AN: See the Author's Notes at the end of the chapter for updated information on OC submissions.
Still reeling from the death of Ashley's mother, the trio quickly made their way to Rustboro City.
"You should probably stay here Light." Volc said, "There's probably going to be wanted posters up for you everywhere. If you give me a list, I'll head to my contact and get everything we need."
"That won't be necessary. All I need is a suitable disguise." Light replied before channeling more energy to his Dark Pulse Armor, creating a cloak hiding his face and build. "This should do. And if anyone asks my name while we're in the city, refer to me as Shoteneko."
"Doesn't the NAA already know about that name?" Ashley interjected. "Wouldn't they be on the look out for someone by that name as well?"
"My deeds as Shoteneko are microscopic compared to my accomplishments as Light. I highly doubt they release my former identity to the public."
"Great. Now follow me and I'll bring you to my vendor." Volc said, ushering the others into the city.
As the trio walked toward a shady district of town, Ashley asked, "Isn't this where Devon Corporation is based? Maybe I should do some reconnaissance for our final battle while we're here."
"Not a bad idea." Light replied, trying to keep a low profile from prying eyes. "It doesn't take three people to buy supplies. Go to Devon Headquarters and see what their security is like."
"Got it!" The Aura User replied before rushing off.
Volc and Light walked in silence for a ways before the Typhlosion said, "You should keep an eye on that girl."
"What do you mean?" Light asked.
"I mean she's taking her mother's death far too well. She's repressing all of her anger and grief for the sake of our mission. While those emotions can be powerful motivators, they also make her a loose cannon. Be careful."
"Thanks for the warning." Light replied, as the two stopped in front of a small store.
"It's here." Volc said, "Be quiet and let me do the talking. They're a little distrustful of newcomers."
"Got it." Light replied, before following his comrade into the store.
Once inside, they were greeted by a very cheery Kecleon, stocking shelves.
"Well hello there Volc! It's been a while. What have you been up to?" The shopkeeper asked, returning behind the counter.
"Nothing much, just gearing up for another job."
"Who's the guy behind you?" He asked, gesturing to Light. "I haven't seen him around these parts before."
"He's new to the scene." Volc explained, "The name's Shoteneko and he's partnering up with me on my next job."
The Kecleon's eyes widened a bit in surprise, "You never take on a partner. This job must be pretty big for you to bring on help. Wanna let me in on the scoop?"
"Sorry Kec. All I can say, is that you'll know it when you see it."
"Can't blame a Pokemon for trying." He shrugged and asked, "So what kind of supplies do you need?"
Light started to speak but, Volc cut him off saying, "We're looking for something pretty specific, some beskar metal. You wouldn't happen to have any would you?"
The prissy shopkeeper nodded slightly in recognition and said, "I'm not sure. I might have some in the back. Would you and your friend mind helping me look?"
"Not at all." Volc replied, as he and Light followed the Kecleon into the small back room of the store.
A code word, interesting... Light thought.
"OK. We can talk freely now." The shopkeeper said, "What do you need?"
"Here's what we need." Light said, before rattling off a small list consisting of various gems, armor and other weapons.
"Yeesh. If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were stocking up for an army." Kecleon said, as he began setting aside the desired items. "Have you two heard about Light? Apparently the New Age Alliance captured him and he somehow escaped. There's a huge man hunt going on for him."
"I'd heard." Volc said, indulging in his contact's small talk. "Seems like a big waste of time to me. If the NAA couldn't hold him, what kind of chances do the rest of us have?"
"Maybe so but there's also a huge reward for whoever can capture him. That wouldn't happen to be what you're up to is it? Trying to claim the reward for yourself?"
"Like I said, it's too much trouble for what it's worth." Volc replied, "But with everyone else looking for the little weasel, that leaves more jobs available for the rest of us. Ain't that right buddy?"
As Volc nudged his arm, Light replied nervously, "Y-Yeah."
"Well here's everything you asked for." Kecleon said, placing a small backpack in front of the two customers and naming his price.
Volc paid the bill before the three of them stepped back to the front of the store.
"Have a good day!" Kecleon said, as they walked out, "Hopefully that beskar comes in handy!"
The two Pokemon walked a ways before Light asked, "What's up with the code word?"
"I told you he wasn't the most upstanding of citizens." Volc replied, "He's constantly under investigation by the police, so he came up with a code word for those who need to buy... less than legal things like we did."
"Why beskar? What even is that?"
"It's an imaginary type of metal from a series of books Kecleon used to read. It sounds exotic and it keeps the police off his back. That's all that really matters."
"All right then. Let's just meet back up with Ashley and we can formulate-"
Light was cut off mid-sentence by a loud "BOOM!" coming from the direction of the Devon Corporation.
"- a battle strategy." Light finished slowly, knowing that wasn't going to happen now.
"So much for that." Volc commented. "Let's see what all the ruckus is about."
It didn't take the two Pokemon long to reach Devon Headquarters, where they found Ashley fighting against a swarm of Magnemites and Magnetons.
"I told you she was a loose cannon." Volc said, gazing down at the scene.
"Yeah but we're going to need all the manpower we can get if we want any chance of taking Devon down." Light morphed his armor back to its normal form, no longer seeing the use in hiding and said, "Let's go!" As he jumped into the fray with Slash attacks at the ready.
"What the Hell have you gotten us into?!" Volc asked Ashley as he attacked the swarming steel types.
"Don't worry about that now!" Light yelled, "We need to retreat!"
Ashley launched an Aura Sphere before commented, "Retreat!? We can take these Magnemite out no problem. I say we make them pay for what they've done..."
"Flamethrower!" Volc yelled, shielding the Aura User from a charging Magneton. "You're letting your emotions cloud your judgement. Listen to Light and retreat!"
"But..."
"You'll retreat or I'll have Volc knock you out and carry you out of the city." Light cut in.
"Fine..." Ashley finally relented. "What is our escape plan?"
"First things first." Light tossed Volc a Fire Gem before saying, "We need to break their encirclement. Can you blow us a way out of here Volc?"
"Sure thing. Fire Blast!"
Boosted by the power of the Fire Gem, the attack easily cleared a corridor for the trio to escape through.
"Good work Volc. Now we need to get out of town and quickly."
"I don't think they're going to give up that easily Light." Ashley said, gesturing to the pursuing Pokemon.
"I'll think of something for them. For now start running."
As the three ran through the winding streets of Rustboro, the pursuing Magnet Pokemon didn't let up one bit. Each one constantly launched a Thunderbolt at the escaping fugitives, forcing them to zig and zag through the streets.
"We can't keep this up forever." Volc said, launching Flamethrower at their pursuers. "At this rate they'll catch us before we can even come close to the forest. If you have a plan, now's the time Light!"
"OK." The Meowth said stopping in the middle of the street and handing both of his comrades a Smoke Ball. "When I give the signal, throw those at the ground and scatter. We'll meet up outside of town."
"Are you sure about this?" Ashley asked as the Steel Type Pokemon closed in. "It doesn't seem like a little bit of smoke is going to stop them..."
"There'll be plenty of smoke, trust me." Light said calmly, raising both his arms. "Dark Pulse!" He yelled launching an attack from each arm toward the nearby buildings.
As the building began to crumble into the street, the former NAA commander raised his arm above his head to generate a Shadow Ball Shield, to protect both himself and his allies. "Now!" He yelled, prompting Volc and Ashley to throw their Smoke Balls.
The collapsing structures knocked out any Magnemites that dared get too close and the smoke from the buildings combined with that from the Smoke Balls provided ample cover for the three to slip away, blend in with the local population and wait for the cover of night to escape the town.
Later that Night
Just as planned, the three met a little ways outside of town after nightfall.
"Everyone here and accounted for?" Light asked as he arrived on the scene.
"Yeah. No thanks to this one." Volc said, gesturing toward Ashley. "What the Hell were you thinking outright attacking them like that?"
"Their defenses didn't look that tough. I figured I could blast my way in their and get some sweet vengeance for what happened to my mother."
"You'll get your revenge soon enough." Light said. "For now we have to deal with the cards we've been dealt."
"What do you mean by that?" Ashley asked,
"It means we've lost the element of surprise because of your little stunt and now have to come up with another plan of attack." Volc said.
"You certainly don't mince words do you?" Ashley muttered, "I mean come on. It couldn't have messed things up that much, right?"
"Not to pour salt in your wound Ashley, but Volc is right." Light admitted, "I was counting on the element of surprise and the extra firepower we got from Kecleon to launch a successful attack. I'm not really sure what our game plan is now."
"There has to be something we can do!" Ashley cried, realizing how much she messed things up. "Can't we get some more people to help us? Surely you or Volc have some people you could call."
"Nope." Light replied, "Everyone I knew as Shoteneko thinks I'm dead and everyone I know as Light wants me arrested besides you two."
"Nobody on my end either." Volc said, "Anyone I could call would probably double cross us for the reward on Light's head. Besides even if we recruited more people to our little attack, that still wouldn't be enough firepower to take on the entirety of Devon's defenses. We'd need the Commanders of both the Human and Pokemon factions to even stand a ghost of a chance, and that ain't happening."
Light smiled and said, "But what if it could?"
"I heard they hated each other." Ashley said, "How would you even pull that off?"
"With some theatrics, feats of strength and a big ol' bluff." Light replied, before explaining his plan.
AN: And there's another chapter in the book(literally). 10 points to anyone who knows where I pulled the word beskar from. The final battle's approaching but our heroes have to jump through a couple more hoops before that happens. Feel free to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter. Who are the Commanders of the Human and Pokemon factions? How will Light convince them to join his cause? Will he even be able to make an appointment? Find out next time on Pokemon New Age!
OC Submission details:
Back in Chapter 17, remember how I kept a couple of OC slots a secret? I believe its time I reveal those two slots as the Commanders of the Human and Pokemon factions, both of which are still available for submissions. If you would like to see your OC in Pokemon New Age simply send me a message or leave a review with your character's name and backstory.
I know I haven't used them much the past few Chapters but if you need to know for OCs: Human Knights are based off of Code Geass' Knightmare Frames and AKs are based off of Infinite Stratos' IS Units.
Slots available (I'm not sure which order they're going to appear yet):
Pokemon Commander: FILLED
Human Commander:FILLED
Thanks in advance for the submissions!