[Gloria POV]

Ugh, this is just horrid. Three months! For three months, my Pokémon and I have been in Paldea helping Juliana and Florian with their technological mishap. Though I suppose it makes sense since it’s more than just some unfortunate accident. They’ve lost nearly half their staff because of these Paradox Pokémon.

When Juliana first called me, I thought she was greatly exaggerating the problem. From the moment I landed and left the airport, I knew it was worse than I originally thought. My mum told me to be careful cause she’d heard that Paldea had declared a state of emergency; I should’ve taken her more seriously.

Rango and Akira have been pushing themselves to their limits, the poor lads. For an Inteleon, Rango has been getting very aggressive in his battles. I need to make sure he relaxes a bit soon. Akira has never been more excited in his life, though I suppose most Urshifu feel that way when they are given access to large numbers of opponents to fight and learn from.

*sigh*

I just wish I could go home. But I can’t right now, not when Juliana’s home is being threatened. It is strange, however, that so many Paradox Pokémon have been appearing outside of Area Zero. Juliana explained that the time machine she destroyed was the reason they showed up in the first place, so more shouldn’t be appearing.

Yet, portals appear nearly every day and spit them out like a Pokéball factory. It was maddening how often the towns were being attacked. And to think they’re not as strong as the ones that were brought here by the time machine. I’m shocked they’ve been able to hold out so long. I also hear things are growing worse in the other regions.

That random guy Calem mind wanked, Marco, has apparently been missing after being thrown into a portal himself, the poor bastard. I wonder if he survived. If so, that means we can possibly traverse them ourselves. Of course, we won’t be starting until we know it’s safe. I hope Marco is able to make it back alive.

“Gwoooooaaaahhhh!”

“Bloody hell, another wave. Guess the team has rested enough,” I said.

The rest of my team, Rapidash, Centiskorch, Perrserker, and Dracozolt, got up from their post-curry nap. No rest for the wicked, it seems.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

[Marco POV]

“Naaaa!”

I dodged a swift breath of hot, vaporizing air that ended up turning some of the dark stone ground into a weirdly colored lava. My dodge continued as I rolled out of the way of several scythes made of compressed air, leaving wide slashes in the ground. I kicked off into a jump toward my assailant. I swung my left into a feint, causing the large, fuzzy moth to move slightly to my right.

The moth saw my next attack coming and used a Psychic blast to slam into the ground. I jumped back into the fray, sending kicks and punches one after the other, forcing my opponent into my rhythm. Just as they thought they saw through me, I grabbed their head and slammed my own into them. Ra cried in pain, not expecting to get my thick skull bashed into his face.

Yes, my little shiny Larvesta had evolved into a large, fuzzy, marvelously golden Volcarona. And I was glad to say that Ra, Volcarona’s nickname based on the Egyptian god, has turned into quite the menace. True to Giratina’s words, he grew strong very quickly.

We continued our spar, which ended with me slamming Ra around à la Hulk. I looked to my right, where Cyrus had the rest of my team duking it out. While we mostly did the same training as normal, Cyrus and his team were the perfect sparring partners we needed. The occasional group of demons

Tetsu was slamming around both Houndoom and Crobat. She had become an absolute unit. Her control over Gravity allowed her to slam all of us down with an oppressive force none of us could get up from. She could also create an area of zero gravity, which definitely fucked with Crobat.

Another thing Tetsu learned was manipulating Spikes enough to create fewer, larger spikes. She was also able to move them around with Gravity, creating a zone of spiky bludgers others had to avoid.

Kippie was such a monster now that she evolved to Swampert. I’ve seen her battles against Weavile and just knowing that her Ice Punch is on par with Weavile’s Icicle Crash reaffirmed my faith in the little Mudkip that had to rely on Endure and Counter.

Colada, the recently evolved Aegislash, did not fall behind either one of them. After giving her the Dusk Stone in my bag, the one I had forgotten about, the ambient energy of the dimension began to coalesce around her. This resulted in an Aegislash that exuded raw power. Like, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure type of emanating power.

Even the way she carried herself made her look like a Stand. Honchkrow wasn’t ready for the beat down that came after her evolution. Though, even with that power up, Colada wasn’t my strongest Pokémon.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

No, that award went to Ra. It was like watching a live version of Major Alex Louis Armstrong. Ra was normally the first to suggest having some play time or trying a new dish, but also the last one to go down in a fight. Each fight showcased his overwhelming strength and the stunning ease with which he could counter an enemy. I knew getting the loverboy on my team would be worth it.

During our time here, I had talked to Ra about the team, our stories, and asked him about his. I was correct in thinking that he used to be part of a team. His previous Trainer had been raising a team of sweepers and was trying to force Ra into becoming one by having him constantly try to kill other Pokémon in one hit. Ra, who had only wanted to play with everyone, often refused and was constantly bullied by the other Pokémon.

Eventually his trainer released him near Lumiose City and Ra, as a Larvesta, survived by avoiding everyone that came close, including other Pokémon. When he saw Tetsu happily bouncing and humming, he thought he would finally try to make a friend. And now he’s a fucking Volcarona that could take the old me out in an instant.

After our training, I began to prep some sandwiches. A PB&J for Kippie, marmalade and cheese for Tetsu, a tropical sandwich made of Krabby meat and avocado for Colada, a tofu sandwich for Ra, a ham and cheese for me, and a veggie sandwich for Cyrus and all of his Pokémon.

As we were eating, Giratina appeared. The glint in his eye told me everything I needed to know. I turned to Cyrus, whose expectant gaze switched from Giratina to myself.

“I am envious of your opportunity to receive a blessing from the Great One,” he slowly started, “but you’ve been such a pleasant change in my normal routine here.

“I can see what you mean when we first talked about the value of friends and relationships. Now, get out of here before I resort to cannibalism again.”

I smirked at that joke, “You know, a few days ago, I would’ve been genuinely scared. Now? I fucking dare you to get past Ra.”

Seeing Cyrus’ already pale face drain of the last bit of color was everything I needed before leaving. Giratina sent a wave of energy that pulsed throughout my body, forcing the cells to overflow with Ghost-type energy. It was painful, excruciatingly so. All I could see was white, my voice felt strained, and all I could hear was a ringing in my ears that grew into blaring squeal.

After an eternity of immobilizing pain, it slowly began to disappear with the ringing in my ears. I was on the floor, my body soaked with sweat. My team was surrounding me, worried looks the only thing I could see. Cyrus and Giratina were gone, but a swirling, glowing mist of purple was waiting.

“Sorry for that little scene, but I think it’s time we go home.”

[Unknown POV, Akala Island]

*ROOOOAAAAAARRRRRR*

Three Pokémon surrounded a lone one on the beach of Brooklet Hill. A tall, gray spider with a giant water bubble submerging its head and green legs coming out of its body, stood with slight bend, waiting for the slightest of movements. Next to it was a giant, blue cnidarian with two bright, scarlet jewels on its head and a smaller jewel sitting between the eyes and jewels. Its eyes were narrowed in a hateful glare, one that promised pain before death.

The third Pokémon, a ferocious looking blue serpent with white whiskers, was floating in the air on the other side of the arachnid. Its hungry eyes told no lie about its intentions. The Pokémon they had surrounded, a purple upside down squid, stared emotionlessly. This was not its first time being targeted like this.

With practiced ease, the Malamar Taunted all three into action. The Gyarados roared once again as it shot forward, its maw crackling with lightning. The Araquanid Lunged forward, its body covered in the light green Bug-type energy of its attack. The Tentacruel’s tentacles all shot forward, thick purple poison covering each one of them.

Nautilus waited until the two rushing Pokémon were an arms-length away before it released a wave of Psychic-energy. The Gyarados and Araquanid both froze in place before being moved around in the air, being used as shields against Tentacruel’s Poison Jabs.

With a sickening crunch, the Gyarados was twisted around until it looked more like jumbled earbuds than a ferocious Pokémon. The Araquanid tried to struggle, only for its water bubble to be removed from its head. As it struggled, and failed, to breathe, the Tentacruel lashed its tentacles with more power and speed. Nautilus rushed forward to meet its last opponent.

His body shimmered with pink Psychic-energy before said energy dissipated into the air. As he dodge and weaved in between the tentacles, his eyes shone pink as well. This time, the energy focused on the poor Tentacruel. It fell asleep promptly after looking Nautilus in the eyes, which led to a Brutal Swing beatdown. Just as the Tentacruel woke up, the Future Sight attack hit and ended the fight.

Nautilus floated over to the three downed Pokémon. They had been terrorizing the local Pokémon, including a family of Psyduck and Golduck. As soon as Nautilus reached their bodies, he used his Telekinesis to fling them far out into the ocean. His training with Ana’s team was more than fruitful. He had learned new moves, created combinations to use, and become stronger than ever.

His own Psychic powers had grown so much that he was able to learn how to Teleport, even though it wasn’t something his species could naturally do. His range for Teleporting covered at least the entirety of Alola.

Just as he was about to continue his rounds of the area, he felt a change in the air. Nautilus couldn’t quite tell what it was, but he could feel it. Something was telling him he needed to go northwest. Something important to him was there, but he couldn’t tell what. With a telepathic message sent to Ana’s Scizor, Nautilus began his journey.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

[Marco POV]

I tumbled out of the portal with a roll, a cloud of dust picking up around me. I coughed for the first few breaths before Ra came out and cleared it all up for me.

“Thanks, bro,” I called out as I took in my surroundings. I was in the middle of a desert, though it wasn’t a very large one.

Off in the distance, to my left, was a giant mountain. When I turned to look around from the mountain, all I saw was dirt and rocks with some tall buildings and skyscrapers scattered throughout. To the left of the mountain, I could barely see some green, signaling a grassland with a more consistent source of water.

Before I could choose which direction to go, I felt my phone vibrate. I opened it up to see texts and calls from Augustine, Nina, Calem, Araceli, and several unknown numbers. I opened Augustine’s messages first, seeing as his wave of messages went from concerned to worried to scared and then finally grief. As I looked at the oldest message, I noticed just how long I was gone.

Three months.

THREE MONTHS!

Oh, fuck me.

“I’m so sorry Nautilus. I left you alone for so long, but I’m back. You won’t be alone anymore.”

Before my pity party could continue much longer, a scuffle between two Pokémon captured my attention. A battered and heavily breathing Hattrem was being bashed by a large and imposing Lairon. The Steel-type was continuously slamming its head and tail into the poor Psychic. The fact that it was also a Fairy-type probably made the attacks worse.

Before I could say anything, Ra flew to the Hattrem’s defense. The annoyed Lairon shot out a Rock Slide, though it was nothing to Ra. A flap of his wings and harsh Hurricane picked up the rocks and sent them back to Lairon. It grunted in surprised pain before its eyes widened. Several slashes of compressed air, all set ablaze and held together with Psychic energy, slammed into the Iron Armor Pokémon.

It was sent rolling away, the attack proving too much for it to handle. This was one of Ra’s combo moves, a combination of Air Slash, Ember, and Psychic. He wanted to call it Moon Fang Heaven Piercer, but I told him no because of… reasons. We opted for the simple title of ‘Slasher,’ something he grumbled was an even worse name.

We turned back to the Hattrem, who had… Literal stars for eyes? How the fuck did that work? Its eyes, which were black with white irises, were yellow stars.

…

You know what, I should not be thinking about these damn things.