Water is still dripping from the ends of my hair as my breath rushes heavily over my lips. Inside the safety of a changing room, I’ve been able to swap the swim suit for underwear and my regular clothes, but that hasn’t changed the exhaustion that’s still making waves inside me.
Amethio didn’t bat an eyelid as his Corviknight chased me across the beach. The pleasant wet and the little teasing drained me. My companion got away with it in comfort – well protected under the parasol and careful not to get sunburnt.
By now, the two of us are sitting at a table in the resort’s dining room waiting for our orders. Bread lies in a basket. Drinks have already been served – we have both chosen still water – and the cool air makes breathing easy. My hair in a tangled bun, I gradually calm my breaths until the silence between us becomes more present than my strain.
As our food finds its way to the table, I dare to start a conversation. “Do you think they’ll be arriving soon?”
Bending over his ordered steak, Amethio lets out a barely perceptible sigh. “Probably. It’s afternoon. According to information, they tend to arrive here for lunch at this time of day.”
“And they just told you that?” I raise my eyebrows.
“The Explorers, like many other organisations, are well known to some people who work in such areas. Information is put out quickly for our kind, in hopes of forging new alliances and making the world a more understandable place.”
In other words, they always have an easy time with information that is not simply presented to normal people. A fact I can only recognise with a casual nod of my head. The smell of my potato gratin is too distracting.
Once again, we both fall into silence – this time, however, savouring the sight of our lunch and it is only when I put my fork aside after my order has been consumed that my mind seems to detach itself from the dishes and glide around the room.
We don’t fit into this ambience – none of us do. The tourists here wear either shirts with colourful floral patterns or airy summer dresses in such bright colours that some fabrics resemble a painting by Smeargle. Not necessarily beautiful, but so eye-catching that Amethio and I disappear and yet look like boring blobs in the middle of cheerful splendour.
Only when a man enters the room, his snow-white clothes – a knee-length coat and old-looking shoes with golden soles disappearing under flared trousers – shining among the colours like a memorial, do we seem like nothing more than an out-of-place afterthought. Accompanied by two men whose clothes are no less radiant, he strolls past the tables as if he owns the hotel. Only at ours he stops.
“I heard someone asked for me and I see they’ve sent children. Are the Explorers short of staff?”
Without blinking, Amethio wipes his mouth with one of the countless napkins before standing up. The twitching corners of the stranger’s mouth convey impatience.
“I’m an admin and I’m here as part of an investigation into the Aether Paradise.” He extends his hand to the stranger. “Amethio.”
Under the absurdly large green glasses covering half of his face, our target’s eyes narrow as a grin creeps onto his features. Only then does he return Amethio’s gesture. “Faba. Aether Branch Chief and brightest mind of the Aether Foundation. At least you seem to have manners and be good for something if they make someone as young as you an admin. How old are you? Sixteen?”
“Nineteen,” Amethio replies, and I can only marvel at the way he doesn’t bat an eyelid. The calmness he radiates in these seconds is exactly the same as when he questioned me and I can’t deny that it’s only now that I realise I know him a little better than before.
“Interesting. I’ve heard a lot about the Explorers. You’ve been in the business a long time, haven’t you? Always looking to uncover secrets and track down the rarest Pokémon in the world.”
Their hands separate and although neither of them shows it, the tension is palpable – at least judging by the goose bumps on my arms. So I stand up too, but try not to attract attention. The thought that this strangely distorted look behind these glasses might notice me sends shivers down my spine.
A noticeable sigh draws all attention back to Faba, who is adjusting the grass-green, wide sleeves of his gloves with pointed fingers. “Actually, I wanted to treat myself to lunch here, but isn’t it much more exciting to get down to business? I suppose you’d like to take a look inside to understand what exactly we do, wouldn’t you?” He raises his hand. “Of course you would.”
His gaze swings briefly in my direction. “I take it you’re one of them?”
Before I can open my mouth, Amethio answers for me. “She’s one of my subordinates. Domino.”
A curt bow on my part as a greeting, followed by a “Nice to meet you, Sir Aether Branch Chief”, is all I can manage. But it’s enough to elicit a delighted nod from my counterpart.
“The Explorers’ minions seem to know how to talk to their superiors. Some of the ... employees in my area always seem to forget my title. How is anyone supposed to know how important I am to the Aether Foundation if they don’t use my title? After all, I don’t have it for nothing.” He snorts. “Well then, let’s make our way back. Today we’re eating at the Aether Paradise.”
Without further ado, Faba turns round and takes the lead, so Amethio and I can only follow. His hasty steps guide us purposefully out of the resort, along the centre path, up to a few steps ending in a jetty made of luxurious marble. The small yacht Faba takes us to seems big enough to house five people comfortably. We fit in perfectly here.
Jumping onto the motorboat makes my heart beat faster and as we are led inside, rustic but with cushioned seating and a table full of snacks, the circumstances seem almost too good to be true. And they probably are, because Faba’s upturned chin, the hunched posture and smug grin make him less than trustworthy. Still, I settle down on a bench next to Amethio.
“The journey will take about an hour,” Faba tells us the next moment, before taking a few small, well-formed blocks of rice reminiscent of sushi, but with some kind of grilled meat instead of fish. “Help yourselves. Spam Musubi are and remain extremely popular in this region.”
Neither Amethio nor I move. Instead, we watch as Faba sits down on the opposite bench and crosses his long legs gallantly. “I’m sure you’ll enjoy the Aether Paradise. It’s an artificial private island built just for Pokémon – in the middle of Alola’s seas, to prevent eager trainers from getting their fingers burnt by our security system ... like those dolts from Team Skull, who probably can’t even tie their own shoes.”
“Team Skull tried to break into your building?”
“Not at all, silly,” Faba simply waves my question away. “They don’t even have the capacity to venture that far out onto the water. But if we were on land, they would certainly be confident enough to challenge us. The fact a few ... less talented members of the Aether Foundation complete their work to a rather mediocre standard aside, they’re quite good in Pokémon battles. Team Skull would never be a match for us. And even if they made it to me, one foundation of this facility, they wouldn’t stand a chance of getting past.”
His words are dripping with arrogance and yet I can’t help but soak up his every word. Just how little he thinks of his staff is clear from how busy they both are steering the yacht instead of one of them popping in and joining us. Perhaps I should join them, because I’m nothing more than “staff” myself.
“Anyway, the Aether Paradise serves as a refuge for every imaginable Pokémon. It’s a kind of safe haven for all those that are in danger of extinction, are being hunted or have been terrified by humans,” Faba finally finishes.
These are exactly the same words you hear in the daily news – whether on the radio or on television. It’s a hot topic in this region, and although I never paid attention to it before, because news is for those who don’t venture outside the door themselves, I seem to remember my father often watching the reports. He always wanted to be up to date, wanted to know what was happening in the world and what we had to watch out for in this region when we stepped outside the door – when I stepped outside the door.
He probably did the same in all the other regions we lived in. Who knows how many there were, but I’m sure he never took his eyes off the TV on some days. Generally speaking, televisions have always been the only thing in our house with reasonably up-to-date technology. Unlike the things I have now, like the Rotom Phone. Who knows what technical wonders are yet to come? An artificial island is almost unbelievable, but I don’t know enough about it to categorise it.
While Faba is busy munching on the snacks, I allow myself to take a deep breath. The hours on the beach were so enjoyable that I am now overcome with fatigue at the sight of the peace of this yacht. And as we’ll be trapped in this boat for an hour, there’s no reason not to close my eyes for a few seconds; just until exhaustion lets go.
I slowly lower my eyelids and lean back. The cushion of the bench rests securely against my body and as I cross my arms in front of my chest, I’m sure I make an almost thoughtful, rather than sleepy, expression. So Faba won’t think of me as useless personnel at Amethio’s side – after all, you don’t rest half asleep in cases like this. My disguise is perfect.
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》 W H I S P E R S 《
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At least I thought it was perfect. However, when someone finally grabs me by the shoulder and I startle awake, I realise while still in a doze that I’ve not only fallen asleep but also slipped off. Amethio is still sitting next to me and it seems his shoulder has served as my pillow.
I don’t want to know how much I’ve ruined his image in Faba’s eyes.
In a flash, I stand upright and wipe the sleep from my face. “Sorry. That was ... not really my plan.”
“Faba went ahead.” Instead of responding to my concerns, Amethio rises from his seat and heads for the exit. He doesn’t care at all about my slip-up and part of me doesn’t know whether he’s going to punish me with indifference or whether we’ll pretend it never happened.
I follow him with hurried steps, out of the yacht and into a white underground area where boats can easily dock. Meanwhile, the walls appear a clinical white. Everything is so clean it’s hard to believe you’ll find anyone in this place at all.
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“I welcome you to the fortress that is Aether Paradise.” Faba spreads his arms as if he owns all of this. He doesn’t turn round to face us once.
His face only becomes part of the overall picture again as we hurry over a slightly separated section of the floor. The waist-high control panel suggests a kind of lift, but for my taste, the protective walls are missing. Faba enters something into the console and pulls a card through a slot in the panel. The next moment, bars rise – enough to prevent us from accidentally tipping over – enclosing us in the shape of a triangle and offering us a sense of security as we are lifted.
Our floor slab rises slowly but steadily, through a matching hole in the ceiling, into an area that seems almost welcoming. Counters stretch out on either side of the room. The fruity aroma of Pokémon food hangs in the air and the previously stifling atmosphere is replaced by bustling activity.
“You can leave your Pokémon here if you want them to recover a little. Or you can get them some food. Just tell the staff I sent you if you want anything.” Faba raises his chin again as if he’s looking down at us. It’s frightening that his pompous attitude just won’t burst, even in the middle of this facility.
His offer in mind, we follow him to a counter. As he taps his knuckles on the top wooden board, the woman behind it jolts up so quickly from her crouched position over a box that she hits her shoulder noisily on the edge.
“B-Branch Chief ... how can I ... help you?” Her body trembles. Every fibre seems to resist reaching for her aching shoulder, and I don’t even want to think about what will happen if she fails.
“Have you seen Wicke? She could show our guests around a bit.” Faba turns to us with a smile. “As much as I’d love to do it, important men have important things to do.”
Going on this tour with someone else is probably the greatest blessing we can receive, and before she even knows how to reply, a mauve-coloured mop appears next to us. Her hair is so strikingly dark that Faba’s light blonde strands, in the shape of a shallot, are barely noticeable. Every movement she makes causes the volume on her head to bob, as if Nebby has taken up residence there.
“How can I help?” The friendly tone of her voice is a pleasant change from Faba’s arrogantly sharp tongue. In addition, her pink jumper brings a soft colour into play, not trying to impose on anyone.
“Show these two round,” Faba replies. “They’re an admin from the Explorers and his assistant. They’re interested in the Aether Paradise and, as we all know, you can never gain enough allies with projects like ours.”
“I see. Sure, I’ll take care of it!”
She gives Faba a slight bow before he simply walks away. He doesn’t even leave a word of farewell behind, and only the certainty behind it makes me exhale louder than necessary.
“Don’t hold it against him, he ... is a brilliant man.” She adjusts her glasses briefly with her fingertips. “Now, how about I show you the place where we keep the Pokémon?”
Amethio merely nods before giving me a quick glance. It’s impossible to guess what he wants from me, but ultimately we’re here to find out about the Ultra Wormholes. That also means we both have to keep our eyes open.
Meanwhile, Wicke takes us to a room almost like an entire park. Green spaces and trees stretch out in fenced-off areas to our sides. Small bridges lead over enclosures. Water gurgles and if I wouldn’t know better, I would probably forget there is a ceiling and we’re not out in the open.
“This is the sanctuary, the place where all Pokémon are safe. We put all the ones that get along together and make sure we save the ones that are dying out. Of course, even ordinary Pokémon find a home in this place.”
Her explanation brushes me half in the background. My eyes wander over the Pokémon, my ears listen to the cheerful sounds escaping them, and Faba is forgotten in the next moment. I systematically dig out my Rotom – buried under the well-sealed bag with Lillie’s swim suit inside – and collect the entries for four Pokémon. These include a Staryu – whose core can communicate with the stars in the sky at night – and a Corsola – which has a tough time with its predators in Alola.
What there is to learn here seems endless, and Tapu Lele’s words hardly seem credible. It’s hard to imagine an organisation like this catching a Pokémon against its will and making the Ultra Wormholes worse. Yet there’s still the warning it left me with. Not everyone is nice.
“Ah, how convenient!” Wicke’s suddenly joyful exclamation snaps me out of my thoughts. “The president is here too! I think it would be wise for you to talk to her. If the Explorers are really interested in the Aether Foundation, then she can explain everything important to you.”
With a wave, Wicke signals we should go to her. There is no objection, no refusal and before we know it, we are standing opposite a woman whose radiantly beautiful smile could hardly fit better into this ambience. With one hand on her hip, she examines us with deep green eyes containing the same attentiveness as Lillie’s.
“Who are you bringing to me?”
“Visitors from the Explorers, President. An admin.”
“Ah, the Explorers!” She claps her hands briefly. “I’m delighted to welcome you here – albeit unexpectedly. I heard you were in Alola, but coming here... You’re an organisation working with the Devon Corporation, aren’t you?”
“We help them occasionally,” Amethio replies curtly, “but we stand on our own feet.”
“I see,” she nods eagerly. “Means the Explorers aren’t just hungry for knowledge, but also skilful at trading their wares. It’s nice to see that some people use their passion to build something big in which others also have a place. Like the Devon Corporation in Hoenn, or the adventurer association in Sinnoh, which has already created wonderful groups.” Her eyes close as she shakes her head and waves her waist-length, light blonde hair from side to side. “I think I can count myself among them.”
As she turns away from us to watch the Pokémon in their enclosures, her face loses life. It seems as if she is living in a dream for a breath.
“Seeing how many Pokémon die in a year because of battles ... how some of them are used and thrown away without anyone saying anything, because it’s so terribly normal to consider a creature that can’t communicate with us as less valuable ... I wanted to make a change. In my eyes, Pokémon should be treated with respect and gratitude for their sacrifices. They all deserve so much more love. And if they can’t get it out there ... then I’ll give it to them.” She turns to us again, and the smile is back on her lips. “That was always my dream, and that’s how the Aether Paradise came about.”
She makes it seem like you just have to reach for your dreams and maybe that’s actually the case. I might try it too, provided I can find some courage to jump over my shadow.
“Sorry, I haven’t even introduced myself yet. My name is Lusamine.” The white dress with the sun-yellow, almost see-through fabric over it shines softly as she positions herself better under the artificial light. Her high gold heels click. “Would you like to look around a b-?”
She doesn’t get any further before she stumbles to the side. I feel the same weakness in my legs as I bump into Amethio, who instantly grabs onto the upper edge of the dividers. Unease runs through the Pokémon, triggering startled exclamations and screams amongst the tremors as we all try to find our balance.
It only takes a few breaths, during which the floor beneath us seems to shatter, before the shaking stops just as abruptly as it started – as if someone had set off two hundred Voltorbs nearby. Still, my breath catches as voices echo wildly in my head and I glance at Amethio, but can only see past him – straight to a tear in the centre of the room.
“Oh God...” is all that rolls over my lips, and it’s probably all that makes the others look in the same direction.
I can’t make out any reactions out of the corner of my eye. My entire perception hangs on the crack that opens wider with every blink. This time, Nebby isn’t here to help us and the crack is taking shape. It changes, flickers, disappears and reappears. A headache threatens to split my skull in two. My teeth grind somewhere in between. For seconds, until silence falls with a single breath. The voices remain distant. The crack doesn’t reappear.
And in the next moment, another image flickers – unusual, accompanied by a single voice whose whispering sends goose bumps over my body. It is an unintelligible sound, as if someone is breathing into my ear, wordlessly. It takes a moment before I think I can make out a thing.
“What’s that?” Simultaneously, Amethio takes a step back. His eyes widen, watching the strange creature warily.
“Where?” Tentacles, falling like a white cloak, twitch. “Why?”
Its head is almost reminiscent of a well-formed Tentacool, adorned with six-legged stars. I can’t make out any eyes, nor can I think of a decent name for this creature. It’s hardly comparable to the few Pokémon whose existence I’ve remembered alongside all the gaps. My knowledge in this area is so muddled, I can’t even tell if it might be related to a Pokémon from our dimension.
“Where?!” The Pokémon’s nervousness increases and the more it swings its tentacles around, the harder my heart pounds.
So I step forward. In these seconds, the most important thing is to bring calm to the situation and even if I can’t get much together, I can talk well. So I raise my hands and take two steps towards the strange apparition.
“You don’t have to be afraid,” I begin. “You landed here through a ... portal. Together, I’m sure we can find a way to bring you back.”
A gasp runs through my head. “It’s talking.”
“Can you hear me?”
“Sounds, nothing but sounds.”
“What are you?”
“What does it want?” It whips. “What do you want from me?”
Its voice gets louder and the certainty it can’t understand a word I say forces me three more steps closer. If I can’t communicate with it in the conventional way, then I need to show it we’re harmless. Maybe it’s open to some kind of temporary friendship, so it doesn’t panic the other Pokémon here any further.
The sweat on my forehead prickles. Amethio’s hiss completely passes me by. The only thing I can cling to in these seconds is my relatively even breathing.
Then I hold out my hand to the Pokémon. It’s a simple gesture, an invitation, but it doesn’t come across as such.
“Does it want to touch me? Why?” It backs away. “What do you want from me? Whatwhatwhatwhatwhat?” Its questions tumble over each other.
I stop for a moment, trying to show I won’t risk making a move if it doesn’t agree.
“Expectations. It expects something.” Long-drawn snorts rush through my skull. “I will not submit!”
Before I can pull my head back in confusion, it retracts its shortest tentacles under its head. In the next breath, it spews purple liquid in my direction.
Something immediately pulls me off my feet. Hips first, I crash to the ground, heat behind me, but my eyes remain glued to the attack, which eats through the ground like acid. In the next blink, I recognise Amethio’s voice behind me.
“Ceruledge, psycho cut!”
In a flash, his Pokémon darts forward, its armour shimmering darkly under the fiery light of this suddenly terribly stuffy room. Half in a trance, I pull myself back to my feet – Amethio is already standing again – and reach for a Poké Ball. The next moment I let Pikipek out. If I can’t do anything, I only have my partners left. Maybe I can give Amethio some support.
Ceruledge’s psycho cut misses as the unknown Pokémon dodges and sprays the same liquid in its direction as in mine. No challenge for Amethio’s companion, however. It fends off the attack with a single slash of a blade.
“Coro, distract it!” My command follows immediately. Opening a window of attack for Ceruledge is all I can offer. It could probably do all this without me, but we have to avoid damage. The longer the battle lasts, the greater the risks. “Echoed voice!”
Pikipek immediately pumps air into his chest, before throwing a sonic wave at the unknown creature in a loud scream, gaining all attention for himself. It begins another venomous surge, but is thrown off balance by a second wave of echoed voice. The squeaking sound it makes is impossible to translate. All I can hear in my head is static.
“One more time, psycho cut!” Luckily for me, Amethio quickly realises my plan is based solely on supporting him, and he takes the opportunity as the strange Pokémon backs away from Pikipek – straight into Ceruledge’s attack.
Its blades seem to come loose, smashing dark energy through our opponent’s body, and just as I think the creature is going down, it begins to flicker again. Its next attack fails to materialise. It disappears in exactly the same way as the dimensional rift, and when we’re sure there won’t be another flicker, a general sigh of relief escapes.
Calling our Pokémon back, I exchange a quick glance with Amethio before we turn our attention to Lusamine. Her eyes are still glued to the spot where the Pokémon appeared. Her hands clasped in front of the shiny, black and blue stone of her dress, she holds her breath. Then, suddenly, it escapes her.
“It was beautiful.”
“Beautiful?” It’s Amethio’s disbelief that makes me shake my head in his place. Nothing about this creature was beautiful. The danger was just too great.
“It probably couldn’t manifest properly.” Lusamine doesn’t respond to us, however. “This poor Pokémon was certainly confused. That’s exactly what I was talking about before.” She immediately looks at us both. “Even Pokémon like this, which has strayed from a distant world to ours, deserves to be loved. For creatures like this, I take on the role of a mother and show them they’re worthy of my love.”
“But they need to be ... tamed. They seem quite dangerous.” I can barely push the thought from my shoulders. Worry that completely bypasses Lusamine. The longer I look at her, the more insistent her presence becomes.
“That doesn’t matter. There are no hurdles that can’t be overcome,” she replies slowly. “A Pokémon from a ... what do they call it at the institute? Ultra Wormhole?” She nods to herself, as if trying to think of new terms. “This Ultra Beast deserves a place to retreat. It doesn’t have to be tame for that.”