It's been a few days since the incident, as me and Lucas have been calling it, and I'm not going to lie. It's been pretty weird, not having Ursula around. In the negative sense.

The most obvious place where her absence is felt is financially, since we need to readjust our whole budget to account for having one less person. Raising Pokémon sort of works on the concept of economies of scale. There's a baseline you need to meet to raise one, which has a high cost, and each subsequent Pokémon you add isn't as expensive as the first. Meaning that even though Ursula's four Pokémon aren't with us, not having her contribution cancels that out and then some.

But that isn't the most detrimental thing. For one, I don't have any special treats to give them after any successes they might have in battle or training. All I have is words of praise, and there's only so many times I can say good job without sounding like a broken record. In addition, I feel like the next Nurse Joy to see my Pokémon is going to have words about my Pokémon's appearance, because their grooming and upkeep has been reliant on me borrowing Ursula's tools, and her walking me through how to best take care of my Pokémon.

Finally, it sucks to lose one of the few friends that I do have. But no matter how many times I hope to run into her on the way to Solaceon Town, and make amends, we never do.

Time stops for nobody, though, and I've got to continue to get better. Especially considering where I'm headed next.

"You two ready?" I ask Lucas and Monferno. They both give me the thumbs up, and I turn to my Pokémon. "Okay, Absol. Use Taunt!"

I wouldn't have thought it, but Absol is a total natural at using Taunt. Every Pokémon has their own flair when using the move, and even though Absol isn't very emotive, he has an arrogance about him when using Taunt, utterly dismissing the other Pokémon and causing it to get super angry.

Of course, Monferno doesn't fly into a rage, considering he's been very well trained, but the move is still successful. Now, it's time for the hard part.

"You're going to battle Monferno, Absol, except I only want you to use Quick Attack," I state, explaining the rules of this melee to him. "See, the move we're actually working on is called Sucker Punch. When a Pokémon attacks, there's a split second that it lets down its guard, and Sucker Punch is a Dark-type move that takes advantage of that to deliver a powerful strike before the opponent can. You need to be fast, and anticipate the opponent's movement, which is the purpose of this."

Yeah, yeah, I know what you're thinking. What the heck are you doing, Luna, stealing a move combo from a Team Galactic Grunt.

Lucas asked me the same thing. "Is it right to do that?" he questioned, with a scrunched up face.

It's a cheap strategy, but I do know that I need Absol to be able to use both moves. Taunt is one of the only ways that we can stop Fantina's Pokémon from using their unbelievable amount of support and status-inflicting moves, and Sucker Punch pairs extremely well with it.

Besides, I'm not plagiarizing it completely. I'm making it even more nasty of a combo, by adding a third move! See, the one issue with Sucker Punch is that if your opponent is sturdy enough, they'll still be able to retaliate with that attack they've been preparing before you so rudely struck them first. That's where Detect comes in, to give Absol a get-out-of-jail-free card.

It's a really good start, if we can get it down, but it doesn't solve all of our problems. I only have one Absol, and Fantina has multiple powerful ghosts.

Absol is the only Pokémon I have that can pull this off, and I know he alone can't beat Fantina. We've already seen Spiritomb. I wouldn't put it past her to have another Pokémon, like a Mimikyu, that also matches up well against Dark-types.

So, I'm still on a quest to give my other Pokémon a better fighting chance against ghosts. Today's mission involves heading into their home turf. In order to do that, we need to get a grasp on this.

Absol lunges forward, but Monferno sticks his palm out and pushes Absol's head back, easily stopping my Pokémon in his tracks. He backs away slowly, shaking his head and reevaluating.

"Think about it," I advise Absol. "We know Monferno attacks in two ways. One with punches and picks, and two by breathing fire. Try to look for indicators, like his muscles tensing when he's going to jump, or when he breathes in deeply."

I assume Absol has a sense for small details, considering he's able to detect small changes that lead to natural disasters, and it seems my instincts are correct. This time, when Monferno's chest expands, Absol strikes him with Quick Attack before Monferno can breathe out a Fire Spin.

My Pokémon summons the first half of Razor Wind to blow away the flames, and I smile. "Perfect," I praise. "Tell me when you're too tired to keep going, alright? Both of you."

As are most of our training sessions, Lucas and Monferno are benefiting as well. Monferno is practicing his kicks, one to learn Blaze Kick, and two to make sure his legs are well developed for when he eventually evolves, because Infernape is well known for its fighting style that incorporates all of its limbs, and sometimes even its tail.

They keep Absol guessing between staying still, using Fire Spin, or striking with a kick, but my Pokémon slowly gets the hang of seeing when Monferno will attack and hitting first. Our eyes grow wide as one time, Absol glows dark, and while it seems like he's missed the timing, at the last minute he lashes out with his horn and sends Monferno flying backwards.

We check on Monferno, and when he bounces up, assuring us that he's fine, I turn to Absol. "That was it! To be fair, sometimes you'll have to go to the opponent, instead of letting them come to you, but well done. We shouldn't have any trouble at the Lost Tower now."

Lucas frowns for the first time today. "Are you getting things confused again? We're going to the Hallowed Tower, not the Lost Tower."

"You're going to the Hallowed Tower," I correct him. "I'm going to the Lost Tower." I mean, why would I go see one ghost when I can see a hundred?

My remaining friend stares at me like I've sprouted a pair of wings. "You do know what the Lost Tower is, right?" he asks slowly.

"Of course I know," I defend myself. "It's the final resting place for Pokémon that have departed this life." Hopefully, their spirits would end up somewhere else, like mine, though I'm not sure there's a better world out there than this one. "I thought I would go, to pay my respects. Climb all the way to the top and ring the bell, I dunno."

"Nobody's been to the top of the tower in years," Lucas tells me. "There's some sort of fog that people get lost in, and they're forced to turn back. You don't strike me as extremely spiritually inclined, either."

All right, he's got me there. But still, this is sounding really promising.

"Ok, fine. I'm not going to pay my respects. I'm actually going ghost hunting. We need to get better at fighting them," I explain.

I can see Lucas's eyebrows fly up. "Ghost hunting?" he repeats. "I don't understand. Why the sudden need to become an expert at fighting ghosts?"

Right. I haven't told Lucas either about my ill-fated gym battle. "Let me start over. Do you know Fantina?"

"She's the gym leader of Hearthome City," Lucas immediately answers. "I heard she wasn't in town when we were, though."

That gets a dry chuckle out of me. "Oh, she was there the whole time. Trust me, I saw her."

It doesn't take long for my friend to put two and two together. "...I assume she defeated you, then?"

I shake my head to clear out the memory. "Thoroughly. She said I could challenge her again after improving, so this is part of how I'm doing it. It's also why I'm entering the contest, actually. I'm sure you know Fantina is the reigning Top Coordinator. She's incorporated the contest style seamlessly into her battling, and suggested I could learn a lot from entering a contest myself."

"If only you could have explained it to her before she left," Lucas says sadly, both of us knowing who he's referring to. "It does explain quite a few things, though. You want to meet back here once we're both done, and then we'll head into town?"

"That sounds great."

We both go in different directions, me heading north to the tower in the distance, and him to the shrine prison to the south. When I do get to the Lost Tower, it's obvious that it's well maintained, and isn't some decrepit, run down cemetery.

The odds of me finding a fallen Marowak mother spirit that needs pacifying or a bunch of ladies possessed by ghosts are fairly low, but I still want to investigate that fog that's been preventing people from reaching the top. There's also a part of me that feels like this is the place where you find Shadow Ball in game, and that makes it worth exploring, in the hopes I'd find someone to teach Glaceon.

Upon entry, I'm immediately told to remain quiet and respectful of the people mourning by one of the caretakers here, and to avoid the top floor, because of the persistent fog. One of those I'm going to do, and one of them I'm not.

The second floor is more of a memorial than a graveyard, I would say, for Pokémon that were exceptional in their day. There are quite a few people here touring the memorials for a Staraptor that served as a partner Pokémon to multiple generations of Pokémon Rangers, a Floatzel that fought fires for decades, and a mail carrying Pelipper that carried messages through ice and snow to reach Snowpoint City back in the day.

Still, there are plenty of flowers left at grave markers, and more than a few people crying. I do my best not to disturb anyone, and make my way to floor number three.

This one's even worse. Gone are the heartwarming stories for Pokémon that lived long and successful lives. It really hurts to see the tiny gravestones for Pokémon that didn't live that long. Even worse are the descriptions for some of them that did.

I have a hard time peeling my eyes away from one of a Flareon that was caught in an ice storm for a week with its trainer. In order to keep the trainer alive, Flareon made sure its human stayed warm, even knowing that it would give its life by transferring all of its body heat to its trainer.

That one had me wiping away tears. I don't know what I did to deserve a life with Pokémon, but it wasn't enough, for how amazing they are. I skip the rest of the third floor, and the fourth floor, lest I read another story like that one.

The fog is visible on the staircase to the top floor, but not so much that I can't see where to place my feet. The fifth floor is thankfully empty of more gravestones, as far as I can tell, though this fog does make it hard to see.

At the back of the room, I can make out two outlines of approximately human sized figures, one who looks like they've been holding up a balloon, oddly enough, and while I'm not an expert, I'm pretty sure ghosts have incorporeal bodies. Ah well. I'll take a meeting with a Ghost-type expert instead.

I don't even notice the giant figure that I bump into before I do. He's just as scared of me as I am of him.

"Ahhhhh! G-g-g-ghost!"

I'd like my chances with a ghost as opposed to running into this guy in the middle of the night. He's huge both in height and girth, is wearing a black leather jacket with a snarling Gyarados motif, and both his muscled arms are covered in tattoos.

"Wait! I'm not a ghost!" I say frantically, holding out both my hands before I get punched into tomorrow.

He quickly changes his tune. "Oh, thank goodness! Please, can you help me find my Pokémon? I was letting them play a little while I visited their parents, and they ran up here! I can't see a foot in front of me!"

That's weird, because even though the fog's making it difficult, I'm able to see way more than that. I suggest we split up, but the big guy insists on holding my hand, because he's scared of getting lost again. I'm beginning to think I've misjudged him.

When I do track down his two Pokémon I definitely know I've misjudged him. The big guy picks up the Cleffa and Igglybuff I find gently, and cradles them both to his chest with one massive hand. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! I adopted these two after their parents passed away in an accident, and now I don't know what I'd do without them!"

He's nearly sobbing with either joy or sadness, and I lead him to the exit. That done, I turn back to the figures in the fog, who haven't moved a muscle. "Hello?" I call, as I approach them. "Are you lost too? I know where the exit is."

I hear a reply as I start to walk towards them. "Come closer, child. Once upon a time, I could see through this Haze without an issue, but no longer."

The voice is of a human woman, a rather old one. When she comes into view, I see she's flanked by her Pokémon. What I thought was a balloon is actually the Pokémon Musharna, who appears to be sleeping, as it usually does. The other, I quickly avert my eyes from, as it's a yellow Pokémon with a fur collar, holding out in its hand a silver ring on a string, which swings back and forth like a pendulum.

Not wanting to be hypnotized, I plaster my eyes on the old lady. Is she a Psychic-type expert? I'm sure both of her Pokémon can learn Shadow Ball, at least.

"Hey, I'm not sure if you heard me, but I can lead you to the exit if you're lost," I try again.

That elicits a short laugh out of her. "Oh no, I'm right where I want to be. In fact, I've been waiting for you to arrive."

Okay? As far as sentences you don't want to hear in a place like this, that certainly qualifies as one of them. I guess that's karma for me judging books by their cover. I wouldn't expect the sweet old lady to be more of a threat than the muscle biker guy, but looking again at her two Pokémon, she certainly could put me to sleep and spirit me away.

My potential kidnapper notices me taking a step backwards. "Come now. There's no need for alarm. You and I are like old acquaintances, after all. Perhaps even close as family."

I suppose there is a one percent chance that this is my mystery father's mother, but that doesn't explain how she'd recognize me on sight, or why she would wait for me here, of all places.

"Yeah, I don't know about that one," I say suspiciously, slipping my hand in my pocket so it's grasping Absol's Pokéball. Both her Pokémon can take a hit, and learn moves like Dazzling Gleam and Focus Blast for a Dark-type, but being able to stop Hypnosis with Taunt gives me a fighting chance. "I have a pretty good memory, and I've never seen you before in my life."

"That may be true, but you and I are from the same place, and we've arrived via identical means. That means we are kindred souls," she insists.

Well, that makes it easy enough to prove or disprove. I don't even think she has an accent like I do, so I doubt she'll be able to answer this. "If you're so confident that our paths to get to Sinnoh were the same, where am I from? And how did I get here?"

"I'm not talking about how you came to Sinnoh," she starts, but I'm already scoffing and turning around. What she says next though, has me frozen.

"You and I are both supposed to be one of these gravestones, but instead, we've found our way to this world, haven't we?"

I slowly turn around, letting Absol's Pokéball fall out of my hand as my mouth opens wide in shock. It takes me a while to find my words.

"You're from Earth," I finally manage, as all of my suspicions about this old lady vanish. She is just like me, after all.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Her smile seems much more genuine and inviting, now. "My name is Maiko. May I have yours?"

When I tell her my name, Maiko nods like she's known it all along. "Well met, Luna. As much as I'd like to share tea and sweets and stories with you, time is short for me. These old bones are ready for their next great adventure, and I have much to tell you, some of which you may find very important. Will you stay and listen?"

"Uh, sure,'' I say, not very convincingly. "Can I ask you a question, though? How'd you know how to wait for me here?"

"All will be explained in due time," Maiko answers. My dissatisfaction must be showing on my face, because she quickly tacks on to that statement. "For now, know that I've been able to have psychic visions, little glimpses into the future. About fifteen years ago, I had one about meeting someone from Earth at this very tower."

Surely, she didn't have it when I was born, right? That would be absolutely ridiculous, even if the timeline was correct. Maiko looks at me expectantly, jarring me out of my thoughts. "Do you want to go somewhere to have this conversation?"

"Hypno will take care of that," she assures me. I can't help but glance at the Pokémon that I've been avoiding putting my eyes on, and now I'm cursing myself, because I can't stop staring at that damn swinging pendulum.

Come on! I'm stronger than this, right! I try my best to not get hypnotized, but my best isn't good enough. It's like being at the oral surgeon when they put me under anesthesia to take my wisdom teeth out. I felt so awake. I remember specifically one of the nurses telling me to count to ten, and by the time I hit four, I was out like a light.

It's the exact same here. Except this time, instead of waking up with a throbbing mouth and a dentist telling me I'm ready to go home, I find myself floating in space.

Everywhere I look, I see twinkling stars. It's absolutely stunning, but also a bit sad, drifting in the expanse of space like this. Where am I?

Maiko's voice suddenly startles me. "You're still in the Lost Tower, Luna, fast asleep. This is a dream, conjured up by my Pokémon." She's floating a little bit away from me. I try and swim over to her, but only succeed in looking like a fool, getting a laugh out of the much older woman.

"You only need to think of what you want to do, and they will make that dream a reality," she instructs me.

As soon as I think of floating next to her, my body does just that. "It's really nice of your Pokémon to do this for us," I say, somewhat in awe.

"They are exacting their payment," Maiko warns me. "Even now, Hypno and Musharna are feasting on our latent dreams."

I don't know how to feel about that, and Maiko nods sympathetically. "I understand it may sound odd, but I have come to appreciate it. When you lived two long lives as I have, what is a dream and what actually occurred in my life sometimes becomes blurred. Having Hypno and Musharna clear my mind helps to keep it sharp."

"So my mind conjured you up in my dream?" I ask, not understanding. "Or are we sharing one?"

"The second. This was the only way I could show and explain to you what I must. Now, look there." Maiko lifts and points her arm to something in the distance. She points to where I thought there was nothing cracking open like an egg, filling the space with a heavenly light. From that light emerged a tall, four legged figure of white and gold.

I can't believe what I'm seeing, even though this is only a dream. "That's Arceus! But I thought Arceus was the creator of the whole universe. So why's all of this around us?" I spin around and gesture to all the stars twinkling around us.

"Whether Arceus created the whole universe or just the world as we know it is a question you would have to pose to Them, for I do not know the answer. What I do know," she says, directing my attention back to Arceus, "is that before creating the world, They realized that the groundwork needed to be laid."

I watch as two more figures emerge from Arceus's body. "Beings of time and space were set free from the original one. You would know them as Dialga and Palkia. But when Arceus cast forth its light to shape the world, They realized something else. The brightest of lights cast the darkest of shadows."

Arceus has not had a shadow up until this point, but one appears, with glowing red eyes. I think I know who this is, as well. "Giratina originated as Arceus's shadow?"

"So some of the legends say," Maiko muses aloud. "You have to remember that this is simply a manifestation of what I have learned and believe to be true in my conscience. Whether it occurred like this or not, I cannot know."

"In any case," she continues, "Arceus had a trio to entrust the world that would be created. Dialga, the Steward of Time. Palkia, the Master of Space. And Giratina, the Keeper of Darkness."

"The Original One shaped these creations in relation to the powers they would hold. Dialga was created in the mold of time, to be stalwart, steadfast, and constant. No matter how the world changed, time would remain the same. Palkia was the opposite; the nature of space is to flow and adapt and expand and contract, and Palkia's essence is of that nature.

Maiko hesitates a beat. "Giratina's domain would be that of a world opposite to ours. In order to rule such a world, Arceus made it in the image opposite from what They intended to be the new world's own."

I'm not liking where this is going. "What's Giratina's nature, then?" I ask quietly.

"Wickedness and malevolence, if I had to choose two words," Maiko admits. "All the negative things in the world, that are of course part of us, fall under Giratina's purview. Fear, anger, hatred, and evil, to name but a few."

Sounds to me Giratina really got screwed. It reminds me of ancient Greek history, when Zeus got the sky, Poseidon the seas, and Hades the Underworld. Even though Hades was often the bad guy in many of those stories, he certainly had a reason to feel angry about how things ended up for him.

"This is where our tale takes a turn for the worse," Maiko says grimly. "All that negative emotion within Giratina quickly caused it to turn violent. It lashed out at its creator, at its brethren, and even at the world that Arceus was trying to create. As a result, it was banished to the opposite world, where it stewed endlessly in its rage." In our dream world, Giratina vanishes from view.

Is it wrong for me to feel bad for Giratina? You hear all the time about how monstrous people aren't born, they are created through their own choices and the actions of others, but Giratina was literally made in that way Arceus intended, and was eventually banished for something it couldn't control.

"In order to better control Dialga and Palkia, Arceus created three new beings, to bind time and space, and prevent them from going out of control like Giratina did. After that, They filled the world with humans, as well as the creatures that we now know today as Pokémon, some of which wielded great power to help shape the world further, and some of which lived ordinary lives. You know, this is your dream. You're more than welcome to contribute."

All right, I will admit it is a lot of fun playing in this dream sandbox. I summon a Groudon to pull continents into place and a Kyogre to fill the seas, have them go at it in an all out slugfest before finally bringing a Rayquaza down to settle them both down. I bring to life the legendary birds, dogs, genies, the Lati twins, and every other legendary Pokémon I can think of before I turn my attention to the world itself.

I truly feel like a god as I fill the skies with birds and the land with beasts and the sea with fish, create a sun and a moon, weather patterns and trees and mountains and canyons and glaciers and everything your could ever think of, but by the end of it, my mind is absolutely exhausted.

"This is a lot of work," I tell my companion as I put the finishing touches on a winding river.

"Indeed," Maiko agrees. "And you're simply dreaming of doing it. Imagine actually doing all of this. It's no wonder Arceus fell into a deep slumber, because creating the world took an incredible amount of effort, even for a being as powerful as the Original One. They entrusted the fate and balance of the world that had been created to the three beings that we now call the Lake Guardians. All was well. For a while. There was one who was not satisfied by how things had turned out."

I can picture who, and it shows up right as Arceus's light fades away, signifying the Creator's slumber. Giratina reappears, though it's in a purple mirror, silently gazing upon our world from its own.

Maiko and I both look upon Giratina in its prison. "Giratina was understandably angry that it was banished, and even more so that Arceus went to sleep, consigning it to the opposite world for eternity. It conspired with a human to lure Arceus out of hiding, to take its revenge." She turns to me with a grim smile.

"That was hundreds of years ago, and it failed, as you might expect, considering the world is still whole, as we know it. Arceus resolved to punish Giratina more seriously for its transgressions, and also took further action to prevent such a rebellion from occuring again."

"I assume Giratina was banished back to its opposite realm," I think aloud. "But what could be worse than being imprisoned for centuries again?"

"Arceus inflicted a terrible curse on Giratina's name, one that continues to affect humans to this day," Maiko explains, and that is about where she's lost me.

"Ok, now I'm not understanding. We've been saying Giratina's name this whole time, and nothing has happened to us. Giratina, Giratina, Giratina! See, three times in a row!"

She chuckles humorlessly at my antics, and taps her head. "The curse is not so silly as inflicting pain on someone by invoking Giratina's name. It's a curse of knowledge. As of today, you and I are the only ones who know of Giratina's existence. It has been erased from the minds of everyone else in the world."

"That's-"

"Impossible?" Maiko questions me, piercing me with her gaze. "You underestimate the power of the legendary Pokémon. Arceus commanded one of their creations to do this, to ensure no human could ever learn of Giratina's existence again, preventing another escape attempt."

I do recall one of the lake trio having the ability to wipe away memories, but this is absurd. "Surely there have to be records of Giratina in historical archives, like the Canalave Library, or the Celestic Town Museum. Even a legendary Pokémon can't wipe away every trace of something!"

"Certainly there are references to Giratina in ancient ruins and writing, but this was the work of Uxie, the Being of Knowledge. As soon as a person learns anything about Giratina, even its name, they forget it in a matter of minutes." She shakes her head. "Believe me, I've tried. I've asked the director of the Celestic Town Museum, Cynthia's grandmother, and even she had never heard that name before. I explained it to her, and by the end of our conversation, she had forgotten."

"But how do you and I know?" I ask desperately, voice cracking.

"My theory is that because we are not originally from this world, that knowledge we carry over cannot be taken by Uxie." Maiko's voice grows even more serious than it has been since this dream has begun. "If there is anything you take away from this conversation Luna, let it be this."

"Giratina is still angry. Incredibly so. It has been biding its time, waiting for another opportunity to rip this world asunder. And very soon, Giratina will get one. You know how, don't you?"

"Team Galactic," I breathe. "They want to use Dialga and Palkia to create their new world, but that will actually be Giratina's opening to return, correct?"

"Fools, all of them, playing with powers they cannot hope to understand," Maiko spits bitterly, a sentiment I completely agree with. "Yes. This time, Arceus has made sure that Giratina could not leave its dimension, even for a moment, but with Dialga and Palkia weakened from what will be done, Giratina will be able to bleed its world into ours, which would spell the end of this one."

I don't want to believe it, but somehow, it all makes sense. Why wouldn't Giratina be angry, cast aside and banished and forgotten as it has been? And if you couldn't strike out at Arceus directly, then what better way of getting back than destroying the world Arceus created?

But there are so many issues with this whole thing. Starting with that I don't know if I can cope with all this pressure! I can't even beat Fantina, for crying out loud! How am I supposed to send the ultimate Ghost Pokémon packing?

"Maiko, I'm not some sort of chosen one. Surely, there has to be someone better. Like Cynthia, or one of the Elite Four, right?" I try my best to convince her, but she sadly shakes her head.

"With great power comes great responsibility," she quotes. Right as I'm about to say that I don't have any sort of great power, she goes ahead and refutes that as well. "And knowledge is power, I'm afraid. Giratina being unknown to everyone makes it even more dangerous than before."

"This isn't fair!" I whine. "I didn't ask for this type of responsibility!"

"The fair is where they judge pigs and cows and goats, Luna." Despite my best efforts, Maiko manages to get a laugh out of me. "There's no such thing as fair in life."

I'd feel a lot better if I could tell someone about this whole thing, so I didn't feel like the whole weight of this rested on my shoulders. "What about Pokémon? Can I tell my Pokémon about Giratina?"

Her answer is not to my liking, not that I expected any better. "You're welcome to tell anyone you like, if it keeps you from going mad. I have done that several times over the years. Unfortunately, you and I are the only ones that will remember anything important."

"What about you?" I try. "I know you're old, but you and your Pokémon still look in good shape. Team Galactic has already started to make moves. This whole thing should be over within a year, I think."

Maiko shakes her head sadly, something I'm getting used to by now. "I appreciate that you think so, and as much as I would like to offer more assistance, I am unable to. My time in this world is coming to an end. It should have ended a while ago, in all honesty, but my Pokémon have been keeping me in a psychic stasis, so I could survive long enough to pass this information down to you.

That is some intense dedication, to an outcome that you won't even be able to see come to fruition. "This world means that much to you, huh?"

My fellow dreamer looks at me with an expression that I can't place. "Does it not mean anything to you?"

"I used to think that this whole thing was a fever dream, and that made me not care about anything. I didn't even ask for a Pokémon because I thought everything might disappear." I sigh. "Now, though, you're right. It does mean too much to me to ignore. I really don't think I'm cut out for this, but I'll make you a promise."

One because I really don't want all of Maiko's efforts, collecting all this information on the history of Sinnoh and Giratina to go to waste. It's her life's work, literally. Secondly because one of my Pokémon chose to follow me because he's I've convinced him that I can do something about this threat to the world.

It was a lot easier telling Absol that when I thought it was only Team Galactic that was the issue. The shadow of Giratina lurking in the background is something else entirely. That said…

"I won't run and hide," I promise. "If I'm to go down, I'll go down fighting."

"Well, there won't be anywhere to hide, if the reverse world overtakes ours," Maiko says dryly. "But I appreciate the sentiment. It has been an absolute pleasure to meet and finally speak with you, but I can feel myself fading away, and I must leave you now."

"Hold on," I shout. "You can't just go and die before helping me out!"

She frowns. "Was my advice not helpful? I could have sworn it was."

"I mean yeah, but this is about me, not the history of Sinnoh and Giratina and all that." I find myself talking like Barry, ultra fast with no pauses, because Maiko could disappear at any second now. "You said you have some sort of psychic visions. Did you get some sort of special power when you were reborn? Does that mean I have one too? That would go a long way in helping out with all of this."

Maiko's literally flickering like a candle in the wind, at this point. "I don't believe so. Our minds are simply unfettered by the blocks that Uxie and Arceus have put on the people of this world, so we can see and think more clearly. Giratina may not be the only thing wiped from history, after all. The fog I had Musharna create was a move called Misty Terrain, which dulls the senses and plays tricks on one's brain, but it has no effect on me or you. For me, this manifests in my visions. Who knows what it means for you?"

What kind of stupid, useless, super-lame, power is that! I can see things other people can't? Is there anything this is supposed to help me with, other than seeing through Team Rocket's ridiculous disguises?

I can't even complain to Maiko anymore, because she's vanished like water in a desert, though I still hear the faintest whisper of her voice like it's drifting in the void.

"Even in the next world, know that I will be thinking of you. I hope you have as blessed a life as I have had…"

My eyes snap open, and I'm back on the top floor of the lost tower, by myself. There's not a sign that Maiko, Hypno, or Musharna were ever here.

The Misty Terrain that Musharna had been making is fading as well, and pretty soon this place will be fog free.

"I came here to fight some ghosts and maybe have one of my Pokémon learn Shadow Ball," I complain to no one in particular. "Not to be told that I have some crazy destiny."

No response. Maybe… maybe this was all a figment of my imagination. Perhaps we actually ran into a ghost on the top floor and they gave me that dream.

Or nightmare, as it were.

Whatever the case, something happened here. I use the last remnants of the fog to slip back down the stairs to the third floor, before someone curious comes up and starts asking questions that I don't have answers to.

I mumble some gibberish at the caretakers as I leave, dropping a small donation for the upkeep of the tower as I do. My head is spinning, trying to make sense of all this.

There is one way to find out the truth. I hate to use Lucas as a test dummy, but this is kinda important.

When we do meet up, it becomes apparent that he's had a much better time visiting the Hallowed Tower than I've had, judging by his wide smile, though apparently, that's not the only reason.

"Someone's come back to see you," Lucas says. The sight of them is like seeing land when you're adrift at sea. It doesn't mean you're saved, but it's something you can latch onto.

"Hello, Vivillon," I say, as my Pokémon flutters up behind Lucas softly. "Feeling better?"

I didn't really need to ask, considering it's plainly written on Vivillon's face that he isn't as forlorn and lost as he was a few days ago. Still, I crack a smile as he starts doing circles around me and cheering. "So, now what? Will you still need to disappear every once in a while to do your own thing?"

It's almost comical how Vivillon drops in midair before catching himself. He looks at me with wide eyes, and that causes me to laugh. "Don't worry! I'd much rather have that than have you moping around all day."

I give him one more smile to assure Vivillon that I'm not mad at him in any way. "You must have been flying for a long time. Take some rest, yeah?"

"You must have been in the Lost Tower when he came looking," Lucas theorizes, once Vivillon is back in his Pokéball. "I was outside the whole time, so he spotted me first."

"So, the Hallowed Tower isn't a tower you can go inside?"

"No, it's only a little taller than me," Lucas explains, lifting his hand a few inches above him. He'll probably crack six feet soon, with how tall he already is, especially with a couple of years still left to grow. "It's more of a memorial to the battle that was waged there."

I put on my best shocked expression, hands slapped to my cheeks and my mouth in a perfect O, when he tells me that the spirits wreaking havoc were eventually bound within an Odd Keystone to become a Spiritomb, and that it was sealed in the Hallowed Tower

Luckily, Lucas's inner Pokémon nerd is too enamored telling the story to notice I'm faking my reaction. I let him ramble on about someone called an Aura Guardian before he finally calms down.

"Anyways, how was your day? Did you find any ghosts when you went inside the Lost Tower?"

Where do I begin? "Not really. I did learn about a ghost even more dangerous to the world than a Spiritomb. If you can believe it."

His expression tells me that he doesn't. "What is it?"

Moment of truth. "It's called Giratina, actually," I say slowly, waiting for a reaction. When nothing happens, I continue. "The reason it's so powerful is because it's one of the three original beings created by Arceus in the beginning to hold domain over their new world."

Lucas leans over and puts the back of his hand on my forehead in concern, like he's taking my temperature. "Are you feeling okay? There's not a Pokémon like that. There's only Dialga and Palkia."

He says it with so much confidence that my stomach is already starting to sink. "Well, it does exist," I tell a dubious Lucas. "Just not in this world. Giratina has been trapped in its own dimension, one that doesn't obey the normal laws of time or space. If it ever did cross over into our world, it would be big trouble."

"Right," he replies, not convinced. But that isn't the worst part. One hour later, I bring up the topic again.

"I was being serious about Giratina, you know. It must have so much anger and resentment for being trapped away that it wants to unleash."

Lucas's face looks like I used Confuse Ray on him. "Is that the name of a Pokémon? It's the first time I'm hearing it."

He doesn't remember. Barely an hour after I told him, he doesn't remember. Everything Maiko said was true. Even one of the smartest people I know can't remember Giratina, because Uxie has already stolen his knowledge. Anyone I try to tell will have the same thing happen to them.

I… I don't know what to do. I said I'd be willing to fight for the future if that's what it came to, but all by myself?

I've never felt so alone.