A bit of a short introduction, but I figured I'd start on this chapter as soon as possible. Hope you all enjoy it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon Insurgence; it is the property of its creators.

Having made her way back to the Pokémon Center, Natasha soon reunited with Damian, the young man keeping an eye on several Pokéballs. "Ah good, I was just about to give you a call. Our Pokémon are nice and healthy now." He chimed happily at her, handing her balls over as she gratefully accepted them.

"Thank you." She replied, tucking them away. "So, do you have a new lead on where the Sky Cult is heading?"

"Knowing them, they'll most likely make a beeline for the Jade Tower, given that's where Jaern watches over us. However, it'll most likely be locked down, meaning that the front entrance would be a no go." Damian explained to her, an idea forming in the teenage girl's mind.

"Then we'll have to find an alternate entrance to the tower. Perhaps via the sewer system or something?" Natasha proposed, her friend's eyes widening in surprise.

"That's brilliant! I highly doubt the Sky Cult would bother to check there, given how much they prioritize their physical appearance and cleanliness in general." He replied boldly, only to start developing second thoughts. "Then again…it might not be the best idea for us to go that way either."

"Oh? What makes you say that?" The purple-haired girl inquired.

"I've heard rumors of a black-market operating underneath Helios City, offering a variety of services despite their dubious legality. A place like that is bound to attract unsavory people. Then there's also the rumors of a powerful Pokémon roaming the sewers; it can release clouds of poisonous gas that could knock someone out in an instant!" Damian warned her, as thoughts of intrigue soon formed in her mind. What sort of Pokémon was he talking about? Could it be another Delta Species?

"I'll…keep your warning in mind." She reassured him, getting up off the couch and slung her bag over her shoulder. "So shall we get going? Time isn't exactly on our side."

"R-Right!" The white-haired boy called out, quickly getting off the chair and followed his friend out the Pokémon Center. He was extremely nervous over this entire affair but kept it to himself for the most part; after all if the duo's mission to save the Augur succeeds, then he'll finally be able to earn everyone's respect, as opposed to being that kid nobody cares about.

0000

The trip to Helios City was surprisingly short, due to how short Routes 6 and 7 were. Route 6 was a bridge of sorts that connected the sandy dunes of the Rezzai Desert and the town beside it, to the lush plains that were situated right before Helios City. The main feature of note was the dried-up lake that was sprawled beneath the long wooden bridge that connected the two areas. Route 7 was even shorter that the previous area, consisting of only a dirt path that zig-zagged a few times before heading straight to the gates of Helios City. A few small ponds were on either side of the route, but asides from that, there was nothing much of value.

However, it was when they began walking on the gold-colored bridge to Helios that the duo could finally see the massive city in all its splendor. Fittingly for the capital of the Torren Region, Helios City was more than twice the size of Suntouched City and had a wide variety of activities that one could engage in. Given its size and how many tourists flock to the metropolis, it made sense for an underground black-market to set up shop here. It'll be quite the task to find the entrance to this marketplace in a city like this, hence why a plan was needed to cover as much ground as possible.

"I reckon we should split up; it'll be easier to find a lead if we can cover more ground." Natasha suggested.

"Fine by me; we can give each other a call in the event that we find a promising lead." Damian agreed, taking a map of the city out of his bag. "I'll cover the left side while you cover the right. Is that alright with you?"

"I can work with that. In the event that either one of us misses our call, we'll meet up by the bridge in half an hour." The purple-haired girl replied, the duo heading off in separate directions as she began to wander the sprawling streets of the city. While walking, her mind began mulling over Damian's newfound sense of vigor; he was slowly evolving from the timid young man to someone who wasn't afraid of standing up for himself. In a way, she was proud of her friend for overcoming such adversity. However, her thoughts of admiration were soon snapped by the sound of something splashing in a nearby fountain. Turning to the source, she found a small Pokémon frolicking happily in the fountain, splashing water everywhere.

The small Pokémon looked like a Lotad, it's body a light grey similar to that of an old man's robe. Additionally, the lily-pad on its head was a deep blue, a wizard's hat stemming out of it as a small yellow star dangled from the top of the hat. The Lotad gazed calmly at her before an idea formed in it's mind. Fishing a small coin out from the fountain, it showed it to the Purple-haired girl before using its power to make the coin disappear.

"Hmmm, where'd it go?" She inquired, a small cry of surprise escaping her mouth as she felt it climbing up her arm and onto her shoulder. Moving towards her ear, Natasha soon felt something cold and wet against her head, the Lotad moving its arm and showed her the coin from before, a small chuckle escaping her mouth as the Magician Pokémon tossed it back in the fountain. "Hahaha, that was a nice trick!"

"Lotad!" It chirped happily, making itself comfortable on her shoulder as she had a hunch on what it was after. Allowing it to stay with her, she continued to make her way through the city, her mind mulling over on just how easy it was for her to befriend Delta Pokémon. At the very least, it was better than having them fall victim to someone who only sees them as a tool to be sold for a lot of money. A few minutes later, she would soon receive a call from Damian, eagerly telling her that he had found something exciting by the entrance to the Helios Department Store. Believing this to be a lead, she quickly hung up and made her way to the store as fast as she could.

When she arrived at the Department Store, she saw her friend talking to an elderly lady on a bench, his Eevee resting comfortable on his lap as she saw the old woman handing something over to him. "T-Thank you so much ma'am!" Damian thanked her.

"No need to thank me; it brings me great joy to see the offspring of my beloved companion in such good health." The old woman smiled at him, noticing Natasha approaching her. "Ah, I take it he's your friend?"

"Yes, he is. What were you two talking about?" She inquired curiously.

"You know the Eevee that Professor Sylvan hands you to new trainers? They're the offspring of her Pokémon that she gives to her. We were just talking about how I've still haven't made a decision on what to evolve my friend into, when she told me that an unevolved Eevee has the capability to unlock a special power." The white-haired boy told her.

"The reason why so few people know about Eevee's Mega-Evolution is because most trainers evolve them before they learn about it true power. I won't tell you the full details about it's mega form, as I want it to be a surprise, but I will say that it can learn several powerful moves used by it's evolutions." The elderly lady replied, a sigh escaping from her mouth. "I'm just thankful you two aren't like those hooligans from before."

"Hmmm? Is everything ok?" Natasha checked up on her.

"Oh, I'm fine, but those teens pose a risk to the city. They kept hollering and shouting over this supposed business they have in the basement of the Department Store. Probably searching for that illusive black-market; I'd stay away from that place if I were you." She told them, the two teens hitting on a juicy lead.

"Unfortunately, we might have to go there. Some shady figures are threatening the people of this city, and we might find a lead on them there." Damian told her.

"I see…in that case I wish you two the best of luck. You'll need it when it comes to a place like the Black Market." The old lady wished them well, the duo waving goodbye at her as the made their way to the department store to investigate the basement.

Department Store Basement

Upon arriving at the basement, the duo began investigating the nearby area for something that could aid them in their search. They spent the next fifteen minutes shifting wooden boxes on the floor in the event that something could be hidden under one. And they were on the money; a small grate was hidden beneath a wooden box full of Potions and other healing items, the duo crouching on the floor to get a better look at it.

"Well looks like we found an entrance to the sewers. Maybe we can find the entrance to the black market down there?" Natasha suggested.

"Maybe, but there's still that powerful Pokémon I warned you about before. For all we know, it could've been placed there as a guard of sorts." Damian replied, slowly removing the grate before sliding down the hole, with Natasha following behind. Once their shoes made contact with the grimy floor, the duo brought out their flashlights and began wandering through the cramped tunnels, carefully avoiding the dirty water that coated the already dirty floor. They spent the next twenty minutes traversing the maze of corridors, getting stuck in a few dead ends on the way, until at last they came across what looked like a thin metal ladder leading somewhere.

"This must be the entrance to the black market. Took less time than I expected." The purple-haired girl commented to herself.

"What are we waiting for? Let's get a move o—" The white-haired boy began, taking his first steps on the ladder, only for a low growl to echo through the sewer. Turning to the source, the duo saw a mysterious Pokémon slowly approaching them, it's metallic body shining in the dim light. Green fluid could be seen coursing through its body via the glass stripes that lines its body, a cloud of grey smoke pouring out from its tail. Both of its hands were in the shape of nozzles and had the capability to shoot blasts of toxic liquid at far distances. The closest thing this Pokémon resembled was a Heatmor, however it must be a Delta Species based on its vastly different appearance. "Q-Quickly! Up here!"

"I'll be with you in a moment!" Natasha called out, watching Damian make his way up the ladder. Now on her own, she watched as the Heatmor turned away from her and began licking at the slime and gunk off the walls, no doubt hungry after stalking the duo for who knows how long. "Ah, I see. You weren't after us; you thought we would lead you to a source of food."

"Mooorrrr~…" The Sludge-Eater Pokémon groaned lowly, continuing to eat at the muck on the wall for another minute. By the time it was full, the wall was a lot cleaner than it was before. Noticing the Lotad on her shoulder, it began talking to it in a series of chirps and clicks, with the Lotad talking back to it. After their brief conversation, the Heatmor turned to face the purple-haired woman, a look of intrigue on its face.

"You wish to come with me? To be with your friend?" She inquired, the Delta Species before her giving her a quick nod. "In that case come with me! We're on an important mission now and I'm sure you'll like it!"

Watching her slowly climb up the ladder, the Heatmor transformed its nozzle-hands back to their regular form, enabling it to climb up the ladder after her. After all, it wouldn't say no to getting some fresh air every now and again, and this young lady had managed to win the trust of its dear friend, so it was a win-win situation for them.

0000

Upon climbing up the ladder, Natasha was soon taken aback by the sight before her; she had stumbled upon the fabled black-market of Helios City. The place was incredibly dingy, with several buildings littering the place that were covered in grime, dirt and even dried up splashes of blood. Speaking of blood, there were more splashes of it all over the floor, including what looked like a few…dead bodies. This sent a clear message to the teenage girl that this was not a place where one should haggle with the shopkeepers. Still, it wouldn't hurt her to check their wares out, if only for a quick moment. She turned to her new Pokémon, the duo shivering slightly in fear over the oppressive atmosphere.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure nobody takes you away." She reassured the duo, recalling them to their balls before tucking them away in her bag. Their fear of this place was understandable; Delta Pokémon are an especially rare commodity in the black market and would sell for an incredible price.

"N-Natasha!" A familiar voice called out, the teenage girl turning to see Damian walking up to her. "You managed to survive an encounter with the monster!"

"It was no monster, just a wild Pokémon who roams the sewers for food. Don't worry, it's relatively harmless." The purple-haired girl smiled at him, briefly looking around the area. "What isn't harmless is this place; some seriously shady shit goes down in this place and I want no part of it."

"That's not even the worst part; I've heard from someone here that a cult has their hideout located in this market that leads directly to the Jade Tower. I'm confident that it isn't the Sky Cult, but asides from that I have no idea." Damian informed her.

"I'm not surprised one would set up shop near the black market; it grants them easy access to illegal goods and services." Natasha replied, noticing one of the vendors selling something…familiar. It was one of those scrolls that she found back in Koril Cave and that mist-covered island. "I hope you don't mind, but I found something that piqued my interest."

"Y-You can't be serious; this place sells illegal goods!" The white-haired boy exclaimed in shock, watching his friend make her way to the vendor.

"Relax, I'm confident that this won't land us in hot water." She replied, quietly approaching the vendor. "Hello, I would like to inquire you about that scroll you have for sale."

"Well you look younger than my usual customer base, but I'm not one to turn away business." The shopkeeper chuckled, picking up the scroll from the shelf and placed it on the counter. "A mate of mine found this in the sewers back there, locked away in some sort of special rock. I traded my childhood bike for this, so don't expect it to be cheap."

"Fine by me; I'm not afraid of whatever price you're offering." Natasha stated, another chuckle escaping from the older man.

"Hah, I like your attitude. Tell you what, you pay me $5000 for the scroll, and I'll throw in a little bonus for you. Deal?" He offered, the girl mulling it over for a while before making a decision.

"Deal!" She replied, handing over the money to the man as he handed her the scroll and what looked like a large wing made out of metal. "Hmmm? What's this?"

"Not sure myself, but I've heard rumors that the fellows over at PikaTaxi are looking for something like this. I'd hand it to them myself, but as you might expect, I'm sort of a…wanted man in Helios City. Take care, young lady!" The shopkeeper waved goodbye, with Natasha waving back at him as she took her goods and tucked them in her bag, with Damian making his way to her side.

"What was that scroll you bought? How special could it be that you would drop that much money on it?" He whispered to her.

"A scroll that has some connection to Meloetta; one of the fabled Mythical Pokémon. I figured that her power would aid us in the war against the cults." She whispered back to him, the duo soon stumbling upon a small building built into the wall. "I guess this is where we have to go. Let us proceed with caution."

"R-Right." Damian replied, the duo entering the building as they stepped into some sort of underground laboratory. There were wooden boxes strewn all-over the floor, several machines hooked up to the wall and cabinets full of important research notes. Soon enough, one of Natasha's Pokéballs opened up, her Larvesta crawling out of it before making itself comfortable in her hands. Noticing that it wanted some affection, the purple-haired girl opted to pet it gently as they made their way through the base before coming across a familiar scientist minding his own business.

"Let's see here, if we modify the genetic code here, and shuffle the DNA around there…" Taen began, his ears perking up as he turned around and saw the two teenagers approaching him. "Y-You! This place is off limits!"

"What a way to say hello to an old acquaintance…" Natasha retorted sarcastically, with Damian turning to face her, a look of confusion on his face. "Ah, my apologies. The creep before you is Taen; he has no problem assaulting young children in order to achieve his goals."

"And let me guess; you're here to avenge him for what I did? How cute, but I have no time for nonsense like that. Now get out before I—" The blue-haired man seethed.

"Hold on a minute, Taen. We might be able to work something out after all." A familiar voice called out, the duo turning to see Reukra approaching them as Taen gave his boss a quick bow of respect. "I recognize you two; you're the young kids who arrived at Sylvan's lab when I was dropping off those Delta Pokémon. I suppose you're taking care of them now?"

"Y-Yeah, they're all safe and sound away from your hands." Damian replied quickly, choosing to omit the fact that he didn't pick one for himself.

"Good; every Pokémon deserves to go on an—" The well-dressed man began, only to get cut off by a low growling emanating from the duo. Looking closer at them, he saw that the growling came from the Larvesta nestled in Natasha's hands, a look of surprise soon forming on his face. "H-How did you—"

"Recognize this little fella, don't you? I'm not surprised; after all YOU were the one who abandoned it at that decrepit lab." Natasha shot back at the older man.

"Do you realize what you have done; that…thing was meant to be locked up for the safety of everyone in Torren. Your actions could very well doom this entire region!" Reukra scolded her.

"Says the one who experimented on it in the first place. You knew the potential risks of tampering with a Pokemon's DNA, yet you still went through with it anyway. Besides, you still have the original Delta Larvesta with you. As for dooming the whole region…that's not going to happen. The only reason the first one went on a rampage was due to your mistreatment of it; in good hands this little fella won't be hurting anyone, or at least anyone that matters." The purple-haired girl retorted.

"Enough of this! Let's just kill them and—" Taen began, only for Reukra to raise his hand in the air.

"Let me handle this." Reukra told him, turning to face Damian. "You seem to be the more reasonable of the two. Why are you invading my personal headquarters?"

"W-We don't want to interfere with you. We only want to get through to the Jade Tower so that we can save the Augur from the Sky Cult." The white-haired boy replied, a look of intrigue forming on the older man's face.

"Is he in danger? Interesting…" He mused to himself. "Tell me, why should I save that spineless coward? I'm a cult leader; that man's been after me for who knows how long. If anything, I should be helping the Sky Cult bump him off. However, I am willing to strike a deal with you two, for the sake of my research of course."

"Go on…" The purple-haired girl demanded, suspicion clouding her mind.

"I have this project you can help me on; come this way…" Reukra gestured at the teens, who briefly looked at each other before opting to follow him. "Truth be told, we're not really a cult like the others. Don't get me wrong, there are several legendary Pokémon we'd like to get our hands on, but we don't worship them. Our group was founded on a single goal; perfection. A truly perfect Pokémon: one that was undefeatable, unconquerable and flawless in every aspect. One with no counters, no weakness and cannot be bested by any move or strategy. All of our plans have been centered around this vision."

"That's an impossible goal; no Pokémon can ever be considered perfect, as all of them have some weakness one way or another. Even the strongest of legendary Pokémon has one or two weaknesses. Besides, even if you manage to create this perfect Pokémon, what's stopping it from going out of control and devastating the region?" Natasha called out.

"You say that now, but we're made considerable progress to our goal. Delta Pokémon for instance; we figured that certain Pokémon can become stronger with a different type, different moves and different abilities. It worked, but not without consequences as you may know." The well-dressed man countered her argument. "Now we're trying something else; Mega Evolution."

"I've heard about this; it's a technique that empowers a Pokémon greatly should the bond between them and their trainer be at a high enough level. Mega Evolution requires two things; a Mega Ring and the Pokemon's special Mega Stone." Damian answered, with Reukra giving him a slow golf clap.

"Clever lad, someone's been hitting the books." He complimented the young teen. "Despite how common the technique is, scientists still don't understand how it works. We've been creating our own Mega Stones to gain an idea on how it could work, but we've yet to test it. If one of you battles Taen right now, we can analyze how our new Mega Stone works. Then we'll let your through to the Jade Tower."

"In that case, I accept your challenge. I should be able to defeat that creep easily!" Natasha declared, her Larvesta hopping out her arms and chirped loudly at the blue-haired man.

"Heh, this'll be easy. I'll crush that bug in a sec—eh?" Taen sneered, only to be silenced as he saw the Larvesta's body enveloped in a white glow, with Reukra taking a step back as he knew what was happening. It's body began to wrap and grow as it continued to glow, illuminating the dark lab with a wondrous light. Eventually, the glowing stopped, revealing that it had evolved into a Delta Volcarona. It's six black and purple wings flapped idly in the air, the top of its pitch-black body covered in purple fur as it's red eyes gazed at the blue-haired man, the body of the Apocalypse Pokémon enveloped in a purplish-black cloud of toxic gas.

"Taen, I say this to you as your leader, but act carefully around it. this thing…is no joke." Reukra advised caution to his second-in-command.

"It's just a big bug; my Machamp could easily crush this thing in an instant!" The blue-haired man retorted arrogantly, sending out his first Pokémon, as the Machamp flexed at its opponent in confidence. Almost immediately, the Machamp lunged at the Volcarona in an attempt to punch it, only for the latter to disappear in a wormhole at the last minute. This had caught the Superpower Pokémon off-guard, who began to search the nearby area for its opponent. Just a few moments later, the Volcarona emerged from a wormhole behind the Machamp and began flapping its wings quickly, creating a powerful gust that picked it up and sent it flying into a pile of boxes at the other end of the room. "B-But how?! My Machamp was trained specifically to resist Flying-Type attacks."

"There's a reason why I consider Delta Volcarona to be one of the strongest Delta Pokemon known to humanity." The well-dressed man reminded his companion, who growled as he recalled his Pokémon.

"Whatever. If I can't crush it, then perhaps I can burn it instead!" Taen seethed, opting to send out his Pyroar, who let out a quick roar at the large moth before it. Quickly taking to the skies the Volcarona began firing a barrage of sludge at its foe, with the lion nimbly dodging the onslaught before retaliating with a quick Flamethrower. The Apocalypse Pokémon countered with a swift gust of wind, causing the Pyroar to stagger before following up with a powerful Aura Sphere that sent it flying back several feet as it crumpled up onto the floor.

"Taen, the Mega Evolution…" Reukra reminded his subordinate, a growl escaping from his mouth as he recalled his Pyroar.

"Very well, I was hoping to use it anyway. Time for you to get a taste of Mega Stunfisk!" The blue-haired man called out, sending out his third Pokémon before pressing the Keystone on his Mega Ring as the Stunfisk was enveloped in a wondrous light. Soon enough, it broke free from the orb and let out an intimidating groan, it's body drastically different from before. It was now more elongated than before and had a pair of sizable fins near its face, it's yellow tail flapping side-to-side in the air.

"We don't know just how strong it is, so be careful…" Natasha warned her friend, the Volcarona letting out a quiet chip as it eyed up the Mega Pokémon before it. With a quick flick of its fins, the Stunfisk called forth a massive wave of muddy water, soaking the Apocalypse Pokémon with the dirty fluid as electricity crackled from its fins. It then called forth a wickedly powerful bolt of lightning that struck the moth head on, a chip of surprise escaping from its mouth as its body was assaulted by the devastating strike. However, it was able to persevere and break free from the attack, conjuring up a ball of twisted space and hurl it at the Stunfisk, sucking it up into an alternate dimension with the Volcarona slipping into it. Everyone present watched with bated breath, with Reukra keeping an eye on his computer to gain an accurate reading on what was going on, his eyebrows raised in intrigue. A few minutes later, the wormhole opened once more, with Volcarona gently placing the defeated Stunfisk on the floor, with Taen's jaw dropping in shock.

"Bu-bu-bu-but how?! How could my Mega Stunfisk lose to a bug?!" He exclaimed.

"That bug as you call it, has the ability to take unsuspecting Pokémon into it's personal dimension, where it spends a few minutes dishing out wave after wave of powerful attacks until it's enemy is knocked out. Keep in mind, it only uses this technique for foes it deems to be dangerous." Reukra answered, hopping off his computer as his subordinate recalled his Pokémon. "In any case, I must thank you for the data you provided. Here, I'll let you two have your own Mega Rings."

"Wow, really?!" Damian exclaimed, as the older man handed him and Natasha a Mega Ring each. "But what's in it for you? Why give us such a useful item for our adventure?"

"Those rings are connected to our computers; every time you activate it, the data from that battle gets sent to our computers. Don't worry, we're not spying on you if that's what you're worried about." He replied, gesturing towards a flight of stairs at the back of the base. "Those stairs should take you to the basement of the Jade Tower. I suggest you hurry up if you want to save your precious Augur."

"Don't worry, we'll be quick." Natasha replied, as she and Damian turned to walk up the stairs, but not before turning to face Reukra one more time. "Oh, and Reukra? One day, I'll challenge you to a battle. That day, my Volcarona will finally get revenge for what you did to it, and it will be a most memorable day indeed."

"We'll see about that young lady. We'll see about that…" Reukra replied calmly, watching the teens leave the base as he began thinking to himself. There was something about her that he found…interesting; that being how quickly she was able to bond with a Pokémon that, given the circumstances, would be distrustful of humans. Perhaps a bit of research on her background could shed some light on her and the air of mystery she radiated.

Sorry for the wait, but I got caught up in some other business. The battle at the end may have been a bit of a curb stomp, but I wanted to express just how powerful Delta Volcarona is. Thank you all for reading my story, I'll see you in the next chapter.

Acquired Delta Pokémon:

D. Ivysaur

D. Charmeleon

D. Blastoise

D. Dugtrio

D. Dwebble (Cake)

D. Graveler

D. Ambipom

D. Muk

D. Solosis

D. Scyther

D. Volcarona

D. Sunflora

D. Gardevoir (female)

D. Kirlia (Male)

D. Quagsire

D. Pichu

D. Deino

D. Pidgey

D. Golett

D. Plusle

D. Minun

D. Lotad

D. Heatmor