Lake Valor’s shorefront was a bustling mess of activity as the festivities came to a close. Chatter could be heard from the surrounding crowds with common sentiments of it being a shame that a Sinnoh native didn’t win, but general approval that May had shown that Paldean woman her place.

  N didn’t much care for things like that though, letting most of what was said go in one ear and out the other. Wallace was a mad man for pulling this stunt, but it wasn’t like N had any personal stake or even strong opinion on the matter himself. Both the League and their opponents in the last war were awful in his eyes, there was no sense in pointing extra animosity towards the regions he didn’t live in.

  “When can we see Mawile again?” Marowak whined from down near his feet.

  “Once we’re out of here. They separated from us for a reason, joining back up while we’re still so close to the contest will only serve to make the entire effort pointless,” N explained.

  “I dunno why yer so keen on seein’ her again so soon anyway. The brat probably needs some time ta cool down after losin’.”

  N gave Mimikyu a considering look, barely having to turn his head given the fae was on his shoulder. “You think she’s a sore loser?”

  “Ya think she isn’t?”

  Hm. She did have a bit of a childish streak, didn’t she? He supposed it wouldn’t be terribly surprising to discover.

  It was interesting that Marowak was eager to see her again, though. Had they grown on each other so quickly?

  It was as he was pondering Pokemon friendships that some of the background noise caught his attention.

  “I know you’re not native, but you speak some right? Come on, help a girl out!”

  Unovan? Here?

  “Ah, um, not much?”

  He turned towards the conversation and found a peculiar sight not too far away.

  Olivia was standing there, her head bowed and hands grasping Dawn’s pleadingly. His old travelling companion had changed back to her usual outfit, but Olivia’s was new to him.

  It seemed that she retained much of her jewelry even in her usual clothing, with the addition of an interesting bracelet on her left wrist. She wore a light pink top that barely had more material than a bikini, the extra fabric hanging down as some loose flaps that framed yet kept her stomach exposed. Darker pink booty shorts clung to her waist in a manner that he tried not to stare at.

  “Not much is good enough! …probably,” Olivia added on hesitantly. “Look, I told Kukui I’d do him a favor and it kinda sounds like Wallace is tanking my original plan, so…. Have you heard any rumors about a Pikachu that doesn’t quite look like a Pikachu?”

  Well that couldn’t be good.

  “Is that lady talking about you?” Marowak asked. “You’re not really Pikachu-looking right now, though…”

  The Fire type’s comment caught Olivia’s attention, and her eyes lit up when she spotted him. “Well what are you doing here, little guy? We’re quite a ways from Alola, you know!”

  Dawn blinked. “N?”

  N sighed, any hope of escaping the clearly no good conversation now down the drain. “Hello, Dawn.”

  Olivia looked up from where she had knelt down to scratch Marowak’s skull. “Wait, you speak Unovan as well?”

  “He’s actually the one who taught me, so….” Dawn hesitantly explained.

  “That’s perfect! Say, would you happen to…. Wait a minute….” Her eyes landed on Mimikyu. “...did you give your Mimikyu a new disguise? I’m not sure if that’s adorable or scary… maybe both?”

  N frowned. “What’s scary about a Mime Jr. disguise?”

  “Mimikyu are dangerous to look at! If they all dressed up as different things, some little kid might take a look because they didn’t recognize them! Honestly we’re lucky that the ones back home are so obsessed with Pikachu in particular….”

  N could feel the smug energy radiating off of Mimikyu at that moment. “Hmmm I wonder where ya mighta heard that one before. Almost like I told ya so, ain’ it?”

  “Wait!” Olivia shouted. “Why am I focused on that? You must be the guy!”

  Dawn tilted her head. “The guy?”

  “Yes! The one I’m looking for! Or, well, the one that Kukui is looking for, I guess, but that I’m looking for on behalf of him? You get what I mean!”

  “I’m not sure I do…” Dawn lamented.

  “When you say Kukui, do you mean the professor?” N asked, wanting to get to the point.

  Olivia nodded. “You guys know him out here? He’ll be happy to hear that!

  “What ‘xactly would Kukui want with some random guy who isn’ even a trainer?” Mimikyu asked, clearly dubious. “Unless they’re hun’in’ for me and yer just the guy I’m with?”

  Marowak tilted his head back so Olivia would scratch under his chin, his tail starting to wag back and forth slightly.

  “I wouldn’t say that we know him, his name has just come up a few times because of the whole….” he gestured vaguely at Mimikyu.

  “Oh.” She sagged a bit. “Maybe I won’t mention it then. But back to why I’m here, do you mind if I ask you a few questions? Maybe somewhere a bit more private?”

  N was extremely skeptical of this entire interaction. He looked towards Dawn for some insight on the woman, but the blue haired girl only shrugged. He turned to Mimikyu instead, but the fae looked deep in thought.

  Sending her away empty handed would save him hassle now, but… would that just encourage her or Kukui or whoever else to press harder on whatever investigation they were doing?

  N sighed. “Sure, why not?” If he didn’t like the questions he could just feed her false information.

  “Great!” She turned back towards Dawn. “You can come too! I’ll buy you guys some treats to make up for all the questions. Are they selling malasadas at any of these stands?”

  “What’s a malasada?” Dawn asked, clearly struggling to keep up with all the Unovan.

  “Ugh, Sinnoh is really missing out. What was that thing Kukui told me to try… takoyaki or something like that? Whatever, I’m sure we can find something. Let’s go!”

  N really hoped he didn’t regret this.

  Dawn idly munched on the rice balls that Olivia had bought for them as the group sat on the shore of the lake, a good distance into the woods and away from anyone attempting to listen in.

  Why had she agreed to come along? She didn’t need snacks. She should have just left them to talk. It’s not like she understood most of what they were saying anyway.

  She should be focusing on herself. On what she wants to do. Trying to figure out what that is, at least…

  “Fairy types?” N asked. “We’ve run into a few, I suppose. There was one taken by Cynthia, an Alolan–” she didn’t understand the words he used “--and a Kirlia. Maybe more? I can’t be sure.”

  It was odd, sitting here with N and not talking about them. Was it weird to think of them as a them? They had just travelled together for a bit. It had been her and Ash, and Brock and Ash, and N and Ash… not a real group where everyone was friends. Ash had been the center of it all, and when Ash’s…. Ash-ness? When he got to be too much the group had immediately fallen apart. Sure, she and N had talked some, and he’d given her a bit of advice on a few occasions, and maybe she’d thought of him as a friend once or twice, but…

  “....more Fairy types,” she halfway caught Olivia saying. “It’s the main problem between the League and Alola right now, and Kukui wants to fix that.”

  N looked at her like she was crazy and Mimikyu chittered something. “Cynthia already–” more unintelligible words “–with us, I don’t want to make that worse.”

  She had been scared of N in the past, hadn’t she? Him and Mimikyu. Sitting here now, though, she didn’t feel that fear at all. Were they not scary anymore? Had the stuff in Alamos given her a new standard for scary? She wasn’t sure.

  She found herself thinking back to Ash’s first gym battle. To the way she’d hidden her reaction. To how she’d felt like she understood N more, but had hidden it because she wanted to fit in.

  What good was fitting in now? She had failed massively on the world stage. People would laugh at her behind her back now, for sure. She had told herself over and over that she couldn’t be a failure because of her mom, and she’d just broken that rule. She’d never fit in again!

  Oliva grinned. “He thought you might say that. So he sent me with a gift! You were the ones who–” yet more nonsense Unovan “–right?”

  N and Mimikyu stiffened. “You can’t prove that.”

  This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

  She laughed. “Relax! He only–” it really was frustrating, being able to understand some but not all of it ”–them because the League is, well, you know.” She pulled out a stack of papers, which her old companions focused on instantly. “He said you could have it if you–” she could swear that she’d heard that word before but it escaped her grasp ”–about where it came from and you helped him with–”

  She gave up on listening in. It was annoying her more than anything.

  Focusing more on her thoughts made her uncomfortable, though.

  If she was giving up on trying to meet expectations and fitting in… did that mean it was okay to be more like N? To not be okay with how things were? To just want everyone to be happy and not have to suffer and hurt and…

  No, he had problems with the League, didn’t he? Or was that because of Mimikyu? Maybe…. well… she’d have to think about it some more….

  Maybe that’s what she needed next? Just more time to think? She couldn’t go back home. Not now. Couldn’t face her mom.

  But if she wasn’t going to do contests then there was no clear path for her to follow….

  Maybe she didn’t need a path? Maybe she could just wander around, going wherever she felt like. She had her Pokemon with her. They’d be okay together.

  Yeah! That sounded nice! Just a little… escape from everything.

  She couldn’t handle the pressure of travelling with Ash, and May had assured her that it was always like that.

  She couldn’t handle the pressure of doing contests, not with the expectations of her mom and Zoey and everyone else.

  Maybe she could just… try to be Dawn for a little bit.

  Whatever that meant.

  As she finished the last of the rice balls, she felt just a little bit more at peace.

  N could feel the documents they’d acquired burning a hole in his pocket, but they didn’t have time to read them just yet.

  The contest was over, people were leaving, and as Mimikyu helpfully reminded him, they needed to catch Ash before he ran off to inquire about the invisible Pokemon from yesterday.

  Olivia left them with a smile on her face, and there was an awkward “see you later” between him and Dawn, but an opportunity to finally get some answers from Mimikyu left him not caring about that so much.

  Luckily it didn’t take much effort to find the boy, as loud as he was.

  “N! Mimikyu! Fancy seeing you here!” Ash greeted them with a wide smile. “And… a Marowak? Is that a shiny or something? I have a shiny Noctowl, but the flames are…”

  Brock was standing next to him, eyeing them warily. “Actually, Ash, I think that’s a regional form. A lot of Pokemon that you’d be used to back in Kanto look very different in Alola.”

  Ash blinked. “Huh. Neat! Nice to meet you Marowak!”

  The Fire type peered up at him shyly. “Um, but we’ve met before?”

  “We have?” Pikachu hopped off of Ash’s shoulder to get a better look. “Hmmmm. Oh! You’re that Cubone we met, aren’t you!”

  “Yeah!” Marowak nodded excitedly.

  “Ya recognized ‘im jus’ like that?” Mimikyu asked, incredulous. “How does that even work? Or did ya jus’ assume he was that one ‘cuz that’s the latest Cubone ya’ve come across?”

  N stepped in before they could get too sidetracked. “Sorry to cut off the pleasantries, but we actually just wanted to ask you a question before you left, Ash.”

  “Oh. Well, what do you need then?” Pikachu jumped back up onto his shoulder, and the boy didn’t adjust his weight at all.

  Mimikyu’s reaction to the whole thing had him a bit leery, but probably best to just out and say it, right? “Have you seen an invisible Pokemon?”

  Ash stiffened, and so did Brock and Pikachu. “Do you mean like a Kecleon…? I saw some in Hoenn, sure.”

  N didn’t know what a Kecleon was, so he looked to Mimikyu for guidance.

  Shadows snaked out from beneath the Mime Jr. disguise, forming an ‘x’ in front of his face. “Not a Kecleon. And not the other one yer thinkin’ of either.”

  “How do you know which one we’re thinking of?” Pikachu asked.

  “Because the look on yer faces says there’s some sorta history there, ‘n’ we’re talkin’ ‘bout somethin’ here. “

  Pikachu tilted his head. “Here as in Lake Valor?”

  Ash frowned. “That recently? Not that I noticed… but I guess if they’re invisible I might have missed them even if they were right in front of my face.” He awkwardly rubbed the back of his head.

  Brock frowned. “Why are you asking? Is there something we should know about?”

  He felt Mimikyu sag a bit on his shoulder. “Tell ‘em it wouldn’t hurt ta look into the legend of the mysterious Lake Acuity Pokemon before they head ta Snowpoint…”

  That only confused him more, but he relayed the information regardless.

  Ash and Brock shared a look before Ash spoke up. “If you say so…. But, if you need help with something, you know you can tell us, right?”

  Mimikyu let out a dry laugh. “I have a feelin’ yer gonna be there if we need ya, Ash.”

  N had a feeling that he wouldn’t get anything more out of the fae with an audience, so he gave his second set of awkward goodbyes in the last thirty minutes before making his way to the Pokemon Center. Their room would offer some privacy, and also a night in a proper bed before they set back out on the road.

  It felt like a metaphorical weight had come down on Mimikyu, so N and Marowak endured heavy silence on the short trip there.

  When the door to their room shut, Mimikyu hopped off of N’s shoulder, pacing back and forth on the carpeted floor.

  “You’ve been gone for a while!” Rotom greeted them.

  Lucas just gave a short wave, not even bothering to look away from his Pokedex as he laid on his bed.

  N just stood in the doorway, waiting for Mimikyu to start.

  “...Rotom feels like Rotom is missing something….” the phone-jacker cautiously pointed out.

  Marowak scratched at his skull. “Something about an invisible Pokemon?”

  Mimikyu sighed, and the three Ghost types shared a long look.

  “Rotom. Yer a Pokemon that knows strange stuff. What do ya know about the Lake Guardians?”

  “...a bit?” Rotom replied, clearly confused. “What about them?”

  “Just, give N a beginner’s course on ‘em, if ya would.”

  Rotom gave him a hard look before doing a poor impression of a shrug. “The Lake Guardians are a trio of Legendary Pokemon associated with the three largest lakes in the Sinnoh region. Mesprit with Verity, Azelf with Valor, and Uxie with Acuity. They’re said to represent emotion, willpower, and knowledge respectively.”

  N frowned. “Mimikyu, are you saying that we saw a Legendary Pokemon?”

  Everyone but Mimikyu turned to him instantly, Lucas’ Pokedex falling from his hands.

  Rotom buzzed. “You– Azelf? But– when?”

  “Yesterday,” Mimikyu responded. “When we went out to the lake at night.”

  “Why didn’t you say anything last night?!” Rotom screeched.

  Lucas shot him a betrayed look.

  N held up his hands to display his innocence. “Don’t look at me. I’m only just learning this now. Mimikyu had to ask Ash about it for some reason…”

  Mimikyu groaned. “Alright, look. I don’ really know how ta explain this so I’m jus’ gonna tell ya what I think is happenin’ ‘ere. Ash is a trouble magnet, as N can attest to.”

  “If anything that might be an understatement,” N agreed.

  “Right. He’s also known for gettin’ involved with Legends. He was with us at Alamos, but that’s far from ‘is first encounter with their kind.”

  That was why Mimikyu had wanted to travel with Ash’s group in the first place, wasn’t it? The details were escaping him, as long ago as that conversation was, but he was fairly certain that had been the reasoning.

  “Now, between emotion, knowledge and willpower, which do ya think fits Ash best?” He turned directly to N for that one.

  N thought about it for a moment. “Honestly I could see any of them. He’s a knowledgeable and experienced trainer who runs headfirst into situations to protect Pokemon.”

  There was a pause as Mimikyu processed his response, clearly having expected a quick and definitive answer. “Huh. I guess when ya put it that way ya ain’ exactly wrong… but personally, I’d say Willpower. Now, what Rotom left out of that brief introduction to ‘em is that the Lake Guardians are super involved with Palkia ‘n’ Dialga. If ya gather the three of ‘em up, ya can use ‘em ta… well, maybe we don’ need ta get into that part, but they’re gonna be a big deal if someone starts messin’ with the most powerful Pokemon in the region!”

  “You… know about the Red Chain?” Rotom asked, somehow sounding surprised that he was even asking the question.

  “Yeah, I guess, but that’s for later,” Mimikyu quickly brushed off something Rotom clearly thought was extremely important, “right now I’m focused on the fact that Azelf willingly revealed itself ta N, not Ash.”

  N wasn’t quite following. He’d done plenty of research on Legendary Pokemon, but that mainly meant the ones native to his home region. Nothing was quite like whatever Mimikyu was… hm... unless? “Mimikyu, are you saying that Azelf revealed itself to me because it thinks I embody willpower? Like Zekrom or Reshiram will transform from their dormant forms when awakened by a hero who believes in Ideals or Truth?”

  Mimikyu sagged. “Yeah, basically.”

  That was… interesting. Was this good? Bad? Did getting selected by Azelf mean that his odds of awakening the stone were better or worse? The Sages would be pissed if they found out he couldn’t wake the Dragon because some foreign Lake Guardian had chosen him instead…

  As those worries quickly started to eat away at him, Marowak spoke up. “I’m still confused. What does Azelf thinking N has a lot of willpower have to do with Ash?”

  N jumped when Rotom was suddenly right in his face, inspecting him. “What the–?”

  “Bzzrt. Rotom suspects it has to do with the forging of the Red Chain. If the Lake Guardians have some sort of connection to humans that they choose… would those humans be able to stop the process?”

  “Er… something like that, I guess….?” Mimikyu halfheartedly agreed.

  Rotom turned on him in an instant.

  “Rotom thinks you have some explaining to do. How do you know this? Who do you work for?”

  Mimikyu flinched back. “Work for? What are ya talkin’ about? I don’t work for anyone. Would be kinda hard ta keep a secret job while travellin’ with N, ya know?”

  “You know about the Red Chain,” Rotom hissed back, deadly serious. “That isn’t something just anyone knows about. As far as Rotom is concerned, there are only two possibilities. You’re either very high up within the League, or you’re very high up within Galactic. Which is it?”

  “Neither! I jus’ told ya, I don’ work for anyone!”

  “Then how do you know?!”

  “Wha– well, how do you know, huh?!”

  Rotom flinched back.

  “Yeah, not so fun when the shoe’s on the other foot, is it?! If that was your line of thought, then clearly you work for one of them! Is that what it is? You need to find out if we’re enemies or not?”

  Rotom growled with the buzz of an electric guitar. “You watch yourself, fae. You don’t know Rotom.”

  “I think I do, actually. I know a lot of things.”

  N was extremely lost on what exactly was happening anymore, but letting this continue was a bad idea. “Why don’t we all just calm down for a minute? There’s no need for us to be getting in each other's faces like this.”

  “This is what happens when ya insist on knowin’ things, N.”

  Rotom let loose a spark of electricity that singed the carpet. “You really think you know Rotom? How could you possibly know Rotom?!”

  “Same way ya know about the Red Chain, I s’pose. Sneakin’ inta places I shouldn’ be ‘n’ readin’ stuff that ain’ mine.”

  “Rotom doesn’t have to deal with this.”

  N’s phone dropped to the floor as Rotom abandoned it. They watched as Rotom phased through the wall, leaving them behind.

  N rubbed at his temples. “Why do I feel more confused than when this started?”