Luke's eyes sparkled as he saw his home. The small apartment was nestled into a long row of identical buildings. But he knew his within a moment.
Chalk doodles covered the sidewalk leading to the front door. A poorly drawn Buneary was at the forefront. Kia's work.
Luke raced up to the door, beaming. Aurus hung back, basking in the positive aura.
Luke threw open the door, nearly tearing it off its hinges. His dad, who was watching TV in the room adjacent to the entryway nearly had a heart attack.
"Luke?" Dad's eyes widened.
"I'm h-home," Luke smiled, rushing over to hug his father. His mom and sister, Kia, were soon in his face, smothering him with hugs and kisses. And questions. Lots of question.
Was he the Champion?
No.
Where'd he develop that stutter?
Long story.
Was he okay?
Yeah.
Did he at least have fun on his journey?
Yes.
Did he meet any new friends?
Another long story.
See, Luke had had quite the journey in the region of Pruie. He'd teamed up with a few young upstarts, with the ultimate goal of making it to the Pokemon League. Along the way, their bonds were tested. One of them betrayed the group, joining up with the sinister Team Shadow. Luke had almost died. He would have, if not for the help of Aurus, his Lucario. And his best friend.
All in all, Luke made it through Pruie with only his stutter as a consequence. And a jaded worldview, of course. Perhaps he and Aurus could work on bringing back some of the light. Maybe his family would help.
Of course, he couldn't tell his family this truth. It would terrify them. He'd never be let out of the house again.
Instead, he told them that the stutter just kind of appeared. He also told them about all of his enthralling gym battles.
In the end, when he and his companions reached the Pokemon League, they stopped short. The things they'd seen had opened their eyes. They all wanted different things in life. The journey was just something to do in the meantime. Except... Luke wasn't sure what he wanted. But it didn't lie in the Pruie Pokemon League.
"So where are these friends of yours?" Dad asked after Luke was done with his story, "Do they live in Sinnoh? Will we get to meet them?"
"D-Don't think so," Luke admitted, "We all w-went our separate ways."
"Well in this day and age, you hardly ever say goodbye for good," Mom pointed out, "There's social media. What do you use Kia? Is it Instabook? Snapgram?"
"Vikachat!" Kia laughed, her young jolliness pouring off her in waves. Aurus could feel it from out in the street.
"I don't know. The g-g-g-goodbyes felt f-final. There is one friend-d-d you can meet, however," Luke said, "Aurus, come on!"
Aurus jogged into the apartment, and hugged Luke's family.
"He's like- he acts like-" Dad started, then stopped halfway through, at a loss for words.
"This Lucario's like a human," Mom finished.
"Aurus is s-s-sure s-something," Luke smiled, putting an arm around Aurus's shoulders, "With his powers, he c-c-can sense our auras. Our em-motions. And he p-p-p-picks up on human c-customs qu-quickly."
Luke left out the part about his strange connection with Aurus. Their psychic bond. That might be a bit too much for his family to comprehend.
"Well, Aurus, thank you for helping our son," Mom said, in shock that she could talk to Lucario like any other person.
"Y-You'll get used to it," Luke laughed, "I-I-I promise."
"Whatever you say," Dad shrugged, but smiled nonetheless.
"This is so cool!" Kia cried out, "Bun-Bun, get out here! We have a new friend!"
Kia's pet Buneary bounced over to the Lucario. She looked up at the imposing creature, and squinted, trying to make up her mind. Bun-Bun bounced up so that she was eye-to-eye with Aurus. Aurus caught her before she fell.
"Bun-beary!" Bun-Bun nodded enthusiastically.
"Bun-Bun and Aurus can be sweet friends!" Kia cooed.
"Kia, you and Bun-Bun show Aurus around," Mom instructed, "We're going to talk with Luke a little more."
"Kay!" Kia nodded before racing upstairs with Aurus and Bun-Bun in tow.
"Did you like it?" Dad asked, simplistically.
"Yes. B-But it's not what I w-w-want to do," Luke admitted.
"So you'll be staying here for a while?" Mom hoped.
"Y-Y-Y-Ye- n-n-n- I don't know," Luke sighed, "I need to f-find my purpose. I d-don't think I can do that here."
"Another journey?" Dad guessed.
"That's w-what I'm thinking," Luke nodded, "B-But not a run-of-the-mill j-journey. N-N-Not to become the Ch-Champ. To do some s-s-self discovery."
"We understand," Dad assured, pulling Mom close, "It'll be hard to see you go again. But we understand."
Mom pursed her lips, held back tears, and nodded.
"Thank you," Luke said with a bittersweet tinge.
"How long will you stay?" Mom asked after clearing her throat.
"D-Don't know that either," Luke shook his head.
"You can stay for however long you need," Dad said, "You're still a teenager, after all. It's crazy that you're going out on these journeys in the first place! But we're still psyched that you are!"
Luke wrapped both of his parents in a hug.
Suddenly, the world began to tear away. At the edges first. They went up in blue smoke, twisting across reality.
No. No. Give it back! Don't let it end!
The smoke reached closer and closer, extending its snaking fingers towards Mom and Dad.
Don't!
It was gone. All of it. Gone in wisps on smoke.
Luke's eyes opened. Gone was his rounded face of innocent youth. In its place was a more hardened face with an unkempt, scruffy beard, messy blond hair, and murky blue eyes. Two scars rested to the left of his mouth, and there was a scratch through his right eyebrow.
Aurus stood in front of him in this dreamscape.
Give it back.
There is work to be done.
And we'll do that work. Right after I finish the memory.
Luke, I cannot let you stall.
Aurus, you will put me back into that memory. Now. I command it.
You released me from my Pokeball back in Pruie. You hold no power over me.
You- You- Fine. Any new ideas?
That is what you are for. To bounce ideas off of.
Fire away.
We know not what this place is. But we know how it works.
It never ends. Spans infinity.
Right. Seemingly creating new space whenever we travel.
A never-ending sea of nothing.
Not nothing. There is something tangible here. Something to walk on.
It just blends in with the rest of this strange world.
It was indeed a strange world. Hues of blue, purple, and black were intertwined to create an endless canvas of color.
Think of the universe, Luke.
Thinking.
It is always expanding. So humans have long held the belief that there is life elsewhere.
And Elgyem and Beheeyem confirmed that.
Exactly. If we apply that theory here, there simply must be something else here. In this vast expanse of... whatever this is.
This isn't our world. At least, I don't think so. I hope not. I'd hate to be the last human alive. What I'm saying is- there are no guarantees. Even if there is someone else, they could be walking around looking for us. We could walk around in circles and never find them.
Of course. But we need not walk.
What?
This is not our world. It does not operate by standard rules. Why not take this realm and bend it to our will? What is stopping us from simply folding the world in on itself, allowing us to seemingly teleport across it?
Wrinkle in Time style.
I suppose.
I'll tell you what's stopping us. The fact that bending space-time to your will is impossible.
Palkia and Dialga would beg to differ.
They're Legendary Pokemon!
And I am a Pokemon who has a psychic connection to a human. Do I not possess strange abilities?
Sure you do. But rupturing this realm- dimension- whatever it is?
With my capabilities, who knows what I can do?
Let's say you can. How do you do it?
That is the part that needs more thought. My best guess is that I will need to shift my psychic focus away from you...
And towards this place.
Essentially establishing a connection between myself and the world around us.
But you'll be cut off from me.
Right.
Oh.
If it does not work, we will find another way. We will get out of here, Luke Branson.
Chalk doodles covered the sidewalk leading to the front door. A poorly drawn Buneary was at the forefront. Kia's work.
Luke raced up to the door, beaming. Aurus hung back, basking in the positive aura.
Luke threw open the door, nearly tearing it off its hinges. His dad, who was watching TV in the room adjacent to the entryway nearly had a heart attack.
"Luke?" Dad's eyes widened.
"I'm h-home," Luke smiled, rushing over to hug his father. His mom and sister, Kia, were soon in his face, smothering him with hugs and kisses. And questions. Lots of question.
Was he the Champion?
No.
Where'd he develop that stutter?
Long story.
Was he okay?
Yeah.
Did he at least have fun on his journey?
Yes.
Did he meet any new friends?
Another long story.
See, Luke had had quite the journey in the region of Pruie. He'd teamed up with a few young upstarts, with the ultimate goal of making it to the Pokemon League. Along the way, their bonds were tested. One of them betrayed the group, joining up with the sinister Team Shadow. Luke had almost died. He would have, if not for the help of Aurus, his Lucario. And his best friend.
All in all, Luke made it through Pruie with only his stutter as a consequence. And a jaded worldview, of course. Perhaps he and Aurus could work on bringing back some of the light. Maybe his family would help.
Of course, he couldn't tell his family this truth. It would terrify them. He'd never be let out of the house again.
Instead, he told them that the stutter just kind of appeared. He also told them about all of his enthralling gym battles.
In the end, when he and his companions reached the Pokemon League, they stopped short. The things they'd seen had opened their eyes. They all wanted different things in life. The journey was just something to do in the meantime. Except... Luke wasn't sure what he wanted. But it didn't lie in the Pruie Pokemon League.
"So where are these friends of yours?" Dad asked after Luke was done with his story, "Do they live in Sinnoh? Will we get to meet them?"
"D-Don't think so," Luke admitted, "We all w-went our separate ways."
"Well in this day and age, you hardly ever say goodbye for good," Mom pointed out, "There's social media. What do you use Kia? Is it Instabook? Snapgram?"
"Vikachat!" Kia laughed, her young jolliness pouring off her in waves. Aurus could feel it from out in the street.
"I don't know. The g-g-g-goodbyes felt f-final. There is one friend-d-d you can meet, however," Luke said, "Aurus, come on!"
Aurus jogged into the apartment, and hugged Luke's family.
"He's like- he acts like-" Dad started, then stopped halfway through, at a loss for words.
"This Lucario's like a human," Mom finished.
"Aurus is s-s-sure s-something," Luke smiled, putting an arm around Aurus's shoulders, "With his powers, he c-c-can sense our auras. Our em-motions. And he p-p-p-picks up on human c-customs qu-quickly."
Luke left out the part about his strange connection with Aurus. Their psychic bond. That might be a bit too much for his family to comprehend.
"Well, Aurus, thank you for helping our son," Mom said, in shock that she could talk to Lucario like any other person.
"Y-You'll get used to it," Luke laughed, "I-I-I promise."
"Whatever you say," Dad shrugged, but smiled nonetheless.
"This is so cool!" Kia cried out, "Bun-Bun, get out here! We have a new friend!"
Kia's pet Buneary bounced over to the Lucario. She looked up at the imposing creature, and squinted, trying to make up her mind. Bun-Bun bounced up so that she was eye-to-eye with Aurus. Aurus caught her before she fell.
"Bun-beary!" Bun-Bun nodded enthusiastically.
"Bun-Bun and Aurus can be sweet friends!" Kia cooed.
"Kia, you and Bun-Bun show Aurus around," Mom instructed, "We're going to talk with Luke a little more."
"Kay!" Kia nodded before racing upstairs with Aurus and Bun-Bun in tow.
"Did you like it?" Dad asked, simplistically.
"Yes. B-But it's not what I w-w-want to do," Luke admitted.
"So you'll be staying here for a while?" Mom hoped.
"Y-Y-Y-Ye- n-n-n- I don't know," Luke sighed, "I need to f-find my purpose. I d-don't think I can do that here."
"Another journey?" Dad guessed.
"That's w-what I'm thinking," Luke nodded, "B-But not a run-of-the-mill j-journey. N-N-Not to become the Ch-Champ. To do some s-s-self discovery."
"We understand," Dad assured, pulling Mom close, "It'll be hard to see you go again. But we understand."
Mom pursed her lips, held back tears, and nodded.
"Thank you," Luke said with a bittersweet tinge.
"How long will you stay?" Mom asked after clearing her throat.
"D-Don't know that either," Luke shook his head.
"You can stay for however long you need," Dad said, "You're still a teenager, after all. It's crazy that you're going out on these journeys in the first place! But we're still psyched that you are!"
Luke wrapped both of his parents in a hug.
Suddenly, the world began to tear away. At the edges first. They went up in blue smoke, twisting across reality.
No. No. Give it back! Don't let it end!
The smoke reached closer and closer, extending its snaking fingers towards Mom and Dad.
Don't!
It was gone. All of it. Gone in wisps on smoke.
Luke's eyes opened. Gone was his rounded face of innocent youth. In its place was a more hardened face with an unkempt, scruffy beard, messy blond hair, and murky blue eyes. Two scars rested to the left of his mouth, and there was a scratch through his right eyebrow.
Aurus stood in front of him in this dreamscape.
Give it back.
There is work to be done.
And we'll do that work. Right after I finish the memory.
Luke, I cannot let you stall.
Aurus, you will put me back into that memory. Now. I command it.
You released me from my Pokeball back in Pruie. You hold no power over me.
You- You- Fine. Any new ideas?
That is what you are for. To bounce ideas off of.
Fire away.
We know not what this place is. But we know how it works.
It never ends. Spans infinity.
Right. Seemingly creating new space whenever we travel.
A never-ending sea of nothing.
Not nothing. There is something tangible here. Something to walk on.
It just blends in with the rest of this strange world.
It was indeed a strange world. Hues of blue, purple, and black were intertwined to create an endless canvas of color.
Think of the universe, Luke.
Thinking.
It is always expanding. So humans have long held the belief that there is life elsewhere.
And Elgyem and Beheeyem confirmed that.
Exactly. If we apply that theory here, there simply must be something else here. In this vast expanse of... whatever this is.
This isn't our world. At least, I don't think so. I hope not. I'd hate to be the last human alive. What I'm saying is- there are no guarantees. Even if there is someone else, they could be walking around looking for us. We could walk around in circles and never find them.
Of course. But we need not walk.
What?
This is not our world. It does not operate by standard rules. Why not take this realm and bend it to our will? What is stopping us from simply folding the world in on itself, allowing us to seemingly teleport across it?
Wrinkle in Time style.
I suppose.
I'll tell you what's stopping us. The fact that bending space-time to your will is impossible.
Palkia and Dialga would beg to differ.
They're Legendary Pokemon!
And I am a Pokemon who has a psychic connection to a human. Do I not possess strange abilities?
Sure you do. But rupturing this realm- dimension- whatever it is?
With my capabilities, who knows what I can do?
Let's say you can. How do you do it?
That is the part that needs more thought. My best guess is that I will need to shift my psychic focus away from you...
And towards this place.
Essentially establishing a connection between myself and the world around us.
But you'll be cut off from me.
Right.
Oh.
If it does not work, we will find another way. We will get out of here, Luke Branson.
