Both Pokémon down.
Silence returned to the alley, heavy and stunned, the sounds of the earlier battle fading away as the air settled back into quiet, with only the distant hum of the city traffic filtering in from the main street beyond the narrow walls.
The two grunts looked at each other, wide-eyed, their faces pale under the dim light as they stood there frozen for a moment, processing what had just happened to their Pokémon.
"Who is this guy—?!"
"Forget it! grab the kid and run!"
They lunged toward Bonnie—the first grunt reaching out with both hands extended forward to grab her shoulders, while the second one moved in from the side with a quick step to cut off any escape path she might take.
But Zigzagoon was already in motion. It skidded into their path, its paws sliding across the cracked pavement with a short scrape as it positioned itself directly between the grunts and Bonnie, body lowered close to the ground, fur standing up along its back while it let out a low, rumbling growl that vibrated through its chest and echoed slightly off the alley walls.
Satoshi spoke one word. "Try it."
The grunts froze, their outstretched arms halting mid-reach as they stared down at the small raccoon Pokémon blocking them, its eyes narrowed and teeth bared in warning, making them pull back their hands slowly and step away.
Then they bolted in the opposite direction, turning on their heels and running down the alley away from Satoshi and Bonnie, their feet pounding against the pavement in quick, uneven steps as they quickly returned their Pokémon back, pulling out their Poké Balls and recalling the fainted Houndour and Croagunk in flashes of red light that absorbed the unconscious forms.
Satoshi let out a breath, eyes still sharp, but the edge in them fading as he relaxed his shoulders slightly, the tension from the fight easing out of his stance while he scanned the alley one last time to make sure no other threats were nearby.
Bonnie slowly stepped forward, her small feet taking careful steps over the scattered dust and debris on the ground as she moved closer to Satoshi, her eyes still wide from everything that had just unfolded. "That was…"
He turned to her, shifting his body to face her directly while keeping his expression calm.
"You alright?"
She nodded, still stunned, her head bobbing up and down quickly as she clasped her hands together in front of her chest, twisting her fingers a bit in lingering excitement and surprise.
"Y-Yeah, I'm fine. But… that was crazy! You fought like—you didn't even stop to think, you just knew!"
She puffed her cheeks, hands on her hips, tilting her head to one side with a playful frown that mixed awe and curiosity, her small frame standing tall as if trying to look more serious than she felt. "My brother's a Gym Leader, and I've never seen moves used like that before!"
Satoshi gave a half-smile and knelt beside Zigzagoon, bending down on one knee to get to its level, gently brushing dust from its fur with slow, careful strokes of his hand along its back and sides, checking for any lingering injuries from the battle.
"I'm not a gym leader."
Bonnie stared at him, her eyes blinking a few times as she processed his words, then looked at the two cowardly running away, her gaze following their retreating figures until they disappeared around the corner of the alley.
"You sure fight like one…"
She paused, eyes narrowing slightly, crossing her arms over her chest and tapping one foot lightly on the ground as if thinking hard about something. "Who are you, sir?"
Satoshi glanced back at her, thoughtful, his eyes meeting hers for a moment under the shadow of his visor while he considered how to respond. But instead of answering, he simply said:
"Let's get you back to your brother first."
He stood, visor catching the light as he turned toward the main street once more, the faint glow from a nearby streetlamp reflecting off the edge of it while he started walking at a steady pace.
"I think this city's about to get a lot more complicated."
But Clemont wasn't hard to find. Which wasn't hard to find.
As the Lumiose Gym was practically nestled in the heart of the city, a bright, mechanical tower jutting out like a bolt of innovation—called Prism Tower, its structure rising high with metallic panels and glowing lights that made it stand out against the surrounding buildings, serving as a landmark that drew the eye from blocks away.
And there he was, standing just outside the main doors, adjusting his Aipom Arm while anxiously scanning the crowds, his fingers tweaking the mechanical joints of the extendable arm attached to his backpack as he looked left and right through the passing people, his glasses slipping slightly down his nose from the movement.
"Bonnie!" he called the moment he spotted them, his voice rising above the murmur of the plaza as he waved one hand high to get her attention.
"Clemont!" she ran ahead, arms flailing, her small legs pumping quickly as she dashed across the open space toward him, her arms swinging wildly at her sides with each step in her usual burst of energy.
"You won't believe what happened!"
Satoshi slowed his pace, letting the two reunite, his steps becoming shorter and more measured as he hung back a few feet, giving them space while he watched the scene unfold.
Clemont dropped to one knee and caught her in a hug, relief evident on his face, his arms wrapping around her tightly as he pulled her close, his shoulders slumping slightly as the worry left his expression.
"I told you not to wander so far!" he chided gently, his voice soft but firm as he held her for a moment longer before pulling back to look at her face.
"I wasn't wandering! I was scouting ahead!" she protested with a quick shake of her head, her hands gesturing animatedly in the air as if mapping out her adventure.
Clemont blinked, his eyes widening behind his glasses as he tilted his head in confusion. "Scouting… what?"
"For food, I was trying to get some snack for you." she said simply, shrugging her shoulders with a casual grin as if it made perfect sense.
"Bonnie…" Clemont groaned, rubbing his forehead with one hand while letting out a long sigh.
Satoshi finally approached, hands in his pockets, his thumbs hooked into the edges as he walked up at a relaxed pace, stopping a short distance away from the siblings.
Clemont looked up, squinting through his glasses, pushing them back up the bridge of his nose with one finger as he focused on Satoshi's face.
"Are you the one who helped her got here?"
Satoshi gave a small nod, but without hesitation he revealed what happened. his voice steady and direct as he kept his gaze level.
"Team Flare, they tried to take her as hostage into blackmailing you."
Clemont's expression changed instantly. The relief drained, replaced by shock.
Then something darker, his brows furrowing deeply as his mouth tightened into a thin line. He adjusted his glasses and stood fully upright, jaw tightening, his hands clenching slightly at his sides as he processed the information.
"Did they say anything as to why?"
Bonnie jumped in, bouncing on her toes a bit as she leaned forward eagerly. "They said something about your Megawave device!"
Clemont's expression stiffened further, his eyes narrowing as he glanced around the plaza quickly to ensure no one was listening.
"…I see."
Satoshi caught that. That pause. That subtle weight in his voice, the way it dropped slightly at the end. "You know what that is, don't you?"
Clemont didn't answer immediately, his gaze shifting to the ground for a second as he gathered his thoughts.
Instead, he turned to Bonnie. "Go inside. Tell Clembot to run a diagnostic on the gym's security."
"But Clem—" she started, her voice rising in a whine as she planted her feet and crossed her arms stubbornly.
"Bonnie." His tone brooked no argument, firm and unyielding as he pointed toward the gym doors.
She pouted, her lower lip sticking out as she huffed and kicked lightly at the ground, but listened, turning slowly and trudging toward the entrance with exaggerated slowness, glancing back over her shoulder once before pushing through the doors.
As she disappeared into the gym, Clemont turned back to Satoshi, his posture straightening as he met his eyes directly.
"Let's walk." he said quietly, gesturing with one hand toward the edge of the plaza.
They began moving along the edge of the plaza, leaving the tower behind. It was quieter here. Fewer eyes, the crowds thinning out as they walked along the less busy path, with trees and benches lining the way and the noise of the city fading slightly in the background.
Satoshi stayed silent at first. Letting the silence stretch, his steps matching Clemont's pace without rushing or slowing.
But inwardly, his mind was turning fast, thoughts connecting details from what he knew and what had just happened.
'The Mega Wave device…'
He remembered it vividly—from Pokémon the Movie: Volcanion and the Mechanical Marvel, not from an episode in the main anime series or any of the games he had played back in his old world.
In that film, it wasn't Clemont who invented it at all, but rather a tool tied to the villain Alva's schemes in the plot, used to control Pokémon and force them into Mega Evolution against their will. A corrupted invention wielded by antagonists to bypass the natural bonds between trainer and Pokémon that usually make the process work safely.
Cruel. Unstable, the device emitting waves that twisted the process into something forced and painful for the Pokémon involved, overriding their will and causing them visible distress as their bodies changed against their control.
'But that came much later in the story. During the climax, almost…'
And now it was here. Early. Wrong, appearing in a way that didn't match the original timeline he recalled from any of the Pokémon media he knew as a fan who had been isekai'd into this world.
He glanced sideways at Clemont, noting the way he walked with his head slightly down. "So you really made one."
Clemont didn't meet his gaze, keeping his eyes forward on the path ahead.
"I was approached by a researcher months ago—said it was a joint study on Mega Evolution theory. Harmless. But when I looked deeper into the prototype framework…"
That hit Satoshi like a sudden jolt, his steps faltering for just a split second as his mind processed the words, his eyes widening slightly behind the visor while he kept his expression otherwise neutral.
'Clemont... tricked into collaborating on something like this? That detail wasn't in the movie, or the anime series, or even the games'
'No version of the canon he remembered from his original world had Clemont involved in creating the Mega Wave at all, let alone being approached and deceived into a joint project that turned out to be anything but harmless.'
"You realized it wasn't harmless."
"…It forces evolution. Overrides a Pokémon's will. It's not Mega Evolution. It's controlled mutation."
"And you built it anyway?"
Clemont stopped walking, his feet coming to a halt on the pavement as he turned to face Satoshi fully. His voice was quiet, carrying a note of regret as he spoke.
"I destroyed it. The moment I realized what it really was. But the data? I don't know if I was the only copy. I don't know how far they got."
Satoshi looked down, thoughtful, his eyes dropping to the ground as he considered the implications. "They think you still have it. That you're hiding it. And now they're trying to pressure you."
Satoshi's fingers brushed the edge of his hoodie pocket where the author note still rested, the paper crinkling faintly under his touch as he felt its presence there, a small reminder of the earlier encounter that had pulled him deeper into this mess.
'This world really isn't following either script anymore…' he thought, his mind shifting through the details like sorting through scattered puzzle pieces from a game he knew too well, each one clicking into place with a growing sense of how far things had strayed.
No Ash. No Kalos League journey, the usual path of gym badges and rival battles that should have been unfolding right now completely absent, leaving a void where the familiar story beats should have been.
And now, the climax of the story bleeding into the beginning, events that were meant to build up over time crashing in all at once without the slow ramp-up he remembered from the shows and movies.
He exhaled slowly, the breath leaving his lungs in a steady stream as he kept his face neutral, not letting the internal churn show while Clemont stood nearby, waiting for any further questions.
"Guess I picked a hell of a time to arrive. Without the protagonist, it affects the world a lot."
He muttered to himself quietly, the words slipping out under his breath as he stared at the ground ahead, his feet still paused in their walk along the plaza's edge.
But inside, the thoughts kept building, connecting the dots from what Clemont had just shared to the knowledge locked in his head from his old life as a fan binge-watching episodes and movies late into the night.
'Piecing all of that together... it seems like Clemont disrupted the Alva project on creating a Mega Wave device, stepping in during what should have been its development phase and breaking it apart before it could reach the point where it was fully operational and ready for use like it was shown in the movie, where Alva had it complete and deployed it without any hitches from outside inventors.'
Not only that, the Flare must have allied with each other.
Team Flare linking up tightly with figures like Alva or similar forces behind the scenes, pooling their resources and plans in ways that blended the series threats with the movie's isolated schemes, turning what were separate storylines into a single, tangled web that was advancing faster than anything in the canon timelines he recalled.
*
To be continued...
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