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Operation GEAR: The Angel of Reckoning (R)

The Great Butler

Hush, keep it down
Sorry this isn't a huge review as everyone else pretty much said my thoughts on the chapter in greater detail (read through the chapter on the bus ride and wasn't able to do this review until much later). There are a few things I quite like, so I'll mention those.

That's okay. I obviously appreciate any review at all.

As the others said the development on the characters in this chapter are great. Nice to see Olivia warming up to Oshawott a bit more (don't think the little guy deserved the harsh treatment from before heh). Matt and Nekou's interaction at the end is a very enjoyable read too, shows the both of them are trusting/giving each other respect now.

Both of these things are going to continue in the next chapter. Definitely keep an eye on Oshawott, and when it comes to Matt and Nekou trusting each other, there's more to that scene you haven't seen yet.

Backtracking a bit, Matt's explination in wanting to keep Olivia's innocence--yeah gonna agree with Nekou that five years is a long time. Still a good scene with them I like too. Also in that part good to see Nando appearing again and Pansage does fit him well.

I think it was important to show that main characters can make mistakes. Really, Olivia is guilty of it too, when you consider her reaction to Oshawott. I want them to be likable but flawed.

Nando wasn't a major role, so I was a little worried that bringing him in this chapter might have been a mistake.

Nekou going berserk is quite frightenging. .__. Luckily Looker came in time to help. Kinda wonder where Looker went to next after that incident and Matt's reaction to Looker's sudden apperance, but I guess that'll drag on the chapter a bit more and wouldn't flow too well.

That incident with Nekou is a turning point, but I'm sure you could already realize that.

Looker's actions are going to be clarified a bit in the next chapter.

The mention of Saeko Oryo in this chapter have me more interested in her, especially with the prophet's sudden outburst at Pierce when he mentioned her name. Dang.

That's going to come up again pretty soon. And I think you'll be very, very surprised as to how and why.

Pretty sure the "she" being referred here is Bunny. If so

I don't think that'll be the case (until she meets with Matt and the gang :x) I'm sure I missed something, though haha.

Yeah, you're right.

Overall another enjoyable chapter there. Looking forward to more!

Glad you liked it!

I’ve gotta say that a strong point of your writing is your dialogue, especially with the Polaris characters. There’s enough formality to make it seem realistic, yet there’s some fun, playful dialogue in there to show how familiar they are with each other.

Yet, are they actually familiar with each other at all? I think that's a question you might be asking yourself sometime in the future...

Thank you for the compliment, in all seriousness. I enjoy writing dialogue; it's really a great tool for establishing both setting and characters.

I thought this was a cute moment. I’d like to know more about Nando, to be honest. He might be the thing Olivia needs to get back on track.

He could certainly help. Maybe I can figure out some ways to work him in a bit more extensively than I initially planned.

Tell me about it, Nekou. I think caves are worse than swimming.

Oh, if this story was in Hoenn, I could only imagine what kind of things she'd be saying.

I think you said that Olivia’s smile toward Nando was “her first in some time”, too, and it didn’t seem that long ago.

You're right, and I could have phrased the lines better, but I feel like I should point out that the smile at Nando was described as happening "for the first time in what seemed like forever to Matt," meaning that one was framed just in his perception.

Interesting. It seems similar to how the pokémon react to the Meteonite. I wonder if that has anything to do with it? Either way, it’s just another thing that adds to Nekou’s character.

That's a curious observation. Obviously I can't say much right now, but it's something that's going to be revisited. Oh, will it ever be revisited...

Overall, good chapter. Lots of mysteries still surrounding everything, but things are still happening and everything is clear. Well done.

Thanks, I'm glad you liked it.


Just a few general updates:

I'm still in the process of putting all the content on it, but I created a blog on Tumblr for chapter updates, author notes, artwork, and whatever else related to this.

The next chapter is coming along decently; it's probably about half done or so, and the rest won't be too difficult once I buckle down and get going on it.
 

Silent_Vibrava

Fanfiction Writer
The following two links are to material that may help you if you need them.

Backstory Post - Events prior to the beginning of Operation GEAR summarized

Character page on TVTropes

These were so helpful, you have no idea! No offense, but the way beginning of this series was basically just dialogue with no description. I found it very tiresome to read after the third chapter of the first XD, so I'm happy that I could just read your recent, more superior work.

As you can see, this story has an R rating, which has been approved by Dragonfree after some rigorous testing. It will be tackling some darker material than what I usually do; among these subjects are cults, extremely unethical scientific experimentation, various types of discrimination, strongly implied sexual content and homelessness. In addition, war and mental illness may be touched on, there’s a plotline about a serial killer, and a plotline will have discussion of a character who was raped – before anyone jumps to conclusions about this just from reading that, I have literally put months of work and research into ensuring that the subject will be handled tastefully and respectfully, and I can promise that it is relevant, not simply included for edginess.

I am very reassured to know that you did a lot of research before; it is promising when an author handles a topic with full consideration. We both have come a long way since we were teenagers, huh? I usually avoid anything rated R, as I'm a sensitive soul, but I'll put my full trust and faith in you.

The young doctor, dressed sharply in an immaculate white lab coat, adjusted his glasses nervously as he surveyed the computers surrounding him. Many of the machines bore the same logo that was stitched onto the man’s breast pocket, a letter ‘P’ formed out of the red-and-yellow strands of a double helix.

All around him were monitors of the situation unfolding in an operating room directly linked to his lab. He was in charge of what was happening in the other room, and had to address the scientists under his command through a microphone affixed to the desk. Large machines, many of them at least the size of a refrigerator, were clustered in one portion of the lab, while a small kitchen unit sat opposite them. There was also a lounging area that consisted simply of an old, rotting bookcase, drab sofa and decrepit television set; on the wall right next to the bookcase was a framed document assigning a doctorate to the man, whose name was Gabriel Zager. A tiny yellow spider Pokémon, Joltik, skittered hyperactively around the room.

My jaw dropped to the floor reading this. It's like you are a different author, and it just shows how much you've grown since my departure. I can vividly picture what's going on around me. And the younger you claimed that any description would be "forced". Ha! Your future self clearly owns.

He knew the operation in the other room was going horribly simply from the barrage of noise coming back at him through the terminal’s speakers. The sounds of several men rushing about the room could be heard, but even louder than that were the alternating sounds of a woman screaming and then briefly gasping to try and catch her breath.

“Just keep at it, all of you,” the doctor said in an attempt to encourage his men, while nervously eyeing the screens monitoring the woman’s heart rate, blood pressure and temperature. “We’ve come too far now. There’s no turning back.”

One of the other scientists, an even younger man of about twenty-one, suddenly came crashing through the doorway partitioning the lab and operating room from each other. Before Zager could ask him a single question, he had torn across the lab to the deep sink on the other side, where he loudly wretched up the contents of his stomach.

“Are you alright?!” This was a bad sign, and the doctor knew it. He had been assured that the team he was commanding was comprised of very well-trained scientific and medical professionals, so to see one of those very same people unable to handle their own job struck him deeply.

“It’s… it’s horrible...” The scientist was clearly deeply disturbed by what he had seen. He spoke in a shaking, terrified voice, and did not even turn to face his boss. “That thing is a monster… it’s parasitized the very fibers of her being… we never should have played God and done this…”

“Get a hold of yourself, boy! Stop speaking in riddles!”

“It’s not a riddle, Doctor Zager, it’s the truth… what we’ve done is create something completely and purely evil…”

Intrigued and greatly worried by the fearful comments of his team member, Dr. Zager ran his hand across his thick, brown moustache in thought. To some degree, he realized that he should have known things would end in this way.

Unfortunately, his pensive moment was interrupted when alarms started sounding, drawing him back to the computer bank. The woman’s heart rate was becoming irregular, and her blood pressure was spiking.

“Finish what we started!” Dr. Zager barked through the microphone to the remaining scientists. “If she dies and the subject doesn’t survive, we didn’t accomplish anything! Her death will have been in vain!”

A very short amount of time later, the woman’s screaming suddenly stopped, but it was replaced by an even more chilling sound – the shrill, monotonous screech of the heart monitor now reading zero.

Wow, this scene really made me feel so bad for this poor woman; it was like my stomach knotted knowing she was suffering greatly, and most likely against her will. You clearly know how to make the reader feel. That's a really powerful skill...I hope you can offer me some critiques on my future chapters, so I can do this on the level you can. The word "barrage" doesn't fit here from my perspective, but I guess it could from a figurative stance.

I think the best thing is I am also a scientist, a biology major, and I am twenty-one. So I identified with the young man who threw up greatly, especially because my stomach felt a little weird at the time of reading. It is like watching someone else throw up, and then you throw up too. Heh...

“Wait, wait…” a voice, belonging to another of Zager’s scientists, called out. Moments later, the sound of a small child crying started to filter through the speakers, leading the scientist to declare, “The child is alive! This subject actually survived!”

“We are all dead men walking,” commented the man who had vomited in Zager’s sink as he lifted himself from the basin. “We have done something that will destroy us all.” He barely managed to get those words out before fainting.

“So I see that Azrael has been brought into this world at last.”

This is fascinating, and I'm already wondering who Azrael is and what is her purpose. A highly unethical, scientific experiment gone wrong? Exciting! Especially because I love science and science based characters and plot, even if it is a subplot.

“She is the key to all of our goals, so we have to do what we must. Gabriel, it’s about time you learned the truth. The true meaning about the purpose of Polaris… and the meaning of your mission, the Azrael Project.”

So Zager's first name is Gabriel? I do think Dr. Zager is menacing, and it is nice I see him included in the story.

The years had not been kind to the Polaris research team. As time passed from that fateful day in 1987, member after member fell away from the group. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the scientist who had lost his composure in Dr. Zager’s lab that day was the first to go; he simply stopped attending work within a few months of the incident and disappeared, rarely being spoken of again as the result of some unwritten rule. Over the next few years, the others peeled off one by one, some quitting the organization for their own reasons, others simply disappearing without a word. Finally, at the end, Dr. Zager himself disappeared from Polaris’s ranks, following a series of highly disappointing reports on the status of the child created that day, Azrael.

As a scientist, not surprised this happened.

Ah, so this experiment took place in the past. That was unexpected. I wonder why these reports were disappointing, and I feel a sense of tragedy for Azrael alongside her birth mother.

Perhaps coincidentally, Dr. Zager’s disappearance was fourteen years to the day Azrael was born.

Why is fourteen years a significant number?

Without the notice of the two scientists, a third man had slipped into the room behind them. He could be distinguished by his prematurely-graying hair, styled with two spikes on the right side, three on the left, and two long bangs hanging over his bespectacled face. Perhaps more startling, though, was the giant scar that formed a blood-red arc across his visage. His clothing was mainly shades of black and gray, though the coat he wore beneath his cape was outlined with yellow.

Immediately, the two scientists, who were clearly subordinates of the third, stiffened up from nerves.

“Well, no, of course we wouldn’t be, sir…” the first fumbled.

“You know, you’re a terrible liar. I overheard everything. You’re lucky we’re on such a tight schedule, though. What you call a waste of Finansielle’s money is actually a vital project for Polaris’s plan, vital enough that it just got you off of a punishment for insubordination. What’s the status of Project J?”

“There have been no responses thus far, sir,” explained the second of the underlings. “However, Project J has showed continued molecular stability and zero signs of degeneration.”

“Excellent, that means it’s still perfectly preserved. Continue trying to reactivate it, and let me know if it…”

The sound of beeping from the computer console interrupted the man’s sentence, but it turned his expression into one of excitement. Readouts on the screens that had previously displayed only straight, flat lines now were spiking and falling rapidly.

“I… really? Project J… it’s communicating with us, sir!”

“Switch over to real-time translation of those waves!”

Sufficiently cowed by his superior’s joyous outburst, the first of the two scientists swiftly entered a command into his computer, replacing the wave patterns with lines of written text.

“Hello? Where am… I?”

“The laboratory of Polaris,” one of the men typed in response. “We’ve separated you from your body and kept you alive.”

It moved a little too fast for my taste, but I find this fascinated. I wonder what body J has been taken from...

There was a pause as the entity in the tank considered what it had been told. “What do you intend to do with me?”

“Sir?”

The leader of this rather odd team leaned over one of the computers and typed in his own comment. “We are going to see if we can create a new body for you and put you in it. We want to see if you will survive.”

“Please, give me a new body! I want one! Give me a new body and I’ll work for you, even!”

“I can’t believe this is actually happening,” the first scientist whispered out loud. “Project J is fully active.”

“I must present this news at the next meeting of the Sacred Helix,” the leader declared, pulling a golden mask in the shape of a feline Pokémon from his black cape and affixing it to his face. “This development is an important day in the progress of Polaris’s goal.”

I wonder what Project J is? This is very suspenseful, and I'm interested to know what the new body is.

It was night in the Pewter City Museum of Science, and as such, the building was dark and empty. Only a single night watchman – a portly, gentle-looking individual - remained, and he was perfectly content to remain in his security booth watching the news on television and snacking absentmindedly from a box of doughnuts.

I love that you chose this location as it is one of my favorites, and it was humorous the way this security officer was described. I'm smelling someone getting through security?

His complacence was directly the reason why he did not notice the infiltrator who slipped into the museum.

Called it! That poor sap is out of a job.

On the wall next to him was a fuse box sealed with four screws; luckily for the thief, he had come prepared with a screwdriver. He wasted no time in using the tool to remove the screws, and once they were gone he removed the metal plate from the console, exposing the blinking lights of the fuses within.

Quietly, the thief raised his right arm, causing the material of his bodysuit to make a stretching sound. The air around his hand crackled with static electricity, ending with a lightning bolt flowing from his palm into the fuses, overloading them and blowing out the entire museum’s power.
....
These treasures were his objective, so he set about the process of taking them. Aware of an invisible laser barrier shielding the two orbs, he set his hand down on the edge of the exhibit platform, sending a surge of his electricity through it. The two pedestals supporting the pair of orbs each suffered a small explosion and collapsed, dropping the precious items down to the ground, where they were no longer within the boundaries of the laser barriers.

Knowing that he could not reach the Adamant Orb and Lustrous Orb manually, the intruder searched around the room for something to use, ultimately settling on a yellow-and-blue hooked staff once wielded by an ancient king. This tool was originally placed next to a replica of a similarly-colored sarcophagus, but now, the burglar simply used it to carefully pull the orbs to himself. He collected the orbs one at a time, setting them carefully within the foam outlines inside his briefcase.

Clearly, this guy knows what he's doing and isn't screwing around.

“The Legendary Pokémon said to have been sealed on Emeraude Island, Tornadus, Thundurus and Landorus…” He chuckled as he shook his head. “It’ll have to wait, but your time will come…”

Abruptly turning around, the enigmatic figure discovered another exhibit, one that excited him even further – a large capsule, roughly seven or eight feet tall, sealed at its top by an airtight lock.

Didn't Dr. Zager have those three Pokemon at one point? It would be interesting to see if they make a comeback or reunion with him.

“So we meet at last, Zoroark…” The thief could barely contain the thrill in his voice as he slowly approached the capsule. “You’ve been trapped in there for so long, but please wait just a little longer. I promise to you that I will return and free you, and at that point, your reign will begin!”

That was also unexpected, but in a good way. Zoroark being a ruler? I wonder in what way...

Both took a moment to analyze their visitor. Glancing over him, they did not immediately react, but when he removed his sunglasses to reveal his vivid green eyes, they realized who he was.

“Pierce, what are you doing here?” the man asked, hushing his voice deliberately. “Things changed, don’t you know?”

“And I’m here to tell you things have changed again,” Pierce forcefully explained, his deep voice almost shaking the room. “Jessie, James, Meowth, I have orders related to me from the boss to come here and pick you up. Do you have your Pokémon?”

Jessie and James checked their belts; she had two Poké Balls, while James had one. After verifying this fact, they both nodded to Pierce, who replaced his glasses and turned for the door.

Yay! I love the trio. I'm glad they are included.

“Shifting gears from the meteor shower,” said the voice of the newscaster on the television near the hot tub, “we now bring you an update on another story that’s been gripping the nation: the serial killer known as Kiss of Death.”

Olivia, Nekou and Bunny had their conversation interrupted by the news report, but as they became interested in what the report had to say, they weren’t bothered.

“The Kiss of Death killer has struck again. Melvin Clemens, a management director for the Angel Corporation, was found brutally murdered in his Viridian City apartment last night. Fitting with the pattern of her previous crimes, the scene was left completely, spotlessly cleaned of all signs of her presence. Only the horribly mangled body of Mr. Clemens was left behind, and all DNA evidence was removed, leaving only the signature imprint of the shape of the killer’s lips in the victim’s blood on him.”

Looks like the kiss of death has some extensive training, and I wonder if they are a part of Polaris or Project J? I like how they assume the killer is female, maybe that's a small detail I picked up but, as we know, assumptions are dangerous.

The screen then changed what it displayed, replacing the newscaster with a bony-faced man whose rigid gaze was framed by thick eyebrows and thin, flat black hair. Olivia nearly jumped out of the water, as she recognized him immediately.

“That’s Detective Looker!” she exclaimed, before explaining, “He helped us out five years ago! You know, back when my dad was still around to fight the bad guys…”

“Don’t dwell on that,” Nekou said sharply, “let’s listen to what he’s got to say now.”

“Developed have we a picture of definition on this most vicious serial killer,” Looker spoke on the television. “All of the murders being associated with this killer have exhibited the signs of sameness, yes. Always the victim’s body gets dropped and left behind in a terribly mutilated state of being, along with the calling card of the killer’s signature, her lips being cast in the blood of the dead one. All genetic evidence that would show leads is, sadly to be saying, destroyed at the scene of each and every committed crime.”

Ugh, I wouldn't want to be the kiss of death. But who is the stupid reporter that keeps assuming the gender? There is no DNA evidence. Incompetent fools, or are they?

“You know, a story like that is kind of romantic in a sense.”

Nekou's a little kinky, isn't she?

“Oh, he’s probably off jerking around somewhere, probably literally.” Nekou sighed and sipped her beer before adding, “Don’t worry about it. We’ll get some pizza and leave him out of it. **** him if he doesn’t want to hang out with us.”

You owe me a new keyboard; I spit my drink all over it. I'm just not used to characters like this. I think I'm going to really like Nekou.


Though she was wrong, Nekou probably would have made the same joke even if she truly did know about what was going on four floors above them.

Bunny, now wearing a stately black-and-gray business suit, and Olivia, who was wrapped in a blue cape with silver lining, were waiting in the lobby of the resort. They were unable to leave until Nekou and Matt joined them, so they were conversing further between themselves.

“So did you make up your mind yet, Olivia?” Bunny thoughtfully asked, genuinely curious about Olivia’s pending choice of starter Pokémon.

Interesting that Rich would allow Nekou to be around his daughter so much; I don't think she is much of a role model.

“I’m going to take Totodile,” the girl decisively declared, tapping her pink boots against the floor in an alternating fashion. “Cyndaquil is very cute, but I can’t just ignore the fact that Totodile is a Water-type. Surely, if I enter the Pokémon League and Grand Festival with a Water-type starter Pokémon, my dad will have to take notice, right?”

Bunny nodded, but she could not find any words to verbally answer. Olivia bringing up her father, Rich, and his own preference for Water-types put Bunny in an awkward positon. She did not want to lie to Olivia, but at the same time, she felt an obligation to respect Matt’s wish to not tell Olivia of Rich’s death as well.

Poiston should be "position". Ah, Rich being dead explains a lot. That detail I missed. And that's good that she decides to pick Totodile, it really is underutilized.

At that moment was when what would be the first of many strange events took place.

Olivia and the others were expecting to see an awkward, nerdy-looking man with glasses and brown hair, but he wasn’t there. Instead, the only person present in the lab was a woman, wearing her hair in a thick ball, who had a briefcase at her side. She seemed just as surprised to the group as they were to see her.

“Professor… Juniper?” Nekou breathed, thoroughly confused.

That's interesting. It isn't every day that you see that, and I'm genuinely curious on why Juniper of all people is in Professor Elm's lab.


Initial Verdict:

The description is absolutely perfect to me, it clearly paints a picture in my head. Best, it doesn't overwhelm me either.

The words and general narrative flows beautifully although some parts were too fast, but it wasn't anything you need to change. It is just I would have liked some scenes of interest to play out more.

I do have one major criticism. One thing I noticed from the first fanfiction of the series to now is the sheer amount of characters. Honestly, there have always been so many, and it is sometimes hard for me to keep track of them all. The amount of characters sort of makes it hard to follow an otherwise well-written fanfic. I'd make the character list smaller if you can.

I'd also add a warning that people should be caught up with the Pokemon anime, if you haven't already; I haven't watched it in years, besides some choice episodes, and I was puzzled by some of the characters. I didn't know which characters were anime and which characters were OP. I had to search up the name to be sure.

That's really the only major criticism I have, but I enjoyed it a lot even with this issue. So far, it is my favorite fanfiction on serebiiforums.

It is like I time traveled and met the older version of you, a much more fleshed out, developed human being. Man, there is something really heartbreaking about this. I'm just really sad I didn't get the chance to see you grow, it would have been very rewarding to follow the whole series from the start, but I'll take what I can get. Add me to the PM list, please.​
 
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The Great Butler

Hush, keep it down
These were so helpful, you have no idea! No offense, but the way beginning of this series was basically just dialogue with no description. I found it very tiresome to read after the third chapter of the first XD, so I'm happy that I could just read your recent, more superior work.

The first XD is what you mean by "the beginning of the series?"

Either way, it's a relief that you find it improved. That's always a persistent fear, that while I work hard it's just not getting better.

I am very reassured to know that you did a lot of research before; it is promising when an author handles a topic with full consideration. We both have come a long way since we were teenagers, huh? I usually avoid anything rated R, as I'm a sensitive soul, but I'll put my full trust and faith in you.

Yes, yes we have.

It's not going to be like, hard-R the entire way through, but it's better to have that insurance because of some of the things that I plan to explore.

My jaw dropped to the floor reading this. It's like you are a different author, and it just shows how much you've grown since my departure. I can vividly picture what's going on around me. And the younger you claimed that any description would be "forced". Ha! Your future self clearly owns.

Wow, really? I don't know if I'd call it that good...

I definitely agree that it's far better than what I wrote back then, though.

Wow, this scene really made me feel so bad for this poor woman; it was like my stomach knotted knowing she was suffering greatly, and most likely against her will. You clearly know how to make the reader feel. That's a really powerful skill...I hope you can offer me some critiques on my future chapters, so I can do this on the level you can. The word "barrage" doesn't fit here from my perspective, but I guess it could from a figurative stance.

I suppose it's not too much of a spoiler to ramble a bit here: it's a cult doing this, and she did volunteer for it at the beginning. She just had no idea it would go like this, so I suppose "against her will" still applies for either that reason or because she did it out of believing in their cause.

I think "barrage" might actually fit, because the whole horror of the scene is on more than one level. There's the physical side of it, but something else I did was to deliberately leave out as much as possible about her herself. Notice that you never actually see her, are never given her name, and the only presence she has is the screaming - using what is given, the reader literally sees her as nothing but her role in what is immediately happening, with no actual identity. I realized that once I did that, any reader who picked up on it would realize that that was exactly the situation she is in, only seen as a physical tool whose identity is completely irrelevant in the eyes of some. Is it any wonder that the scientists reacted the way they did after seeing the true consequences of their actions?

I think the best thing is I am also a scientist, a biology major, and I am twenty-one. So I identified with the young man who threw up greatly, especially because my stomach felt a little weird at the time of reading. It is like watching someone else throw up, and then you throw up too. Heh...

Interesting... it's nice you were able to identify with the scene, even with how relatively intense it was.

This is fascinating, and I'm already wondering who Azrael is and what is her purpose. A highly unethical, scientific experiment gone wrong? Exciting! Especially because I love science and science based characters and plot, even if it is a subplot.

First: Those are very good things to be wondering. Eventually you'll see why...

Second: Unethical experiments with strange goals are great, aren't they? It's a subplot now, but it'll come back to the forefront at the right time.

So Zager's first name is Gabriel? I do think Dr. Zager is menacing, and it is nice I see him included in the story.

I think you'll find him to be an interesting character, then. He's not quite as straightforward as he might seem.

As a scientist, not surprised this happened.

Ah, so this experiment took place in the past. That was unexpected. I wonder why these reports were disappointing, and I feel a sense of tragedy for Azrael alongside her birth mother.

The reason why they were disappointing will be revealed, but not right away.

And you're right to feel that sense of tragedy. Get it warmed up now because you'll be using it again.

Why is fourteen years a significant number?

Can't say right now.

It moved a little too fast for my taste, but I find this fascinated. I wonder what body J has been taken from...



I wonder what Project J is? This is very suspenseful, and I'm interested to know what the new body is.

Project J's origin is something I'm probably not going to be able to explain for a very long time, but I will say that with enough work it can be pieced together.

The new body isn't anything particularly notable, it's just a copy of the old one.

I love that you chose this location as it is one of my favorites, and it was humorous the way this security officer was described. I'm smelling someone getting through security?



Called it! That poor sap is out of a job.

I have a soft spot for the Pewter Museum as well, so it was fun getting it in right away. Of course, that's probably not the only time it'll come up either.

And yeah, I couldn't resist playing for a little humor with the security guard. He gave me too much of an opportunity.

Clearly, this guy knows what he's doing and isn't screwing around.

That's an understatement.

Didn't Dr. Zager have those three Pokemon at one point? It would be interesting to see if they make a comeback or reunion with him.

He did, but in all honesty, I'm thinking about going back and removing that part. It was meant to be foreshadowing for a future arc involving Meloetta and those three Pokemon, but then the Operation Tempest arc happened in the anime, which meant every idea I had ended up getting used. I still haven't figured out if I can salvage something from it to use.

That was also unexpected, but in a good way. Zoroark being a ruler? I wonder in what way...

In a way that it would be better if it didn't come back.

Yay! I love the trio. I'm glad they are included.

I hope you don't mind the interpretation of them I use. They're not strictly comic relief here; I took some of their serious nature from the Best Wishes series and merged it with their characterization from the Kanto arc.

Ugh, I wouldn't want to be the kiss of death. But who is the stupid reporter that keeps assuming the gender? There is no DNA evidence. Incompetent fools, or are they?

...I actually never even realized that. That's a legitimate hole, and I'm going to have to figure out a way to cover it. I do have an idea I was developing for the future when the killer's identity and motive are revealed, but even using that doesn't logically go back and retroactively fill in the problem here.

Wow, this one's really got me. Thanks for pointing it out.

Nekou's a little kinky, isn't she?

You have no idea.

You owe me a new keyboard; I spit my drink all over it. I'm just not used to characters like this. I think I'm going to really like Nekou.

Oh, things are just getting started with her. You might want to restrain from drinking while reading.

Interesting that Rich would allow Nekou to be around his daughter so much; I don't think she is much of a role model.

Now this is really something that's going to be explored in more detail. One of the themes in the characterization of Olivia here is that Rich tried to shelter her far too much, meaning that even though he meant well, she didn't really get much 'normal' real-life experience. Nekou's obviously not a great role model, but she has a bit more complexity to her than you might think, and in more recent chapters you'll come to see an interesting relationship develop between them.

It's a little hard to explain at this point, but I think you'll see what I mean once you read some more.

Poiston should be "position". Ah, Rich being dead explains a lot. That detail I missed. And that's good that she decides to pick Totodile, it really is underutilized.

Rich being gone, and Olivia's naivete of that fact, is a major catalyst for that development I alluded to just now. Olivia is, at this point, in a position where she is falling toward rock bottom and is desperately trying to tell herself nothing is wrong.

Totodile is also the one of the Johto starters that suits her the most.

That's interesting. It isn't every day that you see that, and I'm genuinely curious on why Juniper of all people is in Professor Elm's lab.

It does get a prompt explanation, don't worry.


Initial Verdict:

The description is absolutely perfect to me, it clearly paints a picture in my head. Best, it doesn't overwhelm me either.​


Oh, wow, thank you! I'm still not terribly confident in the description, so hearing that is a definite boost to my confidence.

The words and general narrative flows beautifully although some parts were too fast, but it wasn't anything you need to change. It is just I would have liked some scenes of interest to play out more.

Pacing is a challenge for me, so I must apologize for that. I often find myself grappling with scenes that feel too short yet would become bloated and endless if extended for longer. I'll definitely have to try even harder to improve that issue.

I do have one major criticism. One thing I noticed from the first fanfiction of the series to now is the sheer amount of characters. Honestly, there have always been so many, and it is sometimes hard for me to keep track of them all. The amount of characters sort of makes it hard to follow an otherwise well-written fanfic. I'd make the character list smaller if you can.

It's not that this isn't a valid point, I just want to offer a counterpoint to it - the way I'm reading your comment here, and I may be mistaken, is that you appear to be considering this strictly part of the same series I was writing in the past. This is actually a separate series that only follows in the footsteps of the previous one, hence why it follows a largely different cast, takes place years later and is completely different in terms of plot. Most of the previous events and characters aren't relevant anymore outside of a core few, which get brought up and revealed again in the context of the new story for newer readers.

If I'm interpreting it wrong and you're strictly referring to the content of this one chapter, while I can see a few pieces I could have moved around here and there - such as the Kiss of Death introduction - overall I feel satisfied with it. I wanted to really establish the scale of what's going on right away.

I'd also add a warning that people should be caught up with the Pokemon anime, if you haven't already; I haven't watched it in years, besides some choice episodes, and I was puzzled by some of the characters. I didn't know which characters were anime and which characters were OP. I had to search up the name to be sure.

That's a good point, I'll have to consider it.

That's really the only major criticism I have, but I enjoyed it a lot even with this issue. So far, it is my favorite fanfiction on serebiiforums.

It is like I time traveled and met the older version of you, a much more fleshed out, developed human being. Man, there is something really heartbreaking about this. I'm just really sad I didn't get the chance to see you grow, it would have been very rewarding to follow the whole series from the start, but I'll take what I can get. Add me to the PM list, please.

Oh, wow... thank you, really. I've been struggling a bit with motivation lately, but your review has really helped me feel encouraged to put in a lot of effort again. Just knowing that someone holds what I do in such high esteem really is humbling.

I usually contact my readers via VM instead of PM, if that's okay.
 
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The Great Butler

Hush, keep it down
There’s a lot to get to here. The main warning this time is for panic attacks, self-harm and suicide threats.

-:-

CHAPTER 11: Hard Reset

-:-

The morning after the chaos in Union Cave, the sun bathed Azalea Town in its rays, with none of the previous cloud cover impeding it.

The Pokémon Center standing at the center of the small town provided a stark contrast to its surroundings. It was a modern building among a village of wooden structures, a place far from the hand of progress that had worked so harshly on Cherrygrove City. Only the Poké Mart down the road kept it from being completely out of place.

Inside, Olivia was sitting at a table in the common area with Looker and Silver. She was sipping tea and eating a biscuit, while Looker had a cup of coffee and Silver simply sat scowling, a glass of orange juice in front of him.

“Mr. Looker,” Olivia questioned, keeping her eyes on the teacup in front of herself to avoid having to meet Looker and Silver’s gazes. “Why were you in Union Cave yesterday?”

“Being there was a strange energy pulse in that area. Identical to it was the energy pulse that struck Route 29, so suspicious something there is, I suspect.”

Olivia looked up slightly, though not far enough to meet either pair of eyes opposite her. “So Matt was right…”

“Hm? What are you precisely speaking words about?”

“He came to the same conclusion,” the sullen young woman explained. “I believe it, too. The Geodude, Sandshrew, Drilbur and Onix we saw all were acting strangely, just like the Pawniard and Bisharp on Route 29.”

“Did you say Geodude, Sandshrew, Drilbur and Onix?” Silver interrupted. When Olivia nodded, he pushed for further confirmation by asking, “And no other Pokémon, you’re sure?”

“Just those four species, I’m sure.”

Silver quickly turned to Looker. “Geodude, Sandshrew, Drilbur and Onix are all at least part Ground-types. If no other Pokémon were affected, those energy pulses might only affect a single type of Pokémon at a time.”

“You are suggesting the notion which I am thinking?”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if this is one of Team Rocket’s experiments. She’s here, so there must be other Team Rocket members in Azalea Town, and I intend to take them all out.”

“Duly noted,” Looker said, crossing his arms. “Olivia, what I am wondering to be asking you questions about is what I saw with my eyes when I first was encountering your friends yesterday. What are you possessing the ability to be telling me about that?”

“I don’t want to talk about it…” Olivia answered, looking back down.

“Please, I must be insisting on it. My investigation into these blasts of strange energy and what the kind of effect they are acting to have on the Pokémon of the local area would gain great aid from learning more true facts about what happened. Why and how can there be happening to be a person who acts sometimes with the natural savagery of a Pokémon that is wild?”

“You should just arrest that woman,” Silver mumbled under his breath.

“Be letting Olivia answer the question that is mine.”

“I don’t know anything, even if I wanted to know!” Olivia finally cracked under the pressure of Looker’s questions, slamming her fists on her lap. “Actually I’m not sure I want to know. I want to forget yesterday ever happened.”

Looker clasped his hands together and leaned forward, resting his head on them. “Would speaking of the things that make you feel good be a help?”

“I think so.” Olivia took a deep breath, calming both her muscles and her speech. “Some good things happened yesterday. I got to train a lot with the Oshawott I got from Professor Juniper. Nekou was there for me, too. She wouldn’t stop encouraging me to do better. And Matt… well, he was there, I guess. I’m going to prove to him that I can be treated like an adult, like how he acts toward my dad.”

“At least your father was a good man, unlike mine,” Silver spitefully interjected.

“Be silent with your tongue, Silver, or I will be sending you away from here until interrogation has reached the point called its conclusion.” Softening, Looker continued by asking, “Olivia, please be trying to tell me about what took place in events at a point in time most immediately before Nekou’s descent into a state of being feral.”

“Remember those Drilbur I mentioned? We had just finished fighting them. Nekou helped me fight off four of them, while Matt was battling the fifth. We finished battling them when suddenly this Onix that was affected by the Meteonite broke in and smashed Nekou against the wall. She started acting strange after that.”

“So it is acceptable to be concluding that the energy pulse itself was not acting as the cause for her violent actions. That is good, because it would happen to be bad if humans were also in a position to be affected by those blasts.” Skipping a beat, Looker suddenly realized what Olivia had said and gasped. “Did you… did you speak from your lips the word Meteonite?”

“Yeah, what about it?”

“I will have to be making sure to tell myself to note that for future investigations.” What Looker didn’t tell her was just how major it was to know that the Meteonite was involved for him.

He wouldn’t get a chance to, either, as Matt and Nekou came up to the table. Almost immediately, Olivia shrank back into her seat, her body shaking.

Mindful to take great care in choosing his words, Matt gently asked, “Olivia, what’s wrong?”

“You know what’s wrong,” she mumbled in response, keeping her eyes locked in the opposite direction of the two people who distressed her.

Nekou turned to Matt, the two of them having anticipated Olivia’s mood.

~:~

The previous night, after telling Nekou what had happened in Union Cave and doing his best to soothe her fears about it, Matt had gone back to his own room. In the light of a floor lamp next to the room’s desk, he was sitting at a painting easel, putting colors randomly on the canvas to create an incoherent display.

He was so startled by his door opening that he nearly dropped the palette in his left hand. Spinning around, he saw Nekou staggering in with a pillow in one hand and a beer can in the other.

“What are you doing in here?” he sharply questioned, though he quickly realized this was inappropriate and softened his tone. “Do you want to talk some more?”

Nekou did not answer until after she threw herself down on the bed. “I don’t want to be alone. I get nightmares.” When Matt put the palette down and stood from the easel, Nekou shouted at him, “I’m not lying!”

“No, I believe you…” Sitting down on the bed but facing away from her, Matt continued, “You must have some pretty bad nightmares, judging from how much you drink at night to escape them.”

“How did you know that?”

“I’ve had to do it sometimes myself. My nightmares are memories of the things I’ve seen, but I think there are some things I dream of that are memories of events I otherwise can’t remember anymore… if I might ask, what about yours?”

Nekou put her beer can on the nightstand next to the bed, then rolled over onto her back. “They never make sense. I see and hear images and sounds that… they just don’t make any sense. It’s like a ****ing acid trip. Other times I dream of science, history, you know, textbook ****. That just goes on and on until my head explodes from it all. The one thing that’s always consistent is that I hear this woman screaming… and it just never ends.”

“Do you think that they’re memories of something?”

“I don’t know, and that’s what makes them terrifying.” Nekou pushed her bangs from her forehead, then closed her eyes. “Olivia’s going to be left with the same thing now. How the **** can she understand what happened if I don’t even understand it?”

“I’m going to be blunt here,” Matt said, staring at the wall. “Preventing her from being haunted by what happened in Union Cave is up to you. She won’t want to hear it from me, and hearing it from you would give it some weight.”

“You know, you’re right.”

~:~

Matt nodded to her, and Nekou turned to Olivia, fixing a determined, eye-level gaze on the young woman.

“Olivia, you don’t have to be afraid of me because of what happened yesterday, I promise. I’m never going to do anything to hurt you.”

“That wasn’t you,” Olivia whimpered, still pulled back into her seat.

“Maybe you’re right. But this definitely is.”

Nekou sat down next to Olivia and embraced her, catching her off guard. She flinched violently at first, but as it sank in that Nekou was sincere about not hurting her, she calmed.

“I promise I’ll learn to control that side of me. I don’t want to scare you or make you feel threatened.”

“Please do,” Olivia responded, finally putting her arms around her friend.

Matt had stood by silently during the entire exchange, not wanting to interrupt the sincere reconciliation between the two. Once he sensed it was finished, though, he changed the subject with a question.

“Looker, why are you even here? Last I had heard of you, you were off in Kanto investigating the Kiss of Death case.”

Looker sighed and crossed his arms. “Taken off the case, I happened to be. It has not seen wide reporting, but there occurred to be two more murders.”

“Why would they take you off the case just because the killer struck again?” Matt wondered, not noticing Nekou briefly shoot a glare at him.

“You see, the two victims, they were having something in common that they shared. They were both employees working in the employ of the Angel Corporation. Suspicious I became when I noted this about both men, because Melvin Clemens, the murder before them, he was involved as an employee of the Angel Corporation as well. But that wasn’t all. I made my decision to go back and look once more at the Clemens case once I came upon having this realization and I struck a discovery – he was employed at one of the highest salaried positions within the corporation’s umbrella, but in complete spite of the paycheck he received, Melvin Clemens was living his life in the state of bare bones poverty. Suddenly, and lacking in any sort of warning to me, I was removed from the investigation, halting my efforts to put my eyes on his financial records.”

“Financial records? I thought this was a murder case alone.”

“Three of the men whose lives met their end are connected through sharing the same place of employment, and one of them lived in a lifestyle that completely has contradictions against the kind of money he should have owned in his possession. I have a suspicion that the victims have a deeper link than just how their deaths came to pass in history.”

Matt held his chin and pondered Looker’s information, which he had to admit sounded fairly suspicious. He intended to question the detective further about the case, but he never got to put words to any of his thoughts before Olivia interrupted.

“What’s going on over there?”

She pointed across the Pokémon Center lobby to the fairly large group of people clustered around the television mounted on the wall. A newscast was playing on it, but from the distance they were away from it, none of the group could hear what was being said.

“Let’s go check that out,” Nekou immediately said.

After Nekou slid out from the table, Olivia followed, and both Looker and Silver got up after them. Matt brought up the rear, but maintained a close distance to them. Once they were all around the television, they barely had a moment to hear what was going on before the newscaster disappeared and was replaced by Ghetsis.

“Another Polaris broadcast…” A violent scowl appeared on Nekou’s face, one that she only faintly tried to pull back. “They’re stepping up their game. We’re running out of time…”

“Greetings, people of the Tohjo Continent,” Ghetsis spoke, his voice ringing throughout the lobby. He held a clear confidence for the speech, with a sincere smile and an intense gaze. “I come before you today with a simple message. A plea, if you will. Every day, more people, many of them your own sons and daughters, fall by the wayside in the manipulative, elitist system known as the Pokémon League. Because of the heavy hand of oppression looming over this nation, generations of ordinary citizens have been fooled into believing in a lie crafted by the rich and powerful , the notion of anyone from any background being able to attain the goal called ‘Pokémon Master.’ How can the poor and those of modest means raise themselves up when the very mechanics supposedly meant to help them actually only advance the already wealthy and elite with handouts and breaks that put them on a higher level practically from birth?!” Ghetsis’s eye was narrowing, becoming more and more intense with every sentence of his speech, and just off camera, he tightly clenched his fist. “So I ask you, citizens of Johto and Kanto… no, it is not only I, all of Polaris asks you… step up, add your names to the ranks of those brave individuals who will fight in the name of justice. Soon, your chance will come to join our crusade. You must ask yourselves, in a world where seventy percent of new trainers never reach the Pokémon League, and ninety percent of those don’t collect more than seven Badges, is that fair? No, it is not! You must rise and speak to the powers that would keep you down with this lie, telling them that you will stand for the injustice no longer! We, Polaris, are your voice, and with every one of you who joins the battle for equal opportunity, that voice grows stronger. Goldenrod City will be the place. My minister of public relations will meet with you, the people, in a few days there to plot the course forward. Please keep your eyes on our public schedules for more details. Polaris will bring freedom and justice to the people when we usher in a new era of mankind, and it will be soon! Do not let yourselves be on the wrong side of history! Thank you for your time today, and we will be seeing you again very, very soon.”

When Ghetsis disappeared from the screen, the crowd surrounding it instantly descended into a flurry of discussion.

“What do you think they mean? A new era of mankind?”

“You know, he’s right, though. I just saw a report on TV the other night that backs him up…”

“I just heard that… what was it, like seventy percent of new trainers never even make it to the Pokémon League, and ninety percent of them don’t collect more than seven Badges? Is that what he said?”

“There have been more and more trainers washing up at Pokémon Centers in cities all over the place unable to continue going. Between the cost of healing their Pokémon, rooms and supplies, it’s no wonder so many don’t make it…”

Matt didn’t realize right away that Nekou had pulled Olivia away from the storm of speculation, with everyone else but himself following in kind.

“Is it really true, though?” he could hear Olivia asking Nekou as he rejoined them.

“There are a lot of trainers who don’t make the big time,” Nekou explained, “but you don’t need to worry about that because you’re not going to be a statistic.”

Turning from their exchange, Matt noticed Looker standing with Silver, grimacing while crossing his arms.

“What’s going on?” he questioned, walking up to the pair.

“Goldenrod City is apparently going to take on the intensity of a field of battle in the forthcoming future… and the mission I am currently in possession of is taking place there. Escorting them out will be made harder and more difficult if Polaris causes a disturbance event in the population of the locality.”

“Escort them? Who?”

“Two prisoners jailed by the International Police whose cycles reached their opportunity for parole and return to life being ordinary. They both received negative judgments of their readiness and must be escorted back to the adjacent nation of Kanto for return to prison. One is the former tycoon of business Grings Kodai, and the other… the other’s your friend from the past, Jacob Alexison.”

Matt nearly blacked out the moment Looker said the name Jacob Alexison, as a flood of memories came rushing back to him – none of them positive. He held his chest as if in pain.

“Where he shot me still hurts every time I think about him…” he growled, “…but I’m going to need to ask you a favor. Let me talk to him before you ship him off.”

“Yeah, I want to talk to Jacob Alexison too,” Nekou butted in, having wandered over with Olivia.

A silence met them as Looker stared back, considering their requests. “Fine, I shall consent to giving my consent for such a plan,” he finally responded, “but you will be needing to make haste to Goldenrod City. I will not find myself waiting for you.”

“That works out,” Olivia said. “All we need to do here is visit Azalea Gym…”

“Is that how you will continue to grow closer together?”

Surprised by the voice behind them, Matt, Olivia and Nekou all turned around sharply, only to discover Nikolai standing behind them with his hands in the pockets of his coat. He looked as listless as ever, and his sudden appearance provoked both Nekou and Looker to grimace.

“Who is this guy?”

Ignoring Silver’s rudely-put question, Nikolai walked right up to Olivia and lowered himself to see eye-to-eye with her. “I can feel it, even through the Poké Ball… your Oshawott is bursting with an incredible amount of energy,” he quietly but firmly said. “It’s got far more energy than before. You did the right thing and trusted it to indulge in its natural instincts.”

“Th-thank you, I guess?” Olivia shifted her weight from one leg to the other and looked away from Nikolai’s intense gaze.

“Wait, what even happened to you?” Matt questioned in confusion. “You were sick from the poison that ninja hit you with, and we took you to Violet City’s Pokémon Center for help, but then you disappeared.”

“I recovered and departed…” As he spoke, Nikolai rose back to his full height and faced Matt. “Your Eelektrik… it is happier than it was before, too. You took my advice and used it…”

“You’re right, I did. Your advice when we met before was sound.”

“Is he talking to Pokémon that are still in their Poké Balls?!”

“He is accomplishing just that,” Looker replied to Silver, though with his eyes closed. “That is a power that he is in possession of.” Turning away, the detective thought to himself, “This boy is here… and so is Ghetsis. There is a connection between Team Plasma and Polaris, but I lack enough evidence to prove any wrongdoing…”

“Olivia, are you ready to go to the Gym?” Nekou put in, redirecting the conversation back to its initial topic.

“Yeah, I think I am. And from there… Goldenrod City, where we all want to go.”

-:-

Colress’s gloved fingers flew busily over the electronic keyboard of his computer console, manipulating the data he was working with. On the main display screen, a double helix with some segments missing and relevant information regarding the strain of Pokérus he was engineering was shown.

“Now, time for another stability hypothesis experiment.” A window containing an image of the Meteonite and its associated data appeared alongside the main window, prompting Colress to smile and say, “Very well. Apply the calculated dose of radiation.”

Once Colress gave this order to the system and pressed the key to confirm it, three red arrows appeared between the two windows, indicating the flow of data from the Meteonite to the DNA structuring program. Within seconds, the helix began to glow, and the missing segments filled themselves in.

Colress’s eyes went wide. Barely able to contain his excitement, he gestured widely with his arms and shouted, “This is it! I knew I could do what nobody else could! The mystery behind the true strength of Pokémon… and I, Doctor Colress Antimony, am the one to bring it to light! My genius made it possible!”

All the windows shrank away, and Colress pulled a rectangular data drive from the console before turning and running out of his lab.

-:-

The three members of the Shadow Triad stood before Ghetsis, each of them holding one of his prisoners.

“We have to go out to Ecruteak City to prepare for our mission,” explained the tyrant, firmly gripping the handle of his cane. “Bring Concordia, Anthea and Professor Elm to the transport and guard them with your lives. If anything happens to any of them, your lives literally will be the price. Do not fail me.”

“Yes, Lord Ghetsis!” all three of the Shadow Triad replied.

Ghetsis watched as the trio of ninjas dragged their captives off. Concordia and Anthea didn’t resist at all, instead merely hanging like ragdolls in the grip of Darkness and Pestilence. Professor Elm, however, tried in vain to fight his way loose, only for Chaos to sharply knee him in the back. Once Elm was doubled over in pain from the blow, Chaos followed his brothers.

Satisfied that his followers had the situation under control, Ghetsis lifted his cane near his mouth and twisted the knob atop it to activate its communicator. “Zinzolin.”

“Lord Ghetsis!” the old man responded from the other end, his voice giving away the surprise he felt. “I was not expecting to be contacted so soon.”

“You’ve been. My plans are moving ahead to the next stage, and I am about to leave Polaris’s temple for Ecruteak City to begin putting the final touches in place. How prepared are you for the Goldenrod phase?”

“You’ll be quite pleased to hear that we are fully prepared. All of our resources are in place. All that we need is for Getriebe and Jeunes to get the go-ahead from Finansielle to set the Meteonite extraction plan into motion. Once that starts, it cannot be stopped. As for my role, I am more than ready to take our message to the people in the most powerful way yet.”

“You’re right, I am pleased. I’m taking the Shadow Triad along with me to Ecruteak City, so don’t let anyone foul up your work like you did in Violet City. Getriebe and Jeunes are relying on you…” Ghetsis stopped speaking briefly and smirked. “…and I’m relying on you even more. It’s absolutely vital that the people are hungry for what I will give them in Ecruteak City.”

-:-

To the west of Azalea Town lay Ilex Forest, an wooded expanse grown so thick with tall trees that within its boundaries, little sunlight reached the ground. Many local residents considered the forest’s environment that of a permanent night, and as Séduire lurked in the darkness, sitting in the branches of one of the trees, she found herself in full agreement.

The amount of sunlight in the forest wasn’t of much concern overall to her, though. On her lap she had a small hand cannon. It was generating a holographic computer display for her, which she was casually flicking through with her fingers while talking to herself in an almost sing-song manner.

“Oh, it’s just going to be so much fun when you get here, Matt. I’m going to have so much fun… breaking you by making you see that ***** and the girl go down… then I’ll take you back home with me and you’ll never leave me alone ever again…”

The windows were displaying the different species of Pokémon currently in the area along with numerical readouts and energy charts associated with each one. One of the species Séduire scrolled past caught her by surprise, prompting her to go back.

“Well then, look at you! I didn’t expect to see you around here… looks like I’m not the only one Matt will be having a reunion with, and for you to meet him, I don’t even have to work for it! You ought to cut him down to give me what I want without any prompting…”

-:-

Azalea Gym, located on the western side of the town, was a battling facility within a large greenhouse dome. As Matt, Olivia and Nekou entered, with Nikolai, Looker and Silver in tow, they found the interior to be a lush indoor forest, with many of the trees linked by threads of silk.

“This place didn’t earn its reputation as a Bug-type Gym for nothing,” Nekou remarked.

At the center of the structure, nestled snugly in the embrace of the surrounding foliage, was the battlefield. It was simply a field drawn in white paint on the grass, but it was still more than enough.

Sitting in the stands just to the side of the battlefield was a teenage boy dressed in khaki-colored safari gear. He was reading a thick book and didn’t notice the Gym’s visitors as they arrived.

Matt started to raise his arm to wave to the boy, but Nekou grabbed it and pulled it back down; he quickly understood why she did this, and said to Olivia, “Go ahead, it’s your turn.”

Without responding to him, Olivia took Matt’s suggestion. She shakily stepped forward and called out, “I’m here for a Gym battle!”

The boy almost fell off the stands because of how surprised he was, but he quickly composed himself, put down his book and jumped down onto the grass.

“Hello!” he cheerfully greeted the guests. “Please forgive that, I got so wrapped up in my reading…”

“Books are great, aren’t they?” Nekou blurted out.

“Yes, they are! I’m glad you recognize that!” Putting his hands on his hips, the boy became more serious and shifted his attention to Olivia. “But I doubt you came here just to talk about books with me. You said you wanted a Gym battle, Miss…”

“Olivia.”

“Olivia, is that right? Pleased to meet you.” Extending his hand, the boy said, “My name is Bugsy. I’m called the Walking Bug Pokémon Encyclopedia, and I’m the Gym Leader here.”

Olivia hesitated for a moment, but then shook Bugsy’s hand. Matt, Nekou, Nikolai, Looker and Silver all made their way to the stands, while Olivia and Bugsy went to their opposing sides on the battlefield.

“Olivia, how many Badges and Pokémon do you have?”

“No Badges…” Olivia answered, her voice suddenly becoming weak. “…but I do have four Pokémon.”

“So then, as by the Pokémon League regulations, this will be a three-on-three Single Battle. I won’t be able to make substitutions, and if you beat all three of my Pokémon, you win. Of course, if I beat all three of yours, I win.”

“Wait, no referee?” Olivia asked, having become confused immediately upon noticing the absence of one.

“We’re really easygoing here in Azalea Town… if you noticed, we haven’t been touched much by the flow of time, while all the other cities have been to some extent. I’m the only one at this Gym, so it’s really my passion project. I want to create a shrine to Bug Pokémon with my own hands… and that’s why, in this Gym, everything that happens will depend upon your knowledge of Bug Pokémon.”

“What does that mean?”

“Every Pokémon I choose will be determined by your answers to questions about Bug-type Pokémon and moves,” Bugsy explained as he took out and opened a green Pokédex. “As the Walking Bug Pokémon Encyclopedia, it’s my job to ensure you leave this Gym knowing more about them than when you entered.”

“Well, that’s unusual,” Nikolai muttered.

“Every Gym is different,” Silver said. “I had to do this when I won the Hive Badge, too.”

“Now please,” Bugsy invited, “send out your first Pokémon, and we shall begin.”

“O-okay. Lillipup, let’s play!”

While Olivia’s Lillipup took shape on the battlefield, Matt watched Olivia’s movements and listened to her voice. “She’s nervous, I can tell. I hope she can handle this…”

“A Lillipup? I’m pleased to be getting the chance to battle a Pokémon from Unova. Now then, my first Pokémon will either be Kakuna or Pineco, depending on whether or not you answer this question correctly: of all Bug-type moves that directly inflict damage on an opponent, which of them delivers the weakest blow? Pin Missile, Leech Life or Twineedle?”

“Pin Missile,” Nekou mouthed, playing along for herself.

“I’ll guess Leech Life.”

“Sorry, it was Pin Missile.”

Olivia’s face sank as soon as Bugsy revealed that she’d answered incorrectly. “Damn it…” she whispered, her arm trembling slightly.

“Now that the question is out of the way, because you answered wrong, this is who you face!”

Bugsy threw one of his Poké Balls, and his Pineco materialized from it. The Pineco peeked out at Lillipup from the inside of his shell, wobbling warily in anticipation of what attack would come.

“Let’s get this battle started!” Bugsy announced.

Almost immediately, Olivia thrust her arm forward and shouted. “Lillipup, let’s put all that training we did to good use! Crunch!”

Lillipup bared his fangs and started running toward Pineco, leaving only a short bark as warning.

Seemingly not worried about Lillipup’s attack, Bugsy said simply, “Pineco, hold fast.”

Following his trainer’s direction, Pineco stopped wobbling and stiffened up his body. As a result, when Lillipup bit down on him, he flinched only slightly. Crunch was largely ineffective on him.

“What?” Olivia gasped. “Why didn’t that work?”

“I guessed that your Lillipup likely only just learned Crunch from when you said you had done training, and then calculated that Pineco would be able to weather it. Seems I was right… now, Pineco, Rapid Spin!”

Olivia and all of the spectators could only watch as Bugsy’s Pineco threw Lillipup across the battlefield by spinning around violently. Lillipup stumbled to his feet fairly quickly, but Olivia was visibly shaken.

“Hang in there, Lillipup…” she said, her voice shaking. “You know, let’s try the other new move you learned. Work Up!”

Regaining his footing, Lillipup barked twice while surrounded by a faint red glow. After the light faded, he glared at Pineco and growled.

“Smart move,” Nekou observed. “One hit wouldn’t get through Pineco’s defenses, so what do you do? Get stronger.”

Matt nodded his head in agreement, but remained silent, owing to his concern over Olivia’s actions.

The meaning of Olivia’s use of Work Up wasn’t lost on the young Gym Leader, either. “Pineco, be cautious. Don’t let Lillipup get too close to you, otherwise you’ll get hit hard!”

“So you know what that does…” Olivia said, clenching her fist. “Might as well show you what it looks like. Lillipup, Tackle!”

“Keep Lillipup back with Venoshock!”

Showing very little of the fear that often cropped up when he faced a challenging enemy, Lillipup rushed straight at Pineco. The Bug-type Pokémon was ready, however, and used his power to pools of sludge around himself. Narrow, jagged bolts rose from each pool, then descended to strike Lillipup back.

“Difficult this will be if Pineco ensures Lillipup stays at the length of an arm,” Looker commented.

“She’ll work it out,” Nekou countered, “you can bet on that.”

Olivia was finding it a struggle to even figure out a way to try to overcome Pineco’s defenses. Work Up would have solved the problem of the Bug-type’s durable body, but if Lillipup could never reach him, that would be useless. Focusing on this problem left Olivia trembling and silent.

After shaking the slime from Venoshock out of his fur, Lillipup realized he hadn’t heard any further commands and turned back to Olivia. Seeing the state she was in prompted him to bark at her.

“Lillipup… what?” she asked, snapping partially back into reality.

Lillipup barked again, then darted at Pineco once more, this time trying to run faster than he had earlier. Olivia picked up on what he was trying to indicate, going wide-eyed as soon as she realized it, but it was too late to avoid falling into Bugsy’s trap a second time.

“Venoshock, again!” he called out.

Lillipup was repelled from Pineco’s space by the toxic waves once more, but as soon as he regained his footing, he looked hopefully to his trainer.

“You almost outran it that time… if this is what it takes, let’s do it. Take Down!”

Lillipup smiled; his goal had been to convince Olivia that he could outrun the interference of Venoshock, and she picked up on it. This time, he didn’t just start running at Pineco, he first tensed his leg muscles, crouched and built as much strength as he could, allowing him to shoot forward like a bullet.

“Venoshock, once more!” Bugsy ordered.

The young Gym Leader was in for a rude surprise, however. Pineco called upon the poisonous attack a third time, but the bolts converged too slowly, and Lillipup ran right past them. Pineco was caught completely off guard and defenseless, and when Lillipup collided with him, he was sent flying straight into one of the trees surrounding the battlefield.

Lillipup didn’t escape harm, though, as the sheer force of his impact on Pineco sapped a good deal of his remaining strength, leaving him panting.

“Well played!” Bugsy said. “You got through my outer wall of defenses… so this is now a close-quarters battle! Pineco, Bug Bite!”

“Lillipup… try throwing it with Crunch!”

Recovering, Pineco rolled down and sprang off the tree, aiming to trap Lillipup with the mouth hidden under its shell. Lillipup was ready, however, and dodged the attack by rolling on his stomach along the ground. Once Pineco crashed onto the floor, Lillipup turned and lunged, grabbing the Bug-type in his mouth. He then spun around and flung Pineco back into the tree, but this time, Pineco fell off into the dirt and didn’t get up.

Bugsy was briefly silent, having been left dumbfounded by the sudden reversal of his fortunes. It sank in quickly for him, though, and he recalled his fallen Pineco before smiling at Olivia. “That was something. I wasn’t ready for you to turn things around on me like that. Having seen what you’re capable of, I think you can stand up to my next Pokémon, which will be tougher.”

“Tougher…?” Olivia whispered, the color draining from her face.

“But first, we have to have the next question. Answer it correctly and you’ll face my Shelmet, answer incorrectly and you’ll face Illumise. Here’s the question: which of these is not one of Pinsir’s possible Abilities? Is it Hyper Cutter, Anger Point or Mold Breaker?”

“Anger Point,” Nekou whispered without hesitation.

“Let’s see…” Thinking back to her classes, Olivia recalled the effects of all three choices. “Hyper Cutter blocks any lowering of attack power… Anger Point maximizes its attack power when it’s hit critically… Mold Breaker ignores the target’s Ability… all three of them are good choices, but the one that doesn’t fit is Mold Breaker, so I’ll have to go with that.”

“Sorry, it was Anger Point!” Bugsy revealed before taking up and throwing Illumise’s Poké Ball.

“How did I mess that up?” Olivia thought to herself in panic. How did I mess that one up?”

Bugsy’s Illumise took shape on the battlefield, and the firefly Pokémon immediately locked eyes with Lillipup. Sensing the strain Lillipup had begun feeling, Illumise waved her arm, as if she was daring Lillipup to challenge her.

“Lillipup, be careful…” Olivia warned. “I… I think there’s something up his sleeve…”

Lillipup nodded, agreeing with Olivia’s assumption. Though he was worn by his clash with Pineco, Lillipup was still sharp enough to realize the obvious trap in Illumise’s dare.

“A smart prediction, Olivia. Walking into my first attack would have been a mistake. But you can’t just stand there and not move, right?”

“That’s… that’s right.” Olivia answered while fidgeting around.

“That’s because if you stand still, you’ll be caught in my other moves. Illumise, Thunderbolt!”

Quickly recalling how she defeated Pineco, Olivia reasoned that the same strategy would work against Illumise. “Use Take Down and get out of the way!”

Lillipup rushed forward just quickly enough to escape the electricity that burst from Illumise’s body. After ceasing her attack, the Bug-type Pokémon simply stood still, seemingly dumbfounded, and Lillipup forcefully crashed into her.

It wasn’t until she saw Illumise bracing against the ground and barely moving that Olivia realized she’d been led into a trap.

“Brick Break!” Bugsy called out.

“Get away!” Olivia desperately ordered.

There was no chance Lillipup could escape, however, and Olivia knew it. He was too close to Illumise to escape, having ended up falling for the trick of getting in close anyway. When Illumise punched Lillipup with a surprising amount of force for her small arms, he was thrown back and then crumpled to the ground. When combined with the injuries he’d suffered from the battle with Pineco, both from his opponent and self-inflicted through Take Down, the Brick Break was far too much for Lillipup to take.

“Looks like we’re even now, Olivia!” Bugsy said from across the battlefield. “So who will it be next?”

Olivia didn’t respond, instead falling into a hunched, limp stance as she stared at the ground, her hair obscuring her anguished eyes. Voices were tormenting her from inside her head.

“ Someone who should not exist has no right to consider themselves entitled to anything more than the air they are lucky enough to breathe!”

“Wow, you didn’t even take the good one, but then again, someone who’s childish in both body and spirit taking a childish Pokémon makes sense!”

“How can the poor and those of modest means raise themselves up when the very mechanics supposedly meant to help them actually only advance the already wealthy and elite with handouts and breaks that put them on a higher level practically from birth?!”


“No,” she mumbled, trying to fight back the memories that were forcing doubt onto her. “No, no, no, no, no…”

Up in the stands, Matt and the others could see Olivia practically convulsing, and they were growing more concerned.

“Nekou,” Matt quietly said, “are you really sure this is okay? I think she might be pushing herself too hard…”

“I… I have confidence in her,” Nekou answered, although the nervous tone of her voice betrayed her words.

“Her Pokémon want to fight for her,” Nikolai flatly muttered, “but I can feel that her internal conflict is leaving them unable to use their full potential…”

Suddenly, a wide, broken grin intruded onto Olivia’s face. “I just have to overcome your Pokémon, one by one, right?” she said as she recalled Lillipup. “It won’t be hard to do that if I go with my strongest!”

Olivia didn’t even bother to throw the Poké Ball when she decided on her next Pokémon, instead, she simply opened it in her hand. Her Minccino was that choice, and the Normal-type fretted about the dirt floor, completely failing to notice her trainer’s temperament.

“All I have to do to show them I’m not weak is beat you and get that Badge!” Olivia punctuated her strange rant with a giggle, then added, “I get that Badge and then the others and then they all stop tormenting me and then they care about me and then…” Limply raising her arm to point at Illumise, she said, “Minccino, use Tail Slap!”

“Thunderbolt!” Bugsy countered, as Minccino rapidly closed in on his Illumise.

Illumise was one step ahead of her trainer, having already begun focusing her energy before he even finished issuing the command for Thunderbolt. She discharged an intense blast into Minccino’s body, causing the Normal-type Pokémon to wail in pain.

“Minccino, don’t give in to it!” Olivia’s statement was equally an order and a desperate plea. “Get through and hit it, now!”

Regaining her footing within the electrical torrent, Minccino pushed gradually forward.

Bugsy could only step back in surprise and say to Illumise, “Keep it up! Push Minccino away!”

Despite her best efforts, Illumise was already at her limit, and she could not force any more energy into her Thunderbolt. As a result, Minccino managed to force her way all the way up into the firefly’s face and then swung her tail around. The moment that Minccino’s tail connected with Illumise’s body, the overflow of electricity caused an explosion that violently separated them, tossing Minccino toward Olivia while sending Illumise flying into a tree.

The two Pokémon stumbled up to face each other again, each nursing their own injuries – Minccino’s fur was burned all over by the electricity, while Illumise had a pair of bruises, one on her front from Tail Slap and one on her back from crashing into the tree.

Unwilling to let Bugsy even get an opening, Olivia didn’t hesitate to continue her attack. “Use Swift right now!”

Minccino snapped to her feet and swung her tail in Illumise’s direction, showering the Bug-type Pokémon with glowing stars. Illumise had no way to put up much of a defense, and was left to have her body cut repeatedly by the sharp-edged projectiles.

“I get it now, I finally get it now…” Olivia said to herself in a hissing voice. She looked to the floor as her body convulsed, then continued, “…all I need to do is rely on my strongest Pokémon and I’ll overcome anything you throw at me!”

Almost immediately, Nikolai stood up from his place in the stands, pulled his hat over his eyes and began walking off, muttering, “I can’t be here for this.”

Looker and Silver watched Nikolai leave, but Matt and Nekou paid him no mind. They were much more concerned by the mental breakdown they both saw Olivia having in the middle of her Gym battle.

“She’s going to destroy herself at this rate…” Matt whispered. “We’ve got to stop this.”

“Minccino, Tail Slap!”

“Illumise, counter that with Brick Break!”

Nekou shook her head in disagreement, though she didn’t turn away from the battle as Minccino and Illumise physically attacked each other once more. “If we interfere now, what will that teach her, besides that every time she gets challenged, we try to shield her from having to face it?”

“But… you see her down there. Do you not see how much this pressure is tearing her up?”

“If it’s too much for her, she’s going to have to tell us that herself. She won’t ever trust you if you don’t first let her trust herself.”

Matt shifted his view rapidly and repeatedly between Nekou and the events unfolding on the battlefield. He was struggling to decide what alarmed him more – Olivia thoughtlessly and mercilessly ordering Minccino to attack Illumise while she simply stood by grinning, or how much that sight horrified Nekou. She had been reduced to leaning forward where she sat, her face completely drained of color and her eyes reflecting a barely suppressed worry.
 

The Great Butler

Hush, keep it down
“It’s about time we put an end to this,” Olivia said as Minccino and Illumise separated from striking each other. What she didn’t mention, however, was why she was suddenly eager to end her frenzy of attacks – her manic rush of energy was beginning to abate, and she could feel the crushing fear coming back worse than ever. As she fought the slowly-increasing urge to flee the battle and escape its pressure, she found her sight becoming cloudy. “I’ll end this… right now… Minccino, Wake-Up Slap!”

Apparently unafraid of Olivia’s latest attack choice, Bugsy and Illumise simply stood by. Minccino lunged at her foe and delivered a fierce slap across Illumise’s face, but the Bug-type Pokémon barely flinched, much to the horror of both Olivia and Minccino.

“You’ll have to think your moves through a little more thoroughly, Olivia. Bug-types resist Fighting-type attacks! Illumise, show her an effective way to use a Fighting-type move with Brick Break!”

Stunned by how little of a reaction her move had gotten from Illumise, Minccino didn’t react fast enough to avoid the firefly’s Brick Break and ended up taking a punch right to the chin. She stumbled back several steps as a bruise took shape where she’d just been struck.

Olivia realized that she had little time left to take Illumise down, as she was failing to keep the rising panic at bay. Reaching up toward her face with both hands, and with her eyes wide in a state of near madness, she screamed out, “Get rid of that Illumise NOW! Aqua Tail!”

Bugsy didn’t give any command for a counter until Minccino was already in the air and descending toward his Pokémon, at which point he said, “Thunderbolt, Illumise!”

Just as Minccino struck Illumise, the Bug-type cloaked herself in electricity. The water surrounding Minccino’s tail conducted the electricity up into her body, but when Illumise’s body got wet from it, the energy shorted, resulting in a violent explosion.

“Did Olivia manage to beat it?” Matt wondered out loud. Like everyone else assembled in the Gym, he was fixed on the cloud of smoke left where Minccino and Illumise had met, and the stakes of the outcome were not lost on him. He was keenly aware that if Illumise emerged standing even after the exchange, Olivia would likely not be able to take any more. Glancing over to Nekou reinforced his belief, as her quiet, worried look reflected a similar pattern of thought.

Perhaps with the exception of Olivia herself, whose focus was stunted from her increasing stress, it was unanimous among those in the Gym that one of the two Pokémon would surely not emerge standing from the blast. The opinion on which one it would be was divided, so as a result, it was a surprise to the onlookers to see both Minccino and Illumise lying on the ground, still and groaning.

“Well then, a tie?” Bugsy said with a slight sense of bemusement as he recalled his fallen Pokémon. “You fought well there, Olivia. Your Minccino deserves praise.”

Bugsy’s words were barely getting through to Olivia at that point, though. She was too dizzy, too weak and too panicked to even register the compliments she’d been given. When she recalled Minccino, however, Bugsy took it as a signal that she was ready to continue, and he readied his Pokédex once again.

“This is the final question, Olivia. Answer it correctly and your opponent will be Kricketune, answer incorrectly and you’ll face my star, Scyther.”

“He can’t be serious…” Matt uttered, hoping someone around him would notice. “Does he not see how stressed she is? They should at least take a break…”

“Here is the question, listen closely: I am the tallest Bug-type Pokémon, as well as the heaviest. I’m also the heaviest Pokémon of my second type. Am I Yanmega, Scolipede or Crustle?”

Olivia barely even heard the questions and choices, and she had even less capacity to consider an answer. Swaying around and just managing to stand on her feet, she replied, “Y… Yanmega…”

Little of what came out of Bugsy’s mouth next even reached Olivia’s ears. She heard him say that her answer was incorrect, but she failed to register anything significant after that until his Scyther appeared before her eyes, which snapped her back to attention somewhat.

“…so send out your Pokémon, Olivia. This is the last match in our battle – you’ve got one left, I’ve got one left, and the outcome of this will determine if you get the Hive Badge!”

That was when it all went horribly wrong.

The one thing Olivia hadn’t fully realized until that moment was that she was up against Bugsy’s strongest Pokémon with only one of her own Pokémon still left. Further, with the way the types of the remaining Pokémon in play matched up, there was only one choice she could make. Scyther, being a Bug-and-Flying-type, would make short work of a Grass-type like Roselia, and her moves would do little against the beast. That left Olivia with one option: Oshawott, who still hadn’t regrown his shell and as a result was left with only Water Gun and Tackle for an offense.

“I can’t do it…” she quietly said in a broken voice while staring at the ground. In her mind, she was very aware of the exit door right behind her, but her shuddering, numb body wouldn’t move toward it. Her heart felt to her as if it would tear from her chest. “I can’t do it, I can’t do it, I can’t do it, I can’t do it, I can’t do it…”

“You little wimp. To think I even thought about respecting you.”

Jerking her head up, Olivia saw Avril and Renzo standing before her. They weren’t actually present, but her downward spiral left Olivia unable to realize her hallucinations, which replaced everything that truly surrounded her.

“When I watched you battle Falkner, I saw you stick it out right to the end,” the hallucinatory Avril continued, her hands on her hips. “But no… you’re so weak that you can’t even beat a bunch of Bug-types? And to think I’m the one who’s a student.”

“I just… I couldn’t win, why is that such a big deal to you?!” At this point, Olivia’s mind was just about completely broken. A sick feeling was rising in her stomach. “I just couldn’t do it!”

“If it’s not a big deal, why are you whining about it?”

“I…”

“Silence!” boomed the vision of Renzo. “You disappoint me, Olivia Lynn Mistbloom. I had hoped that you would prove to have earned at least some of your birthright… but you are a disgrace to your name. Your father never would have accepted this.”

“Shut up! Don’t talk about him! What right do you have…”

“He is right, Olivia.”

Olivia stiffened and blinked through the tears filling her eyes. In an instant, Avril and Renzo were gone, replaced by a hallucination of Olivia’s father Rich.

“Dad, what are you…”

“I raised you to be my heir, Olivia. Even after I died I made sure your education would continue by leaving you in the care of Matt Chiaki… but when your time finally came to shine, you couldn’t even get one Badge. With my job, how could I accept such a thing?” Turning away from Olivia, the false Rich reached into his coat and put a large hat on. “This is goodbye, Olivia. We will not meet again.”

As her vision of her father walked off, Olivia broke down and became hysterical. Tears poured from her eyes as she desperately pleaded, “No! Dad, don’t leave me alone! It’s not my fault! I didn’t… Matt didn’t teach me well enough, is that possible? It’s not my fault! I did everything I had to! I don’t want to be left alone…” Suddenly digging her fingernails into the skin on her face, she continued, “I’ll go with you! I’ll go where you are! It’s not my fault, so don’t abandon me!”

And then, everything went black.

-:-

In a different part of the Adenosine Base fairly far from Colress’s main lab was another research facility. Papers and equipment were neatly arranged around the laboratory’s perimeter, while several tall, hexagonal tanks filled with blue liquid stood in the center. It was a professional but cold place, the general mood only broken by a Polaris banner hung on the wall and the photographs littering the work stations.

In the back of the lab, Colress and three other scientists stood facing Finansielle, who was addressing them using a large video screen.

“Casual day today, Lady Finansielle?” Colress jokingly said, noting that his superior was wearing her helmet, but not the rest of her armor.

“I haven’t got time for lighthearted games, Colress,” Finansielle scornfully replied. “Business is very busy here. What have you called me for?”

“Ah yes, I should get to that. With my genius, I have already solved the puzzle you gave me.” Turning to the other scientists, Colress took the data drive from his pocket and presented it to one of them. “On that drive is the entire genetic sequence of the Pokérus strain I was tasked with creating, as well as instructions on how to synthesize it. From here, creating it is an easy task.”

“Well then, Colress, color me impressed!” Finansielle smiled warmly. “I see my investment in you was well worth it. Now tell me… what is the next step?”

“I have begun drawing up plans to build a device that can use the modified Pokérus to unlock the true potential in all Pokémon, as the research you gave me instructed. The data’s instructions were correct – the system will need as much Pokémon battle data as possible, plus the Meteonite.” As he spoke, Colress made his way to a large computer console near the video monitor. “In order to procure those things, I will need to leave this base for a while. The researchers here will be able to create the Pokérus strain from my genetic map, while the Guanosine Base can build the machinery. All I will need to do is write the programming for the system’s software.”

With that, Colress pressed a button on the console, causing a container on its top to open. From within he withdrew a computerized visor, which he then replaced his glasses with on his face. He then put his glasses in his coat and took out his tablet, which with a few touches illuminated the visor.

“Where do you plan to head now, Colress?” Finansielle asked.

“I will fly to the Purine Base first to help Getriebe and Jeunes secure their battle data and the Meteonite. After that, I have a plan to join Ghetsis in Ecruteak City, where I can gather more data for the system firsthand.”

“I wish you luck, then.” Slightly lowering her head, Finansielle smiled again. “A new age is about to begin, Colress, and you will be alongside us spearheading it. Polaris’s promised land is not far off.”

-:-

Gasping deeply for air, Olivia awoke just as abruptly as she’d collapsed.

Her vision took its time to refocus, but when she finally could see clearly again, the greenhouse roof of the Azalea Gym was what she saw. She suddenly became aware of the prickling of grass on her legs and realized she was still on the Gym’s battlefield. That shock sent a cold shudder coursing through her body, but her shuddering was restrained.

The last thing she came to realize was that while she was lying on the ground, Nekou had her in a tight embrace.

“Breathe.”

Olivia had no capability to reply, so she just did as she was instructed and drew deep breaths in, one after the other. She turned her sunken eyes upward and saw the simultaneous worry and relief on Nekou’s face, as well as the small teardrops glistening on her glasses.

“Is she alright?” Matt said, standing off to the side with Looker and Silver to give Olivia space.

“She’s awake, hasn’t said anything yet though… give me the water.”

Without another word, Matt tossed one of the water bottles from his bag to Nekou, and she opened it and raised it to Olivia’s mouth.

“Get something to drink, it’ll help.”

Olivia still couldn’t say anything, but the water wetting her throat was enough of a relief to restore her voice.

“W-what…” she rasped.

“Take it easy. You collapsed during the battle.”

“I’m… still here?”

“Yes. We agreed to not try to move you out of fear that it would make things worse.” Seeing Olivia beginning to recover brought a slight but warm smile to Nekou, though it faded somewhat as she recalled what she had seen Olivia doing during her breakdown. “Do you want to talk about what happened?”

Olivia hesitated with the realization that there were witnesses to her hallucinations. “No… not… not yet.”

“That’s fine. Tell me when you’re ready.” Nekou put her hand behind Olivia’s back and helped her sit up.

As Olivia sat up on the grass, Bugsy approached with his Scyther. “I’m sorry I didn’t realize you weren’t well. If I did, I would have put the battle on hold.”

“Olivia, you don’t have to continue this,” Matt gently said, lowering himself to eye level with her after joining them. “There’s no shame in knowing when to stop.”

“But at the same time,” Nekou added, “if you think you can keep going, we’ll support you. It’s entirely up to what you think you can handle.”

“I started this. I have…” A clear image of her father appeared once again in Olivia’s mind. “I have to finish it.”

“Then we’re behind you.”

In nearly perfect unison, Matt and Nekou both stood and extended a hand to the girl, and after a moment, Olivia smiled and accepted their help to stand.

“You want to continue our battle?” Bugsy questioned, intending to clearly confirm Olivia’s wishes.

“Yes.”

“I must say, I admire your courage. You must have something worth fighting for, if you’re able to keep standing. Very well, let’s take our places and resume.”

While Bugsy and his Scyther walked back to their side of the battlefield, Matt and Nekou made sure that Olivia was alright before returning to the stands with Looker and Silver.

“Very brave, she is,” Looker remarked.

“She’s tougher than she lets on sometimes…” Matt replied. “I just hope this holds. She was talking to her father and at least one other person who wasn’t there…”

Bugsy’s Scyther stood confidently in front of him, looking eagerly at Olivia in the hopes that the Pokémon he’d face would soon appear. His blades glistened in the sunlight shining through the Gym’s roof.

“I can’t take it easy on you if you really want the Hive Badge, Olivia,” Bugsy said. “Scyther is my prized Pokémon, after all, and he’s the most fitting representative of what this Gym is about.”

“I… I don’t want you to take it easy on me. I have to do this if I’m going to get stronger, because the Gym Leaders after you will just keep getting tougher…” Olivia trailed off as she briefly remembered Renzo and Avril, then added, “…and they aren’t the only ones, either. I have to do this.”

“Then let’s both give it all we’ve got.”

Olivia took out a Poké Ball and stared at it for several long seconds, thinking intensely about what she was about to do. “I know we haven’t necessarily connected all that well before... but I’m standing behind you this time, so please, do what you can to pull this off…”

Olivia’s judgment about the situation she was in hadn’t changed, even though she had had the chance to reevaluate it from a slightly calmer viewpoint. She still knew that Roselia would be helpless against the likes of a Scyther, so it was Oshawott that emerged from the Poké Ball. The moment he realized that the Scyther before him was to be his opponent, he looked back and forth to his trainer in a panic.

“Oshawott, calm down.” Olivia did the best she could to soothe Oshawott’s nerves, but hers were so taut that it proved to be a difficult task. “I believe in you, okay? So don’t be afraid.”

“Another Pokémon from Unova, huh? I’ve got a Shelmet, but I haven’t seen too many others yet. This ought to be a fun challenge for us both.”

“Where is that Oshawott’s shell?” Silver quietly asked, having taken notice of the implement’s absence from Oshawott’s stomach.

“It broke a while ago and hasn’t yet regrown,” Nekou replied. “Just hope she doesn’t need it.”

“Well then, let’s get started! Scyther, Fury Cutter!”

“Try to get out of the way and then use Tackle!”

Using his strong legs, Scyther sprang at Oshawott with his blades at the ready. Olivia’s Water-type was able to roll out of the way, however, leaving Scyther to strike at the ground instead. He then jumped up and collided with Scyther’s back, but the Gym Leader’s Pokémon only stumbled as a result.

“Oh no!” Olivia gasped when she saw how close to Scyther Oshawott landed.

“Yes, I’ve got you this time! Fury Cutter, again!”

“Use Water Gun!” This was an act of desperation on Olivia’s part. She was aware of how limited her options were with only Tackle and Water Gun to use, and she was putting all the thought she could into ways to apply them.

Luckily for her, Water Gun had an unintended effect she never would have thought of. Before Scyther could turn around to lash out again, Oshawott sprayed a jet of water in his face. Not only did this stun Scyther, but the force of the water also propelled Oshawott backward, putting distance between the two.

“Oh, that was clever, Olivia,” Bugsy complimented, believing Olivia had deliberately intended to cause what had happened. “Scyther, Vacuum Wave! Catch it!”

Before Olivia or Oshawott could react, Scyther crossed his glowing blades and then sharply separated them, sending a bright blue pulse of energy to engulf his Water-type foe. Oshawott was left to fall face-first to the ground.

“You have it now, Scyther! Fury Cutter!”

“Oshawott, be careful!” Olivia cried, seeing that Oshawott was seemingly trapped underneath the sickle that was bearing down on him. Her focus on the seemingly hopeless situation suddenly produced an answer, however, when she realized exactly how Oshawott was lying on the ground. Smiling, she quickly called out, “Oshawott, use Water Gun to power your Tackle!”

Scyther was completely caught off guard by Oshawott abruptly rocketing off the ground by using Water Gun to propel himself, and ended up taking a blow right to the chin. The Bug-and-Flying-type Pokémon stumbled back and nearly fell, while his Water-type opponent managed to flip through the air and land neatly. A slash from Scyther’s Vacuum Wave was visible on Oshawott’s torso, but the rush he was getting from fighting back gave him enough resolve to try and ignore the pain.

“So this is how an Oshawott with no shell actually stands up against a Scyther,” Silver uttered, unable to stop himself from getting drawn into the battle.

“I must compliment you, Olivia,” Bugsy said, a wide, satisfied grin coming onto his face. “I don’t see too many challengers with the kind of fire you have… funny, considering you’re using a Water-type starter Pokémon, isn’t it? But let me show you something… Bug-types are weak to fire, I’m sure you know that. But did you know that Bug-types can fight with the same fire you’re showing me now? Scyther, Razor Wind!”

Scyther straightened out his body and stood at his full height, looking down on Oshawott as he began to flap his four wings. A whirlwind took shape in front of him, rapidly growing in intensity.

Both Olivia and Oshawott realized that using Tackle would mean willingly jumping right into the vortex, so without any order being necessary, Oshawott aimed a Water Gun at Scyther. It was, however, ineffective, as the whirlwind acted as a shield that blew away all the water. Compounding Olivia’s problems, Scyther then pulled back, allowing the twister to consume Oshawott. He was pulled upward through the funnel, with the violent winds cutting at him repeatedly, until he was thrown out through the whirlwind’s top and crashed to the ground, covered in cuts. The twister then continued on until it crashed into one of the trees, dissipating as it shredded the silk connected to it, bits of which fell near Olivia’s feet.

“Vacuum Wave!”

Scyther quickly followed up his successful Razor Wind by lashing Oshawott with another energy blast.

With Oshawott left lying on the ground and panting, Olivia realized that one more severe blow would likely bring her second Gym challenge to another failure of an ending. She grasped her left arm as her body trembled; once again, the walls felt like they were closing in on her, and she felt trapped in more ways than one.

One thing she didn’t count on was the situation completely changing.

All of a sudden, a bright blue glow surrounded Oshawott’s body, and he stood back up, growling at Scyther as if he was more energized than ever.

“That’s Oshawott’s Ability, Torrent!” Nekou exclaimed. “Bugsy weakened Oshawott so much that it activated!”

“This battle just stopped being so one-sided,” Silver observed. “I’ve seen the use Torrent can provide with my Feraligatr.”

Bugsy stood just as surprised as Olivia was herself. “I… thought I had this. I guess it goes to show that I still have plenty to learn… but first, I have to put an end to this battle! Scyther, Razor Wind once more!”

While Scyther started forming the whirlwind again, Olivia understood what Bugsy’s logic was – neither Tackle nor Water Gun would get past it, so he was betting on her not having another move he hadn’t yet seen. She was, however, herself willing to gamble that Oshawott’s newfound energy would change the tide by itself.

“Water Gun!” she commanded, discreetly crossing her fingers.

The whirlwind was nearly up to full strength when Oshawott fired a blast of water at it, but in spite of that, it was easily sliced through by Oshawott’s attack, which was many times more intense than it had been before. With his vision blocked by his own preparation, Scyther could never have seen the Water Gun coming, and he took a direct, powerful blow to the head. Olivia’s eyes glowed as she excitedly watched her fortunes change.

“She can win this with power like that!” Matt said, getting uncharacteristically excited.

“I should have expected Torrent,” Bugsy remarked, “with the number of Totodile, Squirtle and their evolutions I see here. I guess I got thrown off by it being a Unova Pokémon… no matter. You put in a great effort, but I’m ending this! Scyther, use Vacuum Wave!”

“Try Water Gun again!” Olivia reflexively countered, reacting nearly instantly upon Bugsy giving his order. She recognized that if she was to have any chance of overcoming Scyther, she would have to get around this latest attack first.

In front of many pairs of anticipating eyes, Oshawott’s water blast and Scyther’s energy wave met. Torrent gave Oshawott the power he needed to equal Scyther’s offense but not to overwhelm it, so the two attacks explosively negated each other, sending a cloud washing over both Pokémon.

Moments later, a bright light burst out from where Oshawott was standing within the smoke.

“That’s…” Looker gasped. He was the only one of the spectators able to think quickly enough to speak, as the others were all enraptured by what was happening in front of them.

Olivia knew what was going on, but she was so surprised that all she could do was watch. She thought back to the events earlier in the day and remembered Nikolai telling her that Oshawott was bursting with energy, a memory that left her smiling to herself.

“All that training in Union Cave had a point to it, I guess,” she thought as she took out her own Pokédex.

The light and smoke disappeared roughly simultaneously, revealing that Oshawott was no longer anywhere to be seen. Instead, standing in his place was a taller otter Pokémon, colored mostly in shades of blue and bearing a shell on each of his thighs.

“Oshawott evolved,” Nekou smugly said. “Told you something good would happen for her.”

“Dewott, the discipline Pokémon. Type is Water. Evolved form of Oshawott. As a result of strict training, each Dewott learns different forms for using the scalchops.”

Olivia continued thumbing through the Pokédex to learn if Dewott had acquired any new moves. “Razor Shell and Aqua Jet… yes, I think I can do with those. Now that you’ve finally got your shell back, Oshaw… Dewott, let’s put it to use. Razor Shell!”

“Fury Cutter!” Bugsy ordered, snapping out of his surprise at Dewott’s evolution.

Dewott snapped one of the shells off his thigh and held it up, causing it to turn into an elongated blade, then lunged at Scyther. Scyther took a similar action, and soon, the two were locked in a vicious swordfight using their respective weapons. While Bugsy’s Pokémon was the more aggressive of the two, he was crippled by an unexpected disadvantage – Dewott’s smaller size enabled the Water-type to quickly dodge in and out of Scyther’s slashes, rendering the Bug-and-Flying-type Pokémon unable to land any of his strikes.

Even though Dewott wasn’t getting hit, though, Olivia could tell that he also wasn’t going to get in any blows of his own. Looking around at her surroundings, she suddenly noticed the bits of silk at her feet and came up with an alternative idea. “Dewott, use Aqua Jet and go into the bushes, then keep moving!”

Water surrounded Dewott as he rocketed away into the foliage surrounding the battlefield and disappeared. Scyther loudly snarled about the inconvenience, and Bugsy indulged his Pokémon’s desires with his next direction. “Go in after that Dewott, Scyther!”

Scyther cried out and then lunged into the bushes as well, vanishing just as Dewott had done.

For the next few minutes, an uncomfortable silence broken only by the sound of rustling leaves settled over the Gym as Dewott and Scyther chased each other in a circle around the edge of the battlefield. Olivia focused carefully on the sounds and where she perceived them to be coming from. Bugsy was certain she had something up her sleeve, but could only grimace in frustration as he was unable to figure out what it was.

Suddenly, Olivia screamed, “Now! Come out!”

Dewott darted out of the brush as soon as Olivia gave the command to do so, and Scyther followed moments later – only to be violently lashed to a halt in midair as his wings got caught in the sticky silk linking the trees he’d emerged between. Dewott was small enough to fit between the threads but Scyther wasn’t.

“You led me into a trap!” Bugsy uttered in disbelief.

“That’s right, I did,” Olivia answered, smirking deviously. “Now take this! Dewott, Razor Shell!”

After snickering mischievously, Dewott armed himself, once again taking one of his shells in his right hand, and jumped at the trapped Scyther, first bashing him over the head with it. Dewott then spun around and delivered a devastating hit to Scyther’s chin, one so powerful that it tore Scyther from the silk and threw him up into the air.

“Scyther!”

Bugsy’s plea was in vain. As soon as Scyther crashed to the ground, he collapsed and did not get up. The battle was over.

As the weight of the situation began to sink in, Olivia’s body became weak. “I… I did it…” she whispered as she fell to her knees. “I actually… didn’t fail…”

Before Olivia even knew what was going on, Nekou was on the field embracing her. “I’m ****ing proud of you, Olivia! I told you you could kick the *** of a Gym Leader, and you did!”

“Dewott!” her victorious Pokémon chimed in, having joined the pair.

“Oh, Dewott, I’m proud of you!” Olivia slipped from Nekou’s arms and hugged Dewott as tears began flowing down her face. “I’m sorry I was so mean to you before! I really should… I should have believed in you from the start!”

“Dew, dewott.” Seemingly disregarding the behavior Olivia felt she had to apologize for, Dewott instead reveled in the attention he was receiving.

“Olivia.”

Hearing Matt’s voice snapped Olivia to attention, and she stood and turned to face him. However, she said nothing and merely stared at him, conflicted about how to react.

And then, he smiled. It was small, but for him it reflected significant warmth. “Good work. That proved to me how misguided I was with the way I treated you. You’re someone who is grown up enough to handle the truth, so no more lies. I’m going to respect you from now on. Not only that, I promise to do whatever I can to make your life easier, so just ask me if you ever need anything. My promise is to you now, not to a foolish idea of what I think will help you.”

“Thank you,” Olivia graciously replied.

“There’s not really much I can add to all of this, is there?” Olivia, Nekou, Matt and Dewott all turned to Bugsy, who had approached to join them. Scratching the back of his head, the Gym Leader said, “I just have to compliment you, Olivia. I’ve seen challengers lose their will and leave, but you didn’t do that… you stuck it out and overcame everything thrown at you. You deserve this.”

Bugsy extended his hand to Olivia. In it was a round pin bearing a red-and-black ladybug pattern – the Hive Badge.

-:-

Hours later, after night had fallen, a clear sky full of stars hung over Goldenrod City. The metropolis stretched on for what seemed like forever, sprawled over most of Johto’s central peninsula with a densely populated, heavily developed area at its core.

The bright neon lights shining from buildings, billboards and countless other structures gave the city the golden glow it was named for, and one could be fooled by it into thinking that the city was a man-made paradise. However, the stark reality was more like the typical negative stereotype of a big city, at least in the less-developed areas. Discarded trash was scattered about many of the streets, and numerous Pokémon considered pests, including Rattata, Grimer and the occasional Trubbish and Garbodor, were lurking about. The unsettling truth hidden by the fancy cover of the city’s central area wasn’t lost on Jessie, James and Ariana as they escorted Giovanni through the streets of the southern district, all four of them concealing their identities behind black trench coats and hats.

“Look at this place,” Jessie whispered to James as they walked. She was observing the run-down conditions of many of the buildings, and her stomach turned to think of the people who had to live in them. “I lived this, and for everything I’ve done, this is what I wouldn’t want to wish on anyone. Not even that bratty twerp.”

Subtly nodding in agreement, James added, “If we did take over, we’d definitely treat the people better than this. Just because we want to be in charge, that doesn’t mean we want to cause too much harm to who we rule. We’d take over but make sure people could live better than this.”

“The city is like this because of the Angel Corporation’s developments,” Ariana bitterly remarked. The state of Viridian City was right at the front of her mind. “Ever since they started capitalizing on the Frontier Society, it’s been nothing but non-stop development everywhere.”

“Hey, wait. Shouldn’t we do something about him?”

At James’s notice, Jessie, Ariana and Giovanni stopped walking and glanced in the direction he was pointing. It turned out that he had noticed someone sitting on the sidewalk as they passed, and the young man’s physical state was a perfect example of the problems Goldenrod’s slums had. Dressed in a dirty brown coat and holding a cardboard sign, he was slouched against one of the buildings in a way that made it difficult to tell if he was awake, asleep or even alive.

James leaned down to read the sign. “Lost four times at Goldenrod Gym. No more money for healing, food or lodging.”

“James!” Jessie’s sudden call startled her partner, and he turned abruptly to look at her. “Give him this.”

Jessie reached into her pocket for a roll of money that she then tossed to James. After catching it, he reached down to the failed trainer.

“Hey, are you awake?”

“Wh…what…?” the young man weakly asked, pushing his hat up so he could see.

“Take this. Try to take better care of yourself.”

The young man hesitated out of surprise before taking the money from James. “Thank you, really! This will get me into the Pokémon Center so I can heal my Pokémon and have a place to rest tonight!”

“Think nothing of it,” Jessie said. “Just don’t spend it all in one place. Rest up and try training more before you challenge another Gym.”

“I will. Just... thank you so much!”

Jessie and James turned away as the young man stood up, but Ariana caught Giovanni furtively stopping him and slipping him some more money out of the corner of her eye. She smiled to herself before he could notice. Soon, the four were walking again.

“That was kind of weird,” James commented to Jessie. “We used to be the ones with no money. Now we’re the ones giving it out.”

“Well, that changed because we got the Boss to have faith in us, of course. After we got promoted, money wasn’t a problem anymore.”

A sudden beeping interrupted Jessie and James’s conversation, and all four of them stopped walking in front of an alley. Ariana took a small GPS device bearing Team Rocket’s insignia from her pocket and looked at it.

“This is the place,” she announced to the others.

“Yes, yes it is.” Pierce had emerged from the alley without notice to join the quartet. “It is good to see that you’ve all made it here in one piece.”

“Pierce, where is the base you were going to have prepared?” Jessie sharply questioned.

“Right this way. Professor Rosalie, Trevor, Ada and I have been awaiting your arrival.”

Pierce turned, crossed his hands behind his back, and began walking down the alley. Giovanni, Ariana, Jessie and James followed.

-:-

At around the same time, Matt, Nekou and Olivia were sitting at a table in a small, candlelit restaurant in Azalea Town.

“Thanks for doing this for me…”

“Olivia, please, don’t sound so down,” Matt said in an attempt to encourage her. “You did really well today, so we’re having a little celebration.”

“Is there anything you want to do while we wait for the food?” Nekou asked Olivia.

Olivia thought for a moment while petting Dewott, who was sitting contently next to her, then said, “I want to talk to my mom. Can you guys make that happen?”

“I don’t see why not.” After taking his tablet computer out of his bag, which was sitting on the seat next to him, Matt tapped the phone icon on its menu screen and selected ‘Anabel’ from his contact list. He then handed the computer to Olivia while the phone function dialed.

An animation of a telephone shaking over its cradle looped on the screen for some time, but when the line was finally picked up, it was replaced by a video stream of a pale woman with a somewhat sunken face and long, unkempt lavender hair.

“…Olivia?” the woman said in surprise.

“It’s good to see you, mom! Ask me how I’ve been!”

“Where are you?”

“Olivia, let me talk to her for a second.” Olivia tilted the computer toward Matt so the woman on the screen could see him. “Anabel, she’s with us, like always. Right now, we’re sitting down for dinner in Azalea Town.”

“And do you want to know why?” Olivia asked as she turned the computer back to herself. “I got my first Badge today!”

“Oh, is that so…? Well done, Olivia. I’m proud of you.”

“And I know Dad would have been, too.” Anabel visibly recoiled at Olivia mentioning her father, but Olivia wasn’t fazed. “I know about what really happened.”

“I’m sorry, Olivia. I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you…”

“I don’t blame you for it. I… I think I’m over not knowing the truth now.”

“Our food’s coming,” Nekou interjected, having spotted their waiter approaching the table.

“Olivia, keep going and be strong. Make your father proud. He’s always going to be with you.”

“I will! Bye, Mom!”

Olivia ended the call and handed the tablet back to Matt as the waiter arrived.

“Two premium steaks, one medium with grilled onions and the other rare with garlic and chili powder?”

“Rare’s mine,” Nekou said. “Nice, hot and raw, the way I like it.”

“Somehow that doesn’t surprise me,” Matt sighed as he set up his own plate.

“And one deluxe macaroni and cheese for the lady,” the waiter politely said as he handed the last plate over the Olivia. “Let me know if you need anything,” he added before leaving.

“That looks good, Olivia,” Nekou commented.

“My dad used to make something like this for me,” she answered, a strong hint of melancholy in her voice.. “He said it was something from where he grew up, Sootopolis City.”

Matt and Nekou began eating, but Olivia didn’t touch her food at all right away. Instead, she spent the next few minutes sitting silently and staring at it.

“I’ve decided,” she suddenly blurted out.

“Decided? What do you mean?” Matt questioned.

“I… I think I know what I want to do now. I mean, I don’t know why I want to do it yet… but I feel like I need to focus on Gyms and forget about Contests for now…”

“I was wondering what had happened to those, actually,” Nekou said while spinning her fork in her fingers.

“Are you absolutely sure you want to do that? When I first met you, you loved Contests.”

Olivia returned an intense gaze into Matt’s eye. “I still do. But if I’m going to find what I’m meant to do, I have to focus on one effort at a time. Otherwise my attention will be spread too thin. Before I can worry about Contests, I have to really learn more about straight battling.”

“That’s a very mature thing you’ve done, then, making such a decision by yourself. I think Nekou would agree with me on that.” Matt sighed again when he saw that Nekou was already eating and could only respond by nodding wildly. “My point is, you’re taking charge of your own future, and I couldn’t be more proud of you for that.”

“Thanks… now, I think Nekou’s right, we should eat.”

-:-

Even later on in the middle of the night, a man in a Team Rocket uniform was hiding out in a cave somewhere and speaking to Dr. Zager using a computer contained inside a heavy briefcase. He wore a black beret over his green hair, which was styled into the shape of an axe blade on its side.

“Proton, your mission is to defeat the Polaris member who has gone to Ilex Forest. We’ve received intelligence that one of their high-ranking members is there from our man on the inside of their Goldenrod operation. That might not be what you really have to worry about, though…

Proton raised an eyebrow at Zager’s advice. “Explain to me just what’s going on.”

“There was a burst of energy matching the Meteonite in the general area of Union Cave recently,” Zager elaborated. “I suspect Polaris is to blame for it, and if I’m correct, there may be more inciden…” The sudden sound of an alarm interrupted him, and he looked to his computers, only to quickly become visibly panicked. “Speak of the devil… they’re doing something right now!”

“What now?” Proton demanded, his voice containing a slight growl.

“Look at this.” Zager swiftly entered a command into his system, which caused a window containing a digital reading of the area between Azalea Town and Goldenrod City to appear on Proton’s screen. Part of the space depicted on the reading was marked with a bright red circle. “That’s another Meteonite burst. One just hit in Ilex Forest...”

Before Proton could respond, the alarm sounded again, and a yellow dot appeared on the readout. Zager simply regarded this one with surprise, and he entered several commands into his computer to make sure he wasn’t seeing it incorrectly.

“A temporal distortion... the Meteonite burst must have disrupted temporal energy flowing through Ilex Forest. This could be a precursor to the opening of a Time Gate…”

-:-

In the Pokémon Center, Olivia awoke with a start, clutching her stomach. Unable to move her legs much, she simply rolled out of her bed and crashed to the floor, waking Matt up. She barely missed falling on Dewott, who was sleeping next to her bed and also awoke with a start.

“Olivia?!” he gasped, desperately trying to put on his glasses without catching them in his eyepatch. “What’s wrong?”

“It… it hurts…”

The noise stirred Nekou, and she dropped the beer bottle she had been clutching while sprawled on her bed. “What’s going on…?”

“I’m… I’m…”

Unable to speak further, Olivia suddenly vomited onto the floor and rolled over on her side. Nekou was up and at Olivia’s side in an instant, throwing two more beer cans aside from under the sheets as she sprang up. Dewott, meanwhile, cried out, unable to do anything to help.

“Go get the nurse,” Nekou directed Matt while holding Olivia in her arms. “This is a Pokémon Center, but they should be able to help her.”






END of CHAPTER 11
 

Bay

YEAHHHHHHH
He came to the same conclusion,” the sullen young woman explained.

Matt nodded to her, and Nekou turned to Olivia, fixing a determined, eye-level gaze on the young woman.
I have a pet peeve over epithets like “young woman”, “taller man”, etc because you often don’t think someone close or yourself as “woman” or “man”. I know sometimes I use title epithets like “detective”, “professor”, etc., but I think those are okay as it’s a bit more respectful and the career title gives the readers an idea of a person’s traits.

“Looker, why are you even here? Last I had heard of you, you were off in Kanto investigating the Kiss of Death case.”

Looker sighed and crossed his arms. “Taken off the case, I happened to be. It has not seen wide reporting, but there occurred to be two more murders.”

“Why would they take you off the case just because the killer struck again?” Matt wondered, not noticing Nekou briefly shoot a glare at him.

I was actually wondering when the Kiss of Death case will be brought up again and glad to hear it’s being mentioned.

“Two prisoners jailed by the International Police whose cycles reached their opportunity for parole and return to life being ordinary. They both received negative judgments of their readiness and must be escorted back to the adjacent nation of Kanto for return to prison. One is the former tycoon of business Grings Kodai, and the other… the other’s your friend from the past, Jacob Alexison.”

Matt nearly blacked out the moment Looker said the name Jacob Alexison, as a flood of memories came rushing back to him – none of them positive. He held his chest as if in pain.

“Where he shot me still hurts every time I think about him…” he growled, “…but I’m going to need to ask you a favor. Let me talk to him before you ship him off.”

Oh boy. D: You mentioned vaguely time to time the meeting would happen, and yeah already looking forward to it, even though I know it’ll be quite an awkward situation.

“Is that how you will continue to grow closer together?”

Surprised by the voice behind them, Matt, Olivia and Nekou all turned around sharply, only to discover Nikolai standing behind them with his hands in the pockets of his coat. He looked as listless as ever, and his sudden appearance provoked both Nekou and Looker to grimace.

Oh, hi Nikolai. Yeah, he always seem to depart heh.

“You’ve been. My plans are moving ahead to the next stage, and I am about to leave Polaris’s temple for Ecruteak City to begin putting the final touches in place. How prepared are you for the Goldenrod phase?”
Ghetsis going to Eruteak City. That doesn’t sound too good. o_O

“Every Pokémon I choose will be determined by your answers to questions about Bug-type Pokémon and moves,” Bugsy explained as he took out and opened a green Pokédex. “As the Walking Bug Pokémon Encyclopedia, it’s my job to ensure you leave this Gym knowing more about them than when you entered.”

“Well, that’s unusual,” Nikolai muttered.

I like that extra detail you put in for Bugsy. It’s amusing though Nikolai thought it’s weird, lol.

Olivia’s mental breakdown during the breakdown…oh ouch. o_O; Like Matt I too wondered why Bugsy didn’t notice that, though it can be easily explained he was focusing too much being the gym leader there.

Dewott snapped one of the shells off his thigh and held it up, causing it to turn into an elongated blade, then lunged at Scyther. Scyther took a similar action, and soon, the two were locked in a vicious swordfight using their respective weapons. While Bugsy’s Pokémon was the more aggressive of the two, he was crippled by an unexpected disadvantage – Dewott’s smaller size enabled the Water-type to quickly dodge in and out of Scyther’s slashes, rendering the Bug-and-Flying-type Pokémon unable to land any of his strikes.

I like this particular detail here. Overall glad Olivia was more relaxed in the last part of the battle and she’s closer with Dewott now (yay for Oshawoot evolving!). Enjoyable overall.

James leaned down to read the sign. “Lost four times at Goldenrod Gym. No more money for healing, food or lodging.”

I know this is supposed to be serious and all (and I do really like you had Team Rocket help him out), but I can’t help but think “Whitney’s Milktank sure is a beast…”.

An animation of a telephone shaking over its cradle looped on the screen for some time, but when the line was finally picked up, it was replaced by a video stream of a pale woman with a somewhat sunken face and long, unkempt lavender hair.

“…Olivia?” the woman said in surprise.

Yeah, gonna be picky over epithets again. Because the characters already knew Anabel, it’s weird to refer her as woman like that. Just referring to her name would be better.

The last scene with Olivia not feeling well kinda caught me off guard. Something related to her mental breakdown earlier or her food, perhaps?

Overall another enjoyable chapter there. Looking forward to more!
 

Blue Saturday

Unfurl your Blessed Wings!
“There are a lot of trainers who don’t make the big time,” Nekou explained, “but you don’t need to worry about that because you’re not going to be a statistic.”
Great dialogue from Nekou.
“Two prisoners jailed by the International Police whose cycles reached their opportunity for parole and return to life being ordinary. They both received negative judgments of their readiness and must be escorted back to the adjacent nation of Kanto for return to prison. One is the former tycoon of business Grings Kodai, and the other… the other’s your friend from the past, Jacob Alexison.”
Anime Easter egg and continuity with a character from Matt's past.

Ignoring Silver’s rudely-put question, Nikolai walked right up to Olivia and lowered himself to see eye-to-eye with her. “I can feel it, even through the Poké Ball… your Oshawott is bursting with an incredible amount of energy,” he quietly but firmly said. “It’s got far more energy than before. You did the right thing and trusted it to indulge in its natural instincts.”
Just another great piece of dialogue from the enigmatic "Nikolai."

Anyway, the little interrogation scene with Looker and Silver was...interesting. Silver expressing a disdain for his father, I wonder who his father could be and seeing Silver again in-general was certainly unexpected. Looker's little thing with the Kiss of Death killer too, didn't expect to have that referenced. That being said, I also enjoyed how you played up Olivia's reluctance to answer the question and the aftermath of her encounter in Union Cave. Though if there's anything I think could have needed improving, the scene where Olivia comes to be comfy around Nekou again so easily felt more like a situation that would have more of a long-term impact for a little bit longer. Doesn't have to be in a huge way, but simply her being more hesitant of her and a bit unnerved at times and finally coming to have restored trust completely in Nekou at the end of the chapter.

Loved seeing Colress once again, he's got to be hands down my favorite scientist from the whole Pokemon series. You portrayed him well, not as a malicious jerk 24/7 but as a regular person with a bit of an ego and a scientist who seeks his own personal intellectual curiosity. Whether this aligns him with the most brutal or kind people has nothing to do with his own morals. Foreshadowing, Ghetsis, Elm, Seduire...Ilex Forest and malicious threats directed at Matt...this can't be good. The foreshadowing with the Rockets and how torn-up that Goldrenrod civilian was worked really well.

Nekou was entertaining and more "mature" this chapter, not as much of her snarky and crazy-beer chugging self and more down to Earth in this chapter. Which makes sense considering the overall tone and what just happened with her, letting Olivia take charge and caring for her so much and not intruding on her and keeping Matt at bay the whole time was for the best. I can say Nekou is easily becoming an even better and better character for me, not only because of how strong she is in-mind, physically and in maturity when the times come but because of how she had been an integral part of Olivia's influence. Olivia even was known for imitating her actions before.

Bugsy had personality and an interesting gimmick in his gym challenge, that's a first, most media I across portray Bugsy blandly and/or androgynous and not as this knowledgeable young boy he's meant to be. His actions actually made him an entertaining gym leader, a sharp contrast to the more self-important/prideful Falkner. The battle against Pineco with Lillipup was entertaining, the battle against Illumise with Minccino was a huge shake up in Olivia's character. I wish I could say it was as entertaining but it wasn't, which is good, Olivia's inability to think up a strategy with her mind stressed and just attacking and attacking over head on could have well take her out of the gym battle. Still, surprisingly enough, her pulling through with a draw was satisfying if only because she's a character who you care for this chapter and truly root for because of how terrible she has it. You portrayed the decline in Olivia's humanity with the Swift attack showing Illumise and how it "cut" Illumise's body and Olivia's delight in how the attack is doing really well, the description pulls it together well and I have to say she looks really at her limits to a dangerous point here with the convulsing and Nikolai leaving.

The illusionary Rich, Avril and Renzo was a great way of showing her downward spiral and showing off two prominent figures in the form of rivals in the story. In particular Avril, who views her as a true competitive rival who can bring out the best in her. That's a more dimensional approach from the spiteful Renzo. Liked the last battle and how innovative Olivia was during crunch time, needless to say I liked the evolution and how Olivia finally gave Dewott his props for once. Dewott has been a big part of of Olivia's character development thus far since she started out pretty uncaring and apathetic toward him but has grown to like him and realized how wrong she was with being so critical of him. Even Dewott seemed to have grown since he had achieved his goal of gaining Olivia's praise and attention and more confident a battler in his own right.

And surprisingly we end this chapter on a cliff-hanger, I'm interested to see what happens next given there seemed to be something foreshadowing Seduire.
 

Matori

THE QUEEN IS BACK
I loved everything about this chapter, and I'm going to cover a lot of ground in this review, so let's get going.

Inside, Olivia was sitting at a table in the common area with Looker and Silver. She was sipping tea and eating a biscuit, while Looker had a cup of coffee and Silver simply sat scowling, a glass of orange juice in front of him.

“Mr. Looker,” Olivia questioned, keeping her eyes on the teacup in front of herself to avoid having to meet Looker and Silver’s gazes. “Why were you in Union Cave yesterday?”

“Being there was a strange energy pulse in that area. Identical to it was the energy pulse that struck Route 29, so suspicious something there is, I suspect.”

Olivia looked up slightly, though not far enough to meet either pair of eyes opposite her. “So Matt was right…”

“Hm? What are you precisely speaking words about?”

“He came to the same conclusion,” the sullen young woman explained. “I believe it, too. The Geodude, Sandshrew, Drilbur and Onix we saw all were acting strangely, just like the Pawniard and Bisharp on Route 29.”

“Did you say Geodude, Sandshrew, Drilbur and Onix?” Silver interrupted. When Olivia nodded, he pushed for further confirmation by asking, “And no other Pokémon, you’re sure?”

“Just those four species, I’m sure.”

Silver quickly turned to Looker. “Geodude, Sandshrew, Drilbur and Onix are all at least part Ground-types. If no other Pokémon were affected, those energy pulses might only affect a single type of Pokémon at a time.”

“You are suggesting the notion which I am thinking?”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if this is one of Team Rocket’s experiments. She’s here, so there must be other Team Rocket members in Azalea Town, and I intend to take them all out.”

“Duly noted,” Looker said, crossing his arms. “Olivia, what I am wondering to be asking you questions about is what I saw with my eyes when I first was encountering your friends yesterday. What are you possessing the ability to be telling me about that?”

“I don’t want to talk about it…” Olivia answered, looking back down.

“Please, I must be insisting on it. My investigation into these blasts of strange energy and what the kind of effect they are acting to have on the Pokémon of the local area would gain great aid from learning more true facts about what happened. Why and how can there be happening to be a person who acts sometimes with the natural savagery of a Pokémon that is wild?”

“You should just arrest that woman,” Silver mumbled under his breath.

“Be letting Olivia answer the question that is mine.”

“I don’t know anything, even if I wanted to know!” Olivia finally cracked under the pressure of Looker’s questions, slamming her fists on her lap. “Actually I’m not sure I want to know. I want to forget yesterday ever happened.”

Looker clasped his hands together and leaned forward, resting his head on them. “Would speaking of the things that make you feel good be a help?”

“I think so.” Olivia took a deep breath, calming both her muscles and her speech. “Some good things happened yesterday. I got to train a lot with the Oshawott I got from Professor Juniper. Nekou was there for me, too. She wouldn’t stop encouraging me to do better. And Matt… well, he was there, I guess. I’m going to prove to him that I can be treated like an adult, like how he acts toward my dad.”

“At least your father was a good man, unlike mine,” Silver spitefully interjected.

“Be silent with your tongue, Silver, or I will be sending you away from here until interrogation has reached the point called its conclusion.” Softening, Looker continued by asking, “Olivia, please be trying to tell me about what took place in events at a point in time most immediately before Nekou’s descent into a state of being feral.”

I really loved this interrogation scene, it really gave a clear picture of Olivia, Silver, and Looker's characters. Silver is a little **** and I found myself agreeing with Looker before too long. I also really think Olivia's choice of food fits her character well for some reason.

He wouldn’t get a chance to, either, as Matt and Nekou came up to the table. Almost immediately, Olivia shrank back into her seat, her body shaking.

Mindful to take great care in choosing his words, Matt gently asked, “Olivia, what’s wrong?”

“You know what’s wrong,” she mumbled in response, keeping her eyes locked in the opposite direction of the two people who distressed her.

Nekou turned to Matt, the two of them having anticipated Olivia’s mood.

Poor Olivia, I can really tell just how betrayed she still feels.


The previous night, after telling Nekou what had happened in Union Cave and doing his best to soothe her fears about it, Matt had gone back to his own room. In the light of a floor lamp next to the room’s desk, he was sitting at a painting easel, putting colors randomly on the canvas to create an incoherent display.

He was so startled by his door opening that he nearly dropped the palette in his left hand. Spinning around, he saw Nekou staggering in with a pillow in one hand and a beer can in the other.

“What are you doing in here?” he sharply questioned, though he quickly realized this was inappropriate and softened his tone. “Do you want to talk some more?”

Nekou did not answer until after she threw herself down on the bed. “I don’t want to be alone. I get nightmares.” When Matt put the palette down and stood from the easel, Nekou shouted at him, “I’m not lying!”

“No, I believe you…” Sitting down on the bed but facing away from her, Matt continued, “You must have some pretty bad nightmares, judging from how much you drink at night to escape them.”

“How did you know that?”

“I’ve had to do it sometimes myself. My nightmares are memories of the things I’ve seen, but I think there are some things I dream of that are memories of events I otherwise can’t remember anymore… if I might ask, what about yours?”

Nekou put her beer can on the nightstand next to the bed, then rolled over onto her back. “They never make sense. I see and hear images and sounds that… they just don’t make any sense. It’s like a ****ing acid trip. Other times I dream of science, history, you know, textbook ****. That just goes on and on until my head explodes from it all. The one thing that’s always consistent is that I hear this woman screaming… and it just never ends.”

“Do you think that they’re memories of something?”

“I don’t know, and that’s what makes them terrifying.” Nekou pushed her bangs from her forehead, then closed her eyes. “Olivia’s going to be left with the same thing now. How the **** can she understand what happened if I don’t even understand it?”

“I’m going to be blunt here,” Matt said, staring at the wall. “Preventing her from being haunted by what happened in Union Cave is up to you. She won’t want to hear it from me, and hearing it from you would give it some weight.”

“You know, you’re right.”

I thought this was a really adorable scene and a really close moment between the two of them, showing them truly understanding and accepting each other. The themes from the previous chapter continue, and I really like how you kept them for this scene. Seeing Nekou drop her tough exterior for just a moment was really cute and touching.

“Looker, why are you even here? Last I had heard of you, you were off in Kanto investigating the Kiss of Death case.”

Looker sighed and crossed his arms. “Taken off the case, I happened to be. It has not seen wide reporting, but there occurred to be two more murders.”

“Why would they take you off the case just because the killer struck again?” Matt wondered, not noticing Nekou briefly shoot a glare at him.

“You see, the two victims, they were having something in common that they shared. They were both employees working in the employ of the Angel Corporation. Suspicious I became when I noted this about both men, because Melvin Clemens, the murder before them, he was involved as an employee of the Angel Corporation as well. But that wasn’t all. I made my decision to go back and look once more at the Clemens case once I came upon having this realization and I struck a discovery – he was employed at one of the highest salaried positions within the corporation’s umbrella, but in complete spite of the paycheck he received, Melvin Clemens was living his life in the state of bare bones poverty. Suddenly, and lacking in any sort of warning to me, I was removed from the investigation, halting my efforts to put my eyes on his financial records.”

“Financial records? I thought this was a murder case alone.”

“Three of the men whose lives met their end are connected through sharing the same place of employment, and one of them lived in a lifestyle that completely has contradictions against the kind of money he should have owned in his possession. I have a suspicion that the victims have a deeper link than just how their deaths came to pass in history.”

Matt held his chin and pondered Looker’s information, which he had to admit sounded fairly suspicious. He intended to question the detective further about the case, but he never got to put words to any of his thoughts before Olivia interrupted.

The mystery deepens... I'm wondering how it is Looker was off the case too, and Looker's discussion of the newest details makes me think something fishy is going on here. I can't wait to learn more.

“Another Polaris broadcast…” A violent scowl appeared on Nekou’s face, one that she only faintly tried to pull back. “They’re stepping up their game. We’re running out of time…”

“Greetings, people of the Tohjo Continent,” Ghetsis spoke, his voice ringing throughout the lobby. He held a clear confidence for the speech, with a sincere smile and an intense gaze. “I come before you today with a simple message. A plea, if you will. Every day, more people, many of them your own sons and daughters, fall by the wayside in the manipulative, elitist system known as the Pokémon League. Because of the heavy hand of oppression looming over this nation, generations of ordinary citizens have been fooled into believing in a lie crafted by the rich and powerful , the notion of anyone from any background being able to attain the goal called ‘Pokémon Master.’ How can the poor and those of modest means raise themselves up when the very mechanics supposedly meant to help them actually only advance the already wealthy and elite with handouts and breaks that put them on a higher level practically from birth?!” Ghetsis’s eye was narrowing, becoming more and more intense with every sentence of his speech, and just off camera, he tightly clenched his fist. “So I ask you, citizens of Johto and Kanto… no, it is not only I, all of Polaris asks you… step up, add your names to the ranks of those brave individuals who will fight in the name of justice. Soon, your chance will come to join our crusade. You must ask yourselves, in a world where seventy percent of new trainers never reach the Pokémon League, and ninety percent of those don’t collect more than seven Badges, is that fair? No, it is not! You must rise and speak to the powers that would keep you down with this lie, telling them that you will stand for the injustice no longer! We, Polaris, are your voice, and with every one of you who joins the battle for equal opportunity, that voice grows stronger. Goldenrod City will be the place. My minister of public relations will meet with you, the people, in a few days there to plot the course forward. Please keep your eyes on our public schedules for more details. Polaris will bring freedom and justice to the people when we usher in a new era of mankind, and it will be soon! Do not let yourselves be on the wrong side of history! Thank you for your time today, and we will be seeing you again very, very soon.”

When Ghetsis disappeared from the screen, the crowd surrounding it instantly descended into a flurry of discussion.

“What do you think they mean? A new era of mankind?”

“You know, he’s right, though. I just saw a report on TV the other night that backs him up…”

“I just heard that… what was it, like seventy percent of new trainers never even make it to the Pokémon League, and ninety percent of them don’t collect more than seven Badges? Is that what he said?”

“There have been more and more trainers washing up at Pokémon Centers in cities all over the place unable to continue going. Between the cost of healing their Pokémon, rooms and supplies, it’s no wonder so many don’t make it…”

The way Ghetsis' speeches can be so gripping and enthrall such huge crowds is nothing short of chilling, and this speech, like the others, was terrifying, particularly in how the crowd is eating up his every word.

Matt didn’t realize right away that Nekou had pulled Olivia away from the storm of speculation, with everyone else but himself following in kind.

“Is it really true, though?” he could hear Olivia asking Nekou as he rejoined them.

“There are a lot of trainers who don’t make the big time,” Nekou explained, “but you don’t need to worry about that because you’re not going to be a statistic.”

Poor Olivia... she's been having a rough journey and this certainly probably isn't inspiring any confidence in her. Nekou's reassurance is really sweet, though.

“Two prisoners jailed by the International Police whose cycles reached their opportunity for parole and return to life being ordinary. They both received negative judgments of their readiness and must be escorted back to the adjacent nation of Kanto for return to prison. One is the former tycoon of business Grings Kodai, and the other… the other’s your friend from the past, Jacob Alexison.”

Nice shoutouts to both Movie 13 and to your previous work.


“Where he shot me still hurts every time I think about him…” he growled, “…but I’m going to need to ask you a favor. Let me talk to him before you ship him off.”

“Yeah, I want to talk to Jacob Alexison too,” Nekou butted in, having wandered over with Olivia.

A silence met them as Looker stared back, considering their requests. “Fine, I shall consent to giving my consent for such a plan,” he finally responded, “but you will be needing to make haste to Goldenrod City. I will not find myself waiting for you.”

I wonder where this is going to go?

Surprised by the voice behind them, Matt, Olivia and Nekou all turned around sharply, only to discover Nikolai standing behind them with his hands in the pockets of his coat. He looked as listless as ever, and his sudden appearance provoked both Nekou and Looker to grimace.

“Who is this guy?”

Shut up, Silver.

Ignoring Silver’s rudely-put question, Nikolai walked right up to Olivia and lowered himself to see eye-to-eye with her. “I can feel it, even through the Poké Ball… your Oshawott is bursting with an incredible amount of energy,” he quietly but firmly said. “It’s got far more energy than before. You did the right thing and trusted it to indulge in its natural instincts.”

“Th-thank you, I guess?” Olivia shifted her weight from one leg to the other and looked away from Nikolai’s intense gaze.

“Wait, what even happened to you?” Matt questioned in confusion. “You were sick from the poison that ninja hit you with, and we took you to Violet City’s Pokémon Center for help, but then you disappeared.”

“I recovered and departed…” As he spoke, Nikolai rose back to his full height and faced Matt. “Your Eelektrik… it is happier than it was before, too. You took my advice and used it…”

“You’re right, I did. Your advice when we met before was sound.”

“Is he talking to Pokémon that are still in their Poké Balls?!”

“He is accomplishing just that,” Looker replied to Silver, though with his eyes closed. “That is a power that he is in possession of.” Turning away, the detective thought to himself, “This boy is here… and so is Ghetsis. There is a connection between Team Plasma and Polaris, but I lack enough evidence to prove any wrongdoing…”

Hopefully Nikolai's assessment will make Olivia feel a little more confident in her abilities as a trainer as well as Oshawott's power as a Pokemon.

Colress’s gloved fingers flew busily over the electronic keyboard of his computer console, manipulating the data he was working with. On the main display screen, a double helix with some segments missing and relevant information regarding the strain of Pokérus he was engineering was shown.

“Now, time for another stability hypothesis experiment.” A window containing an image of the Meteonite and its associated data appeared alongside the main window, prompting Colress to smile and say, “Very well. Apply the calculated dose of radiation.”

Once Colress gave this order to the system and pressed the key to confirm it, three red arrows appeared between the two windows, indicating the flow of data from the Meteonite to the DNA structuring program. Within seconds, the helix began to glow, and the missing segments filled themselves in.

Colress’s eyes went wide. Barely able to contain his excitement, he gestured widely with his arms and shouted, “This is it! I knew I could do what nobody else could! The mystery behind the true strength of Pokémon… and I, Doctor Colress Antimony, am the one to bring it to light! My genius made it possible!”

All the windows shrank away, and Colress pulled a rectangular data drive from the console before turning and running out of his lab.

I really enjoyed the way you perfectly captured Colress' excitement over working with technology and science and accomplishing his goals. I think you really do both his game as well as his anime personalities justice and combine them fairly well.

The three members of the Shadow Triad stood before Ghetsis, each of them holding one of his prisoners.

“We have to go out to Ecruteak City to prepare for our mission,” explained the tyrant, firmly gripping the handle of his cane. “Bring Concordia, Anthea and Professor Elm to the transport and guard them with your lives. If anything happens to any of them, your lives literally will be the price. Do not fail me.”

“Yes, Lord Ghetsis!” all three of the Shadow Triad replied.

Ghetsis watched as the trio of ninjas dragged their captives off. Concordia and Anthea didn’t resist at all, instead merely hanging like ragdolls in the grip of Darkness and Pestilence. Professor Elm, however, tried in vain to fight his way loose, only for Chaos to sharply knee him in the back. Once Elm was doubled over in pain from the blow, Chaos followed his brothers.

Satisfied that his followers had the situation under control, Ghetsis lifted his cane near his mouth and twisted the knob atop it to activate its communicator. “Zinzolin.”

“Lord Ghetsis!” the old man responded from the other end, his voice giving away the surprise he felt. “I was not expecting to be contacted so soon.”

“You’ve been. My plans are moving ahead to the next stage, and I am about to leave Polaris’s temple for Ecruteak City to begin putting the final touches in place. How prepared are you for the Goldenrod phase?”

“You’ll be quite pleased to hear that we are fully prepared. All of our resources are in place. All that we need is for Getriebe and Jeunes to get the go-ahead from Finansielle to set the Meteonite extraction plan into motion. Once that starts, it cannot be stopped. As for my role, I am more than ready to take our message to the people in the most powerful way yet.”

“You’re right, I am pleased. I’m taking the Shadow Triad along with me to Ecruteak City, so don’t let anyone foul up your work like you did in Violet City. Getriebe and Jeunes are relying on you…” Ghetsis stopped speaking briefly and smirked. “…and I’m relying on you even more. It’s absolutely vital that the people are hungry for what I will give them in Ecruteak City.”

This chilled me even further... Ghetsis, willing to kill his most trusted underlings for failure, and all of them still sound eager to carry out their orders, Chaos' cruelty to Elm... every one of his scenes are terrifying with how they show his utter lack of any decency to achieve his goals.

To the west of Azalea Town lay Ilex Forest, an wooded expanse grown so thick with tall trees that within its boundaries, little sunlight reached the ground. Many local residents considered the forest’s environment that of a permanent night, and as Séduire lurked in the darkness, sitting in the branches of one of the trees, she found herself in full agreement.

The amount of sunlight in the forest wasn’t of much concern overall to her, though. On her lap she had a small hand cannon. It was generating a holographic computer display for her, which she was casually flicking through with her fingers while talking to herself in an almost sing-song manner.

“Oh, it’s just going to be so much fun when you get here, Matt. I’m going to have so much fun… breaking you by making you see that ***** and the girl go down… then I’ll take you back home with me and you’ll never leave me alone ever again…”

The windows were displaying the different species of Pokémon currently in the area along with numerical readouts and energy charts associated with each one. One of the species Séduire scrolled past caught her by surprise, prompting her to go back.

“Well then, look at you! I didn’t expect to see you around here… looks like I’m not the only one Matt will be having a reunion with, and for you to meet him, I don’t even have to work for it! You ought to cut him down to give me what I want without any prompting…”

Seduire's glee at the idea of attacking Matt and the Pokemon she's spotted is both funny and creepy as hell. I love her innocent excitement she gets from thinking about doing awful things to her victims.

Azalea Gym, located on the western side of the town, was a battling facility within a large greenhouse dome. As Matt, Olivia and Nekou entered, with Nikolai, Looker and Silver in tow, they found the interior to be a lush indoor forest, with many of the trees linked by threads of silk.

“This place didn’t earn its reputation as a Bug-type Gym for nothing,” Nekou remarked.

At the center of the structure, nestled snugly in the embrace of the surrounding foliage, was the battlefield. It was simply a field drawn in white paint on the grass, but it was still more than enough.

Sitting in the stands just to the side of the battlefield was a teenage boy dressed in khaki-colored safari gear. He was reading a thick book and didn’t notice the Gym’s visitors as they arrived.

Excellent use of detail to paint a very vivid picture of the Azalea Gym. Bugsy reading a book while waiting for challengers is a really nice detail, it fits him.

Matt started to raise his arm to wave to the boy, but Nekou grabbed it and pulled it back down; he quickly understood why she did this, and said to Olivia, “Go ahead, it’s your turn.”

It took me a minute to understand why she did this but then I realized she was trying to help Olivia gain confidence in herself. I like the detail, it's a really nice and touching one.

“Hello!” he cheerfully greeted the guests. “Please forgive that, I got so wrapped up in my reading…”

“Books are great, aren’t they?” Nekou blurted out.

I have been Nekou many times.

“Olivia, how many Badges and Pokémon do you have?”

“No Badges…” Olivia answered, her voice suddenly becoming weak. “…but I do have four Pokémon.”

“So then, as by the Pokémon League regulations, this will be a three-on-three Single Battle. I won’t be able to make substitutions, and if you beat all three of my Pokémon, you win. Of course, if I beat all three of yours, I win.”

I actually really like the concept of scaling battles to the number of badges a challenger possesses.

“Wait, no referee?” Olivia asked, having become confused immediately upon noticing the absence of one.

“We’re really easygoing here in Azalea Town… if you noticed, we haven’t been touched much by the flow of time, while all the other cities have been to some extent. I’m the only one at this Gym, so it’s really my passion project. I want to create a shrine to Bug Pokémon with my own hands… and that’s why, in this Gym, everything that happens will depend upon your knowledge of Bug Pokémon.”

I like Bugsy's motivations for running his gym to reflect his interests.


“O-okay. Lillipup, let’s play!”

While Olivia’s Lillipup took shape on the battlefield, Matt watched Olivia’s movements and listened to her voice. “She’s nervous, I can tell. I hope she can handle this…”

I could really tell just from how shaky Olivia's voice was that she was still a little nervous about battling in a gym.

“A Lillipup? I’m pleased to be getting the chance to battle a Pokémon from Unova. Now then, my first Pokémon will either be Kakuna or Pineco, depending on whether or not you answer this question correctly: of all Bug-type moves that directly inflict damage on an opponent, which of them delivers the weakest blow? Pin Missile, Leech Life or Twineedle?”

I can tell Bugsy truly enjoys discovering and battling new Pokemon from this.

I'll give my impressions of the battle up to the next point I'm going to discuss together, since there's so much ground to cover: I think this really shows Olivia's strengths as a trainer and the way she strategizes well, and I think you paced it fairly well. It shows how she's grown, even with the setbacks in her life, and how she's coming to more fully trust her Pokemon. Lillipup, of course, is cute as ever, and I like Bugsy's battle style, as well- I think he really uses the typing of his gym well.

“Let’s see…” Thinking back to her classes, Olivia recalled the effects of all three choices. “Hyper Cutter blocks any lowering of attack power… Anger Point maximizes its attack power when it’s hit critically… Mold Breaker ignores the target’s Ability… all three of them are good choices, but the one that doesn’t fit is Mold Breaker, so I’ll have to go with that.”

“Sorry, it was Anger Point!” Bugsy revealed before taking up and throwing Illumise’s Poké Ball.

“How did I mess that up?” Olivia thought to herself in panic. How did I mess that one up?”

Oh no... I understand totally why Olivia is panicking over getting the answer wrong too, knowing she probably feels like she has a lot expected of her. What she learned earlier in the story probably isn't helping much either.

There was no chance Lillipup could escape, however, and Olivia knew it. He was too close to Illumise to escape, having ended up falling for the trick of getting in close anyway. When Illumise punched Lillipup with a surprising amount of force for her small arms, he was thrown back and then crumpled to the ground. When combined with the injuries he’d suffered from the battle with Pineco, both from his opponent and self-inflicted through Take Down, the Brick Break was far too much for Lillipup to take.

Poor Olivia and Lillipup...

“Looks like we’re even now, Olivia!” Bugsy said from across the battlefield. “So who will it be next?”

Olivia didn’t respond, instead falling into a hunched, limp stance as she stared at the ground, her hair obscuring her anguished eyes. Voices were tormenting her from inside her head.

When Olivia doesn't respond to a challenge like that, you know something's wrong...

“ Someone who should not exist has no right to consider themselves entitled to anything more than the air they are lucky enough to breathe!”

“Wow, you didn’t even take the good one, but then again, someone who’s childish in both body and spirit taking a childish Pokémon makes sense!”

“How can the poor and those of modest means raise themselves up when the very mechanics supposedly meant to help them actually only advance the already wealthy and elite with handouts and breaks that put them on a higher level practically from birth?!”

“No,” she mumbled, trying to fight back the memories that were forcing doubt onto her. “No, no, no, no, no…”

Oh no Olivia... poor Olivia. I can really identify with what she's going through now and totally get why you put those warnings at the beginning of the chapter now.

“Nekou,” Matt quietly said, “are you really sure this is okay? I think she might be pushing herself too hard…”

“I… I have confidence in her,” Nekou answered, although the nervous tone of her voice betrayed her words.

When not even Nekou is sure about her...

Suddenly, a wide, broken grin intruded onto Olivia’s face. “I just have to overcome your Pokémon, one by one, right?” she said as she recalled Lillipup. “It won’t be hard to do that if I go with my strongest!”

Oh no...

Olivia didn’t even bother to throw the Poké Ball when she decided on her next Pokémon, instead, she simply opened it in her hand. Her Minccino was that choice, and the Normal-type fretted about the dirt floor, completely failing to notice her trainer’s temperament.

Yeah, that's not like her at all. Something is definitely going horribly, horribly wrong.


“All I have to do to show them I’m not weak is beat you and get that Badge!” Olivia punctuated her strange rant with a giggle, then added, “I get that Badge and then the others and then they all stop tormenting me and then they care about me and then…” Limply raising her arm to point at Illumise, she said, “Minccino, use Tail Slap!”


I really enjoy how her mannerisms reflect her slow spiral into insanity she's experiencing right now.

“I get it now, I finally get it now…” Olivia said to herself in a hissing voice. She looked to the floor as her body convulsed, then continued, “…all I need to do is rely on my strongest Pokémon and I’ll overcome anything you throw at me!”

Almost immediately, Nikolai stood up from his place in the stands, pulled his hat over his eyes and began walking off, muttering, “I can’t be here for this.”

Looker and Silver watched Nikolai leave, but Matt and Nekou paid him no mind. They were much more concerned by the mental breakdown they both saw Olivia having in the middle of her Gym battle.


I'm concerned too. You're doing amazing capturing just how terrifying it is to have this kind of thing happen.

“It’s about time we put an end to this,” Olivia said as Minccino and Illumise separated from striking each other. What she didn’t mention, however, was why she was suddenly eager to end her frenzy of attacks – her manic rush of energy was beginning to abate, and she could feel the crushing fear coming back worse than ever. As she fought the slowly-increasing urge to flee the battle and escape its pressure, she found her sight becoming cloudy. “I’ll end this… right now… Minccino, Wake-Up Slap!”

She's going to crash soon...

Olivia barely even heard the questions and choices, and she had even less capacity to consider an answer. Swaying around and just managing to stand on her feet, she replied, “Y… Yanmega…”

Little of what came out of Bugsy’s mouth next even reached Olivia’s ears. She heard him say that her answer was incorrect, but she failed to register anything significant after that until his Scyther appeared before her eyes, which snapped her back to attention somewhat.

I know that feeling of being unaware of your surroundings all too well... Olivia isn't doing great right now and I can tell she's really scared and confused at everything happening all around her.

That was when it all went horribly wrong.

The one thing Olivia hadn’t fully realized until that moment was that she was up against Bugsy’s strongest Pokémon with only one of her own Pokémon still left. Further, with the way the types of the remaining Pokémon in play matched up, there was only one choice she could make. Scyther, being a Bug-and-Flying-type, would make short work of a Grass-type like Roselia, and her moves would do little against the beast. That left Olivia with one option: Oshawott, who still hadn’t regrown his shell and as a result was left with only Water Gun and Tackle for an offense.

“I can’t do it…” she quietly said in a broken voice while staring at the ground. In her mind, she was very aware of the exit door right behind her, but her shuddering, numb body wouldn’t move toward it. Her heart felt to her as if it would tear from her chest. “I can’t do it, I can’t do it, I can’t do it, I can’t do it, I can’t do it…”

“You little wimp. To think I even thought about respecting you.”

Jerking her head up, Olivia saw Avril and Renzo standing before her. They weren’t actually present, but her downward spiral left Olivia unable to realize her hallucinations, which replaced everything that truly surrounded her.

“When I watched you battle Falkner, I saw you stick it out right to the end,” the hallucinatory Avril continued, her hands on her hips. “But no… you’re so weak that you can’t even beat a bunch of Bug-types? And to think I’m the one who’s a student.”

“I just… I couldn’t win, why is that such a big deal to you?!” At this point, Olivia’s mind was just about completely broken. A sick feeling was rising in her stomach. “I just couldn’t do it!”

“If it’s not a big deal, why are you whining about it?”

“I…”

“Silence!” boomed the vision of Renzo. “You disappoint me, Olivia Lynn Mistbloom. I had hoped that you would prove to have earned at least some of your birthright… but you are a disgrace to your name. Your father never would have accepted this.”

“Shut up! Don’t talk about him! What right do you have…”

“He is right, Olivia.”

Olivia stiffened and blinked through the tears filling her eyes. In an instant, Avril and Renzo were gone, replaced by a hallucination of Olivia’s father Rich.

“Dad, what are you…”

“I raised you to be my heir, Olivia. Even after I died I made sure your education would continue by leaving you in the care of Matt Chiaki… but when your time finally came to shine, you couldn’t even get one Badge. With my job, how could I accept such a thing?” Turning away from Olivia, the false Rich reached into his coat and put a large hat on. “This is goodbye, Olivia. We will not meet again.”

As her vision of her father walked off, Olivia broke down and became hysterical. Tears poured from her eyes as she desperately pleaded, “No! Dad, don’t leave me alone! It’s not my fault! I didn’t… Matt didn’t teach me well enough, is that possible? It’s not my fault! I did everything I had to! I don’t want to be left alone…” Suddenly digging her fingernails into the skin on her face, she continued, “I’ll go with you! I’ll go where you are! It’s not my fault, so don’t abandon me!”

And then, everything went black.

-:-

This hit me really hard... all of Olivia's past failures coming back to haunt her, speaking to her in her hallucination, and then Rich appearing before her and completely crushing her world. I seriously teared up reading her hallucination of Rich, reading as she saw her father- even if he wasn't really there in the scene- completely reject her, her worst fear in the world, and her begging to go back to him. You do a fantastic job capturing what it's like to be someone who's lost all faith in everything, and I think that's something you should be proud of, because it's not an easy thing to write. You truly made me feel the hopelessness and desperation Olivia was experiencing.

In a different part of the Adenosine Base fairly far from Colress’s main lab was another research facility. Papers and equipment were neatly arranged around the laboratory’s perimeter, while several tall, hexagonal tanks filled with blue liquid stood in the center. It was a professional but cold place, the general mood only broken by a Polaris banner hung on the wall and the photographs littering the work stations.

I like this description of the facility. You really set a good atmosphere with it.

“Casual day today, Lady Finansielle?” Colress jokingly said, noting that his superior was wearing her helmet, but not the rest of her armor.

I laughed. Typical Colress, never caring what's appropriate for the situation.

“Ah yes, I should get to that. With my genius, I have already solved the puzzle you gave me.” Turning to the other scientists, Colress took the data drive from his pocket and presented it to one of them. “On that drive is the entire genetic sequence of the Pokérus strain I was tasked with creating, as well as instructions on how to synthesize it. From here, creating it is an easy task.”

I love Colress so much. You really do capture his character perfectly.

With that, Colress pressed a button on the console, causing a container on its top to open. From within he withdrew a computerized visor, which he then replaced his glasses with on his face. He then put his glasses in his coat and took out his tablet, which with a few touches illuminated the visor.

Google Glass? (brick'd)

Gasping deeply for air, Olivia awoke just as abruptly as she’d collapsed.

Her vision took its time to refocus, but when she finally could see clearly again, the greenhouse roof of the Azalea Gym was what she saw. She suddenly became aware of the prickling of grass on her legs and realized she was still on the Gym’s battlefield. That shock sent a cold shudder coursing through her body, but her shuddering was restrained.

The last thing she came to realize was that while she was lying on the ground, Nekou had her in a tight embrace.

“Breathe.”

Olivia had no capability to reply, so she just did as she was instructed and drew deep breaths in, one after the other. She turned her sunken eyes upward and saw the simultaneous worry and relief on Nekou’s face, as well as the small teardrops glistening on her glasses.

Awww :(

Nekou is being really sweet here and I can tell she was really worried about Olivia.

“I’m… still here?”

“Yes. We agreed to not try to move you out of fear that it would make things worse.” Seeing Olivia beginning to recover brought a slight but warm smile to Nekou, though it faded somewhat as she recalled what she had seen Olivia doing during her breakdown. “Do you want to talk about what happened?”

Olivia hesitated with the realization that there were witnesses to her hallucinations. “No… not… not yet.”

“That’s fine. Tell me when you’re ready.” Nekou put her hand behind Olivia’s back and helped her sit up.


As Olivia sat up on the grass, Bugsy approached with his Scyther. “I’m sorry I didn’t realize you weren’t well. If I did, I would have put the battle on hold.”

“Olivia, you don’t have to continue this,” Matt gently said, lowering himself to eye level with her after joining them. “There’s no shame in knowing when to stop.”

“But at the same time,” Nekou added, “if you think you can keep going, we’ll support you. It’s entirely up to what you think you can handle.”

“I started this. I have…” A clear image of her father appeared once again in Olivia’s mind. “I have to finish it.”

“Then we’re behind you.”

In nearly perfect unison, Matt and Nekou both stood and extended a hand to the girl, and after a moment, Olivia smiled and accepted their help to stand.

“You want to continue our battle?” Bugsy questioned, intending to clearly confirm Olivia’s wishes.

“Yes.”

I'm really happy Nekou, Bugsy, and Matt are being shown handling the situation with sensitivity to Olivia and her boundaries, and they're doing all the right things in this situation. There need to be more stories like this.

“Very brave, she is,” Looker remarked.

“She’s tougher than she lets on sometimes…” Matt replied. “I just hope this holds. She was talking to her father and at least one other person who wasn’t there…”

Well, Matt's right.

“I… I don’t want you to take it easy on me. I have to do this if I’m going to get stronger, because the Gym Leaders after you will just keep getting tougher…” Olivia trailed off as she briefly remembered Renzo and Avril, then added, “…and they aren’t the only ones, either. I have to do this.”

I really admire Olivia in this situation. She just went through hell but even after that, she wants to challenge herself.

Olivia took out a Poké Ball and stared at it for several long seconds, thinking intensely about what she was about to do. “I know we haven’t necessarily connected all that well before... but I’m standing behind you this time, so please, do what you can to pull this off…”

Olivia’s judgment about the situation she was in hadn’t changed, even though she had had the chance to reevaluate it from a slightly calmer viewpoint. She still knew that Roselia would be helpless against the likes of a Scyther, so it was Oshawott that emerged from the Poké Ball. The moment he realized that the Scyther before him was to be his opponent, he looked back and forth to his trainer in a panic.

“Oshawott, calm down.” Olivia did the best she could to soothe Oshawott’s nerves, but hers were so taut that it proved to be a difficult task. “I believe in you, okay? So don’t be afraid.”

This just shows so much how Olivia's grown since the beginning of the story, and how much her friendship with Oshawott has strengthened. She's gone from accepting him begrudgingly to fully accepting him as part of her team.

“Another Pokémon from Unova, huh? I’ve got a Shelmet, but I haven’t seen too many others yet. This ought to be a fun challenge for us both.”

I'm not really surprised Bugsy has a Shelmet.

“Well then, let’s get started! Scyther, Fury Cutter!”

“Try to get out of the way and then use Tackle!”

Using his strong legs, Scyther sprang at Oshawott with his blades at the ready. Olivia’s Water-type was able to roll out of the way, however, leaving Scyther to strike at the ground instead. He then jumped up and collided with Scyther’s back, but the Gym Leader’s Pokémon only stumbled as a result.

“Oh no!” Olivia gasped when she saw how close to Scyther Oshawott landed.

“Yes, I’ve got you this time! Fury Cutter, again!”

“Use Water Gun!” This was an act of desperation on Olivia’s part. She was aware of how limited her options were with only Tackle and Water Gun to use, and she was putting all the thought she could into ways to apply them.

Luckily for her, Water Gun had an unintended effect she never would have thought of. Before Scyther could turn around to lash out again, Oshawott sprayed a jet of water in his face. Not only did this stun Scyther, but the force of the water also propelled Oshawott backward, putting distance between the two.

“Oh, that was clever, Olivia,” Bugsy complimented, believing Olivia had deliberately intended to cause what had happened. “Scyther, Vacuum Wave! Catch it!”

Before Olivia or Oshawott could react, Scyther crossed his glowing blades and then sharply separated them, sending a bright blue pulse of energy to engulf his Water-type foe. Oshawott was left to fall face-first to the ground.

“You have it now, Scyther! Fury Cutter!”

“Oshawott, be careful!” Olivia cried, seeing that Oshawott was seemingly trapped underneath the sickle that was bearing down on him. Her focus on the seemingly hopeless situation suddenly produced an answer, however, when she realized exactly how Oshawott was lying on the ground. Smiling, she quickly called out, “Oshawott, use Water Gun to power your Tackle!”

Scyther was completely caught off guard by Oshawott abruptly rocketing off the ground by using Water Gun to propel himself, and ended up taking a blow right to the chin. The Bug-and-Flying-type Pokémon stumbled back and nearly fell, while his Water-type opponent managed to flip through the air and land neatly. A slash from Scyther’s Vacuum Wave was visible on Oshawott’s torso, but the rush he was getting from fighting back gave him enough resolve to try and ignore the pain.

“So this is how an Oshawott with no shell actually stands up against a Scyther,” Silver uttered, unable to stop himself from getting drawn into the battle.

“I must compliment you, Olivia,” Bugsy said, a wide, satisfied grin coming onto his face. “I don’t see too many challengers with the kind of fire you have… funny, considering you’re using a Water-type starter Pokémon, isn’t it? But let me show you something… Bug-types are weak to fire, I’m sure you know that. But did you know that Bug-types can fight with the same fire you’re showing me now? Scyther, Razor Wind!”

Scyther straightened out his body and stood at his full height, looking down on Oshawott as he began to flap his four wings. A whirlwind took shape in front of him, rapidly growing in intensity.

Both Olivia and Oshawott realized that using Tackle would mean willingly jumping right into the vortex, so without any order being necessary, Oshawott aimed a Water Gun at Scyther. It was, however, ineffective, as the whirlwind acted as a shield that blew away all the water. Compounding Olivia’s problems, Scyther then pulled back, allowing the twister to consume Oshawott. He was pulled upward through the funnel, with the violent winds cutting at him repeatedly, until he was thrown out through the whirlwind’s top and crashed to the ground, covered in cuts. The twister then continued on until it crashed into one of the trees, dissipating as it shredded the silk connected to it, bits of which fell near Olivia’s feet.

“Vacuum Wave!”

Scyther quickly followed up his successful Razor Wind by lashing Oshawott with another energy blast.

With Oshawott left lying on the ground and panting, Olivia realized that one more severe blow would likely bring her second Gym challenge to another failure of an ending. She grasped her left arm as her body trembled; once again, the walls felt like they were closing in on her, and she felt trapped in more ways than one.

After the stressful moment with Olivia's panic attack, it's good to see the battle back in full swing. This is a pretty exciting battle and I think you really did a good job keeping the action going at a steady pace. I think Olivia and Bugsy's passions for battle both show really nicely in this scene.

All of a sudden, a bright blue glow surrounded Oshawott’s body, and he stood back up, growling at Scyther as if he was more energized than ever.

“That’s Oshawott’s Ability, Torrent!” Nekou exclaimed. “Bugsy weakened Oshawott so much that it activated!”

“This battle just stopped being so one-sided,” Silver observed. “I’ve seen the use Torrent can provide with my Feraligatr.”

Bugsy stood just as surprised as Olivia was herself. “I… thought I had this. I guess it goes to show that I still have plenty to learn… but first, I have to put an end to this battle! Scyther, Razor Wind once more!”

While Scyther started forming the whirlwind again, Olivia understood what Bugsy’s logic was – neither Tackle nor Water Gun would get past it, so he was betting on her not having another move he hadn’t yet seen. She was, however, herself willing to gamble that Oshawott’s newfound energy would change the tide by itself.

“Water Gun!” she commanded, discreetly crossing her fingers.

The whirlwind was nearly up to full strength when Oshawott fired a blast of water at it, but in spite of that, it was easily sliced through by Oshawott’s attack, which was many times more intense than it had been before. With his vision blocked by his own preparation, Scyther could never have seen the Water Gun coming, and he took a direct, powerful blow to the head. Olivia’s eyes glowed as she excitedly watched her fortunes change.

“She can win this with power like that!” Matt said, getting uncharacteristically excited.

“I should have expected Torrent,” Bugsy remarked, “with the number of Totodile, Squirtle and their evolutions I see here. I guess I got thrown off by it being a Unova Pokémon… no matter. You put in a great effort, but I’m ending this! Scyther, use Vacuum Wave!”

“Try Water Gun again!” Olivia reflexively countered, reacting nearly instantly upon Bugsy giving his order. She recognized that if she was to have any chance of overcoming Scyther, she would have to get around this latest attack first.

In front of many pairs of anticipating eyes, Oshawott’s water blast and Scyther’s energy wave met. Torrent gave Oshawott the power he needed to equal Scyther’s offense but not to overwhelm it, so the two attacks explosively negated each other, sending a cloud washing over both Pokémon.

Seeing the battle turn in Olivia's favor feels really good after everything that's happened to her.
 

Matori

THE QUEEN IS BACK
Moments later, a bright light burst out from where Oshawott was standing within the smoke.

“That’s…” Looker gasped. He was the only one of the spectators able to think quickly enough to speak, as the others were all enraptured by what was happening in front of them.

Olivia knew what was going on, but she was so surprised that all she could do was watch. She thought back to the events earlier in the day and remembered Nikolai telling her that Oshawott was bursting with energy, a memory that left her smiling to herself.

“All that training in Union Cave had a point to it, I guess,” she thought as she took out her own Pokédex.

The light and smoke disappeared roughly simultaneously, revealing that Oshawott was no longer anywhere to be seen. Instead, standing in his place was a taller otter Pokémon, colored mostly in shades of blue and bearing a shell on each of his thighs.

“Oshawott evolved,” Nekou smugly said. “Told you something good would happen for her.”

“Dewott, the discipline Pokémon. Type is Water. Evolved form of Oshawott. As a result of strict training, each Dewott learns different forms for using the scalchops.”

Olivia continued thumbing through the Pokédex to learn if Dewott had acquired any new moves. “Razor Shell and Aqua Jet… yes, I think I can do with those. Now that you’ve finally got your shell back, Oshaw… Dewott, let’s put it to use. Razor Shell!”

Holy crap, I did NOT expect that to happen at all. Great twist. Nekou's right, and Olivia having to remember Oshawott isn't Oshawott anymore is really cute.

Even though Dewott wasn’t getting hit, though, Olivia could tell that he also wasn’t going to get in any blows of his own. Looking around at her surroundings, she suddenly noticed the bits of silk at her feet and came up with an alternative idea. “Dewott, use Aqua Jet and go into the bushes, then keep moving!”

Water surrounded Dewott as he rocketed away into the foliage surrounding the battlefield and disappeared. Scyther loudly snarled about the inconvenience, and Bugsy indulged his Pokémon’s desires with his next direction. “Go in after that Dewott, Scyther!”

Scyther cried out and then lunged into the bushes as well, vanishing just as Dewott had done.

For the next few minutes, an uncomfortable silence broken only by the sound of rustling leaves settled over the Gym as Dewott and Scyther chased each other in a circle around the edge of the battlefield. Olivia focused carefully on the sounds and where she perceived them to be coming from. Bugsy was certain she had something up her sleeve, but could only grimace in frustration as he was unable to figure out what it was.

Suddenly, Olivia screamed, “Now! Come out!”

Dewott darted out of the brush as soon as Olivia gave the command to do so, and Scyther followed moments later – only to be violently lashed to a halt in midair as his wings got caught in the sticky silk linking the trees he’d emerged between. Dewott was small enough to fit between the threads but Scyther wasn’t.

“You led me into a trap!” Bugsy uttered in disbelief.

“That’s right, I did,” Olivia answered, smirking deviously. “Now take this! Dewott, Razor Shell!”

This is really clever strategy on Olivia's part and it's clear now she's back to herself. Excellent thinking there.

After snickering mischievously, Dewott armed himself, once again taking one of his shells in his right hand, and jumped at the trapped Scyther, first bashing him over the head with it. Dewott then spun around and delivered a devastating hit to Scyther’s chin, one so powerful that it tore Scyther from the silk and threw him up into the air.

“Scyther!”

Bugsy’s plea was in vain. As soon as Scyther crashed to the ground, he collapsed and did not get up. The battle was over.

As the weight of the situation began to sink in, Olivia’s body became weak. “I… I did it…” she whispered as she fell to her knees. “I actually… didn’t fail…”

Before Olivia even knew what was going on, Nekou was on the field embracing her. “I’m ****ing proud of you, Olivia! I told you you could kick the *** of a Gym Leader, and you did!”

Heh, Nekou's hug is awesome and I want to hug Olivia too, because I'm so happy with her.

Hearing Matt’s voice snapped Olivia to attention, and she stood and turned to face him. However, she said nothing and merely stared at him, conflicted about how to react.

And then, he smiled. It was small, but for him it reflected significant warmth. “Good work. That proved to me how misguided I was with the way I treated you. You’re someone who is grown up enough to handle the truth, so no more lies. I’m going to respect you from now on. Not only that, I promise to do whatever I can to make your life easier, so just ask me if you ever need anything. My promise is to you now, not to a foolish idea of what I think will help you.”

“Thank you,” Olivia graciously replied.

“There’s not really much I can add to all of this, is there?” Olivia, Nekou, Matt and Dewott all turned to Bugsy, who had approached to join them. Scratching the back of his head, the Gym Leader said, “I just have to compliment you, Olivia. I’ve seen challengers lose their will and leave, but you didn’t do that… you stuck it out and overcame everything thrown at you. You deserve this.”

Bugsy extended his hand to Olivia. In it was a round pin bearing a red-and-black ladybug pattern – the Hive Badge.

I'm really happy Olivia got the badge after all the trouble she went through during the battle, and I think it's really inspiring how even after going through her worst despair ever, she managed to bounce back.

Hours later, after night had fallen, a clear sky full of stars hung over Goldenrod City. The metropolis stretched on for what seemed like forever, sprawled over most of Johto’s central peninsula with a densely populated, heavily developed area at its core.

The bright neon lights shining from buildings, billboards and countless other structures gave the city the golden glow it was named for, and one could be fooled by it into thinking that the city was a man-made paradise. However, the stark reality was more like the typical negative stereotype of a big city, at least in the less-developed areas. Discarded trash was scattered about many of the streets, and numerous Pokémon considered pests, including Rattata, Grimer and the occasional Trubbish and Garbodor, were lurking about. The unsettling truth hidden by the fancy cover of the city’s central area wasn’t lost on Jessie, James and Ariana as they escorted Giovanni through the streets of the southern district, all four of them concealing their identities behind black trench coats and hats.

I really love the description of the setting in this paragraph. I think it really effectively shows the contrast between the part of Goldenrod that they want others to see vs. the part they don't.

“Look at this place,” Jessie whispered to James as they walked. She was observing the run-down conditions of many of the buildings, and her stomach turned to think of the people who had to live in them. “I lived this, and for everything I’ve done, this is what I wouldn’t want to wish on anyone. Not even that bratty twerp.”

Knowing what Jessie went through, I believe her.

Subtly nodding in agreement, James added, “If we did take over, we’d definitely treat the people better than this. Just because we want to be in charge, that doesn’t mean we want to cause too much harm to who we rule. We’d take over but make sure people could live better than this.”

James is a bro.


“Hey, wait. Shouldn’t we do something about him?”

At James’s notice, Jessie, Ariana and Giovanni stopped walking and glanced in the direction he was pointing. It turned out that he had noticed someone sitting on the sidewalk as they passed, and the young man’s physical state was a perfect example of the problems Goldenrod’s slums had. Dressed in a dirty brown coat and holding a cardboard sign, he was slouched against one of the buildings in a way that made it difficult to tell if he was awake, asleep or even alive.

James leaned down to read the sign. “Lost four times at Goldenrod Gym. No more money for healing, food or lodging.”

“James!” Jessie’s sudden call startled her partner, and he turned abruptly to look at her. “Give him this.”

Jessie reached into her pocket for a roll of money that she then tossed to James. After catching it, he reached down to the failed trainer.

“Hey, are you awake?”

“Wh…what…?” the young man weakly asked, pushing his hat up so he could see.

“Take this. Try to take better care of yourself.”

The young man hesitated out of surprise before taking the money from James. “Thank you, really! This will get me into the Pokémon Center so I can heal my Pokémon and have a place to rest tonight!”

“Think nothing of it,” Jessie said. “Just don’t spend it all in one place. Rest up and try training more before you challenge another Gym.”

“I will. Just... thank you so much!”

Jessie and James turned away as the young man stood up, but Ariana caught Giovanni furtively stopping him and slipping him some more money out of the corner of her eye. She smiled to herself before he could notice. Soon, the four were walking again.

This is really touching, particularly Giovanni slipping the young man some money. You know things are bad when even he finds himself caring...


“That was kind of weird,” James commented to Jessie. “We used to be the ones with no money. Now we’re the ones giving it out.”

“Well, that changed because we got the Boss to have faith in us, of course. After we got promoted, money wasn’t a problem anymore.”

Nice nod to previous events.

“Yes, yes it is.” Pierce had emerged from the alley without notice to join the quartet. “It is good to see that you’ve all made it here in one piece.”

“Pierce, where is the base you were going to have prepared?” Jessie sharply questioned.

“Right this way. Professor Rosalie, Trevor, Ada and I have been awaiting your arrival.”

Pierce turned, crossed his hands behind his back, and began walking down the alley. Giovanni, Ariana, Jessie and James followed.

I should have expected Pierce coming out, but I didn't. He really is an awesome secret agent.


Olivia thought for a moment while petting Dewott, who was sitting contently next to her, then said, “I want to talk to my mom. Can you guys make that happen?”

“I don’t see why not.” After taking his tablet computer out of his bag, which was sitting on the seat next to him, Matt tapped the phone icon on its menu screen and selected ‘Anabel’ from his contact list. He then handed the computer to Olivia while the phone function dialed.

An animation of a telephone shaking over its cradle looped on the screen for some time, but when the line was finally picked up, it was replaced by a video stream of a pale woman with a somewhat sunken face and long, unkempt lavender hair.

“…Olivia?” the woman said in surprise.

“It’s good to see you, mom! Ask me how I’ve been!”

“Where are you?”

“Olivia, let me talk to her for a second.” Olivia tilted the computer toward Matt so the woman on the screen could see him. “Anabel, she’s with us, like always. Right now, we’re sitting down for dinner in Azalea Town.”

“And do you want to know why?” Olivia asked as she turned the computer back to herself. “I got my first Badge today!”

“Oh, is that so…? Well done, Olivia. I’m proud of you.”

“And I know Dad would have been, too.” Anabel visibly recoiled at Olivia mentioning her father, but Olivia wasn’t fazed. “I know about what really happened.”

“I’m sorry, Olivia. I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you…”

“I don’t blame you for it. I… I think I’m over not knowing the truth now.”

“Our food’s coming,” Nekou interjected, having spotted their waiter approaching the table.

“Olivia, keep going and be strong. Make your father proud. He’s always going to be with you.”

“I will! Bye, Mom!”

This conversation was really adorable but also bittersweet. I could really tell Anabel's barely getting by and probably doesn't know what to say to Olivia at all.

“Two premium steaks, one medium with grilled onions and the other rare with garlic and chili powder?”

“Rare’s mine,” Nekou said. “Nice, hot and raw, the way I like it.”

“Somehow that doesn’t surprise me,” Matt sighed as he set up his own plate.

Wow, Nekou.

“My dad used to make something like this for me,” she answered, a strong hint of melancholy in her voice.. “He said it was something from where he grew up, Sootopolis City.”

Aw, that's really sweet. I think it's fitting for her to order a dish her dad made for her after winning that gym battle.

Matt and Nekou began eating, but Olivia didn’t touch her food at all right away. Instead, she spent the next few minutes sitting silently and staring at it.

“I’ve decided,” she suddenly blurted out.

“Decided? What do you mean?” Matt questioned.

“I… I think I know what I want to do now. I mean, I don’t know why I want to do it yet… but I feel like I need to focus on Gyms and forget about Contests for now…”

“I was wondering what had happened to those, actually,” Nekou said while spinning her fork in her fingers.

“Are you absolutely sure you want to do that? When I first met you, you loved Contests.”

Olivia returned an intense gaze into Matt’s eye. “I still do. But if I’m going to find what I’m meant to do, I have to focus on one effort at a time. Otherwise my attention will be spread too thin. Before I can worry about Contests, I have to really learn more about straight battling.”

“That’s a very mature thing you’ve done, then, making such a decision by yourself. I think Nekou would agree with me on that.” Matt sighed again when he saw that Nekou was already eating and could only respond by nodding wildly. “My point is, you’re taking charge of your own future, and I couldn’t be more proud of you for that.”

“Thanks… now, I think Nekou’s right, we should eat.”

I get the feeling Olivia spent a lot of time quietly contemplating this to herself, and I think it shows how much she's grown to be able to make that decision.

Even later on in the middle of the night, a man in a Team Rocket uniform was hiding out in a cave somewhere and speaking to Dr. Zager using a computer contained inside a heavy briefcase. He wore a black beret over his green hair, which was styled into the shape of an axe blade on its side.

PROTON!!!!

I think you did well with Zager's personality in this scene and the way he stays fairly cool even in situations like the one he found himself in with his readouts.

In the Pokémon Center, Olivia awoke with a start, clutching her stomach. Unable to move her legs much, she simply rolled out of her bed and crashed to the floor, waking Matt up. She barely missed falling on Dewott, who was sleeping next to her bed and also awoke with a start.

“Olivia?!” he gasped, desperately trying to put on his glasses without catching them in his eyepatch. “What’s wrong?”

“It… it hurts…”

The noise stirred Nekou, and she dropped the beer bottle she had been clutching while sprawled on her bed. “What’s going on…?”

“I’m… I’m…”

Unable to speak further, Olivia suddenly vomited onto the floor and rolled over on her side. Nekou was up and at Olivia’s side in an instant, throwing two more beer cans aside from under the sheets as she sprang up. Dewott, meanwhile, cried out, unable to do anything to help.

“Go get the nurse,” Nekou directed Matt while holding Olivia in her arms. “This is a Pokémon Center, but they should be able to help her.”

Oh no... just when I thought Olivia would be okay, more stuff happens. Poor Olivia :(


Overall, I really enjoyed this chapter, and it took me on quite the emotional rollercoaster. Excellent work, especially with all the characterization Olivia received. I'm really looking forward to what's in store for the next one, especially with that cliffhanger you left all of us on.
 

The Great Butler

Hush, keep it down
"Alekhine’s Gun"

Summary: A series of bizarre phenomena in Ilex Forest leads to a four-way battle between Matt’s group, Team Rocket, Polaris and a familiar group of wild Pokemon.

Character List*:
*Presence on this list does not necessarily mean screen presence

-Matt Chiaki
-Nekou Langley
-Olivia Mistbloom
-Jessie
-James
-Giovanni
-Dr. Zager
-Professor Rosalie
-Ada
-Trevor
-Pierce
-Proton
-Looker
-Silver
-Nikolai
-Dr. Colress Antimony
-Getriebe
-Jeunes
-Séduire
-Ghetsis Harmonia
-Geminus
-Shadow Triad
-Anthea
-Concordia
-Professor Elm
-Brother and sister
-Bell Tower sages
-Paramedics


I have a pet peeve over epithets like “young woman”, “taller man”, etc because you often don’t think someone close or yourself as “woman” or “man”. I know sometimes I use title epithets like “detective”, “professor”, etc., but I think those are okay as it’s a bit more respectful and the career title gives the readers an idea of a person’s traits.

I understand. I was worried about sounding like I was reaching too far into 'too many synonyms' territory, but it looks like I went too far in the other direction. I'll try to fix that in the next chapter.

I was actually wondering when the Kiss of Death case will be brought up again and glad to hear it’s being mentioned.

Good. It's not going to be the most often-revisited plot point, but it's out there.

Oh boy. D: You mentioned vaguely time to time the meeting would happen, and yeah already looking forward to it, even though I know it’ll be quite an awkward situation.

Not just awkward, intense.

Oh, hi Nikolai. Yeah, he always seem to depart heh.

He's quite good at disappearing and arriving abruptly.

Ghetsis going to Eruteak City. That doesn’t sound too good. o_O

Oh, it's not. Trust me.

It's going to come to a head in chapters 18, 19 and 20, so look forward to that.

I like that extra detail you put in for Bugsy. It’s amusing though Nikolai thought it’s weird, lol.

I'm actually going to address this point while I reply to Doryuzu, so hold on for a second on that.

Olivia’s mental breakdown during the breakdown…oh ouch. o_O; Like Matt I too wondered why Bugsy didn’t notice that, though it can be easily explained he was focusing too much being the gym leader there.

Yes, that is correct. Bugsy was too focused on the battle to notice what was going on around him.

I like this particular detail here. Overall glad Olivia was more relaxed in the last part of the battle and she’s closer with Dewott now (yay for Oshawoot evolving!). Enjoyable overall.

Thank you.

I know this is supposed to be serious and all (and I do really like you had Team Rocket help him out), but I can’t help but think “Whitney’s Milktank sure is a beast…”.

That's precisely it, actually. Miltank really is a beast.

Yeah, gonna be picky over epithets again. Because the characters already knew Anabel, it’s weird to refer her as woman like that. Just referring to her name would be better.

I suppose you're right, though when I did it I thought that since she hadn't really appeared in the story yet, I shouldn't identify her by name immediately.

The last scene with Olivia not feeling well kinda caught me off guard. Something related to her mental breakdown earlier or her food, perhaps?

Maybe, maybe not...

Overall another enjoyable chapter there. Looking forward to more!

Thank you! I certainly will try to not have it be two months between chapters again.

Great dialogue from Nekou.

I loved writing that one.

Anime Easter egg and continuity with a character from Matt's past.

I had juggled a few different ideas for different people the cameo could have been before settling on Kodai.

As for Jacob, he's going to be quite a bit more than just a shout-out of continuity.

Just another great piece of dialogue from the enigmatic "Nikolai."

I liked it as a bit of continuity, too. I had the idea of what would happen with Oshawott planned out very early, so when Nikolai said that to Olivia earlier, it was foreshadowing.

Anyway, the little interrogation scene with Looker and Silver was...interesting. Silver expressing a disdain for his father, I wonder who his father could be and seeing Silver again in-general was certainly unexpected.

Silver's issue with his father is actually a subplot; I think you're going to like where it goes.

Looker's little thing with the Kiss of Death killer too, didn't expect to have that referenced.

It actually is a central plot point in more threads than you'd expect.

That being said, I also enjoyed how you played up Olivia's reluctance to answer the question and the aftermath of her encounter in Union Cave. Though if there's anything I think could have needed improving, the scene where Olivia comes to be comfy around Nekou again so easily felt more like a situation that would have more of a long-term impact for a little bit longer. Doesn't have to be in a huge way, but simply her being more hesitant of her and a bit unnerved at times and finally coming to have restored trust completely in Nekou at the end of the chapter.

Hmmm... I can definitely see your point. I'll need to be more mindful of that in future chapters.

Loved seeing Colress once again, he's got to be hands down my favorite scientist from the whole Pokemon series. You portrayed him well, not as a malicious jerk 24/7 but as a regular person with a bit of an ego and a scientist who seeks his own personal intellectual curiosity. Whether this aligns him with the most brutal or kind people has nothing to do with his own morals.

My personal view on him is that he doesn't actually have any morals, be them good or bad. One reason why I like him so much as a character is because his moral center is truly neutral and driven by his desires for scientific discovery.

Foreshadowing, Ghetsis, Elm, Seduire...Ilex Forest and malicious threats directed at Matt...this can't be good. The foreshadowing with the Rockets and how torn-up that Goldrenrod civilian was worked really well.

Yes, you're right, it's not going to be good... not for the story's world, at least. I think you'll like it.

I'm glad you liked how that foreshadowing was handled; it's something I thought of at the last minute but I think what was introduced will be quite important.

Nekou was entertaining and more "mature" this chapter, not as much of her snarky and crazy-beer chugging self and more down to Earth in this chapter. Which makes sense considering the overall tone and what just happened with her, letting Olivia take charge and caring for her so much and not intruding on her and keeping Matt at bay the whole time was for the best. I can say Nekou is easily becoming an even better and better character for me, not only because of how strong she is in-mind, physically and in maturity when the times come but because of how she had been an integral part of Olivia's influence. Olivia even was known for imitating her actions before.

Thank you for your kind words. I'm truly glad that you appreciate what I'm trying to go for with her, and because you like what I've done so far I feel confident in saying that what I have planned for her will be to your liking as well.

Bugsy had personality and an interesting gimmick in his gym challenge, that's a first, most media I across portray Bugsy blandly and/or androgynous and not as this knowledgeable young boy he's meant to be. His actions actually made him an entertaining gym leader, a sharp contrast to the more self-important/prideful Falkner.

Now this is what I was saying to wait for an answer to until I got to it.

There were several motivating factors for me when it came to Bugsy's portrayal. One is his depiction in the games (which to a degree also carries over into Pokemon Adventures.) He is supposed to be a knowledgeable student who is smart enough to have even created his own move in Fury Cutter; even his title, The Walking Bug Pokemon Encyclopedia, reflects that. From what I have seen he isn't the most often seen character in fanfiction to begin with, and when he does appear, it doesn't really seem like the author puts much focus on him. I wanted to shake up that expectation.

Another thing is that I recently read someone comment that they wished the anime depicts Gyms more like they're depicted in the games. I couldn't implement that into this adaptation in a practical manner, but I found an alternative - each Gym having a specific test or theme based on its setting, type and Gym Leader. Bugsy's theme was easy to decide; given his character centering on knowledge of Bug-type Pokemon, making the Gym become about that knowledge seemed an easy decision.

The battle against Pineco with Lillipup was entertaining, the battle against Illumise with Minccino was a huge shake up in Olivia's character. I wish I could say it was as entertaining but it wasn't, which is good, Olivia's inability to think up a strategy with her mind stressed and just attacking and attacking over head on could have well take her out of the gym battle. Still, surprisingly enough, her pulling through with a draw was satisfying if only because she's a character who you care for this chapter and truly root for because of how terrible she has it. You portrayed the decline in Olivia's humanity with the Swift attack showing Illumise and how it "cut" Illumise's body and Olivia's delight in how the attack is doing really well, the description pulls it together well and I have to say she looks really at her limits to a dangerous point here with the convulsing and Nikolai leaving.

If you don't mind, I'm going to skip over this part since we kind of discussed it already in VMs.

The illusionary Rich, Avril and Renzo was a great way of showing her downward spiral and showing off two prominent figures in the form of rivals in the story. In particular Avril, who views her as a true competitive rival who can bring out the best in her. That's a more dimensional approach from the spiteful Renzo.

I should just remind you that those were Olivia's hallucinations of them, so what they were saying was merely Olivia's imagination of what they might say. But you're right. I found it to be an effective method of showing what kind of pressure she truly was under. She could have just talked about Rich, Avril and Renzo, but that wouldn't have illustrated the overwhelming point of what kind of stress she felt. The severity of the situation for her called for a dramatic illustration.

Liked the last battle and how innovative Olivia was during crunch time, needless to say I liked the evolution and how Olivia finally gave Dewott his props for once. Dewott has been a big part of of Olivia's character development thus far since she started out pretty uncaring and apathetic toward him but has grown to like him and realized how wrong she was with being so critical of him. Even Dewott seemed to have grown since he had achieved his goal of gaining Olivia's praise and attention and more confident a battler in his own right.

Like I mentioned earlier, I had Oshawott's story planned out to this point from a very early stage. I think there's still some ground to cover with it on both Olivia and Dewott's parts (especially Dewott's) but those will come with time.

And surprisingly we end this chapter on a cliff-hanger, I'm interested to see what happens next given there seemed to be something foreshadowing Seduire.

Get used to those cliffhangers, you'll be seeing a lot of them.

The foreshadowing with Seduire is leading right into the next chapter.
 

The Great Butler

Hush, keep it down
I loved everything about this chapter, and I'm going to cover a lot of ground in this review, so let's get going.

Okay, let's.

I really loved this interrogation scene, it really gave a clear picture of Olivia, Silver, and Looker's characters. Silver is a little **** and I found myself agreeing with Looker before too long. I also really think Olivia's choice of food fits her character well for some reason.

I think I enjoyed writing it for similar reasons. It really felt like a good chance to put characters with differing personalities together, and it was fun to see it play out.

And yes, I did try to make the food choices match the characters at least loosely.

Poor Olivia, I can really tell just how betrayed she still feels.

Yeah, that's definitely strong here. She was putting a lot of stock in her relationship with Nekou, and for something so frightening to happen... it really shakes her faith.

I thought this was a really adorable scene and a really close moment between the two of them, showing them truly understanding and accepting each other. The themes from the previous chapter continue, and I really like how you kept them for this scene. Seeing Nekou drop her tough exterior for just a moment was really cute and touching.

This was really a very vital scene. Nekou was always much more complex than her surface would make it seem, and this scene combined with what happened in the previous chapter is absolutely vital to beginning to open up her true self.

The mystery deepens... I'm wondering how it is Looker was off the case too, and Looker's discussion of the newest details makes me think something fishy is going on here. I can't wait to learn more.

You bet something fishy is going on.

The way Ghetsis' speeches can be so gripping and enthrall such huge crowds is nothing short of chilling, and this speech, like the others, was terrifying, particularly in how the crowd is eating up his every word.

And if you think this is bad... the next speeches are going to be much, much worse. This is just the end of the beginning.

Poor Olivia... she's been having a rough journey and this certainly probably isn't inspiring any confidence in her. Nekou's reassurance is really sweet, though.

You're right, none of this is helping. She's swept up in something much bigger than her, which is an important plot thread.

Nice shoutouts to both Movie 13 and to your previous work.

Now, I've got to correct you here. Bay created Jacob and was generous enough to let me use him. What happened in the past between Matt and Jacob was in Bay's fic.

I wonder where this is going to go?

Someplace... startling, let's say.

Shut up, Silver.

You know everyone was thinking that.

Hopefully Nikolai's assessment will make Olivia feel a little more confident in her abilities as a trainer as well as Oshawott's power as a Pokemon.

It's going to be a help, yes.

I really enjoyed the way you perfectly captured Colress' excitement over working with technology and science and accomplishing his goals. I think you really do both his game as well as his anime personalities justice and combine them fairly well.

Like I've mentioned before, I wanted to portray Colress as someone who has absolutely no moral center. He isn't consciously good or consciously evil, he simply is, and that might be more terrifying than either of the other possibilities.

This chilled me even further... Ghetsis, willing to kill his most trusted underlings for failure, and all of them still sound eager to carry out their orders, Chaos' cruelty to Elm... every one of his scenes are terrifying with how they show his utter lack of any decency to achieve his goals.

That's right. While they're both unbound by normal rules and governed instead by their desires, Colress's most selfish wish is to get credit for his discoveries. Ghetsis, on the other hand, is a raging egomaniac and even today sees himself as far superior to everyone and everything around him. To Ghetsis, the way he treats his followers and captives is entirely justified because in his mind, he is better than them and thus has the right to do it.

Excellent use of detail to paint a very vivid picture of the Azalea Gym. Bugsy reading a book while waiting for challengers is a really nice detail, it fits him.

Yes, I knew right away it would. Like I mentioned earlier, a big part of my inspiration for his character was the academic background his character has in the games.

It took me a minute to understand why she did this but then I realized she was trying to help Olivia gain confidence in herself. I like the detail, it's a really nice and touching one.

I'm proud of that part, because usually I'm not able to pull off character development and plot advancement in such a strong way while still remaining subtle.

I have been Nekou many times.

Well, books are great.

I actually really like the concept of scaling battles to the number of badges a challenger possesses.

And it appears to be canon now thanks to Pokemon Origins, so everything worked out, didn't it?

I like Bugsy's motivations for running his gym to reflect his interests.

I wanted to portray a sense of small-town innocence that hasn't been touched by the flow of time. Given what's about to happen, it may be the last time you see such a thing.

I could really tell just from how shaky Olivia's voice was that she was still a little nervous about battling in a gym.

Did I effectively get across that she was intimidated by being in a Gym again? I wanted to show her being intimidated due to the memory of what happened the last time she was in a Gym.

I can tell Bugsy truly enjoys discovering and battling new Pokemon from this.

Well, it fits with his student theme. He's someone who always is trying to gain more knowledge.

I'll give my impressions of the battle up to the next point I'm going to discuss together, since there's so much ground to cover: I think this really shows Olivia's strengths as a trainer and the way she strategizes well, and I think you paced it fairly well. It shows how she's grown, even with the setbacks in her life, and how she's coming to more fully trust her Pokemon. Lillipup, of course, is cute as ever, and I like Bugsy's battle style, as well- I think he really uses the typing of his gym well.

Thank you! I really tried to put effort into it, so it's gratifying to hear that it turned out well.

Oh no... I understand totally why Olivia is panicking over getting the answer wrong too, knowing she probably feels like she has a lot expected of her. What she learned earlier in the story probably isn't helping much either.

That's correct. The expectations she felt, both her own and those of other people, she perceived them as all piling on her. It's a steadily building problem.

When Olivia doesn't respond to a challenge like that, you know something's wrong...

Oh yes, very wrong.

Oh no Olivia... poor Olivia. I can really identify with what she's going through now and totally get why you put those warnings at the beginning of the chapter now.

I wasn't sure at first whether to put the warnings/what warnings to put, but I'm quite glad I did in the end.

When not even Nekou is sure about her...

Precisely what I was going for. Nekou's extreme moods and behaviors make her useful for conveying the seriousness of a situation when necessary.

Oh no...



Yeah, that's not like her at all. Something is definitely going horribly, horribly wrong.

Hold on, it's about to go downhill.

I really enjoy how her mannerisms reflect her slow spiral into insanity she's experiencing right now.

Not just her mannerisms, but her speech too. Notice how with this specific line she's begun rambling incoherently.

I'm concerned too. You're doing amazing capturing just how terrifying it is to have this kind of thing happen.

Thank you. I put a lot of thought into this scene in order to get this right in a way that was accurate and respectful.

She's going to crash soon...



I know that feeling of being unaware of your surroundings all too well... Olivia isn't doing great right now and I can tell she's really scared and confused at everything happening all around her.

That's what I really wanted to show, the loss of awareness of all of your surroundings as those surroundings are replaced by fears and hallucinations.

It's a relief to know it worked.

This hit me really hard... all of Olivia's past failures coming back to haunt her, speaking to her in her hallucination, and then Rich appearing before her and completely crushing her world. I seriously teared up reading her hallucination of Rich, reading as she saw her father- even if he wasn't really there in the scene- completely reject her, her worst fear in the world, and her begging to go back to him. You do a fantastic job capturing what it's like to be someone who's lost all faith in everything, and I think that's something you should be proud of, because it's not an easy thing to write. You truly made me feel the hopelessness and desperation Olivia was experiencing.

This was what I had to do. In order for Olivia to begin building herself up as her own person and grow to be independent of needing what she perceives as Rich's approval, she had to hit absolute rock bottom first, and this was the form it took. Of course, she was hallucinating Rich here, meaning that this was a hallucinatory manifestation of her absolute worst fears, but again, she had to address these things before being able to pick herself up. She had to feel that hopelessness and desperation.

I like this description of the facility. You really set a good atmosphere with it.

Thanks. I'm hoping to use this scene to build off of later.

I laughed. Typical Colress, never caring what's appropriate for the situation.



I love Colress so much. You really do capture his character perfectly.

He's a lot of fun to write. I kind of picture him as the one who nobody really likes working with, but they do it because despite his arrogance he is undeniably brilliant.

There's a secret in this scene.

Google Glass? (brick'd)

Specifically it's designed after Gendo Ikari's visor in the third Rebuild of Evangelion film, but I suppose it does have some similar functions.

Awww :(

Nekou is being really sweet here and I can tell she was really worried about Olivia.

She is capable of being serious and legitimately caring when she needs to. Nekou's really a character full of contradictions.

I'm really happy Nekou, Bugsy, and Matt are being shown handling the situation with sensitivity to Olivia and her boundaries, and they're doing all the right things in this situation. There need to be more stories like this.

Like I mentioned earlier, I did a lot of research to ensure I got this right. It was very important to me to accurately depict someone suffering from a panic attack and that person being treated respectfully afterward.

Well, Matt's right.

I want to think that he learned something from what just happened with her, too.

I really admire Olivia in this situation. She just went through hell but even after that, she wants to challenge herself.



This just shows so much how Olivia's grown since the beginning of the story, and how much her friendship with Oshawott has strengthened. She's gone from accepting him begrudgingly to fully accepting him as part of her team.

I think she recognizes what she has to do to move on. She might not be able to cope with it all easily, but she knows what has to happen.

I'm not really surprised Bugsy has a Shelmet.

Me neither. I just wish I had gotten the chance to have him use it, but the flow just didn't work out.

Holy crap, I did NOT expect that to happen at all. Great twist. Nekou's right, and Olivia having to remember Oshawott isn't Oshawott anymore is really cute.

I thought it would be a cute little bit to toss in.

This is really clever strategy on Olivia's part and it's clear now she's back to herself. Excellent thinking there.

It's probably obvious since I foreshadowed the silk, but this was one of the first things I came up with for this battle.

Heh, Nekou's hug is awesome and I want to hug Olivia too, because I'm so happy with her.



I'm really happy Olivia got the badge after all the trouble she went through during the battle, and I think it's really inspiring how even after going through her worst despair ever, she managed to bounce back.

I'm glad you liked it. You already know what I wanted to accomplish with the chapter, so it's good to know I accomplished it.

I really love the description of the setting in this paragraph. I think it really effectively shows the contrast between the part of Goldenrod that they want others to see vs. the part they don't.

Good. This was very important, as the next chapters will be dealing with it extensively.

Knowing what Jessie went through, I believe her.

That's right, her actions in this scene are indeed building right off of her past in the anime.

James is a bro.




This is really touching, particularly Giovanni slipping the young man some money. You know things are bad when even he finds himself caring...

Now see, I know we know that James is capable of doing good when he wants, but I really believe that despite being a hardened villain Giovanni still has some nobility about himself. I kind of get the feeling that Giovanni approaches villainy like a business, especially compared to someone like Ghetsis, who is just evil because of his ego. I think Giovanni might just like a good underdog story, too.

Nice nod to previous events.

It felt right.

I should have expected Pierce coming out, but I didn't. He really is an awesome secret agent.

Hey, that corner was dark. He just couldn't help it.

This conversation was really adorable but also bittersweet. I could really tell Anabel's barely getting by and probably doesn't know what to say to Olivia at all.

That's an understatement.

Wow, Nekou.

It's true, though.

Aw, that's really sweet. I think it's fitting for her to order a dish her dad made for her after winning that gym battle.

I felt it helped to give closure to a major stage in her life.

I get the feeling Olivia spent a lot of time quietly contemplating this to herself, and I think it shows how much she's grown to be able to make that decision.

She was thinking about it for quite a long time, really.

PROTON!!!!

I think you did well with Zager's personality in this scene and the way he stays fairly cool even in situations like the one he found himself in with his readouts.

I always intended to bring in more Team Rocket members.

This situation Zager discovered isn't over yet... it's going to escalate.

Oh no... just when I thought Olivia would be okay, more stuff happens. Poor Olivia :(

Will be elaborated on next chapter... sort of.

Overall, I really enjoyed this chapter, and it took me on quite the emotional rollercoaster. Excellent work, especially with all the characterization Olivia received. I'm really looking forward to what's in store for the next one, especially with that cliffhanger you left all of us on.

Glad you enjoyed it! I think you'll be pleased with where it'll go next.
 
Last edited:

diamondpearl876

Well-Known Member
“Being there was a strange energy pulse in that area. Identical to it was the energy pulse that struck Route 29, so suspicious something there is, I suspect.”

Olivia looked up slightly, though not far enough to meet either pair of eyes opposite her. “So Matt was right…”

“Hm? What are you precisely speaking words about?”
Lol, I’ve got to say, you’ve got Looker’s unique sentence structure dialogue down.
“I’m going to be blunt here,” Matt said, staring at the wall. “Preventing her from being haunted by what happened in Union Cave is up to you. She won’t want to hear it from me, and hearing it from you would give it some weight.”
At least Matt knows his place. I can give him credit for that.
“I just heard that… what was it, like seventy percent of new trainers never even make it to the Pokémon League, and ninety percent of them don’t collect more than seven Badges? Is that what he said?”

“There have been more and more trainers washing up at Pokémon Centers in cities all over the place unable to continue going. Between the cost of healing their Pokémon, rooms and supplies, it’s no wonder so many don’t make it…”
A nice look into the harsh realities of pokemon training. I like it.
“But first, we have to have the next question. Answer it correctly and you’ll face my Shelmet, answer incorrectly and you’ll face Illumise. Here’s the question: which of these is not one of Pinsir’s possible Abilities? Is it Hyper Cutter, Anger Point or Mold Breaker?”
An interesting way to go about picking pokémon for a gym battle. Pretty clever and fits Bugsy well.

Bugsy’s words were barely getting through to Olivia at that point, though. She was too dizzy, too weak and too panicked to even register the compliments she’d been given. When she recalled Minccino, however, Bugsy took it as a signal that she was ready to continue, and he readied his Pokédex once again.

You’re doing a pretty good job at showing Olivia’s tension during this battle. I also like how Nekou and Matt want to interfere, but it’s probably not the best idea. They’re torn and quite frankly I’m not sure what I’d do for her either if I were in their shoes. I was sorry to see Olivia react as badly as she did, but the hallucination with her father was heartbreaking and interesting to read. I was also glad to see her win, but then she collapses? Will she ever get a break? You might want to watch out on how many bad things you do to her or your readers may lose interest because they know only bad things will happen.
 

The Great Butler

Hush, keep it down
Lol, I’ve got to say, you’ve got Looker’s unique sentence structure dialogue down.

I was running with the (seemingly now canon?) theory that the different regions actually speak different languages and he's not in his native region. That's why his inner thoughts were in correct English while his actual speech is jumbled.

At least Matt knows his place. I can give him credit for that.

As I think about it, though, I don't know if he'd actually be able to admit such a thing to Olivia herself, at least at the precise point we're discussing.

A nice look into the harsh realities of pokemon training. I like it.

I think it makes a lot of sense if you think about it. Especially in the games, where the statistics I gave here are probably too low - for a system where anyone with eight Badges can challenge the Elite Four directly to work strictly as depicted in the games, a challenger would have to be an extreme rarity.

An interesting way to go about picking pokémon for a gym battle. Pretty clever and fits Bugsy well.

Thanks.

You’re doing a pretty good job at showing Olivia’s tension during this battle. I also like how Nekou and Matt want to interfere, but it’s probably not the best idea. They’re torn and quite frankly I’m not sure what I’d do for her either if I were in their shoes.

Thank you, I'm glad I succeeded in creating the moral conflict I was aiming for. I don't think I could have done any better than how you got it.

I was sorry to see Olivia react as badly as she did, but the hallucination with her father was heartbreaking and interesting to read. I was also glad to see her win, but then she collapses? Will she ever get a break? You might want to watch out on how many bad things you do to her or your readers may lose interest because they know only bad things will happen.

I understand why you'd feel that way, and it's perfectly legitimate. I'll offer, though, the same explanation I gave earlier - in order to overcome the problems created by her past and then grow into someone better, Olivia first had to absolutely hit rock bottom so hard that she would literally have nothing left, and only then would she be able to begin rebuilding from scratch. It is a fair point to say that I should avoid doing too many bad things, and I agree with that, but a major theme in the story is the idea of finding the good hidden by the very bad things that happen.
 

diamondpearl876

Well-Known Member
I understand why you'd feel that way, and it's perfectly legitimate. I'll offer, though, the same explanation I gave earlier - in order to overcome the problems created by her past and then grow into someone better, Olivia first had to absolutely hit rock bottom so hard that she would literally have nothing left, and only then would she be able to begin rebuilding from scratch. It is a fair point to say that I should avoid doing too many bad things, and I agree with that, but a major theme in the story is the idea of finding the good hidden by the very bad things that happen.

That makes sense. As long as you have a reason for it, then I don't see a problem with it. Thanks for clarifying.
 

The Great Butler

Hush, keep it down
There is some drug use and bloody violence in this chapter, just a warning.

-:-

CHAPTER 12: Alekhine’s Gun

-:-

In the dark alley within Goldenrod City’s southern slum, Pierce led Giovanni, Ariana, Jessie and James to a hidden doorway. Once inside the building, he brought them to the top floor and stopped just outside of a closed room.

“Giovanni, Ariana, right this way,” Pierce said as he inserted a key into the door and opened it.

Giovanni nodded to Pierce and entered the room, followed in similar fashion by the others. Pierce closed and relocked the door once they were all inside.

The base Pierce had spoken of was, in actuality a mostly empty storage area. Three laptop computers were set up on some tables at the end of the room, where three other people were waiting. Jessie and James hung back, their faces glistening with nerve-induced sweat.

“Giovanni, sir!” the older of the two women happily said. Her age was given away by the streaks of gray in her thick, dark green hair, but she was also bound to a sophisticated computerized wheelchair. Using a trackpad located next to the red digital keyboard on her right armrest, she maneuvered herself up to Giovanni. “Good to see you all here in one piece. We’ve gotten the base together, as ordered.” She took an ornate pipe and lighter out of the pocket on her floral-necked lab coat, then lit the pipe and deeply inhaled from it before adding, “It’s a modest affair, I know, but it serves its purpose.”

“Rosalie, what of the Meteonite?”

Before Rosalie could answer Giovanni’s question, Jessie and James jumped in front of him and interrupted. The worry they both felt was overwhelming, and when added to how close they both felt to what they wanted, they were both left fighting back tears in front of their superiors.

“Boss, please forgive us, but we can’t wait anymore!”

James immediately continued Jessie’s thought by saying, “Meowth has been missing for too long! Do you three know where he is?!”

Giovanni clenched his fist, but calmed when Ariana grabbed his arm.

“Don’t get mad at them, it’s not worth it. They just miss their teammate… which is understandable.”

Rosalie smiled warmly. “My, my, you’re quite eager, aren’t you? Luckily, I think I have some good news. Trevor, Ada, come here.”

Responding to the scientist’s gesture, the other two Team Rocket members who had been waiting with her approached. Both of them were wearing black variations of Stacia’s uniform, complete with the same parallel columns of gold buttons on the chests. Trevor wore pants and boots with his uniform while Ada wore a one-piece, knee-length dress and sneakers.

“Go ahead and tell them what we got,” Rosalie directed after a moment of Jessie and James just staring eagerly up at them.

“W-well…” Ada shyly said. Out of nervousness, she scratched at her sky-blue hair as she spoke. “…Team Rocket has… someone on the inside of Polaris. Based on what he’s told us… Meowth is somewhere in this city.”

“Really?”

“Is that really true?”

Amused by Jessie and James’s passion for saving Meowth, Trevor laughed and brushed some of his long brown hair from his face. “It’s called the Purine Base, apparently. We know that it’s one of Polaris’s major facilities and that it’s in this very city, but we don’t know exactly where. Apparently, the exact location is kept a secret even from Polaris’s members.”

“It would stand to reason that they also took the Meteonite there,” Ariana concluded, disgust evident on her face and in her voice. “If we find Meowth, we find the Meteonite.”

“Correct, Executive Ariana,” Rosalie confirmed. “We know that wherever the Purine Base in Goldenrod City is, Polaris has definitely taken both Meowth and the Meteonite there.”

“Then we should find out where they are, march right in and take what belongs to us!” Jessie boldly proposed. She accentuated her point by balling up her fist and striking it against her chest.

“Patience.” Trevor urged, before smirking mischievously. “We’re working on a plan for when all our forces are ready, but mark my words, we will look for Polaris, we will find them, and we will beat them.”

“W-we can’t b-be… too reckless. Polaris is… already planning something in this city.”

“Do explain,” Giovanni ordered.

Rosalie took a long drag from her pipe and exhaled the smoke, then entered a command into her wheelchair’s computer. A red-and-black digital screen was projected in front of her, and an intense look filled her somewhat-bloodshot eyes as she looked at it.

“A post went up on the Polaris website,” she explained. “It says that a ‘day of the people’ will take place in Goldenrod City in three days… well, two, once midnight passes… and it will include a speech presented live in person by Ghetsis’s deputy Zinzolin. We suspect they might be planning to use the public protest as a cover for some other deed.”

Giovanni did not respond right away. Instead, he walked across the room to a large chair that was set up near a wide window, sat down, and leaned to his side as he thought.

“I agree,” he finally said, “they’re likely using it as a distraction. We can try to implement our own operation to derail theirs. Rosalie, Ada, Trevor, keep gathering intelligence from our man on the inside while we wait for our remaining field agents.”

“Yes, sir!” all three of them responded.

“What about us, dear Boss?” James asked, resisting the urge to fall to his knees and beg.

“You two will wait here,” he rumbled dramatically. “I have a very specific job in mind for you.”

-:-

On the eastern end of Azalea Town, a short distance from both the main population and the town’s entrance, stood the Slowpoke Well. While on the surface it merely seemed to be an unassuming stone tube piercing the earth, at the bottom of the well was an expansive cave, the environment of the Pokémon that loaned the well its name.

The next morning, having recovered from her sudden bout of illness the night before, Olivia had gone to the Slowpoke Well with Silver, looking to capture Pokémon. It was home to more than just Slowpoke, and she had found a Pokémon she wanted to catch. Silver stood back, leaning against a wall and watching as Olivia battled the Pokémon with her Roselia. She overwhelmed it quite quickly and threw a Poké Ball at it, at which point she could only stand by and watch as the ball shook on the ground.

“Come on…” she thought, clenching her fists and teeth. “I have to get more Pokémon if I’m going to get anywhere!”

The Poké Ball pinged just then, almost as if it was responding to Olivia’s pleas. She didn’t react right away, instead, she simply stared at the now-still sphere, letting what had happened sink in.

“I… I actually got another Pokémon…” she uttered, slipping to her knees behind Roselia. Tears briefly welled up in her eyes as she realized that it was the first Pokémon she had captured after finding out the truth about her father. A feeling of confusion came over her, and it didn’t go away even when Roselia tried to hug her leg.

“It’s just capturing a Pokémon…” Silver said as he walked up to her. “I don’t understand why you’re so worked up over it.”

“Sentimental value!” Olivia shot back. “The Pokémon I caught before this was… I caught it while being driven by something I don’t have anymore. This is really the first time I’ve caught a Pokémon for myself and not for my dad…”

“I will never understand the attachment someone like you gets to a father figure,” he harshly stated. “I have no need to be seen as worthy in my father’s eyes, and if you ask me, you should get over it too.”

“Shut up! What right have you got to tell me what to do? My dad meant everything to me and now he’s completely gone!”

Silver opened his mouth to answer, but didn’t speak a word before he froze. After remaining still for a moment, he sharply lashed his head around, listening for something.

“Collect your Pokémon and come here,” he whispered. “I heard something. Someone’s here.”

Olivia quickly heeded Silver’s advice, picking up the Poké Ball containing her new Pokémon and returning Roselia to her own. Once she moved up alongside Silver, she quietly asked, “What’s going on?”

“I heard someone moving around. Be careful.”

Silver stepped out from the wall and took several paces forward, intending to peer down a nearby tunnel to see if he could make anything out. However, as soon as he reached the tunnel, someone came running out and collided with him.

“What are you...” Silver froze when he saw who he was looking at – a man wearing a black uniform that bore a red ‘R’ insignia. Almost instantly, his mood turned to pure rage. “You, Proton!”

Proton initially reacted with surprise to his encountering Silver, stepping back with a wide-eyed look on his face. He quickly shifted to a more sarcastic tone, however, with his expression changing to a manic grin to match.

“Well, well, look who the Meowth dragged in!” Proton chuckled menacingly. “It’s the return of the prodigal son!”

“Shut it!” Silver growled, sweeping his arm before himself. “Tell me what he’s got you doing here right now!”

“Maybe you should go ask your daddy yourself. I’m sure he’d like to see you!”

“Silver, what’s going on?” demanded Olivia. She felt her stomach beginning to turn.

“Nothing you need to get involved in,” Silver answered through clenched teeth while arming himself with one of his Poké Balls. “Get out of here. Go find Looker and tell him what’s happening.”

Proton shrugged and turned up his hands. He hadn’t immediately noticed Olivia, but her presence barely fazed him. “So sorry, little lady, looks like you just got stuck in the middle of this. Thank Silver for getting you caught in the sights of the scariest and cruelest guy in Team Rocket!”

Before either Olivia or Silver could react, Proton opened one of his own Poké Balls, releasing a Shuckle. Much like his trainer, the Shuckle wore a crazed, menacing look.

“Hold her down, Shuckle! Wrap!”

Taking aim squarely at Olivia, Proton’s Shuckle reared back and shot his front legs from his shell like tentacles. Repulsed by the idea of even being touched, she recoiled and started to run, but a huge shape towering over her shielded her from Shuckle’s grasp.

“Feraligatr,” Silver shouted over Olivia’s gasp, “Ice Punch!”

Using his right arm, Feraligatr delivered a forceful chop strengthened by freezing air to the tentacles wrapped around his left. Shuckle recoiled from the chill and pulled his legs back into his shell.

“Tch… giving us a hard time like always, Silver?” Proton spat, his face curling in disgust.

“More like beating you and taking you down again!” Quickly turning to look at Olivia over his shoulder, Silver again yelled, “Go! Get out of here and go get Looker!”

Olivia wanted to run, but she found her body slow to respond to her mental commands due to her fear in the moment. The only immediate response available to her was to back up slowly and just try to put some distance between herself and the danger.

Proton laughed, his sadistic grin returning. “Boy, Silver, aren’t you a hero? Some hero when you don’t even bother telling her how close she really is to us!”

“Go!” Silver roared at Olivia, ignoring Proton’s mocking.

“O…okay!”

Olivia’s mind and body finally clicked together, allowing her to turn and run. As she fled she could hear the crashes and explosions of an unfolding battle behind her, but she could not pay much attention to it. She just knew she had to get away as quickly as possible.

-:-

“The Pokémon World Tournament is soon to begin!” the stout, thick-browed man on the Azalea Town Pokémon Center’s television announced. “ Pokémon Trainers from all around the world are gathering here at the Realgam Tower in Orre, and I, Freddy the Scoop, will be there to bring you all the exciting action!”

The lobby of the Pokémon Center was fairly empty that morning. Azalea Town wasn’t often visited by large amounts of traffic, instead, it was usually the case that only a few trainers at a time would come for their Hive Badges and leave as soon as they got them. Only a small handful of people, including the nurse, were in the lobby while Matt, Looker and Nikolai were there watching television and drinking coffee.

“It makes me happy…” Nikolai mumbled, staring at the screen.

“What’s that?”

Shifting his gaze sideways to look at Matt, Nikolai answered, “…that Pokémon can bring people together over such distances. I want the world to be a place where people and Pokémon can grow together through their interactions with each other. That’s my ideal formula…”

“I can appreciate that. I mean…” Matt noticed Looker staring intensely at the two of them, but didn’t pay it much attention. “…if that kind of thing came to pass, perhaps it would be therapeutic to Olivia’s mind. I’ve noticed that she really opens up when Pokémon are involved.”

“So where is Olivia, anyway?” Matt and Nikolai’s conversation was interrupted by Nekou swaggering in, with yet another beer can in her hand despite the early hour. She sipped at it, then continued, “I expected her to be out here with you.”

“So you finally woke up, huh?” Matt said with a wry grin. “Don’t worry about her. She felt better after last night, so she went with Silver to the Slowpoke Well to catch a new Pokémon.”

“The… Slowpoke Well?” In an instant, the cool, flippant attitude present in Nekou’s expression evaporated, giving way to a hardened, dismayed look. “With Silver?”

“Yeah, when she brought up the idea, I didn’t want her to go alone but I did want her to strike out on her own a bit. Looker was the one that suggested Silver go with her.”

“But… the Slowpoke Well? What made you think that **** was a good idea?”

Matt shrugged. “It’s open to the public, so she’s not going anywhere she shouldn’t. What’s the worst that could happen?”

As if on cue, at literally the moment Matt closed his mouth, the Pokémon Center’s doors slid open and Olivia came crashing through.

“Matt!” she screamed out, not realizing where her group was yet. “Nekou! Mister Looker!”

Nekou immediately pitched her beer can into a nearby garbage pail with great skill, then hurried to Olivia. The three men were left standing behind her, confused and worried about what had upset her.

“Olivia, calm down!” Nekou implored her young friend, who collapsed into her arms. “Tell me what happened!”

“I… I caught a new Pokémon… but then we ran into him…”

“Who is ‘him?’” Matt questioned, not noticing how Nekou shuddered upon Olivia’s revelation.

“And Silver, what is the location of his being currently?”

“It was a man called Proton, who was wearing a Team Rocket uniform. Silver knew him, I think. He tried to capture me when we ran into him but Silver stayed behind to battle him.”

“If the Team Rocket has started some sort of operation of sorts,” Looker pondered while holding his chin, “it is being my duty as an International Police agent elite in rank to stop it!”

Stopping only to shoot Nekou a brief, venomous glare, Looker sprinted for the door, leaving Matt, Olivia, Nekou and Nikolai no choice but to leave their coffee behind and follow.

Bright, blazing sunlight greeted them as they reached the outdoors, forcing them to try and hastily adjust their vision. Having gotten outside first, Looker got used to the morning sun before any of the others, and ran off to the east while shouting nonsensically about Team Rocket. The others were able to follow him after a brief moment.

As soon as the stone entrance to the Slowpoke Well came into view, it became clear that the conflict had escalated. Proton had fled to the surface with Silver in pursuit, and the two were now fighting out in the open. Silver’s Feraligatr had just delivered a finishing blow to Proton’s Shuckle, and having recalled his Pokémon, Proton was starting to flee using a jetpack strapped to his back.

Just as his jetpack’s rockets ignited, Proton caught sight of Looker. Shooting the detective a sarcastic grin, he saluted and yelled, “Missed me again, didn’t you?”

“Stop! International Police!”

“Oh, come the **** on!” Nekou groaned in exasperation. “You seriously think that he’ll stop for that?”

Proton lifted into the air and, without hesitation, turned to Ilex Forest to the west and began to fly off.

Silver, however, would have none of it, even as Matt, Looker and the others just watched the Rocket Executive flee. “Feraligatr, shoot him down, right now!” he shouted, pointing at Proton. “Dragon Pulse!”

Locking his gaze onto the shrinking figure in the sky, Feraligatr opened his mouth as widely as his large jaw would allow. A cluster of blue light took shape just within, which within seconds fired like a cannon of energy. The attack managed to hit Proton with pinpoint accuracy, and though none of the group could hear him swearing his luck, they were able to see his jetpack fail, sending him falling into the forest.

“What are you all waiting for?!” Silver demanded, recalling Feraligatr as soon as his work was done. “Let’s go after him! I’m sure that’s not a problem for any of you, is it?”

Silver didn’t wait for an answer to his question. He just turned and ran, his body overflowing with more than enough energy to run all the way across Azalea Town and into Ilex Forest. Matt, Olivia, Looker and Nikolai all followed immediately while Nekou brought up the rear, scowling viciously all the while.

-:-

In his laboratory, Dr. Zager was frantically entering commands into his computer while Galvantula skittered around in the background, alarmed by the sound of his voice.

“Proton? Proton, come in!” Overcome by frustration, Zager slammed his fist down on his desk. “Of all the times to lose communication...”

Returning to the thermal imaging of Ilex Forest, the scientist found himself unable to do much more than stare at the readouts it displayed. Since the night before, multiple bursts matching the signature of Meteonite energy had been detected there, but there was something else, another kind of energy flowing through the area that truly put his nerves on edge. He kept watching the time-lapse reading of the forest over and over, searching for an answer he wasn’t sure was there.

-:-

Even though it was the middle of a clear morning, Ilex Forest was still a gloomy place. The one saving grace that the group had was the availability of a long but clear and distinct path to follow. The relatively small number of travelers that came through the area were still enough to convey the need for a road; without it, the forest would be nearly impossible to pass through.

“He’s got to be nearby here,” Silver said. “He didn’t get far into the forest before I shot him down.”

“Pardon me for chiming in, but maybe it would help to have a Pokémon search? You have a Gengar, as I recall.”

Silver was caught by surprise by Matt’s suggestion, but he thought about it and quickly realized that the idea was a smart one. After removing Gengar’s Poké Ball from his belt, Silver opened it, releasing the ghost. Gengar grinned widely and laughed, happy to be doing something.

“Gengar, look through this immediate area for a man wearing a Team Rocket uniform,” the red-haired trainer directed. “If you find him, bring us to him immediately.”

Gengar nodded and said his name to confirm that he understood what Silver wanted him to do, then drifted off into the woods. However, Silver let out an angry sigh and sharply turned to his companions.

“I could use a little help, you know. I don’t expect it from all of you but I’m sure at least one of you will put in the effort.”

“You know, you could just say please,” Olivia muttered, though she did let her Minccino out. Almost immediately, the Normal-type Pokémon fretted about cleaning up some nearby leaves using her tail.

“For as rude as he was happening to be behaving in the manner of, Silver does occur to have a point,” Looker commented. “Matt, what Pokémon have you got in possession on your person?”

“Right now? I’m carrying Heatran, Sigilyph, Eelektrik, Golurk, Roggenrola and Drilbur.”

“A Psychic-type ought to be of use…” Nikolai listlessly said.

“And she can fly, too. I agree.” Matt reached into his bag, intending to take out the Poké Ball containing Ayingott, his Sigilyph.

Just as he put his hand on it, though, an unexpected interruption broke in. A loudly-screeching horde of Zubat and Hoothoot, numbering about thirteen total, emerged from the trees. The Hoothoot had dull, tired looks in their eyes, and despite having no eyes to share it, the Zubat were carrying themselves in the same agitated manner.

“Look at their eyes,” Nekou growled, “or at least the Hoothoot, anyway. And nocturnal Pokémon out in the daytime?”

“Are you suggesting what I think you are?” Matt asked without looking at her.

“Yeah, I am. They’re under Meteonite influence, just like all those other Pokémon… like the ones in Union Cave.”

“I can feel something influencing their minds…” added Nikolai, standing with his arms spread.

Some of the Zubat and Hoothoot took notice of Olivia’s Minccino sitting on the ground before them and became even more angered. Before she even realized what was happening, she found herself being targeted by multiple Air Cutter and Night Shade attacks.

“Stop those with Swift!” Olivia quickly commanded.

Minccino lashed her tail forward, spraying a wave of stars to shield herself. Most of the white and purple energy waves coming her way were dispelled, but a few still got through. She was only struck by the Air Cutters, though, as she was immune to the Ghost-type Night Shades. Scratched in several places and dirty from the dust kicked up around her, she fled back to the safety of Olivia’s arms.

“Minccino, it’s okay…” she whispered to her Pokémon, gently stroking Minccino’s head.

“I’ll take care of this. Ayingott, make your mark!”

The Sigilyph burst from the Poké Ball she was contained within. Right away, she noticed the injured Minccino in Olivia’s arms and realized the Zubat and Hoothoot were to blame. She confronted the gang by angrily chirping at them, but they were too far gone under the Meteonite’s influence to fully notice.

They did, however, perceive Ayingott as a threat. The Hoothoot hung back while the Zubat encircled her, preparing to attack.

“Ayingott, that’s nothing to you! Wipe them all out with Psychic!”

Much to Matt’s surprise, Ayingott hesitated. She didn’t wait for long, but it was enough that Matt and the others noticed. When she attacked, she used her psychic power to surround all of the Zubat with blue light before tossing them away.

“What happened?”

Nikolai stepped up alongside Matt, but didn’t look at him, instead covering his eyes with his hat. “I sense that your Sigilyph is unhappy with something. Not you, but… there is something weighing on its mind.”

Matt looked back up, struggling to identify in his mind what it was that he had done wrong, only to see that the Zubat had somehow quickly returned to surround Ayingott once again. Meanwhile, Silver had sent out his Alakazam, and the two of them were trying to cut down the Hoothoot with electric bolts Alakazam was launching from the spoons he held.

Suddenly, a Swift attack struck some of the Zubat, breaking their formation around Ayingott. Matt turned in surprise to see that Olivia’s Minccino had regained her courage and was rejoining the fight, having climbed out of her trainer’s arms.

“Thanks for that, Minccino,” he said, though he was looking at Olivia. “How about we do this together?”

“All three of us?” Nekou interrupted, holding a Poké Ball in her hand.

“You know what, that’s a good idea,” Matt said with a smile. “Let’s go for it, all of us! Manticore, make your mark!”

“Join them, Marie!”

Matt’s Roggenrola and Nekou’s Sneasel stepped up alongside Minccino after taking form. Marie looked to Minccino and growled sharply, smiling to encourage her companion. Manticore, however, didn’t wait for Minccino and Marie or even for any orders from Matt. As soon as she saw the swarm of Zubat, she jumped into battle, shooting a stream of four rocks at them. The Zubat scattered but reformed with some speed.

“Manticore, I didn’t tell you to use Rock Blast yet!”

“Looks like it hasn’t gotten much more obedient since you caught it,” Nekou remarked. “Fine. As always, woman must clean up the mess created by man, huh? Olivia, let’s team up and do this. I want you to use Swift again.”

“Alright,” Olivia answered, nodding. “I trust you. Minccino, do it! Use Swift!”

Nekou watched as Minccino followed Olivia’s direction. Once the stars of Swift were in the air, Nekou followed with, “Now, Marie, use Ice Beam on Minccino’s Swift!”

While sharply hissing, Marie looked up at Minccino’s Swift attack and fired rays of blue, freezing energy from her claws. The ice surrounded the stars on contact, turning them into sharp-edged weapons that slashed through the Zubat horde. Many of them dropped to the ground, unable to continue after being cut down by the combination, leaving only three severely weakened Zubat still airborne.

“Let’s put an end to this all at once! Ayingott, hold them still with Psychic, and Manticore, hit one of them with Rock Blast!”

“Marie, take one of them out with Knock Off!”

“Minccino, you finish the last one off with Aqua Tail!”

The last three Zubat had attempted to attack again by opening their mouths wide, but Ayingott pinned them with her psychic power, rendering them unable to do so. Marie jumped at the trio as soon as they were frozen and smashed the middle Zubat into the earth with her right arm. Manticore followed up by taking aim at one of the others and shooting three rocks at it, and just as Olivia intended, Minccino smacked the last down with her glowing tail.

At the same time Matt, Nekou and Olivia were defeating the Zubat, Silver was finishing off the Hoothoot on his own using his Alakazam. The owl Pokémon proved to be little of a challenge to the powerful Psychic-type.

“Alakazam… you did well.” Holding up a yellow-and-black Ultra Ball, Silver recalled Alakazam back to its confines. Just as he did so, though, Gengar returned and began pulling on his arm. The ghost Pokémon gestured into the brush, prompting Silver to turn around – only to see a figure rushing through the forest not far away. “There he is! He was hiding right in front of us!”

“Silver, be waiting!” Looker’s call was in vain, as Silver, overcome with his wish to capture Proton, dashed off into the bushes to give chase after recalling Gengar. With no other options, Looker turned to the others and said, “We shall make note to meet up at the other end’s exit of the Ilex Forest!” before hurrying off after Silver.

“What is going on?” Matt wondered out loud as the detective departed.

“**** if I know,” Nekou said with a shrug. “But I’d be willing to hazard a guess that it’s Polaris’s fault. Those Zubat and Hoothoot were clearly under the influence of Meteonite energy, but there shouldn’t be any way for that to be possible. There were no meteor strikes in this area.”

“Nikolai, what did you mean by Ayingott being unhappy with something?” Matt questioned.

“I haven’t pinpointed it just yet… let’s walk with the Pokémon and perhaps I will figure it out.”

“I like that idea.”

With their plan set, the group continued down the road, walking with Ayingott, Manticore, Minccino and Marie alongside them.

They didn’t notice the twelve pairs of small, yellow eyes watching them from the bushes.

-:-

A large, metallic airship piloted by Colress was flying over the western ocean, heading in the direction of Goldenrod City. He was seated at an expansive control panel within the craft’s cockpit, and while flying it, he was also carrying on a videophone conversation with Getriebe and Jeunes.

“Everything’s all in order here,” Jeunes stated, smirking. “Two days from now, we’ll be able to execute the operation just as planned.”

“The research has been promising,” Getriebe added. “If my calculations are correct, the Meteonite will work exactly the way we want.”

“I’ll be there in plenty of time,” answered Colress. “Nothing will get in our way. Between the power of the Meteonite and the public support Mister Ghetsis’s speeches have been gaining for us, Polaris will reach its objective soon enough. What are you two currently doing?”

“We’ve nearly finished scanning our stocks of Pokémon into the Purine Base’s databanks,” Getriebe explained. “Once our indexing is complete, we’ll send the data to the Adenosine Base so you can use it.”

-:-

“I figured it out,” Nikolai abruptly announced while the group and their Pokémon were continuing down the road in Ilex Forest. “I know what your Sigilyph is distressed by.”

“Oh? What is it?”

“Your Sigilyph does not like its nickname. It wishes to be given a new one.”

“Wait, I don’t understand,” Matt replied, raising an eyebrow. Ayingott didn’t seem to dislike that nickname before.”

“I feel it may have been waiting to see on its own if you would change its nickname… now that Sigilyph has decided that you aren’t going to be doing that, it’s beginning to act out.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Nekou remarked, walking with her arms crossed behind her head. She then glanced back to Olivia, only to notice that she had her head down. “What’s wrong?”

“Something doesn’t feel right,” Olivia sullenly said. “I feel kind of sick again… and I really want to see my mom for some reason. All of a sudden I really miss her.”

“We’ll call her when we get to Goldenrod City, okay?” Matt was attempting to reassure Olivia, but in his own mind, he was nervous. Anabel’s poor state when they’d contacted her the day before didn’t give him a good feeling.

“Wait, do you hear something?” Nekou suddenly said.

Snapping out of his thoughts, Matt focused his hearing, and Olivia focused hers as well. Both of them quickly heard loud voices coming from some place nearby, which evidently was what Nekou was referring to.

“I hear it, too...” Nikolai uttered. “Let’s go find out what it is…”

Matt, Nekou, Olivia and Nikolai ran further down the road, seeking the source of the voices. They quickly came upon a young boy and girl, both dressed in sky-blue school uniforms and carrying lunchboxes.

“Are you two okay?” Matt addressed them.

Reacting to his accidentally overaggressive tone, the pair reeled back. “Stop! Don’t take any more of our Pokémon!” the boy cried.

“We didn’t take any of your Pokémon to begin with,” Nekou rebuked. “What’s going on here?”

“Who are you?” questioned the girl.

“Just some traveling trainers, as you seem to be,” Matt answered, gesturing to Ayingott, Manticore, Marie and Minccino. “If I frightened you before, I’m sorry. Please explain to us what happened.”

“Our Ivysaur disappeared into Ilex Forest... we were looking for it and now we can’t find our way out anymore!”

“Did it run away?” Olivia wondered.

“Y-yeah, it did…” The girl sniffed before adding, “but when it ran away, right before it ran away it was struck by a beam of red light.”

Matt, Nekou and Olivia all gasped and looked at each other in shock, and though Nikolai’s reaction was far more muted, the surprise in his eyes gave away that he had a similar feeling.

“You guys are all thinking what I’m thinking, right?”

Nekou closed her eyes in disgust at the answer she had to give to Matt’s question. “No doubting it, it’s a Meteonite strike. But this isn’t like the others, this is ****ing deliberate…”

“There’s children here!” Matt hissed before softening his tone. “But what do you mean?”

“If that’s the worst thing they ever hear, they lived some pretty sheltered lives,” Nekou said with a shrug. “Consider the past Meteonite strikes… the one in Union Cave, I mean. Only Ground-type Pokémon were affected. Meanwhile, today we’ve seen Flying-type Pokémon and now Grass-type Pokémon affected, plus, did you hear what she said? Their Ivysaur was struck by a beam of red light before it ran off. Someone in this forest is using a Meteonite and deliberately controlling certain Pokémon with it.”

“What are you talking about, lady?” the girl whimpered. “Who took our Ivysaur? You know, don’t you?”

“Not for certain, but… I have a good suspicion about it. Come on, we have a Psychic-type Pokémon, we’ll help you search for it. We’re heading through the forest anyway.”

“How do we know we can trust you?” The boy was suddenly growing angry, and he stood glaring up right into Nekou’s eyes. “They’ve been talking about Team Rocket being around here lately. You could be one of them! This could all be your fault!”

“If someone from Team Rocket stole your Ivysaur, you would have known it,” Nekou coolly dismissed. “Those guys… they’re way too showy for their own good. They wouldn’t have taken it in the way you described.”

“I think… I think you can trust her…” Matt put in. “She’s right, after all. Team Rocket’s members run around in those uniforms with the huge red ‘R’s on them. You didn’t see one of those, did you?” The boy shook his head, prompting Matt to say, “Then please, trust us. Come along, Ayingo…um… I’ll think of a new name for you soon, okay? Let’s just help these kids find their Ivysaur and see if we can’t get down to the bottom of these Meteonite attacks.”

“Sigi, sigi,” Ayingott chirped, her cry filled with equal parts enthusiasm and frustration.

-:-

Elsewhere in the forest, Silver and Looker were still sprinting after Proton, who was unable to shake them despite his best efforts to vanish into the underbrush.

“Stop, you piece of scum!” Silver shouted through the trees at his target. “I swore I’d take all of you down, and I’m keeping my word! You won’t escape!”

“Be halting! The long arm of the law can manage to work to reach anywhere!”

Proton didn’t say anything, but he did glance over his shoulder at his pursuers. He realized that they were slowly closing in on him, meaning he wouldn’t be able to keep running forever.

“Oh, if ever I’ve needed some luck, now would be a hell of a time for it!” he thought to himself.

Much to his surprise, however, his wish actually came true. Over a dozen Psybeam attacks suddenly burst from the surrounding bushes, striking the ground all around Silver and Looker. They had to stop their chase as they were surrounded by Venonat, Butterfree and Masquerain. Proton, meanwhile, knew this turn afforded him the chance he needed to escape.

“Damn it, we lost him!” Silver growled as soon as he realized he couldn’t see Proton anymore. “We’ll have to track him down all over again... but we can’t do that until we deal with this problem.”

“I am finding myself in complete agreement with you, Silver.”

Some of the Butterfree and Venonat broke from the horde and moved forward, aiming another round of their multicolored Psybeam attacks at the two humans, who swiftly jumped aside to get out of the way. Silver quickly sent out his Gengar to face them, while Looker brought out his Toxicroak.

-:-

Far north from the unfolding events in Ilex Forest, another incident was about to take place. Another of Polaris’s airships descended to the ground near the vast autumn forests surrounding Ecruteak City, and after its stairs unfolded, Ghetsis stepped out. The crazed dictator’s cape blew in the gentle wind surrounding him as he set his intense, wicked gaze upon the city before him.

“Ah, Ecruteak City…” After looking from the west half of the city, which was urban and developed, to the east, which was still filled by a small number of older, traditional wooden buildings, he closed his eye. “A city of contradictions that proves the sins of the Tenganists… what a fitting place for my ascension to my rightful throne as the King of Harmonia…”

After pulling on the button fixing his cape around his neck, Ghetsis turned and walked toward a nearby pagoda, sitting alone at the northern edge of the city against the forest. His cane made a loud tapping noise with every step he took on the stone roads of the city’s traditional half. When he reached the building, he stopped only for a moment to grin to himself before stepping inside. To announce his presence, he simply slammed his cane against the wooden floor.

From the halls of the temple, three elderly men dressed in black robes emerged. They all regarded Ghetsis with a mixture of confusion and anger in their eyes.

“We are the Wise Trio…” one of them said, stepping forward, “…and I am Masa, the head Sage here. What business have you with us, intruder?”

“Now, now, there is no need for such hostility, for I am but a simple sage like you,” Ghetsis answered, smiling disarmingly. “I have simply come to talk about some very important business with you.”

“What business would that…”

“Master Masa…” one of the other two Sages interrupted.

“What is it, Koji?”

“I recognize this man…” The fear evident in Koji’s voice grew with each word he spoke. “This is the man who represents Polaris… Ghetsis… Harmonia…”

“So my secret’s out, then.” Ghetsis opened his eye again, but never stopped smiling. “I guess it’s time to dispense with the formalities.”

His eyes widening, Masa pulled a Poké Ball from his robes. He then gestured to Koji and the third Sage, who did the same. “Koji! Gaku! Prepare to defend Bell Tower! We won’t let him destroy another of our holy sites!”

“You foolish Tenganists… Pokémon cannot stop me from reaching my destiny.”

Ghetsis banged his cane against the floor again. On cue, the Shadow Triad materialized in front of him with swords in their hands. Before they even knew what was going on, Masa, Koji and Gaku were cut down. The last thing the three Sages ever saw was Darkness, Pestilence and Chaos wiping splashes of blood from their uniforms while Ghetsis towered over them, his face twisted into a sadistic grin.

“We’re establishing a base here until the event,” Ghetsis declared. “Darkness, Pestilence, go fetch the prisoners from the transport.”

“Sir!”

After the pair of Shadows warped away, Ghetsis looked to Chaos and gestured at the fallen Sages with his cane. “You, Chaos, get rid of them. Dead men don’t put up a fight so I know you can handle this.”

-:-

Much like she had been since arriving in Ilex Forest, Séduire was hiding up in one of the trees. Using the holographic display on her Meteonite cannon, she was observing the movements of Matt and the others as they went through the forest.

“Yes, come to me… you’re almost here…” Taking a deep breath, Séduire shifted her weight on the branch. “I think I’ll give you a gift to welcome you home…”

With a flick of her hand, Séduire moved off of her surveillance of Matt and onto a control panel for her weapon itself. She smiled to herself as she programmed a command into its system.

A short distance away, Matt, Nekou, Olivia and Nikolai were continuing down the road with their Pokémon still out and the brother and sister accompanying them.

“Ivysaur!” the boy called out into the depths of the forest. “Where are you?”

“Come on, please come back!” his sister shouted in the opposite direction.

“Nekou, are you absolutely sure that this is another Meteonite event? This doesn’t feel like the other times.”

“I’m certain of it, no ****ing doubt,” Nekou mumbled in response to Matt’s questioning. “You’re not taking one thing into consideration. I told you someone’s doing this deliberately. They might be controlling the Pokémon too, and if that’s…”

Suddenly, Olivia stumbled and fell against Nekou, leaving Nekou to hold her up. The entire search party stopped its trek through the forest immediately.

“Olivia, what’s wrong?” Matt said in alarm.

“I don’t… I don’t feel so good…” Olivia tried to push herself off Nekou’s side and onto her own feet, but she felt her body becoming weak.

“Don’t worry, Olivia, I’ll hold you up.” Looking to Matt, Nekou scrunched up her face and said, “Find those kids’ Ivysaur so we can get out of here. Olivia’s sick again.”

“I would if I had a lead to go on!” Just as he finished speaking, Ayingott taped his shoulder to garner his attention. “Huh? What is it?”

“Glyph!” Matt’s Sigilyph screeched, gesturing to the bushes a short distance down the road.

“I don’t understand…”

“Matt… I think we have company,” Nikolai warned.

The entire group turned to where Ayingott had indicated and stared intensely at the brush, awaiting whatever would emerge. Moments later, another group of Pokémon leapt out to attack, their eyes filled with the same tired look all the other Pokémon influenced by the Meteonite possessed. It was a team comprised mainly of several Paras and Carnivine clustered together.

However, one of them stuck out, having no other companions like him. In addition to the other Grass-types in the swarm, a single Grass-and-Poison-type Pokémon was present.

An Ivysaur.

“There’s our Ivysaur!” cried the boy, a look of great relief coming across his face. Without hesitating, he started running towards the group of Pokémon, not realizing what danger he was in.

“Stop!” Nekou screamed. “It’s not safe!”

Dramatically underlining her point, the Ivysaur, without even briefly hesitating, attacked his trainer by launching a number of sharp-edged leaves at him. He avoided being hit by barely an inch, jumping back in a panic.

“Ivysaur, what’s with you?”

“Right now, that’s not your Ivysaur,” Nekou coldly said. She tapped the side of her glasses, activating their computerized scanning. “The entire energy flow in this forest is in flux, from the looks of it. That’s why all these Pokémon are acting like this… whoever is behind this has caused a lot of damage with repeated Meteonite blasts.”

“Can you make Ivysaur go back to normal?” the girl questioned while shielding her brother.

Before she could get an answer, three of the Paras attacked the group with Energy Ball, forcing them to jump to the sides of the road to avoid the glowing, crackling spheres.

“We might be able to, but we have to defeat them first. Charlotte, come out and help!”

Matt fumbled in his bag for the Poké Ball he wanted, and when he found it, he simply opened it in his hand instead of throwing it. His Eelektrik materialized, floating a few feet off the ground.

However, as soon as Charlotte appeared, Manticore turned away from the swarm of Grass-types to face her. The Roggenrola’s memories were stirred by seeing Charlotte. She specifically remembered what had happened the day she was captured on Route 30, when she was outside Mr. Pokémon’s house. It had been Charlotte that Matt used to capture her.

Overcome by anger, Manticore charged at Charlotte, striking her midsection with Headbutt.

“Manticore, stop it! Charlotte’s your ally now!”

Paying little heed to her trainer’s order, Manticore hesitated for only a second before beginning to charge at Charlotte again. Unwilling to take another hit for Manticore’s rage, Charlotte started to generate electricity around herself. Matt managed to head off the conflict by recalling Manticore, just in enough time to make sure Charlotte’s Charge Beam hit only the ground.

“Why… did that just…” Olivia weakly said.

“Seeing the Pokémon that was used to capture Roggenrola caused it to become enraged,” Nikolai quickly answered. “We do not have time to deliberate on such a thing. These Pokémon… are in much worse condition.”

“Manticore wouldn’t be so great against Grass-types anyway,” Matt realized. “Charlotte, I’ll leave this to you!”

“Marie, you go too!”

“Minccino… do your best…”
 

The Great Butler

Hush, keep it down
Much to the surprise of his companions, Nikolai even took out one of his Poké Balls. “I cannot call upon my friends in this forest while the energy here is so off balance… it wouldn’t be safe. At the very least my personal Pokémon can be protected…”

With that, Nikolai threw the Poké Ball, releasing his Stantler. The Normal-type Pokémon stood tall next to his comparatively short allies.

Unwilling to let the appearance of opposing Pokémon intimidate them, the horde of Grass-types attacked again. Their offense was fractured; while the Paras remained at a distance and used Energy Ball again, the Carnivine opted for a much more direct approach by lashing out with vines from under their leaves. The Ivysaur, meanwhile, erratically shot more sharp leaves at the group.

Charlotte, Marie, Minccino and Stantler did their best to dance around the attacks barraging them. Charlotte’s ability to twist through the air served her well in her defense, while Minccino and Marie danced around on the ground, Marie with much more skill than her lesser-trained friend. Stantler, on the other hand, didn’t have as much mobility and ended up getting knocked down by one of the Carnivine with Vine Whip, but he recovered quickly.

“It pains me to say but… the only way to stop these Pokémon is to defeat them.”

“Nikolai, wait, I have an idea. You said you could protect your Stantler because it was your personal Pokémon… is that because you can recall it?”

Nikolai’s eyes widened at Nekou’s suggestion. “Why did I not think of that earlier?” Turning to the children, Nikolai quickly said to them, “Hurry, try to recall your Ivysaur!”

“I hope it works,” the sister said, taking out a Poké Ball of her own. “Ivysaur, return!”

A beam of red light shot out of the core of the Poké Ball when the girl pointed it at Ivysaur. However, the seemingly simple plan had one major problem – Ivysaur didn’t want to be recalled, and jumped back out of the way to avoid the beam that would bring him back.

“We’re going to have to hold it down,” Matt quickly decided. “Charlotte, Thunder Wave!”

Still twisting her body through the air, Charlotte turned toward the Ivysaur and released a weak pulse of electricity from her body. After getting hit by it, Ivysaur became still as the electricity paralyzed his muscles.

“Quickly! Do it now!”

“Ivysaur, return!”

This time, the girl had the fortune she and her brother needed. With Ivysaur held down by the paralysis, she was able to recall him safely into his Poké Ball.

“Ivysaur…” her brother sighed in relief.

“But how do we make him get better?”

Four Paras decided to break from the horde and rushed the group, their claws drawn back in preparation for a series of X-Scissor attacks. Matt pulled the young siblings aside and stood in front of them, while Nekou and Olivia hid behind Nikolai’s Stantler. As for Nikolai himself, he simply ducked into a nearby bush to avoid them.

“Come with us,” Matt said to the siblings. “We’re going to the Pokémon Center in Goldenrod City, if we ever get out of this. You can get Ivysaur help there.”

“I don’t get it,” Nikolai coughed as he stumbled from the bush. “Why are their attacks so erratic?”

“They aren’t in their right minds,” Nekou sharply replied. “Whoever is manipulating them with the Meteonite is causing them to go insane. Either way, though, I’ve had just about enough of this. Marie, do whatever’s necessary! **** them up!”

“If you can… Minccino…”

Together, Marie and Minccino leapt at the horde of Grass-types. True to her nature, Marie took the initiative to attack first, showering the entire crowd with her Ice Beam. With many of the Pokémon stunned, Minccino swept in and cut through the group with Tail Slap, rattling the heads of whatever she could reach even further.

“Matt… your Sigilyph knows Psychic.” When Matt nodded, Nikolai continued, “Hold the Pokémon together with it. I don’t like having to do this, but it can’t be helped.”

“Alright. Aying…well… I guess we’ll figure out your name, but for now… Sigilyph, Psychic! Cluster them together!”

Encouraged by Matt’s willingness to acknowledge her concerns, Ayingott focused on the horde of Pokémon. All three of her eyes began to glow with blue light, which then surrounded the Paras and Carnivine as they were forced together by her power.

“With them held together like that… this ought to affect them all. Stantler, use Stomp!”

Stantler ran a short distance to build up speed, then leapt into the air and came crashing down onto the cluster. Nikolai’s theory was right; though Stantler had directly hit a Carnivine, the shock from the blow radiated through the entire group.

“Let’s put an end to this, Charlotte. Acid Spray!”

Locking her gaze onto the writhing cluster of Pokémon, Charlotte choked up a large ball of green poison. When it made impact on its target, it exploded, scattering the Pokémon around the area. The combined strength of all the attacks was enough to cause the Pokémon to faint.

Just as Matt and the others breathed sighs of relief, though, a whole new problem erupted. The dozen pairs of yellow eyes, which had been watching them the entire time they were in the forest, finally revealed themselves as twelve Pawniard rushed from the growth, followed by a single Bisharp.

“What now?!” Matt shouted.

As the Pawniard surrounded the group in a circular formation, Nekou saw that one of the Pawniard closest to the Bisharp had scratches on its head and immediately realized what was happening.

“****, they’ve been following us ever since Route 29, haven’t they?” she growled while rolling her eyes.

“The same ones from before?” Matt said, shaking his head. “I should have realized it. But what do they want now? Last time we were disturbing them and they were under… wait, are they being controlled by the Meteonite again?”

“No…” Nikolai interjected. “I can feel the Bisharp’s wishes… it wants to fight with you again. One on one. This is its sincere desire, not the influence of some outside power.”

“Uh… okay, I guess… can you tell it I don’t have my Seismitoad on me right now? If it wants a rematch it might want to fight the same opponent again.”

“Bisharp! Bisha sharp!” the Steel-and-Dark-type Pokémon immediately said in response, having heard what Matt had said.

Nikolai chuckled gently and smiled as he turned to Matt. “It says it doesn’t care.”

“Well then, that’s certainly a change in attitude from the last time we met, isn’t it?”

-:-

Having escaped from his pursuers, Proton was able to once again establish contact with Dr. Zager, though only through audio. The scientist was rapidly typing into his computer while speaking to his subordinate, the reason being that emergency messages were popping up continually on his screens.

“Dr. Zager, tell me what’s happening!” Proton shouted over the transmission. “I can’t do anything here if I don’t know what I’m dealing with!”

“Proton, listen to me and listen well. That temporal distortion is unstable and increasing. Get back in there, find out if a Time Gate is opening, and do whatever you can to bring it under Team Rocket’s control! We cannot risk Polaris capturing such a potent energy!”

-:-

“Ugh…”

Matt didn’t have a chance to choose a Pokémon for his rematch with the Bisharp before he heard Olivia groaning behind him. He turned around just in time to see her collapse to the ground, clutching her stomach.

“Olivia, are you alright?” Nekou said, rushing to her side. “What’s wrong now?”

“It hurts…” Olivia whimpered, “It really hurts!”

“There’s something very, very wrong with her…” Above everything but his worry for Olivia, Matt felt powerless. He wanted to do something to help her, but with no idea what was wrong, there was nothing he could do. The feeling of helplessness made his entire body shake. “Clearly, we’re in the middle of something very bad… we have to get out of this forest right now, no more delays.”

Realizing that Matt was intending to leave without fighting her, the Bisharp started screaming and waving her arms, but he wasn’t going to change his mind, instead helping to hoist Olivia’s increasingly limp body onto Nekou’s back. Bisharp fired a wave of electricity into the ground as an attempt to get their attention, but Matt had no intention of wasting any further time.

“Look, Bisharp, I’m sorry! Believe me, I would fight with you to your heart’s content, but I just have more important things to do!” A realization flashed through his mind. “If something happened to one of your Pawniard, wouldn’t you want to take care of them?”

Matt’s question cut deeply into Bisharp, and she took a step back. She understood his words and was forced to realize that he was right.

Suddenly, Matt, Olivia, Nekou, Nikolai and the siblings could hear the bushes rustling behind them. They all turned just in time to see Looker and Silver emerge onto the road.

“What happened to you two?” Matt questioned.

“Escaped, that Executive of the Team Rocket managed to achieve.”

“Once we lost sight of him, Looker said to find you four again.” Turning up his nose, Silver said, “What the hell is going on here?”

“Some old friends of ours,” Nekou sarcastically replied, “but we don’t have time to play with them right now. Olivia’s getting really sick.”

“Then we must be beating haste to the Pokémon Center within the heart of Goldenrod City!”

When Matt and the others turned around, they saw Bisharp wave her arm at her army of Pawniard. Her shrill cry was an order to them, and in complete obedience, they broke from their circular formation and lined the road, intending to let Matt’s group past.

However, there was one individual present who had other ideas.

“The International Police…” Séduire growled to herself from her hiding place in the trees. “I won’t be letting them get in my way of what I want!” Picking up her cannon, she opened the command window and scrolled until she reached the targeting program. A crosshairs formed on the holographic projection window, and she took aim at the back of Bisharp’s head. “Target locked, and… fire!”

Electricity cracked from all over the small Meteonite in the weapon after Séduire pulled the trigger. A bright beam of red light shot from the cannon, and when it hit Bisharp, she started to convulse.

“The **** is that?!” Nekou exclaimed in surprise, though that shock faded when she looked at the readings on her glasses. “Wait… the Meteonite’s energy? Whoever’s behind this is right here!”

“Yes, that’s the same beam that got Ivysaur!” said the young boy.

When the ray of light faded, Bisharp stopped convulsing and looked up to the group. Her eyes were tired and blank just like all the other Pokémon when they were affected by the Meteonite’s power.

“Looks like you’re getting your fight after all,” Nekou whispered to Matt.

“You’re right,” he said back, reaching into his bag. “We have to put a stop to this once and for all. That Meteonite has done nothing but cause trouble.”

Much to the surprise of Matt, Nekou and the others, Bisharp didn’t attack. She merely stood still for several seconds, then turned and started to run off down the road to the north while out of the group’s sight, Séduire was rushing in the same direction.

“Come on, let’s chase it!”

“Nekou’s right,” Nikolai concurred. He took out a Poké Ball and recalled Stantler into it. “We must free that Bisharp. Recall all of your Pokémon so they are not at risk.”

“Good thinking.”

Matt recalled Ayingott and Charlotte, then Nekou did the same with Marie. From her position on Nekou’s back, Olivia weakly raised her arm and sent Minccino back as well. With all of the Pokémon recalled to their Poké Balls, the group set off in pursuit of Bisharp. The Pawniard army tagged along, willing to do anything to free their leader.

None of the group knew what they would find when they caught up with Bisharp, but any worry they had for that impending discovery was pushed aside by a simple sense of urgency. Bisharp was heading in the direction of the forest’s exit, so following her would bring them closer to Goldenrod City and thus closer to getting Olivia the help she needed.

No amount of mental preparation would have been sufficient for what they found in the next clearing, however. A large, glowing, amorphous cluster of energy was writhing around in midair, seemingly increasing in size in small bits. Standing before it, side by side, were the brainwashed Bisharp and a young woman wearing a colorful uniform and holding a hand cannon.

“Who are you?” Matt gasped, stopping abruptly as he came into the clearing. “And what is that?” he said as he stared up at the energy.

“Can’t say I know what this is,” Séduire whispered, gradually turning her head in shaky motions to look over her shoulder, “but I know who I am, and I know who you are. It’s so good to finally see you again, Matt…” She licked her lips, then wiped a small bead of saliva from her mouth. Her excitement over finally seeing Matt was so strong that she felt she would explode.

“Wait, that voice…” Within moments, all the color in Matt’s face had drained away. He knew exactly who it was underneath the Entei mask adorning Séduire’s face.

“A mask… you’re one of Polaris’s Chromosomes of the Sacred Helix, aren’t you?” Taking Séduire’s insane grin as a confirmation of her suspicion, Nekou continued, “And that weapon… there’s a Meteonite in there, isn’t there? You’re the one who’s been terrorizing this forest!”

“Right and right. The name ugly *****s like you are allowed to use for me is Séduire, the Fifth Chromosome.” Twisting her head back in Matt’s direction, Séduire grinned even more widely. “But I’m sure Matt knows my real name. He’s allowed to call me it. I want to hear it right now.”

“Matt, who is…who is she?” Olivia whimpered.

“Be quiet!” Séduire screamed. “You took him from me too! He’s mine and mine alone! Now say my real name!!”

Matt was paralyzed by what he saw before him. He did know the name of the person behind Séduire’s mask, but he was so horrified by even having to consider it that he was frozen into still silence.

“Psycho ex-girlfriend or something?” Nekou sighed. “I don’t even care that she called me a *****, because she’s so obviously compensating…”

“Shut up! I told you to all shut up! You’re nothing but trash! Matt, tell them who I am! Tell them about all the good times we had together! Tell them about how I’m a part of you that you can’t live without!”

“You… you have no idea,” Matt mumbled back to Nekou.

“Hold it right there, Séduire!” a voice shouted from above the trees.

All of the assembled people and Pokémon looked up to see Proton descending into the clearing used his repaired jetpack. As soon as he landed, he gazed intensely and scornfully at Séduire. He knew he had to defeat her and that now was his best chance to do so.

“So the gang’s all here, huh?” Séduire complained, looking from Matt’s mostly confused group to Proton and back. “Not that they weren’t already, but if you crooks are going to attack me, do it out in the open.”

“Still your tongue, girl,” Proton scolded her. He turned to Nekou, then the others, then finally explained, “This energy is the formation of a Time Gate, which, as the name says, is a gateway that will allow traveling through time. This energy is so powerful that…” He shifted his gaze back to Séduire before finishing, “…I cannot allow Polaris to capture it!”

“Then I will take it for Polaris’s goals, as long as you Rockets don’t get it! In the name of Polaris, Father… and the love between Matt Chiaki and me… I will take it! Go, Bisharp!”

Quickly reopening the control menu for her weapon, Séduire issued Bisharp forth to fight for her. Proton responded without a word, instead choosing to simply throw a Poké Ball from which a Weezing emerged.

“Well? So what’s it going to be?” Proton taunted. He spread his arms wide and shouted, “I’m right here, wide open! Bring it on!”

“You think I’m just going to let you trick me like that…?” Séduire was nearly convulsing because of the intense anger she felt. “If I fight you head-on, that’s what you want… so I’ll open another front!”

Séduire lashed around to face Matt’s group and entered a command into her weapon, sending Bisharp mindlessly toward them.

Nekou scowled as she watched the controlled Pokémon rushing in her direction. With Olivia on her back, her mobility was reduced, so reaching for her Poké Balls was difficult. While she was attempting to figure out a solution, however, she was cut off when Matt stepped in front of her, clutching a Dusk Ball in his hand.

“I’m putting a stop to this right now…Tanya, Earth Power!”

In a flash, Matt’s Heatran emerged from the ball she resided in. Her massive body was large enough to block the entire group from Bisharp’s attack. Such defense wasn’t necessary, however, as she made the ground beneath Bisharp’s feet burst open from overflowing energy.

“Matt, you’re being very bad right now,” Séduire growled as Bisharp was pushed back toward her. “Stop acting out. This isn’t you.”

“But you’re acting like yourself, just like always…” Having gotten Séduire sufficiently distracted, Matt thrust his hand forward. “Go, now! Disable that device she has!”

The army of Pawniard responded with a flurry of cries, leaping toward their target by using Matt’s shoulders and Tanya’s back as springboards. They all had their blades drawn, and before Séduire could react, she found herself set upon by them.

“Aah! Get off!”

Desperate to throw off the small Pokémon that were nicking her all over her body, Séduire thrashed around, but in the course of doing so, several Pawniard managed to cut some exposed cables on her weapon. Instantly, it powered down, causing Bisharp to return to normal, with the blank look vanishing from her eyes. The Pawniard, upon seeing their leader freed, retreated from attacking Séduire to support her.

“You think this is over?” Séduire roared. “I’m not done with you yet!”

“You really have to give this up, please,” Matt plead with her, his eye changing from a look of anger to one of genuine concern. “Even if you’re calling yourself Séduire or whatever now, and you’re mixed up in whatever it is that Polaris is doing, none of that is changing who you are or making me change my mind about you. Look around you. What was terrorizing this forest today supposed to achieve, exactly?”

Behind her mask, Séduire’s eyes were boiling with frustration and anger. With every passing second, her goals, which Matt had accurately stated, were becoming more and more out of reach. She had one option left, and when she picked up the one Ultra Ball in her possession, she decided to take it.

“Pyroar, go!”

A Pokémon unlike any Matt had ever seen before took shape when the ball opened. The Pyroar was a black-and-brown-bodied lion with a great mane of red and yellow surrounding his head. He stood proudly before his trainer, unafraid of even the Heatran opposing him.

“The ****?!” Nekou exclaimed.

“A Pokémon from the region called by the name of Kalos,” Looker revealed. “Unknown to this country as of this day.”

“Are we really going to do this?” Matt sadly said. “You know I have to stand against you if you choose this.”

“No, you just need to be reminded of where you belong.” As she spoke, Séduire twisted her head sideways, falling ever deeper into her delusion. “Pyroar, Hyper Voice!”

Matt, Nekou, Nikolai, Looker, Silver, Proton and the siblings could only cringe as Séduire’s Pokémon opened his mouth and roared as loudly as he could. Weezing didn’t like the noise either, but Tanya, the Pawniard and Bisharp were able to shake its influence.

Even with how successful her first assault was, it wasn’t enough to satisfy Séduire’s bloodlust. Locking her gaze onto Nekou and Olivia, she said in a completely broken voice, “It’s you. It’s your fault. You took him… so the first step is getting rid of you! Pyroar, jump up and hit those two with Flamethrower!”

Pyroar’s movements were so quick that he was already in the air before Matt could react. He realized that Tanya wouldn’t be able to stop an airborne enemy, and was overcome with a feeling of helplessness. “Stop this right now, Cassy!”

Nikolai and Silver got ready to send out Pokémon to protect Olivia and Nekou, but they were too slow, as was Proton’s Weezing, who tried to hit Pyroar with Thunderbolt but failed to do so before a jet of fire was bearing down on them.

“**** this!” Nekou snarled before stumbling aside, just barely avoiding getting engulfed by Pyroar’s flames. She ended up falling backward to the ground, but Olivia escaped injury. “What the **** is wrong with you?!”

All of a sudden, Olivia screamed and pushed herself off of Nekou’s back. Everyone in the clearing turned to stare at her as she stepped backward.

Her eyes were filled with glowing light, and her body was moving in erratic, jerking motions.

“Olivia, what’s happening? What is this?!”

“It hurts really bad… Nekou, Matt… someone… help me…”

“I’m not standing around anymore,” Matt resolved. He ran toward Olivia, reaching in his bag for a Revival Herb, which was about the only thing he could think of to try and cure her illness. However, it was all in vain, for as soon as he drew near to her, an invisible force repelled him.

“What?” he gasped from where he had fallen onto the ground.

“We must do something!” Nikolai shouted.

“But what?” Looker replied.

Olivia suddenly screamed again as her body twisted to force her gaze skyward. The light glowed from not only her eyes but her entire body, and it caused the energy of the nearby Time Gate to warp and distort. Right before the eyes of everyone who had gathered around it, the Time Gate collapsed and its energy flowed into Olivia’s body. Her bloodcurdling scream continued until every trace of the Time Gate was gone, at which point she instantly fainted and collapsed to the ground.

“What just happened?” Silver wondered, dumbfounded.

Both Matt and Nekou ran to Olivia while shouting her name in a futile attempt to wake her up. Nekou picked her up once she could, and Matt put his hand on her neck.

“Good, she’s alive,” he said after feeling her pulse. “Come on, Olivia, wake up…”

“This isn’t something we can fix on our own,” Nekou asserted, her heart pounding in her chest. “We have to go, now.”

“You’re right. Olivia, please be okay…”

Nearby, all Séduire could do was watch in increasing jealous anger as Matt cared for Olivia with Nekou’s help. She didn’t even notice Proton preparing to escape again.

“Well, that Time Gate’s gone, so I have to be taking my leave now. Until we meet again, sayonara!”

Proton lifted off into the sky with his jetpack and disappeared. Unwilling to let him get away, Silver shouted to the sky and then sprinted off down the road, with Looker following once again.

“I won’t lose what’s rightfully mine…” Séduire suddenly blurted out, even as she recalled Pyroar. “I won’t, I won’t, I won’t… Matt, you said my name… why won’t you just accept that you belong with me and not with those fake *****s?”

“You stop that right now,” Matt scolded her. “Say what you will about me, but they’re not fair game for your jealousy.”

“Yeah,” Nekou chimed in, “and call me a ***** if you want, but Olivia didn’t do anything to you. She’s just a kid.”

“You refuse to see what I’m trying to tell you, Matt…” Séduire abruptly reached up and tore off her mask, revealing her youthful face and fiery red eyes that matched her hair. “Look at my face! Look at the one you belong to, me, Cassy Natsuka! Realize your mistake! You must!”

The fear was gone from Matt’s mind, replaced by a crushing sense of simple disappointment and dismay. “I already told you… I don’t like you. None of what you’ve done is going to earn favor with me.”

“But what about all those years we spent together?!” Cassy screamed. “Do those mean nothing?”

“It may have taken me a while, but I finally realized that you were just controlling me for your own desires… I wasn’t anything to you besides someone to control.”

“And what do those two give you that I didn’t?” Cassy demanded while gesturing to Nekou and Olivia.

Matt sighed, realizing how futile his efforts to get through to Cassy were. “Olivia is an innocent girl, keep her out of this! And Nekou? Well… I just have fun traveling around with her! That’s right, it’s fun! With you keeping me under your thumb all the time I couldn’t have any fun back then!”

As soon as Matt said that, the color drained from Cassy’s face and her eyes were covered by a blank, glazed-over look. “Is that so,” she said with an unnerving calm. “I’ll just have to fix that, then… I’ll rip them apart, limb from limb!”

Having descended into complete madness, Cassy turned and started running toward Nekou and Olivia. Nekou seemed unfazed by this, however; she simply put Olivia gently down on the ground and then stood to face the threat.

“Really?” she muttered. “You’re easy.”

Cassy didn’t even see Nekou flick her wrist to produce her switchblade, nor did she even realize Nekou had it until she was already falling with a gash cut into her left leg. She looked back at the subject of her jealous hate and silently swore at her.

“Nekou!” Matt screamed. “Why did you… did you mortally wound her?”

“I just cut her leg in self-defense,” Nekou answered. “She attacked me. It’s a minor wound, anyway. Come on, we have to go.”

“But can we leave her here?”

“She’s right on the main road, and the injury isn’t that serious. She’ll be fine. We have to get Olivia help right now, though, because she’s in much worse shape.”

Nekou nodded to Nikolai and the siblings, and they gave their wordless assent to her plan. Matt was reluctant, looking back and forth to Cassy several times, but finally accepted that Nekou was right as well. Together, they all headed down the road once again.

Cassy, meanwhile, was sobbing hysterically on the ground. She wrested a phone from her uniform and dialed a short number into it.

-:-

A short time later, Matt, Nekou, Nikolai and the siblings encountered Looker and Silver once again. The detective and his partner had lost track of Proton completely, so they went to the exit of the forest, where the two groups merged. They then boarded a train at the edge of Goldenrod City that would take them to the Pokémon Center in the central area of the city.

The seats on the train were arranged into rows facing each other. Matt and Nekou were right next to the window in their row and facing each other, while Nekou had the still soundly-sleeping Olivia in her lap. Nikolai, Silver, Looker and the siblings were beside them.

“Look at that,” Matt remarked as he peered out the window to the Goldenrod slums below. “I don’t remember Goldenrod City looking like this the last time I was here.”

“There’s been significant urban sprawl,” Nekou answered. “It’s pretty damn gross if you ask me. The poorer residents have been forced to live in those slums while the wealthy live high on the ****ing hog in the central area. Nobody even knows those people are there, with how little they get talked about… but on the other hand, a lot of the residents of central Goldenrod aren’t bad people, either, they’re just trying to survive. The city has a lot of spirit. It’s just a very small minority ruining everything for everyone else.”

-:-

A red-and-white ambulance had entered Ilex Forest and was driving to Cassy’s location after she called for it. Two thin men sat in its cab.

“This is the last call for our shift today,” the driver said to his companion. “A stabbing.”

“Alright, that ought to be simple enough. I’m looking forward to going home. Haven’t had a lot of time with the wife lately, what with all the fights breaking out in the slums.”

“Yeah, it’s been ugly. You see our victim yet?”

“Um…” spotting Cassy in front of the vehicle, the assistant pointed out through the windshield. “There! There she is!”

Before they could even get out of the ambulance, a sudden lightning strike hit the truck, causing it to explode. Cassy could only watch in horror as her help vanished into the flames.

But then she heard footsteps approaching her. Her heart stopped due to her overwhelming nervousness – she’d just seen the ambulance explode in such a way that nobody could have survived, so she had no idea who the one approaching her could be.

“Hello, Séduire.”

Cassy rolled over and looked up in shock. Standing over her was a tall, lithe man in a tight black bodysuit accessorized with a Sigilyph mask. It was the Tenth Chromosome, Geminus.

“You… you did that…” Cassy gestured to the burning ambulance, “didn’t you?”

“Yeah. See, we couldn’t have you going to the police and spilling our secrets, you know? But don’t worry, I’ll take care of you. I was watching you all this time.”

“Please, do it,” Cassy begged, resigning herself to her fate. “I failed completely, I couldn’t even get back what is mine… put me out of my misery.”

“Why would I do that when I can give you everything you want? You can have the world you desire. All you have to do is believe in me.”

“Why should I trust you? I don’t even know who you are.”

“Yes you do.”

With that, Geminus lifted the front of his mask, revealing his face to Cassy. She went white as a sheet from the utter disbelief and shock she felt.

“Yes, Séduire, just believe in me like you want to. I will make the world we deserve.”

“…yes, you’re right…” she uttered, completely mentally broken.

-:-

That night, Matt, Nekou and Olivia had a room in the Pokémon Center in central Goldenrod. Unlike many other Pokémon Centers, the one they were staying at was a huge building, more like a hotel than the simple inns the others resembled, so their room was quite spacious.

Matt was sound asleep, as was Olivia, who had recovered from her illness by the time they reached their destination despite still being overwhelmingly tired. Nekou, on the other hand, had other plans.

Once confident she wouldn’t be noticed, she carefully climbed out of her bed and threw her uniform over her shoulders. She didn’t even stop to button it up, as she didn’t care that her nightgown was visible underneath.

Quietly going to the door with a can of beer in her hand, she slipped out into the empty hallway. As she walked down the hall she opened the can and drank it. Within a minute she reached a row of phone booths and furtively entered one.

She then picked up the phone, crushed the empty can and tossed it into the nearby pail, and dialed a number.

“Unique password: Sneasel claw,” she said into the phone once it was picked up. “I’ve finally arrived in Goldenrod City. My investigations of Polaris’s plans have been going well. Yes, I’ll be able to attend the meeting tomorrow. Yes, I know, one more day until their protest. We will have to be very careful.”

-:-

“Oh man, that whole thing in Ilex Forest was insane!” Proton complained.

The green-haired Executive had fled to Goldenrod City and reached the Team Rocket operating base. The other members were still there awaiting orders, while Giovanni sat at the window, petting Persian.

“Dr. Zager told us some of what happened,” Ariana said, facing Proton. “You can’t be blamed for your failure to capture the Time Gate. It wasn’t a central mission anyway. Just as long as Polaris does not have it.”

“They don’t, don’t worry about it.”

“Giovanni,” Rosalie interrupted from her position at the computer bank, “I have news.”

“Proceed.”

“It has just turned over past midnight. Only one day remains until Polaris’s big event.”

“Ah yes, thank you.” Giovanni did not turn around as he spoke. He instead kept staring at Goldenrod City’s nighttime skyline from his vantage point. “Team Rocket’s forces are finally assembled. Our operation will also now get underway.”





END of CHAPTER 12
 

Matori

THE QUEEN IS BACK
Excellent chapter. Your work just keeps getting more exciting and gripping with each chapter you put out and this one was definitely quite the ride. Hopefully my review gets this across, because I'm not sure my words can do it justice.

“Giovanni, sir!” the older of the two women happily said. Her age was given away by the streaks of gray in her thick, dark green hair, but she was also bound to a sophisticated computerized wheelchair. Using a trackpad located next to the red digital keyboard on her right armrest, she maneuvered herself up to Giovanni. “Good to see you all here in one piece. We’ve gotten the base together, as ordered.” She took an ornate pipe and lighter out of the pocket on her floral-necked lab coat, then lit the pipe and deeply inhaled from it before adding, “It’s a modest affair, I know, but it serves its purpose.”

Oh, I'm already liking her. She definitely sounds interesting and very colorful. Good use of description to set the atmosphere too.

Before Rosalie could answer Giovanni’s question, Jessie and James jumped in front of him and interrupted. The worry they both felt was overwhelming, and when added to how close they both felt to what they wanted, they were both left fighting back tears in front of their superiors.

“Boss, please forgive us, but we can’t wait anymore!”

James immediately continued Jessie’s thought by saying, “Meowth has been missing for too long! Do you three know where he is?!”

Giovanni clenched his fist, but calmed when Ariana grabbed his arm.

“Don’t get mad at them, it’s not worth it. They just miss their teammate… which is understandable.”

I love how you wrote this scene because it's clear how much Jessie and James miss Meowth, and how much they want him back. The detail of Ariana calming Giovanni is a nice one that hints at how close they might be and shows he really respects her.

“W-well…” Ada shyly said. Out of nervousness, she scratched at her sky-blue hair as she spoke. “…Team Rocket has… someone on the inside of Polaris. Based on what he’s told us… Meowth is somewhere in this city.”

Ada is just too cute, just from this line I can tell.

“Then we should find out where they are, march right in and take what belongs to us!” Jessie boldly proposed. She accentuated her point by balling up her fist and striking it against her chest.

I really appreciate that you portrayed Jessie this way, I think it's something about her a lot of writers forget. She won't stop if there's something she wants, and that's part of what makes her awesome.

“Patience.” Trevor urged, before smirking mischievously. “We’re working on a plan for when all our forces are ready, but mark my words, we will look for Polaris, we will find them, and we will beat them.”

haha I see what you did there. On multiple counts.

“A post went up on the Polaris website,” she explained. “It says that a ‘day of the people’ will take place in Goldenrod City in three days… well, two, once midnight passes… and it will include a speech presented live in person by Ghetsis’s deputy Zinzolin. We suspect they might be planning to use the public protest as a cover for some other deed.”

"Day of the people" sounds ominous, considering what we've heard from Ghetsis, and Rosalie has some good thinking there. I wouldn't suspect any less from Ghetsis and his underlings myself.


On the eastern end of Azalea Town, a short distance from both the main population and the town’s entrance, stood the Slowpoke Well. While on the surface it merely seemed to be an unassuming stone tube piercing the earth, at the bottom of the well was an expansive cave, the environment of the Pokémon that loaned the well its name.

This should end well.


“I… I actually got another Pokémon…” she uttered, slipping to her knees behind Roselia. Tears briefly welled up in her eyes as she realized that it was the first Pokémon she had captured after finding out the truth about her father. A feeling of confusion came over her, and it didn’t go away even when Roselia tried to hug her leg.

This is really sweet, because hopefully it'll restore some of her confidence she lost when learning the truth about Rich.

“Sentimental value!” Olivia shot back. “The Pokémon I caught before this was… I caught it while being driven by something I don’t have anymore. This is really the first time I’ve caught a Pokémon for myself and not for my dad…”

Aww, this is really sweet and shows a lot of growth for Olivia as a character. I can see why this capture is so important to her, with that in mind- she realizes it means she's grown, too.

“I will never understand the attachment someone like you gets to a father figure,” he harshly stated. “I have no need to be seen as worthy in my father’s eyes, and if you ask me, you should get over it too.”

Wow, Silver, nice.

“What are you...” Silver froze when he saw who he was looking at – a man wearing a black uniform that bore a red ‘R’ insignia. Almost instantly, his mood turned to pure rage. “You, Proton!”

Proton initially reacted with surprise to his encountering Silver, stepping back with a wide-eyed look on his face. He quickly shifted to a more sarcastic tone, however, with his expression changing to a manic grin to match.

“Well, well, look who the Meowth dragged in!” Proton chuckled menacingly. “It’s the return of the prodigal son!”

“Shut it!” Silver growled, sweeping his arm before himself. “Tell me what he’s got you doing here right now!”

“Maybe you should go ask your daddy yourself. I’m sure he’d like to see you!”

I'm loving the interaction between Silver and Proton here. Great, and exactly how I'd imagine he'd react to someone like Proton, too.

Proton shrugged and turned up his hands. He hadn’t immediately noticed Olivia, but her presence barely fazed him. “So sorry, little lady, looks like you just got stuck in the middle of this. Thank Silver for getting you caught in the sights of the scariest and cruelest guy in Team Rocket!”

Still bragging about that, Proton?


“Tch… giving us a hard time like always, Silver?” Proton spat, his face curling in disgust.

“More like beating you and taking you down again!” Quickly turning to look at Olivia over his shoulder, Silver again yelled, “Go! Get out of here and go get Looker!”

I actually admire Silver's toughness in this scene. Sometimes he can really come through when it counts.

“It makes me happy…” Nikolai mumbled, staring at the screen.

“What’s that?”

Shifting his gaze sideways to look at Matt, Nikolai answered, “…that Pokémon can bring people together over such distances. I want the world to be a place where people and Pokémon can grow together through their interactions with each other. That’s my ideal formula…”

This is really sweet to me, for some reason. It reminds me so much of Masuda's intentions for the games and I don't know if that was intentional or not, but I like it.

“I can appreciate that. I mean…” Matt noticed Looker staring intensely at the two of them, but didn’t pay it much attention. “…if that kind of thing came to pass, perhaps it would be therapeutic to Olivia’s mind. I’ve noticed that she really opens up when Pokémon are involved.”

It's sweet how Matt's started noticing this and I think it'll help him later on when trying to help Olivia.

“So where is Olivia, anyway?” Matt and Nikolai’s conversation was interrupted by Nekou swaggering in, with yet another beer can in her hand despite the early hour. She sipped at it, then continued, “I expected her to be out here with you.”

It's five o' clock somewhere.

“The… Slowpoke Well?” In an instant, the cool, flippant attitude present in Nekou’s expression evaporated, giving way to a hardened, dismayed look. “With Silver?”

“Yeah, when she brought up the idea, I didn’t want her to go alone but I did want her to strike out on her own a bit. Looker was the one that suggested Silver go with her.”

“But… the Slowpoke Well? What made you think that **** was a good idea?”

Matt shrugged. “It’s open to the public, so she’s not going anywhere she shouldn’t. What’s the worst that could happen?”

As if on cue, at literally the moment Matt closed his mouth, the Pokémon Center’s doors slid open and Olivia came crashing through.

Awesome timing on this scene. It worked perfectly.

As soon as the stone entrance to the Slowpoke Well came into view, it became clear that the conflict had escalated. Proton had fled to the surface with Silver in pursuit, and the two were now fighting out in the open. Silver’s Feraligatr had just delivered a finishing blow to Proton’s Shuckle, and having recalled his Pokémon, Proton was starting to flee using a jetpack strapped to his back.

Good planning on his part.

“Stop! International Police!”

“Oh, come the **** on!” Nekou groaned in exasperation. “You seriously think that he’ll stop for that?”

Haha, yay for genre-savvy Nekou.

“What are you all waiting for?!” Silver demanded, recalling Feraligatr as soon as his work was done. “Let’s go after him! I’m sure that’s not a problem for any of you, is it?”

Silver didn’t wait for an answer to his question. He just turned and ran, his body overflowing with more than enough energy to run all the way across Azalea Town and into Ilex Forest. Matt, Olivia, Looker and Nikolai all followed immediately while Nekou brought up the rear, scowling viciously all the while.

Silver's reaction here works, because of his past- it makes perfect sense for him to want to pursue a Rocket this way.

In his laboratory, Dr. Zager was frantically entering commands into his computer while Galvantula skittered around in the background, alarmed by the sound of his voice.

Good way to capture the mood in his office. I love the image of Galvantula running around like that, it's really cute.

“You know, you could just say please,” Olivia muttered, though she did let her Minccino out. Almost immediately, the Normal-type Pokémon fretted about cleaning up some nearby leaves using her tail.

Aww, this is adorable.


Some of the Zubat and Hoothoot took notice of Olivia’s Minccino sitting on the ground before them and became even more angered. Before she even realized what was happening, she found herself being targeted by multiple Air Cutter and Night Shade attacks.

“Stop those with Swift!” Olivia quickly commanded.

Minccino lashed her tail forward, spraying a wave of stars to shield herself. Most of the white and purple energy waves coming her way were dispelled, but a few still got through. She was only struck by the Air Cutters, though, as she was immune to the Ghost-type Night Shades. Scratched in several places and dirty from the dust kicked up around her, she fled back to the safety of Olivia’s arms.

“Minccino, it’s okay…” she whispered to her Pokémon, gently stroking Minccino’s head.

“I’ll take care of this. Ayingott, make your mark!”

The Sigilyph burst from the Poké Ball she was contained within. Right away, she noticed the injured Minccino in Olivia’s arms and realized the Zubat and Hoothoot were to blame. She confronted the gang by angrily chirping at them, but they were too far gone under the Meteonite’s influence to fully notice.

They did, however, perceive Ayingott as a threat. The Hoothoot hung back while the Zubat encircled her, preparing to attack.

“Ayingott, that’s nothing to you! Wipe them all out with Psychic!”

Much to Matt’s surprise, Ayingott hesitated. She didn’t wait for long, but it was enough that Matt and the others noticed. When she attacked, she used her psychic power to surround all of the Zubat with blue light before tossing them away.

“What happened?”

Nikolai stepped up alongside Matt, but didn’t look at him, instead covering his eyes with his hat. “I sense that your Sigilyph is unhappy with something. Not you, but… there is something weighing on its mind.”

Matt looked back up, struggling to identify in his mind what it was that he had done wrong, only to see that the Zubat had somehow quickly returned to surround Ayingott once again. Meanwhile, Silver had sent out his Alakazam, and the two of them were trying to cut down the Hoothoot with electric bolts Alakazam was launching from the spoons he held.

Suddenly, a Swift attack struck some of the Zubat, breaking their formation around Ayingott. Matt turned in surprise to see that Olivia’s Minccino had regained her courage and was rejoining the fight, having climbed out of her trainer’s arms.

“Thanks for that, Minccino,” he said, though he was looking at Olivia. “How about we do this together?”

“All three of us?” Nekou interrupted, holding a Poké Ball in her hand.

“You know what, that’s a good idea,” Matt said with a smile. “Let’s go for it, all of us! Manticore, make your mark!”

“Join them, Marie!”

Matt’s Roggenrola and Nekou’s Sneasel stepped up alongside Minccino after taking form. Marie looked to Minccino and growled sharply, smiling to encourage her companion. Manticore, however, didn’t wait for Minccino and Marie or even for any orders from Matt. As soon as she saw the swarm of Zubat, she jumped into battle, shooting a stream of four rocks at them. The Zubat scattered but reformed with some speed.

“Manticore, I didn’t tell you to use Rock Blast yet!”

“Looks like it hasn’t gotten much more obedient since you caught it,” Nekou remarked. “Fine. As always, woman must clean up the mess created by man, huh? Olivia, let’s team up and do this. I want you to use Swift again.”

“Alright,” Olivia answered, nodding. “I trust you. Minccino, do it! Use Swift!”

Nekou watched as Minccino followed Olivia’s direction. Once the stars of Swift were in the air, Nekou followed with, “Now, Marie, use Ice Beam on Minccino’s Swift!”

While sharply hissing, Marie looked up at Minccino’s Swift attack and fired rays of blue, freezing energy from her claws. The ice surrounded the stars on contact, turning them into sharp-edged weapons that slashed through the Zubat horde. Many of them dropped to the ground, unable to continue after being cut down by the combination, leaving only three severely weakened Zubat still airborne.

“Let’s put an end to this all at once! Ayingott, hold them still with Psychic, and Manticore, hit one of them with Rock Blast!”

“Marie, take one of them out with Knock Off!”

“Minccino, you finish the last one off with Aqua Tail!”

The last three Zubat had attempted to attack again by opening their mouths wide, but Ayingott pinned them with her psychic power, rendering them unable to do so. Marie jumped at the trio as soon as they were frozen and smashed the middle Zubat into the earth with her right arm. Manticore followed up by taking aim at one of the others and shooting three rocks at it, and just as Olivia intended, Minccino smacked the last down with her glowing tail.

At the same time Matt, Nekou and Olivia were defeating the Zubat, Silver was finishing off the Hoothoot on his own using his Alakazam. The owl Pokémon proved to be little of a challenge to the powerful Psychic-type.

“Alakazam… you did well.” Holding up a yellow-and-black Ultra Ball, Silver recalled Alakazam back to its confines. Just as he did so, though, Gengar returned and began pulling on his arm. The ghost Pokémon gestured into the brush, prompting Silver to turn around – only to see a figure rushing through the forest not far away. “There he is! He was hiding right in front of us!”

I really enjoyed this battle. Good work showing the potential danger of a horde of Zubat and Hoothoot in a dark forest setting.


They didn’t notice the twelve pairs of small, yellow eyes watching them from the bushes.

I feel like this is going to come up again, isn't it?

“I’ll be there in plenty of time,” answered Colress. “Nothing will get in our way. Between the power of the Meteonite and the public support Mister Ghetsis’s speeches have been gaining for us, Polaris will reach its objective soon enough. What are you two currently doing?”

This in particular is fairly ominous. If Colress is confident in the power of Ghetsis' speeches...

Nekou closed her eyes in disgust at the answer she had to give to Matt’s question. “No doubting it, it’s a Meteonite strike. But this isn’t like the others, this is ****ing deliberate…”

“There’s children here!” Matt hissed before softening his tone. “But what do you mean?”

“If that’s the worst thing they ever hear, they lived some pretty sheltered lives,” Nekou said with a shrug. “Consider the past Meteonite strikes… the one in Union Cave, I mean. Only Ground-type Pokémon were affected. Meanwhile, today we’ve seen Flying-type Pokémon and now Grass-type Pokémon affected, plus, did you hear what she said? Their Ivysaur was struck by a beam of red light before it ran off. Someone in this forest is using a Meteonite and deliberately controlling certain Pokémon with it.”

Nekou's reply to Matt was great. I really like her detective work here, she's showing her clever thinking as usual.

“If someone from Team Rocket stole your Ivysaur, you would have known it,” Nekou coolly dismissed. “Those guys… they’re way too showy for their own good. They wouldn’t have taken it in the way you described.”

“I think… I think you can trust her…” Matt put in. “She’s right, after all. Team Rocket’s members run around in those uniforms with the huge red ‘R’s on them. You didn’t see one of those, did you?” The boy shook his head, prompting Matt to say, “Then please, trust us. Come along, Ayingo…um… I’ll think of a new name for you soon, okay? Let’s just help these kids find their Ivysaur and see if we can’t get down to the bottom of these Meteonite attacks.”

“Sigi, sigi,” Ayingott chirped, her cry filled with equal parts enthusiasm and frustration.

Nekou's observation is correct- TR isn't known for subtlety. I feel sorry for poor Ayingott.


Elsewhere in the forest, Silver and Looker were still sprinting after Proton, who was unable to shake them despite his best efforts to vanish into the underbrush.

“Stop, you piece of scum!” Silver shouted through the trees at his target. “I swore I’d take all of you down, and I’m keeping my word! You won’t escape!”

“Be halting! The long arm of the law can manage to work to reach anywhere!”

Proton didn’t say anything, but he did glance over his shoulder at his pursuers. He realized that they were slowly closing in on him, meaning he wouldn’t be able to keep running forever.

“Oh, if ever I’ve needed some luck, now would be a hell of a time for it!” he thought to himself.

Much to his surprise, however, his wish actually came true. Over a dozen Psybeam attacks suddenly burst from the surrounding bushes, striking the ground all around Silver and Looker. They had to stop their chase as they were surrounded by Venonat, Butterfree and Masquerain. Proton, meanwhile, knew this turn afforded him the chance he needed to escape.

“Damn it, we lost him!” Silver growled as soon as he realized he couldn’t see Proton anymore. “We’ll have to track him down all over again... but we can’t do that until we deal with this problem.”

“I am finding myself in complete agreement with you, Silver.”

Some of the Butterfree and Venonat broke from the horde and moved forward, aiming another round of their multicolored Psybeam attacks at the two humans, who swiftly jumped aside to get out of the way. Silver quickly sent out his Gengar to face them, while Looker brought out his Toxicroak.

Great chase scene.

Ghetsis banged his cane against the floor again. On cue, the Shadow Triad materialized in front of him with swords in their hands. Before they even knew what was going on, Masa, Koji and Gaku were cut down. The last thing the three Sages ever saw was Darkness, Pestilence and Chaos wiping splashes of blood from their uniforms while Ghetsis towered over them, his face twisted into a sadistic grin.

This completely caught me offguard. I don't think I expected them to actually be murdered, just knocked out. It's in character for Ghetsis though- he really is a brutal character.

After the pair of Shadows warped away, Ghetsis looked to Chaos and gestured at the fallen Sages with his cane. “You, Chaos, get rid of them. Dead men don’t put up a fight so I know you can handle this.”

Ouch.

Much like she had been since arriving in Ilex Forest, Séduire was hiding up in one of the trees. Using the holographic display on her Meteonite cannon, she was observing the movements of Matt and the others as they went through the forest.

“Yes, come to me… you’re almost here…” Taking a deep breath, Séduire shifted her weight on the branch. “I think I’ll give you a gift to welcome you home…”

With a flick of her hand, Séduire moved off of her surveillance of Matt and onto a control panel for her weapon itself. She smiled to herself as she programmed a command into its system.

Creepy as always. I can tell she's having the time of her life though.

Just as Matt and the others breathed sighs of relief, though, a whole new problem erupted. The dozen pairs of yellow eyes, which had been watching them the entire time they were in the forest, finally revealed themselves as twelve Pawniard rushed from the growth, followed by a single Bisharp.

Okay I really don't have a good feeling about this.

As the Pawniard surrounded the group in a circular formation, Nekou saw that one of the Pawniard closest to the Bisharp had scratches on its head and immediately realized what was happening.

“****, they’ve been following us ever since Route 29, haven’t they?” she growled while rolling her eyes.

“The same ones from before?” Matt said, shaking his head. “I should have realized it. But what do they want now? Last time we were disturbing them and they were under… wait, are they being controlled by the Meteonite again?”

And I was right not to.

“The same ones from before?” Matt said, shaking his head. “I should have realized it. But what do they want now? Last time we were disturbing them and they were under… wait, are they being controlled by the Meteonite again?”

“No…” Nikolai interjected. “I can feel the Bisharp’s wishes… it wants to fight with you again. One on one. This is its sincere desire, not the influence of some outside power.”

“Uh… okay, I guess… can you tell it I don’t have my Seismitoad on me right now? If it wants a rematch it might want to fight the same opponent again.”

“Bisharp! Bisha sharp!” the Steel-and-Dark-type Pokémon immediately said in response, having heard what Matt had said.

Nikolai chuckled gently and smiled as he turned to Matt. “It says it doesn’t care.”

“Well then, that’s certainly a change in attitude from the last time we met, isn’t it?”


That's actually surprising.


Having escaped from his pursuers, Proton was able to once again establish contact with Dr. Zager, though only through audio. The scientist was rapidly typing into his computer while speaking to his subordinate, the reason being that emergency messages were popping up continually on his screens.

“Dr. Zager, tell me what’s happening!” Proton shouted over the transmission. “I can’t do anything here if I don’t know what I’m dealing with!”

“Proton, listen to me and listen well. That temporal distortion is unstable and increasing. Get back in there, find out if a Time Gate is opening, and do whatever you can to bring it under Team Rocket’s control! We cannot risk Polaris capturing such a potent energy!”

I love the tension between Zager and Proton in this scene, and Zager's panicked nature under fire, as opposed to his usually calm and composed self.

“There’s something very, very wrong with her…” Above everything but his worry for Olivia, Matt felt powerless. He wanted to do something to help her, but with no idea what was wrong, there was nothing he could do. The feeling of helplessness made his entire body shake. “Clearly, we’re in the middle of something very bad… we have to get out of this forest right now, no more delays.”

I wish I knew what was wrong with Olivia... I feel so bad for her.

“Can’t say I know what this is,” Séduire whispered, gradually turning her head in shaky motions to look over her shoulder, “but I know who I am, and I know who you are. It’s so good to finally see you again, Matt…” She licked her lips, then wiped a small bead of saliva from her mouth. Her excitement over finally seeing Matt was so strong that she felt she would explode.

I shivered.

“A mask… you’re one of Polaris’s Chromosomes of the Sacred Helix, aren’t you?” Taking Séduire’s insane grin as a confirmation of her suspicion, Nekou continued, “And that weapon… there’s a Meteonite in there, isn’t there? You’re the one who’s been terrorizing this forest!”

“Right and right. The name ugly *****s like you are allowed to use for me is Séduire, the Fifth Chromosome.” Twisting her head back in Matt’s direction, Séduire grinned even more widely. “But I’m sure Matt knows my real name. He’s allowed to call me it. I want to hear it right now.”

“Matt, who is…who is she?” Olivia whimpered.

“Be quiet!” Séduire screamed. “You took him from me too! He’s mine and mine alone! Now say my real name!!”

Matt was paralyzed by what he saw before him. He did know the name of the person behind Séduire’s mask, but he was so horrified by even having to consider it that he was frozen into still silence.

“Psycho ex-girlfriend or something?” Nekou sighed. “I don’t even care that she called me a *****, because she’s so obviously compensating…”

“Shut up! I told you to all shut up! You’re nothing but trash! Matt, tell them who I am! Tell them about all the good times we had together! Tell them about how I’m a part of you that you can’t live without!”

Excellent work making her truly terrifying. I enjoy her and Nekou's exchanges though. Nekou definitely knows how to deal with shittalkers.

Seduire is definitely a fascinating character and seeing how she's slowly losing it is great. Amazing characterization.

Pyroar’s movements were so quick that he was already in the air before Matt could react. He realized that Tanya wouldn’t be able to stop an airborne enemy, and was overcome with a feeling of helplessness. “Stop this right now, Cassy!”

oh ****

The reveal of Cassy as Seduire, and her explanation of her motivations, makes her character even more chilling. Here is a woman who will stop at nothing to try to get her lost love back... even when she knows he no longer wants anything to do with her. She's not afraid to hurt his friends while she's at it, and she's a fantastically written character even if she does terrify me.

Cassy didn’t even see Nekou flick her wrist to produce her switchblade, nor did she even realize Nekou had it until she was already falling with a gash cut into her left leg. She looked back at the subject of her jealous hate and silently swore at her.

“Nekou!” Matt screamed. “Why did you… did you mortally wound her?”

“I just cut her leg in self-defense,” Nekou answered. “She attacked me. It’s a minor wound, anyway. Come on, we have to go.”

Badass Nekou is badass.


A short time later, Matt, Nekou, Nikolai and the siblings encountered Looker and Silver once again. The detective and his partner had lost track of Proton completely, so they went to the exit of the forest, where the two groups merged. They then boarded a train at the edge of Goldenrod City that would take them to the Pokémon Center in the central area of the city.

The seats on the train were arranged into rows facing each other. Matt and Nekou were right next to the window in their row and facing each other, while Nekou had the still soundly-sleeping Olivia in her lap. Nikolai, Silver, Looker and the siblings were beside them.

“Look at that,” Matt remarked as he peered out the window to the Goldenrod slums below. “I don’t remember Goldenrod City looking like this the last time I was here.”

“There’s been significant urban sprawl,” Nekou answered. “It’s pretty damn gross if you ask me. The poorer residents have been forced to live in those slums while the wealthy live high on the ****ing hog in the central area. Nobody even knows those people are there, with how little they get talked about… but on the other hand, a lot of the residents of central Goldenrod aren’t bad people, either, they’re just trying to survive. The city has a lot of spirit. It’s just a very small minority ruining everything for everyone else.”

I love how you show a different side to the universe than we're used to seeing. Just like the real world, there's a dark side to everything.

A red-and-white ambulance had entered Ilex Forest and was driving to Cassy’s location after she called for it. Two thin men sat in its cab.

“This is the last call for our shift today,” the driver said to his companion. “A stabbing.”

“Alright, that ought to be simple enough. I’m looking forward to going home. Haven’t had a lot of time with the wife lately, what with all the fights breaking out in the slums.”

Very realistic dialogue. I especially appreciate the last line here, which echoes Nekou's earlier comments.

Geminus is a really mysterious character and now I'm wondering even more about him. What inspired him to rescue Cassy like that?

That night, Matt, Nekou and Olivia had a room in the Pokémon Center in central Goldenrod. Unlike many other Pokémon Centers, the one they were staying at was a huge building, more like a hotel than the simple inns the others resembled, so their room was quite spacious.

Matt was sound asleep, as was Olivia, who had recovered from her illness by the time they reached their destination despite still being overwhelmingly tired. Nekou, on the other hand, had other plans.

Once confident she wouldn’t be noticed, she carefully climbed out of her bed and threw her uniform over her shoulders. She didn’t even stop to button it up, as she didn’t care that her nightgown was visible underneath.

Quietly going to the door with a can of beer in her hand, she slipped out into the empty hallway. As she walked down the hall she opened the can and drank it. Within a minute she reached a row of phone booths and furtively entered one.

She then picked up the phone, crushed the empty can and tossed it into the nearby pail, and dialed a number.

“Unique password: Sneasel claw,” she said into the phone once it was picked up. “I’ve finally arrived in Goldenrod City. My investigations of Polaris’s plans have been going well. Yes, I’ll be able to attend the meeting tomorrow. Yes, I know, one more day until their protest. We will have to be very careful.”

Even on what seems to be important business, Nekou needs her beer, doesn't she? I'm wondering what the deal is with this, it sounds like she's up to something super-important, and I'm wondering how this will affect the plot later.

“Oh man, that whole thing in Ilex Forest was insane!” Proton complained.

The green-haired Executive had fled to Goldenrod City and reached the Team Rocket operating base. The other members were still there awaiting orders, while Giovanni sat at the window, petting Persian.

“Dr. Zager told us some of what happened,” Ariana said, facing Proton. “You can’t be blamed for your failure to capture the Time Gate. It wasn’t a central mission anyway. Just as long as Polaris does not have it.”

“They don’t, don’t worry about it.”

“Giovanni,” Rosalie interrupted from her position at the computer bank, “I have news.”

“Proceed.”

“It has just turned over past midnight. Only one day remains until Polaris’s big event.”

“Ah yes, thank you.” Giovanni did not turn around as he spoke. He instead kept staring at Goldenrod City’s nighttime skyline from his vantage point. “Team Rocket’s forces are finally assembled. Our operation will also now get underway.”

Proton and Ariana's dialogue is great. I can tell Ariana understands Proton's frustration.

You ended this on a cliffhanger that makes me excited for the next chapter's events. I really can't wait for the next chapter because it's definitely shaping up to be exciting.

Excellent work again. I love your updates and this one was no disappointment.
 

Bay

YEAHHHHHHH
Aw over Jessie and James missing Meowth. :< At least Ariana stepped in to calm Giovanni. And hm, “Days of the people”… yup, a distraction for sure.

“It’s just capturing a Pokémon…” Silver said as he walked up to her. “I don’t understand why you’re so worked up over it.”

“Sentimental value!” Olivia shot back. “The Pokémon I caught before this was… I caught it while being driven by something I don’t have anymore. This is really the first time I’ve caught a Pokémon for myself and not for my dad…”
I like this small development of Olivia there. Ah oh to the battle between Silver and Proton, though .D:

Shifting his gaze sideways to look at Matt, Nikolai answered, “…that Pokémon can bring people together over such distances. I want the world to be a place where people and Pokémon can grow together through their interactions with each other. That’s my ideal formula…”
I also like Nikolai’s part about Pokemon and humans working together. Would be of him to say that.

“Stop! International Police!”

“Oh, come the **** on!” Nekou groaned in exasperation. “You seriously think that he’ll stop for that?”
Okay, I laughed at that part.

While sharply hissing, Marie looked up at Minccino’s Swift attack and fired rays of blue, freezing energy from her claws. The ice surrounded the stars on contact, turning them into sharp-edged weapons that slashed through the Zubat horde. Many of them dropped to the ground, unable to continue after being cut down by the combination, leaving only three severely weakened Zubat still airborne.
Nice detail of Ice Beam and Swift there.

Ghetsis banged his cane against the floor again. On cue, the Shadow Triad materialized in front of him with swords in their hands. Before they even knew what was going on, Masa, Koji and Gaku were cut down. The last thing the three Sages ever saw was Darkness, Pestilence and Chaos wiping splashes of blood from their uniforms while Ghetsis towered over them, his face twisted into a sadistic grin.
That’s some wicked appearance of the Shadow Triad there. *_*

I like the little characteristics you gave Matt’s Sigilyph and Roggenrola and they get a bit of spotlight in the forest scenes.

As the Pawniard surrounded the group in a circular formation, Nekou saw that one of the Pawniard closest to the Bisharp had scratches on its head and immediately realized what was happening.

“****, they’ve been following us ever since Route 29, haven’t they?” she growled while rolling her eyes.
I too got taken back those Pokemon had been following them, haha. Good thing Matt convinced Bisharp to not fight him when he needed to get away.

Oh, hi there Cassy. Glad Matt got over her really quickly, though I too was a bit stunned Nekou used her switchblade on her. Yay though for a Kalos Pokemon making an appearance and Looker recognizing Pyroar.

Desperate to throw off the small Pokémon that were nicking her all over her body, Séduire thrashed around, but in the course of doing so, several Pawniard managed to cut some exposed cables on her weapon. Instantly, it powered down, causing Bisharp to return to normal, with the blank look vanishing from her eyes. The Pawniard, upon seeing their leader freed, retreated from attacking Séduire to support her.

All right, the Bisharp and the Pawinard weren’t influenced by the Meteonite anymore after they attacked Cassy, but there wasn’t any mention of them after the part I pulled out. Did they leave quietly during Matt and the group’s confrontation with Cassy?

Olivia’s Time Gate scene…What is going on? o_O;

“Ah yes, thank you.” Giovanni did not turn around as he spoke. He instead kept staring at Goldenrod City’s nighttime skyline from his vantage point. “Team Rocket’s forces are finally assembled. Our operation will also now get underway.”
About time.

Another enjoyable chapter there! Looking forward to the stuff going down at Goldenrod.
 

Blue Saturday

Unfurl your Blessed Wings!
Well, I'm here to tackle your latest chapter, sorry about the general lateness of it. This won't be blow by blow since I feel a general actions summary of my thoughts would be more beneficial and less wordy. So without further ado, I'd just like to say I found the chapter engrossing from start to finish in terms of the plot and details, you managed to get so much out of one chapter and cover your bases well without anything getting sloppy at all and I commend you for being able to juggle so many proactive actions at once.

The beginning scenes between all the Rockets was an excellent way of beginning the chapter, not only because we got to see more of the Rockets in-general(There are a good number of them and many might not have them all memorized and recognized yet) but the way you characterized them all was well done. Especially Jessie and James who show immense concern for Meowth and Ariana being understanding of these feelings instead of being generic, mean, villain lady 24/7. It does add more to her character at the end of the day, even if it's in a small fashion I enjoyed that a good bit. The continued plot development of something big to come in the near future and the tense mood of the whole scene really captured my attention well and held it. While I'm on villain-esque stuff, the scene between Ghetsis and the sages certainly was brutal, wasn't it? He certainly does live up the general title of being a pure monster in his ways.

Speaking of characterization, Olivia's scene with capturing a Pokemon not connected to her father and Silver's scene of disdain of his own was an interesting interaction. Mainly because we get to see how these two contrast in general opinions of each other's parents. Seeing her capturing a Pokemon for her own sake was a nice benchmark of showing how she changed and grew past her former pain. Nikolai read really well this chapter, mainly because of how rhythmic his dialogue was, as to be expected of someone as steady as he is and the way he understand Bisharp's wishes completely.

As for the Pokemon of this chapter, they did have a lot going on, didn't they? Two of Matt's Pokemon having bad blood with each other, Bisharp and her gang's advancement and find of Matt's group, Matt's Sigilyph dislike of the nickname he gave it, I never expected to see this much happening with them in one chapter. I really didn't expect for the Bisharp clan to make another showing. Though it not being one of ill will but of Bisharp wanting the desire for a rematch and letting Matt leave to take Olivia to safety was a nice way of showing the gang and being more of anti-heroes in that notion stood out to me. I guess I could hazard that Bisharp had grown to respect Matt's strength and has no intention of trying to kill him nor his friends.

You have a knack for doing good characterization and I find that riveting about a lot of Pokemon and characters thus far, though Nekou's still stands above the rest as my favorite among Matt's group. And as for Cassy, wow, would it be accurate to call her Matt's own yandere? Truly, truly something else in terms of being an antagonist. After reading her this chapter, there are many different roads you can take her. The scene of her weeping for help after being slashed by Nekou and being taken into the care and understanding of someone like Geminus who she thinks means her well definitely showed more to her character. It showed she's more than just a psychotic yandere character, I wonder if the door for her to reform as an individual and get some help is open? Of course I could easily see her continuing on the path of anger and jealously as well and that's not a bad thing at all. Nice Kalosian Easter egg right there, didn't expect for her to have a Pyroar.

Nekou and Olivia....just what is going on? What motives does Nekou have in-mind. Nice enigmatic way to finish off a strong chapter, there wasn't much to criticize so I'll point out to try to continue to be tight knit and great about your character juggling.

Matt turned in surprise to see that Olivia’s Minccino had regained her courage and was rejoining the fight, having climbed out of her trainer’s arms.
I gotta hand it to you, this description was pretty cute.
 
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The Great Butler

Hush, keep it down
This is probably going to be a pretty long chapter, but on the other hand, there really isn’t anything to warn for, aside from major XY spoilers. Get ready for this one…

-:-

CHAPTER 13: Sweet Little Lies

-:-

Goldenrod City took on a completely different appearance when under the sun’s warm glow.

At night, it was a neon-laced metropolis, glowing so brightly that it could be seen from space. While the central part of the city retained its glory during the day, sunlight showed the uncomfortable truth of the slums surrounding it much more than the night did.

Matt, Nekou and Olivia, much like most of the other trainers and travelers who visited Goldenrod, were nestled away far from the concerns of the city’s poorer section. The gigantic Pokémon Center was right at the heart of the city, cradled by its many distractions, which spread out in all directions.

Inside the building, the three were just entering the vast lobby after coming down from the floor where their room was. Many others were milling about the space, engaging in a wide range of activities from eating and watching television to playing with their Pokémon.

“Feels like forever since I’ve gotten a rest that refreshing,” Matt said while yawning and stretching his arms. “I think I might actually miss that room when we leave here.”

“Was your bed as comfortable as mine was?” Olivia asked, though it was unclear if she was directing it at Matt or Nekou. “Taking a shower and getting my hair cleaned out felt good enough, but then getting to sleep on that? I’d do it again and again.”

“Olivia…” Matt said, becoming serious. “Are you feeling okay?”

“I got a good sleep and I feel completely better. Why would you think anything else?”

“Well…” Matt looked up at Nekou, who was looking back at him. Both of them had great concern in their eyes, but what he got from her was feeling that he shouldn’t push the subject. “Yeah, I guess the beds were comfortable,” he said, resigning himself to not pursuing his worries.

“I know mine was.” Nekou assumed that Olivia was talking to her. “Plus, I can drink as much as I want in there and get away with it.”

Matt sighed, though it was due to a mixture of frustration and amusement instead of just frustration. “What’s different about that room? You drink all you want everywhere you go.”

“You wouldn’t know about drinking in small spaces.” Much to Matt’s surprise, Nekou was actually taking his question, which was intended as a tease, seriously. “Get drunk in small areas and things can get weird. Believe me when I say that you want space if you’re getting ****ing bombed.”

“I guess I’ll cede to the master on that subject, then.”

Just then, Matt glanced over toward the bank of videophones against one of the walls and did a double-take. There weren’t many people there, but he swore he recognized one of the few that was.

“Hey, isn’t that…”

Nekou stopped walking, albeit only because Matt stuck his arm out to stop her. “What now?” She saw him silently pointing in the direction of the phones, so she followed his direction and looked in that direction as well. Almost immediately, she saw exactly who he was talking about. “Yeah, that’s her.”

“I thought so.” Matt started walking toward the videophone area, but before long he broke into a stride. “Bunny!”

Immediately upon hearing Matt’s voice, Bunny turned from her call. Her eyes lit up when she saw her three friends. “Matt! Come on over! Bring Nekou and Olivia too!”

Matt reached Bunny first. While Nekou and Olivia caught up to him, he asked her, “How have you been? How’d the Ruins of Alph go?”

“Oh, it’s been an adventure, to say the least,” Bunny laughed while rolling her eyes.

“Is that a familiar voice I hear?” the person who Bunny had been talking to said through the videophone.

Bunny shifted aside slightly, allowing Matt to see who she had been talking to. It turned out to be Professor Juniper, and judging from the room behind her, Matt realized that she was still at Professor Elm’s lab.

“Well, hello, Professor.”

“You guys all doing okay out there?” Juniper asked. “It’s been pretty rough in Johto lately. Is Olivia with you?”

“I’m right here!” Olivia piped up as she jostled into the picture.

“How’s Oshawott?”

“We’re getting along a lot better,” Olivia said, showing a wide, cheerful smile. “He even evolved into Dewott!”

Upon hearing this news, Juniper smiled as well. “Well done, Olivia! I’m quite proud of you!”

“Bunny, I’m sorry we interrupted your call,” Matt said. “You can get back to it now.”

“No, actually, I think I want you to hear this.” When her statement was met by three confused looks, Bunny elaborated, “I was just telling Professor Juniper that I caught a Pokémon that should have never been in this country, even now.”

“Let me guess, a Kalos Pokémon?”

“How did you know?” Bunny gasped.

Nekou shrugged. “We ran into one of Polaris’s members in Ilex Forest, and she used a Pyroar against us. Did you catch one too?”

“No, not Pyroar. Let me show you.” Bunny took out a Poké Ball and opened it, releasing a tall, stout-bodied creature. He had grass-like fur in different shades of green covering much of his body, as well as four strong hooves and a pair of long, dramatically curved horns. “This Pokémon is called Gogoat.”

“Yes, you’re right about that,” Juniper commented, drawing the attention of the four. “Gogoat is a Pokémon from the nation of Kalos, as we already established. They’re very useful, as they can be ridden and have a sort of empathic power in their horns. But the thing is, Kalos Pokémon weren’t included in the government’s migration program. All I was ever aware of was the migration of Unova Pokémon.”

“Well somebody must be bringing them here,” Nekou sharply remarked.

“I agree,” Juniper concurred with a nod. “But the question is who. I’ll keep trying to find out what I can, but for now, I can help you a little. Olivia, would you plug your Pokédex into the external port on the videophone?”

Olivia took out the Pokémon, but fumbled around with it as she looked for the place to connect it to the phone. “Where?”

“There’s a small opening on the bottom that has the connector inside of it.”

“Oh, here it is.” Olivia found what she was looking for moments after Juniper described its location, and after opening it up, she plugged the connector into a port just beneath the videophone’s screen. “What’s this for, exactly?”

“I’m updating your Pokédex, Olivia,” Juniper cheerfully explained. “Previously, it didn’t contain any data on Pokémon from Kalos, but with this upgrade, scanning a Kalos Pokémon will work like scanning any other Pokémon. I want you to keep using it on any Pokémon you find that are unfamiliar to you, because we need to get a grasp on just how many introduced species are here and what kind of effect they’re having on their environments.”

“I can do that,” Olivia said, accepting the professor’s request with a smile. “I do like seeing new Pokémon…”

“Wonderful! I have no doubt you’ll do well on it.” A bell sound punctuated Juniper’s statement. “And that means your Pokédex upgrade is done.” As Olivia unplugged the device, however, Juniper’s look grew dark. “Now I have a request for you, Bunny, Matt, Nekou. Have any of you seen Professor Elm or heard anything about his whereabouts? He has still not come back.”

“Seriously?” Matt said in surprise.

“If he didn’t come back by now, something’s happened to him,” Bunny reasoned, holding her chin. “The question is, if someone kidnapped him, who? Considering we ran into Team Rocket, could they…”

“What about Polaris, though?” Nekou interrupted, her voice carrying a sound of annoyance. “We also fought them. That Séduire person was responsible for the Meteonite outbreak in Ilex Forest, after all.”

“I don’t know…” Matt said indecisively. He was genuinely conflicted between the two choices, as he considered them both equally viable.

“I have to go now,” Juniper stated. “I’ll be in contact if I learn anything. Stay well!”

A moment later, the screen went dark as Juniper hung up on the call. With that taken care of, Bunny faced her three friends.

“So how did it go?” Matt inquired. “How were the Ruins of Alph?”

Bunny sighed and grinned. “Crazy, I’ll tell you that right now. Right after we got inside, a bunch of Unown attacked us and separated us.”

“What happened to Dante?” Olivia wondered.

“I don’t know, but I’m sure he’s fine. Myself, though… something strange ended up happening. I fell through a doorway that sent me to some other place.”

“What?” Nekou gasped, finally coming into the conversation.

“That’s what happened.”

~:~

After falling through the portal in the Ruins of Alph, Bunny found herself waking up in an unfamiliar place. As she came to, she looked around at her surroundings to try and deduce where she was.

She was lying on a stone runway leading up to a huge, triangular stage. Statues of various Pokémon stood on both sides of the runway, and far up in the cavernous temple, ledges from the upper levels looked down onto the stage. More immediately, however, Bunny realized how cold she was when she noticed how everything in the temple was covered by a slight layer of frost.

Bunny stood, but before she could understand anything more about her situation, the sound of footsteps from the temple entrance distracted her. An elderly, hunchbacked man approached her, with an Abra tagging along loyally at his side.

“Who are you?” he coughed. “Outsiders like you aren’t welcome here!”

“Please... I don’t mean any harm,” Bunny pleaded. “I don’t know how I got here.”

“How do I know you aren’t one of those Harmonia loyalists?” The old man was starting to slowly circle her. “So you finally found the one place we were safe from you..”

“Look, I don’t know what you’re talking about. My name is Bunny Spruce. I’m an archeologist. I was exploring the Ruins of Alph when some Unown sent me through a portal and I ended up here.”

The old man’s demeanor softened considerably upon Bunny’s explanation. “The Ruins of Alph? Oh, I understand now... this has happened before. I can send you back. Abra, use Teleport to send her back to the Ruins of Alph.”

~:~

“…and after that, I made my way directly west to get to Goldenrod City, since I knew you would be coming here. That was when I caught Gogoat, by the way. So how are you three doing?”

“To say that everything’s been crazy is an understatement,” Matt sighed. “There have been outbreaks of crazed Pokémon everywhere, and just yesterday we had an encounter with Cassy.”

“I heard about the Pokémon behaving strangely, but Cassy? That crazy girl that used to hang around you all the time? Why would she have been around here?”

“She’s a member of Polaris.” Matt’s revelation elicited a strong physical response from Bunny, as she curled her face in shock. “And apparently, a highly ranked one, I think. I don’t really know what it all means…”

“I got the Hive Badge in Azalea Town,” Olivia piped up.

“I’m proud of you for that,” Bunny cheerfully said, patting Olivia on the head. “What was it like?”

“It… it wasn’t easy…” Olivia nervously looked away from Bunny as she spoke. The memories of her breakdown were returning, and she was trying not to succumb to them. “It wasn’t easy, but in the end… the feeling of holding that badge in my hand… it was something I want to feel again. I decided to put aside Contests for now so I can focus on Gyms.”

“That’s very mature of you to make that decision,” Bunny complimented. “So where are we heading now?”

“Oh, that’s the funny part,” Matt laughed bitterly, barely masking his disgust. “We met up with the International Police detective, Looker, and he’s taking us to see Jacob.”

As soon as she heard Jacob’s name, Bunny’s face became completely serious. “Oh,” she mumbled, her eyes half closed from the annoyance her memories of the man brought up. “No wonder you seemed irritated about it. Oh well, I guess we best get this out of the way now.”

Matt nodded in assent, then turned to the strangely silent Nekou, who didn’t do or say anything other than step closer to the others. They all started toward the exit, but were stopped when another voice called to them.

“Olivia? Is that you?”

When the newly-reformed group of four turned in the direction of the voice, they saw a familiar boy dressed in a blue-and-black school uniform.

“A uniform from Earl’s Pokémon Academy…” Matt said in surprise. “…Monroe? Dominic’s son?”

“…you… actually remember me?” the brown-haired young man meekly said as he approached the group. “I’m honored…”

“What are you doing in Goldenrod City?” Olivia asked.

“I just got a Plain Badge from the Gym, actually.” Furthering his point, Monroe extended his hand, showing them his badge, a yellow diamond outlined in silver.

Olivia lit up immediately upon seeing it. “I’m on my way there right now! You’ve got to tell me what you can about the Gym Leader!”

“Well…” Monroe chuckled gently before continuing, “…Whitney’s a Normal-type Gym Leader, and she uses a Miltank as her main Pokémon. She’s really imaginative with her moves, so you can’t let her surprise you. But the thing is, you have to do something else before you can face her.”

“What’s that?” Now Olivia was confused, narrowing her left eye.

“You have to go around Goldenrod City and collect stamps from five places before they let you in. It’s… I hope I’m remembering this correctly… the Radio Tower, the Battle Factory, the Global Terminal, the Game Corner and the Photo Studio in the underground shopping area.”

“I’ve got an idea,” Matt chimed in. “After we go talk to Jacob with Looker, how about we all go to the Battle Factory together, and then while I’m doing my challenge, the rest of you can split off, go get the rest of the stamps and meet up with me later at the Gym?”

“Don’t you want someone there to support you, though?”

Matt shook his head at Bunny and smiled. “I don’t need it. Honestly, I think Olivia would appreciate it more, but I’ll leave it up to her.”

Matt, Bunny and Nekou all looked down to Olivia in anticipation of her decision. They didn’t have to wait long, as she quickly said, “Sure, I’m up for it. I have to get my second badge as soon as possible.”

“Second…? Huh, what do you know.” Monroe was mumbling to himself, so the others didn’t take notice of him until he directly addressed them. “I… I hope I’m not being a burden, but may I come with you? I don’t have anything to do for a while…”

“Sure, I don’t see why n…”

“Just as long as you can keep up,” Olivia teased, cutting Matt off in the process. “I won’t be held back.”

“Good to see you’re back to your old self,” Matt thought to himself.

With nothing more to be said, the group once again headed for the exit of the Pokémon Center, this time with Monroe tagging along.

There was a small plaza immediately outside the Pokémon Center. A pair of fountains bookended the cobblestone grounds, and numerous benches provided plenty of space for pedestrians to rest. It was an area nestled in the tall buildings like a small oasis in an urban desert.

As the group walked out of the Pokémon Center, they were immediately confronted by Silver, who defiantly stood in their way and stopped them.

“We’ve been waiting for you,” Silver growled. “Any longer and I would have come in there looking for you myself.”

“Well in that case it’s pretty lucky you didn’t have to, right?” Nekou sniped back at him. “What now?”

“Let’s get going,” he ordered, pointing over to Looker, who was leaning against a lamppost with his arms crossed. “Looker says he can’t wait all day for you.”

“Then let’s not make him do that.”

Matt led the way over to Looker, and the rest of his friends followed closely behind. Once his audience was assembled, the detective pushed himself off the lamppost with his foot and faced them with a stern manner.

“Being much late to this meeting, you all are,” he commented. It took him only a brief moment to realize the group had grown in number, and when he did, he scowled. “Being who is being that boy?”

“Oh, you mean Monroe?” Matt answered. “He’s trustworthy, don’t worry about it. He’s the son of a friend of ours and one of my sister’s students.”

“If saying so you are.” Looker turned sharply on his heel and added, “Follow me. Going we are to the place where the man with the name Jacob Alexison is held. Making haste we must be doing.”

Matt, Olivia and Bunny were put off by Looker’s harsh tone, but it was Monroe who spoke up as they started to follow him and Silver. “I don’t understand, what’s going on?”

“We’re going to talk to someone who’s being held prisoner before we do anything else,” Matt explained. “He may have information we need.”

As Matt, Olivia, Bunny and Monroe walked off, they were too caught up in talking amongst themselves to notice that Nekou had stayed back. She quietly opened two of her Poké Balls, releasing her Murkrow and Duskull, then took a small camera device from inside her uniform and attached it to her Murkrow’s neck.

“Edgar, you know what to do,” she said to her Duskull. “Use your powers to search through the city for our target. Lenore, you use that camera to record wherever it is. I’ll receive the video as soon as you get it, and then I want you two to meet me at Goldenrod Gym. Got it?”

Edgar and Lenore happily voiced their agreement, and Nekou petted them on their heads.

“Do a good job for me out there, okay?”

With that, Nekou rose up, turned and rushed to catch up to the others, while her Pokémon floated up into the air over the city.

-:-

During the night, Colress had arrived at the Purine Base. Having safely parked his aircraft in a spacious hangar behind the facility, he joined Getriebe and Jeunes in the main lab. At the present, they were holding a video conference with Finansielle. Meanwhile, Meowth was standing behind them, still blank due to the Meteonite’s influence.

“It would appear that Matt Chiaki’s group has reached Goldenrod City,” Getriebe explained in his monotone voice.

“Do they know where you are? Where the base is?” she questioned.

“No, I expect that we’re quite safe from him,” answered Jeunes with a casual shrug. He quickly turned serious, however, and added, “Team Rocket might be a different matter. There’s been rumblings about them having a presence here.”

“Don’t worry about it, I’m sure it’ll work out.” Finansielle’s nonchalant response to the seemingly bad news surprised the two masked scientists, while Colress simply stood behind them, smiling while he tucked his hands in his pockets. “Getriebe, the Purine Base is under your direction. It is up to you to prevent any leaks of its location.”

“I accept that mission.”

“So what do you think, Colress?” Finansielle asked, her bright mood continuing to create a jarring contrast with those of the others. “Have you got what you need to work there?”

“More than enough, easily,” he replied. “All we have to do is finish scanning all the Pokémon that were sent here, and that’s nearly done. Once we get that out of the way, the transfer of the data from this base’s systems to our labs will be easy as pie.” Colress grinned even more widely and pushed his visor up his nose with two fingers, a habit he’d developed with his glasses. “I’m not concerned about Team Rocket or that Matt Chiaki boy you seem so intrigued by. That woman, on the other hand… I’ve been spoiling for a rematch with her since we tangled in Unova.”

“Don’t go doing anything stupid,” Finansielle warned. “It would be awfully unfortunate if I had to pull funding for the Purine Base because you got it exposed.”

“Don’t worry, Lady Finansielle, I’ve got no intention of starting anything with them.” Colress lowered his head, allowing the glow of the video screen bearing Finansielle’s face to reflect on his visor. “If my prediction is correct, Miss Lalume will come calling right to our door.”

-:-

The court complex where Looker took Matt’s group turned out to be fairly close to the Pokémon Center. It was an unassuming place, simply a cluster of gray buildings, but it was this dull appearance that made it stand out in the bright lights of Goldenrod City.

The detective had deposited his charges in a visiting room, where a group of chairs faced a wide pane of opaque glass. Silver stayed behind while Looker went off to another room, but he simply watched from the back of the room as Matt, Nekou, Olivia, Bunny and Monroe arranged themselves in the chairs.

After several minutes of seemingly nothing happening, Olivia was looking around in impatient confusion. She nearly jumped out of her seat when the phone sitting before them on a small ledge below the window began ringing. After seeing her calm down with Nekou’s help, Matt picked the phone up.

“Hello?”

“It is happening to be me, Looker! All preparations of readiness have been set into their places where they belong. Are you having readiness?”

Matt turned around, only to find his companions staring intently at him, at which point he realized that the phone’s audio was being piped into the room.

“What’s the point of the receiver?” he asked incredulously.

“It’s just a formality we are having, not much more! So are you having preparedness or not?”

“Yeah, I guess I am. Let’s get started.”
 
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