Chapter One
They would, of course, deny it if asked about it later, but when Team Skull's newly recruited grunts managed to stumble their way through security it was only sheer dumb luck that saved them from being caught. The boat (freighter, as Todd had heard one of the crew members call it) had only been docked at Seafolk Village for a couple of hours so far, but if its last few visits were anything to go by it wouldn't be there for much longer. Nobody knew where it went afterwards.
"Could you make any more noise?" said Kelly. She bumped him with her shoulder and glared. He glared back. "They're going to catch us."
His cheeks flushed with anger, but he forced himself to keep his mouth shut. After all, she wasn't actually wrong. If they got caught they'd be done for and then Guzma would be pissed. He made an effort to lighten his footsteps as they crept further down the dull hallway. Lights flickered ominously as they passed.
"This may have been a bad idea," Kelly whispered then, but she gestured to an ajar door and they moved towards it.
"It's what Guzma wants us to do," said Todd. He'd been listening to her hesitant protests since last night and he wasn't really interested in hearing any more of them. "Don't you want to prove yourself to the team?"
"Of course I do." She pushed the door open and a metallic groan reverberated through the corridor. Todd flinched and glanced around to make sure nobody had heard. When nobody came running in their direction he slipped into the next room. "I don't want to go to prison either though. If Guzma really wanted this doing then-"
"Shut up whining!"
The room was almost completely dark, so he felt more than saw her brown eyes boring into the side of his head. She wasn't as committed to the cause as he was. She didn't understand, but he did. If they proved themselves worthy of Guzma's trust today they'd be welcomed into the fold. Really welcomed this time, and not just sniggered at from a distance by older Team Skull members who still saw them as outsiders. Nothing but a drain on their resources. Too young to pull their weight. He swallowed and cast their cruel words from his mind. He'd show them.
"Look at this," said Kelly.
He blinked, his eyes taking it's time adjusting to the sudden darkness. The room, it seemed, was being used for storage. Made sense really given how many boxes they'd already watched a group of burly crew members carry onto the ship. Unmarked crates were stacked high against the walls and other boxes of varying sizes were sat littered around. He shivered, though he wasn't sure why, and moved over to where Kelly was prying open the lid of one of the smaller crates. He heard a loud snap of something giving and darted forward to catch the lid before it hit the floor. Coarse wood rubbed against his palms.
"Oops," said Kelly, apologetically. He leaned the lid against the side of the box and released an anxious breath. Once again he listened out for the telltale sign of rushing footsteps come to haul them away, but none came. "Oh," said Kelly then. "It's just Pokemon food."
He turned his attention to the can she was holding up. Magikarps decorated the side.
"They eat Magikarps?" said Kelly, disgusted.
"What? You've never eaten meat before?"
"I happen to be a vegetarian."
It must be nice to have that kind of choice, he thought. As a general rule he'd eat whatever he was given. It was better than the alternative.
"Check another box," he said.
They went in separate directions, opening different sized crates and boxes as they went. Todd felt his irritation rise as without fail, every single container was revealed to hold more Pokemon food. He picked up a sitrus berry and threw it on the floor in frustration. It bounced and then rolled behind another crate in a way that was entirely unsatisfying.
"I can't believe we broke onto this stupid boat just for a load of Pokemon food." Todd jumped, not having heard Kelly step up behind him. "I wonder where it's all going?"
"Who cares?" said Todd. He pulled at his slightly ill-fitting tank top. "We should take some of this back the boss and tell him what we found out."
What Kelly was about to say next Todd never found out. A blaring horn sliced through the air and he took a reflexive step backwards, tripping on one of the discarded crate lids as he went and falling with a hard and painful thud onto his backside. Kelly brought hands up to jam against her ears, eyes widened in alarm. Shit.
The boat began to move.
The heat was unbearable. Sweat prickled at the back of her neck and, despite her sunglasses, the glare of the sun had her squinting. Diantha folded her arms across her chest and willed her tapping foot to still. Five more minutes, she decided. Five more minutes before she insisted they leave without their missing companions. It had taken a lot of effort and shuffling of things around to fit this into her already brimming schedule and she wasn't going to waste her day hanging around a desolate Alolan air field. She hadn't even wanted to come in the first place, but her agent had insisted. People and organisations often vied for her attention; she wasn't sure what had made this one different.
Her foot began to bob up and down again and she opened her mouth to question her maddeningly patient guide once more on their mysterious destination when the approaching sound of an engine caught her attention. She swallowed against her parched mouth and turned her head to see a distant but rapidly approaching dull green pickup truck.
"Ah," said Dr. Stone, with much too bright a smile on his weathered face. "Our final guests have arrived."
Diantha pursed her lips and stood up a little straighter. The sooner they got up in the air the better. Hopefully there'd at least be a stiff breeze up there, which was something they were sorely lacking at that moment. If she'd know they were going to be waiting around for so long she could have squeezed in an extra hour of sleep this morning. She wouldn't have done, but it would have been nice to have had that option.
The vehicle screeched to a halt in front of them, kicking up a cloud of dust that only just missed showering them with dirt. She was debating whether or not to give these people a piece of her mind when the door was thrown open and a tall, blonde woman unfolded herself from the car.
"Sorry I'm late," said the woman, an apologetic smile on her face. She straightened up and brushed loose creases from her long, black, entirely inappropriate for the weather coat. Hanging from her belt Diantha spotted six Pokeballs. A trainer then. Somewhere in the back of her mind she had the dim notion that she recognised this person from somewhere.
"Not a problem, Cynthia!" said Dr. Stone. He strode forward and shook the woman's hand. "We were expecting Carolina too?"
"My grandmother sends her apologies," said Cynthia. She frowned and cast a look back at the car. "She's been feeling a little under the weather since we got to Alola so I convinced her to stay at the hotel. I promised her a full report though."
Dr. Stone's grip around his cane tightened, but he nodded his head. "Disappointing. Can't be helped I suppose. Her health comes first." Cynthia didn't respond. "Now, let me introduce you to our other intrepid adventurers!"
He was laying it on a bit thick, Diantha thought, but she still offered Cynthia a tight smile as they shook hands.
"Cynthia," said Dr. Stone, "This is Diantha."
"The Kalos League Champion," said Cynthia. Her hand was cool and dry. "I remember." Diantha felt a flicker of satisfaction. Her work with the Pokemon League was often overlooked in favour of her acting work, so it was nice to be acknowledged.
"You two will have much to discuss, I'm sure," said Stone. Somehow Diantha doubted it. "This is Martin." They moved to the other member of the group and Cynthia shook his hand. "Corporate lawyer, specialising in insurance."
"It's an honour to meet you, Cynthia," said the man, in a way that sounded entirely false. The woman didn't seem to have much to say to that and behind her sunglasses, Diantha rolled her eyes. She'd known more than her fair share of sycophants.
Introductions had finally concluded and Cynthia turned her attention back to Dr. Stone. "I don't suppose you're finally going to tell me where we're going, Richard?"
"Not a chance," said Stone, with boyish enthusiasm. "Onto the helicopter!"
AN: Just a bit of an intro here. If you're expecting this fic to turn into Jurassic Park with fossil Pokemon…then you would be correct. Planning for this to eventually lead to Cynthia/Diantha.