Pranav turned the metallic card in his hands, feeling its texture and admiring the detail. It was honestly less of a trainer card, and more of a case that resembled a card. Very well made though, intricate detailing of Galactic’s signature ‘G’ were plastered onto the card, but didn’t demand attention, rather complemented the overall aesthetic. His information was carved into the card itself, his name, place of residence, residential status. Of course, it was all fake, the name ‘Felis’ reflected brightly against the artificial light of the hallway they walked, and the place of residency was probably some sort of Galactic front house. Still, it was quite nice to have something as novel as the trainer ID card, the giddiness he felt superseded the exhaustion that threatened to knock him out at any moment.

Seeing their ID cards created was another thing, Winton had used a large box-like machine that resembled a 3D printer Pranav had once used during his University days, and that had surprised him. Sinnoh was just…strange. They had technology, and the capability to use it, yet most of everything he saw was old fashioned, no cars, no smartphones, just Pokémon and maybe some early 2000’s technology. It was like they didn’t even want to advance, which he began to suspect was more of a mentality thing.

“Hey.” Winton said, snapping his fingers, “You listening?”

He blinked in surprise, quickly adopting his usual grin, “Sorry, just admiring the handiwork. Picture could probably use some work though.”

His grin turned genuine as he watched Winton visibly pale, “No.” He seethed, “We are not going through that again.”

“Oh come on! We spent what? Twenty minutes on pictures?”

“Thirty.” Arun added

“Arceus it’s not about the time!” Winton exclaimed, “You act like my mom with ‘Oh the angle isn’t right’, or ‘Can you adjust the lighting’.”

“Your mother sounds like a spectacular woman, and I hope to meet such a spectacular woman one day.” Pranav said humbly, causing Winton to throw his hands up in exasperation.

“How do you live with this?” The scientist grumbled to Arun.

“It just sort of becomes white noise after a while.” His brother replied, shrugging.

“Wow. Right here dude.”

“See? White noise. Anyways Winton you were saying something about debriefing?”

Pranav tuned the conversation out, he understood most of what was going on already. They’d get their Pokémon back, they’d get a rundown on the current situation, then they’d be given their assignments. He trusted Arun to gather information that was necessary, he instead focused on what was going on around them. Faces that seemed interested or curious he memorised, those that appeared more cautious he took note of. What hallways did they go down? What places did they avoid?

“Hey” He interrupted, just as Winton began another tangent on his pay cut, “You guys do research and development here right?”

“That’s one of our interests, yep.”

“How come I don’t see a lot of other sciencey guys around? We’ve been walking for a bit and I’ve counted at least a couple dozen grunts, but maybe 2 other Scientists.”

Winton stiffened, causing the brothers to exchange a glance. “Well, that’s because being a trainer is more prestigious, if you can handle a Pokémon, particularly strong ones as well, then you’re bound to go far.”

“That…that makes zero sense. Aren’t you guys doing all the hard work?”

“Yes!” The scientist exclaimed, rounding on the two, “Yes! We do everything! We designed those teleporters, we’re the ones out there putting data to use, we’re actually advancing Sinnoh!”

“But…?” Pranav egged

“But Sinnoh is just…just full of traditionalist ideals. It takes ages for them to accept any innovation as a convenience, it’s like they’re scared of progress.”

“So why not move on? Move to Unovah or Hoenn or any other place?”

Winton sighed, his shoulders drooping as looked up at Pranav, “It’s because I love Sinnoh. You can ask the people that grow up here, but there’s just…there’s something about it that’s different. You know we actually have the least amount of migrants moving out of the region?”

“That true?”

“Mhm. With about less than 2% leaving the region each year, and most of them just end up coming back after a few years too. They call it the ‘Sinnoh Effect’. The name could definitely use some work but there’s just something that brings us back, something telling us we belong here.”

Pranav whistled, nodding his head in acknowledgement. The Sinnoh effect…it reminded him a little bit about Japan’s migration problem, nobody left, almost nobody was allowed in. That did explain why he and Arun stuck out a little bit. Wait, no, weren’t Japanese people supposed to be short? How the hell did Cyrus end up being a 6’4 giant? Well, they got the scientist to open up, that was something, and considering that scientists were a rarity here, then Winton was valuable, probably more valuable than he knew.

“So.” He began after the trio had resumed walking, “Why Galactic of all places? You know what they do, right?”

“Oh no. Of course not.”

“Oh come on dude.” Pranav said in mock exasperation, “And here I thought we were friends.”

Winton scoffed, but after a few moments said, “They’re the only ones trying to push Sinnoh to greater economic and technological status. If there’s some shady work that needs to be done in order for that to work, so be it.”

“You’re kidnapping sentient beings, asshole.” Pranav thought. He was going to push the questioning further, but a look from Arun told him to back off, so he did. Instead going back to admiring his shiny trainer card. They walked the rest of the way in silence, Pranav quietly memorizing the faces of everyone they went past.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Something Arun had learned during their attempted escape was that Pokémon naturally leaked emotion, they could withhold feelings from him, but there was always just a little something that came through. Aside from that one time he could strangely feel his brother’s stray emotions, it appeared to mostly work on Pokémon alone. He also learned that his range was really short, roughly a few metres, though it could be extended under two circumstances, one if he centred himself and really concentrated, like he did at the docks. Or two, and this was something Arun just found out, if the emotion was so strong it overwhelmed his senses.

Walking towards a set of glass double doors with a ‘+’ sign on them, Arun was hit by a wave of anguish and frustration that caused him to nearly double over in pain. It was a familiar signature, the one from the docks, it was screaming in fury, in pain, in something. He could feel his blood boil as the emotions merged with his, causing him to see red.

“I’ll murder them.” He raged internally, his breathing growing more and more labored with every step, “Break their bones and watch them beg.”

A part of him understood that these emotions weren’t his, and that stray part of his consciousness was the one thing keeping him from lashing out.

“Weaklings who don’t understand the price of power!”

He could see it, it was so easy. It would be so easy to just wrap his hands around Winton’s scrawny neck, to break the man in half. Two steps, that’s all it would take, two steps and-

The signature disappeared, and Arun was alone again, silently collapsing against the wall as Pran and Winton walked ahead of him. He wiped away the angry tears that formed in his eyes, schooling his features and straightening himself out.

“Oh God.” He thought, swaying, “I need to ask Joy about this.”

“And this is the Med Ward,” Winton said flatly “You two visited this place earlier right? You know, when you decided to fight a Pokémon.”

“Uh huh.” Pran deadpanned.

“Of course you do. Anyways, Pokémon. I’m aware that you dropped off some Pokémon for treatment, I don’t know if Delilah is here…oh there she is.”

Inside the Medical Bay were two separate rooms. The first was for humans, large beds with a number of devices Arun could only guess was for reading out heart measures and the like. A number of them were occupied, the ones that were awake all glaring at the two as they walked in. Made sense, they were the grunts that Arun had roughed up on their grand escape attempt. At the very least he didn’t see the two they ambushed at the beginning, which was good, he wasn’t ready to deal with them just yet.

The second room however, Arun could tell at a glance they were built for Pokémon. Majority of the space was taken up by habitats, various screens on display nearby monitoring heart level, humidity, temperature, and other numbers that he supposed were useful in Pokémon care.

Stepping out from said room was a shorter pretty woman who looked to be in her older 20’s, possibly early thirties, wearing a sleek black skirt that went down to her knees, and a dress shirt covered by a lab coat. She had tanned skin which was a little surprising, with short brown hair sitting just past her jawline.

“Winton.” She said, her voice tired but fond. “And these must be the new…recruits.”

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“The thieves that somehow talked their way into a job, yes.” Winton replied, shoving his hands into his coat pockets.

“Arun, and this is my brother Pranav.” Arun said diplomatically.

“In our defense we were broke and pseudo homeless.” His brother added, grinning at her.

“Mhm." She said flatly, ignoring the joke, "Now, I’m aware you had Pokémon that were injured during your escape attempt. I also understand that they don’t belong to you, but Headquarters is saying that you can continue to use them, if you wish.”

“That would be great.” Arun said, a little relief entering his voice, “If I may ask, how are they doing?”

“Manners, I like it.” Delilah flipped the pages in her clipbook, before landing on one of the back pages. “Seedot and Shuppet, yes. Shuppet was hurt, but like most spirits it wasn’t too big of an issue, just rest and time for it to regather its energy and he’s good as new. Seedot however…” She trailed off, before looking up at him.

“Seedot is a small Pokémon. He’s tough for sure, but being that small means it’s a lot easier to hit vital spots. Whatever that cut was, it was deep, I’m surprised the Pokémon could fight at all.”

Arun winced, feeling a spike of fear at his new friend’s condition. “Is he um…is he ok?” He asked, unable to stop his voice from shaking.

“Thankfully, but no more battles for at least a few days. I’d recommend having a second look, I’m good at my job, but thanks to somebody,” Delilah said, giving them a pointed look, “I haven’t exactly been able to give anybody my full attention.”

“Of course, sorry again.” Arun replied, smiling softly. “Any chance we could see them now?”

Delilah stepped to the side, gesturing towards the room, “By all means.”

Arun and his brother entered, Winton tried to follow but Pranav placed a hand on his chest, giving him a look.

“What do you think you’re doing?” The scientist said, giving him a flat look.

“Think you could give us some privacy, friend?” Pranav replied in a low voice.

“I’m not your friend. And I was ordered not to let you out of my sight.”

“What, you can’t let us talk to our Pokémon?”

“I can’t let you scheme with your Pokémon.”

“Dude, listen.” Pranav said, stepping closer to Winton, his voice a barely audible whisper. “We know the stakes, we act out of line and we’re fucking dead, right? But these Pokémon, they’re not even ours, They don’t know what’s up. In fact, I’m pretty sure they hate you guys. So let us talk to them privately yea? Just so we know where we all stand.”

“Besides.” His brother continued, “Wouldn’t you rather talk to the pretty Doctor lady instead of watching us? She looks like she hasn’t slept in days, could use someone to vent to.”

Winton shifted slowly, glancing back at Delilah as she made her rounds through the human patients. “Fine.” He finally said, turning his attention back to them. “Five minutes, then we’re out.”

Pranav grinned, patting Winton on the shoulder and earning a scowl in return, “Love’ya buddy.”

“Fuck off.”

Winton stepped back, squaring his shoulders as he went over to Delilah, who had now sat in her chair, massaging the bridge of her nose.

“Coffee?” He asked.

“Arceus, yes.” She replied, sighing.

After making sure the two were out of earshot, Pranav stepped into the back room, nodding to Arun.

“You know.” He said, as he sauntered forward, “I like Winton.”

Arun ignored him, instead taking in the room they were in. Majority of the Habitats were empty, the only ones occupied being a water vat where a duo of Croagunks lazed about, eyeing them curiously. There was a line of Pokeballs directly ahead of them, each marked with a piece of tape and a name hastily scribbled on. Arun noticed with some amusement that most of the names weren’t even properly named. “June’s Personality”, “Shithead Golbat” and “Fuckface” were all written on the devices. He extended his senses, finding the one obviously labelled “Acorn” and “Dishrag” reaching out back to him. He grasped the pokeball, its familiar weight bringing a sense of comfort alongside its occupant.

“Here.” He said to Pranav, tossing Dishrag over to him, “That one’s yours. I’m gonna go talk to Seedot, find out if Shuppet wants to stay or go.”

“Dishrag!?” His brother exclaimed, staring at the tape, “The disrespect!”

Arun tuned out his brother’s complaints, instead tossing the ball onto the floor. In a flash of light, his new friend appeared, standing proud with a glint of fire and determination in its eyes that made Arun’s chest swell up in emotion.

“Hey buddy.” He said. “You’re looking a little different, better.”

Seedot’s appearance had slightly changed the last time Arun saw him, his usual palm-sized form had nearly doubled, the dark brown shell taking a lighter beige tone. There was a scar across his side from the Golbat’s attack, but Seedot seemed to bear it with pride, to the point of almost flaunting.

Warmth, from Seedot. You are also well, am happy.

Arun sat down, crossing his legs as Seedot trundled over to him. “I’m ah…sure you noticed by now, but we joined up with them, mostly by accident.”

Sadness. You failed in your escape.

“We did. It was this or death.”

Empathy, then curiosity. What will you do, will you stay?

Arun glanced back at the entrance of the room, seeing Winton preoccupied with the Doctor, brought Seedot closer to him.

“It’s a dangerous game.” He sighed, “They’ll get rid of us as soon as we’re no longer useful, and we’re cutting ties with them as soon as we have the resources to do so. I don’t…hm.”

Arun paused, thinking of the words to say, “You got some history with these guys, I felt it, and I know they’re bad people, at least most of them are. But fighting with you just felt right. If you don’t want to stay just give me the word and I’ll let you go, we’ll find you your home, your people. But I want you to stay, I need someone with your strength, your sense of justice, to keep me grounded and focused. What do you say?”

Seedot stared up at him, not responding, its emotions suddenly closing off. Arun said nothing, he recognized the look. Seedot was processing, deciding whether or not to tell him something important. Idly, his thumb went to Seedot’s forehead, gently massaging it with affection. The little Pokémon leaned into his touch, and slowly deflated. Proud eyes gave way to a weary soul, his whole body drooping low as if whatever burden he carried was forcing him down. A tidal wave of emotion struck Arun, Sadness, Anger, but most of all, fear.

“He was scared the whole time” Arun realised, as the endless stream of emotion continued to wash over him. Fighting the Golbats, being trapped within the facility, Seedot had never stopped being scared.

They took everything from me Seedot ‘said’, I couldn’t stop them.

Memories invaded Arun’s mind, memories that weren’t his.

Memories of a woman with silver hair, smiling gently down on him.

Memories of being surrounded by friends, feeling safe, feeling happy.

Memories of Alakazam, who watched over them all like a doting mother.

Memories of fire, as it all burned away.

Memories of death, as his friends lay broken and bleeding on the ground.

Memories of helplessness, as they kidnapped him, away from his home and his family.

A feeling emitted from Seedot, unlike anything Arun had felt before. A void of emotion, a vast nothing, an absence. Emptiness. No more Home. No more People. It’s all gone.

Everything. Arun felt wet droplets on his hands, and realized with horror that Seedot was crying. He pulled the little Pokemon to his chest, rocking back and forth.

“They will pay. I promise you.” Arun whispered fiercely. “For every slight against you I will make sure they pay, I swear. Nobody will take anything from you ever again.”

They stayed like that for a while, staying close to one another. Then finally, when the torrent of emotions subsided, Seedot wriggled free, hopping onto the floor and looking slightly abashed.

Embarrassment. I don’t like…crying.

Arun laughed, wiping away his own tears that formed from the torrent of memories he was hit with. “You and me both.” He said, before schooling his features. “So, what do you want to do then?”

Determination. I will stay, I will grow.

“Then you’re gonna need a name buddy. Doesn’t feel right just calling you ‘Seedot’.”

Confusion. Names? Our kind don’t have names

Arun leaned back, staring up at the ceiling, “Names have power, Seedot. When you say a name impressions are formed, good or bad. Recognition, what they stand for, past deeds and accomplishments, everything is attached to a name. If they say ‘Arun’s Seedot’ they attach your power to mine, which isn’t exactly a bad thing, but it reduces your own accomplishments.”

Curiosity. What name would you give me?

“I want you to decide, I can give some ideas though. You’re a hero to me, you know? You’re brave in the face of danger, got the strength of mind and strength of spirit too.”

Shame. You praise me, but I am scared. How can one be brave if they feel so terrified?

Arun smiled, “That’s exactly what being brave is about, you know?” He pondered for a moment, thinking of his next words, “You fight, even though you’re scared. You sacrifice, even if you’d rather do anything else, because you care about what’s right, about the people around you.”

Seedot thought for a minute, spinning in a slow circle as he did.

Curiosity. Do you really believe I show courage?.

“Buddy, I know it.” Arun replied, “You’ve got valour in your heart.”

Excitement and Determination. I like that word, Valour. I want to be Valour.

“Then from now on, your name is ‘Valor’.” Arun said, standing up as Valor hopped up onto his shoulder, “Spelled without the ‘u’ because it looks better that way.”

Valor stared at him in confusion.

“You wouldn’t get it.” He said, dusting himself off “It’s an America thing.”

—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

‘You dare suggest I be named after a friendly ghost?’ Shuppet demanded, its flight pattern becoming increasingly jagged.

“Oh come on, everybody loves Casper!” Pranav exclaimed “You’ll be a delight to people everywhere!”

‘I am not here to be a delight!’ Shuppet nearly screeched ‘I am here because you said you wanted to be the ‘best, like no one ever was’, and that we would reach the top together, I want a name with power, befitting of a great spirit!’

Pranav watched with amusement as Shuppet continued to spout curses at him, flying in increasingly faster agitated circles around the new trainer. Despite Pranav’s insistence on annoying the Pokémon, Shuppet never once threatened to or asked to leave. Pranav figured that either Shuppet wasn’t all that bright, or the Pokémon genuinely liked him, he really hoped it was the second, even if the first was arguably more entertaining to him.

“Alright alright.” He said after Shuppet’s words had become a jumbled mess of intentions, “You’re right, it was a bad name, you need a good one, right? One that people will fear, or respect, yea?”

‘Precisely.’ The ghost huffed at him

“We could do Aken,” Pranav said, leaning against the wall, “Ferryman of the dead, carried spirits to the underworld. That’s a cool one.”

‘Better, but not good enough.’ Shuppet replied, though floating down to reach eye level with him.

“Hmmm. Could name you after a major God, that’d be cool.”

‘Their names exist, to be named after one would be an offense, and confusing.’

“Na not your gods, ones from my home. They don’t really exist, people just believed in them.” Pranav paused, looking curiously at Shuppet, “Actually.” He mumbled, “If I exist here right now, there’s a good chance they probably exist too.”

A headache began to bloom where his bruise was as Pranav thought about it more. The fact that he was here confirmed the existence of Arceus, at least, he thought so. But if a godlike being like Arceus could exist, would that mean others did as well? Did the Egyptian and Greek pantheons exist as well? Hell, did the main religions of modern society exist? But scriptures and books said that was impossible, there was only one God.

His headache turned into a sharp throb as a thought dawned on him. He died, right? Shouldn’t he have gone to some sort of heaven? Or…or maybe he was alive…just in an actual coma this time. He heard that some people lived entire lives inside their comas. There was a man who had gotten married in his for seven years,

His heart began to beat faster, his breath grew sharper as the pain in his head became almost unbearable. That’s what this was, wasn’t it? This was a fucking dream? Nothing was real, he was in his head, he was still in the real world, still useless, still a burden to Arun. The whole world was one big fucking li-

‘HEY!’ Shuppet shrieked, snapping Pranav out his stupor. ‘What happened?’ The ghost demanded.

“Ah…” Pranav swallowed “Nothing. Um, what were we talking about? Names right?”

Shuppet stared at Pranav, its yellow irises unblinking as they bore into him. ‘You’re afraid. What are you afraid of?’

“Nothing important.” He replied, waving Shuppet away. “So, Gods? Kings? Names like that yea?”

Shuppet remained silent, still staring.

“It’s um, I’ll talk about it another time, please?” He shifted uncomfortably as the Pokémon continued staring "Let's just…let’s focus on names now yea?”

‘I have reconsidered, I like Aken.’

“Happy days then.” Pranav smiled weakly, “Nice to meet you Aken, let’s show these assholes who’s boss eh?”

‘They should already know by now.’ Aken huffed.

He let out a laugh, feeling slightly better. Redirecting his gaze to his brother, he found that the pair had wrapped up their conversation, and were walking towards them.

“Everything good?” Arun asked, his Seedot standing at his shoulder.

“Yup.” Pranav replied, ignoring Aken’s snort, “Allow me to formally introduce you to Aken.”

“Oh shit, mythos stuff, I like it.” His brother nodded, “This is Valor, spelled without the ‘u’.”

“Looks better that way.”

“Definitely.”

Valor chirped in confusion.