I typically don't respond to reviews in the author's notes anymore, but I'm pretty good about messaging people who have comments and criticisms on my story (which I got a few on the last chapter), and I can't do that if you leave an anonymous review. If you want to have a dialogue with me about the story, logging into your account does me a huge solid. I was going to leave a bigger response here, but I'm not gonna do that, so message me or review with your account if you want to talk.

I will address this, however. One thing I've heard from a few people is about Cody not having a distinct battle style. I mean, he is still a pretty young trainer, so this won't be too obvious yet, but I've been planting the seeds on this one, and you get to see some of his style in this chapter. Otherwise, there will be a battle in the next few chapters that I've been looking forward to releasing. This battle could potentially be what you're looking for. Stay tuned. I should be getting the next three chapters uploaded in the next few weeks. They're already mostly written.


Chapter 55: Enter the Underground

"Again!"

Bzaaap!

"TUUUUUU!"

"Now, obey my orders. Move forward…" A long pause followed. "Again!"

Bzaaap!

"TUUUUUU!"

The whole thing was uncomfortable to watch and it made Frank feel fortunate in regards to his pokémon. They were so easy to train that he would never need to resort to the cruelty he witnessed. There were pokémon out there that only respected brute strength and little else, but the ice-golem in question didn't even seem to understand what was going on. That made things seem far crueler in comparison to the pokémon who craved training.

"Again!" Salem ordered over the intercom.

Bzaaap!

"TUUUUUU!" the Regice cried as it was zapped again.

They were in one of the deepest levels of the I.I. building. The basement levels of the building were devoted to research and battling, and the bottom of the basement levels was devoted to the research and training that was inaccessible to 95% of the Brotherhood. It was down there where the Father had trained his Moltres and it was where Salem trained his Regice. It wasn't like training your average pokémon, however. Research findings on training one of the legendary golems were in short supply. Brandon Galloway did publish his findings on the subject, and since he compared it to rewiring a computer's OS, that's what Salem was doing. Several electrodes, built in such a way to prevent them from being damaged by the ice and cold that was a Regice, were attached to the golem's body. They were all placed outside of the Regice's reach, so it couldn't pull them off or break the wiring with its arms. And whenever it refused a command, it was shocked. Such shocks weren't lethal (and it was debatable whether or not a Regice could feel pain or emotion to begin with), but it let out a shrill, robotic cry with every electrocution. Rather than basic operant conditioning that worked with so many pokémon, that was straight punishment for undesired behavior. To Frank, it seemed cruel, but given the nature of Regice, maybe it wasn't? It was difficult for him to say.

"It's pretty incredible, isn't it?" the young man standing next to Frank commented.

"I suppose." He wasn't on the same page. He looked over at Isaac and asked, "what's that thing thinking, anyway?"

[I… I couldn't tell you,] the Mr. Mime told him. [It's not that it's mentally blocking me or anything. But its thought pattern exists in some form of code. I can't decipher what it would be thinking, if it's even thinking at all. It's like no other pokémon I've ever seen.]

"Right. Of course." He should have guessed there would be no easy answer. He looked over at the young man on his right, trying to read his expression, which was mostly blank, save the occasional slight expression.

Frank knew little of the man who he was directed to introduce to the facility, aside from one amazing detail that caught his interest. Aside from that, he was an enigma, to say the least, but compared to guys like Casper and Salem, he was far more approachable, closer to the Father in personality. The man was taller than Frank, his blonde hair was buzzed and his beard was at a similar length, making him look as if he were bald at a distance, but when one got close to him, they'd see otherwise. His faint-blue eyes were tired-looking, but he himself looked wide awake. He looked as if he would have had a babyface, but the rough life he must have led aged him early on. His clothes were simple: white t-shirt and jeans. The short sleeves on his shirt did little to cover the tattoos on his arms, which if Frank had to guess, were Asian in their style and appearance, even though the man himself was definitely not of that descent.

The man's pokémon that stood by his side was also interesting and eye-catching. Your typical Meganium was a neon green dinosaur-esque pokémon with pink flower petals ringing the neck and a cheery disposition to match. that did not describe the Meganium that stood next to Frank's shadow for the day. The Meganium in question had sickly, yellow skin (similar in color to that of a Bayleef), wilting petals that seemed to have browned somewhat, and although she wasn't unpleasant in her behavior, she was hardly joyful. Rather, she stood silently and motionlessly next to her trainer. Although her trainer had assured Frank earlier that his Meganium was healthy, it looked as if he had left her out in the cold too long and she was wilting as a result.

"I wouldn't worry," the young man continued. "They say Regice can't feel actual pain anyway. I imagine that the cries its making are just a natural reaction."

Not wanting to analyze the ethics of shocking a Regice into submission any longer, Frank decided to ask the man some questions. "So, you're new to the Brotherhood… why is the Father letting you see everything like this? I've been close to him ever since I joined and it took me years to reach this level of access."

The short-haired man shrugged. "My battling, I guess. I've had an… eclectic experience, to say the least. They reached out to me a few months ago when I was competing in a few smaller tourneys down south. Not quite sure why they singled me out over my peers, since I wasn't even the best guy in the event they caught me after. Next thing I know, I'm meeting with the Father and he's giving me a chance to train with his best trainers, telling me that one day, I can be one of his elite disciples. Of course, I couldn't pass that up. If I want to be the best, I can't stop learning."

"So that's why you joined? For power?" Frank wasn't sure if he liked the sound of that, but thankfully, he was enlightened.

"Yes, power, but the power to do right by this world," the man explained. "I don't care about fame anymore, nor do I care about fortune. I've learned to let go of attachment to such things. Fame and fortune were why I left the region, but they weren't the reason I came back. I learned that with power, I could make this world a better place through influence and inspiration. And if I acquire fame and fortune along the way, I'll use it not for my own gain, but for the gains of others. And when I learned what the Brotherhood was about and what they were looking to accomplish, I knew it was fate that we cross."

"So, that's your plan? What do you want to do with that, exactly?" Frank asked.

Again, the man shrugged. "Hard to say just yet. For now, I'll do as I'm told. They may have me work in the field, but in a perfect world, they'll let me compete in other events. High-ranking trainers have influence, and the Father would love it if he could get disciples into league positions. I'd say I'd love to be in the Elite 4, but now's not the time, and despite my progress, I'm not ready for that yet. Besides, right now, there are people I'd rather not know that I've returned to Skitrex."

"Fair point… If you don't mind, could you tell me more? Maybe it's none of my business, but I kinda want to hear about what changed your outlook on things. Like, why did you leave seeking fortune and come back like how you are now?"

The man nodded. "I don't mind telling you, Frank. You've been a good host thus far, so-"

"Derrick Storm!" the intercom blared. "Please report to Battle Room B."

"Well, maybe next time. I have an assessment to complete." One handshake and he was gone, leaving Frank to his thoughts.

Frank himself didn't know exactly why Derrick Storm was brought in, but he knew it wasn't just because of his battling abilities, as while he was very talented, his skills didn't place him in the top percent of the Brotherhood's trainers. It had something to do with Cody. Perhaps the Father wanted some sort of leverage down the line in the form of a young man that could produce battlefield results? It seemed like a good deal.

What was interesting was that Cody Storm was no longer listed as a Brotherhood threat, at least not to the Brotherhood as a whole. Frank knew that Cody was still being observed by an undercover agent and that certain field agents had been instructed to watch him, but otherwise, his record was scrubbed. Additionally, he was blacklisted from conversation among members as well. Many of those involved in his case were forbidden from discussing him in any context, especially around Derrick. Frank had a pretty good idea about why that was; if Derrick had learned about Cody's involvement with the Brotherhood, it could create complications. It seemed that the Father thought it best to keep him in the dark about his brother.

The whole thing was beginning to feel Orwellian. Thankfully, there was no such thing as thoughtcrime within the Brotherhood, as members of all ranks were encouraged to be honest about any misgivings they might have had. But the fact that information had to be deleted and forgotten, just for one man… that seemed off.

Whatever, he thought to himself.

At the end of the day, it didn't concern him. He had his own role and Derrick was in a completely different realm in comparison. On top of that, Cody had been off his radar for so long that he had almost forgotten about him until the Father had brought him up. Still, he wasn't any less curious as to what that was all about.

[You're puzzled about all of this?] his Mr. Mime guessed.

"Yes, but it's not a puzzle that's meant for us." He'd just have to accept that.


In Cody's experience thus far, pokémon tended to evolve during or after battles. That was the case with his pokémon thus far, at least. Ferrari was the one who broke the trend. It happened the day before when they were running drills. He noticed that his Venipede had stopped following instruction, rolling himself into a wheel as if he were using Rollout, but not doing much else. His Venipede remained that way for hours as his body hardened and strange growths covered his carapace. Once the sun had set, the centipede's body glowed white, made a "THCK" sound, and then he was no longer a Venipede, but a Whirlipede.

He wasn't sure quite what to call Ferrari's second form, since he technically wasn't a pupa, like a Kakuna or a Silcoon. However, the purpose behind the evolution was simple. Venipede typically evolved in autumn and would remain in the evolutionary stage until spring, although some would remain an extra year, depending on the individual. The evolution would give the bug a sturdier form to endure the winter, which was a must for pokémon living in Skitrex. But on top of the adaptation, Ferrari looked a lot cooler in his new form, especially as a shiny with a dark-purple carapace. His body was shaped like a wheel, although not a perfectly round one, as the surface area was segmented, each segment ordained with green, circular markings and two spikes on either side. Two of the segments on opposite sides of the Whirlipede had longer, poison-tipped spikes, that were sharp enough for attacking, but flexible enough that they wouldn't mess up the pokémon's rolling. Ferrari's orange eyes were now on either side of the wheel, and they always looked angry. But Ferrari was still calm and cold. Even then, he still had little interaction with Cody or his teammates.

Watching his Whirlipede in battle was pretty cool, since his new body forced him to constantly roll. By releasing compressed air from each segment of his body at specific times, depending on which part of the segment was touching the ground, Ferrari could hit speeds that his pre-evolution could only dream of and make sharp turns that would have been impossible previously. However, because he was constantly rolling around on the ground, his body got dirty pretty easily. In the wild, Whirlipede would roll through shallow creeks to clean themselves off, but with no creeks nearby some days, Cody found himself handwashing the bug on his own. It was tiring, but at least his Whirlipede let him do it.

He was at a park that day in Howland City, wrapping up after a day of training. Heather was off somewhere in a battle, and Brooke… he wasn't quite sure where she was. Ever since their encounter with Merrick, she had been pretty moody, and he assumed it was his fault. He was already questioning whether he should have told her about the Brotherhood. For all he knew, she could "break up" (for lack of a better term) with him the next day. What if she told somebody about what he had told her? The last thing he wanted was the Brotherhood breathing down his neck again.

But he tried to focus on his progress. He hadn't lost a battle that day and his team relaxed following the busy schedule. Bastion and Elesa nested under a nearby oak tree, Antonia sunned herself a few feet from him, Cortez was floating in circles nearby, likely scheming as he cackled under his breath, and Reflet was sitting with Sasha, who had been grooming her for the past hour. The recently evolved Flareon had a minor back injury, so she was taking it easy that day while her trainer trained, and she busied herself by snuggling up with Reflet and licking her clean. His Espeon, however, kept looking off into space, looking bored and somewhat annoyed.

"You doing alright there?" Cody asked, taking a second to glance away from his cleaning. "You look kinda pissed."

[It's nothing. I'm just bored… and I wish she'd stop grooming me. You just got done brushing me an hour ago and she still feels the need to groom me. It's so annoying.]

"So, tell her to go away?" Cody asked as he went back to cleaning Ferrari.

[I shouldn't. She's just being nice, even if she's dreadfully dull.]

"Just tell her to leave you alone. She'll find something else to groom," he told her.

[Fine.] Silently, his Espeon looked at the Flareon, squinting her eyes. Instantly, Sasha got up and went over to snuggle up with the sleeping Elesa.

"You weren't too mean to her, were you?" Cody asked, wondering what Reflet had told Sasha.

[I told her to stop and she did. It's pretty simple. If I wanted to be mean, I could have, and she'd get over it. Saying one mean thing isn't that bad, you know. She should count herself lucky that she has a trainer that doesn't beat her.]

Yikes, that got dark fast. Cody decided to change the subject. "I don't get it. You two were so close when you were both Eevee. You always played together, napped together… Heather and I would have to pry you two apart. But since you evolved, you don't seem to like her all that much. What's up with that?"

[Simple. She's not that smart.] Reflet answered. [When we were Eevee, I had the brain of an Eevee. I wanted to romp and play and act like an Eevee, because that's all I knew. But since we evolved, she still has the brain of an animal and mine is closer to a human's or a smarter pokémon's. It's like you trying to talk to a human baby. And now, all she wants to do is groom me. I wouldn't mind it so much if that wasn't all she did. It's a bother. That's why I like talking to you and your friends more. Oh, and Heather's Lunatone. Crescent is a weirdo, but it's not so bad once you get it to have an actual conversation with you.]

"Speak for yourself, Crescent is still creepy. Still... you sound kinda elitist, though," Cody commented as he shifted to the next segment of his Whirlipede's body. "I mean, I know I'm smarter than most of my pokémon, but I still like them."

[You're also a trainer. You knew that part of the challenge of being a trainer is getting a bunch of pokémon that you're smarter than to do as you say. For me personally, I find most of them boring.]

"Even Antonia?" he asked, since his Skarmory had often looked out for her while she was younger.

[She's definitely one of your smarter ones, but still, brain of an animal. Plus, once I evolved, she seemed to back off a little. She knows that I'm smarter than her now and better able to take care of myself in comparison to when I was an Eevee. Out of all your pokémon, she's my favorite, not just because of her looking out for me, but also because she respects my boundaries.]

"Okay…" He seemed a little disheartened that his Espeon didn't seem to connect with most of his team. "Can you tell me what they're thinking about? You can read their minds, right?"

[I could, but you'd be disappointed,] Reflet told him, now sitting next to them as he washed Ferrari's exterior.

"Disappointed?" He didn't quite understand.

[You know they don't and can't think the way we do, right?] Reflet queried.

"Well, sure, but-"

[Then why would you expect them to think thoughts that I can interpret into something you'd understand?] she asked him, though she was gentle in her criticism. [Pokémon have unique brains. Even though many of them can't comprehend complex speech, like if you told them about your day or whatever, they're good at interpreting battle commands once you've developed a good bond with them. But they themselves don't offer much complexity in thought. Like, they don't think in sentences or anything. I can't look into their memories, since many psychic-types can't do that sort of thing without intense training or without having those abilities naturally. But I could tell you what they're feeling or immediately thinking about. And that's only if they let me.]

She looked over at passing trainer walking with her Rockruff, and Cody followed her gaze. [If I were trying to read the mind of that Rockruff, it would likely block me out of fear of an intruder. I wouldn't be able to read that trainer's mind either, since humans can do the same. She could hear my telepathy, but I couldn't actually access anything she doesn't want me to have. Your pokémon all know me, so they'll let me in. I could try to force my way into somebody's mind or memories, but that takes extensive practice and it comes at the mental risk of harming my mind or the mind of the target.]

"Wow… interesting." He never knew about the logistics of a psychic-type's powers. Even having grown up with his father's creepy Hypno, he never asked, mostly out of not wanting anything to do with the monster. It did give him comfort knowing that the Hypno didn't have any access to his mind, even though it may have eaten his dreams from time to time.

[I'm glad you let me in. I just hope that you know that you can be open with me about anything. Even the thing with your nightmares and Dar-]

"Let's not go there," he interrupted. He knew she knew, but she was too nice to push it any further. Looking over at Ferrari, he said, "I still want to know what they're thinking about."

[Very well.] Reflet tilted her head towards his Whirlipede and squinted. [Food.]

"Seriously? He just had lunch." He turned to Elesa, who was sleeping under the tree. "What about her?"

Reflet squinted. [Food and battling. That's pretty much all that Mars thinks about too when he's around.]

"Is that seriously all they think about?" He had to admit, he was disappointed.

[Well, Antonia and Bastion are thinking about food and battling too… but they also think about you quite a bit. All of them love you, you know. Even Ferrari, though he doesn't show it.]

"Well… that's reassuring," Cody said, feeling a little bit better. "Colossal too?"

[Probably, even though I haven't seen him since I evolved. He probably would be interesting to read, since his brain will be advancing up to the point of his next evolution. But yes, they all love you. They all think of you as their teacher or sensei. They recognize that you've helped them grow stronger and that by training with you, they will continue to grow. They battle for themselves and for you as well, for your appreciation.]

Wow… He could not express how flattered he felt by that concept. "Wait, I thought you said they didn't have complex thoughts. How did you get all that from them?"

[Piecing together bits and pieces of their thoughts. But also, I can remember what it was like to be an Eevee. And that's what I felt for you.]

"Makes sense. You're too sweet." He ran his hand down her neck, petting her glossy fur gently. His eyes drifted over to Cortez, who was still floating in circles, muttering to himself. "You didn't mention Cortez. Can you talk with him? Ghost-types are usually pretty smart, right?"

[Oh yeah. He's… he doesn't let me into his mind,] she admitted. [I know he can hear my telepathy, but he doesn't let me see his thoughts or try to communicate with me… other than spitting fireballs at me when he's bored, that is. I don't know why.]

"Huh… That's weird." He remembered that Merrick had told him to expose Cortez to other ghost pokémon or at least pokémon that were as smart as him a part of his training, but he could see why nothing had changed on that front. If he wasn't talking with Reflet, he probably wasn't talking with Crescent either. Why was he keeping to himself like that?

[He's weird, anyway. Weirder than Crescent. At least Crescent is pleasant.]

"Something else I wanted to ask you," he continued. "Your telepathic voice sounds familiar. Like, I've heard it before somewhere, but I can't pin it down. Do you know why that is?"

[Hmm… I don't know. Most psychic-types imprint on the first human they come in contact with, which is why I can communicate with you in English. As for this voice... I'm sorry, but I don't know.]

"Don't be sorry." But he wished he could figure out whose voice it was. So familiar…

"Keepin' busy?" It was Brooke, who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere to sit by him. Goro was clutching her left shoulder, letting out a cute yawn as he tried to stay awake.

"Not right now," he answered as he gave Ferrari a pat to signal that he was done cleaning him. The bulky Whirlipede rolled over to the shade, beginning the process of dirtying himself up again over the ground he rolled on. "Did you want to go do something? I have time."

"No… I don't really feel like doing much else today," she answered, somewhat cryptically, as Cody wasn't all that clear about what she actually did with her time. He assumed she was out gambling, but he was never too sure and she didn't seem up to telling him.

"How about dinner? Something small?" Anything to talk with her. It wasn't as if she was avoiding him, but things had been so awkward later that just getting her alone would be nice.

"What about Heather?"

"She'll be fine. If she wants to join us, she can call. I just want to talk with you for a bit."

She gave him a weak smile and a nod. Even when she wasn't at her happiness, her gray eyes were beautiful in contrast with her tan skin.

"Sounds good. Let's go find something."

Quickly, Cody returned all of his pokémon and the two of them headed away from the park towards the street. What they didn't notice was a certain Lunatone following them from a distance.


"You can answer that if you want. It might be Heather."

Cody didn't want to answer his phone while he was out with Brooke, but when she gave him the go-ahead, he took his phone out of his pocket and looked. Had it been Heather calling, he would have had to tell her that she missed out on eating overpriced salads at the restaurant Brooke chose. However, the caller ID listed that it was his mother who was trying to reach him.

"Eh, I'll call her back." He was about to turn off his phone when Brooke touched his hand.

"Answer it, it's your mother," she said, half teasing, but half serious. "You should always be willing to talk with your mother."

He kinda picked up where that was coming from. Of course, Brooke, whose parents had died, would take his mother's side there. He sighed and answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Good, you picked up. You haven't called me in a week. How've you been?"

"Me? I've been good," he answered. "Keeping busy with the training. You? Work going alright?"

"As good as third shift can be." She definitely didn't sound all that thrilled with it.

"Okay. And dad? I haven't been able to reach him lately." To his knowledge, his dad had been picking up extra work, so he was usually either working or sleeping when Cody tried to call.

"Um… yeah, he's doing well." That didn't sound convincing at all.

"Everything alright?" Cody asked, knowing it wasn't.

"So," she began, deciding to change the subject. "I've been watching the videos you post of your battles. I'm glad you're doing well."

"Yeah, thanks." It did make him feel a little bit good inside to know that his mother was following his career as a trainer, even if she struggled to understand the concepts in play.

"Just a quick question about that girl you're traveling with, the one who appears in some of your videos."

Uh oh. He didn't like that tone. And he knew she wasn't talking about Heather. "You mean Brooke? What about her?"

"You know I get nervous, Cody. I know you're clearly not listening to me on the 'no girls' policy, but-"

"It's not like that." She'd probably wouldn't like the reality of their relationship either.

"Just be careful with her, Cody. With any girl, really. Relationships can be… difficult. You already have enough to deal with your training. I don't want to see you get hurt."

"Yeah, okay mom." The words rang true, thinking of his parents. "Look, can we talk later? I'm kinda out right now."

"Fine, call me tonight. Love you."

"You too. Later." He hung up and slipped his phone back into his pocket.

"Everything okay?" Brooke asked him.

"Yeah, mom just likes to check in. Talking about… stuff."

"Just stuff?" Brooke asked, cocking her head.

"She was asking about you. I've already told her about you, but I think she thinks… well…"

"That we're dating?" Brooke asked, not seeming that upset by it.

"She thinks I'm setting myself up to be hurt. I mean, just because she and dad fight all the time..." He didn't like to talk about that much with either Brooke or Heather. He'd been candid on the subject with both of them, but he kept the details sparse. He still felt partly guilty for it, even though he knew that his parents' problems extended far beyond him.

"I know you don't like to talk about this sort of thing with me… or a lot of stuff in general. But you know you can, right? After what we talked about before, why is this any different?"

"It really isn't that different," he admitted. "I've just been so good at keeping my problems to myself. No need to worry anybody else about it. There are people who have it far worse." He thought about Jared and how he had a far worse homelife than he did.

"Just because you aren't the most miserable person out there doesn't make your problems any less stressful." When he didn't respond to Brooke's comment, she continued. "I don't get you sometimes. When I first met you, I thought you were just a decent, simple guy who was good at battling. Now, it really seems like you're harboring some serious baggage."

He flashed her a smile. "Simple? What did I do to make you think I was simple?"

"A lot of guys are simple," she answered with a comical shrug. "Nobody is as 'deep', 'complex', or 'edgy' as they think they are. But maybe I was wrong about you when we first met because there's a lot more going on with you than you ever liked to let on. Not that that's a bad thing. It just makes me curious."

"Huh…" He wasn't sure where she was going with that, but fortunately for him, he didn't have to think about it that long, because he was distracted by the sounds coming from the alleyway. The rowdy shouts of other people and battle cries of pokémon emanated from within. "Sounds like a battle is going on."

"Want to check it out?" Brooke asked, giving his wrist a tug, but he shook his head.

"Walking into a back alley like this is a bad idea. Trust me, I know fro experience. Besides, we already battled enough today." It wasn't like his pokémon couldn't go for another round, but the whole scenario of walking down some shady alley spooked him.

"Can we at least check it out?" Brooke asked, clutching his wrist even tighter. "Street battles are amazing to at least watch. And we don't have to stay long."

Cody had never been in a "street battle", but he knew what she was talking about. Typically, he kept his battles on designated plots or at least out in the wilderness where the terrain was natural. A battle like the one he was hearing inside would be taking place on concrete. He had battled in old abandoned pools a few times, but it always put him on edge, and certain pokémon such as Mars couldn't battle on concrete anyway. But he didn't have his Diglett with him that day, so he couldn't use that excuse. Also, he knew that there would likely be ne'er-do-wells back there. Not the sort of people he was willing to deal with.

But, the things he'd do to get laid. Reluctantly, he walked with Brooke, his hand on Antonia's pokeball, ready to bring out his strongest pokémon if he needed to defend himself. Thankfully, when they arrived at the source of the clamor, nobody noticed them at first.

The people in the alley came in a variety of appearances. Many of them definitely looked like punks by the way they dressed and behaved, but there were definitely a few wealthier looking onlookers. In the space nestled between several of the surrounding buildings was a large pit that the crowd surrounded. It looked like somebody had dug straight into the concrete, but left the broken pieces of the road sit in the misshapen hole below. The rowdy crowd was busy screaming as two monsters battled in the pit. A Victreebel was choking out a much larger Bewear out with its vines while dousing it with acid. It did not look pretty, but the crowd seemed to love it.

"You've never been to one of these before?" Brooke asked.

"I try to keep my battles a little more standard. Besides, I don't like this kind of crowd…" He glanced around, nervously. "Okay, we saw it. Let's go. We-"

"You lost, kid?"

Cody turned to see a muscular, tattooed man in ripped jeans, black tank top, and a blue bandana crossing his forehead. He looked Hispanic and likely in his late twenties, and he seemed mildly peeved with Cody's presence.

"No, we were just leaving," Cody answered, but the man held up his hand.

"Then if you ain't lost, why you here just to leave the moment I talk to you? You a narc or something?"

Narc? Don't I look too young to be a police officer? But before he could say anything, the man laughed. He must have looked petrified because the guy was howling.

"Chill, gringo, I don't have narcs here. Been paying those pigs off a while now."

That probably explained why they were able to battle on an unsanctioned plot in the city. Typically, while you could battle anywhere you'd want in the wilderness, but you could only battle in certain places in towns and cities.

"You?" Cody asked. "Who are you exactly?"

The man scoffed. "You must be from outta town, else you'd know me: I'm the Alley King! And this…" He held his arms out, motioning to the space around him, "this is my kingdom!"

King of some alley? Really? Not that Cody would say that to a man who looked like he could rip his arms off.

"Anyway, we got rules here: you can watch, you can bet, or you can battle, and all of those have a fee. If you ain't game for that, you can get the hell outta my kingdom… But your lady friend can stay," he added, eyeing Brooke. "It's always ladies night in the alley."

"Yeah, I don't think so," Brooke said, disgustedly eyeing the guy. "Come on, let's go."

"Yeah, thanks, but no thanks," Cody answered, turning towards the exit.

"Shoulda known you didn't have the balls!" the Alley King called out to him, stopping him in his tracks. He knew that falling for that pressure was a stupid idea, but he let himself fall into the trap anyway.

"Hey now, I have five badges," he bragged. "If I really wanted to, I could clean out this joint."

The Alley King did not seem impressed as he started laughing again. "Man, you don't know shit about street battling. I beat some out-of-town yuppie who wandered in the other day with his seven badges like he was nothing, and I got no badges. Never bothered getting them, cause they don't mean shit."

"Okay, whatever." He knew that at the end of the day, there would be good trainers out there without badges. "But I'm actually good."

"Then why don't you prove it?" the man challenged. "I bet you can't even beat one of my locals."

"Oh really? What's that gonna cost me?" Cody asked, getting a bit cocky.

"$50 entry fee for unlimited battles all day, but the minimum battle bet is $200."

Cody felt his face freeze at those prices. In his career as a trainer, $100 bets were usually pretty high, so the alley was playing at at a new level of wager. At the very least, he would make a $150 dollar profit, but that was only if he took the minimum bet for one battle. If he were to engage in multiple battles, he could bring in a hell of a lot more than that. That being said, that sort of environment was a contributing factor to why young, desperate trainers would often lose the last of their money. Thankfully, he wasn't one of those types.

"LJ! Over here!" the Alley King yelled out to his left. He pulled over a younger boy who looked like he couldn't have been older than thirteen, but he wore a tough expression. "You'll battle Leo. Double battle, two pokémon each, minimum bet of $200. What do you say?"

"I say you're taking me lightly," Cody answered. "$400."

"You're on, sucker," the kid said, smirking. "I eat losers like you for breakfast every day."

"Alright, pay up," the King ordered. Both parties took out their money and handed it to the man. "Now get to opposite sides and wait for this match to end. Hope you don't cry too hard, new guy," he laughed as he retreated into the crowd.

If Heather were here, she'd smack me right about now, Cody thought to himself, but seeing the look on Brooke's expression, she looked as though she was about to do that herself.

"Cody, what the hell did you just do?" she growled.

"What, I thought you liked this sort of battling," he reminded her.

"I do, but I don't need you to do it," she replied through gritted teeth. "I figured you would have- Why are you carrying around that much money with you anyway?"

"Hey, I don't normally! I was battling earlier, I won a lot, made some money, and-"

"So you're battling here without even giving your pokémon a proper rest after a long day?" Brooke interrupted him. "Jesus, why do you do this sort of thing to yourself?"

"Hey, hey, hey." He clasped her shoulders and smiled. "I got this. They got their naps in and they're not hurt. I promise you, everything is going to be alright… I hope."

"That's promising," she replied sarcastically, but she smiled and leaned in for a quick kiss. "Don't lose."

"Wasn't planning on it." He left her at the side of the pit and headed over to the side opposite of where Leo was. By then, the previous battle had ended and he took two of his pokeballs out, already knowing who he wanted to use.

"Scum of Howland!" the Alley King announced, drawing in cheers from the ravenous crowd. "Degenerates of this fine city! We got a treat for you tonight! You all know Leo, the baby boy of our lovely kingdom!" The Alley King extended his hand to the younger boy, who was busy soaking in cheers directed at him. "Our prince will be defending the kingdom from this man, this outsider who comes in with five shiny badges, walking around like he's better than us."

A chorus of boos followed, and from the corner of his eye, Cody could see the crowd, vicious in expression, save Brooke, the only one who cheered him. It was amusing, getting booed like that. He was only there to battle, but the Alley King was playing him up as if he was some sort of professional wrestling villain. It was kind of fun in a way, so long as he didn't get mugged afterward.

"This is a double battle, two pokémon per trainer! You have five minutes to place your bets."

Cody wasn't sure how the betting worked at a back alley venue or how the odds could have been calculated so quickly, but everything seemed to run smoothly as many of the spectators surrounded a select few to place their bets. The pressure was definitely on, even though he wasn't sure what the odds were.

"Trainers! Release your soldiers into the pit!"

"You got this!" He unleashed the two pokeballs he had, unveiling Bastion and Elesa. Although he preferred single battles, his Wartortle and Zebstrika two were definitely his pokémon of choice for double battles. When it came to working as a team, Mars was too reckless, Antonia and Ferrari were too independent, Reflet was too green, and Cortez was too much of a dick. But Bastion and Elesa clicked for multiple reasons. Each of them had respect for the other, they were both level-headed (even if Elesa could be a bit fiery at times), and they had spectacular chemistry. What pulled it all together was their typings and movepools. Bastion would soak and opponent with a Water Gun or a similar move, which would conduct Elesa's Shockwaves faster and do even more damage. And that was only the beginning of their combinations. Cody had to be careful in his commands, however, since one sloppy move would lead to either Bastion getting wiped out by a strong, electric attack or Elesa accidentally getting soaked by her partner and losing her charge.

At first, he thought his opponent's pokémon were a joke. His foes were a Riolu and a Tyrogue. Obviously, both pokémon would be tough at their tier of play, but they would likely be outleveled by his pokémon. Hell, both Bastion and Elesa could beat his father's semi-retired Hitmonlee, so what did they have to fear from a Tyrogue? That being said, he knew all too well to never take an opponent lightly. Those little fighting-types had a certain fierceness in their eyes, and if they had been battling in harsh conditions, he'd have to be ready for a scrap.

"ENGAGE!" the Alley King shouted.

"Water Gun! Shock Wave!"

What he was going for was the basic combination that made Bastion and Elesa work well together. Both dodged the incoming kicks of the two, tiny fighting-types. Bastion missed the Tyrogue with his attack but hit the Riolu, and that conducted the Shock Wave. The pup let out a pained yelp as the shock collided with him, throwing him into the wall. The Tyrogue ran in to punch Bastion, but the Wartortle could see the attack coming a mile away. He withdrew into his shell, which absorbed the blow. From there, he Aqua Jetted straight into the Tyrogue's belly, sending it towards Elesa to connect with a Double Kick, smashing its back hooves into the little fighter's torso. All and all, good synergy.

"They're kicking your asses! Break them up!" Leo shouted. His pokémon caught on quickly. Cody called for a Bubblebeam, but before Bastion could pull it off, the Tyrogue and Riolu, despite already being shaken up, linked hands and clotheslined the turtle. From there, they picked him up off the ground and ran him into the edge of the pit. It was then that Cody saw one of the biggest differences in that street battling arena: the alley pit didn't have boundary lines that most pokémon had to adhere to in the standard format. Instead, the walls of the pit acted as a boundary, and that took Bastion off guard. He hadn't withdrawn into his shell, so his head took a nasty bump against the wall.

The Tyrogue continued to pummel the stunned Wartortle while the Riolu turned its attention to the Zebstrika. Elesa charged in to help her teammate, but the Riolu was clever, sliding between the horse's front legs and kicking her back left leg, causing a stagger.

"Now switch!" Leo shouted. "Jump Kick!"

Cody caught on to what Leo was doing. In the first minute of the battle, Bastion and Elesa were in sync and his opponent knew that he'd have to break that up. It was a basic tactic, but that was easier said than done, considering that Leo's pokémon were significantly weaker in comparison. So, he had to send two after Bastion at once and they took advantage of the fact that the Wartortle was not familiar with the terrain. Now, he was switching his pokémon between the two, one to keep Bastion down while the other, fresher partner would try their luck against Elesa. If they could keep that strategy up long enough, they could turn the fight into a two versus one brawl against the Zebstrika. That was their best shot at winning.

Elesa took a Jump Kick to the face from the Tyrogue, but she could absorb a lot more than that. Shrugging off the blow, she ignited herself with a Flame Charge and hit back even harder. The Tyrogue landed on his feet, ready to strike again, but Elesa was ready, using Flash to blind him and striking with another Double Kick. Trying to fight her one on one was failing.

"Don't lose to this prick!" somebody from the crowd shouted, and that same somebody threw something into the pit: a steel chain. In a normal pokémon battle, that would be grounds to stop a battle and remove the foreign object (and the spectator who threw it), but the crowd cheered even louder. It must have been legal in the alleyway.

The Tyrogue scrambled for the chain, wrapping part of it around his right fist. He dodged the oncoming Flame Charge and smacked his chained fist into the same leg that the Riolu had kicked out earlier. Elesa shrieked, falling to her knees, and the Tyrogue capitalized. The little brawler used his agility to wrap the chain twice around the fallen Zebstrika's neck, hopped onto her back, and used all of his strength to pull backward on her throat. Choke tactics… often looked at by some trainers as dishonorable, since a good choke could take out a strong pokémon before the rest of their body gave way, but damn, those tactics were effective. There was no rule against them in regular battles, though using a foreign object to get away with it would be grounds for disqualification. Elesa struggled to free herself, but the Tyrogue had her on a short leash now. Meanwhile, Bastion was getting back his steam, but that knock to the back of his head had slowed him a bit, as the Riolu was dancing around him, throwing multiple light jabs.

Wait, what am I doing? Steel conducts electricity. "Spark!"

He felt really stupid for not figuring that out the moment the chain was introduced into the fight. Elesa heard him and ignited her body in sparks, shocking the Tyrogue as well. Standing back up, she stamped her hoof, furiously snorting at the little foe. Bastion had finally escaped the Riolu as well, so Cody decided that enough was enough.

"Rain Dance!"

It was a sunny day, not a cloud in the sky, so Bastion had to artificially create a rainstorm. He released his energy into the air directly above the battle pit, creating small clouds that drizzled into the hole. That would cost him a lot of energy, but the payoff would be tremendous. Meanwhile, Elesa reacted by heating up her body temperature. Electric pokémon could be shorted out via water, but many of them had methods of coping with rain. For Elesa, it was using her energy to heat up her body to the point that the raindrops would fizzle into steam as they closed in. Direct water attacks would still hit her, but she could last in the rain that way, and that would set her up for the finale.

"Keep the electricity flowing! Shock Wave! Bubblebeam!"

It was the part of the battle that the two of them had rehearsed numerous times before in the past months. Bastion would Aqua Jet himself from place to place across the battlefield, stopping between jets to launch Bubblebeam streams at his foes, wetting them even more. The Riolu was fast enough to keep up with the Wartortle, but he kept getting knocked away by the bubbles. The Tyrogue couldn't even get close, as Elesa was launching multiple Shock Waves at both her foes while circling in the pit counterclockwise. She would leap over any Bubblebeam that came her way while taking care not to hit Bastion with any of her moves. One misplaced move could end either one of his monsters.

When the Tyrogue and Riolu were sufficiently soaked, Cody decided not to draw out the fight any longer. "Thunder!" he ordered.

"NEEEAAAAIIIGHH!" Elesa neighed. She was not powerful enough to use Thunder on her own yet, but if rain clouds, real or artificial, were active, she could call lightning down from those. From the little clouds above the plot, she called down several strikes, most hitting the battlefield at random, but enough bolts struck the targets in question. Bastion also knew that the call for Thunder was his cue to use Protect. His protective bubble absorbed the lightning strikes and it did not shatter until Elesa finally called the lightning off. The pit was soaked in water and the Tyrogue and Riolu had collapsed and charred from the electricity. Meanwhile, Bastion and Elesa stood tall.

"Looks like the outta town punk is the winner!" the Alley King roared. He didn't seem upset though, maybe because the battle was intense. The crowd seemed mostly won over as well, as they cheered too, save a few boos, either from loyalists to the Alleyway or those who bet against him.

For a few moments, Cody enjoyed the rush, but that was cut off by one of the King's enforcers who presented him with his money: $800 cash. That was insane.

"The boss wants to know if you could go for another round. You really lit the place up," the guy said, although he himself didn't sound so impressed.

"Nah, I'm good," Cody replied, taking the money and beaming at it. He knew he could probably double his profits again if he wanted, but he wasn't going to risk it.

Gotta know when to quit, he thought to himself, but looking at the money again, he knew that he would have to do a battle like that again at some point. It wasn't just the money either, although that was a nice perk. The rush he got from the intensity, danger, and unpredictable nature of an underground battle was like nothing he had felt. Plus, even if these battles didn't play by standard rules, the experience of the fights themselves would be good for both him and his pokémon in their growth as a team.

Looking at his two battlers in the pit, he decided they definitely earned a night of pampering. He could probably take them to one of those fancy poké-spas. They deserved that sort of treatment already, but now he could actually afford it for them.


Brooke breathed a sigh of relief when Cody won. She knew how easily he could be egged into doing something stupid, but thankfully, he came out on top again. Unlike the beginning of the fight, there were people cheering for him now, probably because of how well he did. She looked around to see that the crowd definitely seemed to have lightened up towards him. But before she turned around, something caught her eye.

High above one of the surrounding buildings was a Lunatone, floating feet above the roof and looking down at the crowd below. After a few seconds, the Lunatone floated backward out of view.

If it were any other psychic pokémon, she wouldn't have thought twice, but that Lunatone left as soon as she had spotted it… was that Crescent? She couldn't tell from that far away, but she doubted it was wild and even though it could have been any Lunatone as far as she knew, she was suspicious.

"Heather…" she muttered to herself.

She looked around, but didn't see her other traveling companion anywhere. Why would Crescent be without its trainer? And why would it be watching them? Was it spying on them? In theory, it was the perfect pokémon to do something like that. It could levitate silently without having to be ground-bound. It could listen in at a distance with its psychic-enhanced hearing. And if she ever questioned it directly, it would probably spout some cryptic nonsense that wouldn't explain anything to her.

If her hunch was correct, she'd be in real trouble. Even though Brooke always took care to check in with the Brotherhood bases she passed without bringing attention to herself and she made sure nobody was around to hear her phone calls, what if the Lunatone had managed to evade detection? She had her suspicions about Heather already, but what if she already knew something she wasn't supposed to know? The problem was that Brooke couldn't confront her about it without giving herself away and even though she saw a Lunatone, she had no way of proving that it was Heather's.

I'll have to catch her in the act. The possible revelation could put her position in jeopardy, so she would have to alert Michelle about it. But looking back over at Cody, basking in his back alley victory, she just hoped that she wouldn't be extracted just yet. She wasn't ready for that.


So, I've been working on editing the first few chapters of this story to make it more presentable to newcomers. I've mostly just been cleaning up grammatical errors, as I tend to make a lot of those. If anybody notices any significant grammatical, syntax, or continuity errors in the story, please let me know in a private message. Much appreciated!