This story is co-developed and edited by Titan127.

Disclaimer: Pokémon is a registered property of Nintendo, the Pokémon Company, and GameFreak. This work respectfully uses the world and characters of the Pokémon series, with no intent of harm on the original creators. Please support the official releases of the Pokémon franchise.

Chapter 31: Storming the Castle (8,061 words)

He couldn't slow down. If he slowed down, he'd stop moving. If he stopped moving, he'd be found. And if he was found...

One of Proton's footfalls caught on a root, or a rock, or some dirt, or whatever the fuck it was. He was decorated with rugburn when he finally came to a stop. Dirt coated his body and clothes. It clogged his throat and his lungs. However, he couldn't feel anything. Because his brain was teetering on the edge, the only thing that clued him into the pain coursing through him was the blood pooling from rashes on his skin.

Deafened sirens bounced off the atmosphere to reach him. There was a sea of forest between them and Proton could only pray that was enough. He grasped at the freezing dirt to drag himself forward. The headset was right there, a meter away, one of its earpieces broken. A weak hand grasped for it, finding dirt, and grass, and stone, and moss, until he clenched his fist around it. Bringing it to his ear, there was static.

He was crying. Why the fuck was he crying? Proton slammed his own fist into his skull to beat it out. Hit after hit after hit made feeling evaporate from his skin all over. The sirens muted further.

"P-petrel, a-a-answer me. What is—" He interrupted himself to spit up soil from his throat. He almost emptied his stomach. "Petrel, do y-you copy?"

The earpiece gave no answer. His tears hadn't stopped.

"Petrel!" he screamed. "Geist! Major! Muscles! Anyone?"

Silence. His screams fell to whimpers as he listed every codename he could remember. Each name returned the same answer.

"Squeak… please answer me. D-did you get out? Are you there?"

When nothing returned to him the final time, he tossed the headset away and laid down on the ground. Why did he get to be the only one who escaped the League? He just sat back in his cozy hideout while everyone else put themselves on the line, yet only he crawled away from the Indigo Plateau. And the rest of the Syndicate would be next. Just as he predicted, they woke the Dragon. The Pokémon League was coming.

Proton had no will to get up. The world fading, he drifted in and out of consciousness for minutes, hours. He had no dreams, only vague whispers of his own monologue and the sounds of the forest creeping in his ears and the swirling of fluid in his head.

When he awoke, a vague warmth was overcoming the dark sky. Proton ignored the combination of pain, numbness, apathy, guilt, and dread pushing against him from all sides like a metal press and slogged forward towards the orange through the trees.

Escape. That's what Petrel said. If the entire Rocket Syndicate was going to go down in flames, that's all he could do. A true Rocket would leave it all behind and throw everyone to die if it meant he could live on. He shambled through the forest towards an unknown destination, the sirens long since silent behind him.

Ciel cracker the porch door and let a frigid wind blow inside. At the turn of the new year, they were graced with a wonderland. A volume of white stretched out endlessly across the horizon. It hung precariously on the roof of the other buildings in the village and he couldn't even see footprints or trails cutting through the snowfall.

With the addition of a layer of mist, it was picturesque, like a greeting card given life. He drunk in the crisp air that purified his lungs and his soul.

"Stop letting the cold in!" shouted his mother a few rooms away. "Don't turn into Pryce!"

"Okay!" He zipped up his jacket and stepped outside into the frozen world, pulling hard to deal the door against the wind. Ciel stepped up to the table on the porch, pulled out a chair, dusted a sheet of snow off the seat, and then lived with the disappointing wetness under his pants. A shiver rocked his entire spine.

"I don't think you thought that through. Snow is still wet," said Crystal, who was huddled up in a jacket of her own across the table. A folded towel was placed next to her.

"I didn't get a lot of this where I'm from, alright?" He crossed his arms to conserve his warmth and let out a crystallized breath. "Why are you out here, instead of enjoying the cornerstone of civilization?"

"Written language? Integration of Pokémon into everyday life?" she asked.

"I was thinking central heating."

She slipped her hands inside her jacket pockets and held tight to herself. She cast a blank stare into the silent village. "Well, we've already got the three of us out here. It can't be that bad."

He'd noticed her slip through the door in the short time he had it open. If it weren't for the lingering burnt hairs, he probably wouldn't be able to discern her frost-white body from the blanket of snow she curled up in. She stayed in place, not moving, not communicating, not anything.

He spared a few glances back at his partner Pokémon, almost expecting her to stalk forward and attack him when his back was turned. She never did.

"I don't know if you've noticed, but she's been following me everywhere for the past few days and just… staring. She still hates me for what happened to Arden," Ciel explained with a hint of disappointment. An idea struck him, and he tossed her Poké Ball across the porch to land softly in the snow next to her head. She broke her focus for a moment to tap it with the tip of her sickle.

"Are you sure she's being antagonistic? It could just be curiosity," said Crystal.

He shook his head, dejected. His cheeks were starting to burn between the cold surrounding him and his blood rushing to keep him warm. "I don't know. When Gold brought her to Mahogany, she started watching me like she was judging my every move. After our battle with my parents, I thought I'd finally done something right, but now she's shadowing me even more."

"Maybe she just needs one little push. It's just like you, right? You were well and ready to make up with your father, and facing him head on was all it took," she said.

"Yeah," he said. "Just like me."

"Don't sound so down in the dumps about it. There's no time limit on making it happen, especially since she's obviously willing to stick around and give you a chance." Crystal grinned ear to ear, her nose and ears a bright cherry. She leaned back in her chair and stretched her arms over her head. This accidentally knocked her hat into the snow.

"Hey Crystal?" he asked.

"Yeah?"

"You're a good person," Ciel said. The words dropped off his tongue before he realized. He rolled it back over in his mouth out of curiosity and liked what he heard.

"O-oh. Well, thank you." As she picked up her hat and dusted it off, she tilted her head away from him.

"Do you not get that very much?"

She was silent for a few moments. Her blank gaze tried to dig through the mist beyond the porch. Twirling her hat between her index fingers, she said, "I just try my best. That's good enough for me."

"Why exactly did you decide to go on the Gym Challenge? You never really said," he said.

"Gold wanted to see the Region. I tagged along. I think it puts me in a better position to help out when I can, hiking all around and seeing what problems I can chase."

"Right. It was never about you." Ciel didn't aim it directly at her. Rather, he drew it from himself, and from everything he drilled into his mind for the past few months. He, and Crystal, and Brent, they were all doing things for other people. It was their purpose, their identity, and their happiness. When he imagined the faces surrounding him in their snow-coated cottage in the mountains, he was surer than ever that it was the right dream to follow, knowing that others' dreams would net any chasms he stepped over.

She hummed in agreement and put her hat back on. There was no sunlight to block out. She crossed her legs—she was wearing thermals underneath her knee-length overalls—and shifted in her seat as if anxious for something. Of course, it was part of the reason they were in Mahogany.

A shadow appeared through the mist. Crystal shot to her feet and rushed to the edge of the porch to meet the approaching figure. He said he'd find them, and that's what they were waiting for.

However, both Crystal and Ciel were stunned the approaching presence. She backed away, slowly, and he found himself unable to muster the strength to stand from his chair. The silhouette was powerful. With each step, an invisible force shook the earth beneath him, and the cloak draped around him rippled. When he placed his boot onto the first step, Ciel's heart jolted.

"Excuse me. I'd like to speak with the Gym Leaders." Calm diplomacy blocked a hidden rage from leaving his breath. Lance Masuta graced them with their presence, and with it, his mission.

"The Rockets are here," said Lance. Ciel, his parents, Crystal, and Gold had trouble keeping up with the man's steadfast gait.

"Why are my parents going with you?" Ciel asked. He caught a glimpse of Raven trailing the group ten paces behind. All his team was in stasis except her. She wouldn't walk any closer but never fell far behind.

"Gym Leaders are considered reserve militia and can be called for temporary service to fulfill the League's purposes. All our employed Trainers are," Lance explained. He parted the mist with his stride alone, and by the time they reached the center of town, it was clear.

They were followed by a small squad of badged police officers. Two of them wore faded uniforms with the Glacier Badge's emblem hanging on their chests. The others looked like they'd stepped out of the academy just yesterday. Their facial features weren't local.

Crystal motioned to him and Gold. She pulled them into a huddle as they walked towards their as-of-yet unknown destination.

"So, where's our, you know…" Gold hunched over and pretended to throw a bag over his shoulder. Or at least, that's what Ciel assumed he was doing.

Crystal shook her head. "It's not exactly a large town and I've looked everywhere. But he was right about the Rockets, and he wouldn't abandon this."

"And why are we whispering?" asked Gold, in a raspy tone far above a whisper.

"Because he's still a wanted criminal. I wasn't expecting the freaking Champion of Indigo to show up."

"What if he's already inside on an action movie rampage, throwing out one-liners and knocking out crooks?" Gold asked while making karate chop gestures—Ciel noted the unbalanced form to himself—and sound effects. "I mean, he knew they were here way before the police did. I think they need to step up their game."

"I..." she paused. "It's possible. But I hope he's not stupid enough to try it alone."

Ciel's mother had been bickering with the champion the entire walk. Her shouting increased in ire until she broadcast across their group.

"You want us to take down the Rocket Syndicate, which somehow happens to be in this very town, with only ten people, including my son?" she mother. Fury built behind her that made the police officers steer clear.

"Please. These three were at the Showdown. They already have more professional training than half the criminal underworld." He made a motion towards them, which made Ciel shrink in on himself.

"Couldn't the Indigo League afford you more International Police agents?" Ciel's father wasn't much happier, though he kept it hidden. His mouth pursed and he clamped a Poké Ball in his hand. Still, he followed close behind the Champion of the Indigo Plateau, beholden to the call of duty.

Lance shot him an indignant stare. "The rest are setting up to secure the town's premises, and your town having two officers doesn't help. I have to make up the deficit."

"Just because you expect your kids to be some Trainer prodigies with no lives outside the ones you set them up for doesn't mean mine should have to put theirs on the line," Kori said. She roughly pulled Lance aside, stopping their march, and bored into him. "If you're calling my husband and I up for defense purposes, fine, but they aren't going."

"They are, and I have the Viceroy's authority to make them. The Rockets already knew we were coming over a week ago and I don't want to waste any more time," Lance said.

The argument spiraled further downward as Ciel's mother grew increasingly agitated, while Lance was steadfast in his decision to bring them along. The officers got involved. The ones in the shiny uniforms planted themselves in front of Lance in intimidating guard stances.

Ciel stepped forward. "We're going."

The argument ceased. His mother sputtered. She muttered and grumbled and rambled to herself, trying to make sense of what she just heard, before she settled on saying, "No. I forbid you."

"You're here because someone you love was hurt, sir," he said to the Champion, ignoring her. The Champion's expression softened. Ciel's thoughts wandered to the first time he spoke to Cynthia in Goldenrod, and how small he felt in comparison. Crystal and Gold formed up at his sides, and a distant Raven behind. He suspected that they were granting him this unknown bout of confidence. "I'm here because a Rocket told me they'd do the same to me and my family. You were there, Mom. I'm not going to let that happen."

"You—but, you can't—" The woman lost her words further.

Ciel's father put a hand on his wife's shoulder and said everything he needed without a word. She took his other hand into hers and squeezed, and after letting out a sigh, she said, "Okay."

"Us too," said Crystal, Gold's juvenile grin backing her up. "We're here to help our friends."

"Then it's settled!" Lance announced. "We've got ourselves a little squad of heroes. "I'll even make a deal. In exchange for helping me, I'll pull some strings with the League to get each of you any one thing you want."

A reward was the furthest thing from Ciel's mind. Their destination was only a few paces away. Close to the center of town was a run-down shack. Tacky signs decorated every plane of its exterior, overlapping the boarded and missing windows. One was notably larger than the others but looked just as cheap.

"Rage Candy Bars?" asked Crystal.

"Our communications team tracked a signal used by the Rockets to this little place. Its equipment receives from the Goldenrod Radio Tower and rebroadcasts through the mountains. But, since there's so little overall traffic, the Rocket signal went unnoticed for a long time," Lance said.

He let them inside the building's open doorway, and their group of ten populated the small interior. It was dusty, moldy, and made Ciel's nose scrunch. Hundreds of trinkets littered the shelves around the store. Some hadn't been touched in ages.

The dull-looking man stepped through the string curtain and regarded them with bulging eyes. The smell only worsened when he appeared. His forehead sweat profusely when he realized the nature of his guests. One of his arms twitched.

"You. Shopkeep." Lance sauntered up to the counter. "We've got a search warrant from the Indigo Plateau to inspect your business."

"Don't go to da back," he said in a drawl.

"The back?" Lance raised an eyebrow. "Is there something back there I shouldn't know about?"

One of the police officers shot forward when the man's twitching arm disappeared behind his back and brandished a Poké Ball. He tackled the man over the counter and crashed into the back wall. Junk lining the walls dropped and shattered, and even more teetered precariously over the edge. The officer twisted the shopkeeper's arm behind his back and squeezed until he dropped the capsule. It rolled along the floor to a disinterested Lance, who smashed it underfoot.

The Champion pushed through the curtain and touched around the cramped backroom. He shifted along the walls, pushing, pulling, twisting, trying to find something, until his attention settled on a decorative cabinet. Ciel stepped through the curtain himself, over the struggling shopkeeper being restrained on the floor, and saw the man effortlessly shift the dresser aside. He only used a single arm, yet it slid across the ground like it was a fraction of its actual weight.

Underneath, a small trapdoor was reveleaed. The ten of them gathered in the backroom—the shopkeeper was safely handcuffed and out-of-commission—and Lance addressed them all. "With any luck, this door leads right to the Rocket main hideout. A few more agents of mine should be setting up behind us to prevent their escape through here. Prepare yourselves for a fight."

The Champion pried open the trapdoor and revealed a metal staircase underneath, light filtering from somewhere inside the descending tunnel. He led the group down. Ciel felt claustrophobic, his head only a few centimeters from the ceiling. No one seemed like striking up conversation, so the shuffling footfalls of their march were all Ciel heard as they descended further, and further, and further. Natural light gave way to a disorienting, artificial glow.

They spilled out into nondescript hallways. The undetailed walls only had light panels running their perimeter and the occasional vent duct or decorative painting to break up the endless white paneling that seemed to fade into haze ten meters in each of the three directions available. No one was there, but a voice booked over the loudspeaker, announcing that intruders have entered the base and ordering Rockets to stop them at all costs. Hadn't they only just gotten inside? Had the shopkeeper somehow alerted them? Lance surveyed environment for a few seconds before addressing them again.

"Each of you will stay with a small group and keep only one Pokémon active for your own safety. You in the baseball cap, come with me," he said. A fanboyish glee escaped Gold's mouth and he adjusted said cap to look his best. The squire stood in the shadow of the knight's cloak "Daku, take your son and two officers. Same to Kori and the girl in the overalls. We're here to apprehend as many Rockets as we can, and more importantly, find and take their leader into custody."

Ciel and his father shared taciturn agreement. While everyone else selected a Poké Ball, Ciel's own chosen Pokémon was already active, having followed them down the passage. He looked to her. She turned away. After wishing each other luck, the three groups split off to search the complex.

Ciel joined his father and their officers, Hidari and Tadashi, as they jogged down the monotonous halls of the complex. Ciel pace swayed due to the light, the dizzying atmosphere, and the stale air. He had to pinch himself while he ran just to ensure he wasn't dreaming.

"Hey, uhh, Dad? If this is really a hideout for Rockets, where is everyone?" he asked with shaking breaths.

"Just keep your guard up. This place doesn't sit well with me." The man's Houndoom bounded alongside them as they raced down the seemingly endless hall. The vague haze as the space receded brought his memory of the Ruins of Alph to the forefront. Their assigned officers didn't seem to notice—they were International Police agents and carried themselves like they were on top of the world. Ciel figured they were, to some degree.

The further they got from the entrance, the sicker to his stomach it made him. The shadow he danced with in Goldenrod and in Olivine made him fear what the Rockets were capable of. With each step they traveled, they delved deeper into enemy territory and strayed further from the safe light of the surface.

Then, from the darkness, they struck.

The quilled body of a Sandlash lanched forward and aimed to tear straight through him with an extended claw. It flashed under the artificial light. Ciel gave a hasty order. "Slash!"

Raven sprinted forward, swung her head and sickle upward, and met the claw directly. The angle of impact caused the oncoming creature to ricochet past him. The clash of blades sparked hot.

"Use Crunch, Twelve!" shouted his father. Without missing a beat, his Houndoom clamped its jaws around the enemy's arm. It shouted in pain as the teeth sunk in and drew blood. The attacker was swung around by the limb and slammed into a nearby wall, destroying a panel light and leaving it incapacitated.

Four figures approached in wake of their ambush, all adorned with black jackets sporting the Rocket's letter emblem. Underneath their caps, Ciel could barely tell them apart—he assumed that meant they were low-ranking muscle. But, grunts or not, they all had Poké Balls and we're ready to kill them.

The police officers levied electroshock weapons. Ciel noticed that they didn't have Poké Balls on their belts, meaning they weren't Trainers themselves. Without them, it was either four to two, or three to two if that Sandlash was one's only Pokémon.

"Anybody ever told you fucks to knock?" said a commanding grunt he guessed was this little squad's leader. The loudspeaker still broadcast over his words.

"You are under arrest on suspect of Pokémon poaching, attempted theft of League property, and criminal distribution of contraband." The statement was issued by Tadashi, while his partner remained silent. It was by the book, high-and-tight, and stone faced, but Ciel detected a shake in his words.

"Yeah, yeah, we get it. I knew we was gonna have to deal with some League boys, but if this is all you got, well…"

Three of the Trainers released Pokémon and one recalled the downed Ground-type. Two fully materialized faster than the third and charged forward; Ciel and his father ordered forward to counter.

Neon red melted off Venomoth and Magmar. The first, a lavender, flying insect with a pale abdomen, beat its wings and dusted the area with a sparkling powder. The second stood bipedal, wore a coat of red and orange, and was adorned with flames around its head and tail. It curled one foreclaw into a fist and powered up its strike with summoned fire. The volcanic punch didn't aim for their Pokémon. It aimed for Officer Hidari.

"Cover your ears!" his father shouted. "Twelve, Roar!"

Hidari fired his stun gun. One of the darts managed to spear Magmar through its shoulder, but the conductive power coursing through wasn't enough to stop it. Ciel held out his capsule and temporarily recalled Raven. He held his ears tight with his hands. A deafening shriek burst from the mouth of his father Pokémon that was powerful enough to make visible reverberations down the hall and cancel Magmar's attack entirely. The Pokémon fell to the ground, stunned and convulsing, its fires wavering.

Ciel stood up tall and hovered next to his father. Their enemies and allies alike, including a still-materializing Golem, were all disoriented from the massive acoustic burst. He asked, exasperated, "Why didn't you use that on us?"

"Because it's obnoxious. My own ears are ringing," Daku said.

The more he looked at the Magmar on the floor, the more Ciel realized that he was convulsing himself. He gasped. His arms were covered in that sparkling powder. What hadn't been blown away by Houndoom's roar had settled all around them. Houndoom's muscles spasmed, paralyzed by what could only be Stun Spore.

Quickly, he pressed the button on Raven's capsule again and released her to the field. By recalling her he'd avoided attacks from both sides.

"Flamethrower!" shouted his father.

"Raven, use Slash in the follow-through!" Ciel ordered.

Houndoom managed to summon it power and launch a pillar of flames. However, the paralysis prevented it from moving and it was too far back to guarantee a hit. The flames flew past Venomoth and it escaped with only its right wings singed.

Raven raced alongside the attack and leaped just after it reached the opponent. She leapt far to the left, and though it looked like she missed at first, she alone predicted that Venomoth would wing itself away from the fire in reflex. By the time her sickle swung, the Pokémon had placed itself right where she wanted. She sliced a piece of its crown and tore through its wing.

"Mega Punch!" commanded the lead Rocket.

A massive blow met her in the side before she could hit the ground and threw Raven into the wall. Her body smashed a painting to pieces. Ciel shouted, "Get back!"

His partner was in pain. She dripped blood as she pulled herself up. She dove out of the way of a follow-up punch that cracked the wall panel and limped back over towards their side. The Golem had been trapped on the other side of the Flamethrower but barged through the torrent like it was nothing. Tadashi and Hidari held their weapons up even though the creature was Ground-type. It looked impenetrable. Rocks plated its body and only its head and short limbs were free from the boulder-like shape.

"Hold on, Raven!" Ciel exclaimed. He rushed to her side and quickly applied a Super Potion he stashed in his bag. Her breathing was heavy. She was forced down by her own wounds each time she tried to stand.

"I'm gonna give you fucks one last chance to back off before my friend here caves in this building and buries you. Permanently," threatened the leader. His comrades had backed off and recalled their injured Pokémon, apparently having none in reserve. Neither party put forward an attack. Yet. "You know Brock, the Gym Leader over in Kanto? He released this bad boy into a sanctuary a few years back, and it's still my greatest mark to date!"

A Gym Leader's own Pokémon? Ciel cursed himself. He had nothing that could even touch it. Even further, over half his five were weak to Rock and he wouldn't put them in danger. That left Hector or Raven, but what could they do to stop a monster like that? His dad's conflicted face told him that the man was at a similar disadvantage.

"Hey Dad. Raven. I have an idea, but—" He stopped himself. Fully reading his partner's injured partner cleaved his heart in half. He couldn't guarantee it would work. He had no information on her ability even after scouring textbook after textbook, and he'd have to put her through more for only a small chance of beating this Pokémon.

"Spit it out, Ciel," his father said.

Raven bore a sharp eye. She got to her feet as Golem stomped slowly towards them, and this time, she stayed standing.

"Asking this question is probably going to make everything worse," he said in a sad, low voice. He hoped only she could hear. "And if you say no, I understand. But I need to ask anyway. Can you take a hit from Houndoom?"

Nothing about her demeanor changed and she kept that one, unblinking eye leveled at him. It was exactly as she'd been over the past few weeks. He had no view inside her head, no concept of what she thought or felt. All he wanted was to understand her and finally rebuild that bridge he'd slowly found the planks to.

Golem loomed. She continued in silent contemplation. For a few moments, despite the thunderous footsteps, and the shouting between the officers and Rockets, and his father urging him to get up, his world was completely silent aside from the echoes of her hitched breaths.

Then, she growled low and warm. He wasn't an expert, but he knew that was her sound of affirmation. Was it curiosity? Was it pride in fighting a massive, powerful foe? He didn't know what backed her response, but he couldn't waste any more time. He stood.

"Dad, her ability enhances her attack strength when she gets hit sometimes. I've seen it happen, and I think the attack was Dark-type. She resists it, and if it works, we might be able to end this fast."

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"No, I'm not. No book I found talked about it, but there are some other abilities like it. And she's—"

"Well?" shouted the Rocket. A sickening arrogance dripped from his voice. "This is your final warning!"

"Are you sure?" his father repeated in a harsher tone.

"Yes!" Ciel exclaimed.

His father gave the order. He extended his arm. "Twelve, Dark Pulse on Absol."

His Pokémon trusted the command. Its body pulsed black, and when enough energy was gathered, it was expelled. The sinister wave shot forward from deep within his body and washed over Raven, causing her to shake to her core.

The head Rocket threw back his head and erupted in laughter. That cackling bounced off the walls and surrounding him, and Ciel clenched his fist knowing he gave the order to harm his own Pokémon. Between breaths, he ordered his Golem to cease. "You're attacking your own Pokémon? Maybe I'll just let you kill yourselves."

A wavering red aura, invisible from every other angle, surrounded her, and her muscles clenched under her fur. Raven growled her approval when she recovered. Ciel said, "Do it again!"

Another Dark Pulse struck her and sent her skidding on the floor. She growled a third time. Houndoom hit her again. That Rocket's laughter was endless amongst it all.

Finally, Raven leveled her sickle at the paused Golem, which regarded her with contempt and intrigue. She threatened to lose her footing again as she stalked forward. Black lightning flashed across the blade as she prepared her attack—their enemies couldn't detect it, but Ciel could feel the overwhelming energy emanating from her body.

"Finally done? Finally decided to die?" asked the Rocket. "Very well! Kill them! Double-Edge!"

Ciel closed his eyes and calmed himself. Breathe in, breathe out. Raven was doing the same as she neared. Breathe in, breathe out. He opened his eyes, and ordered calmly, "Night Slash."

Raven threw herself at her enemy. That lightning intensified and lashed out from her blade until it engulfed her entire body. She put all her force into her single point of attack. Her enemy barreled forward to crush her. She brought down her blade phased through in a blur and a burst of black lightning. As she reappeared on the other side, Golem's body impacted the floor with a thud, defeated in a single hit.

Tadashi and Hidari were already on the move before the Rockets realized what had happened. The former fired his own stun gun and immobilized two of the gangsters, and when the others tried to run, the latter whipped a bolas. The ranged capture device wrapped itself together around their legs and both of their noses met concrete.

Ciel approached Raven and she regarded him before shortly collapsing. She couldn't keep her eyes open. He applied another super potion and gently scratched her on the head. He said, holding out her Poké Ball, "Thank you for trusting me. I'm getting you to a Pokémon Center as soon as I can."

With her confirmation, he recalled her to the capsule and stood to meet the officers and his father by the downed Rockets. His father had already replaced his paralyzed Houndoom with Inkay.

"Where's your boss?" demanded Tadashi. Hidari held a baton tightly between his hands and let his partner do the talking.

"Head offices are, I don't know, somewhere. You figure it out." The leading Rocket was one of the two caught by the bolas and he'd already been cuffed when Ciel approached. He spit at the officer.

Hidari slapped the baton into one of his palms. The Rocket said, "You need passwords to get in anyway, and I don't even know them. We have to get permission to go in there, so good fucking luck!"

Hidari confirmed that all of them were restrained and unlikely to move and nodded at his compatriot. They all agreed they needed to move on and continued down the halls. Though the first group they encountered was formidable, the hideout was surprisingly empty. They must have spared a lot of manpower during the heist they pulled at the Indigo Plateau.

Their group approached a t-shaped fork and heard more voices coming from up ahead. They bunkered down to fight as another squad of Rockets appeared. This time, there were even more, at least fifteen from Ciel's quick count.

His father ordered his Inkay to use Reflect. The floating creature whirled its tentacles and shined with a psychic power, and from ceiling to floor, the pathway was blocked by a shining wall of light.

"Come on!" he shouted. "We don't have the manpower to fight that many unless we can regroup."

They all turned the corner hard and continued past the shouting voices on the other side of the barrier. His father ordered Inkay to set up barriers behind them until he couldn't anymore. It would prevent them from getting to the front entrance or help their friends, he hoped. The loudspeaker message ordering the Rockets to fight played on loop above them.

They rounded more of the monotonous hallways where members of the Syndicate were waiting for them. In smaller numbers, they were a match. Hidari managed to take another out with his stun gun before he could release a Pokémon, and his father's Inkay knocked unconscious a Nidorina with its Psybeam. The officers cuffed a few more grunts before moving on.

They came into a large open area, looking like a cafeteria or assembly room, and in the center stood Lance and his Dragonite and Ethan with his Togepi in his arms. On their feet were multiple dazed or unconscious Rockets and their Pokémon.

"Report," ordered the Champion, leading Tadashi to explain what they encountered. Ciel stood by and marveled at the green-scaled beast that towered over the rest of the group. The Dragon-type didn't pay him any mind and stood at the ready. As soon as the officer finished his debrief, their other party arrived from a connecting hallway.

"Hey!" called Crystal. She was short of breath and her Azumarill's tail was drooping. Their Mahogany police officers and his mother also looked worse for the wear, the latter even sporting a developing black eye. When Ciel noted it to her, she brushed him off.

"It looks like this side of the structure is one big loop. Every pathway ends up in this big room or back at the entrance, and we haven't found any other possible exits," she said.

"Neither us," said Tadashi, "though we did block off one area with multiple perps. It might have been barracks of sorts."

"We can worry about them later. It seems that this door is the only way through the other side, where the top brass is hiding," said Lance. He pointed to a large pair of iron panels on one wall of the assembly room.

"One of the guys I, ahem, interrogated," said his mother, who cracked her knuckles, "claimed that we needed two passwords from specifically authorized members. Without two password holders, we don't have another way of getting to who's in charge."

Ciel looked to his father. His father looked to Lance. Lance looked back to him. They nodded.

He withdrew a Poké Ball and released Arden into the room. It built the tall, powerful body of his Typhlosion until the red faded and the Pokémon ignited a wave of flames on the back of his neck. Ciel gave him a thumbs-up. His father's Houndoom also reappeared, still paralyzed but mostly unhurt.

At their combined order, the three Pokémon faced the door. Lance, Ciel, and Daku said together, "Flamethrower."

"Hey," said a Rocket grunt. His hair was a dirty orange color.

"Yeah?" answered his maroon-headed partner, standing on the other side of the double doors.

"You ever wonder why we're here?" the first one asked.

The other paused for only a moment. "It's one of life's great mysteries, isn't it? Why are we here? Are we the product of some cosmic coincidence, or is there really Arceus watching everything, you know, with a plan for us and stuff? I don't know man, but it keeps me up at night."

A long silence passed between them. There was no sound on that side of the base—the Boss hated to hear her own announcements on repeat, so she removed the PA speakers from the executive suite—and therefore nothing to distract them from that moment of silent contemplation.

The maroon-haired grunt asked, "What? I meant, why are we here, guarding these doors? Only approved personnel can enter this side of the base anyway, not the other way around. We should be guarding the other side of the door. And even then, why do we need to guard a password protected door?"

"Oh," said the other grunt. "Uhh, yeah."

"What was all that stuff about Arceus?"

"Uhh, huh. Nothing."

"You want to talk about it?" asked the other.

"No," the orange-haired one said. A muffled sound rang from the other side of the doors. "Wait, did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" asked his partner. They both turned to look. The door behind them began to steam and its color shifted from cool gray to a blistering red. Its shape bubbled and bulged outward.

They said together, "Son of a—"

The door blasted off its hinges and into the hallway, where it clattered against the floor. The two Rockets were knocked unconscious by the blast and Ciel, Crystal, Gold, Kori, Daku, Lance, and the police officers were free to step from the smoke into the executive suite. They jogged with their active Pokémon through the smaller section of the base. The walls and ceilings were even more cramped, and the light became downright oppressive.

Crystal wiped away sweat collecting on her eyebrow. She kept tight in formation while the group curved through what looked like a simple office space. It looked like she was ten stories up a high-rise, not meters underground. The persistent aroma of tobacco smoke didn't make her any more comfortable, though.

She turned her head to Gold, who was jogging beside her with Crown, his Togepi, curled in his arms and a tonedeaf grin on his mug. She said, "Why was that the Pokémon you chose? This is way too dangerous for a baby."

"Hey, last time I did this, it worked!" he protested.

"Because of luck, you idiot. If you injure that Pokémon, I swear I will destroy you," she said to him. He muttered something and blew a raspberry, but she shut herself off from the conversation.

"I don't want you to get involved. But if you really do care… I'll be heading to Mahogany."

His words were clear; her decision was clearer. She did care. He was a friend, and Crystal put that before anything else. If he really understood her, if he really thought of her just the same, he'd know that she'd be there to help when he called. As she carried on through the Rocket compound, all she could do was purse her lips, keep her head high, and prepare for whatever awaited them.

Lance held out his arm and fluttered his cloak with the motion. The entire group came to a silent halt. Ahead of them was a four-way intersection of halls, and shortly after, a squad of Rockets sprinted past the perpendicular route. Crystal held in a breath until the last goon's foot disappeared. The group waited a few seconds before resuming their advance.

A few distant shouts echoed through the walls followed by a resonant shake. Crystal asked, "How did they miss us? Aren't they looking for us if they already know we're here?"

"No," said one of her Mahogany Police companions. She insisted on the moniker "captain," but Crystal wondered how much that mattered given the size of the department. "Those alarms were running before we got here. I think someone else is already inside."

They came upon an open stairwell and descended further into the base. Her head pulsed from the additional pressure. Maron wasn't doing much better, though she wasn't sure if it was the depth or his own exhaustion. The Water-type pushed himself to his limit just to keep pace on his stubby legs. He refused the switch when she offered.

The section on the floor below looked conceptually identical, but it was the small details that turned their proactive jog into a cautious walk to let the officers evaluate the area. The floor was suspiciously free of dust. The paintings on the walls looked even more ornate and expensive, and a few decorative plants lined the walls.

Laid out at the end of the hallway was a pair of wooden doors. They looked out-of-place with the remainder of the complex, and instead of being homely, they were unsettling. For a few meters in front of them, the white-paneled floor switched to a checkerboard pattern. The wide tiles alternated between gray and a dark gold. The officers took note.

The talkative agent drew a dummy object from his belt and chucked it across the room. His aim was true. The object landed at the center of a gold section and they waited for something to happen.

Directly above the tile, a panel of similar size slipped open and an amorphous violet lump dropped. A… Pokémon? It examined their group for a few seconds, and then it began to change. Its body grew in mass and morphed like a bastardized evolution, churning its own material until a dangerous shape appeared. Its powerful muscles, thick tail, small wings, and horn were all alarmingly familiar, and after its color shifted from purple to deep emerald, a completed copy of Lance's Dragonite roared.

Typhlosion, Froslass, Inkay, Azumarill and their side's Dragonite all prepared to fight. The copy-Dragonite summoned power in its mouth and prepared to release. In the small hallway, they had no way to dodge a Hyper Beam. Ciel's father ordered Light Screen and Crystal braced herself.

The wall beside the trap exploded in a shower of debris. From within, an equally massive newcomer threw a punch through the imposter's head. Copy-Dragonite's entire body liquified from the force of impact and it splattered against the paneling before it could fire.

The creature's Trainer hopped through the wreckage of the wall. He ordered, "Yang, punch the floor!"

His Pokémon reared up and smashed a reptilian fist into the tiling. Sparks coursed through the busted assembly, and the trap shorted entirely before more ceiling panels could open. Cracks snaked along the walls around them.

Lance's Dragonite prepared for another attack. His Trainer was on guard and about to give the order. Crystal shouted, "Wait!"

The new arrival turned to face them. His deep red hair was unmistakable. The Pokémon standing beside him towered. He'd grown at least a meter, his body had filled out with musculature rivaling Lance's partner, plating had developed along his limbs and back, and his crest stood sharper. Though his body still sported scars, many of them had been overtaken by the proud scales of his evolution. The Feraligatr met them not with a snarl but a sharp-toothed smile.

"What took you so long?" chided his Trainer.

Crystal rushed past the group and past the apprehensive shouts of the officers to pull him into a tight huh. When his arms wrapped around her in return, her eyes almost welled up. She pushed back to look up at him.

"Hey Crystal," said Silver.

"You dumbass," she said, though she wasn't upset. Far from it. "How did you even get in here? Why didn't you meet us to go together?"

"This base has a secondary exit that empties out in the forests near the Lake of Rage. I needed to collapse it to make sure this worked."

"Why didn't you say something?" she exclaimed.

He dropped his head. Whispering, he said, "I didn't… actually mean to get trapped inside."

"You know what, I don't care. I'm glad you're here. I'm glad you're safe. We've got a job to do."

His Feraligatr dropped his head to take in her scent and then lit up when he realized who she was. He knocked off her hat and ruined her hair with a drag of his tongue. Crystal batted him away and laughed. She looked between them. There was no hostility between Pokémon and Trainer—she could tell it had long since evaporated. When she watched his attack, they seemed in-tune with one another. Two of a kind, they carried themselves now with the same joyful pride that could take down a criminal enterprise. However, their reunion was cut short.

"What exactly is he doing here?" questioned Lance on his approach. He refused to step onto the broken trap until the officers finished a quick inspection.

The red-haired Trainer shied away. Ciel asked, "You know him?"

"There was an uproar at the Indigo League when the Professor's lab was broken into. We punish Pokémon theft with extreme prejudice." Lance motioned to the International Police agents, one of whom drew a pair of handcuffs and closed in. Silver stepped hesitantly backwards. His partner bared bladed gums.

"Hold it sir," said Ciel as he threw himself in front of the Champion, "but he did fight that thing and disabled the trap. Crystal's put her faith in him to help defeat the Rockets, so we should too."

He halted the officers with the suggestion, and when Lance didn't respond, the moment fell to unease. "Err, I meant no disrespect sir! None at all!"

The man relaxed his shoulders and held up a hand. "You're right, we don't have time, but don't think that changes anything."

"Their leader is right through those doors. It's her main office. I prevented her escape, so she has no choice but to meet us," Silver said.

Lance grunted and didn't move, which Silver picked up as permission to lead them. He and his Feraligatr crossed the remainder of the hall with their entire group in tow. Crystal and Maron stayed at their side ahead of the group, though they shared no more words. She spared one last glance at the entourage. Lance and his Dragonite shouldered immense power with each step and the officers trailed in full support. Ciel's Typhlosion burst with excited flames, but it couldn't match the burning determination consuming he and his family. Gold threw up a fist. The Togepi in his arms did the same.

She turned back to Silver. The two threw their weight into the heavy doors to force them open. Slowly, the crack between them widened and the blurred figure behind came into focus.

They filed into the spacious office that turned cramped with their presence. The walls were too clean and too pure despite that yellowing smoke swirling around them. A parallel head of red sat casually behind her desk and let them ready weapons and attack orders before opening her mouth.

"Mr. Masuta, it's a pleasure. If you wanted a roundtable, this isn't the best place." She scanned her eyes across them, regarding everyone except the former Rocket right in front of her.

"You must be their new boss," Lance said.

"Interim Boss, actually. To lay claim to all of this would be conceited of me," the woman said as she stood. The officers held their weapons tighter. Maron reeled back one of his short arms, ready to throw a fist, and she was just as prepared to give the order. "Now, before we do some things we might regret, let's take a few moments and discuss what it is we all want."

Silver stepped forward again and slammed his hands on her desk, pressing his fingertips hard into the fine wood. The woman finally graced him with her attention and their eyes locked.

He said, "You know what I want. Mom."

Whew! Just like the last chapter, this one ended up longer than I expected, but I had a lucky burst of productivity and wrote nearly the entire latter half this past Monday alone.

That said, I was less satisfied with this chapter after a first draft than some of my previous few. Certain elements felt repetitive and the dialogue was more exposition heavy than usual; it constantly felt like I needed to get everyone on the same page, probably because this was the largest collection of characters since the Showdown arc. Hopefully much of that was rectified in my editing. My sneaking suspicion is that this chapter feels a lot like the Shie Hassaikai arc in My Hero Academia. The anime adaptation of it has just finished airing at the time of this being published. What an interesting coincidence.

I was not expecting the DLC announcement in the most recent Pokémon Direct. I've always associated Pokémon with a, for lack of a better description, outdated business model. Just like Monster Hunter before World, I just accepted that expanded rereleases were the norm, rather than the continual service model the industry has been shifting towards. It'll be an interesting experiment.

Next time is Chapter 32: The Pretender on February 7th. See you later!