After taking some time to think about the direction of this story, I've been able to see that this League is definitely a very long arc and I apologize for how long it's been going on and I hope to improve this in the future. However, until then I hope to continue on with this and try to add some variety in upcoming chapters that will put the spotlight on other characters outside of the main squad, especially for characters that we've not seen in a while. Thank you all for your continued patience with this story and for the reviews that I've been seeing, positive reviews are appreciated and reviews that are more critical especially so as I want to learn how I can grow as a writer.
Okay, mini update/rant over! Enjoy this next chapter!
"You... just what is exactly is going to happen to you?"
Jack sat in a stunned silence before turning to look over at his friends to search for an answer or hear what they had to say after the prediction Sakura had just given him. Being met with looks of confusion and apprehension did little to calm his nerves. The unsettling silence that had clouded over the group was finally broken by Cynthia.
"It resembled Arceus...?" She asked. "What could that possibly mean? From some of the old legends I've read, Arceus is described as having one-thousand arms, emerging from an egg in a place that was composed of nothingness. What could you possibly mean when you say that the creature you saw resembled Arceus?"
Sakura furrowed her brow and stared at her crystal with a deeply contemplative look, all eyes shifting back to her.
"I... have no idea. From the old Hisuian artwork of Arceus that I've been able to see, the pokemon, if it even is one, had a similar body shape to Arceus. But it was also different in that it was pitch black instead of white, it's hind legs were gone, the ring around it's abdomen was bigger and there was something resembling a chain coming out of it's body. You seem to know more about Arceus and ancient myths as a whole more than I do, does that description fit the bill for anything you've ever read?"
Cynthia raised her hand to her chin and thought for a moment, Julia and Renée looked at each other with a morbid sense of wonder in their eyes before looking at Jack and then at their aunt. Diego's mouth went dry as he could feel a chill going down his back. Jack's eyes were locked onto Cynthia as he was beginning to turn pale with anxiety.
"Oh!" Cynthia began. "There was one story I once read about when I last went to the Canalave Library! It said that the physical avatar of Arceus, that is, the physical form we know it as, is actually just a piece of it's whole being. The true form of Arceus is said to be completely unknown and incomprehensible in terms of description."
"So Arceus, the literal God of all pokemon as we know it, is actually so strong there aren't even words for it and it's impossible to even think of what it could look like?!" Diego exclaimed. "That's... awesome and terrifying!"
"But, what does that mean for me?" Jack asked, finally breaking his silence. "In your prediction, you made it seem like I have to fight Arceus!"
"Y-you very well might." Sakura admitted. "I'm really, really sorry to say this but I have no idea of the context for what I saw. From the creature that might be Arceus, to the sudden change from the first part of the prediction-"
"That's another thing." Renée piped up. "What was the first part of that about? You said something about a giant machine and another pokemon that was 'like every color at once'."
"So, was it Ho-oh?" Jack asked, to which Sakura shook her head defiantly.
"No, it definitely wasn't Ho-oh, that much I can assure you. I'm certain I saw at least four legs, but it's body was also indescribable. I... I don't want to bring this back up again but based on what this woman said, it may also be Arceus. Perhaps it's manifesting itself in a different form this time? Like I said, I can't say for sure since I have no idea what the context for these visions are!"
"What about the machine you saw in the first part?" Diego asked.
"Well it wasn't a pokemon, that's for sure." Sakura sighed. "It looked a bit like a spider, but with six giant legs made of metal at its sides, two big arms with blades at the end that looked like machetes, two cannons on... what could I could only describe as its shoulders? A smaller cannon with six muzzles in the center of its front aimed at Jack from where he was standing, and a large cockpit that I wasn't able to see inside of."
"So someone was, or I guess will be, inside of that machine." Jack noted, looking back at the crystal as he sank back into the chair he was resting on. For him, it felt like the only thing keeping him upright as this onslaught of information felt like it was making the very air around him heavier.
"What about that girl?" Verity piped up. "You said she looked homeless because she wasn't wearing shoes. Um... don't some people like not wearing shoes?"
"Yeah." Renée added. "Lavender Town's gym leader is one of those kinds of people, I think."
"Hey, it was the first thing I noticed about her!" Sakura raised her hands up in defense of herself. "Besides I don't even know who she is! However, I will admit that it is wrong to make assumptions like that. Though I do stand by saying that whoever that girl is, I think she might actually be homeless or some kind of troubled child. Aside from the lack of shoes, I remember seeing that her hair was a messy dark green and her eyes were the same color. She was wearing grey pants and a long sleeved grey shirt that was a little darker around her wrists and collar. If the pokemon I saw was indeed Arceus, then this girl somehow managed to befriend it, or at least ally herself with it somehow. I couldn't see what happened after since the vision ended before I could see anything else. Do any of you happen to know a girl that fits that description?"
The negative head shakes from everyone only seemed to enhance the confusion and mystery of the fortune.
"I've never met anyone that looks like what you described." Jack began. "The only girl I know that's around the age you said is my little sister, but you said this girl looked around eleven or twelve and my sister is only nine. Plus she doesn't look like that and she's too nice to try messing with legendary and mythical pokemon, no matter how smart she is. But if this is all supposed to happen in my future then it's going to be someone I will meet. If whoever that girl is had a pokemon that looked like Arceus with her and I was facing off against them, then I don't even know what I would do in that situation. Then there's the part with that machine and other unknown pokemon..."
Jack looked almost as pale as Sakura as he leaned onto the table with his head in his hands, billions of questions racing through his head as he tried to comprehend everything he was hearing. A hand on his shoulder caught his attention as he turned to see that it was Diego looking at him with a big smile.
"Hey, don't freak out over this. Whatever's happening in that fortune, you're tough enough to handle it and you won't go through it alone, all of us have got your back."
Cynthia, Verity and the twins all nodded and voiced their agreement as Sakura also gave the anxious trainer a warm smile.
"Your friend is right. Many people can become anxious about their fortunes and, while yours may be very strange, you will not be alone when the time comes to face them, if it comes at all. Admittedly my fortunes are rarely ever wrong, but the future is never set in stone. There is a chance none of this may happen at all, but if it does then you must keep your chin up. You're strong enough to make it as far as you already have, you and everyone dear to you are only growing stronger as time passes and you will persevere if you band together!"
A beeping sound from Sakura's pocket cut the moment short.
"Oh! It looks like we'll have to cut this sweet, tense, yet melodramatic moment short! Renée, our battle is set to begin in just a few minutes so we should be getting to the arena right away!" The fortune-teller proclaimed. The gang released a mix of sighs of relief and huffs of frustration at the moment suddenly being ruined before their attitudes shifted for the upcoming battle.
"Well, I guess we should be going." Renée sighed. "I think we all need something to get our mind off of what we just heard. Sakura, I admit I had my doubts about your clairvoyance, and a part of me still does, but you seem like an alright person and I'm looking forward to this battle."
"As am I." Sakura replied. The seven headed towards the arena as the sun had nearly descended completely, allowing stars to become visible in a sky that had a bit of red-orange burning against the sea of indigo and black.
"Hmm, it's supposed to be around here somewhere..."
Sinead looked around the walkways that stretched out before her. The amount of people she had seen decreased which she was thankful for, but she seemed preoccupied with her search. That is, until she bumped into something.
"Ow..." Sinead heard someone say. It sounded like a girl but the bump she had taken stunned her enough for her to shut her eyes tight and rub her head in pain. Once she finally opened them she saw the girl she had bumped into sitting on the ground with a bag at her side, some of its contents fallen onto the ground. She looked to be around the same age as Sinead herself, if not just a bit younger. She was covering her face in her hands but Sinead was able to see that this girl's hair was a light lavender color that was tied into a long ponytail. She was wearing a light green shirt and skirt of the same color, white socks that went up to her knees and purple sneakers. In a way she sort of looked like the Picnicker trainers from Hoenn, yet noticeably different. Sinead thought she looked familiar somehow but just couldn't put her finger on how. When the girl finally uncovered her face Sinead was able to see that the girl's eyes were the same lavender as her hair. The look on her face was one of extreme shyness and anxiety, especially when their eyes met.
"S-s-sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going... A-are you alright?" She asked. Sinead dusted herself off and helped the girl up to her feet.
"I'm fine, are you okay though? You seem pretty shaken up."
"I-I'm fine... Ah! Oh no!"
The girl scrambled to check everything that fell from her bag for damages, her hands visibly shaking as she checked everything. Sinead helped the nervous wreck collect everything with an empathetic smile on her face.
"Th-thank you!" The girl said with a polite bow of her head.
"No problem!" Sinead assured. "My name's Sinead, what's yours?"
"Sh-Shelly. Shelly Citra."
"Nice to meet you, Shelly!" Sinead greeted, shaking the girl's still trembling hand. "Citra... why does that name sound familiar?"
"You probably know of it because of my big brother, he's a very strong trainer! He's one of the best in all of Johto, he even got promoted to one of their Elite Four! He and I came here to watch the tournament!" Shelly explained, her shyness practically vanishing at the mention of her sibling. "I wanted to get some food and souvenirs for him and our parents, but I got lost and then I bumped into you..."
Shelly shyness came back just as quickly as it had disappeared as she began tremble ever so slightly and held her bag close to her chest.
"Hey, no need to get upset!" Sinead assured. "Tell you what, I'll help you find your brother if you want!"
Shelly's eyes lit up as her jaw dropped a bit at the sudden assistance.
"Really?!" She replied. "Th-that would be really nice! Thank you!"
"Of course! I can't just leave a kid alone to fend for herself!" Sinead smiled before sighing a bit. "I was also looking for a fortune telling booth that was supposed to be around here but I have no idea where it is. Helping someone in need should come before personal gain."
"That... really means a lot..." Shelly sniffled, looking like she was on the verge of tears. "Nobody's really done something like that for me before."
"Wait, really?!" Sinead said in shock. "What about your brother? Hasn't he looked out for you before?!"
The tears of joy that the younger girl was about to shed almost turned into tears of sorrow upon hearing that.
"N-not really. Sometimes it feels like he and my parents act like I don't even exist... I wanted to get something nice for them so that they would be happy with me and interact with me at least a little more..."
Now it was Sinead's turn to look like she was about to cry. She had seen and experienced sad things on her journey; a wounded pokemon, someone struggling with their job or dealing with troublesome people, the news about Jack having to go on the run because of Team Dark Star... But hearing about neglect like this left her heart feeling heavier than it had in a long time.
"Well then we better find him and talk to him!" Sinead assured. "Who cares if he's part of the Elite Four, that doesn't mean you can be like that towards anyone, let alone your little sister!"
Shelly's eyes lit up again as Sinead took her hand to go find her brother.
"Th-thank you, Sinead. I really mean that... Um, also, the fortune telling booth you were talking about, it's right over there." Shelly said, pointing to the navy blue tent that Sakura sat at before leaving for her battle. Sinead looked over at the tent with a look on embarrassment, bewilderment, and frustration on her face. "The girl who usually runs the tent is a trainer in the tournament and she's battling right now."
"Gah! That's right! She's battling my friend Renée right now!" Sinead gasped.
"D-Did you want to watch the battle? I can, um, find my brother on my own if it's a problem for you..."
"No, no!" Sinead assured, patting Shelly's hand gently. "I mean, I do want to watch my friend's battle, but like I said, you come first! It's not the end of the world if I miss one battle. Now, come on, let's go find your brother!"
The search for Shelly's brother yielded no immediate results on the road they met nor the path adjacent to it. Despite this, the two girls kept their spirits high as their search did only just begin.
"Is that who I think it is?!"
Sinead's eyes widened before her brows furrowed and her mouth curled into a pout as she turned to face the source of the voice. The sight of those twin, reddish-pink pigtails brought a ton of frustration that Sinead didn't want to deal with right now.
"It is! Sinead, it's so nice to see you again!" Yuki greeted.
"Hello Yuki..." Sinead grumbled.
"Who's your friend?" The older girl asked.
"I-I'm Shelly."
"Shelly here got a bit turned around and lost track of her brother. I'm trying to help her find him but it looks like we're not having much luck here so I guess we better get going to try somewhere else, see you around!" Sinead rushed before Yuki grabbed her by the shoulders.
"Hold on there, Speedy!"
With a grimace, Sinead turned her head to look at the teenager, who had a smile on her face that looked half genuine, half smug. "You're not getting away from me that easily. We never got a chance to face off against each other at the Grand Festival, and I was hoping we could finally settle our own rivalry next time we saw each other." Yuki explained before turning to Shelly with a more sympathetic look. "But I guess we can wait until Shelly here is safe and with her brother."
"Goodness, I forgot you two were in the Grand Festival!" Shelly gasped. "I was watching it back home in Azalea Town. It was so much fun to watch! A-And you, Yuki, you were so close to winning!"
"Yeah." Yuki sighed. "But I still need to improve. I'm glad you enjoyed watching it though, maybe you'll become a top coordinator yourself someday."
Shelly shook her head but smiled. "No, being a contest star looks like it would be really fun, but I enjoy battling much more. I-I'm really good at it, too! My dream is to be the best Bug-type master in the world, just like my brother. Everyone who notices me says that I have a real gift with battling, I even got an invitation to be a gym leader!"
"What?!" Sinead gasped as Yuki's eyes went wide in shock. "Are you serious?"
"Uh-huh! But not in Johto. I'm going to a region that's a bit far away from home, it's a bit nerve-wracking honestly." Shelly added, gripping the bag in her hands a bit tighter.
"I bet it's super exciting too though!" Yuki stated. "Getting to be among the eight gym leaders in a region... You'd be right under the Elite Four but still among the toughest of the tough!"
"Yeah! B-But, um, this region doesn't have eight gym leaders, it actually has eighteen. One for every type."
To say that the two coordinators were shocked was an understatement. The two practically looked like a pair of Exploud with how wide their jaws dropped.
"Eighteen?!" Sinead repeated.
"I'm glad I'm not taking any gym challenges."
Shelly couldn't help but giggle just a little bit.
"Y-yeah, I'm going over there very soon to take my aptitude test to see at what level I would rank among the other gym leaders." Her prideful smile soon faded as she lowered her head. "But, right now, I want to find my brother so I can talk to him and my family a bit more before I go."
"Right." Sinead nodded. "And we'll find him! Yuki, can you help us look for him?"
Yuki's expression sank into one of intense guilt, she rubbed her left arm as she looked away from the two younger girls ever so slightly. "I... I can't. B-But it's for a good reason!" Her expression became more serious as she looked right into Sinead's eyes. "I got a call from Prof. Goff earlier. He's coming up here and he says he wants everyone in our class to be there."
"Really? Well when will he be here?"
"He said it should be later tonight. Probably after the last battles of this round are over." Shelly stood quietly as Sinead began to look perplexed and unsure about what she was just told. Just as she was about to say something, Yuki beat her to the punch. "I'm going to go find the others so we can all meet him at the hotel. He didn't say exactly why he wanted to see us all, but he sounded pretty serious."
"Then I suppose Shelly and I better get moving." Sinead noted, looking at the youngest of the three with an apologetic smile.
"Right. I should go, too. I need to let everyone know about this. I hope you and Shelly can find her brother. It was nice to meet you as well!" Yuki said, patting Shelly on the head softly before hurrying away.
"She seems nice... D-Do you two not like each other?" Shelly asked, being met with a sigh from the older girl.
"No, she and I are friends, we've just had a rivalry with each other for a pretty long time. We both dreamed of being the best coordinators of our generation when we were going to school together in Vermilion City. Some of our other classmates are coordinators too and they might be around here, too."
"And I suppose this Professor Goff person was your teacher?"
"That's right! One of the coolest teachers I've ever had too! But we should probably get back on track to finding your brother! Speaking of which, what does he look like, exactly?"
"He, um, actually looks a lot like me." Shelly admitted. "Our hair and eyes are the same color and we dress similarly too. My hair is a lot longer than his though, that should be a good giveaway."
"So, same hair color but shorter than yours that shouldn't be so bad. You do have unique hair color, which looks really great I might add! I think if we ask around a bit more then we'll be sure to find him!" With a smile of renewed confidence and a slight blush at the compliment, Shelly nodded her head and the two girls resumed their search.
The sun had completely set as the search continued, the streetlights joined the sea of colors that dotted the roads as the tents, kiosks and other attractions populated the street.
'Hmm.' Sinead thought. 'If Shelly's brother is supposed to be an Elite Four member then you'd expect there to be a crowd around him wanting to get his autograph or something but there's crowds everywhere! Is the battle already over? If it did then that explains the amount of people here.'
"Hey, look!" Shelly pointed out. "There's a big group watching the battle over there! I think it's almost over too, why don't we take a short break and see how it ends."
The two girls walked over to a large crowd standing in front of a large monitor hung up on the side of a building. Sinead let out a silent gasp of surprise when she saw that Sakura and Renée were still battling though it looked like the battle was indeed almost over. Renée was using her Arcanine against Sakura's Mega Alakazam on a field that was littered with sand in all directions, several cacti poked out of the sand and some tumbleweeds occasionally rolled through the field. The Mega evolved pokemon looked somewhat battered but still holding its ground, taking breaths that were just a bit laborious as well.
"Arcanine, use Flare Blitz!" Renée ordered. The fire pokemon let out a roar as flames began to envelop its mane, the force of the suddenly appearing fire kicking up dirt that began to sway in the evening breeze. Just as suddenly, Arcanine dashed forward, snarling as it charged the Mega pokemon.
"Psychic!" Sakura called out, a sly grin marking her face.
Alakazam held out one hand in front of it, the spoons hovering above its head all suddenly pointing forward at Arcanine. A sudden blast of unseen energy bursting out of Alakazam's hand, kicking up more sand and slamming into the Legendary pokemon, stopping it in its tracks completely and putting the flames on its body out.
"Yeesh, that's gotta hurt!" Dallas announced. "Sakura and her Alakazam have brought Renée down to her last pokemon! It's been dead even throughout this entire battle, can Renée pull another turnaround or will Sakura be the one who advances?"
"I don't plan on losing, if you think that you've seen your own victory in your predictions then I'll have to change your fate!" Renée proclaimed, sending out her last pokemon: Porygon-Z.
"Ooh, very dramatic!" Sakura giggled. "But you don't need to act so serious. The future is never set in stone and if you believe that you can change your fate then you are more than welcome to try! So come at me and let's let the proverbial chips fall where they may! Alakazam, Psychic!"
"Tri-Attack!"
The Virtual pokemon straightened it's levitating head and spread out its arms in front of it in a pattern that mimicked an equilateral triangle before the three appendages blasted out three beams colored red, blue and yellow respectively while Alakazam unleashed another invisible wave of energy. As the two attacks sped towards each other, instead of colliding and exploding however, the Tri-Attack widened and bypassed the Psychic, allowing both attacks to explode upon contact with their proper target.
As the ensuing smoke cleared, Sakura's Alakazam let out a low groan in between coughs as the Mega pokemon levitated back into a proper battle position, the spoons above it weakly trembling in the air as the Psi pokemon began gasping for breath that didn't contain any smoke. Conversely, Renée's Porygon-Z looked mostly fine, it's head bobbing around without a single care in the world.
"What? How?! No pokemon should be able to take a hit like that from Alakazam and still have so much energy left!" Sakura called out, earning a smirk from Renée.
"Normally you'd be right. But I made sure we were ready for this fight!"
With a snap of her fingers, Porygon-Z began to hum as it's abdomen became coated in a black aura with small green numbers forming binary code. The code finally faded away, revealing...!
"What a brilliant move!" Dallas announced. "Giving her Porygon-Z an Assault Vest to give it a defensive edge against an opponent as hard hitting as a Mega Alakazam!"
"Smart move." Juanita added. "Plays like that definitely get you further ahead in tournaments like these."
"And we're not done yet! If you couldn't predict an Assault Vest, then you won't see this coming at all!" Renée proclaimed, Sakura smiled as she watched her opponent grow confident and proud. "Porygon, finish them off with Dark Pulse!"
Porygon-Z's eyes began to glow purple as it's arms began to flap wildly, with one last hum a pulsing wave of black energy streamed out of its beak, speeding right through the air and blasting straight through Alakazam. With one last groan, the Psi pokemon collapsed onto the sand, the spoons it held falling onto the sand alongside it.
"And that's game! Renée moves on to the Top Sixteen!" Dallas proclaimed. As the crowd in the arena began cheering, Shelly couldn't help but softly squeal with excitement.
"Wow! That was so cool! I wish we could have watched the whole thing! S-Sorry for making you miss it..."
"Hey!" Sinead chuckled. "No need to apologize! Like I said, helping you is more important than a battle."
As some of the crowd began to disperse, Sinead caught sight of a familiar shade of lavender hair.
"There you have it!" A woman said, holding a microphone to a young man standing by her that heavily resembled Shelly. His hair was the exact same color though his eyes were a shade lighter. His clothes were also very similar as he wore a green short sleeved jacket over a black t-shirt, green cargo shorts and ankle high black socks with green sneakers. "Mr. Bugsy, what did you think of that battle? Do you think the winner has a good chance of winning the tournament?" With an aura of confidence, Bugsy turned to the reporter.
"The battle was definitely interesting to see. The girl with the Volcarona, Renée I think her name was, definitely has some talent and she might have a good chance of going far, especially if she can use that Volcarona to it's best potential! I'll be sticking around here for a another day so if we run into each other then I can definitely give her some pointers on how to do so. Advice from the resident Bug-type member of the Johto Elite Four and the authority on anything Bug related will be sure to help! Though, in truth, both she and her opponent in the next round aren't exactly at my level yet."
"Hmph, he seems nice!" Sinead huffed in frustration.
"Well... he has been a bit more arrogant since he got promoted..." Shelly sighed. "B-But it makes sense! He just got promoted and he has the skill to back up that confidence! I... I want to be strong like that too one day..." Sinead smiled at the younger girl and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"You will be!" She assured. "You said that you're going to be a Gym Leader soon, I know you're going to rock that test and be stronger than your brother one day!"
"Th-Thank you!" Shelly said, blushing ever so slightly before looking between her brother and her new friend. "For now though, I think this is where we say goodbye..."
"Goodbye for now! When you become a Leader I'll definitely go to whatever region you're in to pop in and congratulate you!"
The two girls shared a hug before Shelly looked back to her brother, his interview looked to be just about over.
"Okay!" Shelly began. "Until we meet again, then!"
With a newfound sense of confidence and joy, Sinead watching on with a sense of relief and joy for her newfound friend. Shelly hurried over to Bugsy and gently, but firmly tugged at his sleeve to get his attention. Her brother's expression changed from the confident smirk to a deadpan look of indifference as he looked over to his younger sister.
"Hi big brother! I wanted to get us some snacks and souvenirs! Here!" Shelly said, her smile wider than most that Sinead had ever seen as she handed Bugsy a stuffed Orbeetle plush.
"Hm?... Oh, thanks." Bugsy replied, his voice somehow more disinterested than his face. The smile Shelly sported instantly shattered into the same look of heartbreaking shyness that she had when Sinead first met her. With a rage more steaming than a Volcanion's Steam Eruption, Sinead wanted to march right up to Bugsy and give her a piece of her mind but a hand on her shoulder demanded her immediate attention.
With a swift turn of her head, Sinead came face to face with Dwayne, who flinched upon seeing the fury in the girl's eyes.
"Woah! Sorry!" The ranger said, startled by the reaction. His partner, Staraptor, had an equally startled look.
"Oh, Dwayne, I'm sorry! I was just frustrated by something I just saw." Sinead apologized.
"Well I hope it wasn't anything important, because Dr. Goff is here and he called everyone to meet him in the hotel. He said it was super important." Dwayne explained.
"Right, Yuki told me earlier." Sinead replied, she looked over to Shelly, who was now following behind her brother with a sullen look on her face. "Let's... let's go."
"Alright." Dwayne said, concern growing on his face as the two headed over to their destination.
The lobby of the hotel was surprisingly empty as Prof. Goff entered, the only other person there besides him was a woman attending the front desk.
"Excuse me." The teacher began. "I called ahead and requested the use of a section of the lobby for a meeting."
"Ah, yes." The woman replied. "One of the trainers you requested is on his way down now. The section you've been provided is just over there."
The professor looked over to the corner of the lobby the attendant pointed to, looking back at the woman with a polite smile as he gave her a nod of understanding.
"Professor!" Two girls called out simultaneously. Goff looked over and was met by hugs from Snow and Celeste. Shade, Styles and Gareth following the two girls inside and politely greeting their old teacher as well.
"Hey! Good to see you all! It might take a moment for everyone to get here so sit tight for just a moment." The older man said as he sat down by the corner of the lobby.
"What's this meeting about?" Styles asked. "If it's this late and sudden then it must be something serious."
"It is." Dr. Goff replied, the happiness of seeing his old students fading.
"Professor, is this about what happened?"
Aiden joined the group looking rather tense which caught most of his classmates off guard.
"Indeed it is. I was just telling Styles here that I wanted to wait for everyone to get here before I began."
As more of the old class arrived, the attendant remained seated at the front desk, casting a rather dubious glance at the large group as she typed away at the computer in front of her. A Team Dark Star logo plastered on what looked like a chat box on the monitor...
"Hey, Teach!" Diego proclaimed cheerfully as he arrived with Jack, Renée, Julia, Cynthia and Verity in tow. The youngest of them showing signs of drowsiness from the long day.
"Diego, congratulations on your victory earlier. It was a tremendous battle. But as much as I would very much enjoy catching up with you all, more pressing matters unfortunately take precedent. It's also good that you have your guest here with you."
"Goff, I would say it's a pleasure to see you again as well, though I have a feeling I know what this may be about." Cynthia replied, shaking hands with the man.
"You two know each other?" Julia asked.
"Yes, my work and research has allowed us to communicate often." Cynthia replied.
"And she is a very reliable ally to have I might add! But while everyone from the class is here, there are actually a few more people I am expecting."
"I believe you are referring to us?"
The class turned to see Sandra, Max and Sandra's family entering the lobby and approaching them all.
"Yes! Now we're just waiting for my superiors, though I suppose they may take just a bit longer so we can begin." Prof. Goff began as he took a deep breath. "Now, most of you may know me as Camphor Goff, one of the head professors at the Vermilion City Pokemon Academy, however that is only my day job and civilian cover."
"Civilian cover?" Ray asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes. My full-time job is acting as an Agent for the International Police."
A good portion of the graduates gasped or had their eyes widen in shock at their mentor's revelation. The attendant also looked shocked and appalled as she hurriedly typed on her computer.
"I'm sorry for not telling you about this until now, though with a career like that, it would jeopardize your safety if I were to do so. After your graduation I began following the trail of a certain organization that many of you may have heard of by now."
"Team Dark Star..." Jack growled. Simon, Pandora, Ryan, Sandra and Max either sank back in guilt or, in Sandra's case, clenched their fists in anger at the mere thought of the group.
"Precisely." Goff nodded. "This group had initially followed in the footsteps of Team Rocket in terms of the scale of their crimes; petty theft, poaching pokemon, and so on. Then as my research into this group continued, I had learned that they were involved in modifying pokemon. This goes from forcing pokemon to undergo evolution before they would naturally do so to more extreme experiments such as genetic splicing. These experiments..."
The officer reached into his coat pocket and took out a rather thick folder, opening it and placing a photo of the RM, the Chimera, and Missingno on the table in front of them.
"...have resulted in the creation of what can only be described as abominations and crimes against nature!"
The collective gasps and sounds of disgust brought the weight of the meeting onto everyone.
"Holy Mew..." Dwayne gasped.
"W-W-What are those things?!" Snow stammered, almost gagging as she looked at the Chimera.
"Those are the results of the research we were forced to carry out." Sandra hissed, grabbing everyone's attention.
"We were coerced into joining this terrorist organization at the promise of various rewards." Max stated. "I joined when I had been told that I would become a world renowned scientist with the results of the research we would conduct. When they had informed me that the primary focus of the research was pokemon genetics, I had assumed we would center our research on how various species of pokemon could be related to one another and may have perhaps have had a common ancestor. Little did I know that most of my findings would grow to be... this..."
"In my case, I was promised the chance to find a formula to enhance a pokemon's strengths using cybernetic armor and perhaps even help pokemon that had been mutilated through injury with prosthetic limbs. I had overheard that Simon was promised that work of Team Dark Star would benefit pokemon and create a more 'snazzy' world for everyone. Ryan and Pandora worked as field agents testing the results of our research and gathering pokemon and other supplies. Little did we know that the work we did was used for this disgrace to science! The only reason we found out about this was because of our own sleuthing. Though we were eventually found out by Singularity and imprisoned, we would have likely been executed by the boss himself." Sandra explained.
"Until I came through." Jack stated.
"Indeed you did!" A man's voice called out from behind them. Once again every face turned to see a man and woman walking towards them all. The man looked to be middle aged with neatly combed black hair that was greying ever so slightly. He wore a brown overcoat over a brown suit with a white undershirt and red tie with black loafers. The woman was younger than him, but carried a much more serious energy about her. She wore a black suit and tie and black gloves, her hair was a soft lavender color and tied into a ponytail. Unlike Shelly's shy looking eyes, this woman's were much sharper though matched her hair color.
"Right on time! Everyone, these are my superiors. This gentleman here, you can refer to him by his code name: Looker. As for this woman here, her name is Anabel. I ask that you please show her your utmost respect, as she is one of the heads of the International Police."
Goff's class politely bowed to the two, specifically towards Anabel, who couldn't help but smile ever so slightly.
"I'm impressed, Camphor, you've taught your class very well!" Anabel said with a polite wave to the trainers.
"Thank you! That means a lot coming from you."
"You do good work as both an instructor and an officer!" Looker added. "Though, we should continue with the subject of this meeting."
"Right." Goff nodded. "As I was saying, some of you have experience in dealing with Team Dark Star, and their actions have affected many of you, some more than others. Obviously their crimes are growing increasingly more severe, normally there are skilled trainers or law enforcement officials that would help deal with groups like this, but when we received word of their artificial creations, we put our attention on putting an end to this organization."
"But... why are you telling us this? As International Police officers shouldn't this be something we should leave to you?" Shade asked.
"Normally, yes, but recent events have left me with no choice but to inform you of all this." Goff explained. "Earlier this evening, following his battle, Aiden was attacked by what I believe to be their robotic creation, which we've learned has been named the RM-24i. It's battle capabilities have been deduced to be focused on fast, high-powered strikes and combination attacks. It is considered to be very dangerous. Thankfully, I managed to stop the attack and save both Aiden and the boy he had beaten in his battle. The fact they sent their machine out to attack someone who is an innocent civilian, let alone one of my students, puts you all at risk and makes this ordeal much more personal."
"When Camphor, or Prof. Goff as you all may know him as, informed us of this, we had requested this meeting." Anabel continued. "If we are to put an end to Team Dark Star, then we must take the time to truly know our enemy."
"Indeed." Looker nodded in agreement. "We have an associate of ours acting as a mole within their organization providing us with as much information as possible regarding the prominent members of this organization and what they may be planning."
The attendant froze when she heard what Looker had just said before typing as quietly as she could:
'WE'VE BEEN COMPROMISED! I REPEAT, THERE'S A TRAITOR IN THE TEAM!'
With a press of button on her computer, the woman sent the message to the rest of TDS before hurrying into a room behind her and sending out a Drifloon.
"Here, Drifloon, put this on." The woman said, attaching an audio recorder to the Balloon pokemon. "Use Minimize and go hang around them to find out what they know!"
Shrinking down to the size of a seed, Drifloon slowly drifted over to the ceiling before flying over the the meeting...
"So what exactly are they planning?" Jack asked, leaning in close with a deathly serious look on his face. The two older men shared a sigh while Anabel held a contemplative look.
"We haven't been able to pinpoint their exact objective." Anabel admitted. "However, we have been informed that whatever their greater scheme is, it involves them gathering the eighteen ancient plates that originated in ancient Sinnoh, back when it was known as the Hisui region."
Cynthia grunted in a mix of frustration and concern as she absorbed this information.
"They already have the Spooky Plate and the Draco Plate." The Sinnoh Champion stated, some of the trainers went pale at the thought of the organization's plans going well while others were just confused as to who she even was. "O-oh, I forgot I'm still in my disguise!"
The older woman removed her hat and allowed her hair to flow freely, drawing a gasp from the younger trainers. The TDS member acting as the attendant reentered the room and began to scream internally as she recognized Cynthia before resuming to type.
'THEY HAVE THE SINNOH CHAMPION ON THEIR SIDE! FLIPPING CYNTHIA IS HERE!'
"So they have at least two out of eighteen." Looker pondered. "Even though that isn't much it is still very threatening."
"What do they need these plates for?" Gareth asked.
"Because of their connection with the ancient history of Sinnoh, we can only assume that they're trying to catch Arceus. Now I don't want to be a pessimist here but, simply put. If they were to get all of the plates and catch Arceus, then stopping them would become nigh impossible."
"But even though Arceus is the strongest pokemon of them all, it is still a pokemon, right?" Snow asked. "If we all banded together to fight it, it should be overwhelmed and would go down!"
"Besides, don't they need an Azure Flute to actually summon Arceus?" Sinead added.
"You are both correct." Anabel stated. "However, the primary concern is that if Team Dark Star were to collect all of the Plates, they would be able to use their power together to form the Legend Plate."
"Legend Plate?" Diego asked.
"It's said to be the original text given to humanity when Arceus first descended upon them and has only ever manifested one time since then. It's power is to turn Arceus' Judgement into whatever type is super-effective against its target." Cynthia explained. "While attacking it as a large group would be more difficult in this case, defeating it is still theoretically possible."
"Then what's the big deal?" Diego laid back in his seat. "If we can beat it even if does get the Legend Plate, then why are we worried?"
"Because their plan isn't to use Arceus as a means of ruling the world." Goff answered. He let out a sigh and buried his face in his hands for a moment before looking back up at everyone, his face slightly more pale... "If they were to get the Legend Plate and catch Arceus, they would have the power to completely wipe out this universe from existence and rewrite it as they desire."
"Just... Just like Team Galactic tried years ago?" Ryan questioned.
"Precisely like them." Anabel replied. "However, while Dialga and Palkia have the individual powers to reverse time and warp space in order to do this, the two would need time to finish this process. Giratina would speed this up by overlapping our world with the Distortion World, but even then it would still take a few hours at most. With Arceus being so much more powerful than those three however... the entire universe would be wiped almost instantaneously..."
The ensuing silence weighed so heavily on everyone that it felt like they would be crushed by it, even the spy watching them was shocked. Jack was the one to ultimately break this silence.
"So what can we do to make sure they aren't able to do this? Team Dark Star needs to be stopped as soon as possible and I'm ready to do anything and everything possible to make sure that happens!" The anger plastered on Jack's face concerned his traveling companions, Julia placed her hand on Jack's to try calming him down. Renée and Diego were surprised to see Jack not even react to this motion, the young man's eyes focused solely on the officers.
"Your enthusiasm and cooperation is greatly appreciated." Looker responded, giving the boy a respectful smile.
"With how Team Dark Star has affected Jack personally, I'm not surprised that he's so eager to stop them." Goff added.
"Well." Anabel said, taking a deep breath before continuing. "In order to defeat Team Dark Star, we would have to shut down their leaders and higher ranking admins. As the old adage goes, in order to defeat your enemy, you must know your enemy. Our contact within their ranks has taken the liberty to gather and send us as much information on the admins and leaders of this organization as they feasibly could."
The three officers brought out more folders and placed them onto the same table as the first. Photos of Typhoon, Sirius, Meridia, Andromeda and Singularity taped onto the front of each folder containing their information. Each folder varied in size with Singularity's being the largest, Typhoon's and Siruis' being about the same. Meridia and Andromeda's folders were rather thin compared to the rest...
"What we have here is a collection of all the data we could find regarding these individuals. If we were able to find their real name, we would look into their history to see if we could find any previous criminal activity before becoming a part of Team Dark Star. We looked into their family history if it was available. We spared no expense in learning as much as we could about these people to see if there was any way to put an end to their criminal activity and bring them to justice. All of this through legal means, mind you. We hope to share this information with you if you do choose to assist us in stopping these criminals." Goff explained.
The trainers and their families either stayed silent or verbally agreed to help, the only exception being Verity. The poor girl looked like she was about to wet herself out of pure horror at what she was hearing and seeing while somehow still awake despite her exhaustion.
"I... I wanna go to bed! I can't stop bad guys like them!" She cried, tears gushing out of her eyes. Cynthia did not hesitate to bring her daughter into a tight hug, cradling her daughters head as she tried comforting her, Renée softly pet her cousin's head as Julia held her hand and comforted her as well.
"Pardon us, I can't have my daughter here for this. She should be asleep by now anyway. We'll be back shortly." Cynthia assured.
"Of course. I'm sorry for scaring your daughter like that." Goff bowed. As the Champion and her nieces went to go put Verity to bed, the graduates sat for a moment to try and truly absorb everything they had just been told and steel their nerves for what was presented in front of them. Sinead almost felt like breaking down just as Verity did, today was already a roller-coaster of emotions and this was something she was certainly not prepared for, but she was not going to back down now!
Dwayne looked over at the folders with apprehension as he swallowed a bit of saliva in fear. But he knew that something as serious as this was his job just as much as it was for the International Police, he had only interacted with some of their lower ranking officers twice before. Though if he was being told all this now, then his own bosses would surely be aware as well, he'd have to remind himself to check in with them after this meeting to keep them informed and await further instruction.
Styles was stoic as his intrigue had long been piqued. He had only encountered some of Team Dark Star's field agents before and while he was able to beat them, he hadn't truly known what they were doing until the Celadon incident was brought to light. He wasn't quite sure what awaited him within the folders, but he would help his former teacher in any way he could.
Gareth felt beads of cold sweat slowly make their way down his forehead and back as he looked over at his teacher. All of this news getting dropped on him made him feel like there were a swarm of Butterfree in his stomach... okay more like a swarm of Beedrill the size of Rhydon, but that wasn't the point! When he left Pallet Town after getting his Machop, he had no idea that he would be asked to stop terrorists. But as scared as he felt about this, a small part of him felt excited, too!
Celeste watched Cynthia go with an unsure look in her eyes. The memory of her time in Cerulean Cave coming back to her. Her blood ran cold as her mouth slowly cracked open. No matter how much she wanted to say something the words just refused to come out. 'Come on! Say something!' She mentally screamed at herself. 'Mewtwo said I and other strong trainers would face a danger worse than Team Plasma in Unova that would put the whole multiverse in danger! This has to be it! Come on brain, work!'
To say Pandora looked like a nervous wreck would be... shockingly untrue. Externally, she sat with a look of despair on her face, but otherwise she sat completely still, yet unblinking. Internally however, her mind was going through a hurricane of emotions; fear from the memory of her time in this group and at the news she had just been told and the information in front of her. Doubt over if stopping them was actually possible, and anger... Anger at being manipulated into joining the group in the first place. Anger at Singularity at being the monster he proved himself to be by murdering a Caterpie in front of her and the myriad of other crimes he appeared to have committed if the size of his folder was any indication. Finally, anger at herself for letting this get to this point...
Just like everyone else, Aiden was freaking out about the influx of information, especially after being attacked earlier. But despite his fear over the attack, he felt a strange compulsion to try and help. If not for his sake, then for Angelo, who was also an innocent victim and for everyone else that could be hurt if Team Dark Star would be allowed to continue with their plan.
Shade looked over at Celeste for just a moment before his eyes shifted around the room. He could practically feel his heart beating out of his chest as his eyes wandered back to the folders. The soft snow of Couriway Town felt like it would be such a welcome sight now. The familiarity of home was unfortunately a long way away as the reality of the situation continued to weigh heavily on him.
Yuki's hand had practically covered her mouth since some of the heavier revelations sprung up. She kept it there out of sheer shock from the news and nausea at the sight of the artificial "pokemon" that these villains created. From within the pokeballs that hung on her waist, she could feel Ember, her Ninetales, trying to telepathically reach out to her to try comforting her. The heat she was receiving was comforting, but it didn't stop the cold sweat she was experiencing.
The nausea Ray felt made him go pale. Shortly after his journey began he was approached by Team Dark Star and the fact that he considered joining them made him feel sick to his stomach with disgust directed at both them and himself. The former from finding out just what they were doing and what they had done to his friends and the latter for considering actually joining them. His nausea was pushed back just a little bit by the resolve he was gaining to make things right and bring them down!
Snow looked as pale as her nickname as she looked over at the documents. With a trembling hand she reached for the one with Andromeda's picture on it before she froze and slowly pulled her hand back. When she had begun her journey she had once imagined adventuring like Red did so many years ago and stopping criminals like he did. However, she had just learned that imagining it and actually being involved in stopping a terrorist organization were two different things. Especially when one group was involved with so much more extreme crimes...
Ryan and Simon looked at each other and then at Sandra and Max. The four silently sharing thoughts about their time within Team Dark Star. The broken promises they had been offered, the time they had spent just trying to learn what the group was working towards, and how their lives were almost cut short when they had been found out. For the two graduates, the shame of joining them had been sinking into their hearts ever since Celadon. They both knew that their old teacher was likely aware of this and the thought of what he would say regarding it terrified them both. Simon looked down at his feet with a depressed look on his face as Ryan looked over at Pandora. He knew that the poor girl was likely having an existential crisis right about now.
Diego looked around at everyone, unsure of what exactly they were all feeling but he had a general idea. As his eyes finally rested on the TDS documents on the table, he found himself furrowing his eyebrows as a fire began to grow deep within his soul. The fact that they forced Jack, his best friend, to go on the run from the law already put them on his bad side. But now, he knew he had to bring them down!
As for Jack himself, he had already resolved to take down that organization the moment he learned that he was falsely made to be a wanted criminal back in Maroon Village because of Team Dark Star's influence. Ever since then the anger he felt quickly began to boil until he finally entered their hideout and met Singularity for the first time. That was when his anger turned to rage as he silently vowed to burn Team Dark Star to the ground. Listening to what Prof. Goff, Looker and Anabel had to say turned that rage into fury. His eyes narrowed right onto the picture of the boss on his folder. Somehow, some way, he would make sure that Team Dark Star goes down!
The spy sitting behind the counter trembled as her hands typed one last message onto the computer...
'THEY HAVE DATA ON OUR BOSS! WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO?!'
"Sorry for keeping you all waiting." Cynthia apologized as she and the twins returned. "My duty as a mother comes first."
"Of course. Again, I'd like to apologize on behalf of the International Police for scaring your daughter like that. But, if everyone is ready, we can continue and go into detail about everything we know about the heads of Team Dark Star. If anyone would like to back out now and instead go about their own business, you are more than welcome to. We will not think any less of you as this is a very serious issue." Goff explained, the silence he received as a response prompted him to continue.
"Very well. Then let's begin..."
And scene! I initially wanted this chapter to go on to have the backgrounds for all of the TDS higher-ups but the chapter itself is already rather long as it is so I'll save it for the next one. Also, Shelly as well as Ame, who was mentioned in the previous chapter, are references to the fan game Pokemon Reborn. This story is not affiliated with the team that produced that game however I do plan to have this story lead into the general plot of the game, but with one major change, so consider this a very slight AU to Reborn. Though the region will not be featured, references to it will appear. I figured I should at least say that.
Anyway, I hope this chapter was entertaining and I would like to see what you all thought of it and provide some feedback for the next chapter and what's to come in the future! But as for the next chapter: We get a bit more insight as to who exactly is leading Team Dark Star...
