Pokextinction

by THE CREATOR and Hydra

The world is on the verge of collapse when a man who despises Pokemon with a burning passion and the ruthless rampaging Necrozma threaten world destruction. With tensions rising between every single Legendary Pokemon, even Arceus and Mew won't be able to stop the coming fire... And when all hope is lost, the world will turn to Ash.

26. Chapter 26: Exalted Sinners

Northern Kanto

A caravan of ten large black vans, trucks and humvees roared silently raced through the night, cloaked in its stygian blanket. They were traversing through a number of jagged rock spires, yet their tires made nary a sound and appeared to glide over the stone like an ice cube over a freshly-washed floor. Several cages filled with vicious-looking Pokemon were either placed inside the trucks, crudely strapped atop the vehicles or placed on wheels and tied behind. These vehicles housed the Hell Hunters, who were in the midst of their latest, and potentially final, hunt.

"Nevio," Spoke the giant of a man, Brutus, from inside a large van that led the other vehicles. "Why do these vehicles stay quiet? And why, exactly do they need to be?"

The glasses-clad man, Nevio, shook his head. "I-I don't know!" He flipped through dozens of pages on the mission they had received. There was nothing remotely indicative of schematics for the vehicles, nor any of the other pieces of technology, whether they be weaponry, communications, transportation or otherwise. "There's nothing here that tells me, but even if it did, it wouldn't make any sense! These vehicles' ability not only mitigates any and all sound that they make, but also the smallest seismic activity that would occur with their weight! They defy all known sciences!"

"What I want to know," Started the bald-headed Raphael as he leered down at the improved fully-automatic net gun in his hands, "Is why we need it to begin with? Would something know that we were here otherwise?"

With a sigh, Nevio put his cluster of notes aside. "Well," He said, "We are dealing with Legendary Pokemon after all, though for some God-forsaken reason, Giovanni didn't specify which ones or even where we're headed. It's safe to assume that one may act hostile to invaders and could sense trembling in the ground."

Raphael's face wrinkled in confusion, the act bringing out how disgusting it looked in the process. "Whuh? Wouldn't it be better to not have this weird cloaking crap and let them come to us? This whole thing would be way easier if we didn't have to hunt 'em down!"

Nevio pinched the area between his brow. "Because, you simpleton, it's better for us to ambush them than the other way around. If it knocks over our vehicles, it could potentially destroy our weaponry and let the Pokemon out of their cages!"

To Nevio's frustration, Raphael merely laughed and replied, "Sounds like a party!"

Salomon, leaning against the wall of the van, couldn't help but chuckle to Nevio's chagrin. "Don't encourage him!" Shouted Nevio, which only served to elicit laughs from both him and Raphael. Even the ever-stoic Brutus smirked at the three of them cheekily.

At the head of the van was Tony, who spearheaded the night's mission as the van's driver. Next to him, his son, Shaun. "Those four are certainly lively tonight, aren't they?" He said, unable to hide a smile himself. His son did not share in their merriment. Nor did he respond. Tony playfully ruffled his son's head and laughed. "Come ooooon. Tonight's a very special night! If all goes well, it'll be our last hunt! I'll be rolling in dough, you won't ever have to see our ugly mugs again and no more Pokemon will get hurt."

"...Okay, dad," Shaun replied simply. He couldn't stand to look at his father anymore, which was something that Tony took notice of.

Tony retracted his hand from Shaun's head and turned back to face the road. "Just don't screw this up for us," He said bluntly.

---

As time went on, the roads became riddled with rocks that bumped the vehicles ruthlessly as they passed over them. One was so bad that Shaun flew up out of his seat and nearly touched the roof. It was at that moment that Tony pulled the car over and grinded to a swift halt. "That's enough of that, eh?" He asked Shaun, not giving the boy a chance to respond before he exited the vehicle. Shaun didn't follow, hoping that his father would simply forget him and leave him behind. Tony dashed that hope when he knocked on Shaun's door and pulled it open.

"Alright, men," Tony said as he pulled up one of the trucks' backdoor. Inside, there were gadgets and weapons lined up on the walls, ceiling and floors to the brim. All in twenty large black bags marked not with Team Rocket's signature red 'R,' but instead, a patch with an exploding star. Tony eyed them with delight, a wide grin tearing up the sides of his face. He grabbed the first one he saw, slugging it over his back. "Grab one. We're doing the rest by foot."

As the first grunt lined up to do just that, he was abruptly shoved out of the way and onto the rocky ground by Raphael. "Outta the way, scrub," He spat. "First pick's on me."

"They're all the same," Nevio told him as he grabbed a bag for himself, nearly falling over from its weight. "Ergh! Why do you-" He stumbled forward, but Brutus, a bag already in hand, caught him with the other. "-Need the first one?"

Raphael snickered at him. "And let the grunts get their hand on 'em before me? As if." The rough, bald man laughed as he put the bag down, preparing to unzip it and get to the glorious weaponry that lay in wait for his use on the inside, but stopped when he saw the patch. "...Hey, Tony? Ain't these things from Team Rocket?"

"Even better," Replied the poacher leader, pointing at the patch on his own bag. "These are from Team Rocket's new Nova Branch. Dunno what the hell it's supposed to mean, but what I do know is that these guys are top of the line when it comes to making tech." He chuckled out of pure excitement for the oncoming hunt. "Giovanni must really want these Legendaries if he had those guys make our equipment."

Nevio, after having given his bag to Brutus, perked his head up at the name. "Did you just say the Nova branch?"

Looking at Nevio oddly, Raphael asked, "What's the name to you?"

"Not much, I'm afraid," He replied. "All I know is that they're dangerous, but incredible at making technology. If Team Rocket wants something done, they send people from the Nova Branch." He looked to the bag hoisted over Tony's shoulder. "Or in our case, their technology."

Salomon chuckled dryly. "I suppose that means we've become quite important to 'em. Shame it's all over after tonight."

Nevio and the grunts jumped when Tony slammed his fist on the side of the truck, resulting in a loud bang. "They're not paying us to stand around and flap your lips, ladies. Strap on those bags and move out! But don't open 'em until we're at the front. I ain't waiting for any of you numbnuts if you drop anything."

"Sir, yes, sir!"

As the grunts piled around the truck for their bags, Raphael, Brutus and Salomon went to the cages. Before they let them out, Raphael made sure to hold the electrocution remote up to their faces so they knew who was in charge. Once they were released from their cages, the Pokemon glared at them. It was the most rebellion they could afford, for even a growl was punishable by torture at the hands of the bald madman.

Chuckling at them mockingly, Raphael nudged his head toward the main group. "You lot stay at the head so we can see you. We're in a wide open space, so if any of you try anything…" He raised the accursed remote, the object of endless nightmares for the enslaved Pokemon, at them threateningly and laughed. "Well, I'm sure you don't need any reminders."

Beyond the caravan was a small upward cliff, which the Pokemon climbed up onto one after another. The hunters watched on for a while until their leader's booming voice kicked them into action. "What are you doing standing around for?! Get moving!" The grunts immediately scrambled for the cliff, pushing the nearest Pokemon out of the way. With that taken care of, Tony nodded to the other four. "We'll stick to the back to keep an eye on things."

The four executives nodded, hastily following the grunts. Tony was about to follow until he noticed Shaun lagging behind. The child flinched upon being noticed by him. With a cruel, yellow grin, Tony walked over and grabbed his son's arm. "Not a chance, kid. I brought you with me for a reason." He knelt down and poked Shaun below the ribs roughly. "That night in the pit two days ago showed me that you ain't useless. You got a knack for gettin' Pokemon to trust you, which is the perfect trap."

Shaun mumbled a protest under his breath, but was abruptly silenced when Tony turned around and yanked him forward, forcing him to walk. "It'll all be over soon, kid," Tony said with a devious chuckle. He glanced up at what could be seen of the sky beyond the countless spires of stone that surrounded them. Soon, everything would be his, and he wouldn't have to work another day in his life.

Meanwhile, as Nevio managed to push himself up to flatter, albeit still rocky ground with Brutus's help, he noticed something about the structure it was headed towards. It was a gargantuan cluster of grey stone, but its shape was that of a tree. A sharp breath escaped his mouth. "I recognize this!" He cried, adjusting his glasses. "This is the Tr-"

He was cut off by a rough slap on the back from Raphael that nearly sent him flat on his face. "Less talkin' more walkin'." Nevio glowered at the bald man, who simply let out a hearty laugh without even looking back at him.

Cursing under his breath, Nevio put a hand on his now-aching back and followed the others.

It took nearly an hour of walking, tripping and climbing jagged rock before the Hell Hunters neared the tree's entrance. Tony and the other four stopped in their tracks all of a sudden when their radios buzzed. "Sir! We've found an entrance! It's small, but a person should easily be able to fit inside!"

A wide smile grew on the poacher leader's face. "Perfect." Taking the radio in hand, he replied, "Everyone, gather near the entrance. After that, you're on break. I have to make a call." He heard a variety of relieved sighs on the other end, and two behind him from Nevio and Shaun.

Ten minutes later and the Hunters were situated. They sat around the Pokemon like living cages, drinking water, laying down, rummaging through their bags and talking to one another over their radios. Tony, meanwhile, stepped away from the group and took out a video phone he'd received from Giovanni. "The hell?" He said, looking the thing over. "It doesn't have any buttons! What am I supposed to-"

Upon tapping the device, the message 'Call request sent' appeared. "...Oh. That's how."

After a few moments, the shadowed face of Giovanni appeared on the other end. He was leaned back in his chair with his trusty Persian at his side. "Ah, Tony," Spoke Giovanni. "I trust this call means that you are in the designated position?" In response, Tony grinned at him and turned the phone up toward the gargantuan stone structure above them. "Wonderful!" Giovanni beamed. "Then gather your men. I never gave you the details of what the weapons in those bags could do. It was a request from the Nova Branch's leader."

"Does that mean you'll be telling us now?" Questioned Tony, to which Giovanni responded with only a single nod. Tony knelt down, dropping his bag. He set the communications device down and said, "Listen up, maggots!" He inwardly grinned upon hearing a series of yelps on the other end. "Giovanni himself is gonna give you a rundown on what's in those bags, so pay attention!"

Giovanni commented, "I suppose that's one way of gathering them."

"No better way than the quickest, sir," Responded Tony, setting the radio down next to Giovanni's device and unzipping his bag. Immediately, an array of metallic objects fell out from it onto the rocky ground. Tony took out the rest and sorted them next to each other. "Whenever you're ready, sir."

A wry smirk crept up the face of Team Rocket's mastermind. "Very well," He said, leaning in towards the screen. "Let us begin."

---

"Say, Nevio," Said Raphael, fiddling with an instrument on top of his wrist. It was a shiny silvery-black round thing that he wore almost like a glove roughly the size of his hand itself. On its front was a nozzle used for firing. Raphael carelessly waved it about, pointing it at a variety of things in the cave that the Hell Hunters were now exploring. "What does this thing do again?"

Planting his face in his hand and groaning in exasperation, Nevio replied, "Were you seriously not listening?! That was Giovanni himself! Are you so utterly carefree that-" He squealed in fright as Raphael pointed it at him and quickly pushed his hand away, though not until earning a mocking laugh from the bald man. "Idiot! Don't point that thing at any of us! It petrifies anything that it's fired at!"

Raphael looked at the device with glee. "Ah, so that's what it does? Now that's what I call firepower!" A devilish glint appeared in his eye as an idea struck him. He pointed the weapon past Nevio up at one of their Pokemon walking ahead of them. "Say, just so we know these things ain't faulty, how about we give 'em a test run?" He chuckled. "Y'know, so we're not walkin' into a deathtrap without defense."

Nevio's eyes went wide. "No, DO-"

Before Nevio could stop him, the bald man pulled device's trigger. Immediately, a small silver beam shot out from its nozzle and covered the distance between himself and the target Pokemon: a small Taillow they'd picked up to replace their Fletchinder. It never even knew that it had been fired at. Its body, now covered in what appeared to be bronze, fell to the ground with a loud clank. The other Pokemon that had witnessed it shrieked in fear.

Raphael whistled and jeered at what he'd done. "Holy crap!" He exclaimed, running over to look at the petrified Taillow. He picked it up by its stiff wing, finding it to be much heavier than he anticipated. Holding it up for the other Hell Hunters to see, he cried, "Look at this!" The bald man laughed ecstatically. "That's wicked, ain't it?! Hoo, boy!"

Ignoring him, Brutus turned to Nevio and asked, "Giovanni said that these," He held up his own petrifier gun with three fingers since it was too small for his wrist, "Things were once used by Pokemon Hunter J, right?"

"But repurposed and enhanced," Replied Nevio with a nod. "The old models could supposedly be dodged, which is why J couldn't achieve a perfect streak as we have." Glowering back at Raphael, he said, "As that fool just demonstrated, these new models fire with speeds faster than the eye can see. But still, I don't believe that this and the other gear given to us will give us a complete upper hand."

Salomon turned his head up at Nevio. "Worrying about something?"

Without hesitance, Nevio nodded. "The Tree of Beginning has never before had a documented exploration team that survived long enough to come back with reliable mapping. On top of that, Pokemon Hunter J, despite not having a perfect record, was the greatest hunter of her era." Nevio took out his notes, quickly skimming through them again. "But she was killed during her last mission, which entailed capturing three Legendary Pokemon."

The scarred hunter nodded, humming to himself. "...The resemblance is uncanny, isn't it? But she was dealing with Psychic Types, the tricky bastards. They're the hardest to catch."

After looking through the entirety of his notes for the umpteenth time with his eyes becoming ever-more wild, Nevio eventually threw them away out of frustration. "And Giovanni's told us nothing about these Legendary Pokemon! Not even their names! I fear we may be repeating history here."

Nevio yelped and ducked as the bronze Taillow was hurled right over his head. It banged against the cave wall, slightly chipping at it before falling to the ground. "Maybe it's a test?" Speculated Raphael. "Some big last challenge or somethin' so the big boss knows he's got his money's worth or some crap like that."

"It doesn't matter," Said Tony. He looked straight ahead with resolute focus at their Pokemon, as well as anything else that might be beyond them. "Giovanni wants these Pokemon, so we'll get 'em. Legendary or not, a job's a job. And a job is something we've never even come close to failing before, so hell will freeze over before we fail one." He chuckled. "That's why we're called the Hell Hunters."

Raphael barked out an abrupt laugh. "Ain't you just in this for the money like the rest of us?"

The comment caused Tony to double over with laughter himself. He slapped his knee, turned back around to the others with an ugly, yellow smile and replied, "You know me too well!" He devolved back into laughing, making Raphael and some of the grunts follow suit. Shaun looked away, intensely uncomfortable with the ordeal. Once Tony managed to get ahold of himself, he approached Nevio and said, "Keep it together, you. A single Hell Hunter unit gone awry and we very well might get killed."

He nodded to Raphael. "That goes for you too. The petrifiers are for trapping the Legendaries. Any other Pokemon you shoot with that thing is another Pokemon you gotta carry back. Don't go shooting ours either." A sadistic grin crawled up his face as he turned back around. "This is our last night after all. After we get our last billing, you can feel free to go crazy."

"Oh, you don't need to tell me twice!" Raphael replied.

Nevio shook his head and sighed. "We're all psychopaths."

With a dry chuckle, Salomon asked, "That just dawn on you, pal?"

Suddenly, they heard the sounds of yelping and growling up ahead where the Pokemon were. "They caught something!" Cried Tony, rushing toward the Pokemon with a net gun in hand. He grabbed Shaun by his shirt and dragged him along as he ran. "Come on, boys!" The Hell Hunters raised their own guns, rallying out a war cry as they followed their leader up the cave path.

Tony found many of the Pokemon crowded together, growling and snarling at something they'd pinned down. "MOVE IT!" He roared, making most of them jump back in fright. The large man roughly shoved any unfortunate enough to be in his way to the ground as he approached. The Pokemon they had cornered was a small Buneary, which a Mightyena still had pinned down with its paw.

"There's a small hole over here, boss," Said one of the grunts. He stepped in front of it to make sure the Buneary couldn't flee. "Probably its den or something."

The poacher boss nodded to him and stepped toward the small Pokemon. Salomon did the same, pointing his net gun at it, but Tony held up his arm to stop him. "No. Where there's one Pokemon, there are bound to be others." He turned back around to the grunt and asked, "Anything else in there?"

In response, the grunt knelt down and poked his head through the hole. It was too dark to see, so he took a flashlight off his belt and shone it through. What he thought was a den was actually a small tunnel that went on farther than he could see in both directions, but there were no other Pokemon visible. "No, sir," He shouted back. "It's a tunnel. If there were any other Pokemon here, they were probably scared off by all the noise."

Salomon pulled out a small, round black chip from his pocket. "Might I suggest this, then?" The chip was a tracking device that, when planted on a Pokemon's skin, would erect a needle and stick to that Pokemon with an iron grip. If one attempted to remove it without a proper deactivation signal, it would emit a painful shock to stop them. Through extended shocking, it could even kill the Pokemon. "We could release it and let us lure it to the others."

Tony shook his head. "These idiot Pokemon would probably kill themselves trying to get it off. Besides…" A wry, sadistic grin crept up his face, making the Buneary's blood run cold. "I have a better idea. Everyone, back off, but circle around it so it can't get away." The Mightyena did not move away like the others, thinking that it should have stayed pinning the Buneary down to keep it from escaping. Its thought process was promptly corrected when Tony kicked it in the ribs.

The Mightyena let out a pained cry as it fell onto its side. "I told you to get away from it!" Barked Tony angrily. He stomped toward it threateningly. "What the hell are you still doing?!" Terrified, the Mightyena scrambled to its feet and ran to the edge of the circle with the other Pokemon with its tail between its legs. Tony backed up as well until he stood beside Shaun. He clapped his hand upon Shaun's shoulder, smiling down at the boy. "Come on," He urged with a slight shove toward the Buneary.

Shaun looked up at him questioningly. "What do you…?"

Tony knelt down to him, still wearing that accursed smile Shaun knew was fake, hiding an underlying dark motive. "You know—what you did back in Ilex Forest!"

"In the pit?"

"Yeah, that's the one!" Affirmed Tony without the slightest care in the world. "You were able to get those ferocious animals to not only leave you be, but protect you! You have a gift, son! Now…" He wrapped his large arm around the boy's shoulders, keeping their heads together and pointing a finger out at the Buneary. "Do the same to that one. Get it to trust us, and if you can't do that, to trust you. That way, we can have it lead us to the others without their suspicion."

His grin appeared devillsh, and his laughter, no matter how small it was, was maddening to Shaun. "To them," Said Tony, "We're just tourists and that Mightyena was just bein' protective of us. Ain't that right?"

"...I don't…"

"Huh?" Questioned Tony. "I can't understand you when you're muttering, kiddo. You gotta learn how to speak u-"

He stopped in his tracks when he saw the look on his son's face. It was obvious that Shaun was terrified, but beyond that, he looked at his father with an expression of ire rather than fear. Ire that he had never shown before. What was even worse was his piercing, knowing gaze that replaced that naive look that he always had before. Trusting, scared and clingy. Now he looked at Tony knowing the kind of monster that he really was.

"...What the hell are you lookin' at me for like that?" Hissed Tony, grabbing him by the neck of his shirt.

Realizing that he'd made a mistake of some kind, Shaun looked away from him. "I-I'm sor-"

He was shoved onto his back. "Shut the hell up!" Tony roared, pointing an accusing finger down at his son. "You said you didn't want to do this didn't you?" Shaun didn't respond, flinching when his father screamed, "DIDN'T YOU?!"

Shaun looked to the others for help. While there were a few grunts that looked at him with pity, it was clear that they had no intention of getting on the bad side of their leader. The executives blankly looked on as if he wasn't even there. "LOOK AT ME!" Roared Tony, making Shaun cry out in fear. "I don't care if you don't want to do this! Once we're done here, you can go back to your vegetable mother in the hospital for all I care."

Tony lifted Shaun up high into the air by his shirt. "But until then, you are not going to ruin my chance at Giovanni's reward!" He threw Shaun into the circle near the terrified Buneary, crumpling onto the ground with a cry of pain. "You will get that Buneary to lead us to the others!"

In his fear and pain, all Shaun could do was look up at the equally-frightened Pokemon pleadingly. There were tears in his eyes, but whether it was from the pain or his betrayal, even he didn't know. "Pl-please...I…"

Raphael rolled his head and groaned in annoyance. "This is takin' too long. If your kid won't do it, let's just stick a tracker on the damn thing and be done with it!"

"I have to agree," Said Nevio. "In his state, he probably won't even be able to form words, let alone get it to willingly take us to any others. We're just wasting time."

Tony grit his teeth with rage. He said nothing for a moment, mulling over their words, but eventually slammed his fist into the wall and said, "Fine, forget it! The business is done after tonight anyway, so screw it!" He reached into his pocket and pulled out one of the tracker discs. He looked at it in disdain for a moment, then clenched it in his hand tightly. He marched up to Shaun and kicked him to the side, earning a cry of pain from the boy. "MOVE!"

The Buneary, seeing the approaching man, turned to flee. It attempted to jump over the nearest of the Hell Hunters' Pokemon, an Aggron, but it raised a Hammer Arm and slammed it back to the ground where it crumpled at Tony's feet. "Idiot!" He roared at the Aggron, making it flinch. He picked up the Buneary and quickly stuck the tracker on the back of its neck where it couldn't reach. The action caused it to shriek in pain as it inserted a needle through its skin and burrowed, but its flailing couldn't let it escape Tony's grasp.

Turning around, Tony stomped past his son and through the circle until he found the hole from before, throwing the Buneary in. "Go on!" He urged as it scurried up through the tunnel. "Go find your friends!" Once it disappeared from view, he retracted his head from the tunnel, turned to Nevio and asked, "You got the tracker?"

"Yes I do," Replied Nevio as he pulled out the mentioned device. It was nothing more than a rectangular, plain black screen with a red dot that signified where planted trackers were located.

Nodding to him, Tony said, "Then let's get going." He began walking forward once again, motioning with his arm for the others to follow. Hastily, the Pokemon at the front of the group turned and began to move once again, with the Hell Hunters following suit. As he passed by his fallen son, Tony picked him up by his shirt and stood him up on his feet. "Get up," He commanded. Fear of disobeying Tony was the only thing that kept the boy on his feet.

A baffled Raphael asked, "Seriously? You're still bringing the kid along?"

Tony nodded. "If we find a group of Pokemon, I have another idea of how he can be useful. Besides, what Nevio said got me thinking. It was probably the Pokemons' fault for spooking that thing anyways. Wouldn't have trusted nothin' while being surrounded."

Raphael shrugged. "If you say so."

"I suppose," Tony added with a sickening chuckle, "That he'd make for good bait or a distraction if I can't find any other use for him." Raphael and a few of the grunts laughed at that. Shaun felt utterly sick.

---

Tony decided that he and Shaun would take the head now in case they ran into any other Pokemon. It took hours of scaling through a seemingly-endless string of winding tunnels and corridors, but eventually, the Hell Hunters began noticing changes in their environment. The walls were becoming reddish-brown, and despite there being no light source whatsoever, the caves were far from dark. Nevio surmised that they had ascended roughly four-hundred feet since they entered.

There was another difference that only Brutus noticed. A small, blue crystal that poked out from the bottom of the wall. "Hey," He said, making the others stop. "I've found something." He knelt down to the crystal and pulled out a knife that, upon pressing a button on its hilt, caused it to turn red from the intense plasmatic heat that it discharged. "It's a crystal of some kind."

"Grab it if you want," Suggested Tony. He pointed to the other Hell Hunters and said, "This goes for you too: Since this is our last hunt, feel free to take what you want. Souvenirs or extra payment, I don't care." The grunts and Raphael roared with cheer, immediately piling around Brutus to see his prize. They knew better than to try to pull anything over on the giant, but that didn't stop them from ogling the crystal.

Brutus merely nodded with a gruff noise of affirmation. Placing the knife up against the crystal's size, he focused on the task intently. Then, putting all of his strength into the action, he sliced it out of the ground and took it in hand. He didn't need to worry about the heat because of the gloves Team Rocket equipped them with, which acted as both armor and a slight power-enhancer. He turned off the knife, pocketing both it and the crystal, and stood back to his full height.

"Let's move," He said. "I can feel the grunts getting antsy looking at it."

He took a step forward, but suddenly hissed in pain and reached for his pocket. "What's wrong?!" Asked Nevio, rushing to his aid. "Did the knife turn back on?"

Brutus reached into his pocket and took out the knife, but the pain didn't stop. Reaching in again, he took out the crystal and found that it had turned blood red. Suddenly, an odd sludge began bleeding out from the crystal from where he'd separated it, quickly spreading out across his hand. "What in the-rrrgh!" That terrible pain from before bled through his gloves and onto his hands. He attempted to swat off the sludge, but only succeeded in letting it spread to his other hand.

"Take off your gloves!" Cried Nevio. "Now! Before it spreads any more!"

Not needing to be told twice, the giant man threw his gloves to the floor and backed away from them. Raphael approached, blasting them with his petrifier. He smirked as the sizzling noise of the dissolving gloves ceased and the odd sludge turned to bronze. "Looks like that took care of…" His smirk fell once he saw the sludge surface once more, eating through the bronze like fire through paper. "What the…?! What the hell are these things?!"

"Run for it!" Commanded Tony. As the Hunters fled, he stepped toward the sludge and took out his net gun. Team Rocket had given them new ones, and these were equipped with an ability to fire something akin of a small Flash Cannon from a secondary nozzle. The sludge began to grow, forming into a loose, liquidy clone of a Craydily. He fired at it, but the monster literally ate the beam through its skin.

"I'm beginnin' to see why Giovanni didn't tell us much about this place," Said Tony, narrowing his eyes at the creature. It lunged at him, but before it could get far, Tony fired the cannon at the roof of the cave and sprinted after the others. A hail of stone fell behind him on top of the gelatinous creature. He dared a look back and found it dripping through the rocks like blood, so he began firing at the roof rapidly as he ran to create an avalanche that would hopefully stop the creature in its tracks.

When he spotted the others ahead, he fired one last shot, planted the gun on its holster, and sprinted full force until he made it to them. "S-sir!" Cried Nevio as Brutus caught the obese man. "Are you alright?! What happened to that...thing?!"

Tony turned back around to look at the tunnel, now completely buried in rock. "If we're lucky, it's buried beneath all that."

Salomon asked, "And if we're not?"

"Then we should get moving." He grabbed Shaun by his shirt and pulled him toward the head of the group once more. Then, remembering something, he stopped in his tracks. "Oh, and forget what I said earlier. Leave the crystals alone."

There were no objections from the other hunters.

The next three hours were rather uneventful. They passed by several more crystals that became increasingly larger the further into the tree they traversed, making sure to keep their distance from each and every one of them. "That Buneary has stopped moving," Announced Nevio. "I don't know how this tracker works outside of the short rundown of what Giovanni told us, so it or another Pokemon could have killed it trying to take the tracker off."

"Or it's just lying around after the panic attack we gave it and you're just overthinking things," Suggested Salomon.

Raphael chuckled in anticipation, cocking his net gun. "Either way, it's probably near other Pokemon, which means it'll be party time!"

"The Pokemon will be on high alert," Said Brutus.

That only served to make Raphael more excited. "That just makes it more fun!"

"How far away is it?" Asked Tony.

Nevio looked back down at the tracking device. "Ah…!" He eyed it intently, making sure what he was seeing was correct. Their group, characterized by a red dot that was kept at the center of the screen, was nearing the other red dot: The Buneary. "If I'm not wrong, we appear to be close actually!"

As the Grunts and Raphael cheered, Tony was quick to silence them. "Shut it. If they hear any of us, my plan goes down the drain." Though to say he wasn't inwardly jumping out of his skin in anticipation of the main event would be a lie. To conquer three Legendary Pokemon and invade the Tree of Life where no one had gone before and lived to tell the tale...it would make for one hell of a story and cement him as a Legend of his own among hunters.

It took another twenty minutes for something remarkable to happen, but when that did happen, oh what a remarkable event it was. Rocky caves soon gave way to green grass and colorful flowers. They were nearly on top of the Buneary, and by extension, any Pokemon that was near it. The hunters came upon a large opening in the cave with many branching pathways. Most led to other caves down or up through the tree. But one, covered to the brim in grass and flowers like the rest of the opening, was surely a pathway to the Pokemon.

"I can hear them!" Whispered Raphael with glee. Surely enough, as the group quieted down, they could hear the noise of many Pokemon nearby. Unable to contain himself, Raphael cocked his gun and sprinted into action, but Tony was quick to hold him back. "What are you doing?!" He demanded, to which Tony covered his mouth.

He eyed the path to the Pokemon carefully, and luckily for them, the noise the Pokemon were making had drowned out Raphael's cry. "Not yet," Said Tony. He motioned for him, Brutus and Shaun to follow him as he slowly made his way toward through the flowery path. Lowering himself to the ground and forcing Shaun to do the same, the four began to carefully crawl along the path until they were face to face with exactly what they were looking for.

Their eyes collectively went wide as they beheld a beautiful garden and lake. Sunlight flitted through gaps in the area's roof, which was upheld by gigantic crystal pillars. The same flowers and grass in the opening stretched out as far as the eye could see in the garden. Pokemon of all shapes, sizes and colors flew through the air, luckily not noticing any of them. Others swam in the lake or ran through the grass without a care in the world.

"No way!" Whispered Raphael as he caught a glimpse of an Aerodactyl flying overhead. "This place even has natural fossil Pokemon!"

Tony, however, quickly regained focus and scanned the area for other cave entrances. "There," He said, pointing toward one he found on the opposite end of the gigantic garden. It was lower than their current point and on the opposite side of the lake. Patting Raphael and Brutus on their shoulder, he said, "Take ten grunts and some of the Pokemon with you and try to find that entrance. Once you confirm that, we'll launch the offensive and capture as many as we can until we find the Legendaries."

"And if we just...happen upon any Pokemon on the way?" Asked Raphael coyly.

Chuckling, Tony replied, "I'll let you figure it out."

As Brutus and Raphael slithered off, taking with them half of the Hell Hunters, Tony and Shaun returned to those who were left. Brutus had apparently taken the gloves of a grunt, which said Grunt was now complaining to Nevio about. "Quit your bellyaching," Commanded Tony from behind, making the grunt freeze up.

Turning to address the boss, Nevio asked, "I assume everything is ready? Save for waiting on Raphael and Brutus to reposition themselves."

Tony leered down at Shaun with a chilling grin. "Nah," He replied. "I still got one last thing I gotta do." He snatched the grunt's radio,off his suit and stuck it on the inside of Shaun's shirt collar. "You keep that there," He ordered as he dragged his son back toward the garden. Pushing him to the ground and crouching down himself, Tony pointed out a pathway down toward the lake where most of the Pokemon were.

"You go down there and get them to like you," He ordered. "It'll be a while before Raphael gets into position, which will give you plenty of time." Tony next pointed out a group of Ledyba and Ledian flocking about the flowers. "That's your first target. It's likely that these things haven't ever seen a human in their lifetime, so they won't know what to think of you." He patted Shaun on the shoulder. "If you can get the Pokemon we threw in the pit to like you, I'm sure these ones, who don't even know what a human is, will be a piece of cake. You're great at it!"

Shaun did not respond at first. He knew the praise from his father was empty and that he would turn on him the moment the boy did a single thing out of line, he would be brutally thrashed, so there was no point in denying him. It was a miracle that Shaun didn't have any broken bones yet. "What if they try to hurt me?" He asked.

Patting him on the back, Tony replied, "Then you better hope you got quick legs." With that, Shaun was stood back onto his feet and shoved out into the open. "Go get 'em!"

Shaun turned back to him, holding his shirt open. "What if they see the radio?! And the Buneary's here too!"

"Then don't let them see the radio!" Hissed Tony under his breath. "And just stay away from the Buneary when you see it! You only have to stay with them until Raphael and Brutus are ready, now get down there!"

The boy turned away, departing for the downward slope and mentally cursing his luck. He knew the radio Tony gave him was only to make sure he was following his father's orders. But it wasn't as if he was going to rat out the hunters to the Pokemon. What would he do then? Live with the Pokemon? The concept was...not entirely unpleasant-sounding as he continued to think about it. But then again, the Pokemon may not take a liking to him, and he'd be better off with his own kind. Even the hunters.

As Shaun came to the end of the slope, he was instantly met with a flower garden. He didn't have time to appreciate its beauty before the Ledyba and Ledian descended upon it. Fate certainly had it out for the young boy. He scowled, tentatively approaching them. In his mind, he recalled his father saying that he would make for a good distraction. It didn't matter if he obeyed or not. As fearful tears threatened to drop from his eyes, he prayed that the Pokemon were more merciful than the hunters. For if not, he was dead either way.

---

Elsewhere, Raphael's squad raced through the cave system. Nevio gave him the tracker since Tony's squad no longer needed it, which they used to cut their path through most efficiently. At least until they came face to face with another opening with ten separate paths. "'Course this place would try its damndest to screw us over," Cursed Raphael, shaking the tracker in frustration. "Why doesn't the damn thing come with a map?!"

He tossed it over his shoulder, but it was caught by Brutus. "This place was never mapped before," Brutus reminded him. "Stands to reason that it would be a maze."

"Should we just split up then?" Asked Raphael. "If we just go every route, someone will get it right."

Brutus shook his head. "If we encounter something like that sludge or a hostile group of Pokemon, the last thing we'd want to be is divided."

"Yeah, but then it'll take forever!" The bald man punched the nearest wall in frustration, causing it to chip. Growling, Raphael simply stormed up to the nearest one and said, "Let's just go in he-"

"OM OM OM OM OM."

Raphael and his squad looked around at the caves as they heard a mysterious noise. "...The hell was that?" Asked the bald man. "Didn't sound like a Pokemon."

Above his head, the cave ceiling splintered and shook. "Look out!" Cried Brutus. "Above you!" Raphael immediately leapt back from the spot just in time to avoid something massive crashing down on top of where he was once standing. A grunt that stood next to him was not as fast, paying the price with his life as he was crushed underfoot. From the ensuing dust cloud appeared a golem made out of stone, its seven yellow eyes blinked with light as it made jittery electric noises that sounded almost alien.

"Regirock?!" Quick to the trigger, Raphael immediately blasted it with the petrifier from behind. It whipped around toward him with unnatural speed, but was unable to prevent being hit. Before it knew what hit it, Regirock was completely encased in bronze and fell still. Daring to peer beyond his blaster reticle, Raphael was in disbelief. "...Well, that was easy." He whistled, admiring the petrifier on his wrist. "These things are sick!"

Brutus approached the bronzified Regirock. Upon seeing the remains of the grunt beneath its foot, his eyes narrowed. He pushed Regirock off of him, making the golem fall onto the ground with a loud clang. Looking around the cave with disdain, he said, "...Can't bury 'em here," He pointed the petrifier at the dead grunt and fired. He was immediately coated in bronze as well. Brutus stood him up by his shoulder and propped him against the wall.

Some of the other grunts appeared disturbed by their fallen comrade, while others were marvelling over the captured Regirock. "I'll contact Tony," Said Brutus to Raphael, who merely nodded as he was far too concerned over his triumph over the Legend. He decided to part from the group, but just before touching the radio, he noticed something odd about one of the crystals in the room. It sat behind the corner of a nearby wall and was a lighter shade in comparison.

"What the…?" He stared intently at it for a moment, untrusting of its odd nature compared to the other crystals. It had to be different. Then, he saw it move, and immediately fired his petrifier at it. In response, the crystal fired an Ice Beam at him. The two beams soared over one another, narrowly avoiding a collision. The petrifier beam scarcely scraped the crystal's edge as it appeared to retract itself behind the wall.

Brutus, on the other hand, was not as lucky. The Ice Beam shot right into his arm, freezing it completely in a mass of icy spikes. Though he was able to avoid the spikes piercing into his neck and head, the pain of his arm was nigh unbearable, and he couldn't prevent himself from screaming in agony. The giant of a man, in his rage, smashed the frozen arm into the nearest wall and shattered the ice. Because he was fast enough, his arm itself hadn't completely frozen and he was able to prevent it from breaking along with the ice.

"What the hell's going on?!" Shouted Raphael, running into the room with the other grunts and Pokemon in tow. He noticed Brutus's once-frozen arm hanging limply at his side. It was now purple from hypothermia. "What the...Brutus, what happened?!"

Shaking his head, he replied, "I don't know. Some Ice-type Pokemon, I think." He pointed to the wall where it once was with his working left arm. "It's still there, I think. Be careful."

Raphael looked to the ground beneath Brutus, his face wrinkling. "Dammit, Brutus," He said, picking up the giant's petrifier. Due to it freezing and him smashing his arm into the wall, it now sported a gaping hole on its top. "You broke the damn thing!" Throwing the broken item over his shoulder, he walked past Brutus and put his back to the wall. "Well, at least you did something right," He whispered. "You might've found Regice if Regirock is anything to go by. Now we know what the hell Giovanni's been busting our asses for."

He inched his way across the wall until he made it to the corner. Taking a deep breath, he whipped around and pointed his petrifier at whatever was on the other side. "...Oh." Raphael found the enbronzed form of Regice looming over him. "Looks like you got him!" He called back to Brutus, who appeared relieved but did not verbally reply.

"Could you call Tony for me?" The giant asked simply, to which Raphael nodded.

"Sure thing." Taking his radio out, he said, "Tony, you there?"

After a moment of rustling on the opposite end, Tony's voice was eventually heard. "Yeah," He replied in a whispering voice. "Are you in position yet?"

"Nah," Replied the bald man. "We have way better news than that?"

There was silence on the other end, which Raphael surmised was the boss attempting to guess what he meant. "Have you found one of the targets?!"

Raphael chuckled. "Even better. We captured two of them. Apparently, the targets we're after are the three Regis."

He heard an audible gasp on the other end, soon followed by more rustling noises. Raphael understood what it was once he heard the voices of Nevio and the grunts. He had simply returned to the flowery opening. "You're not pulling one over on me?"

"Ey, I may be one jacked up guy," Replied Raphael with a cheeky grin, "But I ain't a liar. Much less to you, boss."

There was muffled giddy laughter on the other end. "You've done me proud. If you've caught two, then the third one must be nearby. I'm going to call Giovanni and tell him. Over."

"Will do, boss," Raphael replied. "Over." He then placed the radio on his belt once more and turned to address the grunts. "You heard Tony. Keep an eye out for Registeel! You see even the slightest movement and, well…" He raised his petrifier. "It ain't like these things run outta ammo as far as I know." As the grunts saluted and scattered to survey the area, Raphael noticed that Brutus's arm was still limp. "...That thing okay, champ?" He asked. "It looks like crap."

"Feels like it," Brutus replied, sinking to the ground. "I think I feel it getting warmer. I'll wait here until I can move it again."

Raphael nodded to him. "Well, if you can still feel it, it's probably okay." He took a seat next to the giant, letting out a grunt as he sat down. "We can spare a grunt or two, but Tony'd probably get pissed if Registeel killed you while I was away, so I'll stay here if it's all the same." Brutus nodded without a word.

---

Tony, meanwhile, shut the grunts up by snapping his fingers before sitting down at the far corner of the room. He took out the phone he'd used earlier and called Giovanni. It took noticeably longer for him to answer this time, which Tony chalked up to the tree interfering since they were so far in. But, eventually, the Team Rocket boss did respond, his shadowed face appearing on the screen.

"Ah, Tony!" Giovanni exclaimed. "I assume this call brings with it good news?"

Nodding enthusiastically, Tony responded, "Indeed it does, sir. One of my men, Raphael, found and captured Regirock and Regice. I assume these were the targets?"

Giovanni applauded the poacher boss. "I would expect nothing less from the Hell Hunters! And yes, those were the targets. I apologize for hiding the truth from you, but given the Tree of Life's...history regarding intruders, I had to make sure that you couldn't drop out on me." Tony could see the man smiling through the shadows. "After all, you are the best men for the job!"

Laughing jovially, Tony replied, "You shoulda given us the benefit of the doubt! The Hell Hunters wouldn't ever back down from a job!"

"I see that now," Said Giovanni with a quick nod. "I apologize for doubting you. But, erm...you said you had Regirock and Regice already. Where are Registeel's whereabouts?"

Tony shook his head. "Dunno. Raphael didn't encounter that one yet. Once they find him, I'll be sure to let you know."

Nodding once more, Giovanni said, "Alright, then. In the meantime, I'll...nd...th...eh…"

The video call was soon interrupted by static, making it impossible for Tony to tell what Giovanni was saying. "What the hell?!" Tony repeatedly hit the device in an attempt to get the call working again to no avail. "Work, you damn piece of junk!" The static soon overtook the entire recording and obscured Giovanni entirely. Tony was about to pocket it when he heard a voice speak from it.

"Wait a moment, would you?"

As he looked at the screen once more, Tony was now facing another man, somehow more coated in shadow than Giovanni but still recognizable as human. All he could see was the slight outline of a white trench coat. "...Who the hell are you?"

The Man took a moment to reply, then said, "...I am nothing more than an ordinary man. You, however, may call me a benefactor of Giovanni. I do hope I didn't interrupt anything too important, but while you're in the Tree of Beginning, I have a proposition for you."

Tony raised a brow. "...What kind of proposition? You want the Regis too or something?"

The Man shook his head. "No. That is Giovanni's bounty, not mine. What I seek is simple: I want you and your men to provide me with as many pictures of the tree's interior as possible. Map everything that you can and provide me with the results."

Chuckling cynically, Tony asked, "What can an 'ordinary man' offer me?"

"A blank check," Replied The Man. "Ten of them, or even a hundred if you wish. I can see that you don't believe I have the ability to fulfill this promise, so I urge you to look down at the various pieces of equipment adorning yourself."

Tony did just that, his smile disappearing. "What…?"

"I," Started The Man, "Have created the very technology you're using right now. Even the communication device I'm speaking to you with." He held up a badge with the Nova Branch's star explosion insignia on it. The same insignia was inscribed on his armor, as well as everyone else's. He recognized it from the bags that held them as well.

His eyes widening in shock, Tony exclaimed, "Wait...are you saying you're the Nova Branch leader?!"

The Man replied, "...Like I said, as far as you are concerned, I am nothing more than an ordinary man. A man that can and will fulfill my part of our deal if you are willing to do the same."

Tony looked down at his utility belt. Indeed, there was a camera strapped to it, and looked high quality as well. "...You said you were up for a blank check?"

"I can spend hours writing zeroes or nines if I need to," He replied. "All I need from you is a single word."

Tony looked back to The Man, a wry grin crawling up his face. "I'll do you one better and give you two: I'm in."

"Then I am happy to do business with you."

The screen then went black. Knowing what he had to do next, Tony rose back onto his feet and approached the other Hell Hunters. "Grab your cameras, boys," He said with a yellowed grin. "We got a new job."

---

"Hey Raphael." The sound of Nevio's voice spoke out through the radio. "Raphael, can you hear me?"

The bald devil had been laying on his back and taking a break while reveling in his captures. An annoyed groan escaped his mouth when he was forced to sit back up and accept the call. "I hear ya," He grumbled. "Whaddya want?"

Clearing his throat, Nevio replied, "We have new orders from Tony, sent directly from the Nova Branch leader."

"Well, Brutus's arm is still jacked up," Replied Raphael as he glanced at the purple appendage. "So we can't do much. But you said something about the Nova leader? Did we get his name?"

"No," Said Nevio. "He's keen on remaining secretive it seems, so...hold on, did you say something about Brutus's arm?"

Raphael nodded on instinct, not taking into account the fact that Nevio couldn't actually see it. "Yeah, Regice nailed him with an Ice Beam. Broke his petrifier too."

"Why didn't you tell Tony that earlier?!" Nevio demanded. "That is critical information! Brutus is our strongest man! If he, and his petrifier, are down, then we're crippled!"

Groaning, Raphael replied, "He'll manage. We've only got one Regi left, then we can get the hell outta here." A grin crept up his face as he imagined the new page of his life that would open up to him once the night was over and he was drowning in cash. "Say, Nevio," He said. "What are you gonna do with your cash once we're outta here?"

Nevio hummed in thought. "I...hadn't really thought about it. I suppose that no institution of science would be unavailable to me anymore, so I would go where the grandest technology does. Whether that lies with the Star Foundation or with Team Rocket's Nova Branch, I don't know."

"Sounds lame," Replied Raphael, immediately shutting him down. "Say, is Salomon there? What're you gonna do once this is done?"

Salomon chuckled. "Yeah, I'm here. I dunno what the hell I'm gonna do once this is done." His chuckling escalated into laughter. "Probably just join in with some other poachers. Thought about joinin' in with Team Rocket or the Nova Branch, but takin' orders from men I won't ever see doesn't suit me. I'm a hunter, not a puppet."

"I getcha," Said Raphael. "Thrill of the hunt, eh?"

"You know it."

The two shared a brief laugh together, whereas Nevio merely sighed and shook his head. Turning toward Brutus, Raphael asked, "Hey, big guy! What are you gonna do with your money?"

"...Makes no difference," Grunted Brutus, still clutching his half-dead arm. "I go where Tony goes."

Raphael sneered at him. "That right? Well, you heard 'em, boss! You got one hell of a lapdog!" He jeered to himself, laughing at his own joke. Brutus looked away, not bothering to form a response. "So," Continued the bald man. "Now the giant's got me curious. What are you gonna do, boss?"

There was fumbling on the other end as Tony approached Nevio and Salomon. When he did, he was chuckling. "First thing's first, if the boy somehow survives this, I'm ditching him at the hospital with his mother. He's not gonna be my problem after this."

"It's about damn time!" Cried Raphael. "I had no idea why you were dragging around that deadweight for so long."

Tony chuckled cruelly. "Not anymore, I won't. After I ditch him, I'm probably just gonna spend the rest of my life relaxing. Maybe I'll go traveling." He laughed, shaking his head. "Whatever I do, work sure as hell won't be involved! But what about you, Raphael?"

"Me?" He asked, a sinister grin threatening to tear apart his facial features with its width appearing on his face. "Well, as long as I get to have my fun with Pokemon, I don't care. This tree seems like a prime base, wouldn't you say?"

He was suddenly cut off when something large burst up from the ground right next to Brutus. Registeel, its hands coated in racing lightning, had appeared. "WOMPURRRRROMPWURBRURUBRURBURB-" The golem of steel raised its lightning-coated arms and slammed them into the ground. A Shock Wave attack burst out in all directions in front of it, sending a cascade of lightning all across the walls and shocking everything in its path.

"What the-GYAAAUUUGH!" Cried Raphael, interrupted by the electrical onslaught. The grunts and Pokemon were caught in the mix as well, crying out in agony as their bodies were ravaged by the powerful lightning. While they were stunned, Registeel turned around toward Brutus, glowering down at him. For the first time since Necrozma forcefully entered the minds of everyone on Earth, the giant man felt fear again.

However, Registeel looked past him, more interested in something else. Brutus's eyes went wide with horror upon realizing what it was. 'It's going for Regice!' He forced himself back onto his feet and slammed his right arm into the wall in an attempt to get feeling to return back to it. 'Move!' He mentally cried, ramming his arm into the wall once more. 'Move, damn it!' After the third try, he winced as blood fell from his arm. But in spite of that...his fingers twitched.

Registeel approached its icy brother. It prepared to use Hidden Power to free Regice from its bronze prison, but stopped when it felt something strike it. When it turned around, it found the collapsed man before, now aiming his smoking net gun at the golem and glaring at him. Registeel whipped around and fired a Flash Cannon at him, to which Brutus did the same with his net gun's secondary fire. The golem's beam easily overpowered the gun's pale imitation, and Brutus was forced to jump out of the way.

"Tough bastard," Cursed Brutus. Registeel's response was a series of beeping noises as it stepped toward him threateningly. Instead of aiming another shot at it, Brutus fired at the ground, loosening the stone. He then dug his fingers underneath a massive chunk of broken stone and lifted it up. With a beastly bellow, Brutus managed to unearth it completely and hurl it toward the golem, who blew it to smithereens with another Flash Cannon.

This, however, coated the area in a blinding smoke, which Brutus took advantage of. He charged forward like a bull, his gloved fist pulled back. The giant threw a punch at the golem, but to his shock, it did the same to him. When their fists clashed, his gloves shattered, and he screamed in agony. If he hadn't been wearing the Nova Branch gloves, his hand and arm would have crumpled like wet paper.

Brutus tried to step away, but he was forced to bring up his hands in defense when Registeel brought its own down upon him. Their hands clashed together, gripping one another as the two attempted to overpower the other. "Damn...thing…!" Growled Brutus as he struggled with all his might against Registeel's power. He felt a searing, agonizing pain in his bad arm suddenly, making him scream out. The moment of weakness allowed Registeel to force him to his knees.

"STEELWURRBURBURBEEEEEEEE…"

The steel golem began making a series of rapid computer-like noises as a silver ball of energy manifested in front of it. As Brutus looked up at it with wide eyes, he realized that he would not survive it. He attempted to pull away, but Registeel's iron grip refused to let him. It increased its grip strength to the point that Brutus felt the bones in his hand shatter like glass. Again, he cried out in agony. As he stared up at the growing silver orb of energy above his head, he realized it was the end for him.

"...I'll see you in hell." With that, he spat up a glob at Registeel, who unleashed the Flash Cannon just in time to obliterate it.

As the Shock Wave's paralyzing effects finally ceased affecting the Hell Hunters, the first thing they witnessed was Brutus's body being pummeled into the ground by Registeel's Flash Cannon. "Holy-!" Exclaimed Raphael in disbelief. "It killed Brutus!" He pointed his petrifier at the steel golem, but upon pulling its trigger, it exploded in his face. "Gah!" Cried the bald man, recoiling. He stepped backwards out of the smoke and, to his relief, found that his arm still worked. Though, it hurt like hell.

"Are you okay?!" Asked one of the grunts frantically, to which Raphael snatched his petrifer and hurled it at Registeel. It responded by shooting it with another Flash Cannon midair, destroying it in the process but giving the hunters a smokescreen to hide in for a time.

"The damn petrifiers don't work anymore!" Roared Raphael to the grunts as he took out his net gun. "So we're going to have to do this the hard way! Open fi-" He was cut off when an Ice Beam parted the smoke and completely froze a nearby grunt solid. The bald man flinched, immediately running behind the nearest wall and ducking behind it. "MOVE!" He commanded.

The grunts and Pokemon immediately scrambled for cover while being fired upon by Ice Beams, Flash Cannons and Hyper Beams. A few of the grunts were struck down immediately upon moving. Raphael dared a look through the smoke, as well as his net gun's reticle. "What the hell? Ice Beams? But Regice was petrified!" His eyes went wide with horror as he remembered the remaining Regi that was propped up against the wall far behind them. The last thing they needed was a third problem on their hands.

"Everyone, keep them away from Regirock!" He called to the others. "They can cure each other's petrification!" He was about to fire the entire load of nets in his gun upon the two Legends when he felt something breathing down his neck. He leapt back out into the open, barely dodging the pounce of one of the sludge creatures. "What the hell?! I thought Tony buried you!" Reminded of the other threat, he dodged backwards again just in time to avoid an Ice Beam and fly back behind another wall.

Another cell flew out in front of him and crashed down onto a nearby grunt. He flailed wildly in an attempt to get it off of him, but it was no use. In a matter of seconds, it grew to fully encompass him and swallowed him in its mass, then disappeared without a trace. "...Oh hell," Cursed Raphael, his eyes as wide as dinner plates. In a last-ditch effort, he ran out from the cover and hurled a Pokeball at the petrified Regirock, not knowing if it would even work on it.

He never got an answer. Yet another cell appeared and caught it midair, swallowing it whole. It took the form of a distorted Kabutops for a moment and hissed at him, then lunged at him with intent to kill. He bent backwards to allow it to fly over his head, although it ended up hitting and swallowing another grunt in the process. "Better him than me," He said as he looked back.

It was then that he noticed their Pokemon weren't actually fighting, merely huddling together in a corner fearfully. His eyes twitched with anger. "HEY!" He roared at them, making them jump. Pointing at the Regis and cells, he shouted, "We're dying out here because you're not being the meatshields we brought you for! Get fighting, worthless animals!" When they didn't respond, he glared at them and took out the nightmarish remote, turning it up halfway and immediately turning it up afterwards to not cause permanent damage.

The Pokemon cried out in agony for a brief moment, but they got the message loud and clear. They tore out in all directions, firing attacks back at the cells and Regis as a futile attempt to dissuade their approach. It didn't work. Immediately, more cells began to flow through the floors, walls and roofs like water in response to the new threats until every single Pokemon was overtaken. They cried out in terror, their eyes going wild as they violently flailed against the cells.

Then...the cells faded, taking with them the manmade control collars that bound them to the Hell Hunters' will. The Pokemon looked at themselves and one another in utter disbelief. "Uh, boss?" Asked a trembling grunt. "You think now would be a good time to-" Seeing an oncoming cell, Raphael grabbed the grunt and hurled him into it to save himself. The grunt's agonized cries snapped the Pokemon out of their stupor. They realized, now, that the collars were gone. They were free at last.

They turned to the nearest grunts. Some growled at them angrily as they prepared to pounce. Others even smiled at them cruelly, anxious for their long-awaited vengeance. "G-get back!" A grunt shouted, pointing his net gun at them. When one lunged at him, he shot it away with the secondary fire. That action caused several more to leap at him. He futilely fired another shot, but it meant nothing against the horde. "No, NO! Get off! GET OFF!" He cried desperately. The vengeful Pokemon unleashed all manner of attacks at him. He stood no chance against their onslaught.

Raphael watched in horror as every grunt under his command was either blasted by the approaching regis, swallowed by the cells or ripped to shreds by the Pokemon. Soon enough, he was the last one standing. They knew it, and they knew it well. But what they didn't know was that Raphael would not go down as easily.

When the Pokemon turned on him next, he whipped out the punisher. They immediately backed down, their eyes going wide as fear returned to them as swiftly as it had gone. "That's right," He gloated with sickening laughter. "You animals aren't taking me!" He looked back, finding with glee that his back was faced to a tunnel. "Screw this mission. Screw the reward! I'll come back one day and burn this entire tree down!" Descending into further mad laughter, he backed away from them all until he was inside the tunnel.

He then pointed his net gun up to the ceiling in front of him and fired, causing it to collapse and seal the entryway shut. Then, he turned and ran. He would not die so easily. Raphael and death had a crystal clear pact in his eyes. He was a giver, not a taker. "I'll make every last one of you suffer! I'll burn you all alive!"

---

"Raphael?" Asked Nevio as he refreshed the radio. "Come in, Raphael? Raphael, what happened?!" It was no use. The only response from the radio was unending static. Nevio turned to Tony for answers. "Neither Raphael, Brutus or any of the grunts are responding. What should we do?"

Tony shrugged. "The signal was bad when I was trying to call Giovanni. It's probably just the damn tree being weird again." The fat man pushed himself off the ground, taking his net gun in hand. "But in my personal opinion, there's no point in waiting around any longer."

At that, Salomon immediately jumped to his feet as well. "Now you're talking."

Nevio raised a questioning brow at him. "You're giving up on the pincer attack? I don't mean to question you, sir, but-"

"Then don't," The boss hissed, immediately making Nevio go silent. "At this point, it doesn't matter how many we actually catch. With that second bounty, we're already set."

Nevio mused, "About that. It seems odd that someone would be willing to pay anything for simple pictures, even if it's an unknown place such as this."

Tony threw a bag full of Pokeballs over his shoulder. "In this business, we're better off not asking too many questions. If that guy has enough money to do...whatever it is that the Nova Branch does, then I'm sure he has enough to suit our needs."

"Then wouldn't it be easier to simply get the pictures?" Asked Nevio.

Salomon walked around him, clapping a hand on his shoulder. "If it's all the same to you," He said, "It'd be a boring way to go out. We're the Hell Hunters, not the Hell...photographers, or whatever."

With a groan of annoyance, Nevio shook his head. He was never going to get through to them. "Does this mean we're abandoning the-"

"Pictures?" Asked Tony with a laugh. "Hell no. We'll do both, because there's always room for money in our pockets." He roughly patted Nevio on the back, nearly sending him flat onto his face. "Whatever price we want from both Giovanni and that man is something we cannot afford to overlook. Now…" He looked over to the garden entrance. "We're heading in. Keep your weapons down for now. If the deadweight did his job right, they won't attack us until we do."

Nevio inwardly groaned. "In other words, play nice with them until we can find an advantageous position to strike?"

Tony snapped his fingers. "Bingo."

Salomon growled under his breath. It was obvious that he wasn't pleased by the orders. "...Whatever you say, boss," He said, strapping his net gun onto his back once more.

He was suddenly stopped by Tony and had a remote pushed into his hand. "You can stay here and keep an eye on our Pokemon until we attack." The poacher boss winked at him. "I know you couldn't stand being around those things without attacking them for long, and we can't have anyone jeopardizing the mission."

Catching onto his drift, Salomon chuckled. "You know me well, boss." He turned toward their Pokemon and turned off the remote. Holding it up to them, he slid the dial up to the maximum setting, making their eyes go wide with fear. Smirking at the Pokemon, he turned it back to zero and activated it before pocketing it. He then took a seat once more and said, "I'll do it. Just don't keep me waiting too long."

"I'll try not to," Replied Tony. "After all, seeing those Fossil Pokemon runnin' around got me itching to hunt too." Turning to the grunts and Nevio, he pointed to the garden entrance and said, "Move out, maggots." He took his camera off his belt. "While you're waiting on me to give the signal, take as many pictures as you can."

When the Hell Hunters entered the garden, many of the grunts who hadn't yet seen it were utterly awed at its beauty. Nevio immediately went to snapping pictures, admittedly intrigued by it. Tony, however, was more interested in what his son had been doing. He soon spotted a large group of Pokemon, which he pointed his men's attention to. "Look sharp," He said. "I think that's where the kid is."

Surely enough, Shaun sat atop a large rock, surrounded by Pokemon of all shapes and sizes. He wore a smile and laughed as he played with the smaller flying Pokemon that flew around him. The other Pokemon all watched him with interest, all wearing smiles of their own as they observed the odd child. His smile disappeared when he saw the Hell Hunters approaching. The other Pokemon, noticing his look of horror, turned to look at the Hunters curiously.

Scowling, Tony took his radio in hand and whispered, "Smile and wave, kid." Shaun appeared paralyzed for a moment, his eyes darting back and forth between the Hunters and the Pokemon. Eventually, he did as his father ordered as memories of what his father could do when denied rushed back to his mind. Grinning back to him, he whispered, "Thatta boy. Keep it up."

Seeing the boy's apparent eagerness regarding the newcomers' arrival, many Pokemon, ignorant of the Hunters' true nature as a Luxray in Mareep's clothing, took interest. Slowly rising to their feet, the Pokemon approached the Hunters, sniffing their clothes and such. "Uhhh, boss?" Whispered a nervous grunt. "Are you sure it's alright to let them surround us like this?"

Tony, equally disturbed by their current situation, whispered back, "Just play along for now. Eventually, they'll lose interest and let us roam. Just shut up and look friendly for now." The poacher boss wasn't confidant in his own words. Sweat dripped from his forehead profusely, only increasing when he caught a quick glimpse of a Gyarados's white fins breaching the lake's water for a moment. Discreetly, he backed himself into the middle of the group and took out his radio.

"Salomon," He whispered. "Get the Pokemon ready and approach the garden entrance." He quickly added, "Don't let them see you and don't reply to this or we're dead."

Shaun was equally terrified. If his dad was killed by them, he didn't know how he would live. He'd be stuck in the tree for the rest of his life, however short that may be. His bones chilled when the prospect of the Pokemon turning on him filled his mind. He often saw how brutal the ones his dad controlled bearing down on wild Pokemon. Tearing teeth, ripping claw and the horrible agonized cries of whatever Pokemon was unfortunate enough to be on the other end.

To the Hunters' relief, some of the larger Pokemon soon lost interest and returned to other areas of the garden. Others, to their irritation, seemed content to stay as uncomfortably close to them as possible. They were mostly smaller, younger ones who stared up at them blankly. Tony didn't know how much longer he could stay still, but the watchful eye of many larger Pokemon, whom he assumed were their parents, kept him at bay.

"Just stay still for now," Warned Tony under his breath to the others. It was more to himself than them. He felt his blood boiling just being in their presence. He wanted every last one of them in a net or a cage or a ball to the point that it was utterly maddening. He was breathing harder, and his face was reddening, but the air never seemed to be enough. "Just...stay calm… Soon, Raphael will get here and we'll be able to stri-"

A sudden explosion made the hunters and Pokemon collectively jump. Flying out from a spurt of dust, a certain rock golem appeared, spinning like a top. Upon landing, the nearest Pokemon fled behind whatever cover they could find. The Hunters and Shaun, however, weren't as lucky. It turned toward them, its yellow eyes beeping at random. "RE-RE-REGIROCK."

"What the hell?!" Shouted Tony. "Regirock?! Here?! Didn't Raphael say he petrified the thing?!"

Hiding behind Tony, Nevio's eyes were wide with fear as he came to a conclusion about their bald compatriot's fate. "I-I think th-this may be why his s-signal cut off…"

Tony whipped his arm up at it and fired the petrifier. In response, it unleashed a massive Hyper Beam his way. The petrification beam was consumed in an instant. His eyes going wide, Tony dove out of the way just in time to avoid the beam, but not fast enough for his petrifier to escape its demise. The Hyper Beam sailed past the hunters, racing up across the wall and sending a cascade of flame in its wake. Tony noticed this causing a fearful uproar amidst the Pokemon. A devious idea struck him.

He dove at the feat of an Aggron. What he was about to try was one hell of a gambit, but if it worked out in his favor, the capture of both the Regis and the Pokemon would be all the easier. "Please, help us!" He begged. "We're helpless! We can't fight on our own; not against those things! My friends and I could never harm a Beautifly!" The poacher boss dared a look up at it, and to his displeasure, he found that it was glaring down at him. Behind it, a Buneary trembled fearfully. He eagerly returned the glare, taking out his net gun and firing.

"Useless animal!" He hissed as it struggled against the tight net. Pushing himself back onto his feet, he pointed at Regirock and shouted, "Fire your petrifiers all at once! It can't block 'em all!" On his command, Nevio and the grunts fired upon the golem as ordered, only for it to leap high into the air and out of harm's way.

Unbeknownst to it, another hunter lied in wait. Salomon, having heard the commotion, fired his own petrifier at Regirock. "Eat this, rock freak!" He cried. Regirock replied in kind with another Hyper Beam that tore straight through it. Pointing up at it, Salomon cried, "Attack!" The enslaved Pokemon opened their maws, unleashing a variety of attacks to combat the Hyper Beam. When they collided, neither set of attacks could overpower the other, resulting in a blinding explosion.

"REEEGYYEEEYOOOIIICE!"

"W-W-W-W-W-WURRRRRRR!"

From the hole Regirock made, Registeel and Regice leapt out. The three landed near one another, communicating through a series of beeps and other odd noises. Following them, several traces of the crimson sludge Tony thought he buried crawled up. On top of that, the surrounding Pokemon were wisening up to the Hunters and were glaring at them hostilely.

"We can't take these odds!" Cried Nevio. "If we don't leave now, we'll be surrounded in seconds! Without Raphael's squad, wherever they are, we're doomed!"

Tony, his face going red from rage, gnashed his teeth together violently. "Dammit…!" He cursed. "Everyone back in the caves! We're getting the hell out of here! I'll be damned if we end up as the next Hunter J!"

Having no arguments, Nevio and the grunts sprinted for the exit with Tony in tow. The regi trio sent hails of attacks after them as the cells raced after them in hot pursuit. Salomon and the Hunters' Pokemon fired indiscriminately, trying to create as much chaos as possible as cover for their escape. Unable to resist, the elite hunter occasionally fired nets at the wild Pokemon, inwardly celebrating whenever he caught one.

Just before entering the cave, Tony snatched the petrifier off one of the grunts and fired it rapidly upon the Regis, swiftly disappearing into the blanket of darkness before he could see the results of his actions. The Regi Trio used Protect, causing their barriers to instead be petrified. In a bright orange flash, a trio of Hyper Beams burst from the bronze shells and raced after the Hell Hunters, but they were already gone. Nodding and beeping to one another, the Regis leapt back into the hole in pursuit while the cells followed them through the caves.

Shaun cried, "Wait for me, dad!" He sprinted toward the others to no avail. They were gone. He'd been left behind. He was all alone in a sea of things that wanted him dead. That much was true by the way the surrounding Pokemon looked at him.

Tony and the Hunters wildly flew through the caves, uncaring of where they were turning or going. For now, anywhere was better than near the garden. The boss dared a glance behind him and, to his chagrin, found dozens of cells bouncing off the walls after them. He aimed his net gun above him and fired repeatedly, raining down chunks of stone from the ceiling. The cells, however, weaved through the falling stones with ease. The stones barely held them back.

Seeing that his previous strategy was no longer working, Tony decided that a new one was in order as he glanced at the nearest grunt. He intentionally misplaced his next step in order to trip the grunt, sending him falling flat on his face. He then fired up at the roof again, causing a new rockfall to bury both the cells and the grunt before he had a chance to even scream.

As the nine remaining hunters and their Pokemon turned the next corridor, their eyes collectively widened in horror. The hallway was laced with crystals, and all of them had turned a bloody crimson like the one Brutus severed. "Oh hell…" Just as Tony feared, more of the ooze began to bleed from each and every one of the crystals. He and the grunts, learning by his example, hastily fired on that hallway's roof to bury it and quickly sprinted down another path.

But again, they were faced with naught but more of the crystals. But as the cells slowly oozed down from them, Nevio had an idea. "Fire on the crystals!" He cried, shooting the farthest one with his petrifier. Indeed, it turned bronze like everything else. But the red glow underneath was proof it wouldn't last long. "We need to be quick, or we're done for!"

Tony slapped him on the back, much to his chagrin. "Good thinking, Nevio!" With that, they rapidly fired upon the crystals until every single one of them had been encased, then sprinted straight through. It was only a matter of seconds after they had passed that the cells bled through the bronze before lunging after their targets.

"Trouble up ahead!" Cried the grunt at the head of the group. "I can see more of them!"

Cursing mentally, Tony fired another shot above him to block the paths of their pursuers. He noticed two caves to their side and shouted, "Everyone turn left now!" Tony was the first to enter the new tunnel, but upon doing so, his eyes went wide with shock and he stopped dead in his tracks. He glowered at what he saw...or rather, whom. "...Raphael."

"L-look, I know what you're thinkin'" Pleaded the bald man in a panic. "But I swear I didn't screw up! They were everywhere, man! On the walls, floors, ceiling…they got everyone!"

Nevio's eyes went wide. "Even Brutus?!"

Nodding, Raphael said, "Registeel got him. Regice froze his arm just before too, so-"

"Shut up and grab your camera," Commanded Tony. "The only thing that matters now is money, and by god, we are going to get it."

Raphael was utterly baffled. "Money? There's no way you're planning to go back for those things, are you?!"

Tony shook his head. "No…" He took out his own camera and grinned. "I have a much easier way."

The Hell Hunters heard sloshing as more cells arrived. "Well, whatever the plan is," Said Nevio, "Let's do it quickly-" He was abruptly cut off when one of the cells grabbed at its feet. It had apparently bled through the floors while they were speaking and none of them noticed.

Nevio's eyes went wild with terror. He screamed, "No, NO! GET IT OFF ME, PLEASE!" The other Hunters merely backed away from him, equally terrified. Tony nodded to Raphael, then to the grunts. Knowing what they were planning to do, he frantically shook his head and tried to step toward them, but the cell made him trip and fall onto his face. "N-no!" He cried, fearful tears beginning to leak from his eye. "Don't leave me!"

But the others didn't listen. They ran back the way Raphael came as the other entrance was swarmed by cells. In a matter of seconds, they piled onto him. His screaming and flailing were futile. The last thing he saw was Tony snapping a picture of the hallway and firing up at the roof to cause another blockade before his vision went black for good.

"All this time...what was it all for?!"

---

The remaining hunters ran like mad for what seemed like hours through the endless maze of caves. Monsters in the dark cut away at their numbers one after another at random. Soon enough, only three remained. Tony, Salomon and Raphael. In their ruthlessness, they sacrificed everyone else so that they might get a chance for escape. Though, not before coveting their cameras and throwing them into the burlap bags that once held their now-useless Pokeballs in.

"I see something!" Cried Salomon, pointing to a downward-sloping part of the cave. There was a yellow light. By now, night had long turned to day.

Raphael whooped, leaping for joy. "Aw, yeah! Let's get the hell outta this place and find those Nova du..des…"

The bald man fell silent when the three Regis stepped in their path. Registeel held its hand to the roof behind itself and shot it with Flash Cannon, making the cave roof rain down upon the exit and seal it shut.

"NO!" Raphael cried.

Tony scowled, aiming his net gun at them. "Keep your head steady. I ain't come this far just to give up and die yet!"

He clicked the secondary fire, but nothing happened. Confused, he tried again, only to receive the same response. Their weapons were coated in an odd pink glow. They tossed them down, turning to run, only to see the other exit blocked entirely by cells. Their Pokemon tucked down and growled at the obstacles anxiously. Their fur stood on end with fear, knowing what they did to the hunters with a single touch. However, they didn't move from their spot. Nor did the trio of Regis behind them.

"What...what are they doing, sir?" Asked Salomon, holding his gun closely.

Shaking his head, utterly confused, Tony shook his head. "I have no idea."

"So, you're the ones causing all this trouble."

The three looked around for the source of that voice frantically until they were suddenly blinded by a pink flash of light. When they regained their vision, a pink cat floated before them. It looked at them with amusement, but also a hint of disgust. The Hunters couldn't believe their eyes. "N-no way!" Exclaimed Raphael. "It's Mew! No wonder it was here if no one explored this place!" He immediately went for his camera, only for it to be ripped out of his hands by a pink glow. "Wh-what the-?!"

It continued floating away until it was right beside Mew, where it was immediately crushed into the size of a marble and dropped to the ground. Raphael's face went pale white. "What in the…?"

"Ordinarily," Said Mew, "I would just erase your memories and dump you somewhere random." She glanced at them darkly. "But you happened to catch me in quite the irritable mood."

Salomon scowled at her. "Of course it knows how to talk. As if Pokemon needed to be any more endlessly annoying."

"Hah!" She laughed in response. "I'm the annoying one. You invade my home, attempt to capture my subjects and guardians, and call me the annoying one?!" Mew turned her nose up at them and smirked. "Oh, by the way." In a flash of light, Shaun appeared and was thrown to the ground at a slack-jawed Tony's feet. "You forgot this."

Upon daring to open his eyes, the first thing the young boy saw was his father's glare. His eyes went wide, and he instinctively backed himself into a wall, his chest heaving for air.

"So, what are you gonna do?" Challenged Raphael with the punisher in hand. "Kill us?"

Mew shrugged. "Something like that."

Raphael's eyes went wide with surprise. "Wait, are you-"

Mew's eyes glinted pink for a split second, causing Raphael to disappear without a trace.

---

The monster of a man was taken below the Tree of Beginning to a gargantuan chamber, cloaked in a veil of everlasting pitch blackness. The first light it had seen in years was from the light that appeared for only a split second when the bald man was unceremoniously dropped into it. "What the-?!" He exclaimed, staggering backwards and falling onto his back after his ankle caught on a small stone.

"Raphael?!" Called the flickering, static-filled voice of Tony from his radio. When he looked down at it, he found that it was coated in an eerie pink light. "Raphael, can you hear me?! RAPHAEL?! Where are you?! Speak to me!"

Raphael did not respond. As he stared up at something utterly gargantuan before him, he found that his voice was caught in his throat. It appeared to be a statue of some kind, sitting on a throne of stone even bigger than the statue itself. It was square shaped, yet rounded at the same time. Its feet appeared to be covered in moss, its ankles and wrists wore golden rings and he saw definite large arms even in the all-consuming darkness.

"R...Regi…"

"What?! Regi...all three of them are up here! What are you talking about?! ...Answer me, dammit!"

Raphael's eyes were wide with horror. A sense of dread he'd never before known locked his body firmly into place. He felt that the statue was watching him. It was watching him. Several golden blips of light appeared along the statue's center, chiming in a much deeper tone than the trio above. They also appeared to be enacting some kind of code...or rather, some kind of ritual. When it was done, three gigantic multicolored lights appeared on each side of the small golden ones.

There was a terrible trembling that made the bald man feel helplessly weak, as if he was at the mercy of a real earthquake. As the colored lights activated, a horrific, low-pitched droning noise filled the ancient room, nearly deafening Raphael. He soon realized that those lights were, in fact, eyes. Eyes that bore down on him, recognizing him as its target. Its gargantuan hands opened, allowing a ball of orange energy to form in each one.

"...I-It's h-huge…" Raphael managed to utter, shaking his head in disbelief. "...Wh-why is it...so huge…?!"

"What is?!" Demanded Tony on the other end. "What's huge?! Raphael, is there something down there with you?! Get out of there!"

At last, Raphael realized in his final moments half of what he inflicted upon all those Pokemon. Absolute paralyzing terror. The delusional pact with death he'd made, nothing more than a figment of his diseased mind, was shattered as he witnessed his own death right before him. "...I-it's...it's…!" The titan that sat before him let out a horrific roar, making the entire area tremble. In his last moments, Raphael shot up and screamed, "IT'S REGIGI-!" Then, his vision went orange...then white...and finally, an eternal black.

---

Tony and Salomon were nearly thrown flat on their faces when the entire tree violently shook. Their screams were drowned out by an ear-piercing roar of an explosion that seemed to come from every angle. After what felt like ages, it finally came to an end, and they were met once more with Mew's cruel smirk.

"...What did to you to do him?!" Demanded Tony, rising to his feet once more.

Grinning at them almost sadistically, Mew replied, "Don't you think you should be more worried about what'll happen to you?" In a flash of light, the pink goddess disappeared from sight and was replaced by the Regi trio. Salomon and Tony flinched, jumping back to their feet and preparing to defend themselves with what little left they had, but their hunters still didn't move.

Realizing that the exit was now open, Tony whipped around, only to see that Mew had swapped places with the Regi Trio. Smirking, she said, "Let's settle this with a game. If either of you can get past me, I'll let you both go." She moved out of the way, allowing them to see the full extent of their tantalizing freedom that lay just beyond her challenge. Then, she snatched it away, creating a dark pink barrier to block the exit.

"Just cross that, and you're home free," She told them, floating back into place to block them. "All you gotta do is get past me. Are you up to that?"

Salomon snarled at her. "Games?!" He demanded. "What, is it trying to play with us?!" He raced toward her in spite of Tony's command not to. Just before passing her, he took out his plasma knife and threw it at her as an attempt at distraction. Her form blurred, letting it pass right through her, but the hunter managed to get through. "I'm free!" He said jubilantly as he raced toward the pink finish line. "Sweet money, here I co-"

The second Salomon made contact with the pink light, the sound of electric zapping filled the room. Tony's eyes went wide with horror when he saw what remained of his comrade, while the terrified Shaun covered his eyes and whimpered. In an instant, the hunter had been reduced to nothing more than a smoking black and red stain where he'd once been standing. His gear fell to the floor in a clatter, but was picked up and subsequently crushed in Mew's psychic grip.

"What a shame," Said Mew sarcastically as she gave Tony a dark smirk. "All I said was that he needed to get past me, but because he threw that knife at me, he didn't give me a chance to drop the barrier. Oh well." The Goddess of all Pokemon already reveled in her victory, which was obvious to Tony with only a mere glance. "What?" She asked when he didn't move. "Aren't you going to try to win your freedom? Or are you going to lay down and die?"

Tony knelt over wordlessly. Mew leaned forward, preparing to block any pitiful attempt that the former poacher leader could throw at her. Both she and Shaun were shocked and befuddled when the obese man fell to his hands and knees crying, "Thank you so much! You saved me and my son from those wicked men!"

"...What?"

To show what he meant, Tony dropped all of the gadgets that adorned his suit and scattered them to the floor, save for his camera. "Those men were awful!" He cried, rushing to his son and taking the confused and terrified boy into his arms. "You see, my son and I were out camping when he heard some strange noises. When we went to find out what they were, those horrible men took us prisoner and forced us to work for them!" He beamed an ugly smile at her. "But thanks to you, we don't have to live in fear anymore!"

Mew raised an incredulous eye at him. "For someone who cares about their son so much, you didn't seem to have much of an issue leaving him behind."

Tony's smile faltered slightly. "Th-they had me at gunpoint!" He lied shamelessly, pointing toward his net gun. "Those things fire some kind of beam. They told me that if I didn't run, they'd shoot us both!"

"Right, right," Said an unconvinced Mew. She narrowed her eyes at him accusingly. "You sure did put on a convincing act for those men when you attacked your own Pokemon." She looked back at the group of Pokemon the hunters had enslaved. "That reminds me…" Her eyes blinked pink light, causing the Pokemon to all disappear from sight and letting their control collars drop to the floor. "Since those hunters are gone, I don't suppose you'd need your Pokemon anymore."

His brow wrinkling with concern, for his own safety rather than theirs, Tony asked, "Wh-what did you do with them."

Mew replied, "Oh, I just teleported them outside the tree. They were just slaves after all."

"J-just like us!" Lied Tony. "It was horrible what they made me do to those poor Pokemon! Why, if I didn't know that they'd kill my dear son, I would have sooner died than hurt them!"

Rolling her eyes, Mew snapped, "You're a terrible liar."

Tony's face fell. "Wh-what?! But I'm just-"

"I can read minds, you idiot," She hissed, pointing to her own head. "I'm Psychic-Type." A dark glower from her made Tony feel as if knives were threatening to pierce every part of his body at once. "I know everything you've done and how much you enjoyed it. I also know about Team Rocket and that Nova Branch of theirs." She chuckled. "I've been hearing a lot about them as of late. And I'll be sure to look into them."

Tony's face immediately filled with rage, standing back up and letting Shaun fall to the ground, who let out a yelp of pain. "Dammit!" He cursed. "Well, what are you going to do, then?! Kill me in front of the boy?!" Without waiting for a response, the fat man turned his gaze down at his son and said, "Don't ever forget this! This is what all Pokemon are really like! This is why we hunt!" His face was utterly crazed with fear that he poorly masked with anger. It was obvious that he was trembling with fear nearly as much as Shaun was.

"Pokemon are just mindless animals that would kill you without a second thought if given the chance! That's why your mother's in a hospital right no-" He was cut off, disappearing without a trace.

---

At first, Tony felt nothing. Then, he felt the warmth of the sun and a crisp breeze. He dared to open his eyes and, to his shock, found himself on solid rock. He stared up, laughing jubilantly when he saw the blue sky that he believed he'd never see again. "I'm...I'm out! I'm free!" He looked down and found his assortment of cameras collected from his grunts was still strapped to his belt. "That idiotic Pokemon!" He shouted with a laugh as he began to make a mad dash from the tree. "Sweet money, here I come!"

However, when he was about to scale the nearest cliff to get back to his car, he heard the sound of growling. Above him were the Pokemon that Mew had freed. The Pokemon he had enslaved and tortured into doing his bidding, headed by a certain Mightyena.

Tony immediately backed away from the small cliff, holding his hands up non-offensively. "H-hey, hold on, guys!" He said as they jumped down. They growled at him ferociously, each and every one of them itching for vengeance. "W-we're on the same team," Claimed Tony to the belief of none of them. "We're all in this together. You let me go, and I'll let you go."

He put his hands in his pocket to try and pull out his plasma knife, but there was nothing there. He cursed himself as he remembered that he had dropped it when he was talking to Mew. "H-hey!" He shouted as they got closer. "Get back! Stay away from me!" They pressed on, marching closer and closer until he was in range. The Mightyena jumped on him, biting his arm and pushing him onto the ground. The other Pokemon soon piled around him, drowning his screams in the roars of explosions as they unleashed every attack in their arsenal. There was nothing left of him nor his precious cameras.

---

Chuckling in admiration of her handiwork, Mew grinned down at where Tony had just been standing and said, "That's enough out of you." Then, she turned to the boy, making his blood run cold. "As for you…"

His eyes went wide with fear. He was trembling so much that he couldn't move, let alone get up and run. "Wh-what did y-you do to h-him?" He dared to ask.

Mew flew down to eye-point with the boy. "There's no need for you to worry about that," She said in a motherly tone, though it only came off as even more frightening to him. "He was a bad, bad man, wasn't he?"

Her eyes gleamed white as she read his mind to decide his fate. She wouldn't kill him, of course. He was only a child. At most, if he was a bad seed like the rest, then she would simply wipe his mind of memories and teleport him to some random city. There were a number of people that lost children in the war after all, so an orphan would be quite welcome to them.

Yet, as she read through his memories, she was astounded by how wrong her initial beliefs about him were. Every time his father would hunt a new batch of Pokemon, he would sneak off to feed them and comfort them as best as he could. She saw as he refused time and time again to bend to his monster of a father's will. At least until he realized that in doing so, he was getting closer and closer to being outright killed by him.

"...You're different," She spoke under her breath.

Shaun looked at her with confusion, though still terrified out of his mind. "Wh-what?"

A wry grin crept up her face. She floated back up into the air, leering down at him darkly. "How could I kill a pure-hearted kid like you? No, I have a much better idea that suits both of us." Shaun suddenly felt incredibly dizzy. The world around him swirled and he found his vision soon blackening. The last thing he heard before sleep took him was, "I hope you enjoy your stay...my child."

---

Author's Note

Creator: Nine days. Not bad for a chapter of this length. I'm trying to go for lower word counts nowadays, but a sendoff to the Hell Hunters (Even though they only had one chapter prior). But now you guys won't have to remember their names anymore. I hope you've all noticed that every OC so far has ended up dead besides the one that literally cannot die. I wonder if the rest will be similar?

Hydra: Well it sure didn't take long for tony and the rest of the hell hunters to meet there end, those guys deserved what was coming big time. Now the question is what's gonna happen to Shaun? hehe I'll let you make your own theories.

Creator: Now for the reviews.

DarkPugLord23: "Wow, Mew is more terrifying when she is mad. Also, I'm slightly concerned with the fact that she is show really high signs of possessive tendencies. I really don't want to think about what she might do."

Creator: Mew is perhaps even more terrifying when she's getting carried away with her play time, as we saw with the hunters. And speaking of possessive tendencies...I wonder what she'll have in store for Shaun?

Hydra: Boy! Creator stole my response lol. On a real note, Mew can perhaps be the most terrifying legend when she's angry and now that she's got Shaun well let's just say he's gonna have her complete attention on him, where normally she'd be busy raising five or six children at once he's all she's got.

Amourshipper35: "Wow that mew is full of surprises and I hope she does not do that again and i hope ash will be able to stop team rocket."

Creator: And now we're privy to even more surprises. Luckily, there won't be another meeting for a while, so she'll have time to cool off.

Hydra: yes "I hope ash can stop team rocket".

Guest: "Nice distribution of teams."

Creator: Thanks?

Hydra: I'm happy you enjoyed it. We debated for awhile which friends Ash should be traveling with for this arc and after a long talk we just had to go with Ash, Serena and Gary.

Thor94: "damn, that meeting was really chaotic. Both giratina and mew acted like real assholes here.

Hope arceus and Ash will find a way to calm both of them and solve their problems, and mew really need to tame herself.

If giratina and mew really care for peace and other opinions, better for them to prove it by finally acting like the responsible adults they're supposed to be and show others they changed by doing more than only using empty words."

Creator: In Mew's case, her mindset is not too dissimilar from how Arceus was before he met Ash. Selfish, tyrannical, "Obey or die," essentially. But Mew was secluded in the tree for most of her existence and is regarded as the "mother of all Pokemon." Unlike Arceus, she did not have the chance to undergo a drastic change because she wasn't active during the Necrozma arc. So she's still not too different from how she was when the Earth was in its early stages. You recall how they brutally beat down Kyogre and Groudon for their fighting instead of talking things over? While Arceus wouldn't dare to do something like that again, Mew still would. She has a tyrant's mentality hidden by a playful exterior. That playfulness was built up when she acted as a mother to the Legends and hasn't gone away, even though the Legends have now grown up. She doesn't realize that the world has moved on from its early days. In a perfect world, Giratina and Mew would have united to work together, but Earth is not a perfect world. The universe itself is filled with hypocrisy as a fault of Aura. Here, perfection does not exist, and flaws are a part of everyone.

Hydra: Giratina is the way he is mainly because he was subjected to a fate worse than death for the majority of his existence. Had Arceus handled the situation differently then Giratina would most likely have been more like his brothers and wouldn't have caused as much trouble for him or the rest of the legends.

Creator: That's all for now. Next chapter will be back to Ash and his adventures in Ecruteak City. Though it's more like Empty-teak now. Safe trails until then. PS: Looking forward to your review, British-Vulture.

Hydra: Well this chapter probably takes the cake for my favorite at the moment it was just oh so satisfying seeing the hell hunters get destroyed, it's not too often we see the villains get there comeuppance. You just have to wonder whether or not Shaun was better off with his father or the terrifying goddess of all Pokemon… neither are very appealing for him. Anyways we hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and we'll see ya on the next one.