After the fight with Ash and co a few days ago, Team Rocket decided to inform Giovanni of what was going on. The leader of Team Rocket took their report somewhat seriously, raising a brow at the mention of Chiper. "Chiper, huh…? And here I thought that they were done in not only once…but twice…"

"Do you know something about them, sir?" Jessie asked.

"Chiper is a dangerous organization that has turned many Pokémon in to Shadow Pokémon and shipped them to various regions. Though they have been stopped twice and the production came to a halt, that doesn't mean Shadow Pokémon have completely escaped. Oddly enough…Chiper has been defeated both times by two different people on two separate occasions."

"Who are these people?" James was prepared to make note of them. "We've heard that Chiper has been active from a small, but reliable source. We've seen it in action ourselves."

"The first…" Giovanni presented a picture of Wes. Immediately, the trio began to point comically since he was the one who so embarrassed them a few days prior. "His name is Wes. Not much is known about him…however he was formally a part of a team called Snagem, who allied themselves with Chiper for the supplication of pokemon. He broke off with Snagem and defeated both them and Chiper, also purifying every Shadow Pokémon within the Orre region. The other one is Micheal, some child who managed to defeat Chiper's other leader, Greevil and purified Shadow Lugia, also known as XD001. A pokemon said to be impossible to purify."

"Chiper really has dropped da ball, huh?"Meowth shrugged. "But what are we supposed to do about 'em?"

"I want you to observe them." Giovanni nodded. "And if there is a chance, steal their Shadow Pokémon. All the pokemon in the world belong to Team Rocket, no matter what they are. Shadow Pokémon are dangerous beings whose attacks are effective against every type of Pokémon, you would do well to take caution when it comes to dealing with them."

"Yes, sir!" The Rocket trio saluted to Giovanni.

Once the communication cut, Giovanni turned and stroke the fur of the Persian on his lap in deep thought. "Strange…Chiper's two leaders have been defeated. The organization should cease to exist…but that jailbreak several months back may have something to do with this. It begs the question: who is leading them now?"

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Ein was within the current Chiper Headquarters, running some tests on the Mega Stone found after the confrontation with Mewtwo. "I see…so that's how this is…"

"And just what is it you've found?" Lovrina questioned while crossing her arms, staring at the screen in front of the head scientists. "Does it have anything to do with Mewtwo?"

"Of course." Ein responded, but he didn't even turn to look at the teenager. "This Mega Stone is a part of Mewtwo itself. Therefore, I am able to track its new location. Also…with the addition of shadow energy, this stone will become corrupt and will make Mewtwo an easier opponent. Though our initial capture attempt failed, the result will lead to something."

"So when are we going out? I'm not just going to sit and twiddle my thumbs…research and development is also my field, you know." Placing her hands on her hips, Lovrina tapped her foot impatiently. "In fact, I was the one in charge when you were locked up."

"That's nice." Ein shrugged off Lovrina's comment, only further infuriating Lovrina. Was he just not paying attention, or was he naturally this rude? It didn't matter in the end. "Dakim, Venus, and I will be departing after the analysis is complete. Mewtwo may be able to compete with Mega Evolution; however there are three Pokémon he will have an even harder time with. There is an assignment I need for you to carry out, though. I need you to keep watch over a certain individual."

Lovrina grumbled, arms crossed cover her chest. "I can't stand the way he talks down to me like that. It's because of my idea that using Mega Evolution on Shadow Tyranitar is even possible. Now he's going and taking all the credit for pushing it onto the other Shadow Pokémon. Hmph…at least the boss and others don't treat me like such a child."

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And finally…after the last few days, the tournament was here! A gigantic stadium with literally hundreds of spectators on the sidelines was the location for the Regional Tournament. The announcer was a sort stout little man dressed in some gaudy clothing; perhaps the one who organized this entire thing? Either way, he would be serving as the mic man. "GOOOOOD MORNING EVERYONE! IT IS TIME FOR THE LONG AWAITED TOURNAMENT!" The crowd's cheers echoed throughout the entire stadium.

"I was so nervous I could hardly sleep last night…" Grace whispered to the others.

"For the 'leader' this isn't exactly instilling confidence." Wes shook his head while Grace just glared at him.

"Cut her some slack." Rui roughly patted Wes on the shoulder with a pout on her lips.

"I'm excited!" Ash wore a wide grin on his lips. "I don't know how this is going to go down, but we're going to be sure to win!"

"We'll be rooting for you!" Serena smiled sweetly and nodded.

"Here's how this is going to work!" The host began. "As you all know, there was a preliminary tournament to decide the top 8. The top 8 of each region are all worth 1-8 points based on the ranking with the top seed being the leader of that group. The leader will hold the most responsibility for their team. The battles will be 3 on 3 until the final round! As for the points system, whenever someone is defeated points will be added to the winner's point total and as a result their Region's points! The Region with the highest point total will be the winners! Six regions, 48 competitors, which one will win it all!?"

"Seems simple enough." Marcus shrugged. "In the end, it boils down to "don't lose", as always."

"I can only imagine what will happen if someone with a huge point total takes a loss…" Elizabeth tapped her foot.

"So…" Clemont adjusted his glasses. "That would make Grace worth the most at 8, Elizabeth 7, Ash 6, Marcus 5, Lore 4, Kasumi 3, Kayla 2, and Wes 1…"

"Now, for those curious…" The host then held his hand up to display a screen. The way the fights were set up would be as usual: tournament bracket style. Region against region. The first match just happened to be Ash vs. someone from Kanto.

"I'm up first?!" Ash's excitement was just spilling over onto the others. "Let's make this good, Pikachu!" Ash spoke to the mouse sitting on his shoulder, both giving a nod in unison. Ash was just about to run off but ran into someone the second he started to move. "Agh!" And he collapsed with a mark on his forehead, steam comically flowing from it.

"Ouch…" Lovrina fell onto her rear, rubbing the back of her head in annoyance. "What where you're going…!"

"S-Sorry…!" Ash apologized and stood up. He offered his hand to Lovrina but she shooed it away.

"Whatever." Lovrina stood up on her own before staring at everyone on the Kalos team, Bonnie, Clemont, and Serena. "…This is a very strange group of people."

"Can we help you?" Kayla questioned.

"I gotta go! I'll win for us, just watch!" Ash quickly sprinted off to his match.

"I just wanted to see the Kalos Top 8!" Lovrina put on a sweet voice, those green eyes of hers sparkling with what looked like admiration. "Your fights were like, totally fantastic!"

"I don't wanna toot my own horn, but…" Kasumi smirked while using her index finger to rub the top of her lip.

"Don't pay her any mind." Wes said while waving off Kasumi, leaving the blonde annoyed and bewildered. "You can stay, but only if you don't become annoying."

"That's rather blunt…" Lovrina grumbled before finding herself a seat. "But thank you for your kind offer!"

"She seems kinda suspicious, don't you think…?" Elizabeth questioned.

To that, Grace waved a hand dismissively. "Not at all. You're just overthinking things too much! I haven't seen a suspicious thing since we've arrived here, thankfully enough."

"Then I don't think you've been looking hard enough…" Rui's voice had an eerie tone to it as she pointed at the roster up over the field. Scattered through several regions were: Dakim, Venus, and Ein were scattered about the bracket. "Former Chiper Admins…W-What are they doing here…! I-I didn't actually think…" Suddenly, Rui felt her stomach drop. Her job was about to become a lot harder if everything was going south like she thought it would be.

"So, they've wormed their way into this tournament…?" Marcus sneered slightly. "Who would've thought? Seems like we won't be able to have the peaceful tournament we thought we'd be enjoying…"

"Corruption has seeped its way into this tournament…" Lore shook his head slowly.

Kasumi remained oddly silent, clutching a hand to her chest while staring at the screen. In just a little bit, she'd have a fight against Dakim coming up. Was she…shaking? "…."

"Kasumi…?" Grace looked at Kasumi with worry. "Are you okay…are you going to be able to fight…? If he's really a former Chiper admin, then maybe you should…"

"I'll be okay." Kasumi replied with a firm nod. "I'm not gonna lose to anyone, especially that oversized Primape!"

Elizabeth was listening in on the conversation while watching Ash's fight. Of course he was doing exceptionally well, not allowing his excitement to go to waste. Greninja was on the field, putting in work as usual, however that odd phenomenon that occurred during the fight with Wes wasn't happening now. "…What is up with that Greninja..? He dodged the question when I asked earlier…" This was seriously bothering her, because if she had to fight it she knew she likely would've lost. Would Grace have lost to it as well…? That loss against Grace was actually really bothering her despite how accepting she was of it. These thoughts plagued her mind and it didn't help the evil Chiper organization was now within the tournament. Something big was coming and nobody was going to know what it was…

"Well…" Wes rested against the guardrail, grinning widely at the events soon to come. "Looks like things are about to get very interesting. I can't wait to see how this turns out."

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Next Time: Kasumi vs. Dakim.