Pokémon Mars

Chapter 39: Identity

The DNA test was complete by then. Everyone saw green text on the computer screen and piled in to see the result. Did green mean yes or no? It wasn't used in the International Police system, but on the systems shared by Team Aqua and Team Magma, green meant a 100% match. 'Denak' was Wish.

'Actually...'

Nyx held up a message on her phone.

'Betty just got back to me. Her Seri friend says "Denak" is probably "kaneid" – that means "origin" in Seri – backwards. And "Krateeyum" could be a transliteration of "kratheiym," which means "garlic" in Seri.'

'"Garlic?"'

Jin grimaced. 'That bloke really is something to do with Nascour, isn't he?'

Wheels rumbled outside. The last bus carrying equipment and staff arrived. Even though Sonnet assured them that they could take their time, the evacuated scientists were terrified. They were shaken and sore after bracing themselves for attacks for the entire 16-hour journey. The landing of the tourist ship was delayed, so Kazuki was still stuck at the spaceport, but the Team Magma members were relieved to see Koray and Julien. Firmino's Grunts were relieved to see him.

He must have told them about Nyx's karate class. They asked if they could join it. She considered giving up after Joshua died. It didn't help him. Nyx wasn't sure if even Volo could stand up to someone like Sonnet, but if it made people feel better, it was worthwhile.

'Sure. It's every Monday night at seven.'

'Th-thank you...'

'That Zorua's a hero, Nyx,' Jin said, 'This sample's full of juicy stuff! I'm sending it to Farah! At least this is gonna brighten her day!'

'I don't think Wish's hair is going to brighten anyone's day, mate. But yeah, Zorua's awesome.'

'Not the hair. No-one wants to hear about him. I'm on about this one!'

Nyx remained unaware that Zorua wandered off to collect a sample of the ground trodden by the Heatran, wherever and whenever it was. She told it off. It could easily have got lost. Everyone else complimented Zorua, though, so it was satisfied that it did the right thing. Jin even gave it a square of chocolate. He waited impatiently for Farah's reply, hoping that the results of her tests might even brighten their day, but the tests would take a while. He only got a message thanking him.

Betty did give Nyx's number to Linchee. She texted later to say that one of the Admins arrested when Team Genesis went down was Zebulun Fusto, an Orrean man who moved to Seri after meeting and marrying a Gym Leader there. She knew he was the son of a foreign criminal. Callerya immediately recognised the surname he shared with Nascour from Jovi's books about Cipher. He was indeed Nascour's son.

Linchee also confirmed that Wish was a Psychic-type specialist. Her elderly parents remembered rumours of his ability to read opponents' minds from his time as the Seri League Champion. He was popular then. He often predicted the weather and natural disasters. He was a powerful Trainer that any aspiring Trainer could look up to. No-one knew the truth until he was exposed, as many evil team leaders were, by a 15 year-old.

So whether it was his choice or not, Sonnet was a liar. Martians didn't hone their psychic powers when they lost their atmosphere. It was just Wish. His people weren't real Martians at all. They were escaped criminals who crashed through an Ultra Wormhole to a planet they believed to be uninhabited. It was uninhabited when they set off, but because they were so unprepared, they travelled 77 years into the future.

What did that imply for the regular people who lived on Mars? Team Genesis wanted to create a new world from a blank slate because Wish and his Admins hated everyone and everything on Earth. It was unlikely that they had higher opinions of the people on Mars. In fact, they probably hated them even more, because they got there first and got in their way.