Chapter Eleven: To Love is to Hurt

Wes lay in the corner of the white, windowless cell, not sleeping or unconscious, just staring at the wall, in disbelief that his former girlfriend was the leader of Cipher. Kris and Lunick were just waking up and joining him. Their memories were hazy after being drugged in the Under, but they remembered helicopters flying in through the crevice and taking them far away, across a stormy sea. Hours had passed since the battle in the Under, but Kris had no idea how long exactly.

Now, finally waking up, Kris could reassess her situation. No Poké Balls, and her bag was taken away, too. The cell they were in had no windows and a heavily locked door, with only a small air vent right near the ceiling, way out of reach. The color and architecture of the place was reminiscent of Cipher's uniforms – white, sleek and sterile.

"I let her get me," Lunick moaned. "I failed us all. I'm so-"

"Shut up," Kris said as she looked around her, searching for any weakness in the cell. "You did your best. We were outnumbered anyway."

"The way she moved…" Lunick muttered, looking at the floor. "It was like she knew what I was thinking."

"Yeah, care to enlighten us, Wes?" Kris asked the quiet Orrean. "After meeting Yellow, I've learned to accept this stuff, but you never told me your ex was a psychic. Or, you know, alive!"

Wes just sighed and shrugged despondently.

"It's not psychic powers, really," he said in a monotone voice. "Her powers are related to Aura, the same energy some Pokémon like Lucario use. She can sense shadow Pokémon, and apparently she has learned to read the auras of people, too."

"So my aura is particularly potent?" Lunick said in confusion. "I should have bathed more often…"

"Well, the principle is the same!" Kris argued. "We just need to stop sulking and figure out how to beat her!"

However, Kris had to stop talking quickly as there were sounds of keys chiming and locks being opened from the other side of the door. Kris, Wes and Lunick retreated towards a corner as an armed Cipher peon walked into the room, alongside a tall, slim young man in his mid-to-late twenties. He had dark hair tied to a ponytail, dark-tinted glasses and a lab coat.

"I hope this room isn't too uncomfortable for our honored guests," the man said. "My name is Dr. Ein, you may remember me from the creation of the shadow Pokémon formula."

Kris narrowed her eyes at him. "So that's… your fault," she said tensely.

Ein bowed at Kris respectfully. "I take great pride in my work," he said smoothly. "But we can discuss the specifics on the way if you so desire. Mr. Evice would like to see you."

Kris shook her head. "I don't know who it is, nor do I see any reason to care."

Ein sighed and nodded at the Cipher peon, who Kris noticed was carrying a bag with him. What the peon pulled from the bag horrified her: it was Shrew, her Sandshrew, being outfitted with a tight collar, held roughly from its neck by the peon. Ein pulled a syringe filled with a black, tar-like substance from his pocket and poked Shrew's soft, exposed belly with it.

"You want to know about the specifics of creating a shadow Pokémon, look no further than here!" Ein said firmly while Shrew squeaked in panic. "One injection from this and your precious rat will become a shadow Pokémon within half an hour. In fact, why postulate, when I could demonstrate?"

Ein mercilessly jabbed the syringe in Shrew's belly, prompting a terrified, pained squeal and lots of struggling from Shrew. With one push, Ein emptied the contents of the syringe into Sandshrew, and once he was done, grabbed the Pokémon for himself and tossed it on the floor. Lunick, who was closer, quickly picked up the ground-type, who looked weakened.

"Soon you'll see for yourself what that serum can do," Ein said calmly. "But if you want to wait it out more, who should I do it to next, hm? Gardevoir? Feraligatr?"

"OK!" Kris squealed as she stared at Shrew – she hadn't seen the Pokémon in this condition in months, but every time it happened, it hit her in the heart. "I'll come with you, please!"

"I thought so," Ein said. "You two stay here," he told Wes and Lunick. "Trust me, we're very interested in all of you, so you can prepare your CV's already."

Kris followed Ein out of the cell and into the corridor. The white color changed to a navy blue, but the sleek, futuristic design remained. Several Cipher peons and scientists passed the two on the way. Kris followed Ein while the peon with him was following Kris, his zapper gun pointed at Kris at all times.

"So what's the endgame with the shadow Pokémon plan?" Kris asked Ein, when it became apparent that the scientist wasn't gonna open his mouth. "Those things are just mindless drones. What use can they be to you?"

"That's for the higher-ups to decide," Ein said callously. "I don't care as long as I'm able to accomplish my dream. I want to create the ultimate shadow Pokémon – strong, unafraid to fight until the end, superior to anything natural-born. My first attempt was a Shadow Tyranitar I artificially created from Larvitar DNA and forced to evolve. It was almost perfect, but aged too rapidly to be of any use. That's when we recruited a young scientist from the Pokémon HQ Laboratory with a revolutionary idea for Project XD001. A shadow Pokémon impossible to purify."

"What do you mean by purifying?" Kris asked.

"The process of creating a shadow Pokémon is like implanting a Pokémon with a virus that overrides its mental functions, leaving only the desire to fight with no self-preservation instinct. However, like almost any viruses, it can be destroyed, and it has an unfortunately short life-span. Our, ahem, leader, Mr. Evice, has dubbed the process, cornily enough, 'closing the door to the Pokémon's heart'."

Kris felt bile coming up to her throat listening to Ein, and thinking about what was happening to Shrew.

"The Pokémon HQ Laboratory has been developing countermeasures called purifying ever since we created our first shadow Pokémon," Ein continued. "Your friend professor Cozmo, while studying ancient ruins here, used materials from a meteorite to develop a way to permanently purify Pokémon and create an immunity for the shadow Pokémon process. Our new recruit Dr. Lovrina's idea was to kidnap him and take him to our lab up north to develop an antidote to his antidote – an immunity to purification."

Ein, Kris and the Cipher peon stopped in front of a door with 'Evice' written on it.

"We transported Cozmo here today for the final phase of Project XD001," Ein finished. "For the rest of the story, you can talk to Evice. Do you have anything to say to me?"

"Yes," Kris said calmly, eyes locked with Ein's. "Just one thing. About the project."

"Yes?"

"Ever thought about renaming it? People who use 'XD' unironically are the worst. No wonder you ended so messed up."

Ein responded with a dry smile as he opened the door to the office and pushed Kris in, closing the door behind her.

Kris was now in a dark office, the walls filled with maps, charts and other data. Like in Gonzap's office, there was a desk at the end, someone sitting behind it, back of the chair facing Kris. When Kris announced her presence by clearing her throat, the person in the chair, 'Evice', slowly turned to face Kris: a short, round man with spiky gray hair who Kris had used to seeing pleasantly smiling, but was now smirking viciously.

"Hah hah hah!" mayor Es Cade laughed triumphantly. "I bet that never in your wildest dreams did you think that the mild-mannered mayor of Phenac City was actually the infamous Evice, leader of Cipher!"

Kris just stared back at the five-foot tall man with a bored expression. "Can't say I did," she said as sarcastically as she could. "Between the bomb in the plane you graciously let us in for free, the propaganda against Team Snagem while downplaying Cipher, sending us out in the desert where we almost died and your name being literally mentioned multiple times… no, I really had no idea."

"I knew it!" Es Cade said obliviously, while Kris wanted to smash her head on the wall. "And yet you defied those odds and tried to ruin our plans, almost succeeding… but failing triumphantly thanks to our new field commander, Rui!"

Kris had guessed Es Cade's and Rui's actual roles in the organization properly, but wanted exactly how many people were in Rui's pocket and if Es Cade actually had any power left.

"She recruited those three mercenaries in our organization, too," Es Cade bragged. "And found Dr. Lovrina for us. Thanks to this, and the Grand Master's money, we're closer to absolute domination than ever before!"

Kris was disappointed. Cipher was probably the most efficient criminal organization she had seen thus far – and she had seen a lot. That, and despite her plans, she had still been outsmarted and captured. And yet, the guy running the show (or at least thinking he was) was a tiny, middle-aged megalomaniac from a Saturday morning cartoon.

"Why did you bring me here?" Kris asked the man.

"Of course, originally the plan was to get rid of you," Es Cade said bluntly with a chuckle, "but after we received the report that you had gotten so close to ruining our plans, the Grand Master became interested. As my former colleague Blake Hall is nowhere to be found, we only have you and your friends, and the Grand Master is keen on learning what Hall may have told you and any others. He's on his way here by helicopter from Kanto."

Kris bit her lip. By that, Es Cade meant that the Grand Master was coming to torture the s**t out of Kris and the others. Still, her primary concern was with Shrew – the one thing in her plan she hadn't taken into account was any of their Pokémon being turned.

"But before then," Es Cade continued when Kris didn't say anything, "you and your friends are honored guests. That's why you, Kris, are invited to see the completion of project XD001 in person. Let's go!"

(~o~O~o~)

Meanwhile, Wes and Lunick were still being held in the cell. Still sitting apathetically still, Wes was holding the sick Shrew now, while Lunick was nervously pacing around the cell.

"Come on, Wesley, talk to me!" Lunick snapped after he got tired of walking. "What's that Rui girl's weak point? How do we stop her? You have to know something!"

"What's the use?" Wes sighed. "She beat us. Kris had a plan, it's my fault it failed. I couldn't do anything to Rui."

"Don't talk like that!" Lunick snapped. "I got captured! You and Kris defeated Nascour, all thanks to you! Are you just gonna give up and let poor Shrew be turned into one of those monsters?"

Wes looked down at Shrew, and seeing the ground-type Pokémon breathing weakly, its eyes barely open, woke Wes up from his stupor.

"No!" he snapped and stood up. "No, of course not! But if you got any suggestions, bro, I'd like to hear them. This is a locked-room mystery right here."

"Ah, bro is a term for camaraderie in this time, is it not?" Lunick asked. "So we are indeed friends?"

Wes laughed. "Did people in your own time even stand you?"

Lunick smiled as well, then started looking around the room. "Really, all we need to do is get out of here and find our Poké Balls. We should-"

But Lunick and Wes quickly retreated into a corner again as someone opened the door. It turned out to be Miror B, pointing at Wes.

"Yoo-hoo, boys~!" he called out. "I hate to break up your Tupperware party, but Miss Rui wants to see Wesley, right about now!"

Wes glanced at Lunick, who wordlessly urged Wes to go. Nodding, Wes handed Shrew to Lunick and followed Miror B out of the cell. As they walked down the corridor, the opposite direction from Kris and Ein, Miror B was whistling cheerfully as he walked behind Wes.

"Straight ahead until I tell you, Wesley~" he sang.

"How's Nascour?" Wes asked to lighten the mood – namely, his own.

"He'll walk with a limp for the next few weeks, but he'll recover," Miror B said casually. "Good for him, I say, boy was getting way too cocky for his own good. Acting all high and mighty because Rui made him her right hand. Has she not seen my moves?!"

"Well, I have, more than enough," Wes chuckled. "Look, B, Nascour is an evil prick and Venus is crazy. You may be a freak, but you're still alright in my book. Why go along with this plan?"'

"Um, I'm a merc, Wes, it's what I do," Miror B said like it was obvious. "I go where the money is, and those two you just insulted are my friends! Even if you are kinda right on both counts..."

"Well, Rui is a lot worse than all of you," Wes continued, looking back slightly to see Miror B's reaction. "Honestly, I don't have anything personal against you three, you helped me out a lot when I needed it the most. You got my foot in the door, I'm grateful."

"Turn right from here!" Miror B yelled, but Wes knew his words were getting to him.

"This shadow Pokémon business is too much even for you!" Wes continued as he walked. "What if they did that to your Ludicolo, huh? You know these people don't care about the well-being of Pokémon!"

"You think we don't have a plan?!" Miror B scoffed. "Rui arranged everything, Nascour talks to the Committee. After this project is over, we'll all have highly paid jobs with the Pokémon Association and I'll have my own office, maybe some place more cool, like Sinnoh, or Galar. That'll give me time to work on my moves!"

"You're gonna trust Rui more than me?" Wes said pointedly. "She betrayed me, she betrayed you before, she betrayed Team Snagem and now she's betraying Cipher. It's like a medical condition at this point."

Miror B finally heard something he didn't have an answer for, so he and Wes just walked in silence until they reached the door of Rui's room.

"Well, get in already, dummy!" Miror B said.

"If you tell me something first," Wes said, deciding to put all his acting skills in. "You know what's gonna happen, right? You think we waltzed in without a plan? Maybe I'm not the sharpest bulb in the harbor, but that girl I'm with? Super smart. We hijacked one of your trucks, took out several of your guys in the Under and disguised Snagem members as your people. They could be roaming the halls of your hideout as you speak. Like that guy!" Wes added and pointed at a nearby Cipher peon who had lifted his helmet a bit so he could pick his nose. "Master of disguise, for sure."

Miror B's expression was hard to read, but he seemed to take in Wes' words.

"So what?" he asked defensively.

"So… if you tell me where you stashed the Poké Balls you took from us," Wes said, "for old times sake, I'll forget you were ever here after the authorities come and bust this place wide open."

Miror B scoffed dramatically. "Nice try, Wesley," he said. "But I'm not down for that kind of betrayal. I swear on my 'fro!" he said as he tapped his foot two times. "That sounds right up your alley, Wes, not mine. Ciao!"

Wes smiled as Miror B folded his arms and leaned against a wall, making sure to watch as Wes entered the room.

It was not an office like Wes had assumed, but an empty room with a panorama window and a view outside, illuminated by glowing balls of light floating around the room. Finally, Wes could see where the Cipher base was: on a deserted island in the middle of the stormy sea. It was getting dark outside, and the lightning in the distance was very visible.

Rui was sitting in the middle of the empty room, meditating with her eyes closed. Wes briefly had an idea about sneaking up on her and karate chopping her to submission, but reason soon got the better of him. So, Wes just walked to Rui and sat next to her.

"Glad to see you're not as stupid as I thought, Wes," Rui remarked. "Welcome to Citadark Isle!"

"Yeah, well, I've always said your abilities would take you far," Wes sighed. "But I didn't mean this."

"You also always said you'd take me to Alola," Rui said and turned to look at Wes. "Where does that offer stand now?"

Wes shook his head. "What are you talking about?" he said in a resigned voice.

"Why do you think I'm helping Cipher with this shadow Pokémon thing?" Rui asked.

Wes shrugged. "You always want more and more," he said. "Maybe you thought money was not enough and you're gonna take over this entire region."

Rui smiled. "That's fun and all," she said, "but that's more like what that stubby mayor has planned. I want to dream big. I want power to make an impact on the whole world. That's why I'm using the Pokémon Association."

"You're using them," Wes said incredulously. "If you say so… but I guess that leaves Nascour and the others outside of your plans?"

Rui smiled even wider. "What do you think?" she said. "This is a limited-time offer. Once Project XD001 is complete, the Pokémon Association will seize the results and terminate everyone on this island."

Wes frowned. If Hilda was telling the truth, the Pokémon Association was interested in recruiting Kris, Wes and Lunick. Maybe what he had told Miror B wasn't BS after all? Or were there multiple people with different plans in the organization?

"Of course, that means giving up those two you came here with," Rui said with a smirk. "It's time to see what kind of man you really are. I doubt even you are as stupid as to give up this opportunity just to die with those two. Considering everything that happened, they probably hate your guts already."

That's not true, Wes thought. That's not true. That's not true. That's not true.

But what if it is?

"Come on, Wesley!" Rui said and suddenly got on all fours, grabbing Wes by the face. "You wanted to be with me? Well here I am! We'll be rich and powerful together, and we'll never have to worry about anyone coming after us. I've always stayed one step ahead of everyone, now you can too!"

What if it's true?

"Come be with me, Wes," Rui whispered. "You know it's what you want."

Wes stared at Rui's eyes. "I-"

Suddenly, the whole room shook and Wes and Rui fell on their backs. Recovering first, Wes looked outside. At first, just the same view: rocks, sea and the storm. But then, a blue Garchomp zipped past the window, flinging large rocks at the base with enough strength to make it shake. And riding on the Garchomp was none other than the tall, blonde-haired, black-clad champion of Sinnoh: Cynthia.

"Isn't that the Sinnoh Champion?!" Rui shrieked as she got herself up. "Did they send her?! If so, they're way ahead of schedule!"

Suddenly, Rui's radio crackled and Venus' panicked voice echoed through:

"Miss Rui! Icky things are happening! Over!"

"What is it, Venus?" Rui asked.

"Disaster! I was unpacking the shadow Pokémon shipment from the trucks when all of a sudden, a bunch of our men just attacked me. They're gross, disgusting, stupid Team Snagem members!"

"Damn it! Miror B!"

Miror B slammed the door open and stormed into the room, saluting Rui. "Whatup, Miss R?" he said.

"Get Nascour and go help Venus!" Rui barked as something caused the entire building to shake again. "Team Snagem scum are attacking from the lower floors! Tell the remaining men to get on the roof to shoot down that woman!"

Miror B stormed off, and at that moment, Rui realized she couldn't sense Wes' presence anymore – Wes had hidden behind the door, and as Miror B stormed off, Wes took the chance to run as well. Rui screeched Wes' name, but fell over as the base shook again.

As he ran past the corridors faster than he had ever run before, Wes thanked Arceus for his luck. Lucky for him, any Cipher peons he saw on the way were too busy to bother with him, all of them jamming into the elevators to get up on the rooftop. With the corridors empty, Wes easily found his way to the staircase and navigated his way to two floors down.

As per Miror B's subtle instructions, Wes turned right as he reached two floors down, finally coming across a small laboratory. Only one member of Cipher's R&D personnel was present, and he barely had time to react as Wes punched him out cold. In the lab, there was a vat with all of the Poké Balls Cipher had seized from the group. Kris, Wes and Lunick's personal items were there, too, so Wes grabbed his bag and stuffed it full of his and Lunick's Poké Balls, while shoving Kris' Poké Balls in her bag. Rui's words still echoed in his ears as Wes ran past the corridors. The first thing he thought about was Lunick, but he then realized that Kris was still alone and unarmed with Cipher.

(~o~O~o~)

Back in the cell, Shrew had recovered. Unfortunately for Lunick, Shrew's pupils had already disappeared and it was drooling and hissing at him.

"Shrew, it's me!" Lunick said. "Kris' friend! Calm down! You'll see her soo- WHOA!"

Shrew lunged at Lunick, and at the same time, the building shook from an explosion that toppled Lunick over just as Shrew was about to attack him with its claws. As Lunick stood up, he looked around him to see the damage. The seemingly impenetrable cell of the Cipher lair showed its hastily built nature as pieces of the ceiling were coming down and the door was coming off its hinges.

Is Team Snagem finally doing its part? Lunick wondered. Those thieves actually did it…

Shrew curled itself into a ball and launched itself at Lunick's head, Lunick once again thanking Arceus for his honed reflexes as he dodged in the nick of time. From that, Lunick got an idea. He ran to the door and faced to look at Shrew.

"Shrew!" he yelled. "Come on! Come get me!"

The newly turned shadow Sandshrew only cared about fighting, and didn't even hesitate as it once again curled into a ball and launched itself at Lunick. And yet again, Lunick dodged and Shrew hit the door, blowing it off its hinges and knocking it on the hallway. Then, another explosion caused the place to shake and large chunks of the ceiling began dropping down, a piece of concrete dropping next to Lunick.

As Shrew hissed at Lunick again, he grabbed the piece of concrete. Begging forgiveness from Kris and Shrew and hoping the ground-type's skull was as thick as its hide, Lunick dashed at Shrew as it jumped at him, whacking the Sandshrew in the head with the concrete piece. Shrew was knocked unconscious, but as Lunick confirmed it, it was fortunately still breathing. Grabbing Shrew under his arm and dropping the concrete, Lunick ran out of the room in search of Kris and Wes.

(~o~O~o~)

Several floors higher, Kris was at the topmost room in the base: the control room. From there, the group had a view of Citadark Isle's volcano's crater. No lava, as the volcano was dormant, but rather, the ultimate shadow Pokémon and subject of Project XD001 – a Shadow Lugia.

Kris, held still by two Cipher peons pointing their zappers at her, couldn't believe her eyes. She had seen a Lugia in pictures, and this was definitely it: a massive, almost dragon-like bird with a huge wingspan, a long neck and spikes all over its back and head. But instead of a pale silver-white color, this Lugia was completely black and dark purple all over, except for its red eyes.

In the control room, there were several workstations, with many computers with numerous monitors attached to them. Ein and the pink-haired Dr. Lovrina sat at the workstation closest to the window. Next to the workstation was a large control panel with machinery Kris couldn't quite understand. Above them was a metal catwalk, a few Cipher peons patrolling there as well, also keeping an eye on the metal staircase leading up there.

Mayor Es Cade was sitting in the center of the room, gesturing at two more Cipher peons to escort professor Cozmo into the control room. A third peon followed, holding two canisters with him. The other canister was full of the same dark substance Ein had injected into Shrew, while the other one was full of some kind of glittering, gold-colored powder.

"Welcome, professor!" Es Cade greeted Cozmo as he got off his chair and waddled towards him. "You're the guest of honor at this occasion – the coming-of-age of Project XD001, our Shadow Lugia!"

Clearly defeated after what appeared to be obvious beatings by the Cipher peons, Cozmo was resigned to his fate, and slowly walked to Ein and Lovrina's control station while Es Cade turned to Kris.

"What a wonderful moment this is, Kris!" Es Cade announced. "You get to witness the birth of our finest creation, a shadow Pokémon that cannot be purified."

As Kris stared at the face of the shadow Lugia, who was attached to the crater with hundreds of cables and wires, another explosion shook the base. Lugia felt it too, as it writhed uncomfortably and tried to detach itself from the cables.

"Sir!" a peon yelled at Es Cade. "Two more groups of Team Snagem members have attacked the base! They followed the trucks through the Under route!"

"Let Nascour and the others deal with it!" Es Cade huffed impatiently. "They're being paid to die for this! They only have to buy us a few more minutes until the process is ready! Then this Lugia will slaughter them all!"

"Sir," Ein said from his station, "the reports from our men also indicate that the Sinnoh Champion reached Citadark Isle-"

"Focus on your work, Ein!" Es Cade barked.

Kris was curious. Cynthia had really come for them? It's true, they had met as they arrived to Orre, but was she really aware of Cipher and their plans?

"Relax, Ein, you big nerd!" Lovrina teased. "Sir, we're totally ready! All we need to do is for Cozmo to initiate the start-up sequence and the rest will take care of itself."

"All right!" Es Cade announced, and turned to Kris again, apparently unable to control himself and with an urgent need to explain his plan. "You see, Cozmo was not very co-operative at first, but with some persuasion, we were able to produce results in one of our labs. When mixed with the right chemicals and applied the right way and the right amount, Cozmo's antidote and our shadow Pokémon formula together will create an indestructible virus."

Kris watched as professor Cozmo sighed in resignation and began pressing buttons on the control station. Something was clearly going to happen, and it did not fall in line with Kris' plans. But with six Cipher peons, three scientists, Ein, Lovrina and Es Cade all over the room, how was Kris alone going to stop it? But as Kris saw Cozmo putting the golden cylinder into a slot, she got an idea.

Everything was interrupted, however, when the door of the control room was suddenly opened by force as a large, angry Feraligatr burst in and smashed its way through.

"Croc!" Kris yelled.

Following Croc was Wes, who only had to make eye contact with Kris for her to understand. With the Cipher peons guarding her distracted, she ducked behind one of the workstations as Wes tossed her bag across the room, right in Kris' hands. Two peons fired their zapper guns at Croc, but they had apparently forgot to change the settings, as the blasts seemed to just annoy the Feraligatr, who attacked both of the hapless peons, crushing their guns and slashing their uniforms apart.

In such a crowded room, it was unwise to use weapons, but before the Cipher peons could send out their Pokémon, Wes had already sent out his Espeon and Umbreon. Together, the two Pokémon made short work of the scientists attempting to flee the room, headbutting them into walls, while Croc attacked Cipher peons everywhere at random.

Two Cipher peons made their way towards Kris, but Kris sent out the first Pokémon she got her hands on: it turned out to be Chandelure. With a blast of Chandelure's Flamethrower, the peons were quickly defeated. Despite their high-tech gear, the peons were barely above the Rocket or Galactic Grunts Kris was used to taking on in terms of ability.

It suddenly started raining inside the room: Ein had sent out his Pelipper, whose ability suddenly created a downpour, causing many Cipher Peons around them to slip around as Croc reached out to claw, punch and grab them as much as it could. Unfortunately, so did Wes, Umbreon and Espeon, and Kris had to withdraw Chandelure.

Thankfully, it gave Kris an opportunity as well.

"Croc!" Kris yelled and pointed at Ein's Pelipper. "Hydro Pump!"

Strengthened by the torrent of rain, Croc blasted Pelipper with a strong stream of water. But the Pelipper just opened its mouth and literally sucked the water inside, its beak expanding comically. Croc was soon exhausted and the Pelipper no worse for wear.

"Spit Up!" yelled Ein, and Pelipper returned the torrent of water at Croc, who was hit right in the face and knocked backwards on the floor.

"Well done!" Es Cade told Ein. "And where do you think you're going?!" he snarled as he saw Cozmo trying to sneak away from the room, slipping on water puddles and unconscious or wounded Cipher Peons.

Es Cade sent out his Slowking and ordered it to use Psychic on Cozmo, the invisible force grabbing him by the collar and dragging him backwards.

Kris realized her opportunity was there. Wes had focused his attacks against Dr. Lovrina and Es Cade was busy with Cozmo. Only Ein was blocking her way, so Kris ordered Croc, who was still surprisingly able to fight, to attack him and Pelipper physically.

This did the trick, as Ein was too busy trying to hide behind Pelipper like the Pokémon was a shield, allowing Kris to quickly run to the control panel with a daring thought in her mind.

(~o~O~o~)

Hilda and Hilbert stood at the foot of the dormant volcano containing Cipher's lair, but their focus was entirely on the dark, winged Lugia hooked to the countless cables coming from the volcanic base. Hilda scanned it with her visor, now adjusted for Lugia's overwhelming power.

"HQ, ya need to give me something here," Hilda spoke to her radio. "This thing's Aeroblast will cut any of our Pokémon in half."

"No problem," came the voice of the EXO technician through the radio. "You'll have visual data on its blind spots in no time. Use your visors to navigate around them and hit it where it hurts!"

"Roger that," Hilda spoke and glanced at Hilbert, grabbing a Poké Ball from her waist. "I know you've been out of a commission for a while but try to keep up with me."

With a neutral, determined face, Hilbert sent out his Samurott. "Right behind you, Hilda," he said.

(~o~O~o~)

Back in the volcanic lair, Es Cade and his Slowking were watching as Cozmo typed on the control panel. A Cipher Peon had caught Kris crawling away and was now holding her at gunpoint, Croc having been knocked out by Ein's Pelipper, who was now engaged in battle against Wes' Espeon.

After finishing his work, Cozmo sighed in resignation and gestured at a red button hidden under a glass pane. Clicking a smaller button next to it, Cozmo made the pane slide away.

"Once you press the button, the sequence will begin," Cozmo told Es Cade wearily. "There are no fail safes and it can't be stopped. Once done, Lugia will be infected with the XD-001 virus and become a true shadow Pokémon, impossible to purify."

Es Cade let out a howling laugh.

"Excellent, excellent!" he remarked as he waddled to the control station and pushed Cozmo aside. "Now, Kris! I wish there was more of an audience, but you'll have to do! Lay your first gaze on the beauty of specimen XD001, for it shall be your last!"

With a loud and dramatic grunt, Es Cade literally punched the red button. Lights on the control panel began flashing while line after line of warnings appeared on the terminal attached to it. The cylinders inserted into the control station were drained of their substances while nearby pumps began feeding glowing purple liquid into the tubes going out of the building and, as Kris guessed, into the captive Lugia.

"Get us video!" Es Cade yelled into a radio to an unseen technician.

The portly mayor grinned as a large TV screen above the control panel was turned on, a camera filming Lugia's face. Now Kris could see the glowing red eyes up close, the legendary Pokémon's mouth open as it screamed in vain, unable to break free of its restraints. Occasionally, it was blasting attacks from its mouth against unseen attackers. Kris wondered if it was Cynthia fighting Lugia or someone else.

And then, a few seconds later, something began to happen.

"Purification in process," blared a voice from the control panel. "Purification in process."

The grin was wiped off Es Cade's face. "W… what?"

Indeed, on the monitor before their very eyes, the red glow was slowly disappearing from Lugia's eyes, the color returning to normal, the head crest assuming its original shape. Even Lugia itself stopped thrashing around as much and no longer attacked its unseen foe. Finally, as Lugia was back to normal, the unseen attackers were blasting fire- and water-type attacks at the cables attached to it, breaking the Pokémon free little by little. Es Cade cried out in anguish as Lugia was able to properly turn its head, facing the hovering camera filming it directly and blasting it away, cutting the feed, with only a black screen on the TV.

"NO!" Es Cade screamed. "What happened?!"

"Oh yeah, I changed the cylinders there," Kris said casually, gesturing at the control panel. "The formula and antidote together needed to be 'applied the right way' to permanently infect Lugia, so I figured, reversing them should do the trick. A bit of a gamble, to be honest, but I'm glad it paid off."

While Es Cade gaped indignantly, Kris kicked the Cipher Peon guarding her right in his crotch. Based on the noise the peon made, the uniforms didn't have protective cups in that area. Still, Kris had no idea what to do next as she haphazardly scrambled away, but Slowking's Psychic attack caused her to lose her balance and fall on the floor. The Pokémon could have easily killed her by slamming her against a wall at full speed, but Kris knew Es Cade wanted her alive.

Before Slowking could do anything else, however, a barrage of needles from the other side of the room landed on it painfully, making the big, pink Psychic-type stager backwards.

"Kris!"

Kris turned to look - it was Lunick and his Sceptile, Lunick carrying Shrew under one arm. Treating the ground-type as if it was a basketball, Lunick tossed the Sandshrew to Kris who barely managed to catch it, almost falling again from its weight. She quickly returned Shrew to its ball while sending out her next Pokémon: Froslass.

"You go help out Wes!" Kris told Lunick as she turned to look at Es Cade, who was busy yelling orders to his Slowking, who was recovering from the Pin Missile barrage. "I'll deal with this guy! Go!"

Lunick was going to predictably protest, but took Kris' word for it as he dashed out to go help Wes, who was still battling Ein.

Wes, in the meantime, finally defeated Ein's Pelipper, but he sent out a Manectric next. From Ein's command, the Manectric set up an electric force field around itself and Ein, blocking Umbreon and Espeon's access.

As Lunick joined Wes, someone else joined Ein's side - a short, pigtailed young woman whose expression was furious, face contorted with anger.

"Madam Rui," Ein said quickly, flinching as Rui appeared by his side. "Please, protect yourself, the situation is-"

"If you're going to say you have it under control I'm going to blow up your head," Rui hissed.

"Don't listen to her doc, she can't do it with her powers and she ain't got the guts anyway," Wes commented.

For a second, Rui just glared at Wes. Then, still locking eyes with Wes, she addressed Ein: "Doctor Ein, please deal with the other one. Leave Wesley to me."

Ein adjusted his glasses and nodded. Suddenly surrounded by a pale blue glow, Rui was able to walk through the electric barrier unharmed. Wes and Lunick glanced at each other before Wes quickly reacted:

"Umbreon, Take Down!"

Rui ran out of the attack's way, faster than any human being normally could. Wes and his Umbreon and Espeon ran after Rui up the metal stairs to a walkway above the control room.

Wes hadn't expected Rui to hold her own so well, but he had to commend her. Wes ordered his Umbreon to break through the aura with a Shadow Ball, but Rui effortlessly dodged it. Wes had seen psychics before, but Rui's aura powers were something else. She could sense where an attack came from and move her body in ways no one else could, her body glowing blue whenever she pulled off one of her moves.

"Umbreon, Double Team!" Wes ordered.

Wes hoped splitting into multiple fake copies would help Umbreon get past Rui's defenses, but what Rui did next stunned him. She closed her eyes, raised her hands up in a defensive stance and punched the air as the multiple Umbreon approached.

And, somehow, the punch connected with the real Umbreon, the copies disappearing and Umbreon collapsing, already exhausted from the earlier battle with Ein.

"Espeon!" Wes yelled at his remaining Pokémon while withdrawing Umbreon. "Psybeam, now, full power!"

Physical attacks were one thing, but a close-range beam attack with the power Espeon could manage would have to do the trick. The jewel on Espeon's forehead glowed as it launched a colorful energy beam at Rui. But the young woman just smiled confidently as her fist glowed blue as she punched the walkway under her, propelling her into the air out of harm's way.

"Espeon, Reflect!" Wes ordered quickly when he realized what was gonna happen.

But it was too late. Rui slammed her entire weight on the poor psychic-type, and like Umbreon, it was too exhausted from the earlier battle to go on. As Rui hopped off, Espeon just let out a weak cry of pain and exhaustion, forcing Wes to return it to the Poké Ball as well.

"Poor Wes," Rui said, clicking her tongue and folding her arms. "All these years of running around the desert aimlessly and still nothing to show for it."

"I'm not out of it yet," Wes said, raising his fists.

Rui snorted. "Really, Wes? You couldn't land a punch on anyone when you were a skinny little punk in Team Snagem, and now you've been laying on your ass for years and still expect to land a hit on me?"

Wes tried to keep his expression as neutral as he could. "You have no idea what I've done."

"Show me then," Rui said, unfolding her arms and spreading them wide. "Hit me as hard as you can."

Without a second thought, Wes rushed at Rui, fist extended, ready to punch Rui square in the jaw and end this thing. But in a blue blur, Rui's face was gone and Rui had positioned herself behind Wes, grabbing Wes' arm and twisting it behind his back.

"What were you expecting to happen?" Rui hissed in Wes' ear.

"And what will you do next, huh?" Wes grunted.

Rui released Wes, who quickly whipped around to look at Rui's frowning expression.

"You heard me!" Wes yelled at her. "All this time improving your great power… or maybe it just grew on its own? You probably haven't had to work for it in years! Didn't meditate or read books about it, didn't even try to understand it except for how to utilize it for your own good!"

As he spoke, Wes tried to land another punch at Rui, who didn't bother stepping aside, instead blocking the punch with her own aura-infused fists, causing Wes to stagger backwards, the force of his own punch feeding back into him somehow.

"You think you're special because you have this ability?" Wes grunted as he regained his balance. "Some of us spend years training our Pokémon and our own bodies! We form bonds with our Pokémon that strengthen us both. We develop tactics and strategies to take down people like you!"

"People like me?!" Rui scoffed. "Well how did it work for you, huh? You got caught!"

"And we escaped!" Wes boasted. "Because your plan was crap! While we had people helping us out on the outside, you had no one to rely on! Your very own Miror B helped me to ruin your big plans!"

"Nice try, Wesley!" Rui yelled back. "I have Miror B and those idiots wrapped around my finger!"

Wes couldn't retort, as the whole walkway started shaking. Everyone stopped what they were doing to look outside. No monitors were necessary - everyone could see plainly as the last of the cables keeping Lugia stuck were cut, allowing the giant white bird to spread its massive wings and rise into the air. Before departing, it moved its gaze at the observation room they were in, mouth opening, a sinister white glow forming inside it.

Lunick, whose Sceptile had defeated Ein's Manectric and who was now keeping Ein on the ground, was the first to say something:

"Everybody down now! Stay clear from the windows!"

With Kris' Froslass having defeated Es Cade's Slowking, Kris did as asked, withdrawing Froslass while running to the other side of the room, grabbing a dumbfounded Cozmo with her by the wrist. Lunick scooped up Ein by his collar and dragged him away, ushering Sceptile, who had picked up Ein's unconscious Manectric, to move.

However, Lunick was too late, letting out a pained scream as shards of glass rained down him. Miraculously, they seemed to mostly embed themselves in his legs, however, missing his back and head, but he nonetheless tumbled down on the ground.

Already out of harm's way, Wes and Rui simultaneously threw themselves on the walkway as flat as they could. Wes heard Lunick scream, begging to Arceus and all the other Pokémon in whatever pantheon there was that he was okay.

The only one who didn't run was Es Cade. He had slowly made his way up to the window, close enough to put his hand on the glass, a look of complete despair on his face as the powerful energy beam struck the windows around him, sending shattered glass flying everywhere.

As if that wasn't enough, the speakers in the control room crackled as a transmission from elsewhere in the base came through - the voice of Miror B:

"Miss Rui, you listenin'? Things are wiggity-wack right now! Team Snagem is breaking through our defenses and seeing Lugia leave made most of these dumb peons scatter! And some reinforcements from who knows where are approaching the island by boat! Me and the squad are ditching this crappy place. So, uh, yeah, you're gonna be swarmed by these Snagem dudes in a few minutes! Byeeeeeee~!"

Wes and Rui got back on their feet at the same time. Rui's face was even, but her eyes didn't lie - they were darting around, looking for an escape route.

"True loyalty, so touching to see," Wes jabbed and rushed forward to try and punch Rui out again.

As Wes expected, Rui once again moved out of the way and grabbed Wes' arms, this time placing him in a full-nelson. Faster than Rui could make a snarky comment, Wes jabbed his elbows at Rui's side, releasing her grip. While Rui winced in pain, Wes quickly positioned himself next to Rui, cupped his hands behind her knees and pulled, throwing Rui on her back.

"Wes, catch!" shouted a voice which made Wes alert.

It came from Lunick, now reduced to crawling on the floor with blood coming out of multiple wounds in his legs. He had grabbed a blaster gun from an unconscious Cipher Peon, and with his remaining strength, tossed it up on the walkway.

Rui was still getting herself up as Wes caught the weapon. Quickly checking it, Wes aimed it at Rui, who now stood up again, her aura dissipating from the lack of concentration.

"Good move, Wes, but it means nothing," she said. "You don't have the guts to pul-"

Wes pulled the trigger. A stream of electricity hit the unguarded Rui, causing her to jerk violently before collapsing. However, she was still conscious, wide eyes moving around as he glared at Wes.

"What…" Rui grunted through gritted teeth. "...did you do?"

"You think I haven't used one of these things before?" Wes told Rui coldly as he tossed the blaster away. "A precise jolt to your nervous system means you won't be using your body for a bit, but you'll recover soon. Maybe even soon enough to escape before the authorities come here."

Rui's pained expression turned into a triumphant smirk.

"I knew it," she croaked. "You're too caught up by your feelings, too busy dwelling in the past to let me go. It's gonna cost you everything one day…"

Tossing aside the blaster, Wes turned his back on Rui and left, walking down the metal stairs without a second thought. Instead, he walked over to Lunick, helping him on his feet, Lunick letting out a loud groan.

"You good, bro?" Wes asked him.

"No," Lunick grunted and glanced up at the walkway. "I thought you were going to do more than stun her."

"Sorry," Wes sighed as he half-dragged Lunick towards the windows. "I doubt we'll ever hear from her again either way."

Closer to the windows, Kris was coming out from her hiding spot under a desk. Smiling at Wes and Lunick, he offered her shoulder so she and Wes could half-carry the limping Lunick towards the windows, where mayor Es Cade was lying. He was still alive, but half of his hair had been burned away by Lugia's blast, his clothes were shredded and he was bleeding all over. He was also uselessly moving his upper body while his lower body remained motionless.

"I guess we're not getting that one million pokédollars huh?" Wes remarked as he looked down at the mayor.

"Well, technically it was for bringing down Team Snagem," Kris pointed out, doing the same. "We just kinda bypassed that option and went straight for the source."

"How did this happen?" Lunick wondered, wincing as he tried to put his weight on both of his legs fruitlessly. "How did Team Snagem find us?"

Kris smiled even wider, briefly letting Wes hold Lunick as she removed her other shoe. The sole of the shoe came off quite easily, revealing a small device inside.

"This transmitter was in the satellite phone Blaine had sent us through Hilda," Kris said, showing it to Wes and Lunick. "And once again, a raving lunatic's paranoia came in handy. I arranged things with Blaine and also allowed Missile to track this signal as well."

"Don't tell me," Wes said, eyes wide in disbelief, "that you planned us to get caught?"

"Nah," Kris said casually, putting her shoe back on. "I just wanted to save the professor and get out. But thanks to this, I knew we weren't in any real danger. Even if Team Snagem would have screwed this up somehow-"

"A very likely case," Wes said quietly.

"-Blaine was guiding EXO staff to our own location to take down Cipher," Kris finished. "No idea how Cynthia got here, though."

Footsteps echoed across the control room. Kris, Wes and Lunick quickly turned around, but to their relief, it was just a small group of Snagem Grunts who had made it to the control room, Gonzap and Missile leading the way.

"I DID IT!" Gonzap bellowed. "Cipher - DEFEATED! Es Cade - DEAD!"

"He's not dead," Kris pointed out.

"SHUT UP! LET ME HAVE THIS MOMENT!"

"Anyway, you guys better get out of here," Kris said, shaking her head. "Some heavy reinforcements are headed this way to round up what's left of Cipher. They're not gonna let your presence here slip by just because you helped bring them down."

Gonzap and the rest of the Snagem Grunts agreed, but Missile hesitated.

"You guys did it again," he remarked. "How many criminal organizations have you brought down?"

"Can't keep track anymore," Kris said. "Thanks for your help. I guess we're even n-"

"NEVER!" Missile exclaimed, almost as dramatically as his boss. "One of these days, Kris, I will pay you back for saving my life. Whether you like it or not! Even if it kills you! No, wait, I mean, if it kills me… well, okay, I can kill somebody to save you, as long as it's not you or me. Got it?"

"...no," Kris said after a pause.

"Just you wait!" Missile shouted and ran off after the other Snagem Grunts.

Indeed, it only took a few minutes for other people to storm the room: people in white uniforms that Kris assumed to be from EXO, seeing as Hilda and a young, pale, brown-haired man wearing a similar cap as Hilda arrived into the room. Noticing the trio, Hilda and her companion walked over to them, Hilda barking out commands to the EXO personnel as she walked.

"Clear the room!" she shouted at them. "Round up any Cipher personnel you see. We need to check every room of this facility. I don't know who that guy is but take him too!" she added, almost stepping over the unconscious Ein. "Kris!"

Hilda came to slap Kris on the shoulder, a wide grin on her face.

"You crazy kid, you did it!" she said loudly. "I mean, all three of you did! I had to save your asses again, just like I said you would, but still, it was a stroke of genius how you got us here! And I don't know what you did to Lugia but it worked, we almost got blown to bits there! Oh, by the way, Kris, Lunick, this is Hilbert, another EXO operative."

Hilbert nodded and merely tipped his cap at them, offering a weak, shy smile. Kris and Lunick greeted him while something seemed to possess Wes: he stared at Hilbert with his mouth open. Since Hilda hadn't introduced him to Wes, Kris assumed the two also knew each other.

"Wes, you okay?" Kris asked him.

"I…" Wes swallowed and turned to look at the floor. "I'll talk to you about it later," he muttered.

The remaining Cipher personnel were quickly rounded up and arrested by the white-uniformed EXO grunts. Ein and Lovrina were among them, while Es Cade had to be delivered away on a stretcher. Professor Cozmo was found cowering under another desk, and once calmed down, he agreed to help Kris with one last loose end: with a syringe full of shadow antidote, Cozmo injected an unconscious Shrew, curing him of his condition.

A bit later, Shrew woke up, slowly opening its eyes before jumping into Kris' arms, squealing happily.

Unfortunately, Lunick was less lucky, as field first aid would not restore his legs. As EXO staff were putting him on a stretcher, two more people arrived. One was a woman with a brown beehive haircut wearing a labcoat, while the other was a tall, distinguished-looking man with gray hair and beard, also in a lab coat.

"Oh, Kris," Hilda said, the arrival of the two interrupting her conversation with an EXO staff member. "These are the head honchos of EXO - professor Aurea Juniper from Unova, and our illustrious commander-"

"Dr. Kaminko," the gray-haired man said in a deep, serious voice, apparently thinking nodding was polite enough. "I wish to congratulate you for your actions, you three. Hilda and Dr. Blaine told me all about it - thanks to you, Cipher will not be a plague on Orre anymore. And you even saved my friend, professor Cozmo."

Before Kris could come up with a reply, Kaminko spoke to Juniper: "Professor, once you've finished things here, meet me in mayor Es Cade's office. We will be setting up there for now."

Juniper nodded, and Kaminko left without a second word, the EXO staff saluting as he went. Juniper put her hands in the pockets of her coat, smiling and shrugging.

"Don't mind him, manners were never his strong suit," she said and leaned over to Lunick. "Sorry to hear about your injury."

"I've survived worse," Lunick grunted, though he looked ashamed.

"Yes, I've heard, you look good for your age - 300, was it?" Juniper remarked, then stood up to face Kris. "We will take care of him. Normally, I'd say he would be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life, but we have the technology at our Alolan base to completely heal him. As long as you trust him to us, that is."

"You can trust her, Kris!" Hilda spoke up. "This woman gave me and Hilbert our first Pokémon!"

"But…" Lunick said weakly. "Then I cannot go with…"

Kris smiled, kneeling to Lunick and holding his hand. "If you don't go, you'll never walk anywhere with me again. If you go with them, you have a chance."

"We'll be fine, bro!" Wes said, giving Lunick a fist bump. "We'll see you on your feet soon, man!"

"Yes, while your friend recovers, I have a good idea where you'll go," Hilda said, handing Kris a brochure. "There is a tournament happening on the Sevii Islands, and if you want to join us, you're gonna have to enter and show us what you got."

"As if I needed your permission!" Kris scoffed as she yanked the brochure excitedly. "Finally, a real tournament!"

Lunick's face fell a bit when Kris seemed to ignore him so readily, but nonetheless, Kris and Wes said their heartfelt goodbyes to him, asking him to meet them at the Sevii Islands as soon as he was able. Meanwhile, Hilda escorted Kris, Wes and professor Cozmo out of the room. As they walked, Wes glanced up at the walkway, an EXO staff member leaning over the railing there and yelling something to his colleague.

"Hey, take a look at this!"

Wes stopped and stood on his toes to see better. Was Rui still there? Had she been arrested like the others?

Instead, the EXO staff member showed his colleague the blaster he had left behind.

"These guys are still using models from like four years ago!" the EXO staff member laughed. "Lame!"

Shaking his head, Wes resumed walking out with the others. Rui's words echoed in his head all the while, and as much as he hated to admit, she hadn't been entirely wrong.