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Operation GEAR: The Angel of Reckoning (R)

The Great Butler

Hush, keep it down
Ah, man, here's the next part of the review finally after that massive delay. Comments on the new first scene as well as the second and third chapter. This seems like a good size of review to me so you can probably expect two-chapter reviews all the way, assuming everything doesn't change up for me like it frequently ends up doing.

It looks good. Don't worry about the delay.

The new first scene sets itself up with a bit more ceremony, which I think I already mentioned -- it takes time to set up the conext/etc of what's happening, or at least feels like it does. I mostly think the same things I said last time we talked -- the narration/description is a good bit cleaner, the sense of atmosphere is better, and of course I don't feel that the events are going over my head as much as I did last time. I might also mention what I noticed a while back, that the mood of both this and the original scene always stays at least a little pent-up and subdued: fast-paced, nervous, and intense, of course, but never quite reaching SIRENS-RINGING fever pitch. Which is appropriate considering the plot content of the scene is still kind of 80% ominous foreshadowing.

I owe you a lot of thanks for that. It was your review that inspired me to go back and redo it, based on new ideas I'd developed since writing the original.

I like how he implies Olivia only has to be polite if the other person isn't eg, trying to kill her.

That is mostly because he's too timid when it comes to clamping down on her to tell her it's wrong period.

Time had not been kind to Doctor Gabriel Zager.

I notice this scene begins very simlarly to the post-credit scene about the Polaris research team; I'm not sure if you deliberately wanted an echo or not, but the similarity is certainly noticeable. If I had to say one way or the other, it might be a little redundant to first say that the fallout from the Azrael project tired the team out, then to say it again for the retired head.

Perhaps. I think the echoing makes it work well enough, though.

This remark of course indicates a pretty personal, friendly relationship; I've noticed from the start that the bonds among the Polaris scientists (and the main Rocket executives too) are pretty decent and human, perhaps because of the unnatural situations they've been put through. Zager seemed pretty much like a protagonist from the start and might even be a scientist who had got into this for ethical reasons and was not expecting them to go this far. And Team Rocket making an appearance in the first chapter too -- lots of different shades between heroes and villains; there's one hero trio in a corner of the stage but they're only one party among a host of different motives.

Yes, that's right. I wanted to present "villainous" characters who have more interesting interpersonal relationships than just being goal-oriented. Your assessment of that being because of what they've been through is correct.

Damn, Ariana shouldn't be takng medicine on any amount of alcohol. o.o

She won't follow your rules.

The recount of the previous adventures takes up a pretty big chunk, and it makes me wonder if those plots really have a connection to what's going to happen in this fic -- of course it makes sense that they'd tell their story to Juniper now that they're together, but you take care to summarize each one of the plots that they've gone through so far and end up taking a long time before the somewhat obligated revelation of the pokedex quest. There is something important going on here, I think -- the characters' prior motivations and backgrounds are getting explained, at least Olivia is getting exposited quite a lot. This scene i learn how she's pretty tough and competent, certainly a bit singleminded in this troubled time at least, has helped in a civil war, was truly shaken by one certain experience, and again, can get really focused on a single goal to the detriment of things, people, or pokemon.

You're right. The past for these characters is very important.

I like that Olivia is starting to get a taste for beating people. :D

And she won't lose it, you can bet on that.

It looks like Rich's legacy is still coming back to the heroes in odd ways, so I guess the prior events of the trilogy do have their relevance in this fic.

Yes, very much so.

Your battle style is v. nice. The punctuation offered by battle moves lets you build up a nice intense momentum and you know how to keep it from flagging. There's usually one (or two) clear simple strategies at a time and a bunch of exchanged moves get to ride on each of them.

Some of them will be more intricate, but I'm glad to hear that the battles worked out well for you so far.

Did you say Chapter 3 is not as full of happenings as the other ones? Olivia almost dies and everybody goes into their private form of BSOD? Your chapters have a lot more going on in them than mine, that's for sure.

Hm, you're right about that, a lot did happen.

The conversation at Dr. Fantomos's house also seems like it has important overtones for the story. We're still seeing a lot of recounting. Your characters are made (partially at least) by their backstories. Either something in the past is what drives them on as in Olivia's case or, like Matt, their history is something they hold to themselves and use as standards for their values. I understand how this kind of storytelling conversation functions between two plot-important 'hero' characters, it probably allows both of them to suss each other out better than any talk about personalities or interests.

Yes. You have a good handle on everything.

But right, we haven't seen so many of the directly plot-advancing scenes that the first chapter was full of.

That's true.

I decided not to bother you with proofreads of the early chapters (unless you'd like them!) but here's a line break typo:

Thank you for being mindful of such things!

As for the Moby Dick scene, I thought it might have been slightly bad taste for the main character to literally identify as a dramatic literary hero; to outright say, I'm Ahab in this story, let's do a literary parallel between my story and Moby Dick. It's true this fic is very fundamentally based on hero-struggle plots and there's no doubt what kind of action hero Matt is, but it's still a bit weird if he's aware of himself as a story character. He's definitely framing his own life in terms of story arcs. But, like I said, the way your fic is constructed, the characters may have no choice but to see themselves in those terms.

I think it's more than he simply tends to over-dramatize himself in his own mind, honestly.

And of course it is a strong, important scene for the character interaction's sake.

Agreed.

I'm gonna stop procrastinatin'! I'm gonna do it. ... you'll have the whole of an actual review from me sooner or later. -.-;

You're doing fine. Don't worry about it.
 

Praxiteles

Friendly POKéMON.
Hey, one thing at least is these reviews put together make up way more text than I'd ever make in a single review. (Your chapters are huge too, of course.) If we're lucky, I might get these done before the next update.

Chapter 4:

I can't totally put Olivia at fault -- I think the dismay of her situation is making her go in a very specific direction, the tough-kid set of values she's taken are her way of reacting, so taking pleasure in winning, castigating herself for signs of weakness, being grumpy and acidic to everyone, are probably the only reaction she can think of. Her dad isn't coming back; if she doesn't focus on being a rugged warrior, she wouldn't have anything else to focus on. As for her being ungrateful and moody, this fic is the first I've read of her so I just assumed she's a little immature by nature.

Ah, so the homeless woman and her baby are escapees from Ghetsis. I assume N is being smuggled out, but wouldn't know who it is who's doing the smuggling.

Really nice borrowing technique from a Contest! I have a feeling that you block your battles in the style of the anime, and that's what makes the turns so deliberate and entertaining. All the moves have well-defined sfx and existence and behavior. You get electric sparks mixing with fire bursts and dark clouds. It's very satisfying to visualize.

“There was no reason to. I could have, but I would not have gained anything from it. In order to get stronger, I believe that you must fight on the same level as your enemy, which meant I had to hone my skills further.” Silver thrust his finger upward, pointing right in Matt’s face, and declared, “I’ve done that, so now, consider this battle the one we didn’t have then.”

We're no longer seeing any of the teenage delinquency Silver has during the GSC canon; he sounds very focused, matured, almost kind of tired out. He was serious before, but now he's almost samurai-dramatic.

Chapter 5:

Whoa, using psychic to congeal a case of heavy impenetrable water around a pokemon. Way cool o.o Contest moves are the best, and they let you give a traditional basis to the idea of taking creative license with moves and move combos.

“That’s it!” Thinking carefully, Matt recalled something he’d seen during Nando’s battle the previous day – namely, how Exploud’s Hyper Voice could be fused with other moves to create intensely powerful techniques useful for both Contests and standard battling.

The 'sneak peek' provided by the half-battle with Nando was a great idea; it gave us some quick early context into what was going to happen at the end of this two-parter, like previews do, and let Matt's battle be a kind of variation or prevention of what had gone on with Nando. Plus that was my introduction to that particular character -- in your writing, anyway.

“She’s just trying to use the attack’s impact strength!” Bunny exclaimed, having arrived abruptly at the answer. “After all of this talk about luck, it’s come down to brute force!”

And it's cool that this battle's intense enough to actually show a progression for each of the characters; Olivia and Matt and co. might foremost be thinking of this battle in a sporting way, but the lessons it's appearing to teach about victory and chance could speak to future developments in the story. And I wonder about the Arcade Star and how she's feeling about her Zapdos getting beaten twice in such a short margin.

It still kind of feels like the victory/losses are being guided by the fact that Matt's a hero; he has these disadvantages etc, but he's still going to get to prevail in unlikely circumstances due to his luck and determination. The ultimate determinants of this battle, for instance (I hope I'm not wrong), are the fact that Olivia (and his other friends) are counting on him winning, and the idea that Matt is a maverick, I guess his reputation as a hero that's riding on it. Still the power balance is very delicate. I can convince myself of it being realistic/explainable almost as easily as the opposite. After all we do know that Matt must have some unreal amount of skill and guts if he's even got this far.

We seem to be getting at least one clear-cut evil party here, if only because Ghetsis who's heading it is canonically defined to be evil.You gave us this Tenganist genocide to deal with. When you put it in those terms it makes Polaris a really ****ing major national threat -- you'd expect governments to be able to pull off mass murder on that scale, but in this case a single organization has just infested regions well enough to, seemingly, do anything it wants. But national disaster clearly comes with the package, if what the plot suggests to me is right.

“Stacia, when did we end up as the ones who must hold up the world? Polaris cannot be allowed to continue with what they are planning. A world ruled by the warped beliefs of Polaris can never move forward, and that would destroy Team Rocket as well.”

That makes me really curious about what Team Rocket's original undisturbed agenda is: they didn't expect to be on the good side makes sense, but the idea of maintaining or holding up the world might just come along with the package of world domination; does Team Rocket really wish to exploit the world down to a smoking hole, or would they feel a sense of responsibility, their own idiosyncratic villain's ideal, toward the world they set out to conquer? I realize most conquerors in history don't give two hoots about the place they're conquering, and usually run it to the ground.

But I do think Ghetsis is overdoing his villain act a little bit in the Antea-Concordia scenes. Is there something happening to him that makes him have to be so high-strung and insistently dominating in the presence of his prisoners, basically in private? There should be a legitimate existence to his feelings too, right now they seem a little bit made of evil villain cliches. Although maybe his behavior makes sense if you've seen the anime canon Ghetsis. (Still you could/should deepen his character beyond canon, and it's the fifth chapter I'm not, I have a feeling you do.)

I'm not sure what's happening with Nekou exactly, but something cool does seem to be happening. Either that or she's just weird all the time. XD OR she's being supportive to her friends in her very idiosyncratic way. I love her relationship with Olivia. Two deliberately tough girls being friendly in private.

Ha, Nekou keeps beer in her bed of all things. Classic Nekou.
 

The Great Butler

Hush, keep it down
Hey, one thing at least is these reviews put together make up way more text than I'd ever make in a single review. (Your chapters are huge too, of course.) If we're lucky, I might get these done before the next update.

I hate to tell you, probably not. The next chapter is coming along at a good clip.

Chapter 4:

I can't totally put Olivia at fault -- I think the dismay of her situation is making her go in a very specific direction, the tough-kid set of values she's taken are her way of reacting, so taking pleasure in winning, castigating herself for signs of weakness, being grumpy and acidic to everyone, are probably the only reaction she can think of. Her dad isn't coming back; if she doesn't focus on being a rugged warrior, she wouldn't have anything else to focus on. As for her being ungrateful and moody, this fic is the first I've read of her so I just assumed she's a little immature by nature.

You've got a good idea of it. To expand on her background a bit: she doesn't actually know he's gone (yet); she thinks he abandoned her and is trying to prove herself so he'll come back. Perhaps on some level she does realize he's probably gone and is coping by rationalizing it as this. He (and others) spoiled her, so the bad attitude is partially because of that and partially her way of coping.

Ah, so the homeless woman and her baby are escapees from Ghetsis. I assume N is being smuggled out, but wouldn't know who it is who's doing the smuggling.

No, it isn't N. The baby is not anyone you know.

Really nice borrowing technique from a Contest! I have a feeling that you block your battles in the style of the anime, and that's what makes the turns so deliberate and entertaining. All the moves have well-defined sfx and existence and behavior. You get electric sparks mixing with fire bursts and dark clouds. It's very satisfying to visualize.

That is my intent. Glad you enjoyed it.

We're no longer seeing any of the teenage delinquency Silver has during the GSC canon; he sounds very focused, matured, almost kind of tired out. He was serious before, but now he's almost samurai-dramatic.

I think he matured out of the delinquency phase. You're right to call him focused now, he knows what he wants to do.

Chapter 5:

Whoa, using psychic to congeal a case of heavy impenetrable water around a pokemon. Way cool o.o Contest moves are the best, and they let you give a traditional basis to the idea of taking creative license with moves and move combos.

I've really got to start including moves like this more.

The 'sneak peek' provided by the half-battle with Nando was a great idea; it gave us some quick early context into what was going to happen at the end of this two-parter, like previews do, and let Matt's battle be a kind of variation or prevention of what had gone on with Nando. Plus that was my introduction to that particular character -- in your writing, anyway.

That was my intent, to set up a preview of what was going to happen. You've got everything pretty right on this account.

And it's cool that this battle's intense enough to actually show a progression for each of the characters; Olivia and Matt and co. might foremost be thinking of this battle in a sporting way, but the lessons it's appearing to teach about victory and chance could speak to future developments in the story. And I wonder about the Arcade Star and how she's feeling about her Zapdos getting beaten twice in such a short margin.

Interesting. I like your analysis.

And Dahlia doesn't mind Zapdos losing; she wouldn't be working as a Frontier Brain if she didn't want to ever lose.

It still kind of feels like the victory/losses are being guided by the fact that Matt's a hero; he has these disadvantages etc, but he's still going to get to prevail in unlikely circumstances due to his luck and determination. The ultimate determinants of this battle, for instance (I hope I'm not wrong), are the fact that Olivia (and his other friends) are counting on him winning, and the idea that Matt is a maverick, I guess his reputation as a hero that's riding on it. Still the power balance is very delicate. I can convince myself of it being realistic/explainable almost as easily as the opposite. After all we do know that Matt must have some unreal amount of skill and guts if he's even got this far.

Trust me, this changes in the chapters you haven't gotten to yet. You don't have to worry about "hero" status always determining the outcome.

We seem to be getting at least one clear-cut evil party here, if only because Ghetsis who's heading it is canonically defined to be evil.You gave us this Tenganist genocide to deal with. When you put it in those terms it makes Polaris a really ****ing major national threat -- you'd expect governments to be able to pull off mass murder on that scale, but in this case a single organization has just infested regions well enough to, seemingly, do anything it wants. But national disaster clearly comes with the package, if what the plot suggests to me is right.

That's the thing - Polaris is everywhere. As you're about to find out very soon, anyone could be a Polaris member. Anyone.

But the thing you need to remember is that Ghetsis is not the head of Polaris. He is merely a spokesman, a public face designed to get this whole thing underway. While he may be the main antagonist of these first few arcs, when the people above him get involved, things are going to get much, much worse. The only thing more dangerous than a genocidal, power-hungry maniac is a genocidal leader with selfless motives, because that leader is driven by the power of belief, not the sense that he is entitled to rule over everyone else.

[quoteThat makes me really curious about what Team Rocket's original undisturbed agenda is: they didn't expect to be on the good side makes sense, but the idea of maintaining or holding up the world might just come along with the package of world domination; does Team Rocket really wish to exploit the world down to a smoking hole, or would they feel a sense of responsibility, their own idiosyncratic villain's ideal, toward the world they set out to conquer? I realize most conquerors in history don't give two hoots about the place they're conquering, and usually run it to the ground.[/quote]

Long story short, their philosophy is that if they destroy the world, conquering it is pointless because there's nothing left. (There's even a canon basis for this; in BW097, Giovanni goes insane and declares that he's going to destroy Unova, prompting Jessie and James to react in turn: "Destruction?! No!" "That's wrong! Our goal is to conquer!") I think they see it as what makes them better than the other teams in their minds.

In regards to this line specifically, I think Giovanni is a bit self-aware when it comes to exactly what role he and his followers usually play in the world (ie: the villains) so finding himself having to do what would ordinarily fall to the heroes is a sort of shock.

But I do think Ghetsis is overdoing his villain act a little bit in the Antea-Concordia scenes. Is there something happening to him that makes him have to be so high-strung and insistently dominating in the presence of his prisoners, basically in private? There should be a legitimate existence to his feelings too, right now they seem a little bit made of evil villain cliches. Although maybe his behavior makes sense if you've seen the anime canon Ghetsis. (Still you could/should deepen his character beyond canon, and it's the fifth chapter I'm not, I have a feeling you do.)

Don't worry, I at least stabilize him significantly in the later chapters. In all honesty, I was trying to establish the duality between his polite public face and horrific cruelty in private beyond what the original games to feature him did and I overplayed my hand. Retroactively, though, I suppose I could at least spin it as him still suffering mental instability after the events of Black 2 and White 2.

I'm not sure what's happening with Nekou exactly, but something cool does seem to be happening. Either that or she's just weird all the time. XD OR she's being supportive to her friends in her very idiosyncratic way. I love her relationship with Olivia. Two deliberately tough girls being friendly in private.

Or maybe it's both something cool and that she's weird? XD

But you're right when you say that she has her own way of supporting her friends. For reasons you'll come to understand later, this is how she interacts with the world and how she handles things. To her, this is normal.

Olivia and Nekou just hit it off personality-wise, you know? When they first met, Nekou lavished praise on her for being cute, which appealed to the attention-hungry side of Olivia's personality. Nekou was acting (so she could steal Matt's money and treat herself to a feast with it), but once her and Olivia got to genuinely interacting, they really clicked. I think it's because that under all her other traits, Olivia really strongly desires to assert herself as an independent person and get attention for herself that isn't based on someone else's relation or sympathy to her, and Nekou's attitude encourages her in some ways. Nekou, meanwhile, I think sees Olivia as a sort of younger version of herself, perhaps a symbol of lost innocence that will never return.

Ha, Nekou keeps beer in her bed of all things. Classic Nekou.

If Nekou is anywhere it's safe to assume that there is a considerable stock of beer somewhere nearby. Life rule number one with her.
 

Blue Saturday

Unfurl your Blessed Wings!
Starting off, this review won't be very long since the chapter wasn't quite sizable and I hadn't had much to say. This chapter was quite smaller in-comparison to the last few but I felt it worked well as nice set-up for bigger things to come next chapter. I gotta say, I did enjoy the character interactions, simple moments like Olivia watching TV and Monroe confessing his feelings to her are a nice way of showing us a bit more about the characters in a small yet subtle way without it breaching into more mundane/filler-esque waters. Even Nekou's usage of her lady charm to rid her of that department store worker was clever and read well. It was a nice way to reinstate Nekou's cunning ways as well, that was also a clever usage of Attract's Japanese name and Easter egg for Pokemon fans who are more in the know about certain things in that vein.

The progression was well-handled and all as well as the confrontation between the Rockets and Polaris. I can't help but feel the scene with Looker looking up data up on Team Rocket and deeming them to be in the clear to be forced. No matter how much of a by-the-books detective he may I felt like that scene was too instrumental in trying to sort of spoon feed (For lack of better term) that Team Rocket are the good guys. Looker's vouching felt a tad too sudden for my taste, not to mention Silver giving up so easily again felt too abrupt in the way it was read. I do think that scene could have used a little more expanding to really sell the idea because otherwise it came off as slightly overboard and a bit too character shill-y for my taste.

Especially when Looker seems to be very much aware of TR's behavior, to constantly vouch for them at that very moment felt odd. The battle was nice, you captured the Rockets' personalities very well. You handled the Monroe's crush nicely, romance is just such a poorly written thing for me in most stories I read or watch anyway so to see you take nice strides in doing well by it with Monroe was refreshing. Their interactions were adorable and it doesn't feel forced given we've seen Monroe and Olivia interact a decent amount and be around each other that you could feasibly understand a young guy like him taking an interest in her. The inner struggle with Nekou as well as the scenes with the Tenganist were nice ways to end the chapter on a high-note. I do look forward to the future for a number of the characters because you have set out so many cards and there's so much character juggling, substances and elements to write and they can all go anywhere.
 

The Great Butler

Hush, keep it down
Starting off, this review won't be very long since the chapter wasn't quite sizable and I hadn't had much to say. This chapter was quite smaller in-comparison to the last few but I felt it worked well as nice set-up for bigger things to come next chapter.

Thank you. That was its purpose, to set things up.

I gotta say, I did enjoy the character interactions, simple moments like Olivia watching TV and Monroe confessing his feelings to her are a nice way of showing us a bit more about the characters in a small yet subtle way without it breaching into more mundane/filler-esque waters.

You really think it didn't border into "filler" territory at times? Huh. I was a little worried about that. But on the other hand, when the story is very plot-driven (or in a very plot-driven point, as we are now) some downtime probably is a welcome breather.

Even Nekou's usage of her lady charm to rid her of that department store worker was clever and read well. It was a nice way to reinstate Nekou's cunning ways as well, that was also a clever usage of Attract's Japanese name and Easter egg for Pokemon fans who are more in the know about certain things in that vein.

Oh, if you liked that, you're going to like what else I've got in store.

The progression was well-handled and all as well as the confrontation between the Rockets and Polaris. I can't help but feel the scene with Looker looking up data up on Team Rocket and deeming them to be in the clear to be forced. No matter how much of a by-the-books detective he may I felt like that scene was too instrumental in trying to sort of spoon feed (For lack of better term) that Team Rocket are the good guys. Looker's vouching felt a tad too sudden for my taste, not to mention Silver giving up so easily again felt too abrupt in the way it was read. I do think that scene could have used a little more expanding to really sell the idea because otherwise it came off as slightly overboard and a bit too character shill-y for my taste.

Especially when Looker seems to be very much aware of TR's behavior, to constantly vouch for them at that very moment felt odd.

What can I say, you're absolutely right. I totally botched that part. I had been trying to show that Looker recognized the reality of the situation, but I can see where it went badly wrong.

I might rewrite the scene at some point to show Looker and Silver trying to interfere but being blocked by the crowd.

The battle was nice, you captured the Rockets' personalities very well.

Good. I'm glad that worked out, because I was very worried about it.

You handled the Monroe's crush nicely, romance is just such a poorly written thing for me in most stories I read or watch anyway so to see you take nice strides in doing well by it with Monroe was refreshing. Their interactions were adorable and it doesn't feel forced given we've seen Monroe and Olivia interact a decent amount and be around each other that you could feasibly understand a young guy like him taking an interest in her.

Ah, excellent to hear. I was unsure about including a romance subplot, and when I decided to go ahead and do it, I made up my mind that it had to be something that wouldn't just be a bland, stereotypical romance. That's why I decided Monroe was the perfect character to use as Olivia love interest, because of how his shy, nervous personality contrasts with Olivia's assertive, outgoing personality. I found this to be a sort of inversion of the stereotypical pairing in terms of gender roles, so I focused in on it and got an end result I was satisfied with.

I think the way they interact also fits their ages well. When I was going over it, I found myself liking the way that they interact in a somewhat-mature yet still innocent and somewhat naive way. What do you think?

The inner struggle with Nekou as well as the scenes with the Tenganist were nice ways to end the chapter on a high-note.

They're both very important scenes, the former more in the long term and the latter immediately.

I do look forward to the future for a number of the characters because you have set out so many cards and there's so much character juggling, substances and elements to write and they can all go anywhere.

I think you'll enjoy it quite a bit. Thank you for the review. ^^

To everyone, I apologize that the next chapter has been delayed so long. It should be done fairly soon.
 
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The Great Butler

Hush, keep it down
Violence and some disturbing scenes are going to be in this chapter.

-:-

CHAPTER 15: Goldenrod City Under Siege (Part 2)

-:-

The air in the cave beneath the Tenganists’ temple chilled the Prophet’s skin to the bone. Sitting alone with her child by the water, she was aware of how her skin was covered in goosebumps, but she was paying it little mind. She was too busy mentally berating herself for falling into Polaris’s trap and bombing the wrong train.

She was curling up against a large rock when a booming voice echoed through the cave at her.

“I knew you were going to take dramatic action, but what you’ve done… allying your side with Team Rocket...”

Though the voice was harsh, the Prophet did not show any fear. Instead, she stood up and coldly stared across the underground lake.

“You knew when we met that my people would be doing what is necessary to survive.”

“You can survive by staying here, where Polaris cannot find you. That is what I have been doing.”

“You don’t seem to understand the position we’re in. Polaris will find this place one day. We cannot hide here forever, and that includes you.”

A figure appeared in the shadows over the lake, rising out of the water. “Fight if you must, but do not drag me into Team Rocket’s affairs. I will not fight alongside you if that is the path you take.”

“I hear you say that, but I question if you truly feel that way. When we met we looked into each others’ hearts and minds. We both saw what Polaris did, respectively, to us. What I am doing is a necessary evil. I don’t care what becomes of me after this is over, but right now, I can only do what I must. I know you understand that.”

The figure did not immediately respond, though the Prophet could see its tail flicking around in the shadows.

“I cannot say that you are incorrect in saying that. I have not, however, made my decision on if I will join your cause yet. Your decisions are making that very difficult for me. I will abandon you if I decide you have become driven by the same motives that drive Team Rocket and so many other selfish humans.”

“That’s fair. I won’t force you. But I do think that when you look inside yourself and weigh what is happening, you’ll see why I have to do this. I believe I’m right, and I also believe that you will come to see my point of view in time.”

There was no further response from the shadowy figure, but the Prophet had little chance to pay it much mind. One of her followers had rushed into the cavern and was now panting for breath with his hands on his knees.

“What is it?” the Prophet questioned. “What are you in such a hurry for?”

“You better get up here. They’re starting to wake up and Alesia can’t take much more.”

“Alright.”

The Prophet followed her disciple into the dim, narrow stairwell that led upward from the cavern, remaining close behind him as they walked. Small oil lamps on the walls provided the only light for them, leaving them to ascend carefully.

They ultimately came out in a larger cavern where many of the Prophet’s followers had gathered with their Pokémon. Jacob and Looker, both still unconscious, were laid out on tables while Alesia stood next to them with her hands clasped. She had sweat rolling down her face as she strained to heal the two men with her power.

A small gasp escaped the Prophet’s mouth when she saw how far Alesia was extending herself. However, before she could take more than a step toward the healer, another of her followers approached and thrust a phone into her hands.

“As soon as we reestablished contact that thing started ringing off the hook,” she explained, bowing nervously to the Prophet. “They don’t sound happy about what happened.”

Quickly realizing what she was about to face, the Prophet put the phone up to her ear and said, “Hello?”

“You didn’t maintain contact.” It was Pierce’s voice on the other end, and he spoke coldly, with little anger actually coming through on the surface. “That was the deal. And because you broke it, you ended up bombing the wrong train and killing a bunch of officers. Tell me how exactly that’s supposed to help either of us.”

“We suspected a trap, that’s why we cut contact. We just thought it would be them monitoring our communications, not them sending a decoy train. And I’ve told you already, my fate at the end of this is not what I’m concerned about.”

“What you should be concerned about is if you even last to see that fate. Those bombs you used? Those were Team Rocket technology. If those get traced back to us and Polaris makes the link between Team Rocket and the Tenganists, well, for lack of a better term we’re all ****ed. You think that Chiaki kid and his little group can stop Polaris alone?”

At the mention of Matt, the Prophet flinched but recovered quickly. “Whether or not he can… that’s not what I have to worry about right now. The next operation is just going to have to go better than the last one. I’m busy, I can’t keep talking to you right now…” The Prophet briefly moved the phone away from her ear, but decided she had more to say and put it back. “Oh, and ‘that Chiaki kid?’ Pierce, you’re younger than him, and I can tell you that for a fact.”

After hanging up on Pierce, the Prophet gave the phone back to the follower who had brought it, then finally walked over to Alesia. Just as she arrived, Alesia could force her power no further and collapsed against Jacob’s table.

“Are you okay?” the Prophet asked, extending her free hand to Alesia.

“It… it wasn’t easy…” Alesia pulled herself to her feet with the Prophet’s help, but didn’t let go of her hand. “I’ve never had to push my Transcendence like that before…”

“It’s okay now. You did what you could.”

“They’re fine, though… a little banged up still, but I managed to heal their major injuries. It was just… really hard to heal two people at once.”

“Ugh…” Jacob’s groaning alerted Alesia and the Prophet to his awakening. He stirred on the table, at first shifting his his body and then slowly opening his eyes. “Where… where…”

“Jacob Alexison.”

Upon hearing his name, Jacob forced himself to sit up. Even though he couldn’t see her eyes under her hood, he felt a chill from her gaze when he looked at her. “Where am I? And who are you people?” He gasped when he turned his head and saw Looker. “Is he dead?”

“No, I assure you. Alesia here used her Transcendence to heal both of you.”

“T-Transcendence? Does that mean you people are…” Jacob’s voice dropped to a nervous whisper as he realized just who he was speaking to. “Did you bring me here to kill me? Was that what happened on the Magnet Train? If that’s what this is, please, just do it. I’ve lived long enough with the memories of what happened to your people all those years ago.”

“So you do remember…” The Prophet stepped closer to Jacob and lowered her head. “Our bombing of the Magnet Train wasn’t aimed at you. You were caught in the crossfire, and I apologize.”

Jacob was stunned by her expression of remorse. “But if you weren’t trying to kill me… who was that bomb meant for?”

“Polaris. We are most of what’s left of the Tenganist people after one of their officials, a man called Ghetsis, waged a campaign of extermination against us. We are fighting for survival.”

The Prophet turned slightly and began stroking her child’s head, leaving Jacob time to absorb what she had told him.

“Ghetsis… Harmonia. Even as a prisoner I’ve seen his broadcasts… and as a historian, I know of his ancestors’ animosity with the Tenganists.”

“Then you understand the severity of this situation, Jacob. Now… you asked where we’ve brought you. Perhaps a more apt question would be where we’ve brought you back to.”

What little color there was in Jacob’s face drained away as the meaning of this statement dawned on him. “This place… is this…”

“A place where we are safe from Polaris, even if just for now. The Sinjoh Ruins… what remains of the Tenganist holy land after Saeko Oryo’s sin.”

-:-

On most nights, Goldenrod City shined under the light of the moon and the stars, and that night was no exception. As usual, the central area glowed like a beacon, while the slums were bathed in the dimmer hues of what little electricity they used.

That is, the slums were bathed in their light until, one by one, the buildings started to go dark. Within minutes, Goldenrod City had become a bright core within a ring of darkness.

The residents began filtering from their buildings as the power went out. When they looked around, they saw that their neighbors were also without electricity. Only the moonlight and the excess light bleeding over from the city’s center kept them from being completely in the dark.

-:-

The next day brought a bright, clear sky, not only over Goldenrod City but over Ecruteak City as well. Ghetsis would never have known, however. Having disposed of the bodies of the Wise Trio, he was holed up in the temple just outside Bell Tower. Once he and the Shadow Triad had ensured they would not be disturbed, they set up Ghetsis’s throne-like chair and a large video screen, which he was using to meet with Zinzolin.

“Zinzolin…” Ghetsis coldly said, “...you had a very simple task. Present the speech I wrote for you to the people of Goldenrod. Yet you couldn’t even get that done correctly?”

“I’m sorry, Lord Ghetsis! Please forgive me! I didn’t anticipate Team Rocket…”

“Do not give me that excuse. It was a public function in a city where the Chromosomes had been reporting rumors of Team Rocket activity, and on top of that, you had their Meowth! You should have had a contingency plan in case of their interference! Consider yourself lucky Getriebe and Jeunes had a plan for dealing with them when it came to the Meteonite. I can see it’s a good thing you weren’t trusted with that too.”

“What… what should I do now?” Zinzolin nervously asked.

“Return to our base camp and prepare for the next operation. That is all I have to say to you.”

“Yes, sir!”

Once Zinzolin disappeared from the screen, Darkness appeared next to Ghetsis’s throne.

“Lord Ghetsis… how do you plan to punish Zinzolin’s failure?”

“I don’t. The punishment he has earned is the fear of worrying what will befall him when he gets here. Sometimes fear is a far more potent weapon than force, don’t you agree?”

“Yes, you are correct. What are my orders?”

“Make sure Anthea and Concordia continue to decipher the seal on Bell Tower’s true power. Make sure they give you everything. We need full understanding of the Tenganists’ witchcraft before we begin. If they give you any trouble, inform me immediately so I can give them some… persuasion.”

“What of Pestilence and Chaos, then?”

“Tell them to maintain their guard of Professor Elm. We need him until then, too.”

-:-

“Giovanni, sir, I have a report!”

Ada was standing before Giovanni, who regarded her with a questioning look as he continued scratching Persian’s head.

“Tell me what you have, Ada.”

“W-well, Boss…” Ada stumbled over to her laptop, which was sitting open on the nearby table. “I’ve… well, I’ve been monitoring all the intelligence reports coming in from our inside man, and I think I’ve arrived at a conclusion regarding Polaris’s plans.”

“Very well.” Lifting his head toward his other followers, Giovanni commanded, “All of you, assemble!”

Jessie, James, Meowth, Pierce, Trevor, Proton and Ariana all clustered around each other near Giovanni so they could hear Ada’s report. The only one not to join them was Rosalie, who continued mixing some sort of substance in a small jar even as she watched and listened.

“Proceed,” Giovanni said to Ada.

Ada shivered under all the attention that was fixed on her. She gulped, attempting to calm her nerves at least slightly, then said, “W-well… according to what I’ve gathered, Polaris is planning to send the Meteonite out on the Magnet Train today so it can be picked up part of the way there and carried to its destination. But the thing is, they’re going to try to draw our attention by sending a ship out in the opposite direction toward their Adenosine Base. I… I think they want to try tricking us into attacking the ship with all our forces, assuming that we’ll think the Meteonite is aboard.”

“They must think keeping the Meteonite is a more important priority than keeping the location of the Adenosine Base a secret, which tells me how important it is we stop them from getting it to its destination. Do we know what the ship will actually be carrying?”

“Boss, as far as I can tell, it’s a cargo ship. It’s taking Pokémon that were used in experiments at the Purine Base to the Adenosine Base.”

“Then there is still some worth in attacking it.” Giovanni pointed to Jessie, James and Meowth and ordered, “You three, go with Ariana and attack the ship. Dr. Zager will help you coordinate the mission.”

“What about equipment, sir?” James asked.

“Don’t you worry about that,” Rosalie interrupted, riding up next to the others with the closed jar in her lap. “We’ve taken care of what you’ll need in that department.”

“We’ll make you proud, Boss!” exclaimed Meowth. “Count on it!”

Turning to the others, Giovanni continued giving his assignments. “Trevor, Ada, Pierce, your mission is to follow the train, disrupt the transfer and capture the Meteonite. I want you to begin surveillance on the Magnet Train station immediately.”

“We’re on it,” Pierce said.

Ada and Trevor joined him, the former clutching her laptop against her chest, and the three of them left the room together. Giovanni next directed his attention to Rosalie.

“Rosalie, I want you to begin the process of dumping all the data we have here onto storage. We’re going to leave here for Olivine City.”

“I’ll get right on that, Giovanni.” As the others began to go about their work, however, Rosalie first went to Ariana. “Here,” she said, handing Ariana the jar from her lap, “drink this. It won’t taste good but it’ll keep you together until I can give you a proper exam.”

“Thanks.” Ariana opened the jar and, without hesitation, swallowed its entire contents. The thick liquid tasted foul, as Rosalie had warned, but it caused an intense burning sensation in Ariana’s throat as well, making her twist her face. “Oh, ****, that was…”

“I warned you. The mixture of herbs I had to put in that was never going to be pleasant.”

Ariana coughed, trying in vain to clear the taste from her mouth. “I guess that’s what you had to do… ugh, at least I can work.”

-:-

Rowena was sitting in the dark in her hotel room, working at her computer. She had her camera hooked up to it so she could edit the footage she had shot the previous day.

“Polaris’s cause… Team Rocket… how do they fit together?” After stopping briefly to sip at the coffee she had on her desk, she continued musing, “This is some great footage either way. Not every day you get to see two groups have it out like that. Secc is going to be…”

The sound of an alarm from her computer snapped Rowena to attention. Seeing a flashing icon in the corner of her toolbar, she selected it, opening a news window.

As soon as she saw what the window said, she kicked her chair out and sprang up. The noise startled Cinccino, who jumped up on the bed and watched as her owner rushed to the dresser and began fumbling with her clothes.

-:-

Meanwhile, in their room, Matt and the others were gathered around a table for the breakfast he’d prepared.

“So what do you want to do today, Olivia?” Nekou asked between bites of the bread she held.

“I don’t know, actually. My main goal here was to get the Plain Badge, now that I’ve done that…”

“How about the Battle Factory, then?” When Matt brought the subject up, Nekou started glaring at him, but he didn’t notice her. “I think that’s about the only business we still have to wrap up in this city…”

“No!” Nekou shouted, slamming her hands down on the table and abruptly standing up. “You can’t go there!”

Matt, Bunny and Olivia all stared as a result of Nekou’s outburst, but only Bunny put any words to her thoughts. “Why shouldn’t we go to the Battle Factory, exactly?”

Nekou froze. She hadn’t been thinking, and as a result, she’d put herself into a corner. “Uh, ****… well… Matt, I don’t know how to tell you this, but I think your friend Thorton might be a member of Polaris.”

Though she still had no story to go with, Nekou knew that what she had said would stall for time. When someone started banging on the room’s door, she sighed and relaxed, knowing that whoever was on the other side had gotten her out of trouble.

“Matt, I know you’re in there!” Rowena shouted from the hallway. “Open up! We have to talk now!”

“I’m going to have to talk to you later about Thorton,” Matt said to Nekou before running to and opening the door.

Rowena stumbled in, clutching her computer against herself, and Cinccino dashed into the room right after her. When she looked up at Matt he saw a panic in her eyes that sent a chill down his spine.

“What happened? Why are you so worked up?”

“Turn on…” Unable to catch her breath quickly enough, Rowena started toward the couch in the main part of the suite instead.

“Turn on?” Bunny wondered aloud.

“Just look.”

Rowena picked up the remote from the couch’s armrest, pointed it at the television and turned it on. She then gestured for Matt and the others to join her, and they did. A news report was running, though they’d cut in on the middle of it.

“-mpeding travel throughout Goldenrod City. What’s it like down on the streets in the middle of this?”

The screen switched from showing a newscaster in a studio to a reporter on the street. When he saw what was going on in the background, Matt nervously adjusted his glasses and leaned in closer to the television.

“...the ****?” Nekou blurted out.

“Well, as you can see, the protests that have spread throughout the city have grown in intensity since this morning,” said the reporter as he gestured to the crowd of shouting people behind him. “These protests have sprung up at major junctions all across Goldenrod City, effectively bringing this entire area to a standstill. I have with me someone who is involved to explain further about what exactly is going on.”

The shot pulled back, allowing another man to enter the view next to the reporter. Though he wasn’t dressed particularly poorly, his heavy green sweater wasn’t the type of thing a resident of central Goldenrod would typically wear.

“Now, as I understand it, you came from your home in southern Goldenrod to protest here. Can you explain to us why?”

“Well, one, our power’s been off ever since last night.” With a slight sneer that only Nekou picked up on, he added, “But I’m sure you know that.”

“Alright. I’d like to ask you next about the protest itself. Are you here protesting to get your power back on?”

“No. Well, not only for that.”

“What’s the other reason?”

“Don’t you see? I was at the Polaris speech yesterday. Quite a few of us were. Less than twenty-four hours later, the power in all the areas of the city that speech was meant for goes out? No, I don’t believe in that kind of coincidence.”

“I did a quick overview of the city using the available satellites,” Rowena said, switching the television off. “They’ve gathered at several critical junction points, namely the one between the Pokémon Center and Department Store, the one leading to the train station, Radio Tower and Global Terminal, and the one near the Gym that leads out of the city.”

“Those points…” Bunny uttered, her voice lowering to a nervous whisper. “It’s a systematic shutdown of the entire city. If the people think their power was shut off to retaliate for the Polaris event, that could be what’s going on. It’s the classic poor versus rich scenario playing out on a huge scale.”

Matt, Olivia and Rowena were paying attention to Bunny’s explanation, but Nekou wasn’t. A much more serious matter was on her mind. “This is a distraction,” she finally said.

“What do you mean?” Matt asked.

Nekou sighed, realizing there was no way she could avoid telling any form of the truth any longer. “Look, I’m going to level with you. I know what happened at the Ruins of Alph.”

“What are you talking about?” Bunny sharply said, flinching slightly at the memories the topic brought. “Dante and I were there, the only thing we saw were Unown…”

“You missed the bigger picture. I’ve been watching Polaris’s activities for a long time now. They were there at the Ruins of Alph looking for a Meteonite - a big one, much bigger than any of the ones we’ve seen so far. When they found it deep in the ruins and ****ed with it, they caused the Unown to go insane and send you and Dante to… wherever you guys ended up. Not only that… remember the Drilbur and the other Pokémon in Union Cave? That was the same Meteonite ****ing them up as the Unown.”

“I don’t understand.” While Rowena shook her head, Matt, Bunny and Olivia just stared at Nekou in disbelief. “What does that have to do with today?”

“Polaris brought the Meteonite here, that’s my point. I think these protests are being stirred up to distract from them trying to move it to somewhere else.” Nekou turned abruptly and pointed at her friends. “You three, you’ve seen the ****ing chaos the small Meteonites cause. Imagine if Polaris took that big one for themselves. Once they get it out of Goldenrod City, it could end up anywhere. Who ****ing knows what they could do with power like that? It would be anarchy on an epic scale.”

“So what you’re saying is we have to stop them?” ventured Olivia.

Nekou smiled broadly. “Now that’s what I want to hear.”

“Alright, I think I’m on board with this,” Matt added. He looked to Bunny, who nodded her own assent, then said, “If we’re going to do this, we need a plan.”

“Wait. Didn’t you say that the protests were near the Pokémon Center?”

“Yes, Olivia,” Rowena replied, “that’s one of the hot spots.”

Turning to the others, Olivia said, “You know we have to go get Monroe first, right?”

“So you do have a crush on him back, huh?” Nekou teased. When Olivia started turning red in embarrassment, she quickly said, “No, don’t worry, I’m just joking. Getting into the Pokémon Center from here won’t be simple, but I know a way we can use.”

-:-

Finansielle’s personal plane was flying over northwestern Kanto, heading toward the mountains. In her office, Finansielle was speaking to someone on her smartphone while rocking back and forth in her chair.

“You sure you’ve searched the entire site?” she questioned.

“Yes, Lady Finansielle,” a female voice answered from the other end of the call. “Our team’s covered the entire bombing site, plus the entire wreckage of the train itself. We can confirm all aboard died in the explosion and crash, except for two…”

“What?” Finansielle shot forward in her chair and slammed her free hand on the desk. “Let me guess. Jacob Alexison survived, didn’t he?”

“Y-yes, Jacob Alexison is currently missing, as is the International Police agent Looker.”

Finansielle learned back in her chair and tightened her grip on her phone. Her eyes briefly shimmered, but she quickly shut them and took several breaths to calm herself down.

“L-Lady Finansielle?” the other party to the call nervously said.

“It’s no matter,” Finansielle replied, reopening her eyes. “I expected that this would happen. Tell your team to finish up their cleanup of the site and pull out as soon as possible.”

“Right away, Lady Finansielle!”

The call disconnected, and Finansielle casually tossed her phone onto her desk.

“Associating yourselves with a convicted murderer isn’t a good idea for your image, my friends,” she said out loud to the room.

-:-

After the group left the hotel, Nekou had led them into the alleys between buildings as a way of avoiding the main streets. Without her guidance, they would have been lost in the mazelike passages, but Nekou seemed to know exactly where she had to go and led them without hesitation.

“The Pokémon Center is coming up right over here to the left,” she said.

Right after she said that, the familiar facade of the Pokémon Center appeared exactly where she’d said it would be.

Matt laughed softly to himself. “I don’t know what kind of craziness I’ve gotten into with you, Nekou, but I have to say I’m kind of enjoying it.”

“Now what?” Olivia swiftly demanded. “How do we get in? We can’t go around front…”

“You know, Olivia, you have a point.” Bunny gestured with her head toward the main street, where the shouting from one of the protests could easily be heard, even in the back alleys.

“There’s a back door,” Nekou revealed. “Lucky for us, huh?”

Nekou rushed to the door she’d described, but when she tried to turn its handle, she realized it was locked. She turned her body slightly to hide the handle from the view of Matt, Bunny and Olivia, who had followed her. After that, she quickly swiped her Team Rocket access card through the lock’s scanner to undo it.

“Come on, let’s go,” she said as she pulled the door open and urged the others through. She was silently thankful that they’d not noticed how the door was initially locked.

The door led to an empty hallway in the Pokémon Center. A nearby map mounted on the wall revealed that they were as far from the lobby as they could be, but they had a direct route there and immediately ran off toward it.

“I guess I ****ed my mission up,” Nekou thought. “I couldn’t prevent them from ending up right in the middle of this after all.. oh well, better make the best of it.”

At the pace they were going, the group arrived in the Pokémon Center’s lobby fairly quickly. An abnormally high number of people had gathered in the space, many of them too afraid to go outside and face the protest right beyond the doors while others had come in for shelter from the chaos.

Nekou firmly grabbed Olivia’s arm and guided her while they pushed through the crowd toward the desk. When they got there, they found the nurse gesturing wildly while speaking on the phone.

“I can barely fit any more people in my Pokémon Center, what do you expect me to do?” Whoever the nurse was on the phone with was being subject to her shouting. “If these were all trainers coming to me for help at once, we’d be screwed! Just get people off the streets, Jenny! Why would I care how you do it?”

Matt started to raise his hand to get her attention, but the nurse saw him and swiftly stuck out her own hand to stop him.

“Be quiet and get in line!” she snapped. “I’ve got enough to deal with and I don’t see any bloody Pokémon on you!”

“Did she just swear at us or…?” Bunny uttered, dumbfounded.

“What a bedside manner,” Nekou added.

“So how do we find Monroe in this mess?” wondered Matt. “If she won’t help us…”

“Olivia?”

Matt couldn’t hold back from chuckling as he turned around to face Monroe. “Right on cue, huh?”

“You guys are all alright, right?” Monroe’s usual nervousness was nowhere to be found. “What are you doing here? Olivia told me you were staying in that fancy hotel…”

“We came here looking for you,” Olivia sharply replied, shoving her hands into the pockets of her new coat. “Well, it was my idea, anyway.”

“O-oh… thank you for being concerned about me, but I’m fine.”

“Thank me later. We still have work to do, right, Nekou?”

Nekou adjusted her glasses and sighed. “I guess you’re right about that. In order for this to work, we’re going to have to split up. Olivia, Monroe, you two come with me. I’m going to go underground and see if I can’t figure out why the power went out.”

“What should the two of us do?” Bunny asked, referring to herself and Matt.

“Polaris is likely going to use the Magnet Train to move the Meteonite. You and him… I want you to go to the station’s freight area and look for a certain truck they’re moving it in. If you can stop it, that would be perfect.”

“How will we know which truck it is?” Matt questioned.

“Oh, you’ll know. Nobody else is going to be on the streets with the protests.” Reaching into her coat, Nekou took out an earpiece microphone and tossed it to Matt. “Use that to keep me up on what’s going on on your end.”

“I… I guess that makes sense.” After setting the microphone in his ear, Matt added, “Good luck. Be careful out there.”

-:-

Technicians clothed in the white, blue and black uniform of Polaris sat at lines of computers within the dark, metallic bridge of the organization’s cargo ship. A giant video screen towered over them at an angle, while opposite it, Thorton - in full Getriebe outfit - stood on an elevated platform.

A window was open on the monitor, displaying Colress in the cockpit of his airship.

“Everything going smoothly, my friend?”

“We’ve left the Goldenrod docks without incident,” Thorton answered, crossing his arms. “I take it you have not gotten to the Adenosine Base yet.”

“Nope!”

“Don’t be so flippant about it. Finansielle wants us back there in time for the meeting.”

“I don’t understand you Chromosomes,” Colress said, chuckling. “Why are you always so eager to take orders from an Omanyte fossil?”

“You better watch yourself, Colress. Keep in mind I’m one of them too.”

“Oh, calm down, Mister Chromosome, I’m teasing you. When I get back to the base, I’ll have my team prepare a work station for you. Then you can put your mind to your tasks.”

-:-

What Thorton, his crew and Colress were all unaware of was that they were being watched.

Jessie, James and Meowth were sitting at a bank of computers in a dark area, while Ariana sat behind them. The monitors before them showed various maps and displays of the ship’s movement, as well as a window for a video feed to Zager’s lab.

“What’s your status?” he asked.

“Everything’s going just as we planned it, doc,” Meowth answered. “Got their boat on view right now.”

“And your weaponry?”

“It’s all in order,” Ariana replied, stretching her neck to lift her head over the others.

“Then you have my go-ahead. When an opportunity presents itself, proceed with our attack plans.”

-:-

“This is it,” Nekou said to Olivia and Monroe, who were following tightly behind her at the alley wall. She showed them her phone, on which she had a map of Goldenrod City displayed, then pointed to small building nearby. “See? Right there is how we get underground.”

“What are we waiting for, then?”

Olivia’s eagerness made Nekou smile. “Good question.”

After checking again that their path was clear, the three ran across the street and into the building. Inside there was nothing but a wide staircase leading downward.

“D-Down there?” Monroe shakily questioned. “That’s where we turn the power back on?”

“Yeah. There’s a power station we can reach by following the tunnels.” Brightening her expression slightly, Nekou then said, “Have some more confidence, kid. You came this far, so obviously you’ve got a spine.”

“Th-thanks…”

With nothing more to be said, the trio slowly descended the stairs, wary of whatever might be waiting in the bottom. They were greeted, however, by a tunnel that was almost entirely deserted. The sound of two male voices discussing haircuts could be heard further down the passage, but other than that, it was silent.

Nekou gestured for Olivia and Monroe to be quiet, then pulled them down a side corridor very near to the staircase.

“Down this way,” she whispered to them. “The other way is the shopping area. This way will take us right to the security door.”

“S-security door?” Monroe brought up the rear as the group slipped down the corridor. “Olivia, are we in trouble? This friend of yours…”

“We’ll be in worse trouble if we don’t do this!” Olivia hissed, though she quickly softened her voice. “I trust her. I’ve been through much worse than this and she helped me get through it. I bet Matt would say the same thing.”

“If you say so…”

At the end of the hallway, they found their progress impeded by a steel door, just as Nekou had suggested. Its handle was locked with a ten-digit keypad.

Without even batting an eye, Nekou typed in the combination and unlocked the door. She then looked to Olivia and Monroe, who were staring at her in surprise.

“Lucky guess,” she said with a shrug. “Now come on.”

-:-

While Nekou, Olivia and Monroe were going deeper into the underground tunnels, Matt and Bunny had used the alleys once again to slip past the unrest on the main streets. Having reached the train station in the very middle of the city, they worked their way around to the back, where the freight loading dock was.

Matt touched his finger to the microphone in his ear as he and Bunny moved at a brisk pace. “Nekou, you hear me?”

“Yeah, but I can’t talk loud.”

“Well, we got to the station. Now what?”

“Look for the truck. I ****ing told you this already.”

“Yeah, but you didn’t tell us what it looked like…”

Bunny abruptly hit Matt’s shoulder to get his attention. “There’s a truck over there already…”

Matt looked in the direction Bunny pointed, and as she had said, a truck was parked next to the station’s freight dock with its back doors open.

“You see anyone out there?” he asked her.

“Nope, it’s dead. We better…” Bunny was interrupted when Matt ran toward the truck. “...take care, though…”

When Bunny rejoined Matt at the opening in the back of the truck, though, she found him standing there with his mouth open.

The inside of the truck was empty.

Frantically, Matt put his hand to his ear again. “Nekou, the truck’s empty! It’s not here!”

“What the ****? They must have gotten it into the station already. Hurry! You might be able to reach the train before it leaves!”

“What did she say?”

Before answering, Matt climbed up onto the loading dock itself, then extended a hand to help Bunny up. Once she was alongside him, he stood and said, “She thinks we might be able to catch up to them before the train leaves.”

“Then what are we waiting for?”

Bunny turned and swiftly entered the station, leaving Matt to stumble behind her. The long, wide hallway led them to a single door, which they cracked just enough to peek through.

Beyond was a platform area with a three-car train waiting to depart. The back car was open, allowing Jeunes and another man to wheel the Meteonite in on a cart.

“There it is…” Bunny whispered.
“That one’s obviously a Polaris member like Cassy,” Matt said, gesturing in Jeunes’s direction. “He’s wearing a mask like she did. But who’s that other guy?”

“I don’t know…”

Jeunes went to the front of the train and entered the locomotive, leaving his trench coat-wearing companion to inspect the platform. Unexpectedly, he seemed to realize something and ran off out of the room.

“Where’s he going?” Matt wondered.

“Who cares? This is our chance. We’ve got to get on that train.”

“I don’t know, Bunny…”

Bunny grabbed Matt’s shoulders. “Nekou was right when she said it would be bad if Polaris got a hold of that Meteonite. Do you not agree?”

“You’ve got a point. But what can we do?”

“We’ll figure it out. Come on.”

Matt and Bunny quietly opened the door and hurried across the platform to the train, then climbed inside the cargo car. Other than the Meteonite in the center of the car, a number of wooden crates were scattered about. These afforded Matt and Bunny an opportunity to hide.

The man in the trench coat returned shortly afterward, carrying a soda bottle with a straw sticking out of it. Apparently unaware of the unexpected passengers on the train, he closed the cargo doors then entered the passenger wagon in the middle.

-:-

Proton was sitting in the driver’s seat of the car Giovanni had taken to Goldenrod City, while the Team Rocket boss was in the back with Rosalie.

After tapping several of the keys on the arm of her wheelchair, Rosalie said out loud, “Alpha team check.”

“The Magnet Train just left the station,” Trevor responded, his voice coming through Rosalie’s communicator.

“Alright. It’s good to hear that.” Rosalie entered another command, then said, “Beta team check.”

“We’re still following the ship,” Ariana answered.

“Very well.” Giovanni’s voice echoed slightly off the walls of the car. “Trevor, I want you, Ada and Pierce to follow the Magnet Train. Ariana, as for you and the other three… start your attack on their ship.”

“Got it!”

-:-

“Getriebe, sir, we’ve got something on radar…” one of the Polaris members controlling the ship reported.

“Bring it up on the big screen.” When the radar reading appeared on the monitor, Thorton saw that a blinking dot was approaching the ship. He scowled and said to himself, “I knew this was going to happen.”

Thorton left the bridge, rushing out a nearby door that led him onto the upper deck. While he ran, he pulled a Poké Ball from his belt and opened it, releasing his Electivire. He suddenly heard laughing coming from up above, and when he looked for the source, he saw a Meowth-head hot air balloon whose basket bore Team Rocket’s logo descending toward the ship.

“Prepare for trouble, you messed with the best!” Jessie’s voice was projected at such a volume that it easily drowned out the sound of the waves.

“And make it double, we’ll spare you the rest!” James added, equally loudly.

“And here we go!”

Right after Meowth finished speaking, a bizarre variety of weapons sprouted from the balloon, including a missile launcher, a saw blade, a drill and several claws of various shapes.

“Electivire, Thunder!”

Though they had brought a wide range of weaponry, Thorton refused to let them use any of it. His Electivire stood and waved her arms around in circles for a moment to build up a charge, then fired an electrical blast right into the balloon, causing it and all the weapons to explode.

“Team Rocket’s blasting off again!” the three of them could be heard saying, though Thorton couldn’t see them in the smoke.

“Pathetic,” he mumbled. “I guess that means we’re back to this going smoothly.”

-:-

Cold air flowed through the underground tunnel as Nekou, Olivia and Monroe ran down it.

“We’re running out of time!” Nekou shouted to her younger companions behind her. “Matt says the Magnet Train left the station, which means Polaris is about to pull this off!”

“How does… how does us turning the power back on stop them?” Monroe questioned.

“Well, Nekou said that they turned it off to cause the protests as a distraction, right?” Olivia said. “We get it back on, everyone will notice what Polaris is doing.”

“B-but… if the train already…”

“Wait!” Nekou abruptly stopped and raised her arm up to halt Olivia and Monroe, only for them to crash into it and then each other. She pointed just ahead, where the corridor turned sharply into another staircase. Lowering her voice dramatically, she said, “We gotta be careful. This could be a ****ing trap.”

The three straightened up their clothes and composed themselves before calmly walking the rest of the hallway, turning, and descending the staircase.

A shutter door greeted them, but there were two men posted guarding it.

“Who are you?” the shorter of the guards snapped. “Nobody’s supposed to be down here.”

“You three better identify yourselves right now.”

Olivia and Monroe tensed, but Nekou seemed not to be bothered at all. While she walked with an almost dance-like sway toward the taller of the guards, she breathily whispered, “Why, I’ll give you all the identification you could ever need, dear…” She licked her lips, then added, “I like tall guys like you.”

“Wait… you!” The short man jumped between Nekou and his partner and thrust an accusing finger toward her. “You’re that one who did this yesterday! You thought our security cameras wouldn’t catch you?”

Nekou’s expression instantly changed from one of seduction to agitation, and she jumped back to Olivia and Monroe. “So you know my tricks, then? Maybe you also know you best get out of our ****ing way, too.”

“Oh no, we’re not doing that,” Nekou’s failed target warned, as both he and his diminutive companion armed themselves with Poké Balls. “We got instructions to keep this place locked up nice and tight, especially from people like you.”

Both men opened the two Poké Balls they each were holding. The short guard’s released a Lunatone alongside a gray-bodied Pokémon with a large head and green, yellow and red lights on each hand. The taller one’s, meanwhile, called forth a Gligar and a sword-shaped Pokémon with a single eye on his handle. A purple wisp flowed from the top of the handle, clutching an ornate brown sheath.

“That Pokémon, it’s…”

“A Honedge,” Monroe answered, recognizing Olivia’s question. “A Pokémon from Kalos…”

Chuckling to herself, Nekou took out two Poké Balls of her own and crossed her arms. “Oh man, you guys picked the wrong people to **** with. Olivia, Monroe, back me up here.”

Monroe didn’t say anything, but as she got out one of her own Poké Balls, Olivia responded, “We’ve got your back, I’m sure…”

“Good. Now… Marie, Zorua, get out there!”

“Roselia, join them!”

Nekou’s Sneasel and Zorua appeared with Olivia’s Roselia accompanying them. The hallway was getting crowded, but they didn’t care. All three of them simply prepared to fight their opponents, with Marie and Zorua growling and Roselia attempting to strike a menacing pose.

Both men fixed their gazes on Roselia, and the shorter one said, “Not too bright, sending a Grass-and-Poison-type against my Psychic-types. I think I’ll teach you a lesson first. Lunatone, Psyshock!”

“Block it with Energy Ball!”

Silver light appeared in Lunatone’s eyes as it turned slowly to Roselia, who pointed one of her arms up at it. Simultaneously, Lunatone fired bolts of the silvery light from its eyes, while Roselia countered by sending up a glowing green sphere. The two met in an explosion, but Lunatone’s Psyshock wasn’t dispelled and continued toward Roselia.

“Marie!” Nekou shouted.

Just before the attack connected, Marie jumped between it and Roselia. All the psychic energy flowed into her, but she was not affected by it at all. She waited until it faded, then snickered at the Lunatone.

“Nobody gets away with calling me stupid!” Olivia snapped.

“If you’re smart you might want to listen to her…” added Nekou.

The guard just smirked. “You’re all pretty foolish to not watch your heads. Elgyem, Psybeam!”

The gray-bodied Pokémon, Elgyem, had used the smoke from Energy Ball’s explosion to hide as she rose above the rest of the battle. From her vantage point, she raised up her arm and began flashing the lights on it, ultimately shooting a shining beam of light aimed to sail over Marie’s head and hit Roselia.

“Gourgeist, Shadow Ball!”

On Monroe’s command, a Pokémon whose pale, ethereal body emerged from a jack-o-lantern shot past Olivia and Nekou. An orb of darkness formed at his mouth, and he blocked the Psybeam with it by standing in front of Roselia. His stringy hair billowed around his head as the two attacks faded before him.

“Monroe, that Pokémon… you saved Ros…”

“Your little show is cute and all, but I think it’s over now,” the taller guard said, interrupting Olivia. “Gligar, take out that Gourgeist with Acrobatics, for a start.”

Flipping through the air, the tall guard’s Gligar latched onto one of the walls to get a better vantage point, then dove through the air with her eyes locked on Gourgeist.

“You saved me, now I’ll save you. Sludge Bomb!”

Much like how Gourgeist had protected her, Roselia repaid the favor by getting between him and Gligar and spitting up a considerable amount of purple slime right into Gligar’s eyes. The Ground-and-Flying -type lost control of her flight and crashed harmlessly into the ground.

“I’ve got you right where I want you! Honedge, cut down Gourgeist with Shadow Claw!”

“And get that annoying Roselia with Psyshock, Lunatone!” the short guard added.

Both Pokémon rose up into the air to carry out their masters’ orders. While Lunatone’s eyes began to fill with the silvery light again, purple energy surrounded Honedge’s blade, and he sliced through the air toward his target.

“Zorua, use Snarl now!”

Nekou’s Zorua jumped up onto her trainer’s head and let out a loud, shrill cry. Elgyem, Honedge and Lunatone were all sent reeling by the Dark-type attack, while Gligar was affected to a less severe degree.

“I don’t understand this,” the shorter guard mumbled to his partner. “We have four Pokémon to their three, don’t we have the numbers advantage?”

“...wait, what did you just say? Three? Shouldn’t there be four? Roselia, Gourgeist, Zorua, and…”

“Sneasel!” Nekou cheerfully shouted, spinning around on her heel.

Marie sprang off of Nekou’s back, where she had hidden without notice after absorbing Lunatone’s first Psyshock. She pulled her arm back, and it became surrounded by freezing air, allowing her to hit Gligar in the face with Ice Punch. While Gligar fell to the ground and fainted behind her, she turned to Roselia, Gourgeist and Zorua and waved her claw to rally them.

“Marie’s right!” Olivia declared, her resolve restored. “Come on, Monroe, help me out here!”

When he saw Olivia gesture toward Lunatone, Monroe understood what she wanted him to do. “Alright, Olivia, I got it. Gourgeist, give Lunatone a Shadow Ball!”

“Energy Ball!” Olivia added.

Standing side-by-side, Roselia and Gourgeist launched their respective attacks, with Lunatone squarely in their sights. Weakened by the fighting, Lunatone didn’t have the strength to pull itself out of the way. It was explosively knocked out of the air, and it fell onto Gligar.
 

The Great Butler

Hush, keep it down
“You three are getting on my last nerve…” the short guard fumed. “Elgyem, Psybeam!”

“Honedge, use Rock Smash!”

Both Elgyem and Honedge advanced toward the group’s Pokémon, but Nekou’s Zorua jumped in front of them. She snickered, then used Snarl again, crippling the pair by exploiting their weakness to the Dark type. Roselia and Gourgeist then cut in and finished them off with Sludge Bomb and Shadow Ball respectively.

Their Pokémon defeated, the two guards fell to their knees. Nekou walked right up to them again and leaned down so she could look right into their eyes.

She smiled sweetly, then said, “Next time I tell you to get out of my way, don’t **** with me. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

With that, she raised her right arm, and the perfume trap in her sleeve sprayed the guards with a cloud that rendered them unconscious. Nekou then straightened up and pressed a button next to the shutter, opening it to reveal a maze of hallways beyond.

“Come on, you guys. We have to keep moving.”

“C-Can we actually get through there?” Monroe questioned while he and Olivia called back their Pokémon.

“Don’t worry,” Nekou assured him. “You got through fighting these two pretty well. Keep your confidence up.”

“G-got it.”

“The Pokémon you were using, Monroe, I’ve never seen it before.” Olivia took out her Pokédex and began fumbling with it as the trio entered the maze. “I haven’t seen Elgyem or Honedge either…”

“Gourgeist, the Pumpkin Pokémon. Type is Grass/Ghost. Evolved form of Pumpkaboo. Singing in eerie voices, they wander town streets on the night of the new moon. Anyone who hears their song is cursed. It enwraps prey in its hairlike arms. It sings joyfully as it observes the suffering of its prey.

Elgyem, the Cerebral Pokémon. Type is Psychic. It uses its strong psychic power to squeeze its opponent’s brain, causing unendurable headaches. Rumors of its origin are linked to a UFO crash site in the desert from 50 years ago.

Honedge, the Sword Pokémon. Type is Steel/Ghost. Apparently, this Pokémon is born when a departed spirit inhabits a sword. It attaches itself to people and drinks their life force. If anyone dares to grab its hilt, it wraps a blue cloth around that person’s arm and drains their life energy completely.”


A shiver went down Olivia’s spine. “Some of these Pokémon are pretty scary. Good thing you’ve got one of your own to fight back, right?”

“I should say the same thing about that weird gas she just used.” Monroe briefly glanced to Nekou. “Don’t you wonder what’s up with that?”

“As far as I’m concerned, we’re doing what we have to. Honestly, that’s not even the most unusual thing I’ve seen her do.”

-:-

Thorton scowled under his mask as he gripped the railing of his platform on the ship’s bridge.

“Something doesn’t add up…” he thought to himself. “Team Rocket fought Zinzolin so effectively, yet they tried to confront me right out in the open? Why take such a foolish tactic now?”

While Thorton was lost in thought, the ship was suddenly violently rocked by a powerful force. He lost his grip and fell against the rail, while several of his followers slid out of their chairs onto the floor.

“The hell was that?” Thorton shouted as he tried to pull himself up. “Someone give me a report now!”

“T-two explosions in the engine room!” one of the technicians called back. A map of the ship appeared on the main screen, displaying a red glow deep within the ship. “We’ve lost power to the main engines. Sir, we’re… we’re dead in the water.”

“You’re joking, right? Find the power somewhere!”

“It’s going to take some time…”

Thorton growled to himself, then pointed at two of his other followers. “You two, come with me.”

The two followers, one male and one female, quickly ascended the stairs to Thorton’s platform and joined their leader. Together the three of them entered a nearby elevator and began descending deeper into the ship.

“Get your Poké Balls ready,” Thorton mumbled to the two. “I’ve got a feeling about what’s down there… or should I say, who’s down there.”

“What do you mean, Getriebe, sir?” the man asked.

Thorton didn’t answer. He instead took out his own Poké Ball and gripped it tightly.

A minute or two later, the elevator came to an abrupt stop, making everyone within but Thorton stumble slightly. The doors opened to a vast, dark chamber containing two gigantic engines.

Squinting into the darkness, the woman said, “If everything isn’t completely destroyed, I can use the terminal on the other end of this room to reroute power to the backup engines.”

“Then let’s get going,” Thorton replied. “Look alert.”

Remaining together in a tight cluster, the three advanced into the straight path framed by the engines. Thorton walked ahead and kept glancing back and forth with his Poké Ball in his hand, while his followers divided their attention between the left and right sides.

When they were about halfway down the path, the sound of metal hitting the floor made all three of them jump. Thorton reflexively released Electivire.

“Show yourself, intruder!” Thorton’s demand echoed through the engine room, but there was no reply. When he focused his hearing, he thought he noticed the sound of footsteps, so he added, “Or should I say, intruders…”

“There’s more than one, sir?”

Thorton briefly glanced back to his male follower. “If they’re the ones responsible for disabling the engines, I’ve got a bad feeling in my stomach we’ve all been had.”

A rumbling sound suddenly filled their ears, and large rocks fell from above, surrounding the group. Glowing purple thorns rained down as well, adding an additional ring of hazards.

“I knew it,” Thorton sighed. “If I ask what this is, you’ll just do it anyway, so get it over with already.”

From above the Polaris group’s heads, Ariana could be heard laughing. “Someone knows your game. I guess you better give the man what he wants!”

“Here we go!” Meowth yelled.

“Prepare for trouble, you fell for our bluff!”

“And make it double, say when you’ve had enough!”

“To protect the world from devastation!”

“To unite all peoples within our nation!”

“To denounce the evils of truth and love!”

“To extend our reach to the stars above!”

“Jessie!”

“And I’m James!”

“Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!”

“Surrender now, or prepare to fight!”

Meowth jumped in between Jessie and James and finished, “Meowth, that’s right!”

Jessie, James and Meowth were posing dramatically together on top of one of the engines, with Swoobat and Cofagrigus alongside them. Ariana was there as well, standing with her hand on her hip and looking smugly down at Thorton along with her Arbok.

“That felt good,” James said.

“It’s good to be back,” Meowth agreed.

“I don’t know how you got here or what you did, but I won’t put up with this! Electivire, Thu…”

“Getriebe, wait!” The man seized Thorton’s shoulder from behind, stopping him from finishing his order. “If you do that, you risk damaging the engines further!”

“Then you two fight them!”

“It’s not that simple,” warned the woman. “This space is too tight for so many Pokémon. Any fighting and we risk irreversible damage. I wouldn’t be able to fix the power if we do that…”

Underneath his mask, Thorton grit his teeth.

Meanwhile, the Polaris group’s inability to do anything brought a devious smirk to Jessie’s lips. “What’s wrong? Feeling a little trapped?”

“It was too easy to trick you fools,” James bragged, mocking Thorton further. “A simple decoy balloon and a couple well-placed bombs, and we’ve brought you to your knees.”

“Well you’re in for a surprise,” Thorton countered. “We don’t have the Meteonite aboard this ship. You came here for nothing.”

After a brief hesitation, Jessie, James and Meowth all started laughing.

“You think we don’t know that already?” Jessie said. “No, we came here for what you do have aboard.”

“And we’re talking Pokémon, of course!” Meowth elaborated. “We know you eggheads are carrying a big stock of great Pokémon on this tub, and they’re precisely the kind of Pokémon we’re looking to put into the boss’s army! You know, Pokémon strong enough even for a Frontier Brain!”

Thorton flinched slightly, thinking that Team Rocket were about to unmask him, but they did not. Instead, Ariana stepped forward, hiding her face behind a fan she’d taken from her sleeve.

“You still seem baffled by what’s happened to you, Getriebe,” she condescendingly said. “We’re always going to be a step ahead of you. The only way you’re ever beating us is if you could see the future. Now, we have an appointment to keep. Your Pokémon, we gratefully accept them in the name of our boss.”

James’s Cofagrigus waved his arms, using Will-O-Wisp to create a wall of flame to obscure Team Rocket’s escape. Thorton and his followers could do nothing but watch.

“Bring out your Pokémon,” he ordered his followers. “I’m sure you can safely get rid of these rocks.”

-:-

A service road ran parallel to the Magnet Train’s tracks for their entire stretch between Johto and Kanto. Following not far behind the train transporting the Meteonite was a car, driven by Trevor while Ada and Pierce sat in the back. Ada was fretting at her laptop while Pierce simply waited with his arms crossed and his eyes closed.

“A-Ariana’s team has hit their ship, I can confirm that,” Ada said to Giovanni, Rosalie and Zager, who were displayed in three separate video streams on her computer.

“What about the train?” Giovanni questioned.

“It’s… it’s close to the destroyed portion of the track, but I-I can’t give an estimate on distance. I apologize…”

“Chin up, Ada,” Rosalie said to encourage her.

“If they are about to stop like I believe they are,” Zager cut in, “I would suggest that you begin your part of the mission.”

Rosalie nodded in agreement. “I’m on board. Pierce, Trevor, you know what to do.”

“Yes,” both of them replied at once. Trevor didn’t take his eyes off the road in front of him, but Pierce’s wandered over to look out at the landscape as it sped by.

-:-

Jessie, James and Meowth could only stare at the sight that awaited them in the ship’s cargo bay. Wooden crates, all of them containing Pokémon, spread out before them in numbers too high to count.

“Look at ‘em all…” Meowth said in amazement.

“All Pokémon used in Polaris’s experiments… enough for an entire army…”

“If that’s what they even want to do,” Jessie corrected James.

While the three debated exactly what Polaris’s motive for the Pokémon was, Ariana had busied herself planting small devices on the computers in the cargo deck with Arbok’s help. When she finished, she emerged from behind the crates to rejoin Jessie, James and Meowth.

“I’ve finished planting the bugs,” she announced. “Let’s hurry and get done before that little shrimp and his men catch up to us.”

Ariana climbed onto Arbok’s back, and the snake Pokémon slithered around a nearby ladder to carry her to the top of the crates. Jessie, James and Meowth followed by using Cofagrigus’s Psychic to levitate themselves.

“A lot of Poké Balls here,” Meowth remarked, “but our gear from the good doctor will do the trick. Let’s get to it!”

“Stop! You won’t get away!”

The sound of Thorton’s voice and the accompanying footsteps made Jessie, James and Ariana roll their eyes and look down at him as he rushed into the cargo bay with his two followers.

“Looks like your little shrimp is faster than we gave him credit for,” Jessie said, eliciting a chuckle from Ariana.

“You aren’t…” Thorton could barely speak because of how out of breath he was. “...taking… those Pokémon…”

“Such a big mouth for a short guy like you!” Ariana handed James a remote-like device, which generated a holographic screen when he turned it on. “Unfortunately for you, we’re one step ahead, just like always.”

In response to James pressing several buttons on the holographic screen, the cargo bay doors above the chamber slowly opened, exposing the deck to the open air above. Team Rocket’s real balloon was already there, hovering over the ship with a giant bag attached to its bottom.

“We’ll be sucking up every last one of your Poké Balls now!” Meowth bragged.

“Dammit, when is Colress going to get here?” Thorton growled. Turning to his followers, he commanded, “Bring out your Pokémon! Stop them!”

“Yes, Getriebe, sir! Go, Fletchinder!”

“Go, Meowstic!”

The male follower’s Poké Ball released a bird Pokémon with a red and white body and wings colored half-black and half-yellow. The woman’s, meanwhile, contained a feline Pokémon that stood on her hind legs. She was mainly white, though her legs and small bits of fur on her head, neck and both of her curled tails were blue. Thorton’s Electivire stomped up next to them.

“Jessie, you and Ariana take care of them. I’ll handle getting the Pokémon.” James lowered his head and added, “Though what did he mean by Colress getting here?”

“We’ll worry about that later! Just get busy!”

“Fletchinder, Flamethrower!”

Flying up to eye level with the Team Rocket members, Fletchinder expelled a thin but focused stream of fire from his beak. Ariana just scoffed and pointed her fan forward.

“Fire and Flying is easy for you, Arbok. Rock Slide!”

The burst of flame struck Arbok in the patterned area beneath his head. He briefly reeled back, but quickly recovered and sent a cluster of rocks flying in Fletchinder’s direction. The small bird was overcome by the stones and brought crashing down to the floor.

“I’ll do this instead, then,” the woman said, stepping forward. “Meowstic, Psychic!”

Locking her gaze onto Arbok, Meowstic’s yellow eyes filled with blue light. The same light surrounded Arbok and began lifting him into the air.

Ariana held up her Poké Ball and said, “Arbok, return!”

“What’s the matter, running away from a fight?” Thorton taunted.

“More like picking my battles,” Ariana countered. “That’s something your goons might want to learn…”

Jessie’s Swoobat suddenly appeared from behind Ariana with a Shadow Ball already formed at her mouth. Meowstic was caught by surprise, having focused all of her attention on attacking Arbok, and got knocked away into another of the crates.

“Clearly I have to do everything myself,” Thorton grumbled. “Electivire, Thunder!”

“Stop it with Air Slash!”

Jessie’s Swoobat courageously flew right into the path of Electivire’s electrical blast and attempted to stop it with blades of air from her wings. This failed, however, leaving Swoobat to take the full force of Electivire’s assault. She flailed backward and landed on the crates, her fur burned.

While James and Meowth worked to pry open one of the crates, Jessie grit her teeth and sent Swoobat back to the safety of her Poké Ball. She started to look to Ariana for a way to deal with Electivire, only to be interrupted by Wobbuffet’s frantic cries from the balloon.

“There’s someone else up there!” Meowth quickly interpreted.

The sound of jet engines filled the air, and Ariana pieced together what was happening. “This is what you meant by Colress getting here, isn’t it?” she called over the side of the crates. When Thorton didn’t reply, she took it as a confirmation and turned to Jessie, James and Meowth. “We have to retreat! This situation just got way out of hand!”

James gestured weakly to the crate he and Meowth had been working on prying open and whimpered, “But what about this?”

“Just take the whole crate!” Ariana ordered. “We have to get out of here now!”

“Never trust a man to do a woman’s job,” Jessie huffed. She stormed over to James and Meowth and helped them heft the crate up, though she then left James to carry its entire weight on his shoulders.

By that point, Meowstic had recovered and levitated up onto the crates herself. She was hissing at the Team Rocket members.

“Meowstic, Hyper Beam!” her trainer called from down below.

Ariana would have none of this, and while Meowstic started to gather energy, the Rocket Executive gestured to James’s Cofagrigus. The Ghost-type used his Will-O-Wisp to create a wall of blue flame in the air between them and Meowstic. By the time Meowstic’s Hyper Beam blew the fires away, Team Rocket was gone, having levitated to their balloon with the crate using Cofagrigus’s Psychic.

“Where are they?!” Thorton screamed, losing what was left of his composure. “Colress, you have to be able to see them up there. Get after them!”

Colress’s airship drifted over the cargo bay and came into full view of Thorton and his followers. “My, my, someone sounds tense!”

“Colress…” Angered by Colress’s mocking, Thorton had begun growling at the scientist. “Just because you’re in good with Finansielle doesn’t mean you can just disrespect a Chromosome like that…”

“Fine, fine, Mister Helix. I can see them but that little balloon of theirs is moving away pretty fast.”

“And why aren’t you going after them? Why aren’t they at the bottom of the ocean right now?”

“I didn’t bring my Reuniclus from the lab, what can I say? Besides, what’s more important, the few Pokémon they got away with or all the others on your dead-in-the-water ship? Not to mention everything else you’ve got on board…”

“We could have gotten emergency pow…” What Colress said took a moment to sink in, but when it did, Thorton cut himself off and ran to the hold’s computer. “I forgot, I forgot all about it…”

Colress’s voice suddenly became severe. “Then make sure you remember it now, because you know Finansielle is going to be furious if it’s compromised…”

Without responding, Thorton frantically clicked through a number of diagrams on the computer, each one laying out a different section of the ship. When he finally got to the one he wanted, he entered another command to activate a security camera feed of the deck.

Unlike the cargo bay, the room on the screen was relatively small and had only one thing in it - a transparent, coffin-shaped object roughly the size of a man, held up by four robotic arms.

As soon as he saw it, Thorton sighed and relaxed. “The Oberon deck and Oberon itself are both still secure.”

“Good!” Just as abruptly as he’d become serious, Colress’s usual demeanor returned. “Let’s get all your cargo up here and then we can just scuttle that ship, how about that?”

“First I lose my Purine Base, then my ship…” Thorton thought, “Did I upset someone after all?”

-:-

What Thorton and Colress weren’t aware of as they expressed their relief was that the bugs planted in the cargo hold by Ariana were still active and transmitting. As they sailed through the air toward Olivine City in their balloon, Jessie, James, Meowth and Ariana had a holographic screen open and were listening to the entire exchange.

“The Oberon, huh?” Meowth said. “I wonder what it is?”

“I’d wager it’s quite important, given how much they wanted to hide it from us,” James guessed.

“Ariana, do you know anything about this?” asked Jessie.

Steadying herself by holding tightly to one of the balloon’s support poles, Ariana replied, “It doesn’t sound familiar. Let’s have a word with Giovanni later.”

-:-

Ever since boarding the train, Matt and Bunny had been hiding behind some crates in the freight car. They had been mostly silent, but when they felt the train begin slowing, he put his hand to his ear.

“Nekou, the train’s stopping. What should we do?”

“Get ready for a fight,” came her response. “I thought they would do something like this. If the train went right to wherever they’re taking the Meteonite, it would be leading us there, so they’re going to move it there some other way.”

“What did she say?” Bunny asked.

“The train’s stopping because they want to take the Meteonite somewhere the rail line doesn’t lead to,” Matt explained. “I think she wants us to do something to stop it now.”

“Then let’s move.”

Before Matt even realized it, Bunny was out from behind the crates and halfway across the room. He stood and followed her, stumbling briefly when the train fully stopped, and joined her at the doorway connecting to the next car.

Bunny put her finger to her lips, gesturing for Matt to be silent. She then gripped the door’s handle and cracked it open slightly so she and Matt could peek through.

To their surprise, only the man in the trench coat was in the passenger car. It was otherwise completely empty.

They quickly and quietly closed the door and retreated back to one of the crates.

“You see that?” Matt whispered. “That guy and the one with the mask must be the only ones on this train with us! We’re equal to them!”

“If nobody else is in the front…”

Matt grimaced. “That really helps my confidence… whatever, it doesn’t matter. If we can beat that guy in the next car, we might have a chance to take control of the train.”

“Then I guess we go for it?” Bunny said, holding up one of her Poké Balls.

Mimicking her motion, Matt answered, “Guess so.”

Matt and Bunny each took a deep breath. They then burst through the door, opening the Poké Balls as they charged to release their Ambipom and Drifblim respectively. Despite being faced with two intruders and a pair of Pokémon, however, the man in the trench coat simply stood up, his manner unexpectedly calm.

“So you finally got here, huh? They told me you’d be coming, but I didn’t think you’d be making me wait so long.”

The man’s confidence left Matt and Bunny deeply unsettled.

“You… knew we were here?” Bunny stammered. “You knew all along?”

When the man nodded, Matt uttered, “But then why not do something about us?”

“Everything is going exactly according to plan,” the mysterious agent replied, accentuating his words with a wide grin and a shake of his finger.

All of a sudden, the door to the locomotive slid open.

“Our chopper from Viridian is going to be here within the half hour,” Jeunes announced as he swept into the car. It took him a moment to realize Matt and Bunny were present, but when he did, he stopped in his tracks. “You finally caught up to us? No wonder Finansielle’s so interested in you and your friends, Matt Chiaki. Of course, I’ve known for a long time that you’re more than you seem.”

Matt raised an eyebrow. “Do I know you?” he sharply questioned, though he then thought to himself, “That voice does sound awfully familiar though…”

“Barely,” Jeunes answered. The illuminated Polaris logo on the door behind him cast a bright yet eerie glow around him. “But that doesn’t matter now,” he said, turning to the man in the trench coat. “Restrain them, what are you waiting for?”

The man did not immediately act on his orders. When he did, though, he merely hunched over and snickered while dropping a Poké Ball to the floor. “I’m sorry, what was that?”

The Poké Ball burst open, and before the Pokémon within could even be seen, thick smoke flooded the cabin. Matt and Bunny were left stunned and coughing, while Jeunes stumbled backward to a control panel next to the locomotive door.

“What are you doing?” he choked, slamming his hand against one of the buttons on the panel.

In response to the trigger Jeunes activated, vents running the length of the car flipped open, allowing the smoke to drift out of the cabin. The sight that greeted him when he could once again see caught him completely by surprise.

The one Jeunes had thought was his aide was actually a gangly, bearded man with bad posture. Much to the shock of the three people looking at him, he was wearing a Team Rocket uniform. A Koffing floated in the air next to him, having been released by the Poké Ball.

“You have to be kidding me…” Jeunes growled, stumbling back into the door. “You all were supposed to be going after that ship!”

“Didn’t think we’d get wise to you, eh?” The Team Rocket agent chuckled and scratched his messy purple hair. Turning his eyes to Matt and Bunny, he said, “Name’s Petrel, master of disguise. Glad to finally meet you.”

“You mean you know about us?” Bunny wondered. “Wait, that doesn’t matter! Why should we trust you?”

“We’re on the same side, of course. You’re here to stop Polaris, and I’m here to stop Polaris. The letter on my chest doesn’t really matter much when you look at it that way, right?”

“When you put it that way, I guess you have a point,” Matt admitted.

“Don’t make a habit of doing this,” Bunny sharply warned her friend before turning to Petrel. “We’re here now so we’ll help you, but if we had any other options, you better believe we’d be taking them.”

“Aw, I’m flattered you two are fighting over me!” Petrel laughed, seemingly unaware of what Bunny had actually said to him. However, as he sent his Koffing back into his Poké Ball, he casually said, “This little lovers’ quarrel gave him a chance to get away.”

Indeed, Jeunes was gone. Matt and Bunny did not react quickly enough to stop the locomotive door from sliding closed again, but they managed to catch a glimpse of what was behind it. In the heavily computerized control booth, Jeunes was somehow nowhere to be seen.

“Where’d he go?” Matt awkwardly adjusted his glasses and looked around. “Did he go outside?”

“He can’t carry the Meteonite on foot, so we can rule that out. He must still be here, he’s not trying to escape immediately.”

The great stress Matt was feeling was making his arms and left leg tremble. Something about the situation made no sense to him.

“We’re stuck in this car unless we go back to the freight car,” he thought. “Right now, he could just take us but he isn’t. What am I missing here?”

Suddenly, Matt remembered something that made him realize what was happening.

“He said he was waiting for a chopper out of here!” he blurted out, slamming his right fist into his left palm. “That means…”

“He’s going out from above the train,” Bunny finished. “Now we have to get up there and stop him, I’m guessing?”

While Matt and Bunny had been working out this solution, Petrel was already one step ahead of them. “We can go through the freight car doors, there’s a ladder right outside!” he called from the back of the cabin.

Matt and Bunny looked at each other and nodded, then rushed off in Petrel’s direction with their Pokémon accompanying them.

As they ran, Bunny said to Matt, “I’m serious, I’m only working with this Petrel because of the situation we’re in.”

“Yeah, I get that.” As they reached the door, Matt said out loud, “I wonder how Nekou and Olivia are doing?”

-:-

At that time, Nekou’s group had reached their objective deep in the Goldenrod tunnels. Nekou had her computer plugged into a console on the wall, and she was working furiously while Olivia and Monroe guarded the hallway in opposite directions.

“How is it coming?” Olivia asked over her shoulder.

“I should be able to restore the power,” Nekou replied, “but I have to get all the way into the system first. That’s going to take some work.”

“Do you really think they’re going to send people down here after us?”

Nekou looked up from her computer. “If they figure out we kicked the asses of those two guys before, maybe. That’s why I need you and Olivia helping to defend our position here.”

“I…” Monroe tightened his grip on Gourgeist’s Poké Ball as worry overtook him. “I guess I can try to help…”

-:-

Once they had climbed to the top of the train, Matt, Bunny, Ambipom and Drifblim stared in awe at the sight spread before their eyes. The train had stopped near the point the Tenganists had bombed, and twisted chunks of scorched metal were scattered over a wide area around where the tracks abruptly ended. Petrel seemed unsurprised by the sight. Jeunes, meanwhile, was simply standing on top of the locomotive, waiting.

“What… what is this?” Matt wondered as he and Bunny along with their Pokémon advanced forward. “Who did this?”

“Your friends, the Tenganists,” Jeunes revealed, slowly turning to face his enemies. “We know about you and how you’re tied to them, Matt. For that matter, Bunny, we’re also aware of your old mentor Jacob’s association with the Tenganists, and how that brings you and Matt together. Polaris knows every bit of it.”

“They aren’t terrorists,” Bunny argued. “What is this, a bombing? There is no reason in their modern history that would make me think they’d bomb a simple rail line. They’ve been a peaceful people for centuries.”

“I’m disappointed, Bunny. An archeologist like you should think about how the past affects the present.” Turning his eyes to Petrel, who had stepped up alongside Matt and Bunny, Jeunes shook his head and reached into his cape. “And you try to lecture me about what makes a terrorist when you’re working with Team Rocket?”

Bunny was taken aback by Jeunes’s line of questioning. She had to admit to herself that, despite everything that was going on, he had a point. It was all becoming overwhelming for her, and she started to freeze up.

Jeunes smirked to himself under his mask, confident he had turned the tide of the situation in his favor. When he took an odd, vaguely pistol-shaped handheld computer out from within his cape, however, Matt nearly fell clear off the train in shock. He recognized the object instantly.

“That computer… and the Mewtwo mask… I knew I recognized your voice! Take the mask off so we can do this face to face, Yung!”

Disregarding Matt’s correct guess of his identity, Yung looked to Petrel and began typing a command into his device. “Let’s give you an old familiar enemy, how about that?”

Shutters lining both sides of the train opened in response to Yung’s direction. Poles with flat, purple crystals installed in their ends emerged from the middle and back cars, while two longer rods framed Yung on the locomotive. When he pressed one more button, the crystals began glowing, followed moments later by a burst of electricity from each of the rods.

The bursts met over the front of the middle car, where they took on the shape of a tall, lithe Pokémon. Matt and Petrel both recognized it immediately, despite the fact that it formed without any features. The tiny hexagons texturing its body gave way shortly after, revealing its coloration, muscle tone and face.

“A Mewtwo…” Matt uttered. “You haven’t changed much…”

“So you really were there five years ago, huh?”

Matt wanted to question how Petrel knew about his past, but before he could, Bunny interrupted. “Either of you want to tell me what’s going on here?”

“The man behind the mask is Dr. Mitchell Yung,” Petrel explained. “He’s a scientist with a major axe to grind against us. That Pokémon? It’s a Mirage Pokémon, created from computer data. He designed the system.”

“He hates you guys?” Matt said. “I guess that explains why he was working for Enigma Shadow five years ago…”

“I was always in Polaris,” Yung clarified, seemingly no longer caring about his identity beyond the mask. “Enigma Shadow outlived their use for us, so we got rid of them from within. Of course, you and your old friend Rich helped me out.”

“We wouldn’t if we knew what you really were doing!”

“Oh yes you would.” Behind his mask, Yung smirked wickedly. “Maybe you’re too much of a bleeding heart to admit it, but I was able to get into Rich’s head real good. Does that make you feel bad? Or are you not bothered, judging by how you’re working for Team Rocket now?”

“Do you really think I’m going to listen to you?” Matt responded to Yung’s taunts, well aware of Bunny burning holes into him with her stare.

“I don’t really care if you do or not. It’s not like you’re getting out of this.” Thrusting his finger forward, Yung called out, “Mewtwo, get rid of them!”

In the blink of an eye, the Mewtwo was upon Matt’s group. It grabbed his Ambipom by her throat and lifted her into the air with a cold, ruthless manner that left Matt speechless.

“Sky, hit it with Shadow Ball!” Bunny commanded.

After floating higher up into the air, Sky launched a Shadow Ball in Mewtwo’s direction. Mewtwo’s reaction was almost instant. It snapped its head toward the oncoming attack, then deftly dodged it by jumping backward, releasing Ambipom in the process. As its attention was now trained on the Drifblim, it screamed toward the clouds and released a massive blast of electricity that severely injured Sky.

“Crobat, come on out and use Haze!” Petrel cried, throwing another of his Poké Balls. As soon as his Crobat appeared, she exhaled a cloud of thick black smoke, putting a barrier of sorts between her trainer’s allies and the virtual monster they faced.

“A Poison-and-Flying-type against something that just used an Electric-type attack?” Bunny screeched.

“My dear Bunny, you just don’t understand. That Mewtwo is made from raw data. There is no limit on its capabilities. It can exploit any weakne…”

Petrel didn’t need to finish his sentence for his point to be made. An intense Blizzard tore through the smoke, buffeting Crobat relentlessly. When the Haze cleared away, Matt, Bunny and Petrel could see that it was coming from a Walrein head that had emerged from Mewtwo’s chest.

“What the hell is that?!”

Ignoring Bunny’s wonder at his work, Yung calmly said, “Power-Up Punch.”

The Walrein head disappeared, and Mewtwo rushed Ambipom with its arm pulled back and glowing. The punch that followed sent her flying violently back, eventually crashing into her trainer and knocking him down as well.

“Am I going too hard on you all?” Yung taunted the three, waving condescendingly with his free hand as he spoke. “Too bad! Team Rocket didn’t have the courage to see their Mewtwo project through to the end, so I finished it! You could only dream of having this power under your control!”

“So you took Polaris’s money and finished this system of yours?” Petrel put his hands on his hips and sighed. “Team Rocket abandoned that project and you go and do this… this is how you honor them? No wonder Giovanni thought you were insane.”

Something in what Petrel said struck a nerve in Yung, and he took a step back before screaming, “Mewtwo, Luster Purge!”

Mewtwo raised its arm toward Crobat. Its hand and much of its forearm congealed and transformed into the head and neck of a Latios, and it fired a wide purple energy beam at her using this new appendage. Instead of trying to counterattack, Crobat spun out of the way, recognizing how dangerous this was for her.

“So that’s what they say about me?” Something was different about the way Yung was speaking. His usual snide, smug demeanor was gone, and in its place, he seemed defensive and genuinely angry. “Giovanni says I’m insane? Thank you, I mean it… now I know what the last thing he’ll hear will be! I wonder what he’ll think to know that the one he labeled insane succeeded where he failed…”

While Matt struggled to get back up after being knocked down, Bunny turned to Petrel and asked, “Can you fill me in on what’s going on here?”

“When Team Rocket… when we created our Mewtwo, the experiment went sideways and all the scientists got blown away.” A look of sadness came onto Petrel’s face. “His mom and dad were two of them, and he’s never forgiven us.”

“Can you blame him?” Matt said, finally getting back on his feet.

“It was an accident!” Petrel countered. “Mewtwo was far more powerful than those poor researchers expected. We ordered up the most powerful Pokémon, we just didn’t know how it would end…”

“And you even failed at that!” Yung shouted. “I’ve finished my parents’ work. This Mewtwo standing before you is the most powerful Pokémon ever conceived. Using it, I’ll destroy Team Rocket! That’s why I joined Polaris, and I’ll get started with you.”

Matt grabbed Bunny’s arm and pulled her close to himself and Petrel. “We gotta hit this thing with combined force or it’s going to shrug off everything we throw at it.”

“I agree,” Bunny concurred. She pointed to herself and then to Petrel and said, “We’ll hit it with a combined attack. Matt, you go in after us.”

“Then let’s get going.” Facing Mewtwo, Petrel called out, “Shadow Ball!”

Bunny quickly picked up on Petrel’s lead and added, “Sky, you use Shadow Ball too!”

Floating side by side, Sky and Crobat took aim at Mewtwo. While Crobat only launched one Shadow Ball, Sky started spinning around, raining a number of the glowing orbs down on his target.

Mewtwo initially guarded against the assault by crossing its arms over its face. While they did take their toll on the Mirage Pokémon, whatever damage they inflicted wasn’t enough to do anything but make Mewtwo growl.

“Please,” Yung said, “don’t strain yourselves. You’re only going to make this hurt even more. Mewtwo, Meteor Mash!”

Behind his mask, Yung smirked. He held great confidence that the resistance he was facing would never overcome his Mirage Mewtwo, and eagerly anticipated showing them the hopelessness of their situation.

But when he ordered Meteor Mash, he made a fatal error.

As it was a projection of computer data and not an actual Pokémon, Mewtwo had no free will. It could only merely follow its creator’s instructions. As a result it didn’t even hesitate when it heard the call for Meteor Mash, but when it pulled its arm back to begin a punch, it opened up its defenses. Sky’s continuing barrage of Shadow Balls began buffeting its body. Eventually, the combined impact of many blows on its left side destroyed its left arm, which disappeared in a cloud of glowing hexagons.

“Mewtwo, no!” Yung cried. Mewtwo’s motions became choppy and its body became covered with static as the Mirage System tried to regenerate its missing limb.

While Yung tried to accelerate the process by entering commands on his controller, Matt took the initiative to order an attack of his own. Pointing directly at Mewtwo, he said, “Agnetha, Seed Bomb!”

Agnetha aimed directly for Mewtwo’s head and swung her two tails, sending a flurry of large seeds at it. At that moment, however, the glitches consuming Mewtwo’s body caused it to abruptly switch to a kneeling position. It was no longer in Seed Bomb’s path, but Yung was. He was so caught by surprise that he couldn’t get out of the way, and as a result, the seeds struck his mask.

Before he even realized it, the seeds cracked his mask, causing it to split apart and fall off, exposing his scarred face. Matt and Bunny jumped, startled by his grim appearance.

“The hell happened to your face?!” Matt blurted out.

The fact that his mask had fallen off hadn’t sunken in fully yet, so Yung reflexively brought his free hand to his face. When he felt his skin and not the plastic surface of the mask, he flew into a rage.

“You just don’t get it, do you…? Why we wear the masks…”

“What good are they? I knew I recognized your voice.”

“They are not to hide our identities, not all of them! The masks are a symbol, they show that we shed how this dying world sees us in preparation for our new, better world! I won’t end up like Séduire did when you unmasked her. This ends right now!”

Yung slammed his finger down on the controller’s largest key, causing another energy blast from the left-hand rod to flow into Mewtwo’s body. When the new energy attached itself to Mewtwo and textured itself, it took on the appearance of a gigantic, cannon-like claw with two antennae coming out of it.

“Don’t recognize what this is, do you?” he taunted, seeing the looks of surprise he was being met with. “This is the claw of a Pokémon from Kalos named Clawitzer. Its special ability is known as Mega Launcher, and it enhances the strength of aura and pulse moves… how would you like a taste? Mewtwo, show them! Dragon Pulse!”

Mewtwo pointed its new appendage at its enemies, and a significant amount of energy began to gather within the cannon-like claw, creating a bright glow that blinded Matt, Bunny and Petrel. Once it had enough of a charge, Mewtwo released the bright purple blast.

“Milotic, Dragon Pulse!”

All of a sudden, a second Dragon Pulse cut off Mewtwo’s, causing both to explosively cancel each other out. Matt and Bunny were nearly blown over by the force of the collision, while Petrel simply stood his ground and smiled.

“About time you showed up,” he chuckled to himself.

As the smoke from the blast cleared, Matt and Bunny got their first view of who had saved them. Team Rocket’s car had finally arrived, and Ada was standing next to it with her Milotic, clutching her laptop. The car’s top was down as well, allowing Trevor and Pierce to be seen, the latter of whom was preparing a bazooka-like device in the back of the vehicle.

“Team Rocket?” Bunny said, stunned.

Matt stared at the occupants of the car and blinked repeatedly, seemingly recognizing one of them. “Is that… no, it can’t be. That’s impossible, he wouldn’t be here. It doesn’t make sense.”

“I see you still have fans.” Pierce didn’t even bother to look up from his work as he addressed Trevor.

“I hope he pays attention to what’s going on and doesn’t get distracted by me.” Directing his focus on Yung, Trevor called out, “Yung, you slimy bastard! So this is where you ended up after we kicked you out!”

Yung took a step back. His anger wasn’t clouding his mind enough to blind him to how the numbers had turned against him. “You idiots were too naive to appreciate my work…” he growled, clutching the controller tightly. “It’s only right that I finished development of Mewtwo for Polaris. They knew the value of my vision! Mewtwo, show them what I’m talking about!”

Mewtwo turned and pointed its right arm at Milotic. Its hand transformed, much like it had earlier, taking on the appearance of a Zapdos head. A large sphere of electricity took shape in front of it, and with a snarl, Mewtwo flung the sparking orb at Ada’s Milotic.

“Milotic…” Ada’s voice was shaking, but she remained focused. “Mirror Coat!”

The Zap Cannon struck Milotic, and its energy quickly spread throughout her body. She forced herself to remain standing, however, and soon after the impact her skin took on a reflective sheen. An intensely powerful beam of light shot out of her, and it hit Mewtwo squarely in the chest.

The overwhelming force of Milotic’s counterattack finally caused significant damage to Mewtwo. It screamed toward the sky as the beam tore into its body, quickly destroying more and more that then turned into hexagons and tried to return to the Mirage System’s generators. Panicking, Yung tried to get the system to replace the parts of Mewtwo’s body that were being destroyed, but a stray bolt from the blast cracked toward him and struck the controller, destroying it.

As soon as the controller was broken, the two rods and the crystal generators all sparked and shorted out. Without the Mirage System to sustain its existence, Mewtwo suddenly went quiet, and its entire body evaporated into the air. Yung could only watch in silent shock as his weapon disappeared.

“Looks like your work still has a few holes in it,” Petrel teased once Mewtwo was entirely gone. “Look, let’s put an end to this farce now. Give us the Meteonite and we just might let you go.”

Before Yung could answer, the sound of a helicopter approaching filled the air. Realizing that this was the evacuation he’d been waiting for, Yung smirked triumphantly.
 

The Great Butler

Hush, keep it down
“You beat Mewtwo, but all you did was waste time.” When the helicopter flew over the train, a Polaris member dressed in the same uniform as the members on Thorton’s ship threw down a ladder. Yung took hold of it, then saluted to Matt, Bunny and the Team Rocket members. “Too bad you came out all this way, but it looks like I win! I’ll fix the Mirage System for our next meeting, so you can at least console yourselves with that!”

Once the ladder had been reeled up, allowing Yung into the helicopter, the craft flew to the back of the train and hovered over the freight car. A hatch on the roof of the freight car opened, allowing a crane attached to the bottom of the helicopter to reach in for the Meteonite.

“Are you just going to let them take…” Matt looked around and suddenly realized Petrel was gone. “Where’d he go?”

“There.” Bunny pointed down to the service road, where Petrel had joined his fellow Team Rocket members by descending on Crobat. “So he’s a coward. Big surprise.”

The crane, having taken hold of the Meteonite, began to rise back up. Yung watched from the chopper with a sense of smug satisfaction.

However, much to the surprise of both the Polaris members and Matt and Bunny as well, Team Rocket weren’t done after all. As soon as the Meteonite came into view, Pierce aimed the bazooka at it and fired, launching a claw that attached to the side of the large rock.

“We’ve got it!” Ada exclaimed, monitoring the energy with her laptop. “Pierce, hurry and reel it in!”

“Do they seriously think that’s going to work?” Matt sighed as he watched the claw’s cable tighten. “Carrying something that big with such a small cable?”

Hearing this, Trevor scoffed and said to Ada, “They think we’re using the cable, you believe that? Send out the capture disc.”

“Deploying capture disc,” she replied, typing away on her laptop.

A saucer-shaped device rose up from the back of the car and floated to a position beneath the Meteonite. Matt and Bunny watched, unsure of what was happening.

“You two may want to send your Pokémon back,” Trevor called up to them. “This ride might get a little bumpy.”

Bunny followed Trevor’s advice and sent Sky back to his Poké Ball. After a brief hesitation, Matt did so for Agnetha as well. They then looked back up to where Polaris’s chopper and Pierce’s claw gun pulled at the Meteonite from two different sides.

“Should we intervene?” Bunny uttered.

“What can we do? You know what those small Meteonites were capable of, who knows what might happen if we hit that big one?”

“So we just stand here?”

“Unless you’ve got a better idea, what can we do?”

Up in the helicopter, Yung wasn’t just watching like Matt and Bunny were. Standing just behind the pilot’s chair in the cockpit, he could see all the readings and screens spread out on the control panel.

“What are you waiting for?” he snapped at the pilot, tightening his grasp on the chair. “Pull away! We’re on a schedule, you know!”

“But, Jeunes, sir…” the pilot replied, “they’ve got a good grip on it! They’re holding us back…”

“Are you kidding me? Move!” Yung shoved the pilot out of his seat and took control of the helicopter himself. “I’ll show you how to get this done!”

Yung pulled back on the collective control stick in an attempt to force the helicopter upward. It did rise slightly, but the strength of the cable on Pierce’s weapon kept the Polaris members from escaping.

For a long, tense minute, nothing seemed to be happening. As the standoff wore on, however, a cracking noise started to reach the ears of those present.

“Is that what I think it is?” Bunny whispered.

Matt didn’t reply at first. Instead, he just kept staring at the Meteonite. When he did finally say something, his voice was raspy from the tension and fear he felt.

“Bunny, run! Now!”

Bunny didn’t have to ask why. She had seen the same thing he did - the increasing crack in the Meteonite taking shape around the grip of Pierce’s weapon’s claw. They both turned and ran toward the locomotive, but only made it as far as the end of the middle car before the Meteonite split into two pieces, causing a great blast of energy. Matt and Bunny were swept off their feet and thrown into the open hatch on the roof of the locomotive, which Yung had used earlier for his escape. Polaris’s chopper spun up into the air with the larger Meteonite piece still in its crane, while the capture disc sent out by Ada created a holographic container around the smaller piece so Team Rocket could take it.

“They just keep meddling…” Yung growled while trying to regain control of the helicopter. Once he managed to stabilize it, he said to the Polaris members with him, “It’s worthless to keep doing this any longer! Let’s just take what we have and hope it’s enough.”

The chopper flew away to the east, but Team Rocket weren’t paying attention to it. They were more concerned by the Meteonite’s energy continuing to react with the train and its tracks, producing showers of sparks.

“Oh no…” Ada fumbled, typing frantically as a look of panic came onto her face. “Oh no, this… this isn’t good!”

“What is it?” Pierce demanded as he recovered the contained Meteonite chunk.

“The energy is spreading through the Magnet Train and the paths… I don’t know what kind of effect it’s going to have, but we won’t be able to control it! The only thing we can do is avoid making it worse.”

“What’s the status of her side of the mission?” Trevor asked, choosing his words carefully in order to avoid exposing Nekou’s role.

-:-

Beneath Goldenrod City, little had changed. Nekou had continued her work while Olivia and Monroe stood guard, but nobody had come down to bother them.

“I’m getting bored,” Olivia complained. “Are you almost done?”

“Very close. I’ve got all the right switches thrown, all I have to do is just activate it. The only thing is that it might cause a little bit of a power surge as the system comes back online, but it’s nothing to worry about.”

Suddenly, she heard a chime in her ear. After hitting the key to start turning on the power, she tapped her ear, causing part of the left stem of her glasses to flip down and become a microphone.

“What is it? Yeah, I just turned the power back on, it’s rebooting now. What?” Nekou’s face sank as she heard what had happened with the Meteonite. “...oh ****.”

“What’s wrong?” questioned Monroe.

“We should probably get topside,” Nekou answered, folding up her computer. “Like, now. The **** might be about to hit the fan.”

-:-

Bunny pulled herself to her feet in the locomotive’s control booth, while Matt struggled to control the shaking that had overcome his body.

“Are you alright?” she asked in panic, extending a hand to him.

“C-Could be worse…” he shuddered. “Th-thankfully things like that don’t shut this body down entirely…”

Once they both were standing, they looked around at their situation. The only things in the booth were a single chair, a touchscreen keyboard and three large computer monitors. Both the keyboard and monitors were filled with error notices, and more kept coming every second.

“What is this?”

“The energy from the Meteonite, I’d bet,” Bunny ventured. “It’s corrupting the train’s programming…”

“Well, if it’s just corrupting the program, that’s not so bad, right? It could be worse.”

In a fit of irony, the moment the last syllable left Matt’s mouth, the train rocked and began to move.

“I have to stop running my mouth…”

Bunny ran to the side door, where she peered through a small window to the outside. What she saw caused her to tighten her fists. The trees lining the path of the tracks were going by at an increasingly rapid pace.

“We’re going back toward Goldenrod,” she tensely said.

Matt braced himself against the train’s motion. “And from the feeling of it, we’re speeding up.”

A realization came over them both, and they slowly turned to look at the keyboard and monitors.

At the same time, they both whispered, “What’s controlling the train?”

-:-

Meanwhile, Ada, Trevor, Petrel and Pierce could only watch from their car as the train sped away from them in reverse. Pierce had secured the small piece of the Meteonite in its glowing case, but Ada was still outside the car, panicking as she looked at her laptop.

“Miss Nekou just turned the power back on… and there was a surge.. that combined with the Meteonite energy in the tracks just blew the whole system to hell and back!”

“****!” Trevor spat. “What now?”

“We have to go after them.” Pierce raised his head and yelled, “Ada, back in the car!”

-:-

“Oh ****, oh ****, what do we do, what do we do…”

“So let me get this straight.” Bunny leaned against the wall to balance herself. “We’re stuck on this train while it speeds back toward a major metropolitan area, with pretty much no hope of stopping it. We’re screwed, aren’t we?”

“I don’t know. I need help.” Putting his finger to his ear, Matt gasped, “Nekou, tell me you can hear this!”

“What? What happened?”

Matt stopped pacing. “Why do you think something happened?”

“Because I just turned the power back on and you call me sounding like you’re shitting yourself. What ****ed up?”

Sighing at Nekou’s attitude, Matt tried to remain serious. “The Meteonite split in two and it released energy that corrupted the train’s controls, that’s what ****ed up! Bunny and I are aboard a runaway train that’s heading for Goldenrod right now!”

There was a brief, tense silence before Nekou finally spoke again. “...****. I was afraid of that.”

“What’s going to happen if we don’t stop this train?” Bunny blurted out, still eyeing the landscape past the window. “Ask her that!”

“Did you hear that?”

“No. Well, I heard Bunny saying something, but **** if I could make it out.”

“She wants to know what’s going to happen if the train can’t be stopped.”

“From my quick calculations in my head, you should be going at a steadily increasing speed. Is that right?”

“Yeah.”

Nekou hesitated, then said, “If that train keeps speeding up and is not stopped, eventually it’s going to get to the station. And when I say get to the station, I mean crash right the **** into it. At the kind of speed you’ll be going, it’ll barrel right through the station wall and not stop until it hits the Radio Tower.” Nekou’s voice suddenly became unusually quiet. “If that tower falls, combined with the derailment itself… who knows how many people will die. Central Goldenrod will be reduced to complete chaos.”

Matt’s eye sank into his head, and his mouth slowly fell open. Picking up on his fear, Bunny started to become nervous as well.

“W-what did she say?” Bunny asked, clutching her arm.

“If… if we don’t stop this train… it’ll hit the station then the Radio Tower… and a lot of people are going to die.”

“What do we do? Ask her what we do!”

“Don’t bother, I heard it that time!” Nekou snapped. “Give me a minute to think!”

An uneasy silence settled over the room, lasting for what felt like forever. It wasn’t broken until Matt started to slowly reach into his bag.

“Bunny… remember what you said a minute ago? About us being stuck on a runaway train?”

“What about it?”

Slowly taking two Poké Balls out of his bag, Matt quietly said, “You aren’t stuck on this train. You can escape.”

The true meaning of Matt’s suggestion didn’t become apparent to Bunny until he released Cordelia from her Poké Ball. She stepped away from the wall, barely maintaining her balance as her legs became weak.

“No, we’re not doing that…” She leaned forward and seized his shoulder. “Are you trying to kill yourself?”

“No, listen,” he insisted, pushing the other Poké Ball into Bunny’s hand. “You can help stop all of this. Take Cordelia and use Hethna to fly back to the station. Once you get there, have Hethna stand on the tracks and try to catch the train to stop it, while Cordelia uses Psychic to keep it from totally flying off the rails.”

“That doesn’t make any sense!” Bunny countered. “At this speed…” she flicked her eyes to the landscape speeding by outside before continuing, “...you’re just going to get yourself and your Pokémon killed.”

“If I stay here, I might be able to figure out a way to slow the train down. After that, Hethna’s big enough to bring it to a stop.”

Bunny hesitated. She had to admit to herself that there was some merit to his idea, but she didn’t expect it to work.

“Are you sure about this?” she asked quietly.

“It’s the best idea I’ve got.”

“Don’t mess your end up, then.”

“I’ll do my best.”

Armed with a plan for defusing the crisis, Bunny wobbled over to the door and forcefully pulled it open. The car immediately filled with the wind lashing by the train, sending Bunny’s hair blowing in all directions, but she disregarded it and stepped outside. From the narrow platform on the engine’s exterior, Bunny could see Team Rocket’s car speeding after them.

Bunny took a deep breath, then turned to Cordelia, who was floating alongside her. “Use Psychic and get us on some solid ground first, please?”

Though Bunny wasn’t her ordinary trainer, the Sigilyph still listened. Her three eyes filled with the same blue light that then surrounded Bunny, and with her power, Cordelia lifted Bunny off the train.

However, because of how heavily wooded the area was, the only readily available ground Cordelia could deposit Bunny on was the service road next to the tracks. Trevor saw her being lowered into his path and slammed his foot on the brakes, causing the car to skid and spin out. Luckily, he had reacted quickly enough for the vehicle to stop before it hit Bunny. All four Team Rocket members jumped out once they stopped.

“Damn it!” Trevor spat, slamming his hand on the car’s roof as he watched the train shrink into the distance.

Rising to her feet, Bunny took a moment to watch the train herself before turning to face the four Team Rocket members.

“We share the same cause right now,” Pierce said, stepping forward. “Come with us. We can offer you assistance.”

“No,” Bunny sharply answered, tossing Hethna’s Poké Ball into the air. “We have our own plan.”

Matt’s Golurk took shape in a burst of light, and Bunny climbed up on its shoulder.

“W-What are you doing?”

Bunny ignored Ada’s question and instead tapped Hethna’s arm. “Hethna, Matt wants you to get me back to the station in Goldenrod and fast. You up for it?”

Hethna grunted in assent, then retracted its hands and legs into its body, transforming its arms and central sections into rockets. Trevor, Ada and the others could only watch as the Golurk lifted into the air and blasted off toward Goldenrod City.

“Miss Nekou was right about her…” Ada commented.

“Headstrong was an understatement. We’ll have to watch her…” Pierce turned to his teammates and shouted, “Let’s go! We can’t lose any more time!”

-:-

Matt dropped himself in the chair at the trains controls and rested his head on his hand.

“I’m useless…” he said out loud, thinking he was alone. “...just like always. What good am I?”

“Stop ****ing talking like that.” Matt hadn’t realized that Nekou could still hear him through the microphone. “Besides, I thought of something.”

“What?” Matt jumped slightly in the seat, having been surprised by hearing her voice. “What’s your idea?”

“You might be able to force your way into the train’s computer and shut it down. The software isn’t really that intricate, you’ll just have to get through all the errors. I can try to help you with it.”

-:-

Somewhere far away from the unfolding crisis in Goldenrod City, Finansielle and Archer were walking together on a path in an underground temple. The cavernous chambers formed a labyrinth of paths surrounded by pools with flowers floating on the water, and ornately carved marble columns and arches rose up and overhead.

Their walk was suddenly interrupted when Finansielle’s phone began ringing. She took it out, and the two stopped moving.

“Hello, what is it? Alright, good. Well, even if you only got most of it, I’m sure it’s enough for Colress to work with.” Though her mood was at first positive, her face twisted into a look of annoyance shortly after. “You lost your… oh, you’re kidding, right?”

“That’s Jeunes, right?” Archer asked. When Finansielle nodded, he further inquired, “What happened?”

“He got most of the Meteonite, but Team Rocket took a small piece of it.”

“That can’t be what’s upsetting you.”

“He lost his mask. Matt, his friend, and several Team Rocket members saw his face.”

Archer sighed. “In that case, he knows the consequences.”

“Sorry, can’t get you out of trouble here,” Finansielle said into the phone. “Archer has reiterated it. You know what happens to a Chromosome who is unmasked. Just get back here.”

When Finansielle hung up the phone, Archer smirked. “He can’t be happy about that.”

“He’s not,” she confirmed. “Just docking him the rights for this meeting should be enough to scare him straight, though.”

-:-

As Bunny arrived at her destination, she could see the continuing protests on the Goldenrod streets. They had spread from the main street into the smaller ones and were now blocking the Global Terminal, Radio Tower and train station.

“Oh hell, this isn’t good.” Bunny wiped her forehead, suddenly glad she had aerial transport and didn’t have to go through the streets. “These people have to clear out, now… Hethna, take me down.”

Hethna redirected its rockets and descended into the freight area at the back of the station. Bunny immediately climbed down, then returned Hethna to its Poké Ball and ran inside. Instead of heading for the platform, like she had before, she went straight to the front lobby.

Just as she entered the lobby, which was sealed off to the street, Olivia and Monroe came running up a flight of stairs on the other side of the room.

“Bunny!” Olivia called out.

“Are you two alright?” Bunny fell to her knees and threw her arms around her young friends. “It’s such a relief to see you two safe with everything that’s going on.”

“We’re fine, but this isn’t over yet, is it? Nekou looked like she was pretty panicked…”

“I hate to say it, Olivia, but you’re right. This situation just got a whole lot worse. Where is Nekou anyway?”

“She’s still down in the tunnels,” Monroe answered, gesturing with his head toward the stairs he and Olivia had come up. “She told us to go on ahead and look for you here.”

“That was probably a good idea considering the kind of danger we’re in. Better to stick together.”

“So what now?” Olivia wondered.

“We’ve got a plan worked out,” Bunny said, standing and turning for the gate to the tracks. “Come on, I don’t want you two out of my sight.”

Olivia nodded, grabbed Monroe’s arm, and closely followed Bunny as she went to the gate.

-:-

“Damn it!” Matt swore, slamming his fist down on the glitching keyboard. “Nekou, it’s too fried. I know you tried but I can’t crack this.”

“I was afraid of that…”

“So what now?!” Matt nearly pulled his glasses off, but caught himself and stopped. Instead, he put his trembling hands on the control console and forced his body up. “What do I do? I’m going to die, aren’t I?”

“You’re not going to ****ing die!” Nekou snapped. “Just let me think!”

The force of the train’s motion caught up with Matt, causing him to lose his balance and fall back into the chair. He stared at his sunken expression, reflected in the computer screen, and began trying to resign himself to his fate.

“So after everything that happened, this is how I go out…” he thought.

“Wake up!” Nekou suddenly booming in his ear woke Matt from his daze. “I thought of something. That’s a Polaris train, but the build of it is a pretty typical factory standard. If they didn’t modify the design of it, there should be a kill switch to cause a gradual reduction in power until it stops.”

This news caused Matt’s mood to brighten slightly. “Alright, good. How do I activate the code?”

“It’s not a kill code, I said kill switch. You have to listen.”

“Alright, sorry.” Matt steadied himself on the computer. The more he thought about Nekou’s words, a growing feeling of dread started to come over him, and he whispered, “Where’s this kill switch then?”

“Outside the cab. Go out the right-hand door and it should be on the side of the train just a couple feet away.”

“I was afraid you were going to say that.” Weakly pushing himself to his feet, Matt dragged himself over to the door. “If something happens to me, take care of Olivia.”

“Nothing’s going to…” Nekou’s voice suddenly became serious, almost compassionate. “Nothing’s going to happen to you. Just be careful and you’ll come back fine.”

“Thanks… I appreciate that.”

Matt started toward the door, only to be thrown against it by a sudden rocking of the train. Recovering, he steadied himself, opened the door and stumbled outside into the violent wind. His hat was blown away the moment the wind caught it, but he had other concerns, namely that the only thing stopping him from being ground into the tracks was the thin guardrail he was leaning on. When he saw just how close he was to falling off the narrow catwalk, a shaky groan escaped his lips.

“What did she drag me into…”

Tightening his grip on the rail, Matt braced himself against the wind and pushed himself up. Off in the distance, he could see the Goldenrod skyline rapidly increasing in size on the horizon.

“N-Nekou, help me!” he gasped, balancing himself using the the rail and the side of the locomotive. He found himself breathing rapidly and becoming somewhat lightheaded. “Where is this switch?!”

“It should be right close to you! Feel around for a square panel sticking out from the engine!”

With his hair and coat violently lashing around him, Matt struggled forward, running his left hand over the wall as he advanced. It wasn’t long before he discovered the panel Nekou had described, however, when he realized there was a cover over the switch, his legs became weak. He then looked over his shoulder at the looming image of Goldenrod City and felt his stomach sink.

“Can’t one thing go smoothly here?” he groaned.

He continued to feel around the panel and eventually found a small ridge he could work his fingers into. Once he had a good grip, he took a deep breath and began to pull, exerting all the strength his mechanical arm gave him. The cover did not immediately give way, and as a result of Matt making a sustained effort to force it, his arm began to strain and spark.

Eventually, however, a single bolt popped off the cover, followed shortly by a second. Once a few of the bolts had fallen away, the entire thing ripped off the locomotive in one violent, fluid motion. It was so abrupt that Matt spun around and crashed face-down on the catwalk from the force.

From where he had fallen, Matt could see quite clearly how close he was to the danger of the tracks. He stared for only a moment, though, before he struggled back up against the wall and reached for the now-exposed switch.

“There’s a handle under here!” he yelled over the wind. “Is this it?”

“Should be!” Nekou replied. “Pull it!”

“Here goes nothing…”

Tightening his fingers around the handle, Matt took another deep breath and pulled it down. Within seconds, he could feel the motion of the train beginning to slow, even if the deceleration was slight.

“I think it worked!” he exclaimed, leaning against the wall.

“Now get back inside and tell me what you see!”

Following Nekou’s direction, Matt slid back to the door, not standing back up until he had safely rolled back into the cab.

The computer screens were no longer glitching and filling with errors. Instead, a single box was displayed, reading “power down status” over a progress reading that currently showed 97%. That number kept decreasing right before Matt’s eyes, and standing became easier with every drop.

“Nekou, it worked!” he exclaimed, relief flooding over his mind. “The power is dropping like a rock!”

“And now we wait.”

Matt suddenly felt like his heart had stopped. “For what?”

“To see if the power-down is enough to stop you from crashing.”

Clutching the strap of his bag, Matt thought, “Bunny, come on…”

-:-

While the runaway train was barreling toward Goldenrod, Bunny was floating above the city, holding onto Sky with one hand and clutching a megaphone she’d found in the station with the other. From her vantage point, she could see Hethna and Cordelia waiting in position a distance down the tracks.

Olivia and Monroe were waiting on the roof of the station and watched as Bunny descended closer to the crowds outside.

“Listen to me!” she called down to them using the megaphone. “There’s a runaway train coming this way! Get away from here now!”

Bunny could not make out the cacophony of a response from the crowd, but from its tone she could tell they weren’t going to listen. She was forced to rise up in the air again when someone threw a rock up at her.

“Are your adventures always this crazy?” Monroe asked Olivia.

“I’ve seen some ****,” Olivia replied with a slight smile. “I don’t think I’d trade it away for anything, though. Not after all I’ve been through.”

“I wish my life was as interesting as yours…”

Before they could converse any further, Bunny intervened. “Get ready! This is it!”

Olivia put the binoculars she was holding to her face, then passed them to Monroe so he could see as well.

Off in the distance, the train collided with Hethna, who attempted to hold it back. The impact threw Matt backward through the glowing Polaris door and into the middle car. Cordelia, meanwhile, helped by flying after the train and using Psychic in an attempt to drag it down further.

At the hotel, Rowena rushed out onto the balcony of her room, Cinccino following shortly after.

“This is incredible!” she said, pointing her camera in the direction of the oncoming train. “The perfect footage to wrap this story!”

As the train came closer to the station, the sound of Hethna’s feet grinding against the tracks got louder and louder. The crowd couldn’t hear it, but their protest was disrupted when sirens on the streets began blaring.

“This is an emergency broadcast from the Radio Tower,” the speakers rang out when the alarms ceased. “A runaway train is rapidly approaching Magnet Station. An evacuation order of the central Goldenrod Plaza is in effect. Please leave immediately.”

“They’re lying to get rid of us!” one of the protesters screamed.

Instead of getting them to leave, the evacuation notice simply whipped the crowd into even more of a frenzy. They advanced on the Radio Tower, chanting various threats in their rage, but an unexpected interruption soon came.

“Holy ****, there really is a runaway train!” another of the crowd shouted, having spotted Hethna being pushed back closer and closer to the station.

That one protester fleeing the plaza caused more of them to look, and all of them saw the same thing he had. Within seconds the streets had gone from fury to full-on panic as the crowds frantically fled for the second time in as many days.

In the midst of the chaos, Nekou came running up into the station from the tunnels and exited the station.

“****!” she exclaimed when she saw the hordes of people running past her.

Before she realized it, Olivia and Monroe had come down through the station and rejoined her.

“Is everything going to be okay?” Olivia demanded, her voice quivering.

“I really ****ing hope so…”

A horrible screeching nearby caused all three of them to turn around. Up above them, the train was forcing Hethna into the station. It had slowed significantly, but Nekou, Olivia, Bunny and Monroe all knew just from looking that it was still going too fast.

After grinding through the platform, the train forced Hethna through the back wall, but not at a high enough speed to propel itself into the Radio Tower as had been feared. The Golurk fell out first, followed by the three train cars falling on and around it in a crumpled heap.

“Matt was still on there!” Bunny shrilled as Sky brought her down.

“Don’t you ****ing think I know that?!” Nekou shot back. “Come on!”

Nekou led Bunny, Olivia and Monroe over the piles of bricks scattered about the street and onto the wreckage of the train itself. They fanned out in a small cluster and began picking through what they could.

“Matt!” Olivia called out, looking around for any sign of him.

Monroe repeated her plea, then added, “I don’t want to go have to tell Amanda you’re gone!”

Just as Monroe finished, the sound of metal scraping on metal attracted the group’s attention. They turned and saw a broken piece of what was once the middle car shifting.

“Cordelia, help him out,” Bunny directed, gesturing at the piece of wreckage. “Psychic!”

The blue light of the Sigilyph’s Psychic surrounded the wreckage, pulled it into the air and tossed it aside. One of Matt’s cybernetic hands emerged, his glove having torn away to reveal the silver metal underneath.

Nekou and Bunny immediately ran to him, with the former taking his hand and the latter pushing away more chunks of wreckage to clear a path for him to be pulled free. Once enough was moved aside for his other hand to reach out, Nekou pulled him up. He looked ragged, with his coat torn in a number of places and cuts all over his face.

“You look like ****,” Nekou said, a warm smile coming onto her face.

“Feel like it too,” he admitted. “You guys… you all really came together to fix this…”

“Don’t sell yourself short.” Nekou suddenly grabbed Matt’s face and kissed him, leaving not only him but Bunny, Olivia and Monroe stunned. “You didn’t do so bad. Come on, let’s go get you cleaned up. I want to show you something.”

Matt stumbled when he tried to walk, so Nekou and Bunny supported him by letting him drape his arms over their shoulders. However, before they left, Bunny recalled Hethna and Cordelia to their Poké Balls and returned them to Matt.

-:-

Several holographic screens surrounded Giovanni in the back of his car, having been generated by Rosalie through her wheelchair’s computer. Pierce, Petrel, Ada and a “SOUND ONLY” box representing Trevor were on one, while Jessie, James, Meowth and Ariana were on a second and Zager was on a third. Two more displayed footage of the events that had happened in and around Goldenrod City.

“...so to sum it up,” Ada was in the middle of explaining, “we have acquired a small piece of the Meteonite, but Polaris got away with the bigger piece. The Chromosome called Jeunes is indeed our former scientist Mitchell Yung, and he’s still working on his Mirage System.”

“If Polaris is funding his research, then he’s surely made significant advances,” Zager warned. “We will have to beware, if they are using his Mirage System as a weapon.”

“I can confirm they are. He fought with Executive Petrel, Matt Chiaki and Bunny Spruce using a Mirage Mewtwo. I… I managed to defeat it with my Milotic.”

“Well done, Ada,” Giovanni complimented his subordinate. “Petrel, did you manage to accomplish your mission?”

“It’s all here,” replied the bearded Executive. He smiled and held up a flash drive marked with Team Rocket’s logo. “When nobody was paying attention, I copied the database of the Purine Ba… excuse me, the Battle Factory.”

“Good work. Pierce, I want you to deliver the Meteonite piece in your possession along with the drive containing the Battle Factory’s data to Zager after we meet up in Olivine City. Zager, your job is to decode the data on that drive so we can gain a better understanding of what Polaris plans to do, and hopefully we’ll also find out what they’re going to use the Meteonite for.”

“It will be done, Boss,” Pierce said.

“Understood, Giovanni, sir,” Zager concurred.

“Now…” Giovanni turned his head and questioned, “what of your mission, Ariana?”

“We stole one crate of Pokémon,” she weakly answered. “They should prove to be beneficial assets for us.”

“Hey, give us the credit we deserve!” Meowth shouted.

Seeing Giovanni’s inquisitive look, Jessie reported, “We completely defeated Factory Head Thorton, aka Chromosome Getriebe, in the course of stealing these Pokémon, sir.”

“Very good. I’m impressed with your work. Overal…”

“Giovanni, sir, there’s something else.”

“Do not interrupt the boss while he is speaking,” Pierce sharply rebuked James.

“No, Pierce, I want to hear this. I have a feeling it will be important.”

James gulped, then said, “We planted a bug on Polaris’s ship, sir. We overheard Thorton and his followers discussing something they called Oberon…”

“Did you say Oberon?” Pierce blurted out.

“Do you recognize that name?” Rosalie asked.

“I know it,” Proton chimed in from the drivers’ seat of the car. “Isn’t it a character in a play?”

“Indeed,” Trevor added. “They even made a few movies out of it.”

“No, you don’t understand.” A look of worry had come onto Pierce’s face, a mood unusual for him. “That play was based on a Tenganist myth from three thousand years ago. The myth talked about a king whose treasure gave him the ability to control a Pokémon we don’t have in this modern era. If the myth is true, then Polaris may have obtained something very dangerous.”

Giovanni shut his eyes and sighed. “I will have to collect the full stories from all of you in Olivine. Right now, we must focus on preparation. If what happened in Goldenrod City is merely their warmup act, then what Polaris plans to do in Ecruteak is going to be much worse.”

-:-

Several hours later, Nekou slipped into a restroom at the bar and restaurant she’d taken the others to and locked the door. She lazily walked up to the marble sink in the room and looked at herself in the mirror. The lamps mounted in the wall around the mirror cast a dramatic shadow across her face.

After running some water over her hands and using it to wipe down her face and neck, she dried them off on her coat and took out her phone. With the press of a single icon, Giovanni appeared on the screen. He was petting Persian, whose head slightly emerged into the frame.

“Lalume, I want to hear good news.”

“My apologies, Boss, but I couldn’t stop them from getting involved. However, the only reason a disaster was prevented was because I had their help.”

“I’ve heard from Ada and the others about your work. You did well in stopping Polaris from causing a catastrophe, but I warn you, Lalume, you must be careful. Involving others in Team Rocket’s mission is a dangerous risk.”

“I know, Boss, but with all due respect… Matt Chiaki may seem like he’s spineless, but I have a gut feeling he will be a valuable asset to us. We should keep him actively on our side to defeat Polaris.”

“I will leave that to you, then. You know him best. The next place I expect you is Ecruteak City, where I want you to investigate a Tenganist myth called the Oberon. We will meet for the operation then. Do not disappoint me.”

Without giving Nekou a chance to respond, Giovanni cut the connection and disappeared from her phone.

“Aw, ****,” she swore, looking up at the ceiling. “At least this ought to be a fun time.”

Nekou shook her head, smiled, and left the restroom. A long bar stretched along the wall to her right, eventually turning to also run along a giant window that provided a vast view of Goldenrod’s brightly lit skyline under the clear night sky. The rest of the floor was covered by tables draped with fine tablecloths, and a small band was set up against the left wall.

Walking past a table where Bunny, Olivia and Monroe were eating, Nekou collected a bottle of beer and sat down next to Matt at the windowside bar.

“Hey,” she said.

“Hey…”

“Aw, is that it?” Nekou teased. “I come to sit with you and that’s all I get?”

“Thanks for treating us to this…” Matt had his face buried in his drink and was mumbling, making it difficult for Nekou to hear him. “I just keep thinking about being back on that train.”

“You don’t have to.” Putting her hand on his leg, she continued, “I meant what I said before. You need to give yourself credit for your part in saving the city.”

“Credit for what?” he snapped before backing down. “Sorry. I just… after all of that, what was it for? Polaris is right about how divided this city is.”

“****, you really get out of it when you drink, don’t you? Look at me.” Matt didn’t turn his head fast enough, so Nekou grabbed his face and turned it herself. He found himself looking right into her blazing eyes. “Stop talking like that. You did the right thing today. Go ahead, look out there.”

Both of them turned their gazes to the sprawling city beneath them. “What about it?” he questioned.

“It’s true that there’s a lot of people struggling to get by out there,” Nekou wistfully said. “But you know what else is true? When I look out there, I see people who have hope that they can make things better. I believe that those people would rather get a better tomorrow for themselves, but Polaris wants them to just look for an easy way out. People can’t live like that, that’s why we have to keep trying to beat Polaris. Do you get it? When I look out there, I see an ugly yet beautiful city that needs to both protect and be protected. You know, kind of like you.”

“What?!” Matt exclaimed, spinning back around in his seat to face her again.

“Relax, I’m ****ing with you.”

“Good,” he said, going back to sulking into his drink. “That’s not true about me at all. I wouldn’t have cared if I got killed on that train…” Because he wasn’t looking at her, he couldn’t see how Nekou’s expression had quickly darkened. “It wouldn’t have mattered. Once I have the truth I’m looking for, there’s nothing left for me to live for anyway…”

Before Matt even realized what was going on, Nekou had stood and seized him by the collar. Using all her strength, she managed to lift him up singlehandedly.

“Stop ****ing talking like that…” she growled. Her bangs blocked her eyes from Matt’s sight, but as he looked down her arm at her, he had a perfect idea of what they looked like. “Stop it! Just stop it! Do you know what happens when you die? You go to sleep and never wake up and then you rot in the ****ing ground! So stop giving me this **** about how miserable you are when you have no ****ing clue what it feels like to be that alone!”

“A...alright…” Matt uttered in shock. “I’m… I’m sorry…”

“Good.” As abruptly as it came, Nekou’s wild lashing out abated. She let him go, nearly causing him to crumple to the floor, which he would have if he didn’t catch himself on the bar.

“Are you two done with your little fight?” Bunny interrupted, standing nearby with Olivia and Monroe. When Matt and Nekou both nodded, she said, “Olivia has something she wants to tell you.”

“What is it, Olivia?” Nekou asked.

“I’ve been thinking about it a lot, and I talked to Bunny and Monroe about it, and…” Crossing her arms behind her back, she hesitated, then said, “I figured out what I want to do.”

Shaking off his malaise, Matt managed to regroup and stand up straight. “Is that so? What is it?”

Olivia stared into Matt’s eye with an intensity that caught him by surprise. “We’re going to keep fighting Polaris. I’m going to keep fighting Polaris. What I saw today, my dad would hate what they’re trying to do. My dad did everything he did to try and bring people together with Pokémon. Now that I know he’s not coming back, I’m going to do the same thing and stop Polaris from dividing them.”

While Matt hung back, considering what Olivia had said, Nekou walked up to her, leaned down and draped her arms over Olivia’s shoulders.

“I’m proud of you, Olivia. That’s a very grown up decision to make.”

-:-

The first two things to greet Looker as he awoke were the sound of water dripping and a chill that ran up his skin. He stared at the ceiling of the cave for some time before he tried to move, only to find that his left arm was fixed in a sling.

“Go get her,” a male voice nearby called out. “He’s waking up.”

The realization that there were others around prompted Looker to force himself to sit up. His body strained just to perform even that simple motion, so he had to catch his breath before looking around at his surroundings.

Several of the Tenganists stood around the chamber, but what surprised the detective the most was the presence of his old prisoner, Jacob Alexison, sitting on the table next to him.

“Alexison!” Looker groaned. “What sort of plan for escape have you implemented?”

“I didn’t escape,” the old man replied. “We might both even be prisoners right now.”

“Whatever might you be talking about?”

“Us.”

Both Jacob and Looker turned from each other, only to see the Prophet and several of her followers standing before them.

“Explain these events of happening this right instant!” Looker snapped. “Who are you being?”

“In due time, Agent Looker.” The Prophet handed her baby to Alesia before she continued speaking. “You are at the Sinjoh Ruins, what remains of the Tenganist… what remains of our holy land. You two are the only survivors of our bombing of the Magnet Train, which was an accident, as we were targeting what we believed to be a train containing Polaris members. On behalf of all of my people, I apologize.”

“An apology? Please!” Looker stumbled to his feet and thrust his finger at the Prophet. “Why should I be accepting of that? I should be apprehending you all as the terrorists you are being right this very moment!”

“I do not blame you. That is your job, and if you so wish to arrest me, once you have recovered, I will surrender willingly. But first, I have much to tell you that I believe will change your mind about good and evil here. First, you asked who I am.” The Prophet spread her arms. “I had a happy, peaceful life once. Because of Ghetsis and Polaris at large, that was taken from me. Now, all I am is Azrael, the angel sent to bring the death of Polaris.”

-:-

Most of the members of the Sacred Helix had gathered in one way or another for their conference. Cassy and Yung were absent entirely, so their seats were empty and the spotlights on them were turned down. Ghetsis, Thorton, Mercury and Geminus were displayed in hologram form, while Archer, Praeses, Finansielle and Athleta were present in person.

“What a complete fiasco,” Praeses grumbled into his clasped hands. “This was supposed to have been a simple operation. Ghetsis’s followers would stir up the people of Goldenrod City to win support for our cause, then Getriebe would take the Pokémon while Jeunes would take care of the Meteonite. There was never supposed to be this kind of interference.”

“Is that why Jeunes is not here?” Geminus asked.

“Jeunes was unmasked by Matt Chiaki, Bunny Spruce and the members of Team Rocket,” Archer revealed to the others. “He has been given his rightful punishment under our customs by being removed temporarily from this panel.”

“Do not speak as if you have no role in this,” Athleta said to Archer. “Team Rocket was your responsibility. You were the one who used to operate within their ranks.”

“I must confess my own shortcomings in that regard. I didn’t expect such an ambitious attack. Clearly, though we had believed Team Rocket was crippled, they are still capable of active interference.”

“I am more concerned about Matt Chiaki. Why does he keep turning up and derailing our work? Is he working with Team Rocket?”

Mercury hesitated, then answered Geminus by saying, “We have no reason to believe that there is an active link between…”

“Yes we do,” Thorton interrupted. “The Admin-rank Team Rocket member Nekou Lalume is one of his allies. We have every reason to believe they are actively colluding.”

“For now, I think we should simply observe those four. There may be a way to turn them into our tools if we continue to monitor their activity and respond accordingly. Getriebe, what is the current progress of your work?”

“We are planning to continue gathering data on Pokémon battling and strategy at the Adenosine Base, Finansielle. With the Meteonite we collected, Colress believes he will be able to finish mapping out the way to create our new Pokérus. Meanwhile, Jeunes and I will be working on gathering further data. I intend to combine the data I collected at the Purine Base with the data that can be gathered by our followers’ use of the Battle Sim hardware provided to us.”

“Excellent. I see my funding of your research was worthwhile, as my investments always are.”

“Now!” Archer raised his arms to silence the others. “The final part of phase one of Project Genesis is at hand. Ghetsis, I trust that you will not disappoint us, but my faith in you is rapidly running out.”

“How dare you!” Ghetsis snapped, waving his cane at Archer even though he wasn’t even in the same room. “You are merely a substitute until Father returns. Do not speak to me in such a…”

“Father’s faith in you is rapidly running out as well,” Finansielle coldly stated. “I have spoken to him. Ecruteak City is your last chance.”

With Ghetsis rendered speechless, Athleta took the opportunity to speak. “I would like to make a proposal to the Sacred Helix. Due to the consistent failure of the Third Chromosome to keep his affairs in order, I would like to send a trainer from my own division to Ecruteak City as support.”

“The motion is accepted and shall now go to a vote. I, Archer, the representative of the First Chromosome, Father, vote yes!”

“I, the Second Chromosome Praeses, vote yes!”

Ghetsis scowled and declared, “I vote no!”

“I, the Fourth Chromosome Finansielle…” After shooting a smirk at Ghetsis, Finansielle said, “I vote yes.”

“I, the Sixth Chromosome Mercury, vote yes.”

“I, the Ninth Chromosome Getriebe, vote yes!”

“I, the Tenth Chromosome Geminus, vote yes!”

“And there you have it, ladies and gentlemen.” Archer couldn’t help letting a hint of smugness slip into his voice. “By a vote of six to one, the motion put forth by Seventh Chromosome Athleta is approved. Is there any further business?”

“You listen here!” Ghetsis roared. “I will not stand for this meddling in the task given to me by…”

Without batting an eye, Archer cut Ghetsis’s feed, making his hologram vanish. He then said, “I will take that as a no. Return to your work, Chromosomes. We are reaching very important days.”

-:-

In his laboratory, Zager took out an old bottle of wine and a glass from his cabinet. With Galvantula warily watching him, he slouched into a chair. After considering using the glass, he put it aside, opened the bottle and simply drank the wine right out of it.

“I know I was saving this, Galvantula,” he said sadly. “Now feels like as good a time as any, though. I fear what is going to happen next, and I’m the one with blood on his hands.” Lowering his eyes to an object on the table next to his chair, he continued, “I thought I was doing good and yet I have done so much bad… There is no going back for me. I have to keep doing what must be done to right what I did for Polaris… and to you. If we ever meet again I beg that you’ll forgive me.”

The object was an old, faded file folder packed full of papers. Its edges were frayed, but what was on it was still clear. It bore a large Polaris logo and the name ‘C. Langley’ stamped on it.





END of CHAPTER 15
 

Bay

YEAHHHHHHH
“What you should be concerned about is if you even last to see that fate. Those bombs you used? Those were Team Rocket technology. If those get traced back to us and Polaris makes the link between Team Rocket and the Tenganists, well, for lack of a better term we’re all ****ed. You think that Chiaki kid and his little group can stop Polaris alone?”
Pierce does make a good point concerning how Polaris will be able to figure out the connection. And yeah, that would make things way worst.

What little color there was in Jacob’s face drained away as the meaning of this statement dawned on him. “This place… is this…”

“A place where we are safe from Polaris, even if just for now. The Sinjoh Ruins… what remains of the Tenganist holy land after Saeko Oryo’s sin.”
I’m certain this particular trip down memory lane will be one Jacob doesn’t want to revisit.

“Lord Ghetsis… how do you plan to punish Zinzolin’s failure?”

“I don’t. The punishment he has earned is the fear of worrying what will befall him when he gets here. Sometimes fear is a far more potent weapon than force, don’t you agree?”
Have to say, he’s right on that. D:

“Polaris brought the Meteonite here, that’s my point. I think these protests are being stirred up to distract from them trying to move it to somewhere else.” Nekou turned abruptly and pointed at her friends. “You three, you’ve seen the ****ing chaos the small Meteonites cause. Imagine if Polaris took that big one for themselves. Once they get it out of Goldenrod City, it could end up anywhere. Who ****ing knows what they could do with power like that? It would be anarchy on an epic scale.”

“So what you’re saying is we have to stop them?” ventured Olivia.

Nekou smiled broadly. “Now that’s what I want to hear.”
Of course Nekou would say that, heh. But yeah, looks like things will come in full force fairly soon.

I admit Nurse Joy being stressed and then Bunny wondering if she swore to them made me chuckle. Not often you see Nurse Joy snap at you, lol.

“I don’t understand you Chromosomes,” Colress said, chuckling. “Why are you always so eager to take orders from an Omanyte fossil?”

“You better watch yourself, Colress. Keep in mind I’m one of them too.”
This amuses me very much. XD
Olivia’s eagerness made Nekou smile. “Good question.”

After checking again that their path was clear, the three ran across the street and into the building. Inside there was nothing but a wide staircase leading downward.

“D-Down there?” Monroe shakily questioned. “That’s where we turn the power back on?”

“Yeah. There’s a power station we can reach by following the tunnels.” Brightening her expression slightly, Nekou then said, “Have some more confidence, kid. You came this far, so obviously you’ve got a spine.”

“Th-thanks…”
I like this particular part quite a bit. Nekou smiling over Olivia’s eagerness is cute and it’s nice she tries to encourage Monroe to have more confidence.

“Where’s he going?” Matt wondered.

“Who cares? This is our chance. We’ve got to get on that train.”

“I don’t know, Bunny…”

Bunny grabbed Matt’s shoulders. “Nekou was right when she said it would be bad if Polaris got a hold of that Meteonite. Do you not agree?”
It’s great that Bunny is taking the initiative.

Right after Meowth finished speaking, a bizarre variety of weapons sprouted from the balloon, including a missile launcher, a saw blade, a drill and several claws of various shapes.

“Electivire, Thunder!”

Though they had brought a wide range of weaponry, Thorton refused to let them use any of it. His Electivire stood and waved her arms around in circles for a moment to build up a charge, then fired an electrical blast right into the balloon, causing it and all the weapons to explode.
Something tells me that particular blast off is a planned one/distraction.

The battle between Nekou/Monroe/Olivia and the guards is nicely done. Yay for more Kalos Pokemon and also great Monroe was able to save Olivia’s Roselia. Haha awesome Marie had been hiding on Nekou’s back for a while.

Yeah, I’m right on the blast off being a distraction. Somehow, Ariana’s “Your Pokémon, we gratefully accept them in the name of our boss.” line is chilling.

Nice Jessie and Ariana are able to battle together pretty well. Am very interested over the Oberton deck and Oberton.

“We’re on the same side, of course. You’re here to stop Polaris, and I’m here to stop Polaris. The letter on my chest doesn’t really matter much when you look at it that way, right?”

“When you put it that way, I guess you have a point,” Matt admitted.

“Don’t make a habit of doing this,” Bunny sharply warned her friend before turning to Petrel. “We’re here now so we’ll help you, but if we had any other options, you better believe we’d be taking them.”

“Aw, I’m flattered you two are fighting over me!” Petrel laughed, seemingly unaware of what Bunny had actually said to him. However, as he sent his Koffing back into his Poké Ball, he casually said, “This little lovers’ quarrel gave him a chance to get away.”
Petrel’s comment on Bunny and Matt fighting over him was pretty funny, lol.

So Yung makes a return and brings back his Mirage Mewtwo. Not surprising he updated it using a Kalos Pokemon’s ability . At least Team Rocket got some of the Meteonite, wee.

The few parts were pretty high adrenaline there. It’s a good thing Matt’s plan and Nekou’s help in stopping the train from crashing into Radio Tower worked. Have to admit, the image of Bunny holding onto Sky and using a microphone yelling “Get away!” to the crowd is kinda funny even though the situation itself is serious, heh. And everyone’s reaction to Nekou kissing Matt is priceless. XD

James gulped, then said, “We planted a bug on Polaris’s ship, sir. We overheard Thorton and his followers discussing something they called Oberon…”

“Did you say Oberon?” Pierce blurted out.

“Do you recognize that name?” Rosalie asked.

“I know it,” Proton chimed in from the drivers’ seat of the car. “Isn’t it a character in a play?”

“Indeed,” Trevor added. “They even made a few movies out of it.”

“No, you don’t understand.” A look of worry had come onto Pierce’s face, a mood unusual for him. “That play was based on a Tenganist myth from three thousand years ago. The myth talked about a king whose treasure gave him the ability to control a Pokémon we don’t have in this modern era. If the myth is true, then Polaris may have obtained something very dangerous.”
Hm, again I’m quite intrigued about Oberon.

During Nekou and Matt’s conversation, kinda agree with her that Matt should give himself credit in saving the city. Also good that Olivia decided to help out in going against Polaris.

“I do not blame you. That is your job, and if you so wish to arrest me, once you have recovered, I will surrender willingly. But first, I have much to tell you that I believe will change your mind about good and evil here. First, you asked who I am.” The Prophet spread her arms. “I had a happy, peaceful life once. Because of Ghetsis and Polaris at large, that was taken from me. Now, all I am is Azrael, the angel sent to bring the death of Polaris.”
A pretty chilling part, I have to say. D:

I also admit to laughing when Ghetsis got out voted and threw a fit over that. He deserved that, though. :p

So yeah, quite a few exciting things happened this chapter and I wasn’t disappointed. A very enjoyable chapter there, looking forward to what happens next!
 

Matori

THE QUEEN IS BACK
Alright, let's do this. This was a long chapter and with so many twists it took a while to really digest the events and think about them to do this review, but the length isn't a problem at all. In fact, I think it was great, because I went on a great ride reading this. I loved how much action almost every character got- seeing Olivia lend Nekou a hand, Rowena being awesome as always, and Matt and Bunny take on the train was great. You also did fantastic work on the Team Rocket scenes and once again gave them the action and screentime they so desperately deserve.

Your description was also really-well handled, as always, and the dialogue worked very naturally. Also, I really think your battles shined in this chapter- they were suspenseful and well-paced.

Some things that really stuck out to me:

“I knew you were going to take dramatic action, but what you’ve done… allying your side with Team Rocket...”

Though the voice was harsh, the Prophet did not show any fear. Instead, she stood up and coldly stared across the underground lake.

“You knew when we met that my people would be doing what is necessary to survive.”

“You can survive by staying here, where Polaris cannot find you. That is what I have been doing.”

“You don’t seem to understand the position we’re in. Polaris will find this place one day. We cannot hide here forever, and that includes you.”

A figure appeared in the shadows over the lake, rising out of the water. “Fight if you must, but do not drag me into Team Rocket’s affairs. I will not fight alongside you if that is the path you take.”

“I hear you say that, but I question if you truly feel that way. When we met we looked into each others’ hearts and minds. We both saw what Polaris did, respectively, to us. What I am doing is a necessary evil. I don’t care what becomes of me after this is over, but right now, I can only do what I must. I know you understand that.”

The figure did not immediately respond, though the Prophet could see its tail flicking around in the shadows.

“I cannot say that you are incorrect in saying that. I have not, however, made my decision on if I will join your cause yet. Your decisions are making that very difficult for me. I will abandon you if I decide you have become driven by the same motives that drive Team Rocket and so many other selfish humans.”

“That’s fair. I won’t force you. But I do think that when you look inside yourself and weigh what is happening, you’ll see why I have to do this. I believe I’m right, and I also believe that you will come to see my point of view in time.”

I really get the feeling from this scene that the Prophet is able to recognize what she's doing is more complex and that there are no easy answers to what she's doing, but she also stands by what she must do. I think it's great to have all the implications of the Tenganists' partnership with Team Rocket explored in this chapter.


“You didn’t maintain contact.” It was Pierce’s voice on the other end, and he spoke coldly, with little anger actually coming through on the surface. “That was the deal. And because you broke it, you ended up bombing the wrong train and killing a bunch of officers. Tell me how exactly that’s supposed to help either of us.”

“We suspected a trap, that’s why we cut contact. We just thought it would be them monitoring our communications, not them sending a decoy train. And I’ve told you already, my fate at the end of this is not what I’m concerned about.”

“What you should be concerned about is if you even last to see that fate. Those bombs you used? Those were Team Rocket technology. If those get traced back to us and Polaris makes the link between Team Rocket and the Tenganists, well, for lack of a better term we’re all ****ed. You think that Chiaki kid and his little group can stop Polaris alone?”

At the mention of Matt, the Prophet flinched but recovered quickly. “Whether or not he can… that’s not what I have to worry about right now. The next operation is just going to have to go better than the last one. I’m busy, I can’t keep talking to you right now…” The Prophet briefly moved the phone away from her ear, but decided she had more to say and put it back. “Oh, and ‘that Chiaki kid?’ Pierce, you’re younger than him, and I can tell you that for a fact.”

This scene is another important discussion of all the risks and possible consequences with the partnership, but from Pierce's perspective. It's clear he cares about the Tenganists' efforts, but he's also concerned about the fate of TR as well, and shows his chain of thinking fairly well. It's a rare look at Pierce when he's not being super official and I really enjoy seeing him in these Tenganist scenes.
“Jacob Alexison.”

Upon hearing his name, Jacob forced himself to sit up. Even though he couldn’t see her eyes under her hood, he felt a chill from her gaze when he looked at her. “Where am I? And who are you people?” He gasped when he turned his head and saw Looker. “Is he dead?”

“No, I assure you. Alesia here used her Transcendence to heal both of you.”

“T-Transcendence? Does that mean you people are…” Jacob’s voice dropped to a nervous whisper as he realized just who he was speaking to. “Did you bring me here to kill me? Was that what happened on the Magnet Train? If that’s what this is, please, just do it. I’ve lived long enough with the memories of what happened to your people all those years ago.”

“So you do remember…” The Prophet stepped closer to Jacob and lowered her head. “Our bombing of the Magnet Train wasn’t aimed at you. You were caught in the crossfire, and I apologize.”

Jacob was stunned by her expression of remorse. “But if you weren’t trying to kill me… who was that bomb meant for?”

“Polaris. We are most of what’s left of the Tenganist people after one of their officials, a man called Ghetsis, waged a campaign of extermination against us. We are fighting for survival.”

The Prophet turned slightly and began stroking her child’s head, leaving Jacob time to absorb what she had told him.

“Ghetsis… Harmonia. Even as a prisoner I’ve seen his broadcasts… and as a historian, I know of his ancestors’ animosity with the Tenganists.”

“Then you understand the severity of this situation, Jacob. Now… you asked where we’ve brought you. Perhaps a more apt question would be where we’ve brought you back to.”

What little color there was in Jacob’s face drained away as the meaning of this statement dawned on him. “This place… is this…”

“A place where we are safe from Polaris, even if just for now. The Sinjoh Ruins… what remains of the Tenganist holy land after Saeko Oryo’s sin.”

I love the way you work the history into your stories. It feels really natural and it makes me feel like I'm learning about something along with the other characters, so it immerses me in the story better. I like backstory when it reveals itself this way, it's great.

On most nights, Goldenrod City shined under the light of the moon and the stars, and that night was no exception. As usual, the central area glowed like a beacon, while the slums were bathed in the dimmer hues of what little electricity they used.

That is, the slums were bathed in their light until, one by one, the buildings started to go dark. Within minutes, Goldenrod City had become a bright core within a ring of darkness.

The residents began filtering from their buildings as the power went out. When they looked around, they saw that their neighbors were also without electricity. Only the moonlight and the excess light bleeding over from the city’s center kept them from being completely in the dark.

Excellent way to describe a power outage. Something like that would be a concept I'd struggle to describe because of the process, but you make it work and I definitely learned from seeing it included in your story.

“Zinzolin…” Ghetsis coldly said, “...you had a very simple task. Present the speech I wrote for you to the people of Goldenrod. Yet you couldn’t even get that done correctly?”

“I’m sorry, Lord Ghetsis! Please forgive me! I didn’t anticipate Team Rocket…”

“Do not give me that excuse. It was a public function in a city where the Chromosomes had been reporting rumors of Team Rocket activity, and on top of that, you had their Meowth! You should have had a contingency plan in case of their interference! Consider yourself lucky Getriebe and Jeunes had a plan for dealing with them when it came to the Meteonite. I can see it’s a good thing you weren’t trusted with that too.”

“What… what should I do now?” Zinzolin nervously asked.

“Return to our base camp and prepare for the next operation. That is all I have to say to you.”

“Yes, sir!”

Yeah, if I was Zinzolin, I'd be terrified.

“Lord Ghetsis… how do you plan to punish Zinzolin’s failure?”

“I don’t. The punishment he has earned is the fear of worrying what will befall him when he gets here. Sometimes fear is a far more potent weapon than force, don’t you agree?”

“Yes, you are correct. What are my orders?”

I love how sadistic Ghetsis' punishment is. I can just picture him never telling Zinzolin this too, leaving Zinzolin terrified around him and unsure if Ghetsis is about to do something drastic.

Ada shivered under all the attention that was fixed on her. She gulped, attempting to calm her nerves at least slightly, then said, “W-well… according to what I’ve gathered, Polaris is planning to send the Meteonite out on the Magnet Train today so it can be picked up part of the way there and carried to its destination. But the thing is, they’re going to try to draw our attention by sending a ship out in the opposite direction toward their Adenosine Base. I… I think they want to try tricking us into attacking the ship with all our forces, assuming that we’ll think the Meteonite is aboard.”

I feel for poor Ada, I'd imagine having to speak on such an important topic, especially to Giovanni, must be nerve-wracking for her. I appreciate that even while nervous, she's confident, though.

Rowena was sitting in the dark in her hotel room, working at her computer. She had her camera hooked up to it so she could edit the footage she had shot the previous day.

“Polaris’s cause… Team Rocket… how do they fit together?” After stopping briefly to sip at the coffee she had on her desk, she continued musing, “This is some great footage either way. Not every day you get to see two groups have it out like that. Secc is going to be…”

The sound of an alarm from her computer snapped Rowena to attention. Seeing a flashing icon in the corner of her toolbar, she selected it, opening a news window.

As soon as she saw what the window said, she kicked her chair out and sprang up. The noise startled Cinccino, who jumped up on the bed and watched as her owner rushed to the dresser and began fumbling with her clothes.

Rowena for best reporter.

Turning to the others, Olivia said, “You know we have to go get Monroe first, right?”

“So you do have a crush on him back, huh?” Nekou teased. When Olivia started turning red in embarrassment, she quickly said, “No, don’t worry, I’m just joking. Getting into the Pokémon Center from here won’t be simple, but I know a way we can use.”

Oh Nekou.

Matt laughed softly to himself. “I don’t know what kind of craziness I’ve gotten into with you, Nekou, but I have to say I’m kind of enjoying it.”

I think Matt being able to admit this is a pretty big deal for his development. He's gone from just tolerating her to enjoying her antics.

“I guess I ****ed my mission up,” Nekou thought. “I couldn’t prevent them from ending up right in the middle of this after all.. oh well, better make the best of it.”

Think positive, Nekou!

Matt started to raise his hand to get her attention, but the nurse saw him and swiftly stuck out her own hand to stop him.

“Be quiet and get in line!” she snapped. “I’ve got enough to deal with and I don’t see any bloody Pokémon on you!”

“Did she just swear at us or…?” Bunny uttered, dumbfounded.

“What a bedside manner,” Nekou added.

For some reason I read Nurse Joy's line in Peggy Carter's voice, just saying.

“I don’t understand you Chromosomes,” Colress said, chuckling. “Why are you always so eager to take orders from an Omanyte fossil?”

“You better watch yourself, Colress. Keep in mind I’m one of them too.”

“Oh, calm down, Mister Chromosome, I’m teasing you. When I get back to the base, I’ll have my team prepare a work station for you. Then you can put your mind to your tasks.”

PRAISE HELIX

Jessie, James and Meowth were sitting at a bank of computers in a dark area, while Ariana sat behind them. The monitors before them showed various maps and displays of the ship’s movement, as well as a window for a video feed to Zager’s lab.

“What’s your status?” he asked.

“Everything’s going just as we planned it, doc,” Meowth answered. “Got their boat on view right now.”

“And your weaponry?”

“It’s all in order,” Ariana replied, stretching her neck to lift her head over the others.

“Then you have my go-ahead. When an opportunity presents itself, proceed with our attack plans.”

Great to see Zager commanding a mission that's not strictly science.

“This is it,” Nekou said to Olivia and Monroe, who were following tightly behind her at the alley wall. She showed them her phone, on which she had a map of Goldenrod City displayed, then pointed to small building nearby. “See? Right there is how we get underground.”

“What are we waiting for, then?”

Olivia’s eagerness made Nekou smile. “Good question.”

After checking again that their path was clear, the three ran across the street and into the building. Inside there was nothing but a wide staircase leading downward.

“D-Down there?” Monroe shakily questioned. “That’s where we turn the power back on?”

“Yeah. There’s a power station we can reach by following the tunnels.” Brightening her expression slightly, Nekou then said, “Have some more confidence, kid. You came this far, so obviously you’ve got a spine.”

“Th-thanks…”

With nothing more to be said, the trio slowly descended the stairs, wary of whatever might be waiting in the bottom. They were greeted, however, by a tunnel that was almost entirely deserted. The sound of two male voices discussing haircuts could be heard further down the passage, but other than that, it was silent.

Nekou gestured for Olivia and Monroe to be quiet, then pulled them down a side corridor very near to the staircase.

“Down this way,” she whispered to them. “The other way is the shopping area. This way will take us right to the security door.”

“S-security door?” Monroe brought up the rear as the group slipped down the corridor. “Olivia, are we in trouble? This friend of yours…”

“We’ll be in worse trouble if we don’t do this!” Olivia hissed, though she quickly softened her voice. “I trust her. I’ve been through much worse than this and she helped me get through it. I bet Matt would say the same thing.”

“If you say so…”

At the end of the hallway, they found their progress impeded by a steel door, just as Nekou had suggested. Its handle was locked with a ten-digit keypad.

Without even batting an eye, Nekou typed in the combination and unlocked the door. She then looked to Olivia and Monroe, who were staring at her in surprise.

“Lucky guess,” she said with a shrug. “Now come on.”

Nekou leading Olivia and Monroe! I think this really drives home how much of a big sister/mentor/role model role she plays in Olivia's life, and also how much she really cares about her and her safety. I love how excited Olivia is to help Nekou with the operation, and how Nekou is also giving Monroe encouragement.

“Prepare for trouble, you messed with the best!” Jessie’s voice was projected at such a volume that it easily drowned out the sound of the waves.

“And make it double, we’ll spare you the rest!” James added, equally loudly.

“And here we go!”

Nice take on the motto.

“Wait!” Nekou abruptly stopped and raised her arm up to halt Olivia and Monroe, only for them to crash into it and then each other. She pointed just ahead, where the corridor turned sharply into another staircase. Lowering her voice dramatically, she said, “We gotta be careful. This could be a ****ing trap.”

The three straightened up their clothes and composed themselves before calmly walking the rest of the hallway, turning, and descending the staircase.

A shutter door greeted them, but there were two men posted guarding it.

“Who are you?” the shorter of the guards snapped. “Nobody’s supposed to be down here.”

“You three better identify yourselves right now.”

Olivia and Monroe tensed, but Nekou seemed not to be bothered at all. While she walked with an almost dance-like sway toward the taller of the guards, she breathily whispered, “Why, I’ll give you all the identification you could ever need, dear…” She licked her lips, then added, “I like tall guys like you.”

I love Nekou's reaction here and how she's totally playing this guy.

“That Pokémon, it’s…”

“A Honedge,” Monroe answered, recognizing Olivia’s question. “A Pokémon from Kalos…”

Chuckling to herself, Nekou took out two Poké Balls of her own and crossed her arms. “Oh man, you guys picked the wrong people to **** with. Olivia, Monroe, back me up here.”

I like how you're integrating Kalos Pokemon into the story, without it feeling clunky and unnatural. Also, Nekou's confidence is great here.

On Monroe’s command, a Pokémon whose pale, ethereal body emerged from a jack-o-lantern shot past Olivia and Nekou. An orb of darkness formed at his mouth, and he blocked the Psybeam with it by standing in front of Roselia. His stringy hair billowed around his head as the two attacks faded before him.

Great way to describe Gourgeist.

Their Pokémon defeated, the two guards fell to their knees. Nekou walked right up to them again and leaned down so she could look right into their eyes.

She smiled sweetly, then said, “Next time I tell you to get out of my way, don’t **** with me. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

"Don't **** with Nekou" is a really good thing to remember.

A shiver went down Olivia’s spine. “Some of these Pokémon are pretty scary. Good thing you’ve got one of your own to fight back, right?”

“I should say the same thing about that weird gas she just used.” Monroe briefly glanced to Nekou. “Don’t you wonder what’s up with that?”

“As far as I’m concerned, we’re doing what we have to. Honestly, that’s not even the most unusual thing I’ve seen her do.”

Olivia's response here is great.

Thorton scowled under his mask as he gripped the railing of his platform on the ship’s bridge.

“Something doesn’t add up…” he thought to himself. “Team Rocket fought Zinzolin so effectively, yet they tried to confront me right out in the open? Why take such a foolish tactic now?”

I'm not surprised someone like Thorton, who's constantly calculating stuff, would have that train of thought.

“Show yourself, intruder!” Thorton’s demand echoed through the engine room, but there was no reply. When he focused his hearing, he thought he noticed the sound of footsteps, so he added, “Or should I say, intruders…”

“There’s more than one, sir?”

Thorton briefly glanced back to his male follower. “If they’re the ones responsible for disabling the engines, I’ve got a bad feeling in my stomach we’ve all been had.”

A rumbling sound suddenly filled their ears, and large rocks fell from above, surrounding the group. Glowing purple thorns rained down as well, adding an additional ring of hazards.

“I knew it,” Thorton sighed. “If I ask what this is, you’ll just do it anyway, so get it over with already.”

From above the Polaris group’s heads, Ariana could be heard laughing. “Someone knows your game. I guess you better give the man what he wants!”

“Here we go!” Meowth yelled.

I'll be damned, Thorton was right.

“Prepare for trouble, you fell for our bluff!”

“And make it double, say when you’ve had enough!”

“To protect the world from devastation!”

“To unite all peoples within our nation!”

“To denounce the evils of truth and love!”

“To extend our reach to the stars above!”

“Jessie!”

“And I’m James!”

“Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!”

“Surrender now, or prepare to fight!”

Meowth jumped in between Jessie and James and finished, “Meowth, that’s right!”

Jessie, James and Meowth were posing dramatically together on top of one of the engines, with Swoobat and Cofagrigus alongside them. Ariana was there as well, standing with her hand on her hip and looking smugly down at Thorton along with her Arbok.

“That felt good,” James said.

“It’s good to be back,” Meowth agreed.

I grinned so hard.

“It was too easy to trick you fools,” James bragged, mocking Thorton further. “A simple decoy balloon and a couple well-placed bombs, and we’ve brought you to your knees.”

I like this plan a lot.

“You think we don’t know that already?” Jessie said. “No, we came here for what you do have aboard.”

“And we’re talking Pokémon, of course!” Meowth elaborated. “We know you eggheads are carrying a big stock of great Pokémon on this tub, and they’re precisely the kind of Pokémon we’re looking to put into the boss’s army! You know, Pokémon strong enough even for a Frontier Brain!”

Problem, Thorton?

Thorton flinched slightly, thinking that Team Rocket were about to unmask him, but they did not. Instead, Ariana stepped forward, hiding her face behind a fan she’d taken from her sleeve.

YES THE FAN

The sound of Thorton’s voice and the accompanying footsteps made Jessie, James and Ariana roll their eyes and look down at him as he rushed into the cargo bay with his two followers.

“Looks like your little shrimp is faster than we gave him credit for,” Jessie said, eliciting a chuckle from Ariana.

“You aren’t…” Thorton could barely speak because of how out of breath he was. “...taking… those Pokémon…”

“Such a big mouth for a short guy like you!” Ariana handed James a remote-like device, which generated a holographic screen when he turned it on. “Unfortunately for you, we’re one step ahead, just like always.”

I'm loving the Rocket sass here.

“Never trust a man to do a woman’s job,” Jessie huffed. She stormed over to James and Meowth and helped them heft the crate up, though she then left James to carry its entire weight on his shoulders.

I like Jessie.

Steadying herself by holding tightly to one of the balloon’s support poles, Ariana replied, “It doesn’t sound familiar. Let’s have a word with Giovanni later.”

I'm really worried about Ariana. I hope she's okay.

“Barely,” Jeunes answered. The illuminated Polaris logo on the door behind him cast a bright yet eerie glow around him. “But that doesn’t matter now,” he said, turning to the man in the trench coat. “Restrain them, what are you waiting for?”

I really like the imagery you used here.

The one Jeunes had thought was his aide was actually a gangly, bearded man with bad posture. Much to the shock of the three people looking at him, he was wearing a Team Rocket uniform. A Koffing floated in the air next to him, having been released by the Poké Ball.

“You have to be kidding me…” Jeunes growled, stumbling back into the door. “You all were supposed to be going after that ship!”

“Didn’t think we’d get wise to you, eh?” The Team Rocket agent chuckled and scratched his messy purple hair. Turning his eyes to Matt and Bunny, he said, “Name’s Petrel, master of disguise. Glad to finally meet you.”

Oh crap. I wasn't expecting him to show up. Awesome.

“Aw, I’m flattered you two are fighting over me!” Petrel laughed, seemingly unaware of what Bunny had actually said to him. However, as he sent his Koffing back into his Poké Ball, he casually said, “This little lovers’ quarrel gave him a chance to get away.”

I love Petrel's sense of humor.

“That computer… and the Mewtwo mask… I knew I recognized your voice! Take the mask off so we can do this face to face, Yung!”

Disregarding Matt’s correct guess of his identity, Yung looked to Petrel and began typing a command into his device. “Let’s give you an old familiar enemy, how about that?”

Yung is smart to not acknowledge Matt's comment.

“He hates you guys?” Matt said. “I guess that explains why he was working for Enigma Shadow five years ago…”

Nice reference to previous work here.

“Am I going too hard on you all?” Yung taunted the three, waving condescendingly with his free hand as he spoke. “Too bad! Team Rocket didn’t have the courage to see their Mewtwo project through to the end, so I finished it! You could only dream of having this power under your control!”

“So you took Polaris’s money and finished this system of yours?” Petrel put his hands on his hips and sighed. “Team Rocket abandoned that project and you go and do this… this is how you honor them? No wonder Giovanni thought you were insane.”

Something in what Petrel said struck a nerve in Yung, and he took a step back before screaming, “Mewtwo, Luster Purge!”

Mewtwo raised its arm toward Crobat. Its hand and much of its forearm congealed and transformed into the head and neck of a Latios, and it fired a wide purple energy beam at her using this new appendage. Instead of trying to counterattack, Crobat spun out of the way, recognizing how dangerous this was for her.

“So that’s what they say about me?” Something was different about the way Yung was speaking. His usual snide, smug demeanor was gone, and in its place, he seemed defensive and genuinely angry. “Giovanni says I’m insane? Thank you, I mean it… now I know what the last thing he’ll hear will be! I wonder what he’ll think to know that the one he labeled insane succeeded where he failed…”

While Matt struggled to get back up after being knocked down, Bunny turned to Petrel and asked, “Can you fill me in on what’s going on here?”

“When Team Rocket… when we created our Mewtwo, the experiment went sideways and all the scientists got blown away.” A look of sadness came onto Petrel’s face. “His mom and dad were two of them, and he’s never forgiven us.”

“Can you blame him?” Matt said, finally getting back on his feet.

“It was an accident!” Petrel countered. “Mewtwo was far more powerful than those poor researchers expected. We ordered up the most powerful Pokémon, we just didn’t know how it would end…”

“And you even failed at that!” Yung shouted. “I’ve finished my parents’ work. This Mewtwo standing before you is the most powerful Pokémon ever conceived. Using it, I’ll destroy Team Rocket! That’s why I joined Polaris, and I’ll get started with you.”

Yung's backstory is interesting and it explains why he feels the way he does toward TR.

Matt stared at the occupants of the car and blinked repeatedly, seemingly recognizing one of them. “Is that… no, it can’t be. That’s impossible, he wouldn’t be here. It doesn’t make sense.”

“I see you still have fans.” Pierce didn’t even bother to look up from his work as he addressed Trevor.

Haha.

Bunny didn’t have to ask why. She had seen the same thing he did - the increasing crack in the Meteonite taking shape around the grip of Pierce’s weapon’s claw. They both turned and ran toward the locomotive, but only made it as far as the end of the middle car before the Meteonite split into two pieces, causing a great blast of energy. Matt and Bunny were swept off their feet and thrown into the open hatch on the roof of the locomotive, which Yung had used earlier for his escape. Polaris’s chopper spun up into the air with the larger Meteonite piece still in its crane, while the capture disc sent out by Ada created a holographic container around the smaller piece so Team Rocket could take it.

Love this, it seems to be like a combination of the rings and the force field boxes used in BW.

Slowly taking two Poké Balls out of his bag, Matt quietly said, “You aren’t stuck on this train. You can escape.”

The true meaning of Matt’s suggestion didn’t become apparent to Bunny until he released Cordelia from her Poké Ball. She stepped away from the wall, barely maintaining her balance as her legs became weak.

“No, we’re not doing that…” She leaned forward and seized his shoulder. “Are you trying to kill yourself?”

That Bunny asked that made me feel like she actually expected that to be the case. :(

Matt dropped himself in the chair at the trains controls and rested his head on his hand.

“I’m useless…” he said out loud, thinking he was alone. “...just like always. What good am I?”

“Stop ****ing talking like that.” Matt hadn’t realized that Nekou could still hear him through the microphone. “Besides, I thought of something.”

“What?” Matt jumped slightly in the seat, having been surprised by hearing her voice. “What’s your idea?”

“You might be able to force your way into the train’s computer and shut it down. The software isn’t really that intricate, you’ll just have to get through all the errors. I can try to help you with it.”

This really makes me feel bad for Matt.

“Damn it!” Matt swore, slamming his fist down on the glitching keyboard. “Nekou, it’s too fried. I know you tried but I can’t crack this.”

“I was afraid of that…”

“So what now?!” Matt nearly pulled his glasses off, but caught himself and stopped. Instead, he put his trembling hands on the control console and forced his body up. “What do I do? I’m going to die, aren’t I?”

“You’re not going to ****ing die!” Nekou snapped. “Just let me think!”

The force of the train’s motion caught up with Matt, causing him to lose his balance and fall back into the chair. He stared at his sunken expression, reflected in the computer screen, and began trying to resign himself to his fate.

“So after everything that happened, this is how I go out…” he thought.

This too. He really needs to have more faith in himself.

“Nekou, it worked!” he exclaimed, relief flooding over his mind. “The power is dropping like a rock!”

“And now we wait.”

Matt suddenly felt like his heart had stopped. “For what?”

“To see if the power-down is enough to stop you from crashing.”

Clutching the strap of his bag, Matt thought, “Bunny, come on…”

There's always a catch, isn't there?

“Are your adventures always this crazy?” Monroe asked Olivia.

“I’ve seen some ****,” Olivia replied with a slight smile. “I don’t think I’d trade it away for anything, though. Not after all I’ve been through.”

I love that Olivia's at a point where she can respond this way.

Nekou and Bunny immediately ran to him, with the former taking his hand and the latter pushing away more chunks of wreckage to clear a path for him to be pulled free. Once enough was moved aside for his other hand to reach out, Nekou pulled him up. He looked ragged, with his coat torn in a number of places and cuts all over his face.

“You look like ****,” Nekou said, a warm smile coming onto her face.

“Feel like it too,” he admitted. “You guys… you all really came together to fix this…”

“Don’t sell yourself short.” Nekou suddenly grabbed Matt’s face and kissed him, leaving not only him but Bunny, Olivia and Monroe stunned. “You didn’t do so bad. Come on, let’s go get you cleaned up. I want to show you something.”

Matt stumbled when he tried to walk, so Nekou and Bunny supported him by letting him drape his arms over their shoulders. However, before they left, Bunny recalled Hethna and Cordelia to their Poké Balls and returned them to Matt.

This is just too cute.

“Very good. I’m impressed with your work. Overal…”

“Giovanni, sir, there’s something else.”

“Do not interrupt the boss while he is speaking,” Pierce sharply rebuked James.

“No, Pierce, I want to hear this. I have a feeling it will be important.”

I mentioned this before, but it's really important that you showed Giovanni asking James to continue even after interrupting and after Pierce called him out for it.

“I’ve heard from Ada and the others about your work. You did well in stopping Polaris from causing a catastrophe, but I warn you, Lalume, you must be careful. Involving others in Team Rocket’s mission is a dangerous risk.”

I like how he's giving her advice to keep her safe as well as TR.

“Aw, is that it?” Nekou teased. “I come to sit with you and that’s all I get?”

“Thanks for treating us to this…” Matt had his face buried in his drink and was mumbling, making it difficult for Nekou to hear him. “I just keep thinking about being back on that train.”

“You don’t have to.” Putting her hand on his leg, she continued, “I meant what I said before. You need to give yourself credit for your part in saving the city.”

“Credit for what?” he snapped before backing down. “Sorry. I just… after all of that, what was it for? Polaris is right about how divided this city is.”

“****, you really get out of it when you drink, don’t you? Look at me.” Matt didn’t turn his head fast enough, so Nekou grabbed his face and turned it herself. He found himself looking right into her blazing eyes. “Stop talking like that. You did the right thing today. Go ahead, look out there.”

Both of them turned their gazes to the sprawling city beneath them. “What about it?” he questioned.

“It’s true that there’s a lot of people struggling to get by out there,” Nekou wistfully said. “But you know what else is true? When I look out there, I see people who have hope that they can make things better. I believe that those people would rather get a better tomorrow for themselves, but Polaris wants them to just look for an easy way out. People can’t live like that, that’s why we have to keep trying to beat Polaris. Do you get it? When I look out there, I see an ugly yet beautiful city that needs to both protect and be protected. You know, kind of like you.”

“What?!” Matt exclaimed, spinning back around in his seat to face her again.

“Relax, I’m ****ing with you.”

“Good,” he said, going back to sulking into his drink. “That’s not true about me at all. I wouldn’t have cared if I got killed on that train…” Because he wasn’t looking at her, he couldn’t see how Nekou’s expression had quickly darkened. “It wouldn’t have mattered. Once I have the truth I’m looking for, there’s nothing left for me to live for anyway…”

Before Matt even realized what was going on, Nekou had stood and seized him by the collar. Using all her strength, she managed to lift him up singlehandedly.

“Stop ****ing talking like that…” she growled. Her bangs blocked her eyes from Matt’s sight, but as he looked down her arm at her, he had a perfect idea of what they looked like. “Stop it! Just stop it! Do you know what happens when you die? You go to sleep and never wake up and then you rot in the ****ing ground! So stop giving me this **** about how miserable you are when you have no ****ing clue what it feels like to be that alone!”

“A...alright…” Matt uttered in shock. “I’m… I’m sorry…”

“Good.” As abruptly as it came, Nekou’s wild lashing out abated. She let him go, nearly causing him to crumple to the floor, which he would have if he didn’t catch himself on the bar.

Nekou's words are harsh, but again, Matt needs to hear them. I think her rant about death also reveals something about her- she seems to have a very dark outlook towards it.

“I’ve been thinking about it a lot, and I talked to Bunny and Monroe about it, and…” Crossing her arms behind her back, she hesitated, then said, “I figured out what I want to do.”

Shaking off his malaise, Matt managed to regroup and stand up straight. “Is that so? What is it?”

Olivia stared into Matt’s eye with an intensity that caught him by surprise. “We’re going to keep fighting Polaris. I’m going to keep fighting Polaris. What I saw today, my dad would hate what they’re trying to do. My dad did everything he did to try and bring people together with Pokémon. Now that I know he’s not coming back, I’m going to do the same thing and stop Polaris from dividing them.”

While Matt hung back, considering what Olivia had said, Nekou walked up to her, leaned down and draped her arms over Olivia’s shoulders.

“I’m proud of you, Olivia. That’s a very grown up decision to make.”

I'm proud of Olivia too. The fact she's able to make a decision like that shows how much shs's grown since the story started.

“And there you have it, ladies and gentlemen.” Archer couldn’t help letting a hint of smugness slip into his voice. “By a vote of six to one, the motion put forth by Seventh Chromosome Athleta is approved. Is there any further business?”

“You listen here!” Ghetsis roared. “I will not stand for this meddling in the task given to me by…”

I feel like Ghetsis is only going to be made angrier and crazier by this...

In his laboratory, Zager took out an old bottle of wine and a glass from his cabinet. With Galvantula warily watching him, he slouched into a chair. After considering using the glass, he put it aside, opened the bottle and simply drank the wine right out of it.

“I know I was saving this, Galvantula,” he said sadly. “Now feels like as good a time as any, though. I fear what is going to happen next, and I’m the one with blood on his hands.” Lowering his eyes to an object on the table next to his chair, he continued, “I thought I was doing good and yet I have done so much bad… There is no going back for me. I have to keep doing what must be done to right what I did for Polaris… and to you. If we ever meet again I beg that you’ll forgive me.”

The object was an old, faded file folder packed full of papers. Its edges were frayed, but what was on it was still clear. It bore a large Polaris logo and the name ‘C. Langley’ stamped on it.


Oh no, poor Zager. It's not often we see him like this...


Overall, as I said at the beginning of the review, excellent work on this chapter. I have to say, the action on the train was definitely the standout part of the whole thing, and you did amazing work making it fast-paced and suspenseful. I'm really interested in seeing what the next chapter holds with all the questions raised in this one.
 
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Praxiteles

Friendly POKéMON.
6: You made it clear that some ****ery was going to happen in this chapter, but I never expected quite what ended up happening. I was 80% sure Polaris was going to try to pull some major-level plan and change things. They did change a lot, but possibly we're not quite that far along in the plot yet.

Quite a lot happened. If I'm not missing anything from canon, I'm guessing Renzo has some major hidden motivation related to his mother and that something Olivia did accidentally violated his feelings, so if like the mission he seems to be on is not of heroic importance like he makes it sound, possibly it has a lot of personal significance to him. It;s also clear that we will eventually sympathize with him, once his motivations get a bit clearer. Then N makes an appearance. I confess I'm not sure exactly with what logic these succeeding events interrupt each other, first Renzo, then N, and later the big Meteonite business, but it's probably enough that each of these characters are important and their journeys are being advanced.

The way Olivia uses the catchphrase "let's play" to bring in her pokemon really seems to push her childlike vulnerability through the tough girl motivations that she's gotten into so far; surely part of her toughness is motivated like you said by her missing father while partly it must be her natural response to challenges, but you can definitely see how, faced with impending defeat, she starts to get scared and anxious and lose confidence, which shows that she's definitely not on top of things. (Fear of the dangers of the world ==> feigning casual disattachment and aggressively treating things like a game.)

N actually seemed like a bit of a dork to me. He comes in all mysteriously and full of unexplained abilities, but as soon as he starts fighting for his beliefs, and like really angrily, Matt points out that he uses pokeballs too and he gets flustered, and I'm not sure if he's figured out exacrtly what kind of way he wants to train. Considering he has to show a lot more consideration than ordinary trainers.

I wonder if Angel Corporation will make an appearance again, and if, since it's Dante we're talking about selling the Meteonite to them, they had something in mind about how they were gonna use it. As it is, all... that happened. I should mention that I don't always have a handle on the tone of your fic, possibly because your narration is very businesslike and objective, and is very good at conveying only movie direction and the mechanical/logical details of what goes down. The way Team Rocket usually talks, and was going through that scene too, made it very unexpected and dissonant what happened to Meowth. Looking back on it, I think you very definitely shaped the scene around this. That TR was being put into an impossible situation had been set up ever since the beginning of their getting conscripted for their mission; then, when they got rooted out by Shadow, it clearly became one of those redemptive situations they have where things get serious. And then, when Meowth touched the meteonite, it suddenly escalated to a level way beyond the frame of the pokemon anime.

I don't know if Meowth is a great strategic advantage to Polaris, though it'll certainly make TR react, but since the Meteonite has been found, I'm guessing things will begin to progress on the Polaris research front (which seems to have to do with the creation/control of a super powerful pokemon).

7. There's a totally random aspect to Nekou too -- you can be crazy or restrintless, but still basically act in predictable ways in the service of whatever you really dig doing. But Nekou seems to have totally random poetic moments, or say something ridiculous, or particularly, act like a friend but in a very unexplainable, idiosyncratic way. you're unable to put her in a box just because she happens enjoys herself in scuh different ways.

Also, I see the possibility of trainer equality might actually be getting serious, we don't know if only Ghetsis and a few people he swayed believe in it or it is true, but there's no reason why some trainers won't be better off because of the way they had the privilege to start out. And it seems naive for Olivia to think that cooperation and support is the only way different kinds of trainers meet each other. That's probably for much later.

Beer must be at the bottom of the food pyramid, it has carbs.

“That small Meteonite is going to lead us to the large one that crashed here several weeks ago.

Ooh, I think all of the properties Dante listed are going to plot activate one by one now.

The school started idyllic and pleasant and then slowly escalated. I like the idea of Amanda. There should always be unacceptably talented trainers/silings hidden away in public schools or something not taking part in the heroics. I bet she could be part of the group (Matt's group) though if she really wanted to join. She literally handled a Zinzolin public school situation singlehandedly.

“So this is the Sprout Tower?” Olivia asked out loud. “It looks nice, but why bring me here exactly?”

Avril has chosen Olivia. This agrees with the scenario described in the dead sea scrolls.

Hmm... Tenganism is more than a cult, it's a cultural community. Clearly persecuted and displaced, too.

So many big things happening in these chapters, but I don't feel able to say anything until I completely understand the situation. I have a feeling Matt will try to hijack someone else's desire for truth, though. And that the Tenganist civilization probably has a lot more to offer to the world even after all the **** it's gone through.
 

The Great Butler

Hush, keep it down
"The Pursuit of the Truth"

Summary: As the various factions regroup after the battle of Goldenrod City and prepare for what will come, Matt begins his challenge of the Battle Cafe and finds himself against a surprising opponent.

Character List*:
*Presence on this list does not necessarily mean screen presence

Matt Chiaki
Nekou Langley
Olivia Mistbloom
Bunny Spruce
Monroe
Renzo Milos
Clair
Giovanni
Jessie
James
Meowth
Proton
Petrel
Ariana
Ada
Professor Rosalie
Trevor
Pierce
Jacob Alexison
Tenganist Prophet
Lyra
Nando
Dante Fantomos
Gabriella Bouchard
Lysandre
Ghetsis
Shadow Triad
Mareep trainer
Battle Cafe challengers


Pierce does make a good point concerning how Polaris will be able to figure out the connection. And yeah, that would make things way worst.

That's right. So of course you will see it happen. Without a doubt.

I’m certain this particular trip down memory lane will be one Jacob doesn’t want to revisit.

No doubt about it. He's certainly going to have a lot on his plate from this point on.

Have to say, he’s right on that. D:

Ghetsis is one who knows about using fear.

Of course Nekou would say that, heh. But yeah, looks like things will come in full force fairly soon.

The question you have to ask yourself is, why is she saying it? Does she just want to use them for Team Rocket's ends, or is she really enjoying working with them genuinely?

I admit Nurse Joy being stressed and then Bunny wondering if she swore to them made me chuckle. Not often you see Nurse Joy snap at you, lol.

I'm glad it worked. I felt the chapter would need a little bit of comic relief.

This amuses me very much. XD

So glad it wasn't too overblown. ^^;

I like this particular part quite a bit. Nekou smiling over Olivia’s eagerness is cute and it’s nice she tries to encourage Monroe to have more confidence.

Nekou can be surprisingly sis-tier when she wants to be. You'd be surprised.

It’s great that Bunny is taking the initiative.

Great that you like that! I really wanted her to be more active in this chapter.

Something tells me that particular blast off is a planned one/distraction.

Good thinking.

The battle between Nekou/Monroe/Olivia and the guards is nicely done. Yay for more Kalos Pokemon and also great Monroe was able to save Olivia’s Roselia. Haha awesome Marie had been hiding on Nekou’s back for a while.

That battle was a lot of fun to write, too.

Yeah, I’m right on the blast off being a distraction. Somehow, Ariana’s “Your Pokémon, we gratefully accept them in the name of our boss.” line is chilling.

Nice Jessie and Ariana are able to battle together pretty well. Am very interested over the Oberton deck and Oberton.

This part was fun to write, too. Having some competition really brings out the best in Team Rocket, I've found.

Petrel’s comment on Bunny and Matt fighting over him was pretty funny, lol.

That's the kind of guy Petrel is, after all.

So Yung makes a return and brings back his Mirage Mewtwo. Not surprising he updated it using a Kalos Pokemon’s ability . At least Team Rocket got some of the Meteonite, wee.

It's only natural that Yung would use his Mewtwo again in his big spotlight debut. It is a vital part of his story.

The few parts were pretty high adrenaline there. It’s a good thing Matt’s plan and Nekou’s help in stopping the train from crashing into Radio Tower worked.

I really liked how the struggle to fix the problem involved everyone. I think this chapter allowed everyone to get highlight moments. Do you agree?

Have to admit, the image of Bunny holding onto Sky and using a microphone yelling “Get away!” to the crowd is kinda funny even though the situation itself is serious, heh. And everyone’s reaction to Nekou kissing Matt is priceless. XD

Of course it's priceless. You know that's exacty the reaction Nekou wanted too.

Hm, again I’m quite intrigued about Oberon.

You will find out more about it soon.

During Nekou and Matt’s conversation, kinda agree with her that Matt should give himself credit in saving the city. Also good that Olivia decided to help out in going against Polaris.

I think Matt kind of has a point, to be fair. He did play probably the smallest role.

Also, I find this to be a big turning point for Olivia. I think it's where she finally begins putting herself back together.

A pretty chilling part, I have to say. D:

Among many other things, I'm sure.

I also admit to laughing when Ghetsis got out voted and threw a fit over that. He deserved that, though. :p

Ghetsis would do that, too. He doesn't work well with others.

So yeah, quite a few exciting things happened this chapter and I wasn’t disappointed. A very enjoyable chapter there, looking forward to what happens next!

Glad to hear you liked it!

6: You made it clear that some ****ery was going to happen in this chapter, but I never expected quite what ended up happening. I was 80% sure Polaris was going to try to pull some major-level plan and change things. They did change a lot, but possibly we're not quite that far along in the plot yet.

Correct. The big events are still being set up.

Quite a lot happened. If I'm not missing anything from canon, I'm guessing Renzo has some major hidden motivation related to his mother and that something Olivia did accidentally violated his feelings, so if like the mission he seems to be on is not of heroic importance like he makes it sound, possibly it has a lot of personal significance to him. It;s also clear that we will eventually sympathize with him, once his motivations get a bit clearer. Then N makes an appearance. I confess I'm not sure exactly with what logic these succeeding events interrupt each other, first Renzo, then N, and later the big Meteonite business, but it's probably enough that each of these characters are important and their journeys are being advanced.

Renzo is not a character from any existing Pokemon canon, I feel I should mention. That said, I think you have a good grasp on him, and will enjoy where he goes.

As for the chain of events, while I cannot truly call that chapter "filler" because everything that happened was important, it's not one where there was a fixed end goal. The intention very much was to simply have a series of events occur while heading to the next city.

The way Olivia uses the catchphrase "let's play" to bring in her pokemon really seems to push her childlike vulnerability through the tough girl motivations that she's gotten into so far; surely part of her toughness is motivated like you said by her missing father while partly it must be her natural response to challenges, but you can definitely see how, faced with impending defeat, she starts to get scared and anxious and lose confidence, which shows that she's definitely not on top of things. (Fear of the dangers of the world ==> feigning casual disattachment and aggressively treating things like a game.)

Very interesting analysis. I love getting feedback like this.

I think you have a very good grasp on Olivia's character. She wants to be strong, and outwardly, she is, but in many ways she's forcing herself to be strong so she doesn't have to confront her real fears. The childish side is both a product of her spoiled upbringing and another defense mechanism, as it allows her to continue living in the past where things weren't as hard for her.

N actually seemed like a bit of a dork to me. He comes in all mysteriously and full of unexplained abilities, but as soon as he starts fighting for his beliefs, and like really angrily, Matt points out that he uses pokeballs too and he gets flustered, and I'm not sure if he's figured out exacrtly what kind of way he wants to train. Considering he has to show a lot more consideration than ordinary trainers.

N is already a character full of conflict, but I think the way I'm planning on using him is going to put somewhat of a ... different spin on him. I'm not totally sure how he'll turn out yet, but I'm hopeful it'll work. This appearance is setting the seeds for later with him.

I wonder if Angel Corporation will make an appearance again, and if, since it's Dante we're talking about selling the Meteonite to them, they had something in mind about how they were gonna use it.

Yes, and yes.

As it is, all... that happened. I should mention that I don't always have a handle on the tone of your fic, possibly because your narration is very businesslike and objective, and is very good at conveying only movie direction and the mechanical/logical details of what goes down.

I'm honestly not quite sure how to interpret this comment. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? I could see it being either, possibly good because it leaves determining the tone and mood to the reader in many aspects.

The way Team Rocket usually talks, and was going through that scene too, made it very unexpected and dissonant what happened to Meowth. Looking back on it, I think you very definitely shaped the scene around this. That TR was being put into an impossible situation had been set up ever since the beginning of their getting conscripted for their mission; then, when they got rooted out by Shadow, it clearly became one of those redemptive situations they have where things get serious. And then, when Meowth touched the meteonite, it suddenly escalated to a level way beyond the frame of the pokemon anime.

Yes, once again, it's a very good analysis. This is just the beginning for Team Rocket, however (though I'm sure you guessed that) and their ongoing story is going to really kick into gear soon.

I don't know if Meowth is a great strategic advantage to Polaris, though it'll certainly make TR react, but since the Meteonite has been found, I'm guessing things will begin to progress on the Polaris research front (which seems to have to do with the creation/control of a super powerful pokemon).

He may not be a strategic advantage, but he's still a valuable sample. Though you're right, you know the others are going after him.

And yes, Polaris's research can now be stepped up, but their goals are a bit more complex than simply creating a strong Pokemon. You'll see.

7. There's a totally random aspect to Nekou too -- you can be crazy or restrintless, but still basically act in predictable ways in the service of whatever you really dig doing. But Nekou seems to have totally random poetic moments, or say something ridiculous, or particularly, act like a friend but in a very unexplainable, idiosyncratic way. you're unable to put her in a box just because she happens enjoys herself in scuh different ways.

That's an apt description of her in general, difficult to put in a box. But don't worry, actually - there's very good reasons behind why she is the way she is. Everything has a reason. I think when all of it becomes clear, you'll be able to look back and see where the hints were.

Also, I see the possibility of trainer equality might actually be getting serious, we don't know if only Ghetsis and a few people he swayed believe in it or it is true, but there's no reason why some trainers won't be better off because of the way they had the privilege to start out. And it seems naive for Olivia to think that cooperation and support is the only way different kinds of trainers meet each other. That's probably for much later.

As you will see a bit later, there is much more support for the cause than this chapter indicates. This is only the beginning.

Beer must be at the bottom of the food pyramid, it has carbs.

She wouldn't care. :p

Ooh, I think all of the properties Dante listed are going to plot activate one by one now.

Yes, they needed it for a very important purpose. That big one is something they need quite a lot, and the little one is their ticket to it.

The school started idyllic and pleasant and then slowly escalated. I like the idea of Amanda. There should always be unacceptably talented trainers/silings hidden away in public schools or something not taking part in the heroics. I bet she could be part of the group (Matt's group) though if she really wanted to join. She literally handled a Zinzolin public school situation singlehandedly.

I have to say, Amanda is really one of my favorite characters. Despite her blindness she is remarkably strong, and not only that, she's intelligent enough to be a very capable teacher of others. I admit she did exist already (in the fics before this one) in which she was still very, very strong, but I decided I wanted to see if a trainer with a disability could really fit into the ordinary life of someone in the Pokemon universe. I think she turned out quite well in that regard.

This hasn't been brought up yet, but I may as well mention it here: she is a member of the group in an indirect way. Matt has her take care of his extra Pokemon when he isn't carrying them on hand.

Avril has chosen Olivia. This agrees with the scenario described in the dead sea scrolls.

Oh, you have no idea.

Hmm... Tenganism is more than a cult, it's a cultural community. Clearly persecuted and displaced, too.

Oh, you have no idea.

You'll get a clearer picture going forward. They have a major part to play in what will unfold.

So many big things happening in these chapters, but I don't feel able to say anything until I completely understand the situation. I have a feeling Matt will try to hijack someone else's desire for truth, though. And that the Tenganist civilization probably has a lot more to offer to the world even after all the **** it's gone through.

Interesting thoughts there. You're right that the Tenganists will play a major role, and they are intimately tied to what is about to happen in ways you can never possibly guess. How Matt's story will play out ought to prove interesting to you, because he's in many ways caught up in the middle of everything that's clashing together. How will his goals actually stand up when that pressure starts to increase?

I'm glad you enjoyed things so far!
 
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Praxiteles

Friendly POKéMON.
We didn't talk anywhere else, so I'll just reply here real quick:

The intention very much was to simply have a series of events occur while heading to the next city.

I think there are anime episodes that go like that pretty naturally.

I'm honestly not quite sure how to interpret this comment. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? I could see it being either, possibly good because it leaves determining the tone and mood to the reader in many aspects.

In this case, I do feel that the complete absence of tone comes off as... I don't know, a little unreal? Or confusing? Tone also sets up the reader's expectations for what might happen and directs them a little as to how to feel, and I was a little confused throughout that section how to feel, even though ultimately the seriousness of the circumstances (Meowth getting captured) and the way Team Rocket reacted did make an impression on me. I dunno, I think I usually expect to have my hand held a bit more.

She wouldn't care. :p

Actually the bottom of the food pyramid is the food group you're supposed to have the most of. ; )

Oh, you have no idea.

Wha -- I was making a joke with the scenario thing!

You can always message me if you want to talk about specific things of course.
 

The Great Butler

Hush, keep it down
Alright, let's do this. This was a long chapter and with so many twists it took a while to really digest the events and think about them to do this review, but the length isn't a problem at all. In fact, I think it was great, because I went on a great ride reading this. I loved how much action almost every character got- seeing Olivia lend Nekou a hand, Rowena being awesome as always, and Matt and Bunny take on the train was great. You also did fantastic work on the Team Rocket scenes and once again gave them the action and screentime they so desperately deserve.

Thank you. That was really my intent with this chapter - to highlight every character with at least a fairly prominent role. Look forward to more of that soon.

Your description was also really-well handled, as always, and the dialogue worked very naturally. Also, I really think your battles shined in this chapter- they were suspenseful and well-paced.

Good to hear, thank you. I was very worried about the description, dialogue and battles due to how action-heavy the chapter is.

I really get the feeling from this scene that the Prophet is able to recognize what she's doing is more complex and that there are no easy answers to what she's doing, but she also stands by what she must do. I think it's great to have all the implications of the Tenganists' partnership with Team Rocket explored in this chapter.

Oh, definitely. She is the most aware of any of them about the costs and burdens of what they have to do, but she sees those things as a proverbial cross she has to bear.

This scene is another important discussion of all the risks and possible consequences with the partnership, but from Pierce's perspective. It's clear he cares about the Tenganists' efforts, but he's also concerned about the fate of TR as well, and shows his chain of thinking fairly well. It's a rare look at Pierce when he's not being super official and I really enjoy seeing him in these Tenganist scenes.

I don't envy him when it comes to mediating between the two groups, given that he is a Team Rocket member of Tenganist heritage. You really have two immovable forces at work here - neither side is going to easily compromise when it comes to what they believe they have to do, but to a degree, they both need each other too.

I love the way you work the history into your stories. It feels really natural and it makes me feel like I'm learning about something along with the other characters, so it immerses me in the story better. I like backstory when it reveals itself this way, it's great.

It's just an enjoyable way to find things out, isn't it? I love little dramatic moments of revelation like that.

Excellent way to describe a power outage. Something like that would be a concept I'd struggle to describe because of the process, but you make it work and I definitely learned from seeing it included in your story.

I honestly didn't find it that hard. I just based it on the way the power goes out in the city in the Genesect movie.

Yeah, if I was Zinzolin, I'd be terrified.



I love how sadistic Ghetsis' punishment is. I can just picture him never telling Zinzolin this too, leaving Zinzolin terrified around him and unsure if Ghetsis is about to do something drastic.

That's actually a good idea. Zinzolin already knows plenty about Ghetsis's fondness for using fear as a weapon, and never telling him would be the perfect way to make it effective.

I feel for poor Ada, I'd imagine having to speak on such an important topic, especially to Giovanni, must be nerve-wracking for her. I appreciate that even while nervous, she's confident, though.

That's the definition of her character, I think. She's shy and extremely anxious, but she has a strong capability underneath that.

Rowena for best reporter.

No argument there.

Oh Nekou.

Just another entry in her chain of sisterly antics with Olivia.

I think Matt being able to admit this is a pretty big deal for his development. He's gone from just tolerating her to enjoying her antics.

That's probably more major than you think.

Think positive, Nekou!

You have to realize just how serious this is for her. For all her craziness, she realizes how important her job is, and she's not going to approach it casually. She knows messing up will have a price.

For some reason I read Nurse Joy's line in Peggy Carter's voice, just saying.

Oh my God, that's perfect. I love it.

PRAISE HELIX

lol

Great to see Zager commanding a mission that's not strictly science.

Well, he is basically their commanding officer. Jessie, James and Meowth's, I mean.

Nekou leading Olivia and Monroe! I think this really drives home how much of a big sister/mentor/role model role she plays in Olivia's life, and also how much she really cares about her and her safety. I love how excited Olivia is to help Nekou with the operation, and how Nekou is also giving Monroe encouragement.

I loved writing their interactions in this chapter. This group of Nekou, Olivia and Monroe just plays so well off each other, I think.

Nice take on the motto.

Thanks.

I love Nekou's reaction here and how she's totally playing this guy.

That's what she does, after all.

I like how you're integrating Kalos Pokemon into the story, without it feeling clunky and unnatural. Also, Nekou's confidence is great here.

It works to have Polaris be using them for now, I think. And of course on Nekou.

Great way to describe Gourgeist.

Thank you.

"Don't **** with Nekou" is a really good thing to remember.

Yet people never learn it.

Olivia's response here is great.

It's true after all.

I'm not surprised someone like Thorton, who's constantly calculating stuff, would have that train of thought.

I'll be damned, Thorton was right.

Not only is he calculating in his work, though, he's both very practical and very pessimistic in his thinking. Someone like Yung may not have figured this out.

I grinned so hard.

But of course.

I like this plan a lot.

It just came together so perfectly, you know? Everyone would expect the balloon and an outright attack so it's an easy decoy tactic.

Problem, Thorton?

Oh he has quite a few problems right now.

YES THE FAN

Had to work it in.

I'm loving the Rocket sass here.

As you should.

I like Jessie.

That line just worked for her so much.

I'm really worried about Ariana. I hope she's okay.

No comment.

I really like the imagery you used here.

That door was one of the first design ideas I came up with for this setting.

Oh crap. I wasn't expecting him to show up. Awesome.

The hints were there. They did say Team Rocket had a man on the inside.

I love Petrel's sense of humor.

I know, right? He seems like a pretty cool guy, all things considered.

Yung is smart to not acknowledge Matt's comment.

Obviously, but that's not really the primary reason he ignored it. He ignored it out of pure arrogance.

Nice reference to previous work here.

It was quite necessary, so yeah.

Yung's backstory is interesting and it explains why he feels the way he does toward TR.

I hope I get an opportunity to explore it some more. It's been so long since I planned it...


I had a feeling you'd like dryly sarcastic Pierce.

Love this, it seems to be like a combination of the rings and the force field boxes used in BW.

Surprisingly, I actually wasn't thinking about either when I came up with it. I just thought of something that would work to carry the Meteonite.

That Bunny asked that made me feel like she actually expected that to be the case. :(

I think she actually did, in fact.

This really makes me feel bad for Matt.

This too. He really needs to have more faith in himself.

It's going to be a long time before that ever happens, but yeah, he does need self confidence. But then again, as the scene in the bar reveals, it does go deeper than that.

There's always a catch, isn't there?

It's one of my fics. Of course there's always a catch.

I love that Olivia's at a point where she can respond this way.

She's finally making some progress, and it's quite great.

This is just too cute.

They really are there for each other.

I mentioned this before, but it's really important that you showed Giovanni asking James to continue even after interrupting and after Pierce called him out for it.

I feel like having these interactions feature some conflict is better than having all of them be on the same page simply because they're all TR. If you think about it, the personalities of them all are so different that it has to work this way, I think.

I like how he's giving her advice to keep her safe as well as TR.

I think he cares about her (and all of them) a lot more than he might let on.

Nekou's words are harsh, but again, Matt needs to hear them. I think her rant about death also reveals something about her- she seems to have a very dark outlook towards it.

That's the thing, she wasn't planning on having that confrontation. All of that came out at the spur of the moment - which should tell you from how deep and dark a place inside of her it came from. You have no idea how dark her outlook is yet.

I'm proud of Olivia too. The fact she's able to make a decision like that shows how much shs's grown since the story started.

The thing is, she's not there yet. She's still got a lot of growing to do. But you know what? This is a huge step in the right direction. She actually has a path for herself now.

I feel like Ghetsis is only going to be made angrier and crazier by this...

There's a point where you can't fall any further into the depths of madness, you know?

He's going past that point.

Oh no, poor Zager. It's not often we see him like this...

Well, that is a very important scene.

Overall, as I said at the beginning of the review, excellent work on this chapter. I have to say, the action on the train was definitely the standout part of the whole thing, and you did amazing work making it fast-paced and suspenseful. I'm really interested in seeing what the next chapter holds with all the questions raised in this one.

Thank you! I'm very pleased that you liked it that much!

We didn't talk anywhere else, so I'll just reply here real quick:



I think there are anime episodes that go like that pretty naturally.

That's what I was going for.

In this case, I do feel that the complete absence of tone comes off as... I don't know, a little unreal? Or confusing? Tone also sets up the reader's expectations for what might happen and directs them a little as to how to feel, and I was a little confused throughout that section how to feel, even though ultimately the seriousness of the circumstances (Meowth getting captured) and the way Team Rocket reacted did make an impression on me. I dunno, I think I usually expect to have my hand held a bit more.

I understand, though I personally prefer to let the reader draw the tone they want to from it. There will be tone guidance in some places, yeah, but that's what I like to do.

Actually the bottom of the food pyramid is the food group you're supposed to have the most of. ; )

Whoops, it slipped my mind.

In that case, she is right on track with a good diet. :p

Wha -- I was making a joke with the scenario thing!

I was being sarcastic. To a degree. Or was I?
 
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diamondpearl876

Well-Known Member
However, before she could take more than a step toward the healer, another of her followers approached and thrust a phone into her hands.
I thought it really showed how dverse your fic was when it went from magical healing powers to having ordinary cell phones. Interesting.
“Make sure Anthea and Concordia continue to decipher the seal on Bell Tower’s true power. Make sure they give you everything. We need full understanding of the Tenganists’ witchcraft before we begin. If they give you any trouble, inform me immediately so I can give them some… persuasion.”
I don’t know why, but reading this part made me glad the games were pretty vague with Johto history so you can have fun with it haha.

“Polaris brought the Meteonite here, that’s my point. I think these protests are being stirred up to distract from them trying to move it to somewhere else.” Nekou turned abruptly and pointed at her friends. “You three, you’ve seen the ****ing chaos the small Meteonites cause. Imagine if Polaris took that big one for themselves. Once they get it out of Goldenrod City, it could end up anywhere. Who ****ing knows what they could do with power like that? It would be anarchy on an epic scale.”

“So what you’re saying is we have to stop them?” ventured Olivia.

Nekou smiled broadly. “Now that’s what I want to hear.”

It seems like they’ve accepted Nekou’s story and not questioned it too easily. Though I suppose that comes later?

“Y-yes, Jacob Alexison is currently missing, as is the International Police agent Looker.”
Damn, that’s incredibly unlucky for the team, lucky for Jacob and Looker. Then again, you’re the writer, any **** like that can happen. :~)

Matt laughed softly to himself. “I don’t know what kind of craziness I’ve gotten into with you, Nekou, but I have to say I’m kind of enjoying it.”
****, it’s been a while since I’ve read this, but I still love them.

“I don’t understand you Chromosomes,” Colress said, chuckling. “Why are you always so eager to take orders from an Omanyte fossil?”

A creative insult, that is.

“Yeah. There’s a power station we can reach by following the tunnels.” Brightening her expression slightly, Nekou then said, “Have some more confidence, kid. You came this far, so obviously you’ve got a spine.”

“Th-thanks…”

His shy little demeanor and the way you write his dialogue tells me otherwise, Nekou. ;)
“Pathetic,” he mumbled. “I guess that means we’re back to this going smoothly.”

My thoughts exactly.
Both Elgyem and Honedge advanced toward the group’s Pokémon, but Nekou’s Zorua jumped in front of them. She snickered, then used Snarl again, crippling the pair by exploiting their weakness to the Dark type. Roselia and Gourgeist then cut in and finished them off with Sludge Bomb and Shadow Ball respectively.
I know these guards aren’t particularly important in terms of battling sequences, but I would try to describe the attacks rather than just using the attack names themselves.

“Your friends, the Tenganists,” Jeunes revealed, slowly turning to face his enemies. “We know about you and how you’re tied to them, Matt. For that matter, Bunny, we’re also aware of your old mentor Jacob’s association with the Tenganists, and how that brings you and Matt together. Polaris knows every bit of it.”

“They aren’t terrorists,” Bunny argued. “What is this, a bombing? There is no reason in their modern history that would make me think they’d bomb a simple rail line. They’ve been a peaceful people for centuries.”

Love how Bunny doesn’t seem phased by the pseudo-threat at all.

As soon as the controller was broken, the two rods and the crystal generators all sparked and shorted out. Without the Mirage System to sustain its existence, Mewtwo suddenly went quiet, and its entire body evaporated into the air. Yung could only watch in silent shock as his weapon disappeared.

That seemed like it was almost too easy. Matt tried to get everyone to attack simultaneously because one pokémon wasn’t enough, and then a simple Milotic beat Mewtwo? Not sure I buy it.

“Is everything going to be okay?” Olivia demanded, her voice quivering.

Damn, she’s not even asking about Matt, she’s asking about everything. Everyone. When Olivia knows things are going down, it’s pretty serious.

“Don’t sell yourself short.” Nekou suddenly grabbed Matt’s face and kissed him, leaving not only him but Bunny, Olivia and Monroe stunned. “You didn’t do so bad. Come on, let’s go get you cleaned up. I want to show you something.”

YES I’M UP AT 3AM READING THIS FIC AND NOW I CAN GO TO BED HAPPY

Overall, wow. A very action-packed chapter. I’d like to go over every detail but like I said it’s 3am and I’m about to crash. I would just say try to work on battle descriptions more, but your dialogue and characterization skills are spot-on as usual. I also would have liked a little more suspense from the Matt/train situation, as I knew from the beginning he wouldn’t die, but overall I liked his aftermath reaction and Nekou trying to shake the depression out of him. Also would like someone to confront Nekou about the role she had to play in all that still.
 

The Great Butler

Hush, keep it down
I thought it really showed how dverse your fic was when it went from magical healing powers to having ordinary cell phones. Interesting.

It's a universe with a lot of different technology, after all. Not only do you have the ordinary phones, you have the hologram phone that Nekou has, the fully holographic computers used by Team Rocket and Colress, and so on.

I don’t know why, but reading this part made me glad the games were pretty vague with Johto history so you can have fun with it haha.

I probably would have taken liberties anyway, but yeah, it did help that there was enough opening to patch my own ideas into the existing story.

It seems like they’ve accepted Nekou’s story and not questioned it too easily. Though I suppose that comes later?

It's because the story sounds plausible enough to be believed under the urgent circumstances. If this was a calmer time, they might have thought it through more.

Damn, that’s incredibly unlucky for the team, lucky for Jacob and Looker. Then again, you’re the writer, any **** like that can happen. :~)

It was destined.

****, it’s been a while since I’ve read this, but I still love them.

They just keep pulling you back in with their bickering, don't they?

A creative insult, that is.

I had to use it. It just seemed way too good.

His shy little demeanor and the way you write his dialogue tells me otherwise, Nekou. ;)

You'd be surprised, actually. And in time, you will be. Very much.

My thoughts exactly.

But it was too obvious what they were really up to. :p

I know these guards aren’t particularly important in terms of battling sequences, but I would try to describe the attacks rather than just using the attack names themselves.

Since there are few ways to diversify how a specific single attack reads in text (or at least I struggle with it), I try to describe it in detail once in the story, then generally use the name while peppering in some smaller descriptors sometimes.

Love how Bunny doesn’t seem phased by the pseudo-threat at all.

She's too focused on what's actually going on to worry about a threat that he may just be saying for intimidation.

That seemed like it was almost too easy. Matt tried to get everyone to attack simultaneously because one pokémon wasn’t enough, and then a simple Milotic beat Mewtwo? Not sure I buy it.

Keep in mind that it used Mirror Coat. Mewtwo hit it with Zap Cannon, and Milotic used Mirror Coat to reflect all that power back at it but doubled.

Damn, she’s not even asking about Matt, she’s asking about everything. Everyone. When Olivia knows things are going down, it’s pretty serious.

She's a lot sharper than you might realize.

YES I’M UP AT 3AM READING THIS FIC AND NOW I CAN GO TO BED HAPPY

You are the third person to swallow the ship bait between the two of them. I must be doing something right.

Overall, wow. A very action-packed chapter. I’d like to go over every detail but like I said it’s 3am and I’m about to crash. I would just say try to work on battle descriptions more, but your dialogue and characterization skills are spot-on as usual. I also would have liked a little more suspense from the Matt/train situation, as I knew from the beginning he wouldn’t die, but overall I liked his aftermath reaction and Nekou trying to shake the depression out of him. Also would like someone to confront Nekou about the role she had to play in all that still.

Glad you liked it!

I'll be honest, I struggle with action sequences. I thought the battles in this chapter turned out okay, personally, though I admit I did struggle writing them because of how long this chapter got. The train sequence, on the other hand... that's something that's more of a visual event than one that can easily be captured in words. I'm not sure if it could be written perfectly as I pictured it at all.
 

Blue Saturday

Unfurl your Blessed Wings!
I'm lattttee, but let's get to it.

The group certainly did get roped into Nekou's mission, didn't they? A bit too easily if I do say so myself. I like how you incorporated them into it and introduced, my only issue is it just seemed a bit strange none of them questioned her behavior. Sure it made sense to sort of do this for the sake of good and all but at the same time it just seemed way too quick for all of them to jump in on things. Though it does make sense given their current situations they wouldn't have much open air to discuss the matter in-depth. I do like how Monroe seemed to show some hesitance at Nekou's ideals, is it possible he suspects something? It seemed like his character read that way this chapter. The action scene between all three was nice, your action is usually always great, but like someone mentioned earlier a little more description in some areas of this scene could go a longer way.

Something that immediately dragged me in this chapter is you really have a knack for writing Jessie, James and Meowth. You really do a good job balancing their characterization well, they were very showy with their motto as well as their actions.

“Prepare for trouble, you messed with the best!” Jessie’s voice was projected at such a volume that it easily drowned out the sound of the waves.

“And make it double, we’ll spare you the rest!” James added, equally loudly.
I actually thought this was a pretty amusing scene for example as well as the blastoff brought about by Thorton's Electivire. When they appear again they're equally as ostentatious without it being too much and still competent in their mannerisms at the same time. It's a really nice balance you've struck with them.

Jeunes' identity being Doctor Yung was amusing, the Polaris members slowly being revealed as Matt's Yandere-ex and Dr. Yung at least shows you're making nice usage of past characters. Though at the same time you might want to be careful, I love the additions of them but some might not fully understand just who Dr. Yung is for example without a pretty decent info dump. You did well presenting him here, but he was still a bit vague in some areas that I imagine could throw some new coming readers off who haven't seen the Mirage Special. I loved how how you presented Yung, every bit as faithful to his Mirage appearance though he seems to have decayed even further over the years to a more bitter person. Some nice subtle character development for those who remember him from the anime. Plus it's interesting he's got another mask, given his role as the Mirage Master before.

The team up between the Rocket agents as well as Matt was pretty fun to watch, I usually enjoy seeing antagonist, villains, anti-heroes, etc. work in unison like that. I liked the usage of Milotic's Mirror Coat to reflect back the attack to beat the artificial Mewtwo, I'm glad you did it realistically. A.K.A Milotic enduring and reflecting back an attack it shouldn't be able to withstand, Milotic was 100% fresh thus it was believable it could stand strong against Mewtwo's attack and send it back at double the power. The runaway train scene was so breath-taking in its immensity, I was captured and awed by the sense of chaos of it all. Matt really seemed to be at his limits. The ending scene between him and Nekou was very endearing. Though I also loved(and preferred) the interactions between Olivia and Monroe with how he was surprised by her "adventures" and just seeing Olivia interact more with someone her own age who is pleasant compared to her interactions with someone like Avril for example. I don't think that's something we really see from her, her talking with someone her own age without most of the conversing being pretty bloody. I also thought it was very cute how Olivia proclaimed she would make helping to stop Polaris one of her goals, very lovable stuff.

Nice little end scene, C. Langley? Nekou's relative, perhaps? You ended pretty strongly with that Rocket scene. Overall this was a great chapter in its writing, it's not my favorite but it was well written and I thoroughly am hyped for what's coming up next in Ecruteak.
 

The Great Butler

Hush, keep it down
I'm lattttee, but let's get to it.

Don't worry about it.

The group certainly did get roped into Nekou's mission, didn't they? A bit too easily if I do say so myself. I like how you incorporated them into it and introduced, my only issue is it just seemed a bit strange none of them questioned her behavior. Sure it made sense to sort of do this for the sake of good and all but at the same time it just seemed way too quick for all of them to jump in on things. Though it does make sense given their current situations they wouldn't have much open air to discuss the matter in-depth.

That's exactly it. They didn't have time to really ask questions.

I do like how Monroe seemed to show some hesitance at Nekou's ideals, is it possible he suspects something? It seemed like his character read that way this chapter.

He suspects something insofar as he recognizes that what Nekou does is completely different and unusual compared to his life. He's lived a pretty ordinary life so seeing what Olivia goes through arouses natural confusion and suspicion.

The action scene between all three was nice, your action is usually always great, but like someone mentioned earlier a little more description in some areas of this scene could go a longer way.

I'm a little confused which scene you're referring to here.

Something that immediately dragged me in this chapter is you really have a knack for writing Jessie, James and Meowth. You really do a good job balancing their characterization well, they were very showy with their motto as well as their actions.

I guess I got lucky when it comes to them. I just have a crystal-clear idea of how to write them that I guess is working.

I actually thought this was a pretty amusing scene for example as well as the blastoff brought about by Thorton's Electivire. When they appear again they're equally as ostentatious without it being too much and still competent in their mannerisms at the same time. It's a really nice balance you've struck with them.

Thanks. I also really enjoyed doing the decoy blastoff.

Jeunes' identity being Doctor Yung was amusing, the Polaris members slowly being revealed as Matt's Yandere-ex and Dr. Yung at least shows you're making nice usage of past characters. Though at the same time you might want to be careful, I love the additions of them but some might not fully understand just who Dr. Yung is for example without a pretty decent info dump. You did well presenting him here, but he was still a bit vague in some areas that I imagine could throw some new coming readers off who haven't seen the Mirage Special. I loved how how you presented Yung, every bit as faithful to his Mirage appearance though he seems to have decayed even further over the years to a more bitter person. Some nice subtle character development for those who remember him from the anime. Plus it's interesting he's got another mask, given his role as the Mirage Master before.

Hm. I thought I handled his proper introduction well, but I guess I slipped a little? There really wasn't much time to do a lot of explanation regarding his background and the full story of the Mirage Pokemon in that setting. In what ways do you think I could have been less vague?

I may go back and revisit his backstory a bit more later on, maybe as a Team Rocket file or some such.

The team up between the Rocket agents as well as Matt was pretty fun to watch, I usually enjoy seeing antagonist, villains, anti-heroes, etc. work in unison like that.

It is fun, isn't it? There's more where that came from in the future.

I liked the usage of Milotic's Mirror Coat to reflect back the attack to beat the artificial Mewtwo, I'm glad you did it realistically. A.K.A Milotic enduring and reflecting back an attack it shouldn't be able to withstand, Milotic was 100% fresh thus it was believable it could stand strong against Mewtwo's attack and send it back at double the power.

Believe it or not, it was just an idea that flashed into my head as I wrote. I didn't plan it out. I just suddenly got the idea to have Ada save them, and Milotic came as a natural conclusion after that.

The runaway train scene was so breath-taking in its immensity, I was captured and awed by the sense of chaos of it all. Matt really seemed to be at his limits.

I'm pleasantly surprised it seems to have worked out as well as it did. I had such a great and vivid visual in mind for the sequence but writing it proved extremely challenging.

The ending scene between him and Nekou was very endearing.

There's more coming next chapter.

Though I also loved(and preferred) the interactions between Olivia and Monroe with how he was surprised by her "adventures" and just seeing Olivia interact more with someone her own age who is pleasant compared to her interactions with someone like Avril for example. I don't think that's something we really see from her, her talking with someone her own age without most of the conversing being pretty bloody. I also thought it was very cute how Olivia proclaimed she would make helping to stop Polaris one of her goals, very lovable stuff.

I liked how much Olivia ended up getting to shine in this chapter. You're right, Monroe I think is becoming a very important character to her development because he is an actual peer to her that can provide her some stability the others cannot. The love interest angle is just icing on the cake.

As for her goal, it just fit so well, you know?

Nice little end scene, C. Langley? Nekou's relative, perhaps? You ended pretty strongly with that Rocket scene.

You'll have to wait and see.

Overall this was a great chapter in its writing, it's not my favorite but it was well written and I thoroughly am hyped for what's coming up next in Ecruteak.

I'm glad you enjoyed it. Ecruteak will come in a couple of chapters.
 

Blue Saturday

Unfurl your Blessed Wings!
He suspects something insofar as he recognizes that what Nekou does is completely different and unusual compared to his life. He's lived a pretty ordinary life so seeing what Olivia goes through arouses natural confusion and suspicion.
That actually does make a lot sense, I'm assuming he doesn't battle much or really get into action like this much and all and probably lived a relatively quiet life with Avril and the others before events like this happened. He never traveled either I'm assuming, though his natural bravery was highlighted pretty well. Given how shy he seemed around Olivia and others before I did kind of pin him as being a bit of a coward. Though it's just an interpretation from my POV, you did a nice job subverting my earlier thoughts of him.

I'm a little confused which scene you're referring to here.
The battle scene between Nekou, Olivia and Monroe. Sorry, I should have made that a bit clearer.
I guess I got lucky when it comes to them. I just have a crystal-clear idea of how to write them that I guess is working.



Thanks. I also really enjoyed doing the decoy blastoff.
I wouldn't call it luck, you seem to have a clear path you've established with how you want these characters to swagger with and I'd say you've been very successful. The likes of Nando, Team Rocket, Nikolai, Monroe, Olivia really all read well and stand well on their own for example. Your conversation with Nikolai chatting with Matt about him having taken his advice and using Charlotte more and Oshawott's improvement was something I could have seen the character realistically saying in real life.
Hm. I thought I handled his proper introduction well, but I guess I slipped a little? There really wasn't much time to do a lot of explanation regarding his background and the full story of the Mirage Pokemon in that setting. In what ways do you think I could have been less vague?
The exposition regarding Giovanni's past with Dr. Yung was something, though I guess I could chalk that up to impatience on my end given it's not something super necessary. Also his motive, iirc, before in the Mirage Special was his absolute distaste for "flawed" Pokemon and Mirage Pokemon being a way to eliminate those inherent flaws. I feel like his desire for perfection could have been pronounced a bit more.
I may go back and revisit his backstory a bit more later on, maybe as a Team Rocket file or some such.
It's not really super needed, I'm probably just being overly nit-picky.

I'm pleasantly surprised it seems to have worked out as well as it did. I had such a great and vivid visual in mind for the sequence but writing it proved extremely challenging.
Well you wrote it just as vividly as you imagined so I think that's why the scene had so much confidence and power in its aura and feel.
I liked how much Olivia ended up getting to shine in this chapter. You're right, Monroe I think is becoming a very important character to her development because he is an actual peer to her that can provide her some stability the others cannot. The love interest angle is just icing on the cake.
I like how he has a purpose, the love interest angle is amusing and works pretty well because the interactions between the two are actually interesting and natural. Not to mention it benefited both characters by allowing us to see more to them and see them work together.
As for her goal, it just fit so well, you know?
I'm not sure if goal is what I wanted to use, but it does seem like a smaller ambition she'll follow when the occasion rises.
You'll have to wait and see.
Looking forward to it.
 

The Great Butler

Hush, keep it down
That actually does make a lot sense, I'm assuming he doesn't battle much or really get into action like this much and all and probably lived a relatively quiet life with Avril and the others before events like this happened. He never traveled either I'm assuming, though his natural bravery was highlighted pretty well. Given how shy he seemed around Olivia and others before I did kind of pin him as being a bit of a coward. Though it's just an interpretation from my POV, you did a nice job subverting my earlier thoughts of him.

You're right, his life was pretty quiet all things considered, and this is his first journey. But there is more to him than you'd think, and I think you're starting to pick up on it.

The battle scene between Nekou, Olivia and Monroe. Sorry, I should have made that a bit clearer.

Oh. Well in that case, I had a little trouble keeping that battle on track. I'm not sure why, it was just tricky.

I wouldn't call it luck, you seem to have a clear path you've established with how you want these characters to swagger with and I'd say you've been very successful. The likes of Nando, Team Rocket, Nikolai, Monroe, Olivia really all read well and stand well on their own for example. Your conversation with Nikolai chatting with Matt about him having taken his advice and using Charlotte more and Oshawott's improvement was something I could have seen the character realistically saying in real life.

That's one of the best items of praise I could get, so thank you very much. I want the characters to come off exactly like that - distinguishable, holding their own voice in the narrative, vividly characterized in general. To know it's working at least to one person means a lot.

The exposition regarding Giovanni's past with Dr. Yung was something, though I guess I could chalk that up to impatience on my end given it's not something super necessary. Also his motive, iirc, before in the Mirage Special was his absolute distaste for "flawed" Pokemon and Mirage Pokemon being a way to eliminate those inherent flaws. I feel like his desire for perfection could have been pronounced a bit more.

That was one of his motives. The other was his obsession with revenge against the people he thought had wronged him, identified as the Pokemon Academy specifically. We know based on Mewtwo Returns that Team Rocket has a presence within there, so the progression feels natural. And given his vengeful nature, it's natural he would target another group who denied his research.

It's not really super needed, I'm probably just being overly nit-picky.

I think I'm going to have a flashback or two to cover it.


Well you wrote it just as vividly as you imagined so I think that's why the scene had so much confidence and power in its aura and feel.

Thank you. I did struggle with conveying my vision there but I guess it worked.

I like how he has a purpose, the love interest angle is amusing and works pretty well because the interactions between the two are actually interesting and natural. Not to mention it benefited both characters by allowing us to see more to them and see them work together.

Amusingly, I didn't actually have much of a plan for him when he debuted. But over time he developed into a more prominent figure as I came to use him more, and his role really came into its own by itself. I think he's a very good element now that he's developed into what he is.

I'm not sure if goal is what I wanted to use, but it does seem like a smaller ambition she'll follow when the occasion rises.

No, goal is accurate.

Looking forward to it.

You should be.
 
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