Alfgar and Gary stepped out of the military jeep and turned to face the gates of Undella Town. As the jeep started up again and drove off, Alfgar turned to admire the resort town. He had been to Undella a couple times before, but it was Gary's first time in the beach town. The two glanced at each other, Alfgar apprehensive and Gary excited, and then walked through the gates and into Undella.

The sun shone brightly above the small town, but the heat was nothing compared to the humidity found in the Hoennese jungle. Undella was mostly composed of villas and small shops, and almost all of the buildings were right up against the beach. The water was a sparkling blue color, and Alfgar was reminded of the sea surrounding Pacifidlog. Undella was full of rich people and well-off vacationers, and many famous stars often visited.

Alfgar shifted his large pack as he follows Gary to the villa they were supposed to be staying at. Back at the military base Alfgar had taken a much-needed shower and had replaced his old, smelly, ratty military garb for a new set of clothes more suited for a regular trainer. He now wore long black traveling pants and a dark, loose, forest-green long sleeve. He wore brown hiking boots as well, and his five pokeballs hung from his belt. A pair of silver aviators were clipped to the collar of his shirt incase the sunlight got too bright. His long, shaggy, black hair was still as wild as usual, and his deep brown eyes squinted under the glare of the sun.

Gary had also showered and cleaned himself up at the base, but his clothing was deemed appropriate for the mission and General Blackstone did not make him replace it. Gary stuck to his dark blue long sleeve, his black traveling pants, and his brown boots. Gary had sunglasses as well, but he actually put them on instead of clipping them to his shirt. His outfit was very similar to Alfgar's, and the two together looked like nothing more than a pair of regular trainers. Only Gary's five silver pokeballs indicated that the pair were anything out of the ordinary.

"This should be it," announced Gary at he arrived at a large mansion located only a few yards from the beach. "Damn. It's pretty nice."

Nice was an understatement. The house was huge and luxurious, and though the property lacked a proper front yard, it did have a deck which overlooked the beach. A pair of ornate ivory pillars supported the front of the house, and Alfgar marveled at the architecture as he and Gary walked up to the massive front doors. The two doors were made out of finely-polished, deep-red wood, and a golden doorknob was attached to each one.

"Should we knock first?" Asked Alfgar as he saw Gary pull the set of keys Blackstone had given them out of his pocket.

"Why? We've got the keys," was Gary's reply as he unlocked the door and strode into the foyer.

Alfgar followed Gary into the house and was struck by the beauty of the place. The foyer was spacious and made out of clean, white tile, and a grandiose chandelier hung from the ceiling. In the back of the foyer was a pair of wooden staircases which reached up to the upper levels of the house. Alfgar could hear the faint sound of classical music drifting through the halls.

"Hello? Anyone home?" Gary yelled into the massive foyer. Only his echoes answered him. He turned to Alfgar. "Guess she's not home." He then made his way to the family room that was adjacent to the foyer, and Alfgar had no choice but to follow.

The family room was just as luxurious as the foyer, if not more so. A dark, hardwood floor lay underneath Alfgar's boots, and he took his footwear off as he realized that he was probably tracking in dirt. The walls were painted a dull white, and two sets of doors connected the family room to the deck that hung out over the golden beach. A large plasma screen television was mounted on one the far right wall, and a big, expensive-looking sofa sat across from it.

Gary strolled over to the sofa and nonchalantly tossed his pack onto the furniture. He then sat down and put his boots up on the elegant coffee table that lay in front of the sofa. Alfgar cringed as he watched Gary shuffle through the magazines and objects on the table as if he owned the place. Soon enough, Gary grabbed the remote that rested on the table and turned the TV on, flipping through channels as he used his other hand to release his umbreon.

"What?" Gary asked as he noticed Alfgar staring at him. "That old general dude told us to make ourselves at home."

His umbreon mewled in agreement and padded off as she began to explore the room. After sniffing around for a couple of seconds, the umbreon walked over to Alfgar and began pawing lightly at his leg.

"What?" He asked it.

The umbreon mewled in reply and stood on her back legs as she lightly tapped one of Alfgar's pokeballs.

"Oh, you want me to release Evenfall?"

The umbreon mewled happily and nodded her head.

He plucked his glaceon's ball from his belt and lightly tossed it into the air, sending Evenfall out to join her sister. The glaceon purred at seeing the umbreon, and the two of them padded off together. Alfgar then heard the telltale sound of a pokeball opening and saw Gary releasing the rest of his pokemon.

Alfgar lifted two more pokeballs off his belt and sent out Luce and Randy. He figured that it would be cruel to have his pokemon cooped up in their balls for two long. The luxray and kecleon surveyed their surroundings before heading off in different directions.

"Try not to break anything!" Alfgar warned. He didn't want to have their host come back and see her villa trashed.

He fingered his two remaining pokeballs and considered releasing them as well, but ultimately decided against it. Apollo and Odin would definitely wreck something if he let them out now.

Alfgar strode towards the deck and admired the view. The sea rippled calmly under the warm afternoon sun, and the golden sand glittered enticingly. Suddenly he heard the telltale clacking sound of heels on wood, and he turned around to see a woman enter the room.

Cynthia Platinum was her name, and she definitely lived up to the tales of her beauty. She was a tall woman with long, silky, blonde hair, and she was dressed in all black. Her silver eyes glanced at Gary, Alfgar, and their pokemon, though Alfgar found it impossible to discern whether she felt amused or annoyed at seeing how comfortable the two had made themselves. Before either Alfgar or Gary could react, Cynthia spoke.

"Hello, and welcome to my villa. You two must be Alfgar the Wild and Gary Oak, correct?" Her voice was smooth and calming, and Alfgar felt a sense of relief after Cynthia made it clear that she wasn't angry.

"Yep, that's us," Gary answered as he blatantly checked out Cynthia. "I'm the famous Gary Oak, and that dark and handsome guy over there is Alfgar."

Alfgar nodded in greeting. "It's nice to finally meet you, Cynthia."

Cynthia smiled. "Yes, and I'm glad you two have made yourselves at home. As long as you're my guests here, this villa is as much yours as it is mine."

"Thank you," Alfgar said as he cleared his throat. "General Blackstone said something about a meeting with some diplomats?"

Gary groaned. "There you go again, always business and no pleasure. We're in a villa in Undella, for Arceus' sake. Can't we enjoy ourselves for at least one day?"

He glared at Gary; they weren't here for 'pleasure' at all, and Blackstone had given them specific orders. Alfgar didn't want to spend any more time in Undella than he needed to. After all, he had a more important job to do.

"The meeting isn't for two days, so we have time," Cynthia said, interrupting Alfgar's thoughts. "Please, feel free to enjoy yourselves in the meantime. There's a pool in the villa and all sorts of game rooms, but if you prefer the beach, then it's right next door."

"Thank you. At least someone understands," Gary replied as he gave Alfgar a disapproving look.

"Whatever. I'm going for a walk, unless you guys have something else planned," Alfgar decided as he called over his pokemon.

Gary continued to watch television, ignoring Alfgar, but Cynthia shook her head.

"Undella's a beautiful town. Please, go ahead and have a look around," she said.

Alfgar nodded and left the villa with his three pokemon following closely behind.

"Is he always like that?" Cynthia asked Gary as she watched Alfgar leave.

"Hm? Like what?"

"He looks angry and sulky. He's very rigid," she observed as she took a seat next to Gary on the large sofa.

"Oh, that. Yeah, nowadays he's like that more often than not. He's had a lot of shit happen to him in the past, so it's probably fucked with his mind," Gary explained as he nonchalantly cursed in the presence of a champion. Cynthia, however, seemed unperturbed.

"Tell me about him. What's he like?"

Gary turned to face Cynthia. "Why do you want to know about him? I'm much more interesting, I can assure you," he said with a cocky smirk.

Cynthia's face didn't change at all. "I know about you already. Alfgar, though... I've only heard bits and pieces about him, but what I've heard is interesting. I would like to know more."

Gary sighed. "Alright, fine. Alfgar... How do I describe him? He's quiet, I guess, and reserved, but he won't hesitate to fight if you get on his bad side. He's cold, ruthless, smart, and like you said, kind of rigid. Apart from me and maybe Red, I don't think he has many friends."

Cynthia blinked as she took the information in. "And you say he was always this way?"

Gary sighed again. "Not really, actually. You've heard about the Unova Incident, right?"

Cynthia nodded, and Gary continued.

"Well, before all that, Alfgar was pretty normal. He was an easy-going, lazy, and slightly awkward trainer who got really competitive during battles. I met him back then, and he was actually pretty fun to hang around. Now, though... He's changed a lot, but I can understand why."

Cynthia stared at Gary thoughtfully with her strange silver eyes. "Thank you, Gary Oak." She then got up and left, making Gary wonder why she was so interested in Alfgar.

"I can't believe this. What are we supposed to do here? Sit and around and soak in the sunshine?" Alfgar complained to his three pokemon.

"Sounds fine to me," Evenfall countered.

"I thought you ice types disliked warm areas," Luce replied as he gazed hungrily at a nearby wingull.

"The point is that we have something else we should be doing," Alfgar continued. "I'm not here to take a fucking vacation."

The four were sitting at a small table outside a beachside cafe. Randy was asleep on the table while Luce and Evenfall were curled up on the ground beside their trainer's feet.

"Fuck Cynthia, and fuck General Blackstone. Fuck the Brothers, and fuck the war. I finally get the chance to do something important, and these goddamn idiots force me to negotiate with some diplomats. What do I look like, some peacekeeper?" Alfgar ranted, unaware that his pokemon weren't really listening anymore.

Alfgar then stayed silent for a few minutes, occasionally sipping the ice-cold water bottle he bought in the cafe in order to cool himself down. His three pokemon remained relatively quiet. At least they're enjoying themselves, he thought bitterly.

Suddenly, Luce perked up and lifted his head from the ground. His nose twitched and his mouth curled up in a sinister smile. "The blonde champion approaches."

Alfgar glanced over to where Luce was looking and saw Cynthia, her magnificent blonde hair glowing in the sunlight. She had taken off her black coat, but she still wore a dark long sleeve and black pants.

"Do you mind if I sit?" She asked, gesturing towards the empty seat next to Alfgar.

"Go right ahead," he replied. He eyed the woman cautiously. What could she possibly want with him?

"Thank you," she said as she sat down. She looked at him with her shining platinum eyes. "I've heard a lot about you, Alfgar."

He took another drink of his water before speaking. "Oh really? Like what?" He had a feeling that what she heard couldn't have been very good.

"I heard about your role in the Unovan Incident," she said bluntly.

Alfgar stiffened slightly. "... And?"

"And nothing. I just thought it was very interesting."

His eyes narrowed. "Interesting? That's it?"

"Well... Yes. I'm very fond of myths and tales of heroism, so naturally I was captivated with the story of how a handful of trainers, along with the help of Zekrom, defeated Team Plasma and Reshiram. Hilda and Hilbert are famous across the region now, and N as well. You, however... Few talk about you, and when they do, they don't have much good to say."

Alfgar squeezed the water bottle as he felt Evenfall stir at his feet. He grit his teeth. "You think I don't know that? I know I failed. If Hilbert and Hilda hadn't shown up, Unova would have been destroyed for sure."

Cynthia's silver eyes continued to bore into his deep brown ones. "Did you really fail, though? You did all you could, and you arguably paid a heavier price than anyone else."

He averted his gaze and settled his eyes on Randy's sleeping figure. "That's not what everyone else thinks," he said quietly.

Cynthia reached out her hand and put it on top of Alfgar's, causing him to look up in surprise.

"I know," she said, "but sometimes it doesn't matter what everyone else thinks."

She got up and left the table, leaving Alfgar alone with his pokemon and his thoughts. She doesn't blame me for what happened? The Sinnoh Champion... Maybe she wasn't so bad after all.

Edwin staggered into Fortree, finally emerging from the dense jungle and into the enormous clearing which held the city. Poseidon slowly crawled along beside him.

"Finally," he said weakly as the familiar wooden huts and spicy scents greeted him. Poseidon croaked deeply, sharing Edwin's sentiment.

The two made their way to the Pokemon Center and booked a room. Edwin returned his swampert and handed in all six of his pokeballs to the nurse, but the ultra ball stayed clipped to his belt. He then left the center after having a brief meal and headed in the direction of the Fortree Gym, the weight of the Blue Orb heavy in his bag.

He entered the gym and saw the same receptionist at the desk. The gym itself was just as hot and humid as before, and Edwin lifted a hand to wipe the sweat from his brown as he walked over to the welcome desk.

"Hi," he greeted. "I need to see Winona. I have an urgent message from the Mossdeep Space Center."

The receptionist looked up lazily. "Do you have an appointment?"

"... No. But it's important!" Edwin insisted.

The receptionist yawned. "I'm sorry, you need an appointment."

Edwin frowned. He didn't come all the way here to be rebuffed at the welcome desk. He took his pack of his back and shuffled through it before picking out the Feather Badge.

"I have this! Doesn't this count for something?"

The receptionist watched as the light bounced off the cyan-colored piece of metal. "Fine. Winona's in her office, and since you have the badge, I'm assuming you know where that is. Don't disturb any of the gym trainers."

Edwin nodded and walked over to the back of the gym, careful to avoid the flying types and trainers who flew and fought on the numerous battlefields scattered throughout the building. Edwin knocked on the office door and heard a muffled "Come in!"

He entered the room and saw Winona sitting at her desk. A large swellow was perched in front of her, and it was eating birdseed out of the gym leader's hand. Winona still wore that same strange aviation suit, but she had taken her helmet off and her lavender hair cascaded down her shoulders. She glanced briefly at Edwin before turning back to the swellow.

"Do I know you from somewhere?" She asked as the bird pokemon pecked at her hand.

"My name is Edwin. I won the badge from you a short while back," he replied as he set his pack down.

"Ah, yes. You're the trainer with the strong pidgeotto. You've done very well with that pokemon, I can say that much. What brings you in today?" She swiveled in her chair to focus on Edwin.

The young trainer flinched as he looked into her purple orbs, Winona's eyes reminding him of Faustina's. "In have a delivery from the Mossdeep Space Center." He pulled out the Blue Orb and handed it over to Winona.

The gym leader's eyes widened as she took the Orb. "This is... How... You came from Mossdeep, correct?"

Edwin nodded. "My father is Commander Leonard Willow."

"Really? I thought the last name was just a coincidence. In any case, I was expecting this; I just didn't expect it from a lone trainer instead of a military escort." Winona rubbed her hand along the Blue Orb's surface, her eyes sparkling in wonder.

Edwin sat down in the seat across the desk from Winona. "There were two of us, actually, but we ran into some trouble." He told Winona everything that had happened, though he left out the part about the strange pokemon.

"Wow. Do you know who they were?" Winona asked after Edwin had finished retelling the events in the jungle.

Edwin shrugged. "No. I think they were from Unova, though. Who else could want the Orbs?"

Winona nodded. "Maybe. Thank you for bringing this to me. Did your father give you any other instructions?"

He was about to shake his head, but then he remembered the ultra ball. He unclipped it and handed it to Winona.

The flying-type gym leader looked at the ball quizzically before placing it on her desk. "What's this? I don't remember anyone telling me I would be getting an ultra ball."

"I don't know exactly what it is. It contains a really powerful pokemon, though, so I'd only use it in emergencies if I were you." That was what his dad had told him, anyway. He thought it best to leave out the part where he had used the pokemon to kill another person.

Winona eyed the ultra ball cautiously. "Alright, then. Thank you for bringing this to my attention." She nodded thankfully towards Edwin, and the swellow squawked something out as well.

Edwin said his goodbyes and then got up and headed towards the door. He felt naked without his pokemon, and he didn't want to be near the Blue Orb anymore, or the strange, deadly pokemon inside the ultra ball.

By the time Edwin arrived at the Pokemon Center, the sun was on the verge of setting and the shadows of the buildings and people were elongated. He entered the red-roofed center and strode to the front desk. He asked about the health of his pokemon, and the nurse gave him a strange look.

"Most of your pokemon are fine, but your ninetales suffered a few broken ribs and some internal bleeding. Your electabuzz has severe burns on its face, and both pokemon will need to remain overnight in intensive care."

"B-but they'll be fine in the end, right?" Edwin asked desperately.

"The damage to your ninetales can be repaired, but she won't be able to battle for a while. Your electabuzz, however... I'm afraid that the burns are too severe. He will survive, but I would guess that he will lose sight in his left eye," the nurse said as she handed four of Edwin's pokeballs back.

Edwin's face fell. It could be worse, he reminded himself. He thanked the nurse and then went over to one of the computers in the lobby. He sat down and booted it up. As he navigated to the search engine, he struggled to recall what Faustina had asked of him before she died.

She wanted to forgive someone, but who? Elfgon, was it? No... Maybe Alfie. Alfgar! That's it. He began typing the name into the search engine, though he thought he had already heard it before somewhere. As he watched the screen with bated breath, he suddenly remembered where he heard the name. The man they met in Lilycove, at the ancient church; that was Alfgar.

He tried to recall how the man looked. Tan skin, black hair, brown eyes, muscular, dressed in all black... But who was he? How did Faustina know him? Why did she come all the way to Hoenn to look for him? Too many questions remained unanswered. He turned his attention back to the screen and scrolled through the search results.

Nothing. Sure, there were plenty of links, but none of them seemed promising. He remedied his search to 'Alfgar Unova' and started over. More links came up this time, but Edwin didn't know exactly what he was looking for. He shrugged to himself and clicked on the first link.

The link lead to a list of all trainers entering the Unova League Tournament for the year 3017. A tournament held five years ago? What does this have to do with Alfgar? Edwin scrolled down and read over the list of names. He stopped when he got to someone named 'Ragnar Berlitz.' The name meant nothing to him, though the first name was strange and the last name was vaguely familiar. However, what interested him most was the middle name.

Alfgar.

Could this be him? Edwin clicked on the name and was redirected to a page with a picture of a young man. The man certainly looked familiar, as he had black hair, deep brown eyes, and tan skin. The young man was looking directly into the camera, and a faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

It had to be him. Edwin looked at the small biography that was present next to the image. It appeared that this Alfgar was born in Nuvema Town, and that he was eighteen years of age when the tournament took place. The biography also listed his eight badges and some of his pokemon. Edwin remembered that he saw a charizard with Alfgar, but only a charmeleon was listed under his ownership for the tournament. Must've evolved...

Edwin backed out of the website until he was back at the search results. Now that he had a little more information, he could narrow down his search. He clicked on one of the links on the search results page and was lead to a written-up news report. As he scanned through it, Edwin saw that it detailed the Unova Incident and Team Plasma. He already knew all about that, so he skimmed some more. However, he stopped when he saw a familiar name.

Ragnar Alfgar Berlitz was mentioned in the article, though only briefly. The report said that Alfgar had fought against Team Plasma and someone named N and had attempted to hold them off until Hilda and Hilbert, the saviors of Unova, arrived. The article also said that Alfgar had failed, and that he was crushed by Team Plasma. It then went on to describe Hilda and Hilbert's heroics, though that was common knowledge and Edwin decided to stop reading at that point. He searched through a few more links but came up with no new information.

He shut off the computer and rubbed his eyes. As he headed up to his room, he thought about Alfgar. Who was he? Why was he in Hoenn? What role did he play in the Unova Incident?

Edwin yawned tiredly as he walked into his room and lay down on the bed. He figured that his pokemon were better off resting in their balls, so he kicked off his shoes and took of his jacket and then curled up in between the sheets. As he drifted off to sleep, he remembered Faustina's last request.

Faustina... I won't fail you. I will find Alfgar, I promise.

Dex entry #697: tyrantrum

"Back when tyrantrum used to roam the earth, they were feared as the most dangerous predator on the planet. However, nowadays tyrantrum faces competition from other threats, namely humans. Though tyrantrum are no longer kings of the food chain, they are still a force to be reckoned with. One of their bites could cleave a human in two with ease." - Dr. Pierre Lagrange, head scientist at the Ambrette Fossil Lab

Tyrantrum are large pokemon which have been extinct for thousands of years. These pokemon have the strongest bite out of every known pokemon, including legendaries. Tyrantrum used to roam ancient jungles of what is now Kalos, but they went extinct after they were unable to adapt to the changing conditions of the world as it slowly recovered from the Great Nuclear Winter. Tyrantrum like to think of themselves as kings, and they are very prideful and arrogant. For this reason, tyrantrum are usually only found in the care of experience and powerful trainers, as a rampaging tyrantrum can cause extreme damage with its powerful jaws. Tyrantrum are considered a level four threat on the Pokemon Threat Scale.