Pokémon Scarlet and Violet: Infrared

        Just when she was about to doze off, Sada heard Arven and Mabosstiff approaching her. She crossed her arms and said, “I’m sorry, but Sada is asleep right now.”

        “Really?” Arven asked behind her. “Then how come you’re talking?”

        Miraidon started to get up, but Sada motioned for him to lie back down.

        She shivered when another flashback played in her head: the screaming Pokémon and the rocks falling on top of them. “I’m not gonna talk, Arven,” she continued. “I want to go home.” After all, the outside world was no place for a useless AI.

        “Mom, stop acting like a child.” Arven placed his hand on Sada’s shoulder. “I know there’s something you’re not telling us. Believe me, we’re just here to help.”

        Sada wiggled her shoulder free. “No, I don’t wanna talk about it. Please, Arven, I’m tired. Just leave me alone.” That wasn’t entirely a lie.

        A gush of air told Sada that Arven had stood back up. “Fine,” he said. “For your information, though, this isn’t a good first step if you want to be human.”

        Oh, Sada did. That was all she wanted—to frolic with the Pokémon and her son without worrying about Infrared. She wanted to feel another emotion besides fear. Why would he do this to Miraidon and her?

        Sada took a deep breath. Arven was her son, so she should be able to tell him, right? Not everything, though.

        She pushed herself to her hands and knees and sat back. Sada faced Arven, who turned to her. “I went to the far past to study the Koraidon.”

        He got down with her. “Did the time machine take you there? Celebi?”

        “No.” Sada’s head dropped below her shoulders. “We… have a power—Miraidon and me.” She stroked Miraidon’s head and sighed. “This… power… brought you to me, but the first thing I did with it was travel to the time of Koraidon.” Sada chewed on her nails. She couldn’t do this.

        “Mom… what happened?” Arven’s monotone voice allowed Sada to understand that he wasn’t mad at her. “Is somebody hurting you?”

        “No,” Sada quickly stated, but she still felt a chill run up her spine. “It’s what I saw, Arven, when I was there. So many Pokémon… dead, just like that. I never knew how harsh the world is. Oh, it was horrible!”

        “Natural disaster, maybe?” Arven guessed. “Mom, it’s okay. You can tell me.”

        “Let me just show you.” Sada searched her memories for a bit before she found the one she wanted. She hesitated but pressed the button in her right ear again anyway. The holographic screen reappeared in front of her and Arven. They got comfy and fixed their eyes on it.

***

Sixty-six million years ago

 

        Sada, Miraidon, and the herd of Koraidon cut across a meadow filled with yellow and pink flowers. The shadows of the rock towers in the valley created different paths that all led to the watering hole. It was at the base of a small mountain. Flying Paradox Pokémon dropped out of the cloudless sky, trying to beat their friends to the watering hole.

        Sada and Miraidon stood off to the side and observed the Koraidon, who started to drink.

        “Miraidon, why don’t you go play with them?” Sada inquired. “I still have some Paradox Pokémon I want to study.”

        Miraidon scoffed. He turned his back to the Koraidon and Sada.

        “Hey, don’t give me that,” Sada said. If she felt anger, then now would be the perfect opportunity to showcase it. “Your friends are over there. They may help your disposition.”

        “I don’t have any friends,” she heard Miraidon say in her head.

        “Is that so?” Sada patted the left pocket of her lab coat, where a ball-shaped lump was. “Then why are you still following me around?” Gosh, why was Miraidon so stubborn? She needed some time away from him.

        Sada left the watering hole and returned to the meadow. She saw a T-Rex-like Pokémon and ducked into a patch of tall grass. “What is that thing?” she whispered, while she studied the small, brown Pokémon that stood on two powerful hind legs. Did she just discover another Paradox Pokémon? Sada had to confirm this!

        She pressed a second button in her right ear, which was across from her memory one.

        “Scanning Pokémon,” her computer said in a low voice. “Tyrunt, the pre-evolution of the Despot Pokémon, Tyrantrum. Be careful. When a Tyrunt is by itself, its parent is most likely not far behind.”

        AI Sada heard the Tyrunt walking on the other side of her grass wall. She plopped down on her front and stayed quiet. What a fascinating place this was! She wanted to stay there forever, but… Arven. Was Sada mistreating her new power?

        She held her breath when Tyrunt suddenly stopped walking. A minute passed, and then Sada heard its pounding feet kicking up dirt as it ran away. What startled it? She got up and brushed off her crop top.

        Sada stepped out of the tall grass and wandered toward some rock towers. Some were chipped, others were arched, and some were on the brink of falling; they were so old. There was also a narrow, rocky creek further away, and a forest surrounded the area.

        Sada searched for the Tyrunt, but it didn’t return; however, she did see a few Slither Wings munching on some of the flowers in the meadow. It looked like they enjoyed the yellow flowers more than the pink ones.

        She turned on her heel, but from out of nowhere, something jiggled under her. It started slow, and then it shook faster. Sada peered down at the dirt and rocks she rested on.

        “Extreme danger alert!” her computer warned.

        A crack appeared under Sada’s feet. The fissure expanded, and she quickly moved over to one end of it. The shaking earth knocked down trees and rock towers in the area. It was so fast that Sada could barely see what was in front of her.

        The rabble of Slither Wing who had been eating zoomed past her, and she yelled, “Miraidon! Ah!”

        Rocks fell from the towers that still stood and smashed into the earth around her. Each left an imprint in the dirt and grass. One plunged toward Sada’s head, but she rolled out of the way. However, the blast of wind the crashing rock gave off threw her forward, and she slid on the ground like screeching car tires. New rocks busted out of it.

        She yelled again when one caught her and launched her into the sky. Her hands slipped, and she soon dangled from it, hundreds of feet above the breaking valley. “Help, help!” she hollered. Was what she felt right now the emotion humans called fear?

        Sada saw Past Pokémon sprinting out of the forest surrounding the meadow. They trampled each other trying to make it to safety. Many tumbled into the fissures, and a whole rock tower dropped onto a group of them before they could break it with their attacks.

        “No!” Sada screamed. She had to help them, but how? She was hanging from a rock. Surely she wouldn’t survive a fall like that.

        “Miraidon!” Sada tried again. The rocks under her hands broke. “No, no, no!” She clawed at them, but they were too loose.

        Sada plummeted toward the valley, flipping and turning with gravity.

        “Gias!” a voice soon yelled from above. Miraidon emerged from an infrared portal that appeared above Sada. He blasted his rockets and caught her at the last second. He and his trainer were now in the middle of all the chaos.

        Sada closed her eyes when she saw all the dead Pokémon, the dying ones, and the ones still running.

        The earth rolled under her and Miraidon, knocking a few Pokémon down. It split into two pieces.

        Rocks almost pierced Sada and Miraidon, but he zigzagged through them and launched back into the ancient atmosphere.

        Eventually, Sada opened her eyes, and they flashed red, as well as Miraidon’s.

        From there, the memory faded.