Author's Note:
Here it is, the first of a Max focused chapter and introduction to one of the two evil teams in Hoenn. One thing I've really wanted to do is differentiated between Aqua and Magma. I have also slight adjusted their reasonings and endgames, but they are both essentially still Aqua and Magma. The main star today is Aqua, as the title suggests. The admin who appears, I've based off a good friend of mine, hope you like what's happening with them and the rest of both teams. Of course, they are also partly based off their game counterparts. Don't forget to vote in the poll, it'll change next chapter. With that, let's begin.
Chapter ten: Team Aqua & Devon Corporation
Ash grinned like a mad man as his back hit the wall. A weight followed as he was pushed back. His lips attacked by a pair of silky smooth and cheri flavoured lips. All he could see was lovely golden locks as he tried to keep up with her, but she had clear control over their actions.
He felt something brush up the outer side of his leg and waist, where he saw her leg stroking up against him. Her hand grabbed his arm, and it was jerked downward. Taking her cue, his hands wrapped landed around her thigh, instinctively squeezing as she jumped up, he took a moment to hold her as she straddled him, wrapping her long legs around his stomach. Her hands went exploring his chest, despite the shirt covering it from her.
She placed her hands against his chest as she leaned in, ending the aggressive assault against his lips in favour of some small pecks. He could've sworn that he heard her purring as her hands made their way up and over his shoulders, taking his shirt with them.
A wind blew past as he was spun across the floor, landing on the bed, legs dangling off. She landed on top, straddling over his chest as her hands explored the bare area, "hmm, I'm happy we got back here so early."
"Y-you told the others you was tired," he stuttered.
"Tired of sitting around talking," she smirked leaning down, practically running her body against his, "I just won my first princess key... so now I want to celebrate with my knight."
"S-Serena," he tried to respond but found a finger pressed over his lips with a shushing sound.
His eyes widened and stood still at her next bold move. While always affectionate, over the last few months she has truly stepped up the boundaries of their relationship. She smirked down at him, grabbing his hands, and placing them on her waist. Grabbing the bottom of her top, she pulled it up and over her head, tossing it to the side.
He couldn't help but have his eyes focus on her bra concealed chest. His heart beating like mad and mouth going dry, as his tongue flapped around in an attempt to swallow. Blinking rapidly, he bite the bottom of his trembling lip, try to registrar exactly what she was up to.
Leaning down, she practically rubbed her body against his, pecking his lips as their eyes connected together. Her smiled down on him, going down to peck his cheek, then neck, shoulder and finally chest. She pecked him a couple more times before using her teeth to bite his lower lip.
...
He shot up in bed, a cold sweat covering his forehead. Panting heavily, he turned towards the bedside table. The alarm clock showed that he still had an hour before they would normally wake up. Turning towards the other side of the bed, he saw Serena lying on her side. Hands placed together and tucked neatly under her head. Despite the quilt covering her, he could see her legs scrunched up in a spooning position... and she wasn't dressed in that black performance outfit either, just dressed in his old travelling black shirt and pyjama pink shorts.
Shaking his head, he moved to sit up and felt some restricted movement around his waist. Knowing he wouldn't fall back asleep now and not wanting to disturb his girlfriend, he cautiously moved his legs to the side. Running his hand up through his hair, he let out a heavy sigh.
With great difficulty, he stood up and made his way over to the bathroom. Making sure to close the door behind him, he got ready and turned the shower on, he also reached towards the dial and turned the temperature right down. Stepping inside, he felt his eyes burst out of their sockets as he began heavily breathing. Placing a hand against the glass wall, he let the icy water sprinkle over his head and wash his thoughts away.
It only felt like a couple minutes but soon the faint sound of the alarm clock hit his ears. Looking up from under the cold stream of water, he turned his attention towards the frosted glass window which the bright sun shone through.
"Hmm, Ash!" he heard her angelic voice call out. Normally, it would bring a smile to his face, but a pool of dread landed in his stomach.
"Erm, yeah," he muttered, "I'll be just a few minutes."
Turning the shower off, he made his way out and wrapped a towel around his waist. Turning towards the chair where he would usually leave his clothes, he found no such items. Sighing, he shook his head and knew there was no way around it. Tying the towel around his waist, he made his way out back into the main room, where he saw Serena rolling around and looking towards him, with a devilish smile on her face.
"Well... you know just how to make a girl's morning, don't you," she smirked, stepping up and pulling his shirt down towards her knees. Completely covering her pink pyjama shorts. Leaving just her long silky-smooth legs on display. He struggled to keep his attention on her face and not anything else. She reached him and placed a hand over his dripping shoulder, leaning in to peck his lips, "but why didn't you wake me up."
"I-I erm, it was early," he stuttered, "so I didn't want to wake you up."
"Alright," she replied, a distinct tone carrying her voice. She ran her hand over his cheek, a small smile resting on her face, "you... need to start shaving."
"Not this again," he sighed, shaking his head.
"I don't get why you don't want to. I certainly don't want some fluff covering up your face," she reassured, "and it's not a big deal, either way."
"How would you know?" he asked.
"I've been shaving my legs for a couple of months now," she giggled, pecking his lips a couple times, "how else would I keep them silky smooth for you?"
"I-I erm, I-"
"Hehehe, you're really cute when nervous," she giggled, "I'm just teasing... but I mean it when I said you should start shaving soon."
"R-right."
"Are you okay? I know you normally get nervous when I'm a little flirty but," she mused, "it seems worst today. Different, even."
"I-I'm fine," he replied, "but I'd like to get dressed."
"Aww, and here I thought this was your new look, to celebrate my first princess key," she teased. Leaning forward, she pecked him once more, "anyway, I'm going to grab a shower myself. Then we can go down to meet the others for breakfast."
With her disappearing into the bathroom, the door closed behind and he took out his normal travelling clothes and dressed himself. It took probably half an hour before they were ready to go, Serena always seemed to take time with her appearance.
"That shower was really cold, ya know," she told him, a hint of playfulness in her voice as they walked down the stairs, "hope you didn't use the entire hot water for our stay here."
He cast a glance up to her before quickly averting his gaze down to his feet. Throwing his hand into his jacket pockets.
"You did use the hot water, right?" she asked, stopping as her eyes widened, "or was you purposely taking a cold shower?"
He felt his cheeks heat up as his head shrunk further into the jacket. While he knew she wasn't stupid and would be easily able to guess why he or any guy would take a cold shower, he couldn't bring himself to voice any counter or even look at her. He knew how it looked but what could he do?
Chancing a glance up to her, the expression told him all he needed to know. She had guessed the truth and whilst she didn't appear mad or upset, he knew they'd have a proper conversation about it eventually. With a heavy sigh, they continued down towards the centre's cafeteria in mostly silence. Serena continued to act like it was just normal, but his own guilt thicken the atmosphere between them... at least to himself.
Entering the cafeteria, they quickly spotted Brock and Max with a large table in the corner. The couple made their way over to the buffet and each selected their own meal. A lot of the Pokémon were out and already eating, all except Lotad who was sat on the table staring blankly at his bowl of food. Both of the guys also had their own breakfast but surprisingly, a member of the group wasn't.
"May off at that cafe again?" Serena asked to which Brock nodded. Holding out his Pokegear, he showed a text that she left for them, "man, must be some place if she's gone three days in a row. We should totally stop by after the gym tomorrow, right Ash?"
"Huh," he replied, sitting down with his own breakfast, "yeah. I guess so."
"Your battles tomorrow?" Max asked.
"I went to the gym and leader said, because of her other job she likes to schedule the battles in advance," Ash shrugged, "we agreed to do it tomorrow at half three in the afternoon. She works at the trainers school next door so it's after the classes have finished."
"So, what are we going to do today?" Max asked, "more training for the gym? Phanpy and Treecko might be ready but Taillow isn't ideal."
"Actually, I'm going to let them have today off," Ash replied, "they've all been working hard, and I don't want to tire them out the day before the battle. And as for Taillow, she's the most enthusiastic about battling tomorrow."
"But she's a flying type!" he cried out, "it's a big mistake using her in a rock type gym!"
"I'll let you tell her that one," he smirked, "but you need to realise, Max, not every battle will be perfect match up. I've found it's good to let Pokémon handle opponents they normally wouldn't as it's a good way to challenge them."
"It's still a massive mistake on your part!" Max declared, crossing his arms in defiance.
"You'll see, Max, tomorrow you'll see that type match up isn't nearly as important as you originally thought," he replied.
"But we still haven't told you the plan for today," Serena interjected.
"Erm," he settled down, stabbing his fork into the pile of pancakes. A tint of redness in his cheeks and eyes cast downward, "what are we doing."
"Ya know, see the sights of the city," Brock interjected, "maybe the ocean view to the west. Mountain ranges to the east... Devon corporation. Of course, we need to have breakfast first."
"We're going to Devon Corp!" Max cheered.
"Calm down, like we said, you need breakfast first," Serena interjected.
He quickly sat down, staring straight at the table as he slowly used his fork to get a mouth full of food. The pace he was eating wasn't that of a kid who was excited for the day's events, but more of one recently scolded and eating a dinner they'd prefer not to.
While he didn't really know the kid, this was pretty strange for what he did know of him. Maybe May knew what was up... if she was here.
She stood in the far corner of the dark room. It was some sort of abandond warehouse to the north of the city. After joining one of the recruitment groups over in Slateport, she made fast work getting picked up as a skilled thief... it's how she survived on the streets, after all.
Looking towards the head of the group, she saw a large muscular black man stood with his arms cross. He looked to be easily four times her own size and built like a Machamp... without the extra arms. Blue zigzaggy marks with over his forehead and side of his face. A single golden chain was dangling around his neck with some sort of dark blue neck guard on. Despite being shirtless, he had the aqua symbol painted on his chest. His bottom half was covered by dark blue trousers with ripped cloths dangling down. Looking closely, she realised it was actually an all-in-one swimsuit, completed ripped to shreds.
"Morning squad!" his booming squad echoed within the large room, "you know why we're here today!"
A series of cheers and loud chants came from the crowd, most of them seemed to be around her own age, maybe a few older and a few younger. Taking a deep breath, she felt herself calm down despite the rowdy environment... why did she agree to this job in the first place?
"From here we're going straight to the building, but no these people aren't our enemies! Most are misguided or blinded to the damage caused by those in a higher power! We can't make them listen and taking those underneath won't change their minds!" he declared, "we are going there to take the information that we need! None one needs to or will be hurt, and should you disregard this fact, I shall personally reprimand the offenders after!"
The once roaring crowd went deadly silent. She could've sworn she heard a pin drop after his booming voice.
"Now this is a simple operation, most of us will be on the front line and causing a commotion," he continued, "we have a newcomer whose got a talent for sneaking in and out and taking what she wants. Come on down here missy, so the crew can know the face of Aqua's future!"
Realising her cue, she stepped forward, the hood covering her head. Her hands resting in the pockets. She made sure to keep her head down as she walked around the crowd. Walking out in front of them, she stopped in front of the muscular man. Seeing his bright smiling face, as weird as it sounded, was kind of reassuring. He may seem intimidating but everything she's experienced over the last week in his squadron has proven to be the opposite.
"Sorry missy, your name has skipped my mind," he replied, "what would it be?"
"Just call me... Serena," she smirked, whilst keeping her hood down. Stepping to the side, she scanned the crowd.
Most of them were dressed in a similar manner. A black bandana was wrapped around their heads with the aqua symbol on top. Stripped blue and white tops whilst the guys were regular short sleeved shirts, the girls were completely sleeveless and had blue bands around their upper arms. A pair of black gloves were on their hands. The girls had a grey skirt with blue and white tights covering their entire legs. While the boys had three-quarter trousers, both wearing a black belt with Ruffy looking black boots. Some had dark blue hoodies like her's with the aqua symbol on the front.
"Right, well Serena here is our ace in the hole," Matt continued, "you see, whilst were creating a commotion at the front, battling any trainers that might be in the area and just causing a scene, she is gonna sneak in and retrieve the files we're after. Once she returns, we set off north and disappear over the blue!"
"Aqua!" the grunts shouted whilst making a sort of 'a' shape with their arms. Creating a sort of pyramid or triangle.
"Alright team, let's move out!" Matt shouted, as they began to crowd into the near two parked military grey vans. She inwardly smirked as Matt lead her to the van in front. Instead of joining the others in the back, she climbed into the passenger seat as he took the driver's side, "so... what made you join Aqua?"
"I've always felt safe in the water," she smiled, "so seeing it hurt and-"
"I get ya, it's a horrible thing when beauty is taken advantage off," he shook his head, "but when this is all over. The world will be set back into balance."
"So, what about you?" she asked, as the truck pulled out of the warehouse. Glancing in the rear-view mirror, she saw the second truck following in formation.
"The two that started this whole team, Kappin Archie and his wife," Matt smiled, fondly, "I owe 'em everything. Especially him. He saved my life and gave it purpose again. There's nothing I wouldn't do for them. And the fact we're saving the world at the same time... it's just the right thing to do."
"Archie..." she muttered under her breath. Out of the two squads, Matt's was the easiest to infiltrate for her. The other one was supposedly ran by a women called Shelly... if she had to guess, it'll be this Archie's wife. Her job was to move up the chain and find a home base to raid.
"Don't worry, Serena, you'll meet the captain soon enough," Matt reassured, "Aqua is his family and he always treats his family well."
Smiling towards him, she turned her attention towards the window. It seemed the silver city was passing by a mile a minute as she took in the view. A faint breeze of salt water helped relax her as her eyes settled on the large Devon corp building off in the distance. Reaching into her pocket, she rolled her fingers around a single Pokéball.
Lance told her that she could only take one Pokémon with her. Something about a street-smart kid not likely to have a full team available to them.
May smiled and stretched her arms up, embracing the morning sun. She looked ahead to see her Poochyena running along and grabbing a stick he found when they passed through the nearby park. This had become a common occurrence on their way to and from trainers school.
As they closed in on the building, she found a bench at a bus stop. Despite not needing the transportation, it was good to find a quiet place to talk. She took out the two Pokéballs containing the rest of her team. Silcoon landed softly in her lap as Torchic sat next to her, looking up with shimmering eyes. Poochyena ran back and sat in front of her, tongue wagging out of his mouth and the stick dropped in front of her.
"Hey guys," she smiled, "I wanted to speak with you. All of you."
"Tor!"
"Coon!"
"Grrrw!"
"So... you know how we've been going to those classes every day since reaching the city," she explained, to which all but Silcoon nodded. The pure bug type just purred in agreement, "well I guess you might've noticed; I like the contest classes. They combine thrill of battle with beauty."
"Chic," her starter added.
"I'm going to be honest with you all, when I was first becoming a trainer, I didn't really like Pokémon," she continued, "I never really got to know any. The closest would be my dad's Linoone but he was more interested in Max. I never realised how intelligent you all were. I just thought you were simple creates but since I got to know each of you. I know your more than that, you understand, think, feel... It was wrong of me to assume otherwise before."
Poochyena gave a bark of reassurance as Silcoon purred in her lap. Torchic attempted to ridge her arm with the top of his head. Giggling at the ticklish feeling against her skin, she reached out and scratched to the top of his head.
"And so, becoming a trainer was my way to travel. Since seeing both Unova and Hoenn showed me two different sides of the world and I will want to see more of it," she explained, "originally, I thought that would be enough but... it isn't. Now that I know you all and I plan on knowing more Pokémon, I want some way for us to work together. Have something to strive for other than just exploring."
"Coon," the bug type purred.
"Well... the showcase yesterday was alright, but I knew it wasn't for me," she continued, "Serena was great and all but I've never been much of a dancer or anything. Which is why I think I've been so enthralled by the contests. They are beautiful and... I guess what I'm asking is, will you all help me with them?"
All three Pokémon made their own responses clear, whether it was Poochyena leaping up to the bench and placing his paws against her arm, using the extra height to lick her face. Silcoon seemed to also give a positive response as she purred and nuzzled into her stomach. While Torchic jumped up and down, nudging her arm, clearly in agreement whilst also trying to get some attention. She laughed joyfully at the shows of affection.
"Thanks everyone," she smiled, wrapping both arms around her team and bringing them in for a hug, "you're the best friends I've asked to meet... but that is only half of the trials... we're going to need to tell the others. I think Ash and Brock will be fine with it... Max will be horrible and point out the numerous mistakes I'm making... and Serena, I'm not sure. She's been the hardest to get to know."
After another show of affection from her team, she returned all but Silcoon and continued down the path. Soon the trainer's school came into view and just like the day before, Roxanne was stood outside.
"Hello again, May, it's good to see you again," she greeted, with a smiling face, "how are you today?"
"I'm good, thanks," she smiled, "and you?"
"I'm also good, it's a beautiful day. I even spoke with the contest teacher, they are moving the morning class outside for demonstrations," she winked, "I've also got a gym battle scheduled tomorrow. I'm kinda looking forward to it, the trainer is experienced so I get to be creative."
"What do you mean?" May asked.
"Simple, gym leaders have different Pokémon and guidelines based on the level of experience of the trainer," she explained, "there's some overlap, of course, the ace of a two-badge team could be the lead in a three or four badge team. But with a trainer like this, they have already been challenged and so I get to come up with something more. It's really my favourite type of gym battle because I can have Pokémon work together who normally wouldn't."
She didn't even need to ask; she knew that the battle would be against Ash. Sighed, she glanced down at Silcoon in her arms. Chancing a look back up at the rock type specialist, Roxanne reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"So, you know whose scheduled the battle, that friend you've been travelling with," she guessed, "and I'm guessing your other friends will be there, too."
"Yeah," she sighed.
"Are you going to tell me what the matter is?" Roxanne asked.
"It's just... you know how I've taken to contests whilst here," she explained, "I'm a little... scared... to tell them about my decision."
"From what you've said, they don't sound like a reason to be scared," she replied, "they each have their own path. Why would they judge you for the same?"
"You don't know my brother," she rolled her eyes, "he idolises our father. He'll see my choice as disrespecting him... and as the favourite child he'll-"
"What makes you think he's the favourite child?" Roxanne asked, "I've met your father on numerous occasions. Gym leader events and league do's. He speaks about both of you none-stop. It's been clear to me that he loves both of you, equally."
"He spends all his free time with Max, and his Pokémon in the greenhouse," she rolled her eyes, "of course he favourites him."
"But you've said that your brother loves Pokémon, and so as a gym leader they clearly share that interest," she replied, "from what I know of your mum, she was never much of a trainer but did a lot of travelling and you mentioned sharing a love of flowers. I'd be willing to bet she spent more time with you."
"I guess," she mumbled.
"You see, when a parent shares an interest with a child, it's a good way for them to bond. Given a strong parental unit, the bonding with one parent equates someway to both," Roxanne explained, "neither of your parents favour either of you. But if you're really concerned, I think I have a way to make it easier."
"What's that?" May asked.
"When he goes to bed tonight, speak to your other friends. Tell them your decision," she replied, "they'll understand and support you. I'm sure of it. Then tomorrow when it's time for your friends gym battle, you'll have them and me ready to support you for when we tell him. And then we can also use the phones in the gym to call your parents. With a milestone like this, they'd want to know as well."
"And what if Max tells them first?" she asked.
"He won't and even if he somehow did, it wouldn't matter," she shook her head, "your parents love you. Both of you and there's nothing you could do to change that. Trust me, they'll love that you have your own goal and are growing up. You don't need to worry about that brother of yours."
After leaving the Pokémon centre, it took them nearly half an hour to make their way to the large skyscraper with Devon written on the side. Max looked up with wide eyes and an impossibly large smile on his face. With his head fully back, he struggled to take in the entire monolith in front of him.
"It's certainly big," Ash commented, "it reminds me of Goldenrod's radio tower or the Silph company in Saffron."
"Silph have nothing on Devon," he declared, "they're next gen processors used are at least three generations in the dust."
"Alright," Serena replied, her voice of confusion showed she knew nothing of what a processor is, "we don't want to just stand around, do we. If we want to take the tour, then we need to go inside and speak to the receptionist."
The older female ran ahead, and Max couldn't help but stare at her back. Her long slim legs mainly caught his attention as she walked ahead, almost skipping up the stairs towards the glass doors entrance. He felt a tingling in his cheeks as his head glanced down at his feet. Seeing the two male travelling companions following her, his own feet followed suit.
What was going on with him? Before yesterday, Serena was just like the other members of the group, other than May, of course. He didn't really struggle to speak to her but ever since her performance yesterday... something changed. Every time she speaks, or he even looks at her, his heart tries to break out of his chest and his mouth goes dry... despite everything he's ever learned or studied, he has never read or experienced this sort of thing before.
They quickly made it into the reception desk where Serena was already paying for the tickets for the tour. While he knew they weren't rich by any means, from what he understood both Ash and Serena had some decent savings thanks to tournaments and such they competed in as trainers. His parents even gave him and May an emergency account in case they needed it, but he doesn't have access because of his age.
"Hey, it's Ash!" a male voice called out. Turning towards the source, he saw a boy around May's age with dark-green bowl cut hair and in an old, styled suit.
"Oh hey, it's Sawyer, right?" Ash greeted, "we met back at Professor Birch's lab. How's your Treecko doing?"
"Right! And after that training session you gave us, I knew a lot more," he smiled, "it's thanks to you that, that I won a Stone Badge yesterday."
"So, you beat the Rustboro gym?" Ash asked, "that's so cool."
"Yeah, it was tough but a combination of Treecko and Corphish handled it," he smiled.
"Corphish?" Ash mused, pulling out his Pokedex:
Corphish, The Ruffian Pokémon. Corphish catches prey with its sharp claws. It has no likes or dislikes when it comes to food—it will eat anything. This Pokémon has no trouble living in filthy water. Usually living alone, they are known to cause trouble for others but it's usually in a good nature.
"I knew Treecko would struggle with fire types, so I wanted to catch a water type," he explained, "I spent a few days fishing before traversing Petalburg woods. With both of them having a type of advantage, we were sure to win."
"But why are you planning a team of three, then, Ash?" Max asked.
"Gym leaders change their teams based on the challenger," Brock answered, "a new trainer is unlikely to have a full team so most stick to a one on one or two on two for the first battle."
"Right and I checked when I scheduled the battle," Ash added, "she confirmed she'd give me a three on three."
"So, you haven't faced the gym leader yet?" Sawyer asked.
"Not yet but will be doing it tomorrow at half three in the after," Ash smiled, "then we'll have our first badge on the way to the Hoenn league."
"Well... would you mind if I join you?" Sawyer asked, "it's one thing to see you train but I'm sure seeing you actually battle could teach me a lot."
"Sure! The more the merrier is what I say," Ash smiled, "I take it your here to take the tour as well."
"Of course," Sawyer smiled, as he turned towards Serena, "and I caught your showcase yesterday. I was at the Pokémon centre and was waiting whilst my team had a check-up after the battle. You looked really pretty on the stage."
"Aww, thank you," she cooed, as Ash moved forward, seeming to loom over the young lad. Sawyer seemed to shrink in place.
"A-a-and that's why she's your girlfriend," he stuttered.
"If everyone wants to gather around, we'll be starting the tour shortly," one of the building works announced, dressed in a lab coat.
All of them gathered around and found themselves in a group of about twenty other people, all ranging in ages from other trainers to adults even bring some smaller kids along with them. They followed the worker through the building and the first building was the computer suite where a couple researchers appeared to be typing up some reports.
"You see, we have completely removed paper from our process to help save the trees which would've been cut down to create it," the assistant explained, "we use digital files to make this possible and each team has dedicated writers for the project notes and final assessments of the products created. Any questions."
"I have one sir," Max held his hand up.
"Go on, son," he smiled.
"How did you completely remove paper from the process?" he asked, "I mean, I understand why but surely physical copies are still needed."
"You would think but everything that can be done on paper can be done on computers," he replied, "with our touch-screen tablets, we can even get precise signatures on digital documents. There isn't any need for paper in any business-"
"And it's my hope that other business', regardless of field, tries to follow our lead," a new voice interjected. Turning towards the source, Max saw a tall old white man with slick grey hair. Dressed in a light-purple suit and black tie. His arms held behind his back and a pleasant smile on his face, "greetings all, my name is Devon Stone and it's always a pleasure to meet the new minds that shall shape our worlds future."
"You're the president of the Devon corporation?!" Max exclaimed.
"I am but please, you can just call me Devon," he smiled, "and if you wouldn't mind. I'd like to join you in this tour. It's nice to see the reactions from some new visitors."
Everyone in the group seemed to agree with the sentiment and the tour continued on. Despite being super invested with the tour, Max couldn't help himself from asking Mr Devon more questions. Mostly about his son. They ended up visiting the medical labs where they were working on the newest technology used in Pokémon centres and hospitals around the world. Moving on they travelled through each section and it took nearly three hours. It was everything that Max could've ever hoped for.
And meeting the president of the entire business was just the cheri berry on top of the cake.
Max smiled as the president finished telling a story about his son. Despite having seen the champion when he visited his dad about the gym, he's never actually spoken to him. Hearing the first-hand experience was like a dream come true for the young boy.
"So, Steven's first Pokémon actually was a shiny Beldum?" Max asked.
"Hehehe, it sure was," the president laughed, "he had been begging me for weeks to get one as his starter. For some reason, he wanted to specialise in steel types so none of the normal starters we're really suited. Unable to tell him know, I had a breeder prepare an egg for him. It wasn't until it hatched in front of us that anyone knew it was shiny. But seeing the smile on his both of their faces made it all worth it."
"What do you smile on both of their faces?" Max asked, "Beldum don't have faces. Just a circular head and single red eye."
"Let's check out what a Beldum is," Ash mused, pulling out his Pokedex:
Beldum, The Iron Ball Pokémon. Beldum keeps itself floating by generating a magnetic force that repels earth's natural magnetism. When it sleeps, this Pokémon anchors itself to a cliff using the hooks on its rear. Whilst rare, they have only been found in magnetised mountain ranges over the world.
"They seem like pretty cool Pokémon," the raven-haired boy smiled, putting his device away, "if you ask me."
"If we ask you, then every Pokémon seems pretty cool," Serena giggled. Max took a deep breath as his heart pounded against his chest. The heat returning to his cheeks and instinctively looking down.
"So, tell me, Max, what sort of Pokémon do you hope to have when you're a trainer?" Mr Devon drew his attention, "I believe you can tell a lot about a person by learning which Pokémon is held closest to their heart. Just take your friend Ash and his Pikachu."
"Pika!" the electric type chimed in from his shoulder perch. Travelling through a door, he found himself back in the main lobby of the building.
"By seeing his partner is Pikachu, I can see he is young and naive but also full of energy and quick to run in," he explained, "I'd be willing to bet the other trainers here would be the same. In a lot of ways, we become those we're close with and no relationship is quite like a trainer and their starter."
"My starter was an Onix," Brock opted, "but he's evolved into a Steelix."
"Strong, tough and reliable," Mr Devon noted, "able to climb mountains but first to protect those under its care."
"What do you mean?" Sawyer asked.
"Onix are known to live high on mountains and underground, usually with other rock and ground types," he replied, "and when that home is under threat, they tend to be the first line of defence whilst the smaller inhabitants escape to safety."
Max mused over the thought when he heard that. He's always dreamed of picking a Treecko for his starter, besides just looking cool it holds a massive type of advantage over a number of gyms in Hoenn, such as Rustboro, Mauville and Sootopolis. Not to mention all the water in the region makes him perfect to counter it. Of course, he knows a strong trainer builds a team able to cover weakness', but a strong start is arguably the most important part.
A series of footsteps raining down around them drew his attention. As he looked around at the floor, he released he wasn't the only one. Looking ahead, he saw a large group of mostly teens dressed like some sort of sailor outfit. A series of red lights shot out and several small Pokémon appeared in front of them like a small army. His eye's scanned each and every one. Spheal, Corphish, Lombre, Staryu, Tentacool-
"There using all water types!" Max shouted.
"Well done, kid, you get a gold sticker!" a booming voice echoed. From the glass doors appeared a large muscular man, probably in his thirties. His large shadow covered most of the lobby, "we're team Aqua and are here to make our message clear! And you can call me Matt!"
He tossed a couple Pokéballs into the air and two Pokémon appeared in front of him. Both larger than the arm behind. The first was easy to recognising, a Blastoise, the final evolved form of Squirtle, one of the typical starter Pokémon given out. While the other one seemed harder to place, it wasn't one he studied recently... it vaguely resembled-
"A Poliwrath!" he exclaimed.
"Pikachu, can you handle those two big ones?" Ash asked.
"Pikapi!" the electric starter leaped down. Landing on all fours with cheeks sparking.
The water fighting type seemed to respond first and charged forward. A red outline surrounding his body.
Pikachu leaped forward; his tail coated in a combination of a red-y orange colour. Spinning it struck the back of Poliwrath's head. A pair of grass blades sprouted out of the ground, causing him to trip. While the electric type leaped towards Blastoise, a field of electricity engulfing his body.
Slamming into the pure water type, he stumbled back a couple steps. Pikachu landed in between them with cheeks sparking again.
"Meganium, Phanpy, Duskull, Treecko and Taillow, I choose you all!" he shouted, releasing the rest of his team, "Meganium, I need you to hang back. Stay near Brock and set up a medical bay. We don't know how many more they have so we need to be ready for a long stand-off!"
"Ganium!" the large grass type growled.
"I know your tough and should it come to it, you'll be our last line of defence but first we need you healing abilities!" he ordered, "as for the rest of you, hit hard and fast. Focus on the smaller Pokémon, we can't waste time on specific duels!"
Taillow seemed to respond first, charging forward with wings spread. For a brief moment, her wings seemed to shimmer in metal, but they changed to pure white colour. Charging through a row of Spheal and Corphish as a series of bubbles and purple stingers began spraying around.
Treecko followed suit and leaped forward, keeping his distance. Launching out a barrage of Bullet Seeds to counter the long-range attacks.
"Phanpy use rollout and don't stop, keep moving and don't get hit!" Ash shouted, "Duskull use your tactics to support! Will-o-Wisp and Confuse ray!"
The ground type let out a playful cry and ran forward. Despite the flying attacking, he was able to curl up and begin rolling around. While Duskull followed afterwards. Balls of fire surrounding him as they shot off towards the smaller squadrons.
A blue blur shot in front of one of them and seemed to deliberately take the Will-o-Wisp. It was quickly revealed to be Taillow, who spun and redirected.
"Sylveon! Help Pikachu!" Serena shouted, "Hitmontop, Murkrow, Cascoon and Cacnea! Join the others in the larger assault!"
In a flash of light, her team appeared in front of them. Hitmontop wasted in time in running towards the smaller squadron. While the other four Pokémon began attacking the smaller squad on the opposite side to Ash's team.
"Well someone seems ready for a fight," Matt boomed, "Crawdaunt should give you a proper workout!"
A large red water dark type appeared and landed right in front of the fighting type. Hitmontop quickly began to kick and punch in a rhyme as the opponent seemed to block and smirk at the quickly frustrated handstand Pokémon.
Ice balls and Pin Missiles went soaring around and colliding either with each other or the walls and floor. Murkrow seemed to copy Taillow's approach and soar around going in for swift quick hits. Cascoon launched out an Electroweb and it caught an opponent within the trap, swinging it around like a wrecking ball to knock others off balance.
Sylveon sent her feelers forward and wrapped them around Poliwrath. Lifting him into the air, she sent him flying into Blastoise face.
The pure water type was attempting to dodge a series of high-powered water jets as Pikachu jumped around. They stopped as the two collided.
"Treecko! Corphish!" Sawyer yelled, as his two Pokémon appeared. His grass type seemed to follow Ash's, as if a side kick.
While Corphish stood of to the side, sending a barrage of bubble beams out towards the smaller Pokémon. As he looked closely, Max saw the water type deliberately aiming to intercept attacks heading towards other Pokémon. It was chaotic as the constant moving scene kept changing.
Turning away and rubbing his eyes, he caught sight of Brock setting up a medical station. A large blanket had been spread out and different bottled medicines had been lined up. His Slakoth was lying down, facing the battle, as Lotad stood next to him with water pooled in his Lilypad. Golem was walking towards the battle with Omastar and Ninetales by his side. While Shuckle stayed near the breeder, plugs covering his shell.
"Slakoth, use Yawn and try to put some of the Pokémon to sleep," Brock instructed.
"Good idea, Brock!" Sawyer exclaimed, taking out a third Pokémon, "and you can do the same, Slakoth!"
In a flash of light, a second Slakoth appeared right next to Brock's. It appeared slightly longer than Brock's but in the same, laid-out position on its stomach and a lazy expression on his face. One of them sent out a large floaty bubble across the field. It struck a Lombre which dived out of Taillow's attack. When the water grass type landed, it was fast asleep.
"Okay, we've got everything set up for a rest stop," Brock informed, "but we don't have unlimited supplies!"
"Hear that everyone, if you start to feel tired or exhausted, pull back," Ash called out to the group, "we can't risk any serious injuries whilst trapped."
"This doesn't make sense," the president mumbled.
"What doesn't?" Max asked.
"Team Aqua said they were here to teach us about our mistakes in mistreating the ocean," he explained, "but Devon Corp is leading in global heath. This facility, along with every other under the corporation is completely powered by solar energy. We don't use any paper, going entirely digital and seventy percent of all our transports, whether internal or external are performed by Pokémon. No motor fumes polluting the atmosphere."
"What are you saying, sir?" Brock asked.
"I think they're here for another reason and using that as cover," he replied, "I believe in the environments health and I know people like this would've done the research into this."
"They also didn't straight up attack," Ash added, "they didn't force us back. Despite the chaos, this is just one big rumble. Not a normal siege."
"What do you know about such things, son?" the president asked.
"We were in the radio tower in Goldenrod," he muttered, "a few months back, when-"
"I-I understand," the president stopped him, "I'm sorry."
"Thank you," Ash nodded, "but that begs the question, what are they after if not to spread their message?"
"I've got a theory," Mr Devon replied, "I need to go and check on something."
"Right, we'll stay here and hold them off as long as possible," Serena replied, "Max, you should go with the president. Away from this chaos is the safest place right now."
"Good idea, the more in a group the better," the president replied.
"Taillow, fall back!" Ash called out, "I need you to go with the president and Max!"
"Low!" the normal flying type cried in response. Landing right in front of a Lombre, she smacked her glowing wing straight into it. The water grass type went flying across the room and collided straight into one of the grunts.
"Tree!" a second cry came, as the grass type starter, landed in front of them. Chewing on the twig in his mouth.
"Alright, I guess Treecko will be the one to accompany you," Ash sighed, "keep 'em safe, buddy."
"cko," he nodded.
Not wasting another moment, the president ran off towards a nearby door leading into the building. It wasn't the same one that they used on the tour, but it still lead in the same direction. Treecko leaped onto the wall, walking alongside the president, slightly ahead.
Max couldn't stop himself, running ahead as fast as his legs could carry him. Quickly disappearing behind the door with the others.
Max found himself quickly out of breath as they ran down the corridor. The president leading the way but Treecko seemed to have easy in following him, leaping from one wall to another. Closing his eyes, he put everything he could into his sprint, not wanting to be left behind.
"Treecko!"
Skidding around the corner, he saw the president taking some hesitant steps back. Peeping past, him, he saw another Aqua grunt, this time female stood, with a foot in a door. Despite the hood covering her face, he made out a smirk on her face as she tossed a Pokéball out.
In a flash of light, a large Tentacruel appeared in front of her. It looked just like it does in the textbooks, except for a weird mark on one of the red bulb.
The appendage lifted up and a series of purple stingers shot out. They struck the president's feet, causing him to stumble back.
"Quick Treecko, counter with Bullet Seed and get in close!" Max cried out.
Ash's pure grass type open his mouth, launching out a barrage of yellow bullet-like seeds. Striking the appendage, it stopped the poison sting attack. Leaping forward, he swung his large tail around, ready to whack their opponent.
"A little young to be trainer, aren't we?" she asked.
Her Tentacruel sent out a tentacle, with the tip glowing purple. It struck Treecko in the chest, knocking his sideways with a cry. The tentacle wrapped him.
"Could say the same about you being a thief!" he cried out, "now break free, Treecko!"
"Cko!"
He smirked, a glint in his eye. Raising his tail, he smashed it down on the marked red bulb. Breaking free, he went flying upwards and stuck to the ceiling.
Opening his mouth, another barrage shot out. It landed directly on top of the water poison type. Who grunted and stepped backwards?
"Oh no, guess that means we've been defeated," the girl declared in a monotone-mocking voice. Holding her hands up in a shrugging position. She took her foot out of the door and began walking back down the corridor.
"Wait right there!" Mr Devon declared.
"Haze," she whispered.
Her Tentacruel raised up on its tentacles and a clear mist covered the corridor, almost completely blocking the view. The water poison type disappeared in a red light as echoing footsteps could be heard echoing down the hallway.
"Hey! Get back here!" Max cried out, charging forward.
Quickly making it through the mist, he saw the female aqua grunt running away. Treecko was crawling over the ceiling and shooting out another Bullet Seed.
It struck the ground where she was stood but she avoided it by making a sharp left turn. Doubling down on his efforts, he tried to keep up as Treecko leaped down by his side. The cries of Mr Devon sounded behind but he didn't chance a look back, through fear of losing their target.
Turning the corner, they saw her disappearing through a door.
"Oh no you don't," Max declared, "quick attack, Treecko!"
"Tree," he nodded.
Making a brief pause, he shot forward in the blink of an eye. Tackling through the door, he sent the girl tumbling. Following through, he found himself back in the lobby as a powerful blast of water knocked both himself and Treecko backwards. As it cleared, the source was revealed to be the Blastoise from earlier.
"I guess we've made our point, squad, withdraw!" Matt called out, "Blastoise, provide us cover!"
With a series of red lights, all but Blastoise disappeared. The rows of grunts running back out of the building. Despite having more Pokémon surrounding them, only Pikachu and Sylveon still seemed ready to fight as Blastoise created a line in the floor with a powerful get of water. Tearing up the tiles.
The water starter disappeared in a red light as Matt could be seen running towards the front grey truck outside. Ash attempted to run after them but by the time he reached the glass doors, the trucks were pulling away. Sighing, he turned back and seemed to kick the floor in anger.
"They got away," he growled.
Max looked around and looked at the damage caused from the chaos. Almost all the Pokémon that battled were now surrounding Brock, the few acceptations being Taillow, who perched herself on Ash's shoulder, Pikachu who was stood by his side and Ash's Treecko, although the latter really should be. He was flat out against the ground and growling in anger. Water could be seen over most of the lobby, with damage caused to the walls, floor and even ceiling. While mostly intact, it wasn't something easy to overlook. The door behind him opened and the president appeared, panting heavily.
"Max, Treecko, Mr Devon," Ash called out, as he walked over, "how are you all."
"We're good," Ash sighed, sitting back against the wall, "I think."
"Tree," the grass type starter muttered.
"You didn't fail, Treecko, you kept both Max and the president safe," Ash kneeled next to him, "that's a win in my book."
"And whatever they were after, they didn't get it," Mr Devon added.
"How can you be so sure?" Max asked.
"Because all our physical projects here are prototypes and still in testing phases," he explained, "so it was unlikely one of them that they were after. So, I figured that they were after some research from one of our past projects. Once we've completed a task, we move it to a factory for mass-production, where applicable. Leaving only our production notes and research papers here. And since we found that girl in the computer suite, I think my suspicions were right."
"That's good at least," Max sighed, "but the grunt didn't really put up much resistance. Treecko barely touched her Tentacruel before she gave up."
"Maybe she knew how long it took the police to arrive," Mr Devon guessed, "if she did, she'd know that we'd delay her enough to get caught by them."
"I guess," Max muttered.
"Well there gone, and the police are showing up now, so I doubt they'll be coming back," Ash replied, "but Taillow, Treecko. I want to speak to you both. During the battle I wanted Taillow to go with them and not Treecko. Why didn't you listen to me?"
Seeing them enter some sort of conversation, Max stood up and went to check on the others as the police made their way in. The Officer Jenny leading the way went straight to Mr Devon, as other officers approached the group as well. Several Growlithe could be seen, standing guard while other officers inspected the damage caused. It didn't take long for the questions to being about what happened.
She slammed the back of the truck shut as the last grunt climbed in. Running around she jumped into the passenger's side of the vehicle as Matt took the driving position next to her. She barely had time to put her seatbelt on as they pulled off out of the premises. Glancing through the side-view mirror, she caught a glimpse of flashing lights as they disappeared over the mountain exit to the city.
None of the police seemed to be following them, whether because of orders from above or just not knowing who they are is beyond her. Releasing a breath, she didn't realise she was hold, she relaxed back into the seat.
"So, don't keep this ole sea dog waiting, missy," Matt cheerfully replied, "did you get it?"
"I would've," she uttered, turning her glance downward. Lance stressed the importance of not giving them what they wanted so hopefully this won't end badly or worst, "but the president showed up with some kid. They had a full team and... my Tentacruel may be tough but we've never done any proper battles. We were out powered so we had to retreat before I could actually find that information. I'm sorry-"
"Ah, don't worry about it, we have other means to secure what is needed and that information," he explained, "whilst useful would only speed up our plans, we're still on track to fixing what's wrong with this world. You put a friend first and that's the most important part of being with Team Aqua."
"Thanks, sir," she replied, offering a small smile.
"And enough with this sir none-sense," he replied, "I may be the lieutenant of this trip of ours but as part of the same crew, we're all equal."
She smiled and nodded her head. When she was sent on this little mission, she didn't know what to expect. From what she saw of Team Rocket, she thought all the higher ups would be the same but Matt, now that she's met him, is closer to being like Brock. It's a little reassuring for the rest of her mission.
"Tell you what, Serena," he spoke up, "we'll have a little break before our squads next mission. How about I take you and some of the others out on the open sea. We can build up a lot of your teams since most of ya'll only have one or two Pokémon available. It'll help in situations like this for the future."
"I'd really like that," she admitted.
Lance made sure to stress the important of making friends and contacts within the group so a little retreat like this, where they won't be involved in anything criminal, just exploring and catching Pokémon should be the perfect opportunity to do such things.
"Then that's that!" he declared, flipping a switch which lowered a panel to reveal the squad riding behind them, "yeah hear that, squad! And not to mention we've still got to celebrate for today's mission!
"But we didn't get the info," she uttered.
"No, but no-one got hurt either and that's a victory in my book!" he smiled, "yo ho, fiddly dee! Being a pirate is alright with me! Do what you want because a pirate is free! You are a pirate! You are a pirate! Come on everyone!"
"Yo ho, fiddly dee! Being a pirate is alright with me!" the entire squad chursed through the vehicle. She couldn't stop the smile forming on her face, even if they are criminals, it's weird. They clearly have no intention of hurting anyone and have been nothing but welcoming since she was sent in. She soon joined in with the little song celebration with the others, "do what you want because a pirate is free! You are a pirate!"
Thanks for reading... Please Favourite, Follow and Review. Also, feel free to ask any questions through PM, I will answer them all, although don't expect too big of spoilers. Don't forget to vote in the polls. I really appreciate the support. Thank you and see ya next time...