Welcome to chapter 21! Wow this is a milestone. Seeing as we have some pretty important events in place, I'm sad to say that chapter 22 will also be a Gamma Team Chapter. That's right, no Oak Agency next chapter. I'm not sure if I'll make another consecutive Oak Agency chapter to balance it out, but we'll wait and see.
"Is this really necessary?" asked Kazuma.
He was sitting on a chair in front of a mirror while Elain was standing behind him, dyeing his hair black.
"Trust me, I don't want to do this anymore than you do. But we need disguises."
She finished dyeing his hair and put a plastic wrap around it.
"Thank Arceus your hair isn't that long. Let that sit for thirty minutes, we'll have to style it later. I'll give you the stuff you need then."
Elaine also had dyed her hair. Her normally black hair was auburn and tied into a ponytail. She turned and started leaving the room as Kazuma stood up.
"Why can't we just use a Pokémon to give ourselves disguises?"
"Those effects are reversible. Doing something that isn't easy to reverse is much safer. Remember, they're huge penalties for being caught and discovered. The least we can do is to make sure they can't trace the Gamma Team to us. Follow me."
Kazuma followed Elaine as she walked out of the room. They passed Jacob, who gave a smirk at Kazuma's hair being tied up.
"Laugh all you want," said Kazuma. "When everyone celebrates my complete mission, you won't be laughing."
"If we don't even fail the mission because of you," muttered Elaine.
They walked to an office, where Elaine punched in the numbers for the keypad on the door. Inside, she opened a safe after another PIN and pulled out two wallets. She tossed him one of the wallets.
"Inside there is your driver's license, a debit card, a credit card, and some cash."
Kazuma looked at the picture. The picture looked very authentic, even down to the face and the same color hair.
"It looks so real? When did I take this picture?" asked Kazuma.
"Some time ago, our best photo editors made it tailored to your disguise. Your cards do have money in them from weekly deposits. If you were to go online, you could actually pull up your bank account."
Kazuma raised an eyebrow. "So I just have a bunch of money pooled in this? To use it for whatever I want?"
"No," said Elaine flatley. "These cards are actually in constant use, to make everything look more realistic. If you were to check your account, you'd find many purchases. Of course, all the money makes its way back to the Gamma Team."
"It's to make everything seem authentic right?" said Kazuma.
"Great, you picked something up. Everything we're doing is to make sure everything is as authentic as possible. Our flight arrives in three hours, make sure you don't bring anything that could get taken in baggage check."
"What if I want to take contraband?" he asked.
Elaine gave him a bored look. "It doesn't matter what you want, you still have to listen to me."
"Alright then. May I please ask a question Emo Girl?"
Elaine started leaving the room. "You just did."
"Fine then, can I ask two questions?"
Elaine gave him a smirk. "You just asked your second question."
"Okay, but this is actually important."
"I doubt it. Fire away."
"Yesterday, you made me go through and test out all the different technologies we're going to be using during the heist. But wouldn't they confiscate it in the baggage check and report it to the authorities?"
"Surprisingly, it was important. But yes, they would confiscate the technology. However, the Gamma Team is a wide criminal network. We have Gamma Team representatives all over the world. From the Kanto Region to even the Holdien Region. Which is amazing considering they haven't allowed out of region communication for two years. Anyways, we have representatives in the Donalda Region, and they reproduced the technology for this mission. Anyways, we have twenty minutes until the dye sets. Once it's done, call me. Make sure everything is ready, we leave in thirty."
Three hours later
Kazuma and Elaine had passed through security and had their baggage checked and processed mostly without any trouble. However, the metal detector had gone off when Elaine walked under it. After some examination, it turned out that Elaine's left hand had set it off. After revealing it was a prosthetic, she'd been allowed through without any more botherment, from the security guards at least.
They were sitting on the plane next to each other. Kazuma was playing a game on his phone while Elaine was reading a book. As well as different looks, they also had fake names. Kazuma was known as Eric Hunter, an employee of a Staryubills in Johto. While Elaine was known as Emily Scott, a teacher for Palanda Elementary from Region. Their story was that they were staying in the Donalda Region for fifteen days for a little adventure as friends. Something Elaine had heavily stressed was only as a cover, Kazuma shared her sentiments.
They were given a short demo of all the safety procedures before the plane started rolling out of the runway. The planes reached high speeds before taking off into the air.
Kazuma watched as everything below them shrunk down to a small size. Elaine however, sat placidly, reading her book.
"What's wrong Emo Girl?" taunted Kazuma. "Too edgy to enjoy a flight?"
"You've seen a take off one, two, three times, you get used to it. I'm guessing this is your first flight."
"Duh. I've stayed in Voyanna for my entire life, or did you not read that part of my file?"
"Good for you. At least your first flight is going to be enjoyable."
"What do you mean at least? What happened on your first flight?"
Elaine didn't respond, instead opting to ignore him and read her book. Kazuma sighed and resumed playing on his phone.
Four hours later
They finally touched down in Donalda Capital, the capital city of the Donalda Region. The time difference of three hours ahead, as well as the time spent during the flight, it was well past night. The moment the people were allowed to get their stuff, Elaine grabbed their carry-on baggage and hurried the both of them out of the plane.
They went through the airport and ended up at the baggage claim. When they were waiting for their baggage to arrive, Kazuma turned to Elaine.
"So what's the plan?"
"First, after we get our baggage, we'll go to the WATMs to get some money."
"What are those?"
"They stand for Worldwide Automatic Telling Machine, I shouldn't have to explain more. We're both going to withdraw five thousand poké. After that, we'll head outside and each of us will spend five hundred poké on public transport cards. These will be extremely useful since public transportation will be our only means of transportation. We'll head to Happiny Hotel and stay there for the night. We'll have all of tomorrow to explore Donalda Capital so you can get used to it. A-"
"Why only me?"
"I've been here before."
"On a mission?"
"Yes, now let me finish explaining. On Sunday, which is the day after tomorrow in case you didn't know, we'll be taking a tour of Nightport Castle. We'll be able to get a layout of the castle."
"Wait, you can casually take tours of the castle? Aren't they worried about any potential threats?"
"Supposedly, they have a very large staff of guards. You also have to pay an insane amount of money. Fortunately, the Gamma Team is rich. But anyways, let's grab our money. I'll give you your PIN once we're there."
Thirty minutes later
Kazuma and Elaine were now on a bus that was taking them along a hotel route. They had just stopped at a place called EZ Hotel, but the bus was still pretty full. Apparently, the Happiny Hotel was a very popular place.
The bus continued on. Neither Elaine nor Kazuma said anything, Kazuma was just thinking about everyone else back in Voyanna City while Elaine was going over their mission in her head.
The bus finally stopped at the Happiny Hotel. Everyone got off and headed inside the building. Elaine got them both checked in, and they were given a hotel room. When they got inside, Elaine put her stuff down and headed to the bed farthest from the door.
"I'm getting some sleep, I suggest you do the same."
"All right then. Good night, Emo Girl."
She settled into her bed facing the wall and didn't turn around. "I suggest practicing using my false name. The last thing I need is for you calling me the wrong thing and raising questions."
"Yeah whatever, I get it."
She said nothing and went to sleep. Kazuma sighed before claiming the other bed on the other side of the room.
"Man, have I even had proper food at all today?" he muttered to himself.
He got up and silently eased out of the room, heading to the in-hotel restaurant for an extremely late night dinner.
"I just hope they aren't closed."
As he walked through the hallway, he had a weird feeling. A feeling as if something was watching him, like a spirit. He slowly turned around, but saw no one there. But yet, the feeling still persisted.
"Probably jet lag," he said, trying to reassure himself. But deep down, he knew that wasn't true.
He went downstairs and saw that the restaurant was closed. He sighed and went back to his room, glancing around surreptitiously before settling into bed and drifting off to sleep.
The next morning
Kazuma woke up to a loud alarm. He glanced over to the table next to his bed and saw an alarm clock screaming at him. He smacked the snooze button and saw that it was half past eight.
"Seriously?" he asked, seeing Elaine was already up and doing stuff. "Who wakes up at eight-thirty?"
"Efficient people. Though I'd prefer to have woken up at least two hours before. But some people like to sleep in I guess."
Kazuma gave her an outraged look. "Sleep in! Eight-thirty is early!"
"To someone like you, maybe. Meet me outside when you're ready."
"Oh yes, you're so hardcore you're going to skip breakfast."
"Of course not. But knowing you, it's going to take forever to get ready."
Fifteen minutes later
Elaine was waiting for Kazuma outside. To try and prove her wrong, he'd made sure to get ready faster than usual. Elaine gave him a nod of approval.
"Only took you fifteen minutes, color me surprised."
Kazuma smirked, finally having the satisfied feeling that he'd got the better of her.
"Of course you usually don't take this little time to get ready, you simply rushed so that you could try and make me look bad. Not only is it obvious, but your hair's wet."
Kazuma silently cursed under his breath as he followed her down the street. As they walked, many bikes passed them on the road. Many of them seemed to be seasoned bikers, with various Pokémon running along with them.
"All right," said Elaine as they walked down a narrow road. "A few facts of the Donalda Region most people should know."
"Is this necessary?"
"If you don't want to look like a total stranger, yes. First of all, the Donalda Region is famously known for the fact that the number one mode of transportation here are bikes. In fact, it's estimated they're more bikes than people in the Donalda Region."
"What about cars, or public transportation?"
"Only major roads have cars. Not a lot of public transportation comes around these parts, but as we go farther into the city, we'll see more. As you have probably noticed, a lot of the streets here use cobble instead of cement. We're mostly in Old Donalda Capital right now. Moving on, fact number two is that the Donalda Region has exactly one thousand windmills."
"Even more pointless."
"Donaldans love their windmills, and so do the Pokémon. As another fun fact, the basic windmill design here in the Donalda Region is actually based off of Donaldan Metagross. People are unsure whether we got the first ideas of a windmill from Donaldan Metagross, or Donaldan Metagross mutated after seeing early windmills."
"Pokémon are weird, and so is Pokémon evolution."
"Ask Marlow and he'll give you results in a month. Finally, the Donalda Region is famous for its cheese. Crafted to be high quality, the Donalda Region is the number one cheese export. Pick up the pace, I see a taxi."
Elaine doubled her pace and hailed the taxi as Kazuma followed behind. She got in and paid the fare for both of them.
"We'd like to head to Crystal Square," said Elaine.
"Crystal Square eh?" asked the taxi driver. "What to look at The Fountain of Purity?"
"I read about it in a travel brochure. They say it was touched by Crystalithine himself."
"Exactly!" exclaimed the taxi driver, starting the taxi. "You look like foreigners, so I'm glad you at least know about somethings in the Donalda Region. Do you know the story of Crystalithine?"
"Not really," said Elaine. "Mostly something about him being the purest creation on earth, with the ability to purify anything it touches."
"Yup! Even the hearts of people. I'm guessing you're in the beautiful region of Donalda for adventure?"
Kazuma nodded. "We've been to many places before. We're wondering what Donalda had to offer."
"Ah, in that case, one place you should really go is Azure Town."
Kazuma could've imagined it, but he thought he saw Elaine stiffen at the name of the town. He figured it was best to ignore it until after the ride.
"What's that?"
"You've probably heard of the Azure Region. Basically, they're a lot of immigrants from that region, a lot of them coming to the Donalda Region. For that reason, King Marcus IV decided to build Azure Town almost a hundred years ago so they could still feel their culture in a new region. You know, your friend there looks like she's from the Azure Region."
"Yeah, I am."
"I'm guessing Azure Town was your number one destination. Well, number two considering the fact I'm taking you to Crystal Square."
"Definitely."
"Well that nice, but you should head there-"
The driver stopped and let out a curse as the taxi hit an empty space of cobble. The taxi vibrated for a bit before their ride smoothed out again.
"Sorry about that. As I was saying, you should head there quickly. I heard they're having a battle event. Someone decided to challenge Xiao Lee."
"Who?" asked Kazuma.
"Right, you probably don't know him. He's the top one versus one Pokémon battler in the whole of Azure Town, heck, even the whole region! He and his Huliasair are practically undefeatable!"
"Nice, that'd make for an interesting battle if someone thought they could beat him." After saying this, Kazuma quietly leaned closer to Elaine. "What's a Huliasair?"
"It's the evolved form of Azurian Dragonair."
"Okay, wait a minute. Shouldn't an Azurian Dragonair evolve into an Azurian Dragonite?"
"Not in this case. This is similar to Galarian Linoone and Galarian Meowth."
"See!" declared the taxi driver. "I knew you were from the Azure Region! Anyways, we're at your stop. Thank you for being such conversational passengers."
"No problem," said Kazuma as he and Elaine exited.
When the taxi left, Kazuma turned to Elaine. "So, how about we look at this fountain and head over to watch the-"
"No."
Kazuma was surprised by the quickness of her answer. "Why not?"
"We have better things to do than watch some battles."
"But you said to yourself we should explore the entirety of Donalda Capital."
"Azure Town is its own separate thing."
"No it's not. And I bet you don't want to go there because of something personal. I saw how you reacted when the taxi driver mentioned it. So if we're not going, why don't you tell me what that was all-"
"Fine!" Elaine said sharply. "We can go."
Kazuma grinned. "You won't regret this."
Elaine sighed. "The only thing I'll regret is stepping foot back in that place."
Kazuma didn't miss the fact she said stepping a foot back into Azure Town. He also noted the fact she seemed a lot more tense, a bit less careful with what she said since Azure Town was mentioned.
Ten minutes later
Kazuma and Elaine pushed their way through a large crowd as an announcer was shouting things on a microphone. The entire crowd had colorful umbrellas over their heads. Kazuma quickly made it to the front of the crowd and saw two men standing on a sandy field, a woman with a megaphone standing between them.
At first glance, Kazuma realized there was a huge age difference between the two men. The one wearing a gray and red robe adorned with a colorful sash was pretty old, while the other man looked to be around Elaine's age.
"-who will win? Azure Town's undefeated one versus one champion? Or the young protege Robert Chen? Let the battle, begin!"
Before either of the challengers could send out a Pokémon, a man turned to Kazuma and offered him a closed umbrella.
"You'll need it."
Kazuma shrugged and accepted the umbrella. He opened it and squeezed it into a gap between two other umbrellas.
"Come forth! Huliasair!" shouted Xioa, the older man.
From his pokéball appeared a huge serpent like Pokémon. It was mostly red with green scales that ran in lines along its body. It had a transparent cloud that curled under its body, supporting it when it curled its own body up. Like Dragonair, it had wing shaped ears, only these ones were much bigger. It had a single, long horn protruding from its head and a blue orb under its head. As soon as it appeared, the sky grew dark as rain clouds began to gather and pour.
The other man took out his own pokéball. "I choose you! Curtileaf!"
A small, human-like Pokémon appeared. It was light green with green marks on the tip of its limbs that represented its hands and feet, kind of like Roselia. It was holding leaf fans that Kazuma assumed were for attacking. Its most distinctive feature however, was the hat on its head. It was shaped like a disc that gently sloped upwards and had extremely long leaves hanging down from it like a curtain.
"Okay Huliasair, start the battle off with Rain's Blessing."
The Huliasair concentrated for a moment, the cloud under it flaring. Suddenly, a feather that was tucked in its ear flashed, surrounding the Huliasair with a yellow aura. The rain falling around the Huliasair pooled around it, forming a protective barrier.
"A Power Herb," muttered Elaine. "Moves that require charge time are used instantly, but the herb is consumed."
"Already starting with the signature move?" asked Robert. "It only lasts as long as there's rain though. What happens if I outlast it? Use Leaf Storm!"
The Curtileaf whipped its fans out, throwing a barrage of leaves at the Huliasair. Kazuma noticed how the water barrier seemed to strengthen on the point of impact, protecting the Huliasair from too much damage.
"Using a stat lowering move immediately?" asked Kazuma. "Doesn't seem too smart."
At that moment, something tied to one of the leaves on the Curtileaf's hat flashed. It was a White Herb.
"Huliasair, use Ice Beam."
"Dodge it!"
The Huliasair's jewel glowed as a beam of ice was fired from its horn. The Curtileaf gracefully dodged the attack and leapt forward.
"Hurricane!"
The Curtileaf whipped its fans, sending a roaring wind at the Huliasair. The water barrier intensified as it fought to absorb some of the damage.
"Hydro Pump."
The Huliasair blasted the Curtileaf backwards with the powerful water attack. Despite not dealing much damage, it gave the Huliasair breathing room to prepare.
"Rain's Blessing," said Elaine. "A very defensive move. When activated, it protects Huliasair and heals it as well."
"How do you know so much?" asked Kazuma.
Elaine looked at the majestic dragon Pokémon. "I've always wanted to see one when I was younger."
Kazuma said nothing and instead watched the fight. The Huliasair flew away from another Hurricane and used Ice Beam, hitting the Curtileaf directly and sending it backwards.
"Nasty Plot!"
The Curtileaf glowed violet with a menacing aura. It then leapt at the Huliasair without hesitation.
"Giga Drain!"
"Dragon Pulse."
Before the Curtileaf could get into range, the Huliasair blasted it backwards with Dragon Pulse. Overhead, the rain faded, and so did Rain's Blessing.
"Now, hit it with Leaf Storm!"
"Hydro Pump."
The Huliasair defended itself as best as it could, but the leaves still hit it hard. It was sent backwards and collapsed in a heap near its trainer's feet.
The entire crowd gasped, thinking Xiao's Huliasair had met its match. Xiao calmly knelt down and whispered something in its ears. It gave him a smile and quietly warbled something, causing him to smile and laugh.
The Huliasair got up and shook itself. Robert looked in astonishment at the Huliasair, which seemed to be perfectly fine.
"Impossible! Even with the barrier given by Rain's Blessing for the previous moves, this attack should've finished it!"
Xiao gave him a warm smile. "Not many know about this, but Rain's Blessing passively restores the health of my Huliasair, like it did with our crops hundreds of years ago."
"Well now you have no way of healing! A few more hits and I'll win."
Xiao raised an eyebrow. "Really? All things in life should have a chance to Recover."
At that moment, the Huliasair glowed yellow, using the move Recover. It rose up even higher, feeling completely refreshed.
"Oh you're kidding me," said Robert, gritting his teeth. "Alright Curtileaf, we're going to have to hit this Huliasair hard and fast! Hurricane!"
"Dodge it."
The Huliasair twisted away and dodge the Hurricane, closing in on the Curtileaf, it leapt away from the incoming Pokémon and used Nasty Plot.
"Get ready to hit it with a Giga Drain!"
"Prepare yourself Huliasair."
The Curtileaf ran at the Huliasair. Xiao watched the Pokémon closely, waiting for the perfect moment.
"Twist around. Hit it with Hydro Beam."
The Huliasair twisted its body in a seemingly impossible way and fired a Hydro Pump from its jewel and an Ice Beam from its horn. The Curtileaf, which was behind it, was completely surprised by the attack. The Curtileaf was sent flying outside of the arena and into the crowd, lying on the umbrellas.
Robert was completely surprised. Some people in the crowd brought his Pokémon to him, completely fainted.
"How? A water attack like that wouldn't be that powerful!"
Xiao nodded. "True. However, the Ice Beam acted as a conduit. The Hydro Pump was partly frozen by the ray of cold from Ice Beam. This allowed the attack to be focused in one spot, allowing for more power. Such are the tactics I employ in order to win. However, your Curtileaf did put up quite a challenge. Good battle."
As Robert left the stage, Xiao turned to the crowd.
"Ah, as for my audience. I see you came prepared with your umbrellas! Even then, I hope you didn't get too soaked!I"
The crowd laughed at his words. Kazume turned to his side and was surprised to see Elaine laughing as well.
She noticed him giving him an odd look. "Am I not allowed to enjoy humor?"
"I was just wanting to know if you regretted coming here."
Elaine looked at Xiao and his Huliasair. "Maybe not."
The next day
Elaine and Kazuma were in a tourist group of about twenty people, including them. According to Elaine, they only allowed tours one day every two weeks, and only in certain months.
"Here you have the Great Hall," said the tour guide, a very boring accountant who worked in the Nightport Castle. "The Great Hall was the first part of the castle that was constructed. It is the most grand place in the entire castle, but that's my opinion."
A lot of people did agree with the tour guide. The Great Hall was beautiful. It had four huge chandeliers that seemed to be made out of gold with diamonds. A long banquet table with a white, purple, and gold covering. Empty gold candelabras line the table, and beautiful oak chairs were there as well.
The windows were made from stained glass, and let in colored light. The entire room was extremely clean, with all the metal being polished to perfection. Potted plants lined the room, looking too perfect to be real.
Upon further inspection from Elaine, the plant was real. She glanced over her shoulder and saw the tour guide was busy talking to someone else. She reached behind the plant and placed a device on the wall behind it. She then resumed checking out the plant.
"Excuse me," said a voice behind her. Calmly, she turned to see the tour guide.
"Yes?"
"I can see you're trying to see whether the plant is authentic. I assure you it is, we have water and grass type Pokémon who tend to the gardens and plants."
"Must be nice having a large staff."
"It is, if only I could have slightly more help as Head Accountant. Anyways, I noticed you are wearing gloves, and I'm requesting you take them off for security reasons."
"Are gloves a problem?"
"Not exactly, but we take precautions so that nothing goes missing."
Elaine pulled off both of her gloves. The tour guide noticed the prosthetic, but said nothing.
At that moment, two people walked into the room. One was a middle aged man who had gray hair. He wore a simple tuxedo and gray pants. To his side, was a young girl who looked to be sixteen. She had long blonde hair that had pink at the ends and turquoise eyes. She had fancy slippers and was wearing a purple and white dress.
She gave a little wave to all the tourists. The tour guide gave a little bow and introduced the girl.
"This is Princess Emma von Nightport VII, tenth in line to the throne. The first and only daughter of King Reginald III and Queen Henritta."
Kazuma raised an eyebrow, suddenly wondering what the life of a princess would be like.
The princess was beginning to speak. "Thank you for the introduction. I just wanted to see the tourists. Mother says I should get used to talking with the peasants."
The other man leaned over to her and whispered something in her ear. She reddened slightly and gave the tourists an apologetic smile.
"My bad. I mean the common folk. This is Ferguson, you can call him Butler Ferguson."
The tour guide waited for the princess to finish. "Okay people, we leave in five minutes."
Kazuma walked up to the princess. "Hello Your Majesty," he said. "I was wondering if I could hold a conversation with you."
The princess brightened. "Of course! But you don't have to bother with the formality."
Butler Ferguson started forward at this. "But ma'am! They're still rules, he-"
The princess rolled her eyes. "Fine. I guess you'll have to call me Princess Emma."
"Uh, alright then. So Princess Emma, what's life like in the castle?"
"Well, it's fine I guess. I can't really compare it to the life of a pea- commoner, since this life is pretty much the only one I know. It's a large home, filled with a lot of people. I usually have a lot to do. But of course, there's all the formality. The only people I can converse with normally are my brothers. But I do love puzzles! I spend a lot of my free time doing them, at least, when I have free time."
"What do you mean?"
"There's all this training I have to do as a princess, and also training if I'm going to be queen. Which probably won't happen since I have nine older brothers, not that I care about being queen though."
"Nine brothers? What about sisters?"
"None."
"You said it never gets lonely here, how many people are in the castle?"
Butler Ferguson looked at him suspiciously. "Why would you-"
"That's easy, I have to memorize all of them. There's me, mom, dad, my nine brothers, the Head of Account, the Head of Military, the Head of Foreign Relations, and all the lesser divisions, which equals eighteen. Let's see, there's also the fifty general guardsmen, the twenty eight personal guardsmen, the Head Cook, the ten royal rooks, the fifteen other cooks, the two gardeners, the five janitors, and my twenty seven maids."
"Your twenty seven maids?" asked Kazuma.
"Well technically, they serve everyone, but they're mostly loyal to me. Oh yeah! And then you have the head of all of them, Butler Ferguson!"
Kazuma raised an eyebrow, turning to look at the butler. "You're the head of all of them?"
Butler Ferguson gave him an even more suspicious look. "Yes."
"And you have no males working under you."
"Yes."
"Seems like the perfect recipe for a harem-"
Butler Ferguson snapped. "I. AM. NOT. A. HAREM. PROTAGONIST!"
Everyone in the room turned to look at Butler Ferguson. He turned around and started marching to the door.
"Let us depart Princess. Kevin challenged Johannes to yet another battle. He requests you be there."
Princess Emma suddenly had an idea. "What if we asked if the peasants could watch?"
"Uhm, not a peasant here," Kazuma said.
"I don't think he'll allow that," said Butler Ferguson.
Princess Emma pulled out a phone. "We'll see. Yeah, hey Kevin! I was wondering, we have a bunch of tourists- Really? Thank you! Mr. Pennyworth!"
"Yes princess?" said the tour guide, turning around.
"Your tour is going in a different direction. We're heading to the battle room!"
In the battle room, the tourists were standing on the side of the room. In front of them were two young men around the age of twenty seven.
The older one cracked his knuckles. "All right Kevin, are you ready to set the score fifty seven to twelve Johannes?"
Kevin laughed. "I've been training! Get ready for the score to be fifty six to thirteen!"
Another man in royal clothing who was part of the crowd started muttering to his brother.
"Even if Kevin wins this battle, Johannes would still have won a vast amount of battles."
"At least his ego will be fulfilled in front of this large crowd, Arie."
"Ego isn't everything Johan."
"Maybe to you it isn't," said another brother.
"Shut up Pieter."
"All of you be quiet!" hissed the eldest brother. "Last thing we need is to look bad in front of the public!"
All the squabbling brothers turned to the eldest brother. "Stop being a prefect Dirk," they said at the same time.
At that point, another one of the brothers, Willem, started off the battle.
"I choose you! Zwartedath!"
"Go, Metagross!"
The Zwartedath was a humanoid Pokémon that was a bluish gray color. It had no facial features and had ghostly clouds swirling around its body. It had foam that rose around its lower half.
The Metagross was a Donaldan Metagross. Its color was now light brown, its legs had what looked to be sails in between them as well as inside of them. Its legs were also structured like windmill blades.
"Start this off with Rapid Spin!"
"Predictable, dodge it!"
The Zwartedath avoided the Rapid Spin with relative ease.
"Meteor Mash!"
"Phantom Force!"
Instead of sinking into the ground, the Zwartedath leapt at the Metagross and sank into the ground with it.
"That's not how Phantom Force works," said Kazuma to Elaine.
Elaine seemed confused as well, but she didn't say anything.
The Zwartedath popped out of the ground and threw the Metagross backwards before slamming into it with Phantom Force.
"Now, Rapid Spin!"
The Metagross slammed into the Zwartedath, knocking it backwards. The Metagross sped up as it hit the attack. It then charged forward and hit the Zwartedath with Double Edge.
"Aren't those nor-"
"Aerilate," said Elaine.
"Huh, attacking instantaneously," mused Johannes. "You've really been training. Zwartedath, use Liquidation!"
"Bullet Punch!"
The Metagross sped forward, slamming all four arms into the Zwartedath repeatedly before it could switch to using Phantom Force.
"Use Curse!"
The Zwartedath surrounded itself with a ghostly aura that matched the aura that surrounded the Metagross as well. The Zwartedath seemed to waver in strength as the Metagross shivered, also losing strength.
"Phantom Force!"
"Rapid Spin!"
The Metagross dodged the Phantom Force and slammed into the Zwartedath from behind. It whipped around and latched onto the Metagross and used Dive, sinking into the ground with a watery splash.
"I hate that ability," muttered Kevin.
The Zwartedath burst out of the ground and slammed into the Metagross. The windmill Pokémon leaned over and fell.
"Metagross is un-"
"I got it Willem," Kevin said, returning his Pokémon. "Go, Militallion!"
A golden lion appeared on the battlefield. It had a feathery mane that seemed to be gleaming in the lighting. Its golden fur gathered around its legs like a feathery cuff. Its claws and eyes were a gleaming red.
"A Militallion? I see you've finally caught your sixth Pokémon," said Johannes. "A powerful Pokémon, one I can cripple with a last ditch effort! Curse!"
"Don't let him, Crunch!"
Before the Zwartedath could use the attack, the Militallion leapt forward and slammed its powerful jaws on the Pokémon, fainting it.
Immediately, the Militallion seemed to grow a bit more powerful from fainting the Pokémon. Johannes returned his Zwartedath to its pokéball.
"Go, Pyroar!"
A male Pyroar burst out of a pokéball and landed in front of the Militallion.
"Fire Blast!"
"Dodge it!"
The Militallion avoided the attack, the Pyroar blasted another attack, but the Militallion dodged it as well.
"Use Extreme Speed!"
"Hyper Voice!"
The Militallion raced around the Pyroar, dodging the Hyper Voice and slamming it in the side.
"Now, Fire Blast!"
The Pyroar gave a roar and blasted the Militallion with fire. The Militallion was thrown back with a pained roar as it got its feet.
"Superpower!"
The Militallion leapt forward and surrounded itself with a harsh fighting type energy. The Pyroar wasn't fast enough to dodge it as it slammed into the Pyroar, knocking it out.
"One word, Conquest! It's an ability that boosts move power based on how many Pokémon you've lost, and Militallion's attack if it faints a Pokémon!"
"But Superpower lowered your attack back to one stage. Though, I think you've won. But we'll still fight to the end! Go, Meowscarada!"
As the Pokémon came out of its pokéball, Kazuma started having that weird feeling again. The feeling that someone was watching him and looking for him.
"Meowscarda, Brick Break!"
"Extreme Speed!"
As the two Pokémon battled, the feeling got more intense. Kazuma stood up and walked over to the tour guide, Elaine glanced at him suspiciously.
"Excuse me sir, I really need to leave right now."
"All right, I'll escort you to the front."
"I'm coming along," said Elaine, walking up.
The tour guide looked back to Kazuma, and he nodded. The three of them walked to the exit.
"Are you sure you want to leave?" asked the tour guide as they reached the front gates.
Elaine looked at Kazuma, who nodded, a troubled look on his face.
"All right then."
They were led out of the huge wrought iron gates as two guards closed it behind them.
As they walked back to their hotel, passing through a somewhat empty street, Elaine turned to Kazuma.
"What was that about?"
"I'm having this weird feeling, like something is watching me. I figured it'd be safer-"
"You," said a voice.
Kazuma and Elaine both turned their heads to the source of the voice. A woman stood there. She had glaring red eyes and half blond, half red hair. Both Kazuma and Elaine realized with a start that she looked a lot like Scarlet.
The woman's eyes widened. "You know her."
The woman was staring directly at Kazuma, so he responded.
"Know who?"
"Don't play dumb with me. You know her, that means she knows about you," she took a step towards them. "I can't allow her to grow stronger, to consume more power. She'll take yours if I don't"
Elaine leaned towards Kazuma. "Split."
Immediately, Kazuma and Elaine turned and ran in different directions. The lady was taken aback for a moment, but she recovered from her initial shock and chased after Kazuma.
Kazuma flipped around and sent out his Goodra. The gooey dragon saw the person chasing him and stood ready to intercept them. The person flung out a hand and surrounded the Goodra in psychic energy.
"Goodra! Use Ice Beam!"
Goodra fired a beam of ice, but the woman melted it with a snap of her finger, sending out a blast of fire. She flung the Goodra to the side and used Psychic on Kazuma, locking him in place.
"What do you want?" he asked, trying to break free of the psychic hold.
She walked up to him. "I see you truly don't know. Since you don't know, what I'm about to do won't harm you in any way."
"How do you know Scarlet, and about her powers?"
"If she hasn't told you, it's irrelevant."
She placed her hand on his arm, and a cold feeling filled his body. He felt as if she was pulling something out of him. His vision blurred as he felt himself slipping.
Suddenly, his mind sharpened. He could sense things around him, he felt as if his eyes were opened.
He could feel the two people behind the lady, one of them seemed to be pointing something at them. He could feel other bystanders, watching in shock.
He felt something surge up within himself. With a yell, a blast of psychic energy flared out of him. The cobble under him was torn up as the lady was sent flying backwards. Freed of her psychic control, he dropped to the ground, mentally and physically exhausted.
His Goodra came bounding to him and picked him up, holding him close to her arms. Someone suddenly screamed as the lady gathered fire around her.
"Goodra watch out!"
Kazuma's Goodra sprayed a wave of sludge as the lady threw a huge burst of fire. The Goodra braced herself as some of the fire made it through the wave. She then turned and started running, protecting Kazuma.
People around him were running and screaming from the lady with the mysterious power. Kazuma saw a bus that people were crowding around, trying to get on as the lady launched more fire.
"If you want all this to stop, then come over here!"
"In your psychotic dreams!" shouted Kazuma. He got to his feet and returned Goodra, who seemed reluctant to leave him. Kazuma started running, the lady still chasing after him.
"Go, Swampert! Rain Dance!"
Kazuma's Swampert appeared near the lady and created a downpour of rain. The woman's flame started to waver as the rain hit them.
"Liquidation!"
His Swampert reared up to its hind legs and punched the lady with a watery fist. She dodged the attack, hovering backwards and used Psychic to fling it into the ground.
Kazuma, thinking quickly, returned his Swampert and ran to the bus, which was quickly departing. Thinking back to Scarlet's abilities, he focused and took a running leap at the bus.
Instead of flying or hovering, his jump ended up being augmented by psychic energy. He landed hard on the top of the bus and laid flat as it raced away, leaving the woman behind.
"Just know," she said as she watched him leave. "You won't be safe. If I, Ashley, don't claim your powers, Scarlet will."
Kazuma watched her, trying to ignore what she said. Instead, he focused on his escape, knowing he'd probably be arrested as a hitchhiker if he didn't get off the bus soon.
Two hours later
Kazuma finally made it back to Happiny Hotel. He'd gone a very roundabout way in order to make sure he wasn't followed. Using his spare key, he opened the door into their room.
"What the heck happened?" asked Elaine as he entered the room.
"You're probably not going to believe this but-"
Elaine shoved a news story in his face on her phone.
"Mysterious lady with even more mysterious powers attacked Nightport Road
Just two hours ago, an unknown lady with red and blond hair apparently used fire and psychic powers to attack a black haired individual on Nightport Road. Witnesses report that the lady's powers were very similar to the powers of Pokémon. According to the reports, the assailant had been pursuing a black haired individual, who had proceeded to retaliate with a Goodra and a Swampert. Afterwards the individual was able to escape on top of a bus. The identity and location of the attacker is unknown. Immediately request for help if you find them, they are extremely dangerous."
Kazuma looked at everything with a sigh of relief. No one knew he had powers after all. Elaine looked at him closely.
"Are you all right?"
Kazuma was surprised, she wasn't really the type to express concern over someone else.
"Yeah, I'm fine."
Elaine nodded. "Also, your eyes are brighter than normal. Considering what the woman said, and how you've been acting recently. I would suppose you have similar powers yourself."
Kazuma froze. "How could-"
"It doesn't matter right now. Get some sleep, I'm sure you'll need it."
Kazuma gave her a grateful look and settled into his bed, thinking about the events of today. "Good night," he said after a while.
"Good night."
A knock sounded at Scarlet's door.
"Come in," she said, knowing exactly who it was.
Executive Stewart walked in, a troubled look on his face.
"Wow, I can't believe you came to me without me asking for you," she frowned as she detected his thoughts. "But I assume this isn't a friendly visit."
Executive Stewart showed her the news story on his phone. She read it, her face hardening into rage.
"The treacherous Ekans! I promised that when I find her, I will strip her of my power, then strip her of her life!"
She closed her eyes, regaining her composure. "This changes nothing, everything will proceed according to plan. But I assume she's going to be here for the big fight."
"Which big fight?" asked Executive Stewart.
"I don't expect Elaine and Kazuma to make a clean getaway, especially with the Oak Agency eating up our trail. My plan is to summon Kyogre immediately. I've already figured out how to easily subdue legendaries."
"But what about Kazuma. Now that he knows about-"
"It's fine, he'll come to me for guidance. And I'll give it to him. His power is weak compared to my own. I assume he's only holding five percent. Trust me, all will go according to plan."
And that's the end of the chapter! Sorry for taking so long. Remember, next chapter will be about the Gamma team as well. Now, I'm sure many of you would like to know the ideas behind all the fanmade Pokémon and the Donalda Region. So now, for the longest post chapter notes you'll ever see!
First of all, the Donalda Region is based off of the Netherland. Many facts in the Donalda Region are true about the Netherlands!
-Lots of cycling. There are about 23 million bikes, while there are about 18 million people!
-The Netherlands are famous for its 1000 windmills
-Good cheese as well.
As for the Donaldan Pokémon.
Zwartedath is based off a Netherland legend of a water spirit.
Militallion is based off of the lions in the Netherlands coat of arms
Donaldian Metagross is based off a windmill.
As for the Azure Region, it's based off of China. The two pokémon introduced from there are…
Curtileaf, a little plant Pokémon with a leaf curtain hat, nothing special.
And Huliasair, based off of the legendary Chinese Dragons, said to create rain and bring blessings. Huliasair is focused more on Hulian, one of the Chinese Dragon gods.
Finally, if you're curious about the lineage of the Nightport Family, (it can be confusing, I confused myself with all the siblings.) here is a list of all the children, from oldest to youngest.
Dirk, Johannes, Willem, Kevin, Aerie, Johan, Hendrik, Jacob, Pieter, and ofcourse the only girl, Emma. All these names are from Dutch origin except for Emma.
This is all for now! See you next chapter.