"If I may ask, Professor. How goes the investigation on the Yamaguchi group’s Charizard?"

Professor Oak sighed and looked towards his cousin to the side. "Would you like to take the lead on this, Samson?"

"Sure, but are you sure that we can talk to the kid about this?"

Professor Oak returned with a nod. "If this was any other child then no. But Nina has proven herself to be wise beyond her age. And besides, the girl has always had a very distinct way of thinking. So I was hoping that her unique perspective might offer some elucidation.

"Suit yourself." The other Oak shrugged. "How much do you know about Infinity Energy, kid?"

Nina tilted her head in consideration. "Not much, really. Since most details pertaining to it are kept confidential by the Pokémon League."

It wasn't surprising, since Infinity Energy was a core component to Mega Evolution and suspected to be the cause of other irregular phenomenons like Totem and Alpha Pokémon as well. The general public, if well educated, would know that it existed. However, it wasn't something that should be publicised too much.

Samson nodded. "Well, as you know, Alola is very prone to dimensional rifts, or Ultra Wormholes as we like to call them. It's also the main source of Infinity Energy leaking into the world.

Nina raised her hand to speak. "I heard a theory once that the true purpose of the Tapu in each island was actually the guarding of Ultra Wormholes, to prevent interdimensional interlopers from invading our world, is that true? Also why are they called 'Ultra' Wormholes anyways? What makes them different from regular old wormholes?"

Samson laughed and elbowed his cousin, much to the older man's chagrin. "Haha! She's real 'distinct' alright! Gotta hand it to you Sam, you really know how to pick'em, that's for sure."

Professor Oak groaned but didn't deign to respond.

"Well, kid..." Samson continued. "I won't confirm or deny anything about that first question. But there's a legend passed down in Alola, about how the first Pokémon were actually Ultra Beast that came through the Ultra Wormholes who eventually adapted and became Pokémon over a very long period of time. And that the Tapus were actually direct descendants of the guides that led these Ultra Beasts to our realm."

Nina frowned. "But that contradicts Kantonian legend — that Pokémon actually came here from the moon, or outer space, depending on how broad minded you want to be."

Professor Oak smiled. "It certainly does, little Nina. You'll find that there are many such legends all over the world, each contradictory to one another. Depending on your origins and beliefs, their validity may vary." The man then let out a light scoff and turned towards his cousin. "The legend that Samson mentioned for example... There's actually an alternate version, which states that it was actually humans who came here from beyond the Wormholes, not Pokémon."

Nina nodded. It made sense and largely aligned with her understanding of this world. She wouldn't even be surprised to learn that Arceus's role in the creation myth was significantly overblown either. Not that she would ever say that out loud in front of a Church of Origin believer.

"As for your second question." The older Oak continued. "Nobody really knows where the name Ultra Wormhole came from. One could only imagine it was derived from the term 'Ultra Beast', or perhaps it's the other way around. That's just a small piece of lost knowledge I'm afraid."

Nina let out a cryptic smile. "More than likely, it was simply that someone over at GameFreak had a terrible naming sense." She mused.

Samson coughed. "Anyways, going back to what I was saying. At this point, it shouldn't be a surprise to you that Infinity Energy is somehow responsible for the emergence of Alpha Pokémon, as Sam's research here indicates."

Nina nodded once more.

"The question is, how is it related? The answer — and going back to what I said earlier about Pokémon potentially being descended from Ultra Beast — is that Infinity Energy unlocks long dormant genes within a Pokémon's DNA that triggers a Primal Reversion of sorts."

Nina frowned. Primal Pokémon were definitely a thing. In fact, it was more than likely that only an otherworlder like herself and maybe the ancient Draconid tribe knew of the three Primal Legendaries of Hoenn. "Was this all related somehow?"

"So you're saying that Alpha Pokemon might be part Ultra Beast? Then what about Mega Evolution and Totem Pokemon?" Nina asked.

"Also, Gigantamax? Terrastilization, maybe? But then, that's probably more to do with Type Energy than Infinity Energy..." The girl mused, lost in thought. Nina of course, knew that there were other factors contributing to those two phenomena. But if Infinity Energy was as potent as she was being led to believe then it was hard to say, really...

Samson chuckled. "Yeah, so you see where we're stuck at. There's clearly a link somewhere as you mentioned, but we've yet to identify it. And by we, I'm not just talking about me and Sam either. Sycamore, Elm, Kukui, Birch and so many others... All the most brilliant minds in the Pokémon world are working day and night to unravel the mystery."

The good natured Alolan Professor then scowled, his usually jovial face twisting into that of pure scorn. "And this? This monstrous contraption that you guys uncovered? It's pure evil! A perversion of the natural sciences and everything that we stand for!" The man slammed a fist onto the table in a fit of anger, rattling their glassware and eliciting an annoyed rebuke from his cousin.

Nina let out a wry smile. "How does the device work anyway? And what are those creepy looking black gems..." The girl racked her brain, trying to recall her harrowing encounter at the Celadon docks. 

"That Charizard... It definitely looked like a Mega Pokémon. But that Aura... it just felt wrong. Completely unlike any Alpha or Mega Pokémon I've ever encountered." In fact, as part of their testimony, the Pokémon League went out of their way to introduce Lilian's crew to one of their Mega Pokémon and the difference couldn't be more stark.

Bruno's Lucario, who volunteered for the showcase, was probably the most majestic Pokémon that Nina and her friends ever had the privilege of meeting. Unlike the suffocating dominance of an Alpha Pokémon, and the unsettlingly macabre faux Mega Charizard, Mega Lucario exuded a feeling of pure majesty and awe. 

There was still that dominating will that Alpha Pokémon possessed, but it was much more measured, contained. Not like that wild savagery Nina felt with the Alpha Donphan of her childhood.

"Yes, thank you for that by the way, Nina. You and your friends’ statements were very helpful to our research," said Professor Oak. "As for the workings of the device itself, such knowledge is too dangerous to discuss. In fact, we're even keeping the details of our findings away from the League in view of all the internal turmoil that they’ve been wrestling with... I hope you understand."

"Of course, Professor. Can't spill what I don't know."

The old man chuckled. "Indeed. But regarding the matter of the black gem. If I'm being honest, we're not entirely sure either. Just that they somehow possess the peculiar property of siphoning the Infinity Energy around us, and that each set of gems are somehow part of a larger whole — a whole that isn't shattered even as the gems are physically separated. Almost like pieces of a puzzle split apart by a dimensional split as opposed to a break in physical space."

Nina frowned, trying to wrap her head around the Professor's words. This whole conversation was getting way over her head. The girl even cheated and borrowed some mental bandwidth from the Espeon who had her head resting on her lap, much to Espy’s chagrin.

Samson laughed at the perplexed look on the girl's face. "Remember how we shrunk that fossil? Everything's relative right? So now imagine me splitting this table into four pieces, but I'm not actually breaking it apart. Instead, I'm just creating a dimensional split in the seams that allows me to physically separate the table fragments and place them away from each other." 

The man made a cutting motion with his forearm to illustrate his point. "So in our world, it looked like I split the table into four, but out there? In the fourth dimension? The table is actually still whole and connected to one another."

Nina gasped in realization. "So it's like you're just manipulating the X, Y and Z axis relative to W!" 

Samson laughed. "Seriously? That's how you're understanding it? I'm starting to think your problem is just that you think too much, kiddo."

Nina pouted like the child that she was and blew out her tongue. "So am I right or am I wrong?"

"Nope, you got it." The man chuckled. "Obviously, it's a lot more nuanced than that. But you get the basic gist."

"So then this unique property of the black gem is what allows the device to link the minds of Noboru and his Charizard and enable them to achieve Mega Evolution?"

"That and the forceful infusion of Infinity Energy through gruesome body modification. But again, best not to know the details."

Nina nodded, trying to digest the information that she was given.

"I suppose there is one more thing that might be useful to know." Professor Oak chimed. "Which is that Infinity Energy behaves almost like a fluid, in that it will occupy any negative space connected to it. THAT is the reason why it's spilling into our world as opposed to, say, sucking all matter into Ultra Wormholes like a vacuum."

“Is that why you were trying to take measurements of the sea last time…” Nina realized, recalling the first time ever that she came to visit Professor Oak.

“Oh my, very astute of you, Nina…” Professor Oak replied, tone tinged with surprise. “Indeed. That, in hindsight, was quite the prescient experiment. But I would be lying if I said that was the original intent. Unfortunately, the increased density of Infinity Energy in the ocean was just an incidental find on my end.”

Nina nodded. “That kind of makes me worried about its effects on oceanic Water Pokemon…” Especially given how pertinent it was to her colleagues in the Gym.

“Us too, little Nina… But the great depths of the ocean are full of peril and the marine ecosystem does a great job of self-regulating. Thus, the situation is still barely being contained at present. That said, there are contingencies being worked on across the globe as we speak.”

The girl nodded once more and fell deep into thought, trying to process everything she was told.

"If Infinity Energy behaves like a fluid, then wouldn't actively siphoning that energy accelerate its flow somehow." Nina jolted from her stupor. "Kind of like a straw you know? Or a pump." Nina was reminded of one of her earlier conversations with Professor Oak, that there seemed to be an increased saturation of Infinity Energy in their world from an increasing number of Ultra Wormholes, which may or may not correlate to the increased emergence of Alpha Pokémon.

Both Oak cousins looked at each other with wide eyed realization. "Indeed, I recall Sycamore proposing a similar notion some time ago," said Professor Oak.

Samson nodded. "Yeah, we might be able to make use of this to track that bastard down..."

The two men nodded to each other once more. "I'll make a call to Kalos and enlist Sycamore's help. In the meantime, can you go ahead and start setting up some experiments to test this idea, Samson." The younger Oak nodded and immediately got up to run to the lab. 

Professor Oak then turned towards Nina and gave her a genial smile. "Thank you, Nina. You've been a great help. I'll make sure to repay the favour one day."

Nina returned the smile and shook her head lightly. "Please Professor, I'm just repaying the kindness that you've shown me so far. I hope this idea pans out and do let me know if you need my help for anything at all."

The girl was trying to act humble on the surface, but internally she was screaming; "Yes! Social link leveled up!"

Professor Oak chuckled and gave the girl a loving pat on the head. "You've done plenty, my child. That said, if you do come across more clues pertaining to Team Rocket and the black gem in your journey, I would appreciate a call. I'll make sure to keep a line open to you at all times."

"Of course, Professor."

***

Author's note:

This chapter is a little rough around the edges. I've already made some adjustments based on feedback from Patreon. But if there's still any uncertainties, I'll be around to answer any questions.

PS. I went to watch F4 yesterday. It was really good. A proper self-contained movie. (if you discount the end credit scene) Also, is there anyone better than Pedro Pascal when it comes to playing the sad dad character? I wish they did more with The Thing though. His character arc felt incomplete. But then again, there's only so much you can shove into a feature length film.