Ying’s grip is as hard as steel. No matter how much I struggle, I can’t escape her. There’s no turning back, no way to call Mirra into her Poké Ball now. Instead, she stays behind while we jump onto the yacht Gladion has already started.
Zoroark barely finds a foothold before the boat moves and we disappear from the Aether Paradise at breakneck speed. Only when we have put a few metres between us and the shaking building, does Ying let go of me. Her snort tugs at my attention, but I can’t take my eyes off the paradise.
The next thing I notice is a flash of light. In the next breath, a dark pillar thunders down on the building and rises into the sky high enough so I can’t see the end. Walls break in two, rubble crashes into the sea like an avalanche and the entire artificial island threatens to sink. The sight sends an electric shock through my body. Mimikyu is still there, somewhere between the rubble and the endless waters of Alola.
Without further ado, I suck the air deep into my lungs. The pain in my shoulder is nothing compared to what Mirra is probably feeling right now. I have to reach her.
My head switches off. I can barely feel my left arm. Every fibre in me is trembling. Yet I push past Ying, shove her off me, and jump awkwardly over the railing. Wetness ensnares me, combining with darkness that robs me of my orientation. Only when I break headfirst through the surface of the water and catch sight of the floating remains of the paradise in the dim glow, does it become easier to swim towards them.
My legs have to work harder than usual. The clothes on my body weigh heavy as lead and my battered side refuses to keep me afloat. However, I manage not to sink until I reach the first driftwood of the foundation and finally cling to the worktop of a desk.
Gasping, I gather my breath. Mimikyu’s name lies loud on my tongue and with every call she doesn’t answer, my throat tightens. After the fourth cry, I can barely breathe. Tears sting my eyes, but I can’t cry. I haven’t given up yet.
As the whirring of the yacht approaches in the background – Zoroark must have reported my dangerous action – I heave myself onto the wooden board and let my gaze drift. Thousands of pieces make it impossible to get an overview and yet – a few metres away, I think I can make out a faint flickering light. I immediately crawl forwards, slide back into the water and bridge the distance with sluggish movements. Immediately afterwards, I cling to something that looks like the remains of a reception desk and move closer to the faint light.
Mirra is hard to make out. The head of her costume is missing. The fabric is shredded, causing black mass to squeeze between the tears. The pretty bow is just a burnt piece of silk and the stone is losing its lustre with every passing second. I cautiously reach out to Mimikyu. My fingers get hold of some of the costume and as I slowly pull her towards me, I think I hear a faint wheeze.
She is alive.
“Domino!” Amethio’s voice distracts me for a second. The yacht is getting closer. Gladion has switched off the engine and now he’s hanging over the edge with my companion and Zoroark, ready to collect me.
Instead, I hand them Mirra. “She’s not dead!”
Contrary to my expectations, Ying takes her, while the boys grab my outstretched arms and drag me back onto the boat with force. The jolt hurts so badly that I shed an unseen tear; and that one is enough to break the barrier.
The lump in my throat makes swallowing impossible. My body is too weak to get up – the day has been far too long and the adventures too much. Still, I hurriedly dig a hyper potion out of my bag. Everything is so wet I hardly dare take a look at anything else. I’d much rather gesture Zoroark to bring Mirra to me, and as her little body lies on my lap, it’s my tears that wet her.
I try to open the potion with my thumb – it’s actually quite easy, you just have to press on a lid – but I fail. So I try with my index finger, but my nail slips. Several times. In steady rhythm with the growing palpitations.
Until Lillie puts a hand on mine and Amethio takes the potion from me. Somewhere in the background, Gladion throws a blanket around my shoulders. Carefully, Amethio dribbles some of the potion onto Mimikyu. The liquid can be absorbed through the skin, but Mirra doesn’t move a bit.
“She’ll be all right, won’t she?” This time I can’t hold back the sobs. “We’ll fix her, won’t we?” My gaze settles on Amethio. He avoids looking at me. “Say something!”
I want to reach for him, to force the answer out, but all I can manage is a brief shrug of my shoulders. My sobs get louder, my breaths shorter. Mimikyu doesn’t move, my heart is racing, Amethio doesn’t answer and although I’m sure my Pokémon is still alive, everyone seems to want it to die. The world before me blurs. The taste of blood irritates my tongue. Darkness engulfs me all at once and before I realise what is happening, I hear a dull thud. Voices call out to me, disappearing into the distance. Nobody comes back.
And suddenly I am alone.
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》 W H I S P E R S 《
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When my eyes snap open, it feels like I’ve spent the night in a sandstorm. Every blink burns like fire. Groaning, I put one arm in front of my face and let the upcoming tears soothe the pain. The rest of my body is numb.
As soon as I lower my arm, I notice the flickering darkness. Only a small bedside lamp in the shape of a Sunkern gives me a faint light so I can make out the outline of the room.
I’m not in the accommodation where Amethio registered us last. I can smell the fragrance of Pokémon food. The thought alone makes me sit up straight in bed. In a flash, my fingers move to my waist – where neither my bag nor my trousers are. A pink nightgown hangs on my body.
I moan and push myself out of the sheets. My legs wobble ceaselessly and I just manage two steps before I hit one knee and clench a hiss between my teeth. It takes a moment for me to pull myself together and keep walking – until I reach the door, the handle of which gives me support.
Opening the barrier a crack, my gaze wanders down an illuminated corridor, its soft white and pink colours reminiscent of Melemele’s Pokémon Center. Only the thought of being in this place, surrounded by a nurse, brings bile to my throat. The handle slips from my hand as my body slides to the floor. Every breath weighs a tonne. The last thing I remember is Mimikyu’s motionless body. Amethio couldn’t look at me. I don’t have to make assumptions to know what that means.
“D-Domino?”
The soft voice of another makes me look up. The door to the room opens a little further and as Lillie pokes her head into the room, a thin smile forms on her lips. “You’re awake...”
“Where are you going? Where’s my team?” My voice is toneless.
“I’m heading to Conia. Do you ... want to join me?” She extends her hand in my direction. “To our room?”
She doesn’t have to ask me twice. I immediately grab her hand to help me to my feet. Maybe I’ll find something good in their company; pleasant minutes in which I can forget – as I usually do with unpleasant things. I’ve only known Mimikyu for a day. It can’t be that hard to shake off the incident, no matter how much it hurts. I knew it from the start: I excel at running away.
With dragging steps, I follow Lillie two doors down into a guest room. The two-storey bed looks alive thanks to the rumpled sheets and when I catch sight of Conia sitting on a chair with her head back, I can only manage an evening greeting.
“You’re awake!” She jumps up immediately.
“You’re both acting like I’ve been gone forever.” I drop plumply onto the bottom bunk.
“Basically, you were,” Conia counters. “It was... I don’t know how to put it into words.” She lowers her head. “Most importantly, Mimikyu is alive.”
My eyes widen. The goosebumps creeping over my body reach down to my bones. “She’s alive?”
A confirming nod. “After you lost consciousness, the boys and Lillie did what they could to keep it alive. It was enough to get here to a Pokémon Center on Poni Island.”
Her words are running through my head. She’s alive.
The heaviness in my chest tightens further. Alive doesn’t mean she’s okay.
“How is she?” I ask.
“It’s been under treatment since you arrived. That’s eighteen hours now. Whenever they think your partner is stable, the vitals collapse. The attack it’s taken is like a curse eating away at its life force.” She lets out a sigh. “They don’t know when this effect will wear off, if it will even get that far, and how Mimikyu will recover afterwards.”
“Can I see her?”
Conia shakes her head. “Nurse Joy will let you know when visits are allowed.”
So all I can do is wait and swallow the tremor inside me.
“How are you? Are you feeling ... okay?” Folding her hands in front of her chest, Lillie moves closer. “You can talk to us about it. It must have been ... terrible...”
I could tell them so much. There’s the knot in my stomach, the heaviness in my chest and the lump in my throat. The images of Zoroark taking me away haunt the back of my mind. Mirra’s determination to help, even though we barely know each other. I gave her nothing. Our journey has only just begun, but my incompetence has put her life in danger. Fear triggered a disaster I could do nothing about.
I want to tear my hair out, cry and scrape my fingernails across my face to get out of my skin because I hate my useless ass. I hate my arrogance; this pathetic attempt to repress everything I don’t like; my half-hearted approaches; my fucking inability to show courage and skill when it counts.
I hate myself.
“I can deal with it. We’re travelling and I’m ... inexperienced. Sometimes ... a bitter awakening comes and you learn things the hard way.” A wry smile settles on my features. There’s no need to tell anyone what’s going on inside me. I don’t want to burden them with any more worries. I’m not important enough for that in these seconds.
“But could you tell me what happened? Our next steps? My things? Any information I’ve missed?”
Lost in thought, I watch as Lillie walks to the desk.
“We had to throw away most of your clothes,” she begins. “It would have been too much work to get the b-blood out of the fa-“
“What blood,” I interrupt her.
“You had a severe nosebleed after you collapsed. The nurses said it was from too much strain and stress.”
The corners of my mouth twist. It’s not like I had a damn choice but to exhaust myself completely.
“I’ll get you some new clothes tomorrow,” Conia interjects. “I’ve already found someone who sells nice things!”
It’s strange, but her relaxed, friendly nature reveals nothing but tension. Lillie is hardly any different. It feels like they’re laughing in death’s face as sticky tar drags them down. Everything seems a little forced.
“The belt is hanging outside to dry, your shoes are next to it,” Lillie explains. “From what you were carrying ... Rotom is fine. The Lava Cookies are gone, though.”
“And the balls?”
“Safely stowed away!” She opens a drawer containing all my things. The ring, the crystals, my purchases and Rotom.
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“Why are we on Poni?” One topic finished, I immediately move on to the next.
“To help Lillie,” Conia speaks up. “And on Master Gibeon’s instructions. He wants to see what the Ultra Wormholes are capable of and whether they can be used in humanity’s favour. That means we’ll stay on the case until we’ve caught the president of the Aether Foundation. Also, we should definitely catch a Nihilego.”
As far as I know, Lusamine has disappeared into an Ultra Wormhole and I don’t even want to think about what that means for us. Chasing after her means enduring even more danger, the cost of which is merciless.
“When do we leave?”
“You will stay in the airship and rest,” Conia explains with a dismissive gesture. “Amethio has already agreed to this.”
“Why? What am I supposed to recover from?”
“Your shoulder injury!”
My eyebrows rise. It’s nothing new that it hurts, but it’s nothing more than a bruise.
“It should have been treated a long time ago,” Conia continues to grumble. “It was so badly swollen that a few of your nerves were compressed. Blood has pooled, and a bone is probably cracked.”
“But not broken,” I reply. “I ... don’t want to stay here. A bit of activity would be nice, even if it’s just useless running around.”
Her sigh takes up the entire room. “I can’t stop you if you want to leave, but I can tell you Amethio won’t agree to it.”
“Because he’s worried?”
“Because he’ll see you as dead weight.”
Of course he will. I wasn’t anything else from the start and I can no longer blame him for this attitude. I have never delivered a thing of value on any day. That probably won’t change in the near future either. I can only try to get better and cause fewer mishaps.
“Then let him complain that I’m disobedient dead weight who brings nothing but misfortune.” Snorting, I lower my eyelids. “It’s not like I care much about his opinion.”
“Domino...”
We both know that’s not true, but in these seconds, I want to let it stand as the truth. Actually, I want nothing more than not to be in anyone’s way, but I need a distraction. Anything, even if it’s arguing with Amethio, so I don’t have to deal with Mimikyu.
“Where’s my team?” A glance at Lillie makes her blink several times.
“They’re all in their balls... with Amethio...”
The world seems to declare war on me.
“Why with him, of all people?”
“After you collapsed, he took care of your Pokémon. Zir and I arrived here hours later on the flying ship and ... Lillie’s focus was on Cosmog.”
Basically, Amethio just kept my team with him to make sure no one else fails at anything. My list of thank yous to this guy is growing and I can’t claim that even a second of this is pleasant. If this keeps up, I’ll be in his debt for life.
A drawn-out sigh escapes my throat as I drop onto my uninjured side. “When do we take the next step?”
“The day after tomorrow,” Conia begins. “We need to open an Ultra Wormhole. There’s ... a lot to do.”
“And that’s all right with you?” My gaze wanders to Lillie. “She doesn’t seem ... to have been a good mum.”
She shakes her head in a flash. “She was a great mum! It’s just ... she changed after my father disappeared.” Her eyelids droop. “I didn’t understand it then, and I still struggle with it, but I think I’m about to realise her true nature. And if I’m right ... then she deserves to be saved. She is my mum, after all.”
“What ... happened between you, anyway? Only if you want to talk about it, of course,” Conia raises her hands in defence. “After all, it’s not ... usual to run away from home, which turns out to be the Aether Paradise.”
“It’s not,” Lillie confirms. Her steps carry her slowly to my side, where she settles down. Every muscle in her body is visibly tense. And when she starts to talk, it sounds like the story of a girl in whom Lillie no longer recognises herself.
“I’ve got it! I’ve finally got it!” She lifts the little cloud in her hands as if she has found something special. Something that brings change. The truth is, however, that since Lusamine has had this Pokémon, everything has become a little worse.
Slowly, Lillie pushes her way inside the room. “You were successful?”
Her mum’s beaming face immediately turns to her. “I was! I can open the Ultra Wormholes with this Pokémon!”
Her hands bury themselves in the fabric of her white dress. Lusamine’s fingernails dig far too deep into the Pokémon’s body and the whining sounds it makes send shivers down her spine.
“You’re hurting it...” she finally says.
“That’s a good thing.” Her mum glances at the Pokémon. “This stupid thing won’t open the holes willingly, so I had to use a bit of force. Faba realised the gases it emits when it’s stressed are for our benefit.” Her eyelids lower. “Why are you looking so horrified? Don’t you know what that means?”
Lillie wants to answer, to say something, to ask her mum to stop the madness, but not a single word passes her lips. It’s always been like this. She can’t stand up to her mum.
“I’m just worried...”
“You don’t need to be!” Lusamine comes closer in an instant. Along the way, she puts the Pokémon into a ball. “Lillie, my angel, with this Pokémon we can be a family again. We can save your father from Ultra Space. Everything will be fine.”
When Lusamine’s hand rests on Lillie’s head, the tightness in her chest seems almost unbearable. What her mum says sounds nice, but this family is broken.
Back then, when her father Mohn was sucked up by an Ultra Wormhole, nothing but shock was left behind. It was one of his researches to learn about the Pokémon of other worlds and gain new experiences about different dimensions. Things that Lillie never fully understood, but that seemed fascinating – until it tore her family apart.
Lusamine explained the pact she made with Faba afterwards as follows: “He gets to pursue his research called Null for helping me overcome the great danger of the Ultra Wormholes.”
Null is a Pokémon. Lillie realised this two weeks later when the alarm went off in the lab and everyone panicked. The next day, her brother Gladion was no longer there and the last Type: Null that Faba hadn’t “removed” by then was missing.
The memory forces Lillie to snuggle up to her mother’s body. She still has the same warmth and the same smell. “Is Gladion coming home then?”
Lusamine immediately takes a step back and places Lillie’s head between her hands. It’s a gentle touch that doesn’t harmonise with her clouded gaze.
“No,” she replies, “Gladion betrayed me. He caused me a lot of trouble and refused to stand behind me. Yet I’m doing everything I can to bring this family back together. And instead of relying on me, he does stupid things.”
Lillie swallows. If she takes the Pokémon tonight, her mum will put her on the same level. She won’t see the problem. Maybe staying would be smarter. But then this creature, Cosmog, will die and probably it wants to go home as much as her father does.
“Lillie,” her mother snaps her out of her thoughts, “I love you. And I love your father. But my heart can’t take any more things like this.” She runs a thumb over Lillie’s cheek. “I’m fighting for us as best I can. Maybe I’m neglectful right now and not a good mum, but I hope you’ll forgive me. Just a little longer and everything will be fine. Then no one will ever leave us again.”
She knows about the fear her mum has felt since her father disappeared. Whenever Lillie sleeps in a bed with her, because the smell of Lusamine has a calming effect, she hears and sees the tears that are shed at night. This struggle wears on her and yet – is it right to destroy someone else’s life for her own happiness?
The little cloud is weak. It whimpers very often. It looks like a baby that has been torn away from its mother and if Lillie were in its role, it would wish to be rescued.
“Promise me you’ll never be as stupid as your brother.” Lusamine slowly breaks away from her. “You’re far too clever for such things.”
“Mum ... will you ever forgive Gladion? Please?” Instead of answering, Lillie clings to her dress.
“If you ask so sweetly ... how could I deny you that wish?” A gentle smile forms on Lusamine’s lips.
“You promise?”
“I promise. I’ll forgive your stupid brother if the chance of a reunion arises.”
Lillie doesn’t need more than that. After all, they are family. Now, at fourteen, she understands that. Gladion had to do what was right in his eyes two years ago. Her mum will forgive that.
But Lillie has to grow. Beyond herself and her fears. When it rains tonight, when the storm outside gets even worse, her journey will begin. Then she will no longer dance in the rain with her mum, but jump over the cliffs and hope that one day she, too, will be forgiven. Maybe Gladion will put in a good word for her.
The life of a Pokémon is no less valuable than the life of her family. If that’s the price they have to pay for their actions, then so be it.
“That day ... I betrayed my mum and stole Nebby’s Poké Ball at night and set it free. I destroyed the ball and ... then we got on a motorboat in a storm and set off. Until it came to shipwreck.” Lillie’s lips curl briefly. “We stranded on Melemele and stayed with Professor Kukui.”
The silence covering the room like a shroud suffocates every thought. It’s so uncomfortable that I pull myself up into a sitting position and lean my head back. There are two sides to Lillie’s story and I think I can understand them both. Lusamine just wants her family back – although her daughter’s betrayal has changed that significantly. She probably doesn’t see the point in saving anyone anymore. She’s burnt out.
But then why the Ultra Wormholes?
“That’s why you want to save her,” says Conia in the background. “You love her.”
“I never hated her,” Lillie replies. “And I hope ... that she sees that ... that I find the right words when the time comes.”
Lusamine is not the bad guy in this story; that’s probably what Lillie wants us to realise. But Conia and I have seen too little of everything to judge. In my world, her mother is a problem, a woman who backed us so far into a corner that Mimikyu had to put herself in mortal danger.
“Shouldn’t we be talking about ... nicer things?” Voice pointed, Lillie tightens her shoulders as she glances around our little circle, and Conia is the first to jump at the idea.
“That reminds me, you haven’t even seen the hatched Pokémon yet!” She hastily pulls a Poké Ball out of the pocket of her waist-length grey jacket. Then she lets out the newest member of the Explorers.
Looking at me is a fluffy brown something with beady eyes shining so enchantingly that I can’t help but smile. The sight of this Eevee, just half the size of Raya, banishes everything bad from out of the room for a moment. The tension between the three of us eases and when it turns to Conia, it seems to adore her, wagging its tail.
“Isn’t it adorable?” Conia’s excitement makes her voice quiver as she puts a hand to her cheek and looks at the Pokémon like there’s nothing cuter in the world. “It’s almost as cute as Sprigatito!”
“Sprigatito?” Lillie follows up.
“A Pokémon ... like Persian and Liepard.” A heavy sigh creeps over her lips. “I had to look after a little brat’s Sprigatito for a while and ... it was love at first sight.”
Eevee’s tail droops. I don’t know if it understands us, but it seems to sense that Conia isn’t talking about its pretty fur or its way-too-long ears.
“Did the Sprigatito like you too?” Lillie, meanwhile, surrenders to curiosity.
“It ... was very wilful... The relationship between us ... just wasn’t meant to be. But if I ever get the chance to get my own Sprigatito,” she clenches her fist and raises her chin, “no one can stop me from winning it over.”
While Lillie lets out a soft laugh, I can’t take my eyes off Eevee. It’s still staring at Conia, but the gleam in its eyes has dimmed and its ears are drooping. I should point it out, but the Pokémon doesn’t give me a chance to catch the word. Instead, it turns to me and sits down. Its stare pierces me as if it’s demanding something specific, and a part of me wants Mirra by my side.
I swallow dryly. There it is again. The topic that has a firm grip on me and cannot be suppressed.
Clenching my hands into fists, I try to give Eevee a wry smile. “What do you want?”
Its chittering sounds ring in my ears as it puffs its chest and continues to stare me down. Only when Lillie shifts closer to me, does it put its head back a little to look bigger.
“I think it likes you,” she states. “Could it be that you want to go travelling with Domino?”
Once again, it makes a sound – approval causing me to raise my eyebrows. Until two seconds ago, its attention was focussed solely on Conia. The fact it suddenly comes to me means it’s planning something. It seems to have an idea at the back of its mind I can’t follow.
“You’re sure?” I lean forward slightly so as not to miss any of the Pokémon’s facial expressions. But Eevee exudes nothing but certainty. It wants to go on a journey with me – for its own reasons.
“Is that okay with you?” Without further ado, I look at Conia, who waves me off casually.
“Amethio actually pushed the egg onto you and I wouldn’t say that an Eevee is a good match for me. It’s cute, but ... that’s all it is.” Her gentle look at the Pokémon reveals affection, but not enough for more. She’s not interested in adding it to her team.
That’s probably what the Pokémon has realised. Travelling with me will give it experience and perhaps the opportunity to win Conia over.
When Lillie hands me my Rotom Phone, I don’t pass up the opportunity for more information. I’m not unfamiliar with the entry, but knowing that Eevee is a boy and only knows three attacks is a good start to our teamwork.
In the next second, Conia tosses me the Pokémon’s Ultra Ball – presumably classic Explorers’ equipment – and Eevee returns to its new home.
“Now the only question that remains is ... are the boys all on the ship?”
“No.” With a dismissive gesture, Conia crosses her legs. “Amethio and Zir are on the ship. Gladion is sleeping in accommodation on the island.”
So there are no friendly conversations between the boys, though Amethio and Gladion have been working together like it’s the most ordinary thing in the world. Ultimately, outside of a joint battle, they are nothing more than strangers, teaming up when they have to, but preferring to go their own way away from it.
“I think ... there’s something else you should know,” Lillie begins, before standing up and going to her shoulder bag, which she has pushed halfway under the table. “When you brought Nebby’s cage ... it’s alive...”
In fact, I haven’t thought about Cosmog at all. It means too little to me for that. But when Lillie pulls out the bag and opens the zip, no small, sleepy cloud emerges. Instead, a handful of metal floats out – as if Cosmog has been reduced to its core.
“After I opened the cage ... this came out. It’s still Nebby, I know it is, but something happened to it and I just don’t know ... if it’s okay. Can you ask?”
For a moment, I want to agree and fulfil her wish. Then I suddenly realise that I haven’t heard Nebby once since I’ve been in this room. Usually, it can hardly be quiet. But now it’s hovering calmly over the bag, nothing more than an oval thing in a golden frame, its universe reduced to the bare minimum.
“Can you ... even talk to me anymore?” My hands clench in the sheets. The silence in my head is oppressive in the face of expectations.
To make matters worse, Nebby shows no reaction. It doesn’t move, nor do I get an answer.
“It’s... I... There’s nothing,” I say with difficulty, causing Lillie to lower her eyelids.
“So it’s really not well...” She carefully pushes it back into her bag. “I hope we can find a solution if we save my mum. Maybe one of the legendary Pokémon can help us.”
“Lunala and Solgaleo?” Crossing her arms in front of her chest, Conia tilts her head. “In what way?”
“Well... As I told you this afternoon... If we try to summon one of them, it might help us find my mum. They’re both from Ultra Space and should be able to create holes as they need to. If Nebby is from that dimension too... I just have hope they know more than we do.”
A fair thought. In the end, it was Cosmog that tamed a dimensional rift and saved us a lot of trouble. With an ability like that, it must be more special than a Nihilego. Maybe it knows the two legendary Pokémon. My lips press together as my thoughts go one step further. Considering Burnet’s story, it’s obvious that Nebby is the Pokémon that was passed on to the Tapus as an egg from Lunala and Solgaleo. It seems strange, but Cosmog could be the result of a union – the offspring of two powerful beings.
A wondrous theory that I prefer to keep to myself. My body groans with every movement and I don’t want to discuss possibilities that won’t help us here and now. The tasks ahead of us are too important for that.