Like No One Ever Was (Pokemon SI)

[Lillie Jones]

thanks for the chapter

 

[Skyfyre]

Spoiler: Patreons

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Blearily, I opened my eyes, feeling like hell. Ugh, what happened- oh, yeah. That. The memories of my clash with the Paradox Pokemon hit me like the loss of Aura. Which was currently making me feel incredibly sluggish and weak.

"She's awake!" A female voice called out, and straining my body to turn, I saw Buffy's face above me. After a second, I realized that was because she was carrying me, easily hefting me in her buff arms. Oh wow.

"You don't have to wake the rest of us up then," Zedd faux-complained. Despite his words, I heard how quickly he shuffled over and saw the worry in his tired face as I wrenched my head over that way.

"Sorry for worrying you. Is the Iron Moth-"

"Bzzt, they are still safely secured. The Rangers have attached a restraining device to the Pokeball to ensure it doesn't try to break out for the time being." Miles floated up and helpfully addressed me. Glancing down at my belt, I saw all my Pokeballs all sitting there, with the newest one with a small circular device attached to the back of it. Four thin wire chains stretched out from it to the center button.

"Iron Moth, cute name," Buffy said cheerfully, and I shook off a small blush.

"Ah, not my choice, blame Heath." That brought them to a stop. Or perhaps it's the fact that we've reached a hospital. The building loomed overhead, and I attempted to extricate myself from Buffy's grip.

"I'm fine, guys, just tired." Trying to stand took a bit more effort than I thought; however, my legs wobbled and had me leaning against Buffy for support the moment I touched down. Sighing, I resigned myself as she picked me up again.

"Guess that 'woosh' took a lot out of you, huh?" Zedd commented. "And who's Heath?"

"Professor Heath? The guy who wrote the Violet Book. Oh, you haven't read it, have you?" It is considered a rather obscure book.

"Ohh, I thought that 'Iron Moth' looked like a UFO I read about in a magazine," Buffy cheerfully provided, scooping me back up again. They walked into the building proper, a quick flash of their badges at the front desk getting me checked into the hospital rapidly.

It turned out I wasn't just dealing with tiredness but also had several tiny shards of glass embedded in me. Thankfully none of them deep and some careful application of the doctor's Grumpig Psychic powers highlighted all of the shards still stuck in me and let him carefully pull each one out.

The Rangers got looked at as well, and they actually seemed worse off than I was, with a few burns they'd been covering up and some toxins in their system. Nothing serious, and they'd already administered some first aid like Antidotes to themselves, but the doctors warned them to take it easy.

I only barely overheard that from the other room, lying down in a hospital bed, still too tired to really get up and move. Everything feels so muffled, like I'm blind and deaf. I hadn't realized how much I relied on Aura every day, and now drained, I was forcing myself to not use any and hopefully speed up my recovery.

Left alone with my thoughts, I took the time to gather myself mentally, or at least attempt to. This is bad. Or at least, I think it is? How long in the game canon was Iron Treads active? Probably a while… but I don't think six years. Though that's based on nothing - given how remote the desert is, I suppose it's entirely possible that a Paradox Pokemon could escape and hang out there for six years. Of course, further questions would be raised about why only that one escaped… argh.

"Miles, could you send a message to my parents letting them know what happened? Uh, sanitized, of course." They looked at me from where they floated by my side, plasmic eyes scrunched together in thought. "Just mention that I assisted some Rangers in subduing a wild Pokemon and got a few cuts but am otherwise fine."

I won't hide such events from them any more, but I don't need to get into the details and worry them further about 'what could have been' with things like mentioning how much the Rangers got hurt. That kind of stuff doesn't matter. Even as I thought that, my eyes drifted down to the locked Pokeball on my bedside table.

"I'm going to need some help handling that one," I said more to myself than Miles. Paradox Pokemon are really cool, but this was a clear sign of the dangers they represent. And of how I need to step up my plan. I thought… I thought I had more time.

Groaning, I said without thinking, "I'm going to have to talk to the Professor about this." I hadn't expected a response, but one came anyway from Buffy as she opened the door to my room, Zedd slinking in behind her.

"Heath?"

"Gah! No, Heath is long dead. I meant Turo. Who did you think I meant?" I caught myself as soon as the words left my mouth. "Actually though, Friede would probably be a great person to call too. He's started that video series… In Hoenn last I checked, but maybe he could swing by…"

"Well, looks like you've got that all sorted out then," Zedd declared, earning him a frown from Buffy. "Alright, alright, guess we have a few more things to discuss."

The buff girl pulled out the chair beside my bed to sit closer to my level. "You did a really brave thing out there, fighting that Pokemon and saving us," she said in a soft voice. "I know you care a lot, but you don't have to train that Pokemon if you don't want to. We can take them in and make sure they have a proper place to live in, comfortable without hurting anyone else."

A small part of me was tempted to agree - I was on a (nebulous) time crunch, and this would eat into it further. On the other hand, as much as she might really want what she said to be true, I don't think it is. If Area Zero couldn't contain this Paradox Pokemon, where in the world could?

Slowly, I shook my head. "No, thank you. I'm going to give this a try. See if I can get to know them and make a bond. If things don't work out or they don't want to travel with me, I'll give you a call." With a weak gesture from me, Miles exchanged my number with her Rotom Phone.

"I'm surprised you didn't just demand to take Iron Moth away from me for safety or whatever." Zedd snorted at my words.

"'Safety or whatever,' yeah, definitely sounds like the job some days." Then he leveled a serious stare at me as he slumped into a chair in the corner. "That's a very complicated issue. Words can't describe how little Trainers like Pokemon they've caught being taken away from them. Especially rare ones like your Iron Moth, was it?"

Buffy continued. "Nemona, you seem to have a good head on shoulders-"

"And a powerful team at your side with at least two Pokemon Professors on speed dial," Zedd interjected.

She carried on as if he hadn't said anything. "So we're going to trust you with the care of this potentially dangerous Pokemon. Don't hesitate to reach out to us if you need help or are looking for advice, but for now, yes, we're trusting you."

"If you need a more immediate hand, you can ask any of the Nurse Joys around. I hear that one of the ones stationed on the northern edge of town is pretty keen on helping Pokemon like that."

I thanked them for the advice before they left, then sent out a quick message to Friede, trusting he'd respond quickly. For Turo, I left a message and called, though my call went straight to his mailbox.

"Turo. I caught an Iron Moth out in the Asado Desert. We need to talk. Soon." Ending the message, I sighed. Hopefully that gets his attentio- Miles rang immediately.

"Nemona," The man said stiffly. He was standing in one of his bunker labs down in Area Zero, though I couldn't tell which one, the Rotom Phone positioned such that Turo's torso took up most of the screen. "I just received your message."

"Yes, I- uhn," I groaned as I tried to prop myself up slightly. Still very tired and hurt. Instead of moving further, I directed Miles to show Turo the locked Pokeball. "I can't release them at the moment, but they were causing problems in the Asado Desert after they escaped from Area Zero."

He frowned but said nothing more. I want to tear into him right here and now for everything he's doing. But I don't have the right words, or leverage, yet. I'm off-balance and way too tired for this. "I'm sorry, I'm still rather tired from the whole ordeal, but I'll need to talk to you about this more later. For now, could you authorize me to carry them with me, beyond the usual limit? I need to get them acclimated to life here."

My wording was deliberately vague. With my Miraidon slip-up those months ago, I was certain he suspected I knew something, and this would only deepen those. Hopefully that will give me some more credibility when I directly address this later.

For the moment, Turo agreed. "I can do that. Now if you'll excuse me, there's much work to be done here." He hung up before I could say anything else. I can only hope that the 'work' he's talking about isn't more to be done on the Paradox Machine.

***

Waking up after a long rest, I found that I was in Alfornada, a fact that both made me happy and vexed me. Happy because I'd get the chance to see Dendra and Tulip (and apologize to them for my behavior before) but vexed because of a sneaking suspicion that was confirmed when I got out the next day and saw the same Nurse Joy I had argued with before.

She startled at my approach, jolting as she saw me before frowning and drawing her arms in behind the counter defensively. "Hello, is there something I can do for you?"

Her tone was clipped, but I gave her points for being professional and calm with me despite our previous interaction. "Yes, actually. Ranger Captain Zedd directed me here for… some advice."

His name was clearly familiar to her. "Yes, I know, cousin- I mean, Captain Zedd." Huh, they don't really look alike. Then again, even the 'predominant Joy clan genes' are a bit overexaggerated, and he could easily be a cousin on the other side of her family. It hardly mattered for the issue right now.

"What do you need help with?" She asked with slight trepidation. Didn't think I made that big an impact on her last time, but I'll take it if it means she's not going to be making accusations or the like.

Taking a deep breath, I began. "Under the guidance of Ranger Captain Zedd and Ranger Captain Buffy, I caught a previously unknown Pokemon- err, barely discovered Pokemon," I corrected, both for accuracy's sake and because of the kind of Pokemon called 'Unown.' "They are quite aggressive, and I was looking for tips on how to better understand them and create a peaceful relationship with them."

The lady looked gobsmacked. "You? Out of everyone, you're asking for help in reining in a dangerous Pokemon?"

"Everyone else on my team became my friend before I ever caught them!" I pouted, stomping my foot for a second before wincing. "Look, I just want some help in making sure they fit in well and there aren't any problems." I didn't add on the 'isn't that what you want/what you're here for?' In a show of restraint.

Given what she quickly fired back, I didn't feel like it was unheard or appreciated. "You should release them back in their natural environment if you feel incapable of training them."

"I'm not saying that. And even if I did, the Rangers wouldn't have anywhere good to put them! Where are they supposed to drop a Pokemon that even Area Zero can't contain?"

My words caused her to pause and take a step back. With a deep breath, the nurse centered herself and swung open a latch behind the counter. "I can see that this will take more consideration than I realized. Would you like to follow me so we can discuss the matter privately?" She pulled up the hatch to the underground bunker beneath the Pokemon Center. I forgot they had these things.

Nodding, I followed her down. The shaft was narrow, with the space underneath feeling rather cramped even when it opened up. My childlike size helped a bit with that, but I saw with how the Nurse Joy had to squeeze around the one desk to shake the other nurse awake in one of the bunk beds nearby that it wasn't designed for long-term habitation. The walls and most of the features were gray steel, with two dim lights illuminating the space.

"C'mon, I need you to cover for me up there for a bit," the first nurse said to the one still trying to sleep. "You can have my break later," she added when the former grumbled.

Sleepily, the other nurse rolled out of bed with a yawn, picking up her pink wig and shimmying out of the room. The first one sat at the small desk, turning to face me as I sat down in one of the beds, careful not to clip my head on the bed above. "So, you got a name beyond Nurse Joy? Feels weird to think of you just like that."

She sighed but said, "My first name is Amelia. Now, do you have any plans for how to acclimatize your Pokemon? And what kind of Pokemon are they? You've been evasive about that."

It was my turn to frown. Oh yeah, love coming for advice just for her to tell me everything wrong I'll do. But hopefully she'll actually give me something actionable too. "The Pokemon is, near as I can tell, an Iron Moth." At the blank look on her face, I placed the locked Pokeball on the desk and smugly added, "They're a Pokemon that was seen once by a Professor two hundred years ago."

Amelia sputtered, shooting back in her chair as if afraid to be near the Pokeball, an action that caused her to bang her head against a bedframe. "Oww oww oww. Yo-you brought a Legendary Pokemon here?!"

"I mean, I'm not sure they qualify as a capital 'L' legendary or anything like that. Actually, how does a Pokemon get counted as such-"

"Focus!" She shrieked, though she seemed to be calming down slightly realizing that the powerful and dangerous Pokemon wasn't liable to pop out any time soon. "First off, can you actually handle such a powerful Pokemon on your team? Even for non-Legendaries, adding a Pokemon that is vastly stronger than their current team can unbalance the dynamic they have, to say nothing of the potential accidents that can occur if the newly caught Pokemon lashes out."

"Please. Of course we can handle Iron Moth. The biggest issue when we ran into them was the fact that they kept on attacking me, so my team had to divert attention away from that." Well, the fact that it was so boosted when we first ran into it was a problem too, but not one that should be relevant now. "I'm pretty sure at least half of my team could take them on one-v.-one."

Too many area attacks and enough speed and power to match Phantasm while being tougher than her to boot. Same for Athena, and with a Type disadvantage on top that would make me leery of using her to fight them even with Mega Evolution. Bahamut is a little too inexperienced to win a fight, at least, so long as it knows to stick to Poison Type attacks against him, as the rest of their repertoire wouldn't be too effective. For everyone else, though? They'd win.

"Yet it took you and two Ranger Captains to take them down before," Amelia pressed.

"Not really. Iron Moth had mostly defeated Buffy and Zedd by the time I got there."

The young woman just intently stared at me, to the point where I shifted uncomfortably. "What?"

"Little kids shouldn't have that much power." Her voice was whisper-soft, and I didn't think she intended for me to hear her.

"Well, I do. So are you going to help me or what?"

"I'm sorry."

Huh?

The confusion was clear on my face, so she explained. "I haven't treated you the best from the beginning. I had my reasons, and you jumped to conclusions, but-" The Nurse Joy cut herself off before she could carry down that train of thought. "I am truly sorry for how I behaved before."

"Well, thank you."

"Now, I might have some ideas about how to help you, but if I could get some details about your plans here and what this 'Iron Moth is like, that would be helpful."

Relaxing my guard a tad, I explained what Iron Moth was like, an overview of our battle, and my ideas.

"I have a Psychic friend in town who might be able to help us communicate." Shaking her head, Amelia struck my first idea down.

"You said they're a Poison Type? Then don't start out with Pschic or the like. They'll likely take it as an attack. What else?"

Oof. I get the reasoning, but that does eliminate my best option. "Well, I could try talking the old-fashioned way. Miles might be able to help translate until I get a handle on their body language."

"And if they're still violent and disinclined to listen upon being released?"

"I figured I'd challenge them to fight one of my team, one on one. Figured it would establish dominance, prove the desert wasn't a fluke." Assuming they're even willing to listen to me that much, admittedly. If not… I don't know. In that case we might need to pin the Paradox Pokemon down and force them to listen.

A considering 'Mhm,' came from the nurse. "That can work. Not always, of course, but if you're sure of your team-"

"I am."

"Then it could appeal to some Pokemon. Hard to say if it will work with this one, though. From your description, the closest Pokemon to it would be a Volcarona, and those are rare enough themselves that they were considered Legendaries for some time, so the behaviors of wild ones aren't well documented. From what is known, most of them are used to being treated with great respect. You don't have to roll over for them, but bowing and treating them with courtesy won't hurt. Giving them time before you engage them wouldn't hurt. The state of stasis inside the Pokeball will mean they won't feel the days passing as clearly as you do…"

Amelia went on to explain how near to the Passage entrance might serve as a good spot to release them, as it was similar enough to how some Larvesta would spend their time in caves. She also gave me a list of berries that they were generally known to like that I could leave out when I released them.

The rest of the advice, like giving it time, being patient, and not trying to force them to do something they didn't want to (as long as it wasn't dangerous to other people), was fairly basic, but I listened to it regardless before departing.

On the way to Dendra's, I checked my messages, seeing a reply from Friede. He was eager to help me and see this new Pokemon I'd found, but he was over in Sinnoh at the moment, so it'd take him a week to fly over.

When I questioned if he was riding by Charizard, his response was a slightly ominous 'you'll see soon.'

Dendra had sold her old home and moved into the dojo full time, with the blessing of her teacher. I always want to check if that enigmatic 'Chuck' is the same as former Jhotoan Gym Leader but never seem to find the right opportunity to, then I forget about it with whatever new thing is up.

Whoever they were, I was sure they'd be impressed by what she had done with the place. A new coat of paint, a clean yard, some new fancy topiary in the shape of different Fighting Types (courtesy of Tulip), and a large, colorful sign boasting of the dojo's nature did much to attract and retain new students. From inside, I could hear a bustle of powerful exertions and heavy breathing.

Opening the sliding door, I saw a full class of twenty-plus students sparring or watching matches from the sidelines. A few stopped and turned to wonder who this person intruding was, Dendra herself brightening up as she caught my eye.

She didn't say anything until she called the latest round over, but when she did, the young woman bounded over. "Nemona! Osu!" She cried, wrapping me in a tight hug.

"Urk! Great to see you too…" I wheezed before she released me.

"We're partway through the class, but do you want to join in?"

"Sorry, but I don't think the doctors would approve," I said, showing off the many bandages covering my flesh. More to the point, I don't think my parents would. I promised them I wouldn't take unnecessary risks, and while I think this one is minor, it definitely fits. "Let's talk after, though, okay?" She looked so eager I hated to turn her down, but she bounced back quickly, and with a quick cheer, got back to running the class.

She's really doing well with them all. I can see how she could become a great teacher at Uva. Wonder if that will still happen after everything? I wasn't worried if that didn't turn out to be the case here; she was clearly doing great right now, in her element.

Watching the class did bring me a slight pang, realizing how my own skills were getting rusty. I also recognized some of the other students. While I had practiced a bit with some of the new students she had taken on after my tournament victory, preparations for my journey and album release took up much of my time, and I wasn't able to practice too often with the newer students. No matter what life you're in, it feels like there's just never enough time to do everything.

Class finished not too long after, though the wrap-up took a fair bit of time. The students would laugh and talk with each other, hanging out for a while. Some also had questions for Dendra, so I waited until they were all finished before she called me.

"Sorry about that, Nemona."

"No worries. I'm the one who should be sorry for dropping in on you like that. And for… how I left things last time."

"It's o-"

"It really isn't. I was in a bad headspace, but that doesn't excuse just ditching you and Tulip like that. I'm sure I must have worried you both." From the look on her face, I could see that I'd hit the mark. "I should go and apologize to her too. Do you know when she'll be home?" I asked, knowing that Tulip had a busy and erratic schedule and that her best friend likely had a better picture of it.

"She's out at a shoot right now, but she should be back home in time for dinner. Uh, our place, not her parents." The martial artist's face grew scarlet quickly, but there was an undeniable joy that came through her tone as she spoke the words.

"Your place, huh? Congrats, I'm glad for you two."

"Thanks," she squeaked before clearing her throat. "So why are you back here? Did you finish your journey and collect all the badges in one Treasure hunt?"

"Not quite, still have to go for my eighth badge. Besides, it's not like I started at the start of the hunt - or am even a student of Uva - for that to matter. No, I ended up back here after a minor misadventure and figured I should clear the air. And maybe get some advice from my sensei?" I asked hopefully.

She beamed widely in response. "Lay it on me! Sensei Dendra is happy to help!"

Spoiler: A/N:

Sometimes the direction of a story really surprises you. Other times, it just dips in slightly unexpected ways. This was one of the latter. Not a huge shock for me and I always planned on Nemona reconnecting with these characters, but the vague plans I had before involved them meeting elsewhere and having it happen later, but as I got to this chapter I just sort of realized what needed to happen. Tbf, I left a lot of plot threads to tie up here, so I guess I shouldn't be too surprised.

For anyone wondering, Iron Moth won't be added onto the team list until at least next time when Nemona gets the chance to talk to them and work things out.

If you liked the chapter feel free to leave me a comment, here or on the Discord. And if you're enjoying my stuff and want to toss me a bit of money, I have a Kofi and a Patreon, subscribers to the latter get early access to the next ten chapters. Thank you, and I hope you have a great day.