Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“What are the rules for going out?”

Akari wanted to groan but Rei had gotten an earful the last time he had. Instead, she let her voice slip into a monotone alongside her brother’s and answered the gate guard’s question. “Come back before sundown. Go back to camp and get the Security Corps if we see anyone that isn’t Galaxy. Stay away from Alpha Pokémon.”

Beauregard nodded but still looked worried. “I’m still not so sure about this. Laventon told you it was okay?”

Akari started to answer but was interrupted by an amused hum. “You still have your children do this? I promise we have no interest in them.”

Akari and Rei jumped, startled. Beauregard did too but he was less obvious about it. That guy came out of nowhere. Akari recognized the uniform he wore from the merchants that came through the village sometimes. Beni said they weren’t supposed to come around again for awhile though. What was he doing here?

Beauregard voiced this as he shuffled through his packet of papers in search of the entry log. “Oh! Mr… uh- I don’t- um…”

As annoyed as she was for having to run through the rules again, Akari couldn’t help but giggle at Beauregard’s antics. It was just so Beauregard. The newcomer seemed to understand this as well, if the humored glow in his eyes was any indicator. “Volo. And no, the Gingko Guild wasn’t planning on coming by the village today. We have other customers. I just saw these two during my visit last week and got curious. I don’t recall seeing them here before. Is Kamado changing his attitude toward-”

“No,” Beauregard interrupted, trying and failing to keep his voice steady. “I- um, I don’t know how much Kamado wants me to say. They’re Galaxy now though.”

“I’m Akari,” Akari told him brightly and threw an arm around her companion, “and this is my brother Rei. We’re helping Professor Laventon survey all the Pokémon in the Hisui region. We’re new!”

Beauregard spluttered a bit more and failed to keep Rei from slipping past him. The boy darted to Volo’s side and circled him a couple times, inspecting him excitedly. “I bet the Ginkgo Guild knows about all the Pokémon in the region. You guys have been here a long time, haven’t you? And you travel all over.”

“We do,” Volo responded and pulled a wooden sphere from his pocket. “Do you two have Pokémon of your own? Want to battle? Zisu’s been teaching me a bit when I come by but there aren’t a lot of people to practice with.”

Rei nodded eagerly and pulled out Cyndaquil’s Pokéball but Beauregard waved his arm between them before he could even think about opening it. “Nope. Nuh-uh. You know the rules. No Pokémon in the village and especially no battling. Go literally anywhere else.”

Akari leapt at that. “Literally?”

“No. No, you know what I meant. Just go far from the village. The Fieldlands are huge. Tons of open space you can destroy. And trees if you want to destroy something, I guess.”

Rei was now fixated on Beauregard as well. “Can we go to the Heartwood?”

Beauregard hesitated. “Wait, I didn’t-”

“Thank you,” Volo sing-songed, putting a hand on the twins’ backs and making a show of sweeping them away. “Don’t you worry. I’ll make sure the children keep out of trouble!”

Beauregard let out a defeated sigh and Volo shared a victorious grin with the twins that told Akari he was just getting a kick out of messing with him. Still, Akari was grateful. Cyllene still hadn’t technically approved of them venturing so far but Akari was confident they could pin it all on Beauregard if it came down to it. Volo would back them up.

“We can still battle if you want,” Volo told them as Jubilife became smaller and smaller in the background, “but we can do that anytime. It seems like you two were more excited about exploring the Heartwood and I’m the main reason you got a chance today. Better not waste it. Your Commander doesn’t trust you to travel very far yet, huh?”

“No,” Rei told him, slumping over a bit. Akari knew her twin well enough to know he was playing it up but she also knew he was genuinely bummed about not being able to explore as much as he’d like. They both were. “Captain Cyllene set up a system to prove we’re good enough to check out different areas and I guess I don’t want to get eaten by an Alpha Luxray but how are we supposed to learn anything if we can’t go to new places?”

“Or get stronger if we can’t battle stronger Pokémon,” Akari added. She turned to Volo. “I still wanna battle you but I probably shouldn’t let my Pokémon get too beat up if we’re going to encounter some new Pokémon.”

“Good plan,” Volo agreed with a nod. “You’re going to have to battle an Alpha Bibarel to get to the Hearthome anyway. I mean, you don’t have to but the path is a little difficult to get past and it’s even harder if you’ve got an Alpha Bibarel after you.”

“Alpha?” Rei echoed, eyebrows knitting together with worry. Akari hoped he wasn’t going to crumble this soon. “We’re supposed to stay away from Alphas.”

“It’s a Bibarel,” Volo told him and his voice lost the usual whimsy it carried. Genuine confusion bled into the words and Akari tried to piece together why. “They’re not exactly the toughest Pokémon around.”

“It’s an Alpha,” Rei stressed and Akari knew that wasn’t going to do anything to get them on the same page. They might not even be reading the same book.

“If you’re really nervous, I can battle it but I think it’d be good practice for you two,” Volo told him as they kept walking. They were drifting a bit but Akari trusted that Volo knew where he was going. “You’ll need to know how to battle Alphas if you’re going to brave the wilds.”

Rei agreed a bit sullenly. Akari, on the other hand, was brimming with excitement. “Come on, Rei. Volo’s right. It’s just a Bibarel. We knock out Bidoof all the time. This shouldn’t be that much harder.”

“Except Bidoof gets Water-typing when it evolves,” Rei pointed out. “You have a Rowlet and a Shinx. You’ve got type advantage.”

That was a good point, actually. Akari couldn’t see Rei’s Cyndaquill doing much of anything against a Bibarel. Starly would get knocked out of the sky pretty quickly too. His Buizel might stand a chance if he had some help but none of Rei’s Pokémon were all that interested in battling. “Maybe I should take the lead on this one.”

They spent the rest of the walk talking strategy. Rei was right about type-advantage but Volo told them Alphas usually knew moves to help them cover those kinds of weaknesses. That didn’t really help Akari’s confidence and when the time to battle finally came, she opted for the more cowardly approach. Sneaking up from behind, Akari lobbed a ball of mud at the back of Bibarel’s head and released both of her Pokémon at once. “Rowlet, Leafage! Shinx, Thunder Wave!”

The Thunder Wave ended up being pretty handy. Akari wouldn’t say it was the only reason she won but it was the only reason she didn’t have to use every Revive in her bag. She took back what she said about Bidoof. This battle was much harder. Still, she’d won and she was going to relish in it.

“Good job you two!” Akari squealed, pulling Rowlet and Shinx into a hug. Rowlet squirmed out and managed to clamber onto her shoulder while Shinx just snuggled deeper into her arms, tail wagging wildly in excitement. “I knew you could do that?”

“Did you see that?” Rei asked as Volo rooted around his bag for some healing items and tossed them to Akari.

“My win. I mean, yeah. I was the one battling so yeah.”

“Not that. Not that your battle wasn’t cool! It was. But the forest…”

“I saw something strange too,” Volo jumped in before Rei got lost in his rambling. Turning to Akari, he told her, “I saw this flash behind us but I thought your Shinx’s Electric-type moves were just playing tricks on me.”

“It came from the rift,” Rei said firmly, dragging Akari’s gaze upward.

“Has the Galaxy Team told you anything about that?” Volo sounded offhandedly before Akari’s thoughts could travel very far. “We all have our theories but we know nothing except that it showed up not long before the Galaxy Team landed on our shores.”

“We don’t know anything,” Rei answered without looking at him. He drew Starly’s Pokéball and let the little Pokémon out, the pair taking off toward the treeline. “This may be our chance to learn something though.”

“Rei, wait!” Akari called after him but Volo was a step ahead of her. He popped open a Pokéball and sent a little Growlithe after him. Only, it was different than any Growlithe Akari had seen before. Not that she remembered seeing any Growlithe before. Amnesia was a bitch. Something didn’t line up though. Now wasn’t the time to dwell on it.

Especially since Akari was starting to hear screaming in the distance. That was never good. Akari quickly sent Rowlet ahead to scope it out with Starly and Growlithe. Maybe someone just got startled by their shadow? Akari wasn’t optimistic but she could hope.

“L-Lord Kleavor!” a voice cried as Akari, Rei, and Volo forced their way through the trees. “What are you doing? It’s me!”

“Growlithe, Flame Wheel!” Volo ordered as Akari soaked in the sight. Surrounded by dense trees, it was taking her longer than she would’ve liked. Or maybe that was just because she was staring at the absolute scariest Pokémon she’d ever seen. It was tall, bipedal but not humanoid. Something about the way it was hunched made it radiate a savagery that Akari had only seen in hungry Luxray. Plus, it was glowing and its hands were axes. Axes. How was she supposed to react with anything but terror?

Volo and Growlithe weren’t scared though. Growlithe was flinging her flame-wreathed body at the beast for crying out loud and Volo was- Akari didn’t know what Volo was doing.  Because there was no way he was doing what she thought he was doing. It looked like he was running toward the thing.

“Lian!” Volo yelled as he ducked under the Pokémon’s blades a split second before Growlithe slammed into its flank. Volo rolled and Akari caught the sight of something in his grip. Was that a kid? Akari couldn’t get a good look but that was definitely a kid. An actual kid. Akari and Rei were kids, as much as she loathed to admit it, but technically they were teenagers. This was fully a child. “Growlithe, lure it away! Run back toward the arena so Rowlet and Shinx can get better shots.”

Akari mentally noted he didn’t include Starly in that order. She also didn’t know what clearing he was talking about. She didn’t get the chance to ask though because his words just made the kid cry louder. “No! Don’t hurt him!”

“I don’t think my Pokémon can hurt him if we wanted to,” Akari said before running after Growlithe. She understood Volo’s plan well enough: get this hulk of a Pokémon away from the kid so Volo could take care of him and maybe buy Rei enough time to figure out what was going on. Okay, maybe that last part was her own wishful thinking but her brother was smart and Akari had faith in him.

Akari made it to the clearing Volo had mentioned just in time to see one of the glowing Pokémon’s axe hands land a clean hit on Growlithe, sending her flying. Akari didn’t think she was getting up anytime soon but there wasn’t anything she could do about it except make sure the attacking Pokémon didn’t try to take another swing when the fallen Pokémon couldn’t fight back. Rowlet and Shinx moved in and Akari hoped she didn’t run out of potions before this was over.

Rowlet and Shinx weaved around each other, one drawing Kleavor’s attention so the other could dodge. Akari thought it was working pretty well. It was the same strategy they’d used against Bibarel, only Shinx was having a hard time getting a Thunder Wave off. Also, Akari was much closer than she had been with Bibarel. She had to roll to keep an axe from hitting her more than once and she didn’t like it. At least Rowlet and Shinx could attack when the Pokémon got that close. What was she supposed to do? Punch it? Akari couldn’t see what kind of Pokémon this thing was under the yellow glow but she got the idea she’d break her hand if she tried.

Then, something nailed it in the back of the head and Akari got enough of an opening to scoot out of the action. “Thanks, Rei!”

“Don’t thank me. Just help.” Rei was shoving a series of round objects into her hands before Akari could even begin trying to catch her breath. “I think- well, it doesn’t matter. Just throw these things. I think the smell will disorient it.”

Smell? Growlithe were sensitive to smell, that much Akari knew. So were Shinx and other little mammalian Pokémon. This was a giant bug. Akari didn’t think it was much of a sniffer. Akari had used most of her mud balls on Bibarel though and throwing these sacks were better than nothing. She could throw them harder than Rei anyway. Rei could have all his little theories about smell but Akari knew hitting something in the head hard enough was sure to disorient it. Regardless of who was doing it though, it seemed to be working.

“Hit it! Hit it!” Rei ordered Starly when the big Pokémon slowed its attacks and started swaying. Starly, Shinx, and Rowlet all closed in and began attacking furiously until the big Pokémon got its act together enough to start attacking again. “Keep it up!”

This continued for a few more rounds until one of Rowlet’s Aerial Aces shattered the yellow armor like ice and only a rocky-looking Pokémon remained. “Kleavor?”

Akari readied to strike again but Rei held up an arm to stop her. “Wait. It looks.. Confused?”

“Lord Kleavor!” a familiar voice cried and Akari looked up to see Volo making his way over with the boy from before in his arms. Akari’s eyes immediately fell on a series of poorly wrapped wounds littering the boy’s legs and a rush of nausea forced her to look away. Even if she couldn’t fathom why Volo was bringing a hurt kid back to the thing that’d hurt him, Akari wasn’t the best with that sort of thing and she knew she’d have to keep her mouth shut or she might just throw up. “You’re okay!”

“But you aren’t,” Volo told the kid and looked up at Akari and Rei. For the first time, Akari noticed uncertainty in his eyes. “Lian needs help but there aren’t any Guildsmen in the Fieldlands right now and I don’t have a Celestic Flute to try to get a clansman.”

Akari didn’t know what Volo meant by that last part but she heard the underlying question. “We passed a Galaxy camp on the way here. Everyone in the Security Corps has to know some kind of first aid, right?”

“I think-” Volo started, then made a face, clearly opting to spare Lian from hearing about the severity of his own injuries. “Lian, we’re going to have to leave Lord Kleavor for a bit.”

“No!” the boy protested, wiggling in Volo’s arms to try to get closer to the Pokémon Akari had just been fighting. “He was hurting and I have to-”

“You’re hurt too. Lord Kleavor understands,” Volo told him and Lord Kleavor let out an upset warble. He prodded Lian with his nose before taking a step back. Volo gave him a nod and hoisted Lian higher into his arms, getting a more secure grip on the boy. Akari noticed Lian wasn’t fighting very hard and was pretty limp overall. He must’ve been pretty hurt. “We’re going to the Galaxy Team for help.”

“But Lady Irida says they don’t like furs.”

“They don’t but I don’t know where any fangs or fae are so we’re just going to have to try our best,” Volo told him and Akari once again had no idea what he was talking about. The determination on his face was enough to tell Akari to set aside the questions for later. “Akari, grab Growlithe’s Pokéball from my pocket and recall her. Rei, lead the way.”

Both twins nodded, springing into action now that they had clear instructions to follow. They could do just fine on their own but there was just something about having someone else to turn to that made them move a lot faster. Even though they’d just met Volo, Akari had to say she wouldn’t mind him fulfilling that role a little bit longer. Everyone at the Galaxy Team liked barking orders, but something about how Volo did it made it feel a lot less belittling. Maybe that was just the near-death experience talking.

They moved slower now that Volo was carrying Lian. He ditched his backpack back with Lord Kleavor to keep the weight down but Volo was still carrying a full human being a decent distance. That alone would be pretty difficult if he wasn’t also trying not to jostle his injuries. Rei inspected them a bit as they walked but Akari tuned it out and focused on keeping her eyes on the path ahead until the camp came into sight.

“Sun’s almost down,” the Security Corps guy said once Akari and Rei neared. “You can stay here tonight but you’re not making it back to Jubilife.”

Akari couldn’t care less about that. “We need help! We’ve got an injured kid.”

The Security men’s expressions sharpened as Volo neared, each suddenly shifting into a threatening stance. “Get back!”

“Oh, really?” Volo complained but Akari could hear the anger in his voice. “Almighty Sinnoh, I know you don’t care but come on, he’s just a kid. The wounds on his legs are pretty deep. They’re going to get infected if I try to bring him all the way to the Icelands. Or we’ll die of dehydration or get eaten by wild Pokémon, I don’t know. I don’t have anything to offer but please. Just help him.”

To Akari’s surprise, the Security Corps guys didn’t budge. A couple of them seemed to soften a bit but they still didn’t budge. “I’m sorry, Guildsman. If it were noon, maybe we’d offer some herbs but the moon’s nearly out.”

Akari watched as Volo’s face became consumed by controlled fury. “You’d really let a kid- What do you think he’d do? He’s so out of it he couldn’t do anything if he wanted to!”

“Leave, Guildsman,” the head guard spoke up, flat voice raising. “I’m sorry but there’s nothing we can do.”

“What do you mean there’s nothing we can do?” Rei asked, finally snapping out of his stupor and voicing Akari’s outrage. He thrust a hand back toward the camp, gesturing at the chest illuminated by the campfire. “There’s a box of supplies right there! That’s something!”

The guard ignored him. “Maybe one of your Fairy-types can do something, Guildsman.”

“Or one of your Ghosts could give him some comfort,” another added, and Akari wanted to scream at him for being so insensitive. She knew there was something she wasn’t picking up on but the Ghost-type comment was obvious enough for her. Were these guys really ready to just let little Lian die? The Galaxy Team had always seemed so concerned for Akari and Rei. Even if most of them weren’t exactly friendly, Akari didn’t think they were capable of doing such a thing.

Volo’s hopeless gaze fell on Akari and Rei and Akari hoped he wouldn’t start begging them. Akari was still frozen in her shock and she didn’t know if she could stand up against the Galaxy guards if he asked. He didn’t though. “Could you lend me Starly and Rowlet at least? There should be another Warden somewhere in the Fieldlands but I don’t think I can carry Lian that far…”

Maybe it was the desperation in Volo’s voice that spurred Akari into movement. Maybe it was just because the Galaxy Team really couldn’t stop her from doing this. These were the Pokémon she’d caught in the Pokéballs she’d made. They weren’t really in any position to keep her from unclipping Rowlet’s ball from her belt and rushing forward to shove it into Volo’s pocket alongside all the others. Rowlet was still tired from all the battling today, but Akari knew he was strong. 

“Thank you,” Volo whispered and spared one last glance at the Galaxy men before hurrying away. Rei and Akari watched as the sun sank and Volo disappeared into the night, just missing the chance to see the transformation that was about to occur.

Chapter Text

Akari never felt more relief than she did when Rowlet and Starly landed on Rei and Akari’s windowsill. She only had about a month’s worth of memories so that wasn’t saying much but it was still a huge weight off her shoulders. Rowlet and Starly, though exhausted, seemed to be in pretty high spirits so there was a good chance whatever Volo’s plan was to save Lian worked out. He was going to be alright.

Then Rei noticed a note tied around Starly’s ankle and the two Flying-types were quickly drafted as messengers between the Galaxy Team, the Ginkgo Guild, and some other parties Akari didn’t know. There were others in Hisui, apparently. This wasn’t exactly new information. Lian was proof of that, afterall. They still didn’t know much though. Akari and Rei still hadn’t heard any details beyond vague mentions of clansmen and other phrases that held no meaning to them. Beni did tell them Cyllene was advocating for the twins to sit in on the big meeting they were planning though so there was that at least.

They got into that meeting but were immediately shoved into the corner and Akari wasn’t really sure how she was supposed to make heads or tails of that. At least Volo got banished to the corner with them. He wasn’t that much older than them but Akari still thought he’d get a little more respect from everyone than this. It was probably for the better though. Akari and Rei definitely needed someone who understood Hisui better than they did to explain everything as it was happening.

“You know the Commander, Captain Zisu, and Captain Cyllene,” Volo said lowly as everyone took their seats around the meeting table. “The Ginkgo Guildsman is Ginter. He’s my dad, kind of. Long story. And that’s Warden Ingo of the Pearl Clan.”

“There should be someone representing the Diamond Clan,” Ingo said before Akari could ask Volo who the Pearl Clan was. Akari stared at him a bit, trying to piece together what she couldn’t ask. He seemed rougher than the Galaxy members— his clothes were torn and his general gait seemed more worn out— in the way that the Ginkgo Guildsmen were yet different at the same time. He didn’t live in a village, Akari could tell that much.

“We’re lucky that they let the two of us here at all,” Ginter snorted and his disdain told Akari far more than staring at Ingo ever could. There were sides here. Ginter and Ingo weren’t from the same group. They lacked the bond Kamado, Cyllene, and Zisu shared but there was something there. They didn’t seem close but Akari sensed some kind of alliance had been established the moment they stepped in the door.

“Did you really think we were going to let-” Zisu started then cut herself off before she could get too far. She closed her eyes for a moment, as if centering herself, and continued. “I think you’re both well aware of the Galaxy Team’s wishes for the Ginkgo Guild and you, Warden Ingo.”

“I’m flattered but I’m not leaving the Pearl Clan,” Ingo answered. Akari would say he was amused if not for the deep frown on his face. It seriously did not let up. Was the guy upset or was he just like that? “I appreciate being able to visit your dojo but my loyalty will always be to Lady Irida and the Pearl Clan.”

“What he said,” Ginter added, jabbing a finger in Ingo’s direction. “The Guild appreciates your village’s goods and customers but we’ve been trading with the clansmen much longer and frankly, they’re better at it than you. We’re not cutting ties anytime soon.”

“We suspected as much but it doesn’t hurt to ask. We’ll revisit that,” Kamado said, leaning forward on the table. Akari didn’t doubt he’d bring it up again. “Now, to the matter at hand.”

“They’ve been trying that for awhile,” Volo whispered to Rei and Akari. “The Galaxy Team thinks Ingo needs to be saved from the clans and everyone else in Hisui is a wildman or something. They think the Guildsman can be converted to- to whatever the Galaxy men are and-”

“Warden Lian is alright,” Ingo spoke, crossing his arms, before Volo could finish his thought. “No thanks to you.”

“You know why my men did what they did.”

“Lian’s a child. A child, Zisu. They turned away a hurt child.”

“The Guild doesn’t do anything if we don’t get anything from it but even we don’t abandon children,” Ginter added, matching Ingo’s stance. “Take them in and make them one of ours, maybe, but we don’t abandon them. Especially not the ones noticed by the Almighty.”

“Our surveyors reported Kleavor-”

“Lord Kleavor,” Ingo interrupted.

“-Lord Kleavor was consumed by some kind of power from the rift. I imagine it’s safe to assume something like this has never happened before.”

“...Not quite. No.”

“There are stories that the clans and the guild formed after Almighty Sinnoh… The legends describe it as lightning that coated ten Pokémon in Sinnoh’s power. It was too much to control though and they turned on Hisui’s population. Sinnoh gave us the power to defend ourselves,” Ginter explained and Akari couldn’t help but lean into the story, “but the frenzied Pokémon still needed to be quelled. Even with their new power, no one in Hisui could do it.”

“Except the hero,” Volo spoke up and Akari could see the excitement in his body. He was practically vibrating with it.

“Except the hero,” Ginter echoed. “Volo says it was your two surveyors who quelled Lord Kleavor’s frenzy. If the stories are true, that means they are Almighty Sinnoh’s chosen.”

“Galaxy has no interest in your Sinnoh.”

“We understand,” Ingo told Kamado amicably. “The truth is still that- my apologies. What were your names?”

Akari jolted as she realized Ingo directed the question at her and Rei. Everyone had been ignoring them until now and she wasn’t really expecting it. “Akari! Rei and Akari. We’re, um, twins.”

“Twins,” Ingo murmured before shaking himself and continuing. “Rei and Akari were the ones to quell Lord Kleavor. I hate to ask such a thing of anyone so young but I fear the other Nobles will be struck and we won’t be able to pump their brakes without them.”

Kamado’s frown deepened, almost as deep as Ingo’s. “Galaxy doesn’t concern itself with the Nobles. What do we care if your Pokémon turn on you? If you and the Guild would like respite, you know our terms.”

“Do you really think your walls are strong enough to withstand an attack from a Noble Pokémon, let alone one influenced by the Almighty?” Ingo asked, tilting his head ever so slightly. “Your guards were afraid of a mere child. Do you think you can withstand an attack from our strongest Pokémon? Or what if the Nobles fail to keep the clansmen in check during a full moon? Do you think Jubilife can stand against the strength of both clans?”

“Is that a threat?”

“Merely speculation,” Ingo told him, ducking his head forward ever so slightly in apology. Akari couldn’t tell if he meant it or not. This guy was hard to read. “Galaxy can still benefit from this agreement. I understand your Survey Corps is interested in learning about all the Pokémon of Hisui but you can’t do that by limiting your tracks to the Fieldlands. If Rei and Akari are to help us, they’ll be able to see much more of Hisui.”

Akari and Rei exchanged a glance, hearts leaping at that. Laventon and Cyllene didn’t seem very inclined to let them leave the Fieldlands anytime soon. Maybe this was their chance to see even more.

“I’m still hesitant to send our own into danger,” Cyllene said cautiously.

“Then I offer my services,” Ingo told her. “It is my duty as a Warden to ensure the safety of any passengers traversing Hisui.”

“No, it isn’t,” Ginter snorted, muttering under his breath. “You’re just weird.”

“You have camps across the region for them to turn to if they need assistance and the Ginkgo Guild is always ready to trade for any resources they may need,” Ingo reasoned. He angled his head back toward the teens. “Volo’s already involved himself and proven himself capable of caring for others. If I’m not sufficient, consider him.”

“Can I?” Volo asked eagerly, whipping his head in Ginter’s direction.

“If you help the guild finish our run to the Icelands, I might consider it,” Ginter told him in a voice that told Akari he wasn’t really angry. Volo had said Ginter was a father figure to him. He must’ve been scared when Volo ran off to see Rei and Akari. Lian’s injury probably didn’t help. “You’re always going on about these myths and legends. Maybe you could be of some use.”

Volo beamed. “Thank you!”

“We haven’t agreed to anything yet,” Kamado pointed out gruffly. He eyed Akari and Rei for a moment before continuing. “I don’t want you two being around the monsters.”

“Monsters?” Akari questioned, but no one was listening.

“Ingo has a point about seeing other parts of the region. We want to understand this land and eventually that’s going to include observing the monsters,” Cyllene refuted. “I would feel a lot better about sending Rei and Akari out farther if Ingo and Volo were looking out for them.”

Kamado hummed lowly in acknowledgment. “Very well. They will help you. But they still work for Laventon and report to Cyllene.”

“I wouldn’t deny them that,” Ingo agreed and offered a hand for them to shake on it. Kamado agreed and Ingo turned back to Akari and Rei. “I imagine this is acceptable to you?”

Akari and Rei nodded quickly, too excited and too nervous to see anything. The corners of Ingo’s lips quirked upward ever so slightly as he let out a pleased noise. Volo clapped the two on the back, grinning even wider than before. “Alright! Hey, send Starly or Rowlet out, and let me know where you end up! Actually, don’t. The rest of the Guild is heading to the Icelands and I don’t want them getting too cold. I’ll just find you.”

Akari laughed and nodded easily. She was glad Volo was sticking around. Rei was great but they hadn’t made a lot of friends here, let alone any close to their age. Volo would be a big help with this Noble thing too. Akari didn’t quite understand what they were expected to do yet but she knew it meant fighting more Pokémon like Lord Kleavor and she was grateful for the extra help.

“I should be returning to my station,” Ingo announced, rising from his seat. “Do you need Rei and Akari to remain here or can they join me?”

Kamado didn’t seem happy about that, but he agreed and Akari and Rei bounced after Ingo on his way out. They waved goodbye to Volo and followed Ingo to the gates. Akari wondered if they should stop by their room in the residential strip first but decided against it. Both she and Rei had their packs and there wasn’t anything in their room that would be all that helpful.

Stepping out the front gate felt just like they had that first time when Cyllene sent them on that mission to prove themselves. They were going to see somewhere new! The- Actually, Akari had no idea where they were going. “Hey, Mr. Ingo?”

“Just Ingo is fine,” Ingo told her as the guard closed the gates behind them. “My official title is Warden but you don’t have to use it if you don’t want to.”

“Warden Ingo,” Akari tried before voicing her question. “Where do you live? Cyllene showed us a map of Hisui but I don’t remember what all the areas are called.”

“I live in the Coronet Highlands,” Ingo told her, “where I serve the Noble Lady Sneasler.”

“What’s that mean?” 

“What’s a Sneasler?”

Ingo’s eyes glowed in amusement as he drew some sort of device from his pocket and blew a single, sharp note into it. A moment later, a dark figure appeared at his side. “Snea!”

Ingo chuckled at Akari and Rei’s surprise. “This is my Noble. She helps passengers like yourselves cross the mountains and collect supplies for the Pearl Clan. We’re going to be crossing a lot of land. Would you rather ride in her basket or on my Wyrdeer’s back?”

“What’s a Wyrdeer?” Rei asked and Ingo released a Pokémon from a Pokéball. A light flashed and a massive white Stantler-like Pokémon appeared in front of them. Rei’s eyes went wide at the sight of it. “I want to ride this one.”

“Wyrdeer’s an Alpha. He’s big enough to carry all of us if you’d like to join us, Akari,” Ingo said as Akari did another take. Wyrdeer was an Alpha? His eyes weren’t red though. He was big but that wasn’t what made an Alpha what they were, right? “It might be a bit cramped though and I imagine Lady Sneasler would enjoy the company.”

“Snea!”

“I’m fine with riding with Lady Sneasler,” Akari said, eyeing the basket hooked on the Noble’s back. “So do I just-”

“Snea!” Lady Sneasler cried and Akari was suddenly scooped into the basket. “Snea! Sneasler!”

“I guess that works,” Akari said in surprise, ignoring Rei’s laughter. Lady Sneasler smirked and flipped the lid shut, leaving Akari in comfortable darkness as the trek began.

They didn’t quite make it to the Highlands as Akari had hoped. Ingo hadn’t been particularly optimistic about that either and they reached the Grandtree Arena as the night began rolling in. Akari knew logically that they had permission to be out here but the Galaxy Team’s rules stuck with her. Don’t be out during the night. There had to be a reason for that. Something about the night was dangerous. Akari knew her Pokémon were strong but they were still two unevolved little guys. They had Ingo now though and Ingo was a trainer strong enough to catch an Alpha Pokémon. They’d be alright.

“Kleavor!” a Pokémon cried just as Akari stepped out of Lady Sneasler’s basket. She jerked her head up and her eyes fell on a familiar Pokémon rushing toward them. She jumped, readying her Pokéballs, but Ingo seemed unafraid. He seemed the opposite of afraid, actually.

“Hello, my friend,” Ingo greeted, reaching out to rub Kleavor’s muzzle as the Pokémon skidded to a stop before them. “Warden Lian’s not with us, I’m afraid. He’s back in the Icelands. He’s scheduled to return with the Ginkgo Guild in a couple weeks. You did quite a number on him.”

“Kleavor…” If Akari didn’t know better, she’d say the Pokémon sounded sad.

“It wasn’t your fault,” Ingo told him, patting him again. He glanced back at Rei and Akari, waving a loose gesture in their direction. “This is Rei and Akari. They’re the ones who calmed you down. They’re going to help make sure what happened to you and Lian doesn’t happen to any other Wardens and Nobles.”

“Kleavor?” Lord Kleavor stared at Rei and Akari for a moment before parking up. “Kleavor!”

Akari expected the Pokémon to rush toward them like he had with Ingo but he didn’t. Instead, he turned and darted off back toward the tree, scaling the base of the trunk easily and disappearing into one of its many indents. He reappeared a moment later and launched himself back down, running back up to the pair like an excited Growlithe. Akari noticed he had something in his mouth a split second before Kleavor was shoving it into her hands.

“Kleav!”

“The Insect Plate,” Rei said aloud. When Akari glanced at him, he looked up from his Arc-Phone. “It says it’s something called a ‘Key Item.’”

“That just means bag magic will affect it differently,” Ingo explained as if that meant anything. “You should carry that with you.”

“Um, okay,” Akari responded and slipped it into her bag. She expected it to weigh it down but shockingly, it didn’t. “So, um, we’re staying here for the night?”

Ingo nodded. “Come. Kleavor will show you all the best sleeping spots in the tree.”

Akari had never slept in a tree before but she knew she better get used to it fast. She saw a lot of stranger sleeping places in her future.

“Is it just you out here? You and Lady Sneasler?”

Akari wished they could spend a bit more time in the Mirelands but Ingo seemed to be in a hurry to get back to his tent in the Highlands, though calling it a tent may be selling it short. It was even sturdier than Akari and Rei’s home back in the village.

“More or less,” Ingo answered as he let them inside. “Every territory has two Warden and two Nobles, one from each clan. I don’t see Melli a whole lot though. You’ll meet him later. He’s probably not awake this early.”

It was well past noon but Akari didn’t comment on it. She liked to sleep in too, who was she to judge?

“Lady Sneasler has some kits in her den. I usually sleep up there with them. I don’t know how welcoming she’ll be to newcomers,” Ingo told them apologetically, “so make yourselves at home.”

“You’re letting us stay in your tent?”

Ingo seemed confused. “Did you think I was going to leave you two out on your own in the Highlands? There are Zubat everywhere.”

“I-” Akari didn’t know how to tell him that she assumed he would. She decided to skip ahead to what you really wanted to ask. “Everyone’s been saying you’re part of a clan. I was expecting to be more people here.”

“Pearl’s in the Icelands and Diamond’s in the Mirelands,” Ingo told them. “No one but Pearl can survive the cold and the fangs like the mugginess, I guess.”

“Fangs?”

“You know, Diamond clansmen.” Ingo shrugged like that was enough of an answer. Akari didn’t press though. Lian had said something like that, hadn’t he? Fangs, furs, and fae? Or maybe it was Volo who said that. Akari couldn’t remember. It was a very stressful moment and it seemed to be something everyone just sort of knew, everyone except Akari and Rei that is.

Rei clearly wanted to ask too. He was better at this whole surveyor thing than she was. He seemed nervous though and Ingo wasn’t offering an explanation. Maybe it was better to wait? Akari didn’t remember how these sorts of things worked. Before meeting Volo and Lian, she really only had memories of interacting with the captains, the commander, Laventon, Beni, and the guards. She didn’t have a lot to go off of. Neither of them did.

“Are you two hungry?” Ingo asked, wandering toward the back of the tent to root around his cabinets. “I have some Oran berries and Basculin meat I need to eat before it goes bad. I hadn’t planned for being called away to Jubilife when I last went gathering. Would you like some soup?”

Soup sounded pretty good right now. In Jubilife, most of their meals consisted of potato mochi and whatever berries Rei and Akari found while surveying. They should probably have more meat in their diet, shouldn’t they? Akari couldn’t remember the last time she’d eaten such a thing.

Rei was thinking the same thing, apparently, because his stomach rumbled at the same time Akari’s did. Ingo chuckled and took that as an answer, beginning the process of cooking. Akari wasn’t expecting to get any meals out of this but she was pleased that they were. Leaving Jubilife was going to be even better than she thought.

Chapter Text

Ingo liked having Rei and Akari around. They brought a sort of youthful energy to his life in a much more manageable way than the Sneasler kits did. Those two were curious about everything and they were good at what they did. Ingo often found them following a Nosepass around or poking at a Burmy when he stumbled upon them during his patrols with Lady Sneasler. 

They had good battling instincts too. Akari caught a Psyduck and Rei caught a Paras, both good additions to their parties. Water and Grass-types were key to having a balanced team. Ingo wondered how he knew that, especially considering he lacked a Fire-type to complete the elemental core of his own team. Oh well. Another mystery about his memory to keep him up at night.

Lately, Ingo hadn’t been spending his nights lying in a pile of kits letting his mind wander like he usually did. Akari and Rei gave him a reason to stay up and he found himself enjoying it. After their evening meal, he often found himself sitting by the fire as Akari and Rei told him about the Pokémon they’d seen, caught, and battled that day. Ingo wondered why he hadn’t done this before. Even without company-

“Ingo!” a voice practically shrieked into his ear as a weight landed on his back and Ingo remembered. That was right. Why would he sit out at night next to a huge light source when there was a moth that liked to pester him as much as Melli flying around?

“Get off,” Ingo grumbled, shaking his friend off of him, before noticing Rei and Akari reaching to wake Shinx and Cyndaquill. “Don’t worry, you two. Melli’s a friend.”

“Ooh!” Melli peeled himself off Ingo, far more interested in a new subject. “I didn’t know you had kids, Warden.”

“They’re not mine,” Ingo protested then paused. Maybe they were. Was he a dad now? Ingo didn’t really know how this sort of thing worked. That was something to worry about later though. “Melli, this is Rei and Akari. They’re the surveyors who helped Lian and Lord Kleavor. Rei, Akari, this is Warden Melli.”

Ingo expected them to be excited to meet someone new. Just about anything was met with excitement with those two. At the very least, Ingo expected them to be polite. Screaming was just about the last reaction he considered. “What is that?”

“Hmm?” Melli raised an eyebrow and looked down at himself. Ingo didn’t think there was anything out of the ordinary about his appearance. His hair and hat were put together despite the flight over. His Diamond Clan clothes were unstained and generally up to Melli’s standards. His green and red wings were a little powdery but they always were and Melli always had the decency not to wave them around people. Ingo really didn’t see what the problem was. “Was that directed at me?”

“He- I- Wings!” Rei spluttered, pointing a finger right at Melli, and Ingo realized what the problem was.

“Yes?” Melli spun around, looking over his shoulder to glance over his wings, but that seemed to freak Akari and Rei out even more. “I know Dustox is a bit unusual for a fang but I wanted to stand out from Adaman. Crobat are wonderful but I am the great Melli. Only a Dustox’s wings have beauty worthy of being mine.”

“You’ve never met anyone from the Diamond Clan, have you?” Ingo asked, ignoring Melli’s… whatever it was Melli was doing when he did this. Akari and Rei shook their heads. “I imagine no one told you about the clansmen?”

They shook their heads.

“What about the Ginkgo Guild?”

“They’re merchants?” Akari offered and Ingo sensed they weren’t sleeping anytime soon.

“Those Galaxy louts,” Melli complained, shaking his head. “Pearl, I could understand but Diamond?”

“Hush,” Ingo told him and waved for him to sit back down. “I didn’t think- I woke up in Hisui with amnesia. I had to learn all this for myself but it’s been so long that I just assumed everyone knew.”

“You have amnesia?” Rei asked, seeming to snap out of his stupor. “We do too!”

That was a bit of a relief. Well, not really. That left a lot of questions, but at least that meant Galaxy wasn’t molding their children into ignorance. “You heard Ginter’s story, right?”

Rei nodded. “Sinnoh- um, Almighty Sinnoh? Almighty Sinnoh made a rift and lightning struck ten Pokémon. Those Pokémon became Nobles but they couldn’t handle the lighting and became dangerous so Sinnoh gave the people of Hisui the strength to defend themselves then some hero quelled the frenzied Nobles.”

“They told them that but not about the great Melli?” Melli scoffed and Ingo elbowed him.

“That’s it. There are a couple more things you should know.” Ingo paused for a moment. “The first is about Almighty Sinnoh.”

“Oh, no. I’m not letting you influence these young minds with your Pearl nonsense! Almighty Sinnoh is a god of time!”

“Agree to disagree,” Ingo responded and Melli made a displeased noise but Ingo knew that was the best he was getting. Melli had a point though. He shouldn’t be telling Rei and Akari just what the Pearl Clan believed. “The nature of Almighty Sinnoh is a bit of a controversial point in Hisui. We agree that Almighty Sinnoh is the god that watches over the Hisui region but we all disagree on what kind of god they are exactly. Diamond thinks-”

“Almighty Sinnoh controls time.”

-right. Pearl thinks Almighty Sinnoh controls space. The Ginkgo Guild thinks Almighty Sinnoh controls other realms. I don’t think our beliefs are really reflective of anything about our people, but I’m sure you could make some argument or another,” Ingo told them, making sure Rei and Akari were nodding along. “The next thing is the power Almighty Sinnoh gave our people.”

“Fangs, Fur, and Fae, right?” Rei guessed, glancing back at Melli. “You’re a Fang, right? You don’t really seem like it.”

Melli opened his mouth and hissed, twin fangs flashing at them. “You take that back.”

“Easy, Melli,” Ingo told him, putting a hand on his fellow Warden’s shoulder. “I think the Galaxy Team calls them vampires. I hear old Galar has some stories about them. They’re undead beings that feed on life energy, burn in the sun, and turn into small flying creatures. Galaxy’s stories aren’t the most accurate but they’ve got most of the big details right.”

“Most Diamond clansmen come from the Zubat line,” Melli explained, seeming to have settled down a bit. “A lot of Wardens switch it up though.”

“Same for Pearl. Kind of. Most of the clansmen take after forest critters. Pearl clansmen are what Galaxy call werewolves. Diamond can shift into Zubat-like Pokémon at will but Pearl shift into mammalian Pokémon like Eevee depending on where the moon is in its cycle.”

“You’re not saying ‘we,’” Rei pointed out and Ingo nodded, not surprised the boy caught that.

“I told you I’m not from here. The clansmen offered to convert me but I declined. Maybe one day but I hope to return to wherever I came from one day.” Ingo swallowed thickly and tried to shake all the feelings that came with thinking of home. He was telling the twins about Hisui right now, not himself. “I don’t dislike the thought. It’s just not something I want right now. And it’s helpful to be human right now. I doubt you missed how the Galaxy Team feels about fangs and furs.”

Akari winced as Rei nodded. “They hate them.”

“They fear them,” Ingo corrected, ignoring Melli’s scoff, “and fear can lead to hate but it doesn’t have to. I truly believe they just don’t understand Hisui. Hisui has been this way for centuries. It didn’t even occur to the people here that anything was different until the Galaxy Team started making a fuss.”

Melli poked Ingo in the arm. “You stirred things up too.”

“Just for the Wardens. No one else cared.”

“I guess that’s true.”

“What about the Ginkgo Guild?” Akari spoke up. Rei glanced at her and nodded, expressing his own curiosity. “The Galaxy Team lets them in the village but they’re- what did you say?”

“Fae. They’re not really fae though, not like the Galaxy Team’s stories. We just call them that since it fits well with fangs and furs. The Ginkgo Guild… Well, there isn’t really a good comparison to Galarian stories. They’re sort of like fae but they’re more like witches or channelers. They’re just humans who have a supernatural affinity for Pokémon, mostly unworldly ones like Fairy-types and sometimes Ghost-types.”

“So… The Galaxy Team just showed up, saw that the people here were different, and decided to… what? Just stay here and hate all of you?”

“Now you’re getting it,” Melli quipped, “but not really. The Ginkgo Guild says that Galarian explorers like to build settlements in new lands. Us being, you know, just means it’s more likely we’ll make them like us instead of them making us like them. They don’t like that.”

“It’s more than them just hating us- er, the clansmen,” Ingo added. He didn’t want to scare Rei and Akari off this soon but they seemed like open-minded kids. They had to be as curious as they were. “Furs and fangs are dangerous. I told you fangs feed on life energy and furs are influenced by the moon. Control is a very fragile thing and furs and fangs are much stronger than humans. If a fur or fang wanted to hurt a human, they definitely could.”

“But they don’t,” Rei pointed out as Akari shifted uncomfortably. Akari was being appropriately cautious, in Ingo’s opinion. Hopefully, it didn’t keep her from following these tracks. He couldn’t tell if Rei actually understood the anomaly that was Hisui or if he was just naive. 

“I don’t know if I should be pleased that some of the Galaxy grunts are less foolish than the rest of them or annoyed you silly little humans don’t seem to recognize Almighty Sinnoh’s power,” Melli said, straightening a bit and removing himself from Ingo’s person. Finally. Ingo normally didn’t mind contact but Melli could be a bit much. “Anyway, I flew all the way over here for a reason. Full moon’s in a couple days. I wanted to be sure you were tracking it.”

Ingo had but he was pretty sure he’d lost his place in the midst of Akari and Rei’s arrival. He hadn’t really thought about what to do about them during the full moon. “Are you going?”

“I was planning on it.” Melli looked over Akari and Rei. “Are you bringing them?”

Ingo wasn’t planning on it but Rei jumped at the offer, even though he certainly didn’t know what it was. “Can we? I want to see- well, everything. The furs, the fangs, the fae, the- the wherever it is.”

“Ingo just told us it’s dangerous,” Akari pointed out.

“Yeah but Ingo goes and he’s fine.”

“I must admit I’m a bit hesitant but I’ll watch out for you if you decide you’d like to go,” Ingo told them. It was easy to forget he was human but Rei was right. The furs understood he didn’t want to be bitten and the fangs wouldn’t feed off him without asking. He had to imagine they’d respect Akari and Rei in the same way. “What do you think?”

Rei started to nod then paused, taking a glance at Akari. “I want to but I won’t if you’re scared.”

“I’m not scared,” Akari argued, expression souring. She hesitated for a moment and then looked up at Ingo. “Your Pokémon are strong, right? You’ll keep us safe if anything happens?”

“I don’t know what you’re expecting to happen but I wouldn’t let anything bad happen to you two,” Ingo promised. He meant it. Regardless of his deal with the Galaxy Team, he wouldn’t put a passenger in danger if he could help it. The fact they were children and likely arrived in Hisui under similar circumstances as him was just a bonus.

Rei knew Akari didn’t trust Ingo’s insistence that it would be alright but he was too distracted to try to talk her out of it right now. Not when they were finally at the Diamond Clan settlement. The Pearl clansmen and a lot of the Ginkgo Guildsmen were already here, it seemed, and Rei wanted to soak in everything he could.

“Lady Irida!” Ingo boomed and Rei managed not to wince. Ingo did that a lot. He wasn’t even sure if he knew he did that. “Come, meet Rei and Akari. They’re the ones who saved Warden Lian.”

“It’s great to meet you!” the woman that Ingo had called Irida exclaimed, pulling both Akari and Rei into a hug. Rei was so surprised he almost ended up stumbling but he found himself hugging back. Something about Irida’s energy was infectious. “Lian was just asking if you two were coming tonight! He was so excited to hear you were going to be working with Ingo. Make sure you see him before you go!”

“We will,” Akari and Rei chorused and that was one thing they could agree on.

Ingo was moving them again. “I see Warden Cabala. She must’ve put Warden Lian in one of the tents.”

Rei abruptly noticed there really weren’t that many tents, not as many as a village should have. “Do the Diamond clansmen live underground or something?”

Ingo’s eyes glowed with something that Rei almost wanted to call pride. “Bravo! Very astute, Rei! You’re right. Fangs can’t be out in the sun for long so they spend the day in Onix tracks and come out when it gets dark.”

Rei was pleased with himself for figuring such a thing out. He also felt a bit embarrassed by Ingo’s reaction though. He wasn’t used to grown-ups reacting so positively to something he did. “So, um, who’s Warden Cabala?”

“She’s one of the Pearl Clan elders. A healer,” Ingo explained before raising his voice. “Warden Calaba!”

“Oi! Keep it down! I may be old but I’m not deaf.”

Ingo started apologizing and Calaba kept digging into him. Rei somehow sensed this was normal and, after exchanging a glance with Akari, snuck past them and pushed past the flaps of the tent. “Lian?”

“Rei! Akari!” Lian squealed at the sight of them. He was sitting up in some kind of cot, thoroughly wrapped in bandages. He seemed alright and in high spirits though. “Lady Irida said you might come today. Is Lord Kleavor alright?”

After watching Ingo dot after Lady Sneasler the past few weeks, Rei really wasn’t surprised the first thing Lian asked about was his Noble. “He’s fine. We saw him on our way out of the Fieldlands. I think he misses you.”

“I miss him too,” Lian said sorrowfully. “Warden Cabala says I can go back to the Fieldlands with the Ginkgo Guild if I rest tonight but I’m going to try to get Sabi to fly me there on Lord Braviary. It’s really far from the Icelands and I’m kind of tired of letting Warden Gaeric carry me everywhere. I don’t think riding a pack Rhyhorn would be much better.”

“I hear you,” Akari told him easily. “Lady Sneasler decided she doesn’t want me riding Warden Ingo’s Wyrdeer so she tosses me in her basket if I even look in his direction. It was kind of fun at first but I’m getting really bored of sitting in there so much.”

Lian giggled and they talked a bit more before Ingo poked his head in and called them out. “The moon’s starting to come out. I think you’ll want to watch this.”

Rei most certainly did and Akari followed him out. He was fairly certain she’d much rather stay with Lian though, even if he was just going to be sleeping most of the night, but she was quickly caught up in the sights around them as the clansmen began to transform.

Rei focused on Irida first, watching as skin became fur and long ears sprouted from her head. Warden Cabala had a flat tail that he really wasn’t expecting. Warden Gaeric was a whole different kind of beast entirely. Rei looked to Ingo, eager for explanation. Ingo provided it unprompted. “Lady Irida’s a Sylveon. See, look at her ribbons. Warden Cabala’s a Bibarel. Warden Gaeric’s something really rare. Look, his fur’s like a Mamoswine but he’s got the mane of a Zoroark.”

Ingo kept pointing out various clan members and listing what Pokémon they were. Rei could figure out a lot of them. Most of them, like Ingo had told them when they’d met Melli, were Eevee or some kind of Eevee evolution. There were a lot of the more common Pokémon from the Fieldlands too like Bidoof and Shinx but Rei saw a few Vulpix, Growlithe, and Buizel too. He was pretty sure he even saw a Lucario but he wasn’t certain. Someone in the Agriculture Corps had one but he wasn’t super friendly.

“Look,” Akari told him, nudging his shoulder and pointing up at the sky. Rei hated to tear his eyes away from the transformed people around him but the sight above was just as good. The fangs had begun flying out of their underground homes and were flooding the sky like a swarm of Yamna. Most of them began circling but a few began coming down, pairing off with various fangs eagerly.

“Lady Irida,” a tall Crobat greeted, flapping his wings rapidly as he landed in front of the Pearl Clan leader.

“Lord Adaman,” the Sylveon responded and the two drifted off together, already deep in conversation.

“A lot of Fangs and Furs prefer to return to the same partner every moon. A lot of them meet up sooner to make sure everyone stays comfortable during the rest of the month,” Ingo explained, gesturing to a Gligar practically leaping onto an Eevee. The Eevee snarled but he didn’t seem averse to the Gligar’s approach. These two weren’t regulars, Rei assumed. The Gligar sank his fangs into the Eevee’s neck and the Eevee seemed to relax immediately. 

Ingo, Rei, and Akari stood off to the side, watching idly as more and more Fangs landed and met up with Furs. The gathering wasn’t solely feeding focused though. The Ginkgo guildsmen were peddling around, offering assistance to the drained Furs and trying to sell evolution stones to whoever looked like they needed them. Pearl and Diamond clansmen were drinking fluids that weren’t blood and chatting amicably. Pokémon, ones that hadn’t transformed under the full moon, were running around like it was any other day of the month. It was nice. In a sea of vampires, werewolves, and witches, watching them go about their business together felt like the most natural thing in the world.

Then a fang slammed into Ingo and Rei was snapped out of the moment. He made a noise of surprise, ignoring the other clansmen’s jeers, and moved to help the pair up. 

“You okay, Melli?” Akari asked, hovering worriedly over Rei’s shoulder. “That looked like you fell pretty hard.”

“Sorry. I got excited,” Melli answered and Rei wasn’t really buying it. Melli seemed… out of it. He’d never seen a hair on the man’s head out of place but just about everything on him seemed out of place. Rumpled clothes and flaky wings were enough to tell Rei Melli wasn’t feeling his best but the sharp look in his eye, the way his fangs refused to slide back up into his mouth, and the unsteadiness about the way he held himself was even more telling.

“Let’s get some blood in you,” Ingo said, taking Melli by the hand and tugging him away from the spot their little group had claimed earlier that night. He glanced back at the twins and mouthed something Rei didn’t understand. He wasn’t the best at reading lips and Ingo’s mouth really didn’t move that much when he talked. “Are you two going to be alright?”

Akari and Rei nodded just as a voice called their names. “Rei! Akari!”

“That’s Volo!” Akari exclaimed, whipping her head around. Rei turned to tell Ingo they were going to be fine but Ingo and Melli were already halfway across camp. Rei mentally shrugged it off and followed Akari. “Hey! Volo! Over here!”

“Corner of the party. Best place to be,” Volo said and Rei was pretty sure he was kidding but he wasn’t sure. He had a Flying-Pokémon trailing after him, Rei noticed, trilling happily. Noticing Rei’s stare, Volo quickly introduced her. “This is Togetic! She was my first Pokémon. Ginter thinks I might be more of a channeler than a witch but Togetic still evolved so he’s not really sure anymore.”

Rei didn’t know what any of that meant but he was excited to meet a new Pokémon so he didn’t care. “Nice to meet you, Togetic. Is she a Fairy-type?”

“Fairy/Flying,” Volo confirmed and sat himself down. Togetic plopped herself down on his lap and Akari and Rei soon settled down next to him. They’d been standing to get a better view of everything that was happening but it was all more of the same and Rei’s feet were still kind of tired from walking so much. “You two catch any more Pokémon recently?”

Akari and Rei started talking about Psyduck and Paras. Volo, in turn, told them how his Budew had evolved on their way out of the Icelands. Budew had appreciated his efforts to keep him warm, or so Volo said. That sparked a whole conversation on how Pokémon evolved. Rei personally hadn’t seen any Pokémon evolve but Akari’s Rowlet had evolved when Rei wasn’t there. Rei never regretted sleeping in more.

It was fun. Rei liked talking to Volo and he liked seeing all the different kinds of people in one place like this. And, once he spotted Ingo and Melli stumbling through the clearing, both leaning on each other heavily in search of something to restore their energy, Rei knew they’d be coming back month after month.

Melli wished he could travel to the Diamond settlement with Ingo. Well, he always wished he could travel to the Diamond settlement with Ingo. He was sure the other Wardens felt similar frustrations about their opposite-clan counterparts. Fangs traveled fast but they could only travel by night. Furs had to start traveling before nightfall hit. It wasn’t a problem for most of the clansmen but Melli felt it every full moon he spent soaring alone.

Tonight was different though. Tonight, Ingo was traveling with someone else. As Melli rose into the fresh night sky, he idly wondered if it was jealousy but decided it wasn’t. Sure, Rei and Akari were doing what Melli always longed to do but he didn’t hold it against them. No, they were the reason he wanted to be there so much more. The trip would be fun. When you traveled with someone else, it made it more about the journey than the destination. What would they talk about? Would they stop so Rei could study the Pokémon they saw along the way? Would Ingo let Akari battle the Alphas they encountered? Did Ingo’s frown ease when minding the children? He wanted to know.

Melli knew Ingo didn’t like it when he swooped down on him from above but he’d been flying a bit too fast for him to do anything but crash land and it was better he crash into Ingo than anyone else. Maybe he should’ve called out a warning or something but it was too late and they were already on the ground.

“Can’t keep your teeth to yourself, huh Melli?” Mai jeered good-naturedly.

“Young fangs these days,” Cabala grumbled before going back to scolding Gaeric for something or another. Melli was pretty embarrassed but he didn’t envy him. Thankfully, everyone was pretty quick to leave him alone.

“You okay, Melli?” Akari asked as Rei moved to help the pair up. “That looked like you fell pretty hard.”

“Sorry. I got excited,” Melli told her, not knowing what else to say. He was too out of it to put up his usual illusion of grandeur. He wasn’t sure if his mind was just racing from the flight over or if he was just too hungry to think straight.

“Let’s get some blood in you,” Ingo said, taking Melli by the hand and tugging him away. He only applied the slightest bit of pressure but Melli moved like he’d shoved him. Wow. Maybe Ingo was right about needing some blood. “Are you two going to be alright?”

Akari and Rei nodded just as a voice called their names. A glance told Melli it was a Ginkgo Guildsman but Melli didn’t recognize him and he didn’t really care. Not when Ingo was pulling him away and Melli could smell the potency of the blood running through his veins. Sinnoh, he needed to get his act together.

“Are you sure you want me to feed off you?” Melli asked as Ingo sat him down at the base of a tree at the edge of the camp. “I can just find someone else to do it.”

“I don’t mind,” Ingo told him as he sat down next to him. “It’s my fault you’re like this.”

“What?” 

“Sorry. I don’t want to-” Ingo cut himself off and suddenly he was leaning over Melli, not quite on top of him but it was close enough. “Nevermind. Just bite.”

Melli wanted to ask what he meant but Ingo was right there and his mind was too hazy to really focus on the conversation. So, he opened his mouth, let his fangs extend, and let his teeth sink in. Melli didn’t technically need the blood, blood just carried the life energy he needed, but he certainly enjoyed it. It was warm in a way he hadn’t been in a long time and filled his limbs with a feeling that reminded him he was alive.

It was good. Melli wanted nothing more than to sit there and keep drinking it in but Ingo was human. Furs could handle a lot more and they did. Feedings kept them calm and docile when the full moon told them to be anything but. Humans only had so much blood and they could only restore it so fast. A few gulps had Ingo’s body slumping against Melli’s and Melli had to force himself to stop early. There was probably another fang who needed some extra energy drained tonight. Melli could sniff them out later. No sense in overdraining Ingo.

“Is that all you need?” Ingo asked, voice heavy as his weight sank into Melli’s shoulder. Melli gently lapped his tongue over the point his teeth had entered, licking the wound shut.

“Yes,” Melli lied, the edge of his hunger gone and his mind clear. Moon-induced tunnel vision wasn’t anything new. It wasn’t the first time it’d focused on Ingo either. He really needed to find a regular feeding partner so he didn’t have to keep seeking out Ingo like this. This post-feeding sleepy Ingo draped over him almost made Melli ignore that thought though. This was the best part of the full moon.

Okay, his mind was getting weird again. He really needed to drink his fill before it got away from him. Gently, he pushed on Ingo’s chest, not quite with enough strength to push him off him but just enough to signal he needed to get up. Ingo groaned in response. “Just a little longer.”

Melli wanted nothing more but he also knew they’d sit here until the moon made Melli crazy enough to try feeding off him again. “Sorry, Ingo. Come on, let’s get you some water. You deserve a drink too.”

Chapter Text

They all saw the next strike. The rift was hard to see through the night but the lightning was not. Yellow power sliced through darkness, catching everyone’s attention as it barreled into the Mirelands. Fangs lazy from feeding, furs sleepy from being drained, and guildsmen tired from traveling erupted into noise, the quiet buzz disrupted by panic and confusion.

A loud whistle disrupted the murmuring and Ingo’s voice rang through the village. “No need to panic! The Wardens will begin safety checks! Everyone stay calm and mind the yellow line!”

The fear melted away but the confusion lingered. Akari was used to Ingo saying things that made no sense, whether it be things about Hisuian life or echoes of his life before, but it was still jarring sometimes. It was probably a lot worse for people who saw him maybe once a month. Jarring was good though. Sometimes you just needed something to snap you out of your spiral before it began.

Akari found herself pulled into a huddle with a few others, Rei and Volo on either side. She made eye contact with Ingo and the man, seeming to sense her distress, quickly rattled off the names of everyone in the circle. “Lady Irida, Lord Adaman, Ginter, Warden Mai, Warden Palina, Warden Cabala, Warden Iscan, Warden Arezu, Warden Melli, Warden Gaeric, and Warden Sabi. Everyone, this is Rei and Akari, the Galaxy surveyors who quelled Lord Kleavor, and Volo. Now, did the lightning hit? That was North, yes?”

“That was the Brava Arena,” the one Ingo had called Arezu confirmed. She looked pretty different from any of the other clansmen Akari had seen. Most of the Fangs were Poison or Flying-types. Arezu looked to be a Carnivine. Still fit the overall theme but it was a bit strange to see her next to more batty fangs. “I need to go to Lady Lilligant.”

“Take Lord Wyrdeer,” Mai told her, eyes sliding over to Rei and Akari. “Remind me to teach you two how to summon him.”

“They don’t have flutes yet. We’ll deal with that later,” Ingo said and passed a Pokéball to Akari. “Take my Wyrdeer. Volo, do you know how to ride?”

“I do,” Volo told him as Arezu blew a tune into a flute like the one Ingo had and Akari released Ingo’s Wyrdeer from his ball. Volo swung a leg over Wyrdeer’s shoulders and mounted him in a single motion before offering a hand to Akari. She took it and let herself be swung onto Wyrdeer’s back, nearly falling off in the process. Rei seemed to be doing better though. Akari hadn’t seen Lord Wyrdeer arrive but when she glanced over, Arezu and Rei were comfortably on his back.

The ride was quick and it seemed Rei had told Arezu about the balms they used to disorient Lord Kleavor. Akari was in the battle from the moment she dismounted and Rei was soon backing her up with balms. They got this.

“No Nobles, Alphas, or fangs in Jubilife,” Beauregard barked as the worn-out gang arrived on Jubilife’s doorstep and Akari was abruptly thrown back into reality.

“Whatever. I was just dropping them off,” Arezu grumbled as Rei hopped off Lord Wyrdeer’s back. Akari similarly dismounted Ingo’s Wyrdeer and passed his ball up to Volo. She didn’t think he particularly wanted to stick around for this and Wyrdeer was probably eager to get back to his trainer. Turning, Arezu told them, “I’ll tell Ingo and everyone you’re here.”

“Thank you,” Rei and Akari chorused as Beauregard moved to open the gates.

“The Commander isn’t going to be happy about this,” the guard muttered to himself as Rei, Akari, and Volo entered the village.

It was deep into the early hours of the morning, maybe an hour or two before the sun was ready to rise, and the village reflected that. The streets and shops were empty, their usual patrons back home for the night, but the lights to the Galaxy Building were still on. Akari knew the Commander and Cyllene awaited them. She wasn’t looking forward to it.

“You saw the lightning,” the Commander said as the twins entered. It wasn’t really a question.

“Yeah.” Akari nodded. “We dealt with it already.”

The Commander didn’t seem to like that. “You dealt with it already?”

Rei failed to pick up on the edge to the Commander’s tone. “Lady Lilligant is a Grass/Fighting-type. Both Dartrix and Starly- sorry, Staravia know Flying-type moves. It really wasn’t that hard and we were over there anyway.”

“You were out at night?”

Rei’s silence told Akari he’d finally sensed the Commander’s anger but Akari was quick to swoop in when her brother faltered. “We were fine. We were with Ingo and Volo. We were just, um, trying to observe Murkrow. There are a lot of Pokémon that only come out at night. Ingo thought Murkrow would be a good start.”

“Clearly he doesn’t know a lot about Murkrow then,” Cyllene commented before explaining. “Seeing a Murkrow at night brings bad luck.”

“Well, it didn’t because we quelled Lady Lilligant,” Akari responded then winced. “Sorry. That was rude.”

Cyllene nodded, expression softening a bit. The Commander looked harsh as ever though. “I’ll have a talk with Ingo. I’ll make sure nothing like this happens again.”

“Um, the Murkrow thing isn’t really a big deal?” Akari tried. It wasn’t a total lie. Rei and Akari had taken some time to observe Murkrow the other day but it was Melli who’d shown them, not Ingo. They weren’t super friendly but Akari didn’t think they would bring bad luck either.

“Going after one of the clansmen’s ‘Nobles’ without reporting in first,” the Commander corrected. Akari really didn’t understand why she and Rei should have to check in with him before going after a frenzied Noble but the Commander’s tone scared the will to argue out of her. “Go to your room for the night and report to Laventon with your latest research in the morning. Dismissed.”

Akari and Rei jumped at the order and scurried out. Akari was expecting for the Commander to demand a full play-by-play of the battle with Lady Lilligant but she was glad he hadn’t. He was always sort of scary but tonight, Akari wanted nothing more than to get away from anything and everything Galaxy.

It was more of the same for the next couple weeks, and then the following months. Kamado didn’t like the twins spending so much time with Ingo. They still got to leave the village for longer periods but Akari could feel the figurative leash around her neck that she’d never noticed before. Furs and fangs were strange and a bit scary, maybe, but at least they were nice. Well, it wasn’t quite that black and white. Laventon was nice, Cyllene and Zisu had their moments, and the Jubilife villagers liked the twins overall. There was just something different about the native people of Hisui.

Maybe it was the lack of walls around their settlements. Maybe it was that despite their conflicting beliefs, they still came together every month to help one another. Maybe it was the way Pokémon were integrated seamlessly into their lives. With every Noble she and Rei quelled, Akari found herself wishing she didn’t have to go back to Jubilife more and more. They had to though. The Arc-Phone was pretty clear about where it wanted the twins to go and how they were supposed to complete their mission.

When they quelled the last Noble, Akari thought that maybe, just maybe things would be a bit better. The next morning, she realized she was wrong. So very wrong.

The sky was red. The Commander blamed Rei and Akari. Something about the timing of them coming from the rift and when the frenzies began. More about humans getting mixed up in the monster business. Accusations of becoming corrupted themselves. Akari didn’t actually hear any of it, the sheer panic she felt making the world around her a haze as Volo practically dragged her and Rei out of the village and fled across the region.

A quick conversation with Lian and Mai had Volo pulling Rei and Akari away from the Highlands and to a hidden alcove far from anything Galaxy. Ingo would want to help but Galaxy would throw a fit if they knew the clans were helping the twins. If they kept their heads down for a bit, they might get their chance to go back but for Ingo’s sake, they had to wait.

Akari wondered when Ingo’s tent became home. She wanted nothing more than to go back to him, to play with Lady Sneasler’s kits, to listen to Melli’s grandeur, and gossip with Rei and Volo about whether Melli planned on asking Ingo to be his regular feeding partner. Cogita was nice and her stories were enamoring but she was no Ingo.

Ingo and Melli found them eventually and fretted even more than Lady Sneasler. Adaman and Irida came later and offered their assistance in crafting the red chain. Cyllene’s Abra appeared to help too which was nice but the hunt for the Lake Guardians was so demanding that Akari hardly had time to think about crafting new items or switching out her team members.

Then, Irida came with awful news. “The Commander and the Security Corps are climbing Mount Coronet.”

That was rather alarming. “Why? What does he think he’ll find up there?”

“He doesn’t know about the red chain or the Pokémon in the rift, right?” Rei clarified. He looked just about as stressed as Akari felt. “Is he going to try to fight the rift or something?”

“Almighty Sinnoh, I hope not,” Irida muttered. Her head abruptly swiveled to where Abra was floating lazily. “Abra, Teleport back to the village. I can’t imagine Captain Cyllene supports this. See if you can learn anything.”

Abra nodded and disappeared. Akari started moving instantly. No sense in just sitting around waiting for Abra to come back. She sensed a battle ahead of her and she needed to be sure her Pokémon were rested and ready for battle.

Abra returned with a letter pleading Rei and Akari to stop Kamado. Volo loaded Rei and Akari up with healing items and then they were off, Adaman and Irida in tow.

“Kamado’s heading up the mountain,” Ingo told them when they ran into him and Melli at the base of the mountain. Akari realized she had no idea what time it was but Adaman had been fine during their quest across Hisui. The red sky kept the sun from burning the fangs. Huh. Maybe it was a good thing then? They still had to stop Kamado though.

“We know,” Irida told him, barely pausing as she continued on her path. “Come on. We need to stop him.”

They were quickly stopped by Beni. Akari had no idea he even trained Pokémon but Ingo tossed out his Gliscor to fight his Mismagius and Melli was weaving around his sword, hungry eyes fixed on his neck, so Akari wasn’t too worried about him. They pushed onward and soon found themselves locked in battle with Kamado.

Zisu wasn’t fighting at least. Akari wasn’t paying much attention to her but it looked like she was talking to Irida and Adaman so Akari suspected she shared Cyllene’s distaste for Kamado’s plan. Akari’s Toxicroak was able to beat down Kamado’s Golem, Snorlax, and Clefable without much trouble and Rei’s Raichu took out his Braviary with just a couple Thunderbolts. Akari privately hoped that this embarrassing defeat would be enough to keep Kamado from pushing them around in the future. Assuming they had a future anyway. Something was coming out of the rift.

Rei ended up catching Dialga. Palkia appeared shortly after and the group was forced to flee, taking Ingo, Melli, and Beni with him. The next few hours were another desperate run across the region. They found the Origin Ore after a short battle with the Miss Fortune Sisters and they were soon back at Mount Coronet to fight Palkia. Akari caught him. It was a lot harder than the fight with Dialga but they made it. Kamado’s groveling afterward made it almost worth it. Akari didn’t want to hear it though.

“Bye,” Akari said and left with Rei, the rest of their friends trailing behind and leaving Kamado and the Galaxy members to pick themselves up from their defeat.

A knock on the door to Ingo’s tent startled Akari out of her doze. She hadn’t meant to fall asleep but she supposed her body needed it even if she wanted to finish her research. They were pretty much finished. Volo had let her and Rei study his Spiritomb the other day. That was pretty much the last one but the Arc-Phone didn’t say their mission was complete. She wondered if they’d missed something.

The knock sounded again and Ingo rose to answer it. Pausing, he told them, “If it’s Galaxy, I’ll make sure they leave.”

Akari and Rei nodded. Akari appreciated the gesture. Even if she and Rei were now plenty capable of taking care of themselves, it was nice to let someone else do it. Ingo had been doing a lot of that over the past several months. Akari hoped… She didn’t know what she hoped for but she was happy with what they had.

“It’s just Volo,” Ingo called as he opened the door. Rei and Akari were on their feet in a moment, hurrying over to greet their friend.

“Just Volo? And I come bearing gifts,” Volo snorted but his voice was light and teasing. “Come on, I think I know something that might help with your Pokédex problem.”

Rei and Akari perked up at that and, after a quick goodbye to Ingo, hurried out after him. “You found a new Pokémon?”

“Not exactly,” Volo told them as he walked. His pace was leisurely and Akari gathered that he wasn’t really intending to bring them anywhere. “Cogita mentioned some legends and showed me some hieroglyphics about- well, you know how the clans and the guild all disagree on who the true Almighty Sinnoh is?”

“Yeah,” Rei responded with a nod. “The clans were both kind of right. There were two Sinnohs. One for time and one for space.”

“Yeah, well, turns out that isn’t quite right. Or it is but it’s not the whole story,” Volo told them. “You know how the Ginkgo Guild believed in another Sinnoh? I found some hieroglyphs explaining how to contact him. And you remember the plates the Nobles have been giving you? Cogita was telling me they’re pieces of some all-encompassing deity. The true Almighty Sinnoh probably.”

“So you think there are two more Pokémon for us to find?” Rei asked, exchanging a glance with Akari. They were so close. These two Pokémon sounded like a tall order to find but at least now they knew what to look for. “That means one for me and one for Akari.”

“Actually, I think both of you should focus on finding the plates,” Volo told them. “The hieroglyphs said the Ginkgo’s Sinnoh was a Ghost-type. Spiritomb and I have been working on talking with Ghost-types. I think I might have better luck than you, or at least I can learn something that will help you summon him.”

“And Cogita can tell us more about the plates?”

She could and it turned out there were a few more Pokémon than just the potential Sinnohs. They helped get Cresselia out of Lord Electrode’s home, followed Palina to Heatran’s hideout, and discovered Regigigas in the temple. They also hunted down the Lake Guardians again and battled Kamado before hitting a roadblock and going back to the Ancient Retreat to ask Cogita if she knew anything more. Luckily, she did.

“Volo asked me to tell you to go to Mount Coronet,” she told them after giving them the Pixie Plate. “He told me he found the Spooky Plate in his research.”

That was convenient. It was also comfortably early in the day so the twins had plenty of time to go meet up with their friend. By this point, Rei’s little Starly had evolved into a powerful Staraptor so crossing the region wasn’t the trouble it once was. Ascending the mountain was rather easy too, and their new vantage point was probably the only reason they noticed something was wrong upon their arrival. Under the bright Hisuian sun, it was easy to spot the lone figure on the mountaintop and even easier to see the dark aura bleeding into the air around him.

Staraptor seemed nervous as it descended, putting distance between himself and Volo when his talon hit the grassy earth of the mountain. Rei and Akari slid off his back, eyeing Volo cautiously. “Volo?”

“Rei, Akari,” Volo greeted and his voice sounded wrong. Akari couldn’t pinpoint what it was though. Well, she could pinpoint it but she didn’t know how to explain it. After all her research for Laventon, Akari thought she’d be good at describing things by this point but she wasn’t. That was more Rei’s strong suit. “Come. I have something I want to show you.”

Akari and Rei didn’t move. Closer than before, Akari could see a dark slab clutched in Volo’s fingers. “Is that the Spooky Plate?”

“There’s no hiding anything from you, is there?” Volo chuckled before confirming. “Yes. Seeking Giratina revealed so much more than I thought it would. Did you know he is responsible for opening the rift? I wouldn’t be surprised if he was responsible for bringing you to Hisui too. Yet, you’re here doing Arceus’ bidding.”

“Just give us the Spooky Plate, Volo,” Akari said, holding a hand out. She hoped he couldn’t see it trembling. “It’s- It’s doing something to you.”

“No. Arceus is doing something to you. It is not a benevolent being.” Volo took a step closer and there was something about it that made Akari want to curl in on herself just to get away. “Give me the rest of the plates. Giratina and I will handle this.”

“Giratina and I…?” Rei questioned just as a tendril shot out of the aura around Volo and lunged at him. Rei yelped and jumped back. “Hey! Staraptor!”

Staraptor screeched and shot forward to defend his trainer. A beat later and Volo tossed out his Arcanine. Immediately, Akari realized the normally sweet Pokémon was immersed in the same ghostly power as Volo. The battle was on and Akari knew it’d be tough one.

Staraptor wasn’t a good match-up against Arcanine. It took a Head Smash right to the chest and managed not to faint but Akari knew he couldn’t take another one and sent out her Golduck. Only, Volo’s Arcanine knew Wild Charge and both Golduck and Staraptor were taken out in a couple of hits. Toxicroak and Floatzel were next and Toxicroak barely managed to hang on when Volo recalled a fainted Arcanine and sent out his next Pokémon.

Togekiss was next and she too was consumed by that same shadowy energy Arcanine. She took out Toxicroak quickly and Akari sent out her Vespiquen to match Togekiss’s flying prowess in the air while Rei’s Raichu covered her from below with his Electric moves. A few well-timed Air Slashes took Vespiquen out but Akari was expecting that and Raichu was still standing strong.

Things really started to heat up when Volo sent out Garchomp. Akari hadn’t even known Volo had a Garchomp. Rei recalled Raichu quickly and the twins exchanged a silent glance. Akari’s Luxray and Magmar would be next to useless against Garchomp. So would Rei’s Typhlosion and the rest of his team. There was really only one combination if they were going to win this. Akari and Rei reached to their belts and Akari tossed out her Decidueye. Only, she didn’t hear the sound of Rei releasing his Parasect. Instead, a sharp noise sounded and her eyes were torn from the battlefield.

“Garchomp, Stone Edge!” Volo barked, tugging Akari’s attention back to the battle but her reaction was too slow. Decidueye cried out and Akari saw a jagged stone flying toward her before pain seared through her and the world around her disappeared.

Chapter Text

Rei had made a terrible miscalculation.

Volo was kicking their asses. Rei and Akari may have been the ones to quell all the frenzied Nobles of Hisui and catch the clans’ deities but they weren’t arrogant enough to think they were the strongest trainers in the whole region. Well, maybe Akari was. She trained her Pokémon to be strong while Rei was more clever about it. Together, they were rather formidable. They hadn’t been prepared for how strong Volo was though.

Rei had known Volo was strong. He had plenty of fully trained Pokémon when they’d met and Volo never stopped training his Pokémon. The Spooky Plate’s mysterious influence and some bad calls on Rei and Akari’s part certainly weren’t helping either. Volo was only down two Pokémon. Akari was down half her team. Rei was doing a bit better but not all of the Pokémon he had on hand were battlers and the ones he did have didn’t stand a chance against Garchomp. Rei didn’t remember Volo even having a Garchomp. If he had… Rei supposed it wouldn’t have helped any. They still would’ve gotten their asses kicked. Maybe it would be less of a surprise to hit this point though.

Rei and Akari exchanged a glance. Twin telepathy was a myth but Rei liked to think they were close enough that there was some truth to it, in a metaphorical sense at least. They’d been through many battles together after all and made it out relatively unscathed every time. Garchomp would tear through all of Rei’s team and most of Akari’s. They couldn’t do this alone. The only hope they had was for Decidyeye to cover them while Rei ran to get help.

Akari tossed Decidueye’s Pokéball as Rei knew she would and Rei pulled out his Celestica Flute. Only, Akari didn’t seem to be expecting this and Decidueye went long. Before Rei could tear his lips off the flute to call out a warning, a Stone Edge was going right toward her.

“Akari!” Rei shrieked as she went down. Decidueye balked, just as surprised as Rei was, and left himself wide open. Rei kicked his brain back into motion before Garchomp could decide to aim that Dragon Claw somewhere he shouldn’t. “Decidueye, keep Garchomp back with Leaf Blade!”

Decidueye did as he was told and Rei ran to Akari’s side. The Stone Edge had done more than just graze her. Rei’s mind scrambled to remember his Security Corps field training but there were too many points of injury for him to pick just one to focus on. Shaking hands drew Mime Jr’s Pokéball and Rei found himself silently pleading his Pokémon to do something. Mime Jr couldn’t learn healing moves like a Blissey could but he was a Fairy-type and Volo said- well, maybe Rei shouldn’t be thinking about the sorts of things Volo said.

“Decidu!”

Rei’s attention was torn back to the battle with a cry from Akari’s beloved starter. He had to pick his battles. If he ignored Volo and Garchomp, there was no way he could help Akari. So, he forced himself to his feet and left Akari in Mime Jr’s hands. “Mime Jr, do whatever you can to help. Decidueye, use Leaf Storm to put some distance between you. You need a reset. Then swoop in with Aerial Ace!”

Decidueye had never taken orders from Rei before but he’d followed him into battle plenty of times and trusted him to take the reins. Decidueye did as he was told and the battle continued. Rei tried to break away to check on Akari - she still hadn’t gotten up, by the Almighty, why hadn’t she gotten up? - but Garchomp always pressed a tad too close when his focus let up and Rei knew he couldn’t afford to split his focus.

Then he heard familiar pawsteps land on the mountaintop behind him and Rei knew he would have a moment to breathe.

“Ingo!” Rei yelled in relief but didn’t waste the moment he had. “Akari’s hurt! Volo’s possessed or something! I need help!”

Decidueye chose that moment to faint and Rei recalled him, grateful for all he’d done. Ingo caught on quickly and peeled himself out of Lady Sneasler’s basket. Machamp and Basculegion were on the battlefield in an instant and Ingo was at Akari’s side. After a moment of hesitance, Rei joined him.

Or, he tried. They tried. Another Stone Edge from Garchomp forced them both back. Rei hoped Mime Jr would be able to work his magic and keep Akari safe while he and Ingo kept Volo and his Garchomp from inflicting any more damage. Akari was strong. She’d faced worse. Rei was probably just overreacting in the heat of battle.

Decidueye hadn’t actually whittled Garchomp down all that much. Rei had thought that a few Ice Punches from Machamp would take him down but, in a moment of boldness, Volo ordered Garchomp to use Outrage and Garchomp actually managed to get the best of Ingo’s Fighting-type. Basculegion managed to get a few solid Wave Crashes in but the recoil combined with the damage from the Outrage left him out of the battle rather quickly.

Rei was getting pretty concerned now that Volo was steamrolling Ingo’s top battlers but Ingo wasn’t deterred. Gliscor took Garchomp down and Volo sent Roserade out. Rei could start helping again. He sent Typhlosion out and the battle raged on. Volo’s Lucario proved to be a bit tougher and the wide range of moves he knew ended up taking out Typhlosion, Kleavor, and Akari’s Luxray.

Spritomb proved to be even harder. Rei knew Volo put more effort into training Spiritomb than any of his other Pokémon and the Spooky Plate seemed to boost Spiritomb even more than it had for the rest of his team. At least it was the last one so Rei didn’t feel too bad when his Raichu and Akari’s Magmar were taken out. It took Probopass and Magnezone too but at least they made it out on top.

“Volo!” Ingo barked as the guildsman recalled his final Pokémon. “That’s enough. Whatever happened to you, you must know this isn’t right. Surrender the Spooky Plate peacefully and we can get you and Akari the help you need.”

"No...no, this isn't finished yet! Can't you feel it? The chill creeping through your veins—the eldritch presence icing your heart?" Volo asked, eyes wild and head tipped so far Rei thought he’d fall over if not for the tendrils of ghostly power wrapped around him. "Giratina! Strike them down!"

Rei wasn’t exactly sure what happened but there was suddenly another Pokémon on the mountain, one Rei had never seen before. It was huge. Not just in height. It was massive and it had a presence to it that just seemed to reek all over the mountaintop. Rei knew in an instant that the power that had consumed Volo and his team came from this creature.

“This is the Ginkgo Guild’s Almighty Sinnoh,” Rei realized aloud, taking a step back. He didn’t want to but he couldn’t stop himself.

“I’ll handle this,” Ingo told him, quieter than Rei ever heard him. “I don’t know if I’ll win though. I don’t know if I can win.”

Rei felt icy claws seize his chest. “Don’t say that.”

“We’re not losing this,” Ingo told him firmly. “Try to circle around the battle. Get the jump on Volo if you can. When you see the opportunity, get the plate away from him. I don’t know if it’ll do anything but we have to try.”

Rei agreed but it wasn’t like he had much of a choice. Giratina was hurling an attack their way and Rei was forced to move. At least Ingo was going about this in the smartest way he could. He sent out Tangrowth first and immediately tried drowning Giratina in Sleep Powder spores. Rei wished he’d done that with Parasect before but he’d attempted it too late and lost his chance.

Alakazam and Wyrdeer joined Tangrowth on the battlefield and the three Pokémon began laying on as much damage as they could. Part of Rei’s brain screamed that if they were knocked out, Ingo would have no more Pokémon left to protect Akari but he also knew they needed to take advantage of the Sleep Powder while they could. So, Rei slunk back and kept his eyes fixed on Volo, making sure to keep out of his line of sight as he snuck as close as he dared.

The three Pokémon’s moves dealt heavy damage but it wasn’t enough. Giratina broke out of its sleep and laid a few hits on Ingo’s team before Tangrowth got it asleep again. They went through this a couple more times before Giratina got a lucky hit and Tangrowth was taken out. At least Wyrdeer could cover for Alakazam’s weakness to Ghost-type moves. Giratina was battered pretty badly by this point and its moves were getting sluggish. Rei felt a flash of hope that the battle was finally over, then immediately regretted it.

Giratina changed forms and became rejuvenated. Rei felt his hope die inside him. Alakazam and Wyrdeer kept fighting but no one believed they’d last long. Lady Sneasler joined the fray, her Night Slashes dealing some solid hits, but she was no battler. She was strong in a traditional sense, yes, but she still didn’t quite match up with any of the other Pokémon who’d fought and fainted today. Rei knew he’d have to act quick or all hope would be lost for winning this battle.

Volo and Ingo were exchanging some words but Rei could hardly hear them. He doubted they were of any importance. Giratina and Lady Sneasler were snarling too but, again, Rei could hardly hear them. His vision was laser-focused. Don’t look to Ingo for guidance. Don’t look at Akari. Don’t look to see if Volo still had that unhinged look in his eyes. Don’t look at Akari. Don’t look at how well Lady Sneasler was fairing. Don’t look at Akari.

Rei hardly felt himself moving and the next thing he knew, the Spooky Plate was in his hands and he was staring down a wide-eyed Volo. “This isn’t yours.”

Giratina screamed and Rei felt the ghost fly right through him. The creature slammed into Volo, knocking the both of them clean off Mount Coronet, but Rei didn’t care. Distantly, he recognized the Phantom Force sucking the two of them out of this plane of reality. Another day and Rei might’ve spent a whole afternoon scribbling theories for Laventon’s Pokédex about the truths of the Ginkgo Guild’s beliefs about such a Pokémon. Not today though. Now that the battle was over, he only cared about Akari.

Ingo and Lady Sneasler had joined Mime Jr at Akari’s side. Rei noted that none of them were moving. There was only one reason they wouldn’t be scrambling to save her. Rei wasn’t accepting that though. He wouldn’t.

This wasn’t how Ingo thought his night would go. He spent the morning preparing for his trip to the Mirelands, mind lost in dreams about what the full moon that night may bring, when he was interrupted by an agitated Lady Sneasler. He was lucky he had all his Pokémon on hand or they might’ve not survived that battle. Akari hadn’t.

Mime Jr was trying feebly to get a grasp on her aura. Ingo knew Rei couldn’t tell but her energy had faded fast. She’d likely died on the initial impact of that Stone Edge. Ingo knew Rei wouldn’t accept that though.

“Save her,” Rei begged earnestly. He didn’t elaborate. There were no suggestions, no pleas. It was the blind faith of a child. Ingo knew it and he knew it well. Even if he couldn’t remember his past, he remembered looking up at his own father figure with that same trust that he’d make everything okay even if there was no real reason to believe it. Not his own parents, he didn’t know why he knew that but he did.

It was more than just faith in Ingo though. Ingo could see the desperation. Akari was Rei’s twin. His other half. Without her, he’d spend the rest of his life looking to his right expecting to see someone there who wasn’t. Ingo didn’t know how he knew that either but he knew it just as well as he knew how to command a Pokémon in battle and as well as he knew anything the echoes of his memories told him. He knew he couldn’t let Rei ride on a set of tracks that didn’t include Akari.

“The sun is starting to set,” Ingo started, a plan coming together in his mind. “It’s the full moon tonight. If we can get her to Melli- I’m not quite sure how a human becomes a fang but I know there is a process. Melli- Melli might be able to make her a fang. She wouldn’t be alive exactly but-”

“It’s enough,” Rei finished and Ingo could see some of his fear being replaced by urgency. “How- how though? How do we get her to-? All our Pokémon are fainted except Mime Jr and Lady Sneasler and they’re not strong enough to- It’s the full moon. Melli’s not going to be in the Highlands for long and there’s no way we could get her to the Mirelands before-”

The plan finished forming in Ingo’s mind. “Bite me.”

“What?”

“Not you,” Ingo corrected and turned to Lady Sneasler. He rolled up his sleeve and offered his arm. “Bite me.”

“Snea?”

“I know this isn’t exactly the traditional way to make a fur but I’m the only one who can get her to Melli and I can’t do it with a human body,” Ingo told her. He swallowed. He’d had a long time to think about this and he never came to the decision to let anyone in the clan bite him but his own wishes didn’t really matter right now. Not with Akari at stake. “Bite me.”

“Snea,” Lady Sneasler responded. Ingo could tell from her tone she knew he didn’t truly want this but moved forward anyway. Her teeth sank into his arm and Ingo let himself wince as he felt her venom seep into him.

“That’s not all there is to it, is there?” Rei asked. “I mean, I thought the moon would be involved more. Or, you know, the other furs.”

“Usually,” Ingo responded as he reached into his pockets for his other Pokéballs, “but we’re doing the best we can right now.”

Ingo let out his Gliscor, trying not to think too much about how awful it was to see his beloved Pokémon limp on the earth, and put one hand on his face. He parted Gliscor’s slack jaws, slipped his other forearm between his teeth, and slammed his other hand down on the Pokémon’s face, sinking Gliscor’s teeth into his flesh and earning a surprised noise from his spectators.

“What are you doing?”

“I don’t know all the details of a fur’s transformation. I know it has something to do with Nobles, Alphas, and the moon,” Ingo explained as he let out his Basculegion and repeated the same process. This time, it felt pretty different. Lady Sneasler and Gliscor had fangs and Basculegion did too but his presence was much more phantasmic than theirs. “We’re not going to have a big window when the moon appears so- I don’t know, this is the only thing I can think of that might speed up the process.”

Rei nodded. Ingo could tell Rei didn’t fully believe him. He was really grasping at straws here. Rei was desperate enough to bet on whatever gamble they had to take though. “Lady Sneasler-”

Ingo quickly realized what Rei was trying to do and cut him off. Rei may be desperate and Ingo was pretty desperate too but he still had yellow lines he wouldn’t cross. “No. No, Rei, you’re not getting bitten too.”

“But-”

“If you want to later, we can talk about it but right now, I need you safe,” Ingo told him as he slammed another Pokémon’s maw down on his forearm. It was starting to do a bit more than just hurt and Ingo hoped that meant it was working. “If this doesn’t go well, I need you to be clear-minded enough to do safety checks for both me and Akari.”

Rei nodded and Ingo was pretty sure he was buying it. That was mostly the truth anyway. Rei gathered Mime Jr up into his arms, holding him close, and watched as Ingo mashed his limbs into the rest of his Pokémon’s jaws. Some of them hurt more than others and it was pretty difficult to get some of his Pokémon to bite him but after the eighth or ninth one, he could feel their mysterious powers working. When the sky finally started going dark and the last of his Pokémon were back in their Pokéballs, Ingo was fairly certain his efforts were paying off.

“Stay with Lady Sneasler and try to catch up as soon as you can,” Ingo told Rei as he scooped Akari up into his arms with far more ease than he ever had before and took off. His muscles were starting to hurt a hell of a lot and he knew it wasn’t from the weight of the body in his arms. Akari felt light as a feather. He could probably run across the entirety of the Highlands with her in his arms and hardly feel the difference. The only problem was getting to Melli fast enough.

There were a million thoughts on Melli’s mind and yet at the same time, there were none at all. He’d taken his time preparing for his flight, letting his fantasies for what the night held in wait for him carry him through his evening routine. Tonight was the night. He’d told himself this before but he wasn’t going to back down this time. Ingo wasn’t a fur so he couldn’t ask him what he wanted but he could get close as he could. Ingo would understand. Melli hoped he would at least. He couldn’t imagine anything else but anxieties still lingered.

These thoughts floated from Melli’s mind when he soared high into the Hisui sky and spotted a strange creature in the distance illuminated by the moonlight. It seemed to be running toward him?

Melli landed on the mountain he called home and narrowed his eyes, trying to get a clearer image of the figure on the horizon. It was four-legged but not really. It had a hulking barrel chest like an Ursaluna that forced its weight forward onto two thick forelimbs that dwarfed its hind legs. Melli didn’t even know how to describe them. The mass that made up its body looked to be writhing and the arms that poked out of it had claws that rivaled those of Lady Sneasler. 

From the angle he stood at, Melli could see that the being, as massive as it seemed, was actually rather slim. Just behind the bulk of its torso was a set of thinner legs and a wispy tail not unlike a Basculegion’s. How bizarre. As it got closer, Melli could make out a pair of antlers on its head as well. What kind of Pokémon was this? Parts of it seemed to take after the Nobles but Melli knew that couldn’t be it. No Noble would consent to creating an amalgam like this.

Maybe it wasn’t consensual. Maybe this creature was seeking the Nobles’ power on its own. Melli shifted, something in the back of his mind tugging for him to check on Lord Electrode, but he stood strong. The creature was still too far for Melli to get a good read on it but it was getting closer and Melli was able to pick out more. It jostled as it took a particularly long stride and Melli caught a glimpse of something in its grasp. A human? Had this creature preyed on one of those Galaxy fellows?

Melli decided he couldn’t wait anymore. Spreading his Dustox wings, he launched himself off the mountain to intercept the creature.

Fangs glided effortlessly and gracefully. They were beings of the night and could fly as they pleased silently and undetected. Well, most of them could. A lot of Zubat could get pretty noisy and Warden Iscan was rather clumsy. Melli was quiet though. The contrast made the beast seem so much louder. Melli hadn’t even closed half the distance and Melli could hear how labored its breathing was and how heavy its footsteps were. Melli took back what he said about Iscan. This new creature was so clumsy that Iscan would sound like a Crobat next to it.

Practically on top of it now, Melli had full view of every detail of this creature and he still couldn’t make sense of it. It was truly an amalgam. Up close, he could now confirm that he had recognized a Wyrdeer’s antlers, a Sneasler’s claws, and a Basculegion’s tail, though it was the wrong color for it to have come from Lord Basculegion. He also realized the bulk of its chest was more comparable to a Tangrowth than an Ursaluna. What an odd combination. Melli knew furs, fangs, and fae could take after more than one Pokémon but Melli had never seen one like this. He was fairly certain the only ones he knew were Warden Gaeric and maybe that guildsman Volo but Melli wasn’t sure if guildsmen’s appearance changed as their power grew and Warden Gaeric’s fusion was seamless compared to this. Melli just didn’t know what to think looking at this thing.

So, he decided to call out. “You there! What are you doing encroaching on Lord Electrode’s territory?”

The creature skidded to a stop and Melli got another look at the figure in its arms. It had a second pair under those massive claws and it seemed to be holding… was that Akari?

“Melli!” the creature bellowed and Melli tore his eyes up from Akari’s limp form to the creature’s face. He hadn’t noticed before, the corners obstructed by a Kleavor-like helmet, but the beast’s face was nearly intact. It had a human face.

“Ingo?” Melli forced himself to land, eyes wide as he tried to process what exactly he was seeing. Ingo didn’t give him a chance though, half-thrusting Akari into his arms.

“Help,” Ingo rasped and Melli noticed Akari was cold against his skin. Whatever had happened to Ingo, whatever Melli had been planning to say tonight, it didn’t matter anymore. He had a ritual to perform.

Chapter Text

Akari did not know she died on Mount Coronet but she did know she was reborn in the Moonview Arena. On a visceral level, she knew something had changed and everything was different now.

The full moon lit up the arena just as beautifully as Cresselia’s psychic glow. It was cold, Akari sensed, but she didn’t feel the biting chill dancing on the surface of her skin like she usually did. Instead, it wormed its way deep inside her like a winter wind, only the air was still as the summer. It took a moment for Akari to sense any heat but once she did, it was impossible to focus on anything else. The warm bodies around her disrupted the cool aura of the night so starkly. It itched her mind in a way she couldn’t ignore.

“Akari?” one of the bodies said and Akari forced her vision to focus. Who was that? “Akari? How are you feeling?”

“Give her some space,” another voice soothed and Akari’s eyes flickered in search for it. There was no warmth there, not in a literal sense. The tone was plenty warm but the source wasn’t. “She’s going to be disoriented for a bit. Rebirth isn’t an easy process.”

“Take as much time as you need, Akari,” a voice said a little too loudly. Akari’s mind immediately told her it was Ingo. With that piece of information in mind, it was easy to puzzle together who the rest of them were. The other warm body was Rei. The cold one was Melli. Lady Sneasler and Lord Electrode were nearby, Akari sensed, but she wasn’t sure how she knew that. Everything around her felt so weird.

She wanted to ask what happened. She didn’t know what she wanted the answer to be though. Akari didn’t know a lot about what it meant to be a fang but whatever conversion occurred seemed to include some level of knowledge transfer. Somehow, she just knew she wasn’t human anymore. “Did… Did I die?”

Akari heard more than saw Rei nod. She blinked a few times and her eyes focused on her brother. His eyes were dry but his face was stained with tear tracks. “T-There was a Stone Edge…”

“I don’t think Akari wants to hear about her death right now,” Ingo told him and Akari wanted to argue that she needed to know but was quickly distracted by the sight of Ingo towering over her. He’d always been tall and Akari didn’t think he’d grown any in height but he’d certainly grown and his presence was positively looming now.

“What happened to you?” Akari asked, sitting up to crane her head up at Ingo. His face was largely still the same but she recognized a Kleavor’s helmet framing it and a Wyrdeer’s antler’s jutting out of it. Were those Probopass magnets resting on them?

“Don’t worry about that,” Ingo told her as if that would keep her from wondering.

“All our Pokémon fainted,” Rei explained before Akari could argue. “We didn’t know if we could get you to Melli before the moon rose. Ingo had all his Pokémon bite him so he’d transform.”

“All of them?”

“It sped up the process. It was stupid but it sped it up,” Melli grumbled, crossing his arms as he eyed Ingo. “You know you’re going to be stuck like that forever, right? That’s going to be your fur form permanently.”

Ingo shrugged, not seeming to care. “It was worth it to save Akari.”

Akari wanted to tell him he shouldn’t have but she didn’t. Holding Rei’s warm hand close, she knew she didn’t want to lose this. “Thank you.”

Those lone words didn’t convey how grateful she was but Ingo seemed to understand. “I hate to bring it up just the moment you’re out of danger but- well, I want to be certain we’re truly out of danger. What happened with Volo?”

Akari’s mind struggled to recall but Rei answered for her. “He had the Spooky Plate. Giratina- that’s the Ginkgo Guild’s Almighty Sinnoh. God of another dimension or something. I don’t remember. It did something to him. It wanted the plates from us. I don’t know where it went when I took the Spooky Plate from Volo but they both disappeared.”

“They’ll be back,” Akari said automatically. She didn’t know why but she knew she was right. Shifting, she got her feet under her and pushed herself up. It was weird talking with Ingo and Melli standing over her. Now that she was higher, she could see Lord Electrode and Lady Sneasler watching from the corner of the arena. 

“I suspected as much,” Ingo said, frown deepening. “I suppose it’s not an option to hand over the plates?”

Rei shook his head. “We need the plates to meet the one who gave us our mission… But I guess we also need Giratina to complete our mission.”

“Mission?” Melli echoed, straightening. Akari caught a glimpse of his wings as he did so and immediately cranked her head back to see what kind she had. Gliscor, it seemed. Or, Gligar actually. Ingo’s Gliscor must’ve helped in the conversion. Akari might’ve liked to have a pretty pair of Dustox wings like Melli but Gligar was pretty cool too. Did that mean she could evolve? “What mission? Did those Galaxy buffoons tell you to do something?”

“No. Well, yes. They tell us to do stuff all the time but that’s not what I meant,” Rei told him and pulled out his Arc-Phone. “When we arrived, Akari and I each had one of these devices. It told us to seek out all Pokémon and then it’d return us home. We…”

Rei trailed off, looking hesitant, so Akari took over for him. “We don’t remember home. We- Rei and I thought maybe we’d ask Ingo if he wanted to return to his home. I think- We think we’re from the same place or at least close enough. If you don’t want to come, we understand but you’ve done so much for-”

“Yes!” Ingo interrupted, then ducked his head, looking a little embarrassed. If he still had his cap, he’d probably be hiding behind it. Where was his coat and hat anyway? The other furs never really had an issue with losing their clothes when they disappeared. Hopefully, Ingo would get his hat and coat back when the sun rose? Ingo coughed awkwardly and spared a glance at Melli. “I… I always knew this station would be a temporary one. I must say I’m more afraid to leave it than I expected but I cannot pass an opportunity to find where I came from.”

Melli met Ingo’s gaze and nodded. “I understand. I can’t hold it against you.”

“Electrode…”

“Snea…”

Akari swallowed. “Maybe we can ask if we can bring any passengers.”

“I don’t know if the Nobles can leave their stations,” Ingo said and Akari could hear the pain in his voice. Lady Sneasler wasn’t standing for it though, apparently, because she immediately scoffed and padded over to smack Ingo over the head, leaving her Warden wide-eyed with shock.

“Electrode…” Lord Electrode hummed as he rolled over, bumping into Melli softly. Melli ran a hand over his surface and Akari’s new senses told her there was more to the exchange than met the eye.

Melli matched his hum and glanced back at the group. “A Noble is committed to their land but a Warden and Noble’s bond is far more precious. Lady Sneasler will go wherever Warden Ingo goes, just as Lord Electrode would go where I go.”

“Are you…?” Ingo started and Melli responded with a faint shrug. Rei and Akari exchanged a glance, trying to gauge if the other knew what that was about. Was Melli thinking about joining them? Akari knew Melli and Ingo were fond of each other but willingness to leave one’s home behind was more than just fondness. Ingo shook himself, snapping them all out of the moment. “We have time to consider it. Rei and Akari’s mission isn’t complete, after all.”

“I don’t know if we even can,” Rei pointed out. “There’s no way we’d be able to catch Giratina and I don’t know if Sinnoh or whoever sent us on the mission wants us to risk Giratina getting the plates just to-”

Rei was interrupted by a chime from the Arc-Phone. Akari and Rei both pulled theirs from their pockets. Aloud, Akari read, “When your mission is complete, go atop Mount Coronet and play your Celestica Flute.”

“Does that mean the mission is complete?” Melli asked, taking a step so he could look over Rei’s shoulder. “Or is it just saying that because it knows you’re getting close?”

“I don’t know,” Rei answered honestly, looking back at Akari. “Maybe we should go to Mount Coronet just in case?”

“We probably won’t make it to the Diamond Settlement tonight so that could be a good use of the night,” Ingo responded and Akari abruptly remembered she couldn’t go out in the daylight anymore. Drat. That really sucked. At least she wasn’t researching any Pokémon that were only out during the daytime right now. “It is probably also the best chance to find Akari to find something for Akari to feed on before the sun comes up as well.”

Oh right. That. Akari had to drain energy like Melli and the other fangs did. She was not looking forward to that. But, Ingo was right. The night was young and so they set out.

Akari did feel a lot better after she drained a couple of Bidoof. Physically at least. Emotionally, she was a bit horrified at the act of doing such a thing herself but the dull hunger that she hadn’t noticed echoing in the back of her mind was gone so it was worth it. It gave her enough strength for Melli to give her a flying lesson too. Akari still wasn’t thrilled at the prospect of being a fang but she was starting to see the bright sides.

Melli and Akari reached Mount Coronet long before Ingo and Rei did. Still in his fur form, if it could even be called that, Ingo was able to scale the mountain far quicker than he would as a human but Rei and Lord Electrode trailing behind still slowed them down a fair amount. That left Akari and Melli waiting. Akari hadn’t anticipated any issue with that but it quickly became apparent there was one.

“One’s own death is a sensitive point among most fangs,” Melli told her, putting a hand on her back to gently angle her away from staring at the spot she’d died. Spear Pillar still had some distance between them and that spot but it was close enough that Akari couldn’t help but be drawn to it. “Maybe coming here so soon was a mistake…”

“It’s fine,” Akari told him even though it really wasn’t. Ingo, Rei, and the Nobles were nearing so it really didn’t matter. Akari shook herself and rustled through her pockets for her flute. “Do you have any idea what kind of song we should play? Every Noble has a different one. I don’t know what kind this one wants.”

Melli shrugged. “I’m sure it will respond to whatever you and Rei play.”

That wasn’t the most helpful but Akari appreciated that Melli was dialing down his usual pomp for tonight. “Hopefully.”

Ingo, Rei, Lady Sneasler, and Lord Electrode appeared a heartbeat later and Rei voiced the same question. Akari and Rei went back and forth a bit before deciding and began playing the tune into their flutes. Akari wasn’t really expecting anything to happen but to her surprise, Spear Pillar rapidly became enveloped in a soft golden glow. Fog rolled out over the stairs, shrouding the horizon from view, and a figure stepped out from the light.

“My champions, my wardens, my Nobles,” the figure greeted, the moonlight behind him making his presence that much grander, “I am Arceus. I must say I’m surprised to see you tonight but your summoning is not unwarranted.”

Akari tried not to perk up at that. “So you know what we want?”

Arceus shook his head ever so slightly and Akari felt her stomach sink.

“I did not foresee your guildsman friend falling into Giratina’s clutches,” Arceus admitted. “Your mission is not complete.”

“What is their mission exactly?” Melli asked, sounding displeased. It made Akari’s mouth twitch into a tiny smile. Melli was meeting his region’s true deity for the first time and here he was worrying about the twins. “If it really is to complete the Pokédex, then Giratina-”

“The completion of the Pokédex is more symbolic than literal. Your mission was to bring the people of Hisui together. The clans, the guildsmen, the colonizers, all of them,” Arceus clarified. “I’d hoped that mutual understanding could bring Hisui into a new era.”

“I don’t know if that’s possible.” Rei looked at Akari and Akari didn’t miss how his eyes skimmed over her wings. “The Galaxy Team wouldn’t help Lian back then and Kamado refused to talk to Irida and Adaman even when everything with Dialga and Palkia was happening. They aren’t going to let Akari in Jubilife anymore.”

Akari shuffled her feet, expression dimming. Lord Electrode bumped her side, trying to comfort her. She hadn’t thought that far ahead. She didn’t spend all that much time in Jubilife these days but it wasn’t meaningless to her. That was where her Pokémon were kept, where Professor Laventon lived, where she bought her clothes… There were a lot of things she’d miss.

“The Galaxy Team aren’t… unknown for hunting down furs and fangs,” Ingo said slowly. “I was able to mediate a bit and they’d listen to me because I was human but I’m not anymore…”

Akari suddenly felt awful. She’d been so concerned with her own transformation that she hadn’t thought about Ingo. He’d said he wanted to go home but Akari was pretty sure there weren’t monsters in the future. What if he couldn’t now? And even if he stayed, Ingo loved the dojo. Battling meant more to Ingo than Akari could ever understand. He might just lose that. Zisu could be reasonable but there was no changing that she was Galaxy.

“What- what do we do then?” Akari asked aloud. “You want us to bring peace to Hisui, right? We were supposed to teach both sides about each other. But that might not be possible now that Ingo and I are monsters too.”

Arceus dipped his head. “I think you know the answer. When peace is not an option…”

“There is war,” Ingo finished with a grimace.

“Snea…”

“There is war,” Arceus confirmed. “I am sorry, my children, but the Galaxy Team cannot remain in Hisui any longer.”

Akari squeezed her hands together and the weight of Lord Electrode at her side lost some of its comfort. She’d came here hoping to go home and escape this place. Instead, something far worse was sat on the horizon. War. She’d heard the word whispered here and there but never spoken. She wondered what it’d look like. One side armed with Pokéballs, the other claws and teeth… It was going to be ugly no matter what.

Akari shook herself and Lord Electrode rolled away as Akari forced herself to stand up a little straighter. She wouldn’t let herself crumble. She wouldn’t fail, not again. Looking right up at Arceus, she asked, “How do we begin?”

Chapter Text

Being in the Distortion World was truly a paradox of feelings.

When Volo was younger, he’d asked Ginter what it felt like to become one of the fae. Ginkgo Guildsmen were still largely human yet it was undeniable they were unworldly. Ginter had told him about what it felt like to find a Pokémon partner and for their Fairy-type power to sink into their mortal flesh. He told him how liberating it felt for the body to change and for the mind to become attuned to Hisui’s deep history. Volo had been looking forward to the day he knew that feeling ever since.

Meeting Togepi felt like it should’ve been… something. It was something but it wasn’t what Volo expected. He felt her power latching onto him but he also felt something lacking. It wasn’t Togepi’s fault. Volo knew she was trying. Volo didn’t change in the way Ginter or the other Guildsmen had. He threw himself into Hisuian myths and soaked up every piece of information about the region he could but he still lacked the connection to the land that his fellow guildsmen shared.

Meeting Cogita all those years ago also felt like it should’ve been something more than it was. The guildsmen often danced around calling themselves fae, not feeling the word was very accurate, but Volo thought there was no better word to describe Cogita. She was ancient, eternal, and untethered in a way Volo hadn’t realized he craved. She taught him to try not to force things with Togepi, even after she evolved. Volo didn’t give up his hopes or his efforts to learn about Hisui but he was able to let go.

When Rei and Akari struggled to complete their Pokédex, Volo found himself longing for that power again. And that made him desperate, desperate enough that Cogita was willing to indulge him.

“The clans’ Almighty Sinnohs were revealed to be their own Pokémon, weren’t they?” Cogita asked and Volo felt hope spark in his belly. “Why not the guild’s Almighty Sinnoh? You know, in my time, there were some villagers who had an affinity for Ghost-type Pokémon instead of Fairy-types and they were honored for their connection to our god.”

“Ghost-types?” Volo murmured, mulling it over. He’d collected his Spiritomb’s wisps during his journey to connect with Hisui. Maybe they could be some help?

He asked Spiritomb to guide him to some ghostly spots in Hisui. He ended up stumbling across something he shouldn’t have.

Touching the Spooky Plate felt just like Ginter described bonding with a Fairy-type felt like. Volo felt its power sink past his skin and begin changing the fibers of his being. It felt like slotting in a piece of himself that had always been missing. It felt good and that terrified him. Wasn’t Togekiss supposed to be the one to complete him? What did it mean if an object did instead of a Pokémon?

Then he appeared.

Giratina. He was fearsome but Volo was too awed to be afraid. Or maybe that was just the Spooky Plate’s influence on his mind.

The hours that followed were hazy. Later, Volo would recall battling Rei and Akari– killing Akari– with perfect clarity but in the moments themselves, it was like watching someone else from behind a roaring waterfall. His mind was disoriented and their voices fell on deaf ears but when Giratina sucked him into the Distortion World, the cloud lifted and Volo could properly react to what he’d just done.

He screamed. He screamed and screamed but only Giratina heard him. The Pokémon was battered, too tired to really listen to what Volo was saying, but he screamed anyway.

Volo let out his Pokémon and tried his best to tend to their wounds and exhaustion. Like him, most of his Pokémon snapped out of their Spooky Plate-induced state upon awaking in the Distortion World but Spiritomb was still so out of it that Volo was forced to recall him to his Pokéball. He couldn’t risk his Pokémon lashing out here, not when it was so easy to fall off these gravity-defying platforms.

Volo lay on his back and stared up at the… sky? Thinking too much about this place would surely drive him mad, if he wasn’t already crazy. It was sort of pretty though. The purple around him was a swirl of color that looked almost like some of the paintings he’d seen around Jubilife Village. Art wasn’t something a lot of people had time for but everyone still seemed to enjoy it. There was something artistic about the Distortion World, Volo decided. In the swirl of purple, there were countless platforms that Volo could probably jump to if he wished and pretty windows torn in the fabrics of the realm…

Windows. Volo sat up and scooted toward the nearest one. He’d thought they were just tiny distortions. It never occurred to him to look through them but they were undeniably windows. He could watch Hisui from here.

Togekiss was helpful in this. She could fly between the windows without fear of falling. Crying out, she called Volo to join her at one high above the rock where Giratina’s body rested.

“What is it, girl?” Volo asked as he clambered toward her, scraping his knees and hands on the rocks as he pulled himself upward.

“Toge!” Togekiss told him, frantically pointing at the window with a wing. Volo peered inside and felt information flood his mind.

“Arceus,” Volo breathed. He didn’t know how he knew the Pokémon’s name but he knew that was Arceus. The true Almighty Sinnoh. The being Volo had sought in his younger years when he didn’t understand why he wasn’t changing like all the other guildsmen had. He was right there. And he was talking to Rei and Akari?

Akari was alive, Volo realized with a jolt. He wasn’t sure how long he’d been here but she looked well. Maybe he hadn’t killed her? Wait, no. Those were Gligar wings. Melli and Ingo’s Gliscor must have revived and converted her. That was better than her being dead but that didn’t mean it wouldn’t weigh on Volo’s conscience.

Warden Ingo, Warden Melli, and their nobles were there too. They were talking about… going home? Ingo wasn’t from Hisui, right. The twins weren’t either. They had some kind of deal with Arceus? But Arceus wasn’t letting them go home.

“When peace is not an option…”

“There is war.”

“There is war. I am sorry, my children, but the Galaxy Team cannot remain in Hisui any longer.”

Volo leaned back and nearly fell off the rock platform. Arceus was telling them to fight? Volo couldn’t imagine such a thing. There was talk of it, sure, but the Galaxy Team had been in Hisui for… Sinnoh, he didn’t know how long. He wasn’t sure he could remember a time when the Galaxy Team didn’t occupy Hisui’s shores. But, just because they’d always been there didn’t mean they shared Palkia’s space with Hisui’s natives. The red sky incident highlighted just how bad things were between them.

“Everyone, watch the windows,” Volo called out to his team. “Let me know if you see anything important.”

There were a lot of important things happening. Thankfully, Hisui was a lot bigger than the corner of the Distortion World that Volo was occupying. Akari, Rei, and their allies needed time to travel so Volo had moments of rest between these big moments. Still, there was a lot.

Ingo and Melli told their clans of Arceus. They told them of his message. The Wardens gathered and made war plans. Nobles and wild Pokémon whispered Arceus’s name and began moving their nests away from the Fieldlands. The Ginkgo Guild was summoned and asked to take a stance. Clansmen and guildsmen alike began training.

Volo noticed Rei and Akari didn’t tell Ginter what happened to him. He wondered why. He was thankful nonetheless. He couldn’t bear the thought of Ginter growing to hate him.

When the full moon rose, instead of gathering to share comfort and care for one another, Hisui’s monsters tore down Jubilife Village’s walls. 

Flying figures smashed through windows. Claws tore apart vulnerable bodies. Shops’ goods were whisked away by invisible looters. But, the Galaxy Team were no pushovers. The Security Corps reacted in mere minutes and Jublife quickly turned into a proper battlefield.

It was horrific to watch. Volo didn’t look away until the sun rose and the scattered fighters retreated. 

The battle was over but the war would stretch for another month. In the meantime, Volo watched the windows closely. Guildsmen tended to the clansmen’s wounds. Fangs rested, full from preying on human villagers. Furs patrolled their territories, wary of retaliators, and slowly took over more and more Galaxy land.

Across the region, Galaxy villagers tried to herd the twins’ Pokémon back into the pastures and convince them to battle alongside the Security Corps. Agriculture Corps and Construction Corps members worked together to dispose of the dead, and the converted. Beni’s restaurant was shut down, his supplies turned into rations, and weapons were pulled out of storage.

It was a version of his home that Volo had never seen. He didn’t like it. He hated to think that he might’ve been the cause of all this violence.

The villagers had to know the clansmen would strike again. Boats were haphazardly constructed and shipped out. A few Security Corps members stayed behind but the last stand was a weak one. Hisui was reclaimed.

Volo did not stand among the celebrators though. He could only continue to watch.

Chapter Text

Ingo shifted into his monstrous form as the party neared the village. He wouldn’t say he liked this new form yet but it was useful. If there were any lingering Galaxy men, their weapons would do little against the mass of vines that made up his torso.

Gaeric and Irida also took their fur forms, a Mamoswine and Zoroark fusion and a Sylveon joining them. Behind them, Adaman, Akari, Melli, and Mai followed closely, each of them partially shifted as well. At the center, Ginter hovered around Rei. Vulnerable little Rei. Ingo wished he hadn’t come but he understood why he had. If Ingo were still human, he would’ve insisted he come along as well. It was the least he could do.

“Remember, we’re just here for the Pokéballs,” Ingo rumbled out. “Adaman, Melli, and Mai will do some scouting but it’s still too dangerous to do any looting. Everyone stay close.”

Ginter made a displeased noise. “If there are any provisions, we should take them.”

“The Galaxy Team probably poisoned any foodstuffs they left behind,” Adaman pointed out. “It’s too risky.”

“I guess that means no more potato mochi,” Akari grumbled quietly and Ingo elected to pretend he didn’t hear that. The twins were just kids, afterall. They didn’t deserve this.

“If not goods, we should still try to gather information,” Ginter said and drew a Pokéball, releasing a Pokémon that something in the back of Ingo’s mind told him as a Granbull. He wasn’t sure how he knew that. It wasn’t familiar. He’d never seen one before. A Pokémon Ginter must’ve met on his travels outside of Hisui, Ingo decided. “We fae are quite skilled at seeing what cannot be seen by the normal eye.”

Ingo dipped his head. “I’ll allow it. Keep an eye on Rei though and don’t let him wander off.”

“I know not to wander off,” Rei responded quietly. Part of Ingo wanted to tease him that he knew better than to trust him to keep still but the bubble of amusement quickly died. Their recent war had changed them all and none so deeply as Rei.

Adaman, Mai, and Melli took to the skies once they reached the village’s broken walls. Akari watched longingly after them but kept her ground, sticking to Rei’s side. Ingo let Gaeric take the lead, the larger fur ambling forward more carefully than Ingo could hope to in his new body, and watched the other Warden inspect the first layer of the village for dangers. There were none, not as far as any of them could tell. Ingo didn’t know if this was a good or bad sign for their party.

Gaeric gave the all-clear signal and Ingo broke off from the group. He waved his Basculegion tail, beckoning the others to follow him. Gaeric and Irida left to investigate another part of the village while Ingo, Rei, Akari, and Ginter headed for the pastures. He made his way to the storage shed first and began rummaging through the shelves that were once lined with Pokéballs. A few broken halves were scattered across the floor. Ingo didn’t watch as Rei and Akari dropped to their hands and knees to collect them. Instead, Ingo focused on running his claws over the backs of the shelves he couldn’t quite see. He found a couple of Pokéballs in the corners and passed them down to Rei and Akari.

“Zorua!” Rei cried as the little Pokémon popped out of his Pokéball and pulled him into his arms. He was shaking, Ingo noticed. The Pokémon was not in good health.

Akari had a very different reaction when she released her Infernape. An Alpha, Ingo knew immediately, and he was clearly in worse shape than Zorua. Zorua, as far as Ingo could tell, just hadn’t been let out of his Pokéball in a long time. Infernape was the utter opposite. It was quite obvious the Galaxy Team had let him out of his ball and they’d done it frequently. Long, ugly wounds were scattered across Infernape’s body, filling Ingo’s inhuman nose with a sour smell. Infernape had not been healed in quite some time.

Ginter sprang into action in a heartbeat. He pulled a Hyper Potion out of his bag and got to work. Ingo stepped away, feeling a little bad about leaving them to it but he was filled with an overwhelming urge to head to the dojo.

The dojo was in surprisingly good condition. Maybe it wasn’t so surprising considering this was where the village’s strongest battlers trained. Ingo rummaged through the shelves where Zisu stored the Pokéballs of his various in-village teams. He found nothing, not even broken Pokéball caps. 

His claws ran over carvings in the wood in the back of the highest shelf, hidden from the average seeker. Ingo ran his fingers over them slowly, recognizing a pattern among them. An apology, Zisu’s no doubt. Ingo didn’t know how to feel about that. He didn’t know if he could feel anything about it. It provided some solace, he supposed. It told him their friendship meant something. She’d sided with her people, something Ingo understood but could never forgive, but she remembered Ingo’s Pokémon. Ingo hoped she’d escaped to Galar and brought them with her. If not, he hoped they managed to free themselves from their Pokéballs. Zorua was weak after a month in storage. Ingo didn’t want to imagine his battlers wasting away in Pokéballs buried alongside Security Corps thieves buried in Galaxy graveyards.

Ingo swallowed and left the dojo, congregating with the rest of the party at the center of the village.

“Zorua needs something to eat,” Rei told them, holding the Pokémon close, as everyone approached.

“He can’t eat anything here,” Adaman reminded.

Ingo pulled out a Pokéball and let out his Tangrowth. “Tangrowth can help find some Plump Beans. She-”

Irida let out an angry hiss. “Get rid of that thing.”

Ingo blinked at her and frowned. “Tangrowth isn’t a thing.”

Surprise snapped Irida out of her anger for a moment. “Not her! The Pokéball!”

“Tangrowth?” Tangrowth looked back at her trainer, looking disturbed. 

“Pokéballs did this,” Irida said, jabbing one of her ribbons toward Zorua and Infernape. “I always said they were terrible things and look! They let the Galaxy Team abuse your friends.”

“That doesn’t mean-” Akari started to protest but Irida wasn’t listening. 

“You’re one of our Wardens, Warden Ingo. The clan looks up to you,” Irida told him. “Show our people you are leaving the Galaxy Team’s ways behind.”

“Tangrowth!” Tangrowth cried, looking upset, but Ingo couldn’t meet her eyes. Not when his clan leader was telling him such a thing.

“Lady Irida, surely this is too far,” Ginter spoke up. “The Ginkgo Guild has been using Pokéballs for longer than the Galaxy Team has occupied Hisui. Pokéballs are a valuable tool. They’re more than just a representation of the humans.”

“I have to agree,” Adaman said hesitantly. “The Ginkgo Guild… We’re grateful for your help, of course, but it is the nature of merchants to hoard the foreign. Even if they’re useful, it’s undeniable the Pokéballs are foreign.”

“You weren’t saying that when you were looking at the Galaxy Team’s crop fields,” Ginter grunted but no one seemed to be listening.

“Destroy your Pokéballs and prove yourself to your clan,” Irida ordered and Ingo looked down at the sphere in his paw. He could feel Tangrowth’s eyes boring into him, her desperate eyes. She… She liked her Pokéball? Something about it, at least. Destroying her Pokéball would hurt her. Ingo couldn’t deny his leader though.

Ingo closed his hand around the Pokéball and crushed it with his new strength. He looked away, trying to block out the sound of Tangrowth’s anguished cry. He’d known it would hurt her but he wasn’t expecting it to hurt him too. Deep in his chest, Ingo knew he’d lost something.

“I knew you could do it, Warden Ingo,” Irida said, satisfied. “Now-”

“Please, Lady Irida,” Ingo interrupted her, surprising even himself. He was begging. He could hear it in his own voice. Melli moved to his side, putting a gentle hand on Ingo’s shoulder. The shoulder wrapped in vines, vines he’d gotten from his bond with Tangrowth. Ingo’s body was made of nine other Pokémon’s parts. He didn’t know if he could do this again.

Irida frowned and Ingo knew he wasn’t getting mercy. Thankfully, Melli came to his rescue. “At least let Warden Ingo destroy the rest of his Pokéballs in private. This is something deeply personal, can’t you see?”

Irida mulled it over for a moment. “That’s acceptable. Now, let’s head out. Infernape and Zorua need to be cared for.”

Ingo watched Akari and Rei’s eyes dance nervously over their own Pokéballs. Ingo knew they wouldn’t want to destroy them either but more importantly, Infernape and Zorua were in no shape to be walking. Zorua could be carried, at least. Infernape couldn’t.

Gaeric took mercy though and pulled the Alpha onto his back wordlessly. It wouldn’t be comfortable but at least he wasn’t walking.

“Go find something for Zorua to eat,” Ingo whispered to Tangrowth, silently praying she would still listen to him. Tangrowth paused for a moment then took off toward the forest. She paused when she met the treeline, rummaging around the roots, and Ingo released a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.

They kept walking, silent for a dozen different reasons. They kept walking until they met the Grandtree Arena where Lian and Lord Kleavor welcomed them to rest under the tree’s branches until night returned and it was safe for the fangs to venture Hisui’s terrain once more. Tangrowth refused to let Ingo, now in his human form, near anything that resembled a bed. She pulled him close, letting him sink into her vines. Ingo didn’t resist. He found comfort in it too. Even without the Pokéball connecting them, they shared something.

It also made it easy for Ginter to seek him out when noon rolled around and the rest of the party was deep in sleep.

“Granbull noticed something in the village,” Ginter told him as he settled down next to him. Granbull was back in her Pokéball. Ingo chose to believe that was some kind of statement against Irida’s decision.

“What kind of something?” 

“Something old. Something magical,” Ginter told him. Ginter noticed Ingo’s surprise. “The two of us know the humans better than the clansmen. We know the humans are more than the monsters that they think we are.”

“But?” Ingo inquired.

“There was something magical,” Ginter repeated. “I’d never sensed it before. I don’t know if it’s new or if it’d always been there. I’d never had as much freedom in the village as I’d had today. I am certain there were magical beings living among the Galaxy Team though. Not fur or fangs. They weren’t quite fae either but they felt close. I- I don’t know what they were.”

Ingo watched Ginter closely, eyes unblinking. “Why are you telling me this?”

Ginter huffed and leaned back against Tangrowth. “I don’t know. I needed to tell someone and it feels like you’re the only one with any sense left in this crazy new world.”

Ingo didn’t say anything to that but he didn’t disagree.

Chapter Text

Melli could’ve flown from the Fieldlands to the Highlands in mere hours. He didn’t.

They all slowed each other down. Akari and Melli could fly but Ingo and Rei had to walk. Ingo and Rei could travel whenever they wanted but Akari and Melli had to hide while the sun was out. Melli and Ingo could walk forever but Akari and Rei grew tired after a couple of hours. What a group they were.

Then there was Infernape. Melli admired Akari’s loyalty to her Pokémon. Infernape wasn’t even one of her main team members and yet she was willing to help him cross half of Hisui so he wouldn’t succumb to his wounds alone in a Pokéball. Melli had to admit, he thought about suggesting it. Before they’d parted from Irida and Gaeric, none of them dared suggest putting Infernape in his Pokéball even if it would be easier to transport him that way. Bringing him with endangered them all.

But Infernape didn’t deserve such a fate. He was a victim, after all. More so than any of the others. Melli had fought in the battles, of course. He was a Warden. He was one of the strongest people in Hisui. He’d seen terrible things and been struck many times but he’d recovered. He’d be just fine. Melli didn’t think he could say the same about Infernape. The Galaxy Team had made him fight against the people and Pokémon of his homeland and then they’d just abandoned him? Melli couldn’t believe the humans thought he was one of the monsters.

Lady Sneasler let Infernape in her den and Melli realized Infernape was in far worse shape than he realized. He was no medic but he thought he was pretty well-versed in poultices and healing herbs. He supposed that knowledge wasn’t helpful for wounds he couldn’t see.

Rei took over the healing, Mime Jr. guiding him every step of the way. Melli left occasionally, checking on Lord Electrode and his own Pokémon, but Rei was always hard at work when he returned.

“Did… did the humans do that to him?” Melli asked one night when he finally got a moment alone with Ingo.

Ingo rested his head on Melli’s shoulder. It felt easy, sitting here like this, even if they hadn’t done it in weeks. Ingo let out a long breath and Melli felt him shake his head gently. “I don’t think so. The Galaxy Team wouldn’t- well. I don’t know. Remember the battle with Kamado at the temple? His Golem’s plates were loose, his Clefable’s wings drooped, his Braviary could barely fly, and his Snorlax wasn’t as round as a Snorlax should be.”

Melli hadn’t noticed that. He and Ingo hadn’t been the ones to fight him. He was surprised Ingo remembered such things.

“His Pokémon were in bad shape but that wasn’t because Kamado hit them or anything like that. He just never took care of them or let them heal. That’s what happened to Infernape.” Ingo’s voice suddenly became quieter, something Melli rarely heard. “The Galaxy Team had the Pokémon we kept at the pastures and the dojo fight. Infernape might have been one of the lucky ones. I doubt the Galaxy Team took all of them back to Galar. Some of them might’ve escaped or been released but some of them might have died. I talked to Ginter a bit about the possibility of them being buried in their Pokéballs when whoever wielded them died.”

Melli felt a sick feeling bubbling up in his stomach. “Irida’s right. These Pokéballs are terrible devices.”

Ingo flinched but he didn’t pull away from Melli. “Maybe but you saw how much it hurt Tangrowth when I crushed hers.”

Now Melli flinched. Ingo was right. On their journey back to the Highlands, he’d seen Tangrowth drop a shard of her Pokéball and quickly scoop it back up, hiding it in her vines, before anyone could notice. It happened more than once. Her Pokéball wasn’t something that hurt her. She loved it enough to carry it all the way back home with her. Destroying her Pokéball was what had hurt her.

“Was there something physical about it?” Melli asked, taking Ingo’s hand in his. He ran his thumb over the back of Ingo’s hand in tiny circles, tracing a Pokéball on his skin. “I mean, did it hurt physically?”

Ingo thought for a moment. “Not… Not in the way you’re asking. It did hurt physically but not because of the Pokéball itself. It didn’t connect my cab and Tangrowth’s in any way. It was more… symbolic of our bond. And that symbol was shattered. We’re- we’re still… She’s my Pokémon. I’m her trainer. That’s not going to change. Breaking her Pokéball changed something though and we’re going to have to figure out how to deal with that. It hurt because there were a lot of emotions attached to it, nothing more than that.”

Melli hummed in acknowledgment. He supposed he could follow along. His bond with Skuntank wasn’t quite the same but he imagined he’d at least be a little bit sad if he broke his Pokéball. “You aren’t going to destroy the rest of your Pokémon’s Pokéballs, are you?”

Ingo hesitated again. “I… I don’t want to. But I can’t deny Lady Irida.”

“Sure you can,” Melli drawled. “It’s not like she comes all the way out here.”

“I have a duty,” Ingo told him and Melli knew there was no arguing that. “And… And you saw Infernape. I can’t imagine how Akari’s feeling. If something like that ever happened to my Pokémon…”

Melli sat up stiffly, back straightening and jostling Ingo in the process. “The Galaxy Team isn’t coming back.”

“I know,” Ingo told him even though they both know there was no way for them to know that.

“Nothing like that is ever going to happen to Hisui again,” Melli said vehemently and leaned back against the tent post again, letting Ingo settle back into him. “I won’t let it.”

“I know you won’t,” Ingo said and Melli felt something in his heart flutter. They were just words, hollow ones too, but they meant something to Melli anyway. “I’m still scared though.”

“Me too,” Melli admitted. He took a breath before saying, “I don’t think I’ll destroy mine.”

Now it was Ingo’s turn to sit up. “Really? But Lord Adaman said-”

“I know what Lord Adaman said. I also saw how upset Tangrowth was. I’m not a- a trainer like you but they’re still my Pokémon. I can’t do that to them.”

The corners of Ingo’s mouth twitched in a way that told Melli Ingo was smiling. He leaned back against him, pressing his forehead into the side of his jaw and wrapping his fingers around one of Melli’s forearms. He didn’t need to say anything for Melli to know what he meant.

Chapter Text

“What do you think it's doing?” Volo asked Togekiss as their little group watched Giratina dart from window to window, occasionally stabbing its phantasmic tentacles into them like a Dewott on the riverbank hunting the Basculin swimming by. Giratina was utterly fixated. Volo couldn’t fathom why.

“Toge,” Togekiss trilled, shrugging. She shifted, getting a little more comfortable. The rock was unpleasant to sit on but sometimes sunbeams shone through the windows, giving Volo and his team a little respite in this hellish place. The trick was finding them.

The sun helped him keep track of time too. It’d been three weeks, assuming Volo was counting right. Three weeks was plenty long enough for Volo to question his own mental capacities. There was no food here but he didn’t hunger. There was no water but he didn’t thirst. He slept but he was never tired, not in a physical way. There was no one to talk to but his Pokémon. Giratina was a constant threat. Spiritomb too, in a way. They were still glowing with the Spooky Plate’s power. The sight of either of them put Volo on edge.

“Tomb,” Spiritomb rumbled and Volo spared them a glance. They were calming down, at least. Volo was willing to let them out of their Pokéball but they weren’t much of a conversationalist and they lacked the others’ interest in chasing warm patches of sun. Volo wondered if they even cared that they were in the Distortion World. “Tomb!”

Volo flinched as Spiritomb bellowed, jostling the Pokémon lying around him. Arcanine let out a warning growl in Spiritomb’s direction but Spiritomb didn’t seem to notice. They were looking at Giratina. Volo hoped they weren’t trying to get its attention.

Giratina screamed and all of them winced, even Spiritomb. Giratina reared up and spread its tendrils, plunging its tentacles through several windows at once. Something seemed to ripple– not the air, maybe the Distortion World itself?-- and Volo felt the sun on his skin sink away. Giratina was doing something to the overworld.

Togekiss murmured worriedly, flying up to inspect the window they’d all been sunning under. Volo didn’t need to join her to know that the sun was being covered. Giratina was exerting the Distortion World’s power over Hisui.

“That can’t be good,” Volo muttered and rolled closer to Arcanine’s warm flank, trying to make up for the lost sunlight.

Ginter frowned as the Diamond clansmen shied away from him. Were his salesmen charms failing him? Ginter thought he’d made a rather fine pitch. What a deal this was! Secret wares! Only for you! But the clansmen hadn’t been interested. Worse, they fled. Not good for business.

Maybe it was the items. That had to be it. The other guildsmen around the settlement were doing just fine in their sales. The fangs had been in a good mood ever since Almighty Sinnoh darkened the sky for them, or so they claimed. Ginter was a little more skeptical but he wasn’t about to say so. The customers were happy so it had to be the human items keeping Ginter from making a sale.

Ginter had been the only one brave enough to raid Jubilife’s remains. That was always the case, wasn’t it? Volo was the only one he could ever convince to join him when a time-space distortion appeared but he was gone now so it was just Ginter left peddling them. The items that appeared there were always such hits among the clansmen! It was what got Ginter so famous among them. Perhaps they could smell the Galaxy team on these new items? The fangs were always stronger at night. Maybe the dark sky had a similar effect on them.

What a pain. Ginter made his way to the edge of the village and set his bag down next to an old log, sitting down heavily. He wasn’t one to give up but even he knew not to push a sale that wasn’t happening.

“My, that looks rather heavy,” a voice commented and Ginter jumped. He hadn’t heard anyone approach. His head snapped up and- oh. He knew who this was. Not his name but…

“You’re one of those Galaxy fellows, aren’t you?” Ginter asked and the stranger’s eyes grew wide.

“Don’t say such things around the fangs!” the stranger hissed, alarmed. His gaze danced around and, once it was clear no one was rushing to drain him of his blood, he seemed to relax. “How could you tell? I thought I disguised myself pretty well.”

“Fae,” Ginter said, gesturing at himself loosely. “I wouldn’t know from just looking at you but I spent some time investigating Jubilife after your comrades were driven out. I sensed magic there.”

The stranger snorted. “They were no comrades of mine.”

There was a story there, Ginter sensed, but he knew stories like that were never free. “What brings you here?”

“Some of the clansmen mentioned you had some strange items,” the stranger told him and Ginter straightened ever so slightly. “I have no money or goods to offer but if you have what I’m looking for, perhaps I could be of some assistance.”

“I’m listening.” Ginter normally didn’t accept services as payment but he hadn’t made a single sale all day. If this was all he could get, so be it.

“Like I said, your bag looks rather heavy. I may know some… tricks that can alleviate some of that burden,” the stranger said and Ginter couldn’t help but lean forward with intrigue. He’d taken a number of books from Laventon’s lab, hoping they’d sell well among the clansmen. He’d been wrong and his shoulders were paying for it. “Maybe you’ve heard of me. The name’s Bagin.”

The name struck a chord in Ginter’s mind. He had heard of him. Ingo spoke of his bag magic more than once. Ginter didn’t understand it in the slightest but it sounded like a godsend right now. “What are you looking for?”

“A rather strange-looking artifact, it is,” Bagin told him. “See, I first found it on a moonless night in a distant region called Kalos. Ever heard of it?”

Ginter nodded. He’d been there once before, long before he’d been properly bonded to Hisui. The language was too different for Ginter to have much luck selling.

“Some thieves took it from me some years ago when I was passing through Hisui,” Bagin went on. “I thought maybe the Galaxy Team got their hands on it but I never saw it once in all my time living with them.”

Ginter hummed a single note. “Well, I can’t promise you I’ll have it if you never found it in Jubilife yourself but I’m feeling generous. Tell me what it is and I’ll decide if tracking it down will be worthwhile.”

Bagin’s lips stretched into a lopsided smile. “Of course. It’s called a Prison Bottle and it contains someone very dear to me.”

Chapter Text

When Mime Jr. took Rei’s hand and tugged him away from Ingo’s tent and toward the Celestica Ruins, Rei didn’t resist. Mime Jr. was sensitive to all sorts of things he couldn’t even fathom. Who was he to question his whims?

“Mime mime mime!”

Rei knew Cogita was there before he saw her. He’d never seen her out of the Ancient Retreat and he certainly never expected to find her climbing around the mountains and yet here she was. She looked utterly out of place but she was there.

“Rei,” Cogita greeted without looking at him. Her gaze was fixed on the nighttime horizon, or at least Ri thought it was night. It was getting hard to tell now that the sky had blackened. Cogita didn’t comment on it though. She just sat on her rock looking as comfortable as a Buizel floating down a lazy stream on a summer day.

“Miss Cogita,” Rei responded politely and wondered if he should approach her. Mime Jr. had stopped tugging so this had to be where he was trying to bring him. That still didn’t give Rei any answers.

Cogita didn’t seem to care though. She normally insisted he sit and accept some tea but she didn’t seem interested in pleasantries tonight. “Have you heard the story of the hero of Hisui?”

Rei was a bit surprised by the question but didn’t let it stop him. He nodded and told her, “Yeah. Ginter mentioned it at… Gee, that was a long time ago. I remember it though. He said Arceus did the… um, he frenzied the… They weren’t Nobles yet. Arceus gave the Hisuian people the power to protect themselves but it was the hero who calmed the Nobles.”

Cogita made a sound of acknowledgment. “The Celestica always had a close bond with Pokémon. Those who transformed gained characteristics like their closest Pokémon companions but even those of us who didn’t transform weren’t unaffected. We honed our bonds and over time those bonds grew into true power.”

“The fae,” Rei murmured.

“And channelers,” Cogita added but kept talking before Rei could ask what that meant. “Power gave the Celestica the confidence to travel and our bloodline got diluted as we spread across the world. Some got caught up in wars, some discovered better trade routes, some just lost themselves in the adventure... Those who stayed in Hisui never lost their power though, even if no one was left to call themselves Celestica.”

“There’s you,” Rei pointed out. Cogita laughed lightly and finally turned to face him.

“I suppose you’re right,” she chuckled. “And I suppose I’m not totally alone. Or, I won’t be if we ever find where Volo ran off to.”

Rei tried not to show his discomfort. It wasn’t hard to keep Volo’s betrayal a secret when he spent all his time at Ingo’s hut but boy was it hard when he wasn’t. “Volo’s Celestica?”

Cogita gestured loosely. “Not by blood, not more than any other guildsmen. But in spirit? Definitely. It was what drew the wisps to him.”

“The wisps?”

“Spiritomb,” Cogita answered then paused. “Had you not studied them for your… what did you call it?”

“Pokédex. And yeah, but I think Akari wrote those pages. I just drew the pictures.” Akari normally wrote the pages about the Pokémon they’d met in battle while Rei covered the ones that took more observation. As they hit the final pages, they hit more Pokémon that were solidly in a middle ground. Still, that was no excuse for Rei not remembering anything about Spiritomb. He was supposed to be a researcher for crying out loud!

“Spiritomb is quite a unique Pokémon. Most Ghost-types are. That Iscan has some sense being afraid of them. You’ve seen that stone Spiritomb drags behind it when it moves?”

Rei nodded. “Yeah. I think Volo said it was called an Odd Keystone?”

Cogita smiled ever so slightly. “That’s right. I don’t know much about it. It’s as much a part of Spiritomb as any of the wisps but it’s so… dead when it’s dormant. See, sometimes when something dies, whether it be a person or a Pokémon, the individual becomes a spirit and sometimes they get trapped here with the living. I’m sure you’ve seen your Typhlosion guiding spirits to the afterlife. If a Typhlosion doesn’t find a trapped spirit in time, they might become a wisp. There aren’t a lot of Typhlosion around these days, not since the Galaxy Team scared off all the Cyndaquil nests, so it happens more than you think.”

Rei’s mind immediately went to all those he’d seen die in the recent battles. Pokémon, furs, fangs, fae, Galaxy Team members… None had escaped the effects of the war. Rei hadn’t seen his Typhlosion leave to guide spirits away in months.

“Why are you telling me this?” Rei asked, fearing the answer.

“Maybe losing Volo is just making this old woman miss her people. Losing Volo meant losing all 108 spirits his Spiritomb had bound to their Odd Keystone. They really loved him, you know,” Cogita said wistfully, shooting a spark of alarm down Rei’s spine. Was Cogita saying what he thought she was saying? Rei didn’t think he could look at Spiritomb and see anything other than the monster he fought the day Akari died. To think they were this ancient woman’s ancestors… She turned and looked back at the ruins around them. “I came here hoping that… These ruins were my home once, you know. I knew your war was difficult but I didn’t think it would reach so high up the mountains.”

Rei kept his mouth shut. He’d been one of the people to fight up here. He’d drawn the ruins long before the sky went red or he’d been forced to take a stance against the Galaxy Team. He of all people knew how much the battles here had ravaged them. The echoes of life were still here but they were far quieter than they’d been a mere year ago.

“This isn’t about me though. I lost my home a long time ago and I’ve accepted that. There are others who’ve lost much more and much more recently.” Cogita shifted and Rei noticed she was holding something in her hands. She glanced at it, then glanced at him, before holding it up like an offering. “I want to try something.”

Rei stared at it. It was a stone, rectangular and etched in a way only tools could shape. He’d recognize it anywhere. It was an Odd Keystone. “This isn’t Volo’s, is it?”

Cogita shook her head. “That would be something, wouldn’t it? But no, it isn’t. It’s yours.”

“Mine?” Rei squeaked, and he was so surprised that he wasn’t even embarrassed that his voice went so high.

“If my theory is right.” She held it up. “Take it and tell me what you see.”

Rei didn’t want to take it. He did anyway. He knew he had to. Rei squeezed his eyes shut and reached out blindly, trusting Cogita to guide his hands to the stone. His fingertips brushed over the rough surface for a few moments before he curled his fingers around its curves, taking it in his own hands. He shifted his thumbs, getting a firmer grip, and pulled it closer. The weight in his hands felt more than literal.

“Open your eyes, Rei,” Cogita told him, voice soft yet firm and commanding at the same time. Rei did as he was told.

He felt it more than saw it. He could definitely see it though. It was brilliant and purple and took up his whole vision. It's presence was far brighter though. No, it was louder. It screamed for his attention, for him to notice it, but it didn’t hurt to look at. It was demanding but it was calm, almost muted. Rei felt his jaw drop as he gazed into its flickering light. He couldn’t tear his attention away.

“Mime?” Mime Jr. patted the side of Rei’s leg. Rei jumped, snapping himself out of his trace. He reached down and scooped Mime Jr. up, letting his Pokémon put a hand on the stone. Rei felt Mime Jr. gasp as his vision flooded with the same purple Rei was seeing.

“Do you see her?” Cogita asked and information flooded Rei’s mind. It was wordless, no real substance, but it was there. The being before him was a her . She was there and Rei could feel her. 

“What is she?” Rei asked, hardly hearing his own voice, as he shifted the Odd Keystone and Mime Jr. around in his arms so he could reach out to try to touch her. She flickered back but spun around his outstretched hand almost playfully.

“She’s a wisp,” Cogita explained. “One of 108 that were born from the death your war brought.”

“Vessa,” Rei said aloud, the words bubbling to his lips.

Cogita looked at him in surprise, and Rei was pretty sure that was the first time he’d seen her do that. “You can hear her?”

Rei moved his hand and let the wisp dance around his fingers. “Not really. I just… I just know. It might be because- I think I knew her before she died. She… she used to play by the bridge in Jubilife. She- she was pretty young.”

Rei swallowed, feeling a nauseous feeling rise in his throat. He’d like to think the clans and the guild were the good guys in the war with the Galaxy Team but he’d been forced to learn there was no such thing as good or bad when it came to survival. Both sides had done terrible things, and it seemed it was people like Vessa who paid the price.

“The wisps are pretty finicky with who can see them. I don’t think even Volo had that kind of connection with his Spiritomb,” Cogita murmured. She shook her head as if clearing away those thoughts and refocused on Rei. “The Odd Keystone is yours. Treat your wisps well.”

Rei looked at Vessa one more time. She bounced in the air a bit before floating forward and slipped into the Odd Keystone. The runes on its surface glowed ever so slightly. Mime Jr. patted the top of it as if assuring himself that the stone was still there. Rei looked down at it, noticing how familiar the Odd Keystone felt in his arms. The image of the terrifying Spiritomb was gone. That uneasy, foreign feeling evaporated. There was only Vessa.

“I’ll protect her,” Rei promised Cogita. To the Odd Keystone, he added, “I’ll find the rest of the wisps too. It’s the least I can do.”

Chapter Text

Tonight was the night.

Today was the day.

Melli was going to ask him.

Everything was right. The darkened sky meant the fangs could travel to the Icelands camp without fear of getting burned. No more waiting in Lord Electrode’s arena waiting for the moment it was safe to come out. This time, Melli could walk with Ingo instead of meeting him there. Not exactly traditional but Melli didn’t care much about that sort of thing.

Akari flew overhead, hopping from rock to rock and tree to tree in short bursts. Rei ran around them, zigzagging every which way anytime he saw something that interested him. Melli kept pace with Ingo, nodding along as Ingo talked about nothing at all. It was nice. Really, it was everything Melli could ask for.

Melli felt when the moon started to rise. A deep thirst began to bubble up inside him and Ingo’s body slowly started to change, hands stretching into claws and vines sprouting from under his coat. The conversation carried on like nothing even happened. They were close enough to the Pearl Camp that they didn’t have to wait long anyway.

Most of the Diamond Clan was already there by the time Melli, Ingo, and the twins arrived. Melli caught Adaman’s eye and tried not to scowl at the teasing glint in it. Instead, he just took Ingo by the sleeve and dragged him to the edge of the camp where his clanmate’s prying eyes couldn’t intrude on the moment to come.

Ingo swept his tail over the ground, brushing the snow away, before sitting down at the base of the tree. They’d done this before since Ingo turned, the feeding that is. They had to. As much as Melli would’ve liked to ask Ingo to be his regular moon-gathering partner right after he became a fur, they were fighting the Galaxy Team at the time and war really wasn’t the time to ask that kind of question. They’d had more than a whole moon cycle of peace now. Now was the time.

“Before we start, I wanted to ask you something,” Melli told Ingo as he straddled his lap. Ingo’s eyes– his still human eyes– watched him curiously. Melli took a deep breath and blurted out, “Will you be my regular partner for the moon gatherings?”

Ingo, to Melli’s surprise, burst out laughing. If Melli were a Crobat instead of a Dustox, his ears would be flat against his head in embarrassment.

“Wait, that’s not what I meant,” Ingo gasped out, clearly struggling to force his laughter away. He reached up, putting an arm around Melli before he could pull away. It was gentle despite his size, far gentler than Melli ever could be. “I’m sorry. I was just surprised.”

“You were surprised?” Melli said flatly but he didn’t look away. This wasn’t how he expected this to go but Ingo hadn’t exactly said no yet. “How is this surprising? I think I made it clear before I didn’t want anyone else and now that you’re a fur, this can actually happen.”

“I know, I know,” Ingo assured. “I’m not surprised you want this. I was just surprised you’re asking.”

Melli stared at him silently.

“You’re practically my husband already,” Ingo told him as if that meant something to him. “We certainly act like it.”

“I don’t know this word,” Melli said but settled down against Ingo’s vine-covered chest. He still felt a little thrown-off but he sensed the conversation was headed the direction he’d been hoping. “It sounds Galarian. What does it mean?”

Ingo opened his mouth then paused, thinking a moment, before explaining. “I don’t think the clans’ language has a translation. You don’t have a word for this do you?”

“For people who feed together every full moon? No. Should we?”

Ingo shrugged. “It is kind of a mouthful to explain every time, isn’t it? Husband is… Galar or wherever I come from doesn’t have the same tradition so it’s not the same but it means… Commitment.”

“Commitment,” Melli echoed. He liked the sound of that. “We’re committed to being together during the full moon.”

“It’s not just that,” Ingo told him. His gaze became distant as if he were trying to unearth a buried memory. “The clans have other relationships that are like what a husband or- or wife? I think that’s the word. I don’t remember what it means all that well. I only remembered it when I started feeling like you’re… When we…”

“What does husband mean for us?” Melli asked, straightening a bit so he could meet Ingo’s gaze. Ingo’s eyes became a little less distant and his perpetual frown softened as Melli leaned closer.

“It’s commitment in every way. It means- It means we share something. We share our lives with each other. We care for each other in a way that’s different from the ways we care about other people. It… It’s not more or less than any other type of love but it’s deep, and real, and genuine. It means we’d be together every full moon but it also means we’ll be together every other day of the month.”

“We share something. It’s deep, and real, and genuine,” Melli repeated and he smiled. “I really like the sound of that, husband.”

Ingo’s frown twitched and Melli knew he was delighted. “Then seal the deal and drain me, husband.”

Melli grinned, flashing his fangs, and reached up to sink them into Ingo’s neck. Ingo was bigger now, bigger than he was when he was a human, and the moon’s power made his fur blood more potent than it ever could be when he was a human. Melli felt energized just from the first few drops. He could’ve stopped there and felt full for the rest of the month but now that there wasn’t risk of accidentally killing his partner, Melli let himself indulge. 

Ingo relaxed after him, clearly enjoying the draining. Melli hadn’t realized how much the moon had been affecting him, too nervous and excited for the night, until now. It seemed the same had happened to Ingo, maybe even more so. His amalgam form was too new for him to understand the moon’s effect on it yet. Melli wasn’t complaining about it though. He drank and drank, soaking up as much of Ingo’s life energy as he could and there were still buckets to spare.

Melli eventually retracted his fangs, pulling them from Ingo’s neck, and swiped his tongue over the mark to help close up the wound. Ingo shifted, resting his arms on Melli’s back, and the two relaxed against each other, lazy from the feeding and impossibly happy just to be together.

“Easy kids,” Ginter warned as Rei and Akari ran by. Gligar wings fluttering after Akari caught his eye and Ginter wondered if maybe he should do something to help. Surely this was Akari’s first gathering as a fang. One of his fellow guildsmen’s wares suddenly stole his attention and Ginter made a beeline toward the cart. “Yoink.”

“Hey!” the guildsman complained as Ginter snatched a bottle from his collection. “You don’t even drink at these things!”

“Where’d you find this?” Ginter asked, somewhat reeling but trying to hide it. He’d spent weeks looking for this thing. He was surprised he found it just out in the open. It couldn’t be that easy, could it?

“Traded for it. Trying to get all the drinks I could for the gathering, you know?” The guildsman shrugged. “You owe me for that.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Ginter waved him off. “Later. Let me make sure this is what I think this is first.”

“Just means he’s going to drink it all and not pay for it,” one of the other guildsmen grumbled loudly but Ginter walked away before he could hear what any of the other guildsmen had to say. Unprofessional, maybe, but Ginter didn’t care much about that.

“Oi, Bagin,” Ginter called, finding his new friend easily enough. There was just something about him, some kind of magic that reached for Ginter’s fae senses. He held up the bottle. “This it?”

Bagin’s expression completely shifted, lighting up with something so brilliantly joyous yet deeply pained at the same time. “Yes!”

His hands reached for it but Ginter pulled it back before his fingers could even brush it. “Ah-ah. You promise to uphold your end of the deal?”

Bagin nodded. “Of course. I know how seriously you fae take deals and I’m certain my god will not mind helping the one who freed him.”

Ginter handed the bottle over, letting Bagin grasp its neck, but he didn’t let go quite yet. “You can have it but don’t open it yet.”

Bagin nodded quickly. “Yes, you’re right. I don’t think Lord Hoopa would take too well to being released into a crowd.”

Rei was bone tired.

It was embarrassing, really. Ingo had to carry him home after the gathering last night and Rei was mortified that this was the night of all nights Ingo did that. Ingo probably wanted to spend the rest of the night with Melli. It was their first moon gathering after he became a fur, afterall. It was something special for them. But it was also Akari’s first moon gathering as a fang and Rei ran himself ragged trying to keep track of her. He hoped she didn’t get this manic every time the full moon rose.

Akari, Ingo, and Melli were tired too and Rei got some rest on the journey back which meant there was no rest now. There were chores to be done and Pokémon to study. His plans, however, were interrupted by a knock at the tent door just before he was going to head out for the day. “Ginter?”

“Young Rei,” Ginter greeted with a nod. “Is Warden Ingo home? I have some important matters to discuss with him.”

“He’s not here right now,” Rei told him then glanced back over his shoulder to double check. Akari was deep asleep on the futon behind him. “He and Melli are being all honeymooney.”

“Honeymooney?” Ginter echoed. “Galarian? I’ve never heard anything about Combee doing anything different during the full moon.”

“That’s not- It’s like when you’re all loveypidovey after you get married.”

“Hisui does not have Pidove or marriage.”

“I- nevermind. I can go get Ingo if you need me to. What did you want to talk about?”

“I have a new friend who I think can help us with something,” Ginter said and turned ever so slightly, allowing Rei to look past him at the figure behind him. The figure floating behind him.

“Bagin?” Rei gaped, staring at the man he’d met so long ago with an open mouth. He looked… different. Incredibly so. Not as different as Ingo looked a couple of months ago but the changes were more drastic than Akari’s after she became a fang. “Why don’t you have any knees?”

Ginter had the look of a man who’d asked himself the same question many times. Bagin, on the other hand, seemed unbothered and let out a deep, full-bellied laugh. “Oh, it’s good to see you again Rei!”

“Bagin is a psychic,” Ginter explained as if that meant something to Rei. “There’s a good number of them in the Kanto region but there’s a… unique effect when- I don’t know how to explain it.”

“I’m from Kalos,” Bagin said and that didn’t help Rei much. He was fae in some way, he assumed, but his appearance was something more akin to a fur. Yet, he wasn’t Hisuian so Rei wasn’t sure if those categories were even applicable. His human form was mixed with characteristics of some Pokémon, clearly, but Rei didn’t recognize which one. How curious.

“Bagin is the chosen patron of the legendary Pokémon Hoopa,” Ginter explained and Rei sensed he was building up to something. “Hoopa is a Psychic-type that has the power to warp space. It can travel farther than an Alakazam can Teleport with no trouble at all! I- I helped Bagin free Hoopa so they could help us find Volo.”

Rei felt every muscle in his body go stiff. Slowly, he twisted his body around and yelled back into the tent cabin. “Akari! Akari, get up!”

She grumbled something back tiredly. Even with the sun covered, fangs were not meant to be out and about in the day. Unfortunate for her, Rei didn’t care much for that right now. He took a few steps into the house and shook her by the shoulder roughly, making her curl away and scowl at him. “Hey! I’m up, I’m up. What time is it anyway?”

“It’s still morning but I need you to go fly to the Moonview Arena.”

“Why? Is something wrong?” she asked, confusion spreading across her face. Rei quickly relayed what Ginter had told her and that confusion sprouted into alarm. She ran toward the door and spread her Gligar wings, preparing to take off. “I’ll be as fast as I can.”

Rei turned back to Ginter and Bagin. He’d almost forgotten they were there and he regretted it. Ginter looked suspicious and that was not what Rei wanted right now. “I expected you to be excited to have a chance to find your friend. You know something.”

“What? No…” Rei tried but Ginter just looked at him and he knew he wasn’t convincing in the slightest. “I shouldn’t tell you.”

“You should absolutely tell me,” Ginter said, voice hard as a Golem. Bagin floated back a few paces and Rei couldn’t blame him. This wasn’t the first time he’d seen this side of Ginter. It wasn’t all that uncommon to see it when things for serious. This was just the first time Rei was on the receiving end and Rei knew he wasn’t going to last long. “Did Volo tell you not to tell me?”

“Not exactly…” 

“Does Ingo know?”

“Do I know what?” Ingo’s voice boomed and Rei’s head snapped up, surprised to hear him so quickly after Akari left. He then noticed the golden hoop and bizarre distortion-like effect. This must be Hoopa’s power. Much faster than sending Akari to fetch the wardens and Rei was thankful for it. He liked Ginter and all, Bagin too, but he felt a lot better to have Ingo at his side.

“I came to ask for your help finding Volo but it seems you were keeping something from me,” Ginter said accusingly. Ingo met his gaze, expression just as fierce. Akari inched over so she was standing next to Rei and Rei resisted the urge to hide behind her. This was too intense for his liking.

“Volo killed Akari,” Melli interjected before Ingo could say anything, surprising all of them. Rei knew Melli could be serious when it mattered but he never would’ve expected him to take a neutral role here, or at least that’s what Rei thought he was doing. He wasn’t quite sure what was happening but he knew Melli trying to use his words to keep Ingo and Ginter from escalating this into something they couldn’t take back. “There- I wasn’t there for it but it seems there’s more to Volo than we thought.”

“He- he wanted to take all of Arceus’s plates from us,” Rei spoke up but his voice sounded distant. “He was working with the Ginkgo Guild’s Almighty Sinnoh. He called it Giratina.”

“Giratina…” Ginter whispered, all the fight draining out of his stance. “Oh, Volo. What have you done?”

“Hoopa and I’ve had some encounters with Giratina in our travels,” Bagin spoke up. He made a face. “Nasty being, Giratina is. I wonder how Volo managed that.”

“Volo always had a harder time with the fae arts than the other guildsmen his age. I never questioned his connection to Togekiss but looking back… He did take to Spiritomb rather well,” Ginter murmured, almost talking to himself. “I suppose the signs he was a channeler were there. But to contact Almighty Giratina? And to do something so heinous…”

“I didn’t see him under Giratina’s influence but from what Ingo told me, Volo was not himself,” Melli said diplomatically and while he had a point, Rei did not want to hear it right now. “There’s a lot we don’t know.”

“He still killed Akari though,” Rei pointed out. Giratina was scary, sure, but that wasn’t what was important here. Akari had died and it was Volo’s fault.

“He was still our friend though,” Akari said in a small voice and Rei whipped around.

“You died! He killed you! And- and you didn’t see what he was like! He wasn’t our friend then!”

Ingo put a hand on Rei’s shoulder, wordlessly telling him to dial it back. “You’re right Rei. He did kill Akari. He can’t take that back. But Melli and Akari are right too. There’s something here we don’t understand. I know how much you two meant to Volo. I can’t imagine he’d willingly do you harm. Giratina must have been affecting him somehow. That doesn’t mean he’s entirely innocent but that doesn’t mean he’s not a victim either. There’s balance to be found and we need to approach with caution.”

Ginter lowered his gaze. “You should have told me, Warden Ingo.”

Ingo didn’t miss a beat. “I see that now.”

“Akari died. What if I’d learned that before you and kept that from you?”

Rei felt Akari flinch beside him. He wasn’t sure why.

“I would be a lot less forgiving than you’re being right now,” Ingo admitted and he adjusted the brim of his hat. “I’ll make it up to you.”

“You will,” Ginter responded and Rei had no question about what was to come.

Chapter Text

Irida knew she shouldn’t be doing this and that’s why it was just her Pokémon with her, not Gaeric. They didn’t seem terribly happy either.

“Espe,” Espeon complained, glaring up at the sky, and Irida couldn’t tell if he was just unhappy about being out at night or the strange clouds that darkened Hisui’s skies these past few weeks were bothering him. The darkness hadn’t blocked out the moon, hadn’t interfered with any of the furs’ nightly transformations, but it was still peculiar indeed.

“We won’t be long,” Irida promised her Pokémon and even she knew it sounded hollow. They wouldn’t travel all the way from the Icelands to Old Jubilife if they were just going to be here a few moments.

Flareon seemed supportive at least. He padded ahead of her, right through the gates, with a confidence Irida could never hope to have herself. “Flare.”

“I want to look at the fields,” Irida told Flareon, using the ribbons of her fur form to reach into his peripheral vision and point toward the back left of the village. “I don’t know what I’m looking for. Some tools… Books would be really nice. But I think the Gingko Guild has already ransacked a lot of the village even though we told them not to. But even some seeds… Anything we can learn from.”

Flareon yipped and darted off, Espeon bounding after him and catching up in a few steps. Irida exchanged a glance with Glaceon who merely sighed in resignation. She was probably even more used to their behavior than Irida was.

“You’ve never been in here, right?” Irida asked, taking her time as she and Glaceon entered the village. Irida glanced off to the left and saw that the little bridge that the villagers used to cross the creek had been destroyed. Through the main street it was then. “Kamado always made you wait outside.”

Glaceon gave a little yip in response and Irida watched her eyes flicker around the village. Not Jubilife’s best look but that didn’t matter much to Glaceon, did it? Most of the Pokémon and clansmen who’d fought Jubilife had never even met someone in the Galaxy Team, save for Rei and Akari. Tonight, Glaceon was probably seeing more than a lot of her clanmates would ever see of Galaxy.

“There were always a lot of guildsmen on this strip,” Irida told Glaceon as they walked through the village, “but there were some more permanent shops too. I always thought it would be fun to shop here but I never really had any of Galaxy’s currency and I don’t think the villagers would’ve wanted to sell me anything anyway.”

“Glaceon,” Glaceon said and it sounded sympathetic even though Irida knew Glaceon didn’t really know what she meant. That was okay. Irida didn’t really know what she meant either. “Glaceon!”

Irida snapped to attention at the sound of her Pokémon’s alarmed bark and looked up just in time to see Glaceon intercept an Aura Sphere with an Ice Beam. Irida brought her arms up, blocking her face, as the force from the disrupted attack slammed into her, nearly sending her toppling. “Wh-What was that? Galaxy?”

It all happened so fast that Irida couldn't get a good look at what was happening. They were near the crop fields, she knew that much, and she saw a few Pokémon but she couldn’t look long enough to identify all of them. There was a Gyarados, she knew that much. They were sort of hard to miss. She didn’t get the chance to look at the rest before a Bone Rush was swinging toward her.

Irida yelped and brought her ribbons up to block the attack. It was lucky she’d decided to come at night when her transformation was nearly at its peak. Even if it wasn’t the full moon, the night still gave her enough power to maintain her Sylveon form and even if Irida wasn’t much of a battler, being part Sylveon was better than being stuck in her daytime form.

“Get back!” Irida shouted, Disarming Voice granting her words a little concussive force. Pink energy knocked the attacking figure back, not much but it was enough to disrupt their fight, and Irida finally got a good look at her attacker. She wasn’t expecting a human.

Human-looking at least. Irida could tell he wasn’t, not with his glowing blue eyes and certainly not when he was charging up another Aura Sphere in his hands.

Irida sensed Glaceon crouch beside her, preparing to launch another Ice Beam, and Irida’s mind scrambled to remember what moves she could use. There weren’t many, she wasn’t a true Pokémon afterall, but she’d proven she could at least sort of fight when the Galaxy Team came after her people. Only, it seemed she would not have to prove herself again today.

“Espe! Espeon!” Espeon darted between the two, waving his twin-tipped tail up high, and barked in the man’s direction. “Espe! Espeon!”

The man lowered his Bone Rush club. “Hmm. I see.”

Irida kept her arms and her ribbons up, not sure what was happening. “Um, hello?”

“Your Espeon says you’re not a threat,” the man told her and slipped his hands into his pockets. Irida had no doubt he could still attack faster than she could but it was a sign of trust, or at least she thought. She lowered her arms and ribbons as well. “Sorry for attacking you but you know how things are these days.”

“You could understand him?” Irida asked, surprised, looking between Espeon and the strange man before her. She’d heard of such things but never witnessed it herself.

“I’m an aura guardian,” the man told her and the words were unfamiliar to Irida. The man seemed to sense this and explained this. “We’re… sort of like a Fighting-type version of psychics. I’m Rye, by the way.”

“Irdia,” Irida told him but she assumed he knew that. “What are you doing here?”

“Farming,” Rye told her easily and gestured back toward the crop fields. The Pokémon that Irida had seen before were no longer poised to attack, wandering off to settle down once more, and Irida could finally get a good look at them. Other than Gyarados, Rye had an Ursaring, a Rhydon, and a Lucario.

“Why?” Irida asked, a little surprised and a little suspicious. She had her reasons for being interested in the crops but food scarcity wasn’t really a problem out here, even when it got cold.

“It’s what I know.” Rye shrugged. “I was part of the Agriculture Corps.”

Irida felt her nose scrunch up. “You chose to live with the humans?”

Rye looked at her. “I am a human. We’re both human, are we not?”

Irida couldn’t believe she was hearing him say such things. “No! Of course not. Why would you say that?”

Rye shrugged again. “We’re not Pokémon. We think, act, and feel like humans do.”

“We’re not humans though,” Irida pointed out and waved her ribbons around. “Look at me. Do I look like a human? 

“Aura Guardians don’t look in the same way that you do. We see auras above all else.” 

What was that supposed to mean? The Ginkgo Guild talked about auras sometimes but Irida didn’t think they meant it in the same way as Rye did. Rei’s studies said something about Lucario’s auras. That was probably more what Rye meant? She could sort of imagine seeing auras. She could see when Rye used Aura Sphere. It wasn’t quite the same though.

“Your body changes but you remain the same, right?” Rye offered when Irida didn’t respond and Irida didn’t quite agree with that. During the full moon, plenty of furs and fangs became something that wasn’t quite themselves. “You were human first then your body became something else. That doesn’t mean you’re not human anymore.”

“I’m a fur,” Irida said firmly even though she supposed she could sort of see where Rye was going now. She hadn’t been born a fur. Adaman hadn’t been born a fang. Ginter wasn’t born a fae. They became them. But they were different to begin with. Weren’t they? Irida never felt human. She hardly had notion of such a thing until the Galaxy Team came. “Furs, fangs, fae, channelers, psychics, aura guardians, Almighty Si- Almighty Arceus created us. 

“He did,” Rye agreed, “but I think it’s more accurate to say he changed us. Human variants, if you need a compromise.”

Irida didn’t want a compromise. She wanted to tell him he was wrong but she didn’t think Rye would relent. “That doesn’t explain why you were living among them. You didn’t side with them, did you?”

“Oh, no. Lucario and I fled during the first attack and we took as many of our friends’ Pokéballs with us as we could.” Rye shook his head. “Galar is drafting men to help its expedition efforts, at least when I left my home region. It’s too much of a risk for an aura guardian to be fighting so I joined the Agriculture Corps hoping I would be sent to a more peaceful region. I was, sort of at least.”

“What do you mean it’s too much of a risk?”

“We’re still not like them. Galarians don’t like things that aren’t like them. Maybe calling us nonhuman is more accurate,” Rye relented. “There’s some part of us that’s different. Most aura guardians and psychics the Galarians found back home were killed. Joining an expedition and getting ‘lost’ in the new region is the safest way a lot of us have out.”

That was… That was sad. Irida hadn’t thought about people like herself trying to live among the humans. She couldn’t imagine how stressful that must have been. Every little move had the potential to out you to the humans. And there wouldn’t even be other furs or aura guardians or- what did Rye call it? Nonhuman? All the others like you would be hiding as well. Irida couldn’t imagine how lonely that must be.

“Why are you telling me all this?” Irida asked, abruptly aware that they were just standing in the ruins of Jubilife Village in the middle of the night. Mere minutes ago, Rye had been attacking her. Why were they debating the nature of Arceus’s gifts?

Rye shrugged. “I’ve been here- what? A month and a half? I haven’t seen any other hu- sorry. I haven’t talked to anyone that wasn’t a Pokémon in awhile. I sensed you coming and I thought… I don’t know. The scare you gave me was a good reminder.”

“A reminder of what?” Irida asked but Rye didn’t answer her question.

“What are you doing in Jubilife?” he asked. “Far way off for a fur.”

“I-” Irida cut herself off. How much did she want to tell him? He was practically a stranger, a member of Team Galaxy too. But he did say he was part of the Agriculture Corps and he was hanging around the fields so…

“Would you like to come in?” Rye asked, demeanor shifting into something almost friendly. “Sorry. I just realized I’ve been talking your ear off just standing out here in the field. You must be cold.”

“Fur,” Irida reminded and she meant it literally. At night, it was hard for her to get cold with the light fur covering her skin. “But that would be nice.”

Rye led her into what was once the Agriculture Corps barracks, only it seemed a lot of it had been torn down and put back up. Irida wasn’t sure if Rye had done that by choice or if these were repairs from battle. It was nice though, almost like a little home. He let her sit down at a table and got a kettle going. Despite how strange this whole interaction was, it felt almost normal.

“So you’re from Galar?” Irida asked a little awkwardly. She couldn’t just ask him to spill all of the Galaxy Team’s secrets.

“Kanto,” Rye corrected, surprising Irida. Some of the guildsmen ventured over there on occasion. They had good tea. Irida wondered if that was what Rye was making, though she doubted it. It was too valuable to be wasting on her.

“Kanto?”

Rye hummed in acknowledgment and came to join her at the table. “The Galaxy Team isn’t the only Galarian expedition. Galar’s sent a lot of people to Alola, Hoenn, Johto, and Kanto too. There were a fair amount of aura guardians in my hometown but one of my uncles was married to a psychic. She warned us about the expedition team before they made it to our town. We were able to pretend we just had close bonds with our Pokémon. I don’t think they ever knew we were different.”

Irida could read between the lines. Rye had said Galarians killed aura guardians and psychics. The aura guardians hid so whatever happened to the psychics wouldn’t happen to them too.

“I was pretty young when the Galarians came. Made it easy to join up when the king started telling the expedition team to start collecting people to send back to Galar for new conquests.” Rye shook himself. “I’m glad I ended up in Hisui though. There’s just something about this place. My aura… It feels connected to this land somehow. I’d always thought about escaping Galaxy but I just never found the will to do it until you Hisuians attacked the village.”

Irida winced. It hadn’t felt good to make the first move, even when Ingo told them Almighty Arceus willed it, but what was done was done. It was odd hearing Rye frame it as a good thing. “But you came back.”

Rye shrugged. “Where else would I have to go?”

That was a good point. “I imagine the guild would have you.”

Rye’s eyes glinted with what Irida thought was amusement. “But not Pearl?”

Irida spluttered for a moment, not expecting him to say that. They’d just met, afterall. Was it weird she hadn’t offered? Or would it be more weird if she had? Flareon bumped his shoulder against her shin under the table though and Irida forced herself to calm down. Rye was just teasing. “I don’t think you’d like the Icelands.”

“I don’t think I would,” Rye agreed. “No cropland up there.”

Here was the opportunity she’d been waiting for. “That’s why I’m here actually. It’s so hard to get food up there, especially when in the winter and the guild can’t make the journey to trade with us.”

“I don’t think much would grow up there,” Rye told her as the kettle started whistling. He rose to attend to it. “Even if the cold didn’t kill the crops, there’s just too much snow.”

Irida knew this. Her clan had tried growing things before and failed every time. But now… “The Galaxy Team knew much more about farming than we do. Surely there’s something…”

Rye’s eyes flickered over her for a moment as he began pouring the tea. The cups were nice, if a little scuffed. He walked back to the table, putting one in front of each of them. “Sounds fun.”

“Fun?” Irida echoed. This was her clan’s future they were talking about! How could he say this was fun?

Rye hummed. “I’ve been farming in the same sort of climate half my life. I told you there’s something about this place my aura feels connected to. I’d love to learn more about this land.”

Irida realized what he was offering. She took the cup of tea into her hand and raised it to her lips to drink as she thought. It was a generous offer. One she couldn’t afford to pass up. But Rye was still a stranger. Not Galarian but of the Galaxy Team, even if he said he’d only come here to escape. That didn’t mean he could be trusted.

The tea hit her tongue and warmth sank into her body. It was good, both the taste and the heat. The taste flooded her tongue and it took her more than a few moments to recognize it. Kantonian. It tasted like the same blend Volo had sold her a few months ago. What ever happened to it? Probably used in the war. It’d been important to keep their allies warm when the Galaxy Team’s forces began traveling North.

Hisui wasn’t quite ready to start indulging in luxuries yet but with the guild stuck in Hisui for the time being, tea like this was valuable now more than ever. And Rye was sharing it with her.

“You said you were lonely,” Irida started and Rye made a face but she ignored it. “How would you like to come back to the Icelands with me?”

Rye opened his mouth and Irida knew it was to say no so she kept talking before he could.

“Bring some seeds or whatever you use to grow. Learn more about our land. Figure out what can be planted there and the Pearl Clan will welcome you in whatever way you wish.”

Rye watched her for a moment, blinking slowly. “I don’t know if I can leave my crops unattended here for long.”

“It doesn’t have to be long,” Irida said smoothly. “You can travel back and forth if you want. Just… Hisui is healing. And I don’t know if we can make it through the winter without food.”

They’d be in his debt. Irida didn’t voice that quite yet, she wasn’t sure if she was quite that desperate yet, but it was true. They needed this. They needed Rye and all his human knowledge.

“I will try,” Rye told her and Irida felt like the weight of Coronet was lifted off her shoulders.

Chapter Text

They knew it was coming. They all did, except maybe Zorua. Typhlosion found it a little surprising, Zorua being a ghost and all, but Typhlosion couldn’t blame him. He’d felt what Galaxy had put Hisui through but he couldn’t imagine actually being among them when it happened.

Perhaps it was unfair to say Galaxy had put Hisui through this. Typhlosion had lived among them once too. He’d been happy then, or at least he couldn’t remember if there were any bad moments. Just a Cyndaquil, a Rowlett, and an Oshawott cuddled up in Laventon’s lab, not knowing what was happening outside Jubilife’s walls. Arceus, where did Oshawott end up? Hopefully, he was still with Laventon. As much as Typhlosion had grown to hate Galaxy for what they did to Rei and Akari, Laventon had always been good to them.

Mime Jr. kept trying and Typhlosion couldn’t tell if it was for appearances or if he was really that naive. Typhlosion still had a hard time understanding him. Baby Pokémon were just hard to read like that. Being unevolved didn’t mean they weren’t grown and Typhlosion felt more aware of that now more than ever.

Ingo tried to keep Rei and Mime Jr. away from Infernape ever since they came back to their home in the mountains. Typhlosion understood why, even thinking Ingo should have tried harder, but he understood why he relented. Infernape was not doing well. There was no other way to put it. Maybe Peselle could have helped him but she wasn’t here. Ingo and Melli were the only adults here and there was only so much they could do. So, healing well on Mime Jr. and his powers. He was just a little thing though and like Ingo and Melli, there was only so much he could do.

Typhlosion could feel the shadow of death before it came. It lingered around the tent for days. Mime Jr. could feel it too, or at least Typhlosion thought he could. Fairy-types were sensitive to these things too. Mime Jr. wouldn’t keep swatting his little hands at nothing if he couldn’t feel it.

Zorua must have too. He had to. Typhlosion were uniquely linked to the dead but Zorua were the dead. Zorua had died once, if Rei’s research was to be believed. Zorua should know what death felt like. It clung to his fur and bones and followed him wherever he went. But Infernape’s death still took him by surprise.

Raichu let Zorua whimper and whine into his belly when Mime Jr. delivered the news. He didn’t wail or cry like the humans did, though neither Rei nor Akari did much of that, especially not these days. They’d all been hardened by the battle with Galaxy and, again, they’d all seen Infernape’s death coming. It still hurt but it hadn’t crept up on them. It hadn’t taken them by surprise. It just… happened.

“May he rest in peace,” Zorua whimpered when he’d finally emerged from Raichu’s comfort to look at his friend.

“What?” Typhlosion’s gaze shifted between him and Infernape’s still-lingering ghost. He did not look peaceful, let alone restful.

“It’s something the Galaxy Team would say,” Zorua told them and Typhlosion felt his lip curl in distaste. What did the Galaxy Team know about death? They were the ones who brought it. “I don’t remember when I died but I think I would have liked it if someone put me to rest.”

Typhlosion felt the fight melt out of him. A peaceful rest. It did sound nice. The souls he guided rarely felt like that but it was a nice thought.

“He looks like he’s resting,” Raichu offered even though it wasn’t really true. Infernape’s body looked like it was in pain. The end had not been kind to him.

“The body is a shell we leave behind,” Mime Jr. said, his words surprising Typhlosion a little. Again, a reminder being a baby Pokémon didn’t mean a thing. “To die is to be free.”

“I don’t know if I’d say it like that,” Lady Sneasler grunted as she padded her way into the tent. She rarely came in here. Someone must have gone to fetch the other Pokémon from outside because quite a few were poking their heads in now. “I like the idea of him being at rest though. What else did Galaxy do for their dead?”

Typhlosion didn’t like that she was asking but Zorua’s ears perked up a bit. “They’d say prayers. I don’t, um, remember the name of their god but it doesn’t really matter. Infernpe is going to be with Arceus. And they’d burn the bodies.”

Typhlosion wasn’t expecting those last few words to come out of Zorua’s mouth. “What?”

The other Pokémon looked alarmed too but Zorua nodded and kept talking like he didn’t even notice. “Uh-huh. I think, um, the king’s Pokémon in… One of the legendary Pokémon uses energy. Fire and electricity, I think. Burning the body releases the spirit inside or something so the Pokémon or person’s energy can find the afterlife.”

Typhlosion looked at Infernape’s lingering ghost again. Souls escaped their bodies just fine, no fire needed. What was Zorua on about?

“It’s efficient,” Alakazam spoke up. “There is no time to bury bodies during a war.”

Decidueye caught onto what she was saying. “Infernape can go like everyone else who died in the war.”

“And we pray he is the last Galaxy takes from us,” Lady Sneasler added. She nodded once, almost to herself, and then looked out to the group. “So we are decided?”

Typhlsoion looked at Infernape’s ghost, trying to gauge how he was feeling. Typhlosions tried not to reveal too much about their powers as a rule but Typhlosion would say something if Infernape didn’t want his body burned. Infernape barely reacted though. His body wasn’t really him anymore, Typhlosion supposed. Maybe there was something symbolic about a Fire-type burning but in the end, funerals were for the living. It didn’t matter what happened to the body.

Alakazam picked up Infernape’s body with her psychic powers and the rest of the Pokémon trailed closely behind as she brought Infernape outside. Typhlosion followed, hanging toward the back of the group, and watched as the humans realized what the Pokémon already knew. Typhlosion wasn’t sure what Ingo, Melli, Rei, and Akari had been doing before the Pokémon emerged but they stopped whatever it was and silently came over to join them.

Rei put his hand under Typhlosion’s chin and scratched him softly, saying something in his human words that Typhlosion didn’t need to listen to in order to understand the meaning of. This was the bond between trainer and Pokémon, the bond Galaxy tried to take away.

“Fire-type moves,” Lady Sneasler called but Typhlosion didn’t move. Magmar and Skuntank’s Flamethrowers would be enough. They crowded around Infernape’s body, breathed softly, and Typhlosion turned away, padding off into the night while everyone was distracted. He let the wreath around his neck blaze to life, purple flames flickering behind him, and he felt Infernape’s attention lock on him. Typhlosion kept walking and Infernape followed close behind.

They walked around the mountain a bit, Typhlosion gathering his power and Infernape taking one last look at the land he called home, before Typhlosion’s pawsteps began drifting north. He felt light, like he was floating through time and space instead of walking all that way. Absently, he wondered if Infernape felt the same way. Typhlosion still had a mortal body to feel the Iceland’s snow beneath his paws but Infernape did not. He could never feel anything again except Typhlosion’s influence and the release from this plane into what lay beyond.

Typhlosion made it all the way to the stairs of the Snowpoint Temple before something started pulling Infernape from him.

He didn’t notice it at first, too caught up in his ritual to realize something was wrong, but then it hit him all at once. Infernape was drifting away from him. Where was he going? They had to keep going up the stairs if he wanted his soul to join Arceus.

For the first time in his life, Typhlosion turned and followed the soul instead of the other way around. He padded through the temple, the stone somehow colder against his paws than the snow outside, and let his flames shine even brighter, trying to catch Infernape’s attention again but Infernape seemed set on his path away from the staircase.

Typhlosion had been here before, albeit in a Pokéball but he’d still been here. He knew where he was when he heard that distorted sound.

It was totally unlike the sound any Pokémon in Hisui made but it didn’t sound wrong like Porygon-Z or those weird Electrode from the time-space distortion did. It sounded artificial and unnatural but somehow Typhlosion knew it wasn’t. Regigigas was speaking, just in a tongue too old for Typhlosion to understand. It was still speaking though. Typhlosion just wished he could understand what it was saying.

It stood nearly motionless in this Snowpoint chamber, seemingly unaware of Typhlosion and Infernape’s presence, but it kept speaking so Typhlosion wasn’t quite sure. Infernape didn’t seem to notice Regigigas either. He was focused on something behind it?

Typhlosion didn’t recognize the pattern on the wall behind Regigias before Infernape’s spectral form reached out and touched it. A blink and Infernape’s soul was no more. Instead, it was… this.

Typhlosion entered the chamber, walking past Regigigas without issue, and reached out a paw to investigate the… wisp? It was round and purple and it looked a lot like those things Rei had been collecting in that Odd Keystone Cogita had given him. But that couldn’t be right. The Odd Keystone stored the wisps. It didn’t create them.

Typhlosion glanced back at the wall Infernape had touched. The bricks the wall was made from, they all looked like the Odd Keystone, same pattern and everything. A few of them were missing too. That was… weird.

The wisp flew out of the chamber before Typhlosion could try to make a grab for it. Typhlosion didn’t run after it. If he was right, he’d be seeing Infernape’s wisp soon anyway. That was the least of his worries.

“What is this?” Typhlosion asked. Regigigas made those unintelligible noises again and Typhlosion thought it sounded like he was responding to him but he couldn’t be sure. Typhlosion shook his head and padded out of the chamber, heading out of the temple. He had to be back home by morning or Rei would set out for the day without him.

Chapter Text

Adaman still couldn’t tell if Hisui’s recently darkened sky was affecting the moon’s influence or not.

They still didn’t know where it had come from either. The red sky had come from the rift. Lord Dialga and Lord Palkia’s frenzied state made their powers pull at it and the sky changed color. The Diamond Clan wardens had discussed something like that happening again, only all of Hisui’s Legendary Pokémon were accounted for, as far as Adaman was aware. Save Almighty Arceus, of course. This darkened sky must have been his doing. A blessing for the fangs, Adaman wanted to believe, but he just couldn’t be sure.

During the day, the thick, murky fog covered the sun but the night was a hit or miss. Sometimes the moon was visible and sometimes it wasn’t. Maybe it was just clouds and the darkness went away at night, or maybe the darkness sat somewhere between the moon and the sun. Adaman just didn’t know. He was no scientist.

Adaman was a fang though and that should have meant something but he always had a hard time understanding how the moon affected him. Growing up, he’d been told the full moon was when both the fangs and the furs’ power was at its peak. They became frenzied, almost like the once-frenzied Nobles who Almighty Arceus had granted the Hisuian people the power to defend themselves from centuries ago. That was why they met each month. The fangs’ draining calmed the furs and the furs’ energy settled the fangs.

But Adaman didn’t know how true that was. Sometimes he felt fine on the full moon. More antsy or agitated than a regular day but still fine. In control. But sometimes he didn’t. Sometimes he felt like one of the Alpha Pokémon that gave the fangs and the furs their power, mindless and hungry. He was still Adaman though, he never completely lost himself, but there were nights he needed the feeding more than others.

Tonight was one of them.

The fangs journeyed to the Iceland camp again. The night was warm and good for flying so Adaman didn’t mind. His Crobat wings silently beat the air as his clanmates flapped and screeched around him. They too were feeling the full moon strongly tonight, it seemed. Adaman beat his wings a little faster, pulling to the front of the group.

Adaman’s senses tunneled, feeling more than seeing the warm bodies in the camp below as he neared. Something inside him screamed for him to feed as he dived down through the air but something else in him kept him from latching onto the first fur he saw. It was a good choice too. Gaeric was big, especially on the full moon, but Adaman’s fang instinct wouldn’t let him latch onto him.

Adman scrambled around on the ground like he forgot how to use his feet for a moment before he felt thin, flat ribbons wrap around his wrists and ankles, lifting him up and pulling him across the camp. He calmed ever so slightly as Irida in her Sylveon form came into sight. She pulled him closer and he wordlessly craned his neck forward to sink his teeth into her neck.

Energy filled his body as blood filled his mouth and Adaman could feel his mind and senses sharpening once again. Irida moved, careful not to jostle Adaman, and settled down with her back against one of the poles of a nearby tent. Adaman shifted his body, still not moving his head, and got into a more comfortable position to finish the feeding.

It lasted several minutes and it was only when he felt Irida’s body go limp. She was not unconscious but it wasn’t relaxation or relief either. Irida had tried to explain it to him once but a fur’s need to be drained and a fang’s need to feed were so different that Adaman had a hard time conceptualizing it. Being drained meant being too tired to keep doing what the moon’s influence wanted a fur to do, that was the closest Adaman could get to understanding it.

Adaman rolled off Irida’s body, settling down beside her. They didn’t lean against each other, not like some furs and fangs did, but they was still a comfort there, even if it wasn’t physical. Adaman took a few deep breaths and tried to focus on the warm feeling of blood in his body again. Now that he was feeling a little less moon-crazy, he could try to enjoy the good feelings the full moon brought.

Irida was feeling introspective too, it seemed, but she went in a different direction than Adaman did. “Do you ever wish we were like Warden Ingo and Warden Melli?”

“What?” Adaman turned his head to look at her almost lazily. “What do you mean?”

“They call it marriage,” Irida said, the word sounding foreign on her tongue. She scrunched her muzzle like she didn’t like it. “It’s a Galarian word but it makes sense. It’s the bond between a committed fur and fang.”

“We have that,” Adaman pointed out even though he understood where Irida was going.

“Not like them,” she told him. “We’re not… intimate. Our feeding is transactional. We do it because we’re the leaders of our clans, not because we chose each other.”

“Do you… Do you want a more intimate bond?” Adaman asked and his words stirred an uneasy feeling in his chest. “Or do you want to feed with someone else?”

Irida shook her head. “No, that’s not what I meant.”

“Do you want to have pups with another fur?” Adaman tried again and he didn’t like that question much either. Thankfully, Irida shook her head again.

“No, not that. I don’t know what I’m saying.” She shook herself. “I don’t know… I’m just thinking about how I didn’t know it would be like this when I became leader of the clan.”

Adaman understood what she meant. “I feel like I was so young. And you were even younger.”

“Do you wish you hadn’t evolved?”

“It doesn’t work like that.” Adaman was a Crobat. Evolving from Zubat to Golbat, that took some conscious action on his part. But from Golbat to Crobat? He didn’t choose that. It was just… him. “Do you wish you hadn’t evolved?”

“It doesn’t work like that,” Irida repeated.

“It’s different for Eevee though,” Adaman pointed out. “You could’ve taken an evolution stone. You would’ve made a good Glaceon.”

Irida snorted. “Maybe. I love my clan though and I’m proud my evolution shows it, even if it means I don’t have…”

Irida trailed off and Adaman understood where she was going with. Of course. Crobat evolved from happiness but Sylveon evolved from affection. Very similar, both of their evolutions showed their commitment and love for the clan, but Sylveon usually evolved for someone, not something as abstract as a clan.

“Do you want that? To love someone romantically,” Adaman asked. Not everyone did but it was common. New furs and fangs had to come from somewhere. They weren’t fae, stealing children to join their ranks. A lot of people didn’t though. Hisui’s population was only so big.

“I don’t know,” Irida responded and there was something in her voice that told Adaman she was leaving something out. He broke into a grin.

“Do you have a crush on someone?”

“No!” she denied then seemed to realize that only confirmed it. “Maybe? I’ve been talking to someone…”

“A fur?”

She shook her head. “Have you heard of aura guardians?”

He had. “They haven’t been seen in Hisui for a long time.”

“There was one on the Galaxy Team. He was from Kanto and he joined the Galaxy Team hoping to escape,” Irida explained and Adaman reeled back ever so slightly. That was a lot. He had questions but they weren’t talking about Galaxy and the war right now. “He’s… I guess I’ve never really met someone outside of the clans or the guild.”

Galaxy, Adaman wanted to point out, but he didn’t. They both knew why neither of them would entertain such a thing.

“I don’t know how I feel about him, just that I want to see him more. I know I have to think about my clan first but…”

“There’s nothing wrong with wanting something like that.”

“Thank you,” Irida said softly. “Have you ever…?”

Adaman wanted to say no but if he couldn’t talk about this with Irida, who else could he? “Unfortunately.”

“Unfortunately?”

“I… liked someone in the clan. The Diamond Clan. At some point,” Adaman admitted and he didn’t look at Irida, not wanting to look at her reaction. “It was never anything serious. I always knew nothing would come of it.”

“We’re married to our clans.”

“Yes. That’s a good way to put it.”

The silence sat between them for a good stretch.

“This isn’t nothing though,” Irida pointed out. “We’re committed to each other, even if we don’t have those sorts of feelings for each other. And that means our clans are married in a way.”

Adaman felt a half smile slip onto his face. “Yeah. Yeah, we will always have each other at least and our clans will still have each other after we’re gone.”

Irida made a face. “I mean I guess? I wasn’t really thinking about it like that but whatever works for you.”

Adaman laughed at that and he was pretty sure both he and Irida felt a lot lighter.

Chapter Text

“Your feet freeze to the ground?” Irida asked teasingly and Rye tried not to make a face at her.

“No,” he responded, unable to keep the petulance out of his voice. “I just need a minute.”

“Scared?” Irida goaded lightheartedly. When Rye didn’t respond, the light in her eye dimmed and she grew more serious. “It’s okay if you don’t want to go into the village. We can try again another time.”

“No, no.” Rye shook his head. “It’s fine. It’s just been awhile since I’ve been somewhere like this before.”

“A village? It’s only been a few months since you were living with Galaxy.”

Rye shook his head again. “A monster community.”

Irida made a face. “I know what you mean but I don’t like how that sounds.”

“A place where a bunch of non-human, non-Pokémon live is too much of a mouthful. You’re the one who kept insisting we’re not human,” Rye responded a little sarcastically. “In Kanto, the outsiders called us all aura guardians, psychics, and fae monsters. It works as well as any other word.”

Rye knew it sounded bad but he was long since used to it. The Hisuian people had seen worse than him though so he understood why Irida didn’t like it. She didn’t fight him on it though so he kept talking.

“Aura guardians and psychics were pretty solitary,” Rye explained. “We had home villages we’d come back to but we usually had places to live off on our own.”

“Like wardens?”

That was actually a pretty good comparison. “Like wardens.”

“The furs, fangs, and fae have always lived in groups,” Irida told him. Rye suspected as much but he’d never heard the story from a Hisuian himself. “Almighty Arceus made us- made us what we are to protect ourselves and each other. And furs, fangs, and fae all rely on each other so much. I can’t imagine any of us being on our own.”

They were sort of, in a way. “You all live in separate groups. Furs, fangs, and fae, I mean. Wouldn’t it make more sense to all live together?”

“It’s too hot and muggy in the Mirelands for anyone with fur and it’s too cold in the Icelands for anyone with wings or can’t produce their own heat,” Irida said simply as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “The guild need to wander by nature and traveling between our camps for the full moon makes us feel closer to Almighty Si- er, Lord Dialga and Lord Palkia.”

That made sense actually. Not the most efficient but it made sense. Rye was sure there were places other than the Icelands the furs could live but still could eat during the winter. That wasn’t his problem to fix though. He was just here to lend his knowledge.

“I’m ready,” Rye said, shaking himself a bit. “Lead the way.”

Glaceon ended up leading the way, Irida’s Flareon and Espeon winding their way around Rye’s feet, wanting to be close but being careful not to trip him up. Rye’s Pokémon had stayed behind in the remains of Jubilife, Rye not wanting to leave his own crops unattended for too long, so Flareon and Espeon’s presence was a comfort.

A fair amount of clansmen were gathered around the center of the village as Irida and Rye arrived, clearly expecting Rye’s arrival. A big, shirtless man met Rye’s gaze and broke into a grin. “Ah. I’ve seen you poking around the Icelands lately. I should have known you were the one Lady Irida put on her little quest.”

Rye looked to Irida, not sure how to respond. She seemed unbothered though. “This is Warden Gaeric. He watches over Lord Avalugg and helps me run the clan. I thought he should hear what you learned from your research.”

Rye glanced over the rest of the villagers. They looked small compared to Gaeric but Rye knew what types of bodies were well-suited for the Agriculture Corps and these weren’t it. Just curious villagers maybe?

“Go ahead, aura guardian,” Gaeric rumbled and Rye swallowed, trying to find his voice.

“Um, hi. I’m Rye,” Rye said awkwardly, suddenly very nervous about talking in front of a group. It was a big jump from what he was used to. But he knew crops and he’d come here to talk about crops so that’s what he was going to do. “Iri- um, Lady Irida told me that the Pearl Clan has trouble getting food in the winter so she was looking into some Agriculture Corps’ farming techniques. I’ve spent the past few weeks trying to understand what kind of plants you can grow here and how you can do it.”

Rye launched himself into his explanation, losing himself in his speech enough to forget he was talking to a bunch of people he didn’t know. Aspear Berries, Sootfoot Root, and Sand Radishes grew well here. It would be unrealistic to start planting Aspear Berries and hope to rely on them for the winter but they could map out harvesting routes. For the Pearl Clan’s purposes, Sand Radishes and Sootfoot Root could be farmed if they treated the soil right in their chosen area and insulated the plants with the right kind of mulch.

“They don’t take long to grow either,” Rye finished. “Only a couple of months. That means you can stockpile them for stores before winter begins, harvest them at the beginning of the cold season, and replant them so you have a new food abundance part way through the winter.”

Rye stopped, not liking the hopeful feeling sitting in his stomach. He shouldn’t care. He did though. Agriculture, specifically feeding a village, had been his life for years, even if he didn’t like the Galaxy Team, but now he had the opportunity to help a village of people like him. Not exactly like him but it was something. He wanted them to want this. He wanted them to want him.

The villagers erupted into questions. Some didn’t understand sacrificing what could be food now to be food later. Some were scared this wouldn’t work and all their effort would be for nothing. Some worried the people who worked on the farm would hoard the resulting food from those who did not or could not contribute. Some just didn’t like the idea of borrowing Galaxy knowledge.

“I think this is an excellent plan,” Gaeric’s voice boomed over them, interrupting the villagers’ noisemaking. “I hear you’re concerns and those are for me and Lady Irida to figure out but Rye’s ideas are sound. Thank you for the gift you have given the Pearl Clan, my friend.”

“Y-You’re welcome,” Rye stuttered out, not expecting the praise. Gaeric nodded and turned back to the clansmen, waving his hands to settle them down before attempting to answer their questions. Rye watched for a few moments, feeling a little awkward. It was more logistics, all leadership stuff. Not really what he was meant to help with. Was this his sign to leave?

Irida met his eye, pulling Rye off to the side. “Thank you for your help.”

“You’re welcome,” Rye told her, not knowing what else to say. It wasn’t no problem. It’d been a massive inconvenience and he hated the cold. But he’d done it for a reason, even if he didn’t know what that reason was, and he was happy with the result.

“Will we be seeing you again?” Irida asked almost innocently. “I’m sure we could use your help once we actually start planting.”

Rye did not really want to be here for that. Even if there was a trick to planting, Rye didn’t really want to be teaching the clansmen anything. Just coming here was kind of weird.

“I’d love to see you again too.”

Rye felt some of his resistance breaking. Like he’d told Irida the day he’d met, he’d only spoken to Pokémon in weeks. Coming to the village was a bit much for him and he knew he’d want his alone time to recover for awhile but that wouldn’t last forever. He knew he’d grow lonely once more and his options in Hisui were kind of limited. Irida wasn’t a bad one though.

“I don’t want to leave my crops for long,” Rye started, seeing the disappointment flash on Irida’s face, “but I can afford to leave them for a bit, especially since harvest season isn’t for awhile. Plus, my Gyarados is one of those flying ones Rei caught. It wouldn’t be too much of an inconvenience to visit once in awhile.”

“I look forward to it,” Irida told him, breaking into a bright smile. It sparked a warm feeling in his chest that lingered Rye’s whole journey home.

Chapter Text

When the sky got dark, Rei expected his and Akari’s sleep schedules to sync back up but they didn’t. Rei and Ingo slept at night and Melli and Akari slept during the day even though they didn’t burn anymore. That was fine. They still got the mornings and evenings together. Rei could get used to it but he didn’t think he could get used to waking up and seeing blood on Akari’s face.

Rei screamed when he saw it, which sent Akari into fight or flight. She wasn’t amused when she realized he’d been startled by the blood.

“For me, it’s food,” Akari pointed out and Rei tried to understand that, he really did, but it wasn’t the same. “It’s the same as having food on my face.”

“It’s blood,” Rei said even though there was no meaning to it. “Melli’s not walking around with blood on his face.”

“Melli feeds off Ingo,” Akari pointed out. “It’s a lot easier to stay clean when you don’t have to hunt down the thing you’re draining.”

“Both me and Ingo have offered to let you drink from us,” Rei told her, trying not to sound accusatory, and Akari just fidgeted, looking uncomfortable. They’d talked about this before and Akari refused every time, even refusing other Pearl clansmen and the rare guildsman during the full moon gathering. Rei didn’t understand what her hang up was. “How is hunting Pokémon down any better?”

“I don’t know,” Akari responded and she sounded miserable enough that Rei felt guilty for how he was talking to her. “I just- I don’t know, it’s weird to feed on another person or one of our Pokémon? And I feel bad when I hunt down a Pokémon but at that point I’m not really thinking straight.”

“Wait, what?” Rei did a double take. He thought fangs only got crazy under the full moon but then again, Akari wasn’t feeding during the full moon. Was she starving herself and gorging out on wild Pokémon when it got too bad to resist? It didn’t seem like Akari was going to answer though. Panic flashed across her face before her expression shut down, her whole body clamping up.

“Forget it,” Akari turned away and stalked deeper into the tent where their beds were. “I’m going to get some sleep. Have fun researching today.”

Rei watched her for a moment before sighing and getting up to go collect his Pokémon. He hadn’t really been planning on doing any research today but he didn’t really want to be here right now. Rei collected Typhlosion, Floatzel, Staraptor, and Mime Jr. and took off toward the Fieldlands.

There wasn’t much left to study in the Fieldlands but it was close and there was something nostalgic about it. It was the first place Rei and Akari had studied after all. The place they’d first adventured with Volo, the place they’d caught most of their teams. It made it all the more exciting when he discovered something new here though. There were areas he and Akari had explored more than others. The waterways, particularly, had been inaccessible for so long. There was still much to learn from them. He was still yet to find out why there were only Magikarp in the blocked off parts of the river in the east and around Mespirt’s cave. Okay, not the most exciting thing but spending the day swimming around with Floatzel wasn’t the worst.

“Typhlo,” Typhlosion barked as he popped out of his Pokéball when Rei and Floatzel crawled onto Ramanas Island for a break. Not the most unusual thing. He probably just wanted to sun himself a bit on the beach. But then he started prodding Rei’s shoulder with his nose. “Typhlosion!”

“Leave me alone,” Rei grumbled, rolling away from him. “I just swam all the way from Tidewater Dam. I’m tired.”

“Typhlo,” Typhlosion grunted and he ambled off. And he kept ambling off. Rei lifted his head off the warm sand. He’d expected Typhlosion to wander a few steps and flop down but he was still going.

“Typhlosion?” Rei called but Typhlosion kept going. Rei exchanged a glance with Floatzel who just shrugged. Rei pulled his knees under him and scrambled to his feet. “Typhlosion! Wait! There are Gastrodon over there. And Alpha Infernape! Be careful!”

Typhsloion ignored him and kept going but he did stop when he was went over the hill, just out of Rei’s line of sight so he had to climb over it after him. “Typhlo.”

“What are you doing?” Rei asked and Typhlosion didn’t answer him, just kept walking but he did so slowly enough to make sure Rei was following after him. Rei glanced between Typhlosion and Floatzel before whistling for Floatzel to come join them. Typhlosion was going right toward the middle of the island. Typhlosion could hold his own in a fight but Rei didn’t want to risk it if he ended up in a battle with type disadvantage. “Seriously, where are you taking me?”

“Typhlo,” Typhlosion responded and thrust his muzzle forward, pointing at something in the distance. Rei started for a moment, wondering if he was missing something in the shallow valley in front of them, before he saw it.

“Oh, a wisp!” Rei exclaimed and began fishing around for his Odd Keystone. He held with two hands carefully as he climbed down the hill to the spot the wisp awaited. Rei lifted the stone and felt the wisp gently get sucked into it, joining the dozens of others. “Nice! I think I’m getting close to getting them all. Hey, does this mean you can sense them, Typhlosion?”

Typhlosion shrugged. Rei wasn’t sure what that meant but he was still running on the excitement from finding the wisp that it didn’t matter.

“You think you can guide me to more?” Rei asked and Typhlosion made a face that Rei couldn’t understand either. He tried again. “Do you know where more are?”

Typhlosion nodded this time and Rei knew what that meant. “Ty.”

“Let’s go then!” Rei started moving before remembering they were on an island. “Wait, actually, just point me in the direction to go and I’ll let you back out of your Pokéball once we’re there.”

Typhlosion nodded and gave a grunt that told Rei he found this plan to be satisfactory. He thrust his muzzle north then looked at Rei expectantly. Rei recalled him and waded back into the water with Floatzel to swim back to shore. Typhlosion let himself out of his Pokéball and started padding westward. It was only until they were halfway to Jubilife that Rei realized that was where they were going. That was a little concerning. Rei didn’t voice it, undoubtedly Typhlosion knew of anything that he could’ve said, but it still made Rei’s excitement dim a bit.

It was weird crossing through the front gates without being stopped by a guard. Rei had been back here since the Galaxy Team but he’d been with Ingo, Ginter, and a bunch of the clansmen at the time. Actually, should he even be coming here alone? Probably not but he found a wisp almost instantly so Rei quickly lost that train of thought.

Rei ran around a bit, splashing through the creek, finding another wisp at Prelude Beach, and looking around the remains of the old pasturelands before forcing himself to head back toward the main strip of the village. That was where he had lived, afterall, and where he’d interacted with most of the villagers. It felt… He didn’t know. Unreal? The street was familiar but this wasn’t the Jubilife he knew. The debris and damaged buildings made everything feel a little off and the stillness of it all made the lack of energy all the more obvious.

Rei hurried through this part of the village and headed towards the dojo. He didn’t expect to find a Lucario there.

“Cario?” The Pokémon looked curious but not aggressive, not as far as Rei could tell. Then again, he wasn’t all that familiar with Lucario so maybe this was normal for them. He’d caught a few wild Riolu for study then released them once he was done. The only Lucario he’d interacted with was Rye’s and he was long gone. “Cario!”

The Lucario ran up to Rei and Rei half expected a Bullet Punch or a Metal Claw to the stomach but Typhlosion didn’t move to defend him and the Pokémon didn’t attack. Instead, Lucario just barked again, looking up at Rei with trusting eyes, and wagged his tail. Tentatively, Rei reached a hand out a put it on the Lucario’s head, slowly petting him. The Lucario’s tail wagged harder and a smile slipped onto his face as he rubbed a little harder.

“You’re a friendly one aren’t you?” Rei asked and the Lucario reached up to take Rei’s hand from his head and started tugging it. A very human-like action, Rei mentally noted. He didn’t pull his hand away and let the Lucario start moving him toward the crop fields. Typhlosion wasn’t being defensive so surely it was alright.

If Rei was surprised to see a Lucario, he was even more surprised to see Rye and his old Gyarados working the crop fields. Granted, he could have put two and two together and realized that this Lucario recogizned him and that meant it was surely Rye’s but it’d been over two months at this point. Why in the world would he expect to see Rye exactly in the same spot as every other time he’d seen him?

“Cario!” Lucario called and Rye looked up from where he was directing Gyarados’s Water-type moves. He was standing pretty far from where Rei was but Rei swore he saw his expression brighten.

“Rei!” Rye hollered, waving an arm as if it were just another day in Jubilife Village. What in the world was going on? Had he wandered into a time-space distortion without realizing? Rei still saw those here and there but he hadn’t investigated one in a long time. “How are you doing?”

“Fine…?” Rei didn’t move as Rye made his way over, careful to avoid stepping on his crops. Because there were crops? When Rei had been here before, the fields were utterly destroyed. Seriously, what was happening? “What are you doing here?”

“I live here,” Rye told him and Rei didn’t know what else he was expecting.

“No, I know. I mean-” Rei cut himself off and gestured back toward the village. “Galaxy’s, y’know, not here anymore. So what are you doing here?”

“Did Irida not tell you?” Rye asked, sounding genuinely surprised. “I was under the impression all you folks out of the village talked to one another.”

“Um, no. Not really.” Sort of? Rei assumed Irida talked to Ingo but Rei never had much reason to, especially not these days. “Why were you talking to Irida?”

“We’re friends? I think. I’m not really sure. She was wanted to see if farming was possible in the Icelands so I did some research for her a couple weeks ago.” 

Rei’s mind kept reeling. “But she’s a fur? And you’re Galaxy.”

“Oh, I’m an aura guardian,” Rye said and told him about a whole region outside of Hisui, one with aura guardians, and psychics, and channlers, and more. Monsters, Rye called them, but he called them human too. To the Kantonians, they’d been human. Rye still felt human. But then the Galarian expeditions came and they weren’t quite human anymore. And the beings Rye considered kin were killed and forced to hide. Rye had been lucky to have the chance to flee after hiding among the expidition for so long.

“And you’re farming?” Rei asked once Rye finished explaining. It was quick, not more than a few breaths of speech, but it was a lot. And Rye was just acting like it was normal. “You’re not trying to go back to Kanto? I think the guild travels there.”

“Maybe one day,” Rye told him, sounding a little wistful. “I like it here in Hisui, at least for now. I think aura guardians originated here. The aura of this place… I don’t know how to explain it but I want to know more.”

Rei understood the feeling. Even if he couldn’t feel whatever supernatural power Rye could, Hisui intrigued him. 

Rye shook himself. “But what brings you here? I haven’t seen many people come by.”

“Oh!” Rei reached down to dig around his pockets. “Maybe you know something about this. It’s called an Odd Keystone.”

“The Odd Keystone,” Rye repeated. He reached out a hand but didn’t touch it, fingers hovering just a few inches away. “This is a channlers’ tool.”

“It is?” Rei hadn’t known that. Had Cogita just forgotten to mention it?

Rye nodded. “I can feel the connection to a ghost type.”

“I’m collecting these wisp things,” Rei told him. “I think Typhlosion can sort of sense them but I’m not sure.”

“Ty! Typhlo. Typhlosion,” Typhlosion barked and Rye nodded along like he could understand him but didn’t address it.

Rye looked up, meeting Rei’s gaze. “I’ve seen your wisps around before. Try behind the main building and over by the mochi stand.”

“Thanks Rye,” Rei said and Rye started turning back toward the crop fields so Rei took that as his queue to leave. “I’ll see you around, I guess?”

“Feel free to come by,” Rye told him, “and don’t be afraid to tell anyone I’m here. I could use a visit from the guildsmen. Let Volo know I’d like to see him again soon, you hear?”

Rei scurried away so Rye couldn’t see whatever expression he was surely making. He hadn’t seen Bagin or Ginter around for a bit so he wasn’t sure what kind of progress they’d made on finding Volo but putting wisps in the Odd Keystone was making Rei think about him. Volo’s Spiritomb had been terrifying. This wasn’t the same Pokémon though. This would be a Spiritomb Rei assembled himself. It was still a Spiritomb though so maybe Cogita could tell him if it had some connection to Giratina.

The wisp behind the Galaxy building went into the Odd Keystone easy enough. Rei expected the same for the one by the mochi stand but that wasn’t the case. He thought the unease was just being back at the mochi shop, remembering all the evenings he and Akari had spent here with Professor Laventon. That couldn’t be it though. No other building had evoked these feelings in him.

The wisp was inside the shop, which was a bit unusual. Most of the wips had been outside but Typhlosion had led Rei inside and there it was, just floating in the middle of the restaurant. It reacted before Rei could even hold the Odd Keystone up to it. It shot toward him, slipping its way into the Odd Keystone, and the stone roared to life.

Rei nearly dropped it in surprise but then he saw there was something sliding out of the markings on its front and Rei had to let it go before the energy coming out of it touched him. Typhlosion shifted back, placing himself protectively between Rei and the Odd Keystone, as the stone floated all on its own, more and more purple energy pouring out of it. It stretched and reshaped itself, becoming almost a plate shape, and green specks began littering themself across it, warping and forming into a face.

Rei watched it with wide eyes, mind surprisingly blank. He’d sort of been expecting to be scared when his Spiritomb formed but there was just kind of nothing. Then Spiritomb tried roaring in his face and those feelings of fear came rushing in.

“Phlo!” Typhlosion bellowed, making the flames along his neck surge and force Spiritomb back.

“Tomb!” Spiritomb shouted back. It shook and the lighter purple edges of its face grew like it was trying to mimic Typhlosion’s flames. But then, just as suddenly as it had become aggressive, it seemed to calm back down, almost shrinking in on itself. “Tomb…”

Spiritomb turned away, abandoning its attack, and drifted out the resturant through a big hole in the back wall. Rei watched it for a moment then shook himself and stirred back into movement. “Come on, Typhlosion.”

They left through the front door and looped around to the back of the building, trying to see where Spiritomb had gone. It hadn’t gone far. A few moments of looking and Rei found himself on the path leading to the creek, watching as Spiritomb gazed out at it. It didn’t cross even though Rei knew it could have. Spiritomb didn’t have feet or legs to walk on. It could just float. But it waited at the point where the bridge once was like it knew what had once been there.

“Tomb,” Spiritomb rumbled and turned to face Rei. Its pupiless eyes met Rei’s and feeling slammed into him. Sheer feeling, no words. It wasn’t physical, it wasn’t something that hurt him, but he felt something and he knew it was Spiritomb.

“What are you?” Rei asked, taking a few steps closer despite Typhlosion’s warning growl not to. He reached a hand forward slowly and let his fingers touch the stone. Spiritomb didn’t attack, instead seeming to relax, and once again, Rei somehow just knew. “Vessa…”

He’d known that first wisp was Vessa when Cogita gave him the Odd Keystone. He hadn’t seen her again since he started collecting more and more wisps but it was clear now more than ever that this was Vessa. This was where she’d spent her living days. She loved to stand by the bridge, feel the coolness of the creek, and watch the villagers go about their business. And now she was seeing that it was gone.

Rei opened his mouth to ask a question that hadn’t fully formed but the answer struck him before it could. The mochi shop. Spiritomb had been angry there. It’d been ready to attack. If Vessa wanted to come back to the bridge, the wisp in the mochi shop… Was that Beni? Had he been killed in the attack on Jubilife? Were… Were all the wisps the souls of people who had died in the war between the Galaxy Team and the Hisuian people?

Ramanas Island. Rei had found a wisp there mere hours ago. Typhlosion led him there after… after Infernape had just died days prior. Almighty Arceus. He really had been collecting the dead these past few weeks.

He’d known that. He’d known Spiritomb was a Ghost-type Pokémon all this time and he’d known Volo’s Spiritomb was made up of spirits. It was so easy to disconnect these little purple balls of light from people though. But these were people Rei knew. Vessa, Beni, Infernape, who else was there? Rei’s mind scrambled to remember where he’d found the rest, how many collected, who might’ve died…

Rei didn’t know if he was going to cry or be sick.

Spiritomb bumped its– her? Their?-- head against his temple. Rei looked up, seeing the anger from Spiritomb’s face gone and replaced with concern. “Tomb?”

Rei took a deep breath, wiped his face, and forced a smile onto his face. “It’s nice to meet you, Spiritomb. Do you want to come with me?”

He held out a Pokéball, letting it sit loosely in his hand. Spiritomb grinned and pulled itself up to bump the Odd Keystone against the latch. A flash of light and Spiritomb was sucked inside, a small firework errupting from the top to signify capture.

“Typhlosion, return.” Rei put Typhlosion back in his Pokéball, suddenly feeling very tired. He withdrew another and tossed Staraptor out. “Staraptor, fly me to Lord Electrode’s arena, will you? I want to talk to Melli.”

It was still a bit early for Melli to be up but Rei didn’t care much and Melli was happy to listen once he realized how upset Rei was. He told him about his discovery, his guilt for forgetting the wisps were people once, and how awful he felt knowing so many people had died in a war he’d played a part in. Worse, these were people he knew and he couldn’t remember where he collected the wisps well enough to figure out who they were.

“I’m sorry,” Melli said with uncharacteristic sympathy. “That sounds terrible.”

“Yeah,” Rei agreed. Sometimes that was all you could do. “It is.”

“So what are you going to do about it?”

Rei didn’t answer immediately, knowing Melli would wait to let him think. “Protect the people I have left. And even if I lose them again, I’ll remember them this time.”

“That’s good.”

“I was fighting with Akari this morning,” Rei told Melli, remembering why he’d originally wanted to come here. “She won’t feed on furs or me like other fangs.”

Melli hummed a single note. “I’ve noticed that.”

“And?”

“I don’t know,” Melli leaned back, sounding a little more like his Melli-self. “It might be because she wasn’t raised among fangs. She might just be picky. Or something could’ve just gone wrong with her transformation.”

“Wait, what?” Rei had considered the former but not the latter. What did Melli mean?

“Some fangs come from resurrecting the dead but usually not. That’s more like Galar’s vampire stories. Normally we do the ritual after we get bit by an Alpha, not because we’re dead,” Melli told him and that was new information to Rei. He’d thought about it, of course he had, but it felt rude to ask how Melli had died. Apparently, he hadn’t though, at least not like Akari did. “I’m sure there are still some fangs around who were transformed the old way but no one’s been converted that way since I’ve been born. We’ve always done it with Alphas.”

Huh. “So you think Akari’s being- I don’t know, the way she is because she doesn’t have… because it wasn’t an Alpha who converted her?”

“Maybe,” Melli said before his expression dimmed ever so slightly, looking a bit guilty. “That’s probably something I should have looked into before now.”

Maybe but Rei was the researcher here, not Melli. It was time to resume his research on Alpha Pokémon, it seemed.

Chapter Text

Bagin was a blessing to the guild, or at least he would be if Ginter was transparent about his services. Ginter told himself this was for Bagin and Volo’s safety but in reality, he was pretty sure he was just selfish. Lightening his backpack while also being able to travel to other regions in the blink of an eye? Bagin’s magic was a godsend.

It also let Ginter continue his guildsman duties and try to learn more about the Distortion World at the same time. Ginter was no Volo or Cogita though so learning anything helpful took a lot of time and was rather difficult.

“Hoopa!”

Luckily, Bagin had his own god to help them.

“Hoopa saw that Rei fellow poking around in some ghost matters he probably shouldn’t be touching,” Bagin told him one day when he retrieved Ginter from where he’d dropped him off in the Kanto region for a couple days. It’d been so long since he’d gotten to trade there! But more importantly, Lavender Village was spooky enough that the expedition teams left it mostly alone and Ginter could ask the channlers there for everything they knew about Giratina.

“Did he find a portal?” Ginter asked. “Or a summoning circle?”

“I don’t know,” Bagin responded as he tossed a ring and another gold-rimmed portal opened up before them. “It’s got something to do with Legendaries and Ghost-types though. How are you at battling?”

“Decent,” Ginter answered, voice becoming uneasy. “I’d rather not. Are you expecting a fight?”

“Maybe,” Bagin said and didn’t elaborate. Ginter didn’t need him to. He’d do anything to get Volo back. Stepping through a portal with the mere possibility of having to fight was nothing.

Ginter’s vision filled with white and suddenly he was standing outside at the Snowpoint Temple. He felt the freezing cold almost immediately, the wind cutting right through his clothes. Bagin came through the portal right behind him, grabbing the edge to close it behind him. Ginter looked up at the temple and then back at Bagin. “You couldn’t have put us at the top of the stairs? Or brought us inside?”

Bagin shook his head. “Something’s blocking my powers here. We’re going to have to walk.”

“I’m going to have to walk,” Ginter corrected with a grumble. So not fair Bagin could float. Fae took after Fairy-types, they deserved to float too. He started climbing the frozen stairs without complaint though. Anything for Volo, he told himself again.

It’d been quite some time since Ginter had been here. No one lived up here, not anymore at least, so the Ginkgo Guild had little reason to go to the temple.

Once inside, Ginter expected Bagin to keep leading him up the stairs, all the way to the top where they would be closest to Almighty Arceus himself, but Bagin broke from the expected path and led them to a chamber Ginter would not have found if he’d come here alone.

“Look inside,” Bagin prompted, shifting from his Hoopa-hybrid form to his human one so his feet were touching the ground. He peered around the corner leading into the chamber. Ginter followed his lead and looked inside.

There was a big Pokémon inside, that was the first thing he noticed. A legendary, presumably. Volo had a phase where he’d been interested in this one. Regigigas, Ginter thought its name was. There was nothing else in the room though so Ginter wasn’t quite sure what Bagin wanted from this place.

“Look at the pattern on that back wall,” Bagin instructed and Ginter squinted, trying to make sense of what he was supposed to be seeing. There was some kind of fine design but Ginter’s eyesight wasn’t good enough to make out what it was. Hell, he probably wouldn’t know what it was even if he could see it. Thankfully, Bagin took pity on him. “That wall is made of Odd Keystones.”

Ah. Yeah, Ginter would not have figured that out himself. Now that he knew, he could sort of see it. There were a few bricks in the wall missing, he realized. Had Volo gotten his Odd Keystone from here? Were there more Spiritombs awaiting inside that wall? What did this have to do with Giratina? “What’s the plan? I doubt Regigigas will let us just walk right past it.”

“Hoopa will talk to it,” Bagin explained and a ring portal opened up beside him, the aforementioned Pokémon appearing. “Hoopa’s not much of a battler though. It’ll have the advantage at the beginning but Regigigas is quite strong.”

Ginter nodded along. Volo had said this Pokémon moved continents. They did not want to fight this thing. He reached into his pocket, drawing a single Pokéball, and released the Pokémon inside. “Ded-e-neh?”

“Dedenne,” Ginter said softly, crouching down to scoop the little Pokémon up and put it on his shoulder. He pointed around the corner so Dedenne could see Regigigas. “See that big Pokémon? We’re going in there. If that Pokémon attacks, I want you to use Nuzzle and then run away, alright?”

“Dede-neeh!” Dedene nodded enthusiastically and Ginter gave the Pokémon a moment to find his balance before straightening himself and turning to Bagin. He nodded once and Bagin sent Hoopa in to talk to Regigigas, Bagin and Ginter close behind.

“Hoopa!” Hoopa said loudly, waving one ring around. “Hoopa! Hoop.”

Regigigas responded with a sound unlike any Ginter had ever heard.

“Hoopa!”

“How long do you think this is going to take?” Ginter asked, only to realize Bagin had moved forward already to inspect the wall of Odd Keystones. Ginter hurried to catch up, not wanting to be too far in case Regigias decided to attack.

Bagin reached up, sliding one of the Odd Keystones out of the wall easily, and frowned down at it down in his hand. “Huh.”

“What is it?” Ginter said as he caught up.

“I was hoping there would just be a portal behind this but it is just a wall,” Bagin responded. He turned the Odd Keystone over in his hand and held it out for Ginter. “I’ve heard fae know how to perform rituals.”

“More of a witch thing, or a channeler.”

“Aren’t both of those just fae?”

Sort of but not really. There were distinctions but Ginter understood what he meant. “I can give it a shot. Give me one of Hoopa’s rings.”

Bagin didn’t seem happy about it but he did as Ginter asked. Ginter let his touch linger for a moment before clasping his fingers around the ring, feeling an intense power brimming under the metal’s surface. He’d expected it to feel like the energy of an Abra’s Teleport but it really didn’t. Far more concentrated, not quite Psychic-typed either. How strange.

Ginter dropped the Odd Keystone through the ring to see what would happen. It just fell through, no real reaction happening, but Ginter could feel the energy from the Odd Keystone and the ring react to each other in some way.

“That’s your plan?” Bagin questioned, raising a brow.

“Hey, the channelers in Kanto said they’d heard stories about Giratina appearing through a summoning circle. Isn’t this a summoning circle?” Ginter held up the ring to emphasize his point. “You said normally Hoopa could travel to the ghost realms but there’s been something keeping you from them since you started looking for Volo. These Odd Keystones are attuned to the Distortion World in some way. We just have to get them in tune with each other somehow.”

“Energy manipulation? Seems like something a psychic would do.”

“Fae too,” Ginter pointed out. “Less explicitly but we do too.”

“Are you any good at it?”

Not really but Bagin didn’t need to know that. Ginter sat down on the temple floor, ignoring how could it felt even through his close, and let Dedenne scitter down his arm to investigate the ring and the Odd Keystone. “Getting anything from this, Dedenne?”

“Dede,” Dedenne responded and shook his head. Ginter decided to get some other Pokémon involved and let out his Kirlia and Impidimp. He explained the situation to them quickly and watched as his Pokémon played around with the energy in the objects before them. It wasn’t Fairy-type energy, aura, or any of the natural sort of energy that filled the air in Hisui but it was something. Ginter took off his backpack and rooted around for a few other items, offering his Pokémon Odd Inceanse, Spell Tags, and Fairy Feathers as they investigated the items before them.

Ginter wasn’t quite sure what was it that did it. It was a slow effort but Ginter could feel like powers in the ring and the Odd Keystone merging until purple rippled between them and the ring was stretching into a portal.

Ginter, still crouched on the ground, looked into the portal and saw a splash of yellow below.

“Ginter? Ginter!” Volo– Volo!-- was looking up right at him, eyes wide in surprise.

“Volo!” Ginter called back, feeling welling up in his throat. “Volo, we’re going to get you out of there!”

Volo’s expression shifted, the wide vulnerability slipping into something harder. “No! Stay back!”

“What?” Ginter asked and he saw Volo’s mouth opened, his face telling Ginter he was ready to argue but Ginter wasn’t having that. The portal sitting on the floor was plenty big enough for Ginter to fit through without his backpack. A slight shift of his weight forward and Ginter was dropping into it.

“Ginter!”

“Dede-nne!”

“Kirlia!”

“Imp!”

“Ginter, what are you doing?” Bagin called after him. Ginter looked up as he fell just in time to catch Kirlia, Impidimp, and Dedenne as they dived through the portal after him.

“I’m getting Volo back,” Ginter responded and looked down to prepare himself to hit the ground. The impact sent a dagger of pain shooting up his legs from the soles of his feet all the way up past his knees. Ginter hardly cared though, not when he was finally face to face with Volo again. “Volo…”

Ginter didn’t know what he expected. Volo wasn’t his son. Fae weren’t like that. Ginter had brought him into the guild though. He’d cared for him and taught him the guild’s ways. He was important to him and he loved him, even if that wasn’t the nature of the fae. Their bond was special and he thought Volo felt the same way. He didn’t expect Volo to hug him or cry in joy— they were close but not quite like that— but he certainly wasn’t expecting Volo to scramble away.

“No!”

“Volo?” Ginter took a step forward, feeling Dedenne and Impidimp pulling on his sleeves as they pulled up themselves to perch on Ginter’s shoulders. “Volo, it’s me.”

“You shouldn’t be here,” Volo insisted and Ginter realized his eyes were wide with fear. “It’s not safe here.”

“That’s why I’m trying to get you out of here,” Ginter told him, trying to sound patient even though he really wasn’t.

“No,” Volo repeated, shaking his head. He kept shaking it, like he was stuck in the motion. Ginter wanted to reach out and stop him but he kept his hands back, trying to make sense of what he was seeing before him. “Giratina- It did something to me. I belong- It won’t attack me. It will attack you though.”

As if on cue, Ginter heard a roar behind him and saw a shape streaking toward him, red eyes standing out against the murky purple background of the Distortion World.

Ginter found himself planting his feet down where he stood. Raising an arm, he ordered, “Dedenne, Thunder Wave!”

“Dedenne!” Dedenne cried, running up his arm to leap up and release a big wave of electric power. Giratina bellowed as it washed over her, slowing but not veering off her path.

“What are you doing?” Volo hissed but Ginter didn’t stop.

“Kirlia, Moonblast!”

“Your Pokémon aren’t strong enough to fight Giratina!”

“So help me then,” Ginter responded, eyes meeting Volo’s levelly. He knew what Volo was saying was true. He wasn’t going to back down though.

Volo stared at him for a moment, eyes flicking over Ginter’s body as he tried to figure out if he was bluffing or not. But Giratina wasn’t going to let one measly Moonblast stop her. Her roar was enough to spur Volo into action though. “Togekiss, use Moonblast too! Everyone else, come back and get in your Pokéballs!”

Ginter hadn’t realized Volo left his Pokémon out of their Pokémon until they were running and flying towards them. He took a moment to look around, realizing they weren’t really standing on land. They were on a floating platform in a void of inky black and swirling purple. He’d seen the sky peering through the portal but he hadn’t realized the Distortion World was this… desolate. Or terrifying. 

Volo fumbled with his Pokéballs, recalling Roserade, Arcanine, Lucario, Garchomp, and Spiritomb, as Togekiss swooped in to hurl a Moonblast in Giratina’s direction. Kirlia used his psychic power to lift himself up and launch another Moonblast himself. Giratina recoiled a bit and Ginter saw the static effect of the Thunder Wave’s paralysis take place. Without Dedenne, they might’ve been in a lot more trouble.

Ginter shoved Dedenne into the front of his shirt and reached up to take Impidimp into his hands. “Impidimp, wait until Togekiss grabs Kirlia and then use Parting Shot, alright?”

“Wait, what?” Volo looked between Ginter and Togekiss, the dots not connecting in his mind quickly enough, but Togekiss knew exactly what Ginter meant.

“Togee!” Togekiss cried as she spiraled through the air, diving down to catch Kirlia into the air before swooping back up toward the portal.

“Impi!” Impidimp cried and shot a blast of dark power toward Giratina. Ginter reached out and grabbed onto Volo as he felt the effects of the Parting Shot seize them. For a moment, Ginter was terrified the movement would send them over the edge of the platform they stood on but after working with Impidimp to open the portal for so long, Ginter felt attuned enough to his power to take control of it himself. Instead of moving back, they moved up.

Volo screamed as Togekiss flew after them, Kirlia using his psychic power to make sure they didn’t fall, and all six of them were thrown through the portal and back to Snowpoint Temple.

“That was fast,” Bagin commented casually as Ginter and Volo’s bodies hit the stone, Ginter twisting awkwardly to make sure he didn’t crush Dedenne or Impidimp.

“Close the portal!” Ginter barked as Giratina roared behind them. It was probably too small for the massive Pokémon to fit through but somehow Ginter doubted Giratina was bound to the same laws of psychics that the rest of them were. Sensing his urgency, Bagin reached down and grabbed the ring, pulling it off the floor and effectively closing the portal.

“What the fuck?” Volo sat up, his words more of a statement than a question, and looked around. “What…”

He trailed off and Ginter didn’t try to finish his sentence for him. Maybe a minute had passed between this moment and the one where Ginter had opened the portal. It’d been… almost four months? That couldn’t be right. But it had to be. Four months in the Distortion World, a blink, and now he was free. It was a lot for Volo to wrap his head around.

“You- you shouldn’t have done that,” Volo stuttered out after a moment. “Did Warden Ingo not tell you what I did?”

“You didn’t do that,” Ginter argued, sitting up so he was facing Volo. “It was Giratina’s influence.”

“And it might still be influencing me! You don’t know! What if I hurt someone again? What if I hurt you?”

Oh. So that’s what it was. Ginter took a breath, forcing himself to calm down and collect his thoughts. Snapping at Volo was the last thing he needed right now.

Volo didn’t see it that way. He took Ginter’s silence as something else. “Well?”

“You’re not going to hurt anyone else,” Ginter told him calmly.

“You don’t know that!” Volo argued and he was right. Ginter didn’t know that and that was okay.

“That doesn’t mean you deserve to get hurt either,” Ginter told him gently and Volo shut his mouth. “We don’t understand what Giratina did to you but that doesn’t mean you have to stay with it in the Distortion World. If you want to understand it, sure, that’s fine, but you can do that here where- where you can talk to other people. And breathe real, Hisuian air. And eat real food. And come to the full moon gatherings.”

And be with me, Ginter said in his mind but he left it unsaid. Only, Volo picked up on the unspoken words. “And be with you?” 

They didn’t talk about these things, fae didn’t. Fae stole children and made them like them. They raised them but they didn’t raise them, not in the way the humans did. They weren’t theirs. They were supposed to be aloof, disconnected, and inhuman. Ginter wasn’t like that though. Volo was his. It seemed Volo knew how Ginter felt.

“I was worried about you,” Ginter admitted. 

“Even when Warden Ingo told you what I did?”

“Especially then.”

Volo stared at him, letting the silence stretch before speaking again. “You’re not supposed to.”

“I know. I don’t care.”

Volo seemed to wilt in on himself. Quietly, he added, “Thank you.”

Ginter knew the proper response was to say you’re welcome but it was all suddenly feeling like a little too much. Instead, he just gave Volo a nod, meeting his eyes so he knew he saw it. Volo needed to know how he felt but that didn’t mean they had to talk about it more than they had to.

Bagin coughed into his fist, reminding Ginter of his presence. Both he and Volo jolted. “Do you guys just want to keep sitting here or do you want to go somewhere warmer?”

Ginter and Volo got to their feet and started heading toward the stairs. Ginter then realized Volo probably didn’t know who Bagin was. “Bagin’s a psychic who-”

“Not a psychic.”

“-used to be part of Galaxy. I don’t know if you remember him but he serves Hoopa, one of the legendary Pokémon of Kalos.”

“Hoopa!” Hoopa greeted, waving a ring.

“I’ve… seen them. From the Distortion World. I could kind of watch,” Volo explained as they walked out of the temple’s front doors. “I couldn’t hear anything though so it was kind of hard to understand what was going on. I could see them traveling through these ring things though.”

“These ‘ring things’ can take you two wherever you want to go,” Bagin explained, holding up a ring of his own. “What’s it going to be?”

Ginter’s heart broke a little when Volo failed to answer. The guild didn’t exactly have a home, such was the nature of the fae, but still. They had many places to call theirs. That made it hurt even more that Volo had no where he wanted to go.