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Pokémon The Only Way

Chapter 20

yooloo33

Bug Catcher
Pronouns
He/Him
Chapter 20

I stepped out of my rental car and yawned. It was almost midnight in Sinnoh and the time change was really getting to me. I had no idea how this would go. Phoebe had insisted that I could bring Athena back from her state of mind and I hoped with all my heart that I could. But she could be too caught up in her anger or worse, she could be truly loyal to ALPL. I thought back to our encounter back at the KSO dead drop in Slateport city. Something about the way she had held herself during that whole conversation. It was as if she… regretted her actions. A person loyal to ALPL wouldn’t do that. Right? I shivered. Sinnoh was much further north than Honnen so the winter was much more prominent here. I pulled my hood over the beanie on my head. 2615 Sperrow Lane had turned out to be a large park in a suburb of Pastoria city. Oak trees rimmed walking trails and snow crusted dead grass across the whole park. I had stopped to buy some warmer clothes and a suitcase before boarding a direct flight from Mauville city to Hearthome city with my false identity. I checked into a hotel and slept. When I woke up, it was late afternoon. I had taken my rental car and driven to Pastoria. Now I have arrived. I tugged my hoodie down lower to hide my belt of pokeballs. They were concealed on the back part of the belt so they didn’t bulge out too obviously from my jacket. I wasn't afraid of being identified with pokeballs, it just felt a little but less confrontational to not have them visible. My trademark black bandana was tied to my left leg over black nylon jogging pants and I secured a black baseball cap low over my face. I took a deep breath to calm myself. Time to do this. If Athena couldn’t be convinced to help, I didn’t know what I was going to do. She had to be somewhere close to or in the park. I could feel my heartbeat in my chest. This was also personal for me. I had been… romantically involved and fallen in love with her. If I couldn’t convince her to help me, I didn’t know what I was going to do with myself. With that dubious thought, I started through the park.

All was quiet in the park. Nobody was around which made sense, it was 9:00 PM in the middle of winter. I ran past a playground and a tennis court. The darkness was only illuminated by the occasional small streetlight. I had to admit, it was peaceful. Snow started to lightly fall around me. Not the thick snow that obscures your vision but a gentile coating of small white crystals. Ahead of me, I saw three figures. Instantly on alert, I slowed my run to stay out of direct sight. The three men ahead of me did not look like the types to take a casual stroll through a park. One was a huge burly man with a wooden baseball bat and two pokeballs on his hip. The other two could have been carbon copies of each other. Decently built, probably a few inches shorter than I was, each with messy blond hair. I quietly tailed them through the park, careful to stay out of sight. These men were up to no good. They reached a grassy knoll. The knoll was right next to a small pond that was frozen over on the edges. Tall trees bordered the knoll, their boughs devoid of leaves. I moved closer. The three men climbed up the knoll. I looked towards the top of the hill and there she was. Standing on top of the knoll was Athena Nolland. She wore a black trench coat over dark blue skinny jeans. Her coat and black hair blew in the cold wind. Athena looked straight ahead at the horizon, unmoving as the three men approached. The two smaller men moved simultaneously and released an Electravire and Magmorter respectively. Still, Athena didn’t move. Slowly, carefully, I moved to behind a tree within earshot of the four people standing on top of the hill.
“Put your pokeballs down now. Slowly.” The large man ordered. Without saying anything, Athena complied. She didn't act surprised nor did she display any sort of emotion. She reached into her pocket and pulled out three pokeballs.
“Drop them over here.” the man said. Athena tossed the pokeballs towards them. They dropped into the wet grass. What was she up to? I prepared a pokeball, ready to charge and save Anthena. But something stopped me. I had known Athena well. She didn’t hand herself over because she was outmatched. She had a plan, one I shouldn't interrupt.
“The gray eyed goddess I presume?” The man asked smugly. Still, she said nothing. From my vantage point behind the tree, I couldn’t see her face.
"You've been giving us lots of trouble. We knew you would be here. You're gonna have to come with us and answer for your crimes against Sinnoh.” The man smirked. He was enjoying this.
“The thing is, it was never specified in what condition you had to be in. Just needed to be alive.” With that, he wound up his baseball bat. I was about to run forward and attack the three men when he swung. In an instant, Athena ducked under the swing. One of the smaller men tried to rush forward and subdue her but from a crouched position, Athena threw an elbow up at him that caught his jaw. The Magmorter shot a blast of flame out of the cannon on its arm. Athena rolled out of the way. She landed on her feet and kicked at something in the grass. In an instant, a large purple and blue dragon with three heads appeared in the snow just in time to block a blast of electricity from the Electivire. The dragon screamed out of all three of its mouths. It was an absolutely terrifying scream that sent shivers down my spine even though I wasn’t even the target. Athena swung her hand forward, pointing towards the two smaller trainers and the Hydregon sent a searing blast of flames at the Electravire’s trainer. It hissed through the snow, drying off the grass as it flew. The column of flame hit the man right in the chest before he had any time to react. The man screamed as his clothes caught fire and ran blindly towards the pond. The Magmorter sent another blast of fire at Athena but she dodged out of the way as Hydreigon screamed again and rushed towards the two other pokemon. There was nothing they could do as the three headed dragon was on them. The leftmost head bit into the Magmorter. As it did, the Magmorter started to jitter and vibrate like it was having a seizure. Then it fell over. This gave Hydreigon's full attention to Electravire. The center head bit right into Electrivire’s left shoulder and heaved the pokemon off the ground. Simultaneously, the two side heads blasted dark energy directly at the struggling pokemon. The Electrivire went limp in Hydreigon’s mouth and the dragon tossed it aside before turning to the paralyzed Magmorter. The Hydreigon flew forward. At the last moment, it turned and slashed the fire type pokemon with its razor sharp wings. Both of Magmorter’s arm cannons flopped to the ground. The fire type pokemon shrieked at the dismemberment of both of its arms before it felk to the ground, feinted. On the other side of the field, Athena ducked under another swing from the large man. And stepped aside from a punch from his henchmen. She flipped away in a back handspring and suddenly a knife was in her hand. Athena hurled it across her body. The knife spun horizontally and stabbed itself into the smaller man’s throat. He fell to the floor with a gurgling cough. The large man kept coming. He swung his bat at Athena again but she was just too quick. She nimbly dodged out of the way and grabbed his arm. Before the man could react, she kicked her knee upwards into his elbow. I heard a Crack! As his arm snapped. He dropped his bat. In an instant, Athena scooped the bat up and swung it viciously down on the man’s head. The bat shattered on impact and the large man fell. Athena stood still for a moment, catching her breath. As she walked up to the top of the knoll, she passed the man who had been hit by her throwing knife. The man reached a bloody hand up to her.
“....please.”
Athena looked down at the man. Then, without a word. She mercilessly sent a kick right into his face. The man’s neck broke with a crunch.
Athena slowly continued up the hill back to the top of the knoll where she had dropped her pokeballs. Her expression was grim. I knew exactly what she was thinking: another job done but at what cost? This was the best chance I was going to get. I stepped out from behind the tree and walked across the open grass towards her.
“Athena.” I said. Instantly, she whipped around and pointed. Her Hydreigon fired a blast of dark energy at me. I dove out of the way, sliding on the slick, dead grass.
“Athena! It’s me!” I yelled desperately. She heard me, didn’t seem to care and pointed again. The Hydreigon blasted the ground. I managed to roll away. I reached for my pokeballs, drawing out Clair.
“Stop the Hydreigon. Don't hurt Athena" I muttered before throwing the ball. The Hydreigon was charging up another blast when Clair burst from her ball. The dragon stopped charging its attack and tried to lunge for Clair. She parried one of its mouths with her large arms and ducked under another one. The third tried to bite at her only to be punched right in the snout by her other hand. Surprised, the Hydreigon retreated back towards Athena. Clair slowly advanced on it.
“Athena. It’s me, Andrew. I need your help!” I said again.
“I don’t know if you can be trusted.” Athena spoke for the first time. Her voice was full of hurt. She said the same words that I had said to her right before I escaped her and ALPL. I flinched. Athena held her hand up. A signal to the Hydreigon. It stopped retreating and waited for her command.
“Athena. Please. You need to trust me. ALPL is rotten to the core and Alola is planning something!”
“After what you did, how can I trust you?” Her voice conveyed all the pain she had felt since my escape. This was the Athena that Phoebe had told me about, the emotionless killer who cared about nothing and no one.
“Because Phoebe did.” I reached into my pocket and pulled out the pokeball with Weavile in it.
“This is Phoebe’s Weavile. She wanted you to take care of him.”
“Wanted? Where is she?”
“Athena. Phoebe is dead. Killed by the same people you are working for right now.” A tear escaped my eye.
“WHAT?”
“She died in my arms..” I looked down at the ground, “She died uncovering a plot. A plot I need you to help me stop.” Athena took a breath. Then she screamed:
“LIER! YOU KILLED HER!" The Hydreigon rushed forward. Clair met it right in the middle of the grassy knoll. She swung a punch right at the middle of its mouth. The dragon vaporized into a ball of light and returned to Athena’s pokeball. A new pokemon emerged from a pokeball she held out in front of her. I heard the hum of electricity. A thunderbolt cracked down from the sky and smashed right into Clair. She returned to her ball on my belt. Instantly, I threw another pokeball out. Rico sprang out. A ball of electricity caught him right in the stomach, knocking him back. I sent a nonverbal command to him. Gengar recovered from the shock and charged forward but then Athena reached for another pokeball. In response, I did the same. Rico jumped up into the air, a wave of purple poison appeared below him, running out from inside him. Rico balanced atop the wave of poison, controlling the dark purple fluid, consolidating more and more of it until it started to cascade towards Athena and her Vikavolt. Athena’s new pokeball opened and her Gardevoir emerged. The pokemon had just enough to conjure a blue shield around herself and her trainer before the sludge wave crashed into them. The Vikavolt took the full brunt of the attack, poising washing over the giant stag beetle. My pokeball opened and Lucio sprang out. Athena’s Vikavolt recovered from the attack and snapped at Rico with its giant mandibles. The enormous pincers went right through Rico's ghostly form without hurting him. Lucio charged into battle. Athena’s Gardevoir raised her arms and a large green screen appeared in front of her and her pokemon. Rico, who was about to launch an attack at the Vikavolt, crashed into the screen and fell backwards. Athena’s Vikavolt took that opportunity to lunge forward and bite Rico. I sent one last nonverbal command to Rico, hoping he had received it. He passed out from the damage. I just had to hope that he had gotten my command. The Vikavolt levitated back off the ground and zipped towards Lucio when all of a sudden it stopped in mid air. It let out a shrill cry and fell to the ground. Rico had managed to get the destiny bond off in time. Lucio and Athena’s Gardevoir fought right in between us. Gardevoir sent a blast of psychic energy at Lucio. He blocked it off the tip of his spike and countered by trying to slash her with one of his claws. She dodged out of the way. Lucio backed up, facing off against Athena’s ace pokemon. He squeaked at the Gardevoir. The Gardevoir hummed a response. Lucio nodded his head. Gardevoir hummed again. Lucio barked in response. I looked across the field at Athena. She seemed just as confused as I was. Why were our pokemon conversing? Just as I commanded Lucio forward and to attack, Gardevoir rushed forward. But instead of attacking each other, the two pokemon ran past each other. Gardevoir shot towards me. Caught completely off guard, I tried to back up only to have my foot catch on a tree root. I fell, knocking my head painfully against the ground. The Gardevoir in a black dress loomed over me. I waited for the end. Athena had defeated me. I had tried my best but I had failed, Lucio had betrayed me. There was no way right? Instead of blasting a devastating psychic attack that would implode my brain or give me a powerful enough electric shock to stop my heart, Gardevoir focused her energy, channeling her psychic power. Then she reached out and touched one finger to my chest.
 
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Chapter 21

yooloo33

Bug Catcher
Pronouns
He/Him
Chapter 21

I was no longer in the snowy park in Sinnoh, I sat at a desk. The only light in the room came from a LCD computer screen. I didn’t recognize this place. I was scrolling through a file on a Kantonian agent. Over the past few weeks, I had been going through this file over and over until I had it memorized. He was an agent for KSO moving intel throughout Unova and Galar to other people who would bring it back to KSO. Our surveillance on him had been spotty. He was good. He sported three pokemon. We only knew the identity of one: his Lucario. Before he had been working on his intel assignment, there was no record of him existing. Not even a facial ID pulled anything. This man was a blank slate but somehow, I felt like I knew him. Maybe it was because I had done similar assignments before. There were a few reports about his decisions in a pinch. What he had done when he came across a mugger or was questioned by the police. He was good. He had managed to make a very convincing cover for himself in Galar. It would take a different approach than head on attack to bring him in.

The scene flashed forward. I was somewhere else. The sun was setting over the top of run down buildings. I was standing over a guy about my age. He was on the taller side with neatly cut brown hair and dark brown eyes. The man sighed, finally declaring his name:
“Andrew Ross.” I unclipped a poketch from my belt and typed a response to ALPL. I had succeeded in securing the intel and the Kantonian agent. Time to get him to Phoebe at the extraction point. The battle which we had was sure to bring the cops. I had to hurry.
“We need you. You're coming with me.” I told him. He looked up at me confused. The poor guy had been ready to die.
“What? Who’s we? You just were about to kill me.” He said. I sighed. I still needed to play a role. The role that had kept him off guard: The overconfident, sexy superspy.
“Yes I was. If someone’s not trying to kill you in this business, you're doing something wrong. We need to move before the police arrive here.”
Given no other option, he extended his hand and I hauled him to his feet.

The scene skipped forward again. I was standing close to Andrew Ross in a boarded up doorway. Really close. A car was approaching our location.
“Not our ride?” He asked. He couldn’t have been further from the truth. In that car were at least six nasty Unovan elements. In a lineup, I could probably name five of them and I probably had fought at least three.
“They’re coming this way. Kiss me.” I had to hope that he wasn’t a total dumbass. Fortunately for one reason or another, he complied. He was a really good kisser. Even though he had apparently been on an assignment for 11 months running. I could feel his warm lips on mine, him pulling me closer… The car passed us, fortunately not recognizing me and we broke apart. I felt my cheeks warm up. Slightly embarrassed, I looked away from him as we both continued down the street.

I stood in the middle of a smoldering intersection. Water was draining out of the gutters and smoldering hot boulders were scattered throughout the crossroads. One of my high heels’ heels had broken off in the battle that had erupted here. I limped my way over to where the concentration of boulders was denser. There lay the limp body of the man I had been trying to rescue. Fortunately he was breathing but he wasn’t doing very well. I picked my way through the rocks, careful not to touch any of them and knelt down beside him. Rose, my Gardevoir made her way towards me. She looked beat up as well. Her dress was smoldering and she was bruised all over her arms and shoulders. Rose hummed at me, pointing at the open slash on my left arm.
“I’ll be fine.” I told her. In truth, it hurt really bad. Rose and I both knew so but neither of us voiced it.
“Our big worry right now is getting him somewhere safe.” I pointed at the man who was laying on the ground. Rose nodded understandingly. Just then, I spotted a black piece of cloth burning under one of the superheated rocks. Without thinking, I grabbed it and yanked it out from under the rock, gasping in pain from the heat. It was the backpack Andrew had been wearing. I wrapped part of my dress around my hand and managed to open what was left of the bag and dump out the contents. There was almost nothing left. Scraps of burnt paper and ash fell from the bag. I looked down at the paper. There was no way I could find what this intel had been. I sank to my knees. I had failed. The intel that was so important and worth risking my life for was gone. Dennis had succeeded despite me winning against him.
Rose hummed at me again. She was right. I couldn’t worry about that right now. I needed to get out of here before Dennis came back with his shadowy friend. I was relieved that enough time had passed that he didn’t recognize me. I still recognized him though. I would always recignize that sung bastard… Fortunately my Poketch survived the battle. I unclipped it from my belt and hailed Phoebe.
“You're late.” Phoebe’s sharp voice broke over the device.
“We’re blown is what we are. Had to beat back some Unovan agents. The intel is destroyed. We're good now but the other is knocked out. There’s no way we’re going to make it to extraction.” Even to me, my voice sounded tired and defeated.
There was a long pause. Then Phoebe spoke again.
“Command wants you to leave him behind. Get your ass over here. You're more important to them than this agent. Come meet me at the extraction spot.”
I looked down at the face of Andrew Ross and hesitated hard. He was a good agent and at his core, he was a genuine person. If I left him here, he was certainly going to die. I couldn’t let that happen, it would be yet another skeleton in my closet, another thing I would never forget I had done. I made a choice. I raised the Poketch to my mouth.
“No. You get yourself out. I’m going to bring the target. I’ll use the safehouse in Pinwheel.”
Phoebe spoke again.
“So you're gonna be like this.” She said, as condescending as ever.
“Yup.”
“Have it your way Nolland. Sharp isn’t going to love it.”
“Well he’s in the safety of HQ, not out here. Also I can always talk him down.”
“Okay then.”
“Good luck Manuelle.”
“Yeah. You too Nolland.” The connection cut. I looked back down at the scraps of intel that I was supposed to retrieve. The night breeze blew one of the scraps over. There was only one word I could make out on the piece of paper: Necrozma.

I was standing in a living room. The room was all dark except for the firelight in the fireplace.
“This.” I said in a cold tone, sending a nonverbal command to Cindy, my Ninetales. One by one, she illuminated all nine of her tails, bathing Andrew’s face in a crimson light. Andrew shot to his feet, arms ready to fight or flee. Cindy slowly walked from the outer room until she was standing right behind me. She glared at Andrew like he was her next meal. But suddenly, his expression changed. It was slight and quite difficult to see in the darkness.
“So you're going to incinerate the guy who you have gone to great lengths to save. Smart on your organization’s part. Athena I need some sort of information on you or on your organization otherwise I’m gonna go grab my pokemon and walk out that door. You can incinerate me with your Ninetales but one way or another I’m not going forward with this whilst in the dark anymore.” He called my bluff. Once again, I underestimated this man. His looks and the way he carried himself wouldn’t say it but he was very skilled at what he did. Now he'd backed me into a corner. I was left with no other option. After disobeying orders, I had to at least bring him back as a consolation for losing the intel. I sank back down to the chair I had been sitting in.
“My name is Athena Nolland. I grew up in the Alola region. My family moved to Kalos when I was 13. My family was quite wealthy and their ideological similarities with the UR made them very popular. My dad got into politics and was very successful. They shipped me off to a boarding school."
I paused. I had to pick through the information so I gave enough but didn't tell him my whole story. That could compromise me and wreck my career in espionage.
"One thing led to another and I was kicked out right before I turned 18. After that, my life collapsed in on itself. I eventually ran away from home. I lived on the run for a while. I got in a bit of trouble with the law which is when the people who I work for now stepped in. They saved me and recruited me to work for them. I've been working for them for 5 years now."
I looked at him. It was hard to tell what he was thinking. Fianaly, he said:
“I’m sorry for what you’ve had to endure. Thank you for telling me.” That answer caught me off guard. When I told people my depressing life story, this reaction was not what I usually got.
I heard myself saying:
“Don’t be sorry. I’ve come to terms with my life as it is now. I’m going to sleep. Ninetales stand down.” I was really tired. Maybe it was shoddy practice, announcing when I was vulnerable to be killed in my sleep but somehow I felt an unspoken agreement with him. We were in the middle of enemy territory, being chased by Unova’s best. If we wanted to get out of here alive, we would have to work together.

I was in a dark room. There was a cracked mirror over a grubby sink. Next to that was an empty paper towel dispenser and past that was a gross metal toilet. I paced back and forth, trying to steady my breathing. I walked over to the bathroom door and shoved at it. The door didn’t budge. I started to panic again. For all my skills and talents, for all my prowess as a trainer, I couldn't overcome my claustrophobia. I felt pathetic at being so powerful yet not being able to cope with enclosed spaces but I couldn’t help it. It didn’t help that I couldn't see. The lights had gone out and when I tried to get out of the bathroom, the door was blocked. I had heard voices outside the door. One, the unmistakable voice of Andrew Ross. The other a man, who had a deeper voice. Had Andrew’s KSO buddies come and saved him? There was no way. KSO would never launch such a risky operation for just one agent. Even if he had gotten word to them somehow over the past two days, Kanto would never risk a war with UR even if that intel was the location of every spy planted in the KRA. Was I running out of oxygen? I felt like I was getting light headed. How much time had passed? Has the room shrunk since I’ve been in here? Just as I was about to drop into a full blown panic attack, I heard a voice from outside the bathroom.
“Athena? Athena I’m out here.” It was him. Time to act confident again.
“Andrew.”
“The door’s blocked off with boulders that are wired with explosives. Gimme a few.” I waited. It felt like an eternity, but finally the door creaked open. Standing in the sunlight was Andrew. He looked like he had been blown through a sandstorm. His arms, face and hair were covered in sand and dirt. He was holding his trenchcoat over his arm and wore a simple t-shirt underneath. Still he looked great. He wore a smile on his face. A pair of sunglasses was resting on his head and he had a black bandana tied around his neck.
Confidence Athena. I thought to myself.
“What the hell happened?” I pushed the door fully open and walked out into the bright sunlight.
“I was in the bathroom and I heard voices outside. When I tried to open the door it didn’t budge. What’s that all about? Why are you covered in dust and sand?”
“Do you know of Clay? The gym leader in Driftveil city?” He spoke very casually.
“Well he was here.”
“What?” I was unable to contain my surprise.
“Yeah. I fought him in a pokemon battle. It was just a three on three match but I won.”
“You beat a gym leader? Even in a three on three that’s impressive.” I had seriously underestimated Andrew. Again. Gym leaders were among the best pokemon trainers in the region. The one time I had fought a gym leader, or rather a trial captain…. I suppressed a shudder at the experience.

The scenes started to fly by faster. I was in Mr. Sharp’s office.
“You shouldn't have done that, Athena.” He said.
“I know. We need him for the Kalos facility though, right?”
“Yes. It shouldn’t have been at the risk of your life. If you weren’t one of my top agents, I would have you at least demoted if not fired.” His tone held barely suppressed anger.
I bowed my head.
“I’m sorry sir. It won’t happen again.”

“You need to stay here Athena. If something has happened to the team, we’re gonna have to make a quick exit lest we get captured or killed.” Corey was adamant that we stuck to the plan.
“But if they’re captured, maybe I can get them out or save them.”
“Come on Athena! Be reasonable. We need to cut our losses.”
“Corey. There is nothing you can say or do to stop me.” I determinedly opened the van door and stepped out onto the asphalt. Corey paused. Then he sighed.
“Very well Athena. Good luck. Hopefully you can get them. If not, get back here stat.”
“Thank you Corey. Keep the car warm.” I winked at him, an expression that always made him melt. Then, I strode across the street into the forest. Once I reached the tree line, I took off running.

After that, the scenes sped up even further. I saw the months of operations that I had undertaken with Athena, Koa, Phoebe, Dalra and Corey. Then I saw myself in the cafeteria scribbling something down on a napkin. Athena had noticed the expression on my face and instantly picked up on something suspicious. She had laid in her room while I was up in the financial division, unraveling the conspiracy. At that point, she had put the pieces together though she really didn’t want to. Athena had fallen in love with me just as much as I had her and didn’t want to believe that I had turned against ALPL. She felt totally betrayed but when Sharp had told her to wake up and chase an escapee, she followed orders, following behind the trail of chaos I had left in my wake until I had reached the KSO dead drop. The memory of our confrontation wasn’t one of Athena’s. It was the point of view standing right next to her, her Ninetales’ memory of events.
“I knew it! I FUCKING KNEW IT. IT WAS ALL A LIE!” I heard my voice scream out. Then Athena and her pokemon were blown aside as I dashed for the car. After the car peeled out of the garage, Athena sank to her knees. Ninetales approached her. Athena buried her face in her hands and started to cry. It was such a strange experience to see Athena cry. She was usually so put together and calm. Yet here she was. Athena reached for her pokeballs and brought out Rose, her Gardevoir. My perspective shifted to Gardevoir's point of view. Athena looked up at her ace pokemon.
“You know what to do, suppress the memory.”
Rose hummed something, expressing concern.
“Just do it!” Athena ordered. Gardevoir reached out an arm towards Athena who had gone back to crying. A psychic connection materialized between. I could feel Athena’s thoughts. She had thought that I had been the one. She had dared to hope that she could be emotionally attached but now I was gone, leaving her to pick up the pieces. As the minutes crawled by, slowly the sadness started to fade out of Athena. It was replaced with something she had repressed for a long time. She had buried it when she had run away from home and tried to start a new life. It was a stone cold knot of anger. Athena stood up. Her eyes were as hard as diamonds. A group of five ALPL agents turned the corner and ran into the garage, pokeballs at the ready.
“Where is he?” The woman in front asked. It was the same woman I had fought outside the Slateport Spice Market. Athena spoke. Her voice was as cold as ice.
“Andrew Ross is gone. Escaped cleanly from right here. He ambushed me as I came into this garage and escaped in a car.” She neglected to mention that she had me on the ropes before getting careless, letting emotion get in the way.

The scenes shifted forward. This time they moved so fast that I could only make out short bits in it before it moved on. Still pictures of what Athena’s life was like after I escaped. Accompanied with these memories was that emotion I had felt grow inside of Athena. The stone cold anger that she had repressed for so long. The anger grew. I saw her battling a female trainer in a warehouse. Athena pointed and her Gardevoir sent a psychic blast at the enemy trainer. The trainer took the full brunt of the blast. She fell over, dead on the spot. The anger grew. I saw her fighting another trainer and his Hydreigon. Athena’s Vikavolt sent a volley of pin missiles at the trainer and his pokemon. He went down, one missile stabbed through his heart. Instead of continuing to fight, the Hydreigon respected Athena’s brutality and joined her and her team. Athena trained with Koa in the boxing ring at the ALPL building. Koa swung a gloved fist at her. She ducked and kicked out with her leg, tripping up Koa. He fell on his back and Athena planted her foot on his chest. Everyone there was shocked at what happened. Athena felt no joy at what she had just accomplished even though she had beaten the best hand to hand combatant in ALPL. I saw many more scenes like this one until they got so fast that I couldn’t make them out. I only felt the fury which had taken over Athena. Then there was nothing. Just blackness. Then I heard a voice. It was like someone had put words into my head but it wasn’t like the shadowy man who I had fought inside the ALPL building. The words weren’t forced into my mind. They asked permission to be admitted and then spoke. These words had a tone. A voice. They were soft, gentle, calming.
I had to compile the last memories from my other team members. Athena has repressed them so far that even I can't access them. She was destroyed when you left. I have been synchronized emotionally with Athena since she was 14 and I was still a Kirlia. We’ve done amazing things and horrible things her and I... but the only time she felt as strongly as she does right now is when she fought Dennis Andersson. For the first time. She didn’t say the name Dennis Andersson directly, instead she flashed an image of Dennis in my mind’s eye.
“What do I do? How do I help her?” I asked Rose, Athena’s Gardevoir. In my mind I was working over what Rose said. She had battled Dennis Andersson before? Why was that such a big deal?
You need to tell her the truth. Tell her what is happening and what she can do to help. She wants to help you but she’s still suspicious about your intentions. I can see that you can be trusted. I will do all I can.
With that, I opened my eyes once more.
 
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Chapter 22

yooloo33

Bug Catcher
Pronouns
He/Him
Chapter 22

Only a moment had passed in real time. My brain freaked out at so many memories injected into my head at once. Athena’s Gardevoir removed her finger from my chest. I scrambled to my feet, shakily ran over to the nearest tree and threw up on it. It felt like the world had been flipped upside down. Whatever method Athena’s Gardevoir used to get me to experience those memories, it was not natural. Slowly the world began to right itself. I looked over to where Athena’s Gardevoir stood. She met my gaze and nodded before making her way back towards where Athena lay. That brought my attention to Athena and Lucio. Lucio had his paw extended and was connecting to Athena’s aura. As I watched, Athena shot to her feet and in a panic ran blindly towards before tripping and falling in the snow. My vision had returned to somewhat normal and I rose. Athena’s Gardevoir knelt by Athena and made sure she was okay. Rose (that was Gardevoir's name right?) lovingly brushed a strand of hair out of Athena’s face.
Athena sat in the middle of the snow. She looked like she had touched a live power wire. Her hair stood on end and her expression conveyed shock, fear and pain. I slowly approached Athena and Rose. Lucio trotted over to me. I put a hand absently on his shoulder.
“Good on you Lucio. Did you do the same thing that Athena’s Gardevoir did to me?” Lcuio nodded.
I reached the top of the hill. There was snow kicked up all around us from the pokemon battle that happened here. Gashes had been cut in the grass and much of the dirt was charred black. The steady snowfall did its best to hide the carnage. Athena sat in the middle of the snow, hugging her knees to her chest, staring blankly out at the horizon. As I approached, she said:
“It was all a lie wasn’t it.” Her voice was shaky. She wasn’t asking. She stated it like a fact.
“It was Athena. I’m sorry. I wish I could tell you otherwise, but it was a deception from the start.”
She bluntly looked at the ground.
“I-I believed in the cause. Even as the organization started to fall apart. I believed it because I wanted to believe it. For five years I-I believed their lies. I wanted to fight for something...” Her voice trailed off. I sat down next to her.
“Athena.” I didn’t know what to say to her. She had clearly wanted ALPL to be the good guys. So had I but she had worked for them much longer than I had.
“I would have done anything to stay ignorant to what your Lucario, Lucio showed me. Those memories… I would have written them off as fake. But a fake can not be so genuine.” There was absolute defeat in her voice as she spoke.
“And now Phoebe’s gone too.” Her voice shook. She looked down at the ground and I could tell that she was trying not to cry.
“Maybe not fully.” I said to her, reaching into my pants pocket and drawing out a pokeball.
“She wanted you to take care of him.” Athena looked up and at the pokeball. Inside was the tiny form of Phoebe’s Weavile. Athena cautiously took the ball out of my hand and looked at the small figure inside.
“Hey buddy. I suppose you know me.” She spoke to it. The Weavile nodded.
“I am going to take care of you.” She said, decidedly. The Weavile nodded again, its expression softening a little bit. She reached out her two hands. I pressed the pokeball into her palm. Athena looked back up at me. She seemed to be recovering from the injection of memories into her mind. The color was returning to her face. She brought a hand up to her head and pushed her hair out of her face, back behind her head.
“Why did you come to save me?” Athena asked “How did you know where I was? What is going on with Alola?”
“I would love to answer those questions but I think that we should do it in a safer location.” I glanced around nervously. The snowfall had thickened, reducing our vision even more.
“You're right.” Athena agreed, rising to her feet. She didn’t have her full balance yet though and her knees buckled from under her. Before she had even started to fall, Athena’s Gardevoir had started moving to catch her. Rose caught her and set her upright before she could fall.
“Let’s get out of here.”
***
We drove back to my hotel room. I had booked it in advance. Athena had a duffel bag of personal items in her car. She had taken them out of her car and then cut the fuel line so it looked like someone had sabotaged it, covering her tracks. If ALPL found the car, they would assume that someone had wrecked her car and she had to move on foot.
As we drove, I repeatedly watched out for tails or suspicious looking people. After my encounter with the shadowy man in the ALPL building, there was no being too safe. Fortunately, I didn’t see anybody.
We safely reached the hotel. Checking in, the clerk gave us a few weird glances. A man and a woman in their mid 20s, tired and soaked to the bone checking into a hotel at 1 in the morning. In this type of weather the clerk should have been used to it but then again, we looked like we had been rolling around in the snow (which we had been.) Eventually, the clerk gave us our room keys and we headed there. The room was relatively nice. Two beds, cable tv, dark brown wood upholstery. It had anything you needed out of a hotel room. Athena claimed the shower first and marched into the bathroom. I noticed that she took two pokeballs in there with her. Apparently she didn’t fully trust me yet. Once she had finished, I took a change of clothes into the bathroom and took the most heavenly shower of my life. After being out in the cold and then fighting a battle and being soaked, the shower couldn’t have felt any better if it was liquid gold. I changed into a pair of comfortable sweatpants and a long sleeve shirt. Back in the main room, Athena sat on the edge of one of the beds drying her hair with one of the bathroom towels. Her green eyes stared blankly off to space.
“You have a lot of questions.” I satiated. It was the same thing she had said to me in that cabin in Pinwheel forest. That felt like an eternity ago.
“I do.” She said, her eyes still staring at the wall.
“Shoot.” I said. Then I thought of what Rose had told me about Athena. I needed her to trust me. “Athena. I promise you, whatever you ask I will be completely honest with you. There is nothing that I know that's above your clearance level. We’re both in deep here and I want you to know what I know. We’ve now seen inside each other's minds. That’s the deepest part of a person. I know things you probably don’t want me to know and you know things that I definitely don't want you to know. But I’m fine with that. As long as you stay honest with me, I will be honest with you.” Athena turned to me and looked right at me with those piercing green eyes. She didn’t say anything, she just nodded.
“So go ahead. Ask away.”
Athena took a deep breath. Then she spoke.
“Let's start from the top. I saw that you were winning gym badges in Kanto.” She said, “They said that you were on the best run to win all eight that anyone has been on in a long time.”
“I was training all the time. Got new team members. The works.” I sat down on the edge of the other bed.
“That's all you did? No job?” Athena tossed away her towel onto the floor.
“Yeah. It was tough. ALPL froze my bank account so it was a struggle.” I admitted.
“Okay. How did… how did you find Phoebe… and what were the circumstances of that?” She spoke like she didn’t want the answer but I had promised to be honest with her. So I told her the story of how Phoebe had come into my apartment and what she had told me before dying. As soon as I told her that Dennis Andersson had killed Phoebe, Athena stood up and slammed a kick into the nearest thing she could reach: the tv cabinet.
“I fucking knew it! I should have killed that bastard in Unova when I had the chance!”. She smashed her fist into the desk next to the TV. It was so strange to see her like this as she was always so calm. I was certainly glad she hadn't killed Dennis because then I probably would have been dead as well.
“Athena. Calm down. There’s nothing you can do right now.” She took a deep breath and sank back down onto the bed and took a deep breath, calming herself.
“You're right. How did you find me Andrew? Nobody should have been able to do that.”
“I broke into the old ALPL building.” I told her about Phoebe’s journal and my battle with the shadowy man. I omitted the memories that the shadowy man’s Zoroark unearthed. Maybe I would tell her that later but right now, those memories were too painful for me to approach, much less share with someone else. I told her of my finding the one active server in the ALPL building. Athena took a moment to absorb what I had just told her. Then she did something that I didn’t expect. She looked over at me and gave that half smile that made her look so beautiful.
“I’m sorry.” She said “The what?”
“Uh, the server in the old ALPL building.”
“Andrew. The server and PC terminal, that was all a trap. The whole point of that operation was to eliminate that large man who I killed at that park. You found that fake communication between myself and ALPL. The login to the terminal was real but the rest was a decoy to get him to come to me. As for the money, I’m glad you got it when you did. They’ll freeze my account once they realize that I've gone rogue.” She paused for a moment, realizing what she was doing. Then she continued.
“I know ALPL though. Even after it's gone through the leadership change and all that. They won’t know I’m gone today. I’ve covered my tracks too well. I think that we should get the hell out of here by tomorrow morning though.” She laid back onto the bed, her loose hair circled her head like black sun rays.
“Do you know anything about the new leader Athena?” I inquired. She sighed, staring up at the ceiling.
“Yes I do. His name is Nolan Bradshaw and he’s a real piece of work. He is in his mid thirties. Brutal as a Zangoose to a Serviper. I have seen him put quite a few people away for life and some he has executed himself.” Her voice was dead serious. I had no doubt she had seen this firsthand.
“In the morning, I can pull up his file. I pulled it a few days ago while I was on this assignment. It was the first time I could do it while on my own and with access to that type of file. The file came straight from AIC. They’re not even pretending anymore. That’s where my suspicions started. Your showing up confirmed it for me.” AIC stood for Alola Intelligence Center. The acronym actually just stood for an enormous building where Alola housed all of its intel and records but it also stood for the organization that was in charge of collecting that intelligence. Silence hung in the air as we both realized the gravity of our situation for the first time. So in my eternal wisdom, I changed the subject to something even more touchy.
“Athena. What… What are we?” She looked at me.
“What do you mean?”
“Like us. What are we? We were dating a few months ago. Then you wanted to kill me. Then you didn’t end up killing me when you had the chance. I just wanted to understand where you are on that.” There was a long pause. Enough for me to already start to regret asking the question.
“I’m not sure Andrew. It's really complicated.” My heart sank. I couldn’t say that I was surprised though and I had been steeling myself for this moment since the idea of reuniting with Athena had come forward.
“Okay.” I murmured. "That makes sense."
“I will let you know one way or the other. But right now I feel like we should focus on the task at hand.” She reached over and turned off the lamp. The room was plunged into darkness.
“That’s true. We have more important worries anyway.” I said.
“I am glad that you're here Andrew.” She continued.
“I’m glad to be here with you.” I responded. Then I lay back on the mattress. It had been a long day of travel and battle and I was very tired. A few deep breaths was all it took before I was fast asleep.

***
I awoke from a nightmare. The shadowy man had been chasing me through the long corridors of the ALPL building. I turned and looked back at him. He turned into a Mismagius and screeched. I turned back forward just as I ran off the side of the building. I had fallen for a really long time before I hit the ground and woken up. I was sweating and the bedsheets were all tangled up. One of the pillows had been thrown across the room. I looked around and gathered my bearings. It was still dark. My pokeballs sat in a row on the nightstand table next to the burner phone I had bought in Slateport. Athena lay in the other bed, breathing quietly. Her arms were folded across her body as if she was very cross with somebody in her dream. I looked over at the clock. It was 7:30 in the morning. With much effort, I rose from my bed. I was sore all over from the past few days’ activities. I did a few leg and arm stretches to minimize the soreness and get my blood flowing through my body. The hotel served breakfast downstairs. That's where I headed. I pulled my gray hoodie (the same one from my apartment in Celadon City) over my shirt. On my way out of the room, I made sure to pick up two of my pokeballs from the nightstand. Any more than two would make me stick out too much. Then, I grabbed a room key and headed downstairs.
The breakfast hall had a wide variety of people eating yogurt from plastic cups and waffles drenched in maple syrup. There were a few businessmen in suits, tired families traveling on a road trip and people like me who just couldn’t sleep. I rubbed my eyes and headed for the breakfast bar. I poured myself a bowl of cereal and snagged an orange. Then, I sat down at a table in the corner of the room. It was just a habit at this point that I wanted to see the whole room and know that nobody was sneaking up behind me. The television was broadcasting SNN, Sinnoh News Network. The anchor was talking about the plummeting price of oil in Sinnoh because Alola found new reserves. She was saying how Alolan oil was taxed less than Sinohan oil even though Sinnoh was allied with Johoto and Kanto. I munched on the cereal. It tasted good but left a bad aftertaste in my mouth. What was next for Athena and I? The question had nagged me throughout my travels from Honnen to Sinnoh. We needed to find out what Phoebe had tried to tell me before she died. The first place to look was Alola but what were we going to do. Break into the AIC? We would need to try something different. I would consult Athena when she woke up.
I was brought out of my musings by the feeling of someone looking at me. It was a strange feeling. Like the hairs rising on the back of your neck. I turned and there sat a fat man looking over his skinny friend’s shoulder at me. They were both wearing black pinstriped suits. I had written them off as just regular businessmen but now they seemed suspicious. The man tried to not be obvious about looking at me, he would meet his friends eyes and engage him in conversation. Then one of his eyes would drift over his friend’s shoulder. Then the other. Until he was looking right at me. I tried to stay calm. Just because I was on the run from ALPL, KRA, Dennis Andersson, his shadowy friend and at this point, probably the Kanto Housing Commission for trashing my old apartment, that didn't mean I should start attacking random people who gave me a funny look. I stayed calm and finished my breakfast. The orange didn’t taste great but that was almost to be expected. I picked up the trash from my breakfast and threw it into the garbage can. Acting as if everything was normal, I casually walked out of the breakfast room into the lobby. I half expected them to follow me which I was fully prepared for. Rico and Lucio were ready to go after a good night’s sleep. But the two men watching me stayed sitting. I rode the elevator up to our room’s floor. Once the elevator reached the top, I dashed for our room. Those men were certainly working for ALPL or UR. Maybe not agents but at the very least, people they paid to keep an eye on us.
I slid the keycard into the door and the lock clicked open. I walked into the room. There stood Athena. She was wearing a dark blue velvet dress that trailed down to her ankles. A thin gold necklace that circled her neck and went down into her dress. Her makeup and lipstick were done to perfection. She wore stylish black boots that were tied tight against her ankles. If I looked closely enough, I could still make out stains of water on the leather. How had she managed to do all of this in the time I had been downstairs eating? Where did she keep all these different outfits while traveling? Those were questions for another time.
“There were two people watching me as I ate. We need to go.” I greeted her.
“There’s two men standing outside pretending to have a smoke. They keep looking up at this window.” Athena jabbed her thumb behind her at the window.
“What’s the play?” I asked her. I had known her long enough to know that she always found the best way to proceed. I moved into the room, gathering my pokeballs.
“I’ll take the elevator. You take the stairs. Meet me in the lobby. We need to check out of the hotel because if we leave our registration open, that will send digital red flags up everywhere. It will be like a marker buoy for anyone who is keeping any sort of tabs on us. You check out. I’ll wait back and watch for anyone suspicious. Then, we need to run for the car. That’s our best shot.” Her voice was calm but serious. I paused in my packing long enough to absorb the plan Athena had just set forward.
“Sounds like it's worth a shot.” I threw my burner phone onto the top of my duffel bag and zipped it up. Athena grabbed the two hotel key cards and handed them to me.
“I’ll give you a 20 second head start.” She said, Her eyes were narrowed. It was gametime.

I opened the hotel door and marched confidently towards the stairs. Once I opened the door to the stairwell, I took off running. As I descended the stairs, I flashed back to my desperate dash down the stairs in the ALPL building. My pounding heart in my chest, adrenaline starting to rise. I reached the bottom floor and calmly opened the door. Duffel bag under my arm, I strode towards the reception desk. As I passed the elevator bank, I heard the doors open with a ding! And Athena stepped out and started walking behind me. In accordance with our plan, I marched up to the front desk and she stayed back, watching for any threat.
“Checking out.” I said to the man at the front.
“Just you? She leave before morning?" The receptionist winked at me. I returned his expression with a glare. He turned back to his computer. As he typed away, I unzipped my duffel bag and grabbed my phone from it. I opened the camera app and used it to look behind me. I scanned a full 180 degrees. Nothing. Just a family sitting by their luggage, waiting to leave. The receptionist typed away on his keyboard. Then the two men in pinstripe suits appeared from the breakfast area. One of them was talking on his phone, the other was wiping his mouth with a napkin. They were for certain calling someone to let them know where we were.
“There you go sir. Thank you for staying with us.” The main entrance doors slid open. Instantly on alert, I turned but Athena was already moving. She shot from where she had been standing behind a pillar and rushed towards the man. He reached into his jacket pocket. Athena tackled him. They both crashed onto the slick stone floor and slid. A pokeball fell from the man’s hand and dropped to the ground as he flew through the air. Athena recovered and swung an openhanded chop at the man’s windpipe. The man hacked out a cough and then went limp, knocked out. The people in the lobby gasped at what had just happened but I was already moving. I followed Athena out of the sliding doors and into the cold Sinnoh morning. We dashed for the car.
“Ready with keys!” Athena yelled as we approached the car. I grabbed the keys out of my pocket and chirped the car lock open with the key fob. I threw my duffel into the back and dove into the driver’s seat. The car roared to life. Before Athena had even fully closed the passenger door, I peeled out of our parking space. I turned towards the main road just as a man appeared from around the hotel corner. He reached into his coat and brought out an ordinary pistol.
“Down!” I swerved the car as the shot impacted the windshield. A second bullet thunked into the side of the car as we flew past. I pulled the emergency brake and drifted the car onto the road much to the anger of the other vehicles behind us. I stomped on the accelerator through a yellow light in an intersection.
“Get me to the highway!” I called to Athena. Calm as ever despite the chaos, she pulled a map of Sinnoh out of the side door.
“Left up here.” I shifted the car up a gear and accelerated. Athena looked behind us.
“We’ve got a tail.” She announced.
“That makes sense.” I swerved into another lane to pass a car that was going to slow.
“Black Sawsbuck Charger. About 100 feet behind us and closing.”
“They really don’t spare any expenses at ALPL do they?” I grumbled, downshifting and wrenching the steering wheel to the right. The car’s tires shrieked on the cement as I cut the turn a bit too wide, nearly colliding with a white van.
“I think it's a UR government car.” Athena observed.
I accelerated the car again. The car shot forward. I looked into the rearview mirror. Sure enough there was a black Sawsbuck Charger performing the same turn in pursuit. The road I had turned on was kind of a highway. There were three lanes on either side and went straight for a while with no intersections that I could see. There were office buildings on both sides of us along the road as we flew past. Apparently we had entered the commerce section of Pastoria city. Everything was coated in a light dusting of snow from last night. There were very few cars out. Too early morning for office workers to be commuting to their jobs.
“They’re gaining!” Athena called. Why did you get this shitbox of a car at the rental place you dumbass? I thought to myself. I shifted the gear up again. The car roared forward with new vigor. I looked at the speedometer. We were doing a steady 75 and heading towards 80. The car in pursuit was catching up with us.
“Quarter of a mile turn left onto 213!” Athena said, looking up from her map. I started to decelerate. The turn was approaching. The Charger chasing us had no such intentions. It was closing the gap quickly now. Right before I reached the turn, I slammed the breaks and spun the wheel. Our four wheels shrieked as I turned the car onto the on ramp at the last second. The Charger shot past us, moving so quickly that it was impossible for it to even think of turning. I shifted the car up again and accelerated the car onto Route 213.
“Woah! Where’d you learn to do that?” Athena expressed her admiration.
“Offensive and defensive driving techniques with Mr. Lockwood. I loved that class.”
“You learned this shit in a class?” Athena was incredulous.
“Well KSO isn’t going to just throw anyone who wants to be a secret agent into the field. That would be too expensive!” I shouted. It was then I realized that I had to raise my voice to be heard over the whistling wind. One of the gunshots from the man back at the hotel had punctured the back window. Wind rushed through the car. Hairline fractures were spreading over the window.
This early morning not many people were on the freeway. Just a few 16 wheelers were the only things in the otherwise open road. The sun was rising in front of us, illuminating the dark sky with an orange glow.
“Um Andrew? The Charger is back.” Athena called. I looked into the rearview mirror. Sure enough, the black car had turned onto the on ramp.
“This guy is persistent isn’t he?” I muttered to myself. I swung to the middle lane and passed a semi truck who was doing 10 over the speed limit. Over the sound of the wind whistling, I heard the back window’s glass start to creak. I ducked down in my seat just as the window exploded glass everywhere. A large shard thunked right into the back of my seat’s headrest. I let off the accelerator for a moment in surprise of almost being impaled by a piece of glass and that was all that the Charger needed. Now he was right behind us. I stomped on the gas pedal again but our pursuit had made up for his lost time. I saw as the passenger seat window was rolled down and a man leaned out of the window. He pulled something from his passenger seat and pointed it at us.
“Gun!” I yelled, swerving into the right lane. Even over the wind, I heard the crack of gunfire and bullets shoot past us. I swerved back into the center lane and I crouched down in my seat, peeking over the steering wheel at the road in front of us.
“Do something!” I yelled to Athena but she was already moving. She unbuckled her seatbelt and rolled down her window. I felt three bullets thunk into the rear windshield. Miraculously, the window held together.
“Keep the car straight!” Athena called over the whipping wind, grabbing something from by her feet and aimed it out the window. She lurched back into the car as bullets whizzed past her.
“Scratch that!” She yelled. “Keep evading until I say. Then straighten the car out immediately!” She yelled over the cold wind roaring in from her open window.
“Copy that.” I turned back into the other lane. We were rapidly approaching a semi truck.
“Use that as cover.” Athena said as she sat crouched down in her seat. I swung to the outside lane. Another bullet thunked into the back bumper of our car. I swerved right in front of the semi truck. It blared its horn at us angrily. Athena leaned out of the car window again, holding something in her left hand. As the Charger came from around the truck, Athena launched what she was holding at their car. The black object impacted right in the middle of the windshield. The Charger screeched and slowed, almost getting rear ended by the semi truck.
“What the hell was that?” I asked Athena.
“My boot.” She said,
“Damn! Nice throw!” Was all I could think to respond. How did she come up with the idea to throw her shoe? Quick thinking from Athena had saved us again! We sped down Route 132. The Charger reduced its speed, falling back behind the large semi.
“Yes!” I yelled over the wind. I reached over and offered Athena a high five. She accepted and then checked behind us, making sure we had lost the car.
“Well done Andrew.” She said, The compliment made me blush a bit.
“Thanks I-”
“To our right. 2:00. I see a convoy of four cars on the on ramp. Same make and model.” Athena interrupted me.
“Oh shit. Guess they’re not going to let us away that easily.”
“Guess not.” Athena agreed, cracking her fist in preparation for the next wave. I stomped on the accelerator. The car roared forward again. We passed the on ramp as the first car started to merge. They weren’t at full speed yet so we shot past them.
“I don’t know about this one, Athena! I might be able to shake one car but four is beyond even my driving skill.”
“What are we going to do? Surrender?” Athena called back. “There isn’t exactly cover to get away from the highway and try to run.”
She was right. To the left and right of the highways were nothing except for farmland. We shot down the highway. The four cars gave chase. Out of nowhere. Something swooped at us. I swerved the car as a bird pokemon narrowly missed us. The four cars were now steadily gaining on us. Athena reached down by her feet again and grabbed a pokeball. She tossed it in the back seat of the car. Rose the Gardevoir appeared. She knew exactly what to do. She leaned out of the broken window and pointed one of her arms at the cars chasing us. A purple blast of energy shot from her arm and the very first car had to swerve to avoid it. Athena wasn’t commanding her Gardevoir. They must have that synchronization that Rose had told me about when she had linked with me. Athena grabbed another pokeball and leaned out her window. She placed the pokeball on the roof of the speeding car. A moment later, a blast of electricity shot from behind us, propelling us forward. The yellow electricity hit the bird pokemon flying above us and it fell from the sky. A blast of pink energy shot past my window, shearing off the side mirror. Rose returned fire. Her beam of energy connected with the front car, sending it swerving into the emergency lane. Athena’s Vikavolt sent a blast of electricity at the convoy of cars. This time, it was absorbed by something in the leftmost car. A burst of bullets shot past us. Rose cried out and drew back into the car. I looked back and she held her arms over a bloody bullet wound in her chest. A car drew alongside us. I heard a ZAP like the world’s largest bug zapper. Athena swore and called both of her pokemon back. A heavy object slammed onto our roof.
“Shit what was that?” Instead of responding, Athena’s eyes widened. I turned and looked out my window just as the car smashed into us. There was an unearthly CRUNCH followed by the screech of metal as the two cars collided,grinding along each other. I yanked the steering wheel to the side and tried to push the other car away. A second car pulled alongside us, pinching us in. I was still flooring the accelerator but we were rapidly losing speed. Then, simultaneously, both cars drew back. Our car roared forward. I looked behind us just as another car slammed into us from behind. My head flew forward, smacking the steering wheel. The car shifted lanes and crashed into the left half of our bumper. It pushed us aside in a pit maneuver. I tried to turn against it but the car had us locked. Our car spun as it was forced aside by the pit maneuver. We slowed as our tires ground against the asphalt. Our car was rotated almost 90 degrees and slowing gradually. Then out of nowhere, a fermilear car with a big chunk of glass knocked out of its windshield roared forward and broadsided us. The car crashed off the side of the highway into a ditch. The front fender hit the bottom of the ditch and the car flipped end over end. I went weightless for a moment as the car flew. Then I was smashed into the front console of the car. I was slammed back into my seat, my head smacking against the headrest and my knee smashed up against the steering wheel, bending at a wrong angle. I was in too much shock to scream in pain. If I hadn't been wearing my seat belt, I would have been launched through the windshield. The car landed and ground to a stop on its side. I was suspended over the rest of the car by my seatbelt. I couldn't see straight, my head was shrieking in agony. Everything was slightly hazy with a gray tint around it. Small lights danced at the edge of my vision. I looked over at Athena. She was laying over the front console, out cold. A trail of blood streamed from her nose onto the dashboard of the car. I reached up and managed to shove the car door above my head open. Summoning all my strength, I pulled myself through. I managed to get my chest out of the car. Grunting in pain, I hoisted the rest of myself out of the car and onto the ground. I landed on my feet but my right knee gave out. It felt like someone had set fire to my knee, burning its way up down my calf and up through my quad. I gasped in pain as I fell to the ground. My pokeballs were nowhere in sight. Delirious with pain, I clawed my way across the grass. I paused for a moment and my vision cleared. Everything was so bright. The sun had fully risen and blinded my vision. I managed to make out four cars parked on the edge of the highway. Two men stood in front of each car. All pointing a pokemon at me. A few of them had assault rifles at their sides, held by a large strap around their necks. The car in the middle opened its driver side door. Out stepped a man. He had a pointy nose and sharp, angry features. He wore a tan two piece suit as if he were going to some important meeting after this. Casually, he walked towards me. I tried to claw away but couldn’t put enough distance between him and I. He sauntered towards me. Taking his time to approach his defeated foe. I could make out the shape of four pokeballs under his jacket and another shape that might have been a handgun or a dagger. He unbuttoned his jacket cuffs in two sharp motions. The sun was blinding my eyes. As he approached, I could have sworn I saw something shoot past us in the periphery of my vision.
“Well well well. Who have we here?” Dennis Andersson spoke. It was the first time I had seen him since the battle at the intersection in Unova. The only thing that kept me alive against him last time was Athena and now she was out cold in the car.
“You gave us a fun little chase.” He said. “I’ll admit, getting hit by a boot during a high speed chase is a new experience for me.” He laughed in my face.
“F-fuck you.” I said, quietly.
“What?” He sarcastically leaned towards me.
“I-Imagine having to rely on others to beat me in a car chase….” I mumbled “Chase me on your own…. Pussy.” It was such a lame insult but lame was better than silence.
He smiled.
“Kalos isn’t going to take that sort of risk. Your the terrorist that is responsible for destroying our research facility. Malva has been on a war path since you insulted her like that. It’s been very profitable for our agencies.” He reached down to his belt and drew a pokeball. He held it between two fingers. Then he rolled it across his hand in a smooth motion then let it drop to the ground. A pokemon emerged. I knew this one. It was a Swampert. My brother had almost drowned when I dared him to try and ride one when we were younger. The creature had rolled in the water on purpose to try and force him under. Fortunately he was a good swimmer and managed to surface. Dennis’ Swampert leered at me. I felt as though I couldn’t move anymore.
“Also, I have to let my colleague get his licks in on you as well. You insulted him too, back in that office building in Slateport.” He chuckled.
“I hope you like Toxapex poison for breakfast.” My head felt like it had been split open with an ax. My knee and leg felt like they were being hacked apart by a team of little tiny people intent on cutting through all my tendons and muscles. I tried to summon the strength to at least rise and face my capture while upright but I gasped in pain again and fell to the ground. I opened my mouth and tried to say something. Anything. Dennis smiled and pointed at me. His Swampert moved towards me and reached down its webbed hands to and pick me up. Just then, I felt something change. Maybe it was a change in air pressure or the direction of the wind. Then a blast of air launched the Swampert aside. The pokemon flew a good 20 feet from where I was laying and crashed to the ground. Dennis looked in the direction of the wind just as a dirt and sand tornado started to form about 50 feet from where we were. In an instant, the tornado was upon us. The wind howled around me as dirt and dust was kicked up. The visibility was reduced to almost zero as dirt leaves and sticks flew everywhere. Over the gale of wind I heard someone cry out. Then I saw Dennis reach for another pokemon and throw it towards where the tornado had come from. A black pulse of energy blasted over my head and collided with Dennis, knocking him down. His henchmen called to each other over the gale. I heard the repeated crack of gunshots then a moment later, the thump of a body hitting the ground. I looked over towards the noise just in time to see a car be launched over my head. It landed with a crash behind me. Then, I saw a figure through the storm. A silhouette against the backdrop of the sandstorm that had been whipped up. They were moving laterally to where Dennis’ team had parked their cars and towards me. The figure was holding something in their right hand and was moving with their other hand back and forth between the thing they were holding. Their left hand moved away from the right and I heard a roar and the sound of a pokemon attack. Suddenly, I heard one of the cars explode with a BOOM, sending a shockwave of heat over my head. The figure moved its hand and a pokemon appeared right in front of me. The creature was shaped like a small airplane made entirely out of cotton with red and blue markings. It cried out in a call that could only be described as twinkly. Then, it launched itself into the fray. The silhouette was still getting closer to me. A beam of energy shot past me and returned to the person and another pokemon was released. I didn’t see this one but I heard its bark. It was a bark that I recognized... I tried to rise again but I just couldn’t. My knee was probably dislocated at best, torn up and permanently damaged at worst. So I collapsed to the ground again and watched the show.
Another pokemon from the figure appeared on the battlefield. This one looked like a small rock. Then, a purple and green circle of energy appeared from the rock. The circle of energy morphed until it looked like an abstract face. The pokemon grunted angrily and spat something in the direction of Dennis and his goons. The storm was starting to clear a little bit. I saw a Sharpedo rush forward and try to bite the purple pokemon. Before it could, the pokemon was drawn back to the figure who was standing just out of sight from me. A new pokemon hit the field and roared an earth shattering roar. It swung the blades on its hands, slashing the Sharpedo. The pokemon looked like a combination shark and dragon. It had a yellow star on the front of its head and two arms with claws and large, sharp blades on the end. The sea shark fell to the ground under the onslaught of the land shark. I saw the figure start walking towards me. The storm finally cleared off. In front of me was an absolute massacre. The shells of destroyed cars lay in different levels of disrepair, one was full of sand, there was one I had heard explode and a third had been dented in its side like something or someone had been thrown at it. Every single one of Dennis' team was out cold. Some were laying off the side of car doors or over the front hood like some sort of car ad for herses. One laid next to his Toucannon at the edge of the ditch. He had apparently tried to run and couldn’t make it. The strange thing was, that they were still alive. If I looked closely, I could see that they were breathing steadily. With much effort, I turned myself around. There was a figure flying away on a bird, a Saraptor or Pidgeot. He was already very far from the battle, just a silhouette of a trainer and his bird. I knew that was Dennis. I looked from the sky at my rescuer. It was a woman in her mid thirties or early forties. She was facing away from me, looking up at Dennis. She had very long, straight blond hair that went loosely down her back all the way to her mid thigh. She wore black pants and a black jacket over a gold yellow top. In her left hand she held a small dark blue purse. I could just make out the designer label from where I lay. Without a word, she pointed. Her shark pokemon focused for a moment, then it sent a pulse of purple arcane energy out of its body. The energy shot through the air and in an instant impacted directly with Dennis and his bird. The two of them fell out of the sky. At the last moment, Dennis’ pokemon managed to catch them and slow their descent as they careened into the far off forest.
The women's team, I recognized it. Togekiss. The pokemon shaped like an airplane with red and blue markings. Lucario, I would know that call anywhere. Spiritomb, The purple ghostly pokemon that came from the stone, and to top that all off, a land shark dragon: Garchomp. The woman turned to me.

"Greetings. I am Cynthia."
 
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Chapter 23

yooloo33

Bug Catcher
Pronouns
He/Him
Chapter 23

I tried to speak. Of course I knew who Cynthia was. She was one of the most famous people in all of the regions. As the champion, she acted as a president of the Sinnoh region. Her executive power had guided Sinnoh through a very turbulent time. After Team Galactic’s attempt to seize power, Sinnoh had been on the brink of economic ruin when she had come to power. Her hand guided them through that with intense reforms and fighting hard against the corruption that had allowed Galactic to become powerful in the first place. Because of her efforts, Sinnoh had gone from a nation with a weak economy to one of the most economically successful regions. Of the eight champions, Cynthia definitely had the most influence. If she wanted something to happen, it would happen one way or another. The Elite Four were less people in place to check her power, like they were in the other regions as much as they were her cabinet of advisors. Still, she didn’t take advantage of this power. She ruled with a firm, just fist. Because of that, she had gathered the good will and support of many people, even people outside of Sinnoh. I had followed her rise to power and political success when I was still at the academy. I remember watching one of her championship title defenses live in my dorm room when I was 19. My friend and I had made a bet and her victory had won me a fair amount of money. Now she was standing right in front of me. One of, if not the most powerful trainers in the world. She had kicked the asses of seven of Kalos’ best field agents without even breaking a sweat and while her pokeballs were held in a purse rather than a belt. How did I greet and thank this woman for saving my life? Groveling didn’t seem like enough. Instead, I tried to speak, failed and mumbled something almost incoherent.
“Guh.. knee….” I was too weak to even feel embarrassed. I weakly pointed to my knee. I didn’t feel it anymore, probably from my body shutting down.
“Oh I see.” Cynthia said. “Well, should we get you somewhere safe then?”
I nodded, weakly.
“Garchomp, please do not forget about the girl.” The large pokemon nodded and stomped over to the car that Athena and I had ruined in the chase. Garchomp brought both of its bladed hands over his head and sliced into the metal like it was paper. He cut a large square of metal out of the roof. Then he gently brought Athena out of the car. The pokemon that had viciously fought against an entire Kalosan strike team was as gentle as a mother Ursuring to her cub. Meanwhile, Cynthia was calling on a phone.
“… Hello?... Can I speak to officer Jenny?.... This is her? Ok. I need a favor. Could you and a few of your boys come and pick up something for me? It would mean a lot…. Thanks Jenny! I knew I could count on you…. On Route 213. I’ll have Togekiss watch over them until you arrive…. Yes. Just bring them to Bertha’s department in Pastoria. She’ll take it from there…. Thanks. It means a lot.” She shut the phone and put it back into her handbag. Garchomp stood next to the woman. Athena looked downright tiny in his arms. On his left hand, he had even managed to get our two duffel bags out of the car.
“Okay. That’s taken care of.” She nodded to Garchomp. The pokemon lumbered over to me and picked me up gently in its massive hands. I was too weak to resist even if I had wanted to. He shifted Athena and I onto his back and went down to all fours. Cynthia reached into her purse and drew out a pokeball. She tossed it onto the ground and her Togekiss appeared. Then she walked over to her Garchomp and climbed onto its back. It was quite cramped on the pokemon with two immobile humans, two bags and a rather tall woman but we all were able to just fit.
“Okay. Garchomp. Let's ride.” The dragon shark pokemon huffed a bit of steam out of its nose and then shot forward. The world seemed to elongate. Garchomp flew through the air, parallel to the ground, creating a vapor trail behind it. If I had been more coherent, I would have been screaming for my life. As it was, I reached out my hands and grabbed onto whatever I could reach and held on for dear life. Cynthia turned and saw me clinging desperately to her giant dinosaur shark dragon.
“It's quite alright.” She said to me, reassuringly. “Garchomp displaces the air around it in a wide enough sphere to make a nice, calm bubble for us to sit in.” She was totally at ease. Sitting straddled on her pokemon’s back. She was repainting one of her fingernails with red nail polish from her bag. I still wasn’t convinced and kept clinging onto one of Garchomp’s rear fins. What if Garchomp crashed? Cynthia certainly wasn’t paying attention to her pokemon… A small amount of my strength had returned to me. I managed to form a question to the champion of the Sinnoh region.
“You-you just clobbered some…. Of the best agents in Kal-Kalos like… like it was just another training match.” Cynthia turned and looked at me, her crescent moon shaped earrings glinted in the afternoon sun.
“I’m not the champion for nothing, I have to protect my region from whatever is brought against us next.” She put her nail polish away and drew out a tube of lipstick and a small pocket mirror. She flipped the mirror open and started to redo her lipstick.
“Your p-pokemon. You…. left it there.”
“Yes. Don’t worry, it's not permanent. Togekiss will watch over those KRA folks until the police get there. Then she’ll come back to me.” As she spoke, I could feel my remaining strength fade and I slumped against Garchomp's back. My last view was of the green countryside shooting past me as I rode on the back of the Garchomp owned by the pokemon champion of Sinnoh. Then, I fell asleep.

***
I awoke in a lavish room. The bed I lay in was like laying on a cloud, I just sunk into it. The room was done up in a Transitional style. A light brown and blue color scheme coordinated well against each other. Everything in the room from the dresser to the rug matched with the design. Across from the bed was an empty stone fireplace. A large window let bright sunlight into the room. I looked down from the bed. There stood a round, pink, egg shaped pokemon. A Chansey. The pokemon had my injured leg elevated above the bed and was applying an ointment on it. I reached up and felt a cold cloth on my forehead. The fluid on it wasn’t water though, it was more dense somehow. Still, it felt good against my head. I didn’t need to check to know that I was still weak. I laid back against the spread of pillows and closed my eyes. It was so relaxing. I drifted back off to sleep as Fletchling chirped outside the window.

***
When I woke again, my strength had returned. Not fully but I could sit up without feeling excruciating pain. The cloth was gone from my head and the Chansey was nowhere in sight. Gingerly, I tried to move my injured leg. I raised it in the air without any pain. I tried to bend my knee. It worked. All the muscles and tendons in my right leg seemed to be functioning properly again. I carefully stepped onto the lavish carpet. Only then did I realize that I was in my underwear. It made sense, how else were they going to get access to my leg and knee? Still, I couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed. I walked slowly across the room, testing my knee for any sort of movement that it couldn’t do. Laying across one of the blue armchairs was a set of clothes.
“No way.” I breathed. It was the very same pair that I had worn when I had fought in the gym battle against Erika not one week ago. A black pair of nylon pants and a matching nylon jacket. A silver T-shirt and black fingerless gloves with red lining. There even was a plain black bandana. How had Cynthia provided the exact outfit I had been wearing in so little time? I gingerly got dressed, tying the bandana to my previously injured leg. Then I hobbled over to the window. Judging from the sun, it was about 3 or 4 in the afternoon. I was looking out at an enormous facility. There were green hedges that ringed the complex. Directly to my left and up a small hill was a huge mansion. It looked like an old style manor home. Four or five stories of rooms, windows, brownstone walls and even two turrets jutting out from either side of the house. From there was a rock pathway that split as it came down the hill to a yard full of gardens, hedges, a swimming pool, an enormous lawn and something that looked like a small battle arena. On the lawn, there were all sorts of targets strewn around at different ranges away from a small, circular sitting area. The targets ranged in size from large punching bags to small ring targets, used to practice shooting were set up in a circle around where the rock path came to an end. On the far end of the lawn, I could just make out a pond and small creek that ran into a forest at the edge of the property. On the other side, closest to where I was standing, there was a large silver sheet metal building that looked like a large gymnasium. The snow had been cleared from the hedges and pathways, making it look like it wasn’t winter in this small rectangle of land wherever we were at. The grass and hedges were still green and the plants were in full bloom. On the large circular lawn stood Cynthia. I could tell from her long blond hair. She wore her more recognizable outfit of black pants and shirt with a black coat held at her chin by a large jewel. Black fur lined the edges of the coat and came up to her neck like a scarf. This was the outfit I had seen Cynthia wear when I had seen her battling in title defenses or giving speeches. She stood facing the targets on the lawn. As I watched, she snatched a pokeball from her belt. It was like nothing I had ever seen before. In a split second, her Roserade appeared and blasted a storm of leaves at a target. Then it launched itself at the target and spun in a circle, spreading some sort of spores around it. Then Cynthia called it back and threw out another pokemon. It all happened almost too fast to comprehend. A pokemon that looked like a giant sea slug, a Gastrodon blasted water out of its mouth, hitting a circular target dead center from 50 feet away. Cynthia whirled around 180 degrees and returned her Gastrodon. Instantly a Lucario appeared in front of her and lunged towards a punching bag. The sheer speed at which she trained at was mind boggling. In a mere second, the Lucario ripped the punching to shreds before it was returned to its ball. The training went on like this for a while. Cynthia’s movements flowed like water. One into the next and the next. She didn’t leave any of her pokemon vulnerable to any sort of potential attacks. They would launch their attack and be switched out at such a speed that it was easy to tell how Cynthia got favorable matchups in her battles. Cynthia’s training was mesmerizing to watch. She whirled and turned and dodged like she was performing some sort of dance. After a few minutes, she stopped and returned her last pokemon. She stood back where she had started. The previously organized and tidy yard was torn apart. Punching bags had been ripped to shreds, targets were knocked from where they stood. Cynthia took a moment to admire the destruction she had caused. Then she calmly walked back up the hill towards her mansion as if she hadn’t just unleashed enough power to level a building. I withdrew from the window and decided to explore where I had been put up.
It seemed to be a sort of guest house although it could have comfortably housed a family of four. There was a kitchian and three bedrooms. Everything was done up in the matching blue and brown color scheme. I walked into the living room. There sat Athena. She wore a gray and blue striped sweater. Her hair was tied back in a thoughtless ponytail and a blanket was wrapped around her legs. Resting on her head, was a blue and white beanie. She cradled a mug of hot chocolate or coffee in hands. The room was very homey. A fire crackled in the hearth. Two armchairs, a recliner and a large couch ringed a coffee table in a semicircle facing the fire. There were bookshelves on either side of the room and a large flatscreen TV hung over the fireplace.
“Hello Andrew.” She greeted me.
“Athena. Are you okay?” I took a seat on one of the armchairs across from her.
“Yeah. Just you know… thinking.” She said, I could tell that she was still far away from here.
“No. I mean are you okay? You were really banged up in the car crash.”
“It's kind of you to be concerned Andrew. I’m fine though. Chanseys are really good at what they do. I’ve been conscious for a few hours now. They wouldn’t let me check on you.” She took a sip from her mug. The thought that Athena cared enough to check and make sure I was okay was enough to make my cheeks feel warm.
“They really are. My knee got really messed up in the crash. I think it fully healed. That’s astounding.”
“You think that's astounding?” A smile tugged at Athena’s lips. “How about waking up from a car crash expecting to be in some dark prison cell only to be sleeping in the guest house of the champion of Sinnoh, one of the most powerful people in the world.” I grinned, appreciating the humor, even in our dire situation.
“If you think that is amazing, imagine being captured by Dennis Andersson when the champion comes in and kicks the ass of him and his goons.” She met my eyes and we both burst out laughing. Maybe it was the relief of being saved or being in danger for so long but we both busted up. We laughed and laughed. After a good three minutes of laughing, we sobered up. But then we looked at each other, I made a stupid face and we both burst out laughing again. It was like we were little children hearing a fart joke. Another minute or two passed until finally, Athena and I began to calm down. Athena took a deep breath and drank down the rest of her hot chocolate.
“We should go see Cynthia. There’s a reason that she went out of her way to save us. Politicians don’t just do things out of the goodness of their hearts. I just can’t figure out what she wants.”
“Me either. I don’t think it would hurt to ask her.” I agreed. Athena stood from her chair and we both headed out of the guest house. It was quite cold outside and I drew my jacket closer to my chest. The whole compound was surrounded by hedges and beyond the hedges there was forest as far as the eye could see. A small road led up one side of the hill to the house but there were no cars in sight. Athena and I trekked through the cold yard and up the hill to the giant house. I heard a loud splash and looked over to the small pond at the edge of the property. A large pokemon with beautiful red and blue scales jumped out of the water. It met my eyes before falling back into the water with an enormous splash. We continued up the hill, small rocks crunching under our feet. The wind whipped up and yanked Athena’s beanie off her head. Purely out of instinct, I snatched it out of the air, catching it in one hand.
“Thanks Andrew.” She said,
“Yeah. No problem.” I smiled back.
“Hey. You seem very cold even though all things considered, it's pretty warm out here considering it's the middle of winter.” I said. She drew her jacket closer to herself as if my mere mention of the winter had made her feel colder.
“Remember, I grew up in the Alola region. I’m not made for all this cold.” I laughed.
“You didn’t have the time to adapt to the cold? Honnen isn’t exactly warm either.”
“I never had any missions up here or in Johto. So no.” I would have pestered her further but we had reached the front door of the intimidatingly large house. The door was made of dark red maple and it was emblazoned with an elaborate knocker. Athena boldly strode up to the door and knocked the knocker three times. At first, there was no response. But then I heard footsteps and the door swung open. There stood our rescuer. She had her hair done up in a bun behind her head but her hair was so long that it only acted as a sort of ponytail. Cynthia was wearing her black pants and shirt that I had seen her training in earlier. Behind her on the coat rack was her iconic fur coat.
“Welcome Andrew and Athena. Please come in.” She spoke with a clear but formal tone. We entered the vast entryway. The roof was arched so everything echoed off the black marble floor. The house was warm without any sort of draft or movement of air which was a surprise for such a large building. Cynthia escorted us down the hall and into a living room. Everything was lavish and high quality. The walls of the living room were a chestnut brown and of course, all the furniture and upholstery complemented the color. A large fur carpet lay on the ground and a fire roared in the large fireplace in front of a sitting area. A tea set was already laid out for us on the coffee table as we sat down. Cynthia sat in the high backed chair across from us. She folded one leg delicately over the other. For some reason it felt like Athena and I were in marriage counseling and Cynthia was the therapist.
“Coffee or tea, anyone?” She asked.
“No thank you.” I declined
“No thanks.”
“Very well. I imagine you might be wondering about a few things. I would be glad to answer any questions you may have.”
I was about to speak but Athena jumped first.
“What should we call you? Do you have a last name? I thought it might be good if we cleared that up first.” Cynthia smiled. It was a politician’s smile for sure but something about it made me want to smile back.
“Just call me Cynthia.”
“Okay. How and why did you come across us?” Athena questioned. “I mean the timing was awfully convenient.” Her tone grew slightly accusative.
“I didn’t come across you, I heard the report about a high speed chase that was taking place on Route 213. You two had over 40 people call the police about the pursuit. The police were slow on the pickup and couldn’t get there fast enough because of a traffic jam caused by a semi truck jackknifing by the on ramp. I was shopping in Pastoria when I heard of the chaos. So I hopped on Garchomp and made it just in time.” Cynthia sat back in her chair.
“Wait… how do you know our names?” Athena’s tone grew even more suspicious. Cynthia laughed it off.
“You don’t think that you aren’t popular on the world stage? Andrew, you're an agent for one of our allies. Don’t worry, Kanto didn’t sell you out. We figured it out. Athena, I admit I don’t know very much about you but you're a dangerous pokemon trainer who trashed a shopping mall in Pastoria with your Gardevoir. ”
“Sorry about that.” Athena said..
“But that’s not why I know you two.” She lowered her voice even though nobody was in the room.
“I know about ALPL.”
“What??” I was unable to contain my shock.
“How?” Athena asked, also shocked.
“Well when your two main legendary research facilities are obliterated, the entirety of parliament wants you to look into it. Unfortunately because of red tape and political opposition, that investigation was never anything more than a second examination of the former research sites.” Athena and I both knew of this event. It happened back in 2015 and it was all over the news. Sinnoh had covered it up, blaming chemical leaks for the explosions. Still, there were all sorts of conspiracy theories thrown around about what had actually happened. The Sinnohan government never ended up looking into it further and that was the end of things. Now we knew that it was ALPL’s doing. I probably should have made that connection earlier.
“Still, I needed to know more if for no other reason than to defend my country.” Cynthia continued. “I put my best man on it. He followed the trail all the way back to your rogue organization. He infiltrated it and eventually, he was able to find out almost everything there is to be known about ALPL. That’s where I picked up your names. I know about all the incidents that transpired there, I know about your escape and dash through Slateport Andrew and your campaign of violence Athena.” Athena lowered her head in shame.
"Were those your men that I killed in Pastoria?"
"No. Those were mercenaries that our military uses to get around the legal barrier preventing them from doing operations within our nation's borders." Cynthia persed her lips, portraying frustration at the loophole. Athena looked slightly relieved at having killed mercenaries rather than Sinnohan soldiers or agents.
“When I heard your descriptions on the police scanner, I was able to connect the dots.” Cynthia looked back and forth between us. Her expression was hard to discern. That probably comes with the territory of being a politician. I didn’t know what to make of what she had just said. Athena, like usual, was quick on her feet.
“If what you say is true… We’re going to need some proof. Not that we don’t trust you but…” She trailed off.
“But you don’t trust me. I get it. I’m a politician who conveniently saved you two, I probably want something in return.” Cynthia finished Athena’s sentence for her.
“While it is true that when it comes to politics, exchanges should only benefit you, that’s not why you're here.” She leaned forward. “You two are here right now because I want to help you take down Alola’s legendary research program.” After a moment’s pause, she added: “Yes I know about that too.”
It was only then that I realized truly how much this woman knew. She held state secrets and information that could probably tear the nation apart. Learning about things that would make a normal person throw up if described to them was just another day for her. I looked at Athena, she looked back at me. Her expression said the same thing that I was thinking: we needed this woman on our side. Athena nodded to me. I took a deep breath.
“We certainly could use the help Cynthia. This is certainly an arduous task we’ve taken on. What do you have in mind?” Cynthia smiled broadly. This smile wasn’t the politician's smile that she had given me earlier, this one was true and genuine. It genuinely was in her interest to help us. She stood up from her chair.
“Excellent. I will show you what I have in mind. It is information that will be vital to your fight. Come with me to my study.” She once again led us through the enormous house, back to the entry and up two flights of stairs. As we climbed, I asked:
“So, Cynthia. Does anyone else live here?” My question doubled as casual conversation and to make sure I didn’t attack a servant with a candlestick if they came around a corner while I wasn’t expecting it.
“No.” She said shortly. “I never married. Never had kids.” Her tone took on a note of sadness. “Staying in shape as the champion while governing this country, it takes all my time. As for servants or housekeepers, there’s no use for them. I have pokemon take care of things around here. Some are hired out. Some live here.”
At the top of two flights stairs, Cynthia turned and led us through a lavish hallway. It had all sorts of trophies and medals on shelves and hung on the walls. I looked at one of them and it said: Sinnoh champion title defense: 2020. Another said: Hearthome City Triathlon 2021: 2nd place. It went on from there. 2008 World Grand Prix: 1st place. The Grand Prix battle format was completely different from the standard 6 vs 6 singles battle where a trainer was only allowed one pokemon on the field, Grand Prix was a format where a trainer brought 6 pokemon and fought with four of them in a double battle format. It took many skills that were totally different from single battles and usually if a trainer did single battles then they wouldn't battle in Grand Prix formats and vice versa. Cynthia was obviously an exception. The World Grand Prix was the most prestigious tournament for double battles. Cynthia’s accolades as a pokemon trainer and an athlete went on down the long hallway. Without as much as a glance at her achievements, Cynthia strode down the hallway to a large oak door at the end. She held one hand on the doorknob, then she turned and looked at the both of us.
“Before we enter here, I should probably warn you, what is in here is confidential. There are things in here that are secrets to the government of Sinnoh. I love this country and have given many years of my life protecting it. Suffice it to say that I will know about it if you spill these secrets to anyone. I will find you wherever you are.” She stared right into my eyes, as if she was examining my soul. Her tone was dead serious. I had no doubt that she would systematically hunt me down if I didn’t do what she said. It was then that I realized how terrifying it would be to oppose Cynthia. She was a force to be reckoned with. Her black eyes said it all: if you mess with Sinnoh, you mess with me and you don't want that. Athena nodded her head in agreement. So did I.
“With that being said, this my show of trust to you. I am sticking my neck out here to help you two with your plight. I trust you to help me and my region.” With that she pushed the door open. The large door creaked on its hinges as it swung forwards. Beyond it was a room. Sitting in the middle of the room was a large, L shaped wooden desk. On the larger half of the desk, papers and folders were strewn across the desk. It seemed like there was no room anywhere on the table. On the other half was a set of three large computer monitors powered by a PC system sitting on the floor. In stark contrast to the half with all the papers on it, the desk with the monitors was neatly organized with a mouse and keyboard in the middle. Beyond the desk was a floor to ceiling window that covered the whole rear wall. Gray light shone brightly through it, illuminating a beautiful view of the yard, compound and beyond that, the surrounding forest. On the side walls of the room were all sorts of useful and interesting things. Bookshelves crammed with books, a huge filing cabinet, a dumbwaiter, a sturdy gray safe, two movie theater size speakers on either side and a thermostat control. There were three chairs and a small couch facing the large desk. Somehow, the room didn’t feel at all cramped despite all that was in here. It did feel like a place of power. The champion of Sinnoh could order anyone she wanted dead from that desk. Cynthia strode into the room and sat in the large director’s chair behind the desk.
“Please. Sit.” Athena sat on the sofa, I took a chair.
“Welcome to my office. This is where I spend most of my time when I’m not at the pokemon league.” The pokemon champion wasn’t like a regular president. They set their own schedule for when they would be in and when they were not going to be there. Many of them spent most of their days in office because the amount of time they were governing the region was usually related to how much power they had in the government. Cynthia was the exception to that. She held immense amounts of power while still not spending every waking moment at the pokemon league.
“To start, I regret to inform you that I can’t help you through any of the main channels. Me and my allies are trying to work a bill right now that would reduce our defense spending and if I were to suddenly endorse two, for all intents and purposes, private military contractors, that would really harm my integrity and pull within the Sinnohan government.” She paused long enough for Athena and I to look dismayed.
“That doesn't mean I can’t help you though. A woman is entitled to her secrets, even a pokemon champion.” She smiled. I then realized that Cynthia would make for a really good friend. But unfortunately, we didn’t have time to become friends. She stood up and clapped her hands twice. The sudden noise startled me. Cynthia called out into empty air:
“Lockdown.” There was a pause and then the large window behind her faded from a clear pane into a dark black tint, shrouding the room in darkness. A second door with a foam pad on it slid in front of the other door. Bright fluorescent lights snapped on around the room.
“I am going to tell you what I know.” Cynthia said. Instead of her voice echoing like before, there was no sort or reverberation in the room. Cynthia sorted through a small stack of files that lay disorganized on her desk. It occurred to me that the information in those files could probably topple the Sinnoh region. Cynthia found the file she wanted. Then she flipped it open.
“Here’s all the intel we have about Alola’s legendary research program. It's not a lot but there are little snippets that our agents have gathered.” She pushed the file across the desk to us.
“Remember, what you two see here does not leave this room.” I picked up the folder from the desk. There wasn’t a lot in it. I took a page with a decoded communique. and handed the rest to Athena. The page read:

August 5th, 2022
Intel about Alola’s legendary pokemon research program leaked and the Bureau is going mad. They think they found the leak but he said that he had already sold the info to UR. The credibility of this claim is unknown.

The date… It couldn’t be. Right? The dates lined up with when ALPL gave the mission briefing to Phoebe. Was it a coincidence? There was no such thing as a coincidence. Right? I pointed at the communique.
“Is this source good?”
“Very” Cynthia replied. “He’s one of the most reliable sources of information we have.” I turned to Athena.
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” She looked down to the date I pointed to on the page and her eyes widened.
“There’s no way…”
“ALPL is Alola right? If this information is as important to them, wouldn’t they pull every asset they have to collect it?”
“Apologies, I don’t follow.” Cynthia said.
“Athena and I met under strange circumstances. I was working an intel operation in Unova for KSO at the time and Athena intervened and took the intel from me. It was later destroyed when we were making our escape from Unova. I have really credible information that says Athena and her team were briefed on a mission to bring me in and secure the intel that I was carrying on the same day that this report was written.” I took a moment to let that information sink in. Then, I continued.
“We know that ALPL is an organization set in place by Alola and is their main foreign power. What if… What if they didn’t want KRA to get their hands on this information. They could be very sure that KRA spies within UR would bust their asses to try to get this to their regions. So they picked up on the fact that it would be in an intel transport on August 12th and they deployed their agents.” I sat back and took a deep breath after blurting all this out. I looked at Cynthia and Athena. Both of them were shocked, the fluorescent lights amplifying their expressions. Finally, Cynthia spoke up.
“That is a really good connection to make. I’m sure if we kept looking, other continuities would back it up. Unfortunately, I don’t know if it helps us at all.” Suddenly, I realized something. Something that had been shown to me by a certain Gardevoir named Rose not 24 hours ago. I turned in my seat to face Athena.
“Athena. Do you remember something, anything from the burnt intel before it was fully destroyed? A name? Now that we know the intel I had been carrying pertains to Alola and their legendary research. Anything is important.” Athena looked up at the ceiling, trying to think.
“There were scraps of paper left in the backpack. One burning piece of paper blew in the wind.” I desperately tried to remind her. I knew what I had seen in the memory but I needed Athena to verify it. After a long hesitation, she said:
“Yes I do. One word. That’s all I saw before it was burned away.”
“What was it?” Cynthia asked.
“Necrozma.”
The word seemed to reverberate around the room even though Cynthia’s study was clearly soundproofed. We all knew the stories. Our grandparents had kept the story alive. Nearly 250 years ago, the light pokemon Necrozma had burst through an interdimensional portal and wreaked havoc across the eight regions. Eventually, it was contained by a coalition of the strongest trainers from around. Many people died during Necrozma’s two week-long rampage. The events of those days were still etched in the history books of every region. The room was completely silent. We all knew the significance of this. Alola either genuinely wanted to release Necrozma and control it, or they wanted to pretend like they could to force the other regions to do their bidding. The thing was, the regions would do it. The mass power outages, total annihilation of more than a few cities and land and upheaval of land and sea caused untold amounts of damages that took years to repair. In that time, there were eyewitness reports of legendary pokemon stirring, the most drastic of which was Kyogre shifting in its sleep, causing tsunamis up the Honnen seaboard. No matter how divisive and at war the regions were right now, there was no doubt in my mind that they would concede whatever Alola demanded if they showed that they had the capabilities to release Necrozma.
“My great great grandfather and grandmother fought in that battle. They were lucky to survive. That’s how they met each other.” Cynthia said, darkly.
“My great great grandmother and her sister were part of the rescue mission into Fuchsia city… The ill fated rescue. They were both killed by a collapsing building from the battle taking place even though it was miles off.” I said. Of course I had never known either of them but it still was a family tragedy four generations later. We all knew where our ancestors had been during the battle. It was the defining achievement for many families so it was well chronicled.
“We can not let that power into Alola’s hands.” Athena said gravely. We all nodded in assent.
“Here’s what I propose for you two. We can start with it and work from there with the information that we get. You may have noticed that the folder of what I know is quite small.” Both of us nodded.
“That’s not all the intel we have on Alola’s research program. The rest is held by our intelligence bureau. Right now, one of my elite four is making a political power play.” Cynthia tried to hide her disdain but I could still hear it in her voice.
“Lcuian, the strongest of the four below me, is making a political move. Don’t worry. I have him contained but unfortunately, he was able to take on some of my responsibilities before I got him under control. He is in charge of Section 7, our equivalent to Kanto’s KSO, Alola’s AIC or Kalos’ COIA.” COIA stood for Center of Intelligence Administration.
“Because of that, he’s boxed me out so now none of my people or associates can get any information without getting lots of approval from parliament which defeats the purpose most of the time. He would jeopardize national security for more power.” She paused for a moment. I was still trying to catch up with what she was saying. Lucian, political powerplay, Section 7, boxing out, national security. Of course, Athena was nodding along with Cynthia’s description of the current political state of Sinnoh, understanding everything she said.
“Now, this doesn't mean that I don’t know what is going on in Section 7 but officially, I know nothing.” She stopped and smiled wickedly.
“I do have an asset though. She doesn't work for Section 7 directly but she is one of Fantina’s top aides. Fantina leads the coalition that opposes me in the government so this asset has been very valuable to me. Every week on Thursday at 10:30 AM, Lucian meets with Fantina and they discuss their political strategy and other important information.” Her expression grew sour when she brought up Fantina. You could almost read her thoughts. Of course Lucian is sharing information with her, someone who isn’t even supposed to know it. “My asset is at that meeting every week and with the proper persuasion techniques, she is willing to tell me what transpires.” She said, “I pay well.” Cynthia added as if that hadn't been glaringly obvious.
“So we can meet with this asset of yours to find out what information Section 7 has on Alola?” I asked, trying to make sense of what Cynthia had just laid out.
“Yes. Then we can work from there.” I looked at Athena. My expression must have said it all. We had a path forward! Now we were going on the attack, getting information and furthering our knowledge of Alola’s nefarious research! The stakes couldn't be higher but I couldn’t help but feel a little bit excited. This is what I was trained to do! We might be putting ourselves in grave danger but now we knew what we had to do. As Cynthia spoke, it felt like she was removing the unknowns of the situation, clearing the fog. Athena nodded her head ever so slightly. I turned back to Cynthia.
“When can we meet with this asset?” When I said that, she smiled broadly.
“I’ll call her when we’re done here. She’s a night owl. I’m sure she can meet you tonight. I’ll tell her to pull all the information she knows about Alola’s legendary research program.”
“This asset, what’s her name?” Athena said. As always, she wanted all the information she could get.
“She goes by her code name. I haven’t even tried to find her real name, that would be too dangerous for both of us. Her code name is Lachesis.”
“Where do we meet?” Was my next question.
“There’s a restaurant in Canalave city. It's called Cresselia Diner. It's her favorite place. I’ll direct her there.” Cynthia stood up.
“One thing before you two get ready, I’m not going to let you two go after this without my help. Athena, I couldn’t help but notice that you only have four pokemon.”
Athena nodded.
“I haven’t really found use for more than who I have on my team. I have a pokemon for every need.”
“What about a pokemon for when you're in or near the water?”
“Well… No. I have a pokemon that can fly.”
“But nothing to surf or swim with?”
“Nope.”
“Very well. Come with me after we’re done here. I’ll help you get a pokemon for the water.” The pokemon champion turned to me.
“Andrew. You already have a team of six-”
“Wait, how do you know this?” I interrupted her.
Cynthia and Athena both looked at me like I was an idiot.
“Because they’re healing downstairs as we speak.”
“Oh.” I probably should have guessed that.
“Andrew. Your Lucario. He really cares about you. Of course he doesn't know everything that we know about geopolitics and legendary pokemon research but he has picked up enough. He knows you two are fighting for an important and righteous cause.” She opened one of the drawers in her desk and drew out a thin gold necklace with a large multicolored stone pendant on the end. The stone ranged in color from red on the top to green on the bottom. There was a symbol etched into the stone. Cynthia opened her left hand. In her hand was a brown stone that was similar in size. It had the same symbol etched into it. I looked over at Athena. She was shocked.
“This is a mega keystone. It used to be mine but I haven’t had use for it in a while. Here is a Lucarionite. It lets Lucario temporarily evolve to its mega form. I trust that you know what that is right?” My jaw must have hit the floor. Cynthia, the pokemon champion of Sinnoh, was giving me a mega keystone???
“Now be careful with both of these. There are only about 1,500 keystones in the world and even fewer Lucarioanites.” I extended my hand, carefully accepting the valuable gift.
“Your Lucario will be exhausted after he mega evolves and won’t be fit to battle after he returns to his regular form.” Cynthia continued.
“With that being said, the power levels of your mega pokemon will be… significant. To activate it, you need to be able to have uninterrupted line of sight on your pokemon and then press the stone with two fingers like this. Cynthia held her wrist up and pressed her index and middle fingers up to it.
“Be careful, mega evolution is illegal in every region and citizens aren’t allowed to possess keystones or mega stones.” I slid the necklace over my head. The gold chain fit around my neck without weighing it down. The keystone went down into my shirt, concealed nicely against my chest. I turned to Athena.
“How do I look?”
“You look great! The necklace is a good contrast.” Her complement would have made me blush but Cynthia spoke up first.
“You two should start getting ready to go. Canalave city is about a two hours drive from here.” Cynthia stood and walked towards the door.
“Athena. Come with me. Andrew. If you're hungry, there is food in the kitchen. Your pokemon are healing in the den.” With that, I followed Cynthia and Athena out of the study.

The food was right where Cynthia had said it was. I helped myself to some cheese and ham from the fridge and a large glass of cold water. The fancy kitchen had other lavish foods but I was too scared to touch them. I headed to the den and found my pokeballs. Then, I walked outside the mansion and released all of them. I felt they deserved to know what was going on, even if they really didn’t understand it. I paced back and forth in front of them telling them about Alola, the intel leak and Necrozma. I told them what our mission was and where we were going. Surya, Julian, Arthur, Clair, Rico and Lucio either all understood me or pretended to. Either way, they got to stretch their legs and prepare for the ordeal to come. Julian, Arthur and Clair decided to go on a little jog around Cynthia’s property, Rico lay on his back, hands behind his head, staring up at the gray sky, Surya flapped up into the air, flying circles around the manor house. I walked over to Lucio.
“Hey Lucio! How’s it going.” I pet him and he smiled (as much as a pokemon could) at me.
“I got something for you.” I held up the Lucarionite.
“Do you know what this is?” Surprisingly, he nodded vigorously and reached for it. It did make sense that a pokemon species would know of a stone that would allow them to become more powerful and change their form. I handed the stone to him. Lucio took the mega stone gingerly and held it up to the light. Then he placed it right above his heart. Lucio’s thick hair covered the small stone but it stuck to his skin. At first I was weirded out, why did a rock stick to his skin? The very idea was kind of freaky. Either way, Lucio barked happily.
“I’m glad you like Lucio. The next time you see Cynthia, be sure to thank her.” I checked in with all my pokemon. I was surprised at how well they were doing. Maybe it was because of how difficult and important things had become that I felt the weight and significance of our actions more than my pokemon. Still, it was good to see that my team was in good spirits. Once my pokemon had their fill of exercise, I returned them to their pokeballs and headed down the hill to the guest house.
As I walked down the hill, I realized the significance of what we were about to do. Necrozma had rampaged for two entire two weeks before he was contained by the combined power of all eight regions. If Alola could summon that power at will, they would be unstoppable. Athena and I with the assistance of Cynthia were the only people who knew about it. If we told anyone, they would almost certainly not believe us. I opened the door to the guest house and entered my room. An Audino was making my bed as I entered. It paused to bow to me. Actually bow like I was some sort of royalty. Then it scurried out of my room.
It was time to get geared up. I found pokeball belts in the dresser. They came in all sorts of styles and amounts of pokemon on the belt. I settled for a black synthetic belt with six slots for pokeballs. My nylon pants didn’t need a belt but I could still fit one over them. Just as I clipped my last pokeball onto my belt, I heard a light tapping on my door. I opened it and there was the Audino. She held the duffel bag that I had bought in Kanto, flown to Slateport and then to Sinnoh, sent through a car crash and brought here by a Garchomp. It didn’t look in very good condition but it still was holding together. With an expression of my thanks, I accepted the bag and the Audino retreated out of the room. I heard the phone at my bedside ringing. Cautiously, I approached it and picked up the receiver.
“Hello?” I asked.
“It’s me, Cynthia. I hope you got your duffel bag from the Audino.” I suppressed a sigh of relief. I really didn't want to have to hang up on some diplomat or governor who might be calling Cynthia’s house.
“Yes I did. Thank you.”
“Of course. I added some things in there that you didn’t have which I thought you might need.”
“I'll take a look. Thanks again.”
Cynthia laughed.
“You are very welcome. By the way, Athena’s on her way down. You two should go over your plan.”
“Okay. Does this restaurant have any sort of dress code or anything?”
“No. Not really”
“Cynthia?”
“Yes?”
“I have a valuable item that I have been carrying around. It's a small journal and I don't want it to be damaged. Could I have you keep it safe for me?”
“Absolutely Andrew. Just bring it up to me when you come here.”
“Thank you.”
“Of course. Once you two are ready to go, meet me up at the garage by the house. I have a car for you to take.”
“Okay. I’ll see you up there.” I put the phone back on the receiver. Unzipping the duffel bag, there were a few things at the top of the bag that haven't been there before. There was a wicked looking curved karambit dagger in a sheath. I drew the knife. The steel blade shone in the light. I stood up and tried it out. The knife felt balanced and the blade seemed to cut through the very air itself. Satisfied, I sheathed the dagger and attached the holster to my belt, on my right side right next to the pokeball with my ace pokemon. I bent over the duffel bag. The next thing was a small slip of paper. It was written in legible cursive: Personal house number: (433) 985-2385. This line will be fully private on my end if you need to get a hold of me while I’m at home.
The next number was labeled: Office number. A line directly to me. Be careful. This number most likely has people listening. I looked over the phone numbers a few times to familiarize myself with them and then I stowed the paper in my pocket. I drew Phoebe’s diary out of the bottom of my bag and looked at it. The book was no worse for wear since I had taken it from the ALPL building. Next, I pulled my three Kantonian gym badges out of my bag and carefully pinned them to the inside of my jacket. There was a knock at my door.
“Come in.” I called.
The door opened. There stood Athena. She wore her snug fitting blue velvet dress that went down to her upper ankles and black leggings; the same outfit that she had worn earlier today but it all looked freshly washed. Her hair was tied behind her head in a loose bun. It was soaking wet which was weird because I hadn't heard the shower running at all. Somewhere, she had managed to procure a pair of high heels which were blue and glistened in the light. A thick, brown belt was synched at her waist, now holding five pokeballs. There was no knife, I knew from experience that she had one secured to a thigh holster out of sight. Her makeup which was done up like we were on our way to a really high class dinner. She had redone her nails in purple and coated her lips with red lipstick. We locked eyes for a moment, long enough for me to realize that I looked like a total slob compared to her.
“You look great!” I complimented her. She smiled her half smile.
“Thanks. You don’t look half bad yourself.”
“I really didn’t plan on dressing up. Sorry about that.”
“No, it's fine. You weren’t supposed to. I just dressed a little extra. It's all part of the master plan.” Athena winked as she stepped into my room and sat on the edge of the bed.
“So what’s the play?” She asked, clearly mimicking what I had asked her back at the hotel earlier today.
“Aren’t you the person who usually comes up with this stuff?” I retorted playfully.
“Call it a day off. I’ll do the other stuff: look hot, get the information from this Lachesis girl, get us out of there and call it a day. I just need you to come up with the plan and give an assist here and there. You know, drive the car to and from, order my food, that sort of stuff.” I chuckled.
“Okay Ms. Confidence. I would be lying if I said that I hadn't thought up a plan.” Athena leaned closer to me, holding her head in her hands. Apparently trying to be sarcastic, she only managed to look more beautiful.
“We park a little ways off and walk in there. Cynthia will tell us what she looks like. We go to where she is sitting and you interrogate her for what she knows. I’ll watch for any suspicious shit. Simple and effective. I feel like there should be someone on lookout because I can count four regions and three organizations that want to kill us right now, never mind Lachesis who, as an informant, probably has her own share of shadows. This could get hairy. You sure you can run in those?” I pointed at her high heels.
“Don’t worry about that. I’ll be fine.”
“Okay. Just making sure. That’s all I got. Are you ready to go?” I offered her my hand. She accepted it and I helped her off the bed. On the way out of the room, I grabbed Phoebe’s diary to deliver to the strongest trainer in the world for safekeeping.

We crunched our way on the rock pathway up the hill towards the manor house and its large garage. It had escaped my observation earlier but on the far end of the house was an enormous garage with a paved road meeting it in a big oval by the main entrance of the house. The sun was setting behind us as we walked up the hill.
“What’s in your hand?” Athena asked me as we walked through the chilly night. She had thrown her long black coat over her dress before we left but she still looked cold.
“It’s Phoebe’s diary.”
“She kept a diary?” I didn’t know what to make of Athena’s tone of voice. She was both surprised and sad at the same time.
“Apparently. I found it when I made my visit to the abandoned ALPL building.”
Athena looked down at the ground. “I knew her for a long time… She was my most bitter rival but she was a good agent who believed in what we were working towards at ALPL.” I could tell that she was trying to keep her tone level. Despite their differences, she had genuinely cared about Phoebe.
We reached the top of the hill and the parking garage. There stood Cynthia. She had changed clothes as well. Now she was dressed smartly in a black long sleeve shirt and ripped jeans. All four doors of the massive garage were open behind her. It could have probably fitted 16 cars. I counted seven in the space. The rest was taken up by various projects ranging from painting and wood burning to what looked like the assembly of a robot.
“There you are. Are you two ready?” She asked as we approached.
“Yup. we just need to know what this person looks like.” I answered. Cynthia handed Athena a set of car keys. Athena tossed them to me.
“You're driving.”
“I’ve only met Lachesis in person twice. Do you know about the trainer class called Hex Maniac?”
“Yes.”
“Look for a Hex Maniac. She doesn't exactly blend in. She has dark purple hair and wears contacts that make her eyes red.”
“Okay. Look for a Hex Maniac with red eyes. Got it.” Cynthia smiled.
“You get it. Be careful, she’s rather… strange. The keys are for that UMW over there. She doesn't look like a lot but she’s got some power in her.” UMW stood for Unova Motor Works. This car must have cost quite a lot to import all the way from Unova.
Athena and I walked over to the car she had indicated. As we got into the car, Cynthia walked over to one of the workbenches that bordered the wall and brought back a small, black radio receiver. She handed it to me.
“This is a radio with a connection through the satellite owned by one of my good friends.” She grinned.
“Use this to get in contact with me directly to keep me updated on your progress. It’s encrypted so the only thing you have to worry about is people hearing you talking out loud.”
“Wow. Thanks.” I accepted the radio and stowed it in the car. Then I sat into the driver’s seat and started the engine. Cynthia stood by the car as I rolled down the window.
“Cynthia. Thank you for your help.” She leaned down to the window.
“Don’t thank me yet. Thank me when we get the power to summon Necrozma out of Alola’s hands.”
 
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Chapter 24

yooloo33

Bug Catcher
Pronouns
He/Him
Chapter 24

We walked down the sidewalk of downtown Canalave city. It was cold out but not so much that it was uncomfortable. Despite it being later in the day, the temperature was warmer than at Cynthia’s mansion. The two hour drive south really changed the climate of Sinnoh. Canalave wasn’t as huge as Pastoria or Hearthome and the downtown reflected that. It was a small, lively downtown. People chatted in outdoor beer gardens and restaurants which were kept warm by large space heaters that ran wires across the patios. At the end of the main street sat the Canalave city gym The lights were off and windows closed but it still was an imposing sight. The large, flat steel structure reflected its gym leader, the steel type user Byron’s personality. All around the town, the forest seemed to creep through the city and into the downtown. I could see the forest’s edge just behind the pokemon gym. Cars bumped slowly down the cobblestone road as families and couples walked on the sidewalks, enjoying the cool air. “I’m not going to lie, we don’t exactly blend in here.” Athena muttered to me, hugging her jacket close to her. “Not when you act like you’ve never experienced weather below 60 degrees.” I muttered. Athena glared at me. “Neither would ALPL or UR forces so just stay sharp” I added, quickly. Her heels clicked on the cement over the hubbub of people enjoying their night. “There it is.” I pointed to a restaurant with large floor to ceiling plate glass windows in the front. Above the windows was a large neon sign that depicted the moon pokemon Cresstelia. Below that was neon wording that said: Cresstelia’s diner. Home of the Lazy Al. We approached the building. I looked up and down the street. There was nothing out of the ordinary. I knew Athena was doing the same. The whole air of this town, something felt off, I just couldn’t sense what it was. Well, it was now or never. “Shall we?” I offered Athena my hand. The longer we hesitated, the more likely we would be pursued. We needed this intel badly. “Yes. Remember, we are looking for a hex maniac with purple hair and red eyes.” She accepted my hand. Inside the bar was certainly much warmer than outside. The place was slightly dark, which lent a relaxing feeling to the whole place. I felt my eyes subconsciously droop a little bit. All the upholstery was darker shades of brown and purple. Upbeat music played from the speakers on the ceiling. There was a large, dark mahogany bar directly opposite us where a bartender was preparing some elaborate drink. Waiters moved around the room with trays of food and glasses. The place wasn’t crowded but there were still a few people enjoying food or craft beers. As we walked into the bar, we were greeted by a man about my age with a blond beard and mustache with well styled hair. “Welcome to the Cresselia diner.” He said, grabbing two menus from a small stand. “Please stow any pokeballs you have in the cubbies over there.” He gestured to a set of cubbies that we had walked past without even realizing it. I looked at Athena and shrugged. We couldn’t risk this meeting going awry because we broke the rules. I walked over the cubby, unzipped my jacked and put my six pokeballs in a cubby. Athena was a little bit more indigent. “How am I going to be sure that my pokemon will be safe while I’m here?” The man sighed like he had to deal with this every night. “We have lockers over there to rent if you want to make sure your pokemon are safe.” Athena huffed and sauntered over to a wall of lockers. This was standard procedure in most places that served alcohol in the eight regions. I didn’t know why Athena was making such a huge scene about it. Nevertheless, I stowed my six pokeballs and my knife in the cubby of my choosing and waited for Athena to come back. She put her pokemon away but I didn’t see her put any knife in the locker. I let it slide. The waiters wouldn’t notice and it was a good precaution in case someone wanted to break up this meeting. “Thank you.” The man said when she returned. “You're welcome. We’re joining someone here.” I said. “Okay. Here you go.” He handed us menus. “I hope you have a good meal.” The man walked off. Athena and I simultaneously scanned the bar. There were loud couples and double dates eating and laughing. The hubbub, music and lights created an atmosphere that many people probably enjoyed. I did not. It was all so loud and distracting. “Over there.” Athena indicated with her head. Lounging in a booth in the far corner booth was a girl with straight purple hair. She fit Cynthia’s description. “Let's go.” As we approached the booth, I could make out her features. She wore a black and gray striped sweater that, instead of coming to her neck like a normal shirt, fell off the side of her shoulder, exposing her pale skin and the top of her arm. She had black leather pants underneath a dark purple skirt. On her feet, she had black combat boots that were lined with silver. She wore a thick black leather choker that had little silver trinkets hooked onto it. A bone, a small dog, a skull and so on. She also wore blue lipstick and black eyeshadow. Her long fingers slowly drummed the table as we approached. There was something about her. It was hard to lay a finger on it. It wasn't exactly disdain. As I got close to her and realized that’s what it was. Her eyes didn’t have pupils. Where there should have been black dots, there were spirals! I was startled at this. She saw my hesitancy and looked at me with a challenge. Yeah? You're gonna run away? “Lachesis?” Athena asked, completely unphased as we stood in front of the booth. “Who’s asking?” She said, Her voice was a deeper note than Athena’s, slightly more gravely. “The two people Cynthia sent to you. She said that you have some information to pass along from Section 7.” Athena responded. Lachesis didn’t say anything but she nodded her head, accepting that we sit down. We took our seats. I was on lookout so I sat closest to the edge of the table, ready to spring into action if things went awry. “I don’t need to know who you are, that’s probably for the best anyway but I do need to know what your ace pokemon is. Cynthia said you two would know that.” Lachesis said “Just an extra precaution." “Gardevoir.” Athena immediately answered, truthfully. Lachesis accepted it with a nod. “Lucario.” I said. Lachesis nodded again. It felt like we had passed another test. Not one about our pokemon but an analysis of who we were, how we carried ourselves. The answer hadn't been the test, it had been how we had answered the question that she had looked at. Lachesis sat upright and faced us across the table. “What can I do for you?” “Section 7. Your country’s version of KSO or AIC. Your boss is good friends with the overseer of that agency.” Athena said. While she spoke to Lachesis about our need for any intel that Section 7 might have picked up about Alola or legendary research into Necrozma, I scanned the room. I could appreciate Lachesis’ knack for picking the best booth to watch everything that went on in the restaurant. We were right by the window. From where Lachesis was sitting, she could see everything that was happening inside the bar and on the street outside. She had probably seen us approach long before we entered the bar. The music was also slightly quieter here, perfect for a conversation where nobody could overhear but the participants could still talk. Nothing was suspicious within the restaurant. Nobody was casting us sidelong glances and nobody looked out of place. Athena and Lachesis paused their discussion as a waiter came by and passed us menus. Athena and I ordered soft drinks. Lachesis ordered two shots of vodka. Once the waiter left, Lachesis resumed what she was saying. “I’m in attendance with Fantina for each of her meetings with Lucian. They have their minutes that they go over and they’re essentially trying to be the same political entity but in different parts of the government, pushing for the same measures and pushing the country in the same direction. They each have nearly exactly the same political ideology and believe in the same things. Chief among those is to oust Cynthia. They think she has too much power and is going to drive the country into the ground for her own amusement.” So much for my first impressions of her. Lachesis knew her Sinnohan politics. “So in those meetings between Fantina and Lucian, do they go over Section 7 intel?” Athena asked. Lachesis was about to respond when the waiter came back with our drinks. Athena and I got our sodas and Lachesis got her alcohol. Lachesis reached into her pants pocket and pulled out a small bag. She opened it and tapped a little bit of red powder into each shot glass. When the powder hit her drink, the clear liquid sizzled and started to turn blood red. After the liquid had fully turned from clear to red, she picked up one glass and tossed down one of her shots. Smacking her lips, she set the small cup back on the table and prepared to continue her story like nothing had happened. I looked at her. Something looked off. She turned to me and her eyes were glowing. It took all my control to keep from standing up and running away as fast as I could. This girl was freaky! Still, we needed the information she had. Seeing my expression, Lachesis explained. “Powdered Gengar poison. Technically it's their spit but ghosts don’t have saliva.” I looked at her, confused. “What?” “Okay. Gengar can summon up poison to use in attacks like Sludge Bomb and Venoshock.” She stated impatiently. Her still glowing eyes glared at me. “Yeah I know. My Gengar can do that.” I responded. “Well, if you know your way around ghost pokemon, you can extract some of that poison directly from within them. That’s why it's red. Once you build a resistance to it, the other effects from the poison can be'' She sighed. “Invigorating.” I still couldn’t get past the fact that her eyes were glowing. Still, I felt like I should keep our informant happy. “Interesting.” I said. “What was I talking about before this?” She asked Athena as I went back to scanning the room. While I had been talking with Lachesis, I noticed that a white utility van had parked itself across the street from the restaurant. “Section 7 has indeed uncovered intel about Alola’s legendary research program. They have a scientist by the name of Rupert Galenson. He is heading their new and redoubled effort to summon legendary pokemon.” I watched the van outside. Two men got out of the driver and passenger window and walked around to the back. “He is natively Kalosian but has moved around a lot in his years. Works for anyone who will fund his experiments.” “Did you hear anything about the legendary pokemon Necrozma?” Athena pressed. The two men opened the doors to their van. What kind of company has their workers working on a project at 8 PM? “I didn’t hear anything like that.” Lachesis responded. Five other men stepped out of the back of the truck. The last man reached back and started handing out something out to the other men. I couldn’t see what it was because of the rear door obscuring our view. “Do you have anything about a specific location where they are setting up their facility? Any information about offshore bank accounts?” Athena inquired. The four men fanned out behind the truck. Only then did I realize what each man was carrying: four had assault rifles and three carried PDWs. “GET DOWN.” I yelled just as the seven men opened fire on the restaurant. I tackled Athena down to the booth’s seat as glass exploded around us. The crack of gunfire was deafening. I felt a piece of glass fall and cut into my back, it stung through my jacket and shirt. Bullets impacted everywhere, slamming into wood and seat cushions. I heard the screams of patrons as they cowered wherever there was cover. I felt my heart slamming in my chest. The gunfire roared over my head. I heard a bullet whistle a few inches above us. I felt Athena under me. Despite the surprise, she seemed to know what was going on and didn’t struggle or try to rise. I kept my head down and arms around her as the gunfire continued. A long while passed. It could have been a few seconds or multiple minutes but eventually, there was a pause in the bullets. Guns had to reload at some point. As quickly as I could, I stood up and threw myself off the bench to the ground. A bullet impacted right where I had been moments before. I flipped around onto my stomach and started to crawl, sheltered by the row of tables and padded benches. Glass cut into my arms as I moved underneath the spray of gunfire. I counted at least four bodies lying motionless on the ground. Innocent people enjoying their night when whoever the shooters owed affiliation decided to attack this place. I crawled past the bar where eight patrons cowered behind. They were staring at me in shock as I moved. Why would someone risk their life like that? The truth was, I knew that with seven shooters and theoretically infinite ammo, I needed to break their suppression of this bar before everyone in here got picked off. Bullets shattered a wooden pillar above me, sending splinters of wood showering over my head. I kept crawling. I was almost to the cubby with my pokeballs. Another wave of bullets shot out the light bulbs above me, submerging me in shadow. I reached the cubbies. There was the one with my pokeballs in it. I reached up and tried to close my fingers around one of my pokeballs. I felt something shoot past my arm. I cried out in pain and drew my hand back. A bullet had hit my upper arm. Not directly but grazed it. After the initial shock of being shot, it didn’t hurt yet. Blood seeped out of the wound but my adrenaline was so high that I could have been shot in the chest and felt fine. I gnashed my teeth and reached my other hand up, this time closing it on a pokeball. I brought it down and looked inside it. Beyond the translucent red exterior was the exact pokemon I wanted to see. Arthur looked up at me from his pokeball. I pressed the button and a giant metal robot supercomputer monster appeared in front of me, crushing a bench that stood in his way. “Magnetize everything! Right now!” I called to him from the ground. He closed his eyes, focusing his mind. Then, with an electromatic hum, everything that was even slightly metal in the room flew towards him. From free standing tables to silverware to jewelry worn by people. It all magnetized Arthur’s hull. I felt the necklace with my mega keystone tug through my shirt, trying to magnetize to Arthur. Gunfire cracked through the shattered window towards Metagross. This pokemon was made of steel and the bullets just pinged off him. “Move right. Just a little bit.” I ordered him. Arthur and all the metal that he had magnetized to himself shifted over, blocking me from direct line of sight from the shooters. I stood up and crouched behind my pokemon and his impromptu shield. I grabbed three more pokeballs from the shelf. Now all seven of the shooters in the street were focusing on me but nothing went through. Metagross was deflecting bullets that would eviscerate a human like he did it every day. I saw as Athena started to crawl towards me and my shield. With nobody shooting at her, she made quick progress but her pokemon were in a locker behind a combination lock. I would have to take care of this situation myself. I peeked around Arthur and gauged the distance between myself and the seven shooters. They were fanned out across the street, shooting from different angles. I paused, waiting for the right moment and then I broke from cover out the door and towards the van in the street. I launched my first pokeball and Rico appeared. He landed right next to the first shooter. The man turned and promptly received an uppercut from Gengar. Suddenly in a panic, the other gunmen opened fire on the most immediate threat, Rico. The thing was, Rico wasn’t a human. His entire form was gaseous. The bullets just flew right through him and bounced off the ground and buildings down the road. With the gunmen distracted, I threw my other two pokemon out in rapid succession. Julian and Clair hit the field, each roaring their respective battle cry. On my command, they simultaneously reached their arms above their head and started to pull water from any source they could. Fire hydrants, melted snow, storm drains, a big water tank attached to a store, it all flowed towards my Golisopod and Feraligatr. The two pokemon conjoined their water controlling power, swirling the water around them. The water spun faster and faster until there was a small cyclone in the middle of the road. It picked up sticks and tore up grass as it grew in power. “Rico back now!” I yelled over the sound of rushing water. Rico retreated. “Do it!” I called to my two water type pokemon. Simultaneously, they maneuvered the cyclone towards the seven men and their van. The men started to retreat and then broke into a full run, trying to get away from the hurricane. I wasn’t having that either. Upon my mental command, Arthur appeared in the doorway of the destroyed restaurant and focused his psychic energy. A translucent purple screen appeared about 100 feet from where I stood. The first man running away ran face first into it. The cyclone impacted with the group of men. One man was launched from the cloud of water and smashed into the side of a car. Another went flying high over the buildings. He landed a block or two over. The rest were thrown a few feet and slammed against the pavement. “Who’s shooting who now?” I said to the empty air. Julian and Clair stopped channeling their power and the hurricane started to disperse. Water flowed everywhere, heading towards the gutters and drains on the street. Fire hydrants still sprayed water from their broken pipes. None of the five remaining men moved. One of them had landed awkwardly and his neck protruded at a weird angle. I felt no remorse. These men, whoever they were, mercenaries, government agents or ALPL operatives had no qualms about killing innocent people. I called Rico, Julian and Clair back to their pokeballs. Athena had reached Arthur. She was spinning the padlock on her locker, unlocking it to access her pokemon. As I walked over to where he was standing, I mentally commanded Arthur to release the metal objects that he had created a shield of only a few minutes before. The metal clanged to the floor noisily. Then, I returned him to his pokeball. “Are you okay?” I asked Athena. I picked up my other pokeballs and knife and put them back on my belt. “Yeah. fine. A little shaken up but I’m good. Thanks for saving me.” “Yeah. Of course. Where’s Lachesis?” Athena met my gaze in horrified shock. Simultaneously, we dashed through the destroyed restaurant to the booth where we had been sitting. There were people cautiously emerging from wherever they had been hiding. Many were injured and there were bodies on the ground that were unmoving. We reached our booth. Laying on the bench was the hex maniac. She had four red wounds, two in her lower chest, one in her shoulder and one directly in the middle of her sternum. The bullet perforations were seeping blood over her sweater and onto the bench where she was sitting, staining the cloth red. “Shit.” Athena said. I moved over to her and checked her pulse. At first I felt nothing, then one beat. Very faintly, very slowly, her heart was still going. “She’s alive.” I reported. “Not for long. She’s going to bleed out.” Athena pulled a pokeball from her belt and tossed it in front of her. Rose, her Gardevoir appeared. “Heal pulse.” She commanded. Rose brought her two arms together and focused for a moment. Then sent a pulse of pink energy through the restaurant.The energy hummed past me. All of a sudden, I wanted to smile, to relax, everything was going to be okay. I looked at the cuts and scrapes on my arm. They no longer stung as badly. The pain didn’t disappear altogether but it wasn’t so bad anymore. The feeling of calm brought on by the heal pulse drained from me and I realized that we were in a really bad spot. Whoever attacked us would absolutely have backup and now the police were on their way here. “It's a move for pokemon. I hope it works on humans just as effectively,” Athena said, worriedly. I looked at Lachesis and checked her pulse again. “She’s not doing too good but her heartbeat seems to be a bit more consistent.” Athena nodded. “I hope so.” Then, she noticed my arm. “You’re bleeding.” I honestly hadn’t even remembered that I had been shot but as Athena mentioned it, the pain returned to my arm. Blood seeped out of the wound, running down to my elbow and dripping onto the ground. “Here.” Athena said. She reached down to the hem of her dress and tore a strip of fabric off it. “Hold out your arm.” She said, I complied. She wrapped the fabric tightly around my arm and tied it off in a knot. “That should help with the bleeding a little bit.” “Thanks Athena.” As I spoke, I could hear sirens approaching. “We need to play dumb.” Athena said. “Pretend like we were just bystanders.” “We can’t do that. What if there are corrupt cops or people who recognize us? Even if they question us or have us give a statement, ALPL will know about it and have us thrown to the darkest prison in Sinnoh.” “Damn. You're right. We gotta go. I hope most of the people here are stable enough to survive.” Athena returned her Gardevoir. She stepped up onto the bench of the booth where we had been sitting and through the shattered window. I followed her. Once both of us were through the glass, we took off running down the street. In the opposite direction of the sirens. Athena hadn't lied about being able to run in heels. She was pushing ahead of me, who was wearing normal trainers. There was no liveliness on the main street of Canalave anymore. Anyone with any sense had either run away or was hiding anywhere they could find cover. As we ran down the sidewalk, people peeked at us fearfully from where they were hiding. Our car was parked on the street. “We gotta call Cynthia.” I huffed. “Yes. You have the radio?” “In the car.” Athena stepped and her heel caught in a crack in the pavement. Her ankle bent at a weird angle and she fell forward. In stride, I caught her before she hit the ground. “You good?” I asked, righting her back on her feet. “Yeah. Thanks. Twisted my ankle. Not bad though.” We ran the final 50 yards to the car. The street was surprisingly dark in stark contrast to the brightness of the buildings and shops up the road. All the streetlights were out and there were no lights on in any of the buildings. I unlocked the car and sat down in the driver’s seat. I opened the glove box and pulled out the radio Cynthia had given to us. Switching it on, I tuned it to the correct frequency. “Cynthia? Hello?” I called into the radio. There was no reply. “That’s not good.” Athena astutely observed. “We need to get out of here. Those people in the other buildings saw us running from a crime scene and probably thought that we did it.” Just then the radio crackled and Cynthia’s voice came over the receiver. “Andrew. Athena. What is going on? I heard reports of gunfire in downtown Canalave.” “We were attacked. We’re fine but Lachesis is either dead or dying. We don’t know who to trust in the police so we’re trying to avoid them for the time being.” My voice was breathless and desperate. “That’s a good idea.” Cynthia agreed. “What do we do now?” Athena asked her. “You need to-” Suddenly something impacted on the side of our car with the loud CRUNCH of metal bending. Before Athena or I could do anything, we were hit again. This time whatever was hitting us hit our front tire with a loud hiss. The whole car listed to the side as the tire deflated. Instantly, Athena and I both crouched down as low as we could get. Another projectile hit my right hand window. It wasn’t a bullet. It looked like a round, yellow pointed spear. The arrow of sorts shot through the window and impaled itself on the roof of the car, its end poking back out of the vehicle. I had no doubt that these things could kill us. “We’re under fire! Someone’s shooting at us with a pokemon!” I yelled into the radio. “Get out of there!” Cynthia replied urgently. Before Cynthia had said anything, Athena was already moving. She opened her passenger door and dropped a pokeball onto the curb. “Smokescreen.” She muttered. Her Ninetails appeared with a determined bark. A missile shot out of nowhere and hit her pokemon. Fortunately, it didn’t seem to hurt the Ninetales, glancing off her pelt. Smoke started to billow out of the pokemon’s body. Thick, gray smoke. Billowing, choking smoke. The cloud grew and grew until it enveloped the car. I was blinded by the haze emitted by Athena’s pokemon. “Out now.” Athena ordered. Her and I opened the doors to the car as another pin missile thunked into the roof. I moved around the front of the car as smoke choked me and made my eyes water. I set one hand on the car, telling me where it was so I could move around it. In my other hand was still the radio. As I cautiously moved forward, I stowed the radio in my jacket pocket. A pin missile fired from the sniper’s concealed position, missing the car and slamming into the road a few feet from where I was crouched. I worked my way through the smoke cloud to the front of the car and Athena. “Top of the building behind me. There’s a person with a Galvantula.” Athena spoke earnestly, like how she had called out the convoy earlier today. I coughed in the smoke cloud. “He set up in a bad spot. Stay under the awning of the buildings and he can’t get a good angle on us. Go on my mark.” Athena said, she peeked out of the smoke cloud. Her command left no room for negotiation. I trusted her tactical awareness to be on point. That was, unless she was trying to get me killed. Either way, this was our best shot. “Now!” I charged out of the cloud and took off down the street, trying to keep myself as close as I could to the buildings on my right as I could. I was completely in survival mode. The only thing on my mind was the thought of being impaled from behind by one of those pin missiles. Athena ran next to me. A missile streaked over my head. I whirled around. Beyond the smoke cloud, I could make out the figure of a large spider hanging from the top of a building by a piece of thick web. “Behind us!” I yelled to Athena, reaching for a pokeball. A pin missile shot from the Galvantula and missed under my arm by only a few inches. Before I could even react to almost having my arm shot off, I launched my pokeball down the street. It opened in mid air and Surya burst out, immediately flapping her wings to gain altitude. She cawed and dove towards the Galvantula at an impossibly fast speed. The electric spider had no time to react when Surya smashed into it, tearing at the spider with her razor sharp beak and claws. The Galvantula went down, falling from the building. Athena and I took off running again, Surya flapping in the air above us. We turned the corner to another smaller street. On the far end of the smaller street, named Oran Way, we saw a black car start driving towards us. Neither of us wanted to find out if that car was just an unaware family or not so we ran. My breath rattled out. Inhaling smoke before running usually isn’t a good idea. My heart hammered in my chest. Athena turned onto another street and I followed. The car behind us snapped on its headlights and turned onto our street. “Can you deal with that car?” I wheezed to Athena as we ran. Without responding, she reached to her belt and threw a pokemon. The car was gaining. “Call Surya back, Get behind something and ground yourself!” She yelled. My tired brain struggled to comprehend what she was saying. Ground yourself? I was already on the ground. I understood the part about returning Surya though. I grabbed my pokeball and pressed the button on it, withdrawing my bird. Just as I did so, Athena released her Vikavolt from its ball. The enormous stag beetle screeched in challenge to our enemies. That’s what she meant by grounding myself. I dove behind a cement half-wall as Vikavolt started charging up energy. The car kept coming. “Discharge.” Athena commanded. A blast of yellow electricity shot 360 degrees around the Vikavolt. Streetlights exploded, buildings along the street went dark. The car stopped suddenly with an electric POP! Without missing a beat from releasing an obscenely powerful electric attack, Athena took off running. That power from a pokemon was immense and she casually commanded it. The car didn’t move from where it stood motionless in the road. I saw a person get out of the car. He stumbled a few steps and then fell to the ground, steam rising from his fallen form. I picked up the pace. Time to put distance between us and our pursuers. Athena and I ran side by side across the pavement. Athena turned onto yet another street and I followed. Then she turned again. I didn’t know where I found the strength to keep going. My lungs were wheezing, gasping for as much air as they could intake. We must have run for more than a mile. We were now far out of downtown. The road we had turned on had a large square, gravel parking lot to its left through a metal gate. Without any sort of hesitation, Athena turned and vaulted over the metal gate. Her high heel almost caught on the top rung but she cleared it by a few inches. I followed suit. Jumping up and clambering over the precarious barrier. The parking lot could have easily fit 30 or 40 cars. Beyond that was a large, white sheet metal portable building. A sign leaned up against it that read: Cantalave Farmers Market. Open Saturdays 8:30-12. Sundays 8:00-2:30. There were no cars parked in the lot right now. I stumbled to a stop in the middle of the parking lot, trying to catch my breath. I put my hands on my knees, sucking air. Between labored breaths I said, “Damn… You weren’t lying… about… being… able to…. Run in heels.” Even Athena was out of breath which is something I had never seen. “Are you okay, Andrew?” “Yeah… I’ll be fine… Just give me a sec.” “Okay. I think we lost them for the time being. We need to call Cynthia.” Still breathless, I drew the radio out of my pocket and handed it to her. Athena switched the radio on. “Cynthia. Do you copy?” There was a moment’s pause. Then the radio crackled on. “Athena. Are you two okay? I heard Andrew say you were being shot at and then the connection cut off.” Cynthia sounded concerned. “Yeah we’re fine for now. We were pursued through Canalave city. I think we are safe for now but we don’t have any sort of extraction or anything to get out of here.” “Oh my. You lost my car?” Cynthia didn’t even sound upset, she just seemed intrigued. “Yes. A sniper shot out one of the tires and one of the windows. It's still operational, though. Just a scratch or two.” “Okay….” There was a long pause on the other line. I heard a sound like somebody was typing into a computer. “Can you describe where you are in Canalave?” Cynthia asked. “Yes. We are by some sort of farmers market that is closed right now. There is a large fence and a field beyond that.” Athena seemed to be recovering her breath faster than I was. “I have your location up on my computer. You two are close to the dock that feeds into the ocean. It's not ideal, but I have a boat there.” “Where do we go?” I wasn’t concerned about why or how Cynthia just happened to have a boat in Canalave city, getting out of here was a bigger priority. “Across the large field beyond the fence there's a large street. Follow that and you’ll be right there.” “What kind of boat is it? We need to be able to find it.” I said. “It's a white cabin cruiser boat with teal accents. The name of the boat is The Acuity. There’s a lockbox with a key in the cabin. Code is 13546. It has plenty of fuel and reserves. No need to worry about that.” Athena held the radio up to her mouth. “Thank you Cynthia. We will call you when we are safe. Please send some people to the Cresselia Diner to make sure the people are okay. Especially Lachesis.” “I will. You two just get out of there. You can tell me all that she said when you're safe. Now go!” As she said that, I saw two sets of headlights turn on the road parallel to this gravel parking lot. “Time to go, Athena!” I pointed at the two cars. I didn’t want to run but the sight of people chasing us brought a new shock of energy into me. We dashed across the lot to the tall fence blocking us from. The fence was made out of steel. There was no way to break through it quickly. Without hesitation and still in high heels, Athena fitted one of her feet into the links in the fence and hauled herself up. “Climb it!” She called to me. The cars were getting closer. I hoisted myself up onto the fence and started to scale it. The metal links bit into my fingers as I climbed. I moved my right leg up a few notches in the links, fitting it into the diamond shaped hole in the wire. Then my left leg. Then my right. I swung my leg over the top of the fence. I couldn’t fully sit down as there were sharp points at the top but I could dig my heels into the metal on either side, holding myself in place. The two cars turned into the gravel parking lot and started driving towards us. “Hurry!” I shouted fearfully to Athena, who was falling behind me on the fence. I swung my other leg over the side. Before I could convince myself otherwise, I jumped. I landed in a roll and rose to my feet. Somehow I had managed not to break my ankles in the fall. Athena was now at the top of the fence. I heard the sound of car doors opening and saw four men get out of the car and start running towards us. “Jump it!” I called out. She clearly had the same idea. She swung her left leg over the other side of the fence but right as she was about to leap down, her right foot slipped. Athena lost her balance and fell. The iron spikes at the top of the fence caught her shoulder and I heard the sound of cloth ripping. I tried to run forward and catch her but I was too far away. She hit the ground with a thump. I rushed over to her. Athena’s dress had been ripped on her left shoulder all the way up her side. There was a nasty gash that was oozing blood. Her eyes were closed but I could see her chest was moving up and down. She was alive. “Athena! Are you okay?” She opened her eyes. “...yeah. Yeah I’m fine. Just got the breath knocked out of me.” She was so calm about the whole situation, stone faced to our opposition. I extended my hand and she accepted it. I hauled her up to her feet. Only then did she notice the gash on her arm. “Damnit.” She said, inspecting her arm. “Does it hurt?” “No. Not really. It will later.” She said, dubiously. “I don’t mean to make nothing out of your pain but…” I pointed to the men racing across the parking lot. “Right.” Athena said, pulling a pokeball from her belt and tossing it out. Her Vikavolt appeared in front of her, it levitated a few inches off the ground, its small wings buzzing noisily. Athena gracefully stepped onto the pokemon and sat. “Do you have a pokemon to ride?” She asked, just realizing that two people wouldn’t fit on her Vikavolt. The men had reached the sheet metal building and started towards the fence. “Something like that.” I selected the pokeball with Arthur in it and tossed it in front of me. In all honesty, I hadn't worked with any of my pokemon on riding or traveling. In modern times, traveling via pokemon was done by very few people as traveling by vehicle is just easier. The thing was, we didn’t have a vehicle. I stepped up and hoisted myself onto the top of my Metagross. The men had reached the fence. One shouted for us to stop and surrender. “Go!” Athena called. In unison, our two pokemon took off across the field. Arthur stomped across the dirt, his claws tearing up soil as he stormed forward. His movements were robotic and mechanical but smooth. As a steel robot, he didn’t tire. He kept pace right behind Athena’s Vikavolt. The top of his head was a surprisingly stable platform for me to kneel on. I looked behind us. We were putting distance between us and the fence but the men from the car were already almost to the top of it. I looked ahead. The field seemed to stretch on forever. “We’re not going to make it!” I yelled over the wind to Athena. “Keep going!” She called back. Something caught the corner of my eye. I looked up into the air. There was a bird pokemon, a Swanna. The bird circled above us. I had to assume that it was from the trainers on the ground. I pulled the pokeball with Surya off my belt and tossed it into the air. Talonflame appeared and knew exactly what to do. She flapped her wings and ascended into the air above us. A beam of electric energy shot past us. I felt static electricity pass my left ear, just missing me. It drew my attention to our pursuit again. Of the four initial people chasing us, there were only two left. One rode a Galarian Rapidash and the other was on a Drampa. You would think that a Drampa was slow but the dragon raced along, holding the same speed as the Rapidash. A Manetric was galloping next to them. The pokemon’s mane started to glow as it wound up another electric attack. In an instant, I ordered an attack from Arthur. He leapt forward. In mid air he spun his four legs around his body like a drill. He landed and his spinning legs dug into the ground, spinning earth everywhere around him. I was blinded as a wave of dirt cascaded over Arthur, almost knocking me off him. The electric attack shot from the Manectric but Arthur’s wall of dirt blocked the attack. Athena and Vikavolt had been hit by the dirt and they were both covered. Still shooting across the field, Athena called to me, “I have nothing for that Manetric!” “Neither do I!” I looked ahead. The end of the field was in sight. About 800 meters from where we were and approaching. Our pursuit was gaining ground. I had lost all my speed when Metagross blocked the electric attack. Arthur accelerated quickly but not quickly enough. We were 700 meters out. My attention was brought back to the front by Athena’s Vikavolt buzzing closer and closer to Arthur. Athena was crouched on her electric bug. “I’m gonna jump on! Steady your Metagross!” Athena reached underneath her very damaged dress and pulled what looked like a hypodermic needle out of a holster on her leg. She pulled the cap off it and prepared the exposed needle. It might have been lost in the wind but I could have sworn I heard her say, “Sorry Zhan.” Then she stabbed the needle into her Vikavolt. She stood up on her pokemon and launched herself towards Arthur. Athena flew through the air, arms outstretched towards my pokemon. As she jumped, I knew that she was going to come up just short. I lunged forwards and grabbed her left arm. I slammed into Arthur’s head, smacking my chin painfully against his steel exterior. Athena’s momentum almost yanked us both off him but I managed to just barely stay on my pokemon. I was laying on my stomach, desperately holding onto Athena’s arm with both hands. She reached her other arm up and grabbed my left wrist. With a grunt and an almighty heave, I hauled her onto the back of Arthur. “Thank you Andrew. Thank you.” She said breathlessly. Her eyes were wild. She had not expected to miss that. “Yeah. Of course. What did you do to your Vikavolt?” Her face turned from gratitude to an expression of something like regret. “Just watch.” Athena’s Vikavolt had stopped dead in its tracks. Then the pokemon started to jitter and shake. An arc of electricity passed between its two mandibles. The two people chasing us and their Manatric were almost on top of Vikavolt. Then, the Vikavolt shot into the air. It moved so quickly that I couldn’t even comprehend it. It reached the apex of its flight and shot back down to earth. The Manetric yelped as Athena’s Vikavolt sideswiped it and shot away again. Arthur kept carrying us away from our pursuers across the field. Athena’s Vikavolt shot forward again, smashing into Rapidash’s rider, sending them flying off the horse and to the ground. The Manatric tried to fire a bolt of electricity at the speeding Vikavolt but the bolt missed it entirely. The Drampa slowed to a halt and its trainer threw out a Rhydon. The giant dinosaur roared a challenge to Athena’s Vikavolt. I was losing sight of what was happening. The distance between the trainer fighting the Vikavolt and our Metagross was lengthening. There was a fence at the end of the field. Then, down a small grassy hill was a road. Beyond the road, I saw clusters of buildings and beyond that was the blue ocean. We reached the fence and Arthur didn’t even slow down, plowing right through the chain links like it was Play Dough. Athena held out her pokeball and I saw her Vikavolt buzz over our heads a moment before it returned. I saw what Metagross was about to do and yelled: “Hold on to something!” I grabbed the sides of my Metagross as he pushed off the ground with a sound like an enormous hydraulic piston extending, he launched off the ground. Athena had not been as ready for Metagross’ enormous leap as I had but she had managed to grab onto one of the metal plates that made up the X on Arthur’s face. Arthur landed on the road with a crash, cracking the pavement below his four feet. I was almost thrown from on top of him by the force at which he landed. I mentally commanded him to stop. He complied. Athena and I both jumped off him, down onto the ground. Athena stumbled on her twisted ankle when she landed but caught herself. “Thank you Arthur.” I said, returning him to his pokeball. “We need to go.” Athena said, immediately, pointing towards the marina. I could tell she was shaken from almost missing her jump to Arthur. She was trying to cover it up with bravado but she was right. We did need to get to the marina. I could make out the masts of ships behind the buildings obscuring the ocean from view. “Let's move.” Athena and I jogged down the road towards the marina. We both were still in survival mode. I scanned the buildings for any threats, clearing every corner visually before we reached it. As we walked, it started to rain. Athena hugged her shoulders in her short sleeve dress. I wanted to put my arm around her or offer her my jacket but I doubted that the gesture would be appreciated by her. The entrance to the marina was deserted. Short lamp posts cast sharp yellow light in pools around them. Nobody was in the shops or servicing the ships. In my mind’s eye I could see how this place operated. I could see people rushing around, hauling things onto and off ships, people bustling around with carts of luggage, a ship sounding its horn as it traveled into the ocean, but now, nobody was around here. Athena and I reached the long walkway parallel to all the ships. The path wound its way down the whole marina, around the water. It ended in a pier that jutted out into the ocean. “Smaller boats are this way.” Athena said quietly. There was no real reason to speak quietly but it just felt safer to speak in hushed tones. Athena and I moved down the walkway towards the medium sized vessels. I heard the mournful sound of a buoy out in the sea, warning any ships of the rocky shore. Up ahead, I saw light. There was a crew of people working on a moderately sized fishing boat. Athena and I strode up to them. “Excuse me?” Athena asked. One of the people working on the boat turned towards us. He was a salty old man with a scruffy beard and sunken eyes. He wore a faded camo bucket hat on his head even though the sun wasn’t out. “Do you know where I could find a boat? It's called the Acuity.” Athena asked. “Ah so ye two arr pokemon trainers then?” He spoke exactly how someone who’s sailed the seas for 40 years would sound like, drawing out his R’s and speaking the G sound as a N. “Um yeah? How did you guess?” Athena asked. “I know a thing or two, lass. The Acuity. She’s a vessel named after one of Sinnoh’s great lakes. Celebrates the triumph over team Galactic naught 15 years ago.” He paused long enough for us both to be surprised at how much he could glean based on the name of the ship we were looking for. One of the crew working on the ship came up behind the salty old man. He was a younger man with a well shaven brown beard. “Cap’n. We found what was wrong with the rudder.” The old man turned to his crewmate. “Good. Go on into the cabin. I’ll be with ya in a moment. Just gotta set these folks on the right path.” The young man nodded and returned back to the boat. Turning back to us, the old man said, “So how did ya come by Cynthia?” He asked, catching us both off guard. “What?” I said. “The Acuity. That’s Cynthia’s vessel. She bought it 11 years ago to celebrate her fifth title defense.” “How do you know that?” I asked again. “Oh laddie, I was the one who recommended Acuity to the champion. She sailed on me crew when she worked as an assistant for professor Rowan. Researchin’ Gastrodon or somethin.” I turned to Athena in disbelief. Cynthia was everywhere in this region! “That isn’t some yarn… You actually sailed with champion Cynthia?” Athena asked incredulously. “Aye. She invited me to her first championship battle. I didn’t go because I was out on the water. She caught a Gastrodon that was a plaugen’ me vessel on our voyage that she used in that battle.” He smiled, recalling a happy memory. “Could you show us to the Acuity?” Athena said, prompting the conversation back to the point. “It just so happens that Cynthia called ahead here asking me to help two pokemon trainers fitting yer description. Follow me.” He turned back to his fishing boat. “Eldritch! I’ll be gone for a mo’ Keep workin’ on the steerin’ system.” “Sure thing dad!” Came the muffled reply. “This way.” The old man led us down the pier. “These here boats are called cabin cruisers. Me an’ my bunch don’t like em much but they have their charm for landlubbers.” He winked at me. We kept walking. Finally he stopped in front of a white boat with teal accents. It was really nice. Probably about 30 feet long with a nice little deck for people to sit and drive the boat from with a plastic and glass awning over it. The ship almost represented a sleek car with an angled windshield to protect the boat’s passengers. “There ya go. Enjoy yer little cruise.” I extended my hand and he shook it. “Thank you sir.” Athena offered a handshake which he accepted as well. “If anyone asks, you didn’t see anything.” The old man sighed. “I’ve been friends with Cynthia for a long time… I know not to ask questions about her affairs. Me crew and I are headin’ out in the mornin’ anyhow. You two don't worry about me.” With one final smile, the old captain turned and headed down the pier back towards his fishing boat. Athena looked at me. I shrugged. “Perks of working for the most powerful person in Sinnoh I guess.” I muttered. Athena shrugged in agreement. There was a ladder over the side of the boat. I stepped on and climbed up it onto the boat. I looked around the deck of the ship. It wasn’t massive by any means but there was still enough for a set of couches and a four chair dinner table. There was a seat for the pilot of the boat with a bunch of controls, dials and switches. Behind the deck was evidently the storage area. There were all sorts of items that one could need for a boat like this one ranging from pool noodles and floaties to extra gasoline for the boat. “Lockbox.” Athena stepped up next to me. “Right.” I said, heading towards the two doors that led into the cabin part of the cabin cruiser. I opened the door and stepped down a few stairs into a small room. It wasn’t anything obscenely luxurious but It was a goodly sized room with a large king size bed in the middle. There were cabinets for all sorts of belongings and clothes. Directly to my left was a brown coat rack that was bolted down to the floor. Hanging off the rack was a black fur coat. Cynthia’s coat. There was even a nightstand table next to the bed with a red lamp. “This is nice.” Athena observed. “Yeah. I don’t know why I expected more.” “Well this boat wouldn’t be very obvious if Cynthia was to slip out on the water for some privacy.” Athena said. “That… actually makes a lot of sense.” “Lockbox.” Athena prompted me. “Lockbox.” I started our search through the room by throwing open all the cabinet doors and lo and behold, a small green lockbox was inside the fourth one that I opened. “That was easy.” I said. “What were the numbers that opened this thing?” “13546.” Athena recalled. I spun the numbered dials until they matched the combination. The box clicked open. “Bingo.” I said, withdrawing a key. I walked back up the stairs and sat down in the pilot’s seat. Athena followed and stood behind me, her arms resting on the chair. “Do you know how to operate one of these things?” She asked me. “No. But I’ve driven a car before. Can’t be that different right?” I inserted the key into the slot labeled: ignition and turned it. The engine spluttered and coughed then the whole boat roared to life. Athena stepped back and clapped sarcastically. “Brav-o. You managed to start the vehicle. Now there’s the whole matter of…” She trailed off what she was saying. “Matter of what?” I turned and looked at her. She was staring intently through the windscreen of the ship towards the marina. Then, she spoke in a hushed tone to me even though we were the only ones on the ship. “Two cars parked at the marina. I see three people talking with our capitan friend and his crew.” “Shit.” I realized that I had let myself start to relax but now I was on full alert. “Well this should get us going.” I pulled back on the two sticks directly in front of me. The boat started to slowly drift out of its parking space at the marina. Athena jumped up and ran to the edge of the boat. “We forgot the rigging line!” I stopped our acceleration as Athena untied the knot holding us to the dock. Once she had finished that, I slowly started to ease the boat back again. We moved backwards, then I pushed one of the steering sticks forward, turning us in the water until we faced the exit to the marina. “They’re still talking to the captain.” Athena reported to me from the other side of the deck. I pushed both steering sticks forward and the boat accelerated, moving steadily through the harbor. Athena still anxiously watched the people who had pursued us questioning the captain until they were out of sight. I guided the boat past the pier and out of the marina into open waters. I pushed the two steering sticks forward again and the boat roared, the speedometer needle rose up over 20 miles per hour. then 30. We shot forward at 35 miles per hour. Wind whipped over my head and around us as the boat cut through the water. “Are we followed?” I called over my shoulder. “No. I think we’re good.” Athena said, joining me at the helm. “What now?” Athena asked. It was something I hadn't been considering at all. Being chased is a good way to not be thinking ahead. “Do you still have the radio?” “Yup.” Athena reached into her pocket and drew out the small black receiver. She flipped the switch and the radio crackled static. Athena then pressed the transmit button and spoke into the radio. “Cynthia? Cynthia, are you there? We made it onto the water. We’re confident that we don’t have any pursuers.” She said, casting another glance behind us. There was a pause. Then I heard Cynthia on the other side. “There you are. Thank goodness. I was beginning to be worried about your safety! Did you meet Eldritch?” “Who?” “Eldritch. The old man at the docks?” “We met someone whose son was named Eldritch.” “Oh good, you did meet him. His son shares his name.” “Oh. Okay. Yes we met him. The last we saw of him, he was talking to our pursuers. He won’t give us away will he?” Athena asked nervously. “Eldritch is a good man who lives honestly. He can’t be bought or paid off. He cares about his son and his life on the sea. He won’t give you away to them.” I heaved a deep sigh of relief. “Phew. Other than that, we got out of there clean.” “Good.” Cynthia said. “I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t concerned for you two. They moved some heavy assets around there to try and get you from meeting with Lachesis but fortunately you two persevered. Good job.” Athena looked over at me, and despite everything, she smiled and flashed a thumbs up. “Thank you Cynthia. We did kind of leave a mess behind though.” “Don’t worry about that.” Came Cynthia’s reply. “I have my people working with the first responders. Already there’s a rumor of gang violence. We’ll just help that one along.” Of course I couldn’t see her but Cynthia sounded like she was smiling on the other side of the line. “How’s Lachesis?” I asked. Cynthia heard my question over the sound of the boat skimming across the water. “She’s in… critical condition right now. As soon as the police cleared the site, they rushed her off to the hospital. She went straight into critical care. I haven’t heard any more than that from my man there.” “What about the other civilians?” Athena questioned. Cynthia’s tone grew darker. “Eight dead. 12 in critical care. Lots of people were wounded. Many of the people who are injured would have died but something kept their hearts beating.” “That might have been my Gardevoir’s heal pulse.” Athena said, nonchalantly. Cynthia sighed. “Oh that is good to know. Hopefully it was successful and keeps the people alive long enough for the doctors to do their thing. The gunmen did not care about who they shot.” Cynthia’s tone was grim. Athena bowed her head. “Do… Do you know who it was who sent them to shoot up the restaurant?” “No. No I don’t.” Cynthia’s tone was flat. I could detect that Cynthia felt like she had failed. “It could be so many people or groups. Lucian, Fantina, ALPL, UR… Whoever they are, they are going to fucking pay.” Hearing Cynthia swear was strange. It was like hearing a Persian bark or a Growlithe meow. I had no doubt that Cynthia meant what she said. They had killed eight of the people in her country, eight people under her protection. There was a long pause. Athena held the radio in the air as we cut through the water. This whole time, our fight hadn’t been about people on one side or the other. We had been fighting against a threat in the future. Now, whoever had sent those eight gunmen to the restaurant and had killed the eight civilians inside, they had made it about now. They would sacrifice the lives of innocents to try and kill us before we stopped them. “Did Lachesis say anything about Section 7’s intel?” Cynthia finally asked. “We did not get very much. All she got to before we were attacked was about some scientist named Rupert Galenson and how Alola has hired him to work on legendary pokemon research.” “Oh no.” Cynthia said. “That is not good. Not good at all.” “Why not?” I asked. “Rupert Galenson is an extremist that started his career with team Galactic. When Lucas, Dawn and I brought Galactic down, he managed to get a plea deal, ratting out his colleagues to save his own skin. It was an absolut corrupt mess.” Cynthia spit out that last sentence like it was the most disgusting thing she could think about. “Team Galactic still had some friends in the government and they helped him out. Since then he’s been a freelancer. I would absolutely bring him in but I can’t without pulling strings that would make me look like a dictator. If Alola’s got their hands on him, that is very bad. Did Lachesis tell you anything else?” “No.” Athena said. “That’s about it.” “Thank you for risking yourselves like that. I know it wasn’t much but it's a start. I had no idea that it would go south like this. The information about Galenson is good. I need to do some digging, work a few assets. If I find something important to this fight, I will let you two know.” “Thanks Cynthia. What do you want us to do now?” “You two are off the shore of Canalave city right now?” “Yes.” Athena confirmed. Cynthia sighed. “This works out perfectly. About time something went right. Keep sailing west. I believe that I have enough fuel there for an overnight voyage. 13 hours of travel will bring you to Kalos. I can set you up with one of my assets. He will meet you there. I will work out the small details. Check your phone tomorrow morning Andrew.” “Travel to Kalos. Got it. Okay.” “Yes. Now I have to call one of my people in Section 8 before he goes to bed. I will make contact with you tomorrow.” “Okay.” Athena said. “Thank you Cynthia. “Don’t thank me yet. The job isn’t done.” The pokemon champion said before the connection went dead. Our boat cut through the still water, leaving a wake in its trail. I looked up from my seat at Athena. I could tell she was thinking the same thing I was. It was me and Athena with Cynthia’s help and our 12 pokemon up against the might of four full regions with militaries and a ruthless agency that had wormed its way everywhere in the eight regions. I reached out my hand behind me and took her hand in mine. The gesture wasn’t a romantic one, rather a pact. Looking straight into her eyes, I said: “I will see this through with you, Athena. One way or another, we are going to stop ALPL.” She squeezed my hand in hers and nodded. It was hard to tell if she was lost for words or just projecting her confidence. I thought about the first time we had met. How we had escaped Unova together and then worked together to destroy a research facility before escaping an elite four member. I realized that I had grown to trust Athena. She and I had each other’s backs. After a long moment, she released my hand. She then wordlessly broke eye contact and walked through the doors into the cabin of our boat. I could have sworn I had seen a tear escape her left eye.
 
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Chapter 25

yooloo33

Bug Catcher
Pronouns
He/Him
Chapter 25

The evening wind blew across the ocean as we skimmed across the water, our boat almost floating above the waves. The crescent moon glowed in the sky above us, shining bright silver light down to the earth. I sat at the back of the boat, watching the wake of our boat churn up froth behind us. I was too riled up to fall asleep, my mind was still calculating different scenarios where we would have to defend the boat and how strong of a force we could take on in open water. I tried to push those thoughts aside and enjoy the cool evening. Behind me, Rico happily steered our boat through the water. After about an hour’s travel, Athena and I realized that we could teach a pokemon to navigate the boat and seeing as Rico didn’t have to sleep, he was the natural candidate. I looked back at him. He had found a sailor’s hat somewhere on the boat and the hat rested on top of his head. Rico looked back at me and grinned broadly and gunned the engine, increasing our speed. I turned back to the rear of the boat. A Lapras followed us, cheerfully jumping in and out of our wake until it couldn’t keep up and we left it behind.
“Hey Andrew. Do you mind if I sit?” Athena had approached me without a sound, startling me out of my thoughts. She was still wearing the same dress that we had started this whole escapade in. Bits and pieces of the dress were torn. A large chunk had been ripped off and was still tied around my arm where I had been shot. To be honest, I didn’t really need it to protect the wound any more, Rose’s heal pulse had worked slowly but eventually closed the wound. It still hurt a bit but not too badly. Still, I held onto the piece of cloth, almost sentimentally. Athena had a large bandage wrapped around her shoulder where she had been cut by the fence. Her hair was loosely tied back behind her in a way where it wouldn’t get in her face but a black lock had escaped its tie and hung in front of the left side of her face down to her cheek.
“Yeah sure... Sure. How’s Zahn doing?” I scooted over on the bench I was sitting on and she sat down.
“He’s doing fine. I really hate to artificially enhance my pokemon but I truly saw no other option.” She met my eyes, almost pleading me to believe her.
“I believe you, I thought we were screwed and you saved the day again.”
She looked down at the ground. I was certain that I heard her say “thanks” under her breath.
“How’s your arm?” I asked her.
“It's healing. Might leave another scar that I’ll have to get grafted over later but the wound has closed up.”
“What about your ankle?”
Athena brushed the question away.
“I almost forgot that I hurt it. It’ll be stiff in the morning though.”
“I’m glad to hear that you're feeling better.”
We sat in silence for a while, looking out at the water.
“We’re well on our way. I don’t think I can make out the Sinnoh coastline anymore.” Athena broke the silence.
“Yeah. We have a ways to go but as long as the boat doesn't give out underneath us, we’ll make it.”
“And then what?” Athena inquired. It was a question that I couldn’t seem to escape. It followed me everywhere but I was still trying to come up with solutions to more immediate problems.
“Well… Cynthia said that we were going to meet another of her assets in Kalos. We definitely should do that.”
“Should we? That went so well today.”
“I get the vibe that Cynthia has become more invested in this since the death of those people at the restaurant. She takes the blame from that on herself.”
“I guess you're right. We don’t really have another option do we?”
We really didn’t. The question hung in the air as I watched a Sharpedo chase something through the water.
“Andrew…” Athena broke the silence. “I need to tell you something.”
I turned towards her.
“My name… Athena… It's not my real name.”
I looked at her in surprise. What? Everyone referred to her as Athena. Official records at ALPL had her written down as Athena.
“My first name, the one I was given to at birth is Sarah.”
“Wait… what?” I was confused. Since I had known her, she had always been known to me as Athena.
“What do you mean?” She met my eyes. Her expression conveyed something that was hard to discern. Was it trust? I’d never seen her like this before.
“It… it might be better if I start from the beginning.”
“A-agreed.” I managed. “We’re committed now. There isn’t a person in this world that I trust more than you.” Athena/Sarah took a deep breath.
“I was born with the name Sarah to my mother and father. We lived in Alola. We moved away from there to Kalos when I was 13. My family, we had a lot of money and my father was a driven man. He got into Kalosian politics. First making it onto the city council and then becoming the mayor of Anistar city. It was only a matter of time until he joined one of the major political parties in Kalos and became a member of parliament. My mother and I, he always paraded us around to different parties and fundraising galas. That was my life. I was the daughter of Harold Garrison.” She paused, letting that information sink in.
“Wait… That Harold Garrison. Like the prime minister of Kalos?!” Athena/Sarah bowed her head, looking down at the deck of the boat.
“Yes. That one.”
“Athena. Your dad is one of the most powerful people in the world!”
“Yes he is.” She sighed and continued her story.
“When I turned 15, my dad had me shipped off to a high class private school. Shalour Trainer’s Academy. He was making a push for the prime ministership and decided that my impulsive nature was not worth the hassle.” Her tone was full of venom.
“If anything, the school was a respite from the endless social events and scrutiny. My first few years, I gathered a group of friends and it was great. I learned how to battle with, take care of, catch and otherwise handle pokemon. I dreaded every school break because I had to be paraded around by my parents again. ‘Look at our daughter. She’s growing up to be such a strong pokemon trainer.’ I didn’t care about showing the world that I was good. I just wanted to be powerful and able to fend for myself.” She stopped her story again and looked up at me.
“My third year… It all started to go wrong. There was a student, he transferred from a different high class school, he had a lot of money because of a trust fund put together by his parents before they died. This person, he had a way with words. He could convince you that Bidoof was Arceus and vice versa but he began to abuse this, he started to get powerful friends and before any of us knew what had happened, he had the whole school under his thumb. That man was named Dennis Andersson.”
“What? How did he not recognize you when we fought him?” Was the first thing that came to my mind. Athena had known Dennis long before ALPL and our battle at the crossroads!
“I’ve changed a lot since I was 17 and 18. So has he.”
“I don’t know what to say. He sucked even before becoming the espionage equivalent of a mob enforcer? I can’t say I’m surprised.”
“Dennis ran a de-facto mob himself at that school, dealing illegal items, bullying people for money, pedaling influence and people, it was an absolute mess. As the school year went on, it got worse and worse. He swaggered around like he owned the place, which he practically did. One day, I was in class and he was catcalling me. Just being an absolute prick. My boyfriend at the time… Nathen. He stood up to Dennis and challenged him to a fight.” We both knew the significance of that. It was a stain on every trainer’s honor if they refused a direct challenge. Athena’s voice got quiet as she continued.
“Nathen and Dennis fought… it was a bloodbath. Nathen’s team was slaughtered 3-0. On the last attack… Dennis had his Drapeon attack Nathen even though it was clearly against the rules.” I saw a tear escape one of Athena’s green eyes and roll down her cheek.
“Nathen was paralyzed from the waist down. He had to be rushed to the ER and never returned to the school.”
“Athena. I’m sorry.” I felt for her. Maybe she should have killed Dennis at the sacrifice of my life. It would have given her closure with that fucker. Athena’s voice grew stronger, more determined.
“After that battle, things got even worse. Dennis wasn’t punished. He kept growing in power. I dealt with it for the rest of the year which fortunately was not that long. For once, it was a relief to be back home. The continuous parades, speeches and dinners I had to sit through, they gave me something to take my mind off everything else. But things were deteriorating with my parents… I could see… I could see that they were becoming more power hungry… I-I wanted to appreciate what they did, how they cared for me, but they didn’t care for me. I was just another piece in their enormous game of political chess.” She stopped and sighed, taking in a deep breath and wiping a tear off her cheek with her ruined dress.
I wanted to say something, but I didn’t know what to say. I’m sorry? That didn’t even seem to start to cover it. Her life had been nothing but a tool for someone else’s power hungry ways. Instead, I kept looking at her, hoping my expression projected sympathy. Athena continued.
“I went back to school for my final year. For some reason I thought that things would be different but Dennis started back right where he left off. That’s when I realized that nobody was going to stop him. I had to do it. At that point in my school life, I admit that I was a bit of a…” She laughed without humor.
“I guess I was kind of a slut. I dated the best athlete in the school, pushed other people around and was just sort of a dick. I had this group of shallow friends, we patrolled the school, looking for someone to pick on. Dennis was the worst, but I admit, I might have been pretty bad myself.” She half smiled, recalling how foolish she had been.
“After showing so much promise in my first years, Rose and I were barely managing not to flunk the pokemon battling tests and didn’t really care much for fighting, only looking pretty. After a while though, Dennis became too much and I had to do something about it. That’s when I started to become a recluse. I broke up with my shitty boyfriend and started to train my pokemon. Cindy, my Ninetales evolved after I spent much of my spare cash to get her a fire stone. I caught Zahn, as a Grubbon, in the forest by my school. A while later, he evolved into a Charjabug and then, a Vikavolt. It might have been some of the most lonely times for me but I was determined. All my shallow friends started to disappear one by one until it was just me and my pokemon. I trained every moment of my spare time, for five months I trained… catching up with the most powerful trainer in the school. l I finally decided to issue a challenge to Dennis.” She looked at me. I almost felt like she was surprised that I was still listening. I felt so many different emotions. Sadness and sympathy for Athena’s shitty upbringing, respect for her resolve to become stronger, but most of all, I wanted to kick Dennis in the face, repeatedly, for her.
“Dennis promoted it like it was a boxing fight. He made sure that he was going to clobber me the same way he beat Nathen.” Athena sniffed. Tears were freely but silently running down her cheeks. Still, she bravely continued her story.
“We met on a spring morning. Almost every student was in the bleachers, It was an intense battle. Dennis opened with a cheap shot attack right at me which set the tone for the whole fight. Dennis’ Hitmonlee ended up dislocating my shoulder with a kick and Dennis had thought he had won but with the last of my strength, I had Rose attack him with a psychic blast. His Hitmonlee was knocked out and Dennis went into cardiac arrest. We were both rushed off to hospital. He survived” Athena’s tone of voice sounded like she wished he hadn’t.
“Both of us were expelled. After we both recovered, Dennis sued me for attempted murder and my parents had to come bail me out. That was the beginning of the end. I realized… I realized that my parents didn’t give a lick about me, I was just a tool to them. I started to hate them and I wanted to tear down my dad’s whole political career for using me all these years. I got in with the wrong people, spent all my time partying, trying to forget my horrible life. I got into drugs and alcohol… trying everything to tarnish my family’s reputation.” She looked down to the deck of the boat again, I could tell that it was hard for her to recount these memories without unearthing even more and completely breaking down. She was recounting her painful life, doing it for me. Athena took a shaky breath.
“My parents weren’t having any of it though. One time, I accepted money from a smear journalist to give an interview, the article wasn’t published and the journalist disappeared after talking with me. I wasn’t brought to the parties and galas anymore, my parents were embarrassed about me. They steered anyone they could away from me. I just had Rose, Cindy and Zahn. Finally, it grew to be too much to bear. I broke open the safe in my parent’s bedroom, took the money inside and left. I went to Honnen but my parents searched for me. I became sort of a fugitive. That’s how I learned how to be a ghost, untraceable, using fake IDs, paying people to look the other way. I figured that I would eventually die and I was fine with that. Finally, I ended up in Alola and went back to my grandparent’s ranch. My grandmother, she saved me. She had been the first champion of Alola nearly 50 years before. I lived with her for almost eight months. She helped me train my pokemon to be even more powerful, got me off drugs and taught me important survival skills but it was only a matter of time until my parents’ search caught up with me. After that, I lived on the run for a long while, surviving off cheap fast food, sleeping at pokemon centers under a fake name. That's when I started to use the alias Athena, you know, the beautiful, smart and powerful goddess of war and wisdom. I felt like it fit me." Athena laughed wryly. She wiped at her eyes again.
"One day though, I was caught shoplifting at a store. I fought hard but a trial captain, Mallow, stepped in and I had no chance against her. I was locked up on a bail that I couldn’t pay. Fortunately, ALPL got to me before my parents could. They offered to pay my bail if I worked for them using my skills in pokemon battle. I readily accepted.” Athena sighed.
“They gave me a new identity. That's where I chose the name Athena. It pertains to me more than Serah now. Then, ALPL set me to work. It was perfect… I believed in their cause, my skills were important, and most of all, I was valued by them.” All that information took a moment to process. I was shocked. This whole story, the story of Athena’s past life, she had never told it to me, never even let on about its existence. It was as if I knew Athena through a pane of frosted glass that had just been removed. I knew another level of her. I reached over to her and wrapped my arms around her shoulders. She did the same, pulling me closer to her. I felt her head rest on my shoulder
“Athena. You went through so much. You persevered through it. I don’t know anyone who could have done that other than you.” She looked up at me, valiantly trying not to cry. It was strange seeing the ever confident Athena like this. All sorts of bottled up emotions had just been released in her recalling her life's story. Her eyes were glassy with water.
“Andrew…” I could tell she wanted to say something, but it caught in her throat. Then, the dam broke. Without warning, Athena lurched closer to me, as if she’d been knocked forward by an exceptionally large wave, but the ocean was still. My arms reached around her in a half-assed effort to catch her, but by this point, she had already buried her head in the crook of my neck. I could feel the warm, damp tears roll off of her cheek onto my shoulder. She cried and cried, letting all the bottled up emotions out. This may have been the first time she had ever told anyone her full life’s story. Normally, she would’ve tensed at any form of intimacy, analyzing every possible outcome and not committing anything. She probably would have made a joke, pushed me away, something like that, but right now, she cried and cried on my shoulder. I don’t know how much time had passed before she sat up again, as if she’d realized something. She looked at me again, but her expression was different this time. I registered this in an instant before Athena pulled my upper body close to her, our faces almost touching. My breath caught for a moment, and she took that opportunity, pressing her lips decisively against mine. Her eyes closed, and mine followed suit. Slowly, passionately, intentionally, I kissed her, and she kissed me.
It wasn’t the first time I had kissed Athena, it wasn’t even the second. The difference was, this time felt real. It felt genuine. No hiding from Unovan agents, no emotional manipulation. She pulled away, and I could feel the cold ocean breeze against my lips. I could still taste her and her vanilla scent wafted around me. I looked into her beautiful green eyes and smiled. They were still red from crying, and her cheeks were flushed a rich scarlet color, but she looked as beautiful as ever. Maybe even more so. Ever since I had known Athena, it always felt like she had been hiding something. Now I knew what it was, and that had shown me who the true Athena was. For the four months, I had been living on my own, fighting in battles, hiding from ALPL, something had been amiss, someone had been amiss: Athena. I could tell she had felt the same way.
She stood up, brushing non-existent crumbs off of her lap, then offered me her hand. I took it, standing to meet her at eye level.
She leaned in and kissed me again, and again, and again, looping her arm behind my neck, holding me close. In between kisses, I tried to speak.
“Athena-”
“Shh,” she cut me off, pressing her finger against my lips. I looked at her intently, but she wouldn’t meet my gaze. Finally, she looked up at me.
“I love you,” she whispered.
I stopped. My whole body froze. I hadn’t been able to describe how I‘d felt about Athena, but in that moment, I realized something that had been building inside of me since she fought me at the rundown apartment in Unova. As I spoke, my voice shook, but in truth, I’d never been more sure about anything in my life.
“I love you too, Athena.”
Athena's already diminished air of confidence dropped completely. I felt her body relax in my arms, and she looked at me. She looked like she wanted to speak, but didn’t. Instead, she attacked me with another kiss. This one was more intense, more lustful. She seemed to be making an honest attempt at sucking my mouth clean off my head, gripping my face in her hands, and I heard a small moan escape her lips. She held onto me even tighter, and kissed me, deeply. Her tongue slid into my mouth, greeting mine. One hand dragged slowly along my back, reaching the top of my head, forcefully grabbing a fist full of my hair. I winced, and instantly, her grip loosened. She began running her fingers slowly across my scalp, as my own hands slowly worked my way down, grabbing her thighs. I strained for a second, then hoisted her up into the air. I was now supporting her full weight in my arms. She wrapped her legs around my waist, all while continuing to probe my mouth with her tongue. I slowly made my way over to the outside wall of the cabin, careful not to lose my balance. I pressed Athena against the cool surface, and she gasped slightly. Breaking contact for a moment, she stared at me. Breathless, she managed to find a few words.
“I… I need you.” She sounded so sincere. I’d never heard her voice this… small. This gentle. There was a softness in her expression, as if she knew I wanted her as badly as she wanted me. I remained silent, lifting her away from the wall. I looked up at Athena, and her breath hitched. She nodded. Without a word, I carried her to the cabin entrance, and she reached behind her, and slid the door open. As we approached the neatly made bed, she looked me deep in the eyes and uttered one word:
“Please.”
 
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Chapter 26

yooloo33

Bug Catcher
Pronouns
He/Him
Chapter 26

I woke up the next morning. Sunbeams shone through a porthole window and cast over the bed. Slowly, I started to gather my senses back. I was laying in a warm bed. My arms were wrapped around Athena, who was breathing quietly next to me. Our boat moved across the water, swaying gently. I would have stayed in that moment forever, holding Athena close to me, enjoying the feeling of warmth and satisfaction I felt across my whole body. But as I lay there, our troubles started to come back to me. We were still far outgunned, on a small boat off the coast of a hostile nation. Alola was trying to summon and control Necrozma and we weren’t making any progress towards where, how and when they planned to do it. The boat bumped on a larger wave which jarred me back to the present.
As carefully as I could, I retracted my arms from around Athena, sliding the lower one out from underneath her. Then, still making sure not to make any noise, I stepped out of the bed. My pants and shirt lay on the floor right next to Athena’s damaged dress. We would have to find more clothes in Kalos.
My stomach growled as I pulled my pants on. I fitted my belt with my pokeballs around my waist and headed towards the double doors. Before I stepped out of the cabin, I looked back one more time. Athena lay face down on the bed. Her body was rising and falling rhythmically with her breath. The blanket covered her up to the middle of her waist. I noticed a small marking on her bare back, right below her left shoulder blade. Curious, I stepped back into the room and peered closer. Athena had a small, black tattoo etched on her back. It was a depiction of a Noctowl with its wings spread wide. In its talons, it held an olive branch. Above the owl was a small cluster of text in a semicircle around the pokemon, something in Latin or Greek. I was surprised. I felt like I would have seen that tattoo for how long I had known Athena. The thing was, however long Athena and I were together, how long we survived this crazy situation we had gotten ourselves into, she would always have secrets. Small things that she never would tell to anyone, even me. That was just who she was and I was fine with that.
I gently pulled the blankets up around Athena’s shoulders, making sure they were secured tightly around her body. Then, I planted a kiss on the top of her head and headed out of the cabin.
The whole world seemed to be in sharper definition. The sun felt warmer, the ocean bluer. I saw a Peleper fly overhead, trailed by three Wingull. Our boat was shooting through the water, skipping like a stone against the waves. When Rico saw me, he smiled broadly and waved. I joined him at the helm.
“How’s it going Rico?” I asked him. He grunted happily and pointed. On the far horizon was a black line. I couldn’t make out any details but it looked like land.
I should have felt excited. We were almost to our goal. Instead, I sighed. That line of land represented our next conflict that we faced.
“One step at a time. Right Rico?”
He nodded knowingly. Just then, I noticed that the gas gauge was low. We needed to refuel the boat.
I turned and walked across the deck over to the rear part of the boat. The cargo area was neatly organized with a plastic rack holding red gas cans, different types of boxes of different sizes lining the sides, and a big green metal chest on the far end. I stepped towards the rack holding all the gas cans. My curiosity got the best of me though. I walked over and flipped open the latch on the large chest. The lid swung open. Inside was a stockpile of food. Dry fruits and berries, protein bars, jerky, cans of soup and vegetables. I lifted the giant rack holding the food out of the box. Underneath, there was pokemon food, neatly sorted by pokemon types and natures.
“Score.” I muttered to myself before moving past the box to grab a red gas can off the shelf. I brought the can to the front of the ship. Rico powered down the boat temporarily and I poured the fuel into the gas tank. Rico started the boat up again and we were off once more. Then, I headed back to the chest of food. I selected some dried meat, a few berries and two energy bars for myself, a balanced breakfast. After that, I released all six of my pokemon. They were quite hungry as well. I brought out food and berries for them and they ate happily. Surya perched on the side rail of the ship, Julian and Clair sat in the chairs around the table. The only pokemon I didn’t release was Arthur. He weighed over half a ton and would capsize the boat. I saw Lucio happily spear a berry with the spike on the back of his hands and toss it into his mouth. Despite everything, I couldn’t help but smile. I was really glad to have these six pokemon with me through this. They cared about me and what causes I fought for. I felt a strange sense of determination at my pokemon’s cheerfulness. There was no group of pokemon I would rather have my back and fight on my behalf.
Once they had eaten their fill of food, I returned them all to their pokeballs including Rico. He had piloted this boat all through the night and deserved a break. I sat back in the chair in front of all the controls and took a deep breath, trying to collect my thoughts. I hadn’t been to Kalos too many times, my assignments were always in Galar. The last of which was destroying the Kalos National Legendary Research Facility. That made me realize: Athena and I had a mortal enemy in one of the highest positions in the Kalosian government. If Malva got even a whiff of us being in the country, she would tear the region apart looking for us. We needed to travel under the radar.
I heard the sound of a boat off the port side. I turned and saw three speed boats zipping through the water towards our boat. My mind immediately assumed the worst. They were here to seize this boat and arrest us.
Andrew calm down. Maybe they’re friendly. I thought but in the back of my mind I knew that they were here for a reason. I accelerated the boat forward. The three speedboats fanned out, adjusting their heading so they followed behind our boat. I pretended not to notice them.
“Athena. We have a problem!” I called into the cabin. There was no response.
The boats moved in around our boat.
Slowly, carefully, I eased my hand down to my belt and picked up a pokeball. The Acuity still moved through the water but it was too slow. There was no way we were going to outrun them.
“Stop your vehicle otherwise we will be forced to disable it!” The voice yelled at me through a loudspeaker. I took a deep breath, slowing the boat. I had to make a move before they expected it. If they got onto this boat, it was over for us. In a flash, I tossed my pokeball up into the air. The boat left it behind as we cut through the water.
The pokeball burst open and Surya flew out. She spun herself rapidly in midair, sending embers flames shooting off her wings down on the boats. In the same instant, I floored the accelerators. Our boat jolted forward with new life. Surya cawed and sent a blast of flame at the frontmost speedboat.
“Surya! Come!” I called over the wind. Surya obeyed and flew back towards the boat.
“Athena! Athena! Wake up. We’re under attack!” I yelled into the cabin. I wrenched the boat to the side, avoiding a cluster a black rocks. The sudden movement sent a spray of water up onto the windshield. I looked behind us. The squadron of boats had collected themselves and were shooting towards our boat much faster than I had anticipated.
“Athena!” I yelled desperately. A large stone shot from one of the boats and barely missed above us. I wrenched the controls to the side, cutting back and forth, trying to make us a hard target. I reached down to my belt and pushed the button releasing Lucio.
“Hit em with a psychic!” I yelled over the sound of the roaring engine. The boats were still gaining. Lucio ran to the back of the boat. He focused for a moment, his arms outstretched and launched a purple beam of energy towards the leftmost boat. The beam missed wide. The boat responded with a blast of its own energy at us. It smashed into the upper corner of the canopy, shattering the plexiglass. Small shards rained down all around me. Lucio returned fire but the boats were coming closer. I sent a mental command to Surya who was flying overhead. In a lighting move, she launched herself at the middle boat. The boat swerved and lost speed as a rain of hot coals fell from the sky. The other two boats were starting to get dangerously close to our boat. Lucio shot another psychic blast which connected with the hull of the rightmost boat, shattering the windscreen. I saw something out of the corner of my eye and instinctively ducked. A rock the size of my fist was launched from one of the boats. Another rock impacted into the side of the boat. A seed pod shot past my head and crashed into the windscreen. I dove down to the floor of the boat as our pursuit hurled everything at our boat. Another stone caught Lucio in the chest, knocking him backwards.
“Surya!” I yelled desperately. Talonflame heard my call and understood my order.
“Aerial Ace!” She dove down again. The people on the speed boats were focused on immobilizing the Acuity and didn’t see Talonflame up in the sky. I looked up as Surya dove towards the deck of one of the ships. In a precise movement, she slammed into a figure on the boat and launched him overboard. The other people tried to return fire but Surya had shot back up into the clouds. I heard a dull Thunk on the starboard side of the ship. I looked up. A thick green vine had launched from one of the boats and attached itself the railing, tethering us to the other boat. I threw myself back to the ground as a large blob of black ink shot over my head, splattering onto the controls of our boat.
I grabbed a pokeball and tossed it overboard, sending a verbal command to Julian to dive deep. If he launched an attack on one of the enemy boats now, he would be blasted. I saw Surya circling in the clouds above our battle. I couldn’t attack with her. They would expect that. Another Thunk alerted me to another vine grappling hook attaching itself to our boat. The two vines pulled taut, holding the Acuity in place. I had to do something otherwise we would be overrun. Lucio was still firing off attacks at the other boats, most to no avail. I heard a noise in the cabin of the Acuity. Just as I turned to look at what it was, I felt myself yank me down to the bow of the ship. I tried to grab onto the railing but my head cracked painfully against the side of the ship. I cried out as I was dragged back. I tried to grab onto something but nothing found purchase. Lucio was also being dragged backwards but he had found a good grip on the side rails, holding himself in place. He looked desperately in my direction, unable to help me as I slid along the deck. I couldn’t see anything pulling us towards the water. With a desperate cry I lunged for the large green food box. My fingers grabbed onto it and closed but I couldn’t find purchase on the smooth metal surface. My hands slipped and I was thrown into the ocean. I had just enough time to suck in a deep breath of air before I submerged into the cold water.
Everything was quiet beneath the waves compared to the sound of revving engines and pokemon’s battle cries above. I kicked up towards the surface but then I felt something snake its way under my arm. I cried out in shock, losing more of my air. The thing ran its way back around my other side, above my shoulder by my neck. I started thrashing around, kicking upwards with my feet, flailing at my invisible foe with my hands. I lunged to the surface, sucking in a deep breath of air. In my moment of relief, I forgot about the creature in the water below me. It slithered around my legs. Before I could do anything, the creature wound itself around my left leg and with an almighty tug, it yanked me underwater.
Now I’ve faced down danger and fear before. It came with the territory of being a pokemon trainer. But the feeling of helplessness was something I would never get used to. Being dragged to the depths by a slithery eel pokemon, unable to move or fight back. That was right up there with having your dreams invaded by a Mismagius. I struggled with all my might, trying and failing to keep from freaking out the whole way. The creature held me around the waist. I smashed a punch into it but being under water, it had no effect. I was starting to pass out. Black spots danced on the sides of my vision. My lungs screamed for air. I saw a shape in the water approaching. The creature holding me turned towards it and sent a blast of electricity towards the figure. I was starting to pass out. Well, this is the end isn’t it? I thought. I stopped struggling and just lay face up in the water. No use fighting anymore. I closed my eyes.
Was it just me or was the creature loosening its grip? Was I ascending? Had I drowned and was leaving my mortal body behind? I felt myself surface and sucked in a suge gasp of air. My eyes shot open, momentarily panicked. I was still in the water. There were three boats surrounding the Acuity but they hadn’t boarded our boat yet. A beam of energy shot from the boat and smashed into the hull of the middle speedboat. I looked down in the water. A yellow pulse shot through the water deep below me. Two figures were battling underneath the waves.
I saw a pokeball fly from one of the speedboats and drop into the water about 20 feet to the left of where I was treading water. A huge pokemon emerged from the pokeball. The pokemon was a long, blue serpent. It had two angry red eyes and a blue crown-like crest on top of its head. The pokemon glared at me, baring its enormous fangs and started swimming towards me. For the second time in as many minutes, I panicked and desperately tried to swim away from the pokemon. Of course, it was much faster than I and closed the distance easily. I couldn’t use any of my pokemon. They would be useless in the water against this monstrosity. Julian was fighting something below the waves if he hadn’t been knocked out in the time I had been getting my bearings.
The Gyrados was almost upon me. It rose above the water, towering over me, baring its fangs. It let out a terrifying roar that shook me to the core. Out of nowhere, the ocean below the pokemon began to boil and a pokemon shot from below the waves. It was shaped like the Gyarados; tube shaped and serpent-like, but this pokemon was light red and blue. Two antennae jutted from the top of its head. That’s all I saw before the creature launched itself at the Gyarados. It smashed into the larger serpent and bit into the Gyarados’ thick hide. The Gyarados roared angrily and tried to shake itself from the Milotic but it held on. I started to swim away from the two pokemon battling towards the Acuity. There were still attacks being traded back and forth from the three boats. Nobody seemed to be able to make any progress despite there being three boats against our one. One of the vine grappling hooks had been incinerated and hung limply off the edge of our boat.
I reached the rear of the boat as I heard a noise deep in the water. Immediately after, a large shockwave radiated from the water. All four boats shook from the force of the underwater attack. I had to cling on for dear life to the ladder hanging off the side of the Acuity to keep from being knocked off. A blast of pink energy shot past my left ear. I hauled myself back into the boat. On deck, things were just as chaotic. Lucio crouched behind one of the railings, taking potshots at the other boats. Hydreigon howled angrily and blasted dark energy towards the enemy, deflecting a purple attack headed directly for the controls of the ship. Cindy, Athena’s Ninetales sent a column of flame at one of the boats but it was absorbed. Rose stood in front of the control panel, deflecting incoming projectiles with multicolored screens and precise blasts of energy. Behind Rose stood Athena. She was soaked head to toe as I was, desperately trying to do something with the ship’s control panel. She whirled around and pointed. At first I thought she was pointing at me but her gaze went past me. I turned around just as the Milotic who had rescued me wrapped its multicolored tail around Gayrados' head. All of a sudden, Julian surged up from the water and sank his teeth into the Gyarados. The enormous serpent pokemon roared angrily.
“Surya now!” I yelled, commanding my fire bird who was still circling above the battlefield, waiting for her opportunity. As soon as she heard me, she streaked into a dive, plummeting towards the water. At the last moment, she angled her wings, increasing her angle until she shot across the waves parallel to the water. Without slowing down, she smashed into the Gyarados, beak and talons slicing through its hide like paper. The Gyarados groaned as its strength started to fade. Surya followed through her attack and shot back up into the air, flapping her wings.
“Nice to see you at this time in the morning.” I said to Athena.
“Shut up. I had Miclotic save you didn’t I?” She responded, almost playfully.
“Look out!” She yelled before I could respond.
I whirled around and dove for cover as a large rock smashed into the deck right where I had been standing moments before. The other boats had started to recover and were throwing everything they had at us. Vines roped their way from the other boats. Cindy burnt them away as fast as she could but they kept coming. Salvos of attacks were shot at us. I hid behind the railing of the boat. The Gyrados roared and shook Julian off it. Something heavy splashed into the water with a FOOM.
“We gotta do something!” I yelled to Athena who was pinned down a few feet from where I lay. If I released any of my pokemon, they would be lit up by an attack before they could hide behind cover. A rock caught Cindy in the shoulder and she yelped in pain before collapsing to the deck of the ship. Surya flew above the battle but now she was under fire. A pokemon on the other ships was firing beams of ice up at her. None connected with my agile bird but they forced her to dodge and weave evasively in the air. Lucio was crouched behind one of the chairs at the back of the ship.
Something had to be done and Lucio was the only one in position to do anything. I looked at him. He looked back at me. I nodded, he nodded. I could feel exactly what he was thinking, I had the same idea in mind. I reached into my shirt, grabbing the pendant resting on my chest. I drew the keystone and held it in the palm of my hand. Lucio locked eyes with me. I pressed the keystone. Immediately, I felt a pulse of energy shoot from the stone, blasting past my hand and out across the boat. Something started to glimmer bright white on Lucio’s shoulder, growing brighter and brighter until I had to look away. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the bright energy start to expand. Lucio stood up confidently, facing the horde of enemies on the three boats. The energy started to envelop him. The pokemon on the other boats started to fire attacks at him. Nothing connected. Energy was absorbed, projectiles bounced off his ball of power. I heard a whining, the same sound I had heard back in the forest of Kalos all those months ago. The whine grew in pitch and volume until it was a shriek of power. The ball of energy shattered everywhere. I heard Lucio bark but it wasn’t his regular bark, it reverberated with power. His form had changed. He was less slender, legs were bigger and accented with red. Five black and red tails fell from his head down his back. He now had two pairs of spikes on the backs of his hands. He barked again in challenge which brought me out of my wowed state. I had to command him. Can you jump to the other boat? I thought towards him. He picked up on what I was trying to tell him faster than I would have thought. As soon as I had commanded him, he lept into the air, launching himself towards the middle boat. A large rock was launched at him. Lucio smashed it out of the air mid leap. He landed on the other speedboat and I lost sight of him. However, I did see a trainer forcefully thrown overboard. I heard a sharp crack and a pokemon groan. Athena was the first to react.
“Hydro pump!” she yelled to her Milotic in the water. The red and blue serpent rose from the water on its tail and blasted one of the boats with water, clearing the deck and forcing the occupants to dive down or be launched off the side. I stood up and punched the button on one of my pokeballs. Clair emerged and roared, ready to do battle with the enemy. She received my mental command and dashed towards the edge of the boat. Without hesitation, my Golisopod jumped up and dove headlong into the water, joining Julian and Athena’s Milotic in their attack on the boats. I saw a flash of light on the middle speedboat and Lucio leaped up into the air, slamming down on the ship.
“Forward!” I yelled. Athena and my waterborne pokemon closed the distance between the Acuity and the enemy ships.
The middle speed boat began to list to the side. I saw Julian launch himself out of the water and land on the leftmost speedboat. Lucio lept from the middle boat up into the air, holding his palms together, open towards the enemy ship. In a flash, a beam of energy shot from his palms, smashing into the boat. The beam cut through the solid metal like it was paper, slicing the boat clean in half. As Lucio destroyed one of the boats, the middle speedboat started to sink. As Lucio fell, Surya dove out of the air, catching him in her talons and guided him back onto our boat. Clair joined Julian on the final boat. It was a total rout. I heard cries of surprised trainers and pokemon as Julian and Clair fought on the deck of the last boat. After a few moments I called:
“Clair. Julian back off!”
They didn’t want to, I could tell but they dove back into the water. As they did. I tossed my last pokeball high into the air. The ball glistened in the sun as it spun towards the last boat. The ball opened in mid air and Arthur sprang out. He knew the exact situation he was in, flying through the air. As soon as the ball opened, he fell like a deadweight. In an instant, he smashed into the back of the boat. The whole craft listed up into the air at the sudden addition of 1,000 pounds to its hull. To my left, I saw Athena twitch her hand. Her Milotic surged out of the ocean, blasting a geyser of water out of its maw at the bottom of the ship. The boat slowly started to tilt further and further backwards. I saw the last trainer on the craft jump overboard as the boat flipped upside down. In an instant, I called Arthur back as the final speed boat landed in the water with a large splash.
Julian and Clair hopped back up onto the Acuity. Athena recalled her Milotic and I recalled Surya. Peeping over the rail, I saw the carnage we had caused. Pokemon and trainers alike were flailing around in the water. There was wreckage from all of the boats floating in the water.
“Andrew.” Athena came up behind me and put her hand on my shoulder. “We need to move.”
“Right.” I said, shaking away my momentary regret at having to capsize these trainers. I hoped that they could be rescued.
I turned and walked over to the controls. They were covered in black ink from one of the attacks. Come to think of it, our whole boat was in ruins. Chairs, tables, boxes and all other sorts of things that had been laying on the deck had been drawn to the rear of the boat and lay in a messy pile at the rear of our boat. That was, if they had not been launched overboard.
“Where were you?” I asked her as I sat down in the soggy pilot’s seat.
“I got out of the cabin just in time to see you be launched over the side of the boat.”
“Thanks for the assist anyways.” I grumbled.
“Andrew…” Athena said as if she wanted to say something.
“What is it?” I turned the key of the Acuity’s engine. The motor coughed, spluttered, then weakly spun to life. I slowly eased the sticky accelerator forward, the whole time getting my hands covered in black ink. The boat had taken a beating but fortunately we hadn’t sustained any sort of damage to our engine or rudder. The craft didn’t want to go but as I pushed the two accelerators forward, it reluctantly complied.
“Last night… It was the first time I had ever told anyone all that. I’m normally a light sleeper but the relief of finally being able to confide in someone… I slept soundly for the first time in a long while.” Athena said.
“I am really glad you were able to finally trust me enough to tell me. That was a brave thing to do.”
Athena bent down and kissed me.
We started to put distance between ourselves and the wrecks of the three boats. The Kalos mainland started to become more defined on the horizon.
“I hope they will be fine.” I said, looking back at the wreckage we had caused.
“I would think that there is some sort of rescue team that will save them…” Athena said.
“You don’t care?” I questioned her.
“Those weren't the Kalosian coast guard. If it was, they’d have come in with more force. We wouldn’t have even stood a chance. Fortunately for us, Kalos’ coast guard is about as strong as a Rowlett fighting a Groudon. These shores are wracked with piracy.”
“So we were just attacked by pirates?”
“No. Those were for sure ALPL. I think I saw someone who I recognized on the middle boat. Aside from that, their pokemon choice, their attack pattern, it all lines up with ALPL.”
Our boat limped its way through the water. Despite not having damage to the engine or rudder, something made the ship shake and sway back and forth if we cranked the accelerator too high. The sun had fully risen in the sky, shining down upon us. Still, I shivered. The landmass of Kalos started to gain definition against the horizon. I saw a forest of trees on one side of the curved landmass. On the other side, was a city.
“Should we call Cynthia and tell her what happened?” Athena asked me.
“I don’t think so. We should at least reach the shore and get our feet on the ground first, you know?”
Athena nodded in agreement.
As we got closer to the mainland, there were more ships in the water. Everything from fishing boats to transportation vessels to an enormous yacht that sounded its horn as it passed us. They were either heading to the port ahead of us or out to sea.
A small squadron of police boats to our port side all suddenly turned on their sirens and headed out to sea. For a moment, I was concerned that they had recognized us but the boats shot right past us.
“We don’t have a space to moor our ship.” Athena observed as I steered our craft into the line of ships waiting for entry to a marina on the northern side of the city.
“Just play along. I think we can buy one at the docks.” I said confidently. In truth, I had no idea what to expect, Kalos was alien to me. My whole life I had been told that they were the bad guys, everything they did was in the service of their own greedy objectives. Now looking at Courlamine City, it didn’t look much different from Curulian or Viridian city in Kanto.
Our turn in the queue arrived.
“Greetings. Do you have registration for this boat in Kalos?” A short, portly man asked us from what looked like a toll booth suspended over the water.
“Yes we do. One moment.” Athena replied, getting up from her seat and going into the cabin.
“Apologies for taking notice but your boat seems….” He pointed at the absolute mess that was the deck.
“In complete disarray?” I guessed, coolly. “We hit some rough seas yesterday.”
“I see.” The man said. I caught a note of doubt in his voice.
Athena returned with a folder of papers.
“I think I have it somewhere in here…. Ah yes! Here it is.” She triumphantly drew out a paper covered in text and handed it to the man in the booth.
“Ah yes… I see…” He said, inspecting the sheet of paper, then typing on his computer. I had enough time to look over at Athena, concerned at how long he was taking to write down our information when the man turned to us.
“Here’s your registration. This ship already has a mooring here. And in Sinnoh for that matter… You two must know some powerful people to get a registration like that. That’s not my business though. Go ahead and go on through. I recommend getting that canopy checked out though.” He said.
“We will. Thank you sir.” Athena said. Before the man could call us back, I accelerated the boat into the marina.
 
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Chapter 27

yooloo33

Bug Catcher
Pronouns
He/Him
Chapter 27

A&A: This is C. Asset is running late, Moving meeting time back to tomorrow.
Meet the asset in the Sawsbuck Coffee at Grand National Station in Shalour City
10:30 AM
He will find you.
Stay on radio silence until I message you again. No time to explain right now.

I looked up from my phone.
“We’ve got our time. Tomorrow at 10:30.” I told Athena. She was driving our rental car down Route 13 towards Lumiose city. The highway was crowded with rush hour traffic of cars and trucks of all shapes and sizes.
“Better book us a hotel then right?” Athena replied, condescendingly. Since she had detailed her life to me, and our kiss on the deck of the Acuity, she seemed to be lightening up a little bit, finally warming up to me. I was seeing emotions from her that I would have never known were possible for her to express. The fact that she could finally open up a little bit after her trauma, it made me very happy.
“Okay okay. I had planned on us sleeping in an alley but if you insist-” I was cut off when she reached over and smacked me on the arm.
“Shut up. I have to focus on the road.”
“You started it…” I grinned, ducking out of the way of another smack. I laughed and Athena couldn’t help but join in as we rode down the highway. In our current state, it was a surprise that we could find any sort of positive emotion but with that in mind, positivity was the only way we were going to be able to get through this without going insane or freezing up at a crucial moment. Athena and I both understood that and so we stayed positive.

***

Athena and I must have looked like a sorry lot checking into the hotel. The water had dried but my shoes hadn’t and squished when I walked. My hair was a mess and my clothes were all wrinkled from being dunked in the ocean. Athena might have looked worse than me (that was a first.) Her dress was creased along the hem and torn down the shoulder. Her heels were ruined and she didn’t have any socks on under the shoes; hardly a look for two people checking into a four star hotel.
I had brought up the issue of an ID to Athena. We needed some sort of proof that we lived in Kalos to get our hotel. My fake identification didn’t work in Kalos. Athena had produced two cards from inside her shoe. One had been a credit card and the other had been a Kalosian driver’s license. How she had known that we needed a spare ID was just one of the beautiful mysteries of Athena.
We got some strange looks from the hotel guests and receptionists when we checked in but they ultimately waved us through. We reached our room on the sixth floor and unlocked it. It was a really nice room with a kitchenette, two bedrooms, a living room with a good quality TV and a marble tiled bathroom. A large window looked out at a busy street below us. There was anything we could want from a hotel room there.
“This is really nice. Good choice.” Athena said, stepping into the room and taking everything in. “Thanks. I chose it by hand.” I replied. We didn’t have anything to unpack but by that point it was lunch time.
“Do you want me to go out and get something to eat? I can get some clothes that don’t make you stick out as well.” I asked Athena.
“How about we order room service and while they’re making it, you can go run some errands.”
“Sounds like a good plan to me.” I said, standing up and picking up my jacket off the bed.
And so it was. The first thing I did after leaving the hotel room was call a taxi and ride to the nearest pokemon center. I dropped off my and Athena’s six pokemon. Then, I rode to the nearest branch of the Bank of Saffron. There, I got a new credit card and withdrew 500 Poki in cash.
After that, I rode over to a general merchandise store and made some purchases. I bought a pair of sweatpants, three T-shirts, a gray hoodie and a pair of shoes for Atheana. I bought a cheap wallet, a new pair of shoes and a baseball hat for myself. I picked up our 12 pokemon and returned to our hotel. The whole time I was at the bank and shopping, something felt off. Nobody was conversing with each other. People were trying to move from point A to point B as efficiently as possible. The cashier didn’t speak with me or even make eye contact while I was checking out. Even the nurse at the pokemon center didn’t speak with me. My taxi driver had tried to make conversation but it all felt forced and out of the ordinary for him. Kalos was a completely different animal. I could only assume that the people here were afraid to talk to the wrong person and get in trouble.
I returned to our hotel room. Athena sat on one of the beds. Her hair was wet, implying that she had taken a shower which reminded me that I probably smelled bad as well. Athena had found a hairbrush and was brushing out her silky black hair.
“What did you get for me?” I asked, joining her sitting on the bed.
“A steak. You always chose to eat that back at ALPL.”
“Aww thanks.” I gave her a quick kiss before heading to the living room area where my plate lay. Shortly thereafter, Athena joined me. She was wearing her new clothes and carried a plate with a half eaten club sandwich.
“We need to go out and get our new outfits after we eat here.” She said, sitting across from me.
“Can’t we just roll with what we have? You have your new stuff and I can find a laundromat for my clothes.”
“No. I’m thinking we completely overhaul what we wear. It will help us fit in around here.”
She put her hand on my arm. “Trust me on this one.”
“I do. Where are we going to go?” I said, spearing a piece of steak.
“Well,” Athena smiled. “We are being bankrolled by the champion of Sinnoh.”
I returned her smile.
“I like how you think Athena. When do we leave?”
Athena’s smile faded a little bit.
“I think it would be for the better if we went separately.”
Slightly disappointed, I nodded and swallowed my bite of steak.
“If you say so. Just be careful. There are a lot of people here and I wouldn’t doubt that there are Kalosian agents on the prowl. Kalos is Dennis’ home turf. This whole place seems… off somehow.”
“Thanks for the warning Andrew but remember, I used to live here. I’ll be fine.” Athena stood and tugged her hoodie on.
“I appreciate your concern though.” With that, she headed for the door. I watched her go. It was easy to forget that Athena was a more than capable trainer who could, and had fended for herself. I took a deep breath and sighed. Then I went back to my steak.

***
I caught another taxi, this time to the shopping and fashion district in Lumiose. It took a while to get there as the streets were clogged with traffic. Pedestrians strode along, glaring straight ahead, not looking left or right. The taxi ride gave me time to reflect on the fact that all this was under the control of my girlfriend’s father. That was such a strange thought, it probably was worse for her, having to see his speeches and policies and how they affected the region. Or maybe she had fully disconnected herself with him in a manner where it just didn’t matter anymore. So far, except for the man at the marina, everyone who I had interacted with had seemed… disconnected, almost like they didn’t want to associate themselves with me. But why though? Were they afraid? Afraid of what? These questions swirled around in my mind until my taxi stopped outside a large clothing boutique.
“Thank you.” I said to the taxi driver, paying him and stepping out onto the curb. He said nothing.

***

By the time I had finished with my shopping, it was 9:00 PM and I was 20,000 Poki poorer. Fashion boutiques were merciless with their prices. I set the bags with my new clothes on one of the armchairs and prepared for bed. It was really early but I was still trying to catch up with the time change and today had been another very stressful day. Athena wasn’t back yet. I wouldn’t start to be worried until it got later. I headed for the bathroom and brushed my teeth. As per usual, I released Rico from his pokeball to keep watch over me while I slept. After that, I lay down and closed my eyes. A battle at sea, a bluff through an immigration checkpoint, a long drive to Lumiose city. All in a day’s work. I had to admit to myself, I was uncharted ground. In my years in espionage, there had been exciting and dangerous events. A battle here, an intel delivery there, a deceptive identity to keep intact. All of that happened over the course of many years. In these past few days, since I had reunited with Athena, it had just been one thing after another. There was no chance of slowing down either. The meeting with Cynthia’s agent promised to shed new light on our plight. What sort of agent was so good that he could get intel that Athena and I didn’t know. Us two were top of the line but as always, there was another layer, another depth below.
Just as I was drifting off to sleep, I heard the door latch click. Instantly I was on alert. I scrambled for my pokeballs on the nightstand table. The door swung open and Athena strode into our room.
“Geez! Don’t scare me like that!” I said, my arm still poised to throw the pokeball with Clair into the hallway.
“Sorry I’m late. The cashier at one of the stores was super slow wringing me up.” Athena said, closing the door behind her.
“It's all good. I was just heading off to bed. Just… you know… habits.”
Athena disappeared into the bathroom and I lay back in bed. The sudden rush of adrenaline had cranked my heart rate up, it still beat rapidly in my chest. I took a deep breath, calming myself. A few minutes went by. Athena left the bathroom and went into her room. A few more minutes passed. I shifted positions to my side, feeling myself start to drift off. I heard a noise at the foot of my bed. I opened my eyes just as Athena laid down onto the bed next to me. She lay close to me. I felt her arms wrap around me so I did the same.
“Good night Andrew.” She whispered. I closed my eyes, enjoying the feeling of being close to someone who I loved. I drew her close to me and kissed her. We locked lips for a few moments, then I drew back.
“Good night Athena.” I spoke quietly. I closed my eyes and soon was drifting off to sleep.
 
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Chapter 28

yooloo33

Bug Catcher
Pronouns
He/Him
Chapter 28

I woke up early the next morning. Athena was already up. I heard her humming a tune behind the bathroom door. Rolling out of bed, I checked the clock radio. It was 6:30 in the morning. There was no light coming in from around the blinds. While the winter in Kalos wasn’t as sharp as Sinnoh, it was still winter so the sun probably hadn’t risen yet. I picked up my empty pokeball and returned Rico. Then, I headed over to my shopping bags. It was time to get ready for the day.
First came the pair of brown cargo pants. I put them on over a clean pair of underwear. Then, I pulled on a black turtleneck, tugging it at the shoulders and chest to fit it snugly onto me. I cut the tags off a dark blue aviator jacket and put it on over the turtleneck. Next was a turquoise infinity scarf. I had hesitated on the scarf but the cold outside had convinced me that I needed it. The last few boxes had smaller items. Inside the first was a dark blue baseball cap with a logo of an angry Togepi kicking a soccer ball. The logo was for the Hillbury Hustlers soccer team. I had followed them closely when I lived in Galar and was glad I could find a hat of theirs. The next box was a small one. Inside was a pair of sports sunglasses. I set them on top of the brim of my hat. Only two boxes left. One simply had a plain black bandana. I had lost my other one in the chase through Canalave city. Now I had a replacement. As per usual, I tied it around my right leg. Finally, I opened the last box. Inside it was a pair black combat boots. Perfect for walking, running or kicking Dennis Andersson in the nuts if need be.
I finished tightening up the laces on my new boots and then checked myself in the mirror. The look was exactly what I had intended it to be. Then, the door to the bathroom opened. Athena strode out and all notions of looking good were blown out of the water. She was wearing a long washed black duster over tight black jeans and a red faux-leather crop top. One her feet were fuzzy, black hiking boots and she had a pair of aviator sunglasses on her head. Her hair was drawn back behind her head in a loose braid.
“Hey. You look great!” I greeted her.
“Thanks. You don’t look too bad yourself.” She smiled. The vote of confidence from someone so beautiful instantly made me feel more confident. Athena and I gathered our stuff. We still didn’t have very many items and what we did have was easily fitted into jacket or pants pockets. I fit my six pokeballs onto the belt around my waist. The same belt that I had brought from Cynthia’s mansion. After that, we headed downstairs and checked out of the hotel. Fortunately this time we weren’t attacked and chased. We headed out of the lobby and to our rental car.
Athena started the car. After a quick stop for breakfast, we were headed for Grand National Station.

***
“How much do you want to bet that he won’t be here?” Athena asked me, skeptically. We sat at a table in the corner of the Sawsbuck Coffee watching the crowds of people walk past the store and through the train station. I heard an announcement over the PA system about a train arriving on rail 15.
“He’ll be here.” I said confidently, scanning the busy coffee shop. There was the hubbub that was pretty standard in coffee shops. People chatting, the sounds of coffee being made, ambient jazz being played over the speakers. In my time before becoming a Kantonian agent, I had spent much time in coffee shops like this one, doing homework, meeting friends and just otherwise hanging out. That thought made me feel slightly sad. For the millionth time in the past week, I wondered how I had gotten in this situation. Waiting for an agent that worked for the champion of the Sinnoh region in a coffee shop in a Kalosian train station. Even in a cheerful coffee shop like this, the Kalosian people were in a subdued mood. Everyone went about their activities without any small talk or chatter.
“My 10 o’clock. Do you see the man in the brown trench coat?” Athena interrupted my mental musings. A man entered the coffee shop. I could tell why Athena brought him to my attention. He certainly looked like a normal coffee drinker but the way he walked, his hunched posture, how he carried himself, it wasn’t in the same way that the average Kalosian commuter acted. He pushed his way through the door and into the coffee shop. As if to prove Athena’s point, he immediately turned and started walking towards our table. As he came closer, I could make out more about him. He was slightly older, probably mid 40s or so and had dark brown eyes and messy brown hair. His facial features were rigid and he had thick brown eyebrows. He was wearing a brown trench coat and underneath, a rumpled maroon two piece suit with a red tie. He sat down in the chair across from Athena and I.
“You two were the folks that Cynthia wanted me to help?” He greeted us, confident that he had found the right people. His voice was deep and smooth. If he dialed it up, I had no doubt that it could be very relaxing and seductive.
“Yeah… You look familiar somehow. Have we met?” I replied, equally as randomly as he had greeted us. He did look familiar. I felt like we had crossed paths at some point.
“I’ve been around for a while. Maybe you have.”
“So what do you know that would be relevant to our mission?” Athena asked, guiding us back to the point.
“I would tell you right now, but I have a shadow. Over my shoulder. The burly man in the red sweatpants and black hoodie, he’s been following me through the whole station.” He said in a slightly hushed tone. He was right. There was a huge dark skinned man with a hoodie over his head. He seemed to be keeping track of our new friend.
“Want me to run interference? Athena, you two can go together and I’ll meet up with you later.” I instantly offered, already calculating how I would distract the man.
“No. Follow my lead. Wait here for a few seconds after I get up and then follow me. Stay a few feet back of me. Once we get out of the station I can shake him.” Without waiting for us to agree with the plan, the man in the brown trench coat stood up from the table and walked towards the coffee shop door. Sure enough, the man in the red sweatpants got up and followed him.
“Let's go.” Athena said, standing from her chair. We exited the coffee shop and followed after our informant.
The Grand National Station was enormous. It was the central hub of all trains running through Kalos. There were countless tracks. Trains were arriving and leaving all the time. There were constant announcements over the PA. It was mid morning and everyone was in their commuting rush. Vast throngs of people pushed their way across enormous cement walkways. Past shops, ATMs and ticket booths. We followed the man in the brown trench coat through the station. He moved fast, efficiently maneuvering his way through the crowds of people. The large man pursuing him struggled through the chaos, trying to keep up. Athena grabbed my hand, gripping it tightly to keep from losing me in the crowd. The man in the brown trench coat climbed up an escalator, casually taking two steps at a time. Athena and I took the escalator to the left of his, closing the gap between him and us to avoid losing him. The man in the brown trench coat continued parallel to the rails. A train shot into the station, only stopping at the last moment. The doors opened and more people pushed their way out of the train cars and onto the walkways. Ahead of us there was a doorway labeled Employees Only with a staircase leading up to it. The man in the trench coat walked towards it. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the man in the sweatpants shove past one last line of people and cut the man in the trenchcoat off from his primary exit. Adapting his plan, He cut back across the platform, moving away from the employees only door. The crowd of people was all walking one way which made it much easier to cover ground. The man in the trench coat walked on the other side of the platform. The man in sweatpants followed him. Neither of them saw the Employees Only door open. Out came three police officers. They were clothed in blue with thick black utility belts. On each one was a nightstick, a taser and two pokeballs. They walked down the stairs. It was clear what they were here for. Each of them looked down at the throng of people and at the wake that the sweatpants man and our informant was making in the crowd.
“That’s not good.” I said to Athena. We pushed our way right behind the three officers. People made way for them as they moved through the crowds.
“No it's not. Those aren’t real police officers, their uniforms aren’t the same. Enough to make them look it though.” Athena said.
“Our asset doesn't know about this pursuit.” I accidentally elbowed a pedestrian in the face as I passed. Athena and I followed close behind the fake officers.
Then, an opportunity presented itself to me that I couldn’t pass up. One of the fake police officers stumbled on an uneven piece of cement. Our asset didn’t know about these other people chasing him. We needed to head these three off. I stepped forwards and swung my foot, tripping him up. The man fell to the cement. Instantly, the two other officers turned towards me.
“Get to our man! Get him out of here!” I yelled to Athena. Then, without waiting for her to respond, I dashed the other direction down the train platform.
“Stop!” I heard one of the fake officers yell to me as if I was going to listen to him.
I cut left, dodging around a luggage cart. The crowds parted in surprise as I tore down the platform. I turned a corner into a staircase and ran up them two at a time. I heard the sound of someone breathing hard behind me, then the sound of a pokeball opening and a pokemon roar. I dove around the next corner into a nice looking restaurant, my forearms smacking painfully into the cement. A pokemon attack blasted past where I had dove from. I tore through the restaurant. One of the patrons remarked in shock as I snatched her plate off the table. The ALPL agent dressed as a police officer crashed through the restaurant behind me. I whirled around and hurled the plate across my body at the man. He ducked out of the way. I backed up against the bar and grabbed a bourbon glass in each hand. Those two went flying at the man. He dodged one but the second caught him in the stomach. Behind the man, a huge purple and yellow cat strode into the restaurant. I snatched a pokeball from my belt and tossed it out. Clair appeared right in front of the man. He was only saved when his cat lunged up off one of the tables and right at my massive Golisopod. As I dashed for one of the tables, Clair punched the Laiperd into oblivion with an uppercut. I snatched a steak knife from the plate belonging to a patron that had fled the building and flung it overhead at the ALPL agent. The knife stabbed deep into his leg and he cried out in pain. A second agent appeared in the doorway. I called Clair back and dashed for the exit.
I ran along the walkway. I was on the upper floor of the train station. Beyond a green railing was about a 50 foot drop down into the bustling station below. It was much less crowded on the balcony. There were also higher class businesses. Restaurants, bars, VIP Lounges, a few offices for train lines and so on. That’s what I noticed while sprinting down the walkway, my feet slapping on the cement. I rounded another corner and wove between two stone pillars. Thinking quickly I ducked into the men’s bathroom. I wheeled around the corner of the large white room and stepped into a bathroom stall, locking the door behind me. I leaned against a wall, trying to catch my breath. There was nobody in this enormous bathroom which was a surprise considering how crowded the ground floor of the train station was. I stood up and sat on top of the toilet, hiding my feet from the view of anyone who might come in here and took a deep breath. A few minutes passed. Then, I heard someone walk into the bathroom. The footsteps came closer and closer. I heard a rough voice say:
“He has to be in here. Sawk, find him.” There was the sound of a pokeball opening. The ALPL agent was here.
I had to do something. Slowly, carefully, I eased myself up from where I was sitting, reaching down and drawing a pokeball with three fingers. I didn’t have any sort of weapon on me so I personally couldn’t take him down. Athena and I had agreed that carrying knives into a train station was probably a bad idea. I could hear the man and his pokemon right outside the bathroom stall. I knew exactly what to do. In an instant, I threw my pokeball down at the stall door. The ball bounced underneath the door and I heard Lucio bark.
“AH-” The man’s cry was cut short by the sound of a punch impacting on him. The Sawk cried out and I heard the sounds of two pokemon fighting. I rushed forward and undid the lock on the door just in time to see Lucio throw the Sawk across the bathroom. The pokemon smashed into the wall, out cold. Lucio looked at me, nodded smartly, then collapsed. In my anxiousness to take out the ALPL agent, I had forgotten that Lucio was still exhausted from mega evolving yesterday. I felt bad. He had saved us in the ocean and as thanks I had just thrown him out for another battle.
I heard my phone ringing in my jacket pocket. The number calling was Athena. I answered it.
“Athena? Thank Arceus. Are you clear?”
“This isn’t Athena.” Came the voice on the other end. It was the deep voice of our informant.
“Where is she?” I demanded.
“She’s watching the door. We’re in the security room. There’s a clear escape route for us but Athena insisted that we help you.”
I took a deep breath and sighed in relief.
“Thanks for that. I need it.”
“Yeah. Where are you?”
“I’m on the top floor. In a bathroom where I just dropped an ALPL agent posing as a cop. I’m pretty sure that they’re looking for me now.”
“Oh yes they are. I see all sorts of Kalosian security poking around. I don’t think they have a description of you though otherwise they would be asking folks if they saw you.”
“Okay. Okay. What do I need to do?” I was starting to panic. There were very few places I wanted to be less than in a train station of a hostile nation while being searched for by police from said nation.
“Stay calm Andrew. That’s step one.”
How did he know my name? Did Athena tell him? Certainly not. There would be time to deliberate that later. I took another deep breath.
“Okay. What’s next?”
“Head out of the bathroom and turn right. Turn the phone off speaker so nobody can hear us.”
I complied, walking out of the bathroom with my phone on my shoulder.
“I’m out of the bathroom. What next?”
“I see you on the cameras. You're going to need to head back down to the chaos of the ground floor. Only way out of here.” Came the reply.
“What kind of shitty building design is that?”
“I didn’t make the blueprints. Just studied them before coming here.”
“Did you expect a chase?” I found an escalator and started riding it down.
“Not like this one but yes.”
I looked over the crowd of people below me. My eyes rested on a familiar looking person. A man with red sweatpants and a black hoodie.
“Uhh… I think I have eyes on your shadow from earlier.” I said as the escalator carried me even closer to the ground floor. Fortunately he hadn’t seen me yet, he was looking towards where a train was boarding.
“I figured as much.” Came our asset’s calm reply. He was really casual about this whole situation. This wasn’t his first rodeo.
I reached the bottom of the escalator and descended into the throng of people once again. I made slow progress, fighting against the current across the platform. The noise was deafening. I caught snippets of conversation from families traveling, people on a commute and one man who missed his train. Another loud announcement boomed over the loudspeaker.
“The 10:48 train to Dendamile is arriving on tack 26. The 10:48 train to Dendamile is arriving on track 26.”
I shoved past a man in a suit, dodging around a luggage cart. I had made it to the walkway running lengthwise to the train tracks. A train roared into the station, blasting me with air. I looked behind me, the man in red sweatpants was shoving his way through the crowd towards me. If I hadn’t known that he was pursuing me, I would have just thought that he was like me, trying to get from point A to point B.
“Oh he's seen me. What do I do now?” I asked into my phone.
“Actually, you have three in pursuit.” Came the reply.
“What?” I stumbled and almost fell to the ground.
“The man in the sweatpants, there is a woman at your 5 o’clock in a beige skirt, and a man at your 7 o’clock in a pair of jeans and a cowboy hat.”
I looked behind me again and sure enough, there were three people making their way towards me.
“Shit. Shit. What should I do?”
“Stay calm. The corner up ahead of you, there is a store directly to your left. Turn the corner and duck into the shop.”
“Okay. I’m moving towards it.”
“Careful, there’s a cop beyond the turn.”
I adjusted my baseball cap down low on my head and pulled my sunglasses off it, putting them on in stride. Then, in a quick movement, I shoved around the corner and power walked towards the shop. I had time to see the police officer. He was asking people something next to a bench. Then, I turned into the shop. It was a small shop that sold all sorts of travel knick knacks for travel from phone chargers to neck pillows.
“I see you in the shop. Your pursuit is coming around the corner. Stay calm.”
I turned to one of the shelves that was selling overpriced handbags. Then, I moved over to a rack that had earbuds.
“They’re moving past you. Stay where you are.”
To not seem suspicious, I selected a small white box that had a pair of earbuds and started moving towards the counter.
“That’ll be 100 Poki please.” The cashier said. I dug my wallet out of my pocket and paid.
“The police officer is coming into the store. Don’t look to your six o’clock.” I heard over the phone. The cashier finished the transaction and handed me the earbuds. I heard footsteps approaching me.
“Get out of there now!” Came the voice over the phone. I picked up my purchase and walked quickly towards the exit. Mid stride, I tore open the box and brought out the pair of earbuds.
“Hey!” The cop called to me but I pretended not to hear him and pushed the door open. As soon as I stepped back out onto the train platform, I broke into a run.
“Shit. I’m backed into a corner. What do I do?” I said.
“Andrew, your three shadows just saw you again. Shit. We didn’t get enough time.”
“The cop recognized me. What do I do?” I restated, shoving my way through the crowd. I plugged my new earbuds into my phone, putting the right bud into my ear.
“Keep moving. Stay forward.” The voice was now through my right earbud.
“Attention, The 11:00 train for Santalune city is arriving on track 15.” The PA announced. I rushed ahead.
“Are they still on me?”
“Yes.”
The 11:00 train for Santalune city roared into the station next to me, coming to a stop. The doors opened and people started to board it. I kept going. I was almost to the end of the train when I saw a police officer turn the corner and look right at me. He pointed and shouted something that was lost in the chaos of the crowd. There was no doubt that he knew that I was the one they were looking for. There was no time to run away. The ALPL agents were coming closer to me on one side and the Kalosian police officer was pushing in from the other. In a split second decision, I sharply turned and boarded the train.
The doors hissed shut right as I stepped inside the car.
“I was pinched. What do I do now?” One of the train passengers gave me a weird look. I smiled back at him.
“Damn it. You're on your own kid. Get off at the first station. Hopefully we can pick you up there. Stay on the line as long as possible but we’re gonna lose connection when you hit the tunnel.”
I saw a train conductor moving through the crowds of people, checking tickets. I didn’t have a ticket. As casually as I could, I started to back up, heading for the next car.
“Ok. I’m avoiding people checking tickets.” I said quietly into the phone.
“Good.” The man said. He was awfully casual about the whole situation. Then again, it wouldn’t help much to panic.
I pressed a button on the door control and the glass panels hissed open. There was another conductor in this car. He was working his way down the aisle, checking tickets and moving away from me. I pushed my hat further down on my head. Slowly, I walked my way down the aisle, trying to act casual. Yeah. I belong here. The train rumbled out of the station and into the gray Kalosian afternoon, slowly picking up speed.
“I’m in the next car over. If they catch me, you gotta help Athena. Our mission is much more important than anything you're doing right now. I promise.” I muttered into my phone. There was a pause.
“Copy that. We’re headed out of here. See you in Santalune. You're gonna make it.”
The conductor finally finished his ticket checks and left for the next car. I sat down in a seat by the window.
“Conductor’s gone. We’re about to hit the tunnel. See you on the other end.”
“Copy. Be sure to-” The connection cut as the train roared into the dark tunnel. I pulled my earbud out my ear and unplugged the cable from the phone. The darkness of the train tunnel was opposed by LED strips that ran the length of the car on the ground and walls. I took a deep breath. I could feel my pokeballs on my belt digging into my back against the chair. If I had to use them, that would be it. I could visualize exactly two ways it could go if a conductor found out that I didn’t have a ticket. If I didn’t resist, they would bring me to a police station or some sort of policing agency. A background check would be done on me to see what sort of fine I would have to pay. They would find that I was in fact a former operative for an enemy country and a fugitive. The news would travel up the chain and end up in the hands of Malva, Dennis and the shadowy man. I would be thrown into prison and each one of them would have their way with me. Then, I would either be dead or rotting in prison for the rest of my life. If I didn’t surrender and jumped the conductor with a pokemon, all the other people working on the train and probably some passengers with pokemon would descend on me. There was no disembarking the train and no way I could fight through 30, maybe 40 people with my six pokemon, no matter how powerful they were. Then, the exact same result would happen but my case would be expedited up to the top right away.
I heaved a sigh. The only way out was not to alert anyone.
The train raced out of the tunnel. For a moment, I was blinded as my eyes adjusted to the light. I heard the doors hiss open on the far side of the train car. There stood a tall police officer. He was not like the officers that I had seen in the train station. He was clad in black with a Kalos Police Force patch on his sleeve and wore a dark pair of sunglasses. Around his waist was a thick black utility belt. Unlike the police officers in the train station, he carried a full team of six pokemon. He had a bulletproof vest on and instead of a taser, sitting next to his radio was a black submachine gun. He didn’t work for the train line that was for sure.
I had a brief moment of panic. I had to make a break for it! If he knew I was a fugitive in his country, he’d gun me down! The man started to slowly walk down the aisle. I couldn’t make a break for it. If I stepped out in front of him, he would give me a second look. That might be all that it took for him to recognize me. The police officer wasn’t here to check tickets. He had no way to know that I wasn’t supposed to be on this train. Even if he knew who I was, which was unlikely, he couldn’t see my face. I turned forward. The officer walked towards me. It felt strange, I hadn’t tried to blend in since my time working in Galar, before this whole escapade kicked off.
“Excuse me.” The heavily armed police officer stood right above me. I turned and looked at him.
“Did you drop this?” He held up a train ticket.
“I found it on the ground one train car over.”
“Yes. Yeah that one is mine. How did you know?” I hastily answered. He pressed the ticket into my hand.
“You aren’t carrying one. I just thought I might ask.”
“Thank you sir. I appreciate it.”
“Of course.” He replied. Then, he turned and continued his way down the train car.

***
I stepped out into the Shalour city parking lot. I saw Athena running towards me. She was wearing a scarf high around her face and had found a trucker hat somewhere, obscuring her face slightly.
“Oh my god. You're here!” She tackled me in a hug out of nowhere.
“Yeah I am…” I replied, accepting the embrace.
“Listen.” Athena whispered in my ear.
“We’re still being watched.”
“Arceus damnit.” I muttered. After all that, there were still people surveilling us. I decided that next time, I should just avoid Kalos altogether.
“Just act normal. Our friend will meet back up with us elsewhere.”
We broke apart.
“I can’t wait to show you the house Mason.” Athena said, slightly louder than normal. I adjusted my sunglasses.
“I can’t wait to see it. How’s uncle Benny?”
“You didn’t hear? He passed away last Spring.”
“What? Nobody told me!” I said, pretending to be shocked. Athena and I walked down a flight of cement stairs and into the second lot.
“Yeah. Died of pancreatic cancer.” Athena unlocked and opened the door of a black sedan.
“That’s sad. I wish someone had told me.” I opened the passenger door, turning and looking back at the people spilling out of the train station. I didn’t see anyone who looked suspicious but I trusted that Athena knew what she was talking about.
She started up the car and pulled it out of the parking space.
“We good?” I asked her.
“Not yet. Let's put some distance between us and them.”
“Where’s our friend?”
“Behind you.” A voice said. I jumped and whirled around. The man we met in the coffee shop was right behind me. He cast aside the blanket he had been hiding under.
“Apologies for that.” He said.
“I knew one of those men personally.” He sat back and buckled himself into the back seat.
Athena turned the car onto the road that ran lengthwise to the train station.
“Oh man! Did you guys see what happened back there?” I exclaimed.
“Yes. Yes we did.” The man in the trench coat said.
“We’re lucky to get out of there alive.” Athena agreed.
“For that I must apologize.” The man in the trench coat said.
“I misjudged my pursuit. For a while now, I have been under surveillance here in Kalos. I played it safe so they couldn’t try and grab me but when I had to go meet you two, they were going to try. I didn’t realize how badly they wanted me and you took the fall for that Andrew.”
There was a long pause. Everyone in the car was recovering from what had just transpired.
“Turn left up here.” the man in the trench coat directed Athena. She turned onto a highway, guiding us away from the large city center towards the suburbs. I turned to face the man sitting in the seat behind me.
“Hey. I never caught your name.”
He looked up from brushing off his rumpled suit.
“Hmm?”
“Your name. What is it? If we’re going to work together, I need to call you something.”
The man took a deep breath and sighed.
“Call me Looker.” A corner of his mouth tugged upwards, smiling a reminiscent smile.
“Looker. Huh. I don’t suppose that’s your real name?” I asked. His nostalgic smile grew.
“No. No it's not. It's the name I used when I worked for the International Police.”
“You worked for the International Police?” Athena asked from the driver’s seat.
“Yes I did.”
We all knew about the International Police. They were the group put together by all eight regions as a task force for threats to a nation’s security. When the cold war between Kanto and Kalos started to grow in intensity, both regions withdrew their funding of the project and the other regions followed suit. Shortly thereafter, the International Police was disbanded.
“Take this exit.” Looker suddenly guided Athena. She swerved across two lanes of traffic, much to the anger of the Kalosian commuters.
“Wait. How did you end up working for Cynthia then?” I had so many questions.
“I own a house here. Once we get there, I’ll tell you what I know. Left again.” Looker suddenly said. Surprised, Athena swerved the car across two lanes of traffic again. She turned back onto the on ramp to the highway we had just exited.
“What are you doing?”
“Shaking my tail.” Looker smiled.
“He got hemmed in by the big 16 wheeler.”
I looked behind us. Sure enough, there was a pickup truck that was trying to merge through the traffic but couldn’t because a large semi truck drove alongside it.
“You didn’t even tell us!” Athena said, exasperated.
“That way you didn’t panic or disobey what I said.”
We drove for a while in silence. Finally, Looker had Athena exit and drive through a small housing development. He had us turn into a set of apartments. They were fairly nice, well painted, a garden out front and so on. We got out of the car and headed for the stairs.
“What is going to happen to our rental car?” Athena asked Looker.
“I know a guy at the rental place. I’ll have him expedite your rental and they will return it to their garage. No harm no foul.”
“Okay. I was just making sure.”
“Good. It's always good to make sure.” Looker pushed open the door of his apartment room. Inside was a quaint little dwelling. It was one room with a living room, office and kitchen all rolled into one. On the far end of the room was a loft and I could make out a bed and nightstand table, a little bedroom. To our left was a small bathroom. The whole apartment looked very lived in. there were crumbs on the carpet and flooring, a jacket was draped over a chair. Small pictures hung unevenly on the walls, there was a rung missing from the ladder up into the loft. Overall, the place felt cozy and safe.
“Nice place you have here.” Athena said.
“Thank you. I’ve owned this since I was working with the International Police. Would you like something to eat? I’m afraid I don’t have anything for pokemon.”
My stomach growled.
“Yes please. Do you even have pokemon?”
“I do. Two of them. Anything else is impractical for my line of work.” Looker reached into his pocket and brought out two blue great balls. He tossed them both onto the ground. One was a small, bipedal blue frog. He had yellow eyes and two large orange cheek pouches. He looked up at us and grinned. The other pokemon was little more than a purple blob. The vague shapes of arms could be made out from the goo. It too looked up at us and smiled.
“These are my two pals, Ditto and Croagunk. I’ve run with them for so long it's hard to remember when I didn’t have them by my side.” Looker was looking inside the refrigerator. He drew back with an apple in each hand. Handing the apples to us, he looked back in the fridge, drawing out some pasta and putting it in the microwave.
“Please sit. He pointed to an armchair and a plastic chair that sat in front of a TV in the living room area. Both of us sat. Looker started the microwave and joined us.
“I suppose you're not here on a pleasure visit. Allow me to start from the beginning.”
Looker took a deep breath and began his story.
 
Last edited:

Pen

the cat is mightier than the pen
Staff
Partners
  1. dratini
  2. dratini-pen
  3. dratini-pen2
Hi, Yooloo! I've been meaning to check this out for a while--I'm a big fan of spy stories, and there aren't nearly enough of them in the pokemon fandom despite all the cool potential.

We start with some pretty intriguing set-up! The pokemon world is on the verge of war and all the regions are splitting off into different alliances. We get a lot of information about the sides everyone is taking, but I was also curious about what those idealogical differences are that have developed between Kanto and Kalos. There's some reference to Kanto having a different religion and government structure than Kalos and also Kalos being more militaristic, but I would have been interested to know what lies at the core of their clash. I was interested in the fact that Hoenn remains neutral--are they not afraid of the Kalos alliance?

We also have rumors of Yveltal and Xerneas potentially being unleashed! I wondered if Kalos already has them in its possession or if this is more of a long-term goal for the region. It's definitely a scary thought. How much damage could the life-absorbing pokemon do in a war? It sounds a bit like the pokemon world equivalent of unleashing a nuclear weapon.

I do wonder if all of this exposition needed to be presented all together right at the start. It's a lot to take in all at once, and since it's being described straight-forwardly, it feels less like reading a story and more like reading worldbuilding notes. Maybe you could integrate some of these details more organically throughout of the narration? Or, if it's really important to get it all out there at the start, maybe there's an in-world medium you could use to convey the information. For example, we start with Andrew being on a mission--perhaps you could open with some kind of mission dossier that contains this background information and sets out his mission. That way we'd learn this information through the context of Andrew, who the story's about.

A few quick points on readability -- you don't have line breaks between your paragraphs or between lines of dialogue. That makes the fic a bit hard to read. I think you'll find it much easier to attract readers if you add in line breaks. There should be one between every paragraph and every line of dialogue. (Avoiding super long paragraphs like the one at the very start will help too.) Speaking of dialogue, you've got a few grammar issues in how it's written right now. Again, fixing that up will make the fic a lot easier to read and more digestible.

“I’m sorry but I don’t have any cash on me right now” I lied
This is dialogue with a speech verb. It should be written:

[ “I’m sorry but I don’t have any cash on me right now,” I lied. ]

That is, there should be a comma at the end of the dialogue sentence, instead of no punctuation.

“Liquidation” I ordered.
Sometimes it won't be a comma, but a question mark or exclamation mark.

Here you'd write,

[ “Liquidation!” I ordered. ]

“Oh I see how it is. Houndour git em.” he let go of the leash but before his dog could lunge forward I reached into my trench coat grabbed a pokeball and threw it behind the man.
Sometimes a dialogue sentence concludes without a speech verb, as here. In that case, you punctuated it correctly by putting a period. But the sentence that begins after the quotation marks is a new sentence and so needs to be capitalized.

[ “Oh I see how it is. Houndour git em.” He let go of the leash . . .]

“Well done Clair.” I addressed my Golisopod.
“Not deadly but you managed to subdue him and his dog at the same time.”
When the same person is speaking, it's best to not use a line-break. The line-break is confusing--it makes it seem like a new person has started to speak. This would read more understandably as:

[ “Well done, Clair,” I addressed my Golisopod. “Not deadly, but you managed to subdue him and his dog at the same time.” ]

Yeah I bet I thought.
Thinking doesn't need quotation marks like speech, but it follows some of the same rules. You need a comma between 'I thought' and what the person thought. People format thinking differently, but I find it reads well when the thought is italicized, like so:

[ Yeah, I bet, I thought. ]

We certainly get into the action right away with this one. I was interested in the emphasis on "quick drawing." It's not something I've seen emphasized before, but it makes sense that in situations that turn from peaceful to dangerous quickly, the winner might be the one who can act quickly and disarm the other side first. It gives me a Western energy a bit--saloon stand-offs and all that! Once the pokemon are actually out, things get a bit more chaotic, though it seemed like Athena was using some advanced battle tactics.

It looks like you're really embracing the femme fatal trope of spy fiction with Athena. I did wonder a bit about her wearing a skin tight dress and heels. It's not the most practical outfit for a fight, as Athena losing her balance because of them at one point shows! I'd understand the look if she were there to try and seduce him, but she goes right on the offensive (and successfully, too) so there didn't seem to be much point to her dressing up like that and it did break my suspension of disbelief a bit. I'm sure he could equally notice her good looks even in more practical clothing.

As for Andrew himself, there's a lot we don't know about him. He doesn't seem to be an idealogue or die-hard patriot, since he's willing to bail on Kanto when threatened. I wasn't sure if the mention of his dual Galar/Unovan citizenship was part of his cover or real, but from the fact that he does work part-time in Unova, it seems like he has some ties to the region. I wonder what drew him into this work into the first place and what motivates him. He seems fairly self-confident, but not to the point of arrogance, since he recognizes that Athena moves faster than him. I was interested in the mention of his "instinct"--I wondered if that indicates some sort of ability with psychic energy or aura.

By the end of the first chapter, there's a lot of unanwered questions--who is Athena working for and what do they want with Andrew? Just what is in the bag everyone is so desperate to get and what will the consequences be of it getting destroyed?

I see you're already almost at chapter 30 (which, congratulations, that's a lot of chapters!) My reading list is pretty long, so I can't promise to check out the rest right now, but it was fun to see this first chapter--best of luck with the rest of the story!

(If you're looking for stories to check out on the forum, I think you might vibe with HellowYellow's Of Sand and Shadows, a Pokemon Colloseum novelization focused on ex-criminal Wes, and Sinderella's White Swan Black Swan, which involves a sketchy drug ring and worse that the protagonist is trying to get to the bottom of.)

The Houndour was still growling at me as I walked up to the man I made sure I was just out of reach.
I tripped over this sentence a bit. We've got three things going on: the houndour growling, Andrew walking up to the man, and Andrew making sure he stays out of reach. The "as" is only connecting two of them, though.

This might read clearer punctuated: [ The Houndour was still growling at me. As I walked up to the man, I made sure I was just out of its reach.]

I reached into a hidden pocket in the bag and extracted the nondescript key that I knew from the briefing I had been sent was for a room on the second floor.
This sentence was a bit confusing to read at first. I think it would be clearer if you said

[ I reached into a hidden pocket in the bag and extracted a nondescript key that I knew from my briefing was for a room on the second floor. ]

I reached my room and I extracted the key from the backpack that contained the all too important envelope I prepared to insert the key into the lock but all of a sudden I felt something off about this hallway.
I think you're missing a period here between "envelope" and "I prepared".

Before Rico could indicate what if he noticed something A dark mass blasted him off of his feet.
Some typos in here, I think.

“Go ahead. Obliterate me with Zap Cannon or whatever electric move your big bug has. You’ll just destroy your precious bag.” I was feigning indignation.
I'm not sure if indignation is the right word here? He seems to be feigning confidence more than indignation. Or perhaps, just "I was bluffing."

the way her red fingernails looked through the items in my wallet reminded me of a cat.
The begining of a sentence should be capitalized!

He was only about 6’ and around 180 pounds.

He was about 5’ 9’’ with a slender build.

It's a bit odd to see height and weight listed so precisely. How does he know their height to the inch and their weight to the tenth pound? Those things aren't really clear at a glance.

The coal on it’s back glowed a dark orange, illuminating both man and pokemon in a hellish glow.
It's means "it is." Here you're using it possessively, so you'd write "it is."
 

yooloo33

Bug Catcher
Pronouns
He/Him
Hi, Yooloo! I've been meaning to check this out for a while--I'm a big fan of spy stories, and there aren't nearly enough of them in the pokemon fandom despite all the cool potential.

We start with some pretty intriguing set-up! The pokemon world is on the verge of war and all the regions are splitting off into different alliances. We get a lot of information about the sides everyone is taking, but I was also curious about what those idealogical differences are that have developed between Kanto and Kalos. There's some reference to Kanto having a different religion and government structure than Kalos and also Kalos being more militaristic, but I would have been interested to know what lies at the core of their clash. I was interested in the fact that Hoenn remains neutral--are they not afraid of the Kalos alliance?

We also have rumors of Yveltal and Xerneas potentially being unleashed! I wondered if Kalos already has them in its possession or if this is more of a long-term goal for the region. It's definitely a scary thought. How much damage could the life-absorbing pokemon do in a war? It sounds a bit like the pokemon world equivalent of unleashing a nuclear weapon.

I do wonder if all of this exposition needed to be presented all together right at the start. It's a lot to take in all at once, and since it's being described straight-forwardly, it feels less like reading a story and more like reading worldbuilding notes. Maybe you could integrate some of these details more organically throughout of the narration? Or, if it's really important to get it all out there at the start, maybe there's an in-world medium you could use to convey the information. For example, we start with Andrew being on a mission--perhaps you could open with some kind of mission dossier that contains this background information and sets out his mission. That way we'd learn this information through the context of Andrew, who the story's about.

A few quick points on readability -- you don't have line breaks between your paragraphs or between lines of dialogue. That makes the fic a bit hard to read. I think you'll find it much easier to attract readers if you add in line breaks. There should be one between every paragraph and every line of dialogue. (Avoiding super long paragraphs like the one at the very start will help too.) Speaking of dialogue, you've got a few grammar issues in how it's written right now. Again, fixing that up will make the fic a lot easier to read and more digestible.

This is dialogue with a speech verb. It should be written:

[ “I’m sorry but I don’t have any cash on me right now,” I lied. ]

That is, there should be a comma at the end of the dialogue sentence, instead of no punctuation.


Sometimes it won't be a comma, but a question mark or exclamation mark.

Here you'd write,

[ “Liquidation!” I ordered. ]


Sometimes a dialogue sentence concludes without a speech verb, as here. In that case, you punctuated it correctly by putting a period. But the sentence that begins after the quotation marks is a new sentence and so needs to be capitalized.

[ “Oh I see how it is. Houndour git em.” He let go of the leash . . .]


When the same person is speaking, it's best to not use a line-break. The line-break is confusing--it makes it seem like a new person has started to speak. This would read more understandably as:

[ “Well done, Clair,” I addressed my Golisopod. “Not deadly, but you managed to subdue him and his dog at the same time.” ]


Thinking doesn't need quotation marks like speech, but it follows some of the same rules. You need a comma between 'I thought' and what the person thought. People format thinking differently, but I find it reads well when the thought is italicized, like so:

[ Yeah, I bet, I thought. ]

We certainly get into the action right away with this one. I was interested in the emphasis on "quick drawing." It's not something I've seen emphasized before, but it makes sense that in situations that turn from peaceful to dangerous quickly, the winner might be the one who can act quickly and disarm the other side first. It gives me a Western energy a bit--saloon stand-offs and all that! Once the pokemon are actually out, things get a bit more chaotic, though it seemed like Athena was using some advanced battle tactics.

It looks like you're really embracing the femme fatal trope of spy fiction with Athena. I did wonder a bit about her wearing a skin tight dress and heels. It's not the most practical outfit for a fight, as Athena losing her balance because of them at one point shows! I'd understand the look if she were there to try and seduce him, but she goes right on the offensive (and successfully, too) so there didn't seem to be much point to her dressing up like that and it did break my suspension of disbelief a bit. I'm sure he could equally notice her good looks even in more practical clothing.

As for Andrew himself, there's a lot we don't know about him. He doesn't seem to be an idealogue or die-hard patriot, since he's willing to bail on Kanto when threatened. I wasn't sure if the mention of his dual Galar/Unovan citizenship was part of his cover or real, but from the fact that he does work part-time in Unova, it seems like he has some ties to the region. I wonder what drew him into this work into the first place and what motivates him. He seems fairly self-confident, but not to the point of arrogance, since he recognizes that Athena moves faster than him. I was interested in the mention of his "instinct"--I wondered if that indicates some sort of ability with psychic energy or aura.

By the end of the first chapter, there's a lot of unanwered questions--who is Athena working for and what do they want with Andrew? Just what is in the bag everyone is so desperate to get and what will the consequences be of it getting destroyed?

I see you're already almost at chapter 30 (which, congratulations, that's a lot of chapters!) My reading list is pretty long, so I can't promise to check out the rest right now, but it was fun to see this first chapter--best of luck with the rest of the story!

(If you're looking for stories to check out on the forum, I think you might vibe with HellowYellow's Of Sand and Shadows, a Pokemon Colloseum novelization focused on ex-criminal Wes, and Sinderella's White Swan Black Swan, which involves a sketchy drug ring and worse that the protagonist is trying to get to the bottom of.)

I tripped over this sentence a bit. We've got three things going on: the houndour growling, Andrew walking up to the man, and Andrew making sure he stays out of reach. The "as" is only connecting two of them, though.

This might read clearer punctuated: [ The Houndour was still growling at me. As I walked up to the man, I made sure I was just out of its reach.]


This sentence was a bit confusing to read at first. I think it would be clearer if you said

[ I reached into a hidden pocket in the bag and extracted a nondescript key that I knew from my briefing was for a room on the second floor. ]


I think you're missing a period here between "envelope" and "I prepared".


Some typos in here, I think.


I'm not sure if indignation is the right word here? He seems to be feigning confidence more than indignation. Or perhaps, just "I was bluffing."


The begining of a sentence should be capitalized!





It's a bit odd to see height and weight listed so precisely. How does he know their height to the inch and their weight to the tenth pound? Those things aren't really clear at a glance.


It's means "it is." Here you're using it possessively, so you'd write "it is."

Hi. Thank you so much for checking out my story! I really appreciate you taking the time out of your day to give the first chapter a review!

I thought I would go through your questions and answer them in case someone had the same questions about it.

1. The governmental structure of Kalos and Kanto is something that I certainly would love to go in further, but for my purposes, it provides a backdrop on the rest of the story. I did draft a bit where Andrew talks about that sort of thing with another character, but I ended up dropping it because it was irrelevant to the main plot of the story.

2. I'm really glad that you picked up on legendary pokemon being allegories for nuclear weapons! That was one of my first thoughts on how to create a precarious political situation in the pokemon world, because that's exactly what happened in our world.

3. The idea of a mission dossier is a good one and I would have gone with it if I had Andrew fighting on behalf of Kanto the whole time, but throughout this story, Kanto gets dropped for another agency that Andrew fights on behalf of.

4. This one goes for a few of your points of feedback. I pieced this intro exposition and first chapter together back in July. I was going with the "Get all your thoughts down on the page and then figure it out" approach to writing and some of those things didn't get combed out in the edit. This roughness is present throughout the first few chapters until I got a good method for writing and editing down. With that being said, this is my first ever true creative endeavor into storytelling of this length. It is great to see how far I've come but that doesn't mean I cringe a little bit at my writing from so long ago.

5. With my creative process, I redesigned the "physics engine" of the pokemon games to better fit my story. The conversion isn't 1 to 1 and there are quite a few rough spots that I'm going to have to iron out later in the rewrite. Quick drawing and creative use of pokemon adds an element to battles that causes them to a lot more fun to read and write.

6. Now onto the plot points. A lot of these are fleshed out later in the story through explenations and flashbacks. Pretty much with Athena, she gets put on this mission alone and comes to the conclusion that there's no way that she can be 100% sure of defeating Andrew 1 on 1 so she decides to go with the seduction approach on him. Hence, the outfit.

7. I admit that Andrew is a bit of blank slate and that's by design. I decided to go with that to allow for his character motivations to be fleshed out later to reanimate sequences and such.

Thank you again for checking out my story! Your review on it made my day today and the fact that you sounded so interested in the characters that I've put so much time into designing makes it all worth it.

I'm glad you enjoyed the first chapter of my fic and I hope you circle around to it eventually. If not, good luck on your further pokemon reading adventures!
 
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Chapter 29

yooloo33

Bug Catcher
Pronouns
He/Him
Chapter 29

Seven years earlier.

I looked through a window and saw Cynthia storm up the hillside. She looked as furious as I had ever seen her. The door slammed open.
“Cynthia. I saw the vote. It's not your fault.” I said, fruitlessly as she stormed past me into the den.
“It was Fantina! I knew she was going to jump at any opportunity to get back at me. Even if it harmed her own fucking county!” I heard her muffled voice. She emerged a moment later carrying her coat. The door slammed behind her. I turned back to the cheese and crackers I had been methodically eating. For as long as I had known Cynthia, she had never been this livid. She had lost in politics before. She opposed Sinnoh withdrawing their funding from the International Police. That one had certainly fallen through. I was lucky that I knew her well, otherwise I would have been a 30 year old with a high school diploma, no job training and very little savings.
I heard a pokemon roar outside and saw Cynthia command her Garchomp. The massive dragon punched through an iron target dummy like it was paper. Cynthia viciously tossed out another pokemon. The Kommo-o was one of her newer pokemon. The steel plated beast spun in the ground, dragging its tail in the grass, shredding up a trench of soil. The dragon hit a sprinkler valve and water exploded everywhere. Cynthia released her Gastrodon. The sea slug absorbed the water from the sprinkler through its squishy body. Then, it blasted the water clear across the lawn, punching a hole through one of the hedges. It went on like this for a while, Cynthia tearing up her yard in rage. After nearly 15 minutes, I decided that I needed to step in. I picked up my trench coat from where it lay across a char and headed out of the house and down the hill.
Cynthia was very involved in her destruction of her property. Her Lucario huffed and then launched an aura sphere at a nearby tree, leaving an enormous dent in the bark.
“Cynthia.” I reached out and touched her arm. She whirled around in surprise, almost backhanding me.
“Looker! Don’t scare me like that.”
“I’m sorry but you need to calm down.”
Cynthia clenched her fists.
“We were just attacked. We need to take recourse. We need to find out who is responsible. Instead, we do nothing. Fantina would rather pull one over on me then find out who killed 235 people in a terrorist attack.”
“Cynthia. The guests are arriving in an hour. You need to get ready.”
She inhaled sharply, like she was ready to launch another flurry of attacks but instead, she exhaled into a sigh.
“Like usual, your right Looker. Let's go.”
She led me back up the hill to the house. I may have been a wreck of a human right now, but I could still talk some sense into my long time friend.

***
One by one the guests started to arrive. There weren’t many, just Cynthia’s closest political allies. The Elite Four were all there. Bertha showed up first, then Aaron and Lucian. Roark and Byron also were invited. Both of them were firm allies of Cynthia. Cynthia’s grandmother was the last to arrive. Fortunately, she brought home made Razz berry pie. Her signature desert was famous around the whole region. The “party” was to celebrate the end of the governmental term, but the mood in the room was far from celebratory.
I was sitting in an armchair in the corner of the room, nursing my second whiskey when Flint showed up.
“Hey man. How’s it goin’?” He greeted me. With his curly red afro and laid back posture, I couldn’t help but feel relaxed while talking to him.
“Pretty good. How about yourself?”
“Well, we lost a pretty tough vote today. One we were expected to win.”
“I saw that. I’m sorry that happened.”
“Well, you know. You just gotta go with the flow.” Flint offered me a fist bump. I cautiously accepted.
“Hey. Don’t they call you Looker?”
“Yeah… Why?” I asked cautiously.
“You used to work for the International Police.”
“How… how do you know that?”
“Cause I was part of the committee who was in charge of your funding.”
“Yeah. Well you were. I’m out of the job now.”
“I’m sorry man. I was the last hold out but Sinnoh couldn’t fund the International Police on their own.”
“Well. It's done now isn’t it?” I had to admit I was bitter. This man was partially at fault for my uncertain future. Flint backed off, making an excuse and heading for the table of food.
Following the conversation between these political elites was very difficult. They chattered rapidly, using acronyms I didn’t know existed, speaking about political measures and rules I didn’t know were laws. At one point, Byron and Bertha got into a really heated debate and Cynthia had to calm them both down (which was really ironic.)
I was into my fourth drink when the conversation started to interest me.
“We just gotta let this one go! There’s no picking up the pieces.”
“Lucian! We were just attacked by an unknown group. It could be KRA, Alola or Honnen for all we know!” Bertha insisted.
“Well what do you suggest then?” Lucian shot back sarcastically.
“We could contest the vote… try to get people to vote our way.” Aaron mused.
“Would never work they-”
“Do we even know by what margin the loss was?” Byron asked, exasperated.
“Not yet. They will release it in two months.” Cynthia said, resigned to her defeat. There was a long pause. I took a sip of my whiskey.
“Hey what if… what if we had someone else investigate for us. Someone outside of Sinnohan jurisdiction.” Roark suddenly said.
“...you mean private military contractors.” Lucian said, doubtful.
“Yeah. Like that. Cynthia, you can pull executive power and stay quiet about it and we can run our investigation like that.”
“Cynthia, if you do that, I’m done. I can’t consciously do this, it would be a stain on me as a politician and a person.” Aaron firmly disagreed.
Cynthia sighed.
“I appreciate the sentiment Roark, but Aaron’s right. Even in the wake of this attack I’m not going to spill state secrets to foreign contractors.”
“Hey.” Flint pointed up to his head as if he had an idea.
“What if the contractor wasn’t forreign. What if he was from Sinnoh?”
“There aren’t any mercenaries like that who are Sinnoh citizens. It would take someone with a special kind of contractor to do this. Not just a thug with a gun.” Bertha waved aside the idea.
Flint smiled broadly.
“I think I know a guy.”
“Flint. Stop messing around. This is serious. I’m in charge of foreign affairs and the military. I would know if there was a PMC that lived in Sinnoh, had the necessary skills to investigate who attacked us, and was reliable enough.”
Flint’s smile broadened.
“No. He’s not a PMC. What if I told you that he’s in this room with us right now?”
I had started to doze off. That sentence jolted me back awake. Everybody looked around at each other. Then the eyes of Cynthia’s entire political coalition all turned towards me.
“Who is he?” I could detect a barely suppressed tone of disgust in Lucian’s voice.
I stood up from my chair, wobbling a little bit because of the alcohol in my system and my feet, which were asleep. This felt like a once in a lifetime opportunity. I couldn’t waste it.
“Hello. My name is Looker. Well, that’s not my real name but it might as well be.”
“What can you offer us that we don’t have? Cynthia, why are we wasting our ti-”
Cynthia put her hand on Bertha’s arm.
“At least hear him out. We might be onto something.”
I continued.
“I used to be a deep cover agent for the International police. The top of the top. I would infiltrate illegal arms and pokemon trafficking rings, drug cartels, the works. As you might know, I’ve recently had a job opening.”
Bertha turned towards Cynthia, still skeptical.
“You sure?”
Cynthia nodded, smiling at the corners of her mouth.
“Yes I am. I think we might be able to find out what happened after all.”
 
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Chapter 30

yooloo33

Bug Catcher
Pronouns
He/Him
Chapter 30

“So you infiltrated ALPL.” Athena was surprised.
“Yes I did. It took some doing. The investigation took me across all the eight regions until I finally tracked them to Slateport city.
“Did you know they were run by Alola?” I pressed.
Looker turned towards me, meeting my eyes. I still couldn’t shake the feeling that I knew him from somewhere.
“No. I had you do that for me.”
“What? Wait. How do you know so much about me?” I finally asked.
Looker stood up. He gestured for his Ditto to come over. The pokemon started to morph, changing shape and size. Looker hunched over, moving his hands back and forth pantomiming, sweeping… or mopping. The Ditto finished its transformation. The pokemon was now floating in the air. It resembled a small yellow and purple cat. When Looker spoke again, his voice was completely different. It was more scratchy, more labored.
“Check the finances Andrew… they’re hiding something from you… from everyone.”
My jaw must have hit the floor. I pointed at Looker and his Ditto, which had transformed into an Abra.
“Your… your the janitor!”
Looker stood straight again.
“Yes I was. I applied for a position to work there. They ran a pretty intense background check on me. Fortunately by that time, I had been given a completely new identity props of Sinnoh’s Section 6.”
“But-but you were always there. I never had any sort of suspicions.” Athena said, equally as flabbergasted.
“Well, I don’t get this old in this business by being bad at my job.” Looker smirked.
“I remember when you first arrived, Athena.”
“How did you get the information that you did without setting off any sort of suspicion?” I persisted.
“It was a process for sure. I gained little snippets of information, small pieces that didn’t make sense to me at all. I was eventually able to report to Cynthia the nature of this ALPL organization. It was about the time that you showed up there Andrew. Then, I had a breakthrough. ALPL was escalating their incursions into other regions. I found a slip of paper with some codes written down, very sloppy work but perhaps they had gotten a little bit careless in their relative safety. From there, I made a logical conclusion that you could find out who is supporting the secret organization through the financial sector.” Looker paused for a moment to let the information sink in.
“You didn’t catch on right away Andrew. I figured you were the easiest target because you were the newest ALPL agent. Once you didn’t do it on my first pass, I had to back down to ease suspicions again.”
I didn’t know what to think. He had used me as a proxy so that his cover wouldn't be blown. I had been a disposable pawn for him. On the other hand, he had helped reveal the truth about ALPL to me. He didn’t need to do that.
“You took a risk. Passing that message to Andrew in the cafeteria.” Athena persisted.
“Yes. By that point, it was potentially my only shit. I had to risk it and it ended up paying off didn’t it?” Looker said.
“I guess you could say that…” Athena said quietly. I realized that Athena might have preferred it if the painful truth had stayed hidden.
“I was able to slip into there myself a few days later and come to the same conclusions you did Andrew.”
There was a long silence. It was a lot to process and I was hungry. I ate every noodle of the pasta. When we all had finished eating, Looker stood up again.
“Now that you know who I am, we need to make a plan. Come with me.”
He walked over to a computer system and powered it on. He typed in a password and with a few keystrokes, pulled up a video calling program.
“Who are you calling?”
“Cynthia. It's the afternoon in Sinnoh right now. She’ll pick up.”
Sure enough, a connection was created. On the other side of the screen was Cynthia. She was dressed casually in a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt. I recognized the background of the call as her office where she had brought us not three days ago.
“Looker. Any reports?”
“Yes. I’ve secured Andrew and Athena. They’re right here.”
We both took our cue and crowded around the computer monitor.
“Oh thank goodness. I am glad you made it through to Kalos!”
“Yeah… it was a little bit of a struggle.” I told Cynthia about our escapades in the two days before.
“Oh my. I am glad you are safe now. If I had known it would be such a struggle I would have altered the plan. My apologies.”
“It's okay. We made it through. Also we now know that ALPL can and will impersonate law enforcement. That might be useful later.” Athena said.
“True.” Cynthia agreed. “Still, it didn’t have to be that difficult.”
“How’s Lachesis?” Athena asked.
“She’s in critical condition right now.” Cynthia chose her words carefully.
“Is she going to be okay?” I questioned.
“They don’t know. She’s been unconscious and on life support since early yesterday.”
I wanted to say something very insensitive about how Hex Maniacs had more in common with the dead than the living anyway but I decided that it was not a good time for that.
“There’s no point in trying to question her further right now. She’s out for the count.” Cynthia continued.
“Is there any progress on who carried out the attack?” I asked.
“Not yet.” Cynthia sounded frustrated. “My people have had no luck on any of that front. I’ll keep you up to date as they make headway though.”
There was a long silence. We were all lost in thought.
“Looker. You haven't called me in a while. This does make for a good time. You said that you have information regarding Alola’s research program?” Cynthia finally broke the silence.
Looker cleared his throat.
“Well… I don’t have the information. However, I do know where we can get it. I know that however dangerous what I’m going to say sounds, it is worth it. Alola is in the final stages of their research on the light pokemon, Necrozma.”
As Looker said that, a gust of wind blew past the house and all the lights flickered at once.
“Well? What do we need to do?” Athena asked.
“We need to break into the Alola Intelligence Commission building.”
“Looker-” Cynthia said.
“That’s impossible. No way we can do that!” I unintentionally interrupted her.
“How are we ever going to go about doing that?” Athena questioned.
Looker held up his hands in surrender.
“Hold on. Hold on. One question at a time. The AIC building is the only place where this information is stored. It is a very secure building. I know a few things about it though that might help. Yes. This is the only way that we are going to get our hands on this information. Everything is airtight.”
“So is the building.” Cynthia muttered.
“Yes. I tell you, It's our best chance.”
“I trust your opinion Looker but I don’t think we have the resources for that. Athena. Andrew. You don’t have to go along with this. Breaking into the most secure building in Alola, there are serious implications if you get caught. They will not hesitate to execute you.” Cynthia cautioned.
I felt like bile was rising in my stomach, like someone had sucker punched me in the gut.
“Can we discuss it real quick?” I asked. Without waiting for an answer, I led Athena to the other side of the apartment, out of earshot.
“Athena. You do realize what we’re signing up for right?”
“Of course I do Andrew. Alola makes sure everybody knows how secure their intelligence building is.”
I met her eyes.
“Athena. This is a suicide mission. That building couldn’t be broken into with an army, much less us two and an old man with two pokemon, I don’t care how deceptive he is.”
My tone grew more pleading.
“I love you Athena. We’ve done more than we were asked to. Why don’t we leave it to the champion of Sinnoh to finish this. We could run away, take up residence almost anywhere we wanted.”
Athena looked at me, her ever startling green eyes meeting mine. She took my hands in hers.
“Andrew. We’ve gone too far to stop now. We’re committed now. Both of us know that if we stopped now, we would never forgive ourselves if Alola managed to control Necrozma. I wish that we could run too… just get away from all of this and live a normal life. I have been wishing for that for my whole life, now more than ever. But that’s not the hand I’ve been dealt. I would love for you to be safe. Part of me wants you to go, to leave right now. That way I will know your safety even if I’m caught or killed. The thing is, We’re stronger together and if I did fail, you would never forgive yourself.”
It was though she had pulled thoughts from my own mind. Once again, I felt as though I was tearing myself apart. I knew that she was right but that didn’t mean that I didn’t want her to be wrong. I sighed. There was no way I was going to let Athena go at this alone.
“You’re right Athena. We’re going to see this through. I would kiss you right now, but I think Looker is eyeing us.”
Athena smiled.
“I’m here with you for the long haul Andrew. Lets see what Looker knows.”
We both walked back to the computer. Looker stood there, it was hard to discern his expression.
“We’ve made our decision, what do you have on the AIC building that could make this at all possible?”
“I’m glad you asked.” Looker said, minimizing the video call with Cynthia on it. He pulled up a file on his computer, selecting the first image file. It showed a mountain. On top of the mountain was a giant building with four distinct chambers. Leading down from that was a path that ended in an iconic red pokemon center. Branching to the right of the pokemon was another path. This one wound treacherously around the side of the mountain.Built into the side of the mountain, was a large, stone, cylindrical building.
“As you might know, this is the AIC building. It holds nearly all the information gathered by the Alolan government in some capacity. They built into the side of Mount Lanakila. A few years ago, the government had them add stories to the building to house more intel. There are only about 20 people in the whole world who are allowed full access to this building.”
Looker flipped to another image. This one was what looked like a thermal readout of the building. The thing was, there were no heat signatures inside it.
“This is the view of the building at night. Notice anything?”
“There’s nobody in there.” Athena observed.
“That’s not true. There are no heat signatures in there. That’s because the building isn’t guarded by people, it's guarded by Bisharp. Those pokemon give no heat signatures off. There is no way to detect them. They never tire, never have to change shifts.”
“Looker, I thought you said that there was a vulnerability?” Cynthia interrupted.
“Oh but there is. One key can get us access to all of the information in the whole facility.”
There was a pause.
“Care to elaborate?” I said.
‘There is a special type of keycard. It is unique, cannot be copied, cannot be forged. It is given out to very few people, all of which are cleared to access all the information in that building. They call it the serpent key.”
“Okay… Where do we get our hands on a key like that?” I asked.
“There is a man. His name is Marcus Akana, the son of Jordan Akana who was the former director of AIC. He is a high ranking Alolan agent although he was given his position by his father. His job is as a head honcho. He struts around with like he knows everything when in truth, he knows nothing and his analysts do all the work.” Looker’s tone grew slightly venomous. He had dealt with this type of person before.
Looker advanced the image. There was a photo of a man. It looked like it had been taken while he had been walking down a busy street. He had dark brown hair, blue eyes, and a broad grin on his face. He had a really small nose and was overweight, making him look kind of like a pig.
“He looks kind of like an idiot.” I agreed with Looker.
“He is. I have no idea how his clearance hasn’t been revoked yet.” Looker agreed.
“So you're saying that he has the serpent key?”
“Yes.”
“Do you know his schedule? Come to think of it, how do you know so much about this?” Athena asked.
“Fingold.” Looker replied.
“Excuse me?”
“Our agent, the same one whose report you read about the leak of Alolan intel that started all this, his codename is Finegold. Although, now it won’t be because that identity is top secret. Even his codename shouldn’t be spoken except for with people who’ve been cleared to do so.” Cynthia glared daggers at Looker.
Her saying this reminded me, Cynthia and Looker both had different stake in this than we did. They weren’t just doing this out of the kindness of their hearts.
“As I was saying, Finegold collected this information. I am in indirect contact with him. When I heard from Cynthia about the nature of your visit to Kalos, I asked if he could send along any information he knew about this.”
“Looker is the link between myself and Finegold.” Cynthia clarified.
“So what do you propose, Looker?” Athena scratched her head, unable to understand what Looker was implying at.
“Marcus Akana loves the high life, parties, custom suits, good food, expensive prostitutes, the works. He is a regular at casinos and resorts but his favorite place is the Hano Grand Resort on Akala island. My proposition is that we divide and conquer. You two would go there and try to steal his serpent key, I would do the other things, gather resources, gear, scout the location and plan the heist.”
The way Looker laid it out, it sounded almost possible. We just had to take it one step at a time.
“What if he realizes that his serpent key is gone?” Athena asked.
Looker smiled wickedly.
“He won't. We’ll plant a copy. He’ll only know that he’s been duped when he goes back to the AIC building and the key doesn't work. That won’t be for a long while.”
“This sounds like quite the operation.” Cynthia sounded almost intrigued.
“I would tell you off but I know this is the best way forward. What do you need me to do, Looker?”
“For now? We just need a plane out of Kalos to Alola and these two need reservations at the Hano Grand Resort.”
“I’ll get my people right on that. For now, stay where you are. I’ll let you know when the arrangements are made. Other than that, does anyone have any questions?”
“Wait. Aren’t we diving into this awfully fast?” I asked, making a slow down gesture with my hands.
“What’s there not to understand, Andrew?” Athena looked at me quizzically.
“It just feels like we’re moving really quickly.”
“We need to act fast. Otherwise we’ll be too late.”
“Okay then, if you guys are fine with it, I’ll catch up. Just gotta start with step one, Steal the key from the fat guy at the resort. Nope. No other questions.”
“Very well then, remember that you can contact me through the phone and the radio.”
“Um, we lost the radio somewhere between here and the Acuity.”
“Then you can contact me by phone. Looker, you know the methods to get a hold of me or my associates.”
Looker nodded.
“Good luck you three. The world as we know it is at stake here. Good luck.” Cynthia closed the connection to the call.
A silence spread across the room. We looked at each other.
“What did we just sign up for?” My question was met with silence. Athena and Looker seemed to be thinking the same thing. Looker’s eyes were locked on the computer screen where Cynthia had just ended the call. The picture of Marcus Akana was still on the screen. I looked over at Athena. She was staring at a point on the wall past the computer monitor. As I watched, her eyes hardened with resolve, refocusing back to the present moment.
“We’re going to steal this keycard from Akana, then we’re going to break into the AIC building and find out where Alola is researching to summon Necrozma And then, we’re going to destroy all of it.” Her tone of voice left no room for debate. This was how it was going to be.
“Hear hear. We leave as soon as Cynthia gets us a plane.” Looker replied, new determination in his voice.
“If we’re really going to do this, I need to check in with my pokemon.” I said, heading for the door. Even to me it sounded like a lame excuse but I needed to process what we were about to try and do.
“See you in a few Andrew.” Athena said as I shut the door behind me.
***

It was only midafternoon in Kalos but the sun was already almost below the horizon. I stepped off the last stair out into a parking lot of sorts. There were very few cars parked out in the lot, rather they were underneath wooden shelters that acted as a large garage for the whole apartment complex. A quick scan of the area yielded no viewpoints from the apartments where someone could report me wielding six dangerous pokemon and a stranger to the Kalos police. One by one, I pressed the button on my plain, red and white pokeballs. One by one, my six pokemon appeared.
“Hey guys. How… how’s it going?” I greeted them. Rico and Clair both smiled at me. Lucio nodded and gave a thumbs up with one of his paws. Surya cawed quietly. Julian grinned a toothy grin and Arthur held one of his arms up in a salute. I couldn’t help but smile. Even though we’ve been through the wringer together, my pokemon still held a good mood. They wanted to help me with whatever I needed help with. I knew that they couldn’t understand me, but I had to at least try.
“Hey. I just want to say thank you to all of you for sticking with me, even though the going is rough. We’re really up against it and you all stayed with me.” I could feel my eyes watering up. I believed every word that I said. If one of my pokemon didn’t want to keep going, they could bow out at any time but none of them had. Clair stepped forward and gave me a hug. I accepted. Surya came up behind me and wrapped her warm wings around my shoulders. Lucio joined the group hug followed by Julian. It was when Rico wrapped his arms around me that I started to cry. It was embarrassing, but there was nobody to see me. Having the fate of the world resting on my shoulders, it took a toll on my mental stability. Now I had taken on a new, even more dangerous assignment for my team of six and I. Having these six pokemon helping me, it was priceless. Without them, I would have never got even close to this far without being killed or captured.
I don’t know how I stood in the parking lot crying, but when I finally looked up, it was dark out. I let go of Clair and wiped at my eyes. One by one, my pokemon backed up from the group hug until I was standing on my own again. I wiped my tears away with my undershirt.
“Thanks guys. We’re riding into battle but I will never leave you behind. We’re in this together.” With that, returned each one to their pokeballs.
In my current state, I didn’t want to go back into the apartment. I decided that I needed to go on a walk.
As I stepped out onto the sidewalk, it started to lightly rain. Not many people were out and the few that were, scurried from cover to cover, wielding umbrellas to protect themselves from the rain. The rhythmic pace of my steps calmed me. After crying out all the pent up emotions inside me, I almost felt at peace. As I walked, my thoughts started to wander. The blockage of fear, paranoia, romantic uncertainty, frustration and helplessness had left me not thinking clearly, probably since Phoebe’s death.
The rain started to come down harder. I kicked a stone off the sidewalk and it splashed into the gutter. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a shadowy bat-like flit from where it hung under a street light into the dark sky. That reminded me of the shadowy man and his Crobat. The feeling of peacefulness melted away.
Now I had faced off against the best of the best, my skills in battle were right up there with the gym leaders, I had three badges pinned to the inside of my coat to prove it. But the shadowy man, UR’s ace in the hole, he scared me. That was, if he was a he anyway. For all I knew, he could be a Ditto or another Zoroark. Being unable to put a face on the figure, it was terrifying. He had reached into my mind and plucked out my deepest memory. What might be considered my one targetable weakness. Aside from my family, there was no way to gain leverage against me. That’s why I had been able to land the job I had, so deep in enemy territory. The job that led to me being captured by my now girlfriend, destroying a legendary research facility with said girlfriend and her compatriots, discovering her compatriots were in fact just puppets for another government, running away from her and them, living in hiding for four months, one of the agents for the organization giving me damning information on Alola on her deathbed, reuniting with the girl who had captured me before, being saved my the champion of Sinnoh, being chased through Canalave city, confessing my love for said girl who had captured me, almost drowning in a battle at sea, meeting a Sinnohan agent deep in Kalos, and then discovering that we were going to have to infiltrate the most secure building in the Alola region….
I stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and pinched the bridge of my nose. If I thought like that, I was going to overwhelm myself again. I just needed to take it one step at a time. I started walking again, passing a large store with an empty parking lot. My thoughts traveled back to the shadowy man. He knew where my family was. Since our confrontation in the ALPL building, I was confident that I had put him out of action for a while. Two brutal knife wounds and at least three broken ribs… even Chancey could work so quickly. Now, a week had transpired. The shadowy man was probably back on his feet and ready to exact revenge. That thought alone was enough to send a shiver down my spine. I decided that I needed to make a move of my own and call in a favor.
I walked up to a payphone at a gas station. Fortunately, I still had my wallet in my jacket pocket. I pulled it out and paid for a long distance call to Unova. I couldn’t call Kanto directly, but I didn’t need to. The line rang once… twice… three times. Then, a woman answered the phone.
“Keenan financial planning, Castelia city branch. How may I help you?”
“Hello. This is Kendal Maxwell. Can you put me through to Clarence Keenan please?”
“I’m sorry sir. Do you have an appointment with Clarence?”
“No. Tell him that this is a code red.” I said, feigning frustration.
“One moment, I am patching you through.” The receptionist said without hesitation. The line cut to repetitive hold music. I tapped my foot anxiously. Kalos will have tracked the call outgoing to Kanto, even if it was through Unova. I would need to make this quick.
“Clarence Keenan responding to a code red. Sign is Omanyte.”
“Countersign, razor claw.”
“Go ahead.”
“This is Mason Heartwell, at least that’s what the folks around here call me. Call is not secured.”
“Copy. What can I do for you?”
“My folks, you know the ones?”
“Yep. They live in Cerulean city?” I heard the quick sound of two taps on the other end, as if Clarence was hitting the phone receiver. That meant that he was lying.
“Yes. Those ones. I’m afraid that there is some heat headed their way. Please coordinate with the right people to keep them off the hook.”
“I see.”
Clarence sounded surprised.
“Their insurance bill is due in four months. Leadership is going to call paranoia.” What he was saying was that the protection ended for my family in four months. My request to increase security on them wouldn’t go over well with KSO leadership.
“Tell them tough shit. If they still resist, ask them if three years of deep cover service wasn’t enough.”
“Copy that. If that doesn't work, I’ll put a few of my buddies on it.”
“Thank you man. I’m sorry for not being in contact of late. Things have been… hectic to say the least.”
“It's all good bro. When it's all over, we need to meet for a beer and talk about it.”
“What do you mean ‘it’?”
“Your calling from Kalos. They really hate you there. Something is going on. Save the details. I want to hear it while there’s no leeches.”
“Okay. I’ll see you then.”
“Go kick some ass Andrew.” He said.
I hung up the phone and walked briskly back from the telephone. Clarence had been one of my good friends. I had known him since I was young. He was from Pallet town just as I was. Where I became a secret agent, he had taken over a very successful financial advising business from his dad. The thing was, he had figured out the nature of my work. With his connections and regional outreach, Clarence had gotten me out of some dicey situations before. We had developed a code system so I could get to the top of the chain of his company as quickly as possible. I put distance between me and the phone as quickly as possible. KRA was fast but not that fast. Still, I didn’t want to wait and find out if their response time had improved.
 
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Chapter 31

yooloo33

Bug Catcher
Pronouns
He/Him
Chapter 31

The first part of the next day went by really fast. We woke up early and drove to a secluded airfield in the Kalosian countryside. We had to pretend to be pretentious rich people and a flight crew flew us to Heahea city. Looker drove the car that had been waiting for us across the large island to Hano Beach. I slept most of the way through the car ride but once we reached Hano Grand Resort, I was wide awake. Once again, we didn’t have very much to carry as we got out of the car. Just the same outfits as before, and our pokemon.

“Good luck you two. I’m gonna go set up our operations center. I’ll have a false serpent key by tomorrow.” Looker said from the driver’s seat.

“Thank you Looker. We’ll be in contact soon.” Athena said. We stepped onto the curb and Looker drove off.

“Well, here we are.” I said, apprehensively, taking Athena’s hand in mine. “You ready?”

“Let's get this key.” She pushed her sunglasses down over her eyes.

The Hano Grand Resort was a very high class establishment. Because of Alola’s political neutrality, Hano was the top place to go on vacation for people from both the UR and KRA. Because of this, the hotel rooms were both very nice and very expensive. Cynthia had told us that she had only been able to secure a room when her secretary had told them that the champion of Sinnoh herself wanted the room.

The exterior of the resort was lavish with gardens and fountains outside. Underneath the canopy where Looker had dropped us off, there were two sets of sliding doors. They hissed open without a sound and we walked through into an even more fine interior. A large orange carpet ringed tables and red couches, leading up to the front desk. Two large fountains splashed happily on either side of the entryway. A dark brown, circular receptionist desk lay in the middle of the area. All sorts of people hung out around the entryway. We passed two golfers in white miniskirts arguing about if they needed a Machamp caddie.

“Hello and welcome to the Hano Grand Resort. Are you checking in?” The receptionist greeted us.

Athena pulled her sunglasses off her face in a dramatic motion, playing up the persona of a rich person who couldn't be bothered with speaking civilly to a lowly receptionist.

“Yes we are. You will find the reservation made by Cynthia, the champion of Sinnoh.”

The receptionist was unphased.

“One moment please.” She typed on her keyboard. A few seconds passed.

“Here it is.” The receptionist put two keycards on the desk.

“Please enjoy your stay.”

Athena scornfully put her shades back on and snatched up the keycards from the desk. We headed for the elevator.

***

The inside of the four room executive suite was the stuff of dreams. It was what you saw on an advertisement while in a big city as a child and thought about how nice it was, only to realize years later that it probably would cost three years of salary to stay there for a few nights. Floor to ceiling windows looked out on Hano Beach and the glittering ocean beyond. Glass doors opened up onto a large terrace with chairs and a couch and chairs around a table. There was a cozy living room with various comfortable furniture pieces in front of a TV and a complementary liquor cabinet. There was a kitchen and dining room off to the right. To the left were two spacious bedrooms with king size beds.

Athena walked into the room with her arms spread wide and spun around happily. I couldn't help but smile at her obvious excitement to stay in this lavish suite.

We both sat down in the living room.

“Do you have any ideas on how we’re going to find Marcus Akana? It's a big hotel.”

Athena crossed her legs, leaning back on a comfortable couch.

“I have a few. It won’t be as simple as in the movies, unfortunately.”

“Is it ever?”

She smiled.

“No. No it isn’t. We also need to find out his room number because we gotta break in there and get the key.”

“So that means we gotta snatch his room key then.”

I scratched my head in thought.

“That’s true. I think we’ll have to find out what his daily pattern is like. Then, we can make a pass at his keycard.”

“Didn’t Looker say that he would have a replica serpent key for us tomorrow? I think we should get settled in here, maybe try to find out where Akana is staying and then start to move in.”

“That works for me.” I leaned back and closed my eyes. A wave of exhaustion rushed over me. Traveling was tiring! “I’m going to take a nap right now.” I told Athena.

Athena stood up and walked over to me. She bent down and kissed me.

“Sleep well, dear. I’m headed off to get some clothes at one of the stores nearby. We’ll stick out like a sore thumb with these outfits here.”

I opened my eyes.

“If it's not too much of a bother, could you pick up a few things that I would look good in? I trust you to pick out something good.”

As soon as I asked her to get something for me to wear, her eyes lit up.

“Of course. You’ve come to the right place.” She winked at me.

“I’m glad of that. I’ll see you soon. Love you.”

“Love you too, Andrew.”

A few seconds later, I heard the door close behind Athena.

***
I awoke from a restless sleep. Weirdly, it felt like nothing had changed inside the suite or outside. The sun was still shining brilliantly, the waves rolled up onto the beach and back down into the sea, Wingull and Peleper flapped noisily past our terrace.

I stood up and got my bearings. I had a huge headache and felt really stiff from the travel we had done today. I stiffly walked over to the kitchen dining area and got myself a large glass of water. One glance at the clock showed that only one hour had passed. Athena wasn’t back yet from her shopping. That made me smile. She was probably shopping for clothes for every contingency, every way that stealing the serpent key could go wrong.

I set my water glass down on the counter and started to empty my pockets. I wanted to scope out this resort a little bit and maybe catch a glimpse of Marcus Akana. I set all but two of my pokeballs on the counter. Julian and Clair would be the least conspicuous in the Alola region, by the beach. I left a note for Athena on the coffee table in the living room and headed out for the beach.

I walked out of the front entrance of the resort building and across a white bridge over an artificial canal. Looking slowly from side to side, I saw all sorts of groups of people. Golfers heading to the golf cart lot. I counted at least three social media influencers walking around, talking into their cameras, I steered clear of them. Rich people in expensive outfits walked in and out of the resort followed by a posse of reporters and bellboys carrying luggage.

I stepped out onto the beach. Alola was famous for its fantastic beaches and Hano beach was no exception. The silky white sand contrasted with the teal blue water. Beach umbrellas with pool chairs and small tables lined the beach. People of all different ages laid out in the sun, enjoying its warmth. I walked the length of the beach, slowly looking around. I had decided to not wear my aviator jacket and instead, just my black turtleneck, but it was still very hot, a stark contrast from Sinnoh and Kalos. In my turtleneck, cargo pants and baseball cap, I got some strange looks. Nobody could see my eyes due to my dark sunglasses. I smiled inwardly. There was almost no chance that I would see any of these people ever again but it was still fun obscuring myself from them.

I reached the lifeguard station. On top of the stand stood a bored looking man about my age. He was shirtless with what looked like traditional Alolan tattoos running up his strong arms and across his chest.

“Not having to do much guarding?” I called up to him.

“Nah man. I just had to catch a Furfrou that ran away from its owner. Where are you from?” He looked glad to have some sort of conversation.

“I’m from Sinnoh.” I lied.

“Oh Sinnoh. Quite the opposite from here isn’t it?”

“Yeah really. I haven't gotten any warm weather clothes yet so I’m making due.” I pointed at my strange outfit.

“Man, you're the most normal person I’ve talked to all day. How did you get into this fine establishment?” He said the last words sarcastically.

Before I could answer, a small child ran up to the lifeguard. The kid was about 12 with dark brown skin and curly black hair. He chattered something up to the lifeguard in a language I didn’t understand. The lifeguard said something back to him, pointing frustratedly towards the surf behind me. The kid crossed his arms and stood his ground, saying something in a mocking tone. The lifeguard shouted something angrily and hit the back of his open palm against the other hand twice. The child said something in return and made a rude gesture towards the lifeguard before dashing back down the beach. He ran into the surf and grabbed for something, missed, and got it on his second try. The boy held up a small, black, oval shaped thing with red points on it. He swung it around and sent it flying back into the sea.

“Sorry about that man. He’s trying to short change me for Pyukumuku chucking. Unfortunately for him, I’ve been so bored that I watched him not send 10 back into the ocean.” He smiled tiredly at me.

“So, where was I? Oh yeah. How did you get in here? You don’t hold yourself like a rich asshole.”

Fortunately, the kid interrupting had given me a chance to come up with an excuse.
“My girlfriend and I won a sweepstakes. All expenses trip here. Been looking forward to it for eight months.”

The lifeguard raised his eyebrows.

“In the winter?”

“I mean, it's a nice escape from the cold.”

He shrugged.

“Guess your right. Well, enjoy your time.”

“Thanks. By the way, have you seen a man strutting around here with a lot of people around him, causing chaos wherever he goes?”

He snorted.

“Which one?”

“A fat one, small nose, piggy eyes, likes the high life with expensive clothes, food and women. He might go by the name Marcus.”

“I have seen a man like that. He’s hard to miss. I overheard him and some of his buddies talking. They were yammering about a game of pool they were going to play later.”

I raised an eyebrow.

“By any chance do you know when and where that game was?”

He chuckled.

“Do I ever? I work as a waiter at the bar where they play. Every night they play over there.” He pointed a finger down the beach.

On the far end was a large tiki bar. The bar was on the end of a short pier in the ocean. The brown grass roof covered a large wooden structure with open air sides for a panoramic view of the ocean. Even now, people were walking in and out of the bar.

“I see. Thanks man, I appreciate it.” I brought my hand up towards where he sat. He reached down and crushed my hand in a handshake.

“No problem. I hope you enjoy your stay, unlike some of these pricks.” He glared back out at the ocean as I picked my way up the beach again.

As I was crossing one of the canals back towards the large hotel building, a large group of people shoved their way out of the entrance. There were at least 15 or 20 people. Tall people, short short people, women, men, all in various stages of dress. Their hubbub grew louder as the mob of people stumbled their way towards me. The crowd temporarily parted and I saw him. He was short with small blue, piggish eyes. His white shirt covered a pot belly and his teal blue swim trunks went down below his kneecap. He grinned like a maniac, moving forward with his posse. He threw an arm around two women wearing very revealing bikinis, stumbling a little. Was he drunk already? It was only six. They moved the other direction towards the beach. Unwilling to pass up an opportunity that had stumbled into my hands, I cautiously followed behind them. Not far enough to be of notice but it was really hard to miss the loud group of people.

I had followed them back onto the beach when someone came up behind me and tapped on my shoulder. I whirled around, ready to defend myself. There stood Athena. She was wearing a dark blue bikini and a sun hat with a pair of sunglasses over her eyes.

“Geez, don’t scare me like that.”

She handed me a plastic bag.

“Go change. I’ll follow them. You look like a Sharpedo in the mountains.”

“Fine. See you in a few.” I headed for the changing room.

A few minutes later, I emerged wearing a pair of red board shorts with a palm tree design and a blue tank top. The loud group wasn’t hard to miss and a little bit more of searching led me to Athena. She was laying on her back on one of the pool chairs, looking up at the sky. She looked beautiful and serene. With her eyes obscured by dark sunglasses, she could have been a model for a travel magazine. I smiled. I was certain that nobody was wearing a bikini as well as my girlfriend.

“You aren’t exactly watching them.” I joined her in another chair.

“I’m not watching, I’m listening. So be quiet for a moment.” She responded, quietly.

I certainly couldn’t hear anything but I trusted Athena’s skills. A few minutes passed. Athena didn’t move. She looked like she was just laying in the chair. I wouldn’t have even guessed that she was listening in on Akana. I laid back in the chair next to her. Admittedly, the sun felt really good on me. Finally, Athena spoke.

“They're talking about a bunch of unimportant bullshit. The only thing I could glean is that his room is on the 14th floor. Not the number. I don’t think I’ll hear anything more.”

“Why is that?”

Athena turned to me.

“Because he is going into great detail of how he’s going to ‘make use of’ those prostitutes.” She said with a disapproving tone.

“Ah. I see.”

We both got up from where we were sitting and headed back up the beach.

“How was clothes shopping?” I asked her.

“It was good. I got us a few outfits for potential situations we could find ourselves in.”

I smiled.

“I knew you would.”

Athena laced her fingers in mine as we made our way up the beach. All in all, today hadn’t been that horrible of a day, especially considering our past few days of chaos. I couldn't say that it wasn’t a blast to share a suite at the world’s most prestigious resort with my girlfriend.

***
It was 10 PM. After a pleasant dinner with Athena, I went back to our hotel room. She was out shopping again. This time, she was getting some tools that we might need to search Akana’s room for the serpent key. My phone beeped. An anonymous number had texted me:

Just got to our point of attack. How’s progress?
-L

I tapped out a message back.

Good so far. We’ll have to choose a good time to strike but I’m optimistic.

Immediately, there was a response.

Good. Check your mail tomorrow. Sleep well.

I heard the door latch open and in came Athena. She was carrying a large bag in one hand.
“Got us some good tools. Anything you need to tear through a rich guy’s stuff.” She set down the bag and sat down next to me.

“Thanks Athena. I looked at the outfits you chose for me. I think you overestimate my looks.”
She snuggled up against me. I put my arm around her.

“Don’t sell yourself short babe. I wouldn’t choose them if I didn’t think they looked good on you.”
“If you say so.” I said.

I looked down at her. Unable to resist, I stroked her black hair with my hand. It felt just how it looked, smooth, soft and silky. She sighed blissfully as I ran my fingers through her hair.

We enjoyed being near each other. I hadn’t realized it before, but the cold had been something that had really been messing with me. The warmer climate of Alola was much more pleasant. It also helped that I was holding the woman I loved. A long while passed. We enjoyed the closeness together, the feeling of safety that came with being together. Finally, Athena looked up at me. Her expression had gone from one of content to something more excited. Something more devious. She smiled up at me.

“You know Andrew, these suites are soundproofed. Do you want to test how well they are with me?”

“I love you.” I declared.


“I kno-” I cut her off with a kiss.

I stood up as she pulled me closer and heaved her up into the air with a sudden surge of strength. I carried her out of the living room and into the bedroom, and the king size bed.
 
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Chapter 33

yooloo33

Bug Catcher
Pronouns
He/Him
Chapter 33

When I woke up the next morning, there was a message on my phone. Sent at 3:26 in the morning, it said:

Red Tauros 300c. Keys are underneath your door already. Meet in Konikoni city.
866 Murkrow Avenue.

I sat up in bed. Athena was sleeping next to me. I would have woken her up but she needed to sleep. Today promised to be, if not a stressful day, an anxious one with a plan that would make or break this run Athena and I’ve been on. It was a marvel that we had made it through all these tribulations successfully. Once again, I had her to thank for that.

I rolled out of bed and groaned. My back, arms and shoulders were as stiff as a board. I tried to stretch my injured shoulder and gasped in pain. Straight out of bed, it didn’t hurt, it was just stiff but as soon as I tried to move it at all, the pain returned. I didn’t think that I had torn it, but that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt. I did a few stretches for the rest of my body, trying to warm up the muscles and get loose for the day.

I was stretching my left shoulder out when I heard a terrified gasp behind me. I whirled around. Athena shot up from the bed. She sat up ramrod straight, breathing heavily.

“Athena?” I asked, tentatively.

She whipped around, registering that I was there for the first time.

“Andrew. Andrew. Andrew…” She said, her tone becoming progressively quieter.

“Athena. What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

“Am I still dreaming?” She spoke, her voice growing more panicked. “Where are we?”

“Athena. It's okay. We’re still in the Hano Resort. I’m here.”

“Hano… Hano. Hano.” She echoed the word to herself.

I walked around the bed towards her. Her eyes grew wild.

“Stop! Who are you? How do I know you're Andrew?”

“I met you at ALPL. You and I fought together for them. Now we’re fighting against them.”

She seemed to be calming down. Her hand dropped to her side.

“Right. Right….” She said, taking a deep breath to calm herself.
“It's okay Athena.” I reached out and put a hand on her arm. She flinched at my touch, still not fully registering that I was there.

“What should I tell you? I can prove it's me.”

“Tell me… Tell me how we became a couple. You should know that.”

I sat down on the edge of the bed.

“It was almost a week ago but it might as well be an eternity. We had just escaped ALPL and were sailing to Kalos. I was sitting on the back of the ship and you came up to me. You spoke to me and had the bravery to entrust me with your life’s story.” I paused and looked at her. She was looking out past over my shoulder. Her hands absently played with a strand of her hair. I continued my telling of the story.

“I don’t know anyone as brave as you Athena, and that’s the bravest thing you ever did. After that, we kissed. I have gone out with people before, but I never felt the way that I felt about you. The way I still feel about you. Your quiet confidence, your power as a trainer, your genuine caring demeanor. We have fought together and I know that you’ve saved my life at least three times. ”

She turned and met my eyes, still a little bit shell shocked from her nightmare.

“You really mean that?”

“I absolutely do.” I said, without hesitation. “There is nobody in this world who went through what you did and come out on the other side.”

Athena suddenly lurched forward and wrapped me in a hug, sobbing. Her tensed up body began to relax as I held her in my arms.

“It is really you, Andrew. I was having this horrible nightmare… Then I woke up but the dream kept going…” She sobbed into my shoulder.

“It's okay. I’m here now. Don’t worry.” I reassured her, patting her gently on the back.

“M-my father… He found me. He forced me to come back to Kalos with him and had me reinstated as his daughter in front of the whole Kalos parliament. Then, Dennis was there. He laughed in my face, telling me how he had won… I woke up and I was in this room but then I was attacked. They-They stabbed you with a Bisharp! And then they chased me through the resort, finally catching me…”

I was surprised and unsurprised at the same time. It was very unlike Athena to completely break down like this. On the other hand, with the trauma she had, it was unsurprising that she had such terrible nightmares.

I held her tightly, letting her cry out all the fear and terror from her dream. Minutes passed. Eventually, she stopped crying and just held me. Finally, she broke the silence.

“I think I’ve told you this before, but words can’t describe how I feel about you. You were the only person who I’ve told my whole story to. You are one of the few people to have ever cared for me. I’ve always been alone. When I wake up from a nightmare like I just had, I have to convince myself that what I’m experiencing is real. It usually takes at least an hour as I search around for what is going to attack me.” Her head fell to my shoulder again and she burst into a fresh set of tears. Once her tear ducts ran dry, she lifted her head up, looking at me with red eyes and tear stained cheeks.

“You don’t want anything from me?”

The question caught me off guard.

“What?”

“Everyone who has shown me affection or pretended to, they always wanted something from me. They wanted to get information from me, they wanted to have sex with me, they wanted for me to listen to them…” Her voice trailed off.

“Athena. I don’t want anything from you. I know that you will stay by my side to stop Necrozma because you have a good moral compass and you’re a good person. I know that we will stay together because you love me and I love you. If you don’t feel the same way, tell me now.”

“I love you Andrew!” She declared decisively, without any hesitation. She tackled me in a kiss.

If not the most passionate kiss we had shared, it was for sure the most intense. She pressed her mouth against mine in a fury that was unmatched. After an intense few seconds, she drew back, looking down at me.

“I love you.” She restated, breathlessly. I could tell that she was completely certain. Her eyes told the whole truth with complete confidence. Once she had come to this realization, she sighed happily, finally out of the terrified mindset of her nightmare. Athena pushed herself off me and sat back against the bed’s headboard.

“So. Do you want to order room service Andrew?” She said, completely changing the subject.

“I don’t see why not. We aren’t in too much of a hurry to get to Konikoni.”

“Is that our next destination?”

“Indeed it is. We are meeting Looker there today, but as far as I’m concerned-” I reached an arm around Athena’s shoulders and drew her close to me, gently laying a kiss on the top of her head. “-he can wait for a little while.”

***

We drove slowly down the main street of Konikoni city. Looker had (of course) been right. There was a key fob that had been shoved under our door. It matched a car in the parking lot and we had driven to Konikoni, a 90 minute drive through Heahea city and Digilet tunnel. Konikoni city was very similar in structure to Canalave city but something about Konikoni was more downtrodden, more run down. Still, the people looked happy, buying from storefronts, walking with their pokemon. A Tauros shot past our car with a child riding on top of it.

“Left up here.” Athena guided.

I turned onto a side street.

“In a half mile, turn right.” The GPS system commanded.

I turned again. This street was even more sketchy. We were in the industrial district of the city. Heavy, boxy stone buildings rose up from the ground with rusty overhead doors and leaky pipes.

“This is lovely.” Athena observed sarcastically.

“Well it's out of the way.”

“I guess so. Looker isn’t one to reduce practicality for convenience I guess.”

“Your destination is on the right.” The GPS announced.

To our right was a warehouse just like the other ones. A large facility with cracked, faded red bricks, nondescript boxy design and a rusty overhead door. I parked the car on the side of the road and we got out. Athena and I had a bag with our new Alolan outfits that she had bought for us as well as some travel snacks and a book Athena had been reading in the car. Concealed tightly in my pocket was the ever important Serpent key. We walked over to the, admittedly sketchy warehouse.

Athena knocked four times on the cracked white steel door. The sound echoed hollowly back at us. There was a moment's pause and then I heard footsteps approaching. The door creaked open. There stood Looker. He was wearing light brown slacks and a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up past his elbows. Contrary from the last time we saw him, his hair was combed nicely and his eyes shone brightly, as if he had been excitedly anticipating our arrival.

“Looker. Nice to see you again.” I said.

“Likewise. You two have been busy.” Looker replied, turning and showing us into the large warehouse.

The inside of the building was not something I expected. The high ceiling had large panels of light which shone brightly down onto the large room that took up most of the building. Inside the enormous room was a whole arrangement of supplies. There was a large wooden table with gear. I saw pokeballs of every variety, I saw battle items, vitiments, firearms, all sorts of sharp objects ranging from a switchblade to what looked like a sword. There were chairs set up around a large poster board and a projector with a laptop hooked to it. There was another table that had a large light built into the surface of it to read blueprints more effectively. A 3d printer sat in the corner next to a normal printer. There was a small outbuilding with what looked like a kitchian and a bathroom. There were even two cars and a large, white van parked inside the warehouse.

“You put all this together in three days?” I was surprised.

“He had help.” A voice came from the other side of the warehouse. Where the voice came from, a person emerged. My first observation was that she was very slim, so much so that I was concerned for her physical well being. The next thing I noticed was her long purple hair. It was kind of a mess, dangling down from her forehead and over one of her, also purple eyes and all the way down her back. Even in this casual situation, she wore a two piece, black tuxedo with a matching black tie. She even wore black cloth gloves, one of which she extended to me as she reached where we stood.

“Greetings. I’m in on it. Don’t worry.”
I shook her hand. The way she held herself, and talked, sounded like she had done this type of thing before.
“Thanks for telling us. I know Looker’s crowd doesn't really ever tell us their real names but what should we call you?”

She smiled warmly.

“Don’t worry. I’ll tell you my real name, I’m Anabel. I used to work as a frontier brain in Honnen but now my job is at the consulate in Alola.”

“Pleased to meet you.” Athena said, shaking her hand.

“Anabel and I used to work together for the international police back in the day.” Looker explained.

“You mean that you worked for me even though I was much younger than you.”

Looker spread his arms in surrender.

“It was either that or work a desk job for the rest of my life. The pay was shit but we got up to some chaos didn’t we?”

“That we did.” Anabel agreed, with a smile.

“I brought Anabel in because she owed me a favor.”

“You did not!” Anabel cut him off. “I came here to help you with whatever sketchy operation you're running with these two people out of the goodness of my heart.”

“Thanks.” Athena said sarcastically.

“What about that business in Poni Canyon? You owe me for that.” Looker countered, ignoring Athena.

“I paid that off when I saved your ass when we took back that hijacked ship off the coast of Honnen.”

“You did? I don’t remember that…”

“Are you losing your memory in old age? The Scyther almost cut you in half!”

“Oh yeah! That’s right. You did. Well what about that fight we got into on Route 12 in Kanto?”

Anabel put her hands on her hips.

“I had that under control. You didn’t need to save me.”

Looker rolled his eyes.

“Oh sure you did-”

“Hey guys?” Athena cut in. “Let's argue about this at a later time maybe? Please?”

“Oh yes. I’m sorry about that. Point is, I’m helping you three out with this heist Looker tells me about.”

I anxiously looked at Looker.

“She can be trusted.” He reassured me.

“You're going to help us with the heist?” I asked.

She nodded her head.

“I’m not going to actually go in, that’s your job. I’m helping you guys get the gear for it. After that, I’ll help out with the tech side of things.” Anabel’s expression was one of excitement. She wanted to help an old friend just to break up her boring life.

“Well, you’ve done a really good job with collecting gear for us.” Athena observed.

“Looker and I both know this region quite well.”

“Do you remember the UB scare that happened here in Alola?” Looker asked us.

“I was three.” I replied.

“Well, that was Anabel and my first assignment here. I was 33 and she was 21.”

“Wait, that makes you…”

“55.” Looker agreed.

“Wow. You look good for your age.” Athena said.

“Thanks…” Looker smirked, running a hand through his hair.

“So what do you propose we do for this heist?” I asked.

“Before we get into that, would anyone like some pasta? I made it myself.” Looker offered.

“Five players. Three are playing, two are out.” Looker gathered us around a blueprint that he spread across the light table.

“Honestly Looker, just tell us what is happening. You don’t need to make it a big metaphor.” Anabel said, exasperated. Looker sighed.

“We have five moving pieces on our side of this operation. Two people are going into the building, one is whatever security Alola has, and two will be working on the tech angle of things.” He pointed to a spot on the bottom of the building.

“This is the entrance to the building. They have a rigorous vetting and search system. AIC meticulously checks the background of every single person they admit into there. There is one way in, one way out, and one angle which we can approach it from.” He pointed to the next floor.

“The layout is fairly simple, just eight circular floors with all sorts of hubs for information. Computer terminals, file hard copies, books, everything. We don’t know what floor has the information we want but we assume it's on one of the higher floors because it's relatively new. The Serpent key will get you access through all doors and into all computers. As you all know, the place is a fortress. It is guarded 24/7 by Bisharp. They don’t need to eat or sleep. They rotate them every so often but not in a way that can be exploited. That isn’t the worst part. Each floor has laser barriers everywhere while there isn’t a guard on patrol. It's impossible to traverse the floor without a Bisharp there. On top of that, every so often, they release Koffing into each floor and the elevator shaft. The Koffing gas the entire place with poison, meaning that we have to be in and out of there within an hour.”

I raised my eyebrows.

“That’s kind of excessive. Athena and I are going to get in there?”

Looker rubbed his hands together. Surprisingly, he looked as excited as I had ever seen him.

“Well we’re going to crack it open and make it reveal all the secrets inside.”

Ever inquisitive, Athena said,

“How do you know all this information about it? I thought Finegold only had a limited amount of information.”

Anabel coughed loudly. Athena turned towards her.

“You got this information?”

Anabel shrugged.

“It's what we know about the place. An architecture firm in Honnen was commissioned to design the security systems.” She explained.

“I see.” Athena turned back to the blueprint.

“Fortunately, we have an ace in the hole.” Looker pointed to Anabel.

She drew out a pokeball and set it on the table. Inside of it, glaring up at us was a red, black and silver pokemon made of steel. He had sharp blades on his arms and one on the top of his head.

“This is Brent. He’s a pokemon that I caught and have been training.”

“Wait, so we’re gonna-”

“Yes. Exactly” Looker cut me off. His eyes gleamed with excitement.
 
Chapter 34

yooloo33

Bug Catcher
Pronouns
He/Him
Chapter 34

“You ready?” I looked over at Athena.

We were both clad in black tactical jumpsuits, ideal for sneaking. A black belt on each of us held six jet black dusk balls. Of course dusk balls of this color weren’t legal, but Alabel had still managed to produce them from somewhere. We each wore a beanie and a black mask over our faces. There was a bulge in Athena’s beanie that was her hair tied behind her head. I had to suppress a smile. In the tactical outfit mask and a black earpiece in her ear with a cable running down into her suit, Athena looked like some mechanized soldier from a science fiction movie. I probably looked the same.

We stood at the base of Mount Lanakila, on the northern side of the mountain, directly opposite Tapu Village. The clouds shrouded the top of the mountain, which was right where we were headed. I felt a pang of memories. This felt eerily familiar to when I was laying in the brush, out of sight with Koa and Phoebe, waiting for the all clear to hit the Kalos Legendary National Legendary Research Center. The anticipation danger, the eerie calm of the night around us.

Athena adjusted one of her black gloves on her hand.

“Anything that gets us a step closer to stopping Alola. Let's do this.”

It was clear to us that we both held disillusions with the reality of our situation. This heist was most likely to be a lackluster attempt that we would get caught doing. The thing was, at this point, neither of us cared. We were too far in to back out and we had to work with what we had right now. There was no time to wait. Just as Athena had told me back at Looker’s apartment in Kalos, neither of us could live with ourselves if we let up and didn’t follow through with this.

I pressed a button on my earpiece.

“Blue. This is green and Red. We’re ready to go.” As I said those words, I could feel my heart start to beat faster in my chest. There was a pause. Then I heard Looker respond.

“Copy Red and Green. Blue is set. External defenses are down. Go to phase one.”

I could visualize Looker and Anabel working a vast array of devices in a white van down the mountain in Tapu village. They had probably argued all the way about operational procedure or how to tune a radio but I imagined that they were dead serious at this moment.

I looked at Athena and nodded. No going back now. My hand went down to my belt and grabbed the black pokeball the furthest to my right. I pressed the button and Surya emerged. Athena held out her arm and Surya flapped up onto it.

“Go.” I commanded my fiery eagle.

Surya surged up the mountain, carrying the ever calm Athena. I watched them fly up into the air until they disappeared above the clouds. I took a deep breath to calm my nerves a little bit and looked at the black watch on my wrist.

Five minutes passed and then I saw Surya dive out of the sky towards me. At the last moment, she opened her wings, slowing her descent and landing on the ground.

“Ready girl?” I asked her. Surya cocked her head in affirmation. I held out my arm.

“Let's go.” Surya flapped up to my forearm. Then, Just like with Athena, she surged into the air, hoisting me off the ground.

I felt her iron talons gripping into my arm, yanking me into the air. Surya flapped her wings, pulling us up higher and higher. I felt my pulse quicken and breath grow sharper as we increased in altitude. Then, my vision was blocked off as Surya pushed into the clouds. I felt cold all around me. All I saw was a soupy gray haze. Surya heated her body, making the droplets hiss into steam. A few seconds later, Surya ascended above the low clouds. I knew that behind me was the dark, volcanic Mount Lanakila. I didn’t fear being spotted. There was no vantage point to this side of the sheer mountain. Surya pulled me higher. With her talons gripped tightly around my wrist, there wasn’t a chance of me falling to the ground.

Surya reached the apex of her flight and started to descend, swooping low over the black rock and soil of the mountain. I saw the AIC building looming ahead of us. An enormous, foreboding tower jutting out from the mountainside. Surya flew at full speed towards it. At the last moment, she spread her wings, flapping up in front of the sheer structure. We cleared the top of it by a few feet and Surya gently set me down on the roof. I touched down on the stone structure and stumbled a few steps, my legs adjusting to being on the ground again. Athena crouched low on the flat structure. I joined her. Pushing the button on her earpiece, she called in to Looker.

“Blue, this is Green and Red. Phase one is complete.”

“Copy. Move to phase two.” Came his response.

I unslung my backpack and reached inside. There was a pair of spiked shoes to slip onto our boots. Athena and I put on the spikes. Then, I moved over to the edge of the building. I looked down at the sheer drop below me and couldn't help but feel a twinge of vertigo. I couldn't see the ground below us because of the low cloud cover. It was probably for the best though because nobody from the ground could see us clambering around on their most secure building.

I drew a small hammer and a large spike with a large steel eye hook out of my backpack. Okay Andrew. Just like we practiced. Anchor, Knot, line. My shaky hands did as we had practiced over and over until Athena and I could do it flawlessly every single time.

I saw Athena move to do the same. No words needed to be exchanged. We executed our plan exactly how we had practiced. Athena reached for a dusk ball and tossed it onto the ground. Her Weavile, which had belonged to Phoebe before her death, appeared. The idea was for him to spot our rappel ropes. Once we got to the window ledge, he would pull out the mounts, leaving the ropes to fall down Mount Lanakila and into the thick jungle below. Then, he would climb down and rendezvous with us.

I started unfurling the rope, running it through a special metal loop in my belt so I could give myself slack easily. The belt was attached to a harness that would keep me safe if I lost grip on the building with my feet or rope with my hands.

Athena was finishing up her knot. She leaned into her rope, ensuring that it was secured. I pressed the button on my earpiece again.

“Blue, we are ready for phase 3.” There was a moment's pause.

“Green, Red, you are good to execute in two minutes and 26 seconds. Good hunting.”

I looked down at the black watch on my left wrist. According to our timings, the Koffing gas would be cleared from the upper floors in two minutes. I checked my watch, noting the time. We had to be out of there in an hour otherwise the Koffing gas would make every floor inhospitable to human life. The masks we wore wore an extra layer of protection in case the fumes hadn't vented out of the building yet. My movements were robotic. If I hadn't gone through the motions before, there was no way I could have carried out such important tasks.

I looked at Athena. We were good to go. I gave a thumbs up, false optimism in my eyes. She smiled behind her mask and she did the same. My last view of the top of the AIC building was Athena’s Weavile standing next to our mounts, ready to catch us if our mount broke loose. Then, I jumped out over the abyss.

I had a moment of panic. The line wasn’t secured to the roof properly! Blood was roaring in my ears. I could feel hot wind blowing past me as I fell. I stuck my spiked shoes and caught myself on the side of the building, bending my knees into a horizontal squat to soften the blow. My spikes stuck into the side of the building, giving me purchase on the stone. I looked over to my left. Around a slight bend in the building, Athena had landed safely on the side of the as well. End over end. One step at a time. Don’t look down. I could hear Looker’s sharp tone as I practiced rappelling for the first time. I took a step downwards, letting slack from the coil of rope hooked to my belt to release. I took another step. I could feel the rope running through my gloved hands. My spiked boots stuck in the stone, holding my feet secure against the vertical wall.

Athena and I silently descended the sheer structure. Something was going to go terribly wrong at any moment. One of our ropes would snap, our mounts to come undone. Step by step, foot by foot we worked our way down the AIC building. If it weren’t for Looker and Anabel’s combined genius with tech, we would have been busted before we had landed on the roof, certainly in the vulnerable position we were in right now. But they shut down everything, looping cameras, misleading sensors, nothing got through their eagle eyes. I would have to extend another thanks to them after we were done.

One last step down and I hung over a large window hewn into the side of the building. Slowly, carefully, I lowered myself down to the large windowsill. The space was two feet wide by about four feet long so we had plenty of room.

A few moments later, Athena joined me on the ledge. As soon as her feet touched down on the cill, she began untying herself from the ropes. I followed suit, pulling my excess rope through the loop on my belt and untying the end. Athena looked back up to where we had just repelled from and whispered,

“Cysgod. Come.”

Weaviles have excellent hearing so Cysgod heard Athena’s whisper even though we were far out of earshot. A moment passed and then the ropes we had just rapeled from, fell past our window ledge and out of sight. Athena and I sat down on the ledge, careful not to look down as we started to take off our spikes.

I pressed the release button on one of the shoes and it clicked open, allowing me to slide it off. The second one came off easily as well. Just as I stowed both of them back into my backpack, I heard a skittering sound on the wall. Turning around, I saw Cysgod clamber the rest of the way down the wall and join us on the window ledge.

“Well done.” Athena whispered, petting her Weavile on the head. For the first time since I had known the pokemon, he looked happy. Dark types weren’t the most cheerful lot in general and Cysgod had experienced the death of his trainer. Of course, if there was anyone who could help him through that, it was Athena.

I quietly reported to Looker and Anabel again.

“Phase two is done. We’re about to make entry.”

“Copy that. Green, Red, this is it. I believe in you both. Get it done and get out.” The voice cut.

I nodded to Athena. We were on our own now. Looker and Anabel’s countermeasures didn’t extend to inside the building.

Before we made entry, we had to lighten our load a little bit. Careful not to slip and fall over the precarious ledge, I unzipped my jumpsuit and stepped out of it. I unclipped my harness and balled it up with the overgarment. Underneath it, I had a tight fitting T-shirt and black sweatpants that were a few sizes too small for me around the legs, but not in an uncomfortable way. When we might be dodging lasers, there was no extra room for loose clothing. I unhooked my earpiece, wrapping the cable around the receiver. The mask and beanie would stay on me for now. My climbing boots were already off, underneath, I had a pair of what were essentially boxing shoes. All of the gear I had just shelled off wouldn't be necessary in the rest of our heist. I tied the laces together on my boots, and balled up my outer clothing and earpiece, cramming it into my backpack.

I looked up at Athena. She was wearing the same outfit as I, tight black polyester shirt and tight black sweatpants. She too held her backpack with the excess gear. Time for the next step. I pulled the same dusk ball from earlier and tossed it into the sky. Athena did the same. As silent as the wind, both pokeballs opened and our two pokemon emerged without a sound. Surya and Athena’s Hydreigon dove in a synchronized motion down towards the ground. Then, both pokemon swooped back up, circling around back towards us. Once our pokemon were in position in the air, Athena and I tossed our backpacks out into the sky. I saw Surya and Hydreigon dive after the bags and they both came up with the catch. Instantly, both pokemon flapped their wings, quickly gaining altitude as they soared away from us. They would both return to our warehouse and wait there. In the event of our safe return, we would be reunited. If we didn’t return, Looker and Anabel would take care of them.

With that comforting thought, I turned to our next obstacle, the ¾ inch pane of bulletproof glass. Fortunately, Athena had the right pokemon for this problem as well. She set a dusk ball on the ledge and her Gardevoir appeared. I checked my watch. We were clear of Koffing gas. Now we just had to time our arrival on the top floor with Brent’s patrol. With all the moving pieces, not to mention how precise the teleportation needed to be, it would have been impossible for Rose to get us safely into the building from the roof, much less anywhere farther away.

A tense few minutes passed. I checked the time. If our timing was correct, this was our moment. Athena pointed to Rose. The pokemon quietly hummed and raised her arms, channeling her psychic power. All of a sudden, I was surrounded by a purple sphere of energy. The energy began to constrict around me. Normally, I would have panicked and tried to fight it, but we had practiced for that very reason. The energy squeezed tighter around me and I began to feel like I couldn’t breathe. I heard a humming of power. The energy reached my arms and legs. It felt like I was being constricted, squeezing me into one short column of human. A hole opened on the ground and I was sucked through.

It felt like someone had pulled the rug out from my feet. My consciousness was flipped. I was falling. A cold blast of air hit me, sending shivers down my spine. I was chattering with cold, the freezing air rushing past me… then I was back in reality. My stomach instantly rebelled at being displaced the way I had but I had to hold in my dinner because I was no longer on the ledge. I was inside a dark, circular room.

The whole room felt futuristic. There were shelves and shelves of books and files but even those were organized neatly and were laid on futurey looking shelves. There was a bank of computer terminals, six to be exact on the far wall, directly across from a singular silver elevator. The computers were housed in big steel and carbon fiber boxes that made them look like space age arcade cabinets. I stood on white tile floor. From where I stood, I could make out large vents that looked like laundry chutes on the walls. That was where the Koffing came from. There were cameras mounted to the walls. Fortunately, Rose had teleported us to a safe part of the floor, out of sight of the cameras. All over on the ceiling and where the walls didn’t have shelves for books, there were small aparatases mounted to the walls. I could see at least 20 of them. Those were probably where the lasers were projected from.

I heard a quiet whirring sound from my right. Two purple circles appeared, swirling with psychic energy. In each one, a humanoid figure materialized. Athena and Rose were safely in the AIC building. Just as they materialized in the room, I heard a rhythmic metal clanking around the corner. Cautiously, I reached for the dusk ball with Lucio in it.

Athena, Rose and I spread across the hall. I saw a shadow around the corner. The figure turned the corner and saw us. He didn’t attack or sound the alarm. It was Brent, our inside pokemon. As soon as his identification was verified, Athena and I both went to work. Athena returned Rose and cautiously moved over to the computer bank. I saw her draw the serpent key from her pants pocket and swipe it on the first computer terminal.

Careful not to alert the cameras, I snuck as quickly and quietly as I could towards the bookshelves, browsing the steel labels for anything that could be related to legendary pokemon research, Rupert Galenson, or Necrozma. Fortunately, the shelves provided good cover from the cameras. I supposed that the security team had made the assertion that nobody was going to be able to hide inside the bookshelves as they would be caught entering the floor.

Alola had information on everything. I saw files and psychological profiles on all sorts of people ranging from prominent Kantonian leaders, to Leon, the champion of Galar. There was intel about enemy troop movements, terrorist organizations, and past Alolan overseas operations. There was nothing on Necrozma. Frustrated, I moved to the next shelf.

About five minutes had passed when Athena tapped me on the shoulder. I turned towards her and she shook her head. I had come to the same conclusion, all of the files were about Alola’s foreign affairs. It was unlikely that we would find out about their legendary pokemon research here.

I checked my watch. 23 minutes until the next Koffing patrol. Brent went about his guarding patrol as normal. We couldn’t speed this up otherwise the cameras would pick it up. Athena and I waited in hushed silence until Brent had made his circle. Now it was my turn. I reached for my pokeballs and released Rico. He emerged without a sound.

“Shadow sneak.” I whispered to him. He nodded and instantly melted into the shadow of the bookcase. Only a moment passed when I saw that the shadow of the security camera had a grin on it.

“Let's go.”

Athena and I quickly moved out from the bookcase. We knew the route we had to take to avoid the other camera’s range. It had been Athena’s keen eye who had spotted the fact that if we knocked out the camera that Rico was actively doing right now, we had a clear shot to the elevator.

Once we had made it out of sight, I mentally commanded Rico to get to the other camera that was overwatching the elevator. Nobody knew how he did it, but Rico could flawlessly loop any camera so even if you knew that he was doing it, it was still hard to tell. Brent looked down at a large keypad, clearly made for Bisharps to operate. He punched in a code. The elevator door slid open and we followed him in. A moment before the elevator doors slid shut, I felt a cold shiver run down my spine and Rico materialized out of my shadow, grinning happily.

Brent pressed the button on the next floor. The elevator made a quiet hissing sound as it descended. I kept Rico out of his pokeball. We would need him to loop another camera.

As soon as the elevator doors opened. Rico slipped away into the shadows again and Brent began his patrol. As Brent turned onto the seventh floor, I heard the sounds like a generator powering down. I could only assume that it was the lasers granting Brent access.

This floor looked identical to the last. Circular walls, bookshelves with files, computer bank, laser projectors, security cameras. If I wasn’t sure that we had gone down a floor, I would have thought that this was the same level we had been on. Brent moved into the room. Athena and I followed close behind him.

As we moved further into the room, I could only hope that Rico had switched to the other camera that covered us. No alarms went off so that was a good sign that he did. I felt Athena press the serpent key into my hand, a verbal indication that she wanted me to search on the digital files.

I carefully made my way over to the computer bank and powered on the lone monitor. I swiped the serpent key and up the system and started to search through the file repository. This level had much more interesting subjects. There was a subfolder of psychological profiles that wasn't concerning other countries, rather, people within Alola’s borders. Trial captains, champions and former champions and even their own set of deep cover agents. My former colleagues at KSO would and had killed for this information.

Still, it was not what we were looking for. I moved to another digital folder, then another. All of it was juicy intelligence but nothing about Necrozma or legendary pokemon research.

I was looking through the third folder when something caught my eye. It was a folder of information, just like everything on this PC terminal. The thing that caught my eye about it was its name. It was labeled: Concerning Legendary Pokemon. My heartbeat started to accelerate. Was this what we were looking for?

I cautiously double clicked on the folder. As expected, there were a slew of subfolders within the main repository. I didn’t read them in detail because that would probably take hours. We needed the place where they were doing this research. As I looked over the items, I started to get more excited. This file proved what Cynthia and then Looker had shared with Athena and I. Alola was indeed researching how to release Necrozma and were making really fast progress on it.

Athena quietly joined me, sensing that I had found something important. I turned the page to an incident report. Apparently Alola’s first research laboratory on Melemele Island had exploded but they managed to salvage most of their progress, which was transferred to a new lab. When the report mentioned the new lab’s location though, it was redacted. Frustrated, I scrolled to the next page, revealing a report written by Rupert Galenson. The whole report felt like a language I half understood. I could tell that Galenson was speaking the same language as I, but the terms and phrases he used were so complex and out of my realm of understanding that I had no idea what they meant.

As I flipped through the report, I saw dubious terms like Reality Anchor, Conductor Dome, Subatomic conductor and Ultra Wormhole Distortion. Clearly Alola was messing with some serious stuff. There was nothing about where all this science stuff was taking place.

I opened a new file. This page was more like what we were looking for. It was a description of the theoretical conditions needed to summon a legendary pokemon. There was a list. I traced down the long list on the screen with my gloved finger, reading the items. Towards the bottom of the list there was a query that said: Proximity to the solar and lunar altars to channel the energy given off by the two plateaus.


I pointed excitedly down to it. Athena looked over my shoulder and nodded, reflecting my excitement. The research center had to be on Poni island. There was no other place that was close enough to channel energy from the two ancient altars. It would also make sense to seclude this top secret information on Alola’s most remote island.

I kept reading. As I read the last inquiry, my heart started to hammer in my chest. I turned to Athena but right as I was about to point out the proof of Alola’s legendary research laboratory, I heard a thumping sound. Then a click. All of a sudden, the large vents on the walls snapped open. I heard a hissing sound and viscous purple gas started to seep through the vents.

I turned to Athena, a horrified look on my face. We had to get out of here! Athena thought quickly, releasing Zahn, her Vikavolt. As soon as the electric stag beetle had fully materialized in front of us, he released a pulse of energy from his body.

“Cams are down for a sec.” Athena said, quietly.

I stifled a cough.

“Why was there another patrol? They’re not due for another 15 minutes.” I whispered, closing the folder and wiping the computer cache, hiding our tracks. I shut down the computer.

“Let's get out of here!” Athena returned Zahn and dashed for the elevator bank. I followed.

As we ran, a thick purple haze began to spread across the room. So far though, the masks were doing their job. I hoped that Athena was right about the cameras. Otherwise we would be dead in the water.

Athena and I reached the elevator. Both doors were shut. I turned and looked back behind us. Brent lay coughing on the floor.

“Shit. We can’t get through the elevator. It requires a Bisharp’s identification to open.” Athena’s muted tone was concerned as she checked the keypad next to the elevator.

I quietly coughed again, a gob of mucus splattered on my mask. My eyes began to water as the haze thickened.

Options. We needed options. I desperately looked around. There were none. The elevator was the only entrance or exit point in the whole building. Athena was doing the same thing. She scanned the floor and the elevator bank looking. I doubled over coughing. Athena’s eyes rested on the chute that was pumping the gas into the room.

“I have a bad idea Andrew.” Athena said dubiously before coughing herself.

“Anything… Is… better… than this…” I choked out in between coughs.

Athena grabbed my arm and dashed back across the floor. I stumbled along but her iron grip kept me upright. The smog was so thick that it reduced what you could see. Maybe that worked to our advantage, obscuring us from the cameras.

Athena pushed through the smog. We reached the back wall. Athena reached around on the wall, trying to find the slot where the gas was venting in. Thick purple smoke billowed around us. I couldn't breathe. Black spots danced in front of my eyes, my plane of vision growing smaller and smaller.

Athena found what she was looking for and yanked my arm towards her, dragging me towards the wall. Through the haze, I saw the vent that was spewing noxious gas.

“Oh you’ve gotta be kidding me.” I choked out.

Athena hacked out a cough.

“It's either that or we bang on the elevator doors until we choke to death. You first Andrew.”

I stumbled up to the large vent and hoisted one leg inside.

“See you down there.” I said.

“Go!” Athena coughed through the smoke.

I swung my other leg over the side. My body fell for a moment before I reached my legs out and caught myself on the side with a dull metallic clang. I could barely see in front of me because of the thick gas but I was in some sort of metal air conditioning shaft.

Slowly, I started to work my way down, shifting my legs, walking almost vertically backward. The thought occurred to me that we might have to descend eight floors worth of this. I gritted my teeth and stepped down again.

I looked up but I couldn't see Athena. Maybe it was the gas, maybe it was because I was almost delirious from its effects, but I could only barely see a few feet in front of me. There were no handholds or footholds in the shaft and soon, I could feel my legs start to tire.

I shifted myself down on the slick metal and almost slipped. The choking gas was making me feel like I was going to pass out. Still, the bottom was nowhere in sight. I adjusted my sweaty hands on the cold metal, trying desperately to hold myself in place, continuing to work down the shaft towards the ground. None of my pokemon would help in this situation, all of them were much too large to fit into the shaft. Except for… I cried out in dismay. I had forgotten Rico on the seventh floor! In my rush to get out of the gas, I had forgotten my loyal pokemon. I had promised that I wouldn't leave any of my pokemon behind, now Rico was still up there. I slumped against the metal of the vent. I couldn’t leave Rico behind but there was no way to climb back up.

I kept descending the vent. Rico probably wasn’t hurt too badly by the Koffing gas. I would just need to find a way to get back up there. Looking down with my reduced plane of vision, I saw a small amount of light. I set my back straight along the vent and wedged myself up with my legs. Then, I let my legs slip for a second. I fell into a controlled descent. Before I could gain too much momentum, I wedged my legs back into place, sliding to a stop. I still couldn't hear or see Athena above me. The prospect that she hadn't made it into the chute was preposterous. She had to be up there.

I tried to fall into a controlled descent again but my foot slipped. It took my addled brain a moment to realize I was falling. When I did, I panicked, slamming my two hands against the sides of the vent. My slippery gloves couldn’t find purchase on the surface and squeaked shrilly down the vent. A small voice in the back of my mind said: Falling is a stupid way to die but the rest of my addled mind accepted that I was going to die by falling down a gas vent in Alola.

All of a sudden, I felt something yank on the back of my coller. I choked as It forcefully slowed my fall, momentarily blacking out at the sudden inability to breathe. When I came to, I looked up and saw a purple figure above me, a fistful of my shirt in one of his hands, his other hand digging into the metal, slowing our descent. Rico had a determined face, holding onto me and the wall with all his might. Gradually, our descent slowed until we came to a halt a few feet from the ground. Rico released me and I landed on my feet.

I breathed a sigh of relief that turned into a hacking cough. Rico quickly ran to my side, hurriedly guiding me deeper into a short but much larger vent. I could only assume it was large to accommodate a person so it could be maintenanced and cleaned. I heard a dull thump behind me and looked back. Athena had landed in a crouched position. She flipped her hair back over her shoulder and picked up her beanie off the ground where it had fallen. She looked exhausted as well from our perilous descent. Rico waved his arms, demanding the attention of both of us. He began to lead us down the taller vent. Just then, I realized that my vision was much clearer. The gas was not affecting me as much. The realization dawned on me. Rico was able to absorb most of it into himself so we didn’t have to breathe it. That made me feel even worse for accidentally abandoning him. That, and he had just saved my life.

About 100 feet down the shaft, Rico stopped, reached down and tugged at something at his feet. He yanked off a grate that revealed a brightly lit room below us. He pointed to the hole, asking us to drop down out of the vents. Rico didn’t have to ask me twice. I sat down in the vent and dropped down into the room. Athena quickly followed.

I looked up. Rico replaced the grate, snapping it back into place. Then, his form seemed to become more gaseous. A huge blast of the noxious fumes he had absorbed puffed out and he slid through the thin gaps in the grate. His form solidified and he resumed absorbing the gas as if nothing had happened.

I gathered my bearings. We were in a large, brightly lit, windowless, rectangular room. The walls were painted a stark white. Above us, a spaghetti cross section of vents ran every which way. The most prominent feature of the room were the cages. Black cells with thin bars lined each of the walls and made a row in the middle. In each of the cages was a slew of Koffing. The purple creatures all glared at us, puffing noxious smoke out of the indentations on their body. If it weren’t for Rico, Athena and I would have been passed out on the floor at best, dead from neurotoxin more likely. On the far end of the room was an airlock.

“We should keep moving.” Athena decided. Without waiting for me to follow, she headed for the airlock. Rico and I both followed her. It was disconcerting seeing these angry pokemon in cages. They glared at me with such anger and prejudice that I couldn't help but feel a little bit bad for them. They didn’t ask to be caged up like this.

Athen reached the airlock door and examined a panel on the outside. After a brief inspection, she pressed a button on it. I heard a countdown and then the front door on the airlock hissed open. Without wasting a moment, the two of us and my pokemon leapt into the airlock. Athena pressed the button and the door hissed shut behind us. I took a deep breath for the first time in nearly an hour. Athena pressed another button on the control panel and a large fan started to blow above us, venting out all the poisonous gas from the chamber. I looked over at Rico. His form was starting to evaporate. Quickly, I pointed at Rico and waved my hands, telling Athena to shut down the fan. Athena turned to my Gengar and her eyes widened. She quickly shut the fan down. Rico’s form was re-solidified.

“Thank you Rico. Thank you so much.” I thanked him for saving us from the Koffing gas. He nodded happily and gave a thumbs up. I returned him to his pokeball. Athena started the fan up and vented out the rest of the noxious gas.

When the fan shut off, I asked,

“So, what now?”

Athena adjusted her shirt.

“We gotta find a way out of here. If we’re lucky, they still won't know that we’re here.”

“What about the random Koffing smoke?”

“That might have just been a routine defense. They would have hit us with security if they knew we were here. There’s no trying to pull a fast one. The people monitoring this building would want everyone from here to Melemele to know what’s going on.”

“I guess you're right.” I agreed.

Athena turned and punched the button that opened the other door of the airlock. Together, her and I crept into the next room.

We found ourselves in some sort of employee locker room. There was a bathroom and shower area, a small kitchen with a coffee maker and a microwave, and of course, lockers lined the walls. Clothes were carelessly scattered around on benches and open lockers. Our plan had gone completely off the rails. We were supposed to get in, find the intel, and reach the roof where we would teleport down to the ground from. Now, we had to improvise.

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” I asked her.

The corners of her mouth began to rise higher.

“Disguise.”

Finding the outfits was easy. An open locker had a jacket that read Security. Underneath that label was the subtext: Bisharp Handler. A slightly longer search yielded a pair of black polyester pants. Athena smiled wanly as she fit a pair much too big for her over her other pair of pants. It wasn’t so easy for me but I did manage to squeeze a pair over my pants. Athena found hats and flashlights for us to wear and carry.

“Wait, why are there security outfits here if the whole place is patrolled by Bisharp?” I asked, suddenly confused.

“They must have someone run the cameras. There has to be some sort of human element.” Athena guessed.

I nodded my head, accepting this notion.

When we had finished dressing up in our disguises, we looked like the guards at a museum, not a secure intelligence building. Still, this was our best shot. Athena pushed open the locker room door and headed out into the AIC building proper.

We followed a few signs indicating where the lobby area was. Neither of us said a word as we skirted through the halls, avoiding as many cameras as we could. As we walked along, there was nobody in sight.

We reached the reception area. It looked more like a security checkpoint than a lobby. Of course there was the standard reception desk but it had a plate of bulletproof glass in front of it. Beyond that, there was a set of stark, silver metal detectors, both for humans and bags. Given that it was late at night, there was nobody around.

Athena and I quickly worked our way across the polished stone floor. We passed the metal detectors and were about to leave the building when I heard the sound of metal clanking rhythmically. In unison, Athena and I turned. A Bisharp had made its way from the elevator bank into the main lobby. Athena and I both froze. The Bisharp locked eyes with us. He hesitated a moment, scanning us up and down. Neither of us dared to move a muscle. Finally, the pokemon broke eye contact with us and continued marching across the lobby. As quickly as we could without being suspicious, Athena and I made it the rest of the way to the exit and pushed out into the cold air atop Mount Lanakila. The fresh air tasted especially good as we descended the mountain. Still, neither of us said a word as we began to descend the mountain on foot. The pokemon center at the bottom of the trail had been part of our initial extraction plan.

Finally, we reached the pokemon center where the path branched off to the intimidating pokemon league on the top of the mountain. Athena and I exhaustedly pushed open the door to the pokemon center and entered the quaint building.

“Gondola service?” The nurse at the front of the room guessed.

“Yes please.” I replied. In tandem with their building of the AIC building, Alola had set up a gondola system to move all the government employees up and down the mountain. Trainers who wished to challenge the elite four still had to fight through victory road, although those trainers were few and far between nowadays.

The pokemon center nurse escorted us to an exterior deck in the back of the pokemon center.

“Long night?” She guessed.

“Very.” I said.

Two lines of cables ran up and down the mountain, circulating circular gondolas back and forth.

Thanking the pokemon center nurse, Athena and I stepped into the gondola. There was a moment’s pause and then we began to descend the mountain.

“Holy fuck! Did we just do that!” I yelled in triumph once we were away from the pokemon center.

“Andrew. We didn’t get the location. We just managed to make it out alive.” In stark contrast to my jubilance, Athena’s tone was flat.

“You didn’t see?”

“See what?”

“Right before the Koffing gas hit. I got it!”

“What!?” Athena’s eyebrows shot upwards in surprise.

“Their lab is in Poni Canyon!”

“No way!” Athena leapt up from her seat and almost tackled me in a hug.

“Yes way.” I replied, a huge smile on my face.

***

“They’re late. I don’t like this.” Athena paced back and forth in concern. We had made it back to the warehouse on Akala island. The excitement of our successful heist had quickly been replaced by an anxious wait for Looker and Anabel to return.

“They’ll be here.” I said with false optimism. They were supposed to arrive 30 minutes ago. Of course, our part of the plan hadn't gone exactly by routine.

A few minutes passed. Then, I heard someone pounding on the door. Two short knocks and three long knocks, it was our code. They were here. Immediately, Athena and I rushed to the door. I pulled the door open to a sight that I did not expect. Anabel sood there alone. She was a sight for sore eyes. Her purple hair was matted with sticks and sweat. Dirt caked her face and cheeks. Her normally prim and well put together suit was torn and messy and one of her shoes was missing. Behind her, there was no van or vehicle which she had come with.

“Anabel!” Athena exclaimed, rushing over to her. Anabel collapsed into her arms as soon as she made it. All of a sudden, I felt my stomach drop. The lack of a van, Anabel’s condition, I put the pieces together too fast.

“Where’s Looker?”

“We were ambushed. It had to be ALPL.” Anabel shivered under a blanket that was wrapped around her shoulders. The three of us sat at a table in front of the TV. There was one seat missing.

“They-they got him. There was a roadblock and… and they rolled Gravelers out in front of our van. Looker… he held them off. I got away because of him and my Salamence.” Anabel shivered.

“Is he dead?” Athena asked.

“No. They got him.” Anabel’s tone implied that it would have been better if he had been killed. Looker had given us the intel and capability to pull off this heist. He had been the one who had tipped me off about ALPL’s corruption. If it weren’t for him, I would still be doing exactly as Alola bid me to, through the guise of stopping legendary pokemon research. I put my head in my hands.

“He was my best friend and the greatest agent for the International Police.” Anabel said, as if she had read my mind.

“Now they have him.” Athena said. I could tell she felt just like I did.

“After all of this, he tempted fate one too many times.” Anabel smiled wanly. “He was a pain in the ass but it was a privilege to work with him. His country will be worse off without him.”

“Do you think there’s any chance of an exchange? Can Cynthia bargain for his freedom?” Athena inquired, already thinking ahead.

Anabel shook her head sadly.

“Not a chance. He gained a reputation here in Alola when he hunted Team Skull with me. Skull was very powerful and had a lot of politicians in their back pocket. He was the only one brave enough to speak out against them. That bad rep will be enough of an excuse to have him thrown into the darkest prison in Alola…” Unable to hold back any longer, Anabel buried her face in her hands and began to softly cry.

It was disconcerting to see a woman of her poise cry, but if I had just lost my friend, I would have cried as well. Athena and I sat in silence for a while, listening to Anabel mourn the loss of her friend. Finally, Anabel looked up at us, meeting my eyes, then Athena’s. Her eyes were red from crying and tears ran down her soot stained cheeks. The expression on her face was one of complete determinedness.

“Do not make his death in vain. He believed in what you two are doing to the very end. You two need to make this count.” She paused, taking a shaky breath. “I know you already have the might of Sinnoh behind you, but if there’s anything that the Honnen consulate can do for you, don’t hesitate to ask.”

She reached a shaky hand over and wrote a number down on a pad of paper. She handed the phone number to Athena. Then, she stood up and limped out of the warehouse.
 
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Chapter 35

yooloo33

Bug Catcher
Pronouns
He/Him
Chapter 35

“So this is the last time you’ll call, isn’t it?” Cynthia stated from the computer monitor. She had been devastated when we had told her about Looker.

“Yes it is. Athena and I are going to attack the lab tomorrow.”

“There is no time to send support nor do I think you could without drawing attention.” Athena added, her arms resting on my shoulders.

“I agree. Someone who is in with Alola would for certain pick up on it and alert them. Even if we went to the trouble and kept it all secret, it would be too slow. Looker’s the best and he won’t crack under interrogation but we need to move now while they are still trying to figure out why he was where he was with Anabel.” Cynthia picked her words carefully. Like a politician who didn’t want to reveal a scandal, I got the feeling that she was holding something back. Still, what she had said was factually correct.

“There is a silver lining to this though.” Cynthia said, her tone slightly more optimistic.“The surveillance photos from our satellite came back today and it looks like the facility is either lightly or completely unguarded. I suppose they don’t have to guard something that is so concealed. Without that information you stole from the AIC building, we would have never found it.”

“With the building being so concealed, It's probably for the better to not have security because one fewer guard means one fewer mouth that could get talking at a bar and spill federal secrets.” Athena mused.

“Is there any reason why you have to attack them tomorrow?” Cynthia questioned.

“Yes. It's our best shot. Tomorrow’s Sunday, most of the employees will be home.”

“I assume you two made it safely to Poni Island?” Cynthia asked.

“Yep, courtesy of the Honnen government. Anabel pulled some strings and got us transportation. We have you to thank for the safehouse.”

Cynthia smiled, wistfully.

“I was good friends with Hapu back in the day… She and I always talked about how beautiful Poni Island was and I would stay with her when I fought at the battle tree. When she was killed in that rockslide, she willed the house to me. I always felt bad because I spend most of my time in Sinnoh but I’ve been there twice since her death.”

It was a nice home made of mud and bricks. Impossibly, the house was one level but still quite lavish and well furnished with all the modern conveniences of a home on one of the bigger, more inhabited islands.

“I’m really glad that you have it because it's in a really good spot, close to their lab.”

“We still have a nasty journey deeper into Poni Canyon to get to the facility.”

“I believe in you two. In all honesty, I thought you two would bail once Looker said that we had to break into the AIC building. It would have been perfectly reasonable to hand it off to us and go live your lives out. But you didn’t. You both stuck with it. I believe in you now to get this done.”

I may have imagined it, but it looked like Cynthia wiped away a tear.

“Well, one way or another, it’ll be over tomorrow.” I said. That dubious statement hung in the air for a solid minute as the severity of what Athena and I were about to do set in.

“How’s Lachesis?” Athena broke the silence.

“She’s expected to make a full recovery. Her heart stopped for three hours but something brought her back to life.”

Athena looked at me in surprise.

“She was dying when we escaped the bar.”

Suddenly, I realized something.

“Wait, would something like powdered Gengar poison bring her back to life? Would that do it?”

Cynthia looked surprised.

“Yes. How would you know that?”

“Because Lachesis drank a shot of vodka with powdered Gengar poison in it right before we were attacked.” Athena excitedly finished what I had been thinking.

“That makes sense now.” Cynthia cupped her chin in thought. She didn’t sound surprise. It was just information to be added to the great puzzle that was Sinnohan politics.

“Did you find out who ordered the attack?” Athena inquired.

“We did. It was Fantina and Lucian. They ordered a hit on their own assistant just to keep vital information out of my hands. I was able to work with my contacts and fellow politicians. Dawn, a journalist and a good friend of mine did much of the leg work. Tomorrow, we’re going to break it to the rest of the press and it will be the end of both of their careers. I won’t bother you with too many of the unimportant details right now. Just know that they will face justice.” Cynthia’s tone grew increasingly grim. I had no doubts about the validity of her statement. For the short time I had known Cynthia, I knew that corruption is something that she despised above all else. There was no way out for Fantina and Lucian. Cynthia would make sure of that.

There was a long pause. Athena spoke up again.

“So we’re going to go tomorrow. It will be the middle of the night in Sinnoh so we won’t wake you. Just know, we’re going to destroy that lab and everything in it, or we’re going to die.”

Cynthia sighed.

“I would wish you good luck but you don’t need it. I believe in you. Do this not just for the sake of Sinnoh, but for the sake of all the regions.”

I moved the mouse to press off the call.

“Cynthia. Thank you for your help, your patronage and your intelligence. This would be impossible without your help.”

Cynthia met my eyes. Her gray eyes met mine, her mouth pursed in a determined expression. It was a look I would never forget.

“Don’t thank me yet Andrew. The job isn’t done.”


***


I sat on a bench at the Poni Breaker Coast, not too far from our safehouse. Waves crashed onto the purple earth and tidepools seemed with microscopic life. Legend had it that the nearby Ruins of Hope caused the earth here to turn its unique color. I sat and looked out at the waves, thinking about my journey. From Athena and my unlikely meeting to our first operation against Kalos for ALPL. From Phoebe’s death to my confrontation with the shadowy man and reuniting with Athena. Cynthia had rescued us and we had taken the fight to them, traveling to Kalos and meeting up with Looker. From there, we broke into one of the most secure buildings in the world but it had come at a cost. Phoebe. Looker. They had believed in Athena and I. My promise still remained true. I was going to finish this in the name of Phoebe Di Manuelle.

“Hey. Are you ready for tomorrow?” Athena’s gentile voice brought me back to the present.

I sighed.

“I’m ready as I’ll ever be. All the preparations are in place. We’re ready to go.”

Athena sat down on the bench next to me. We watched the sun begin to dip below the ocean.

“Andrew. I don’t know what to say. You saved me from my darkest relapse into violent depression. You gave purpose to my skills again. You believed in what you were doing and you believed in me. But most of all, you listened to me. I can’t say how important that was for me. No judgment. Just listening to what I had to say, who I was. Back on that boat, the Acuity, that was the first time I had ever told anyone my whole life’s story. For a while after you saved me, I didn’t know if I had wanted to be saved. It was so much easier to descend back into the dark place you had pulled me out of. But then, you listened to me. You cared about my well being. You didn’t want something from me. That’s why I’ve fallen in love with you. Now we’re going to head into battle one last time. There is nobody in the world I would rather fight side by side with than you.” Her tone held absolute certainty. Just like the first time she spoke to me, every word was the absolute truth that she believed in. This time though, she cared. Instead of threatening me for my backpack of intelligence, she was expressing her love for me one more time. I turned to her.

“Once we stop Alola summoning Necrozma, we will find a place to live together. No more running from ALPL, no more seducing people for keycards, I want to spend the rest of my life with you Athena.”

Athena didn’t say anything. Instead, she leaned in and kissed me. I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her close to me. When we broke apart, I looked into her beautiful green eyes.

“I love you, Athena. And I’m with you to the end.”

I saw a small tear escape her eye and trace its way down her cheek.

“I love you too, Andrew.” She said, her voice choked up. She couldn’t say any more before she lurched forwards and kissed me again.

We sat there, kissing as the sun went down. If the world was truly going to end tomorrow, There was no better way to spend my last day.
 
Chapter 36

yooloo33

Bug Catcher
Pronouns
He/Him
Chapter 36

Athena and I made our way up the small path that wound its way through the canyon. I could see the research laboratory ahead of us. It was a huge facility that almost resembled the Kalos National Legendary Research Center, but, instead of three distinct wings, this facility had two. The laboratory was nestled where the valley formed a Y in the sheer brown rock towering above our heads. Each wing of the laboratory branched into one side of the Y, hugging the cliff face. The building was tall, reaching up from the valley to the top of the cliffs. At the top, was a large dome made of large plates of glass. A small path wound its way through the lower valley and that was what Athena and I had traveled on to get here.

I looked over at my girlfriend. She was wearing a red strapless dress that went down to her mid knee. Below that, she had on black leggings. She had wanted to wear a pair of black high heels but settled for a pair of black flats. I didn’t know how she had walked so far in them but Athena didn’t complain at all. Of course there had been the matter of practicality, but her decision had been final. Synched at her waist was a thick black belt with a big silver buckle. There were six yellow and black ultra balls on her left side. The last time I had seen Athena wear this outfit, it had been as a way to seduce me. Now, she just looked beautiful.

I reached over and gently took her hand in mine, lacing our fingers together.

I was dressed in an admittedly more practical outfit. I had on a red and white vest under a black shirt. Black nylon pants gave way to a pair of red and black trainers. I had on a baseball cap, black fingerless gloves and of course, I had a black bandana tied around my right leg.

Athena and I didn’t really have a specific plan to take this on. We didn’t have time for it. Also, both of us were done with carefully laid plans and following them to perfection. We were going to go into that building and destroy anything that could help Alola summon Necrozma, or die trying.

We were lucky. Rupert Galenson had refused to have any of his research documented, it was all at this lab and if we had our way, it would be gone by nightfall.

Athena and I walked the final few hundred feet to the laboratory. Up close, the structure was an intimidating sight. Brown and reddish coloring on the exterior seemed to be intending to hide the place from satellites and surveillance. There were a few windows on various floors looking out at the rest of Poni Canyon. Behind it, I could just barely make out the top of Poni Altar, close to this building. Athena and I were in a small parking lot of sorts at the bottom. Surprisingly, there was no resistance. Her and I walked up to the entrance of the lab.

“Are you ready?” I asked Athena.

“Once we’re done here, I’m going to hold you to your word Andrew.” She replied.

“What do you mean?” I questioned, momentarily surprised.

“We are going to find a peaceful place to live together, away from ALPL, KSO, KRA, and people all together. Just the two of us.” She said, decidedly.

In response, I drew her in for a quick kiss.

“I would love nothing more than that.” I smiled at my beautiful Athena Finch. She returned the smile for a moment. Then, her eyes narrowed. This research laboratory was standing in our way of a happy life.

“Let's finish this.” She declared.


The two front doors were bolted shut but Lucio had other plans for them. One precision kick later, and we were in the building. Unlike the Kalos National Legendary Research Center, there was no reception area, rather it was a starkly empty, circular room with two paths leading away from the door. Bright light shone in through enormous glass windows from the Poni Island late morning. Above us, catwalks ran between the wings. I counted five floors with walkways above us. There was no sign of life anywhere which I took as a good sign.

Without a word, Athena and I turned down the right hallway, intent on destroying the information that Alola had killed Phoebe and captured Looker to protect.

Athena and I headed down the hallway and came to the first room. Once again, Lucio forced open the door. The excessive force that he used wasn’t necessary, blasting the metal door off its hinges with an aura sphere, but I applauded him for it. He was just as pissed off at Alola as we were.

Inside was what looked like a large chemistry lab. Different compounds and fluids lay in beakers and flasks. A rack of test tubes each held a different compound, each had a unique color.

“Will we poison ourselves if we smash all the glass in this room?” I asked.

Athena shrugged.

“Only one way to find out.” She said in a way which was very un Athena-like.

Athena drew one of her pokeballs and Rose appeared. She crouched behind a cabinet, gesturing for me to join her. I complied.

“Dark pulse.” Athena commanded. Rose gathered her psychic energy for a moment, then she blasted it out throughout the lab, a black, horizontal wave of destruction. The sound of glass shattering and smashing on the floor was accompanied by acidic hissing and bubbling as chemical compounds that shouldn't be combined, merged together. Athena returned Rose and we hastened out of the room. Once we were out, I pulled a pokeball with Surya in it.

“Flamethrower.” I commanded. My bird inhaled and then blew fire across the chemistry lab, causing things to start burning and small explosions throughout it. Athena and I moved on to the next room. This one was what looked like a greenhouse. Small, colorful plants sat in various pots and bins of soil. Athena reached for her pokeball. Cysgod, her Weavile emerged.

“Icy wind.” Athena commanded mercilessly. Instantly, the temperature in the greenhouse dropped. Cysgod blew freezing ice all throughout the room, coating every plant with frost. I chose an ultra ball off my belt and tossed it out. Arthur appeared, smashing one of the tables as he landed on the ground.

“Earthquake.”

Arthur began to stomp his feet. Every time he hit the ground, the biodome shook. He increased his pace. Plants fell from their shelves, tables collapsed. When Arthur’s attack finally subsided, the whole greenhouse was in disarray.

It continued on like this. Athena and I made our way through the building, destroying everything that had any importance. I had to admit, I was taking my anger out on the scientific implements that I destroyed. All the suffering, all the pain that this damn research lab had caused me, it was time to make Alola pay. We finished on the first floor and headed up to the second. Athena had just finished smashing up an office area when I heard something on the upper floor.

“Shhh. Do you hear that?” I whispered to Athena, suddenly on alert. She paused and listened. I heard the noise again. It was the undoubtable sound of footsteps.

“Shit.” Athena said.

“Keep going. I don’t care who it is. They need to stop us, not the other way around.”

And so it was. Athena and I smashed, burned, crushed, imploded and blasted our way through the second, third and fourth floors of the lab. Nobody came to interrupt us. So far, so good.

We ascended the staircase to the fifth floor and had crossed the catwalk when we heard a sound. Athena and I froze. The sound got closer and closer. It was a sound I recognized. It was the sound of laughter. The laughing got closer and closer.

“So close and yet so far Athena and Andrew. I applaud you.” The sound of sarcastic clapping filled the large room. Out of the shadows emerged a man. He was about six feet tall, with sharp, angry features. He wore a tan two piece suit and expensive looking dress shoes. His hair was slicked back and he had a massive grin on his face. The last time we had met, I had been rescued. This time, he wasn’t going to scare me.

I folded my arms across my chest.

“Dennis Andersson. You just can’t pass off an insult can you. Or do your goofy shoes compensate for your dumbass hairdo?” I said, incredulously. The, admittedly lame insult was so out of pocket that I hoped he would be caught off guard, but like usual, he was unphased.

“Says the guy who’s going around looking like a dead Kantonian pokemon master. Have some class, Andrew.” He paused. “I guess it doesn't matter what you wear now because this is the end of the line.”

“Tell me Dennis, how do you intend to defeat both of us?” I put my hands on my hips.

Dennis smiled smugly.

“I don’t need to.”

Out of the shadowy hallway came a second person. He was wearing black jeans and a black hoodie. The thing was, I couldn't see inside the jacket. He was the faceless pokemon trainer, the trainer that had threatened my family, the shadowy man.

“I kicked your ass one time, I’ll do it again motherfucker.” I greeted him, narrowing my eyes.

The shadowy man didn’t reply.

“What business do you and your pal have here Dennis? You don’t care about Alola and if they succeed, it will hurt Kalos just as badly as it will hurt Kanto.” I leveled my question at him.

“You don’t get it yet?” Dennis chuckled, ignoring the insult. He turned to the shadowy man.

“They thought we were working for Kalos this whole time.” He laughed out loud.

“The battle at the crossroads. Our fight at the old ALPL building. The car chase. You were working for Kalos.” Athena was confused even though she didn’t sound like it.

“Wait a second…” She came to a realization.

“You weren’t supposed to survive at the crossroads.” Dennis spoke as if he were talking to a toddler. “We were supposed to execute you and your little friend here and bring that intel to Mr. Sharp ourselves, Athena.” Dennis leaned back, his arms folded over his chest, smiling pridefully.

“But my research…” Athena sounded shocked.

“You don’t think ALPL has access to your devices?”

“You were never working for Kalos when you attacked me in the old ALPL building. You were never working for Kalos when you chased us in Sinnoh.” I realized.

“My friend here, he was part of the team that ambushed you at your apartment in Kanto. You escaped and he chased you to the old ALPL building.” Dennis was having the time of his life revealing the truth to us in a condescending manner. I shifted my stance on the catwalk, ready to draw on Dennis and the shadowy man at any point.

I began to feel queasy. There had been yet another layer to the chaos that was the intel run in Unova where I had met Athena. From an intel leak in Alola which led to them deploying ALPL, myself as the secondary target, the blown extraction and now it turned out that ALPL had deployed Dennis and the shadowy man to make sure Athena followed through on destroying the intel.

“That all doesn't matter now. What does matter is that Rupert Galenson is setting up the gear to summon Necrozma at the Poni Island Altar right now. We don’t even have to win, we just have to hold you off until he’s done. Then, Alola will be the most powerful region in the world. Everybody will have to bow to her greatness.” Dennis gloated, relishing the moment.

“Don’t count us out quite yet. You aren’t as strong as you look.” Athena said venomously. She knew Dennis better than he thought.

Dennis shook his head.

“It isn’t even a matter of skill anymore.” He pointed to the shadowy man.

The shadowy man nodded and raised his hand. All of a sudden I felt a force yank at me. I cried out as I was launched from where I stood towards Dennis and the shadowy man.

“Andrew!” Athena called out, unable to grab my leg as I flew past. Instead of landing at the feet of Dennis and his shadow compatriot, I shot past them, back down the hallway where they had come. I flew through the air past open doors and into a huge dome. We were at the top of the building and this dome served as the roof. The glass roof allowed light into the enormous space. That’s what I saw before I was flung to the back of the room, smacking against the wall. I crumpled to the floor.

I could only assume that I had been out for a second because when I came to, nothing had changed. I was in the huge dome, the sun was still high in the sky. I took a second to get my bearings. I had a piercing pain in the back of my head and there were spots dancing in front of my eyes. The domed area was enormous, easily 100 feet in diameter with the dome being twice that at its peak height. I absently rubbed my head.

Magnificent isn’t it? Human architecture at its finest. I heard a voice in my head. Looking up from the flooring, I saw the person I least wanted to see right now. The shadowy man stood at the exit of the dome.

“You know, I always liked Kalosian Modern or traditional Kantonian better personally.” I replied, sarcastically.

The shadowy man entered the huge dome, slamming the door menacingly behind him.

“How the hell did you yank me away from Athena?” I asked him. The shadowy man gave no reply. Instead, he shifted his belt of six pokeballs.

“Oh so you want a rematch then. I would too if I got my ass kicked that hard.” I winked at him.

I just need to hold you off until our scientist finishes his work. But I admit, He pulled his shirt and jacket up, revealing a grotesque, purple and red slash wound across his chest and stomach.

This is personal.

I felt no remorse for his injuries. They were gruesome, sure, but this man had crossed the line the last time we had met.

“You bring my family into matters they should not be involved in, you get what you deserve.” I said through gritted teeth.
Your family? Oh yes, the Ross family. After I’m done here, I’ll be sure to… tie up loose ends with them.

“What did you just say?”

The shadowy man shrugged.

It’ll just be four more bodies on a long list. First the middle child, Andrew, then, I’ll take out your older brother, Aaron. Maybe I’ll make it look like a mugging. After that, your sister loves to vacation in Johto. That won’t be an issue, just like how your helpless old parents will be no challenge at all.

In a rage, I pointed my finger across at this shadowy bastard who dared to bring my family into a matter that wasn't theirs at all.

“You are going to fucking die. Right here. Right now. This is the last time you’ll ever see the sunlight with your wretched eyes.” I was so full of fury. This time, I wouldn’t hesitate.

There was a long pause. I faced off against the shadowy man across the room. We both waited for the other to make a move. I could feel my heart rate coming up, anticipating the coming battle. My right hand’s fingers twitched rhythmically, waiting for him to make a move.

Finally, he snatched at his belt. Purely out of instinct, I did the same, flicking my ball with Clair out onto the battlefield. So much had changed but she was still my lead in battle. Clair bellowed as she hit the field. I heard the flapping of wings as the shadowy man’s pokeball opened. There was a screech and the sound of flapping wings. A creature shot towards Clair. She reached one of her mighty claws up, deflecting the Crobat off the thick part of her arm. Instantly, I called Clair back. It was too dangerous for my bug type to face off against a Crobat.

I switched Julian in. The enormous bat shot past where Julian landed, barely missing him. Julian wheeled around and launched a high pressure blast of water that connected with the Crobat but didn’t seem to phase it. The pokemon turned in mid air and shot past him again. Right as it was about to collide with him, Julian punched the damn bat right in the face. The pokemon followed through and slashed at my Feraligatr with one of its wings, slicing open a gash on his shoulder. Julian followed up with a vicious left cross to the Crobat’s side. Before Julian could do any more damage to his bat, the shadowy man recalled it. I took this opportunity to move closer to the fray.

The shadowy man’s next pokemon hit the field. It was a ghostly creature that resembled a tree, with fog obscuring some of its features, even while it was in direct sun. It was the Trevenant that Julian had fought before. This time, I couldn't take the risk I had taken back at the ALPL building.

I called Julian back, switching him out for Clair. I would have switched into Surya but she was my trump card. I didn’t want to risk my fragile eagle with a direct switch. As soon as he saw my move to switch, the shadowy man commanded his Trevenant to attack. The pokemon scuttled towards me on six roots rather than legs. Still, it moved scarily fast. Clair landed right in front of the Trevanant. As a result, the grass and ghost type pokemon smashed one of its wooden hands into her side. Clair was knocked off balance as the Trevanant’s roots cut deep. The enormous tree followed up with a punch the other direction, knocking my Golisopod across the floor. Clair’s form began to dissolve into energy and she returned to my belt.

Immediately, I threw out my next pokemon. Surya cawed and flapped into the air. Now I could switch Surya in more safely.

Surya blew a plume of fire at the Trevenant, sending up billows of smoke where the fire burned into the ghostly tree. When the smoke cleared enough for me to see, the tree was standing but barely. I raised my hand over my head and swung it down, pointing at the Trevenant. Immediately, Surya swooped at the tree, slashing it with her razor sharp claws. The tree pokemon released a hollow moan before collapsing to the ground as Surya followed through with her attack towards the shadowy man, forcing him to dive to the ground. Still, he managed to throw out his next pokemon. I recognized this one immediately. The Toxapex opened its shell and sent a geyser of water at Surya. She was caught off guard and took the full brunt of the attack.

“Brave bird!” I called to Surya. I hated to doom Surya like this, but I had to get rid of the Toxapex. Surya dove towards the Toxapex at an almost incomprehensible speed. Right before she reached the mollusk-like pokemon, it shut the two flaps on its shell, encasing itself in a spiky shield. Surya crashed into the hard shell. I almost averted my eyes as Surya bounced off Toxapex’s shell, crashing to the ground with a weak caw. So much for using Surya as a trump card. I had to keep up the momentum though. Otherwise I wouldn't get the chance to heal Surya up.

I shifted to my left, grabbing a new pokeball and flicking it into the middle of the huge dome. At the same time, the shadowy man switched pokemon as well. Just as Arthur smashed into the middle of the battlefield, I heard the sound of a shrill astral cry. The shadowy man had released a black, bipedal pokemon onto the field. It wore a black dress with white gems going down the front of it. It had a cruel gleam in its startlingly blue eyes. The pokemon was easily shorter than me but its spiky hair added another foot to its height easily.

Instantly, I pointed at the Gothitelle and her trainer. Arthur shot a beam of purple energy at the two of them. Immediately, the Gothitelle raised her arm above her head, blasting a beam of energy back at Arthur, colliding with his attack. The two pokemon fought toe to toe, shooting energy that slammed into the opposing pokemon’s attack with a noise that can only be described as an electric howl.

Seeing an opportunity that I couldn't pass up, I raced past Arthur towards the shadowy man. I knew that I was the superior fighter and his pokemon was occupied. I was about 10 feet from him when my plan was brought to a screeching halt. The shadowy man whirled around towards me and threw a pokeball at me. The ball hit the ground right in front of me. His Crobat reemerged and screeched at me. I stopped on a dime, almost slipping on the floor. The enormous bat slashed at me with its wings and I rolled out of the way, coming up with the first pokeball I could reach. The Crobat pressed the attack. I lunged out of the way of another slash. I threw the pokeball and hit the deck as Julian emerged. Instantly, he punched at the Crobat. The pokemon screeched angrily and retreated back up into the air as I rose back up to my feet. Arthur and the shadowy man’s Gothitelle were locked in a stalemate, neither of them making progress against the other’s beam of energy, neither willing nor able to let go and take the hit from the other. The shadowy man’s Crobat turned in the air and came back down towards the ground. Instead of attacking Julian, the enormous bat swerved and dove towards Arthur. Time seemed to slow down. Hitting a steel type pokemon with a flying attack probably wouldn't hurt him very much but Arthur was fully focused on blocking the Gothitelle’s incoming attack. If Arthur was distracted for even a second, he would be blasted by the incoming psychic attack. Julian had to stop the Crobat. I pointed at the speeding bat.

“Hydro pump!”

Julian opened his mouth and sent a blast of high pressure water at the Crobat. The pokemon pulled up from its attack on Arthur to avoid the attack. The water cleanly missed Crobat and smashed into a glass panel at the top of the dome, falling back to earth in small droplets. The excess water hit the enormous beam of psychic energy between the Gothitelle and Metagross, sizzling into steam. The Crobat turned back towards the battle and came in for another attack. I pointed and Julian shot a beam of ice at the pokemon. Unfortunately, the bat was just too fast, flitting out of the way of his attack. The bat circled around, high up in the dome, returning to the side of the battlefield where the shadowy man stood with his Gothitelle. The energy between the two unmovable psychic types still crackled across the field. There was no way to tell which pokemon held the advantage. I had to change it up. The shadowy man’s Crobat was too fast for Julian to hit. Eventually he would manage to hit Metagross and the Gothitell’s psychic blast would overwhelm Arthur. I had to stop playing this shadowy bastard’s game. There was one combination that I could try but it had to work. Otherwise the shadowy man would have a complete advantage over me.

“Julian.” I spoke quietly. “Can you do it?”

He knew exactly what I was talking about. My crocodile turned to me and nodded. He was willing to sacrifice himself.

“Go.”

Julian rushed forward. Instead of attacking the Gothitelle or Crobat, he charged towards the beam of energy in the middle of the field. Before the shadowy man or his Crobat could react, Julian dove right in between the two beams of psychic energy. instantly, both attacks smashed into him, crackling with power. Arthur immediately stopped his attack but the Gothetelle mercilessly shocked my poor Feraligatr. Julian collapsed to the ground. In anticipation for what was about to happen, I dove to the ground, covering my ears.
“Arthur. Explosion!”

My Metagross collected his energy for a split second. Then, I heard an enormous KABOOM! A massive shockwave blasted in every direction from Arthur, pulverizing everything. The shockwave smashed all of the glass panels in the dome, raining glass down around me. The shards smashed against the floor. A few of them hit my back and legs but the pieces were so small from the enormous blast that they didn’t hurt. After a full 10 seconds, I looked up from where I lay. Even though I had covered my ears, they still rang painfully. I was disoriented and stumbled as I tried to rise. As I moved, I could feel a dull throbbing in my head from the blast. I tasted blood in my mouth. I managed to rise to my feet, trying to collect my bearings. In the middle of the floor, ringed in glass was Julian. Behind him was the charred, fainted body of Arthur. On the far side of the field, the Gothetelle and Crobat lay motionless on the ground. I zeroed in on the shadowy man. He was on his hands and knees, gasping for air. As I watched, he struggled to his feet. I had hoped that he would have been knocked out or killed by the explosion but as I looked on, he straightened up and drew a pokeball, dizzily. I couldn't read the emotion on his face because he had no face but his body language was seriously pissed off. He yanked the pokeball from his belt, holding it out to his side. I drew my new pokeball. I spat blood on the ground, staring him down. We were both injured heavily. Now the battle would be a matter of who would collapse second.

He threw out his next pokemon. I did the same. Simultaneously, both pokeballs hit the ground. Glass shards crunched as both pokemon appeared. I saw the shadowy man’s Zoroark first. Then, Clair landed on the field. The evil fox grimaced as the glass stabbed into its feet. The two pokemon circled each other. I limped closer to the battle. Neither I nor the shadowy man wanted to commit too much to attack because both of us wouldn't be able to defend ourselves or run away if the opposing pokemon got close. Wind blew through the now open air dome where the panels of glass used to hold out the weather. Finally, there was an opening. The shadowy man’s Zoroark stumbled on an uneven piece of the floor. Instantly, Clair lunged forward and smashed into the Zoroark’s jaw with a left cross. The black fox recoiled as Clair followed up with another hook and a jab, boxing the Zoroark’s head back and forth.

“Sweep the leg!” I commanded.

Clair immediately brought her leg around and swung it under the Zoroark’s two legs, tripping the pokemon up. The dark type pokemon fell to the ground.

“Finish him!” I said mercilessly. I had no empathy for this pokemon. Clair brough her two enormous arms up, and smashed them down on the Zoroark. The pokemon groaned and went limp.

“No illusions today.” I growled.

Sooner than I expected, the shadowy man’s next pokemon appeared. The pokemon released an ear piercing screech. It was a screech that I knew but haven't heard in many years. It was a screech that haunted me, even in sleep.

I cried out as a Mismagius swooped at me. Or rather, it looked like it swooped at me. Instead, the witch hat pokemon from my nightmares lashed out at Clair. My Golisopod wobbled on its feet but remained conscious. I tried to call out a command to Clair, but the words stuck in my throat. That hesitation was all that the Mismagius needed to launch a ball of ghostly energy at Clair. The shadow ball hit her right in the chest and Clair collapsed.

There was a moment’s pause. I was too fearful to move, the shadowy man and his terrifying ghost pokemon glared at me. The Mismagius swooped at me, breaking eye contact and suddenly I could move again.

I dove to the side as the Mismagius swooped over my head. I felt a sharp pain in both of my arms as they were cut by the glass. Quickly, I reached down and knocked one of my pokeballs off my belt. The ball fell to the ground and Rico appeared. As the Mismagius whirled around to face the new threat. Rico raised both of his arms in front of his face and bounced from one foot to another like a boxer, grinning all the while. His show of unflappability gave me enough strength to rise and face this creature. The shadowy man and I faced off with our ghost pokemon by our side.

Suddenly, the Mismagius started to disappear into the ground. Without waiting for my command, Rico lunged forward and grabbed onto the top of the Mismagius’ hat. They both disappeared into a shadow.

As soon as they were gone, the shadowy man lunged forward, a knife suddenly in his hand. This had been part of his plan.He had wanted to get both of the pokemon away from us to try and beat me in my weakened state, positioning himself to do that while I watched the two ghost pokemon fight.

Instinctively, I dodged out of the way from the attack. Rico had cleared the way for me to take him down and I was not going to waste that chance. I backed up from a vertical slash and reached for my belt. I grabbed my silver and black karambit and swung it upwards in one motion, counterattacking. Now it was him on the defensive. As I pressed him back across the floor, I heard a rumbling below us. The shadowy man swept out with one of his feet. I backed away but he combined the attack with a slash from his knife that barely missed my midsection, cutting into my jacket.

Suddenly, the shadowy man backed away from me. As he did, Rico and the Mismagius appeared from the shadows. Rico had his arms clamped around the witch hat pokemon’s midriff, both of his hands covering the orange gem on its chest. As I watched, the Mismagius tried to charge up its gem to launch a beam of energy but Rico’s ghostly hands somehow interfered with the gem gathering energy, absorbing it into his ghostly body. Rico planted his feet into the ground and suplexed the Mismagius over his head, slamming it down on the ground. I had to suppress a laugh. Karambit in hand, I watched as Rico leapt up and spun in mid air and slammed back down, punching the Mismagius.

The witch hat pokemon went limp and my nightmare returned to the shadowy man’s pokeball. Rico advanced on him.

“You can’t scare me with that anymore you shadowy fucker. This is over.”

The shadowy man picked up his last pokeball.

I would be more concerned about what’s happening to your Gengar.

I looked over at Rico just as he stumbled.

Destiny bond.

Right as he said that, Rico collapsed to the floor.

Now it's over. The shadowy man’s knife glimmered in the sun, holding a pokeball in the other hand. I struggled to stay upright. The ringing in my ears made it hard to hear the sounds around me. Still, the shadowy man could place words into my head.

There is no way that your Lucario can crack my Toxapex.

“You don’t know that.”

The shadowy man shook his head.
You need to face reality. My last pokemon is a defensive master. There's no way you can break through in time. It's just facts.

I picked up my last pokeball.

“Lucio and I have been through a lot. We have fought in battles that your pea brain can barely comprehend. You really don’t have any sort of idea what we’re capable of together. BRING IT ON YOU SHADOWY MOTHERFUCKER.” I launched my pokeball towards the shadowy man.

In response, he dropped his ball. I heard the sound of Lucio bark as he leapt out of his pokeball. The shadowy man’s Toxapex released a shrill cry. Lucio leapt forward and opened with a double arm blow to the Toxapex’s shell. The pokemon closed its shell and the attack bounced off. Lucio followed it up with a kick and a flurry of punches. Still, the creature didn’t move.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something on the hillside, a shadow or something. When I turned to look at what it was, it was gone. Confused, I turned back to the battle.

Lucio punched away at the Toxapex to no avail. One of the poison type pokemon’s spikes dug into Lucio’s arm. He backed off with a startled yelp. Lucio looked back at me for commands.

“Psychic.” I commanded.

Lucio brought his hands together, pointing his open palms at the Toxapex. A beam of energy shot at the Toxapex. At the last moment, a blue shield appeared in front of the pokemon, blocking the attack.

Do you see now? It's hopeless.

“Never.”

Lucio skirted around the crustation towards the shadowy man. But, without revealing any of its weak points, the Toxapex scuttled in front of the shadowy man. Lucio couldn't get through. All of a sudden I had an idea.

“You know what fish don’t really like? Your crustation might be able to take some of the most brutal hits, but what if it doesn't have its shell anymore?” I dashed forward, karambit in hand. The shadowy man turned and realized what I was about to do. He rushed forward but he was too late. I slashed his Toxapex across the shell, a brutal gash wound appeared, beginning to ooze blood.

Lucio turned his attention to the Toxapex and punched right where I had made the new wound. Each punch shook the crustation. Lucio turned his hand inverted and slashed inside the slice wound, opening up the Toxapex’s shell even further. All of a sudden I felt a force yank on my leg. I was forced back by something pulling me. I stumbled and fell, dropping my knife as I was dragged away from the fight. Desperately, I looked around. Where was the shadowy man? As if in response to the thought, I felt a hand grab onto the back of my shirt. A knife appeared at my throat. I didn’t dare move. Lucio turned from his fight against the Toxapex but the creature finally opened its shell and grabbed one of his legs, yanking him back. He couldn't help, especially not that far away.

It may have been the lack of oxygen playing tricks on me but I saw four figures on a hill across from the dome.

Your family will feel the pain you inflicted on me tenfold.

My response was a choking gag. The knife pressed harder against the skin. There were four figures for sure. I could almost make out their features. One was a huge, heavily built figure. One was tall and slender and one was average height and skinny. The last figure was a few feet closer. It was blue with yellow highlights. It had a yellow fin over its thin head. It was an Inteleon. The Inteleon was carrying something in its arms, pointing it at me. No. Pointing it at the shadowy man.

I didn’t have time to come up with a plan. In an instant, I let my body go limp in the shadowy man’s arms. When he adjusted his grip, I surged upwards, cracking the back of my head against his. The shadowy man sent a wild slash at my neck, cutting into the flesh with the tip of his knife. I didn’t have time to register the searing pain in my neck before I surged up to my feet. The shadowy man recovered from his surprise and slashed back at me. I had to dive back to the ground to avoid the attack. I rolled out of the way of a downward stab from the shadowy man but he stomped on my leg, holding me in place. He stood above me, knife poised to strike.

Finally He gloated.

Please let it happen now. I thought to myself. The shadowy man began to stab down on me. I closed my eyes, waiting for the end.

I heard a sharp SSWIP and then a body fell to the ground. Carefully, I opened one eye. I didn’t see the shadowy man anywhere. Then, I looked down to the ground. There lay the shadowy man, his body limp on the ground. Right where his heart was, there was a hole, about an inch in diameter. I could see through the tear in his jacket as blood gushed out of the wound. He was motionless, his knife still in his unmoving hand. I felt an itching sensation in my neck. Almost inadvertently, I brought a hand up to the wound. My fingers came back red. I almost didn’t care about being hurt. My mind was still disoriented from Arthur’s explosion.

I looked back to where the snipe shot had been fired from. There, walking towards me were three people I knew very well. They reached the edge of the cliff and the average height one brought out a Braviary, allowing them to cross the ledge by bird, one by one.

There they stood.

“Andrew Ross.” The large man said. He ran across the destroyed dome floor and offered me a high five. I accepted and he pulled me into a hug.

“Koa. I’ve missed you brother.”

Once Koa Edna was done crushing my ribs, I looked at the other two. I shook Corey’s hand.

“It's nice to see you Andrew.” He was all smiles.

Dalra settled for a wave.

“Andrew. I’m glad we got here in time.”

“Me too, Dalra. Thank you for saving my life.”

She smiled, proudly.

“That was all Larry.”

I stepped back and took in the sight of my three former teammates.

“You guys could not have come at a better time. It's really good to see you guys again. But why?”

“Somebody high up in the government tipped us off to what was going on.” Koa replied.

“We were scattered across the eight regions. It took us a few days to organize ourselves and still, we had trouble…” Corey trailed off as he saw my vacant expression.

“Athena.”

Just as I said her name, I heard the sound of an explosion from below. Without waiting for any of them to follow, I charged back into the building. I rushed down the hallway where I had been dragged by the shadowy man’s fuckerey.

When I got to the catwalk where we had been confronted by Dennis and the shadowy man, I heard the sound of fighting below me. A pokemon cried out and I heard an electrical hum. I ran over to the side of the catwalk, looking down at the ground far below me. There was another explosive crash and I heard someone shout a command to their pokemon. I raced for the stairwell.

As I ran, I realized that I wouldn’t be very much help in a fight. I didn’t think to pick up my knife, I was badly hurt and actively bleeding, and I only had one damaged pokemon left.

I made it to the ground floor and the noises of battle grew louder. I turned into a hallway and ran full tilt to where my girlfriend was battling her sworn enemy. I had no plan. I just had to save her. As I ran through the hallways, I could see signs of a struggle. Black burn marks on the walls, pools of poison, smashed tables, there was even the fainted body of Dennis’ Colossal.

I reached the airlock to a sterile lab. Athena and I had skipped over it because there was nothing in it. When scientists wanted to research something potentially dangerous, they brought it here and conducted their research. Athena and I had skipped over the enormous white room because there was nothing in it, just a few steel tables and white cabinets. The first set of doors had been forced open and the second one blasted by a pokemon attack. Beyond the shattered plastic, I saw two figures: the love of my life and the person who had ruined her existence as a normal person.

Athena stood over Dennis Andersson. She didn’t look good. Her hair had come loose and she was missing one of her shoes. Her black leggings were torn and there was a nasty gash on her leg. Dennis didn’t have any external injuries but his hair stuck out in multiple directions, as if he had been electrocuted and his jacket was covered in black soot. Rose, like always, stood by Athena’s side. There were the knocked out forms of pokemon from both trainers. Athena’s Ninetales lay slumped in a corner. Dennis’ Aegislash and Drapeon lay next to each other, both equally as listless.

“Is this how it ends Athena?” Dennis said, slyly.

“This has been a long time coming Dennis.” Athena said venomously. A gob of spit flew from her mouth and landed on Dennis’ chest. “After all you’ve done, death is the only thing you deserve.”

Dennis’ smirked.

“You can’t stand losing to me twice in a row?”

“It was so much more than that.” Athena bent down, turning away from Dennis and pointing to something on her shoulder blade.

“Do you remember Shalour City Trainer’s Academy? Your Drapeon stung me.” Athena jabbed her thumb to her side, pointing at the fainted body of the Drapeon that Dennis had used to wound Athena and kill Phoebe. Dennis’ smirk melted off his face.

“It can’t be… Sarah Garrison?” Dennis pointed a shaky finger at Athena as if he had seen a ghost. “They-they said you died! You died in Alolan prison!”

Dennis’ usual unflappable manner was completely gone. Athena had torn him down to what he was, a bully who got joy out of hurting others. Now that his power was gone, Dennis Andersson had turned into a terrified man, fearful for his life. Athena stood up and faced Dennis one more time.

“That is what the papers said. I was accepted into ALPL under a new name. Now, you are going to pay for every minute of pain and suffering you ever inflicted on anyone!” Athena brought her foot up and then slammed it down on Dennis’ foot. I heard a sharp Crack! and then a scream of agony. Dennis’ foot was now parallel with the rest of his leg.

I suppressed a gag or horror at Athena breaking his foot so viciously. He screamed in agony as Athena stood over him.

I carefully made my way across the empty lab, cautious to not disrupt this moment for Athena. If I interrupted this, Athena would never forgive me.

Dennis’ screams of pain subsided.

“P-please. I didn’t mean…”

“Didn’t mean it? YOU DIDN’T MEAN TWO YEARS OF TORMENT THAT RUINED MY LIFE?” Athena screamed. Dennis didn’t say anything. Athena stepped to Dennis’ right side, grabbing his arm. She yanked it behind him. Instead of a crack like his foot, I heard a popping sound come from his shoulder. Dennis screamed as a fresh wave of pain hit him.

“ANSWER ME.” Athena insisted. She pointed to her Gardevoir. The pokemon raised one of her arms, channeling psychic power. Dennis’ sniveling form was levitated off the ground until he was face to face with Athena. She took two of her fingers and pressed them against Dennis’ neck. New pain coursed through him as she pushed down on a pressure point.

“Fucking answer me you self rightious son of a bitch!” Athena hissed, her tone shaking with fury. Dennis managed to meet her eyes. For the last time, his eyes gleamed with fury.

“I meant every single minute of it.” He spat.

Athena grabbed his shoulders, glaring straight into Dennis’ eyes. On her face was an expression that I would never forget. Fury in its purest form. Her eyes stabbed into Dennis’ very fiber and tore every bit of inhumanity from him, ready to serve justice once and for all.

“This is for Nathen, my former boyfriend who you permanently paralyzed. This is for Phoebe Di Manuelle, a great agent, and my friend who you slaughtered with your pokemon. But mostly, this is for Sarah Garrison, the girl who you killed in a battle at Shalour Trainer’s Academy.” With that, she pointed to Rose. In one motion, Rose twisted her hand.

The bubbling crack of Dennis Andersson’s neck reverberated around the room.

Athena took a moment to watch her sworn enemy’s lifeless body crumple to the floor. It was only then that she noticed me. For a brief second, I saw absolute fury in her eyes. The bloodlust of killing Dennis Andersson hadn't been enough. But then, the rage melted from her eyes. Her shoulders slumped and she looked exhausted.

“Andrew…” Was all she could manage before she broke into tears. She stumbled a few steps into my arms before collapsing against me. Her whole form went slack as she sobbed into my shoulder. Rose approached us, careful to keep her distance, but close enough that she could comfort Athena if need be. I kissed Athena on the top of her head, still holding her up. Her whole body shook as she sobbed out seven years worth of pent up frustration, sadness, anger, and depression. I didn’t say anything, she didn’t need to be comforted right now. She just needed to let it all out.

Behind me, I heard footsteps.

“Andrew!” I heard a voice that could only be Corey.

“Athena?” Koa’s voice rang out.

We ignored both of them. There was nobody on this earth right now except for me, and my beautiful, precious Athena.

I didn’t know how much time had passed. It could have been minutes, hours, or days. All I cared about was being there for Athena. I held her as she cried and cried.

Finally, she stopped shaking and her tears began to slow down. I gently kissed her again before slowly letting her go, carefully making sure she had her balance. Her face was stained with tears and her eyes were swollen red. She drew her hand away from my neck.

“You're bleeding.” She said in a concerned voice.

“I was grazed with a knife, I’ll be fine. I could say the same for you.” In all honesty, my wound was still searingly painful but I didn’t want to worry Athena with that.

To my surprise, Athena released a small chuckle.

“I’m glad that’s all that the Aegislash cut.”

“Here.” I untied my black bandana from my knee and knelt, securely tying it around Athena’s wound to slow the bleeding.

“Thank you, Andrew.” She said, lovingly.

Finally, Athena turned to the three people who had joined our battle. Surprisingly, I didn’t see a hint of embarrassment on Athena’s face due to the fact that Koa, Corey and Dalra had seen her crying on my shoulder.

“Koa.” She said huskily before clearing her throat and greeting the other two former ALPL agents. “Corey. Dalra. What are you doing here?”

Koa smiled broadly and rushed forward, lifting Athena in a bear hug. Just like with me at the dome, each one of them greeted Athena.

“We came as quickly as we could.” Dalra said.

“No. I mean how did you know? Why did you care?”
Corey dug in his pocket for a phone. Drawing it out, he showed us the screen.

“An anonymous email was sent to all of us with damning information about ALPL and Necrozma.”

Sure enough, there was an email with a bunch of files attached to it. There was only one person with the wherewithal and capability to send that information to Koa, Corey and Dalra. This had to be the information that Cynthia collected about ALPL and legendary research on Necrozma. If Cynthia wanted to keep her involvement in this a secret, I would respect that, so I kept my mouth shut about it.

“We all got an email and it directed us to rendezvous with each other in Alola.” Koa added.

“Well, I’m glad you showed up when you did, otherwise that shadowy man would have killed me.” I said, relieved.

“Is he dead?” Athena picked up a pokeball and called back her fainted Ninetales.

“If a snipe shot from an Inteleon can do that to him.” Dalra replied, confident in her pokemon’s skills.

“We have to heal our pokemon. It's not over yet.” I suddenly blurted. Rupert Galenson was still endangering the world. Dennis had no reason to lie about such a thing. Corey snapped his fingers.

“You're right.”

“There’s an infirmary on the top floor.” Dalra suggested.

Athena and I led Corey, Dalra and Koa out of the lab where Dennis’ body was and back to the top floor, reaching the infirmary as quickly as possible and setting our pokemon to heal. It would take a few minutes but it was still better than jacking them up on items and sending them into battle against a legendary pokemon.

I couldn’t speak for Athena, but I felt awful. My whole body was scraped, battered and bruised. My ears were still ringing from Arthur’s explosion. The battle with the shadowy man had taken a lot out of me. I could only assume it was the same for Athena.

Still, we had to get patched up as best we could. There was almost certainly a fight to be had at Poni Altar. There were medical supplies that Athena and I made use of. I dabbed at the blood around the scrape on my neck, clearing away and getting clear access to the wound proper. I was lucky. The shadowy man’s knife hadn’t hit my jugular or pierced my throat. I had just been scraped on the front part, slightly to the side of my neck. The throat is very close to the heart so there was much more blood than what a cut of that size would have elsewhere. Still, it stung painfully as Koa applied a bandage around it.

I watched as Athena rolled up one of her leggings and gently undid my black bandana, revealing the gruesome injury. Just like mine, wiping away the blood and disinfecting the wound made it look much better. Still, there would be some nasty scarring on Athena’s leg. I noticed that Athena gingerly kept the bandana that I had given her. Seeing that made me smile.

“So what happened to you guys after Phoebe… you know…” I trailed off.

Koa cleared his throat.

“They deemed us too dangerous to work together. So they split us up.”

“I ended up in Johto.” Dalra said.

“They put me in charge of the ALPL branch in Galar. Not nearly as important because of them being allies with Alola. It was a glorified desk job.” Corey stated.

Koa sighed.

“They sent me home to pseudo retirement.”

“But they called us back all after a few months. They told us to chase you two and chase we did.” Corey continued their story.

“But you never got close. We never saw you.” Athena cut in, rolling her legging back down her newly bandaged leg.

“Oh but we did.” Dalra responded. “Canalave city, Sinnoh. You two were shot at by a Galvantual with pin missiles. That was me.”

“The very next day, I was in command of the attack group that you capsized off the shore of Kalos.” Corey admitted.

“And I chased you through the Kalos Grand National Station Andrew.” Koa scratched his head sheepishly.

My eyes must have bugged out of my head.

“What? Are you serious?” As I spoke, I realized that this made sense. ALPL would want to send their best hunters, the people who knew Athena and I the best after us.

“We followed you all the way out of the train station in Santalune city but we lost you from there.” Corey admitted.

I didn’t know what to think. These people who I trusted had just admitted to hunting us through the regions, serving the whims of ALPL and trying to kills us. Why had they come to our aid, even after getting that information from Cynthia? Was this another trap? I looked over at Athena.

“And you were intent on killing us until you got the tipoff to come here.” Athena said.

There was a long pause. Finally Dalra spoke.

“We were. I know it’s a poor excuse, but if we know what was afoot with ALPL, we would have never done it. I killed that shadowy man with my Inteleon right before he was going to execute him. Why would I have any reason to do that other than to save him?”

Athena considered this for a moment. Then she sighed, conceding that Dalra was right.

“Either way, we do need your help. Dennis couldn't be bluffing about Rupert Galenson. I don’t speak for Andrew but I would certainly love to have three more trainers and 18 extra pokemon by our side.”

I shrugged.

“It would be a shame for you to all make the journey out here and for me to owe you Dalra, a life debt just to not save the world don’t you think?”

I looked around and saw smiles from everybody. Just then, I heard the healing station ping, indicating that our pokemon were done healing.

“Well, let's load up people. I’ll meet you on the roof.”

It was kind of exciting to go into battle with my teammates together again. Still, Phoebe’s egotistical boasts were painfully missing.

I snapped each pokemon back onto my belt and headed for the roof.

“How are we going to get over there?” Athena was asking Corey.

“That’s easy. There’s a path that winds down to the rear side of the altar.” Koa answered for Corey.

“Okay then. What are we waiting for?” Athena asked, seeing me arrive at the shattered dome.

“One moment guys. I need to know one thing before we go. Otherwise I will kick myself for not having checked.” I walked over to where the shadowy man’s body lay.

His face was still obscured by shadow and there was a pool of blood around his corpse. Carefully, I reached down to his face and pulled the hood off him. In all honesty, I didn’t know what to expect. Was he a pokemon? Was he human? Was it a he at all? The shadow retracted from his face and I laid eyes on the ever anonymous shadowy man’s face. He looked like a normal male. I had expected him to look hideous, hence, the secrecy and concealment. But he looked completely normal. One of his blue eyes was frozen in the moment where he had been shot by Dalra’s Inteleon. The other had an eyepatch that did very little to conceal the vicious purple scar that went down nearly the entirety of his face. I shuddered as a cold realization washed over me. I had caused that. I was the one that ruined his face with my brutality. When I had defeated him at the old ALPL building, I could have left it at that. I had consciously made the decision to cause him pain because of what he had threatened me with. I gritted my teeth. He still had stepped all over hallowed ground by threatening my family.

I stood up, taking one more look at my fallen enemy. Then, I returned to teammates.


***


We hiked over one final ridge and the Poni Island altar was in sight. The massive structure was ingrained into an enormous stone hill. Damaged stairs led up to where an enormous ancient conduit leered down onto the center of the altar. Normally, the altar was supposed to be empty but I could see boxes and a giant tent set up. People were bustling around, busying themselves with mobile batteries and last minute calculations. Right in the middle was an enormous, black metal rod. It was about a foot in diameter and at least eight feet tall. Different implements were connected to the metal to various suspicious and dubious looking sciencey devices. I recognized an enormous battery and what looked suspiciously like the pokemon transport system used by pokemon centers. Aside from that, all the other stuff didn’t make sense to me.

Athena, Koa, Corey, Dalra and I looked at the busy scene below us to see what looked like the final preparations on the mechanical device. The trail had led us out very close to the Altar. We could easily make our way to the bottom of the stairs. Below us was a large cave and a path that led back south. Nobody said anything. We were ready to go. Koa bravely stepped over the ridge and began to climb the stairs two at a time. Athena followed, then Dalra, then Corey and I.

We began to ascend the enormous flight of stairs. Now all of us were in shape, but even the fittest one among us, Koa struggled after ascending the ancient stairs. Our pace began to slow, but after a good while, we reached the top. We crouched, just out of view of anyone at the top. There was the hubbub of people racing around and chattering above us. Nobody could hear our heavy breathing.

“What’s the shot?” I whispered to nobody in general.

“I didn’t see any guards or anything. They’re not expecting to be attacked.” Dalra said.

Koa cracked his knuckles.

“I don’t think a group of scientists can wield their pokemon very well.”

“Then we control the crowds. Pull your scariest pokemon, get their attention, make an example of somebody if you need to but don’t kill anyone.” Corey had a determined expression on his face.

“Koa and Andrew, how about you try to find Rupert Galensson.” Athena said.

“Copy.” I picked up a pokeball off my belt.

“Is everyone ready?” Athena asked. Everybody confirmed that they were good to go.

“Let's do this.”

Koa stood straight and jumped up the last few stairs. I saw Athena throw a pokeball over my shoulder and charge up the stairs, followed by Dalra, Corey and I. Athena’s pokeball hit the ground and I heard the terrifying scream of her Hydreigon. The three headed dragon blasted three beams of energy up into the air. Corey threw a ball past my shoulder. A Chansey appeared next to Athena’s fearsome dragon. For a second I was confused. Chansey’s weren't the scariest pokemon in the world.

“Metronome!” Corey shouted. All of a sudden, the Chansey began to teeter from left to right.

“EVERYBODY GET THE FUCK DOWN!” Koa bellowed, throwing his own pokeball. An enormous tree-like pokemon roared. It was at least 30 feet tall with an off brown body and three green heads with green leaves for hair. The scientists cried out in fear and surprise, instinctively obeying Koa’s demand. I saw Corey’s Chansey rocket into action. In an instant, the egg shaped pokemon threw off a plethora of attacks. Hyper beam, air cutter, leaf edge. The pokemon was moving so quickly it was hard to see.

Dalra threw her ball. I didn’t see what pokemon emerged because I raced for the large tents, Koa hot on my heels. We dashed into the large tent that had been set up. I had time to register a few tables and chairs and one desk before I raced into the building. There were a few scientists inside the structure, all wearing white lab coats. The first one we came across was felled by a right cross by Koa before he could even realize what was happening.

“EVERYBODY GET ON THE GROUND. RIGHT NOW.” Koa shouted. His demand was followed by cries of fear as the scientists all obeyed him. There was one on the far end of the tent who was sneakily reaching under his lab coat as he knelt. I launched my pokeball towards him. Julian appeared and roared, backhanding the scientist. He fell to the ground and a pokeball dropped out of his hand.

“Nobody moves!” I demanded. They complied with what was said, lying still on the ground.
“WHERE IS RUPERT GALSENSSON.” Koa insisted, pushing further into the tent.

Still shocked by our sudden takedown and control of the site, one of the scientists stammered,

“He-he’s…”

Koa hauled him up to his feet, grabbing the front of his lab coat and shaking him.

“Where is he?”

The scientist pointed a shaky finger at the man I had just disarmed with Julian.

“Ko. Over there.” I got Koa’s attention and pointed to the man that the scientist had indicated. He nodded. Dropping the scientist, he stormed over to where the man lay, hauling him up to his feet with the collar of his shirt. The man didn’t say anything as Koa brought him outside.

“Alright. I want everybody to get up slowly and form a line! Keep your hands where I can see them!” I ordered.

The scientists hurriedly complied with my command, gathering themselves and forming a column. Julian stood on one side of the column, making sure they didn’t try anything. My Feralagatr and I marched the scientists outside. Athena, Dalra and Corey were keeping the other workers contained. Athena’s Hydreigon spat at one of the scientists who flinched back. Koa still held Rupert Galensson by the shirt collar. I joined them, commanding the scientists to join their compatriots. Julian and I made our way over to Athena, Koa, Corey and Dalra. Athena was saying,

“That went surprisingly well.”

“Now what?” I asked.

All eyes turned to Rupert Galensson. He was older in age, probably in his late forties or early fifties with salt and pepper hair. He was on the shorter side and looked to be quite thin through his lab coat. The thing that was off putting about his appearance was his eyes. Ever moving, they never fixed onto something for too long, always evaluating, calculating, trying to dissect us down to an atomic level. Not how Athena analyzed things through the lens of an analytical spy, but rather, genuinely trying to figure out what atoms and molecules we were made of.

“Mr. Galenson. You have some explaining to do. How do we shut this thing down?” Koa said through gritted teeth.

Rupert Galenson looked up at our group of trainers. A red welt was forming where Julian had punched him.

“You’re too late. The anchor is already set.” His voice didn’t sound human, it was more serpentine in nature. A whispered hiss.

“Necrozma is on its way. It is coming to destroy this world. To consume it into its almighty power.”

“Why would you want to destroy this world? Didn’t Alola want to control Necrozma?” I questioned.

Galensson chuckled.
“The fools in the Alolan government will do anything they can to escape the predicament their nation is in. Even if it is to fund research into controlling a pokemon that can’t be controlled. I have seen it with my own eyes. Necrozma came to me in a dream. It wanted me to be its disciple, to be the harbinger of its power and wrath on this plane of existence.”

Before anyone could react, a Bisharp appeared in front of Galenson. One of the steel pokemon’s arms came forward, pressing the sharp end up against Galenson’s throat.

“I don't think you understand. There is no Necrozma coming to appease all your religious bullshit.” Corey spat with more venom than I had thought he could ever muster.

Galenson just smiled at the intimidating steel pokemon in front of him.

“There is no stopping it. There hasn't been any stopping it since I set the timer to activate the portal last week. We’ve just been monitoring the state of it since then. We just wait for the great one to travel through Ultra Space to get here.”

There was some muttering among the scientists we had gathered. Galenson had probably lied to them about the true nature of the project as well.

All of a sudden, the earth began to shake. Small pebbles and rocks clattered on the ground. It felt like a small scale earthquake. The whole Poni Altar began to vibrate rapidly. In the center, the metal rod that was implanted into the ground began to hum with energy.
“He’s here.” Galenson breathed.

“We gotta stop it!” Koa shouted over the rumbling. He tossed Galenson towards Corey and raced towards the beam of energy. Before he could lay his hands on the rod, he was launched backwards, crashing into the hard stone.

“You fool. There is no stopping it.” Galenson rasped.

“What do we do?” Corey said fearfully.

“There is nothing you can d-” Galenson was cut off when Corey’s Bisharp smacked him on his head, knocking him out.

Koa rose to his feet, looking frazzled. He shook his head and joined us. The five of us looked at the metal rod that was now reverberating with power. There was a realization forming in my head. Something I really didn’t want to make tangible. Necrozma was coming. We were the first line of defense against it.

I turned to the scientists.

“Go. Get out of here. Call the Alolan military or anyone you have. Give your families a hug when you see them again.” As I said this, my eyes began to water up. With every second that passed, my chances of a peaceful and happy life with Athena were dropping.

The five of us fanned out across the Poni Island Altar, each of our pokemon by our side. Koa had his Alolan Exeggutor, Dalra rested her hand on a tall Ampharos standing next to her, To her left was Corey with his Chancey and Bisharp on either side, Next was me. Julian held a fighting stance with his paws in front of his face like a boxer. Finally, Athena was to my left with her three headed Hydreigon next to her.

By now, the whole altar was shaking as the metal rod channeled all the power into one place. Suddenly, a white hot beam of energy shot down from the sundial above the altar, colliding with the rod. As soon as the beam hit the metal rod, there was a massive blast of energy outwards. I had just enough time to avert my eyes but I was still blinded behind my eyelids.

I heard an unearthly roar. The sound pierced my ears but also somehow pulled sounds from inside my head. It was a scream of rage. It was a scream of triumph. I opened my eyes just enough to see what was going on. Right above the rod was a slim white rift that hummed in the air. That wasn’t the scary part. Hovering in front of the portal was a dark black creature. This creature was hard to describe. It had an energy about it that made it flicker around in your mind’s eye. It for sure had two large hands attached to a torso and a large spiky plate of armor that obscured its head. I could just barely make out its eyes underneath the plate. I wish I hadn't though. The eyes of the creature were a color that is impossible to describe. They were every color, and no color at the same time. They hurt my eyes to look at it so I quickly turned away. The sound of Necrozma’s howl was still ringing in my ears.

I still had the wherewithal to look at my teammates who were equally stunned. Dalra had her hands over her ears. Corey’s chin was tucked to his chest. I saw Koa smack himself on the side of the head to try and refocus.

“Guys?” I asked. Even to me, my voice sounded far away. Necrozma floated unmoving in front of us. I had to do something. There had to be some way to break this sound muting aura.

I pointed at the pokemon in front of me and shouted a command. Nobody heard it but Julian picked up on it nonverbally. His roar was muted as well as he shot a blast of water at Necrozma. I expected for the creature to dodge away from the attack but the beam hit it directly in the face, pushing it back. It was as if the attack had awoken my teammates from some sort of trance. I saw Athena point and Hydreigon blasted three beams of energy at Necrozma. The pokemon nimbly dodged out of the way but was hit by a seed pod rocketing from Koa’s Exeggutor. Corey’s Bisharp tried to lunge towards the pokemon but his attack was blocked by one of Necrozma’s enormous arms but while Necrozma blocked the attack, Dalra’s Ampharos landed a direct hit with a bolt of lightning.

Necrozma shrieked in rage and began to pull energy from around it. I realized that it was charging up an attack. I heard a high pitched shriek of energy and then a beam of pure white light shot from his chest. I dove aside as the laser blasted where I had been standing a moment before. The beam swung horizontally and made contact with Corey’s Chancey. The pokemon was blasted with pure light for a few moments. Then, the energy attack subsided and Corey’s Chancey fell to the ground.

I pointed and Julian launched another attack. This time, Necrozma zipped out of the way of the water. Athena tried to follow it up with an attack but Necrozma absorbed the blast of energy into one of its enormous hands. It was becoming more powerful. Necrozma dodged out of the way of another lightning strike and Corey used this moment to switch into his Porygon 2. Necrozma began to charge up its beam attack. I cursed under my breath, although I couldn't hear it, switching pokemon. Lucio sprang forth, just as Necrozma launched his laser beam at Athena. She scrambled away but the attack caught her Hydreigon right in the chest. The pokemon fell to the ground. We needed to stop Necrozma from growing in power! I had one last trick up my sleeve. If this didn’t work, nothing would. I punched the button on the necklace underneath my shirt and a fermilear humming of energy began to grow. Somehow, this sound pierced the muting effect that Necrozma put over the battlefield. The consolidation of energy around Lucio seemed to draw Necrozma’s interest. It stared hungrily at the sphere of power that had surrounded him.

The energy burst and Lucio’s howl pierced through the muting effect as well. This time, instead of attacking with his laser, Necrozma launched himself at Lucio. Koa tried to capitalize on his committing and blasted it with purple energy. Necrozma didn’t even seem to notice. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Koa switch out his enormous tree as I quickly backed up from the clash of two titans of power. Necrozma swung one of its arms but Lucio blocked his attack. Necrozma almost withdrew in shock at being stopped so abruptly. Lucio capitalized on it by sending a blast of energy back at the prism pokemon. Necrozma absorbed the attack but now my teammates’ pokemon began to move in. Necrozma zipped to the side and tried to shoot its laser but Lucio blocked it off the tip of his spike, deflecting it up into the air.

Rose released a blast of dark energy at Necrozma but it flitted out of the way. It was growing even more powerful. We had to stop it now!

Lucio heard my thoughts and understood. He kicked at Necrozma. It dodged back out of the way, but backed up. Koa sent out a new pokemon, a Hitmonchan. The pokemon stomped into the stone, cracking it up and launching rocks into the air. The Hitmonchan punched the rocks at lightning speed, sending them rocketing towards Necrozma. Corey had his Porygon 2 send three beams of energy at Necrozma. Everybody was piling on the damage. Necrozma was in full retreat mode, turning back towards the portal where it had come from. Dalra released her Inteleon and the pokemon sent a jet of water at Necrozma. It was inches from the portal. One last attack would do it…

Necrozma fixated me with its colorless eyes. Suddenly, I was frozen in place. Lucio sent one more kick into the pokemon and it backed up into the portal, still staring into my soul with its eyes. Suddenly there was a brilliant flare of light. Everybody averted their eyes as Necrozma retreated back into the portal except for me. I was paralyzed. I saw the enormous flash of energy and then I saw nothing. I could only feel and hear. There was an enormous howling of energy and I felt a force yank me off my feet.

The howling grew more intense and I couldn't fight against it. I lost my footing and was dragged towards the portal. I could hear my friends shouting but I couldn’t stop myself. The noise got louder and louder until all I heard was silence.

I was completely blind. My eyes couldn't take in anything. Somehow, I knew that I wasn’t in Alola anymore. There was no bright sun on my neck to indicate the opposite. The ground I lay on felt cold and uneven, a stark contrast to the smooth stone of the Poni Island Altar. I tasted blood in my mouth. Somehow, it brought familiarity to my situation.

Gathering my arms underneath my torso, I pushed up from the ground. My hands clasped something that felt like rock. Off in the distance, I heard what sounded like a glacier cracking, a tearing apart of an enormous landmass.

“Hello?” I called out, fearfully. My voice echoed as it traveled further away from where I lay. I had a sneaking suspicion on where I was but there was no way to be sure without my eyesight.

“Is anyone out there?” I shouted, louder than before.

“Andrew?” I heard a familiar voice call out my name. My heart skipped a beat. It was Athena!

“Athena! I’m over here!” I shouted into the emptiness. I heard footsteps come closer to me.

“Andrew! Holy shit. Are you okay?” I heard the voice coming closer.

“Athena! I can’t see anything.” I said, slightly panicked. I felt her help me up to my feet.

“What? What are you talking about?”

“I’m blind. I can’t see. Where are we?”

“Oh my god. We’re in Ultra Space!” Athena’s voice broke into panic, a strange emotion for me to hear her have.

My heart sank. My suspicions had been correct. Necrozma had sucked Athena and I back into its home dimension.

“Do you know if anyone was yanked into here?” My voice was much calmer than I thought it would be.

“No. I don’t think so. They all got clear but we were too close to the portal!”

“There’s gotta be a way out of here.” I insisted.

“The anchor. We have to destroy the anchor so Necrozma can’t come back.” Athena realized.

I felt her shivering hand reach out and grab mine.

“It's cold here.” She said,

“We’re gonna get out of this Athena. I promise.” In all honesty, I didn’t know what to expect. I couldn't even take in the terrifying dimension where we had ended up.

“I hurt my leg so I’m going to lean on you if that’s okay?”

“That’s fine. You need to guide where I’m going. Where is this anchor?” I asked Athena.

“You don’t see it but there’s a man made steel cable running along this island of rock we’re on. The whole place is just floating in the abyss. It's probably good that you don’t see it.” Athena seemed to have regained some of her normal confidence.

I gripped Athena’s hand tightly as we walked along the rocky island. I didn’t know how much time had passed, that was, if time even existed here. Occasionally, we would hear the sound of earth crumbling into the abyss or the low moan of an enormous creature. Athena verbally guided me away from falling off the floating island. As we walked, my vision began to clear. Not entirely, but my eyes began to make out vague shapes and silhouettes. After what felt like ages, Athena stopped.

“There it is.” She breathed. “It looks just like the conductor that Galenson used to summon Necrozma to Poni Island. There’s a precarious strip of land connecting it to us, about 3 feet wide. I can’t tell if it will hold a person. The obelisk is glowing with power.” Athena described to me.

“We have to cross it.”

“Andrew. You can’t see. Maybe it's better if I risk it.”

“If we die here, I want to die with you. Besides, if you don’t make it, I will be lost here without any sight.” I should have been terrified. I should have been scared about falling into the abyss forever, never landing, never dying. But I wasn’t. Somehow, I knew that both Athena and I were going to have to cross this land bridge together.

“What about a pokemon?” Athena asked me.

“I don’t think Surya or Zahn can destroy the beacon. It has to be us Athena.”

She gripped my hand tighter.

“I trust you Andrew.” She guided me out onto the land bridge.

I took a cautious step. Then another. All of a sudden, it felt as if the whole world flipped upside down. I felt my whole body flip. Athena and I were upside down.

“Woah what the fuck was that?” I exclaimed.

“I don’t know. The whole world suddenly flipped. I don’t think it jarred anything loose though.” Athena replied.

“Let's keep moving.”

Slowly, the two of us continued across the bridge. For me with no sight, it felt almost no different to be walking upside down. Athena limpingly led in front, guiding me with her hand. I could feel her shaking, this must have been terrifying for her. I was almost glad of my partial blindness. The vague shapes that I could make out were beginning to form definition again. I could start to see small bits of the terrifying Ultra Space. In the depths of the abyss, an enormous pokemon cried out, echoing all around us.

“Just a few more steps…” Athena said, anxiously.

I took a deep breath and stepped forwards. I heard Athena breathe a deep sigh of relief. We had made it.

“We’re here Andrew. Now we have to destroy this anchor so that Necrozma can’t come into our world ever again.” As she said Necrozma, There was a high pitched shriek that reverberated around us.

“Good idea.” I decided.

“Let's cut the cable first.”

I heard the sound of a pokeball open and Cindy cried out. Athena guided me off to the side. I felt a blast of heat to my left. Cindy began to burn away the anchor’s connection to our world. With the sound like a massive spring seizing back up, the cable snapped. I heard the humming of the anchor fade, a humming that I didn’t even know was there until it was gone.

“Andrew, I could use Clair’s help.” Athena said.
I picked up my pokeball with Clair in it and pressed it into her hand. She opened the pokeball and her ball with Cysgod in it. Then, I heard the sound of earth shifting as I could only assume that Clair and Cysgod were tearing the anchor out from the rock. I heard a metal clang as it finally gave way.

“Throw it over the side.”

I heard Athena instruct. I could only assume that Clair and Cysgod did as she had instructed, destroying Rupert Galenson’s horrific research once and for all. We had done it. We had won! But we were still stuck in Ultra Space. A few moments later, I felt Athena attach a pokeball back to my belt.

“Andrew! There’s a portal. Behind us. There’s a way out!” Athena excitedly gripped my hand.

“Let's get out of here!”

Once again, Athena guided me along the precipice over the edge. Each step brought us closer to the end of this journey. Step by step, we worked our way across the outcrop. Athena’s hand was sweating with stress. I didn’t know if we were upside down or rightside up anymore but it didn’t matter.

All of a sudden, my foot slipped. I fell and landed hard on the bridge with a grunt. The whole landmass shook. There was an almighty cracking sound. Athena cried out in fear and suddenly let go of my hand.

Terror seized at my heart.

“Athena!” I yelled over the horrendous noise of earth shattering around me.

“I’m here Andrew. The island! It's breaking up! There’s a hole in the bridge. I had to jump across!” She shouted in desperation.

I shakily rose to my feet. The noise was becoming deafening.

“I can’t make it across?” I yelled.

“You’re going to have to jump it!”

“I can’t see anything!” I shouted desperately.

The whole earth shook as the bridge began to break apart.

“The island is collapsing!”

“I can’t do it!” I still couldn't see anything, desperate tears welled in my blind eyes.

“Andrew! You have to trust me! Take a step forward with your left foot, then your right foot, then jump! I promise you can make it.”

Athena’s words cleared my mind. I thought back to how long we had fought for, how many battles, how many times she had saved my life and I realized, I did trust her. I trusted her to guide me through the dark. I trusted her to describe how I should jump over the abyss. I trusted Athena Nolland enough to put my life on it.

I lunged forwards. My left foot hit the ground, my right foot hit in front of my left. I leapt with all my might. I flew through the air for a few moments. Then, I stumbled onto the main section of land and into Athena’s arms. The feeling of her, so familiar to me. I collapsed in Athena’s arms and sobbed with relief.

“You did it. You did it Andrew…” She spoke reassuringly.

After a few moments, I began to calm down. Finally, I straightened up.

“We did it, Athena.”

She sighed and kissed me on the cheek.

“Let’s get out of here.”

Hand in hand, she guided me back to the portal. As we stepped into the beam of light, I heard the humming of energy. Athena and I were both being transported out of Ultra Space and back into Alola. I closed my eyes and held my breath. The humming grew louder and louder. Then, it abruptly stopped.

I opened my eyes. I could see again. The first thing I saw were the beautiful, green eyes of Athena. She looked at me, a look of pure happiness and joy on her face. Without saying anything, I pulled her in for a kiss.

“You made it!” I heard the voice of Koa jubilantly exclaim.

It was as if the world was spinning. It was so vibrant with color. Everything was teeming with joy in the Alolan afternoon as I kissed my love. Soon it would be time to let go of each other. There would be loose ends, there always were. We would need to tell Cynthia all that had happened so history wouldn't repeat itself. Then, we would mourn the deaths of those who had given their lives to help us save the world. But for now, I held Athena in my arms as we both cried tears of joy at our victory.
 
Epilogue

yooloo33

Bug Catcher
Pronouns
He/Him
Epilogue

I lowered my binoculars from my face.

“It's good to see the kids made it.” I said with relief. The two of us were laying underneath a large bush, concealed by the forest around us. Our vantage point gave us a great angle on a large cabin. Situated in the middle of the Eterna Forest, the cabin was a very private and luxurious structure. Beyond the house was a pleasant little lake with a dock.

I raised the binoculars to my face again. Andrew Ross stepped out of the second floor room onto the deck. He had a glass of some sort of champagne in his hand and an enormous smile on his face. He stretched and looked out at the trees in front of him. I was confident that he couldn't see us. We were at least 500 feet away from him and camouflaged green fatigues. All this secrecy was necessary. I could not let the two of them know I was still alive.

Athena Nolland joined Andrew. Or rather, Athena Ross. The two of them had gotten married shortly after returning from Alola. I had never seen two people who were more made for eachother. They both had the same life experiences and had been in many situations that reflected the other of their pair. Andrew was sly and quick to act, Athena analytical and patient.

I watched as Athena joined Andrew at the edge of the deck. A few words were exchanged by the couple. Andrew wrapped his arm around Athena’s shoulder and she nestled up to him.

They had chosen this cabin as their honeymoon place, away from other people and cozied in the middle of the forest. If they really wanted to, they could probably buy the property. With ALPL in shambles, nobody was going to stop them from accessing the millions in their accounts from their stint working there. It was not official, but rumor also had it that a certain man by the name of Corey Allen had leaked the passwords to the accounts to Athena and Andrew.

After the Poni Island incident, the three ALPL operatives had gone their separate ways.

Koa Edna had stayed in Alola. He was hailed there as a hero of special operations and was now very popular. Many political parties within the Alolan government wanted to become a trial captain or to run for parliament under their banner.

Dalra Rose had disappeared. We had been able to track her as far as Goldenrod city before she went off the radar. With all the surveillance done on ALPL, we knew that she was no longer working for them. The thing was, we knew that she had plenty of money. Still, she didn’t settle down. Maybe the thrill of the kill was too potent for the huntress and her Inteleon.

ALPL wasn’t going to fall in a day and Corey Allen knew that. He had gone back to the weakened agency with the intent to tear it all down. He worked closely with Cynthia and Bertha to leak information at the right time to foil ALPL’s nefarious plans. Still, he was managing to climb in the ranks of ALPL, allowing him more and more access to intelligence and information. Some intelligence analysts claimed we were already seeing the final collapse of ALPL as a large reform movement was sweeping through Alola’s government.

“Have you seen enough?” The woman next to me jarred me out of my thoughts. Through my binoculars, I watched as Athena and Andrew kissed and headed back into the cabin.

“Yeah… Yeah I have. I’m gonna miss those two but you can’t say that they haven’t earned this.” I said wistfully, lowering the binoculars from my eyes.

“For the short time I worked with them, they were amazing and all that they’ve accomplished… I’m happy for them.” The woman replied.

I put the binoculars into a case and hooked it to my belt next to my two pokeballs.

“Ahh to be young again. Do you ever wish for your time back Anabel?” I asked.

Anabel brushed a strand of her lilac hair out of her face. She was wearing the same gray fatigues as I was but I saw that she still wore a black tie underneath.

“Sometimes I do, but then I remember that there’s no stopping the passage of time so why should we waste it looking back and regretting the past?” I carefully stood from underneath the bush and brushed off the pine needles. I heard the sound of footsteps coming closer. My Croagunk trotted up to me, back from watching over us, and grinned. I returned his smile before calling him back to his pokeball.

“Well? Shall we?” Anabel asked.

I turned back to the cabin. Andrew and Athena had been the best saviors the world could have asked for. I saluted towards the cabin. Then, I turned back to Anabel. We headed back the way we had come through Eterna Forest.

“Thank you for coming out all this way with me.” I said to her,

Anabel turned to me.

“You’re welcome, Looker.”

The End
 
Author's Note

yooloo33

Bug Catcher
Pronouns
He/Him
Author's Note

If you’ve read this far into my story, thank you so much. I cannot express how much I appreciate you reading and (hopefully?) enjoying my story. In this last section, I wanted to talk about my creative process as well as give a few thanks to people who have helped me with writing this story.


My idea for this story first came about in June of 2022. I’d always been a creative person but a full length story was something that I had never considered. The whole premise was “What would a spy novel look like in the pokemon universe?” That was the first breakthrough. I had designed stories in my head before but this one just would not go away. Maybe because I find spy novels and spycraft really fun and interesting.

But to externalize a story, you need something more than a strong premise. You need inspiration. My inspiration came from everywhere. Mission: Impossible (Both the TV show and movies), Jason Bourne, The Man from U.N.C.L.E, James Bond, Get Smart, the Mitch Rapp novels, I had no lack for spy stories to put a pokemon twist onto.

My two biggest sources of inspiration for the pokemon side of things were the Pokemon Adventures series of manga and the Dunsparce and Drampa pokemon D&D podcast.

I had read Pokemon Adventures as a child and really loved the real life view it gave to pokemon. Battles didn’t happen in turns, rather they were speed based, battles had stakes, there were true villains with horrible plans and heroes endeavor to stop them unlike in the games where many times, the story was put second in front of gameplay and exploration.

I started listening to the Dunsparce and Drampa podcast at the right time where it always seemed to have something new and interesting that I could implement into my story. The live action stance that the campaign took, even though it was term based, was exactly the type of way I wanted my battles to go.

My original draft of this story was one where the story was like an episodic TV show similar to the Mission: Impossible or The Man from U.N.C.L.E style of shows which were popular in the 60s and 80s. Andrew would have been the main hero that the story is centered around with Dennis being his counterpart, representing a pro legendary pokemon organization. In that draft, I had Athena being the teasing love interest who would pop in from time to time in order to make Andrew’s life harder. ALPL would have served as an agency similar to Control from Get Smart. I could have each chapter be a new adventure with Andrew and his teammates as it grew to a more treacherous plot over time. In fact, I had many of the scenes in part one designed with this formula in mind. Unfortunately, that was never meant to be. Instead, the end product was a more cohesive story with Athena getting a promotion from a side character to a main character.


In the vein of character design, there isn’t a single character in my story that is 100% thought through and brought to life in my head, I don’t think that is even possible. At the very least, there are scraps of inspiration from things around me.

Andrew was heavily based on Red from the Pokemon Adventures manga. The sort of snarky, outwardly unflappable, clearly skilled and yet very over his head In addition to that, I took inspiration from Mitch Rapp, Ethan Hunt from Mission Impossible and The Protagonist from Tenet; pretty much every hero in a spy-esque story that I liked has at least a scrap of them in Andrew’s character.

Athena started out as a generic femme fatale, sexualized love interest for Andrew. Some aspects of Ilsa Faust from Mission Impossible were in there when I characterized her way of going about spy stuff, a sort of methodical, confident and smooth approach. As the story came together and she grew more characterized, I was pulling inspiration for what she would do more and more from the cold, calculating Irene Kennady of the Mitch Rapp novels.

Corey really was an extra character who I yanked into the stories for exposition purposes. His main inspiration was McGee from the NCIS TV show and his character development reflects that.

It doesn't have to be fictional characters that give inspiration for characters either. Dalra is based off a girl I played against at a chess tournament. We talked briefly after the game and she really made an impact on me.

Phoebe is based on a generic bully character archetype but also a very obnoxious girl who I had in one of my classes.

Koa is mainly inspired by one of my baseball teammates who was this huge guy who was always super friendly and had a good sense of humor.

Even characters that were already in the pokemon games had new twists put onto them. I tried to give Looker some aspects that were similar to Henry Cavil’s Napoleon Soto in the Man from U.N.C.L.E movie, just toned down with his age. I liked the spin that the Pokemon Adventures manga takes on him as well (even though I didn’t read very much of the Diamon and Pearl series.) His prime days are over but he’s not quite done yet. His unflappability was honestly inspired by John Wick and the way that nothing phases him.

Cynthia had traits of Priya from Tenet with an additional bit of generic politician thrown in. I tried to subtly make her become more and more invested in Andrew and Athena’s quest as time went on. With her, I felt as if I already had a good idea of how she would act as the unbeatable champion who wielded a Gachomp. Still, she would have to be a scheming politician to fit into the role that I needed her for in this story (and the role that the world I built puts her in.)

Even minor characters got some real life inspiration.

Lachesis’ appearance was a mix of many people, some who I don’t even remember the names of, some I didn’t even talk to that were in my classes or who I passed in the hallways. I admit, for a very minor character, she probably has too much going on. The amount of characterization she has in a short time is a product of boredom. I would design her character, drawing on inspiration that was in front of me in my classes. Her personality was a combination of what I thought a hex maniac would act like, and of someone who has seen a lot in her lifetime. In all honesty, she was the character who I designed and threw out the most drafts of. I kind of wanted to make a “Athena and Andrew traveling through the regions, collecting allies and assets.” team dynamic where Lachesis joined them (potentially escaping the restaurant together) and helped them with their quest. They would gather Looker and Anabel and by the end, they would battle Necrozma with Lachesis, Looker, Anabel, Koa, Corey and Dalra. I decided against that because it felt unnatural to have this character tagging along with Andrew and Athena as they had their own romantic thing happening.

Mr. Sharp was inspired by a substitute teacher one of my classes had for a day and then I never saw him again.

This is me staying surface level with it and not going into how Canalave city is based off Forestville, California or how The Acuity is very similar to a boat I remember riding when I was younger.

I guess my point is, inspiration can come from literally anywhere, you just need to look at it the right way.

Each of the scenes in this story was once just a thought of mine. Any time that I needed to space out or when I was falling asleep at night, I would design characters and sequences. Then, the writing process was simply putting that on the page. This method was very effective and honestly got better at it as the story progressed.

So I wrote part 1 of the story, just deciding to get my ideas down on paper. It was when I was a healthy chunk through part 2 that a friend of mine convinced me to post this story online. I posted part 1 onto AO3 without any sort of fanfare. I’m sure you can find that document floating around out there somewhere. The real breakthrough came when I put a post out on Reddit asking for suggestions on what new team members Athena and Andrew should have after I jumped ahead by four months at the end of part 2. On that post, a Reddit user told me about Thousand Roads and helped me join their Discord server. From there, I was able to read some stories and see how I could continue as well as ask questions to much more experienced writers. That was invaluable as I kept going deeper and deeper down the rabbit hole of this story.

The story twisted and turned, which was exactly what I had wanted. The thing was, it even surprised me at certain points. I had never intended to kill off Phoebe. My plan was for her to come back unexpectedly and save Andrew, redeeming her. Killing her was recommended by the same friend that got me posting this online in the first place. After that scene, it was off to the races. I had a vision of how my story would go but no flesh on the skeleton. As I kept writing, I saw the quality of my scenes rapidly improve. The real large jump was after the death scene with Phoebe. I decided that I was going to chew every scene and really flesh out everything. The time I put into each scene rapidly increased as I implemented that philosophy to writing.

I wrote scene after scene and I am very proud of how they turned out. The understandability and excitement of each scene went up as well as the emotional impactfulness.

Through the month of January 2023, I really ground hard on this story until I finished it today, January 28th at 3:44 PM, 209 days after writing the first word, I am finally done. (It took me until April 4th at 4:52 PM to edit all of this…)

If you’re looking to do anything that is tough or daunting in your life, take this as a sign that you should take the plunge. I was 16 years old, with only a 10th grade education and no idea on how to write plot, character interactions, action sequences, character development or any sort of writing craft. I’m 17 now and I have still not done any sort of education towards creative writing. Yet, I’ve been able to write a feature length novel completely from scratch. The human brain has an incredible ability to learn something if you give it enough time. If there’s anything fun or interesting you’re considering starting in your life, do it! It will be worth your time.
 
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