Operation Cloudburst (T)

Hello, and thank you! This was an idea that I conceptualized a few years but only started working on in '16. It's certainly been a struggle, both in writing and garnering readers, but that's my career in a nutshell...

Anyways, yes, we lead off with a handful of mysteries to start. It's not a stretch to say that I'm heavily inspired by the shonen genre, particularly One Piece, so you'll likely see a handful of references in my style in that vein. They'll get revealed in due time, I wouldn't want to spoil everything all at once.


May's my absolute favorite character so I'm gonna be delving into her development in this story. (It's also why she's staring, due to bias ) Her relationship with Norman was hinted at to be strained in early AG so I wanted to touch on that a bit here. Some personal issues I've experienced also get reflected through May in later chapters, which (I would hope) brings out some depth to both her and the situation overall.


I'll be honest with ya, description has never been my strong suit as a writer. I like to think I put some more effort into this story, but jury's still out as to whether it's succeeded or not. Again, I'm partially blaming the editing program I used for this (Hemingway App, for the record), but only a bad carpenter blames his tools... hopefully past Chapter Two the writing will sound cleaner.


Thanks for pointing these out, I'll take a look back at my source and get them adjusted. I'm glad you've become intrigued by what I have: Chapter Two might get put up in a bit (assuming double-posting is okay; I held off on uploading it before because I wanted to see if anyone responded first).

Thank you very much for your remarks, it means a lot!

Man, May is … really kinda out of her depth, huh. She's actually followed through on the mission that may or may not be legit, given to her by someone who hasn't given her any reason to trust her, and she hasn't even thought to turn off the Snag Machine so she can't be tracked. If there is danger in Orre – and let's face it, it's Orre, so there 100% will be – then she's kind of just stumbling into it without thinking. Like, she's aware that the stakes are high (now, she thinks, she's engaged in “actual espionage where losing was more than just a slap on the wrist” – which, by the way, is an odd way to characterise losing in a game, since “a slap on the wrist” usually refers to an actual punishment, if a very light one, and that's not really something you'd have in a game) but she doesn't take any precautions to safeguard herself, particularly.

Fortunately, the first criminal she encounters is possibly the worst thief in the world; he's robbed the place, he's making a speedy getaway – and then he inexplicably decides to stop and fight about it, which is going to slow him down and open him up to like anyone just coming up behind him and snatching his bag. At least that's a manageable jumping-off point for May to enter the world of thwarting criminal schemes, I guess. I'm not sure it makes a huge amount of sense, though – especially since the thief then calls May out for being distracted, which you would think would be a prime opportunity for him to escape. Then again, maybe he's operating in his own capacity? I can't see why Abyss would be trying to fund itself through petty theft; that's not going to sustain an organisation. Perhaps this guy is out to make a quick profit, and just isn't very good at it.

Still, it looks like May's investigation is starting to get some results, if kinda coincidentally – that thief just happening to be robbing the Poké Mart as she arrived. In some ways I think that's quite appropriate; May certainly doesn't seem like she'd have got results this fast without a bit of a helping hand from fate. I wonder what the criteria were for her being chosen to use the Snag Machine? I sort of thought she might arrive in Orre and meet the scientist, but it looks like that won't happen for a while yet. We'll have to wait to get some answers!


Two things here – one, May probably should be thinking in the present tense (i.e. “serve to mock me”), given that she's looking at the pelipper right now, and secondly, thoughts behave like dialogue – there should be a comma after “me” rather than a full stop. That second thing actually recurs quite a bit with the dialogue in this chapter; it might be worth going through this again to weed that out.

Another dialogue thing – you don't need a capital letter after dialogue like that unless it ends with a full stop, even if it does end with a question or exclamation mark.

A bit of word confusion here: that should be “semblance” rather than “resemblance”. Also, I like how you've expanded on that thing about Norman's poor work/life balance from the games; it does make sense that May would harbour a little resentment about that, yes.

There's a word missing here – either “one” or “some” in between “least” and “aspect”.

That should be “keen on”, rather than “keen with”.

Finally, I think we could probably do without a paragraph-long description of each new pokémon that appears; just as a writer of original fiction doesn't need to describe a horse or a car, because they can assume their readers will know what it is, a writer of pokémon fic – unless they're dealing with a pokémon they're trying to present as unfamiliar to the person whose perspective they're writing from – can safely assume that their reader will know what a venusaur or altaria is.

Anyway! Nice to see May finally make landfall in Orre; I'll have to check back soon to see what exactly awaits her in the giant pineapple duck!

Alright, here's chapter three. Ideally the writing's not as bad as the first two, but I'm not the best person to be judging that. We get introduced to our first major original character, so hopefully she goes over well.

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The flashing lights, alternating between lime green and aqua blue, made May's eyes water just by looking at them. She blinked to dispel the tears welling up and stared at the building again. Shaped like a Ludicolo with its arms raised, the beak-like mouth formed the doorway, the upper segment acting as an awning. A pink neon sign reading "Lucky Ludicolo" sat just above the double steel doors.

This is incredibly tacky, May thought, reaching the awning's minimal shade. She grabbed one of the handles and wrenched a door open.

A torrent of sound almost blew her backwards, and she slipped inside before unnecessary attention could be drawn towards her. The door closed with a snap behind her, and for a moment she wondered how thick it had to be if all the noise couldn't be heard from outside. Taking a few seconds to reorient herself, May stepped up to the railing in front of her and peered around.

As she should have gleaned from the name, the Lucky Ludicolo turned out to be a casino. Slot machines lined both walls on the lower floor, clinking and chiming as their players deposited coins and yanked levers. Aligned in the middle sat roulette tables, pearly-white marbles spinning around the actual roulettes, the whirring of their motion hardly discernable among the loud talking and cheering.

Further back, May could see card tables, with sharply-dressed dealers flicking out cards to the people sitting around them. A small curtained stage lay flush up against the far wall. Spotlights hung from rafters directly above. Looking back up the second floor where she was standing, May saw finely polished oak bars, with patrons sipping drinks under dimmed lighting. To her right, a counter with a sign reading "CHANGE" had a line of people waiting to trade in cash for coins.

It's the Mauville Game Corner all over again. May leaned against the railing with her chin in her palm. But why would that thief (now "Abyss Grunt" since he all but declared his affiliation during the battle) run in here? Glancing down at the sea of people below, May couldn't see anyone matching the description. There were people in dark clothing, but they wore tuxedos and dresses rather than just normal clothing that happened to be dark. She hoped this wasn't another trick and that the Grunt had faked her out. He didn't seem smart enough for that…

A loud fanfare disrupted May's thoughts and she jolted upright. The spotlights were converging onto the stage, and all the casino patrons stopped and turned to watch (those sitting at the bar either ignored it or glanced over before returning to their drinks). The curtains pulled back, revealing microphone stands, a drum kit, and guitars. For a moment May thought a band was going to play, and it seemed to be true when a girl walked on stage, but the girl walked up to the front-most microphone and no one else appeared behind her.

"Greetings one and all!" said the girl, spreading her arms out wide in welcome. She was adorned in a rather particular outfit: a gray polo shirt under a long-sleeved pink shirt with a tutu (itself under a red vest), and pink boots. Her hands were gloved and one was clutching a baton. A purple top hat nestled on top of her short, dirty blonde hair. "Welcome to the Lucky Ludicolo!"

The girl paused here, as the crowd had started cheering and whooping. "My name is Manya, and I'll be your hostess for today. We have a few musical acts and performances lined up for later, so look forward to them! Please enjoy your stay!"

The crowd applauded as Manya departed the stage, the curtains closing after her. As the crowd returned to its pre-announcement level of chatter, May turned to one of the bars. If the movies she had watched were any indication, bartenders usually saw things most people didn't. Maybe one of them had seen the Grunt running through here earlier.

"Lotsa people come runnin' through here," said the first bartender she tried, a bored-looking man with a narrow face. "I just serve drinks." He turned away to serve a customer, giving May time to sigh without him noticing.

The bartender looked back at her, picking up a glass and drying it with a towel. "Look, if you're really tryin' to find someone, go downstairs and ask to see Manya. She's pretty popular, and prob'ly knows somethin'. Tell 'er Jack sent you over."

This better work, May thought as she made her way down the stairs, leaning against the wall to allow a harassed-looking waiter to pass by. But again, why would that guy run in here? Perhaps he knew the casino would be crowded, and would be able to sneak away from her… but wouldn't his dark clothing make him stand out, even amongst all the suits and fancy clothes? Maybe the Grunt worked here… but then, why rob the Mart? Either way, there was some connection between the Grunt and this casino. May hoped Manya would be willing to answer her questions, but there was only one way to find out.

May weaved through tables and gamblers until she found herself in front of the stage. The curtains were still down, and there didn't seem to be any doors nearby. Glancing around for any security personnel, May clambered onto the stage, hoping that no one was looking over, and slipped behind the heavy curtains. There was much less lighting back here, so it was difficult to see at first. Gradually her eyesight adjusted, and she could make out the musical equipment.

Now where could Manya have gone? May moved over the rear stage, hands gliding over the wall, looking for a hidden door or something. When that failed, she moved down to the floor in case there was a trap door. Nothing. Frowning with her hands on her hips, May looked around the stage again. A small flash caught her attention: there was a small divide between the curtains, and light was reflecting off a thin ladder just off to the side.

Hiding in the attic, are we? May began her ascent, attempting to stay quiet. The last thing she needed was for some large security guard to grab her leg and yank her down. The ladder ended, and May pulled herself up. She was standing in a dimly-lit hallway that seemed to be a hidden section of the second floor. Doors lined the sides, with plaques reading things like "Storage" or "Custodial".

May set off down the hallway, a dank, musty smell filling her nose. Her footsteps were muffled by the dirty carpeting on the floor, silencing her approach. I hope this isn't the VIP section. She heard herself thinking, as she stole quick looks at each door in turn. Finally, on the last door, was a faded plaque reading "Manya". With a deep, steadying breath, May rapped lightly on the door.

"Who is it?" asked Manya's voice, muffled by the door.

"Jack sent me." replied May, turning away to make sure no one was coming up the hallway.

There was no immediate response, but after a moment a lock clattered. May turned back in time to see Manya's bemused face poking out of the open door.

"C'mon in," said Manya, standing aside to let her pass. May stepped over the threshold as Manya shut and locked the door.

The room was very small and cramped. A small vanity with a cracked mirror sat in a corner, a rusty bar stool sitting in front of it. Standing next to the door was a wooden coatrack, Manya's top hat dangling from the top-most peg. The left-most wall was taken up by a wardrobe, and the only lighting was a bare lightbulb in the middle of the ceiling.

"It's not much," Manya said, noticing May looking around. "I may be the hostess, but the owner doesn't think highly of me." She sat down on the bar stool and crossed her legs, staring up at May. She seemed to be about the same age as May, if not slightly younger. "So what can I do for ya?"

"I'm looking for someone," said May, the words spilling out of her mouth. She was so urgent to find the Grunt that she didn't consider how best to phrase her request. "And the bartender — Jack, I mean — said you'd know who I'm looking for."

Manya's thin eyebrows narrowed, her mouth twisted into a slight frown. "I see lots of people," she said, picking up a damp tissue from the vanity and wiping the eye shadow and lipstick off her face. "You'll have to be more specific."

"Dark clothes, sunglasses, with a bandanna over his mouth." May rattled off the Grunt's description, closely watching Manya's face for signs of recognition. "Came running in here not too long ago."

Manya slowly lowered the tissue from her face. Her eyes, a light purple, bored into May's, and her frown became even more pronounced. She didn't say anything, and the two girls stared at each other, the only sound coming from the flickering light bulb.

With a glance towards the door to make sure it was still locked, Manya said, "You're after Abyss, then?"

"So you know of them?" May's heart quickened, and she forced herself to appear calm and collected.

"'Course I know them." answered Manya, speaking in a low voice. "They run this place. The owner's one of the Administrators." She turned to face the vanity mirror, pulling a hairbrush out of the drawer. "What business do you have with them?"

"I don't think I'm in a position to say." May became suddenly aware of the Snag Machine on her wrist and resisted the urge to glance at it. She forced herself to focus on Manya, who was now brushing her hair and watching May through the mirror. "I just have business with them."

Manya continued brushing her hair, her expression unreadable. She set the brush down and turned to face May again. "What's your name?"

May hesitated. It just occurred to her that if Manya was part of Abyss, she was giving away her identity to the enemy. If cornered here, her journey would be forced into a very abrupt (and no doubt painful) conclusion. Then she recalled what Manya had said earlier, that she wasn't on good terms with the owner… it might be risky, but she had to know.

"I need to know that you're not one of them, first." she said instead, crossing her arms so that the Snag Machine was hidden under her left arm.

Manya scoffed, folding her arms as well, only in disgust. "I'd rather be dead than with them. I told you, didn't I? The owner doesn't like me."

"Yet you're working here." May blurted out before she could stop herself.

Manya sighed and buried her face in her hands, her sandy blonde hair falling over her fingers. Sitting up, she looked at May, eyes tearing up. "It's not by choice," She explained, her voice wavering. "It's complicated, but…" Manya turned away, wiping her eyes on her sleeve, and May felt guilt bubbling in her stomach for not having better constraint.

"I said the owner's an Admin, right?" Manya murmured, gazing at May with a mix of helplessness and rage. "Well… He's also my brother. My older, vindictive, Arceus-given-glory brother. He forced me into this whole thing…"

Trying to ignore the burning shame now flowing through her, May stepped a little closer, which wasn't difficult in the tiny room. "Er… I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring up —"

Manya waved a hand, sniffling. She swallowed and her teary eyes now burned with something like determination. "No, it's… don't worry. Look, you said…" she paused, and May knew Manya was prompting for her name again.

"May. My name's May."

"May, you said you have business with Abyss. The guy you described, it's the uniform for their foot soldiers. If you're chasing after him, then he's probably telling his boss — my brother — all about that. If they know that you're here… do they?" Manya asked, to which May shook her head and explained what happened after her battle with the Grunt. "Okay, then in that case, at most the base in Pyrite — if there even is one there — will be alerted. Not so much here, but you shouldn't count on it."

"You sure know a lot," May pointed out. "And you say you're not with them?"

"I know how my brother operates." Manya wiped her eyes, now burning more fiercely, with her sleeve again. "I've always been good with listening carefully without him knowing, so when he has me doing tasks for him I pick up on what he does." She blinked at May, frowning again. "Are you gonna be going after him now?"

"It seems like it," May admitted, her stomach twisting itself into a knot at the prospect of battling a powerful Trainer. "If he's the guy in charge, I'll have to. You don't mind, do you?" she added with a light smirk.

Manya shook her head, hair whipping back and forth. "If anything, I'd want to see you pound him… you're a Trainer, right?"

"Er…" May felt her stomach tighten, which was a surprise considering she didn't think she could get any more uncomfortable. "I'm a Coordinator. I specialize in Pokémon Contests."

"Pokémon what?" asked Manya, startled. "Contests? What are those?"

May's stomach squirmed again, and she hastened to clarify. A chill shot along her body, and she was suddenly aware of how sweaty she had become. "I mean, I can battle. I just… don't focus on it."

"Okay," said Manya, not sounding entirely convinced. "Well, you're after Abyss one way or another, so you should have some ability, at least…"

"Right." May wondered off-hand if she had tightened the belts on her corset-like top too much; she didn't like the idea of being this nervous already.

"I can take you to my brother," said Manya, the bar stool creaking as she stood up. "He has his own room, on this floor. Follow behind me, but not too close." She opened the vanity drawer again, putting the hairbrush back and pulling out a couple of Poké Balls. "I can offer some support, too, if needed."

"I appreciate that." May smiled with what she hoped was confidence. "Lead the way."

"By the way," Manya said as they exited out to the hallway, the musty smell rising back to their noses. "What's with the outfit?"

"I'd rather not explain that…"

Manya walked through a door opposite her room, which led to another hallway. May followed a few steps behind, so it wouldn't look like the two girls were walking together. Over her shoulder, Manya said in an undertone, "My brother… his name's Galli. Just so you know who he is. Although his inflated head would tip you off anyways…"

May smiled to herself, reminded of her own sibling rivalry with her younger brother, Max. They looked after each other, of course, because that's what siblings do; but there's usually, more often than not, antagonism in that sort of relationship. With the amount of distress Manya displayed back in her room, her connection with Galli seemed to be more than just light-hearted insults and pranks.

They came up to a set of double doors, much like those of the casino's entrance. Words painted across them read "Casino Manager: Galli". Loud music was playing inside, with heavy bass notes shaking the floor and their eardrums. Manya stayed off to the side, against the wall. May stood nearby, uncertain of how to proceed.

"I'll go in first," Manya said. May had to put her head close to hers just to hear what she was saying; the music prevented them from being overheard, but it also made it difficult for them to hear each other properly. "I'll tell Galli he has a visitor, and then you come in."

"That's it?"

"Trust me, when you see him, you'll understand. He's not the brightest person you'll meet."

May's insides gave another unpleasant squirm. She wasn't keen on just charging in and demanding a battle; that sort of behavior was reserved for people like Brendan Birch and her old traveling companion Ash Ketchum. On the other hand, she had come this far already and it was a necessary step in completing her mission. Plus, to abandon Manya when she, May, had already declared her intentions, was downright rude. At this point, what choice did she have? "Alright."

Manya nodded, then turned and strode confidently through the doors. May heard muffled voices, and the music was lowered to a more comfortable level.

"…someone here to see you." came Manya's voice.

"Who?" demanded a slow, male voice that had to be Galli's. It sounded somewhat slurred, yet arrogant and commanding.

"I'll show you," said Manya, and one of the double doors swung open into the room. May took it as her cue and strolled on through.

She entered a much larger room than Manya's dressing room. Large, curtained windows lined each side wall. Speakers and subwoofers stood against the walls nearest the doors, and there was a personal bar towards the back. Nestled in the floor space between sat three black leather couches arranged in a "U". The two couches on the side each had a person reclining on them, but the middle couch had May's attention.

Sitting there, sprawled with legs wide and arms up on the back, was Galli. He was blond, like his sister, but his slicked-back hair was bleached instead of sandy. A loose-fitting suit covered his thin, scrawny frame, and his wide mouth was contorted into a scowl. In one of his hands, held between a ringed finger and thumb, was a cigarette. His eyes, deep purple and bloodshot, narrowed at the sight of May.

"Who're you?" he asked in the same demanding tone as before. Out of the corner of her eye May saw Manya roll her eyes.

"Someone who has urgent business with you." May replied, trying to keep your voice even and steady. Galli looked like someone who wasn't to be trifled with, so she wanted to appear as unthreatening as possible (though she knew she didn't appear to be any magnitude of a threat, silly outfit or not).

"What kind of business?" asked Galli, bringing the cigarette to his lips and inhaling deeply. He exhaled smoke, which dissipated as it drifted up to the ceiling, his eyes roaming over May. "The way you look, I'd think I'd remember you if we've met before…"

She had only been talking to him for five seconds and she already hated this piece of work. "Pokémon related, if you can believe that."

"Ah? Do tell, girlie." Galli took another breath of his cigarette, his hazed-over eyes still fixed on May.

"Well… I was enjoying your casino," May said, thinking quickly and hoping her mouth would be able to keep up with her brain. "A little too much, actually… I lost quite a bit of money, my luck is terrible… but it was on my father's card, and he'd go ballistic if he found out. I saw Manya passing by, so I asked if there was any way to get back what I lost, and she said I had to talk to you." She could see Manya nodding in affirmation.

Galli said nothing at first, but shifted his gaze slightly to glare at Manya. "Thought you'd take advantage of my generosity, huh?" He spat, before turning back to May, his tone only marginally friendlier. "Normally, I don't do this," he drawled, as if speaking faster would rob him of the imagined power he was enjoying. "But you're a fine-looking lady, and I'd hate to disappoint you."

He stood up, the couch creaking and groaning. He had to be at least six feet tall, and was more intimidating than when he was lounging. "If you beat me in a one-on-one battle, I'll recoup your losses. Sound good?" He stubbed out his cigarette in an ashtray on the bar behind him.

May nodded, becoming increasingly aware of her sweating. She reached for a Poké Ball when Galli spoke up again.

"Though, if you lose," he said, his voice dropping to a deep, menacing baritone. "I'll keep your money, and then some. I am running a business here, after all, and in a casino, the house always wins."

"Were you practicing that?" asked Manya, now leaning against the wall with her arms folded.

"None of your business," Galli snapped, pulling a Poké Ball from his suit pocket. The men sitting on the side couches snickered. "You keep outta this, sis, you've done your part."

"Fine, fine." Manya rolled her eyes again.

"Now then… you ready, girlie?" Without waiting for an answer, Galli tossed his Poké Ball, which clattered on the floor and split open. The Pokémon that emerged from it resembled a large, bipedal lobster. Short, rounded legs supported its weight, aided by tiny claws on its abdomen. Large pincers snapped as the Crawdaunt narrowed its deep-socketed eyes. A star-shaped growth protruded from the top of its head.

The goggles atop May's head started beeping again. With a flash of panic and hoping that the music was still loud enough to mask the noise, she yanked them down over her eyes. Just like with the Altaria earlier, a smoky black-purple aura floated around the Crawdaunt. Clearly, this was a Shadow Pokémon she had to snag.

"What's with the goggles?" Galli asked, glaring across the room at her.

"They help me concentrate." May shot back, throwing out her own Poké Ball. The Pokémon that appeared looked like a small, round-headed, rabbit-eared bear cub wearing a fuzzy dress. With a yawn and a sniff, Munchlax cast a blank look over its shoulder at its Trainer, scratching its head with a small paw. "Munchlax," May said, kneeling down. "I need you to concentrate, okay?"

Munchlax affirmed with a bark-like "Munch!" and turned to face the Crawdaunt. Standing up, May noticed everyone else in the room casting bemused stares at her Pokémon.

"What the hell is that?" Galli half-shouted, pointed a finger at Munchlax, his face a mixture of fear and confusion.

"Er," May stared down at Munchlax, who seemed ignorant of the attention it was gaining. She hadn't thought it would have been a bad idea to use her Munchlax, but it seemed to be a Pokémon that wasn't found commonly in Orre. "This is Munchlax," she stated lamely, gesturing redundantly with her hand. "It evolves into Snorlax."

"Snorlax doesn't evolve from anything," declared Galli, his hands balled into fists. "Who the hell d'you think you are? Crawdaunt, smash that thing!"

I don't have a good answer to that, May thought, ordering Munchlax to move away as the Crawdaunt lunged forward, pincers open. Munchlax slid sideways with uneasy grace, and the Crawdaunt missed its Vice Grip attack. "Alright, now Body Slam it!"

Munchlax threw all of its weight towards the Rouge Pokémon, which jumped back towards its Trainer. Munchlax thudded to the floor, shaking the room almost as much as the subwoofers still blaring in the background.

I'm at a disadvantage in speed, May told herself, eyeing the Shadow Crawdaunt as Munchlax heaved itself back up to a standing position. If I try to attack it directly, I'll keep missing… The best thing she could do would be drawing in Crawdaunt towards Munchlax, taking a hit, and striking back. At this, the image of her Venusaur reacting to the Shadow Altaria's attack popped into her head.

Okay… that happened because it used a move called Shadow Rush… what if that attack is super-effective against any type? As a Shadow Pokémon, the Crawdaunt probably had the same move. If Galli decided to use it, May hoped that Munchlax would be able to withstand the impact.

"Crawdaunt, grab that thing again!" Galli ordered, and it obeyed, rushing forward with its claws stretched open.

Munchlax wouldn't be able to evade in time, so May said, "Just give it one arm!" Munchlax threw its right arm back so the Crawdaunt's left claw missed, but the lobster-like Pokémon already had Munchlax's left arm in its grasp.

"Gotcha now!" Galli shouted, a manic gleam in his eyes. "Shadow Hold!"

Black light drifted like smoke from inside Crawdaunt's claw. Snaking its way around Munchlax's body, it floated down to the floor and covered its feet. It looked as though Munchlax was standing on a storm cloud.

"You won't be able to get away from this one, girlie. Crabhammer!"

Crawdaunt raised its right claw above its head, its beady eyes flushed with aggression. A focused stream of water spiraled around the claw, and it swung straight down towards Munchlax's head—

"Brick Break!" cried May.

The arm Munchlax had thrown back suddenly glowed with power, and with a swift, horizontal chop, smashed into Crawdaunt's side with such force that its grip slackened and it flew into the wall, throwing up dust and drywall.

"You alright, Munchlax?" asked May, as her Pokémon waved its left arm up and down in pain. The Big Eater Pokémon turned its head and smiled, which May returned: she knew it would be able to withstand some punishment.

A harsh, wet gurgle caught her attention, and May whipped around to see the Shadow Crawdaunt emerging from the wall. The aura around it was becoming fiercer, more violent. The goggles beeped again, and two small words appeared on the lenses: "Reverse Mode".

But there was no time to wonder what Reverse Mode was: both of Crawdaunt's claws were open, and yellow-orange balls of energy were forming inside, growing larger with every second. May's heart skipped a beat: she recognized what attack Crawdaunt was now charging up.

Hyper Beam.

She turned back to Munchlax, her mouth dry. "Munchlax — Metronome! Quickly!" It was a desperate gamble, but Munchlax had no other moves in its repertoire that could defend against a Hyper Beam. May usually had good luck with Metronome in Contests… it was time to see what it could do in a battle.

Munchlax began to wave its forefingers back and forth. Its large, round eyes now took the shape of plus signs. May glanced at the Crawdaunt: the orbs within its claws were almost to the proper size… Munchlax's fingers weren't glowing yet… the orbs were getting larger every second, yet her Pokémon's finger-wagging appeared to be slowing down…

With a triumphant "Ha!" from Galli, two bursts of pure energy launched from Crawdaunt's pincers. The men sitting on the couches made their first physical movements, leaping away as the Hyper Beam blasted through the furniture, streaking across the room towards Munchlax. Manya, standing behind Munchlax, screamed and dashed out of the room. May's mouth fell open… she wanted to yell… Munchlax hadn't finished—

And then it happened. Munchlax's eyes snapped wide open, its forefingers glowing brightly. With a proud cry, it spread its arms wide and a shining, translucent barrier appeared around it. The Hyper Beam collided with the Protect, causing a loud, sharp scraping noise to overtake the music. The attack splintered away, smaller beams firing off at angles, some even going straight up and breaking open a hole in the ceiling.

Crawdaunt's Hyper Beam faded, and the Shadow Pokémon stumbled. The attack had cost it so much stamina that it now had to rest. Munchlax's Protect disappeared, and seeing her Pokémon bathed in sunlight from the hole above granted May a flash of inspiration. Not bothering to stop the smile spreading across her face, she said, "Start charging up a Solar Beam!"

Munchlax opened its mouth wide and began taking in sunlight. A miniature sun started to form in the space between its jaws. Sunbeams traveled from the hole in the ceiling towards the expanding sphere in Munchlax's mouth. Then, it stopped expanding, and Munchlax leaned forward and fired.

The blinding, white-hot discharge of sunlight collided with Crawdaunt dead-on, and the Rouge Pokémon let out another gurgle. The Solar Beam lifted it off the ground, slamming it into the wall again, just above the mark it had left earlier. The attack finished (Munchlax falling forward, having leaned in too much), and Crawdaunt collapsed onto the floor, defeated.

As Galli let out a strangled noise of disbelief, May prepared a Poké Ball with the Snag Machine. The Poké Ball flashed gold, having finished converting into a Snag Ball, and May heaved it at the Crawdaunt. It enveloped the giant lobster and snapped shut, landing on the floor.

"What the hell?!" screeched Galli, as the Poké Ball waggled thrice and became still with a click. He rounded on May, his reddened face displaying nothing but mingled fury and rage. "What the hell did you just do?!"

"Snagged your Crawdaunt," May replied, rushing forward to snatch up the Poké Ball. Unlike the Grunt earlier, May had a feeling Galli wasn't going to run away scared: on the contrary, he looked like he was about to strangle her.

Indeed, Galli took a step forward, his hands stretched out in front of him. May started to turn away (recalling Munchlax as she moved) when the double steel doors slammed open and Manya came running in, a sun-shaped mass of rock floating beside her. A duffel bag was clutched in a gloved hand and she was wearing her top hat again.

"Solrock," she said to her Pokémon. "Hold back Galli!"

Solrock's eyes gleamed blue, and Galli's entire body was outlined with light. He was lifted off the floor, suspended in midair by the Solrock's psychic abilities. He turned his gaze towards his sister, his eyes popping out of his head.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" He screamed again, his limbs flailing wildly in an attempt to break free. "You traitor! Betraying me like this! Me! An Admin of Abyss —"

"Betraying you implies I was on your side in the first place," snapped Manya, glaring at her brother with extreme dislike. "You treated me like crap for my entire life, and I'm done with it. I'm leaving, and there's nothing you can do about it."

Galli started mixing in swears with his screaming, which Manya ignored as she turned towards May. "Let me come with you," she said. "I have a ride out back we can use. We'll have to be quick, once I release him —" She nodded towards Galli, still struggling in vain to regain movement against Solrock's Psychic. "— He'll have security after us."

While May didn't know Manya that well, she didn't have much of a choice (she was starting to notice this was becoming a recurring theme), so she nodded. "After you," She said, slipping Crawdaunt's Poké Ball into her bag.

Manya's Solrock released its Psychic, dropping Galli to the ground, and the two girls broke into a run. As they dashed out of the room, they heard Galli shouting orders to his compatriots. Manya took the lead down a flight of stairs opposite the hallway they had come up earlier. Solrock floated over May's head to hover near its Trainer.

"This way!" Manya said over her shoulder, pointing at another set of double steel doors. Judging from the amount of noise from their left, May guessed they were in an area behind the stage. She followed her new friend through the doors, which led to outside behind the casino. A dumpster sat against the building, flattened cardboard boxes lying in front of it.

Manya was climbing on what looked to be a wheel-less motorbike with a cargo bed attached behind the seat. She dropped her bag and hat onto the bed, gesturing for May to hop on.

"What is this?" May asked as she clambered on.

"My pride and joy," Manya replied, fussing with the ignition. "I build things in my spare time… C'mon, baby…" She urged, glancing over her shoulder back at the double doors. The engine roared to life, exhaust spewing out from the back just as the doors slammed open again and large, muscled bouncers stepped out onto the dirt.

"Hold on tight!" Manya yelled over the engine's rumbling, and gunned the throttle. The bike sped off, sending May toppling backwards. The bouncers started running after them, but couldn't keep up with the bike's speed and began to shrink, gradually disappearing over the horizon.

May heaved herself up, feeling weary and drained as the adrenaline began to wear off. It seemed hard to believe that she had left Hoenn only a few hours ago, yet here she was, escaping from a casino with a gearhead magician girl on a custom machine through the desert.

"We'll have to get acquainted some more once we stop," Manya quipped, speaking loudly to be heard over the churning engine and rushing wind.

"That we do," May admitted, turning to lay flat on her back. Bending her knees to fit comfortably in the cargo bed, she stared up at the clear blue sky. She lifted the goggles off her eyes, wondering how many more surprises she was going to have to endure until this whole adventure was over.

To be continued...

Thanks for the input, as always! I'm pretty pleased at the parts you liked and somewhat ashamed of the errors you've pointed out (though I will correct those!). I'm strongly hoping that the chapters improve from here on out, but who knows...

In the meantime, here's Chapter Four. It's both the longest and most exposition-heavy chapter so far. If you've played Colosseum/XD: Gale of Darkness, you'll probably end up skimming the last third or so; if you haven't, then you'll be learning along with the characters. We do delve into Manya's backstory, if that's any consolation.

---

I'm lying in my warm, comfortable bed. It's the middle of the night, and everything is quiet. My head is sinking into the pillow, and I pull the blankets tighter around me. It's strange, though, how aware I am of the fact that I'm fast asleep…

There's a sudden sound: a creaking of the floorboards in the hallway. I sit up in my bed, alert. Everything looks blurry, like I'm seeing things through a photography filter. Who's there? I try to say, but nothing comes out of my open mouth. I hope Dad heard it. He'll come rushing in any moment

My bedroom door swings open, slamming against the wall. Just as loudly, my heart bangs up into my throat. I reach for a Poké Ball on my nightstand but nothing's there. I turn back to the doorway, but something blocks my view and I'm suddenly pushed back onto my bed.

"I know what you're doing," a raspy voice says, right in my ear. I sit up again, frantically trying to get even a glimpse of who's in my room. But I can't see anything that doesn't belong…

"You need to stop fighting." the voice says again, and I try to say I'm not, I'm not doing anything to you —

"May?"

"You are nothing compared to me," says the voice, and my room starts fading from view. Everything's going black, and the voice is getting louder and angrier. "You cannot stop what I've started. You will fail, and you will suffer for interfering."

I don't — I have no idea what you're talking about. Go away! Someone help, please, I can't —

"That's right, you can't. You're messing with things beyond your control…"

"May."

"We are in control. There's nothing you can do against us. We will prevail, and you… you will die."

No! Don't, don't kill me, I haven't done anything! Please, I was just sleeping… help! Dad! Mom! Someone—

"May!"

May snapped her eyes open, out of breath and drenched with sweat. She was lying in the bed of Manya's customized motorbike, staring up at the underside of a tall, shady oak tree. Manya stared down at her, mouth creased into a concerned frown.

"Wha… what?" May gasped, eyes darting around and landing upon her new friend's face.

"You fell asleep." said Manya, as May sat up with a groan. "I let you rest for a while," She continued, speaking in a gentle, soothing voice. "But then you starting moaning and twitching."

May rubbed her hands over her face. She must have been dreaming, then… yes, that was it. Her childhood home, so long a source of security and comfort, was no longer available to her. The goggles were digging into her scalp; she slipped them off and looked over at her new companion. "Where are we?"

"Under a tree," said Manya with the slightest hint of a smile. "Seriously though, we're a good distance away from Gateon Port right now. We've been riding for about an hour." She reached into her duffel bag and pulled out a couple of plastic water bottles, one of which she handed over to May. "Figured we could get a little more acquainted, as long as we have the time."

May twisted the bottle open and chugged it down. It wasn't ice-cold, but at least it would keep her hydrated. She sighed, the images of her nightmare flashing by whenever she closed her eyes. What is wrong with me? It hasn't even been a day, and yet this is happening… Was she really as powerless as the voice said?

"You hungry?" asked Manya, propped up against the tree's trunk and peering into her bag. "I have a couple of snacks here."

At this, May's stomach emitted a loud rumble. "Yeah," she affirmed, climbing out of the bike's bed. She stumbled a little as her feet touched the surprisingly grassy ground, and attributed that to a combination of hunger, anxiety, and exhaustion. She ought to be used to this by now…

"So," Manya said, handing May a protein bar and watching her devour it. "What's your story?"

"Like why am I here?" I'm still trying to figure that out.

"Well, more like, who you are. Yeah, I know your name and that you're not a Trainer, but…" Manya tilted her hand as if the rest of the sentence was obvious. "Who is the non-Trainer named May? And what are Contests?"

May stared at Manya, the blue eyes meeting purple. Who am I? I can't answer that completely right now… But May did explain about her journeys through Hoenn and Johto, what Contests where, and how they worked. It didn't take very long (most of her adventuring involved getting lost, after all), but Manya was enraptured and continually cut in with questions and exclamations.

"You're a very interesting girl," Manya said, once May was finished. "And wow, Pokémon Contests… I never knew such a thing existed." She stared out to the sandy horizon, eyes alight with fascination. "There's so much outside this place."

May drank some more water, watching out of the corner of her eye. Manya being awestruck was nothing new to her at this point. May had met some fans of hers in Johto, who squealed in glee when they saw her and frequently asked for autographs. Manya, at least, was much more subdued, given her very recent exposure to Contests. Lowering the water bottle from her lips, May asked, "Okay… what about you? What's your story?"

Manya's eyes dulled as she turned to face her. She turned pale, and even seemed a little nervous. "Oh. Alright… I guess it's only fair, after all." She cleared her throat and dusted off her skirt, staring at the creases and folds before speaking.

"So, my parents were famous magicians. They traveled all around Orre, doing shows and stuff. They had kids pretty late, towards when they decided to retire. Obviously, Galli came first, and for a while, after he was no longer a newborn, they had him in their shows. Nothing too dangerous, just simple disappearing tricks and whatnot.

"Everyone loved it. Mom and Dad were very talented and respected, never did anything that would endanger themselves or the audience. Y'know, bad press to kill off their own kid. They finally retired once Galli was around five, and they were still well-renowned. Then I came along, and things were… okay. Sort of."

Manya paused to scratch her knee, gazing back out at the horizon again. "Mom says she regrets having him when they did, because they didn't have a lot of time to raise a kid when they still had their performances to focus on. Once I was born, though, they could be actual parents and pay more attention to a young daughter.

"Galli hated that." Manya grumbled. "He was so used to applause and being in the spotlight that he couldn't stand it that I was more 'loved' and 'pampered'."

"You don't think you were?" May asked, picking up on the emphasis Manya had used on the last few words.

"I'm of the opinion that my parents never got over their career and liked the fact that they had their child perform with them." Manya blurted out. Embarrassment flashed across her face and she returned to staring at her knee. "So a lot of Galli's behavior got overlooked, at least until he starting physically assaulting me."

May thought of Max and was inwardly thankful that their relationship was manageable. Norman and Caroline would never tolerate any of their kids hurting the other. Doing anything of that sort would result in a grounding or worse.

"Anyways, Galli got kicked out when he was sixteen, around the time he stabbed me in the leg during dinner." Manya rolled down her stockings to reveal an inch-long scar on her upper left thigh; May's own leg tingled at the sight. "He got involved in a lot of criminal junk, trying to make a name for himself. I kept my nose clean, at least until my parents moved away from Orre and Galli roped me into this whole Abyss business."

Manya looked up at May, her eyes watery again. "So, that's my story, since you asked." She gulped down some water and hastily wiped her eyes with her sleeve.

Without thinking, May said, "I think you could get a movie deal out of it, at least."

Water sprayed over the ground in front of them as Manya started laughing, her chin dripping wet. "That was actually pretty funny!"

"I'm glad you have a sense of humor about it," replied May, taken aback at Manya's reaction. She had let slip another comment without giving it a thought, and while relieved it had gone through positively this time, it was best not to expect similar reinforcement in the future. I really need to work on holding my tongue, she thought, sipping her bottle as Manya continued to giggle.

Manya had another question once her laughter had subsided. "I didn't know you could capture other people's Pokémon. Are you a sorceress or something?"

May hesitated, then lifted up her arm to show off the Snag Machine. "It's this thing," She said, as Manya leaned in to examine the device more closely. "It lets me capture — er, 'snag' — the Pokémon that Abyss is using."

"You have to capture all their Pokémon?" wondered Manya, eyes wide at the prospect of such a tedious endeavor.

"Not all of them," answered May, getting up and retrieving the goggles from the bike bed. "Only the ones that are called Shadow Pokémon. These things," She held up the goggles. "Let me tell which Pokémon are Shadow. They have purple smoke floating around them."

"That's pretty cool," admitted Manya, taking the goggles and thoroughly inspecting them. "They must alter what light spectra are visible to the human eye, seeing as you can't distinguish Shadow Pokémon from regular ones otherwise."

Half of what Manya said was completely lost on May, but she decided not to let it bother her. As long as the goggles did their job, she was content. The two girls sat in silence for a while, a dry breeze blowing by. Manya continued investigating the goggles, her lips moving soundlessly. May just sat, sipping her water and trying not to let her nightmare resurface.

"Do these things have a name?" asked Manya, jarring May out of her reprieve.

"Huh?"

"The goggles," the blonde repeated. "Do they have a name, at all?"

May stared, not quite sure what Manya was expecting. "Er… no, they're just 'the goggles', really." She felt her face growing hot and took another gulp of water to hide her embarrassment.

"Could I give them a name?"

"You name things?"

"Sure," Manya shrugged. She gestured to her bike, parked just a few feet in front of them. "That's 'Miss Birdie'."

"Favorite animal?" May inquired, curious as to the origin of the interesting name.

"TV show I used to watch," Manya replied, lips unfurling into a sheepish grin. "The girl protagonist was a gearhead with a motorcycle called 'Mister Birdie'. That was around the time I got into mechanics, so I went with a tribute." May had to wonder what type of show that had to be, but set that thought aside.

"Anyways," Manya continued. "I thought of a name for these goggles, and if you're alright with that…"

"I don't mind." May said, hoping whatever Manya was thinking of would be better than 'Miss Birdie'.

"Say hello to the 'Aura Lenses'." Manya declared, beaming. "What d'you think?"

"Better than just 'the goggles'." May reached out to take the Aura Lenses back, but a sudden clattering noise from her bag caught her attention. Rummaging around inside, she quickly found the source: the Poké Ball containing the Altaria she had snagged this morning.

"What's going on with you?" she asked to the miniaturized capsule resting in the palm of her hand. The Altaria, visible through the translucent top, was throwing itself against the inner walls, as though it was struggling to escape. May glanced at Manya; the other girl had pulled the Aura Lenses over her eyes, most likely to experience seeing a Shadow Pokémon's smoky aura for herself.

"So my brother's Crawdaunt looked like this, too?"

"Yeah. I dunno why this one's acting all upset, though." May held the Poké Ball up to her face, frowning at the Altaria. "Maybe because it's a Shadow Pokémon?" A realization came to her as she asked this question: despite her experience, there were still many things about Pokémon she didn't know yet. I'm definitely not the right person for this job.

Manya was still staring at the Poké Ball with the Aura Lenses. Eventually she looked up and said, "I think I know where our next stop is gonna be."

How about an asylum, because all of this is gonna drive me crazy. Instead, May took a (hopefully subtle) deep breath and asked where.

"About another hour's ride from here," Manya explained, putting her water bottle back into her bag and tossing it into Miss Birdie's bed. She pulled off the Aura Lenses and handed them back to May. "They'll know all about Shadow Pokémon, and what to do with 'em."

"We're not going to an Abyss base, are we?"

"Please. We need to stay away from them for a while." Manya scrambled onto her bike's seat, and motioned for May to hop aboard. "We're off to the Pokémon HQ Lab."

---

They headed north, the sandy docks of Gateon Port replaced by vast plains of lush grass. As Manya explained (yelling to be heard over the roar of Miss Birdie's engine), a river flowed south into the ocean, providing healthy soil for vegetation to grow.

"The further west you go, the more plant life there is," she shouted, swerving to avoid a rock (May gripped the edges of the cargo bed for stability). "If you go east, it just gets dustier and hotter."

"You'll have to give me a tour." May yelled back. She settled back into the bed's middle as Manya readjusted the bike back on course. Due to all the grass, the air was fresh and clean, a drastic change from the stale atmosphere surrounding Gateon Port. With nothing else to do for the time being, May placed her forefingers and thumbs together to make a rectangular window in front of her face. "Today on May's Expeditions, we find ourselves riding through the desert…"

"Talking to yourself back there?" Manya inquired, suppressing a laugh.

"It helps me relax," May replied, twisting to capture a passing tree.

"Got any room for a co-host?"

"I'll need your references first."

"We are not going back for my brother."

---

They pulled into a forest clearing within the hour, aligned with Manya's estimate. The seedy environment of Gateon Port provided a drastic contrast to the serene landscape of the Pokémon HQ Lab. A well-worn dirt path, framed by a wood fence, led up to a circular pavilion. The best comparison May could find for the white-tiled building's shape was the letter "P" set at an angle.

Large glass windows took up the entire arch of the "P", giving it in the style of an atrium. Just to the right of the atrium was a set of three small domed fountains. A large ceramic Poké Ball protruded from atop the flat roof, expanding and contracting vertically like an accordion. Manya waited for May to extract herself from Miss Birdie's cargo bed before starting up the stairs to the entrance.

"So what is this place?" May asked, hoping that the people inside wouldn't think too much about her current attire.

"Well, it's a laboratory," replied Manya, resisting the urge to smirk. "So there's lot of scientists and complicated machinery."

"I could've gathered that from the name." May nudged her companion with her elbow. "What do they study?"

"Shadow Pokémon. They helped stopped the last criminal syndicate looking to take over Orre."

"This sort of thing happened before?" May lapsed into thought, not acknowledging Manya's affirmative nod. Okay, I didn't know that. You'd think they wouldn't require outside help, then… The mart owner's panicked face flashed in May's head as Manya pulled up the glass doors to the HQ Lab. He, at least, had seemed to prefer getting strangers to help rather than staying inside and calling the police. Really speaks about the effectiveness of law enforcement around here.

Almost every piece of furniture inside was some shade of white, from the receptionist's desk to the floor tiling. The wallpaper, for what it was worth, was the same shade of green May had seen in hospitals (though she was thankful there wasn't any of the same smell). A handful of people were milling about, some wearing lab coats, others blouses and button-up shirts. As few as they were, their indistinct chatter managed to fill up the room.

It was warmer inside than outside: the tall windows of the atrium created a sort of greenhouse effect. It was somewhat stifling, and while May could hear cold air being churned out of large vents in the ceiling, the air conditioner's efforts did little to suppress the sunlight's heat.

"C'mon," muttered Manya, and led the way over to the receptionist's desk, a simple marble table with a desktop computer and a phone. The receptionist, a woman about ten years older than either of them, looked up from her computer screen as they approached.

"How may I help you?" She asked politely, folding her hands atop one another. Her eyes reflected both professionalism and a willingness to help, as well as a hint of curiosity.

"Hello," chirped Manya, turning on the charm that she had clearly developed as a hostess. "We'd like to see Lily, and if she's not available, Professor Krane, please."

The receptionist nodded and picked up her phone. Manya turned back to May, one shoulder resting on the edge of the desk. "If anyone can help us, it'll be them." The blonde explained. "Like I said, they helped smooth over the last fiasco."

"How do you know them?" May asked. It seemed a little strange to her that Manya, a strange performer who had been coerced into her criminal brother's doings, would be on friendly (or at least familiar) terms with scientists.

The receptionist set down the receiver with a click and said someone would be along in a moment to see them. Manya motioned May to sit at some of the chairs set up in front of the tall windows.

"Sometimes I'd come out here when I'd had enough of Galli's bullshit and wasn't on shift. Despite appearances — " She gestured out towards the room. " — people can be pretty friendly out here. So I figured it'd do me some good to get all buddy-buddy with some folks in a position of authority."

An image of Professors Oak and Birch popped into May's head. "I get that."

"Also, before I forget," Manya lowered her voice and murmured, "Honestly… what's with your outfit? I mean, it's cute and all, but what's the purpose?"

Ignoring the burning in her cheeks, May looked down at the frilly skirt and corset-esque top. "Er," she said, attempting to piece together an acceptable answer. "I thought it would, uh… be better suited for this kind of environment than my normal choice."

An imaginary voice sounding uncannily like Brendan Birch spoke up at once: You just actually like something I've made for once.

Furious that she was unconsciously talking to herself in Brendan's voice, May looked back at Manya, who seemed to take her reasoning without question. With an internal sigh, May leaned back in her chair, resting the back of her head against the window. Too much stress all at once… but who can blame me?

They sat in relative silence for a while (Manya was tapping her fingers against her leg and appeared to be humming under her breath). In an effort to reduce her heart rate, May observed the scientists going about their normal, non-world-saving lives. She could only imagine what she would be doing had the Snag Machine never appeared on her doorstep. There was that Contest in Hearthome City she had considered… that she could handle.

May spared a glance at the device strapped to her arm. If anything, it felt more like an Iron Ball than an electronic device: a burdening restraint that forced her to do as she was commanded. But I'm at fault, too, she reminded herself, absentmindedly running her right hand through her hair. I didn't want to be the person who abandoned this entire region to ruin out of selfishness.

Well, if Abyss doesn't get me, I'm gonna end up doing myself in. Not the most comforting thought in the world, but at least an inner conflict was something May could control to some degree.

Manya nudged May's side again, jolting her out of her thought process. "We're about to get some answers." She whispered, pointing back to the reception deck.

May looked over. A slim woman with light brown hair pulled up into the largest bun May had ever seen was talking to the receptionist. She was dressed professionally enough: a rather form-fitting pink pea coat over a knee-length skirt with stockings and pumps. The woman turned to May and Manya, and after confirmation from the receptionist, walked towards them.

"Manya, it's nice to see you again," the woman said, smiling. Her emerald eyes gleamed as she shook hands with Manya. "Welcome back."

"Thanks," replied Manya with a smile of her own. "This is my friend, May."

The woman reached out a hand, which May shook. Forcing a smile up at her, May thought wistfully of her mother Caroline back home in Petalburg. Damn, I haven't called her yet… I bet she's worried regardless of what Dad's told her.

"I'm Lily," said the woman, motioning for them to follow her. "I'm one of the administrators here." She set off at a walk back past the reception desk, Manya and May not too far behind. "What can I do for you girls?"

May took the initiate in answering this question: this was her responsibility, after all. "We'd like to know what you can tell us about Shadow Pokémon."

Lily paused and turned to face them. Her mouth creased into a frown and her eyebrows furrowed as she looked at May. She glanced at Manya, who nodded humorlessly. Lily sighed and set off walking again, turning down a stairwell.

"I was hoping my expertise in this area wouldn't be necessary again, but I really shouldn't be surprised." Lily said, as they clambered down the steps to the lower floor. "Orre's not the most urbanized region, so we get more lawless activity than you'd like."

"I'll bet," muttered May, thinking again of the Abyss Grunt she stopped in Gateon Port. Manya nudged her in the side again, but she ignored it.

They reached the lower floor, and Lily led them down a corridor lined with windowed doors. May caught glimpses as they passed by: people holding clipboards and folders deep in conversation; a janitor whistling while he mopped the floors; and a break room where a scientist dumped their coffee down the sink with a disgusted look on their face.

Lily pulled open a door and ushered the two girls inside. Manya flicked a switch on the wall, and the florescent bulbs jittered alight, illuminating the room. A few plastic chairs sat in front of a dusty chalkboard, and Lily motioned for them to sit down as she shut the door. May's chair creaked as she settled in, watching Lily pace about.

"Shadow Pokémon…" the older woman mused aloud, arms folded across her chest. "Well, I suppose the best place to start would be how they differ from normal Pokémon. Shadow Pokémon are, in essence, Pokémon deprived of emotion."

"Funny how people forget that Pokémon are living, breathing creatures." cut in Manya, her voice heavy with contempt.

"That just happen to be capable of producing fire and other crazy powers." added May, smirking. She caught Lily's blank stare, felt her face heat up, and turned her attention back to her.

"At any rate," Lily continued. "Shadow Pokémon are powerful, ruthless fighting machines. They have little to no restraint during battle; they're even known to attack Trainers themselves."

May's heart jumped up to her throat: she was putting herself into more danger than initially thought. If anyone from Abyss, especially with a Shadow Pokémon, was aware that she was after them, there was no doubt that they wouldn't hesitate to target her directly during a battle. Almost subconsciously, her hand reached into her bag and tightly gripped a Poké Ball. The Pokémon inside, as if sensing her emotions, warmed its Poké Ball to a reassuring degree.

"Can Shadow Pokémon be turned back to normal?" asked Manya, unnecessarily raising her hand into the air. "Or are they stuck as mindless battling machines forever?"

"Thankfully, they can." answered Lily, smiling. "Most commonly, being exposed to loving, caring Trainers gradually reverts Shadow Pokémon back into normal Pokémon."

I can do that, May thought, the hand in her bag drifting over to the rattling Poké Balls holding Altaria and Crawdaunt. I hope. "Are there other methods to curing Shadow Pokémon?"

"A few, at least as far as we know." Lily stepped over to the chalkboard and picked up a piece of chalk. "One alternate method is using special Scents to massage a Pokémon." She turned and scribbled massaging Scents on the board, the chalk scratching and screeching as she wrote. "This helps reopen a Shadow Pokémon's heart more than just walking around with it.

"Another method is something we've devised here at the lab the last time this happened: a device known as the Purify Chamber."

Before May could imagine what such a machine would look like or how it would function, a man in a lab coat opened the door to the room.

"Oh, there you are, Lily, I — I'm sorry, am I interrupting?"

"Actually, Professor Krane," Lily said, indirectly introducing the man to Manya and May. "It'd be good of you to join us."

"Oh. Alright, then." Professor Krane stepped into the room, closing the door behind him. He was dressed much like the other scientists: a white lab coat over a polo shirt and khakis. His glasses were barely distinguishable from his unruly hair; they were almost precisely the exact same shade of brown. "Ah, hello again, Manya!"

Krane stepped forward to shake her hand, then turned towards May. "Ah, and you are…" He paused, as if trying to recall if he had possibly met her at all before.

"I'm May," she said, extending her hand. Krane seemed relieved at not having to remember a name he never learned and shook her hand. His skin was cold and slightly damp to the touch.

"So, ah… what's the word in here?" Krane asked, turning back to Lily.

"Shadow Pokémon," replied Lily matter-of-factly, and Krane did a double-take.

"S-shadow…? Oh, dear… what dreadful news. Well, on the bright side," he noted, straightening up. "At least the Purify Chamber will see the light of day yet again… though I'm not sure if that's good or not."

"We were just about to discuss that, Professor, if you would like to explain it."

"Oh, yes, certainly… ahem." He strode over to the chalkboard, taking the piece of chalk offered by Lily. "The Purify Chamber is a project I devised with a colleague of mine... Lily's late husband, actually. We wanted to do something after the first Shadow Pokémon incident, and this is our magnum opus, as it were.

"How it works may seem rather complicated, but it's rather effective at curing Shadow Pokémon. Basically, we have nine Sets, each of which can hold up to five Pokémon. A Shadow Pokémon is placed in the center of the Set —" He drew a circle on the board with a small caricature of a Pikachu in the middle. "And other, non-Shadow Pokémon are organized around based on type advantage."

Krane whirled around and pointed the chalk at May. "What's a type weak to Electric?"

"Water," she answered, surprised that she was able to respond after being put on the spot like that.

Krane dashed off a small Mudkip underneath the Pikachu. "And what's weak to Water?"

"Fire," said Manya, and Krane doodled a Cyndaquil in the left side of the circle.

"Good. Now, Fire is strong against —"

"Ice," replied Lily.

A hastily-drawn Glalie sat atop the Pikachu. "Now, what is Ice strong against that, in turn, is best to use against Water-type Pokémon?"

It took her a moment, but May responded with, "Grass."

The ugliest Skiploom she had ever seen completed the circle. A beaming Krane turned to face his miniscule audience. "As you can see, this is a completed Set. As each of the Pokémon — starting with Pikachu and continuing clockwise — has a type advantage over their neighbor, this Set has maximum flow. Thus, the Shadow Pikachu in the center can be purified at the quickest possible rate."

"This works with dual-typed Pokémon, as well." added Lily. "As long as at least one type is weak to the previous Pokémon and strong against the next Pokémon in the Set."

This is worse than Rustboro's Trainer School. "I think I get it… maybe." May stared at Krane's drawing as she tried to make sense of it. "So, as long as I know how types match up against each other, it'll work out?"

"Essentially, yes." Krane set down his chalk and dusted off his hands. "If you get some hands-on experience with it, it shouldn't be too difficult to understand. Oh yes, before I forget… because Normal-type Pokémon aren't normally strong against any other type, in the Purify Chamber Normal is strong against itself, like Ghost or Dragon."

"So if you had all Normal Pokémon in a Set, it would have maximum flow." said Manya, gesturing to the drawing. "As if you did all Ghost or Dragon."

"Precisely!" beamed Krane. "And with nine Sets, you can purify nine Shadow Pokémon all at once. It works automatically, so you won't need to continually travel back and forth." He adjusted his glasses and looked out at May and Manya. "Any other questions?"

May opened her mouth, but Lily cut across her. "I have one, but for you, May."

"… Okay." Lily's directness reminded her once again of Caroline, so May forced herself to settle into the chair and listen.

"The fact that you're asking about Shadow Pokémon tells me that you've encountered them before coming here. But Shadow Pokémon aren't distinguishable from normal Pokémon… so how are you able to tell which is which?"

May could almost feel Lily's gaze skimming over her, and shifted slightly at the fact that she was wearing Brendan's handmade clothing. Doing her best to ignore the persistent uncomfortable squirming in her stomach, she said, "It's these goggles. They beep if I'm battling a Shadow Pokémon."

Lily and Krane both nodded in understanding. Krane leaned over and murmured something into Lily's ear. May could barely make out what he was saying: "… just like Michael's…"

"And that, I assume, is your Snag Machine?" asked Lily, pointing to the device on May's wrist.

"Yeah," replied May, suddenly furious at herself for not concealing it. But the next moment, as Lily and Krane held another whispered discussion, she told herself to calm down and that these people were here to help. There was no reason (she hoped) for her to keep things hidden from them.

"Quite remarkable," came Krane's voice from her side, and she jumped when she realized that the professor had crouched down to better inspect the Snag Machine. "It's a very streamlined design… much more compact that the model we had designed."

May looked over at Manya for help, but the blonde merely shrugged at her gaze. Finding her voice again, May said, "You guys didn't send this to me?" She had forgotten to look for anyone resembling the woman that had sent her the Snag Machine here, but as both Krane and Lily shook their heads, understood that no one at the HQ Lab had done so.

"You have a very talented ally out there somewhere," remarked Krane as he stood up. "I would very much like to meet the creator of this device."

You and me both. May thought. "I have another question. When I was battling a Shadow Pokémon earlier, the goggles —"

"Aura Lenses," hissed Manya.

May shot her friend a look. "The Aura Lenses noted something called 'Reverse Mode'. Does that have something to do with Shadow Pokémon?"

"Yes." said Lily. "The process by which Shadow Pokémon are created is done artificially, but it has flaws. Reverse Mode is when a Shadow Pokémon's emotions leak through. They may disobey if not instructed to use Shadow moves — special moves known only by Shadow Pokémon — and you won't be able to use items on them. It even lingers when you're not battling."

"You can interrupt Reverse Mode by calling the Pokémon during battle or using a Scent on it," continued Krane, gesturing to Lily's writing on the chalkboard. "As Lily said, Reverse Mode is a distinct imperfection in creating Shadow Pokémon, which are supposed to be emotionless, impassive. The closer a Shadow Pokémon is to being purified (that is, returned to normal), the more frequently Reverse Mode occurs."

"How can you tell if a Pokémon is ready to be purified?" May wondered aloud, speaking more to herself than anyone. Almost immediately, the Snag Machine chimed and every head in the room turned to look at it. Flustered at being the spontaneous center of attention, May brought up the device and discovered there was a window displayed on the screen.

"What's it say?" whispered Manya, leaning over towards her.

May shot another glare at Manya before turning back to the message. Knowing that Lily and Krane were waiting, she read aloud: "Snag Machine 3.0 has been upgraded to Version 1.1. Status of Shadow Pokémon can now be viewed by placing a Poké Ball against the Capture Core and selecting the Shadow Meter option."

Silence followed, with Lily, Krane, and Manya all sharing a bemused look. Looking up from the Snag Machine, May said, "That was rather convenient." She knew her location was being tracked by whomever had given her the Snag Machine, but to have that message delivered right when she needed it… There isn't a microphone on this thing, is there?

Krane cleared his throat. "Ahem… if you have any Shadow Pokémon with you, May… would you mind demonstrating…?"

Not like I have a choice, do I? May reached into her bag and removed one of the rattling Poké Balls. Stealing a peek at the Pokémon inside, she placed the Poké Ball against the Capture Core and held it tight in her hand: with the Altaria still struggling, the last thing she wanted was for it to get lose and start attacking everyone.

With her other hand, May found the Shadow Meter icon on the screen (a horizontal bar filled in about two-thirds with white) and tapped it. The display altered to an image of Altaria with a meter divided into quintiles underneath it. Only half of the right-most segment was devoid of purple. Not wanting anyone to lean further into her personal space, May held out her arm. "Here you are."

Krane stroked his chin as he scrutinized the display. "Yes, I see… you've just snagged this Altaria recently, haven't you?"

"Just this morning," May replied, watching Lily's eyes move over towards Altaria's Poké Ball. "I guess you can tell by that meter, huh?"

"Indeed. You still have a while to go before it's fully purified, but at least we can be assured that you're of a good disposition." Krane smiled down benignly at her. "Please do your best to purify whatever Shadow Pokémon you snag."

"You don't have to always come back here," cut in Lily, before May could object to constantly returning to the HQ Lab. "If you manage to bring that meter down to nothing with the Pokémon on you, you should head to Agate Village. It's out east, across the river."

"What's at Agate Village?" inquired Manya. She noticed May staring at her and said, "I've never been there myself, having been my brother's lap dog and all, so I don't know a lot about it."

"There's a forest up north there with a very interesting monument." Lily explained, looking between May and Manya. "It's called a Relic Stone, and according to our research, it has the power to fully open a Shadow Pokémon's heart.

"A Shadow Pokémon can't revert to normal on its own, even if it loses all its inner Shadow," she continued. "You have to visit the Relic Stone to complete the process. The Purify Chamber completes the process automatically, however, so you're free to use whichever you'd like."

I won't worry about that just yet, then. May thought, placing Altaria's Poké Ball back into her bag. She regarded Krane and Lily a moment before speaking. "Well… thank you both for all of this. I guess there's just one last question…" She waited for the adults' nod of approval before asking, "Would you happen to know where Shadow Pokémon are being made now?"

Both Krane and Lily shook their heads, but out of the corner of her eye May could see Manya gaping at her. Turning to her, May said, "I just figure the best way to wrap this up quickly is to cut off their production at the source."

"I get that," Manya said, standing up from her chair with widening eyes. "But that's far too reckless! I told you, Galli's probably informed all of Abyss about you by now. You'd be walking straight into their hands!" She paused, biting her lower lip. "At least let me come with you."

May almost flat-out said no, that she was putting herself in enough danger and didn't want to put Manya into more trouble with Abyss… but she didn't. May knew that there was no way she was getting wherever she needed to without Manya's bike. If she had learned one thing from her adventures back in Hoenn, it was how helpful other Trainers can be.

"Alright," the brunette said, and stuck out her hand. Manya blinked, but gave a weak smile and shook it. "At least we're in this together."

"If I may…"

Lily's voice made May jump: she had gotten so absorbed with her conversation with Manya that she had completely forgotten about that Krane and Lily were still in the room.

"I'm not sure how much this will help, but Cipher — the previous organization in Orre — had a factory that created Shadow Pokémon out to the east, at the base of Mount Battle." She noticed May's blank expression and clarified: "Mount Battle's a large volcanic mountain in Orre, it's not too hard to spot. Anyways, I've heard that factory has been abandoned, but given that you have some Shadow Pokémon already, that might be a place to start."

"Works for me." May reached out and shook Lily's hand. "Thank you so much again for everything." In the infinitesimal pause in which their gazes met, May could see worry and concern reflected in the woman's deep green eyes. She had no precise idea why, but she harbored a strong feeling that Lily was a mother and wanted nothing but for May to be safe. This lingered in May's head enough to not notice Krane's awkward, stuttering good-bye.

Manya clapped a hand onto May's shoulder. "Ready to go ruin some mad scientists' days?"

"Sure." May replied, a sly grin creeping across her lips. "I was never all that good at science, so I'm sure I'll be able to mess up something important."

To be continued...

Hey, a belated welcome to the forums! I've been meaning to get to this one for a little bit, and I'm glad to say that I'm intrigued by what I'm seeing so far. I'll grant you that I've never been as invested in the anime canon as the games (or even the Adventures manga), but May was always my favorite female companion of Ash's, so that's an immediate draw.

That said, bringing the story to Orre is an easy way to get any of us jaded fanfic writers interested in a story. There are so many story-telling opportunities with that region, what with Shadow Pokémon and the fact that the people are trying to rebuild the region from the ground-up, and there's a lot of cool ideas that could stem from that. I'll admit, the beginning seems a little bit tropey and familiar, especially for those who've played the Gamecube games, but then again, that's not necessarily a bad thing. (I do have to agree with Oyster, though, that the info-dump at the end of Chapter 4 is a little egregious; it's a lot, especially considering that most people who read this story will have played the Orre games.)

Gotta say, though, through all this, Manya stands out as a big positive of the story so far. Connections to the bad guys, a bit of a tech junkie. Kinda reminds me of Wes in a way, and that's not a bad thing at all. I'm very interested in how their relationship plays out considering that it's almost ENTIRELY built on lies and half-truths (and we all know how those play out), but it'll be fun to watch play out.

And hey, we got Cipher expies in Abyss! With psychic powers! That'll be interesting.

Anyway, I don't really have that much more to say, as Oyster's been covering a lot of the stuff I'd been noticing in her reviews, but I'm definitely intrigued as to how this plays out. I'm looking forward to more.

Although May had alleged that destroying the Shadow Pokémon Lab would reduce Abyss’ criminal activity, she had her doubts. The same location had been occupied twice in the past: therefore, Abyss would have likely recognized that they were hiding in plain sight and employ security measures to deter intruders. Secondly, this operation would have to be as stealthy as possible. If either she or Manya were discovered, there was a very real possibility of becoming outnumbered, or worse, outgunned.

“We are walking straight into the Arcanine’s den,” Manya mused after May confided her worries. They walked up the hallway, having left their impromptu meeting room at the HQ Lab. “I’d be more concerned if it turns out to be a total cakewalk, to be honest.”

May nodded in agreement as they approached a pair of scientists comparing notes. Once they passed, May asked in an undertone, “D’you think Abyss has spies here? Is it possible they know we’re coming?”

Manya shook her head, blonde hair swinging back and forth in front of her face. “I’ve never heard anything about it,” she admitted. “It’s possible, but I don’t know for certain. Managing spies probably wasn’t one of Galli’s responsibilities.”

“Didn’t seem like the kind of guy to remember where he placed his lighter, let alone spies.” May noted, which got Manya laughing again.

They were just about to head up the stairs to leave when they heard someone shouting from behind them. “Wait! Wait, please!”

The girls turned to find Professor Krane coming to a stop in front of them. He doubled-over, gasping for breath, a narrow wooden box tucked under his arm. “Glad I caught up to you…” he wheezed, pushing his glasses back up his sweaty face. “I wanted to give you this before you left.” He handed the box out to May, who took it.

She attempted not to smirk at opening her third Mystery Gift of the day and opened the box. Sitting in the red-velvet lined interior was a roughly-carved wooden flute. Here and there were small gashes and markings, including what appeared to be a stamp mark burned into the wood resembling a small, pixie-like Pokémon.

May sensed Manya staring over her shoulder and the two girls exchanged a bemused look. “It’s a flute,” May remarked finally to Krane, who was now leaning against the wall and inhaling deeply.

“It’s called a Time Flute.” The professor said, his face flushed red. “We came across it a while back and had it in storage…”

“So, what? I’m supposed to play it?”

“Yes,” Krane replied, oblivious to her sarcasm. “A Time Flute can instantly purify a Shadow Pokémon, as long as it still has some Shadow within it.”

“Better make sure we don’t lose this,” Manya said, watching May close the box and stuff it into her bag. “If Abyss gets their hands on it, they’ll certainly smash it to pieces.”

“It’s better that you use it, in that case,” said Krane with a rueful smile. “Based on our research, that Time Flute is extremely fragile: it’ll break if you play it.” He wiped his forehead with his lab coat sleeve, sweat glistening on his pale skin. “Oh yes, before I forget… May, how many Pokémon are you carrying with you right now? Including the Shadow Pokémon you’ve already snagged.”

“With the two Shadow Pokémon I have,” May murmured, mentally recounting her current party. “I have eight.” Almost all Pokémon Trainers carried six Pokémon at a time. There was no formal rule against carrying more, but it was problematic to devote proper attention and care to more than six Pokémon at one time.

“Shall we safeguard two Pokémon for you?” offered Krane. “We can even hold one of the Shadow Pokémon, if you’d like.”

“Why not both?” inquired May, reaching into her bag again to find Altaria and Crawdaunt’s Poké Balls.

“It might be best for you to work on purifying a Shadow Pokémon on your own,” Krane replied, standing up a little straighter. “So you can understand what methods work best for you.”

May looked down at the two miniaturized capsules resting in her palm. The Altaria appeared to have calmed down: it was resting with its head under its wing, ribbons nestled amongst its cloud-like feathers. Crawdaunt, meanwhile, was glaring up at her out of the corner of its eye, almost as if it was attempting to discern her.

“Here,” May thrust out Crawdaunt’s Poké Ball at Krane before grabbing another one off her belt. “Crawdaunt and my Skitty. I’ll call if I want to use either of them.” Her heart panged at the thought of using a different Pokémon in place of Skitty, but told herself she’d switch the Kitten Pokémon back into her party soon.

“Of course. We’ll take good care of them. Good luck, you two.” With that and a smile, Krane turned on his heel and departed back down the hallway.

“I wonder how the Time Flute works, exactly.” Manya mused as the two girls worked their way back out of the HQ Lab’s comfortable temperature to the scorching heat outside. “Is its song beautiful enough to remove all essence of Shadow from a Pokémon?”

“Probably not if I played it,” May said. Manya started laughing again, but May withdrew into her thoughts, wondering why she had decided to keep Altaria. Was it due to it possessing a friendlier appearance than Crawdaunt, or seeming to be less difficult to purify? She couldn’t be sure, but as she climbed into Miss Birdie’s cargo bed, a thought lingered that something about the Altaria was awfully familiar to her.

---

The trek eastward was largely uneventful. The most stimulating occurrence was Manya gunning Miss Birdie’s throttle to skim across a river. The massive wakes of water churned up by the motorbike was a sight to behold. Though all the water splashed back into the river, May couldn’t help but feel guilty at misusing water like that in such a dry region.

To her credit, Manya attempted to make the journey comfortable. She repeatedly checked to make sure May was staying hydrated and fed (they had “borrowed” some snacks on their way out of the HQ Lab) and could often be heard humming aloud. May spent most of her time either staring at Altaria’s Poké Ball or out at the scenery through her fingers.

The massive figure of Mount Battle loomed over them from the north, columns of steam emitting from its crater. As May focused her “camera” on the forbidding volcano, she asked Manya, “Has this thing ever erupted?”

“Not to my knowledge,” the blonde replied. She tilted her head towards a gigantic bare tree visible off in the distance to their left. “Otherwise people wouldn’t have settled in Agate Village.”

The steady hum of Miss Birdie’s engine dulled considerably. May peered over the edge of the cargo bed and was surprised to find a lush carpet of thick grass spread over the ground. The meadow seemed to stretch out for a fair distance, out towards the horizon.

“Shame it all can’t be like this,” Manya observed wistfully, her voice lowered to a normal volume. “Otherwise we’d be able to sneak up on Abyss pretty well.”

“The grass is always greener,” May said, inhaling the fresh air and savoring how it settled in her lungs. She breathed again, and the slight whiff of healthy plant life triggered a miniscule flash of memory. For the briefest instant, May was sitting outside in Petalburg City on a warm summer’s evening with her family, watching Volbeat and Illumise dance through the sky. Then she blinked and was dropped back into reality.

May felt her heart constrict in longing, and fought the temptation to retreat into nostalgia. With a quick glance to make sure Manya wasn’t paying attention, she sighed and sat down, pulling her knees up to her chest. Her eyes burned with tears and she clamped them shut. May wasn’t going to allow herself to yearn for days past, especially in this situation. Yet in the back of her head, she couldn’t stop a little voice from saying, the grass is always greener indeed…

---

About ninety minutes later, a flicker of light off the horizon caught Manya’s attention. She reviewed her mental map of Orre: while Manya considered herself fairly well-traveled, she rarely ventured out towards Mount Battle and had little knowledge of the landmarks in the area. Coming up with nothing from her recollection, Manya called over her shoulder, “I think we’re getting somewhere.”

“You’ve just been driving aimlessly for the past hour?” May groaned, pulling herself up. She was quickly discovering that lying in the cargo bed was terrible for her back. Shielding her eyes from the sunlight with her hand, May gazed out in front of them.

“Whaddaya think?” Manya pressed.

“I think I can’t see well enough from here.”

“Hold on, then,” Manya gunned the throttle, barely allowing May enough time to brace herself as Miss Birdie barreled forward across the sand. The glimmer steadily grew larger, its source gradually coming into view. Easing Miss Birdie to a stop, the girls turned and stared at what lay before them.

A derelict compound stood in the middle of a concrete lot, covered in chipped and peeling silver paint. Several elongated vents on the roof glinted in the sun, and empty transport crates rested on the ground nearby, covered in sand. Six devices surrounded the lot’s perimeter, apparently generators for a long-deactivated electric barrier.

May and Manya sized up the compound for a few moments before glancing at each other. Neither girl was entirely sure what to make of it.

“Doesn’t seem like anyone’s been here in ages,” Manya noted, swinging off Miss Birdie’s seat.

May climbed out of the cargo bed. “You’re probably right.” She ambled towards the building, hoping the generators didn’t spontaneously activate as she passed by. There were a couple of mechanical doors on the building’s side, and they didn’t budge when May attempted to pry them open.

Manya followed up behind her. “There’s a keypad here,” she observed, pointing just to the doors’ right. She leaned in to get a closer look. “Looks fairly clean… to me, anyways.”

May glanced down at the concrete. A fair amount of sand had gathered here and there across the compound (no doubt due to wind or dust storms), including directly in front of the door. It wasn’t a very large patch, but large enough for May to have left part of a footprint. And right beside it, almost directly in front of the door, was a second, larger footprint fragment.

“A clean keypad, a footprint leading into a closed door… I think this place is occupied.”

“Doesn’t seem like a place a salesman would stop,” agreed Manya, brushing some hair out of her eyes. “So…” She faced the building again, hands on her hips, eyebrows furrowed. “How d’we get in?”

May was just about to suggest having a Pokémon smash in the door when a voice spoke behind them, making both girls jump in shock.

“I can get you in.”

They whipped around to see a young boy standing behind them, hands in his pockets and eyes shadowed under a dingy bandanna. At first glance he was dressed like any other kid his age (given that he only came up to her stomach, May guessed he couldn’t be much older than Max) with a red shirt and green shorts. Instead of shoes, he wore roller skates, complete with knee guards. He only had one elbow guard: his left arm was covered with a purple sleeve.

“Well?” inquired the boy, eyeing May and Manya in their silence. “You want my help or not?”

“Who the hell are you?” blurted out Manya, rather unnerved by his sudden appearance.

“Name’s Smidge.” said the boy. His voice was blunt and casual, as if he was dragged away from an activity he’d much rather be doing instead. “That do for an intro, blondie?”

Manya bristled, her face reddening. May quickly jumped in before she attacked him and ruined a possible chance of sneaking into the building. “How do you know how to get in?”

Smidge looked at her up and down, his mouth contorting into a vague sneer. “I see things, alright? Fer instance, I see what you have going on and I like it.”

“I’m not liking you, shorty, so cut it out before I cut you down.” A brief surge of glee coursed through May at putting to use her experience in insulting bratty half-pints. She stared down at Smidge, who was staring right back. His gaze was difficult to discern, partly due to his bandanna covering half of his eyes.

Manya, also staring at the boy, leaned over to May and whispered into her ear, her breath soft and light. “I’m not getting a good vibe from this brat.”

May was also apprehensive at accepting his offer: her father often said that if something appeared too good to be true, it usually was. To assist in her decision-making, she asked him, “What do you want in return? There’s gotta be something, right?”

Smidge blinked at the question before giving a small smile. “For somethin’ like this? Lesse…” He gave them each another once-over. “Hows about Seven Minutes in —”

“Wrong answer.” interrupted Manya, eyebrows furrowed, arms folded across her chest. She started whispering into May’s ear again. “I don’t trust this twerp farther than I could throw him.”

“I dunno, he’s pretty small,” May muttered back. “If you got just the right angle —”

“Not my point,” Manya hissed. “He’s kinda shifty, if you ask me.”

They glanced over at Smidge, who was still staring at them, looking bored. May turned to face Manya, the blonde’s eyes narrowed in skepticism and dislike. She could tell she was really going to play this right to make everyone happy (or at least less upset, in Manya’s case).

“Alright, it’s a little suspicious,” she admitted, speaking in an undertone. “But the way I see it, we’d have to break that door down and that’d get alarms ringing and everything. If Smidge knows how to get us inside —”

“If,” stressed Manya. “If he’s just messing with us, I’m getting Solrock to send him into the stratosphere.”

“Duly noted. Alright, Smidge,” May said, addressing their third wheel. “Here’s the deal: you get us in, we don’t shoot you up into the sky.”

The boy rolled his eyes, arms up in mock celebration. “That’s totally fair.”

“Considering your attitude I’d say it’s the best you’re gonna get.” Manya snapped as Smidge skated past her towards the keypad.

“A’right, look,” he glanced at the building before motioning for the girls to lean in closer. “I’ll be honest, I know what you are here for. This is about Abyss, right?”

They nodded, so he continued. “Truth is, I got roped into their whole business… I don’t exactly got the best life going on, ya know?” He cleared his throat, an attempt to appear more grown-up that didn’t entirely succeed. “Anyways… I let you in, you take me out with ya. Deal?”

May and Manya exchanged glances. Manya frowned and mouthed “no”, but May shook her head. This was their only chance to get inside, and extracting Smidge from their grasp would be helping one more person. Manya glowered for a moment but relented, so May reached out and shook Smidge’s hand. “Open, sesame.”

Smidge reached out and tapped a specific sequence on the keypad. It beeped once and the steel doors slid open with a pneumatic whoosh. The three of them stepped into the entryway, the door sealing itself behind them. It was so dimly lit May could just barely make out Manya beside her; Smidge was even more difficult to see despite standing in front of her since he was so short.

“Where to, ladies?” Smidge asked, his voice tinted with the slightest hint of sarcasm.

---

Pivoting away from the grainy security footage displayed on the monitor, the grunt addressed his supervisor. “We have unidentified intruders from the main entrance.”

The supervisor leaned down and peered at the screen, frowning. “That we do.” His eyebrows furrowed. “Dunno how they got in, but they’re here now.”

“Shall I raise the alarm, sir?”

“…” The supervisor continued staring at the screen, observing two girls point at and talk to the small boy standing with them. There was no sound as the grunt had a headset plugged into the console. “I think I recognize that girl,” he said, jabbing a finger at the brunette. “We got a notice from Gateon Port, she defeated Galli at his casino this morning.”

The grunt said nothing, unsure of how to respond. He merely watched as his supervisor stood up and rubbed his chin.

“No alarm,” he ordered, to the grunt’s surprise. “Let’s have them think they can get away with this. Inform the admins that we’ll be sending the visitors up their way.”

“Yes, sir,” affirmed the grunt, knowing better not to argue as he reached for the intercom.

---

The triad crept through the corridors, treading lightly to minimize their footsteps. However, as the building appeared to be unoccupied, their steps echoed regardless. May led their miniature parade: Smidge walked behind her, with Manya at the end (to keep an eye on “the little lech”, as she put it).

“Have you ever been inside here?” May whispered to Smidge. She spared a glance over her shoulder to see the boy answer with a one-shoulder shrug. Frowning, she gazed around a corner. There was nothing there, so she continued on, her cohorts in tow.

“So nice of you to join us, then.” Manya snickered. “You realize if we get caught, you’re in as much trouble as we are, right?”

Once again, Smidge just shrugged. He had settled into a lengthy stretch of silence since they began to explore the building, which eased Manya’s nerves but only put May more on edge. She recalled the old film maxim: “It’s quiet. Too quiet.”

They snuck down another corridor lined with closed doors. May attempted to peek into each of the windows but saw nothing but black. Figures, they’re all one-way. So much for going on a limb and hoping to just stumble upon something…

May placed her right foot down onto the floor and it slipped on a particularly smooth tile. Losing her balance, she stumbled forward and smacked the side of her head against the wall. The dull thud of impact reverberated through-out both the building and May’s head. Stars and bright lights twinkled in her eyes as she struggled to pull herself upright.

“Nice going, twinkle-toes,” hissed Smidge, as he and Manya sped up to her. “You just alerted everyone in this section that we’re here!”

“Wasn’t my fault,” she mumbled, feeling Manya grab her arm and lift her up. “Slipped.”

“That you did,” Smidge affirmed, turning to look down the hallway. “C’mon then, let’s get a move on.” And he started off down another hallway, leaving the two girls to hobble after him.

“You okay?” asked Manya, eyes wide with concern.

“Fine.” There was ringing in her right ear and a sharp pain creeping up to her forehead, but admitting the truth would slow things down. Instead, May steeled herself, grabbed Manya’s hand, and set off after Smidge. She spied him yanking open a door and motioning at them to hurry.

“Supply closet. Quick!” He ushered them inside, slipped in after them, and closed the door. They squeezed in between mops, brooms, and shelves of sponges and cleaning sprays. The faint ammonia smell was not helping May’s headache in the slightest, nor was Smidge’s elbow digging into her side.

They all kept silent, straining their ears for the sounds of alarms and rushing footsteps, but all they could hear were their own gasping breathing. Smidge, the smallest, leaned down to peer through the gap at the bottom of the door.

“Anything?” whispered Manya, releasing May’s hand to wipe her brow.

Smidge said nothing at first, but eventually stood up (with some difficulty due to the cramped quarters of the closet) and said, “Nah. Doesn’t look like anything’s going on out there.”

Manya gave a sigh of relief, her breath brushing against the back of May’s neck. May, on the other hand, winced as her head throbbed painfully. Smidge turned to face the girls, though given it was almost entirely dark, it didn’t matter.

“What’s next, fearless leader?” he snipped.

“Next is clamping your mouth shut,” May shot back, her temper rising as her headache throbbed again. She had no idea what their next step was: they might have avoided getting noticed this time, but it could've just been sheer luck. She was saved, however, from having to make something up when the closet was suddenly illuminated by the light emanating from the Snag Machine right into Smidge’s face.

The boy threw his hands up to shield his face (Manya laughed quietly at his discomfort) as May twisted her arm (with some difficulty) to gaze at the screen. The display informed her that there was a new message waiting to be read. Before she could do anything, though, the screen shifted and displayed the message immediately. Fearing a loud holograph like earlier, May clapped her left hand over the screen.

There was a pause as she and Manya stared at the Snag Machine (Smidge was still recovering from having his retinas burned). The supply closet reminded as silent as ever, so May cautiously removed her hand and looked down at the screen. A few lines of text glowed back up at her:

I know you’re in the Lab. Please come meet me in Room 5C.

Another moment of silence passed, May and Manya both contemplating the message. They looked up at each other in the bluish light, confusion and uncertainty playing across their faces.

“You have a stalker,” Manya said finally in an undertone, glancing back down at the Snag Machine as the light slowly dimmed.

May gave a noncommittal grunt. “Dunno if I can fully trust this person or not, honestly.”

“Well,” Manya carefully measured her words as she spoke, watching Smidge rub his eyes. “Maybe… since we’re here and all… now would be the time to find out?” Noticing May’s unconvinced expression, she hurried on. “I mean, I’ve seen you battle, and we’d be there with you. If it went south — ”

“Worst case we’d end up with every Abyss stooge on our butts.” Cut in Smidge, having finally recovered from the blast of light in his eyes. “I have my skates, but neither of you look like sprinting champs to me.”

May weighed her options as Manya drove her knuckles into Smidge’s scalp. If she ignored the request and refused to meet this person, she might end up doubting them as her journey progressed and get herself into even more trouble. If she went to Room 5C, she could ask for some answers and possibly obtain another ally. But would she be willing to drag another person into this mess? Then again, this person was allegedly the one who had sent her the Snag Machine in the first place…

“I’ll go,” she decided. “But by myself. I don’t want to get you two in deeper if something goes wrong.” She added as Manya opened her mouth to respond. “I feel guilty enough that you got dragged this far, Manya.”

Manya looked for a moment as though she was going to argue, but instead held up her hands in mock surrender. “You’re the boss.” she said, Smidge dropping to their feet. “But you send word if you need me, alright?”

“Fine,” May agreed, smiling slightly in spite of herself. “Now can we open the door and get out of here, please?” Her head pulsed from the ammonia smell and her stomach lurched; if she spent any more time in this enclosed space she felt like she might throw up.

They squeezed out to the hallway and agreed to meet back up at the supply closet before splitting up: Manya decided that she and Smidge would scout ahead for where the Shadow Pokémon were being made, while May slipped down another hallway in search of Room 5C. Her stomach twisted at being alone again, but Arceus help her if she was going to get innocent people hurt because she got dragged into this thing…

Treading as quietly as possible past doors, windows, and corridors, May did her best to keep an eye out for a sign, or anything that could point her in the right direction. I need a map, she lamented. As this thought dissipated, she caught a glimpse of the Snag Machine lighting up again. Taking a quick stock of her surroundings as to not be discovered, she read the new message:

Turn right down the next hallway, then enter the farthest door on the left.

How about a million dollars while I’m at it? But nonetheless she complied and continued moving at a brisk walk, sneaking down along the next corridor. There was barely any light here so it was difficult to discern the number of doors on either side. Eventually she reached the end of the hall, so she stepped back and looked at the last door on the left side. A rusty sign on the front read 5C. With a slow, steadying breath, May gripped the cold handle and twisted it open.

The room she entered into was just as dark as the hallway outside. The door closed behind her with a click as she took in her surroundings. Desks lined the entire perimeter, covered with either computers, stacks of paper, books, or some combination of the three. Graphs with complicated words and numbers that made no sense were plastered here and there along the walls. An island table stood stock in the exact center of the floor, microscopes and silver instruments standing upon its surface.

Something zoomed over from a far corner towards May and she ducked reflexively. Looking up at it, she saw a Pokémon resembling a rubber duck, albeit colored red and blue rather than yellow. It fixed her with an unnerving blank stare, emitting a series of clicks and beeps.

“Are you going to fight me?” May whispered, a chill coursing through her at the unwanted prospect of making excessive noise. When the Pokémon continued to stare at her, she slowly started to reach for her bag…

“Stop it, Porygon2.” said a quiet voice. May looked over at the far corner it had come from: a tall woman in a lab coat was standing there, hidden in the darkness, her features undiscernible. As the woman stepped forward, however, she was instantly recognizable as the Snag Machine’s hologram messenger.

With long strawberry blonde hair pulled back into an immaculate ponytail and slim, rectangular glasses, the woman radiated an air of professionalism, although it was betrayed by the tired and weary green eyes behind her lenses. Her clean, white lab coat was buttoned closed, snug around her trim frame. The Porygon2 spared another glance at May before floating over to its Trainer.

“You must be the Trainer with my Snag Machine,” said the woman in the same quiet voice. She held out a hand as she advanced. “I’m glad we’re getting to meet in person.”

“Likewise,” said May, shaking the proffered hand in some trepidation. The woman’s skin was soft and warm, even though May’s gloves. “I have to admit, I have a lot of questions.”

The woman nodded sagely and gestured to a rolling chair sitting in front of a desk to May’s right. “I imagine you might. First, please let me introduce myself: I’m Allyson. As you might have figured out already, I’m one of the many researchers here.”

“What’s an Abyss scientist doing sending me a Snag Machine?” May asked, sitting on the chair and giving her legs some much deserved rest. Every bit from her thighs to her heels felt unnecessarily sore. Her head still ached from her earlier collision, but she forced herself to ignore the pain for the time being.

“I was forcefully conscripted,” Allyson answered with a somnolent smile, seating herself as well. “I was about to start working at the HQ Lab, actually, but Abyss kidnapped me and made me assist them instead.”

“Why?”

“I was making promising headway in research regarding snagging and purification. Abyss obviously didn’t want me working against them if they could help it.”

“Yet you sent me the Snag Machine anyways.”

Allyson nodded again, her Porygon2 bobbing to and fro around her head. “Yes. I knew that if Abyss discovered I had completed it, they would either destroy it, or — more likely — use it themselves to create more Shadow Pokémon.”

“Dunno if I was the right choice, really,” muttered May, staring somewhat absentmindedly at the device strapped to her wrist. But when she looked up at Allyson, she was surprised to see half a smile forming on the other woman’s face.

“From what I’ve observed,” she said gently. “You’ve been doing well. I haven’t had any doubts about to whom I sent the Snag Machine.”

“So far, anyways.” said May without thinking. A second chill flashed over her at the sight of Allyson’s frown, so she quickly added, “I mean, wouldn’t it have been better to have sent the Snag Machine to someone who’s done League Challenges rather than Contest Circuits?”

Allyson paused to gather her thoughts before answering. “Abyss would be more on their guard, I think, if a famous Trainer came sniffing around. They might be less suspicious of a Coordinator, and unconsciously grant you more headway against them.”

This answer didn’t quite satisfy May, but once again felt that she was already too involved to find an excuse to try and squeeze her way out of this responsibility. Instead she simply nodded to reassure Allyson that she understood.

“I ought to let you know,” Allyson continued, folding her hands in her lap. “That Abyss has something larger in store than just simply creating Shadow Pokémon. Though I can’t tell you what it is: my supervisors have been very careful about not telling me more than a bare minimum.”

A heavy weight dropped into May’s stomach. “There’s… there’s more to what they’re doing?” The words came out with some difficulty, as though she would have choked on them if she didn’t speak. “Can it be stopped?”

Allyson peered at May over the top of her glasses. “I don’t know. Yet. For now, snagging the Shadow Pokémon is the best we can do. As you’ve witnessed, Abyss is also stealing money to fund their research. But I — we — do not have the manpower to guard every valuable in this barren wasteland. If we focus on one thing, Abyss will surely move to another.”

“Why can’t you do anything?” May blurted out before she could restrain herself. “I mean, you’re right in their territory, can’t you… can’t you sabotage their work, or something?”

Allyson frowned, her eyes narrowing. There was a minuscule edge in her voice as she said, “I could. But if Abyss finds out that I did anything — and they would — I’d be removed from my position in an instant. Then I would no longer have the resources to assist you.”

She stood up from her seat (her Porygon2 veering away from her head), her expression shifting into worry and concern. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have reacted so harshly —”

“No, it’s my fault,” mumbled May, staring down at her knees. Her stomach and head knotted uncomfortably, and her hands unconsciously squeezed into fists.

“— But I am glad to have met you in person. I’ll do my best to provide you with any help you may need, material or otherwise.” Allyson extended her hand again, which May shook as she got up.

“Let me ask you this,” May said. “I came here to stop the production of Shadow Pokémon — since I didn’t really know where else to go… can you at least point me in the right direction for that?”

Allyson shook her head, ponytail flying side to side. “I’m afraid I’m not privy to where Shadow Pokémon are created. As I’ve said, Abyss is careful not to let things slip around me.” She cast an apologetic look at May, sadness reflected in her green eyes.

May felt sympathy well up in her chest: she and Allyson both appeared to be making the best of situations that neither of them had entered into willingly. She wouldn’t be surprised if similar expressions had appeared on her face over the past day or so. “Well, thanks anyways.”

“I’ll be in touch,” affirmed Allyson with another sad smile.

They shook hands again before May slipped out of the room. She had just rounded the corner when she registered the sound of rolling wheels and hurried footsteps coming towards her. In a panic, she reached into her bag for a Poké Ball — and then a small figure came hurtling down the hallway and crashed into her, falling backwards.

“Smidge!” May hissed, feeling her heart somewhere in her throat. “What the hell are you doing?!”

“Lookin’ for you,” Smidge snapped as he hauled himself upright. Manya came up from behind him, slightly out of breath. “I found somethin’ you might wanna see.”

He about-faced and rolled back down the hallway. May caught Manya’s eye and raised a questioning eyebrow. Manya shrugged in response, her face tinged with red.

“I have no idea what he found,” she gasped. “I was keeping an eye out for people and he had disappeared for one second…”

“Well, let’s not lose him this time,” May said, setting off at a jog after the boy. She heard Manya groan behind her before following.

They did lose sight of Smidge, at least for a while: the sound of his roller blades still made him relatively easy to follow, though May worried about the noise alerting Abyss to their presence in the laboratory. No grunts or scientists (or anyone else for that matter) even poked their heads out, however, as May and Manya continued down hallways, around corners, and even down a flight of stairs. Finally, they caught sight of Smidge holding open a door.

“In here!” he said as they drew closer. May caught a glimpse of his face as they moved past him: he looked pale and shaken, with enough sweat to rival Professor Krane.

Hoping it wasn’t another supply closet, May strode through the door with Manya behind her. They had entered into a darkened room, its features not entirely discernible.

“What’s in here, Smidge?” May asked, waiting for her eyes to adjust to the lack of light. “Why did you bring us —”

She turned back towards Smidge, just in time to see the door swing shut. The sound of the lock clicking appeared to echo throughout the unnervingly silent building. May’s heart gave an almighty leap as she grabbed the doorknob; she tried to turn it but it wouldn’t budge. “Shit!”

“What happened?” breathed Manya, wiping her forehead with the back of her hand. She had been too busy catching her breath to notice.

“He tricked us,” growled May. “We’re locked in here.”

Before Manya could react, the florescent lights flicked on, blinding the two with their dazzling gleam. May and Manya blinked furiously to recover, and took stock of their surroundings. The room was quite similar to Allyson’s with desks and equipment all along the walls, although it was much larger with more floor space.

And they weren’t alone: there were two other people standing directly across from them.

To be continued...

sssh you'll ruin the surprise

I've always thought the Orre games were a little short, so maybe it's not a bad thing that the plot is going too fast? Then again, thinking over my outline, this story isn't going to be stupidly long... I'm confident it'll still be good, though!

Who says favoritism towards particular characters is a bad thing? I really wanted to explore May's emotions and such in this story (especially with some issues I myself have been struggling with since working on it), and I'm very happy to see your positive comments towards it!

I'm glad I didn't get around to reading and reviewing till after you posted that last chapter! That means I didn't have to wait to find out where that cliffhanger was going to lead us. (Well, I guess I kind of knew it would be a confrontation with the admins, since that was explicitly mentioned, and then I kind of knew May and Manya were going to win, especially as May has a full team and the admins have just one pokémon each, but you know. :P ) Anyway, the pace has certainly picked up, hasn't it? After everything slowed down for that long, ponderous segment in the lab, you quite briskly move through a whole bunch of interesting bits and pieces.

Chief of which is May finally meeting the woman who sent her the Snag Machine, in my eyes. Allyson is at the very least being economical with the truth here – so much so that even May notices it, and given that this is the kid who's spent the fic so far just wandering into dangerous places without thinking of the consequences, that says something. I can't be sure since I think this is animeverse and I'm not familiar with that, but I would imagine that May and Shelly have met before, and that Shelly's identity is part of what Allyson is concealing. But why, I wonder? Can't quite figure that out yet, but I'm sure we'll learn in time.

I think there are a couple of things here that don't quite work for me, though. One is your habit of substituting 'the X' for a person or pokémon's name; if you're trying to avoid repetition so things read more smoothly, I think this is actually more jarring than just repeating the name, or even using a pronoun and relying on context to make it clear who it refers to. Another is the amount of description that each new pokémon occasions. Generally, given your intended audience, you can assume your readers know what a grovyle looks like, for example, because as it is there's a strong temptation to just skip over those big passages of description anyway – like, something is worth describing in detail if it's new to May, either because it's a species she doesn't know or because there's something unusual about its appearance (it's shiny, it's injured, etc.), or if it's something she is deliberately studying (if it's a shadow pokémon she's inspecting, for instance, as she does with the altaria). Otherwise, a few general details will do fine, just to give the reader's imagination something to latch onto and keep the pace up.

Other than that, I just have a few of the usual nitpicks and typo things:



Maybe I'm missing something, but I don't see any irony here.



A lengthy period of silence, maybe? I don't think you mean that he stopped being silent, which is what you've said here.



These two 'may have' clauses in a row are a bit jarring to read. Rewording one would help.



Parentheses read kind of weird in speech; they're such a written kind of thing. Maybe dashes would work better?



That should be a comma, not a period, and 'muttered' doesn't need to be capitalised.



Again, that should be a comma.



I'm not sure why she's disagreeing with Lovrina here. She of all people knows Galli really is trash.



Bit of an unnecessary duplication of sense here. This is something you do on occasion, where you overwrite and end up repeating yourself; might be something to watch out for in future.



Unless something really drastic is happening here, I think that might be meant to be 'crumpled' rather than 'crumbled'.



Missing an 'up' after 'making' here.



I get that saying 'so' is Lovrina's thing, but these two instances seem a bit egregious; I can't imagine that even someone who uses 'so' a bunch would use it in this particular context.

But yeah! Really interesting couple of chapters. Some questions answered, some others raised – I'm looking forward to whatever you have in store for us next!

“Why are we running?!” Smidge yelled over the din of the engine. He, May, and Manya had escaped from the Shadow Pokémon Lab in a rush and were now making their getaway in Miss Birdie. But Smidge apparently objected to this idea.

“We should go back ‘n clean that place up!” he protested, eyes wide in disbelief at May shaking her head.

“We hardly have the manpower for that right now,” she countered. “And sit down.” She pushed down on Smidge’s shoulders to prevent him from flying out of the cargo bed. “But you’re welcome to go back if you want.”

Smidge stared out towards the Lab, vanishing over the horizon behind him. His shadowed eyes glared at May before turning away from her, arms crossed.

Rolling her eyes, May addressed Manya, “Where are we headed?”

“To a hideout of our own,” she replied rather mysteriously, and would not elaborate when pressed. “Just keep an eye out, I’m heading straight for it.”

“Oh good,” said Smidge, his voice filled with irony. “Then Abyss’ll know right where to find us.”

At that, Manya jostled the bike, just enough to almost toss Smidge out onto the ground. She smirked at May over her shoulder before returning her attention back up front.

They traveled east for roughly a quarter-hour before something appeared on the horizon ahead. It wasn’t immediately discernable, but it certainly appeared ominous at first glance. May couldn’t help but imagine that whatever they were heading towards almost certainly didn’t belong in a desert at all.

As they rode towards the structure and it came more clearly into view, May could see what it was: a massive streamliner ship, partly submerged in an ocean of sand. It had clearly been here for years, as evidenced by peeling, faded paint and massive patches of rust here and there.

“How did this end up here?” May asked, staring up at the wreck as they all climbed off Miss Birdy.

“Would you believe it?” Manya smirked. “A giant Pokémon picked it up and dropped it here.”

“You’re kidding.”

Manya shrugged, manually guiding her motorbike towards a gaping, jagged hole in the ship’s hull. “It’s what people say, anyways.”

May glanced back at Smidge. The boy was clearly attempting to appear unimpressed, but his face reflected something like fearful reverence. He might be too young to have heard the story, regardless of its historical accuracy.

They followed Manya into the crevice. Scavengers had gradually cleared out whatever was inside, leaving little behind except sand and broken containers. It was much cooler here due to all the shade, but the air was still dry with a lingering stale smell.

Manya noticed May wrinkling her nose and smiled. “Yeah, I know it stinks, but it’s better than constantly having Abyss on our asses.”

“I’ll manage,” shrugged May, sitting on a long-buried steel crate. It was preferable to hide out somewhere, to plan and regroup without the stress and panic of doing it on the run. She wondered what her dad would say about this situation. Knowing his training methods, he’d probably say something about “building character”.

Smidge set himself down onto the sandy ground. Manya had rolled out a tarp with some tools to tinker with her motorbike. Understandable, May thought. Can’t have our transportation breaking on us.

They sat in relative silence for a while, the only sounds being the metallic clinking of Manya’s work and the wind howling outside. It was rather peaceful… at least until May’s acknowledgement of it being such triggered an unexpected boost of adrenaline.

Then she found herself having difficulty drawing breath. Combined with her heart rate increasing and stomach tightening, it was as though her entire torso had collapsed in on itself. Light-headed and unreasonably terrified, she stood up and started running, stumbling as her feet hit sand.

Manya called out after her, but May didn’t hear it. She was acting automatically, out of impulsive fear and self-preservation. She didn’t stop until she found herself in the long-abandoned control room. Thoughts flashed into her head, disappearing as quickly as they came. They burst open like fireworks: I can’t do this, I can’t. I’m leading everyone into trouble. I have no idea what I’m doing, they’re going to kill us…

May curled up on the floor, knees up to her chest. Tears welled up in her eyes and she squeezed them shut, half-wishing the burning sensation would envelope her entirely and leave nothing behind. “What was I thinking…?!”

A metallic creak shot through the room, and May glanced up to see Manya walking in. May said nothing in acknowledgement, choosing instead to wipe her face on her sleeve. She could tell without looking that her friend was standing over, perhaps carefully measuring what to say.

Manya lowered herself onto the floor, sitting with her legs crossed. Gazing at May’s scrunched-up form, she asked, “D’you want to talk about it?”

May lifted her head up, blinking her red and irritated eyes in confusion. “What?” she croaked, a side effect of her throat drying out. “No reprimand for not keeping myself together?”

“I hardly think that’s what you need right now.”

They stared at each other for a moment. Even in her current emotional state, May had a rush of gratitude and respect for Manya maintaining a calm and level attitude. Shudders racked her body, and without any further restraint May burst into frustrated tears. Her thoughts tumbled out of her mouth: how she was frustrated with the expectations placed on her shoulders, afraid of making a mistake and endangering people when she was supposed to save them.

She paused, taking rasping breaths, when she felt herself being pulled into Manya’s arms. The unexpected embrace slightly jolted May out of her breakdown, at least enough to rub the tears out of her eyes. Brief waves of distress crashed against her heart, but a minuscule voice in the back of May’s head was telling her, Manya’s right here, you’re going to get through this. She forced herself to take a slow, deep breath, focusing on the sensation of the dry, dusty air filling her lungs before exhaling.

The two girls remained there for a while, Manya’s arms wrapped securely around May’s torso. May tried her best to focus on breathing, acutely aware that her heart rate wasn’t decreasing. Manya hadn’t spoken since May’s outburst, though May simply wanted her mood to stabilize first before attempting a conversation.

“Bet that feels better, huh?” whispered Manya.

May responded with a small nod and a sniff. What she wouldn’t give to stay here forever and not have to worry about anything anymore… And yet she knew that, after all her previous adventuring, she wasn’t the kind of person to just call things quits when it got tough… She would get through this.

Manya released her grip and May rubbed her eyes dry one last time. “Thanks, Manya,” she said, gazing into her friend’s face. “I’m sorry you had to see that.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Manya said, waving away her concerns. “I’m glad you’re doing better.” She stood up, dusting the sand off her skirt. “You’re not a superhero, y’know… there’s gonna be things even you can’t do alone.”

May wanted to respond that Manya wasn’t the one wearing a Snag Machine on her wrist but thought better of it. She nodded instead and pulled herself upright, her legs screaming in protest as they stretched out. Her head still felt swollen after her emotional release, with the arid desert air doing no additional favors.

“That said,” May said, as they made their way back to the ground level (given that she was in the middle of an anxiety attack the last time she came through here, everything looked so alien to her). “I wouldn’t say no to a little extra help.”

“Hmm…” Manya gazed out at nothing, pondering that statement. “Well, I don’t think it’d be a good idea to have too many people in on what we’re doing… but maybe…”

“Maybe what?”

Manya couldn’t answer: the moment their feet touched the sandy ground, Smidge came running up to them, his face a mixture of confusion and anger. “The heck did you go?” he snapped.

“None of your business,” Manya shot back. May inwardly thanked her for not divulging her breakdown before addressing their miniscule companion.

“What’s going on, Smidge?”

The boy pointed out towards the crevice in the ship’s hull. “I think there’s someone skulkin’ around out there. I keep hearin’ footsteps and coughing.”

They all stared out through the hole, watching a giant dust cloud swirl around in the breeze. May strained her ears and, as Smidge had said, could detect faint sounds of movement. Her heart skipped a beat: could they have been followed from the Shadow Pokémon Lab? She had tried to keep an eye out as best she could during their escape, but hadn’t noticed anything…

“What d’ya think?” she asked Manya, lowering her voice to a whisper.

“I doubt anyone with Abyss would be clumsy enough to let us hear them,” Manya murmured back, her eyes still focused on the billowing sand. “But who’d be stupid enough to come out here?”

“Us,” Smidge grumbled, but his remark went unheard as the girls’ attention became fully focused on a dark shape that had appeared amidst the dust cloud. It had to be a person —it became more identifiable as it advanced towards them — but were they friendly? Or someone less desirable?

Three hands grasped three Poké Balls as May, Manya, and Smidge all waited with bated breath. The shadow was steadily growing larger and more defined, and each step it took was echoed with a heartbeat in their chests.

Then a tall man stepped out of the dust, striding with purpose and intent. He appeared very professional, with a well-worn but cared for trench coat over a deep brown suit. Wide brown eyes gazed out at the trio, a deep frown and arched eyebrow creasing his long face. It was quite an impressive entrance… at least until he doubled over, coughing violently.

“Cough!! Hack!! … Ergh. That was quite unpleasant.” The man straightened up, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “My apologies for having you witness that,” he added, addressing the three Trainers staring bemusedly. “But it seems that, despite being the very picture of health, I had inhaled a large amount of sand.”

“Who the heck’s this guy?” wondered aloud Smidge to no one in particular, looking torn between outright confusion and breaking into laughter.

“Curious about my identity, are we?” asked the man, not even bothering to conceal a satisfied smile. “Then I shall indulge you… My name is —” He shook his head and raised a hand in forgiveness. “No, my codename! It is Looker, and I ask that you refer to me as such.”

“Codename?” repeated Manya, eyebrows raised. “Is Abyss handing out codenames now?”

“You think me as being with Abyss?” Looker shook his head and reached a hand into his coat. “My dear lady, I have come to stop Abyss.” He withdrew his hand, revealing a gold badge that glinted in the sunlight. “As you can clearly see, I, Looker, am a member of the International Police. I hope you all will review my credentials, and that they are satisfactory to you.”

May put away her Poké Ball and took the badge that Looker had offered. She had never heard of the International Police before, so she was rather skeptical of this Looker character (such a word certainly fit him). But the more she scrutinized his credentials, the more genuine they seemed. She handed the badge to Smidge (who passed it off to Manya without a glance) and turned her attention back to Looker.

“Okay, I have like a billion questions for you… first of all, how did the International Police know we’re here?”

Looker nodded, as if satisfied with May’s inquiry. “We have spies and informants across the world, so that we may always be prepared to investigate what nefarious goings-on require investigating.”

“I have to admit,” said Manya, returning Looker’s badge to him. “That’s pretty impressive for how remote Orre is.”

“We do our best to live up to the name ‘international’.” the agent affirmed.

That answers my next question about how they discovered Abyss, May thought, so she moved on: “So now that you’re here, are you gonna send us all home so the adult policeman solves everything?”

Taken aback, Looker shook his head. “No, not at all. You see, as I have been abroad on multiple occasions, I have been privileged to witnessing such feats what young Trainers such as yourselves are capable of. And thus, I, Looker, have come before you to assist your endeavors in endangering the evil empire of Abyss.”

May could feel Manya and Smidge’s eyes on her, waiting to see what her decision would be. She was, at least, certain that Looker was truthful in his occupation. Maybe this was who they needed: an experienced adult with the authority to give weight to their actions against Abyss. Having Looker around might lessen her anxiety, too…

“We’re glad to have your help, Mr. Looker,” she told him, hoping her smile came off as sincere.

“I am pleased to hear of your acceptance,” Looker replied with a nod. “But, please, there is no need to call me ‘mister’, as my codename is simply Looker.” He paused in thought. “Pardon me, for I have seemed not to be privy to your names.”

They all introduced themselves briefly, Looker nodding as they each gave their names. “Now then,” he continued, looking around at the three of them. “What, may I ask, is our next move?”

May and Manya exchanged glances. They had not yet breached that topic, with their most recent concerns having been escaping the Lab and passing an anxiety attack. “We, uh… we haven’t discussed that yet.” May explained.

“This shrimp might help,” said Manya, sneering down at Smidge with her arms crossed. “I have the feeling he knows more than he’s letting on, what with that little stunt he pulled before.”

“I don’t know squat, blondie.” Smidge huffed, and he flashed a rude hand gesture at Manya. “I jus’ thought it’d be funny —”

“Be honest, Smidge,” interrupted May, more thankful by the minute that her brother was nothing like him. “At the very least you knew enough to have two Admins come after us.”

The boy didn’t answer, choosing instead to glower at her from under his bandanna. May crouched down to match his eye level. “Smidge,” she said, her voice level. “Please tell us what you know. You helped us get away, so I think you don’t want to be as involved with Abyss as we think you are.”

Smidge kicked the ground, the wheels of his skates spiraling from the motion. His eyes, flashing with indecision, darted from Manya to Looker before landing back onto May. Then, with a relenting sigh, he spoke. “Okay… I honestly know nothin’ ‘bout what Abyss is doin’… only thing I really do know is that they’ve settled in a lot of the same places Cipher did.”

“Cipher…” Lily had mentioned them earlier, only noting that they used to be active in Orre. May looked up at Manya, one hand tapping the screen of the Snag Machine. “D’you know where Cipher used to be?”

Manya stepped closer as the Snag Machine projected a map of Orre, much like when Allyson had sent a message before. Small icons of each landmark hovered in place, suspended above their location. One icon, a simplified head and torso, seemed to be the marker for May’s position.

Smidge and Looker stood off to the side, wearing similar bemused expressions as Manya gazed around at the map, tapping two fingers against her lips. “Well,” she said finally, hands on her hips. “I will admit that I haven’t heard a lot about Cipher, but I think I know enough…” She pointed to an icon south of Mt. Battle, directly west of their current resting place. “That’s the lab we came from before, and Cipher used to be there… And this one here —” She jabbed a finger at a pyramid-shaped icon. “— was another of Cipher’s laboratories.”

“Pardon for the interruption,” interjected Looker. “But I caught up on briefings during my daring journey out here. It seems that Cipher’s laboratories were never examined by any law enforcement agency after they were defeated years ago. Thus, I would deduce that Abyss has taken advantage of such a fact and has taken up residence there.”

“Probably made it easy for them,” May said. “And if Cipher created Shadow Pokémon, all their research could have been there, too. Abyss wouldn’t have to work so hard to continue what Cipher started.”

She turned her attention back to the map again and noticed another icon not too far from they were situated. “What’s this?”

Manya stared at the icon, brow furrowed in thought. “We’re right near Eclo Canyon,” she murmured. “I think… I think that used to be a hideout for some thugs that were also running around Orre.”

“Team Snagem,” blurt out Smidge, and everyone turned towards him. He frowned around at them all before clarifying: “They were th’ ones who’d snag Pokémon for Cipher to experiment on… I overheard some scientists talking about it when I was at the lab wit’ ya.”

“Do you know if Snagem’s working with Abyss?” Manya asked.

Smidge shook his head. “Nah… I think at one point Snagem stopped workin’ with Cipher… at least from what I heard.”

Manya and May both gazed up at the icon of Snagem’s Hideout. Would it be worth checking out if Snagem would ally with us…? Even as she finished this thought, an all-too-familiar image of two costumed idiots and a talking Meowth flashed through her mind. That’d be a miracle.

May tapped the Snag Machine screen again and the holographic display disappeared. “Let’s try and rest,” she announced. “We should stock up on supplies later. I… I need to do some thinking, so let’s not make any rash decisions.”

And before anyone could respond, May was already making her way back up to the control room, unconsciously rolling around Altaria’s Poké Ball in her hand, the pounding of her heart starting up again.

---

May stared down at the translucent top of her Poké Ball through the Aura Lenses. The Altaria was curled up inside, its head tucked under a fluffy wing. Inky, violet smoke drifted around the Pokémon, a foreboding reminder of May’s responsibility. The thought of it triggered a jolt of discomfort in her stomach, and with a heavy sigh she leaned back along the shattered control console.

The sun had begun dipping towards the horizon, currently at just the right position to illuminate the entire cabin. Holding the Poké Ball above her face, it almost seemed like May was holding the miniaturized Altaria in her hand without the manufactured capsule. How long had it been, she wondered, since Altaria had experienced the sensation of a warm, gentle hand?

“It’s not really fair, is it?” May said aloud. “People telling you what they expect you to do, without any consideration for your feelings…” Memories of her neighbors back in Petalburg raced past her mind’s eye: We’re looking forward to seeing what kind of Trainer you’ll be…

She shook her head, as though the motion would dislodge the uncomfortable statements. Focusing back on Altaria, May once again experienced the briefest flash of familiarity. She recognized the Pokémon as a species, of course, having seen one used by the Hoenn Gym Leader Winona, and in Johto by Lance… but there was something she couldn’t place about this particular Altaria…

On a whim she tossed the Poké Ball into the air, and it popped open, depositing the Pokémon onto the floor in front of her. Awoken from its slumber, Altaria raised its long, slender neck, blinking its beady eyes. It fixed May with a stare as she pulled off the Aura Lenses and crouched down to meet its gaze.

Her heart started pounding again. Lily’s voice echoed in her head: they’re even known to attack Trainers themselves… yet somehow, she didn’t mind taking this risk. She had to know why she almost felt as if she had met this Altaria before… the Pokémon itself even appeared to be thinking along the same lines, tilting its head slightly, as though discerning the human in front of it…

Moments passed in silence, each hammering thud of May’s heart a reminder that she was still alive for another second… she strained her memory, struggling to think of Altaria’s evolutionary chain… it evolved from another Pokémon, didn’t it? … But what was that Pokémon?

Then, in a sudden bolt of recognition, May realized. Altaria evolved from a Pokémon called Swablu… she had seen plenty of them in her travels, and had even… but that was impossible. It was just too much of a coincidence for it to be true…

“No way,” May whispered, slowly reaching out a shaking hand up to Altaria’s face. “There’s… just no way…” Bracing herself for a sudden attack, she placed her hand against the Pokémon’s cheek…

To her great surprise, Altaria closed its eyes in contentment, and hummed a single, brief note. Blinking its small, black eyes, it looked up at May, who struggled to speak.

“You… you’re not…” she swallowed and blinked the fresh wave of tears threatening to fall down her face. “Do you… recognize me…?”

Altaria gave the briefest of nods, its skin brushing against the fabric of May’s gloves. A chill surged down May’s spine, and she drowned in a wave of bittersweet amazement. It couldn’t be… she couldn’t believe that this was true… ignoring all further restraint, her face broke into a teary, disbelieving smile. This Pokémon, the Shadow Altaria… was the very same Swablu she had nursed back to health in Hoenn years ago.

To be continued...