I slowed, letting Alex and Robert pull ahead as I stared down at my beeping Xtransceiver. The ID read unknown caller. Tempted to ignore it, I almost pressed the cancel button. But an odd feeling struck me and I found myself pressing the answer button. The secondary screen slid out, showing my face. But the main screen was blank except for the words "No Video".

"Hello?" I voiced cautiously.

"Zeno," spoke a feminine voice.

I felt my blood run cold. I instantly turned a full circle, glancing around the desert road.

"Relax, I'm not there. Neither are the other two."

"You mean your assassin buddies," I said into the mic. "Spicy and Sage."

"You and your friends have been causing a lot of trouble for our employer," she went on. "I've already went out of my way to warn your friend Robert what would happen if you messed with the wrong people. It seems that did nothing to stop your so called heroic actions."

"Shut up," I spat. "As if we could just stand aside as we watch a crime being committed in front of us. As if we could just watch if people were in danger!"

"You still don't grasp the situation you're in do you?" She said. "We have no need to kill you. But if you keep getting in the way, our orders might just change."

"Why in the hell are you even warning us!?" I said through barely controlled anger. "You're assassins for hire. When did you care about other peoples' lives!?"

"Hey, Zeno?" Alex called from ahead, confusion in her voice.

The call disconnected as both of my friends approached.

"Zeno?" Alex asked again. "What are you doing?"

I slid the screen back into the Xtransceiver and turned it off.

"What was it?" Alex sounded concerned.

Tightening my expression, I moved past her and Robert. "Nothing. C'mon, we need to get to Nimbasa." I tried to ignore their looks on my back, trying not to think about the lingering threats left behind by one of the three Executioners.


The vibe coming off of Nimbasa City was a sharp contrast to how I was feeling. The streets were filled with people cheerfully walking about with their Pokemon and aimlessly chatting. Most of them seemed to be heading East down the street towards what looked like a carnival was going on.

"With a population surprisingly bigger than Castelia City, Nimbasa serves as the heart of leisure and entertainment for Unova," Robert said as they began walking down the busy street. "The amusement park is open every day all year long. And that's not to mention all the sporting events."

"Sports?" Alex asked. "You don't mean Pokemon battles?"

"Nope," Robert shook his head. "Good ol' human v human sports. We got basketball and tennis that take place in the small court while baseball, soccer, and football occur in the big stadium. On the same avenue you can find the Musical Theater, but I was never one for theater."

Alex snorted. "I think you're selling yourself short, but whatever. Right Zeno?" She paused, glancing back at me. "Zeno?"

I shrugged. "Sure."

Alex sigh in irritation and went on ahead towards the Pokemon Center where we were planning to stay. Robert rubbed the back of his head. "You know, you're hiding something from us again."

I glared at him.

He rolled his eyes. "C'mon, you'll have to do better than that. Look, Alex clearly hates it when you do this. Just, uh, when you feel better, tell us. We can pretty much guess what it might be about."

"Yeah yeah," I turned away. "I'll go buy more potions and whatnot."

I sighed when I was far enough away. I would tell them. Soon, in fact, but that didn't help the way I was feeling. We would still help stop the criminal organization if we ran into them again, but after that last warning...

"Dang't," I muttered. "Is she watching us too? Are all three of them? And Alex... It's not fair to do this to her, nor Robert..."

Before I knew it, I finally looked up and realized I had no idea where I was. There were less people on the streets, but the vibe remained cheery. The buildings here were more uniform, tall faded blue rectangles standing tall. One of them had a sign on the front door that read, "Battle Institute". On a whim, I went inside.

The room I entered was a small lobby with a electronic gate that led to an open door on the side of the front desk. An older lady with gray hair sat behind the desk in a suit. She smiled when I approached.

"Are you here to battle?" She asked, her accent not Unovan. Kalosian maybe? Perhaps even a mix of the two.

Battling might do me some good, I thought. Nodding, I asked, "How does battling work here? I've never been to a place like this before."

Her smile grew. "Similar to the Battle Subway and our International Battle Institute, the Battle Maison, in Kalos, trainers fight consecutive battles with your Pokemon healed between each round. Special technology in the arena raises or lowers your Pokemon's "level" so to speak to match your opponent's Pokemon in strength. This way a fair fight is ensured."

"What's the point in that?" I asked.

"We ensure that the trainers fighting here all are on equal footing so that even the weakest of trainers can face a veteran," the woman explained. "This allows for more inexperienced trainers to hone their battling and training skills against opponents with the same mindset. Or some just find it as a way to pass the time." She shrugged, having said that last sentence with a disapproving tone of voice.

Can't let her know I just want to blow off some steam then, I realized. "How do I start?"

"First we will have you participate in a Battle Test," she said. "It's five consecutive battles fought against trainers already approved by the Institute. If you succeed in beating all 5 trainers, you'll be granted membership and access to fight even stronger trainers and even coach newer trainers."

"Then I would like to do the Battle Test," I confirmed.

"Great!" She stood, pressing a button on the side of the desk. The gate slid open. "Right through there please. Take any end of the arena and your opponent will be right with you. Oh, but first-" She pointed to a machine right next to the door. "If you have left any of your Pokemon in the care of a Professor or someone else, you'll be able to contact them and request to use different Pokemon to battle."

"Thanks, but I got my own device for that," I said.

If she was questioning that, she didn't give it away. "Now please verify which Pokemon you want to use beforehand."

After a minute of thinking, I selected three pokeballs and told her.

"Very good," she said. "After 5 consecutive battle, Pokemon may be switched out for different ones. And after each battle you can heal your Pokemon on a healing station on either side of the arena. Good luck."

Thanking her, I stepped through the doorway. Inside was a large, bare rectangular room with a battlefield etched into the concrete floor. I walked to the far end and took my place in the marked box. In the wall behind me was a device with six holes where pokeballs could be placed.

For healing, I thought, remembering the woman's words as I picked my first Pokemon just as a trainer walked into the room.

Alright, I breathed. Time to forget your worries. Just focus on battling. Narrowing my eyes, I prepared to battle.


I returned my Pokemon and sighed in relief. That had been to close of a call with the last trainer. An Ace Trainer with a self-importance attitude nearly lived up to his name. But in the end, it became my third victory.

After setting my three pokeballs in the Healing Station, I returned to my spot to find a new trainer already at the opposite end of the battlefield. Black pointy hair matched a dark suit with red outlines. Around his neck he wore a green scarf and his attitude looked to be one of interest instead of the ready-to-fight the last trainer had. The closer I examined him, the more he seemed familiar, especially his face...

"Well, looks like you've gotten pretty far," he said, smiling confidently. "You are one heck of a battler, that's for sure. But the real challenge starts with me. I hope you're ready."

That isn't the confidence of an arrogant person, I realized. Grinning, I held out my pokeball. "Bring it on then."

He nodded, flipping his scarf so that it stay secured behind his back. "My name is Kendrick. Let's have a proper battle, alright?" He swung up a Dusk Ball and tossed it out. "Excadrill, let's go!"

"Gyarados, come on out!" I roared, sending out the behemoth. He shook himself and roared, glancing back at me with one eye. Since the battle at the Dreamyard, I had made a pointed effort to deepen the bond between Gyarados and I. Due to his violent nature as a Gyarados, it was always hard to connect to him. But now it finally seemed we'd forged a better bond than the one we'd had in Alola.

"Don't think that just because you have the advantage here that you'll have the upper hand," Kendrick shouted before shooting out his fist. "Sandstorm!"

Excadrill slammed his claws into the ground, a surge of sand bursting from the holes. It soon engulfed the battlefield, making Gyarados flinch slightly at the roughness.

"Crush Claw!" Kendrick yelled and Excadrill moved in a blur, appearing above Gyarados as he swung down his claws. The Water type roared in pain and I realized what my opponent was trying to do here.

"That's some unnatural speed," I narrowed my eyes and held out my arm in front of my face to better shield myself from the sand. "Gyarados, let's clear this up! Rain Dance!" Gyarados roared and began flying around the arena in a hypnotizing dance that formed dark clouds above. Rain began pelting down, removing the swirling sand in the air.

"Trying to get rid of my strategy, eh?" Kendrick looked unperturbed. "No matter! Excadrill, use Rock Slide!"

Excadrill landed back on the ground just as a volley of rocks sprung into the air above my Pokemon, before bearing down on him.

"Hurricane!" I shouted.

A surge of wind travelled down the length of Gyarados' body as he began swinging his tail, blowing up a harsh gust that grew into a powerful hurricane. The rocks flew into the walls of the giant room as the hurricane blasted into Excadrill.

"Drill Run along the wind!" Kendrick shouted and Excadrill slammed his claws together against his head piece to form a drill. He began spinning and was carried along the hurricane's wind currents until he burst from the top.

"Sandstorm!"

As Excadrill kept spinning, sand streamed from between the blades, blowing away the rain clouds and filling the arena once more with sand.

"Aqua Tail!" I shouted and Gyarados spun around, water surging around his tail as he swung it towards Excadrill.

"Horn Drill!" Kendrick yelled and Excadrill's horn began to glow and elongate as he zoomed straight past Gyarados' tail and drilled into the Water type's side. Gyarados' eyes bulged as he hollered in pain before collapsing to the ground.

"You'll have to do better if you want to grow as a trainer," Kendrick said as he grinned at me. "So I hope that's not all you got!"

I smirked, enlarging my next pokeball upon returning Gyarados. "Bring it."


"Leaf Blade!"

Decidueye ducked beneath Flygon's outstretched claws, slashing his underbelly as he skidded to a halt on the smooth floor, marking it with scratches as his talons scraped along the surface. Flygon gave out a cry before falling to the ground, fainted.

"Man, battling you was something else," Kendrick laughed as he returned his Flygon. "Sure didn't expect that kind of strength. Good luck with your final battle."

"Hey, wait," I called out to him. I had remembered where I saw him before. "You're him, the son of-"

"Stop!" He shouted, cutting me off. For a split second anger was all he radiated. Then he calmed down, sighing. "Sorry, I just hate people bringing up my father. What he's done is in the past and I'm my own person." He held up Flygon's pokeball. "Judge me based on my actions and skills as my own trainer, not on my father before me."

I nodded. "Trust me, I understand that more than you can know."

He tilted his head. "Maybe you're right." He tucked the ball away. "I'll be aiming for the Champion's title this coming Pokemon League Tourney, so perhaps I'll see you there. And if we do battle then," he grinned. "I'll beat you for sure with my secret weapon."

As he left, I turned to heal up my 'mons for the fourth time. As I turned, a girl walked in. Dressed in a school uniform, she plopped the bag she was holding over her shoulder on the ground. She had long brown hair and dull green eyes.

"Alright, lets make this quick," she sighed, bending to take a pokeball from her bag. "I gotta get back to studying y'know." She flipped it open and a Froslass appeared.

"Gyarados, this is our last battle," I told him as I let him out. "Let's make sure to beat her. Aqua Tail!"

"Hail," the schoolgirl spoke and dark clouds gathered above, pellets of ice raining down on the battlefield. Gyarados managed to slam his water-covered tail into Froslass' middle, but the Ice type disappeared quickly after amongst the torrent of falling ice.

"We need to get rid of that hail!" I shouted. "Rain Dance!"

The girl stayed silent as Gyarados twirled his body around, the hail changing to rain. Then,

"Disable!"

Froslass appeared below Gyarados, her eyes glowing a crimson red. Gyarados flinched without taking damage.

"Now use Hail once more," my opponent commanded.

"Aqua Tail, quick!" I shouted, but his tail slammed into the ground, missing Froslass as she dodged to the side, vanishing like a spirit.

"Fine then!" I shouted. "We don't need Rain Dance! Gyarados, use Hurricane!"

Gyarados began spinning, circulating wind around his body.

"Blizzard," the girl raised her hand and Froslass appeared above Gyarados this time, blasting him with a wall of snow and ice, sending him crashing to the ground. Gyarados roared and flew back into the air as ice began forming on several parts of his body. Froslass disappeared again amongst the hail as Gyarados lunged forwards with a crunching sound of fangs.

"Aqua Tail and spin it across your body!" I yelled and Gyarados began spinning his tail, the water surging up his length, dispelling the ice that had formed from Froslass' last attack. A flicker of movement. "Attack behind you!"

Gyarados swung around with full force, smacking Froslass in the face with his tail just as she reappeared. She cried out as Gyarados flew after her, mouth agape and glowing.

"Crunch!" I roared and Gyarados bit down hard around her middle. As Froslass cried out in pain, her trainer still looked unworried.

"Blizzard."

Gyarados instantly released her as his ice began sprouting from his mouth. He flailed, trying to dislodge the ice as Froslass battered him with another snowstorm, freezing the right side of his body.

"Crunch down!" I commanded and Gyarados' fangs glowed as he struggled to close his mouth, but finally he bit down, shattering the ice. But Froslass appeared in front of his face, blasting him head-on with another Blizzard that froze his entire head. He fell to the ground with an ice-shattering crash and he lay there, fainted.

I held out his pokeball, returning him. "Get some rest. We'll finish the fight for you." I switched balls and swung out Mawile just as the hail began to let up. "We can't let her setup another Hail! Iron Head!"

Mawile gave out a cry as she propelled herself towards Froslass headfirst, a sheen of shining silver metal covering the top. Froslass flew backwards as Mawile bounced off her and the Ice/Ghost type shuddered as she floated back up.

"Nearly there!" I yelled. "Iron Head, one more time!"

The schoolgirl checked her nails. "Destiny Bond."

My eyes widened. "Mawile wai-!"

It was too late. Mawile crashed into Froslass for the second time, knocking the Snow Land Pokemon out cold. Mawile landed back on her feet, seemingly unharmed. Then several small balls of darkness sprung from Froslass' body and flew into Mawile. She did a jerking motion with her limbs and heads before collapsing next to her fainted opponent.

"It seems it's down two to one," the girl said in a bored voice. "Can we just hurry up and finish this?"

I narrowed my eyes. Her attitude was pissing me off, and what made it worse was that she had me on the ropes right now. "Don't underestimate us. We can still pull off a victory here. Decidueye, let's go!"

The Grass/Ghost landed in front of me, cooing softly. He shook his feathers and looked back at me by turning his head. I nodded and he nodded back before turning his attention back on the battlefield.

"A Ghost type, eh?" My opponent smiled. "Now we're talking." She held up an Ultra Ball, clicking it open. A large Pokemon appeared on the battlefield, unfamiliar to me. It hovered in the air, its long turquoise tail draping off to the side, fading away at the tip to become transparent. Its underbelly was a faded yellow with red triangle stripes pointing upwards to its obtuse triangle head. Yellow, slitted eyes barely poked out from the top of the head, and on either side atop the ahead were 2 triangle shaped openings. Two of them seemed to be occupied by what looked like tiny, ghostly dart-shaped Pokemon.

"Dragapult, use Dragon Rush!" The girl shouted suddenly, no longer just merely speaking the commands.

"Phantom Force!" I shouted quickly, but before Decidueye could pull himself into the shadows behind him, Dragapult flew down the battlefield at supersonic speeds, slamming Decidueye into his own portal before flying upwards and looped once before settling back into her hovering position.

Decidueye appeared above Dragapult, using the ghostly energy from the portal to slam into him. As Decidueye grappled Dragapult, he took off, going circles around the entire room, going faster and faster.

"Use that wind for Brave Bird!" I shouted and a harsh golden glow began enveloping Decidueye as he held on for dear life, trailing golden sparks.

"Stop!" The girl ordered and Dragapult came to a sudden stop, propelling Decidueye forwards. He used the momentum to soar across the room, turning and aiming straight for his opponent.

A smirk formed on the schoolgirl's face. "Dragon Darts!"

Dragapult roared and flung herself backwards as she fired off the two tiny Pokemon atop her head. They shot off like missiles, homing in on Decidueye. One struck his middle, stopping his move midair and forcing him to fall back to earth. The second projectile did a sharp turn downwards and struck Decidueye again, blasting him to earth in a cloud of smoke.

"Find him and finish him off," the girl said, already looking bored again.

As the smoke thinned, there was no sign of Decidueye. I grinned and shouted, "Phantom Force!"

Decidueye appeared on Dragapult's side, slamming into her before leaping back into another shadowy portal. As Dragapult turned, Decidueye appeared behind him, slashing at her back with his talons. This time however Dragapult turned around too fast, slapping Decidueye away from his portal with her tail, which had a dark aura surrounding it.

"Spirit Shackle!" I shouted as Decidueye fell to earth.

"Sucker Punch again!" the girl snapped her fingers.

As Decidueye pulled back the ghostly arrow, Dragapult zoomed down towards him, slamming into him and forcing him to the ground with a mighty crash. When the dust settled, Dragapult flew back up while Decidueye stayed down.

"And that's that," the girl sighed, returning her Pokemon and shouldering her schoolbag. "Took longer than I'd had wanted. Better luck next time." And with that she strolled out of the room.

I sighed, walking across the battlefield over to where Decidueye lay. He cracked open on eye and gave a weak coo.

"It's alright," I hauled him up, putting his wing around my shoulder as I held up his pokeball with my other hand. "This just once again shows that we can always grow stronger and improve." I returned him and went over to the healing machine. As I set the three pokeballs down to heal, I gave out a big sigh. Even if I had lost the last battle, my original mission had succeeded. I no longer felt an uncontrollable anger.

"Better get back and apologize," I muttered, rubbing the back of my head after returning the pokeballs to my belt. I stepped out of the battle room and waved goodbye to the lady at the front desk as she said, "Please feel free to come back and try again!"

I stepped onto the street. It was well past midday and getting close to being evening. I figured I'd better go buy those potions after what I told Robert earlier. Getting them didn't take long and thanks to the four battle I'd won earlier, they paid for the medical supplies with some still leftover. As I was heading back down a street with no people, I felt a presence. Before I could react in anyway, I was pulled into a nearby alley and forced against the wall.

"We meet again," the schoolgirl from earlier spoke, dull green eyes narrowed. She had both my wrists pinned to the brick wall behind me with an iron-like grip. I made a motion to move, but something long and sharp slid across my neck, nicking the skin. I went still, moving only my eyes to glance up at a pair of gleaming red eyes. Clinging to the brick wall above my head was a pure white Sceptile. A scar ran down along her left eye, turning sharply before it touched the eye however. Her arms only had one leaf blade each, with one of them currently pressed against my neck. Her tail of sharp leaves stuck out behind her, flattened against the wall.

"You," I uttered carefully as to not slice my neck against the blade as I brought my eyes back down to the "schoolgirl".

She released my hands, stepping back, but I was still trapped by Ghost, her Sceptile. The girl's body began to shimmer. Her hair grew longer, turning into white hair that hung straight down her back. Her clothes changed into a pure white kimono with a single red sash around her middle and a katana strapped to her left hip. A smaller, shorter sword strapped just above it formed as well. Lastly, her eyes turned to a crimson color similar to that of Ghost. She looked almost timeless, as if she could be older and even possibly younger than me.

"Spirit," I hissed, tightening a fist at my side.

"Now that I finally have you in a position where you can do nothing but listen, I want you to do just that." Spirit took a single step forward and her Sceptile pressed her blade closer to my neck, ensuring I couldn't speak now. She drew her short blade and pressed the tip against my chest. "I could kill you, right here, right now if I so wished. But I'm willing to leave you with one last warning." She twisted the point just enough to poke a hole in my shirt. "Remember this and remember this well," she said coldly, putting her face close to mine. "My companions are not as lenient as I am. They will kill you if they perceive you as a threat to our job. If we are ordered to eliminate you and your friends, we will do so without hesitation. So this is your final warning, Zeno." Her eyes narrowed. "Do not interfere. If you do, your friends will die."

Spirit stepped back, sheathing her blade. A soft cry from a Pokemon nearby sounded and her body shimmered until she vanished completely. Sceptile remained before she too turned invisible. I could still feel her blade there for a minute before finally the presence left.

I fell to my knees, rubbing my throat. I felt anger rising again. Just when I had decided to tell my friends about the call this morning, about deciding to continue fighting if we were needed, now this! But this anger... it wasn't about that.

I cursed softly, standing. "Protecting my friends is my top priority. And if they wish to fight, then I will fight as well. And if I have to defeat all three of you Executioners myself..." I gripped a fist. "Then so be it."


Spirit dropped down from the hatch, closing it above her before turning towards the bunker's main room. With concrete walls on all sides, it was mostly bare save for a couch, a table and chair with a laptop atop it, a single recliner, and a fridge with a microwave next to it.

"Where have you been?" A masculine voice asked. It belonged to a man in his early twenties. His black, spiky hair had been freshly washed, so now it lay flat against his head, but already points were starting to stick up. An black, feather-like eye-patch covered his left eye, so only his right emerald colored eye was visible. He was dressed in his usual red and black butler suit while his large, double sided white axe lay against the wall next to him. Curled up at his feet, with glowing yellow eyes staring up at her, was Fang, his Gliscor.

"Well?" Spicy demanded, arms crossed as he tapped his foot impatiently.

Spirit held up the plastic bag in her hand. "Food. We ran out."

"Ah, you're back," a woman yawned and sat up from where she was laying on the tattered couch. Like Spicy, she was dressed up. But in contrast to his butler suit, she wore a black and white maid outfit, complete with knee-high gray and white socks. And unlike Spicy's irritating personality and stern eyes, Sage had gentle, cerulean eyes along with her gray hair being done up in buns on either side of her head. Her choice of weapon lay on the floor next to the couch; red nunchucks.

She pulled down her dark grey facemask. "I need food." Even her voice sounded soft and gentle.

"Urgh," Spicy palmed his face. "You're far too soft on her, sis. She can't keep wandering about like this."

"Don't you trust me?" Spirit glanced back at him as she handed Sage the bag. Sage's Weavile, Claws, leaped atop the couch next to her trainer and both began digging through the bag.

Spicy stared at her for the longest time before sighing in defeat. "Yeah yeah, alright. Hurry up and get some rest and food and whatever else." He hefted his axe over one shoulder as he crossed the room towards the laptop. "We have a new target."

Spirit smiled coldly as her partner Pokemon, Ghost, materialized by her side. "That sounds perfect."