"Oh, thank goodness you're back! Tell me you got Missy back!" The woman cried. She was pacing back and forth on the trail with a worried expression on her face, and she had her phone out, looking as though she was prepared to call the police.

Oliver smiled, turning his gaze to Hoodlet. "You should thank Hoodlet. She's the one who stole it back from them."

Hoodlet proudly held up the pink Pokéball. The woman, crying tears of joy, grabbed Hoodlet and wrapped her in a bear hug.

Sure glad that isn't me, Oliver thought as Hoodlet was crushed by her embrace. Moira was giggling next to him, a guilty expression on her face.

She finally dropped the unfortunate lagomorph, who spun around a bit, woozy, trying to keep her balance. Holding the pink Pokéball in her hands, the woman threw it and the Pokémon within emerged.

Oliver and Moira has been pretty curious what this Pokémon was that she was so worried about. So imagine their shock at the sight of a Hydreigon . The two trainers doubled back and collapsed onto the ground, speechless at the sight of the tall, scary, three-headed, black and blue dragon being smothered in affection by the woman. Even more so that the Hydreigon seemed to be just as affectionate towards her as she was, it's three heads nuzzling against her.

"Okay… I think we're going to head out now, miss. Glad we could help!" Oliver said uncertainly to the woman, who didn't seem to notice as they got to their feet and made their way back to the Pokémon Center.

They were a few steps away when they heard the woman shout "Wait! I have something for you!"

They looked back as the woman walked up to them, the Hydreigon- evidently named "Missy"- following behind.

"It isn't much, but if you two are trainers, you might be able to use this." She held out a disc like the one Moira had received. It was a TM, though this one was a light brown color instead of the gray one Moira got.

"Thanks, miss. We're actually fighting the Gym Leader, Ricky, tomorrow. This might come in handy!"

"No, thank YOU for helping to get Missy back!"

Oliver put the disc in his bag and turned to Moira. "See? Helping people pays off."

"Yeah. All it took was for our lives to be in danger."

"Touché."


"We'll have your Pokémon healed in just a little bit, so just sit tight."

"Thanks!" said Oliver and Moira simultaneously. As they turned to the waiting area, Oliver made a double-take as he saw three people. One was a brown-haired trainer who looked about Lennon's age, one was a taller, gaunt, lean man in a trenchcoat, and the last one was-

"Hey, it's Scarlet!"

Moira turned to face them. "Who's she talking to?"

"I dunno. But we need to tell her about what happened."

"No arguments here."

They walked towards the three, and Scarlet noticed them approach and smiled. "Oh, you two! Fancy seeing you here!"

Oliver waved. "Scarlet! Who are your friends?"

"Oh, this is Spencer. He's a trainer taking the Gym Challenge, same as you." Her eyes flickered back to Looker, unsure if she should introduce him too.

Spencer offered a handshake, and Oliver took it. He then shook Moira's hand. "Nice to meet you both," Spencer said. Oliver wasn't sure, but he could've sworn he shook Moira's hand for a bit longer than him. Not to mention he definitely kept eye contact for longer.

Before he could ponder this, or ask who the other guy was, Moira spoke up. "Hey Scarlet! What happened to your phone? We tried calling you earlier."

"Oh, sorry about that. I haven't been able to charge it for a while…"

It was then that Oliver noticed something.

"Hey, Scarlet? Where's Cassandra? Don't you always keep her out of her Pokéball?"

"Well, there was an incident. I, uh, can't really talk about it, police were involved, but she's pretty beat up. So am I," she added, showing the bandage wrapped around her arm.

"You too? Small world."

Scarlet's eyes widened. "Something happened and you tried to call me? I'm sorry," she said, a little guilty. "What was it?"

"Well, we ran into these guys calling themselves Team Vortex-"

"Pardon?" Oliver and Moira both jumped. They honestly forgot the taller guy was even there. "You fought with Team Vortex as well, you say?"

"Oh, right. Guys, this is Looker. He's with the police. And Spencer is, uh, he's basically-"

"His informant," Spencer said, his voice low. "I'm actually doing police training. When this whole fiasco started, I went undercover and entered the Gym Challenge, so I could report back to Looker about any suspicious activity. This is my first case, actually!" He said, blushing as he scratched the back of his head.

"Oh, nice to meet you two- wait, 'as well?'" Oliver realized. "You fought them too?"

Looker rubbed his chin. "Truly fascinating… Once your Pokémon have recovered, let us continue this conversation elsewhere, where there are fewer ears."


The hotel room Oliver had checked out was small, so the five people felt a little cramped. There was one king-sized bed with off-green sheets, and the walls were an off-white color. Most of the furniture was back, including the desk that Looker had set a laptop on. Ralts was chilling on the bed, Joltik curled up near a lamp, asleep.

"So, lets start from the beginning. Who are Team Vortex?" Scarlet asked, petting Absol absently.

"Team Vortex started up about a decade ago. It was a small group of rogue Pokémon breeders and doctors," Looker explained. "They began by illegally distributing Pokémon born from illicit breeding practices, often bred using rare Pokémon that were either poached or stolen from other trainers."

"Now, most of their members were arrested in a sting operation a few years back," Spencer continued. "But one of their lead scientists, a man named Erwin Shelley, escaped arrest and disappeared."

On the laptop appeared a mugshot of a man with short, unkempt red hair and thick, rectangular glasses obscuring his yellow eyes. He appeared to be in his late 20s.

"The police did attempt to track them down and arrest him, but they believed that Team Vortex had died down," Looker said as he closed down the photos.

"But this past week, the tournament officials began to notice something… strange about a few of the competitors' Pokémon. They were unnaturally strong and fast, able to use attacks that should be impossible for them. And this-" Looker set the vial of liquid on the table. "Is the reason."

"You see, at first the police believed it was Cipher acting up, but it wasn't really their style to step outside of Orre," Spencer added, "but then one trainer got careless and his Pokémon was found to have its blood contaminated when the Pokémon Center treated it."

"That is where the International Police picked up the case," Looker said. "You see, this chemical bore a striking resemblance to a substance called R, which made the rounds at Ryme City a couple years ago. I'm sure you heard about the incident."

Oliver nodded. He had only heard the broad strokes of the incident- a bunch of parade floats were filled up with a gas that was released into the crowd that rendered the humans unconscious and made the Pokémon behave erratically- but the name Ryme City rang a bell.

"But we were confused by the fact that the affected Pokémon did not display the same uncontrollable behavior as those in the R Incident. Hopefully with this new sample, we may be able to figure out exactly what it does, and perhaps even trace it back to its source."

Looker took the vial back and put it in a pocket on his trenchcoat. Oliver, meanwhile, just thought, readjusting his glasses. "So that must have been what was in those cases…"

"Pardon, but what are you referring to?" Looker asked.

"Well," Moira explained, "We've run into a few trainers using some enhanced Pokémon, and they all had these small black cases with them."

"That's right," Scarlet said, eyes widening as the realization dawned on her. "Just a couple days ago, back in Neoshine…"


"They were CHILDREN, Sally, you didn't have to turn tail and run!" Cole muttered as the door before them opened.

"I said I was sorry!" Sally said for what was probably the 50th time as Cole stomped into the white room. It was full of various bits of medical equipment, along with a shelf covered in Pokéballs, each one labeled with the name of the Pokémon within, along with any other information.

At the back of the room was a large machine, which had a small receptacle at one end and some sort of projector at the other. Operating a control panel on the side was Erwin, who was mumbling to himself as he worked.

Cole held his hand towards Sally, expectantly. Sally quickly handed the pilfered fossil over to him and backed up a tad.

"Hey, what's up, doc?" Cole greeted, snapping Erwin out of his reverie.

"Ah, Cole! Welcome back. I take it the raid was an abject failure?"

Cole sputtered. "N-no it wasn't. Look, I got the fossil right here!" He said, handing it to the doctor.

"Ah, very nice…" Erwin said as he admired the specimen. "I merely assumed the worst, as the agent we sent after the witness has been taken into custody."

Cole's eyes widened. "He didn't have any Breakthrough on him, did he?"

"Afraid so," Erwin said as he inserted the fossil into the machine.

"Oh, this is bad," Cole said, trembling and sweating. "They'll be able to track down who has it, then they can trace it back to-"

"Calm down," Erwin said. "We still have time before Operation Halberd is ready to go into effect."

Sally stepped forward and whispered into Cole's ear. "What the heck is Operation Halberd?"

"I have no idea," Cole replied.

"But we do need to nip this little setback in the bud. Where'd the Distributor get off to?"

"I'm right here."

"GAH!"

Everyone in the room- Erwin, Cole, and Sally- jumped. They hadn't even heard the man walk in. Beneath his surgical mask, the Distributor smiled.

"Ah, that never gets old. Anyway, you needed me for something?"

"Yes," Erwin said. "One of our operatives was caught by the police and now they have access to a sample of Breakthrough."

"Well, that's a pickle now, isn't it?"

"Quite."

Cole looked back and forth between the scientist and the dealer incredulously. "How are you two so calm?!"

"Because by the time they figure out how to trace it," Erwin said calmly, "I'll have perfected an untraceable version of the serum. Think of it as a 'patched' version. And the Distributor here will be in Arryline to do what he's named for. Truth be told, its tendency to stick around in the bloodstream was always a design flaw that I've only recently managed to crack."

"But they still have a sample of the old version," the Distributor chimed in. "They could still find a way to counteract it."

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. In all likelihood," Erwin continued, "By the time they figure it out, it won't matter anymore. For now, we'll stick to the plan. Distributor, you'll have a stockpile of the new version by tomorrow. That's all for now. And Cole?"

"Y-yes?" Cole answered as the Distributor exited the lab.

"Go out and find more fossils. I can only get so much mileage out of this one Anorith. And please, try not to screw it up this time."

Cole nodded. "Can do." He turned to leave, then hesitated. "Why exactly did you need fossil Pokémon specifically?"

"That's none of your concern," Erwin said. "The specifics of Operation Halberd are on a strictly need-to-know basis for now. You'll have it explained to you once we're ready to proceed."

"R-right. Come on, Sally!" He said as he left the lab, the grunt following after him.

Left alone, Erwin chuckled as he prepared to revive the fossilized Anorith before him.

"If only you knew…"


"So if I understand this correctly, you believe they went after you specifically because you witnessed the deal?"

"That had to have been it. I don't know how they did, but they must have known."

Looker put a hand to his chin, thinking. "Then it is in your best interest that I place you under police protection immediately."

Scarlet nodded. "Sounds fair. As a witness, I'd like to help in the investigation if possible."

"Wh-what about us?" Moira pointed out before a Looker could respond. "We fought a couple members of Team Vortex ourselves, so they know who we are now. Won't they come after us?"

"That is a very good point, Moira," Looker said. "But I believe I have an idea. Spencer?"

"Sir?"

"I am officially assigning you as Oliver, Moira, and Scarlet's police escort."

Spencer's eyes widened. "Y-you can't be serious!" He said, less out of frustration and more out of shock.

"These trainers will, without a doubt, be targeted again during the Gym Challenge. You have a direct line to me, so I want you to send any of your findings straight to me, and call for backup when necessary.

"You held your own against a member of Team Vortex alongside someone who hasn't battled in years. So alongside two trainers who also performed well under pressure, I have faith in your abilities."

Spencer stood up straight, a look of pride on his face. "Th-thank you! I won't let you down!"

"Looks like our trio just became a quartet," Oliver said, Ralts voicing her own approval from her comfy spot on the bed.

"Aye, welcome aboard!" Moira said.

He turned to Moira, ignoring Oliver entirely. "Thanks for the warm welcome! I'm really looking forward to getting to know you better," he said, a charming smile on his face as he looked into Moira's eyes.

Oliver's eyes narrowed as he saw the way Spencer looked at her, the unfamiliar feeling of jealousy creeping in. A moment later his eyes widened.

W-wait, since when did I start feeling like this about Moira?

Then he remembered what happened earlier that day. How Moira had stood up to him against Amber, how she just let her have it both verbally and on the field of battle. He remembered just how mesmerized he'd been.

His expression returned to normal and he let out a small, barely audible sigh. I knew I should've made my move when I had the chance.

Ralts sat up, looking at him with concern. The boy watched Moira chatting it up with Spencer, probably comparing notes on their respective encounters with Team Vortex.

He simply looked down at the floor.

Oh, who am I kidding? It's not like she'd feel the same. She's my best friend but that's as far as she'd go.

"Oi, Oliver, you feeling okay?" Oliver jolted as he realized Moira was standing close to him, raising an eyebrow. "You don't look so good."

"O-oh yeah! It's fine. I'm fine. It's just… between the fight with Amber and the Team Vortex stuff, I'm just really exhausted and it's all kinda hitting me at once," he stammered. "I… think I'm gonna call it a day."

Moira nodded hesitantly. Spencer walked up to the two. "You sure? There's still daylight."

"No, I'm sure. Me and my team need to be well-rested for the Gym battle tomorrow."

Moira snapped her fingers. "That's right! I completely forgot! We're fighting Ricky tomorrow!"

Spencer nodded. "Well, if you're sure…" He turned towards Moira. "If you didn't have anything else planned, did you want to head out into town and do something?"

"Nah, Oliver's got the right idea. I think I'll take it easy for a bit," Moira said.

"Then that's settled," Looker said, packing up his laptop. "Spencer, I'll continue my own investigation while you make sure nothing happens to these witnesses."

"Yes sir," Spencer said.

As Looker walked out the door, Oliver perked up.

"Um, Looker, sir? I just remembered a small detail you might want to hear."

"Oh?" The man turned to face him. "What is it?"

"Me and Moira overheard those Vortex members talking, and if I understood it correctly… I think they're calling that stuff 'Breakthrough.'"


So this chapter's a bit heavy on the exposition but I needed to get it out of the way.

Next Chapter: Oliver faces off against Rokkraw's Gym Leader, Ricky!