A short while later, the pink-white creature came back into Twilight’s room, tugging another figure by a lab coat. This had to be one of this dimension’s humans, Twilight decided. Yes, the proportions of his body were a bit different from those of her friends from Canterlot High and his skin color was far more muted, but even with those trivial distinctions his species was obvious enough.
The princess was, to a degree, pleased with the revelation that she was in human hands. She liked the species as a whole, and in particular their extremely efficient manner of digitally storing enormous amounts of data. With any luck this dimension’s humans would have something of that nature. They might not have been ponies, but she knew roughly where she stood, which was something.
The old man walked over to her bed and loomed high over her, smiling faintly.
“Hello,” he said. “I’m Professor Oak. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”
So this man was the professor? Good. That should make gathering data far easier. Twilight would have returned his greeting, had she been able to move anything but her eyes. As it was, all she could do was roll them around in their sockets to show that she was awake.
“Yes…” Oak winced. “That’ll be the paralytics. Apologies for any inconvenience, but it’s standard practice to give a dose to severely injured Pokemon in hospital setting, particularly freshly-caught ones. A wounded Pokemon blindly lashing out in pain and fury can pose a severe risk to medical staff and other patients alike, you know.”
A Pokemon? What was that? Something worth learning about, the princess supposed. Twilight assumed that she was one now, though her physical form was unchanged. After transforming into a human twice in Canterlot High’s dimension, it seemed entirely plausible. A species change could also explain the non-functionality of her spells despite the continued presence of her inner reserves of power.
“Anyway… we had planned for the paralytic to be mostly worn off by the time you woke up, but it seems we underestimated the necessary dose of anesthetic. We haven’t treated a Pokemon of your species before, you see.”
Well, of course not. That at least explained why her body was so unresponsive. Good to know that it wasn’t due to some permanent crippling.
“Now, we can move your treatment schedule forward a bit and administer a counteragent to purge the paralytic from your body right now, but we will require you to remain in bed for some time and refrain from lashing out or attempting to escape.”
Fair enough, Twilight decided. She didn’t feel much like getting up at the moment anyway.
“If you can understand me and consent to those terms, please look up, then down, then back at me.”
Without hesitating, Twilight did so. Professor Oak smiled.
“Well that’s a relief. I’ve seen some Pokemon who had to be sedated virtually all the time for their safety and that of others,” he paused, hand over chin. “You know, I think I’ll have to tell you the story of the rampaging shiny Cottonee sometime.”
“That was a nightmare,” the pink creature commented.
“Blissey here will administer the counteragent,” he gestured at his pink sidekick. “As soon as she’s ready.”
“You got it, boss,” Blissey answered with a rather comical attempt at a salute, before walking back out the door.
“It should start taking effect within a few minutes,” Oak explained while they waited. “Full motor control should resume inside an hour. If you don’t mind, once it does I’d enjoy having a little chat with you.”
Twilight did not mind. Not one little bit.
Back in Laverre, introductions were ongoing.
“Ash, Serena,” Clemont said. “This man is Lysandre, founder and owner of Lysandre Labs, the company famous for creating the Holo Caster and advancing the march of science throughout the Kalos region! And that’s not all! He’s also famous for his charity work and passion for building a better world!”
“Oh, wow,” Ash said.
“You two know each other?” Serena asked.
“Oh yes,” Clemont answered. “You see, Lysandre Labs is based in Lumiose City. And I’m the Gym Leader there, after all. I couldn’t possibly ignore such a prominent and inspirational figure in our community!”
“You flatter me unduly,” Lysandre said, looking a little embarrassed. “I’m just one man with a dream, after all.”
“One man with a dream and the genius to see it done,” Clemont countered. “I’ve always admired your work.”
“Yet you’ve turned down all my invitations to come and work for my company. We could use a young man of your prodigious talent.”
“Gee, thanks,” Clemont scratched the back of his head. “But I don’t think I’m cut out for working at a corporation – even yours. Unfettered science has always been my one true passion!”
“I can respect that,” Lysandre nodded. “But the offer remains open, should you ever change your mind.”
“I’ll remember that.”
“Yes,” Lysandre said. “Now where were we? Ah yes, introductions,” he looked over at Serena and offered his hand. “You’re Serena, are you not?”
“I am,” she took it and shook.
“Now that we’re all acquainted, back to the reason I came,” he turned his gaze back to Ash. “I happened to be in Laverre Gym to witness your battle, and I came away impressed with the bond you share with your Pokemon – especially that Pikachu there. It was your first Pokemon, was it not?”
“Pika,” Pikachu nodded.
“Wow, that’s pretty good,” Ash said. “How did you know?”
“I have an eye for these things,” Lysandre answered, putting a fist over his heart and looking upwards. “My dream… my passion… my reason for existence to make this world of ours a truly beautiful place. And nothing is more beautiful than the bonds between people and the Pokemon that they train!” he glanced back down at Ash. “So you might say that I’ve trained myself to notice such tight bonds when they come along.”
“Thanks!” Ash clenched his own fist. “Pikachu and I are best buddies forever, right?”
“Pikachu!” the little yellow Pokemon pumped his fist.
“There are two types of people in this world, Ash Ketchum: those who give, and those who take. Unfortunately, there are many who seek to elevate themselves in life by taking from others, making this world a dark and ugly place.”
“I’ll say,” said Ash, thinking of a certain trio.
Lysandre clenched his fist. “They’re filth!” he barked with suprising vehemence. “Scum of the earth who do nothing but drag it down! In this beautiful but limited world we have, to selfishly take and take and take without giving back… it’s unforgivable!”
“Whoa,” the group took a slight step back from the tall man.
Lysandre glanced at them, then relaxed his hand and face. “Did I go off again?” he asked. “My apologies. My blood tends to get a little stirred up if I think about certain topics too much. Don’t worry though. I can see,” he smiled warmly, “that you are the type of people who give rather than take. So let me make it up to you.”
“Oh, there’s nothing to make up for,” Clemont assured him. “Your anger at bad guys just shows how devoted you are to improving the world.”
“But there is,” Lysandre insisted. “I’ve taken up quite a bit of your celebration time simply so you could listen to me rant,” he stroked his beard briefly. “Tell me, are you planning on staying in Laverre?”
“Well, we were kinda thinking of heading towards Anistar City soon,” Ash answered.
“For your seventh gym badge, correct?”
“That’s right.”
“Let me tell you what. If you’re willing to put off leaving the city for a few days, I can see to it that you’re put up in one of the local hotels,” Lysandre smiled. “Better than camping in the wilderness or sleeping in a Pokemon Center, I’d think. Take a few days off and reward your Pokemon and yourselves for a hard-earned victory. My treat.”
“Wow, really?”
“Of course,” he nodded.
“Thanks, but you don’t really need to do that,” Serena said.
“Yeah, we’re used to roughing it a bit,” Ash added. “No need to bother yourself about us.”
“Oh, it’s no bother at all. If you won’t take it as an apology for taking up your time, then consider it my way of rewarding your contributions to the world in my own small way. You and your Pokemon help make the world a little more beautiful every day. It’s only fair that you should get something in return.”
Ash, Serena, Clemont, and Bonnie looked at each other, then huddled up. A few seconds of hurried whispered discussion took place among them. Then, suddenly, it was over and they turned back to Lysandre.
“We talked about it,” Ash declared. “And we’ve decided we’re in!”
“Excellent,” Lysandre smiled. “Excellent.”
“Are you… are you being serious?” Professor Oak asked.
Twilight nodded.
It had been almost an hour since the paralytic’s grip had slackened, and then fallen away. Twilight had begun talking almost as soon as her jaw began working, only to find out that all Oak or other humans could hear when she spoke aloud was her own name and parts of it being repeated ad infinitum. Apparently, this was true for all species of Pokemon, which at least confirmed her hypothesis of species transformation.
Oak had brought in what looked to be a tall, thin, and frail humanoid in white dress. She had introduced herself as Gardevoir, and explained that she was capable of direct telepathic communication with human and, hence, translation. A useful skill. Twilight wondered if she could learn to do it.
With Gardevoir translating, Twilight had opted to lay most of her cards on the table. She didn’t have enough knowledge to fake being a denizen of this world even if she had wanted to, so she didn’t try. Instead, she told Professor Oak exactly what she was: an alicorn princess from another dimension, stranded here by accident and looking for a way home. She told the story of her journey through the dark forest and the devil beasts’ – she learned that they were called Houndoom, which she felt to be a totally appropriate designation – attack. She’d told him that she needed help to survive in a world like this one, and asked politely for assistance. The one thing that she hadn’t done was reveal the likely presence of Celestia and Luna in this world. She wasn’t ready to trust this stranger quite that much.
“It’s…” Oak hesitated. “Quite a lot to take in. Of course, extraterrestrial Pokemon are not unknown, but something like this…” he shook his head. “I’ve never seen or even heard of anything like it.”
“Do you believe me?” Twilight asked.
Once he’d heard Gardevoir’s translation, Professor Oak scratched his chin, looked at Twilight, and then nodded. “You know, I think I do. Call me crazy, but it’s not the first time I’ve seen something impossible. That whole Celebi business really has a way of opening one’s mind to new wonders,” he sighed, looking wistful. “So, I suppose the question becomes: what now?”
“Well…” Twilight considered. “Could you bring me some… books?”