It’s been a couple of days on the road, alongside our new research team members: Quinn and Cola. They’ve integrated into the group nicely and seem to know Route 3 well enough to get us...lost. We got lost. We eventually made it back onto the track on our own, and here we are in Nacrene City. Orla may not have been impressed by either of their shenanigans, but surely we can make it to Lenora safe and sound. Seeing as we’re in actual civilization now, this is my turf! We don’t need Percy to guide us around, I can just use my instincts, natural charisma, and manly wiles to get us to the museum.

“Excuse me, can you move.”

“Yes sir, sorry sir.” A Ranger shoves past me. Never mind.

Quinn and Cola fumble around the roads as we make our way to the museum, the signposts in this relatively rustic town are beautiful, they must have artists commissioned. There are Tympole and Timburr helping out the elderly citizens, while Sawk and Throh take the heavy lifting. It’s all so harmonious. You’d wonder what that terrorist group was talking about.

The museum entrance itself is a grand design. The pearlescent stone, the perfect arch, I’d heard that Lenora helped design it herself alongside her Watchog. This building holds so much of Unova’s history, much of it was the source of my research papers in school. And here I’ll finally be able to see it all up close and personal.

Inside is just as beautiful, the skeleton of an ancient Dragon Pokémon is the forefront of the exhibition: effervescent. Anyone who looked into it would know it’s just an ancient Dragonite, however there are some conspiracy theorists claiming it is the remnants of the Legendary Dragon Pokémon itself. Great, now Hannah’s got me saying it.

There’s an Old Amber, known for reviving Aerodactyl, there’s an Armaldo full scale reproduction, meteorites said to be tied to a mythical outer-space entity, as well as a rock. A deep black rock. My head begins to churn as I focus on it, unable to look away. A voice in my head starts to echo, bouncing in my cranium.

“Remember.”

“Remember?”

“Remember.”

***

The vision is hazy. I can make out that I’m myself. My body is mine. And looking onward I see a body, laying on the floor, haunting over it is...a monster.

***

What’s going on? Alec? Alec are you okay?

“What’s happening, Orla, why does he look all sick and stuff?”

“I don’t know, Ruff but we need to do something! Quinn, Cola, make yourselves useful and keep him balanced.”

“Roger.” “Got it, chief.” Cola sits by his knee while Quinn tries keeping his back stable, good job guys. I’ll do my best to wake him up with a Water Gun.

“Ruff can you go and get help, that security guard over there!”

“Yes, ma’am!” And off he goes, great. If only Percy were here...no I can’t think like that. I’m still annoyed that he just picked up these random Pokémon with no thought, I know what he’s doing but...we need to help him properly right now.

“Is everything okay over here?” The security guard says. He sees Alec’s face, empty and asleep. Loads of humans come over to push us off Alec. A big lady with dark green hair pushes past all of them. We’re all guided into the back of the museum.

The library is big with all these books, Ruff looks all confused, Quinn can’t focus on one thing, and Cola just rolls along. I don’t know where we’re going but this lady looks really important. Please...I can’t see him get hurt.

***

I wake up a few hours later. I wake up with a blanket over me on a pleather sofa. Cola is sitting on top of me, and alerts the rest of my sleeping Pokémon that I’m awake.

“Good afternoon, Alec.” a deep, powerful voice comes from the desk in front of me. The woman sitting there is easily recognisable for someone researching the myths and legends of Unova: Lenora.

“Hello.”

“You fell unconscious whilst standing in front of the Dark Stone in my museum, do you remember that?”

“Yeah, yeah that black rock.”

“It’s very curious, you know. My name is Lenora, and your Pokémon here were able to get our attention to make sure you were safe. I reckon thanks is in order.” She meticulously taps at her keyboard.

“No, yeah, sure. Thank you all so much.”

“Your Roggenrola there looked very worried, poor thing couldn’t sleep like the rest of them.”

“Really? Cheers, Cola.” She glows a meek red colour. She’s blushing!?

Lenora then beckons me towards her desk, I comply, sitting opposite once I regain my strength.

“I see you’ve been looking into the Unova region’s very own legends, you’re from Galar though, what piqued your interest in our customs? Be honest now, Watchog doesn’t like deception.” Her partner in time emerges from behind me.

“Right, right. Well. Truth be told I don’t know. But when I saw that black rock, I started having a vision.” She stops typing. “It was like a movie. In front of me was a dead body, and then this large monster, which I guess attacked it? But I was me. I was a child version of me. I don’t know how it all works, maybe I inhaled too much Dream Mist in Striaton.” Lenora presents a cup of coffee.

“I’m sorry you had to go through that. It sounds like a real bad flashback.”

“No, no. It couldn’t be a flashback. I don’t remember anything like that happening to me as a kid!”

“Galar and Unova are two very similar regions, you know. They aren’t too dissimilar in my opinion. But one thing remains: mystery. Nobody knows much that’s set in stone about Galar’s origins, and the same for Unova: we just have more scriptures to go off of.” She takes a sip from her own drink. Readjusting her hair, stylishly and swiftly. Out of habit I copy.

“May I ask why you kept me here, why not take me to a hostel or B&B?”

“I needed to discuss the Dark Stone with you, I had suspicions that you’d have amnesia afterwards since it was very clearly the Dark Stone reacting to you.” She turns her computer screen around to me.

“In ancient times it’s said that there were two heroes in Unova. Two reigning heroes that lived in harmony under the jurisdiction of the Legendary Dragon Pokémon. This is a working theory I have whilst I’ve been studying the Dark Stone, but I believe it’s possible that it is a part of the Legend, and the fact it interacted with you in any way has to mean something great. I’m not sure what, exactly, but it has to. Don’t you think?” The glint in her eyes asks me to agree with her, and I do genuinely think so. It would make sense, but I need more than just that.

“I think it’s an interesting theory. If you have a document I can read over with your findings I’d be glad to discuss further.”

“Well someone suddenly got formal, of course, I’ll ask my husband to bring all my resources down.” Lenora gets up from her chair, calling down her husband from the upstairs library. I regroup with my team.

“I mean it, thank you guys so much. I haven’t told you this before, but this happens a lot. Little spurts of head rush that just knock me out. This was the first time there was an actual visual though.” Orla looks distraught, readying her shell to stop me talking. Quinn intervenes. “I know it’s something I should have told you guys, but I didn’t want any of you to worry about it since I haven’t had them in years! Ever since I left Galar, actually.” Ruff listens intently, burying his fur into my hand. “Just, thank you. I don’t know what I would’ve done without each and every one of you.”

Lenora comes back downstairs.

“Alec, we need your help! Someone’s stolen the Dragonite Skull!”