Your name? (Y/N) Sycamore.
The problem? You don't know this.
As the 14-year-old daughter of Pokémon Professor Augustine Sycamore, himself, life was pretty good. That is, until about two years ago when you were abducted by a creature from another world: an Ultra Beast.
It took you through a wormhole and back to its home, Ultra Space, without anyone witnessing it happen. This left the distraught Professor and Lumiose police with almost nothing, making the investigation very difficult.
Now, when Ash and his friends travelled to Ultra Space in hopes of rescuing Lillie's mother, the last thing they expected to find was you. Confused and without any memory of your life before you were taken, can you find out who you really are? Can you be reunited with your family?
Can you remember?
Warnings: some violence, mentions of death
(Officially, Sycamore is 30+ so for the sake of this story he will be 34)
[Professor Sycamore x daughter!reader]
[Professor Kukui x reader platonic]
[Ash x reader platonic]
[Professor Burnet x reader platonic]
-I do not own Pokémon or any of the characters-
Xposted on ao3 and wattpad :)
Chapter 1: Lost
Darkness.
That's all you could see.
You could hear voices, but they sounded far away, like they were underwater. You tried to open your eyes, but you couldn't seem to control your body. You felt as if you had been asleep for a long time, and you couldn't get your body to wake up.
The voices stop, and the air around you starts to vibrate. The warmness that surrounds you begins to melt away. Suddenly, you feel cold air hit your skin as you start to fall. You wait for the the feeling of your body hitting the ground, but it never came. Instead, you feel arms catch you, and you start to panic.
'What is happening?' you think. 'Where am I?'
The voices are more clear now, but it's still difficult to understand them. You manage to open your eyes a little, and you can make out a boy staring back at you, concerned, with more people and Pokemon standing behind him. You can't move your body, and you can't keep your eyes open much longer.
"Hello? Can you hear me? What's your name?" the boy in front of you asks. You notice he has a Pikachu sitting on his shoulder. You try and say anything, but no words come out. Instead, you start coughing and you close your eyes. Your energy is fading, fast.
"We need to get her back to the Professors!" you hear someone exclaim. You suddenly feel yourself being lifted onto a soft, warm surface. You lean back on someone, and you feel their arms steady you, making sure you don't fall off whatever it is that you're on.
"Help me with her Pokemon!" someone says. After a moment, you notice more people climbing up next to you. Everything starts moving, taking you by surprise, and you suddenly feel very nauseous. You don't know what's going on, and you just want to go home.
Wait.
Where is home?
You start to regain more control of your body. You roll your head over and furrow your eyebrows
"Hey, she's starting to wake up!" you hear someone shout. You wish they wouldn't be so loud, it hurt your head. Then, as you managed to open your eyes a little, the sky exploded into bright orange colors. You quickly shut your eyes, unable to withstand the brightness, and after a moment, you feel everything come to a stop.
"We're back Professors!" a voice shouts from in front of you, followed by a little "Pika!" You feel everyone start to climb off of whatever you were riding on.
"Lusamine, you're safe!" you hear a woman say. The person you're leaning on speaks up.
"Yeah, but now we have a different problem," a boy says. You feel hands grab you as you're brought down to the ground. You try and open your eyes again, and when you do, you see a tuft of blue and black fur. You suddenly remember that wherever you were back there, you weren't there by yourself; you had Cato with you.
"Who is this?" an older man says as he picks you up.
"We don't know, Professor Kukui," someone replies. "We just found her and that Luxray in some weird rock-thing, like they were asleep or something."
"Huh? The Ultra Wormhole!" someone exclaimed. 'Ultra Wormhole?' you thought.
"It disappeared..." another voice said.
"We better get Lusamine and this girl home," states the older man. You try so hard to open your eyes, to find out what in the world is going on, but you just can't do it. You can move your body a little bit, so you shift in his arms. Your head is throbbing, and you feel exhausted, even though you feel as if you've been asleep for a very long time. You drift in and out until you hear what you assume is a helicopter nearing everyone.
You can feel yourself being moved into the helicopter, and as you're set down on a soft surface, you feel a familiar Pokemon's fur. 'Cato,' you thought. You're able to open your eyes just a little to confirm your thoughts; your Luxray is lying next to you, unconscious.
You feel the helicopter take off and you realize how drained you are. You thought back to your earlier concern, about home. Where is home? You shifted a little and furrowed your eyebrows as you realized you couldn't really answer that question. The hum of the helicopter is last thing you hear before you let exhaustion take over.
I like to think Dad!Sycamore would like to show off his beautiful wife and brand new child to his friends and colleagues.
While Dad!Kabu would like to keep his little family a safe secret only his super close friends (Melony and Opal) know about because he doesn’t want to give Delia that kind of stress since he works in a very heavy media populated League
Solgaleo looks down at you, waiting. You take one last deep breath and squeeze your dad's hand.
"Take it out," you say, trying to keep a steady voice. Immediately, the Legendary Pokémon's mane heats up and its head shines brightly. You recoil at the light, closing one eye as the other attempts to adjust. The pain starts out small, only slightly noticeable. You can feel an uncomfortable weight in your veins, like something else is coursing through it. The pain quickly escalates, once again making your blood feel like it's boiling, and like your veins are going to burst from your skin. You grit your teeth, trying not to scream. Your legs give out from underneath you, unable to hold your weight any longer. Your dad catches you and carefully lays you down on the ground, still holding your hand as he kneels over you.
You look down to see your veins start glowing faintly. It's almost like your skin is translucent and the blood flow inside of you turned a bluish-gray color. In that moment, your muscles tighten as the bluish-gray color seeps out of your skin, almost like a mist that has a little more solidity to it. Your eyes widen as you realize that this is the DNA from the two Pokémon. As the essence leaves your body, everything starts going downhill. Electricity starts discharging out of your hands, draining the remains of Xurkitree, and you start to feel weaker. You clench your jaw, withstanding the pain. As more and more of the electricity and DNA leaves your body, you can feel yourself losing strength. The illness your dad talked about is returning already.
Finally, the electricity disappears, and you feel an empty weight in your chest. You breathe heavily, trying to get in as much air as you can, but it's getting harder to breath. Your lungs are already starting to fail. With one last wave of heat from Solgaleo's mane, the Legendary Pokémon jerks its head upwards, pulling the last remaining foreign DNA from your skin. You look up at the thick, twirling mist floating in front of you as a wave of exhaustion falls over you. Letting your head fall back onto the ground, you let out a weary breath. You try to bring your knees up, but you realize you can't move your legs.
Your body is already failing. The illness is already catching up after all these years of being dormant. You stare up at the sky, a thick gray covering the stars. You can feel everything in your body slowing, and you know that this is it. You turn your head slightly to look at your dad. He's biting his lower lip, trying to keep himself together. Cato is sitting next to him, looking down at you. Your breath hitches as you try to breathe, and you swallow thickly.
"Did it work?" you ask quietly. Sycamore nods down at you, a small tear escaping the corner of his eye.
"Oui, it worked, mon coeur. The universe is already starting to fix itself," your dad says as he puts his hand on top of yours. You give a breathy laugh as blink slowly, your eyes burning. Before you get too weak, you reach up and cup Cato's face, smiling. In return, he pushes his head down into your cold hand, closing his eyes.
"Cato," you rasp, "I need you to take good care of Dad, okay? He's gonna need it."
You breathe heavily and smile up at your best friend as tears well up behind your eyes. Cato nods his head into your head, and you can feel his tears dripping onto your fingertips. Your arm becomes numb and it drops slowly from his face, too weak to hold itself up. You can feel your heart slowing with each beat, and your breathing becomes more ragged with each passing second. Sycamore puts his hand on yours once again, pulling it to his chest.
"(Y/N)," he says quietly. You turn your head slowly to look at him. You can see the tears that he had been holding back finally break free and run down his cheeks. "I love you, ma chèrie," he whispers, holding your hand against his heart. You smile at him, your breathing shallow with tears slipping down your face as you whisper back.
"I love you too, Dad."
And with those words, you feel yourself start to slip. Your breathing slows alongside your heartbeat, and your hearing starts to fade. You could make out your dad mumbling to you, but his words are lost behind a dull hum. As you take your shallow breaths, you look up to the sky again. The gray slate covering the air has disappeared, and you can see beautiful stars shining above. The corners of your lips turn up into a small smile as you look at the lights.
For a brief moment, you feel at peace.
Darkness creeps up from the sides of your eyes as your heart slows, and with one last exhale, your chest lowers and you close your eyes, the illness finally claiming your life after failing so long ago.
~~~~~
Sycamore lets out a sob as he watches you take your last breath. He drops his head between his shoulders as tears drop from his cheeks and onto the ground beside you. Ash and the Professors stand behind Sycamore quietly, unable to break the silence. After a moment, Professor Kukui steps up and gently puts his hand on Sycamore's shoulder, but your dad simply brushes him off. The moments that followed hung heavy, and felt like they lasted a lifetime. Even though the fabric of reality had been repaired, the heartbreak and hopelessness that surrounded this small group was thick.
Off to the side, Solgaleo lets out a deep growl, gently forcing everyone's attention. Sycamore looks to the side at the Legendary Pokémon and instantly straightens up. Solgaleo had separated the two DNAs and managed to manipulate what was left of Xerneas's into a ring with a small, blue crystal on the top. Sycamore quickly reaches out and takes the ring, staring at it for a brief moment before grabbing your small hand. He slides it onto your finger, his heart racing. When nothing happens, Sycamore turns back to Solgaleo, who merely gives a small gesture to your body.
Your dad looks back down at you and slowly reaches down to your neck, checking for a pulse. When his fingertips feel a small heartbeat, he nearly faints. A grin makes its way onto his face as he laughs, disbelief written in his features. Tears once again run down his face, but this time from happiness.
"Why isn't she waking up?" Ash asks quietly from the side. Sycamore turns to them, his smile fading slightly.
"This small amount of essence from Xerneas is enough to bring her back and keep her heart beating, but it isn't enough to wake her up and keep her functioning," He says to them, turning back to Solgaleo, who nods in confirmation. Sycamore looks down at you, hope bubbling in his chest and ideas materializing in his brain.
"She needs more of its life essence."
~~~~~
Professor Sycamore sits at his desk, scribbling away at yet another useless study. His mind is occupied with more important matters, but he was unable to drop his studies when he returned, so here he is, still completing menial experiments for his job. He wears his usual look: colored shirt, dark pants, and messy hair. He left his lab coat in your room on accident, and he reminds himself to grab it next time he goes in there. Suddenly, the Professor's thoughts are interrupted by an assistant carelessly rushing in. Sycamore groans, leaning his head down on the desk.
"I've told you people a million times, stop barging-"
"We found it," the assistant says, interrupting him. The Professor abruptly lifts his head, staring at the young man.
"What?" he asks deeply.
"It worked. We found Xerneas."
Augustine hastily jumps out of his chair and brushes past the assistant, shoving the door open. He maneuvers his way through the familiar halls and into the other laboratory. The room is chaotic, filled with assistants running around, papers flying everywhere, and a loud beeping covering their voices. When Sycamore enters, everyone stops and turns toward him, waiting for him to speak, but he merely looks up to the giant monitor in the middle of the room.
On the screen, a map of Kalos is visible, and in the corner, a set of coordinates blinks. The location they describe is lit up on the map. Once again, Professor Sycamore rushes out the door. He runs through the halls, trying to avoid knocking into anyone. When he reaches your door, he grips the handle and quickly enters. Cato jolts upright in his bed on the floor, startled. Grabbing a chair, Sycamore sits down next to your bed. Your small frame is tucked under the sheets, and an IV is hooked up to your arm. The small ring with Xerneas's power is visible on your hand, and Sycamore smiles at it before turning to you.
"Mon coeur, we found Xerneas," he says, "We're going to bring you back, and everything will be just the way it should be."
He reaches out and grabs your small hand, holding it tight in his large one.
"You'll be right by my side when we finally create our pure, beautiful world with Xerneas and Yveltal," he states, "Just like how I told you when you were little."
Another lab assistant opens the door to your room, irritatingly gaining your dad's attention.
"Professor, shall I send word to the boss?" he asks flatly. Sycamore lets go of your hand, standing up and turning to the assistant.
"Oui, contact Lysandre right away. He'll be thrilled to know we've located the last piece in our little puzzle," your dad says, sending the assistant away. Sycamore leans over and grabs his black lab coat from your desk, putting it on as he goes to leave your room. Before he exits, he turns back to you and smiles.
"I can't wait for you to see it, ma chère," he says, closing your door.
You can't make out your surroundings, everything just looks like colors blended together, however there is a sense of familiarity in the air. It makes you happy, but you don't really know why. You inhale slowly, and the smell of flowers and fruit make you smile.
'Where am I?' you think to yourself. You know you've been here before, but you just can't quite put your finger on it. You feel as if you're not alone, but it doesn't make you panic. You feel as if you're surrounded by friends. You hear someone calling your name, and you turn around.
Suddenly, all the colors and feelings of happiness are drained and replaced with a dark, uninviting feeling. You feel very cold, and your heart starts to race. You feel like you're not alone once again, but this time, it doesn't feel like you're with friends.
You open your eyes abruptly and the bright light made you quickly shut them again. You sit upright, slowly opening your eyes so they could adjust. After realizing you were just dreaming, you release your hold on the bed sheets and your heart rate starts to return to normal. Taking in your surroundings, you find yourself in a large bed with Cato lying next to you.
Looking more closely, you see a large dresser across the room, a desk with some papers scattered across it, a small closet, and some doors: one across from you, and the other to the right. The morning sun lights up the room through the window to your left. You notice there's a nightstand next to you with an alarm clock and framed photo sitting on top. Picking up the photo, you see a man with some Pokémon, but you don't recognize any of them.
You put the photo back on the nightstand and turn your head towards Cato. Your Luxray is sleeping peacefully at your feet, and when you reach out and pet his head, he stirs a little.
Suddenly, you hear footsteps nearing the door across from you, and your heart rate quickens as muffled voices can be heard on the other side of it. Cato jolts awake, sensing your sudden fear, and looks over to the door. He doesn't jump off the bed, but he positions himself so he can easily do so.
You hunch over a little bit, hiding yourself behind Cato's large body. The doorknob turns slowly and the door is gently pushed open.
A man pokes his head in and sees you staring back at him from behind Cato; you recognize him as the guy in the photo you just saw. None of you make a sound, probably because no one really knows what to say. He pushes the door all the way open and walks in slowly so he doesn't startle you.
"Hello there," he said calmly as he approached the two of you. When he got near the bed, Cato let out a low growl, warning him not to come any closer. You put your hand on Cato's back, letting him know that it's okay.
The man pulled up a chair next to the bed and sat down. "My name is Professor Kukui, what's yours?" he asks. You stare at him for a moment, debating whether or not you should trust him. When you tried to speak, no words came out, just a weird croaking sound and a few coughs.
"Ash! Can you bring some water?" the man, Kukui, yells, a little concerned. You hear running, and suddenly a young boy bursts into the room, spilling water here and there, with a Pikachu dangling off his shoulder. You recognize him as the boy you saw when you first 'woke up' in that strange place.
Ash offers you the now half-empty glass of water and you hesitantly take it. As you take a sip, it becomes clear that you haven't had anything to drink for a long time, and you chug the remaining water.
"This is Ash and his partner, Pikachu," Professor Kukui explains to you and Cato. You look up at Ash and he smiles at you.
"I'm from Pallet Town, in the Kanto region, where are you from?" he questions, attempting to make friendly conversation. You look down and furrow your eyebrows a bit as you think.
'Where am I from?' you ask yourself.
"You've been out for a couple days, we were starting to get worried," Kukui states as he stands up. "I'm going to go find Burnet. Ash, stay with her. I'll be right back."
"Yessir!" Ash salutes as Professor Kukui leaves the room. Ash sits down on the chair and Pikachu jumps on the bed next to Cato. They sniff each other and make their own conversation, you assume.
"So.. why were you in Ultra Space?" Ash asks you. You looked at him, confused. "That's where we found you. You and your Luxray were stuck in some big crystal sleeping or something."
You didn't really know what to do with this information. Part of you didn't believe it. What even is Ultra Space? You try to speak again, but you still can't form any words: just that quiet croaking sound.
Ash gets up and takes your cup into the other room, returning with a full glass. He hands it to you and you pace yourself as you drink it, not wanting to down it too quickly. Professor Kukui returns as you set your glass down on the nightstand. A woman follows behind him.
"This is Professor Burnet," Kukui introduces to the two of you.
"They just got married!" Ash whisper-yells to you, and the two adults blush slightly.
"Professor Burnet studies Ultra Wormholes and Ultra Beasts, and since Ash and the gang found you in Ultra Space, maybe she can help figure out what happened," Kukui explains.
The Ultra Recon Squad is all over the place, firing at you. They don't want to just capture you, they want you dead, and they'll gladly kill the others if they get in the way. As you run, you can see things change the way Phyco described them back in the lab. Tremors shake the ground and basic laws of physics are being ignored. The buildings around you crumble, only to fall upwards instead of down. Strong winds appear out of nowhere, and the temperature feels like it dropped at least 20 degrees. Your dad is in front of you, pulling you along so you don't fall behind, and Professor Kukui leads your party, taking you back to Burnet and Ash. Cato runs at your side, helping you along.
You can hear shouts from the Ultra Recon Squad not too far behind, their high-tech weapons just barely missing as they fire at your bodies. You stumble a few times, causing Sycamore to look back at you. Your legs are aching. You just want to lie down and sleep. You can tell your condition is worsening. It feels like everything inside of you is slowly stopping, but it also feels like something inside of you isn't letting that happen.
Suddenly, you cry out as hot pain burns through your veins. Your dad looks back at you again, trying to pull you along faster. You feel a painful buzzing in your chest, and before you had time to react, electricity painfully sparks out of your entire body. Professor Sycamore pulls his hand back, recoiling from the sudden shock. The sparks shine brightly as you collapse to the ground, pain tearing through your body.
"(Y/N)? What's happening?!" you hear your dad ask, panicking at the sight.
"It's the electricity from Xurkitree," Professor Kukui says, "There's too much, it's discharging, just like Phyco said back at the lab."
Cato leans down to you, using his mane to absorb some of the electricity. After a few excruciating moments, the pain subsides, along with the sparks. You gasp out for air, uncurling from your fetal position. Your dad reaches down and grabs your hand, pulling you up.
"Are you okay?" he asks. But before you can answer, a shot from an Ultra Recon Squad member goes right over your head, just barely missing. You flinch, turning to look at him as your dad pulls you away, running. The four of you weave throughout the streets of Ultra Megalopolis, dodging the Ultra Recon Squad, trying to get back to the others so you can get out of here. A particularly strong tremor suddenly causes your shaky legs to give out beneath you, your hand slipping from your dad's grasp. He turns around quickly and reaches for your hand, but a thunderous crack from behind you causes your reflexes to turn and look.
Your body is completely frozen as you watch the fabric of space literally tear apart right in front of your eyes, opening a hole into another universe. You stare into it, seeing a top view into their world, as if you're in the sky. As you look down, the air feels like it's knocked out of you as you watch their universe being destroyed. The sky around you is a dark red, and the ground is completely flooded. You can see people bobbing in the water, trying to stay alive. Tears well up in your eyes. You can hear the screams of people and Pokémon as their homes are torn apart and loved ones are lost to the unnatural disasters that are falling upon their world. Someone grabs your arms, tearing your attention away and pulling you upwards, spinning you around. Your dad looks down at you with wide eyes.
"We have to keep moving, ma chèrie," he says, his voice laced with fear. You nod as he pulls you forward, and you take one last glance behind at the hole, tears staining your cheeks.
I'm sorry.
You can see more realities coming into view through cracks in space that you run past. You don't have time to look in them, but you can almost feel the pain and sadness coming from each universe.
It's all my fault.
You finally reach the outer parts of the city and see the citizens running frantically from the destruction, trying to avoid getting caught up in the crumbling buildings. The four of you try to blend into the crowd, but it's not easy since the people who live here look nothing like you. Your body aches as you push forward, not wanting to be trampled by the masses. As you look around at the other people, you spot a familiar black, cable-like arm behind someone's head. Your heart races as more of these arms appear out of nowhere, floating around. It looks like they aren't even attached to anything. Everyone around you starts melting away, their small forms being replaced by cold, metal ones. Tons of Xurkitree have appeared around you, their lanky arms floating everywhere, grasping at you.
'I have to be hallucinating,' you think to yourself, 'This isn't real, no one else is reacting to this.'
You close your eyes trying to block everything out, just focusing on breathing and running. You can still hear the electric hum of the Xurkitrees around you, but you grit your teeth and squeeze your dad's hand.
It's not real.
Goosebumps erupt all over your body as one of the cable-arms brushes up against your skin.
It's not real.
You whimper silently as the cold metal wraps around your waist, with more arms reaching out to wrap around your limbs.
It's not real.
You feel your dad pulling you into a different direction, calling your name softly. His hand squeezes yours tightly, and the feeling of Xurkitree's arms around you vanishes. You open your eyes to see Ash and Burnet in a small alleyway just ahead. Your dad basically drags you the rest of the way, and when you finally reach them, you collapse. You lay on your back, wheezing, trying to get any air to fill your lungs. Your airways feel constricted, and it's hard to breath. Your body is losing the fight.
With terrible timing, electricity once again discharges itself from your body. You cry out, rolling over onto your side from the sudden pain. Tears start to well up in your eyes as Cato nudges his head into the crook of your neck, absorbing it once again. When the pain subsides, you breathe heavily and look up, tears streaming down your face. Oh what a sight you must be right now.
"I can't do this anymore!" you cry, pleading for the problem to somehow magically disappear. Your dad kneels down, taking your hand in his.
"I know, I know mon coeur, but you just need to hold on a little longer until we get you out of here," he says to you.
"Yeah, um, about that," Ash says from behind as Burnet clears her throat.
"While I was getting the machine set up, the building next to us just.. fell apart," Burnet says quietly, "Ash, Pikachu, and I are fine, but the machine wasn't so lucky."
She gestures to her side as your eyes all land on a pile of scrap metal.
"So we're stuck here?" Sycamore says with a defeated tone. Their words fade out in your mind as you focus on something suddenly growing in the background. A small ripple behind them grows larger as colors fill the surrounding air, giving off a low hum. You flinch as the ripple opens, a large, white creature jumping through. It lands with a thud right behind your group, causing all of them to shut up and quickly turn around, eyes wide. The creature has a tall, white mane with yellow and orange marks. The top of its head is a dark blue, with a sort of galaxy look to it. Its light blue eyes stare deep into yours, as if it knows who you are.
You and Cato stand in the main room of the Sycamore Pokémon Lab while Sophie, the woman who answered the door, went to find the Professor. You had asked Ash and Kukui to wait outside for a couple minutes, just to give you some privacy for the reunion with your dad. As you wait, a horrible feeling gnaws at your gut.
Something feels wrong.
Very wrong.
Looking around, everything feels different. This is supposed to be your home, so why does it feel like you've never been here before? Ever since you got your memories back, there's been something bothering you. Almost like something is... still missing. It feels like you don't belong here. Cato pushes his head against your arm, trying to make you feel better. You look down at him and pet his mane.
"Bonjour!" a voice says from down the hallway. You freeze, heart leaping out of your chest. You're facing away from him, but you can hear his footsteps grow closer. "My name is Professor Sycamore," he says as he stops behind you. Something about his voice sounds different than you remember.
You finally turn to look at him. He has a bright blue shirt on underneath a clean white lab coat. His dark hair is combed neatly into large curls, and his facial hair is well kept. He's tall and slender; you have to crane your neck up to look him in the eye.
"What can I do for you?" he asks, politely.
Something isn't right.
You don't see a single hint of recognition on his face when he looks at you, and you start to panic internally. This is not what you were expecting to happen. He shifts awkwardly at your lack of response.
"Um.. can you tell me your name, ma chère?" he questions. Your tongue suddenly feels too large for your mouth, and you struggle to form a response. How is he going to react when you tell him your name?
"(Y/N)," you finally manage to say, holding your breath.
"Well (Y/N), how can I help you?" he says sweetly.
Your heart sinks.
He doesn't know who you are?
You look up at him with wide eyes, your heart hammering in your chest. You have to say something.
"I-um.. This might sound weird, but uh.." you stammer awkwardly, looking down at the floor. "Do you.. um, do you have a daughter?" you manage to ask with a shaky voice, looking back up to him. He looks surprised, and he laughs awkwardly.
"A daughter? Um.. no, I don't have any children," he says, looking at you curiously.
Now you really panic.
You need to get out of here. Get back to Ash and Professor Kukui.
"Oh, uh, okay. I was just curious. I'm really here because, ah-" you start, trying to think of a cover up, "my-my Luxray, Cato, he has this weird thing on his front leg! Yeah, and uh, I didn't want to bother Nurse Joy because the Pokémon Center was really busy," you stutter. He smiles down at you, oblivious to your lies.
"Well, let me take a look then," he says, kneeling down to lift up Cato's paw. Cato shoots you a look and you shrug, not knowing what else to do.
"Hm, well I don't see anything unusual," he says as he looks back at you.
"Oh really? Well it must have went away then. Sorry for bothering you! Bonsoir!" you quickly tell him as you rush over to the door, Cato hot on your heels. Professor Sycamore didn't even have time to answer before you and Cato were already out the door. You look behind you as you run down the steps to make sure he isn't following, but you collide with a large figure, causing you to fly backwards.
"(Y/N)? What are you doing?" you hear Professor Kukui say as he grabs your arm, helping you up. You look up at him with a panicked expression.
"Something's not right. Something is not right," you mumble over and over.
"Wait, (Y/N), what's going on? Are you okay?" he asks you, his voice laced with worry.
"No, I'm not okay! He didn't recognize me!" you yell frantically.
"What do you mean he didn't recognize you?" Ash says to your right. You shake your head, looking down at the ground, Kukui still holding onto your arms.
"He's not my dad! He looks and sounds just like him, but he's not him!" you cry out, tears threatening to spill.
"I don't understand," you hear Ash say. You look over at him, and then back to Professor Kukui.
"Everything has felt wrong ever since we got here," you start, "The city, the people, and now this? What is going on?!"
"(Y/N), what happened in there?" Professor Kukui asks. Ignoring his question, you rack your brain, trying to think of any explanation for the fact that this is not the Lumiose City you remember, and that the man in there who is supposed to be your father didn't even recognize you.
Why is everything so different from when you left?
Why did everything change?
In that moment, an idea pops into your brain.
"What if it didn't change?" you mumble to yourself, but Kukui still heard it.
"What?" he asks, completely lost. You pull your arms out of his grasp and backpedal.
"I need to talk to Burnet," you tell them before dashing off in the opposite direction. You can hear them yelling after you, but you ignore them. Luckily, the Pokémon Center is just down the street, so you don't have to run very far. You bolt through the automatic doors and head for one of the private video chat rooms in the back. You nearly trip over your own feet when you stop in front of the screen. Dialing the number Burnet gave you before you left, you hope to Arceus she picks up. Suddenly, the door opens and Ash, Pikachu, Cato, and Professor Kukui tumble in, gasping for breath.
"(Y/N), you have to stop running off like tha-" Kukui starts, but the other end of the video chat finally picks up.
"(Y/N)! How are y-" she greets, but you don't want to waste any time.
"Professor Burnet, is it possible that Ultra Wormholes could actually connect different worlds, allowing things to pass between them?" you interrupt.
She pauses, staring at you through the screen.
"Uh, well-" she mumbles.
"Like, if something was in one reality, could it travel through an Ultra Wormhole and into Ultra Space, and then from there it travels through another wormhole and ends up in a different reality, instead of going back to the one it came from?" you ramble to her, gesturing wildly with your hands to illustrate it better.
She thinks for a moment, concentrating on your words.
"I've never really thought about it before, but I guess it is possible," she admits.
It feels like the air was just knocked out of you, and you bring a hand to your forehead, pulling your (h/c) hair out of your face.
"Wait, (Y/N), what are you saying?" Kukui asks from behind. You turn your head to look at him, the realization sinking in.
"I think Cato and I are from a different reality."
~~~~~
Augustine Sycamore trudges down the hallway from his lab to the entrance of his home. He brings a hand up to his head and runs his fingers through his messy black hair, trying to make his headache go away. His untucked shirt ruffles with each step, and he nearly trips over his shoes as he shuffles down the hall. When he enters the main room, he sees a small man standing there, waiting for him.
"Bonjour! Are you Professor Sycamore?" the man says, cheerfully.
"Oui, how can I help you?" the Professor asks, apathetically.
"I have a delivery for you, Monsieur! Lots of new lab equipment, but I need your signature. This is very important stuff," he says, holding out a clipboard with a pen attached.
"Ah yes, of course, how could I forget? I was told this was on its way," Sycamore mumbles, mostly to himself. He reaches out and grabs the clipboard. Picking up the pen, he lazily scribbles his name at the bottom. Wanting to get back to work, he asks one of his assistants to take the equipment down to one of the laboratory rooms. With the noisy sounds of the delivery fading behind him, Augustine Sycamore heads back down the corridor to his lab so he can bury himself in his work once again, keeping his mind from wandering to the things that keep him up at night.
Clouds pass by your window as you stare out at the vast ocean beneath you. Wingulls glide through the air, soaking in the warm sun above. The sunlight reflects off the ocean waves, creating a beautiful crystalline shine. You turn away from your small window and lean back in your seat. Earlier in Aether Paradise, you told Ash and the Professors that you remember your home in the Kalos region and that Professor Sycamore is your father. You were expecting them to be thrilled, but instead they were all... confused.
"I wasn't aware that Professor Sycamore had any children," Kukui had said as he glanced over at his wife, "We're not really close friends, but we professors stay in touch to compare research."
"Yeah, I met Professor Sycamore when I travelled around Kalos," Ash piped up, "I never saw you at his lab, and he never said anything about you either."
You had hesitated, not really knowing what to think, but you had asked Ash how long ago his adventures in Kalos were, and when he told you they were fairly recent, you figured your dad just didn't want to talk about his missing daughter. Everyone seemed to go with that, but you could still tell Professor Kukui and Burnet were hesitant.
So now here you are, sitting next to Ash and Kukui on Skarmory Airlines flight #131 headed for Lumiose City in the Kalos region. You're sitting by the window, with Ash to your left in between you and Professor Kukui. Professor Burnet wanted to come more than anything, but she had work obligations that held her back. You two shared your goodbyes before you boarded the plane, promising to keep in touch.
A voice over the intercom system suddenly disrupts your thoughts.
"Good afternoon everyone, this is your Captain speaking. We will be approaching the Lumiose City Airport in about 30 minutes."
In that moment, your stomach drops when you realize what's about to happen.
You're going home.
Taking a deep breath, you look down at Cato and Pikachu playing with each other at your feet. Watching Cato, your mind wanders to what it's going to be like to be home again.
'Will it be weird?'
'Will any of the lab Pokémon remember me?'
...
'Will anything ever be the same?'
These thoughts filtered through your mind, causing knots to form in your stomach. Ash must've noticed, because he tried to make you feel better.
"It's going to be so great to get you back home, (Y/N)," he says, smiling. "You don't have anything to worry about! Right, Professor?" You both look over at Professor Kukui for reassurance, but he's out cold, snoring the ride away. You give Ash a weak smile, trying your best to calm your nerves. You reach down and grab your backpack from underneath the seat, trying to find something to distract yourself with for the remainder of the flight.
~~~~~
Stepping out of the airplane, you take in your surroundings. You see the huge skyline of Lumiose City, people rushing around trying to get where they need to go, and Pokémon wandering everywhere.
"Huh.." you mutter to yourself, a little concerned.
"What is it?" Ash questions you, apparently noticing your confusion.
"It's just... It's different than I remember," you say quietly.
"Well, maybe you were just too little and you remember it differently," Kukui suggests. You frown and look over at him.
"I was twelve," you retort. Kukui pauses, unsure what to say.
"Oh.. well, um, then maybe it's just been a little too long since you've been here. I'm sure it'll feel the same when you spend a little more time in the city," he quickly recovers.
"Yeah.. you're probably right..." you say quietly, gazing back at the large city as you make your way down the steps. The five of you start making your way into the depths of Lumiose. Kukui takes the lead, followed by Ash and Pikachu, and then you and Cato take up the rear. You look down at Cato, and he seems to be feeling the same way you are.
"Does any of this feel the same to you?" you whisper to him, making sure the others can't hear it. Cato shakes his head, letting out a small sound of worry.
"Yeah, it just feels... different. Like it's a whole different city," you say quietly. As you turn a corner, you see a young girl climbing on a Gogoat at a signpost. Perplexed, you stare at her, and she takes off down the road. Looking at the sign, you can read a label that says "Gogoat Shuttle".
Is that some sort of... taxi? With wide eyes, you look down to Cato, who has the same expression on his face.
"I definitely don't remember that," you whisper. Ash and Kukui don't seem bothered by it at all, so you keep your mouth shut. After a few more strange minutes, you all turn onto South Boulevard. The Sycamore Pokémon Lab is just down the road.
The closer you get to the lab, the slower your pace becomes. Your stomach is filled with Butterfrees, and you can't help but feel slightly nauseous. When you finally make it to the front steps, you stop, unable to move any further. Ash and the Professor notice your sudden absence behind them, and they stop to look back at you.
"(Y/N)... you okay?" Kukui asks gently. You don't say anything, you just look at the ground with a worried expression.
"Hey, I know this hard, but just think about your dad in there," Kukui says as he kneels down to eye level, putting both hands on your shoulders. "He's been missing you for almost two years. If he knew you were outside right now, he would be out here faster than an Abra could teleport!"
You give a small, breathy laugh out of your nose, smiling lightly.
"I know you miss him. You've come so far and done so much to get your memories back," he says gently, "So, what do you say?"
You look up to his face, tears brimming in the corners of your eyes.
"Let's get you home," he smiles at you. Your head bobs up and down, nodding at his words. You find the courage to walk up the steps and ring the doorbell. You take a deep breath, and the door opens after a few moments to reveal a young woman wearing a white lab coat.
"How can I help you?"
~~~~~
Augustine Sycamore is sitting at a small desk in his laboratory working on his bi-weekly report when he hears a knock on his door. He sluggishly brings his hand to his forehead, rubbing it as he closes his eyes.
"Yes?" he says, drowsily. He hears the door open, but he doesn't move to look at them.
"Uh.. sir? There's someone here to see you," the assistant states. Sycamore brings his hand back down to the desk and looks up at the young woman. He probably looks like a mess, with his unkempt hair and dark, disheveled clothing.
He doesn't care.
"Who is it?" he tiredly asks.
"I'm not sure, but it seems important," the woman says.
Sycamore sighs as he gets up from his desk and follows the woman out of the laboratory, not bothering to put on his lab coat that's hanging on the door.
