Sheesh...been a little too long, eh?

Well well well, everyone, it's finally time! I'm back with a brand new chapter of Gravity Falls: Sinnoh Adventure! After finally putting Sun and Moon down for a moment, I decided it was just about high time I get off my ass and write a new chapter for this story. Speaking of; Sun and Moon are awesome! Go pick them up if you haven't already, you won't regret it!

Also, maaaaaybe I'll include Sun and Moon thingies in this story? Like Pokemon, Characters, Z-Moves...just maybe. Just maybe. I mean, after completing the main story in four days, and the whole Pokedex in about two weeks (I binged the game, it's actually pretty long), I feel it would be a crime to not include anything from it.

Anyways, in the previous chapter, the gang finally, finally, finally, FINALLY arrived in Veilstone City after, like, ten thousand chapters of buildup. In this chapter...well, it's just about that time for the gang to experience what the true nature of the city they've stepped into really is.

Now enough of my rambling, on with the show!

-Chapter 34: The Slums Of Sinnoh-

"Hm...um, well...alright, okay."

Dipper pursed his lips and clapped his hands together.

"Right, um...yeah." He nodded. "Okay, so...that's a thing. B-But we don't need to worry about it! Yet, anyways…!"

"What do ya mean?" Mabel threw up her arms. "Dipper, that's a Team Galactic building! We gotta storm it and take them out pronto!"

"Well wait a sec, we can't just do that!" Dipper protested. "If we just step in there, against all those Galactic Grunts...who's to say they won't cream us? That looks like a seriously renowned HQ type of building, tons of higher ups could be in there...we just aren't strong enough yet."

"Hold on, ain't Lucas over here ready to kick any kind of ass?" Wendy shrugged and gestured to the champion.

He rubbed the back of his head. "Maybe, but, eheh...even I don't know what I'd be up against. I don't have enough information on Team Galactic to make that kind of intervention."

"Yeah dudes, for all we know they could be usin' legendaries in there or somethin'." Soos suggested. "We aren't ready for that kinda mumbo jumbo."

Dipper looked down, and after a moment he huffed and looked up with a smile. "Alright, then let's block it out. We've made it to Veilstone, let's all just get to know this place! Lord knows we'll be staying here for who knows how long."

Everyone collectively smiled and nodded, and within seconds, they all dispersed into their own little groups.

The Galactic building loomed in the backs of their minds.

"You seem unrealistically calm right now." Wendy noted. She and Dipper walked along the streets, nearing the center of the large city.

"Why's that?" The boy looked up at her.

"Well I mean, you've been itching to hit up the gym here for a while, and it's a Fighting-Type gym." She elucidated. "Staravia would breeze through it and Monferno would meet his match. Maybe Combee would even get a chance to shine."

"True, true, but I'm horribly under prepared." Dipper responded. "Remember? We never got to hit up the Hearthome Gym due to Fantina's injuries, so I'm not exactly properly leveled. I'll need to train a bit before tackling it."

"When do you think you'll make an attempt?"

He smirked. "Tomorrow morning. It'll be my terminal action here."

She rolled her eyes. "That sounded depressing and dorky."

"Oh hush." Dipper grunted, before removing the egg from his backpack. He held it in his arms, the smooth, warm surface unmoving in his gentle grasp. "I also want to take the time to study this egg. I mean, I really want to know what could be inside this thing, if it's been unhatched for half a century…"

Wendy stared at the egg. It gave off such a strange vibe, she wasn't entirely sure what to make of it. It was so mysterious and out of nowhere, she wondered if, after so long, the egg would even hatch at all. "Well...you better take care of it then. I don't wanna see any scrambled eggs."

"Pfft, well isn't that morbid?" Dipper snorted.

"Heh...you know, I'm wondering." Wendy began. "Your team's been kinda...stalemated for a while."

"Huh?" He blinked. "What do you mean 'stalemated'?"

"Like, you've had the same team for some time." Wendy opened her Pokedex. "Monferno, Staravia, Magikarp, Combee...the same four. The only new inclusion is this eternal egg, and they've all been roughly the same level. Train them, evolve them, or catch something new, dude. You can't just go the only journey with these four."

"Well...then YOU catch something too! What do YOU have for YOUR team?"

"Wartortle, Flareon, Rotom." She listed. "Oh, uh...yeah, maybe I SHOULD catch something new. It's about time we both did."

"Make it a challenge then?" Dipper smirked. "First one to catch a new teammate has to buy the other dinner at the Pokemon Center tonight. And I'm talking a teammate that you'll use, and a full meal that I'll eat."

Wendy chuckled and shoved him slightly. "Alright dork, you're on. Route 214 is just south of here, let's train and catch stuff out there."

"Yeah well, okay...it'd be a shame if someonegotaheadstart-!" Dipper rushed his words and sprinted ahead towards the southern exit of Veilstone.

Wendy's eyes widened before she made chase. "Dork, get back here! No fair!"

"Five, five, five...four, zero, seven, two...four, four, three, one." Soos dialed in the exceedingly long, hidden phone number on the back of his slightly worn card. He remained close to the active PC system, carefully holding the phone to his ear so his call could be as private as possible. "Cmon, dude, pick up…"

*Click*

"Yes?"

"Uh, hey, Mr. Cyrus dude...Soos reportin' in." Soos tugged on his collar, that sneaking feeling in his head making him more nervous than he needed to be. "I've just landed in Veilstone City...where are you?"

"Pleasure to hear from you, I'm afraid I can't acquaint with you at the moment. I'm docked in Sunnyshore City."

Soos blinked. "Sunnyshore City...where's that? Why are you there?"

"My business is of no concern to you right now, Soos. All you need to know is that I'm still within the Sinnoh Region."

"Yeah, sure...gotcha. Well, um...anything you need from me, dude?"

There was silence for a moment.

"Hm...not much that comes to mind. But I will say, your progress on your journey and your training is very excellent. It impresses me to a rather moderate degree, and I have something in mind for you. But there is, as you asked, one thing I need from you."

"What's that…?"

"South of Veilstone, down Route 214, is the Valor Lakefront. I need you to do research on it. You will not have to go there, but see what information you can find on it."

"The Valor Lakefront? What's there?" Soos asked.

"Information on one of the three lakebed Legendary Pokemon."

Dipper and Wendy had entered the long, expansive, somewhat mountainous route of Route 214. Route 214 was a rather well known route in Sinnoh for being the large connector of the three most influential cities in the region, Veilstone, Pastoria, and Sunnyshore. It also connected to a beach, and a lakeside resort, as well as the landmark of Lake Valor. Aside from the forests and mountainside being so evenly separated, the whole route was, to a literal degree, very straightforward.

"That's so oddly out of place." Wendy placed her hands on her hips. "Picket fences lining the route. Doesn't look right, really."

"Yeah, but that's not what we're here for." Dipper walked over and smirked with determination. "It's go time."

Wendy nodded. "You're on."

Dipper rushed past her and went up a small stairwell to their right, stepping up onto a small cliffside once he reached the top. Wendy watched him before she began to search through the grass. The tall grass, as thick and uneven as it was, was somewhat neatly contained between each line of picket fence on either side of her. She pressed through them and stepped into a patch of grass that was shorter and somewhat clearer.

"Sheesh, it's like there's nothing here…" Wendy squinted and peered through the grass, almost ready to give up, before an idea popped into her head. Removing a Pokeball from her pocket, she hastily called out her Flareon. The quadrupedal Fire-Type barked in delight as it felt the air. "Hey Flareon, let's search for a Pokemon to fight and catch, alright?"

Flareon yipped in agreement and sniffed the air, before scampering off into a pile of shrubs.

"H-Huh? Flareon, hold up!" Wendy reached for her Pokemon before a small burst of fire and smoke flew from the shrubbery, and out popped a small, strange looking Pokemon, resembling some kind of wooden figurine.

Wendy blinked. "Huh…? What the heck is that Pokemon?" She pulled out her Pokedex and aimed it at the creature.

Nuzleaf, the Wily Pokemon

Type: Grass/Dark

Ability: Chlorophyll

The sound of its grass flute makes its listeners uneasy. It lives deep in forests.

Nuzleaf was a bipedal Pokémon with a single green leaf atop its head. The Pokemon was mostly brown with a beige mask marking on its face, and it had a long, pointed nose. Its bulky thighs were also beige and had thin striations, and there were what appeared to be two nipples on its chest. It had thin arms with mitten-like hands.

"Nuzleaf, eh…?" The teen watched as the burning Nuzleaf extinguished its flame before diving back into the shrub, knocking out Flareon, who landed before Wendy. The Nuzleaf hopped back out, seeming very agitated and ready to battle.

She smirked. "Alright, found you. Flareon, use Swift!"

Flareon obeyed, summoning slightly translucent stars around its body, shooting them out at the Nuzleaf. The Grass-Type leaped high into the air, avoiding the stars just barely, before coming back down and striking Flareon on the head with its heel. The blow shoved Flareon down into a self-made ditch in the dirt, and Nuzleaf leaped back to where it once stood.

"Gah! Q-Quick Attack…!" Wendy was taken aback. For a Grass-Type, it could strike hard. She'd just have to strike back harder. "Flareon, quickly use Flame Wheel!"

The Fire-Type got up, and after a moment of wobbling, Flareon straightened itself and launched forward, curling into a fiery ball as it struck the surprised Nuzleaf. It flew back into the shrubs, lying atop them, slightly dazed.

"Perfect!" Wendy pulled out a shining, white Pokeball with a red line running through the center. "Premier Ball, go!"

She threw the ball with force, and it struck the Nuzleaf's temple. With little to no hesitation, Nuzleaf made no attempt to get away as its body was absorbed into the Premier Ball. It landed on the grass and wobbled, the ball blinking and shaking for what seemed like an eternity.

"C'mon, c'moooon…" Wendy clenched her fists. "Catch, catch, caaaatch…!"

Finally, the ball clicked. Nuzleaf was caught.

Wendy's eyes widened as she hopped into the air, pumping a fist as she did. "Oh yeah, now THAT is how you catch a Pokemon!"

She recalled her Flareon and hurried to pick up the ball. Staring at it, she put it away and grinned.

"Awesome, seems like someone owes me a free dinner tonight!"

"Whoa…" Pacifica stared up at the tall building looming before her, the dulled but refined orange walls standing out remarkably from the whole city around her. "So this is the Veilstone Department Store…? Why is the Department Store in THIS city, of all places…?"

"I knooow, right?" Mabel slid over beside her and hopped up and down with glee. "I wanna go in and buy everything!"

Pacifica rolled her eyes. "Yeah, figured you'd say that...I need some new clothes, I'm running out of stuff to wear and I have to wash the rest of my stuff tonight."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Grenda grinned and hurried in ahead of them.

"Ah, wait for us!" Candy and Mabel ran to follow.

Pacifica watched them go. She blinked before sighing. "Of course…"

"You gonna head in with them?" Lazy Susan approached.

"Yeah, I need to get out of...this." She gestured to the city around her. "This isn't exactly an appealing location, you know…"

"Mm, yeah, I have to agree, it's not that great…" Susan nodded. "But hey! I'm sure it's nice and warm inside!"

"Warm…?" Pacifica shivered. "I haven't even noticed that it's been getting colder, but I should've expected as much...Sinnoh is the coldest region."

"Yeah, right? Not exactly the most popular tourist trap!"

The two turned around. Stepping out of the Department Store was a rather tall male in his late teens or early twenties. He pulled down his scarf slightly, before tipping his fedora. He had slightly curled blonde hair, and a long, dark brown coat.

"How do you do, ladies?" He bowed a bit before standing upright again and grinning.

Pacifica blinked before eyeing him with confusion. "...uh...who are you?"

He smiled. "Dexio's the name. I'm from abroad, from a region called Kalos."

"Kalos…?" Pacifica's eyes widened. "Whoa, that's really far…"

"Dexio from Kalos, huh? What're you doing here?" Susan asked.

"I'm studying during my free time, but I'm mostly here on business, with my partner Sina." Dexio explained. "I work for Professor Sycamore, a regional professor in Kalos, but we're abroad for the time being to collaborate with Professor Rowan."

"Whoa. So you, like...know a lot about Pokemon then?" Pacifica pulled out a Pokeball. "Enough to battle?"

Pacifica hadn't ever challenged anyone before. Well, challenged anyone with the intent of having a fun fight. Aside from wanting to show Mabel up in the past, this would be her first real time starting a fight.

"Maaaaaybe." Dexio smirked and tossed up a Pokeball, catching it. "I gotta warn you though, I'm a master of the Psychic-Type." He tossed up his Pokeball, and out popped a Kadabra. Dexio crossed his arms. "You still wanna fight?"

Pacifica breathed, before throwing out her own Pokeball. Out popped her Furfrou, which growled at the Kadabra. She smirked. "If I win, you gotta tell me what you're studying."

"A wager?" Dexio felt one of the bracelets on his wrists. Pacifica eyed the strange, hexagonal white bracelet. "Alright, I accept. You can make the first move."

"Alright then, Furfrou, use Take Down!"

"Ooh! I'll buy this, and this, and that, oh and this, and maybe that too…" Mabel was jumping around between aisles, the top floor of the Veilstone Department Store incredibly packed with knick-knacks that would catch anyone's eyes.

"We don't have a ton of money, Mabel." Grenda chuckled nervously.

"Yes, do not spend all of our prize money we have earned." Candy noted.

"Relaaax girls, I won't spend a ton of- oof!" Mabel hadn't been paying attention; she bumped into someone and fell back to the floor.

"Ah! I'm sorry!"

A hand was offered to Mabel, and she looked up to lock eyes with a young woman, probably around twenty or so, with two long, bangs stemming from her dark purple hair. She smiled, removing a mitten before offering her hand again. Mabel took it with a smile of her own.

"Sorry I bumped into you, Miss!" She couldn't help but giggle.

"Oh, it's fine, really!" The woman noticed her Pokedex as she helped her up. "A Pokedex... ? Are you one of Rowan's trainers?"

"Huh?" Mabel looked down at her Dex. "Oh, yeah! I've been a trainer for a month now, and Professor Rowan gave me it and my starter!" Mabel called out her Grotle. "We're as strong as ever!"

The girl smiled. "I used to be one of Rowan's pupils, but now my partner and I are assistants to a foreign professor, Sycamore from the Kalos region!"

"Whooooaaaaa…" Mabel looked at her in awe. "You're from another region? You work for another professor?!"

"That's right, young lady." From behind the older girl came a tall man, dressed in a blue shirt and lab coat, with slightly curled, sporadic black hair. "Sina here is one of my two assistants. The other one is outside I believe."

"Ooh...are you the professor from the other region?"

"Quite right." He snapped his fingers. "I'm Professor Sycamore, from the Kalos region. And you are?"

"Oh, I'm Mabel! I'm an assistant to Professor Rowan, I guess." Mabel shrugged but still grinned. "You guys are working with Rowan? What are you working on?"

Sycamore smiled. "Miss Mabel, tell me...have you ever heard of Mega Evolution?"

"Ha, I beat you good!"

"Augh, stop rubbing it in…"

Dipper sighed, over dramatically eating his meal slowly. Everyone was piled on the top floor of the Pokemon Center, eating meals fit for kings and queens; with the exception of Wendy, who was dining on a far more expensive dish she had made Dipper buy her, as a result of him losing their capture contest. It was a busy first day in Veilstone, and tomorrow would definitely be no different.

"We all had a lot to do today." Wendy said, twirling her Premier Ball on her finger. "I caught brand new teammate."

"I met Professor Sycamore and learned about Mega Evolution!" Mabel cheered. "It's like...I didn't get a lot of details but it's...it's like a fourth stage?"

"A fourth stage of evolution…?" Dipper blinked.

"Professor Rowan studies normal evolution, and Professor Sycamore studies Mega Evolution." Lucas explained. "I know a fair bit about the process myself, but I can see Sycamore wants the surprise to stay that way."

"Dexio didn't even tell me much about it." Pacifica shrugged. "Do you use it against challengers at the league, Lucas?"

"Yeah, most of the time." Lucas nodded. "Still, with so little information floating around Sinnoh on the process, the best way to learn about it is to go to Kalos, where it's the common tongue."

Everyone nodded. It was a strange topic to them all, Mega Evolution, and with a new professor studying abroad with Rowan, it was a bit too much to take in with how tired they all were. After a moment of silence, Dipper spoke up.

"Say, Lucas...you said you've been the champion for...uh, how long again?"

"Ten years." He replied. "Why do you ask?"

"Well...who was the champion before you?" Dipper asked.

"Yeah, who was it?" Mabel grinned.

Lucas chuckled. "It was someone I haven't seen since the day I took the title...a woman named Cynthia."

Mabel's eyes widened. "Cynthia? Did she, like, have blonde hair and a black robe-dress-thingy?"

He blinked. "Yeah...why?"

"Soos and I met her in Eterna City! You mean SHE used to be the CHAMPION?!"

"Whoa...she still is in Sinnoh, then…" Lucas muttered. "...yeah, Cynthia was the champion alright, and she was really tough, probably still is."

"She gave Soos an egg, and me the Hidden Machine for Cut!"

"Actually, speaking of that…" Wendy swallowed. "Where is Soos?"

They all went silent and looked around. He wasn't in the room.

Nobody said anything.

Soos returned to the Pokemon Center late at night, hurrying to the PC to make another phone call. He panted, holding the research notebook in his hand as he dialed the long number. After a moment, Cyrus picked up.

"Hey, dude, I got the research you wanted."

"What an ungodly hour for you to call...what did you find out?"

Soos looked down at the pages of notes he had taken. "So uh, the legends say that the Legendary Pokemon of Willpower, Azelf, is the one that rests at the bottom of Lake Valor. And, uh, that's all I could find out...sorry dude."

"No need to apologize, that information is fine. You've done a fine job, progressing and helping me, and I finally have my reward for you. I would like to give you-"

"Wait." Soos breathed and stopped the man. For the longest time, a question had been brewing in his mind. "Mr. Cyrus, dude...who are you? What are you doing all this research for?"

There was a silence, and Soos wondered if the call was cut, or if he hung up.

But then Cyrus spoke again.

"I am the boss of Team Galactic, and I would like to appoint you as a commander. Your new alias is Commander Mercury."

-(End Of Chapter)-

To be continued!

...wow.

Uh, wow, right? A lot of stuff happened in this chapter, and this isn't even the season finale. That's NEXT chapter. Sheesh...I can't even say much, I hope you all have something to say though!

Anyways...time for another cipher.

VBFDPRUH LV QRW WKH RQOB SURIHVVRU VWXGBLQJ DEURDG

Go ahead and solve it if you can!

I hope you've enjoyed this chapter, reviews are highly, highly appreciated, and as always…

Stay Tuned!

~087-B