Wait, Is That, ?

Hey there!

Yo! Where's Nemona?

Not here yet. I'm pretty sure this is when we agreed to meet...

I'm guessing she's...

Battling? Yeah, probably.

Ah well. Guess we'd better go find her.

There she is.

And just like we thought, she's battl... Wait...

Th-that Pokémon...!

Didn't we see that in the Great Crater of Paldea?!

I'm so sorry! I missed our meeting time, didn't I?

Thanks for coming to find me!

Forget about that! Where the heck did...

Oh, you noticed?

I finally got a sygna suit of my own! You like?

Ugh! No, not that either!

Your Pokémon! What are you doing with that Pokémon?!

Oh, them?

I met it not long ago. It was all on its own, poor thing!

Of course I battled it, but then we found out that we get along really well!

This isn't some feel-good story about a couple of rough teens becoming friends...

What's that...creature doing here in the first place?!

Could it have...wandered here from Paldea somehow?

...Nemona.

You do realize that you can't just casually partner up with this Pokémon, right?

Don't you remember what happened in Area Zero?

Yeah, of course, but...

Like I said, I didn't see any others. It looked like it was all alone...

Hey, we weren't telling you to abandon it or anything.

It's just that this isn't something we can handle by ourselves.

Yeah, we need to report this to experts!

Hmmm...

Nemona, this Pokémon you caught is called Scream Tail.

Really? So you're Scream Tail, huh?

Nice to formally make your acquaintance, Scream Tail!

You two look like good friends already!

Scream Tail is a special Pokémon that's rumored to have crossed time and space to appear in the Paldea region...

Apparently some people refer to it as a "Paradox Pokémon."

That's all pretty vague compared to your usual explanations, Mr. Jacq.

Yes, Mr. Jacq, I'm afraid the entry for this Pokémon in your Pokédex app is rather, ah...

Yeah, I'm sorry... There just isn't enough information to put in.

Well, I mean, it makes sense. It almost never shows itself in front of humans.

Almost like it's...paranormal, huh?

You've got a point there...

In fact, a paranormal magazine once printed an article describing a certain mysterious Pokémon as "a Jigglypuff from one billion years ago."

And Scream Tail does look an awful lot like that Pokémon.

A billion years ago, huh?

...I am aware that Paradox Pokémon are savage, dangerous creatures.

Just recently they seemed ready to breach the borders of Area Zero and spill into the outside world. That could have been quite serious.

... ... ...

I know we can't afford to take this lightly, but at the same time...

I doubt we'll face much danger from a single Paradox Pokémon, especially if it has a Trainer.

And I certainly don't foresee any problems when the Trainer is as strong as Champion Nemona.

So, Champion Nemona, I'd like to leave Scream Tail in your care.

In the unlikely event that anything goes awry, I'll take responsibility.

Oh, wow! Thanks so much, Primera!

What I'm more concerned about is how Scream Tail managed to come to Pasio...

People and Pokémon come here from across time and space!

That's not unusual on this island!

Many people and Pokémon from different places have already appeared on Pasio!

So I would not call this phenomenon rare at all!

Of course, that will probably make it quite difficult to pinpoint exactly why your Pokémon appeared.

But its arrival suggests that other rare Pokémon may come to this land!

I'm thrilled at the mere thought!

So basically you're saying you have no idea.

Then what are you here for...?

When I've heard there are rare Pokémon to be seen... Well! I can't stand around doing nothing!

You really do love Pokémon, don't you, Volo?

Just as you say, it would probably be quite challenging to discover what caused this Pokémon to appear.

Although we seem to be in no immediate danger, I plan to inform Lear that a Paradox Pokémon is here on Pasio.

Oh? What perfect timing.

Hello, this is Geeta. Lear, there is actually something I needed to tell...

...I see. That does sound urgent. I will do what I can.

It seems Team Break is causing trouble in town.

They are being dealt with, but I'd like to send some backup.

Oh! In that case, leave it to me!

Let's go!

Nemona seems more gung-ho than ever now that we've come to Pasio.

So Team Break's gonna be target practice for Nemona... I feel kinda sorry for them.

And you are...?

I'm Nemona! I heard Team Break was causing trouble, so I came to help out!

Ah! Much appreciated!

I'm Looker, from the International Police!

And I'm Anabel, also from the International Police. Thanks for coming to our aid, Nemona!

Sure thing!

That was over in an instant... You're both very skilled.

That was amazing! You're so strong, Anabel!

You are too, Nemona. I was impressed as well.

Please have a battle with me sometime!

...Hey, Anabel, did you have another job before you joined the International Police?

Like as a Gym Leader or an Elite Four member?

Oh, errr... About that...

... ... ...

What's wrong?

Well, to tell you the truth...

I don't remember most of my past.

Huh?!

So I don't have any memories from before I joined the International Police.

Oh... I-I'm so sorry!

Please don't worry about it.

Anyway, tell me about that Pokémon. It looks like a Jigglypuff, but it's different...

Oh, right! You see, this Pokémon...

I'd heard that strange Pokémon had arrived on Pasio, but I didn't know about this one...

A paradox is sort of a self-contradiction, right?

A Jigglypuff that's not a Jigglypuff... Some might even consider it a different form of Jigglypuff altogether.

...As I said, I don't know what I was like before I joined the International Police.

But it's who I am now and what I do from now on that's truly important.

At least, that's what I believe.

... ... ...

The same is true of this Scream Tail, even if it's seen as a threat.

If you're going to keep it as your partner, please take good care of it.

Of course!

And I'll arrange a time for us to have our battle.

Thank you! I can't wait!

(Who she is now and what she'll do from now on, huh...)

I wonder what kind of person I'll become in the future...

Hey, what sort of Pokémon do you want to be?

Right now I'm having fun with Pokémon battles... but what do you think my future will be like?

Uh...what do you mean?

Thinking about the future? This is kinda unlike you.

I mean, I just assumed that you'd end up working for the Pokémon League...

and keep moving forward as a Champion, you know?

Well, yeah. What else would she do?

So you think it's unlike me to end up in a career that's completely unrelated to battling?

Hmm... All I can say is that I find it hard to imagine you doing anything other than Pokémon battling.

Same.

Really? Huh.

Speaking of, have you two thought about your future plans?

I'm gonna be a cook, of course!

Of course you are. We could've told you that without asking, Arven.

Then what about you, Penny? Is there something you want to do?

I guess I've got a vague idea that I wanna do something with computers...but I don't know what.

If you two are wondering what to do, why don't you try talking to some people who actually do the jobs you're interested in?

People with all sorts of different jobs are gathered here on Pasio. I bet you could learn from them.

Good idea... I'll try that!

And she leaps straight into action... Now THAT'S our Nemona.

Being a Frontier Brain sounds good. I'd get to greet and battle challengers...

But being a Gym Leader could be fun too...or a school teacher!

...What would be the best for me, though?

Oh, hello, Nemona.

Volo!

Are things going smoothly with that Paradox Pokémon of yours?

Yeah, but...

Is something else bothering you?

Actually...I've been thinking a lot about my future...

What made you decide to become a merchant, Volo?

Hmm...

I've forgotten!

Oh, uh... OK.

But there's one thing I can say...

Only a small handful of people manage to make their way through life exactly as they planned.

Yeah, that makes sense...

Now I have a question for you, Nemona.

Let's say that you did turn out differently from the ideal version of yourself that you'd imagined.

Would you want to redo your life?

No, I wouldn't!

Oh?

Because I'd have met so many people and Pokémon up to then...

I wouldn't want to erase all the fun I had battling them!

I see.

Then the question of what you want to be isn't actually what's most important to you, is it?

You seem more focused on something other than the future.

...Oh!

Thank you, Volo! I think I know the answer now!

Good luck!

...Of course, no matter what you decide, it won't change how things will end.

(Once you decide the best future for yourself...)

(You'll never waver in your decisions.)

(I certainly don't.)

Anabel!

Since we met, I'd been thinking about my future!

I wasn't sure about the best way to live my life that really suited me.

But the answer was right in front of me!

This Pokémon?

I honestly don't know much yet about Scream Tail.

I don't know where it came from, or what it used to do back there.

But right now, it's battling as hard as it can with me as my partner!

I think that's because it loves the way we have Pokémon battles here...

so it's decided to stay by my side.

I think that battling together isn't just what I want to do, it's what Scream Tail wants too!

And it's enjoying its life here in this time to the fullest!

I see you've indeed found your answer.

Yes!

As long as I live my life in the way that feels best right now...

then no matter how my future turns out, I can hold my head up high!

I'll always be able to say, "This is me! This is my life!"

...I don't know what kind of person you were before, Anabel.

But to me, the Anabel standing in front of me now is all that matters!

Please, let me have an all-out battle with you as you are today!

Of course.

I'm sure there were other possibilities for me as well...

I could have lived a completely different life as a different person, even.

But this moment, right here, is the life I'm living now...

so I'll keep living it to the fullest!

I want to live a life that I can be proud of, even compared to any I might have lived in another time or place!

The next day...

Everything I said to Anabel was true, you know.

I'm so glad I met you here on Pasio!

I don't know how my future will turn out, or what other sync pairs I'll meet...

but that gives me so much to look forward to!

I want MORE! More battles with more sync pairs!

Heeey, Nemona!

Oh!

Arven! Penny! Hey!