A New World, Same Shadows

Chapter 9: Preparations

Time slowed to a crawl around Selene as she tried processing what was in front of her. It wasn't that she thought she was the only shiny Pokémon in existence, nor was it that this was the first one she saw in the flesh. Being friends with Phoebe and, by extension, Steven meant she and James met his shiny Metagross. But aside from that in their ten years of being together they could count the other times on one hand...er...two hands actually, considering James' new lack of digits. After all, the odds of a Pokémon being born shiny were roughly four thousand to one. Multiply that by being in the right place at the right time or meeting the right person and a Magikarp winning a battle using Splash becomes more likely.

And yet there it was. A Dusknoir whose body, save its skin's ghostly shade of blue, was more akin to what a normal Dusknoir would look like compared to Phoebe's skinnier build was playing with the fillies of Kouma without a care in the world. Whether this was good fortune, fate, or some deity's attempt at a funny joke Selene was still deciding.

But once the shiny Dusknoir looked up to her in mild surprise the world restarted once more "Oh? So the rumors I heard were true." he said in a deep, yet positive voice. Carefully setting the young ponies down he bowed to the crowd and waded his way towards Selene "The Pokémon living in the forest mentioned seeing a shiny Gardevoir in this town but I could not believe such matters on hearsay alone. I simply had to see for myself, and I am elated that I did. The rumors did not do you justice, You are absolutely dazzling." the Dusknoir complimented "Ah, but where are my manners, allow me to introduce myself. I am Noir, humble leader and acting ambassador between this town and the rest of my group."

"Uh...yeah...Selene." the shiny Gardevoir responded even though her dazed expression clearly showed she was still processing what he said "Wait group?"

"Correct." Noir stated proudly "In our previous world I, along with others like me, traveled throughout the regions searching for those blessed by Arceus but found themselves abandoned or ostracized from their families or under a contemptible humans thrall." he practically spat out the word 'human' but quickly coughed "I wanted to find all the ones in the world and give them a home. A place to belong, to be safe, and to never have to worry about survival again. A utopia." he concluded, returning to his stoic stance while watching Selene slowly process the information.

"When you say 'blessed by Arceus' you mean-"

"What the humans have dubbed 'Shiny Pokémon' yes." Noir clarified "In my many years as a Dusknoir I have traveled from Almia to Unova and everywhere in between, with missions planned or carried out in each region to save others like us."

"How?" Selene pressed.

"I have a comrade from Sinnoh to thank for allowing us to travel among the oceans of our world." Noir answered politely "He is quite feverous toward our cause as well. Though, considering his history with his former trainer I cannot blame him..."

"That's not what I meant. How did you know where other shiny Pokémon were? How could you?" she corrected, now becoming slightly annoyed "Even if there were a hundred of you there's no way you could find every single shiny Pokémon. Our world was gigantic, you can't deny that."

"That is true, but what about five hundred-"

"Ok, I'm gonna have to stop you right there." Rin interjected, unstrapped from their cart and putting herself between Selene and the shiny Dusknoir earning a surprised look from the former and an indignant one from the latter "I don't know what you're saying to her but it's obviously not good. So why don't you go ahead and take back what you said or float off to some other town before my hooves send you there." the mare warned, staring down Noir ready for a fight. Noir, for his part remained silent while Selene stared on with her mouth open still trying to comprehend what was going on.

A moment later they both sighed "Rin?".

"Yes?"

"Did you understand any part of the conversation we were having?"

"Nope, not a word! You started speaking in Pokémon after you saw him so I had to make a few assumptions." Rin stated, almost proudly even "How close was I?"

Putting a hand to her face and shaking her head Selene reestablished the mental link "Rin? Did anyone ever tell you what happens when you make assumptions?"

"...What now?" the mare asked warily.

"You would besmirch my name without knowing what exactly I say? I am hurt miss." Noir replied calmly, feigning offense while keeping his eye on Rin in order to see her reaction.

Convinced by her deadpan look that she could understand him now he cleared his throat, or what counted as such and continued "As I was saying what if there were five hundred of me, or even one thousand? As you say our world was vast and I could not be everywhere at once. Then again I did not have to." Noir inhaled deeply, causing his entire body to expand only to contract as the air exited through the large mouth on his body "Loathe I am to admit it I too was once under the thumb of a deplorable trainer," he admitted with his voice dripping with so much spite that both Selene and Rin felt chills run down their backs from his disdain "and during our time together I was exposed to the underground side of human society. I saw trainers claiming to be stronger than champions battle with Pokémon hatched and raised for the sole purpose of fighting mercilessly against others like them, breeders boasting about their latest batch of Pokémon specifically bred to fight or be bred with other Pokémon while pawning off their failures to any that would take them. In that time I had seen so many atrocities against Pokémon that some images still haunt me to this day." Noir paused for a moment to clasp his hands together and offer a prayer before returning to his spiel.

"But I also learned how important information was. After my liberation I made connections everywhere I went. And the more I traveled the more I realized how dire the world had become. It was then that it became my mission to unite and liberate all of the shiny Pokémon in the world and create a utopia where they could be treated how they deserve to be, without persecution from the humans or other narrow-minded Pokémon." he concluded  only to let out a deep sigh "But...that is in the past now, humans no longer walk the world and my mission for a utopia has been pushed back to square one." he said, extending a blue hand out to her "Yet it is too soon to be giving up, and I would be honored if you would join me in seeing my vision realized, seeing my utopia brought to fruition."

Selene thought about the offer. A utopia did sound nice and there were bound to be shiny Pokémon around this world facing the same problems they did in the last. She could even think of a few ways she could help out too. Her Heal Pulse could keep them healthy, being a Psychic type also had its advantages as well, the first two being mind reading and telepathy. But how would Cinder play into all of this? Or Ryu? or Phoebe? or even...James? With her family at the forefront of her mind Selene took a deep breath and gently reached out to Noir's hand.

And pushed it back towards him.

"I appreciate the offer but I'm quite happy with my current conditions. Ringo and her grandfather have been very kind to me and the other Pokémon staying there despite the trouble all of us caused with our sudden arrival."

"I see... That is...most regrettable." Noir sighed, his shoulders sagging and closed eyestalk facing the ground. His dejection didn't last long however as with a deep breath he regained the composure he once had "Nevertheless I still have much to ask the residents of this town regarding our new world and intend to be here for some time yet. Should your mind change or you merely want to talk I shall be nearby."

"I'll keep that in mind." Selene replied "Speaking of; if you don't mind we have some shopping to get to." she added, motioning towards the empty cart.

"Ah, of course. Then I shall take my leave as well." Noir stated with a bow before returning to the group of ponies he had left behind and continuing his conversations and games.

Selene stood there, watching the shiny Dusknoir interact with the rest of the ponies once again, staring intensely at the scene in front of her 'something's not right...' she thought. Maybe it was because she tried sensing emotions for the first time since becoming a Gardevoir or maybe the feelings she sense were powerful enough but radiating from Noir was a small cacophony of negative feelings.

Fear, desperation, lust, malice, anger, despair, Selene felt all of those and more emanating from him. They were small, like specks of dust floating through the air, but they were powerful and wild. For a moment she considered looking into his mind to see what secrets he was hiding but a small voice from her own told her not to do that, and with neither James nor Tengu there to back her up in case things went south she decided discretion was the better part of valor. 'Why couldn't I sense those emotions until just now? What is he not telling me that would cause them in the first place? Did I somehow cause them? And if so, how?' she pondered up to the point of frustration.

"Oookay... Well that Pokémon made my mane stand on end." Rin scowled, looking at Noir with a suspicious glare "I don't know what he said at the beginning but I could practically feel his malicious intent...among other things." she said, shivering at the last part before looking to Selene with a worried expression "I'd be careful if I were you, he seems to have the hots for you after all. And not in the innocent and pure love-at-first-sight way either."

"So I have a stalker in this world too? Just great." Selene groaned, placing a hand over her face to quell the growing headache.

"Wow, you must have been really popular back on Earth!"

"I don't think that's something she wants Hur-" Rin paused, processing the new voice and the distinct lack of a pony to go with it. Selene noticed as well and together they looked around for the voice's owner, much to her amusement if the barely stifled giggles were anything to go by. It was only when a cloud's shadow blocked out the sun that the two decided to look up. And when they did-

"BOO!"

"EEP!"

-A Charge Beam shot straight through it, parting the cloud and nearly hitting the lime green pegasus hiding inside "Aww... That was my fifty-eighth favorite cloud... You didn't have to do that Selly." Hurricane Eye pouted from the air.

'Selly' stared dumbfounded at the mare unable to comprehend what possessed Hurricane Eye to think spooking a Pokémon was a good idea, how she dodged a point blank Charge Beam, and why did she have a 'fifty-eighth favorite cloud' in the first place. "Do I want to know what happened to the other fifty-seven?" she asked absentmindedly.

"It's probably for the best that you didn't." Rin replied "let's just say if you name some possible way chances are you're correct."

"Yeah..." Hurricane Eye admitted, rubbing the back of her head and laughing slightly "I still don't know where that house came from, or that cane."

Selene however was unamused "Ms. Hurricane-"

"Please, call me Hurry. All my friends do." Hurricane Eye interrupted "...Well...Rin does anyway."

"And you better get used to being called that pet name too, Selly. She gives all her friends one of those as well." Rin added "It will make your life here a lot easier if you just accept it."

"Noted." Selene said, if only to move the conversation on to something that might make sense "Anyway, Hurry, I have two questions for you."

"Okay, shoot." Hurricane Eye responded, flying upside down in circles.

"How long were you eavesdropping on us?"

The mare's body stiffened and as a result she fell to the ground and tumbled unceremoniously onto her head only to scramble upright. "E-eavesdropping? I-I-I have no idea what you're talking about." Hurricane Eye blurted out, smiling sheepishly, looking into the distance, tapping her hooves together, and practically every other tell to show she was lying. Needless to say when Rin and Selene gave her disbelieving stares the pegasus conceded almost immediately "The whole time..." she sighed "I was laying on my cloud listening to the Pokémon and ponies in town when I heard you passing by. So I tailed you. I'm sorry..."

"There's no need to apologize, Hurry. Being spied on is nothing new to me." Selene said, waving her arm to dismiss the issue outright "If anything I need to apologize to James for not sensing you sooner, I should know better after all. But one word of advice; don't go around spooking Pokémon like that, they won't appreciate it." she scolded, something Hurricane Eye listened to with her head hung low and a quiet grumble escaping her mouth. "But enough of that I still have something else to ask you."

"Hm?" Hurry mumbled, lifting her head enough to meet Selene's gaze.

"How can you understand what I'm saying?"

"Oh, because of Vigilant's spell." She replied matter-of-factly.

Selene quieted down at the news, instead turning her attention inwards to fight with some unseen force in her head which effectively passed the bit to Rin "So that means he got his hooves on a translation spell this morning?" the work mare asked.

"I'd say the results, speak for themselves! Eh, Eh!" Hurry responded, landing beside Rin and jabbing her in the shoulder with an elbow. Rin, in response to her friends bad pun rebuked with the most unamused, even stare she could muster "Oh come on that was funny!" she said, throwing her hooves up into the air.

"It really wasn't." Rin deadpanned.

"Says you..." Hurry pouted "But yeah, Vigilant Specter had his copy of a translation spell delivered earlier this morning. In fact the mailmare was earlier then expected. Can't imagine why though, she never seems to  take her job seriously. Unlike a certain few ponies I know-"

"Hurricane Eye!"

Every hair on Hurry's head and back stood on end as the unmistakable voice of her irked brother cried out from the sky. And in the sky, casting a shadow directly over the mare in question was her brother, his front hooves crossed and his left eye twitching ever so slightly "whuh-oh, Ty found me. Guess my extended break is over!" Hurricane Eye chirped. Reluctantly she rose into the air and towards her brother, who continued to chastise her the whole time about ditching him. His chastising continued even after the two met up and flew towards the forest.

Rin, for her part, wasn't surprised to see these two arguing like that. After all, she knew deep down they cared deeply for each other. "Celestia help whoever that mare's working with though..." she sighed. It wasn't that her friend was incompetent, far from it really. Despite not being officially apart of the weather team she was occasionally drafted to help them when they become overworked or understaffed. She says 'occasionally' because despite her natural talent she regularly goes off on her own to shirk, listen to town gossip, scout some of the new clouds, or some combination of the three.

But her concerns for her friend's coworkers vanished as an ominous vibe slid up her back. A vibe that was accompanied with the air shaking around her and small pebbles rattling on the ground. Looking behind her Rin saw Selene with her eyes closed in a scowl and her psychic aura emanating around her body. It didn't take a changeling to know that she was pissed "Uhh, you ok?" she had a bad feeling about this.

The psychic power around her faded from view, her arms hung relaxed by her side, and she took a deep breath while he rest of her body seemingly unwound. Yet the tension Ringo Apple felt from her only seemed to grow, sending chills down her spine. Slowly The Shiny Gardevoir opened her amber eyes with an ominous smile growing in unison.

"I think we need to pay Vigilant a little visit."

Kira looked up at the cliff in front of him, carefully running his idea through his head over and over again. Behind him was the ocean crashing against the solid rock he and his partner in crime Tyranitar were standing on. One of the few outcroppings of rock along the nearby coastline and the only one big enough for his plan.

With a sigh, he walked up to the cliff and placed one of his webbed hands on the rock wall as high as he could reach. He then did the same with his opposite foot and began twisting, nudging and pressing to see if he had any sort of grip whatsoever. To his surprise, and slight dismay, his grip was quite strong, easily capable of supporting his body weight for longer than a minute. So with one last groan he began his climb up the cliff, methodically searching for any loose rocks or other potential hazards that could prove dangerous later on. Spying one such rock he climbed closer to it and after yelling "incoming!" to Tyranitar, who rolled her eyes, brushed the rock free and watched it fall to the ground and shatter to pieces. Opting to not let that reminder of what would happen if his grip failed get to him Kira looked up and continued onwards, his senses a bit sharper than when he started and his mind taking this a bit more seriously as well. On his way to the top he found another eight loose stones which he considered lethal to the average person and were quickly removed. And to be extra sure he didn't miss anything the Greninja pushed weakened Water Pulses to his sides letting the created water wash down the cliff and sweep away any of the smaller rocks that, while they wouldn't kill, would definitely ruin someone's day. With the cliffside cleaned and cleared that just left one fun task to do before he could start.

And that would be getting down.

In Kira's mind there were two ways to get back to where Tyranitar was. Either reach the top and circle all the way back, which would take the rest of the day, especially if his understanding of the local geography was correct, or jump into the ocean from what he estimated to be five stories up. It would be faster but the odds of it stinging immensely were almost guaranteed. Actually dying, ten percent...ish. Weighing his options against the fact he needed to finish this today Kira let out a sigh and repositioned himself to where his back was against the wall.

'Well...at least I'll see how durable my new body is.' Kira thought, looking out to the sea from his perch. Carefully he inched his legs closer to his body and readied his arms to push off the cliff. As a precaution he kept his tongue in his mouth to avoid the salt-water taste he would soon be experiencing. A shame too, he was starting to get used to his new scarf. And so, while his subconscious yelling at him that this was a terrible idea, the Greninja launched himself away from the cliff and towards the vast blue sea with as much force as he could muster.

For the few seconds it lasted flying through the air was pure bliss for Kira, bringing back memories of when he, Selene, and Ryu were flying to Ever Grande City to challenge the Elite Four, or just soaring over Hoenn for funsies. And while he knew his partner was tough enough to handle himself Kira still quietly hoped Ryu was doing alright. As he drew closer to the water he snapped out of his nostalgia and straightened his body out, putting his arms in front of him, and braced for impact.

The water was frigid to his new amphibian-esque body and sent chills throughout his arms and legs, chills that intensified the numbing pain both appendage and face were currently in. When the pain receded and he could feel his limbs again, Kira opened his eyes to the salt water only to close them immediately afterwards 'Seawater, right. Not used to that yet.' Kira cursed, blindly floating towards the surface. Once he felt his head breach and his hearing return to normal he shook off his right arm and did the best he could to wipe the water from his eyes "That hurt about as much as I thought it would" he groaned, cautiously opening his eyes. Taking a moment to float and get his bearings back he looked back at the shore, noticing Tyranitar giving him a concerned look with the cliff he had soaked slowly drying off behind her 'well that should prevent anything from falling on us as we work,' Kira thought, somewhat proud of his work, before focusing on the rocky shoreline 'now for the legitimately fun part of swimming back to shore.' he added, before breaking into an awkward breaststroke. Normally he preferred swimming freestyle but considering his new body was a frog he thought he should give it a shot. After ten strokes he swore to never swim that way again.

"Dun-nun."

Kira stopped swimming and immediately began searching for whatever made that sound, an ominous chill running down his spine.

"Dunnn-nun."

He turned around just fast enough to see something sink into the ocean but when he tried looking underwater the choppy seas obscured anything it could have been.

"Dun-dun-dun-dun-dun-dun!"

The voice was getting louder, which meant whomever was making it was getting closer, something Kira was growing less and less fond of. This time though the voice wasn't going away so with one strong stroke he turned his body once more to face it only to be met with piercing red eyes...

...And sharp, shining white teeth bearing down on him "Omm!" she said before everything went white. The Sharpedo, being too close to need sight, Crunched down on her prey and began swiftly dragging it down into the depths, taking a wall of bubbles down with it. She continuously kept shaking violently in hopes that a piece of flesh would be torn off leaving the rest crippled for later, it would have been so much easier for such a unique catch. It was a new taste too, one she couldn't quite place. Maybe wool? Or was it Cotton? Either way it was strange for something that was living to taste like this. Her confusion cleared with the bubbles as the Pokédoll she had in her mouth came into sight. Realizing why her meal tasted like gourmet styrofoam she made a u-turn to the surface hopefully to find her prey before he does.

"What the hell Sherry!" Too late.

Kira floated ten feet away glaring menacingly at the Sharpedo "not cool trying to eat me Sherry! Not. Cool!" he growled, the goosebumps and labored breaths showing the hair's breadth he came within of getting hit.

Sherry rolled her eyes "oh, it was just a love Crunch, don't be such a baby." she chided.

"YOU WERE AIMING FOR MY NECK!"

He wasn't wrong, and Sherry's sudden interest in the sky made that fact and Kira's glare even harsher. After a minute of silence Kira silently started swimming back to shore, whereas the Sharpedo trailed behind, looking everywhere but forward. With not a word between them for the next ten minutes she finally asked "so why are you out here?"

"It was either this or take all day walking back to the coast," he answered offhandedly "and I don't really have the time for extra cardio today."

"Couldn't you have, oh I don't know, climbed down?"

"On a slick surface over the only spit of solid rock on this beach with a indestructible pincushion as a safety net? Hahaha no."

"Well since I'm here why don't I give you a ride to shore. You look like you could use it."

"My swimming is perfectly fine and you know it!" Kira defended. It wasn't that he was a bad swimmer, far from it really. Being a Hoenn native and more importantly a frequent visitor to Lilycove meant that swimming came as naturally to him as battling or eating ice cream. It was only because he was trying to do what felt "natural" that he looked like a beached Goldeen.

Sherry, however remained unconvinced "Then let me rephrase that; I'm taking you to shore before something really tries to eat you."

Her tone made it clear that she wasn't joking and while his pride and body said he could make it back, his mind was telling him to take the offer before something bad happened and she could say 'I told you so'. And so with a stream of bubbles being blown out of his mouth he reluctantly answered back "fine..."

While he could have done without the toothy grin when Sherry offered him her fins Kira grabbed on and gave her a small nod. With that Sherry sped toward the shoreline, leaving a wake large enough to hide her body. It also meant The poor Greninja clinging on would be having a severe belly rash from all the skipping across the surface. The next five minutes after were filled with an awkward silence until eventually Sherry spoke up in a nonchalant tone.

"So, what are you two really doing."

"I would tell you, but then I'd have to make you an accomplice."

"Oooh, ominous." She replied, looking back at him with a toothy smile. Her focus returned back to her front when the sound of waves began breaking against the shoreline. And so with one sharp turn she tossed Kira into the rocky shoreline "whelp, this is as far as I go. Don't let me catch you out to sea again," she said not bothering to look at him, though the inviting tone suggested otherwise "or I might just treat myself to some frog's legs." she added coyly.

"Goodbye Sherry." he answered evenly, rubbing his back while Sherry returned to open ocean laughing to herself. As fun as she was to be around Kira learned fast to keep an eye on her lest you somehow misplace one of your fingers in her mouth, like the last guy. Either way, once Sherry was well and truly out of his sight he hoisted himself up onto the rocky shoreline where his swim had started from "Well, I'm looking forward to not doing that ever again." he said to himself before acknowledging Tyranitar's presence with a smug yet curious smile "So, how'd I do?"

"Everything's dried off and nothing's seems to be loose. I even gave it a quick Headbutt while you were swimming back, just to be sure, so I doubt anything will be falling down on us." And by Kira's quick estimate that would mean it survived a magnitude six earthquake, so it should last for quite a while.

"Perfect." The Greninja said, admiring his work and visualizing his desired outcome. It was a simple enough idea, yet in actually executing it he wasn't entirely sure it was possible. Still he didn't get to where he was taking the safe route all the time and in theory his plan will work. So with what belief that he had He picked up a shard of one of the rocks he dislodged and started carving a line against the cliff. He kept drawing the line up the cliff as high as he could reach, even lifting himself onto the wall for a little extra height. He then sketched a horizontal line across the wall twelve feet across in both directions and then down once more to the cliff's foot. Finally he mirrored what he drew onto the rocky floor as best he could, drawing the crude dimensions of a 24 by 20 square meter box "You think this will be big enough?" Kira asked casually, tossing aside the stone he used into the ocean.

"I'm more concerned that this won't work. But yes, if this works then there will be more than enough room."

"It'll work!" Kira snapped before glancing back at his outline and quietly adding "Probably..." to his remark. Either way he couldn't rest quite yet.

At the base of the wall, safely out of the oceans grasp was a pile of Trees, felled when Tyranitar went on her rampage as well as some from the surrounding forest that looked freshly downed too. Mixed in to the pile was pieced of lumber already cut into boards but had some deformity to them ranging from a hole where a knot used to be or one end was already rotting. It was on this pile Kira sat down, creating a Water Shuriken in his hand and picking one piece out of the pile to start carving.

"If you say so." Tyranitar mumbled, looking at the diagram Kira drew. It sounded ridiculous, using a Pokémon move like this. But with this favor they would be even, whether it worked or not would be his problem. Though that didn't mean she wouldn't take this seriously either "Stone Edge!" She stomped the ground causing the pillars of rock to rise up high along the drawn lines. Kira, for his part sat on his pile of wood, cutting, smoothing, and cleaning up the planks as he watched his plan come together.