Finding them wasn't hard, many of Lacunosa locals knew where the Hero of Lacunosa was buried. Most of them had paid their respects to him at one point or another shortly after the Lacunosa Invasion.

"In loving memory of Gladys Dandolos"

"In loving memory of Asher Dandolos, Hero of Lacunosa"

I had no idea how long I had stood in front of their graves with two bouquets of forget-me-nots, staring at their names and reading the words engraved on their tombstones over and over again. I had heard from the locals here about how brutal that invasion was. Lacunosa was severely underprepared and was overrun. The only reason why the entire town wasn't erased off the map was because Asher had single handedly held them off long enough for reinforcements to arrive and also because a large group of wild psychic pokemon had mysteriously appeared to relocate the residents to safety.

As I stood there I just could not help but think how things would have changed if I had grown up here just like Asher, if I was there as his older brother. Maybe he wouldn't have died because I might have been there when it happened. If only…

I sighed. I have been thinking too much about the what-ifs lately.

I carefully dusted and cleaned the tombstone of my two other family members that I would never meet or get to know, placing the bouquet of flowers on them and outright ignoring the last tombstone placed just beside theirs. That tombstone didn't have a name and as far as I knew, that grave was supposed to be mine until my old man realised that I had not yet kicked the bucket.

Well, it will be where I will be laying soon enough.

"Sorry that I wasn't there," I spoke after a long period of silence. "You might still be alive if that was the case. Your greninja and spiritomb are with me now, don't worry about them. I will take care of them for as long as I can."

Greninja and spiritomb were silent, but I knew that they were also mourning in their own way.

"And mum, sorry for disappearing like that. Dad told me how my supposed death had affected you and how your health had declined since then. The perpetrator who tore our family apart and killed grandpa and grandma is already dead, so feel free to beat him up to your heart's content when you see him there. I will join you when I finally make the journey there as well. I still have things to do though, so reuniting with you and Asher will take a while. Team Plasma has to go or Dad will grow even more grey hairs. I wouldn't be able to come and visit both of you for quite some time after this, so maybe you can find Jane and get her to keep you company until I come along. I'm sure that she will be more than happy to get to know you guys."

The edge of my lips cannot help but curve into a small smile at the thought. I really wonder what both of them will think of her.

They will love her, I'm sure of it.


It's been about a month since I've arrived at Unova. I have no idea if my father had returned since I had never kept track of his whereabouts, but it didn't really matter to me. I'm more than capable of completing this self-imposed mission alone.

The hearts of Unova are at Nimbasa and Castelia City, which are located down south of the region. In comparison, the northern end of the region is being segregated from the south due to the unique topography of Unova. Excluding the more unconventional ways of flight or teleport, the only way to travel from north to south and vice versa for most people is to make a large turn on either the west or east side of the region, using the bridges and roads paved by the Government to reach their destination.

Undella Town was the first town I reached when I first smuggled myself into Unova and from there, I travelled to Lacunosa to visit my mother and Asher and to catch a glimpse of our family's hometown. I decided to travel to Opelucid City thereafter since it's one of the larger cities in the northern region. Given the size of the city, I am sure that I would be able to learn a thing or two about Team Plasma.

Drayden is the city's Gym Leader and protector, and his constant presence alone was enough to deter Team Plasma from doing anything too brazen or reckless in his city. Regardless, it is impossible for a single person to monitor everything going on in the city. Furthermore, I had soon realised that even Unova's law enforcement seems to be unable to take any substantial action against Team Plasma, which from my experience, could only mean that Team Plasma has a handful of people high up in the command chain supporting them. These people could be anyone; politicians, military generals, millionaires, but they definitely possess a great deal of influence for them to be able to intervene with the law and allow Team Plasma to get away as scot-free as they had been doing all this while.

The only difference between Team Plasma and Team Rocket was that unlike Team Rocket, Team Plasma had managed to openly gather a great deal of support from the public. This was one big reason why Team Plasma could afford to be so brazen in their attacks and propagating their beliefs. It's baffling to think about why anyone would want to support an organisation who have no qualms in conducting acts of terror against anyone who didn't share their beliefs in this day and age, but religion is at play here. Team Plasma stems from the interpretation of the two main religions in Unova that shaped the region it is today, the people who seeked "truth", and the people who believed in "ideals". There's no reasoning with fanatic zealots when they truly believe that they are justified in their acts of terror because they are doing their part in creating an "ideal" world where only the "truth" prevails. This was also why the League and the Government were unable to take any substantial action against Team Plasma, because there was simply no way to arrest every single supporter when a large faction of the public subscribe to Team Plasma's beliefs to varying extents.

To create a world where humans and pokemon are truly equals is Team Plasma's vision, to liberate all pokemon is the means they chose to reach that end. The methods they employed were peaceful at first, holding talks and conferences, giving public speeches and organising relatively peaceful rallies, it was how they first started out and built their influence. What truly enabled them to take root was the declaration that they had found the Seven Sages to lead the world to greater heights.

The Seven Sages is a well-known Unovan folktale which in summary, described seven notable heroes who had stood up in Unova's time of crisis a long time ago and their wisdom was what led Unova out of danger. It is a tale that Unovans subscribed to because it is intricately linked to both the religions of Truth and Ideal, although how Team Plasma verified the legitimacy of those so-called Seven Sages was a little dubious from my point of view because all they did was to use a "sacred stone". According to the legends, that worthless piece of rock is a legendary relic that will light up when someone worthy to be part of the Seven Sages touch it. However, my view doesn't matter, what matters is that the majority of Unovans believed in that "sacred stone".

It just sounds like a load of bullshit to me. I have at least a dozen other ways to make any rock light up in any colour I want. Only fools would believe in a "sacred stone".

Getting in touch with Unova's underworld didn't take too much effort on my end, because it was easy to be a part of it if you know where to look. I had come into contact with Team Plasma on several occasions, especially the ones who were hiding at Lacunosa. I had wiped them out, partly out of petty revenge, and partly to squeeze out every single bit of useful information they had in my quest to bring Team Plasma down as soon as possible.

Unfortunately, none of them had the kind of information I seek, which was why I have decided to head to one of the larger cities in northern Unova, Opelucid City, to further my investigations.

I finally managed to narrow my search down to a dingy bar near the outskirts of the city. As someone who was not born and raised here, I need to quickly establish my own network of contacts and solidify my foothold. Getting in touch with people who have the means to find out about things I have to know is my current priority.

"The seventeenth street down southwest, the shop providing grooming services for pokemon, that's where you should look at," my current contact, a shoddy looking man in his forties, told me as he counted the stack of notes which I had passed to him in exchange for that bit of information.

"That cannot be all."

The man held out his palm and I slid another stack of notes across the table upon the cue. He gave me a crooked smile at the sight of more money before taking out a slip of paper and passing it over to me in exchange.

"Everything you need to know, all here. Heard some rumours that James Duncan is the person supporting the Opelucid branch but not sure how true that is."

"James Duncan?"

"First son of Dominic Duncan, a politician in the city's council who was also one of the more successful businessmen in the region before he turned to politics. Point is, he has loads of money to spare, which is probably how he got that seat in the council in the first place. Pretty sure that useless son of his has lots of pocket money to spend on stupid things like, you know, liberating all pokemon."

"I see," I took a moment to digest that news and made a mental note to investigate the Duncans at a later date. "From your words, I take it that people don't like them?"

"The Duncans?" My contact scoffed. "Who the hell will? They were the reason why the inflation rate here is so fucking ridiculous, jacked the prices up just to fill their own pockets."

We continued to exchange words for a short while before he took his leave. I slipped the bartender some extra tips as his "referral fee" for introducing me to this contact, which he took without any visible changes in his facial expression as I left the bar as well.

It seems my suspicions were right after all. An organisation as large as Team Plasma must have numerous reliable sources of funding to be able to smoothly function across the entire region. Everything in this world runs on money and Team Plasma is no exception to it.

This makes everything easier. Cut off all sources of Team Plasma's fundings and they will have to shut down eventually. Simple, easy and to the point.

"Nosy, collate and summarise everything you can find about the Duncans, especially about their businesses. Dig out any proof you can find about illegal activities that they might have been involved in."

I'm willing to bet my cap that people like the Duncans have to be involved in some shady things one way or another. It's just a matter of finding indisputable proof for it.


"W-What do you w-want…"

"I saw your face and decided that I don't like you."

Insane, this man is fucking insane. How on earth did he waltz into his home like he owned the place? Where are his guards? His father had hired an entire team of Elite trainers to guard him round the clock, so where are they?!

The man whose upper half of his face was being obscured by a breton cap leisurely walked up to James Duncan, who immediately scrambled backwards in an effort to keep his distance from this unknown and dangerous man, stumbling a few times as he did so. It was in vain, however, as an umbreon had suddenly pounced on him from practically out of nowhere, pinning him to the ground while hissing menacingly at him with bared fangs.

"W-What do you want?! Y-You will not get away with this, you hear me?! My father is on the city council, he will- AAAAAH!"

"My father this, my father that, if you call yourself a man go make a name for yourself rather than hiding behind your father's shadow," the intruder replied irritatedly while digging his ear with his pinky, ignoring how a living walking mass of steel known as a bisharp had stomped on James' hand which resulted in that scream. "And stop being so loud, we can hear you just fine."

"YOU WILL NOT GET- AAH!"

"You know what, I'm losing my patience, let's just bruteforce this. Spiritomb, time for you to practise what you learnt, let's see if you can get it right this time."

A shadowy mass slowly manifested from the floor amidst the screaming which quickly went silent over a few seconds. Minutes later, the same intruder casually strolled out of the previously heavily guarded mansion and even took the liberty to politely close the door behind him. It would seem normal if one were to ignore the pile of unconscious bodies strewn across the area, the Elite trainers that James Duncan was banking on to save him earlier.

They didn't even manage to put up a fight before they were subdued.

"Too rough, there's no refinement in your Hypnosis- Are you ignoring me? You just turned him into a vegetable and now I have to clean up after your mess, the things I do for you guys."

The spiritomb that was lazily floating beside the intruder gave a garbled snort, evidently not concerned about its lack of finesse with Hypnosis. Together with a few other dark types, the intruder and his pokemon slowly walked towards their exit with silent steps.

"No, look, listen here. Hypnosis is a delicate move-" Spiritomb cut those words off with a garbled growl in defiance which the intruder promptly interrupted with a swat of his hand at its wispy body. "None of that now, spiritomb, and keep your volume down, we wouldn't want to alert our presence to-"

The door to their exit opened at that very moment as an entire team of guards stormed the place.

"-anybody... Great, we just had to jinx it. Never mind, where were we? Ah, yes, Hypnosis is a delicate move-"

"Freeze! Hands in the air where we can see them!"

Spiritomb's irritation was getting increasingly clear with how it was continuously emitting a low growl that was steadily growing in volume. Even then, the intruder didn't seem the least bit concerned at their predicament as he continued walking in that same unhurried pace towards the exit, still talking to his pokemon in a one-sided conversation that only he could seemingly participate and acting as though the guards that they had alerted never existed.

"-and your way of using it is like treating it as a gigantic cleaver instead of a surgical knife that it is supposed to be... What do you mean you don't know what a surgical knife is? Even hydreigon knows what it looks like."

"FREEZE! OR WE WILL ATTACK!"

The only response the guards received was the spiritomb's frustrated howling at its trainer.

"Now listen here, you pissy ghost, Hypnosis' function is not like a sleeping pill, I explained that to you at least a thousand times on our way to Unova-"

"DON'T LET HIM LEAVE! GET HIM!"

"-and no, you are not supposed to use it to wipe out everything in your target's mind, that's an amateur mistake-"

It was when the shouts and attacks directed at them were about to close in on them did the intruder finally decide to do something about it.

"Ninetales."

A dome of psychic barrier manifested in a split second, allowing the attacks to bounce off harmlessly. In the next second, the assailants simply stopped moving. Both trainers and pokemon alike looked as if their eyes glazed over as if in a trance. After a brief pause, they suddenly started moving without a single word to clean up the scene of the crime. A graceful looking ninetales revealed itself to stand beside its trainer from its previously invisible state.

"See this? This is what you can do with Hypnosis if you used it properly like ninetales did. You can manipulate the world."

The ninetales puffed up its chest with pride at the praise and gave a smug look at the spiritomb, who scowled in response, only to have its trainer smack his hand through its incorporeal body to get its attention once more.

"Finesse, buddy, finesse, it's always about finesse. You still have a long way to go, my little padawan. Don't worry, we will make a jedi out of you."

By the time the police arrived, all that greeted them was a thoroughly cleaned mansion that left no clues behind, an entire platoon of guards who were snoring away where none could recall what had transpired and why they were there, and the eldest son of Dominic Duncan who was later diagnosed by the doctors to be stuck in a vegetative coma for the foreseeable future.


AN: The update that some of you guys are pining for, it's finally here.

RE is one of my favourite stories to write among the seven and truth to be told, the last chapter of the Indigo arc felt like a perfect moment to just end that story. However, what must continue will eventually continue, so here's the start of the Unova arc of this story.

I would like to also use this chance to point out a few changes that RE would take. In the Indigo arc, RE largely focuses on underworld dealings and the criminal and illegal aspects of the pokemon world. It is what gives RE its own unique charm and allowed it to stand out among the many other stories on this site, I understand that better than anyone else.

However, things will have to change from the Unova arc onwards. This is largely because the identity of Jayce had changed when he finally left Indigo and his past behind. He is no longer a criminal after he arrived at Unova and the laws of Indigo are unable to reach him. The story will still focus on the darker side of the pokemon world but it will not be to the same extent in the Indigo arc. My plan for RE in the Unova arc is to show the change in Jayce after he was finally released from his duty as Operative 2046. Rather on the bigger picture, Unova arc will focus more on his inner thoughts, the change and shift in his character as he struggles with his new lease of life and identity, his adjustment with the people that he will now meet in his homeland, and how he eventually formed and made new bonds with other people after fighting alone by himself for so many years. The Unova arc of RE will be very heavily Jayce-focused rather than showing the POV of other characters in this story.

Honestly, I am not confident that the Unova arc will reach the same level of success this story had shown in the Indigo arc, but I still feel that this direction is the right one to take for RE going forward. The Unova arc may or may not be a disappointment to those who had high expectations of this story after the Indigo arc because even I personally feel that it's incredibly difficult to surpass the beauty that is the Indigo arc of RE. If that is so, well, I apologise in advance for the disappointment.

A double update for this story for today as my way of apologising for the lack of updates this entire time. Hopefully, the continuation of this story will be to your liking.

Character and pokemon list:

Name: Jayce Dandolos

Age: 22

Pokemon Team:

1. Ninetales, female

2. Exeggutor, male

3. Weavile, male

4. Honchkrow, female

5. Umbreon, male

6. Hydreigon, male

7. Drapion, female

8. Zoroark, male

9. Bisharp, male

10. Shiftry, male

11. Porygon-Z, (Nosy), genderless

12. Greninja, male

13. Spiritomb, male