The world of what could only be assumed to be the of Hoenn materialized before Josh, Saber, mint frost , and Yvaine Varron . Once the simulated environment was fully loaded, it resembled nothing short of a lifeless, post-apocalyptic world. Before he got so busy, Josh was into book series and video game series set in post-apocalyptic worlds. Nothing prepared him for quite this, though. While there was still plenty of breathable air on the black planet's surface despite there being no sign of an atmosphere, that was the only anomaly. Everything else about the environment seemed so incredibly real.

Josh guided his mount to what looked vaguely like Trainer Hill, where his Minor League Gym stood. Not one trace of it remained; the rivers composing his aquatic course, and even the entire lake feeding them, were bone dry. Every step he took on the black earth sounded like he was stepping on concrete. The only light sources on the planet were what could only be described as spears of light the size of buildings. His eyes, and those of his trusty electric steed, began to water, the first tears making a fizzing sound as they splashed the ground beneath him. Thoughts raced through the racer's mind as to what could have possibly caused this future to occur. "Where are we?" he asked the two whose lives he had attempted to save, his voice anything but the usual chipper tone.

Josh squeezed Saber's sides and tugged at the Manectric's reins, but the electric wolf refused to go any faster than a somber walk. As the two traveled by one of the spears embedded in the ground, he saw the bodies of a Xerneas, Kyogre, and Groudon, the last of which dangled from the spear's shaft. Both Josh's and Saber's bodies began involuntarily and uncontrollably shaking, their eyes both watering now. Faint fizzing noises became more frequent as the two walked on. Articuno, Lugia, Giratina...corpse after corpse of Pokémon considered to be gods. There was a distinct pattern to the angles the spears of light impaled them at, too: every single one passed right through the Pokémon's heart, presumably killing them instantly. Each spear was placed with surgical precision.

The spears seemed to grow more and more dense in formation as the two sighted a terminal not unlike the one he saw the realistic hologram of Raikou at before. These images, though, were of even higher, almost lifelike resolution. He was uncertain: was this just a digital facsimile, or was this a real Hoenn Maldacena had transported him to, some unknown amount of time in the future? Celebi was a mischievous mistress of time for certain, and that and the Timelord, Dialga, were the only Pokémon he knew of with this kind of power. What if one of those was on this Maldacena's side? There were too many what ifs; all the two could do was press on, the fizzing of their tears against the ground a near-constant.

As the two crested Trainer Hill and located the terminal now in plain sight, the sheer scale of the destruction came into view. The first thing he saw was the Great One, Ho-oh, impaled upon yet another spear of light, both its wings pierced and held into place by two other spears. "You too?!" Josh shouted as Saber bolted toward the deceased rainbow phoenix. "There's no way. No way. NO WAY. NO WAY! What could have done this to you, Great One?!" The benevolent bird god of Johto, his home region's deity, slain with a trio of spears of light. It seemed impossible. Josh could not fathom the kind of power needed to slay one god, let alone the dozens of gods that met their demise in what was clearly a battle that ended not just all life on Hoenn, but the entire world...and the entire multiverse, if this Maldacena figure was to be believed. "IF YOU CAN HEAR ME, YOU ASSHOLE, I WANT ANSWERS!" he screamed.

Once Saber had slid down the hill, the terminal was almost there. What he saw next caused the Manectric to make an uncommanded stop, followed by a traumatizing-sounding howl. He slowly turned his head to his right, and saw nine more spears. The first suspended the corpse of Beast of the North Wind, Suicune, to a cliff face near the entrance to the Great Desert...though all of Hoenn in its current state might as well be a Great Desert. Entei's corpse was nearby as well, similarly suspended. Josh's jaw hung wide open as Saber started to turn back toward the terminal, letting out cries of protest. The Manectric clearly wanted Josh to stop looking at the fallen Pokémon. But it was too late. His eyes continued to shift right, and there it was.

Raikou, the legendary Pokémon Josh idolized.

Struck through the rib cage and slain in a single blow. Six smaller spears of light surrounded the body of the fastest land Pokémon in the world. Each one of them was centered around a mutilated corpse that would have been difficult to recognize if Josh wasn't intimately familiar with the species. In a semicircle surrounding the electric Legendary's body were a barely recognizable Dragonair, Absol, Gogoat, Skarmory, male Pyroar, and lastly, a Manectric.

Those were Josh's Pokémon.

In this future, Josh had given up the lives of all six of his closest Pokémon in an effort to protect the Pokémon he worshiped above all else.

And he had failed.

Miserably.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" he started screaming at the top of his lungs, Saber immediately galloping away from the site where the Johto trio met their gruesome demise. While seeing two different Sabers tipped Josh off that this was another simulation despite the lifelike resolution, it didn't make things any easier on him. "WRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGHHHHHHH!!!"

That last scream hurt. Not just emotionally, but physically. "Whoever you are, I refuse to believe that this is our future!" He kept his voice raised, even though it was causing him physical pain to vent his despair. "I know I cannot change the past. I know I cannot change the present. BUT I KNOW I CAN CHANGE THE FUTURE! And don't you believe for ONE SECOND that this is the future of the Hoenn I know! There is only one person that decides MY future. AND THAT'S ME! NOT SOME POMPOUS ASSHOLE LIKE YOU! I would rather DIE PROTECTING HOENN than wake up to one that looks like this! YOU HEAR ME?! CAN YOU HEAR ME OUT THERE?! CAN YOU?! UNTIL I--"

Josh's monologue was interrupted as meteor-like pillars of light rained down from the heavens. Saber instinctively bucked his rider off to save him from being grazed...at his own expense. The electric wolf let out an otherworldly howl as the force of the impact dislocated his tail. Even just a graze was enough to instantly down him. "Saber, NO!" he recalled his fallen Pokémon and released his final Pokémon, Twilight the Absol, who immediately took off toward the terminal. Both of them kept their eyes toward the skies, looking out for pillars of light in the path. If just a graze was enough to knock Saber out, one direct hit would spell the end for them.

When the two had reached the terminal, Josh stared at the scrambled Pokémon image. On top of his indecision, he was not at all thinking straight. After entering in five different Pokémon and changing his mind, he settled on his final answer of GIARTINA and pressed the Submit button, not realizing his typographical error.

Hideo ran: to get away from the ensuing battle, to get out of wherever they'd been brought, to get away from everything. He ran from the stomping sounds of Aaron Toral 's Trevenant, to avoid getting caught in Katherine Fairburne 's Sludge Wave.

And all it got him was to lose his footing. Not from falling off the edge - his Beheeyem made sure of that - but just from the path itself. He floated for a brief moment, clinging tightly to his Beheeyem, but once he felt solid ground again, he continued on his mad dash as many confusing and terrifying sounds rang out.

At the end of the staircase, a chill ran through his spine. It sounded like there was something grand in front of him - but he didn't know what it was.

With that moment of silence, his Beheeyem was able to act. And with little other recourse, he had to pull out his strongest tool: several lines of psychic energy grew from the colored dots on his hand, flying towards his head and connecting - then flying towards Hideo's head. The moment a connection was made with the boy, the lines dissipated, as if the Z-move had never been done.

Hideo didn't feel anything from it, but the connection had been made: the Psionic Sensory Sharing was complete - and he became aware of the strange creature ahead of them, even if he didn't have any idea what it was.

It also made him aware of the terminal - and that Martín del Mar was already working on it, though he didn't have any idea what was on there. And more importantly, he was aware of the hundreds of Unown that were here.

And were now attacking them.

Of course, he didn't know why he was aware of all this, but the last part caught his attention the most: they were being shot at by Unown.

The same Pokemon that kept appearing in that dream mist.

The same Pokemon he'd been attacked by all the way back during the museum incident.

The ones that made his Ariados disappear.

A single hit would make it happen again.

A single blast would make Elga disappear.

He would lose Elga.

Just like how he lost Squeeze.

His hold over his Beheeyem tightened into a vice grip, his body trembling as tears dripped from his eyes.

He didn't know if he'd moved his legs on his own or his Beheeyem had lightly prodded him, but the moment he budged, he bolted, trying his damndest to get away from the Unown. At the very least, he was headed towards other people this time - his Beheeyem had made sure to prod him in that direction.

In particular, towards Gwyar Wledig , who had also been around during the incident at the museum.

0gnA9vvg

Beheeyem uses Z-move Psionic Sensory Sharing so Hideo has an idea what's going on

Just let everyone else solve the puzzle

Hideo getting some flashbacks of Ranger Raid

Haha panic machine go brrrrrrr

Running towards Gwyar Wledig

She felt like a guide Pokemon, and that was ok. What wasn't ok was the scenery that she and Alexei Ivanov came upon. This was the future? She halts a moment, forgetting to warn Alexei of the sudden stop before jerking back into awareness. "...Sorry, I...I was just a little frightened." Her lie was easy. What came next would not.

Hand on Alexei's arm, she started to walk. In the chaos of everything else, she walked, short barks of words to inform Alexei before they had to walk over a bump. She felt no need to inform him what these bumps were.

She saw herself, in a flash of recognition. She was still whole, with one of those spears pierced through her body...of course, through her chest, where she still felt the bite in her nightmares. Something else familiar lay near too, something that reminded her of the Tree of Life, but in Pokemon form. Could it be? No matter. She had already died once, and she would forever never allow a second death. Would never allow her Ekans to lay next to her, destroyed. Would never allow her family the same fate. She squeezed Alexei's arm as if to keep him close...and if that meant some friends who were not really friends had to go, she'd be fine with that.

As the riddle was typed in, Kaida nodded, speaking out loud. "Yes, Klefki. Mischevious, closes and opens doors." She wondered if that meant something?

Not that she had long to ponder, as more attacks rained from the sky as scarlet howling. It seemed hot war had found her again. "Alexei! Protect ourselves!" She fumbled, the only one who's memories were still intact, trying to remember where he had gotten those elusive feathers. She didn't ask, pushing his hand around it as she pointed it upwards, "Make the wind, hurry!"

Her second hand fumbled for her Pokeballs, managing to return Yamega and release her arachnid companion, the Araquanid that immediately put up a Wide Guard. Her gaze shot around, fixing on Guillermo Marceliño as she made a decision. Alexei didn't need a friend that wasn't a friend, did he? Should he come near, he'd find Kaida ready to shove him out.

hBfgtxJ8


TLDR: Kaida leads Alexei Ivanov into the future, trying to follow Guillermo Marceliño while also trying her best to not let him know what's all around them. She sees herself and Xerneas, and very much wants to prevent this death. She answers to herself what the riddle is: Klefki before the meteors fall. Remembering the wind Alexei summoned, she makes him grab a feather and points it up, while also switching her Pokemon for Araquanid to use Wide Guard...should Memo be nearby, she denies the protection to him.

Pokemon: Ekans: Male, Shed Skin. Bite, Glare, Acid Spray, Stockpile, Giga Drain, Swallow. Has Z-move Rattlesnake!
Yamega: Female, Speed Boost. Ancientpower, Uproar, Detect, Bug Buzz, Air Slash, Double Team. Can use Z-move Overspeed!
Araquanid: Male, Water Bubble. Soak, Wide Guard, Mirror Coat, Bubble Beam, Leech Life, Aqua Ring.