This could be my last update for a while as my internet has been sabotaged, but I'll still do what I can.

I'm not comfortable with the title of this chapter and I've changed it multiple times. The one I kept the longest was "Akuma the Hunter" but maybe this chapter is too broad to label in the first place. I probably set up too many plot points in this chapter, but I'll have them solved by the end of the story for sure. Also I recently figured out that there is another definition for the word escort which could make the previous chapter weirder and funnier. To that I say: Screw you and your political correctness. Enjoy the freaking story for what it is.

The judge declared Akuma the winner of the match as he recalled Sableye, who was bouncing around happily, back into its pokéball before approaching Sabrina.

"There was nothing you could have done. You did the right thing for Espeon's sake," he told her.

Sabrina kept her gaze downward. "How could I lose so easily against someone who has never even obtained one gym badge?" she said to herself in defeat.

"In truth this isn't my first gym battle," Akuma told her. "However my last gym battle was years ago so I knew it wouldn't matter to you if I made mention of it. Gym badges have had little interest for me these days and I have only recently been given a reason to win them."

"What reason is that?"

"Control and power."

Sabrina looked up with wide eyes. "What?"

"Gym badges give the holder power that cannot be obtained otherwise. Right now is when I need what gym badges can give me."

"You're already a very strong trainer. How could you become stronger than this and what would you do with such strength?"

"It's not enough for what needs to be done. Just leave it at that," Akuma said cryptically. "In any case, I won the match." He held out his hand for the badge.

"Yes… I suppose you did," Sabrina said hesitantly. She pulled out a golden round badge from her coat pocket and placed it in Akuma's open hand. She lingered before releasing it and turned her head to look away from Akuma after he had taken the badge. "What badge will you take next?"

"I don't know all the properties of the badges yet," Akuma replied as he examined the metallic object between his fingers. "I may only need one or two more if this one doesn't work."

"What are you going to do with it?"

"Just keep it on my person. That's all I need to do with it if I heard correctly. I'll ask Akashi about badges later on if I get the chance."

"Is that the name of your teacher?"

"Akashi's learning from me actually. I just got another tag-along that made me his mentor and unofficial rival as well."

"Do they know about this?"

"My collecting gym badges? No. I don't see any particular need to tell them if it won't affect them. Any other questions before I leave?"

"How did you get so strong?"

"I ate my vegetables."

"Stop joking please."

"I practiced a lot, traveled a lot, did research on my Pokémon, and try to overestimate my opponents whenever I can."

Now Sabrina looked up out of the corner of her eyes at Akuma with mild curiosity. He had already pocketed the badge and was now locking eyes with her. She didn't turn her head away this time and his stare made her feel strange for some reason. "Why didn't you call your Pokémon attacks by their given name except for Sableye?"

"I'm keeping my opponents and their Pokémon from predicting my next move. I do special training with my Pokémon so we know what moves get what names. I give different moves different names when I can as well so the opposing trainers can't listen for the same commands every time. Sableye is still young and I don't use her for battles all that often so we haven't got the commands down yet except for fake out."

"One more question: why do you seem so familiar?"

"I'm probably just one of those faces or you had a crush on me in grade school."

"Unless you schooled in Saffron I doubt that last one."

"I didn't and the first option is a recurring trend so assume that to be the case. I assume you have no more questions?"

Sabrina turned her face more directly towards Akuma now to get a better look at him. "I'm sure I've seen your face somewhere before."

This time it was Akuma's turn to take a closer look at Sabrina. "Perhaps we ran into each other somewhere briefly, but I don't see what you see. I haven't been in this gym before today and I usually pass through Saffron rather quickly when I am here."

"Very well then. You may take your leave."

"I have a request of my own before I go: can you leave my name off the records for those who won at this gym? I'd like to keep my anonymous state among trainers if at all possible."

"I can allow for that," Sabrina said with a nod. "It was a real pleasure meeting you and battling with you, Akuma."

"Okay, I give up. Explain to me how you and your escort have known my name since I came in."

"Most of the people in this building, myself included, are psychics in addition to psychic Pokémon trainers. Mind reading is not wholly uncommon"

"Not the most moral of abilities, but it makes sense. Well for the record, I enjoyed meeting you as well, Lady Sabrina. Whatever you plan on doing in the future, make sure you do your best at it. Until we meet again, goodbye." With a nod Akuma turned around and walked out the doors to the hallway.

Sabrina watched him go, then walked back to her chair and sat down leaning forward apparently in deep thought. The judge came over to her after a moment.

"What's wrong my lady?" the judge asked her with a concerned voice.

"Akuma. A very interesting person," Sabrina said to herself as if she was in a trance. "Despite what he said I'm sure I've seen him somewhere before. His battling style is superior and had very little room for error. There was something different in his eyes too. I wonder what that was…."

"My lady?"

Sabrina looked up as if she'd just noticed the escort. "I'm sorry Chandra; I didn't mean to ignore you. Can you bring me the video recording of the match please? I want to look it over."

"Yes my lady, at once."

"Also see if you can figure out more about Akuma and those he said he was traveling with. That may help me to learn… some things."

"As you wish my lady. It shall be done."

Chandra left the room leaving Sabrina alone to her thoughts. She sat back in her chair and tapped a finger on one of the arm rests. A light smile escaped her lips as she sat by herself in the battle room. "A very interesting person indeed. I wonder if he'll realize in time that I could also sense when he was lying."

After Chad had fainted the match was stopped and Kurishimi took him away to rest. Elekid didn't go back inside its pokéball so Kurishimi let it stay out to keep an eye on Chad. The girl he had battled earlier had also been concerned so Kurishimi allowed her to follow them. Finally Chad opened his eyes and saw the girls standing over him while Kurishimi waved the map as a fan to keep him cool.

"Where are we?" he asked when he felt good enough to speak.

"Not far from the battle zone," Kurishimi told him. "You can still hear it once you feel yourself again."

"Your Elekid was worried too," the other girl told him. "It's been standing by you for a while now. It almost didn't let us help you away from the crowd because it was so protective."

"Where is it?" Chad asked as he tried to sit up. He felt his vision begin to blur as he attempted to do so however, and had to lie back down again.

"Careful Chad, you've been down for a while," Kurishimi told him. "You can sit up, but be careful about it."

"Riiiiiight," Chad said as the buildings danced in circles around him. "Okay, second round." He sat up more carefully this time and felt his shirt sleeve being tugged. He looked over to see Elekid tugging on his shirt. "I'm fine, Elekid, thanks for looking out for me." Chad stood up cautiously and made sure he wouldn't lose his head again. "Where are we going next, Kurishimi?"

"I was thinking we could check out the marketplace. Sometimes there are specially trained Pokémon for sale at some stall vendors. We might get lucky and find some good ones."

"I know where you can find those places," the girl said. "I can take you there and not get you lost. There are sometimes street vendors in the middle of the road in the market areas too so if you follow a regular city map you could get lost easily."

"That would be much appreciated," Kurishimi said with a friendly smile.

"My name is Julia, and I already know your names so we can skip that bit if you want."

"We'll gladly take your help if you don't have anything else you'd rather do."

"Nope; as long as I get home before bedtime I don't have anything to worry about. Do you need to be somewhere?"

"We are meeting with our teacher at the northwestern Pokémon Center later today. I want to be back there by sundown if possible."

"No problem. We'll hit the Skitty Street marketplace first and if there's time I'll show you the vendors on Grey Road when we head toward the center."

"He isn't really the kind who likes waiting for people though," said Chad who was now holding Elekid on one of his shoulders. "Are you sure we'll make it back in time?"

"Don't worry cutie, just leave the navigation to me," Julia said with a wink as she led the way down the road.

Chad stared at her back for a minute before following. "I can't help but wonder when the last time was this girl saw an eye doctor," he said to himself as Kurishimi stifled a laugh.

Akuma wanted to test the power of the marsh badge, but he would have to wait for at least another day before he could do so. He was supposed to pick up the pokédex upgrade outside the Silph Co. building in a few minutes then wait for Akashi at the Pokémon Center to install it for her. He also planned to do some personal shopping today if he had time. Chad had his test tomorrow and Akashi would probably find something to occupy her time as well. He would do his experiment then if he could manage it. When he got in range of the Silph Co. building he saw a familiar man waiting for him near the corner of the building.

"Do you have it?" Akuma asked when he came in range.

The man pulled a metal case the size of a finger out of his pocket. "Got it right here. Did you bring the Tyranitar?"

Akuma handed over the pokéball with the Tyranitar he'd taken the night before as the man gave him the pokédex upgrade data. "It seemed to obey its trainer well so it's been either specially trained or broken. Have Fuji take a look at it when you get back and let me know what he thinks of it."

"Fuji's on leave. He went to Fuchsia City a week ago to speak with the warden there. Apparently there was a problem in sector three with a flock of Dodrio."

"Wasn't the same ones as last time I hope."

"No, they left the Safari Zone a few months back. This was more of a territorial dispute I believe. Was there anything else you needed me to take care of before I left?"

"Have you found any more information on the rest of the Sinnoh or Hoenn pokédex upgrades?"

"We've found someone willing to transmit more Sinnoh data to us who claims to have the numbers you want. Naomi says she knows some people that might have the last bits of Hoenn as well. We still haven't been able to get a hold of Professor Birch unfortunately."

"At this point I think we shouldn't put in the effort. It's faster to get what we need in our own way at this point."

"I agree. Where should I be ready to meet you next time?"

"My group is spending time in Saffron for a while; they need some relaxation for a little bit and I can make some extra money from the job Skyler gave me last night. After we finish our work here we might go to Celadon City if Fuji is delayed. I'll call you at the normal time when I'm ready to leave."

"You make it sound like the girl isn't the only one with you anymore."

"She's not. I picked up a younger tag-along when I was finishing my work with Bill. He's learning from both of us for a few weeks and if he isn't making progress I'll send him off."

"It's unlike you to make a deal like that. What brought that on?"

"I don't know, but it's a waste of time to think about it. There's nothing else I need to do; did you have anything else you wanted to add?"

"Just that we still don't know where to find the first and fifth Pokémon for the cherish squad. We were looking toward the Seafoam Islands but didn't have any luck. We heard about the Tyranitar carrier too and we'll work to get to him. Also I finally managed to find the portable trading system you wanted. I left the key in the lock. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Thanks for your help Dawson." Akuma took the metal case then turned away from the meeting spot and melted into the crowd. He'd given his contact a signal by calling him 'Dawson'. Since shortly after leaving the Saffron gym he'd felt like someone was following him. His contact would double back after he had gotten enough distance and keep an eye out for anyone suspicious. He tucked the case under his arm and put the upgrade in his pocket. After he was sure 'Dawson' had come back and was following him he entered a store that he knew. He looked at the person at the counter who nodded knowingly at him before Akuma continued walking into the backroom. Employees looked up at him, but made no move to hold him back as he made his way through to the backdoor and out into the open again. Knowing he was free he went back to the Pokémon Center's trainer room and opened the case for inspection.

Chad, Kurishimi, and Julia stared intently at the Pokémon list that the stall vendor was selling and checked their money.

"How much do you have Chad?" Kurshimi asked.

"Looks like I have over seven bucks. What's your account?"

"Twenty-five for me. If we pool our money we could get a Mr. Mime, but I don't want one. The only one I'm interested in is the Pinsir, but I should probably wait before buying."

"I want that Cubone but I'm short by just one buck. Can we come back later after I get some more money?"

"Sure. We'll figure something out for you."

"One Pikachu please!" Julia called out. She handed over six dollars in cash and picked out a Pikachu from the group. The stall vendor put Pikachu in its pokéball and handed it to the smiling girl.

"Why do you want a Pikachu?" Chad asked her. "Pikachu are kind of mean sometimes."

"Oh that's easy, Pikachu are cute!"

Chad stared at the bubbling girl. "Well that's reason enough to buy one," he said in a dry voice.

"Isn't it though?" giggled Julia who hadn't caught Chad's tone.

"Let's look at some other stores," Kurishimi cut in. "Maybe we can find something else."

They continued looking around the market area and found some useful items meant for trainer use as well as general merchandise. While Kurishimi and Chad looked around, Julia kept smiling at her pokéball. After a long time of looking around, Julia took them to the next market she'd mentioned and the three looked around some more. This time Julia did some further browsing of her own as well. After Chad disappeared in a pile of Pokémon reference books Julia finally started talking directly to Kurishimi.

"Hey, hey, why didn't you battle at the arena?"

"Oh, I'm much too experienced to have been fighting in the amateur section. Chad needed the experience so I got him into one."

"How experienced are you?" In response Kurishimi pointed to the three gym badges pinned on her hat. "Oh, that's definitely not amateur level. So you're a battler then?"

"You got it."

"What about Chad?"

"He's still a young trainer. We're getting him his license tomorrow. Actually that reminds me that he needs to study for his test soon. We'd better cut the tour short and head back now."

"Well okay, I guess I'll take you back then."

It took some effort, but the girls pried Chad from the books and made their way back to the Pokémon center. Chad gave the nurse Rattata's pokéball and Julia handed over her Tyrogue. Kurishimi went back to the lounge where she found Akuma in front of a small open metal briefcase. She went over and saw a machine inside both halves. It appeared that Akuma was figuring out how it worked.

"Well what is it?" she asked finally.

"This is a portable trading system similar to the larger trading machines you see in busy areas and some Pokémon relevant areas. This one is more convenient for people who do a lot of trading."

"So why do you have it?"

"I checked some Pokémon evolution groups and we may need this in the near future to help our Pokémon reach their final evolutions more easily."

"How does a trading machine help?"

"Do you want to wait one hundred years for your Onix to evolve into a Steelix?"

"I think I'd like to still be alive when that happens."

"Exactly. If we can acquire metal coating and apply it to your Onix then pass it through the trading system we can evolve it much faster. It's similar to using a stone, but it has much less effect on the Pokémon's mind and personality… usually."

"What?"

"Evolving Magmar into Magmortar through a trading system makes it much more confident and aggressive. Poliwhirl into Politoad pushes characteristics toward friendly and playful while a Poliwrath evolution gives it a fighter's spirit. Clamperl to Huntail creates a more aggressive predator and a Gorebyss evolution keeps its good natured personality if not enhancing it more."

"What's a Clamperl?"

"A Hoenn specific Pokémon. That reminds me; I got another upgrade for your pokédex involving Hoenn Pokémon. You've gotten general information so far, but this upgrade has most of the more obscure species so you'll be much more informed. Hand me your 'dex and I'll install it for you."

Kurishimi handed Akuma her pokédex as he pulled out the smaller case he'd acquired earlier. He opened it up and a small microchip was revealed. Akuma removed a piece from the side of the pokédex then pulled out a tray with various chips already in place. He removed an older chip before carefully replacing it with the new one. He placed the old chip back into the metal case and pocketed it again, then put the tray back into the pokédex and turned it on. He browsed through the information to make sure it was still working correctly and had accepted the new info without losing any old data. When he was satisfied he handed it back to Kurishimi.

"You've got most of them now. The last half of the Hoenn-dex is still unavailable but that will be the toughest part to acquire. Unless you get really lucky, or unlucky depending on the circumstances, you won't need the last bit I would think. Still, I'll keep trying to finish it off for you if I can."

"You seem to know what you're doing," Julia said. Akuma looked up to see the girl staring in admiration. "How do you know so much?"

"Experience," Akuma said with an almost unnoticeable touch of disgust in his voice that only Kurishimi caught.

"You did that really fast and got it working on your first time too. You know a lot don't you?"

"I try."

"Are you her teacher?"

"To some degree I am."

"Not very talkative are you?"

"Is there a point to this conversation? If so please get to it."

Julia looked at Kurishimi who motioned for her to go pick up her Tyrogue from the front desk. As she left, Kurishimi apologized to Akuma for the unwanted attention while he gave her an icy glare.

"If she ends up following us too, I'm ditching all of you," he told her.

"I think she's staying in Saffron still. I expect you'll only have to put up with her until we leave the city. And if she does follow us out, please let me take care of her. She's too impressionable to deal with your rejections."

"No more tag-alongs," Akuma simply said. "In any case, I don't have anything else I need from you today. I'm going to leave the city for a while."

"You're leaving by yourself? Where are you going?"

Akuma pulled out a white pokéball from his vest. "Hunting."

Kurishimi raised an eyebrow. "Since when?"

"Since I was in a Hoenn cave."

"For your Misdreavus?"

"No, my Sableye."

"Oh yeah, I forgot you had that one. Do you know what you're going after, or is this a general hunt?"

"I have a specific target in mind."

"Good luck then."

"Based on the number of sightings, I'll need all the luck I can get."

"Oh wow. I hope you get what you're after then."

"I won't come back until I do." With that Akuma walked out of the Pokémon center. It would be a long time before Kurishimi saw him again.