[Pokémon] You Will Be The Very Best

Zayphora · Jul 7, 2012

This is my first fic here, so I apologize for anything weird. And don't be fooled by the title-this isn't some weird traveling around for badges and stuff story. In fact I'm pretty sure there'll be none of that in this story.

The main character is Hilda, but I have renamed her Maria because it fits her better.

Ooookay, so here goes...

You Will Be The Very Best

Chapter One- A Not-So-Mysterious Caller

[FONT=Trebuchet, sans-serif]I was at the store when he called.[/FONT]

[FONT=Trebuchet, sans-serif]To anyone else, this might seem like the beginning of a romantic comedy. That's not what's going on here, so if you're looking for one, that's not what you're going to get.[/FONT]

[FONT=Trebuchet, sans-serif]What you are about to read is absolutely true. I mean it. Everyone thinks it isn't, but I swear. It all happened.[/FONT]

[FONT=Trebuchet, sans-serif]Anyway, I was at the store when he called.[/FONT]

"[FONT=Trebuchet, sans-serif]That will be 600P-"[/FONT]
[FONT=Trebuchet, sans-serif]RING RING RING[/FONT]

"[FONT=Trebuchet, sans-serif]Sorry," I said, hastily shoving the money on the counter and grabbing the Potion. I briskly walked out the door as fast as I could, not wanting the weirdos who hang around the Pokemon Center to overhear whoever was calling me. There are a few people, at least two, who love to eavesdrop. I pulled out my phone.[/FONT]

"[FONT=Trebuchet, sans-serif]Maria! I am needing help from you! Meet me at your house!" [/FONT]

"[FONT=Trebuchet, sans-serif]Umm, who is this?" I asked, but the person had already hung up. I stared at the phone as if it would explain the mysterious caller.[/FONT]

[FONT=Trebuchet, sans-serif]Oh well, probably just a prank call, I thought. The phone went back into my bag. But I probably should head home. Maybe it's some weird cousin of mine.[/FONT]

[FONT=Trebuchet, sans-serif]How was I supposed to get there, though? I couldn't very well take out my usual flier, considering that, although I'd gotten used to it, it still looked to everyone else like an epic white dragon of myth and lore, and was likely to attract attention. [/FONT]

[FONT=Trebuchet, sans-serif]At least I wasn't that far from my hometown. I was just in Striaton, looking for Fennel, who had called me earlier. Something about needing to update a link? I couldn't remember. I had visited her lab, but she had been out for some reason. It made me wonder if it had all been a set-up.[/FONT]

[FONT=Trebuchet, sans-serif]I was close enough to bike, anyway. It wasn't too far. I had walked the whole way before, anyway, so biking shouldn't be a big deal. I headed over to the bike rack and untethered my bike. As soon as I got on, the music player started to play some annoying song. I thought I had turned it off! Crap. I reached under the seat and flicked the switch off. Why would a bike come with a theme song, anyway? I don't see the point. Oh well. Silph does what Silph wants to do... I pedaled out of the gate and onto Route 2.[/FONT]

[FONT=Trebuchet, sans-serif]Going this way always made me think of the adventure of a year ago. I had started out on an adventure, without any real idea of what danger was out there. I sometimes wondered what my life would have been like if I hadn't set out that day. Would I have just stayed in Nuvema my whole life and had a kid that would do the same thing? That's what Bel's parents expected would happen to them, and it did...sort of. Bel was still in Nuvema, but she was certainly not going to stay there her whole life. If I knew Bel at all, she wasn't going to stay put for too long. She might not be the most adventurous, but she does have quite a curious streak. Cheren, on the other hand...I hadn't seen him since we battled a few months ago at Victory Road. I wondered if he was still there, or if he had moved on somewhere else. But of course, we'd all moved on...[/FONT]

[FONT=Trebuchet, sans-serif]I was so absorbed in my musings that I almost biked into a pond. An angry fisherman glared at me. I looked around. Route 1 already? I must have really not been paying attention. I was close enough to walk to Nuvema, so I hopped off my bike, which said "Have a nice day!" and walked into town.[/FONT]

[FONT=Trebuchet, sans-serif]Nuvema's a quiet place on a good day. On a bad day, it loses its quaint charm and crosses the line from "quiet" into "unbearably dull". It was in the middle today. No one was out walking around except for that weird old guy that says the same thing over and over. Just for kicks, I walked over to him.[/FONT]

"[FONT=Trebuchet, sans-serif]The power of science is amazing! Now you can use infrared to do all sorts of things in the blink of an eye!" he said enthusiastically. That was what he said every time, and the whole town knew that was all he'd ever say. I instantly felt guilty for bothering him. He had what was known as Anpeci's disease, a disorder that makes you feel compulsed to say the same thing all the time. It was pretty common in the senior citizens of Unova. The poor guy couldn't help it.[/FONT]

[FONT=Trebuchet, sans-serif]I rang the bell on my home's door. My mom shouted "Come in!" like she usually did, and then added, "Your cousins are here!"[/FONT]

[FONT=Trebuchet, sans-serif]Huh. I must have been right. My cousins must have prank-called me. Which cousins were these, though? It was either Tommie and Tia, the five year olds; or Brandon and Kyrie, the siblings who were both in college. It could also be Black. We'd been friends since I was a little kid, and my mom liked to joke that he was my cousin because we've got the same last name, coincidentally. His real name is Hilbert, but he hates it, so everyone who knows him just calls him Black. He'd moved to Castelia City a while ago, and I hadn't seen him in a year. I hoped it was Black. Brandon hated me, and Kyrie was unnaturally quiet. But when I opened the door, nothing greeted me.[/FONT]

[FONT=Trebuchet, sans-serif]The room was completely empty, but the TV was still on. As I investigated in its area, it cheerfully said, "Would you like to change the channel, Maria?"[/FONT]

[FONT=Trebuchet, sans-serif]Ugh. Silph. You people could make so many better things, and you make a talking TV? I don't get it. It's just as pointless as a music-playing bike. I told the TV to shut up, and it resumed playing whatever show was on. [/FONT]

[FONT=Trebuchet, sans-serif]WHERE IS MY MOM?!?! I thought. If my mom wasn't in, who had called my name before?[/FONT]

[FONT=Trebuchet, sans-serif]I suddenly noticed a folded piece of paper on the floor. Well, semi-folded-- It looked more like a failed attempt to make an origami shoe. I picked it up and read the message written on it.[/FONT]

Ｃｈａｎｇｅｏｆｐｌａｎｎｉｎｇ！ＷｅａｒｅｍｅｅｔｉｎｇｂｅｈｉｎｄｔｈｅｌａｂｔｈａｔｉｓＪｕｎｉｐｅｒ'ｓ！Ｏｈ，ａｎｄｙｏｕｒｍｏｍｉｓｏｕｔａｔｓｈｏｐｐｉｎｇ． [FONT=Trebuchet, sans-serif]read the note.[/FONT]

[FONT=Trebuchet, sans-serif]What the heck was going on? I ran out the door and walked as quickly as I could to Juniper's lab. Behind the lab? Whoever the mystery person was, it wasn't my cousins. The five-year-olds couldn't write yet, and Kyrie hated going anywhere dirty. She was a complete neat freak, and Juniper's back lot, unlike the spotless inside of the lab, was a mess. Black wouldn't do something like this either. I was feeling doubtful about the whole situation. What if it was a kidnapper? What if it was the one criminal I hadn't tracked down at the end of last year, come back to get me? Calm down. Stop being so paranoid. It's probably your mom with some surprise or something.[/FONT]

[FONT=Trebuchet, sans-serif]I walked into the back lot. At first, I didn't see anything. I ventured further, toward a dumpster. Suddenly, I heard the sound of obvious footsteps behind me. I whirled around.[/FONT]

[FONT=Trebuchet, sans-serif]A man stood there, wearing a brown overcoat over a black suit and looking extremely suspicious. His dark brown hair stuck out to the right, like he'd been standing in the wind too long. [/FONT]

"[FONT=Trebuchet, sans-serif]YOU AGAIN?!?!?!" I shouted.[/FONT]

"[FONT=Trebuchet, sans-serif]Maria! You did come! Now, we need to go! There are things that need dealt with!" he said.[/FONT]

"[FONT=Trebuchet, sans-serif]What in the world do you want, Looker? You want me to go chasing around for a bunch of criminals so you can have your fun putting them in handcuffs? Huh? No. NO WAY. Whatever you want to bother me about this time, Mr Agent of The International Police, you're not getting it. JUST GO AWAY."[/FONT]

Vato · Jul 7, 2012

Gee, this made my day.
Talking TV's, bikes that play music, Anpeci's disease... loved those. That surely made me laugh :P
I'll surely follow this story.
Keep it up, I can't wait to read what Mr. Agent of the International Police has to say.

Zayphora · Jul 9, 2012

Aww, thanks. You did get what "anpeci" was a pun for, right? I would be sad if you didn't, because I thought it was pretty obvious. I'm going to try to keep the funny stuff mixed in with the story like that going. And the whole "Silph" thing is going to be a bit of a running joke, ehehe.

I purposely forgot to mention a large piece of information about this story. However, I'm going to put it in a spoiler because it is a spoiler, so read at your own risk.

Spoiler:

Anyway, a new chapter is almost ready, so you don't have to wait too long.

Zayphora · Jul 9, 2012

‖[FONT=Trebuchet, sans-serif]Chapter Two[/FONT][FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]‖[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]What Looker Has To Say, or The Start of Yet another Cheesy Journey[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Looker stared at me. [/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]But, Maria! I have no criminals for you to catch! I have a completely different task for you now! You see-"[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Shut it. I do not want to help you."[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]You are bored, no? This will help you not be bored!" enthused Looker.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]That stopped me cold. How in the world could he know that? Had he been watching me? Since when?[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Were you....STALKING ME?!?" I said.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]On the internet!" said Looker gleefully.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]I just stared at him. [/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]..."[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]That! THAT is why I want to talk to you! It has become apparent that the trainer known as Red has gone missing!" said Looker, pointing triumphantly at me.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]I took one look at his face and burst out laughing.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]And you have only just figured this out? We've known this since, like, two years ago at least. It's one of the most common-knowledge things among Trainers. Ever since that one girl named Lyra fought him and beat him, no one has seen him. People have looked all over the place. And let me guess, you want me to come with you up to the top of Mount Silver so we can find him? HE'S NOT GOING TO BE THERE." I said.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Looker looked disappointed. "So...this is not new development?"[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]I facepalmed. "Seriously? Your boss told you that?"[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]...Yes..." he admitted.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Anyway, you're right, I am bored. Wherever you got that information, you happen to be right for once. So what do you want me to do about Red going missing?"[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Help me to find him, of tracks! You see, the HQ needs me to have a partner. They claim that I cannot handle it by myself. I tell them this is nonsense, but they insist! So who do I think could help me? Of course it is Maria! So I come here and ask you, will you help me?"[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Don't you mean 'of course'?" I said, his linguistic quirks starting to annoy me.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Yes, yes. Of course. And back to the point- will you help me?" continued Looker.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Why can't he be distracted and forget about this whole thing? "What do I have to do? And why is it important that Red's 'gone missing', anyway?" I asked again. He hadn't seemed to understand my question before.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]You see, that is classified information! HQ is saying I must not tell you until you decide to join me! Otherwise, they say, you may spread the secrets around, no? So you must decide!"[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]He's actually serious about this. I gave up."You know what, fine. Fine. So I'll help you. Now explain." [/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Ah hah!" Looker shouted. He attempted to do some sort of dance, tripped on a broken Ultra Ball that had been lying in the vicinity of the dumpster, and fell on his face with a loud crash that made me cringe. What if Juniper heard us, and came outside? Would she jump to conclusions? The idea made me cringe some more.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Looker recovered from his epic fail and said, "Come on! We are going now!" [/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Where?" I said.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]To the International Police Headquarters! We must hurry, as it is far away!"[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Where is IPHQ, anyway?" I asked out of curiosity.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]That," said Looker, picking up something off the ground, "is classified information. Come here over." [/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Over here, you mean? I mentally corrected as I walked over to him. He pulled out a Poke Ball and threw it at the window. There was a flash, and a large bird flew out and banged its head on the gutter. It fell down with another large crash. Juniper's definitely going to come out now. [/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Charlie, you come!" said Looker loudly.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Charl---oh. The bird."[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]It is a Staraptor, for you who do not know. Now if it would just—COME!!!"[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]The bird stared at him. If it had hands, I'm pretty sure it would have been giving him the finger.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Grumbling, Looker walked over to Charlie, and I followed him. We grabbed onto the bird's tail.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Use Fly!"[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]The disobedient bird shot straight up into the sky, and with a WHOOOSH flew into a cloud. As was typical of flying with Pokemon, I felt as if I were going to fall off. But I knew I wouldn't. That's just not how it works. Before I knew it, we were in Mistralton City.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Is this where the headquarters is?" I asked.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]NO!" he shouted. He pressed the button on the Poke Ball, and Charlie was withdrawn in a flash of light. Looker then dashed in the direction of Skyla's gym, which was modeled to look like a hangar.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]He burst through the door and shouted "SKYLA!"[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Looker's shout hung in the air. All of the people training in the gym stopped what they were doing and stared at him. Skyla, far in the back on her platform, stared too. She had been petting her Unfezant, which noticed that she had stopped and nipped her. Then she saw me.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Maria! Come up here! Bring your...friend, too." she said slightly awkwardly.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]At this, all the Trainers went back to their business. They knew my name. It was an etiquette thing- whenever you went to train at a Pokemon Gym, you looked at the names engraved on the statue by the door. These were the names of those who had won against the Gym Leader. Mine was there, and on every gym statue in the region. I had beat them all, and everyone knew it.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]I walked up to the huge circus cannon in the center of the gym. I looked up at Skyla. She was tapping at a keypad on her chair, presumably readjusting the course that the cannon would shoot on. As I had when I challenged this Gym last year, I climbed in. Looker was staring at me nervously.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]What, haven't you been to a Gym before? There are puzzles. Skyla's Gym has cannons. Just do what I do."[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]The cannon then turned around and shot me up in the air at a sharp angle. With a loud thump, I landed on the high platform where Skyla sat. I waited for Looker to show up, but I didn't see anything.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Suddenly, I heard this.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]AAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!"[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Looker flew towards me, flailing his arms wildly and attracting a lot of attention. I hurriedly stepped out of the way, and he fell on his rear. [/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]I sighed. "Looker, what kind of...oh whatever. Come on."[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Skyla got off her chair.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]So, who is this guy with you?" she said. "Your-"[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Don't even THINK about it," I said.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]What did you come here for, Maria? If you're coming just to visit, you know I'm going to have to follow the protocol and just say my official greeting thingy. I'm hoping you actually have something to say. You and whoever this guy is."[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Looker stepped forward.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Skyla! I am an agent of the International Police, and I am asking to use your airplane!"[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]I was about to slap him. How clueless WAS this guy?[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Umm, my plane is for cargo only. Where are you trying to go? Has to be far, considering that you would have just used a flyer otherwise," said Skyla in her cheerful voice.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]We," whispered Looker, "are going to the place that is known as—whisperwhisperwhisper"[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]I couldn't hear a word he was saying. I wondered if all detectives did weird things like this, or if it was just him.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Okay." Skyla said.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]WHAT?!![/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]I've got a delivery near there. I really don't tell people this, but I also have a passenger area on my plane. Normally I wouldn't let you guys do this, but Maria, you know what you're doing. You can handle whatever you're off to Sinnoh for. Oh wait, was that a secret?"[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Looker was glaring at her with the hate that I had seen only in the criminals we had caught last year.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]That...was the meant to be confidential," he said with barely contained rage.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Eh...heh...um...I'll be out in a minute. Just take the back exit here" stammered Skyla. She pressed something on the keypad, and the chair whirred away from the wall, revealing a hidden exit. "It's a slide."[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Looker, you go first." I shoved him down the chute and he slid down, screaming until I heard a thump, meaning he'd reached the bottom. That's what he deserves for being so rude to Skyla.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Sorry about him," I said, and jumped into the chute.[/FONT]

Vato · Jul 10, 2012

Once again, a great chapter.
I don't really get how you'll make it fit with Pokemon Creepy Black, but I can tell It'll have something to do with Red.
Can't wait to see what happens in Sinnoh! :D

"That...was the meant to be confidential,"

Lol, this made me laugh for long, best of luck in the next chapters!

Zayphora · Jul 30, 2012

SORRY for the lack of anything, I promise a new chapter is in the works. Curse you, Busyness the Platypus!!!!

If there's anyone in the audience other than Vato, would they please answer this-
Do you think it would be funny if Looker started making random meme references? And would you laugh if someone called him the "phone booth guy"? (please please please get the reference)cuz... My thread is lonely.

Anyway, if you're wondering what the HECK this story has to do with Creepy Black, it's coming. A creepy sequence is a comin.

Astinus · Jul 30, 2012

I've been meaning to read this since you posted about it in the Plot Bunny thread.

Your humor is a nice touch to this. I don't know Looker's canon personality (never played Platinum, finished B/W, or saw his anime episodes), so I don't know if he really is this crazy or not. But I do like how Maria's personality works against his. What a pair they make!

The only piece of advice I can give right now is to proof-read your chapters. There aren't a lot of mistakes in them, just a few small ones that I noticed.

As to your question, personally I don't like a lot of memes in fics. Most of the time, they just seem forced, like the author put them in just for a simple laugh. If, however, you use them much like Anpeci's disease (which made me grin because that was clever!), then it won't be bad.

Zayphora · Jul 31, 2012

^Looker isn't this weird anywhere except in my imagination, but I'm just building mainly off his BW appearance, because of the bizarreness with the fishing rod. Also his pOkemon are unknown, other than that he has a Croagunk, apparently, so I'm making it uP as I go along. And don't get me started on his anime cameos. He gives freaking sandwiches to freaking Team Rocket. Yup, Looker is weird.

Affliction · Aug 9, 2012

I actually quite like this story. You're actually one of the few who remember to add Looker's funny personality... Looker is very LOL in this.

Zayphora · Sep 9, 2012

*rescues fanfic from oblivion*
*promises a new chapter within a week*
*extremely obvious thread-bumping*

Zayphora · Sep 14, 2012

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]-Chapter 3-[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]The Mission, It Is Beginning[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]After a bit of awkward waiting in the rain and wondering if we'd been duped, we got on the plane with Skyla. There were only a few seats, and surprisingly, there was someone in one- a worker type, wearing overalls. I assumed he was some sort of mechanic. Because of his presence, Looker and I had to sit next to each other.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Sinnoh is quite far away, but it apparently takes only an hour to get to Jubilife in Skyla's super-fast plane. However, anything seems long when you're trapped in close quarters with the Most Annoying Secret Agent In The Universe. Looker kept humming some ridiculous song, and was constantly asking me inane things like "The weather is pretty, no?" I was wondering if this whole trip was going to kill my nerves before we even actually got to...wherever we were going after the HQ.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Before I knew it, however, the plane was touching down. Around me was a landscape unfamiliar. Snow-capped mountains stood barely visible on the horizon. The sky was blanketed with overcast, gray clouds, and it was drizzling. When we stepped off, I could feel the difference in temperature- northerly Sinnoh was much colder in all seasons than Unova. I put on my jacket.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]In the distance I could see a city skyline- with buildings similar to those in Unova's central hub, Castelia, but on a much smaller scale. I didn't have time to sightsee, however, because Looker grabbed my arm and said "We need go!", dragging me across the tarmac toward the terminal thing.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]After some security stuff, and a bit of stumbling around, we made it outside to the entrance to Jubilife City, as Looker said it was called. Without waiting for me to catch my breath, he whipped out some sort of walkie-talkie device, and turned away from me so I couldn't hear what he was saying. Curious, I walked closer to him. At that moment, he whipped around, and offered me his hand.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]It would be a smart idea to hold on," he said, and dragged me behind a tree.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]What the heck was going on? I got that this was some sort of secret agent business, but...what if it wasn't? What if Looker was actually some sort of kidnapper? I was about to get up and run away, but then I heard something indistinguishable come out of Looker's walkie-talkie. "I copy" he said.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Suddenly there was a blinding flash of light, and I had a strange sensation of moving while still staying in one place. I realized that the IPHQ had used some sort of teleportation device. As I traveled to who knows where, pulsating colors flashed in front of my eyes. I tried in vain to figure out if Looker was still there, but I couldn't see anything but flash, flash, flash. A few disconcerting seconds later, I found that my feet were back on the ground. I felt like crap. I wobbled a bit, and fell down on my face.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Looker rushed over to me. "Maria! You are alright, no? Do you need help?" He shook me as if he thought I was dead.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Geez, no! I'm fine!" I struggled to my feet and took in my surroundings.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]We were standing outside a huge building, taller than some of Castelia's. I couldn't see any other buildings in any direction. It was almost like this skyscraper had displaced itself from some faraway city, because it certainly didn't belong here, in the middle of the desert. There was a sort of small park around the building, with a few uncomfortable-looking benches and a lonely tree or two scattered about. In the park's center was a statue of a man that I didn't recognize. The park's perimeter was surrounded by a gigantic metal fence. The skyscraper itself had numerous small platforms and balconies projecting off of it, enclosed in screens, walls, and what I thought might have been some sort of forcefield. It was probably the most bizarre building I had ever seen.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Stop gawking! We are hurry!" Looker shouted. I wondered again if all International Police agents were this eccentric.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]I hurried after him as he ran towards the door, his brown overcoat billowing out behind him. Why would he wear something like that in the middle of a desert? I thought, then realized that I wasn't feeling hot, either. It was pleasantly cool, like a day in May. The International Police people must have some sort of climate device. I followed him to the entrance- or what I thought was the entrance. It was a gate cast in bright metal, but it was set into a brick wall. [/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Looker stared at a seemingly random spot on the wall. Suddenly, the bricks disappeared, revealing a smooth metal automatic door, which slid open with a hiss. We walked inside.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]The lobby was plain and unadorned, with blue and gray walls. A nondescript woman sat at a nondescript desk in a nondescript corner of the room. A coffee table and couch were arranged to face a large television screen on the wall, which was off. There appeared to be a shocking lack of security for a spy agency's headquarters.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Looker motioned me over to the desk. He leaned over and said, "We are here for the fishing party"[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]...What?[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Suddenly the floor fell out from under our feet.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]~[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Now it was my turn to freak out. I screamed. I was now convinced that Looker was a crazed kidnapper, and I flailed and tried to get away before I realized we were on an elevator.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Looker, what the heck is going on? Did we just fall through the floor?"[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]SHHHH!!" he hissed at me. "This is secrets! I have no clearance to tell you!"[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]I sighed and stepped off the elevator into a hallway. It was definitely more "spy agency" than the lobby- unmarked doors and no signs, and a security camera hastily concealed in a fake electrical outlet, protruding from the wall as if someone had tripped over it recently.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]I had no idea where we were going, so I just followed Looker down the hall, and into...another elevator. This one was small and cramped, and it shot upward at high speed, like a roller coaster gone berserk. I felt like I might hurl. Looker, however, was completely unfazed. I just tried to keep it together.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]When we finally stumbled off the elevator (well, I was stumbling...) we emerged into another hallway. There was a small window, and I peered out, and felt like I might hurl again- We must have been at the top of the building. The statue in the garden below was a dot like an ant, the fence a small square, what felt like a mile down. I looked away quickly before I made myself sick.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Are we there yet? We've been traveling for way too long," I complained. This thing was starting to wear out my patience.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]SHHH! THIS IS-"[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Secret! I know! But can I at least know what's going on now?"[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]You will know all of that in good time," said a voice behind me. I jumped and whirled around. There stood a man in a dark suit, not fake-Sherlock like Looker's but black, with a white tie. He was tall and imposing, with blond hair and an expression that said, "You think this is hard for me? You're wrong," like he was bored of talking to us and would much rather be casually walking away from an explosion or whatever secret agents do in their free time. Intimidating.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Are you the, um, boss? I mean, jeez, what am I saying? It's not like this is a Team or something. Like, the CEO or whatever," I stuttered, confused. [/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Hmm, the Um Boss. Well, if UM stood for Undercover Missions, you would be half right. I am the CEO, leader, boss, "whatever" of the International Police, so yes, you would be right in addressing me as such. You can refer to me as Adrien."[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]He then turned to Looker. "Let's go into my office, shall we?" He then walked around the corner and disappeared.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Looker was staring guiltily at me.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]...What?" I said.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]I'm sorry Maria! But I must to do this!" he said.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Uh oh...[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Suddenly everything turned the wrong color, and I 'whited out.'[/FONT]

⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]I was standing in a perfectly normal office with no memory of getting there. WHAT THE HECK. The walls were sailor blue, and there was a desk in the back of the small room. Someone was sitting in the desk. Adrien. And a certain someone else was standing to his right. A certain someone who wore a long brown overcoat and wind swept hair.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]GOD! WHAT DID YOU DO?! CAN'T YOU JUST TRUST ME TO WALK DOWN THE FREAKING HALL, HUH, LOOKER?! WHAT DID YOU DO, CARRY ME HERE?!" I was in his face, shouting. I still don't know where it's from, but apparently it's somewhere where it is okay to knock someone out, then carry them to an unknown location and then wake them up with no explanation.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]MARIA! NO! STOP! WHAT ARE YOU DOING! Gyah, you are angry!" shouted Looker, along with some gibberish in another language that I didn't understand, but thought might be obscenities.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Calm down, Maria Hildegarde Black." said Adrien.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]I froze. "You...know my name?"[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Well, obviously, he's the boss of a major undercover agency, what do you think? That he'll just ignore everyone his agents team up with, letting them go spread secrets?" said someone behind me. I whirled around.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]There stood a girl who looked about a year older than me. She was dressed in an outfit fitting any teen, with shiny black combat boots, a gray jacket, jeans, and a shirt the same color as the room's walls. Her hair was raven black, with this green streak in it. Even thought she would have fit in in any big city, she still had an aura of...experience, like she'd seen all this before, and she was disappointed that this was the best the world could send at her. She stared at me with a smirk on her face.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]You can't just keep expecting that the world's gonna revolve around you. This is the real world, and things don't work that way. I can't believe you don't have a single idea what's going on. What a sorry excuse for a Champion." she insulted, walking around me to stand by Adrien. [/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Oh, and by the way, call me Midnight. It's a pleasure to meet you."[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]As I stood gaping at her, Adrien started to talk again.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]I admit, Maria, this has been a huge misunderstanding. You see, your services are technically not needed-"[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Okay, I'll be going then, if you don't need me." I spat, wanting to get away from the situation. Inside, however, my mind was an enormous ball of rage. I had been shot out of a cannon and down a slide, flown to a different country, teleported to some strange office building in the middle of the desert, and knocked out with some sort of sedative to arrive in this stupid office, and now they say my "services are not needed"? What gave them the right to-[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]My musings were interrupted by the loud BANG! of a hatch swinging shut over the door.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]What do you think you're doing, Maria?" said Adrien.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Crap.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]I'm afraid I can't let you leave just yet. If you would simply listen, you would receive a perfectly good explanation for all of this. Kindly sit down in the chair and I'll give it to you."[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Meekly, I sat down.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]So, as I was saying before I was interrupted," -Midnight glared at me at this point- "your services turned out to be unnecessary because Agent Looker already has an assigned partner. Don't you, Looker?"[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Looker nodded sheepishly. "Ah...yes...Maria, I did...Neglect? Yes, neglect, to tell you of this, but..."[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Midnight interrupted. "I'm his assigned mission partner. He went to get you because usually, he's on solo missions, but he got assigned this, and wanted someone else, so he ditched me, used the teleporter without permission, and went to fetch you. End of story."[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]And if you would let me finish, Agent Midnight, our guest would understand the real story," continued Adrien nonchalantly.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]So is anything she said true?" I asked, hoping for a no.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Well...yes. Everything. However, my executives and I have come to the decision that you will be allowed to accompany Agent Looker on his mission."[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Why?" Tempting fate, I know.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]To put it in the words of countless 'lame' old film spies, 'you know too much'. You have entered our base, witnessed a surprising amount of our technology, and even heard the password to get past the security Anpeci in the lobby. You simply cannot be turned away. So we decided to permit you to join Agent Looker, with a few conditions."[/FONT]

That woman was an Anny?"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]What are the-"[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Firstly, you will take mission orders from HQ just as Looker does. You will not go to locations you are not authorized to visit."[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Doesn't sound too hard. At least I'm not Bel. Bel couldn't stand not being able to go shopping for longer than a week.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Secondly, Agent Midnight will accompany you on this mission."[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]I couldn't stop myself from blurting "WHAT?!"[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]She has much more experience than either you or Agent Looker, so she will serve as your guide and mission leader."[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]If smirks could kill, Midnight's would have made me a dead woman.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Finally...well, this is more of a...favor, than anything, but...I have a son. His name is Nikola, and he is ten years old, which as you know is the age that many young children leave home to battle each other with dangerous monsters out in the great big world all alone. As he has grown up in the HQ, he simply cannot be left to roam the region by himself. I haven't told him this, it'd shatter his dreams, but I am unsure he will ever be able to compete in the Gym circuit because of this. So, my request is that he accompany you, and get a taste of life out in the world, possibly beating a few gyms, and then that he be returned here once the mission becomes dangerous."[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]At the risk of sounding fake, I said, "I'd be glad to, Mr Adrien! Thank you for your opportunity to stay!"[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Really, I was thinking, I'm going to travel to an unknown region with the Most Annoying Secret Agent In The Universe, I have to babysit the boss's son, and my leader is the one person I really could consider a rival. What could possibly make this situation worse?[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]The door opened, and in walked a kid. He was up to my shoulder, with sandy blond hair like his father's and that classic 10-year old smirk on his face. He wore a T-shirt with a lightning bolt on it, painted sloppily with the words, "Future Electric-Type Gym Leader". He took one look at me and said, "Seriously? This is her? Well, whatever. I'm Nik. Nice to meet you..." and then coughed something that sounded like "Not."[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Yup, it just got worse.

*An "Anny" is a slang term for someone suffering from Anpeci's disease who is hired to perform a boring job because of their ability to not get bored with it.
[/FONT]

Cosmotone8 · Sep 16, 2012

Nice job! I like the story so far. Keep up the great work!

Zayphora · Oct 6, 2012

Thanks, Cosmotone!

I actually AM almost done with the next chapter. I haven't derped off this whole time...Alright, I did. But there will be a new chapter soon.

Zayphora · Oct 17, 2012

⁕⁕⁕[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Chapter 4⁕⁕⁕[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Okay, the journey is actually getting started this time! NO JOKE![/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]I'm going to send you four to the supply room now. Agent Midnight, I'd assume you know what to do." said Adrien. He pressed a button. Four walls shot up from the floor with a SHWOOP, enclosing me, Nik, Looker, and Midnight in a perfect square, which then dropped down into the floor. Yippee. Another elevator. What is it with this guy and elevators? I sighed. At least I haven't seen any Silph stuff in here.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]The elevator PINGed and I heard a voice say, "Twenty-ninth floor. Mission supplies and briefing. If you have anything to report about this experience, please contact Silph Co through our Office Contac-"[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]The message was cut off by Nik, who- I'm not kidding here -took his shoe off at threw it at the speaker from which the Silph message emanated, making it fizzle out in a burst of 'ZZZZPHhshhsh."[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Nice! Way to shut the stupid thing up," I said, offering him a high five.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]He batted it away. "In your dreams, loser. I'm gonna follow my dad's footsteps and become an Electric leader. I bet you won't be able beat me then. Heck, I bet you can't beat me now," he said with a smirk.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]You asking for a challenge, kid? Do you even know who you're talking to? Know what, you got it. Soon as I can find the time, you're going down." I shot back.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Will you two idiots stop behaving like top'cents* and follow me?!" shouted Midnight. She was already down the hall.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Nik galloped down the hall facing backwards, mouthing "Loser!" at me as he went, and, in the process, caused Looker to fall on his face. Looker muttered something foreign and stood up, dignity clearly sprained. He then turned to Midnight. [/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Ah, madam, is this the room? I do not remember..."[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Stop calling me Madam. I'm Midnight. And of course this is the room, you idiot. Why would we have stopped here otherwise, to get a pizza? Come on."[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]She motioned for us to come. Midnight then put her hand on the door, which emitted a high pitched buzzing sound and a flash of light that made colored spots swim in front of my eyes. When they disappeared, the door was open, and was saying, "Security check completed. If you have anything to re-"[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Once again, a shoe was thrown at the microphone by Nik. It was decidedly less cool the first time, but it reminded me of something. Nik had said his father was an Electric type Gym Leader. His father was Adrien, apparently...Was Adrien also a Gym Leader? What male Electric leaders were there...I racked my brain, but all I could come up with was that fat, insane engineer man from Hoenn, Wattson, and the Kanto leader, Ltn. Surge. I knew I was missing one, but I couldn't remember it.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Hello, sleepyhead? Are you awake? You better get going, or we'll just leave without you!" I heard Midnight shout. She was already in the room, along with Looker and Nik. They were going through a drawer full of some sort of scanning devices. Sheepishly, I walked in.[/FONT]

⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Around ten minutes later, my bag considerably heavier, we walked out of the room.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]So, how are we supposed to get to...Hey, wait a minute, I still don't know where we're going, guys. Can someone fill me in? You promised you'd tell me, Looker," I asked hopefully.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Arc**, you don't know anything. We're going to Kanto, obviously," snapped Midnight, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]And what are we going to do when we get there?" I prompted. I wasn't about to go into this blind.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]We're going to go to the pool and put Pikachu on our heads. What do you think we're going to do? Look for Red. I swear to Arc you're the most oblivious person ever. Are all Unovans like this, or just you?"[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Realizing that I would get nothing but insults out of Midnight, I resolved to ask Looker later.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]We headed back to the elevator. It appeared to be the same one as before, as the microphone was still sparking. On the way in, Nik kicked me.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]What the heck was that for, you little brat?" I snapped, whirling around.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]What?" he said, playing dumb.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]I sighed. "Nik, you remind me why I hate ten-year-olds."[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]The elevator PINGed again, and attempted to say something, probably the name of the floor, but all that came out was "SKKKKSHHzphhhhh"[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]We stepped off. We were at the lobby. How the heck did that happen? Was I too busy yelling at Nik to notice the drop down?[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]I was about to take a step forward when I heard Midnight yell "DON'T!"[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]I hastily pulled my foot back.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]This is ze trick floor," said Looker. "If Maria were to have stepped there, it would have gone 'POOF!', like a cloud. It is a hologram, you see?" He took a rock out of his pocket (Why did he have that? Just don't ask.) and threw it at the ground. It disappeared. "And if you had stepped there, there would have been a Maria missing, no?"[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Why the heck is there a floor that is just a hole?" I said.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Midnight stepped carefully on to the floor. Surprisingly, she didn't fall to her death. Darn. She stepped on another spot, and continued on like this, following some sort of pattern that only she appeared to understand. At one point, she looked around, and walked normally over to the wall and put her hand on a panel.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]The floor in front of me glowed. With a whirring sound, the spots Midnight had stepped on lit up in fluorescent blue. Nik eagerly jumped onto the first one, realized it was a bit trickier than he thought it would be, and promptly jumped back, shoving Looker forward with a "You go first!"[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]After everyone was across, Midnight pulled a long, silver cord out of her Silph TravelBag. ("So small, you can fit everything in it!" Ugh.) She passed the end down the line. I knew that if I asked her what it was for, I'd just get another scathing look and not an answer. So I just grabbed hold of the end.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Midnight pulled something else out of her bag. It appeared to be a radio, like the one Looker had used earlier. She held it up and said, "Dewey, turn this thing on."[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Wait, Agent Midnight. It seems you've got a probationer with you. I'm afraid he's not permitted to use our teleportation devices at this time. So if you would just ask Agent Looker to-"[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Looker ripped the phone out of Midnight's hands. He started shouting.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Do you know who I am? I am not sure you do, because if you did you would not be attempting to keep me here! NO! I AM THE AGENT WHO WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR GETTING RID OF DOCTOR CHARON! I TRACKED DOWN PLASMA'S SEVEN SAGES!! I AM TOO A RESPONSIBLE AGENT! YOU WILL NOT HOLD ME FOR LON-"[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Looker was cut off as Midnight karate-kicked him in the back of the knees. She grabbed the phone out of his hands. "Leader Adrien says he's allowed to come. We're going to Kanto. How else is he gonna get there? C'mon, Dewey."[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Fine. I will be asking Adrien about this."[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]There was a flash of light, and for the second time today, I felt a sensation of not knowing where the heck I was, which way was up, or anything for that matter. Then, I was on my knees, feeling nauseous and staring at a cobblestone street.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]I stood up. A few feet away from me, Looker was using a Silph TownMap ("Always knowing where you're going!" Arc, I hate that company.) to attempt to find where we were, but he was holding it upside down.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Midnight batted it out of his hands. She then pulled out the radio-phone.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Dewey, this is Fuchsia City. We're supposed to be in Pallet. What's with you today?"[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Taking in my surroundings, I found that we were in a village of some sort. The streets were paved with reddish-brown bricks, and all of the houses, lined up in haphazard roads, had maroon roofs and doors. Down the street was the familiar orange roof of a Pokemon Center. At the end of the narrow, shady road, which was lined with locust trees, a route gate stood. Unlike the ones back home, its doors were open, and I could see shimmering turquoise water on the other side. [/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Nik was tugging on Midnight's bag. "Hey! Forget about me? What are we gonna do? Did Dewey mess up? I wanna go catch a Pikachu. NOW. Dad promised me you'd take me to go catch a Pikachu!"[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Shut up!" she said, and turned back to the phone. "Dewey, come in. You've sent us to Fuchsia City instead of Pallet Town. Is this intentional? Come in!"[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Ah...well, this was not expected," replied Dewey through the phone, with a significant amount of static. "It seems that Pallet Town has been...quarantined. We've got a cam on it now, and both the water and land entrances are blocked off, with some guards posted nearby. Seems like you're just going to have to travel by foot a little, until you get there and find out what's going on."[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Hopefully we can get there quickly," said Looker.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Believe me, I think so too," said Midnight. "Gimme that," she snapped suddenly, gesturing to the TownMap.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]He picked it up and gave it to her.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Alright. Nik, come over here," called Midnight. Nik shuffled back. "What were you doing over there?"[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]That guy won't talk to me," he said, pointing in the direction of a man standing at the street corner. "I asked him if he knew where to get a Pikachu and all he said was, 'The Pal Park is just over there! I heard that it's on the location of the old Safari Zone! It sounds like a lot of fun! You should go there, young Trainer!'" Nik used an exaggerated old man voice. "Is he a kidnapper or something? How'd he know I was a Trainer, anyway?"[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Well," I said, "your belt. That belt is only worn by Trainers, because it's got the special pockets to hold your Pokeballs. So that might have been it. Plus, he's an Anpeci. They seem to know these things. You shouldn't bother him, that's rude."[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]...Oh..."said Nik. I'm not sure he'd realized the man was an Anny.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Ahem" said Midnight. She was waiting impatiently near a bench in the park a block away. Looker was beside her. "Get over here."[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]We walked over, Nik nervously eying the old man. [/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]So, we're here." Midnight pointed to a shiny yellow spot on her TownMap. Unlike when I had first received mine, all the town spots were filled in, showing that she had visited all of the towns on the map. Because of some weird League rule, you weren't allowed to fly on a Pokemon to a town you hadn't visited already. They claimed that it 'ruined the adventuring experience'. Whatever. I wondered whether Midnight had actually been to all the towns in Kanto, or whether this was a modification she or someone else had made.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]We can either follow this long land route-" here she traced along a line labeled "Cycling Road," which intersected with a few other routes before finally reaching a red square labeled "Vermilion City"- "and use the Diglett Cave to go to Pewter, then travel through Viridan to Pallet. That'll take forever, and even if we didn't take the Cycling Road, we'd have to pass through Lavender and Saffron, which is bound to take longer."[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Or, we could take the water route." She traced a path through the ocean that bordered Fuchsia City, and stopped at a dot labeled "Cinnibar Island." "We could stop at Cinnibar for supplies, and the rest of the route takes us directly to Pallet. We're short on time, and this is much faster. The only problem is, do we all have water Pokemon to surf with? Nik, what do you have?"[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Nik lit up. "I'll show you!" he shouted. He pulled two Pokeballs out of his belt.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Go!" he yelled as he threw them into the air.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]They flashed twice, and with a BANG two Pokemon were on the ground. One was a happy-looking little monkey. It had brown fur, a tan face, large ears, and sported a bright red flame on its rear end. The monkey nuzzled at Nik's leg and chirped.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]What kind of Pokemon is that?" I said. "I've never seen it before. It looks like a Pansear, but..."[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]It's a Chimchar, duh," said Nik, as he picked the monkey up. "His name is Pauly. Dad took me all the way to Rowan's house to get him. That's really far away from the headquarters. Pauly is my starter." Nik bragged. "He might look little, but I bet he could beat you!"[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]We'll see about that," I said. "What's the other one?"[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]The other Pokemon was a little blue-and-yellow cat. It sat on Nik's shoe, waved its shiny star-tipped tail, and took a nap.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Nik clapped in front of its face. "Wake up, Schroedinger! This is not a good time to nap!" The cat jumped a foot in the air and hissed at him. Some sparks flew from its tail.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Its name is Schroedinger?! Well, that's random..." I said.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]I caught him on the way back from Rowan's house. He's awesome! His name is kinda long though, so I call him Schrody.. He's a Shinx. My dad has a Luxray! It's what Schrody will turn into when he gets bigger. It's really awesome. It's huge and scary and shoots lightning at people! I can't wait until Schrody gets that big."[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Neither of these guys can learn Surf," said Midnight. "You're either going to have to catch something quick, or use one of mine—wait, you're not getting mine. Maria, lend this kid a water type. We don't have time to wait for him to catch one."[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Nik and I were both equally annoyed.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Look, I don't even know if the Storage System here accepts my foreign account. If it doesn't, then I can't get into my PC and withdraw any Pokemon for this kid. And he's certainly not getting one of my good team members."[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]I can too catch my own!" Nik insisted. "I caught Schrody all by myself! We're right by the ocean, see? I can do it!"[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Looker piped up. "I do not know as much about the Kanto, but I think that Maria is fine with the Storage here. I heard someone say that the Storage System is...universal? Yes. Universal throughout the regions, so you will be fine, no?"[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Somewhere in that pile of nonsense, there's some truth," said Midnight. "The Storage System works wherever you are. Nik, I said NO. Your dad isn't here, and I'm the oldest, so I'm the boss here."[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Isn't Looker the oldest?" I said.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]"Well, yeah. I'm 19, he's 21. But unlike him, I know what I'm doing. So yeah. I'm the oldest. [/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Hey!"[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]What? Looker, no offense, but you look a lot older than that."[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]I," replied Looker as he reached in his TravelBag, "am a master of disguise." He pulled out a box of Pocky and offered me a stick.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Midnight grabbed the box and set it down on the bench. "As a very famous professor from the town we are heading to once said, Looker, now is not the time to do that."[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Seriously? I want some Pocky!" whined Nik.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Would you PLEASE stop whining? It's getting really annoying, and if you don't stop..." I hesitated. I wasn't his parent. I really didn't have any authority to tell him what to do like this.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]...and if you don't stop," Midnight finished, "we'll just call Dewey to 'port you home and you'll never get to go on a gym circuit, let alone leave the region."[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]That shut him up.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Anyway, go get Nik a water type. It doesn't have to be good. In fact, it should be something bad so it'll be sure to listen to him. He's got what, no badges?"[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Fine..." I said, and headed into the Center.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Around five minutes later I was back, a Poke Ball in my hand. I gave it to Nik, and he eagerly threw it up to see what he'd received.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]With a QUACK, a pathetic looking duck fell on the ground. It was neon yellow, with big bulging eyes. It clutched its head like it was in pain as it waddled in circles. It was a Psyduck.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]...is this a joke?" said Nik.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]No. This was the lowest level Water type I could find, and otherwise, it won't listen and you'll end up drowning."[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]He sighed. "Does it have a name?"[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Nah. I just caught her because I was trying to complete my 'Dex. You can keep her, actually. I don't really care," I said. "She'd probably be happier with you anyway."[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Thanks...I guess?" said Nik. "I'm gonna call you Daisy."[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]How creative. I thought.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Looker, what do you have?" said Midnight.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Ah. I have Charlie, then Dante, and Rory, and Brook and Karolin. Oh, and Pharaoh. We should never forget about Pharaoh. It gets angry."[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Would you mind showing those to us? I can't tell what species they are from their names, you know," I said, trying to be polite.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Ah!" he exclaimed. He pulled out six Balls from his belt and tossed them up, shouting "Go!" as Nik had.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]In front of him fell Charlie the Staraptor, a strange little wooden elf creature that blew air at the ground, a large black dog with an angry expression, a luminescent fish with blue stripes, and a huge bloated purple frog with nasty-looking claws.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]That's only five. Where's the last one? And which one is which?" said Midnight.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]You know of miss Charlie, but this Nuzleaf" -he gestured to the wooden elf thing- "is Dante, this Mightyena is Rory, the Lumineon is Brook, and the Toxicroak is Karolin."[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Where's Pharaoh?"[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Ah..." he said, fidgeting nervously, "Well, Pharaoh is not...a day creature. It likes the darkness, no? I am worried that it might get sick."[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Just show it to us. A bit of sunlight won't hurt it." said Midnight.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Alright...Nik, are you afraid easily?" Looker said.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Heck no. Come at me, bro!" he said confidently. We all stared at him.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Looker threw the final ball up in the air, and it opened with a lot of cheesy Smoke Seals he must have attached at some point.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]The thing that emerged from it was a few feet taller than an average person. It was a large golden coffin, with a dark hole where the face should be. From within the hole, a pair of glowing yellow eyes shone out, along with a devilish grin. Four ghastly arms of smoke extended from the coffin's form, and it emitted a disgusting stench.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Yuck. That think smells! What the heck? Is it supposed to be the ghost of a trash can? Ew. Could you put it away, please?" I said.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Nik stared at it, clearly terrified. [/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Nik, you okay?" I said, patting him on the shoulder.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]He jumped. "Y-y-yeah. I'm fine! Just fine! Nothing's wrong! Just...put it away, would you?"[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Looker dutifully recalled Pharaoh. "Nik, I told you it was a frightening beast! Why did you not say that it would scare you?"[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Never mind. Can Brook surf?", said Midnight quickly.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Yes."[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Maria, what do you have?" she asked.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]I quickly let out my team. Oswald, my Samurott, Hera, the Archeops, Medusa, the Hydregion, Zorro, the Zoroark, Selene, the Milotic, and Effie, the Liepard that I'd been working on training.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Can the otter surf?"[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Definitely."[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Hey Maria," piped up Nik, "Where's that all-powerful Truth Dragon you're famous for? Isn't that your signature?"[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]I left her back home. My friend's watching her. I didn't think it would be a good idea to take her to a new region like this, but at the same time I didn't really want to leave her in the PC. You know? It just didn't feel right. So Black's watching her."[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Huh," Nik said.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]It had begun to get dark. The sunset gleamed in the distance, shining blindingly through the gate door.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]We should probably find somewhere to stay," said Midnight.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]The Center's got some rooms," I said. "The nurse claimed that there were a few left."[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Nah," she replied. "Centers creep me out. The people are just too...friendly. I bet Dewey could find a hotel or something. Come on."[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]After some arrangements had been made, we had comfortable lodgings at the Sea View Hotel on the edge of Fuchsia City. We agreed that we'd set off on the ocean route first thing after breakfast the next morning, but for now, everyone was in need of sleep. I crawled into bed and let Effie sit on the pillow. She meowed contentedly and begun to knead it.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]'Night," I said, and turned out the lights.

__

[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]The boy stood, the cold, snow-bearing winds swirling around him. Their howling voice rang in his ears. He was unfazed, however. His intent was focused on something else. He stared out at the distant silhouette of a city, tiny from his perch at the very peak of the tallest mountain. He could sense that what he'd been waiting for was here.

[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Somewhere inside the boy's bag, It shuddered. It shook inside Its ball, wanting to be let out.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]NO, the boy thought. I WILL NOT let you get out like that again. I don't know what came over me. All I know is that it's not happening EVER again. Shut up.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]It refused. It continued to shake, pounding his mind with Its pleas. LET ME OUT, It whispered. I WON'T HURT ANYONE AGAIN.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]It took all of the boy's will to keep himself from pulling It out and chucking It over the cliff. He wanted to get rid of It more than ever now, to watch Its smoky indigo form dissipate in the high winds. But he knew it didn't work that way. He'd tried many times to get rid of It. It kept coming back, no matter what you did. He had learned to deal with It, to just forget about It. But recently It had been...growing. Bothering him more, trying to influence him to do things. He had succeeded in resisting, but he didn't think he'd have to do that much longer. He had a plan, a glorious plan to get rid of It forever, to make it leave this world and never return.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]A plan that involved the four foreigners that had appeared in the faraway city on the horizon that afternoon.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]So, as the snow fell silently, as the noisy wind pushed its way into all of the cracks in the rocks, as the lights of the distant city softly glowed, and the stars above shone faintly underneath a thin layer of cloud, the boy simply pulled his hat down over his eyes and watched.[/FONT]

*Top'cent is an offensive term for the many, many young children that find a spot in a random location, and park themselves there, with food and camping gear, and sit waiting for someone to come by and battle them. The term stands for 'top percentage', originating from that really lame movie about a top'cent kid with a fancy Rattata who decided he was going to take on the Champion with only this one Pokemon. His name was Josey or Joey or something. Apparently it was based on a true story, but I don't believe that. I'm not sure it's POSSIBLE to be that stupid.

**An abbreviation for Arceus.

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Note- There's a MissingNo pun in here somewhere.[/FONT]

Zayphora · Nov 17, 2012

Sorry! Sorry! I'm really bad at updating! Don't lock the fic! Please? Okay. I just have been super busy, and as a result have to bump the thread again.....:P

Zayphora · Nov 30, 2012

Alright, I have to admit this. I've been neglecting this fic, and am going to be letting it go dormant for now while I pursue another idea I've been thinking about for a while. I'll eventually get back to this but for now, Maria's story is on hold. Bye~

dudebot · Nov 30, 2012

I like the vague tone in Chapter 1. It's a nice set-up.

Zayphora · Jun 3, 2013

Guess who decided to get off her lazy bum and restart this fanfiction!

⁕⁕⁕[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Chapter 5⁕⁕⁕[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]In Which There Is a Battle and Our Heroes Learn A Bit About Midnight's Past[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Nik woke me up at about 5 AM, throwing a pillow into my face.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]What the heck, Nik? I was trying to do this really fun thing. It's called sleep. You should try it sometime." Effie hissed at him as I recalled her.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Midnight grumbled and sat up. "Arc, Nik, why in the world would we need to get up at 5 freaking AM? Do you have no sense of time?"[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]There are less things in the water in the morning!" Nik said, jumping around. "We can get there faster! And the faster we get there, the faster I can get my Pikachu! Come on, guys!"[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]I heard Looker mutter something about kids not knowing when to stop. I agreed with him, to be honest.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]We got dressed in fresh clothes, Midnight putting on a pair of capris and a T-shirt, and Looker donning an identical copy of the brown suit he was wearing yesterday. As Looker grabbed his heavy coat, Nik looked at him strangely.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Why are you dressed like a spy? Aren't spies not supposed to look like spies?" he said, confused.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]It," said Looker as if everyone should know this, "is reverse psychology."[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]That actually make some amount of sense, I thought.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]He always dresses like that. I've just sort of gotten used to it," said Midnight, resigned. [/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Can we get going?" said Nik impatiently. "This is MY adventure, so I get to do whatever I want!"[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Nuh-uh," I said. "We're only taking you along because we have to."[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]What?" said Nik, clearly bewildered. [/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Never mind," said Midnight. "Let's go."[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]We each mounted our respective surfing Pokemon and set off from the beach. The air was cool, with a slight breeze that made Looker's coat billow out in the breeze like an enormous balloon. Below the water, I caught glimpses of rare-looking fish and Pokemon, and watched them swim away when Nik sprayed ridiculous amounts of Silph Co PokeRepel around. That stuff smelled nasty even to Oswald, and he wrinkled his nose in disgust. I petted his head to try to calm him down, but he was still uneasy.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]About a mile out, Nik shouted "Hey, who's that guy?"[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]There was a lone man standing by himself on a sandbar, staring off into the distance. He wore an outdated Policeman uniform, and wore a similarly old looking Trainer belt.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Probably just some Anny," said Midnight dismissively.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]We shouldn't get too close to him. You know how they react." I said. On my journey, I'd encountered countless lonely Annys who stood in the same spot all day, just waiting for someone to cross their path and battle.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Looker steered Brook around the man's line of sight, and Nik clumsily did the same with Daisy. As Midnight pulled her Dragonair away from the sandbar, I continued on toward the man. I wasn't sure why I did it. It probably had to do with the fact that my dad, who used to be a medical researcher who specialized in forms of treatment for Anpeci's disorder, once told me that for some Anpecis, their only form of happiness came when they did whatever task they were compelled to do. Judging by the belt the man wore, he was a Trainer of some sort, and considering that he was out in the middle of the sea on a sandbar, he probably didn't get many visitors. I sort of felt obligated to go battle him, because I knew it would just make his day to meet someone.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Hey! Hey Maria! You idiot, you're going the wrong way!" shouted Nik.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Slowly, I edged Oswald towards the man. The moment I moved into his line of sight, his head snapped down to stare me in the eye and he said, in that strange, robotic way that they all do:[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Looking out at the ocean makes me think about my childhood as a Trainer!"[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]So he was a Veteran. The League gave out Trainer Classes to all registered Pokemon Trainers, Anpeci or otherwise. Veterans were sort of retired Trainers, who battled rarely and if at all, not particularly competitively. They were often older men. That explains the old uniform, I thought.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]My watch beeped and said in a tinny voice, "Veteran Christoph wants to battle!"[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Christoph threw out a Poke Ball and from it emerged a great orange dragon with curly antennae-like structures protruding from its head. It was a Dragonite, a rare Pokemon I'd only ever heard about in the news once, when the Johto Champion, Lance, had been interviewed by some brave reporter. (Lance was not particularly...friendly, from what I'd heard. He had a habit of threatening to feed people to his many dragons if they didn't agree with him.) From what I knew, Dragonite were not particularly common among ordinary Trainers, but from my experience I knew that Veterans often had access to rarer Pokemon than usual.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]I sent out Selene, who gracefully did a flip in the water as her rainbow-colored scales shimmered. Christoph's eyes widened. He seemed surprised to see a Milotic.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]What is that?" he said in a completely different voice. "I've never seen one before."[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Her? She's a Milotic. Evolves from Feebas, you know? With a Prism Scale?" I was quite shocked that an obvious Anpeci like him was saying something so "off-script".[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]I...I've never heard of it," he almost whispered, dazzled by the tiny rainbows glancing off Selene's back.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]What's wrong with that guy? Why isn't he being all Anny-ish and stuff?" said Nik, at the worst possible time.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Midnight gave him her signature glare. Looker glared too, and said, "That, Nicholas, is rude."[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]It's NIKOLA!" insisted the ten-year-old.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Christoph raised his arm in my direction and shouted, "Astrid! Use Dragon Pulse!"[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Mirror Scale!" I commanded. With a flick of her tail, Selene angled her body so that the sun's rays hit the reflective skin of her scales in just the right way. A sort of misshapen barrier formed between her and Astrid. The Dragonite opened its mouth wide, wide, wide...wider than I would have thought possible, and with a whooshing sound expelled a globular ball of light from its gaping maw. Immediately, the wall of light in front of Selene focused to a cannon-like form, absorbed the Dragon Pulse from Astrid, and fired back a stronger blast in the orange creature's direction.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]It was a direct hit. The dragon swayed, dazed by the hit. Christoph suddenly made a time-out gesture at me. Surprised, I nodded. He quickly went over to his Pokemon, picked it up under the arms, and hefted it up, saying, "Come on Astrid, you can do it!" Miraculously, the dragon stood up straight and cocked its head at Christoph, waiting for a command.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]This simple gesture was enough to convince me that this was no ordinary Anpeci. A real Anny would have simply went on with the battle, ignoring his Pokemon's need. It was a topic of controversy among Poke-rights activists (the most radical of whom I'd fought last year) that Annys have little to no care for their Pokemon. But no, this man, this "Veteran Christoph" was something else entirely. Certainly not an Anpeci, at any rate.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Behind me, Nik gaped, obviously confused by the man's behavior. He was making his dismay known quite loudly, mainly by way of pulling on Looker's coat and asking him why the Anny wasn't acting normal. [/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Ice Beam, Selene," I whispered to the Milotic. Christoph had said something – I'm not sure what – to his Dragonite, and it was coming toward Selene with a fist full of lightning. Thunderpunch, I thought. The guy's got some nerve to be electric out here in the ocean. He's going to get us all killed! Astrid raced toward Selene, whose mouth was forming a ball of crystalline ice to be launched at the dragon. There was only a split second of difference between the attacks, but it was enough – when the smoke from the mixing elements cleared, Christoph's Pokemon was lying on the ground, fainted.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Christoph recalled it, and snapped his head up in what I now realized was a passable imitation of an Anpeci's robotic glance. With precision, he said, [/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Your battle was just as exciting as any one in my yout---"[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Excuse ME, sir, but I'm going to have to ask you to show me your Trainer Card," snapped Midnight briskly. She had ridden her Dragonair over to the sandbar, and now had Christoph at a length that seemed to be intruding upon his personal space.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Fine, ma'am, I will," said Christoph obligingly. He reached into his pocket and handed the worn piece of plastic over.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Looker and Nik, curious, rushed over to the sandbar to see it. I leaned over to catch a glimpse, too.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]CHRISTOPH ------------(here, the last name was blacked out)[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]VETERAN TRAINER[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Age—65[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Gender—Male[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Physical Disorders- None[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Mental Disorders- None[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Badges—8[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Address—640 Parkett Lane, Vermilion City, East Kanto[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]You could be a Champion with all those badges!" said Nik in awe. "Are you a former Champion?"[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]You are not an Anny at all!" said Looker. "You are a master of disguise like me, no?"[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]What are you doing so far from Vermilion?" said Midnight. "And are you aware, Mr "Christoph", that falsely pretending a Trainer class is a level one infraction on the League infraction scale, asking for a fine of $3000 P?"[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Calm down, calm down!" said Christoph. "Friends, as you seem to have figured out, I am not who I appear to be. I can tell by your friend"–here he gestured to Looker–"and his attire that you are here on Interpol business? Well, in truth, I am perfectly mentally fit, and am also here on business. In fact, I have had run-ins with the Interpol many times before, and few of them have been friendly. I refer to myself as Christoph nowadays, but you will probably know me by my other name..."[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Suddenly, he whirled around, spinning in circles and as he did so, throwing off his graying hair, which was a wig, and his tattered uniform. As we gaped in surprise, it flew off into the wind, but Christoph wasn't naked – he had something on under it. When he came to a stop, Christoph was a much younger man; his hair was fluorescent purple* and he wore a very new looking military-ish getup, but the most noticeable thing was the bright red R printed on the chest of his shirt.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]...Christoph...Petrol."[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Midnight gasped. "YOU!" she shouted, grabbing the man who called himsef "Petrol" by the collar as he laughed smugly. "YOU...YOU (9curse word))!!! YOU AND I HAVE UNFINISHED BUSINESS!! DID YOU THINK I'D FORGET WHAT YOU DID? DID YOU?!" She shook him, and yet he still laughed in her face.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Who the heck is this guy?" I asked Looker, as Midnight shouted. Although I was shocked, I didn't want to get in her way. She looked pretty mad. No, scratch that – she looked RIDICULOUSLY ENRAGED.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Ah...an old enemy of Madam Midnight. She once had fights against him, no? This "Petrol" used to be an executive of a long-dissolved organization known as..."[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Christoph, or Petrol, or whoever he was, kicked Midnight in the shin and finished Looker's sentence. "Team...Rocket. You've heard of it, haven't you?"[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Of course, I'd heard of Team Rocket. Who didn't? They were the mafia-like group that had once ruled Kanto, that had been taken down once by the very man we're looking for, Red, and another time by two best friends, Lyra Kristal and Ethan Gold. (Ethan, like my friend Black, preferred to go by his last name.) They had terrorized Pokemon and people, attempted to awaken legends and even created what they considered the "ultimate" Pokemon, the creature known as Mewtwo. It was impossible NOT to have heard their name somewhere. They had become a sort of legend, with their red and black gang uniforms and suspicious looks.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]I thought I'd never have to see you again," said Midnight, picking herself up, "and you followed me here! After everything you did..."[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Um, what DID he do?" asked Nik innocently.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]None of your damn business, Nik."[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]A sharp intake of breath was heard from the innocent 10-year-old.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]I'll take the liberty of explaining this one, Andrea," Petrol cut in.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]It's MIDNIGHT," she hissed.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]I am, and was, a part of the organization known as Team Rocket. At one point, as you all must know, our goal was total world domination. However, as you can see, this failed, so we changed our purpose to something more realistic. At the point that I met your friend Andr- er, Midnight, we were still pursuing our original goal. Midnight showed up to our secret base in Goldenrod and attempted to apprehend me and my entire group of colleagues-"[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]You mean your HENCHMEN!" Midnight shouted.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]with a similar group of her own colleagues, and, to put it simply, failed-"[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]He gassed the entire room with sedatives and nearly killed me! I woke up in a cell somewhere in their base, and I had to break myself out, and when I escaped, I couldn't find the other agents, and-"[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]-this would have all been avoidable if she hadn't been such a meddling little girl at the time; you must remember that this was five years ago and she was fourteen years old, certainly not capable of interacting on an adult scale-"[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]It's been five years and I still haven't found them! Lisa, David, Nathaniel...they never came back from that mission and, despite what this villain says, there's no way we simply haven't found each other since then! The regions may be a big place, but the IP has ways of tracking people, and those three just disappeared-"[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]-and your friend here found me by chance two years ago before Team Rocket recovered from its disbanding and reformed with a new mission, and she made it known to me that if she ever ran into me again, she'd leave me no mercy-"[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]HE KILLED THEM!! I KNOW IT! HE WON'T ADMIT IT BUT I NEVER SAW THEM AGAIN! THEY MUST BE DEAD!!"[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]-and I believe that takes us up to right now, doesn't it?" Petrol finished, having dodged Midnight's interruptions with agility.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Pardon my interruption, but the Team Rocket...if you disbanded, why are you still here at...large, no?" inquired Looker as Midnight stood fuming, knee deep in water from the surrounding ocean. Thankfully, I was still wearing my shorts, so I was fine.[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]We in Team Rocket decided that if we couldn't rule Kanto, we might as well aid it, and for us that meant to...explore it more fully, to discover the mysterious things about it and keep what secrets the public shouldn't know. We're sort of like the International Police of Kanto, except we have better outfits and people know we exist." Ignoring Looker's protests, he went on. "I'm out here on Rocket business, and you'd do well to listen to me. I'm stationed here to warn people about the danger up at Cinnibar. There's something in the water, some sort of biochemical spill or something, and it's not particularly safe to surf on. It's coming from this tank on the eastern side beach. We're quarantining it until it's safe to travel there again. It's not a full quarantine, however, so it's still permissible to travel there, and considering you're also on business I suppose you're capable enough to traverse dangerous territory. If you're looking for what I think you're looking for, you'll have to deal with many more dangerous things than a stupid oil spill along the way anyway."[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Smiling at the idea of Looker being called 'capable', I said, "What do you mean? What sort of dangerous things?"[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]If you truly choose to continue on your mission, I beg you to remember my advice. Some people simply don't want to be found, and in all honesty that sort of person is sometimes better off missing."[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]What does that even mean?" said Nik. "Hey, person! Get back here!"[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Christoph Petrol, after delivering this cryptic advice, started to spin around in the same way as he had before, and this time it was obvious that he was on the way out.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]With speed, Midnight jumped in front of him and stuck her arm out, stopping his spin.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Looking him in the eye, she said with genuine emotion in her voice, "Why? Why would you come back to deliver pointless advice to someone known to despise you totally, someone whose friends you'd killed? What gives you the right to do that?"[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]The Kantonese Articles. Every person has the right to say and do anything as long as it does not violate the basic rights of another."[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Which are?"[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, in the words of another document that inspired that part of the Articles. Among others, of course."[/FONT]

"[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]But...why?"[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]
"Did you ever stop and consider, Andraea, that some people have the capability to change?"[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]Leaving her with that strange sentiment, he pushed her away, resumed spinning, and promptly disappeared.[/FONT]

[FONT=DejaVu Sans, sans-serif]* A fairly common occurrence in Kanto. It seems to be in fashion to dye one's hair neon.[/FONT]

[Pokémon] You Will Be The Very Best

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