Mimikyu looked down at his shadowy hands in clear confusion. “Well, Mimikyu definitely can’t learn that, so…. I s’pose that was either Copycat or Mimic? Which one of those did… or no, it’s both of them, ain’ it? What was the diff’rence between ‘em…”

  “Who cares?! Tell me about this “mega evolve” thing!” Mawile demanded, stomping a foot on the ground.

  “Not now, brat,” Mimikyu waved her off. “Hey N, do ya remember what the diff’rence is between Copycat and Mimic? I can’t remember for the life of me. Only copyin’ move anyone ever cares about is Sketch, so I never bothered ta look into ‘em…”

  “I’m afraid I’m not familiar with either move…” N denied. “Is it safe to assume what they do based on the names and… whatever that little demonstration was?”

  As far as N could tell, Mimikyu had managed to replicate Mawile’s attack, which definitely fit the terms the little ghost was throwing around.

  “Yeah, they let ya use a move that yer opponent shows ya, but there was some sorta difference in ‘em… was it jus’ how much they could be used?” He started muttering to himself.

  “Hey!” Mawile demanded. “You can’t just say things like that and then ignore me!”

  “I’ll admit that I’m curious as well…” N added on. Mega evolution certainly sounded like something grand, but if that were the case then surely he should have heard of it before now. Right?

  N could feel Mimikyu rolling his eyes. “Ugh, me ‘n’ my big mouth. Fine, fine.” He strolled a bit closer to the water, where the ground fully transitioned to sand instead of the slightly sandy grass they’d been standing on. With one of his claws he etched what looked to be some sort of small ball, a marble perhaps, into the sand.

  “So, mega evolution 101, I guess. Over in the Kalos region…. ‘n’ also Alola I guess? Plus Hoenn…. But, no, that’s not our Hoenn… or is it this Hoenn? I’ve never actually looked into… but, no, cuz’ if Ash ‘ad his thing with Deoxys then it should be the one without, right? Cynthia confirmed that happened, I’m pretty sure…”

  “So it’s not just trying to teach me a move? You suck at explaining everything?” Mawile mocked.

  “Oh shut up, I’m only doin’ this ‘cuz ya asked in the first place!” Mimikyu complained. “But fine, whatever, I’ll just skip over all of that confusin’ nonsense.” He pointed at his little drawing. “This ‘ere, is my artistic representation of what’s known as a Mega Stone. They’re fancy little rocks that are the key ta all this. My understandin’ is that they’re nice an’ polished marble lookin’ things, but I ain’ sure if they look like that naturally or if they get polished before use or somethin’.... But anyway, they allow certain Pokemon ta do a sort of… let’s say extra evolution that’s only temporary.”

  N frowned. “Temporary? Doesn’t that just sound like a form change? Darmanitan do that sometimes.”

  Mimikyu upturned his hands, doing his best attempt at a shrug. “Look, I ain’ the one who came up with the namin’ conventions ‘ere.”

  Mawile growled. “I don’t care about dumb rocks, tell me about evolving!” Her giant maw snapped at him in warning.

  “I’m gettin’ there, relax already!” N watched as Mimikyu began a rudimentary sketch of what he assumed was supposed to be Mawile. “So, these little rock things, there are a good handful of ‘em, ‘n’ each of ‘em corresponds to a specific species of Pokemon. Gyarados, Gardevoir, Lucario, Steelix… ya get my point.”

  “And Mawile?” Mawile checked.

  “Yes, and Mawile,” Mimikyu groaned. “I forget the specifics, but there was somethin’ about it bein’ based on the bond between trainer ‘n’ Pokemon. Ya can only mega evolve if ya really ‘ave a deep connection or some nonsense like that. So if ya take a Mawilite, a Key Stone, ‘n’ ya got a really strong bond or whatever-”

  “Key Stone?” N interrupted. He was doing his best to keep up, but the new terminology going alongside the form change that apparently wasn’t a form change was throwing him for a loop.

  “Ah, yeah, those are like… the human Mega Stone? Huh. Never really thought of it that way before, but it sorta makes sense, doesn’t it?”

  Not really, but N wasn’t about to interrupt again.

  “So anyway, if ya got all those things checked off, then during battle ya can mega evolve ‘n’ get a big power up. Well, most of ‘em anyway. Some of ‘em really aren’t anything special.” With those words he pulled his shadowy hand away from the sand, revealing what was definitely a Mawile, but perhaps a bit taller in the leg area? Of course, the more obvious difference was in the maw. Or should he say maws? The two giant mouths hung from the drawing’s head at different angles, looking far pointy-er and more dangerous than the one before him in real life.

  Mawile tilted her head. “So this mega stuff means I get another mouth?”

  “Well, yes, but it also means ya get more bulk to ya, yer attack shoots up, and yer ability changes. Ya ever heard of Huge Power?”

  “No.”

  “Nope!”

  Mimikyu sagged.

  “Right. That… jus’- it makes a very big difference when it comes to the power behind physical attacks.”

  Mawile frowned. “So I get an extra mouth that can bite harder? That’s not as exciting as you made it sound.”

  “No, ya little-!” Mimikyu let out a frustrated sound. “Ya know what? Sure. It gives ya an extra mouth that can bite harder.”

  “Why didn’t you just say that instead of all that dumb stuff about rocks and Hoenn? This is lame.”

  Mimikyu muttered something about Steven Stone as he destroyed his little drawings in the sand.

  While Mawile didn’t seem very interested in Mimikyu’s explanation of the phenomena, N was not in the same camp.

  He just couldn’t decide if it was a good thing or not.

  On the one hand, Mimikyu had talked about it in terms of trainers and battles. If those truly were requirements, then N could safely say that he wanted nothing to do with them. He didn’t know much about Kalos or Alola, but if they were forcing Pokemon to change forms just so they could hit each other harder, then he was glad that they were far off lands.

  On the other hand, however, if those aspects were just due to Mimikyu’s word choice and framing, then it could be an amazing thing. If it was only possible with a deep bond… then wouldn’t this mega evolution stuff be the perfect way to discover whether people treated Pokemon well? He would always have his problems with trainers, but if there was such a simple method to distinguish the people he could at least tolerate from the trash, then mega evolution could be a worthwhile endeavor. They’d have to figure out how to establish dealings outside of the League, but that didn’t seem an impossible task.

  But Mimikyu had also mentioned that this only worked for specific Pokemon. He hadn’t noticed any Unova natives on that short list.

  “Mimikyu, which Unova Pokemon can mega evolve?”

  Mimikyu paused his muttering. “Unova megas? Uh….” he hummed in thought. “I might be forgettin’ some, but the only one that comes ta mind off the top of my head is Audino. Goes from a Normal type to a Normal ‘n’ Fairy type I think…. But I don’ remember much about it other than that.”

  Ah. “I see. Thank you for the information.”

  So the one Pokemon that could use mega evolution to prove a good bond with an at least semi-responsible human… was the Pokemon that already gravitated towards people like that, many of them helping out at Pokemon Centers.

  Maybe Mawile was right. Maybe mega evolution was just about dumb rocks.

  Riley wasn’t sure what to make of the group he had stumbled upon as he followed Lucas and friends to meet back up with N.

  The battle he had just witnessed had certainly been… perhaps unique would be the best way to describe it?

  He had seen trainers avoid verbal commands before, but that typically involved some sort of Psychic shenanigans rather than whatever weird code those claps and snaps were. A communication method like that seemed impractical at first glance, and yet Lucas had managed to eke out a win. Of course, that didn’t mean it would last. Trainers of a higher caliber may well be able to shut it down completely once the novelty of it wore off. How far Lucas managed to get once he reached that point remained to be seen. And yet… Riley found that he had high hopes for the boy.

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  Both in that battle and back on Iron Island, he’d seen things that may well be red flags, but there was just something about him that resonated deeply within the Aura Guardian-in-training and made the boy seem like something more.

  Maybe it had to do with his aura. Maybe it was the look in his eyes. Maybe it was his relationship with his Pokemon. Regardless, it made Riley feel reassured.

  The boy in question was inspecting his shiny new Mine Badge as they walked the streets of Canalave, a smile on his face.

  I still cannot believe that you welded an anchor chain to that poor Bronzor, Lucario scolded.

  Lucas simply shrugged.

  Perhaps not a great attitude to have about it, but that was the risk that you ran when throwing out Metronomes like that.

  You’re a menace to society.

  An electronic giggle rang out from the air beside him. “You don’t know the half of it, bzzrt!”

  Confusion, reassurance, denial.

  “You’ll see if you stick around long enough!”

  Concerning.

  But that fell to the back of his mind as they spotted N in the distance. At his feet were the two Fairy types, Mawile watching with interest as Mimikyu’s hand… morphed into a mouth full of sharp teeth and snapped at the water’s edge?

  Mocking, teasing, interest, the Mawile signaled.

  Indignation, resignation, confusion, the Mimikyu responded.

  N sighed as they reached earshot. “Mimikyu, maybe you should take a break. You’re not going to master it in a day, let alone 15 minutes.”

  Rotom lit up at that. Perhaps literally? It was hard to distinguish the light level with the sun still out. “Did Mimikyu finally figure out a new move?”

  “Yes, but we’ve not quite figured out what it is. May I borrow your Pokedex, Lucas?”

  The boy shrugged and reached to pull it out as they gathered around.

  That was certainly unconventional, but it was Bite, was it not?

  Denial, suggestion, uncertainty.

  Dusclops let out a hearty laugh, and Rotom joined him. “Seriously? The Mimikyu learned Mimic? Rotom supposes that must be where the name comes from!” More electronic giggling.

  Partial denial, uncertainty.

  Perhaps I could be of help, then? I am unfamiliar with Mimic, but I do know Copycat, Lucario suggested.

  Mimikyu seemed to brighten up at that, but Mawile quickly put a damper on his mood with a snide, mocking, teasing to which he responded with a… oh wow. Riley wasn’t sure he’d ever seen a Pokemon make a rude gesture like that.

  “The Pokedex says that the difference is Copycat replicates the last used move in battle and Mimic temporarily allows the user to recall that initially copied move throughout the battle, but none other until it is reset?” N read off the screen. “I’m not sure I really understand what that means…”

  I believe if we follow that logic…. Lucario’s right forepaw spike glowed with the cool energy of Steel before he slashed it through the air, letting it dissipate after hitting nothing. Try that one?

  Mimikyu’s shadowy appendage quickly morphed from the strange maw shape into a crude replica of Lucario’s arm. The shadowy spike on the back of the false paw lit up with a familiar silvery glow, and he slashed at nothing just as Lucario did before him.

  Try using Bite again now that you’ve used Metal Claw.

  The shadow Lucario arm quickly dissolved into Mimikyu’s usual strange hand, but where just a moment ago he was able to quickly replicate a move, now he struggled to get the shape of Mawile’s second mouth correct, trying for a short while before ultimately giving up.

  “Awww! Rotom was looking forward to making so many Mimic-you jokes!” The Electric type pouted. “Copycat just doesn’t sound the same….”

  Annoyance, rejection, cringe.

  He saw N smirk. “I mean… you are in a Mime Jr. disguise at the moment. It’s only fitting, isn’t it? I’m sure James’ would be delighted.”

  James? For some reason that name felt familiar, but he couldn’t place it.

  It likely didn’t matter, and there wasn’t really much time for it anyway. It was getting quite late in the day.

  “Congratulations on the new move, Mimikyu, but I’m afraid this is where Lucario and I must part ways with you. I must thank you for your graciousness in allowing our intrusion into your day.”

  If you mess up my kid, I’ll hunt you down, Lucario threatened.

  Lucas simply responded with a thumbs up and a smile.

  Riley wasn’t sure what to make of that.

  “Well, we made a new friend out of it, so perhaps I should be thanking you for your intrusion,” N grinned.

  Annoyance, regret, Mawile.

  Riley would politely ignore that. He was sure the two Fairies would come to enjoy each other’s company in time.

  Probably.

  A new member in their party made the night in the Pokemon Center a bit more cramped than expected, given that she wanted to sleep on N’s bed, but the next day came without issue.

  Now, they found themselves on route 218. A strong sea breeze kept them cool as the morning sun bore down on them, and in the distance N could make out various Water types flying through the air or making their way through the tall grass.

  There was also a Pokemon that bore a striking resemblance to Mimikyu’s Mime Jr. disguise, if evolved. The big red nose was gone, the hat had split into two… what might possibly be ears, and the limbs…

  Honestly the limbs were a little disturbing to look at. They were awkwardly boney, protruding from strange joints on the torso and bending at quite sharp angles. The feet were stuffed into strange curled-toed blue shoes and the hands resembled gloves with pink finger pads, if a human hand was always strangely splayed out.

  This Pokemon gave him the creeps, which was a first for N.

  It waved at them with a bright smile when it spotted them, started walking forward out of the tall grass as if to greet them… and then stopped, pressing its hands against something not visible from where they were. A Light Screen, maybe? But why would there be one in such a random location when there wasn’t a battle in sight?

  “Jus’ keep walkin’ and if we’re lucky he’ll be stuck in an invisible box all day. Damn mimes…” Mimikyu muttered.

  There were no dissenting voices, and they quickly moved past that part of the route.

  However, it wasn’t too long after that when they encountered a new issue. A much bigger one, if less nerve wracking.

  The route ended.

  There was a path. There was a shoreline. There was a huge expanse of water. Far off in the distance, N thought he might see some trees on the other side of the water.

  Lucas, just as confused, pulled out his map. A map which did not show this huge body of water in their current location.

  “Well damn,” Mimikyu muttered.

  “Did the route just suddenly sink into the water or something?” N asked.

  “Bzzrt. Rotom believes that the map is just in error. Route 218 is rarely spoken of because of how short it is in comparison to many other routes, but Rotom has heard of it being a water based route.”

  N frowned. “You’re telling me that Sinnoh has a route that cuts straight over the water, and they didn’t think to build a bridge over it?” Such a thing was unthinkable to a Unovan, but perhaps comparing this region to one known for its spectacular bridges was a bit unfair.

  “It does seem a bit unsporting for those of us without fins…” Dusclops chimed in. “I’m not sure how my bandages would hold up in all that water.”

  Mawile hummed. “I’ve tried swimming before. I sank.”

  That tracked for a Steel type.

  “Well,” Mimikyu began, “I s’pose they expect most trainers ta come ‘ere after facing Crasher Wake, in which case ya should probably be able ta use Surf ‘n’ whatnot, let one of yer Pokemon carry ya over the water. The people of Canalave probably use those ferries to reach one of Sinnoh’s other ports… but we ain’ on an island, are we? We should be able to jus’ follow the shoreline until we get to the other side, even if that means a whole lotta extra travel…”

  N walked up to the water’s edge, peering in both directions.

  The water went on for a looooong long while.

  “If we have to walk around this, it might be faster to just go back to Canalave and look into a ferry.”

  A shiver went down his spine.

  “FINALLY!” someone shouted from behind him.

  Several nearby Pokemon ran off, Mawile gave the newcomers a wary look, and Dusclops bounced on his heels happily.

  “Lord N, with all due respect, do you have any idea how difficult it has been for us to track you down?” A Shadow asked him with a thin veneer of politeness.

  N blinked. “Didn’t you track us down in the middle of a random route, never having met us before? I didn’t realize it would be an issue.”

  Another Shadow sighed. “I told you so.”

  The Third shadow swatted at him. “Shut up, nobody wants to hear it.”

  The first Shadow sagged. “Lord N, we need to have words with you. I mean seriously, how do you end up clear on the other side of the region with not a trace?!”

  N wasn’t sure where to start with the explanation of their journey through the Distortion World.

  “Uh, that’s nice ‘n’ all, but if ya were that worried about findin’ us, when did ya ‘ave time ta stop in Alola?”

  N squinted. “Alola?”

  That was when he noticed there was another Pokemon hiding in their Banette’s shadow.

  “Marowak?” Except it wasn’t. It very much looked similar to the Marowak he had seen previously, but this was definitely a different Pokemon.

  Banette sighed. “This one said he knew you?”

  The stranger waved a bit shyly. “Uh… hi?”