[Araceli POV]

I watched in fascination as Marco and Professor Sycamore exchanged theories and ideas back and forth. Now I understood why the Professor practically took the cannibal under his wing. They kept bouncing ideas on how to deal with the League Executives like they were trying to decide how best to prank their brother. I’m still reeling from Professor Sycamore practically confirming that he was losing influence in the League. Apparently the focus is supposed to be on Paldea’s national emergency. Galar was already profiting from having Gloria there, and every region wanted in.

It was disgusting. They would rather focus on making a quick buck than invest in the future of the region. We practically had an invasion to deal with. As I ended my musing, I came back to the reality that I wasn’t important in the grand scheme of things as I heard Professor Sycamore ask Marco a question.

“So, what happened after Tapu Lele threw you into the portal?” the Professor asked as if it was a common occurrence.

“You won’t believe it! I went into the Distortion World and met both Cyrus and Giratina,” Marco said excitedly. “I honestly thought I was going to die ‘cause Cyrus attacked me, but he was weakened by hunger. And then-.”

“Wait, wait, wait. Portal? Giratina? I thought you were out in Orre training?” I asked Marco. He looked at Professor Sycamore. “Am I allowed to tell her?”

“Non, but if you trust her,” Professor Sycamore said before shrugging his shoulders. Marco nodded and turned to me. “As you know, I was in Alola to help with research. While I was battling Olivia, a portal opened up and we were attacked by a really tough demon. We were having trouble killing it, so I guess Tapu Lele decided to intervene and do it for us. But she threw me into the portal they came out of and I popped out in the Distortion World. I was stuck there the entire time.”

“And you’re just gonna act like it’s just a road trip?” I asked. How incredible. This guy gets thrown to another dimension and he’s just like, ‘oh, yeah. This is nice. I wonder if they have nice hotels.’

“I freaked out for a bit, especially when I met Giratina,” Marco said.

“Oh, yeah. You just ‘freaked out for a bit’ after meeting a LEGENDARY Pokémon. It’s not like it’s a god or anything,” I said, throwing my hands up in exasperation. Men are going to be the death of me.

“She’s right,” the Professor said.

“See! He knows how serious it is,” I interrupted. Marco just sighed.

“It’s not like I planned it. Besides, I found out a lot of important shit,” he said. “Arceus knew about this invasion of demons. They come from a world that’s filled with them. Basically Hell. The Legendary Pokémon are not allowed to intervene directly because Arceus’ plan is to let her champion handle it or just restart everything from scratch.

“I was supposed to turn into her champion by dying during the Beedrill mission, but Celebi stopped it. For that, Celebi was punished and I can’t turn into the champion that’s supposed to stop the demons. However, Giratina was merciful and chose to indirectly help me by giving my team and training boost so they can grow strong enough to fight against them. I also received a nice ability from Giratina.”

Just as Marco finished speaking, he popped out of existence, though we could still hear his voice. “I can turn ethereal like a ghost. It helps me hide and escape, or prevent myself from getting hurt,” it sounded out from seemingly everywhere before a tired looked Marco plopped down onto his butt.

“The only problem is it doesn’t last long and I’m exhausted right after using it. Something I’ll need to train up,” he finished.

“Intéressant, do you mind if we run a few tests?” the Professor asked. I was still trying to wrap my head around the fact that Marco survived a trip through the portal and met Giratina. How the hell does that happen? It’s like he’s the protagonist of some shitty story.

“Not now, Augustine. We’ve got something to deal with soon. Before we took down Ariana from Team Rocket, she thought I was part of her team. She asked if I was going to Santalune Forest, so I can only assume that something is going to happen there on the 25th,” Marco said.

“Oh, yeah. That Ariana chick said something about Santalune Forest. Why do you think it’s important?” I asked.

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“Because Calem is busy in Santalune Forest and I got a message from Team Flux about joining them in Santalune Forest.”

Professor Sycamore sighed, slumping his shoulders. “Il n'y a pas moyen de respirer. Shall we just meet up with Calem?”

Marco nodded, “Yeah. Can we do that after tomorrow? I’ve got a date tomorrow night.”

0-0-0-0-0

[Third Person POV, Santalune Forest]

Three young men walked through the darkening forest, the chittering of nearby Pokémon unnerving them than any actual encounter. All three were dressed similarly, their hiking pants and gray long-sleeves loosely resembling a uniform. Once the night fully settled, the entire forest became silent. The only sounds that could be heard were the crunching of their boots as they continued to walk deeper. The three unconsciously shivered, each simultaneously feeling a cold sensation run through their spines.

“I knew this was a bad idea, Remy,” one of the three Trainers said. He had brown hair slicked back with gel and a belt with three Pokéballs. His voice quivered slightly as he continued, “We barely beat Viola.”

“Shut up, Mark. If you’re too weak to get there, you can go back yourself,” another said, this one a blond. He had four Pokéballs connected to his belt. He gave Mark a threatening stare, daring him to pick. Mark tried to make himself smaller, knowing that he couldn’t go back by himself.

“Davie is right, Mark,” the last Trainer spoke up. He had brown hair that was partially dyed green. He only had two Pokéballs. “We wanted to join Team Flux because the League isn’t helping us get stronger. If you aren’t able to realize how weak you are, you’ll never grow stronger. If we can’t make it to the meeting, then we don’t deserve to be Trainers.” Remy spoke with resolution, inspiring the other two.

Mark steeled his resolve after hearing Remy speak. They had been together through thick and thin. From the all-nighters they pulled to make sure Davie passed his exams in each class to the mock battles they did to help Mark with the Trainer School’s practicals, they did everything together. They supported each other when their families couldn’t, helped each other raise their Pokémon when the League refused to provide help. While their battles against Viola were hard-fought, they were well-earned wins in the end. However, it was the battle against a wild Pyroar pride that proved to them just how much they needed to improve.

Two Pyroar and three Litleo almost wiped out their teams, a total of nine Pokémon. It took their aces’ combined might to fight off a Pyroar, while the rest tried to distract the pack. Mark’s Magneton, Davie’s Skuntank, and Remy’s Granbull were able to take down the pride’s leader after much effort, but were too tired for the second Pyroar that managed to take down the other six Pokémon. Before the Pyroar was able to wipe out the trio, two Rangers showed up and managed to convince the Pyroar to take its cubs and leave. After that, the three Trainers began to train more.

They looked for cheap or free resources to improve their training and diet plans, but nothing was made available. The League held a tight leash around any information that was posted on the PokéNet, practically ensuring that Trainers signed up to be League Agents if they wanted access to better information. It was this treatment of Trainers that Team Flux wanted to change, and it was that mission statement that led the young Trainers to joining Team Flux. All they had to do was reach a certain location in Santalune Forest.

That proved easier said than done. Halfway to their destination, their phones lost connection. They chose to continue, hoping their travels had prepared them enough for the trek. While the sun was still shining, they faced constant battles. The wild Pokémon were relentless, each stronger than the last. It was great training at first, seeing as their Pokémon improved at rates they had never dreamed possible. But the battles eventually left a toll on the Pokémon and Trainers, leaving them exhausted. They were grateful for the peace the night brought, but the eeriness and vast expanse of black left them wishing for the waves of battles they faced earlier.

“Can’t be much longer,” Remy said. “We’ve been walking east all day. The post said it should take seven hours after entering the forest, and it’s been about seven since we started.” The three quickened their pace, though Mark was the only one that noticed a fluctuation in the air. As they continued, they could hear a faint murmur of voices. It slowly grew louder, sending a wave of relief crashing over the three. They soon saw a dim orange light in the distance.

“There, we made it!” Davie cried out. He started running towards the campfire and, before Remy or Mark could say a word, a Fletchinder zoomed past Davie. It carried his head and flew back into the darkness. Davie’s body slumped over, blood spurting out of the headless neck. Remy and Mark stood there, shocked. They finally made it to safety, only to be attacked right at the border. Davie’s Skuntank, Swadloon, and Cubchoo materialized out of their Pokéballs, roaring out at their enemy. Cubchoo sobbed fiercely, its cries turning into a ferocious roar as it erupted in a bright light and evolved into Beartic. Skuntank protected Davie’s body as Remy and Mark approached with their Pokémon.

“Davie,” Mark blankly called out. Before he could do anything else, Remy called out to him. “We need to get to the camp, come on!”

“I need to protect him,” Mark said. “Just how he protected me.”

Remy stared at his friend, not wanting to leave him alone. But they needed help, and the camp was nearby. “Fine, I’ll get help. You protect Davie, Mark.” Upon hearing his new mission, Mark stood up resolutely. He nodded towards Remy, who took that as his signal to leave. Mark looked at Skuntank and Beartic, who were grieving their Trainer. He knew the Pokémon that killed Davie wasn’t the only one in the forest, so he asked the three Pokémon to watch for more threats to their Trainer’s body.

Mark’s Pokémon, Magneton, Togetic, Dwebble, and Vanillish, were waiting for their commands. They were all vigilant, but there wasn’t much they could do when they were potentially surrounded from all sides. Mark was ready for anything, his attention focused on his senses. A bush rustled and received a barrage of attacks. His phone pinged, the familiar noise a reminder for some event. Against all reason, Mark checked his phone. There, in blaring white light, was a notification the both made his blood boil and left him frozen:

[Reminder]

[Prepare for Team Flux meeting next week: potions, food, berries]

‘Next week,’ the young man thought. ‘Next week!’

Before he could do anything, he heard a crack and turned around to see Remy. Instead of a relieved smile, a horrified expression twisted itself onto Mark’s face. Remy was slowly walking towards him, his Pokémon nowhere to be seen. As he walked, blood dripped down onto the floor. Remy’s eye sockets were empty and blood poured out like a river. A huge shadow loomed over both as a gray-skinned behemoth smiled down at the two. The demon thrust its hand forward, piercing through Remy’s chest. Mark stared at Remy, focused on the noise bubbling in his throat. With a gurgle, Remy spoke his last words.

“Mark, my eyes hurt.”

Remy’s veins turned black, soon followed by his body convulsing and growing larger. His skin decayed rapidly and an oppressive aura smashed onto Mark and the Pokémon, who were too terrified to do anything. The behemoth smiled down at Mark as Remy’s body stopped growing and shaking.

“Heh, are you ready for real strength?” the monstrosity asked Mark, each word powered by malevolence. “Don’t worry, we’ll make sure you are.”

It grabbed Mark by the head as Remy slaughtered the frozen Pokémon.