Pokémon: My Parallel World Daughters Revealed

The video continued playing.

”I’ve decided.”

Raina brushed the dust from her backpack.

”We’re going to Bill’s Lighthouse!”

Eevee poked half its head out from atop hers.

”Eevee?”

”Bill is one of Dad’s friends, and he’s also a Pokémon researcher,” Raina explained. ”Dad said rare Water-type Pokémon often appear around his lighthouse... and that his seafood fried rice is especially delicious.”

Eevee’s eyes immediately lit up, and its tail began wagging excitedly.

”Eevee, Eevee, Eevee!”

”...You’re only interested in the food, aren’t you?”

”Eevee~”

Raina sighed, tightened the straps of her backpack, and began walking toward the lighthouse north of the harbor.

[Regular-Seat Chat Group]

”Bill?! You mean that research fanatic who turned himself into a Pokémon?”

”What do you mean, ’turned himself into a Pokémon’?”

”You don’t know? Bill transformed himself into a Pokémon for research and ended up trapped inside his lighthouse, unable to change back!”

”...What in the world did I miss?”

”Bill became a legend in the scientific community after that because he proved that the boundary between humans and Pokémon wasn’t as absolute as everyone thought.”

”So Raina is going to meet a scientist who used to be a Pokémon?”

”Technically, he was always human. He only briefly disguised himself as a Pokémon.”

”This conversation is already ridiculous enough on its own.”

[VIP Chat Group]

[Professor Oak]: Oh? Does the parallel-world Bill conduct his research at the lighthouse as well?

[Bill]: If my parallel-world counterpart possesses any research data, please make sure I get to see it too!

...

The video moved forward.

Along the coastal cliffs, a dusty yellow path wound beside the shoreline. A shrub-covered cliff rose on the left, while a drop of more than ten meters fell away on the right, with the ocean directly below.

The sea breeze carried the scent of salt and the thunderous sound of waves crashing against the rocks.

Raina walked along the path with one hand holding down her windblown hat and the other gripping the strap of her backpack.

Eevee was still lying atop her head, all four paws firmly clutching her hair while its ears were blown backward by the wind.

”Eevee—hold on tight!”

”Ee—vee—!”

Another fierce gust swept across the path, causing Raina’s entire body to sway. She quickly crouched and grabbed a rock beside the trail.

Only after the wind weakened did she stand again and wipe the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand.

”The wind on this path is way too strong... But Bill’s Lighthouse should be somewhere along the coast ahead.”

Eevee poked half its head out from atop hers and struggled to look forward. It then raised one paw, pointed toward the ocean, and cried out.

”Eevee!”

Raina followed the direction of Eevee’s paw.

Then she held her breath.

Sunlight scattered across the distant ocean, making the surface glitter.

Several Wingull skimmed over the water, the tips of their wings creating rings of ripples.

Farther away, a flock of Wingull circled downward, seemingly having discovered a school of fish.

Beyond them, the sea and sky blended into one.

A small fishing boat appeared as a silhouette beneath the sunlight, and the Trainer standing at its bow waved toward the shore.

As Raina watched the scene, the corners of her mouth slowly rose.

”It’s beautiful.”

Eevee softly voiced its agreement.

”Eevee.”

”All right. Let’s keep going.”

Raina stood beside the cliff, brushed the dust from her knees, and turned to continue down the path.

Then she suddenly stopped.

On the shore below the cliff lay a grayish-blue figure.

It possessed an enormous body, a long neck, and a gray shell upon its back.

Half of its body was submerged in the ocean, while the other half lay stranded across the coastal rocks.

It was completely motionless.

Raina narrowed her eyes and studied it carefully.

Then her pupils abruptly contracted.

”That’s—”

Her hand tightened around the strap of her backpack. Before she had even finished thinking, her feet had already started running.

”Eevee! We’re going down there!”

[Regular-Seat Chat Group]

”Wait, wait, wait! Isn’t that the same Lapras from before?!”

”Yes! It’s the Lapras that gave Raina the Water Stone!”

”Why is it lying there without moving? Did something happen to it?!”

”That doesn’t look like a normal resting position... A healthy Lapras wouldn’t lie crooked across the rocks like that.”

”I’m getting nervous! I’m seriously getting nervous!”

[VIP Chat Group]

[Ash]: Lapras! That’s the Lapras from before!

[Gary]: Something is wrong with it.

[Cynthia]: Look carefully at the color of the seawater.

[Diantha]: The color? It looks... yellowish green.

[Wallace]: Judging by that color and the tiny particles floating on the surface, it is probably industrial waste. This part of the ocean has been polluted.

[Lorelei]: Someone has been dumping industrial waste into the sea?

[Steven]: And it must have been happening for quite some time. Otherwise, Lapras wouldn’t have become this weak.

[Misty]: ...

On the screen, Raina raced down the cliffside.

Her feet moved rapidly between loose stones and coastal rocks. She nearly slipped several times, but she never stopped.

Eevee clung tightly to her hair, its tail completely rigid.

”Eevee, Eevee!”

”Almost there!”

Raina finally reached Lapras and bent over, breathing heavily.

The moment she saw its condition clearly, her heart sank.

Lapras lay across the rocks with a layer of thick, grayish-yellow material coating its shell and neck. A harsh, acrid odor rose from it.

Its eyes were half closed, and its normally blue skin had faded into a dull grayish blue. Several cuts from the rocks marked its body.

One particularly deep wound stretched across its neck, its edges discolored with an unnatural grayish-black shade.

Raina crouched and extended her hand, only to stop it in midair.

Her lips trembled, but she kept her voice steady.

”...Lapras?”

Lapras’s eyelid moved slightly.

It seemed to attempt to raise its head, but its neck merely trembled before falling limp again.

An extremely faint, hoarse cry emerged from deep within its throat.

”Uuuh...”

Raina’s pupils widened slightly, and her lips pressed into a thin line.

She said nothing.

Instead, she stood and removed Gyarados’s Poké Ball from her waist.

A flash of red light appeared.

Gyarados landed on the rocks beside them.

It lowered its head and glanced at Lapras. Its golden scales immediately bristled, and its tail swept low across the water, creating a large splash.

”Gyarados, search the surrounding area and see whether you can find anything unusual.”

Raina’s voice was remarkably calm.

Gyarados nodded, turned, and swam out toward the ocean.

Raina looked away and crouched beside Lapras again. She removed a Potion and an Antidote from her backpack.

”Eevee, find some clean strips of cloth and bring me a bottle of fresh water.”

”Eevee!”

Eevee leaped from her head and immediately began rummaging through the backpack.

Raina used the fresh water to wash the remaining pollutants from Lapras’s body. She then carefully wrapped clean strips of cloth around the wound on its neck.

Lapras finally managed to open its eyes a little farther.

This time, it saw Raina’s face clearly.

”Uuuh—”

Its long cry was still weak, but much clearer than before.

Raina froze briefly before smiling.

”Mm-hmm. It’s me.”

Lapras tilted its head slightly, and a faint light finally returned to its eyes.

”Uuuh.”

”I’ve cleaned your wounds, but honestly, these aren’t ordinary cuts. You understand that better than anyone, don’t you? That gray discoloration doesn’t look like something that will heal naturally.”

Raina bit her lower lip before raising her head toward Eevee.

”Eevee, stay here and watch Lapras. If anything unusual happens, come find me immediately.”

”Eevee!”

”Be good.”

She was about to stand when she abruptly stopped.

A burst of commotion was coming from somewhere nearby.

Raina turned toward the sound and saw several young people who appeared to be Trainers laughing and fooling around beside the ocean.

The bottles in their hands contained liquid of exactly the same color as the pollutants covering Lapras.

”Hahahahaha! Look at that Staryu!”

”Hurry up and throw those empty bottles farther away. I’m tired of looking at them.”

”We almost have enough to fill another basket. Bring some more!”

Raina stood.

Their voices were not particularly loud, but every word reached her ears clearly.

”...You did this?”

The Trainers turned toward her. When they realized she was only a little girl, contemptuous smiles immediately appeared on their faces.

”Where did this little brat come from?”

The leading Trainer sneered, took a Poké Ball from his pocket, and casually tossed it into the air.

”Listen, little girl. This isn’t a place for children like you to play house. Hurry home and find your mommy.”

The others began laughing as well.

Raina clenched her fist and stepped forward.

”Apologize to the Pokémon in the ocean.”

She raised her head and stared directly at the Trainers.

The leader’s smile froze for a moment before becoming even more exaggerated.

”Hey! You’ve got quite an attitude! Crobat, teach her a lesson! Use Wing Attack!”

He threw his Poké Ball.

It opened, and Crobat flew out with its wings beating rapidly.

Crobat released a piercing cry in midair. It folded its wings into triangular shapes and dived straight toward Raina.

Eevee immediately leaped in front of her, its fur standing on end as it issued a warning.

”Eevee!”

”Eevee, use Swift.”

”Eevee—!”

At Raina’s command, Eevee violently swung its tail.

Countless golden stars shot outward, curving precisely through the air before raining down upon Crobat.

Crobat shrieked and was struck so forcefully that it flipped over in midair.

”What?!”

The leading Trainer’s eyes widened.

”Crobat! Don’t be afraid! Use Double Team!”

Crobat stabilized itself and beat its wings.

Seven or eight identical copies instantly appeared and began circling through the air.

”Keep using Shadow Ball.”

Raina’s voice remained calm.

Eevee opened its mouth and continuously fired dark spheres of energy.

Crobat’s real body was blasted from the air. It struck the ground, struggled several times, and then stopped moving.

The leading Trainer could no longer smile.

”...Who are you?”

Raina withdrew her gaze from Crobat and looked at the group of Trainers.

”Water-type Pokémon and the ocean give us life. They support us throughout our journeys and battles.”

She raised her hand and pointed toward Lapras.

”When you threw that waste into the ocean, did you ever consider that Pokémon could lose their lives because of something you discarded so carelessly?”

”They may not speak the human language, but their pain and fear are no less real than ours.”

Raina lowered the hand she had pointed toward Lapras.

”Apologize to them... and clean up every last piece of this garbage.”