Chapter Text
Area Zero, The Great Crater of Paldea
Approximately 16 Years Ago:
“At last…” a man says, staring up into the heart of his creation. “My dream is finally within reach.”
“Our dream, Turo.” a noticeably pregnant woman on his left corrects him.
“Of course, Sada.” he amends. “After so many years, we may finally be able to forge our world into a paradise where Pokémon from the future, present, and past may live together in harmony. First in our walled garden that is the Crater, then Paldea, then the world.”
“It will be marvelous.” Sada declares. “Are we ready to commence?”
“Indeed we are, my Love.”
“Then let us begin. I am activating the machine now.”
Moments later, the floor rises up from beneath them, and the large black device on the ceiling begins to rapidly spin, producing massive amounts of energy before it opens suddenly, emitting a bright light from its core.
“Everything is proceeding as calculated,” Turo states after a moment, handing Sada a Master Ball. “You may have the honor of capturing the first from the past.”
“Very well,” Sada says, and tosses the ball into the light. Moments later it returns, shaking thrice before confirming the catch. “At least you gained something from that job of yours at Silph Co,” she comments, staring at the advanced Poké Ball.
“It was worth it in the end.” Turo proclaims. “If for nothing else, it gave us access to this wondrous technology of the future.”
“It’s always you and the future, isn’t it?” Sada teases lightly. “But let us get back to business.”
As she inputs a command into the terminal, the device closes, and eventually comes to a stop. It then begins to spin again, and eventually opens in a manner similar to before, emitting the same exact light.
“I suppose it is my turn now,” Turo says, tossing his own Master Ball into the machine. It lands back in his hand seconds later, confirming the catch of a Pokémon.
“Now, let us see what we have caught, shall we?” Sada asks before shutting down the machine. As the floor drops to its normal level beneath them, they ready their respective Poké Balls.
“For the past,” Sada says as they reach ground level, tossing her ball.
“And for the future,” Turo echoes, tossing his.
From Sada’s ball emerges a large scarlet-colored reptile standing on its hind legs. Its entire body is covered in feathers, most scarlet colored, but some are white and blue as well. Two large white antennae sprout from its head, and a large circular protrusion that resembles a rubber tire sticks out of its chest.
A reptile emerges from Turo’s ball as well, but it is instead violet-colored and floating in the air. Its skin is mostly metallic, but portions of its body like its chest are lighter colored and noticeably glowing with immense power. Two lightning bolt-shaped antennae are sticking out of its head, and its robotic eyes look around its new surroundings cautiously.
Both reptiles then lock eyes with the professors.
“Agias?” The scarlet lizard chirps, tilting its head curiously while the violet lizard watches the humans warily, unwilling to approach.
Turo then snaps his fingers, and before the reptiles can react, two devastating beams are shot down by a turret on the ceiling, and neither professor flinches as the lasers knock both Pokémon out instantly.
“…Fascinating,” Sada says, staring at the unconscious Pokémon from the past in awe.
“Fascinating indeed.” Turo echoes as he observes the respective Pokemon from the future as well. “It seems, my Love, that our dream is starting to become a reality.”
“Turo, hand me a screwdriver, would you?” Sada asks, looking over her shoulder.
“Yes, my Love,” Turo says, handing over the tool. “How are the improvements coming along?”
“Magnificently. I should be finished within minutes.”
“Very good,” Turo replies. “AI Turo’s surveillance of Area Zero returned with little cause for concern. The most notable details on the report was that the aggressive Koraidon and Miraidon duo have killed around a dozen Pokémon, which may need to be addressed in the future. The only Pokémon they have not been willing to attack has been Iron Belly.
Additionally, its report noted that the main herd of Slither Wing took back some territory from the Iron Moths, and a new group of Scream Tails has been spotted on the east side of the Crater. It also informed me that approximately 20 more Fleeing Fleece have been born into the southern herd, and the native Corviknight population has slightly declined due to encounters with specimens of Iron Bolt. An Iron Sentinel reportedly took down a trio of Roaring Moon after they entered its territory, and a Brutal Pelt managed to single-handedly defeat two Iron Thorns, which may be worth looking into as well.”
“Interesting… especially the information regarding Koriadon and Miraidon. It is odd that they have allied with one another considering how commonly the Pokemon from the past and future seem to despise each other…” Sada comments, continuing to work. “And how is Arven?”
“AI Sada reported that he is in proper health after waking up from his nap, so we should be free to work for another few hours.”
“Fantastic,” she grunts, tightening the final screw. “I believe I am finished. Would you like to begin the startup process?”
“Of course! Excellent work!” Turo says, scanning his identification which causes the floor to rise up towards the ceiling. “And you said this would improve the efficiency of capturing Pokémon, correct?”
“Indeed. Instead of just sending a single Pokeball into a single time period, my improvements will allow our invention to maintain enough energy to send multiple ones in different time periods at once, allowing us to simultaneously capture Pokémon from the past and future.”
“Fascinating,” Turo says, looking up at the device which almost seems to defy physics by breaching the barriers between the present, the past and the future at once. It then opens in a brilliant display, a dazzling white light spilling out of its core once more.
“It is always truly amazing watching the process, no matter how many times you see it… Now, let us see if my adjustments were successful.” Sada states, tossing two Master Balls into opposing sides of the Machine. However, unlike every other time, the Poké Balls did not return. “Hmm…” Sada murmurs.
“The diagnostics report that both Poké Balls have returned to the present,” Turo reports, reading a monitor on the machine. “…But it seems they didn’t return through the device. Instead, it appears they have fallen through a rift in space caused by the device’s new function. It is unfortunate, but expected that we will face a few failed attempts.”
“…Do you think someone else will locate the Master Balls?” Sada asks.
“Unlikely. It is most probable that they ended up somewhere deep in the ground or under the ocean, so it isn’t worth worrying about. For now, it is best if we keep moving forward so we can continue to cultivate our paradise.”
“…Okay. You’re right, it’s not worth worrying over a couple of Poké Balls no one is ever likely going to find.” Sada says hesitantly. However, neither professor notices the small, almost invisible crack in the device’s center…
Meanwhile, not far from the Great Crater of Paldea outside the city of Medali, a woman paced around her house, clutching a small non-Rotom phone close to her ear.
“Are you certain?” She asked, almost disbelieving. “Surely there must be…-”
“We are certain, miss.” The woman on the phone replied. “If we had any orphans left in our care, human or Pokémon, we would certainly be eager to inform you.”
“Oh,” The woman stopped pacing and simply sat down on her couch.
“If you’d like, we can put you on our list of willing parents.” The operator offered. “So if anyone gets put in our care, you would be the first to know.”
“Yes… I would like that.”
“We’ll add your number to the list. We’ll just need your full name ma’am.”
“It’s Mary. Mary Grey.”
“Thank you, miss.” The woman on the other end of the line replied. “Have a nice day.”
As the call ended, Mary looked up at the ceiling in disappointment. She shouldn’t be feeling this way. The fact that the orphanage didn’t have any orphans in it was great! That means that plenty of kids are with good homes and families. But still, she couldn’t help but wish that she had children of her own.
Mary had lived a life full of adventure and action, having been one of the strongest trainers in Galar years ago. But as life always did, things got complicated and she’d moved to Paldea in the aftermath. It was odd, settling down after her active career, but she found she quite enjoyed the downtime as well…
A small squeaking sound took her from her thoughts, as she looked down to see Skwovie. Skwovie was not a battler like the rest of her Pokemon, but he was a dear friend whom she treasured all the same.
“Hey boy,” She reached out to scratch Skwovet's ear. He chittered something to her and she sighed. “No such luck buddy… you won’t be an Uncle Skwovie for a while…”
Mary had always wanted to start a family of her own, though she pushed that dream aside for becoming a Pokémon master. Now that she was retired, she thought she’d have the chance to do so, but it seemed luck was never on her side.
“Skwo…” He seemed just as upset about that as she was.
“...Do you think I can catch a Pokémon and mother them instead?” She asked, to which Skwovie shook his head.
“You’re right, that won’t be as fulfilling… plus some of the Pokémon there might be older than you.” She laughed as he squeaked indignantly at that, taking offense to any mention of his age.
But before any more banter could continue, a loud crashing sound from outside startles them both. Mary is up on her feet immediately. Was that an attack?
She went outside where a large dust cloud had been kicked up from the crash. She fanned the dust away as she waited for it to settle, which revealed a small crater formed in the ground. As she approached the hole, she noticed two Master Balls buried halfway in the dirt. Mary was about to pick them up before she saw them both shake.
“How did a Poké Ball, a Master Ball at that… manage to crash here without fully catching the Pokémon?” She asked herself, baffled, as two audible clicks confirmed the catches. Hesitantly, she picked up the Master Balls, letting out the Pokémon, which collapsed onto the ground.
They looked… strange. One looked like a Hattena and the other resembled an Impidimp, but the details were all wrong. The Hattena looked metallic, with a sheen usually seen on Steel types. Its small body looked oddly segmented and it was far smaller than any Hattena she’d ever seen, Meanwhile, the Impidimp was very hairy, looking more like a mini Grimmsnarl than anything else. It was bigger than any Impidimp she’d seen and its body appeared to be covered in spikes which were visible even through its thick hair. Both Pokémon also seemed to be unconscious from whatever ordeal landed them in her backyard.
“Oh, you poor dears,” Mary murmured, bending down to pick up the two Pokémon. Even though not knowing what they are at first,, she couldn’t leave the Pokémon out here when they could be hurt. As Mary cradled the two in her arms, both fairy types seemed to lean into her arms, getting closer to the source of the warmth.
Her eyes softened as she smiled warmly at the two little Pokémon. “Come on you two, let’s get you both inside.”
She opened the door and slowly shuffled inside, walking over to sit on her couch. Skwovie scurried over to join her and tilted his head in confusion.
“Look Skwovie!” She cooed. “I found these two outside. They’re so adorable, aren’t they?”
“Skwo!” He chittered.
“…I suppose they’ll need some names.” she pondered, and first looked at the unique looking Impidimp. “I think I’ll call you… Florian.” She then turned to the metallic Hattena. “And you’ll be… Juliana.”
As the Pokémon continued to slumber in her arms, Mary smiled gently. “There, there little ones. I’m so very glad I found you…”