Fading, Remember

by WinterMoon8

Summary:

A girl with no memory wakes up just outside Rustboro City with an Eevee by her side. She doesn't know who or what she is, but as she travels Hoenn, befriending Pokemon and meeting certain loud trainers along the way, she slowly breaches the truth of her existence, for better or for worse.

Notes:

So while I couldn't use google docs guess what I was doing. writing a whole new fic with like 10 chapters currently

Chapter 1

The girl first woke up two years ago in a field of grass just outside Rustboro City with an Eevee by her side.

 

Her long dark purple-tinted hair was pooled around her, messy, not unlike the dark gray dress, tied with a white ribbon, she wore. Her pale gray stockings as well as her pale skin in general were stained with mud, while her blue eyes were fuzzy and unclear.

 

The Eevee sat before her, its head tilted curiously as it waved its tail. “Vui.”

 

“Who... are you?” The girl weakly extended her hand, but it fell into the grass. “Who... am I?”

 

Then everything went dark.

 

***

 

“Are you okay? Miss!”

 

The girl woke up again in a bed. A woman with bright pink hair and a nurse’s outfit sat beside the bed. “Ah, you’re awake. Are you alright?”

 

The girl’s eyes fluttered open and shut. “Who... am I?”

 

“You don’t remember anything?” the woman asked curiously, her voice tinged with worry. “Oh dear. This Eevee brought you here. I’m not a specialist in healing humans, so I couldn’t do much other than treat your wounds. Is this Eevee yours?”

 

The Eevee from before sat on the windowsill, staring at The girl. “Vui.”

 

“...no. I don’t think so. I don’t know who I am,” the girl replied. She wasn’t sure, exactly. After all, she remembered nothing.

 

“Hm.” The nurse looked down, before giving the girl a bright smile. “I’m sure you’ll remember soon. If the Eevee likes you so much, I believe you must be a Pokemon trainer. I’m Nurse Joy, the nurse for Pokemon.”

 

For several minutes, or perhaps hours after that, Nurse Joy told the girl all about Pokemon trainers, and Pokemon coordinators, and the Pokemon of Hoenn, and everything in between. The girl was... intrigued. Intrigued was the word. She remembered nothing, and she knew nothing. So this was all strange and new to her.

 

“That’s... interesting,” she said. “But who am I?”

 

“I’m not sure about that either,” Nurse Joy admitted. “I don’t know that much about people’s health. But this Eevee seems attached to you. Maybe you could keep it?”

 

The Eevee blinked. Then, as if understanding what Joy said, it jumped down to the floor and trotted over to The girl. Joy smiled at the sight. “It likes you. Are you going to keep it?”

 

The girl blinked. “It’s... it’s a she.”

 

Joy would have noticed eventually, but the Eevee was oddly distant and unfriendly to most people. “You seem to know a lot about Pokemon. Most people can’t tell that quickly. Would you like a Pokeball?”

 

“Maybe.” The girl ruffled the Eevee’s fur as it curled up on her lap. “A... Pokeball. What does it do?”

 

Nurse Joy couldn’t help but chuckle at how little the girl knew. She really remembered nothing at all. “I’d love to keep explaining, but I have to attend to some of the Trainers who’re here to have their Pokemon healed. I’ll come back later.”

 

Despite that, the girl followed Nurse Joy around for the rest of the day. She received several strange looks. It’s not everyday a girl with an Eevee and a perfect deadpan follows their resident Pokemon nurse around, saying nothing. At least her clothes weren’t dirty anymore. For the day, the girl wore a spare outfit lying around the back of the center while her clothes were sent to be washed.

 

Joy did wonder why, but she didn’t question it. Instead, she let the girl watch the Pokemon who came to the Center to get healed.

 

She was intrigued. Not interested, just intrigued.

 

“Can you still not remember anything? Not even your name?” Nurse Joy asked at the end of the day. The girl sat back in the room with the bed, her Eevee in her lap. She hesitated, then shook her head.

 

“I see,” Joy said. “Then why don’t you give yourself a name? I can lend you some supplies if you want, and you can look around the village.”

 

“I like the ring of... Lethe.” The girl had no particular opinion, just her instincts. So she didn’t ‘like’ the name, but it sounded the closest to herself. Something was still off, but it’s the best she’s got. “And... I suppose I’ll look around the village. I don’t have... much of a choice.”

 

“Very well, Lethe.” The name was unusual, but it did sound nice. Nurse Joy walked to the next room and returned with a small white satchel filled with pokeballs, potions, and some food and water, as well as Lethe’s original clothes, now freshly washed. “I put a map of Rustboro city in there, too. If you want a map of Hoenn, you can find some downstairs.”

 

“Thank you.” Lethe nodded, accepting the satchel. It suited the color of the ribbon around her waist, so she tied it there.

 

“Ah, and...” Nurse Joy took one Pokeball out of the satchel and handed it to Lethe. “If you touch the Eevee with this Pokeball, it will become your Pokemon. Does that sound good?”

 

Lethe took the spherical device, looking it up and down, then turning to look at the Eevee. “What do you think?”

 

The Eevee let out a cry. As if understanding, Lethe knelt down and offered the device to the Pokemon. Taking a few steps forward, the Eevee tapped its nose against the center of it. “She says she likes that idea. And she said her name is Lucina.”

 

Nurse Joy didn’t quite understand how the girl understood what the Eevee said. She probably just translated the general feeling of it and then gave it a name. But... it was nice to see the girl with no memory get along so well with a Pokemon. “That’s great, Lethe. Pokemon centers also serve as a place for trainers and travellers to stay, so you’re free to come back at any point.”

 

Pocketing Lucina’s Pokeball, the girl nodded. “Thank you for offering.”

 

The dark haired girl with no memory walked out of the Pokemon center.

Chapter 2

For two years, Lethe lived in Rustboro City. She was given a small, unoccupied house at the outskirts of the city, where she stayed with her Eevee Lucina.

 

Sometimes she travelled around the routes just outside the city. She befriended the local Pokemon, through some mysterious method. She rarely captured the Pokemon, not even the most rare and sought after ones, with two exceptions- a local Whismur who is even shier than your average Whismur, and a highly aggressive Nincada. Nobody quite knew how she managed to befriend two of the most unfriendly Pokemon in the nearby area, but then again Lethe has always been odd.

 

Today, the girl walked out of the Pokemon Center, having stocked up on food and water, looking around for Lucina.

 

‘Where is she?’

 

***

 

A certain boy with black hair and a cap just spotted a rare Pokemon.

 

“Is that an Eevee?” He exclaimed, bolting upright. “A super rare Pokemon! I want to catch it!”

 

“Calm down, Ash, and mind the sandwich,” Ash’s friend, Brock, scolded. “A rare Pokemon like Eevee would only be walking around a city if it already has a trainer.”

 

“Oh... fair point,” the boy replied, backing away. “Sorry, lil’ guy.”

 

“Lucina’s a girl.”

 

Ash and his companions turned around to see a girl, about 12 or 13 years old, with dark hair and gray dress, her expression deadpan, or perhaps slightly annoyed. “Why are you harassing my Pokemon?”

 

Ash quickly backtracked, waving his hands in front of him. “No, no, I didn’t know the Eevee had a trainer. Sorry!”

 

Lethe deadpanned at the other boy for 10 seconds. Then she whirled around and walked away, beckoning to the Eevee. “Cina, come on.”

 

Yipping in response, the Eevee bounded after her trainer.

 

“Well she’s a jerk, isn’t she?” Ash mumbled, scratching the back of his head. May shrugged. “She just seemed antisocial to me. The Eevee seemed to like her, so she can’t be that bad.”

 

Max glanced up from his sandwich, eying Brock. “I notice somebody’s gone deathly silent.”

 

All his earlier maturity had gone out the window. The oldest of the group had hearts popping out of his eyes as he stared at the direction Lethe had gone. “She was so pretty...”

 

The younger boy sighed, hitting Brock on the shoulder to wake him up. “You can’t keep going crazy over every girl we meet. You’re so hopeless.”

 

***

 

A day after Lethe encountered the group of Pokemon trainers, she was approached by Roxanne, the gym leader of the city. Lethe wasn’t exactly a standout among Rustboro’s many people, but she was eccentric enough that most people knew her. Roxanne, being a teacher, however, was automatically friendly to weird kids, which led to some semblance of a friendship.

“Lethe,” the gym leader called, walking up to the dark haired girl sitting on a log, sharing berries with Lucina. Lethe glanced up, nodding in greeting. “Something came up with my gym referee, do you think you could help 

out for today?”

 

Lethe blinked. Her Eevee cheered eagerly from the log, so the girl nodded. “Fine.”

 

As Lethe arrived at Rustboro city’s gym, Roxanne’s challenger arrived as well. Ash’s eyes flickered in recognition as he spotted Lethe. “You’re the girl with the Eevee!”

 

“Hm.”

 

Lethe watched with detached intrigue as she refereed the match. The only thing that really caught her attention was when a trio wearing shirts that said ‘R’ suddenly emerged through the floor of the gym, then promptly got hit by a Thunder Wave and launched into nirvana.

 

The next thing that managed to actually catch her attention was when Ash actually beat Roxanne. Lethe had dismissed him as a bit of an idiot before- she still thought he was an idiot, but apparently he was good enough to actually beat a gym.

 

“Can I go now?” she asked after Roxanne presented Ash with the Stone Badge. The teacher and gym leader nodded, waving as she walked out.

 

“Hey, wait!” Lethe stopped in her tracks as she heard Ash and his group call out to her. She turned around, the mildest flicker of annoyance in her blue eyes. “What do you want?”

 

Ash held out his Stone Badge. “Are you a Pokemon trainer too? Are you a gym challenger?”

 

Lethe blinked once. Then she turned around and continued to walk away. “No. And no.”

 

“Are you a Pokemon coordinator too, then?” May asked, equally energetic. Lethe didn’t even reply, just shaking her head.

 

“Wait!” Ash yelled again, earning a somewhat annoyed glance from Lethe as she turned around. “What now?”

 

Ash held out a Pokeball while Pikachu cheered from his shoulder, although it was still somewhat tired from the gym battle. “I want to battle you!”

 

Lethe raised an eyebrow. “I’d take your Pokemon to the Pokemon Center first.”

 

“She’s not wrong,” Max pointed out, adjusting his glasses. “No way you’d be able to battle anyone with your team in the condition it’s in.”

 

Ash sweatdropped sheepishly. “Oh- right. But still, you’re quiet, you seem kinda strong. So I still want to battle you.”

 

Lethe looked completely unimpressed. May smiled awkwardly. “Well, I kind of want to see you fight too. Ash is a bit too much sometimes, but it wouldn’t hurt or anything.”

 

Deadpan.

 

“Your Eevee looks special,” Max added helpfully. “What’s its ability?”

 

“Adaptability,” Lethe replied automatically, before shaking her head. “You won’t convince me like this. I have things to do.”

 

The unlucky thing for the girl was that she had to stock up on some berries and potions today, which meant she was heading in the same direction as the travellers. Her face was frozen in a dark glare as she stalked into the Pokemart. “Oran Berries. Thank you.”

 

The shopkeeper, like most of the locals who worked in the Pokemon Center or Pokemart, knew Lethe well enough. “You seem in a bad mood today.”

 

“These annoying travellers keep bugging me,” the girl replied flatly, leaving the payment on the counter as she grabbed her berries. “I’ll be going now.”

 

“Have a good day,” the shopkeeper called after her. “And you shouldn’t dismiss them like that, you should expand your boundaries too.”

 

Lethe shrugged, uninterested. Nodding to get the shopkeeper to stop talking, the girl turned again and walked out of the mart.

 

“Ah, it’s you!” The dark haired girl visibly slumped over as she heard May’s enthusiastic voice. Turning around, she found Ash and his friends emerging from the Pokemon Center. “What do you want.”

 

“I still want to battle you!” Ash yelled, causing Lethe to flinch and cover her ears. “Mind your volume.”

 

“Well you’re still a jerk,” the boy complained, quieting. “But will you battle me or not?”

 

“No.”

 

“Please?” May pleaded. “You really do seem like you’d be a unique fighter. We just want to see once.”

 

Lethe stared.

 

“...”

 

“...”

 

“...”

 

“...”

 

“Fine. One battle.”

Chapter 3

Notes:

Edit: sorry I just realized because in my docs I have the first chapter labelled prologue I accidentally skipped one here

“Pikachu, I choose you!”

 

The Ash fellow was... energetic. Too energetic. Lethe’s ears are starting to hurt.

 

“Cina, go.” The girl found Lucina’s pokeball from her satchel, letting the small brown Pokemon emerge. The Eevee yipped cheerfully at the idea of actually getting to battle for once.

 

“One on one, one Pokemon per trainer. Battle- begin!” Brock, the referee, announced.

 

“Pikachu, Iron Tail!” Ash commanded immediately. Pikachu dashed towards the Eevee, its tail beginning to glow silvery.

 

“Cina, dig,” Lethe ordered in response, her gaze scanning the battlefield carefully. Lucina pawed rapidly at the ground, disappearing under the earth just as Pikachu arrived, slamming its tail into the ground and scattering dirt everywhere.

 

Lethe nodded her head subtly. In response, Lucina immediately emerged from the ground behind Pikachu, throwing it back several meters. Following her trainer’s silent command, the Eevee quickly chased after the electric Pokemon with a Quick Attack.

 

“She’s good at communicating with her Pokemon without talking,” Max noted. “Not many trainers can do that, even among the best. She must have some special talent.”

 

“Pikachu, Quick Attack!” Ash yelled. Bouncing back to avoid Eevee’s attack, Pikachu countered with the same move. Surprised by the speed, Lucina was thrown back.

 

“Cina,” Lethe said, her voice tinged with the slightest surprise, though it disappeared quickly. “Cina, Swift!”

 

“Thunderbolt!”

 

A bolt of lightning and a barrage of stars clashed midair. Both Pokemon dodged sideways, but neither attack managed to pass. For a few seconds, both trainers were silent as their Pokemon recovered.

 

“Thunder!”

 

“Shadow Ball!”

 

This time, Pikachu managed to dodge first, letting loose another Thunderbolt at the Eevee. The brown Pokemon managed to tank the move, its tail swaying and its legs trembling slightly. “Cina, careful. Dig!”

 

Once again the Eevee pawed its way underground, emerging behind the Pikachu and slamming into it. The electric type cried in pain, faltering slightly. Ash took a step forward. “Pikachu! Be careful! Use Thunderbolt!”

 

“Lucina, Swift!”

 

With both Pokemon battered, everyone leaned forward in interest to see who turns out victorious. Pikachu and Lucina unleashed their attacks, letting it clash.

 

“Cina, Quick Attack, now !” Lethe demanded suddenly. The Eevee dashed sideways, slamming into its opponent and sending Pikachu sprawling, unconscious.

 

Brock raised an arm. “Pikachu is unable to battle. Lethe and Lucina win the fight.”

 

May and Max watched Lethe with a newfound respect as Ash picked up Pikachu, soothing it a bit, before turning to the girl. “Wow, you’re really strong. Are you sure you don’t want to challenge the gyms?”

 

Lethe hesitated- something she hadn’t done before. But she clenched her fists ever so slightly, firmly shaking her head. “No. I don’t see the point. You’d best get your Pokemon to the Pokemon Center before he keels over.”

 

Ash fumbled with his unconscious Pikachu. “Gah, right- sorry, Pikachu!”

 

His companions sighed and facepalmed as if this was a regular occurrence as the raven haired boy dashed off. May gave Lethe one last wave as the three followed their friend. The girl stood there, staring after the travelling group for a few minutes, before returning Lucina to her Pokeball and heading after them. After all, her Eevee was wounded from the fight as well.

 

The girl entered the automatic doors of the center in time to see Nurse Joy’s Chansey pushing a trolley with Pikachu on it to another room. Ash and his group spotted her once again, waving.

 

“Lethe, you actually agreed to battle them?” Nurse Joy said in surprise from behind the counter. The girl replied by completely ignoring everyone and placing Lucina’s Pokeball on the counter. The Nurse paused, then chuckled softly as she picked up the Pokeball and took it for treatment.

 

The girl took a seat in the lobby, waiting aimlessly. Nearby, Ash, Brock, May and Max were looking over a map. Brock looked over the map- how he could see through his thin eyes, Lethe didn’t know. “The next gym is on Dewford Island.”

 

“According to my map, there should be a port on this side of town,” May said, pointing at the map.

 

“The map looks kind of old to me, are you sure it’s up to date?” Max questioned, but he was brushed off by everyone else. Meanwhile, May had moved on to some of the Pokemon Center’s brochures- at least those looked relatively recent. “Ooh, look at this! They say a scientist from some ‘Memory Project’ is visiting and is allowing questions!”

 

Brock took the brochure, reading it through. “Let’s see... Mr Kelvin, a part of the artificial Pokemon project ‘Memory.’ It says that years and years ago, they created a rare ‘Memory Pokemon’ with unique capabilities. At max power, one may be able to search through one’s memories.”

 

Lethe perked up. A Memory Pokemon... perhaps it would be able to return whatever memories she had once lost.

 

“Wait, but look here,” Ash said, pointing at the corner of the brochure. “They say they’ve let it out into the wild and won’t be retrieving it for years. What a scam!”

 

“Well, we have plenty of time to spend there after your gym battle, Ash,” Max reasoned. “We can still drop by the scientist visit.”

 

At that moment, Nurse Joy walked out into the lobby, a cheerful Pikachu and Lucina’s Pokeball on her trolley. “Your Pokemon are fully healed!”

 

Ash was quick to let Pikachu jump onto his shoulder, before running off with his companions. Lethe, however, was slower to pick up the Pokeball. Nurse Joy raised an eyebrow as the girl did not move, clutching the ball.

 

“Is something wrong, Lethe?” she questioned. Joy knew the girl with no memory had always been odd, but this was still concerning.

 

“On Dewford Island, a scientist who is part of a project that created a ‘Memory Pokemon’ is visiting,” Lethe finally said. “I thought it might help get my memory back. But the Pokemon isn’t there anyways, so it doesn’t matter.”

 

Before the girl could turn tail and leave, Joy placed a hand on her shoulder. “You should expand your boundaries sometimes.”

 

‘Expand your boundaries...’

 

“I think you should go adventuring, Lethe.”

Chapter 4

‘May is a scammer and I’m never trusting her again,’ Lethe swore internally as she stared out at the empty dock. ‘But how else can I travel there...’

 

She glanced at the three Pokeballs in her bag. Neither Eevee nor Whismur nor Nincada could travel over water. However, Lethe had always been good at communicating with Pokemon.

 

She made her way away from the dock and down to the sea, kneeling beside it and observing the water. A Carvanha- quite a rare Pokemon to find just by a dock, especially alone- curiously surfaced. The girl extended her hand as a gesture of peace. “Hello. Can you go find a boat bound for Dewford Island?”

 

Normally a fierce Pokemon like Carvanha wouldn’t have obeyed a strange human, if it even understood. This time it just gurgled slightly suspiciously.

 

Lethe might understand Pokemon but she didn’t quite understand gurgle-speak. She reached into her pocket and pulled out an Oran Berry, extending it. “Would you like this?”

 

The Pokemon hesitated, then leaned forward, hooking up a berry with one large fang. It chewed the fruit in satisfaction, before nodding at Lethe, gurgling some more, and swimming off.

 

‘Now I just have to wait.’

 

Indeed, a few minutes later the red and blue fish returned. It let out another gurgling noise before pointing a fin towards a direction out to sea. If Lethe squinted, she could make out the shape of a ship about to leave.

 

“Is it free?” she asked. The Carvanha gurgled again.

 

“I see. Thank you.” She threw another Oran Berry into the Carvanha’s mouth and let it chew as she dashed away. The ship would leave in 10 minutes- just about enough to get there and hope she’s let on.

 

***

 

“Ship to Dewford Island. Am I on time?” she asked the ticket seller, heaving the occasional breath. The man looked down on his computer, tapping a few keys. “Technically, tickets stopped selling 10 minutes ago, but there weren't many passengers this time so...”

 

He shrugged, passing over a ticket. “1000 Pokedollars. If someone asks, the captain of this ship is my old friend. Tell him August let you on. Ship’s leaving in 5 minutes, so I’d hurry.”

 

“Thank you,” Lethe nodded, placing some money on the counter, before turning around and heading towards the dock. A large white and blue ship was preparing to leave, a large ‘To: Dewford Island’ digital display visible on top. A Pelliper with a comically large grin was drawn on the side of it.

 

“Ticket?” the inspector questioned, looking profoundly bored as he stood on the boarding stairs. Lethe handed over the ticket, waiting a few seconds as the man looked over. He tore the ticket, handing part of it back. “I could have sworn the tickets weren’t selling anymore... whatever, go on.”

 

‘Transport secured.’

 

A few people were wandering about the deck. Lethe found a bench by the railing and sat down, letting her Pokemon out of their Pokeballs. Almost immediately, one of those annoying little kids zoomed up to her.

 

“Excuse me! Excuse me!” he greeted, unnecessarily loud, waving his hands around.

 

Lethe ignored him.

 

“Hello~! Excuse me! Hi there!”

 

Annoyed that her petting-time is being distracted by a pesky human, Lucina stood up and let out some Pokemon profanities that almost made Lethe flinch despite her limited understanding. The child only tilted his head (‘Uncultured animals, can’t even understand Pokemon,’ Lucina thought), then continued to yell. “Excuse me? Can you hear me?!”

 

A vein popped on Lethe’s forehead. “What.”

 

“I love bug Pokemon!” the child declared cheerfully. “Do you think you can let me see your Nincada?”

 

Lethe glanced at her Nincada, hiding from the sun under the bench. It hissed at the boy.

 

“No,” Lethe replied.

 

“Aww, why?” the child pouted.

 

“Because he called you a ‘worthless bothersome annoying pesky insect excuse for a living being’ Be grateful I didn’t teach him any actual profanity.” Well, maybe she exaggerated it a little - hey, she understood 85% of Pokemon speech, so she can’t translate perfectly. The ‘worthless’ part came from Lucina, though, so it was close enough.

 

The child faltered for a few seconds. Then-

 

“Pleeeeease battle me! Just your Nincada! Please! There’s a battlefield on the ship, too! Please!”

 

Were 5 year olds even allowed to have Pokemon? Actually, Lethe didn’t have a Pokedex, which probably meant she didn’t have a trainer license either... but who cared about the law, anyway. She could ask the next Nurse Joy she ran into.

 

“...fine.”

 

***

 

“Battle, begin!” The referee was a ship attendant the child had dragged over. He looked somewhat confused, but the battlefield was legit.

 

“Um, um...” The child fumbled through a few Pokeballs, before settling on one. “Go! Surskit! Use Water Gun!”

 

‘That would be Super Effective,’ Lethe noted internally. However, the child and his Pokemon were clearly inexperienced. “Absorb.”

 

Nincada scuttled out of the way before absorbing energy from Surskit, before draining its energy. The blue Pokemon faltered slightly, but stayed standing. “U-use Bubble Beam!”

 

Obeying its trainer’s orders, the bug shot a ray of bubbles at Nincada. It dodged with ease thanks to Lethe’s timely command, only to be hit by a Quick Attack.

 

“Protect!” Lethe commanded as Surskit prepared another Bubble Beam. A barrier appeared around Nincada just as the attack hit, keeping it unharmed. “Now, Mud Slap!”

 

Surskit finished its Bubble Beam attack just in time to see mud heading towards it. It let out a weak ‘a’ as it collapsed under the mud.

 

“Surskit is unable to battle. Nincada is the winner,” the referee announced. Nincada, instead of calming down, continued to jump up and down.

 

“Nincada,” Lethe said, kneeling next to her Pokemon. “Are you alright?”

 

Nincada let out a bug noise, continuing to jump, until a white light began to emit from it. Lethe’s eyes brightened in realization, stepping back as Ninjask emerged from the light, zipping back and forth.

 

“It evolved!” the child marvelled.

 

The Ninjask then pointed a wing to the floor, where it had been a moment before. In its place, there sat a brown husk. Then, all of a sudden, it bolted upright, smoothly taking flight.

 

“Shedinja,” Lethe stated, ignoring the awestruck child behind her. She extended a hand to the ghost Pokemon. “It’s nice to meet you.”

 

Shedinja did not move, only letting out a Shedinja noise. (Nobody quite knew how to describe it) Nearby, Ninjask was zipping around Lethe’s satchel, buzzing loudly. Nodding in response, Lethe retrieved a specific Pokeball, holding it out to Shedinja. “Is this your’s?”

 

Shedinja made another Shedinja noise.

 

“That is so cool!” the child had not stopped screaming for quite a while. “I’ve always wanted to see a Shedinja! Can I see it! Please?”

 

Ninjask zipped around it, buzzing angrily in response. Lethe decided not to translate the profanity. Pokemon could swear in ways humans could never imagine.

 

“Kid,” she said. “How about you go away.”

Chapter 5

“Lethe?!”

 

One of the main reasons Lethe hadn’t wanted to come to Dewford- the verbal assault in the form of Ash Ketchum. “What are you doing here?”

 

“The Memory Project interview,” the girl deadpanned. She didn’t explain the whole amnesia thing. If she was lucky, she wouldn’t have to meet Ash and his friends again. If she was lucky.

 

Considering the girl managed to run into the group, instead of any resident of Dewford, she was convinced good luck was a sham.

 

"Why?" May asked innocently. She was marginally better than Ash, but that was a low bar. "You didn't strike me as the sciency type."

 

Lethe really didn't want to dealw with any more questions, so she might as well spill it.

 

"About, say… two years ago, I woke up near Rustboro City with no memory," she explained, taking a seat in the thankfully empty lobby of the Pokemon center. "I still don't remember anything and I suspect it may be related to the Memory Pokemon or this 'Memory Project' thing."

 

"That's reasonable," Brock agreed. Thankfully, he had gotten over Lethe quickly enough. Her age was probably close enough to Ash and May that it hit his 'big brother' instincts.

 

"Does that mean you're going back to Rustboro after this?" Max asked. "Or are you going to start travelling?"

 

"Nurse Joy said… that I should travel," the girl said. There were a grand total of three people who consistently interacted with her- Rustboro's Nurse Joy, Roxannee, and Rustboro's Pokemart man. Becaues of that, Lethe generally tended to take their advice, since she didn't have many opinions on things she didn't care much about anyways.

 

"That's great!" Ash cheered. "Are you going to take on the gyms?"

 

"No."

 

"Are you sure?" May asked quietly. "If you're going on a journey, you should have a goal."

 

"I'm completely certain," Lethe insisted, turning around. Before any of the group could say more, she had left the Pokemon center, leaving only a cool sea breeze to blow in through the yet to close automatic doors.

 

***

 

"Hello, people of Dewford Island!" Kelvin was a normal-looking man with brown hair and a businesslike coat. The Memory Project in itself might not be the most interesting, but there wasn't exactly a lot of entertainment on a far-off island like Dewford, so many people crowded before the man and the powerpoint behind him.

 

"The Memory Project is a long-term project created about 60 years ago by Nexus Corporations," he began. "We have created an artificial Pokemon species, that we are still working on improving. That species- the Memory Pokemon, harvests memories with its unique powers and they are sent back to Nexus Corps, where we are using it to build something new. Once it is complete, it will be released to the public."

 

'Very vague,' Lethe noted to herself. 'He's hyping up this project, but he's also being incredibly vague and not revealing any details or specifics on how this project works. This Nexus Corporations... they're hiding something.'

 

A few people seemed to notice the lack of detail as well, but most of the crowd were eagerly participating in the questioning. Lethe listened from the edge of the crowd, as Kelvin continued to give vague, fancy-sounding 'answers' that really answered nothing at all.

 

And the wording he used- 'harvest memories.' What if this Memory Pokemon stole her memories? What if it was stealing everyone's memories from the shadows, which is why Nexus Corps refused to give any details.

 

If Lethe was correct... then this could be bad.

 

But then again, if only her memories were stolen, how come nobody remembered her? Perhaps she wasn't from Rustboro, or not from Hoenn at all. This was all to complicated for her to figure out without further evidence or memories.

 

If this Memory Pokemon really harvested memories, then there must be other amnesiacs like Lethe herself out there. If she could find more of them...

 

Her little 'adventure' now officially has a goal.

 

"Hey, Lethe!" Ash's shout snapped her from her musing.

 

"Aren't you going to ask about your memory loss?" May added, rushing up. Lethe shook her head, offering no explanation.

 

"Why?" Max asked, narrowing his eyes. The bespectacled boy was probably one of the sharpest in the group- Lethe had to either figure out how to fool him, or convince him not to spill her theory just yet.

 

"I have my reasons," she replied, her tone completely flat.

 

"But-" Max continued, but he shook his head midway. "Fine. I won't press."

 

"Do you want to join us for some dinner?" May offered. "Ash finally won his badge a while ago so we were planning to see some nearby restaurants."

 

Lethe opened her mouth to say no, but Ash, Brock and Max all chimed in their agreements. 'Maybe this would finally get them off my tail.'

 

"Fine."

 

***

 

Lethe scarfed down her pork rice as quickly as possible, wanting to get out before the group dragged her into their disgustingly cheerful and loud conversation.

 

"So, Lethe," Brock said. "Did you figure anything out about your memory loss?"

 

"Maybe." Two syllabes, vague, unhelpful, deadpan. Truly a Lethe-approved response. Brock hummed in response, looking slightly suspicious. Max and Brock- unless she decided to tell the group, Max and Brock were the ones she had to be careful of. Ash was a doofus and May didn't seem like the suspicious type, but the other two were more observant.

 

Oh, and Pikachu. She had noticed the electric type observing her carefully from Ash's shoulder.

 

"Lethe, you suspect the Memory Pokemon of stealing your memories, don't you?" Lethe froze, shooting a glare at Max. "Maybe."

 

"I don't think you should make assumptions too quickly," May pointed out once she got over the initial shock. "It's certainly possible, but... you should probably find the Memory Pokemon or one of the higher rank memories of Nexus Corps first."

 

"That's the plan," Lethe agreed. "So now you can let me go mind my own business."

 

"Are you kidding me? We'll help you," Ash insisted. Seeing the completely done expression on Lethe's face, May patted her friend on the shoulder. "Ash, I think we should get out of her hair..."

 

"You should," Lethe replied. Her voice remained perfectly monotone, but someone who knew her well enough would be able to see the slightest tenseness in her shoulder and her eyes curved into the slightest glare. After all, it was Lethe's equivalent of screaming and stomping her feet.

 

Brock coughed a few times to get everyone else's attention. "If you really don't want us to bother you, then we won't. But whenever we run into you again, we'll help you with what's currently going on, then we'll get out of your hair."

 

After all, Brock was still a gym leader and an older sibling of many people, as well as the closest thing to a responsible adult in the group. He could certainly be a good mediator should he want to.

 

Lethe dipped her head, a few strands of her dark hair falling into her eyes. "I suppose I can't stop you people, so whatever. It's all the same to me."

Chapter 6

Lethe looked over the 'Memory Project' brochure in her hands. Where would her next destination be? Since Dewford was a far-off island, her possible destinations were Petalburg City, Littleroot Town, Oldale Town or Slateport City.

 

'Nexus Corporations has branches in most major cities.' The brochure didn't reveal where their main base was or where the Memory Pokemon is, unfortunately. Among the possible destinations Lethe had considered, the largest city was...

 

Slateport.

 

***

 

Lethe had one problem. Mainly, she was broke.

 

Before she left, Nurse Joy had left her with some money. At this point, however, the girl had spent all her money on the ship to Dewford and on small necessities on the island itself. Now, she couldn't afford a ship back to the mainland. After all, travelling to a distant place like Dewford Island wasn't exactly cheap.

 

The girl could talk to the resident Nurse Joy. If she knew the Rustboro Joy, then maybe she could help. However, Joy worked for free, she probably didn't have money piling around anywhere.

 

She could also ask Ash, May, Brock and Max. Unfortunately, the girl was trying to get them to leave her alone, and asking for help would do the opposite.

 

The dark haired girl sighed softly, brushing a strand of hair out of her face as the walked down the dock. She had to get off the island somehow...

 

"Spheeeal!"

 

She looked up as a blue ball rolled towards her, landing with a bump when it crashed into a rock. The Clap Pokemon squeaked, then began to roll in a circle around Lethe.

 

"Hi," she greeted. "Do you need something?"

 

The Spheal made some Spheal noises.

 

Lethe closed her eyes to think. "I see. I can help dig if you want."

 

Cue more Spheal noises. The Pokemon rolled away, stopping occasionally and wiggling around to check if Lethe is following.

 

Finally, it stopped in front of a small hole in the sand. It was clear it had previously tried to dig, but with a Spheal's tiny flippers, it was nigh impossible a task.

 

Lethe produced Lucina's Pokeball from her bag, letting the Eevee out. "Cina, help dig, please."

 

Lucina yipped in response, beginning to drill a hole in the sand with the move Dig. Compared to Lethe and Spheal's contributions, the Eevee was clearly doing the most.

 

"Vui!" Lucina cried, unearthing what looked like a small silk bag. She nosed it up, displaying it to Lethe and Spheal.

 

"Is this what you were looking for?" the girl asked. The Spheal squeaked sadly, raising a flipper to nudge it. "What is this?"

 

The Spheal made more Spheal noises, earning a thoughtful nod from Lethe. The girl pulled the bag open with the drawstring, pulling out two necklaces- one big, one small, each embedded with a blue gemstone.

 

"Your old trainer was crippled when he fell off a cliff, trying to save you," the girl translated out loud. "He permanently broke a leg and both arms, and was unable to keep training you. He made these, one for him and one for you, as a memory of your days."

 

Lethe's expression fell as the Spheal continued its story. "When an earthquake hit the hospital, your trainer... died. You took both necklaces and left, but recently, it was stolen by some money-hungry trainers who had no way to earn. You almost managed to get it back, but the people had a flying type Pokemon who blew a mound of sand over it."

 

The girl petted the Spheal's head sympathetically. "I'm sorry. Here, you can have it back now."

 

The Spheal hesitated, then nudged the bag towards Lethe, making more squealing noises. The girl raised an eyebrow. "You don't have to repay me. I can't take something like this from you."

 

The little Pokemon looked down, almost disappointed, then let out another squeal and pointed a flipper towards the shore before rolling away. Confused, Lethe followed the Spheal to the shore, her Eevee following close behind.

 

Spheal droppped the bag on the sand before letting out a full-volume Spheal noise. It turned around and nodded confidently at Lethe.

 

Almost immediately, a full-grown Walrein emerged from the water. Such a Pokemon was incredibly rare in less cold places like Dewford, most people would never catch a glimpse.

 

The Walrein let out a small roar.

 

"You say... you can bring me to Slateport City?" Lethe questioned. When the large Pokemon nodded, she returned Lucina to its Pokeball turned to the Spheal. "Thank you. Keep your things safe from now on."

 

Instead of leaving, the Spheal scooped up the bag in its mouth and followed Lethe and the Walrein as they moved through the water. The journey would  probably be a few days' worth, but Walrein was much faster than a normal boat when it rushes. There's a good chance the girl would arrive in about a day.

 

***

 

Lethe was awoken by the Walrein shaking her around.

 

When she opened her blue-gray eyes to see Slateport right in front of her. The Walrein let her slide off onto the ground, while the Spheal bubbled around nearby.

 

"Thank you," she said. The girl pulled a few berries out of her satchel, throwing one to the Spheal and two to the Walrein. "Stay safe."

 

Both water-ice type Pokemon cried cheerfully as Lethe walked off.

 

She wandered the city, dropping by a Pokemon Center to heal her team and a Pokemart to sell some odds and ends for some money. After that, the girl found a city map on a sign by the road- her best chance at finding Nexus Corps's base.

 

'Pokemon Center... Pokemart... ah, Nexus Corporations Mini Base.' However, Lethe's expression quickly fell as she saw the next line of text beneath the map. 'Open on Monday-Thursday. And today is... Friday.'

 

She would have to wait at least four days, unless she chose to break in, which would be a surefire way to NOT get the information she needed.

 

With a small sigh, Lethe found a bench to sit on. She would have to wait.

Chapter 7

“So anyways, I hope I get to kick Drew’s butt in the contest!”

 

‘I hate my life,’ Lethe decided. Thankfully, Ash and his friends had yet to notice the girl sitting on a bench in Slateport, sharing some sandwiches with her Pokemon. Her Whismur whimpered at the loud noise, curling further into its trainer’s pale gray jacket. Of course Lethe had a jacket- she couldn’t exactly cross a large body of water while riding on an ice type Pokemon in only a dress.

 

“Oh! Hey, Lethe!” The dark haired girl looked up in resignation as May waved at her from the bench the group sat on.

 

“What,” she said flatly. Her Whismur began to shake even more. Just in case it decided to start crying, Lethe handed it an Oran berry and threw her jacket over it- that had always calmed the shy Pokemon down.

 

“What are you doing in Slateport?” May asked, shouting across the benches. A few passerbys shot her weird looks. “Are you going to challenge the Pokemon Contest?”

 

“Not a chance,” the dark haired girl retorted. “What I do in a city is none of your business.”

 

“Hey, don’t be like that,” the brown haired girl complained. “I still think you should give it a go. It’ll be fun, really! If you really don’t like it, it’s not like you have to enter another one.”

 

“I said n-”

 

“Spheeeal!” Both girls turned around to see the Spheal Lethe had helped earlier rolling towards them.

 

“Is this your Pokemon?” May asked, contests out of her mind.

 

Lethe shook her head, her gaze focused on the Spheal as it crashed into the leg of her bench. “Are you alright? Did you lose something again?”

 

The Spheal waved its short flippers around, squealing loudly. May shot the other girl a questioning look, not yet speaking to interrupt the Pokemon. Once the Spheal finished its squeaking, Lethe gave a resigned look to May. “The Spheal wants to join a contest. Can you take it?”

 

“Huh?” the red-wearing girl shook her head. “No, sorry, I’m going to enter my Beautifly. Ooh, but you can join then!”

 

“The spheal isn’t my Pokemon,” Lethe insisted, turning around and ignoring a sad squeak from the blue Pokemon. As she went back to her food, however, Whismur squeezed out from under the jacket and landed beside the Spheal, giving it a comforting cry. The pink Pokemon then turned back to its trainer, urgently making Whismur noises.

 

“What is it saying?” May asked curiously. Lethe blinked, silent for a moment. “Whismur says she wants me to bring Spheal into the contest.”

 

The other girl brightened immediately. “See? Even your own Pokemon wants you to enter! Just give it a go!”

 

“...”

 

“...”

 

“...”

 

Lethe sighed.

 

“Just one time.”

 

***

 

“Here is your Contest Pass.”

 

“Alright, Lethe, you’re good to go,” May cheered, handing the lavender card with a ribbon symbol over to the other girl. “Hey, you’re going to catch the Spheal, right? I think you’ll have to if you’re going to join the Contest.”

 

“I’ll ask him later,” Lethe promised, pocketing the card and keeping her voice low. The receptionist probably won’t remember some random conversation, but it never hurts to be secretive about her own life.

 

“Oh, right, I’ve been wondering,” the brown haired coordinator spoke up as the two walked off down the street, towards where the rest of May’s friend group waited. “Do you, like, speak Pokemon or something? How do you understand them?”

 

“Not quite.” Lethe did not elaborate on the second part of the question, not exactly to be unfriendly, but because she herself did not quite understand either. Instead of actually understanding the content of a Pokemon’s words, she could sort of feel their intent and emotions. Actually, she could understand people the same way, although humans were almost always more secretive and deceptive by nature. By that rule, Lethe would be less able to translate more intelligent Pokemon, although she had yet to meet such a Pokemon.

 

May hummed in response, but she didn’t press the subject more. Once the two arrived back at the benches, May quickly rejoined her friends. Lethe turned around and returned to her own bench, where her Pokemon greeted her. The Spheal warbled curiously, turning to a happy cheer when the girl presented her Contest Pass.

 

“You realize I can’t bring a Pokemon I don’t own into a Pokemon Contest, right?” she questioned quietly, picking up the sandwich she had left on the bench earlier.

 

Spheal gurgled with the most ‘duh’ tone a small round seal could utter, pointing a flipper at the girl’s satchel. Lethe hummed, retrieving a Pokeball and eyeing it, before putting it back. “I wouldn’t make choices so quickly.”

 

Looking annoyed for the first ever time, Spheal gargled in exasperation. Then, it clambered up to the bench with its short flippers, then into Lethe’s satchel. The blue Pokemon disappeared into the white bag, and a few seconds later, the familiar clicking sound of a Pokeball sounded.

 

A moment later, the bag dinged- Spheal had been successfully caught.

 

***

 

Lethe didn’t care much about contests at this point, but if she was joining, she might as well make an effort.

 

“You say your moves are... Rollout, Water Gun, Powder Snow and Growl,” she translated the Spheal’s yips. “I think I can make do with that. Here’s the plan.”

 

For the rest of the afternoon, Lethe and her other Pokemon came up with interesting combos- well, her other Pokemon minus Shedinja, who just floated there- while Spheal performed them with vigor. The water and ice type was clumsy, but in a rather cute way that would probably earn points rather than deduct it. On top of that, it was hardworking and a fast improver.

 

Spheal rolled back proudly after finishing another practice performance. Ninjask buzzed loudly, sharing its newest ideas, paired with lots of Pokemon profanity. Why exactly did evolving teach it to swear? The mysteries of Pokemon will never end.

 

Standing under Ninjask, Lucina offered her own advice, at a much lower volume than the bug Pokemon. Nearby, Whismur, with her own quiet cries, offered words of praise to her new friend.

 

“I think we got this,” the girl decided. “Too many moves will be hard to remember. We’ll keep practicing these.”

 

“Sphea, spheaal!”

 

It was at almost that exact moment when her vision went dark, flooded by a series of images.

 

A quaint flower shop, morning sunlight flooding in and bathing the neat flowers in vibrant colors. “-----, did you have to trip in the middle of the shop? ...at least the customers haven’t come in yet.” “Ahh, I’m sorry, I didn’t see Rosie and Selia standing there!”

 

A Blastoise, throwing Hydro Cannon attacks at a boulder in the middle of a cave. “A damned rock isn’t going to stop me, --------! Blastoise, Hydro Cannon! No, of course I’m not walking around it! This rock- it’s insulting me! Hydro Cannon! What do you mean you’re out of PP?!”

 

A sheet of paper, filled with names, text and- math equations? A shout sounded from down the dim hallway. “------! It’s -----!” The sheet of paper was pocketed. ‘I have to get out of here.’

 

A crying child, sitting on the sidewalk and staring at a spilt ice cream. “Wahh, Mr -----, you’re being so m-mean!” “It’s not being mean if a little kid like you won’t get out of my way. Quit crying and get lost.”

 

“Vui!”

 

Lethe’s blue eyes snapped open, her breathing heavy. She blinked a few times, clearing the mist out of her eyes. “What just happened?”

 

Her Pokemon all began speaking at once, but Lethe managed to piece together the whole story. Said story was only as complicated as she blacked out for a few seconds, then woke up. It was concerning, those images. Could they be her memories? Yet she was almost certain the four flashes were four different people, and none of them were her. But then why did she see those?

 

The age old question: who is she? Who is ‘Lethe?’

Chapter 8

“And our last performer is... Lethe!”

 

Lethe, quite obviously, had not changed. She probably hadn’t changed out of her gray-and-white dress in quite a long time. She strode slowly onto the stage, before releasing her Spheal, who immediately let out a cheerful warble and clapped its flippers together, earning some cooing noises from the audience.

 

“Powder Snow, then Water Gun,” the girl commanded calmly. Having practiced the same few combos far too many times, Spheal blew a white blanket of snow into the air, before hitting it with a Water Gun, causing a shower of droplets and snow to fall onto the floor of the stage, dying it silver.

 

“Growl.” The Spheal let out a cry of sound waves, blowing up the silver dust and creating a silver cone in the air.

 

“Now, Powder Snow, and Rollout.” Before the silvery cone could dissipate, Spheal blew out more Powder Snow, encasing itself in silver and white. It rolled forwards, jumping up through the circle and landing, leaving a rain of gentle snowflakes to land.

 

A moment of silence followed, before applause. It took a few seconds before Lethe’s score was announced- 27.6 points, higher than May, although the Beautifly trainer would probably have done much better if she hadn’t been so nervous.

 

Lethe gave a small nod, before leaving the stage.

 

***

 

“That was really good, Lethe!” May praised happily. “I should’ve done better... but I think I’ll be alright...”

 

“Hm.” The dark haired girl sat on a bench backstage, waiting for her Battle Round. Both she and May had passed, and May’s new green rival, Drew, and a fancy guy named Robert. It would probably take three full rounds for a winner- not that Lethe was any good at math, since she had never had any education, at least from the times she remembered.

 

On that note, one of the flashbacks from before had the sheet of paper. Never, in any lifetime, would Lethe be able to figure out ‘x = 21(377 + 213) - 58 / 234 * (48(842 - 482) + 59) / 12 (24 * 37(28 + 9)).’ It was strange how she could read the math equation, but none of the names on the paper- she couldn’t hear any names in those flashbacks either.

 

She had been lost in thought for quite a while, because May plopped down on the bench beside her. “Ugh... I lost to Drew. Lethe, I think it’s your turn now.”

 

“Ah, right.” Holding Spheal’s Pokeball, Lethe headed towards the battle stage.

 

Her opponent was Ava, a confident woman with jet black hair tied into a neat low ponytail. Something told Lethe she wasn’t as impressive as her regal-looking Dragonair seemed to imply, especially since that Dragonair looked like she was about to fall asleep.

 

“Dragonair, use Dragon Tail!” Ava commanded. The blue Pokemon sighed tiredly, then followed the command. Honestly, how did this woman even pass the Appeal stage?

 

“Rollout under its tail,” Lethe ordered in response. “Then use Powder Snow.”

 

Spheal yipped energetically, rolling under the Dragonair’s waving tail and crashing into the larger Pokemon. While it recovered, Spheal blew a beam of supereffective snow on it. Ava’s Dragonair skidded backwards, following its trainer’s next command and slamming its tail at Spheal.

 

“Growl!” Spheal growled loudly at the dragon type, who flinched, the force of its tail attack weakening enough for Spheal to remain largely unaffected.

 

“Again, Powder Snow!” Following up, the round Pokemon breathed another layer of snow at its opponent. Dragonair flinched in pain, and at that moment, the timer sounded.

 

“Lethe wins this match!”

 

***

 

“Aww, you won,” May sighed. The two girls glanced at the brackets to see who Lethe would face off against soon.

 

“Oh!” the brown haired girl said, her eyes widening slightly. “You’re going up against Drew next. Beat him for me, would you?”

 

“I make no promises,” Lethe deadpanned. At that moment, the referee’s voice once again called for her. Giving May a small nod, the dark haired girl picked up Spheal’s Pokeball and stepped back onto the stage.

 

A chorus of cheers greeted Lethe and May’s green haired rival.

 

Lethe sent out Spheal, who faced Drew’s Roselia. On one hand, Spheal’s Powder Snow would be super effective against the grass type. However, due to the blue Pokemon’s water type, grass moves would be strong against it as well.

 

“Start with Water Gun!” While water might not have much of an effect on Roselia, it would have to do. The blue Pokemon spewed a blob of water at the enemy, who tanked the hit, taking little damage.

 

“Nice try. Use Stun Spore!” Roselia scattered the yellowish spores at the Spheal. Following Lethe’s well timed command, Spheal rolled out of the way with Rollout, following up and crashing into the grass type. However, Roselia quickly retaliated with Petal Dance, dealing super-effective damage against Spheal.

 

“Careful!” Spheal rolled back upright, pain evident in its eyes. “Use Powder Snow!”

 

Once it was ready again, Spheal blew snow at Roselia. The grass type danced out of the way, but due to the large spread of the attack it was hit regardless. While Roselia was recovering, Spheal quickly attacked with Rollout again.

 

“Stun Spore, now!” Spheal, unable to dodge mid-roll, crashed straight into the cloud of paralyzing spores. Unable to move, Roselia’s Magical Leaf attack smashed right into it.

 

“S...pheeeeal,” it whimpered, scrambling to get up.

 

“Spheal, careful,” Lethe said worriedly.

 

“Finish it off now, use Solar Beam!” Drew commanded. Roeslia immediately began charging, a bright light gathering between its two flowers.

 

“Spheal, you have to interrupt it. Use Powder Snow!” Lethe commanded, a hint of urgency in her voice. With the clear command, Spheal managed to get up, rolling forward and spraying snow on Roselia. The attack hit true, causing the grass type to falter, but it was too late.

 

The glowing ball burst, shooting a beam of brilliant light at Spheal just as Roselia too fell back. However, even though both attacks were super effective, Solar Beam in itself dealt more damage. When the dust cloud faded, Roselia was stumbling, but Spheal was fainted, its eyes replaced with swirls.

 

“Drew is the winner.”

 

***

 

Why , exactly, did Lethe get herself dragged into another dinner with May, Ash, and the group?

 

“I can’t believe you got further than me,” May grumbled, though her tone was lighthearted. “I can’t believe Drew lost after beating both of us... hey, how did you find the contest? And what about Spheal?”

 

“Spheal was way too happy, even with fainting,” Lethe deadpanned.

 

May paused in scarfing down her food for a moment, looking up. “I know Spheal enjoyed it, but what about you?”

 

Lethe whipped her head away. “It was... kind of, sort of, a little fun.”

 

“See? I knew you’d like it!” May beamed. “Are you going to enter in more contests?”

 

Lethe was tempted to say no. A little bit of fun wasn’t worth the long term commitment, especially when she had other objectives, but her Pokemon seemed to disagree. Spheal practically burst out of its Pokeball, gurgling loudly and clapping its flippers together.

 

“Fine,” the girl conceded.

Chapter 9

The flashbacks- were they even flash backs , or just flashes?- were getting worse. They were longer, surrounding Lethe’s dreams at night, throwing her into the lives of people she did not know.

 

‘I’ stood behind the counter in the flower shop I’ve worked at for a year or two, ------- -----. A customer stepped up to the counter and made a few requests, placing some money on the counter. I smiled brightly, before going back to fetch the flowers the customer wanted.

 

“-----, what did the customer want?” my boss asked. I relayed the request, and received the bouquet of sunflowers as requested. Florie, the resident Sunflora, cried happily- she was always happy when customers chose sunflowers.

 

I returned to the counter, and handed the flowers over. The customer thanked me and turned to leave. As I prepared to receive the next customer-

 

***

 

‘I’ fiddled with my Pokeballs in boredom as I waited for the previous gym challenger to finish already so I can fight the gym leader. Please, if it took that long to beat the third gym leader, then the lil guy didn’t deserve to take on the gyms at all!

 

Finally, the challenger’s last Pokemon collapsed, swirls in its eyes.

 

I was quick to take the field next. “Go, Blastoise! Use Flash Cannon!”

 

My Blastoise roared, shooting a beam of silvery light at the gym leader’s Pokemon. However, that Pokemon dodged my attack. It took a while, but I did manage to take down the gym leader.

 

“See? Some gym leader can’t do anything against me,” I declared proudly, before-

 

***

 

‘I’ didn’t particularly care about taking on the gyms, but it’s always amusing to see gym leaders look so utterly defeated because their weak Pokemon lost a fight.

 

My Trevenant had managed to take down all of the gym leader’s Pokemon except one, and this last enemy would end up no different. “Finish it, Trevenant. Use Wood Hammer.”

 

Defeated, the gym leader handed me a badge. They always look so serious at this part, like they didn’t just get trashed by some random Pokemon trainer off the street.

 

It was always hilarious to see. Returning Trevenant to its Pokeball, I headed out of the gym, only to-

 

***

 

‘I’ faced another piece of paper, this time writing on it. I made sure to stare directly at it, etching every word into my memory as I wrote.

 

‘Are you four seeing these flashes too?’

 

***

 

Lethe jolted upright, her vision foggy for a few seconds. Those flashes. That last one- someone was trying to communicate. Then it’s true, she was indeed seeing into the lives of somebody else, somebody who also saw into her life.

 

“Voi?” Lucina mumbled, shifting slightly, having been woken by Lethe’s sudden movement. The girl shook her head, not explaining.

 

These brief flashes that came from nowhere may very well be the answer to finding out who and what she was.

 

In the flashes, she couldn’t hear the names of the others, but there were certain details that might help identify who they were. She had had flashes twice now, and she was quite certain they were the same four people.

 

There was a cheerful guy who worked at a flower shop. A competitive and short-tempered girl with a Blastoise. The jerk with the Trevenant. And there was the one who was investigating something in the first flash, and trying to communicate with the others in the second, the ‘paper and math guy,’ as Lethe had dubbed him.

 

If he knew when to write the message, that meant there must be some sort of clue as to when the flashes come. In the end, that meant she had to keep searching for hints about who she was. Hints about Nexus Corporations and the Memory Pokemon, who might very well be the culprit.

 

But her short term goal would be to find one of the others.

 

While it was a pure assumption, based on Lethe’s knowledge of the gym leaders in Hoenn, Angry Girl and Mean Guy were most likely not in Hoenn. That left Flower Guy and Math Guy.

 

Math Guy hadn’t had many distinguishing features from the flashes, apart from the fact that he broke into some place for a piece of paper. Flower Guy, however, did have one- namely, the names of the Pokemon in the shop he worked at.

 

The first flash had introduced two, most likely Roselia, Rosie and Selia. The second had shown Lethe Florie the Sunflora. A flower shop...

 

***

 

Brochures. Lethe hated brochures.

 

The dark haired girl didn’t exactly speak flowers, and endless ads about plants don’t do much for her. It’s not like shop brochures tended to advertise the names of their mascot Pokemon. ‘This’ll be much harder than I expe-’

 

At that moment, Lethe’s vision began to darken. She gave her Pokemon, gathered around her as she searched through brochures on the Pokemon center bed, a reassuring nod. She hadn’t blacked out yet- the girl grabbed a pen from the bedside table and wrote a message on the brochure, her handwriting not very neat but hopefully legible. ‘I also have these flashes.’

 

Then everything went dark.

 

“-----, you can’t keep blacking out at the counter. You’re giving -------- ------- a bad rep,” ‘my’ boss said, their voice not exactly unkind and more concerned. I shook my head glumly. “I know. I don’t know what’s happening.”

 

My boss sighed again. “Do you see anything when you black out? I can do some research on it.”

 

I hesitated- the images I saw were strange, but I couldn’t figure it out on my own. “I see flashes of what seem to be somebody else’s life. Multiple people’s, actually.”

 

“Hm,” my boss tapped their fingers against the wooden table, lost in thought. “Could this have something to do with your amnesia? I’ll look into it, but for now, you ca- -----!”

 

***

 

‘I’ tapped my finger on the desk of the Pokemon center room, groaning. A sea of papers lay before me, filled with notes and observations on the strange flashes I’ve been seeing.

“No, no, it can’t be that,” I mumbled, crumpling one sheet of paper and throwing it back into the bin. “I need more context. Who I am. Am I really ------? Who the others are. Whether this is related to my amnesia... Alakazam, can you try to look into my mind again?”

 

The yellow Pokemon grunted in agreement, raising a spoon as my other Pokemon circled around curiously. However, before Alakazam could attempt some form of psychic move, it yelped in warning.

 

‘Oh, I hadn’t noticed a flash was coming,’ I had time to think, before everything went dark.

 

***

 

“Gahh, those damned flashes keep coming at the worst times!” ‘I’ yelled, slamming a hand into the food court table and earning some weird looks from nearby people. My Pokemon, used to my temper, looked up, before returning to their own food.

 

‘And what’s more, why are they happening to me, the totally awesome --------, of all people? Could it be because of my amnesia from two or something years ago? Could those be related to my past life?’

 

Slamming my hand into the table again, I violently shook my head. “I have gyms to challenge! I can’t waste time worrying about this! Come on, team, finish your food. We’re going to trai-”

 

What a bad time to black out.

 

***

 

“Tch.” These flashes that keep happening to ‘me’... they’re distracting. There’s absolutely no reason why I had to suffer through this of all people.

 

At this point, I’m really considering seeing a doctor. It’s not like I want to, but I can’t very well live for the rest of my life having weird blackouts all the ti-

 

‘I think I jinxed it.’

 

Normally, whenever Lethe blacked out, she had four visions in sequence before awakening. But this time... that wasn’t the case.

 

‘My’ Pokemon crooned nervously at me, concern in their eyes. These strange visions ... they shouldn’t happen to me anymore. Not after-

 

Lethe’s eyes fluttered open, the last flash interrupted. She had been certain that the last vision would have revealed the nature of these strange visions, but it was interrupted. However, this time, something was different. 

 

She heard the names.

 

They were foggy and vague, as if she heard them but somehow couldn’t understand them. They were at the tip of her tongue, but...

 

“Vui?” The girl snapped out of her thoughts, petting Lucina’s soft brown fur. “I’m okay. This time... I think I might know who the others are, but I’m also not so sure...”

 

Lethe blinked a few times. It was strange, she was so certain she could list the names of the other four (not the last one) on a whim, yet the words wouldn’t come to her. One thing she was still able to remember was...

 

“‘Mauville Flowers.’ That’s the name of the flower shop... it must be in Mauville City,” she said. Ninjask buzzed proudly, earning an amused chuckle from its trainer. “Yes. It’s decently close to Slateport, we should be able to go there next.”

 

Whismur murmured curiously, causing a thoughtful expression to reappear on Lethe’s face. “The other’s names... I can almost...”

 

She looked up suddenly, as if shocked. “Calix. Alaric. Cordelia. Ruori.”

Chapter 10

Mauville City was... bright. Was this really good for human eyes?

 

“Hmm...” Lethe tapped her foot against the sidewalk, skimming over the map and guide she found in the Pokemon Center. “There are a lot of things in this city. Flowers, flowers, flowers...”

 

Shedinja hummed quietly- quite a surprise, considering it rarely made any noise or moved. In response, Lethe blinked in surprise, before scanning the map once more and landing her finger on a small label. “Mauville Flowers. That’s where we’re going.”

 

***

 

The little flower shop looked the same as it had in Lethe’s visions. The walls were painted a bright but also not blinding shade of orange-yellow, with handmade paintings of flower-based Pokemon all over. Above the door, in neon paint, were the words ‘Mauville Flower Shop’ and in smaller words under it, ‘Feel free to interact with our mascot Pokemon!’ The automatic glass doors were covered with little stickers of Pokemon and plants, while the scent of flowers wafted out whenever they opened.

 

“This is still too bright,” Lethe declared. “I’d rather face Angry Girl or Math Guy, but I suppose there’s no time to go back now.”

 

A bell jingled as Lethe stepped into the store. At the counter, a ‘currently on break, be back in a few minutes’ sign sat and the one who must be Calix sat on a stool and was currently absorbed in... was that a gardening manual?

 

Calix had ear-length dark green-gray hair and lighter green eyes. He wore a checkered gardening apron, colored the same bright yellow, with dark tan jeans and a gray shirt underneath.

 

Lethe stepped up to the counter, speaking before Calix could pull some ‘I’m on a break.’ “Are you seeing the weird visions too?”

 

Calix blinked in surprise, looking up. “W-wait, are you one of the others? One of the others who lost their memory?”

 

“You can call me Lethe.”

 

***

 

“W-wait, wait, wait,” Calix interrupted, waving his hands around. “You’re telling me my memory was stolen by some super-mysterious Pokemon created by this company? Huh? Why?”

 

“I told you, it’s just a theory. If we want answers, we need to ask Paper Math Guy, he probably has more answers,” Lethe replied impatiently. So far in the 10 minutes she had interacted with Calix, she had successfully deduced that he was an idiot. “I thought it made sense, but I have no evidence. I’m still planning to look into Nexus Corps before making an assumption.”

 

“Um, yeah, okay.” Before Calix or Lethe could talk again, a man who must be Calix’s boss emerged from the back of the shop. The man was average enough, with brown hair and eyes and a duller version of the yellow apron. “Calix, break is over- oh, who’s this?”

 

“You can call me Lethe,” the girl introduced. “I also have those strange blackouts, and I’m trying to figure out what’s happening.”

 

“The blackouts,” the boss repeated in recognition. “I see... then there are others. This is a bit concerning, really. Have you figured something out?”

 

“Apparently my memories were-” Calix immediately blurted out, but was silenced with the coldest, darkest, most terrifying glare ever from Lethe. “No, nothing solid. I have a few theories but I can’t be certain. I’m still working on it. I thought finding the others would be a good start.”

 

The boss hummed, leaning against the doorway at the back of the shop, careful not to knock over the many flowers crowding the small building. “That seems smart. Is there anything Calix or I can do for this?”

 

Lethe shook her head, standing up from the chair she sat on and dusting the pollen and dust off her dress. “No. Calix doesn’t seem to know any more than I do, but I’ll update you if I find anything.”

 

“Alright. Thank you,” the boss said formally. “Come on, Calix, you’re on duty again.”

 

***

 

Sometimes, Lethe began to wonder if some higher being decreed ‘thou shalt run into Ash and his friends at every single city you visit.’

 

She tried hiding, really, but maybe her hair stood out too much. Or maybe it’s the clothes?

 

“Heya, Lethe!” May shouted from across the street, waving. “Did you find out anything about your m-”

 

Lethe made a shushing gesture, which the girl in red thankfully managed to catch from so far away. May and her friends talked a bit- it was too far for Lethe to hear- and the four all crossed the street to find Lethe eating lunch with her Pokemon.

 

“Before you decide to announce my private business to the whole city again, yes, I did figure some things out, but not everything,” the girl said as soon as the four were in earshot, casting the passerbys a wary glance. “Now be quiet, you’re scaring Whismur.”

 

The pink Pokemon whimpered in agreement, before returning to nibbling its berry.

 

Ash’s group stood in silence for a few seconds, before Max broke it. “So... are you going to tell us what you found out?”

 

May and Ash nodded eagerly, earning a completely done sigh from Lethe. “If I say no, will you leave me alone?”

 

Almost in complete sync, Ash’s group shook their heads. Lethe shut her eyes for a moment, then opened them and explained everything that happened- the flashes, her thought process, and Calix. Midway through her explanation, Pikachu got bored and jumped off Ash’s shoulder, and began to poke Ninjask, who buzzed angry Pokemon swears at the other.

 

Shedinja floated ominously by the bench, which was enough to scare off some nosy passerbys. Lucina, Spheal and Whismur continued to eat their berries, with the former sniffing at Lethe’s sandwich laying untouched on her lap but deciding to leave it.

 

“And... that’s it,” Lethe finished. “You can leave me alone now.”

 

“What? No, we want to help,” Ash insisted. Pikachu perked up, crying in agreement.

 

Lethe heaved a tired sigh, looking down. Her Whismur whimpered worriedly. “...fine, fine. Just tell me if you see anything that might be related, I need to do the investigating myself.”

 

“That’s fine!” May chirped happily. “You’re still going to enter the contests, right?”

 

“N-”

 

“Spheeeeal!”

 

Would Lethe ever be able to say ‘no’ without being interrupted again? The dark haired girl sighed again, placing another berry in front of Spheal to distract it. “Fine. I will, if convenient.”

 

“That’s great!” May cheered, jumping slightly. Lethe once again shushed her before some random passerby could notice the commotion by the bench. “ Now will you leave me alone? I don’t want to waste my food.”

 

***

 

The orange rays of sunset hit the quickly emptying streets as Lethe headed to the Pokemon Center to stay the night. She had almost reached the automatic doors before a voice interrupted her.

 

“Excuse me! That young lady there!” The girl turned around to find an old woman tottering up to her. The woman was very old, with completely white and gray hair, a face so full of wrinkles it could hardly be called a face, and visible sweating as she walked despite the walking stick she held.

 

“Yes? Do I know you, ma’am?” Lethe responded politely. It’s not like she was always rude, only when she’s particularly annoyed.

 

“No, I don’t believe so,” the old woman rasped. “But... would you happen to be a Pokemon trainer?”

 

“I am,” the girl responded shortly. Yes, she was an amnesiac who may have ties with some giant science corporation or some legendary Pokemon, but she was also a simple Pokemon trainer.

 

The old woman walked slowly to a roadside bench, beckoning for Lethe to follow. “I hate to throw this on a stranger, but I need... a favor.”

 

“What is it?”

 

The woman dug into her bag, producing what looked like a very worn Pokemon egg. “I come from Snowpoint City in Sinnoh. A few weeks back, I found a completely frozen Pokemon egg- it looked so worn and old, I was worried it may be dead, but Nurse Joy said it seemed to be alright. Recently, I moved here to Hoenn. Regardless of what happens, I am far too old to raise a Pokemon, and I have no relatives that live here. So I must ask you... will you keep this egg and whatever Pokemon hatches from it?”

 

Lethe picked up the egg, holding it up to the falling sun. Indeed, it looked highly worn, not in a damaged sort of way, but in a truly ancient way. Of course, all Pokemon eggs looked the same, but this particular one did seem sort of special. “Why me?”

 

The old woman chuckled, a quiet, rasping sound. “Well, most people say old folk may be less perceptive of emotions, but I’d say I’ve always been an exception. Something tells me that everything else aside, you are a truly kind Pokemon trainer. So please, would you take this egg off my hands?”

 

Lethe considered refusing- she had other things to deal with. But if there was anything the dark haired girl did like, it was Pokemon. “Alright. Fine.”

 

The woman chuckled again. “Good to know. Keep it safe, young lady.”

 

Stumbling slightly as she picked up her walking stick, the old woman walked away.

Chapter 11

“What are our next plans?” Lethe asked her Pokemon, prowling back and forth in the Pokemon Center room and staring at the sheet of paper on the bedside desk. Maybe Math Guy was rubbing off on her.

 

The paper read ‘L and co’s next plans,’ and a list of things they needed to remember, including ‘regularly let a Nurse Joy check out the egg’ and ‘recall as many details as possible from the next vision.’

 

“Vee, voi!”

 

“Spheeea!”

 

Angry buzzing.

 

Shedinja and Whismur remained mostly silent, while the other three Pokemon were louder. Lethe nodded or shook her head as ideas flooded in, writing some of them down. “‘Look into angry gym challenger with Blastoise,’ yes, good idea, Ninjask, though you really didn’t need to say.. all of that. ‘Poke trees,’ no, Spheal. ‘Research Pokemon eggs,’ yes, Lucina, I’ll do that. Later, maybe.”

 

A few minutes later, Lethe pulled back from the sheet of paper. “Okay. For now, we’ll stay in Mauville and research the egg. Whenever I have a flash and notice other patterns, we’ll continue to travel.”

 

Her Pokemon cheered their agreement.

 

***

 

Lethe’s next blackout was when she was eating lunch a day later. This time, she could somewhat sense the flash coming, thanks to a tell-tale dizziness and fuzziness of her mind.

 

“Mind the sandwich,” she told her Pokemon, placing her sandwich down on the wrapper on the bench.

 

‘I’ wondered whether the weird girl named Lethe had figured anything out. Sure, it had only been a day, but I was pretty sure she was smarter than me. That other guy in the flashes though, the smart one, he must know something. What did Lethe say his name was? Alaric?

 

“Calix, are you dozing off again ,” boss scolded. “It’s alright if the strange visions happen, but you can’t lose focus by yourself.”

 

“Sorry, boss!” I replied earnestly. I just hope I don’t black out now-

 

Oh.

 

***

 

‘I’ now have proof that the others, too, see these visions. The girl with the Eevee had replied to my message, after all. But why haven’t the other three? The boy with the flowers. The girl with the Blastoise. The boy with the Trevenant.

 

I blinked in surprise as I felt another blackout creeping up. No time to write a new message, I might as well try to send through the notes I’ve taken so far.

 

I grabbed a sheet of paper from the desk, filled with notes and observations I’ve made on the others, as well as the nature of our amnesia and visions. As before, I read through them as quickly as possible, trying to memorize the notes before the blackout came-

 

***

 

“Blastoise, use Hydro Cannon! Dragonite, Hyper Beam!” ‘I’ yelled. My Pokemon obeyed, crushing a huge amoune of rocks. Since I can’t go smash a rock to de-stress, this was the second best option.

 

Some people call me a bad trainer for making my Pokemon fight all day. If you ask me? If they’re my Pokemon, then they like to fight.

 

“Good go, you two! 18 rocks, new record!” I yelled, returning Blastoise and Dragonite to their Pokeballs as they roared proudly. “Go, Ninetails, Arbok! Your tur-”

 

***

 

It’s really a shame, ‘I’ didn’t have many things to distract me from thinking about the flashes. Some of the others have already begun to communicate.

 

Regardless, I should focus on getting to the next city. I stiffened slightly as I heard quiet wingflaps behind me. A bright pink Vivillon watched curiously, tilting its head.

 

“Linoone, Slash.” In one go, I released my Pokemon from its Pokeball. The normal type leapt forward, dealing with the Vivillon swiftly. The bug type fluttered weakly, landing unconscious on the ground.

 

I returned Linoone to its Pokeball and moved on.

 

***

 

“Math Guy has new information,” Lethe said, rubbing her eyes slightly as she sat up. “Pass me some paper. I need to write it down before I forget.”

 

Lucina yipped, furrowing into Lethe’s satchel and bringing out a spare notepad and a pen. The girl picked it up, trying to recall the fading details from the vision. There were far too many details, so she could only do the best she could.

 

“Math Guy himself is from Sinnoh. Pokemon team: Alakazam, Golduck and Riolu,” Lethe said out loud as she wrote. “He had notes on me and Calix too, but I’m skipping that. Cordy is from... Kanto. Pokemon include Blastoise, Dragonite, Ninetales, Arbok, and potentially others. Short-tempered, aggressive, straightforward. Enjoys battle, challenges gyms. Ruori is from Kalos. Pokemon: Trevenant, Linoone... Dunsparce? Have Dunsparce appeared in the visions? Personality, total jerk, dismissive, loner-type. Just likes being mean. Challenges gyms.”

 

The girl shook her head disbelievingly. “How can someone figure all this out with just those visions?”

 

Spheal warbled curiously.

 

“What he said about me?” Lethe translated, furrowing her eyebrows as she tried to recall the details on the paper. “Uh... ‘Lethe from Hoenn, Pokemon include Eevee, Spheal, Ninjask, Shedinja, Whismur and unknown egg. Personality: quiet, potentially intelligent, introverted. Probably likes, uh, n... na... nectar...ine?.’ ...What even is that?”

 

Lethe shook her head again. “Anyways... the others aren’t even in Hoenn. What do we do? I can’t very well go off to all the other regions.”

 

Lucina, who had been washing her paw earlier, finished and let out a tired Eevee noise.

 

“Hm,” Lethe closed her eyes, nodding slowly. “Yeah. No need to overthink now. Let’s just go get some other food for now, I don’t think the sandwich was enough.”

 

As Lethe was still that close to being flat broke, she couldn’t afford any more sandwiches for now. For the day, she and her team settled for some free Pokemon Center meals- not the tastiest or the best, but it wasn’t bad-tasting and it had basic nutrients.

 

Lethe took a seat in the lobby, which was empty enough to be mostly quiet but there were still a few people. She handed out berries to her Pokemon, while she herself ate the Pokemon Center’s bento boxes.

 

Midway through eating, Shedinja suddenly began humming urgently. Unlike its living, swearing, angry counterpart, the ghost type was quiet almost all the time, hard to read and understand even for Lethe. It levitated over Lethe’s satchel, left on the bench.

 

“What’s wrong?” she asked, scooting over and unzipping her bag while her other Pokemon gathered around. To their surprise, the old-looking egg had a crack in it. A crack that was growing larger as the egg trembled.

 

“It’s hatching,” she said, quickly picking the egg out of the bag and setting it on the bench. Finally, the egg shell peeled away, revealing...

 

Lethe had no idea what it was.

 

It looked somewhat like a Zorua, but also nothing like it. It couldn’t be a shiny- Lethe knew what shiny Zorua looked like. The black one would find on a usual Zorua, this one had pale white and gray. The tufts of fur around its neck and on top of its head were replaced with long, red-and-white, ghostly fur.

 

“It’s not even a Dark type,” Lethe reported. Don’t ask how she knew- she just knew this kind of thing. “It’s a.... Ghost type? Ghost and Normal.”

 

Lethe had never seen such a Pokemon before.

Notes:

I love hisuian zorua so much I love hisuian zorua SO MUCH. it's just so sad and floofy and huggable

Chapter 12

“I’ve never seen a Pokemon like this either,” Nurse Joy admitted, completely befuddled as she observed the white and red Pokemon on the counter. “May I have a sample of the eggshell?”

 

Lethe had gathered the eggshells when the maybe-Zorua hatched, thinking it might be useful. She handed a small piece over. “Here.”

 

“I’ll try to do some scans,” Joy promised, carefully picking up the shard of shell. “Will you stay in Mauville City for a few days?”

 

Lethe didn’t have any plans at the moment, so it wouldn’t hurt. She nodded. “Yes. For now, at least.”

 

“In that case, I’ll update you if I find anything,” Nurse Joy beamed, handing back the maybe-Zorua. “Oh, and on the plus side, the Pokemon is perfectly healthy, especially for such an old egg. Take care of it!”

 

“I will,” Lethe promised, returning Zorua to its Pokeball. It was strange how as soon as an egg hatched in the possession of a trainer, it was automatically assigned a Pokeball. Quite odd how science works sometimes.

 

The girl strode to the outside of the Pokemon Center for some fresh air, stretching her arms. Ash and his friends had already left for Fallarbor City so May could attend a Contest, but Lethe wasn’t keen on following them again. There were bound to be Contests elsewhere.

 

Well, she had a lot of time to kill now.

 

Finding a nice clearing just outside of Mauville, Lethe sent out her now full team. “We have a lot of time now. What will we do?”

 

Spheal warbled loudly, pointing a flipper at Zorua. The little fox had already wandered off, sniffing at a tree. The Zorua whined quietly, a sound comparable to non-scared Whismur in volume, nudging a small orange fruit with its nose.

 

“What is it?” Lethe asked, walking over. Zorua yipped, still not too loud, in response. “...nectarine? You want some? It’s generally better to just eat berries.”

 

Zorua sniffed the reddish fruit some more. Shrugging, Lethe pulled on off the tree and placed it in front of the small Pokemon, who made quick work of it.

 

‘Come to think of it... didn’t Math Guy think I’d like this thing?’ Lethe mused, leaning against the tree as Zorua ate. Hesitating slightly, the girl pulled another nectarine off the tree, sniffing it slightly to make sure it was clean before taking a small bite.

 

“Oh,” she said, blinking. “It tastes good.”

 

Math Guy in Sinnoh must be feeling smug.

 

The rest of her team trotted up, curiously watching the nectarine tree. Ninjask knocked a few down with an attack, letting Lucina, Spheal and Whismur take their picks. Shedinja, as always, levitated in silence. In a few minutes, the entire team minus Shedinja were eating up the peach-like fruit.

 

“Math Guy was right,” Lethe admitted once she finished her fruit. “Although it’s not like most people eat actual fruits when there are berries.”

 

The girl shook her head slightly. “Well, we all ate. What will we do for the rest of the day?”

 

Lucina finished off her nectarine, glancing up and letting out a cheerful cry.

 

Lethe hummed. “Training? You say you want to participate in the next contest... Spheal, is that alright?”

 

“Sphee, spheal!” the water and ice type warbled, clapping its flippers together supportively. Lucina perked up, waving her brown tail around in satisfaction. Lethe shook her head in amusement at the behavior. “I suppose that’s alright.”

 

***

 

It was three days later, when Lethe was just about to exit the Pokemon Center for the day, when Nurse Joy rushed out of the back room of the Center. “Miss Lethe! I have results!”

 

Lethe halted in her path, returning to the counter. “You mean, the scan on Zorua?”

 

“That’s right,” Joy replied, pulling a notepad out and placing it in front of Lethe. “According to a DNA scan of the eggshell, the Pokemon does indeed seem to be a Zorua, but there are a few large differences, such as in typing and appearance. The variation appears similar to the variation you would find in regional variants of Pokemon.”

 

“Regional variants?” Lethe mused, sending out Zorua onto the counter. “Would that make him... a Sinnohian Zorua?”

 

Nurse Joy tapped the counter rhythmically as she thought. “Where did you say you found the egg again?”

 

“An old woman gave it to me,” Lethe explained. “She said she found the egg frozen, in Snowpoint City in Sinnoh.”

 

“Ah. Then, this is purely a hypothesis, but...” Nurse Joy hesitated. “I believe this may be an ancient Zorua. Like any living creature, Pokemon sometimes adapt to their surroundings in different environments, hence regional variants. However, they may also adapt with time, when a region changes. If the egg was frozen, then it is possible that this freeze allowed this one species of ancient Zorua to survive.”

 

The little Pokemon tilted its head, letting out a curious whine.

 

“Oh, by the way!” Joy perked up, producing a brochure from her pocket. “I heard you’re a Pokemon Coordinator. Due to an influx of registrating trainers this season, more contests will be held, and there’s one coming up right here in Mauville in two days.”

 

“That’s sudden,” Lethe remarked. “I suppose staying here for two more days won’t hurt.”

 

***

 

“Your name is... Miss Lethe... and your Eevee,” the staff at the contest said. “Alright, you’re ready to enter. Good luck.”

 

Lethe only nodded in response, turning to head inside. To her, contests still weren’t that much of a big deal, more of a side quest. Plus, her Pokemon liked them, and her Pokemon were probably the only ones who can actually convince her to do anything.

 

She waited backstage as a bunch of people she didn’t know took their turns. Only once her name was called over the announcer did the girl swipe a tuft of hair out of her face, pick up Lucina’s Pokeball, and head onstage.

 

Since this time, the contest was announced quite suddenly, Lethe had less time to prepare strategies. However, Lucina was also sharper and smarter than Spheal (no offence to Spheal, of course), so it wasn’t impossible.

 

Ignoring the Ash-level loudness of the audience, Lethe sent out her Eevee. Lucina cried cheerfully, waving her brown furred tail around as she appeared on the stage. “Now, Cina, use Swift.”

 

“Voi!” Lucina cried, letting loose a volley of stars.

 

“Shadow Ball,” Lethe commanded. Lucina opened her mouth, unleashing a ball of darkness out at the lingering Swift stars. The two attacks hit each other, shattering into a rain of purple and white sparkles.

 

To finish, Lucina used Quick Attack, using the momentum to launch herself up midair to the center of the sparkles, where she did a little flip and landed in front of Lethe. The audience rose in applause, to which Lethe nodded- a small gesture that can’t even be seen from so far away.

 

Lethe whirled around and returned backstage, sitting back down on the bench she sat on earlier.

 

“Excuse me!” a voice called. Lethe glanced up, seeing a young woman who must’ve been another coordinator waving. Her quite long light brown hair was messily tied up high, revealing a few streaks of pink. She wore a lavender blouse and flower-patterned orange skirt, a color similar to her eyes. “Hey. I’m Ferrence, I’m a coordinator too. I saw you and your Eevee up there earlier, that was pretty good.”

 

Her name sounded awfully like ‘ferrets’ when you say it quickly. Maybe that was why she spoke so slowly.

 

“Okay.”

 

“Not a talker?” Ferrence asked. “That’s fine too. Well, I’ll see you in the battle stage.”

Notes:

ngl ferrence was originally just a plot device but then she just became an actually important character, she should be the only other relevant oc except for the other four in the visions though

Chapter 13

The participants in this contest were... awfully weak, at least compared to May, Drew and that Robert guy. Lethe and Lucina clapped most of them without too much trouble. In the final round, her enemy was Ferrets- ahem, Ferrence.

 

What a coincidence. This is sounding more and more like some cliche fanfiction.

 

“For our final round, we have Miss Lethe versus Miss Ferrence!” the referee announced. Applause and cheers rang out from the audience as the two girls stepped onto the contest stage.

 

“See, I knew you’d make it to the finals,” Ferrence grinned, twirling her Pokeball around. “Go, Furret!”

 

Ferrence. Ferrets. Furret.

Wow.

 

Of course, none of Lethe’s thoughts were visible on her face as she threw Lucina’s Pokeball. “Cina. Use Swift.”

 

The Eevee burst onto the stage, letting out a cheerful cry. Following her trainer’s command, Lucina sent a volley of stars at Furret.

 

“Furret, use Quick Attack.” Ferrence commanded confidently. Her Pokemon nodded with just as much confidence, then dashed forwards and ducked under Lucina’s Swift stars, crashing into the Eevee and knocking it back.

 

“Careful,” Lethe warned, taking a step forward. “Use Dig.”

 

Recovering quickly, Lucina dug down into the ground. It was weird how Pokemon moves worked, since they were literally indoors and on a stage. But, well, if it works it works. Ferrence and Furret paused, standing still. The latter reared up on its hind paws, sniffing the air.

 

Lethe didn’t say anything- if she did, it would alert the enemy. Lucina was smart enough to choose when to emerge. The audience, too, fell silent, waiting for the Eevee to attack.

 

Then all of a sudden, the wooden floor underneath Furret trembled. The normal type quickly leaped back, but it was too late, as Lucina burst out of the ground and crashed into her opponent.

 

“Furret, now, Slam!” Ferrence yelled. Furret swooshed its tail around, before dashing towards Lucina. The Eevee had just emerged, and let her defenses down for the briefest moment, enough for Furret to whack her with its tail.

 

For such a fluffy looking tail, the attack sure hurt.

 

“Lucina, watch out!” Lethe warned. “Use Quick Attack, then Swift.”

 

Lucina obeyed quickly, dashing forwards in a brown blur and throwing Furret back. While the larger normal type was recovering, she hurled another series of stars at her enemy. Despite Furret countering with its own Swift attack, the larger normal type collapsed.

 

“The winner of this Pokemon Contest is Lethe and her Eevee!”

 

***

 

Lethe and her Pokemon sat at a restaurant, eating. They didn’t actually order, but this restaurant was nice enough to let anyone use their tables for their own food. Apparently, it boosted sales and reputation. Lethe just appreciated the free seating.

 

She could understand why there were free seats- this restaurant was expensive. It was apparently a ‘luxury’ restaurant with prices at least ten times the normal restaurant, for slightly better food and general fanciness.Solid white tablecloth, gold-rimmed chairs, tall glasses with fancy designs and supposedly antique plates- the whole deal. Of course nobody came here.

 

Or so she thought. As Lethe distributed berry sandwiches to her Pokemon, she looked up to glance out the window, seeing none other than Ferrence the Furret trainer sitting at the window seat. In front of her were several incredibly expensive, fancy dishes.

 

At that moment, the other coordinator looked up. She waved one hand. “Oh, hey, Lethe.”

 

Lethe blinked once. “How rich are you?”

 

Ferrence rolled her eyes slightly at the question Lethe decided to ask. Normally, it wouldn’t be alright to talk across the room, but there weren’t many customers and none of the staff seemed to want to interrupt Ferrence. “Me? Not really. My parents are snobby rich people, though.”

 

Lethe had a lot of questions.

 

Ferrence waved her hand, gesturing at Lethe to come over. The dark haired girl decided to go, with her Pokemon all toddling after her.

 

“How,” Lethe said simply as she sat down.

 

“Ever heard of the Nacorains?” The dark haired girl shook her head, expression deadpan.

 

Ferrence shook her head. “Well, the short story is, my lame rich snobby parents hate Pokemon and they hate fun and they want me to also hate Pokemon and fun and go back to their lame mansion, so they spoil me with money. I’m not going, but I won’t say no to free money.”

 

“So did your, uh, ‘lame rich snobby parents’ name you Ferrets?” Lethe asked, taking a bite of her sandwich. Her sandwich really looked poor next to the fancy food Ferrence ate.

 

“My real name is richer and snobbier,” the brown haired coordinator scoffed, tapping the table with her fingernails. “Ferrence- no, not Ferrets- is my middle name.”

 

“What’s your full name then?”

 

Ferrence sighed in exasperation, taking a bite of her expensive-looking salad. “Carinthedria Ferrence Nacorain. I’m 90% certain my parents were high on oxygen and just strung together as many syllables as they could.”

 

Lethe hummed, taking a sip of water from her bottle. “That sounds about right.”

 

“Right,” Ferrence agreed. “So please never ever call me Carinthedria, okay? Let me live normally.”

 

“...okay,” Lethe decided. It had nothing to do with her, and it’s not like she could pronounce Ca-whatever anyways. At that moment, she was interrupted by a warble from Spheal, gesturing to the empty plate in front of it. The girl quickly polished off her own sandwich, standing up. “My Pokemon are done eating. Goodbye.”

 

Nodding, Lethe picked up her things- jacket and bag- and returned her Pokemon to their balls, before heading off to the Pokemon Center to rest.

 

***

 

Lethe had forgotten one important thing, which she just remembered the next morning.

 

She had latched onto the hints from the flashes and came straight to Mauville, completely forgetting to visit Nexus Corps in Slateport. Despite them claiming to have branches in major cities, Mauville City definitely didn’t have one.

 

Shaking her head, the girl stepped outside the Pokemon Center. Where would she go next? She didn’t have any more major clues yet. She could go consult Calix again, but...

 

“Oh, hey Lethe!” Lethe was snapped from overthinking in the middle of the road by Ferrence Nacorain on a bench, waving so quickly her hand might as well be vibrating. Lethe glanced to the left. “Hello.”

 

“Why’re you still hanging around in Mauville? Aren’t you going to travel to wherever the next Contest is?” the brown haired girl pushed. Lethe wasn’t exactly eager to spill her life story, but she also had no leads at the moment.

 

“...contests are a side goal for me,” she replied. “I’m looking for leads on Nexus Corporations and the Memory Pokemon.”

 

Ferrence’s orange eyes widened in recognition, as she hopped off the bench and approached Lethe. “Nexus? What do you need with Nexus?”

 

“I have my reasons,” Lethe replied vaguely, crossing her arms. “What do you know?”

 

“My rich snobby dad works at Nexus Corps!” Ferrence replied cheerfully. “Not the highest level, but one of the higher ranks. Normally I’d never ask about his lame rich job but I can pull in a favor for a friend.”

 

On one hand, Ferrence didn’t seem malicious enough to lie. On the other hand, Lethe didn’t really want to tell everything to everyone. The dark haired girl sighed, shaking her head to herself, before switching to a nod. “Fine. Help me out.”

 

“Great! I’ll go and call my rich snobby dad and-”

 

“Also, you’re being classist.”

Chapter 14

It took a full 30 minutes of listening to Ferrence yell “you suck, dad!” and “not in a million years!” into a call at the Pokemon Center lobby, but finally, Lethe could see Nexus and maybe get some answers.

 

“Okey-dokey,” Ferrence beamed, putting down the phone. A few passerbys in the Center cast her weird glances- her call hadn’t exactly been quiet- but the Furret trainer was oblivious. “My dad works at a branch in Petalburg City. A bit far away, but apparently he’s not high enough rank to let a stranger walk in any branch but his own.”

“Whatever. Fine with me,” Lethe shrugged.

 

***

 

About 10 minutes into travelling with Ferrence, Lethe successfully deduced that the Furret trainer really liked to talk. Ferrence had rarely stopped chattering during the whole time- Lethe’s throat was starting to hurt just from listening.

 

“Hey, you haven’t seen my team yet, have you?” the brown haired coordinator asked, whirling around to face Lethe. “I like to trade. My Pokemon are like me- adventurous. I have a few pen pals in other regions, and we often trade our Pokemon so they can adventure in other regions too. And don’t worry, of course I check on them.”

 

Humming, Ferrence dug into her skirt’s pockets and brought out a Pokeball as well as five Luxury Balls (aren’t those quite expensive?) before throwing them up into the air. “Come on out!”

 

Like she had claimed, Ferrence’s team indeed varied in origin. Her Farfetch’d raised its leak, squawking cheerfully, while Breloom’s tail swished around. Snover’s eyes closed in a warm smile, unlike its ice typing. Sigilyph hovered above them all, its strangely-patterned wings flapping once in a while to keep it afloat. Spewpa had already spilled powder all over the ground as it waddled around. And of course, Furret reared upright, letting out a bark of recognition at the sight of Lethe.

 

“Tada~!” Cue a dramatic pose.

 

Lethe wasn’t sure how she was supposed to respond. “Okay.”

 

Ferrence leaned backwards with a frown, returning her Pokemon to their balls. “Still not a talker, huh? Ah, whatever. Come on, I want to get there within a week.”

 

The coordinator continued to half walk half skip down the dirt road. Lethe briefly considered just heading towards Petalburg on her own, but then she probably won’t be let into Nexus’s building or told anything major. Sighing, the dark haired girl continued to follow.

 

Another several minutes later, Lethe was suddenly aware of a coming flash. She smoothly pulled out Lucina’s Pokeball, sending the Eevee out as a precaution.

 

“Wait a moment,” she warned Ferrence.

 

‘I’ didn’t actually have that many hobbies, so when I’m not on shift for the shop I didn’t have much to do. That’s partially why I’m currently playing hangman with me.

 

“Um, um... what about T?” I asked. Roselia shook her head, scratching a line to form the body of the hangman. The only letter I’ve found so far is ‘i,’ the fourth letter of six.

 

“Maybe K?” I questioned. Another head shake and an arm.

 

“N?” Roselia nodded, maneuvering her flower arms a bit to hold the marker, and wrote the letter after i.

 

“Okay, uh... G,” I tried. Roselia wrote the letter on the whiteboard on the ground, in the last spot.

 

It was getting easier for me to guess when a vision was coming, which could be either good or bad. Regardless, I warned Roselia to pause the game for a second.

 

***

 

The girl with the Eevee had the right idea, investigating a supposed Memory Pokemon, but ‘I’ was more concerned with the nature of the flashes. Logically, whether the memory loss was caused by a Pokemon or more natural means, there’s no reason why we should have visions of other victims.

 

“Alakazam, I need you to help me research amnesia,” I said. The psychic type grunted in agreement, walking over to my bookshelf and beginning to read. Meanwhile, I continued to look into artificial or intentional memory loss, caused by whoever.

 

“Golduck, you can help look over my notes on the others and look for patterns,” I added. With a quack, the water type shuffled over to my other desk, which was covered in papers.

 

I paused before I continued to read- a vision was near. Unfortunately, I had next to no new notes to share.

 

‘Ah, well.’

 

***

 

These days, not many people battle as soon as they see another trainer on the street. ‘I’ do.

 

That day, I was heading to the next city for another gym badge. Life was a tad boring. My team and I were too strong and the weird visions keep appearing at important times.

 

That moment, I spotted someone who must be a newbie trainer having lunch, sitting on a rock surrounded by his two Pokemon- a Caterpie and a Weedle.

 

“Hey, you!” I yelled, getting a Pokeball out of my bag. “Let’s battle!”

 

The trainer jolted up, looking bewildered. “Huh?”

 

“You heard me, kid. Pokemon battle.” Seems like the trainer was a tad stupid, but a battle is a battle. I confidently threw my Ultra Ball onto the field. “Go, Scizor! Use Fury Cutter!”

 

Needless to say, it took about one minute to KO all of the trainer’s Pokemon. I gave Scizor a berry and returned it to its ball, before heading on.

 

***

 

Another interesting enough day over. ‘I’ sat on the bed in the Pokemon Center room, doing nothing in particular.

 

The visions were really getting in the way. I need to distract myself.

 

With a sigh, I sent out my team- all six of them. Perhaps some of them were too big for the room and would mess it up, but that wasn’t my problem, it was the cleaners. “You all. Tomorrow we’re going to the next gym.”

 

“L-lethe! Are you alright?!” Ferrence was shaking Lethe’s shoulders so quickly the girl’s vision was filled with black spots as soon as she recovered. Lucina was tugging at the brown haired coordinator’s socks, trying to get her to back off. Lethe took a few steps back. “Quit shaking me.”

 

Ferrence heaved a sigh of relief, panting slightly at shaking so much earlier. “Phew! Are you okay? What was that? You don’t look too surprised...”

 

“I’m not,” Lethe replied, dusting off her clothes slightly before continuing to walk. She hadn’t wanted to tell even more people about her situation, but there wasn’t much of a choice. “Look, it’s a long story, so stop looking like you’re about to explode.”

 

Ferrence sighed again, staring up at the sky and breathing for a second, before quickly running after Lethe. “Right. Okay. Long story. What is it? Are you secretly the princess of a legendary kingdom? The hero of a distant land? A witch who is cursed by a god? A chosen child with cool powers?”

 

Lethe paused in her steps, shooting the other with a bewildered expression. “...where did you get all that from?”

 

The brown haired coordinator leaned back with a pout. “Look, my only literature options were my mom’s lame antique catalogues and fantasy books for little kids.”

 

Lethe shook her head, continuing to walk once more. She cast a glance at the sky, doing some mental calculations on how far they were from the nearest city so she could get some sleep. Socializing was exhausting. “Two, or maybe three years ago I woke up with no memories. Recently, I’ve been seeing visions of glimpses into the lives of other people with similar cases of amnesia. A while back, I went to a public Q&A of sorts, by Nexus Corporations about the so-called Memory Project. I noticed they were incredibly secretive about the Memory Pokemon, and I began to suspect the Pokemon or the Project may be involved with the amnesia.”

 

Ferrence had seemingly calmed down a bit, nodding. “Yeah, that makes sense. Well, come on, Petalburg is a long way away.”

Chapter 15

Petalburg City was an average sized, quite green city. It was also home to a Pokemon Gym, but Lethe didn’t particularly care about that.

 

“Okay,” she said, turning to Ferrence after healing up her Pokemon at the Pokemon Center. “Where’s the Nexus bui-”

 

“Lethe! Hi!” Lethe immediately turned around, seeing a familiar group of four walking down the street, May waving at the lead of the squad. She was quick to sprint up to her fellow coordinator. “What are you doing here? Who’s this?”

 

Ferrence waved. “I’m Ferrence. I’m a Pokemon Coordinator.”

 

May perked up at that. “I’m a Coordinator too!”

 

Thankfully, the rest of the group caught up before May and Ferrence could start gushing. Max greeted them with a nod, repeating his sister’s earlier question. “So what are you doing here, Lethe?”

 

“Ferrence’s dad works in a Nexus Corporations branch here in Petalburg, I thought it would be worth checking out,” she explained, crossing her arms. It was somewhat annoying having to explain so many times to so many people- one of many reasons Lethe didn’t particularly like people.

 

“Oh, that’s right,” Ash brightened. “I’m planning to challenge the gym here. Do you want to watch?”

 

“No.”

 

“Oh.”

 

Lethe was internally grateful she actually managed to say ‘no’ without getting interrupted again. She had been quite certain the entire world had some sort of issue against her pronouncing ‘no.’

 

Externally, she just shook her head impatiently. “Look, have fun at the gym and all, but I have to go. Ferrence, where exactly is the Nexus building?”

 

“Bold of you to assume I know,” the other coordinator replied casually, glancing around the city in thought. “I’ll need to go call my dad again, it’s not like I usually memorize stuff about his boring job.”

 

Lethe huffed a sigh of annoyance. She just wanted to figure out what was going on, and Nexus was her only proper lead. The flashes of the others have been getting shorter and shorter- a fact the others also noticed. It was clear she was running out of clues.

 

“Well, we’ll see you around, Lethe,” May beamed, waving at her as the group walked off towards the gym.

 

The girl breathed a sigh of relief as Ash and May and the rest of them disappeared around a corner. She beckoned impatiently to Ferrence. “Pokemon Center. You need to call your dad, right?”

 

“Yep!” the Furret trainer chirped, leading the way and half-running towards the iconic red building. Once they entered the lobby of the Center- identical to all the others, of course- Ferrence dialed her father on one of the provided phones.

 

Lethe crossed her arms, leaning against the wall near the doors as Ferrence made her call. Thankfully, this one involved less yelling. A few minutes later, the other girl gave a thumbs up. “All good to go. We have to wait for his break, though, so might as well have lunch first. Thirty minutes.”

 

“Okay,” Lethe agreed, stepping out of the Center to eat. She found an empty bench under the shade of a tree, where she let out her Pokemon team. As always, the girl ate berry sandwiches. After all, she was still flat broke.

 

One tree to the left of her spot, however, lurked a certain trio.

 

“Are you two seeing this?” the Meowth whispered to his companions. “Look at that Zorua. It’s not a normal Pokemon, that’s for sure. The boss will be happy if we catch it.”

 

“Who knew following the twerp meant we run into people like this?” the woman with pink hair chuckled. “Operaton: steal purple twerpette’s Zorua is a go!”

 

“Wait, wait,” the blue haired man argued. “Her hair is more black than purple.”

 

“It’s blue , both of you,” Meowth hissed.

 

“Purple!”

 

“Blue!”

 

“Black!”

 

“Indigo!”

 

“Dark gray!”

 

“Black!”

 

“Purple!”

 

“Blu-”

 

“Wobuffet!”

 

Lethe paused mid-bite, placing her sandwich down on a piece of paper as she heard the noise. Slowly, she glanced up at the tree. Three people- or, well, two people and a Meowth, were dangling by their feet from a tree branch while a Wobuffet hogged up all the space.

 

“What,” Lethe said.

 

The first person was a woman with long, dark pink hair, blue eyes, wearing a white shirt with a large red ‘R’ on it and a skirt. The second, a man with somewhat shorter blue hair and green eyes, wore much the same thing, with pants instead. The third was a Meowth on two legs, wearing, of course, nothing.

 

The three jumped off the tree, landing on the ground. “To protect the world from de-”

 

Lethe sighed deeply. “Lucina, use Swift.”

 

“Voi!” The Eevee bounded up towards the trio, letting loose a ray of stars. The woman waved her hands in front of her face. “Hey! It’s a rule to not interrupt our intro!”

 

Lethe sat down, returning to her sandwich as the trio was thrown into the atmosphere. Actually, she had seen them before, when Ash was battling with Roxanne. They seemed to have some strange power that lets them ‘blast off’ to comical heights when hit by basic moves.

 

Oh well.

 

***

 

Ferrence hummed as she led Lethe towards a tall building. The building was gray, with ‘Nexus’ displayed in large capital letters above the automatic doors.

 

The two trainers stepped into the lobby, a room with white wallpaper, a large red carpet, a few couches and a front desk. A woman stood behind the desk, and a Lucky Meowth was placed on the desk.

 

“Hey,” Ferrence took the lead, greeting the woman. “I’m here to see Mr Dave Nacorain.”

 

The woman narrowed her eyes for a moment, before widening them in recognition. “Miss Carinthedria. Apologies for not recognizing you. Yes, you have an appointment here... give me one moment.”

 

The staff clicked on her computer for a few seconds, before stepping out from behind the counter and gesturing to a door in the back of the lobby. “Over here, please.”

 

“C’mon.” Ferrence beckoned to her friend, who followed. The three made their way down a silent hallway, before the staff stopped in front of a door. A sign read ‘Dave Nacorain’ on it. “In here, please.”

 

The two coordinators entered the room, where Ferrence’s father was typing on his computer. The man had short, neat brown hair a shade darker than his daughter’s, blue eyes instead of orange, and an expensive-looking office uniform.

 

“Carinthedria,” he greeted with a nod. “And your friend. What did you need to know?”

 

The two girls each pulled a seat before the neat desk, sitting down. Ferrence gave Lethe a ‘go on’ nod.

 

Lethe paused for a few seconds, furrowing her eyebrows as she searched for how to explain the situation but also not reveal too many things. “The Memory Project and the Memory Pokemon. Tell me about it.”

 

Dave paused briefly in his typing, one eyebrow raised in mild suspicion. “The Memory Project. Well... I don’t know everything about it either. The higher ups are being very vague about it. Of course, with my rank, I know some things, but that doesn’t mean I’m authorized to say anything... why?”

 

The girl cast Ferrence a questioning glance. Her meaning was clear enough- ‘what do I say?’ In response, the other trainer subtly shrugged.

 

Huffing slightly at the unhelpful answer, Lethe paused for another several seconds to think, speaking just as Dave opened his mouth to rush her. “...I heard from a Q&A about the Memory Project on Dewford Island that you guys... ‘harvest memories.’ Two years ago, I lost my memory, and I wonder if the Memory Pokemon might be related.”

 

Despite her careful wording, her meaning was clear enough- ‘guys, I think your creation stole my memories.’ Dave hummed in understanding, tapping his nails against his neat desk as he pondered the situation. His gaze was warded, revealing nothing. “...I see. I think you’ll need to speak to the current head of the Memory Project.”

 

Lethe raised an eyebrow curiously. “Is this serious?”

 

“Yes,” Dave replied, his expression strained. “Quite.”

Chapter 16

Notes:

shit gets real

Lethe and Ferrence followed Dave down the cold gray hallways of Nexus’s building. The former was lost in thought, busy theorizing about what the answer could be. Was it really that bad? Or what if it was only bad for her? Did she know these people? Meanwhile, the latter had her face twisted into a pout, having next to no clue what either of her companions were being all secretive and thoughtful about. She herself wasn’t directly involved, after all.

 

“Here we are,” Ferrence’s father declared suddenly, breaking the silence. They had arrived at the end of the hall, where a pair of tall steel double doors stood. A large steel sign hanging on one door read ‘Memory Project Surveillance Room: Authorized Personnel Only’ in bold white letters.

 

Dave tapped a red button by the side of the door, and the previously dark screen above the button lit up with an audio symbol. A female voice spoke out, sounding half annoyed and half shocked. “Who’s coming in at this time? Memory Project Surv Room, name, ID number and reason for entry, please. We’re still trying to figure out whether the glitch is fixed.”

 

“Dave Nacorain, ID 41325258,” the brown haired man recited with a professional tone. “As for purpose...”

 

He glanced at the two girls, before lowering his voice and whispering into the mic. “One of ‘them’ has come here. She doesn’t know.”

 

“What?!” the voice exclaimed with her earlier dryness completely gone, before coughing slightly and returning to a quieter, though still shocked, voice. “....I see. I’m opening the door now, I’ll go tell Mr Themio right away. ...was it that bad?”

 

A second later, a click resonated through the empty hall and the tall doors slid open, sliding away like automatic doors. Inside was a large, neat, and somewhat dim room, several staff members typing on computers or staring at monitors. A few glanced up when the three entered, before turning their screens away or otherwise ignoring them. Behind the trio, the iron doors closed themselves.

 

Dave was undisturbed, striding confidently further into the room. He tilted his head towards the back of the room. “Mr Themio Ide is the current head of the Memory Project. He succeeded his late father, Modio Ide.”

 

“Why did Modio die?” Ferrence asked curiously, gawking at the large room. She was rich, she had seen her fair share of big rooms, but a big office room was a new wonder. It was kind of depressing here, actually. Did all fancy companies have cold gray rooms filled with keyboard clicks and the sound of scratching paper.

 

“It’s complicated,” her father insisted, turning away and saying nothing more.

 

The brown haired girl scoffed in annoyance, but she stopped her questioning and shot Lethe a worried glance. The other trainer had been quiet for a long time, seemingly still deep in thought. “Hey, L, you okay?”

 

“Don’t call me that,” Lethe complained, glancing up. Her blue-gray eyes were still thoughtful, but at least she had the energy to argue, a fact that relieved Ferrence.

 

Before the banter could continue, they had arrived at the back of the large room. A few people were gathered around a single large computer on a desk that was neat but also filled with papers. Themio Ide must have been the important looking man, dressed in fancy office clothes, with trimmed dark orange hair. A couple more staff members were gathered around him, while a tired looking dark blonde haired woman who must have been the one at the entrance stood beside them.

 

As the visitors approached, Themio looked up, scanning the three.

 

“Mr Themio,” Dave greeted, gesturing to Lethe. “This is... her.”

 

The man nodded, observing Lethe carefully with obsidian black eyes. “Hello there, M- ahem, Miss Lethe, is it?”

 

“Yes,” the girl replied, dipping her head respectfully, although her cool and wary expression held none of that respect. “So... I assume you know who I am? What were you about to call me?”

 

Themio glanced at Ferrence.

 

“I’m not leaving,” the Furret trainer immediately retorted, crossing her arms.

 

Themio shook his head, sighing in a somewhat dramatic tone. “...anyways. I don’t want to reveal anything, but I suppose at this point, I might as well.”

 

“Stop delaying,” Lethe demanded, her voice stronger than usual. “Tell me.”

 

“To tell you what you are, we have to first go back to why the Memory Project was created,” Themio returned, his voice as calm as ever. Despite the calm, there was the slightest hint of amusement at withholding the information. He stood up, walking slowly around the room, beckoning for the others to follow. “My father, Modio Ide. He was at once an ambitious man, but when he was... 32, I believe, he suffered a crippling injury, permanently breaking both his legs and the lower part of one arm. He quickly became disillusioned with his life, and came up with a solution.”

 

“The Memory Project?” Lethe questioned. Themio replied with only a nod. “Yes. The Memory Project. Namely, he intended to create a long-term project. By harvesting and collecting memories, he created a large-scale simulated world where those who have given up can spend the rest of their lives inside. By gathering true memories, down to the specific thought processes and emotions, he overcame the one major problem with the people in simulated worlds. With enough memories and details, he can create the most realistic ‘NPCs’ for the Memory World.”

 

“And this ties to me because..?” Lethe prompted. An idea was slowly forming in her head, but it was so extreme she said nothing.

 

“I thought you’d have guessed already, I suppose I have to make it more obvious,” Themio tutted. “No, we did not ‘take your memories.’ We gather memories with the Memory Pokemon. This Pokemon- or rather, these Pokemon are unique in a way, as they do not learn moves. Rather, they function in ‘cycles,’ where they lose all their memories- those are returned to us- and live lives with varying situations. Do you understand now?”

 

Lethe was silent and unmoving.

 

“Wait...” Ferrence interrupted, her eyes wide. “Lose their memories... so are you saying...”

 

“That I am the Memory Pokemon?” Lethe snarled, a new coldness in her tone as she looked up.

 

“Exactly,” Themio responded cheerfully, entirely undisturbed by Lethe’s harshness. “As for those flashes... that was a minor glitch in the system, causing you to see into the lives of the other four. Normally that would not have happened, but unfortunately, it seems we have to restart this cycle before it ends naturally. I’d hate to have to rebuild you or any of the others.”

 

The man stopped walking, turning to Lethe with a smile. Not a warm one, or a cruel one, nor was there any particular emotion behind it, but a purely professional one of a scientist observing the result of a experiment. “You understand my chain of thought, Mnemosyne Number Four, do you not?”

Chapter 17

This was both the best and worst time for the final flash to arrive. Coincidences, am I right?

 

A staff member, having missed the conversation, hit the key to forcefully trigger one more flash in order to end them for good. By doing that, the truth of the Memory Pokemon, Mnemosyne, was broadcasted to all of the others.

 

Perhaps it was being so close to the source of the signal, Lethe only briefly flinched. However, Themio had indeed caught her brief lapse. The man whirled around to one particular staff member back at his desk. “You! Why did you send out the flash now?!”

 

The staff member’s head jolted up as he quickly fumbled. “I-I’m sorry, sir! I didn’t realize!”

 

“What’s going on? What happened?” Lethe demanded. For a moment, she had felt faint, but nothing more happened.

 

Themio’s rage faded instantly, as he turned back to Lethe and Ferrence. “Well, no worries. I was planning to end this cycle now anyways.”

 

“Hey! You’re not ending anything!” Ferrence hissed, moving to stand in front of her friend. The coordinator glanced at her father in a plea for help, but the man simply shook his head.

 

“Now then, it would be advisable for Miss Nacorain here to leave now,” Themio added, dusting off his hands. “Before completely ending the cycle, I would like to observe the effects of the truth on the Mnemosynes. Additionally, I’d like to see how Miss Lethe here fares in a battle. Naturally, those are trade secrets.”

 

“Carinthedria, you heard him. You have to go,” Dave said, his voice calm but forceful.

 

The brown haired girl faltered, glancing at Lethe.

 

“Go,” the other trainer said with a nod. Lowering her voice, she added, “Find help. Find Ash and May, find a Nurse Joy- find help.”

 

Finally, Ferrence heaved a sigh, turning around. “I’ll be back!”

 

She disappeared out the steel doors, opening them by a red button beside them.

 

“Aren’t you going to have someone escort her?” Dave asked. Themio shook his head, seemingly confident that Ferrence was leaving for good.

 

“My daughter is not one to listen- why do you think she went off adventuring when both her mother and I had explicitly forbidden it?” Ferrence’s father pressed. Again, his superior dismissed the worries. “Now then, Miss Lethe, would you indulge me in a battle?”

 

“No,” Lethe spat. This was, what, the second time she had managed to say no uninterrupted today. If she had been in any other situation, she would have felt lucky.

 

“Now then, disagreeing is hardly going to make your situation any better,” Themio scolded, somewhat mockingly. He turned and moved towards the exit of the room. “Dave, bring Miss Lethe to the battle court.”

 

The boss of Nexus disappeared out the door, the iron doors closing behind him just as they had for Ferrence.

 

“Come on,” Dave said, turning and making his way towards the exit as well. When Lethe remained stubbornly rooted to the spot, he turned to stare at her impatiently. The girl stayed still for a few more seconds before giving in and following, dry of options.

 

***

 

Lethe did not know why Nexus Corporations had a battlefield. She didn’t particularly want to face someone like Themio Ide in battle, but if it bought time for Ferrence to get help, then it was her best bet.

 

Themio made no move to send out a Pokemon. Lethe hated this type of battler- they waited for their opponent to start the fight so they got the type advantage. Regardless, her current goal wasn’t to win, it was to stall.

 

“Go, Shedinja.” Using Shedinja was a risk when the opponent started second. After all, take one super effective hit and the bug type was down for the count. However, Lethe was a smart enough fighter. Not to the level of stat-geniuses, but good enough.

 

Themio made a show of searching through his Ultra Balls, before settling on one. “Come on out, Malamar.”

 

Both sides were playing a dangerous game. Malamar had a plethora of dark type moves, and a single one will knock out Shedinja’s single point of HP. However, Malamar also had a double weakness to bug type moves.

 

“Malamar, use Night Slash.”

 

“Shedinja, dodge.” Lethe was snapped from her thoughts just in time to command her Pokemon. The usually completely still Pokemon levitated to the side, causing Malamar’s attack to hit the strong steel walls on the side of the battle court room.

 

“Shedinja, use Bug Bite!” Lethe ordered. Her Shedinja moved with surprising speed towards Malamar, ready to attack.

 

“Protect.” However, the dark and psychic type erected a transparent barrier just in time for Shedinja to crash into it, floating back a few meters to its original spot.

 

“Now, quickly, Bug Bite again,” the purple haired girl commanded. After just using Protect, Malamar could not shield itself again. Shedinja was fast to obey, once more lunging forwards to attack.

 

The attack successfully hit. The double weakness, paired with Shedinja’s somewhat high attack stat, was devastating to its opponent.

 

“Malamar, Payback!” The Pokemon was that close to fainting, but it managed to let out the dark type move just in time before it crumpled and collapsed.

 

“Shedinja, get out of the way!” Lethe shouted. Her Shedinja moved out of the way again, but since it was still close to its enemy after attacking, the dark rays just barely managed to graze the bug and ghost type. The husk dropped to the ground.

 

Both sides returned their Pokemon to their balls.

 

This time, Themio took the initiative to send out his next Pokemon. “Go, Klinklang.”

 

The steel and electric type floated on the battlefield. Lethe took a second to ponder who to send. She had no Pokemon with a type advantage against it, but Lucina did know Dig.

 

“Go, Cina, use Dig.” The Eevee burst out onto the field, immediately burrowing into the dirt on the ground. With no way to attack, Klinklang stood still, waiting for the smaller Pokemon to emerge.

 

Lethe did not need to speak, instead tilting her head in the slightest. That was signal enough for Lucina to suddenly burst out from beneath her opponent, crashing into Klingklang.

 

The gear-like Pokemon was thrown back, but it remained standing thanks to its high defense, as well as the fact that Lucina’s attack stat was lackluster. Finishing up her attack, the Eevee leaped back, swishing her bushy tail around as she waited for the next command.

 

“Cina, use Shadow Ball!” As soon as her trainer shouted the command, Lucina opened her mouth and shot a large purplish sphere at the enemy.

 

“Klinklang, Charge Beam.” Not letting Lucina hit, the Klinklang shot a beam of electrical energy, piercing through the Shadow Ball and striking true. Letting out a pained cry, the Eevee stumbled back.

 

“Now, Gear Grind!” Before Lucina could recover, Klinklang moved towards her and began spinning its gears at high speed. The first spin threw the normal type into the air while the second knocked her out cold.

 

Themio watched with clinical curiosity as Lethe pondered her next move. The rules of the battle had not been explicitly stated, and she didn’t know how many Pokemon Themio planned to use. Out of Lethe’s own remaining Pokemon, two suffered from a type disadvantage against Klinklang, while Whismur’s normal type moves wouldn’t be efficient at all against a steel type like Klinklang. Her last Pokemon was still young and completely inexperienced in battle.

 

Unfortunately, her options were limited. “Go, Zorua!”

 

***

 

Alaric hadn’t expected much when he blacked out this time, but...

 

Wow.

 

Things sure escalated quickly.

 

Anyone else would have panicked. Maybe the other three amnesiacs- no, Mnemosynes, wasn’t it?- were panicking. Fortunately for Lethe and unfortunately for Themio, Alaric was too dumb to have any form of self-preservation and too smart to let life keep him out of trouble. And so he wasted no time.

 

“We have to find all of them, now,” he declared, half to himself and half to his Pokemon, scattered across the room. “There’s stuff I need to know, like how Pokemon can catch Pokemon, but now’s not the time.”

 

He returned all his team to their balls except for Alakazam. “We have to gather them all. Alakazam, use Teleport!”

Chapter 18

“Hey!” Ferrence practically crashed into Ash’s group as they emerged from the Petalburg gym.

 

“Oh, Ferrence,” May recognized, blinking. “What’s wrong? Where’s Lethe?”

 

Ferrence heaved a dramatic sigh, her breathing still heavy. “Too much to explain. Lethe’s in trouble, come with me. I’ll explain on the way!”

 

The brown haired girl dashed off, turning briefly to make sure the group was following. The four exchanged a brief silent conversation, then a nod, before running after her. Between heavy breaths as she ran, Ferrence gave the group the run-down on the whole Nexus and Mnemosyne situation.

 

“Nemo- huh ?” Ash blurted out as soon as Ferrence finished talking. “Wait up, Lethe is a Pokemon?”

 

“How can she catch Pokemon though?” Max questioned, bewildered. “I didn’t know Pokemon could be trainers as well.”

 

“Those Nexus people are awful!” May exclaimed unhappily. “Do they not care about Lethe and the others at all?”

 

“Probably not.”

 

The now significantly larger group arrived at the entrance of Nexus’s building. They stepped into the lobby, only for Ferrence to halt in her steps. “Oh. Shoot.”

 

“What’s wrong?” Brock asked, looking around the empty lobby.

 

“When Lethe and I came here, we were allowed here, and a lady at the counter let us in,” Ferrence explained, pointing at the counter, where nobody stood. “Now, even if a staff member is here, we aren’t allowed in, and I’m pretty sure the doors are locked.”

 

“Yeah, it’s locked,” Max confirmed, having moved over to the only door in the lobby. He tried to push or pull the dark gray door, then peered into the keyhole, before shaking his head.

 

“Maybe we can smash it open?” Ash offered, lifting a Pokeball. However, Max was quick to shake his head. “No way! We could get in serious trouble for damaging property on purpose. So no, no kicking the door down either.”

 

“How can we get in then?” May mumbled unhappily, pacing slowly around the lobby. There was nothing that could help. In fact, the room was near empty, with only the counter and a few clean but clearly unused couches.

 

***

 

Was Cordelia disturbed by the fact that she’s actually a Pokemon? Yes.

 

Will that stop her from mega-Blastoising random trainers on the road? No. In any case, distracting herself was the best thing she could do now. It’s not like she could run all the way to Hoenn or do anything anyways.

 

She brushed a few strands of dark teal hair out of her face, sea blue eyes gleaming smugly as the trainer fumbled through his bag to pay her for winning. It’s not like Cordelia cared much about money, but why say no to earning money for her hobby?

 

Just as Cordelia returned Blastoise to his Pokeball and began to head towards the nearest town, she heard a swishing sound behind her. The trainer immediately whirled around, seeing an Alakazam pop into existence right behind her. The psychic type reached out, before vanishing again, taking Cordelia with it.

 

***

 

Alaric wondered why he hadn’t just sent Alakazam teleport-hopping around the world with a few Ethers before. He might have to explain to Nurse Joy why a bunch of trainers suddenly appeared in his booked room, but that was a problem for later.

 

It took a few minutes for his partner Pokemon to locate the others, but thanks to the recent vision, Alaric could determine their general location easily enough. Alakazam had already brought Calix, the flower shop worker from Kanto, who was already bewildered by the earlier flash and even more so by Alaric’s vague explanation. Alaric felt somewhat bad at kidnapping the green haired trainer via teleport, but there was no time to feel bad.

 

‘Cordelia from Kanto...’ he noted as Alakazam teleported the teal-haired trainer in white t-shirt and dark green shorts into the room, before vanishing.

 

“What the fu-” the teal haired girl began, but Alaric shut her up by snapping his fingers loudly and pointing at Calix, sitting on a chair. “There are children here.”

 

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Cordelia amended, whipping out an Ultra Ball. “What’s with kidnapping me all of a sudden? Who even are you?”

 

“Are you stupid? You saw the vision as well. We could all be gone or re-erased soon if we don’t stop those miserable office workers from restarting the cycle or whatever!” Alaric hissed impatiently. Calix was no genius, but at least he hadn’t been so completely infuriating.

 

Cordelia did not like the ginger haired male, nor did she like the smartass attitude. However, she disliked getting brain-wiped by a bunch of ‘miserable office workers’ more, so she lowered her volume slightly. “Okay. So why did you kidnap me? What do you plan to do?”

 

“Wait a while,” he replied, the same thing he had said to Calix. “We need to wait for Ruori.”

 

It was at that second when the last of the group appeared via Alakazam express. Unlike Calix or Cordelia, the black haired teenager seemed to have an IQ of over 1. His silver eyes narrowed as he observed the other three around the room. “Where am I? Why did you kidnap me?”

 

“I swear to- it’s not kidnapping , it’s efficient transport!” Alaric shot back, his patience being worn thin. Actually, it’s not like he was all that patient in the first place, but he liked to think of himself as the smartest, coolest, most mature one around. “Listen up. You all saw the vision. Alakazam will teleport us to the building, and we’re going to beat up Themio Ide-”

 

“Literally or metaphorically?” Cordelia interjected rudely.

 

“Depends on the situation,” Alaric shot back. “Anyways, and then we’ll take over the systems and make sure nobody gets brain-wiped again. Understood?”

 

***

 

“Klinklang, Charge Beam.”

 

“Zorua, Shadow Ball!”

 

Lethe had looked over her unusual Zorua’s moveset before, but not enough to be as familiar with it as she was with her other Pokemon, especially considering she didn’t know what Zorua could learn, thanks to its never-seen-before form.

 

Both sides executed the command, the attacks clashing but going no further.

 

“Now, Zorua, use-” Lethe was interrupted by her Pokemon letting out a quiet squeak.

 

“...Bitter Malice?” She had never heard of the move before. Perhaps it was a move that only ancient Zorua could use. “Go ahead.”

 

“Klinklang, use Gear Grind,” Themio commanded. His Pokemon, like it had with Lucina, dashed forward with gears spinning. Zorua jumped back, concentrating for a brief second before dark purple energy began to fly towards its enemy.

 

“Charge Beam!” Themio corrected quickly, but Zorua’s strange ghost type move managed to hit first. The Klinklang faltered midair, before falling to the ground.

 

Themio chuckled, almost amused as he returned Klinklang to its Pokeball. “Very interesting. Then... go, Hydreigon!”

 

The three headed dragon type burst out, letting out a loud roar. Lethe’s Zorua whimpered quietly, white and gray ears folding downwards.

 

“Zorua, use-”

 

At that moment, the strong steel doors of the battle court burst inwards.

Chapter 19

May had been attempting to pick the door’s lock when four people suddenly materialized behind them in the lobby.

 

Max, assuming they were here to arrest the group for lock-picking, opened his mouth to defend. “Look, this-”

 

“Don’t say anything,” the ginger haired male interrupted, striding confidently over to the door. May jumped out of the way as he tried to push open the door. “Nope. We’re teleporting.”

 

“Wait, wait,” Brock interjected. “Who are you people?”

 

“We’re like Lethe,” Calix explained. While Alaric, Cordelia and Ruori were unfamiliar to Ash’s group, Lethe had briefly mentioned the flower shop worker before. “We saw in a flash what happened, and we don’t want to get reset again, so we decided to come here.”

 

“And you got here by...” Ferrence began to ask, orange eyes looking across the group before landing on the Alakazam at the back. “Ohhh, I see.”

 

“Wait, see what?” Ash asked obliviously.

 

“Alakazams can use Teleport, silly!” May replied, though her tone was friendly.

 

“No time to talk,” Alaric snapped, interrupting the multiple conversations going on. “Are you people Lethe’s friends? Are you coming along?”

 

“Of course we are,” Ferrence agreed immediately, not waiting for Ash’s group’s input. They were probably going to agree as well, anyways.

 

“Well then, Alakazam, teleport!”

 

***

 

Once they were inside the door, the now significantly larger group ran down the hallways. Ferrence somewhat recalled the way from earlier, so she was at the front. A few times, they passed some stray staff members, but Cordelia was quick to punch them in the face.

 

“Here, I think,” Ferrence said, tapping on the ‘up’ button on an elevator. She had almost led them to her father’s office, before remembering to skip that part and go upstairs to the big room where Themio had been.

 

As they stepped off the elevator, Ferrence ran down the hallway towards the large doors they went to earlier. She ignored the other smaller doors, and the slightly bigger one with sounds of battle coming from within.

 

“Wait!” Brock called, causing the group to stop. He pressed his ear to the steel doors, frowning. “I think Lethe’s in here.”

 

“Really?” Ferrence frowned, stepping closer to the door. Indeed, it sounded like Lethe’s voice was coming from within. “It’s locked. Are we teleporting?”

 

Alaric opened his mouth to agree, but Cordelia interrupted him. “Let me blast this one down. Please.”

 

“It would certainly help the fear factor,” Ruori offered, much to Alaric’s chagrin. Before anyone could stop her, Cordelia took a step back and sent out her Blastoise, the large Pokemon barely fitting in the hallway. “Blastoise, use Hydro Pump!”

 

***

 

Themio looked, for once, not vaguely intrigued or clinically curious. Instead, as the seemingly unbreakable steel doors that closed the battle court to the building were blown inwards via a high pressure beam of water, Themio looked utterly dumbfounded.

 

Lethe didn’t exactly have a mean streak, but even she had to admit it was completely hilarious.

 

“Lethe!” Ferrence called, bursting into the room. “I’m back! And I brought help!”

 

The dark haired girl was quick to make her way towards the group, where she began to heal her team. Themio had recovered quickly, beginning to move towards them.

 

Alaric had been continuing the plan while Cordelia wrecked havoc, and the next step was clear. With a quick hand gesture, Alakazam teleported all of them out of the battle court. Due to how sturdy the Nexus building was, the walls remained standing strong despite the door being blasted in.

 

Before Themio could follow, Alakazam raised its spoons. Psychic energy gathered around it, lifting the fragments of the battle court’s door and slamming them back in place. He snapped his fingers at Ferrence. “Can you bring us to the main room? Alakazam, stay here and hold the door in place.”

 

“Wait... what are you planning to do?” May asked nervously, glancing at the sealed door. “Is this legal?”

 

“No,” he replied swiftly. “But if my hypothesis-”

 

“Who says ‘hypothesis’ these days?” Cordelia coughed under her breath, crossing her arms.

 

“-is correct,” Alaric continued, ignoring his companion’s comment. “Then it will be legal soon. Don’t ask questions. Just do what I say.”

 

“Why do you get to order us around?” Ash whined, though he didn’t seem actually upset. His question, however, made sense. After all, there were 10 of them gathered together, who made the decisions?

 

“I’m pretty sure Alaric is some sort of super-genius,” Calix reasoned softly. “I’ve seen his thought processes in the flashes, and, uh... I didn’t really understand much.”

 

“If this will help Lethe and our new, um, friends, then I think it’s worth going along with this... plan,” Brock said calmly, trying to mediate between the more intense personalities present. When he wasn’t chasing after some Nurse Joy, he was certainly one of the more mature ones.

 

“Okay, I think it was this way.” Ferrence led the group towards the larger room from before. It was at the end of the hallway, so it wasn’t hard to find. However, as they stood before the looming steel doors, one problem arose.

 

Namely, it was locked, just like the battle court. And this time there were countless staff members waiting inside.

 

“Leave this to me,” Alaric announced confidently, stepping up to the button that Ferrence’s father had used to contact the people inside. As he began to poke at the device, Lethe’s expression shifted from her earlier blank one to a frown.

 

“What’s wrong?” May asked kindly, turning to face the other coordinator.

 

“The personalities of the others...” Lethe began slowly. “I’m starting to wonder if some of our talents come from the fact that we’re Pokemon.”

 

“That might be possible,” Max agreed. “It still feels weird that you guys can be Pokemon . You all don’t share a lot of traits with Pokemon- no moves, can’t be captured, and you can even catch your own.”

 

Lethe looked down at the gray floor, her dark purple hair obscuring her face. “I don’t feel like a Pokemon.”

 

“You don’t seem like one either,” May agreed immediately, before placing a hand on Lethe’s shoulder. “It doesn’t matter what you technically are, to everyone else you haven’t really changed. It’s not like your personality’s suddenly changed.”

 

Lethe nodded. “What is my personality like? Things can be very different when you look at it from a different perspective.”

 

May hummed thoughtfully, placing a hand on her chin. “Well, uh... you seem introverted and antisocial. You are nice sometimes, but usually just to your Pokemon. And a lot of times you give off that vibe that you’re silently judging everyone.”

 

“I’m not-” Lethe started at May’s last sentence, but then she paused. It’s not her fault there was a lot in the world that deserved to be silently judged.

 

Max, despite staying silent for most of the conversation, let out a small laugh. “You know, the fact that you’re having a conversation pretty much means you’re more human than Pokemon. Have you run into Team Rocket yet? They have a talking Meowth, and even though he looks like a normal Meowth you can’t help but treat him like a person.”

 

It was at that moment when Alaric loudly snapped his fingers. “I got it! I managed to get past the system, so now we can open the door whenever we want.”

 

Ash’s jaw dropped. “How did you do that?”

 

The older trainer crossed his arms smugly, looking evidently proud. “It wasn’t that hard. They have a password system for emergencies, and it’s easy to guess the password when you know who set it.”

 

Cordelia gaped disbelievingly. “You can’t just... guess some big company man’s password.”

 

“Watch me.”

 

Ruori coughed quietly, snapping the two from their argument. “Before you two try to murder each other, what next? Alaric didn’t exactly tell anyone what his magic ‘plan’ is supposed to be.”

 

“Now you all go inside and go crazy,” the trainer replied matter-of-factly. “Keep them busy and I’ll take care of the rest.”

 

“Hell yeah, battle time!” Cordelia cheered, her foul mood immediately gone. Ash’s group, as well as Ferrence, seemed quite relieved to be able to solve a problem the way they know best, without any crazy information dumps.

 

“Alright!” Ash was equally enthusiastic, though he hesitated briefly. “Uh, we won’t get into any serious trouble for this, right?”

 

“According to Alaric earlier, it’s illegal, but it won’t be if his plan or whatever works,” Calix offered helpfully. “So I think we’ll be fine as long as we’re crazy enough.”

 

“I can’t help but think you’re using us as scapegoats,” Ruori remarked drily, but he seemed ready enough to comply.

 

“I can’t believe we’re doing this,” Max sighed, briefly wondering why they got involved with a bunch of strangers who were fully ready to break into a giant company. Alaric stood to the side as the remaining nine, with various levels of eagerness, hit the red button.

 

Slowly, with the sound of metal scraping against metal, the doors to the Memory Project’s main room slid open once more.

Chapter 20

Cordelia and Ash, among everyone else, took ‘go crazy’ the most literally.

 

Once they stepped into the largest room, dozens of staff members’ heads whirled to face them, various forms of confusion visible. Blastoise and Pikachu burst into action, blasting water and throwing thunderbolts to their trainers’ eager commands.

 

May sighed, then grinned and pulled out her own Pokeball. “Well, I guess we’re doing this. Go, Torchic!”

 

It didn’t take long for the Memory Project room to be overrun by Pokemon. Some staff members had sent out their own, albeit weak, Pokemon, while others looked bewildered and panicked. Several of them actually ran screaming when they saw Lethe’s Shedinja floating ominously behind them.

 

While Lethe commanded her Pokemon in scaring staff members lifeless, she caught a glimpse of Alaric edging past the crowd and finding a computer, on which he began to click.

 

“What are you-” she began. At the exact moment, the doors to the room suddenly slammed shut, and the lights turned off. Charging symbols on computer screens vanished, and glowing indicators across the walls disappeared.

 

“People of Nexus Corporations, I would like your attention now.” Alaric’s voice rang authoritatively over the confued chatter. He lifted up the computer he had been using earlier. “Right now, I have full control over this building. Additionally, I am one button press away from contacting local police and reporting Nexus Corporations for Pokemon abuse. On top of that, I am able to shut down every device on the Memory Project’s network immediately.”

 

“He can do that?” Brock said quietly, bewildered. Nearby, Ash, May and Calix were too awestruck to reply. Cordelia, on the other hand, was duly unimpressed and kept complaining about showing off.

 

Alaric himself opted to completely ignore his companions' commentary. “People of Nexus Corporations, make sure you adhere to these rules in the following period of time.”

 

“What’s with all the fancy words?” Lethe muttered to herself. Ninjask buzzed judgementally, zipping around its trainer’s head.

 

“One, you are not to leave this room. Two, you are not to attempt to access any device. Three, you are not to attempt contact. My companions and I will be... discussing the situation with Themio,” Alaric continued. Cordelia muttered something like ‘discussing with my fist’ under the clamor that followed.

 

Folding up the stolen laptop, Alaric made his way back towards the group, beckoning for them to leave.

 

“That was really cool!” Ash exclaimed as soon as they had walked out of the dark room, shutting the doors behind them. “How do you do stuff like that?”

 

“Yeah, I didn’t think all of that was possible!” May added.

 

“I don’t see what was so amazing,” Cordelia scoffed, crossing her arms. Ruori mockingly mirrored her posture, shooting her a side-eye. “I’d like to see you try to do anything other than battle.”

 

“What was that-?!”

 

Max coughed quietly, disrupting the two’s ‘conversation.’ They had returned to the battle court room, where Alakazam was beginning to strain as it held the door’s pieces in place. The psychic type’s trainer waved his hand. “You can let go now.”

 

It nodded in response, the glow of psychic power vanishing as the pieces of the metal door once more crashed onto the floor. Inside the battle court, Themio Ide had healed up his team. He looked enraged at being locked in, and confused at the lights going on.

 

“What did you do?” the leader of Nexus snarled.

 

“We took over your building, sucker,” Cordelia grinned, smugly crossing her arms. Despite her earlier unimpressedness, the teal-haired trainer had no problem with taking all of Alaric’s credit.

 

Max shushed her. “Let Alaric talk.”

 

Despite the offense that was definitely taken, Cordelia wasn’t completely stupid. Most of the time, anyways, so she fell silent with a huff. With all the attention in the darkened room on him, Alaric stepped forward. “I am currently in control of the entire Memory Project system and this building, and I am one click away from reporting your project to the police.”

 

Themio shot a glare at the laptop in his foe’s hand, but he had cooled down considerably from earlier. “And what exactly do you want? I have trouble believing you’re just here to scare me.”

 

“You’re right, I have a few demands,” Alaric agreed, his voice conversational. “First, you legally hand over all control over Nexus Corporations to me.”

 

“You can’t just make yourself the boss,” Ruori argued before Cordelia could. Despite being far more quiet than the other Mnemosyne, Ruori was also, in fact, more self-centered.

 

“Yes I can,” the ginger haired trainer shot back, before turning back to Themio. “You are to end the Memory Project, and answer all my questions about how it all works. You will tell us all about any other malicious plans of Nexus, and...”

 

He turned to the rest of the group. “Any other demands?”

 

“Apologize to all of the... Nemo-somethings,” Ferrence offered, her glare not hidden at all. “You almost gave my friend an identity crisis! Artificial or not, Pokemon or human, you can’t keep wiping the minds of any living creature.”

 

Ash’s group, as well as Calix, sounded their approval. After all, they were the ones who were more traditionally nice.

 

“Is that all?” Themio said, emotions veiled. “And if you don’t throw me to the police now, what do you plan to do? Can you really be certain I won’t come right back?”

 

For once, Alaric fell silent. Before he could say anything, however, Lethe spoke up. “That’s easy. The artificial world constructed by memories... you, and anyone who supports the Memory Project, will retire to that world for the rest of your lives. Once you all age away, the world will be permanently shut down.”

 

It really was easy. Such a solution would make sure Themio never returned, while making sure the ending would be better than the police.

 

“So, what do you say?” Ruori prompted.

 

“Not in a million-”

 

“We appreciate the cooperation.”

 

***

 

The room of the Memory World was hidden even further away from the rest of the building. After getting a map from Themio, Alaric, Lethe and Brock headed off to find it, while Ferrence, Ruori and May went to filter through the staff members in the main room. Meanwhile, the remainder of the group guarded Themio and made sure he didn’t try anything.

 

“It’s here,” Alaric said, glancing up from the digital map on his laptop. (Or, well, the laptop he stole from some poor staff member. The account name was ‘Bob Johnson.’) The three stood before a single steel door, the same color as the gray wallpaper in the hallways.

 

“There’s a sensor here,” Brock pointed out, gesturing to a single plate on the door. It appeared to be waiting for a keycard.

 

Alaric frowned, clicking a few keys on the laptop. “Nope. We don’t have a keycard, and I can’t access the card system from here.”

 

“You managed to hijack the entire building from one device, why can’t you override all of that?” Lethe asked, poking her head over to view the screen. Alaric shook his head impatiently. “These things are easy to understand for me, for whatever reason, but I can’t defy logic. They just had horrible security.”

 

“Horrible security. Nexus Corporations,” Lethe repeated disbelievingly.

 

Brock, ever the mediator, decided to intervene before anyone died. “Let’s go back to Themio and see if he has the card.”

 

“Sounds reasonable,” Alaric agreed.

 

The trio trekked back through the empty hallways back to the battle court. Themio looked slightly smug, despite his current situation, at their empty-handed return. “Oh, would you look at that, I forgot to give you the keycard.”

 

“You’re a lot more of a jerk when you’re not being a manipulative weirdo with too many goals,” Lethe muttered scathingly, arms crossed.

 

“Hand it over,” Alaric demanded Themio, ignoring Lethe’s comment. The boss of Nexus made a show of searching his pockets, before snapping his fingers. “Oh my. I left the card in another building.”

 

Brock sighed, slightly annoyed, though his tone was marginally more balanced than Alaric’s. “We know you have it. Hand it over.”

 

Themio spread his arms. “I really don’t have it. As a precaution to protect every single one of the Memory World entrances at all costs, there are only three keycards, total. And we make sure they consistently switch hands and are never under the possession of any high ranking figures who might be blackmailed.”

 

“That’s actually a smart plan, but inconsistent,” Max admitted grudgingly, shrugging when Alaric glared at him. “I don’t have to like it, but it’s true!”

 

Cordelia huffed, close enough to stomping her feet like a child. “Ugh, I hate it when you fancy company people try so hard to be complicated! What now?”

 

“I could look up where the keycards are right now,” Themio pointed out slowly, leaning casually against the wall of the room. “And I could tell you. But are you really willing to travel to somewhere in not just Hoenn, but the entire world, just to make sure I won’t fight back?”

 

“You never know, it might be in this building,” Calix retorted optimistically. “Why don’t you check first?”

 

Themio gestured towards Alaric to hand over the laptop. He hesitated, but then relented, placing Bob Johnson’s device in front of the man. Almost everyone gathered around, crowding the boss of Nexus as he tapped away.

 

“Here you go,” Themio said after a while, turning the computer towards the group. “The only keycard currently present in Hoenn is in Lilycove City, in the hands of a Memory Project staff member by the name of Jarold.”

Chapter 21

“Lilycove City, you say?” Ferrence, Ruori and May had returned with a whole squadron of Memory Project employees only to be told about the keycard situation. At the moment, the former was looking over a map with the others. “Ooh, there are multiple Pokemon Contests coming up in that area- Lilycove and Fortree City.”

 

“Are you really thinking about contests now?” Ruori questioned mockingly.

 

“Don’t get into an argument, please!” May interrupted before the other coordinator could reply. “The keycard is important for sure, but we can take part in the contest too. Is everyone going?”

 

“I’m going,” Lethe said immediately, a decision echoed by Alaric, Ferrence, Cordelia, and Ash’s whole group.

 

“I’m really sorry, I have to go back to the shop,” Calix apologized, nodding sadly. “Boss will totally end me if I run off.”

 

“I don’t really care about all of this,” Ruori added, shrugging despite the shocked looks from some of the others. “I’d much rather mind my own business than go on an unneeded trip.”

 

Several people began to argue, but Alaric stopped them with a very loud snap of his fingers. “Anyone who doesn’t want to go doesn’t have to. I’ll have Alakazam teleport you back. Ash, May, Brock, Max, Ferrence, I don’t want you to get too involved in this business, so you can return to your own travels and meet us at Lilycove if you want. Lethe, I know you’re too introverted and antisocial-”

 

“...I’m not antisocial.”

 

“Yes you are- to travel with anyone, so you can go on your own. As for Cordelia, I don’t want to be anywhere near you-”

 

“Agreed!”

 

“-so you can go on your own as well. The goal is for everyone to be at Lilycove City in... let’s give it a week.” Finally finishing his very long speech, Alaric clapped his hands together. “Is everyone set?”

 

The group sounded their agreements. For Lethe, she was mainly just happy she didn’t have to deal with the inherent loudness of Ash, May and Cordelia, Alaric being bossy, and Ruori being a general annoyance. Lethe rarely went to extremes, and in the aftermath of learning that she is a literal Pokemon, she really just needed a break.

 

Actually, was it even legal for a Pokemon to train Pokemon? Well, Lethe had neither a Pokedex nor a Trainer ID, so she was technically breaking the law this whole time.

 

Whatever.

 

***

 

Lilycove City was a good distance away from Petalburg, so Lethe probably should get going if she wanted to arrive in a week. But before that, she wanted to go somewhere else first, for a little visit.

 

Rustboro City.

 

Rustboro was the place where she first woke up. Plus, she hadn’t contacted Nurse Joy ever since she went off to Dewford. The two cities were close enough, so it wouldn’t be too hard to drop by before heading towards Lilycove.

 

She didn’t bother to bid farewell as she headed off. After all, they’d all be meeting up again in a week. Everything aside, it was nice to have some peace and quiet for once.

 

Assuming she didn’t stop unnecessarily, the girl would arrive by the end of the day. Lethe breathed slowly, brushing her long hair behind her ears. Maybe she should cut it at some point...

 

Really, she was probably underestimating the seriousness of her situation. It would only be harder than ever to get a Pokedex or Trainer License now that she was aware of her identity. But then again, she had Ash’s group, a Nurse Joy, a gym leader, a rich and only slightly spoiled trainer, and whatever the hell the other Mnemosynes counted as on her side.

 

Lethe sighed. Legal things are... hard. But overall, she was almost content.

 

Almost.

 

One small thing still gnawed at the dark haired girl. Back when she still saw the visions, just once, she saw a glimpse of somebody else’s life. She was certain the mysterious sixth person wasn’t one of the Mnemosynes that she knew.

 

It was a true flash, less than a second. But Lethe did see, somebody thinking that the flashes should no longer happen to them after- what? The person saw their Pokemon worrying for them- a Gardevoir, a Zoroark, a Ditto, a Gallade, and a shiny Pidove.

 

The mysterious sixth...

 

Lethe had been walking for a lot longer than she thought, because her gray-blue eyes were quick to spot Rustboro City emerging on the horizon. Had she been travelling for that long? It’s a miracle her legs weren’t collapsing at this point.

 

‘I guess we’re here, then.’ Lethe slowed her pace, strolling slowly towards the familiar gray tones of Rustboro.

 

She suddenly felt a pang of nostalgia as soon as her feet hit the road. Perhaps it was unlike her, but then again, life was a lot simpler before she went out to travel.

 

She turned her head towards the omnipresent red building just by the road. The Pokemon Center. Despite all the Nurse Joys appearing identical, only one of them was the one who found Lethe when she just woke.

 

The center’s automatic doors slid open, revealing an empty lobby. Nurse Joy herself stood behind the counter, like she did every day, every week, all the time. The nurse glanced up at the door’s whirring, her mouth open to speak her regular greetings. However, Nurse Joy’s eyes widened at the sight of the familiar purple-haired girl. “Lethe. What are you doing back here?”

 

She quickly shook her head. “...I suppose that sounded a bit unwelcome. I really am glad to see you again. How have your travels been?”

 

“Good,” Lethe replied simply, taking a seat on one of the couches in the lobby. “I guess.”

 

“You guess?” Nurse Joy stepped out from behind the counter, taking a seat opposite of Lethe. The nurse produced a cup of tea, placing it in front of Lethe. “Has something happened?”

 

“A lot’s happened.” Almost exactly like two years ago, except this time Lethe did the talking. She told Nurse Joy about everything that’s happened, including the Nexus business. Perhaps it wouldn’t be wise to tell such a responsible person such things, but then again, there were always some people who you could simply trust.

 

After the dark haired girl finished talking, she simply fell silent. Nurse Joy, too, did not speak for a while.

 

“That is ... a lot,” the pink haired woman said finally, before smiling. “Do what you have to do, Lethe. You’ll always have a home here.”

 

***

 

Lethe had planned to head straight for Lilycove now, but her walk out of Rustboro City was interrupted by stumbling into Roxanne. The gym leader halted in her steps, eyes lit with surprise. “Lethe! I didn’t know you were coming back.”

 

Lethe didn’t know how to reply, so she simply nodded.

 

“Well, I won’t ask too much,” Roxanne promised. “But... it’s good to see you again, Lethe. Are you leaving again soon?”

 

“I was going to leave now, but...” Lethe cast her blue eyes to the sky, which was darkening quickly. It wouldn’t be smart to travel at night. She would probably make it anyway. “...I guess I’m staying for today.”

 

“I’ll let you rest now,” the rock type gym leader replied, turning away to continue walking in the direction she had earlier. She only paused to cast a glance over her shoulder. “Visit again soon, Lethe.”

 

“I will.”

 

Since Lethe didn’t need to depart right away, perhaps there was one more person she needed to visit. Namely, or perhaps un-namely, the ever nameless Pokemart man.

 

The girl made her way to the Pokemart, knowing the way well despite the darkening roads of Rustboro City. She needed to stock up on berries anyway.

 

...maybe the reason she was always broke was how many berries she bought.

 

The trainer stepped into the blue building, browsing the aisles slowly as she picked berries. ‘Leppa for Lucina... Pecha for Spheal... Oran for Shedinja, Wiki for Zorua, and... Pamtre for Whismur.’

 

After gathering berries in the preferred flavors for each of her team members, and then some other random ones for variety, Lethe headed to the check out counter. Unlike Nurse Joy or Roxanne, the Pokemart man simply grinned at the sight of Lethe. “I haven’t seen you in a while. Drop by whenever you need.”

 

Lethe raised an eyebrow at the price that popped up- quite a bit lower than usual. “Did you miscalculate the price?”

 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

 

Well, Lethe was quite poor. She took the berries, paying the reduced amount of cash. “Right. Of course.”

Chapter 22

Notes:

I just realized I forgot to post this chapter oops, so here's a double update

“E-excuse me?” Lethe was just about to enter the Pokemon Center, to rest for the night. After all, the sky was already dyed orange.

 

With a sigh, the dark haired trainer turned around to see a little boy standing by a small house. The boy blinked nervously, his brown eyes flickering sideways several times. “U-um, are you the trainer named Lethe that Miss Roxanne mentioned once?”

 

“That’s me,” Lethe replied flatly, slightly impatient. Thankfully, the dark haired girl was just slightly too nice to snap at anyone. “What is it?”

 

“Um, there’s a Pokemon I found a few days back,” the boy said, his voice barely a whisper as he continued to glance around nervously. “A-and I need you to help take it back where it wants to go.”

 

‘Vague,’ Lethe noted to herself. ‘Sort of suspicious, but...’

 

“Fine. Where is this Pokemon?”

 

“Here.” The little boy ran off, leading Lethe to what must be his house. He pushed open the door, ducking inside. “Mom, dad, she agreed to help.”

 

Lethe warily followed the child into the house, where she was greeted by a regular-looking living room. At a table, a man and a woman- the boy’s parents, she’d guess- were sitting with frustrated expressions. At the sound of the door’s open, the mother glanced up, green eyes gleaming in relief. “Miss Lethe, correct? I do apologize for bothering a stranger like this, but we... need a favor.”

 

“This mystery Pokemon. What is it?” Lethe glanced around the room, spotting nothing. The father got up, heading down the largest hallway at the back of the room. Meanwhile, the boy’s mother continued. “Shora, my son, was playing around the sea near Rustboro when we found it. I’m really not sure how such a Pokemon got here.”

 

“Yes, but what even is this Pokemon?” Lethe demanded, growing impatient. She could hardly agree or disagree to anything without knowing what the Pokemon was.

 

“Here.” The man had returned, and in his arms was a small blue Pokemon, antennae bobbing. “It’s... it’s a Manaphy.”

 

***

 

“I’m surprised you managed to understand his meaning so well,” Lethe remarked, listening to the Manaphy explain. “You’re right. He wants to go to the sea to the East of Hoenn.”

 

“I thought Manaphy were genderless,” Shora’s father commented, holding the water type. “Why do you call it- him, a he?”

 

“I’m a translator, not a biologist,” Lethe deflected. She took a seat beside the kitchen table, humming thoughtfully. “East, you say... will around Lilycove City work? That’s where I’m headed tomorrow.”

 

“Mana!” The blue Pokemon bounced happily in his spot, antennae wobbling happily. Shora’s mother smiled gently. “I believe that’s a yes. So, will you bring Manaphy to where it wants to go?”

 

Lethe often refused requests such as this, but at the same time, she did not tend to say no to Pokemon. “Fine, I’ll do it.”

 

“Um, and also,” Shora spoke up, tugging at the girl’s sleeves. “Will you tell us once Manaphy has arrived? I’ll miss it.”

 

“Maybe.” But at the same time... Lethe was, in general, incredibly unhelpful to people. But hey, let a girl have some personality, alright?

 

***

 

The next day, Lethe was prepared to leave the Pokemon Center of Rustboro City to travel towards Lilycove. Her old white satchel was slung across, filled with berries, potions, the pokeballs of her team, and Manaphy. The rare Pokemon hid itself safely within a blanket, occasionally poking a head out when there was nobody around. She was almost at the automatic doors, when a call interrupted her.

 

“Lethe!” Nurse Joy hurried out from the center’s back rooms. Lethe had wondered where the nurse was that morning. After all, Nurse Joys rarely left their spot behind the counter.

 

The pink haired woman approached Lethe, producing an object from her pocket. “Yesterday, I decided to go pull some strings for you. Nurse Joys do have quite a bit of influence.”

 

“What is it?” Lethe questioned. What could Nurse Joy give her?

 

Finally pulling her hand back, Joy held out a brand new, purple colored Pokedex. “A Pokedex, and your Trainer License. I didn’t tell anyone anything, don’t worry, but this should serve any purposes you need on your travels.”

 

“Oh.” Lethe picked up the object, flipping open the lid. Immediately, a screen was displayed with her name, a string of numbers that must be her trainer ID, and a button leading to a list of all discovered Pokemon in Hoenn. Testingly, she released Lucina from her ball and held up the Pokedex’s camera at the Eevee. The screen shifted to show an image of an Eevee, as well as some statistics. A voice rang from the device. “Eevee has an unstable genetic makeup that suddenly mutates due to the environment in which it lives. Radiation from various Stones causes this Pokemon to evolve.”

 

“A Pokedex,” Lethe repeated, lifting the device to let its steel frame glint in the light. “Thank you.”

 

Nurse Joy gave the girl a bright smile. “You’re welcome. You mentioned you had to get to Lilycove City this week? Well, you’d better get going!”

 

Lethe turned back towards the automatic door, returning Lucina to her Pokeball and placing the Pokedex in her bag. “You’re right. I’ll be going then.”

 

Just as she was about to exit, this time her own idea caused her to pause. “...Nurse Joy, can I ask something?”

 

“Of course,” Joy replied immediately. “What do you need? I’ll try my best to help if possible.”

 

“Lucina, Whismur, Ninjask, Shedinja, Zorua, and Spheal... my team is full now. If another Pokemon joins me, where will they go?” Being joined by Manaphy, even if temporarily, made the trainer think. Ash’s Pokemon went to Professor Oak in Kanto, while usual trainers sent their Pokemon to relatives or local professors. Lethe, however, was essentially homeless and orphaned.

 

“That’s a good question, considering you started off as a trainer in an unusual way,” Joy admitted, tapping her chin thoughtfully. “I’m not sure about that part, unfortunately. I’ll look into it and update you if I find anything, though.”

 

“That’s good,” Lethe replied, turning back towards the door. “Well, I’m leaving now. Seriously, this time.”

 

“See you soon!”

 

***

 

While Lethe trusted people like Nurse Joy with information about Manaphy, she was quite certain that plenty of people would be more than glad to take advantage of the rare water type. Because of that, she couldn’t risk letting Manaphy out of the bag (literally and metaphorically) except for when nobody was around.

 

How did she get involved in all this again?

 

Lethe went past towns and cities quickly, instead only stopping to rest among nature with no people nearby. At the moment, she rested by a pond just outside Verdanturf City. The girl didn’t actively keep track of the days, though she was slightly behind schedule due to the visit to Rustboro City.

 

“Come on, we need to keep going,” the dark haired girl announced, standing up as she placed her finished sandwich down.

 

“Mana?” Manaphy and Spheal had been frolicking in the pond, splashing quite a lot of water on an annoyed-looking Zorua. The ghost type whined, shaking droplets out of its quite long white fur.

 

“Come on,” Lethe urged, packing up the rest of her supplies, not like she had gotten that much out in the first place. Lucina, Shedinja, Ninjask, Whismur, and Zorua were quick to return to their Pokeballs, while Spheal had a dramatic farewell with its new aquatic friend. Once the scene was over, Spheal vanished in a beam of red light back into its Pokeball, while Manaphy settled comfortably in Lethe’s satchel.

 

“Don’t worry, there will be a lot of free time once we arrive,” the girl promised, softly patting her bag. A quiet ‘Mana!’ came from within.

 

Lethe sighed, carefully brushing her dark purple hair out of her eyes before continuing to walk. There wasn’t much to do on the go, except for thinking. And this particular girl had plenty of stressful things to think about.

 

The mysterious sixth, the drama with Nexus, delivering Manaphy to the east...

 

What would happen once everything was over? Would she continue to travel? Return to Rustboro? Or would something else happen to make the decision for her? Sometimes Lethe missed back when she was so determined to find her memories. She still didn’t know what exactly spurred herself to pick the name Lethe , perhaps some part of her subconscious knew, and fed the name the opposite of what she was.

 

If she ever stood before her past self, what would she say? Would she say, “stop trying, turn back, it’s not worth it?”

 

‘ Do I regret travelling in the first place? ’

 

“Manaphy.” There was nobody around, so Lethe opened the flap of her bag. Mythical Pokemon are supposed to be wise, no? “If you had a chance to choose, what would you pick? Would you want to know who you are, or would you live happily?”

 

Manaphy poked his head out of the white satchel, tilting his head in confusion at the question. “Mana-phy.”

 

‘Go with the flow,’ Lethe mused, closing her eyes. ‘...yeah, that sounds about right.’

 

***

 

‘Lilycove City,’ Lethe thought, overlooking the green seaside city. ‘I made it.’

 

She doubted there would be time to drop Manaphy off, so the girl simply gave the water type hiding in her bag a reassuring pat and a promise before walking down the road into the city. Sharp blue eyes flickered around, searching for familiar faces.

 

“We’ll go to Fortree City afterwards, alright?” Lethe glanced over, spotting Ash eagerly chatting with May, Brock and Max. “I will become a Pokemon Master and I’m going to get my badges!”

 

“You’re not the only one with a goal, Ash,” May scolded cheerfully. “I’ll need to participate in the contest here first.”

 

‘Goals.’ Lethe turned away. She had found part of the group, now she needed to find Alaric, Cordelia and Ferrence. ‘I didn’t used to have a goal. Finding my memories didn’t count, since... they didn’t exist.’

 

“But anyways, part of the fun is in the journey itself, isn’t it?” Brock interrupted his younger companions’ idle bickering. “Travelling and making new memories is an experience in itself.”

 

“Brock, you’re so cheesy,” Max scoffed, elbowing the gym leader, though he had a small smile on his face.

 

Lethe caught a glimpse of teal hair and the sound of shouting somewhere nearby. Now for Alaric and Ferrence...

‘ I don’t regret it. ’

Chapter 23

“O-kay, what’s the plan? Where do we find Jarold?” It took quite some effort to gather everyone in one place, especially with the fragmented information. “Let’s meet at the Pokemon Center.” “Go to the Pokemart.” “We’ll meet by that tree.”

 

In the end, Alaric sent out Alakazam and teleported everyone.

 

Ferrence wrung her hands around, glancing around the city. Thankfully her light brown hair was still tied up, or else it’d hit Lethe’s face.

 

“I’m going to contact Themio. I’m not sure where the staff member is-”

 

Alaric’s explanation as he lifted up his laptop was quickly interrupted by an angered Cordelia, waving her hands in front of the other Mnemosyne. “Wait! You’re saying you left the weirdo unsupervised ? Are you nuts?”

 

“Stop saying ‘nuts’ like some illiterate kindergartener,” Alaric hissed back, arms crossed. “At least unlike you, it seems I can actually think. Of course I didn’t leave him unsupervised! I left one of my Pokemon with him, you can be sure Themio isn’t escaping anywhere.”

 

“I can think, genius . I’m actually sharing my concerns with the group, instead of being all broody and secretive,” Cordelia retorted immediately. Her face twisted into a further glare.

 

“Well I’m glad you acknowledge me as a genius .”

 

“That’s not what I meant and you know it, loser!”

 

“Quit your childish insults!”

 

“Shut up, you-”

 

“Guys, stop fighting !” May practically screeched, though she immediately quieted down as all heads swivelled towards her. After a moment’s silence, she raised her head defiantly. “Hey, we can’t get anything done if you keep arguing!”

 

“May’s right,” Brock intervened gently after another silent second, stepping between Alaric and Cordelia before they could murder anyone. Actually, those two were probably a similar age to Brock, the latter may even be slightly older. But in terms of maturity, Brock took the crown. At least when no pretty girls were involved.

 

“Okay, look.” For the first time in perhaps forever, and the last time, Lethe took the lead. She was beginning to feel impatient. “Spread out, look for the card, and afterwards, there’s something serious we need to discuss.”

 

Surely at least one of the others saw the vision with the sixth? After all, there was nothing particularly special about Lethe.

 

“If it’s serious, say it now,” Alaric demanded.

 

“No,” Lethe insisted, not budging at all. Instead, she turned around, glancing at Lilycove City. “Go around. Find Jarold. Search from the air or ask people or whatever. Be quick.”

 

“Since when was she so demanding,” Cordelia grumbled, crossing her arms. After a second, however, she pulled an Ultra Ball from her belt and let out the large, orange Pokemon within. “Come on, Dragonite, up we go.”

 

Alaric sighed, facepalming slightly. As he had no avian Pokemon, he set off further into the city on foot. Ash’s group exchanged shrugs at the interaction, before splitting up to cover more of the large area. Finally, Ferrence gaped, looking around at how quickly everyone ditched her. “Rude!”

 

In the end, she opted to head to the Pokemon Center first and switch up her team. This girl is not walking around on foot all day.

 

***

 

“Red seven. Uno.” If Jarold of Nexus Corporations was anything, he was a slacker. A very smart slacker, but one nonetheless. When the man with a somewhat messy mop of dark brown hair was first hired into Nexus Corporations, he had been hardworking, perhaps overly so. After all, he needed the money desperately.

 

But once he had a steady income flowing, he began to devise plans to be as lazy as possible. His current strategy was to hire people to do all his work for him, and then earn more money than what he gave the hired worker. More time for card games.

 

“Shit, already?” The second man, holding a hand of at least a dozen cards, clenched his fists as he played another card. He crossed his arms, letting his dark hair bob slightly in the wind drifting through the warehouse entrance. “How are you so good at this?”

 

“Practice, I’m sure,” the ginger haired woman sitting cross legged in the corner, the third member of the current game, replied airily. “Practice from when he was supposed to be working. Plus 4.”

 

“Ugh.” Jarold drew four cards from the pile, eyeing them with a careful poker face. “You know, Laddon, we all know Juliet is the one who’s actually good at the game.”

 

“I can tell,” the second man, Laddon, huffed as he drew a card. How he had no playable card with a hand so full, nobody knew but him, though he didn’t seem eager to explain, rather eyeing Juliet suspiciously with a pale green side-eye as the woman played a card. “Uno.”

 

Jarold, with a smirk, held up another card. Just as the card was about to touch the file, a whirring noise interrupted the three. They turned in horror as the door to their hidden warehouse slid open, revealing the silhouette of a girl against the light that was, to them, so used to the dark, frankly blinding.

 

“Who’s there!?” Jarold demanded, his hazel eyes squinting in the light.

 

“Hiya.” The girl, with light brown hair streaked with pink, stepped into the warehouse. “Slacking now, are we? Mr Jarold, I need you to come with me.”

 

“What did you do to piss off some kid?” Laddon hissed to Jarold, backing away further into the remaining shadows of the warehouse.

 

“Themio Ide sent me,” Ferrence added with a smile. Well, that wasn’t quite the truth, but it wasn’t exactly a lie either. “Look, either you come nicely or I’ll just ask in front of your slacking buddies. You can’t stop me from getting my answer.”

 

“Fine,” Jarold spat, not moving. “What do you want?”

 

“The Memory Project key card.” Ferrence held out her hand expectantly, tapping her feet against the warehouse floor. Echoes rang out as she did so, though the coordinator made no move to stop. She indeed did not care about witnesses, she just needed the card.

 

“Shit, fine, take it!” Finally, the Nexus employee snapped, tossing a small purple and white card through the air. Ferrence expertly caught it, quickly glancing at the object to check if it was legit. It looked real, with ‘Nexus Corporations: Private Key Card’ printed in black capital letters. Plus, Jarold had no reason to deceive her. Well, she’d check with Alaric later. “See? Cooperate and everything works out fine!”

 

“Yeah, whatever, just get out,” Jarold urged, picking up the cards he had dropped earlier. “And don’t tell the boss I haven’t been working!”

 

“Don’t worry, I won’t!” Ferrence sang, walking out of the warehouse and disappearing into the light. Juliet huffed in annoyance at the interruption, picking up a remote lying around on the box she sat on and hitting the red ‘close’ button. Slowly, the doors to the warehouse moved downwards and shut, once more sealing the slackers in their dark haven.

Chapter 24

Ferrence Nacorain had been a trainer for a relatively long time. Four years, to be specific, starting from when she was 10. Of course, she didn’t exactly start her journey normally, she kind of just stormed from her family’s mansion with her Sentret and a lot of money.

 

Despite her team being a cast of Pokemon from various regions, Ferrence had only travelled to one region outside of Hoenn. Namely, Unova. But, well, she only spent perhaps six months in the region, due to a lack of Pokemon Contests. Anyways, she had had plenty of time to catch various Pokemon, and occasionally she traded them with her pen pals. Which was why Ferrence had at least a dozen or two of many different Pokemon.

 

“There, Tropius.” At the moment, the coordinator with light brown hair held Nexus’s purple keycard in her hand as she flew over Lilycove City on her Tropius. She pointed down at a duo of little dots, at least from her perspective, one turquoise and one ginger- Cordelia and Alaric.

 

The large green Pokemon roared gently in response, before dipping into a dive and flying downwards, landing beside the two. “Hey. While you two were arguing, I got the keycard.”

 

Ferrence tossed the card to Alaric, who caught it between his fingers. “Is this legit?”

 

“Hmm...” Alaric looked the card up and down, lifting it to reflect in the sunlight. “I think so, I’ll check in a moment. Can you go find the others?”

 

Ferrence sighed dramatically- she was tired! But this was a serious situation, so the girl patted Tropius’s neck. “Up we go, then.”

 

***

 

Lethe was hardly an expert in finding people. Her strategy didn’t go much further than ‘walk around and hope you either run into the one you’re looking for or Lucina smells him.’ Needless to say, that hasn’t been going all that well.

 

“Hey, Lethe!” Pausing, the girl turned, blinked, then glanced up at the shadow approaching. “Ferrence.”

 

“We found the card. We’re gathering at the Pokemon Center!” Since Lethe didn’t want to yell at such a distance, she simply nodded. Giving a thumbs up, Ferrence and her Tropius soared off again.

 

“Manaphy, I’ll drop you off soon,” Lethe promised, patting her satchel. The Pokemon within gave a ‘Mana!’ of agreement, before squirming a bit.

 

Despite how brief it was, unfortunately, this short exchange had been seen by a certain trio.

 

“Are you two seeing this?” Jessie chuckled to the two others curled up in the tree. “A Manaphy . A mythical Pokemon! Can you believe it? This purple twerpette is like a lucky charm!”

 

“I still think her hair is black,” James muttered, but he shook his head quickly. Nope, he wasn’t going to risk incurring Jessie’s wrath. “Right. What’s the plan?”

 

“Well, we can’t let her group up with those other twerps,” Meowth began, his claws sliding in and out as the talking Pokemon chuckled evilly. “If you two go jump her now, I can sneak up from behind and nab the Pokemon.”

 

The trio exchanged their evil glances, because villains just do love to be dramatic.

 

This time Lethe had, in fact, not noticed the three lurking. She was quite surprised when a blur of hot pink and pale blue suddenly flew from the tree, landing in front of her. However, the girl’s expression remained flat. “What do you want now?”

 

By saying the holy words, Lethe had triggered Team Rocket’s auto-introduction mechanism.

 

“Prepare for trouble!”

 

“And make it double!”

 

Jessie and James were doing quite a good job at distracting Lethe. She didn’t even notice Meowth slowly creeping up behind her. But the auto-introduction that was so good at distracting also foiled their plan.

 

“...surrender now, or prepare to fight!”

 

At that moment, Meowth’s claw had been hovering over the flap of Lethe’s bag. But when he heard those words...

 

“Meowth, that’s right!”

 

“Wobuffet!”

 

Slowly, Jessie, James, and Lethe turned around. Meowth halted in his tracks, quickly covering his mouth with his paws.

 

“Meowth, you idiot!” Jessie yelled. “Why did you say that?!”

 

“I’m sorry, it just happened!” Meowth defended himself, though he was quick to take a few steps back, away from the three highly pissed people.

 

Lethe herself was not feeling very pleased with the interruption. She turned so her bag, and therefore Manaphy, was facing away from Team Rocket, before pulling out two Pokeballs. “Nice try. Spheal, Whismur- Powder Snow and Hyper Voice.”

 

Both spheroid Pokemon burst out of their balls, the former warbling and clapping his flippers before spewing a layer of snow on the Rocket trio. Whismur whimpered softly, before letting out an earsplitting shriek. Jessie froze, midway through dusting the snow off her clothes.

 

As soon as the soundwaves from Hyper Voice hit, the three were once again thrown into the atmosphere.

 

“Good job, berries later,” Lethe promised as she returned her Pokemon to their balls, before giving Manaphy another reassuring pat. She had wasted quite a bit of time dealing with the Rocket trio, so she should go meet up with the others quickly.

 

***

 

“This is the card alright.” By the time Lethe arrived, Alaric and Max seemed to have teamed up to do a full check on the key card Ferrence had found. Indeed, it was the real thing. Putting the card into his pocket, Alaric glanced suspiciously at Lethe. “So what’s that important thing you mentioned?”

 

“The sixth Mnemosyne,” Lethe said immediately, her tone completely confident. “What do we do about them? Themio didn’t mention them.”

 

“The sixth?” Cordelia repeated, eyes narrowed. “What are you talking about?”

 

“In the visions, just once, I saw a glimpse of somebody other than us five,” Lethe explained, taking a seat on the nearby bench, against the Pokemon Center. “It was just a few seconds, whoever it was thought that they shouldn’t see the visions anymore after something. I only saw it once.”

 

“I don’t think it’s impossible,” Brock offered through the silence. “I don’t know all that much about artificial Pokemon, but I know for a fact that all Pokemon, and all humans are unique, and some are more sensitive to various things. It’s possible that only Lethe managed to pick up on that particular vision for whatever reason.”

 

“Yes, it’s possible, but what can we do about it when we know nothing about the sixth?” Alaric questioned, drumming his fingers against his laptop.

 

“You guys should go resolve the whole Themio thing first,” Ash suggested. “I dunno, but that seems like a whole separate thing. And Themio might know something.”

 

“That’s actually a pretty good idea,” May agreed. “Ash and Brock and Max and I are probably going to stay in Lilycove City for now, since I want to catch the contest that’s coming up soon. But good luck, you guys.”

 

“I’ll go back with you, though,” Ferrence offered, beaming. “I want to see what happens. And anyways, there’s another contest coming soon in Fortree City, and I think we’ll be able to get to it in time.”

 

Just because Lethe herself was a Pokemon coordinator doesn’t mean she understood when her rivals began gushing and making decisions purely based on when a contest was happening. But before leaving Lilycove, there was one more important thing she had to do.

 

“You guys, give me a second. I need to go do something.”

 

“Hey, wait,” Cordelia argued, crossing her arms. “You’re the one who wanted us to go figure out the sixth Mnemosyne thing, why are you running off now?”

 

“I won’t be long.” Lethe turned around, not waiting for a response. Cordelia seemed tempted to Blastoise her, but in the end Alaric convinced her to wait.

 

Lilycove City was located to the east of Hoenn, and it was a seaside city. It took a few minutes for Lethe to find a less populated part of the city, a small beach of sorts, dotted with a few rocks as gentle waves crashed in every once in a while.

 

The trainer knelt on a dryer part of the sand, flicking open the flap on her satchel. Two blue antennae poked out, before being followed by Manaphy’s blue head.

 

“We’re here, Manaphy. You can go now.”

Chapter 25

“Mana?” The water type Pokemon hopped out of Lethe’s white satchel, toddling into a slightly deeper part of the water. “Mana-phy!”

 

Halfway through its frolicking, Manaphy turned around, bobbing on the water. “Mana, mana!”

 

Lethe blinked. She didn’t have much time, but the mythical’s request was clear enough. ‘I want to play with Spheal and Lucina.’

 

“...here, then. But we can’t stay long.” Lethe pulled two Pokeballs from her bag, letting her Spheal and Eevee appear. The former warbled, clapping its flippers before practically cannonballing into the water. Meanwhile, the former seemed slightly less willing to run headfirst into the sea, but finally jumped in.

 

“We don’t have much time,” Lethe repeated, calling after the Pokemon, but they paid no heed.

 

The girl sighed as she brushed some sand off a larger rock, before taking a seat. They really weren’t listening at all... “Manaphy, you can leave now. Really.”

 

“Manaaa.” The mythical Pokemon turned around, its expression almost a pout. But after almost 10 seconds of continuous pouting, Manaphy turned back, giving Spheal and Lucina each a pat on the head with its stubby arms. It said something that Lethe could not hear, before diving into the sea.

 

“Come on now,” Lethe said, returning her Pokemon to their balls. “We have to go.”

 

***

 

Alaric sure was good at making annoying excuses.

 

“Alakazam doesn’t like Leppa Berries and overdosing on ethers or elixirs isn’t healthy,” he says. “Go back to Petalburg yourself.”

 

Really.

 

They didn’t have as much time to spare as before. While Themio was under guard, it was never a good idea to let a rich company owner stay in one place alone.

 

While rushing a bit more, Lethe managed to arrive back at Petalburg City in just under six days. Perhaps it would be smarter to take her time, but really, Lethe was tired. There were a lot of things to get done, and she needed a long, long break as long as everything was over.

 

“Okay, team, roll call,” she announced. Despite there being no reason to fear, Lethe had been rushing quite a bit and she hadn’t actually checked up on her Pokemon at all during the journey.

 

Lucina, check. Whismur, check. Ninjask, check. Shedinja, check. Zorua, check. Spheal, check. Manaphy, check.

 

“...”

 

Her eyes slowly landed on the blue critter staring up at her with innocent eyes.

“...”

 

“...”

 

“Mana?”

 

***

 

“Ugh, where’s Lethe?” Cordelia’s arms were crossed with annoyance as she tapped the sidewalk with her feet impatiently. “She’s the one who was all in a hurry.”

 

“Be patient,” Alaric hissed, equally annoyed but for a different reason. Mainly because of the incredibly stupid and incredibly impatient Cordelia, not that he voiced any of that. After all, Alaric was responsible. (he’s not)

 

“Hey, guys!” Both trainers perked up at the voice, but deflated slightly when it was only Ferrence. At the two’s disappointed expressions, the coordinator’s face shifted into a frown. “Hey, what’s with that expression? What’s wrong?”

 

“Lethe still hasn’t gotten here!” Cordelia complained, almost stomping her foot like a child. A very annoyed child. “She’s not showing up!”

 

“Oh, right.” Ferrence’s eyes brightened as she turned to face down the street, pointing a finger in the vague direction. “I saw her over that way. And, uh, I dunno how to explain it.”

 

“Come on.” Without waiting for an answer from the others, Alaric stalked down the road briskly. About two minutes away, there was Lethe, sitting on a bench by the side of the road and looking absolutely done.

 

Under her feet, running around underneath the bench were Manaphy and Spheal, looking absolutely not done. Lucina made sure she looked dignified unlike the two water types, grooming her fluffy brown tail without worry.

 

“...”

 

“...”

 

“I thought you let Manaphy go,” Alaric said at last.

 

“I did.”

 

“Well... what are you gonna do with it now?” Cordelia shrugged. “We still need to go kick Themio’s ass, you can’t go all the way back to Lilycove just to drop the guy off. Again.”

 

Lethe huffed quietly, finally standing up. Spheal and Manaphy poked their heads out from under the bench curiously. “Okay, Manaphy, you have to go back in the bag. We’ll figure out what to do later.”

 

The mythical Pokemon formed a pout, but it patted Spheal on the head with its antennae before clambering onto the bench, then jumping back into Lethe’s bag. It wriggled around a bit before settling comfortably, tucking its antennae into the bag.

 

Lethe sighed, then returned Spheal and Lucina to their Pokeballs.

 

“Okay, off we go.”

 

***

 

“So... who’s the mysterious Pokemon you had guard Themio?” Ferrence asked. The group made their way down Nexus’s cold hallways, making a beeline for the room Alaric claimed Themio resided in. He simply shrugged in return, before stopping in front of a door.

 

“Let’s test this card out,” Alaric said, shutting the laptop with a map in his hands and producing the purple and white card from his pocket. A scanner was attached to the wall beside the door, waiting expectantly.

 

The group held their breaths as Alaric placed the card against the scanner. A second passed without a single noise, before a green light flickered on the scanner. The steel single door let out a whirring sound, before opening automatically and revealing the room.

 

It was a small room, since nobody trusted Themio with a larger room. In fact, it was probably a storage room for private things, hence the lock. Now, though, it was thoroughly emptied.

 

The orange haired boss of Nexus glanced up in boredom from his chair (looking quite misplaced in the almost entirely empty room) when the group stepped in. A small yellow head poked out from behind a nearby crate. “Rio!”

 

“Is that a shiny Riolu?!” Cordelia demanded, glaring at Alaric. “You never mentioned you had a- wait, is a tiny unevolved baby Pokemon the so-called ‘guard’ you were talking about?!”

 

Lethe ignored the two’s fighting, instead crouching down and extending a hand. The yellow Riolu trotted over, nuzzling her hand. “Don’t worry, this Riolu is level 50 at the very least. Probably more.”

 

Levels were hardly the most accurate way to scale power. After all, strategy, strong moves, stats and experience and luck also impact a battle. And that’s not mentioning how Pokemon who do not battle for a longer time tend to lose their touch. In general, though, a level 50 Pokemon are generally considered quite strong. Nowhere near the level of true masters, but strong nonetheless.

 

“You can come back now, Riolu.” Alaric held out his Pokeball, letting his Riolu rest after almost two weeks of hanging around with Themio Ide. He then turned to the boss of Nexus, holding out the keycard. “We got the card.”

 

“That’s nice.” Cue a moment of silence. “...well then, the Memory World. This way.”

 

Themio heaved himself up, managing to look completely unconcerned as he brought the group to the room of the Memory World. The tall double doors were covered in all kinds of technology and fancy gadgets, locking it firmly. Cordelia testingly kicked the door to no success, until Alaric glared at her.

 

Themio took the lead, placing the purple keycard inside a small crevice on the door. Green lights covered the door, before slowly they slid open.

 

The room of the Memory Project was surprisingly small. A single tall glass cylinder stood in the center of the room, with a control panel beside it. On the steel walls, some more control panels, weird lights, and such were attached. Finally, against the left wall was a single door.

 

“The cylinder lets you enter the Memory World,” Alaric theorized. “And the door leads to where those inside the world have their physical forms stored.”

 

“Correct,” Themio replied, walking towards the door. Ferrence opened her mouth to tell him to stop, but the man had already opened the door. Within was an array of cylinders similar to the one in the main room, some filled with people geared in what looked like a tuned up version of VR equipment and some empty.

 

“The way this functions,” Themio said, sounding proud of all of this despite his predicament. “Our system is a mix of VR and inducing certain illusions to be completely realistic and foolproof. The cylinder in the main room is set up to induce the person within into the Memory World. Then, staff members- or you people- will swap the cylinder with an empty one and place that cylinder into the storage. Understood?”

 

“No,” Cordelia said.

 

“Maybe,” Ferrence decided.

 

“Hmph.” Lethe turned her head away. Translation: not at all.

 

“Yes,” Alaric interrupted his companions. It was all quite easy to understand. “And the other requests? Apologize to the Mnemosynes, hand over Nexus Corporations to me, and tell me everything else.”

 

“I prepared.” Themio produced a relatively large envelope from his pocket, handing it over to Alaric. “This contains notes on the Memory Project, and an official form you need to sign to take over the position. And, I’m sorry.”

 

“You don’t sound sorry at all,” Ferrence complained, crossing her arms.

 

“I’m not.”

 

“Well then-” The coordinator broke off, shaking her head. If somebody doesn’t feel sorry, nothing will change that. “Fine.”

 

After a quick check that the contents of the envelope were likely legit, Alaric wasted no time in throwing Themio into the cylinder and shutting the door on his face. He clicked around on the control panel, finding the ‘Begin’ button easily enough despite being completely foreign to the device.

 

“Wait. I have something to say.” Lethe stepped forwards, properly speaking for the first time in quite a while. “Themio Ide. I hope you have horrible dreams.”