Swanna Song, Sung Throughout Sinnoh

June screamed as she slammed into the stone wall before collapsing to the hard floor. A horrible, raging rasp made the defeated girl gather the energy to curl up into a ball and wail out helplessly. Her body, illuminated by a nearby light, was covered in bloody cuts, and most of her body was exposed, wearing nothing but a bra and panties, which also had holes, stains, and rips. The girl collapsed after the raspy noise ended, sprawled out on her face, shivering.

I’ll kill her. Right here!

June gasped and choked as her throat was grabbed, and then she was hoisted up in the air by only a monstrous, clawed hand with skin that would make the night envious, the hand possibly of a human, but also couldn’t possibly be. Her hands remained at her sides, swaying slightly. “Gaaaaaahh... Ggggghhh... Cccc...” she gurgled and choked, literally dying in the hand of her apprehender. She couldn’t even lift one hand to grab the wrist, tears of death rolling out of her eyes.

My mouth opened wide as I dove in.

My fangs sunk into her face.

My fangs sunk into her face.

My fangs sunk into her face.

My fangs sunk into her face.

My fangs sunk into her face.

My fangs sunk into her face.

My fangs sunk into her face.

My fangs sunk into her face.

My fangs sunk into her face.

My fangs sunk into her face.

Gary roared furiously in the darkness. He extended his arms and made tight fists, grabbing at... Nothing! He kept his fists outward, his eyes wide as he stared at the forest he was in. Where am I?? He breathed hard, not sure of how he should be feeling now, his head still but his eyes whipping around. His mouth was so wide and dry. Taking in a swallow, he actually choked, his throat as dry as sandpaper. He patted his chest and then licked his dry lips. They still felt exceptionally dry and crusty. He couldn’t slow down his breathing. After blinking, he felt something fall from his eyes and looked down to see tears dripping out of his eyes, landing on his sleeping bag. Tears... Gary thought. He stared at the wet drops in silence. But... he told himself. Tears, but... Then... His hands tightened into fists. Why do I feel so... angry inside?? His eyes shut, more tears running down his cheeks swiftly. He could still feel some kind of rage inside of him as he thought of June, all while sadness over her resulted in tears. His eyes moved to the side and he screamed at something staring right at him in the shadows of the woods.

Riolu was on her feet, her mouth gaping, her eyes wide, breathing as heavily as Gary was, watching her Trainer in disbelief.

Raichu was awake as well, staring back and forth between the two, his ears up, his face terrified.

*

“So... I’m right beside the Ravaged Path... Alamos is a bit away from here. Should make it there in a few days.” Gary looked up from his Pokedex and through the thick forest. He turned to Raichu, who was right by his feet, and then looked further back to see Electivire.

Raichu looked uncomfortable walking through such tight trees, letting out surprised cries and stumbling every here and there.

During the hiking, Electivire punched, kicked, grunted and shouted out when needed, destroying branches and other plantlife as he stomped through.

Gary screamed out, jumping once in place as something trembled in his pocket and he grasped for his phone. “Damn it!” he whispered, pulling it out. It vibrated in his hand, and he could see Scientist Gary was sending him something on Log-A-Graph yet again. He sucked his teeth hard. “This is like the tenth time in a day!!” Gary complained. And like, one of them was merely remotely funny! he added in his head. He opened the phone to see what it was this time.

On the app, there was a previous conversation from earlier. A picture showed comic book characters Gary wasn’t familiar with in a small alleyway, a thin man in a tight, white spandex outfit with a matching hood and cape that kept his face entirely hidden in black shadow, only glowing red eyes visible.

With arms and legs positioned on the walls to hold itself over the man in white, was an absurdly muscled being in a purple spandex outfit covering the entire body, a big white design on the chest. Its gaping mouth had no teeth showing, but a jabbing stinger extended from it for the man below.

The man had a speech bubble that said: WHY AM I HEARING ELEMENEMOPEE ALL OF A SUDDEN?

Below that picture, the conversation read:

Lebaron88: Wait, do you like comics? Like Mervelous?

*Marvelous

Gary4Mewtwo: I mean, I don’t know a lot about them, no

I know some stuff about ABC comics

Like, the Dark Type, and the Provoker, Powerfulman, those guys

Lebaron88: Ah, ok so you dont get this one then

Gary4Mewtwo: I know about Elemenemopee, lol

I love his stuff!

Lebaron88: Yeah, he’s crazy. I think he does that Team Solace support stuff for the controversy though

I doint think hes really serious

Gary4Mewtwo: Yeah, he cant be serious. He just presses buttons for fun. He’s said in songs

Below that was the latest message Gary hadn’t seen yet. His eyes glazed over it.

It was a post gushing about a premiered model of a dinosaur in a museum, detailed down to even its scars and injuries. The post had hundreds of thousands of shows of support from other users, while the dislikes just barely hit one hundred, and there were hundreds of comments.

Lebaron88: See

And this is why I don’t fucking believe in dinosaurs

Read that and tell me when your done

Gary raised an eyebrow and kept scrolling down the chat, seeing several pictures displaying different angles of a Tyrannosaurus Rex in a museum, devouring another smaller dinosaur.

Families were also in the image, staring at the model, the children looking the most excited.

Gary4Mewtwo: Done

Lebaron88: You really going to tell me a creatures with proportions like that is able to stand

Gary sighed out loud and rolled his eyes. This guy is something else!

Gary4Mewtwo: But, you know, Fossil Pokemon do exist

It’s an indisputable fact

Gary had misspelled indisputable, but the phone had corrected it for him before the message was sent. It doesn’t always do that, Gary thought, squinting in confusion. Why’d it fix that?

Lebaron88: Nah, man. If that’s so, they can bring back DEAD POKEMON!

When have you ever heard of them doing something like that?

Gary froze, staring at the phone. Dead Pokemon... Absol... Hitmonchan... And... He blinked, and it was when the tears fell out and hit his phone that he realized he even had built up tears. He saw the three dots at the bottom of the screen that indicated Scientist Gary was typing now and pressed his phone against his jeans to soak the tears off of it before staring at his phone again.

Lebaron88: Shit said accurate scars and injuries

Gary just stared at the phone, wanting to just toss the damn thing. He was sick of being connected to people. To this scientist. I’m not on this journey to see memes and be aggravated by idiots, he told himself. I’ll probably never run into this clown again. I just happened to have a connection due to Prof. Oak and Kiwi. This region is huge, and he’s not a Trainer. I’ll never see that guy again. He kept staring at the phone.

Scientist Gary wasn’t typing anything anymore.

Gary4Mewtwo: Yeah i noticed that

It was all he could come up with, and he had to force even that little bit out.

The word Read was shown a minute later, showing that his friend had read his message. Scientist Gary was typing again, making Gary suck his teeth.

Lebaron88: How you got injuries if you only found bones

Gary’s mouth became slanted as he started to think up a reply. Instead, he went back to a previous point of his.

Gary4Mewtwo: But, what about the Fossils?

Aerodactyl?

Kabutops?

Gary stopped when the scientist was shown to be replying.

Lebaron88: Those are real, sure

But it’s nt what they say

They’re not just resurrecting Pokemon Fossils

There’s something more secretive to it

They say they don’t bring back Pokemon from the dead because it’d be bad

It’d manipulate people’s feelings and hurt them and leave them confused

It’d be too traumatic

For the Pokemon and the people

But what about the Pokemon you’re resurrecting?? What are they going through?

There’s a conspiracy going on. I know it sounds crazy, but I’m telling you dude. Something’s up

Gary’s body jolted as he looked up from the phone, recalling something he seemed to have forgotten just a moment ago. Melissa. He stared into the trees, trying to process his current thoughts, but his mind seemed stuck. Melissa. He swallowed and his face broke into sadness. My mom, my family, doesn’t want me to bring her back... But I want her back. I have to! Why...? Why can’t we bring her back?! Why won’t they let me?! They can’t stop me!!

Something scurried through the trees, startling Raichu first, Electivire second, and lastly Gary. It glared at them and cried out, finally turning to run.

Gary was stuck for a second, stunned for a number of reasons. Finally, he put his phone into one pocket and grabbed a Poke Ball from a different one. He tossed it at the thing.

The creature was hit and pulled in.

The Poke Ball shook, and shook again.

POP!

The creature burst out, the Poke Ball shooting off into the woods.

“My Poke Ball!” Gary called out. He frowned and quickly wiped at his wet eyes, sniffling briefly. Man, what kind of a thing is this, anyway? He held out his Pokedex.

Bidoof. The Plump Mouse Pokemon. A Normal type Pokemon. Its large incisors constantly grow, so it needs to gnaw on wood and rocks to keep them down. It is usually found to be perturbed.

“To be what?” Gary questioned, staring at the Pokedex before putting it away. “Right, anyway.” He squinted at the Pokemon, breathing out of his nose wearily. He then sneered, shaking his head. I’ve never seen something so... stupid-looking, but... He grabbed a Poke Ball from his belt this time and sent out what was inside. “Let’s go, Deino!”

“Deinoooo!!” Deino stomped his front legs and yelled out. He then charged at Bidoof and rammed his head into the opponent’s!

“Bidoooooof!!” Bidoof flew back, rolling to a stop in the grass. Its mouth hung open, groaning. “Bidoof...”

It’s still a Pokemon, right...? Gary frowned. Even if it does look absolutely... useless. Must be the Rattata of this region, maybe? He rolled his eyes and threw a Poke Ball again.

The Poke Ball took in Bidoof and the button blinked red repeatedly, shaking. After a moment...

PING!

The Poke Ball didn’t remain long, vanishing in a set of bright lights.

“Well,” Gary said calmly, and then he frowned at Deino. “Hey, I never said to attack!”

“Deino?” He looked back to Gary, his eyes covered in black fur, giving it a very emo, edgy look.

“You need to do as I say- HEY!”

Deino walked off, walking toward something in the distance.

“HEY! I’m talking to you!” Gary couldn’t believe what was happening.

Deino disappeared into the woods.

“Come on, guys!” Gary ran after his Pokemon.

Raichu moved past Gary but stopped very quickly. So quickly in fact, that Gary tripped right over the Mouse and his face crashed right into a tree! He fell and cringed nonstop, his body unstable. He looked over weakly and his eyes shot wide open. “HEY!!” He reached out feebly.

Deino was chewing on a Poke Ball!

The one Gary had used earlier on Bidoof that the Pokemon had broken out of!

“BIDOOF!! I mean, Deino! DEINO STOP!!” Gary sat up.

SMASH!!

The Poke Ball shattered in Deino’s mouth!

“DEINNOOOOOOOOOOO!!!” Deino wailed out, his head squirming and whipping around as he stomped in a frenzy.

“DEINO! Oh, no!” Gary ran to his Pokemon and reached out to him. “DEINO!! CALM DOWN!! ARE YOU OKAY?!” Gary’s teeth suddenly clenched, his brain processing the excruciating pain after Deino had clamped down on one of his hands. He blew up into a wail that echoed, startling animals on the ground, birds in the trees, and leaves fell from branches.

*

Gary rested in his sleeping bag, glaring at the shards of Poke Balls on the ground in the night.

Raichu was curled up with his back against Gary, snoring hard.

Electivire was gone, making a ruckus in the distance while facing off against whatever opponents he could come across.

“Can anyone tell me what the key ingredient in a Poke Ball is?” the Proprietor had asked at the school in Jubilife City. “It is because Mew holds the DNA of all Pokemon; it is because all Pokemon come from Mew, that Mew is the way, and the reason, Poke Balls, and items like it, can function as they do at all. Some of mankind’s greatest achievements have been accomplished by manipulating the DNA of Mew! It is why the Pokedex may not always recognize a Pokemon’s information if it is not properly updated, but it knows the main, trace ingredient of Mew that lies within all Pokemon. In the same manner, Poke Balls can instantly recognize any Pokemon, discovered or not. The source is the Mew DNA all Pokemon have, no matter what!”

This memory seemed to stick in Gary’s mind after Deino had smashed his Poke Ball earlier.

Gary threw the Master Ball towards the monster. The new species.

She turned to the ball and watched as it hit her shoulder, but she didn’t react in that moment.

The Master Ball opened midair, sending out a red beam that engulfed her.

Her hair came to life, sparking blue while the rest of her body remained red as the Master Ball made its attempt to capture her. Her hair then struck the Master Ball in separate, thin bundles, sticking around the whole of the ball like several snakes biting the same rat.

BAAAAAMMMMM!!! The Master Ball came down in destroyed pieces of dust and metal.

Gary suddenly found himself thinking hard about the time the monster destroyed his Master ball.

But more specifically, how she attacked it!

He shook his head, seeing her sparking hair become several separate bundles to jab into the ball.

One by one, they stuck to the Poke Ball before destroying it.

Gary was rubbing his head now, his eyebrows narrowed harder than before. Why does that seem so familiar to me...? Something specific... He covered his eyes with his hand and let out his breath, giving up on the thought after a little while.

All Pokemon can be captured in a Poke Ball, due to all Pokemon having the DNA of Mew, and that DNA is how Poke Balls work, so since the creature thing wasn’t captured by the Poke Ball... It can’t be a Pokemon! Right?? Gary was wrestling in his mind yet again. But what the heck is it then?! This doesn’t solve anything!! He gripped his head with his hand and let out an impatient, frustrated growl. We’re out here fighting an actual monster?? That can speak?? One that can... It can send out electricity?? Has intellect?! Real consciousness?! That’s not okay. It’s not possible!

I’ve seen it take Fire moves from Charmeleon, and even Electivire’s powerful Electric moves, so it can even withstand intense pressure from heat and electricity. It even used that electricity to harm Electivire even though his Ability turns electricity into Speed! Aly’s Ivysaur hardly did a thing to it, but it did fall to her Solar Beam... Is that a weak point? Grass moves? Or is it like Aly said? Maybe it’s... an alien! Aren’t Pokemon supposed to be aliens? Isn’t that what Ish believed, too? That Pokemon come from space? I may not believe in aliens, but with a being like this, just maybe... Maybe, after all...

Breathing out, he ran his hand along his head and gripped what he could of his short hair. I haven’t had a cut in a while, he thought. It’s growing. Anyway, this monster. What do I do? What is it? Say! His eyes popped open. Mew, he remembered. The Pokedex! Have I ever scanned her in it?? I don’t remember... I don’t think so. But would it make a difference? If the Master Ball didn’t work... is the Pokedex really gonna to something different? They both work on the same principle of the Mew DNA. He jumped and gasped at the sound of his phone vibrating. He stared at it on the ground, and his right hand flinched. “OOOOOWWWW!!” he howled, sitting up.

“RAAAAAICHUUUUUU!!!!” Raichu lit the area brightly.

Gary was blinded, wailing out helplessly, painfully, until the blast from Raichu stopped and he collapsed helplessly. His body radiating from the landing caused his right hand to ache out even more, and he grit his teeth, letting out a hard, long groan.

“Raichu! Raichu!” Raichu’s ears were down as he gazed apologetically at the young boy.

Gary’s body flinched while sparking. I was in enough pain, Raichu, he thought. I didn’t need an extra dose! It took him some time, but eventually control over himself started to slip back in, but this was still hindered by his wounded right hand due to Deino. The hand was wrapped in white gauze. Maybe I’m getting used to the blasts, Gary considered as he got himself to sit up. He held up his throbbing hand. I am not going back to Jubilife City again, he promised himself. Deino is in good hands back with Prof. Sketchit and Kiwi, getting his wounds taken care of. Man, it’s getting easier to get that right, huh? His eyes closed. I haven’t forgotten you, sir.

The phone kept buzzing and vibrating some more.

Gary breathed out tiredly, sick of the device, as he reached out for it. Flipping through it with his left hand was proving just a little awkward.

Lebaron88: Lol

Dude, wtf? Lol

You just butt dial me, dude?

Lol!

Gary scrolled up a little bit and saw four pictures, three of them entirely black, the first one a brighter blur. “What?” Gary muttered, confused. His eyes suddenly widened in disbelief as he straightened up. “Oh, crap! They’re from me?! How did that happen? Shoot!”

Suddenly, Scientist Gary was typing again.

Lebaron88: Dude, I’ve been working more on those PGS experiments, man. I’m so happy it’s becoming more accepted

There’s more offers and people coming through who want to have talks now

Not a whole lot, but there’s more than ever before

There’s stuff I wanna show you on the system, too. Things you don’t know about that I think you might appreciate.

Gary stared solemnly at the phone for a while, desperate to abruptly turn it off, but knowing that Scientist Gary saw that he had read the messages, so his silence would be rude. It wasn’t in his heart to be that way, though he kind of wished it were. He typed, but then deleted the message, trying to think up something else to write. He waited, staring at the phone. The scientist was typing now, and Gary quickly typed again.

Gary4Mewtwo: That’s cool, man! Congras! Next time we meet!

Gary exited out of the app before the guy could reply. He put the phone on silent and then locked it, setting it in the grass beside him.

It was then that his eyes hit the pieces of the Poke Ball. It was then he remembered the Poke Ball shattering in Deino’s jaws.

It was then that Gary remembered the monster destroying the Master Ball.

It was only then, that Gary remembered his nightmare.

The Master Ball... he thought.

He could see the monster’s hair striking the Master Ball like snakes, in turn, almost biting the ball before it blew it.

No, not almost. They were biting it!

And Gary knew this!

My mouth opened wide as I dove in.

My fangs sunk into her face.

My fangs sunk into her face.

My fangs sunk into her face.

My fangs sunk into her face... Over and over again... Gary remembered. Not... my fangs... But the fangs from the hair of the monster. That’s what was so familiar to me about when she destroyed the Master Ball. It was like what happened in my dream. In my dream, the hair from the monster, each individual bundle, had fangs or something, and each chose to strike at June’s face. Like they each had a mind of their own. The monster, and each separate bundle of her living hair, chose to attack June. But. Even more than that - that’s exactly how Melissa was-

Gary swallowed sickeningly, and felt like he might just throw up. He closed his eyes, narrowing his eyebrows. No. Don’t, Gary. This is why it all feels so familiar. But don’t throw up. Don’t!

But there’s something else about that dream, too, Gary remembered. Knowing where this was headed didn’t calm his churning stomach. It was making things worse, but he didn’t know how to stop the thoughts. That dream. It felt like, suddenly, I... I was there. I was- I - wanted to hurt her. I wanted June dead. No. Yes! Yes, and no. I wanted her dead, but something... Gary swallowed his nausea down and rubbed at his face. I need to take it easy. This is crazy. These nightmares are driving me mad. I need to just actually get her back! And right now, the only way I know how to do that is to get to Jirachi. Three wishes. That’s all I’ve got. I need to stop this beast, and also, get my sister back. And then... I need to plan my words carefully for these wishes. Be careful what you wish for... That’s how the age-old saying goes. I’ll be sure to make it final, Gary promised. Each wish, will end all of this misery. I can’t save the world, but I can save my own, and help this one along the way. By getting rid of this bitch monster.

“Chu?” Raichu’s ears stood tall, and he sniffed at the air. His cheeks sparked. “Rai.” He now was frowning.

The rustling stopped, and this is what made Gary realize there was any rustling to begin with. Now he was on edge, and he made a complete circle. It became clear exactly what direction the approaching entity was coming from. Is it her? The monster? Gary held his hand over his Poke Balls, but he couldn’t recall who he had with him in his fright. Primeape! He grabbed the ball and froze up. He’s my best guy right now. The leader.

There were now more noises around.

Gary’s eyes bounced through the grass and trees, unable to see anything coming through, having no sure idea of the spot the things were going to appear from. Are there more, now? Do I need more than just Primeape?

Before he could think further, out stomped the monster!

Electivire! He sniffed the air, frowning and looking around curiously.

I knew it... Gary breathed out. I was just about to ask where’s Electivire... Ha. I totally knew it.

Electivire stared at Gary, still sniffing.

Raichu’s ears remained up, but he did seem to relax a little. “Raichu.”

Where do my wishes end? Gary wondered, keeping his eyes on Electivire.

My sister.

The monster.

Team Solace.

Prof. Oak...

Electivire didn’t look away from the boy.

Gary kept his eyes right back on him.

June, he added.