"Where is she?!" a gruff voice called in the distance.
She, Morai, had found herself leaning against a tree in a dense forest. The frigid wind cut through her clothes, and the heavy rain soaked through to her bones. There was mud up to her knees and she was covered in scrapes and cuts that had torn holes in whatever she was wearing. Her lungs felt tight and her head was pounding in rhythm with her heart. There was a slight ringing in her ears, yet it felt like the sound was filling the entire forest.
Morai had no memory of what had gotten her here, but she knew she was being chased. Hunted, even. She had no Pokéballs and she realized she was wearing her mask on her face. She wanted to take it off to see what it looked like, but had this strange feeling that she shouldn't. It felt different than the others, and whatever it was, it had technology that allowed her to see at least a little better in this dark and rainy forest.
The exhausted trainer saw the streaks of light from flashlights waving around and started to walk in the opposite direction. Even the adrenaline coursing through her veins wasn't enough to help her run. There was a faint pain in her leg, but she felt that whatever was behind her was worse than walking on it.
The adrenaline must be numbing the pain.
"I see something! This way!"
Morai heard the terrifying echoes of growls and barks, and pushed herself to walk even just a little faster. Everything felt heavy. She was terribly out of breath and her head was splitting.
I...I can't go much further. I can't....
Not being able to bear it anymore, Morai tore the mask off of her face. Everything became blurry, and icy rain began to drip down her face.
This one...this one is new....I haven't seen it before....
She was too weak to move now. The trainer managed to drag herself to the base of a tree stump but after that, all she could do was lie there. The yells and barks became louder and louder, but though the fugitive so desperately wanted to move, she couldn't. Suddenly, she came face to face with an Arcanine. It, too, was soaked from the icy rain, and the vest it was wearing didn't offer much help.
What does it say?....Oh...INTERPOL. Of course.
Indeed, the bold letters emblazoned across the creature's vest showed who was hunting Morai down. The canine let out a howl that made Morai cover her ears and squint her eyes. It bared its teeth and growled, as if ordering her not to move. It's not like she could anyway.
"Over here!"
Morai watched weakly from her resting place as human silhouettes appeared in her view, joined by the silhouettes of various Pokémon. She heard shouts and orders coming from every direction, but she couldn't understand them. She was surrounded by figures almost impossibly bigger and stronger than her and she couldn't even move. One last vicious bark echoed through her subconscious.
The real Morai shot up with a gasp, frantically looking around her cave home. It took a second for her to ground herself in the real world.
Another one...I can add that one to the long list of dreams that don't end well.
Meanwhile, in the Battle Subway...
"Ha! Checkmate! It looks like you're buying dinner tonight, brother!" Emmet proclaimed.
Ingo and Emmet were sitting in their office playing a game of chess. They did this most nights in order to decide who would be buying dinner, which they also ate together. Chess was the one thing between these two that often had a definite winner. They were equally matched in everything else. Even in chess, quite a few games ended in a draw, though Ingo was slightly better than his brother. Emmet had secretly been hoping for a win just so he could defeat his slightly older brother in something.
"Ah, clever move. That was a good game. Where are we going to eat, then?" Ingo asked.
"How about that new place right here in the city?"
Once they arrived and received their meals, they both sat quietly and enjoyed their food. The atmosphere was refined yet cozy. The lights were dim and Emmet put down his fork and waited a moment before speaking.
"Ingo, do you think she's coming back?" he asked. Ingo took a moment to answer.
"...I don't know," the Subway Boss finally replied. "She's changed quite a bit, but the trainer we grew to care for is still inside of her somewhere, I think. I know she's struggling. Her thinking has changed, and her sudden psychic powers are surely as frightening to her as much as they are to others."
"I do miss the person she used to be. I hope she comes back to the Battle Subway, though it feels wrong to force her to work in exchange for freedom," Emmet solemnly said.
"I agree. Unfortunately, that's the only conclusion I could come to with that International Police officer. If we agree to watch out for her and put her back on the correct track, they won't pursue her as long as she isn't causing trouble. I would rather see her at work with us than locked away somewhere forever. We have a chance to help our friend and that's the best situation we could ask for."
Both Ingo and Emmet had stopped eating to talk about their friend.
"It will no doubt be interesting, seeing her around our subway as an employee instead of a passenger!"
The next day, on the Isle of Armor, Morai had been enjoying herself more than she had since she arrived.
"Come at me with all you've got!" the trainer yelled.
Her and her Lucario were fighting two wild Mienshao. Not battling, but pure sparring. Lucario was holding its own, but Morai was having a tough time even keeping up with her speedy opponent. Mienshao moves so quickly that the human eye can't follow its attacks, but that didn't stop this human from trying. Every time she tried to land a kick or punch the Pokémon shot out of view, whipping her with the long fur on its arms. The last strike knocked her to the ground, and before the Pokémon could land a finishing blow, Lucario stepped in to protect its trainer.
"Wow, you sure are tough...same time tomorrow?" she asked the wild Pokémon.
"So do you just get beat up for fun, or...?"
Avery had been watching the entire time but everyone had been so engrossed in fighting that they didn't notice.
"Yeah, but I wouldn't put it like that," Morai explained. "If you continue to train against a better opponent and are able to discern what you can improve and improve it, you will eventually get closer and closer to their level. Funnily enough, I learned this by playing table tennis."
"Well, you can't do that if your opponent beats you to death! Come along to the dojo and we'll get you all fixed up," Morai's new psychic acquantaince proposed.
"I'm fine, all I need is some rest."
"Nonsense! What you need is some Max Mushroom soup and then some rest...at the dojo. The cave is no place for an injured human being in this day and age. You're just making it difficult for yourself because you think it will make you tough. The smart thing to do is recover well so you can bounce back faster and stronger. "
"Hm, I guess you do have a...a p-poi...."
And just like that, Morai fell to ground, completely unconscious. It wasn't long before she awoke in a place she had never seen before. Trees that looked like they shot up into the sky without end blocked out just enough of the sun to make the area cool and dim, yet left enough light to see without strain. She looked down and saw her bare feet standing on a cool stone walkway, the stones inside arranged in patterns. Outside of the pathways, there was nothing but plant life as far as the eye could see. The world was silent except for the distant stream of water and the rustling of some Pokémon in the garden. Petals were falling from the trees as a gentle breeze swept through the gardens.
Upon looking closer, Morai found that one of the pathways leading north had eyes engraved into it. She was immediately intrigued, as eyes had become an integral part of her theme now, and these eyes looked like the ones she had created and put on her clothing and masks.
The trainer walked silently, making sure to appreciate the quiet beauty of whatever world she had found herself in. She knew it must be a dream, but most of her dreams thus far had morphed into some sort of nightmare before she woke up. The further she walked, the more she saw of what lied in front of her. The already wide path opened up into a large courtyard paved with the same stone. A raised pond full of lotuses sat in the middle, and in front of it sat a figure that looked extraordinarily like Morai, but not quite the same. Morai would've mistaken them for a meditating statue, had she not seen the slow rising and falling of their chest. She stood there for a moment, studying her lookalike. This was the first time she had seen herself in a dream. Most times, she experienced dreams as herself and had never come upon someone like her.
"I knew you would choose that path," the strange clone said.
"O-oh, I didn't think you heard me walk up," the real Morai stammered. "I'm assuming you're me? Are you me of the future, perhaps?"
The Morai of this strange dream world kept her eyes closed.
"Yes, I'm you, but I am not of any future. I simply exist here within the deep wells of your mind. I didn't hear you walk up. "
"Wait, have you been in any of my other dreams?" Morai asked.
"I wouldn't know. This place is all I've ever known."
"If you didn't hear me walk up, how did you know I was here?"
"I saw you."
"But your eyes were closed and you were deep in meditation."
The other Morai kept her eyes closed as if still meditating. She strangely reminded the real Morai of something, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.
"Come closer and sit in front of me," the dream Morai proposed with a smile.
The Morai we know did as she was told, and copied her counterpart's lotus position. Her counterpart brushed her hair aside and opened her eyes. Morai let out a small gasp before she could stop it. The eyes of the Morai sitting before her were blank. Each one had a scar that went from her eyebrow to a few centimeters below her eye. It was surreal, seeing herself in this way, as she used her eyes to control other people.
"So, you're..."
"Yes," Morai's counterpart replied.
"If you don't mind my prying, what happened?"
"I've always resided in this place in your mind, but I do have a distant memory. All I can say to you is that sometimes people go to extreme lengths because they are driven by fear. They justify harming another because they see them as a monster that they must get rid of to quell their frantic minds. But ridding me of my worldly vision led me to a precious gift, one that I must impart to you. Please stand up."
They both stood, facing each other. The Morai of this world was wearing a flowy robe with long sleeves that draped off of her shoulders and nearly touched the ground. It was adorned with the same eyes that were engraved on one of the paths. Morai got caught up in its beautiful design and almost didn't hear her counterpart's command.
"Fight me."
"What?"
"You heard correctly. Fight me. You strike first, thus beginning our match," the dream Morai said.
"With all due respect, that doesn't seem fair. You—"
Without waiting for her to finish, dream Morai threw a hard punch at her counterpart. Had she not moved, the real Morai would've been knocked to the ground. She instinctively threw a counterattack—a flying kick—and dream Morai trapped it in the crook of her elbow, pulling her opponent forward.
Kick, punch, elbow, knee, left, right, no matter which move Morai used and which direction she went, she was always masterfully deflected by her opponent. It was as if her dream counterpart had stopped fighting and was simply redirecting her opponent's energy and using her moved against her. Finally, as Morai went to kick again, she was swept off of her standing leg. As she laid on the ground, out of breath, her opponent began to speak.
"I have learned a lot about you from this fight," she said, adjusting her clothes. "First, you are but a hatchling when it comes to your psychic abilities because you didn't use any of them. Second, you are capable of more things than you are even aware of. Tell me, what happened in your fight against Mienshao?"
"I lost, just like I lost this time," Morai said.
"Do you know why you lost?"
"I wasn't fast enough."
"No. Mienshao moves faster than any normal human eye can see. You may be able to react a little more quickly to its attacks over time, but you will never see them coming. You lost because you were not using your Mind's Eye ability."
"My what?"
"There are two parts to this. I will imbue you with the first. You have the ability to see from the eyes of any other creature–as long as they have eyes, of course. You do not have to take control of their mind by force, but instead you quietly slip into their mind and see the world from their eyes. With practice, they will never even notice. This skill takes the upmost focus, but the meditation you have completed so far should suffice for now."
"So by seeing through the eyes of Mienshao, I can tell which direction it will attack from?" Morai asked.
"That is correct. Close your eyes now, and focus on that Starly over there. Don't try to force it, but let its sight come to you instead."
Morai sat still, eyes closed, but nothing happened.
"You are trying to force it. Breathe deeply and focus on tapping into your Mind's Eye," dream Morai instructed.
Finally, it was like Morai had opened her eyes, yet she found herself looking down...at the two versions of herself. She had been able to view the world from the Starley's point of view.
"Hey, I've done this before! Well, sort of. I took control of a Persian in Alola and—"
"If you lose focus, you lose sight. Remember this and focus. Try to make your focus razor sharp."
"Right....aaand, I lost it," Morai said with a snap of her fingers.
Okay, okay, focus.
"Oh, there it is again!...And it's gone. Fiddlesticks!"
"It requires much patience and practice. This gives you an attainable goal to work on while you live on the island, by doing what you just did here. It will also help you once you return to the Battle Subway. Once you develop it enough, this skill could take you much deeper than eyesight alone. But that is not for me to teach you."
"Who will do that?"
"I don't know, but I assume that it will be in a dream setting like this. I have fulfilled my duty, and your time here is almost up."
"But this place, it's so beautiful! You understand me, something no one else in the world can do because they're not cursed with this power!" Morai pleaded.
"Don't speak of it as a curse. It was given to you for a reason. Don't try to stomp out the small ember you have. Care for it and develop it so that it and you, in turn, are both a powerful blazing fire that cannot be put out. Continue to develop yourself so that you have an unbending will, an unbreakable character, and a mind and body working so harmoniously together that you can flow through any situation with the ease and grace of a body of water. Can you promise me these things?"
"...Yes. I'll try, at least," Morai said.
"Then my duty is fulfilled, and it's time for you to depart back to your own world. I will always be a part of you, in your mind. Once you develop yourself and your skills enough, you will one day return to this place, and we shall spar once more. Goodbye, Morai."
Morai closed her eyes and bowed her head, not sure what to do with the emotions she felt. Her dream counterpart walked forward and gently wrapped her arms around her, as the world around them both began to fade away into darkness. It was as if the sun and nature itself had reached down to comfort her like an older sister. Lastly, the Morai of the dream world began to fade away, as did her warm embrace.
"You aren't alone. I am a part of you. I am you. I will always be here, in your Mind's Eye."
She gently placed a finger on Morai's forehead, where the half-eye on her mask always sat. Her finger was the last thing to fade away.
And with that, Morai awoke.