Episode 22: Evoli

Gen was sat on the fence around Angard’s crater with her arms tucked behind her head and legs hung loosely. She was half asleep, but sprung awake the instant she heard the Teleportal go off. “You’re back?”

“Ah, finally! Fresh air and a late-night chill,” Esther cheered with a stretch. “Seriously, did Pokémon live there? I’m surprised we didn’t melt.”

“Fire Pokémon, Esther. Come on, it’s so obvious,” Naivie said.

“Yeah but even Fluffy Cheeks is,” Esther said, glancing at him. The Fennekin was sparkly clean for some reason, even though everyone else was drenched in sweat and catching their breath. “Okay, you’re right. Forget it. Just get me home so I can have a bath, please.”

“You weren’t kidding about that, huh?” Sophitia said.

“Why would I? Have you seen my clothes? They probably smell like a wet Grumpig,” Esther complained and tugged at her shirt.

“More importantly, where’s our next destination?” Kuri asked.

“Already?” Lute said.

“Don’t have to go there right away. It’s just useful to know,” Kuri said. Naivie nodded and took to the centre of the group.

“The temple on the western continent. I don’t know what the place is like right now, but if the land is the same, then be ready for some real mountain climbing,” Naivie stated. “That’ll be the third of four temples, located high up in frigid mountains. I had my doubts about this journey, but you guys are making faster progress than I thought. The seasons will be back in no time.”

“Praise from Naivie without a sarcastic tone? Should we call a Blissey?” Sophitia gasped.

“Don’t push your luck,” Naivie grumbled.

“I won’t. Just teasing, hee hee,” Sophitia giggled.

“You just got back here,” Gen said. “You’re going to leave already?”

“Heck no! I came back to see you, not get roped into this. Fastest way to get the kids to leave is to just do what they needed to do here,” Kuri folded his arms.

“Oh yeah right. You’re here because I told you to be here. And now that you’re here, you’re part of the team. Don’t make things difficult,” Naivie cried, fluttering in front of him.

“Nope. And you can’t make me.” The Chespin flicked her away. He wrapped his arms around Gen and brought her in close. “Not when I’ve got a promise with the most beautiful woman in the world.”

“Ugh. I know I’ve been waiting, but no need to get sappy on me,” Gen turned away. “Besides, your work with these kids is important. If you have to go, then I understand.”

“The only place I have to go right now is somewhere with you. Where do you fancy? Pokétopia? That sweet shop in Everend?” Kuri said.

“Be serious about this.”

“I am serious about this.”

Gen glared at him, a little surprised to see a goofy smile on his face. She blushed a bit, and then swayed her head and brushed her dress. “You’re hopeless, you know that? I know you’re not doing this because I asked for it.”

“Aww. Nice to know my wonderful wife has so much faith in me,” Kuri sung.

“Kuri!” she said, breaking off from him. “You know how important this is to me. Don’t go brushing them away.”

“Gen,” he said, surprised.

“If it was up to me, I would be with you on this journey. But someone has to take care of Angard. Plus, I’m not even allowed in the temples.” She looked away.

“You could still come with us,” Lute suggested. “It just means you won’t be able to come with us into Moand Dia.”

“Will you clear off?” Kuri shouted, making him flinch. “You can clearly see this is a private conversation.”

“But that- I thought- you—” he tried to say, but Sophitia pinched him.

“We’ll wait at the bottom,” Sophitia said.

“Wait, we will? But we—”

“Drop it, Lute. It’s couple stuff.” She rolled her eyes.

“But couple drama is fun,” Esther moaned.

“Not you, too,” Phoenix shoved her away.

She allowed him to with a groan, and soon, Kuri and Gen were left alone. They still waited a moment to make sure all was silent, and then Kuri sighed. “Don’t pretend this doesn’t mean a lot to me, too. It’s been months since we’ve gotten the chance to see each other. I do honestly want to spend time with you.”

“I do as well. I’ve really missed you. But I guess this is what Father meant when I told him I was marrying a rebel. Long times alone and apart, where all I can do is watch you run from the law,” Gen rambled. “That’s what this is really about, isn’t it? If you journey with them, you’re right in Lassic’s grasp. You’re worried about finally getting arrested.”

“Er, that’s a precaution, but I don’t think they have the skill to catch me. They’ve got their hands full trying to track Spirle,” Kuri began to pace. He tucked his arms behind the back of his head. “Those kids aren’t my style. If you were there with the stunt they almost pulled, trying to argue that a High Point was a good guy…”

“Look, none of that really matters to me. All I want is revenge on Lassic. To stop his creation of this idealistic, ‘evolved’ world. You’re now one of the heroes of Aseria, which means I now have to bank on you doing everything,” Gen stated fiercely. “That’s worth living alone here for another month or two. Or however long it takes.”

“Never thought I’d hear you make another declaration like that. Have you really resigned your life like that, driven by vengeance?” he replied. She had a silent, piercing gaze, but he wasn’t shaken by his words. “Something like that isn’t satisfying unless it’s by your own paws, you know?”

She looked down and sighed, and he came closer to embrace her again. “I never wanted things to be this way. I’d give anything for things to have been different. That’s what we decided, didn’t we? That we’d try and make this work, even despite everything.”

She held his hand tightly and looked out at the dark country before them. “That even in this bleak place, to stay positive, to keep the feelings I felt when I first fell in love with you,” she said shakily.

“And even if everything goes wrong, I did everything I did without regrets. We lived, we fought, and we loved,” he said.

“You still remember,” she said. She swallowed a tear. “This is absurd. I mean both things. I want to destroy Lassic, but more than anything in the world, I just want us to live in peace for once. That’s all I really wanted.”

“Don’t let the others see you like this. But the feeling’s mutual.”

“This is our best chance. The legend will force Lassic to make a move. We’ll destroy his world, and then him.”

“So let’s stay together. Let’s destroy Lassic our way. Then we’ll rebuild Angard, and live together like we always wanted,” Kuri said. Gen started giggled, sat down and leaned back.

“Goodness, you really are one cloud of sappiness, aren’t you? Once you start raining emotions, they don’t stop. But you never let anyone else see this, only me. When are you going to realise how much that holds you back?” she said. “Seriously. Go with them. You’re all heroes for a reason. If they can’t resonate with you, then I don’t who know can.”

“Um… you?” he said. She pinched him, and he joined her in sitting down. “But seriously, I just can’t trust anyone, Gen. You know that.”

“Anyone except me.”

“That’s why I want us to do it our way. We can build our world in our lifetime, I know it,” he said.

She stared out at the scenery, and didn’t respond. He made a sound, unable to tell what she really thought behind her stoic expression. She smiled after a moment though, which lifted his mood a bit. He decided just enjoy the scenery with her, ignorant of how dark it was. Angard was still a dead country of lifeless fields and the silhouette of a fragile, empty city. They stared at it until the most unexpected thing began to happen, so much so that their hearts sped up in slight fear.

There was light over the horizon. It seemed like a nasty hallucination at first, but as time went by, the light only got brighter. It wasn’t a threatening glow like that of an attack, but the engrossing warmth granted by the sun. As it rose over the horizon, its warm colour brought life to the barren scenery, and soon, the couple themselves.

“Sunrise,” Kuri whispered, and stood up tall. He sprinted to the edge of the hill and leaned over the fence, holding his head as wind brushed against his fur. “But how?”

“You awakened the temple, didn’t you? Naivie said they’ve done two of them,” Gen had to hold her dress down. “The weather must be starting to come back now that there are two ancient flowers.”

“The wind and sunlight.” He blinked in disbelief.

The clouds had cleared up as well. A world of life had truly breathed back into Angard. The black fields were now colourised with a wasteland-like moss. The city was built out of aged and weathered buildings that had their various paint colours washed out of them. Even the fence they were leaning on was a weakened metal that was grey, marked with spots of dirt and scratches. Contrasted by the clear blue sky, the couple were now stood in a world that they could fully imagine being populated with the life it once had.

“This really happened because of the awakened flower?” Kuri muttered, jaw dropped. “I… I’d forgotten what Angard looked like in the light.”

“So did I. And I’m the one who’s been living here,” Gen said. “Um… hey, Kuri?”

“The wind as well. It’s nicer than I remember. And it feels clean,” he remarked. Gen linked their paws and pulled him back a bit. She pulled him into a cuddle, though neither could take their eyes off the scenery. “Gen. Seeing all this, I…”

“Shh. You’re not going to go with them, are you?” she said.

“You want me to stay, now?” he said.

“You can catch up to them later. But first,” she said as she kissed him on the cheek. He immediately turned and kissed her back, and the two wrapped their arms around one another, caressing each other. “When we start rebuilding this country, now we have an idea of what it can look like. We have hope.”

“You want to make rebuilding plans already?” He smiled.

“Planning ahead leads to success, after all.”

“And improvising leads to adaptation. Catching up to them later was what I was planning on doing, anyway.”

…

“Naivie, I thought you said the sun and stuff wouldn’t come back until we did all the flowers?” Lute bounced with excitement. “It’s here, the sun’s back! And it’s so amazing.”

“It’s so beautiful. Everything’s so much more colourful than I remember,” Infia whispered.

“Honestly, I barely even noticed. We were in the grey for so long that I didn’t realise how bad everything was getting,” Esther added.

“Especially here,” Phoenix paced to admire it all. “The country is still in ruins, but it does not seem so bad all of a sudden.”

“You’ve got that right. And,” Sophitia agreed with a bright smile. She snuck a glance at the excited Lute, warmed by the gleam in his eyes. You’re finally smiling again.

“Everyone must be so happy right now. Let’s go back to Everend and—” he said. He froze when he noticed that Naivie was trembling. “Naivie?”

“This isn’t right. This is impossible. The Shaymin are asleep, the ancient flowers aren’t blooming. V Waves aren’t being released! How is there weather?” Naivie shouted. “Don’t tell me that Lassic guy actually did it? Is that an artificial sun?”

“Wait. You mean this isn’t the weather coming back slightly? Not even a little?” Lute asked.

“No! Each Shaymin and flower corresponds to a certain season. If the two we grew awakened without the others being around, their powers would be unbalanced and the weather wouldn’t come out properly. All of it would be extremely polarised in one direction. We’d be having natural disasters!” Naivie stated. “Find out where that sun is coming from and stop it!”

“But it feels so nice. How can this be wrong?” Infia hung her head.

“We better get Kuri,” Lute said.

“Er, f-forget them. They’ll catch up to us,” Sophitia replied. He tilted his head at her. “I can sense stuff through my feelers, remember? So I sorta know what they’re doing. It’s best to leave them to it right now.”

“But this is serious,” Lute cried..

“Hey if the Agents of King’s Shield have something to do with this, then he won’t come, anyway. He’s wanted by them, remember? We can’t let them know he was with us,” she said.

“Oh yeah. I guess we can ask them about it later. Let’s go and find out what that sun is,” he said with a nod.

They ran off after that, but Sophitia couldn’t help but stop and look back at the hilltop. She lifted her feelers high and then cringed hard. “Yeesh, now I know why Lute hates touchy lovey stuff.”

…

With Angard’s colours returned, the group didn’t need Gen to direct them. Given the potential emergency as well, they didn’t need her permission to use the Deposit Box outside her home, so they headed there and used that to warp. That still took a good while, but they arrived at the Ministry of Science in a conveniently short time.

The main street had been evacuated and most of the stores had been shut tight. The area was unnaturally windy. Bursts of air pushed against everything periodically, like a heartbeat that pumped wind everywhere. Besides the nasty howls that came with each gush, all was quiet.

“Strange wind. But it could be felt all the way from the middle of Angard,” Phoenix said once they came out into open space. They had to shield their eyes from the wind bursts.

“Sheesh. So much for that bath. I bet one of their machines is going haywire or something. Nerds choose the best time to do weird stuff, don’t they?” Esther complained.

“I don’t think the scientists are responsible,” Infia said, one eye shut as she held her skirt down. “Look!”

They followed her point to the greenery in front of the Ministry’s main skyscraper, where a whole band of Risen had gathered. The muddy monsters were stood in a circle formation around the grassy area. A wider range of species than ever seen before was present, from quadruped Pokémon to even some winged Pokémon, all with the Risen texture of sludgy mud for skin.

They all had their arms and such raised to send particles of light up into a giant ball of flames miles above the area. The fireball was large enough to cover most of the sky here, which gave the area a discomfortingly bright gleam. It rendered the area in a heat wave, much to everyone’s annoyance.

“They’re using Sunny Day?” Infia tilted her head. “But why?”

“Lute!” a familiar voice made him jump.

“Mum?” Lute cried. Silver, Lassic, and a few other King’s Shield agents were with her. “What’re you doing here?”

“We should be asking the same thing. We never called, but I suppose it’s a good thing. It saves us the trouble,” Silver said.

“Isn’t this dangerous? Get my son out of here,” Marina demanded.

“They’re agents. They will assist us,” Silver said. “The situation is that these Risen rose up from the ocean somewhere. We don’t know why, but they just started casting this power, and now we have that artificial sun in the sky.”

“Is anybody hurt?” Sophitia asked.

“That’s the weird bit. No, they haven’t touched a thing. We evacuated everyone anyway, but to have a zero-damage report is a miracle. Risen normally attack every living thing in sight,” Silver said. “I thought to call Marina here since she has knowledge of things like this.”

“You said the Risen came up from the ocean? But our Rain Dance back there washed them away,” Sophitia said.

“And it should have. Since they’re made of… whatever they’re made of, Risen are usually easily defeated with water. So we can assume that these are some kind of enhanced, evolved Risen,” Silver theorised. She placed with a hand on her slimy chin. “They’re obviously following orders from someone or something. But I just don’t know what they’re doing.”

“Grr, you’re not just going to attack them anyway?” Marina growled.

“Not when you can analyse them. You’re good with artificial intelligence like this. Go and take a look,” Silver suggested.

Marina looked back and forth between both parties, appearing angrier than a Mankey. She still obeyed, but mumbled something as she walked off. Lute and others watched in concern, but Silver stopped them with a hand and a smile.

“Marina has a history with this sort of thing, you know. She’ll figure it out in no time,” Silver said.

“Oh? Is she a scientist here, too?” Esther asked. “Lute, you never told me your parents were so high-class!”

“She said she used to work here, but that she wasn’t anything special,” he tilted his head.

“You’re about to find out a lot. I was going to call you both here to talk about something very important,” Silver said. “But not now. We deal with this situation first.”

“Do you really think she can do it? And not one of ours?” Lassic said, arms tucked behind his back. “I can contact Athens, if you’d like.”

“No need. She’s coming back already.”

“That was fast,” Infia gasped.

“You were right on the money. These Risen are enhanced from the usual kind. They’re retaining their conscious, which means that they’re capable of using Pokémon attacks and following orders,” Marina reported, stern and stoic.

“Enhanced Risen. That means we should smash ‘em up real good and fast, right?” Esther punched the air.

“Yes. You should.” Marina nodded.

“Please don’t make a muddy mess again.” Infia hung her head.

“No idea why they’re using Sunny Day?” Silver asked. The others began to bicker about something, and were quickly dragged away by Esther. Lute and Sophitia stayed back.

“No idea. Maybe Spirle need the sunlight for something? There’s no way to track the command or anything. Part of me believes that this is some kind of field test to see how well they can follow orders. You know, a typical, aimless, Spirle terror move,” Marina hung her head. “We should be more concerned about the fact that there are now stronger versions of these things that can do Pokémon attacks. I can’t imagine what would happen if all of those things were ordered to just go wild and trash a place. They could cause riot-level damage.”

“And with a resistance to our prior solution of water, too. Spirle are adapting rather annoyingly.” Lassic scratched his chin. “It looks like Lute’s friends don’t have much trouble with them, though.”

“Huh?” Lute glanced at the action. His eyes widened upon realising that the battle was already over, but not without Esther and company getting mud all over themselves again. They casually walked back over. Esther smiled goofily while Infia looked miserable. The wind had stopped before he realised, but the Sunny Day remained in the sky.

“Er, are you guys okay?” Sophitia asked. Phoenix didn’t answer for a second, and then pulled Sophitia onto him, smothering her side in mud. “Ugh. I should’ve guessed.”

“They were easy to take out. They didn’t even fight back! But they were dirty,” Esther said with a naughty giggle. She didn’t seem bothered by the flat faces she got as a reply, even when Lute eventually sighed.

…

“So what’s all this about? You were going to contact me and Lute’s team anyway?” Marina asked as they walked through to the King’s Shield Base. After cleaning up, the whole group were brought in to follow Silver and Lassic.

“The results of your report a while ago have come in, and I feel like it’s time to share some vital information with you,” Silver began. She brought them over to the largest computer screen there. It was a round table lined with keyboards. A  holographic screen hung in the middle. “I’m talking specifically about your report on the first temple. When you discovered that other Eevee that looks exactly like Lute.”

Marina froze and glared at the Goodra. “Other Eevee?”

“You of all Pokémon know exactly who I’m talking about.” Silver glared back. Marina didn’t say anything, but her face twisted with some heavy movements. It was like she didn’t know what to say, but she kept mouthing something anyway. “So, how are we going to do this? Are you going to tell him yourself? This story would be better coming from your own mouth, after all.”

“To tell you the truth, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Marina said.

“You know exactly who I’m talking about. I know that you’ve put the pieces together and figured it out, that’s why you’re looking at me this way,” Silver said. Marina went quiet. “I’m talking about Evoli. It’s him.”

Marina shuddered hard. She shook so hard her feet scraped a bit and drew all eyes to her. She looked terrified, but not in a childish way where she was whimpered or hid from view. Her fins hung forward, her body went stiff, and her collar created a shade over her eyes.

“M-Mum?” Lute said, hesitant to move.

“This isn’t your idea of a sick joke, is it?” Marina said. Silver hadn’t moved or averted her gaze at all. “That some things are better off left unknown.”

“I have worked with Lassic and many other scientists and agents on this matter. This is now a personal battle against Spirle. In order for us to move forward in our battles against them, we require your help. And we also require our main force to be fully informed,” Silver stated.

“Main force? You made them the main force against those terrorists?” Marina raised her voice.

Lute was struck by her tone, and now he was the one childishly terrified. Marina sounded furious. The dangerous kind of furious – she sounded like she was capable of killing someone. He had never seen or heard her like this, not even when she was mad at him for breaking something in the house. Even scarier was the fact that she had the snarl of a Mightyena, yet Silver wasn’t deterred in the slightest.

“I should never have allowed Lute to work for you. If I knew that all you were going to do was bring this up, I should’ve—”

“Don’t talk like this isn’t affecting me, either,” Silver suddenly raised her voice. She changed tone as well, a fierce snap to her usually calm accent. “If Evoli is alive, then that very well may mean that Jagen is, too. But I have a job to do, and I will see it through. Seeing it through means fighting my own pain.”

Marina growled, but Silver continued to ignore that cutting glare. “If you’re not going to tell them, then I am. Whether you like it or not, they need to know.”

“Er, this is gettin’ kinda serious and it sounds real personal, so should we like, y’know?” Esther said.

“Stay here!” Silver snapped. The Pikachu flinched and shut right up.

“What’s gotten into you two? I’ve never seen you both like this,” Sophitia asked. Even Lassic behind them didn’t look like he knew what to say. Silence fell until Lute finally stepped forward and gulped.

“Mum, I… whatever it is you have to say, I’ll listen. You don’t have to—”

“This isn’t something you’re going to accept. This isn’t something anyone can accept. It’s not supposed to be known,” Marina replied. She refused to look at him.

“So you’re not going to tell,” Silver said.

“I never said I wasn’t. Just that it shouldn’t have ever come to this,” Marina stated. She slowly turned to face Lute’s party, where her livid appearance had vanished almost completely. She was focused, but clearly afraid. “You’ve figured it out already, haven’t you? That I used to work here. And that I was actually a pretty big deal.”

“Er, I was curious why you wanted to leave so soon when we came the first time. And why you hated the agents. Did something happen?” Sophitia said. Marina shut her eyes.

“Twenty years ago, V-Wave technology had the biggest breakthrough it had ever seen. Lassic had discovered the V-Wave phenomenon long ago, but I bolstered it. With my theories, the V-Wave technology could be used to accomplish seemingly anything,” Marina began. She slowly opened her eyes.

She went to one of the computers and started to tap things on it. The speed at which she worked was proof enough of her experience. Various devices showed up on the holograms. “My work for the agents was invaluable. I was able to make suits to explore Moand Dia, blueprints for everyday technology, brand new TMs, even conventional weapons. Pokémon say that Lassic ushered the evolution of the society with have now, but it was actually me. I was the one that figured out how to utilise V-Waves in everyday technology.”

“Whoa, for real? Doesn’t that make Lassic a fraud?” Esther gasped.

“I allowed him to take the credit for it. He was already the figurehead, and me and my husband were Agents of King’s Shield. Our secret identities were too important,” she stated. “But then, sixteen years ago, we started one more project. We began working on something better than a conventional weapon. AI programming that was advanced enough to behave and act as a living Pokémon. I’ll spare you the complex details, but the basic part is that we were working on the creation of artificial Pokémon, disposable soldiers that looked and acted exactly like real Pokémon.”

“Wait, that sounds like,” Infia whispered.

“With the limitless boundaries of V-Waves, we could have these soldiers be of any species, have any ability, and be capable of any move. Pokémon wouldn’t have to work anymore. We could have these soldiers take over every labour of our lives,” Marina continued, and turned back to them. The multitude of faces everyone made told her their thoughts. The majority were deeply concerned.

“There’s no need to feel that way. She was following my orders,” Lassic folded his arms. “I suggested the creation of these soldiers as a possibility. Think: why have conventional weaponry when Pokémon that can act independently could accomplish so much more? What better security and surveillance could there be?”

“Me and my husband completed it. We came to a breakthrough. We managed to make our first artificial Pokémon, which was constructed entirely out of energy waves. It was sustainable, required zero maintenance, and did not need nourishment. We called it a V Pocket,” Marina announced. Lute and the others eyes widened, and Phoenix gasped. “But in testing, it backfired. Our formula was wrong, and the whole lab threatened to explode.”

“You created a V Pocket?” Phoenix stepped forward. Marina nodded, and then turned to the glass wall on one side of the room.

“It was right here. Everyone was so proud of our achievement that we brought our families to the grand unveiling. But when we presented it, something went wrong. The V Pocket was going to explode, and due to a chain reaction, threatened to destroy the entire island. Silver’s husband, Jagen, and my husband, Evoli… they both ran into the room, and by some miracle, they managed to mitigate the damage… B-but I still lost everything. Evoli, my kids…” Marina explained. She began to tremble hard and blinked a few times. “It broke me. Everything I had that I could call a success in my life, gone in an instant. Vanishing into relentless flames and screams of agony.”

“That’s horrible. No wonder you quit,” Sophitia said, a feeler on her chest.

“I didn’t. I was given one compensation first,” Marina said. She turned ever so slowly, and looked down at Lute. Everyone else fell dead silent. “The chance to try again.”

“Ah, but why would you try again? Didn’t the other agents care?” Esther said.

“They did. They allowed me to work on another V Pocket, one that would be for my personal use. And above all else, I’m the one that requested to make it,” Marina said, still staring at Lute. He locked eyes with her, and his heart sank.

He knew what was coming. But he didn’t want it to be said. Not by Marina.

“I perfected my formula. And I tried to bring back my husband. I made a V Pocket in the exact likeness of my deceased husband, Evoli,” she said.

It took an eternity for the reality of the story to sink in. Fur stood on end, teeth were grit, eyes were widened, and breaths became unsettled and hefty. Almost a full minute passed, and no one said a word.

Lute was shaking. Everything was going blurry besides his view of Marina. He couldn’t even feel his legs anymore, as if they had turned to jelly. He was sweating and shivering, and wanted to be sick and black out. He was trying to physically throw himself into a nightmare, an absurd nightmare where he could wake up and believe that what he had just learnt wasn’t real. He couldn’t control himself, and staggered about, his mouth beginning to move on its own.

“I’m… I can’t be. I’m your husband?” he cried. Even his words were so unclear and blurred that he couldn’t understand himself.

Marina shook her head. “No. You are my perfect V Pocket, a perfect replica of my husband. My only remaining son,” she said. She shut her eyes and turned away. “Back then, all I could think about was bringing back Evoli. I didn’t care about anything else. I was so desperate… so misguided by emotion. But the moment you came out of that test tube, crying like a new-born, I realised the inexcusable sin I had made.”

“And that’s when you quit,” Sophitia said.

“And nobody held me contempt for it. I quit the agents, taking Lute and all of my research with me. King’s Shield would never try to create a V Pocket ever again. It was deemed far too dangerous, and after consideration, much too immoral. Creating a life that would just aimlessly follow our orders…” Marina said, finally sounding like she was beginning to break down. “I couldn’t do that to you, Lute. I wanted to raise you as my son and just leave it at that. And I really did feel like your mother, teaching you things, seeing you discover things, and grow to love life. Even when it came to you becoming an agent here, I knew I couldn’t stop you. It was best not to stop you. I never imagined I would ever have to tell you all this.”

“And now you know. Evoli is alive,” Silver said.

“This is news to me,” Lassic said, scratching his chin. “I was aware that you quit, but I was told that all records on V Pockets were deleted. I approved of that request from your team. Why didn’t I know that you created one more?”

“It was as secret as my connection to the agents. So basically, it’s a secret to everybody. Even you,” Marina stated. “Until now, me and Silver were the only ones who knew. If we were successful, we were going to bring back our families.”

“Remarkable. With the exception of retaining Evoli’s memories, you were successful?” Lassic said. “And you just have this knowledge? On artificial Pokémon?”

“Hold on a royal minute. Don’t make me start swearing, Lassic,” Esther said. “This whole thing’s twisted as heck. Why do you sound so excited?”

“Because it’s remarkable. It’s shocking. This, this means something to me, too,” Lassic said. He approached Lute, but the others stood around him, wary. “This defies belief. This here Eevee isn’t a living Pokémon, but a bundle of V-Waves programmed to act as a living Pokémon? Truly?”

“He is my son first and foremost. Before anything, you’re going to treat him like one,” Marina threatened.

“But he is capable of things beyond a normal Eevee. Beyond an ordinary Pokémon. He can be reprogrammed, upgraded, fixed. That alone warrants an in depth—”

“It warrants jack shit! Don’t you dare lay a paw on him you creep!” Esther shouted and pushed her way between them.

“Lute is Lute! Whether he’s a V Pocket or not, he’s still a living Pokémon,” Infia said, paws closed into fists.

“Like they say, I do believe it is about time you started treating us altered Pokémon like we belong here,” Phoenix said, stood beside them.

“Okay, please. I apologise. I’m not going to do anything.” Lassic backed off with arms raised. “That was my inventor mind speaking there. I get excited when I learn things like this. I’m sorry, truly, I am.”

Lute began to zone out of their bickering. He was still dazed and dizzy from what he had just learnt. He didn’t know how to feel anymore. One thing became clear to him: he was now in Infia’s position, where he had to decide how he wanted to live.

He could childishly ignore it all and pretend that the outpour from his mother didn’t happen. Keep calling himself a living Pokémon like his friends argued, and live as he always had. He would have to keep fighting the expectations slammed on him by all the other Pokémon he’d met. The Spirle High Points that wanted to know his ‘special powers’, the agents right here who wanted him to stand up to Spirle, and his friends who wanted him to live a normal life with them.

Who was he kidding? Life was never going to be the same again.

Words echoed in his head. Horrible memories of his battles and desperation to be someone special. Well, now, everyone had what they wanted. He was someone special. A V Pocket. A programmable thing that could do anything they wanted him to do. If he embraced this fate, his achievements would skyrocket. With only the limits of Marina’s programming, he could make short work of any task. He could even be turned into anything they wanted, but he would be at the mercy of their orders and expectations.

Something was happening, and he really did feel sick. He fell down and moaned weakly, paws on his head. The others noticed and surely began to panic, but he couldn’t hear a word of what they were saying. He couldn’t even feel their touch. All that he could hear was the repetition of all the Pokémon who wanted him to be something for them.

No. It was hatred.

He hated Pokémon. He hated them for their ludicrous aims, their expectations, their love of fighting and disruption to life… their vile evil.

And now his own mother was counted amongst that evil as the creator of the V Pocket. The one who potentially set all of this in motion. He hated how hard these King’s Shield missions were. He hated the battles, the false relationships, the difficulty. The very fact that he was an existing thing, a sin of reality. A tool that merely fit into all of this drama. He didn’t want to be here, knowing that he was this.

“Enough!” Lute yelled at the top of his voice. A psychic blast released from him, enveloping the room in a piercing screech. Computers crackled and blew up, glass smashed, and Pokémon screamed in pain. He was left huffing in the centre of shards of destruction, but he didn’t wait for anyone to get up. He drew back, breathed in a cry, and roared to release his electric attack at the nearest wall.

Another blast went off, this one strong enough to destroy the wall. He ran through the smoke immediately, knowing that his attack had opened the way.

“St-stop him. Don’t let him escape!” Lassic coughed as he fought his way to his feet.

“Lute!” Sophitia cried, using her shield and sword to fight the rubble he had generated. She coughed on dust and debris. With his emotions on high, she could sense him even if he got a mile away. “Wait but that’s towards- Lute!”

She ran faster than she thought she could. She wound up jumping through holes in walls, and soon enough, she reached a hole in the ceiling. It wasn’t a fancy escape route created by the agents, but a devastated ruin of a path with leaking pipes, crumbling debris, and leaking gas fires. She couldn’t help but gawk up at it, and shook with fear. “Is this the power of the V Pocket?”

She had to back up for a running jump, and then hung from her feelers to climb the rest of the way. It was a struggle, and by the time she made it out, she was covered in scratches, dirt, and sweat. She came out in the centre of the Ministry, and spotted Lute by the entrance to the nature reserve. They locked eyes only briefly, but the moment they did, he turned tail and sprinted. “Lute wait, stop!”

She wasn’t as fast as him, though. She lost him in the hedges and resorted to jumping over the exhibits, and he to fight her breathless state to keep him in sight. He ran right through until he reached the edge of the island, where the fairy relic was. She found him stood on the railing by the sea.

“Lute!” Sophitia screamed. But that was it. She couldn’t say another word, and hung her head to catch her breath. Her chest burnt, her body ached, and sweat dripped from her forehead.

“I don’t… want… to be here,” Lute said, his voice stoic and empty. That got her to look up. In the brief chance she got to see him just now, she noted the terrifying appearance of his eyes. His pupils had vanished, replaced by fizzling static. Glitchy patterns of sick colours. He fell over the barrier in a limp pose, and she flew into a panic.

“Lute!” Sophitia screamed again. Not caring about how tired she was, she leapt right over the rails after him.

They were in freefall for a few seconds, but it felt like an eternity for her. An eternity of chaos and terror. She was much too far away to catch him, and she could barely move her body altogether. She had no breath, no energy. All she could think about was catching him, and almost blacked out from how hard she hit the water.

Powerful waves punched her, while a frightening chill whipped her aches into overdrive. She choked instantly. A painful pang seared her chest as salty water forced its way into her lungs. She struggled for only a moment, but all she could see was the light filtering through the surface getting further away from her. A stream of bubbles rose while she wasn’t, even though she felt as though she was kicking her legs to fight the waves.

She was barely awake, yet too weak to swim. She couldn’t even close her mouth, her vision darkening as smaller and more desperate bubbles escaped her. Soon enough, only the sound of underwater was present, and her consciousness faded.