The past intersecting the present

Outskirt Stand

The sun shines harshly on the lonely gas station in the desolate desert. Yandel parks his motorcycle. He takes a moment gazing at the structure. Memories flood of the times when he used to come by here back in his younger years. He takes a deep breath, taking in the nostalgic hot climate before heading in. Inside, there's a television showing the news with a familiar red suited female news anchor. No amount of makeup can hide her age.

(Breaking news! Another disappearance has occurred in the Unova region. A seventeen year old girl has run away from her household. The child protective services are investigating her parents and the police have been doing everything they can to find the victims. If you see anyone that describes them, please report to the nearest authorities.)

"Now that's a face I haven't seen in a while." Yandel turns to see the same red headed burly bartender. "Felt a little homesick?"

Yandel sits on the bar. "Homesick from this dump?" He smirks.

"Hmph. You haven't changed one bit." The bartender smiles. He notices Yandel's Snagem glove. "So it's true. They're back." Yandel raises an eyebrow. "The professor told me everything after a couple drinks."

"That man needs to know when to shut his trap." He groans. "But yeah."

There's a moment of silence. The sound of the jukebox adds to the classic atmosphere with the customers chattering. "What brings you to the region?" The bartender asks.

"Just gonna stop by the detention center to pay a friend a visit."

"You have a friend?" Yandel shoots a glare. "There's that look I missed." He chuckles.

"Whatever. I need ten on gas." He hands the bill and starts walking out.

"It was nice seeing you. Hope you stop by again." The bartender says. Yandel responds with a deuces.

Detention Center

Yandel is sitting waiting for his friend to arrive. He takes note of the worn gray paint on the walls. "Would it kill them to freshen this place a bit?" He mumbles, trying to kill time.

An officer enters from the otherside of the glass. They motion someone and the inmate steps in. He's a tall man with long spiky silver hair. He's wearing the typical orange overalls. His crimson eyes widened upon seeing Yandel. He sits on the seat.

"Long time no see, Nascour." Yandel says.

"What are you doing here?" Nascour asks angrily.

"What? Can't I check how my buddy is doing?"

He slams on the table out of frustration. "Buddy? You've abandoned us when we needed you the most!" The officer gives a stern look at Nascour, which he calms down.

"I told you before, I didn't agree with the experiments." Silence hovers the room. Yandel gazes at the ceiling. "Eleven years, huh?" That was when you took me into the team." He pulls up his left sleeve all the way, revealing a tattoo inscribed 'TS 322'. "Everyone was so welcoming to me that I thought I finally found a place I could call home." Nascour stays silent. He pulls the sleeve down and fills him in on the situation.

"So another organization is going at it again? What is this, like their third time?"

"I don't know that yet. They've only started reappearing recently."

"And you think I know anything? I wasn't even involved five years ago."

"No. I wasn't expecting that. Just have a hunch that my target that I've been trying to hunt down might be finally revealing himself."

Nascour is confused, but then he understands. "You can't mean-"

"Yeah. It's Junior. The disappearances are too similar like last time. Not to mention the Shadows reappearing. I believe he's turning the Pokemon. After all, there was no data on long term exposure."

"How can you be so sure!?"

"I'm not. I said it was hunch."

"A hunch or is that your grudge clouding your speculation?"

Yandel doesn't say anything and stands up. "I just wanted to say don't be surprised about what happens when I find him." He leaves.

"Wait. Yandel!" He starts hitting glass. "Don't do it! He's my friend!" Yandel flinched at that word, but he keeps going down the hall. "YANDEL!! DON'T KILL HIM! YANDEEEEEL!!!"

Nimbasa City

It is a busy night at Jolting Bonanza. Bands are performing, games are played, cash is flowing and people are getting drunk.

"Hello there, beautiful~! You want to spend the night with me?" A man is harassing one of the male attendees.

"Hey! Keep your hands to yourself and leave my bar!" Omar shouts from behind the counter.

"Eeeh? I spent good money to be here! I ain't leaving for nothing!" He slurs around.

Yandel approaches him. "You heard him. Get out." He says sternly.

"You think I'll be intimidated by a pipsqueak like you!?" He goes for a sloppy punch, which Yandel easily avoids by stepping aside.

"Don't make this any harder than it needs to be." Yandel sighs.

"Screw you! I placed uh…ninth in the League division. So I'm a celebrity!" He fiddles with his belt to grab a Pokeball and summons Machoke. "We're having a Pokemon battle! Right, Mike?" Mike flexes his muscles.

Yandel rolls his eyes. He grabs a bottle of whiskey from a customer, as he runs towards Machoke and tackles him to the ground. Taking advantage of the Pokemon's confusion, Yandel shoves the bottle into Mike's mouth to make him drink every last drink. He punches Yandel off him. They both stand.

"Feeling a bit woozy?" Yandel smirks seeing Mike barely keeping himself up.

Mike uses Karate Chop, but he misses and lands on one of the tables. Yandel grabs a chair and smashes his head. He grabs another, however Mike grabs the collar of his shirt and sends the hunter flying, crashing against the alcohol counter. The bottles fall and he quickly grabs them. He gets up and hands them to Omar, before hopping over for the fight. Mike charges at him. Yandel sidesteps and punches his abdomen. Mike is trying to keep the content in his stomach from flowing out. Yandel starts punching his face repeatedly, with the last strike sending him stumbling back to his trainer and falling on top of him.

"Agh! I thought we were going to battle?" The drunkard pouts.

Yandel walks up to the man and crouches. "Firstly, I'm not a trainer. Secondly, battling inside is prohibited. And thirdly…" he goes through the man's pocket to pull out his wallet. "You're covering for the damages like a good citizen. Maybe you'll be let in once you start behaving better. Right?" He tosses the item to Omar.

He opens it, pauses for a moment, then takes out half the bills. "I obviously won't leave you broke, but you're going to stay to clean up the mess." The man groans as he nods. "Now that everything is settled, let us resume. Drinks will be on the house tonight." The crowd cheers and they go back to their tasks as if nothing happened. "Yandel! Come here for a second." Yandel abides. "Take over for me. I'ma go in the back for a moment. Keep an eye on him."

Yandel looks over at the man. "Sure." The bar dies down as the night goes on. Yandel is at the door as the customers leave, ready to close down. Some of them give him a tip in the thousands for the good show earlier and he gleefully accepts. The man is cleaning the mess at high speed, as if hurrying for something important.

Omar comes out from the backroom. He motions Yandel to him. "Found something interesting." He starts whispering. He shows a picture of the man with his arm around the girl from the news. Yandel is shocked. "I already called the cops. We'll keep him bust till they arrive."

The man is already done with the cleaning. "I-I'm finished. Can I go now? I have somewhere to go now."

"Sorry, bucko. You still gotta clean the dishes from the back." Yandel says. The man shivers and rushes out. "Hey!" Yandel pursues him. By the time he's at the door, the man speeds away. "Damn it!"

Suspecting something, Omar goes through the wallet and pulls out a small piece of paper. It reads 'Pinwheel Forest 2:45 a.m.'. "He's heading to Pinwheel Forest!" He says. Yandel nods and heads back to get on his motorcycle.

Pinwheel Forest

Yandel parks at the entrance and uses the nature around him as cover. He notices a vehicle parked some distance away. Being extra cautious, he keeps going. Further down, there's a black robed person standing next to a tree.

The man from earlier appears and approaches the figure. "I-I hope I'm not late."

"It is no trouble. You've arrived just in time for the initiation, Brother Dennis." The figure says in a serene tone. Dennis nods and keeps moving forward. The figure looks at the direction where Yandel is hiding. He puts the safety on his weapon and hides it in his pocket. Then zips up his jacket, before coming out looking scared. "Are you lost, child?"

"Y-Yeah. I was playing hide and seek with my friends and now I can't find them." He tries to sound as pathetic as possible.

"Do not be afraid, my child. I can take our sanctuary until your parents arrive." Yandel gets closer and surprises them with a quick roundhouse kick to the face, knocking them out. He removes the robe, puts it on and drags the body behind the bushes. Making sure the coast is clear, he follows the path.

There's a small flickering light the further he goes. The source is a big bonfire with people sitting around it. There are tents set around the edges. He's scanning the area to find their leader. "Excuse me." A feminine sounding robed figure approaches him. "May I ask who you are?"

"I am Brother Suzuki. I hail from Kanto." He responds with a Kantonian accent.

"I've never heard of someone being sent to Kanto. And why is your robe big for you?"

"I was personally assigned to spread his word there. Sadly, no one had the open ear to head the Lord. But I want to see the new members go through their initiation." He adjusts the hood to conceal his face further. "As for my robe, I don't feel comfortable when people are looking at me."

She quickly bows apologetically. "I'm terribly sorry for being rude. I just hope one day you can be comfortable around us. After all, we're family!" Yandel cringes internally at how giddy she sounds.

"Everyone gather around! Our Lord has awakened!" A tall robed man shouts. The woman excitedly grabs Yandel's hand and everyone waits in front of a tent. A Slowking steps out. His usual pink skin is now purple. His left eye is the normal black while his right is blood red. The shell on his head is bleach white and there's a bullet hole in the middle. He's wearing a violet cloak.

"Warning! Shadow Pokemon detected!" Yandel's watch goes off. Slowking faces him. They stare at each other for what seems like an eternity.

He smiles warmly. "It has been a long time, old friend."