Pokémon: Rise Of The Rockets

[Flipz]

Night League

 

<”So, you expect us to fight like mindless beasts,”> the Espurr asked from her spot next to her Fennekin and Eevee companions. <”Perhaps you haven’t noticed, but some of us are at a distinct disadvantage in physical altercations. How do you plan to remedy this?”>

 

A rock fell in front of the Espurr. <”Get creative.”> Lucas had pushed his way closer to the front during the fight. Nyx was trailing behind him. He picked up a sharp loose rock when the Espurr had begun to speak. <”Use that if you can think of nothing else.”>

 

Psyka scowled. <”Yes, of course, how could I miss the obvious solution of bludgeoning somebody to death with a rock?”> she said snidely. <”Putting aside how barbaric that is, there’s nothing keeping opponents who already have a physical advantage from doing the same, and I doubt a rock would help much in either case seeing as my kind are still not known for our physical prowess and will still be set up to lose.”>

 

Lucas ignored her. If she was too limited of mind to think of ways to fight, then that was her problem. He offered a solution, and if she would not take it, it was her loss. He looked towards the Pokémon in charge with an impassive face.

 

The relaxed-looking Rockruff from before barked out a laugh. <”I like you,”> she commented, walking over to the Cubone. <”How about you and I partner up for a round? I’m Fini, by the way.”> She glanced over at Psyka, noting the Espurr who seemed to share Vixen’s earlier distrust of the Alolan company. <”You know, strength isn’t everything. I’d have thought Nani getting her hiny handed to her by Mu would have made that clear. Besides, we’re fighting doubles now--way more room for creativity there.”>

 

Vixen growled. <”Hey, how about you back off? Psyka’s way smarter than anyone I know, she’s just not used to fighting without her psychic stuff! Sorry we can’t all be dumb muscle like some sort of--”>

 

A staff slammed down between the two pairs of Pokémon. Mitama glared down at them. <”Enough, now. Since you are so eager to stick up for your Espurr friend, you two can fight together.”>

 

<”Great, let’s show these losers--”>

 

<”No. This is not a place for personal vendettas. I will decide the combatants.”> The dragon type scowled. <”Go, stand over there. Your opponents will come to you.”> The Fennekin glared, but went to do so, with Psyka following along silently.

 

Fini nodded in gratitude to Mitama as the Hakamo-o went about her way to find their opponents. Though she usually clashed with the serious Dragon priest (in comparison to whom Nani seemed a sloppy parody), for once Fini was forced to admit she agreed. “You okay, squirt?” she asked Lucas, who she belatedly realized had not yet agreed to partner with her. Whoops, she thought, as Mitama shepherded a pair of Pokémon into their arena, bit late for that. “Stay loose,” she counseled as their opponents approached, “you’ll be fine.”

 

The feathery foes revealed themselves; first a Farfetch’d wearing a mail of chopped Sticks as samurai armor, followed by a mystical-looking Murkrow whose hat had been bedazzled by a bangle of beads. Lucas sized up the two bird Pokemon. Even if the power had been on, he couldn’t rely on his ground type attacks in this case. He’d normally try to use Draco Meteor on such opponents, but that was obviously not an option. The Cubone tried adjusting how he was holding the two pieces of the bone together. This was gonna be awkward to fight with.

 

Across the way, Psyka was amused to see a rather wimpy-looking bug-type approach them. <”This is to be an opponent? It hardly seems--”> She was cut off as the second combatant stepped in, smirking at her from underneath his mushroom cap.

 

Vixen chuckled. <”A plant and a bug, huh? Easy pickings!”> she boasted, hopping playfully. Psyka nodded, though she wasn’t quite so certain it would be that easy. Scanning the field for something to use as a weapon, the Espurr saw a decently-sized branch that tapered off into a dull point. She picked it up, hefting it as a club and nodding in approval.

 

As the majority of the other assembled Pokémon paired off and were escorted to their assorted arenas, a pair of small Normal-types found themselves isolated, overlooked by those seeking stronger opponents. When it became apparent the two Eevee would not be finding allies or opponents, Mal let out a sigh and headed over, the Alolan Ratatta nudging the one Kantonian cousin who’d had the courage to show up.

 

“Ey,” Mal said, hoping the sudden sound wouldn’t spook the nervous-looking Eevee he’d chosen to speak to. “Don’t mean to pry, but it looks like yous two still need someone to fight. This here’s my Kanto cousin Carlos. Since we four ain’t like to get a fair fight anyway, maybe we could scrap it out together, eh?”

 

Ellen glanced over at the other Eevee and nodded. <”That sounds okay to me. I’m Ellen, what’s your name?”>

 

Nyx took a second to realize that she was being directly addressed. <”Y-you mean me?! Er-that is, my name is Nyx.”>

 

<”It’s nice to meet you.”> Ellen turned towards Mal, nodding. <”Where is Carlos?”>

 

<”I’m, er, here,”> Carlos replied, the quadruped Ratatta emerging hesitantly from behind his biped cousin. <”So, uh...do we just fight, or…? I just don’t really want to, you know, cause any trouble…”>

 

Mal waved off his cousin’s concerns. <”Fuhgeddaboudit, cuz. We gots whatever arena ya wants ‘cause yous with me, capiche? ‘Sides, I ‘magine it won’t take long for someone to get knocked outta the running, if yous willing to wait…”>

 

The Wimpod glanced nervously back and forth between his opponents, who already appeared to be in a poor mood, and his partner, a jagged-toothed Breloom who grinned wickedly across the arena as he sharpened his razorlike claws. <“N-now, we’re all in this together, so l-let’s have a nice, clean--”>

 

He never got to finish his sentence. The Breloom turned his wicked grin upon his partner, and, seizing the whiskers at the Wimpod’s tail, spun and hurled the Bug-type bodily at Psyka, the Wimpod wailing all the way.

 

Psyka had no time to process this on a conscious level. Acting purely on instinct, she whipped her branch around, knocking the Wimpod away to her left. With a sigh and a shrug, she chased the temporary flier, leaving Vixen to face off against the Breloom.

 

The fire-type rushed at the opponent with a grin, knowing that she had the advantage-- Wait, no, powers weren’t working. Sadly, she only realized that when she failed to produce a Flame Charge attack. Instead, she just slammed feebly into the taller Pokémon. The grim grinning Grass-type replied with a kick that, while not the species’ specialty, still stabbed at the Fennekin with spurs like sharpened steel. When the fox-like Pokémon leapt back to evade, the Breloom aggressively pursued, swinging its club-like tail in imitation of Psyka’s previous attack against its partner.

 

Mal tapped his foot impatiently as he waited on his cousin’s waffling. The Ratatta sighed. <”Look, here’s fine, let’s just start, ‘kay?”> The other three nodded, with Ellen walking towards the center of the space while Nyx and Carlos retreated to the edge. And then Mal had an idea. A nasty, terrible, devious, scheming idea, the Dark-type struggling to suppress a smirk. As the Eevee offered a paw for a handshake, Mal extended his own hand...only to clench it into a fist for a surprise sucker punch.

 

The Eevee yelped, staggering back from the blow. Shock, betrayal, and anger all shown in her eyes as she looked at the Alolan Pokémon. <”We haven’t started yet!”> she protested.

 

<”Haven’t we?”> Mal challenged playfully, attempting to use the distraction to slip past Ellen and attack her partner. Belatedly, the other two combatants leaped into action, though in their case this mainly meant circling the edges of the area warily while awaiting attacks from Ellen and Mal.

 

Ellen’s fur bristled, and a soft snarl rumbled from her throat. <”Alright, if that’s how you want to play it.”> She sidestepped to let Mal past, then leaped onto his back, trying to sink her teeth into him.

 

Lucas shifted his stance several times to accommodate the break in his weapon. None of it felt right. He eventually settled on a sub-optimal stance. It wouldn’t grant him the best power, but it’d keep the bone from falling apart mid-swing. The Farfetch’d moved in to press the attack, testing Lucas’ responses with a few tentative swings before shifting stance to strike for real.

 

Lucas raised his bone to block the blows. He should’ve been quicker. Before his bone was broken, he would’ve been able to deflect such blows with ease. But with the awkward stance, it took more strength to move the bone quickly enough into position to block the Farfetch’d’s attack.

 

Having raced up a fallen tree to gain the height advantage over the Flying-types (a truly novel experience, she idly noted), Fini dove down after the Murkrow, only for the glint of moonlight off the Murkrow’s glass beads to force her to look away at the last moment, giving the Dark-type time enough to evade. Having forced Fini’s failure, the Murkrow danced and twirled, sending glimmers of light across not only his own battlefield but a few adjacent as well. Fini smiled. Finally, she thought, a fight that’s actually fun! With a friendly growl, Fini pounced once more, not caring that she’d accepted her flying foe’s lead in their mutual war-waltz.

 

A gleam of light caught Mal’s attention even as he fended off another attack from Ellen, his glance revealing a nearby Pokémon he’d heard of but never before seen. <”Hey,”> Mal called out to Lucas from the adjacent arena, his own battle seemingly having entered a lull, <“ain’t ya one a them...ah...whatcha call it...Marrow-hawks or somethin’? I ain’t never seen one’a yous before, but I’m a big fan.”> Struck by inspiration, the Ratatta darted for a small stick amongst his arena’s detritus, waving it around in a crude imitation of a fire-dancer’s baton. <“One thing I ain’t never gots, though…”> The Dark-type suddenly brought the stick down on one knee, snapping it in two, before quickly gnawing the ends to sharp points. <“Why stick to one stick when two’s twice as nice?”> Apparently amused by his own joke, Mal chuckled and returned his attention to Ellen, ducking and weaving around the incoming blows while stabbing out with his two impromptu daggers in retaliation.

 

The Farfetch’d broke off his assault sometime during Mal’s speech. Lucas regarded Mal’s rambling with little regard until they sank in a bit more. Two weapons.

 

<Perhaps it’s time to take my own advice.>

 

His eyes dashed around for a rope of any kind. His eyes focused in on a piece of vine. He dash towards and knelt down next to it. He had to work fast.

 

Vixen reeled away from the attack and was still coming to her senses when a series of rapid jabs from the Breloom hit her. She cried out, jumping away to try and regain her bearings. <”Psyka!”> she called desperately. <”I could use some help here!”>

 

If the Espurr heard her partner’s pleas, she ignored them. Instead, Psyka focused on the Wimpod. She slammed her makeshift weapon into the bug type again and again, feeling victory close at hand -- until the Wimpod suddenly turned tail and scurried off, into the crowd. Psyka stepped up to the edge of her arena, growling as she tried to find the opponent. Belatedly, she realized that Vixen probably would have been able to sniff the creature out.

 

Ellen, meanwhile, was nimbly dodging the stabs and thrusts of Mal, though the reach and speed of the weapons was making it hard for her to retaliate. What she wouldn’t give to get her paws on a weapon of her own.

 

Inspiration struck. She hopped back as far as she could and planted her feet. When Mal came in next, she acted first. Her fangs clamped down on his wrist, causing him to drop one of his daggers. Using his momentum, Ellen twisted to throw him overhead. The opponent hit the ground with a loud cry, but that didn’t matter now. Ellen’s ears pricked up. Nearby, she heard Vixen’s panicked voice calling out for help.

 

Picking up the dropped weapon, the Eevee turned and bolted towards her sister’s arena.

 

Nyx raised a paw in protest at her ally leaving. She turned towards the dark Rattata. With a manic panic, adrenaline rushed through her body, propelling her forward. She jumped and and stomped her forelegs on the arm that still held a weapon, forcing Mal to drop it with a cry.

 

The familiar cry split the air, causing Fini to quirk an ear in its direction. Mal? The momentary distraction was all her opponent needed; reversing his spin, the Murkrow angled his necklace to shine its reflections right into the Rockruff’s eyes, the Alolan canine completely unprepared for the sudden change of pace. She stumbled blindly backwards, wincing as she tried to recover.

 

It was exactly the opening the Farfetch’d had been waiting for. Seeing his partner’s signal, he rushed forward, slashing his Stick across tender tendons and forcing Fini to flinch. The Rockruff tried to turn, but the stinging pain in her legs sent her sprawling across the ground instead. Without a miracle, she was surely done for.

 

A round blur slammed into the Farfetch’d. Lucas had wrapped the vine around the head of the femur and made a makeshift flail. The Cubone rapidly followed his weapon with the rest of the bone in his other hand. The bone proved a much better bat than it had before when Lucas followed the flail by slamming the bat into the bird. This was something Lucas could get used to.

 

The Farfetch’d flung a wing up to absorb the bat’s blow, but it was still enough to take the pressure off of Fini. With a grateful nod, she struggled to stand; though she only managed to sit up on her front paws, her steely gaze told the other combatants that playtime was most certainly through.

 

Ellen rushed into the arena just in time to see the Breloom lift Vixen off the ground and repeatedly strike her with his claws. With a snarl, the brown fox launched herself forward, slamming into the small of Breloom’s back. The Mushroom Pokémon staggered from the blow, but only gave her a brief glance before turning back to his victim. He was raising his claw again when Ellen plunged her dagger into his leg.

 

With an irritated snarl, the grass type dropped Vixen and turned to swing at Ellen. For his trouble, he got a hard bite to his arm. Rage filling him, he began lashing out again and again, and each time Ellen was too fast for him to hit, and he came away with new bites or scratch marks. With a roar, he raised his claws and plunged them down. Ellen jumped, and his claws slammed into the ground. As a shudder ran up his spine, he spun, his mace-like tail finally connecting with the Eevee to send her flying across the arena. Satisfied that the nuisance was gone, Breloom turned and started kicking at Vixen, who backpedaled to try and put some distance between them.

 

Carlos crept closer to the manic Nyx, but couldn’t quite chart a course of action. By the time he finally flung himself at the enemy Eevee, she had already bolted away. As he circled around the staggered Mal, Carlos stumbled over the weapon Nyx had forced his cousin to drop. He fixed his gaze upon the discarded dagger…but after a mere moment’s consideration, he sportingly shoved it aside. Keeping his profile low, the Rattata scurried off after his opponent.

 

Lucas’s coordination and movements were much better after adapting to two weapons. He would need to practice to fully adapt to this new fighting style, and years to master it. But with the ability to put his weight into his blows, he was able to force the Farfetch’d onto the defense.

 

The Farfetch’d retreated one step, two. A feint, a strike, a miss, a reversal. The Stick-wielding samurai attempted to turn the tide, defense to offense, a shift in tempo--

 

A discordant caw cut his concentration. The Farfetch’d turned his head just in time to see Fini fall upon the Murkrow, the seemingly-helpless Rock-type having waited for the dancer to overextend into an attack before countering with her superior weight and stamina. His partner pinned and at the opponent’s mercy, he turned to lend aid…

 

It was a fight-ending error. The Cubone had dropped the vine so he could use both hands for a home-run swing. The Farfetch’d soared until he hit the fallen tree that Lucas had taken the vine from. He ran over to make sure that the Farfetch’d was down for the count. He lifted himself onto the trunk of the tree and saw the bird was unconscious. He took a moment to take in his surroundings. From atop his perch, the Ground-type spotted Nyx, now alone in her arena against two opponents, the other Eevee having vanished in the interim. Lucas stared at the arena. He hardly knew Nyx. He didn’t ask her to come along. At the same time, he couldn’t help feel responsible for her being here, considering he didn’t ask permission to come here to begin with.

 

<“You know,”> Fini pointed out, <“if someone was to see something unfair--hypothetically speaking, of course--and wanted to help out--again, hypothetically speaking--in my current state I somehow doubt that I could hypothetically stop them, now could I?> The Rockruff regarded the Cubone with a mischievously encouraging grin. <”Go get ‘em, bud.”>

 

Lucas continued staring for a moment, as if he was ignoring the Rockruff. But after a moment, with nary a word, he ran to pick up his vine, and left to find Nyx.

 

Elllen staggered to her feet with a wince. The Breloom was savaging Vixen, and it needed to stop. With a roar more suited for a fierce Mightyena than a timid Eevee, she jumped at the Breloom --

 

And was casually swatted aside, sent sprawling across the ground again. Panting, she stepped between him and Vixen, only to be knocked back once more. She made her way to her feet for a third time. Vixen found herself backed against the edge of the cliff, nowhere to run; the Breloom wasn’t stopping. Ellen wasn’t able to stop him. Vixen closed her eyes as he drew his fist back for another blow.

 

There was a sharp and repeated whacking sound, but no impact. Vixen cracked one eye open and saw Psyka standing over the Breloom, her club wielded in both hands. Xander’s team all looked between each other, and Psyka sighed.

 

<”My apologies,”> the Espurr said, lowering her weapon. <”I should not have gone so far off . . .”>

 

Ellen growled softly. <”You’re right,”> she agreed. <”You should have stayed to help Vixen.”>

 

<”My kind are largely solitary creatures. It did not occur to me that she might have needed help, and for that I am truly sorry.”> Psyka turned to Vixen. <”Please, forgive me for my error.”>

 

<”Hey, don’t worry about it,”> the fire-type replied. <”I should have taken my time and figured out his weaknesses before rushing in.”>

 

Ellen whined, nuzzling her sister. <”Sorry I didn’t get here sooner, and that I couldn’t do more to help. Are you okay?”>

 

<”You’re real dumb, you know that? You had a fight of your own, so of course you didn’t come help out earlier. Look, can we all stop apologizing and just agree we all learned something here, ‘cause I’m feeling real embarrassed here!”> The other two nodded, and the trio looked around.

 

<”Looks like things are almost finished,”> Psyka observed. <”Why don’t we call it an early night and head home?”> Her companions agreed, and the three began their descent towards the Alamo.

 

Nyx lead the remaining Rattata in a chase around his downed cousin. If one thought it looked like a desperate panic without a strategy, they’d be right up to the part about not having a strategy. She kicked up up the fallen dagger and a mound of dirt at the opponent. The dirt flew straight for his eyes, and the stick found his foot. The Rattata fell backwards onto his ally. With a shout, Nyx jumped onto the pair and slammed the two bodies into each other.

 

Lucas arrived to see the still panting Eevee standing on top of her two foes in victory. That surprised him. He felt a bit silly for running given the result.

 

<It seems mad panic can be an asset,> the Cubone stated.

 

Nyx realized at that point that she had won and finally stopped panicking. Her breathing was still quick, but she slowly walked over to the Cubone.

 

The winded Ratatta accepted the defeat without hesitation. Hesitantly climbing to his feet, Carlos managed an admiring glance at the unassuming Eevee. <”Man,”> he muttered, mostly to himself, <“wish I could be that strong. Maybe someday.”> Hoisting his cousin over his shoulder, he set off for healing.

 

Nyx just looked puzzled. She wasn’t used to be complimented for her strength. Lucas suppressed the urge to laugh.

 

<Come on. Let’s get out of her before Claus and Richard realize we’re missing.>

 

Lucas started walking down the mountain, and after a moment spent looking back at her defeated foes, followed.

 

Fini limped her way over to the healer’s camp, where to her surprise Mal had been laid out by his fellow Alolan Ratatta. She barked out a brief laugh, only to wince as her tendons shrieked in protest at the jarring motion.

 

Eyes still closed, Mal grumbled discontentedly. <”Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, fuzzball.”>

 

Fini perked an ear. <”Have fun then, did you?”> Chuckling at the Rattatta’s single-digit response, she settled down next to him and sighed as an attendant spread a soothing berry balm over her more severe injuries. <”Speaking of not having fun, where’s Nani?”>

 

Mal waved a lazy paw, not willing to sit up yet. <”Dragged herself off somewhere, somethin’ about a closing speech or somethin’. Whatevah. Nobody cares,”> he groused.

 

The Rock-type cocked her head. <”What’s that?”> she teased, <”someone not treating this whole fight club as the most holy ritual to end all holy rituals? Blasphemy!”> She clapped a paw to her chest in mock horror, the effect spoiled by her uncontrollable giggling.

 

Mal cracked open an eye, seemingly for the sole purpose of rolling it. <”If that girl’s gotta be so stern an’ stoic like that, she oughta be able to stand up for herself. Her fight with da boss was just…embarassin’.”>

 

Fini quietly hummed, her own thoughts on the matter mixed. <”So, how did your battle go? Find any decent recruits?”>

 

<”I wish. Got in a scuffle with a couple ‘a Eevee, were dead easy ‘til they both went psycho an’ double-teamed me. One’a them just quit outta nowhere, weirdest thing, but by then it was too late.”> The Alolan Ratatta snorted derisively. <”Shoulda known, really. Was real disappointed by my Kanto cousin, lemme say. Ain’t got no backbone for battle, that one. Hope he’s just a fluke. How ‘bout you? You get anywhere with that, whawuzzit, Marrow-hawk?”>

 

<”Cubone,”> Fini corrected, <”and no, sadly.”>

 

<”Ah. Lost too, eh?”>

 

<”Won, actually. Impressed me a lot, actually, he improvised, adapted, hit like a human truck, too. Did something with his bone and a vine, the Farfetch’d had no idea what to do with it, let me finish off his partner even after this.”> She indicated her injured legs.

 

<”So what happened? He turn ya down?”>

 

<”Didn’t offer. He’s got a Trainer, could smell it on him.”>

 

<”Ah. Shame. Sound of it, he coulda made a good fit for the crew. If only it weren’t for his human.”>

 

<”Eh. Probably why he’s good as he is.”>

 

<”Seriously?”> Mal sat up and stared at Fini, who merely quirked a brow in reply. <”You think it makes that much of a difference?”>

 

Fini shrugged. <”From what I saw tonight? Yeah, quite a bit.”>

 

<”Huh.”> The two stared out at the night together in silence. After a few minutes, though, Mal had to ask, <”So, you thinkin’ about findin’ a Trainer, then?”>

 

The Rockruff smiled serenely. <”Eh. I’m happy as-is. I mean, I’m not opposed, but…”> She shrugged once more. <”If it happens, it happens.”>

 

The Dark-type smirked. <”Well, if it does, maybe your Cubone friend can give you a whip to go with your collar.”> Too busy snickering at his own joke to note Fini’s unimpressed silence, Mal pushed himself to his feet. <”Anyway, I oughta check in with da boss. Later.”>

 

Fini managed a nod before settling back down with a sigh. Wish Nani was here...well, if she was fun, she amended. The Puppy Pokémon wondered why her counterpart had lost the joy of battle, why she insisted it all had to be work. We’re only young once. Why waste it? Especially if the alternative is being like that. Suppressing a shudder, she settled down to sleep, wishing she had someone with whom to share her happiness.

[MELON LORD]

IC: Xander Cruize/Sylph/Octavyn Nowarei/Isabella Fontaine/Cameron Morrill - Keturi City, Four Island

 

The group made their way down to the city quickly, the girls donning their sunglasses as they stepped out into the bright day. Isa took Xander's arm with a grin. "So, I hear you're running a mission to Kalos?"

 

"Yeah, the plane just left a bit ago, actually. I'm probably gonna need a nap later today so I can keep my hours aligned with them." Xander shrugged. "But you heard the news about Geosenge, right?"

 

"The excavation, yeah." Isabella nodded, a thoughtful look washing over her before being erased by excitement. "But, hey, that's for later! Today, we're going to relax and catch up! You sort of dropped off the radar for a few years, so you've missed a lot with us!"

 

"Yeah, apparently. You guys beat me to my goal of joining Liberty!" Xander laughed, scratching the back of his head. "Which, I have to say, I did not see coming, from any of you."

 

Isa shrugged, grinning. "None of us really planned on it. Octavyn has family out this way, like I said before, and we came for a visit. When we saw what had been happening outside of Kalos, we all sort of decided that we had to something about it."

 

The other two nodded, and Xander smiled. He glanced over at Octy and Cameron and sighed. "Hey, Octavyn, can I talk with you for a sec?"

 

Octavyn's hesitation was brief, but Cameron caught it. The DJ made to insert himself in between the two, but a hand on his shoulder prevented any interjection. "If you wish to talk," Octavyn offered, as usual saying several things with the same sentence.

 

Xander chewed his lip, moving back and stepping towards her. "I just wanted to say sorry for blowing up at you. I've just--"

 

"Nope!" Isabella said over her shoulder. "If you say something after 'sorry' then it's not an actual apology Whatever excuses you have can come out if she asks for them."

 

Xander shot a scowl at the blonde and sighed. "I'm not trying to excuse it, just explain why--"

 

"Stop." To everyone's surprise -- including the speaker -- the monosyllabic rebuke was not Octavyn's . . . but Cameron's. "Look, man. First rule of show biz, show don't tell, right? So show us you're sorry."

 

Octavyn nodded. "We are like-minded," she said, staring intently at Xander.

 

Xander took a second to try and understand Octavyn's exact meaning, then shook his head. "I just want to know that there's no bad blood between us, you know? Like, I don't like what you did the other day, but--"

 

"Woah, hold on," Isa interjected again. "What do you mean?" She looked at Octy, frowning. "What's going on between you two?"

 

Xander grit his teeth. "I . . . Octavyn, do you want to answer that?"

 

"There is a reason those files are restricted. You should not have even known they exist." Octavyn stared imploringly at Xander, clutching Cameron's shoulder tightly for support, oddly vulnerable for the firmness of her insistence. "We . . . we already lost you once."

 

Isa worried at her lip. “Wait, is this about when Xander . . .?”

 

"Yeah," Cameron admitted somewhat sheepishly, "that sucked. It was a travesty not having anyone to battle worthy of my skills."

 

Octavyn cleared her throat pointedly.

 

". . . Aside from these two, I mean." An awkward pause. "And I guess...other stuff. It was...weird, not having you around. Empty, you know? I didn't like it."

 

Xander frowned, trying to figure out what Cameron was getting at. The older boy had to have some angle, but Xander just couldn’t see it. “I’m sorry that you guys missed me,” he said. “I missed you, too, but I felt like I needed to get stronger. I wouldn’t have been able to focus on training around you guys.”

 

“Dude, you just went ‘poof’. No call, no note, Holo Caster straight to static. Octy tore hers apart trying to figure it out, took me helping her out to get her to give up.”

 

“By that point, you guys weren’t exactly keeping in contact with me, either. I just assumed you wouldn’t care about me leaving.”

 

This, more than anything else, seemed to upset Octavyn. She slipped her sunglasses down over her eyes, the mirrored pink lenses shielding them from view. “You were wrong,” she said simply, before walking ahead, Cameron forced to keep pace by her grip.

 

Isabella sighed and grabbed Xander’s arm again, tugging him along. “We really did miss you, you know . . .”

 

“Why? It’s not like I was ever really a great friend,” he replied.

 

The blonde scowled up at him. “You were-- Ugh, you are impossible, Xander Cruize! How does Sylph put up with you?”

 

“Very carefully,” the Gardevoir said with a wry smile. “The key is to not let him blame himself for too much.”

 

Isa blinked, jaw dropping a bit. “Did she--”

 

“Oh, heavens, yes.” Sylph rolled her eyes. “You know, there’s going to come a day when somebody is not surprised by my ability to speak, and it will be a joyous, festive occasion!”

 

Despite the conversation that had just happened, Xander couldn’t stop a small chuckle from escaping him. “If you say so, hon,” he teased.

 

Isa let that remark pass without comment as they followed Octy and Cameron into the mall.

[Metal Gear Minun]

IC: James Arthur - Executive Suite

 

James sat at his desk waiting silently. Lancelot waited at one corner of the room. The mood had sank, and the rest of his Pokemon had left. At last, his expected guest arrived.

 

"Ah, Lafoyae Belrose," James said as the assassin entered the room.

 

His tone wasn't exactly unfriendly, but there was little warmth in it.

 

"Before we can get to the point, I have to ask you to sign this," he said gesturing to a piece of paper sitting on his desk.

Edited April 2, 2018 by Metal Gear Minun

[MELON LORD]

IC: Xander Cruize/Sylph/Isabella Fontaine/Octavyn Nowarei/Cameron Morrill - Keturi Shopping Center

 

The group shopped for the better part of six hours, though Xander only bought a handful of things at his friends’ insistence. After yesterday’s venture, he was good on new things for a while. Or so he thought.

 

After an early dinner at the food court, they were heading for the exit when something flashed at the edges of Xander’s vision. “Hang on,” he said as he walked towards the display window. There, resting on a mannequin, was a coat made out of what appeared to be Garchomp scales.

 

Isa, who had followed, wrinkled her nose. “Really, Cruize? That’s a bit gaudy, don’t you think?”

 

Xander chuckled. “Maybe, but it belonged to a friend of mine before . . .” He looked at the price tag and felt his heart stop. Even with his winnings from the Kalos League, the coat would drain nearly all of his funds. He sighed, shaking his head. “Nevermind, too expensive.”

 

“Well, it’s a pawn shop,” Isa said. “Maybe you could haggle?”

 

“Ha, maybe, but we both know I’ve never been great with people.” Xander sighed again. “Oh well, maybe later--” He was cut off as Cameron made his way inside. With a frown, Xander followed along with the others.

 

Cameron was leaning against the counter, giving what he surely thought was a winning smile to the clerk. “Hey, so that jacket you’ve got in the window there, that can’t really be made from Garchomp scales, can it?”

 

“I assure you, it is. Had it checked out by a professional and everything.” The man behind the counter grinned. “If you want it, then it’s a hundred grand.”

 

Cameron hummed, drumming his fingers on the wood surface. “See, thing is, nobody’s gonna buy it for that price. For one thing, you can’t coordinate with that, it’s purple and yellow and just a nightmare to try and match clothing to while looking good. I mean, I’m sure I could pull it off, but  I don’t really want to. Besides that, polishing it every day so it stays in good condition? Way too much work.”

 

“Don’t like it, don’t buy it, friend.”

 

“Hey, man, I’m just trying to help you out. See, I’d probably be willing to give you fifty for that coat, and that’s being generous.” The DJ grinned. “Y’know, as a favor to a shop keep who didn’t realize how hard that coat would be to move.”

 

“See, I’ve only had it for a day and already have some busy body looking to buy it, so I don’t think it’ll be hard to sell at all.”

 

“Oh, no, no, sir. I’m only in here because a friend of mine is friends with the guy who sold you the coat in the first place.” He hooked a thumb back at Xander. “He’s apparently had his eye on it for a while. If it weren’t for him, I would’ve noted how ugly the thing was and moved along. But, for a friend, I think I could give you . . . Seventy?”

 

“How about ninety?” The owner countered, crossing his arms. “I paid thirty on it, so I think that’s more than fair.”

 

Cameron hummed, bobbing his head to some unheard melody as he thought. “Tell you what, guy, I’ll meet in the middle at eighty. I’d also like to point out that not only is this guy--” he pointed again at his younger companion. “A high-ranking Liberty figure, but he’s also a Champion. Him wearing stuff from your shop is basically free publicity; you’ll have people swarming here.”

 

The older man scratched his chin as he thought, giving Xander a hard look-over. “He doesn’t seem like much, but I’m willing to go to eighty-five.”

 

Cameron flashed his winning smile again. “Sir, you have yourself a deal.” He whipped a card out of his pocket and handed it to the clerk, who ran it quickly.

 

A few minutes later, Xander followed his friends out of the shop wearing his new jacket. He stared thoughtfully at Cameron’s back as the DJ walked ahead of him arm-in-arm with Octy.

 

After everything they had been through with each other, Xander still didn’t entirely trust Cameron, but as they made their way back up towards the Alamo, he couldn’t help the thought that maybe Cameron Morrill wasn’t such a bad person.

Edited April 2, 2018 by MELON LORD

[Dr. Hidaka]

IC: Lafoyae Belrose

The Assassin studied what James had motioned her to sign. It was an NDA that says she agrees to not communicate about anything that gets discussed. She reserves the right to quit the job if she takes it, but is still bound by the document. In exchange, James promises that nothing regarding this mission is intended to knowingly harm her other clients. "You really have this figured out, James Arthur." Lafoyae projected out, as she grabbed a pen and started signing. After she had finished, the woman focused her vision on James.

"Now that we have that out of the way, why have you called upon me?"


IC: Evan Tierra/Jenny Hakuda, Searching for Answers
 

After Lorn had exited Searcher’s room, he had questioned the pair of Plasma Agents about how Searcher had managed to find his way to Four Island. They had kept quiet about -who- had brought him out of that dimension, saying it was Evan who did so. The Liberty executive had walked off , leaving the two alone with the guards. “Well, that was…...a thing.” The man said, still in some disbelief. “That did happen, right?”

"Yeah…" Jenny blinked as she shook her head. "Today's been a pretty wild ride." She wasn't sure how else to describe how things had gone so far, especially with the guards listening.

Evan nodded. “Well, we’d be better let these fine folks carry on with their work.” He said, motioning to the guards. “We’ve got to discuss just how wild a ride today has been. Any place you have in mind?”

Jenny shook her head. "Never really learned any cool places here. The cafeteria doesn't seem like the best place, but, I'm all out of other ideas."

“Hmmmm, in that case…..” Evan said, smiling. “Why not get some more fresh air and clear our minds?” He made a move to get out of the Medical Wing, beckoning Jenny to follow him. When the two had made their way out of the base, they made a beeline for someplace without prying eyes and ears. When they had found a place that seemed appropriate, Evan stopped and faced Jenny. “All right, so what do we start with?”

"Well, for one, who was that person?" The woman said as her mouth curled into a slight frown. The look on her face rang out in confusion, but yet she could tell that Evan knew who it was.

Evan’s face focused as he thought of how to answer Jenny’s question. “That’s Searcher, otherwise known as Wil Holtman.” The man explained. “He was the leader of a group called The Searchers, and I used to work for him.”

"Work for him? What did he do?" Jenny raised an eyebrow slightly. She didn't voice the other question that rang out in her head of why this person named himself after his organization - or vice versa.

“He claimed they were rescuing Pokemon from Team Rocket or something like that.” Evan said, scratching his head as he tried to recall what they did. “However, he had kept what his group was really doing a secret and…..”

”Then he found out what they were doing when Ho-Oh destroyed the group’s base.” Feral’s voice rang out to the two of them. ”Turns out they were working with Team Rocket. When Evan found out, he lost control, and that lead to me coming forth into the world….”

Jenny raised an eyebrow. "Do go on." She had to say that it was an interesting tale. In many, many ways.

“He then battled Searcher into submission, and……” Evan said, aiming keep his grip on the tale “While still possessing me, sentenced Searcher to a void. Evidently he didn’t do a good job ensuring he’d died there, as you plainly saw.”

”Oh shut it, Hero.”

"Yeah, Feral, you kinda screwed that up." Jenny smiled in amusement. "Same time, probably a good thing you did. So good job, Feral, on not doing a good job."

”Oh hardy-har-har.” The creature growled. “I was only just born!”

“And for that, we are thankful.” Evan said sincerely, before focusing on Jenny. “Was there anything else you needed to know?”

"How did you even meet the Searchers in the first place?" The woman seemed curious about that. "I mean, how did they keep their actual motives a secret for so long?"

“They recruited me shortly after the Ancient Darkrai got unsealed.” Evan said fondly. “I felt being part of a group would help me find people who could help my friends and I fight.” The tawny-haired trainer thought for a second before speaking again. “As for how they kept things a secret from me, I’m not exactly a bright bulb, and everything happened so fast. So I guess that one is kind of on me.”

Jenny laughed slightly at the description of what happened with the secret. "Well, everyone has their moments. It worked out in the end, so that's really what matters."

Evan chuckled in response to what Jenny had to say. “You know, I can’t argue with that one!” He said. “I gotta say, it was kind of killing me not knowing if Searcher was alive or dead, but I’m glad you essentially clarified that, Jenny.”

Jenny smiled. "Glad I could do that too. Oh, right." The woman concentrated, as she sent the power back to Evan for the moment. "That's a pretty neat power, honestly. It's odd too; some things I feel like I have an idea of what I might be able to do, but some just seems like me being creative. I think I was in your memories too long." She gave the Hero a teasing look, as she closed her eyes. "I think I could get used to that quickly, though. It could give us an edge in the upcoming fights, too."

As the power flowed back into him, Evan mulled over Jenny’s words. “You know, I had the exact same thought about that, honestly.” He said, smiling. “We need as many tools to fight that thing, so what’s one more person with powers. On that note……..” Evan looked contemplative for a moment. “What should we refer to you as, with this…..revelation? Heroine? Half-Heroine?”

"That…" Jenny thought for a moment, but then shrugged. "I'm not quite sure either. This is such an odd situation from the sound of it that I don't really know what rules apply."

“Well, what I think is that the rules don’t matter here...” Evan drew close to Jenny, grinning. “Despite how odd it is, you are as much of a Hero as I am, so, I think that Heroine suits you to a tee!” The man thought for a moment. “We’ll just have to make sure that we keep at the business of improving on this new development.”

"Yeah. I think both of us could benefit from improvement - we may know some things as-is, but practice always makes perfect." Jenny replied as she thought about how Evan had mentioned having to re-learn things too.

“Well, that’s something we’re good about doing together, I’d say.” Evan said confidently. “We’ll have to keep at it, even while we are out in Alola.” It was then that a low growl was heard. The man flashed an embarrassed look as the noise made by his stomach. “Sorry, I…..kinda haven’t eaten at all today.” He said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"Alright, maybe we should head back - maybe the cafeteria might have something good." Jenny grinned for a moment before she thought about that. "Y'know, I don't think I've eaten much either, so it's a very good idea to go eat…"

“All right, hopefully there’ll be lots to eat.” Evan said, grinning at Jenny as he gestured her to hold his hand. “Shall we then?” Jenny took his hand, and the pair made their way to the Cafeteria...

Edited April 2, 2018 by Dr. Hidaka

[MELON LORD]

IC: Emma Lockwood - Scarlet Cafe, Lumiose City

 

The girl listened quietly, never seeming bored or disinterested in the story. Finally, as their drinks arrived, she sat back and whistled. "Gotta say, cuz, that's pretty crazy. I gotta ask, though, why? Why do all this stuff when you know my mom would have happily taken you in? You could have saved yourself a lot of danger that way." She drummed her fingers on the table. "Though, I guess with all the news about Flare, maybe not . . ."

 

Emma hummed and took a sip from her own drink. "At the very least, you could have written us."

[Konuju]

IC: Ryan Sanders - Goldenrod City

Ryan shook his head at Chloe's antics, unable to hide the amused grin on his face. "Let's hope that Alolan Hoothoot of yours has a better sense of direction than you do." As he started after the runaway owl, he sent out his own flier. "Togie, see if you can't calm our feathery friend down!"

 

The Togekiss emerged and swooped over to the Rowlet in question, squawking at it to not get too far ahead of the group.

 

IC: Alex Lockwood - Scarlet Café, Lumiose City

"I don't know," Alex admitted with a sigh. "I was on the run, and I didn't want to involve you guys, I guess. Then when I joined Team Liberty, it was like I'd found a purpose. I was done running away, I wanted to stay and fight." He sipped on his coffee for a long moment. "What's this news about Team Flare, though? I thought they were stamped out years ago."

[Metal Gear Minun]

IC: James Arthur - Executive Suite

 

James inspected the document that Lafoyae signed, and affixed his own name to the document as well. He ripped a carbon copy from the back of the document and handed it to Lafoyae.

 

"As that is now taken care of, I have a job offer for you."

 

He pulled out two folders from his desk drawer.

 

"About one week ago, one of our agents was murdered. And a piece of rare technology was taken from him," James said. "His Pokemon survived and reported that the assailants were a woman and a young girl, who have yet to be identified. That folder contains a profile on the victim and the details we discovered at the scene."

 

"And this," he said, handing the other folder to Lafoyae, "is a compilation of other murders of Liberty agents that have occurred in the past month. Of note is the murder of Drake Masters. There is a transcript of a conversation he had with a young girl right before his death."

 

"Your job, should you accept it," he said, pulling out one final document, "would be to investigate these murders and either apprehend the murderer or acquire for us the information to do so ourselves. You would be rewarded handsomely for the completion of this job."

Edited April 4, 2018 by Metal Gear Minun

[Konuju]

IC: Shannon Willows - Boat, en route to Vermillion City
Sousa shuddered as the boat took off. The shoreline of Four Island was still in sight and already the Dunsparce was suffering seasickness. He would have much preferred to remain in the confines of his Pokéball, but Shannon had insisted on giving her Pokémon some fresh air.

Completely oblivious to Sousa's plight, Selena darted up and down the deck of the boat with an exhausting amount of energy. The little Furret acted like she wanted to take in everything at once and had no clue where to begin. The baby Eevee Salix followed in Selena's footsteps, desperately trying to keep up, only to stumble and fall as the boat rocked back and forth in the waves. Were Sousa feeling better he might have consoled the Eevee, warning her not to wander off too far. As it were, the Dunsparce could only murmur his indignation at Selena for not being more responsible.

All the while, Shannon stood at the railing, lost in thoughts as she stared out at the ocean's blue-grey waves. Her mind kept drifting back to Ryan, unbidden, as if some underlying current drew her to him.

She had been completely alone, having willingly shut herself out from the world. And she had been fine with that. Then Ryan had shown up at her door and dragged her kicking and screaming back into the world of the living. No longer confined to her room, she had been thrust headfirst into the war her parents had strived so hard to keep her out of. She'd had a bit of a rocky start, but after weeks of recovery she was finally starting the joy the world could bring her. Yes, there had been a lot of pain, but Shannon would never have found herself taking a boat to a foreign city to rescue a girl she didn't even know if it hadn't been for Ryan. She struggled to stay afloat in the sea of emotions that surrounded the black-haired man, but found herself sinking at the mere thought of him. He was the first friend she'd had in a long time. So shouldn't she be happy with that? Did she really need him to be anything more?

And there it was. The memory her mind had been running ever-tightening circles around. The kiss. She had enjoyed it at the time, but Shannon found the more she thought about it, the less she knew how she even felt about it. Had it been an act of love, or an act of emotional instability? Did she truly want Ryan to become more than a friend, or was she simply craving an escape from the uncomfortable feelings surrounding her father's death?

She had no answer for those questions. Or perhaps she just didn't want to know the answer. She had drifted all her life, harboring no emotional attachments to anything besides her Pokémon and her artwork. To suddenly have to deal with all these new emotions at once was overwhelming. She felt as excited as Selena, as seasick as Sousa, and as hopelessly lost as poor Salix. Ryan had ripped her from the comforts of her home and thrown her into the deep end. Only time could tell if she would sink or swim.

[Metal Gear Minun]

IC: Richard Apollo/Claus Diamond - Liberty Library

 

Claus lead the pair to the library where Richard's new job was in the back of. Richard took in the scenery of the library for a brief moment. The modern design of the room disappointed him somehow. He wanted giant bookcases with the smell of musty old books and dim lights.

 

"Alright, this is it," Claus said, grabbing Richard's attention.

 

Claus was pointing to a gray door. It was dull and lifeless. No personality attached to it at all. Richard knew for sure now that here was where he was needed.

 

"The archives department is through here," Claus said.   

 

"Hello hellooo~" Richard sang while banging on the door, hoping someone would answer.

[Dr. Hidaka]

IC: Lafoyae Belrose

Lafoyae though for a moment, and then sighed. "Very well, I accept." The woman projected to the Executive. "But I'm going to need information on the tech stolen. I need to know any information that could be helpful to me in my search." Truth be told, the Assassin didn't expect to be called on for a job, let alone by a Liberty Executive, let alone a former Rocket Agent at that. She really didn't care either, however. All that mattered to her was getting the job done...

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Ryan Hikari - On A Boat==-

 

Ryan stood on the opposite end of the boat, Tyranitar by his side. He gazed out across the horizon thinking about the events of the past few days as he gave a small sigh. "How do we get ourselves into these messes, buddy?" The Rocket asked his partner Pokémon, though he only got the Tyranitar's best attempt at a shrug in return.

 

Ryan turned his head toward where he guessed One and Three Island was. "But seriously… how was that monster still alive? We saw him dissolve into fire and ash - but there he was, fighting with that giant sword. I feel a bit uneasy…" The man bit his lip. "Is it because of Celadon, because I lost my temper when that woman attacked us? Did he return because I didn't actually beat him? But how does that make sense?" Before he could continue, he felt the Tyranitar's hand clap his shoulder. The black-haired man fell silent as he nodded.

 

"... I know, overthinking these things won't help anything. I've been making strides recently and I need to focus on that. Plus, losing focus would interfere with the rest of what we're doing here." He glanced back to the other side of the deck - although he couldn't actually see Shannon or her Pokémon from where he stood, he imagined her looking out over the waves excitedly. Still, he had to wonder what he could do to help her out. Ryan was uneasy trying to help shoulder all her worries, or to mask what she was feeling, but. . . he couldn't help but wish that he could do something to help out.

 

"I don't know what to do there. I don't know how to really help, or if there's any way to help right now." The man sighed as he stared out at the waves. "Like, I don't want to cause any issues, but I'm probably the only one who can help at the moment from what she's mentioned…" Ryan sighed again, frustrated at himself for this. "But I don't know anything about how to help. I have my own experience, but that only goes so far."

 

The Tyranitar nodded. As Ryan looked up, he paused as he saw a pair of old fashioned glasses on the dark type. "... Do I even want to know when you got glasses, Tyranitar?" The Pokémon sheepishly removed the glasses and innocently hid them behind his back. Ryan gave him a suspicious look for a moment, but then turned back to the ocean. He took a deep breath for a moment.

 

"I want to help her the best I can, but I don't want to force her into something she'd be uncomfortable with. I guess I'll just have to do my best to try and keep that balance in check…" The Rocket closed his eyes as he listened to the sound of the waves and every other sea sound. He felt the Tyranitar tap his shoulder again, and when he looked up the dark type pointed over to Shannon's end of the boat. "You're right," Ryan murmured. "Maybe all this worrying is for nothing… but I need to talk to Shannon about this either way."

 

-==IC: Natalie Dexter - Celadon City, Celadon Mansion==-

 

"My name's Natalie." The woman seemed curious at the Gardevoir's presence, but decided to not press the issue just yet. "I knew Stacy well and wanted to look to help the police with gathering up her personal effects." Natalie stayed quiet for a moment after as she glanced around the room for anything of note. "I also want to find out who was responsible for this..." The last part was said more quietly than the rest, but she wore a troubled look on her face.

 

-==IC: Colleen Llyan - Goldenrod City, No Snakes On This Plane==-

 

"I lived there for twelve years." Colleen replied simply, as she glanced over at Jared for a moment. She felt a little awkward with the get-to-know-you stuff still, but at the same time, she knew this was needed if she was going to make more friends than she had now. Since these people knew she was an Aura wielder, she felt more comfortable sharing some more things too. "I was there with my aunt to learn how to control my aura powers."

 

-==IC: Olivia Seaton - Goldenrod City, Airplane!==-

 

Olivia bit her lip as she looked around the plane. Although there weren't many people left, she wasn't sure how she would get along with everyone but Dahlia. Sure, she had met most of them before, but at the same time she still felt awkward. She decided to push that thought out of her head - that was just something she'd need to work with later.

 

As she looked, however, she noticed that Dahlia was now sitting by herself and that she seemed to be fast asleep. With a smile, she quietly stood up from her seat and went to sit by her sister. Olivia didn't want to sit by herself either, so she felt it was a win-win.

 

-==IC: Chloe Hikari/Ray Hakuda - Goldenrod City==-

 

Chloe ran forward after the Rowlet as she ignored Ryan's teasing about the owl. She watched as the Rowlet happily fluttered around the Togekiss, thinking it was a game. As the grass owl hovered in place for a moment to wait for the psychic woman to catch up, Chloe slowed down slightly with a small smile.

 

"Alright, there'll be time to play later, but we'll have to talk about how you followed me here..." The Liberty agent held out her arms for the Rowlet to fly to, but before either Chloe or the Rowlet could react, two arms that definitively were not hers wrapped themselves around the owl.

 

"Alright boss, I got it!" The woman who grabbed the owl said, before dashing off in the opposite direction from Chloe.

 

"Did you catch up to the Rowlet?" Ray said after a moment of panting as he caught up. Chloe simply stood there for a moment with a blink at what just happened.

 

"Um. . . no? Some woman just took off with--"

 

"What?!" Ray exclaimed before he sighed in frustration. "Why does this always happen to us? Okay, let's go, Chloe. We have to catch whoever's responsible for this quick. I get the feeling that our new friend won't like any delays that take too long." He lowered his voice to a whisper at the last sentence, but didn't wait for a reply before running forward again.

Edited April 6, 2018 by Blessed Blade

[Parugi]

IC - Miyu Katou - Refugee Center, Vermilion City:

 

​IC: Yamamoto Aori

 

​"Oh!" Aori smiled, switching to the language that was more common in her village. <"Is this better? English can be tricky.">

 

She gently held the Eevee closer for the other girl. <"She likes when you scratch under her chin.">

 

 

With a slight tilt of her head, Miyu smiled at Aori. Miyu never took her eyes off of the other girl. <"Yes, this is much better,"> she replied. She reached forward, her movement slow. She scratched under Yuri's chin. <"Are you to stay here, Aori?">

 

 

IC - Tyler McKinley/Thomas Warren - Black Horse Manor, Kalos:

 

IC: Alex Zyther (August 7th, 2017, Outside Reflection Cave, Kalos)

"Something is definitely wrong," Alex muttered, eyes hooded. "Cassandra is my mother's name." And Lila Zyther is dead, the Kalosian mentally finished.

'Not quite right' was an understatement, really.

Something ticked away in Alex's mind, some legend or story the Trainer had read on some long, bedridden evening. Unable to place it, however, Alex could only nod assent to Ford's agents. "Are you okay coming with us?" the Kalosian asked the Carbink. At her hesitant nod, he cradled her once more, carefully retrieving his crutch--including Belle's attached machine--with his other arm. "Ready when you are, I guess," Alex told the others, Amelia's Pokémon joining Alex's at his side. Unable to suppress a smile, he cheekily added, "Zyther to McKinley, six to beam up," before the teleport took them. 

 

"Welp, we're home," McKinley announced. He took a few steps toward the building in front of them, turned, and cast his hands into the sky. "Welcome to Black Horse Manor!"

 

'Manor' was perhaps a misnomer. The structure in front of Alex and Alma could more closely be described as a castle--and a very large one, at that. Built from darkened stone, it stood against the sun as an imposing giant, donning green across its many faces and towers. Flags adorned with the four-horse symbol of the Signs whipped in the wind high above. Across the walls and yard, guards patrolled, ensuring their charges remained safe within. Altogether it was a formidable sight, one encapsulating the sheer power behind Ford's name.

 

As the world resolved around them, Alex studied their surroundings.  "Nice to be conscious for one of these for once," he murmured.  Next to him, Raleigh hung his head in shame, until Alex set down his crutch to lay a reassuring hand upon the Ralts' head.  "Not your fault," he reassured him, before looking to Warren for direction.

 

The exchange appeared to go unnoticed by McKinley and Warren, the former of whom continued speaking. "We've arrived in the courtyard, just outside the main entrance. Legally, this is as close as anyone is allowed to get via direct teleportation. Technically we're allowed to bypass it, but the anti-teleportation fields within the castle make it a bit hard to make use of that little perk."

 

"McKinley," Warren snapped. "Perhaps it is not the best idea to divulge the security measures around here?"

 

"I'll worry about what kids are going to do with that information when you learn how to have fun," McKinley replied. He shook his head, unable to contain his grin. "Alright, come on--Ford's in the main hall."

 

He led the way forward, through the gates.

 

 

IC - Kyle Eston/Sonja Baron/Emmerich Coleman - En Route to Train Station, Goldenrod City:

 

If the abduction of an owl hadn't been obvious enough to catch everyone's attention (it mostly was), Ray's ensuing exclamation did the job (for Sonja). The Liberty Agent frowned, furrowing her brow in clear annoyance, and pulled an Ultra Ball from her belt. In a flash, she had unleashed Sheik. The Raikou unleashed a triumphant roar at her reappearance into the world before stooping down to let Sonja climb on her back. When she had, trainer and Pokémon hurried forth, aiming to cut off their culprit's escape.

 

Kyle paused in his move to summon his own Pokémon when he noticed the shock on Emmerich's face. "Yeah, we're friends with a couple of those," he said, releasing Jaeda. He offered a hand to Emmerich as he climbed on her back. "Hop on, I can explain where we got them." The exasperation in his voice did not go unnoticed. "Never a dull moment for us . . ."

Edited April 6, 2018 by Parugi

[Metal Gear Minun]

IC: Guinevere - Celadon Mansion

 

"..."

 

Guinevere was unresponsive for a moment. The woman in front of her was the first potential ally who knew Stacy the Gardevoir had come across. Still, she was apprehensive about actively letting someone else into her investigation. But in the end, she decided to go ahead and ask a question.

 

Do you know Gerald Hikari?

 

 

 

IC: James Arthur- Executive Suite

 

James leaned into his chair slightly. He knew why Roderick owned the device, but it was also politically sensitive to a degree. It was especially not technology that Liberty wanted responsibility for letting fall into the wrong hands that it had just fallen into. 

 

"The device in question is known as a snag machine. If you have heard about the Team Snagem incidents, then you are probably aware of its existence," James said, fixing his posture. "The snag machine covers the majority of the arm. It would be a dead give away if you saw it.

 

"As for information that might help you, there is not much, but I have a few options. You have my permission to investigate the scene if there is anything you believe that report may have missed. We have some records of Roderick's movements up till that point, if you believe there may be information to glean from where he had gone. I have custody of the victim's Pokemon. If there are questions you would like to ask them, that is acceptable. There is also another Liberty executive looking into these murders. I can introduce you to him if you so wish."

[MELON LORD]

IC: Yamamoto Aori - Vermilion City Refugee Center

 

Aori paused, considering as she let Miyu pet Yuri. <"I am not sure. I . . . I have lost my parents, but there is a man I need to find. I may try to leave tomorrow."> She looked to the other girl. <"What about you?">

 

IC: Alma Mason - Black Horse Manor, Kalos

 

"You should indeed be careful, Mr. McKinley. I have gained much by finding out much less information than that." The girl smiled. "Though, since we are relying on you to assist us, I most likely won't put that information to use."

 

So saying, she followed the man through the gate.

[Konuju]

IC: Ryan Sanders - In Pursuit of a Birdnapper, Goldenrod City

It took Ryan only a few seconds to process what had happened before his hand flew to his belt to grab a Pokéball. "Not this time," he muttered, sending out his Garchomp. "Don't worry, Chloe," he said as he climbed aboard the roaring landshark dragon. "I've got this."

 

No sooner had the words escaped his mouth than a lightning-yellow blur whooshed past him. A glance at the remaining members of their party led Ryan to the conclusion that Sonja had called upon Sheik. He pointed dramatically at the owl thief and the Liberty agent already hot in pursuit.

 

"After 'em, Garchomp!"

 

His Pokémon roared in exhilaration as he began the chase while Togie followed from the skies, squawking indignantly at the thief.

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Chloe Hikari/Ray Hakuda -- Goldenrod City==-

 

As everything happened and everyone began to take off without even considering her, Chloe slowly placed the Poké Ball for her Raikou on the ground as it opened. She hopped onto the legendary beast with silent frustration, and began to follow the others.

 

Ray, meanwhile, was caught by surprise as two Raikou and a Garchomp quickly passed him up. "Oh, so we're using our legendaries now? Okay then." He sighed as he got our Entei's Poké Ball and shook his head slightly. "So much for secrecy." He mumbled under his breath as he sent out his own Entei and climbed onto it so he wouldn't be left behind.

 

 

 

The Pokémon snatcher happily hummed a tune as she ran back toward the rest of her group, who were watching with wide smiles. The tune and smiles all faded as a Raikou cut in front of her. The woman who was holding the stunned owl glanced around nervously, as another Raikou and an Entei effectively surrounded her.

 

 

 

A blonde haired man stalked up toward the group of Pokémon snatchers. He reached for a Poké Ball on his belt as he saw a woman run out of an alley holding a Rowlet. However, he was stunned into not moving as he saw two Raikou and an Entei suddenly appear, then joined by a Garchomp not long after - and was that a Charizard in the air?

 

"What in the world is going on today...?" The man mumbled with a look of pure confusion on his face.

 

-==IC: Natalie Dexter -- Celadon City==-

 

"Gerald Hikari...?" The woman mused for a moment as she thought about that name. "I want to say that's the father of one of my friends, actually. I forget a lot of what was talked about, but I think Y- I mean..." Natalie trailed off with an uncertain look as she seemed to consider something. "I think my friend mentioned him a lot, though he didn't often come visiting here. He sounded like a very busy person, why did you ask?"

[MELON LORD]

IC: Jared Winters - Jefferson Airplane

 

The silver-haired trainer nodded softly, seeming to consider that for a moment. "So, you know Kalos pretty well, or just the area around your aunt's house?" It wasn't exactly subtle. He may as well have asked right out whether she could really be trusted as a guide, or if they would get horribly lost in Kalos.

 

Very smooth, Jared. Sarcasm dripped from Mercury's words.

 

Be quiet unless I ask you to speak up.

 

IC: Emma Lockwood - Scarlet Cafe, Lumiose City

 

Emma shook her head, sighing. "Rocket never even came close to Kalos, you would have been safe . . ." She didn't press the issue further, though. "Oh, yeah, they were. Supposedly, anyways. Turns out that the Champions aren't so great at killing people even if they bring buildings down to do it. The lab, where Team Flare was planning to do their thing? It was excavated and found empty. As in, no skeletons or anything. So either they all got eaten by some extremely hungry Diglett, or they managed to escape somehow."

 

She bit into her croissant, shrugging. "But let's stop thinking about scary and depressing stuff and talk about something else. Did you become a strong trainer with Liberty?"

[Dr. Hidaka]

IC: Lafoyae Belrose

"I'd appreciate that, sir." Lafoyae projected as she pondered what the Liberty Executive had told her. "I'd like to investigate the scene and interview the Pokemon, if that'd be all right. I'd also like to speak with the other Executive working on this. Was there anything else, sir?"

[MELON LORD]

Xander Cruize/Sylph/Isabella Fontaine/Octavyn Nowarei/Cameron Morrill - Alamo, Four Island, August 6th

 

As the group made their way back towards the compound, Xander realized just how badly he’d lost track of time. The sun, while not quite setting, was getting pretty low in the sky. “Hey, guys, I gotta jet. Most of my team was asleep this morning when I left, and I didn’t get a chance to feed them.”

 

Isabella grinned. “Oh, so you finally have a team other than Sylph? Meet us back here with them, and we can let our Pokémon socialize a bit.”

 

Octavyn nodded agreement. “Socializing is important.”

 

Xander chuckled. “Alright, sounds good.” He hurried inside and to his room. Upon opening the door, he was immediately accosted by Psyka, Ellen, and Vixen. The trio ended up somehow all huddled in his arms as he walked over to his bag. “Hey, girls, sorry for forgetting you. Things went sort of quickly today.”

 

Psyka patted his shoulder in what he took to be a reassuring way. His backpack lay open at the foot of his bed, and the Pokémon food was next to it. “Oh, you took care of yourselves. Good. I bet you’re all pretty cooped up though, huh?”

 

This was met with excited barks of agreement from the two foxes and a silent nod from his Espurr.. “Well, let’s go get you guys some exercise.” As he was turning towards the door, Psyka hopped down from his grip and went over to the corner. He stared, dumbfounded, as the Espurr picked up a fairly hefty-looking stick and rejoined him.

 

“I’m . . . not even gonna ask where you got that, alright?” The Espurr shrugged, and they walked back out to the Alamo’s front entrance.

 

He set Ellen and Vixen down and released Astraea as well while he looked over his friends’ teams.

 

He recognized Isa’s team by the absolutely massive Quiladin standing among them. Her Chespin had been fairly large, but its evolved form was truly giant-sized. Next to him stood a stern-looking Furfrou and a Kirlia with a scarf around her neck. Isabella pointed to each one in turn as she introduced them. “Andre, Lafayette, and Simone.”

 

Octavyn’s team were still gathered around their trainer. Frogadier, of course, was one that Xander knew, and he had seen her Loudred once before when it was a Whismur; a Noibat sat atop its head.

 

Cameron’s team gave Xander some pause. The Loudred that had defeated Sylph back in the day was now an Exploud, standing passively next to its trainer. A Chatot was perched on Cameron’s shoulder, whistling and humming to itself. At Cameron’s feet was a somewhat scraggly Fennekin.

 

Xander scowled a bit. “You bred your starter, Cameron?” he asked, hoping beyond hope that it was true.

 

Cameron blinked and shook his head. “No, this is it right here.” He nodded down to the fire-type. “Octy and Isabella call it Flame, but--”

 

“You haven’t evolved it?” Xander took a step forward. “Why not?”

 

The DJ shrugged a bit. “Never really saw the need to. I hardly ever need it in battle--”

 

“It’s been six years, Cameron!” Xander shouted. “At the very least it should be a Braixen by now! You had no trouble evolving your Whismur to an Exploud in that time!”

 

“Hey, man, back off.” Cameron glared. “I don’t tell you how to handle your starter, do I?”

 

Xander would have hit him, if Isa hadn’t stepped up and grabbed one of his arms. “Let it go, Xander. Flame hardly listens when Cameron gives hm orders anyways--”

 

“That’s what happens when you neglect a Pokémon!” Xander shoved the blonde away lightly, just hard enough to get her off of his arm. “Thanks for the day in the city,” he growled as he turned and stormed off. Sylph hesitated, looking back at the trio before turning and leading her teammates after their trainer.

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Colleen Llyan - Plane, Goldenrod City==-

 

The intent wasn't lost on her either. The silver-haired man earned a pointed look for his efforts. "So, have you ever visited Kalos at all, ever? Or have you just stayed in and around Kanto?" Colleen responded with a more subtle hint of snark in her voice. She had to admit to herself, she wasn't entirely enthused at the unsubtle implication - she wasn't going to outright voice it, but certainly wasn't going to just leave it alone either.

 

"Because even though most of my time was around Anistar, I most certainly visited other places. Besides, I'd kinda honestly be surprised if anyone else here spoke Kalosian." She let her words hang in the air for a little bit as she looked Jared in the eyes in an attempt to show her thoughts on the matter in an admittedly intimidating manner. "So, what's the point again?"

[Parugi]

IC - Miyu Katou - Refugee Center, Vermilion City:

 

Miyu gave a short shrug. <"I have nowhere to go,"> she said. <"Perhaps I could join you.">

 

 

IC - Archives Department, The Alamo:

 

For a few moments, no response came from the other side of the dull, lifeless, devoid-of-personality-gray door. After another round of ceaseless banging, however, footsteps sounded from the other side, and the door opened. A man of average height stood in the frame, donned in a smart suit that accentuated his Middle-Eastern features. His dark eyes glanced briefly from Richard to Claus and back again. He held a half-eaten chicken sandwich in his hands.

 

Executive Booker Samir gave one glance to the 'Out to lunch' sign that had fallen to the ground, before returning his attention to the boys before him. "Can I help you?"

 

IC - Tyler McKinley/Thomas Warren - Black Horse Manor, Kalos:

 

 

IC: Alma Mason - Black Horse Manor, Kalos

 

"You should indeed be careful, Mr. McKinley. I have gained much by finding out much less information than that." The girl smiled. "Though, since we are relying on you to assist us, I most likely won't put that information to use."

 

So saying, she followed the man through the gate.

 

"As anyone ever told you that you're a little creepy?" McKinley asked. "Just kidding. I'd pat your head to prove it, but I'm worried I'd lose it if I tried."

 

It took surprisingly little time for them to arrive at their destination. The place was tall and wide and long, a keep within the manor where surprisingly few individuals scurried about in their various pursuits. It was not a small room, nor a throne room as one might have expected. By all appearances it was, instead, a throne room that had been converted into a massive study-slash-planning room. The tall walls reached up dozens of feet, and almost every inch had been converted into shelves housing thousands of books, many accessible only by hovering platforms.

 

Closer to the floor, some spaces had been turned into monitoring areas, dominated by massive screens connected to maze-like terminals. Dotted around the room, too, were tables and projection desks, displaying maps, dossiers on various people and Pokémon and cities and regions, and some that appeared dedicated to analyzing various symbols of bizarre design. All told, it was as if Opelucid City itself had been taken, miniaturized, and transformed into the entrance hall of someone's home.

 

Chief among all those present was the tall man at the back of the room. Here sat what could only be described as a throne, an ebony seat decorated with emeralds. Yet the man to whom it belonged did not take this seat. Instead he stood at a nearby screen, pale skin and dark green coat illuminated by its light. His bright green eyes scanned the image before him with directed focus, searching for something specific in the image and the words around it. Occasionally he would write something on the notepad in his hands, before returning his attention to its original target.

 

McKinley turned to Alex and Alma, pointing to the man. "That," he said. "is John Ford. If anyone can solve your Poké-problem, it's him."

 

 

IC - Sonja Baron/Kyle Eston/Emmerich Coleman - Streets, Goldenrod City:

 

The woman looked too happy to be a common thief. Clearly she was oblivious to her own actions, or perhaps she had made some mistake. Or, maybe, she was just a dull lightbulb. Either way, they didn't have time to dilly-dally and sort out someone else's issue. Sonja hopped off of Sheik and took a step toward the girl. Her expression was stony, bereft of amusement.

 

"You just took my friend's Pokémon," she said. "I don't know why you did it, but give it back and that'll be the end of this."

 

 

The rush of wind from as Jaeda descended several feet away from the circle made it difficult to hear the conversation, but Kyle managed to catch most of what Sonja had said. Privately, he was relieved that she wasn't jumping to making threats--sending out Sheik was enough exacerbation for the situation. He slid off of the Flame Pokémon's back after Emmerich. The General reached a hand into his coat.

 

"What are you doing?" Kyle asked.

 

"Being proactive." Emmerich gave a short nod toward the group that their culprit had been running toward. "Ideally our Legendary friends will be enough of a deterrent, but considering we don't know anything about these people . . ." He pulled his Rocket badge out of his coat; the other remained on the grip of the firearm at his waist. "You can never be too careful."

 

"Right . . ." Kyle looked from the confrontation with Sonja, to the other group on the street, and back again. "Hopefully it doesn't come to that."

[MELON LORD]

IC: Yamamoto Aori

 

<"I do not see any reason to say no."> Aori smiled softly before realization hit her. <"Did . . . did you lose your parents, as well?">

 

IC: Alma Mason

 

Alma giggled at Tyler's comments as they walked into the building. The man was certainly charming, if nothing else. She looked around the room quietly until her eyes settled on the man that Tyler mentioned. "John Ford?" she asked. "I had heard he was operating out of Kanto, not Kalos."

 

IC: Jared Winters

 

If he was at all intimidated, Jared gave no sign. "Sinnoh, actually," he said, shrugging. "And yeah, outside of Snowpoint, I would have been extremely lost without a map, at least until I'd been away from home for a bit. Sorry, I didn't mean for it to sound like I didn't trust you."

 

He sighed. "I just would prefer to know than to think I know. As for Kalosian, do you foresee it being a problem? I thought English was sort of global by this point."

[Metal Gear Minun]

IC: James Arthur - Four Island

 

"Not that I can think of at the moment. I will send you the coordinates of the scene of the crime," James said standing up. "If you would please follow me."

 

He held the door open for Lafoyae and the two exited. The pair walked down halls until they reached the habitation area. James walked up to a receptionist and spoke a few words. He nodded to James and went into another room. They were left waiting for a while. Eventually the receptionist returned with a Genesect and a Rotom.

 

"This is Genesect and Wattling," James said pointing to the two Pokemon to Lafoyae. Turning towards the Pokemon he said, "Wattling, Genesect. This is Lafoyae Belrose, she is going to be looking into your case. Please give her any information you can."

 

 

 

IC: Guinevere - Celadon Mansion

 

It was times like these that made Guinevere wish for her telepathy back. Natalie was hiding something in her words. She'd love to try and poke at it to find what it was. Still, she had received an answer. An inconclusive, but an answer. Natalie deserved one in turn.

 

I saw his name in a frame.

 

 

Guinevere erased what she wrote after giving Natalie a moment to take her words in.

 

He was in a picture with Stacy.

 

 

She considered Natalie's earlier words and wrote one more question.

 

Who are you to Stacy?

 

Edited April 21, 2018 by Metal Gear Minun

[Dr. Hidaka]

IC: Lafoyae Belrose

After being introduced to the Pokemon, Lafoyae began asking them questions about their master, what he was doing, and most importantly, if there were people that perhaps had it out for Krane. The woman was taken aback slightly by the Genesect's ability to speak, but remained steadfast in her gathering of information. After she felt she had gathered enough information from the duo, the assassin turned to James. "Executive Arthur, now that I've gotten what I needed from these two, would you mind escorting me to the Executive working this case?" She projected to her new temporary employer...

[Konuju]

IC: Ryan Sanders - Streets, Goldenrod City
"Aw, not fair!" Ryan cried as he finally caught up with Sonja, Chloe and Ray, who had already surrounded the owl thief with their respective Legendary Beasts. "You didn't tell me we were bringing out the big guns!" He sat upon his Garchomp positioned between Sonja and Chloe, the odd dragon out amidst the trio of Beasts. Sonja appeared to have the situation handled, if the frighteningly stern expression on her face was anything to go by. Ryan opted to simply stand by as backup in case the thief decided the entourage of creatures around her wasn't enough to make her give up her feathery prize.
 
IC: Alex Lockwood - Scarlet Cafe, Lumiose City
"Did I become strong?" Alex repeated the question as he took another sip of his coffee. "You could say that. After the Battle of Four Island, I was pretty well established as the leader of our small R.A.L.L.Y. group." He went on to describe their subsequent missions, from finding Lugia atop Mt. Silver to the Legendary Beasts in Hoenn that had started to go into a frenzy from Ho-Oh no longer roaming the skies, to their run-in with the Searchers in Johto's Ecruteak City.
 
"After we subdued the Searchers we took them back to the Alamo to be imprisoned, although they broke out shortly afterwards. My team saw me as a powerful trainer and a good leader, but when you stack me up against all of Team Liberty I'm just another field agent." Alex let out a long sigh and fell quiet for a moment. "Letting the Searchers escape was our first big failure, and when I think back on it, I should've tried harder to boost our morale. Maybe then we wouldn't have gotten caught in such a downward spiral. We all kind of took a break after that. So many missions back-to-back like that tends to wear you down. We needed a breather.
 
"That's when we signed up for a bigger mission to Unova. Alec wasn't ready to get back in the field yet, so it was just Ryan, Jake and me. I don't know, maybe we felt like it would be easier to blend in with a larger group. We'd have less responsibility but still feel useful." A wan smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. "The mission had us working together with Team Rocket to capture a Manaphy just outside the Unova Region. It was some crazy scheme cooked up by this group called Soil Colossus in exchange for one of Liberty's captured leaders. We were technically competing against Team Rocket; whoever delivered the Manaphy would get the Liberty leader Silvermind. But because of Unova's laws and them not wanting anything to do with our war, we had to work together undercover until we got to the underwater Ice Geode where the Manaphy lived. Then the fighting broke out, and in the midst of all the chaos a third party -- Hoenn's Team Magma -- swooped in and captured the Manaphy right under our noses."
 
With a tired expression Alex detailed how the combined Liberty/Rocket group had then been assaulted by a rogue Shadow Pokémon on Undella Beach, a surprisingly powerful creature which they later learned was called Genesect. Once the group had teleported back to Sootopolis City, the alliance disbanded with Rocket and Liberty members each going their separate ways. Somehow Jake had gone missing in the chaos, leaving Alex alone with Ryan Sanders.
 
"Ryan grew up in Hoenn, so he kind of took point between the two of us. He was afraid Team Magma would rise to power once more, so he wanted to find them and steal the Manaphy away." Alex let out a small chuckle. "Pretty big aspirations for two small-time agents, but it was enough to keep us busy. That is, until we got lost on some creepy island cemetery and got ourselves captured by the Hojohsin League that had taken over Hoenn while we were overseas."
 
He detailed their escape from the prison in Lilycove, how they had been helped out by some ghost Pokémon, Jake and a handful of Rocket agents (both Ethan Worth's group and Jason Alco, who had reappeared with Jake after some strange adventure related to Ho-Oh). He hesitated when he got to the group's journey to Fortree. His battle with his old friend Ben Grindport was still fresh in his mind, and he wasn't sure if it was a tale he should be telling his little cousin. The same went for Jake's death, which he had heard about from Ryan.
 
"So there you have it." Alex forced a smile. "We had some successes, we had some failures. Kind of like Contests, in a way. Asking me if I became strong is like asking you if you became popular. I'm sure you've got your share of both fans and critics."

IC: Dahlia Seaton/Olivia Seaton - Plane, Goldenrod Airport
The middle seaton groggily opened her eyes to the sound of the rumbling plane. "Jared . . . ?" she asked sleepily. "Are we there yet . . . ?"

"Nope on both points." Olivia replied with an amused smile at her sister. "We just dropped off the others and are waiting to get going again. Shouldn't take too long I'd say."

Dahlia blinked the sleep out of her eyes in confusion. "What happened to Jared?"

"Sounds like he's trying to get to know the others or something. Didn't really pay attention much…" Olivia scratched the back of her head as she thought. "I thought I'd take the unused seat since it was just sitting there."

Dahlia offered her older sister a smile. "Well, I'm glad for the company. How have you been, Liv? For having been on the same base for a few days I feel like we haven't seen each other as often as we should have. I'm sorry about that."

"It's okay, I've been doing good. How are ya, though? It sounded like it was rough the past while…" Olivia seemed a bit uncertain as she glanced over at her sister, though she gave a small reassuring smile.

"I've been managing." Dahlia turned to look out the window. "Nobody expects much from a simple gardener. But give her the power of Giratina, and suddenly that gardener's got the weight of the world on her shoulders. It's just a lot to get used to. I've always operated in the background. Never thought I'd find myself on the front lines. It's kind of scary."

"I get that, honestly." Olivia gave a smile to Dahlia that went unnoticed. "I think it's like when I first joined Rocket… I don't know what I expected, but when I got sent into the field for real missions, it was… tough, to say the least." She gave a small sigh. "It's cool what ya have, but I definitely know why you'd feel scared or overwhelmed."

The middle Seaton glanced back at her sister. "Why can't we go back to the way things were?" A small smile played on her lips. "Before you and Aspen ran off to join the war. When our biggest worry was helping Mom and Dad out with the flower shop and making sure the tomatoes didn't die. What happened to those bygone days?"

Olivia fell quiet at the mention of that. "I wish we could…" She mumbled quietly, as she stared down at her hands. "I wish it was that easy to go back to that. But we have other things to worry about now, like those alien creeps. Hopefully when this is settled, things might get back to normal, but for now…" She trailed off into quietness again.

Dahlia echoed her sister's silence for a long moment. "You're a soldier. So is Aspen. Even little old me is turning into a warrior. The war may end, that alien blob may be defeated . . . but things will never go back to the way they used to be. Not entirely."

Olivia didn't know how to respond for a while. "I… don't know. I feel it might be more possible than ya think." She felt like she wasn't entirely convinced herself, but she knew it was something she hoped for herself. "I feel like Aspen and I are beginnin' to see eye to eye more, and it might take a while, but I'd bet that everything will get back to normal. But even normal stuff changes all the time. Maybe that one bit of change that could show from this would be a good thing."

A chuckle escaped from Dahlia's lips. "You and Aspen getting along? It really is the end of the world."

That got Olivia to smile a little more again. "It's more likely than you'd think. Turns out that ya can make a great listener if strapped to a bed for like a week." The redhead let out a chuckle of her own as she glanced over at Dahlia.

"Well it looks like there's hope for you two after all." Dahlia smiled softly. "Maybe Aspen breaking his leg was a hidden blessing after all. I'm glad at least something good came out of it . . ." Her smile wavered as her memories flashed back to the incident on the boat, and she distracted herself by staring out the window once more.

Olivia glanced over at Dahlia as she seemed to get downcast about something. She recalled something that Chloe had said offhand, about some sort of incident or another. "What exactly happened on the boat when Aspen got his leg broken…?"

The younger sister visibly tensed at the innocent question. "No one ever told you?" she asked with a furtive glance back at Olivia.

Olivia shook her head. "Not really… everyone else was pretty vague and I only got secondhand reports of secondhand reports from Chloe…"

A wry smile curled its way onto Dahlia's lips. "Of course they wouldn't give you the details. No one really likes to talk about it." She emphasized her point with a belabored sigh and further procrastinated the issue by running her finger along the jagged sides of the yellow shard in her pocket.

At last she could delay no further. "Ryan was training me in my powers," she said softly. "After all, he'd had a limited exposure to the power of Reverse a while back. We were both on the deck having a practice session when the captain betrayed us." She briefly described how Captain Jack had tried to hold them hostage to deliver them to some company related to Ford -- she wasn't entirely sure on the specifics of his plan. With dull eyes she recounted the experience; how a skirmish had erupted on the deck, how the Pinsir had escaped to the cabins below, and how she had followed it to the kitchen where Aspen was trying to protect his Eevee.

"I don't know what happened afterwards." Dahlia had only explained this story a few times, but it was no easier to relive the memory than the first time. "The Pinsir broke Aspen's leg. He cried out in pain. And I wanted nothing more than to slaughter the Pinsir where it stood." She closed her eyes, gripping the shard in her pocket. "Next thing I know I'm waking up in the ship's infirmary, with Xander's Gardevoir telling me I sent the Pinsir through the ceiling."

Olivia stayed quiet for a moment before she wrapped an arm around her sister the best that she could. Something in Dahlia's voice felt like she was holding back, but… right now, it felt like she needed a hug more than anything. "Did she say anything else about what happened?"

Dahlia did not move from her sister's embrace. "She says I lost control. Wrecked the kitchen. Ryan's Flaaffy had to knock me out to stop me." Hot teardrops fell on her jeans, coalescing into a small puddle. "I went out to the kitchen to see for myself. They warned me not to, but I had to know." She trembled as she looked up at Olivia, her eyes full of fear. "It was like a monster had been through there. Tore the entire place apart. O-only the monster was . . ."

"You're not a monster." Olivia said with a surprisingly soft tone. "I know ya, and I know ya aren't a monster. I may have been gone the past four years, but I know the core of who ya are is still the same. I can bet that any number of people would have done the same thing in your position." The redhead gave a reassuring smile to her sister.

"Weren't you just saying that things change?" Dahlia let the question hang in the air for a moment before shaking her head. "Forget I said that. Each time I think I've gotten over what happened on the boat, it comes back to haunt me again. I'm sorry."

"Do ya think I've changed?" Olivia asked as she turned in her seat to look at Dahlia better.

A teasing smile formed on Dahlia's face. "Well you're a lot more sensitive to others than before. Never thought I'd see the day. I guess we have Chloe to thank for breaking through your bad girl shell?"

Olivia's face flushed slightly at that. "I was… okay, maybe ya have a point." The redhead tapped her fingers slightly. "But I stand by what I said as well. Ya have more confidence in some ways, but I can tell that at your core, you're just as kind as ya always have been."

The middle Seaton wrapped an arm around her elder sister. "Thanks, Liv. I just hope that confidence is enough to carry us through this mission. I don't want anything bad to happen to anyone, especially after Kamina . . ."

"That wasn't your fault." Olivia looked at Dahlia seriously as she heard the last part. "I heard details after pressing Chloe a bit. There wasn't a chance to make things better there, and it wasn't because of ya." She hugged her sister again to try and reinforce that. "I wish everything goes well too, but I think that we need to take everything that happened there and see how things could have been better… but that part? Wasn't your fault. So don't feel too bad about it, okay?"

"I . . . never said I blamed myself for that." The pained look in Dahlia's eyes at the mention of Chloe's Serperior suggested otherwise.

"A little birdie told me. Like, I do get why ya would, but Chloe told me the context of what went on. There wasn't any time by then - even if things had gone perfectly, nothing would have happened. Plus, she mentioned how she had been split from the group for a good few minutes by that point - there's no way that it could have been avoided." Olivia fell quiet for a moment. "It's a tough thing, but we can't change the past. We just have to learn from it and move forward. I know we can do it. Without anything going wrong like that. But even if ya don't admit that ya do blame yourself, it feels that way. But… no-one blames ya."

The Heroine nodded slowly. "I'm still scared, though. Jared's been helping me focus my powers, fighting on the front lines? Losing friends? Knowing each day could be your last? I was never trained for that sort of thing." She let loose a long sigh. "In that sense, I almost envy you and Aspen."

"It's okay to be scared. That stuff isn't easy, honestly." Olivia closed her eyes as she thought back to some of her missions with a small shudder. "I don't know if it really is possible to be trained for that. All I can do really, is give advice… ya just have to take it one step at a time sometimes. Training is the best thing sometimes, but ya can't train for everything. But that's why everyone else is here. No-one can get everywhere on their own."

Dahlia mulled over her words. "Why do you do it, Liv? Why do you put yourself on the front lines day after day? What is it you're fighting for?"

"So no-one else will get hurt." Olivia tilted her head down so her face was obscured by her hair for a moment, but then looked up with a small smile. "Y'all need someone to protect ya sometimes. I want to be that person, to try and help keep people safe. That's why I left, though I could've explained better then. I needed something to focus on and wanted to make sure I could do good." She looked up to the ceiling. "Now… I don't know exactly. But I want to make sure the world stays safe from that thing that showed up."

"I suppose that's as good a reason as any." Dahlia stared down at her hands, a solemn look in her eyes. "I want to be able to protect you, too. I want to protect all of you. I won't let any of you get hurt like Aspen, or die like Kamina. That's the thought that keeps me going." She smiled as she reached over to grab her sister's hand, giving it a loving squeeze. "Thanks for being there for me, Liv. I couldn't ask for a better sister."
 
IC: Dack Majors/Madison Morrow/Luke - Boat, Four Island
Dack paced back and forth, unable to contain his impatience despite Madison's best attempts to curb his anxiety. "I'm sure he's on his way," she assured him.
 
"That man has no sense of timeliness," Dack muttered. "We should've just left him here, it's not like he'll be of any use on this trip anyway."
 
"Aw, now that's just mean." Madison pursed her lips in an exaggerated pout. "Luke's our comic relief. He keeps things interesting."
 
"Lately it feels more like he's our third wheel," Dack retorted. "I could make the argument that he keeps things from getting interesting."
 
Madison leveled her eyes at Dack. "This is an important mission, not a romantic getaway. Luke's always been a great friend, and our relationship shouldn't change that."
 
"I know, I just--"
 
"Here he comes."
 
The couple dropped their debate and turned their attention to the blackbelt running up the dock toward the ship, which had just blown the whistle for departure. Luke flashed his ticket at the entrance, then flashed a smile at his friends as he ran up to them. "Did I time that right or what?"
 
"Try to be a little more punctual next time." Dack lightly punched his friend's shoulder. "Otherwise you'd be swimming to Vermilion."
 
Luke returned the punch with one of his own, then leaned back against the ship's railing as it took off. "Why are you dragging me with you to Vermilion again? I mean don't get me wrong, I'd trade cabin fever for seasickness any day, but you said this was just a day trip, right? What do you need me for?"
 
Dack exchanged a pointed look with Madison. "That Sanders kid asked me to look into his parents, who were taken prisoner by Team Rocket a year ago. I can't access the Rocket mainframe from a public computer, much less one on Team Liberty's front door. So we're heading to the nearest Rocket outpost to see what we can dig up on Mr. and Mrs. Sanders."
 
Luke raised an eyebrow. "Riiiiight. So I'm the chaperone? Make sure you two kids behave yourselves in Kanto's romantic beach town?"
 
"You're here because we're friends." Madison spoke slowly and clearly to make sure Luke heard each word. "And friends stick together."
 
"Not to break up the circle of friendship, but I'm gonna go below deck and see if I can't access any of my personal notes on my Pokétch," Dack said. "I was on the mission to capture Sanders' parents, and I might have something written down about them. It might give us a head start when we get to the outpost."
 
"All work and no play makes Dack a dull boy." Luke laughed at his own joke. "I think I'll stay up here and enjoy the fresh air. You too, Maddie?"
 
Madison smiled and gave Dack a quick kiss. "I'll check on you in an hour or so. Good luck."
 

***

 
After a pleasant yet tiring conversation with Luke reminiscing about the old days, Madison excused herself to walk around the ship's deck. She wanted to enjoy a bit of quiet before checking in on Dack. The boat subtly rocked back and forth. Most of the passengers would be a little dizzy from the turbulence, but years of skiing down steep slopes had perfected Madison's balance. She crossed the deck with ease, enjoying the salty breeze that swept through her hair. The sun shone brightly, as if in defiance of the grim future the world faced.
 
She reached one corner of the deck and was about to turn around when she saw a black haired man standing next to a bespectacled Tyranitar. She recognized the man from Celadon and the battle on One Island, and she had to wonder what he'd be doing on a boat to Vermilion. With a smile Madison walked up and poked the man in the back. "Hey, you. Small world, huh? Trying to escape the confines of Liberty's tiny island?"

[Parugi]

IC - Miyu Katou - Refugee Center, Vermilion City:

 

IC: Yamamoto Aori

 

<"I do not see any reason to say no."> Aori smiled softly before realization hit her. <"Did . . . did you lose your parents, as well?">

 

 

Miyu remained silent for several moments. <"I did not lose them."> She blinked at Aori and did not elaborate further.

[Metal Gear Minun]

IC: Lafoyae Belrose

 

After being introduced to the Pokemon, Lafoyae began asking them questions about their master, what he was doing, and most importantly, if there were people that perhaps had it out for Krane. The woman was taken aback slightly by the Genesect's ability to speak, but remained steadfast in her gathering of information. After she felt she had gathered enough information from the duo, the assassin turned to James. "Executive Arthur, now that I've gotten what I needed from these two, would you mind escorting me to the Executive working this case?" She projected to her new temporary employer...

 

 

 

IC: James Arthur - Alamo

 

"Very well," James said.

 

He turned towards Genesect and Wattling and said, "I will be back soon. We will talk about the future then."

 

The Genesect and Rotom looked sad but bid the pair farewell.

 

James again led Lafoyae down the halls of the Alamo once more. They walked back towards his own office but stopped a hall early. Taking a turn, the pair stopped in front of a door near the corner.

 

"This is Executive Stone's office," he said knocking on the door. "I will introduce the two of you and then leave. I have other business I have to take care of."

Edited April 14, 2019 by Metal Gear Minun

[MELON LORD]

IC: Emily Lockwood - Scarlet Café, Lumiose City

 

The girl nodded slowly. During the recap of Alex's adventures, she had finished her food and drink, and now she was leaning on the table, her chin propped on her fist. "I guess that's fair. Maybe when the power comes back, we should have a battle to see just how strong and adaptable you are."

 

IC: Yamamoto Aori

 

Aori did not press the issue. Instead, she stretched and yawned. <"Do you mind if I sleep here with you tonight? I do not wish to be alone right now."> 

 

IC: Xander Cruize - Alamo, Four Island - Early Evening

 

The Kalosian trainer stormed his way through the halls of the Alamo, grumbling to himself. His team trailed behind him, looking concerned (except for Psyka, whose face was as passive as always). He needed to see Executive Arthur, but he probably needed to calm down first. With a growl, he swept into his room and sat at the desk. He fished his Holo Caster from his new jacket and dialed the number he had found in the directory. Realizing he was still scowling, he switched to audio mode only. No need to offend the Executive with a nasty look.

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Chloe Hikari/Ray Hakuda/???/Ryan Sanders/There Are A Lot Of People Here - Goldenrod City (Jam)==-

 

Chloe watched as the woman seemed to be nervously contemplating the situation. The Rowlet snatcher bit her lip as she looked around as if trying to find a way out of the blockade of Pokémon. At first it seemed as if the woman wouldn't respond, but she looked toward the ground.

 

"I... don't know if I can..." The woman said, her voice barely a whisper. Chloe subtly looked behind the woman - from her angle, it wasn't hard to see the group of people there without them actually noticing what she was doing. The psychic had an uneasy feeling about what might be going on.

 

"Why not?" Sonja asked. "Is it because of those people you're trying to get to?"

 

"How hard can it be?" Ryan added. "Just let the owl go and we'll put all this behind us."

 

The woman bit her lip uncertainly. She mouthed "yes" to Sonja's question as best as she could. She didn't have any way to answer Ryan's question, however. The Rowlet snatcher took a very small step back, uneasy about the pressure that Ryan was adding to the situation.

 

Ryan's Garchomp let out a low warning growl. "We've got places to be," Ryan said. "So if you don't give up the owl we'll be forced to take it from you."

 

Sonja fell silent. "Are they making you steal Pokémon?"

 

Ryan glanced from the thief to Sonja and back again. "Making?"

 

The would-be thief mouthed another yes with another small step back away from the growling Garchomp. Chloe gave Ryan a look for a moment, before she looked back toward the woman to keep an eye on things. In the background, the group of people seemed to be getting wary of what was going on, from their postures. The psychic had to admit that she wasn't certain if there was much time to sort this out.

 

Ryan followed Chloe's gaze with a frown. Clearly the situation was a little more complicated than a simple birdnapping. "Who made you do this?" he asked, trying to make his voice sound more gentle. "We can help you."

 

The thief seemed uneasy, as if uncertain that it would work anymore. As she was about to say something, she heard commotion behind her.

 

***

 

The group of people watched the gathering of legends and vaguely the confrontation of their recruit-to-be. One man in particular frowned. "She doesn't seem to have what it takes if she was caught this easily." The man stated blandly, regarding the situation with distaste.

 

"Sir, isn't that a little harsh?" Another of the group's members inquired quietly with a puzzled look. "I don't think anyone expected legends to show up to a simple Pokémon theft. It feels like odd circumstances."

 

"Perhaps." The man in charge seemed to consider that for a moment. "But if they are part of the authority, that means she's already been made. She hasn't even joined the group and has already been caught by big-time people." His eyes, however, caught sight of the blonde man approaching. "We might have bigger trouble, anyway."

 

The group turned their gaze toward the newcomer, as he strode up, standing between the gang of people and the legendary beasts. "What exactly are you doing, standing around like this?" The man asked rather loudly, as if to attract the attention of the group of trainers that accompanied the legends.

 

"Great," Ryan muttered, casting a glance at the blonde haired man as he assessed the situation. "We'll make our escape while he keeps them distracted." He turned back to face the Rowlet thief and spoke in a low voice. "Come with us. I can promise we'll keep you safe. And maybe you can explain along the way how you got caught up in this group of Pokémon thieves."

 

The leader of the other gang seemed to have other plans, however. "Let's go. There's too much risk now." He turned his face away, motioning to the others in his group to follow before any trouble could be made for them. One of the gang members hesitated for a moment as they looked back, but then followed the rest out of sight.

 

The dark-haired woman and the blonde man both let out a sigh of relief as the gang disappeared from sight. The woman quickly held the still-stunned Rowlet out as she looked around the group. "Um, oh, I don't know whose Rowlet this actually is..." She glanced at Chloe for a moment, but then looked at Ryan and Sonja, since they had spoken up more vocally.

 

Meanwhile, however, the blonde eyed the group. "So, who are you, anyway? I guess you must be important to have three of the sacred Beasts on your side..." He frowned slightly. "I'm getting ahead of myself, I guess. I'm Corey." The man stayed at a fair enough distance, ever so slightly cautious about the group of people.

 

-==IC: Natalie Dexter - Celadon City==-

 

Natalie bit her lip for a moment. She didn't quite know how to exactly answer that.

 

"Stacy likes-- liked to go around and help out people who needed assistance for any reason. She was the aunt of that friend I mentioned. My mother got into some serious trouble a while back and my dad couldn't do everything on his own. My school began to notice - I think my dad nearly got into trouble with the law because of being unable to keep up with everything we all needed. But Stacy took notice." The former waitress sighed as she sat down on the bed. "Things got better with her help; my dad was able to keep things running smooth enough and things just got better in general. My mom eventually got released and everything went back to normal, but Stacy would always check in on us."

 

Natalie gave a small smile, as she glanced down to the floor. "My mom was always grateful to Stacy after that. It was like by that one act of kindness, she was like family to us afterward."

 

-==IC: Colleen Llyan - Airplane==-

 

"It might be global, but that doesn't mean everyone wants to speak it or is good at it." Colleen pointed out, as she mulled it over a bit more. "I think it's wisest to at least have someone who speaks the language when headed somewhere - that way in case someone refuses to speak English over the regional language, there's a backup plan."

[Parugi]

IC - Miyu Katou - Refugee Center, Vermilion City:

 

Miyu nodded. "Good night."

 

 

IC - Executive Scott Stone - Executive Suites, The Alamo:

 

The door opened, revealing a surprisingly young Executive between it and the frame. Behind him, pictures, documents, and notes covered a large bulletin board, connected by red strings--an investigation. Executive Stone maneuvered the door to hide it from Lafoyae's unfamiliar eyes.

 

"Executive Arthur," he said, clearly not enthused at being interrupted from his work. "What's the occasion?"

 

 

IC - Sonja Baron/Kyle Eston/Emmerich Coleman - Streets, Goldenrod City:

 

The other group scampered off. General Coleman's eyes followed them until they had completely vanished from sight. When they did, he relaxed his grip on his pistol, bringing his hand back to his side. Kyle recalled Jaeda and the pair moved forward, joining the others.

 

Sonja took a moment, paused, and then sighed, recalling Sheik. "We're from Team Liberty," she said, giving only a glance to Corey. Her eyes fell back on the girl. "That's hers." She gestured to Chloe. "Now who are you both, who were those people, and what is going on?"

 

"Sonja," Kyle said, his tone firm. "Dial it back a bit."

 

Annoyance flashed on Sonja's face, but she said nothing, instead closing her eyes for a second and giving a slight shake of her head. "We have a train to catch soon," she said, opening them again. "We don't have a lot of time to spend here. If it's a matter for the police, then we need to know so that we can contact someone now."

[Flipz]

IC: Alex Zyther (August 7th, 2017, Black Horse Manor, Kalos)

 

Alex stepped forward slowly, the clack-clack of his crutch echoing softly beneath the cathedral-like ceiling. The Carbink cradled in his free arm burrowed closer to his chest; though more obviously intimidated than the others, she was certainly not alone in the sentiment, as Sina, Raleigh, and Harvey drifted distantly in Alex's wake, only Didi prancing blissfully forward in the comfortably familiar environ of wealth and power.

 

"Di dedi!"

 

The Pokémon did not glare at her fellow Fairy-type, impertinent though the Dedenne's chiding had been; however, her jewel-like eyes met the electric mouse's with a baneful stare. The Trainer, though, seemed to side with his own Pokémon, crouching to the ground as if to set the Carbink down. She let out a small whimper in protest, drawing his gaze to her own.

 

"I'm sorry," he said, "I know you're scared. But I won't abandon you, okay? I promise. Can you promise to be brave for me while I talk to Mr. Ford?"

 

The Rock-type hesitated, looking to be on the verge of tears once more, but slowly nodded.

 

Alex smiled. "Good." He glanced back at Raleigh. "Stay with her please, okay Raleigh?" The Ralts nodded--and then, to his surprise, so did Sina a moment later. Reassured, he set his crutch down and stepped forward to address their host, clearing his throat to gain the man's attention before curtseying politely.

 

"Mr. Ford," he began, "my name is Alex Zyther, and this is my friend Alma. We, ah...we need your help. Our Pokémon have lost their powers, and your, er..." Alex glanced back at Tyler and Thomas, unsure of how exactly they'd describe their relationship to Ford. "Employees? Agents?" What did they say their group was called? Signs? "...Symbols?" He grimaced at himself for failing to ask--where were his manners today?--but forced himself to move on. "Anyway, they said if anyone could figure out what happened and give them their powers back, you could." The Trainer paused, wondering if he should continue. Should we explain about Amelia and Belle? Or would it be more polite to let Tyler and Thomas report that themselves? He glanced back at Alma, still standing back with McKinley and Warren, as if she might remember her etiquette lessons better than he had.

[MELON LORD]

IC: Alma Mason - Same as Alex

 

The albino girl nodded softly to her new . . .  friend. "Yes, it would be very much appreciated if we could get your assistance. However, we have also encountered a second problem. Alex and I were traveling in the company of two women whose business seems to be, to put it bluntly, of the highly criminal variety. They were apprehended by a police officer who seemed to know Mr. McKinley, here.

 

"Despite our own capabilities, we must humble ourselves and ask your assistance in this matter. It would be remiss of us if we were to continue on our journey without these companions. We would owe you greatly for this, of course."

 

IC: Yamamoto Aori - Vermilion City Refugee Center, August 6th

 

Sleep came in fits for Aori, and she finally decided to be awake for good shortly before the sunrise. She climbed out of bed and went to get dressed in the (slightly over-sized) clothing she had been provided with the night before. To her surprise, these included a belt of the sort worn by Pokémon trainers, with clips for her to put her Poké Balls on. She fumbled for a bit before getting the belt settled comfortably, then went back to where she had left Miyu.

 

It was going to be a long day, of that she was certain.

 

IC: Jared Winters - Plane

 

The silver-haired trainer nodded. "Fair enough, I guess." He glanced over at where Dahlia and Olivia were talking, then back to Colleen. "You said you undertook aura training for twelve years in Kalos? I'm assuming that included some martial arts training as well. I'm thinking that once we are on the ground in Kalos, we should set up daily training to show the others some combat skills. What do you think?"

[Metal Gear Minun]

IC: James Arthur - Four Island

 

James peered behind the other executive for a brief moment. He never had any occasion to enter Executive Stone's office. The spread out signs of his investigation interested James but he had little time to spend.  

 

"Executive Stone," he started before gesturing to the assassin. "This is Lafoyae Belrose. I have hired her to investigate a murder that occurred recently. I thought I would introduce her to you on the chance that the murder was connected to the ones you are investigating. I hoped you would be able to share with her some information that help her investigation."

 

The older executive checked a watch on his wrist. He had to leave now if he was finish up the rest of his business before the meeting with the Plasma Knight.

 

"Unfortunately I have other business I need to attend to. My apologies, I need to leave. Please contact me if either of you should need me for anything."

 

James bid the pair farewell before turning back towards the habitation area. He still had business with Roderick's team. He needed to discuss their future.

[MELON LORD]

IC: ??? - ???

 

"Hey, it's been--"

 

. . . 

 

"Slow down, I can't understand you."

 

. . .

 

"I see. I'm sorry to hear that."

 

. . .

 

"Yes, of course. We'll have to change some plans, but we'll investigate."

 

. . .

 

"Yes, alright, thanks. Take care."

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Chloe/Ray/Whoever Else - Goldenrod==-

 

The birdnapper quickly handed the Rowlet back to Chloe, the Rowlet chirping happily. The blonde man looked over with a small frown.

 

"If you have a train to catch, we can walk and talk. As I said, I'm Corey and this is one of my companions, Nikki." The man adjusted his blue hoodie for a moment before he waved a hand to have the group follow the two of them in the direction of the station. "Those people are thugs that my friends have been trying to keep from causing trouble here. The police haven't had any luck finding evidence that definitively links anything they do to their members. I keep hearing rumours that they have some sorta ties to some big organization or something."

 

"I was going to try to help get some evidence, but I messed up..." Nikki chimed in with a nervous chuckle. "I actually thought that Rowlet was a wild one that you were chasing... I didn't know it actually belonged to you until you stopped me."

 

"Wasn't your fault. They'll know something's up now, though. Especially since I stepped in." Corey sighed, as he looked to the side. As Chloe looked at the man, she couldn't help but feel a sense of familiarity, yet she couldn't place where she might have seen him before at that moment. Before she could focus more on that, however, the man glanced back at the group while he led the way. "My friends have these kinds of situations under control, though; a lot of them have been pushed into this before."

 

-==IC: Colleen Llyan - Soaring Through The Air With The Greatest Of Ease==-

 

"That could work. I wasn't really filled in on how well everyone's fighting skills are." Colleen shrugged slightly, as she was being honest. It would take knowing their base skills to find out how to train them, but she was rather interested to find that out before any incidents began.

 

-==IC: Ryan Hikari - Boat==-

 

Ryan was enjoying a nice quiet moment. That moment passed. Someone decided to talk to him suddenly. "Gyah!!" The Rocket yelped as he spun around in shock. After a moment, he relaxed. "Oh, hey... you're that one from Celadon... and that mission..." Ryan tried to quickly think of what her name was, but couldn't recall if they'd actually introduced themselves to each other.

Edited April 27, 2018 by Blessed Blade

[Konuju]

OOC:

Happy 8th Anniversary, Rise of the Rockets!

 

Once again it's hard to believe another year has flown by. They seem to go faster and faster as time moves on. This past year has pretty much been recovering from the huge reveal of the Missing Zero and our first big battle with it. It may have been more of a setup year, but I'm definitely excited for things to come! Here's to another great year!

 

IC: Ryan Sanders - Goldenrod City, Streets

"Sorry for blowing your cover," Ryan said sheepishly. He turned to Nikki with an extra apologetic look. "And, um. Sorry about those intimidation tactics. We kinda went ballistic on you. Try and be more careful in the future, though."

 

As he talked, Ryan followed the group to the train station -- at least he assumed that was where they were headed. The group was kind of just walking in a jumbled mass at this point, and he hoped whoever was in front actually knew where they were going.

 

IC: Madison Morrow - Boat

"Yeah. Hi." Madison smiled warmly to hide the fact that she had forgotten the guy's name. She leaned against the railing as she looked out over the crashing waves, then grinned up at the Tyranitar. "It's a lovely view, isn't it? Watching the waves makes me feel like I'm looking out over a mountain range from really high up." The skier stood in silence for a brief moment, then cast a glance over at the black-haired man. "Crazy mission we had back there on One Island, huh? You recovered from that yet?"

 

IC: Shannon Willows - Boat

Sousa was sick. He seemed to be the only member of Shannon's team who hadn't found his sea legs (or any legs, for that matter), and the poor gentleman who had the unfortunate luck of standing next to him did not appreciate the Dunsparce using his shoe as a makeshift barf bag. Despite a string of sincerest apologies, Shannon found herself ducking through the crowd carrying a belching Sousa in a desperate attempt to avoid the gentleman's wrath.

 

With Salix perched on her shoulder and Selena scampering a few feet behind, Shannon figured the best course of action would be to see if the ship had a doctor below deck that could prescribe some seasickness medication for poor Sousa. She was so focused on finding the stairs that she rammed right into a man in a karate outfit and would have fallen flat on her face had the man not caught her with lightning-fast movement.

 

It was only when she had caught her breath that Shannon realized she recognized this man. "Luke, right? From Celadon?"

 

The blackbelt's face brightened. "Hey, yeah, you're that Shannon chick we were trying to protect! Fancy meeting you here!"

 

Shannon's smile vanished as she saw the gentleman poking his way through the crowd. Thinking quickly she grabbed Luke's wrist and forcefully led him toward the stairs. "We can catch up later. Right now we need to get out of here!" Luke cried out in surprise but followed her without question. They raced down the metal steps and hid underneath the stairwell, holding their breath.

 

The uncomfortable silence was broken by another belch from the Dunsparce.

 

"I'm sorry, why are we doing this again?" Luke asked.

 

"Sousa's seasick."

 

Shannon held out the Dunsparce, causing Luke to recoil. "Well don't point him at me!"

 

That earned the blackbelt a bitter glare. "We need to find the ship's doctor," she insisted, hugging her Pokémon close to her chest as if to protect him from Luke's harsh words. The Dunsparce only gave a weak murmur in response.

 

"Okay, fine, I'll help you." Luke glanced around at the empty corridor they found themselves in. "Although this still doesn't explain why we're hiding."

 

"Let's just say you wouldn't be Sousa's first victim," Shannon said shortly.

 

Luke took a large step back. "Duly noted. Alright, just follow me. The med bay can't be too hard to find, right?"

[Flipz]

OOC: Jam with Minun

 

IC: James Arthur/Lancelot/Amanda Zarth (August 6, 2017, Alamo Ambassadorial Wing, Four Island, Kanto)

 

James and Lancelot waited in silence. The trainer was sending out messages to various people, but the Scizor had nothing to do but look brooding. Both were beginning to become impatient. They had other things to do today, where was Amanda? She was already a half-hour late.

 

James pulled out his phone and typed a message to Amanda. He waited for a while longer.

 

No response.

 

He had assumed that Amanda was the punctual type. Had he misread the Plasma Knight? He decided it was worth popping in on Amanda to see if she had forgotten their meeting. The pair made their way to where Amanda was staying. James knocked on the door and waited.

 

No response.

 

There was the possibility that she was out and her phone battery had died on top of other explanations. Still the possibility existed that Amanda was not okay. And it wouldn’t do for a gentleman to not at least check.

 

James pulled out a card key from his briefcase. It wasn’t something that he wanted he particularly wanted his fellows to know about, but this was bothersome. If questioned, he’d have to pretend that this card key wasn’t something that he’d been working on since he joined Team Liberty. He swiped the card through the reader next to the door and the door opened.

 

James peered inside slightly. He signaled for Lancelot to enter before him. On the off chance that Amanda was in some compromising situation, he was not going to get a reputation for walking in on it while already breaking in. The Scizor complied, and scouted the room before James. He signaled for James to follow, so James entered the room.

 

The sight awaiting the Liberty Executive was...unusual, to say the least. While the vast majority of the suite's horizontal surfaces were completely covered in clusters of both printed and handwritten papers, the layout was not one of chaos but of carefully-curated (if sprawling) order, the stacks of paperwork neatly aligned and laid out in various clustered grids, connected to each other by other stacked documents of common relevance. Although a few key reports had clearly been duplicated several times across the room, Amanda's unorthodox arrangement had nevertheless minimized redundancy wherever possible.

 

Unfortunately, Amanda's unorthodox arrangement had also rendered the space effectively unlivable--most notably evidenced by the bed, an unbroken layer of paperwork resting atop covers that had clearly not been disturbed since well before the One Island operation. A short distance away, the room's occupant sat at a similarly-overburdened desk, idly tucking several rebellious strands of hair behind her ear as she continued attempting to cross-reference her findings. She held up her hand in a gesture of pause. "Please give me another moment, I need to complete this comparative damage output analysis for Executive Arthur's report." As she jotted down several more notes with speed and neatness that computerized printers would envy, James noticed that there were no food scraps in her trash can. Worrying, if his suspicions were correct. At last, the Plasma Knight spun her chair to face him. "My apologies, this report is quite important to--" Amanda seemed to finally notice James with a start, her bleary, bloodshot eyes bearing bags beneath as they widened. "Executive Arthur. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

 

James was silent for a few moments. It was blindingly obvious from one look at her eyes what ailed her. He’d wait a moment to broach that subject, however. He pulled out his phone and held it up to Amanda’s face. On the screen of the phone was the present time. “You missed our meeting by over an hour.”

 

Amanda’s eyebrows elevated. The Plasma agent made to conduct her Xtransciever, only to discover upon her third attempt that it was unresponsive--no doubt due to a drained battery. With worried lines furrowing her forehead, she stared at the Liberty executive. “I see. I apologize for my failure of preparation. While I cannot in good conscience label my analysis as ‘complete’, I have managed to come to a few preliminary understandings of the operational circumstances for which initial corrections may be drafted, pending the completion of our full conclusions. Do you wish to review this current progress?”

 

Tempting as it was to get that rundown, and as pressing as it was that they be able to further upgrade their power suits, James had to turn it down. “Apologize to your body, not to me. I can review your report when it is finished. You need bed rest right now. A report made in an exhausted state is more likely to have errors.”

 

“Besides, the world will still be ending when you wake up.”

 

Amanda froze.

 

While she’d been mentally nodding along with Executive Arthur’s logical points, his last statement sent ice through her veins. With difficulty, she swallowed. “With all due respect, Executive Arthur...that is not a promise either of us are capable of ensuring.” Her hair, usually so neat and tidy, fell down across her face, and she attempted futilely to secure it back once more. “I would rest significantly more securely if I could be certain the situation would not worsen while I have voluntarily incapacitated myself.”

 

Lancelot bopped James on the head. The joke might’ve been a wee bit insensitive.

 

“Never try gallows humor with you, eh?” James muttered while the Scizor’s pincer was still on his head.

 

James considered what logic he could use to counter Amanda’s point but found nothing. It was true that he couldn’t guarantee even the safety of Four Island to the next day. Missing Zero’s movement were sporadic and hard to predict without further data.

 

Still, he wasn’t going to let that stop him from making sure Amanda got sleep.

 

“You can be rest assured that the situation will not worsen because I wish it not to. I do not know if you have noticed, but I am pretty good at getting what I want.”

 

James walked over and began assessing the notes on the bed. He wasn’t going to completely upset Amanda by ruining her organization, but this sort of mess was in the way.

 

“For example, if there is a fussy Plasma Knight destroying her own body by denying it rest, against my wishes, I order my Scizor to pick her up and bring her to her bed.”

 

 

Lancelot understood that cue. Amanda made a noise of protest, but she was in no state to resist the effort--a light breeze would have had the same effect, let alone an over two-hundred-and-sixty-pound Bug-and-Steel Pokémon, and even the instinctive psionic barrier she summoned served only to bounce her backwards toward the bed.

 

As her instincts battled James, however, her intellect, in contrast, sided with him. Self-destructive activity is an inefficient use of Team Plasma assets, she reasoned mentally, seemingly unaware she was in fact broadcasting her internal thoughts. Furthermore, Executive Arthur appears possessed of sufficient intellect to independently derive interim intelligence from an incomplete analysis. Current impressions indicate his current capacity to operate without significant risk of harm even without a completed threat assessment. The same cannot be said of myself; therefore, further resistance is counterproductive. “Very well,” she concluded verbally, “I will resume my operations once I am rested and physically capable of doing so.” Only after making the promise did the Plasma operative seem to register that her organization had, in fact, utterly claimed her sleeping space.

 

James wasn’t paying attention to the psychic messages. He was focused on completing the task as quickly as possible. Lancelot picked up on it. He’d probably tell James about it, later. When James cleared off the lasts papers and pulled back the blanket and sheet, Lancelot laid the Plasma Knight on the bed.

 

Covering Amanda with the sheet and blanket, James said, “Is there anything you would need to fall asleep?”

 

He was only half-serious about that statement. She looked on the verge of falling asleep already.

 

Near-delirious at this point--at least, for her--Amanda shook her head. “The knowledge of your concern is comfort enough,” she mumbled, drifting off even as she spoke the words.

 

James waited for a few moments, making sure that Amanda had indeed fallen asleep before turning his back to her. He picked up some of the pages of the incomplete report. He studied the first few pages briefly.

 

“This is solid work,” James muttered as he placed them back down. He was looking forward to the completed report. He might have need of it soon. But not so soon that her sleep needed interruption.

 

Lancelot was already by the door. James followed him out after turning off the lights and shut the door.

 

“Honestly,” James said as he walked past Lancelot. “Can you believe that sort of behavior?”

 

Lancelot grabbed James’s shoulder. It was the middle of the afternoon and James hadn’t had anything to eat that day.

 

“...Fine,” James relented. “I will go get something to eat. Are you happy?” he said turning the other direction towards the dining hall.

 

Yes. Lancelot decided that he was.

[Metal Gear Minun]

IC: James Arthur - Four Island

 

James walked back towards his office with a sandwich in a bag, and with Lancelot behind him. His phone began to ring. The caller ID was unknown to him, but he decided to answer.

 

"This is Executive Arthur," he said wondering who the caller was.

[Parugi]

IC - Miyu Katou - Refugee Center, Vermilion City:

 

Surprisingly, Miyu was awake already. She appeared to have been so for some time. Not a trace of sleepiness remained in her eyes. She was sitting up when Aori returned.

 

"Hello," she said. "What is the plan to us pursue?"

 

 

IC - John Ford/Tyler McKinley/Thomas Warren - Great Hall, Black Horse Manor:

 

It appeared to take a moment for Ford to register that he was being spoken to--as a matter of fact enough time had passed that it would not have been unreasonable to assume that he had heard neither Alex nor Alma. In due time, however, he pulled his glasses away and pocketed them, flipping his notepad closed and turning to face his visitors. He studied them for a moment and then approached, stepping down from the dais so that he stood on their level. Even so, he towered above the younger trainers (as well as his own agents).

 

He bowed.

 

"It's a pleasure to meet you," he said. "I can certainly offer assistance--I've generally found it to be in my best interest to do so, as time has gone on. Of course, offering solutions is best done one at a time, and under minimal stress." He gestured to a set of doors leading to an adjacent room, and began to lead the way. "Come, let us speak in private."

 

Warren moved ahead to hold the door open, allowing Ford, McKinley, Alma, Alex, and their Pokémon through. There was really nothing of particular note inside--it was a simple den, with black-cushioned couches surrounding an empty fireplace. Ford sat in a singular chair, retrieving his notepad and glasses from his pocket while he waited for his guests to sit.

 

"There is, of course, no guarantee that the solutions I offer will be optimal for all involved," Ford warned. "But let us worry about that later. For now, perhaps you can tell me a bit more about your situation. You're not quite the same sort that typically seeks me out." He glanced at McKinley and Warren. "Of course, I'm a fairly firm believer than all things happen for a higher purpose, so perhaps this is a purpose that we can uncover together."

 

 

IC - Scott Stone - Executive Suite, The Alamo:

 

As James left, Scott couldn't stop a hint of uncertainty from seeping into his expression. Nonetheless, he reformed his composure, took a moment to measure up Lafoyae, and then stepped back with a nod to allow her access to the office. It was nothing spectacular compared to other Executives' offices--decorations were sparse, and those that were present had been largely covered by the materials of Scott's investigation into the murders of his fellow Liberty Agents.

 

One entire wall had been converted into a massive whiteboard, and it was here that Scott had created his investigation web. One section detailed in chronological order the names of the various murder victims--all reasonably suspected of having died by the same hands. The most recent was Drake Masters, followed by Kai Stone, and then four others. Other information included pictures of the murder scenes, written notes on autopsy reports and suspected methods, and reports on activity around the crime scenes at the time each murder had taken place. Most prominent was the transcript of the message recovered from Drake's Poké Gear. Next to it, written in black marker and then underlined and circled in red, was a single word: "ACE."

 

"I'd say you could take a seat, but, well . . . Excuse the mess," Scott said dryly. He moved to the edge of his desk, sitting down on the single corner not covered with paper. "I'm not sure where to even start with talking about this investigation, so if you have any ideas, I'm all ears."

 

 

IC - Sonja Baron/Kyle Eston/Emmerich Coleman - Streets, Goldenrod City:

 

Only when he was certain that the supposed criminals were gone did General Coleman remove his hand from his pistol grip, finally breaking his gaze away from where they had stood and following after the rest of his own group. Kyle lagged behind him for a moment, before returning Jaeda to her Poké Ball and heading out with them.

 

"What, exactly, do you think they're involved in?" Emmerich asked. "If they're that notorious then I feel as though I would have heard something about them by now."

Edited May 6, 2018 by Parugi