Arrival at Lake Acuity

Lake Acuity, located east of the northernmost city in the Sinnoh region, Snowpoint City, is one of the three lakes collectively known as the Great Lakes of Sinnoh, alongside Lake Verity and Lake Valor.

According to ancient legends, Uxie, the Knowledge Pokémon, is said to reside in this lake.

With such a story, combined with the lake's location in a frigid, snow-covered region during the winter, Lake Acuity has become a somewhat famous tourist spot.

However, due to it only being early autumn now, the scenery hasn't yet reached its peak, and the number of tourists is sparse, which suits Reid just fine.

After all, what he was about to do next might cause quite a stir.

If he unintentionally scared off tourists, reducing the already sparse number of visitors to this remote northern region, that wouldn't be ideal.

Crunch!

Wearing a winter coat, Reid trudged through knee-deep snow, the harsh crunch of his footsteps echoing as he reached the lakeshore. He gazed at the seemingly endless expanse of white that stretched across the lake's surface.

Though it's called a lake, Lake Acuity had long since mixed with seawater for unknown reasons, and in recent years its size had surpassed the other two lakes, making it the largest of the three.

But Reid had no time to focus on that now.

With a flash of red light, an Unown shaped like the letter "A" appeared beside him.

"Unown A?"

"Though I've already informed Officer Jenny in Snowpoint City to prohibit anyone from approaching the area before nightfall, just to be safe, let's make sure no one is nearby.

"Also, check if there are any Pokémon with strong psychic powers in the lake. While you're at it, drive away any nearby Pokémon."

Unown nodded, then closed its eye.

An unseen but immensely powerful psychic wave immediately surged from Unown's body, swiftly scanning the entire area surrounding Lake Acuity.

After confirming there were no signs of humans or Pokémon nearby, the vast psychic energy expanded downwards into the waters beneath the ice.

A few seconds later, Unown opened its eye again.

"Unown."

Unown shook its body slightly.

"Not a single trace, huh..."

Reid muttered to himself before giving another command. "Then unleash your full power and use Hidden Power on the lakebed."

The moment the words left his mouth, the psychic energy that had covered the surroundings surged once more, this time infused with a fierce dragon-type energy. It condensed into a solid form in front of Unown.

In the next instant, Hidden Power was launched.

Boom!!!

With an earth-shattering explosion, Hidden Power effortlessly shattered the ice, violently blasting towards the bottom of the lake.

In an instant, the lake waters, disturbed by the overwhelming force, began to swirl, forming a massive vortex that stretched from the lake's surface to its bottom.

The lakebed was now fully visible.

Supported by Unown's psychic power, Reid hovered above the center of the lake, peering downwards.

"As expected, it's just like I thought…"

Aside from rocks and sediment, the lakebed was completely empty. There wasn't even a trace of Uxie, the so-called Knowledge deity.

Though the lake legends didn't mean that the Pokémon literally lived at the lakebed—it was said to reside in an alternate dimension at the bottom of the lake.

But for Unown to stir things up like this without so much as a reaction? That said it all.

Reid then pulled out a small, round, silver object from his pocket, roughly the size of a standard Poké Ball, its surface encased in a special metallic coating. He pressed the button on top.

A dark, ominous aura immediately began seeping out from within.

This was a Galactic Bomb, a specialized bomb created by Team Galactic using material extracted from meteors. It possessed incredibly destructive power, so strong that it could forcibly warp and tear through space.

The small Galactic Bomb in Reid's hand was a new model designed to minimize its destructive power while maintaining its space-warping and tearing capabilities.

Reid released the bomb from his hand. As it fell toward the lakebed, its outer restraints began to disengage.

Buzz!!!

With a deep rumble, a radiant, multicolored light illuminated half the lake.

Then, the space at the bottom of the lake began to twist violently, visibly distorting until, at its breaking point, a large rift appeared.

Signaling Unown to cease its Hidden Power, Reid gave it further instructions.

"I'm going down next. You stay here and make sure no humans or Pokémon approach. And don't let anything leave this place either, understood?"

Unown nodded lightly.

Reid then pulled out a Master Ball from his pocket.

Pop!

With a crisp sound, another Unown appeared. This one was smaller, pitch black, and had a single eye. However, unlike the first one, this Unown's body was shaped like the letter "B," and it had a much colder demeanor.

After its appearance, Unown B first cast an indifferent glance at Unown A before turning its gaze to Reid.

"You're coming with me. Use your psychic power to separate the water."

Unown B gently nodded. The eye within its upper loop emitted a psychic energy that formed two protective barriers, enveloping both itself and Reid.

The pair dove into the lake, heading straight for the bottom.

The lake wasn't particularly deep to begin with, and with Unown's full psychic power in play, it wasn't long before they reached the lakebed and the space rift.

"B, expand the rift enough for us to pass through freely."

Unown gave no verbal response, but its eye flashed brightly. The edges of the space rift, which had been created by the Galactic Bomb, suddenly seemed as though two invisible hands with immense power were at work.

What had been a small crack, only about the width of an arm, began to forcibly widen until it was large enough for a person to pass through.

Reid wasted no time, accelerating as he dashed into the rift.

Unown quickly followed.

Even for Reid, this was his first time entering this place.

In the past, he hadn't felt accepted by the three lake guardians, so he hadn't bothered to seek them out. He hadn't expected that his first visit would leave him so shocked.

Because this pocket dimension was completely shrouded in darkness.

It was so pitch black that he couldn't see his own hand in front of his face, let alone check if Uxie was here.

But for a psychic-type Pokémon, this wasn't a difficult situation.

"B, it's all up to you."

In the pitch-black dimension, Unown B released its vast reserves of psychic energy.

Using this power, it probed the entire dimension, sending every image it touched back to Reid's mind.

The next moment, Reid's face darkened.

Because Unown's psychic search had not detected any signs of life.

In other words… Uxie wasn't here!