(A/N: Okay, I know there's a lot of flip-flopping with the setting and all but this is only for the beginning part.)

Chapter 3: The Calm Before The Storm

Two Days Before Veilstone Counterattack

"So what, are we just gonna stand here while the enemy has control of Sunnyshore City?" Rick asked. He then pounded the table, almost causing water to spill across it. "We have to respond to this!"

"Take it easy Rick," Chris said calmly while biting into a sandwich. "SIP is coming up with a plan as we speak. Besides, it's lunch time and that's never the time to complain."

"Got that right," Dex said, who was eating ramen. Both Dex and Rick were about average height, Rick with blonde hair and Dex with brown. Dex was twenty-one and Rick twenty, almost about to turn twenty-one. While they may be friends, they always acted brothers, caring-wise and behavior-wise.

"I just hope we get to go on a mission soon," Emily said. She then fluttered her eyes at Chris. "Maybe then we could be split up into teams... what do you think of that Chris?" Emily, the youngest of the bunch at only nineteen going on twenty, had long black hair and... well, there was nothing else you could say about her. She was beautiful, and it was unfortunate she was in the position she was now. Of course, she just happened to have a crush on him (she seemed to the second she met him) and both Dex and Rick realized this, and he would hear something about it at least once everyday.

"Er... that sounds like fun, Em," Chris said with a smile even though he felt a tad bit awkward.

Then, an SIP soldier came up to them. "Sergeant Johnson," he said with a salute. "Captain Peterson wants to see you."

"All of us?" Rick asked.

"Yes," the soldier said. "He says to see him immediately."

Looking at each other, they then got up and followed the soldier to Peterson's office. Once they got there, the soldier addressed them to the Captain and then left. Peterson, who had been facing away from them, then turned around. "Ah good, you arrived," he said.

"I'm assuming you have good news to report?" Chris asked.

"Sort of," Peterson said. "We're still coming up with a final plan to deal with this sudden attack."

"Wish they could hurry up," Rick muttered.

"However, we managed to find and capture a Zena scientist, Dr. McCormick," Peterson said. "He was trying to hide out in the slump part of the city but failed miserably."

"Is he being questioned?" Emily asked.

"Not yet," Peterson said. He then smiled. "I thought maybe you four would like the honor since you have your ways of intimidation."

The four of them looked at each other and smiled. "Well, he does have a point," Dex said.

"Alright, we'll give Dr. McCormick a little visit," Chris said, smirking a bit. "This could be fun."

It was a simple process really. At first, they would act as any other interrogator, ask the question, get the answer. The guys were the more aggressive ones, but Emily often tried to sweet-talk the answers, and sometimes it actually worked. If not, well, things would get bad. Real bad.

Dr. McCormick sat at the table, both wrists handcuffed. All of a sudden, the door opened and four people came in, one of them he recognized very well. Chris then took a seat while the others stood at opposite sides of the room. "So, Dr. David McCormick, Zena Corp. official for twelve years, worked at Facility #4209, and was found in the slumps of Jubilife City," Chris said, reading through the documents. "Funny, I thought someone with the amount of money you earned would be living somewhere a little bit nicer. Or maybe... you had heard with what had been going on and made a run for it, thinking the police would never find you in such a lowly place." McCormick said nothing but just glared at him. "Why you glaring at me? Is it because you know who I am? I guess I shouldn't be surprised then. Anyway, whether or not you still work with Zena doesn't matter. You were still there when Zena was committing acts if inhumane activity and we want to know what Zena is up to."

"And trust us," Emily said in her sweetest voice possible. "You want to tell us."

McCormick then chuckled slightly. "What's so funny?" Chris asked.

"You know, the second I heard what you had become, I thought just maybe there was a chance you would've been a big help to us," McCormick said. "But sadly, you've just become an ever-growing thorn in our side. Besides, there's nothing I can tell you about the attack on Sunnyshore."

"I see then," Chris then said. He looked to the others and gave a nod. Emily then took off the jacket she was wearing and covered up the camera in the room. Then, Rick and Dex came behind McCormick, both of them grabbing him and Dex slammed his head against the table, causing the doctor to cry out in pain. "Now, I'm gonna ask you one more time," Chris said. "What is Zena up to?"

"This is illegal you know!" McCormick spat.

"Illegal?" Rick said. "Don't see anyone coming through the door. Do you Dex?"

"Can't say I do," Dex said.

"SIP," the doctor said venomously. "You think you and all your branching organizations can police the world. You just wait til the war reaches your doorstep and then we'll see who will really be having the last laugh."

His head hit the table once again, this time much harder. "Don't think I won't try to crack your skull open," Rick said. "Because I can find many ways to do it."

"You've failed to realize something right now, doctor," Chris said. "In this room, right now, you're staring at some of Zena's recent "experiments.""

McCormick's eyes then widened with terror when he stared at the other three, with their bright gray, orange, and brown eyes, respectively. "Yeah, and I haven't quite gotten my payback for what happened," Dex said.

"And we're definitely growing more and more impatient by the minute," Rick said.

"But of course, if you won't talk, we'll just have our way then," Emily said.

"Alright, alright!" McCormick said. "Fine, I'll tell you. It had been planned months in advance. They're aiming for global domination, meaning to take down the International Police and establishing themselves as the new authority. But we needed something else, we were short of Pokemon because the men wouldn't be enough and that's when the experiments began. What was I to do at the time? Resign from the largest pharmaceutical company on the planet? I needed the money, what did you expect? As for everything else, I couldn't tell you where it all came from. Funding most likely."

Chris then looked to the others. "Very well then," he said. "I guess we're done here then." They then left the room, leaving McCormick by himself.

After what felt like another long day, the four of them were about to head home. "You know, it's interesting," Dex said.

"What is?" Rick asked.

"Well, think about it," Dex said. "When we were captured, we were just regular citizens, no background worthy for us to be captured in the first place. And yet, here we are, in SIP special forces."

"Well, I was kind of in the same way," Chris said.

"You?" both Dex and Rick said.

"Yeah, I mean I learned a little military experience from my dad," Chris said. He then paused for a second. Technically, it wasn't his real dad. He had never known his real parents. "But, at some point I just real experienced in marksmanship and CQC. Besides, all of you've come a long way in a short amount of time."

"Speaking of which, where's Emily?" Rick asked.

"Probably taking her good ol' time in the shower," Dex said.

"Um, I have to ask," Chris said. "Does Emily... does she really like me?"

Both of them just snickered. "I thought you had that figured out already?" Dex said.

"Obviously I did," Chris said. "But what I mean is, she doesn't have a thing for either you two?"

"No, surprisingly," Rick said. "I guess that just happens when you have the three of us as good friends. Nah, I'm sure if she did, one of us would get jealous, which would most likely be Dex."

"You little-!" Dex said, trying to punch Rick in the shoulder.

"Hey! I was kidding!" Rick said.

"You two are going at it again?" a voice said. They turned around to see Emily coming towards them.

"Yep, you know it," Dex said.

"It doesn't surprise me," Emily said, laughing. "Well, it'll be our day off for the week tomorrow. What should we do?"

"Well, I know I'll be sleeping until about noon," Dex said.

"Make that two of us," Rick said.

"Ugh, you two are just no fun," Emily said. "What about you Chris? I was thinking we could some brunch downtown someplace."

"Uh," Chris said. He then looked to Rick and Dex and both of them nodded slightly. "Sure Emily, we could do that."

"Yay!" Emily said, giving him a hug. She then looked back to the other two. "At least someone is willing to spend some time with me." One could ask just how someone like Emily could be in SIP. There's two sayings that refer to this scenario: "Never judge a book by it's cover," and "Looks can be deceiving." Emily had one special attribute and Chris ended up learning it the hard way.

Flashback

"Sparring, the ultimate stress reliever," Dex said. "Well, at least to me."

They were in the gym area of the base where there was a boxing ring, made for the soldiers to practice their fighting skills. "Yeah, and once sparring becomes a full fist-fight, then it gets really fun," Rick said.

"You know guys, I have to ask," Chris said. "I know Emily's a tough girl and all, but is this really the place for her?" That just ended up causing the both of them to start laughing like crazy. "What?"

"Why, because she's a girl?" Dex said, still laughing. "You've never seen what's capable of doing."

"Hey you guys!" Emily then said, coming into the room, wearing gym shorts and a sports bra. Very short gym shorts, not to mention, and Chris couldn't stop staring at her until he got ahold of himself. Was he really this bad?

"Say Emily," Rick said. "Apparently Chris doesn't know about your little trademark."

"Is that so?" Emily asked, giggling. "Well, guess I should show him then." She then went into the ring with them and then went up to Chris until she was only a couple of feet in front of him. "Alright Chris, have a go at me."

"Excuse me?" Chris said.

"You heard me," Emily said. "Come on, just try to land a punch on me. You're not afraid of hitting a girl are you?"

Chris then realized she wasn't joking, and hoping he wasn't making a big mistake, suddenly moved forward to attack. The next second, he found himself on his back facing the ceiling with a look of bewilderment.

Emily then offered him her hand. "If you must know, my father is a professional martial artist and has taught me almost everything I need to know."

"It's true," Dex said. "Her dad could kick mine and Rick's asses with his hands tied."

"That is why she's so special," Rick said.

"Well, it's time for us to get going," Dex said. "We'll catch up with you guys sometime tomorrow." And with that, the two of them left. Lucky for them, they lived close by to where the base was, so walking wasn't an issue.

"Well, I guess it's time for me to head home as well," Emily said. "I'll see you tomorrow then, Chris." She then started walking home as well.

Something seemed to be bothering Chris. He all of a sudden had a strange passion fill his body. "Emily wait," he then said. She then turned around to face him. "I can take you back to your place if you'd like."

"Oh," Emily said, and she found herself blushing. "There's no need for that. I live pretty close to here."

"Ten blocks," Chris said. "Please, I insist."

Emily then laughed. "Alright then, you win." They then headed back to the parking lot, and both of them got onto Chris' bike. Chris recently found a new liking to riding bikes.

"Better hold on tight," Chris said as Emily placed her hands around his waist as Chris kicked the throttle and the bike sped off into the city.

Soon, they finally made it to Emily's apartment. They then went up to her door. "Well, I guess you have to head back, don't you?" Emily asked.

"Yeah, sorry," Chris said.

"No, it's fine," Emily said with a smile. "Actually Chris, there's something I need to ask you."

"What's that?" Chris asked.

"Well, I know we've known each other for some time," Emily said. "But what I'm asking is: do you like me? More than a friend?"

Chris instantly found himself blushing and knew she could see it. "Um. Well, actually-"

Emily just started laughing outloud. "You're just too cute and funny," she said. She then planted a kiss on his cheek. "So, how does ten sound tomorrow?"

"Yeah, ten," Chris said, a bit shocked. She then closed the door behind him and he put a hand to his cheek where she had kissed him.

(A/N: Okay, now we finally have a song here. The name of it is "Neela Drifts" composed by Brian Tyler. I have to admit, I really like this guy's stuff. Anyway, this in a way is supposed to be Pikette's theme in the story.)

*After finally getting home, Chris went to his apartment, unlocked the door, and went inside. Once closing the door, he walked over and lazily flopped onto the couch.

"What? No "Hi Pikette," or "Hi honey, I'm home?"" a voice then rang out.

Chris then smiled slightly. "Hi Pikette," he said.

"That's better," Pikette said, who was now on top of the couch. "So, have fun at the base today?"

"Of course," Chris said sarcastically. "I just love doing the usual."

"I'll take that as a yes," Pikette said, jumping onto Chris' stomach and curling up slightly.

"SIP captured a Zena scientist down in the slumps apparently," Chris then said. "We ended up interrogating him."

"Hehe, I'm sure that went well," Pikette said. She then noticed something. "Chris? Is something wrong?"

Chris knew he was trapped now. He couldn't lie to her. Well, he could, but she would eventually learn the truth and it would end up bad. "Pikette..." he then said. "I think I'm falling for her."

Pikette was then silent. She knew who he was talking about. A slight smile then crept her face. "So, she finally got to you, huh?"

"Pikette..." Chris said.

"Look, don't worry about it," Pikette said, jumping off onto the floor. "We can't always control our emotions. It makes us who we are. Besides, I'm sure they're expecting you to go for her, since you are apparently single."

"But I'm not," Chris said, getting up. "They expect that because they don't the relationship between us. I may be human now." He then changed his form, back into a Pikachu. "But I was stuck like this for the longest time. I'm mostly Pokemon, just like the others."

"So, what will it be then?" Pikette said, going up to him. "Will it be her, or me?"

Chris was completely caught off-guard. "Wait a minute. Pikette-"

She then burst out into laughter. "I was just kidding, Chris."

"Not funny," Chris said, instantly grabbing her and holding her close.

"Hey, easy now," Pikette said. "Don't be trying to hurt me."

"I'll try not to," Chris said, pressing his lips against hers. They then wrapped their arms around each other and held each other even closer.

"Actually Chris, there really is something I have to say," Pikette said, breaking the kiss. "I know at some point you'll have to out there again, and I know Emily and them will be with you. All I'm saying is, if there comes a point where your temptations can't be controlled, let them go. I won't mind."

"You won't?" Chris asked.

"No," Pikette said. "But only while you're gone!"

"Wait, what if both of you are here?" Chris said with a smirk. "Could that mean some three-way Pokemon action?"

Pikette then slapped him across the face. "Chris!" she yelled. "How could you even think of that?" She then smirked. "It's gonna take a lot of persuasion to make me do that."

"You better hope you weren't joking," Chris said. "Because I might just hold you on that statement."

Later on, the two were upstairs on the balcony staring at the sunset. "It sure is beautiful," Chris said, who was now human again.

"It most certainly is," Pikette said. They could hear the faint sounds of gunfire. "Sounds like the battle is still going on."

"You know, my dad once told me something when I was younger," Chris said. "He said, "You know, war is a terrible thing. All these men sent to do the dying, while those bigwigs, those pen-pushers continue to dawdle in safety. We want to get them here, those so-called "generals," fifty miles behind enemy lines. But it'll never happen, and nothing will ever change.""

"Your dad sounded like a great man," Pikette said. "He'd be proud of you right now."

"Yeah, he was," Chris said. "And... I'm pretty sure he is."

Pikette was silent for a bit but then spoke again. "Chris, with what you have to do tomorrow. All I have to say is, please be careful."

"Don't worry," Chris said. "I'll be sure to make it home tomorrow."

(A/N: Hmm, sounds interesting. What could this "mission" be? Well, guess you're gonna have to find out next chapter!)

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