Feel The Ground Shake (Pokemon - Ground-type specialist)

[NightmareWarden]

Que?

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Spoiler: "Anime spoiler which fic followers might not wanna know

Power limiter clip on the chest. Big ol' weak point which could cause the thing Simon fears the most: hurting someone, such as a delicate civilian or his own trainer, on accident.

What else… the Golurk evolution is weirder than you realize, there's another aspect to their flight power. Check bulbapedia. Cannon-butt when posed for a handstand.

 

[LordVishnu]

[SPOILER="Anime spoiler which fic followers might not wanna know] Power limiter clip on the chest. Big ol' weak point which could cause the thing Simon fears the most: hurting someone, such as a delicate civilian or his own trainer, on accident.

What else… the Golurk evolution is weirder than you realize, there's another aspect to their flight power. Check bulbapedia. Cannon-butt when posed for a handstand.
[/SPOILER]

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Pfft. The seal that - if removed - makes a normal Golurk go berserk? You think such a limit would affect Simon? As the man he's named after would say, "Who the hell do you think I am?"

Thats no weakness. That's an asset.

 

[LettucePray]

[SPOILER="Anime spoiler which fic followers might not wanna know] Power limiter clip on the chest. Big ol' weak point which could cause the thing Simon fears the most: hurting someone, such as a delicate civilian or his own trainer, on accident.

What else… the Golurk evolution is weirder than you realize, there's another aspect to their flight power. Check bulbapedia. Cannon-butt when posed for a handstand.
[/SPOILER]

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So you're saying that Super talented Golurk, who just had a Power of Friendship boost has a 2nd stage transformation at the cost of his mind? Itwouldn't be too farfetch'd for Simon to be kept grounded by Brad while in that state, I believe.

 

[Harbinger98]

I appreciate that even though Bradley can be a selfish asshole, he's not a complete evil bastard. When it comes down to it, he will do the right thing.

 

[Otherion27]

Ooh nice I got tingles reading this

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Thanks but it's just movie dialogue that I've rearrange around, thought it fitted.

Spoiler

Power limiter clip on the chest. Big ol' weak point which could cause the thing Simon fears the most: hurting someone, such as a delicate civilian or his own trainer, on accident.

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Repeating again Simon own words: No! That's YOUR Limitation!!

This is no longer Timid nature Simon, this is full on Brave Nature Simon, fully evolved and ready to take on the world for a storm, because his drill is the drill that will one day pierce the heavens!

 

[Hickity]

So Ariana thinks she just found out the key to the Ursaluna evolution? Lol. Lmao even. Good luck continuing the testing for every moon phase. Hell, they might not even realise it has to be done at night.

It's too late. He's already punched straight through the side and the first of many explosions are beginning to rock the innards of the vessel. In only a few hits from the S-Potential Pokémon, the zeppelin is already beginning to list and lose altitude.

'No. Not S-ranked.' I realize with a moment of dumbfounded awe. I saw it only for a second, but it was there.

Potential: SS

He didn't go up one rank to S+. He went up three.

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Hell yeah. A legendary moment, living up to their name. I wonder how many of the passengers realise they just witnessed a legend in the making? I really doubt many champions even have SS rank pokemon, that kind of thing sounds like it's one in a hundred million.

It does have me wondering if his rank went up so high due to the situation though, a tight battle with no rules with their trainer and friends in danger? Perfect time for a shounen power up.

 

[Doge The Last]

Headlong rush is a punching move?

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Probably has to do with the Japanese translation and meaning since the reason why Sucker Punch is not boost by Iron Fist is because it means 「ふいうち」Surprise Attack in Japanese.

It's also why Poison Jab isn't boosted by Iron Fist, since it is called「どくづき」 Poison Stab in Japanese.

 

[OldSpartan]

Good to see the lines that Bradley wouldn't cross. Digging holes for Team Rocket is one thing, standing aside to let them steal other people's Pokemon is quite another.

 

[Questing_Questionably]

Love the inclusion of the music for Simon's evolution!

 

[BeastyJD]

Thanks but it's just movie dialogue that I've rearrange around, thought it fitted.

Oh I know. But I also know that people try to do that to make it fit whatever and it doesn't work or it doesn't give the same feel

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[Hanada]

Isn't Simon too overpowered now? I think SS is an overkill.

 

[Fossilhunter]

Isn't Simon too overpowered now? I think SS is an overkill.

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The letter ranks have more to do with potential and talent rather than current strength from what i remember, simon is still relatively low level compared to his other mons and probably compared to the elite four and champion as well.

 

[Hanada]

The letter ranks have more to do with potential and talent rather than current strength from what i remember, simon is still relatively low level compared to his other mons and probably compared to the elite four and champion as well.

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Yeah but by the time the conference comes around I don't see anyone matching him, unless the letters means something else.

 

[ANONYMOUS777]

Oh, and I'm doing a little contract work with Team Rocket on the side.

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So he isn't just an ass he is a evil ass. Got it.

 

[Eskapisti]

This is so good I had to break my stance on commenting! I've been on a bit of Pokemon fic reading spree and this is almost exactly what I've been looking for:

• a morally gray mc
• a mild cheat
• proper use of metaknowledge
• "realistic" but not grimdark
• potential for romance
• not accepting every Tom, Dick and Harry to the team

And those are just some of the good things I've found this story to have so far. I was a bit iffy about the possible inclusion of fakemon but I trust you've got it handled @LordVishnu. I once tried reading your One Piece fic but dropped it for reasons I don't remember. Gonna have to give it another go! Looking forward to seeing more of this. Good stuff!

 

[Requiem_Jeer]

I was a bit iffy about the possible inclusion of fakemon

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That was an in-setting scam by Jesse and James. Wasn't real.

 

[Coily boi]

That was an in-setting scam by Jesse and James. Wasn't real.

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Gotta respect them for pulling it off though. Team rocket, scamming at the speed of light XD

 

[Hanada]

That was an in-setting scam by Jesse and James. Wasn't real.

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I really loved that twist. Though is this the anime then? So far it felt more like the game.

 

[Artful Lounger]

I really loved that twist. Though is this the anime then? So far it felt more like the game.

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Its kind of a mixture

 

[vanomzero]

feel like the kanto league gonna use this to deal with the Kalos/Orre problem like they can't interfere publicly and officially in Orre so they send him in exchange for amnesty à la Red Dead Redemption 1

 

[Ka'laar]

Boy oh boy, what a treat! I can't wait to see the fallout for this chapter. Rocket's definitely stored proof of Brad's prior dealings with them, and has a way to expose it that makes him look terrible, but he's also directly responsible for ruining this operation of theirs.

Since he was only moving some earth for them, it won't look too bad, he'll come out looking like an anti-hero, but it's probably enough to get banned from the Silver Conference unless they're lenient.

Lmao, that's another watchlist he'll be on. Most importantly, I hope Lorelei doesn't think too poorly of him.

Awesome story, you're a great writer Vishnu.

 

[LordVishnu]

A/N: Whoops. Didn't mean to put this story on a hiatus, but that's just how life be sometimes.

I won't blame you if you need to go reread things to remember where we're at.

---

Chapter 28

Several Years Ago, The Kalos Region

Ash…and dust.

It was ruined. All destroyed. The ancient weapon beneath Geosenge Town reduced to a smoking crater. The Legendary Pokémon he was using to power it…now fled and vanished to parts unknown.

His dreams of a perfect, more beautiful world…his utopia…

No.

Lysandre pushed himself up, ignoring the surrounding fires and the shard of rebar piercing into his side.

Not yet.

He grasps the mangled remains of his holo cast equipment. His fingers weakly clutch at the edges of his damaged mega-gauntlet. He ignores the debris-crushed corpse of that urchin Calem who obstructed so many of his plans.

This won't stop him.

He didn't need the damn Legendary.

He didn't need the damn weapon.

The Leader of Team Flare started slowly trudging himself forward, determined to find an exit.

"I'll do it myself."

---

Present Day, Cianwood City

Okay. Let's just…take stock of the positives. Try to focus on those for a little while.

No one's dead, so there's that. At least no one on my side. Krookodile is still out like a light and Ma Ma is in such a deep recovery slumber that one might technically classify it as hibernating. She overclocked herself ridiculously to last so long against so many.

Vlad regained consciousness right around when the authorities showed up, though he didn't start to shake off the post-knockout grogginess until a trio of Ranger-owned Gyarados were working to tug the crippled cruise ship back to civilization.

…

…

I also haven't been arrested yet, so that's good.

…

Though maybe they're just trying to sort out what the charges would be.

…

There's a series of missed calls from Lorelei on my phone. No doubt she's got words for me. It's not that I'm avoiding speaking to her, it's just that my screen is covered in spiderweb cracks and most of the buttons aren't actually working.

'I'm not exactly sure when that happened.' A detached thought notes somewhat neutrally in my head. 'When I was slammed into the wall maybe?' My head hangs low with a small muted sigh. 'Gonna have to buy a new one I guess.' Just another item on what is becoming a very long to-do list.

The device vibrates a fourth time, pulling my eyes down to it. Through the fractured screen I can piece together the caller ID as 'Mahogany Gym' and a dispassionate piece of my mind idly wonders who it could be on the other side.

One of Brad's old pals maybe? Ron or Clarissa? I doubt it's old man Pryce. Unless you're actually shoving them in his face, that wrinkled crank will choose to ignore the existence of computers and the Poké Net nine days out of ten. It wouldn't surprise me if he hasn't even heard the news yet.

---

"BRADLEY!" Petrel snarls down at me from the sky, absolute fury etched over his features. "We'll burn you for this! You think this won't come back on you?! After all the work you've done for us?!"

"Sorry, boss man!" I do my best to flip him off with the one half of an arm I have that isn't stuck. "My services are no longer available!"

---

It's been about three hours since that clip went live online. Captured on a shitty novelty camera from a goddamn pen of all things. 'My compliments to the reporter for her restraint.' I muse with some doleful sarcasm. 'The woman waited a whole twelve and a half minutes once we made landfall before uploading it.'

…

…

So here I sit. Hands folded. Back slumped. On a simple public bench along Cianwood's coastline, watching the emergency responders all bustle about while waiting for someone to come and question me.

'Or at least…'

A low rumbling comes from the mountain above me as one paramedic wanders a little too close.

'…that was the idea anyway.'

Grundy did not handle well being forcibly confined within his Ball during the adventures of last night. Not sixty seconds after my stepping onto the sand of Cianwood beach and the Alpha Nidoking had released himself to domineeringly stand guard at my back, angrily mean-mugging any unfortunate soul who intrudes within a certain distance.

"Be nice." I chide not for the first time towards the dinosaur-like Pokémon…though by this point my heart's just not really in it. I sincerely doubt that the poor man currently scurrying away—who was honestly probably just wondering if I needed medical assistance—was secretly a Rocket asset or some other brand of undercover threat. In Nidoking's mind though, just about anyone and everyone is listed as 'suspicious until proven innocent' for the time being.

"Oooiiiii! Permission to approach?"

A quarter of the way down the waterfront and shouting between a pair of cupped hands is just about the only person who's on the 'cleared' list for the moment. A towering 6' 6" individual whose intimidating physique is rather undercut by the cheerfully waiving Blissey at his side.

A tiny smile manages to slip past my gloom as he nears. "I see you managed to find some actual clothes." I try to open with a joke. "Well…sort of."

During our allied insurgency last night, Rick had gone straight from zonked out in his bed to combat ready in just about eight seconds flat. Commanding his team against the ship's attackers while wearing nothing but some long legged pajama bottoms and the trimmed hairs on his chest.

He has since added some slip-on sandals and a tank top that's at least one whole size too small.

'Whatever works I guess.'

The Normal-type specialist waives off the words with nary a comment and then proceeds to plant himself in the seat next to mine. Unlike my hunched and somewhat depressed posture, his is open and relaxed, with arms spread wide along the bench and an untroubled air hanging over his shoulder. "So," he opens. "...you did some work for Rocket, huh?"

What must be the twentieth sigh of the day slips past my lips. "...yeah." I confirm tiredly. "Just…contractor type stuff, ya know? Dig a tunnel from 'Point A' to Point B'. Help set foundations for a few below ground facilities. Do you know what a geotechnical engineer is? A lot of my involvement was just directing their people where to dig and where not to dig."

Rick hums noncommittally at that, his head tilted up and staring at the clouds. I genuinely can't tell if he's internally judging me or if he's just making noise to show he's listening. At his side the man's Blissey I can tell doesn't seem bothered at the admission. The Happiness Pokémon is entirely preoccupied with fussing over her newest 'project'. Proton's Alolan Raticate whom she's carrying around in her pouch in place of the usual egg.

"...when we were kids my sister Amy had this Aipom." Rick starts into a story, his tone wistful. "It was…a bit of a troublemaker if I'm being honest. Klutzy. Kind of a goofball. Pretty terrible as a battler too. The kind of Pokémon you keep at home rather than try to take on a Gym with, y'know?" He smiles with a wisp of nostalgia. "But it was special, see. It had four fingers on its tail rather than the typical three. I remember being about…eleven I think…an aide from Prof. Oak's lab had visited to write an article about it. They were doing some story on rare phenotypes. Scientific curiosities and the like."

Rick turns his head to give me an impassive stare. "Of course, Amy still wanted to journey with him anyway. He was her Aipom. And it only took two months before Rocket had stolen it from her." he finishes the tale and then scratches at his hair with a weary breath. "I'm sure it didn't even factor in for the thieves that the little goofball was useless. He was rare. That's all that mattered." My comrade from last night tilts in my direction and this time I can feel the judgement. "Why would you work with these people?"

I can feel my fingers twiddling as I try to order what I want to say. I remember each and every job, going all the way back to the first one. A simple escape tunnel built into the bottom of a second-hand goods Poké Mart. A rundown little store that I only realized later was probably just a building used as some sort of tax front. "You have a full roster of Normal-types, right?" I ask, my voice leading. "It's more than just Blissey and your Furrets?" Seeing his tiny nod, I keep going. "Any chance there's a Jigglypuff among them?"

"Melody." he offers freely. "With the exception of comparing her to Sybill here," he gestures briefly towards the happy Blissey. "She's the one who's been with me the longest. Almost six years now."

'Six years…' "And in all that time…how has your search for a Moon Stone gone? Not the dregs either, I mean an actual good one. One that has the size and purity where you'd actually want to use it?

"We'll find one eventually."

'He says it so easily…' So nonchalant and certain. As though one day he'll just turn the corner and 'bam' there it'll be. Patiently waiting for someone to come by and pick it up.

'I'm a bit jealous of that attitude.'

"I didn't want to wait." I confess quietly. "Six years…I can't imagine putting it off for even half that. Jigglypuff, Clefairy, Nidorino, Nidorina…the demand for good stones is so high and the areas they naturally form have been so depleted. I know there's synthetically-made ones, but they're crap. I didn't want something that's 'functional', I wanted Grundy to have the 'best'."

At his name the Nidoking behind us snorts proudly, visible warm breath exhaling from his nostrils. He really is massive, even for an Alpha.

"It was a simple idea at first." I continue. "Bartering, but with extra steps. I could do a few jobs for Rocket, rack up credit towards a favor. All so I could get Grundy what he needed. I wasn't even accepting money."

A dazzling flash of blue suddenly illuminates the beach just a few meters in front of us. An incredibly powerful and long-range Teleport warping in that gets Grundy's hackles up in a defensive position.

"I guess a part of me always knew it would come crashing down someday."

Elite Four Lorelei steps away from a Slowking and begins marching my way with purpose, audibly crunching sand underneath her business-like heels. With each step an icy chill begins to permeate throughout the air, chasing away the warm climate of the beach and I can't help but chuckle mournfully.

'Goddamn it. She's even more beautiful than Bradley's memories picture her.'

This sucks. Not how I ever wanted my first time seeing her in-actual-person to go.

Grundy takes a half step forward and—without even a gesture from the woman— her personal Lapras releases itself from her belt to fearlessly lock heads with the gargantuan Alpha. The plesiosaur is still shorter by a whole meter and yet it stares Grundy down without an inkling of concern in its eyes.

Lapras: Lv. 76
Nature: Serious
Potential: A+

The ice-cold redhead stops right in front of me and Rick somehow finds the space to slide away and temporarily render himself scarce.

'Something tells me the Razor Claw I have for her won't exactly make up for this.'

"You will tell me everything." She speaks frostily. A frigid certainty echoing in her throat.

One last chuckle manages to slip past my lips as my brow hangs low for the final time. A brief laugh that's equal parts self-deprecating and somehow relieved. Relieved that I can finally be rid of this thing that's gotten way bigger than I ever intended it to be.

I'm not interested in any denials or playing dumb.

"Yes ma'am."

---

Cianwood Police Station, Office Bullpen

'Detained', but not 'arrested'.

'Questioned', but not 'interrogated'.

I guess that's the best one could really hope for given the circumstances.

"And these…tunnels and other projects you say you helped build. I notice your personal history has no accreditation or official schooling in these areas." The Columbo-esque detective bumbles onward, gesticulating with his hands as he retreads over the facts as I've told him. "Where did you obtain the expertise, the professional know-how to offer these services?"

'Isekai knowledge. Aura powers. A trained Seismic Sense. Which would be the least problematic to reveal?' "I'm self taught in the field." I answer instead. "Geology and its subcategories, they all just kind of 'click' for me if that makes sense. It's one of the reasons I specialize in Ground-types."

I get the impression the detective doesn't fully buy that answer, though the man moves to write it down anyway. Scribbling away on his yellow notepad with what I can see is some rather untidy chicken scratch.

Around the room various other men and women in uniform or business-casual clothing all bustle about handling assorted types of busywork. Typing on keyboards or fiddling with folders and filing cabinets. Being in this building it's actually a bit difficult to still feel like I'm in a Pokémon universe. This could easily be some B-grade cop drama instead.

…except for the standout of the one Sentret huddled over a miniature desk that is.

I'd make a 'Detective Pikachu' joke about it…only the thing is, the little ferret-raccoon is I-shit-you-not wearing a Holmes-style deerstalker hat and legitimately seems to be scanning its eyes over some documents. Surely that's just an…an office mascot of some kind, right? Or perhaps a lifelong partner to one of the other investigators here? There can't really be a lone Sentret employed by Cianwood PD…right?

"If you don't mind, I'd like to go back a minute." The detective redraws my attention to him. "We've touched on the leadership you interacted with a good bit." The Peter Falk-lookalike flips a page over to his previous notes. "You've sworn that you can positively identify this 'Proton' character whom you briefly battled with and you had many dealings with an 'Admin Petrel'. This is who you say is shouting in the audio of the video clip we've all witnessed. Can it be safely assumed you can identify him as well?"

"Sure, for all the good that answer does you." I give a sympathetic half-shrug at the shoulders. "I'll sit with a sketch artist if you want me to, but as I said previously he was Rocket's 'Master of Disguise'. There were a number of occasions he was practically right in front of me and I didn't know it was him until much later." I notice the digital clock on his desk tick over to the next hour and I readjust myself on the seat. "My bet is you could hang up a wanted poster of his face in every government building in Indigo and it won't make a lick of difference."

"...I notice you keep glancing at the time." The man shifts gears for a moment. "Do you mind if I ask why?"

"No it's…" I breathe out. "It's dumb. Nothing really. I just…" I pause again for a half-second. "Technically I have a scheduled Gym Battle with Chuck in about 35 minutes. I realized I never got the chance to call ahead and cancel it. Could you have one of your officers phone over there for me?" I ask a small favor. "My cell's all busted and I hate the idea of them wasting time waiting on a no-show."

"That's fine." The man makes a slight gesture towards the nearest patrolman and then fishes into his tan coat to withdraw a short stubby cigar. "So…back on the leadership." he speaks again, holding the brown stick between two fingers. "What about any other names? I understand these may not have been people you've personally seen, but maybe someone mentioned in passing? Other Admins? Someone above them?"

'There it is.' The question I knew was eventually coming. The one whose answer has me so horribly divided.

Through the power of metaknowledge I can easily point the finger at Giovanni. I can even mention how he inherited the post from his mother. Not that the fans ever knew much about the mysterious 'Madame Boss' character.

But…I wouldn't be able to prove shit.

And that's not the only problem. Beyond the fact that I have no evidence. No proof. No honest testimony to offer. Beyond the fact that there's no logical way for 'Brad' to know who Rocket's secret shadowy chairman really is…there is the matter of which type of Giovanni it is that exists in this world.

Put simply?

It is orange-suit Giovanni.

Not the stern faced man who dresses in black. Not the one who sneaks around to clandestine meetings in the dark. This world's Gio does photo ops. He cuts ribbons. He smiles for TV cameras. You know when a wealthy businessman gives away a comically oversized check and gets his photo in the paper? That's him. This world's Giovanni is beloved.

Spoiler: Would you suspect this man?

I'd have an easier time convincing someone that their own brother was the leader of Team Rocket than I would Giovanni.

"Proton cursed out the name of someone called 'Archer' right before he teleported away." I eventually answer. "I think the full quote was something along the lines of 'I told that asshole this was no place to test the prototype' or some such like that. And Petrel referred to a woman named 'Arianna' in our last phone call." I give the officer another hapless shrug. "Beyond that though? Sorry. I never heard about anyone who could be higher."

The detective hums to himself, mulling that over for a bit. "...hmm, well pay it no mind for the moment. Maybe something will come to you." He moves to a clean sheet. "Let's move on to locations. Other than the businesses previously mentioned, were you ever privy to the whereabouts of any larger facilities? Any sites that could be attributed the label of 'bases', 'hideouts', or even something smaller like a 'lab' or an 'outpost'?"

"...just one really." I try not to deflate, speaking the words. My cheek is still stinging from when I told Lori about what exactly was hiding under the 'Souvenir Shop' of her grandfather's town. A place she considers her second home.

I might be in the doghouse for a loooong fuckin' time after that one.

As to the ice mistress's current whereabouts? Just two hallways down and talking to some of the other witnesses pulled in from the boat. She also mentioned something about 'getting me released under her recognizance' and I honestly can't tell if that was a good sign for my future or a terrible terrible omen.

Pray for me guys.

---

A massive stone-like hand slowly rises from the earth.

Each of its grey-blue fingers are thick enough to outstrip an adult's arm. Its palm broad enough to encircle entire tree trunks. Rocky skin that is both solid and paradoxically ethereal flexes with suppressed power…

…and then daintily throws the little red ball across the courtyard.

"Swi! Swi!" Junior rushes after the toy, determined to get there first this time. His tiny stubby legs scramble across the dirt, kicking up a trail of dust as he pants in excitement. "Swi! Swi!" He's just about reached it…when Simon's other hand comes up from underground to secure the plastic in his grip.

The piglet scrambles vertically up the Golurk's wrist. He leaps at the toy with all his might, both forelegs extended out…and then watches his prize sail again with a flick of the Ghost's fingers.

'Another half hour of this and the little guy's gonna need a nap again.'

In complete contrast to the innocent atmosphere of my two youngest playing lightheartedly in the foreground, the atmosphere at the park seating is coiled and heavy. Lori's fingers drum continuously against the skin of her upper arm and her expression is cool and distant.

"So does this mean I'm going on a 'fourth' watchlist?"

"It's not the time for jokes, Bradley." The woman doesn't even crack a smile. "You know this won't be the end of it right?"

I do. I don't need her to spell it out for me.

Giving up most of what I know to law enforcement grants me leniency with them…but it also comes with the risk of elevating me up on Rocket's nuisance list. Petrel clearly promised retribution of some kind, nearly every user of Johto's Poké Net probably knows that by now. But who can really say whether it would have come swift or slow?

Would I have been a priority target? Someone who can expect Rocket agents to come for them before the month is out? Or would I have just been marked with some sort of standing 'neutralize' order? A note for all Rocket members to 'take me out' if an individual sees an opportunity for it?

Will my whistleblowing of what meagre things I know accelerate Petrel's timeline? Or will there be no point since the damage I can do is already done?

"We should consider places for you to lay low for a time." My-probably-not-anymore girlfriend floats a suggestion. "You'll be harder to find if you aren't plastering yourself all over the Poké Net for a few months."

"A little late for that." I smile at my own quip, even if it's clear the woman is determined not to do the same. "Send me to the Sevii Isles or all the way to the Orange Archipelago. We both know it wouldn't work." I take a glance towards Vlad who's once again hovering outside of his ball. "The team's not exactly inconspicuous."

The woman bites at the nail of her thumb, obviously wanting to suggest something, but knows there'd be no point.

I'm not going to keep them cooped up and hidden. It's simply a non-starter so she's not going to bother even voicing it.

"I did plan on taking a brief trip overseas." I remind her hesitantly, referring to my planned sidequest into Hoenn. "Maybe I should make it something more long term?"

Lorelei's brow narrows further. She's not so much 'biting' the nail now as she is 'gnawing' at it.

PRO: It would put some legitimate distance between Rocket and myself. Not enough to be 'safe' perhaps, what with their global operations, but it would at least be 'safe-er'.

CON: It would also put me all alone if trouble did manage to find me. The only friends I would be able to call on would be whatever ones I make over there.

'Plus there's probably a legal question on if she's even 'allowed' to let me go since I'm 'under her recognizance' and all, but I don't really care about that part.' The woman's a member of the Elite Four. Smaller judicial hooplah like that just kinda gets…waived…for people like her.

"You know if something happens over there…" There's a slight shift in her voice as she finally deigns to look at me again. Even if it is just through a dismissive side-eye. "...I won't be able to help you."

'She really is trying to hide that she still cares.' Goddamn. Brad you absolute buffoon. How did you let this one get away? "I'll be fine." I spoke assuredly. A sharp squeal of victory pierces the air as Junior finally gets the ball away from Simon and moves to begin rolling in a self-made mud pile with it. Something which exasperates me to no end.

"I'll make sure I'm back before the Conference." I summon up a cocksure grin. "I'll grab Chuck's badge the week before and then swoop in at the last second to win the whole thing, just you watch." I turn my eyes facing forward again. "I'm still looking forward to that dinner."

The woman chuffed under her breath. Though unless my ears are mistaking me…there is just a tiny bit of amusement mixed in. "Don't be so sure that's still on the table." The redhead disputed. "I haven't decided if I'm forgiving you yet."

The dialogue dies off between us as the conversation naturally falls into a lull. Simon is slowly rising from the earth now—not just his arms, but his whole body finally—and it truly is remarkable just how much he's grown.

My 'big boy' is at least four-fifths the stature of Grundy now. If we ever go back to visit his colony in Unova he'll be the tallest man in the room.

"Lori," I begin much more cautiously. "There's something I left out. Something I didn't mention before or at the station."

Even without turning my head I can feel her gaze stabbing into me. Sharp. Biting. Like daggers of white crystal. "When it comes to anything with Rocket. Any raids, investigations, literally anything at all." I stare deeply into her pupils. Putting as much meaning into my expression as I physically can. "Do not trust Giovanni."

It's almost depressing seeing her eyebrows raise so high in confusion. Like…she almost can't even compute what I'm saying. Publicly he's one of the greatest condemners of Rocket's actions…but then the light clicks. Understanding dawns…and she looks as though she's suddenly reassessing so many things in a new light.

She faces me resolutely.

"Lance will know what to do."

---

Same Time, Rocket HQ, Giovanni's Private Office

"...had an agreement, Giovanni." The voice growls from the other side of the speaker. "I thought I had made myself clear on this. I don't mind the casinos. The money lending. I can live with the other crooked filth you stick your hands into…but the thievery of Indigo's Pokémon was to stop. It had stopped. Explain this, now."

"A textbook misunderstanding, I assure you." The Persian at the Chairman's side stretched its jaws in a large drawn out yawn as the Viridian Gym Leader smiled into his phone. "A few of my subordinates exercised some…creative liberties on interpreting orders I had issued in regards to operating in 'international waters'. After last night's…overzealousness…I have since clarified things for them. It won't be a problem in the future."

"It's already a problem right now." The young man on the other side bit back with gritted teeth. "I will not have Indigo's citizens under threat by you or yours when we're already on the knife's edge. Do not confuse my 'momentary clemency' for 'infinite patience'."

"Of course." The second-richest man in Indigo supplied easily, moving his hand over to inspect the most recent document from his agents in Alola. More specifically, a report detailing the acquisition of two new species for their stables. Mudsdale and Araquanid. The first a physical powerhouse and the second an alleged special defensive tank of some kind. So long as his hirelings weren't exaggerating again, then both specimens certainly represented potential in their own way.

Hoh? And what's this? A photograph of a statue purchased off one of the locals? A granite depiction of some guardian spirit that the natives simply refer to as 'Tapu Bulu'. How fascinating... "I would never dream of it, O' great Champion." he finally finishes the thought into the phone, throwing out a sarcastic little needle right at the end.

Perhaps that's unwise. He knows it's a bad habit of his, that need to subtly gloat. He holds no delusions that the renowned and publicly idolized 'Master of Dragons' isn't more powerful than him on a personal level…but at this point in their association, if the boy was going to act on his gut rather than his brain…then he would have done so already.

How does that quote go again? The one about interesting times and strange bedfellows?

There's a restrained inhale reverberating through the speaker. A telltale sign of the younger man physically stopping himself from saying what he really wants to. Reigning himself back from just jumping on one of his Dragonite and flying here to arrest him right now. "...what news do you have on Hoenn?" the Blackthorn heir eventually speaks.

Giovanni held in the snort to himself. So the lizard boy has gotten better at holding his tongue? Well that's just boring.

"Aqua and Magma are like the plank of a child's teeterboard." He mused aloud, placing the report on Alola aside for a moment and then moving to fashion himself a drink. "You press your thumb down on one side, and all it seems to do is raise the other up." Two fingers worth of amber gold poured into a perfectly chilled glass and the man raised the liquor up to his nose for a smell. "For a pair of apocalypse cults, their ability to recruit still manages to impress."

The businessman casts his eyes aside for a moment, a slight look of disdain filling them. "Perhaps you should speak to Champion Stone again about being more active in handling his own backyard?" An unkind chuckle builds. "Or is that child still too busy digging around in the sand for more rocks?"

"...don't tell me how to run my own League, Giovanni." There's a real threat in the words this time. "The Hoenn Government is the one real ally we have. I'm not going to overpressure them."

Giovanni scoffed lightly to himself. "Of course." He murmurs lowly, repeating his own line from earlier. Hmn. He'll have to be mindful about that in the future. Too much of that sort of thing and he might find himself as the one at risk of becoming dull. "I apologize."

Both men know he doesn't really mean it.

The phone hangs up with an abrupt harshness and the man-of-too-many-titles takes a moment to swirl his drink before moving on to the next order of business.

Hoenn. Alola. Unova. Kalos. The Lab on Cinnabar.

So many irons in the fire. So many things to fill a day.

"Cheers." he toasted to the empty room.

 

[LordVishnu]

Chapter 29

Cianwood City, Johto Region

"Group A for our 6:20 to Slateport City, please begin boarding now. Group A for Slateport City." There's a minor whine of electrical feedback as the hostess puts her microphone down and approximately one-third of the passengers in the terminal begin to groggily shuffle into a loose line.

There's murmured groans of people still only half-awake. Chatter among a group of teens saying they're looking forward to sleeping on the plane. Excited jittering by one vacation-goer who is, in my humble viewpoint, a little too eager to reach his beach destination. The fellow is quite the sight with his indoor sunglasses, vibrant aloha-style shirt, and nose already painted by sunscreen.

I meanwhile, as a member of Boarding Group C, still have my eyes glued to the muted television screen, watching the morning news roll in one subtitled word at a time.

'Goddamn they acted on that fast.'

I mean…I knew the League would but…damn that was fast.

Red and blue police lights flash behind the silenced reporter as she continues to rattle off updates while captions scroll along underneath her. A major Rocket facility discovered in the sleepy town of Mahogany. Dozens of arrests. Growlithe, Arcanine, and Granbull patrol around paddy wagons while access to the Souvenir Shop in the distance is roped off by yellow tape.

A governmental raid in the middle of the night. A pitched battle in an underground base while all of the normal world was sleeping.

Part of my brain wishes that somehow I could have been there to take part. I could have been useful in guiding them through the more labyrinth-like sections of the compound.

'That's not your job.' The less emotional piece of my mind quietly reminds. 'You're a private citizen. Even if you offered…they'd just politely tell you to leave it to the professionals.'

The footage on screen switches to a camera pan of drugs, Pokéballs, and other items confiscated in the raid all spread out over long tables. The subtitles are now saying something about…a SilverPowder farm? The Bug-type Held Item? Why would that-?

Oh.

Apparently it's a popular additive to Methamphetamine these days.

I guess you do learn something new everyday.

A new warning comes from the program. Advice to have parents remove their children from the room as the 'following images are graphic and may be upsetting'. What follows is a partially-pixelated view of a row of preservation tanks that- what…what the fuck?

'Why would you do that to a Weezing?'A faint taste of bile sits in my throat as my brain decrypts the images. 'To surgically separate- And the smaller half is somehow more preserved than the larger. Did one side…did one side survive when the other-' The censored pictures continue into what I am scarcely able to tell are the misshapen remains of different Metapod and Butterfree. Some of the Bug cocoons are abnormally shrunken while others are just twisted. For the specimens that still managed to emerge into their winged form, their bodies are wrong. Some bearing strange patterns. Some with wings far too big or too small. 'What is even the point of something like-'

"Group B for our 6:20 to Slateport City, please begin boarding now. Group B for Slateport City."

A hand runs over my face as I manage to avoid staring at the screen any longer. The man sitting next to me pops a sleeping pill as he gets up to start boarding and honestly I might just copy him and do the same.

It's high time to put all this moody self-reflective shit behind us. Continuing to wallow on it is just unproductive.

Seven and a half hours of nap time at 33,000 ft might be just what we need.

---

Slateport City, Hoenn Region

Generation III.

Home of the Weather Trio. The original Regi's. Two villain teams, two pseudo-legendaries, and a Pokédex roster that's only half new because the original plan was for Ruby & Sapphire to act as a soft reboot of the whole franchise.

'Off we go.'

Stepping out of the airport doors and immediately I can taste the sea hanging in every breath. Trills of Wingull and Pelipper sound in the background while a cool salty breeze gently glides over my skin. Without any prompting from me Vlad releases himself from his Ball and begins stretching his limbs out from the long flight. "Gliscor. Gli."

The uncommon Pokémon gets more than a few glances by some of my fellow wayfarers. Similar to how I imagine a Milotic might be received by a crowd full of Johtonians. Regardless of it though I just hold up the tourist pamphlet and ask his opinion on where we should head first.

Carter, the Poké Breeder I have business with, resides in this city, but after calling ahead from Cianwood I learned that he's going to be preoccupied with business up in Mauville until tomorrow.

Which means we have one whole day to kill. And due to the wackiness of timezones, it's technically not even lunchtime yet.

"Gliscor." The scorpion-bat scans his large golden eyes over the brochure. There's the locally famous Slateport Market where one can buy just about anything from TMs to incense to berries fresh from the grove. There's an Oceanic Museum advertising both live and fossilized exhibits. A Contest Hall where you can watch 'Coordinators' strut their stuff. Or maybe we can try our hand at this 'Battle Tent' on the north side of town and compete for a prize.

The advert claims you can win up to 4,000 in cash or even a random Evolution Stone. (Disclaimer: Quality of Stone may vary. All selections final.)

"Gliscor. Gli…" The Ground/Flying-type mutters to himself, trying to decide between the first and fourth options. "Gliscor? Gli-scor, Gli?" he posits finally, shrugging with a lopsided grin.

That's a good point, Vlad. I agree.

We should just do both.

---

Slateport City, Battle Tent

Ohhhh. That's kinda neat. It definitely ups the challenge level a bit.

This is one of those 'Rental Pokémon' places.

Six options are chosen at random via lottery. A participant chooses their preferred three among the lot and then has to face off in a simple eight-man single-elimination tournament against seven others in the same boat. Also! The tent is running with an interesting twist where, after each win, a trainer has the option to swap out one of their own team with that of their defeated opponents.

I understand the rules…but man am I a bit stumped on what to pick here.

Machop, Wailmer, Illumise, Ninjask, Solrock, and Loudred.

'This would be so much easier if I could actually see the Pokémon in question first.' Like…my initial instinct here is to cut the Machop first. Its BST is more than 50 points lower than the next worst thing and a pure Fighting-type simply doesn't offer all that great of coverage. But…what if it turns out the little guy is like a dozen levels higher than everyone else? He's got to be one tough cookie if the Battle Tent is putting him in the same pool as all these others right?

Ah screw it. Better just go with the gut. Overthinking this will probably just hurt more than it helps. We'll grab Ninjask for the scumbag Baton Pass strats, Solrock hoping that it at least knows Cosmic Power and lastly…Wailmer..? I guess?

I think Illumise is technically more well-rounded—no pun intended to the spherical whale—but I'm just not feeling the double Bug-type, y'know?

Alright. Let's lock those choices in.

---

"Dizzy Punch!" The red panda leaps into the air at the order, its fist glowing a rainbow-like mix of white, pink, and yellow.

Spinda: Lv. 31
Nature: Bashful
Potential: C

First he went for Teeter Dance. Now it's Dizzy Punch? Someone tell this guy to get off the damn Confuse train! "Ninjask, Substitute!"

Ninjask: Lv. 28
Nature: Impish
Potential: D+

The cicada Pokémon spreads its spindly arms wide as it buzzes loudly on my side of the arena. With a small burst of smoke the Bug disappears right before the hit makes impact, leaving a scapegoat behind to take the strike in its place. 'Speed Boost.'

My opponent Avery 'tsks' under his breath. "Hypnosis this time! Long range!" The swirls of Spinda's eyes begin to rotate, spinning in place while exuding a soft purple glow.

"Double Team!" If circumstances were ideal, I'd much rather handle the threat of Sleep through a hasty usage of Protect or perhaps tunneling underground with my longtime tactic of Dig. Unfortunately, this rental isn't equipped with either of those so we're just gonna have to gamble on good ol' evasion. 'Speed Boost.'

The Psychic attack invades the forest of illusory copies, washing over about half of them…and it seems this time we've managed to roll well. 'Note to self: When battling with a Pokémon I'm not bonded with, it's difficult to tell which ones are fake and where the real one is hiding. That might be important someday.'

"Swords Dance!" Ninjask and its clones all begin to clash their pincers together, boosting the Attack stat by two stages. Now I'd say we're just about ready to Pass into Wailmer and wreck this man with one heck of a Body Slam. 'Speed Boost!'

My Round One opponent sweeps their arm out. "That's just about enough of that! Spinda, copy those changes with Psych Up!"

"Oh you motherfu-"

---

'I'm probably going to lose this.'

Generation III is all about dualities. Everything seems to either come in a pair or have a direct opposite. Silcoon and Cascoon. Plusle and Minun. Volbeat and Illumise. Huntail and Gorebyss are a personal favorite since each of their tails look like the head of the other, but I digress. The list frankly just goes on and on. Especially when you include the 'rivalry pairs' like Zangoose and Seviper or the box art Legendaries.

One of the side effects of having so many pairs and partial clones among the Hoenn Pokédex…is that players don't really bother to learn the difference between things like Solrock and Lunatone. They just see another duo that are different sides of the same gimmicky coin.

Both Psychic/Rock-types glow with a multicolored sheen as they set up the fourth Calm Mind, staring each other down.

For those who don't really care about digging into the numbers, I'll provide you the short version. A little cheat sheet.

Lunatone. Physical stats: Bad. Special stats: Good.
Solrock. Physical stats: Me Gusta. Special stats: No bueno.

Which means that even if both me and my opponent boost our team members to the upper limit, my side is still going to be trailing behind by a good margin.

Solrock: Lv. 30
Nature: Lax
Potential: E+

Lunatone: Lv. 30
Nature: Quriky
Potential: D-

We could try to win this by attacking with Physical moves into Lunatone's weaker Defense…but considering the only moves of that type this Solrock knows are Rock Throw and Tackle…that line of strategy doesn't inspire much confidence.

"Again! / Once more!"

The Calm Minds trigger a fifth time. There's an almost corona of power shining around the two meteorites now.

There is one way the solar-themed Pokémon can overcome its lunar cousin in a direct showdown though. A gamble. A cheeky 'will-never-work-twice' strategy that operates by exploiting a very slight deviation between their almost identical move sets.

My round two opponent opens his mouth again. His lips already moving to order another Calm Mind and continue this stalemate that'll see him land on top.

Whereas Lunatone gets access to Future Sight and the powerful Fairy-type Moonblast, Solrock on the other hand earns itself some interesting coverage in the forms of Fire Spin and-

"SOLARBEAM!"

---

'Hoo, boy...' I exhale a loud and hefty breath. 'Down to the wire now…'

We're finally at the end of round three and the Ace Trainer across from me is proving to be one tricky nut to crack.

The Mightyena they started with was solid. Intimidate, Crunch, Thunder Fang, Sucker Punch, I had no strong switch-ins against it.

The Lombre they followed up with was annoying. Fake Out, Leech Seed, Giga Drain, Astonish, it had way too many tools to stay up and in the fight.

This has to be it though right? Whatever their last pick turns out to be, it can't be as problematic as those two. As long it's not a third tough customer then we might just be able to pull this o-

The white light of the Pokéball disgorges a diminutive figure. A grey-skinned little man who chirps out his own name and then throws out two quick test punches.

Machop: Lv. 45
Nature: Naughty
Potential: B

'Oh my gooooood, I fucking caaaaalled it!'

---

Slateport City, Night Market

'I can't believe I had to get isekai'd before I got around to trying fried seaweed.' I tear off another piece of the vegetable-meat skewer with my teeth. 'Nothin' hits quite like good street food.'

"Poké Vitamins! Proteins! Irons! Zincs! Buy three, get 20% off!"

"Corphish Eggs! Limited supply! All sourced from the world's largest Crawdaunt, I swear on my mother! Get yourself a champion Water-type in the making!"

"We got Thunder Wave! We got Struggle Bug! We got Hidden Power! Status moves, Special moves, your one stop shop for TMs of all types!"

I step around to the latest of many display counters where one of the local peddlers is hawking his goods. According to my travel brochure the market is relatively peaceful so long as you do all your shopping before 5PM. It's when all the slow moving grandmas can pick up their Energy Roots or other herbal products. Once night starts to fall though, the whole bazaar just comes alive.

'Oh sick. They have a copy of Shadow Claw.' I can feel my hand already reaching for the wallet even before I've finished flagging the merchant's attention.

With the Grass-type Power Whip finally settled into his arsenal, Ghost and Fairy remain the only two type-energies that Vlad still doesn't have a good handle on. His observances of Simon using Shadow Punch have resulted in some progress…but nothing we could really call a 'path forward'.

While TM65 isn't known to be compatible with the Gliscor family, it is an easy pickup for K.Rool. Seeing another of his juniors utilizing the phantasmal energy might just be the extra data point our scorpion friend needs.

'Plus, while having a Dark-type like Krookodile learn a Ghost move is usually pretty redundant based on the type chart, there are a few matchups where having that versatility could really matter.' Medicham. Gardevoir. Those are both favorites around these parts. And their dual-typing means the usually vulnerable Psychics can actually hold their own against Dark-types pretty well.

"Dile! Krook-o!" 'Speaking of whom.' I glance to where K.Rool is picking out some delectable street fare of his own. Trading the cash I gave him for what seems to be an entire roasted Carvanha on a stick. With one singular bite he crunches the fish down his gullet, thin piranha bones snapping loudly with every chew. After a cartoonish 'gulping' sound he licks his lips in satisfaction and then sighs happily, rubbing at his belly in contentment.

…at least until he spots me looking. After that, his face quickly schools back into the surly overly-cool 'bad boy' that he pretends he really is.

"Come on you big goof." I usher him along, pocketing the TM away into my bag. "We got a lot more market I want to see."

The evening continues along in a similar pace. Lots of window shopping and perusal, though only a few actual purchases. The main one of note being an Everstone that I've prudently picked up on Junior's behalf. Once he makes the change into Piloswine, I want to ensure there's a safety net to prevent him from entering his final evolution too too quickly. You can really stunt a Pokémon's long-term growth if you don't let them have a settlement period during that middle-phase.

I've also made sure to procure a biiiiig selection of fresh berries in my bag for when we go see Carter in the morning.

I don't yet know what type of lineup he's prepared for us to look at tomorrow, but I do know this.

Whatever youngin's end up joining the team, I'm gonna have their favorite snacks on lock.

---

Party Status:

Junior (Swinub): Lv. 23
Nature: Jolly
Potential: A-

K.Rool (Krookodile): Lv. 41
Nature: Impish
Potential: A-

Simon (Golurk): Lv. 43
Nature: Brave
Potential: SS

Vlad (Gliscor): Lv. 57
Nature: Adamant
Potential: A+

Ma Ma (Ursaluna): Lv. 60
Nature: Serious
Potential: A+

Grundy (Alpha Nidoking): Lv. 70
Nature: Bold
Potential: B

Karn (Registeel) [Inactive]: Lv. 60
Nature: Lonely
Potential: A

Quagsire [Celebi Blessed]: Lv. ??
Nature: Empty
Potential: Does Not Apply

 

[LordVishnu]

Currently troubleshooting the broken image. Not sure what I did wrong.

I can see it fine and complete while in Editor view, but it is broken in Preview and in Forum.

EDIT: Should be good now.

 

[Drakebane]

So going to a foreign country for awhile to let the heat die down some. He has trading to do in Hoenn anyways.

 

[Kelsier Vin]

Welcome back and thanks for the chapter!

It did take me a minute to remember the whole cruise rocket heist we were in the middle of before.

Does the game corner base exist yet? I guess even if it did he might not know for sure that it's there.

 

[Misterninja4]

Oh no! An update! Now I'll have to go back and read everything again! How tragic…

 

[Thatonesungod]

Welcome back, good to see this story cooking again and the consequences coming home to roost.

 

[Jikke]

I really want to see what Quagsire is going to be like when he's finally forced to use him after Celebi did whatever it did to him.

That, and Registeel should have something to do to become active while the gang is in Hoenn.

And of course the true protagonist of this story, Simon. I want to see this guy punch out a legendary eventually. Thanks for the chapter and welcome back.

 

[LordVishnu]

I want to see this guy punch out a legendary eventually

Click to shrink...

Confirmed. He will max rocket speed Ice Punch a Legendary in the face at one point in the story.