in pulses and waves. Moving towards the direction the light was going, he noticed the light gathering somewhere in the destroyed section of the city.

Something in his mind screamed for him to run, but Seth ignored it. All at once, the light stopped moving as an intense glow emanated from where it all gathered. Before Seth could register the change, a huge laser shot out from the source of the light, searing a line through his vision as he desperately shut his eyes, recoiling from the bright flash.

After a moment, a surge of light and heat blasted in a shockwave from where the laser was shot. Crumbling buildings and sending debris flying. Making up his mind, Seth tore across the building, banging through the double doors and tripping down the stairs.

He quickly recovered and continued running, all the practice from his failure on his track team flying back to him. The building shook as dust fell, large portions of the roof beginning to crumble.

"What did I do to deserve this?" he cried, leaping down the rest of the stairs.

A small light laser blasted through the building, causing part of it to crumble even more. Seth shot across the apartment lobby, his right leg throbbing with pain as he pushed himself to run faster.

He jumped through a hole in the side of the wall and hit the ground, scrambling to his hands and knees as the building began to crumble behind him. He shut his eyes, ready to give up.

Life isn't just freaking fair.

This was how he was going to die, crushed by a building after being dragged to god knows where. It'd only been three years since he had tried to make his life right, and now his life was going to end.

Loud crashes pierced his ears as the building fell around him, yet he felt nothing. Opening his eyes, he saw a silver hexagonal barrier surrounding him, saving him from certain death.

A hysterical laugh escaped Seth's mouth. He almost didn't believe he was still alive. Getting off the floor, he saw a man dressed in red and gold armor, revealing nothing except his face. His face was framed by shoulder-length, frizzy brown hair and a neat goatee.

"You're not real," said Seth, laughing as he rocked back and forth. "You're not freaking real. I'm dead, this is just a cruel twist to make me think I'm alive."

The man shrugged, his armor clinking as he held out his hand causing the barrier to disappear. He walked over to Seth and held out a hand.

"Ava told me you're going to be somewhere around here," he said, pulling Seth to his feet. "You're the kid that fell out of the sky, right?"

Seth blinked at the man, touching his armor multiple times. "Holy- there's no way I'm actually alive."

"It would appear so. Just checking, you did come out of an Ultra Wormhole right? I know there's not supposed to be anyone else around here but- are you okay?"

Seth was not okay. In fact, he was on the verge of going insane. "Do I look like I'm okay?" he asked, a laugh escaping from his mouth. "I fell out of a freakin wormhole, and then almost got vaporized by god knows what!"

"So you are him," said the man, looking around. "Come with me, it's not safe here. Bad things are happening everywhere. I recently joined this hero organization thingie, so I'm in charge of civilian rescue."

"Hold on," said Seth. "How can I trust you? You're a man in some sort of cosplay armor, who's creating magical barriers. This is all just a dream, right?"

"You'll just have to trust me, it's too dangerous to stay here. By the looks of it, you haven't been Chosen."

"Chosen?" asked Seth. "Who exactly are you? How'd you do the shield thingie?"

"My name is Lewis Prydwen, chosen by the Legendary Pokémon Zamazenta."

Seth looked at him. "That doesn't explain anything."

Lewis sighed. "Follow me, I'll explain on the way."

Seth, not having any better ideas, followed the armored man as he jogged down the street at a surprising speed, considering the armor. Seth had to run slightly to keep up, though he suspected that the man's strength and speed were due to something more than physical power.

"So what does being 'Chosen' mean?" asked Seth, drawing level with Lewis.

"Being Chosen means that one of the Legendary Guardians has deemed you a suitable wielder of their power. Different abilities are given based on the Guardian, and their reasons for choosing you can vary."

Seth stared at him, almost pausing his run. Everything started to make sense to him. The armor, the magical shield, the brute strength.

"You mentioned someone named Ava," Seth said after a moment. "I'm guessing she was Chosen as well."

Lewis nodded. "By Latias, yes."

"People with the powers of Legendary Pokémon, how come I've never heard about this before?"

Lewis thought for a moment. "I'm not sure. We're not exactly the most discreet figures. Except when it comes to our identities. Which reminds me, I probably shouldn't be telling you all this, but you seem like a nice guy."

Seth suddenly had a feeling of dread creeping over him. He'd fallen through an Ultra Wormhole, right? He technically could be anywhere, including an alternate reality. The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. He was about to ask Lewis about this when he noticed a group of people down a side street.

It was a group of four men, all dressed in black suits. They wore sunglasses and seemed to have something strapped across their backs. Each person had a pokéball attached to their hip and moved in unison.

"Who're those guys?" asked Seth, pointing them out.

Lewis looked at them. "They could've also fallen through-"

He was interrupted when all the men spotted Lewis, their hands dropping to their pokéballs.

"He's one of them!" shouted a man towards the front, bringing his pokéball forward. "We've spotted one of the Chosen in the Plato District! Squadron seven is going to engage!"

"Or they could be members of the Gloom Organization," said Lewis, a gold and red great shield materializing on his arm. "Stand back Seth, I'll deal with these guys."

In multiple red flashes, Pokémon appeared on the field. Two Pyroars, a Persian, and a Sandslash moved forward to attack Lewis. All four Pokémon were much larger than usual and were glowing with a dark aura.

"What happened to those Pokémon?" asked Seth, hiding behind Lewis.

"Shadow Pokémon," said Lewis, a note of sadness in his voice. "They're Pokémon tainted by sorcery to make them stronger and lose their will."

Seth's eyes widened at the mention of sorcery but held his question as Lewis charged forward, holding his shield out.

The Persian leaped at Lewis first, stretching its claws as it flew. Lewis brought one foot back and held up his great shield, catching the full force of the Persian and using its own momentum to throw it back.

Immediately after that, he activated his protective shield as both Pyroar attacked with Fire Blast. Deactivating the barrier, he spun around and threw his great shield in an arc, striking one Pyroar as the other jumped back.

Catching the shield, he blocked another attack from the Persian and bashed it with the shield, grabbing Seth and pulling him away as he dodged another Fire Blast in the same motion. Noticing the Gloom Organization members pulling the objects strapped to their backs, he swung his shield into a building, dislodging a shower of rubble at the Pokémon and their trainers.

While they were distracted, Lewis broke into a run, pulling Seth along with him. Seth flinched and covered his head as he saw their attackers pull out two-handed blaster weapons and open fire, shooting blue spheres of energy that exploded in contact with anything.

"We're just going to run?" gasped Seth, winded from the speed that Lewis was running.

"You heard those guys, they most likely have reinforcements coming. Most of the Gloom Organization is already in the area. We'll lose if we stay out here any longer. And no offense, but I can't fight and protect you at the same time."

Seth didn't say anything, Lewis was right. Those Shadow Pokémon were dangerous, and this Gloom Organization clearly had some advanced weaponry. This world was dangerous, he shouldn't be here.

"In here," said Lewis, moving into a deserted building.

They appeared to be in a deserted office building lobby. It was relatively intact and would be a safe place to hide. Lewis' armor began to glow as it faded off his body, revealing more normal clothes.

Without the suit of armor, Lewis appeared to be your average young man. He was tall and broad-shouldered. He wore a blue sweater and jeans of a light shade. Fishing around his pocket, he produced a phone and started dialing.

"Hello? Yeah, I'm safe, for now at least. I found the kid- yeah he's with me. How's the situation?" Lewis' face darkened a bit. "I see."

Seth walked over, trying to hear what the other person was saying. He heard a feminine voice on the other side saying something about a Consumer, but couldn't catch anything else as Lewis started talking again.

"Yeah, I'm going to need a bit of assistance. Some Gloomies found us. We're fine. I drove them back and took off with the kid- what? Oh Arceus, I completely forgot."

He turned and faced Seth, a sheepish look on his face. "I'm sorry, I completely forgot to ask about your name."

Seth laughed. "It's fine, you probably had a lot more to think about. I'm Seth, Seth Cohen."

Lewis nodded, turning back to the phone. "We're holed up in an office building right now, a Netwisp office. Thanks, we'll be ready."

"Who was that?" asked Seth. "Another Chosen?"

Lewis nodded. "Her name's Galena, she's about your age I think."

Seth's eyebrows flew up. "People that young can be Chosen? Isn't your entire purpose to fight evil or something? Isn't that dangerous?"

Lewis nodded, sighing a bit. "It can get really dangerous at times. Remember what I said earlier? Legendaries chose people for various reasons. I see it as a sign that they trust you as a person. They wouldn't choose someone who had evil intentions."

"Who is the Gloom Organization anyways?" asked Seth. "They look like a bunch of secret agents or something."

"The Gloom Organization is a group led by a man known only as the Consumer. All we know about him is that he attained the powers of Necrozma."

"Attained?"

"One of the Gloom Organization's main goals is to subjugate the Legendary Guardians to attain their powers, among other things."

"Subjugate them?" asked Seth, doubt crossing his face. "Is that even possible? Aren't they all-powerful?"

"I wish I could tell you it wasn't, but I'd be lying. We don't know their methods, but it most likely involves sorcery."

"You mentioned sorcery earlier, tell me more about it."

Lewis thought for a moment. "I don't know much about sorcery. It has something to do with affecting the natural forces in the world. Only the higher-ups in the Organization use it. I've never met them. Only Ava, Aiden, and Orion have."

"Those are the senior members of your Chosen group right?"

Lewis nodded. "Aiden was chosen by Latios while Orion was chosen by Darkrai. They're a lot more experienced with their powers and have had them for much longer. Get ready, Galena's going to be here soon. We're going to have to fight our way out."

"One more question," said Seth. "What's going on with the Ultra Wormholes?"

Lewis shook his head. "I can't tell you. All you need to know is that it's due to the Consumer."

A glow surrounded Lewis as his armor surrounded him once more. His great shield materialized on his arm as he moved to the front of the room, holding a finger to his lips.

Before Seth could react, there was an explosion coming from the front of the building, almost showering him with concrete if it weren't for Lewis activating his shield.

In front of them stood a young girl with blond hair that had pink and blue highlights. She wore a blue shirt and black leggings with a few tears in them, as well as a pink skirt.

"Hi!" she said cheerfully, walking over to them. "You must be Seth! I'm Galena Salvatore. We're going to get you out of here and everything will be okay. Has Lewis told you about the Gloom Organization yet?"

Seth nodded, Galena's positivity inspiring hope within him for the first time since falling through the Ultra Wormhole.

"Alright," she said, looking at Lewis. "They're a few Gloomies out there, I took out a few on my way. Are you ready?"

Lewis smiled. "Don't worry about me. Let's do this."

Galena and Lewis charged forward, leaving Seth to run behind them. Immediately, two Gloom Agents noticed them and sent out an Emboar and a Skuntank.

Without pausing, Galena brought her hands together, a shimmering crystal aura growing around Lewis. As Lewis threw his shield, the crystal aura turned a watery blue as it slammed into the Emboar. Seth's eyes widened in amazement as he saw this type manipulation.

As the Skuntank ran for Galena, Lewis activated his barrier to block blaster shots from the Gloom Agents. A multitude of crystals appeared around Galena, flying towards the Skuntank. The crystals broke apart and created shards that hit the ground and grew, trapping the Skuntank.

Lewis shoved the Emboar backward with his shield, charging for the nearest Gloom Agent. He brought his shield downwards and disarmed him, knocking him back with his shield. Galena fired another barrage of crystals at the second agent, who turned and leaped for cover as crystals started growing around him.

As they continued on, Seth turned to face Galena in amazement. "You can manipulate the type of an attack?"

Galena nodded. "Yup! It's one of the powers gifted to me by Terapagos."

Seth thought for a moment. "Theoretically speaking, would it be possible to give me a Pokémon type."

Galena shook her head. "It doesn't work for normal people, considering you don't have any elemental attacks. However…"

She put her hands and his arms, causing crystals to grow around them like gauntlets. The gauntlets glowed with a white aura, the crystals glowing at random intervals.

Galena laughed at Seth's amazed expression, her green eyes lighting up. "Glad you like them. They're mostly for self-defense since their offensive power is pretty lacking. But it's better than nothing."

Seth nodded, grateful he was finally going to be able to do something. They continued their way through the city.

Suddenly, Lewis turned around, raising his shield. He had barely brought it up when a Hyper Beam from a Dragonite blasted his shield, throwing him backward as it cracked.

"Lewis!" shouted Seth, checking on his fallen friend. Galena fired multiple crystals at the Dragonite, who knocked them away with a Hurricane.

"I'm good," said Lewis, getting to his feet. "This isn't the first time my shield's been damaged."

The Dragonite dove down towards them, forcing them to dodge as they hit the ground with a powerful Dragon Rush. Lewis surrounded them with a barrier as the Dragonite unleashed a barrage of Dragon Claws, weakening the barrier.

Galena and Lewis nodded to each other. The moment Lewis dropped the barrier, Galena dashed forward, ice crystals spinning around her. All the crystals flew at the Dragonite, causing it to roar in pain from the attack.

Lewis followed behind her, swinging his shield around. The Dragonite raised an arm to block the attack, forcing both of them into a standstill.

Seth was already in action. He sprinted forward, drawing his fist back as he approached the Dragonite. The gauntlet flashed with a light blue aura as he slammed his fist into the Dragonite's belly, an explosion of ice reverberating through its body.

Unbalanced from the attack, Lewis overpowered the Dragonite with his shield, slamming it multiple times with his icy aura shield. He disengaged his shield and grabbed the Dragonite, using his momentum to throw it backward, causing it to fly several meters before crashing.

"That was a close one," said Seth, looking at his gauntlets. He noticed that the one he used was heavily damaged.

"You dealt with my Shadow Dragonite a lot faster than I expected," said a mysterious voice from above.

Everyone turned to face the voice. A man wearing a black suit stood atop a short grocery store, a black fedora tilted down over his face.

"Who are you?" asked Lewis, readying his shield.

The man tilted his hat up, revealing a middle-aged-looking man with pure silver hair. The most striking detail was his face. His eyes were dark lavender, and the right half of his face was covered in a black prism mask.

The man raised his hand, two fingers outstretched. On the back of his hand was an emblem of Necrozma's head prism. Black energy surrounded his hand, radiating power.

"You may call me, Andras."