Atomdusk

Project Mew

Eclorian gasped at Aster.

"You don't have a pokedex? I have one installed on my Rotom-phone, it's super handy. You can just use one device for everything. Look, I'll show you."

When he grabbed his phone, it had a message about their next mission. "Oh." he expressed calmly.

Looking back at Aster, he explained his reaction.

"They want us to use 5 Pokemon each for the next mission but I only brought 3 of them. Shall we head to a Pokemon center so we can transfer more of our Pokemon?" We can use the Corviknight to bring us to Galar if you want, maybe someone in the city of Wyndon might also know something on how to get your hands on powerful Pokemon like Tsurugi was using.

Eclorian wasn't sure yet who he wanted to return to his team, as the description of the mission didn't say anything else yet. It would be a guess in the dark on who to pick.

Project Mew

X9 the Golisopod clearly didn't know how to react to Ms Sunnydale closing in. He blushed a little and didn't really show any signs of a response. Eclorian knew that the innocence of a Floette was something completely new to X9, as he mostly met the more competitive Pokemon before. "Hi, Mrs Sunnydale" Eclorian said to draw her attention away from X9, knowing that X9 would appreciate it. X9 just didn't like to be the center of attention.

"In fact, I should let Miranda catch some fresh air as well. Tony needs to rest a bit in his pokeball, though."

Once again, Miranda the Purugly showed herself. She yawned, stretch her front paws and it almost looked like she rolled her eyes at Eclorian. Clearly, she was the most sassy from Eclorian's team.

Project Mew

With combined forces, Eclorian and Aster caught the Alolan Ninetales. As they handed it over to Tsurugi, he declared to take it back to Alola personally. "Should we head back to the cabin where we met Professor Hodaka earlier to see what is next?" Eclorian couldn't help but wonder if Asahi also had an Urshifu or not. Despite being an experienced trainer, he felt outdone by Tsurugi and Asahi.

Now that the snowstorm had laid down, it wasn't as cold as before. "It's been a while since X9 had some fresh air." He threw a pokeball in the air and a Golispod showed itself. "Aster, meet X9T2525. Or we also call him X9 for short." X9 instantly looked away as if he was a little shy.

Project Mew

Eclorian put his hand on Aster's shoulder. "If we can take on a legendary bird made of fire, we can take on this one too if it's needed." While they followed the Regice, Eclorian was ready to use Tony if it came to a fight. If Tony and Saber would team up, perhaps they stood a chance.

As they reached a point where Regice stood still and the snowstorm slowly stopped, the Alolan Ninetales revealed itself. It must have triggered something as Regice started to attack Ninetales. Eclorian gasped as he did not expect the two of them to battle each other instead of them. "Should we do something? The mission said we had to catch Ninetales so it can be returned to Alola, not battle it. But what if Regice hurts it?"

Before they could act a Weavile showed up and attacked Regice. It was no match for Regice and got knocked up. Tsurugi showed himself and returned Weavile to its pokeball. "You are strong, Regice, so it's time for me to bring out the big guns." Tsurugi said and threw up another pokeball. An Urshifu was revealed, a humanoid black bear from the Galar region.

Eclorian's eyes widened. "Whoa! I've seen so many Pokemon from all regions but this is the first time I see an Urshifu. I've only read about it online. There are supposed to be two variations on the species. Considering this one has it's fur going more upwards, has its front fist raised rather than its back fist raised and it has both feet planted firmly on the ground, I would say this one is the Single Strike Style variation. The Rapid Strike Style looks different."

Tsurugi shouted that Urshifu had to use the move Wicked Blow and it hit Regice into a mountain, knocking it out. Eclorian was impressed by this showdown and looked at Aster for a reaction. "Aster. Tsurugi owns a legendary Pokemon. I feel like such a newbie now."

Meanwhile the Ninetales seemed to have calmed down and so did the weather. There was only a few minutes left on the mission's timer. Eclorian grabbed a pokeball and reached it out towards Aster. "Throw it together?" he suggested.

Project Mew

Continuing through the cold, Eclorian tried to think of a plan. It was when he spotted something, that an idea came to him. "Look over there!" he whispered to Aster and pointed at a Pokemon in the distance. It wasn't the Ninetales but instead they saw a Regice! "It seems to be going deeper into the snowstorm. Maybe Regice and the Ninetales we are looking for are somehow drawn to each other? Unless you have a better idea, let's take our chances with Regice and follow it."

Project Mew

The man confirmed his identity while his Mime Jr hopped from his one shoulder to the other and back again. As they were all properly introduced, Professor Hodaka invited them inside. A familiar face met them inside, as Asahi seemed to be present. Professor Hodaka explained: "Asahi and Tsurugi are the most promising members of the Project. With the missions, we analyze which trainers are the most suited to find Mew eventually. Only a handful of members will be selected, but I can tell you now that Asahi and Tsurugi will most likely be among them. I can't say the same for you two yet, seeing that 1 mission is not enough to prove your worth."

Eclorian nodded to indicate his understood the explanation. "Speaking of missions, we are on a timed one as we speak, so we better get going. Do you have any advise on how to locate the Alolan Ninetales that is causing this snowstorm?"

Professor Hodaka chuckled. "If I told you, what exactly would you have proven to me then?"

After a second of thought, Eclorian nodded again. "You are right, Professor. Aster and I have to figure it out without your help. Come on, Aster, let's head back into the cold."

Project Mew

Eclorian tried to remember Tsurugi's behavior in order to find clues about their plan of action. Unfortunately, there wasn't anything in particular that would help them figure it out. Tsurugi's partner was a Weavile but other than that it was partly an ice type, there wasn't anything particular about it. Unless... "Hey, Aster, do you think maybe Tsurugi's Weavile could be causing some extra snow to make it harder for us?"

Eclorian frowned. "No, that wouldn't make sense. Why would someone from the Project boycot us? Never mind what I said." Eclorian then looked at Tony while trying to come up with a plan. He noticed Tony seemed to be focused on a particular direction, mostly downwards. "Do you sense something, Tony?"

The more they followed the path, the more visible a building became. "Hang on, I know what that building is! It has the logo of the Project. That's probably where we will find Asahi, the girl from the video call. And probably also..." Before he could finish his sentence, a guy in a lab coat popped up. On his shoulder was a Mime-junior. Eclorian put his hand on Aster's shoulder. "I bet that is the leader of the Project, Professor Hodaka. You know, the one Asahi mentioned? Let's see if they can give us any clues on finding that Ninetales!"

Project Mew

Eclorian realized Aster didn't appreciate Tsurugi's behavior and wanted to ease his mind. "We shouldn't worry about it too much. I figure Tsurugi is one of their top trainers and he wants to see if we got what it takes. Consider it a challenge. Besides, we just got Moltres feathers by teaming up, I'm sure we can find a Pokemon within six hours."

While searching for their target, Eclorian let Tony walk by their side. Being a steel type, Tony didn't have too much problems in a snowstorm. He'd also make a good match for the Alolan Ninetales if they needed to weaken it.

"I remember you owning a Honedge. I'm guessing he is just like Tony when it comes to this cold weather."

When Aster asked about the Alolan Ninetales being in Sinnoh, Eclorian shrugged. "Beats me. It's far away from home, that's for sure. It's possible that this is the reason why we need to catch it, so the Project can return it to Alola."

Project Mew

When they got to the top of the mountain, they could barely find Tsurugi because of a raging snowstorm. It was so cold! When they finally spotted him, Tsurugi seemed to be training with a Weavile. "Are you Tsurugi? We're with the Project. We were sent here to find you. This is Aster and I am Eclorian. Are you going to send us on a mission to get something from another legendary?"

Tsurugi raised his eyebrows at them. "I disagree with the whole idea of sending newbies to the legendaries. As far as I am concerned, I have a more suited mission for you boys. Unless you are not dedicated to the Project?"

Eclorian didn't like his comment but in a way he could understand where it was coming from. It did make sense to send fresh blood for less challenging tasks. "What is the mission?" he just asked.

"An Alolan Ninetales is causing this snowstorm. Find it and catch it."

Eclorian frowned. "That's it? Look, I get that you don't want us to go for legen-"

"Within six hours. If you fail, you're out of the Project." Tsurugi said while interrupting Eclorian.

Eclorian took a deep breath. A time limit changed everything. He looked at Aster. "We better get going then."

Project Mew

Tony used his psychic powers to make the Noivern and Aster go straight through the waterfall without the discomfort of the pressure of the waterfall. The plan seemed to work as they both got their feathers and Moltres didn't follow them through the waterfall. As the fire bird took off, Eclorian grinned at his feather. "We did it!"

On his Rotomphone, he dialed the number of Asahi, the girl that registered them. Showing their feathers to her, she explained that a Corviknight would pick them up and bring the feathers to Kanto, where Asahi would analyse the authenticity of them. "Now that you proved yourself worthy, I think it's time to meet the leader of Project Mew, Professor Hodaka. But first you could go to my colleague, Tsurugi. He is also in Sinnoh right now so you're close. Tsurugi has a mission for the trainers that get to him first. You can find him at Mount Coronet."

Eclorian gasped. "Mount Coronet? I went there a few years ago to evolve my Magneton. The place has a strong magnetic field that triggers evolution for certain species. Magnezone is back home at the moment, Professor Sycamore wanted to do some research on it."

Eclorian looked at Aster. "What do you say, shall we find this guy at the mountain while we're here anyway? It's supposed to be this place of legend, where time and space meet. Who knows, the Project is luring us towards another legendary Pokemon!"

They could call for a Corviknight to take them there if they wanted to.