A *very* brief glimpse into Jack's goings on in the caves beneath Ever Grande. This took so much contemplation - I think I finally have a clear idea of where this is going. Well, clear-ish.

Please R&R

-Ship-

Chapter 8

Jack's footsteps echoed in the tunnel. His backpack was heavy on his back, he had been walking for several hours in the dark labyrinth of Victory Road. He looked again at the scrap of paper he held in his hand, illuminated by a dim torch.

The Deep Lake – Victory Road. Midnight.

He was uncertain as to who had summoned him to the dark pool miles beneath Ever Grande, but he had followed his memory to that shadowed place, and now, he stopped and looked out over the still water. Bats carpeted the ceiling, years of faeces rendering the lake toxic to all but a few specialised species, mostly unknown to the outside world. Jack stepped carefully on the wet rock.

"Jack." A voice came from across the cave. Jack slipped and grabbed onto a stalactite , steadying himself. "Jack, I'm across the lake. There's a bridge."

He followed the voice; it struck a familiar chord in his mind, but he couldn't place it – a gruff but gentle voice – eloquent, but powerful. He shined his torch on the water, and scanned the lake for a bridge. There. A narrow formation of rock, black like the water beneath it and spanning the entirety of the lake. A rope was suspended above it.

He edged his way towards the bridge, the cool rock of the walls chilling his hands. As he stepped onto the bridge, he reached up and took a hold of the tight rope; it held. With both hands on the rope, he swiftly crossed the stone bridge, and stepped securely onto the wide shelf of rock on the other side. Jack looked around and took a solid stance, ready to fight if this was a trap. A chuckle came from the gloom ahead, and he immediately relaxed: the voice belonged to a man he knew well, a man who he could trust.

Zephyr Storm, ex-Champion of the Hoenn League, stood, rising from a low rock, to stand in the torchlight. At his belt were seven pure white pokéballs.

"Jack Stone. I see you're still going then." He said, tossing one of Birch's grey pokéballs to Jack.

"Primeape!" Jack exclaimed, "Where did you get this?"

Zephyr chuckled again, shaking his head; "It fell out of your bag while you were in Ever Grande. Lucky for you, the owner of the café you were in is against the new regime. Most people, as I'm sure you've noticed, would have turned it in and had you hunted down."

It was true. Jack had been surprised by the sheer ignorance of the people he had met in Lilycove, Slateport, and Ever Grande; most had nothing but disgust for pokémon, and those who didn't kept quiet for fear of having a visit from the garrisons that now patrolled every city. It was as if the government had prepared this, even before Oscar's death.

"Anyway, the guy came and found me, and I recognised Primeape as yours. But that's not all you came here for." Zephyr became more serious, "Jack, there are things going on beneath the crust. Oscar destroyed the lab over Mount Chimney, yes, and William Robertson and a good number of his men were killed, but Magma still lives on. Plautius, so far as I know, is still at large, at the head of a special division of the army – yes, they have infiltrated the army. They specialise in subjugation and general inspiration of fear. Siggurdson is missing, presumed dead, but rumour has it that he has re-established a stronghold of old Magma, and is building up support. There are remnants everywhere, Jack, and they're screwing things up. The government is still full of them, and they're getting stronger again. Jack, Oscar may have stopped them from destroying Hoenn, but they are achieving their aims in different ways. Without Robertson, they aren't bent on destroying pokémon, but they have still used his plans. Jack, they aren't releasing the pokémon they confiscate. They're training them."

Jack reeled, despair growing behind his eyes. He had come to the city to fight for his friends, but, if this was true, his opponents were more deadly than ever. And now? Now they had an army.