Chapter 11.5, Interlude - A Step Into The Past

Almost a year ago.

I was poor.

I was still getting used to being a Pokémon trainer, but I was getting money that helped. Every week, a notice came of a payment from my sponsor that gave just enough to get by. Combining that with the earnings from odd jobs and the occasional battle win, I was able to profit just enough to save up a decent sum.

And that decent sum had all but disappeared into a single, big purchase.

“But look! It was worth it! This watch can do anything!” I said, excitedly holding up my hand. “It can make a call, connect to the internet, download apps... It's like a phone you can wear on your wrist!”

Despite my exaggerated motions, Valiant failed to look impressed. The robotic Pokémon just shifted their gaze and returned to keeping an eye out as we walked through Paldea’s Levincia.

This town was one of the more modern-looking places I'd seen so far, built right on the waterfront. Despite its high-rises and all of its glowing lights, I still couldn't say this place had the highest tech I'd seen yet.

“I know, I know,” I said as Valiant looked away to return to being on guard. “I know it’s still just a watch, but it's a neat watch. It’s pretty close to the smartwatches from where I’m from, but that’s kind of why it’s special, isn’t it? It’s like buying a piece of home.”

Valiant’s gaze softened, but they didn’t drop their alertness. I didn’t know what it was about me, but it was like my Pokémon always needed to be on guard.

Whatever their motivation was, we continued to walk—this watch hadn’t been cheap. While it didn’t perfectly match the smartwatches from my old world, the difference came in it being faster and how it possessed an advertised interconnectivity that put most other devices to shame.

Of course, this watch meant I was out of money. I may or may not have lacked the funds to even just buy dinner tonight.

“Anyway, we need to take on a job,” I told my Pokémon. “That’s why I grabbed that notice in the Pokémon Center.”

When it came to earning cash as a trainer, most people took on odd jobs for money. Wild Pokémon often caused problems, and those problems usually required trained Pokémon to solve them. Pokémon Centers primarily existed for treatment and rest, but trainers served a societal purpose that was for more than just battle. Nine times out of ten, Pokémon Centers also had job boards set up for trainers to take on requests in exchange for payment.

The job I had taken was bringing us directly to the edge of the city. The paper I held in one hand provided an address, and my newly acquired watch provided the location services that let me use it as a map.

“Come on,” I said, nudging Valiant’s arm. “Even you have to be impressed with that.”

For some reason, they ignored me, but I knew they enjoyed the chaos I brought.

As we walked over the cobbled streets, the town changed somewhat. Instead of buildings pressed tight against each other, alleys opened up, and the surrounding structures grew to become more places akin to warehouses.

When we neared our destination, I didn't even need to properly approach. Rather, a person in a bright purple suit came running straight up.

“Oh, you came!” he all but shouted, tears in his eyes. “I've been waiting!”

Before I knew it, I found my hand being dragged up and down for a violent handshake. I might have tried to resist, but I was far too distracted by the longest and twistiest mustache that I'd ever seen in my life.

“It's been ages,” the well-dressed man said, putting a wild enunciation on every word. “Almost a full day at this point! Please tell me you brought a solution! We’ve had to dip into our emergency reserves to meet shipment quotas, and dipping into our emergency reserves means that this is truly an emergency!”

He let me go just to dab at his eyes with a handkerchief. He was almost inconsolable, but he was also weirdly in control. Before he next spoke, he almost tried to grab at my shirt, but Valiant just took a step to stand between us, stopping the strange man right in his tracks.

“Um, yeah,” I said quickly. “We’re here to help. I picked up the job at the Pokémon Center. But it was kind of nonspecific? What’s going on?”

The man tried to keep a serious look on his face, but his expression began to wobble—his mustache began to twitch.

Soon, a loud honking noise rang out as he blew his nose directly into his handkerchief.

He was able to right himself once again to look serious immediately after that.

“I own the local Pokéball factory here in Levincia,” he said, carefully adjusting his tie. “We produce and ship Pokéballs to markets all across the region. We’re one of the largest manufacturers on this side of the world! But the problem started when—” 

Once more, his eyes watered.

“The problem started with that awful ghost!” he ended up crying out.

“A ghost?” I hadn’t seen any ghosts yet. “You’re telling me your factory is haunted?”

For some reason, Valiant didn’t seem to appreciate my smile.

“Hm? Oh, no. Ghosts don’t exist. This is a Ghost-type Pokémon. It all started when a shipment got messed up, and we were delivered a crate with a single Rotom Phone in it! And that Rotom is a menace! It escaped to start possessing all of our machinery!”

I nodded along to his story; Rotom were capable of turning into raw electricity and taking over any electrical device. With a Pokémon like that running around, it was no wonder that the factory’s production had been stalled.

“That’s why,” the man said, and any sense of sadness was suddenly gone from his face. “I need you to fix this. I need you to capture and send back that... pest responsible for this mess, and I’ll do everything in my power to make sure that thing gets the punishment it deserves!”

When he finished speaking, I exchanged a look with Valiant. There had been a palpable heat to the factory owner’s voice.

“Sure, man,” I said. “We’ll deal with your Rotom problem. But you are going to pay us, right?”

“Of course, of course!” He clapped his hands. “All good deeds deserve their reward!”

The finely-dressed, mustachioed man brought us to the side of one of those warehouse-like buildings. A massive garage door protected its front, but we were just told to enter through a small door set in the wall next to it, instead.

“I’ll be waiting out here with news of your success!” the man called out as we walked in.

“Sure,” I replied. “Shouldn’t take too long.”

A click came from the door as it closed, signalling that we had been locked inside.

Properly stepping into this factory, Valiant was with me, and I could see this place’s enormous, open floor. Machinery with thin arms that wouldn’t have been out of place on a car assembly line had been built throughout this room, and they all sat next to motionless conveyor belts that were covered with red, white, and grey pieces of partially assembled Pokéballs.

“Okay,” I said, and even just that one word echoed despite my attempt to be quiet. “We need to find that Rotom and force it out of whatever it’s possessing, so... Farigiraf. We’ll need your help for this.”

Tossing a Pokéball up, I released the only other Pokémon with me.

Farigiraf easily appeared between the rows of mechanical conveyor belts. The giraffe had been listening from inside her Pokéball, and she already knew what she needed to do. I didn’t need to give her any order before a clack signaled her exterior mouth closing to protect her main head. From there, her still-visible pair of eyes turned to glowing spirals. Focusing her senses, she began to carefully walk forward.

“Follow her,” I whispered.

Valiant was next, and I was after them. The only light in this room came from small, rectangular windows built into the top of this building’s walls. With how quiet it was in here, it was kind of amazing just how far even the slightest of sounds echoed. We could see no signs of movement whatsoever, which was why we needed to rely on Farigiraf’s Psychic-type senses to let us locate our target.

“Thanks for your help, Farigiraf,” I said as we slowly walked along. “I can’t even see the other side of the room. We’d be lost without you.”

She held her head a little higher after that, and we stalked forward, doing whatever we could to keep an eye out for the Rotom that was apparently here. I was a bit wary of the threat it could pose; I had picked up this job because it paid well, but that generally meant it’d be tougher with more riding on its success, too.

But I had complete faith in my Pokémon. I had yet to encounter anything that could beat Valiant in a fight, and Farigiraf was extremely skilled.

Still, there was a tension in the air as we moved deeper and deeper in, and the dim light caused the machinery around us to curve into unnatural shapes that formed silhouettes in the air.

“Maybe...” I said quietly, “Maybe I should have asked that guy to turn on the lights.”

Unfortunately, that was the wrong time to speak. A flash of movement came from the corner of my eye, and Valiant drew their polearm within a single second.

The loud “CLANG!” that rang out almost made me go deaf in one ear. Next to my head, something fell to the floor, having been blocked by the flat of Valiant’s polearm blade.

“A red half of a Pokéball?” I said, looking at the object now sitting on the ground. “Do we think that was Rotom?”

Farigiraf opened her exterior mouth to get a better look around. Her yelp was the only noise that signalled the other projectiles coming our way from a distance.

“Block them!” I yelled.

Valiant moved. Machines shifted. The faint sound of electricity crackled through the air. Machinery began to whir in activation as mechanical arms grabbed whatever had been left on the conveyors to chuck the Pokéball pieces our way.

Valiant’s defense was a flurry, a rapid spinning of their polearm back and forth to deflect every incoming projectile. They could not be everywhere at once, however, and that’s why I gave another command.

“Screens, Farigiraf!”

Though briefly stunned, her eyes flashed, and it took almost no time at all for her to form a Psychic barrier behind us. The Pokéball parts coming from another angle were all blocked, allowing Valiant to only need to focus on a single direction.

But that was when the factory started to rumble.

Whatever this Rotom was doing, it was turning everything on.

“Defend us! Don’t get hit! Focus on battling, and I’ll look for wherever this is!”

As more and more machines began to activate, the handful of broken Pokéballs being thrown at us turned into a barrage. Both of my Pokémon were forced to work together as I furiously scanned through the room.

It was almost overwhelming. We only had our group of three, but this single Rotom had the entire factory at its disposal.

Arms meant for assembly bent in unnatural ways to grab and fling parts of Pokéballs. Large, square openings that almost resembled mouths poured out pieces that became nothing more than ammunition. The movement was regular, but more and more arms turned on to make this assault come in frequent waves. I could hear the sounds of pistons slamming and hydraulics hissing as these machines defied their intended usage to fling dozens upon dozens of Pokéballs our way.

Mounds began to build at our feet; this entire factory had entered operation in what felt like seconds. The barrage almost threatened to bury us, but when looking for an escape, that’s when I saw our target.

It came as only a flicker, but I saw an unnatural source of light in the catwalks that hung above the machinery. For a brief moment, it struck down like a bolt of lightning to activate a new set of arms, but it was visible, appearing almost like a thin, yellow string.

“The Rotom is up there!” I shouted. “It’s using the catwalks to get around—and it’s zipping down to activate the machinery before returning!”

I heard a surprised squeak; it had heard my shout. The assault began to become even more furious from there.

“We need to get to the catwalk,” I said, no longer yelling. “That means...”

Looking around, I was able to locate a ladder on the back wall.

“There!” I shouted to my team. “Protect me! I’m going to climb up!”

With that yell, I immediately took off into a dash. I was forced to leap over a pile of half-made Pokéballs that had built up after being deflected. Surprised by my sudden movement, Farigiraf scrambled to chase after me, and Valiant did not let down their guard, easily keeping in pace at our backs.

The setup of this factory meant there were easy paths between the lines of Pokéballs placed to be assembled. We had what was essentially a straight line between us and the ladder. That gave us an easy path to follow, but it also gave us an obvious route for the Rotom to predict.

Somehow, the Pokéball assault became even more furious, and my Pokémon started to struggle to keep up.

“Valiant!” I cried out. We were only halfway there. “It’s worth the risk, but do it! And Farigiraf, do everything you can to protect them!”

As we ran, the concrete floor gained a new hole in it that day when Valiant’s blade pierced the earth. Static from an Electric Terrain rushed out in all directions. Thanks to their Quark Drive, Valiant’s speed was boosted to new levels, and they gained the speed needed to practically flash from place to place.

Although the machines around us seemed to become energized as well, Valiant actually knew how to make proper use of this supercharge. With their speed, two balls being thrown from opposite directions could be blocked at almost the same time. Anything that threatened to slip past Farigiraf’s hastily made barriers was hit and launched far away.

Valiant’s efforts gave us the freedom to run, and the ladder was just up ahead. We would only need to climb up to the catwalk to escape this assault. But, right as we reached the ladder, all of the projectiles suddenly stopped.

A deep rumble echoed out from behind us.

Machinery whirred with a newfound volume. Whatever setting they’d been set to had all but doubled.

Slowly, my team and I turned to see whatever this new attack was.

At my side, Farigiraf let out a nervous laugh.

She hadn’t joined my team expecting to see an entire tidal wave of Pokéballs building up and threatening to crash down our way.

“...I’m going up,” I said. Our best option was to keep moving. “I can outclimb this. Do you two want to be returned?”

I could protect my team by bringing them back into their Pokéballs, but the problem was that without their defense, I’d risk the tidal wave crashing into me.

As one of my hands rested on a rung of the ladder, my other hand was already reaching for my pocket. However, there was no need to; Valiant answered my question by taking a single step away, turning to face the wave.

Farigiraf desperately didn’t want to do this, but she also knew she was needed. She sent me a single, supportive nod before closing her exterior jaw and turning to join Valiant as well.

“Thank you,” I said.

Both of my Pokémon were prepared to defend me against this wave.

Moving quickly, I began to climb, and a Farigiraf shouted beneath me. She expended all of her effort to make as many barriers as she could, forming a tube around this ladder that’d protect me from projectiles.

As she focused, Valiant spun their blade, getting ready to defend her from this massive, incoming attack.

Then, all light was blocked out as the wave came crashing down. Protected, I ignored it, continuing to climb, and all of the countless, metal semi-spheres behaved more like a liquid as the wave spread out in every direction.

My Pokémon were consumed.

The warehouse became silent. The machinery no longer whirred. As I reached the top of the ladder, I pulled myself onto the catwalk, and I could see that the entire warehouse had been consumed by a metallic sea of red, white, and grey.

From up here, I could not see any movement from my team, but I wasn’t worried. I knew their strength; they were okay.

But I had climbed up here to finish this job, and I took my step along this hanging path. From my side, I unclipped what was basically a metal stick. After all, with my team still below, I would need to fight the Rotom myself.

Thankfully, I didn’t need to call out or search or do anything to find it. This catwalk was the only open area left in the room. Every footstep caused an echo, but the space up here was otherwise empty and silent. That meant I could both see and hear the static of a tiny, electric Pokémon circling back and forth.

This Rotom had no clue what to do. It had been using the machinery to attack us, but that final wave meant it no longer had such a course. With half-made Pokéballs covering the entire factory, everything was hidden. It could no longer reach any machine to possess it, nor would those machines have been capable of any help.

It was stuck up here with me, and I just needed to make sure this Pokémon was forced out of the building. It was causing trouble for everyone involved, but most importantly, succeeding here meant I was going to be paid.

“We can do this the easy way,” I said, stalking forward with my fancy metal stick in hand, “Or we can do this the hard way.”

Of course, I couldn’t resist using a line like that, but I didn’t expect the result that it’d bring.

This Rotom didn’t flee. It didn’t even try to attack. As flighty as its species tended to be, the palm-sized lightbulb Pokémon saw me coming and froze in place, eyes wide in fear.

I stopped approaching halfway there.

Rotom were meant to be smiling. Every member of the species was known to be mischievous. The classic “Rotom smile” was present on every single possessed device and dedicated Rotom-phone.

This Rotom lacked that expression, and seeing its genuine fear made me completely freeze up. For once in my life, I wasn’t able to take the most direct path forward.

I actually had to stop and think.

“You... were sent here in a shipment,” I said to it, working out my thoughts. “You got out and started to possess the machines, disrupting the entire factory. But that’s just what that guy told me. The story... doesn’t make sense. I mean, what kind of shipment contains only a single Rotom-phone?”

Neither of us moved, and the tiny Pokémon stared. It looked terrified for its life.

“You weren’t attacking us,” I realized, lowering my arm. “You were trying to defend yourself. You found yourself in a brand new place, and that shipment... how much of a mess-up was it actually? Did your phone get delivered improperly, or did it...”

I looked the Rotom in the eye.

“Or did you personally mess with things and slip into a delivery to somewhere else?” I asked.

Nervous, practically shaking, the Rotom nodded once, confirming my thoughts.

This Pokémon wasn’t in its phone. It was floating in the air, possessing nothing at all. However, the man had said he had received a Rotom phone, which meant its phone should have been here.

All of those clues put together, I realized that the Rotom hadn’t actually been sent here as part of a mix-up.

No, this was intentional. The Rotom had been trying to escape.

“Oh,” I said.

I let myself fall, sitting on the catwalk and swinging my legs around to let my feet hang off the side. I grabbed the support bar of the railing just in case, and I looked out over the unmoving sea that filled the factory below.

“Rotom-phones are getting pretty popular,” I said. “They’re devices made specifically for members of your species to possess. They’re advertised—and proven—to be something Rotom tend to like. How often do ghosts get custom-built objects made just for them? How often do Pokémon get such an easy way to find a partner and live a comfortable life?”

Using my free arm, I rubbed the side of my head. For some reason, this felt incredibly awkward.

“But you... left that. You didn’t just leave wherever the phone was made; you left the phone itself. And if you came here like that... you didn’t want to be stuck as a phone, did you? That’s the only explanation I can think of for why you’re here. And that’s why you fought us so furiously.”

“You wanted us to be scared away,” I said. “You didn’t want to be brought back to wherever you came from.”

Briefly, the Rotom looked away, down at the sea of Pokéballs. It still wasn’t smiling, and it didn’t have a response to my words. However, from the way it was reacting, I knew what I was saying was right.

“I think I understand,” I said, gazing out. “Being inside a single phone like that... It’d kind of mean you’re stuck, right? You would always have to be in a single device. Whoever you’re partnered with might buy a more updated one, but that’d just be jumping into the same kind of device.”

“There’d be no exploration. No freedom. No form of choice,” I continued, my words soft. “You’d have a partner, but you’d only ever be in a phone. You’d be trapped, and that isn’t what you want.”

I ended up letting out a laugh.

Looking back over, I saw that the Rotom was inching closer to me. My words were making a point.

“Yeah. I get it,” I said with a sigh. “It’s scary to be in a new place, and it’s not nice to have everyone tell you what to do.”

There were expectations. Beliefs. Direct orders, in some cases. For me, I wasn’t from this world, and that meant I hadn’t come here with any support. As much as sponsorships were supposed to exist with “no strings attached,” there were still some expectations. I technically had the freedom to choose to do whatever I wanted to do, but if I ever did something my sponsor didn’t like...

My support structure could be removed, just like that.

“I know you don’t want to go back, but there is a difference between doing your own thing and causing trouble for a lot of people involved,” I said, looking back toward the Rotom. “Sure, you’re costing the factory owner a bunch of money, but who cares about him? The real problem is what happens when this place stops being able to produce more Pokéballs.”

There was an entire ocean of them that could be salvaged from beneath us, but all of those parts were a limited amount. This factory was important; without Pokéballs, Pokémon could no longer be captured. People wouldn’t be able to meet their partners, and Pokémon wouldn’t be able to find comfortable homes.

“I won’t send you back,” I told this Rotom, “but we can’t have you stay. So, how about this—I’ll help you find a new place, instead. Not this factory, but not just one phone, either. Somewhere that you can be happy, and somewhere that you won’t have to feel so trapped.”

The Rotom looked focused. It no longer looked so scared, but its mouth had been pressed into an even line. It briefly gazed out at the factory and all of the destruction it had caused, and then it looked right back at me with a certain glint appearing in its eyes.

Before I could even realize what was going on, the tiny lightbulb Pokémon regained its smile. It charged me, causing me to fall back in surprise, but nothing about this was an attack or a move—it had simply been rushing right at my arm.

Or, specifically, it had been rushing right at my wrist.

I blinked, and the Rotom was gone, but the screen of my smartwatch had changed to display that classic Rotom smile. As I looked at it, words briefly failing me, the Rotom snickered, having already found a comfortable place to stay.

“Oh,” I said. “You want to come with me?”

Its face nodded on the screen, and I let out a laugh, finding myself matching its smile.

_____________________________________________________________________

Valiant and Farigiraf were safe; Farigiraf formed a barrier around them, and then Valiant had the chance to dig a path out. They were able to get help, and I escaped by climbing out of the window.

Unfortunately, though I had technically completed the job, this Rotom had decided to join my team. As a result, I was considered its trainer, and every dollar of damage that occurred was immediately attributed to me.

The sheer amount of debt that accumulated meant I could work every day of the rest of my life and still not have enough to pay. The damages far exceeded the “acceptable” amount of damage an irresponsible trainer could cause, and I was on deck to pay it all back.

But that was when my sponsor came in. A single flex of her influence, and I didn’t need to worry about any of that. It was completely unfair to put that cost onto me—and illegal—especially since the damage happened before I “caught” Rotom, and especially since Rotom would have fought like that against anyone who came in.

I didn’t need to pay anything. Neither did my sponsor. Instead, an unhappy man very reluctantly wrote me a check.

I walked away debt-free.

Of course, I still had the additional “debt” that came from my sponsor stepping in on my behalf, but that was a problem I didn’t need to worry about until later.

=======================================================================
Author Note:

Next chapter on Wednesday! The next post should be about the Royal Road release!

Nick’s Team:
Farigiraf
Iron Valiant
Rotom

Previous Chapter
Next Chapter