"I see. A spacetime transition event? No wonder Amor Rose was interested in this place." Howard frowned as he crossed his arms and stared down into the abyss. He felt something pulling, a residue of the world that was on the other side of the mirror.

He didn't know what had caused this, but he was sure that someone like Amor Rose or the other Head Scientists would know.

Mt. Pyre. A mountain where the souls of the deceased departed into the afterlife. In a sense, it was a portal to the afterlife for the deceased. Despite the mountain being a resting place for the deceased, Howard viewed it as an unyielding obelisk for time itself, a place that gave future archaeologists the best chance of understanding the modern times.

The mountain rumbled as distortions continued to open, and he stood before one, hat fluttering in the wind.

"There has to be something here..." Howard had, when he joined Team Rocket, mocked the concept of interdimensional gateways. The current world was enough for him to research, why go beyond space and time? Leave that for the boldest academics, which Howard did not count himself as.

Yet that too, had changed.

He had seen what else was out there. What was beyond the veil? Ages. Epochs. Infinity. "Dreams are infinite until you wake up." Howard's eye glared at the distortions before him. Howard turned. "Don't you agree?"

---

Tempest Quinn
TIME: 11:11

Griseous Gulf

"We should quarantine this thing." He suggested into the comms as he crouched before the rift. "Don't need to know exactly what it is to know it's trouble."

Leaving it alone was just begging Team Rocket to do something with it.

"I don't guard stuff anymore, I'm a medic." He scoffed as he leaned in a little closer, trying to peer inside the rift. "I'm not above it, I've just got other stuff to do!"

A groan left his mouth, his eyes rolling as far back as they would go before he huffed.

"Know what, forget I said anything. See you later." He said with a huff, dropping the call before kicking a pebble into the rift in frustration. "'Not enough personnel'. He really said it just like that. Haaah..."

---

12:21 p.m. (gmt-4)

Teaching Namegon the Shadow Accelgor 'Shadow Sneak'.

proof 1proof 2

Something big must be happening in the Distortion World, because allegedly little tears to the most elusive of alternate dimensions were popping up across Hoenn. Oscar had developed a fascination for the land of Distortion ever since he got a taste of it in Sootopolis, so he has taken to checking in on these tear reports whenever they come in. He is always one step behind though, usually arriving at a location when the portal had already closed. Or perhaps it was never there at all and he has just been chasing wild geese.

This time was different though. He lucked out when he followed up on a sighting on Mt. Pyre. It took him a while to find it, but once he did there was no mistaking what it was. Sitting within the foggy slopes of the mountain was a small wavy circle emanating a familiar energy. Approaching it gave Oscar the same feeling he received when he was nearly imprisoned within the hostile world forever by Katherine Fairburne. It was a rush of adrenaline, like staring down from an immeasurable height and suddenly getting the urge to jump.

Oscar popped a squat near the rift, staring intently as its undulating vibrations distorted the normal terrain it sat upon. He was admiring it, taking in the sight as if it were a rare piece of art in a museum. Unlike in a museum though, he knew that if he so wished he could reach out and touch it. Oh the temptation was great, but was it safe? Would touching it bring him into that backwards place where few could claim to tread?

Oscar smiled, pushing his hand against the rift without hesitation. Yet as his hand approached, he would feel a force push it away. The rejection was gentle, gentle enough for Oscar to place his hand against it as if it were a solid surface. The force made his hand vibrate, recreating a sensation similar to the opposite sides of two magnets rejecting each other. After a moment of contemplation, Oscar slowly pulled away.

This shall require further research.

---Not claiming the move yet, further research is required.

"Dreams don't cost money." Howard scratched his chin thoughtfully, imagining the perfect world where he didn't have to pay rent. Then, he shuddered. His dreams had been murky recently, and nightmares plagued him because of the incident with that man.

This place reminded Howard of that man. Unnerving. Unnatural. He hadn't fought in the Distortion World. He did not know of Katherine's accomplishments, but did that even truly matter? Out with the old. In with the new. She was a relic. One whose memory would be preserved, but whose purpose had been handed down to a new generation.

An offering? Guh. Didn't he have a nice piece of artisan's granite?

"A dream is something that becomes oh so fragile once it becomes reality. I'd rather mine be an impossibility, that way it can't be taken away." Howard smiled as he flipped through a book with a Relicanth on the cover. The book was on marine anthropology that Temp had got him as a gift. "This is a splendid gift, by the way. Thank you."

---

10:01
Tempest Quinn