He pulled the plug, but the screen stayed lit for three seconds longer than it should have, displaying one final message:

Leo felt a chill. He reached for the power button, but his hand froze. On the screen, a 3D model of his childhood Pokémon—a Sylveon he’d named 'Luna'—appeared. She looked tattered, her ribbons torn. She didn't cry out; she just stared at the camera.

The familiar cry of Yveltal pierced the speakers, but the title screen was… off. The vibrant reds of the legendary bird were replaced by a dull, bruised purple, and the music played at a dragging, minor-key tempo. Leo shrugged it off as a glitch. He hit "New Game."

The speakers whispered a distorted version of her cry. Suddenly, the emulator crashed, and the monitor went black. In the reflection of the glass, Leo didn't see his room. He saw the jagged, crystalline ruins of the Ultimate Weapon’s crater, and for a split second, he saw Luna standing right behind his chair.

A text box appeared, unprompted: "Do you really want to bring back what's gone?"

He tried to fly to another city, but the menu was locked. The only path open was toward the Team Flare Secret HQ. As he entered, the game didn't trigger a battle. Instead, the screen began to warp, the pixels stretching like melting wax.