Pokémon: Hoenn Travels.

-The Important Stuff:-

1) I am not at all affiliated with Game Freak nor Nintendo, or any other companies that write/produce Pokémon.

2) I do not own any part of Pokémon.

-A Waiver:-

1) This is not a direct steal from anything already Pokémon-related that exists, not the show or a game or a novel/book. It is my own creation, therefore I may bend the rules a little bit to fit my needs.

2) The names of Professors, Gym Leaders, and Cities were taken from Ruby Version.

Chapter Thirteen:

Underground

Markov Tower was located in the midst of the skyscraper maze of Slateport City. It was a relatively short building in comparison to its neighbors, but it was just as impressive. Thousands of windows sparkled in the moonlight and looking up at it made me feel small.

I entered the lobby first, Doug following behind me. The ground floor was completely open. With the exception of a large, circular desk in the very center and an elevator further behind it, the entire room was empty. A woman was seated in the center of the desk and she glanced up as the doors whirred open for Doug and I.

"Good evening and welcome to Markov Towers. What can I do for you?"

"You're not closed?" Doug asked.

The woman laughed softly. "Oh, on the contrary, Mr. Markov is the busiest in the evening, we won't close for a few more hours. What was it that I could help you with?"

"Oh, Nikolai promised me I could get the underground tour?" I told her.

The receptionist eyed me for a moment. "Well, you aren't quite dressed for it, but we can take care of that and then I will call Mr. Markov for you."

"Dressed for it?" I asked.

She grinned brightly at Doug and I. "The underground tour is a black-tie affair, ma'am." She waved toward the elevator behind her. "If you would, go up to the fourth floor, Ms. Channing will take care of you and when you return, Mr. Markov should be waiting."

Doug and I exchanged glances, but followed her direction and made for the elevator. We rode up silently, and when we arrived on the fourth floor, we were greeted by an odd couple. The woman, Ms. Channing I assumed, was a tiny, elderly woman with her gray hair pulled up in a bun. She grabbed me and whisked me away from Doug, who was being pulled in the opposite direction by a man much younger than Ms. Channing was.

Ms. Channing saw to me being changed into an evening gown; a shimmering, gold dress with a daring slit up the left leg. She had me put on bright red pumps and went about straightening and blowing out my hair into voluptuous waves that cascaded down my back. She finished the look by slapping mascara on my lashes, cat-eyed liner on my eyelids, and red lipstick across my lips.

When I was returned to the elevator, Doug was already waiting. He looked devastatingly handsome in a three-piece, black suit. He had a pop of seafoam green in the form of a tie, which was pulled tight against his throat. He was freshly shaved and his hair had been styled atop his head. It was the most dashing I had ever seen him look.

He glanced in my direction as I approached, the clack of my heels giving me away. His eyes moved slowly down and then back up the dress I wore.

"Where the hell are we?" He asked me.

"Sir, ma'am," the woman who had helped me was in front of us. "Mr. Markov is waiting for you in the lobby." She waved us back into the elevator.

We returned to the lift and rode silently back to the ground floor. As the doors chimed open, the mysterious stranger I had met earlier was waiting at the doors.

"My dear, you look ravishing," he said, clearly taking his time in revealing in my appearance. When his eyes finally left my face, his attention momentarily darted to Doug at my side. "And who is this?"

I glanced up at Doug. The expression across his features was so dark and angry, I feared what was going to come out of his mouth.

"Bodyguard," I finally went with. "Sometimes I need a little protecting and he was adamant on coming with me."

Doug's expression darkened further.

"Understandable, you are a conscientious woman." Nikolai took his place on my other side and pressed a button on the elevator panel. The doors closed and the lift suddenly shuttered downward. "I am pleased you were able to take me up on my offer so quickly, darling. I really do think you're going to enjoy your evening."

"I must admit, my interest is piqued," I replied.

The elevator continued downwards for what seemed like several floors. As it came to a stop, whatever was on the other side was loud. The doors pinged open and I beheld a massive underground space. It was well-lit with overhead lights and the entire space was filled with bodies. Mostly men in suits, but waiters and waitresses filtered in between all the bodies with trays stacked with finger foods and champagne glasses.

I heard a hiss escape Doug behind me. "What the fuck?"

"Come, this way my dear." Nikolai was leading me away from the opened lift. Doug stayed close to us. We skirted around the edge of the room. Most of the people in the space were gathered around the central area of the room. Because there were so many people, I couldn't tell what it was that they were looking at, but whatever it was, the onlookers were screaming, cheering, booing, and their noises just kept growing in volume.

"I started out as a trainer, but what I realized is I wasn't interested to see what Pokémon do when a person commands them," Nikolai was explaining. We were headed towards a closed door. He stopped at it, punched in a keycode, and I heard a locking mechanism release. He held the door open, waving me and Doug into the room. It was a dark staircase that headed upwards. I waited just inside the door for Nikolai.

He entered shortly after I did and led us up the stairs. "No, I wanted to see how Pokémon acted naturally, especially in the heat of a battle."

The stairs only climbed up a short distance before we came to another door. He pushed this one inward and we came out onto a glass walkway. He led us over the floor that we had just left and I could now see what everyone had been staring at.

"I wanted to see their fighting instinct take over, what changes in battle where the Pokémon's life depends on the outcome."

My breath was stuck in my throat as I stared downward. I could feel my entire body become rigid and I knew my expression clearly bore my shock and panic and horror. Below us, in a sunken arena with a high, metal fence and multiple glass panes, were two Pokémon. I recognized one as a Golem, as I had seen it before. It was crushing the life out of a Pokémon I did not recognize. The tall, red-in-color Pokémon was bipedal and almost birdlike in its appearance. Blood poured from the Pokémon, it clearly didn't stand a chance against the impenetrable rock Pokémon it was fighting. Any trainer would have recalled it from battle.

The ground beneath the fighting Pokémon was dirt and it was obviously soaked with blood. I realized now some of the screams I had been hearing were actually cries from the pinned Pokémon.

"Unfortunately, that Blaziken doesn't stand much of a chance," Nikolai was commenting.

I realized I had to keep my horror from my face. I couldn't let the man know how disgusted I was by the entire ordeal I was watching. I easily tore my stare away from the fight as Golem's foot was coming down on the Blaziken's face.

"It's a fight club," I murmured. I was surprised when my voice sounded even and controlled.

"That's a simple way of putting it," he agreed. "It's Darwin's law, survival of the fittest."

Suddenly, the screeching and cries of pain were silenced. I didn't dare turn to look at the gore beneath me, but I heard Doug swear.

"Not a man of many words," Nikolai chuckled, glancing in Doug's direction. He waved for me to follow him. "Leave your bodyguard here, I have more to show you."

I numbly followed after Nikolai, throwing a quick look over my shoulder at Doug. He merely watched me leave, but made no effort to follow after us. Nikolai led me across the rest of the walkway and down a staircase on the opposite side. We came back out onto the busy fight club floor and he once again skirted around the edge of the room. He led me around the arena and towards the back of the room. There was another closed door.

He unlocked it and this time we were in a hallway that led to a set of descending stairs. My nervousness was growing and I was unsure why I was still following the man.

"Part of this club, the reason why it is so popular, is the betting aspect. People love to guess which Pokémon is going to win, and will lose thousands of dollars on their guesses and still continue to show up. However, in order to make sure it's a good, fair fight, our fighting Pokémon need to be well-trained. That's where this part comes in."

We entered a dirty, dark room. The rooms were lined with cages and inside each were Pokémon. But they were smaller Pokémon; Makuhitas, Machops, and others that I didn't recognize. They were all relatively small and seemed relatively wild. We had stopped in front of a cage that housed a small, bipedal green Pokémon. It had what appeared to be a mushroom on its head and yellow flower around its neck. It had an elongated face and a long tail. As I looked at it, it released a pitiful cry. My heart felt crushed.

"They put up a hell of a fight before they go down. The fighting Pokémon learn techniques, but there is no danger of the fighters getting significantly injured," Nikolai was still explaining, completely unaware of my revulsion. I just had to hide it long enough to get out of the building.

"They're bait Pokémon," I whispered.

"Exactly," he seemed pleased with my understanding.

He offered me his arm as he walked me the length of the cages and then back. I looped my arm through his, mostly because it felt like I needed help to continue walking. The small Pokémon peered out of their prisons, their expressions helpless and pleading. I could feel tears threatening to pool in my eyes and I wished I had brought Luma or Ty so that they could get these defenseless Pokémon out.

"So, was I right?" Nikolai asked me as we exited the bait room. "Are you intrigued?"

"I am," I softly agreed and I even offered him a small smile. "I often have wondered how unnatural a Pokémon's fights are when they are being instructed by a human. We have little understanding of their full potential." I felt like I was spewing bull-shit, but the man seemed to eat it up.

"Yes, darling, exactly. What I have done here is shown the true nature, the true power of these creatures. And it's an amazing, beautiful, raw thing."

"Yes," I murmured.

"Now my issue is that this is such a small scale. If I truly want to see the results of my efforts, I would a much larger stage to do it on."

"Larger than this?" I knew I didn't hide the incredulity from my voice.

He chuckled in response. "If I am to have my way, yes, eventually much larger than this. Just think of the revenue this kind of event would bring in."

I couldn't respond; I was too horrified by the thought of what I had just witnessed becoming a more accepted outcome for Pokémon caught by trainers. I wasn't even sure if I was keeping the emotion off of my face as I met Nik's stare.

"I know, it's hard to imagine. It's just as hard to get to come to fruition, trust me. I have been trying." He offered me a charismatic smile. "Let's return you to your bodyguard, and then you can watch a few more fights, maybe place a bet or two," he chuckled.

"As much as I would like to, I cannot tonight, but I hope the invitation is an open one for me to return when I have the time?" I wondered how desperate I sounded to get out of the building.

"You, darling, are welcome here whenever you'd like," Nikolai promised me. "You are my number one V.I.P."

I forced another smile to my face and counted the minutes until I returned to Doug and was back in the elevator to exit this nightmare.

Doug sat at the computer in his hotel room, his foot tapping impatiently, incessantly. His and Rowan's exit from the Markov Tower had been silent. They had been carted back up to the fourth floor to returned the borrowed clothing, and then hurried from the building, the doors locked behind them.

She said nothing to him as they walked through the dark, deserted streets of Slateport City. She didn't even respond when he made a snarky comment about the lack of help the outing had been to their initial goal. She had only stared ahead, seemingly ignoring him.

"The lovesick look on your face made the entire situation even more annoying," Doug had quipped as they entered the hotel lobby.

She had merely turned to face him, her gaze slowly lifting to his face. She had offered him a tired smile. "I am so sorry," she had said, "I thought it was going to be something else."

Then she had walked away, disappearing into her hotel room.

That had been a couple hours before. Doug had gone into his room as well, relaying the entire night to Phantom. Phantom mentioned multiple times how he didn't feel like listening to Doug bitch about Rowan, when he could easily go talk to her. Doug only told his Pokémon to shut up and then continued his complaints.

Once he had gotten it all out, and still didn't feel better, he threw himself into the chair at the computer and began searching Nikolai Markov. But the man was an enigma. There was limited information about him. He was rich, he owned a company in Slateport, where he had supposedly been born and raised, but no one could actually confirm that. Otherwise, the information was just about places he had been; charities, fundraisers, and any other event where he could throw his money around.

And that was it, there was nothing significant about the man that Doug could find. And that annoyed him further.

And it annoyed him that Rowan had been so dazzled by the man.

"Rowan," he hissed. "What the hell is her logic in this entire situation?"

"For Mew's sake, Doug, go ask her!" Phantom spat. He launched himself off the bed and hunkered underneath it, hissing as he went.

Doug shot out of his seat, intending to do just that. He wrenched his door open and stalked across the hall. He pounded on the door across the hall from him. He waited and waited, but the door didn't open. He pounded again. "Rowan!" He shouted.

He stepped away from the door when a blue aura started spreading from the base of it and up the length of it. It finally creaked open and Luma appeared in the doorway.

She was shaking her head. "Your turn to try," she whispered, padding out in the hall and forcing open Doug's hotel room door with the same Psychic ability.

Her comment caused him to pause, so Doug cautiously pushed the door further in and entered silently. The room was dark and as he looked around, he realized Rowan wasn't in the space. A sea breeze ruffled his hair and as he glanced up at the far wall, he found the glass doors that led out onto the patio opened. Rowan was seated in one of the chairs on the patio, tucked up into herself. Her knees were bent into her chest, her arms were wrapped around her legs, and her chin was resting on her bent knees.

She didn't even look at him as Doug walked out onto the patio. He stopped next to her seat, looking out across the beach in front of him for a few moments before looking down at her. She happened to be wiping tears off her face as he looked to her.

His heart sunk.

He glanced around the patio, spotting another chair behind him. He grabbed it and pulled it close to Rowan's seat before sinking into it.

"Are you okay?" He mumbled.

He heard a quiet scoff escape her and several more tears dropped down her cheeks. "No," she whispered in return. She cleared her throat after a few moments, finally bringing her gaze to his face. "I'm really sorry about tonight, I didn't think- I didn't know that that's what it was going to be."

"I don't need another apology, Rowan, I didn't need the first one."

She shook her head, lifting her hands to press them against her face. Her entire body shuddered as she took a deep breath in. "That was awful."

"You didn't seem to think that while we were there," Doug couldn't help but to comment.

"I just wanted to get out, it wasn't a battle I needed to fight there," she whispered. "There was enough fighting going on."

Doug watched her silently for a moment. "What did he show you? When you two left me on the walkway?"

Another series of tears formed, slowly falling down her cheeks as Rowan shook her head. "Pokémon," she whispered. "Small, caged Pokémon that are used as bait."

"Bait?"

"The bigger, stronger fighting Pokémon use them to work on their abilities."

Doug swore to himself.

"Doug," she whispered, bringing his attention back to her face. Her legs had dropped and she looked pathetic and defeated. "It was awful."

"Yeah, I know, I was there, Rowan."

"Doug," she whimpered. "He's killing all those Pokémon."

Her control finally gave out and her tears started flowing freely. Her hands attached themselves to her face again as her whole body was wracked with sobs.

Doug immediately forgot all his anger as he watched her collapse physically and emotionally in front of him. He stood up from his seat, leaning over her chair and gathering her into his arms. She accepted the help as he carried her off the patio, kicked the door shut behind them, and brought her to the bed. He repositioned her tighter against him, holding her close as he laid down. She tucked herself tightly against him, burying her face into his chest and grabbing tightly onto the shirt he was wearing as she continued to cry.

He continued to hold her, letting her wear herself out and cry out her hurt. He had to assume some of it was his doing too. He had been unhelpful to her for the entire day before. He had to assume if he had gone with her to Verdanturf, she never would have even met the Markov man.

And while he couldn't undo what he had done, he could do something about the man now.

He would wait though. He glanced down at Rowan, she was calmer and obviously exhausted. He would wait until she was resting soundly.

And then he would take care of Nikolai Markov.