"You call yourself a trainer?"



There was something eerie about the red-haired boy, almost vampiric. He leered at the dark-haired lad and his Bayleef. "Pathetic. You're not even taking this battle seriously, are you?"



"I'm not into this for the battles," Dipper said, defending himself. "I carry Pokemon with me to protect myself, sure -- everyone does. But I'm a doctor. I prefer to heal wounds, not inflict them."



"Then you're weak," the redhead insisted. "Battles are only won by the strong. And you call yourself a Host of the Voices?"



Dipper blinked. "What the... how did you know?"



"You made it pretty fricking obvious. Walking into walls, fumbling with items, your stupid Bellsprout obsession..."



"Hey!" Dipper argued. "Bellsprout leaves are necessary ingredients in many herbal remedies!"



"My point is, you're the Host, which means it's your job to be strong. And right now? You're pathetic."



"And what do you know about being a Host?" Dipper asked, curious. "It's not like this whole 'Voice Syndrome' thing has been happening for long."



The redhead froze. How could he possibly explain it? If he flat-out told Dipper that he was from another timeline, the boy might think he was crazy. And possibly have him checked into a mental hospital. He didn't have time to escape the shrinks; he had to make sure this damn idiot was actually ready to fight the possessed glitchmancer on top of Mt. Silver before he destroyed the entire region. And probably take out the remnants of Team Rainbow Rocket in Johto, if he didn't get to them first.



"I make it my business to know," the redhead snapped. "Just get good. And get lost."



He stalked off into the shadows, leaving Dipper extremely confused.



---



Deep within Ilex Forest, the red-haired boy lingered close to Celebi's shrine. Celebi was famously said to only appear in times of peace, a legend which Elijah figured had been invented to explain him never actually appearing. If the spirit that lived in the woods was anywhere around, he didn't show himself.



But that didn't mean Elijah was alone.



This is not working out the way we had hoped, said an odd voice.



The boy looked up and saw a strange glitchy serpentine creature hovering around him. "You're telling me," he said. "This Dipper guy is a moron. And you really think he'll be able to help stop the Hau parasites?"



We can only hope.



"Yeah, well, hopes and dreams will only get you so far," the boy groused. "We need results. Somebody has to get to that kid and knock some sense into him."



The glitch creature considered this a moment. I may have an idea...