The Sinnoh moon glared white like the semen covering her face. It was in blotched formations, partially hiding bruises, meshing with her make-up and tears. Her neck had gone purple from the rush of emergency blood, some of which inconspicuously trickled out on to the burgundy carpet, but her chest was white and withdrawn. The shade of her convex spine grew darker as it went downwards, that shade eventually becoming as deep as that of her cocktail dress, ripped off and slung over a chair two metres away. This decaying structure of a woman had lain on the floor motionless, aside from heavy breathing, for the past 2 hours, but its peacetime was interrupted by the detonation of a cough and splutter. The squeezing of excess water out of her eyes and a brave look upwards revealed a purple-gator shoe. Further up, and with added pain, she saw Robert de Gobin towering over her.

He was sitting in his armchair with one leg straight and the other crossed over it. His hands sharpened the end of a long stick with a pen-knife, his eyes stayed fixed on the large TV in front of him. As the wood-shavings floated to the ground a passing Glameow paused to sniff at them, before jumping over the girl's body and continuing. The creature stretched and brushed itself against the room's heavy curtains, observing the royal bed, wall hangings and piles of briefcases that were cast in the blue glow of the TV. It then moved behind the curtains and sat down on the balcony, eventually nodding off to the tranquil landscape-view that Suzuran Island offered.

The girl groaned slightly. Consciousness made her feel as if her body had been pulled inside-out. Mr Gobin paused, twitched his moustache and brushed his suit with a gloved hand. Well, at least she's alive, he thought to himself. Then he restarted his whittling.

The news channel that he was watching blurted out various tales, some true, some false. His eyes sharpened at the mention of the International Pokémon League, this year held in Hoenn's Ever Grande City. The event had gripped the last week's news with swooping shots of waterfalls and explosive action. It attracted 8% more trainers than the previous year. Mr Gobin sighed. Becoming a trainer was such a waste of good muscle. He listened:

"...which was how Hoenn's own Brendan Duke took the title of Champion this year, beating off the previous holder, Wallace Ford. Duke was crowned victor at yesterday's ceremony and was greeted by national leaders for his success. Here, we can see him shaking hands with the President of the Kanto region, Richard Bernstein..."

He gave a sideways smile. Putting down the stick and knife, he raised a wine glass from the nearby coffee table and drank to the kid's honour. Its taste confused him. He pinned the off-key, rather bitter flavour on the wines youth; perhaps he would need a new butler, one who didn't mince decades. But he continued to drink it, whether he liked it or not. Wine wasn't a necessity for him, it was a symbol of power, much like the other lavender furnishings that decked the room. If he wanted to defile the juices of a Pamtre berry while they were still pink, so be it.

"I don't suppose you want any, Ms Chambers?" he asked the girl. His voice had a strangely soothing quality to it, a confidence that won people over time and time again. He stretched the glass out in her direction without moving his head from the screen. "It's good stuff. Very mature. Almost perfect, in fact."

She grumbled in reply. The news rolled on.

"...so the events of the League are now over. However, for the national leaders involved there is more to come; they traditionally hold a small dinner party where they discuss politics together the night after the closing ceremony. Of course, it is also a time for ministers to relax and get to know each other personally. Speeches will be made by both the Hoenn Prime Minister, Edmund Locke, and its Foreign Minister, Irving Smith. Unfortunately, the Gorebyss Falls Hotel isn't admitting any reporters or cameras inside, so we..."

He turned, looking over her nude, sprawling figure.

"Now, Ms Chambers," he began.

"Please..." she choked out, very suddenly. He waited for her to follow this up, but her mouth stayed ajar as if a ghost was forcing it open. While she recovered, he noticed that the clock read 10:23 PM. He considered that the Hoenn region was 3 hours behind due to the time-zone differences. That meant that while his evening was nearly over, theirs was just beginning. To this he smiled. He liked being ahead of the game. He turned back to see how Ms Chambers was doing.

"Well?" he asked.

"...don't...hurt..."

"Oh, come now Ms Chambers..." he nonchalantly cast at her. He listened once more to the TV's ramblings:

"...many reporters asking about the war crimes committed by the current Sinnoh government at the end of their civil war 7 years ago. Due to these allegations it is suspected that their representatives won't..."

Mr Gobin sneered and muted the reporters. They carried on with their dumb show regardless.

He turned quickly back to Ms Chambers, who was now beginning to move, and flashed her a grin under his rigid moustache. "Now, if we can finally converse, tell me what you want to say. Speak up this time."

She strained and managed to prop herself up with outstretched arms. Her breasts hung down, though she couldn't feel them. Looking up she saw Mr Gobin's face, one side burning in the cobalt light of the screen. She threw her gaze down again. "I...I just want to..." she took a huge gulp, "...live, please...sir."

He raised his eyebrows and began to monologue. "Live? Why, my love, that's what you've been doing since you've arrived here, is it not? I took you under my wing because I saw a spark, potential; there was something special, indeed, very lively about you." Ms Chambers' arms began to shake. "The only thing I can offer you is the passage to self-help, as it seems that you want to leave this place. You do want to stay, right? I don't see any reason why -"

Ms Chambers' arms gave in and she hit the floor. The pain caused her to cry almost instantly. She screamed out his name and called him a rapist. She writhed and swore that she would escape, but Mr Gobin just watched until she stopped. She felt alone.

Finally, he spoke.

"Come now, come."

He leaned out of his chair and hoisted her up by her shoulders. She tried to stand, but her legs felt like they had been torn apart, and were just hanging off her pelvis. She was still wearing her high-heels. He got back into the chair and had her sat facing him, saddling his knees, her legs brushing his. He made sure to thoroughly clean her face of fluids with a tissue before letting her collapse onto him, tears flowing onto his shoulder.

"There, there. See, I am looking out for you."

"You...hate me."

"What? No! I came back to see you today. Didn't I, honey? I thought you would have been happier." He drank some more of the horrible wine. He then held the glass up to her face and she drank. It ran down her throat like muddy water. The taste was like some powerful symbol that was beyond her grasp, that only revealed the dirt inside her. It had a sensual touch, which grew too large for her to contain and ripped out of her chest. She didn't know what to say.

"Maybe at one point I might have disliked you, but that's all in the past now."

"Well," she pushed his hands away and wiped her nose, "you don't let me leave, and hurt..."

"Stop being stupid," he said abruptly. He put his hands on her waist. Even now, he admired her shape. Hers was a good size, not bony and thin like most other women, but something with actual weight to it. She definitely didn't look 21. "Let me lay it out for you: our country was nearly destroyed by war, by you and your eastern allies who hide behind Mount Coronet. Gracefully, after 20 years, it stopped. Then, the few areas that weren't completely wrecked were built up again. Now western Sinnoh is a paradise. Our paradise. But you want to go back to the east? Why? To drink diseased water and converse with sub-humans? I'm trying to help you."

"B-But you get so angry..."

"Perhaps, but I can assure you that it's the only way of getting things done. Try it some time. I would call it...a lesson, not an overreaction. Go to the east and things would be ten times worse."

"I...I'm worried that...I mean, what if I'm with child...what would you...?"

He paused as she did. He noticed that her right nipple, floating in front of him, was cut down the middle and bleeding. He looked back. "Even more reason to stay! The east is no place to raise a child, but here we think about the future. I've had children before, I know what it's like. You can stay here with me, as a wife. How about that?" He pushed their pelvises together and she flinched. "Remember this, my love: what's happened in the past is gone now. All we need to think about is the future. If you decide to climb Mount Coronet, and try to reverse what's happened, you and your child would die unknown and filthy. Additionally, you'd let word out of the wonders that we've saved for ourselves here, on Suzuran. Everyone in Sinnoh would suffer if you left, don't you see?" Her mouth widened in shock of this. He casually leaned back. "So, the choice is yours, stay behind or move forward and progress in life. Progress. Yes, that's what this is about. You have to look out for yourself, and right now," he made sure she was looking in his eyes, "I feel that I care more about you than you do. Now, you do want to stay, right?"

Ms Chambers still felt a sickness inside her, but nodded her head, sniffing. He kissed her above her breasts and rubbed her back.

"Good, now go and get some sleep."

She got herself up and slowly walked towards the bed. After hesitating at first, she found herself not lumbering, but skittering along airily. All of a sudden she was very relaxed. Her pulped, mauve figure turned and spoke with regal complacency:

"Thank you...Robert."

He smiled to himself - Sinnoh had just avoided another nasty accident, and he didn't even have to get out of his chair. He un-muted the news and began to carve out the spear some more:

"...yes, our Pokémon correspondent James can confirm that the Supreme Leader of Sinnoh, Robert de Gobin, will not be attending the events at the Gorebyss Falls Hotel, having left earlier today for domestic reasons..."