Iris was not having a good day or even an exceptional year. The resurgence of Team Plasma just days after she took the position of Champion took the wind out of her sails. She had been solving problems nonstop for months, going from one place to another, and desperately needed a break. Adding to that the pressure from the public and the league itself for the problem to disappear. She felt she finally understood Alder’s allergy to being in an office.
She looked around her office, trying to find her peace. It was small but full of mementos from her journeys. The bones from her times in the desert north of Castelia. A small, broken eggshell from the day she found her Axew. Photos of her with friends, the other leaders, the day she turned into Unova’s Champion…
“The subject is in custody.”
A voice broke her off her musings. She turned to the door, seeing a woman’s face partially inside. Her long, blond hair almost reached the floor. “Champion.” She said as Iris waved the woman in. Her steps were measured and fluid like water. A pink veil covered her thin figure and white dress. Even if she lacked her usual hat, Caitlin’s face was hard to forget. When she was in front of the desk, she curtsied, making her hair wave in the air.
“Hi, Caitlin.” Iris nodded at her. “His Pokemon?” She reclined on her chair, remembering the state they found Drayden in. The aura that suffused the place they battled. It was hard to resist the urge to shudder.
“They’re being examined by Professor Juniper and higher-ups from the Joy clan.” She intoned. “They seem really interested.”
“Great. Politics.” She murmured to herself. Caitlin smiled wryly at her comment.
Alder left out an important detail when he pitched the job to her: Politics. Apart from stopping Team Plasma, she now had to deal with those. The balancing game of benefits between all the factions in the government was almost the antithesis of the dragon doctrine. ‘Too bad I can’t punch them to assert dominance here…’
The man was most likely a bastard from the Joy clan. He had their signature pink hair, an Audino, and introduced himself as Daniel Joy. The fact that he had an Audino gave it more weight since they were hard to find in the wild. But her main point of interest was the strange Pokemon the man carried. Caitlin handed her a document as if she was reading her mind. ‘She probably is.’
“Let’s see… New dragon species, different evolutionary pathways for two Unovan Pokemon, new evolution for Porygon…” Her eyebrows continued to rise higher and higher. The quick tests performed on the recovering Pokemon showed they were absolute monsters. The ghost dragon especially gave her pause. ‘Speed and raw power are much higher than Hydra…’
“Who is this man?”
Caitlin gently shrugged her shoulders. “He should be waiting in the interrogation room. We’ll ask questions when you are ready.”
Iris nodded, putting down the papers. “What about Kyurem?” Her eyes narrowed, remembering what Drayden told her about that strange silver Pokeball.
“That…” Caitlin hesitated. Her expression grew conflicted for a couple of seconds. “Nobody has deactivated the Pokeball.”
‘That’s…worrying.’ She narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms. “Not even Amanita?”
Caitlin gently shook her head passed her a tablet and pressed ‘play’ on a video. It showed Amanita and a team of scientists inside a lab connecting the silver Pokeball to several devices. Each one would try to override the trainer lock to release the legend back into nature, but nothing worked. Even after shocking, pressure, voice overrides, and even a transfer machine were used, nothing seemed to affect it.
Iris felt another headache rearing its ugly muzzle. She sighed exasperated and stood from her desk. “Let’s see what’s what with our mystery man.” She grabbed her tiara and rushed out of the office, leaving a chuckling Caitlin behind.
--
“Are the cuffs necessary?”
Daniel shook his cuffs against the metal table to which he was tied. The guard looked ahead, completely ignoring his question. His eyes traced the featureless gray room he was in, complete with what he assumed was a one-way mirror.
The League officials took all his gear. They handled his bracer and Kyurem’s temporary Pokeball with special care. At least they let him continue using his uniform after triple-checking him for anything suspicious. Except for his beret, which was sadly taken away too.
“Heh, Dad used to tell us this used to be popular.” He said, looking to fill in the silence rather than start a conversation. “I just hope they don’t use the ‘good cop, bad cop’ approach he told us about.”
Thinking about the family he left behind in the future gave him some pause. It still didn’t feel real that he was hundreds of years in the past. Worries about people he knew not being born because of him plagued his mind. Those who saw him vanish into the night. Those that didn’t make it through the night. He distracted his mind from that. It wasn't the best place to be vulnerable.
After adrenaline ran its course, things began to click in his mind. The giant ship, lack of Dynamax protections in place, that Drayden asked about team plasma…
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
“The attack… Opelucid was supposed to be destroyed by plasma…” He muttered to himself.
The guard twitched but otherwise remained still. Daniel tried to rub his face, but the cuffs prevented him. He settled for a sigh before reclining on the uncomfortable metal chair. Just before he could voice any more of his thoughts, the door was violently opened. That same girl who identified herself as Champion Iris stared at him with narrow eyes.
“Care to expand on that, mystery man?!” She entered, the full force of her draconian aura slamming into him. “Because from MY perspective, it’s very destroyed!”
Daniel used his fairy aura to counteract hers by reflex. That made him realize two things. The first: his aura was much stronger, much denser than hers. The second…
“You don’t have protection against aura users?”
“Huh?”
“Huh?”
Both looked at each other in stunned silence.
“We are off to a good start.” Caitlin’s melodious voice rang from behind Iris. She nodded at the guard, who took it as his signal to leave. “Greetings.” She walked to Iris’ side and bowed towards him.
“Greetings.” He bowed back, ignoring the stupefied look on Iris’ face. “I didn’t catch your name, miss…”
“Caitlin.” She curtsied. “I’m part of the Elite Four. Psychic specialist.”
“Pleasure to meet you, Elite Caitlin. My name is Daniel Joy.”
“Pleasure is mine, Mr. Joy.”
“Hold a moment!” Iris seemed to recover from her shock. She jumped onto the table and examined Daniel closely. “You know about aura?”
Now, Daniel felt he was between an Aegislash and a hard place. He could try to hide the future; try to prevent anyone he knew from being erased from existence. ‘A bit late for that, I think.’ He mused, thinking back on his explosive entrance. Iris tried her best to intimidate him with her draconic aura to no avail.
“I can tell you what I know, but I need access to one of my Pokemon.” He crossed his fingers. “Porygon3, more exactly.”
“Why?” Iris's tone grew sharper, her face coming a bit closer. “What are you planning, mystery man?”
“I…need to confirm something.”
After a stare-down, Iris backed off and got off the table. She huffed and crossed her arms, considering his question.
“Granted.” She nodded, frown still in place. “But Hydra needs to be in the same room. I don’t want any funny business.”
“I assume that is your Hydreigon? Yes, that is reasonable.” He shrugged. The girl nodded at Caitlin, who nodded back before exiting the room.
The wait was awkward. Iris’ eyes never left Daniel apart from having to blink. “If that wasn’t a reflex, I bet she wouldn’t have blinked.” He smirked at his little observation. The woman didn’t take that too kindly to that gesture. Her aura flared once more, only to uselessly clash against his.
It was fascinating watching a, most likely, self-taught aura user. Thinking on that point, nobody he passed seemed particularly attuned to their aura apart from Caitlin. Hers fit the bill for psychic, if a bit weaker than what’s normal. Blocking hers was trickier, but not that hard. “Can’t be too careful with mind reading.”
Before he broke the ice with an inane question, Caitlin returned. She handed him a Pokeball and returned to her previous spot. Before he could release Donald, Iris beat him to the punch by silently releasing her massive Hydreigon. Scales shined under the overhead lamp and the room’s atmosphere got suffocating. Their 6 eyes glinted in malicious light as they stared him down.
“Well, thank you.” He nodded at the woman, not that much affected by the change. “Come out, Donald.”
The ball expanded and opened. A small red and blue duck appeared, flapping its wings. Its appearance was much more animal-like than its predecessors, especially Porygon-Z. Yet, its shape was rounder, almost like a toy. It looked around in curiosity for a moment before settling its eyes on its trainer.
“Donald. Please pull the file on Opelucid City, Plasma incident.”
[UNDERSTOOD, MASTER.]
A mechanical voice rang from inside the duck, startling everyone present. Even the Hydreigon seemed unsure how to proceed. Its eyes flashed in blue before the voice came back.
[OPELUCID CITY. 125 B.U. TEAM “PLASMA” HARNESSED THE POWER FROM KYUREM, THE EMPTY LORD, TO POWER A SHIP. THE VESSEL WAS CALLED "PLASMA FRIGATE." ITS MAIN CANNON FROZE OPELUCID CITY WHEN GYM LEADER DRAYDEN REFUSED TO PART WITH THE DNA SPLICER. ESTIMATED CASUALTIES: 45735.]
“Thank Arceus…” Daniel slumped, feeling relief coursing through his body. If Daniel still had the original article... 'this is not my past.'
“Thank Arceus for WHAT!” Iris slammed her hands on the table. “WHAT DO YOU MEAN!”
“Well, it’s hard to explain.” Daniel looked away for a second, looking at how to best breach the topic. “I’m from the future.”
“…”
“…”
“…”
It looked like he just sucker-punched them out of nowhere. Both women stared at him in complete shock. With a flap of its wings, Donald took flight and landed on Daniel’s head.
“Pory!”
Caitlin tilted her head. “Was…that a joke?” She said, trying to steer the conversation.
“We’ll need psychic interrogation.” Daniel shook his head. “I don’t think you’ll believe me otherwise.”
“It’s either that or a therapist.” Iris bit back, her face even more annoyed than before. She pinched the bridge of her nose for a second, muttering prayers under her breath.
After a sigh, she looked him directly in the eyes and nodded. “Alright. On my authority as Champion of the Unovan Pokemon League, I authorize psychic interrogation. Caitlin, as a current member of the Elite Four and expert in psychic Pokemon, will precede it. The suspect made a voluntary request for psychic interrogation without any form of mental stimulation.”
Caitlin nodded and released a Gothitelle in the already cramped room. Daniel looked curious as the maid-like Pokemon bowed towards their master and drew their gaze towards him. As their eyes glowed cyan, the world disappeared around him.
His life flashed before his eyes, just as Dad said it would in his stories. Granted, those happened in near-death experiences, but it was the only way to describe it. He could feel the alien mind of the Pokemon brushing against him, poking and prodding memories. Daniel left access to the less…private ones since those were not vital for his story.
Daniel felt himself reliving them, too. Getting both Lily and Mothra as his starters. The first time his fairy aura flared up in fairy pink. His journey through the Kalos league. His first time inside the World League’s main headquarters in orbit, blowing his teenage mind away. The brutal battles to reach the top of the Unovan league. The League’s brushes against megalomaniacs every other month. His brother ascending to the “throne” of Champion of Champions. The night he traveled back in time…
Before the melancholy could fully grasp him, he felt Gothitelle’s mental link fade away. She sent him feelings of gratitude for his cooperation and shock at what she saw. No words, though. ‘Mental links should be in their infancy, then.’ Something so…Fundamental in the top battles of the World League being absent was curious.
“What…How?” Iris choked out. Her mind reeling from all the revelations she saw through the link.
“That is…a really good question, isn’t it?” He laughed awkwardly, watching the pale women trying to regain composure. ‘This is going to be a long day…’