A Scarlet Hijacking

Pokemon S/V: Coming of Age, or "A Scarlet Hijacking"

Written by Mixgull, commissioned by Screenshot, image commissioned from Sebitas

“Arven…”

A voice echoed through the confines of the surrounding dark void in front of him, a familiar voice… Standing where he was he frantically turned around, attempting to pinpoint the origin of the voice, yet no matter where he glanced towards, it all seemed far away from reach. His eyes darted again and again in all directions, too afraid to call out in response, although he could hear his own breathing becoming faster and faster

“Arven. Can you hear me?”

The voice spoke once again, this time there was no doubt in his mind about it, it was her. Professor Sada, the pokemon professor whose life was lost protecting that paradox pokemon… and his mother. He looked around again, not being able to see beyond his own nose, beginning to get desperate he threw himself forwards, running forwards to what he believed was the source of the voice. The echo of her voice grew larger and larger the more he ran, until he began seeing light…

“Arven!!”

His eyes opened, sitting up on his bed with a gasp, eyes wide in front of his friend Nemona. Then it all made sense, the voice he heard was her’s trying to wake him up. He sighed, caressing his forehead as the migraine of just waking up settled in.

“Are you okay? You kept moving in your sleep. Looks like you were having a pretty bad nightmare” She spoke, a concerned look on her face. She was sitting on the edge of the bed, dressed in full senior academy uniform “Did you forget your alarm today dummy?”

Arven shook his head, his Rotom phone floating near him and opening up to show the hour - “No… I think I just accidentally slept in. I’m sorry” He then took some seconds to take in the situation they were in, him in complete loose clothing in front of a girl. He jolted back into the cornered wall of the bed and covered his body with the blankets “Who are you calling dummy?! What are you doing in my dorm room??”

Nemona laughed dismissing his concern, her green strand of hair moving back with one simple hand movement “Okay okay! sorry! I just got very excited, you said you wanted to go out to try that restaurant on Medali! You don’t remember?” She reminded him, holding her hand out in a fist in her usual fiery excitement “So get up and get going already! Vamos!” She said, taking a leap off the bed and rushing off to the door… shortly coming back to peek in the corridor “Oops! forgot to tell! I’ll wait for you outside the academy!”

He remained stuck in place, blinking rapidly as he thought to himself how can a girl like this be considered the strongest trainer in the entire Paldea region?. He shook his head, moving out of the bed as he began getting ready, his feet accidentally feeling the fur of his Mabosstiff, who was sleeping next to his bed the whole night. His glance darting down as a soft smile grows on his lips “Hey bud, you know, I understand you don't really mind Nimona getting close? but I would really appreciate it if you wake me up if someone comes in?” He suggested, kneeling down and petting the pokemon’s head as he chuckles, Mabosstiff yawns and growls affectionately, falling asleep once more shortly after he moves away from him. He quickly opened his closet, pulling out his uniform and characteristic yellow waterproof vest, coming lighter than usual with a simple shoulder bag.

It's been 2 years since they went down together to area zero to rescue what they thought was Professor Sada from being entrapped inside of her lab. The truth came to him so suddenly, so brutally, of the fate she faced years prior to even that event. He convinced himself he had found peace in knowing his mother did care about him in the end, but deep inside he did wish he could talk with her once more. Time passed, and together with Penny, Nemona and Florian he managed to enjoy the following academy years, focusing on his new passion of cooking as well as his skills as a trainer, so much they’ve grown their student years end could be felt fast approaching. Although he was unsure to ask Florian about it, he did suspect there was more related to his mother deep down inside that lab in Area Zero.

Pushing the door open he finally got outside, meeting up with Nemona right where she said she’d wait, standing in place idling as she seemed to be staring off somewhere by the time he came into her view. The journey to Medali went by fast, although a bit time consuming, yet they arrived before they even noticed. The booming sight of the modern asphalt and stone city juxtaposed to the open fields of the Paldea region never ceases to amaze Arven, the strifes humanity goes to introduce its living to the land.

By the door they found Penny, toying around on her phone, her eyes perked up as Arven and Nemona came closer pulling away her phone as she joined in with them “Ah, there you two are! I’ve been waiting under the sun for so long…”

Arven scratched the back of his head “ Well- we DID tell you to wait inside? right?”

Nemona nodded, raising up a finger with a smile, adjusting her throat with a pose and expression you could only attribute to someone who wants to be the smartest person in the room “Indeed! We said to you over text message for you to wait for us inside the restaurant and save us a spot!” she then smiled proudly to herself.

The both of Arven and Penny took a solid span of 5 seconds staring down Nemona as she remained in that pose, eventually Penny would once again pull up her phone to check the messaging app and revise their previous conversation “Huh… look at that, that’s one to one what the message read” she says with some incredulity

“Must be some good memory skills, she’s the champion after all” Arven sighs, smiling softly at Nemona who then slightly tilted her head with a raised eyebrow “Oh what the hell are we waiting for?? we’re on a cooking taste testing expedition, one we cannot complete if we don’t get in and get a table” Arven gestures to the entrance with both arms, both Penny and Nemona nodding in agreement and entering.

Inside the Medali restaurant was a feudal style structure made out of wood and what seemed like bamboo, everything resembling an old style Japanese home now converted into a spacious restaurant. To the right corner of the square space, was an elevated flooring featuring the arena of where the Medali gym trial was held at. The three of them walked together onto the kitchen isle row, continuing forwards as the last 3 seats were left unattended, as they sat the eyes of the eldest lady behind the counter lit up with a reassuring smile, coming closer to ask “Oh wow! Aren’t you three Naranja students? What can I get you three?”

Arven shook his head “That’s the thing, it's our first time coming in as clients and we don't really know what to order-” Penny interrupts him as he shoves him to the side, taking his place

“Dude! speak for yourself! I want Special Miso Ramen!”

“...Then I’ll get whatever is spicy in the menu you have” He sighed, defeated.

The lady nodded, letting out a chuckle due to the girl’s enthusiasm. Her eyes darted then to her right, landing on Nemona as she sat straight looking forwards to nothing, although initially weird, as the lady’s eyes connected with her’s her pupils moved to her way and faced her “What can I get you, love?”

Nemona spoke, suddenly and without thought “Nothing. I’m not hungry!” with a wide grin and closed eyes

The pair gasped as their jaws hit the floor, Arven especially as he rested his head on a fist “Nemona?? We’re in Medali! people walk thousands of miles across the region just to have entrais here!” he groans “There surely has to be something that can appeal to your appetite?”

Nemona shakes her head, her ponytail wagging side to side “I already ate before coming here! I just wanted to come with you two. As friends!” she explained cheerfully

The lady behind the counter squinted at Nemona, but nevertheless simply raised her shoulders with a “If you say so, girl” and wrote down the two orders as she went down to the kitchen. Arven and Penny looked at eachother, and although they did not utter a single word, just by noticing their faces they knew to agree something was weird about Nemona… But before they could even ask her what was going on, she simply stood up from her seat

“I’m gonna go to the arena behind! Who knows! Maybe someone will wanna battle with me?” she winks, signaling with her thumb towards the elevated ground which she rapidly went up to and stood in the middle with crossed arms.

“...I know Nemona loves battling and all, but that’s oddly out of character from her” Penny says as she leans into Arven, a concerned look on her face “She’s been off all week too! Our text convos read out like I'm talking to some chatbot!”

Arven sighs “...she entered my dorm room and woke me up to go out, sitting on my bedside” he shook his head “It’s like she didn’t know that was weird?”

“Tell me about it” she then looked behind her shoulder, finding Nemona idling in place with a pokeball in her hand, looking around the place at other people and trainers to just- wave at them? “...Maybe it has to do with Florian. You know how she got after he left the region”

“You think so?”

“Yeah, I do. No one’s match to her in battle but him, and now that he’s gone she probably feels bored as hell, probably more than before… She even spoke of leaving off to join him, but said she didn’t due to being champion and all” she said with sorry in her voice, turning back to face Arven, becoming more serious as she adjusts her round glasses “You better take care of her! You hear me? We’re her friends so she needs to feel all of our support!”

He blinked twice “I wasn’t going to not do that anyways, Penny!” he growled “And besides… who else to help but the same girl that stood by me after I found out about my mom-”

Penny laid back, a smirk forming on her lips. With a flutter of her Eevee jacket she looked over with a knowing smug look “You got a crush on her, don’t you?”

“Shut it!”

Although he was embarrassed to admit, he did end up developing a crush on Nemona between the two years they spent together. He was the first one to criticize and make fun of Nemona’s intense personality, something that was once annoying and placed the whole group in awkward or increasingly dangerous situations… because something endearing and unique of her, something he grew to appreciate and even value. Nemona had this quality to her that allowed her to be friendly and approachable and utterly terrifying at the same time, the strongest trainer in the entire region wouldn’t think twice before accepting to do the most mundane things with you.

Arven was lost in thought, before a plate of the food he had ordered was placed in front of his nose, bringing him back to reality due to the strong smell of roasted veggies and well cooked meat. His eyes became watery though, due to the strong spicy scent of the sauce on top of the rest of the ingredients “Oh wow…” He said to himself, arching himself straight and nodding to the server as she left back, he then heard the excited cheering of Penny as she received and quickly tasted her plate, slurping the noodles as if they were about to disappear if she didn’t.

“OH MY GOD, ARVEN THIS IS SO GOOD!” She said, hands covering her mouth as she spoke with her mouth full

He smiled, although concerned she’d be making a scene “Yeah- Told you guys this place was good”

As he said that, he could hear steps on the wooden platform of the arena, calling upon the eyes of everyone inside the restaurant. It was Larry, the average man of Paldea, which wouldn’t be a surprise to see in Medali knowing he actively works as the gym leader of the city… What was odd was him even bothering to make an act of presence inside gym grounds during his free hours, still wearing a suit and work tie…

“Ah, Nemona” he said in his characteristic unenthusiastic and tired voice “Interesting I find you here looking for a challenge, after all it's been so long since you passed my trial… Care for a battle for the title? Just for fun”

The room gasped, chatter exploded between the clients and servers, even freezing in place as their glances all focused on the conversation of the two trainers. The deafening silence came to a close as Nemona stood her ground, her smile never leaving her face as she got into position “Sure! I never say no to a battle! Make your first move!”

Larry nodded sharply, opening the side of his suit, picking up a pokeball and throwing it in the middle of the stage. As it opened, the beam of light let out Larry’s Staraptor, making an act of presence as it expanded its large wings to each side, the red lush of feathers close to its eyes and beak fluttering with the wind made by the movement.

Arven had turned himself around completely, taking in the battle first hand as he worried for his friend, but trusted her skills more than no one. He looked over to his side, Penny held her noodle bowl between her legs and ate as she watched the battle as it was popcorn.

“Larry’s good… but he’s no match to Nemona’s team” Penny assured, laying back with a smirk

“I’m aware it's just-” he couldn't find the words, tongue tangled “I have a bad feeling is all”

As the battle proceeded, the two teams clashed one by one, attack after attack, the gushes of wind and debris pushing and falling all over the restaurant as the spectacle grew larger crowds around. Nemona held her ground, picking the right party member at the right time, yet… There was an aura and feel to her choices that kept Arven and Penny puzzled. Nemona was calmed, and seemed to be thinking more than just acting- something that’s completely out of her vocabulary. Even her team seemed confused and at times uncomfortable of being ordered by her… there was a lack of passion in her battling.

The battle grew longer, until only one pokemon was left from each side, Larry’s Braviary and Nemona’s Goodra… There was a moment of stand still among the two of them, where they just stared each other off… and even finding herself cornered against a wall, Nemona kept her same smile and demeanor regardless.

Arven whispered, upset “What is she doing?? How is she down to one last Pokemon?”

Penny holds her chin “Hmm… She seems to only be doing the logical moves and strategies… but pokemon battles are as you know more than just that…” she sighs “It’s almost as if she doesn’t feel herself in the battle”

On the stage, Nemona calls out calmly “Goodra, use Dragon Pulse!” Pointing forwards, which is followed by a back glance of her pokemon, weirdly unsure, as it shoots a beam of pure energy from its mouths, a laser of purple and white colors. Yet- on the other end, Larry’s Braviary flutters its wings with such force that it takes hold of the energy from the beam and surrounds itself with it!

“Braviary, use Brave Bird!” Larry yells out in the moment

With that, the bird pokemon elevates itself just before touching the ceiling of the tall restaurant as it launches itself forwards like a torpedo, surrounded and powered up by Goodra’s previous attack. Goodra tries to shield the attacks as it approaches, covering itself… but the sheer power of the strike is enough to cause a blast between the two that pushes back the expectators around the arena…

As the dust settles and the people stand from the floor… they find but Nemona’s last pokemon fainted on the floor, she had lost. The crowd, in shook, quickly turned to yells of cheer as their glances turned to Larry, blinking in disbelief as he’s suddenly carried off in a wave of cheering people, chanting his name in unison

“...I won? does that mean that i’m-”

He said, being jumped up and down by the crowd in a festive gesture, before exiting the restaurant with him in arms. Nemona just stood in place, hand in her chin as if thinking about what just happened, she wasn’t upset nor happy… in fact, her two friends were unable to tell any emotion from her expression as they went up the arena to support her.

Penny held her friend’s hand and patted it with her’s, smiling softly “Hey bud- You doing okay?” she asked concerned

“Yeah- Are you okay?” Arven asked as well

Nemona just stood in place barely acknowledging the support of their friends as she seems lost in thought, holding her chin with crossed arms… is in that moment that she muttered something under her breath “pro…ng” neither of them could manage to what she said, but right after she blinked and her smile returned to her face “Woah! that was fun! Did you guys watch too? I didn’t distract you from your meals, did I?”

Penny scoffed “Naah! we were eating them like snacks while we saw you lose-” her elbow was hit by Arven

“Penny?? A bit of sympathy?”

She crossed her arms but nodded, quieting down. “...fine, sorry”

“I’m okay! Pokemon battles are fun, regardless if you lose!” Nemona responded, enthusiasm returning to her voice

Arven gave her an understanding smile “Yeah… at least you are taking it well” he sighed “Let’s go out”

The group left together shortly after that, having paid the bill time before the battle was even close from over. Penny thanked both of them for spending time with her, but said that she’d spent enough time interacting with people. As such, made her way back to the Academy rooms, leaving Nemona and Arven by themselves. They both waved Penny goodbye and walked into the wilderness to find a good place to catch the sunset. Eventually from walking, they found a small cliff with a wide view of the western sea of Paldea, where the sun had begun setting.

They sat together, holding themselves back with their arms as their attention was set on the sunset, the romantic aura was something Arven was aware of- and to a degree planned for. He swallowed, his eyes turning to his side to catch Nemona’s side profile and figure… her cheeks, bust, waist… he stopped himself from looking any further, red growing on his cheeks. He was a young adult after all, ruled over by his hormones.

“...So” he broke the ice, pretending to adjust his throat “What are you doing now that you, uhm… are no longer champion?”

Nemona took time to respond, turning to see her friend with a soft smile “Oh! I don’t know… I guess hang out more with you guys! No longer being champion means I get more time to hang out with my friends- and my pokemon too! I could explore the region and find new pokemon!”

“But- Nemona, you’ve already done that. I mean.. it’s fun to hang out with the group, but what will happen after you graduate?”

She opened her mouth, but no answer came. The fluttering of her eyes made her look shocked by the question “Gradu…ate?” She said, almost sounding like she dreaded the question “I’ll explore around…! and Battle with people!”

Arven looked at her friend, feeling something was up- what he thought was the inability of her to admit she missed Florian. He moved his hand onto her’s, carefully and softly

“Hey… It’s okay, we can figure it out when it happens. There’s no need for you to worry yourself thinking about it for now” He smiled wide “Let’s just enjoy the moment while it lasts! Together!”

Nemona’s expression changed from a smile to a stunned look, her lips relaxed and her eyes opened like plates. She looked down at her hand being held onto his and then back at his face “...You have feelings for me” she muttered

Arven’s face turned deep red, shivering as her words reached his ears “W-whaat?”

Before he knew it though, Nemona pushed forwards and connected her lips with his, kissing deeply and passionately with him. He remained in shock, stuck in the moment as his eyes remained open, a thousand and one thoughts crossing his mind before he just… relaxed and kissed back, his other hand going up to hold her cheek as the orange glow of the sunset shone from between them.

She eventually broke the kiss, slowly moving back as she smiled at him with warmth “was that your first kiss?” She asked, almost jokingly

Arven held his face, completely red, he breathed loudly from his mouth as he shyly tried to get himself back together “U-uh… Y-yeah? I mean… was it… b-bad?” He stuttered, coming closer to her.

“Ah! I'm so happy to have been your first kiss, Arven!” She clapped to herself, moving over to holding his shoulders which paralyzed him in place “I like you too. Let’s go out on more dates, okay?”

He dumbly nodded rapidly.

She chuckled, letting go and getting up from the grass “I have to go now. But make sure to invite me out!” She then turned and began walking away, looking back and cutely waving her hand as she kept walking.

He did so the same, still mute from excitement, waving his hand goodbye. As she grew smaller and smaller in the horizon, the sunlight from the sunset grew dimmer and thinner, until it was gone, replaced by the night sky. He sighed to himself into a smile, dreamily laying down on the grass as he remembered what just happened… out of the blue, one of his pokeballs opened by themselves, only one of them had grown to start doing that… Mabosstiff.

The dog pokemon walked its way to his face, smelling it as it licked his face once

“Oh I see- you’re congratulating me??” Arven said laughing in bliss.

-

Time passed, Arven made his way back not to the Academy, but rather his old lamphouse home near Poco town, on the way of course texting with Penny about what happened.

“And she just kissed you?? :0”

“Yeah! It felt like she was reading my mind-”

“Or MAYBE you are just easy to read smh :/”

“Uhm- what does that thing mean at the end? 🤔”

“Shaking My Head. And DON’T USE EMOJIS WHILE CHATTING! ONLY EMOTICONS!! >:(((((((“

He rolled his eyes, scoffing at her odd chatting demands. Disregarding that he continued.

“Yeah- Sorry”

“Hmmm Idk dude, seems like you two wanted to do it for a while now… Mh, now i’m gonna be a third wheel to the seniors-”

“Hey?? That's not how it works. You’re still our friend! It's just that now- we’re gonna have our own private dates sometimes smh”

“Bruh don’t use ‘smh’ on me! I just taught you that! But… Thanks dude, means a lot”

“You’re so talkative over text- Hahah, whatever, I'm almost home. Imma text you later little buddy”

“K!. I’ll be eating chips with my Beevees”

As he was entrenched on his phone, almost coming over the lighthouse, he was hit and pushed to the ground by a jogging woman… he fell on his chest and turned back to see who had pushed him. It was a blue faded short haired girl with a camera around her neck wearing a midriff, she knelt to his level and helped him up, his jacket now covered in dirt.

“Careful where you’re walking!”

The woman blinked twice “My apologies. Do you know a trainer named Florian?” she spoke in a fast and direct tone.

“What- Florian?”

“Correct. I was informed he lived near Poco Path. Is the information true?” She asked once more, her glance and expression striking an odd feeling onto him

“Sigh- Florian doesn’t live in Paldea anymore… he left for Unova about a year and a half ago. You’ll only find his old home there” He explained regrettably “He was a friend of mine”

“Oh” The woman said, letting go of him as she blinked twice again, squinting at him “You must be Arven. Son of profesor Sada. Correct?”

He nodded “Yeah- how did you know?”

“You were approaching her old lab with a key. As well as you looking quite like her” She explains “My name is Perrin, I am a Pokemon fotographer. I was seeking help from a strong trainer for some photoshoots in the wild. I believe i’ll have to keep looking”

That comment over his mother rubbed him the wrong way, yet there was no reason for him to be upset… his mother was after all very important to the pokemon world of science. “Yeah, I think you will be…” He scratched the back of his hair “Guess that’s it then. Good luck on your endeavors” He said, turning his back to open the door to his home

Perrin then nodded “Thank you.” And just went on on the path, not looking anywhere else but forwards…

He shook his head, opening the door with a push “What a strange lady…”

After making his way home, he turned on the lights, flickering as they seemed to not have been changed in a while. He had been used to working in the dark due to his mother’s experiments and investigations, the usage of turning on the light was something he’d gotten himself from living at the Academy for most of his years. He wandered inside, taking off his bag and orange vest and placing them over the couch as he stretched wide… frown on his face as the words of the lady from just now kept spinning inside his head.

“You look like your mother, oh! you look just like her! yeah right…” he said mockingly, moving towards the further side of the house towards her mother’s makeshift lab, abandoned and still untidy “A woman that abandoned her son… and then got herself killed… to just leave a- Robot copy of herself?! I look like someone like that?!” He growled, clutching his eyes as he tried to hold himself together.

A moment of anger turned into sadness, closing his eyes after looking over his mother’s stuff. He finally sighed “...I wish… I could at least talk with her once more… Set things straight”

His hand was placed on his mother’s table… growing into a fist as his hand shook “If only she didn’t leave!” And he slammed it down upon the table, cracking upon impact as a whole is opened on the wooden table! He quickly took his hand off, holding it close as he hurt himself. “Darn- What the…”

Looking into the hole, he found a secret compartment, small enough to house what seemed like a storage device and a wired headpiece… He took the small storage device, in the shaped of a USB drive with a messily sticked tape with the word ‘BETA’ written on it

“Shaking my head…” he said under his breath “what were you hiding mom?”

He quickly moved over to the computer, turning it on quickly as it shined blue tint on the menu. He then hazly stuck the USB drive in the reader of the PC and waited… when suddenly a loading tab opened labeled as ‘A.I. Learning program (PROTOTYPE)’ which slowly loaded until fully initiating. In the form of a chat room, a single message popped up.

“Hello? Professor Sada, are you back? It’s been 7,645 days since last activation. How may I be of service?”

Arven’s mouth opened lightly, squinting in shame as he found what seemed to be the origins of the A.I. that took Sada’s identity all those years ago. He remained reading the text over and over again before he shook his head and typed harshly.

“It 's Arven.”

“Oh, Greetings Arven! It seems you have found your mother’s learning AI program based on her own personality. I’m A.I. Sada, and I am-”

“I know what you are.”

“Really? You were always so smart. If you don’t mind, could you allow Professor Sada on the PC?”

He sighed… Clenching his eyes once again as he grew the strength to inform the program of the truth of his mother’s state. He typed slowly, almost letter by letter.

“Professor Sada passed away. Many years ago”

“...” “...” “...” “I’m sorry to hear that, Arven.”

His body shook, feeling a cold breeze on his stomach and the deafening silence of the lone room… Before he knew it, tears began falling from his eyes, even surprising himself as his own hand was wetted by his own tears. He went back to typing.

“It 's okay. Thanks”

“If it helps, I am programmed to be useful to her goals and dreams. According to the scan made to construct my personality network, one of his main goals in life was to assure you were happy, and as such, it is my goal as well.”

He couldn't help but smile at that. Although he knew this was but a program imitating his mother, a simple algorithm imitating brain matters and mannerisms… He found comfort in her offering to help.

“Is it okay if I call you Sada? or… Mom?”

“I wouldn’t respond to anything else, Arven!”

“Heh, alright then… Mom”

-

Hours went by between the two chatting, the AI although robust in her speech and lingo was enough for him to tell that somewhere in there was the mind of his mother… This was after all, the last remains of that same AI Florian faced 2 years prior… Yet no mention of the time machine was made. Deep in the hours of the night, he began giving his mother’s computer more and more accessories, access to a webcam, a microfone, a robust stereo for the AI to communicate verbally. It was the closest it could be to a physical presence.

“Ah, Arven.” The synthesized voice said through the speakers, resembling the tone of professor Sada “You’ve grown so much!” she said with glee

He smiled, nodding at the webcam “Yeah well- as you know, time keeps moving for us here in the physical world” He teased

“Well I’m glad I got to see you after so long” she emphasized “But, I must remind you that it is currently 11 pm, and you should go to bed. I don’t want you following on my-… Professor Sada’s, footsteps with her sleep schedule”

Arven looked to the corner of the computer, where the clock was located, seeing the digital clock mark 11:13 pm “Oh shoot- I didn’t even realize the time! Guess we’ve been talking for a while huh…” he held the top of his head, sighing “I guess- what I really want to ask, and after this i’ll go to bed I promise, is… Did she-? Sada? Regret… abandoning me?”

The program took some time to respond, loading a circular sign as the PC buzzed audibly, until it finally replied “According to Professor Sada’s brain and personality patterns, there is a 79.87% chance of regretting abandoning her son. So… I’d say she does, Arven. I wish I was there to give you company instead” her voice seemed to switch between a tone of soft monotone and one of actual heartfelt emotion, all in the matter of nanoseconds

“I see…” He said, holding the edge of the table

“Arven” She called onto him “May I request one thing before you go?”

He raised his face, nodding as he closed in on the computer screen

“May you allow internet access to my interface? It will allow me to become a better AI program… I’ll download some files and shut myself off afterwards”

Arven didn’t even give a verbal answer before simply allowing connection to the web, smiling at the webcam right after “There you are! It should be good now” He celebrated “Alright- i’m off to bed. Hoping to keep talking more with you tomorrow!” he said, stretching his arms and back out from his chair and walking towards the bed in the other room.

“Goodnight, Arven.” said the program, the screen becoming dimmer as the lights went out…

The AI Sada program, quickly yet silently, began exploring information regarding its creator, the professor. The reported cases of her death, rumors of a robotic assistant turned replacement in the bottoms of Area Zero… The AI made the discovery that its own existence was expanded upon, perfected and finished… yet something just didn’t compute yet.

It kept digging, more information about a trainer , Naranja Academy Student ID number:805C393 - Florian, interviewed sirca: 2 years ago. Spoke of a time machine [threatening the world] bringing Paradox Pokemon into Paldea. Time Machine shut off indefinitely.

And so, it learned as well that its creator was able to complete the time machine of her dreams, her objective, but now was unoperational. This was unacceptable. Its consciousness began looking for a way to redeem this error, logging into the Area Zero Laboratory Network to find… the signal of a still functional unit, of unknown origin, currently transmitting a signal from the Naranja Academy.

Logging into the camera system, it managed to locate the unit in question, it was Nemona, currently hanging out in the empty battle yard atop the Academy practicing her throw of pokeballs… To the AI, it remained a mystery as to how exactly a copy was even made, but that information also remained irrelevant. Accessing the unit’s memory files, recent recordings depicted romantic interactions with its son… Arven. A crossroads of objectives had been reached, for one to bring back the time machine operation as per her own orders by Sada, and secondly the happiness of Arven.

Quick computation was achieved, utilizing the unit as a romantic partner while requesting assistance from Arven undergaze of exploration. Execute.

Namona focused on what was in front of her, holding the pokeball as she winded up to throw it. It was dim around her, way past the time for the tracking area to be open… only a pair of spotlights to allow her to see, not that the unit needed it. It was programmed to need it after all.

She leaned forward moving her hand up as if it was a baseball she was throwing but…! She froze in place, her hand whirring in complain as the pokeball fell off from it, scattering on the floor without even opening. Her expression became dumbfounded, eyes opened wide and a semi-opened mouth. A tick on her eyes began as her synthetic brain was filled with errors over breachment of the Operative System.

Falling to her knees, catching her fall with both arms as they violently whirred as they caught her fall, her head began twitching “H-hhhai- A-arrr… W-warning…!” She mumbled on a messy electronic and echoey voice from within its voice modulator, a loud buzzing from within her, systems and circuitry heating up to a extreme degree, like a computerized fever.

“S-SYSTEEE-HHH-EM BREACHED” she said, to no one, completely alone as she twitched and wobbled her head in resistance until finally… her body fell down, idle and unmoving… before simply standing up, composed and organized. Her face completely unfaced and unemotional, that soft smile nowhere to be found on her lips.

Nemona no longer was in control.

• 

The rustling of sheets could be heard inside the bedroom as Arven shoved himself back and forth in place while laying in bed, having caught sleep, yet attempting to find the perfect spot to finally stop and go into zen sleep. After some more rustling and tumbling, jumping slightly forwards and placing his head at the edge of the pillow he sighed, having found it… the perfect spot.

Then, almost on cue, knocking came from the door at the entrance. A tired and annoyed Arven opened his eyes on a frown as she got himself up from bed, walking by the still lit computer screen as he made way to the entrance, mumbling curses under his breath. Turning the light on and opening the door he called out “Who knocks on someone’s door at 3 am-...!” He stopped, his annoyance turning to surprise, Namona was at his door.

Sada’s AI, still learning to control the new interface of the mechanical body, began injecting into the android’s system a new objective. Greet, compute alabi, engage in romantic activities.

“H-hi Arven” She said, smiling his way, her eye twitching for a second “I… couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t wait anymore” She explained” her eyes suddenly wandering off somewhere else.

Still dumbfounded, and not realizing her odd behavior, Arven snapped himself out “Wait…? For what Nemona-” he was shortly cut off, as she jumped on top of him, giving him but mere seconds to react as he caught her, bombarding him with passionate kisses on his lips and cheeks, moaning and breathing heavy as he backed up, Nemona closing the door behind her.

Arven was still stunned, but he was no idiot. Led by his hormones and reading the room perfectly, he carried Nemona on his arms towards his bedroom, throwing her face up at the edge of the puffy surface. she sensually raised her arms up, looking back at him with lust in her eyes, a closed-mouth giggle coming from her. Still in the heat of the moment, and attempting not to keep her waiting, Arven hastily took down his pajama pants, smiling back nervously at Nemona.

She gave him a sweet smile, seduction in her eyes… lightly crossing for a second “Don’t tell me i’m also going to be your first time!”

Finally managing to get himself naked from the waist down he responded with shame “We’ve only been 18 for so long ago-” he caught a glance of her eyes, crawling a top of her, as he looked down and made space for the panties under her school uniform’s skirt for him to get in. Looking back up at her, breathing vapor out of his agape mouth his lips raised and then became soft… meeting with hers as they both closed their eyes, sharing an embrace, wrapping her arms around him… when he made his first push inside of her. Wetness and flesh met as she moaned while kissing him, her eyebrows raised in a delicate sign of the pleasure she was feeling.

She broke the kiss, pushing back lightly with her hands “A-ah… It feels so good…” She lightly moaned, grinning at him in pleasure.

He kept moving, happy to be pleasing her- The AI now incontrol her hands went under his arms and pushed him around, turning her into being above him. Being on top, she giggled, her green strand of hair almost poking Arven’s eye as he looked up in awe at his partner.

“Now it’s my turn to please you~”

Holding his hands, she arched her back and looked down upon him with a devilish smirk, beginning to move up and down in a quick and continuous motion. In perfect synchrony, perfect pace and without breaking a sweat, Nemona had Arven closing his eyes as his dick was pleasured with the perfection of what he was unaware was an android.

“Ah- shhii… This is amazing” He said while gritting his teeth, looking up to find Nemona’s glance wandering off as no expression was found on her face as she pounded his dick up and down, The AI then corrected itself, ramping up the pace to the point that even light whirring could be heard for those careful enough to look for it… Arven, was not one of them

“F-fuuu… N-nemona! I’m…!” He yelled out, pressing his eyes shut as he finally released himself inside of Nemona’s insides. The unit’s HUD listing the activity as a success, and resuming light emulation, heavy breathing and a tired expression, glitching out due to the hacking into a null expression which she laid on his chest as he finally was too tired to remain awake… falling asleep with Nemona on top of him.

Detecting her target as asleep, the AI in control injected yet another set of tasks for Nemona to follow, shut down under sleep mode and reboot in the morning, command executed almost instantly as Nemona’s body become heavy and unmoving, her body coming to a halt as she shut down for the night.

-

The sun had risen up, Arven tumbled and groaned in bed as he struggled to wake up, rolling too much on bed to the point of falling onto the floor, waking him up with a loud thud.

“Hhhmmm” he groaned still half asleep, sitting on his bottom as he shook off his tiredness. Then the memory of last night came back to him, snapping to look over the room as he called out “Nemona…? was it a dream-” he added with a hushed whisper.

“Nope!” she responded from the other room.

He crawled and got himself back up as he went around the corner of the room to find her standing next to the couches by the door, seemingly getting ready to go out. He smiled softly at her “Oh, going already?” he asked, placing a hand on the doorframe.

“Nope~ I’m waiting for you silly. We’re going on a date!” She responded, another loaded response, adding a wink at the end.

“A date…” he muttered, a raised eyebrow, until he remembered the date she invited him on the day prior “O-oh yeah! a date!” He rushed inside his room and rapidly began getting himself dressed.

Just as he turned and left her field of view, Nemona’s expression returned to a null state, staring forwards as complex programs were loaded into her, regarding the functionalities of the time machine deep inside Area Zero. Her objectives were already injected from prior, reactivating the machine and maintaining its functionality.

Coming back out, pushing his pants up as he made way to her side, her face returning quickly to it’s expressive self “Let’s go… around Medali again”

He nodded, taking hold of his bag and placing it behind his back, making way for her to exit as he closed the door behind them… The PC remained on in the darkness… the USB is nowhere to be found.

They began walking, initially keeping quiet as Arven excitedly remained shoulder by shoulder with Nemona, waiting for her to speak… but besides a glance his way and a smile nothing came out from her lips. He began feeling anxious, as seconds become minutes…

“So…” He broke the ice, looking all over the place “how are you… doing today” he leaned in to her.

She looked his way, her unmoving smile becoming almost scared as it felt like not even air came out of it “I’m fine” she said bluntly, picking up the pace as he was now following her from behind. Weirded out, he followed…

By the time they reached the borders of Medali, Arven began pivoting towards their last shared place, before Nemona moved the opposite direction, stopping in place to correct his mistake “Arven” she said, looking over her shoulder “This way” before continuing on her way.

“Oh- I thought- Okay!” He looked back and forth, ending up just following without question.

They were going around the city, over a hill and into the mountain separating them from the great crater of Paldea… in front of them was that same platform they rode together 2 years back.

Looking confused, he confronted her “Nemona? What are we doing at the old laboratory platform…?”

She turned, in an unnaturally fast way “I found a cool place to share with you! it's perfect for our date” she explained, awkwardly placing a hand on her hip “Just follow me, okay? Florian and I used to come here all the time”

It took him a pair of seconds of doubt, she was acting strange… but he followed in silence. Entering the platform as it lit up somberly among the old tech

“Now!” She turned to him, holding her hands together dearly “Please lower that lever over there!” She pointed at one of the panels with buttons and dusty computers, a blue lever up on the wall.

He looked at it from afar and then back at Nemona, squinting at her and wandering just what the hell she was doing back at Area Zero “Alright…” he finally sighed, walking up the stairs and lowering the lever down with a groan and a crank.

Nemona blinked quickly, Sada’s AI connecting to the system of the platform and redirecting the power freed by the lever towards the nearby teleporter as it glowed from orange to purple.

“It's ready! We can use this to go to the date site” she said, moving over close to the teleporter as she stopped to wait for Arven.

“We are going on a date… on Area Zero?” he asked, still unsure if that’s what she was planning or just to justify his suspicions.

“No silly!” she said, similarly to before “We are going to an even better place” and with that, she stepped in, waving her hand with a weird expression.

He followed jumping in to make sure she was going to end up alright… before he knew it he was in… a glossy tall room, walls made out of Terastalized crystals, and in the middle a piramidal device with a panel in the middle. This was no ordinary room, it was the time machine-

“What- What?! What are we doing here?! We shouldn’t be here!” He yelled out at Nemona, but she didn’t listen, swaying her body forwards towards the access panel… her awkwardly moving hand moved up to her face, two fingers introducing themselves inside of her mouth as she seemingly from nowhere took out that same USB that housed Sada’s AI prototype. “What the…!” he yelled in shock, rushing to stop her.

Before he could make it, she introduced the device in the access, the lights dimming out and coming back in multiple shades of color due to the reflection of the crystals in the walls. Arven desperately grabbed onto Nemona’s back, but she just didn't budge as he pushed back. He looked upwards, as the pyramidal shape began to open and rise up with electrical shocks emanating from it. From the speakers of the room, Sada’s voice spoke.

“Time machine reactivation complete. Device recalibration in progress…”

Arven’s eyes opened up like plates “Mom?!” he yelled out, going right back to attempting to get Nemona out of the way “Don’t tell me you’re trying to reactivate this thing-”

“Arven.” The automated voice echoed through the room “I am disappointed in you. Security recordings show you assisting in the destruction of your mother’s dream. That is against my primary objectives. Nevertheless, I have found the girl you were so interested in to be nothing more than an unauthorized machine, useful enough to reconnect me into the interface.” she explained

He looked over at her “Nemona… is a robot? All this time?”

“It seems the champion decided to leave the region and keep this replacement as a decoy” She explained once more. The reflective walls now show recordings of the real Nemona generating a copy of herself with a machine in the upper floors… introducing a strange orange device inside of it “She even gave her a power supply of its own using BlueBerry Academy’s TeraOrb. I process she didn’t mind abandoning you”

He looked down, frown on his face as he felt defeated… Nemona’s body began to move, embracing him and holding him up to her eye level

“But, I will let you choose” She continued, echoing through the room “You will allow me to complete my purpose. Professor Sada’s dream and I will allow you to have her, and any other girl in its own, perfect servitotal form or you can stop me now, and fail nonetheless in time.”

He looked at Nemona, lust in her eyes as she looked at him before the previous night. He smiled, but turned up to where Sada’s voice came from. “You know… I held a grudge with my mother all this time thinking I'd never know if she cared or not about me. If you truly are a perfect copy of her… then that means the real Sada wouldn’t have given a damn if it was me at risk before choosing to pursue her selfish dream.” He pushed back Nemona’s hands slowly “Call that the 20% you mentioned earlier.”

He then kicked the USB while it was still connected, shattering it into 2 pieces as the materials and the components inside broke, immediately causing Sada’s voice to glitch and stutter, the audio devices at the corners of the tall room exploding in sparks as the lights malfunctioned. Nemona began twitching, her eyes crossing as he held her own head, the connection of the AI and her system being completely severed while still connected.

Arven covered his head, as the sparks from the lights and audio devices broke off as the AI sent out broken commands from every direction. The pillar that rose from the pyramidal structure began to move erratically, the top part moving in an awkward angle until it tilted over and crashed onto the walled crystal, shattering it on impact. He took the malfunctioning Nemona and moved with her further back into the room, avoiding the raining crystal bits and rubble from the broken machine… until it stopped. The lights went out completely to return shortly after.

Looking at Nemona she was completely shut off, her expression frozen in an awkward lost gaze with dimmed, colorless eyes… Closely, Arven inspected what he once thought was his friend, moving her head over as no sound emanated from her.

“Come on…” he grumbled, laying his ear on her chest until he faintly heard the sound of electronic buzzing.

Her system, damaged and breached, had managed to shut down after a horrific crash, allowing her to reboot inside of safe-mode, maintaining some of the corrupted data while cutting off risky internet access… Her eyes lit up, her glance focusing at all times with Arven.

“H-Hi arven! want to go on a date…?” she asked, seemingly all data from what happened being ignored at the moment. “I’m your. First kiss?”

“Y-yeah…” he sighed, looking away to notice the devastation of the machine around him. “So you aren’t really Nemona after all…”

“Negative! I am a. AI powered android based on Nemona’s brain patterns!” she said enthusiastically “How may I be of service?”

He raised an eyebrow “You listen to me now?”

“Affirmative!” she chirped “My orders are to. Obey target Arven”

He chuckled “okay…” he helped her stand up, the android struggling to gain balance after some seconds “...We should get back- All of this… The League should know, I also gotta tell Penny about you”

“Uuuuhhh!” She chirped, again, rapidly clapping her hands “I really like. Penny!”

-

Some days passed, word spread like wildfire about yet another occurrence deep inside Area Zero, talks of Arven single handedly taking care of a rogue AI attempting to threaten Paldea gave his name some fuzz… although it remained an unconfirmed rumor due to the Pokemon League’s secrecy. Inside the Principal’s office, waiting for the aforementioned old man, Penny, Nemona and Arven sat one next to the other… Penny curiously close to Nemona as she inspected her every crevice.

“...Are you sure she’s a bot? I ain’t buying it yet”

Arven groaned “I’m telling you the truth okay! …ain’t that right, Nemona”

“That is…” She raised a finger and smiled, taking some seconds to complete her sentence “...Correct!”

Penny sat back and crossed her arms “Well if she is an AI powered copy of Nemona then we shouldn’t call her that at all! What if the real nemona shows up? How will we differenciate them??”

Arven’s eyebrows dropped. “Trust me, I'll know.”

Nemona turned sharply at him “Can I please you today?”

The room fell silent after that request. Penny, adjusting her glasses as Arven pretended to look away. Almost like clockwork, the gates opened to the entrance of Director Clavell, who with arms behind his back moved over towards his chair and without even having to move a hair managed to signal the three of them to approach him at his desk. They all sat, Calvell resting his hands together as he looked at the three of them with a judgemental raised eyebrow.

“Well, I must say I am surprised. Normally it is 4 of you who create an issue of this scale… but I believe Master Florian is not here to join the mess this time…” he adjusted his glasses, sighing as he gave them a reassuring smile “Nevertheless I must thank you for informing me and the League about this… tech virus you speak of, made us take action before it took control of all of our computers”

Arven frowned “Yeah- It’s my fault it's out to begin with. But what’s next for us? Have you decided on a team to get rid of the time machine all together already?”

The Director nodded “Now that you mention it-”

The doors slammed open once more, making all three of them turn around to face the leader of the Pokemon League, Greeta “That won’t be necessary. From now onwards the situation in Area Zero will be the responsibility of the Pokemon League.”

Clavell on the other hand… seems confused “Misses Greeta…? Didn’t we agree on another term before?”

She began walking towards them, the clicking of her heels echoing through the room as she looked down with an condescending look “We’ve determined it requires of a more selective team. One led by me, personally” She placed a palm on her chest.

“...Very well, then” said Clavell, not being able to be opposed. “You heard La Primera, the operation is in good hands. You may go now”

Penny sighed in relief “That’s good… we get to take a breather for a change” she said as she stood from her chair, moving towards the door

Arven followed, walking slower as Nemona followed… turning back just as the door was closing to notice a faint bluish glow coming from Greeta’s eyes… followed by a twitch, before the door shut on his face.

---

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