Was it divine luck and providence that Tom had come across the receptionist for the day being Ethan and not Claire because the way the mousy brown-haired man was startled the moment he heard the other man’s voice—

“Wha—Alex? Right now?” he blinked, before looking up and realizing that he was looking at a familiar face.

“Whoa. You haven’t been here in a long time,” he mused quietly. “Last time you came by here was way back then after Zelle hatched…”

He blinked.

“Give me like, five minutes. Can you wait for me to get back here?”

With that, the other man stood up and made for the left-side door behind the reception desk—normally anyone who was up front for the day would go through the right to find him, but the man himself was at another part of the Sanctuary…

It took less than five minutes for the two to return, before the blonde noticed that—

“Tom? What… what brings you all the way out here?” he blinked once Ethan had resumed his seat and returned to the pile of paperwork he was handling.

After having had time to process the receptionist, Thomas came to recognize him as Ethan. The last time they had seen one another, Thomas was still an agent of the International Police. Much had changed since then.

"It's been a while, Ethan.", Thomas remarked. "Sorry I haven't been around more often, been rather busy myself.", he'd continue.

"Of course.", he'd reply, taking a seat while he waited.

Once Alexei stepped into the lobby, Thomas stood up to greet him. "Alexei, I'm here to discuss what happened last night.", he'd get straight to the point. "Where would you like to discuss this business?"

---

tags: Alexei Ivanov
notes: tl;dr

Normally, the other would be carting along an Audino or two, or something along those lines—but something in the air told him that today was not a time for niceties.

“Is something up? What happened?” he continued, looking over at his friend.

“Last night?”

He blinked after that pronouncement.

“Alright, alright, back up a little bit, through here,” he continued as he brought the other to the right-hand door and held it open for the other to go through first, before he followed and locked the door behind him,

“I’m going to need some context.”

"Damn, nobody's come to you about this yet?", Thomas asked, truly taken aback.

The authorities that came rushing in after backup was called. The massive scar left in the environment after the ship crashed. Potentially the appearance of the Tera Crystals scattered around the area. The fact that he was going to be breaking the news to his friend truly did surprise the Kalosian.

"Last night, I was among a search party, searching for three missing travelers. A strange beast was spotted in the area, and we were to deal with this beast, if we saw it. Situation was much crazier than many of us thought it'd be.", he'd quickly explain to Alexei. "And let's just say that last night's events left an - impressive aftermath, one that might be a problem down the line.", he'd add.

Thomas saw the Megalopolan twist coming from miles away. What Thomas didn't see coming was the involvement of these Toxic Chains.

---

tags: Alexei Ivanov
notes: tl;dr

“Nope.”

He blinked.

Was he supposed to be alarmed at the other’s pronouncement?

The moment the other had finished the cliff notes version of what had happened, he pinched the bridge of his nose. “Hoenn’s being typical as usual… strange BS happening for no reason at all and people just fucking blink at it and go on their way,” he explained.

(Surely Guillermo Marceliño would think the same.)

“Were you able to find the missing people?” he followed up afterward.

“And what kind of ‘impressive aftermath’ are we talking about here?”

"Pretty much.", he told Alexei.

"Unfortunately, they didn't make it.", he'd lament. "I think it's better if I show you. You got a second to fly out?", he'd inquire.

If Alexei allowed him the time to do so, he'd retrieve his Hydreigon from his PC, before preparing to fly out to the crash site.

---

tags: Alexei Ivanov
notes: tl;dr

“Oh, shit,” was all he would comment afterward, before looking skyward and pulling out the thin, flecking bird whistle he wore on a chain around his neck.

“You said it’s not too far from here, right?” he confirmed as he blew one silent note through the piece of metal. While he would allow the other to grab his Hydreigon; he would summon his own Braviary, Kyouya—making his grand landing in a fluttering of blue feathers.

“West or east of Fortree?”

Thomas finished retrieving the Hydreigon quickly, the Pokeball manifesting on his belt.

Thomas answered his first question with a nod. "To the west. I'll lead the way.", he told Alexei.

Thomas stepped outside, before deploying his faithful Hydreigon. He'd waste no time in climbing on the back of the three-headed beast. Once Alexei was situated on his Braviary, Thomas lead the way to the crash site on Route 119.

Along the way to the crash site, Alexei would likely spot the glimmer of scattered Tera Shards across the environment. Aside from the environmental scars from the crashed vessel that wasn't there, they were the only traces of the ship that were left behind.

Finally, they'd reach the crash site. Though it was clear what happened, the fact that the culprit was nowhere in sight was unsettling. Despite the fact that Thomas was there for it, he couldn't quite get over it.

"The 'beast' in question was not responsible for the disappearances in this area. No, it was a rogue band of Megalopolans, doing what they normally do. They were based in Tera Tunnels running underneath the swampland of 119. The 'beast', which turned out to be a mutated Ursaluna, was the surviving Pokemon of one of their victims. They turned out to be a huge help in dealing with this.", he'd explain to Alexei.

"The situation ended with us hijacking their ship, and using it to escape the area. After it crash landed, it just vanished.", he'd continue.

"Though that leaves a sizable group of Megalopolans stranded in this area. I fear that there will be retaliation from them. We have to prepare for that, fortify the defenses of not only the city, but nearby routes."

---

tags: Alexei Ivanov
notes: tl;dr

In no time flat, the two were heading out west from the city proper—to Route 119, a familiar stomping grounds for him…

“Are you kidding me,” he breathed out as they flew over the site where it had all happened, before coming in for a landing—

“Wait. Wait, hold up. Back the fuck up. Are you telling me… those same blue-skinned… those blue-skinned cannibals are back?!” he exclaimed.

It was like having a series of war flashbacks to the Three-Day War from a few years ago.

“I thought they were all in custody or something,” he continued with a frown on his face. If what the other had said was true, then they would be in for it.

“…don’t tell me, they’re going to try and access the rifts that lead to Ultra Space?”

For it was then he felt a chill run down his back, if that was the case.

"Yeah.", Thomas replied, his face as solemn and serious as ever.

"Even the idea of having them in custody never sat well with me, to tell you the truth.", he'd confide to the Gym Leader.

"This time, they were trying to power their ship ship with a Space Time Distortion. They claimed it was to return to their home world. And they used the search to lure us to them, in order to act as a food source for their trip back. Of course, it could've potentially stranded them in the past.", he'd reveal to Alexei.

"Personally, I think we all made the right call, in keeping them here, rather than risking them going to the past. Three years ago, we might've won, but that victory came at a steep cost. I doubt past civilizations would be as ready for them as we were. Who knows what sort of damage they could've done to the timeline, if allowed to meddle with the past.", he'd explain to Alexei.

---

tags: Alexei Ivanov
notes: tl;dr

What the hell was it with Hoenn being a fucking hotbed for BS like this?

“You… I want to ask if you’re kidding, but what the fuck that’s a very tall tale—time traveling back to the past? I thought time-traveling was only possible in science fiction?”

Unless the newest batch of ‘cannibals’ had some time-space bending technology with them that the people of this world were not aware of, well…

When the other mentioned that they were supposed to have been trapped and used as a food source, he felt the bottom of his stomach drop.

“…that’s fucking disgusting. Why didn’t anyone bring them in for… you know. Put them in maximum security or something.”

"I'd have thought the same as you, if not for all the crazy shit that's happened over the years.", he'd begin. "Remember what happened after the Three Day War, where many of us were flung through time by what seemed to be Dialgia? And that's not to speak of the Space Time Distortions appearing periodically. The Hisuian-era Pokemon coming to us, alive and well.", he'd continue.

The mutated Ursaluna itself was also from a different era. The ball used to contain it was archaic, and the tattered cloth it had carried an emblem from a group dating back centuries.

"We were forced into a fighting retreat, Alexei. Between the Megalopolan forces that lured us to their ship, and the reinforcements attacking us from the way we came, all we could do was either escape, or lure them into the Distortion.", he'd explain.

"Personally, I'd rather just kill 'em all, eliminate the danger they present all together."

---

tags: Alexei Ivanov
notes: tl;dr

“Wait. Hold up, what?” he went on as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

For something to happen right on the heels of the Three-Day War… maybe… just maybe, whatever, or whoever the fuck was in charge of the cyberspace mindfuckery had a point, somehow?

About how this Hoenn was heading toward ruin due to all the crazy shit happening within its embrace?

The moment the other brought up the space-time ‘distortions’, his train of thought came to a dead stop.

“Wait. Are you telling me, those weird distortions may be connected to the space cannibals?!” he exclaimed quietly; making sure not to startle whatever Pokémon were lurking around the outside of the open-air arena.

He had to take a deep breath to try and calm himself down…

“Geez. What a fucking mess.”