"Yes. You're right, of course. It's just..." Howard glanced at the ball, then at Naomi. "I just don't know. You read the translations, Head Scientist. Hell, we worked on them together. Regice was built from the rib of a god. It's the last hope of a civilization long gone."

Howard stared at Naomi thoughtfully, then at the Pokeball. It was cold to the touch. His skin was already reddening from prolonged contact with it.

"I find that beautiful. And there are others too. Where are they? Will they protect Hoenn? Can they even beat that which they came from?"

Eternatus. Hyakkaryōran Tsubaki's god. The beast that made up the entirety of the Ultra Deep Sea. Its size was incomprehensible to the archaeologist. Given its monstrous proportions, Howard wasn't surprised that the ancients were able to construct Regice from it. Hell, they could've constructed a hundred Regice from it.

Where, then, were the others built from it?

"I don't expect to find an answer from one chat with you, Head Scientist, but you gave me a piece of the answer. I appreciate it. Thank you."

With a flash of light, the Regice appeared before the duo. It was a hulking colossus, and the air automatically began to freeze as the entity was fully released from its Pokeball. Howard didn't react to the cold, much. He was used to it, at this point. It was still cold as hell, nonetheless.

"The Unown are fortunate that you care for them. I doubt messengers from Arceus were ever given anything other than reverence. Reverence is not affection, though the two are often misconstrued."

The Regice pointed at Kallistatus. It beeped at the Unown, the braille on its face flashing.

⠇⠑⠞⠞⠑⠗⠎.

"Still translating what it says." Howard said. "I'm at about... ten percent of its lexicon? Give me time."

---

Naomi Sato

"The DRK Triad." Howard echoed. The invaders from another world who had declared war on Hoenn. Howard was glad that they existed, in a twisted way. They were the living, concrete proof of humanity's desire to unify against a concise threat. Right now, the Rocket and League were at war. When the time was right, the strong would unify to crush the otherworldly invaders.

And humanity would triumph. History would repeat.

A wheel made eternal.

"Our region is under attack from so many different forces, I find myself struggling to care about each individual one. That's heartless, I know, but the human heart can only hold so much passion. With this business of Eternatus, it's rather preoccupying."

Necrozma would destroy the world as well, Howard knew. Yet he kept silent, in defense of its Avatar. If he kept quiet, he would not be crushed by the Rocket Beast and his patron.

Regice raised a large arm, as if signaling greeting to the heavenly envoy. The Unowns and Regice were distinct from one another. One was born of divine proclamation, to observe the world and exist as a thousand arms. The other was a primordial piece of the world, shaped out of a vengeful god to defend humanity.

Yet they cooperated now, all under the banner of Rocket.

⠁⠇⠕⠝⠑. ⠺⠓⠑⠗⠑. ⠕⠞⠓⠑⠗⠎.

"Even gods grow lonely." Howard unknowingly echoed his Regice's sentiments. "Time does not matter. But I digress. Since you're one with the Unown, does that make you a messenger from Arceus? Can you issue a divine proclamation? Against my landlord, for instance?"

---

Naomi Sato

"Because somebody must." Howard said solemnly. "Too many eyes in one direction are blinding. Besides, Regice is made from one of Eternatus's ribs, and there are likely several more automatons like it. This is a mere shard of its power. What happens when it stirs?"

He did not consider the DRK Triad his friends, but Howard had never fought them on the field. He didn't have the experience that Nomi did within the RKS system. Why fight an enemy that he knew little about? With so many people waging war on the otherworldly invaders, why throw himself onto that pile?

It was best to diversify. If the ancients of Hoenn had waged war on the dragon, than Howard would follow the path of those that came before. Regice stood proud next to Kallistatus, an idol built in honor to something, with the shard of a dragon as its beating heart.

"And what a fine representative Necrozma chose. I wish our Rocket Beast the best." Howard's voice was cheerful, betraying little. Necrozma's Avatarship of ■■■ was a mistake. It was a decision made by a vengeful god of a dying dimension. They could discuss semantics, but an Eternatus Avatar would likely be as deranged as the Rocket Beast currently under Rocket's employ.

Not that ■■■ was even remotely trustworthy. There are always other universes. The words rung in his ears. Once this one lacked value, ■■■ would hop away to another world. By his own admittance, once Rocket had no value to him, he'd leave it behind.

Untrustworthy.

"A theological battle between angels? I suppose the only way to determine who is correct is to see who will win and who will lose. I have faith that you will win." He gave her a sideways glance. "But do you think that you will? What power has been given to you?"

He had a suspicion.

---

Naomi Sato

"Mostly." Howard echoed. "I suppose so. Your bluntness is noted. I've never seen such a direct academic. Spelling things out must come easily when you have a lexicon at your disposal."

From the lips of another, the words could be interpreted as malicious. To Howard, it was genuine interest and academic intrigue. He was a scholar, and he spoke softly and respectfully to even those he despised, like Beast Frost and ■■■. Rocket was full of titans, capable of bending reality and ripping apart worlds.

Disrespecting them was a death sentence.

'Them'. As if Howard wasn't one of them, now.

"Eternatus will choose someone, and we'll have to put that person under." Howard wiped a tear from his single eye. "That is the price we pay when we parley with higher beings."

When Naomi smiled, Howard frowned.

"Show me, what do you mean sho-" Howard's voice cut off as he and Regice were yanked through space and time. The last thing Howard remembered was Regice's beeping.

⠙⠁⠝⠛⠑⠗: ⠎⠏⠁⠉⠑⠤⠞⠊⠍⠑ ⠞⠗⠁⠝⠎⠊⠞⠊⠕⠝ ⠑⠧⠑⠝⠞

When Howard opened his eye, he was in a fantastical world. He looked around and saw the crystalization of language before him. The thousand arms of Arceus, all swirling about in a divine harmony. Immediately, Howard realized that he was looking upon a banquet reserved for the divine.

"I'm dreaming." He grabbed Naomi's shoulders and shook her. "This isn't a dream, is it!? Right, Sato? Naomi!"

Regice floated in the background, beeping.

---

Naomi Sato

Whenever Howard needed to focus, he simply switched from coffee to green tea. He found the need to transcend dimensions to be needlessly tiresome.

"No Dream Mist." Howard rubbed his temples. "I'm sick of getting attacked by Scream Tails."

Yet who was he to judge the inner workings of Head Scientist Sato? She was a pretty smart cookie, and Rocket only kept Howard around because he knew a lot of vaguely useful historical facts. Hell, even his Regice was a gift from Rocket. He had helped salvage it, but it was Rocket who let him keep the artifact.

Pokémon. Sato said that it was a Pokémon. He just couldn't see it, even as Regice floated in the background.

NOT HOENN. Several Unowns moved to spell what the golem was saying. NOT HOENN.

"Huh. The Unowns can translate." Howard turned to Regice, then to Nomi. After a moment, realization clicked. "Wait. The Unowns can translate! This is huge! Arceus, I need pens... paper...! Why didn't I bring the chart of expressions it could make with its braille?"

He patted his pockets, looking for a pen. This was groundbreaking! They were communicating with a relic of ancient Hoenn, built by people, for people. It was like talking to the past, if the past was incomprehensibly cold.

---

Naomi Sato

He'd never get used to the powers that the divine offered unto mortals. It was certainly several steps above the fire they had been gifted when humanity had been young. Compared to manifesting crystals, blowing up cities, and vanishing into shadow, manifesting pen and paper seemed positively lame in comparison.

If you were an idiot.

Infinite pen and paper? Howard would've challenged bryan delarosa to a cage match for infinite pens. This was likely the tip of the iceberg, as well. If the Unown were messengers from on high, they were definitely capable of more than manufacturing office equipment.

"Oh, that's pretty. Thanks." Howard bit down on the request to keep the pen. "Let's see..."

What to ask for? A standard alphabet? Regice didn't understand human concepts from Howard's experience. It simply followed orders, like a machine. If it had any emotion, it kept it buried. From his own tests, it only knew how to fire, how to march, and how to defend.

"Regice, do you know who we are?"

LOW POWER MODE. The Unown translated as Howard scribbled the flashes onto a sheet of paper. LIMITING ANSWER. LORD. AND.

Silence. Regice regarded Nomi for a moment.

UNKNOWN. NO ROOM.

"Yeah, I forget names too. What do you mean by 'no room'?" Howard's eye flicked to Nomi as he scribbled on his magic paper. "I can see why it'd be 'low power', though. You're... what? A fraction of the size you should be? Plus you're lacking the Power Spot..."

He turned to Nomi.

"We never recovered the Power Spot. What're the chances that the League has it?"

---

Naomi Sato