PART TWO: CAPTURE AND CONTROL

“What was that?” Isaac’s voice rang out before the others could say a thing. The two trainers were too busy gaping at the poke ball I was still holding right there out in the open.

A poke ball that shouldn’t exist yet. Modern poke balls had only been invented a few decades ago, and even apricorn balls didn’t seem to be available in this era. I winced as I stared at the red and white device in my hand, a paradox in waiting. I had simply no idea how I was going to get out of this without giving everything away.

“Trainer Monroe, your partner just disappeared,” Michael said, his voice unsteady. “I have lived near Drowzee packs my whole life and have never heard of them teleporting before. This requires an explanation. Now.”

“You were hurting Drowzee,” I said quickly, desperately trying to think my way out of the situation. “You attacked without warning, and two against one! That’s not fair. I’m not telling you anything.”

“Child,” Smith said with a huff, “we were trying to teach you. Every trainer sometimes finds themselves outmatched in a dangerous battle. Better that you learn now how to think through the panic, so you can react more quickly in the wild.”

“We would have called them off before your partner fainted,” Michael added, his voice marginally softer. Then his face hardened. “Still, that does not matter. You need to explain what you just did to your majū.”

My mind was still running in frantic circles. I couldn’t tell them I was from the future; it was bad enough that Florence knew, how much worse would it get if a bunch of adults found out and pushed me harder for information? But I couldn’t hide Drowzee’s poke ball, they had all seen it. Maybe I had to tell a partial truth.

“Alright, fine.” I walked up to the trio of adults (and Florence, who was standing to the side and watching me curiously). I held the ball up so they could all see it. “Drowzee is in here. It’s a device that can hold Po – majū. It’s called a poke ball.”

Everyone took a moment to stare at the poke ball. Then Michael scoffed and looked back at me. “Impossible. That thing could not even hold a Natu. How could your partner fit in it?”

I didn’t reply; I just turned the ball to point at the grass next to me and gently pressed the release button. A beam of energy poured out of the ball, resolving into Drowzee’s form, which was now crouched down and defensive. He glared up at Venomoth and Hoothoot for a moment (they had returned to rest on their partners’ shoulders during the conversation), then shuffled over to hide halfway behind me.

Michael’s mouth hung open in shock, which almost made me want to laugh. Smith just looked confused, but Isaac seemed elated. “Trainer Monroe, this is incredible! This could revolutionize how we understand majū! Where did you find this device?”

I sighed and rubbed the back of my neck, doing my best to look sheepish. It wasn’t that hard. “They’re somewhat common where I come from.”

“And where exactly did you come from?”

In my head I crossed my fingers; now came the tricky part. “A city called Hammerlocke.” I paused for dramatic effect. “It’s in the region of Galar.”

Behind the adults, Florence was raising her eyebrows at me. I ignored her, focusing on the other three. Michael and Smith just looked confused, but Isaac had perked up when I mentioned the region name.

“Galar – but that is practically on the other side of the world!” he sputtered. “However did you get here?”

For this part, I thought I could get away with the truth (mostly). “I was taken from my home by a strange majū, the same one we saw in the forest earlier.” Florence let out a quiet gasp at that, but I ignored her and kept going. “It appeared out of nowhere, grabbed me and Drowzee, and teleported us here. I don’t know why, or how to get back.”

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“The strange majū – you mean the grass fairy?” Michael asked, frowning. “It is a psychic? That’s more dangerous than I expected.”

“That must be Celebi,” Smith added, his expression clearing. “He is known for appearing and disappearing without warning in the forest. Trainer Monroe, if you were visited by Celebi, you are truly blessed; he only shows himself to those who come with peace in their hearts.”

I thought back to how I had been sent back in time and winced. Those strange people who had broken into my home didn’t seem peaceful to me.

“That is certainly interesting, but beside the point,” Isaac said. “If this miraculous device was recently invented in Galar, we will not see it reach Johto until many years from now, as traders from such far-off countries are rare.” He raised his hand, almost touching the poke ball; his eyes were blazing. “This is an incredible opportunity for us to learn from a working example, to see if we can replicate it. If we had a way to control majū… that would change everything.”

Everyone fell silent as they considered the implications. I had seen firsthand how aggressive wild Pokemon could be in this era, and I remembered how uncomfortable the people in Florence’s clan had been around Drowzee. It felt so different from my own time, when Pokemon were part of the community and everyday life, not something to be feared. Sure, you couldn’t do something dumb like wander onto Mt. Silver without protection – some areas were still dangerous – but that was how nature worked. You had to use common sense.

I could help these people. It was a stupid idea, it could mess with the intended flow of time and cause paradoxes and it wouldn’t necessarily help get me home. But at the moment, I didn’t care. I had felt so useless ever since I landed in this era, and suddenly, here was something I could do to help. I wanted to help.

Time to throw all caution to the wind, then. I gripped Drowzee’s poke ball more tightly and looked from face to face in the cluster of adults around me. “I can help you with that,” I said with a grin. “I know all about how poke balls work.”

~

Isaac wanted to take me straight back to his house to quiz me on everything I knew right away. Smith pushed back on that idea.

“This is all very interesting, but Trainer Monroe and his Drowzee made a commitment to train,” he said severely. His Venomoth fluttered its wings in agreement. “If you run off now without putting in the work, you will lose the pattern, and it will be all the harder to return to training in the future. I have seen this happen to many others in the past.”

“I am not giving up,” Florence said loudly. She moved to stand by Smith, then threw me an expectant look.

I grumbled, but I knew she was right. Drowzee and I had a long way to go if we were going to work as a team. I might be able to help Isaac and the others, but I also needed to help my Pokemon partner develop his skills.

Isaac wasn’t exactly happy, but he was mollified when Michael pointed out that they still had a discussion to finish. The two of them wandered off to the edge of the clearing to talk, leaving the rest of us to practice in the center.

Smith started by assuring me there would be no more battling today, since Drowzee needed time to regain his strength. Instead, he set the three of us to jogging in place again. This time he focused on each of us individually in turn, correcting our posture and the way we held our arms. After he had instructed me to tuck my elbows in, he moved over to Drowzee, staring intently at the way my Pokemon swung his trunk about as he jogged.

Florence decided to take this opportunity to berate me. “I told you not to tell the others about Celebi,” she hissed, glaring sideways at me. “I can’t believe you did not listen to me.”

I breathed in and out, in and out; it was all I could do to keep my legs moving. “He asked me,” I gasped out. “I told him. The truth. Not sure. What your problem. Is.”

“Right,” she shot back, only a little breathless, “you told him that Celebi brought you here from Galar. You are so focused on telling the truth.”

I hissed at her to shut up as I snuck a look over at Smith. He seemed completely absorbed in correcting Drowzee’s posture. “Okay, yes. Had to lie. About that.” Gasp in, gasp out. “The rest was true.” What did she want me to do, anyway? Tell everyone I came from the future? No way would that work out okay.

Florence let out a long breath, then shook her head. “Just… try not to talk very much about Celebi, please. I do not want her to get hurt.”

I turned my head to look at Florence properly. She was focused on running, but her eyes looked far away. She honestly did seem concerned about this.

I stopped running for a moment so I could catch my breath, then nodded firmly. “Alright. I don’t understand why you feel so uneasy about this, but I’ll try not to talk about Celebi with the others any more than is absolutely necessary.”

She turned and actually smiled at me, slowing down her running pace. Of course, that was when Smith swooped down on the two of us.

“I don’t recall telling you to take a break,” he said severely. His Venomoth trilled in agreement. “Pick up the pace!”

I groaned in protest, but I also forced myself to start moving in place again. Running had to get easier eventually. It would just take time.