The moment Penny closed her eyes, she found herself standing in that strange void once again. Wo-Chien stood across from her, but the poor thing looked horrible. In all the images Raifort had shown them, it had a distinct form, like a massive grass-type Magcargo, using wooden tablets as its shell. Now it looked more … Continue reading →

The numbers were not good. And in this human-oriented world where precious few things were quantifiable, numbers were all Ai had to rely on. A few of her readings showed an optimistic curve. The dark stakes’ energy reading, which fluctuated wildly on its best days, had grown much more stable. But the numbers that mattered? … Continue reading →

The moment the ghost left, a cry of pain blasted through Penny’s skull. Wo-Chien was not happy. The crack of light in front of her vanished. She braced herself, knowing what was coming. But the effect was akin to prepping a thunderstorm and finding herself in a hurricane. The power of the ruinous Pokémon slammed … Continue reading →

Before long, the group reached a meadow of tiny flowers and swaying grasses. If the world hadn’t tried to end so recently, no doubt it would have at least a few picnickers around. But as things stood, the space was empty. Which was exactly how Penny wanted it. “Arven and I talked last night after … Continue reading →

“Cheers,” Arven said as he served up his own plate last. “To Team Star merely being questioned about a disappearing lake instead of arrested for it. May the group of us all live to see Paldea in one piece next week.” Each person around the table held up a plastic cup filled with lime soda … Continue reading →

“Young man? Arven! Can you hear me?” Click! Penny gritted her teeth and checked her tablet screen. Her call had failed again. It went though each time she tried, and she caught snippets of someone yelling Arven’s name, but the spotty coverage would fail before she could get any real answers. Finally, after no less … Continue reading →

Arven closed his eyes. He knew things weren’t going so hot if he was hearing voices in his head. But when he did so, the cool and solid feeling of the water fountain at his back faded. Had he leaned forward without noticing? He tried to lean back to make up for it and almost … Continue reading →

Unlike the bosses of Team Star, Arven did not have to hide in a library for fear of being arrested. He planned to make full use of this perk. Right now he was headed for the east gate of Mesagoza to wait for a flying taxi. Now that he and the others had been trekking … Continue reading →

After a less-than-stellar sleep in her dorm room, Juliana rose early the next day. She’d already signed up for classes with Professor Raifort. She wondered at first if it might look suspicious to be selecting classes at three am, but then again, it was hardly the oddest thing she’d done at that hour. Even though … Continue reading →