Alex Knight never really thought himself into books before he didn't care about research or anything to do with legendary Pokémon. That was all before he had went to the dark woods last spring. He had heard that a Avantura rockruff were coming Pokémon up there. If he could catch that or a Avantura dusk lycanroc that would make Alex very happy and his team stronger. That was why he went to the infamous dark woods. It wasn't so bad that people had made it out to be. Then Alex saw a girl with a mask in the woods, she didn't actually attack him. Instead, she talked to Alex. Here, she explained that she was part of The Righteous and hated them. Then she explained The a righteous plan to Alex. That they planned to unlock three legendary Pokémon and crush the Institute and rule over Avantura. That they had to be stopped before it was too late. So Alex Knight had lied about having the battle with The Righteous member. He couldn't let anyone know about his soy within the evil organization.
She had told him the names of the three legendaries: Hidrarian, Cerbic, and Ptica. Hidrarian was a hydra like Pokémon, Cerbic was a three headed fire dog Pokémon, and Ptica was simply known as King of the Birds. Alex had been secretly studying and learning about the legendaries.of course his research had been interrupted by his hatred of Ava, but now that was resolved and he could return to finding out more about the legendary trio. Not even Bunny knew about his research as it was not exactly ethical. Alex may or may not have snuck into the professors section of the library and stolen some documents related to the legendary mons. They would not notice they were gone at least Alex hoped not. Plus if they did notice some things were missing then no one expect Alex Knight, it was the perfect plan. Plus, he needed to know exactly what they were getting into.
The clue to Ptica was supposedly located within the dark forest. 'From the endless water where the ancient beasts live.", was written in the margins of the book on the section about the bird Pokémon. This creature fascinated Alex as Ptica supposedly was stronger than even Ho oh and the Kanto trio. According to the book, Ptica was a peaceful Pokémon that would only fight when provoked. It's rival was Hidarian, the hydra Pokémon. Ptica was a Pokémon that preferred solitude and supposedly was the protector of the northern part of Avantura. The ancient citizens of Avantura worshipped Ptica as the one that could control the other two Pokémon. According to the legends, Ptica was controlled by a ancient family from Avantura. Alex looked to see what that family was, but the name had been scratched out. It was weird, but then Alex turned to the other two Pokémon that he found in the documents.
Cerbic was referred to as "the protector of the weak." The three headed Cerberus creature had been seen in Povijesni, the ancient city. It was said that Cerbic was vicious, but only when engaged in battle. It never intentionally harmed people and would live in peace and harmony with the people that lived in the city before it became ruins and destroyed. 'Upon the rock, you'll find the key to the 3 headed beast' was again written in the margins. Cerbic lived in harmony with Ptica and in fact both preferred peace to fighting according to the documents. It was Hidarian that supposedly was against these other two mons. Again an ancient family controlled Cerbic. The name of the family was crossed out with black marker. Alex held it up to the light to see if he could make out any letters within the margins. But it was to know success. Alex was keeping notes of his own just in case he had to return these documents to the section where only professors could access them.
Then came Hidarian. The picture or sketch of the mon sent shivers up Alex's back. He had never seen a beast like that in his life. It looked vicious and terrifying. Of course the title it was listed as "the living nightmare." The Hidarian had several heads that apparently would pop up if it ever lost one. The creature lived up to its reputation apparently as it terrified water type Pokémon and sailors. It ruled the sea with viciousness and would often sink ships that crossed its territory. It brought violence and death wherever it went. People were terrified of even going to the Gold Coast just outside of Zlato because of the creature. There was no hint where to find the Hidarian which Alex could understand because why would anyone want to try and unlock this beast. It obviously could not be controlled. It was terrifying and the natural rivals of the other two Pokémon. In fact Hidarian hates them with all of his being. There was no way the three could live together.
So the family that controlled the two other ancient Pokémon went to war against the vicious Hidarian. The war warped Avantura. Buildings were destroyed, people and Pokémon died, and Avantura was on the brink of destruction. All three mons just roe into one another. According to the legend in the writings. But then the vicious Hidarian was put down and captured by the ancient family. They had used something stronger than a master ball according to the document. Alex was captivates by all of this. Then he read that the people of Avantura decided to hide all of this information. That they wiped it out from their history except for a piece of art. The people needed something to hide their history and make Avantura the pinnacle of the world again. Enter Luka Babic and his idea for The Institute. Yes, The Institute was created to hide the fact that there had been a war in Avantura. Alex was stunned , but the next thing he would read would shock him to his core.
Alex saw the name of the family in the other documents he had scattered about his room. The reveal of the family name almost made Alex throw up. The name of the family was in black and white staring him in the face: Allaire. So apparently the Allaire family were descendants of the founders of Avantura. In fact the documents pointed out that the Allaire family were The Founders of Avantura. But Nikki had said that she was from Kalos not Avantura, had she lied to them all? But from what Ava had said that wasn't Nikki's character. She wouldn't lie to them plus JJ would have said something if Nikki was acting weird. Perhaps a Alex had gotten her name wrong, maybe it wasn't Allaire perhaps it was something else. Alex took out his phone and compared the names against one another, they were a perfect match. This really didn't make sense, wouldn't people at the Institute have known about Nikki being an Allaire? Then it hit him: they all knew. All the professors knew, if Alex could get these documents they could too. So they had to know. Especially JJ's uncle.
His head was spinning. He didn't know what to do except to hope that he didn't get found out. That's when he remembered JJ, Nikki, Ava, and Kat were all hanging out today. Alex pulled out one of his pokeballs and pushed the button releasing his Toucannon, Sam, from her pokeball. The shiny normal and flying type could see that her trainer was worried, Sam tilted her head, "Cannon?" Alex was firm with his look which Sam knew meant that he was serious. She hadn't seen this look in a while which meant that she needed to pay attention to what he was going to say. Alex knew exactly who he needed to talk to about this with even though she needed a break from him. "Sam, go get Kat and Ava. If Nikki and JJ are still there bring them too. Ask them to get James. It's very important. I don't care what Kat or Ava say. They need to come here with all the people I mentioned, ok?", the Toucannon nodded and flapped her wings as Alex opened the window for her.
There was sill one other person he needed to get. Someone that would know what to do. She may be pissed at how he got the items, but she had to know about what was going on. Alex ran across the hall and started banging on the door. "BUNNY, BUNNY I need you. This isn't a sex thing it's important. I need to talk to you now!", he continued to bang as loud as possible on the door to get Bunny up. He knew the girl was supposed to get her cast off soon so he hoped he wasn't too late. Finally the door handle jiggled as Bunny, without a cast, opened her door. The short girl blinked, "huh Alex whats wrongwhats wrong? You didn't get Jj or Kat pregnant did you?" Bunny laughed expecting Alex to make a snarky joke, but he didn't. Bunny saw thaAlex to make a joke. He didn't, his face was stone cold. This concerned Bunny. He looked scared which scared Bunny. She never never had seen Alex look scared before, but here he did. This terrified Bunny. "Alex, what's wrong! Tell me!", her voice was so filled with worry. Alex just motioned for her to follow him to his room.
Bunny didn't know how Alex got ahold of these documents nor did she care. What she was concerned about was what Alex had just shown her. It wasn't the Pokémon, but what was said about the Institute and the Allaire family. Nikki's family controlled these beasts? The Institute was created to hide these creatures? So it was a cover up by the administration and the professors. What about Nikki, what did she know? "Bunny, do you think Nikki has been telling us the truth? That she is from Kalos? Cause I am questioning everything now. I don't know what to believe.", his tone wasn't mean. He was just stunned just like she was. Bunny considered it for a moment. It was weird that Nikki wouldn't know her families history and she did have a mega stone which meant that she was a strong trainer, but did she have a secret legendary? Bunny didn't know. But she knew Nikki was kind and sweet if she knew her history she would have said something. "I trust Nikki. She wouldn't be so manipulative.", still Bunny wasn't so sure if she believed that herself.
There was a knock on Alex's door, "Alex open up. We got your message. What did you want?" Alex opened up as James, JJ, Kat, Ava, and Nikki walked in. Alex just ignored everyone else and stared at Nikki. This concerned everyone in the room, the pink haired freshman most of all. "What's up Alex, you're looking at me like you've fallen in love with me.", Nikki smirked. Alex didn't react, he just handed her the book of documents.
Her body shook, she couldn't control it as she just shifted through document after document. Here was her family history in front of her. Not the one she had been told over and over again. Her parents, were they even her parents?, had told her that they were former gym trainers that had retired to start a family. That they had met when they challenged the Kalos league together. That was a lie, one of them had to be from Avantura. Then there was her godfather or whatever Franz Babic was. He had lied and lied to her just like the people she called her parents had. Was this the reason why she had been pushed so hard to go to The Institute? Because she was some sort of distant relative of the founders of Avantura? Maybe they meant some other Allaires. Nikki was shocked she felt sick. The worst was how everyone looked at her like she was a liar, they judged her. They thought that she knew what was going on, but she didn't. The worst of all was how Ava stared at Nikki. Nikki looked up to Ava like a big sister and for Ava to look at Nikki with so much hurt, broke Nikki's heart. She really didn't know anything about any of the things listed in the documents. Nikki's eyes watered. The worst was how Ava looked at her. She looked up to the twenty year old like a older sister. But Ava looked at Nikki like Nikki had just broke her heart. Nikki's eyes filled with tears.
"I...didn't...know...I swear...", the pink haired female cried so hard that she started to cough. She had made friends with all these people and now they looked at her as a stranger. Even JJ, her best friend! "I grew up in Kalos... I didn't know anything about this... everything I told you guys was true...", she took a deep breath. She hadn't told them EVERYTHING. There was a secret that Nikki had been hiding, a secret that she had been sworn to keep. Her godfather had said that no one could find out about their relationship. That it would hurt both Franz and Nikki if anyone could have found out. It would ruin a Franz if people found out he was using preferred treatment for his goddaughter. So Nikki had kept quiet until now, "the ...only.. secret... I ...kept... was... Franz Babic is my godfather. He is the reason why I enrolled here. I didn't know that my family was connected to Avantura until now. I swear to Arceus. Please believe me. I didn't want you guys to think I was only here because of him.", there was an audible gasp from the room. Nikki wailed as she pleaded with her friends to trust her. She looked at JJ and Ava, those were the only ones she cared about at this moment.
The usually stoic Ava got up and walked across the room towards Nikki. Nikki looked up as Ava gave her a hug. Ava turned Nikki's face towards hers, she too had a secret related to whatever Franz was doing with Nikki. "Your godfather told me to watch over you before you came here. That you were special. You are special, but not in the way he thought. You're a great trainer and a great friend. It's not because of whatever this thing with your family is or whatever reason he has to have you here. You made me a better mentor, Nikki.", Nikki sniffled and hugged Ava back. She had been here for Nikki in so many ways. This was just another example of this. Ava pulled back and rubbed Nikki's arms, she had a look of concern and guilt on her face. "Nikki, when I was talking to your godfather, he said that you were undefeated as a battler. Is that true?", Nikki shook her head emphatically. She wasn't undefeated when she came to the university. This just added to the oddness of this whole thing. And it centered around Nikki.
Everyone processed what they heard and read. It was mind blowing, Alex was going to speak up, but James cut him off. "Alex, I know you planned on having us go look for clues to stop The Righteous during the break, but we can't. Not with everything going on. I'll tell Andy, Jer, Royce, but we are out. We can't risk our health and safety. We aren't strong enough. Plus, Ava has some information and with this new information it's not safe.", Ava nodded as did Bunny and JJ. This was way too dangerous. "Alex, they're killing people for information. We can't risk our own health to stop this. I am sorry, but I am out too.", Alex looked at at Bunny who was agreeing as was Nikki. Kat looked at Alex, it was the first time they had been in the same room since the talk. She nodded too as she agreed with what James and Ava said. Alex sighed, defeated, "fine. I agree with you guys. We won't go forward with my plan." Kat Kiner knew the man she was in love with better than he knew himself. She knew that mischievous look when he told a lie. 'This dumbass is going to get himself killed. He's still going to do it.', Kat was worried.
Alex wanted to tell them about running into The Righteous girl last year, but he was going to keep that in his back pocket. They didn't need to know that. James would ask the question that everyone had on their mind, "Alex, how did you get ahold of this information? It's not like this stuff is just available to students to check out. So how did you get ahold of that information?" Everyone looked at Alex, they wanted to know how he did get ahold of this information. Of course Kat had a sinking feeling that she knew the answer. Being a assistant she knew the sections where only professors could go. This was clearly a book found in that area. Alex's smirk confirmed it, "I borrowed it from the professors only section. I had heard whispers about this information and decided to check it out for myself." Bunny would smack Alex in the back of the head for Kat. If Alex got caught with these documents he risked expulsion. Sometimes he was still an utter dumbass.
"Guys, what if the Righteous comes after Nikki? They have to know that Nikki is an Allaire and is a student here? Won't they want to kidnap her or hurt her in order to unlock the legendary Pokémon?", JJ was concerned for her roommate. She had moved next to Nikki and was comforting her. Nikki was still a mess and had not stopped crying and shaking. Of course JJ would protect her best friend. She had already proven that earlier in the year. "Ava, said some senior mentor was part of the Righteous. He has a freshman mentee, so won't they try to do something to Nikki? Like I will protect her at all costs, but I can't be with her all the time." Kat had been wearing a bun, but she let her long black hair down as she put it into a ponytail. All the upperclassmen knew what this meant: Kat was pissed and meant business. "I'll handle Kuroku, and if anyone comes after Nikki, we will take care of them too. Nobody hurts my friends.", everyone, but Nikki seemed to nod in agreement. They were friends and would take on anyone who tried to hurt one of them.
"NO! PLEASE!", Nikki cried. Everyone turned to her. The poor girl was an utter mess. Her makeup was running, but she shook from the shock of it all. She couldn't risk anyone else getting hurt not after what happened to her brother and JJ. It would kill her if something happened to them. Whatever The Righteous would do to her wouldn't compare to the pain she would feel if her friends got hurt because of her. It would kill Nikki. "I cannn't.. my brother... JJ..." they all..nearly died because of me...please guys...just let them take me...I'll do whatever they want...just don't get hurt. Please...", Nikki gaged from the pain and sadness she was feeling. She would rather sacrifice herself to those sick bastards than risk the group of friends getting hurt. The sound of flesh hitting flesh echoed. Ava was panting hard and she had tears in her eyes. She had not cried in years, not even after what Alex did to her. But here she was concerned and crying over the person she considered a younger sister. "Shut the fuck up Nikki. If we want to protect you we will. Don't you dare talk like that ever again!", Ava hugged Nikki. She spoke for everyone in the room.
"I'm more concerned with what the professors are going to do.", everyone looked at Alex. He had made this off handed comment that took everyone by surprise. Even JJ looked very confused at aa,ex. Her uncle would never do anything like this. He would never hurt a student. It was Uncle Davis, the kindest man that JJ knew. He wouldn't be involved with this mess. Not her uncle. But then JJ remembered the fact that her uncle had tried to get her to leave The Institute when she was in the hospital. How he had insisted that she leave for her safety. She had thought it was weird then and now with this additional information it started to make sense. Would he really cover up all of this? Alex knew he would have to explain his statement. "Look, they were clearly trying to hide all this information. They all know who Nikki is and what she means. They've been hiding what has been going on here from the start. They know the history of this place and will want to protect it. Say desperate times arise, are we sure the professors wouldn't want to use Nikki to unlock these legendaries?", everyone looked at JJ.
The tan brunette turned pale white. Her uncle? No he would never hurt Nikki. He was the reason why she came here to the university. He would never hurt Nikki. Alex was talking out of his ass. And yet, what he said made sense. This wasn't her uncle Davis, this was someone else. JJ held firm as all eyes fell on her. Everyone knew who her uncle was and that he was probably involved in this coverup. Yet JJ did not crack. Yes, she was a bit sad, but she was more concerned about figuring out what was going on. "I'll talk to Uncle Davis. We needed to talk for a while. But I have to do it alone. Alex, I know you would want to be there for me, but I have to talk to my uncle. So let me do it by myself, he'll be honest with me without feeling pressured. I know him and understand him.", JJ looked at everyone, but mostly at the guy she had been seeing. He was sweet and kind and would want to support her, but this was a private matter. Alex respected that.
"Fuck that!", Nikki had stopped shaking. She looked at JJ. Her hazel eyes red with pain at her best friend. "JJ, I want to know what your uncle knew. I want him to ok me in the eyes and tell me what is going on. He clearly knows my family history and the history of the region. He has been playing games all year. I want him to look at me and try to lie. I want to know the truth. JJ, this isn't about you it's about him and what he knows. Plus, if he knows where these Pokémon are or has an idea then we should know. Please, let me go with you.", Nikki begged. JJ couldn't say no, she nodded. Nikki deserved to know about her history and what Davis knew. There was a cough from someone that drew everyone's attention. "He's my boss. I'm going to. And JJ before you argue with me, you owe me and I am cashing in my favor.", it took JJ a second to realize Kat was talking about allowing her to peruse Alex. She blushed and nodded, Kat would join them in confronting Davis as well.
So everyone agreed that they would scrap Alex's plan for the October break. None of them would go into Righteous territory. Instead they would go do regular student stuff. Everyone agreed that a Nikki could not be left alone and they would take shifts protecting her. The three girls would confront a Davis after the next class. All of them filed out of Alex's room. This gave the sophomore privacy to confirm his reservation for the northern part of Avantura. Yes, he was going to the dark woods like last year. He had to stop the Righteous no matter what. Alex knew that they had he first clue. It was imperative that this group was stopped. It was stupid, but he didn't care. He had to help protect his friends.