Upon reaching Snowpoint, Percival wasted no time in buckling down and beginning his training routine.

The grunt spent almost all of his April watching his Elekid grow from a small, rowdy fanboy into a capable, optimistic Electabuzz... and then, finally, an Electivire soon after. Once he decided that he'd trained enough, the trainer took on his seventh gym.

He came out of it relatively unscathed, with yet another badge under his belt and yet another team member lost. Cassie was never meant to last, anyways, though the grunt couldn't help but give her the grace of a snowbound burial.

Of all things he'd expected on this journey, normal trainers giving him more challenge than trained gym professionals was quite low on the list... but the grunt didn't mind.
In fact, this was a boon to him, as he'd just been reassigned. Cyrus personally wanted him to visit Veilstone HQ.
Under any other circumstance, the grunt would've been delighted to hear this. But this was at least a week ahead of schedule. What did his boss want with him now?
...it mattered little. Within no time, Covie had brought her trainer to Veilstone, and Percival was brought to the Galactic building soon after.

Cyrus came to greet the grunt, telling Percival to follow along as the two entered a dark metal corridor. The further they went, the darker it got. The only source of light they were given was the glowing of several large tubes filled with red liquid that lined the walls. Whatever they were to be used for, the grunt had no idea. They were here to help the cause, and he shouldn't've been questioning why.

Finally, the pair stopped by a door. Cyrus bent forward for a moment, with the door opening soon after.
Percival was immediately struck by the room upon entering. In it lay three contraptions: one yellow, one blue, and one pink. Each one contained Pokemon that the trainer had never seen before, with red gems on their foreheads and twin tails that all differed in pattern and length. Their expressions... he'd seen that kind of emotion before. It unnerved him. Unsettled him.

But there was no time for that. Cyrus was calling for him once more. Percival obeyed his boss and listened in to what he had to say.
Cyrus soon began his explanations. These Pokémon were essential to his creation of the Red Chain, a device he'd calculated would allow him one thing, and one thing only: the ability to summon and restrain Giratina of the Distortion World.
That name was... distant, yet familiar. Percival could only recall faint memories of a fairy tale upon hearing it. Cyrus wouldn't pursue a fairy tale so intensely, however, so his memory must have been wrong.
This Giratina, Cyrus said, would be used to birth the universe anew. All would end, and all would begin again. Except for Team Galactic.
Cyrus and his grunts, he said, would be spared. They, and everything else in the new universe, would only be stripped of their emotions and human-derived flaws. Cyrus himself would be at the head of all of this, governing the world and forcing order upon it. There would be no chaos, no weakness, and no strife with him at the helm.

The way Cyrus talked. How he moved his hands. His eloquent speech, his masterful motions- it was all too much to ignore. Percival agreed wholeheartedly- almost to the point of shouting his agreement- proclaiming once more his loyalty to Cyrus and his eagerness to participate. The grunt soon asked: when would this grand undertaking begin?

"Midnight, today."
The great leader's smile never left his face. He continued. "And it cannot happen without you. Meet me at the top of Mount Coronet. Bring your weapons with you." Cyrus motioned towards Percival's pokeballs.

Midnight...
Surely, Cyrus had preparations for this. Of course he did- Percival could look around the room right now and see the strange spirits contained and ready to use if needed. His boss had all of this under control.
And yet, he was to bring his Pokemon.
Cyrus hadn't even referred to them as such.
Percival shooed away his suspicions. There was no reason to worry. He gave his boss another nod.
"Very well. You are dismissed until then."
A sign for Percival to take his leave.
The grunt did so.

Later, that night, he gathered his Pokemon around him and told them the news- specifically, that they were going to Mount Coronet to meet with Cyrus. Little else. Percival explained that it was more important than the gym challenge- that they had no choice.
Afterwards came a brief pause.
After which... he spoke again. "...you will all be safe, and I trust this will go well. However, in case something grave happens, I will be locking you inside your balls until the process is complete. It's the only way to ensure your wellbeing."
The grunt did as he said immediately after his statement.

The climb up Mount Coronet was rather gruelling. Percival was greeted and helped by his fellow grunts, but it didn't change the fact that he still had to fight off wild Pokemon with little assistance and no team. Eventually, however, he stumbled upon a stroke of luck- a Gabite had begun following him and defending Percival on his way up. The grunt soon began to acquaint himself with the newcomer, and Vanya joined his team.
A small smile slipped across his face. This meant he nearly had a full team. Covie, Moose, Cory, Felix, and now Vanya... all he needed was one more member.
But not now.

For now, Percival stood atop the top. Here, in front of him, lay Spear Pillar.
A few steps forward saw him greeted by Jupiter and Mars, both admins seemingly hiding something. Their tone was far more respectful than usual. Strange...
Cyrus soon stepped forth. Without a word, he handed Percival a new badge, indicating his promotion to Galactic Admin, and a Master Ball as compensation for his efforts.

Words escaped the no-longer-grunt. He was going to say something, but... he just couldn't.
That attitude would be fitting, as he was ordered to stand by his female coworkers as Cyrus did his duty.

It seemed unremarkable, at first. Cyrus simply pulled out a large red chain and began reciting... some words. Percival couldn't understand what they meant. But as Cyrus continued onward, the grunt found himself hearing things. He could swear that as Cyrus' chant continued onward, he could hear the cries of the Pokemon that'd been locked away in those contraptions.
That chain was the same color as their forehead gems.
Those cries were... too similar to be anything else.
A pit slowly began to form in Percy's stomach, but he paid it no mind. These were tools. They were insignificant creations. Their sacrifice was going to make the world a better place.
A better... place.

Percival gripped his head. He almost felt like he'd lost a thought- and then an ear-piercing screech rung out across the area.
The trainer fell to his knees. His coworkers grabbed their heads. Looking ahead of himself, Percival could see an otherworldly entity emerging out of the ground. Hints of gold and red were drowning in black as the strange entity began to raise itself higher and higher...

Cyrus turned around. His expression was almost ecstatic- something that Percival had never seen before. His boss spoke. "Finally, our plans have come to fruition. Here before you lays Giratina, ruler of the Distortion World, come to make the world anew! And before you, its summoner!!"
The boss gripped his chain and shook it madly above his head.

"At last, we have upon ourselves: Galactic's final success!!"
Cyrus screamed-

...

...

It's a mystery as to whether he said anything further. Percival certainly heard none of it.

All he'd seen soon after that sentence was a blinding flash of light-
-before all went dark.

It took Percival... lord knows how many hours to wake up again.

Once he finally came to his senses, Cyrus' lackey could hardly see. Everything around him remained black, blue, and purple. The ground beneath him was orange. Atop him sat... Covie?
His Crobat.
His... Covie.

Percival sat himself up straight. His companion of seven months soon flew down into his lap to meet him. The Crobat grinned at her trainer, nudging his chest with affection and clearly glad to see him alive.
Percival himself...
Ugh.
His head hurt. Incomprehensibly so. Even now that his sight was stable- nothing he saw made sense. In front of him was a wilted flower, ten feet tall. Beyond that was an entire island facing towards him, and another alongside it with a waterfall that led to nowhere.

He reached for his bag. Maybe his Pokemon could help orient him a little better. He fumbled around a little, his hand tracing over item after item. That was a potion, that was one of his badges...

....

....where had his pokeballs gone?
The grunt felt an arrow through his heart. He got to his feet immediately and scanned the area- only to find a large commotion not far from him at all.
With little hesitation, he commanded that Covie carry him there. A feat she'd been training for since her capture. Covie did so, diligent as ever, and hid the two of them behind a small rock.

Once there, the pair saw quite the scene.

A massive dragon with six wings lay directly across from them. A loud screech left it- identical to what they'd heard atop the pillar before the light came.

On each wing was a Pokémon.
An Octillery on one seemed to be using an Aurora Beam to freeze its wing.
A Cloyster, upon another, was doing the same.
At the dragon's face was a Rotom, paralyzing its jaw with Thunder Waves and forcing its head still with its electric mitts.

The sight... sickened Percival.
He didn't know why.
Or, more accurately, he didn't WANT to know why.

That creature... it was uncomfortable to watch. Percival could hardly bear it. With all the mon he'd lost, he knew exactly what this one was going through.

Percival couldn't stand for it.

Without a second thought the trainer rushed forward and attempted to punch his boss. He threw a swing, straight ahead, aiming for his target. Having jumped over the rock, his fist now jumped to the back of Cyrus' face-

-only to be caught by a Gallade glaring into Percy's eyes.
A sharp thrust later, Percival's fist was pointing at the sky and the Gallade's blade was inches away from his throat.

Cyrus turned around. Slow as he did so. Silent.
Until the two faced each other.
"Insubordination? At a time like this? Why, I underestimated you, Percival."
His tone was cold. Robotic, even. Not a hint of emotion could be felt.
A shiver ran down Percy's spine.

"Attempting to thwart the very plan you agreed to put into motion... I find that kind of behavior rather unbecoming of a Galactic Administrator, don't you?"
The tiniest bit of venom seeped through.
"Attempted assault. Disguising ulterior motivation. Insubordination."
The Gallade's blade inched a little closer.
Percival shrunk back further.
A shiver ran down his spine.
He spoke.
"...in response to theft of personal property and child endangerment."

Cyrus scoffed. He presented his hands- in which lay six pokeballs.
"Theft of property? Percival, you were instructed to bring these to Galactic for further research. You did as you were told, and now my research is being conducted. All is going according to what plans you were told of."

Covie clung to Percival a little harder. He initially theorized she was scared- but a brief look at her expression showed only rage.
A moment later, Cyrus moved to lay a finger on Covie's pokeball...

...only for the leader to have it knocked out of his hands, by Covie herself!
The Crobat soon lunged forward, fangs wide, aiming for Cyrus' neck-

-her teeth sank deeper and deeper... into his Rotom's head.
Enraged by her lack of precision, the Crobat immediately released her fangs. She flew back just a little, raising both sets of her wings, before slamming them down in an X motion and slamming the Rotom backwards.
Cyrus' Rotom went flying, further and further, until it began falling... into the depths of the Distortion World. Never to be seen again.

Before anything more could be done, Cyrus threw Percival's pokeballs to the side and shouted. "ATTACK!!"
Almost immediately, the commander's entire team lunged at Percival from behind Cyrus. Giratina was freed for just a moment as every single member of Cyrus' team lunged right at Percival.

Most members soon found their match- with their pokeballs thrown to the ground, Percival's own team burst out to defend him. Moose, Cory, Felix, Vanya, and- of course- Covie: all five meddled with one of Cyrus' members and held off their attacks.

Covie crushed Cyrus' Heracross. Cory decimated his Octillery. Moose moved in to fight Cyrus' Gallade.
The Knight Pokemon was forced to leave Percival be as the massive mammoth came right at it. Gallade held its blade up high- only to be knocked back down, nearly crushed as Moose forced it underneath his tusk.

The pressure put upon it only increased. Further and further it was pressed into the ground. Gallade gasped for air... only to find a weak spot.
In hardly a half-second, the Gallade grabbed Moose's tusk. It thrust the mammoth to the side, forcing Moose onto the ground where Gallade once stood.
Percival cried out, but it was too late-

-by the time the trainer could yell for his Pokemon, Cyrus' Gallade had already kicked him off the side of the island.

Covie saw it all happen.
She remained enraged.
Swooping in, the Crobat went to fight.
Percival looked around, desperate to assess the situation. Cyrus seemed almost hyperfocused on commanding his team. Percival's own was practically acting on its own. He looked back to Covie to see the what was-

Covie lay twitching on the ground, sliced in two.
Above her was a Gallade, blood on its blade.

Percival felt tears clawing at the edges of his eyes.

Just then, another blinding flash of light lit up the area.

Was this all a dream? A nightmare? Was it over and done with? Was... was any of this even real?

The light began to dim. It revealed to him, reality: no. He remained in this hellish world...
Percival couldn't keep his eyes away from the light for very long, however. Among its brightness was a vague shape of sorts. Almost... bovine?

The next thing Percival heard was Cyrus.
Laughing.
Even more maniacally than before.

The grunt grit his teeth, anger absorbing the rest of his thoughts, turning to look.
Cyrus simply stood there cackling- he was hunched over almost like priest, yelling to the sky.
"INCREDIBLE!! Arceus itself- the highest entity of all- it sees my glory!! It knows my quest!! It has come to assist!! All this inconvenience- it was hardly for naught!!"

Percival's eyes were forced back to the light.

"At last!! At last!! My plan, at last!! It is finally freed!! It has finally come for me!!"

They followed it as it came closer. Closer and closer to the small island they stood upon.

"I can control it- all this universe- all that comes from this... it will be beautiful!! Absolutely beautiful!! A world with nothing- NOTHING- but what I command-"

The madman raved on. But his words became muffled. More and more, Cyrus devolved into incoherency... his mouth soon sealing itself with the skin around it.

Upon its total concealment, another blinding flash enveloped the arena.

Once it was gone... so, too, was Cyrus.

Not a single remnant of the boss could be found.

Only Giratina and its half-lucid state.

Soon, another figure took Cyrus' place, slowly walking out of the light.

Percival couldn't pull his eyes away from it.
He could hardly even comprehend it, let alone hear it. He was shaking uncontrollably, his face wet with tears and seared by the strength of all he'd seen before, unable to speak a single word.

A chorus of voices rang out.

"Come to me. We shall fight, here and now."

Percival couldn't even understand the command. He just sat there, his mouth agape.
It was only when Cory rushed forth to try and land a blow on the creature that he finally understood.
Battle.
Battle... with this...?

Cory flew back, his claws digging into the orange dirt as a blast of light forced him to cling to the surface.

The Electivire relented for only a moment before rushing back.
He glanced at his trainer.

Battle!

...

"...Electivire. Low Kick."

It was all Percival could say. And it seemed almost like it was all Cory could do.
The Electivire did as it was told, sweeping underneath the creature's legs.
The creature simply levitated above the attack and blasted Cory back once more.

Felix charged forth and summoned an Ancient Power to lift the black rocks surrounding him. He tossed them all towards the entity.
They missed, but the Omastar landed on his feet and stared the stranger right in its face.
It remaind silent.

"...Cory! Low Kick!"
He went in for another kick, this time aiming upwards. He missed once more, with the creature's dodge being near-effortless.

Vanya charged forth, raising a claw. She went to stab at the creature... only to back away and bow upon getting close.
Percival's grit teeth returned. What did that mean?! Finding in him the courage to finally say something, he shouted. "Why are you doing this? Is this a round of mockery? Do you need to humiliate me further after all I've lost?!"

The stranger was silent.

Cory kicked at it once more- he missed, once more.
Finally, Percival became fed up.
He rummaged around in his bag, looking for the one pokeball that he knew he kept at the bottom of it.
A toss and a grunt later, the stranger was met with a Master Ball straight to the face.

A final flash of light blinded everyone...

...and when Percival finally woke up, he found himself clinging to grass.
Specifically, a leaf.
"Hey!"

The leaf shuffled about for a moment before dropping down on Percival's lap and glaring at him. A Bellsprout!
A Bellsprout?
This... this looked more like a sentient Gracidea in the shape of a Bellsprout...
"Oh- you're awake..."
...why was it speaking?

"...that's a good thing."
The Bellsprout moved to take the Master Ball that lay in Percival's hand. The grunt brought it away on reflex, glaring at the strange flower. "Hand it over, please. I need to explain something."
That wasn't a question. The Bellsprout karate-chopped Percival's wrist, taking the Master Ball and opening it.

Out came the stranger itself, red underbelly and all.
It remained silent for a little moment, before the chorus returned. "...I did not know you possessed such technology. I suppose I remain in your debt."
Percival could see resentment behind its expression- subdued resentment.
The stranger wasn't even making eye contact... "...I will remain with you. However, only to serve as guardian of Sinnoh. Not as one of your own."

The stranger soon turned to look at Percival directly.
Its gaze pierced into the grunt's very soul.
"You may call me Alpha."

"Do not disappoint me."