Hey guys, welcome to another chapter of Pokémon Society! As you know, we're sadly reaching the end of the story, I hope you've enjoyed it so far! As a side note, I forgot to add a small side story with Scarlet at the end of Chapter 25 in my haste to finish it by Friday. I've added it now, so if you haven't read the side story with Scarlet, go back to Chapter 25 and skip all the way to the end, right before the end note. Now, let's get this story started. Hope you enjoy.
Like usual, the Oak Alpha were gathered in their meeting room at the beginning of the day to receive their briefing. However, they knew exactly what it was going to be about this time around. Captain O'Riley sat at the front, holding onto a thick file with lots of papers inside.
"Good morning everyone, get comfy, I have a lot to discuss. As you may know, we've seen a lot of events that have led to many safety measures and other choices we've had to make. The infiltration of the Oak Agency has led us to enforce security checks and extremely thorough background checks. Fortunately or perhaps unfortunately, we have not uncovered any more spies. Seeing as the Gamma Team is moving faster than anyone predicted, we activated lockdown on all major and minor cities and towns. Air Patrol, Sea Patrol, and Border Patrol are all on high alert for anyone, only people with proper Oak Agency identification can pass through. That brings me to the second part of Operation: Shutdown, the shutting down of black markets across the region."
"With that pause there," said Haruka. "You made it sound extra dramatic, only for you to state the obvious."
Captain O'Riley ignored him and began to pace. "For too long, we've focused on big crimes and disasters, ignoring all the smaller parts of evil. Because of this, we've allowed these black markets to flourish and grow. We cannot ignore them any longer! If we were to trace the origins of hundreds of cases, I can guarantee you that more than fifty percent of them lead back to the black markets. Murder cases that involved firearms, tournament scandals where the victor had his Pokémon enhanced by drugs, all of these are linked to black markets. We must put a stop to all this. The Gamma Team cannot be allowed to grow and amass more resources. In this file, I have many sheets with confirmed and possible black market locations. You will take these physical sheets and move around town, searching for these locations. Keep your radio on, we'll be giving updates on which places were eliminated. The reason we are using physical sheets is because there's always the chance our system could be compromised. Any questions?"
Juan raised a hand. "My sister's asking if she could accompany me on this mission."
Captain O'Riley raised an eyebrow. "If I said yes, you'd be okay with her coming along?"
Juan nodded. "I believe she showed that she's fully capable of taking care of herself during her previous, unofficial mission."
"If you're okay with it, then I am as well. We're going to need all the help we can get, and the police force is focused on maintaining the lockdown. Who knows, I may activate the entire family, as well as a few others. Katie is free to join you though. Now, any other question."
"Could this mission be life threatening?" asked Haruka.
"I'm not going to lie, potentially. Some black market dealers are vicious, especially the ones who sell enhancers and weapons. I'm sure you'll be in good hands if you join Scott. One thing I must mention to all of you ties in with Haruka's question. No matter the mission, it can and will be dangerous. I do not advise any of you, no matter how skilled, to go alone. Any more questions?"
No raised a hand, indicating there were no more questions. Captain O'Riley nodded and moved around the room, passing out the sheets to everyone.
Scott scanned the list. "1145 Custo St, Raticate District. This is pretty close to us, he's unconfirmed, but there is a good chance the person who lives there has a market in his basement. We don't know what he sells, but it could be illegal. Haruka, let's go. The rest of you can choose teams as you choose."
"I'm going with Katie," said Juan, standing up and taking his sheet. Gavin stood up as well.
"Ellen, want to come along with me?"
Ellen was slightly surprised by the offer, but she nodded. Maggie and Joyce decided to go together as well, leaving Victor, Wilhelm, and Aisha in the meeting room with Captain O'Riley.
"I suppose we could all go together," said Wilhelm. "It'll be helpful to have two fighters anyways. I don't usually partake in battling unless I have, which of late, has been a common occurrence. I'd like to give my Pokémon a rest."
"Sure," said Victor. "It'll be a chance to redeem myself, after you know what happened."
"Actually," said Aisha. "I don't."
"Well then don't worry about it," said Victor. "Let's go."
He picked up his sheet and hurried out of the room, presumably on a course towards the garages.
"Actually," admitted Aisha after a few awkward moments. "I did know what happened."
Wilhelm looked confused at this. "Then why did you ask?"
"Don't worry about it."
Seven minutes later
"Well," said Scott, standing with Haruka in front of a tall, single family apartment. "This is the address. How about we go in and say hello?"
"Yeah, say hello to a person who could be dangerous and show zero hesitation in attacking two Oak Agency members looking for people like him."
"Remember, it hasn't been confirmed he's a black marketer, so keep things cool and don't alert him to why we're here."
"I think our Oak Agency uniforms give it away."
"Just trust me on this one."
With that, Scott strode up to the door and pressed the doorbell. After a few moments, a man appeared at the door.
He had black and white hair that fell in front of his eyes, making it hard to tell what his eyes looked like. He had slightly dark skin and a shirt depicting an anime character with large Japanese letters over the character.
"Beast Reflexes," whispered Haruka to Scott. "That's what his shirt says."
"May I help you?" asked the person standing at the door, his eyes switching between HAruka and Scott.
"Yes actually," said Scott. "We'd like to look around your house for a few minutes, particularly the basement."
"On what basis?"
"Illegal goods."
The man raised an eyebrow. "Really? Well I'll tell you what's in the basement, books and manga. I run a website called Karmet Corner where I sell books and manga. I sell signed copies, rare editions, and regular stuff I bought before. I've even self published. Besides, you can't just waltz over here demanding to search my house. Don't you need a warrant for that?"
Scott pulled out a sheet of paper and handed it to him. "Already got that covered."
"Fine then," said the man, not breaking a sweat. "Come inside, I'll show you the way."
"Hold on," said Haruka. "You said Karmet, did you mean Karmet as in the mafia boss Black Karmet from A Pokémon's School for Heroism."
The man paused, a brief flash of shock and worry crossing his face before melting into a neutral expression.
"Yeah. He's one of my favorite villains. He's a nice break from people wanting to destroy the world for fun or wanting to rule it."
With that, he turned around and marched into his house.
"Is it me, or did the fact you know that name seems to worry him," said Scott.
"I don't think it's a coincidence. Black Karmet is, or at least was a mafia boss in A Pokémon's School for Heroism. In the manga, he was a major player in the black market, hence the name Black Karmet. If you switch the letters around, you get Market."
"Seems suspicious, but still could be a coincidence. Let's go."
They followed the man into the basement, they found boxes upon boxes of manga and books. Upon closer inspection, Scott found that all the boxes had been ordered recently.
"You've ordered that much manga and books?" asked Scott. "How come?"
"Well I heard that there was going to be a lock down soon so I got as much as I could from other cities before it was initiated. Also, it's getting pretty close to spring. In my experience, springtime is when people buy a lot of stuff."
"Well if you excuse me, me and Haruka are going to look through these boxes."
"Well whatever you're looking for, you won't find it cause I don't have it."
Scott shrugged and started searching a box while Haruka searched another one. There were about twelve in total.
After about twenty minutes of searching. Haruka stood up from the last box he searched.
"A lot of them are rare, but they're all legal."
Scott sighed. "This was probably a dead end, should we check the shelves?"
"No point," said the man. "They're shelves. And it took me a long time to organize them."
"What's behind this door?" asked Hauka, pointing at a door with a heavy lock.
"That's where I keep my rarest manga and even an original manuscript."
"Well then we're going to look in there," said Scott, walking to the door.
The man blocked the door, spreading his hands in front of it.
"You can't just search through there! Some of those things are priceless! You could ruin them just by touching the wrong way!"
"Oh don't you worry a second," said Scott. "We have a lot of experience with handling things carefully, especially when it comes to potential evidence. Now please move aside and unlock the door, we have a warrant and we could easily arrest you for noncompliance."
"Fine!" said the man, unlocking and opening the door. "Just don't wreck anything."
"If Haruka wasn't here, I'd be tempted to fling everything at a wall," said Scott dryly.
They went in and started searching. After a few minutes, Scott sighed and looked up from the glass case he was searching.
"Everything checks out Haruka, nothing illegal here. We'll check upstairs, but I have the feeling we'll find nothing there."
"See what I told you?" asked the man. "Nothing-"
"Hold on," said Haruka, pulling out three extremely old looking manga. They were all the same volume and story.
"W-What is it now?" asked the man, starting to sweat slightly.
"What I have here are three signed copies of Renegade Kip. An extremely old manga written during the Great War between regions a hundred years ago."
"So?" asked Scott.
"The books were really popular, so the author had a book signing. Hundreds of people came. However, the Calzei Region government banned the manga and seized every copy for the underlying message that the war was pointless and unnecessary. As some people know, censorship was heavily imposed on anything criticizing the war. After the seizing, only five signed copies remained. Two of them were bought by people from outside the region, and three were quickly bought by the most famous and richest manga collector, Shayla Green. She kept these copies for fifteen years until they were stolen five years ago. Of course, three copies mean-"
"That one of them is sto- Hey!"
The man had turned and bolted, shoving Scott aside as he ran. Scott sent out Scout, his Emolga, who quickly fired a Discharge at the fleeing man.
"Please! I swear! I didn't steal them!" pleaded the man as Scott pulled him to his feet and arrested him.
"But you bought them from a source and you knew they were stolen."
He hung his head. "Yes."
"Well you better confess to all your crimes. You could even get a lower sentence. Haruka, good job."
Haruka shrugged. "Thanks, but I don't see how shutting down this black marketer hurts the Gamma Team."
"We're not only stopping the Gamma Team. Shutting down black markets and making sure that goods are only sold legally helps all of society."
Gavin and Ellen were walking through the streets. They were headed to an old storage house in a less desirable place in town. The road had been closed because of heavy damage and showed no signs of ever being worked on.
"So Ellen," said Gavin, thinking of the best way to ask his question. "Two days ago, when I told you about my mom, you asked which one was worse: Losing a mother you loved, or being abandoned by one you didn't. What did you mean by that?"
Ellen sighed. Gavon could see immediately that the subject bothered her and that she probably wouldn't want to talk about it.
"If you don't want to talk about it, it's fine."
"No, I think it's about time I've told someone. I've been keeping it in for too long, and that just makes it worse. You see, I used to live with my mother in a small house many years ago. My father left when I was five, they always had these nasty arguments. After he left, my mother did everything she could to take care of me, even if I had to follow an endless amount of rules."
"Like the ones you have us follow?" asked Gavin.
"Yeah, I picked it up from her. She was the best person in my life. No matter how hard it was, she was always there for me, making sure I was able to live happily. When I think back, I realize all of her rules, which I didn't like at first, were simply her way to keep me safe. That's why I always do my best to follow them, and to make sure others do as well. It's my way of remembering and honoring her."
Gavin nodded, understanding where she was coming from. "Honestly, I think losing a mother you loved dearly is worse. I can never forget what my mother did to Gabi and I, which eventually led Gabi down a darker path."
Ellen looked at him with empathy. "While you can never forget, you can always forgive. I know she may not be deserving of forgiveness, but there's always more to people than meets the eye. My mother taught me to forgive my father. He was going through a lot. Who knows maybe the reason your mother got on drugs was to cope with the loss of your father. It could've been the sadness and the drugs that drove her to abandon you. Maybe deep down, she's not as evil as you think."
"Maybe," said Gavin, looking at the sky. "And maybe, part of Gabi knows I'm right. Maybe she will turn around and see what's right."
Ellen smiled at him. "Life is full of maybes. It's helpful to look for the good in people, it allows us to see the world as a happier place."
"Joyce taught you that didn't she?"
"Maybe she did."
"Let's see here on this Rotom Phone GPS," said Victor, staring at his Rotom Phone which contained his own Rotom Vicey, who preferred to spend all of their time on devices. "Our next target should be approximately at this location, or maybe not, you never know. They're one of those black marketers who move around from place to place, never lingering around in one spot so to speak, if you get what I mean. Tell me when the light's green by the way. We wouldn't want to cause a traffic hold up, or worse, have an accident."
"Two things," said Aisha, slightly rolling her eyes. "One, do you have to put that in so many words? Two, why don't you just put the phone away and focus on driving."
"It's more convenient this way."
"Shouldn't there be a mount to put your phone on?" asked Wilhelm. "Battery shouldn't be a problem since the phone is Rotom powered."
"Ah yes," chimed Vicey. "Treat me like an infinite battery will ya? It's very good for my self esteem."
"It is?" asked Wilhelm.
Vicey took off from Victor's hand and stared at Wilhelm. "Please tell me you're pretending to be dense and completely unaware of my sarcasm. By the way Victor, the light's green."
Victor hit the gas and the car moved forward. Vicey however, had told him the light was green right as another car was coming, almost resulting in a crash.
"Oh well thanks for the late warning!" shouted Victor, cursing as he swung the car away.
"You said tell you when the light was green, You never specified when I should tell you."
"Alright Smart Alec. Get over here so I can find the guy's location, we've got a tracker on him and he's moving fast. Fast enough that we could lose him if you don't get your virtual behind over here!"
"What's the magic word? Besides, using a mobile device while driving is illegal."
"Is it me," said Aisha. "Or was giving Vicey a voice in that thing a bad idea."
"Do I not have the right to express myself?"
"No."
Victor sighed. "This is going to be a very long ride."
"Statistically," said Wilhelm. "The length of the ride's factors are fuel, speed, traffic, and air resistance. Arguments and disagreements are not a factor."
Ten minutes later
"We've been driving all over and we haven't found our target. The tracker still is working, and our target's moving around. Yet, we can't seem to pin him," said Victor, looking at Vicey with concern.
"Maybe they've figured out we're tracking them," said Aisha.
"If so, then that's a problem," noted Wilhelm. "I vote we go on foot, it'd be easier to follow them in case they go where a car can't go."
"Makes sense," said Victor. "Vicey, keep track of their position. Keep us updated."
"No actually. I'd keep you in the dark."
Everyone gave each other looks and let out exasperated sighs. Vicey turned around in mid-air and glared at them with virtual eyes.
"All of you have to be quiet, or your target will figure out you're here. If they haven't already."
Victor shrugged, and they moved off in pursuit of their black marketer. They passed by many buildings, finding themselves downtown as shops lined the sides of the streets.
"They seem to have gone into that coffee shop over there," said Vicey.
"A coffee shop?" asked Aisha. "Are they out buying coffee?"
"Or are they doing illegal stuff?" finished Wilhelm.
"Only one way to find out," said Victor. "Let's go."
"Hold on," said Aisha. "The file said that they trade Pokémon enhancers. If we were to go into that cafe and catch them in the middle of trading, things could get nasty. We wouldn't want them destroying the entire coffee shop."
"What do you suggest?" asked Victor.
"Well," said Aisha. "You can watch them and see if they are trading stuff. If they are, you follow the buyer and apprehend them. Wilhelm and I will follow the seller and apprehend him without causing too much damage."
"Sounds like a plan. Bell!"
Victor sent out Bell, his Bronzong. He pulled himself on top of it as it flew towards the roof.
"Alright Wilhelm," said Aisha. "It's stakeout time."
It took some time, but Aisha and Wilhelm saw their target leave the cafe. Aisha identified the seller as a slim, young looking girl. She had a black cap that covered most of her dark brown hair, pulled low over her face to hide her features. She had a blue surgical mask and a backpack.
"That's her," said Wilhelm, looking at a device in his hand. It was in the shape of a tablet, but was slightly bigger, essentially just a handheld computer. It contained all of Wilhelm's energy monitoring software and allowed him to keep track of many different things on the field. It had an energy probe beneath the camera, as well as a very powerful battery inside.
"Are you sure?" asked Aisha. "She looks so young, can't be older than me."
Wilhelm looked down. "That's the problem, people can make terrible choices in life. As I did."
"Alright Wilhem, now isn't the time to be sentimental. Let's go."
They followed the girl down the street, staying at a far enough distance as to not attract suspicion as she cast surreptitious glances around her.
"So Wilhem, got any plans over the weekend?" asked Aisha in a cheery voice.
Wilhelm looked confused at her question. "No, I'm probably going to be looking into an experiment I've been doing recently. It's testing the polarity, charges, and voltage of different electric type Pokémon attacks. I believe that no matter the move, these properties vary by Pokémon. This can be especially seen in the Pokémon Plusle and Minun. When both Pokémon use Thunderbolt, they're similar voltage, but a Plusle's Thunderbolt contains a positive charge while a Minun's has a negative charge. Also-"
"That's nice," said Aisha, not wanting to listen to Wilhelm talking about science. "What do you like doing as a hobby?"
"Studying and researching. Why do you ask?"
"Just trying to make conversation to make us seem less suspicious. Do you watch any sports?"
"No."
"Did you play any when you were younger?"
"No."
Aisha was starting to become exasperated. "What did you do as a child?"
"Mostly looked at the world, trying to see how certain things worked."
"It seems you were destined to be a scientist. You must've had some hobbies back then?"
"I enjoyed robotics when I was younger. My parents signed me up for a robotic camp one summer, since then, I did it in school and in summer after that."
"That's interestings," said Aisha. "Where did you use to live? Because I don't remember any robotics camps in Voyanna City around where I lived."
"I used to live in Kalos."
"Ooh, which city?"
"Coumarine City."
"Ah, I don't actually know a lot about the Kalos Region and its cities, can you tell me about it?"
"It's beautiful. It has lots of trees and greenery, it also overlooks the seaside. Because of this, a lot of the city was built over the seaside. There's a hotel and the gym is built there as well."
"Wow, sounds like a nice place. Also, the target's moving towards a park."
"That'd be a good place to battle them, right?"
"It's the perfect place, let's catch up to them."
They quickened their pace and headed towards the park, entering the park shortly after their target. They found the person carefully looking over her shoulder before she spotted them. Alarmed, she took off.
"Stop right there!" shouted Aisha, breaking into a run.
Aisha was easily catching up to the person. They threw a look behind them and gave up trying to escape.
"Go, Liepard!"
"Yanmega!"
Aisha's Yanmega appeared and flew at the Liepard, immediately opening with Bug Bite. The Liepard hopped to the side and easily dodged the attack, moving in for an extremely fast Night Slash.
Aisha's Yanmega reeled backwards from the attack, taking an abnormal amount of damage. He flew upwards to avoid any more damage and hovered there indecisively.
"Aisha!" shouted Wilhelm, he was pointing his device at the Liepard and it was giving loud beeping noises. "Be very careful. There is something very wrong with that Liepard, its energy readings are off the charts!"
"You've just noticed," snarled the girl. "Flamethrower!"
The Liepard breathed out a stream of fire that would've roasted Aisha's Yanmega had it not flown out of the way in time. It was definitely faster after a few moments.
"Well good for you," said Aisha. "But you still lose, my Yanmega has Speed Boost! The longer the battle goes on, the faster he becomes! Air Slash!"
The blades of air created by his fast wings bore down on the Liepard, stunning it as they hit.
"Fine then, I'll just have to end this faster! Stone Edge!"
Aisha's Yanmega dodged the attack and flipped around, using Air Slash again. The Liepard gave a hiss of pain and used Ice Beam, almost freezing one of the Yanmega's wings.
"Keep your distance! That Pokémon has way too many super effective attacks it can't learn!" advised Aisha.
Being the defiant and unruly Pokémon it was, the Yanmega charged straight at the Liepard and used Steel Wing. He picked up speed as his wings became metallic, ready to smash into the Liepard.
"Wild Charge!"
The Liepard wrapped itself with sparking electricity before charging at the Yanmega. The Yanmega didn't have enough time to correct its course and was thrown backwards by the powerful attack.
"Flamethrower, Ice Beam, Stone Edge, Night Slash, and now Wild Charge? Not only is your Pokémon using moves it can't learn, but it's using more than four moves! What've you done to it?"
"I gave my Liepard all she could've ever wanted! You're not going to be the one to judge! Sky Attack!"
"Bug Bite!"
Aisha's Yanmega flew straight at the Liepard. He latched his fangs on the Liepard's back as it charged its move. Before it could unleash its powerful attack, the Yanmega flew away and used Air Slash.
"Hit and run is all you can do! Hydro Pump!"
AIsha's Yanmega flew around the powerful geyser, fighting back with an Air Slash. Using his increasing speed, he dodged a Moonblast, Psyshock, and an Earth Power.
"Flaunting all of your moves?" asked Aisha. "Too bad, none of them will work! Air Slash!"
Aisha's Yanmega used Air Slash for what must've been the thirtieth time. The Liepard dodged and showed no sign of slowing down. Wilhelm looked down at his device and frowned.
"I've got a good reading on this," said Wilhelm. "Not only has it been extremely altered in order to learn and retain a move from every type, but its power's been augmented as well! It's almost three times stronger than your average Liepard in every regard! Evidence shows this Pokémon has been genetically altered over the course of many years. I don't see any scenario that ends with you beating it with your Yanmega alone."
"Fine then," said Aisha, pulling out her other two pokéballs . "I don't like the thought of a three on one, but I have to go all out."
"So Juan, where are we headed now?" asked Katie.
They were driving in a car, Juan being at the wheel despite Katie's best efforts to convince him to let her drive. They had just finished busting a stolen goods seller. The person had sold stuff ranging from diamonds to bicycles, which proved to be his downfall when Katie chased after him on one.
"Well," said Juan, thinking as he looked at a sheet. "There's a location nearby with a known arms dealer."
Katie twisted around in her seat from surprise. "Arms! And you're letting me do something this dangerous?"
Juan raised an eyebrow. "First, you're bothering me to let you come along, now you're being apprehensive?"
"No, I'm just surprised that's all."
"Well don't be, you're better than I expected, and remembered. You ready?"
"Of course I'm ready! Let's do this!" declared Katie, reaching for the door handle.
"Woah! Hold your Rapidashes! We're not going to be there for another ten minutes. You're way too impatient."
Katie turned a slight tinge of red. "Oops."
Ten minutes later
They found themselves in front of an iron wrought gate. Behind the gate was a long winding road that led to a house on top of a hill. They were on the outskirts of the city, away from the bustling civilization.
"Wow, the owner of this house must be rich," said Katie. "A nice house without the noise of the street below."
"Don't forget, his money could've been made illegally. I'd rather get a house like this by saving up my paltry check than sell firearms."
"I guess that's true. Do we jump the fence?"
"Figuratively or literally?"
Katie gave him a look that suggested he wasn't funny. Juan laughed and sent out Raptor. They climbed onto the huge bird and flew up to the house.
Raptor landed on a nice looking porch with chairs and lots of flowers. On the door was a Comfey-based floral wreath on top of a sign. Next to the door was a card reader.
"Huh, looks like they're having a party," said Juan, reading the sign. "I guess you were supposed to have a physical card as an invitation."
"Well we weren't invited and that ain't stopping us," said Katie. She reached to the door and knocked on it before Juan could say otherwise.
Juan sighed. "Next time wait for me to say to do something before you do it."
"Sorry, I'm just excited."
They waited around for a moment, but no one answered. Katie looked to Juan, who nodded. She then pounded on the door very hard, causing the door to shake.
"Do you think they'll answer?" asked Katie.
"Nope," said Juan. "And if they don't within five minutes, we're busting in."
Five minutes later
The door was wrenched off its hinges by a powerful Psychic from Katie's Meowstic. She nodded to Juan, who sent out Pio. The two of them entered the house, finding themselves in a spacious hall. Music was heard playing all the way down in the basement.
"No wonder they didn't hear us," huffed Katie. "They're probably all deaf from the music."
"All right, let's tread quietly," said Juan, moving towards the basement door, Pio on his shoulder.
"What's the point? They won't be able to hear us. Let's get this over with and head out."
"You seem really antsy for some reason. Is everything okay?"
"Now isn't the time Juan."
With that, Katie opened the basement door. The loud music became even louder as the door opened to reveal a long flight of stairs. Katie headed down the stairs, Belle close by. Juan followed her closely.
At the foot of the stairs, Juan stopped his sister. "Should we rush in and take them by surprise? We could incapacitate them before they could react."
"Sure," said Katie, tensing up.
Juan nodded and leapt out from around the stairs. "Everyone put your hands up!"
Not a single person in the room moved. It was a large group of about twenty people. Six people were passed out on the floor, empty bottles lying around them. Two people paid them no attention as they down bottles of alcohol. The DJ was lying on top of the soundboard where the volume was, thick headphones covering his ears. Finally, the other eleven people were swaying back and forth awkwardly with each other.
"You've got to be kidding me," said Katie, looking in disgust at the scene. "This place smells and looks disgusting."
"Did we happen on a black market location or a dance till you drop?" asked Juan, prodding one of the sleeping people.
"More like a drink till you drop. I'm turning off the music. You can start searching the room."
She walked over to the DJ station and looked around to find the off switch. She looked at a button that looked like one and pressed it, but instead of turning off the music, a drawer popped open.
"Huh, that's-"
She didn't finish her sentence when the DJ immediately got to his feet, punching her in the face as he did. He grabbed the contents of the drawer and bolted, heading for a back door.
Juan saw what happened and raced towards Katie. "Damn it! Are you okay?"
Katie rubbed the side of her face. "Yeah I am, there were guns in that hidden drawer."
Juan looked at where the DJ escaped. "You stay here. That guy isn't going to see the light of day when I'm through with him."
"Hold-"
But Juan was already gone, chasing after the rogue DJ. Katie got to her feet and chased after Juan.
Juan flung the back door open and found himself in a long storage room. Not slowing down, he leapt over fallen boxes the DJ had strewn about in case of pursuers. Despite the head start, Juan was easily catching up to the man. The person threw a look over his shoulder, panic settling in his eyes. He fumbled for something in his hand and pointed it at Juan.
Realizing what it was, Juan dove behind a crate. A loud bang was heard as the DJ fired his gun, hitting the crate. Something rattled within, causing Juan to look inside. Seeing the contents, he cursed.
Another bullet was shot, causing Juan to flinch.
"Stop shooting you idiot! You have grenades in this crate!"
The DJ froze and looked at the crate he was shooting at. With a curse, he dropped the guns and ran. Juan sprang out from behind his cover and caught up to the DJ before tackling him to the ground.
"Ow! Hey man, come on man, gimme a break!" shouted the DJ painfully as Juan pinned his arms behind his back. "I stopped shooting at you! I could've blown ya up but I didn't!"
"The only reason you didn't was because there's enough ammunition and explosives in here to level your house and the hill it rests on," he tightened his grip, causing the DJ to writhe in pain. "Besides, you punched my little sister."
The DJ started panicking. "I didn't mean it, I swear! I just panicked, please! Don't do anything to me!"
Juan sighed and let him go slightly. "I won't be doing anything, but you'll have a lot of charges against you. Attempted murder, illegal use of weaponry, illegal ownership of weaponry, what else? Oh yeah, assault on law enforcement, and seeing as my sister turns eighteen in four months, assault on a minor. I won't be able to do anything because you'll be behind bars for a very, very, long time."
Aisha and Wilhelm had just finished battling against the girl and her Liepard, but it hadn't ended in a victory. Halby, Wilhelm's Vanillish, had just fainted to a Flamethrower.
"No matter how many Pokémon you throw at me, I'll always win. My Liepard is the ultimate Pokémon! Now then, one thing I dislike is leaving witnesses. Don't worry, you'll forget the pain. Liepard, Wild Charge!"
The Liepard leapt at Aisha and Wilhelm, but it never made contact. Instead, it slammed into a large, stone creature, a Rhyperior.
"What the heck?" asked the girl, looking at the large Pokémon.
"What the heck indeed," said a voice. A man appeared next to the Rhyperior, leaning against it casually as the Liepard hissed at him. Aisha looked up in surprise at the person.
"How old are you?" continued the voice. "I don't think people of your age should be doing things like this."
"Who the hell are you anyways?" asked the girl. "You're clearly not a stupid Oak Agent. Get out of here and let me do my thing! It's none of your business!"
"Actually," said the man, straightening. "When you threaten my girlfriend, it is my business. Megahorn!"
Devon's Rhyperior's horn glowed green as it came down towards the Liepard. The cat Pokémon leapt away, but it wasn't the target.
The ground exploded as the Rhyperior struck, immediately after, pillars of stone burst out of the ground. The Liepard expelled a huge torrent of water, but the Rhyperior was obscured by the exploded earth and pillars. The water then exploded with stones as it hit.
"Hah! Is that all you could-"
Unexpectedly, out from the rubble, flew a Gyarados. It used Hurricane and whipped a cloud of dirt and stone at the Liepard. The Liepard struggled against the force as it tried escaping with Extreme Speed and Earth Power. The Liepard didn't make much progress when it was struck by a Stone Edge.
"Wild Charge!"
The Liepard flipped around and charged at the Gyarados, electricity cackling in the air. Under Devon's command, the Gyarados flew forward with Aqua Tail.
"Fry it Liepard! The idiot doesn't know what he's doing!"
However, Devon did know what he was doing. His Gyarados' tail slammed into the Liepard, electricity not affecting girl realized with a start that the electricity had disappeared from her Liepard.
"What? Did you modify your Pokémon as well?"
Devon scoffed. "I don't need to boost my Pokémon in order to win, it's all about strategy. You see, the Rhydon line has the Lightning Rod ability. This allows it to draw in electricity from other attacks to boost its power! A lot of the types Rhyperior is weak to are easily tanked by my Gyarados, and my Gyarados' biggest weaknesses are easily tanked by my Rhyperior! These two Pokémon work perfectly together! So even though your Liepard knows a move for every type, you still lose. Pokémon battling isn't just matchups and move power, it's about strategy. The most powerful Pokémon can lose to a few crafty tricks."
"You think you're so high and mighty! I know you and who you work for, it's obvious you've jacked up your Pokémon."
"Whatever helps you cope with the fact you're about to lose! Earthquake, Bulldoze!"
Devon's Rhyperior slammed the ground, creating a huge quake that ripped through the ground. Devon's Gyarados used Bulldoze and rode through the Earthquake, slamming into the Liepard and dealing extra damage with the boost from the Earthquake.
"Stone Edge!"
"Aqua Tail!"
Using its powerful tail, the Gyarados smashed through the stone pillars before flying around the Liepard and throwing it towards the Rhyperior with Aqua Tail. The Rhyperior's horn glowed green as he smashed it against the Liepard.
"Now, finish it!"
In a flurry of attacks, Devon's Gyarados attacked the Liepard over and over with its tail while the Rhyperior trapped it with Stone Edge before slamming it over and over with Megahorn. Within a few seconds, their brutal beatdown had ended with a fainted Liepard.
The girl stared in shock before turning around and trying to run, abandoning her Liepard. She didn't get far when Devon's Rhyperior sent her to her knees with an Earthquake.
Devon turned towards Aisha and Wilhelm and gave them a nod. "She's all yours now."
Aisha looked over to Wilhelm. "You take her, I need to talk to this person for a minute, privately."
Wilhelm looked a bit uncomfortable, but nodded. As he went to attend to the girl, Aisha rushed over to Devon and threw herself into his arms.
"Devon, what are you doing here?"
"Well I heard about this girl and her Liepard on the news, so I came over as fast as I could because I was worried about you, besides, I figured it could be a fun battle. But it was easy. For someone of my caliber of course, not that, y'know-."
Aisha giggled, knowing Devon had hastily made his correction to not be demeaning to her.
"Aisha, are you okay? You weren't hurt or anything?"
"Yeah, I'm fine thanks to you. I'm surprised you were able to slip out so easily."
Devon let go of her and looked her up and down. "Scarlet left yesterday, and the Executive Dakota guy is pretty lazy. I'm not sure what his deal is. Anyways, I should go before Wilhelm recognizes me. Keep safe. Also, there's a guy named Alex Harris, you should check him out."
Aisha raised an eyebrow. "Seriously? What about you, you're still my boyfriend."
"I- aw come on. Don't do this to me Aisha."
Aisha giggled and kissed him on his cheek. Devon laughed and rolled his eyes before walking off, throwing Wilhelm a salute as he left.
"Who was that?" asked Wilhelm, holding the girls' arms behind her back as she struggled against his surprisingly firm grip.
"Oh, just a friend."
And that's the end of the chapter. I don't have much to say, except that next chapter is going to be pretty special, so you better stay tuned for that!
