The four walked into Stadium A's tunnel. The ceiling shook with the roars of the crowd and drowned out the echo of their footsteps. The waiting room lingered at the end of the path. Aurian was too nervous to eat or drink anything, so Ash took her share of bottled water and pre-packaged peanuts.
"Aren't these from Sinnoh Airlines?" Max asked, inspecting a bag.
Ash shrugged. "I think they're sponsors of the tournament. Can't lose an opportunity for branding, can we?"
The crowd roared ever louder, signaling the end of the battle above their heads.
"Blue, it looks like you're up first," Ash said, standing from his seat on the couch. "You got a plan for Misty?"
Aurian nodded. "Yeah. She uses water-types, so she'll be expecting me to come out swinging with either grass or electric types. I bet she'll have taught that Corsola of hers a few moves to knock Empoleon around. This'll be hard, but I'm ready. Any ideas on your end?"
"Nando gets distracted by flashy moves. I'll keep him off his toes and force him to use non-Contest strategies. That's all I have right now," Ash sighed. "I'm sure I'll come up with something before we head out."
Max smiled. "Hey, you two can do anything you set your mind to. Based on the crazy stunts I've seen you pull so far, I have complete faith in the fact that you can pull this off."
"I second that," Maddy piped in. "Sometimes the first strategy you find isn't always the best. Keep thinking on your toes."
Aurian paced the waiting room, pondering Maddy's cryptic advice, until she was summoned forward to the arena. Misty stood across the way, her familiar orange ponytail nervously bobbing up and down.
Grass field, the smaller patonai noted. I couldn't've asked for anything better than this. Misty can't pull any special water tricks here. This battle will be determined only by our tactical skills and I wouldn't have it any other way.
"Trainers, this is a single battle! You may use three Pokemon each with no healing items. Healing moves and berries, however, are legal. Choose your Pokemon!"
"Sharpedo!" Misty cried, sending out the dual-type.
Aurian carefully sized up the Sharpedo. His scales were strong but there was a certain lackluster glint in his eye. The signature dark-type gaze was missing, leaving the Pokemon imbalanced in power.
"Lucario, show them how it's done!"
Cass emerged from her Pokeball with a menacing growl.
Ma'am, this one has secrets. We'd best be on our guard, Cass said.
"Begin!"
"Earthquake!" Misty cried, a triumphant grin on her face.
Aurian grinned. "Cass, shield and prepare an Aura Sphere. Strike when ready."
The Lucario deftly dodged the Earthquake and kept herself aloft for just long enough to avoid the most damaging part of the attack. Cass started circling, almost dancing above the ground as she fired small attacks to gauge her opponent's strength.
"Incredible tactics from the Sinnoh Sharpshooter," Shauntal noted from the pressbox, "I've never seen such a graceful match!"
It is not graceful if it is life and death, Cass growled. How shall we end this, ma'am?
"Close Combat won't work because of Rough Scales... Keep your distance, Cass!"
Cass sighed, flipping out of the way of a Hydro Pump. Working on that, ma'am. Would a Dragon Pulse suffice to end this round?
Aurian's eyes widened as Cass accidentally took a hard hit from a Dark Pulse. "You okay?"
Cass stood up, brushed off her shoulders, and leapt into action, startling Misty out of her concentration.
"So strong," the youngest Waterflower said, awed. "Sharpedo, Surf! Flush her out!"
"Can't avoid that, put up a shield with one hand and charge a shot with the other. Wait for it," Aurian said, doing her best to encourage her new team member.
A powerful wall of water flooded the arena, forcing Cass' Aura Barrier to its limits. Granted, her reserves were currently split in half, but even half a shield did its job. The worst of the attack was diverted, giving Cass time to suspend a second sphere in her non-dominant hand.
"Close in for a Hydro Pump!" Misty cried, a grin stretching her face.
Aurian tucked a spare strand of hair behind her ear and braced for impact. "Perfect. Now!"
The Hydro Pump missed its target by less than a centimeter. Cass slid under the Sharpedo and fired off the Aura Sphere that she'd been charging the entire time. The attack detonated right in Sharpedo's face, creating a large explosion that obscured the field from view.
The Sinnoh Sharpshooter drifted into aura sight and saw that Sharpedo lay defeated on the ground, but not without taking a huge toll on Cass with a last-minute Explosion right before he fainted. The Lucario was breathing heavily but still standing as the smoke cleared, a sheen of sweat covering her coat.
"The winner of the first stage is Blue Katrian!" Shauntal yelled over the crowd.
Misty shook her head and recalled her Pokemon. "You're good, Blue, I'll give you that. I'm not done just yet. Azumarill, come on out!"
Aurian knew that the fuzziest and cutest member of Misty's team was by far the deadliest. The little puffball held a surprising reserve of energy for attacks, as previous battles showed. Azumarill was the only Pokemon that Misty used in her second round battle and he didn't seem the least bit fazed at the end.
You holding out okay, Cass?
The Lucario shook her head. I'm afraid not, ma'am. That Sharpedo brushed me a bit through my last approach and I'm more beat up than I originally thought. I'm going to go down against that Azumarill, that's a fact. I'm so sorry.
It's nothing to apologize for, Cass. We'll come up with a damn good strategy so you can still get some hits in.
"Begin State Two!" The referee cried, dashing back behind his bulletproof partition.
Aurian bit her lip, running through the plans that she and Ash had devised for similar situations.
"Charge a sphere," she said, clenching a fist. "Keep a defensive eye on the little one."
Misty smiled. "Scald!"
The beam of water very nearly hit Cass between the eyes, but the Lucario dived at the last possible second, leaving Aurian to nonchalantly move to the side to avoid the attack.
"Superpower!" Misty cried. "She can't get away now!"
"Cass, infuse the sphere with Dragon Pulse!"
Audible gasps rose up from across the stadium as Cass started pooling a smaller sphere of purple energy in her left hand, combined it with her right, and blasted it towards the water-type with much effort.
The two Pokemon collided, their attacks erupting into a bright white light. Aurian threw her arm over her eyes and peeked out to see Azumarill heavily damaged and battle-worn and Cass unconscious on the ground.
"The score is tied!" Steven announced with shock still eminent in his voice. "This is the first Pokemon we've seen Blue lose, how will she react?"
Aurian nodded and returned her newest team member. "You fought bravely, friend. This wasn't your fight. However..."
The Sinnoh Sharpshooter paused to evaluate her situation.
"Dragonair!"
The leviathan emerged from its Pokeball with nary a peep, letting his intimidating form work its magic.
Misty gulped at her new opponent. The Lucario was powerful, but this Dragonair was unlike anything she'd ever seen before- a seemingly perfect mix of powerful and majestic that rivaled Cynthia's Milotic.
"Dragon Dance!" Aurian cried.
The Dragonair rose up a few feet and started spinning, engulfing itself in a harsh green-purple light.
"Azumarill, Thief!"
Aurian shook her head as the water-type rushed her dragon. She knew this was a potential outcome but didn't expect Misty to go for the stats steal from the get-go.
"Thunderbolt!"
The lightning connected squarely with Azumarill, sending it plummeting to the ground and knocking it out.
Misty sighed and returned her cornerstone.
"I really hoped I wouldn't have to do this, but... Gyrados!"
The water dragon emerged with a bellow that made Aurian readjust her footing.
Maddy gasped from the trainee box, growing worried for her mentor.
"Damn. Dragonair, prepare to defend yourself!"
Misty smiled. "Gyrados, Dragon Tail!"
The light blue dragon went in for the kill, swinging its glowing tail around with pinpoint accuracy.
"Thunder Wall!" Aurian cried, crossing her fingers that Dragonair would remember how he pulled out an impossible victory during their first round through Kanto.
The smaller dragon summoned a rotating barrier of thunder and cloaked itself in it, rebounding Gyrados towards its trainer.
Misty and Aurian locked eyes and nodded.
"Hyper Beam!"
The stadium went deadly quiet as the dragons charged each other, iridescent beams surrounding their bodies. When the smoke cleared, Dragonair breathed heavily but his job was done, the Gyrados unconscious on the floor.
"The winner of the first battle of round four is Blue Katrian!" Shauntal yelled, struggling to make herself heard.
The two female trainers approached the center of the field for a handshake.
"That was a well-deserved win," Misty said, switching out the handshake for a hug. "We'll talk more about this later, yeah?"
Aurian nodded, returning the action. "Sounds like a plan. Thank you. I promise I'll win this tournament or die trying, Misty."
The two plus Maddy exited together, passing Ash in the tunnel.
"Great battle, you two," he said, hugging each of them in turn, doing his best to ignore Misty's blush.
"Thanks, Red!" Aurian said with a grin. "Do your worst on Nando. He won't know what's coming."
Misty saw through the smile that Red put up as he and Max left the waiting room.
Ash and Max entered the battlefield to roaring applause.
"Go get'em, Red!" Max yelled as he went to his trainee box.
Ash nodded and took his place on the battlefield.
"Pika, I'm hoping I don't have to use you today but get yourself ready just in case."
Pikachu nodded solemnly. He'd do whatever he could to keep his trainer's hopes and dreams alive, even if that meant a sacrificial Volt Tackle.
Nando emerged with a flourish of his cape and an excerpt of the League Song on his harp. A small section of fangirls sporting hats similar to his screamed and cheered from about five rows up.
"Trainers, choose your Pokemon! This is a three-on-three single battle with no substitutions or healing items."
Nando considered the battlefield, still damaged from Aurian's battle, and summoned a beautiful Altaria.
Ash gritted his teeth. He didn't want to open with Pika but that was the most logical choice.
"Pika, you're up!" he said, readjusting his shoulders as his starter leapt forward, his cheeks crackling with power.
"Begin!"
"Perish Song!" Nando cried with an unnecessary flourish.
The Altaria rose up and began to sing a chilling melody. Pikachu closed his ears and continued to circle his opponent, waiting for an opening.
Crap, that was completely unexpected, Ash thought with an internal groan. He set his watch to count down from three minutes. I've got three minutes to finish up this round or I'll fall into the trap that he's set up of using Perish Song on every Pokemon I have. But how... he's weak to Electric but, knowing Nando, he'll have come up with a compensation of some sort.
"Thunder Tail!"
Pikachu charged his energy into his tail, took a running leap, and catapulted himself onto the back of his opponent, his tail cutting through the Altaria's cloud-like fur to make a devastating hit. The two fell to the ground, Pikachu tucking and rolling upon impact to minimize damage.
Two minutes and twenty-three seconds. "Pika, go in for a Thunder!"
Nando smiled. "Earthquake!"
Ash grimaced as chunks of rock erupted from the ground and hurtled towards his friend.
"Use the rocks to your advantage, keep charging!"
Pikachu internalized his energy and rocketed forward, leaping from rock to rock with admirable ease. Eventually the attack ceased and he let loose a mighty thunderbolt that Raikou would've been proud of.
Ash glanced at his watch. Thirty-three seconds and that Altaria was still standing, albeit a little shakily.
"Dragon Pulse!" Nando ordered. A dark purple energy began to gather around the beak.
Everything comes down to this attack, Ash thought. "Pika, Charge and Volt Tackle!"
Pikachu gave everything he had to strengthening his last attack. The two Pokemon met in a song of dragons and desperate electricity...
Ash winced as Pikachu took the hit and watched carefully as the two opponents landed, each worn to their very limits. Finally, after a long while, Altaria cried a swan song and passed out right at the three minute mark, Pikachu close on its heels.
"The first stage is a draw! Trainers, choose your next Pokemon!" Lance said.
Nando shook his head as he withdrew Altaria and sent out Heracross.
Pikachu dragged himself back to Ash, who passed his starter off to Max.
"Pidgeot!"
The flying-type emerged with a piercing screech...
Misty, Aurian, and Maddy tracked down Brock, Michael, and Noah in the stands.
"Great battle, you two," Brock said, shaking both the trainers' hands. "I'm seriously impressed. Blue, how's Red holding up?"
Aurian frowned at the field. "He normally would've dispatched of that Altaria a bit quicker but my best guess is that he wanted to be thorough, especially since he picked Pikachu to start out with. I haven't seen him do that in a very long time, not counting the first few battles of this tournament. Red means business."
Misty crossed her arms and stared wistfully at the field, a little shaken at Blue's use of the word "dispatch". Max cradled Pikachu to his chest as he screamed for Red, bringing back unwanted memories of the good old days.
"Looks like he's evenly matched with that Heracross," Michael noted. "I haven't seen a Pokemon on Pidgeot's level since Red and Blue sparred the last time I saw them in person."
Aurian grimaced as Pidgeot took a huge hit. Ash's aura started to grow a bit haywire with his stress, she noted, and she prayed that he'd find the time to transfer just a bit of it to the empty space in his arrowhead between battles.
"Why's he so nervous?" Misty asked. "Doesn't seem like Red would have a reason to be, you know?"
Blue nodded. "You're right. We're used to high stakes battles but this is a whole new level and we have a lot riding on these next few rounds. We made promises to people back home that we'd do our best to get through the Melee round and I know Red really wants to live up to those expectations, along with those of his own. We haven't competed in a single League Competition in three years, so this is also a great chance to judge improvement."
"Isn't Orre technically a League Province?" Maddy asked.
Michael frowned. "Yes and no. The paperwork's still being filed and the general population is yet to take a vote on whether or not to join the League, but everything is turning in the League's favor. The Coliseum battles there don't officially count in League Records."
Aurian turned her gaze back towards the field, where Ash ordered a massive Brave Bird to finish off the bug-type. Nando quickly pulled a third Pokeball and released the Pokemon inside.
"Since when does Nando have a Shedinja?" Brock asked with surprise.
"Red's in trouble," Maddy said, "Shedinja are notoriously hard to beat."
Ash reached for a specific Pokeball on his belt and Aurian winced in response.
"Everything okay, Blue?" Misty asked.
Aurian shook her head. "No. I know what Red's about to unleash on that battlefield, and the result won't be pretty."
"Unleash?" Brock asked. "What on earth do you mean?"
"He's pulling an Unlisted. Red isn't taking any chances with this."
"Charizard!" Ash bellowed, releasing his lynchpin onto the field.
Nando's eyes widened as he took in the full appearance of his opponent. The dragon was absolutely massive- seven feet tall, an eight foot wingspan- and threw a definite shadow over his small Shedinja.
"And Red pulls his first Unlisted of the Tournament! What could the Crimson Menace have up his sleeve?" Lance asked.
"I'm not sure," Steven answered, "but I can't wait to see!"
"Shadow Sneak!" Nando said, utterly abandoning all contest tactics.
The bug Pokemon vanished from ordinary sight. Ash took a deep breath and quietly passed his commands onto his ace fire-type, who took to the air and waited.
Nando nodded and Shedinja appeared from nowhere, rushing the dragon.
"Counter Shield!" Ash cried.
Charizard spun through the air, generating entwining strands of fire that surrounded the dragon like a demented pinwheel. Shedinja barely had enough time to dodge.
"Close call!" Lance hissed.
Ash grit his teeth. "Halt, go on the defensive. Get ready."
Those last two words were music to Charizard's ears, and he started preparing his most powerful attack to use at a later point.
"Sandstorm!" Nando nervously clutched onto his harp.
Shedinja vanished within a cloud of debris. Ash tracked the ghost once again, watching it hover in the air fifteen feet to Charizard's right.
"Phantom Force!"
Ash grinned. "Meet it head-on."
Nando stared at Ash as their Pokemon collided. Charizard maneuvered around on top of the ghost and opened his maw, releasing a devastating Blast Burn.
Shedinja hit the ground with a sickening thump, soundly defeated.
"Kanto's Crimson Menace comes out victorious once again!" Lance cried. Ash and Nando shook hands and returned out their respective doors.
"Here's Pikachu," Max said, delicately handing over Red's starter. "That was absolutely incredible. I don't know how you managed to pull that victory out from under Altaria's nose."
Ash grinned as he used a Full Restore on Pikachu, who sleepily climbed onto his shoulder. "I'll admit, that was luck. I didn't know if Pikachu could generate enough power to break through the Earthquake and knock out Altaria at the same time. I'm proud of you, little buddy."
"Chaa," Pikachu sighed, nuzzling Ash's neck.
Max smiled. "Come on, we need to find the others. They're probably waiting on us."
"That was astounding," Brock said. "I've never seen anything like that. You two are definitely on a whole new level. Teach us your ways!"
Ash laughed. "Thank you, Brock. I didn't know how that first stage was going to turn out."
"Who cares?" Max replied. "We have two of the Top Twenty sitting with us, we need to go celebrate that!"
"Seconded," Blue said over the roar of her stomach. "Lunch on us?"
The group headed towards the Center, where the patonai were met with quite a bit of cheers and even more staring.
"Before we enter, I need to talk to you two," Michael muttered, pulling Ash and Aurian aside.
Ash frowned. "What's up?"
"I've got some bad news," Michael said, passing over two neatly folded sheets of paper to the patonai.
"What's this?" Aurian opened the letter. "It's a screenshot of a website."
"We don't do technology," Ash said. "Translation?"
Michael gulped. "This is from Rocket. We found something in their databases that doesn't look good. MissingNO is complete. Rocket plans on releasing him a week from today."
Ash's eyes blazed an aura blue so intense that Aurian took a step back.
"During the Championship Battle? Think of all the people that could become collateral..." Ash muttered.
"That's it," Aurian said. "All of the world's most powerful trainers will be here for that battle, right? What better way to wipe out your opposition than all at once?"
"Does Lance know?" Ash asked, ignoring the sinking feeling in his chest. "This is definitely a priority."
"You're technically the team leaders on this Op, I think you should be the one to break the news," Michael said, running his hands through his spiky hair. "Lance would take it better from you."
Aurian nodded. "Understood. Should we bring these papers to him?"
"Commander wants you at base in ten. What do you want me to do now?" Michael asked.
Ash frowned. "I do have a new objective for you, but it's completely optional. I don't want you getting too far involved in this since you're so young..."
"Red, look at me. I'm sixteen- two years older than you were when you went on your first mission to save the world from Galactic. I think I'm capable of this," Michael said, crossing his arms.
"I'm sorry I phrased it that way, I didn't mean that," Ash said, raising his hands. "Okay, here's our mission for you. We want you to track Tobias."
"Track? How?"
Aurian bit her lip. "We want you to find every single piece of information you can on where he's been, what he's done, who he's been spotted with. Find info on his team, we need video footage. That Darkrai is a Shadow."
Michael paled, flashing back to tougher times in Orre. "Are you freaking serious?"
"And we'll be dead if he finds out that we know," Ash replied. "That's all, Michael, we'll head over to HQ now. See you tonight at the rest of the battles?"
Michael nodded. "Yeah, can do. Let me boot up my systems and see what I can dig up. Want me to toss the group a red herring on this? Say you've been summoned to a Top Twenty meeting or something like that?"
"That'd be greatly appreciated," Aurian said, patting Michael on the shoulder. "Thank you."
The Orre native trudged away from the patonai.
"I know we need to go fill Lance in on this, but now, of all times?" Ash sighed. "We'd better get moving. Michael never specified if this was plainclothes or not, right?"
Aurian shrugged. "No specification probably means formal. We've gotta move if we're gonna make this on time."
Ash released his Gallade and the two teleported to Headquarters, where they were met with much more activity than usual.
"Looks like Lance wasn't kidding when he said that he'd pull most of the Regional troops back to start working on operations here," Aurian whistled. "I don't think I've ever seen this many people in this base at one time."
"Yeah. It's kind of unreal," Ash said, running to his locker and grabbing his formal uniform. "We've got time to change but I need your help with this damn cape..."
Aurian laughed as she darted behind a partition. "I've got you, no worries. I'm not bothering with hair at this point, they'll have to deal with me breaking regulation to get to the meeting on time..."
Ash pulled up his pants and tossed his jacket on over his undershirt. "You can fix it on the way, right?"
"It's not that simple," Aurian said. "Buns are hard."
"We have bigger things to worry about," Ash said, adjusting his cravat, brushing a bit of dust off of his captain's insignia, and polishing his name badge. "You almost ready? I need a hand."
Aurian emerged from behind the partition, pulling her right boot on. "Ready."
The patonai sprinted down a long hallway soon after that, racing against the clock to make their meeting on time.
"That was cruel of Michael to call this on us with such short notice," Ash said as Aurian finished fiddling with his cape. "Granted, the fate of the world hangs in the balance with how fast we can solve this problem but... ten minutes? Seriously? That'd be pushing it even for Riley, and he's never late for anything. Ever."
Aurian shook her head. "No time to think about that, we're here."
The door swung open at Ash's fingerprint to reveal the Council's meeting room. Lance, Riley, Steven, Drake, Flint, Drayden, Wallace, and Koga sat behind a long table, their shadows dancing nervously along the walls.
"Welcome, Captains. We understand there's been a situation," Koga said.
Ash nodded. "Yes, sir- one of our Lieutenants, Michael, successfully hacked into Rocket systems and stumbled upon a release date for the glitch Pokemon MissingNO."
"How much time do we have?" Flint asked.
"One week, sir," Aurian said. "MissingNO is scheduled to be released on November 30th, the day of the Championship Battle in the Global Invitational Grand Tournament."
Wallace paled. "I understand your panic, Lance. What are we going to do?"
Lance sighed. "We know that MissingNO is currently in the New Island Laboratory that Captains Ketchum and Borealis infiltrated just a few days ago. As of this moment, we have no evidence that the ethics patch that Captain Borealis successfully planted worked."
Aurian bit her lip. "Pardon my interruption, sir, but did Giovanni himself nearly catch us for nothing?"
"Yes and no," Steven said, speaking over the whispers filling the room. "The risk in running the patch that you delivered is that it won't bind to the existing code properly. Considering that the technology division was running off of fragments instead of a consistent sample, there's about a seventy percent chance of the ethics patch working as it should."
"What are our further instructions?" Ash asked. "I do apologize for rushing the meeting but we can't stay too long without blowing our covers, Commanders."
"Your further instructions are to proceed as you have been doing so far," Lance said, drumming his fingers on the table. "Captains, you've been doing a remarkable job at both running reconnaissance and winning your battles. Please keep up your streak, I'd love to see you two make it past the melee round."
"Also," Drake said, his mustache twitching, "do you have any ideas on the identities of the Rocket moles?"
Aurian nodded. "We have a suspicion but nothing to support it. Everything we have is off of gut feelings."
"Better than nothing," Riley said, "and your gut feelings have an incredible tendency to be right, Captain Borealis."
"We believe that Tobias Langley is one of the moles. Again, this is pure suspicion but we'll do our best to find evidence to back up our claim," Ash said, crossing his arms. "Also, Commander, we have two questions for you..."
"Go on," Lance replied.
"Tobias Langley is in possession of a Shadow Pokemon," Ash said. "How do we deal with this?"
The room went silent.
"It can't be," Riley said, his face losing all color. "It's the Darkrai, isn't it?"
"That we know of," Aurian said, clenching a fist so hard she felt fingernails pierce her skin. "There is a possibility that there are more."
"Damn it all to hell," Lance gripped the table. "This is a serious claim you're making, Captains. We'll get some Admin people on filling out the proper paperwork for this. Is there any way you can expose this at some point?"
"It'd take careful planning but we should be able to make that shadow aura visible to the general public if we time everything right," Ash replied.
"I can confirm," Riley said. "I'll start devising a plan."
"Excellent," Lance said. "Question two?"
Aurian gulped. "We have reason to believe that Max Maple, Brock Harrison, and Misty Waterflower are close to figuring out who Ash is and dismantling his cover. How should we approach this?"
"If, for some unforseeable reason, they deduce everything correctly," Riley said, "You are to bring them here for a debriefing, where Lance and I will handle the rest. As long as it is they that figure it out and not you who explicitly tells them, no disciplinary action will be taken."
Lance nodded. "Understood. Captains, you are free to go. There is one more thing we'd like you to do before you leave, if you are willing."
"Sir?" Aurian asked.
"We have a few new Probationary Cadets that would benefit from a bit of motivation on your end," Riley said. "We're not sure where we'll place them as of yet but they've heard rumors of your escapades. We figured you'd like the opportunity to clear the rumors out and replace them with truth."
Ash nodded. "Yes sir, we'll do so. Take us there."
Riley stood and led the patonai across the base. "This class is made up of four, age ranging from nineteen to twenty-six. Their names are Carlton, Smith, Fredric, and Patterson."
"All men?" Ash asked.
"Yes," Riley confirmed, "all men. One of the reasons we called you here was to prove to them that yes, youngsters like you can find their place and succeed at an early age."
"Since I'm here..." Aurian trailed off. "Does that mean that they're doubting that a girl can be an effective member of the G-Men, too?"
Riley put his hands up. "They're all under the impression that Aurian is a boy's name. We're here, Captains, go prove them wrong. Wait... Ash, how long have you had those contacts in?"
Ash frowned. "Two weeks? Maybe a bit more?"
"That explains what I'm seeing," Riley said. "Those contacts contain specially-engineered aura blockers. The power that you're starting to display is wearing the blockers thin. I have a new pair, take out the old and put the new in after the meeting."
Ash nodded, pocketing the new lenses that Riley passed over. "Aurian, how do my eyes look?"
"Honestly?" Aurian asked, a grin tugging at the corners of her mouth. "Terrifying. Three quarters blue, one quarter auburn. You're almost there, Ketchum, I'm giving you about six more days before your eyes go completely blue."
"Seriously?" Ash said with glee, checking his reflection in a mirror hanging nearby. "Holy crap. You weren't kidding."
Only a ring of auburn around Ash's pupils remained, the rest of his eyes burned a signature aura blue.
"We'll look like true patonai soon!" Aurian said with a smile. "Come on, we have probationaries to encourage."
Ash nodded and opened the door to find the four Cadets taking a late dinner.
"Cadets?" Aurian asked.
The four men looked up from their meals and stared at the patonai.
"Who're you?" the oldest man asked, crossing his arms. Ash squinted at his nametag and made out "Fredric."
Ash stood a little taller. "Armada Captains Ketchum and Borealis."
"No way in hell you two are captains," a second probationary said. "What are you, eighteen?"
Aurian grinned. "Seventeen, actually, but that's beside the point. Lance sent us to come talk with you guys and ask how you're doing. Captain Ketchum and I have gone through the entire process and have judged a few candidates ourselves. If you have any questions, now's the time to ask."
"How old were you when you joined?" the youngest- Patterson- asked.
Ash bit his lip. "Fourteen, though that was under extenuating circumstances."
"How extenuating?" Smith asked.
"We were here on asylum before we gained membership. That should tell you enough," Aurian said.
Carlton whistled. "Damn."
Ash laughed. "It was rough, but we pulled through. What stage of evaluation are you all in?"
"Had battle exams today. We get a day off tomorrow and they pick up with interviews the day after that. Combat exams are last, then we wait for our letters," Patterson said. "I don't understand how you guys got through this at fourteen."
"There are days where I wonder how we did it, too," Aurian said with a shrug. "But he family you find here is unlike anything else you will ever find, I swear on it. Before the G-Men, I was an angsty little thing caught in a custody battle over my brother."
Ash snorted. "It's true, boys, she'd snark at everyone and fume about it for days afterwards."
"Shut up, Ash," Aurian said, whacking her patonai's shoulder, "but it's true. G-Men is hard but so incredibly worth it. Keep on working. Captain Ketchum and I would love to work with you all in the future."
The cadets nodded and saluted their superiors as they walked out the door towards the locker room.
"Was I really that snarky?" Aurian groaned, changing back out of her uniform.
Ash nodded. "Teenaged angst personified. I think we both cried more that month than we did before we enlisted."
"Do you ever wonder what would've happened if we hadn't joined Lance and the G-Men?" Aurian asked, coming out from behind her partition.
"After Lance, isolation under Lorelei would've been our best bet. Maybe ghost training with Agatha or an apprenticeship under Surge?"
Aurian motioned to her eyes to remind Ash of his contacts. "Isolation would've been absolute hell."
"And this wasn't?" Ash asked, returning with newly crimson eyes. "We both nearly died within our first month, added several more close calls after that, broke bones, gained a crapton of scars, burned all kinds of bridges, left our families back home hanging."
"But we gained a family out of the Armada and I wouldn't trade that for the world," Aurian said, running her fingers over a faded set of scars on her shoulder that wrapped all the way around her torso in a webbed pattern.
"How close do you think Max and company are to figuring things out?"
Ash frowned. "I'd say fairly close. If they get the right details out of us I think they'll have it before the competition ends."
"What happens then? Do we stay or no?"
"I vote we stay. If we take them back here and get Lance to explain everything we should be able to finish the mission relatively unscathed. The world is definitely more important than my old friends figuring out who we are," Ash finished. "Come on, we need to go back. I bet they're looking for us."
Aurian nodded and the two teleported back to the clearing in which they were first attacked at the GIGT.
"Was it really a good idea to come back here, of all places?" Ash asked, returning Gallade to his Pokeball and starting the long trek back to the Center, where they were due to meet the rest of the group for dinner.
Aurian checked over her shoulder, her eyes glowing. "We're clear for now. If I feel anything coming, you should too, but I'll let you know."
"Gotcha. Should we try to research the other members of the Top 20?"
"Not a bad idea," Aurian answered. "I bet that's where the others are, probably looking for information on us."
Ash nodded. "I know for a fact that Wallace and Steven did a bit of meddling in our files when we were assigned the mission. They switched around all of our travel dates and orders except the regions we started in and Orre, along with that second trip to Johto. They can't track us that way."
"News clippings," Aurian said. "If we pop up in any of those that look contrary to our League Records, they'll get suspicious."
"Not that they aren't already," Ash said with a groan from Aurian. "We'll be okay. If for some strange reason we're outed to the general public, it's been long enough for people to be suspicious of the League's sudden ruling against the two of us. Doubt is our greatest weapon here; we need to start making good use of it. Looks like we're here, let's track down the rest of the group."
The patonai entered the Center and followed the signs to the computer lab, where Brock, Max, Misty, and Maddy sat around a group of two desktops, keys clicking as they frantically searched for more information.
"Hey guys, what are you up to?" Aurian asked, slipping into a chair next to Maddy.
"We were trying to find more information on Tobias," Max said, completely oblivious to the fact that Ash knew they were lying, "but we haven't had a lot of luck."
Ash smiled, knowing he had Max cornered. "You can be honest and say that you were looking for data on us. We don't mind."
The four lost all color in their faces. The patonai took in everyones' surprised expressions and laughed.
"It's all right, I promise it's okay with us," Aurian said. "Here. Red, you dig up info on Tobias, I'll pull up our official League records for these four to view."
Ash pulled up the Sinnoh travel database and entered Tobias' name and League ID while Aurian did the same for herself and her patonai.
"See?" she said, hitting enter and watching a comparison of the two trainers come up, "nothing crazy here. Just your standard Four Great Regions Tour plus Orre for Red and the Fifth Circuit tour plus Orre for me."
Ash frowned at his screen. "Tobias, however..."
Misty scooted a little closer to the black-haired trainer and squinted. "What's up, Red?"
Aurian peeked over her patonai's shoulder. "Those travel dates... Red, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"Yeah. Those dates exactly match up with the major Rocket, Magma and Aqua, and Galactic uprisings. The Syndicates combined have been causing trouble for the League for about seven years now, which is about the time when Blue and I left on our journeys. Misty, that was about the time you set out too, right?"
Misty nodded, trying to push all memories of journeying with Ash out of her head. "That sounds about right. Brock, do the Hoenn dates look right?"
Brock nodded. "Yeah, those are exactly right. Still, all of this could be completely coincidental and an extreme case of wrong-place-wrong-time. Can you two prove that he's connected somehow?"
"You know how we needed to go find Michael after Tobias' battle?" Aurian asked.
The group nodded. Max's stomach dropped to his toes at Aurian's words.
"Yeah..." Maddy trailed off. "Did he find something interesting?"
"More like terrifying," Ash muttered under his breath. "Michael, as you all know, was unfortunately caught up in Cipher's attempt to take over Orre using Shadow Pokemon. As a result, he's the best in the world at identifying Shadows."
"Is this leading where I think it's leading?" Misty asked, crossing her legs.
Aurian nodded. "Unfortunately so. We have substantial evidence to prove that Tobias Langley's Darkrai is indeed a Shadow Pokemon, which is an illegal entry into any League Competition."
"What now?" Max asked.
Ash sighed. "It puts us in a quandary. Michael, Blue, and I can't report this without explaining why Michael has his Aura Reader on him or how he managed to get the required backup confirmation from a third party source of information. I know for a fact that Tobias would go after whoever disqualified him for this with a vengeance and that's something that we'd especially like to avoid."
"So you're stuck," Misty said. "We'll all lose either way."
Aurian grinned. "Not quite. Red and I have been sorting through our playbooks to figure out different strategies to defeat Darkrai and the rest of Tobias' team whenever we face him. We've got ideas. Are you really doubting us this early in?"
"Still," Maddy said, "look at this team listing."
"Darkrai, Latios, Heatran, Spiritomb, Salamence, and unlisted... unlisted?" Max said. "I thought you were supposed to list your team whenever you registered for the tournament?"
"You're only required to register who you have on you, not who you plan to bring in to help you out once the competition gets tough," Ash said. "That's our problem. Granted, Blue and I have a few Unlisteds ourselves but we're keeping those secret until the time is right."
"Well, we were," Aurian shrugged. "Then you brought out that Charizard of yours..."
"Suddenly I've lost my appetite," Brock sighed. "I was about to suggest dinner, but how about we head back to the campsite? I'd feel better talking about this in a more secure location."
Aurian slipped away from the campsite once the group got there with the excuse that she had to call her little brother, which was partially true- she needed to call Matt and check on him. Her other call was to Lance... he had to know what they'd found.
Lance first, she thought. It'd be highly likely that her friends would come check on her after about nine minutes, which was more than enough time to get her message across.
Aurian plugged her headphones in and hit the first speed dial.
"Commander?" she asked as his image came up on the screen.
Lance nodded. "Good to see you, Captain. Have you found any information concerning the debriefing you gave us earlier?"
"We have, sir. I've included everything Red and I managed to dig up in a separate email. Looks like Langley's travel dates perfectly coincide with all Syndicate rebellions against the League."
"Perfectly?" Lance asked.
Aurian nodded. "Yes. Either he was too cocky about anyone not noticing to change them or someone he's associated with didn't see the need to change them. I don't think anyone would've put two and two together on that one."
"Understandable. Is that all?"
"I'm sorry I didn't request permission to use my newest team member before the battle today," Aurian said. "I didn't know what the policy was on that so I went for it."
"Did you have any time to talk strategy with Cass before you started?"
She shook her head. "No, we didn't. I judged her capabilities and started making plans on the fly."
Lance whistled. "Even more impressive. You raised hell on that battlefield today, Captain, and I'm proud of how far you've come. I'll let you go, thank you for the information. See you soon."
Aurian smiled as she hung up and quickly switched the line over to Matt, unplugging her earbuds as she went.
A clearly fuming Matt appeared on the screen, his long hair no more.
"Everything okay over there, brother?" Aurian asked.
Matt groaned. "Look what Dad did to my hair! Isn't it dreadful?"
"You should've seen Red after his first regulation haircut. That's nothing, man. How are things back home?"
"Crazy but good," Matt said. "Are you gonna be home in time for my birthday next week?"
Aurian bit her lip. "I don't know. We are getting closer to finishing up here but I don't know what I'll need to do after the Tournament to help clean up. Tell you what- if, for some strange reason, I can't be home for your birthday, I'll meet you for lunch outside of a city of your choice right after you start. Red can come too, if you'd like."
Matt grinned. "That'd be awesome!"
Aurian smiled, knowing how much Matt loved her patonai like an older brother. "Is Atticus doing okay?"
"I think so. He's been watching you two compete. He seemed pretty impressed with that last victory of yours. Crushing the Trip Heights in two minutes flat? Never thought I'd see that happen, like, ever."
"Glad to hear. Tell him hello for me," Aurian said. "I've gotta get back to my friends but I'll call you soon, okay?"
Matt nodded and waved goodbye, the screen going black soon afterwards.
"Damn, I miss the little guy," Aurian said, moving back towards the campsite, where the group sat around a fire undoubtedly created by Ash's Typhlosion. The smell of half-burnt s'mores wafted through the air, turning the Sinnoh Sharpshooter's stomach.
"So all of a sudden," Misty said with a smile, "Entei comes out of nowhere, breaks the Unown's spell, gets all of us out of the Hale Mansion, and vanishes trying to save us all."
"Whoa," Maddy gasped. "So the Entei was really just created by the Unown? Nothing more than an illusion?"
"Yeah. It was terrifying at the time but an absolutely incredible experience looking back on it," Brock said. "I think the immediate threat of dying kind of cancelled out the cool factor."
The group laughed at Brock's description of events.
Max knew that this was his chance to see if Red was truly Ash. How to do it, though? Red wouldn't give up any of his background information without a fight... wait...
"Hey, Ash, what was the craziest battle you've ever been in?" Max asked.
In the end, the three makeshift detectives of the group decided to go for a subtle approach. If Red really was Ash, he'd respond immediately to Ash based on familiarity with his surroundings. If Red was not Ash, he'd question why Max called him the wrong name and Max could gain a new bit of information and possibly another lead.
Misty's eyes widened when she heard Max go in for the capture. This was it...
"You'd have to define crazy. There was a League battle a few years back when..." Ash trailed off at his trainee's floored reaction and realized exactly what he'd done.
"Crap."
(A/N): Hey there, and thank you so much for reading Chapter 17 of Primary! It's review response time!
thechinskyguy: Glad to have you back on board, friend. This chapter wouldn't be the same without all of your help and I'm so thankful for that.
Natey514: They're a good match as friends, nothing more. You'll find out why within the next four chapters.
LoveLikeIDo: Still not happening, but I appreciate the advice. That haircut'll come soon enough.
Guest: There will be a few in the end, but I'm not saying which. That ruins the surprise!
Thank you all so so much! Don't forget to leave a review! Tell me what I'm doing right, tell me what I'm doing wrong, tell me what you like, tell me what you don't. I love hearing from you all and it really makes my day.
PL, signing off!