| May POV |
The phone rings twice before Dad picks up.
"May! I heard you beat Roxanne—well done! I'm sure the path ahead will be very bright!"
His voice is warm, proud—the kind that usually makes me feel safe.
Today, I just feel tired.
"Thanks, Dad," I sigh, dragging my hand down my face. "But I think Team Rocket just sent us a death threat."
There's a pause on the other end.
"…I'm sorry, what?"
"Yeah. You know, the big bad evil organisation obsessed with leather uniforms? They might be after us."
A longer pause this time.
"…May, it's been like three weeks since you left home."
"Yup."
"And they've already found you?"
"Maybe. Possibly. Hopefully not. But maybe."
I can hear the distinct sound of his coffee mug being set down with more force than necessary. "You're going to have to give me some context before I fly back to Hoenn and set something on fire."
"You left the region?" I ask suddenly feeling a whole lot less confident.
"I was searching for a solution to your wormhole problem. Some of my colleagues in Alola are experts in the matter."
"Huh, neat... Roxanne would probably appreciate the help with clean up if you did come though," I mutter.
"May."
"Sorry. Look, it's just… Rio got a weird letter. No return name, no sender. Just a shiny, ominous, rainbow 'R' and a meeting time, not even an adress so they'll probably be the ones looking for us."
"…Okay. That's not great."
"It's worse because Rio spiraled for, like, twenty minutes trying to figure out if the R stood for Rocket, Ramen, or Rattata."
"That sounds about right."
"And I just got back from a Gym Battle where my chicken exploded, and my Riolu keeps unlocking anime powers,"
I turn back to see him swapping places with a very confused Torchic every couple seconds when he claps.
"and now I'm dealing with secret notes from criminal organizations. So yeah." I breathe out. "Pretty normal week."
"…May?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm very proud of you."
I blink. "Wait, really?"
"You haven't spontaneously combusted yet. That's more than I expected."
"Gee, thanks, Dad."
"You're welcome. Call me if anything else tries to kill you."
"Will do."
I hang up and sigh, letting my head thunk back against the wall.
"Is your dad coming to save us?" Rio asks, blinking into existence beside me again.
"I don't think so. But I'm pretty sure he has plans for when stuff like this happens..."
He tilts his head. "This... happened before??"
"Oh, quite a lot actually, but it was usually those pirate cosplayers fighting over whether we need more land or water."
Torchic chirps from the bed, looking dizzy as the body-swapping stops at last. Rio lets out a sheepish chuckle.
"Sorry, buddy. Guess Boogie Woogie's gonna need some practice."
I rub my eyes. "Boogie Woogie? What does that even mean, did you come up with the name yourself? Wait, no, how do you suddenly know a psychic move?!"
"I mean… if I believe in myself enough, I could start throwing around thunderbolts…"
"You have the colour of one, might as well go full Pikachu I guess."
He pouts. I throw a pillow at him. It hits him square in the face. He lets it drop with slow, exaggerated dignity.
"I'm being oppressed.""You're being dramatic."
He flops onto the floor beside Torchic, who scoots just out of range like nope, not doing this again. Rio sighs.
"So… what now?"
I glance at the crumpled letter on the nightstand. "You got any more weird moves? Maybe one that can make your enemies go poof or something?"
"Again, if I believe hard enough... nothing is totally impossible."
"Oh, great. He's gone full anime protagonist," I mutter.
Then a quiet voice drifts from the corner of the room.
"He already started opening portals to other dimensions. Might as well let him have a go at it."
I blink. Ralts is perched on the windowsill, legs swinging, face unreadable as always. Oh, so our resident introvert is still alive. That's nice to know.
"I heard that…""Sorry…"
| Rio POV |
I roll onto my back, arms spread out like a squished starfish. The pillow still lies abandoned beside me like a casualty of war.
"I'm just saying," I mumble, "if I am unlocking anime powers, I should at least get a cool transformation sequence."
Torchic clucks skeptically, clearly unconvinced. She waddles over to the other side of the bed and flops down like she just ran a triathlon.
I ignore Torchic in favour of something a whole lot more interesting... Evolution, more specifically, 'first' evolution, is this taking into account mega forms? Or is it something else that others would consider as, 'game
I ignore Torchic in favor of something a whole lot more interesting.
Evolution.
More specifically, the little glowing "→ First Evolution Pending" tag that's been hovering next to my species info since forever.
I squint at it, tail flicking.
First, huh?
Does that mean Lucario? Like… base game logic? Or does this system know about mega forms?
Or—worse… better?—is it something else entirely?
I narrow my eyes at the text like it'll blink first. It doesn't. Obviously. But it does flicker—just for a second—when I tap on it.
[Species Tree - Unlocked Node: Riolu]Next Stage: ???Requirements: 3 Badges, 1 Emotional Threshold Event, 1 Battle of Significance
A chill runs down my spine.
"Battle of Significance"? "Emotional Threshold Event"? That sounds... ominous. Or like a dramatic anime episode title.
"Okay," I mutter aloud, "so I need to win at least three badges, cry once, and nearly die in an emotional duel? Already have two badges, and I'm still traumatized by unc Norman, so that should count for most of this stuff... Right?"
Torchic groans from the pillow nest. "Cluck you…"
"Not everything's about you," I say automatically. She flips onto her belly in protest.
Still, I can't help it. I keep staring.
There's a flicker—one I almost miss—beneath the words. Like an unopened file. Hidden under the evolution data.
I reach out with my thoughts.
And it opens.
[Alternate Paths Detected.]Branching Evolution Possibility: Lucario (Confirmed)Branching Evolution Possibility: ??? (Locked)Branching Evolution Possibility: Cursed Form - "??? the Unbound" (Warning: Stability compromised)Branching Evolution Possibility: ??? "Shatterheart" (Warning: Requires Unique Catalyst)
I go still.
That… that is not normal.
"May's gonna kill me," I whisper.
Ralts tilts her head behind me, silent. Watching.
Torchic stares with one eye half-open, unimpressed.
I just lie there, heart racing.
What the hell kind of Riolu am I becoming?
I guess the first one is normal base line evolutions, second is... Something. Third might make me into a cursed spirit, while the fourth? Sounds like an edgelord's wet dream, Yeah I'm steering away from that one...
I guess the first one is normal. Baseline evolution. Lucario. The one everyone expects.
The second? Who knows. Hidden. Redacted. Probably the system equivalent of a shrug emoji.
The third?
Cursed Form — "??? the Unbound."
That's either some kind of terrifying shonen villain arc... or I'm gonna wake up one day with extra arms and a tragic backstory. Pass.
And the fourth?
"Shatterheart."
Okay, look. I may be the main character of whatever multiversal glitch this is, but even I have some self-respect.
That sounds like an edgelord's wet dream. Probably involves screaming into the void while unlocking a power "born from sorrow."
Nope. Nope. Nope. I'm steering away from that one before it starts recommending me My Chemical Romance. Guess I'm stuck with the mystery behind door number two, or just a normie Lucario...
I slap the system menu closed with my mind and sit up, rubbing my face with both paws.
"I hate this," I mutter. "I hate how tempted I am to know what Shatterheart even is."
"You'll probably unlock it by accident," Ralts says quietly, still perched like a gargoyle on the sill.
"I'm starting to think this system has no brakes."
Torchic flops a wing in the air from the bed. "Cluck."
Which could mean anything from "same" to "can I have snacks," honestly.
"I need a nap," I decide. "Or a reboot."
Or possibly a hug. But I'm not desperate enough to admit that out loud.
Not yet.
Word count: 1372
Man who would have thought combining Pokémon and the roguelike genre could be such a good idea. If you like this novel or just pokemon in general go try out PokéRogue, Got me addicted.