Route 214 proved to be a difficult path to traverse as the late hours of the night slowly creeped by. It wasn’t particularly treacherous footing or anything of the sort, at least not on the flat grassy area they were progressing on, but for some reason there were giant fences erected in a maze-like fashion all over the route. N hadn’t taken note of any local businesses or other such stops, so the reason for them being there was both a mystery and a hindrance. Part of him wanted to just let Torterra blow a hole in each of them to create a straight path, but enabling Lucas’ more chaotic and criminal tendencies seemed like a poor choice, even if the situation was rather urgent.

  Part of the difficulty came from the fact that it was so dark out. The moon helped to illuminate the white paint on the fences a bit, but even with Rotom levitating up above the top of the fences, the Pokemon was unable to guide them very well given the limited visibility.

  The late hour did mean that there was a lack of trainers on the route, and their absence was definitely a boon. He hoped that Lucas would have enough sense to turn down their potential requests for battle given the circumstances, but not having to have those sorts of conversations in the first place made things all the easier.

  Still, though, N wished that they could arrive at their destination sooner. Every moment led to more worry about Mimikyu, despite the fact that his adorable fae friend was in his arms for each and every one of those moments.

  It felt as if the darkness was closing in on them, as if the Spring Path was getting further away despite their forward progress, as if he was going to fail his friend. That feeling gnawed away at him.

  “AWOOOOO!”

  The howling certainly didn’t help either.

  “Is it just Rotom, or has the howling been getting closer?” His flip phone buzzed.

  Lucas nodded, looking around with an expression that was more cautious than nerve-filled.

  “Well that don’ bode well…” Mimikyu grumbled.

  N marched on. “It doesn’t matter. If some wild Pokemon have an interest in us, I’ll simply convince them to leave us alone.”

  “And if they aren’t so easily convinced? Bzzrt.” Rotom inquired.

  Frowning, N shook his head. “Pokemon are reasonable, we can talk things out.” Some species might be easier to handle than others, but N hadn’t spent all that time out in the wilderness for nothing. “Knowing what the issue might be in advance could smooth things over, however. Does anyone have ideas as to the Pokemon in question?”

  Lucas shrugged, Rotom hesitated, but Mimikyu hummed. “This route… ‘as a bunch of Rock types, I’m pretty sure. ‘N’ there were Girafarig too… but none of ‘em should be howlin’, right?”

  N looked to Rotom helplessly, not having any clue what a Girafarig was.

  “Uh… no,” the Electric type awkwardly replied. “Last Rotom checked, Girafarig do not howl.”

  “Righ’, an’ the Rhydon don’ either… oh! There’s uh… oh shoot, which one wassit… A Dark type! Canine for sure, but for the life uh me I can’ remember if it was Poochyena or Houndour…”

  Rotom lit up at those words. Figuratively speaking, given that he had been acting as a light source the whole time already. “Rotom is unfamiliar with Poochyena, but Houndour are known to be in Sinnoh!”

  Houndour? That name seemed familiar, but N couldn’t place it at that moment in time.

  “Yeah, Houndour, that must be it! Dark ‘n’ Fire type Pokemon with a focus on the special side. S’posedly if ya get bitten by one, the pain ain’ ever gonna go away… or was that jus’ when they evolved? I don’ remember.”

  N rolled his eyes. Pain from a bite that never goes away? That sounded like more Pokedex nonsense that was better off ignored. The typing, on the other hand, was a bit concerning. Of course it wasn’t true across the board, but generally speaking both Fire and Dark types had what one might consider “attitude problems”. Someone charitable might consider them strong-willed and proud, but… well, N just needed to keep the possibility in mind. A Pokemon that held those dual types might need a more stern approach if and when a confrontation were to occur.

  Hopefully things wouldn’t come to that though. His cute little friend needed help as soon as possible.

  N was starting to flag, exhaustion from the long day catching up to him as he delayed sleep for longer and longer. Lucas seemed even worse off. It was easy to forget sometimes, given that he was a Trainer out on his journey, but the boy was a bit young to be staying up for such an extended period of time.

  N couldn’t just stop now, though. Mimikyu needed him. He had to pull through for his cute little friend.

  N stumbled, but forced himself to regain his footing quickly.

  “Stop here for the night.” Rotom phrased it more like a command than a suggestion.

  “Tha’ ain’ a bad idea, I’m barely keepin’ my eyes open,” Mimikyu agreed.

  Lucas rubbed a hand over his eyes, nodding along with the Pokemon.

  N shook his head no. “We can keep going, it can’t be that much further.”

  Mimikyu groaned. “N, I ain’ exactly pleased ‘bout my current situation either, but it ain’ a matter that requires ya ta push yerself so hard. I’ll be fine if ya slow down a bit ‘n’ get some proper rest.”

  “I’m not pushing myself, I can keep going Mimikyu, we just need to-”

  “Lucas.” Rotom buzzed.

  Somehow, that was all that needed to be said. In a flash of red light, Lucas’ Torterra was released, and N got the feeling that it wasn’t to go through with his idle musings about tearing through all this stupid fencing.

  There was some gesturing on the boy’s part that N couldn’t follow, and then the giant Ground type was lumbering in front of N, stopping him in his tracks.

  N glared, or at least as well as he was able in his sloppy, sleep deprived state. “What do you think you’re doing?”

  Torterra rolled his eyes. “You’re exhausted. Sleep. Or I’ll make you.”

  “You know Sleep Powder? I didn’ think ya got that…” Mimikyu mumbled enchantingly.

  “Nope. Can knock him out, though.” The Grass type titled his body in a way that made the tree on his back appear threatening. If N got hit with that he might just end up with a concussion, and who knows how long it would take to get Mimikyu help in that state…

  With a sigh, N relented. A short break to rest wasn’t an awful idea.

  “...fine. A short nap.”

  The group quickly set up a makeshift camp, falling asleep the moment their heads hit the pillows.

  N woke up to a kick in the gut.

  Groaning, he scrambled to sit up and protect his body. The bright light of the noon sun assaulted his eyes and he struggled to see his assailant. “Wha-”

  “You’re pathetic.” Cynthia spat at him, first figuratively and then literally.

  “What the fuck!” N cursed, wiping it off of his face and trying to assess the situation, but while he was doing that Cynthia kicked him again, sending him into a coughing fit as he doubled over in pain.

  “You really thought we didn’t know? How delusional do you have to be to think you can become a king?”

  Dread pooled in his gut. They knew?! How could the League have found him out? Did someone betray them? Did they know from the start? He needed to play dumb, find out exactly how much they were aware of. “I don’t know what you’re-”

  “We know everything, kid. Give it up.”

  Whirling his head around to the opposite side of the clearing, N realized that Alder was present as well. The Champion of Unova gave him a disgusted look. “You thought that you could challenge the League? With all the power that they hold?”

  Before he could think of any sort of response, there was a laugh. “We’re not going to let you stop our abuse, you fool.”

  Lucian was leaning into Cynthia, his arm draped around her. “Pokemon exist for our benefit. We’re not going to let some little upstart and his sycophants come in and stage a coup over a whole region under our control.”

  N glared at the man. Trying to brainwash him and his friends was bad enough, but coming here to brag just before they took him away? “You might think yourself high and mighty now, but when I wipe that smirk off your face-”

  “And how do you expect to do that?”

  N paled. That voice shouldn’t be here. Hunting down N was one thing when he’d encountered Lucian earlier in the day, but if his father was here then they wouldn’t even need to search Unova! Had he been captured before they came for N? “Father? What are you doing here?”

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  Ghetsis didn’t answer the question. “You’re a failure, N. I had such high hopes for you, for what you could do for Plasma, for the whole world… but instead of gaining the power of the Dragon, you’ve been out here wandering aimlessly, making friends with filthy Pokemon Trainers.”

  That hurt more than the kicks Cynthia had delivered. “No, father, you don’t understand, I just wanted to help Mimi-”

  “Help me?” Mimikyu questioned.

  The little fae was sitting on his lap. Had he been there this whole time? Wait, no, more importantly- “You’re okay! You- what happened? I’m so glad that you’re back to normal, you really gave me a scare…”

  Indeed, Mimikyu was back to his terrifying normal self, Pikachu disguise and all. And it was clean? When did they have time to do that?

  “Ya can’t help anyone, N.” Mimikyu declared in a cold tone. “Ya don’t know anything. Yer clueless. Foolish. I know more than ya think I know, and ya jus’ let that slide, didn’t ya? I can tell it’s been eatin’ at ya a bit, how many secrets I hold, but ya didn’ wanna stir up any problems with me, didja?”

  “Well of course it bothered me, but I wasn’t going to just sit you down for an interrogation, Mimikyu! We’ve been over this before, haven’t we?”

  “You refuse to seek out the Truth.”

  “You refuse to strive for the Ideal.”

  Two booming voices spoke out in unison, and N recognized neither. When he frantically looked around, he could find the source of neither. To call it unsettling was a massive understatement.

  “I can’t believe you, N.”

  When N’s eyes landed on Dawn, Mimikyu was no longer in his lap, but on her shoulder.

  “I can’t believe I ever listened to you,” she continued. “You don’t deserve to have Mimikyu with you.” She turned away from him, walking off into the distance.

  He couldn’t let this happen. Standing up, he brushed past everyone else, though they didn’t put up any resistance. Running after her he shouted out. “Wait! Dawn, hold on!” He didn't understand. “Mimikyu!” Despite the fact that he was running after her, that he knew he was faster, the distance between them only seemed to grow.

  “It’s all your fault, N.” She turned to look back at him, blood streaming down from her forehead over her face. “You could have made things better, but you didn’t.”

  It felt like the slits in Mimikyu’s disguise were staring into his soul. “I know everything about you, Natural. And I know that you’ll never be king. The suffering in this world, that’s blood on your hands.”

  He glanced down, and his hands were soaked in blood, enough to be dripping down onto the ground, staining everything around him.

  They were right. He wasn’t enough. He’d never be enough. Not only would he not make it as king, he’d bring down Plasma with his foolishness, and his friends would abandon him. Hate him.

  Millions of Pokemon cried out in pain, and as he looked up from his blood soaked hands, Mimikyu lifted his disguise.

  Overwhelming fear consumed him.

  The world went dark.

  This is how he dies.

  N woke up with a gasp, cold sweat making his shirt cling to his back. The sun was peeking over the horizon, dawn having just passed.

  “That’s right, scram!”

  “We were just having some fun!” Another voice barked out.

  “Well we’ve had enough of your so-called fun! Keep it up and we’ll see about some eternal rain on this route as well, see how you like that!”

  “This isn’t over!” The second voice was quieter now, and as N tried to calm his racing heart, he saw black fur and white bone disappearing into the treeline.

  It was just a dream. All just a bad dream…

  “Are you all alright? Us spirits have to stick together you know, especially with these Dark types pulling their nonsense. Having some fun he called it. It’s ridiculous!”

  “Yes, Rotom…. Rotom will be alright. Thank you for your assistance.”

  “Ah, don’t think anything of it. Happy to help! Not often we see your kind around here, wouldn’t want you to be scared off.”

  N finally turned back to the group, satisfied that whatever Pokemon had been… doing whatever it had done, had run off. Torterra had one eye open, seemingly just having woken up, but alert after noticing the disturbance. Lucas was on top of his starter, half asleep and stretching his limbs. Mimikyu was still a limp Mime Jr. doll, though the head was tilted to look at the ongoing conversation.

  Rotom, however, had left the confines of his flip phone and was in its natural state, having a conversation with an unfamiliar Pokemon.

  The thing was bulky. Thick, stump like legs supported a rounded body. There was no neck, but the head could sort of be made distinct by the fact that there was a sudden tapering where a neck should be, and three… teeth-like protrusions? It was like three incisors were poking out of where its mouth should be, but made of the same thing as its flesh. Only, it wasn’t flesh, was it? It was more of a cloth like substance, wrapped completely around its body like a mummy. Light grey hands that were surprisingly human were held in front of its torso, free of such binding, though N didn’t see any arms to support them. The only other parts of the body that were free of the grey cloth were wispy protrusions where its ears and hair might be, and the single eye in the center of its face. Lacking a pupil, the red iris stared at Rotom as the two spoke.

  “...a Dusclops? Ain’ ya s’posed ta be outside the cave rather than out on this route?” Mimikyu inquired.

  The now identified Dusclops did a strange motion of rolling its wrists, and N assumed it was the closest approximation of a shrug possible given its body layout. “That’s where I live, sure, but the Rock and Water types around here get spared the harassment by those Houndour, so they don’t really bother to intervene when they’re the only ones on the route who can really stand up to them…”

  “And that’s where you come in?” N prompted.

  The red iris setting its gaze on him sent a shiver down his spine, but he’d long grown used to the presence of Ghost types so it didn’t phase him. “Well, aren't you interesting? But yeah, that’s where I come in. Well, me and a few others, to be clear.”

  “The type matchup seems troublesome,” Torterra chimed in to N’s surprise. “Fantina’s Duskull didn’t like my Bite.”

  Dusclops let out a hearty laugh. “You aren’t wrong! When Houndoom comes around there isn’t much we can do, but her little Houndour brats? They’re just pups, and my kind are good at taking a hit!” He hummed. “Real troublesome brats, though, if they’re going around using Nightmare and Dream Eater on travellers.”

  “Dream Eater? I guess that’d explain why…” Mimikyu trailed off before scoffing. “But seriously, what’s up with these Pokemon knowin’ these moves out in the wild? Are competitive battlers jus’ throwin’ all their hard work out into the woods or somethin’? Or I s’pose more likely it’d be rejects from a breeder or somethin’ with some top tier genetics at play…”

  N frowned, discomfort rolling through him, and he told himself that it was entirely due to the talk of Pokemon being abandoned like trash, rather than what had been done to them in their sleep.

  Shaking those thoughts from his head, he stood up. “Well, thank you for your assistance, Dusclops, we greatly appreciate it, but we really must be going. Mimikyu needs to be taken to Sendoff Spring immediately so that…” Hold on a moment. Wasn’t this precisely the Pokemon they were looking for?

  “That’s a good point. Ya think ya can fix me up?” Mimikyu asked the Ghost. “I seem ta’ve somehow… unghosted myself or somethin’. Was recommended I visit you and yer friends ta see if I could ‘ave that undone.”

  The Dusclops’ lone eye stared at Mimikyu blankly. “You… unghosted yourself? That’s a new one. Your group is full of oddities, isn’t it?” Then, turning away from them, he slowly started walking down the route. “I don’t know anything about that, but if there’s anyone who can help you, it’d be the old man. Come on, I’ll show you the way.”

  The group shared a look, and then quickly started packing their things up, Lucas catching on a little late but joining in all the same.

  Hopefully this old man would be able to give Mimikyu the help he needed.

  The rest of their short trip to Sendoff Spring was uneventful, and N couldn’t help but wonder if they were being avoided thanks to their guide.

  That changed once they made their way through the short, and rather claustrophobic path that led to a clearing before a rather steep cliff face, however.

  “He’s back! He’s back!” Dozens of voices chimed, a melody of cries ringing out. Chingling bounced into the air, swarming Dusclops before quickly being pulled back by what must be their evolution. The unfamiliar Pokemon looked like if you took a Chingling and changed its braids into a spell tag that hung below it, painted the whole thing white and then splattered some red on top.

  “Children, please, there’s no need to rush him,” one of the evolved Pokemon chided.

  “Oh, it’s fine, Chimecho!” Dusclops laughed, spreading his fingers out in a welcoming gesture. “There’s no harm in it. I just need to show these travellers to the old man, so I can’t stick around and play.”

  “Travellers! Travellers!” The Chingling chimed, and N quickly found his ears ringing as they broke free from the loose grasp of the spell tags and swarmed them instead.

  “Ah, yes, it’s nice to meet you all,” he was forced to spit a stray braid out of his mouth, “but we don’t have time to play either!”

  “Woah! Did he understand you?!”

  “Your friend is cute! What’s your name, little cloth Pokemon? Are you related to Dusclops? They like cloth, too!”

  “Look at that Pokemon!”

  On and on, the children rang and chimed, drowning out any attempts by their elders to calm them down.

  At least until it was all suddenly silenced at once by an overwhelming aura of fear.

  “Careful, little ones, or misbehaving children will be sent into the cave.”

  Dusclops didn’t sound nearly so jolly when he made that threat.

  The Chingling vanished into the tall grass and beyond the treeline in an instant, and the oppressive, unnatural fear dissipated.

  Dusclops laughed again. “Sorry about them! They can be a bit excitable!”

  N paused, looking at his companions. Rotom didn’t look very perturbed, but Lucas had a hand on Torterra’s Pokeball, looking a hair’s breadth away from starting a battle.

  Mimikyu’s expression was as hidden as ever, but he was the one to speak up. “...yer a real scary guy when ya wanna be, ain’ ya?”

  Dusclops chuckled. “The perks of being a Ghost!”

  “What was with what you said, though?” N prompted. “Were you referring to Turnback Cave?”

  “Ah, you know about that place?” Dusclops asked as he continued guiding them towards the cliff. “Terrible, awful place. Perfect for weirdos like us! But for poor little Psychics like them? Dreadful. Bronzor and Bronzong can withstand it, because their minds are so warped already, but outside of them it’s just the usual Golbat you can find in any cave and us Ghosts.”

  “Bzzrt. Not surprising, given its reputation.” Rotom added, having returned to N’s flip-phone.

  “Yeah, Nurse Joy suggested that I avoid entering for some reason, though she didn’t specify why…”

  “Good advice!” Dusclops responded. “Not a place for humans like you. Though I’m not sure the old man will come out, so if you want his help you might not have a choice… I’ll do my best, though!”

  N frowned. “Not for humans? What do you mean by that?”

  “Well you see…” Dusclops’ mirthful tone dropped, though he didn’t switch to the fear inducing one either. It was cold. Monotone. Serious.

  “Turnback Cave is where the King resides.”