A new dawn arose as a swarm of Beautifly danced across the crimson sky. Taking a quick picture, I briefly smiled, interrupted by a long yawn. "Another beautiful day, huh, Mimi?"
"I didn't expect you to be up so early." Grunt 1 admitted, rubbing his eyes. "Is there a reason?"
I shook my head in awe. "Nope, I'd always get up this early to prepare for a survey mission. The view is just a perk of the job."
"Well, you definitely can't beat that view."
"Is the Headquarters far from here?"
Grunt 1 shook his head, pointing to just past the valley of flowers. "We've got a temporary base secured just outside Floaroma Town; we're still working on getting our main HQ sorted after losing the one in Veilstone City."
"You lost that, huh? What happened to that?"
The Grunt gagged, turning around and falling silent. "Umm, uh, well, the boss failed to pay rent on time..."
"That sucks, I think? Well, I'm happy to aid in any way I can."
"Good to hear it; it's rare to get recruits, ones as powerful as you are a cherry on top. I'll tell Grunt that we're ready to move."
"Alright, I'll gr-." I was cut off as a strange sense of nostalgia swept over me, followed by a sharp pain behind my eye. I would have thought nothing of it, but I soon noticed that Grunt 1 was doing the same. "Do you feel that?"
"We're both having a migraine at the same time? That normally happens?"
"No..." I paused, seeing a trail of flowers seemingly growing, growing faster than the rest. "That can't be right."
"What the hell? Is this the work of a Pokemon?"
"Could it be? Should we investigate further?"
"I don't like this."
"Oh, come on, Grunt, where's your sense of adventure?"
"I left it at home..."
Following the ever-growing path of flowers, Grunt and I pushed further into the valley. It felt so locked away from the rest of the world. There were no people, Pokemon, or buildings. It felt like nature had taken back what was rightfully theirs. The sense sweeping over me became more assertive, the air heavy with a strange haze lingering over me.
It was faint, nearly invisible to the naked eye, but it looked like reality was waving around. Taking another step forward for a brief moment, my entire surroundings changed. I gasped, stumbling back. Heavy trees surrounded me, yet the flowers were also still all around.
It wasn't a hunch or nostalgia; I recognised this place. There was no doubt about it. This was the Floaro Gardens I was back in the Obsidian Fieldlands.
I kept looking around, speechless. It felt like forever since I had stepped foot in this location, and this reunion would only be brief as everything returned to normal. I stood dumbfounded; what I saw shouldn't have been possible. Did I just time travel? This wasn't like last time with Professor Turo and Sada's time machine; this felt natural.
"Did you see that?" I ask, finally finding the words.
"See what?" Grunt 1 questioned. "You just spaced out for a moment."
"Spaced out? Did I imagine it? Could I have?" I found myself lost in thought; while it might have been hopefully thinking, the yearning to see home one more time, it felt too real. I couldn't have been imagining it.
The flowers began to russel. Mimi jumped off my shoulder, slowly approaching. I looked closer as a Pokemon jumped from the flowers, making us bounce back.
A set of sparkles dashed across as my eyes widened. It was a Shinx, a Golden Shinx. My mind ran back to the day I was snatched from my time. Before the events, I was trying to catch a Golden Shinx. But, instead, the Shinx looked at me as if it recognised me.
It began to run off without a second thought, and I chased it, Pokeball in hand. "You're not getting away from me this time!"
"Y/N, wait! This is a bad idea! Come back, please!"
The Grunt's pleads faded into a faint echo as I pushed through the endless fields of flowers, not letting this Shiny Pokemon disappear again. Zorua was on my shoulder, looking for any sign of the Shinx.
Her eyes pivoted to one area as she began barking. "Do you see something, Mimi? Slow it down; we can't let it get away!"
Zorua leapt off my shoulder, darting through the flowers as a flurry of attacks erupted through the area. Pokeball at the ready, I slid across the field, seeing my prize in sight.
Thanks to Zorua, she had managed to deal enough damage to stop the Shinx from running. Then, running the Pokeball down my arm, I spun it around, throwing it directly at the target. "GO!"
The spin was the trick as the Shinx jumped right into the Pokeball. The ball hit the ground as I crouched down, another in hand just in case.
One shake. Two Shake. Three Shake.
My heart fluttered as the glorious green light shined bright. I had finally caught it. Running over to the Pokeball, Zorua hopped around the newly captured friend just as excited. Kneeling, I gripped the Pokeball tightly, staring at it. "Was this a simple coincidence that the same Pokemon appeared? You don't think it's the same one, do you, Mimi?"
I looked to Zorua, who looked just as unsure. But that warm sense of nostalgia crept in again, running down my spine and pulling me in. Looking back at the Pokeball, something about it was odd. I kept staring, and it looked fuzzy like I was looking at something underwater. The feeling only became stronger before the impossible happened again.
The pokeball changed from the one I brought in the Pokemart to a Hisuian design. The etched scratches on the side and faded paint were all I needed to confirm this. This was one of the Pokeballs I crafted. "This is crazy. What is going on?"
My surroundings changed again, making me more on edge. Zorua jumped on my head, ready for anything. But we weren't prepared for this.
"Y/N? Is that you, Y/N?"
I slowly turned gobsmacked to find Mai standing idly feeding her Munchlax. I had to do a double take, caught off guard. "Mai? That can't be; how are you?"
Mai approached just as spooked. "Where have you been? You've been missing, missing for ages!"
"Missing? No, no, I, you see, I'm. It's hard to explain."
"Hard to explain? You've been gone six months; everyone was worried sick. We must tell the others; Akarai and Professor Laventon need to know." Mai insists, turning around.
"Mai, wait!" I should try to grab her arm, my hand passing right through. I flinched, looking at my hand. I looked back to Mai, finding her gone. "Mai? Mai!? Mai, where are you!?"
I was panting, absolutely terrified. I had to take a moment to avoid going into another episode. Then, sitting down, I took a deep breath, dizzy. "Is that the time distortions Professor Rowan was talking about? It's like a mirror into the past. We need to tell him about this."
Zorua helped me up as I felt a little weak. My mind was too panicked to think straight. Walking in a single direction, the flower valley opened into a small cavern. The impossible location was beautiful. Sunlight crept through the cave's gaps, piercing down the grassy terrain. At the end was a hollow sakura tree and a strange object hovering in place.
I was utterly captivated by such a display. It had a warm presence, matched by the green glow it gave off. I hadn't seen something so unique in my life. What baffled me was that it looked like some sort of gear you find in a machine. The flowers were growing the quickest around this gear.
Zorua and I got closer as it pulled us in with its mystery. I had the urge to touch it and sense its presence myself.
I couldn't help it. The moment I made contact, I heard a disarming voice ordering me.
"Free me. You must free me."
Letting go, I gasped, breathing all over the place as Zorua looked worried, tugging at my leg, crying. "Wh- What is it, girl? What's wrong?"
Seeing my phone on the floor, I picked it up as if this day couldn't get any stranger.
It was midday. I knew that wasn't true; I had checked my phone only moments ago, and it was still early in the morning. Had I really been holding this gear for several hours? Hugging Zorua, I kept staring at the gear, uneasy. "I'm sorry, girl. That won't happen again. Forgive me, Mimi."
Crawling up my arm, she sat on my shoulder, barking orders. "Alright, yeah, we should get out of here. Let me take a picture of this; maybe Professor Rowan knows what this is."
Snapping a picture, I began walking backwards, my eyes still glued to the gear. It took everything for me to look away, but when I did, I found myself back in the field of flowers where I started. Just off the peak of Floaroma Town. "We're back?"
I checked my phone, seeing three missed calls. The camp we had settled down on was gone, as were the two Grunts. "Did they go on without me? They said their base was just past Floaroma Town; we should check in with them."
Reaching for my belt, the Hisuian Pokeball was still there holding it. I opened it up as the golden Shinx appeared. I didn't imagine it. Getting down on one knee, I smiled. "Hey there, buddy, are you the same Shinx I met on that day?"
Growling, the Shinx began running around in circles, jumping up and down.
"I take that as a yes... It wasn't a dream; I didn't imagine it. You are proof that Shinx... So, was that window into the past actually real? Can we use it to get home? More importantly, that voice sounded so familiar."
"Free me. You must free me."
"None of this makes sense. What to do, what to do?" I whisper, standing up and recalling Shinx. "Maybe the Galaxy Team has some research; they must have a survey corps still investigating these events. Right, Team Galactic, silly me. That Grunt seemed familiar with the occurrence; they knew more than they were letting on. So what say you, Mimi? Want to give them a visit?"
Zorua didn't argue against it as I picked up my bag and threw it on my back. The sun was on full display; dusk came and went in moments. I took one last look at the Hisuian Pokeball, feeling slightly relieved. "At least we got a new friend, even if the encounter was impossible—the impossible Shinx, quite like that. We seem to be coming across more and more impossible scenarios daily, right, Mimi? No matter. Welcome to the team, Shinx; it's been a long time coming."