Brrrrt!
The phone vibrated loudly on the nightstand, disrupting their peace. Fennekin was startled awake and fumed a small amount of steam from her ears.
Across a blinding white screen, only 6 words appeared in bold.
- Two hearken to Harmony and Hatred.
As soon as he read these words, they faded from the screen, revealing the default background along with the few apps he had gotten acquainted with in the days prior.
The hell is that supposed to mean?
He struggled with the phone for the next few minutes, trying to figure out how to get the message to repeat itself, to no avail. Fennekin seemed to understand he was concerned, pawing at the phone herself. That is until her stomach let out a loud grumble—one that Owen’s own quickly echoed.
The trio made their way down the hall toward the kitchen, where a few empty dishes already sat on the Pokémon’s table. Professor Sycamore was seated, finishing the last of his morning coffee.
“I trust you slept well?” he asked with a chuckle.
“Yeah,” Owen replied, rubbing the back of his neck. Meanwhile, Fennekin and Umbreon sniffed at the empty dishes, clearly hoping for their own next.
“How do you feel about waffles?” Sycamore gestured toward his syrup-streaked plate.
Owen blinked, barely suppressing a yawn. “Waffles sound great.” The warm scent of syrup only reminded him of how empty his stomach felt.
Sycamore had gotten up, empty cup in hand, and headed over to the counter, and subsequently toward the waffle maker.
“Oh right, thank you, sir.” People here were almost too nice. Back home, no one would just offer free food and housing, especially not to some random guy off the street. Then again, it was probably easy to be generous when you had a dragon guarding your home—who was going to rob you when a Garchomp was standing watch?
“I appreciate your manners, but if you must give me a title, Professor will do.” He retorted in jest as he turned around, noticing Owen was rubbing his eyes again. “And, the washroom’s down at the end of the hall with the bedrooms.”
As he washed his face, his thoughts drifted back to that odd message. Why did it just appear and vanish like that?
When Owen returned, a plate of golden-brown waffles and a chilled glass of orange juice sat waiting for him. The sugary scent made his stomach grumble in anticipation.
Umbreon and Fennekin were already into their own helpings of the dry poke chow from the anime. He thought that maybe he could ask the Professor about nutrition later.
Sycamore quickly menu’d through his tablet while Owen appreciated the sugary sweetness of his syrup-coated plate.
Sycamore scrolled through his tablet, muttering, “Looks like they’ll be a few more days…”
“Who?” Owen asked between bites.
“Oh, my assistants. They’re helping out at the Pokémon Center, so it’s just me and my secretary holding down the fort.”
“Was there…anything I could help with?” Owen asked, shifting awkwardly. Accepting the Professor’s aid—even temporarily—sat uneasily with him even if it was only until he got his public assistance card.
Sycamore looked down for a moment before nodding his head.
“How about a light bit of shopping? Nothing urgent, but saving me the trip would help wonderfully.”
“Yeah,” Owen replied between bites.
“Then I’ll get you a list. And take your time, the food isn’t going anywhere I promise!” He said with a little chuckle.
Fennekin perked up, staring expectantly at Owen’s plate. He gestured to the plate, to receive an enthusiastic nod immediately. She nodded vigorously. With a small laugh, he tore off a piece and handed it to her. She immediately made it disappear, greedily accepting it from his hand.
“Another favorite of yours?” he asked.
Fennekin licked a stray drop of syrup from her maw and gave a firm nod of approval.
He sighed, grateful for the meal but still a little tired, rubbing his eyes again. "Thanks again, Professor. That was fantastic."
Sycamore chuckled, pushing his chair back and standing up. "You're welcome. Why don’t I write up a list, and some directions while you get ready?”
Owen stood, feeling the weight of the day ahead settle in. The thought of wandering through the town with Fennekin and Umbreon did bring a flicker of excitement, though. His eyes lingered on the window, catching sight of the sun climbing higher into the sky, signaling the day was well underway.
He returned to the room to change into some spare clothes that were kept around in case of accidents. His efforts were met with the occasional interruption by Umbreon who kept jumping up and in the way. The moonlight Pokémon was rewarded for his bad behavior with gentle head pats and ear scratches before they would return to the kitchen.
The Professor handed him a folded slip of paper, and Owen tucked it into his pocket, knowing that despite the errands, he'd still have some free time after. He exchanged a brief nod with Sycamore before heading toward the door, Fennekin and Umbreon following at his heels.
Like the day before, they passed through the bustling central plaza, where the towering gym caught his eye once again. It was just as busy today, which only made him feel more and more anxious to get inside and see what it was about.
He shook off the feeling and made his way toward Autumnal Avenue. Unlike the narrow alley he’d wandered into yesterday, this area was alive with the scent of fresh bread and sizzling meat. A large sweets shop caught his eye, its display case filled with colorful, Pokémon-shaped treats.
He paused, momentarily entranced, before shaking his head and glancing down. Fennekin stared up at him, tilting her head. “Fenn?” she chirped.
Umbreon echoed her with a curious “Brrruh?”
“It’s nothing.” He knelt to scratch behind their ears, earning contented purrs from both.
Their first stop was the Poké Ball boutique. He was greeted on the inside by the shopkeeper, as the familiar sensation of passing through the metal detectors and walking over the air grate gave another reminder of his world.
“One Pokémon out per customer, please.” The interruption stopped him before he could follow that train of thought too far.
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“Oh, right.” He responded. “Guess it has to be you then.” He pointed the black and yellow ball at Umbreon for that red light to do its work, before returning the ball to its place. With a sigh, he moved onto the plush red carpet with Fennekin close behind, who mimicked the gesture.
The Professor had wanted one of each type of ball offered by the store and provided him with a large handful of cash. Timer ball, Heal ball… they sure did sell a lot here. He picked each one up and placed them into a little handbasket, noticing several of them were not quite what he expected.
Owen’s fingers tingled as they brushed over the Dusk Ball’s smooth, dark surface—it was strangely cold like it had been sitting in a fridge. The Dive Ball wasn’t much different, carrying a crisp, oceanic chill. In contrast, the Luxury Ball radiated a warmth that seeped into his palm, almost comforting.
“Weird,” he murmured, turning them over in his hands. How do these even work?
“Your total is… ? 8,500 One of everything, huh? Don’t see that often.”
“What do people usually get?” Owen asked the clerk in return.
“Oh, well our most popular product would be the Dusk ball. Though it's a bit dangerous and harder to use, they’re very effective.”
“Because they’re for use at night and in caves?” He asked as he counted out the cash to hand over. It was much more colorful than the money he was used to, and the novelty made him smile a little bit.
“Exactly. People don’t realize how much harder it is to aim properly in the dark.”
“Huh, yeah I guess you’re right.”
After making sure everything on his person was secured, Owen made his way back out of the shop, and onto their second destination.
At the second store, he made several purchases of various medicines. All of which he at least thought he understood from the games. Potions and Full Heals all looked rather similar to their old counterparts, even if a bit more detailed.
After checking out, he wondered why the Professor hadn’t had a major supplier chain hooked up for delivery. Not that he’d even seen many vehicles at all in the city.
Exploring the city with his Pokémon stirred a familiar mix of excitement and anxiety—one he hadn’t felt since those uncertain days after college. With his degree that was now useless, its lack of physical presence notwithstanding.
He still had a few days to wait for his stipend card, but that wouldn’t stop him from looking around regardless. The gym was far and away the most exciting prospect for him, but he surmised you would need money for that, so it was out for now.
In contrast, the open terrace around the gym was both free and welcoming. One of the large screens showed a young man giving an interview, reassuring the public that he was looking into the mega Pokémon incidents himself. Owen was taken aback when the reporter referred to him as champion!
‘ But what about Diantha ?’ he thought to himself. Across the bottom of the screen, he caught the words, Champion Calem.
‘ Calem… why does that sound familiar? ’ The interview concluded, and he turned to face the terrace again.
Noticing many others had been on the lawn, he found a nice spot in the open near a woman who had been dozing with her Liepard. It cocked a sly eye in the party’s direction before returning to its own siesta.
He laid out the familiar blanket, much to Umbreon’s delight and Fennekin’s surprise. Owen flinched ever so slightly upon sitting down, blinking a few times nearly expecting to be transported somewhere again.
But it didn’t happen. Here he was flanked by two Pokémon that were more than content to rest against either of his arms. He wanted this feeling to last, but thoughts of home and an uncertain future kept pressing in, making it hard to stay in the moment.
Bump!
Ow. He mouthed as he flinched.
A thud against Owen’s cranium led him to get a mouthful of ear hair as Umbreon nuzzled against his cheek directly after. He couldn’t be mad, but he definitely spat out the pieces of fur that happened across his tongue. Fennekin popped up to yap at them for disturbing her just after setting her head down, prompting a curious head turn out of Umbreon and nothing more, before giving up as the gremlin got situated once again.
Owen’s consciousness drifted in and out as gently as the clouds that passed overhead. Sometime later, that would be interrupted by the vibration of his phone. Quickly checking to see if it was another strange screen, he was relieved to notice it had just been a normal, plain text message from Korrina.
- Heading 2 gym tomorrow, let’s meet up
- Sure, when and where?
- Front doors at 11
- Okay.
- How r things?
- Got to help Prof. today, actually I need to go finish that!
- Good 2 hear! C U then!
He gathered everything up as Umbreon looked disappointed to see the blanket go into the bag. The walk back to the lab had been rather uneventful, and the three of them were greeted by Garchomp once again. Owen tried not to flinch as she quietly ushered them toward the machine room, and motioned him to empty the bags onto the table next to the crate of Pokéballs.
“Ah! I didn’t hear you come in.” The Professor’s voice came from the doorway. Owen made way for him to inspect the items, to which Sycamore expressed his gratitude.
“Thanks to you, I was able to get everything done today.” The Professor offered his gratitude. Fennekin looked up at him with awe as Umbreon flopped onto the floor, causing both Owen and Sycamore to chuckle together.
“There is one more thing you could do for me if you were so inclined.”
“Professor?”
“The two Pokémon you saw, Tyranitar and Salamence… how much do you remember about them? Of course, it’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it.”
After a brief pause, Owen gave the Professor a recount to the best of his ability on both mega Pokémon incidents. How he didn’t see much of the Tyranitar as it sent him flying with its entrance. No, he wasn’t even hit directly. The sheer blowback of its assault on the wall sent him flying, and he didn’t see much afterward. Salamence in contrast, he remembered much more vividly. How it seemed to hesitate and fly off on its own without even being beaten.
“And, you’re certain no one was around controlling them?” Sycamore pondered.
“There was one guy Korrina suspected, but he was in the building at the same time as us, and even helped a kid out.”
“Curious…did she say why she suspected him?”
“Not really. She just thought so by looking at the guy.” Owen looked down for a moment, trying to recall anything else she’d said that would give a clue about her suspicions.
“I see. Thank you for indulging me.” The Professor paused as his brow furrowed, frustration clearing taking hold. “Mega evolution is supposed to be founded in the bond between Pokémon and Humans. Seeing it used like this… well.” His deep sigh told the rest.
“Ahhhh, I could get used to this, huh Goldie?” Fennekin exclaimed upon returning to the room they had shared the night before. The food had been great again tonight, the best she’d ever had, and it wasn’t something she had to fight for or find by herself.
“Big biiiiiiiiiiiiiiig!” He spouted back at her happily. She’d come to interpret that to mean he liked something, with how little she had to work with here.
“Yeah, yeah, you’re gonna have to say more than that sometime you know!” She retorted. Her traveling companion was taking to more new words, but none of them really seemed to make any sense when he used them.
Umbreon jumped up on the bed, nuzzling Owen excitedly as the human took out the small picture machine again.
The phone!
That was what Owen called the little glowing box. Fennekin huffed, her tail flicking with curiosity. Umbreon didn’t care for it—he barely cared for anything that wasn’t food or head pats—but she needed this. She wanted to understand the strange symbols, the pictures that moved. Maybe if she watched long enough, she’d crack the human code.
She wanted to see the Pokemon with ears like hers again that walked upright. She wanted to see the rainbow-colored flames and the big fire tornado that lit up the stage again.
“Alright, alright,” Owen said calmly to them both before beginning to look through the sliding set of pictures and words again. She tried her best to look at all the symbols as they raced by a little too quickly for her liking. Oh, why had she never tried to understand these before?
Fennekin’s eyes were fixed on the phone’s screen, her tail wagging excitedly as she watched the battle unfold between two Pokémon. The one that looked like Goldie was in a fierce fight with a strange creature wielding a spoon. The battle ended quickly with the spoon-wielder being knocked out. She hadn’t seen that Pokémon before, but it was very clear it didn’t stand a chance against the other black cat. It had used the same whizzing purple ring she’d seen several nights ago.
All Umbreon must be tough. She thought to herself, before remembering she was supposed to be looking at the human’s symbols. She really couldn’t make heads or tails of them, but she was paying attention to them.
“You like watching videos huh?” He said down to her.
‘That’s what they’re called?’ She had heard the word before, but now she was sure what it meant.
They spent hours looking at the videos together even after Umbreon fell asleep at Owen’s side. Each new video enthralled her with foreign sights, whether it was about battles or even food. The thought of having nice food even after they left this place excited her almost as much as seeing the techniques of new and different Pokémon in battle. Almost.
Yawning in synchrony with the human by her side, she giggled a little bit at how funny he sounded, prompting an equivalent reciprocation. It was time for the lights to go off, and await a new day.
She distracted herself with thoughts of how she’d unleash more firepower in battle, running over theoretical fights in her head with every Pokémon she’d seen in person before. Of course, she’d win every time. That was the goal, after all. To fight back against… something. Something she’d forgotten, no purged from her mind at least partially. It was so long ago, but her gut told her something was wrong. That something she couldn’t describe was coming after her for a reason she didn’t understand. Her fur prickled and stiffed, her little heart squeezed tight.
Like yesterday,
Tonight, her neck was cold.