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A pokemon trainer meets with Suicune. Blah blah blah... |
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POKÈCALYPSE Chapter One: The Girl and the Suicune - "It is your mind that creates this world" - Amazing what you can find from Unova, isn't it? Kris was running somewhere in Unova, possibly along Route 3. She didn't know, and she had no time to ask anyone. Team Plasma Grunts in their light blue armor-like uniforms were after her. Running alongside the Plasma Grunts were three Herdier, all barking and growling at Kris. The dogs were getting closer and closer as Kris was quickly out of breath and was forced to slow down. I should really get out more… Desperately, Kris changed her course while running, turning towards the forest to her left. Using the trees as her cover, Kris was able to hide from the Plasmas and the dogs. As soon as she made sure they couldn't see them, Kris jumped behind a rock and stopped to catch her breath. But she could still hear the Herdier barking close by. The Plasma Grunts were relentless in their pursuit. Kris could hear the Plasma Grunts yelling orders to each other and their Pokémon. "She's not far! Come on!" Kris closed her eyes and started to breath heavily and rapidly. Her heart was pounding so fast that it was almost painful. What the hell did they want? How did she get into this mess? "The dogs have your scent!" one of the Grunts yelled from a distance. "Come out now so we can resolve this peacefully!" Yeah, right… I've faced too many of you guys to actually believe that… "Stoutland, go!" One of the Plasmas threw a Poké Ball in the air and Herdier's evolved form, Stoutland, appeared. Like Herdier, it was like a dog, only a hell of a lot bigger, more ferocious and with much thicker fur. Getting pounced by a Stoutland was a sure death sentence. Kris grabbed the only Poké Ball on her waist. No turning back now. She could hear the Stoutland sniffing close by, rapidly approaching her. I can't fight… why can't Lyra be here? She knew her way around these situations… she would have a plan ready… I'm no good… I can't even run away… Stoutland started barking loudly. It was right behind the rock where Kris was hiding. It knew she was there. "Good boy!" the Plasma Grunt yelled. "Get out now! We know you're in there! No one has to get hurt!" I disagree… Kris opened her Poké Ball. The bright red flash and the loud noise startled the three Plasma Grunts and their Pokémon, but they were even more frightened when Kris' Pokémon, a eight-foot Feraligatr with long sharp claws and jaws powerful enough to snap any of the Plasma Grunts in half without much effort. With the Feraligatr, nicknamed "Croc", on her side, Kris stood up as well, trying to think of something cool to say. "So, you guys need me for something?" Kris asked casually. Okay, that sounded better in my head… "Tell your monster to stand down!" the leading Plasma Grunt, the Stoutland's trainer, ordered. "We have orders to take you alive!" "You'll have to kill me first!" Kris said, trying to sound convincing. "Uh… no," the Plasma Grunt said. "That would sorta defeat the purpose. Look, I'm just trying to do my job, 'kay? We have orders." "Yeah," Kris said, "it would probably strain your brain if you tried to think for yourself for once. But sorry, I have to decline. Croc, Hydro Pump!" "What?" The Plasmas didn't even have time to react when Kris' Feraligatr fired a powerful stream of water at them. The pressure instantly knocked down the grunts, the two Herdier and the Stoutland. As they were helpless, Feraligatr charged towards them, slashing both the Pokémon and their trainers with its claws and pummeling them with its fists. The Stoutland tried to get up on its feet, which Kris was quick to notice. "Croc, Ice Beam!" The Feraligatr was quick to obey, firing an icy-cold beam of energy towards the Stoutland. It froze solid just before it tried to leap towards the Feraligatr, leaving it helpless. Kris grabbed a fist-sized rock from the ground and threw it at the frozen Stoutland, shattering the dog into little pieces like a piñata. "Chill out!" Kris remarked, giving her Feraligatr a high five. "Funny, though, I thought that was only possible in video games." Next, Kris and her Feraligatr marched to the Stoutland's trainer, who was barely conscious after Croc's attack had struck him. Even though the Plasma Grunt was probably a foot taller than Kris, somehow Kris still felt powerful as she grabbed the grunt by his collar. Feraligatr swung its arm, but Kris stopped it at the last minute. "Hold it, Croc!" she said. "You can rip his face off later." The Plasma Grunt started coughing, water coming out from his mouth. Kris shrugged unapologetically. "Hey, you know what they say," she said, "stay home or a huge crocodile-thingy will try to drown you and eat your face. Wait, is that right?" Croc shrugged. "What do you want from me?" the Plasma Grunt asked, helpless and frightened by the Feraligatr's claws. "Just a few questions," Kris said. "How can you guys still be in operation? I met Ghetsis a few months ago, he blew his brains out… something which I had no part of, by the way." "Don't pretend to know anything about us," the Grunt said. "You have no idea how far the chain of command goes. There's leaders and sub-leaders and sub-leaders for the sub-leaders and-" "Who sent you?" Kris shouted at the Plasma Grunt's face. "Look, tell me what I want to know or Croc will gladly castrate you. It hasn't eaten anything in a while." "No! Wait!" the Plasma Grunt squealed, suddenly sounding more co-operative. "Look, I'll tell you anything, please, keep it away from me! We had orders to bring you alive, Kris. We got your name, location and description from Giovanni, I swear!" Kris let go of the Plasma Grunt, dropping him to the wet ground. The mere mention of that name made Kris frightened, but she attempted to sound casual, yet threatening. Something which she was not very good at. "Giovanni?" she asked while staring down at the Plasma Grunt in disbelief. "I thought he ran Team Rocket. What are you guys doing with him?" "How should I know?" the Plasma Grunt groaned. "I just do what I'm told. Please, can I go now?" "Sure," said Kris. "I'm sorry I killed your Stoutland, by the way. And tell your boss that if he wants me alive, he better come in person!" "They're ten-a-penny anyways, I guess…" the grunt sighed as he slowly got up and walked to his unconscious comrades. "And yeah, I will, I'm not gonna argue with you or your… Pokémon", the Grunt added, looking up at Feraligatr's imposing face. The Feraligatr flashed its teeth. "Come on, Croc," Kris said. "Let's keep moving." ~o~O~o~ Location: Wellspring Cave, Unova It was dark inside, but Kris had a flashlight app installed into her Pokétch. It illuminated the otherwise pitch-black corner of the cave where Kris had been hiding for a week now. It was late November, 2099, but whatever day it was, Kris had long forgotten. Kris was a 23-year old woman with frizzy, unkempt black hair. She had always been pale, small and thin, which hadn't exactly done very good for self-esteem, but having been forced to be on the run for weeks and live on whatever she could find had worsened her condition. Kris had always been neurotic, insecure and pessimistic but living on the edge had made her borderline paranoid, constantly flinching and snapping by the slightest noise. And while hygiene had never been a priority to her, wearing the same dirty clothes (jeans, a red top and a blue denim jacket) for weeks on end had become almost unbearable even by her standards. As Kris sat on the shore of an underground lake, throwing scraps of food at her Feraligatr, she stared at the water. She was deep in her thoughts, but not too much, as she was quick to react to anything. She wondered what had happened in the outside world while she had been gone. Were the legendary Pokémon still out for revenge? Before leaving, Kris had heard reports about Kyurem sightings, but if those were true, there probably wouldn't be an Earth to stand on. Still… even though it was November, the climate was unusually warm. And Unova was supposed to have seasons! That, and Kris hadn't seen much people around. Nonetheless, she was convinced that someonewas after her, and the little debacle with the Plasma Grunts proved it! Or did it? Maybe I imagined it all? Am I going insane? Damn it… Kris also thought about her friends… well, maybe not friends, to be exact, but they were close enough. The last Kris had seen Lyra, she and her Typhlosion were hired by the Committee to do some wetwork. And Shane and his Sandshrew… whatever became of them? It was horribly frustrating to just hide in a cave and wait for information, but it was not like Kris had ever been particularly active at… well, anything. Suddenly, Kris flinched when her Feraligatr started growling. It stared into the darkness, to the other side of the underground lake. "Croc?" Kris asked, keeping her Pokétch at the ready in case someone attacked. "What is it? Wait, you can't tell me anyways, so for-" Kris flinched again. She heard splashing, coming from somewhere in the cave. It echoed all over the place, as if it was coming from everywhere. Something was moving in black lake. Maybe it was just a Basculin or a Poliwag? Or some fisherman's zombie coming to eat her brains? Or something else just as ordinary? No. Something moved nearby, something big. Kris used her flashlight, but couldn't see far. The water looked almost greenish in the dim light. But no fish Pokémon were around. Something moved again. Kris heard splashing, and saw something blue and shiny on the surface of the lake. She didn't need her flashlight, as the thing seemed to emit some kind of bright light by itself. Kris shuddered. "Uh… Croc?" Kris whimpered. "It's not that I'm scared or anything but… hold me." Feraligatr stepped in front of Kris, but even it seemed to shake all over. Whatever the blue thing in the lake was, it was fast. And it seemed to come even closer. Hiding behind her Feraligatr, Kris pointed he flashlight at the thing. It's like it was running on the lake… but what couldn't be possible? Feraligatr prepared to fight the thing by snapping its jaws. Then the blue creature leaped in front of Kris and Croc, and Kris was afraid no more. She recognized the beast: it was Suicune. An elegant, graceful legendary Pokémon, like a blue cheetah with white spots, a purple mane. It had two white tails, a thick, hexagonal chest on its forehead and visibly sharp claws. This wasn't the first time Kris had seen Suicune, but it was the first time the thing directly came into contact with it. "Take it easy, Croc," Kris said, trying to calm down herself more than the Pokémon. "It's a friend. Uh… you are a friend… right?" The Suicune nodded. Kris let out a relieved sigh. Somehow, just being around a legendary Pokémon made Kris feel more safe, more secure. She turned off her flashlight, as Suicune was more than bright enough to illuminate the cave. "What do you want?" Kris asked. "Yeah, I know we have a failure to communicate here, but you gotta give me something. Hand… uh, pawsignals, Morse code, whatever." Suicune waved its head in Feraligatr's direction. Kris looked at her Pokémon and understood. She recalled the beast back into its Poké Ball without thinking twice. Even if she was now unprotected. The Suicune took a few steps towards Kris, but Kris wasn't afraid. She stepped forward and gently touched the Suicune's cheek. "Wow…" she whispered. "I never understood why people obsessed with legendaries, especially you… no offense, of course… but looking at you now… wow." Kris wasn't sure what else to say or do. She just kept her hand on the Suicune's face, trying to think. Did Suicune like being scratched behind the ear? Or did it even have ears? Freaky… Suddenly, Suicune used the crest on its forehead to lift Kris on its back. "Hey!" Kris screamed, startled, as she suddenly found herself sitting on Suicune's back, trying not fall down. "Holy crap, what happened to your head?" Kris yelled. Then she realized she was sitting the wrong way, staring at the beast's rear. She turned around and grabbed the beast's neck tight, constantly fearing that the thing would throw her off its back. What did it want? "Okay, I have never ridden a Pokémon or anything, and it's cool and all but… what are you doing?" Kris asked. As a response, Suicune started walking out of the cave. Kris had lay low on the beast's back so she wouldn't hit her head on the cave's entrance. Apparently, it wanted to take her somewhere. Whatever, she thought, anywhere's better than here… "All right!" Kris said as soon as she and Suicune were out in broad daylight. "Show me what's happened these past few weeks, but… try not go too FAAAAAST!" Kris had to grab Suicune's neck again as the beast started to run. Within seconds, Kris looked behind her and saw that the Wellspring Cave was just a dot in the distance. But elsewhere, preparation were beginning for the war against Pokémon… Chapter Two: Kris Versus The World The Suicune stood on a cliff with Kris on its back. It was eight in the morning, and while the sun was already up, it was freezing cold on the high cliff. Looking through her binoculars, Kris felt as if the entire Unova region opened itself to her. She had only been there once and even that was brief visit in some sleazy bar. Specifically, she could see the entire Skyarrow Bridge, the gigantic, beautiful white structure. At the other side were trees from Pinwheel Forest, while at the other end was Castelia City, the largest city in Unova. From where Kris was standing, the city was like one big circle full of tall skyscrapers that left all the other buildings in their shadow. The only details she could see were the five piers at the waterfront, extending from the outskirts of the city. The other cities were mostly just gray blurs in the distance, surrounded by the endless green forests. Kris couldn't help but to feel disappointed: no giant clouds of smoke, no cities burned to the ground, no signs of conflict or apocalypse whatsoever. So absolutely nothing of interest happened while Kris was hiding in her little cave? What bull- Hang on… Kris focused her attention to the piers. Something was indeed happening there. A black ship anchored next to the Liberty Pier. Kris zoomed in and saw a bunch of men and women in uniforms leaving the ship. Not Team Plasma - they seemed to wear thick armor and black military-style uniforms that all had a lightning bolt emblem on their chests. And after the troops, waves of electric-type Pokémon were offloaded from the ship: a bunch of Voltorb, Electrode, Magnemite, Magneton and a few Magnezone, among others. "Holon Security Force," Kris muttered to Suicune. "Look, I don't think you can take me there… if they see a legendary Pokémon, they'll shoot on sight, I know these things!" Suicune turned its head to stare at Kris, as if it was questioning her. Kris crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. "Don't believe me, huh?" she said to the beast. "Fine, take me there so those soldiers can make Swiss cheese from both of us. Go!" Suicune turned around and started walking down the cliff, towards the Skyarrow Bridge. Kris hoped that it had understood that she was being sarcastic. "I hope you have a good plan in place…" Kris said. ~o~O~o~ Location: Castelia City Entrance, the west end of Skyarrow Bridge, Unova Clutching to Suicune's neck, Kris tried to be as flat as possible (not hard for her) while lying on the Suicune's back. Suicune's purple mane covered her well, but Suicune itself didn't seem to care about its safety as it casually walked to the Castelia City Gate. As Kris had predicted, two Security Force soldiers and a Magneton were waiting for them. Kris closed her eyes and prayed that Suicune knew what it was doing. "Hey!" a soldier yelled and Kris gasped, hoping that the mane covered her entirely. "It's Suicune!" the other soldier shouted, then predictably added: "Kill it!" "Magneton, Thunderbolt!" the first soldier ordered. But Magneton was merely charging its attack when Suicune reacted. Even though Kris held on tight, she still almost fell as Suicune jumped over the gate, then started running away. Moving faster than any other Pokémon Kris had ever seen, Suicune raced through the streets of Castelia City. People screamed as the legendary Pokémon jumped over them, making incredibly long leaps. It didn't jump as much as it basically glided through the air, making it impossible for the HSF soldiers to follow. Finally, Suicune stopped jumping around and stopped on a secluded back alley. It was still fairly early in the morning and the street was one of the less crowded places in Castelia, so no civilians saw where Suicune landed. Feeling that Suicune had stopped, Kris opened her eyes, just in time for Suicune to throw her out of its back. Kris landed painfully, her back hitting the concrete. "Ow!" she complained. "Are you insane? Real covert, Suicune, now every damn Security Force trooper knows you're in town. Even you can't run away if they bring reinforcements! Oh, crap, do you think they saw my legs? Damn it, they know I'm with you and they'll kill me and-" Suicune roared loudly, causing Kris to flinch and stop her ranting. "What?" she snapped. Suicune nodded its head behind Kris, further down the alley. At first, Kris saw nothing but garbage cans and brick walls, then finally a small coffee shop, Café Sonata, somewhere in the middle. "That place?" Kris asked, pointing at the café. Suicune nodded. Puzzled, Kris looked at the café again. It was already open, but there was barely any customers inside. Kris turned to Suicune, confused and wanting some info. "Look," she said, "I ain't going there until-" "It went over here! Come on!" The yells and the footsteps of the Security Force soldiers grew closer. Kris panicked and hid behind a garbage can, but Suicune just jumped on the main street, right in front of the soldiers. Kris couldn't look, but stayed behind the trashcan, listening to what was going on. "There it is!" "Quick, kill it before it attempts to reach a peaceful resolution!" "Use Thunder Wave!" "Damn it, it's getting way! After it!" "I wish I hadn't stopped for tacos earlier…" Then, loud footsteps again, as probably five or six soldiers ran after the Suicune. Kris relaxed a bit, but still waited for at least a minute before standing up again. Suicune was fast, it couldn't get caught, Kris knew it. Or at least hoped it. Kris had also seen the thing move: there's no way the soldiers could have seen anything but a blue blur as it ran, so no one knew that Kris was in town. So, as she had nothing else to do, Kris entered Café Sonata. As soon as Kris stepped into the small café, the powerful aroma of coffee overwhelmed her. But an even more overwhelming scent was coming from the old hippie wearing sunglasses who sat next to the counter, played guitar and sang out of tune. Fortunately, it was still too early for all the laptop-carrying, hemp-wearing hipsters to show up. Kris walked to the counter, where she was pleasantly greeted by a young, blonde-haired girl who was probably around seventeen or eighteen years of age. She was even smaller than Kris, and the most peculiar thing about her was the large straw hat she was wearing. Another Castelia fad, I guess… "Welcome to Café Sonata!" the girl said, smiling widely. "How may I help you, Kris?" "Yeah, I-" Kris paused mid-sentence, staring at the girl open-mouthed. "Uh…" "I got word that you might be coming," the girl continued casually. "You can call me… Yellow." Kris just stared as she shook hands with the smiling, cheerful Yellow. Had she missed something? How did that she know her name? "Listen, you," Kris said, "I-" "Lock the door please, Cal," Yellow told the musical hippie, interrupting Kris. The hippie just played his guitar and sang, ignoring everything else: "How many routes must a man walk down, before he can max out his EV's… Ooooh…" "CAL!" Yellow yelled. "Seven a.m, waking up in the morning, gotta be fresh, gotta go downstairs-" "CAL, for Arceus' sake!" Yellow screamed. "Anything but that! I'm getting a brain hemorrhage here!" The hippie stopped playing and looked around in confusion. He dropped his guitar, and looked embarrassed when he noticed Kris. "Sorry, I got too deep into the role," the hippie said. "Good to see you again, Kris!" "HOW THE HELL DO YOU PEOPLE KNOW MY NAME?" Kris placed her hand on the Poké Ball attached on her waist. "I swear," she said, grinding her teeth together, "tell me what the hell is going on, now! I've got an alligator-thingy here and I'm not afraid to use it!" "No need for violence, Kris," Yellow said, sounding oddly serene and still smiling despite Kris' outburst. "Yeah, take a stress pill or something," the old hippie said. "Time to show her who you are, Cal," Yellow said. Kris didn't understand anything, but the old hippie just smiled and nodded. Then, Kris just watched in horror as the old hippie grabbed his face, and as if it was made of rubber, just tore it away. Underneath the mask, the "hippie" turned out to be a young, bald man. Cal removed his shoes too, revealing that he was about as "tall" as Yellow, making both of them even shorter than Kris. "Oh, that Cal," Kris said. "You were the head chef back at SledgeHammer!" "Glad to see it's really you," Cal smiled and threw away his mask, his wig and his sunglasses. "Though I knew it was you the second you started screaming." "What's going on?" Kris asked, looking back and forth between Yellow and Cal who smiled annoyingly and creepily. "So, that Suicune brought me here for a reason? Hey, Cal, what happened to the base?" "It blew up," Cal replied nonchalantly. "Got out in the nick of time." "We knew that you wouldn't remember," Yellow said. "I'm sure you have a lot of questions to ask, but there really isn't much time… come to the back room!" Frustrated and feeling like an idiot for not knowing anything, Kris nonetheless followed Yellow and Cal to the door behind the counter. The three stepped into the dark room, and while Cal shut the door behind him, Yellow switched on the lights. "AHH!" Kris got spooked again when she was suddenly face to face with a Lucario, a bipedal, jackal-like Pokémon that had assumed a combat stance and its paws were glowing, as if it was ready to blast Kris with an Aura Sphere. Yellow tried to stop her, but Kris reacted quickly, opening her Poké Ball. Her Feraligatr came out, being much bigger than the Lucario, roaring and cracking its knuckles at it. "WAIT!" Yellow shouted, and stopped smiling for a moment as she stepped between Kris' Feraligatr and her Lucario. "Kris, it's okay. This is Luka," she added and turned to the Lucario. "Luka, just relax. They're our friends." Kris wasn't quite sure what to do. She had the urge to tell her Feraligatr to pulverize everyone in the room with a Hydro Cannon, but resisted it. Still, she didn't recall Croc just yet. "Stand down, Croc," Kris told the Feraligatr and it obeyed, albeit grudgingly, as it was itching to fight. "So you guys are packing heat, I see," Kris said and looked at Luka. It walked into the corner of the room, sat down, closed its eyes and started to meditate. A blue aura glowed around it. "Luka is constantly vigilant," Yellow explained as both she and Cal sat down on the floor too. Kris looked around the back room. There were just boxes and shelves, plus some sort of large, red, disc-shaped button on the ground. Kris didn't sit down just yet - she just wasn't trusting enough. "Expecting trouble?" Kris asked. "I'll cut to the chase," Yellow said. "We can't be in Castelia for long. I got a job here for the sole purpose of bringing you in. Suicune had been looking for you for weeks!" "Why?" Kris wondered. " I mean, what good am I for?" Yellow smiled again, which irritated Kris. "Don't talk about yourself like that, Kris," Yellow said. "We need you. Me and Cal are, um, working for a certain group. All of its members have their own goals, sure, but me and Cal are especially interested in preventing this war! And you're the only one that can help us!" Kris scoffed at this and brushed back her hair, as if to say 'who gives a crap'. "Sure I am," Kris said. "It's like, I'm the Chosen One, the savior of the universe, her royal highness Mary Sue! Right. Except that I've been hiding in a cave for this past week, eating raw Remoraid." "You shouldn't do that," Cal said sincerely. "You might get worms!" "Anyway," Yellow said before Kris could say anything at Cal, "you may think you're nothing special, but I assure you that nothing is farther from the truth. Besides, the leader of this group asked you, and you specifically. He'll tell you whatever you need to know." "Hold on!" Kris said as Yellow and Cal stood up. "Just tell me on thing first: are the legendary Pokémon about to attack? I do remember that Heatran, Darkrai and Regigigas are dead, and the others are probably out for revenge! Is there chaos on the streets or something?" Yellow shook her head. "Not in Unova," she said. "We're pretty far from the rest of the world, but you saw those soldiers: they're probably ready in case Kyurem decides to attack. There have been sightings of it flying above Nimbasa City. Kanto and Johto on the other hand… there's been some pretty bad fights over there, but nothing apocalyptic." "Not yet, anyway," Cal added. "But if we don't hurry…" "Okay, okay, I'll meet your leader dude person," Kris snapped. "Where is he?" "Well, he used to have his office in the Sinnoh Battle Tower," Yellow said, "but he moved to Mahogany Town in Johto. Apparently Team Rocket has abandoned all of their hideouts there, so he was free to move in." "Johto?" Kris said in a shrill voice, causing Cal to cover his ears. "How the hell am I supposed to get there?" "Well if you'd stopped screaming and swearing at us for a moment, we'd show you," Yellow said, calmly as always. "Activate the warp pad, Cal." Cal groaned, apparently being the one who had to do all the work there, even though a perfectly fit Lucario was meditating in the corner. He crouched next to the big red button on the floor, fiddling with some electronics. Then, the button started humming loudly. "Okay, Kris and Croc," Yellow said. "Step on the button and you'll be teleported into the leader's place in Johto." Kris didn't make a move, she just stared at the big red button warily. Croc was ready to step on it, but Kris stopped it. "Don't take this the wrong way," Kris said slowly, staring at the button," but do you think I'm a moron?" "It's perfectly safe!" Cal assured. "Usually, people get to their destinations with all their limbs still attached." "Usually?" Yellow nudged Cal with her elbow. "Uh…" Cal flustered. "I mean… always." "But before you go, a few things," Yellow said. "First of all, the leader is not a very pleasant guy. I know he gets things done and he's fighting for a good cause but… don't trust him. I know you, you're savvy enough." "What do you mean you know me?" Kris wondered. "We haven't even met before!" "Uh… right, yeah, but… yeah," Yellow said and nervously rubbed the back of her neck. "Also, I'm pretty sure he's about to give you a job, an important one. No is saying that this is going to be easy, so… I want to make sure your Pokémon trust you enough and that they'll do whatever it takes to protect you. When did you get Croc?" "Um, four years ago, I think," Kris replied, more confused than ever. "I was just a Totodile got it from Professor Elm when I joined Extranormal Operations, that group who was supposed to protect humans from the more hostile Pokémon… yeah, that went well… why do you ask?" "We're facing dark times, Kris," Yellow said. "I have been hoping that humans and Pokémon would live in harmony, but all these recent events, talks about war, extremists on both sides… they're really not helping my cause. But as long as you and your Feraligatr co-operate despite everything they throw at you, you should do fine. Have you had any problems with it, Kris?" "Problems… uh, well, at first, a bit. It wouldn't obey me at anything, it just kept fooling around. Then it evolved into Croconaw, and it started to finally obey. Mostly things went well. Then it evolved into Feraligatr… mostly things went well, but it… he'sbeen acting strangely. Recently, he's been very good and obedient, but there are times that it seems to be uneasy and impatient…" "I see." Yellow walked to the Feraligatr. Kris and Cal watched as she closed her eyes raised her hand. Without saying a word, she managed to make Feraligatr crouch so Yellow could touch its head. Then, Feraligatr closed its eyes as well. For a moment, both Yellow and Feraligatr were just still in the same position. Then, both opened their eyes, Yellow took her hand away and Feraligatr stood upright again. "Uh… what just happened?" Kris asked. "What did you do to it?" "You should be proud, Kris," Yellow smiled. "When Pokémon reach their final forms, they sometimes lose respect for their trainers… that briefly happened to Croc as well, but verybriefly. It trusts you and it would die to protect you." "Wow… really?" Kris asked and looked at Croc. The Pokémon just scratched itself lazily and didn't look very heroic at the moment. "Yes, really," Yellow said. "The reasons for its problems are quite clear… it just craves more action, more battles, and you're likely going to face some. As for why it's itching to fight so much is because it's… uh… well… what's the appropriate word… in heat." "Huh," Kris said as she raised her eyebrow quizzically. "But… it's a dude." "Yeah, but that doesn't change that it craves, uh… not just action but action, if you-" "Yeah, yeah, I know!" Kris interrupted. "Please, don't say anything more, I get it. I'll just have to figure something out. Uh, I'll just be going now." Kris and Croc stepped on the big red button together. Cal, on the other hand, moved a nearby bookshelf, revealing a hidden switch and a meter behind it. Meanwhile, the button's humming got even louder. "Not enough power yet," Cal said while reading the meter. "A few more seconds…" "What exactly did you do to Croc to learn all that?" Kris asked Yellow. "Do you… can you, like, talk to them?" "Quite many can nowadays, what with the new technological improvements," Yellow said. "I don't need such things to talk with them, as I… well, it's complicated. I'll explain later, that I promise. This won't be our last meeting." "Well, did you 'talk' to Suicune as well?" Kris asked. "Can I see it again, too? It saved my life, and I wanna thank it, plus it's a pwetty Pokémon…" "Fifteen seconds," Cal said. "Fourteen…. Thirteen… Twelve…" "You're into Pokémon, Kris?" Yellow asked. Kris's eyes widened and she blushed a little as she attempted to answer the question, which was rather private anyway. "N-no!" she stuttered. "I… I'm not into anyone or anything… of course I like Pokémon, more than humans actually, but I'm not intothem or… you know what I mean!" "Five… Four… Three… Two… One… Go!" Kris didn't have time to finish her explanation as Cal flipped the switch on the wall. The button started to glow, and a second later, a bright flash of light illuminated the room, forcing Yellow and Cal to shield their eyes. When the light faded away, Kris and Croc were gone. "Turn off the warp pad," Yellow said as she rubbed her eyes. "Let's hope they got there…" ~o~O~o~ Location: Former Rocket Hideout, Mahogany Town, Johto While had Kris had been teleported before, she never got used to the sensation of suddenly popping out of existence and being reassembled in some other place. She nervously checked that all her fingers were still in tact, but was startled by a male voice speaking to her: "Welcome to Johto, Kris!" Kris looked around her. She was in the underground hideout all right, as there was no windows but a lot of ventilation shafts in the dimly lit room. The voice was coming from behind a desk just near Kris. Sitting on a fancy leather chair was Barry Palmer, the former Tower Tycoon, apparently current leader of some ragtag group. Palmer was a tall man with long, blonde hair and, oddly enough, orange eyes, a trait he shared with his son. He wore a green overcoat and black gloves, and he sat on his leather chair like on a throne, smiling deviously at Kris. "You!" Kris snapped at Palmer. "Ah, so you do remember," Palmer replied arrogantly and placed his hands together, keeping his fingers interlocked. "Sorry about that whole memory thing, again, but at least you recovered some of it…" "What happened, exactly?" Kris asked. "Let me ask you something first," Palmer said. "What's the last thing you remember?" "Um…" I was away from the SledgeHammer and Extranormal Operations base, on a mission, I think. Me and Leaf went to take down Ghetsis of Team Plasma. He shot himself, but not before revealing… something. I can't remember… I don't know what happened to Leaf, or Lyra, or Shane or anyone after that point. I just remember being contacted by this man… Palmer… I managed to steal the sixteen plates of origin from Cheren Black… then I sold them to Palmer! I don't think I got any money, though… "You still know who you are, right?" Palmer asked after Kris had been quiet for some time. "Yes!" Kris shouted back, offended by the remark. "It still doesn't hurt to refresh your memory a bit," Palmer said. "A friend of mine has been, uh… gathering informationfrom you during these last few years. He can fill you in. Come on out!" Kris looked behind him as someone approached from the shadows. A tall, robust man in full Team Rocket uniform: the black cap, black shirt with the R-symbol on it, black pants, white gloves and white boots. He used a domino mask to cover his eyes. Probably the most notable thing about him was his thick, handlebar moustache that he kept stroking like a cartoon villain. "Ta-dah!" the man yelled, taking confetti out of his pocket and throwing it in the air. "Fernando is my name, and mayhem is my game. And so shall it be, as all of you can see, that I, Fernando, will be-" "I get it, your name is Fernando, I remember you," Kris said to stop any further rhyming. "You work for Team Rocket!" "Incorrect, m'lady," Fernando said and politely bowed at Kris. "I'm freelance, you see, and by that, I mean that I only work for those who can please my desire to cause chaos and discord wherever I go, to broadcast my greatness in places high, and places low, to-" "To clarify," Palmer interrupted, "he used to work for Team Rocket, yes, but I made him a better offer, so until recently, he spied on Giovanni for me. I need all the info I can get. Though I have no idea why he still wears that uniform…" "I'm shocked!" Fernando exclaimed flamboyantly. "Surely I have told you that I made this costume myself! It's 99% organic material!" "What?" Kris asked. "Uh, Palmer, I've been wondering… what is it with this guy? Was he kicked out from drama school or what?" "Yes, but for purely unrelated reasons!" Fernando stated. "That play I wrote didn't get the appreciation I needed! And after all that charity work I did! I skinned a group of Growlithe alive just to make clothes for orphans! Before I could do it the other way around, the police got to me…" "Thank you, Fernando, just read the info," Palmer said, trying to sound calm, which was nearly impossible in Fernando's presence. Fernando bowed and took a scroll from his pocket, then started to read it in a loud, theatrical voice: "Tiffany Christine Zimmerman, better known as Kris," he announced. "Born in New Bark Town, aspiring Pokémon Trainer who was kicked out of Earl's Pokémon Academy, then was forced to join a group known as Extranormal Operations by Professor Elm. Described by psychologists as neurotic, insecure, quirky, manic-depressive, slightly nihilistic and just plain annoying." "Yup, that's me," Kris said. "But I think I know that. I don't have amnesia, that would be horribly clichéd! I just wanna know what happened to my frie- my colleaguesand what's the state of the world right now." "A reasonable request," Palmer said. "Fernando, bring our guest a chair." "That's cool, Mr. Palmer," Fernando said, "but I'm not really a guest, I have been living here for- oh, right, her, forget what I said. Laterz!" Fernando walked away, leaving Kris mystified. "What a guy," she said, "and by that I mean, why haven't you shot him already?" "He's got his uses," Palmer said evasively and shrugged. "I don't have a lot of people working for me. You've seen Cal and Fernando by now… Yellow isn't really working for me as much as she's working with Cal… I don't know what her deal is but she's useful, and I don't complain. I have other operatives too, but you don't need to know about that. And, I'm hoping that you'll also join us…" "To my questions," Kris said monotonously as she crossed her arms and stared down at Palmer. "Of course," Palmer said and smiled again, though instead of happy, it made him look psychotic. "A few weeks ago, Cheren Black, whom everyone thought to be a mild-mannered businessman, finished a machine that he was going to use to blow up SledgeHammer's base. Cheren was apparently an undercover operative sent by someone to take down the Committee, and as Extranormal Operations worked for them, they were the first ones to get destroyed. It's a good thing they stopped him before he blew up any more buildings. He's dead now." "Figures," Kris said. "But I guess he had it coming. But I'll interrupt for a moment: what's the 'Committee'?" "It would take all day for me to explain that," Palmer said, "so I'll just simply state that they're a powerful organization consisting of some of the most important people in the Pokémon world. The champions and the professors are in power in name only; the Committee has the real power around here, but my organization is keen on stopping them." Palmer continued: "Anyway, I should inform you that no one died in the explosion. Dr. Leaf Greene went back to the base and rescued the staff while you came to me with the plates." Kris squinted at Palmer as she struggled to remember. Did I choose to sell the plates to Palmer instead of going to save them? That can't be right… but more importantly, where's my damn money? "You-" "Then," Palmer said before Kris could start, "I recall that SledgeHammer's administrative staff was arrested. Professor Kaminko, Dr. Krane, Professor Elm… my sources tell me that it was thanks to Elm that the group was arrested." "Huh?" "Apparently Elm was willing to go into prison himself just to get Kaminko behind bars," Palmer said nonchalantly, apparently having no interest in the fate of these people, "as I said, no casualties, apart from Cheren of course. Shane and that crazy scientist, Blaine, were hospitalized, but only for a few days. But I have no idea where any of them are now, sorry." Palmer reached into his drawer and grabbed a pack of cigarettes. He put one in his mouth and lit it while Kris stared at him, patiently waiting for more info. Of course, being patient was never Kris' strong suit… "Then what?" Kris yelled and slammed her hand on Palmer's desk. "What about Lyra? Lyra Soul? She was a f- colleague of mine, too." Palmer sighed and turned away from Kris as she smoked his cigarette. "Lyra, yes…" he muttered. "Kris, I knew I had to tell you this sooner or later, so here goes… the Committee gave Lyra a promotion, they made her into an assassin. They hired her to assassinate, well… you." Kris's eyes widened of surprise, but Palmer just continued: "Yeah, obviously that didn't go as planned since you're still here… to my knowledge, she refused to kill you, so in turn, the Committee's hired goons…" Palmer put out his cigarette and sighed, staring at a wall instead of looking at Kris. "…yeah?" Kris asked. "They chased her down and killed her," Palmer said. "I'm sorry." Kris turned pale - moreso than usual - and made balls with her fists. She stared down at Palmer, as if expecting him to shout "Gotcha!" or something. That couldn't be possible… Lyra was not dead… she couldn't be… "You're joking," Kris said monotonously, her voice trembling in horror. "If you want to hear jokes, talk to Fernando, the guy is a living joke," Palmer said impatiently. "I didn't get to this position by being funny. Of course, I didn't see the death in person to confirm it, but Fernando did: he stated that a group of hitmen hired a Magmortar to shoot her. She was hit in the abdomen and, according to records, rushed to the Saffron City Hospital. I did a little research and found out that she died there about thirty minutes after being checked in." Kris started to feel nauseous. She would have probably fainted if Fernando hadn't brought in the chair he promised, placing it under Kris just in time for her to fall into it. How did that happen? There had to be some kind of mistake… Kris knew that Lyra was tough, much tougher than Kris herself, and she had survived a week in a cave by eating scraps… She was the only one who really understood… Kris didn't say anything, just sat quietly. Palmer apparently believed that grieving time was over, as he continued talking, even though Kris wasn't listening: "As for the state of the world… well, so far so good. Everyone are extra vigilant in case another human-Pokémon war erupts, but if all the remaining legendary Pokémon decide to attack at once, we're all screwed. A war wouldn't really be beneficial for me and my organization… that's where you come in. There's three tasks that I need you to do to prevent this. I'll tell them to you tomorrow… I figured you would be tired and hungry after all you endured, so I arranged a bed and some food for you. I need you at your best." Kris just nodded. She bit her lip, trying to restrain herself - but what she really wanted to do was burst into tears. She just couldn't do it - not with Palmer and Fernando watching. "One more thing," Palmer said. "I need to test you and your," Palmer paused and looked at Kris' Feraligatr, who stood behind Kris, looking threatening, "Pokémon," he finished. "Fernando has agreed to have a test battle with you tomorrow morning. That is all. Fernando, show Ms. Zimmerman her room, willya?" "Of course, sir," Fernando said smarmily. "Follow me, ma'am." But Kris wouldn't move out of the chair, so Fernando had to grab her arm and drag her away from Palmer. Croc just followed lazily behind them, leaving Palmer alone in his darkened office. He looked at Kris' file, which Fernando had left on his table. This is going to be interesting, he thought. Chapter Three: It's Always Sunny In Orre Around seven a.m. that morning, Kris lay in bed fully clothed. She had been there all day yesterday, on her stomach with her head buried in the pillows. She didn't get much sleep last night, she was just there. Croc was currently chewing on the curtains of her room, causing sunlight to pour in annoyingly. Kris heard steps outside her room, but couldn't care less. Croc, on the other hand, pulled up its fists and prepared for combat. The door was kicked open by Fernando, much to Croc's disappointment, as it had wanted a proper fight. "Rise and shine, sleepyhead!" Fernando proclaimed loudly. "Today is another gloriously horrible day! Get up and get some breakfast! I made waffles!" But Kris didn't budge. Croc looked worried and started sniffing at Kris, probably thinking that its trainer had suddenly died. But Kris just brushed the Pokémon away with her hand. "Hmm…" Fernando pondered, twirling his moustache and quizzically watched Kris as the girl wouldn't get up. "Okay, okay, you got me, I can't make waffles! Satisfied?" Kris still didn't move or say anything. Fernando sighed impatiently. "Ugh, seriously?" he said. "You're just gonna be there all day again, even though the weather outside is wonderfully horrible? No sunshine, no snow, just another gray morning in Mahogany Town. Yay! Now come on, we need to have our practice battle!" "I don't wanna," Kris replied lazily, her voice muffled by the pillow. "Please, girl, that attitude would have worked ten years ago, but you're a freakin' adult!" Fernando ranted. "You're a grown-up! Act like one!" "I didn't grow up," Kris said, still refusing to move. "I never had time. I lived at home until I was nineteen, then I was drafted to Extranormal Operations and spend most of my four years there just sitting indoors. So leave me alone." "I have orders," Fernando said simply, "but I don't have the energy to force you. Funny, though. I read your files, and it seems that you dreamed of being a badass Pokémon Trainer one day… but if you're thatscared of losing…" Fernando used the oldest trick in the book, but it worked. Reluctantly, Kris got up from bed and followed Fernando. ~o~O~o~ The "battle room" where Fernando took Kris was basically just Palmer's office where Kris had been yesterday, with Palmer's desk and other items moved to the sides in order to make a clearing. Kris and Croc were ready, while Fernando kept throwing his Poké Ball in the air, juggling it from one hand to another. Palmer stood next to Fernando. "I'll act as the judge," Palmer explained. "We shall now test your level of skill as a trainer and the level of synchronization you have achieved with your Pokémon. Ready? Go!" "Abso-positive-lutely!" Fernando announced and gave his Poké Ball a kiss for good luck. "Sure," Kris replied lazily. "Croc, go, fight, or whatever." Hearing this, Croc looked at its trainer nervously, but nonetheless walked to the arena and assumed a combat stance. "Muk… go!" Fernando screamed theatrically and threw a Poké Ball on the arena. After a bright flash of red light, a Pokémon erupted from the Poké Ball. Muk looked like a large pile of toxic, purple sludge with two large hands, the left one being larger than the right one, and a humongous mouth. Still, Kris focused a bit when she saw her opponent - this battle wouldn't be too hard, Kris thought, as her opponent looked like a pile of crap. Hell, it was a pile of crap. She just had to remember not to let Croc touch Muk's sticky and poisonous "skin" and it would be okay. "Don't tire yourself out, Croc," Kris said exhaustedly. "Just use Water Gun for starters!" Croc didn't really appreciate being told to fight like a wuss, but it shrugged and sprayed water towards the Muk from its mouth. "Muk, Minimize!" Fernando shouted. To Kris' surprise, Muk suddenly shrank in size, pulling all its sludge together into a ball, causing the Water Gun to miss. Kris frowned. "Okay, let's go with something stronger, I guess," she said. "Croc, Ice Beam." Kris ordered the attack without any kind of passion, causing Croc to groan, but the Feraligatr nevertheless fired a freezing beam of energy towards the Muk. "Muk, Harden!" Fernando ordered. Muk's body started shining and its sludge became more dense, causing the Ice Beam to just ricochet off Muk's surface. Muk just laughed at Croc's attack attempts as it released toxic gas in the air. "Damn it, this ain't working!" Kris groaned. "Can I just give up, guys?" "We're just getting started, Krissy," Fernando mocked. "Muk, Giga Impact!" Palmer swore loudly as Muk charged at Croc, moving surprisingly fast for a pile of s…ludge. When it was close enough, Muk jumped into the air and hurled itself towards Croc. "Croc, Dynamicpunch!" Kris yelled desperately as Muk came closer. Before Muk reached Croc, the bulky Feraligatr punched it as hard as it could, sending Muk flying backwards towards Fernando. But Fernando grinned, as did his Muk: Croc had gotten some toxic sludge on its hand, and was now feeling woozy and starting to stagger. "Damn it, I should have kept an extra Pecha Berry…" Kris muttered to herself. "Uh… yeah, that's it Croc… keep it up or… whatever…" At the other end of the room, Palmer was irritated by Kris' poor performance while Fernando chuckled to himself. "Great job, Muk!" Fernando told his Pokémon. "High five! Ah, gotcha! I ain't touching you again! Remember when I had that diarrhea for five days straight? Man…" "This isn't going too well," Palmer muttered. "I shouldn't have told her about Lyra…" "Actually, boss, that gives me an idea," Fernando pondered. "Hey! Kris!" he yelled. "What?" "At least try to give me a challenge," Fernando said and smirked. "You fight worse than you friend Lyra, and she has the excuse of only having half her stomach left!" Kris felt like punching Fernando. She clutched her fingers together, forming a fist while visibly shaking all over, as if she was ready to erupt. All her aggression was piling up, and she was ready to unleash it. "Croc, Slash!" Kris' next order came with a powerful, convincing voice, making Croc happier as well. Ignoring its poisoned state, Croc started to run towards Muk, and Muk tried to counter this by using Sludge Bomb. It opened its mouth and rapidly fired brown balls of sludge towards Croc. "Ice Beam!" Croc opened its mouth as well, blasting all the sludge bombs with a blue energy beam, causing them to freeze mid-air and shatter into pieces. "Muk, Harden again!" Fernando finished his order just in time as Croc approached Muk. It hardened its skin again, causing Croc's Slash attack to bounce off. Croc retreated a bit, and Fernando took advantage of the pause in combat: "You know, Mr. Palmer, we should give up!" Fernando yelled, looking at Kris the whole time and grinning. "Clearly she's just not Pokémon Trainer material. She can't even put all that baggage behind her… poor widdle girl… I mean, come on, Lyra couldn't have been thatimportant…" Palmer tugged Fernando's sleeve anxiously. "What are you doing?" he muttered. "Fernando, there's no guarantee that she'll-" "Just watch," Fernando muttered back. Kris looked furious, as if something just had exploded inside her. Her hands clenched in fists of rage, her stringy, greasy hair hanging on her face so you couldn't see her expression, but she was breathing heavily, shaking, ready to attack… …then she brushed back her hair, screaming out her attack ear-piercingly loudly: "CROC! HYDRO CANNON!" "Muk, Gunk Shot!" Fernando yelled quickly. Croc opened its mouth, causing a blue of flash of light to appear in front of it. Meanwhile, Muk sucked in air, preparing its attack. They attacked simultaneously. Croc blasted a huge orb of water towards the Muk, while Muk fired a powerful blast of liquid poison towards Croc. The attacks collided mid-air. The ensuing explosion shook the whole building, causing paintings to fall off walls. The shockwave knocked back Fernando and Palmer, who had to shield their eyes from the cloud of dust and rubble. The water from Croc's attack was splattered all over the room. When the dust cleared, Fernando and Palmer opened their eyes. Both Croc and the Muk were standing still, as was Kris. Croc panted and clearly struggled to stand, but didn't even blink as it stared down at the Muk. Finally, the Muk closed its eyes and fainted. Almost forgetting his role as the judge, Palmer wiped some dust off his jacket and was clearly grinning as he got up. "Kris wins!" Palmer proclaimed. Fernando recalled Muk into its Poké Ball. "Good job, buddy," he said to Poké Ball, put it in his pocket and turned to Palmer. "See?" Fernando asked, his tone smug and condescending. "Told you it would work." But just when Fernando said that, Kris collapsed on her knees. Concerned, Croc immediately rushed to her aid while Palmer shook his head. "See, this is what I meant," he muttered to Fernando discreetly. "Push her too hard and she'll just exhaust herself. Take care of her for now, Fernando. Once she's feeling better, take her to my office." "You know, boss, I could do the thing you want," Fernando stated proudly. "You don't need her," he added and looked at Kris as she was something he had scraped off his shoes. "I've made my decision, Fernando," Palmer said and turned to leave the room. ~o~O~o~ Kris was back in Palmer's office, sitting by the man's desk and staring at him with her arms crossed. It had took Fernando a few hours to make Kris recover, but now she acted like nothing had happened. Croc was doing its own thing on the background, chewing on the books it pulled out of the bookshelf, but Palmer ignored it. He just smoked a cigarette while staring back at Kris. After the two had stared each other for some time, Palmer put out his cigarette and started talking. "Good fight, Kris, I'll give you that," he said. "I knew you were just the type of person I was looking for." "Uh huh." Kris' tone of voice and attitude had changed. Instead of uptight moping, she was now back to arrogant cynicism. "I realize that we may had pushed you too hard," Palmer continued, "but it was necessary. I need to know you've dealt with what's happened and moved on." "Name the job and I'll do it," Kris simply stated. "No guarantees that I'll succeed, but I'll see how things go…" "I just wanted to make sure," Palmer said. "If I wanted to hear whining, I'd play a Japanese role-playing game. Now, I'm sure you want to hear what I have in mind for you." Palmer stood up, but motioned Kris to keep sitting. Then, he waved a signal at Fernando, who was leaning to a wall at the other end of the room. He turned off the lights, then turned on a projector. A picture of an ancient temple of sorts was projected on the wall. To be more precise, it looked more like ruins of an ancient temple, with only some stone pillar and pieces of the walls remaining. The temple resided on a snowy mountaintop, high above ground. Kris couldn't quite recognize the place. "This is the Spear Pillar," Palmer explained. "It's in Sinnoh, on top of Mt. Coronet. Explorers, hikers and researchers have been looking this place for years, yet no one seems to find a clear path. This picture is the only one ever taken. But whoever took it… well, only his camera was found. You get the picture." Kris seemed to have more important things in mind: "Couldn't you guys have done a PowerPoint-presentation or something?" she asked. "A slideshow is so retro. I hate that." "Fine, I admit that I can't use PowerPoint!" Fernando yelled from the background. "Please, Kris, concentrate!" Palmer pleaded. "Next slide!" As Fernando pushed a button, the next picture was projected on the wall. This time, Kris recognized what was in it: the plates of origin. Sixteen rectangles-shape stone tablets of different colors, all only slightly larger than an average human palm. The very same things Kris sold to Palmer. "I'm sure you know what these are," Palmer said, "but have you ever stopped to consider what they do?" "No," Kris said honestly. Her curiosity was piqued. Indeed, everyone seemed to think that the plates were highly important, ready for people to risk their lives over, sought out by people for millions of poké-dollars. But for what? "Namely, they boost the power of attacks of different types," Palmer lectured, "but there is more to it, it's just not common knowledge. All of them, especially the main trifecta - the Draco Plate, the Iron Plate and the Splash Plate - are also incredibly dangerous in the wrong hands. They have known to cause mental corruption in people who spend too much time near them, they have even made the powers of nature bend to them, and yet researchers have only concluded that they're just little stone blocks." "But when all the plates are combined," Palmer continued, getting more and more excited as he spoke, "and placed into slots at the Spear Pillar, have the power to summon a mythical beast from the skies. The creature revered as the creator of the universe, the god of all Pokémon-" "-Arceus," Kris finished Palmer's sentence. Palmer just nodded and smiled. Thinking he had said enough to impress Kris, Palmer walked back behind his desk and sat down, but wasn't finished just yet. Fernando put the lights back on and turned the projector off. Kris was equally excited. She was starting to get it, the big picture. No wonder people were all so excited about the plates. Arceus, man, holy crap! Kris briefly entertained a scenario where she captured an Arceus. She imagined herself riding on it, flying through cities, telling it to blast everyone with bolts of lightning, causing everyone to turn into piles of goo… Take that! Fry 'em, Arceus! That's it! Run from me! Scream for me! You, run faster! You, run slower! Mwahahahahaa! "Uh, Kris? Kris… Kris!" Palmer snapped his fingers under Kris' nose, dragging her away from her dream sequence. She cleared her throat in embarrassment. "Yes, clearly this is important," she said. "I knew you'd understand," Palmer said. "While I hold the plates now, it's only a matter of time before someone tries to summon Arceus some other way and turn the tides of this war. Someone like, say Giovanni and Team Plasma." "Giovanni himself owned the plates for quite some time," Fernando explained. "But he only learned of their true importance afterhe sold them, which royally pissed him off. I imagined that the reason why he allied himself with N and Team Plasma was because he needed men to search the plates." "And Extranormal Operations, the organization you worked for, had the plates last," Palmer finished. "As such, Team Plasma is hunting you all down." Kris nodded, but didn't say anything. No comments, no backtalk. She needed to know more. "I want you," Palmer said, "to head to Sinnoh, fight your way through any opposing that Giovanni puts on your way and use the plates to call Arceus from the skies and put an end to all this. But you can't do this alone." "That shouldn't be a problem," Kris said and pointed at Palmer. "You're a former Tower Tycoon." She pointed to Fernando behind her. "And he's a damn BAMF." "Why, thank you, Kris," Fernando said, smiled and bowed. "That means a lot, though I don't know what it means…" "Google it," Kris said impatiently. "I can't exactly go around racing around the world," Palmer said, his voice calm but stern. "I need to co-ordinate everything from here, plus I have an adult son already, for heaven's sake. I'm fifty-three old already!" "Well, you don't look a day over fifty-two," Kris said. "What about him?" "Ah, Fernando, yes," Palmer said. "I need him to gather more information, and it's good to have field operatives. Look, Kris, you will receive help. I need you to gather a team of specialists. I arranged you two meetings: a Pokémon researcher in Saffron City, Kanto, and another with a legendary Pokémon expert in Ecruteak City, Johto." "Okay…" "But additional muscle would be nice," Palmer added, "so before you recruit any of them, head to Orre. I know it's a long way from here, but I contacted a bounty hunter called Wes who lives there. He brags that he can tame and train any wild Pokémon he encounters, and he has a pretty impressive team of six with him, I hear." "Is that it?" Kris asked impatiently, wanting to get to business immediately. "So I can go now?" "Well, there is a third-thing that I need done, but I'll tell you about it after you've done assembling the team," Palmer said evasively, moving uncomfortably. "For now, let's just say that there's an important piece of technology that I want to ensure the success of our mission." "Okay, but can I go?" "Hang on!" Palmer said just as Kris was about to stand up, so, despite her frustration, Kris sat down again. "I managed to find the whereabouts of one of your old friends from Extranormal Operations." "Who?" Kris asked excitedly, with Lyra in mind. "Shane… or at least, I think that was his name," Palmer pondered. "That little blonde guy, bisexual, hangs around with a Sandshrew, not the sharpest bulb in the harbor… or something." "Oh," Kris said. She couldn't really mask her disappointment, and all signs of excitement vanished from her face. She didn't really know what to tell Shane - the guy was always a bit… out there. She and him were friends once, sure, but he basically abandoned her in favor of some rich guy… "He made a full recovery after the explosion, that much we know," Palmer explained, looking at a one of the many files on his desk. "He's currently working at Silph Co. Hmm… which itself is owned by the Committee… but whatever you do, don't come into contact with him." "So why did you tell me this, then?" Kris wondered. "Just thought you'd like to know what's what," Palmer replied. "Here," he added and gave Shane's file to Kris. Kris knew there was something else going on, but also knew that Palmer wouldn't give her an honest answer anyway. For now, she needed to focus on her mission: go to Orre, put team together, take plates to Spear Pillar. Apparently in order to save the world and blah blah blah. Maybe doing that would finally earn Kris the fame and immortality she had always searched... "So am I going to Orre with one of those teleport-thingies?" Kris asked. Palmer waved the question away. "Of course not!" he scoffed. "They're insanely expensive, and come in pairs. Put one warp pad to one place and the other into another, and you can travel between them, but that's about it. Actually, I'll get you there by boat. It's leaving tonight from the Olivine City harbor. You should probably go out and wait for the bus." Kris was honestly expecting something more glamorous, but submitted to her fate anyway. It was nice to get out, even if the weather outside was cold, damp and gray. Kris signaled Croc to follow her and walked to the door. Before she was out of the building, Palmer started talking: "I'm honestly surprised you didn't ask about the data, Kris," he said. Kris sighed. What was he talking about now? "What data?" "You don't remember?" Palmer asked sheepishly. "The time you sold me the plates wasn't the first time we met. We also had a brief encounter right in Olivine City." Kris struggled to remember. It was about a year ago… she and Shane were on a mission, they needed to get critical information, stored on a flash drive. They had infiltrated the Olivine Café as workers and stopped Team Plasma from attacking someone… someone who had the data with him… Palmer! "That was you?" Kris asked. "Small world…" "It was no coincidence," Palmer said. "That memory stick had info that I could have used to bring down the Committee and stop the war from beginning. But you stole it and delivered it to professor Kaminko. I just happen to know where it's now." "Where?" "Stolen by another one of your colleagues, Touko White," Palmer said. "You know her. White cap, brown hair, aggressive attitude, could beat even Fernando at arm wrestling…" "She could not!" Fernando protested. "I lift weights, like, once a month! Plus I went to the gym once!" "I remember Touko," Kris said. "Why did she steal it?" "She protested the way her own organization treated Touya, her boyfriend. She took it right to the International Police, at the same time confessing all the work she had done to professor Kaminko, helping them to arrest him. Problem is, Touko didn't want to go prison herself, so she had the memory stick surgically attached intoher. For all I know, she still has it, but I don't know where she went. A shame… that data could have helped us a lot." Palmer took another cigarette from a pack while he finished his monologue: "Have fun on the desert, Kris," he said. "And watch yourself out there - with both Team Plasma and the Committee's goons after you, it'll be a rough ride." Kris couldn't help but to feel nervous as she left the building and climbed the stairs to Mahogany's abandoned store, which had the hidden access to the hideout. From there, she stepped into the outside world. ~o~O~o~ Location: Fishing Boat en route to Orre, somewhere in the middle of the ocean December 2nd, 2099, 7 PM On board the fishing boat, Kris finally managed to get her Pokétch working again, allowing her to see the time and day. Now she was on out on her own again, just her and Croc, on the way to Orre. After an agonizing six-hour long bus trip from Mahogany Town to Olivine City, Kris was bored out of her mind. She leaned over the side of the boat, watching the water as the boat slowly made its way towards the Orre region. Every once in a while, she could see a Goldeen or a Tentacool swimming by. How could the Pokémon just suddenly be hostile against us, Kris wondered. What did we do wrong? There were three sailors and four fishermen on board, and while they were big, trash-talking, muscle-flexing unhygienic men, they had all been incredibly nice to Kris. Though on occasion, Kris felt that they were a bit too jolly, constantly talking to Kris and yammering on and on about the weather and life as a sailor even though Kris had explicitly stated that he wanted to be alone. One sailor climbed the stairs on the deck, noticed Kris standing alone and walked to her. Like the others, he was a big, burly man in a sailor suit who had an anchor tattooed to his shoulder and whose arms were thicker than Kris' neck. "Ahoy, there!" the sailor shouted in a stereotypical manner. "The boys and I have been looking for you! They're having a fight below deck! One of the fishermen told that his Poliwhirl could beat a Machoke that belongs to one of our boys. They might tear a hole to the hull! Come see!" Kris sighed and didn't even bother to turn around and look at the jolly sailor. Still, she tried to be nice, as she didn't want to burn any bridges. "That's okay, thanks," she said. "Say, can you tell me how much longer before we get to Orre?" The sailor smiled and walked next to Kris, leaning over the side as well. "We're there by this time tomorrow," the sailor replied. "We'll drop you off near Pyrite Town. The port is a few miles away from the town, but don't worry - your friend, Mr. Palmer, paid us to get you all the way there." "Thank you," Kris said. There was one thing she was curious about. It felt like she had been there before, at least the name sounded very familiar. She turned to the sailor. "So, I take it that you've been there before?" she asked and the sailor nodded. "What's it like?" The sailor shook his head and stopped smiling for a moment. "Terrible," he replied. "There ain't many urban centers there, so most of it is just a desert wasteland. There are criminal gangs everywhere, with barely any law enforcement. Traveling from one town to another is basically death sentence. If you don't get lost in the desert, you'll get mugged and killed by one of the gangs. All navigation equipment seems to break down there…" "Sounds fun," Kris groaned. "Yeah, but hey, at least it's always sunny in Orre," the sailor said, sounding cheerful gain. "Why are you going there anyway, if you don't mind me asking?" Kris was quiet for a moment, trying her best to avoid the truth while still sounding convincing. "Business," she grunted. The sailor wasn't convinced, but he dropped the subject and started to head under the deck again. Right before he left, he looked at the sky, noticing that the sun was already going down, making the sky appear orange. It was oddly relaxing, as the sound of the fisherman and sailors brawling below deck didn't reach the areas above the deck. Only the sounds of waves crashing, the ship's engine humming and the Wingull screeching were heard. "It's going to get dark soon," the sailor lamented, but Kris didn't respond. "Uh, you know, life on this boat gets kinda dull. Between work and wrestling with burly men and even burlier Pokémon, there ain't much to do… I'm just saying that… my cabin door is open all night… yeah." Then the sailor disappeared behind the deck again. Kris raised her eyebrows in confusion, wondering whether she should be flattered or disgusted. Either way, she decided that it would be best to lock her cabin for the night. But now that no one was around, Kris pulled back her sleeve to operate her Pokétch, a wristwatch-like gizmo that was used all over the Pokémon world. While it had various apps, the most important one was installed during her time in Extranormal Operations. All operatives could use their Pokétch to use Pokémon Powers, a.k.a. moves that their Pokémon had. For example, Kris could use her Pokétch to fire an Ice Beam, provided that she concentrated enough. Her "mental capacity" and "Pokémon synch-level" was measured by a chip installed into her brain, just like with all the other operatives. Besides occasional headaches, Kris had suffered no aftereffects, though she heard that others had it worse… But right now, Kris wanted to use the Pokétch's built-in Xtransceiver to contact someone. As much as she didn't like the guy she was calling to, he was the only one whom Kris trusted in this. ~o~O~o~ Meanwhile, at the Silph Co. office building, Saffron City, Kanto Shane, a 24-year old, blue-eyed blonde guy who was even shorter and skinnier than Kris and who looked perpetually confused, was "working" in his cubicle at Silph Co's office. And by "working", we mean that he was playing "Angry Pidgey" with his Pokétch. Once an enthusiast who was into legendary Pokémon and even had a scrapbook for pictures and diary entries for them, Shane was forced to join Extranormal Operations when Kris had called him and told him about it. The two had been friends for eight years now, having met each other on a field trip and having hated each other ever since. Yet somehow, despite getting into verbal arguments every time they spoke, Kris and Shane shared a connection, an unbreakable friendship. While Shane liked to play clueless, callous and lazy, he had a picture of Kris in his cubicle. "Lousy supervisor," Shane muttered to himself while playing. "Keep me overtime, will she? I work harder than anyone else in this company! I think… there are no other people working in customer service, though… and no one ever calls me…" For anyone else, it looked like Shane was talking to himself, but his Sandshrew, called "Shrew", was hiding under his desk. Shrew, like all other Sandshrew, was a small, yellow critter who looked like an armadillo, or perhaps more like a pangolin, with tiny but sharp claws and a dry, hard skin. The difference between Shrew and other Sandshrew was that Shrew was a bit shorter and fatter than the rest of its kind, and that it was a coward. Whenever danger struck, Shrew would curl into a ball or cover its eyes with its little hands. As suspected, it wasn't much of a battler, but Shane loved his Pokémon all the same, even if he never admitted it and mostly just made fun of its cowardice. Not that Shane himself was exactly very brave, or a good battler or anything… Shane had adopted Shrew from the Lavender Volunteer Pokémon House when no other sane person wanted to give him a Pokémon. But despite his lack of training skill, Shane treated Shrew better than he treated actual people. "Well, Shrew," Shane said to his Pokémon. "It's seven p.m., and we get off work at ten, so that means…" Shane stopped talking and started counting with his fingers. After a few minutes, he gave up. "Bah, it's not important!" he said. "Who needs math anyway? But at least now we have a job, and nothing's gonna change that. I'm gonna grow doing this tedious task, retire and die alone. Yup, that's my future. And it's not gonna change!" Just as Shane said that, his Xtransceiver started ringing. Confused, he look at the phone on his desk instead, then finally realized where the sound was coming from. He looked at the screen of his Pokétch, but it only said "Caller ID unconfirmed". Shane pressed a button on his Pokétch and spoke into the microphone, frowning in confusion. "Hello?" he said. "If this is another prank call, I-" "Hi, Shane," a feminine voice on the other end of the line said. "I hope you haven't forgotten me." Shane almost fell off his chair as he recognized the voice. Similarly, Shrew squeaked happily and jumped on Shane's lap to hear the voice better. "Kris?" Shane croaked and looked around him to make sure no one heard anything - the office was empty except for the night-watchmen and the janitor, but still. "Where are you? What are you doing? How-" "Save your breath, Shane," Kris said. "I can't tell you anything, yet, as much as I want to. More importantly, are you working for Silph now?" Frightened, Shane looked around him before answering, as if expecting Kris to suddenly pop in from a ventilation shaft. "Uh… maybe," he said. "How do you know that? I mean, assuming that it's hypothetically true… Shrew, get off my lap!" he shouted at the Pokémon. "You'll ruin these pants, Silph Co. paid for them!" "You're as sharp as always," Kris said with heavy sarcasm. "Thanks, Kris," Shane said, sounding genuinely happy. "Now, onto business. Why did you call? Just remember what happened the last time you did it: my life was ruined!" "Don't pull that one on me. You and Shrew were living alone in a studio apartment in Viridian City, being unemployed and living in your own filth. Then you got recruited by ExOps, and you had the whole world!" "Yes, for a while," Shane said bitterly. "Then it was all taken away, thanks to you. But at least now I have a job. I'm uh… very respected around here. You, boy, bring me coffee!" he shouted to the empty office. "See?" "No, I don't, this is voice-only," Kris said. "So, what, now you live with Shrew alone in a studio apartment in Saffron?" "No," Shane corrected, "it's a one-bedroom apartment in Saffron. I'm climbing the social ladder as we speak!" "Whatever… look, Shane, let's not argue. I know I've said this before, but… I have no other friends anymore. Do you know anything about the others? Leaf? Silver? Touko? Anyone? All I know is that Elm was thrown into jail." "Yeah, I read it on the news," Shane said. He was more relaxed now and leaned back in his chair - he had to admit that he was happy to hear about Kris again. "But I don't know about the others. I'm surprised you didn't mention Lyra. I know you hated her when you first met, but you were pretty close by the end of it. What do you think happened to her?" "I… I dunno," Kris lied. "How are you holding up, by the way? I heard about Cheren." Shane stopped leaning backwards. Mournfully, he sighed and looked at a pair of glasses on his desk, all that was left of him. Shrew tilted its head, trying to read Shane's facial expression. For a moment, both Kris and Shane were quiet. Eventually, Kris spoke up: "But you know he used you, right? He only wanted to date someone who worked for ExOps to bring them down from the inside or something, whatever his master scheme was. He didn't care about you!" "Yeah, I guess so…" Shane sighed. "Good work making me feel better, by the way." "Shut up!" Shane could hear a hint of laughter in Kris' voice, and lightened up himself a bit. Whatever happened with him and Cheren, that was in the past. And Shane's attention span was fairly short anyway. Most of the time, he was like an eight-year old kid on sugar. "Seriously, Shane, I didn't call you so we could reminisce. You're in trouble. Tell me, how did you get that job." "Funny thing, actually," Shane said, though remembering what happened a few weeks ago was a task to him. "When I got out of the hospital, I was totally lost. I just sat on a bench here in Saffron, trying to teach Shrew circus tricks so we could get some money. Then, these men in suits approached me. I thought they were aliens about to probe me, so I helpfully dropped my pants, and-" "You can skip that part, by the way." "Oh, right… anyway, they instead said they worked for Silph Co. and wanted to offer me a job, just like that. And… here I am." "You didn't think something was going on?" "Uh… no. Why should I? I got this easy job and an apartment only a couple of blocks away." "Ugh… Shane, open your eyes! Silph Co. is just one of the corporations owned by the Committee. We have valuable technology inside us, remember? They want to keep tabs on us until they figure out a way to kill us but not destroy the chips. I bet you're being monitored right now!" "Psh, nice conspiracy theory, Kris!" Shane scoffed. "Next you're trying to tell me that this place is the same UFO that shot JFK and faked the moon landing!" "Just keep your guard up. Don't trust anyone. I… I really wish you could join me. I'm going to Orre." "Hmm… does that sound familiar to you?" "Yeah, I know, it's like I've been in that region before, even though I actually haven't… weird. Anyway, after I've been here, I'm coming to Saffron. Just say the word and I'll get you out of there." "No thanks," Shane said. "I've got a life, a job and plenty of Pokéblocks to feed Shrew with," he added, taking a pink out of the bag on his desk and throwing it to Shrew, before eating one himself. "Hey, these ain't bad…" On the other end, Shane could hear Kris sighing. "Okay, Shane, I get it. So… bye, I guess?" "What?" Shane asked and took his eyes off the Pokéblock bag. "Sorry, I wasn't listening…" But then he heard Kris closing her Xtransceiver on the other end, followed by just static. Shane shrugged and turned off his Pokétch before yawning and turning to look at Shrew. "What a wacko," he said to Shrew. "But I guess she's always been a little paranoid… Shrew, cover for me! I gotta go the bathroom." As Shane got up and left, a surveillance camera in the ceiling automatically turned to follow him. |
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