It can be hard to know who to trust.
We're warned from a young age to be careful with strangers, that you shouldn't place too much trust into people you've just met. This mindset is less prevalent in other parts of the world, but in Toreta it's the norm. You don't just walk up to a person you don't know and talk to them – especially if they're an adult and you're not. Many children have gotten into terrible situations like that. Less when they have pokémon by their sides, but enough that it poses a serious threat to any child's wellbeing.
New friends can be hard to trust too. Even if you have a good feeling about someone, there's every chance that their outwards persona doesn't match who they really are. Narcissists are notorious for gaining peoples' trust with their immense confidence and smooth demeanor, but under that surface is an individual who will never put your interests anywhere near their own. Other issues also lie beneath the observable surface, on a scale from minor personality quirks to actual literal serial killer. Usually once you know someone better you can know if they're safe to trust.
Of course, that's not counting people who are deceiving you for reasons other than personal. Spies. Con artists. People trying to hurt you.
Even family can betray our trust. Stories of abusive parents, sibling betrayal, and cruelty from extended family are scarily common. It really seems like there's nobody in this world we can trust. Perhaps the safest way to live our lives is to never give our trust to anyone.
But what kind of life is that, keeping yourself locked up in a prison of your own device? Never trusting, never opening yourself up to other people?
It's a miserable existence.
"Arms out."
Finn stuck his arms out to either side, parallel to the ground. He winced at the cold metal prodding his forearm, but didn't move.
"Now flex."
He bent his arm at a ninety degree angle, tensing his muscles. Once more there were a couple of prods.
"Hmm…" Aspen hummed from behind him.
"What's the diagnosis?" Finn asked.
"You've gained a lot of muscle mass in a very short time. Especially given your state immediately following your coma," Aspen said. She tapped his shoulder. "Bone density appears to be normal. No abnormal growths in any capacity, aside from the obvious discoloration on your right arm. Your leg seems to have healed nearly perfectly, which is a miracle in itself. I think your father's theory holds water."
"So I really am physically changing because of my pokémon?" Finn looked over his shoulder to see the Professor.
"It certainly appears to be that way." Aspen nodded. "Nothing major, at least so far, but you're far healthier than you should be considering…"
"Considering the fact that I'm dying? Yeah." Finn looked down at his arms. He was wiry, like his father. Strong but not muscular.
Aspen sighed and walked around in front of Finn. "Finn, I specialize in biology. Usually with regards to pokémon, but I'm quite good with humans too. That's why your mother brought you to me to deal with your condition. As far as I can tell, there's nothing abnormal with your biology aside from the speed at which you recovered and some unnatural pigmentation. And then, you just… turn into metal. Or become intangible. I have no explanations for this."
"Dad said it's an auric-,"
"Aura is not my field of expertise." Aspen wiped her brow. "I think the closest thing there is to an expert on this sort of thing would be Professor Samuel Oak, over in Kanto. He studies the bonds between humans and pokémon, which naturally includes more than a few auric bonds."
"Oh, right." Finn straightened. "Blue Oak is here. Do you think he might know something about it?"
"Blue… hmm… probably not." Aspen shook her head. "From what little I know of him from our brief interactions, he seems more interested in fossils, and even more interested in battling. Not the research type." She scratched her chin for a few moments. "Although from what I've heard, Red is something of a prodigy when it comes to anything having to do with pokémon. Not just battling. He might have some input. I'll ask about it.
"In any case, you're looking perfectly healthy. Which, while weird, isn't a bad thing." Aspen gave Finn a smile. "I'd like to take another look at Belle, and give a checkup to Bastion if you don't mind-,"
The professor was interrupted by someone clearing their throat, and both Finn and Professor Aspen looked over to see Daniel Blake leaning against the wall next to the door. The dark type specialist gave a quick grin to Aspen.
"Sorry doc, do you mind if I take Finn? I need him for something," Daniel said.
"I was just finishing up." Aspen took a step back. "Finn?"
"Here you go." Finn unclipped two pokéballs from his belt and handed them to Professor Aspen. After a moment, he went to unclip the whole belt, only to be interrupted by Daniel.
"Bring Athena with you, Finn," Daniel said.
Finn grabbed one ball from the belt and handed the rest to Aspen. "Here. I get the feeling I'll be a while, and I don't want to leave them cooped up for too long."
"Got it." Aspen nodded. "Now go. I'm sure Daniel wants something important or he wouldn't have interrupted."
"Too right." Daniel stood up. "C'mon kid. We'll chat in the hall."
Daniel opened the door and stepped through, and Finn followed behind. The door closed quietly behind them, and Daniel led Finn down the hall for a ways, taking several turns before coming to a stop.
"Alright. We should be able to talk here." Daniel relaxed, a tenseness fading from his stance.
"Is Maria blocking outsiders from listening in?" Finn asked, looking at one corner.
The air shimmered, and the zoroark appeared out of nothing. She had a surprised look on her face.
"How did you know I was there?" Maria asked, surprise settling into confusion.
"I…" Finn furrowed his brow. "Lucky guess?"
"I doubt that. I think you're subconsciously looking for things that are out of place. A patch of wall that's just a very slightly different color. Sensations that just barely don't line up with reality." Daniel glanced at Maria. "Sorry dear. We can fool most people, but it looks like some folks are just too perceptive." He returned his attention to Finn. "Like Red. Odd fellow, but I think he noticed when my footsteps weren't making sound. Very perceptive. That's all beside the point, though. Those skills are what we needed you for. Well, that, and Athena's rather unique capability."
"Which one?" Finn asked, only to answer his own question. "Oh, the aura sight. Right. Yeah, Dad said that was pretty unique."
"More importantly, it's not something that any pokémon aside from lucario and maybe medicham can ever be expected to do." Daniel leaned closer. "It's quite important that nobody expects such a thing from an aegislash."
"Let me release her before you go into detail." Finn tapped the button on the pokéball, releasing Athena. "Alright, what exactly do you need us for?"
Daniel and Maria shared a look before Daniel spoke.
"Last night, Steven Stone's metagross Telzos caught an outbound message coming from within League HQ. This message was heavily encoded, but when you put two metagross to a task it gets solved very quickly." Daniel paused, taking a hissing breath through his teeth. "There was no signature, or we'd already have this solved. But given who has access to the information being sent out, we've pretty heavily narrowed down the suspects."
"What was in the message?" Finn asked.
"Classified information, including the full names of our guests, the pokémon they brought, the true identity of the champion, the locations of your mother, Aspen, and Lorenzo, and detailed schematics of the League HQ." Daniel looked Finn in the eyes. "The general staff don't have pokémon or access to the terminals where this information is accessible – and believe me, you'd need pokémon to get in there without permission. None of our guests have any reason to do this; they've all fought groups like Plasma. In Iris' case, she has fought Plasma in the past. That leaves five people who either have access to that info or could potentially get ahold of it."
"It's not Anthony," Finn said.
Daniel pursed his lips. "Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"Then we have four potential moles." Daniel glanced over to Maria, and she formed a quartet of illusory figures. "Tyson Archos. Aelius Fiere. Nik Tesser, and Lee – no last name given." Daniel waved his hand and Maria dropped the illusions. "All of whom have been Elites for seven years or more. Now, Zane, Athena, and I have our suspicions, but we're not certain. If Zane or I were to interrogate them, they'd be on their guard."
"That's where I come in." Finn wasn't really asking.
"Correct. You're the new champion. They're going to expect you to want to get to know them better, even the ones that already know you. If you bring Athena, you can tell if they're lying, and they'll have no clue that you're reading their auras." Daniel gave Finn a quick grin. "But you're going to have to be subtle. Can you do that?"
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure I can." Finn nodded. "Although I don't think I'll get a confession out of anyone."
"We don't need a confession, just a warning." Daniel pat Finn on the shoulder. "Meet with me and your father in the dining area this evening. We'll discuss then."
"We might be watching," Maria said, winking.
"Oh come on, do you have to-,"
And then they were gone, the sound in the hall falling to a deafening silence. After a few moments sound returned to normal levels. Daniel and Maria were gone.
Finn wasn't quite certain how to start, but he knew where to start. With the first of the four elites.
O-O-O
Tyson spent most of his time outside and up the mountain, above the snow line. From the spot on the side of the mountain where Tyson trained, Finn could see a rigid metal fence that went around the mountain in both directions. It blocked off a significant portion of the peak, enough to consist of at least a couple square miles of land. That was probably the area that was off-limits to even the League, given the guardian that sat at the very peak.
It was extremely chilly this high up, to say the least. Finn was glad he had his leather jacket on, as it blocked the wind chill and helped insulate his body heat. Tyson was in his typical attire, his hair pulled back into a ponytail. The ice elite was seated on a rock, the snow cleared off the top. His aurorus laid next to it, its breath turning into snow as it waited next to its trainer. Tyson gazed out off the mountain, looking over Toreta. As Finn approached, the elite glanced over, then pat a bare spot on the rock next to him. Finn obliged, sitting down on the stone and looking out onto the horizon.
From up here, half the region was visible. To the south were Oplens and Bluebell, shining even during the day. Inducity was to the southeast, its massive factories churning away. All the way in the distance, Finn thought he could see the tiny buildings of long-abandoned Harmesville. Aspen's lab wasn't visible, but the fields built to house the pokémon near the lab were. Off in the distance, making up the edge of the horizon, was the Pasthold mountain range. The mountains split the region in two, and housed Canyen between its peaks. The History Caves were below the mountains – or at least the tunnel was. The caverns stretched under the entire region.
Finn realized suddenly that, despite travelling all over Toreta and defeating every gym, he really hadn't even seen half of the region.
Champion and Elite sat in silence for several minutes, and then Tyson spoke.
"I, um. I have something to tell you," Tyson said, shifting uncomfortably.
"What's up?" Finn asked.
"I…" Tyson took a deep breath, still looking out over the horizon. "Did you know that, centuries ago, there was a temple to Arceus built in the Pasthold Mountains? It's in all sorts of records, but it's not on any maps. They called it the Highest Temple, designed after the Spear Pillar in Sinnoh. It's basically been lost to time, until recently. My Ma sent me a picture."
"That's pretty amazing." Finn nodded.
"Yeah…" Tyson looked down at the ground. "After literally finding an ancient altar to the creator, Ma told me, and I quote, 'As above, so below', and delved back into the History Caves in search of a similar altar. She told me that if she wasn't back in a month, I should consider her dead."
"How long ago was that?" Finn's voice was quiet as a pit formed in his stomach.
"Forty days."
"…" Finn was silent for a bit. "How are you holding up?"
"I'm… fine." That was a lie. He didn't even need confirmation from Athena. The elite gave Finn a weak grin. "Ice is calm, remember? The cool heart of the universe."
"You don't have to be," Finn said.
"I…" Tyson stopped, taking a deep breath. "You're right. Hah. I should know that by now. I'm in my thirties."
"We can all forget the important stuff when we're worried," Finn reassured. "Sometimes it just takes someone to remind you."
"Yeah." Tyson nodded, leaning back. He let out a sigh. "I still need to tell you something."
"What is it?"
"I used to be a member of Team Plasma."
There was no deception in those words or in Tyson's aura. He was baring his soul to Finn. Finn didn't say anything, allowing Tyson to speak.
"I… this was years ago. Before they grew to large enough numbers to threaten Unova. I didn't even live in Unova. I was trying to become an Elite here in Toreta. But when I had time, I went to Unova to take part in Team Plasma's activities. I was a part of Team Plasma when they crowned King N. I hung on to N's every word." Tyson sighed. "I never realized that Ghetsis was the man behind everything. Not until things started to get violent. I… still didn't quit. I believed in King N. In the message he told us. When he became the hero of ideals it only cemented that belief. If the dragon of ideals chose him to be its hero, then why would anyone question him? I didn't actually quit Team Plasma until the hero of truth took Ghetsis down. But I never really stopped believing in N."
"You're one of N's faithful," Finn said, blinking as he realized what Tyson was telling him.
"Yep." Tyson nodded. "Have been since the start. Still am. A lot of rangers are."
"Are you going to be able to fight Team Plasma when they start their assault?" Finn asked seriously.
"Oh, of course," Tyson said, waving one hand. "I've been trying to get in touch with Sage Rood for a while. He's the only person with anything close to a consistent line of contact with King N. If King N hears about what's going on, I have no doubt he'd step in to stop it." Tyson looked over at Finn. "I hear that you had a run-in with the King a while back."
"I did," Finn said with a nod. "It… wasn't a very pleasant interaction, in retrospect. Opposing personalities, and all that."
"I wish I could have seen him." Tyson looked up at the sky. "I caught a glimpse of the dragon of ideals once. It made my heart soar. I yearn for the day I can see Zekrom again."
"It certainly is something." Finn glanced over at Athena.
"Yeah…" Tyson took a deep breath, then let it out in a sigh. He looked over at Finn. "Thank you, Finn. For not judging me."
"Believing in N's cause isn't something to be ashamed of." Finn shrugged. "Especially now, since he stands apart from Plasma as a whole."
"A lot of people don't see it that way." Tyson looked out over Toreta again. "But I'm glad that you do."
O-O-O
In stark contrast to what Tyson spent his spare time doing, Aelius was nice and cozy indoors. The fire elite was in his personal training room, which Finn found easily. Finn knocked, and the elite's answered almost immediately.
"Come in."
Aelius had his guitar in his hands, and he was tuning it as Finn entered the room. There were trophies and awards on every wall of the large room, along with other souvenirs of Aelius' career. Several different iterations of his flame-patterned jacket hung from one wall, marking a progression through his career. Another wall held four different guitars, each of a different make and probably purpose. Evidence of his travels were on shelves on the third wall, including a tiny model of the Brass Tower from Johto, the Mossdeep space station, and a small totem from Alola. Aelius himself was sitting in the middle of the room on an old chair, his salazzle Loretta laying on a cushion next to him. The fire elite was without his makeup, revealing his worn and heavily lined face dotted with liver spots and scars. His hair was an unkempt mane around his head and shoulders, the red streaks bleeding into uneven lines. Aelius wasn't wearing his sunglasses, showing his startling orange eyes that flicked up as Finn arrived.
"Hey there kiddo." The old man gave Finn a grin. "How's it hanging?"
"Just checking in." Finn shrugged. "How're you holding up?"
"Just fine, Finn." That was a lie. It seemed nobody wanted to talk about their problems with him. "Just fine."
"Aelius… you don't have to soften things for me," Finn said softly. "What's bothering you?"
"You calling me a liar?" As Aelius spoke, Loretta looked up from her position, the tendrils next to her tail beginning to wave. Aelius reached down and pat the reptile on the head, gently stroking her scales. The elite sighed. "Kid, I've been around the world. I've performed in every region there is and some that aren't. And I've been doing that since I was only a couple of years older than you. I've seen all there is and then some."
Aelius stood up and walked over to the wall where the guitars were hanging and put the guitar he was tuning with the rest. The elite stroked his fingers over the surface of the instrument. "This was the last guitar I ever played with. Before my voice finally gave on stage and ruined my career. Sometimes it makes me wonder if the whole 'live fast, die young' school of thought has some merit. Wouldn't have to worry about the voice failing you, then. Of course, actually giving any credit to the idea would be stupid. I'd never have met you if my life had ended alongside my career.
"This one," Aelius said as he moved to the next one. "Was from before I became an actual pokémon trainer, as well as a musician. Loretta had been with me for a long while before that point, but she was the only one I had. I figured I may as well go all-in on the fire. The affinity is in my blood, after all. And I'd been using a fire motif for every show. My fire affinity let me skyrocket in skill quickly. Loretta evolved at one point during that. Let me tell you, that was a shock. I'd done no research on salandit, so when she became a dragon – or at least very close to one – I was very surprised. There was a fiasco with her pheromones at one point, too; but that's another story." Aelius plucked at the strings, causing the guitar to make a strange twanging sound. "I always went through instruments quickly. I think I wore them out by playing so hard. Never could figure out how I broke this one."
Aelius moved to the fifth guitar. "This one was the first guitar I ever had. Made petty change on the streets of Castelia while I was growing up, and eventually someone saw my talent and picked me up. I became a star quickly from that point. Talent agents know what they're looking for. I'm pretty lucky my contract ran out decades ago. I don't think they realized I'd outlive the terms on it. This old thing snapped in two while practicing one day, and I only recently got it repaired.
"This one was the replacement they gave me. The first guitar bought with the exorbitant amounts of money my producers were making off of me." Aelius tapped the second guitar from the left, a black instrument with flame patterns on it. "This was what I was playing when I went to Toreta for the first time. My handlers gave me a week of vacation in Bluebell and Oplens, and I made the most of it. Went gambling, got some trainers to escort me to the meteor crash site, saw the Ferris Museum of technology – your mother's family was so pissed when she turned it into a gym. I had several run-ins with overzealous fans, but the one face I'll always remember belonged to Angie."
Aelius was silent for a while, staring into his reflection in the glossy surface of the instrument. When he spoke again, his voice was full of pain.
"I didn't find out I had a daughter until years later. When I had this one." Aelius tapped on the central guitar. "Angie didn't want her baby girl knowing that her daddy was a rockstar who, at the time, was caught doing hard drugs. The girl's name was Fraye."
Aelius turned to look at Finn, pain and loss in his face. "Finn, I never married Angie. I loved her with all my heart, but with my contract I couldn't visit for more than a couple days at a time. I was a horrible partner, and a worse father."
"Why are you telling me this?" Finn asked, not out of any frustration but from pure curiosity.
"Well, your dad already knows." Aelius walked back over to his chair and sat down with a heavy grunt. "But I'm getting to the important part.
"Angie died shortly after I became a trainer. I don't know why or how. I remember being at her funeral and having custody over Fraye being handed to me by default." Aelius shook his head. "I didn't know how to raise a kid. I didn't always have time to be there for her.
"By the time she was in her teens, Fraye hated me. I don't blame her. I was awful. She moved back to Bluebell and never told me. I only found out where she was seven years ago. At her funeral."
Aelius took a moment to swallow, tears already pouring from his eyes. Loretta stood up and walked over to him, putting her head on his lap. Aelius gently stroked her scales.
"I met her husband there. Robert. He wasn't much, honestly. He was amazed that his wife had been related to the famous Aelius Fiere – elite of fire and world-famous musician. He talked to me excitedly about the things I had done, but honestly my past isn't one I'm proud of. I deflected. I talked about my fellow elites. I tried to talk about fire type pokémon – Fraye had inherited my affinity, after all. The mistake I made was in talking about Athena Ferris, who remains the most fearsome battler I've ever seen. Robert's eyes lit up at mention of Athena, and he was the one who brought up you.
"It turned out that Fraye had a son. He wasn't at the funeral; they had a babysitter take care of him. Fraye and Robert's son went to school with the youngest member of the Ferris clan, a young man who did extremely well in class. I gave you some praise – you are, after all, worthy of it – and Robert went on a tirade about how he wished his son was as good as you are.
"I wanted to change the subject. What kind of father talks about someone else's kid as better than their own? I could barely even get him to talk about his own son. I left the funeral abruptly. They probably assumed I had something better to do." Aelius closed his eyes. "That was the last time I talked to Robert Leifeld, and I never want to do so again."
"That's-," Finn started, only to stop as his eyes widened. "Darrell's your grandson?"
Aelius nodded slowly. "You can understand why I might be reluctant to go to war with my own grandson, right?"
"I understand," Finn said softly.
"I'll do it." Aelius opened his eyes and looked at Finn. "I'll still fight for Toreta. Because if I don't, there's a good chance we're done for. I have a delphox, and she's seen what might happen if we let them win. Don't get me wrong, I will fight for Toreta. But I'm not going to enjoy it."
"I understand," Finn repeated. "I trust you."
"Thank you, Finnegan." Aelius took a shuddering breath, closing his eyes again. "Now leave an old man to his peace, please. I have a lot to think about."
Finn obliged, turning and leaving with Athena at his shoulder.
O-O-O
Before he could enter Nik's laboratory, Finn had to put on a protective rubber suit. Athena couldn't put one on, but Finn had the feeling that she wouldn't need anything like that. She could, if absolutely necessary, phase through the floor or shadow sneak away. Finn entered the airlock, a helmet on his head to shield him from whatever was within. After a brief scan from the mechanisms in the airlock, the door opened to allow Finn into the laboratory.
The inside of the lab was expansive, with a huge vaulted roof to allow for a huge glass tube. Huge computer terminals were situated in a ring around the base of the tube. Within the glass tube was the massive form of Alter, the ultra beast that Nik had used in their battle. The xurkitree was looming high above the rest of the room, its cable-like arms pressing against the glass as its spiky head was bent to 'look' at Nik. The elite had their helmet off, their frizzy hair standing up from the static in the room. Gauss the vikavolt was floating in the air next to them, looking at the same monitor as Nik was. When Finn entered, the bug type turned round to see who had entered, then nudged Nik's shoulder.
"Hmm?" Nik looked up from the monitor and glanced over their shoulder. "Oh, hello. Who are you?"
Finn removed his helmet. "It's Finn."
"Oh." Nik looked back at the monitor. "Hello champion. T-," Nik stopped, looking to one side. When they spoke again, it was recitation. "To what do I owe the pleasure…?"
"I'm just checking in. Coming to see how you're doing," Finn said as he stepped over.
"Okay." Nik returned their attention to the monitor. "I am well. No health issues."
"What are you working on?" Finn asked.
"My latest project." Nik perked up. "I'm trying to see if we can properly convert the electricity gathered by a xurkitree into power for Toreta. Galar has dynamax power, which appears to be an infinite free source of energy for the entire region. Sinnoh has their solar roadways, which power Sunyshore City and more. Kalos has its solar satellite power plant. If I can convert the electrical gathering ability of something as powerful as a xurkitree into electricity we can use, we can match that level of power generation."
"Huh." Finn stepped over and also looked at the screen. It was covered in numbers and graphs, which together made no sense to Finn.
"See here, the output is insane. This is from electricity gathered from grounded static on the mountain. Xurkitree can gain electricity from the ground in areas with no electrical activity. The numbers are staggering." Nik tapped one of the peaks on the graph. "From what we can tell, its homeworld has immense electrical storms, and the xurkitree use the lightning from the storms to feed their growth. They theoretically have no upper limit to their size. But they don't even need the storms to gather this much power. Just anchoring themselves into the ground is enough to gather this much power. The problem is that we just don't have the right transformers to convert it to a form we can use."
"You sure like this guy, huh?" Finn looked up at the xurkitree, and it made a warbling static noise.
"Xurkitree are fascinating, honestly. A lot of pokemon are. Vikovolt can pick up charjabug – the previous evolution in their family tree – and use the charjabug's electricity storage in order to supplement its own abilities." Nik turned their head and looked at Gauss, which buzzed and bobbed. "Pokémon are just… easier than humans. They don't use weird conversational quirks, or sarcasm, or lies." They paused. "Well, except for dark types. I don't like dealing with dark types."
"Yeah, most people would agree with you on that one," Finn said. "Dark types creep out a lot of people."
"It's not the 'creep' that I don't like. It's how they act so differently. They break patterns, sometimes on purpose. It makes my brain hurt," Nik said, scowling. "I'm sure you probably already figured it out, but I'm not neurotypical. It's made things a lot harder. But pokémon… I can understand pokémon. And I'm very good at numbers. They don't change for arbitrary reasons."
"I see. Thank you for sharing." Finn nodded.
Nik's scowl turned into a sunny smile. "I don't get many people coming in here to hear what my projects are."
"I'm afraid I'm not just here to check on your project," Finn apologized. "I wanted to check in on how you're feeling about the whole Team Plasma situation."
"Gearing up for conflict, right?" Nik looked up at the xurkitree, then back at Finn. "Give me your hand."
Odd, but Finn obliged.
Nik removed Finn's glove, exposing his skin to the air in the lab. The hairs on the back of his hand stood up in the electricity. Nik took Finn's hand and pulled it over the computer console to press the palm of Finn's hand against the glass of the xurkitree's tube. The electricity in the tube caused Finn's palm to tingle and goosebumps to run down his arm. The massive ultra beast curled its boneless legs beneath itself, lowering itself to place one of its exposed copper appendages against the other side of the glass.
"It looks like Alter's willing." Nik smiled. "So I am too."
O-O-O
Unlike the other elites, Lee had exactly two rooms dedicated to him in the headquarters. The first was his personal quarters, which was a Spartan room with nothing more than a bed, a dresser, and a small shrine. The other room was his elite four battle arena, where Finn found him training. The fighting elite was sparring with a wooden contraption that spun and reacted to his blows. Lee was a flurry of motion as he ducked, dodged, blocked, and struck the training dummy.
Finn stayed silent as he entered through a side door, just watching Lee at work. Finn sat down on the padded floor, and Athena floated next to him.
After several minutes of blindingly fast training, Lee's movements finally slowed to a normal pace, and then to a stop. The elite picked up a nearby bottle of water, downed the whole thing in one go, then wiped his sweat with a rag.
Only then did Lee acknowledge Finn's presence.
"You at least have the respect to not interrupt my training," Lee said, glowering at Finn. "What do you want?"
"Just wanted to check in-," Finn began, only for Lee to interrupt.
"Spare me the meaningless niceties." Lee threw the rag to the ground.
Finn took a moment to look through Athena's eyes, getting just a flash of her vision. Lee's aura was solid, blue with maroon streaks that denoted a type affinity. It didn't flicker or waver with his emotions, at least not at first glance. Closer inspection revealed that those emotional influences were just so brief that they were nearly invisible. That meant that Lee had such a strong grip on his emotional state that it barely impacted his aura. Finn would need to pay close attention.
A second realization hit Finn a moment later. That aura was tamed, but not controlled. It showed his will, but wasn't directed by it. Lee wasn't an auric.
"Are you mad at me because I can manipulate aura?"
The question surprised Finn too, and the shock on Lee's face lasted far longer than Finn had expected. The man's aura raged wildly, and then returned to its default state when he returned to his stoic expression.
"What gave you that impression?" Lee's eyes narrowed.
"You gave a whole spiel about aura when I first entered this room, and then got angry when you brought up that my aura was dark." Finn shrugged. "You don't have a lucario, which while not necessarily emblematic of anything does give me the feeling that you don't want to be around aura users."
Lee glared at Finn for several moments before he looked away. "You remind me of Carsen."
"So I'm right."
Lee didn't respond right away. When he did, he had reigned in his emotions to the point where there was no impact on his aura.
"Why you?"
"I don't know." Finn shrugged.
"Why you? Why do you have auric powers? Your aura is dark. Sick. Tainted. And yet you have powers." Lee returned his glare to Finn, stepping closer. "I have trained my entire life to hone my body, mind, and spirit. But the most I can do with it is sense the color of someone's aura. What a useless ability. So… Why can you do so many things with it?"
"Luck, honestly," Finn answered. Finn climbed to his feet. "Both good and bad. Circumstances of birth. Freak accident. I didn't do anything to earn my powers. I didn't train for years to master it, or complete some trial to gain the powers of the gods. I was just in the right place at the right time with the right genetic makeup. That's it."
Lee's rage lessened as he set his jaw. "At least you don't claim credit for chance."
The fighting type elite strode across the room and took from one wall a metal pole with leather wrappings around several points on the weapon. The bo staff whirled in Lee's hands, and he held it vertically in one hand.
"Despite the overreliance upon technology that many people have, the unique alloys that technological innovations allow us to make are usable for amazing things." Lee stamped the staff into the ground, the metal making a heavy thud despite the padded floor. "Show me what you can do. Prove to me those words you said to me weren't empty."
Finn reached out, and Athena planted her hilt in his hand. He unsheathed her blade, snatching her shield out of the air as he did. Her sashes wound up his arm, sliding under his leather jacket to have skin-to-silk contact.
"Any rules?" Finn asked.
"Just you and me. Your pokémon cannot do anything." Lee twirled the staff between his hands. "I do not expect you to be able to hurt me, but should you find it possible I ask that you avoid dealing a crippling injury. I will do the same for you."
"Thanks," Finn said wryly.
"Begin when you are ready."
Finn looked Lee up and down. The man's reputation for physical prowess was well earned. Rumor had it Lee had battled each of his own pokémon personally and won. This wouldn't be easy, even if it wasn't an actual fight.
The only rule was that Athena wasn't allowed to use any moves. That left Finn with a lot of options.
Finn began by lunging towards Lee with Athena's blade forwards, feigning recklessness. Lee reacted by stepping out of the way, his eyes narrowing. Lee's foot lashed out to sweep Finn off of his feet-
Only to hit solid steel as Finn covered his legs in metal.
Lee didn't react outwardly, but he did retract his foot quickly. The staff came in to slam into Finn's shoulder, only to be blocked by a quickly raised shield. Finn shoved the bo staff aside and breathed a cloud of ghost energy onto the martial artist.
While Lee was sliding backwards out of the range of the spite, Finn recovered his stance and reassessed his opponent. He was fast, but that staff was the only thing that could pack an actual punch. It reminded Finn of something he'd heard once. It didn't matter how good of a martial artist you were, if your opponent had a weapon you were at a disadvantage. Thus it was no wonder Lee used a weapon despite his reputation.
The staff jabbed through the cloud of ghost energy, and Finn slammed it downwards with the edge of Athena's shield. It bounced off of the ground before being retracted. A second jab sent the staff down again, and this time Finn anchored it to the ground by stomping on the end.
Lee hurtled through the cloud, slamming one sandal-clad foot into the side of Finn's head. Finn stumbled off to one side, and the staff came up to whistle through the air in a follow-up blow to Finn's shoulder. Another strike caught Finn in the stomach, and then another to the chin to force him to back up.
The next swing of the staff hit Finn in the chest, and the clang of metal hitting metal rang out.
Finn reversed the momentum of the fight quickly, bashing Lee in the chest with Athena's shield. Several swings of the sword were blocked by masterful manipulation of the staff, until Finn turned his arm and Athena's blade incorporeal and swung through the metal of the staff.
The blade rested partially passing through Lee's chest.
"I think I win." Finn pulled the sword back, then allowed his arm to become tangible again.
"Why didn't you start with that?" Lee tilted his head and set the base of the staff on the ground.
"I wanted to see how much I could do without going for the obvious win." Finn shrugged, letting go of Athena. She floated up, and he handed her shield to her. "Not much, apparently."
"Hmm." Lee strode across the room and put his staff away. "You fight like your mother. Always turning the momentum of the fight to yours."
"You've fought my mother?" Finn asked.
"A long time ago. I've no idea if she has kept up." Lee shrugged. "Regardless, it appears your boasts were not empty. You are quite skilled, especially for one your age."
"I've put a lot of effort in," Finn said. "Can I expect you to do the same when the time comes?"
Lee paused, furrowing his brow. "Of course."
Somehow, that didn't exactly sound reassuring.
O-O-O
Finn sat in the dining room with Athena hovering behind him. Everyone else had already had their meals and left, save his father and Daniel. They hadn't even shown up yet.
It had probably been a bad idea to spar with Lee, like that. Now he was feeling exhausted. It was hard to keep his eyes open. Finn crossed his arms on the table and rested his forehead on them, letting out a heavy sigh. Athena pat him on the shoulder, unable to help with the energy drain of using his abilities. Finn only looked up when a gruff voice spoke from nearby.
"Heya bud."
Finn looked over at the source of the voice to see a scrafty with a high-tech collar around its neck. The pokémon had its hands full, carrying a pile of snacks in the loose skin around its belly and legs.
"Hi Cookie. What do you have there?" Finn blinked tiredly as he asked the question, trying not to yawn.
"Buncha snacks." Cookie held up the makeshift pouch with one hand, digging around in the snacks until he pulled out a packet of fruit gummies. He bit the top of the bag off and poured several into his mouth.
"Where'd you get them?" Finn asked.
"Stolen from the kitchen." Cookie shrugged, speaking through a mouthful of gummies.
"It's… not stealing if you're allowed to have them. Last I checked the stuff in the kitchen is fair game for everyone, especially since Smith declared the pre-packaged snacks to be garbage," Finn said.
"Yeah, but I'm not supposed to have 'em." Cookie tossed the empty wrapper on the ground and dug out a handful of candy bars. He stared at them for a moment, then placed the candies on the table next to Finn's arms. "I can't even eat those. They have chocolate. Enjoy."
"Thanks…?" Finn looked at the candy bars, then shrugged. "I guess I'll eat some of them."
"You should. You look like shit. Treat yourself." Cookie pulled out another packet of fruit gummies. "Aight, I think I hear Zane coming. Don't tell him I gave you those. You won't believe how much he chewed me out last time I got into the snacks."
Cookie started off, not saying another word. Finn stared at the scrafty as he left. It could be hard to reconcile the scrafty that regularly went out of his way to commit petty theft with the battle machine Finn knew him to be, but there you were. Some people just did things that didn't quite match with what was expected of them.
Finn picked up one of the candy bars and peeled away the wrapper, taking a bite out of the milk chocolate. It was tasty, sure, but not anything special. Still, the sugar would allow him to stay awake a little bit longer so he could relay what he had found.
Several minutes later, footsteps echoed through the dining area. Finn looked over to see his father, Napoleon the grumpig following at his heels. Zane stopped, bending over to pick up the wrapper Cookie dropped, and spoke.
"I know he went this way." Zane shrugged, glancing at Finn. "Well, at least he left the chocolates with you. It seems he's learned his lesson. I'll go pick up those wrappers later."
Zane walked over and sat down next to Finn. "The backup we called in has been discussing strategies for taking down a hybrid. Some pretty creative stuff, including targeting the more human parts since they'll be less defended and using moves that normally only work on pokémon to hinder them. We can get further into it when your 'break' is over."
"Yeah, I was wondering about that. You send me on break and then Uncle Daniel immediately gives me a mission of subterfuge? I get the feeling it was mostly just an excuse to check out the elite four," Finn said.
"Ouch. You wound your old man." Zane winced. "But that was part of it, yes. This is lower intensity than normal. Although your sparring match with Lee seems to have proved me wrong."
"It seemed like the only way to get him to open up." Finn shrugged.
"Yeah, probably." Zane nodded. "We can begin as soon as Daniel ar-,"
"Already here."
Zane jumped and turned his head so quickly Finn could hear the air displacing. Daniel was suddenly sitting on the other side of the table, Maria next to him. "Arceus above, Daniel! Stop that!"
"Nah." Daniel leaned over and took one of the candy bars, opening it and taking a bite. He made a face. "This is crappy chocolate."
"Well not all of us have constant access to world-class chefs, Daniel." Zane rolled his eyes.
"Except that the cooking staff here is top of the line." Daniel's eyebrows went up. "I would know, I helped hire them."
"Look, Athena never lets me have access to the crappy processed food of my youth. Those chocolate bars have sentimental value." Zane picked one up. "And now Smith's here, and he's ordering the entire staff around like he owns the place – which he might as well, honestly – and I'm never going to get processed chocolate again." He leveled a finger at Daniel. "I'm not the only one upset about this. Aelius is going to be pissed when he finds out that breakfast is no longer going to consist of orange juice, alcohol, and bacon."
"Hah!" Daniel cackled. "That old man never liked being told what to do. He'll have to suffer like the rest of us for once."
"I feel like I'm missing a lot of the context for this discussion." Finn's made a nonplussed face.
"Right, we should get to the important stuff." Zane shook his head, then looked across the table at Maria. "If you would?"
There was a subtle shift in the air, and Finn could feel something change.
"Nothing we say is getting out," Maria said.
"My turn." Napoleon the grumpig put up both hands, and a shimmering bubble formed around the group. "Alright, that'll block anything that can get through the illusion."
"With that out of the way." Zane swung his legs to put them under the table. "Let's start from the top."
"Right." Daniel reached into his suitcoat and pulled out a notebook. "First, Tyson Archos."
"Found this in Tyson's room." Zane pulled a small metal object from a pocket. It was shaped like a shield, with a letter N carved into it and a crown insignia above that. "Well, I say found. Cookie stole it."
"Tyson's not our mole." Finn shook his head. "He has ties to Team Plasma, but only as one of N's faithful. He follows N's creed, not Ghetsis'. N's on our side."
"Next is Aelius Fiere."
"Same story with this." A Team Plasma badge was carefully removed from another pocket. "Cookie stole it from Aelius' room. Except I've already had Fezzick take a look at it, and its psychometrics don't indicate that it was there for more than a couple days."
"Yeah, Aelius wouldn't help Plasma," Finn said. "He said, right to my face, that he would fight Team Plasma. He wasn't lying. Even though his grandson is one of them. Did you know that?" Finn looked at Zane and Daniel. "Did you know Darrell was his grandson?"
"…" Zane looked down at the table as Daniel suddenly lost his snark. "Yes. We did."
"Is that why you wanted me to 'give him a chance' when I was younger?" Finn furrowed his brow.
"…Yes." Zane bowed his head. "I… Aelius is an old friend, and I didn't want to let a hostile relationship grow between you and his grandson. That… failed." He looked back up at Finn. "For what it's worth, Darrell has no idea he's related to Aelius. Nobody's told him. It would only serve to enlarge his ego."
"…Right." Finn took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. "Well. It's over now. On to the next."
"Right. Um." Daniel fumbled with his notebook. "Nik Tesser."
"Not a problem. Nik hates deceptions, and they care deeply about pokémon. They're on our side," Finn asserted, leaving no room for argument.
"Alrighty then, last on the list is Lee." Daniel looked at Finn with one brow up.
"He knew about my dark aura on our first meeting, and he knew I had powers long before I used them." Finn shrugged, then turned his head to look at his father. "He doesn't have auric abilities, so there's no way he could have found that out himself. So unless you told him beforehand, he got that info from somewhere else. The only ones – the only ones who know about my power are family, the champions that arrived yesterday, and Team Plasma."
"I…" Zane sighed. "I knew it was him. I didn't want to, but I knew it."
"What are we going to do about it?" Daniel asked.
"We're going to feed him misinformation," Zane said, looking side eye at Daniel. "You're going to feed him misinformation. The planning process is, officially at least, only for champions and former champions. Athena's a weird case, but she qualifies. You're not technically even part of the strategy meetings. I'm giving you the task of formulating false info for Lee to get, and allowing him to send out that fake information. We clear?"
"As crystal." Daniel stuffed the rest of the chocolate bar in his mouth and stood up. "Maria?"
"On it."
The distortion faded, and when Zane nodded at Napoleon the shimmering dome disappeared too. All three humans stood up, and at that moment a sound on the other side of the room drew their attention. It was the faint shuffle of someone adjusting their seating position.
There, seated calmly at a table in one corner, was Red Ketchum. On his shoulder was a Pikachu, which was happily munching on an oran berry. Red's pokédex was raised, and he was chewing on a piece of jerky. He glanced up from the device when the trio turned to look at him.
"How long have you been sitting there?" Daniel asked.
Red tilted his head, thinking for a moment, then put up one hand with all five fingers outstretched.
"Minutes, or hours?"
The hand curled into a fist, and one finger came up.
"Right." Daniel looked off into the distance, an odd expression on his face. "Well, you probably just heard everything."
Red shrugged, then raised his pokédex to scan Napoleon, Athena, and Maria.
"…I'm going to bed." Daniel walked off, Maria staying for just a little longer with her mouth slightly ajar before she followed him.
Red shrugged again, returning his attention to the device in his hand.
"I'm… also going to bed," Finn said, holding back a yawn. "G'night Dad."
"Good night, Finn."
Finn set off for his room, Athena floating behind him.
For a few brief moments, he could see through Athena's eye. Red's aura was a blaze, shimmering with every color of the rainbow on the edges and a core of solid blue. Then Athena's gaze flickered, and the man was left devoid of any aura at all.
Red looked up from the pokédex once more, looking over at Finn. Through Athena's eye, Finn saw the enigmatic trainer wink.
O-O-O
In the sterile halls of the Team Plasma Headquarters, Mono floated grimly towards his destination. He avoided phasing through the walls, not just because it was still disorienting but because the anti-ghost measures set in place would be quite painful if he tried. Through winding halls and twisting corridors he made his way to the prisons, which thanks to Cyril doubled as stock for her experiments. Not that she had invented the things she used. She just had fun using them on people. It made Mono sick to a stomach he no longer had.
He passed many cells, deliberately avoiding looking into the dark rooms. He blocked the sounds as well, though that was… less effective.
Eventually he came to a special holding cell. Anti-psychic energy crackled between the bars of the cell. The inhabitant of the cell was seated in one of the dark corners in the far side of the room, reading a book in the dim glow of the red. His oversensitive eyes couldn't handle the normal light levels, and for once Cyril was merciful. A faint glow came from the prisoner's left hand, three colors prominent. The misshapen form of the prisoner's head made Mono feel uncomfortable, deep in his gut, but the shape wasn't the reason why. As Mono approached, the prisoner looked up from his book.
"Ah, one of the reasonable people in this madhouse," The prisoner said. "Hello Mono. How are you holding up? Any more decay? Pain? Is there any irritated tissue or itching?"
-"No, but thank you for asking."- Mono inclined his head slightly. -"I came because of Dua."-
"Ah, of course." The prisoner nodded. "I hope she took my recommendation to use a pokémon shampoo seriously."
-"She did,"- Mono said. –"But the medicine you've recommended has made her lethargic and nauseous."-
"An unfortunate side-effect of the treatment, I'm afraid," The prisoner said, his expression hidden in shadow. "Most antipsychotic medications do that." The prisoner was silent for a bit before speaking again. "Cyril's going to tell her to stop taking the medicine, isn't she?"
-"Yes."-
"Well, in my medical opinion Cyril is a fraud and a monster, but I'm not in any position to countermand her." The prisoner shrugged. "You know what I'd advise, Mono. Although the situation won't permit it."
-"Indeed."- Mono paused, hesitating.
"You're here for something else, aren't you?" The prisoner asked.
-"The boy…"- Mono sighed. –"He has been subjected to the Fuser."-
The prisoner didn't say anything for a little while. "I can understand why you came, then. He despises me for some reason. What with?"
-"His magmortar"-
"He should be fine. Magmortar are quite close to humans genetically. Did the process leave him with any asymmetrical features?" The prisoner looked directly at Mono for the first time, his glowing green eye visible alongside his yellow. "I'm aware that those can cause significant dysmorphia."
-"Several. Including his arm,"- Mono answered.
"Hmm, well, if it gets too bad send him to me. I'll do what I can." The prisoner shrugged. "I'm sure you have something you need to do. Don't let me hold you."
-"Indeed."- Mono nodded. –"Thank you, Colress."-
"As always, this is what I studied for." Colress nodded, then returned his attention to his book.
Mono turned and left, closing his eye as he did. Colress did not deserve what had happened to him. Did not deserve to be in that cell. But Mono could do nothing to help him. Not without breaking his oath. Not without putting his siblings in danger.
Back through the walls he went, this time on a task that he had actually been requested to do by Ghetsis.
He made his way out of the prison, this time going towards the edge of the facility. Cyril had apparently picked up an outgoing signal, but she hadn't been able to stop it. That got suspicions up. Thus, it was Mono's job to figure out who had sent that message and prevent them from doing so ever again.
Mono passed a lot of grunts, who universally reacted with revulsion or fear at his presence. That was, unfortunately, the new norm. He also passed a few of those who had made their way to the next step above admin, the generation 3 Sequencer recipients. They had more mixed reactions, depending upon what they had been Sequenced with. Or, perhaps, they were sequenced differently because of their reactions.
Eventually, though, Mono made it to the secluded room that the message had come from. To his surprise, there was a light inside the room. He might have caught the culprit in the act.
Mono phased through the door silently, looking at the back of a computer on a desk. The person on the other side of the desk was rapidly typing away, trying to finish what they were doing quickly. Their body was covered head to toe in black attire, with the most defining feature being the helmet. Mono waited silently for the individual to take a brief break, then spoke.
-"Renard."-
The spy jumped, a pulse of telekinetic energy washing lightly over the whole room. After a moment, Renard composed himself.
"Mono, my apologies. I had not noticed you there." His accent was mostly accent. That meant he was comfortable. That was good. Mono had never intended to discomfort the man. Renard returned to typing on the keyboard. Slower this time.
-"I did not wish to disturb you."- Mono bowed his head. –"What are you doing at this time?"-
"Just… going through the information." Renard shrugged. "You?"
-"I'm looking for a potential traitor in our ranks."-
Renard paused, his expression absent behind the blackened glass.
"Well if you elaborate, I could assist?" Renard offered.
-"Forty-eight hours ago, a message was sent from this very room. Cyril was unable to stop it, but I was assigned to make sure it doesn't happen again, and to catch the culprit if possible."- Mono paused. –"Would you happen to know anything about that?"-
"Nnnooo…" Renard tapped a few more keys, then shifted subtly. "But I wish you luck een finding zhem."
The accent had gotten thicker. Interesting.
-"If you have some time…"-
"I am afraid I do not. I 'ave ozher zhings I need to do now." Renard stood up, sliding his hands into pockets on his suit. "But I weesh you luck."
Renard stiffly walked towards the door, but Mono put a hand in front of him.
-"Be careful Renard."- Mono's lone eye glowed brighter in the dimly lit room. –"There are some very technologically skilled people in this building."-
"I know. I'm one of zhem." Renard pushed past him, opening the door and leaving.
Mono watched the spy leave, contemplating for a moment before he made his way around the desk to see the computer screen. It was bare of whatever project Renard had worked on. Mono tapped a few keys, trying to bring up the previously open applications. No response. No matter. Mono wasn't particularly good at computers, but he had a friend who was.
One hand delved into the gaping hole in his torso, retrieving a pokéball. He released the inhabitant of the ball, causing a jolt of electricity to crackle through the air.
-"Hack, if you would check the recent activity on this computer? Avoid interacting with the network as a whole."-
The rotom made a buzzing noise and flew into the computer. After a moment, a tiny version of it appeared in one corner of the screen.
"Heya boss. I've checked this computer's history and it's a jumbled mess," Hack said, his smile inverting into a grimace. "I think something went through and deliberately broke everything."
-"That sounds familiar."- Mono nodded. –"Can you make anything out?"-
"All data from the past three days is nixed. Can't- hold on." Hack paused for a moment. "Oh, something was sent out of this location just a couple hours ago. Incomplete data wipe. You want me to reconstruct it?"
-"…no. Instead I want you to compile another message. Hide it on a spectral wavelength,"- Mono said. He tapped in several numbers. –"And send it to these coordinates."-
"You sure there's going to be someone there that can receive it?" Hack asked.
-"I hope so."- Mono sighed.
"You got it boss." The tiny avatar of the rotom saluted. "Just give me the message."
Mono typed for a few minutes, and when he was done Hack saluted again and disappeared from the computer. A moment later, it returned.
"That'll be at its destination in less than twenty-four hours, although since it's spirit stuff who knows how long it'll take."
-"Thank you Hack."- Mono raised the pokéball and recalled the rotom from within the computer. A moment later, the screen devolved into static, and everything on the device was lost.
Ghetsis would be pleased that he had prevented any further information leaks. And since Mono was the only ghost in the building who could detect signals travelling through the spirit world, there was no chance he would be found out.
He couldn't risk his sisters, but Mono was no stranger to undermining Ghetsis' plans. All he could hope was that the receiver would be available to convey his message.
A/N:
Not too much to say here. We're getting closer to the inevitable conflict.