{In the clouded night sky}
A Cresselia was flying frantically through the sky, trying to catch its breath from whatever it was running from. But just as it stopped behind a cloud, an airship burst through, and its cannons fired bolts of electricity.
The bolts hit Cresselia, making the Pokémon cry out in pain and stumble, but it managed to recover. Still, Cresselia was slowing down.
The airship started trying to close the distance, but Cresselia, with the last of its energy, caused a blinding light, making the people inside cover their eyes. This allowed Cresselia to quickly fly into the clouds and put some distance between them.
After a moment, the people in the airship recovered and immediately went after Cresselia. Right now, though, it seemed like Cresselia had disappeared from their sight. But none of them were worried. While attacking Cresselia, they had also managed to put a tracker on it, so no matter where it went, it would eventually get tired. And that's when they'd capture it.
Meanwhile, while Cresselia ran away, on Newmoon Island, a creature opened its blue eyes, sensing a disturbance. It flew up, revealing that it was a different Darkrai. It looked toward nearby Fullmoon Island, and the energy of its friend was gone. Darkrai could no longer sense it.
In that moment, Darkrai felt a mixture of anger and worry and immediately flew up into the night sky to search for Cresselia.
—
{The next day with the gang}
The group finally arrived in Hearthome City after a few more days of travel, and they could finally see the large, shining city. It was the biggest city in all of Sinnoh, with the most tourists.
As soon as they got in, Ash didn't even get a chance to say anything. Dawn and Verity each grabbed him by one wrist and dragged him along so they could go sightseeing, and Zoey wasn't spared either.
They immediately went out to sightsee around the city. Ash didn't have a problem with it, but Zoey did. She protested a lot, and it was only after they'd made it halfway through the city that she finally got through to Dawn.
"Dawn, we still need to sign up for the Contest!" Zoey protested frantically, "Sign-ups have already started!"
Dawn froze and immediately gasped in shock, "Why didn't you say something earlier?! We need to go!" She let go of Ash's hand and grabbed Zoey's, dragging her along without giving Zoey a chance to protest or yell at her.
Dawn ran off much faster than she reasonably should have been able to in a skirt. She ran so fast that her legs looked like they had turned into wheels as she dragged a flailing Zoey behind her. She waved behind her at Ash and Verity, "Meet us when we're done!" she yelled as she ran off.
Ash and Verity stood there alone. They didn't say anything for a second before Ash looked over at her, "Wanna go check out the food stands?"
Verity shrugged, "Alright," she said simply, and together they walked back into the city.
—
Dawn arrived at the Contest Hall with the flailing Zoey in tow. There was a long line of people, and she quickly joined it with a very dizzy Zoey, who had to lean on her to stay standing. She looked like she had just survived the world's most ridiculous roller coaster ride.
"...Dawn," Zoey mumbled weakly.
"Yeah?"
"...I'm going to kill you."
Dawn blinked innocently, "What? Why?"
"WHY?! YOU DRAGGED ME HALFWAY ACROSS THE CITY LIKE A POKÉMON BEING CHASED BY A PREDATOR!"
"Oh, come on! You're fine!"
"FINE?! I CAN'T FEEL MY LEGS!"
Dawn glanced down at Zoey's legs before looking back at her, "Well, they're still there, so that's a good sign!"
Zoey stared at her.
Dawn smiled.
Zoey slowly took a deep breath, apparently deciding that committing a crime in the middle of a Contest Hall probably wasn't the best way to start her day.
Dawn giggled and adjusted her bag, "Anyway, we're here now! And look at that line! We're definitely going to get registered in time!"
Zoey rubbed her temples, "You know, there's a difference between being enthusiastic and being completely insane."
"I'm enthusiastic!"
"You ran so fast that I thought my soul had been left three streets behind us!"
Dawn opened her mouth to reply, but before she could, the crowd around them began to stir.
A few people near the front of the line looked up toward the large screens mounted throughout the Contest Hall. Others started pointing toward the enormous display visible through the building's glass entrance.
"Oh, look! It's starting!" someone exclaimed.
"Starting?" Dawn repeated, turning toward the screen, "What's starting?"
A familiar jingle suddenly played through the speakers, drawing the attention of nearly everyone in the hall. The large screens flickered to life, displaying the Hearthome City Contest logo before transitioning to a brightly lit stage.
Standing right in the center of it was a woman with long blue hair and a warm, confident smile. She looked like a younger Johanna, back when she was still doing Contest work.
She wore an elegant outfit and carried herself with the kind of poise that immediately commanded attention. The moment she appeared, several people in the crowd began whispering excitedly.
"Wait, is that...?"
"No way! It's really her!"
"Johanna! The legendary Coordinator!"
Zoey's eyes widened slightly as she looked at the screen.
"Johanna?!"
She had heard plenty about the famous Coordinator. Johanna was practically a legend among aspiring Coordinators, someone whose performances and achievements had inspired countless people to pursue the same dream.
Dawn, meanwhile, was practically vibrating with excitement, "Mom's on TV!"
Zoey's head snapped toward her, "...Your WHAT?"
Dawn blinked, only just realizing what she'd said, "Uh..."
She slowly turned toward the screen, then back at Zoey, who quickly leaned in and whispered through her teeth, "Did you just say Johanna is your mom?!"
Dawn gave her an awkward smile, "Surprise?"
Zoey stared at her for another moment before slowly turning back toward the screen, "...I'm going to need a minute."
On the screen, Johanna smiled warmly at the audience before raising a microphone, "Hello, everyone! Welcome to the beautiful Hearthome City!"
Her voice rang clearly through the speakers, and the crowd immediately quieted down to listen.
"I'm delighted to welcome all of you to this Hearthome City Pokémon Contest! It's wonderful to see so many aspiring Coordinators gathered here, ready to show the world what they and their Pokémon can do!"
Then the recorded message ended, since that was all it was: a recorded message that played on a loop every now and then. Heck, after a few minutes, another one appeared, but this one featured Lisia instead.
But right now, Zoey was glaring at Dawn with a mixture of disbelief and exasperation.
"Your mother is Johanna," Zoey repeated slowly.
Dawn gave her a nervous smile, "Yep?"
"The Johanna? The Coordinator who won the Grand Festival and became one of the most famous performers in the world?"
"That's her!"
Zoey stared at her.
Dawn smiled.
Zoey stared some more, "...And you never thought to mention this?"
Dawn scratched the back of her head, "Well, yeah, but I didn't think it was that important."
"NOT IMPORTANT?!"
Dawn flinched slightly.
Zoey took a deep breath, rubbing her forehead, "Okay. Okay, I'm going to ask this calmly. Why didn't you tell me?"
Dawn looked away slightly and tapped her fingers together, "I guess I just wanted to be known as Dawn, rather than Johanna's daughter."
Zoey blinked.
Dawn continued, "I mean, Mom's amazing, and I really look up to her, but I want to become a Top Coordinator because of my own achievements. I don't want people thinking I only got where I am because of her."
Zoey sighed and scratched the back of her head too, "Alright, I can understand that, but still, you're not gonna say something ridiculous like your dad owns half of Sinnoh, right?"
"No, nothing like that," Dawn said with complete honesty.
Zoey sighed and believed her. Though, if that was the case, why had Verity said she was some noble lady? Meh, it was probably just because of Johanna.
After that, it didn't take much longer for the line to move, and Dawn and Zoey signed up for the Contest. As Dawn got her card, she looked up, and for some reason, her eyes landed on a woman who was in the Contest Hall.
The woman was really pretty. She had purple eyes and purple hair, the latter of which was put into a quartet of balloon-shaped pigtails. She was wearing a purple, sleeveless, strapless, ankle-length gown laced with white glitter, and a yellow X was on her waist.
Dawn stopped to think, but Zoey snapped her out of her thoughts when she pulled her along, "Come on, Dawn! We need to get ready."
Dawn blinked, then quickly nodded, "R-right, let's go," she said as they walked out of the hall.
Dawn looked back one more time, and that's when she locked eyes with the woman. But the woman left shortly after.
The woman had a small smile on her lips as she chuckled, "Fufufu, intéressante."
Outside, Dawn read the little card she'd gotten, which had her number and the rules. It looked like the Contest would take place at night, around ten. Apparently, the time had been requested by a Top Coordinator who was serving as a judge for the Contest.
So they had time, at least a few hours to practice. But then Dawn was snapped out of her thoughts when Zoey tapped her arm. She blinked and looked up, seeing what Zoey was pointing at.
"Hey, look at that. Looks like a lot of people are dressing up their Pokémon," Zoey said, gesturing with her thumb.
Dawn looked over and, sure enough, a bunch of people were using accessories to try and make their Pokémon look better for the Appeal Round.
"Hmm, well, do you think we should get some too?" Dawn asked casually.
Zoey put her arms behind her head, "I don't know. Those are pretty expensive. I just don't know if it's worth it." She sighed.
Dawn tilted her head, "Oh, in that case—" She was going to say something, but then they ran into Ash and Verity, who were both eating some sweet potatoes, while their Pokémon had their own.
"Oh, hey, Dawn," Ash said as he swallowed, "You guys sign up?"
"Yep!" Dawn replied, holding up her registration card, "We're all set. The Contest is tonight at ten, so we've got a few hours to prepare."
"Nice. Did you two have any trouble registering?"
"Not really," Zoey answered, though she still looked a little distracted, "Although I did learn a few things about Dawn that she apparently forgot to mention."
Ash glanced at Dawn, who immediately looked away.
"Oh? What did she do this time?"
"Nothing!" Dawn protested.
"Apparently, her mom is Johanna."
Ash blinked, then looked at Dawn, "Oh, you finally told her?"
Dawn puffed out her cheeks, "I didn't exactly plan on announcing it!"
Ash shrugged, "Well, it's not like it's a secret."
Dawn quickly waved her hands between them, "Anyway, that's not important right now. We were just talking about getting some accessories for our Pokémon."
Zoey nodded, glancing toward the nearby shops, "There are quite a few places selling them, but...well, some of them are pretty expensive."
"Yeah," Dawn agreed, "I was just thinking about whether we should get some."
Ash then took another bite of his sweet potato, and Dawn suddenly realized something.
"Actually, perfect timing!"
Before either of them could ask what she meant, Dawn grabbed Ash by one wrist and Zoey by the other.
"Come on! I know just the place! Verity, you too!"
"W-Wait! Dawn, where are we going?!" Zoey asked as she was pulled along.
"You'll see!" Dawn said, immediately taking off running again and dragging them along.
Ash let himself be dragged as he took another bite of his sweet potato. Looking back, he saw Verity sigh and run after them too.
The group made their way through the city, passing several busy streets before eventually reaching a particularly luxurious part of Hearthome. The buildings here were noticeably more elegant, with polished windows, decorative signs, and beautifully arranged displays. It was home to some of the most expensive boutiques in the entire city.
Zoey slowed down as she looked around, "...Dawn?"
"Hmm?"
"Why are we here?"
Dawn stopped in front of a row of particularly extravagant shops before turning around with a bright smile. She gestured toward the boutiques behind her, "Because we're going to get some accessories!"
Zoey stared at the storefronts, then at the price tags displayed in the windows, then at Dawn, "...These are the shops you're talking about?"
"Yep!"
"Dawn, these places are ridiculously expensive!"
Ash looked over the displays, noticing the rather fancy accessories arranged inside, "Huh. They do look pretty nice."
"Nice?!" Zoey repeated, looking at him, "Some of these things cost more than my entire travel budget!"
Dawn blinked, then waved her hand dismissively, "Oh, that's not a problem! Just take whatever you like!"
Zoey slowly turned toward her, "...What?"
"Anything you want! Don't worry about the price!"
Verity, who had been looking through one of the windows, suddenly froze. Her eyes widened as she looked at the boutique's name, then at Dawn.
"Wait a minute..."
Dawn smiled brightly, "Oh, right! I almost forgot to mention something!"
She pointed toward the shops, "I own these boutiques!"
There was a silence, then Verity fell over onto the ground and started foaming at the mouth, while her Piplup tried to catch her to make sure she didn't hit her head too hard.
Zoey, meanwhile, turned toward Dawn with an expression of complete disbelief, "Hold on. Did you just say you own these boutiques?"
"Yep!"
"Don't you mean...your family owns them?"
"Nope! I do!"
Zoey stared at her for several seconds before slowly speaking again, "Didn't you tell me your dad didn't own half of Sinnoh?"
Dawn tilted her head, "Yeah?"
"Then what is this?!"
"Oh, well, I wasn't lying. It's not my dad who owns them. It's my uncle!"
Zoey's expression went blank.
Dawn continued, waving her hand as if she were explaining something completely ordinary, "And we don't own half of Sinnoh, either. Just a lot of the businesses!"
Verity made a strange noise from the ground.
Dawn seemingly had no idea that her friend was dying on the ground. She put a finger on her chin, "And when I turned ten, he transferred them into my name as my birthday gift, so don't worry. Just take anything you like!" Dawn said with a smile.
That did it. Zoey fell over right next to Verity, also foaming at the mouth.
Ash finished his sweet potato and looked down at the two girls. As he swallowed, he looked over at Dawn, "I think you broke them."
Dawn tilted her head, "Why?"
Ash finished his potato, then walked over and gave Dawn a head pat, "Don't worry about it. Let's just pick stuff out for you and Zoey, because Zoey probably isn't gonna want to pick anything unless you force her to take it." He then reached down, picked up Verity and Zoey under one arm each, and gathered them up.
Dawn blinked, then nodded, pushing the other thought from her head, "Alright, let's go!" She skipped right next to Ash with her arms behind her back.
---
{Another night - Lily Omake}
Lily went to sleep again. She may basically be an emotionless robot that works for Cyrus, but in the end, her body was still human. She had to sleep eventually, and there she began to dream.
—
The young Lily opened her eyes. It had been a month since she was captured and put in this dark place. Every morning, some people would come in and start telling her things, but when they did, her mind would become a blur, and she would forget. But thanks to her Aura activating on instinct, she was able to protect herself.
The same couldn't be said for the others. Everyone else eventually stopped struggling, and it seemed that the people who came in took them out and handed them a uniform before they walked out.
The only one who stayed was her friend, Scarlet, the one who would eventually become Mars. She also had enough mental strength to resist falling, and they were the only two left in the dark room.
One day, Lily was curled up in a little ball. She looked over at Scarlet, "Scarlet…"
Scarlet looked over and masked her scowl with a gentle smile, "Yeah, Lily?"
"D-do you think...we should stop struggling like the others did? T-they got to get out when they did. M-maybe if we—"
"NO!" Scarlet immediately cut her off before quickly softening her expression, "Lily, we can't give up. Even if things seem hard, we can't stop. Besides, even if things are scary, we still have each other, right?"
Lily looked down at her knees, hugging them a little tighter, "But...what if they never let us go?"
"Then we'll find a way out ourselves!" Scarlet answered confidently.
"But...they're so much bigger than us, and they keep doing those things to our heads…"
"I know." Scarlet's smile faltered for a moment, "But that doesn't mean they've won. They want us to give up, so we can't give them what they want."
Lily nodded slightly, although she still looked unconvinced, "You're really brave, Scarlet…"
"Of course I am! Someone has to be brave around here." Scarlet puffed out her chest, trying to look confident, "And besides, I've got you to look after."
Lily gave her a tiny smile, "I'm not that helpless…"
"I know, I know. You're actually pretty scary when you get angry."
"I-I am not!"
"Hehe. See? You're already feeling better."
Before Lily could respond, the sound of the door opening interrupted them.
Both girls immediately turned toward it. Several Galactic Grunts walked inside, dragging two people behind them. Both newcomers had sacks over their heads and were struggling against the grunts holding them.
"Let go of me!"
"Get your hands off!"
The grunts didn't bother responding. They simply dragged the two struggling figures toward a pair of empty cages and threw them inside. The metal doors slammed shut, and the grunts turned around and left without another word.
For a few seconds, neither of the newcomers moved. Then, slowly, they pulled the sacks off their heads and took in deep, desperate breaths.
"Ugh...What the hell was that?" one of them muttered, rubbing their head.
"Keep your voice down!" the other whispered, glancing nervously toward the door, "Do you want them to come back?"
Lily stared at them curiously. They looked to be around Scarlet's age. Maybe the boy was a little older.
Scarlet leaned closer to the bars of her own cage, "Hey! Are you two alright?"
The two newcomers looked over, and their eyes widened when they noticed the other two girls in the cages next to theirs.
"Who are you?" one of them asked.
"I'm Scarlet, and that's Lily." She pointed toward her friend, "We've been stuck here for about a month."
"A month?!" the other exclaimed, "You've been here that long?"
Lily nodded quietly, "Y-yeah…"
The two exchanged a worried glance. It was clear they hadn't expected to find anyone else here, much less two children who had been trapped for so long.
"I'm glad we're not alone," one of them finally said, trying to sound reassuring despite their trembling voice.
Scarlet gave them a small smile, "Well, you're not. And don't worry, we're going to get out of here."
The two newcomers exchanged another glance before the girl, who would one day become Jupiter, spoke up, "I'm Juno."
The boy, who would one day become Saturn, spoke next, "I-I'm Silas."
"Nice to meet you!" Scarlet replied, her smile growing a little, "Well, under better circumstances, anyway."
Juno gave a small, awkward smile, while Silas simply nodded. Neither seemed particularly sure what to say. After all, they had both just been kidnapped, thrown into a cage, and introduced to two strangers who claimed they had been trapped there for a month.
"So...how long have you two been here?" Scarlet asked.
"Not long," Juno answered, "I don't even know where we are. One minute I was walking home, and the next thing I knew, someone grabbed me from behind."
Silas nodded, "Same here. I was just heading back when someone covered my head. I tried to fight them off, but there were too many."
"So you don't know each other?" Lily asked quietly.
Both newcomers looked at her, then at each other.
"No," Juno answered, "I've never seen him before."
"Me neither," Silas added.
Scarlet hummed, leaning against the bars, "Well, at least we're all in the same mess now."
"That's not exactly comforting," Juno muttered.
"Hehe, sorry."
Lily looked between the two newcomers. They seemed scared, which was understandable. She remembered how frightened she had been when she first arrived, and how much worse it had become with each passing day. She didn't want them to go through the same thing.
"D-do you know why they brought us here?" she asked.
Juno shook her head, "No. They haven't told me anything."
"Me neither," Silas replied, "They didn't even ask me any questions about anything. You'd think if they were kidnappers, they'd want to make sure our families are rich."
"That's not exactly how kidnapping works, Silas," Juno muttered, "They probably wouldn't tell us anything until they got what they wanted."
"Yeah, but still," Silas replied, "You'd think they'd at least ask about our families or something."
Scarlet, who had been listening quietly, lowered her head, "I...don't think it's that simple."
They looked at her.
"What do you mean?" Juno asked.
Scarlet hesitated for a moment, glancing at Lily before looking back at them, "Well, first of all, there were other kids here before you two. A lot of them, actually. They'd bring them in, keep them here for a while, and then...well, eventually they'd stop fighting back. After that, the grunts would take them away and give them those weird uniforms."
"Wait, what?" Silas asked, "Why would they do that?"
"I don't know," Scarlet admitted, "But I don't think they're asking for ransom. If they were, wouldn't they have contacted someone's family by now?"
Juno frowned, "Maybe they're waiting until they have everyone?"
"Maybe, but…" Scarlet trailed off, looking down at the floor of her cage.
Lily watched her friend, then quietly spoke up, "S-Scarlet's father has a lot of money. If they wanted money, they could have asked for it by now."
Scarlet nodded, "Exactly. My dad would pay just about anything to get me back. But they haven't even tried contacting him."
Silas looked between the two girls, "Okay, but what about you, Lily? Maybe they just don't know who your family is."
Lily shook her head, "I...don't really have a family. I'm an orphan. I only have my brother, and he's a little older than me."
The room went quiet.
Juno blinked, "So...they kidnapped an orphan, too?"
Lily nodded.
"And they still haven't asked for anything?" Silas added.
"No," Lily answered softly.
The two newcomers exchanged a look. Their earlier assumptions suddenly seemed a lot less convincing.
"Then...why would they take us?" Juno asked.
Scarlet hugged her knees, her expression growing serious, "I don't know. But whatever they want, I don't think it's money."
Silas slowly sat back against the wall of his cage, "So we're not being held for ransom…"
"I'm afraid not," Scarlet replied.
Juno swallowed, looking toward the door the grunts had disappeared through, "Then what do they want with us?"
Neither girl answered immediately.
Lily lowered her eyes, remembering all those mornings when the strange people came into the room and spoke to them. The way her thoughts became muddled, how difficult it was to remember anything afterward, and how the others had slowly stopped resisting.
"I...I think they're trying to do something to our heads," she whispered.
Silas stared at her, "What?"
"Every morning, they come in and tell us things. I can't remember what they say afterward, but...it feels like they're trying to make us forget who we are."
Juno's expression paled, "That's...that's not possible, is it?"
Scarlet looked at Lily, then back at the newcomers, "I don't know what they're doing, but Lily's right. Something is wrong here. Really wrong."
For the first time since arriving, Juno and Silas seemed to understand just how much trouble they were in.