Pokémon: Rise Of The Rockets

[MELON LORD]

IC: Lachina Adaon

 

Lachina quickly relayed the message. She nodded and glanced back to Colleen. "So, they ran into some friends of Dahlia's, it seems like. One of them is possibly offering us hotel rooms."

 

IC: Jared Winters

 

While Lachina spoke, Jared looked back at Lucia. "If your father is alright with it, which hotel?"

[Metal Gear Minun]

IC: Guinevere/Natalie - Chroma County Penitentiary
 
With her warning given, she got up and started walking with her crutch towards the jail. She doubted that the Yuki disguise would be needed, but did not tell Natalie that fact. It was still better to have it on hand, just in case.
 
The pair entered the front doors of the jail. The atmosphere at the jail was darker than it had been at Celadon. The lights were dimmer, and the walls were a muted shade of dark green. It was depressing, perhaps fitting for a prison.
 
The reception was equally dim compared to Celadon’s. There was a police officer sitting at the desk, looking thoroughly uninvested in her job.
 

"Hello, I would like to visit Gerald Hikari." Natalie said to the officer after the duo approached the desk.

 

The woman sitting at the desk kept chewing a piece of gum that she’d been chewing since before the pair arrived. She looked at the both of them and blew a bubble from the gum. After popping the bubble, she spat it into the garbage.
 
“The dead guy?”
 

The words so casually uttered hit the pair like a truck. Natalie looked to Guinevere with a slightly baffled expression because of the casual mention of Gerald being dead. The Gardevoir’s eyes were disturbed, but not surprised. A part of her didn’t want to be correct about her hunch, but there it was. She looked back towards Natalie, and with her free hand tapped her on the shoulder and pointed her towards the police officer. They needed information badly.

 

"Wait, what do you mean, dead?" Natalie repeated, a frown on her face. "How did that happen? When did it happen?" Something felt wrong to her, but she knew what Guinevere had tapped her for. There was something they needed to find out, and that would only happen if they asked the right questions.
 
“A few days ago, maybe a week,” the officer said offhandedly. Her face began to sport of devilish grin before she spoke again, “Way I hear it, he took a bullet straight the head. Little bitty chunks of his brain went flying everywhere. Stuck to the walls as I hear it. They had to clean up with left of it with a mop. And don’t get me started on his eyes…”
 
"Could you stop?" Natalie narrowed her eyes at the officer. "In fact, can I talk with your supervisor?"
 
“Yeah, yeah,” she said as she picked up a phone. “She’ll be down in a moment."
 
The pair waited for a few minutes before another woman entered into the room. She was a tall individual, who looked built to break Natalie and Guinevere in half.

“I’m the warden of this establishment,” the woman said in a deep voice. “My name is Maxine Savage. A pleasure to meet you, Miss?”
 
"Yuki Hikari." Natalie responded as she tried her best not to feel intimidated by the complete opposite of the officer that she had just been talking to.
 
“Hikari…” she said trailing off, her face falling into a grumpy pout. “You’re here about Gerald then.” She seemed quite put off by the idea. “Come with me. We’ll talk in my office,” she said turning around and walking without waiting for the pair to follow.
 
The pair followed the warden after being cleared by the prison’s security. They did not enter deeply into the compound before the found the office of the warden. Warden Savage opened the door and let the others in first.

“First, let me apologize about Ms. Ciel’s behavior,” the warden said as she took her seat. If it was possible, she seemed larger sitting down. “Second, let me offer my condolences about your relative,” she said before mouthing some words. Guinevere could swear she just barely heard “no matter how much he deserved it.”
 
Natalie seemed intrigued about the words the warden said, but decided to not show the curiosity there. She instead gave a nod as she took a seat as well. "I just found out about him, thank you for the condolences." She said, not wanting to seem rude to her.
 
“While you have my sympathies, the fact is that the investigation is still ongoing. Until we have formally charged a suspect, we can’t let any details leak. I can’t tell you any details about what happened.”
 
"I see…" Natalie nodded and tried to keep the worry to a minimum. "Do you have any suspects in mind…?"
 
The warden sat there for a bit. She looked away slightly. She seemed to be deep in thought. “All details are classified until we’ve charged a suspect. I can’t say anything more.”
 
Guinevere looked at the warden with a look of slight frustration. The answer was clearly right on the top of the warden’s mind. Maybe she was letting her guard down around the psychic because of the Pokemon power situation, but Guin could tell she could have stolen the information from the warden if she just had telepathy.
 

"Alright." Natalie couldn't help but feel a little frustrated as well, but felt that pushing the issue would get nowhere like this. "Even still, thank you."

Guinevere would have to admit that she couldn’t think of a way to prod further information from the warden.
 
The warden nodded. “You have our word that we will try to get into contact as soon as we’re able. Unless there is anything else I can do for you, then I suppose our conversation is over.”
 
"Alright, I can't think of anything else for right now, so thank you for your time." Natalie gave a smile to the warden as she stood up. "I hope you have a nice day." She walked out of the office with Guinevere, trying to think about what the next move would be.
 

Guinevere kept an eye out on the doors she passed. After several doors, she tugged on Natalie’s shirt with her free hand. When Natalie turned towards her, she pointed towards a bathroom and began to walk over to it. She entered the room and locked the door behind her.
 
Guinevere dropped the backpack onto the sink. She opened the pocket of the backpack and pulled out a Poke Ball. She slammed the Poke Ball on the ground causing the Grimer to come out.
 
What do -you- want? the Grimer asked with a tone of irritation.
 
Guinevere didn’t respond for a moment, as she was digging in her backpack for something. At last she pulled out a photo and showed it to the Grimer.

This is Gerald Hikari, she explained. I need you to pop over to a room five doors down and try to find anything you can on him. Without being seen.
 
The Grimer chuckled slightly. And why should I do anything you say? Your old man ain’t here to help you.
 
The Gardevoir looked at the Grimer unimpressed. Leaning on the sink for support, she pulled out the hose faucet of the sink, and broke the soap dispenser off its hinge.
 
Hey.. What are you- the Grimer was interrupted by the sound of running water as Guinevere poured the soap into the stream, and let the water get ever closer to the Grimer. The Grimer started backing up to the wall, flattening as best he could as the soap got ever closer. Take it easy, seriously- I- okay fine, You win. Just keep the soap away from me!
 
Guinevere smiled and pointed towards the toilet.
 
Jeez. Fine I’m going already, the Grimer said as he climbed into the toilet bowl and began to descend its depths.
 
Still smiling, she wrote a message on her white board, took her crutch and walked over to the door. Peaking out just slightly, she showed a message to Natalie who was waiting out side.
 

Broke the soap dispenser.
Could you get some towels?

 

Edited July 26, 2018 by Metal Gear Minun

[Dr. Hidaka]

-==IC: Evan Tierra/Jenny Hakuda/??? -- Heahea City -- [1]==-

Evan had a nickname in mind for his new friend. Valkyrie is a good name for a strong horse like you, right He mused as he then caught sight of a woman with blue hair tied into twintails. “Seems we were battling for an audience!” The man said, chuckling as he bowed slightly. “Do pardon me, but I’d like to echo what my partner asked: Who are you?”

"My name's Kris." The woman said with a kind smile as she walked forward. "I couldn't help but see your rather showy ways of fighting." Kris eyed the two over. "I don't recognize you two, you're not from around here, I take it?"

Evan scratched the back of his head awkwardly as he chuckled. He was pretty sure they weren’t here as Plasma Agents. ‘Tourists’ seemed the most apt label for them at this point in time. “My name is Evan Tierra and I’m a tourist from Sinnoh, Kris.” The man said, trying to put his best foot forward for the woman.

"And I'm Jenny Hakuda!" The woman said as she struck a pose with a grin. "I'm from… well, either Johto or Unova, I have a tough time remembering which sometimes."

Seeing Jenny pose made Evan laugh as he posed in turn, smiling. “So you saw the battle?” The ‘tourist’ inquired. “Hopefully it was a good show for you!”

"It was." Kris said with a smile as she chuckled at the posing. "There were a few unorthodox moments on your part, Evan, but it was good fun." The woman walked over to where the captured Litten was and knelt down. "This little gal is one of two Litten that I've been keeping my eye on for a little while now. She's a giant fan of the Battle Royal a few towns away. Every day on my way to Royal Avenue, I see her sitting outside of the Dome, and she's just looking in through the window. She always has that glint in her eyes as if one day she wants to be up on that big stage."

Kris stood up, as she glanced around. "There usually is a differently coloured Litten around here too, but I don't see them right now. It could be that's why Tenlite here was around..."

Evan smiled at Kris’s explanation about Tenlite, but the mention of the Battle Royal piqued his interest. “Pardon me but, what is the Battle Royal anyways?” The man asked, a curious look on his face. “I’ve been to many Battle Facilities, but this sounds like it might be…..different?”

"Are you familiar with the free-for-all style of battling, by any chance?"

“I’ve been in a few, yeah.”

Kris smiled slightly and took a deep breath. "FOUR!" She cried out, as she held up four fingers. "... I had to imitate the Masked Royal, sorry." She said, but then continued on. "Four combatants face off in a grand fight. Two Pokémon each, and when they all faint for one person, then the Trainer with the most KOs wins."

Evan grinned, a fire in his eyes. “Sounds pretty amazing, Kris!” The man said, before a realization hit. “Has it been affected by the lack of Pokémon Power? I’ve heard of other battle facilities closing down due to that….”

The blue-haired woman nodded sadly. "Yes, no-one wants to, or knows how to fight. Well, the Masked Royal does, but without any other challengers, there's no real… drive for the Royal Dome to be open." She eyed the duo up carefully. "You two, though… you look like you know how to handle yourselves even through this crisis." Kris's mouth turned up into a smile. "I might be able to get you two a spot so it can be used… but. I have a request. I want to see what you're made of before that. Maybe I could teach you a trick or two as well."

There was no thinking required on Evan’s part. Ever since the power went away, he’d been desiring to battle, not for his life, but for fun. The woman was offering him and Jenny a chance to do just that. “Show you what we are made of, huh?” The man said, grinning. “How so, Kris? Did you want to battle us?”

"Yes. Let's go to a more fitting spot, but I want you both to battle me in a double battle."

Jenny grinned. "That sounds good to me! What do you think, Evan? I think we should give it a try; we took down that obnoxious Kricketune together, after all."

Evan smiled. A stage? In front of a large crowd? The man couldn’t ask for anything more. “I’m in.” The Hero said, fondly remembering how they fought Hayes’s team in the Egg. “I’d be a fool not to accept.”

Kris smiled even more. "Alright. Follow me." The woman led the group back to the middle of Heahea City. "If you're going to fight in the Battle Royal, the first thing you have to learn, is how to fight even when many eyes are on you. To work with that, we're going to fight in what usually is one of the most populated areas of the city. It's safer now because the crowd will be unaffected by most of the attacks."

Evan was definitely excited now, but also a tad nervous. He definitely needed the practice to battle when everyone was eying him. “All right, So, it’s us against you, Kris?” Evan said, grinning.

Kris nodded, as she sent out a Meganium and Cloyster. She watched as Jenny sent out her Scizor once again. "Correct! Now then, show me if you've got what's needed for the Battle Royal!"

Evan then whirled around threw out the Poké Ball that contained Gnip. The Dragon roared out proudly, gleeful to finally get some outside time. She eyed the two pokemon in front of her, and the Scizor beside her, a confident look in her eyes. “Let’s put on a good show then!” The man said, channeling his hamminess in to every word. “We’ll show you we’ve got what it takes!”

[Flipz]

IC: Emily Lockwood

 

Emily approached Elaine again. "Aunt Elaine, would you care to join us? I know that you're going to worry if we go investigate, but at least, this way, you can worry while making sure we don't get into too much trouble."

-==IC: Professor Alderson==-

 

Elaine startled, nearly dropping the glass she'd chosen to drain while her niece wasn't looking. "Investigate? Why...?" The Pokémon Professor paused, wheels turning in her head. "This friend of yours--she's with the government, isn't she?" She brooded pensively for a few moments. "All right. I'll take you with me back to Geosenge. They can inspect my lab again, get it over with." She shot Emily a concerned look. "You do realize you're going to be investigated too, right? You're his daughter. It's probably why they approached you in the first place."

 

 

IC: Jared Winters

 

While Lachina spoke, Jared looked back at Lucia. "If your father is alright with it, which hotel?"

-==IC: Lionel Zyther==-

 

"Hotel Richissme," Lionel interjected with a frown, carrying a discreet but still high-quality duffel bag as he approached from across the street. "Why, what's happened?"

[MELON LORD]

IC: Jared Winters/Lionel Zyther/Lucia Zyther (Kinda jam)

 

"Your daughter was just offering us a place to stay for the night, in the hotel you're staying at." Jared glanced at Lucia, who nodded in confirmation. "If you don't mind, that is."

 

Lionel opened his mouth to object, but instead simply shook his head in bemusement. She's a grown woman, he thought to himself, she can make her own choices. "They're across the hall?" he asked expectantly.

 

"Sure, let's go with that," Lucia said.

 

"Good," Linel said. "i'll call a taxi."

 

IC: Emily Lockwood/Lachina Adaon

 

Emma waved her hand dismissively. "No, no, she's not Rocket. She approached me because she recognized me as a Performer. It's just coincidence." She smiled. "But yes, we'd love to have you along!"

 

Lachina hummed, tapping her fingers. "Jared is saying Hotel Richissime. Does anyone know--"

 

"Hotel Richissime?" Em interrupted. "Are you sure that's what he said?!"

 

Lachina nearly dropped the styler and nodded quickly. "Yes! Yes, yeah, yes, I'm sure! Why, what's--?"

 

She was interrupted by the other girl's squeal of excitement. "Do you know how many people wish they could stay there? I don't stay there when I stop in Lumiose!"

 

Lachina looked to Alex, Colleen, and Zoe for help as Em kept gushing about the upscale hotel.

[Konuju]

IC: Dahlia Seaton - Streets, Lumiose City

"Thank you for accommodating us, sir," Dahlia said as she gave Mr. Zyther a bow. She still hugged Coco in her arms, the Buneary more than happy to be carried along for the ride as Dahlia glanced over at Jared's phone call. "Sounds like they're meeting us at the hotel, then," she said with a smile. "Glad to know we won't be wandering the city streets in search of each other."

 

IC: Alex Lockwood/Zoe Llyan - Scarlet Café, Lumiose City

Alex quickly apologized to the Ranger girl for his cousin's behavior. "Don't look at me, I've never heard of this hotel before. Sounds like it's fairly high-end, though. Guess all that budget Liberty had going towards the war effort is being spent on accommodations for field agents. Heck, most of the time I was in the field I was camping."

 

Zoe seemed to siphon up Emily's excitement and regurgitate it twofold. "Collie, did you hear that?!" she cried, taking hold of her sister's hands and jumping up and down. Alex had to wonder who had spiked her croissant with sugar. "We're staying in a hotel! It's gonna be so cool! We can have pillow fights and ice cream parties and maybe they'll have a hot tub and--" the girl gasped and somehow grew even more excited. With her free hand she grabbed Lachina's arm and began to lead the two older girls toward the door before she could even get the words out of her mouth. "They might even have a free breakfast in the morning! What are we waiting for?! Let's go!"

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Jenny Hakuda/Evan Tierra/Kris -- Heahea City -- [2-1]==-

 

"Alright, start us off, Scizlite!" Jenny called out, as her Scizor flew forward. The Meganium took a direct punch from the steel bug, but didn't seem any worse for wear. He quickly tackled the Scizor in return with a full-body slam, which knocked the Scizor off balance for a couple moments. Meanwhile, the Cloyster had his shell closed tight until Gnip attacked, since he had a lot less movement options without Pokémon Power active.

 

“Rush the Cloyster, Gnip!” Evan yelled out, and Gnip rushed forward towards her target. She slashed out with her right claw, hoping to reach into the groove where the shell opened to attack the weak spot on the Bivalve Pokémon. When she managed to accomplish gripping with her right claw, she reached with her left claw, and attempted to pull apart the shell.

 

The Cloyster opened much easier than likely expected. . . and then used the momentum to spring forward, as he attempted to clamp shut once more, this time on Gnip's snout. The Scizor and Meganium were having an equally tough time trading blows, for as many punched the Scizor threw at the grass dragon, he seemed to just shrug a lot of them off.

 

Gnip was soundly surprised and felt a crushing force on her snout as the Cloyster snapped his shell shut on it. Growling indignantly at the pain she was suffering, The Mach Pokémon tried slashing at her foe’s shell to no avail. It was then, she got a brilliant idea. Despite the pain, she essentially had a bludgeon on her face. She saw Scizlite’s war of attrition with the Meganium, and rushed towards the other opponent, aiming to smash the clam into the Herb Pokémon.

 

The Meganium looked toward the Garchomp even as he endured more of the Scizor's rapid punches. He first attempted to move slightly so Scizlite would be hit instead, but knew that dodging would be out of the question with the Garchomp's speed. Instead, the Meganium reached up at the shell as Gnip was about to smash him with it, and then bit down on the other end to keep the Garchomp and Cloyster in place.

 

Gnip growled as her brilliant idea was stopped cold by the Meganium’s counter. Evan saw this and tried to think of a plan that could turn this around for his prized Pokémon. He considered what the variables were, and came to a sound conclusion. “Gnip, Tug of War!” At her master’s command for one of the games they played in off times, Gnip yanked her head back, aiming to get the Cloyster off, and hopefully, with that action, at least shock the Herb Pokémon with the sudden lack of opposing force.

 

-==IC: Colleen -- Scarlet Café, Lumiose City==-

 

Colleen was slightly surprised by the enthusiasm displayed by Emma and Zoe, but smiled as she had to admit that the hotel sounded pretty amazing - especially to someone who hadn't actually ever been in one before. She tried to at least slow Zoe's charge toward the door as she spoke.

 

"I agree." She said, as a yawn began to cut in briefly. "We should get going before it gets any later, I think." When she received no objections, however, she began to head to the door herself. The trip to the hotel was rather uneventful, though Colleen glanced back a few times to Elaine to make sure she was okay - the aura wielder worried that the conversation from earlier might have been too much, though it seemed like she was doing okay.

 

When they reached the hotel, however, Colleen froze in her steps as she looked up at the large building in awe. "Whoa. Now I see what you mean." The young woman was pretty certain her mouth was open wide as she walked up the steps to the entrance. "We're staying here?" She asked no-one in particular as she glanced back to the group. She noticed a taxi pulling up to the sidewalk, but paid it no attention for the moment.

[Metal Gear Minun]

IC: James Arthur - Akala Island

"Well... that was a thing," James said between deep breaths. Lancelot was nowhere near as tired as James was. He was used to running much more than James was. So much so, that at some point, Lancelot had to start carrying him. James’s exhaustion barely won out over the potential for his embarrassment.

The pair had given the small crowd that had followed them the slip. They ran outside the city and cut through the forest to try and get to the Pokemon Center without being spotted. He needed to a place to inconspicuously loiter for a little while. Hopefully the excitement would die down. Or maybe powers would come back and people would stop bothering him.

Of course, James’s deal with Colress relied on that not happening too quickly, so he didn’t wish that last one too hard.

James had Lancelot set him down right as they arrived behind the Pokemon Center. The coast seemed to be clear, until James heard a commotion out in front.

At first, James thought his chasers were still grouped up there, but when he took a look, he saw it not be the case.

Instead, it was the two Plasma agents he had traveled with, engaging in a Pokemon battle with a trainer he hadn’t seen before.

James chuckled for a moment, holding up Celebi’s Ultra Ball. “This is not the first time I have ended up spying on that man fight with his Garchomp, is it?”

[Flipz]

OOC: Jam again.

 

IC: Tiana Soldati (August 8th, Chroma County Penitentiary, Unova)

 

Tuesday was visiting day. For many of her fellow inmates, that meant time spent seeing their family from beyond the walls of their prison. Men and women clad in their orange jumpsuits dotted the various tables, each sitting with their own combination of civilians--spouses, siblings, children, the odd lawyer here or there. Some were tense, some relieved, some crying and others smiling.

 

Tiana’s expression was impassive. Her grandmother had died just before she had come to reside here. She did not have any blood family left to visit her. Instead, her Tuesdays were spent with her Pokémon, prisoners in their own way for most of the week, trapped and monitored within some distant daycare that she had never seen, whose owners she had never met, and whose quality of treatment for her team she could not verify. The Elgyem across from her, engaged against her in a game of chess; the Misdreavus at her side, nuzzled into her arms; the Snover sitting passively, tentative at her table . . . All three seemed healthy enough, and clearly happy just to be with her, but who was to say that this wasn’t a mask placed upon them through threats or coercion?

 

All the more reason for her to escape.

 

She didn’t need to express this. Wizard already knew. He always knew what she was thinking. It made it difficult for her to get any leeway in their game. Every Tuesday, like clockwork, the Elgyem played and won, taking first a few of her pawns and eventually working his way through her ranks and to her king. He was good. But he was off his game today. Mental distraction didn’t usually work--Wizard was very good at parsing through whatever mental nonsense Tiana threw his way--but today was different.

 

Homecoming’s today. Ought to win.

 

It was hard to read an Elgyem’s expression, but he was clearly confused. He paused in moving a knight, tilting his head at his trainer. Tiana remained focused on the board.

 

Pawn takes knight. Tiana moved her pawn and took the knight he had just moved. Made some friends today. Amelia and Belle. Might like to play. Not that one.

 

She glanced away. Wizard followed her gaze to a Bronzong. It floated next to a guard and his Watchog. Across the way stood another guard with a Watchog, but no Bronzong. The Bronze Bell Pokémon kept its eyes forward, but it was clear from the psychic pressure on the air what it was looking for. Wizard looked back at Tiana and nodded slightly. He moved a pawn.

 

Left something in a closet. Matching outfits. Think they might like it. Tiana moved a pawn. Need it unlocked and brought here next visit. Like a present.

 

Wizard dropped his bishop onto the floor. Tiana nudged Witch, pointing for her to get it. Wizard connected their minds. The Misdreavus handed the piece up, but remained below the table. Ent moved a bit to the side. Witch couldn’t see the Bronzong anymore. She sunk into the floor. Wizard moved a bishop.

 

Got a show in the next hour. Nice walk through a door. Tiana took the bishop with her queen. Would like to see finale today. Guess I’ll look for fireworks. “Checkmate.”

 

Wizard flipped the board. Pieces flew everywhere and scattered throughout the visiting center. A guard blew a whistle and the Elgyem raised his hands, floating away from the table. He was escorted out of the room.

 

From beneath the table, Witch reappeared. She floated up into Tiana’s arms and nuzzled against her chest. Tiana patted her head for a job well done and gave her a kiss. “I’ll see you later, honey,” she said. “You should go back to your brother.”

 

She waved to a guard and Witch and Ent were allowed to follow Wizard out of the room. A pair of guards approached Tiana and began to lead her back to her cell.

 

---------------

 

As two guards opened Tiana’s cell to put her back in, another four were escorting her new neighbors out into the hall. The three women traded quick looks, and all came to the same conclusion. Belle shifted slightly, putting her foot at an angle, and then hooked it back. The guard to her right sprawled, and Belle used the momentum to spin and duck away from the guard on her left.

 

Tiana’s approach was more direct, whipping her interlocked fists up to bash the guard closest to her. The black plexiglass on his face protected him from any direct damage, but the impact still staggered him. Tiana turned just in time to divert her other guard’s fist away from her neck and toward her shoulder -- painful, but not injurious

 

Amelia had managed to get her cuffs around the throat of one of their captors, and was using her as a human shield against the fourth guard that had been escorting the other-worldly duo. “Blake, keys!” she shouted.

 

Belle was blocking and dodging swings of a nightstick, but she nodded. Gamely, she turned into one of the blows and bodychecked that assailant. As she rammed her elbow into his stomach -- sadly armoured to prevent that weakness -- she reached for the keys on his belt. Her hand latched onto them, but the guard smacked her wrist and backed off, leaving her smarting.

 

Belle grinned, and raised the canister of mace she’d lifted off of him. It wouldn’t hurt him -- the helmet probably had a built in gas mask of some sort -- but as he closed in, she sprayed, coating the faceplate of his helmet. He lashed out blindly, but Belle brought her foot up in a kick that even the most solid of codpieces wouldn’t protect against. The man crumpled, and Belle picked up his keys.

 

A weight landed on her back, and she cursed herself for getting cocky -- the first guard hadn’t been knocked out, just prone. As he put an arm around her throat, she took a deep breath -- he was going for an air choke, not a blood one.

 

Amelia was still holding her human shield -- unconscious now -- but her back was to the wall and the other guard was closing in.

 

Tiana was restrained, and struggling as the guards tried to force her into the cell. A few well-placed kicks managed to slow their progress, but she wouldn’t hold out forever.

 

So much for their noble breakout. Belle slumped. The man on top of her held her for an extra second before letting her drop and going to assist with Amelia.

 

Instantly, Belle rolled over to the guard she’d dropped. In a second, she had the keys in her hand and had her cuffs unlocked. “Pond!” she called, tossing the keys.

 

Amelia, despite having a guard in her arms, caught the keys. With a grin, she lifted her arms and kicked the unconscious guard into the two coming at her. While she unlocked her cuffs, Belle went to assist Tiana.

 

---------------

 

“Next,” a bored-sounding guard intoned.

 

Alex sighed as he waited for Alma to finish placing her Pokéballs on the tray in front of the metal detector. While he could understand the necessity of such security, it didn’t make waiting to go through it any less tedious--and by the soft beeping noise from the guard’s console, it was about to become even more so.

 

Coralie leaned into Alex’s leg, prompting a soft smile from the Trainer. While he still mistook her for a common Carbink (honestly, she would have words for them all once she regained her telepathic speech), she could commiserate with his feeling lost and lonely, worrying about what lay ahead of them.

 

“Those Pokémon…they belong to a prisoner!”

 

By mutual agreement, Alma had taken temporary custody of Belle’s team while Alex carried Amelia’s. “Yes, yes, they are,” the girl replied. “Miss LaDonna is a friend of ours, and we took her team when she and her cohort were taken into custody.”

 

She nodded back to Alex. “Miss Zann’s Pokémon are being held by Alex.”

 

“But...they belong to a prisoner. You can’t take Pokémon to a prisoner!” The guard seemed distraught by his perceived logical fallacy, earning a smirk from another guard bringing in a tray of Pokéballs from the back.

 

Mister McKinley stepped up and gave his best charming smile. “We’re here to represent the Misses Zann and LaDonna.” He flashed an ID at the badge too quickly for the guard to see. “Seth Gacheru, attorney-at-law.”

 

“But...but you can’t take Pokémon to a prisoner!”

 

“Our clients should already be on their way out,” Tyler objected, “so if you’d kindly stop obstructing justice--”

 

The sly man was interrupted by the blaring of an alarm. Red light bathed the room, and a flash of white caused all Pokémon to be withdrawn back to their balls. All except one. The “Carbink” hadn’t been properly captured, and so was still free. As the guards moved forward to try and escort the group back the way they’d come, Warren moved. Rough hands grabbed each guard by the neck, and he slammed their heads together. As the guards slumped, Alma walked over to the device that had emitted the white light.

 

With a hum, she pulled out her pistol and shot it.

 

“So much for our quiet breakout,” Warren muttered.

 

Coralie made her way over to where one of the guards had dropped three Pokéballs. Quickly, she released the team of Pokémon they had seen on entering the room.

 

“Now what?” Alex asked, utterly out of his element.

 

Warren cracked his knuckles. McKinley just grinned.

 

---------------

 

Belle, Amelia, and Tiana were backed against a wall, the nightsticks they had picked up the only thing keeping the six guards at bay, and that only temporarily.

 

A shrill, piercing whistle cut through the hall, momentarily pausing the action. Two more guards had arrived, one batting a nightstick against his hand and the other standing with his arms crossed. The source of the whistle was not immediately visible, only becoming obvious when a devilishly-grinning Misdreavus floated down from the shadows, whistle in hand.

 

“ATTENTION, BOYS!” the stick-wielding guard shouted. “WE’LL TAKE IT FROM HERE!”

 

The confused looks directed his way were quickly undercut by the shattering of glass as he cold-clocked a fellow guard with enough force to shatter their visor. A moment later, the second arrival stepped up, moving with the agility of a serpent striking through the grass. He ducked under a punch, grabbing the attacker’s arm and pulling her down with enough force to dislocate her shoulder. With a twist of his feet leading into a mid-air spin that anyone else may have called impossible, he rolled the guard over his shoulder, launching her into another pair and sending them slamming against the gate behind them with a thunderous crash.

 

As the majority of the guards moved to deal with their apparent-traitors, the louder guard skirted along the edge of the field toward Amelia, Belle, and Tiana, all of whom had resumed struggling against their own handlers. Just as Tiana managed to slip out of her attacker’s grasp and down to the floor, Traitor One arrived, slamming what looked like a bottle into the man’s face. The guard fell to the floor, unconscious. Traitor One nodded at Tiana, waving a hand in front of his face and removing a strange sort of mask. Behind it, Tyler McKinley grinned.

 

“Howdy, lad--” he began, stuttering and cutting himself off as another guard screamed in pain behind him. He cleared his throat. “Howdy, ladies. Need a hand?”

 

“Who the frick are you?” Tiana demanded.

 

“Call me Tyler,” the Ford Agent said. He tossed a key to her, allowing her to unlock her chains. “This is Tom.” He jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “We’re friendly.”

 

Belle glanced at Amelia, who shrugged in response. The purple-haired thief turned back to the men. “Awright, if you say so. Lead the way.”

 

“ATTENTION ALL UNITS, ESCAPE IN PROGRESS CELL BLOCK D.”

 

“We ain’t in Cell Block D,” Belle stated confusedly.

 

“Hang on a tick, ain’t that…?”

 

The group rounded the corner to witness a propped-open door panel, behind which sat a grinning Alex with a mic. On the opposite side of the security booth, Alma was staring at a purple-glowing control bank of monitors, nodding as Freq erased the security footage. Upon realizing that company had arrived, Alex jerked his head over with worry, before breaking into a grin and trying to heft an overstuffed duffel bag at their feet. “Room service?” he asked cheekily.

 

Belle snorted, shaking her head. “And here I thought yer kid would be a burden, Pond. No offense, Alex.” She walked over and took the belt Alma offered her. As the albino hugged her, Belle looked at the rest of the group. “What’s our next step?”

 

Tyler walked over and flipped some switches on the main computer. “Now, we get the heck out of here.”

 

As he said it, they heard a commotion. Tyler chuckled, shaking his head as Warren came running around the corner, a horde of guards on his heels. In an instant, McKinley’s Xatu materialized, and quickly teleported the escapees away.

 

---------------

 

The group materialized in a familiar cavern, lined with crystalline mirrors.

 

“This place? What in blazes are we doin’ back here?”

 

“Amelia…” Alex paused, briefly registering the sheer absurdity of the situation they’d fallen into--literally, as it happened. “This…isn’t our world. The mirrors of Reflection Cave can become portals to other universes. That’s what happened to us.”

 

Belle raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. “Uh-huh,” she said dubiously.

 

Alma nodded. “I promise, it’s true. We found this information in Mr. Ford’s library.”

 

“Who?” Tiana asked.

 

“Oh, come on--the John Ford,” McKinley said. “Leader of the Signs? You have to have heard of him.”

 

Alex nodded in confirmation. “He’s friends with President Ebner of Unova, that’s how we were able to get in in the first place to free you…though we were supposed to do things legitimately.”

 

Warren crossed his arms. “I’m not apologizing.”

 

Amelia chuckled villainously. “Oh, I like you.”

 

Alex shook his head ruefully before addressing McKinley instead. “Well, anyway, please convey our thanks to Mr. Ford. I’m sorry we can’t tell him in person.”

 

“I will,” Tiana promised, “after all, I’ve got thanks to convey as well.”

 

“You ain’t coming with us?” Belle asked.

 

Tiana shook her head. “No. As appealing as a fresh start sounds . . . I don’t know. Leaving doesn’t sit right with me. Not until I’ve got things figured out.”

 

Amelia nodded in understanding. “All right. Best of luck to ya.”

 

“Take care of yourself, ya hear?” Belle added.

 

“Same to you.”

 

“All right, everyone,” Alex announced in a deliberately overly-dramatic tone, “let’s go! Adventure awaits!” With Coralie and the rest of his team in tow, Alex led the charge further into the cave, with a bemused Belle, Amelia, and Alma taking up the rear. As the others watched, the darkness swallowed them, and they were gone.

 

McKinley smirked. “Oh, that lot is trouble,” he chuckled to himself. In response to Warren’s raised eyebrow, McKinley rolled his eyes. “C’mon, big guy, let’s go home.”

 

---------------

 

Dark Horse Manor, Kalos

 

Back at Ford’s manor, the leader of the Signs was studying his notes with a troubled countenance. Ford couldn’t tell for certain why his other self would resort to such a drastic measure, but if the man was anything like him he must have had a very good reason.

 

An unfamiliar woman entered the workshop behind him, flanked by his two faithful agents. “Mr. Ford?” she inquired.

 

“I’m glad you're here," Ford replied. “It seems the time for complacency is over,” he informed the three. “Preparations must be made, safeguards established. We will need all the help we can manage.” He finally focused directly on the woman McKinley and Warren had brought back with him. “I take it you helped my agents in their mission?” The woman nodded, seemingly at a loss for words. “Thank you. In assisting them, you may have well saved the world.”

 

Thomas and Tyler exchanged a mystified glance. “What?”

 

Ford kept his attention on the woman. “What is your name?”

 

“Tiana Soldati.”

 

“Well, Miss Soldati, you've helped us save the world once already. How would you like to keep going?”

 

Tiana gave Ford a quizzical glance. “Uh...sure...?”

 

“Well, then . . . Welcome to the Signs, Quincy Adams.”

Edited July 27, 2018 by Flipz

[Dr. Hidaka]

-==IC: Kris/Evan Tierra/Jenny Hakuda/James Arthur -- Heahea City -- [2-2]==-

The Meganium was surprised by the sudden shift in direction that Gnip was moving, but attempted to use the tug of war to his advantage, as he tried to pull back while flipping his head back. The grass type didn't know quite how well this would work, but hoped that the Garchomp could be slammed down by the momentum.

Evan noticed the Meganium tried tugging back harder, and focused my sights on Gnip. “Gnip pull harder!” The man said, hoping to egg on his Pokémon Partner. “You’ve totally got this!” Growling with renewed vigor, Gnip countered the tugging and yanked her head, only for her to finally dislodge her precious snout from the Cloyster. The shock caused the Dragon-Type to fall on her back a little bit, before quickly getting up.

The Meganium and Cloyster had not expected this sort of idea. Meganium tumbled backwards, while Cloyster was sent flying off - it's possible that the Bivalve Pokémon could have become a brand new star if Kris had not had the foresight to recall him in that moment.

Evan couldn’t believe that Gnip’s plan would work so well, but look so silly. The man clapped his hands at his Landshark’s prowess, before focusing once more. “I think Scizlite’s got this now, Gnip, but….” The Hero said, grinning. “It’s best to help her out nonetheless! Pounce on the Meganium to pin him down!” Gnip roared loudly, before rushing towards the Herb Pokémon and leaping at him.

The Meganium pushed himself to his feet and whipped the Scizor away with his tail. As Gnip approached to try and pounce on him, the Meganium let her. However, as soon as she tried to pin the herbivore, the Meganium surprisingly nimbly moved to try and pin her instead, having shocking success.

At the same time, Kris sent out her next Pokémon with a smile, a Kommo-o. "Let's see how you fare against this!" She said, as the armoured Pokémon roared out, aiming to go help out her companion.

Try as she might, Gnip couldn’t break free from the pin, growling in defeat. “It’s OK, Gnip!” Evan said, not letting this get him down as he returned the pinned Mach Pokémon to her Poké Ball, and threw out Behemoth’s Poké Ball. Almost immediately, the Ice-Type began to charge at the Herb Pokémon, fury burning in his eyes.

The Meganium seemed surprised as the Mamoswine began to charge at him. Seeing the danger, the Kommo-o came to his aid, reinforcing the Meganium as the Mamoswine crashed into the two of them. It was a stalemate for the three Pokémon, but not an outright loss for Meganium yet.

Despite being stopped cold, Behemoth couldn’t help but feel invigorated by the challenge these two were presenting. The Mamoswine eyed Scizlite, and gave the Scissors Pokémon a wink as he began to feel himself inching forward, little by little. Evan saw the slow advancement and began to look awestruck, before fist pumping. “Yeah, attaboy!” He cheered the Twin Tusk Pokémon on. “Show ‘em what you’ve got!” Spurred on by his master’s words, Behemoth put more oomph into his advancement, hoping Scizlite got his signal, before he went…….

Full Boar.

Scizlite charged forward, as she slammed her fist into the Meganium's face. It wasn't meant to deal any damage this time - merely to distract. She then hopped away, and nodded.

Seeing the plan come together, and the Meganium’s focus broken for a second, Behemoth bellowed a loud cry. He then charged full force into the pair of pokemon, the duo being pushed by the sheer strength of the Ice-Type. Normally the Twin Tusk Pokémon wouldn’t be so agitated, but one of these two took down a teammate, and that wouldn’t do.

The two opposing Pokémon were sent flying in opposite directions, and both landed on the ground hard. Kris smiled as she recalled her Meganium, seeming impressed by the combinations. She slowly clapped, as she recalled her Kommo-o as well.

"Well done. I wasn't expecting such a strong performance. I see some things that could stand to be worked on… but I think that with some practice, you could be standing on the Battle Royal stage soon enough."

Evan recalled Behemoth, smiling at the Poké Ball before looking at Kris. “You trounced my star Pokémon, so I definitely agree there’s work to be done on my technique. That said, I’m not surprised, seeing as you definitely have exceptional skill in battle. Mind giving us a few pointers, so when we are on that stage, we give a proper show?”
 

“I do not know, you gave a pretty good show right there,” James commented walking forward with Lancelot in tow. “Forgive me for spying on another one of your battles, but I did not want to interrupt.”

Lancelot eyed the older trainer as he imagined how he would’ve handled her Pokemon. He had an unfair advantage right now, which caused him to imagine scenarios where he either pressed that advantage or chose to ignore it. Both were interesting prospects, for different reasons.

Evan recognized the voice, and was suddenly a lot more self-conscious. “Well, yeah, but a good battler thinks of ways to better themselves…” The man explained to the Executive, smiling a little nervously. “....So they can put on a better show the next battle! That aside……” The Hero gave James a bow with a flourish. “I’m glad we could entertain you, James.”

That whole ‘first-name’ basis thing again. It still felt wrong to James somehow. He let it slide. “My meeting went well, but I had to make a sudden exit, due to a certain Scizor,” he said laying the blame at Lancelot’s feet.

Lancelot would’ve retorted that he was the reason why James made any entrance to that meeting at all, but Guinevere wasn’t here to gave the smack for him. Thus Lancelot leaned on a tree with vague amusement.

Evan chuckled at James’s explanation, but stopped when he realized there was something he had to do. “Oh, where are my manners?” Evan said, motioning to to the older trainer. “Executive Arthur, meet our opponent, Kris!”

Kris raised an eyebrow at the mention of Executive, but walked forward to hold her right hand out. "Alola to you." She gave a smile to him, though otherwise let James take the initiative in the greeting.

James raised his hands in front of him before moving them both in semi-circle pattern, “Alola,” James said in response, before noting the right hand. He had missed it. Internally he felt a bit Mareepish. He shook her hand gracefully after finishing the motion. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Kris…?” he said trailing off, hoping she would finish with a last name.

Kris seemed lost in thought for a moment. "You know, it's been so long that I don't actually remember what they call me around here. I'm sorry for not being able to tell you that right now."

“Er,” James started. Well that was awkward. “I see. My apologies for bringing it up.”

"Not to worry, it isn't your fault." The woman gave a kind smile as she glanced around at the group. "Since all three of you seem to know each other, how would you all like defensive training lessons?"

“Considering I have a little trouble with defensive Pokémon, I’m totally down!” Evan exclaimed, grinning as he turned to Jenny and James. “How about you two?”

James contemplated the issue. “Lancelot and I need to figure something out rather quickly. If you do not mind me using him, I could join for a while.”

Lancelot stood up straight. He didn’t know if this would trigger the bond between James and himself, but he was up for training.

Jenny grinned in response. "I'm in too!" She said as she gave a thumbs up. Kris smiled as she glanced around at the three trainers.

"Excellent - we'll start tomorrow. How does that sound?" The blue-haired woman asked, as she began to pocket the minimized Poké Balls that were still in her hands. "I'll leave the time of when we start up to you, if there's no problems."

James crossed his arms and closed his eyes for a moment. He began to tap one of his fingers on his other arm. “That might be a problem. I have a meeting tomorrow. I will need to travel to my meeting from Ula’Ula Island. Unless the training was early in the morning, or on Ula’Ula Island, I am not sure I will be able to make it.”

"We could train on Ula'Ula." Kris nodded. "There might be some stuff to work out to make that happen, but, I think that I can handle that. Are there any other problems?"

“No, I think I can make it in that case,” James uncrossing his arms and opening his eyes.

Evan thought for a moment, and shook his head. “No problems that I can see.” The man said, grinning.

"Excellent. Let's meet up tomorrow, then." Kris said with a smile as she looked at Jenny for a moment before she turned and began to walk off.

"Um, Ms. Kris, thank you for this!" Jenny called out quickly. Although the older woman had already gotten a little ways away by then, Jenny received a word of thanks in response. The redhead turned to the other two with a grin. "Things are getting fun, huh?"

Evan nodded at Jenny, still wearing his grin. “I’d say they’re getting more than fun, honestly. What do you think……...Executive Arthur?”

James thought about it for a moment. His mission had been going not great or badly. It had been going interestingly at least. “I doubt it will be boring at least. How is your mission to learn about Z-moves going?”

Evan’s grin faltered at James’s inquiry. “We haven’t…..exactly got there, but I think getting to know one of the locals, like Kris, will help us get in the know.” The Hero said, confidently. “Just because we’re on a mission, doesn’t mean we can’t have fun, right?”

James stared back at Evan for a moment. The disbelief at the lack of planning nearly visible on James’s face. But he didn’t judge. Out loud.

[MELON LORD]

IC: Jared Winters/Lachina Adaon (With bunnying of Lionel approved by Flipz)

 

As the group coming from the hospital arrived at the hotel, Lionel immediately went for the elevator. He nodded to Lucia and said, "Have a good night, sweethear." He paused and glanced back at the rest of the group. "Everyone."

 

And with that, the man was gone. Jared sighed, looking around at the assorted people that had come together. "Well, we've doubled the size of our group, somehow." He ran a hand through his hair. "Colleen, you and I need to exchange numbers so we can get a hold of each other quickly if we split up again. Since we're settling down for the night, do you want to make the call-in to Xander?"

 

Lachina whistled as she looked over the cluster of people. "So, what did you guys learn?" she asked Dahlia as she inspected the other girls that had joined up with Jared and the Seatons.

 

IC: Xander Cruize/Aspen Seaton

 

The two boys sat quietly for a few minutes while Xander ate, then the psychic smiled. "So, Aspen, do you wanna have a rematch later on?"

 

Aspen raised an eyebrow and chuckled. "LIke, Aria versus Sylph? No offense, but I don't think Sylph would do so hot without powers."

 

Xander nodded, grinning wryly. "That's why I want to do it. She's been restless, and this would be a good way to test her abilities without power while also releasing some of that energy."

 

Aspen nodded slowly. "Okay, yeah, sure. When are you thinking?"

 

"Tomorrow, maybe? After you get your cast off? Or, heck, could probably do it tonight, if you feel up to it."

 

"Tomorrow sounds good. I should get some sleep before my appointment." Aspen grinned. "I'm actually gonna go hit the hay. Have a good night, Xander."

[Konuju]

IC: Dahlia Seaton/Alex Lockwood/Zoe Llyan - Hotel Richissime, Lumiose City

Zoe's mouth dropped wide open when they approached the hotel, and it only grew wider when they walked inside. The grandiose lobby looked more like a ballroom, complete with marble pillars, ornate vases, and gold-trimmed furniture. Classical music emanated from unseen loudspeakers, and not one of the stereotypical songs often heard in establishments attempting to appear fancy, it was a unique piece that filled the air with a sense of elegance. "Collie . . ." the younger girl said in awe. "This isn't a hotel. This is a mansion!"

 

As Jared pulled Colleen aside, Zoe began running from one side of the enormous lobby to the other, trying to take it all in. Esmeralda yipped at her feet in excitement. When the pair ran past the group, the Fennekin paused next to Dahlia, barking an invitation to the Buneary resting in the gardener's arms. Coco looked up at her trainer expectantly.

 

"Alright, you can play," Dahlia said, letting her Buneary down gently. "Just try not to break anything. Just one of those vases is probably worth more than all our money put together." She watched Coco run off with Zoe and Esmeralda before turning her attention back to Lachina. "So it turns out the head of the detective agency actually had a run-in with Team Flare years ago. She was the victim of some mind-control device or something developed by a Doctor Xerosic. The doctor's currently in the hospital, undergoing a surgery today. We tried to speak with him before the operation, but they wouldn't let us. Hopefully you had better luck than we did. It looks like you met some friends, at the least."

 

Taking the cue, the young man standing next to Lachina stepped forward and extended a hand. "The name's Alex Lockwood. My cousin Emily and I just happened to be in the café when your friends were. We heard about your investigation and decided to lend a hand."

 

Dahlia accepted the hand -- both literally and metaphorically -- with a warm smile. "Well it's a pleasure to meet you, Alex. We can certainly use all the help we can get. I'm Dahlia Seaton, by the way. That's my sister, Olivia. The grim and serious one over there is Jared." Breaking off from the handshake, she motioned to each person in turn. "And these are some old friends of ours we met at the detective agency, Jamie and Lucia. They were visiting Lucia's father, who just so happened to have some extra rooms reserved at this hotel he's letting us use."

 

Alex raised an eyebrow. "He just so happened to have multiple reservations at one of the most expensive hotels in the entire Kalos Region? And he's giving them up to us for free? Just who is this guy?"

 

"I'm . . . not actually sure." Dahlia cast a furtive look at Lucia in hopes that she would be able to provide a better answer. "Lucia, what exactly does your dad do again?"

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Ryan Hikari -- Vermilion City Rocket Outpost==-

 

With a nod to Luke, Ryan hurried past the two. He hoped that Miriam would lead the two of them to where the hatchery was, but he didn't feel there was time to waste. "Are we going the right way?" The agent asked, his Tyranitar's Poké Ball in hand.

 

-==IC: Colleen Llyan -- Hotel Richissime, Lumiose City==-

 

"Hm." Colleen was torn - on one hand, she knew that they needed to check in, especially since she felt extremely tired after the long day they had so far. On the other, she had kinda wanted to talk with the others some more still. "Alright..." She said after a moment. Still, something bugged her about how Jared had phrased about the group's growth. Colleen decided that she'd just leave it be for now until he brought it up any more.

 

-==IC: Lucia Zyther -- Hotel Richissime, Lumiose City==-

 

"Big businessman-type guy. Last I checked he owned a bunch of big technology companies or something." Lucia shrugged slightly, as she scratched the back of her head. "Not going to lie, I've been a little preoccupied for a while between my medical field training and getting into my job to begin with, so I... might have been slacking off on paying attention a little." The redhead gave a sheepish smile to Dahlia, as she glanced around at the people from the other group that had shown up, not recognizing a single person from that group.

 

-==IC: Olivia Seaton -- Hotel Richissime, still, Lumiose City==-

 

Olivia, meanwhile, walked up to the new girl that had shown up with the Café group. "Hiya. Name's Olivia." The redhead said as she extended a hand to the short-haired girl. "Did ya get brought in by the others?"

[MELON LORD]

IC: Emily Lockwood

 

Emily took the offered  hand and shook daintily. "Emily Lockwood, enchanté." She gestured to Alex and Dahlia. "I am here with my cousin; he's with Team Liberty, so running into Collie was quite serendipitous. Tell me, what brings the rest of you here? I can understand Colleen and Lachina, being Liberty and a Ranger, but what of the rest of you? Are you with Liberty as well?"

 

IC: Yamamoto Aori

 

Aori stayed silent as Hikari-san and the woman he'd come to speak with hurried out. She cast a worried look towards Luke and his Machoke, then began running her hands quickly over Yuri's fur. "What is going on?" she asked Luke quietly.

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Olivia==-

 

"Nice to meet ya, and hmm... I think a lot of us are only tied because of others in Liberty." Olivia said as she thought about things. "Lessee, there's Jared, who's here because of Lachina. My sister and I are here because of knowing a group of Liberty people, me specifically because of my girlfriend... and Zoe's only here because she hitched a ride with us without actually knowing that. Then our other two new friends are here because they were on vacation and ran into us, and my sister Dahlia knows one of them." When she actually finished saying all that, she realized just how odd the group had become, for a Liberty-run mission.

[Metal Gear Minun]

IC: James Arthur - Heahea Beach

 

James leaned on an iron railing looking over the beach. The sun was setting, the beach was sparsely populated. It had been a few hours since he had parted ways with Evan and Jenny. The six Pokemon that James had brought with him were on the beach itself, excluding Celebi who was who knows where. James let her out but she declined to go on the beach. She vaguely mentioned the forests on the island. She would be back when she was back. And perhaps someone seeing her might distract people from the news that a Scizor had been seen using his moves earlier.

 

James observed how his Pokemon were acting when he had given them free rein. Gawain was lying down in the shallow water, allowing waves to rush over him. He seemed comfortable. James couldn’t tell from where he was if the Swampert had fallen asleep. Lancelot was sitting near him. He seemed to be concentrating. Was he trying to figure out the transformation? James could only guess.

 

Agravain was picking up pieces of shell and rock off the shore. He seemed very particular about the value of each individual item. How the bug came to its conclusions was anyone’s guess.

 

Percival looked to be admiring a sand castle, but a second glance revealed it was actually a Pokemon made out of sand. He wasn’t too familiar with what kind it was. Maybe he’d look it up, or ask Percival about it. It seemed they had found something they had in common.

 

Galahad was floating up and down the beach, always watching the sunset. James couldn’t see the expression on his face. It was always hard to tell what he was thinking.

 

That last thought stung slightly. After his conversation with Colress, it had been bothering him for some time. How much did he truly know about his Pokemon? How much had he truly bonded with his Pokemon? It was a question that he had been trying to avoid answering, ever since his encounter with Greed.

 

His mind turned to those who weren’t there. Guinevere, who he had known for so long, still hadn’t forgiven him for his actions with Greed. Mordred still hadn’t bonded with him much either. He had seemed almost happy for the chance to get away. Had he become that terrible?

 

The Executive turned away for a moment. Could Team Liberty really afford him to be wallowing in self-pity like this? Could the world? He couldn’t afford to waste time, like this. He needed that transformation’s power in order to help Team Liberty.

 

He faced his Pokemon again, his face heavy and his eyes clouded. If he used the justification that they needed Colress on their side, then it wouldn’t really be bonding. Bonding was something just between him and them, wasn’t it?

 

James looked at all his Pokemon again. They were spread out over the beach. How much did they even like each other? Lancelot and Guinevere were an amazing pair. Agravain practically worshipped Mordred when they were together. But the rest? He couldn’t tell how much they liked each other. Maybe he was overthinking it.

 

He shook his head. It would be easier if this was just about battling.

 

...James covered his mouth as his brain started running. That actually wasn’t a bad idea. Battling was the one thing they all understood. But he needed to think of it fundamentally differently. He had treated each member of his team as a tool to get him victory. That had to change.

 

“How do they help each other?” he began to mutter. 

 

Lancelot stood up, catching James’s attention. Lancelot and Gawain were fighters. In any formation, they should be at the front, dealing the most damage, and protecting their allies. So what could he do to help them do that?

 

James followed a path down to the beach proper. He hesitated for a moment, annoyed that sand was gonna get on his shoe. He forced himself to get over it, and stepped onto the beach. With a different angle, he noticed there was a Pokemon Battle that Lancelot had gotten up to watch.

 

There were two trainers, one looking a bit older than the other. One had an owl Pokemon, Decidueye was it? The other had a Passimian. Neither was able to use moves, but they weren’t just recklessly rushing into each other either. The Decidueye was using its wings to keep just off the sandy terrain, as it shot feathers at the Passimian. The Passimian was using simple movements to compensate for the bad footing of the sands. He picked up feathers that missed him, and flung them back at the Decidueye.

 

The sight made James realize something they were lacking. Ranged physical damage. Range was an issue. Especially right now when Lancelot was their main source of power. If Lancelot was to use his strength to protect the others, he would to be able to engage any opponent.

 

Lancelot noticed James watching the battle and walked over near him. It was a good battle, but he didn’t think it was good enough to make James sink as deep into thought as he was now. They stood there watching the battle until it was over and the trainers left. Even for some time after, they were quiet.

 

“It is no use,” James said at last. “No matter how much I think on it, I keep coming back to what I want.”

 

Lancelot waited in silence. 

 

“I keep trying to think of ways for us to bond. All of us. To work better as a team. But I keep thinking about how it benefits me. How it will help me win.”

 

He still didn’t get it.

 

“So how about it? Other than… what I did during our fight with Ross. What else have I done out of shortsightedness?”

 

Lancelot thought about that for a moment. He could probably start counting, but the first thing that came to mind was a move. He lowered his gauntlet so as to not draw attention to the fact that his claw was glowing blue.

 

Superpower. It took a good amount of searching to find a decent tutor for that move. It was a tremendous amount of power. Flashy, with a certain amount of prestige. But it so far proved not to mesh with the rest of Lancelot. It sapped his strength. It would either end a fight too quickly for the Scizor’s liking, or the threat of being less able to sustain a fight would render it useless.

 

James rubbed his chin a bit. “I am going to go take a look at the TM shops around here. Would you mind watching the others?”

 

Lancelot nodded and James started to walk away. He began to think about Lancelot himself. What move actually fit his personality?

 

 

 

IC: Slimer - Chroma County Penitentiary

 

The spy squeezed his body down the drain, trying to ignore the chlorinated water, until he got into the filth of the pipes. The hope was that wherever the priss was sending him, there would be a private bathroom. If there wasn’t a toilet in there, then she was out of luck. That suited him fine. He had no investment in her investigation. But if he went back empty-handed, he probably wasn’t gonna be popular back in Celadon. Meaning he’d have to go on the run again.

 

When he felt a path that lead upwards he squeezed himself into it and rose up. The hole grew very tight. He really wished Minimize was working right about now. He deformed enough of his slime out of the hole to realize it was a fountain he found himself in. He sank back down before anyone came near.

 

It took him a few tries to find the right exit. He didn’t exactly have a good map of the complex. He assumed it was the right room, because it was by far fancier than any of the bathrooms he had found before, though that was a low bar to clear. He stuck one eye out of the sink. Through a crack in the doorway, he could see someone. That was a problem, as the priss told him not to be seen. 

 

The woman inside was looking through a file cabinet before taking out a piece of paper. If the spy had to guess, the earlier conversation the priss had with her had bothered her. She was trying to look up something about it. Maybe she was trying to figure out who the priss and the other girl were.

 

A noise came out of a box on the warden’s desk, trying to alert her. She pressed the button and barked out “What is it?”

 

“Warden Savage, there is a fight breaking out in the yard,” the voice on the other side of the phone said.

 

The warden muttered a curse, before hurrying out the door. In her hurry, she forgot to place the document back into the cabinet. She did, however, lock the door to prevent anyone from coming in. Ironically, that was more of a boon to the thief already in the room than it was a hindrance. He could at least be assured that he would have warning before someone came into the room. 

 

He turned on the sink very lightly and climbed into the basin of the sink. It wasn’t pleasant, but a trail of water would evaporate. If his slime stuck to the ground, that wasn’t coming out anytime soon. He turned off the sink before climbing to the ground. He thinned his body as best he could without Minimize and slinked over to the warden’s desk. With the care needed to not drip his slime on the desk, he reached up and grabbed the paper off of the warden’s desk. There was the man the in the picture that Guinevere had showed him. There was a picture of another man beneath Gerald’s. He looked over it a bit more but there was a problem.

 

He couldn’t read. Couldn’t steal the paper either, that would cause problems. The spy could remember the face easily. It was the words that he needed to find a way to copy down. Hopefully he had some time before the warden came back. He had an idea of how to do it if he had enough time.

 

He looked around for a trash bin. It was time for a snack anyway. Rummaging through a bin beneath the desk, he pulled out crumpled up pieces of paper. He looked to make sure they had printing on them, and then ate them.

 

He felt the paper dissolve into his body. Eosin, carbon black, and other pigments.. Stabilizing agents. These and other chemicals began to separate into individual elements. His body began to recycle material found in the paper, and added some of his own biomass to it. The results were two chemicals. Both were near perfect replicas of the ink, with a different exception for each. The spy took two blank pieces of paper from the warden’s desk. He placed one on the ground, coated it in a very fine layer of the first ink he created. It didn’t bind to the paper beneath it. If he lifted the paper now, it would fall off. He took the second piece of paper and placed it underneath the file, and placed them both on top of the layer of ink he had made on the first. Finally, he brought the second ink substance into his hands until they were fully made of it.

 

He began to run his hand across the file. The ink repelled from the blank paper but lightly bonded to the places with printer ink on them. The combination of repulsion and binded, deformed the shape of the tips of his hand into a perfect stamp. He stamped down like a makeshift typewriter, putting pressure on the layer of ink above the first page. The pressure caused ink to bind in the shapes of the ink letters that the spy was pressing down on.

 

When he had finished, he placed the first paper on the table and took the others with him. Taking care not to let the rest of ink drop until he made it to the toilet. He poured the ink down the drain. He stuck the papers into one of his ‘teeth’. He wouldn’t advise the priss breathing too closely near it, but he could keep it dry without dissolving it, so long as he found a good path. His mission accomplished, he flushed himself down the drain, to get back to Guinevere.

 

 

 

[Flipz]

-==IC: Professor Elaine Alderson==-

 

The Pokémon Professor followed the group in, more than a little surprised by the influx of new additions. They all look so young, she marveled, wondering just how long it had been since she last felt such youth. The teenagers' exuberance made something in her ache, a void in her spirit where once thoughts of her beloved son had nestled. And now these children--no, she reminded herself, these government agents are going to dig into the tortured past, exhume the tattered remnants of a once-happy life shattered by--

 

Elaine cut herself off, briefly shaking her head. That would be the drinks talking, she firmly reminded herself, unhappy that the alcohol seemed to be reinforcing her torment rather than alleviating it. Still, she watched over Emily with some concern, worried despite the girl's carefree dismissal that her new friends' investigation would only serve to tear their family apart. Not that our family hasn't earned it, she thought, but I still wish I could spare her the pain of it. Not for the first time she cursed her brother's memory, cursed the man he had become at the end.

 

"Emily," she said from her place hovering near the edge of the gathering, "you said you...had a room for us?" She could hardly believe it, both with the hotel's reputation of exclusivity and the sheer expense even when rooms were available. Just who is my niece associating with?

[Konuju]

IC: Luke - Outside Miriam's Office, Team Rocket Vermilion Branch
Luke knelt down to be on eye level with Aori. "I don't actually know what's happening," the blackbelt admitted. "But whatever it is, I believe Hikari-san and the others can handle it. They're heroes after all, right?" He offered the girl a smile. "What about you? Do you believe in Hikari-san?"

IC: Colleen Llyan/Zoe Llyan/Alex Lockwood/Dahlia Seaton - Hotel Richissime, Lumiose City
Having expended her energy running laps around the lobby, Zoe returned once more to her sister's side, looking out of breath but no less excited. "So when do we get to see our rooms?" she asked. "If we're sharing rooms, I'm with Collie."

Colleen looked up as she finished switching her Holocaster away from airplane mode. She was about to respond when the device began to beep to indicate a new message. With a puzzled look, Colleen opened the message up and began to read it out loud.

Zoe listened with intrigue as her sister described some sort of contest to determine the new owners of a handful of powerful Pokémon. Her excitement grew with each sentence, and soon she was peering over Colleen's shoulder to read the message for herself. "Collie, we should totally enter!" she cried. "All we have to do is write a mystery story, and they'll just hand us an ultra-powerful Pokémon! Then we'll kick Team Flare's butt for sure!"

"We shouldn't be so loud about that…" Colleen said with a small frown as she remembered how Elaine reacted earlier. "Besides, I'm not sure if I'm that good a writer…"

"Aw, then I'll enter for you," Zoe said. "Aura Girl and the Mystery of the Cherry Cheesecake Murder. It'll win for sure!"

The young girl's enthusiastic voice carried over to the rest of the group, prompting Dahlia to approach the sisters. Coco, who had been resting next to Esmeralda at the girls' feet, walked up to her trainer and climbed up on her shoulders. Dahlia ruffled her Buneary's fur before looking back at Colleen and Zoe. "What's that about writing a story?"

"Apparently there's some sort of contest going on in Team Liberty. I don't quite get it, but if we write a mystery story that's good enough, then we win Pokémon or something?" Colleen re-read the message to try and get a better idea of what it entailed, but didn't have too much luck.

"Ah, that sounds neat." A look of mild disappointment showed on the gardener's face. "Too bad I'm not a member, it's been a while since I've been able to stretch my writing muscles."

"Well, it sounds like it's open to more than just them…"

Zoe snatched the Holo Caster out of her sister's hand. "'This contest is not limited to Team Liberty,'" she read aloud. "'If there are worthy trainers outside of our ranks, I will permit our agents to submit entries on their behalf. Sincerely, Executive James Arthur.' Hey! I know that guy! He's the one with the Royal Marshtomp Knight! Sweet, I've already got an in. He'll pick my story for sure!"

By now Zoe's enthusiasm had attracted Alex over to the small huddle of trainers that had detached from the main group. "Stories?" he inquired. "I didn't know Team Liberty had a writer's club." Colleen and Zoe quickly filled him in on the details. "Huh, I got the same message earlier today," he said. "I'll admit I've been away from Liberty for the past few months, but having a powerful Pokémon on our side would certainly be useful. I may give it a shot."

"Oh, you didn't tell us you were with Liberty," Dahlia said in surprise. "I thought you and your cousin were just concerned citizens looking to help."

Alex smiled sheepishly. "Like I said, I've been away for a few months. I heard Ryan Sanders was meeting up with your group later on though. He's an old friend of mine, we went on several missions together last year. I couldn't just leave my buddy's friends on their own."

The gardener's mouth dropped open at the mention of her old mentor. "You know Ryan?" she gasped. "No way! He actually helped train me a while back. Small world, huh?"

"Yeah, Lachina mentioned you guys had met him," Alex said. "That's impressive that he's strong enough to start taking on apprentices."

"Oh, I wouldn't go that far," Dahlia said quickly. "It was more like a . . . temporary partnership." Her voice trailed off as her mind seemed to travel elsewhere. A melancholy expression came over her face, only to disappear when Lucia walked up to the group.

"Here, got the card keys for everyone. Who's rooming with who?" Lucia asked as she glanced over the four other people gathered there.

"I'm with Collie," Zoe demanded, grabbing her sister's hand.

"I guess I'm with Olivia," Dahlia said meekly.

Alex was caught off guard by the question. "Well if we're sharing, um . . ." he glanced around the assorted group. There was only one other guy, it seemed. "I guess I'm with him?" He pointed an uncertain finger at the silver-haired trainer.

Once Lucia handed out the keys, Dahlia waved goodbye to the others. "Good luck on those stories," she called as she went over to her sister.

"I wonder if Em would be interested in a contest like that," Alex muttered to himself. He nodded to the sisters before walking back to his cousin.

With the Llyan sisters alone once more, Zoe started to pull Colleen toward the elevator, Esmeralda scurrying at their feet. "C'mon, Collie! I'm gonna win me a brand new Pokémon!"

Edited July 29, 2018 by Konuju

[MELON LORD]

IC: Jared Winters/Emily Lockwood/Lachina Adaon

 

Jared blinked, somewhat surprised at the speed with which rooms had been sorted out. He shrugged. "That works, sure," he said in response to . . . some guy.

 

Emily hummed. "Elaine and I will share a room as well, in the same suite. If we're doubling up on suites, though, we'll have an extra person."

 

Lachina waved. "I can crash on your couch, no worries."

 

Jared shrugged again. "Alright then."

 

OOC: Skipping some time, during which Colleen spoke with Olivia and Jared about what they'd learned.

 

IC: Xander Cruize/Colleen Llyan

 

Xander's Holo Caster rang, and he quickly pulled it out and open. He smiled as he saw the girl on the other side. "Hey, I was just wondering about you guys. Any news?"

 

"Well, yes and no. Turns out that our initial ideas didn't really work out, but we found some people who know about things deeply connected or are just knowledgeable about the old days." Colleen thought for a moment as she considered what she had learned from Jared and Olivia. "We split into two groups after visiting Sycamore, and Jared's group found someone who bought the old Flare lab apparently." She decided not to comment about what she'd heard about Jared nearly chasing the guy off.

 

"Meanwhile, I met an awesome--" She cut herself off. "Uh, that's not relevant, but to rephrase that, I met someone, and her cousin is actually a friend of Ryan's, so they're joining us, along with their aunt, who is the other person I mentioned who knows about the old days." Colleen took a deep breath. "Overall, we might have doubled the group size, but that lab guy is absurdly rich it seems, so I think he'll be taking on the expenses and such?"

 

Xander nodded softly, eyes flicking away as he thought. "Okay, that sounds good, then. Where are you guys heading next, do you know?"

 

"Sounds like we're gonna be headed to Geosenge Town."

 

"Excellent. That's gonna take you a bit to get there, so keep me updated. Two reports a day, more if plans change or things happen. I want to hear from you or Jared in the mornings when you head out for the day and at night when you decide to stop traveling, okay?" Xander felt weird, giving orders to someone who had been with Team Liberty longer than he had, but such was life as mission command.  "Also, could you thank everyone who's joining this for me? You don't have to make personal cards or anything, just let them all know that it means a lot for them to be there."

 

"I..." Colleen tried to keep everything straight in her head as she listened to what Xander said. "I'll do that, yeah."

 

"Thank you. Anything else you need? I heard Zoe was with you, do you need me to see if I can make arrangements to get her back home?"

 

"Hmm, I think it might be easier to just have Zoe stay with us. It'd slow us down if we had to wait for her to get back home." Colleen thought it over for a moment. "I think she'll be fine if she sticks near me, though."

 

"Alright, sounds good." Xander tapped his finger on the table, thinking carefully. "You know, she reminds me of someone I met when I was a kid . . ." He chuckled and shook his head. "No, nevermind, I think I might be imagining things."

 

"Hmm..." Colleen thought about it for a moment, then a smile crept on to her face as she finally realized something that had been bugging her. "Maybe you aren't." The girl closed her eyes for a moment. "By the way, how did the champion thing ever turn out?"

 

Xander couldn't conceal the grin on his face. "It didn't, unfortunately. Almost, though. How's the evil eradication business treating you?"

 

"Hm, not quite the best either, though it might have gone a little well if you count a bunch of angry Unown." Colleen said as she smiled more at the memory of their battle.

 

Xander chuckled softly. "I'm going to let you get some rest, but . . . When you get back, we should catch up some. I've never been great at keeping in contact with old friends, but I'm trying to do better."

 

"That could be a cool idea." Colleen chuckled as well. "Oh, one other thing, and it's a long-ish story so I won't go into it now, but my name's Colleen now."

 

"Colleen," Xander repeated to cement it in is mind. "That's a nice name."

 

"You have a habit of saying that when I give my name." Colleen said with a joking tone in her voice, as she chuckled again. "I agree, though."

 

Xander chuckled. "That was the idea. Have a good night, Colleen. Thanks again. For everything."

 

"You're welcome. Hopefully things are going well there too."

 

"Everything's quiet on the home front, and there are plenty of people keeping an eye out."

 

"Well, that's good then. Hopefully it keeps up that way; you should get some rest now too." Colleen thought for a moment, but couldn't think of anything else to say for the moment. "See ya whenever we call next." With that finally said, she hung up her Holocaster.

 

Xander hung up, smiling lightly. "Man, it's a small world," he mused to himself. After a few minutes of silent contemplation, the psychic trainer stood and made his way back to his room to continue working.

 

IC: Isabella Fontaine

 

Isabella Fontaine sent a story to Executive Arthur.

[Metal Gear Minun]

IC: Miriam Shields - Vermilion Rocket branch
 
He was leading the way without knowing where he was going? She should've expected that, but still.
 
"Just... follow behind me," she muttered running in front of him. She could lead them down the most efficient route to the hatchery.
 
 
IC: Guinevere/Natalie/Slimer - Hotel
 
The Grimer returned to the pair just as Natalie and Guinevere finished cleaning the bathroom. Guinevere returned the Grimer to the Poke Ball she had brought, before she and Natalie returned the equipment they asked to borrow to the guard waiting outside. Natalie had managed to convince the guard, who convinced the warden, not to charge them for the damages Guinevere had caused. In exchange, they agreed to clean up the bathroom, and the Gardevoir apologized. Guinevere couldn’t convey to Natalie why she had done what she did until they were away from the prison. Nor why a Grimer popped out of the toilet while they were working.
 
After they returned the equipment, the left the premises as soon as they were able to. They made their way to the hotel that they were staying at. The hotel they decided to stay at wasn’t exactly five star. They were a Pokemon and a waitress, they didn’t exactly have huge amounts of spending money between the two of them.
 
When Guinevere was able to take a seat, she dropped the Poke Ball on the floor of the room, releasing the Grimer.
 
Well, did you find anything? she asked.
 
Yeah, just give me a sec. You might want to hold your breath, the Grimer said as he began to pick at his tooth.
 
Guinevere wasn’t exactly familiar with Grimer that had teeth, but she went to the window and opened it. She then made a very large display of holding her breath, to signal Natalie to hold her breath too.
 
As the Grimer pulled out the copy he had made from his tooth, small bits of gas popped out. They waited for the gas to dissipate and fresh air to come in before the Grimer handed the note to Guinevere. Grateful, Guinevere returned the Grimer to his Poke Ball, while she began to read the note.
 
Natalie peered at the note as she continued to hold her nose just in case. It looked like the note had been rather sufficiently blacked out at parts by accident due to the Grimer's copy method, but there was enough to go by because of how it had been randomly blacked out. She read about how Gerald seemed to have died to a gunshot wound to the head, then about how a guard was found unconscious and initially suspected of being the perpetrator.
 
As she continued to read, she froze for a moment with a gasp. "Wait, what…?" Natalie re-read the line in question - this felt extremely weird to her. The guard - whose name was Bobby Tables - had once been an employee at Leavanny Strauss. She knew that it could very well have been a coincidence, but at the same time… it was suspicious enough to her that the eye witness just so happened to be involved with the company, with the CEO of the company dying not a few days apart.
 
"What do you make of this, Guin?" Natalie asked with an uneasy look on her face as she turned to the Gardevoir.
 
The Gardevoir hopped over to the bed and lay down on it. She had to get some thoughts in order. She rubbed her temple as she reached for her bag. It was just out of reach, so she had to lean over to get it. Guinevere pulled out the whiteboard in it. She began to think about what exactly to say.
 
In both cases, the victims were instantly killed. In addition, if they assumed that the current suspects were innocent, then efforts were made to frame both of them. They didn’t have the evidence yet to prove that Bobby Tables wasn’t in Celadon on the time of Stacy’s murder, but Guinevere doubted it would be hard to come by. There was a similar MO to both cases. In addition to that, there was the note that had been left in the kitchen. The page that had said “Revenge?” on it. There were already a number of victims, it was possible that they all had the same culprit.
 

Both cases likely have
The same culprit

 

 
Following that, there was now some credence to the idea that it was for revenge. Both victims, and both frame-up targets had connections. Until they proved both cases had the same culprit, it would remain a theory. However, it was one worth investigating.
 

There is the possibility
That this was for revenge

 

 
Stacy had been killed instantly. That was the conclusion she reached from the lack of a struggle and the position of the knife. The culprit had successfully infiltrated a well staffed prison and murdered someone inside. 
 

The culprit was
a professional.

 

 
And lastly there was the nature of the crimes themselves. There had to be easier ways for a professional to kill someone. They had managed to break into two populated complexes without being identified. Not an easy feat. Someone who would be willing to break into places for the satisfaction of getting their revenge in person, was likely confident in their abilities. Confident that all the evidence would point towards their target for framing. And yet, they took some of the pages of the file. Not all of them, only some. If Cassie had been the one to take the pages, wouldn’t she have just taken the file with her? The missing pages would be a sign, not decisive evidence but a sign, that the crime scene had been tampered with. The culprit thought it was important to take those pages, but leave the file there. Perhaps to implicate Cassie. If that was true, then on those pages…
 

Either Cassie or Stacy
Knew who the culprit was
Before Stacy’s murder

 

 
Natalie listened in silence, but nodded. It all was starting to piece together, but there were still so many big questions raised here. "I see," The woman said finally, as she glanced toward the wall to try and think about this more. "The biggest problem is that one of them is dead, and the other is on the wind, suspected of being the killer…" Natalie chewed on her lip for a moment.
 
"We should try to find Bobby Tables." She finally said, as she scanned through the file. "This says that he's on house arrest, I think. If we find out where he lives, then we could go pay him a visit. We need to get on the same page as Cassie was, just in case we can't track her down." The woman didn't add that she suddenly wondered if there were pieces that no-one knew yet, even as she glanced back to the mention of Leavanny Strauss.
 
Guinevere nodded. It would be a hassle to come back to Unova if they left. After meeting him though, she decided they would need to look more into their other principal actors. She might need other sources looking into this. However, the only person she knew a phone number for was someone she didn’t want to speak to right now… Well that wasn’t quite true. Jamie had been with that girl who was looking after her. She was related to Stacy or Cassie. Maybe she had some insights. Might be worth calling her.
 
The bed was comfy, cheap as the hotel may have been. Guinevere was starting to fall asleep. She pushed herself to the head of the bed, and slipped under the covers. It all still felt weird, yet also exhilarating in a way. To be going her own way, chasing leads across the world. She felt terrible that she was getting such enjoyment from such tragedy. She needed some sleep.

[Parugi]

IC - Nobuddy - Hatchery, Vermilion Rocket Base:
 

Pain. A genuine expression of pain crossed 'Matthew's' face at Madison's threat. The boy took a step back, clutching a hand to his chest. He raised his other hand. He looked hurt. Now it was physical. The memory of what had occurred gave his wounds life. They crept onto his image. Behind him, the heavy metal door to the hatchery creaked. The metal bowed. Cracks spread across the window.

 

"Madison," Matthew said. "It's me." Blood trickled from his brow. "Why are you doing this to me?" He looked from Madison to Dack. "Dack. Please. Stop her. Why is she doing this to me?"

 

IC - Sonja Baron/Kyle Eston/Emmerich Coleman - Vertrag:

 

Their descent felt as if it had lasted an eternity; how far down had they gone? There was no way to tell from inside the elevator--no windows to watch the passing dirt, no lights or displays to indicate how deeply they had burrowed into the earth. It was a timeless casket falling ever deeper into a pit with no end. If Ford's base, all this time, had truly remained so tucked away into the nothingness of the earth . . . Well, Sonja couldn't say that she was surprised that no one had ever managed to access it, let alone figure out where the door was hidden.

 

At long last, the elevator stopped.

 

For several tense moments, stretched across paranoid minds, nothing followed their abrupt stop. The six trainers stood in the dimly illuminated black box with little but the sounds of their own breathing for company, uncertain of what they were waiting for. Eventually, their unwilling patience was rewarded. Six pairs of rings appeared on the surface of the elevator, matching the gaze of each occupant--wall, floor, or ceiling. The rings settled and flashed, expanding into a brief identification notice--a rounded rectangle headed with each trainer's name, followed by a scrolling fact sheet displaying their age, their faction, hometown, family information, last known Pokémon team configuration. Ray's and Sonja's flashed orange and pink, respectively, and then blinked out of sight; the other four soon followed, flashing white.

 

The doors opened.

 

The base itself seemed to be composed of the same substance as the elevator, a solid black material somewhere between metal and rock that invisibly emanated a soft light. The hallway stretching before them, about ten feet long, was thus simultaneously dark, yet light. The other end of the hall opened into what appeared to be a large living area, a merging of a basic den and a kitchen. Black leather furniture filled the space; from the elevator, Sonja could see the back of the couch she had become somewhat familiar with in her time here. It was as much of a home to the Children and Ford as the Alamo had become to her, Kyle, and countless others. Despite the silent foreboding that permeated the space, she was certain it had its own sort of charm to it, given enough time. Two doorways led into other sections of the base--the living quarters on one wall, and what she could only guess was Ford's mission center through the adjacent.

 

She stepped into the hallway. Five steps forward, she became aware of everyone else still standing in the elevator. Sonja turned back, placing a hand on her hip. "Are you guys coming or not?"

 

Kyle couldn't help but jump at her voice. "Y-Yeah, I . . ." He glanced at her, and then looked back at the elevator wall, before forcing himself to follow. "Sorry, I'm just . . . I knew Ford had a lot of information on everyone, but that identification thing . . . It had pieces that I'm pretty sure I haven't even told anyone." He looked around at the hall. "It's like this place itself is . . ." Kyle trailed off, clearly uncertain how to express what he was thinking.

 

"It's uncomfortable," Emmerich said. "Like this place itself is observing us. No doubt a trait it picked up from Ford. We should be careful."

[Konuju]

IC: Ryan Sanders - Vertrag

Ryan watched with growing horror as Ford's identification ring listed out his information. His name, his hometown, his parents' occupations, and a detailed history of his actions within Team Liberty. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up when the ring mentioned Albero DeLargo. Gluttony. How could Ford possibly know about that? The only other person who had been present for that battle was . . .

 

The Liberty agent's head slowly turned toward his Separatist companion. Ray Hakuda remained transfixed on his own ring of personal information. Ryan wrestled with his growing suspicion until Sonja and Kyle drew his attention into the hallway.

 

Shaking his head, Ryan stepped out of the elevator. "If this place knows who we are," he said in a quiet voice. "Then who else has access to that information? If McKinley were to get his hands on it . . ." He let the uncomfortable thought hang in the air, and distracted himself with observing the interior of the base. In the back of his mind Ryan could almost picture Ellen and the other Children hanging around the living area. Did they have friendly chats, or did they remain in silent meditation on the task they could not speak about?

 

Ryan looked over at Sonja, then glanced back at Ray. Forcing the memory of Gluttony from his mind, he cleared his throat. "So we're here for the grimoire, right? Any idea where Ford might have kept it? Did he have like a personal library or something?"

 

IC: Dack Majors/Madison Morrow/Shannon Willows - Hatchery, Team Rocket Vermilion Outpost

It's not real, Dack told himself. Matthew's eyes bore into his own with such genuine pain that Dack had to look away. Madison looked like she wanted to bury her face in her hands but she didn't dare look away in case whatever monster was posing as Matthew decided to go on the offense. Shannon remained only a few feet from the boy, petrified at the horrifying turn of events. Her Furret hissed sharply while her Dunsparce and Eevee cowered in fear.

 

"We have to do something," Madison murmured. Dack followed her gaze to the bulging door and spiderweb cracks on the window behind Matthew. While the boy might not be real, whatever power he possessed certainly was.

 

Thinking quickly, Dack darted forward to grab Shannon under her arms and drag her back to relative safety. He refused to make eye contact with Matthew, silently praying the boy wouldn't try to stop him. He had only gone a few steps when a commotion caused Dack to glance behind him. Madison had snatched one of the security guard's guns out of its holster and now aimed the weapon with both hands at the impostor Matthew. "Madison, what are you doing?" Dack said in shock.

 

The skier's hands shook as she blinked back tears, ignoring the protests from the security guards. "I'm doing what has to be done," she said quietly. Despite the resolve in her words, she hesitated. Dack was sure she had never handled a gun before, let alone try and shoot one of her best friends. "I-if we don't stop this monster there's no telling what it'll do."

 

IC: Dahlia Seaton/Alex Lockwood - Hotel Richissime, Lumiose City

Alex awoke early the next morning and headed downstairs. His bed had been ridiculously comfortable, and he would have liked to remain wrapped up in its warm sheets, but his stomach demanded otherwise. At a hotel as fancy as this one he could have easily called room service to deliver a breakfast to him, but he didn't want to disturb his suitemates, and he figured he could use the exercise.

 

The kitchen area was largely empty save for a few quiet businessmen still rubbing sleep out of their eyes. Once he had his tray of food, Alex scouted out a lone seat. He had almost made it to his chosen table when he recognized one of the girls from the group sitting alone in a corner. Changing direction on the fly, Alex made a beeline toward her and took a seat across from her. "Dahlia, right?" he said with a friendly smile.

 

The girl seemed distracted by her own thoughts, and jumped slightly when Alex suddenly addressed her. It took her a few minutes to compose herself. "O-oh. You're Ryan's friend. Adam . . . ?"

 

"Alex. Lockwood."

 

The girl bowed in embarrassment. "Right. Sorry, I'm still sort of waking up."

 

"No worries." Alex took a bite of his breakfast and the two sat in silence for a moment. "So how long have you been with Team Liberty?" Alex asked after a while.

 

"Oh, I'm not with Liberty," Dahlia said quickly. "My brother is, but he broke his leg, so I guess you could say I'm here in his stead. For a Liberty sanctioned mission, a lot of us aren't Liberty, actually. Especially after all our new recruits yesterday."

 

"I see." Alex took another bite. "So then you're here because your brother asked?"

 

Dahlia shook her head. "I'm here because Xander, the guy who organized this mission, asked. I have no ties to Kalos, but that doesn't mean I want to see its people suffer under a revived Team Flare."

 

Alex nodded in understanding, but then paused as a thought struck him. "You said Ryan was your mentor, right? I would've thought he'd choose to train a fellow Liberty agent."

 

The girl fidgeted slightly. "Actually he trained me because I was chosen to wield the power of Reverse as Giratina's Envoy. Ryan had that power for a brief time when he fought the Ancient Darkrai, so he used his limited experience to help me out."

 

"Giratina's . . ." Alex's brow furrowed in confusion. "I thought Kinali was the Hero of Reverse. And you're saying Ryan had that power too? Man, I really missed a lot. So you're the Hero of Reverse now? Just like Evan Tierra?"

 

Dahlia gave a shy smile. "I'm still learning my powers, but yes. Luckily my powers came back shortly after Pokémon powers vanished, so we have a bit of an advantage."

 

"I'll say." Alex laughed. "You could probably just walk up to Team Flare and banish them all to the Distortion World, huh?"

 

"I don't think it works that way," Dahlia said in a small voice. "Actually Jared was planning to hold a training session for a number of us whenever we stop for the night. You're welcome to join us if you want."

 

"Oh, I don't have any fancy powers or anything," Alex said sheepishly.

 

"That's fine," Dahlia chuckled. "It's more about getting into the mindset of combat, and also knowing how to throw a punch."

 

"Could be interesting," Alex said. "My Pokémon could certainly use some practice fighting without relying on their abilities. I just might take him up on that."

[MELON LORD]

IC: Jared Winters/Lachina Adaon/Emily Lockwood

 

"You're more than welcome," Jared said as he made his way into the room. His silver hair was plastered to his face and neck, and he was wearing a simple tank top and shorts, soaked with sweat. He used a towel that had the hotel's monogram to swipe at his face. "Colleen and I agree that everyone could use it." He waved to Dahlia as he went to start loading a plate with bacon and eggs.

 

Lachina wandered down a couple of minutes later, and Emily came in a few steps behind her, both yawning and grumbling at the earliness of the day. They each poured a cup of coffee and sat down to drink it; Lachina took hers black with a packet of sugar, while Em's was arguably more sugar and milk than coffee.

 

"Once everyone else is down here, we can discuss travel plans," Jared said as he sat nearby. "It'll be a long trip with a group this big, though."

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Colleen/Olivia -- Hotel Richissime==-

 

Colleen and Olivia made her way to the dining area once they woke up - though they both looked like they were still at least three quarters asleep. "Mmm, breakfast looks good." Olivia mumbled as she sleepily walked toward the table.

 

Colleen, meanwhile, decided to teasingly poke the back of Emma's head as she passed by. "Morning." The bedheaded aura girl said with a yawn as she glanced at Emma's coffee cup. "That looks good right about now... where'd you get the coffee from?"

[MELON LORD]

IC: Emily Lockwood

 

Emma started to grumble at someone touching her, but smiled when she saw who it was. "Pot's over there," she replied as she pointed to one end of the counter. "Sugar's on the tables, cream is in the fridge. How'd you sleep, beauté?"

[Konuju]

IC: Zoe Llyan/Alex Lockwood/Dahlia Seaton - Hotel Richissime, Lumiose City

Zoe dragged herself into the dining area a few moments after her sister. If Colleen looked three quarters asleep, then Zoe was at least eighty percent asleep. "Why'd we have to get up so early?" she grumbled as she sat down in a vacant seat. Her head flopped onto the table and Alex wouldn't have been surprised if she'd fallen back asleep right then and there.

 

"Well it looks like we're all mostly here," the Liberty agent said, looking back over at Jared. "You know, Emily and I didn't bring any supplies with us, and I doubt Elaine did either. Hopefully we're not too much of a burden for you."

[Metal Gear Minun]

IC: Jamie Arthur/Lucia Zyther - Hotel Richissime

 

Jamie and Lucia’s night had been spent peacefully enough. If you discounted all the time Jamie spent bouncing on the bed. They woke up the next morning and were preparing for the day. There were some problems in doing that. Namely, spacious as the room was, nobody expected the need for a Metagross to have vertical space over the dresser to help a girl do her nails while a Heracross was brushing her hair. That was rather inconsiderate of the architect. Such is life.

 

"Tristan, Jamie, do you need any help?" Lucia asked, as she noticed that it looked like the Metagross was having trouble getting comfortable while he worked. "I could probably help out with that if you wanted…"

 

Tristan was about to object, when he bumped his head on the ceiling for the umpteenth time. It wasn’t that it hurt, rather he was more worried that he was gonna break the ceiling and they most definitely did not have the money to fix it if Lionel got mad and demanded they pay their share. So he had to admit defeat and made way for Lucia to work, while the Heracross flashed him a sly grin. The grin only lasting long enough for Tristan to see it, a perfectly innocent sweet smile was on his face when either Jamie or Lucia looked at him, while he continued to brush Jamie’s hair.

 

Honestly, they might be a bit too competitive on who’s the best dad.

 

 As Lucia worked on painting Jamie's nails, she occasionally stole a glance upward while she was moving to the next nail. "Um, say, just to ask so that I don't overstep anything; if anyone asks about us, or like, I have to introduce ourselves together or so… what should I say? Like… I mean, obviously your name for one, but sorta how I was introducing you as my best friend for a while and such. I'm just curious, like… I don't know how to phrase this, but do you want to be introduced as something different, something more, or…?"

 

The redheaded healer left unsaid any further clarifications that she might have wanted at that moment. If Jamie needed anything, then she'd clarify when she was asked.

 

Pelleas twitched slightly. So did Tristan, but Pelleas’s twitch was more important because he was currently brushing Jamie’s hair.

 

“Ow, Pelleas,” Jamie said distracted from Lucia’s question by the sudden pulling of her hair.

 

The bug buzzed an apology, while the Metagross behind him shot back a sly grin much like the one he had received.

 

Jamie tried to get her head back on track about the question. “I don’t know what you call girls in our… situation. I guess girlfriend is what you call it? We have not exactly had the chance to actually date. But well…” How to phrase it. “If it makes it easier for you, I don’t mind you calling us girlfriends.”

 

Lucia seemed a bit surprised at the response and looked down for a moment. She focused on putting the clear nail polish on another finger, in order to hide her face until it didn't feel warm anymore. "That… that would be nice, but I also don't want to make you feel uncomfortable or like anything's being rushed." After a moment she did look up with a smile to make sure Jamie didn't think her response had upset her.

 

“I mean, I don’t know what else to call us. You feel closer than best friends, right?”

 

Lucia nodded as she bit her lip and looked down to Jamie's hand again to continue that while she talked.

 

“Then I don’t mind you calling us that. Unless you had another suggestion.”

 

Lucia thought it over, but then shook her head. "I don't really have anything else in mind that would really make sense…" She felt like there was something else that should be said, but nothing came to mind. "Uh, so how did you like the gym battle and dinner yesterday?"

 

Pelleas could feel the deep breath that Jamie was taking to go into minute details about things they all already knew about. He tapped her shoulder and pointed to a clock in the mirror. “Okay fine. It was really, really cool. I won my first gym battle ever. -We- won. I don’t think anyone can beat the two of us,” she said, the brightness of her smile causing a glare in the mirror.

 

Lucia smiled as she looked up, finally done with painting Jamie's nails, although she still held onto her hand. "That actually brings up something… can you help teach me how to get stronger?"

 

“Huh? I mean okay?” Jamie said thinking about how she could do that. “I don’t think I have any particular secrets, but I wouldn’t mind helping. You seemed plenty strong to me. Gothara took out that Luxray after all.”

 

"I mean, you softened the Luxray up." Lucia said with a small smile. "I feel like there's more I could do, though. I feel like something's… missing somehow." She closed her eyes. "Maybe one of these gym challenges or so could like… I don't know, act as a training session or date?"

 

“Yeah, that sounds like a great idea,” she said nodding. “Double battling against the entire league sounds like a great idea for a date to me,” she said as Pelleas finished her hair. Now ready to face the day, she stood up. “Now let’s get food, we can’t save the world and beat the Kalos league on an empty stomach!”

 

With a nod, Lucia stood up as well, then the two began to head down to the dining area.

 

[Flipz]

IC: Zoe Llyan/Alex Lockwood/Dahlia Seaton - Hotel Richissime, Lumiose City

Zoe dragged herself into the dining area a few moments after her sister. If Colleen looked three quarters asleep, then Zoe was at least eighty percent asleep. "Why'd we have to get up so early?" she grumbled as she sat down in a vacant seat. Her head flopped onto the table and Alex wouldn't have been surprised if she'd fallen back asleep right then and there.

 

"Well it looks like we're all mostly here," the Liberty agent said, looking back over at Jared. "You know, Emily and I didn't bring any supplies with us, and I doubt Elaine did either. Hopefully we're not too much of a burden for you."

-==IC:Professor Alderson==-

 

"I have my field kit," she reassured Alex as she shuffled over to the group. "It's...well-used, but I've lived out of it before, and it's more than enough to get to Geosenge." She had, in fact, nearly broken into her rations that morning out of habit, before remembering that this sort of hotel would provide such commodities as breakfast. Truth be told, she was completely overwhelmed by the whole experience, but the knowledge of the impending investigation kept her thoroughly anchored to the reality of the situation. Dragging her attention back to the present, she looked over the motley crew with whom her niece had become entangled. "Speaking of which, I'm Elaine Alderson, Geosenge Town's Pokémon Professor. I was actually headed back to my lab there anyway, so I appreciate the company--especially getting to spend some time with my favorite niece." She reached down and affectionately ruffled Emily's hair. "I don't think I've gotten any of the rest of your names, other than Colleen here?"

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Colleen Llyan/Olivia Seaton/Lucia Zyther -- Hotel Richissime, Lumiose City==-

 

"Oh, um." Colleen wasn't entirely certain how to respond to that, but smiled, although her face turned slightly red at what she had been called. "It was pretty okay, but I still feel somewhat sleepy. It's so weird how plane trips can do that, especially 12 hour ones." The aura girl walked over to get all the ingredients for her coffee - although it resembled Emily's coffee at the very slightest, if not more cream-and-sugary. "How about you?"

 

Olivia looked over as Lucia walked in with Jamie. She then looked over to Elaine when the latter asked about their names. "My name's Olivia Seaton. Nice to meet ya." She turned back to her food, as she eyed the woman who was still standing there, curious to whether she was going to sit down. "Are ya having anything to eat?"

 

Lucia glanced over at the woman and let Olivia go first. However, she gave a wave. "Hi, I'm Lucia Zyther. This is..." She gave a small smile as she thought over the conversation. "...my girlfriend, Jamie Arthur. My dad's the one who scored us the hotel."

[Flipz]

IC: Adam Zynthic/Amanda Zarth

 

Adam Zynthic was displeased. While he had finally received visitor clearance for the base, it had taken long enough that the One Island mission's participants had already arrived and dispersed long before he could gain access to them--most notably...

 

-----

 

Amanda Zarth was displeased. While she had finally received the majority of the surviving participants' mission reports, it had taken long enough that a few had left the base before she could gain access to them--most notably...

 

-----

 

'Amanda Zarth'. The name echoed in Adam's mind. Unfortunate enough that he hadn't recognized it, but to make matters worse he didn't dare make too deep an inquiry--with as flimsy as his excuse for access was, he couldn't risk leaving a paper trail. What he had discovered, however, was that 'Amanda Zarth' had been in Unova, of all places, an ocean away from his own exile. While part of him recognized the fortune of their separation shielding them from investigation, that nothing in their paperwork had drawn unwanted scrutiny, the truth was he'd failed her, and his failure to ensure her safety had cost her everything. It spoke poorly of his planning skills--but then, his own egress had not been planned, and his escape from hostile territory had, shamefully, not included her at the time. While he wished he knew what had happened afterward, his decision for discretion over information was merely proper prudence at play. Still, it made his job more difficult, and he could hardly afford the distraction from his main mission; after all, it wasn't like he was going to just run into--

 

-----

 

'Jamie Arthur'. The name echoed in Amanda's mind. Unfortunate enough that she had lost track of mission participants thanks to her enforced rest period, but to make matters worse one of the missing operatives in question was Executive Arthur's own sister--and now, she had discovered, Jamie Arthur was now a continent away in Kalos, of all places. While the Plasma agent recognized the tactical wisdom of sending such a demonstrably skilled agent to aid in the investigation of Team Flare resurgence, the paperwork had not been filed properly, and the failure to ensure a proper report was delivered before redeployment spoke poorly of Team Rocket's organizational skills--though it could be argued that, due to her deployment to a territory that had previously been hostile towards her mere months earlier, Jamie Arthur's decision to retain her information until outside said territory was merely proper prudence at play. Still, it made her job more difficult, and she could hardly afford it on top of the many distractions from her main mission; it was, after all, unlikely she would simply run into--

 

-----

 

Adam blinked as he suddenly realized he was staring at the ceiling. "I apologize," he said automatically, "I seem to have had my mind on..." The man trailed off as he realized who he was staring at. "...you," he finished, voice soft with wonder.

 

Amanda cocked her head from the floor, unable to shake the strange apprehension that had overtaken her. "...I beg your pardon?"

 

"It's you," he murmured again. When this failed to produce a favorable reaction, he forced himself back into discipline, dusting himself off as he stood before offering a hand up to his counterpart. "I'm sorry, Alana," he repeated, "it seems I've allowed my search for you to override my own awareness. I won't let it happen again."

 

Amanda frowned at Adam, retaking her feet without the man's offered assistance. "That is not my name," she said warily.

 

Adam blanched. "Amanda," he corrected, cursing himself quietly under his breath. "Apologies. I of all people ought to respect a dead name, given..." A thought occurred to the man. "You...do...recognize me, yes?"

 

Amanda's frown only deepened, and she found her Magnezone's ball clutched tightly in her hand. It took her some time to come up with an answer. "...No."

 

Adam's breath left him, like he'd been punched in the chest. "Then she truly is dead," he murmured to himself before shaking his head. "No matter. It remains that I recognize you, and that means there is information you desperately need--information that really ought not to be shared in a public space. If you would come with me, I can--"

 

The Plasma agent held up a hand. "The only information I currently require is the contact details of Miss Jamie Arthur. If you cannot provide them to me, then our present business is concluded." Amanda didn't know what to make of her instincts, but they were currently screaming at her to go, to get away--anywhere but where this strange, intrusive man was. It was far more than she could process, so for the moment she would heed them and work out the reason why afterward.

 

The man in question seemed startled by the response. "Jamie Arthur? You know her?"

 

"We served on the One Island mission together," she responded automatically, too distracted to really register what she was saying. "I need to take her mission report, but this has been hampered by her current vacation to Kalos."

 

"...Kalos." Adam went stiff and cold. "I...see." Fighting down his rising panic, he forced himself to ask his next question. "Do you know where Dahlia Seaton--?"

 

"--is also in Kalos, according to the report from Evan..." Belatedly, Amanda became aware of her uncharacteristic babbling and silenced herself. The damage, however, had been done.

 

"...Tierra," Adam finished. The man forced a smile, but not a hint of it reached his eyes. "Thank you, Al--Amanda. You've been...far more helpful than even I had hoped." The man's mind whirled as he considered the ramifications of what had been said. "I...my duty takes me elsewhere, but I really do need to tell you--"

 

"Stop." Amanda forced herself to breathe. "My duty also takes me elsewhere. We do not have a reason to further interact. If you must deliver this information, please leave a recorded message with Communications." Amanda doubted the solution would satisfy the stranger, and she certainly doubted she'd like whatever he had to tell her, but she would do her due diligence--after she had properly investigated both him and his intentions.

 

Adam sighed. "Very well. I...I really suppose there is no better option." He crossed his arms and nodded an acknowledgement to her. "Good day to you, Amanda Zarth."

 

The Plasma agent crossed her own arms and forced herself to deliver the courteous counterpoint. "...Good day to you, Mr...."

 

Adam paused. "...Adam. Adam Zynthic."

 

Like two magnets of like polarity, the pair quickly parted, only breathing again once the other was out of sight.

[MELON LORD]

IC: Jared Winters/Lachina Adaon/Emily Lockwood (8:30 AM, August 7th)

 

Emily swatted playfully at Elaine's hand as it mussed her hair. "Grab breakfast, first, Elaine." As she said it, she saw Colleen's sister apparently snoozing on the table and poked her softly in the side. "Hey, kiddo, you should eat, too. We're gonna be walking all day and probably won't stop for food again until sometime in the afternoon."

 

The silver-haired boy with the scarred face and arms smiled. "I'm Jared WInters. It's nice to meet you."

 

"Oh, did I not introduce myself yesterday? My bad, I'm Lachina -- Lachina Adaon." Lachina waved.

 

Jared hummed. "So, it looks like we're just waiting on--" he cut off as he saw the two girls that Dahlia knew enter. "Mr. Zyther, then. I'm actually gonna go shower before he gets down here, then we can discuss travel plans."

 

IC: Xander Cruize/Sylph - (10:45 AM, August 7th [[about 5 hours before Jared called in for the morning]])

 

 Xander hadn't slept at all, but that was fine. Sleep could come later. For now, he wanted to check out something he'd heard rumor of, and Sylph was more than willing to join him. The furrier members of his team hadn't seemed up to coming with them, but he had clipped Astraea's ball to his belt, just in case. The Staryu was his most useful Pokémon without power, its Rapid Spin still able to do plenty of damage.

 

He had heard that the Power Suits from the One Island mission had been repaired where necessary, and now were on display for people to study and gawk at, so that was where they were going. He especially wanted to look at the Psychic suit, since psychic was sort of his specialty. As they made their way into the hall -- Xander took note of a door along the way -- he saw a woman was already there looking. Nobody he recognized, of course, they were all elsewhere.

 

Still, he stepped up next to her and smiled. "These things seem pretty cool," he said as way of a opening conversation.

 

IC: Aspen Seaton - (Roughly the same time as Xander)

 

"Alright," the doctor said. "So it looks like your leg healed well. Start by putting just a small portion of your weight on it while using the crutch, and gradually start putting more as the weeks progress. If it ever starts to hurt, scale it back to what you were at before, understand?"

 

Aspen nodded, smothering a yawn  "Yeah, got it." He grabbed his crutch and carefully moved to stand. "Anything else?"

 

"Same as before, really. Be careful, don't bump it, try not to stand on it for long periods of time if it can be avoided until you're at full health again."

 

Aspen flashed a thumbs up and slowly -- so slowly  -- made his way out the door.

[Flipz]

IC: Jared Winters/Lachina Adaon/Emily Lockwood (8:30 AM, August 7th)

 

Emily swatted playfully at Elaine's hand as it mussed her hair. "Grab breakfast, first, Elaine." As she said it, she saw Colleen's sister apparently snoozing on the table and poked her softly in the side. "Hey, kiddo, you should eat, too. We're gonna be walking all day and probably won't stop for food again until sometime in the afternoon."

 

The silver-haired boy with the scarred face and arms smiled. "I'm Jared WInters. It's nice to meet you."

 

"Oh, did I not introduce myself yesterday? My bad, I'm Lachina -- Lachina Adaon." Lachina waved.

 

Jared hummed. "So, it looks like we're just waiting on--" he cut off as he saw the two girls that Dahlia knew enter. "Mr. Zyther, then. I'm actually gonna go shower before he gets down here, then we can discuss travel plans."

-==IC: Professor Alderson==-

 

"'Elaine'?" the Professor asked with raised eyebrow, her tone pointedly reminding her niece she was still nearly four times the girl's age. Still, in deference to Olivia's polite inquiry, the older woman moved off to fill up a plate.

 

 

 

IC: Xander Cruize/Sylph - (10:45 AM, August 7th [[about 5 hours before Jared called in for the morning]])

 

Xander hadn't slept at all, but that was fine. Sleep could come later. For now, he wanted to check out something he'd heard rumor of, and Sylph was more than willing to join him. The furrier members of his team hadn't seemed up to coming with them, but he had clipped Astraea's ball to his belt, just in case. The Staryu was his most useful Pokémon without power, its Rapid Spin still able to do plenty of damage.

 

He had heard that the Power Suits from the One Island mission had been repaired where necessary, and now were on display for people to study and gawk at, so that was where they were going. He especially wanted to look at the Psychic suit, since psychic was sort of his specialty. As they made their way into the hall -- Xander took note of a door along the way -- he saw a woman was already there looking. Nobody he recognized, of course, they were all elsewhere.

 

Still, he stepped up next to her and smiled. "These things seem pretty cool," he said as way of a opening conversation.

IC: Amanda Zarth/Xander Cruize/Sylph

 

“The climate control systems are quite excessively tuned,” Amanda agreed, “but my experience on One Island indicates that the colloquialisms regarding ‘the heat of battle’ do have a basis in literal fact, and this more than counters the somewhat overdone cooling settings.”

 

Xander blinked, taking a second to process what had just been said, then chuckled. “I, uh, meant that they seem to be pretty snazzy.” He studied the woman for a second and smiled. “You were there, weren’t you? I think I recognize you from the leaked footage.”

 

Sylph cleared her throat. “That, uh . . . that the only place you recognize her from?”

 

“What? Um, I think so, yeah? We haven’t met before, have we?” Xander was bad with names, sure, but he was pretty sure he would have remembered this woman’s face.

 

Amanda tilted her head, narrowing her eyes as she studied the Kalosian. “Unless you are the man who accosted me earlier this morning, we have not. Your voice, speech patterns, and apparent age do not appear to corroborate that theory, however.”

 

“I’m not, no,” Xander said, shaking his head. “I’m Xander Cruize, though.” He held out a hand to shake and tried to ignore Sylph gawking at them. The Gardevoir’s mouth was slightly open, and she was staring in confusion.

 

“Are you joking with me?” she asked. “You really don’t see it?”

 

Amanda frowned, glancing up and down the hall as she attempted to discern the target of the Gardevoir’s focus.

 

Xander sighed. “No, Sylph, I really don’t see it. Stop dancing around it, please?”

 

“You two--” Sylph cut herself off with a strangled groan. “Forget it. If neither of you sees it, then my pointing it out won’t help. I’ll be over here, observing the other gizmos.” So saying, she wandered over to a pale pink suit towards the other end of the display.

 

“Amanda Zarth,” Amanda belatedly replied, shaking Xander’s hand and resuming their conversation as if it had never been interrupted. “Knight of Team Plasma and current liaison to Team Liberty. Were you in need of assistance?”

 

“No, was just striking up conversation.” Xander smiled. “Plasma? So, do you know Evan Tierra and Jenny . . . ah . . . Evan Tierra and his girlfriend?”

 

Amanda nodded automatically. “My superiors. I am currently liaison while they are… indisposed.”

 

“Cool, nice to meet you. If I remember, you were one of the people whose Pokémon got power back, right?”

 

Sylph whipped her head around. “Wait, what?” Almost as quickly as teleportation, the Gardevoir was back by Xander’s side. “You didn’t tell me that happened!”

 

The declaration gave Amanda pause. “The news has spread more quickly than I had anticipated. Yes, you are correct.” After ascertaining that the hallway had sufficient clearance for the Pokémon, Amanda opened her briefcase and extracted her Magnezone’s Pokéball, placing the Plasma-branded capsule back in the case after releasing its occupant. “From our limited available data, it appears that my Magnezone regained its supernatural abilities after experiencing some kind of unknown temporary evolution phenomenon.”

 

Sylph clutched at Xander’s arm, and the Kalosian trainer’s smile widened. “Miss Zarth, would you do me a huge favor and let me and Sylph--”

 

“Sylph and I. You’re the one who taught me to speak, set a good example.”

 

“Can we have a battle with your Magnezone?”

 

Amanda cocked her head curiously. “You are unconcerned with the potential imbalance due to your lack of powers?”

 

“Not at all!” The psychic trainer put an arm around Sylph’s shoulders. “For one thing, we love a challenge!”

 

“I also wish to enhance my abilities without powers, seeing as I’ve been next to useless since the events on Two Island.”

 

“And, lastly, I would love to get some close up footage of the Magnezone evolving again to send it to my old teacher in Kalos.”

 

At the last point, Amanda put a fist to her mouth in consideration. “Please hold that thought,” she requested, walking away to one of the technicians who, after a moment’s bewilderment, disappeared through one of the exhibits doors and returned a minute later with an extremely dented magenta pod. The technician followed confusedly behind the Knight as she turned on her heel and returned to Xander and Sylph. “It would be to our mutual benefit to acquire this footage. Therefore, my Porygon will participate in this battle by way of this surveillance drone.” Without waiting for a response, Amanda released the Pokémon in question, who immediately downloaded itself to the device and caused it to hover next to its Trainer (to the technician’s obvious relief).

 

“That . . . sounds even better than what I had planned.” Xander flashed a thumbs up, grinning widely. “Hey, for added fun, let’s make it a double battle. See how your super Magnezone works with its teammates and against multiple opponents.”

 

“Your stipulation is acceptable. I will arrange for access to a suitable battle facility.” Extracting her Xtransceiver from her briefcase, the Plasma agent tapped out a message, a short chime indicating a reply a few moments later. “This way,” she said, leading the way without a second look back.

Edited August 2, 2018 by Flipz

[Metal Gear Minun]

IC: Jamie Arthur - Hotel Richissime

 

Jamie thought about it felt to be introduced as someone's girlfriend. She decided that she didn't really have any stronger feelings on the matter. So when Jared responded, her thoughts turned towards more pressing matters.

 

"Pleased to meet you, we will be stalking your group for the duration of your mission," she said with a one-hundred percent straight face.

 

It was the truth. After all, they were not a part of this group. So following the group around the region without official sanction qualified as stalking. She never stalked anyone before. It was technically un-hero, like a troublesome child. She had to admit though, it was almost a little exciting.

 

Pelleas and Tristan were a wee bit nonplussed about how Jamie chose to introduce herself. Hopefully everyone else would take that as a joke. But not a funny one. Just one that would be acknowledged and forgotten about as quickly as it was said.

[Konuju]

IC: Dahlia Seaton/Alex Lockwood/Zoe Llyan - Hotel Richissime, Lumiose City

"I'm Dahlia Seaton." Dahlia waved over at Emily's aunt. "It's nice to meet you professor."

 

"And I'm Alex Lockwood, Em's cousin from Sinnoh." Alex reached over to shake Professor Alderson's hand. "I've heard a lot about you over the years, so it's nice to finally meet you in person."

 

"And I'm up way too early to be functioning properly." Zoe slipped out of her chair and slowly made her way over to the food, seemingly finding her way by scent alone, for there was no way she could see where she was going with her eyes half-shut as they were. She mumbled something about being Collie's little sister before she wandered out of earshot.

 

Dahlia watched the kid in concern before looking back over at Colleen. "Is she gonna be okay?" she asked in a low voice. "I know we're all jet-lagged, but if Zoe's this tired all day, she's gonna hold back the rest of the group."

[Metal Gear Minun]

IC: Guinevere/Natalie - Black City

 

The duo headed off in the morning to where Bobby Tables was stated to live. Natalie and Guinevere felt like they had nearly gone out of the city by the time they reached the apartment. It looked like a rather nice apartment from the outside, though Natalie had to wonder how much of that was because of how close to White Forest it was.

 

"Alright, what's our plan?" Natalie asked quietly, as she noticed an unmarked car that had someone sleeping in the driver's seat. If she had to guess, that was likely surveillance - but it looked like it might be non-visual surveillance.

 

Guinevere had been pondering the whole way over about that. Well that, and how much it sucked to still have to use a crutch. She was somewhat surprised there was so little security. Not that she had knowledge of the average amount of security a man on house arrest would normally get. The biggest issue was why would Bobby want to talk to them. 

 

The Gardevoir pulled out the whiteboard. She leaned back on a wall to use for support so she could write. 

This Bobby used to

work for Stacy right?

 

"According to the papers we found, that's right." Natalie replied as she glanced around the street. "I think that Plasma would have pretty up to date records of that sort of stuff if it's needed, so I think we can take that as fact."

How much would you guess

an apartment like this costs?

 

"Uhh." Natalie thought for a moment as she looked over the apartment again. "Way more than my waitress salary, that's for sure."

Way more than a

guard’s salary right?

 

"Hmm…" The woman considered that for a moment as well. "I don't really know how much guards make, but I'd guess so, yeah. That is pretty odd, isn't it…" Natalie trailed off as she looked at the apartment with a frown. "There could be a few reasons for that, but we'll have to go and find out what's up. But it definitely seems weird that Bobby would be able to live here on that kind of salary."

 

Guinevere squeezed her chin slightly. It was strange but by itself wouldn’t guarantee that he’d talk to them. They also didn’t exactly look like police. The company angle had to have something they could use.

How much do you know

about Stacy’s company?

 

 

Natalie considered that question for a moment. "A fair chunk. I've inherited her position, and she was teaching me how the company worked before…" She cut herself off with a deep breath before she could dwell on that again. "I learned enough to be able to have a pretty in depth knowledge, I think. I'll have to do a lot of studying when I get back, but…"

 

. . . Well that was new. Guinevere had to pause for a bit to digest that information. She looked up and down at Natalie.

 

I got an idea.

 

[Flipz]

-==IC: Professor Alderson==-

 

Elaine set down her tray just in time to accept Alex's handshake. Before she could respond, however, Zoe mumbled her greeting and started to wander off. Foreseeing the impending disaster of a sleepy child wandering toward a buffet of hot food, Elaine quickly prepared a second tray for Zoe, doing her best to shepherd the girl back to the table even though it meant sacrificing her planned coffee detour. Best not to set the poor girl to bad habits too early, she reasoned to herself, mistrustfully eyeing the 'WARNING: HOT COFFEE' sign like an enraged Fire-type poised to attack.

 

"It's good to meet you," the Professor replied politely. "Now, just to make sure I've got everyone's names...Colleen?" she asked, pointing to the teenager in question. "Dahlia and Olivia Seaton--cousins?" she guessed. "Speaking of cousins, Alex, good to finally meet you as well--though it'll be fun keeping your name straight from my nephew's," she said with a chuckle. "Jared Winters, Lachina Adaon, Lucia Zyther, and..." Here Elaine frowned slightly. "...Jamie. Sorry, it's just..." She sighed. "That was my pet name for my little brother before..." She shook her head firmly, pushing the painful memories from her mind. "But never mind. Good to meet you as well, Miss Arthur. Am I forgetting anyone?"

[MELON LORD]

IC: Emily Lockwood/Lachina Adaon

 

Emily pointed. "The tired kid next to you, auntie. Her name is Zoe, and she is Colleen's younger sister."

 

Lachina nodded. "Other than that, you've got it. Well, her and the rich guy who got us all rooms for the night." The Ranger turned to Lucia. "He's your dad, right? Does he normally sleep in?"

 

IC: Yamamoto Aori

 

"I . . . I do not know," Aori said honestly. "He seems strong. He found me today, but he left me yesterday." She bit her lip. "I do not want him to get injured."

[Konuju]

IC: Zoe Llyan/Dahlia Seaton/Alex Lockwood - Hotel Richissime, Lumiose City

The next thing Zoe knew she was back at the table, a tray of food set in front of her. She honestly had no recollection of how she'd gotten there, but she ate anyway. The warm food acted like a burst of fuel, and she felt herself slowly becoming more awake.

 

"Actually, Professor, Olivia and I are sisters." Dahlia spoke up with a small smile. "Not cousins. But other than that, I think you got everybody."

 

IC: Luke - Outside Miriam's Office, Team Rocket Vermilion Branch

A serious expression crept its way onto the blackbelt's face. "I don't want anything bad to happen to them either," he said softly. "But worrying about them will only make you feel bad." He broke out into another smile. "Just imagine Hikari-san coming back here perfectly safe, only to find you worried sick over him. He'd feel bad that he caused you to worry, wouldn't he? So why don't you practice the smile you'll give him when you see him? Just picture that moment in your head for me, okay?"

[MELON LORD]

IC: Yamamoto Aori

 

Aori gave a shaky smile, not entirely convinced of what Luke had said.

 

IC: Xander Cruize (Sylph, Astraea)/Amanda (Magnzeone, Porygon)

 

Fifteen minutes later found the pair of trainers standing across from each other in the training room where training for the Power Suits had taken place. Xander unclipped Astraea’s ball and released the Staryu. Sylph stepped out next to the water-type and smiled wryly. “I can only hope that I don’t disappoint anyone,” she said.

 

Xander grinned. “Amanda, can I ask one more concession on this fight, to maybe even things out a bit?”

 

The Plasma agent frowned confusedly, but did not raise an objection.  “You may ask.”

 

“Is it alright if I use my psychic abilities to help my team?”

 

Amanda raised an eyebrow.  “You possess psionic potential?”

 

“Is it ‘potential’ if it’s been actualized?” Xander shrugged. “But, yeah, I do. Telepathy, telekinesis, some teleportation. I can use it to help level the playing field here.”

 

Sylph smiled. “You seem interested, Miss Zarth. Are you perchance psychic as well?”
 

Amanda nodded curtly in confirmation.  “It is a phenomenon with which I am presently developing my proficiency.  As I have yet to perfect my psionic prowess, I lack sufficient data to determine whether using our powers would be beneficial to the objective of the exercise.  I will leave the determination to you.”

 

Xander nodded. “Alright, sounds good. You two ready?” Sylph nodded, and Astraea’s gem flashed, which Xander took as confirmation. “Amanda, the first move is yours!”

 

“

”  Amanda gestured to her Magnezone, and the Steel-type took a ready stance in front of her while her Porygon levitated the surveillance pod next to it.  “Magnezone, Zap Cannon,” she ordered, pointing at the Staryu as its target.

 

The attack would have been devastating, but luckily Astraea was quick to react, at least this once. It sidestepped the blast of electricity, then spun quickly, using the blinding light to mask its movement towards the Magnezone.

 

Xander whistled, nodding. “Sylph, assist!” The Gardevoir nodded and leapt forward alongside her Staryu companion. She wasn’t sure what she would do against the Magnezone’s armored form, but she wasn’t going to let the nitty gritty details distract her from her goal.

 

Amanda nodded, as if the miss had been expected.  “Levitate to three meters, then attempt…” The Plasma Knight frowned.  She had hoped to challenge Hikari at some point, to confirm the continued effectiveness of Magnet Rise, but at present attempting the move would not grant her usable data.  “Tri-Attack,” she decided. “Same target.” Even as she spoke, a trio of colored orbs materialized above each of the Magnone’s eyes, swirling around in a ring before being launched toward their target.

 

Astraea barged through the energy without seeming to mind. Its rapid spinning movement would have carried it right below its target, but the Staryu’s path inexplicably curved upwards, and it slammed into the underbelly of its metal opponent. Sylph also found herself floating, and she landed softly on top of the Magnezone with a soft chuckle. Xander’s telekinesis would give them an edge, but she doubted it would be enough to ensure victory.

 

Amanda cocked her head, observing the other Trainer’s display of psionic power with careful scrutiny.  She had not yet had time to thoroughly research her own abilities, nor to determine the appropriate circumstances in which to use them for battle, so she was unable to tell whether a response in kind would be expected as courtesy or merely allowed as an option now that her opponent had displayed them.  She decided to err on the conservative side, raising a barrier for safety as she called to her Magnezone and made a sharp jerking motion across her throat. Confident the Staryu would be sufficiently threatened (and her Magnezone sufficiently deflected should its descent drift too close to her), she next turned her attention to the Gardevoir atop her Pokémon.  She would need to address its threat, but how?

 

The solution presented itself as her Porygon’s surveillance pod crossed her vision while orbiting around the battlers.  “Porygon,” she ordered, “set the pod to stationary hover, then exit and attempt Signal Beam on the Gardevoir.” She had not seen evidence that power had returned to the remainder of her team, but neither had she properly attempted it, so the point of data would still be significant.

 

The Gardevoir had also seen no such evidence, but she decided to err on the side of caution. “Xander, help!” she called as she launched off the Magnezone and towards the Porygon. Normally, the jump wouldn’t have carried her the full distance; with Xander’s psychic assistance, she flew towards the Porygon to try and wrap her arm around the joint where its head met its body.

 

Astraea was still spinning, and it bounced off of Amanda’s barrier to ricochet up towards the electric-type again.

 

Amanda had returned her attention to her Magnezone once more.  She pulled up a short list on her Xtransciever’s C-Gear software and ran a finger down the lines.  “Magnezone,” she ordered, “cease descent and use Flash Cannon on--”

 

The Porygon’s electronic shriek of distress grabbed Amanda’s attention.  Two birds with one stone, then, she thought, her Magnezone already swiveling to the new target as she reached out with her mind to the Steel-type.  “Steel against Water would be ineffective. Target the Psychic-type instead.” The now-ignored Staryu clanged against the Magnezone’s scarred underside, the damage minimal but still existent as the Steel-type blasted a beam of light energy at the Gardevoir.

 

Sylph cried out as the attack struck her -- dealing far more damage than she had expected. Her arm loosened, and she dropped from the Porygon to land hard on the ground below. Xander frowned. Sylph had been hit by Flash Cannons before, but she’d never taken it that hard. “You okay, Sylph?”

 

She nodded, standing again with a wince. “Yes, I’ll live.” She scowled. Astraea had spun around to stand beside her, and she looked down at it. “I think I have an idea.”

 

Xander snorted as he plucked the thought from Sylph’s head. “Do it, then!” Sylph nodded, and a moment later Astraea had been flung straight up at the Porygon hanging above them. Xander grinned. “Miss Zarth, I think now would be a good time to see that extra evolution in play!”

 

Amanda raised an eyebrow at the excessive damage caused by the Flash Cannon, tapping away intently at her notes in response.  She looked up at Xander’s address. “Very well. We will attempt to…” The Plasma Knight cut her response short as she noticed the hard, spinning projectile that had been beaned at her already injured Porygon.  “Porygon, lights out!” she ordered.

 

The Virtual Pokémon shot upwards into the rafters, the living Pokémon projectile hot on its tail, before vanishing into the ceiling above.  Moments later, the room was plunged into pitch blackness.

 

”Good,” Amanda thought to both herself and her Magnezone, “this will give us time to attempt the phenomenon.”  She closed her eyes, focusing first on the senses she’d felt alongside the discovery of her powers, and then--

 

A loud crash sounded far above, accompanied by the sound of groaning metal.  Eyes snapping open, Amanda jerked her gaze above her, to where a bright starlike silhouette bounced uncontrollably between unknown objects currently indistinct in her extrasensory perception.  As the light that was most likely the Staryu glided unsteadily to the ground next to its Trainer, one of the objects tipped from its mount, coalescing into the form of one of the cranes the technicians used to lift heavy machinery around the testing space…

 

Amanda could not tell where the crane would land, and she did not care--the safety risk was utterly unacceptable.  Unbidden, a soft rainbow outline surrounded her Magnezone, and, after a nod in unison, the glow swiftly expanded into a gleaming geodesic shell before shattering to reveal the Pokémon’s Mega Evolved form.  The Steel-type raced upwards, splitting into its three component cores and using each to grab a corner of the falling machinery. The Pokémon groaned loudly, a sound Amanda in particular heard herself echoing, managing to arrest the machine’s descent mere meters above the battlers’ collective heads.  The duo let out a sigh of relief as the lights flickered back on, Amanda’s Porygon poking its head back into the room in response to the commotion.

 

Xander frowned, reaching out telekinetically. He wrapped his mind around part of the structure and pushed up to aid the Magnezone. For a moment, the link flickered, and the crane dropped again, but he caught it before it could cause any problems. “Okay, not quite how I wanted to see that happen, but it works. Let’s get this back onto its mount, and I’ll try to avoid the rafters from here on out.”

 

Too focused to respond verbally, Amanda shook her head, briefly pointing to the empty battlefield next to them before clenching her fist in concentration.  “Gently,” she and her Magnezone told each other in unison, moving the damaged machinery aside with Xander’s assistance before lowering it softly to the ground.  The Plasma agent immediately set to typing furiously at her Xtransciever, her Magnezone hovering protectively in front of her while her concentration remained compromised.

[Flipz]

IC: Xander Cruize (Sylph [50%], Astraea [85%])/Amanda Zarth (Magnezone [90%], Porygon [40%])

 

Xander, for his part, waited patiently for Amanda to refocus on the battle. He had pulled out his Holo Caster and was getting the best video of the Magnezone he could get from this distance. “Sycamore is going to love this close footage.”

 

Sylph winced, trying and failing to rub her back where she’d been struck. “I’m certainly glad somebody’s enjoying this,” she said. “I would hate to think I was suffering for naught.”

 

“Better or worse than Korrina?”

 

Sylph thought about it for a moment before responding. “Worse. The Lucario hit quickly but each hit was very minor damage. This . . . I’ve never been struck so hard by a singular attack in combat.”

 

“It was unexpectedly effective,” Amanda agreed. “I would recommend you conduct further research on the interaction at a later juncture, ideally from a less unorthodox source than my Magnezone.”

 

The duo nodded, and Sylph took a stance as Xander asked, “Are you ready, then?”

 

Amanda nodded her assent, she and her Magnezone resuming their ready stance as her Porygon retreated back into the surveillance pod. “Lock-On,” she ordered verbally, eyes gleaming once more in unison with her Magnezone’s as she reforged the telepathic connection to inform it of its target.

 

Xander rubbed his nose and nodded a bit. “Sylph, that Lock-On is for you, I think. If it hits you with another Flash Cannon we can call this game over.” Astraea’s jewel flashed and Xander grinned. “You got it. Alright then, ladies, let’s do this! Sylph, launch!”

 

Sylph sprang up, and Xander’s power caught her, propelling her towards the Magnezone.

 

Electrical energy crackled loudly as it materialized before the Magnezone’s eye. “Deliberation, Determination, Destination,” Amanda softly murmured--before both Trainer and Pokémon turned in place and vanished.

 

Xander frowned. “Sylph, look--” He was cut off as a burst of electricity shot from the periphery of the field. “Crud,” he muttered as he realized -- too late -- that the real target had been Astraea. The Staryu took the Zap Cannon and was sent sprawling across the field. Xander rushed out onto the field and slid to his knees beside the Staryu. He cradled it lightly, staring in horror at the cracked gem on the water-type’s front. Quickly, he fumbled the ball off of his belt and returned Astraea.

 

“Alright,” he said, standing. His purple eyes blazed as he looked at the Magnezone. “Sylph, let’s get serious.”

 

Sylph landed in front of him, chuckling. “You mean we weren’t already?”

 

Amanda frowned at the injury, but merely made a note rather than commenting aloud. She looked up to see her opponent charging his own psionic powers. The similarities are striking, she observed, before turning her mind to the situation. “Porygon,” she ordered, “remove yourself from battle range. Mr. Cruize, I would recommend you exit the arena boundary as well.”

 

Xander would have argued, but Sylph shot him a look that said she would never speak to him if he did. With a shrug, he teleported back to his starting area. “Alright then. Sylph, jump!” The Gardevoir did as she was told. As she rose, she vanished from the Magnezone’s sight.

 

Despite the disappearance of her Pokémon’s target, Amanda remained unconcerned. “Discharge,” she ordered, both mentally and verbally for her opponent’s benefit, as lightning bolts scattered around the Magnezone in a spherical field of electrical energy.

 

Sylph rose through the electricity, gritting her teeth as she slammed her fist into the underbelly of her opponent. She landed, and was immediately transported back across the field, away from the electric-type. Not even a second had passed. As she landed, she went stiff, unable to move for a moment.

 

Amanda shook her head. While the strategy would succeed, it would be slow, and would provoke unnecessarily desperate counterplay. As soon as the opposing Gardevoir landed, however, Amanda spotted her moment of weakness and capitalized on it. “Lock-On,” she mentally ordered, knowing the targeting would improve her odds no matter which move she chose next. To help push she odds further, she and her Magnezone both switched back to their psionic senses, certain it would aid them in retaining focus on their seemingly teleporting target. The pair’s eyes blazed violet like a pair of burning stars.

 

Xander nodded a bit as he saw the purple glow from across the arena. “Miss Zarth, we should definitely go over some things once we conclude this battle, if you’re available.”

 

“Of course.” The Plasma agent focused intensely, scanning the Gardevoir’s movements for tells of teleportation. The amethyst glow of her Magnezone’s eye was overshadowed once more by the telltale charge of another Zap Cannon, this one being held even longer before launch.

 

Sylph was just straightening when the attack launched. She scowled at the oncoming attack, knowing there was no way for her to avoid it. Xander’s eyes sparked, glowing brighter for a moment. A small screen of purple light appeared in front of Sylph. The attack hit, and for a moment it looked like the barrier would hold.

 

Unfortunately, it didn’t. Xander’s first ever barrier broke, and the electric attack slammed into Sylph at just slightly less than full power. Pokémon and trainer both cried out, clutching at the center of their chest where the Zap Cannon struck.

 

Xander gasped for breath and shook his head as he waved. “Okay! Okay, we’re good! Right, Sylph?”

 

The Gardevoir nodded, coughing a bit. “I cannot compete with that.”

 

Amanda nodded, and to the surprise of all involved the Magnezone returned to normal in a bright flash, tiny wisps of rainbow energy trailing from it as if the transformation had somehow burned off of it. “Porygon, did you obtain footage of that event?” At the surveillance pod’s affirmative beep, Amanda frowned, adding further notes to the file before recalling her Magnezone to its ball.

 

“Sylph, do you think you’re good to stay out until we can get you healed?”

 

“Of course. It didn’t do that much damage.” Sylph winced as another jolt shot through her. “Though, perhaps we could do that sooner rather than later.”

 

“Very well,” Amanda said. “I will notify Team Liberty technicians to repair the faulty crane and then escort you to the healing center.” Amanda typed out a message, sent it, and then gestured with her free hand. “This way, please.”