Episode 19: How to Live

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Infia is what we've called a V Pocket

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Infia is what we've called a V Pocket. A compressed bundle of V Waves with intricate programming that enables them to act as an independent android. They are like Pokémon, but since they are made of programmable V Waves, they have certain limitations, such as an inability to grow. The benefit however, is that they are capable of abilities not possible by normal Pokémon.

Lute wandered the streets of Pokétopia with his head down, distant from the amusements around him. He couldn't get that fact out of his head. Infia's disability, her effective Helping Hand, and her healing abilities, all of it was because she was a V Pocket. A creation of Spirle's.

They don't age. They don't need to nourish themselves with food or water. They don't even need to sleep or breathe. If perfected, V Pockets could become god-like weapons that threaten all of Aseria. But if we use their weapons against them, Infia...

According to Athens, Spirle had been trying to create and perfect V Pockets for years now, all so that they could create an army that could conquer Aseria. All their failed experiments transformed into Risen, the sludgy monsters he had seen and battled a few times. He didn't want to believe any of it, but knowing that Infia was Victoria's 'daughter' made it hard to argue against.

He stopped dead in his tracks and teared up just thinking about it. The poor Minun had been through far more than any Pokémon should have to bear. And now, the Agents of King's Shield wanted to use her to help defeat the Spirle High Points. As sensible a solution as it was, it felt equally vile.

The thoughts made him furious, but that fury was only a fraction of what Esther felt. The Pikachu stormed out of the agent base and hadn't been seen since, so now the party was split up to search for her. Infia sat on Lute's back in silence while he searched.

The way Esther spoke back there, it implied she had seen the exact scene before, but with Phoenix instead. Considering how close they were, he didn't understand it beyond the fact that it obviously tore her apart. Even though he had seen her upset enough to curse before, this time felt different. The whole scene repeated in his head.

"Lute. I think I know where she is." Infia tapped his neck. "Esther likes high places. So she's probably at the top of the Arcade."

"Right back where we started? We did kind of circle the area." He looked toward the rooftops. Thanks to the lighting of the city, it didn't look like there were any. He made his way to the shopping centre anyway, where the lift took them to the highest floor.

The doors opened to a rooftop lookout lined with benches and a few bushes. There were a few Pokémon chilling here, mostly couples or groups. Without wind or a view of the sky however, Lute felt hot, as if he wasn't really as high up as he thought he was. At twenty-four floors up, he expected a cool breeze, not heated air from the lights all around.

"I can't see her," he muttered. Infia looked with him, and her cheeks gave the lightest sizzle of static.

"Over there." She pointed towards the front edge of the lookout. He jogged right to the edge, but he still couldn't see her. "Esther?"

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