Keenly listening to the conversation happening next door via the paper-thin walls, Cal began to think that being shoved in this dive of a Center might not turn out quite so terribly after all. The sort of clientele who frequented the higher-end hotels he preferred wouldn't have tried to hatch up any sort of plan against the madness sweeping the streets outside; those kinds of people trusted the authorities, content to sit back cushy behind the scenes.

The young Alolan had arrived on Cinnabar earlier in the evening, eager for a lavish night's rest amidst the luxury of silk sheets, but those wishes were rapidly dashed by the lacklustre welcoming party. He'd been explicitly advised that the town was a stronghold of the Action Against Pokémon group, but nobody had cared to specify just how ludicrous these island dwellers were.

He idly twisted a golden ring on his perfectly manicured forefinger; a nice visual distraction from the awful paintwork around him. Words continued floating to him, crystal clear. Thank the heavens this wasn't the sort of night anyone would consider romantic.

Just as he was contemplating taking a short stroll to introduce himself to the inhabitants next door, there was a long lull in speech, and Cal's stomach lurched, convinced he'd Jynxed himself. Beds in this hole were bound to be atrociously squeaky, and the night was proving to be restless enough without any of that kind of nonsense.

Curiosity piqued and boredom awoke as the silence dragged on, and Cal found himself moving towards the door. Perhaps visiting his temporary neighbours wouldn't be a bad notion after all.


"Was Teleporting really necessary? We could've taken the stairs! Some sort of warning would be nice next time, too."

Ren, Violet, Jay and Persian were in the Center's eerily empty main lobby, the former not being too impressed with the chosen mode of transport.

Jay mock-rolled her eyes. "It made you dizzy again, right?"

She'd hit the nail on the head but Ren refused to be drawn in. "I think it's lazy, that's all."

"It's convenient," she shot back. Persian gave a low mew in agreement.

"Your Alakazam is massive though, it can't always be convenient. What if you wanted to teleport into a phone booth or something?"

"You're ridiculous, Ren." There was a small smile dancing on her face. "Why would anyone teleport to a booth when navs exist?"

The casual back-and-forth continued as they examined their surroundings. They'd assumed Blaine had holed up down here in the main lobby, but the room was deserted. Furniture was stacked precariously against the front doors, and the floor was shredded in places where the tables and chairs- previously bolted in place- had been ripped away. Random pieces of wood had been hastily nailed over the windows too, inadvertently highlighting the pitiful strength of the bulbs dangling above them, the pale light struggling against the darkness.

Ren had earlier thought that the Pokémon Center couldn't possibly get any bleaker, but he'd been sadly mistaken: he half expected a thunderstorm to roll in and bloodied ghosts to pop out at any moment.

It didn't seem like any of this bothered Jay, though, and Ren wavered between finding it impressive and being annoyed at her apathy. When he'd asked her how she could stay so calm, she'd simply replied that she had faith in her Pokémon. He couldn't imagine having that sort of bond, where you'd throw yourself unflinchingly into danger simply because you happened to have a super-charged animal by your side.

Violet was pacing behind him, and she seemed to be doing okay- her show of bravado had faltered only once so far, when a cup had clattered to the floor and she'd dashed behind Ren with a surprised yip. The Persian had thrown an amused glance their way and she'd hurriedly snapped herself back into place by Ren's side, trotting along as if she'd never been slightly fazed.

"Where d'ya think Blaine and the others are hiding out?" It was a rhetorical question of sorts and Jay shrugged in response, continuing to scrutinize the noticeboard plastered on one of the walls.

"Do you think Alakazam could find out with his psychic powers?" Ren mulled out loud.

Jay pulled her eyes from the noticeboard, turning to face him. "Probably." She shook her head before Ren could follow up with another query. "It's best if he conserves his energy." She shook her head again as he opened his mouth to protest. "Teleporting down here was necessary. We don't know if they had people there to make sure we stayed in our rooms and we avoided any potential questions. Besides, a short trip like that is a breeze for Alakazam."

He fiddled with an earring as he considered challenging her further. Ren had realised early on that Jay wasn't quite telling the whole truth about Cinnabar; she'd avoided answering any serious questions, diverting topics as it suited her. What was she hoping to conserve Alakazam's energy for, exactly? Despite her outward attempts at progress, Ren sensed that his fellow Trainer was hugely reluctant to find Blaine.

"Anything of interest on that board?" he probed casually.

"Not unless you want to sign up for Gogoat yoga classes."

He smiled at the lie, edging forward to take a closer peek. "If that's a thing, I want in."

"We should try the left hallway," Jay interjected abruptly, not waiting for an answer as she started walking towards it. "We may as well start somewhere."

Steady, confident footsteps suddenly echoed from one of the right-hand hallways, stopping Jay in her tracks.

"Alolaaaa!" A cheerful greeting carried around the corner. Moments later a figure emerged, tall and dark-skinned, hands raised round his mouth as a makeshift megaphone. Lowering his hands, he flashed them a dazzling smile.


Rounding the corner, Cal finally bumped into somebody. Somebodies. With a practiced eye, he assessed them in seconds.

Both were Trainers. Dirty, smudged with soot, dressed in casual unbranded clothes. A couple of years younger than him, at most.

The woman was pretty he supposed, in a girl-next-door way, with her tangle of deep red hair and pale skin. Her face was carefully etched into a mask of calm, but those purple-tinted eyes told quite a different story: they regarded him warily. By her side was a Persian, its grey-streaked fur pristine and sleek. Cal couldn't quite pinpoint the reason why, but the feline seemed almost human in the way its sharp eyes studied him. Together, the woman and her Pokémon made an intriguing pair.

The young man accompanying them was far less of a mystery; unkempt, shoulder-length hair the exact shade of his famous father's, ears adorned with piercings, and cool green-blue eyes. Renowned in the gossip columns as an arrogant womaniser, the thin layer of dirt didn't disguise the fact that this was obviously the famously tragic Ren Ketchum. A small Shinx cub had settled next to him, gazing at Cal with curious eyes.

"Care to explain the reasons you've chosen a midnight stroll?" Cal playfully quizzed as he maneuvered himself in front of the group, careful to keep his grin unwavering. His eyes shot to Ren. "A poor choice for a romantic date, I must say."

He had an inkling that he knew exactly why they had chosen to gallivant around the halls, and his suspicions were quickly confirmed when Ren stepped forward to explain, ignoring the jibe.

"We're looking for Blaine, the Gym Leader. You seen him around?"

Yes, these are the people who were in the room next door. Alola, neighbours.

"Apologies, but I haven't I'm afraid," Cal responded with a shrug, making no effort to move despite clearly blocking their way.

The woman tensed, a deft hand hovering above a Poké Ball. Ren motioned for her to chill and locked eyes with him. "Look, we don't have time for battles, so we'll be on our way."

"I'll be on my way, too, if you don't mind." Cal nodded his head towards the direction he assumed they were going.

An exasperated sigh burst from Ren. "You could've just said so. Fine. Let's go. We were about to check out down there too. I'm Ren, by the way, this is Violet-" he gestured towards the Shinx. "And that's-"

"Jayna," the woman introduced plainly.

"My name's Cal. Cal Ignit. I would say it's good to meet you all but..." his smirk wavered. "No-one could truly call these good times."


Meandering through the corridors, Jayna sifted through the thoughts in her head. The appearance of Cal bothered her- his name was familiar, but she couldn't dredge up the relevant knowledge to figure out why. They hadn't met, she was sure. Cal Ignit wasn't the sort of man you'd forget in a hurry. As they walked down yet another bland corridor- how bloody big is this Poké Center, anyway?- she stared at his back, willing herself to remember.

The guy had an aura of flamboyance, mirrored in his clothing; it was obviously tailored, high-end stuff, but she'd never seen somebody manage to pull off the clash of patterns he had emblazoned across him. Bright blue Alolan flowers contended against deep green Galarian tartan on his shirt, and his trousers were a geometric mish-mash of neon yellow and red. His hair was bold, too, with straight orange streaks set against a background of tight black curls.

In truth, Jayna found the newcomer slightly intimidating, and she'd dropped behind to detach herself from the chatter. Persian had thrown her a knowing look, and she was thankful the feline had no choice but to be silent.

Cal was currently engaged in spirited conversation with Ren- the other complication to her plans, but at least the latter was a mishap she could control. For now.

She unconsciously fingered the leaflet in her trouser pocket that she'd hastily ripped from the notice board earlier. The fact it had been displayed so brazenly was disturbing; she idly wondered what would have happened if Ren had been the one to find it. Her eyes flicked to the other Trainer and she relaxed a little seeing how animated he had become in Cal's presence, swapping small talk with ease.

Meeting Blaine had been a problem. By some stroke of luck, the man hadn't seemed to recognise her, which she supposed was fortunate for both of them really. It was only a matter of running into the wrong people before her identity came tumbling out though, and the island just happened to be chock-a-block with those wrong people right now.

Ren would inevitably find out who she was, and her stomach twisted a little at the thought. If only Jasper had been able to make it here. She wished she could contact him somehow.

"How about you, Jay?" Cal's bold voice pushed her thoughts of Jasper aside.

"Huh?" The boys had paused and both were studying her, Cal's lips curved into a smile, whilst Ren was twiddling with his eyebrow piercing.

"What brings you to Kanto? I'd say you're Johtonian by your accent, correct?" he repeated.

"I've... moved around quite a lot." Questions about herself were always uncomfortable. "What'd you say you were here for? Ren's already given me his entire life story so I know he's here to work." Violet barked, seemingly in agreement.

"Oh, come on," he feign-groaned in response, "I didn't see you protesting." A twinkle entered his eye as he sidled next to her and nudged her with his elbow. "In fact, you were gobbling it up as eagerly as the noodles."

Heat spread across her cheeks. Hoo boy, Persian is gonna chew me out later. "Nobody could out-eager you when it comes to guzzling noodles. Maybe next time though you could let me get a word in edgeways. I've never met a man so adept at juggling two tasks."

"I dunno, you saw Vi sniping those berries, she might defeat us both at noodle gnawing." The Shinx yapped in approval. "Hey-" he dropped his voice and assumed a conspiratorial tone- "I can show you all the other things I'm adept at if-"

"Guys." Cal cut in curtly. "Can you save the philandering for later?"

The cyan-eyed Trainer looked abashed for a brief moment before he caught Jayna's gaze, both of them bursting into childish snickers.

Jayna's humour wilted as she caught sight of Cal; the taller man had pursed his lips, a delicate finger thoughtfully tapping the side of his cheek as he inspected her intensely.


Jay had deliberately derailed the conversation, Cal was sure of it. Trying to obtain any information from her was fruitless; as useless as luring a Snorlax away from a bountiful feast. Switching his attention to the other person in this impromptu party, a ghastly prospect reared: Is Ren a part of whatever she's involved in?

No. He dismissed the thought immediately. Gut instinct insisted that the young man was genuine in his openness. Cal itched to pull Ren aside and urge him not to blindly trust the violet-eyed woman.

Ketchum was proving to be a bit of a revelation; far more likeable and less aloof than the stories portrayed him to be. The Alolan wondered what connections the Trainer had; having such a well-known ally could be extremely beneficial. If he recalled correctly, Ren's father had travelled with a fair few celebrity Trainers- some had even progressed to Elite Four status and beyond.

He allowed himself to daydream, only a little, as they progressed in quiet companionship. Imagine being able to meet such people, to bask in their knowledge and stardom. Cal's own father had high status but that was limited to the islands of Alola. Ash Ketchum though, had amassed an impressive network spread throughout the entire world.

He was forced to file away the legendary battles his imagination spun when they heard muffled voices, low snippets of conversation floating to the group through a bright opening up ahead. Cal swapped looks with Ren and Jay, a silent agreement being reached: be prepared to battle. Cal settled his hand on the second Luxury Ball latched onto the extravagant belt at his hips, the home of a handsome Talonflame. Swift, agile, efficient; he was confident that the flaming bird was the right choice for whatever lay ahead.

Jay gripped a Dusk Ball tightly, features wary, her tense expression mirrored by the Persian. Violet glanced at the feline Pokémon before imitating its posture, her fur bristling, tail flicked high, ears pricked forward. The small Shinx shifted her focus back to Persian occasionally, shifting her stance to match as best as she could. Noticing this, a sombre smile flickered on Ren's lips, a grim glint appearing in his eyes.

With a nod between the trio, they marched forward as one.


They emerged in a spacious well-lit area, the polar opposite of the barren main lobby. Giant white panels had been placed in front of the boarded-up windows, messy scrawls dashed across them. Examining the panels were two figures, both clad in head-to-toe black, engrossed in conversation. They turned around and recognition flashed across their faces as they noticed the group.

"You!-" One of them took a step forward, his long jacket moving to reveal a distinctive red 'R' on his shirt underneath.

Team Rocket! Of course they know who I am. Ren found himself suspended in shock, his thoughts grinding to a halt. The same couldn't be said for Jay and Cal, the duo reacting instantly, a fierce-looking Weavile and an insanely bright Talonflame abruptly appearing before them.

The taller grunt sneered in response. "A shiny? We got jus' the thing for your display piece!"

A gang of Pokémon was unleashed, and Ren's brain kickstarted enough to count at least a team's worth- he methodically reeled them off in his head: Koffing, Voltorb, Stunky, Qwilfish, Trubbish, Rolycoly.

Being outnumbered against the weak Pokémon held little disadvantage for Weavile and Talonflame, both outpacing their competition with ease. The Dark Pokémon honed its claws as it sped towards its opponents, devastating slices wreaking havoc as it cut through the rival party. Talonflame followed from above, raining down embers as it teared with its talons. The latter's Trainer let loose instructions at a dizzying pace, arms flailing with enthusiasm.

In stark contrast, Jay stood serenely with her arms folded. She wasn't shouting orders or even bothering to watch her Pokémon. Instead, her gaze never shifted from the Team Rocket grunts, who weirdly didn't seem interested in issuing directions to their team either- their Pokémon were now running around haphazardly, desperately trying to avoid attacks. It's like they're not even trained.

Ren shifted his observation to the grunts too and felt his blood run cold. The two Team Rocket members were viewing the one-sided battle with amusement. Violet gave a low whine, eager to join the fray, but he distractedly waved her protest aside.

"No, no... something's not right here." The sentence came out slowly as Ren tried to puzzle through the Rocket's plan.

One of the grunts let out a lazy yawn before turning to the other. "Should've bought enough time by now, ya think?"

"I'd say. Everyone: Explosion, Self-Destruct." The words were said so casually that it took a moment for them to register in Ren's ears.

The Stunky locked eyes with Ren before its final move; he caught a sickening a mix of resignation and fear before it obeyed the command.

"Wait, th-!" Cal didn't get the chance to finish before the deafening booms blasted out, narrowly missing the battling Pokémon; Weavile darting sharply left whilst Talonflame veered gracefully to the right.

That's aimed at us. Ren acknowledged too late, throwing his arms up to cover his face, bracing for the impact. Seconds passed and... nothing. Slowly he lowered his arms, studiously ignoring the leftovers from the foe's attack. Violet had leaped forward and now maintained a large translucent wall, her small fangs bared in a grimace. Protect. When did she learn that?

Cal breathed out a trembling whistle whilst he dusted off his shirt. He grinned at Ren, displaying a set of perfectly white teeth. "Nice save."

"Bastards. Those bastards," Jay was now crouched on the ground next to Persian. "You absolute bastards," she repeated, her voice quivering with fury.

Explosion and Self-Destruct were archaic moves which had been banned a long time ago, blacklisted by the PCL for being barbaric. Ren had never expected to see them firsthand. He suppressed a gag, a sudden pungent aroma violating his nostrils. He had never expected to smell them firsthand either.

The previously sizable space had lost some serious floor room to a massive crater devouring the centre. Ren's eyes swept over the rubble, but the Team Rocket grunts were nowhere to be found.

Violet was still concentrating on holding up Protect. The sight of it stained with blood, gruesome chunks of Pokémon slowly sliding down its surface, threatened to make Ren vomit. He bit down on his horror as he reached out a shaking hand to the Shinx. She looked up triumphantly at Ren, her tail placidly swaying back and forth. "You can stop now," he said gently, "thanks for that."

The cub held it for a few seconds longer before visibly relaxing with a grunt. He studiously stroked her head, talking loudly over the morbid splats as pieces of ex-Pokémon hit the floor. "I didn't know you knew Protect. It wasn't on the information sheet. You did great, Vi." Violet mewled with pleasure at the compliment.

Cal had edged around the crater to take a closer look at the now-skewed white boards. "Huh."

"What is it?" Ren took a short break from stroking Violet to look over.

The Alolan snorted. "It's gibberish or, more precisely, mathematics. I don't understand a single jot."

"I doubt those morons understood it either," Jay had recovered sufficiently to get up, and she moved to Ren. "You okay?" There was a level of sympathy in her tone that made him shift uncomfortably.

"Who wouldn't be, seeing this?" he gestured towards the destruction before them and let out a rattled laugh, careful to avoid eye contact.

His heart sunk as he felt a hand on his shoulder. "Ren, come on."

This is what he hated the second-most about the media: through no choice of his own, his past had been paraded around for everyone to see. Every detail painstakingly laid out. He'd been hoping that, somehow, his companions were unaware of his history.

"And why wouldn't I be okay?" he asked quietly, shaking free of Jay's pitying grip. He tried to meet her eyes but found he couldn't, old emotions suddenly flooding him.

"Team Rocket murdered your mum, that's correct isn't it?" Cal questioned impassively, offhandedly rolling off the facts as he rejoined them.

"Cal!" Jay whipped her head around, anger reignited, "what the fuck-"

"Oh please, don't pretend that their presence was a surprise for you. Save your dramatics."

"What, exactly, are you accusing me of?"

Ren tuned them out. Murdered. It was almost a quaint way of describing the way those psychopaths had treated his mum. Even now, years down the line, he felt a bolt of agony and disbelief pierce through him, stealing his ability to speak. The murk lifted when Vi started yapping furiously, her paws dancing against the ground, her head swivelling from side to side like she expected an imminent attack.

He snapped back to the present, glad of the distraction. The arguing had come to an abrupt pause as well. "What's gotten into you, Vi?"

The Shinx ignored him as she continued to dart this way and that, seemingly growling at invisible enemies. A split-second later a deep rumbling shook the room. Already in a sorry state from earlier, loose bits of the wall dropped down as the tremors strengthened.

"We have to leave, now!" Cal stated the obvious as he whirled around to the exit.

The shaking intensified. Ren struggled to stay upright and fell to his knees. Violet frantically wobbled to maintain her balance. It felt as though they were in a snow globe being shaken particularly violently by a very, very excitable child. Somehow, Jay and Cal remained upright, their limbs thrashing to and fro.

"Watch out!" Cal dived towards Jay, pulling her sideways as the ceiling above them caved in with a thunderous crash. The two disappeared from Ren's view, quickly obscured by rubble.

The floor gave one last, almighty jolt before it gave in, beginning to crumble away under his feet. Ren desperately fumbled with the Poké Ball.

"Violet, return!" He managed to shout out the command as they plummeted, a beam of light briefly penetrating the darkness before everything went black.