START Chapter 11: They Mostly Live in Oregon

The 2nd to last POV character for this first arc will be introduced in this chapter.

Holt Locke

[Friday, February 23, 2024. Seattle.]

The journey down to Los Angeles began with a truckload of equipment, a bagful of pokeballs, and the start of what I assumed would become a beautiful friendship. Or awkward as fuck, depending on who you asked.

"Where'd you meet your misdreavus?" she asked.

"I don't know. I met her in the forest, I guess," I said, twisting my head around to merge into the left lane.

"She's really adorable."

"I agree. She's a cutie." Hearing us talk about her, Nimbasa nuzzled up against my head from behind me. It'd taken her a while to get used to materialising her body enough to be able to ride in the car. Once she had made herself comfortable, we were able to fish around for a boosted car seat, buckling her up like a 3-year-old.

That didn't stop her from occasionally phasing through the seatbelt to nudge the back of my head, but she just gurgled in her seat for most of the ride.

A sign up ahead told me that we were about twenty miles out from Vancouver, Washington. The clock on the dashboard read noon, so I debated asking Shira if she wanted to stop somewhere to stretch her legs. Maybe we'd grab a bite to eat or something.

Once I pulled into a 24-hour cafe, I used some of the money from Joey's purse to buy myself a country fried steak and a black coffee. Shira stared at the menu for a while before ordering herself an omelette.

We sat there for a while, Shira sawing away at the rubbery eggs while I sipped on my coffee. It was still pretty dark outside, being February in the PNW and all.

"Her name is Baby," Shira said. "I think she's called a feebas."

"You mean your pokemon?" I asked. "That's really cool. Feebas can become incredibly strong once they evolve."

"I don't know how to train her," she said. "She can't really battle or anything. I couldn't imagine her getting hurt because of me."

"Well you're in luck. Feebas don't really evolve from levelling up. I think it's based on beauty, or something."

Shira scowled at my answer, cheeks reddening. "Are you calling my baby ugly?"

"What? No. I've never- What the hell are you talking about?"

Her shoulders seemed to sag a little further down. Seemingly having given up on the omelette, Shira just dropped the knife and fork onto the table.

"Baby was… a gift from my grandparents back home. I don't know what kind of fish she was, but she was a gorgeous, shimmering red fish. When that Catastrophe happened… she was in so much pain, Holt. Her bowl started heating up and she was spasming in so much pain."

"I'm sorry you had to go through that," I quickly said.

Shira just shook her head. "After a while, she just grew up to be about 0.7 metres- a little over 2 feet tall. Her red scales all fell off until they became a murky brown. Her lips got all puffy and swollen. She looks like she was burned alive or something. I don't know how to help her."

"You've said that before. What exactly do you mean by helping her?" I asked.

"Her skin, it's all-"

"That's just what a feebas looks like. Look, you're missing the point of raising a pokemon. Just because your partner looks a bit rough doesn't mean that she's in a bad situation. That's a bigoted point of view. You just need to make her feel beautiful," I said.

At this, Shira frowned but did not reply. Picking up her fork, she just stabbed at her omelette with a pensive look on her face.

I knew that I had to say something. Leaving our conversation like this would not bode well for the several days of driving we still had in front of us.

"Hey. I can tell that you really love your pokemon. That's good, in fact, it's the first step. If you trust Baby then I'm sure she trusts you just as much. Give her as much love and affection as possible — that'll help a lot with evolving her."

Shira cracked a smile at that.

"And hey, nobody puts Baby in a corner," I said.

"Is that another one of your stupid movie references?"

"They're not stupid. You're just boring," Holt retorted. This earned him a well-deserved scowl.

"Look at those pokemon up in the air! What are those?" Shira asked, once we'd passed Vancouver. I looked up to where she was pointing, the small figures of six or seven birds were barely visible from down below.

"Uh… I think those are swellows? Think of them as these normal and flying type bird pokemon. I'm pretty sure they're not too uncommon."

"I'm guessing they're part of the games as well, huh," Shira said.

"Yeah. They're the regional bird pokemon of Gen 3," I replied. "They've got a lot of guts," I said with a grin.

Shira just sorta stared at me with a confused look on her face before shrugging. "Whatever you say."

My embarrassment at that moment was only mitigated by the fact that I was actively driving.

Several bridges were visible in the distance, arching over the city like they were extended limbs. We'd finally reached our first major milestone: Portland, the City of Roses.

"We're gonna stop here for the rest of the day. Surge asked me to drop some stuff off with his assistant, so that they can start building his new regional HQ," I told Shira.

"Do you need me to come with you?" she asked.

"I'll be fine on my own. You've never been to Portland before, right? It's a beautiful city. You should go out and see the sights."

Shira nodded along as though she were only half listening. Her eyes were instead fixed on the beautiful red construct across the river, the Broadway Bridge.

"Would you lend me a couple of your pokeballs?" Shira asked. "Mati- Surge asked me to try and catch a pokemon while I'm travelling with you. I'd like to be ready if I ever need to do that."

"I mean, that's not a problem. If you don't have a battling pokemon of your own, though, it might be a bit difficult to catch a wild pokemon," I said. I pulled over next to a Dutch Bros coffee stop. "Catching a pokemon for you might not be a bad idea, actually. How 'bout we head over to, uh…" I sifted through the map of Portland, looking for an ideal location.

"The Rose Garden," I finally said, pointing at the map. "There's sure to be an ideal second partner for you there."

As well as the possibility of finding a bulbasaur or something, I figured.

Shira helped me navigate through the gridlike streets of Portland until we reached the foot of an impressive hill. The road in front of us was blocked off by several concrete pillars, barring access by car. We'd have to travel the rest of the way on foot.

"I guess we're walking from here on out?" Shira said.

We stowed away the rental car under the tarp that came with the car. Misdreavus helped as well, gathering some leaves with her telekinetic powers.

"Why are we the only people here?" Shira asked.

I looked around, noticing that for the first time. From my vague memories of the Rose Garden, I knew that it was a tourist attraction for anyone visiting Portland. Of course, that was before the Catastrophe.

Also, it was February. There wouldn't be any flowers in bloom for another month or two.

I shrugged my shoulders. "Probably because it's still winter. Let's hurry up and try to find a pokemon. I don't like how empty this place is."

Shira and I started trekking up the wavy path to the garden. As desolate as the gateway had been, the road we climbed was covered in plantlife. For every foot of asphalt there seemed to be a dozen blades of grass poking through the cracks. Vines, dangling off the overhead branches, looked to be waving at us, beckoning for me to approach.

An occasional pokemon popped out to check out the intruders. I spotted a few buneary, their bushy ears poking through the weeds. Shira noticed them as well, and commented on their adorable little forms.

"I wouldn't advise catching one of them. Lopunny can be strong, but it takes time to train properly. We're looking for someone that you can immediately work with since you already have your feebas to pay extra attention to."

Shira just nodded, turning away from the bunny pokemon. "Do you know what we're looking for?" she asked.

I paused to think about that. I honestly hadn't considered what kind of pokemon might be available in the garden itself. "An oddish might be useful, since it's a grass type. It'll have good synergy with your feebas once she evolves."

"Types are a weird system," Shira frowned. "It seems like such an arbitrary measurement—like a bad game of scissors, rock, paper."

"I'm guessing it's a remnant of the game mechanics. Some types have a natural dominance over one another. Fire beats grass. Water beats fire. There's a balancing aspect to it," I replied.

"That just doesn't make sense to me. There's no way that everything is the splitting image of the games!" Shira complained.

"If you ask me, it's not. I'm not a scientist or anything, but there's definitely other factors to consider," I said. "Here, watch this. Nimbasa, use hex on one of those buneary."

Misdreavus slitted her eyes in concentration, focusing on the largest of the bunch and unleashing an orb of ghostly energy. The ball travelled through the air before slamming into the bunny pokemon which yelped in pain before dashing away.

I pointed to the spot where the buneary had been standing. "If this were in the games, that hex attack wouldn't have done anything to the buneary. Normal type pokemon are naturally immune to ghost types. It's their one resistance. Nimbasa and I figured this out when we were walking back to Seattle after the… incident."

"The incident that you refuse to talk about?" Shira asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's not important. Focus on walking or you'll end up Brieking your neck or something," I said.

As if on cue, Shira stumbled on a suspicious looking vine on the ground. I immediately turned towards Nimbasa who was doing her best to look innocent.

"Behave, girl," I cooed. Nimbasa just nodded before turning upside down. The vines retracted.

We didn't have to walk much further than that. After a mile or so, we made our way through to the east entrance of the garden. And what we saw was shocking.

"How the fuck are all these flowers in bloom?" I cried out. In front of us, there were hundreds of tulips and lilies that had sprouted into a majestic pallet of colour. There were flowers that I had never even seen before mixed into the bunch, flourishing and proud. I turned to Shira, who had a similar stunned expression on her face. She seemed transfixed by the image before us.

"I- I guess it's because of pokemon?" she finally said after a solid minute of gobsmacked silence.

"That's… impressive," I said. "Who would've known that something like this would happen?"

A flock of pidgey burst out of a patch of overgrown grass, caterpie dangling from two of their beaks. Their tan feathers seemed to glow from the sunlight, taking on an almost golden hue. The beauty of pokemon in their natural habitat, well… It was almost enough to make me weep with joy.

My attention returned to my companion, who was equally dazed by the wondrous scene.

"We should start looking for a pokemon companion for you. Do you wanna start searching?"

Shira snapped out of her trance. She had a look of uncertainty on her face. "I don't know if I want to take a pokemon away from their home, especially if it's as beautiful as this one," she said.

"That's a good point," I replied. After thinking about it for a moment, I responded, "Maybe we can find a pokemon that has a bit of a wanderlust or something. You'd be helping it explore the world outside of this garden. I'm sure that they'll like that."

"Are you saying that pokemon are that sapient? They feel things like longing, and desire?" Shira asked with a frown.

"I can't tell you the answer to that question, honestly. They might or they might not. Nimbasa here seems like a pretty smart cookie, so I'm hedging my bets on other pokemon being the same," I said. Misdreavus swelled up at the compliment, humming her little tune. "If anything, we're not accustomed enough to the pokemon here to make that judgement call. It's up to you, the potential trainer, to bond with one of the creatures here."

"That's an optimistic way to put it," an unfamiliar voice said from behind us.

We turned around to see a 20-ish year old dude hiking up towards us. He had brown hair and piercing blue eyes, wearing a grey hoodie and jeans. On his belt he had three pokeballs attached, each labelled with a sticker. Upon reaching us, he took a moment to give us a look-over before sticking his hand out towards me.

"My name is Dawson," he said. "I'm an ACE Trainer."

Shira held up her hand to shake his, but I quickly grabbed it before facing down the man in front of us.

"I know who you are, actually. Dawson Mendoza, 2020 VGC World Champion, right?" I said. "You were kicked out of last year's championship after rage quitting in the semis."

The man, Dawson, looked surprised. He retracted his hand and grinned at me. "I'm guessing you're a fan?"

"You don't have any more fans. Not after the shit you pulled against Hikaru," I spat.

"Hikaru is a joke. If it weren't for that bullshit RNG then I would've won that game," Dawson said. He had a dark look on his face. "The Catastrophe was the best thing to ever happen to me. I don't have to stream to losers anymore. Government pays for everything," he said.

"How'd a whiny little brat like you get the trainer sponsorship?" I asked.

"They recognise talent," Dawson said, shrugging. "I've been keeping Portland safe from any major attacks from wild herds since December. I've even got that clown Matis beat for a KDA ratio. Mayor gave me the ACE rank after that," he said with a wry smile.

"What are you even doing here?" Shira asked. She seemed wary of the man, with his pompous nature.

"The real question is what are you two doing here?" Dawson asked. "Only licensed trainers are allowed to be in the Rose Garden. Don't you know about the boss?"

"The boss?" I repeated in confusion.

"There's an incredibly tough roserade lurking around in this garden. The bitch only shows up around sundown, so you little squirts better head the fuck back down before it gets ya," he said. He plucked a pokeball from his belt and released the capsule it in front of us.

With a burst of light, a red blob emerged from the ball. It instantly vaporised the flowers in our vicinity with an intense heat emitting from its body. Some kind of liquid seemed to be coursing throughout its form, kind of like magma.

"A slugma? Are you fucking insane? That thing can light this entire garden on fire," I said.

"For someone like you, maybe. I can actually handle my own pokemon, thank you very much," Dawson said. "This lil thing took down an entire bookstore before I finally caught it. Too bad there's not an IV checker or something. I think my slugma is in the top percent of slugma," he said. He giggled at his own joke while Shira just looked confused.

"We're here to get Shira a pokemon. I don't know what kinda business you have…" I said.

"Oh, you need a pokemon, huh?" Dawson asked. He leaned forward closer to Shira. "Speak no further, I gotchu. I'm an ACE trainer after all. See anything you like?" he asked, gesturing towards the rest of the garden.

"No thank you," Shira said. "Holt is in charge of my training."

He whipped his head around to look at me. Sizing me up, he just smirked. "Ain't no way. This guy? He's only got a single pokemon, from what I can tell. Listen," he placed a hand on Shira's shoulder. "You heard of Antonin Monti right? He's got me on this special mission to find out more about the Portland Catastrophe. He's even coming to Portland to check out my progress soon! I'll be rolling with the high rollers in no time."

"Mr. Monti isn't coming to Portland. He's been permanently detained in Chicago," Shira responded, shrugging off Dawson's hand. "We're on our mission on his orders. Please leave us alone."

Dawson jerked back at that response. "You know Monti? Like, personally?" he asked.

"I'm his intern. He hired me a couple days ago," Shira said. She fished out her employee badge.

This got an immediate reaction out of Dawson, who snapped back into an almost soldier-like stance. "A- are you a Leona Monti auditor?" he asked.

Shira was about to refute that, but I quickly spoke up over her. "Yes. Miss Matsumoto is a Monti Foundation auditing intern. This is her first field assignment and I am her assigned guardian, Mr. Mendoza. You don't seem very professional to strangers, ACE Trainer."

Dawson gave me a dirty look but remained silent. I took that as my cue to continue.

"We're currently trying to find a suitable pokemon for Miss Matsumoto's companion. Do you have anything to report, Mendoza?"

Roll for Deception, a voice in my head taunted.

Dawson cocked his head but hid any suspicions that he might have been fostering. "There's an excellent variety of pokemon in the Rose Garden. Would you care for a tour, ma'am?" he asked Shira.

She seemed amused at his new behaviour. "I'm looking for a grass type pokemon. Is there one that you would recommend?"

Mendoza nodded vigorously. "I've been told that there's a treecko somewhere in the garden. It evolves into sceptile, which can be a very useful partner for, uh, someone like yourself. In fact, I was planning on catching it for my-" he seemed to shrivel up mid-response. "Nothing! Would you like me to start looking for the treecko?"

"That sounds good. Off with you, Mendoza," I said. He glared at me one more time before rushing off along one of the paven paths.

For a few seconds, Shira and I just stared at each other. Then we both doubled over in laughter.

"An auditor? Really?" she asked.

"It seems like you scared the poor kid, alright. He won't be coming back until he has a treecko wrapped up in a little bow," I said.

"Are treecko a good pokemon?"

"They're pretty good. Treecko is the traditional 'starter' pokemon of the third generation games. If he manages to find it for you, then it'll be a real asset," I said.

"So do we just… wait?" Shira asked.

"Nah. It's a beautiful garden. Let's start searching for another potential pokemon for ya, in case Mendoza falls short," I said. I gave her my arm and she gently placed hers on mine. "Follow me, young lady."

We started off on a different path, this one sprinkled with lavenders. A few moments down the beaten trail, Shira asked another question.

"What's an IV checker?"

I racked my brains for all the game knowledge that I had. "Well, IV is short for individual values. In the video games, they were used to determine the growth potential of pokemon for the six stats. They used a value of 0 to 31."

"Would that be an actual thing for pokemon in the real world?" she asked.

"Maybe, but I doubt it. Pokemon are real creatures now, so trying to measure them with bits of data has gotten pretty meaningless. Of course, that doesn't rule off breeding them for stronger offspring…"

Shira made a face at that but remained silent. We continued down the path until we reached a small man made pond. A few fish pokemon were lazing about the surface, basking in the winter sun. I caught a glimpse of a magikarp that was bobbing up and down with a blank expression on its face.

Just then, a rustling in the rose bushes around us snapped my attention back to our surroundings. If Shira noticed it she gave no indication, her eyes still admiring the faux koi pond.

"Shira?" I called out. She tore her eyes away from the pond to meet mine. "Look over there."

A pokemon emerged from the brush, waddling on two unstable feet. It bore a striking resemblance to a cabbage, with a single bud barely visible on top.

"Meet Budew. It's a grass-type pokemon from Gen 3."

"Aww… It's adorable!" Shira shrieked. She made a move to get near it but I pulled her aside. "First rule in encountering pokemon in the wild, you never startle it like that."

Instead, I carefully took a single step forward, lowering myself until I was almost at eye level with the creature. "Hey there, buddy."

Immediately the budew growled and spat a seed in my direction. I just narrowly dodged it, tumbling backwards onto my butt. Shira giggled at that, which made me flush red in embarrassment.

"Master Locke, you truly are wise beyond your years," she said, bowing her head.

"If you're so smart, have at it you weenie," I grumbled.

Shira hummed, slowly stepping forward one foot at a time until she reached the budew. With a gentle hand, she caressed the plant pokemon. "You're adorable," she cooed.

It was a serene sight, Shira and the wild pokemon. Budew preened under Shira's hand, squirming to get a better view of her face.

"I think you've made a connection," I said. "You should ask it to be your partner."

"Him. This guy's a him," Shira said. She popped open one of the pokeballs that I'd handed her before our trip up the hill. "Do you wanna join me, little guy? I can help you if you choose to join me?"

Budew had a conflicted look on his face. Clicking his teeth, he finally nodded after a few tense moments of consideration.

Shira beaming, tapping the pokeball against the grass creature.

One shake.

Two shakes.

Three shakes.

Click. The capture was successful. Shira picked up her newly bonded partner, holding the pokeball tenderly. Before she could notice, I quickly snapped a few pictures with my phone.

Everyone's first time catching a pokemon should be memorialised. I figured Shira would want that picture at some point down the road.

Then a scream punctured the otherwise peaceful moment. We recognised it instantly. Dawson was in trouble.

New York University Lecture Hall

"Makeup, is he ready?"

"The professor walking up the ramp. Sound team, make sure that speakers 14 and 15 are working."

"Someone get the lighting working properly! He's almost on stage."

"3…"

"2…"

"1…"

"Welcome to the world of Pokemon! My name is Ahn and people call me the Pokemon Professor. As you may know, this world is now inhabited by creatures called pokemon…" a man in his late 60s said, while jumping nimbly onto the stage. His greying hair was peppered with silver, his glasses tucked away neatly in his jacket pocket. "This is an introductory course to the strange and powerful creatures known as pokemon. Are you ready to be amazed?"

A wave of cheering exploded from around the room. The three hundred or so live viewers applauded with thunderous vigour.

At the very front of the room sat one man, clapping and cheering as enthusiastically as anyone else. With his dark brown hair, greying from the stress of academia, he looked like just about anyone else in the lecture hall. He was of average height, a solid build from years of fieldwork in environmental biology.

His name was Samuel Oh.

After a two-hour long lecture on the different species of known pokemon, the spotlight dimmed down as Ahn left the stage, once more to the roaring cheers of the audience.

Samuel rushed over to the side door, stumbling past the on-site security.

"Dr. Ahn! Dr. A-"

Samuel accidentally slammed face first into the makeup room door. Rubbing his nose, he cracked open the door and slipped inside.

Ahn was lounging on one of the chairs, flipping through a graduate student's report on biome identification for regional variance. The older man looked up with a bored look on his face.

"What is it, Samuel? Another one of your breakthroughs?" he asked.

Samuel skidded to a halt, pausing a moment just to catch his Brieth. "That was a brilliant lecture today, doctor. I'm sure all of your students are going home with more love for pokemon than ever!"

"Skip to the interesting parts, Sammy. What do you want from me?"

As though expecting this question, Samuel reached into his pocket to retrieve a bundled up stack of papers. "One of my graduate students, Elmer, is proposing this wonderful idea on pokemon metamorphosis. There's significant energy that's involved in the process, you see…"

"The kids are calling it evolution now, Sam. Darwin is dead and buried. Stick to the trends, or you'll keep falling behind the rest of us," Ahn replied, scoffing. "I really don't have time for this right now. I've got a meeting with the chairman tonight."

"This is an incredible breakthrough! If we compile this with my research into battling as the primary method for pokemon growth, then we might be able to channel this into more efficient handling of these creatures. If I only had a little more fundi-"

Ahn slammed his palm against the makeup table, scowling at the younger man. "You're not the only person who needs money around here, Oak. Stop begging for scraps and get me some tangible results with the resources that you already have."

"My name is Oh, sir," Samuel corrected. "You've already cut my department's budget by 22%. I had to let go of some of my newer assistants!"

"Mr. Monti's generous donations are why you even have that funding, Sammy. If I were you, I'd keep my head down for the time being. There's a lot of talk in D.C. right now about ousting Monti's influence from the schools. If he gets cut loose, then your entire department is the first one to go," Ahn said.

"Sir?"

"I know you've been talking to the Monti folks behind my back. Should've done better than use your school computer-"

"I haven't been going behind your back! Alice and I have just been discussing battle-"

"I really don't care, Sammy. Point is, you're the first one out the door when I'm allowed to kick you out. Consider your days at NYU numbered," Ahn said. The conversation was effectively over as one of the security personnel escorted Samuel out of the dressing room.

"Sorry, doc. Gotta follow orders," the security man said.

"Hey, I know you. You're in my battle theory class. John, right? How's your pokemon coming along?" Samuel asked.

John flushed in embarrassment. "My bellsprout is doing great. We've been following your advice, trying to optimise the sunlight more effectively. Bells is a lot quicker now that he has that extra boost."

"I'm glad to hear it, son," Samuel said. He sighed, leaning against the wall next to the door. "It's important to always treat your pokemon with-"

"-with love and affection. That's your motto, professor. We all know that by now," John said. His perky expression deflated a little after seeing Samuel's exhausted form. "I'm sorry that Dr. Ahn is being a jerk. He's always doing that with the TAs."

"Why are you working security today, John?"

"It's part of the practical training for the Battling Sciences programme. Dr. Ahn wants two people with trained pokemon surrounding him at all times."

"That sounds like an abuse of his authority," Samuel complained.

John just shrugged. "After the Catastrophe, people like Dr. Ahn are a valuable commodity in the university. He could get away with anything. I mean, just last week he tried to get Brie to…" John's voice trailed off.

"Tried to get Brie to do what?" Samuel asked, with a cold edge to his voice.

John shook his head fiercely. "Ahn swore me to secrecy, sir. I can't tell you. I can't," he pleaded.

"Brie is my personal assistant, John. Her wellbeing is one of my biggest concerns. Tell me. Now. Or else I'll push through that door and demand some answers from the man himself."

The security man was visibly trembling. Beads of sweat started trickling down the side of his head.

"H- honest to god, I don't know much. Brie has this abra, right? She loves that thing to death. But it's one of Professor Ahn's special interest pokemon, so he gets to decide what to do with it. He tried to get her to have dinner with him, or else he would… he would send the abra away to Project R.E.D."

Samuel stood there silently, listening to John's words. A dangerous glint marred his otherwise kind eyes.

"Thank you, John. I'm sorry that I forced you, but that's important information for me. I must go see Brie now, so I'm going to leave," he said. Turning around, he started making his way out of the room. Just before he was out of earshot, however, he turned to face John once more. "If… if Professor Ahn goes to see Brie again, would you let me know? Please."

John didn't say anything else in response. He just nodded.

With that confirmation, Samuel Oh strode out of the lecture hall.

"Brie, dear? Are you in the lab right now?" Samuel asked. He opened the sturdy metal door to his personal laboratory, noticing that the lights were already turned on.

"Yes, professor," another voice replied. The owner of the voice, a woman in her late 20's, emerged from the typing evaluation chamber. "Did you need something?"

Brie was a doctoral student at Columbia University. With the majority of her studies complete, she was finishing up the last few requirements as the principal aide to Samuel Oh's research. Her long black hair was neatly tied into a ponytail, her slender face donning the very mask of professionalism.

She was brilliant. Yet also the coldest person to ever grace Samuel's presence.

"I heard about what happened with you and Dr. Ahn…" Samuel said.

For the smallest of seconds, Brie's mask shattered. A flash of panic adorned her features before they quickly smoothed back into the formal state.

"It's fine. It's been dealt with, professor," she said.

"To hell with it being fine, Brie. Why didn't you tell me about it? We could have gone to the Disciplinary Conduct Board or-"

"Gotten the whole issue thrown out instantly. Professor, you're on thin ice already with the university. A scandal like this could get you fired without a second thought. The school needs Ahn more than they need you right now."

"I honestly couldn't care less about that. Your safety is more important to me than anything else!" Samuel said.

"Your research should be your only priority, professor. Think about all the lives that you're going to save, once we publish your findings on battle theory."

Samuel's next words died in his throat. The countless hours spent on analysing pokemon behaviour… the formal establishment of the type chart… Could he really afford to give all of that up?

"If anything, think of your family," Brie continued speaking. "Your grandkids are just about to finish preschool. If you lose your job then you won't be able to afford to keep taking care of them."

"I- I can't…"

"I'm a grown woman. I can take care of myself, professor. Honestly!" Brie said. She gave Samuel one of her rare smiles. "Someone like Ahn doesn't scare me, that creepy bastard is just another name on my bad list. Once we publish your research, I can just get my PhD and-"

"And do what exactly?" a voice asked from behind Samuel. The amused voice of the one man that Samuel hoped not to see that night. "What do you plan to do to this creepy bastard?"

Dr. Ahn stepped into the room, his fancy suit replaced with a crisp silver one. He had a grin on his face, as though he had just discovered Christmas presents for the very first time.

"That sounds an awful lot like a threat, Ms. Brie. Are you planning on harming this poor old man? While in kahoots with this scumbag right here? Tut. Tut. Unacceptable behaviour. Well what else can you expect from Sammy and his little pet?" he spat.

"Professor Oh has nothing to do with this-"

"Quiet, girl. You've said enough tonight," Ahn cut her off. The grin having faded, he just stared into Samuel's eyes. "I don't think you'll have to worry about getting fired, Samuel. If I don't find your letter of resignation on my desk by Monday morning, then the Disciplinary Board is going to hear a very different story."

"That's not fair!" Brie shouted. She stepped forward but Samuel raised an arm to block her from getting any closer to the other man.

"Stop, dear. I can… I can handle this," he said. Samuel turned to face Ahn, having to tilt his head slightly downwards to look the smaller man in the eyes. "You'll have my resignation. Please leave Brie alone. She has done nothing wrong."

"Professor!"

"Good answer, Sammy. I knew that you still had it in you. That's enough to impress me, at the very least," Ahn said. He then shifted his gaze to Brie, who was glowering at him with bloody murder in her eyes. "Of course, we can't let this young lady's time at NYU boil down to nothing. She can join my aide staff, first thing on Monday morning. She'll be doing personal research with me, to finish up her programme…" he licked his lips.

"You leave her alone. You leave her alone you bastard."

"Me? The bastard? Oh come on Sammy, let's look at who's talking here. You let your own son and his wife burn alive during the Catastrophe. You could've done something about it. But no, you were stuck in this lab looking at mushrooms instead. Your little guy, he was probably screaming in pain when reshiram blew up half of Central Park. You-"

Ahn stopped speaking mid sentence, as though something was stopping him from continuing any further.

An intense feeling of rage began to fill up the room, almost suffocating Samuel with its sheer intensity.

Samuel frantically looked around, trying to figure out what was going on. Until his eyes locked onto Brie, his aide of several years.

Brie's long, black hair had gotten loose from the scrunchie. It now flowed freely around her head, blowing as though she were caught in a freak mini hurricane. Her hair, however, was not the most disturbing thing about her features. No, it was her eyes.

They were glowing a brilliant shade of red. The same aura of anger that was enveloping the room seemed to be emanating from her very person. Her eyebrows were scrunched up while she bore a look of absolute loathing in her eyes.

Ahn began to turn red, then a violent shade of purple. He clawed at his throat, trying desperately to escape Brie's grasp.

"Brie, stop…" Samuel managed to say.

Brie simply ignored him. Instead she tightened her focus even further. Ahn's throat was now being visibly crushed from the outside.

"Stop! Please, Brie. Stop it right now."

"H- h- hel-"

"SABRINA!" Samuel screamed.

Then with a horrifying noise, something caved in inside of Ahn. The man crumbled to the ground, a mangled mess of what was once the prominent scholar of NYU.

With that, silence fell upon the laboratory. The kind of deafening silence that seldom a person encounters in life.

END Chapter 11: They Mostly Live in Oregon

A/N: I do recognise my cheekiness with the title. Haven't read anything by Spiderc yet so TMLIM is a real treat for me! Excited to get into it. Be sure to check out Twisted Garden. I mean, it's pretty mid but the writer seems like he's putting in an honest effort. I'm kidding, Al. If you're reading this during summer break, then keep up with the times.

Technoblade never dies.

Main Character: Holt Locke (24)

Nimbasa (F) [Misdreavus]: captured after she willingly joins him in Pinwheel Forest

Side Characters:

Shira Matsumoto (23): graduate student in museology at the University of Chicago, friend of Tetsuya Mueller, now a fully-fledged intern for the Leona Monti Foundation and sent on mission to Seattle with her boss, Alice.

Clayton McArnol (47): owned a bar in Seattle with his wife who has since passed away, the owner of Rodie the herdier and currently acting as the leader of the Seattle Pokemon Trainer Committee. Has shown a surprising degree of skill with pokemon, with an affinity with ground types.

Matis "Surge" Vermuth (36): member of the Leona Monti Foundation and elected as one of the regional leaders of the federal International Trainer Association for Seattle. He is known for his use of electric type pokemon, based on his former training as a U.S. marine and expertise in combat on-site engineering.