(Probably still shit-)attempt #3, I think?

It was a clear and sunny day, yet a cold one. A plump, healthy Rattata passing by momentarily caught the attention of a Luxray standing at the foot of a grassy hill which towered above the sparse trees nearby.
The Luxray quickly refocused its gleaming eyes on a noticeably tall young human male slowly walking towards him.
Had it been on a look for prey, the human would not have enough time to reach the single Pokéball on his belt. But the human instead spoke up, fear not in his tone, “We’ll test that on Torry now.”
The Gleam Eyes Pokémon now realized that this is the ‘isolator testing’ the human had mentioned to him earlier.
Although the Torterra the Pokéball released with a bright flash didn’t.
“James, what did you say about testing on me?” it asked.
“We’re testing Lux’s new move,” James replied, even when the Torterra had spoken in his native tongue.
He then took several steps away from the two Pokémon. Once he was far enough to be safe from what he had in mind, he exclaimed, “Just stay still, Torry!”
“Is this safe?” Torry asked, unnerved by his trainer’s behavior.
The Luxray shrugged, taking several steps towards the larger Pokémon. “Only a bit of damage, at worst. Maybe paralysis.”
James noticed his Pokémon’s doubt from a distance and shouted, “I’ve got a Full Restore, you’ll be fine!”
Torry had a skeptical look on his face, but nodded and muttered his consent. With it, Lux readied himself and adopted a combat-ready stance.
James gave the order, “Lux, in three, two, one, Electrosphere!”
Electric fields visible to the eye was released by Lux from the energy he had gathered. As the bright yellow bubbles expanded, they somehow abruptly halted and merged with each other, forming a near-opaque globe of crackling pure energy. Inside, the air had a distinct smell of ozone with particle flows and small crackles appearing and disappearing into the barrier.
Seemingly unaffected by all those, Torry questioned Lux, “What the heck is this?!”
Lux sighed, “So it didn’t work with you.”
The spherical globe surrounding them slowly began to fade into thin air, leaving no trace save for a ring of charred grass and a persistent stench of ozone. “I used Protect spherically to trap some Thunder Wave and ThunderShock so they remain stable.”
Torry tilted his head. “Okay… I think I get the idea,” he turned to face his trainer, heading back towards them. “But was it necessary to test on me? I feel tingly all over…”
James shrugged. “We have three months, and we can’t let that mute win a second time.”
They proceeded to discuss both the test and, after reaching a conclusion that they needed a less-grounded Ground-type to test on, the upcoming tournament as they sat on the grass. That is, until James began to hear his Pokémon saying syllables of their species names.
He raised his hand to pause the conversation. “Hang on. I didn’t get what you said just now. When was the last time?”
Torry recalled, “It was on New Years’ Eve, wasn’t it? It’s the 12th, so it’s been almost two weeks...”
James sighed, “I didn’t get what you say. I guess it’s a good time to go back anyway.”
He picked up one of the Pokéballs, recalling Torry, and proceeded to mount on Lux instead of recalling him.
Lux stared at his trainer and said a firm, “No.” accompanied by a shake his head.
“Yes,” his trainer responded as firmly.
Lux stretched a leg back and stood up. “You’ll regret this,” he muttered.
The tone of the voice was sufficient to make James lean forward and bury his head beneath Lux’s fur as he grasped tightly onto the Luxray’s chest.
Within less than a minute, the Luxray covered a distance of five hundred meters and reached the hilltop, only stopping to look back at his trainer who achieved four-hundred ninety-six.
James moaned slightly in pain, “Okay, no more rides…”
Lux helped him stand up, and he brushed the dirt off his trousers and shirt. They then walked and arrived in front of a two-level near-cubic stone building with a disproportionately large double door on the peak of the hill.
The human knocked the doors, and when nobody opened it he called out, “Hey! Can someone open the door?!”
One of the doors creaked open and a Gardevoir’s head popped out. “Shut up!” she yelled. “I can’t concentrate!”
Lux and James squeaked an apology. The Gardevoir scowled at them, then went back in.
After a short while, the pair decided to walk in and found said Gardevoir sitting on a couch as she did a newspaper crossword puzzle on a dining table made out of polished rock.
James rolled his eyes. “Really, Ayra?”
The Gardevoir ignored his words, telling them to shut the door instead.
“Ayra, the mental adjustments ran out,” he continued as Lux closed the door behind them.
Ayra continued to focus on the puzzle in front of her. “Fine, five minutes,” she telepathed directly into her trainer’s mind as she did so. “I want to finish this first.”
“I’ll just wait here then,” James replied, pulling out a chair from under the dinner table.
A strange humming noise sounded for a split second and the neon lights on the ceiling almost instantly turned off, darkening the almost windowless house.
James, whose visibility was less than three meters, looked around. “Lux, did you forget to charge the generators?” he asked.
“My bad,” came the reply. Lux proceeded to head for a nearby stairway and descended it, darkness not affecting his x-ray vision.
James crossed his arms and looked at the Gardevoir. “Ayra, now would be a good time…”
The Gardevoir put her pen down, unable to fill in the boxes in the pitch black. “Fine, sit still,” she instructed her trainer. Her eyes began to glow a bright red, temporarily lighting up the room near her. Almost simultaneously, her trainer’s head jerked back. “Testing… One, two, three, did you get it?” she asked, as her eyes dimmed back to normal.
Her trainer checked his listening and nodded, muttering his gratitude. Just as he did so, the lights went back to life, lighting the indoor area more than the now-setting sun outside.
James took a peek at the crossword sheet and began giving out hints just as Lux re-emerged from the stairs.
“Hey, Lux,” James said, standing back up and putting the chair back where it was. “I’m heading back to my room. You coming?”
“Sure, but shouldn’t you release Torry first?” Lux replied.
His trainer did just that and the Torterra, the ceiling just enough to accommodate him, headed for the large empty space occupying most of the ground floor once he emerged from his Pokéball. His trainer and Lux ascended a flight of stairs as he did so.
Once he arrived to his favorite spot next to a sign saying “Hardy and Torry’s Zone”, he mumbled something about a nap and was about to do so when a scream rang from upstairs.
James blinked in surprise. “Was that Blake?”
He dashed the rest of the way with Lux ahead of him and turned left at the top, opening a door leading to a bedroom with a slumped Flygon inside. James blinked again. “What happened?”
The Flygon tried to hold back tears. “I… I’ve been running a simulation for my observational model since yesterday…” it hiccupped. “I took a short nap, and the computer restarted and… and… my data…”
The Dragon-type broke down and cried openly, leaving James and Lux looking at each other not knowing what to do.
“Uh… We’ll leave you to it,” James muttered, silently closing the door. He turned around and took several steps heading the other way.  “I’m not sure if I should be surprised,” he commented, with Lux expressing a similar opinion.
They took some more steps without a word and arrived in front of a rolling door, which Lux slid open with his paws to reveal a room with a single human bed and a large Pokémon bed.
James compared the size of the two beds. “Sometimes, I want to switch beds with you,” he remarked, with Lux clearly not consenting to the deal.
He sighed and headed for a bedside table, then fiddled with the alarm clock atop of it. “I’ll set it for 7 PM…”
Lux shrugged. “I’ll watch something, I’m not really tired.”
“Feel free,” James replied, before laying himself down on the human bed, stretching his arms and legs from the earlier walking and high-speed dropping.
Lux nodded, flipped the not-so-high switch, and walked for the door. “Don’t sleep over dinner,” Lux reminded him just before leaving.
James removed his glasses. “That’s impossible,” he replied as he placed it on the bedside table. “I’ll be cooking tonight.”

One hour later.
The just-awakened trainer walked down the stairs, rubbing his eyes. “Time to make dinner,” he muttered. “I think I’ll make some-“
Lux and Ayra, both seated on the couch, nodded in mutual understanding and chorused, “Soup.” Almost immediately their voices were followed by Blake’s, who overheard the voice from upstairs.
James muttered something about ungratefulness as he headed to the kitchen, while Ayra declined Lux’s offer for her to cook instead.
Some loud metallic noises sounded from the stairway to the basement as James opened the fridge. “Hardy, I told you to step on the pillowed side!” James shouted as he began to take the ingredients. “I don’t want to repair the stairs again!”
The sound weakened, and a massive Aggron emerged from the stairway moments after.
James placed some foodstuffs on the kitchen table and began to process them as Hardy headed for the couch to join his fellow Pokémon. Looking at him, James remembered something. “Hey, Ayra? Do we still have iron ores for him?”
Ayra took a while to recall. “I think so,” she said. “Magnetite, last time I checked.”
Hearing that, Hardy took a deep breath and sighed in disappointment until Lux offered to demagnetize the iron ore for ease of his consumption.
An hour passed with the three Pokémon watching news, league sports, and a telenovela in turns as their trainer continued with the cooking and serving process.
He finally finished placing the food in the bowls and served them on the table. “There, done!” he said before leaving to get Hardy his ores.
Ayra examined the food for a split second before determining that she had eaten the exact same meal for the last two weeks, prompting her to look away.
Lux was more receptive. “It’s not that bad, Ayra,” he commented, before consuming the soup as a cat would. James returned with a basketful of rocks accompanied with a single bottle of ketchup and he placed it on the table, rattling it quite heavily. Ayra sighed and picked up some berries from a basket on the center instead.
James walked to Torry’s location, where the latter was still asleep. Cupping his hand around his mouth, he shouted, “Hey, Blake, dinnertime!” loudly.
The Torterra gasped in shock from the abrupt awakening as Blake’s faint voice sounded to acknowledge the information. Looking around, Torry noticed the time and examined the dinner from afar.
He quickly opted for canned Pokémon food instead.
Slightly disappointed, James followed his starter’s wish anyway and took out several cans of preserved pellets and berries for him.
After a while, nothing remained except for the bowls and utensils. The tin cans were recycled as the Aggron’s dessert.
James began stacking the bowls. “Can you help me clean up?” he requested from his Pokémon.
Lux quickly electrified the table and vaporized the liquid spills once all hands were off. Blake took the plates from James and brought them into the sink, cleaning it thoroughly.
James headed for the stairs and was about to call Lux when he felt something was off. “Did I forget something?” he asked.
“Oh, you have that conference thing in Viridian City tomorrow,” Ayra noted.
“WHAT?!” James exclaimed. “Why didn’t you remind me earlier?!”
Ayra shrugged, “You told me to remind you the day before.”
James groaned and made a mental note not to trust Ayra in the future. “I need to pack quickly now… Ayra, do you have a node in Viridian?”
“No.”
James sighed. “Great. Blake, book a seat in tomorrow’s flight to Viridian once you’re done.”
Blake nodded as he wiped a dish clean. “How about Star?” he checked.
“He can fly there himself,” James responded, dashing up the stairs with Lux trailing close.

Three hours later.
James zipped up the huge backpack filled with barely-folded clothing, some awkwardly-positioned files, and several valuable items stuffed in plastic bags. “Blake, found a flight?”
“Yeah, there’s one 10 AM from Jubilife tomorrow,” the Flygon replied from his room, operating the computer with a specially-designed mouse for his Flygon fingers. “Should I book that one?”
James gave the affirmative and Blake did so, prompting a confirmation message be sent to James’ multifunctional Pokédex. He quickly did so, not wanting to miss the only flight for him to arrive punctually. An option for Pokéball carry popped out, and James ticked the “Yes” box before confirming.
“What’s happening in this conference?” Lux asked, a small leather pouch attached to his hips.
James scratched his head. “I’m not entirely sure,” his trainer admitted. “I think there’s a meeting on league consolidation and another on Pokémon rights… Oh, and an exhibition match.”
He decided not to order a return flight for the one-week conference and go home via Ayra’s teleport instead (to the dismay of the latter) and continued to check on the rest of the Pokémon to ensure they were packed up and ready.
James checked the clock on the wall. “It’s almost midnight. Blake, don’t stay up late tonight. If Star hasn’t returned by 5 AM, I’ll need to fly on you to Jubilife.”
Blake tried to protest to no avail. “…There’s an asteroid occultation this midnight…” he mumbled, with the others ignoring him.

The next day, 5 AM.
Lux nudged his trainer and whispered softly to him in an attempt to wake him up. When it failed, he gathered static charge on his paws and somewhat reluctantly contacted it with his trainer’s left palm instead.
5.20 AM.
James attempted to restore his hair in the bathroom, using Lux’s magnetized comb due to the electric charge present. “Lux? Can you check if Star’s back?” he requested from the inside.
Lux conveyed the message to Torry, received a “No,” and returned it to James.
A sigh from inside the bathroom. “Tell Blake to suit up then,” James asked.
Lux nodded even as nobody was there to see him, and called out for the Flygon. Blake emerged from his room, wearing a cold-resistant flight suit, special saddles, and a pair of flight goggles which Lux thought was unnecessary due to Blake’s eye covering.
James exited the bathroom and looked at Blake, having the same opinions as Lux. After ensuring Blake could carry his cargo, he returned Lux to his Pokéball in preparation for the journey, telling the Flygon to wait for him in front of the house.
Three minutes later, Blake continued to wait as he watched his trainer and Ayra arguing over who should ride on him.
“Just… get in, okay?!” James part-forcibly returned Ayra, although she had pointed out Lux’s flight capability. Blake, whilst suspecting pride had come into play, mentally shrugged and steadied himself as his trainer hopped on his saddled back.
Blake was slightly surprised. “You’ve gained weight,” he commented as his red-edged wings began to buzz, lifting the pair off the ground and accelerating them opposite the direction of the rising sun.
After almost an hour of eventless, continuous flight, James who had both his arms wrapped around the Flygon’s chest noticed the light reflecting from the sandy beaches of Sunyshore City. Estimating the time, he exclaimed, “Blake, we’re ahead of schedule! If you want to land here and rest, there’s no problem!”
Blake nodded and slowly descended to land on the sandy coasts of Route 222 just west of Sunyshore.
After his feet touched the ground, James removed his arms from Blake’s chest and jumped off, telling Blake to get some rest as he released his other Pokémon.
Thanks to his tired wings combined with the crashing noise of ocean waves and the relaxing chirps of Starly and Staravia living nearby, the Flygon fell asleep, skipping a berry breakfast James offered to the others.
With their ride resting, the group took a brief excursion on the beach, briefly getting nostalgic with their experiences in the past.
James let his ride sleep a little more, then returned most of his Pokémon. After a gentle nudge, Blake woke up and saw Ayra sitting on Lux’s back, their trainer sighing.
“She threatened to deactivate my translation,” James whispered to Blake, handing him a Sitrus Berry which he quickly took a bite from.
Ayra was about to rub salt in his wounds when a quick hiss from Lux stopped her, prompting James to thank Lux quietly. After Blake finished his berry, James remounted his back and they took off, leaving Lux and Ayra slightly behind.
The Gardevoir patted Lux several times on the rear, like she would a Ponyta. Which she soon realized was a bad idea after Lux abruptly ascended into the air with the help of his magnetism.
Lux chuckled, with his intention very clear to the listener. “Hold tight,” he suggested.
By generating some well-placed invisible electric and magnetic fields around him, Lux propelled himself and rivalled the velocity of the Flygon just overhead. Although with that speed, a passenger with no wind protection such as Ayra would have a hard time holding on.
James, observing the pair with the privilege of having Blake’s aerodynamic body diverting the winds, couldn’t hold back his laughter.
Another hour of flight passed before the party landed just outside the crowded, modern Jubilife City Airport. James checked the time again, noticing they still have another hour.
He lifted a Pokéball. “Blake, get some rest,” he said, when Ayra who had just dismounted from Lux fell down to her knees.
Her face was pale. “I think I’m about to puke,” she mumbled as she gagged, nauseated from the shaky flight Lux gave her. “Pokéball.”
James followed with her request, not wanting to get fined for staining the sidewalks.
Lux looked around to check for reporters and such around them, and once he ensured the area was clear, they proceeded into the airport building.
After queueing for a while, James arrived at the check-in counter and submitted his ID as Lux waited outside the line. Listing the names of the Pokémon in his team for Pokéball carry registration, James was handed back his ID with his boarding pass within less than three minutes.
James walked back to Lux. “Quite the professional,” he commented on the staff. Lux merely shrugged, and they headed for their gate. After a while, a call prompted the large crowd of passengers, including James who returned Lux when he heard the announcement, to gradually queue up and board the aircraft.
The trainer found his seat in the packed aircraft, placed his backpack in the overhead cabinet, and sat down.
He had just started wondering about his so far uneventful journey when the P.A. of the aircraft blared across the plane, announcing safety procedures and details of the flights with flight attendants visualizing the announcement in the corridors.
James placed his head on the seat’s headrest as the announcement ended, in an attempt to get a quick nap during the flight. Before he could shut his eyes, though, another announcement sounded across the plane:
“Also, we would like to extend a very special welcome to the National Pokémon League Champion.”
Some passengers who was around him began to recognize his face, and James facepalmed.

One hour later, the plane descended past tall, metallic skyscrapers to land on an asphalt runway, gradually skidding to a halt. The plane taxied and a ramp from the airport terminal was attached to its door.
James was the first passenger to descend, waving his right palm back and forth to alleviate the soreness repeating his signature several dozen times. With his other palm, he reached for a Pokéball and threw it on the floor once he stepped foot inside the terminal building.
Lux popped out from the Pokéball in a bright flash, attracting attention from passengers aboard the same plane he was and some more passing in front of him. Lux noticed his trainer’s inconvenience and asked, “Autographs?” getting a sigh and a nod as a response.
A camera flash very temporarily blinded Lux as James looked around for the exit.
They found their way through the not-so-crowded terminal and towards the gate, exiting the glass building into the gentle winter sun. Once they were outdoors, James hailed the nearest taxi. After it stopped, he opened the rear trunk and placed his backpack inside.
James approached the driver. “Pokémon League Headquarters, please,” he requested. “Can Lux here sit in the back?”
The driver opened the door for him from inside the car. “Sure, go ahead,” James opened the back door before entering himself and Lux hopped in the car, landing on the cushioned seats.
“Oh, and by the way.”
The driver pulled out his phone, and James forced out a smile as he took the photograph. Lux, barely fitting in the rear seats, was once more distracted by the phone camera flash.
One hour later, Viridian city center.
Their taxi drove across a massive crowd of pedestrians as they passed through the light-filled commercial area. As they went on, the buildings around them began to look fancier and the sidewalks became less crowded. After several more minutes of driving through the elite district, the taxi entered the boundaries of a gigantic glass-windowed skyscraper.
The taxi driver honked as he stopped in front of the lobby, alerting some security officers while waking up his napping passenger simultaneously.
Slightly disoriented, James took a few seconds to notice his now-luxurious surroundings before identifying the location. Pulling out his wallet, he handed several notes to the driver and told him to keep the change.
Lux walked out of the car as some people began to notice their arrival, with the rear trunk opening automatically. Briefly noting that his trainer had given exact change, he proceeded to use his front limbs to help James wear his backpack securely.
As the taxi drove away, Lux raised his head to take one last glance at the whole building. James patted his back, and they both walked into the building, security guards welcoming them instead of examining them.
The glass door slid open, allowing them to enter the grand, marble-floored lobby filled with Pokémon league-themed decorations. A large wall painting depicting an electrified match between a Luxray and a Pikachu grabbed Lux’s attention for a few moments until he decided to catch up with his trainer, who was already speaking to a receptionist.
James handed his trainer ID to the receptionist and answered a few administrative questions.
Lux noticed a blue-haired suited man approaching his trainer, saw his face, and did nothing.
Said man slapped James harshly in the shoulder, causing him to flinch. “Always the last possible day,” he remarked, and patted James’ back with his other palm.
The startled trainer turned his head. “What the-oh,” James recognized the culprit’s face. “No need to surprise me like that… Where’re the others?”
The man turned back as he replied, “28th floor,” he started to walk away. “Meet us when you’re done.”
Lux approached his trainer more closely. “Classic Steven, huh?” he commented on the Hoenn Champion.
James rubbed his shoulder. “Still have the steel palms, as far as I can tell…”
The receptionist, ignoring events in front of her face, handed James his trainer ID back. “Mr. Hall, your room number’s 27G3, Floor 27.”

“You know… I’ve been wondering,” Lux spoke up with himself, James, and an ordinary staff member inside an ascending elevator. “We’ve only been to Floors 27 and 28 here, what’s between?”
James considered for a while. “No idea. Want to-“
The elevator bell dinged, and the only female in the elevator exited through the door into a busy, crowded office with a small placard reading “Pokémon Center Division”.
The door slid shut before James or Lux could decide to come out. “Well, now we know,” Lux noted.
They waited for a little more before the elevator arrived at their destination. Once they exited the elevator, they walked past the carpeted corridors and stopped in front of a mahogany door. James pulled out his trainer ID and scanned it on a detector, allowing him to open the door.
Lux blinked at sight of the interior. “Huh,” he mumbled, looking at the fancily decorated sofas, 48-inch TV, antique chandelier, and exotic tapestry. “Better than last time. Two bedrooms, too.”
James had a similar reaction. “I guess being first is better than being second,” he commented, before removing his backpack and beginning to unpack some of his belongings.
Lux looked out from the balcony window. “We’re quite far up…” he observed, watching people and Pokémon moving around on the sidewalks below as if they were baby Joltik.
James approached him. “Hardy’s a bit too tall,” he noted, then leaned on the metal railings. “I’ll let Ayra and Blake out in a moment... Haven’t been here since last year.” He took in a deep breath, enjoying the weak breeze at 100 meters above ground.
And got nearly blown off when the turbulence of a flying Staraptor blasted across him.
Lux charged up in reflex for a counterattack, but halted once he identified the flying-type. He rolled his eyes and helped James back to his feet. “Hey, Star, watch it!” the Electric-type exclaimed.
The Staraptor rolled to its right, banking in that direction and flapped its wings powerfully once in order to make a full turn.
As it reapproached the balcony, it raised its head from its initial aerodynamic stance and shed speed rapidly, friction warming up the cold winter air around it. Just as it reached James and Lux’s location, it had slowed down enough to land perfectly on the narrow flooring.
“Why’d you leave me?!” it raised its voice, clearly annoyed.
James readjusted his clothes. “Well, we couldn’t find you,” he responded. “And I didn’t want to miss the only flight today.”
Star groaned and pushed his beak towards the trainer. “You! Could! Have! Flown! On! Me!” he shouted threateningly, one word at a time. Lux raised his guard slightly.
“Star, back off,” Lux warned, lips crackling with arcs of electricity. Star complied and repositioned himself to a normal stance.
James crossed his arms, and stated his doubt on Star’s capability. Star was about to protest again until James estimated the weight of his baggage: about an additional thirty kilos added to his base ninety kilos.
The avian grumbled, and refused when James offered to return him to his Pokéball. “I’ll return myself when I feel like it,” he remarked before taking off to fly around some more.
James went back in the room and removed his Pokéball belt. Pressing two of the buttons, he released a Gardevoir and a Flygon, with the former immediately wading for the sofa. Ayra quickly lied down on it, placing her palm above her still-upset stomach.
Blake rubbed his head. “James, Star was here just now, right? How’d he know we’re here?”
“Ayra placed a note before we left, I think,” James responded, looking at the softly-moaning Gardevoir. “I’m going upstairs now… Lux, you coming?”
Lux shook his head. “I’ll take a quick rest.”
“I’ll come,” Blake proposed. His trainer agreed, and they left Lux with Ayra in the room.

James entered a room with the Flygon following him. Ignoring the Hoenn Champion’s complaint about bringing a Pokémon to a human meeting, James greeted the other two humans in that room: a blonde-haired woman and a red-haired man.
The latter had an annoyed look on his face.
 “So, you’re finally here, huh?” a red-haired man noted, sitting in front of a marble table. “Took you a while.”
“Give me a break, I only remembered about this yesterday,” James mumbled in self-defense.
“That’s great,” the Johto Champion continued. “So I hope you realize you agreed to an exhibition match when you’re supposed to be giving the opening speech.”
James blinked. “When did I agree to a match?!” he questioned.
“How should I know?” Lance countered.
“Well… crap,” James mumbled. “I’ll have to cancel that match then…”
“I’m sure it’s too late,” a woman chimed in, leaning on a wooden cupboard. “It’s tomorrow, at 10 AM, remember?”
James tried to divert his responsibility to the other champion currently not in that room, but the Sinnoh Champion quickly shot down the idea, “We asked him. He shook his head.”
When the current national champion offered the others a chance to take his place, they all declined simultaneously. James groaned, “You’re not being helpful…”
Steven interrupted him, “Next time, pay attention,” he stated, before informing him about the Johto trainer who agreed to take his place.
James raised an eyebrow. “Gold? Why’d he do that?”
Cynthia told him the terms and conditions: said trainer demanded to challenge him for the national champion’s place within the next two months. Remembering that he had to defend it later that year anyway, James agreed to the proposal. Lance sent a confirmation message through his phone.
With the issue off his mind, James took a seat on the unoccupied sofa, with Blake settling next to him. Noticing the absence of a certain trainer, he asked, “Where’s Red?”
Lance reminded him of the local gym leader’s connection with said trainer. Cynthia pondered about it for a moment and asked James on the Sinnoh counterpart of the Viridian Gym leader.
“Barry? Last I heard, he moved to Grosoc, northwest of Unova,” James replied.
Steven, unfamiliar with Sinnoh trainers, required a quick explanation on the two’s relationship. They continued to chat for the next few minutes, until Lance decided that the pleasantries were over and they proceeded to do a quick brief on the conference’s schedules and events.
James noticed that the others have nothing more to say. “Well, if there’s nothing else, I’m going-“ Lance raised a hand, stopping James before he exited the room.
“You prepared your speech yet?” he asked. James shrugged, said something about spontaneity, and left the room with his Flygon. The champions stared blankly at the door he just closed.
“I’ll tell Goodshow to prepare damage control,” Steven said.

Checking his watch in the elevator, James noticed they still had a lot of time available. Blake requested to head for the Viridian Cosmos Center hopefully only for his suggestion, which he had apparently done every time they were in Viridian, to be shot down.
They exited the elevator and returned to their room. James opened the door and saw Lux and Ayra watching a news reel on the flat screen TV, laying down on the wide couch. “How was it?” Lux asked them.
James informed them about the upcoming match with Gold, to Ayra’s shock. Before James could explain further, Blake took over and summarized the schedule screw-up their trainer had done.
Ayra panicked slightly, having done no training for weeks. Lux noted that she’s not the main fighter of the team, which failed to calm her down.
The Gardevoir got an idea, “Can’t you just call Gira or Los?” she suggested. “They can replace me, that’s for sure!”
James rolled his eyes, and reminded her that they still have a month at worst, which was far more than enough time for recovery. Star walked in with some bread crumbs around his beak, having overheard the conversation.
“Just use her as a meat shield,” he remarked before pressing his own Pokéball button and getting sucked into it. James, Lux, and Blake looked at the Pokéball in disbelief just before Ayra took it with twitching eyes.
The other three males glanced at each other, agreed not to intervene with the Staraptor’s upcoming fate, and left the room to get some travel around Viridian.

Seven hours later, the room door opened and the travelers returned, clearly having treated themselves. James carried several shopping bags, and the two Pokémon now had a more-than-ideal stomach size. Ayra welcomed them back with a Pokéball in her hands, noticing a ‘Starview Telescopes’ label on one of the bags. Blake had a wide grin on his face, contrary to the look of defeat on his trainer’s.
The Pokéball between the Gardevoir’s hands wiggled weakly. “Want to go sleep?” James asked, ignoring the occurrence. “We need to wake up early tomorrow…”
“Sure.”
They left the main area for one of the bedrooms. And the Pokéball wiggled again, more violently and frequently this time, at least until Ayra continued with her activity.

“Urgh…” James stretched on the bed, commenting on its soft texture. Lux looked around, noticing the absence of Pokémon beds. James moved slightly aside on the king-sized bed, allowing the Luxray to hop on. His trainer placed his head on the Electric-type’s soft back fur, and grabbed the pillow between his arms instead.
James flipped the bedside light switch, limiting the light source to Lux’s faintly glowing eyes. “Good night,” he said, before closing his eyes.
Lux repeated the saying in his native tongue softly as he slowly settled to a comfortable position while ensuring his trainer’s head doesn’t move too much. Once he found one, he fell asleep immediately.
A faint scream jolted them awake five minutes later. They ignored it, though, and went back to their previous positions to resume their sleep.

There was a dimension separate from normal reality, bathed by the slightly flickering white lights coming from the dimension itself.
An abstract, disembodied entity floated around inside, stopping and flashing at seemingly regular intervals. After several such actions, it stopped without flashing for a significant period of time.
It formed a thought, which echoed in the infinite expanse of the brightness with nobody to hear it.
“Riolu… huh? How ironic…”
Slowly, the entity faded from the dimension, until a final bright light flashed from it and took it away from the dimension entirely. Its purpose fulfilled, the alternate reality collapsed on itself and vanished from existence.

Lux woke up, still lying on the bed, as the morning sun’s rays pierced through the windows. Yawning and rubbing his eyes with his front paws, he quickly realized his trainer was not where he was the night before.
He looked around the bedroom for James. Finding nothing, he pushed the non-closed door open to see a Flygon watching TV. “Oh, you’re up,” the Flygon noted, still paying attention to the weather forecast in the news.
Lux scanned the living area of their suite and found no trainer. “Blake, seen James?” he asked, expecting the early-rising Flygon to have seen their trainer.
The Flygon stopped watching for a while, and looked at Lux. “No…” he replied. “Why?”
“He was sleeping with me last night, but he’s not in the room,” Lux replied. “You think he went for breakfast?”
Blake noted that he had been awake since 5 AM in the morning, invalidating the possibility and confusing Lux further. Turning off the TV, Blake suggested to recheck the room just in case their trainer had accidentally trapped himself somehow.
After a thorough check involving his X-Ray eyes, Lux confirmed that trainer was not there, although his personal belongings remained on the bedside table.
Blake scratched his head. “This is really weird… Hold on, I’ll call for Ayra.”
A few moments later, he returned with the just-awakened Gardevoir. Eyes glowing a bright red color, she proceeded to conduct a mental scan for their trainer. Less than a minute later the glow faded and she said, “I can’t detect any mental signature, he’s not here.”
Blake spotted Star, finally released from his Pokéball, lying face-down on the couch when he double-checked the living room. “You okay?” he asked, noticing his red eyes and messed-up feathers.
“Not… really…” two faint words came out from the Staraptor’s beak. Blake sighed at the sight, and walked to get his compatriot a restorative. As he did so, Lux and Ayra continued to examine the room, eventually expanding their search to the carpeted corridors outside their room.
Lux stopped in front of a different room, and peered past the wooden doors. Just after he started, the door creaked open, and the sight of a Luxray with shining eyes shocked the room’s resident even though being the champion of a region have inoculated the blue-haired man from most surprises.
Steven reached for his Pokéballs by instinct before recognizing the Luxray. “What the heck were you doing in front of my door?” he questioned. Lux, unable to reply in the same language, called for Ayra to help.
“We can’t find James,” she telepathed directly into the Hoenn Champion’s mind. Steven blinked, and opened his mouth to respond when Ayra continued, “We looked around our room. He’s not in there.”
Lux chimed in and, with Ayra’s help, suggested for Steven to search for James who might be having breakfast downstairs.
About an hour passed with Lux and the others waiting anxiously in their room. Someone knocked on the door, prompting Blake to open it. Steven emerged on the doorway, shaking his head twice. “One or two of you, meet me upstairs in ten minutes,” he requested before turning back.

Ten minutes later, Ayra and Lux stood in front of the room James went in the day before. Steven opened the door for them, and signaled for them to come in.
Lance raised his head. “So, can you tell us why we’re here?” Steven explained the situation. “You sure he’s not just having breakfast?” Lance asked again.
The Hoenn Champion shook his head. “I checked,” he noted.
Lance turned to the two Pokémon. “So, do you know where your trainers are?” Lux stared at him. “If we knew, would we be here?” he retorted, although the language barrier nullified any effect.
Cynthia visibly attempted to recall something. “Uh… Ayra, was it? When did you last see your trainer?”
“Yesterday night,” she telepathed. “He slept in the same room with Lux.”
The champions began asking for further details, with Ayra translating Lux’s speech when necessary. After a few minutes, they arrived at no conclusion. Lance checked his watch. “Oh, great,” he groaned. “Opening ceremony is in an hour.”
Cynthia nodded. “We’ll have to prepare,” she turned to the two Pokemons. “Go back to your room for now. If you find James, tell him to get ready real quick.” Somewhat reluctant to accept orders from her, Lux nodded anyways and left the room.

Ten minutes later, the group was still inside their fancy suite with no trainer. “Blake, did you see anything unusual from my room?” Lux checked to make sure they haven’t missed anything.
“Not that I remember…” Blake muttered.
Ayra’s eyes began to glow. “I’ll check in case you did forget,” she declared, ignoring Blake’s privacy-related complaints. Within less than a minute, she left the still-annoyed Blake’s mind empty-handed. “Lux, how about you?” Ayra checked. Lux reminded her that he was asleep the whole time. “I can check your subconscious,” she noted. “I can get what you would’ve heard or smelled, at least. Maybe a tiny bit of vision.”
Lux considered the situation. “Alright, go ahead,” he gave the permission, and Ayra went in. As she shuffled through his inactive memories, making him consciously aware, Lux noticed something inside his head.
“What happened?” Blake asked, looking at Lux’s surprised facial expression. Ayra left the Luxray’s mind, complaining about the lack of take-away poffins only for Lux to dismiss her words.
Ayra thought for a few moments. “How should I describe it? Well, it was like a bright flash, would be around 1 or 2 AM.”
Lux scratched his head. “What the heck could that be?” he asked to himself.


Manta Region, three thousand miles away.
A green figure rushed across the leaf-covered jungle floor in a hurry. As the overgrown bushes and grass ahead of it began to thin out, it entered a treeless clearing with a small wooden hut located right in the center.
The figure, which appeared to be a Snivy, dashed for the hut and into the door. Thanks to its velocity, it failed to open it properly and slammed its snout into the door. Fortunately for it, its facial deformation was minimized by the fact that the door was not securely closed. “Ow…” it mumbled, snout slightly shortened.
A Pidgeot used its wings to fully open the door. “What’s the rush, dude?”
The Snivy blinked. “Wait, I thought Will’s leaving today?”
“…It’s not until next week,” the Pidgeot corrected, and the Snivy slapped its head. “Dave, do you think he’d leave without telling you first?!” the Pidgeot chuckled and patted the Snivy on its head. “He’s not that kind of guy…” Hearing that, the Snivy smiled and chuckled back.
From behind Pidgeot, a man’s voice asked, “Who’s that, Pidgeot?” Dave exclaimed something in reply, and the man recognized the species name. “Oh, Snivy? You’re early…”
The man, who wore a set of orange ranger uniform, walked to the door and stopped just behind Pidgeot. Pidgeot took a step back, allowing his trainer to approach the Snivy more closely.
Dave rubbed his head. “I thought you’d be leaving today…”
The human squatted in front of the Snivy. “You know I’ll be going in a week, right? Take care of Pidgeot for me, will you?” Behind his back, the Pidgeot quietly mumbled something about a lack of trust.
Will raised his head. “Say, want some Poképuffs? I’ve got plenty left…” he offered, reaching his arms back to grab a huge box.
Dave jumped at the box and flipped the lid open. One of the many colorful cakes inside quickly found its way into his mouth.

Thirty minutes later, Dave was walking back the path he came through while patting his slightly-bulged stomach softly. His eyes flickered occasionally, and he began to slow down as the soothing sound of winds blowing and branches rattling echoed around him.
A sudden fracturing noise reactivated his senses.
He looked around, looking for the source. Another crack sounded from above him.
Following his auditory senses, he looked up and saw a branch just before it fell into his face with something blue and heavy just above it.

“Ow…”
“Hey, get off me!” Dave exclaimed in a sprawled position on the jungle floor, with a Riolu lying face-up on his back.
“Huh? Oh,” the other Pokémon stood up from Dave’s back.
Dave struggled to get back up, partly due to his leafy arms not being ideal to support his body weight. “Hey, give me a hand here!” The Riolu apologized, and helped him to his feet.
Complaining about his back, Dave questioned the Riolu, “Why the heck were you up there?!” The Emanation Pokémon scratched his head.
“Uh… I don’t know,” it admitted. Dave stared at him, rolled his eyes, and asked again, “Whatever… Where’re you from? I’ve never seen you around here…”
The Riolu continued scratching his head, but it also shook it this time. The Snivy groaned. “Do you know where you are?!” he interrogated with a loud voice, clearly annoyed by the lack of answers.
A further head shake, accompanied by several steps the Riolu took to distance himself from the upset Snivy.
“Did you get a memory loss or something?!” Dave yelled at him, causing nearby bushes and dead leaves to vibrate slightly. His target nearly toppled back in shock from the anger, and was about to cover his face with his palms when they both blinked in realization.
Fiddling with his fingers to remove the anxiety, the Riolu finally spoke up, “I think so…”
Dave took a deep breath to regain his composure. Exhaling from his mouth, he checked, “No names, no home, nothing?”
“Name… Name…” the Riolu scratched his head, again. “I think it’s…  Jay…Jay… Argh!” he screamed in frustration, and started pulling his hair. “I can’t remember!”
Dave nodded, saying something on the apparently non-total memory loss. Some bushes around them rustled, attracting both their attentions. Dave raised his arms, and used the other to signal ‘Jay’ to stay quiet.
The rustling intensified, and a faint growl sounded from the bushes behind them. And a drooling, visibly hungry Raticate emerged.
Dave lowered both arms and turned to the Riolu, asking him about his combat prowess. “I’m not sure…” Jay admitted, having lost any memories related to it.
The Snivy placed his left foot behind and lowered his large head, stretching his arms wide at the direction of the Raticate. A faint greenish light, blending with the lush colors of the jungle surrounding them, glowed on their tips.
“We’ll find out soon.”
The Raticate hissed and darted for them with its jaw agape and its canines extended.
--
Acting on his reflexes, Dave jumped away from the leaping. The Raticate broke the branch that fell earlier in half with its landing, and it turned its face to Jay, who took several steps backwards. The Raticate growled at him before jumping at his face. “Get off!” Jay shouted, using his arms to push the Raticate’s razor-sharp teeth away from ripping his face open.
He was slowly losing the struggle, and the fangs gradually approached his face even as he pushed it away with all his strength. The Raticate’s saliva began to drip on his face, and its acidic nature caused Jay to wince.
Suddenly, the Raticate was slammed aside by a lush green, leafy whip, throwing it a good distance into a solid tree trunk. “Savages,” Dave snorted with vines extended from his hands. “You okay?”
Jay used his hands to push himself back up, and wiped the irritating saliva droplet from his cheek. “I guess… Thanks for that.”
Dave observed him more closely, and determined that the Riolu in front of him had literally no battle experience from the fight it could’ve easily won. Not hesitating, he decided to state the obvious fact to the Riolu. “It could’ve been your memory loss though,” he added after his summary.
Jay looked at the Raticate, knocked out with a significant indentation of its face imprinted on the tree trunk. Then he looked back at the Snivy, who was shorter than him and had half his weight. “Let’s just say I’ve got combat experience,” Dave read the Riolu’s mind and replied first. Jay nodded, then began to look around as a precaution.
A vine was placed on his shoulder. “Don’t worry too much,” the Snivy in front of him said, using his vines as an extension for its small arms. He proceeded to explain that hungry, savage wild Pokémon such as the Raticate they had just encountered was uncommon, with fully evolved ones even rarer.
“But I met one just now?”
Dave shrugged. “You probably have horrible luck,” he suggested, noting that a memory loss isn’t an indicator of good fortunes.
Jay looked at the Raticate, which was not moving, again. He blinked “Is it… dead?” Dave dismissed his question, pointing out that Raticate have tough body structures and that there was no blood splattering on the soil near it. “And besides, it’s a primal one. Even humans eat them,” he added. The Riolu stared at him in disbelief. “Let’s not talk about this, shall we?” Dave proposed, and Jay agreed.
The memory-deprived Riolu began to think. “Uh… What should I do now?” Dave sighed, and reluctantly offered a place for Jay to stay in his house until he regains his memory. Jay, left with no other option, accepted it.