Chapter 67, everyone! Last chapter of the year—I've got one more after this and then I gotta knuckle down and get the trip to Celadon done out. *Ted Danson voice* "Shouldn't take too long—ummm between a day and six months." *bricked*

Back to this chapter…y'all remember Giovanni, right? Good, because we're not only discussing him, but also some of the world mechanics (and politics, ew) as well. The one in 256 fail rate actually comes from Gen I, where the Master Ball did actually have a small chance at failing (pretty sure it was from the coding problems that 256 gave early games, considering how Pac-Man broke down at that level). It is my understanding that pretty much every Pokémon game has the coding integrity of spaghetti so it's actually very interesting seeing how big it's gotten over the years with what a train wreck the initial release was. XD

Also references to The Princess Bride and Clockstoppers because I will always reference a bunch of media in my fic don't at me.

And now for reviews: Kayuri Igrimakeon Pax (that's good to hear, thank you! :D), griffin blackwood, Dragonkeeper10, Urdeadnotbigsurprise, talesfanjmf, SuperKitty4789, AverageHiveMind, shukkets, LongNightDragon, aodean, Dredgen Ruvaak, Silverwing23, thor94, Johnny Spectre (mood), Chryssal, epantoja521, SilverWing919 (eventually!), Jay, and Red Archus, thanks for the reviews! Love that you guys love Sabrina's fangirling. :D

AverageHiveMind, thanks for the review! Real talk, I got to the end of your review and started laughing, love the reaction. XD Ooh yes I definitely recommend The Shadow—my Dad got me started on it and I very much love it, but fair warning his depiction varies depending on the media (radio is affable detective, pulps is mysterious avenger, comics is…Batman-esque, honestly). Definitely recommend checking him out tho. :D

Aodean, thanks for the review! I wasn't aware about the actress thing, that's interesting! And I definitely think that if we ever get to Alola Ash would probably have a Mimikyu (do want to try to get this one finished first, it became more of a beast of a fic than I was expecting—600+ pages and counting…).

Pokémon © Game Freak; Nintendo

And now, for something completely different:

The Regional Police Corps would like to put a stop to asking for Officer Jenny's phone number. She is an officer of the law, and therefore quite capable of detaining you for forty-eight hours without cause. It is also very easy for her to file a restraining order.

After breakfast was when Ash retrieved his Pokéballs and—at Sabrina's insistence—let Frenzy out outside to see what the damage was.

Okay. So yeah he got that Parasect were bigger than Paras, but he didn't think they'd be that big—the top of Frenzy's mushroom came about even with the middle of his chest, bulk of it wide enough that he couldn't wrap his arms around it. Frenzy himself was mostly hidden under it but for several long, articulated legs bristling with bumps and little hairs, looking hard yet fuzzy—maybe with spores. The claws themselves poked out too, were as long as his forearm and looked big and strong enough to take his legs off.

In all, nicely intimidating.

"So Frenzy! What do you think?" Ash asked him—didn't get a response. "Frenzy?"

"And now he's just a mushroom zombie," Misty said, hiding behind Brock, who seemed amused by the fact that Sabrina, Walter, and Darkrai were doing the same.

"Well there's still studies on whether or not that's true," Brock said. "I heard there's a kinder strain in Alola that doesn't eat the host all up—"

"Please stop," Sabrina said. "And don't think about it that makes it worse—"

"Sorry."

Ash, meanwhile, had gotten down on his hands and knees to peer at Frenzy's face—the eyes were now blank white disks hidden beneath the brim of the mushroom, mouth full of twitching mandibles that occasionally dripped drool. Didn't react when he waved—but then again, Frenzy had never really reacted to anything that wasn't a direct order.

Hmm.

Stand up, dust off his knees, look around for a suitable target—finally point at a tree across the way. "Frenzy, attack that tree."

So. Despite that having always been his mode of announcing Attack Mode, Frenzy ramping up and bellowing as a Parasect was a million times more intimidating, especially at ground zero—and Brock was apparently expecting Ash to leap on him, considering he was ready to catch as Frenzy barreled across the road—

Also worth noting was the fact that Frenzy had more weight now, considering his impact with the tree had him knocking the tree over before he reduced it to sawdust.

"Oh boy—that's enough, Frenzy! Return!" Ash called, hopping off Brock—and then blinking at the Parasect when he reappeared next to Ash's side.

"Does the army know about this bug?" Sabrina asked finally.

"Uhh…no. No I didn't use Frenzy in my battle with Lt. Surge, did I?" Ash asked, thinking.

"I feel like that battle would have gone a lot shorter," Misty said.

"Probably. But the good news is, Frenzy could do well at Celadon," Brock offered. "Grass types wouldn't affect him as badly, and Spore can give any status effect—meaning don't touch him," he added when Ash got ready to poke at a claw.

"But that's good," Ash said brightly. "Celadon will be my sixth badge, so we'll be almost done then!"

"Try not to get ahead of yourself."

"Too late," Misty said.

"So what's your plan after Celadon?" Sabrina asked Ash. "Blaine's gone AWOL and no one's heard from Giovanni in years."

"I don't know," Ash admitted, returning Frenzy and putting his ball back on his belt. "It's not like there's other gyms to challenge—is there?"

"Well, to be fair a lot of new ones have tried breaking into the official rankings," Brock said, pensive. "Remember that guy with the Sandshrew and the big winning streak?"

"I try not to."

"There's a dojo in town trying to break into the official circuit," Sabrina volunteered. "They have a badge and everything, but my main beef with them is the fact that they did it in my town. Saffron's the Marsh Badge, go set up in some other town and put it on the map."

"Not big on sharing?" Darkrai asked, vaguely teasing.

"She isn't," Walter said to him, like he was confiding some big secret. "She didn't get along well with the other kids because of it."

"Walter, we talked about oversharing," Sabrina said—considered Ash pensively. "You know, the League would probably accept the Dojo Badge."

"Is that what they're calling it?" Ash asked.

"Yeah, real uninspired. They use nothing but Fighting types, so if you have a Flying type that would work." Got a wicked gleam in her eye. "Although…as scary as that bug of yours is, I'd probably recommend using him."

"Frenzy does leave an impression," Ash agreed.

"And a body count," Misty sighed.

Sabrina seemed to have come to a decision. "Yes. Definitely go there, use that bug, crush them. Drive them out of town."

Walter tapped her again. "We've talked about the pettiness."

"Be petty," Darkrai told her.

"You are not helping."

"I feel like small versions of them should be on your shoulder," Brock told Sabrina, stifling a laugh.

"I know, right?" she said, snickering. "So? What do you say?"

"I wouldn't mind getting an extra badge, just in case," Ash decided. "All right then! We're off to the dojo!"

"Perfect! Down main street, they've set up shop and…I don't know," Sabrina said, looking at Darkrai. "Would you mind staying here while they go? I've still got a lot of questions."

"Be the center of attention for once, go with a bunch of ingrates to watch the yutz give a beatdown to more yutzes," Darkrai mused, weighing the options in his paws. "Oooh, first one wins by a landslide!"

"I don't suppose we could talk you into keeping him permanently," Misty said to Sabrina.

"Misty doesn't mean that," Ash said.

"Yes I do."

"Don't tempt me," Sabrina said, waving them off. "You guys enjoy the dojo—tell them Sabrina sent you."

"You do know my plan is to send Frenzy out, right?" Ash asked.

"It's why I want my name attached."

"Have fun storming the castle!" Darkrai jeered, waving as they left.

The president of Silph Co. was not happy with this whole situation.

Yes, Don Giovanni was a solid investor, held plenty of stocks with the company, was a longtime friend. Heck, Giovanni was the one who gave him the monetary investment needed for him to bounce back from his building being destroyed by a raid during the war. Could he have asked where that money came from? Yes, yes he could have. But that wasn't important, what was important was getting back to work and providing people with the tech they needed.

As it turned out, Giovanni wasn't the sort who did people favors—he was the sort to call in later and collect.

Further news didn't help matters. He had heard that Giovanni had his fingers in a lot of pies, yes, ran more than one less-than-legal business—he had heard rumors about his connections with that group of thugs known as Team Rocket too. All things he could brush off and bury so long as it didn't directly affect him. Besides, Giovanni was a powerful sponsor, having kept his position during the war and earning and keeping the rank of strongest gym leader in Kanto.

And then that fiasco with Red.

Red Satoshi, the only boy to ever beat Giovanni, who had swept the Indigo League and was slated to be the poster child for the Kanto comeback—Giovanni had been the one who voiced his concerns when Red first passed through Viridian. Giovanni had been the family friend.

Giovanni had been the one to storm and rail against the League when Red disappeared.

Giovanni had disappeared shortly afterwards.

Not like Red had, oh no—Giovanni had gone to ground, as it were, slipping through and past all attempts to find him and nail him down. He couldn't change the League, so he simply made it impossible to challenge. For the past several years, the League had been forced to accept lesser badges or simply seven badges in order to even have an event.

That year after Red vanished, when no one made it to the Plateau for a lack of Giovanni, had cemented his opinion and how important he really was.

And now here he was, the most wanted man in Kanto, sitting across from him and casually asking for the one thing that he, in good conscience, couldn't give.

"I'm sorry, but no," the president insisted.

"Now really, Hector," Giovanni said, shifting his weight a little and giving off the air that he was the one behind the desk and the president was the one making the unreasonable demands. "I really think you and I are beyond that point in our relationship."

"And what point is that?" he asked, shooting a nervous glance at the very bored Persian. He had heard rumors, didn't like to think that any of them were true.

"The point where I ask nicely and you say no."

"Excuse me for not wanting to relinquish our most powerful item because you want it," he protested. "You're going to have to come up with a better reason beyond just asking nicely."

"What, don't trust me? I'm hurt, really."

"It's not a matter of trust," he said. "Or rather, it's not a matter of your trust—it's a matter of the people's. If word got out—"

There was something subtle in Giovanni's expression, something small that shifted, but it was enough to make the president worry that he was going from affable to dangerous.

"Word won't get out. I would have thought you'd think better of me than that."

"There are rumors," he insisted. "And we can't afford the bad publicity."

"You put too much stock in those rags."

"Those rags sell my product!"

The shift was moving through the body posture too. "If it weren't for me, you wouldn't be here selling the product."

"I know, I know," he said quickly. "And I appreciate it—I appreciate it every quarter. But you can't just come in here demanding—well, that."

Giovanni scratched his ear, obviously weighing his options, probably ranging from most amusing to least bloodshed. "I'm sorry you feel that way. After all, this would have been good publicity, you saving the public and all."

Don't ask don't ask don't ask—"How do you figure?"

"Ever hear of a displaced Legendary?"

He had to blink at that. "Just—how do you displace a Legendary?"

"It happens—they lose their territory, move on, go beyond their normal bounds. And of course, you're familiar with the Dark type, of which there are none in Kanto. What we're talking about is a hyper predator with few natural enemies here. It'd destroy the ecosystem with no problem."

"So get the rangers."

Giovanni actually laughed at that. "Bold of you to assume that I'd involve authorities in this matter. You know how I feel about them."

"I—yes." Fidget. "Look—Red was a tragic accident. Terrible, I'll be the first one to say it. But you can't vilify everyone in a position of authority."

"Actually you'll find that I can," Giovanni said, still relaxed, still making him think he'd launch himself over the desk and throttle the president himself. "There were many opportunities for that mess to be stopped, and yet it wasn't. People were too preoccupied with appearances. Getting the people they liked in, pretending that things were getting better, destroying people without any thought. The League is still a mess, infrastructure is still in shambles, and this economy? Unemployment is down because of me, not the League."

The president did his best to bite his tongue—couldn't bring himself to do it. "Joining a gang doesn't count as gainful employment."

"Says who?" Giovanni asked, smirking. "They're employed and they're being paid. I did that, not some government that barely knows these people exist." Lean forward. "And now here we are, dancing around something that should have taken less than a minute. My reports say this Pokémon has been here for years, and no one has done anything about it. They're a lot like you, where they believe the lie that says their government will take care of them. But they won't, Hector. Someone has to do the dirty work."

The president steeled himself. "I'm sorry you feel that way…but I can't."

Giovanni smiled, thin. "I'm sorry you feel that way too."

And then the Persian flashed across the table, knocking the president down, chair and all—

"NO no no STOP!" he begged. "Stop I'll—I'll get it, honest!"

The Persian stopped, sat next to him and started licking a paw like nothing had happened. Looked up—

Saw Giovanni standing and looking down at him, triumphant. "Glad you could see things my way." Sip his tea. "By the way, I must compliment you on your choice of blends."

He whimpered, managed to pull himself up, went to the safe and extricated what Giovanni had asked for.

"There's only the one," he explained, putting the case on the desk. "We can't get them mass-produced, they're too expensive and tricky to assemble."

"So you say," Giovanni said, flipping the lid open and admiring the ball within before plucking it out. "Except I hear that you don't want to mass-produce a ball with a superior capture rate."

"It's a Master ball," he said testily. "It's got a fail rate so low it might as well be negligible." A one in two-hundred and fifty-six chance, the last time he had checked the numbers. "The marketing team billed it as having a perfect capture rate—if we mass-produced these we might as well kiss the ecosystem goodbye. You know, what you were just talking about defending?"

"Ah, Hector," Giovanni said, smiling. "You obviously have never been in politics. That was a talking point, same as anything else."

Anything else the president might have said in response was cut off by claws in his thigh.